Ham sets pace in practice
Reigning world champion Lewis Hamilton set the pace on the first day of practice for the season-opening Australian GP. The Briton, who goes into the season as the championship favourite, lapped the circuit in one minute 23.931 seconds in his Mercedes. He set that time in the afternoon, edging Red Bull's Max Verstappen, who was placed second, with Mercedes teammate Valtteri Bottas ending the day third-quickest. Kimi Raikkonen was the quickest Ferrari, ending the day fourth ahead of Sebastian Vettel.