Lewis Hamilton told ‘spend more time in the gym’ to solve Mercedes struggles

Hamilton is not the only driver to struggle with the ‘rattling’ ride

Lewis Hamilton should spend “more time in the gym” as he looks to address the severe back pain he suffered at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, according to former F1 driver John Watson.

Hamilton struggled to get out of his car on Sunday following a race in Baku the 37-year-old said was the “most painful” of his career. The Mercedes driver should be fit the Canadian Grand Prix this weekend.

However, Mercedes face a different challenge as they attempt to fix their ‘porpoising’, which is the root of Hamilton’s back pain as the seven-time world champion rattles around the car as a result of ‘bouncing’.

Mercedes boss Toto Wolff has apologised to Hamilton and has promised that the team will find a solution to the problem, which has also affected team-mate George Russell.

But Watson believes Hamilton needs to be stronger to drive this version of the Mercedes car. “Lewis needs to be careful not to act like a pantomime dame,” he told the Daily Mail. “It is a very difficult car to drive but at 37 the bones are not as forgiving of an uncomfortable ride.

“This is a whole new world to Lewis. He has had seven or so years when Mercedes have been dominant and it’s perhaps like a seven-year itch. George looked pretty fresh afterwards and finished third to Lewis’s fourth.

“Lewis maybe needs to recalibrate and spend less time in the air and more in the gym.”

Wolff said he will lobby the FIA on changing the regulations after Hamilton’s issues with ‘porpoising’.

“We need to do something on the regulations because he can’t move,” Wolff said after the race. “The cars are bouncing so much, most of the cars too, that’s not good. I haven’t spoken to him about it, but it doesn’t look nice.”