An unwell Lewis Hamilton has cancelled all pre-race commitments ahead of this weekend’s Hungarian Grand Prix as he attempts to recover.

The Englishman finished 11th on the road in last weekend’s German Grand Prix, rising to ninth following penalties for the two Alfa Romeos which had finished ahead of him.

It was revealed after qualifying, which saw Hamilton take pole, that the five-time world champion was fighting an illness which began on Friday night.

So concerned was the team that it was preparing to replace its lead driver for the race, likely with Esteban Ocon.

Still struggling, and with the Hungarian Grand Prix this weekend, Hamilton has elected to cancel his commitments and rest at home before traveling to Budapest.

“I’ve cancelled everything I have for the next few days, so I’m going home probably just to sleep the next few days and try and get over this bug,” said Hamilton.

“It’s not really improving massively, but hopefully over the next couple of days it will.

“I don’t think being in the car is any good and health is so important so I’ll just try and make sure I’m as healthy as I can be for the next race.”

This weekend’s Hungarian Grand Prix is the last before the summer break, and sees Hamilton head into the event with a comfortable 41 point advantage over team-mate Valtteri Bottas.

The opening practice session of the weekend is slated to start on Friday at 1900 AEST.