F1: Lewis Hamilton dispels Toto Wolff's concerns, confirms Canadian GP participation
Hamilton finished fourth in Azerbaijan, and was again behind teammate George Russell
Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff indicated that Lewis Hamilton could miss the Canadian Grand Prix weekend after complaining about back pain in Baku. The seven-time world champion has now confirmed his participation at the next race, despite stating that he woke up with a bruised back the following day.
The porpoising phenomenon is extreme on the Silver Arrows cars, and the long straight at the Baku City Circuit was not kind on its drivers. Hamilton complained of back pain during the race, and was visibly struggling to climb out of his car at the end of the race.
Wolff admitted that Hamilton could struggle to make it to the next race, which was called out by rival Christian Horner. The Red Bull Racing team boss feels drivers are being asked to "moan" more about the bouncing in order to get the FIA to pass a ruling to aid teams struggling with porpoising.
Hamilton, however, has played down his back issues and confirmed that he is preparing to race at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in Montreal this Sunday. The Briton last missed a race in 2020, when he came down with the Coronavirus ahead of the Sakhir Grand Prix in Bahrain.
Good morning world," Hamilton wrote on Instagram. "Yesterday was tough and had some troubles sleeping but have woke up feeling positive today!"
"Back is a little sore and bruised but nothing serious thankfully. I've had acupuncture and physio with Ang [Cullen] and am on the way to my team to work with them on improving," he added.
"We have to keep fighting. No time like the present to pull together and we will. I'll be there this weekend, I wouldn't miss it for the world. Wishing everybody an amazing day and week."
Mercedes are currently the third best team on the grid behind Red Bull and Ferrari. The Silver Arrows team, however, have benefitted from the latter's reliability issues in recent races, and closed in on the Italian team.
George Russell is fourth in the Drivers' championship, just 17 points behind Charles Leclerc, who led the championship not too long ago. Hamilton, however, is in sixth place a whopping 37 points behind his new teammate.
