Hamilton 'in much better shape' for Hungary after illness

Lewis Hamilton says he is now "in much better shape" after recovering from flu-like symptoms that hampered his German Grand Prix race weekend.

Five-time world champion Hamilton was under the weather throughout the race weekend at Hockenheim, so much so that Mercedes had Esteban Ocon on standby to replace the Briton for qualifying should he have been unable to take part.

Hamilton finished ninth in Germany, marking his worst result of the season after a fraught race that saw him spin off the track twice. He later confirmed he had cleared his schedule for the build-up to the Hungarian Grand Prix so he could recover properly.

In a post to his Instagram account on Thursday, Hamilton apologised to his fans for going "MIA" before confirming he was feeling better, and that he hoped to have fully recovered by the start of the race weekend.

Update from @LewisHamilton after he was unwell in Germany. He’s due to appear before the media later today #F1 #HungarianGP pic.twitter.com/YBnm3ZZ7Eo

— Luke Smith (@LukeSmithF1) August 1, 2019

Hamilton is due to appear before the media later today at the Hungaroring before his first on-track duties of the weekend in Free Practice 1 on Friday.