Formula One has put almost half its staff on furlough until the end of May due to the novel coronavirus with chairman Chase Carey and senior management also taking a pay cut, an F1 spokesman said on Tuesday. Sources said those on furlough were mainly employees whose work was focused on race weekend activities and who could not carry out duties remotely. The Liberty Media-owned company employs in excess of 500 people.
Max Verstappen was fastest on the opening day of practice for the Belgian Formula One Grand Prix ahead of Red Bull team mate Daniel Ricciardo as world champions Mercedes chose to focus on race preparation. Verstappen set a benchmark time of one minute 48.085 seconds, 0.256 quicker than Ricciardo on a hot and sunny day at the Spa-Francorchamps circuit.
Hamilton already has plenty of records, including 87 pole positions and 33 successive scoring finishes, and his 83 wins put him on course to surpass Schumacher's record tally of 91 next year.
Formula One is feeling a fresh wave of optimism under its new owners, while Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso are the two most popular drivers, according to an extensive fan survey released on Friday.
Sauber's Mexican driver Sergio Perez cancelled his Indian Grand Prix media commitments due to illness on Thursday with doubts about whether he would be fit for Friday practice.
Hamilton's flying lap of one minute 22.188 seconds set a new record at Albert Park but was only 0.268 seconds in front of German Vettel, offering the tantalising prospect of a competitive championship after three years of domination by the Silver Arrows.
The Finn's lap of one minute 17.221 seconds around Barcelona's Circuit de Catalunya was the second fastest of the eight days of winter testing and slower only than team mate Sebastian Vettel's best on Thursday.
Sauber will announce their 2013 driver line-up before the end of the Formula One season but nothing has been decided yet, team chief executive Monisha Kaltenborn said.
After months of feverish speculation about the Formula One futures of Lewis Hamilton, Michael Schumacher and Felipe Massa, matters could finally be coming to a head with less change than expected.
Electrical gremlins held up Lewis Hamilton in Italian Grand Prix practice on Friday after the Mercedes driver had lapped more than half a second quicker than anyone else in the morning session.
'I'm so grateful for everyone who helped me be here, to raise the bar and lift the cup'
Alonso's last race victory came in 2013, and he hasn't been on the podium since 2014. For arguably one of the best drivers F1 has ever seen, this is the very definition of a legacy unfulfilled, says Chetan Narula.
Since the traditional Australian opener was cancelled in March, Formula One has agreed changes to help teams hard hit by COVID-19.
Sebastian Vettel made full use of the virtual safety car to sneak in front of Lewis Hamilton midway the race before the German held off the frustrated Briton to win the season-opening Australian Grand Prix on Sunday.
The Finn lapped the six-km Baku street circuit in one minute, 40.495 seconds, just 0.059 seconds faster than team mate and championship leader Lewis Hamilton.
Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen took pole position for the showcase Monaco Formula One Grand Prix on Saturday with world championship leading German team mate Sebastian Vettel alongside him on the front row.
Lewis Hamilton seized pole position in the dying seconds of qualifying for the first Portuguese Grand Prix in 24 years on Saturday to deny and dismay Mercedes team mate Valtteri Bottas once again.
The pole was the first for Mercedes with their own team since the late Argentine Juan Manuel Fangio at the 1955 Italian Grand Prix.
David Coulthard doesn't feel sorry for the multi million pound worth Spaniard.
Sahara Force India's Nico Hulkenberg will start Sunday's Australian Grand Prix in the ninth position on the grid while Paul di Resta will begin the season-opening race in 15th position.
Seven times Formula One champion Lewis Hamilton called on Thursday for more support for young athletes and lauded tennis player Naomi Osaka for being 'incredibly brave' for her stance on mental health.
Formula One world champion Sebastian Vettel seized his fourth pole position in a row for Red Bull at the Chinese Grand Prix on Saturday.
Formula One world champion Lewis Hamilton won the Hungarian Grand Prix from pole position for Mercedes on Sunday to go into the August break with a 24-point lead over Ferrari rival Sebastian Vettel.
Jenson Button hit back at Niki Lauda on Saturday after the Austrian Formula One great suggested the driver had told him he wanted to stay at McLaren next year and any uncertainty was about money.
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.
'We have set out our 2021 calendar and look forward to the return of F1 in March this year.'
Max Verstappen won Red Bull's home Austrian Grand Prix on Sunday while Lewis Hamilton suffered his first race retirement since 2016 and lost the Formula One championship lead to Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel.
Former Formula One World champion Lewis Hamilton set the Nice road in Bangalore afire with his McLaren Mercedes F1 car to thundering applause from spellbound spectators.
Germany's Sebastian Vettel put returning compatriot Michael Schumacher in the shade on Saturday with pole position for Red Bull at the season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix. Schumacher, the seven times champion returning at the age of 41 after a three-year absence, qualified seventh for Mercedes.
Jenson Button says he has no plans to race again in Formula One after Sunday's season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, even though McLaren are keeping the door open for a possible return in 2018. "I go into this weekend thinking it is going to be my last race. I think that is the best way to be," the 2009 world champion told reporters on Thursday. "At this moment in time I do not want to be racing in Formula One past this race. I think of this as my last race and hopefully everybody else does as well."
Quadruple Formula One world champion Sebastian Vettel went for five on Friday with the German choosing to have that numeral on his car when he is eventually deposed as number one.
Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel was first and last in Austrian Grand Prix practice on a Friday that team principal Maurizio Arrivabene will not forget in a hurry after nearly being run over by Felipe Massa.
The Briton raised eyebrows on Tuesday when he started an Instagram story, which disappeared after 24 hours, with some cryptic comments.
Red Bull's Max Verstappen, last year's winner at his team's home circuit, qualified third.
Sahara Force India claimed a historic fourth place finish, their best ever show, in the Formula One Championships this season after Nico Hulkenberg and Sergio Perez finished seventh and eighth respectively at the season-closing Abu Dhabi Grand Prix in Abu Dhabi on Sunday.
Ferrari had every hope of winning their home Italian Grand Prix for the first time since 2010 on Sunday and they blew it.
Nico Rosberg ended the Formula One season on a winning high in Abu Dhabi on Sunday with team mate and triple world champion Lewis Hamilton following him home in a record 12th one-two finish for dominant Mercedes.
McLaren driver Lewis Hamilton has been fined A$500 ($445) but avoided conviction for reckless driving outside Melbourne's Australian Grand Prix circuit in March.
Four-times world champion Sebastian Vettel won the Australian Grand Prix for Ferrari on Sunday to dash Mercedes' hopes of extending their dominance into a fourth successive season of Formula One.
Lewis Hamilton stepped out on to the Italian Grand Prix podium, high above the red tide of Ferrari.
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