Four-time Formula One world champion Sebastian Vettel will race for Aston Martin, the new name for the Canadian-owned Racing Point team, on a multi-year deal after leaving Ferrari at the end of the season.
Sebastian Vettel has never been one for social media or had much time for esports but even the four-times world champion has shifted his stance, however slightly, under Formula One's coronavirus lockdown. Although the 32-year-old Ferrari driver is still not remotely tempted by Twitter or Instagram, he has acquired a gaming rig. Just how much the German uses it remains to be seen.
World champion Lewis Hamilton, back in the car after his COVID-19-enforced absence at last week's Sakhir Grand Prix, was third but only 0.086 seconds off the pace.
Charles Leclerc seized the first pole position of his Formula One career on Saturday with Ferrari team mate Sebastian Vettel second fastest to lock out the front row for the Bahrain Grand Prix.
Next season, if Ferrari can carry their gathering momentum into 2020, could even see Leclerc challenging for the championship after losing out to Hamilton's Mercedes outfit this year.
The Thai's victory over his Ferrari rival gave Red Bull something to celebrate on a day that should have seen the return of Max Verstappen's home Dutch Grand Prix after a 35-year absence.
Charles Leclerc put Ferrari on pole position for their home Italian Formula One Grand Prix on Saturday in a qualifying session that ended in farce and with drivers under investigation.
Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel qualified third, ahead of 21-year-old Monegasque team mate Charles Leclerc who was unable to repeat his Bahrain Grand Prix pole of two weeks ago.
Qualifying took place at a sunny Suzuka on Sunday morning after being postponed from its usual Saturday slot due to the approach of Typhoon Hagibis.
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.
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 Ferrari driver's best time of one minute 16.231 seconds was close to the 2018 Spanish Grand Prix pole time by Lewis Hamilton for Mercedes.
'Tolerance is an elementary principle of our team and we are enriched by diversity in all its forms.'
The writing has been on the wall for Sebastian Vettel since September 2018 when Ferrari announced Charles Leclerc as his Formula One team mate. The German, who will leave the Italian team at the end of a pandemic-hit 2020 season that has yet to start, was top dog at Maranello at the time but Leclerc was young, hungry and determined.
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.
Lewis Hamilton lapped fastest overall for Mercedes in Hungarian Grand Prix practice
Ferrari showed off their 2020 Formula One car with a theatrical show of pride and passion on Tuesday, assuring success-starved fans that it was also very different under the skin to last year's model. The SF1000, marking the Italian team's 1,000th race that comes up this year, is the car Ferrari hope can end six years of Mercedes domination and dash Lewis Hamilton's bid to equal Michael Schumacher's record seven titles.
Sebastian Vettel is Ferrari's first choice to partner Charles Leclerc next year, team boss Mattia Binotto said on Tuesday, despite speculation that they want six times world champion Lewis Hamilton. The 32-year-old German had a difficult and disappointing 2019 season, outperformed by Leclerc in the young Monegasque's first year at Ferrari, and is out of contract at the end of 2020. Hamilton is in a similar position with Formula One champions Mercedes, although the Briton is expected to stay, and met Ferrari chairman John Elkann last year.
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.
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.
Red Bull's Max Verstappen, last year's winner at his team's home circuit, qualified third.
Valtteri Bottas won a dramatic first race of the delayed Formula One season for champions Mercedes in Austria on Sunday
The 21-year-old is the first Ferrari driver since seven times champion Michael Schumacher to take four consecutive poles in a single season.
It emerged then that former F1 racer Karun Chandhok's post-race video analysis for Sky Sports television formed part of what Ferrari had billed as "quite overwhelming" new and relevant evidence.
Ferrari's Charles Leclerc qualified third with team mate Sebastian Vettel a distant seventh on a distinctly off day for the German.
Spaniard Carlos Sainz will make a dream move to Ferrari next year, with Australian Daniel Ricciardo replacing him at McLaren, as Formula One's driver carousel took another big twirl on Thursday with the 2020 season yet to start. Ferrari said 25-year-old Sainz, who replaces four times World champion Sebastian Vettel alongside young Monegasque Charles Leclerc at the sport's most glamorous team, had signed for 2021 and 2022.
The race has been won from pole eight times out of 11 editions.
Hamilton has won the last three races, out of four so far in this COVID-19 affected season, and will start as favourite again.
Lewis Hamilton won the Monaco Grand Prix for Mercedes on Sunday, nursing his car's worn tyres to the finish in a nail-biting victory worthy of the team's late great Niki Lauda.
Mercedes's Valtteri Bottas snatched pole position for the US Grand Prix on Saturday, breathing life into his remote title hopes while signalling to Lewis Hamilton he will not be gifting a sixth drivers' crown to his team mate.
Lewis Hamilton won the Chinese Grand Prix to seize the overall lead from his Mercedes team mate Valtteri Bottas in Formula One's 1,000th world championship race on Sunday.
The youngest Ferrari race driver since 1961 proved he has what it takes to handle the weight of expectation that comes with driving for the sport's most successful and glamorous team.
A glaring error by Ferrari denied Charles Leclerc the chance to shine at home, with the 21-year-old failing to make it through the first phase and qualifying only 16th after going fastest in final practice.
Lewis Hamilton collected his champion's trophy at a glittering gala in Paris after ending the year in touching distance of Michael Schumacher's records for wins and titles.
The shocked 21-year-old rookie was unhurt in the incident between turns two and three but Williams said the chassis would have to be replaced, sidelining the Briton until Saturday's final session before qualifying. Former world champions Williams are already facing plenty of problems with an uncompetitive car that is some way off their rivals' pace.
Lewis Hamilton led every lap from pole position to chequered flag, banging in a fastest lap for good measure to emphasise his supremacy
The pole was a record-extending 88th of Hamilton's career and fifth of the season.
Formula One world champion Lewis Hamilton won his home British Grand Prix for a record sixth time on Sunday to stretch his lead over Mercedes team mate Valtteri Bottas to 39 points.
Aryna Sabalenka moved one step closer to defending her Wuhan Open crown after dispatching world number one Ash Barty in straight sets with a 7-5 6-4 victory in the semi-final on Friday
Ferrari's Charles Leclerc held off Lewis Hamilton to win his first Formula One race on Sunday in the Belgian Formula One Grand Prix.
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