Motorsport: Hamilton sets the pace n4sa/arkiv/166047 Follow us at @WorldSportCNN and like us on Facebook (CNN) -- It took him a while to get going in Australia but once he did, Lewis Hamilton proved just why hes the favorite to win the 2014 Formula One world championship. The Briton led a one-two for Mercedes on the first day of the new season, underlining the German marques billing as the team who have adjusted best to the sports new mechanical regulations. Hamiltion heads into the years first race in Melbourne off the back of a productive preseason, but the early signs were less than promising. The 2008 drivers champion failed to complete a lap during the first session of practice at Albert Park, but he recovered in the afternoon to lead the timesheets ahead of his teammate Nico Rosberg. Ferraris Fernando Alonso was third fastest. The 2014 Formula One season begins in Australia on March 16. Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton has enjoyed a productive preseason, topping the timesheets on the final day of the closing test event in Bahrain. A raft of regulation changes have been introduced for 2014, including the return of turbo-powered engines. Renaults engines completed the fewest laps during preseason, meaning it was a frustrating series of tests for Red Bull and quadruple world champion Sebastian Vettel. The 2014 F1 cars feature one controversial modification. This year they sport droopy, anteater noses, and have been branded the ugliest in the sports history. Williams struggled last year but hopes are high for the nine-time world champion after an impressive preseason, led by new signing Felipe Massa. The former Ferrari driver recorded the fastest lap time at the final test in Bahrain. Ferrari enters the 2014 season with a formidable pairing of two-time world champion Fernando Alonso and the returning Kimi Raikkonen -- the last driver to win the title for the Italian manufacturer back in 2007. Three rookies will line up in Melbourne. Denmarks Kevin Magnussen (pictured) debuts for McLaren while Swedens Marcus Ericsson makes his bow at Caterham and Russian Daniil Kvyat comes in at Toro Rosso. Changes have also taken place off the grid, with Eric Boullier (pictured) leaving Lotus to become race director at McLaren, which is yet to replace team principal Martin Whitmarsh. The final race of 2014 has more at stake than ever, with double points on offer in Abu Dhabi. Whoever takes the checkered flag at the Yas Marina Circuit will pocket a potentially title-winning 50 points. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Start your engines... Mercedes is running a message of support for Michael Schumacher on its 2014 Formula One car. The Mercedes, piloted by Lewis Hamilton, was the first 2014 car to take to the track as winter testing opened in Jerez, Spain. Its back to work for Red Bulls Sebastian Vettel, who is chasing a fifth world title when the F1 season begins in March. Team Red Bull launches its new car at the Jerez track in Spain on the morning of the opening winter test, when teams find out if their new cars are fast and reliable. Ferrari unveiled their latest F1 car -- the F14 T -- on Saturday. The Italian team is also running a message of support for Schumacher on its livery. British F1 team McLaren have also declared their hand, revealing the MP4-29 at their Surrey base on Friday. A sideview of the MP4-29 which will be raced by 2009 world champion Jenson Button and rookie Kevin Magnussen. Sauber revealed its new car and the Swiss team said in a statement: Perhaps the most visually striking element of the Sauber C33-Ferrari is the very low, snout-like nose. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 F1 teams unveil new cars for 2014 season Formula One chief Bernie Ecclestone is a firm supporter of Russian president Vladimir Putin over his controversial attitude on gay rights. The Sochi International Street Circuit is set to play host to the Russian Grand Prix in October 2014. Russia signed a seven-year deal with Ecclestone in 2010, with the project to build the circuit costing $200 million -- a fraction of the reported $50 billion spent on the Winter Games. Russian president Vladimir Putin is no stranger to a F1 car, having reached speeds of up to 150mph while test-driving a Renault vehicle in St. Petersburg in 2010. Ecclestone spoke of his great admiration for Putin in an interview with CNN. The Sochi International Street Circuit is Russias first purpose-built 1e facility, while Octobers showpiece event will be the countrys inaugural Grand Prix. The Sochi circuit will be a 55,000-capacity venue, with its main grandstand holding up to 10,000 spectators. Ecclestone believes Russia has done a first-class job on the new circuit. Renowned circuit architect Hermann Tilke supervised the design for the track, which runs in a clockwise direction. Tilke has previously designed the likes of the Yas Marina and Shanghai International circuits. The Olympic Park will be the centrepiece of the circuit, with the track circling a number of venues used for the 2014 Winter Olympics. The racing track surface will not be laid until after the Games have finished. The circuit is going to be very fast and technical and offers a number of interesting features, Tilke told F1s official website. It is a fantastic facility with a great atmosphere and it will be outstanding as the circuit will run through the Olympic Park. F1 cars are expected to reach up to a maximum speed of 320km/h on the Sochi circuit, which consists of 12 right and six left-hand corners. Stars including four-time world champion Sebastian Vettel and Russias own Daniil Kvyat have already visited the Sochi track. The 5.853km track will be the third longest on the F1 calendar, behind Spa-Francorchamps in Belgium and Silverstone in Britain. The Sochi International Street Circuit will host the 16th race of the Formula One season 100 years after the last Russian Grand Prix took place. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 F1 Sochi gallery Read: Formula Ones weird trip into the unknown While it was disappointing to not get any track time this morning, these little hiccups are going to happen with the new cars and well have to get used to that, Hamilton, whos car had an oil sensor problem early on Friday, told the sports official website after a lap of one minute and 29.625 seconds. It felt like I was on the back foot from there but then we got up to pace quite quickly in P2 and found the balance relatively fast. I feel quite comfortable in the car so overall its a positive start but we need to look at the data now and understand where we are. We got a nice foundation for the weekend in the second session today so hopefully we can build on that in P3 tomorrow afternoon and then see where we are in qualifying. Reigning world champion Sebastian Vettel was beset by problems during testing, with the all-conquering Red Bull team struggling to get the best out of its Renault engine. But despite many fearing the worst for the four-time title winner, Vettel was fourth fastest -- over half of a second adrift of Hamilton. In a way its a relief today, the fact that we were running, we didnt have any problems, the balance was good and the performance looked alright, said the German. In the end Friday times are not worth a lot, but its better to be close to the top rather than somewhere towards the back, so Im very happy with that. We will do what we can to prepare for tomorrow and Sunday, but lets see where we are then -- the most important thing is that we finish. Vettel and co. will be back on the track for qualifying on Saturday, with the first race of the 2014 season taking place on Sunday. Interactive: 10 cars that changed Formula One Source Article from edition.cnn/2014/03/14/sport/motorsport/lewis-hamilton-mercedes-f1-motorsport/index.html?eref=editionMotorsport: Hamilton sets the paceedition.cnn/2014/03/14/sport/motorsport/lewis-hamilton-mercedes-f1-motorsport/index.html?eref=editionrss.cnn/rss/edition.rssCNN - Top StoriesCNN delivers up-to-the-minute news and information on the latest top stories, weather, entertainment, politics and more.i.cdn.turner/cnn/.e/img/1.0/logo/cnn.logo.rss.gif n4sa/arkiv/166047
Posted on: Fri, 14 Mar 2014 17:45:25 +0000
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