Hamilton off the pace in practice

On the Albert Park track where he launched his championship success 12 months ago,Hamilton struggled to 16th place in the first practice for Sunday’s race,then 18th in the second.

“We’re not in a place where we want to be but we’re working extremely hard,as hard as we can,” the driver told a news conference.

“We’ve got a steep,very tough challenge ahead of us but if any team can do it,I believe my team can. We’ve just got to remain positive and keep pushing.”

The first signs that McLaren would be slower than their main rivals at the start of this season emerged during winter testing in Spain.