Formula One leader Lewis Hamilton ousted Mercedes team mate Nico Rosberg from the top of the timesheets in Italian Grand Prix free practice on Friday. The Briton, chasing his 50th grand prix win on Sunday, enjoyed a sunny afternoon at the Monza circuit with a fastest lap of one minute 22.801 seconds on the supersoft tyres after being second to Rosberg in the morning. Rosberg quickest effort then was a 1:22.959, with the German lapping in 1:22.994 after lunch.
The new Formula One season starts with the Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne on March 20. The following details the major changes for 2O16.
Statistics for Sunday's season-ending Abu Dhabi Formula One Grand Prix at the Yas Marina circuit.
Stunned Mexican Sergio Perez said he put in the best laps of his Formula One career to get Force India back on the podium on Sunday.
Perez, who started eighth on the grid, finished ninth after being passed by Kevin Magnussen towards the end of the 56-lap race.
Lewis Hamilton boosted his morale with the fastest lap in Russian Grand Prix practice on Friday after Mercedes team mate Nico Rosberg set the early pace and Ferrari suffered reliability problems.
Sebastian Vettel led a Ferrari one-two at the top of the timesheets in final practice for the Bahrain Grand Prix on Saturday, ending the stranglehold of previously dominant champions Mercedes. Vettel lapped the Sakhir Circuit in a best time of one minute 31.683 seconds, 0.040 faster than team mate Kimi Raikkonen on the supersoft tyres. It was the first time this season that any driver from outside the Mercedes pairing of Nico Rosberg and triple world champion Lewis Hamilton had ended practice on top. Hamilton was quickest in all three sessions in Australia two weeks ago while championship frontrunner Rosberg led his team mate in Bahrain practices one and two on Friday. Rosberg was third fastest in practice three, his time of 1:32.104 slower than Friday when he did 1:31.001, with Hamilton fourth.
Jenson Button hailed Honda's latest power unit as a good step forward for McLaren after completing 121 laps and finishing fifth fastest on the second day of Formula One's final pre-season test on Wednesday.
The next time the four-time world champion will get behind the wheel will be for first Friday practice at Melbourne's Albert Park on March 23.
Nico Rosberg stormed to his sixth pole position in a row and denied Mercedes team mate Lewis Hamilton a landmark 50th in Formula One's season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix on Saturday.
Brazilian Felipe Massa put Williams on top on the penultimate day of pre-season testing in Bahrain on Saturday while Red Bull's quadruple world champion Sebastian Vettel failed to complete a lap.
© 2026 Rediff.com - Investor Information - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances