Australian Grand Prix 2018: Lewis Hamilton on top but Max Verstappen makes encouraging start for Red Bull

Reigning world champion topped both practice sessions in Melbourne but Verstappen was very much in touch of the lead Mercedes as Ferrari lagged behind

Lewis Hamilton began the defence of his Formula One world championship in emphatic style by completing a practice double at the season-opening Australian Grand Prix.

F1 roared back into life at a sun-drenched Albert Park in Melbourne with Hamilton odds-on to follow up his triumph from last season by winning a fifth crown.

And the British driver, also bidding to become only the third man in F1 history to win the title more than four times, delivered on his tag as favourite by sending out an ominous warning to his rivals.

The 33-year-old finished more than half a second clear of the field in opening practice, before soaring back to the top of the time-sheets on Friday afternoon.

There was some encouragement for the chasing pack, however, with Red Bull’s Max Verstappen only 0.127 seconds adrift of Hamilton’s best time in the second session.

Max Verstappen finished the day in an impressive second place (Getty)

Hamilton’s Mercedes team-mate Valtteri Bottas and Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen were further back in third and fourth, while Sebastian Vettel was half a second shy of his rival in fifth.

But it is Hamilton, after vowing to dominate the opening grand prix of the new campaign, who holds the advantage heading into the opening qualifying session of the season on Saturday.

McLaren’s pre-season campaign was blighted by a series of reliability problems, and the British team endured a slow start to their weekend after further mechanical issues.

Alonso was hampered by an exhaust problem (Getty)

The switch from Honda to Renault power is set to usher in a new dawn for McLaren, but it appeared a case of history repeating after Fernando Alonso spent the majority of the opening 90 minutes redundant in the McLaren garage following an exhaust issue.

The 36-year-old Spaniard finally emerged with a little more than 20 minutes to go, and set the eighth fastest time. He was eighth in the second session, too, 1.3 seconds slower than Hamilton.

Alonso’s team-mate Stoffel Vandoorne, who was also absent from most of the morning running following a similar exhaust problem, enjoyed a trouble-free afternoon and finished 10th, much to the relief of the McLaren hierarchy.

Elsewhere, home favourite Daniel Ricciardo was only seventh in the order following an issue with his front suspension, while American team Haas built on their impressive pre-season form with Romain Grosjean sixth and Kevin Magnussen ninth.

Bottas went off during second practice but avoided the tyre barrier (Getty)

The temporary track around the Albert Park lake bathed in sunshine on Friday, but the remainder of the weekend could be interrupted by unpredictable weather, with showers forecast to hit during both qualifying and the race.

Final Times after First Practice:

1 Lewis Hamilton (Gbr) Mercedes GP 1mins 24.026secs

2 Valtteri Bottas (Fin) Mercedes GP 1.24.577

3 Max Verstappen (Ned) Red Bull 1.24.771

4 Kimi Raikkonen (Fin) Ferrari 1.24.875

5 Sebastian Vettel (Ger) Ferrari 1.24.995

6 Daniel Ricciardo (Aus) Red Bull 1.25.063

7 Romain Grosjean (Fra) Haas F1 1.25.730

8 Fernando Alonso (Spa) McLaren 1.24.896

9 Carlos Sainz Jr (Spa) Renault 1.25.922

10 Stoffel Vandoorne (Bel) McLaren 1.26.482

11 Pierre Gasly (Fra) Scuderia Toro Rosso 1.26.494

12 Sergey Sirotkin (Rus) Williams 1.26.536

13 Nico Hulkenburg (Ger) Renault 1.26.583

14 Esteban Ocon (Fra) Force India 1.26.605

15 Lance Stroll (Can) Williams 1.26.636

16 Sergio Perez (Mex) Force India 1.26.767

17 Kevin Magnussen (Den) Haas F1 1.27.035

18 Brendon Hartley (Nzl) Scuderia Toro Rosso 1.27.745

19 Marcus Ericsson (Swe) Sauber-Ferrari 1.27.964

20 Charles Leclerc (Mon) Sauber-Ferrari 1.28.853

PA