Mercedes' seven-times world champion Lewis Hamilton, and now-retired four-times champion Sebastian Vettel, have been among those making political statements at races in recent seasons.
The front row lockout was a record-equalling 65th for champions Mercedes.
Formula One offered fans a glimpse of the future on Thursday with a presentation of what cars will look like next season when the sport undergoes a rules revamp to make racing closer and more exciting.
Ferrari Formula One boss Mattia Binotto has handed in his resignation and will leave at the end of the year, the championship runners-up said on Tuesday.
Ferrari's times were eye-catching, and quicker than anything from last year's weather-affected first four-day test at the Circuit de Catalunya.
The Formula One season starts in Australia on March 17 with new regulations, changed lineups, a trio of young rookies fresh from Formula Two and the comeback of Poland's Robert Kubica.
One police officer involved was fired by the city's police department in June. Two other officers have been placed on administrative reassignment. No criminal charges have been filed against any of the three.
Fernando Alonso left the Brickyard on Sunday without a fairytale victory to cap his Indy 500 adventure but had no regrets as he prepared to return to his Formula One day job with McLaren.
Lewis Hamilton spent the off-season crisscrossing the globe to party with A-list celebrities but Formula One's reigning champion is adamant there will be no hangover when he returns to work at this week's season-opening Australian Grand Prix.
'I could never have dreamed of being where I am today.'
Montreal-born Lance Stroll, who celebrated his 18th birthday on October 29 and has yet to pass his driving test, will be the first Canadian F1 racer since 1997 world champion Jacques Villeneuve, who won his title at Williams and retired in 2006.
Lewis Hamilton has spoken about his mental and emotional struggles
Alonso says he will quit F1 if season expands to 25 races
The blue and papaya orange MCL34 car was unveiled by 34 team employees at the former champions' Woking headquarters before Sainz and 19-year-old British rookie team mate Lando Norris stepped up to admire it.
Formula One motor racing: Team prospects for 2018
Sebastian Vettel is only the third driver to win four successive championships, after compatriot Michael Schumacher and the late Argentine Juan Manuel Fangio. A look at some key facts about the champion.
The Formula One season winds up in Abu Dhabi on Sunday with both titles won, Lewis Hamilton aiming to close the year on a winning note and big money still at stake for those further down the paddock pecking order.
Austria to stay on Formula One calendar until 2027.
Struggling smaller F1 teams like Sauber and Force India have long argued that the distribution is skewed in favour of leading manufacturers, who receive special payments regardless of how they perform on the track.
Formula One got back on track in changed circumstances on Friday but with Mercedes bringing a familiar look to the timing sheets as six times World champion Lewis Hamilton led team mate Valtteri Bottas one-two in Austrian Grand Prix free practice. The Briton did 41 laps and lapped with a best time of one minute 04.816 seconds in a damp and overcast session, 0.356 faster than the Finn.
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.
Red Bull's Max Verstappen will be doing all he can to stop six-times world champion Lewis Hamilton completing a Mercedes hat-trick and matching another of Michael Schumacher's Formula One records in Hungary this weekend.
IMAGES from the Hungarian Formula One Grand Prix on Sunday.
Mercedes F1 GP's Nico Rosberg won his first Formula One Championship after finishing 2nd in the tight race at the Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi on Sunday.
Images from the Tuscan F1 Grand Prix held at at Mugello, Scarperia e San Piero in Tuscany, Italy, on Sunday.
Netflix's behind-the-scenes 'Drive to Survive' Formula One documentary has been a huge success that could change the way broadcasters engage with audiences, one of the sport's top sponsors said on Tuesday.
The wife of Mercedes motorsport head and Williams shareholder Toto will be driving the FW35 car on Friday in a young driver test that has been thrown open to race regulars as well to allow Pirelli to test tyres after controversial recent blowouts.
The German, whose last victory was in Belgium in August 2018, took the chequered flag 2.641 seconds ahead of Monegasque team mate Charles Leclerc, who had started on pole position for the third race in a row.
The Mercedes driver smashed the Monza track record with a sensational lap of one minute 18.887 seconds to lead team mate Valtteri Bottas in another front row lockout.
US Grand Prix winner Kimi Raikkonen has always been known as 'The Iceman' but Formula One fans could soon have much more of an insight into just how cool he really is in the heat of battle.
Still too young to drive on Indian roads, 17-year-old Jehan Daruvala, a speedster from Mumbai, could become India's first Formula One champion.
Lewis Hamilton revealed he is a big Arsenal fan and 'has been waiting for' them to win the Premier League (PL) for his whole life.
Red Bull have given "a definite no" to four-times Formula One world champion Sebastian Vettel's hopes of returning to them next year, team boss Christian Horner said on Friday. The German, who is out of contract with Ferrari at the end of the season and facing an uncertain future, had said on Thursday he would say yes to a Red Bull drive if one was offered.
Lewis Hamilton was all smiles as he showed off his new Mercedes Formula One car on Monday, even if the 2008 world champion is clearly still adjusting to life after McLaren and may have to wait a while to win again.
Sebastian Vettel, who joined in 2015 with the dream of emulating boyhood hero Michael Schumacher in winning titles with the sport's oldest and most glamorous team, is out of contract at the end of the year.
Ferrari made a strong start to the first day of Formula One testing, on Monday, with four-times world champion Sebastian Vettel top of the timesheets at lunchtime with 72 laps completed.
Swiss-based Sauber have parted company with principal Monisha Kaltenborn, the first woman to run a Formula One outfit, the team's owners said.
Lewis Hamilton, the sport's most successful driver of all time and badly affected by the outcome after leading until seven corners from the end, did not attend Thursday night's gala awards ceremony-- a requirement for the championship's top three.
Seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton will be staying in Formula One for the next two years at least after he and Mercedes announced a contract extension on Saturday.
