MONTMELO, Spain -- Sebastian Vettels practice session at the Spanish Grand Prix ended with the four-time defending Formula One champion hitching a ride on a scooter after his Red Bull puttered out. Delanie Walker Womens Jersey . Lewis Hamilton had no such problems, finishing Fridays opening day of practice with the top times from both training sessions as the dominating Mercedes team showed no signs of slowing down. The British driver is looking for his fourth straight win this season. Mercedes teammate and F1 leader Nico Rosberg was right behind, setting the afternoons second best time after his crew fixed a cooling issue. Vettel was running through his fifth lap on the sunny and dry 4.6-kilometre (2.9-mile) Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya when his Red Bull came to a halt. He then helped push his RB10 out of the path of his rivals before a group of fans gathered at the fence to take photographs of the champion using a fire extinguisher on the rear of his malfunctioning car. After Vettel was whisked back to the paddock on the back of a scooter, Hamilton clocked the fastest lap time in the opening session and then bettered that by almost 1.5 seconds in the afternoon with a mark of 1 minute, 25.524 seconds. Red Bull said an electrical problem that "damaged the wiring" of Vettels car meant he couldnt return for the afternoon practice session. That left Vettel with only one session on Saturday before qualifying. "Its a small failure, but a big consequence," Vettel said. Red Bull had given Vettels car an older chassis in a move the German called a "sanity check" to try to find an elusive answer to his cars lack of pace. The Austrian team renowned for its design had a bigger problem than speed, however, when Vettel was left stranded just after the fifth turn. Vettel is having his worst season at Red Bull with only one podium finish so far and sits in a distant fifth place in the standings. He has even had to let new teammate Daniel Ricciardo pass him twice during the last two races. And Ricciardo emerged from the opening day of practice as the closest thing the grid can offer as a threat to the Mercedes duo by recording the third best time in both sessions at almost a second behind Hamilton. Hamilton trails Rosberg by four points despite having won the last three races in front of his teammate. The pair have won all four races and taken all four pole positions this year. Hamilton hasnt lost a step after a three-week break and showed that the other teams have yet to make headway despite their upgrades for the start of the seasons run of European events. "Its been a great day today and Im happy to be back in the car after what feels like quite a long break," said Hamilton. "Our two practice sessions today went very smoothly, in fact Ive not had such a good Friday for a very long time." Last years race winner, Fernando Alonso, had the fourth best effort in both sessions, while Ferrari teammate Kimi Raikkonen could do no better than fifth in the afternoon. Ferrari chairman Luca di Montezemolo said he was "not happy" with his team and that he would work closely with new team principal Marco Mattiacci to "improve the situation as soon as possible." Pablo Maldonado of Lotus recorded the most laps through both 90-minute sessions with a total of 76. The early session to prepare for Sundays race featured some close calls. Sergio Perez had to box when the left mirror on his Force India car became detached. The Mexican driver had to grab it and drive one-handed while coming in. Sauber test driver Giedo Van der Garde survived a bigger scare when he told his team he had "a break failure" and ran off course, barely missing the wall. In the second session, Romain Grosjeans Lotus stalled at the end of the pitlane, while Jean-Eric Vergne lost the right rear wheel of his Toro Rosso. Max Chilton twice had to come in due to engine trouble before a piece of his Marussia went flying on his next trip out. He ended the day by driving into the sand. Justin Hunter Titans Jersey . -- After enjoying the chance to watch Toronto beat Anaheim, the San Jose Sharks took advantage of a tired Maple Leafs team to move closer to the Ducks in the standings. Ryan Succop Titans Jersey .C. -- Major League Soccers Vancouver Whitecaps and the City of New Westminster have signed a memorandum of understanding towards bringing a United Soccer Leagues Pro franchise to the British Columbia city. TAMPA, Fla. -- Steven Stamkos stopped worrying about not a scoring goal over an extended period. On Thursday night, the Tampa Bay star showed why. Stamkos had three goals and an assist, Valtteri Filppula added two goals, and the Lightning beat the Florida Panthers 7-2 on Thursday night. Stamkos, second in the NHL with 29 goals during the abbreviated 2012-13 season, stopped a five-game goal drought dating back to last season. "To be completely honest, I think this might have been the first time that I didnt (worry)," Stamkos said. "Usually I do. If I dont score one game, sometimes you have trouble sleeping, thinking what you should have done. I just kind of had an eerie feeling that tonight was going to be a good night." Stamkos completed his sixth career hat trick on a one-timer from the top of the left circle during a power play at 12:25 of the third. "He scores when he get opportunties," Lightning goalie Ben Bishop said. "Its a lot nicer having him on your team than playing against him." Martin St. Louis added a goal and an assist for the Lightning, who have won three in a row after a season-opening loss at Boston. Bishop made 19 saves and improved to 3-0 on the season. Florida, which lost three of four during a season-opening road trip, got goals from Brad Boyes and Jonathan Huberdeau. "We didnt respond well to pressure," Florida coach Kevin Dineen said. "When they pressured our players, instead of responding to that, understanding that it was coming, I think it created turmoil for us." Filppula scored consecutive third-period goals to give the Lightning a 6-2 lead. St. Louis, playing at home for the first time since being selected team captain earlier this month, made it 1-0 off a pass through the slot by Stamkos 8:13 into the game. St. Louis has 917 points, which moved him past Bobby OOrr (915) into 94th place on the NHL all-time list. Bruce Matthews Titans Jersey. "I dont think its something that you think about when you start your career," St. Louis said. "A pretty special player that I get to pass." St. Louis goal marked the first time this season that Tampa Bay took a lead during regulation. The Lightnings other two victories came in overtime and a shootout after third-period comebacks. Stamkos put the Lightning up 2-0 when he beat goalie Jacob Markstrom for a short-handed goal at 13:54 of the first. It was Tampa Bays first short-handed goal since Ryan Malone scored one on March 26, 2012. "You know theyre dynamic," Dineen said of Stamkos and St. Louis. "You know that if one guy has the puck, hes looking for the other guy, that theyre really highly skilled players, but more than anything, they work as hard as anybody in the league. If you dont match that, if you dont have 100 per cent buy-in and effort to try to contain them, youre going to get lit up like we did tonight." Boyes got the Panthers within 2-1 on a power-play goal 59 seconds into the second. Florida had failed to convert on its previous 17 man-advantage opportunities this season. Tampa Bay went up 3-1 when Stamkos scored from the right circle with 8:21 left in the second. Ondrej Palat added a late second-period goal. Huberdeau, last seasons Calder Trophy winner as rookie of the year, scored his first goal in nine games early in the third. NOTES: Florida G Tim Thomas (groin) said he felt "better" after skating and taking some shots Thursday. Dineen said its very doubtful that Thomas, who was hurt Tuesday at Philadelphia, will be ready for Fridays home opener. ... Panthers C Shawn Matthias played after missing the morning skate due to flulike symptoms. ... Markstrom was pulled midway through the third after allowing six goals on 24 shots. cheap jerseys from china cheap jerseys ' ' '