An agreement for Australia to continue to host a Formula One race until 2015 is expected to be signed within days, local media reported on Sunday. The future of the Australian Grand Prix was placed in jeopardy in March with F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone saying that it might be dumped after 2010 unless it switched to a night race to accommodate European television audiences.
Ferrari's Felipe Massa needs to repeat last year's dominant victory in Bahrain on Sunday to silence his critics after a poor start to the Formula One season. While McLaren's Lewis Hamilton leads the standings with 14 points, three clear of Ferrari's World champion Kimi Raikkonen and BMW Sauber's Nick Heidfeld, Brazilian Massa is yet to score.
Kimi Raikkonen made a forgettable start to his world title defence when a fuel pump problem ruined his chances of securing pole position at the season-opening Australian Grand Prix. The Finn will start Sunday's race from the unfamiliar place of 16th on the grid after his Ferrari broke down at the end of Saturday's first qualifying session at Albert Park.
The Italian driver broke into the top 10 in practice for Sunday's season-opening Australian Grand Prix. Fisichella, 35, lapped ninth fastest in Friday's afternoon practice session at Albert Park after ending the morning with the 12th best time. German team mate Adrian Sutil was 17th.
Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso have swerved suggestions their bitter relationship could turn nasty during this weekend's season-opening Australian Grand Prix. Lewis Hamilton said it had been an honour to work with the Spaniard last year.
The Colombian stalked out of a pre-Australian Grand Prix news conference after it was hijacked by a satirical television sports show.
Narain Karthikeyan finished 15th for Jordan as the highest-ranked of the four men making their Grands Prix debuts in Australia.
'We're absolutely confident the Australian Open will go ahead'
Ferrari castigated Formula One rivals McLaren for making 'serious and false' accusations against them.
Formula One champion Lewis Hamilton has tested positive for COVID-19 and will miss the upcoming Sakhir Grand Prix.
Red Bull will sell their Toro Rosso Formula One team before 2010 because of a change in the Formula One regulations, co-owner Dietrich Mateschitz has confirmed. The 2010 rules will outlaw the use of so-called 'customer cars', where one team uses a chassis provided by another, and ensure that all teams entered in the constructors' championship build and design their own racers.
Lewis Hamilton avoided mayhem around him to open the F1 season with a pole-to-flag victory in a crash-strewn Australian Grand Prix.
Giancarlo Fisichella finished 17th, while team mate Adrian Sutil qualified 19th for Sunday's Australian Grand Prix. At the top, McLaren's Lewis Hamilton won pole position after warding off a strong challenge from BMW's Robert Kubica, who briefly took the lead before the Briton outpaced him in the third and final qualifying session.
Fernando Alonso did his best to put a positive spin on his disappointing return to Renault at the Australian Grand Prix on Saturday. He qualified 12th fastest for Sunday's season-opening race but will start from 11th after Toyota's Timo Glock dropped back five places for changing a gearbox.
McLaren boss Ron Dennis said on Tuesday he had decided to stay at the helm of the Formula One team, ending media speculation that he was about to stand down.
Eddie Jordan had fun in Formula One and now Indian tycoon Vijay Mallya intends to bring back the good times after buying the team founded by the Irish entrepreneur.
The Force India driver completed 102 laps at the Circuit de Catalunya for a best timing of 1:22:233 seconds.
Four days before the season-opening Australian Grand Prix, Horner said his team still had plenty of ground to make up, however.
Formula One's move to a single tyre supplier has hit champions Renault hardest, team boss Flavio Briatore said after Sunday's season-opening Australian Grand Prix.
Ferrari's Felipe Massa and Kimi Raikkonen made a flying start to the Formula One season on Friday with the fastest times in free practice for the Australian Grand Prix.
Schumacher will be absent from Formula One's season-opening race for the first time since 1991 on Sunday.
Double world champion Fernando Alonso hopes to get his McLaren career off to a winning start on Sunday in an Australian Grand Prix that is far more than just a season-opener.
The Renault driver scored his second victory in three races to extend his lead in the Formula One world championship to 14 points.
The Canadian driver will lose 10 places on the Australian GP after his team confirmed engine change for Saturday qualifying.
The 21-year-old Australian started third on the grid but he surged into the lead on the first lap and never lost it, easing to his ninth victory of the season.
The Briton, who started his career working for the Hesketh team in 1977, died in Melbourne of a pulmonary embolism, it said.
However, McLaren's David Coulthard warned Button not to be under any illusions.
The Formula One champion broke the lap record in practice for the season-opening Australian Grand Prix.
Michael Schumacher was the slowest driver to complete a lap, behind even the two Minardis and 27.4 seconds slower than Fisichella.
The 27-year-old became the first driver to win on his Ferrari debut since Briton Nigel Mansell in Brazil in 1989.
The Finn made a triumphant start to his Ferrari career with a pole-to-flag victory in the season-opening Formula One race.
Alonso, who will make his McLaren debut after winning the Formula One championship for the past two years with Renault, had to make do with second place on the starting grid.
"The reality check is a race weekend so there is nowhere to hide from that," said the Scot.
Minardi's hopes of competing in Sunday's season-opening Australian Grand Prix depend on Ferrari's Jean Todt, said team owner Paul Stoddart.
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