The 1998 and 1999 F1 champion was the slowest man on the track in his first test for McLaren in more than five years.
Double world champion Mika Hakkinen will drive a F1 car for the first time since 2001 when he tests for McLaren.
Hamilton said he would still be "incredibly proud" to pull level with "an icon like Michael" and seven was way beyond his wildest dreams, but numbers and titles maybe meant more to those on the outside.
Title contenders Fernando Alonso and Michael Schumacher were pushed out of the top 10.
Formula One is changing its scoring system to award a point to the driver who sets the fastest race lap, starting from this weekend's season-opening Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne.
Fernando Alonso passed a final medical examination on Thursday and will be able to participate in the Malaysian Grand Prix this weekend after the Spaniard missed the Formula One season-opener in Australia due to concussion.
The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) said on Wednesday that another batch of athlete data has been leaked by the same Russian cyber espionage group that published confidential data earlier this week.
Hamilton's flying lap of one minute 22.188 seconds set a new record at Albert Park but was only 0.268 seconds in front of German Vettel, offering the tantalising prospect of a competitive championship after three years of domination by the Silver Arrows.
Images from the first one-dayer between India and South Africa at the New Wanderers ground in Johannesburg on Thursday.
Formula One world champion Lewis Hamilton took pole position for the season-opening Australian Grand Prix on Saturday ahead of Mercedes team mate Nico Rosberg as the Silver Arrows continued to underline their dominance.
Renault's Giancarlo Fisichella will lose 10 places on the Belgian Grand Prix starting grid after an engine change on Saturday
Force India principal and co-owner Vijay Mallya has silenced any further talk of a Formula One boycott, saying his team never intended to do anything other than race.
The pole was Hamilton's ninth in 10 races this season, the 47th of his career and left the Briton perfectly placed for a fifth career win at the Hungaroring.
Stirling Moss, the British racing driver who ranked as one of the all-time Formula One greats despite never winning the world championship, died on Sunday at the age of 90 after a long illness. News of his passing was mourned across the world of motorsport, with Formula One hailing a 'legend' and 'one of the true greats'.
'The phenomenal Max Verstappen was both sloppy and superb in Germany, getting caught out during the first two starts, and even spinning his car around to give the crowd something to gasp at with a Batmobile-esque 360 degree turn. 'After Hamilton crashed and Verstappen sniffed victory, though, he pounced hard, put his foot down, and took a deserved race win,' says Rediff's F1 columnist Raja Sen.
Lewis Hamilton collected his champion's trophy at a glittering gala in Paris after ending the year in touching distance of Michael Schumacher's records for wins and titles.
Partial sanctions against Russian athletes over the country's state-run doping system are preliminary, International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Thomas Bach said on Sunday, defending the organisation's position amid vocal criticism.
Triple Formula One world champion Lewis Hamilton won the Hungarian Grand Prix on Sunday to seize the championship lead from team mate Nico Rosberg for the first time this season.
The Finn's lap of one minute 17.221 seconds around Barcelona's Circuit de Catalunya was the second fastest of the eight days of winter testing and slower only than team mate Sebastian Vettel's best on Thursday.
Ferrari are considering whether to lodge a protest that could lead to the result of the Formula One world championship being overturned.
Prolific batsman Hashim Amla (81) hit a splendid half-century before Ryan McLaren took four wickets as South Africa mauled Pakistan by 67 runs to keep themselves in the race for the ICC Champions Trophy semi-finals, in Birmingham, on Monday.
Kimi Raikkonen went further, saying he had no intention of leaving McLaren.
Fernando Alonso feels Sunday's inaugural Turkish Grand Prix could play to Renault's strengths.
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