Lewis Hamilton reveals increase in headaches as bouncing continues in Mercedes

Lewis Hamilton has revealed how he has suffered from more headaches than usual in the last few months, likely caused by the bouncing in his Mercedes.

The 7-time world champion looks well short of where he needs to be this year to even challenge for a race victory at this stage, such is the handful that the Mercedes W13 is proving.

After some chinks of light in Spain, things appear to have got tough again for the Silver Arrows with the bouncing the car is suffering seemingly going to new levels of late.

Indeed, during practice in Montreal on Friday Hamilton labelled the car ‘undriveable’ and it certainly looked like a task and a half just to get it around the circuit in one piece, and that’s even before it was bouncing up and down on the straights.

It’s an issue that has plagued Mercedes all season, then, and Hamilton says that he has been suffering more headaches because of it – though he hopes they are not concussions:

“In terms of micro-concussions, I have definitely been having a lot more headaches in the past couple of months.

“But I have not seen a specialist about it so I have not taken it too seriously, I have just taken painkillers.

“So hopefully I don’t have any concussions.”

Concussion in sport is an issue that still needs to be talked about more, and certainly in Formula 1 this year with some of the rough rides we’re seeing the drivers being put through.

They’re travelling at 200mph inches from the wall at points, so to have the now increased chance of even micro-concussion is something that needs to be looked at, and hence the FIA intervened earlier this week with a technical directive instructing teams to set their cars up so the level of bouncing does not exceed a specified limit.