The Australian's team-mate Sebastian Vettel ended the session 16th fastest, sandwiched between the Ferraris of Bahrain winner Fernando Alonso and Felipe Massa as all three appeared to concentrate on race preparation with heavy fuel loads.

BBC: Lewis Hamilton fastest in Friday Australian GP practice

She insists the practice largely stems from fear, not arrogance, due to the high number of cyclists killed each year by heavy goods vehicles turning left at junctions, and says ministers should concentrate on tackling such deaths if they really want to make the roads safer.

BBC: Is dangerous cycling a problem?

In fact, sanctions bolster regimes, as they concentrate power more tightly among elite families, who become more insecure and heavy-handed in their attempts to annihilate opposition as they grow to fear for their lives.

FORBES: Where Aung San Suu Kyi, Myanmar's Nobel Prize Winner, Is Wrong

The prospect of a series of heavy losses in regional elections over the next eight months, starting with Catalonia on November 28th, has started to concentrate minds within the party.

ECONOMIST: Spanish politics