Lewis Hamilton has revealed he was carrying a neck injury at the start of the 2025 Formula 1 campaign after suffering a pre-season crash.
To prepare for his maiden season with Ferrari last year, the seven-time world champion conducted a private three-day testing of previous cars programme at Barcelona in January.
But on day two, he crashed aboard the SF-23 causing a less than ideal start to life as a Ferrari driver, with 2025 eventually turning out to be the worst of his 19 seasons in F1.
The Briton finished sixth in the standings, 86 points behind team-mate Charles Leclerc and suffered the first podium-less campaign of his career.
“I hit the wall very hard last year in testing,” said Hamilton. “Knocked out one of the discs in my neck, which was into the nerve.
“So, I couldn't do a lot for like nine weeks. I was having chiropractors every day, physically every day I couldn't sleep.
“I had painkillers, I had to get an injection, I did everything I could to try to fix it. So that's what I was basically trying to live with. It's not easy in the position that you're sitting in.”
The 41-year-old made those comments in the wake of finally clinching his maiden victory for Ferrari, on the 31st time of asking, last time out in Barcelona.
It came amid a rejuvenated season for Hamilton, who has benefited from finally driving a Ferrari that had his input in development while also making tweaks to the personnel around him.
The seven-time world champion is now 41 points off championship leader Kimi Antonelli and nine ahead of third-placed George Russell, who labelled him a “big threat” in the title fight.
But speaking ahead of this weekend’s Austrian Grand Prix, Hamilton confirmed “I'm just really not thinking that I'm competing for a championship” despite being back on-form.
“I'm thinking about arriving and I want to win this weekend - that's my goal,” he added. “That's what I've been working for all week, last week and this week. I've not been having dinners [out].
“It's head back down with the sacrifices you need to make to make sure that you arrive 100% so you can deliver for these people.
“Especially also knowing how far it reaches, the impact and decisions that I make in the car and what we do here. So those are the things I think about.”
