Mercedes’ display through pre-season testing may have left an ominous feeling in some corners about the level of competition we would see through the 2018 Formula 1 season, yet a glimmer of hope appeared to come through during Friday’s practice running in Australia. While Lewis Hamilton may have romped to the top of the timesheets in both FP1 and FP2, heading up a Mercedes one-two in the first session, Max Verstappen was able to finish just one-tenth of a second behind in the later session for Red Bull. Hamilton had been quietly talking up Red Bull through pre-season and even ahead of the race weekend in Australia, saying on Thursday: “Daniel [Ricciardo] has been smiling quite a lot,...
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