Lewis Hamilton reveals hidden neck injury from 2025 Ferrari test crash

Lewis Hamilton has opened up about the neck injury that shadowed his first months as a Ferrari driver, revealing that a slipped disc sustained in a January 2025 testing crash at Barcelona left him in agony for nine weeks. Speaking ahead of this weekend's Austrian Grand Prix, the seven-time world champion admitted the injury was so severe he couldn't sleep and required daily treatment just to climb into the cockpit.

Why it matters:

Hamilton's disclosure reframes what was already a challenging debut season in red, during which he failed to register a single podium. The neck is one of the most critical areas for an F1 driver, withstanding enormous G-forces every lap, and competing through this level of discomfort adds significant context to his early struggles. It also highlights the physical toll of a crash Ferrari kept quiet while the team scrambled to fix separate ride-height issues on the SF-25.

The details:

• The accident occurred during a TPC run at Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya on January 29, 2025, when Hamilton hit the wall hard in the high-speed final sector, damaging the 2023-spec chassis.
• He revealed the impact knocked a disc out of place, which then protruded into a nerve and left him dealing with intense pain throughout the opening races.
• Daily battle: Hamilton underwent chiropractic and physiotherapy sessions every day, relied on painkillers, and received injections in an effort to manage the symptoms.
• Early season impact: The nine-week recovery window covered the Australian and Chinese Grands Prix, where he qualified off Leclerc's pace in Melbourne and was disqualified in Shanghai for excessive plank wear—a problem tied to the car's fundamental ride-height flaw.

What's next:

The story comes full circle as Hamilton returns to the scene of the crash having just won the Spanish Grand Prix at Barcelona earlier this month, ending a two-year winless streak. That victory suggested Ferrari has finally given him a car he can work with, and with the injury now resolved, Hamilton will be aiming to carry that momentum through the Austrian Grand Prix weekend.