The Sauber team were forced to make a late replacement for the still-recuperating Pascal Wehrlein after the German driver confirmed he was withdrawing from the first race of the year after two practice sessions. Wehrlein suffered a back injury in a Race of Champions crash in December, and now says: “My fitness level is not as it should be for a full race distance because of my training deficit. I explained the situation to the team yesterday evening and they decided not to take any risks. It is a pity, but the best decision for the team.”

Boss Monisha Kaltenborn added they fully supported Pascal, saying: “We have great respect for his openness and professionalism. This decision was definitely not an easy one for him and it underlines his qualities as a team player.”

Meanwhile, Ferrari reserve Antonio Giovinazzi will complete the rest of the weekend for the Sauber team, having previously driven for them in pre-season testing in Barcelona. He made his official, if unexpected, F1 debut in Free Practice Three.

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We were all expecting the Mercedes team to continue their domination but Hamilton’s half a second head start over his teammate during FP1 and FP2 was still something of a surprise. Red Bull were best of the rest in the morning session, whilst Ferrari were holding back and letting the rest of the field clean up the dirty track.

Fernando Alonso had a sensible session and finished 14th but Stoffel Vandoorne suffered a water leak so he and his McLaren were last on the morning timesheets. The afternoon was better for the pair of them, whilst others struggled instead. Felipe Massa stopped out on track with an electrical issue on his Williams, whilst Marcus Ericsson beached his Sauber in the gravel. Max Verstappen visited the gravel too and kept it going, but caused damage to the floor of his Red Bull.

Meanwhile, Jolyon Palmer gave his Renault mechanics some work to do by ending his session in the wall, and damaging both the front and the rear of the car. And in the second session, it was Hamilton on top again, with Vettel splitting the two Mercedes drivers.

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Since Pirelli re-joined Formula One ahead of the 2011 season, we have become very familiar with Paul Hembery – the spokesperson in the paddock for the Italian tyre manufacturers. Hembery has handled the triumphs and the criticism in equal measure and with relatively good grace, but now it’s time for a change.

Pirelli confirmed during the first day of the final week of pre-season testing that Hembery has been given a new role as Chief Executive Officer of Pirelli’s Latin American organisation. It’s a promotion to CEO position, although being taken away from his prominent position in the global sport may not be seen as such a step forward. However, the company are keeping him involved where possible.

The day to day duties of motorsport for Pirelli will be handed to Mario Isola, who is head of car racing – more than just Formula One. Hembery will remain in overall control of the motorsport activities, and will occasionally still be spotted in the paddock, but it seems as though all questions, and those criticisms, should be directed to Isola first.

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