F1: Maldonado on top as ill Hamilton is sidelined

Venezuelan Pastor Maldonado led the timesheets for Lotus on the first day of Formula One testing on Thursday while world champion Lewis Hamilton was sidelined by sickness and McLaren by power unit problems. [caption id=“attachment_312768” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Maldonado celebrates after his win. Reuters[/caption] Dutchman Max Verstappen, 17, completed the most laps on a day interrupted by a collision between Susie Wolff’s Williams and the Sauber driven by Brazilian rookie Felipe Nasr. Maldonado, whose only career grand prix win came at the Circuit de Catalunya with Williams in 2012, completed 69 laps with a best time of one minute 25.011 seconds. Kimi Raikkonen was second fastest for Ferrari with Australian Daniel Ricciardo third in a Red Bull. Champions Mercedes, who have completed far more laps than rivals in five days of pre-season testing in Jerez and Barcelona, had a mixed day after a high fever ruled out Hamilton following 11 laps in the morning. Reuters