Formula One world champion Lewis Hamilton was fastest in final British Grand Prix practice today, completing a sweep of the three sessions with Mercedes team mate and title rival Nico Rosberg second. 
 
While Mercedes were again dominant, Ferrari&#39;s Sebastian Vettel had a bad start to a damp day when he told the team over the radio after his final lap: &quot;I think we failed another gearbox&quot;. 
 
Vettel picked up a five-place grid penalty in Austria last weekend for an unscheduled gearbox change. 
 
Hamilton lapped with a best time of one minute 30.904 seconds, 0.063 quicker than Rosberg who missed all of Friday&#39;s second practice, on the soft tyres. 
 
Australian Daniel Ricciardo was third fastest for Red Bull but more than half a second off Hamilton&#39;s pace. 
 
Dutch team mate Max Verstappen, winner in Spain and second in Austria, was fourth with Vettel fifth and 1.145 slower than the leading Mercedes. 
 
The session was halted to retrieve debris and fix barriers after Marcus Ericsson crashed his Sauber heavily at the exit to Stowe with 20 minutes remaining. 
 
The Swede got out of the badly damaged car without assistance, and did not appear hurt in the accident, but Sauber said he was going to a hospital for routine check-ups. 
 
Rosberg leads Hamilton by 11 points going into Sunday&#39;s race, the 10th of 21 on the calendar. 
 
Hamilton is chasing his third successive win at Silverstone and fourth of his career. 
 
The two Mercedes drivers are under strict instructions to race cleanly after colliding on the last lap in Austria, their third coming together in five races. 
 
(Reuters)

'I think we failed another gearbox', said Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel to his team over the radio after his final lap

Formula One world champion Lewis Hamilton was fastest in final British Grand Prix practice today, completing a sweep of the three sessions with Mercedes team mate and title rival Nico Rosberg second. While Mercedes were again dominant, Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel had a bad start to a damp day when he told the team over the radio after his final lap: "I think we failed another gearbox". Vettel picked up a five-place grid penalty in Austria last weekend for an unscheduled gearbox change. Hamilton lapped with a best time of one minute 30.904 seconds, 0.063 quicker than Rosberg who missed all of Friday's second practice, on the soft tyres. Australian Daniel Ricciardo was third fastest for Red Bull but more than half a second off Hamilton's pace. Dutch team mate Max Verstappen, winner in Spain and second in Austria, was fourth with Vettel fifth and 1.145 slower than the leading Mercedes. The session was halted to retrieve debris and fix barriers after Marcus Ericsson crashed his Sauber heavily at the exit to Stowe with 20 minutes remaining. The Swede got out of the badly damaged car without assistance, and did not appear hurt in the accident, but Sauber said he was going to a hospital for routine check-ups. Rosberg leads Hamilton by 11 points going into Sunday's race, the 10th of 21 on the calendar. Hamilton is chasing his third successive win at Silverstone and fourth of his career. The two Mercedes drivers are under strict instructions to race cleanly after colliding on the last lap in Austria, their third coming together in five races. (Reuters)

Hamilton on top, Vettel raises gearbox fear

Lewis Hamilton was booed on the podium after a last-lap collision with Mercedes teammate Nico Rosberg handed the triple Formula One world champion a dramatic first Austrian Grand Prix victory today. 
 
Championship leader Rosberg, who had been in front with Hamilton in his slipstream, nursed his damaged car over the line for fourth place with his advantage cut to 11 points after nine of 21 rounds. 
 
&quot;I am gutted, it&rsquo;s unbelievable,&quot; said the German, accusing Hamilton of turning in and causing the accident that broke his front wing. 
 
Hamilton disagreed. 
 
&quot;I was on the outside, it wasn&#39;t me that had the crash,&quot; said the Briton, who now has three wins to Rosberg&#39;s five this season, over the team radio. 
 
The stewards appeared to back that up by opening an investigation into Rosberg&#39;s actions. 
 
The German was summoned to answer charges of causing a collision and failing to stop with a seriously damaged car. 
 
Mercedes boss Toto Wolff described the collision as &quot;brainless&quot;, without singling out either of his drivers for blame. 
 
The team revealed Rosberg had suffered a problem with his brake-by-wire system which went into &quot;passive mode&quot; at the end of the penultimate lap as Hamilton closed in. 
 
The crowd, small in comparison to the previous two years with rows of empty seats in the grandstands, made their disapproval evident with whistles and boos as Hamilton was interviewed on the podium. 
 
&quot;That&#39;s not my problem, it&#39;s their problem,&quot; the surprised Briton, who started on pole, shrugged when asked about the noise. 
 
&quot;I left a lot of room on the inside and I guess he locked up and crashed into me. I think he had a problem with his brakes potentially. I&#39;m here to win. That&#39;s all.&quot; 
 
Dutch teenager Max Verstappen finished second for Red Bull at their home track with Ferrari&#39;s Kimi Raikkonen third after teammate Sebastian Vettel crashed out on his 29th birthday when a rear tyre exploded. 
 
Hamilton&#39;s victory was the 250th in Formula One by a British driver since the championship started in 1950 and the 46th of his career. 
 
Australian Daniel Ricciardo was fifth for Red Bull with Britain&#39;s Jenson Button sixth for McLaren. 
 
Frenchman Romain Grosjean was seventh in a Haas ahead of Spaniard Carlos Sainz in a Toro Rosso and Finland&#39;s Valtteri Bottas for Williams. 
 
German rookie Pascal Wehrlein scored his first point in Formula One, and his Manor team&#39;s first of the season, with a remarkable 10th. 
 
(Reuters)

Nico Rosberg was summoned to answer charges of causing a collision and failing to stop with a seriously damaged car

Lewis Hamilton was booed on the podium after a last-lap collision with Mercedes teammate Nico Rosberg handed the triple Formula One world champion a dramatic first Austrian Grand Prix victory today. Championship leader Rosberg, who had been in front with Hamilton in his slipstream, nursed his damaged car over the line for fourth place with his advantage cut to 11 points after nine of 21 rounds. "I am gutted, it’s unbelievable," said the German, accusing Hamilton of turning in and causing the accident that broke his front wing. Hamilton disagreed. "I was on the outside, it wasn't me that had the crash," said the Briton, who now has three wins to Rosberg's five this season, over the team radio. The stewards appeared to back that up by opening an investigation into Rosberg's actions. The German was summoned to answer charges of causing a collision and failing to stop with a seriously damaged car. Mercedes boss Toto Wolff described the collision as "brainless", without singling out either of his drivers for blame. The team revealed Rosberg had suffered a problem with his brake-by-wire system which went into "passive mode" at the end of the penultimate lap as Hamilton closed in. The crowd, small in comparison to the previous two years with rows of empty seats in the grandstands, made their disapproval evident with whistles and boos as Hamilton was interviewed on the podium. "That's not my problem, it's their problem," the surprised Briton, who started on pole, shrugged when asked about the noise. "I left a lot of room on the inside and I guess he locked up and crashed into me. I think he had a problem with his brakes potentially. I'm here to win. That's all." Dutch teenager Max Verstappen finished second for Red Bull at their home track with Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen third after teammate Sebastian Vettel crashed out on his 29th birthday when a rear tyre exploded. Hamilton's victory was the 250th in Formula One by a British driver since the championship started in 1950 and the 46th of his career. Australian Daniel Ricciardo was fifth for Red Bull with Britain's Jenson Button sixth for McLaren. Frenchman Romain Grosjean was seventh in a Haas ahead of Spaniard Carlos Sainz in a Toro Rosso and Finland's Valtteri Bottas for Williams. German rookie Pascal Wehrlein scored his first point in Formula One, and his Manor team's first of the season, with a remarkable 10th. (Reuters)

Lewis Hamilton booed after dramatic Austrian victory

Triple world champion Lewis Hamilton completed his domination of practice for Azerbaijan&#39;s first Formula One grand prix with the fastest time in Saturday&#39;s final session before qualifying. 
 
The Mercedes driver, who was fastest in both Friday practices at the Baku street circuit, lapped with a best time of one minute 44.352 seconds late in the session, slower than his best the previous day. 
 
Team mate and championship leader Nico Rosberg was second, with a timing that was 0.258 seconds slower. 
 
Force India&#39;s Nico Hulkenberg, who won the Le Mans 24-hours sportscar race this time last year but is unable to defend the title due to the calendar clash, was best of the rest on the timesheets. 
 
Hamilton was 1.188 seconds clear of Hulkenberg. 
 
The session was halted shortly before the scheduled finish when Hulkenberg&#39;s Mexican team mate Sergio Perez hit the wall at Turn 15, the same spot where Red Bull&#39;s Daniel Ricciardo crashed on Friday. Ricciardo was fourth on Saturday, ahead of Ferrari&#39;s Sebastian Vettel, Perez and the Australian&#39;s 18-year-old Dutch team mate Max Verstappen. 
 
Team workers modified the track overnight, removing kerbs that had lifted in Friday practice and moving the white lines at the pit lane entry. However, there was still a worrying moment when a loose drain cover flipped up in the pitlane after Valtteri Bottas&#39;s Williams passed over it. The car was damaged and returned to the garage while marshals placed a traffic cone in front of the hole. 
 
Some drivers, notably Rosberg and McLaren&#39;s Jenson Button, had complained about the lack of runoff areas and pitlane entry but they got short shrift from commercial supremo Bernie Ecclestone. 
 
&quot;If they don&#39;t want to drive, they don&#39;t have to,&quot; said the 85-year-old. &quot;It&#39;s up to them. This is the circuit. If they don&#39;t like it, go home. One of them, I think Nico, was complaining about the speed into the pitlane. So I said to the people &#39;go and have a look and see if he&#39;s got a brake on the car&#39;. It&#39;s up to him how quick he is.&quot; 
(Reuters) 
 
&nbsp;

Has the fastest time on Saturday, and was fastest in both practice sessions on Friday

Triple world champion Lewis Hamilton completed his domination of practice for Azerbaijan's first Formula One grand prix with the fastest time in Saturday's final session before qualifying. The Mercedes driver, who was fastest in both Friday practices at the Baku street circuit, lapped with a best time of one minute 44.352 seconds late in the session, slower than his best the previous day. Team mate and championship leader Nico Rosberg was second, with a timing that was 0.258 seconds slower. Force India's Nico Hulkenberg, who won the Le Mans 24-hours sportscar race this time last year but is unable to defend the title due to the calendar clash, was best of the rest on the timesheets. Hamilton was 1.188 seconds clear of Hulkenberg. The session was halted shortly before the scheduled finish when Hulkenberg's Mexican team mate Sergio Perez hit the wall at Turn 15, the same spot where Red Bull's Daniel Ricciardo crashed on Friday. Ricciardo was fourth on Saturday, ahead of Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel, Perez and the Australian's 18-year-old Dutch team mate Max Verstappen. Team workers modified the track overnight, removing kerbs that had lifted in Friday practice and moving the white lines at the pit lane entry. However, there was still a worrying moment when a loose drain cover flipped up in the pitlane after Valtteri Bottas's Williams passed over it. The car was damaged and returned to the garage while marshals placed a traffic cone in front of the hole. Some drivers, notably Rosberg and McLaren's Jenson Button, had complained about the lack of runoff areas and pitlane entry but they got short shrift from commercial supremo Bernie Ecclestone. "If they don't want to drive, they don't have to," said the 85-year-old. "It's up to them. This is the circuit. If they don't like it, go home. One of them, I think Nico, was complaining about the speed into the pitlane. So I said to the people 'go and have a look and see if he's got a brake on the car'. It's up to him how quick he is." (Reuters)

Hamilton completes practice sweep in Baku

Formula One takes a step into the unknown this weekend with its first grand prix in Azerbaijan, but, triple world champion Lewis Hamilton hopes the race will take him back to familiar, successful territory. 
 
A win in Baku would not only complete a hat-trick of victories for the Briton but would also see him overtake Mercedes team mate Nico Rosberg at the top of the standings for the first time this year. 
 
After winning the last two races in Monaco and Montreal, while championship leader Rosberg finished off the podium, Hamilton slashed the gap between them from 43 points to nine. 
 
If Hamilton makes it three in a row by winning a race billed as the &#39;European Grand Prix&#39;, Rosberg must finish second to avoid falling behind his rival, who has beaten him to the championship for the last two years. 
 
&quot;We need to try to keep on a roll if possible,&quot; Hamilton said after winning in Canada on Sunday for the fifth time. &quot;Onwards and upwards, hopefully.&quot; 
 
Rosberg, winner of the first four races of the season as well as the last three of 2015, needs to hit back in Baku. 
 
He won last season&#39;s &#39;new&#39; race, the Mexican Grand Prix that was returning for the first time since 1992, but Hamilton had just won his third title and taken his foot off the gas. 
 
&quot;Canada unfortunately didn&#39;t work out as planned. But that&#39;s how things go when you&#39;re pushing the limits and I&#39;m not going to change my approach or start backing down,&quot; said Rosberg after making a quick getaway from Montreal. 
 
&quot;I&#39;m in this championship battle to win it, not to settle for second best.&quot; 
 
While the spotlight remains on the fierce duel between the two Mercedes drivers, who have clashed on the opening lap twice in the last three races, the champions are no longer in a battle of their own. 
 
Ferrari and Red Bull have closed the performance gap and could be a real threat in Baku where the circuit has long straight and tight turns around the old city, a UNESCO world heritage site. 
 
&quot;The speed of both the Ferrari and Red Bull is pretty much where we are now,&quot; commented Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff after Ferrari&#39;s Sebastian Vettel made a lightning start in Canada and finished second. 
 
&quot;We are seeing the convergence of performance between teams that naturally comes with stable regulations, and that has made the competition tougher than ever.&quot; 
 
Formula One teams began setting up on Tuesday for a race that, despite campaigners calling for the sport to take a stance on human rights issues, has created a buzz throughout the paddock. 
 
&quot;It looks spectacular when you see what they have built up in downtown Baku, going through the old city,&quot; said Ferrari&#39;s track operations head Jock Clear. 
 
&quot;It looks a very exciting circuit. The stuff we&rsquo;ve done on simulators and the photographs we&rsquo;ve seen, it looks like it&rsquo;s going to be a great place to race. I think both drivers are really up for that kind of street circuit.&quot; 
 
(Reuters)

Formula One takes a step into the unknown this weekend with its first grand prix in Azerbaijan, but, triple world champion Lewis Hamilton hopes the race will take him back to familiar, successful territory. A win in Baku would not only complete a hat-trick of victories for the Briton but would also see him overtake Mercedes team mate Nico Rosberg at the top of the standings for the first time this year. After winning the last two races in Monaco and Montreal, while championship leader Rosberg finished off the podium, Hamilton slashed the gap between them from 43 points to nine. If Hamilton makes it three in a row by winning a race billed as the 'European Grand Prix', Rosberg must finish second to avoid falling behind his rival, who has beaten him to the championship for the last two years. "We need to try to keep on a roll if possible," Hamilton said after winning in Canada on Sunday for the fifth time. "Onwards and upwards, hopefully." Rosberg, winner of the first four races of the season as well as the last three of 2015, needs to hit back in Baku. He won last season's 'new' race, the Mexican Grand Prix that was returning for the first time since 1992, but Hamilton had just won his third title and taken his foot off the gas. "Canada unfortunately didn't work out as planned. But that's how things go when you're pushing the limits and I'm not going to change my approach or start backing down," said Rosberg after making a quick getaway from Montreal. "I'm in this championship battle to win it, not to settle for second best." While the spotlight remains on the fierce duel between the two Mercedes drivers, who have clashed on the opening lap twice in the last three races, the champions are no longer in a battle of their own. Ferrari and Red Bull have closed the performance gap and could be a real threat in Baku where the circuit has long straight and tight turns around the old city, a UNESCO world heritage site. "The speed of both the Ferrari and Red Bull is pretty much where we are now," commented Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff after Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel made a lightning start in Canada and finished second. "We are seeing the convergence of performance between teams that naturally comes with stable regulations, and that has made the competition tougher than ever." Formula One teams began setting up on Tuesday for a race that, despite campaigners calling for the sport to take a stance on human rights issues, has created a buzz throughout the paddock. "It looks spectacular when you see what they have built up in downtown Baku, going through the old city," said Ferrari's track operations head Jock Clear. "It looks a very exciting circuit. The stuff we’ve done on simulators and the photographs we’ve seen, it looks like it’s going to be a great place to race. I think both drivers are really up for that kind of street circuit." (Reuters)

Hamilton hoping for a hat-trick in Baku

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Hamilton on top, Vettel raises gearbox fear

Lewis Hamilton booed after dramatic Austrian victory

Hamilton completes practice sweep in Baku

Hamilton hoping for a hat-trick in Baku