Lewis Hamilton opened his campaign to win a fifth world championship with a strong start in practice for the Australian Grand Prix, offering early confirmation that his Mercedes is once again leading the field.
Hamilton was quickest in both sessions on Friday at the Albert Park circuit. In the morning he was more than half a second clear of his team-mate, Valtteri Bottas. The Red Bull of Max Verstappen was third, seven-tenths down on the Briton, with Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Räikkönen fourth and fifth respectively.
In the afternoon, with the teams setting times on the fastest, ultrasoft rubber, the margins were much tighter but Hamilton remained on top. He was just over a tenth quicker than Verstappen, whose form suggests Red Bull’s pre-season testing promise is being borne out. The team’s day was spoiled, however, when a three-place grid penalty was handed to Daniel Ricciardo for driving too quickly under a red flag. Bottas was third with Raikkonen and Vettel fourth and fifth.
“It’s been a good day,” said Hamilton. “Coming to the first race you have no idea what it’s going to be like but we started on the right foot here. It closed up in P2 but that is exciting.” He is likely to face a further test with rain predicted for Saturday and Sunday.
McLaren suffered some issues and lost time but ultimately put in some solid laps, closing with Fernando Alonso in eighth, however the best of the midfield was the impressive Haas.
The Mercedes executive director, Toto Wolff, supported Hamilton’s call for greater diversity in F1, after the Briton posted a video on Instagram on Thursday calling for the sport to encourage a greater range of ethnic backgrounds. “That is one thing that is very important not only for Lewis but for all of us,” Wolff said.
“The more diversity we can get into Formula One the better. Whether it is different ethnic backgrounds or girls getting into motor racing, this is what needs to happen.”