Valtteri Bottas won the Azerbaijan Grand Prix on Sunday and retook the Formula One lead from team mate Lewis Hamilton after a fourth successive one-two finish for Mercedes.
Formula One's 'halo' head protection device makes its race debut this season in a 21-round championship with France and Germany back on the calendar and some new faces joining the old favourites on the starting grid.
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.
Mercedes set for proper fight with Ferrari in Melbourne
'I'm so grateful for everyone who helped me be here, to raise the bar and lift the cup'
Champions Mercedes are chasing a sixth successive double, and Lewis Hamilton his sixth drivers' title, but the task looks tougher than ever.
Formula One's clunky 'halo' head protection device, the most obvious novelty of the 2018 season, has divided opinion.
'I was never Mad Max. I was just Max who was trying to get the best result for the team'
Summary of sports events and persons who made news on Monday
Mercedes's brilliant pitstop strategy spoiled the game for Max Verstappen in Hungarian Grand Prix, says Rediff's F1 columnist Raja Sen.
'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.
A summary of sports events and persons who made news on Thursday
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