Lewis Hamilton tops practice to raise hopes of taking F1 fight to Max Verstappen

Lewis Hamilton finished fastest in practice for the Bahrain Grand Prix (Darko Bandic/AP)

Lewis Hamilton raised hope of taking the fight to Red Bull’s Max Verstappen at this weekend’s Bahrain Grand Prix after finishing fastest in practice.

The seven-time world champion led a Mercedes one-two under the lights of the Sakhir Circuit, with Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso third and the Ferrari of Carlos Sainz fourth.