Romain Grosjean says Sauber's Pascal Wehrlein has been "brave" to decide to sit out multiple races as he works to recover fitness following an injury earlier in the year.
Wehrlein suffered a back injury during the Race of Champions in January, sidelining him at a crucial stage in his training regime for 2017's more challenging cars. He missed the opening week of pre-season testing and, despite returning to the car for two days in Barcelona and then participating in Friday practice at the Australian Grand Prix (after passing FIA medical checks), he decided he was not fit enough to complete the weekend.
After being replaced by Antonio Giovinazzi in Australia, Wehrlein will also miss this weekend's Chinese Grand Prix in order to catch up on lost training time. Grosjean praised Wehrlein for putting other drivers' interests ahead of his own when he could have lied and said he felt ready to race.
"He had that shunt in the Race of Champions and he couldn't really train," Grosjean said. "I've seen, I think every driver have put a lot of efforts in the winter training, so coming from last year as I was and then having to jump in those cars we would have struggled a bit ... If you don't have the time, and two months of a rest, it's just hard.
"It's fair to say he could have not said anything to anyone and just go for it and then retire for some reason. But he was quite brave to say I'm not taking the risk to put myself and others in danger, because I suppose he wouldn't have been able to drive the car. "
When asked what he would have done, Grosjean replied: "He would hate me for saying that, but I would drive!"
Force India's Sergio Perez admits he was surprised Wehrlein allowed another driver to take his place.
"With Pascal I really hope that there is nothing more serious with him," he said. "I really hope that it's mainly his physical status. But if I was in that position, which I was I remember after Monaco my accident in 2011, as a race driver, you don't really bother if you're not 100 per cent to do the race. I will be doing the races without a doubt.
"And even if I suffer in the car, that's the best way to get your physics back up. But every driver and every person is different, so I respect his decision, but I really hope there's nothing more serious with him and we can have Pascal back as soon as possible."
Wehrlein's Sauber teammate Marcus Ericsson thinks it is unfair for people to make judgements without knowing how the German-Mauritian driver is feeling.
"I think it's difficult," he said. "It's always easy to speculate when you're outside the car. In the end, it's the guy in the car who can feel how your body feels and everything. Every one of us can speculate for days at what he should or shouldn't do, but it's Pascal or whichever driver in the car who knows if he's good or not."