13/10/2016
NEWS STORY
Lewis Hamilton forced to miss 2017 tyre test following "foot discomfort".
Scheduled to get his first taste of the proposed 2017 proposed tyres for 2017 today, Lewis Hamilton has been forced to pull out of the test at Barcelona.
"Lewis had some discomfort in his foot after training on Tuesday," said a spokesperson for the German team. "It was agreed he wouldn't test so he could rest it and get physio to be in good shape for Austin, which he will be. No concerns on that front."
Pascal Wehrlein will replace the Briton who, other than the foot "discomfort" has had a difficult couple of weeks.
Following his engine failure in Malaysia and the media storm that his post-retirement comments provoked, the world champion was back in the headlines at Suzuka, first for Snapchatting his way through Thursday's FIA press conference and then accusing sections of the media of disrespect and walking out of his team's own press conference on Saturday.
Despite a poor start, hampered by excessive wheelspin and being on the damp side of the grid, Hamilton fought back to take a strong third, though teammate Nico Rosberg extended his title lead in winning the race.
While some will say that the discomfort in his foot may well be the result of where he has been continually putting it in recent days, with many fearing the British media will continue its attack on the Briton in Austin next week, others are confident the three-time champion is preparing to put up a robust defence of his title in the remaining four races.