Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel won the Bahrain Grand Prix to go seven points clear at the top of the Formula One standings on Sunday, with Mercedes rival Lewis Hamilton staging a late charge to finish second.
The 23-year-old Chennai racer will drive for Italy-based former race winners Durango in the 11-race event.
Verstappen struggled for grip through qualifying but it all came together in his last effort
Lewis Hamilton continued his season's sweep of qualifying at the Bahrain Grand Prix.
McLaren's Fernando Alonso has been ruled out of Sunday's Bahrain Formula One Grand Prix on medical grounds following his huge crash in the Australian season-opener on March 20. The governing International Automobile Federation (FIA) said in a statement that the decision had been taken after a medical examination at the Sakhir circuit on Thursday. "Two sets of chest CT scans were compared and it was decided that there was insufficient resolution of the signs to allow him to compete on safety grounds," the statement said.
Monaco's Leclerc, who had started on pole position for the first time, lost power with 10 laps to go while leading and finished third with an extra point for the fastest lap.
Karun Chandhok's GP2 debut ended in an anti-climax as a collision in the sixth lap dashed his hopes of a decent finish.
Summary of sports events and persons who made news on Friday.
Australia was given a new date of Nov. 21 for the race in Melbourne.
Formula One championship leader Nico Rosberg put Mercedes on pole position for the Bahrain Grand Prix on Saturday and ended team mate Lewis Hamilton's hopes of a hat-trick.
Formula One champion Lewis Hamilton has tested positive for COVID-19 and will miss the upcoming Sakhir Grand Prix.
The pole, Vettel's 47th, ended a run of 18 in a row for world champions Mercedes who had Valtteri Bottas and Lewis Hamilton right behind the two red cars in third and fourth places.
Formula One needs to change its new qualifying format after it fell flat at Saturday's Australian season-opener and tweaks can be made before the next race in Bahrain, according to the sport's commercial supremo Bernie Ecclestone.
Hamilton wrapped up his record-equalling seventh title in Turkey last month and picked up his 11th win of the season in Bahrain on Sunday. Mercedes have already won the constructors' title for an unprecedented seventh year in a row.
Finland's Valtteri Bottas took his first Formula One pole position at the Bahrain Grand Prix on Saturday with a sizzling lap that ended Mercedes team mate Lewis Hamilton's bid for a seventh in a row.
Four-time Formula One champion and Red Bull racer Sebastian Vettel has warned his team that they might be facing a debacle unless they improve their car before the season opens at the Australian Grand Prix in two weeks.
Vandoorne qualified 17th at the previous race in Bahrain, 16th in China and 18th in the Australian season-opener, with 20 cars on the grid.
Pietro Fittipaldi will make his Formula One race debut with the Haas team at the Sakhir Grand Prix in Bahrain next weekend as replacement for Romain Grosjean
IMAGES from the Azerbaijan F1 Grand Prix held at Baku City Circuit on Sunday
The McLaren Racing team has withdrawn from this weekend's season-opening Australian Grand Prix after a team member tested positive for coronavirus, the team said on Thursday. The positive test at McLaren follows four crew members of fellow Formula One team Haas being quarantined due to the outbreak.
The Briton eased his Mercedes across the line 6.2 seconds ahead of Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel, with Max Verstappen, who started 16th, finishing a surprise third for Red Bull.
Formula One's governing body included the Bahrain Grand Prix and set a December 11 date for India on Thursday in a revised calendar that appeared divorced from reality.
It pains former F1 driver Karun Chandhok to see that interest in motorsport in India has declined drastically.
Ferrari's Charles Leclerc claimed his second win of the Formula One season
While Valtteri Bottas claimed a dominant win for Mercedes and his team mate Lewis Hamilton held off Red Bull's Max Verstappen for second, Ferrari's drivers were left scrambling for minor points in a sobering start for the Scuderia.
Charles Leclerc seized pole position for the Belgian Formula One Grand Prix on Saturday ahead of team mate Sebastian Vettel who completed a front row lockout for Ferrari.
After the stupendous success of this year's inaugural edition, next season's Indian Grand Prix Formula One race will be held on October 28 at the Buddha International Circuit at Greater Noida.
The Indian Grand Prix could be moved to the second weekend in December as Formula One's season-ending race, Ferrari principal Stefano Domenicali said on Friday.
Ferrari's world champion Kimi Raikkonen stretched his Formula One lead to nine points with a dominant win from pole position in the Spanish Grand Prix on Sunday.
Formula One's new qualifying format was given a second chance in Bahrain on Saturday after flopping on its debut in Australia but team bosses and drivers declared it as bad as before.
Mercedes were summoned by stewards post-race for the infringement.
Lewis Hamilton broke ranks with other drivers who said they were comfortable with assurances received from the governing FIA, even as other sports cancel events and competitions around the globe.
Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel let rip with a blast of swear words after two first lap collisions with Red Bull's Daniil Kvyat dumped him out of the Russian's home race on Sunday.
Ferrari's world champion and Formula One leader Kimi Raikkonen took his first pole position of the season at the Spanish Grand Prix.
Finland's Valtteri Bottas kept champions Mercedes on pole position for the Austrian Grand Prix on Saturday after title-chasing team mate Lewis Hamilton was hit with a five-place grid penalty.
Force India had something to cheer about. Paul Di Resta delivered a great result for Sahara Force India by finishing sixth, his second-best of the season, while Adrian Sutil came 10th in the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix on Sunday.
Alfa Romeo announced Guanyu Zhou as China's first Formula One racing driver on Tuesday with his arrival in 2022 hailed by both the team and the sport as a historic breakthrough in a key growth market.
"Welcome to the gang." Coming from the matchless Michael Schumacher, these generous words sweetened Karun Chandhok's Formula One debut in Bahrain but looking ahead, India's newest F1 driver reckons a jerky ride awaits him this season.
India's new Formula One entrant Karun Chandhok has thanked Bernie Ecclestone for helping him to fulfill his lifelong dream.
Ferrari team principal Maurizio Arrivabene welcomed back the Kimi Raikkonen of old on Sunday.
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