MOTORSPORTS

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Formula 1 and the sport's FIA world governing body said in a joint statement on Friday they had formally approved a General Motors-backed Cadillac entry to become the 11th team on the grid from 2026.

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Charles Leclerc powered to the quickest time ahead of Oscar Piastri in second practice at the season-opening Australian Grand Prix on Friday, with Lewis Hamilton fifth and Max Verstappen only seventh. Hamilton's Ferrari teammate Leclerc blasted to a best lap around the Albert Park circuit of one minute 16.439 seconds on soft tyres, 0.124 clear of McLaren's Piastri.

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Lewis Hamilton felt the force of the Ferrari fans as he and teammate Charles Leclerc sped around Milan's Piazza Castello on Thursday before heading to Australia for the start of the Formula One season. Some 35,000 'tifosi' thronged the event, presented by Ferrari sponsor Unicredit, as seven-time world champion Hamilton performed smoking tyre burnouts after filling the city streets with noise.

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Lewis Hamilton said on Thursday he was itching to get going during the "most exciting period of my life" at Ferrari, but cautioned of a transition period as he gets used to a new car. After 12 years with Mercedes, he will race for the first time in the Ferrari red at the season-opening Australian Grand Prix this week, knowing expectations are high.

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Lewis Hamilton's first race for Ferrari in Australia next week is reminding him of how he felt ahead of his Formula 1 debut for McLaren in Melbourne in 2007.

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Formula One champions McLaren have secured Oscar Piastri for the long term after announcing on Wednesday a multi-year contract extension ahead of the 23-year-old driver's home Australian Grand Prix. The news followed similar extensions for chief executive Zak Brown, team principal Andrea Stella, Piastri's teammate Lando Norris and senior staff.

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Australian Jack Doohan has won praise from Alpine Formula One team boss Oliver Oakes for a 'punchy' pre-season response to speculation about his Formula One future. Doohan, 22, made his debut for the Renault-owned outfit in Abu Dhabi last December and is starting his first season on home soil in Melbourne on March 16.