Lewis Hamilton claimed his back pain is "100 times worse" than it looks as he provided a concerning update to fans.
The seven-time world champion produced a strong performance at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, racing to fourth behind team-mate George Russell to score a big haul of points for Mercedes. But it came at a cost, as the cars were hit by more problems than ever before this season in Baku.
The bouncy street circuit exacted a heavy toll upon the racers' bodies, as the porpoising cars smashed repeatedly into the floor at high speed. Russell said he had found it uncomfortable, but it was Hamilton who came off worse as he looked in agony at the end of the race.
He slowly clambered out of the cockpit of his Mercedes before taking a few moments to sit on top of his car, holding his back and clearly in severe discomfort. He went on to reveal that the only way he had managed to get through the race was by "biting down my teeth with pain and just adrenaline".
Hamilton added: "I cannot express the pain you experience, especially on the straight here. In the end you are just praying for it to end. We are in such a good position still in 3rd and 4th. It is a great result and the team did well with the strategy. Once we fix this bouncing we will be right in the race because we are losing for sure a second just with bouncing."
Toto Wolff suggested the seven-time world champion is a doubt for the upcoming Canadian Grand Prix through injury. "You can see that it is not muscular, it goes properly deep into the spine and there are some consequences," said the Austrian. "The solution could be to have someone on reserve, which we do at any race."
Hamilton provided an update to fans overnight which appeared to suggest he will at least attempt to race in Montreal, but otherwise was concerning for fans worried about his wellbeing. "Seeing online that a lot of people are concerned about me with how awful it looked out there today. It means so much that so many of you are sending love," he wrote on social media.
"I'll be honest it looks terrible and feels 100 times worse. Definitely some recovering and hard work with the team to do before Montreal to overcome this hurdle. Feeling better already, though, and motivated my to keep pushing. See you next week."
