Lights Out: Hamilton, Vettel & Verstappen flex their muscles

Lights Out: Hamilton, Vettel & Verstappen flex their muscles

Matthew Scott

Friday 2 March 2018 09:00

The first pre-season test for 2018 ended as the 2017 campaign did, with Lewis Hamilton sat in P1. The Mercedes man's title rivals were keen to remind him of their presence, with Sebastian Vettel and Max Verstappen airing confident views. It's lights out for Friday morning!

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Hamilton lay down an ominous marker on the final afternoon of testing, blasting around the Circuit de Catalunya in 1:19.333 - a quicker time than any other driver managed in the week.

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We compiled each driver's quickest lap, as well as the total laps by team. The leader of the second list might surprise you...

While Hamilton's talking came on the track, some of his rivals took the time to preview the season ahead.

Sebastian Vettel and Hamilton are each out for a fifth title in 2018 - the German says his wait for his next crown has already gone too long.

Max Verstappen only managed 35 laps on Thursday and was almost three seconds down on Hamilton's best time. Nevertheless, the Red Bull is already performing better this year, he says.

But Verstappen's boss, Christian Horner, believes Hamilton could be even stronger in 2018 - suggesting he won the title, despite not having the best car in F1 last year.

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"I'm quite happy with the car so far, hopefully next week it's a little sunnier!" @Max33Verstappen tests out the #RB14 ???? https://t.co/NefB8HFVJT #F1Testing pic.twitter.com/V9ATohvWLR — Red Bull Racing (@redbullracing) March 1, 2018