F1 testing heads to closing stages

Lewis Hamilton played down his Mercedes team's chances of challenging for the Formula 1 championship on Friday after rivals had talked them up at the final day of the penultimate of three four-day pre-season test sessions where he set the fastest lap time of 1min 23.262sec.

Lewis Hamilton played down his Mercedes team's chances of challenging for the Formula 1 championship on Friday after rivals had talked them up at the final day of the penultimate of three four-day pre-season test sessions where he set the fastest lap time of 1min 23.262sec.

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“I think that people are talking us up at the moment,” he said on a day of frequent interruptions and limited running due to the bad weather. Jenson Button was second fastest and similarly dismissive of his team’s form prior to the season opener in Melbourne on March 17. “I really am looking forward to a good test next week in Barcelona because I don't feel we've been able to do enough to really understand the car,” he said.