‘Unwell’ Lewis Hamilton quits testing amid uncertainty over future at Mercedes

Lewis Hamilton shrugged off speculation about his Mercedes future by taking part in testing on Tuesday — only to quit early because he felt unwell, reports said. The dethroned former world champion could be hit with disciplinary action by Mercedes.

Lewis Hamilton shrugged off speculation about his Mercedes future by taking part in testing on Tuesday — only to quit early because he felt unwell.(Getty Images)

Lewis Hamilton shrugged off speculation about his Mercedes future by taking part in testing on Tuesday -- only to quit early because he felt unwell, reports said.

The dethroned former world champion could be hit with disciplinary action by Mercedes after he tried -- but failed -- to wreck team-mate Nico Rosberg’s title bid at the weekend in the final race in Abu Dhabi.

On Tuesday, still at the Yas Marina circuit, Mercedes, Red Bull and Ferrari took part in the last in a series of tests this year by tyre manufacturer Pirelli to evaluate the wider rubber that will be used in next year’s Formula One cars.

Hamilton, who won Sunday’s race but still had to hand over his world title to his team-mate and rival Rosberg, was supposed to take part in a whole day of testing.

But autosport.com, citing Mercedes, and multiple British newspapers said the Briton felt unwell after his early runs so the team drafted in reserve Pascal Wehrlein, who was on standby.

Kimi Raikkonen took part for Ferrari and Daniel Ricciardo and Max Verstappen for Red Bull.

Regulation changes for next season mean tyres will be around 25 percent wider to help make overtaking easier.