Lewis Hamilton was taken ill in Barcelona on Thursday morning and had to pull out of the first day of testing at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya.
The Formula One world champion had completed just 11 laps when, less than two hours into the first day of the season’s second testing session, his Mercedes team said on Twitter: “An unplanned stoppage keeping us off track at the moment. @LewisHamilton is unwell and not able to continue driving today...”
Hamilton and Mercedes had appeared eager for action when testing started at 9am local time and the 30-year-old was among the clutch of prompt starters.
Hamilton put in an early flying lap before returning to the pits having completed five circuits. He soon returned and posted the fastest time, though that was quickly beaten by a number of drivers, including Kimi Raikkonen and fellow British driver Jenson Button.
The first two hours of testing were dominated by Raikkonen’s Ferrari and the Ferrari-powered Sauber of Felipe Nasr, who both completed 17 laps. Susie Wolff was testing for Williams.
After four days of testing the teams will return to the Circuit de Catalunya for a final testing session on 26 February before the opening grand prix of the season in Melbourne on 15 March.
Hamilton was replaced for the afternoon run by German reserve Pascal Wehrlein, who had been testing for the Mercedes-powered Force India as part of an agreement between the two teams.
