‘No pain, no gain’: Lewis Hamilton says his body was ‘DESTROYED’ by COVID-19 as he attempts to regain FOUR KILOS of lost weight

Formula 1 world champion Lewis Hamilton may have cruised to the 2020 world title in his Mercedes, but he has revealed that he faces a much tougher battle as he bids to regain the weight he lost after catching COVID-19 in November.

Hamilton posted to his followers on Instagram to share his battle with the coronavirus and the uphill battle he faces to return to the elite level of fitness required to race Formula 1 cars at the very highest level.

"I’ve lost 6kg over the past two months, four of which I lost when I got COVID," Hamilton wrote.

"I’ve lost so much muscle. Starting from a low point in strength now — not fun but I’m determined to get my strength back and to be 100% again.

"No pain, no gain."

Despite battling from a significant amount of muscular atrophy as a result of COVID, Hamilton returned to complete the F1 season with a third-placed finish in Abu Dhabi.

The British racing ace said that he's happy not to have had to deal with the illness during the middle of the F1 season, and after the race told Sky Sports F1 that the illness left him feeling "destroyed."

"All year, physically, I have been fine, but today I definitely wasn’t. I am just glad it’s over," he said at the time.

"COVID is not a joke and people all over the world are out there losing their lives — it should not be treated that way. It’s really tough.

"I find it very strange to see world leaders laughing it off because it's not funny."

At the weekend, Hamilton received his latest accolade when he was named BBC Sports Personality of the Year at the same ceremony that officially announced Russian UFC star Khabib Nurmagomedov 2020's World Sports Star award.