The Briton was originally scheduled to drive the Mercedes on the opening day of testing on Wednesday, but it was teammate Nico Rosberg who did the driving instead.

Hamilton felt discomfort in his foot after training on Tuesday and has decided to skip the test in order to be fully ready for the United States Grand Prix next week.

Mercedes' reserve driver Pascal Wehrlein, currently racing for Manor, has replaced Hamilton in the car.

The British driver is yet to test Pirelli's 2017 tyres.

The test will be Wehrlein's second run with the new rubber, the German having already tested with it at Paul Ricard last month.