Getty Images Lewis Hamilton has expressed his delight after he finished the Australian Grand Prix in 5th place on debut for Mercedes. However, the Briton admitted that the team still has a lot of work to do ahead of next week’s Malaysian GP.
“Malaysia is going to be tough but hopefully we can have a better result.
“It’s going to be tough with the tires but I had a longer stint than anyone else, but I just don’t know where we lost ground.”
Although he was pleased with his own pace, Hamilton was left scratching his head for reasons why his rivals managed to pass him so easily.
“I don’t really understand why other people were pulling away. We’re going to have back and take a look at why we were losing pace to other people.”
Hamilton was passed on track by Fernando Alonso, Sebastian Vettel and Felipe Massa as he lost all chances of making the podium mid-way through the race.
For much of the pre-season, Hamilton insisted that Mercedes were not in a position to win in Melbourne, and he was pleased to have finished as high as fifth.
“I think it’s great, I’m very happy, it’s way better than we ever expected in the first race of the season. It’s a great place to start.”
Hamilton scored Mercedes’ only points in Australia after Nico Rosberg retired on lap 26 following an electrical failure.
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Forget driving or flying to Sonoma NASCAR race: take the train
Jun 18, 2013, 3:59 PM EDT
AP
You’ve heard of the Chattanooga Choo-Choo, the Orange Blossom Special and the Wabash Cannonball. Now you can add the NASCAR Express to the list, as fans attending this weekend’s NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Toyota/SaveMart 350 race and activities at Sonoma Raceway will have a rather unique way to say they’ve arrived — at the racetrack,…
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Sonoma Raceway to honor memory of late PR chief John Cardinale
Jun 18, 2013, 3:17 PM EDT
Sonoma Raceway will honor its late public relations director, John Cardinale, during this weekend’s 25th Toyota/SaveMart 350 activities. Cardinale passed away in March after a two-year fight with stage IV gastric cancer. He had worked at the track since 1998 and was promoted to Vice President of Media and Community Relations in 2003, a post…
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Pirelli World Challenge: Duncan Ende highlights dangers of distracted driving
Jun 18, 2013, 3:00 PM EDT
Living in Los Angeles, Pirelli World Challenge driver Duncan Ende is constantly reminded of the dangers of distracted driving. “It’s bad when I’m driving in my car and sometimes really scary when I’m on my road bicycle, and drivers on the road are speaking on the phone, looking at the map on their phone, or…
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Force India’s 2013 performance thanks to car working with tires
Jun 18, 2013, 1:30 PM EDT
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Force India’s pair of drivers has made the most of the Pirelli tires this year, as evident by their performances in Canada. The validation for the prime medium compound tires came via Paul Di Resta, who ran a 56-lap opening stint in Montreal before switching to the supersofts for the finish. He ultimately finished seventh…
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As Chicago temperatures crept close to 90 degrees on Monday, NASCAR Nationwide Series drivers Regan Smith and Travis Pastrana cooled off in a unique way — and did a good deed in the process. Making several stops around the Windy City, Smith, who won Saturday’s NNS race at Michigan, and Pastrana sold ice cream bars…
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Lotus stake sale to Infinity creates a more tangled web of names
Jun 18, 2013, 12:15 PM EDT
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Sooner or later, it seems every team in the Formula One paddock might be interconnected by way of similar names or branding. The latest chapter came Tuesday, as Lotus announced a 35 percent sale to an investment consortium called Infinity. And now we begin our six degrees of Kevin Bacon to describe the tangential relationships…
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Lotus F1 Team had been wholly owned by Genii Capital, but on Tuesday the Enstone-based squad announced a sale of 35 percent stake of the team to a new investor group called Infinity Racing Partners Limited. Noting the spelling, this Infinity is not at all related to Infiniti, the car manufacturer that sponsors Red Bull.…
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AP
NASCAR driver Mike Harmon has turned himself in to authorities after warrants were issued for him and a business partner. Rowan County (N.C.) Sheriff’s deputies said warrants were issued on Monday, while Harmon and his business partner are charged with breaking and entering and larceny after breaking and entering. It’s the latest turn in the…
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AP
Ferrari has crunched the numbers from the first seven Grands Prix of the 2013 Formula One season and determined it has been one of the top overtaking teams this year. That highlights the team’s qualifying gap to Red Bull and Mercedes this year – Ferrari is yet to take a pole position – but nonetheless…
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Shank’s team takes second huge hit in as many Rolex races (VIDEO)
Jun 17, 2013, 6:00 PM EDT
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Ex-Indy Lights driver Gustavo Yacaman has made a name for himself in the last two GRAND-AM Rolex Series races, albeit I’m guessing not in the manner he or his team would like. Two weeks ago in Detroit, Yacaman attempted a pass on Memo Rojas’ No. 01 Cessna-sponsored Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates BMW Riley…
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Murray Walker (right, with 1964 World Champion John Surtees), the iconic Formula One broadcaster, has been diagnosed with a mild form of cancer. The 89-year-old will undergo chemotherapy to attempt to cure the form of lymphatic system cancer, according to the BBC. Last month, he fell and broke his pelvis and the cancer was diagnosed…
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AP
Something weird happened at the IZOD IndyCar Series’ weekend at The Milwaukee Mile. It was just a pure race that went down as smooth as a cold Spotted Cow. IndyCar is in a mad stretch of six races in five weekends. The Indianapolis 500 kicked it off, followed by the doubleheader in Detroit, the lone…
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The team now known as Mercedes heads to this week’s FIA Tribunal having been in hot water with the FIA before, but not as Mercedes. They’ve had to accept rulings from the FIA under an earlier guise of British American Racing, in that team’s first (1999) and last (2005) year on the Formula One grid.…
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With Team Penske breaking through at Texas and Will Power scoring his first podium of 2013 at Milwaukee, the onus is now back on Target Chip Ganassi Racing to deliver the results it’s been accustomed to in the IZOD IndyCar Series: winning. It was another tough day at the office for Scott Dixon and Dario…
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First tests for two drivers this week at Caterham, Marussia
Jun 17, 2013, 10:19 AM EDT
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A pair of Formula One feeder series drivers will have their first runs in F1 cars this week. Caterham will provide its GP2 Series driver, 27-year-old Spaniard Sergio Canamasas, a chance to perform an aero test on Thursday in the Caterham CT03. That will be held in France, and he’ll be at the team’s base…
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Denny Hamlin‘s already slim margin for error in his quest to overcome an early-season back injury and make the Chase for the Sprint Cup may now be down to zero. On Sunday at Michigan International Speedway, Hamlin ran a paint design that fallen driver Jason Leffler drove with for Joe Gibbs Racing when he debuted…
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64 years after earning its first victory in what is now the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, the Ford Motor Company has 1,000 wins in America’s most popular form of motorsport after Roush Fenway Racing’s Greg Biffle triumphed in today’s Quicken Loans 400 at Michigan International Speedway. “I am just super excited for Ford,” said Biffle,…
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Harvick plays it safe in final laps, gets runner-up finish
Jun 16, 2013, 6:45 PM EDT
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Kevin Harvick knew that a win wasn’t going to be in the cards for him on Sunday at Michigan International Speedway – even when Jimmie Johnson (running second at the time) suffered a flat tire with three laps left, popped the wall and went to the pits. “My car started to shake really bad,” he…
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It’s not very often that the Hendrick Motorsports juggernaut collectively suffers like it did on Sunday at Michigan International Speedway. Want proof? All four Hendrick drivers – championship leader Jimmie Johnson, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Kasey Kahne and Jeff Gordon – ran into trouble in the Quicken Loans 400 and all finished outside the Top 25…
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Greg Biffle brings home historic victory for Ford at Michigan
Jun 16, 2013, 4:44 PM EDT
AP
Two weeks after declaring that his Roush Fenway Racing team had a “systemic problem,” Greg Biffle has delivered Ford its 1,000th victory in NASCAR with a win in the Quicken Loans 400 at Michigan International Speedway. Biffle had pitted just before the final caution of the day came out on Lap 167 for Jamie McMurray…
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Video: Hunter-Reay celebrates win in Milwaukee
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Video: Highlights: Hunter-Reay wins Milwaukee Mile again
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Video: Andretti makes it look easy in Milwaukee
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Video: Indy Car Series: Fast forward Texas
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Video: A recap of Pagenaud's first career IndyCar victory
