HAMILTON EYES A HIGH FIVE
Brit so fired up in race for fifth title
LEWIS HAMILTON can’t wait to take on Sebastian Vettel and become the greatest driver since Michael Schumacher.
The Brit has four world titles to his name after triumphing in 2017 and has won three of the last four. Ferrari driver Vettel is also a four-time winner having bested everyone from 2010 to 2013 with Red Bull. Never before have two quadruple world champs locked horns for F1’s big prize. Schumacher tops the alltime pile with seven wins, including five from 2000 to 2004. Only the German and 50s legend Juan Manuel Fangio have celebrated a fifth world championship win. Hamilton, 33, is looking to get the 2018 season off to a flier in the Australian Grand Prix tomorrow. He showed he means business by dominating first and second practice at a sweltering Albert Park in Melbourne yesterday. He said: “When you come towards the end of your career, you want to know that you competed against the from JAMES MURRAY in Melbourne best. There are those who bow out early, and there are those who won world championships that have not been that competitive.
“But 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.
“He has got four world titles, which is the most of any driver in our time, so it is an exciting year for Formula One fans, in that we have two four-time world champions battling it out.”
Celebrity
Hamilton is set to have a £40m-ayear contract extension confirmed, which will further fund his bling celebrity lifestyle.
Vettel, 30, is a much more private person and does not even bother with social media.
But the German has one thing in common with Hamilton – the desire to get to five titles first.
He said: “It becomes something special to win against the best. In my case, if I looked at those I raced against through my career, it has always been the same people.
“I did not race Lewis in karting, but was 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 about who you race against and what it means.
“Now I am searching for the ultimate satisfaction with Ferrari, which is the greatest team in history and the greatest team in the paddock, and that is my ultimate target.
“I want to win for Ferrari and I want to win against the best and Lewis is arguably one of them.”
Arguably? What was certain is Vettel was fifth in practice, half a second down on Hamilton.
But there was some encouragement for the chasing pack with Red Bull’s Max Verstappen only 0.127 seconds adrift of Hamilton’s best time.
Home favourite Daniel Ricciardo was dealt a blow when he was handed a three-place grid penalty following a red flag infringement during practice.
No Aussie has won on home soil in 33 years of trying.