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Lewis Hamilton dominates Australian Grand Prix practice as he fires warning at rivals

Dominant: Hamilton roared back into life in Melbourne: EPA
Dominant: Hamilton roared back into life in Melbourne: EPA

Lewis Hamilton laid down the gauntlet to his rivals with the quickest time in second practice for the season-opening Australian Grand Prix.

However, the half-second advantage the Mercedes driver appeared to boast in winter testing appears to have been cut, with just a quarter of a second separating the top three teams.

The four-time world champion remains the favourite to win his 63rd grand prix at the weekend, before being rewarded with a new £120million contract which, in all likelihood, will be the last of his Formula 1 career.

Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff is confident Hamilton will agree to stay with the team with whom he has won three of the last four drivers’ titles.

Wolff said: “The contract we have been discussing before going into the winter holiday, we kind of left it there to get away from Formula One.

“We picked it up again in January and these discussions are going in the right way. We’re finalising the last topics and there is no reason to not think that is going to happen soon.”

The deal is thought to be worth £40m a year, which equates to £769,000 a week, the richest deal in British sporting history, and he could sign the bumper contract before the next race on the calendar in Bahrain, in two weekends’ time.

Hamilton remains F1’s biggest draw and, following an impressive session at Melbourne’s Albert Park circuit on Friday, it is easy to see why.

His lap time of 1minute 23.931secs was 0.127s quicker than his closest challenger Max Verstappen, of Red Bull Racing, who have made a surprising step forward in comparison to the winter tests in Barcelona.

“The gap closed up a little bit between all the cars but that’s exciting anyway,” said Hamilton.

Home favourite: Daniel Ricciardo (REUTERS)
Home favourite: Daniel Ricciardo (REUTERS)

“It’s more challenging for me to eke out more from the car, discover whether I have lost something or they have all gained but I enjoyed driving.”

Hamilton’s team-mate, Valtteri Bottas, showed impressive pace to finish the session third fastest, while Kimi Raikkonen was marginally the quicker of the two Ferraris in fourth, with Sebastian Vettel surprisingly just a spot further back.

Away from the track, Hamilton sparked a major debate on Thursday, when he bemoaned the lack of diversity in the sport. He posted on Instagram: “There’s barely any diversity in F1. Still nothing’s change in 11 years I’ve been here.”

His sentiments were backed by Wolff, who pointed to Dare To Be Different, an initiative launched by his wife, the former Williams Formula One test driver, Susie Wolff, to get more women into motorsport.

“I think that is one thing that is very important not only for Lewis but for all of us,” said the Mercedes chief.

“The more diversity we can get into Formula One, the better it is. Whether it is different ethnic backgrounds or girls getting into motor racing, overall I think that is what needs to happen.”