Formula One has a reputation for being exclusive and inaccessible compared to series like the world endurance championship, where fans have much more access to the paddock and drivers during race weekends. But the sport is set for a revamp.
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.
There has been speculation within Formula One that Lawrence Stroll, the billionaire father of Canadian driver Lance, is willing to invest in Force India as part of a move for his son from Williams.
Nico Rosberg was hoping to savour, but it must have tasted sweeter than the champagne he drank out of Daniel Ricciardo's boot as the German inched closer to his maiden Formula One title.
Formula One world champion Lewis Hamilton was fastest but teenage rookie Max Verstappen stood out with an eye-catching practice performance on a rainy Thursday at the Monaco Grand Prix.
Germany's Nico Rosberg won the Brazilian Grand Prix on Sunday to end team mate Lewis Hamilton's run of five successive victories and cut the Briton's championship lead to 17 points with one race remaining.
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.
Lewis Hamilton tightened his grip on securing a fifth Formula One world title by coming from nowhere to claim a stunning pole position for the Singapore Grand Prix in his Mercedes on Saturday.
Formula One world champion Lewis Hamilton won the Belgian Grand Prix from pole position on Sunday to increase his lead over Mercedes team mate Nico Rosberg to 28 points with eight races remaining.
Lewis Hamilton accused Formula One rival Sebastian Vettel of disgracing himself and deliberately driving into his car as a bitter clash between the two world championship rivals dominated Sunday's Grand Prix in Azerbaijan.
Formula One world champion Lewis Hamilton says he can see something of himself in Manny Pacquiao, even if the Filipino lost the 'Fight of the Century' last weekend.
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.
Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton will start the Chinese Formula One Grand Prix from pole position after setting the fastest time in qualifying on Saturday.
'It's been ultimately a really great race between two different teams and it ends with a bit of a ... negative. It does kind of feel like a deflated win'
The Finn was a mere 0.006 of a second quicker than the five times world champion as the two Silver Arrows once again locked out the front row of the grid on a cloudy afternoon at Silverstone.
Bookmakers William Hill have the Briton as 15/8 favourite for the 2018 drivers championship, with Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel at 3/1 and Red Bull's Max Verstappen at 10/3.
'I watched Senna as a child and it would be an honour to match him. Now I'm just one win away but I hope to do even better'
Hamilton, who had also topped Saturday morning's final practice session, never look like being challenged throughout the qualifying hour.
Mercedes' British driver Lewis Hamilton won the Brazilian Grand Prix at the Interlagos Circuit in Sao Paulo on Sunday to keep the Formula One Championship alive with one race left this season.
Formula One leader Lewis Hamilton put Mercedes on pole position for their 200th race at the German Grand Prix on Saturday while engine problems dashed Ferrari's hopes.
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.
Jackie Stewart, Britain's only triple Formula One world champion, knows his record is on borrowed time after Lewis Hamilton's storming victory in Sunday's Bahrain Grand Prix.
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.
Lewis Hamilton is planning to get plenty of rest over the next few days
IMAGES from the Azerbaijan F1 Grand Prix held at Baku City Circuit on Sunday
Mercedes won the Formula One constructors' title for the fourth year in a row on Sunday but Lewis Hamilton was made to wait despite cruising to a U.S. Grand Prix victory at one of his favourite circuits.
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.
As we prepare to cruise into the New Year, Rediff.com gives you a glance back, through photos, into all the sporting moments that made the last 12 months memorable.
Doubts about Force India being able to race at Spa, the first Grand Prix since the August break, emerged on Wednesday with reports of legal complications.
Ferrari's Carlos Sainz claimed his first Formula One victory on Sunday in a thrilling British Grand Prix halted by a first-lap crash and with the added mayhem of a track invasion by protesters.
Ferrari's Charles Leclerc, starting on pole, finished second after defending hard against Verstappen with the two 21-year-olds banging wheels as the Dutchman forced his way past. Verstappen took the flag under investigation.
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.
After pipping Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel with a lap of one minute 23.599 seconds in the first practice, the Briton shaved almost a second in FP2, his quickest lap clocked at 1:22.60.
A Chinese Grand Prix podium hostess who had champagne sprayed in her face by race winner Lewis Hamilton has played down the incident.
Ferrari's Formula One world championship leader Sebastian Vettel was handed a five-second penalty for colliding with the Mercedes of Valtteri Bottas on the opening lap of the French Grand Prix on Sunday.
Three rookies are set to make their race debuts and Azarbaijan will make it's Formula One debut even as Sebastian Vettel, Nico Rosberg pose to challenge odds on favourite Lewis Hamilton.
Formula One championship leader Sebastian Vettel put Ferrari on pole position for Sunday's Bahrain Grand Prix with team mate Kimi Raikkonen alongside on the front row.
Former FIA president Max Mosley has warned that Formula One risks serious difficulties unless it changes direction and cuts costs.
'Vettel disgraced himself, to be honest'
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