Lewis Hamilton is suffering from severe back pain.
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It is “definitely” possible, Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff said after the Azerbaijan Grand Prix in Baku. The seven-time world champion has muscle problems not only from the constant blows in the cockpit. “It really goes deep on the spine and has consequences,” Wolff explained. Hamilton is really bad.

TV photos showed the 37-year-old struggling to get out of his car shortly after the end of the race in Baku. “I can’t explain your pain, especially on the straight. In the end you just pray it’s over,” said the Briton. He “bitted his teeth” because of the headache and back pain and got over it thanks to adrenaline.

The technical problem is caused by vehicles that have changed a lot this season. At high speeds, cars on the straights are pushed to the ground until they briefly touch the asphalt and are then pushed up again. Drivers are repeatedly shaken violently.

The substitute pilots are Vandoorne and De Vries.

Hamilton was perhaps the worst affected pilot, suspected team boss Wolff. “The solution may be to have someone in reserve, who we have at every race, so that we can make sure our cars are going,” the Austrian said. Mercedes’ replacement drivers are Belgian Stoffel Vandoorne and Dutchman Nyck de Vries.