Jenson Button hailed Honda's latest power unit as a good step forward for McLaren after completing 121 laps and finishing fifth fastest on the second day of Formula One's final pre-season test on Wednesday.
On a rainsoaked afternoon that saw the race twice stopped and re-started with the safety car deployed five times, there were also those who felt the sport had erred too far on the side of caution.
Max Verstappen was compared to Formula One greats Ayrton Senna and Michael Schumacher on Sunday after the Dutch teenager's sensational drive to third place in a wet and chaotic Brazilian Grand Prix. Even father and former racer Jos, the 19-year-old Red Bull driver's biggest fan and fiercest critic, was astonished. "What Max showed here today was really special," he said of a race likely to go down in the sport's annals as one for the ages. In the last 15 laps, after a change to extreme wet tyres, Verstappen passed more than half the starting grid as he went from 16th place to the podium.
The most successful current racer, in terms of wins if not titles, Hamilton can also equal seven-times world champion Michael Schumacher's all-time record of 68 pole positions at Spa on Saturday.
French driver Esteban Ocon will race for Force Indianext season after agreeing a multi-year deal, the Silverstone-based Formula One team said in a statement at the Brazilian Grand Prix on Thursday. Ocon replaces experienced German Nico Hulkenberg, who is moving to Renault, alongside Mexican Sergio Perez at a team co-owned by Indian tycoon Vijay Mallya and currently fourth in the championship. The 20-year-old is contracted long-term to Mercedes, Force India's engine provider, and made his debut this year with the lowly Manor team as a mid-season replacement for Indonesian Rio Haryanto.
Force India finished sixth in 2014 but spent much of last season calling for cost cuts.
Paul di Resta suffered his third retirement in a row and Adrian Sutil sneaked into the top-10 in the last lap as Sahara Force India added one point to their tally from the exciting Singapore Grand Prix, where fortunes swung like a pendulum for the Indian F1 team.
Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel refused to blame his team for a wrong strategy call after the four time World Champion missed out on an elusive first win of the Formula One season in Sunday's Canadian Grand Prix.
Mark Webber has tipped fellow Australian Daniel Ricciardo to replace him at Formula One champions Red Bull next season.
The German, Canadian and Brazilian grands prix were listed as subject to confirmation on a record-equalling 21-race provisional calendar for 2017 published by Formula One's governing body on Wednesday.
Formula One world championship leader Sebastian Vettel won the Bahrain Grand Prix for Ferrari on Sunday in the German's 200th race start.
Germany's Nico Rosberg took a controversial pole position at the Monaco Grand Prix on Saturday after an incident that denied unhappy Mercedes team mate and championship leader Lewis Hamilton the chance to beat him.
And, since, pictures speak more than words, Rediff.com brings you images from these sporting events and others that made headlines in the week gone by.
'The hunger is always there. After one year and a half without being close to the podium, I have more motivation. I come out as a lion in every race'
Quadruple world champion Sebastian Vettel continued to set the pace at the U.S. Formula One Grand Prix, topping the final practice time sheets in another Red Bull one-two on Saturday.
South Korea's Formula One grand prix has been reinstated provisionally on a record 21-race calendar for 2015 while double points have been scrapped for the final round in Abu Dhabi, the sport's governing body said on Wednesday.
British ace racer Lewis Hamilton has said that he expects to be at Mercedes for years to come after he was crowned world champion on Sunday for the second time.
Three-time world champion Lewis Hamilton dominated practice at the season-opening Australian Grand Prix on Friday, putting Mercedes on top of the timesheets and leaving his Formula One rivals with plenty to ponder before the weekend.
'The phenomenal Max Verstappen was both sloppy and superb in Germany, getting caught out during the first two starts, and even spinning his car around to give the crowd something to gasp at with a Batmobile-esque 360 degree turn. 'After Hamilton crashed and Verstappen sniffed victory, though, he pounced hard, put his foot down, and took a deserved race win,' says Rediff's F1 columnist Raja Sen.
Britain's Lewis Hamilton became Formula One world champion for the second time after winning the season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix for Mercedes on Sunday.
'I was actually with Serena last week in LA ... she came out to Mexico (for the race) which for me was a real honour to have someone of her power, someone who has achieved so much' 'Venus talks a lot about wisdom and about her growth and about the process of being a sportsman or sportswoman so generally from both of them, I take a lot of inspiration and admire them both hugely'
Champions Mercedes are chasing a sixth successive double, and Lewis Hamilton his sixth drivers' title, but the task looks tougher than ever.
Ferrari showed impressive pace during pre-season testing and are considered the team most likely to dethrone Mercedes.
Vijay Mallya faces a sensitive diary clash this week as the season-opening Australian Formula One Grand Prix coincides with an appointment to appear before Indian investigators.
Rain and crashes twice halted the potentially title-deciding Brazilian Formula One Grand Prix on Sunday with the crowd booing and triple world champion Lewis Hamilton disagreeing with officials.
David Coulthard doesn't feel sorry for the multi million pound worth Spaniard.
Triple Formula One world champion Lewis Hamilton has urged fans to be more sporting after boos were heard for the second race in a row at Silverstone on Sunday.
Sahara Force India drew a blank from the Formula 1 Malaysian Grand Prix after Sergio Perez and Nico Hulkenberg finished 13th and 14th at the Sepang International Circuit in Malaysia on Sunday.
Lewis Hamilton will head into his home British Grand Prix praying for the sake of the fans that angry Mercedes bosses continue to allow him and team mate Nico Rosberg to race each other freely.
German Adrian Sutil will drive for Sauber next season, the Formula One team said on Friday, replacing Nico Hulkenberg who moved in the opposite direction to Force India last week.
Rediff.com gives you a glimpse of the best sporting action from the week gone by.
Lewis Hamilton had his first taste on Friday of the Mercedes car that he hopes will make him Britain's first four-times Formula One world champion this season.
The four times world champion is enjoying his best start to a season since he was at Red Bull in 2011, leading Lewis Hamilton by seven points after two wins and a second place from the first three races.
Formula One's clampdown on radio communications between engineers and drivers has made the sport more dangerous, triple world champion Lewis Hamilton said on Sunday.
Triple Formula One world champion Lewis Hamilton blamed a rare 'off day' for an error-filled qualifying performance on Saturday at the Baku street circuit that hosts Azerbaijan's first grand prix.
Unlike the Australian GP, where the majority of drivers carried out only one pit-stop, of Sunday's second race of the season, at Sepang, Malaysia, will see at least two, says Raja Sen.
Romelu Lukaku scored twice to earn Belgium a 2-1 victory over Switzerland in the Nations League on Friday, lifting the mood in the country after a week marred by match-fixing allegations.
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.
Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel put himself on pole position to retake the Formula One lead from Lewis Hamilton after setting the fastest lap in qualifying for the Singapore Grand Prix.
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.
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