Hamilton wants Mercedes to improve tyre usage

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Following Mercedes' defeat by Ferrari in Sunday's Australian Grand Prix, Lewis Hamilton wants his team to focus its attention to tyre usage.

Hamilton launched his race from pole and appeared to take command but could just not shake off Sebastian Vettel's Ferrari who eventually jumped the Mercedes when the Brit pitted early as he struggled for grip, a recurring there for Hamilton throughout the afternoon.

"The team asked me to give information where the tyres are throughout the run – and just the race that we had planned to race and I was asked to race wasn't necessarily the optimum," explained Hamilton.

"We didn't firstly have the pace to be able to pull a gap, for example, to Sebastian, we knew that early on. We continued on this road, which just didn't end up working out.

"There's an area that we have to work on, obviously our tyre usage is something [that] we understand is where we're losing .

"So we're just trying to make changes to improve that in the future, which we will do."

Marchionne hails long awaited win for Ferrari

Despite losing out to Vettel, Hamilton joined in on the chorus of voices rejoicing over Ferrari's victory.

"It's great to see Ferrari up there, I think it's good for the sport that we have this close battle," he added.

"I could've won the race today and there's certain things that we could've perhaps done better but I gave it everything I could. Can't win them all."

GALLERY: all the pics from Sunday's action

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Phillip van Osten

Motor racing was a backdrop from the outset in Phillip van Osten's life. Born in Southern California, Phillip grew up with the sights and sounds of fast cars thanks to his father, Dick van Osten, an editor and writer for Auto Speed and Sport and Motor Trend. Phillip's passion for racing grew even more when his family moved to Europe and he became acquainted with the extraordinary world of Grand Prix racing. He was an early contributor to the monthly French F1i Magazine, often providing a historic or business perspective on Formula 1's affairs. In 2012, he co-authored along with fellow journalist Pierre Van Vliet the English-language adaptation of a limited edition book devoted to the great Belgian driver Jacky Ickx. He also authored "The American Legacy in Formula 1", a book which recounts the trials and tribulations of American drivers in Grand Prix racing. Phillip is also a commentator for Belgian broadcaster Be.TV for the US Indycar series.