LAPS OF THE GOD
Lewis living up to his superstar billing already by leaving rivals trailing in both practice sessions
LEWIS HAMILTON is ready to provide the ‘wow factor’ when he gets his bid for a fifth drivers’ crown underway in Australia.
The F1 season starts without the grid girls that have been part of the sport for years as Grand Prix bosses move with the times.
But you can guarantee plenty of thrills from Hamilton tomorrow after he blitzed his rivals in Melbourne’s Albert Park.
Britain’s reigning champ looked unstoppable after topping the time-sheets in both practice sessions yesterday.
The Mercedes ace, 33, says he is relishing the chance to again prove he is No.1 and emulate 1950s Argentine legend Juan Manuel Fangio.
Hamilton said: “It is a privilege to be in Formula One. And it is a privilege to be racing for the teams we are racing for, and 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 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.”
Hamilton and Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel are both bidding to match Fangio’s tally of five.
But Vettel was only fifth fastest yesterday, half-a-second down on Hamilton with Red Bull’s Max Verstappen closest, 0.127 secs behind in the afternoon session.
Hamilton said: “The gap closed up a little bit between all the cars, but that’s exciting anyway.
“It’s more challenging for me to eke out more from the car, year so it feels better discover whether I have lost everywhere. Turn 11 and 12 is something or they have all crazy – we are not even braking gained, but I enjoyed driving. into that corner, it is insane.
“The car is quicker than last “It is going to rain, as far as I am aware, so it is going to be interesting.”
Verstappen’s boss Christian Horner fears Hamilton was keeping something in reserve in practice and said: “I guess it depends how fast Lewis wants to go.”
Hamilton is relishing a 21-race battle with Vettel, who put up a fierce fight last season before he and his team cracked in the final few races. The Herts-born driver added: “It has been a great experience for me to race Sebastian, who has got four world titles.
“It is an exciting year for Formula One fans – we have two four-time world champions battling it out.”
Hamilton was expected to finally put pen to paper on his £120million new deal with the German car giant before tomorrow’s race. But that is looking unlikely now. 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 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.” And Vettel is also relishing a title battle with Hamilton, as he bids to regain the drivers’ crown for Ferrari for the first time since Kimi Raikkonen in 2007.
The 30-year-old said: “My ultimate target is I want to win the title again for Ferrari and win against the best.
“And, arguably, Lewis is one of them.”