Lewis Hamilton makes statement about world title in Australian Grand Prix practice
LEWIS HAMILTON completed a perfect first day of the 2017 season as he topped the leaderboard in the first two practice sessions ahead of Sunday's Australian Grand Prix (6am).
Lewis Hamilton confirmed his status as favourite for the F1 title in the first sessions
Nico Rosberg beat Lewis Hamilton to the F1 World Drivers' Championship last year before promptly retiring.
And while the Brit cannot exact revenge on his former team-mate, he is desperate to secure his fourth world title after coming so close in 2016.
He could scarcely have started better, finishing half a second quicker than the field in Friday morning's session in Melbourne.
Having led a Mercedes 1-2 in the first block of action, the 32-year-old once again topped the charts in the afternoon.
Hamilton was 0.557 seconds quicker than Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel, who is expected to be one of the closest contenders for the title.
Mercedes claimed they were working on set-up on Friday but Lewis Hamilton still logged fast laps
Jolyon Palmer's session was ended early after he crashed his Renault
While there is only so much that can be gauged from practice with drivers operating at varying fuel levels, the theory that this year's wider, faster, and more aggressive looking cars would shake up the order and bring a sudden halt to Mercedes' dominance, is now under some scrutiny.
Mercedes have won 51 of the last 59 races and sealed three consecutive drivers' and constructors' championships following an unprecedented reign of success.
FP2 FINAL CLASSIFICATION: HAM is looking ?????? #AusGP ???????????? #F1 pic.twitter.com/IMTF22wIXr
— Formula 1 (@F1) March 24, 2017
Meanwhile, Hamilton's new team-mate Valtteri Bottas was third in the afternoon session, less than a hundredth of a second behind Vettel.
And he received a ringing endorsement from team boss Toto Wolff after Friday's action.
"We're very confident [Bottas] is going to find the pace and earn his place in the team," Wolff said.
Australian Grand Prix free practice 1 times
1. Lewis Hamilton (Britain) Mercedes 1:24.220
2. Valtteri Bottas (Finland) Mercedes 1:24.803
3. Daniel Ricciardo (Australia) Red Bull 1:24.886
4. Max Verstappen (Netherlands) Red Bull 1:25.246
5. Kimi Raikkonen (Finland) Ferrari 1:25.372
6. Sebastian Vettel (Germany) Ferrari 1:25.464
7. Felipe Massa (Brazil) Williams 1:26.142
8. Romain Grosjean (France) Haas 1:26.168
9. Nico Huelkenberg (Germany) Renault 1:26.183
10. Sergio Perez (Mexico) Force India 1:26.276
Jolyon Palmer CRASHES during Grand Prix practice in Australia
Australian Grand Prix free practice 2 times
1. Lewis Hamilton (Britain) Mercedes 1:23.620
2. Sebastian Vettel (Germany) Ferrari 1:24.167
3. Valtteri Bottas (Finland) Mercedes 1:24.176
4. Kimi Raikkonen (Finland) Ferrari 1:24.525
5. Daniel Ricciardo (Australia) Red Bull 1:24.650
6. Max Verstappen (Netherlands) Red Bull 1:25.013
7. Carlos Sainz Jr (Spain) Toro Rosso 1:25.084
8. Romain Grosjean (France) Haas 1:25.436
9. Nico Huelkenberg (Germany) Renault 1:25.478
10. Daniil Kvyat (Russia) Toro Rosso 1:25.493