Lewis Hamilton says Mercedes on ‘wrong track’ and may have fallen further behind

A disheartened Lewis Hamilton said Mercedes are on the “wrong track” and fears he has fallen further behind in his quest to take a record eighth world crown.

Off the back of his worst campaign in Formula One, Hamilton, 38, will have been desperate to revive former glories – starting at this weekend’s season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix.

But in his under-performing Mercedes machinery, Hamilton finished eighth in practice on Friday – six tenths behind Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso – who ended the day as the surprise pace setter. Max Verstappen was next, 0.169 seconds behind.

Mercedes might have solved their porpoising woes, but they still have an unruly car, with Hamilton’s team-mate George Russell even further back in 13th, one second slower than Alonso.

Wrapping up Friday in Bahrain