Lewis Hamilton doubtful for Canadian GP with back injury after needing to be helped out of car

Lewis Hamilton could be forced to miss next weekend’s Canadian Grand Prix with back pain which left the British driver “praying” for Sunday’s race in Azerbaijan to end.

Hamilton’s Mercedes boss Toto Wolff made the alarming admission about his superstar driver moments after Sunday’s round on the streets of Baku which was won by Red Bull’s Max Verstappen.

“Yes, definitely,” said Wolff, when asked if there is a danger Hamilton, 37, will not be able to compete in Montreal.

“He is really bad. You can see this is not muscular anymore. It goes properly into the spine and it can have some consequences. The solution could be to have someone in reserve, which we anyway have at every race.”

Stoffel Vandoorne, the Belgian who spent two seasons at McLaren, and Formula E champion Nyck de Vries, are Mercedes two options if Hamilton is not fit.

Hamilton started seventh and finished fourth, but yelled over the radio with 22 of the 51 laps remaining: “Argh, my back is killing me, man.”

The seven-time world champion finished 71 seconds behind Verstappen and struggled to get out of his cockpit at the conclusion of the race, needing a helping hand from one of his engineers. He later admitted he had concerns about reaching the chequered flag.

Hamilton does not look well