FAST AND CURIOUS

Hamilton excited by the challenge of Ferrari and believes Red Bull will spring a surprise in Australia

LEWIS HAMILTON cannot wait for Mercedes to finally face competition at the front of the grid – and believes Sebastian Vettel is in pole position to end his team’s three-year grip on the title. Hamilton was denied a third successive crown by team-mate Nico Rosberg last year as Mercedes won all but two of the 21 races. But with the German dramatically retiring just five days after being crowned champion, and the implementation of a host of rule changes, Hamilton believes Ferrari and Red Bull will mount a serious challenge, beginning in Sunday’s Melbourne curtain-raiser. Hamilton said: “I see Ferrari being the quickest at the moment and I think they’ll definitely be the favourites. ”It’s interesting to see, Sebastian’s usually a lot more hyped and I can tell he’s trying to keep a lid on it, but their pace was obviously great in testing. “I’m very keen to see what Red Bull bring because they were quite far behind through testing, at least compared to Ferrari. “I didn’t see them bringing many upgrades, or any upgrades, as far as I could see, so I’m assuming they’re bringing something here and I’m excited to see what they do bring. “Having more drivers at the front looking for wins is what racing is about. “Every year your goal is to beat everyone and the more of a fight you have the more satisfying it is when you are victorious. “I’m fully up for a challenge and a fight and that’s what I’ve prepared for. “There will often be a dominance of a certain team and it’s hard to catch up, but making drastic changes spices it up. “I’ve not had a lot of battles with Sebastian on track so I would love to have that and the fans want to see that. “I don’t believe any team has won back-to-back titles through rule regulation changes so that is our goal as a team. We want to do something no one else has done and I have every belief in my team that we can do that.” Vettel (above) won four consecutive championships between 2010 and 2013 with Red Bull – but has finished no better than third since switching to the famous red of Ferrari. And despite impressive performances in pre-season testing, the German was quick to return his rival’s compliment. He said: “Lewis must be the favourite. Mercedes have been in very strong form for the last three years and even though they’ve changed the regulations, if a team is strong one year they will still be strong the year after. “It’s very clear who the favourite is and we are trying our best to catch up. So far we don’t know anything so it will be exciting to find out where we all are. We have focused on doing our job back in the factory but I don’t think testing times are that crucial. “It was expected to be a big step up and that’s how it felt on the track. “We are in the dark like everyone else, but we can be reasonably happy.”