Porpoising has Hamilton ‘worried every time’ he races

Declaring he is “worried” every time he climbs into his 2022 Mercedes, Lewis Hamilton says he wants to race – he just does “not want bouncing”.

Finishing fourth in Sunday’s Azerbaijan Grand Prix, in which Mercedes’ bouncing was more extreme than usual, Hamilton climbed out of his car holding his back.

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The Briton had told the team during the race his back was “killing”, such was the pain after a weekend of bouncing.

It was so bad that Toto Wolff fears his driver may have to sit out the next race, the Canadian GP, as it is back-to-back with Baku.

“You can see this is not muscular anymore,” said the Mercedes motorsport boss. “It goes properly deep into the spine and there are some consequences.

“The solution could be to have someone in reserve, which we anyway have at every race, to make sure our cars are running.”

Hamilton, though, is determined to be back in the car come Friday as the practice sessions begin at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve – confirming his intention to do so via social media.

That does not mean he is looking forward to it, fearing more bouncing in his future.

“I’m worried every time I get back in the car,” he said, quoted by BBC Sport.

“Of course, I always want to get in the car. I just don’t want to have that bouncing again. I’ll do anything to avoid having that.”

Porpoising has certainly "rattled" more than one