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Lewis Hamilton takes pole as Mercedes speed stuns rivals

MELBOURNE, March 16 (Reuters) - Formula One champion Lewis Hamilton blazed to a record-extending eighth pole and sixth in succession at the Australian Grand Prix on Saturday to lead Valtteri Bottas to a Mercedes sweep of the front row of the grid. Hamilton struggled with a brake problem during the frenetic final session at Albert Park but edged his Finnish team mate by 0.112 seconds with a searing second lap of one minute 20.486 seconds that set a record at the lakeside circuit. The one-two punch by Mercedes left Ferrari and their championship rivals stunned, with Hamilton's chief challenger Sebastian Vettel, who qualified third, more than seven-tenths of a second off the five-times champion's pace. "Oh man, I'm shaking it was so close out there," Briton 34-year-old Hamilton said after extending his pole record to 84 on a warm, sunny afternoon in Melbourne. "Coming from winter testing, we had no idea where we would be. We were hoping to be where we are ... Valtteri did an exceptional job out there, it was very close." Hamilton matched Ayrton Senna and Michael Schumacher for the record number of poles at a single race track. Senna took his eight at Imola, with Schumacher dominating the Suzuka circuit. Four-times champion Vettel, bidding for a third successive win at Albert Park, was separated from his new team mate Charles Leclerc by fourth placed Max Verstappen of Red Bull. It would have felt like 'deja vu' for Ferrari, having trailed Mercedes by nearly seven-tenths of a second in qualifying at last year's race. "Certainly Mercedes are the clear favorite," Vettel told reporters with a touch of resignation. "I'm certainly surprised (by their pace), I think everybody is, probably even themselves." "I think, there is still a bit of margin (to improve) but certainly the gap is there today, and it was a surprise," the four-times champion told reporters. "We didn't expect it coming here but now it is that way. ... Obviously there is a lack somewhere, because we are too slow – but didn't feel like it." German Vettel's new team mate Charles Leclerc qualified fifth fastest behind Red Bull's Max Verstappen but the highly regarded 21-year-old was harder on himself than the car. "I'm not happy with myself. I didn't do the job in Q3, which is a shame," said the Monegasque, who locked up in turn one of a "messy" second lap.

Michael Schumacher's 50th birthday marked by celebrations, privacy

Against the backdrop of celebrations marking Michael Schumacher's 50th birthday on Thursday, the medical condition of Formula One's most successful driver remains just as fiercely guarded by his close family. More than five years after a near-fatal brain injury in a skiing accident, the seven-time F1 champion continues to be cared for in total secrecy at home in the quiet Swiss town of Gland on the shores of Lake Geneva. He has been there since being transferred from a hospital in September 2014. "You can be sure that he is in the very best of hands and that we are doing everything humanly possible to help him," Schumacher's family said in a rare statement Wednesday. "Please understand if we are following Michael's wishes and keeping such a sensitive subject as health, as it has always been, in privacy." It was while skiing with his teenage son Mick in the French Alps at Meribel that Schumacher fell on Dec. 29, 2013. He hit the right side of his head on a rock, splitting open his helmet. Doctors at Grenoble hospital removed blood clots, but others were left untouched because they were too deeply embedded in his brain. With unsourced stories abounding, updates on his condition went from scarce to non-existent as his family closed ranks around him . But the family understands the level of devotion toward Schumacher from his legions of fans. Coinciding with his birthday, the family is releasing the Official Michael Schumacher App offering a virtual museum tour of his greatest achievements. "The app is another milestone in our effort to do justice to him and you, his fans, by celebrating his accomplishments," the statement said. Seven titles Many of those accomplishments were with Ferrari, where the German driving ace won five of his seven F1 titles, in 2000 through 2004. (He won with Benetton in 1994 and 1995.) Ferrari is honoring his 50th with a special museum exhibition of his achievements at its Maranello headquarters in northern Italy. His stature is Ferrari folklore is immense, while his impact on F1 is unparalleled with perhaps the exception of the late Brazilian great Ayrton Senna. Schumacher's winners' aura was perhaps unfairly viewed from the outside as cold and distant, when in essence he was incredibly appreciative of those he worked closely with. In 2000, he delivered Ferrari from years of frustration with a first world title since Jody Scheckter in 1979.

Ferrari officially teases hybrid V8 before official reveal

This is Ferrari's official teaser for the V8 hybrid debuting this week, so let the Photoshop and parsing games begin. Among what we'll call the traditional supercar makers — Ferrari, Lamborghini, and McLaren — the Maranello outfit takes the first dive into the hybrid pool, and they're going to make a show of it. The motorcycle rider who ran down the prototype a few weeks ago looks to have been correct about the rectangular taillights. The last time we saw anything other than round taillights on a production Ferrari was on the much-loved Testarossa and the much unloved 348. There's some deliberate obfuscation going on, unsurprisingly. In the teaser, the rear wing stands up extra tall in the middle. The wing on the prototype spotted last week carries across the car from fender to fender; you can trace the line it makes around the rear three-quarter underneath the camouflage. Based on where there's mesh in the camouflage paneling to let air through, our guess is that the wing does more than channel air under its middle as on the F8 Tributo. And we'll wait to see if the twin exhaust outlet truly dominate the backside like bazookas. VIP clientele have apparently been headed to Maranello as of this morning, ready to witness a three-day event for the production sports car that will sit above the 812 Superfast and below whatever succeeds the LaFerrari. Eyes in Italy say there's a large tent at the Fiorano circuit erected just for the cause. Word is that Ferrari will reveal the car online around the same time as VIP showing, with an in-the-sheetmetal showing sometime next month, perhaps at Le Mans. Ferrari hybrid supercar View 9 Photos