MELBOURNE, March 15 (Reuters) – McLaren’s gamble on overhauling their car for the 2013 season looked to have backfired on Friday when they had a miserable day in the first two practice sessions at the Australian Grand Prix.

The British-based team won the last two races of last season but their cars were well off the pace at Albert Park with Jenson Button finishing 11th fastest in the second session – 2.386 seconds behind Red Bull’s triple world champion Sebastian Vettel.

MELBOURNE (Reuters) – Red Bull’s Sebastian Vettel began his quest for a fourth successive Formula One world title by setting the quickest time in first free practice for the season-opening Australian Grand Prix on Friday.

The German steered the car he has nicknamed ‘Hungry Heidi’ around the Melbourne street circuit in one minute 27.211 seconds to finish ahead of the Ferrari duo of Brazilian Felipe Massa (1.27.289) and Spain’s Fernando Alonso (1.27.547).

MELBOURNE, March 15 (Reuters) – Red Bull’s Sebastian Vettel began his quest for a fourth successive Formula One world title by setting the quickest time in first free practice for the season-opening Australian Grand Prix on Friday.

The German steered the car he has nicknamed ‘Hungry Heidi’ around the Melbourne street circuit in one minute 27.211 seconds to finish ahead of the Ferrari duo of Brazilian Felipe Massa (1.27.289) and Spain’s Fernando Alonso (1.27.547).

MELBOURNE (Reuters) – Vodafone will end its seven-year title sponsorship of Formula One team McLaren at the end of the 2013 season, the team confirmed on Thursday.

Vodafone said the sponsorship, which started in 2007 and was worth up to $75 million (50 million pounds) a year, was being ended following a review of marketing strategy.

MELBOURNE (Reuters) – Jenson Button has hit out at former team mate Lewis Hamilton’s description of McLaren as a team where he felt suffocated on Thursday, admitting the drivers work hard but describing the freedom they enjoy as “phenomenal”.

Button has remained at the Woking-based team for the new season, which starts with Sunday’s Australian Grand Prix, while his fellow British former world champion Hamilton has departed for Mercedes.

MELBOURNE, March 14 (Reuters) – Jenson Button has hit out at former team mate Lewis Hamilton’s description of McLaren as a team where he felt suffocated on Thursday, admitting the drivers work hard but describing the freedom they enjoy as “phenomenal”.

Button has remained at the Woking-based team for the new season, which starts with Sunday’s Australian Grand Prix, while his fellow British former world champion Hamilton has departed for Mercedes.

MELBOURNE (Reuters) – British mobile operator Vodafone will end its seven-year title sponsorship of Formula One team McLaren at the end of the 2013 season, the team confirmed on Thursday.

The Financial Times had earlier cited a Vodafone spokesman as saying the sponsorship, which started in 2007 and was worth up to $75 million (50 million pounds) a year, was being ended following a review of marketing strategy.

MELBOURNE, March 14 (Reuters) – British mobile operator Vodafone will end its seven-year title sponsorship of Formula One team McLaren at the end of the 2013 season, the team confirmed on Thursday.

The Financial Times had earlier cited a Vodafone spokesman as saying the sponsorship, which started in 2007 and was worth up to $75 million a year, was being ended following a review of marketing strategy.

By Nick Mulvenney

(Reuters) – Sebastian Vettel’s rivals, perhaps more in hope than expectation, are looking to this weekend’s Australian Grand Prix to usher in a season where the German and his Red Bull team have their three-year monopoly of Formula One titles broken.

There was similar talk of the gap to the dominant team narrowing last year but after the chaos of the early season with its seven different winners in the first seven races, Vettel and Red Bull emerged to claim their title hat-tricks.

March 13 (Reuters) – Sebastian Vettel’s rivals, perhaps more in hope than expectation, are looking to this weekend’s Australian Grand Prix to usher in a season where the German and his Red Bull team have their three-year monopoly of Formula One titles broken.

There was similar talk of the gap to the dominant team narrowing last year but after the chaos of the early season with its seven different winners in the first seven races, Vettel and Red Bull emerged to claim their title hat-tricks.