On your marks, get Seb, go roars Hamilton

wonder Max Verstappen just over 0.1secs slower in the second session.

But their team principal Christian Horner suggested Hamilton still had something in reserve. He said: “I guess it depends on how fast Lewis wants to go.”

Hamilton is relishing the season ahead. The 33-year-old said: “It is an exciting year for Formula One fans being that we have two four-time world champions battling it out.

“It is a privilege to be Formula One and a privilege in to be racing for the teams we are racing for, to be at the forefront with the best drivers you can compete against.

“When you come towards the end of your career, you want to know that you competed against the best.

“There are those who bow out early and those who won world championships that have not been that competitive.

“The ultimate goal is to be the best and for that you have to go up against the best. It

has been a great experience for me to race Sebastian, who has got four world titles, which is the most of any driver at the time.”

Hamilton is expected to formally sign his new deal with the German marque before the race tomorrow.

Mercedes boss Toto Wolff said: “These discussions are going in the right way and we’re finalising the last topics. There is no reason to think that it’s not going to happen soon. Lewis is in a good frame of mind, I’ve seen him coming back strong from the winter.

“In terms of the record with Fangio, whether it plays a role I don’t know, but clearly with the four championships he is within a very good group of drivers.”

With 20 more races to come after tomorrow’s opener, there is still time for Ferrari to develop the car so Vettel can take the fight to Hamilton.

“It is a privilege to get a chance to prove yourself in F1 and then to race in F1. When you get in, you want to win and you don’t look at anything else,” said Vettel, below.

“Later on, when you have won a little bit, you get a bit more perspective, and open your horizon. Then it becomes something special to win against the best.

“In my case, if I looked at people I raced through my career, it has always been the same people. I didn’t race Lewis in karting, but you were aware of the name. “We met in Formula Three where he was a lot better than I was, and then in Formula One. You care more about who you race against and what it means.

“Now am searching for the ultimate satisfaction with Ferrari, which is the greatest team in history. I want to win the title for Ferrari, that is the ultimate aim, and win against the best, and arguably Lewis is one of them.”