Five-time champion Lewis Hamilton dominated Friday practice at the season-opening Australian Grand Prix, topping the timesheets for Mercedes in both sessions to deliver an ominous warning to his Formula One title rivals.
After pipping Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel with a lap of one minute 23.599 seconds in first practice, the Briton shaved almost a second off that time in the second session, his quickest lap timed at 1:22.60.
His Mercedes teammate, Valtteri Bottas, was 0.048 seconds off the time of Hamilton, who had a massive 0.800 seconds gap to Max Verstappen in third, with Red Bull's other driver, Pierre Gasly, a further 0.042 seconds behind in fourth.
Vettel was fifth fastest after taking a skid into the grass and complaining of a reliability problem, while new teammate, Charles Leclerc, posted the ninth fastest time after he too spun into the grass in the dying minutes of the session.
It was a more encouraging session for Kimi Raikkonen and Alfa Romeo, the team formerly known as Sauber. The Finnish former world champion was sixth fastest in the second session, giving them hope of being the best of the midfield racers.
Raikkonen was quicker than both Renaults, with Nico Hulkenberg and home hope Daniel Ricciardo seventh and eighth.
Ricciardo, who switched from Red Bull last season, improved after an underwhelming start, clocking only the 17th fastest lap in the opening session earlier on Friday.
British-born Thai debutant Alexander Albon had a tough day, crashing his Toro Rosso to lose his front wing and causing a brief halt in the first session before spinning off track several times in the second.
Williams appear set for another season of toil as their Polish driver Robert Kubica, returning to Formula One after an absence of more than eight years, was 20th in second practice, one place behind rookie team mate George Russell.
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Graham Caygill's F1 2019 team predictions
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Williams (last season 10th). Hard to see the British team not having a repeat of being worst of the lot. Delayed car for testing, which then proved to be slowest is not giving anything to be remotely positive about. Have two talented drivers in Robert Kubica and George Russell, but this is going to be a year of toil. Prediction: 10th. Reuters -
Toro Rosso (last season 9th). The sister team of Red Bull Racing showed flashes of speed in their first year with Honda but were too often struggling to match the midfield runners. That is likely to be the same story again here. Daniil Kvyat has experience but having him back for a third stint in the car is unlikely to produce any more success then the previous two times. Prediction: 9th. EPA -
McLaren (last season 6th). The days of challenging for titles and championships seems a long time ago now for the British team. Now without Fernando Alonso to push them on this will be a difficult slog. Carlos Sainz and Lando Norris will do what they can but this will be another year to forget for McLaren. Prediction: 8th. AFP -
Alfa Romeo (last season 8th). No longer Sauber, it is a new name in Alfa Romeo and with renewed fresh expectations. The team improved as 2018 went on but a lot will depend on Kimi Raikkonen. If the 2007 world champion is there simply to pick up a cheque and cruise around on a Sunday afternoon then it could be a frustrating season. But the Finn showed in 2018 he still, on occasions, had race-winning speed with Ferrari and he can help lift his new team this year. Prediction: 7th. EPA -
Racing Point (last season 7th). Rebranded from Force India, this is purely a name change and different owners with the track personnel largely the same. One key element is Lance Stroll has replaced Esteban Ocon, which on the surface is a step back for the team given Stroll is nowhere near as good as Ocon. Should still get some good points with Sergio Perez in the other seat though to alleviate the Stroll factor. Prediction: 6th. EPA -
Haas (last season 5th). Now entering their fourth season in F1. Were often best of the rest behind the leading trio of Mercedes, Ferrari, Red Bull but threw away a lot of points through their own mistakes. Should be a consistent force again on speed. Doubts remain over the quality of their drivers Kevin Magnussen and Romain Grosjean and whether they can put together strong weekends on a regular basis, but they still should be comfortably in the midfield. Prediction: 5th. Reuters -
Renault (last season 4th). It should be more of the same here. Quick but not fast enough to get among the top three teams. Bringing in Daniel Ricciardo from Red Bull is a sign of ambition. He and Nico Hulkenberg are a strong pairing and the French unit should score more points, even podiums, but they will remain in the same spot in the constructors' standings come the end of the season. Prediction 4th. AP Photo -
Red Bull Racing (last season 3rd). Had their best season since 2013 last year as they won four races. The change to Honda power is a risk, but so far it does seem to be an improvement on Renault. They will likely be a force on the slow-speed tracks but will not be able to match Mercedes and Ferrari on the quicker circuits. They will win races, but it will not be enough for them to be championship challengers. Prediction: 3rd. AFP -
Mercedes-GP (last season 1st). Have been the dominant force of F1, winning the last five championships and picking up 74 wins from the past 100 races. They were often out-paced by Ferrari last season and needed the brilliance of Lewis Hamilton and some good fortune with mistakes from their leading rival to prevail. Lightning may not strike again this time. Ferrari appear to have a clear edge and the German team's victorious streak is set to come to an end. Prediction: 2nd. AFP -
Ferrari (last season 2nd). You have to go back to 2008 for the last time Ferrari were constructors' champions. The wait for more silverware ends this year. The SF90 chassis was impressively quick in testing and consistently fastest in sessions. Sebastian Vettel is a proven title challenger but the Italian marque have upgraded his teammate by bringing in Charles Leclerc. Both men will win races in 2019 as the good times come back to Maranello. Prediction: 1st. AP Photo
