Porposing became so intense in Lewis Hamilton’s Mercedes that the driver had to lift his foot in the linked corners at the start of the finish straight.
Hamilton confirmed that he was suffering more than his teammate George Russell due to the specification difference between the two W13s, which had already been revealed by Mercedes boss Toto Wolff after qualifying.
He also assured that he had to fight against intense pain in his back, also caused by the porpoising of his car on the straights of the circuit.
Despite his problems, Hamilton went from seventh on the grid to fourth at the finish line, although also helped by the drama of the two Ferraris, who did not finish due to different problems with their cars.
“There were a lot of times where I didn’t know if I was going to make it,” he said. “Just if I was going to keep the car on track, because I don’t know if you’ve seen it, but I almost lost control at high speed several times.
“So the fight with the car was intense. And then at the end, the last 10 laps to the checkered flag, I just had to go inside saying ‘you can do it, you got it. Just hang in there.'”
Hamilton confirmed that at times he had to lift his foot down the straight because he thought he might lose control.
“Yes, because sometimes it bounced a lot,” he said. “There were a lot of times that I almost went into the wall. So that was a concern, safety-wise, at almost 300kph, hitting the wall. I don’t think so far in my racing career I’ve I had to think too much about it.”
“You never really think about having to keep the car off the wall at that high speed. A very, very, very strange experience.”
Hamilton admitted that the specification chosen for his car, while his team is in parallel development directions, had not worked.
“I’m glad I finished the race. It was the most painful race I’ve ever had, the hardest I’ve ever experienced. But honestly, George didn’t have the same rebound as me, he had a lot less rebound.”
“On Saturday I lost three and a half tenths with it alone on the straights. I had an experimental part on my car, and a different rear suspension. So in the end it’s the wrong setup.
Despite his frustration, Hamilton acknowledged that it had been a good race for the team: “Yeah, really, it’s really good points. There’s a lot of potential in this car. We just can’t get it all the way out until we get this rebound out.”
“But we have a very different looking car to the others. I have to take a look and see if that’s the right thing to do or not.”
Hamilton confirmed that he had to work with his physical therapist, Angela Cullen , to minimize his back problems over the weekend.
“I’ve been doing cryotherapy,” he explained. “And when you walk in there for four minutes, it’s damn cold, and you just have to go on talking to yourself, and say that you can, you know, just chill and smile while you do it.”
“I have to think about all the people who trust me to get those points. So that’s really what I was focused on. But this is definitely the worst. I’ve never had it as bad as this year.”
“George doesn’t have any back problems. But his back is like 10 years younger than mine.”
