Hamilton skips media duties as F1 stunned by Lauda loss

A team spokesman said they had asked for Hamilton to be excused on the grounds that he had "lost a very close friend in Niki".

Lauda, who died on Monday aged 70, won in Monaco with Ferrari in 1975 and 1976 but was latterly the Mercedes team's non-executive chairman and shareholder with principal Toto Wolff.

Formula One said a tribute was in the works, with details to be confirmed. A minute's silence is likely before the race.

Hamilton, a five-times world champion, had paid an emotional tribute to the Austrian on Instagram on Tuesday night, "My buddy, I am struggling to believe you are gone."

While he made an appearance in the harbourside paddock, arriving on a motorcycle and waving to fans, the Briton now has no official media commitments until after Saturday's qualifying.

Finnish teammate Valtteri Bottas spoke to reporters instead, "He [Lauda] was a key member of ours in the race team and factory, a big part of the Mercedes family and was a massive motivation for everyone and myself as well."

Mercedes said team members would wear black armbands from Thursday and there would be a tribute, as yet undecided, on the cars.

Ferrari and McLaren, the teams Lauda won his titles with, said they would also carry stickers on their cars. Lauda won the 1975 and 1977 world titles with Ferrari after coming back from severe burns in a near-fatal 1976 crash at the Nurburgring. He made a comeback to take his third title with McLaren in 1984.

"I think there's a lot of people that are not the way you see them on television, I think they are growing in numbers quickly, but Niki wasn't one of them," said Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel.

"He was who he was and never pretended to be anything or anybody else...very outspoken, a true character, a true racer, passionate for the sport, said a lot of things people respected. He's leaving a big gap we won't be able to fill," added the four-time F1 World Champion.