Wehrlein confirms first test absence due to back injury

Pascal Wehrlein has confirmed he will miss the first Formula 1 pre-season test in Barcelona, clarifying that his absence is due to a back injury.

The German was injured during a crash at the Race of Champions in January, rolling his car after the finish line on the first day of racing at the event in Miami. At the time he said he was only suffering from "mild discomfort" as he missed the second day, but further medical examinations have found the injury needs more time to heal.

Wehrlein was believed to have injured his neck in the incident but following reports of his absence on Thursday, the Mercedes young driver took to Twitter to clarify it is his back that is causing him trouble.

"I have to skip the first winter test due to medical advice because of a BACK issue," Wehrlein tweeted. "I feel sorry for the team but we'll come back stronger!"

Wehrlein is still expected to have further medical examinations next week to see if he can take part in the second test and opening round of the season in Melbourne on March 26.

While teams only run with one car during pre-season testing, a replacement is required due to the physicality of the 2017 cars, with cornering speeds expected to make it too demanding for a driver to carry out more than two days of testing in succession effectively.

Should Wehrlein require more time  to recover, Giovinazzi would be in the frame to continue to deputize. Sauber is also understood to have held tentative talks with former driver Felipe Nasr as a potential replacement.

Sauber has often run Ferrari young drivers before, with Raffaele Marciello becoming the team's test and reserve driver in 2015 while part of the Ferrari Driver Academy.