Germany's Nico Rosberg won a dramatic British Grand Prix for Mercedes on Sunday after one of several explosive tyre failures scuppered team mate Lewis Hamilton's hopes of home victory.
The Sahara Force India celebrated its 100th race in style, scoring seven points with Paul Di Resta and Adrian Sutil finishing in seventh and 10th places respectively at the Canadian Grand Prix in Montreal.
Formula One is facing fresh calls to consider closed cockpits after French driver Jules Bianchi's accident in Japan last weekend, though opinions are mixed about the potential benefits. Cockpit covers were tested by the governing International Automobile Federation (FIA) after Brazilian Felipe Massa suffered severe head injuries when he was hit by a bouncing spring in Hungary in 2009. In 2012, tests were carried out using a forward roll hoop -- a metal structure placed right in front of the driver -- after other experiments with a jet fighter-style canopy and windshields. None were developed beyond the testing stage, but drivers and teams suggested at the Russian Grand Prix they could be revisited after Bianchi suffered a severe brain trauma when his Marussia crashed into a recovery tractor at Suzuka.
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.
Lewis Hamilton battled back from an agonisingly slow start to win the Italian Grand Prix for Mercedes on Sunday and slash team mate Nico Rosberg's Formula One championship lead to 22 points.
Lewis Hamilton took pole position for the Italian Grand Prix on Saturday with championship-leading Mercedes team mate Nico Rosberg qualifying alongside him on the front row.
Team by team analysis of Sunday's Russian Grand Prix (listed in championship order):
Lewis Hamilton boosted his morale with the fastest lap in Russian Grand Prix practice on Friday after Mercedes team mate Nico Rosberg set the early pace and Ferrari suffered reliability problems.
Sebastian Vettel led a Ferrari one-two at the top of the timesheets in final practice for the Bahrain Grand Prix on Saturday, ending the stranglehold of previously dominant champions Mercedes. Vettel lapped the Sakhir Circuit in a best time of one minute 31.683 seconds, 0.040 faster than team mate Kimi Raikkonen on the supersoft tyres. It was the first time this season that any driver from outside the Mercedes pairing of Nico Rosberg and triple world champion Lewis Hamilton had ended practice on top. Hamilton was quickest in all three sessions in Australia two weeks ago while championship frontrunner Rosberg led his team mate in Bahrain practices one and two on Friday. Rosberg was third fastest in practice three, his time of 1:32.104 slower than Friday when he did 1:31.001, with Hamilton fourth.
Lewis Hamilton won in Sunday's Azerbaijan Grand Prix ahead of Kimi Raikkonen and took championship lead.
Summary of sports events and persons who made news on Sunday
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.
Formula One world champion Lewis Hamilton is ready to sign a new contract that, according to media reports, could net him more than $40 million a year.
Formula One legend, Niki Lauda, thinks it's going to be a tighter fight between them, because the latter wants to make sure now he can beat the Briton.
Formula One world champion Lewis Hamilton took pole position for the French Grand Prix on Saturday with Mercedes team mate Valtteri Bottas alongside him on the front row.
Beyond the empty stands and coronavirus-induced delay, this year's Indianapolis 500 will see another profound change at the famed Brickyard on Sunday -- for the first time in 21 years, there are no female drivers on the starting grid.
Vettel will be sharing Ferrari testing duties with the 20-year-old at Bahrain's Sakhir circuit next week after the second grand prix of the season.
Sahara Force India had a disappointing outing as Adrian Sutil managed 14th while team mate Paul di Resta was two places below at 16th in qualifying for the Italian Grand Prix in Monza, on Sunday.
Sebastian Vettel trimmed Lewis Hamilton's Formula One lead to 17 points with eight races remaining.
Lewis Hamilton surpassed Ayrton Senna's career haul of 65 pole positions in Formula One as he edged Mercedes team mate Valtteri Bottas to secure top spot the Azerbaijan Grand Prix on Saturday.
Formula One drivers have backed proposals to introduce a 'virtual safety car' or automatic speed limiter that would force the entire field to slow when yellow warning flags are waved.
Formula One approved changes to its power unit penalty system with immediate effect on Friday and also tweaked super-licence rules for 2016 to give more drivers a chance to enter the sport from other series.
The Renault Formula One team will be renamed Alpine F1 from 2021, competing in French colours to showcase the carmaker's sportscar brand, new company CEO Luca de Meo announced on Sunday.
Ferrari are closer to Mercedes than results have suggested in this season's two races and look like posing a real challenge, according to Formula One world championship leader Nico Rosberg.
The France-Austria-Britain sequence of races poses a fresh logistical challenge for teams hitherto committed only to back-to-back weekends, with the 21-round season hurrying to the halfway point.
World championship leader Nico Rosberg ended the opening day of practice for the Formula One Japanese Grand Prix in a strong position after setting the pace in both sessions on Friday.
Britain's Jenson Button will stand in for Fernando Alonso at next month's Monaco Formula One Grand Prix while the Spaniard competes in the Indianapolis 500 on the same day, McLaren announced on Friday.
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.
Five-times Formula One world champion Lewis Hamilton led a Mercedes front-row lockout with a blistering pole position at the season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix on Saturday.
Formula One qualifying will be halted under "double-yellow" conditions starting during this weekend's German Grand Prix in a tightening of rules aimed at avoiding a repeat of the controversy surrounding Nico Rosberg's pole in Hungary.
The Briton lapped the Albert Park circuit in a searing one minute and 21.164 seconds to cross the line 0.664 seconds clear of Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen.
Ferrari's Fernando Alonso criticised Pirelli's Formula One tyres on Saturday, saying they could not even last a fast lap of the Korean Grand Prix in qualifying without their performance dropping off.
Sahara Force India continued to struggle as Adrian Sutil will start Singapore's Singapore Grand Prix from 15th position on the grid and Paul di Resta from 17th.
The next time the four-time world champion will get behind the wheel will be for first Friday practice at Melbourne's Albert Park on March 23.
Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel, McLaren's Fernando Alonso and Williams' Valtteri Bottas have all been highlighted in media speculation but 22-year-old German reserve driver Pascal Wehrlein remains the bookmakers' favourite.
World champion Nico Rosberg's retirement announcement on Friday came as a complete surprise even to the man who knows most of Formula One's best-kept secrets, commercial supremo Bernie Ecclestone.
Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel was fastest in Formula One's pre-season testing at a chilly Circuit de Catalunya on Tuesday while Mercedes rival Lewis Hamilton took one for the team and "sacrificed" his scheduled stint.
Kimi Raikkonen will not drive for Formula One champions Red Bull next season after talks broke down, his manager said.
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."
"For now, there is no proof (gas was used). This is based solely on their personal conviction as they had stomach aches when they woke up," he said.
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