Italy's Mugello circuit will make its debut on the Formula One calendar in September to host Ferrari's 1,000th grand prix, the sport announced on Friday, with Russia's race in Sochi also confirmed. The September 13 race, to be called the Grand Prix of Tuscany Ferrari 1,000, will follow on from the September 6 Italian Grand Prix at Monza as the ninth round of a season that has been heavily revised due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Formula One offered fans a glimpse of the future on Thursday with a presentation of what cars will look like next season when the sport undergoes a rules revamp to make racing closer and more exciting.
Sergio Perez won the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix from pole position in a Red Bull one-two on Sunday with Max Verstappen staying top of the championship after racing from 15th to second.
Formula One champions Mercedes unveiled black-liveried cars for the 2020 season on Monday as part of a public pledge to further improve diversity within the team and the world of motorsport. Mercedes have traditionally raced in silver throughout their time in Formula One but will switch to black and have 'End Racism' emblazoned on the halo of both cars.
The FIA is also under fire on other fronts, with confusion about the scoring at last Sunday's shortened Japanese Grand Prix and widespread driver anger, about the deployment of a recovery tractor on track while cars were lapping in the heavy spray.
Formula One is planning two Grands Prix without spectators at Silverstone, which this year marks the 70th anniversary of hosting the first world championship race, immediately after two in Austria in early July.
Formula One is working to put on a British Grand Prix in July even if the country imposes quarantine measures on visitors during the COVID-19 crisis, F1 sources said.
Australian Daniel Ricciardo won the Italian Grand Prix in a stunning McLaren one-two with Lando Norris at Monza on Sunday.
F1, Silverstone still optimistic despite UK quarantine rules
The race would be a second Grand Prix in the United States after the one in Austin, Texas.
Mercedes however, were fined 25,000 euros for incorrectly declaring that Hamilton was in compliance with the jewellery ban in a self-scrutineering form.
Max Verstappen won the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix for Red Bull on Sunday
Liberty Media president and CEO Greg Maffei told analysts on a conference call that the move was the most efficient way of putting cash into the business, with Formula One getting a net cash payment of $1.4 billion.
Verstappen took his 26th career win 0.9 of a second ahead of Spaniard Sainz,
Formula One plans to start its coronavirus-ravaged season in May after cancelling this weekend's opener in Australia on Friday and postponing the next three races in Bahrain, Vietnam and China. Confusingly, while Formula One said in a statement it expected to begin the championship in Europe at the end of May, the governing FIA's statement referred to May 1. Both may prove optimistic as the virus spreads across the continent.
Charles Leclerc overcame a late throttle scare to win the Austrian Grand Prix for Ferrari on Sunday and become Formula One championship leader Max Verstappen's closest rival.
Formula One postponed the Australian Grand Prix from March to November because it would not have been possible for hundreds of team staff to quarantine for 14 days upon their arrival.
Mick Schumacher, who will face intense scrutiny as embarks on his Formula One career, said for now he was simply overwhelmed to be following in his father's footsteps and called his promotion a dream come true.
Singapore Grand Prix promoters have ruled out holding their Formula One race without spectators, casting further uncertainty over the likelihood of the September event going ahead. Formula One plans to start its stalled season in July with races behind closed doors in Austria and Britain due to the coronavirus pandemic.
An angry Leclerc dropped to fourth after Ferrari called him in again for slicks and then told him, too late, to stay out after Sainz also pitted and went directly from wets to the dry tyres.
Former Ferrari technical director Ross Brawn says 70th Anniversary race winner Max Verstappen reminds him of Formula One great Michael Schumacher. Brawn masterminded Schumacher's seven world championships with Benetton (1994 and 1995) and Ferrari (2000-04) and was team boss at Mercedes when the German made his comeback from 2010-2012.
Formula One to sell squares on chequered flag for charity
Mexican Formula One driver Sergio Perez will miss Sunday's British Grand Prix after testing positive for COVID-19, his Racing Point team said on Thursday. The Canadian-owned outfit said the 30-year-old, who is the first driver to test positive since the pandemic-hit season started this month, is "physically well and in good spirits".
Formula One scrapped all four of this season's races in the Americas due to the COVID-19 pandemic on Friday and added three European rounds, including old favourites Imola and the Nuerburgring, to the calendar. While previously scheduled Grands Prix in Canada, Texas, Mexico and Brazil were cancelled, Formula One said in a statement that Portugal's Portimao will host a race for the first time.
Michael Schumacher, who has not been seen in public since he suffered serious head injuries in a ski accident in 2013, beat former commercial supremo Bernie Ecclestone with 61 per cent of the vote in a head-to-head final.
Miami makes its debut in May while Qatar drops off for a year due to hosting the football World Cup and China is still missing due to COVID-19 restrictions.
The fact is that some of the 999 championship races thus far have been questionable Grands Prix and several past race winners never even drove a Formula One car.
Austria's health ministry on Saturday gave the green light to two Formula One motor races on July 8 and 12 - the delayed season-openers - to be held without spectators in line with plans aimed at halting the spread of COVID-19. Austria is among countries moving ahead with easing restrictions as new coronavirus infections wane.
Lewis Hamilton has spoken about his mental and emotional struggles
Ferrari carry burden of history and expectation as they unveil 2022 car.
Ferrari have said they remain committed to Formula One after reports on Thursday that the sport's oldest and most successful team could walk away if a proposed budget cap for 2021 was set too low. Britain's Guardian newspaper suggested Ferrari were prepared to quit in a headline, later replaced, over an interview with team boss Mattia Binotto.
The British Formula One Grand Prix was halted and re-started on Sunday after a multi-car opening-lap collision left Chinese driver Guanyu Zhou's Alfa Romeo wedged on its side between the tyre barrier and catch fence.
Promoters of the Russian F1 Grand Prix, ROSGONKI, said that the contract for the Sochi race was signed in 2010, long before the start of WADA's probing and are confident that the race will be held next year as well
The topic was also raised at a drivers' briefing on Friday along with a discussion about the requirement for flame-resistant underwear.
The race was originally set to be held in Shanghai on April 19, but the governing body FIA and Formula One said in a statement that they had jointly decided to postpone it.
Ricciardo said Formula One was lucky it was not having to deal with a very different story.
Ferrari, whose race on Sunday lasted about 20 seconds until Sebastian Vettel and Charles Leclerc collided, said the team strongly supported diversity and equal opportunities.
Max Verstappen won his home Dutch Grand Prix for Red Bull on Sunday and took the Formula One championship lead in front of a roaring, dancing army of fans hailing their hero with orange flags and flares.
Lewis Hamilton assured activists that he would not let human rights issues go unnoticed.
'It makes complete sense to me now that nothing was said or done to make our sport more diverse or to address the racial abuse I received throughout my career'
