World champion Lewis Hamilton dominated the opening free practice sessions of the new Formula One season on Friday as his Mercedes teammate Nico Rosberg hit early trouble at the Australian Grand Prix.
World champion Lewis Hamilton dominated the opening free practice sessions of the new Formula One season on Friday as his Mercedes teammate Nico Rosberg hit early trouble at the Australian Grand Prix.
Hamilton made only a cameo appearance in the rain-hit second session but still reeled off the fastest lap, in an ominous sign for his rivals at the season-opener.
Hamilton, who also set the pace in first practice, clocked a best lap time of one minute 38.841 seconds in the slippery afternoon track conditions to prove his early superiority ahead of Saturday’s qualifying.
But Rosberg, his closest rival last season, struck trouble in second practice when he lost control of the rear end of his Mercedes, aquaplaned and hit the wall at turn seven, damaging the front wing of his car.
The German was told over the team radio, “Pull over please Nico, stop the car” before he stopped on the grass at turn 13 to save any further damage.
The Mercedes team confirmed that Rosberg’s car had suffered damage to its new-spec nose. With the rain upsetting teams’ plans right at the start of the new season, Hamilton took up where he left off in last year’s championship season of 10 wins out of the 19 races. The Briton stayed in the team garage till late in second session.
