Breaking news
Formula 1 United States GP
Hamilton struggled with "massive headache" from COTA bumps
Mercedes Formula 1 driver Lewis Hamilton says he "was feeling horrible" after first practice at Circuit of the Americas, as the bumps gave him a "massive headache".
Valentin Khorounzhiy
Edited: Oct 14, 2021, 9:48 AM
Copy link
Share on Viber
Hamilton needs to finish eighth or above to secure his sixth F1 world championship in the upcoming United States Grand Prix, and got his Austin weekend off to a strong start by setting the pace in Friday practice.
However, the champion-elect revealed he had endured a particularly tough time in the first of the day's two practice sessions, as the bumpy nature of the circuit left him feeling discomfort.
"After the first session I was not feeling good. It was the bumpiest track by far that I've been on. I had such a headache," Hamilton said.
"And for people to understand when we talk about bumpy tracks - bumps are not such a bad thing in some places, because it adds that character to a circuit - so I'm not a fan of completely smooth circuits. But this one is like massive, massive bumps.
"And the problem for me, for us, is that we don't have much suspension. It's usually your butt on the floor and your spine takes all the compression.
"So I was feeling horrible, I had a massive headache after P1, and had to lay down, was not feeling great."
Hamilton was among a number of drivers taking issue with how bumpy the COTA venue is this year, with Sergio Perez deeming it "just not acceptable" and Max Verstappen saying he was wary of back pain as a consequence.
Valtteri Bottas in the other Mercedes W10 likewise acknowledged the surface as an issue, admitting he's "never experienced a track this bumpy".
Hamilton says he "wasn't feeling as bad" in the second practice - which he topped - after Mercedes made some tweaks to his W10.
But the championship leader still has his "fingers crossed" for a more comfortable race, and has admitted that rival Ferrari cars have looked to be coping better with the surface.
"Today has been pretty hardcore. So, I'm sure they [the circuit] make changes for the future, but we just have to drive around it, everyone's in the same boat.
"When you look at the onboards, it's like the Ferrari just sails through - I don't know if they run higher [ride height] or they have a softer suspension, I'm not quite sure."
He concluded the team will "keep working on it" before joking: "I might have to put a pillow in my seat or something."
We want your opinion!
What would you like to see on Motorsport.com?
Take our 5 minute survey.
- The Motorsport.com Team
Read and post comments
Read also :
Share Or Save This Story
Copy link
Share on Viber
Previous article F1 drivers fear "totally unacceptable" bumps will cause crashes
Next article Drivers defend bumpy Austin circuit after early criticism
Top Comments
There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?
View More & Comment
More from
Valentin Khorounzhiy
WTCR's April opener cancelled due to coronavirus
WTCR
WTCR
Hungaroring
Mar 13, 2020
WTCR's April opener cancelled due to coronavirus
Australian GP issues update on nine F1 paddock coronavirus tests
Formula 1
Formula 1
Australian GP
Mar 12, 2020
Australian GP issues update on nine F1 paddock coronavirus tests
Motorsport Games unveils 15 disciplines for 2020
General
General Mar 11, 2020
Motorsport Games unveils 15 disciplines for 2020
More from
Lewis Hamilton
F1 driver contracts: How long is each driver tied down for?
Formula 1
Formula 1 14 h
F1 driver contracts: How long is each driver tied down for?
Max Verstappen on Ferrari clashes: "I would never sign two number-one drivers"
Formula 1
Formula 1
Sao Paulo GP
1 d
Max Verstappen on Ferrari clashes: "I would never sign two number-one drivers"
More from
Mercedes
The Kimi Antonelli you don't know: Inside the Mercedes garage with F1's new world champion
Formula 1
Formula 1
Mexican GP
14 h
The Kimi Antonelli you don't know: Inside the Mercedes garage with F1's new world champion
Latest news
TV ratings released for NASCAR Cup season finale
NASCAR Cup
NAS NASCAR Cup
Homestead-Miami
2 h
TV ratings released for NASCAR Cup season finale
Chase Elliott's car chief leaves Hendrick for NASCAR Truck crew chief role
NASCAR Truck
NSTR NASCAR Truck
Homestead
3 h
Chase Elliott's car chief leaves Hendrick for NASCAR Truck crew chief role
“I was getting beat up” – How Daniel Ricciardo burned out on ‘humiliating’ F1 return
Formula 1
F1 Formula 1 7 h
“I was getting beat up” – How Daniel Ricciardo burned out on ‘humiliating’ F1 return
Feature
Discover prime content
Top 10 F1 cars of the 1970s
Formula 1
By Kevin Turner
Top 10 F1 cars of the 1970s
Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
You have 2 options:
- Become a subscriber.
- Disable your adblocker.
Subscribe now Already subscribed? Sign in here
Already disabled your adblocker?
Reload page
Manage Alerts
Subscribe