Lewis Hamilton says he had an experimental part in his Mercedes W13 at the Azerbaijan GP and that's why he bounced around more than teammate George Russell.
Lewis Hamilton says he had an experimental part in his Mercedes W13 at the Azerbaijan GP and therefore bounced more than teammate George Russell.
The seven-time world champion came in fourth, behind his younger compatriot, and complained of severe back pain after the race.
The pain was caused by his car quaking due to an experimental part that did not provide improvement.
"It was the most painful and hardest race I've ever competed in," Hamilton told the media in Baku. "George bounced a lot less. I had an experimental part on the car and a different rear suspension. All in all, it was a mistake."
Hamilton feels that severe kicks are a safety concern and suggested that he came close to losing control of his car on the long Baku straight on multiple occasions.
"There were several moments when I didn't know if I would make it to the end," he continued. "The battle with the car was intense."
"It was bouncing so much that I almost hit the wall many times, so it was a safety concern. Hitting the wall at 300 km/h, I don't think I've ever had to think about that so much as a driver."
Hamilton believes that it will be difficult to extract the potential from the W13 if a solution to the quiques is not found.
"There's great potential in this car, but we won't be able to unlock it until we get rid of the kicks," added the Briton, "I would do anything to avoid having that."