(Motorsport-Total.com) – At the official press conference before the Austrian Grand Prix, Lewis Hamilton admits for the first time that he suffered a serious spinal injury last year in Spain. Before his victory at the Barcelona-Catalonia Grand Prix, the most successful Formula 1 driver of all time had never publicly addressed this injury.
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“I hit the wall pretty hard during testing last year,” said the seven-time world champion on Thursday. “One of my discs in my neck was knocked out, which directly affected the nerve. I could hardly do anything for about nine weeks.”
Furthermore, Hamilton explains: “I went to the chiropractor daily, couldn’t sleep properly anymore. I took painkillers, I had to get injections, I tried everything to fix it. I lived with it, and that is really not easy in this position.”
Hamilton is responding here to a question at the press conference about his first Grand Prix win for Ferrari. After the success for the Maranello-based team, the 41-year-old casually mentioned that he had been injured during testing in spring 2025. However, the Ferrari driver did not reveal details about this situation in Barcelona.
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The following season was anything but successful for the former Mercedes flagship. Apart from a win in the sprint race in Shanghai, the seven-time champion could hardly set any highlights.
In the 2026 season, however, several podiums and second place in the championship standings are already recorded. Accordingly, there is now even discussion about whether Hamilton could fight for the title with Antonelli and Russell. With the success in Barcelona, the Ferrari driver is the seventh oldest race winner in the history of the World Championship.
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