Formula One world champion Lewis Hamilton took his 10th pole in 11 races on Saturday with Mercedes team mate Nico Rosberg qualifying second on the Belgian Grand Prix grid.
Reversed starting grids, one of several proposals under discussion by Formula One team bosses on Tuesday in meetings about the sport's future look and direction, would spell "disaster", according to French driver Romain Grosjean. The concept of setting the grid by reversing the order of the top 10 drivers from qualifying, so that the fastest starts 10th, has been discussed previously to make races less predictable. The usual front-runners would then have to fight through the field rather than pulling clear at the front without being challenged. Championship points would be awarded for qualifying to give drivers every incentive to chase pole position. Grosjean, now with the new U.S.-owned Haas F1 team, experienced the reversed format on his way to winning the GP2 feeder series. "Disaster," he told Reuters when asked about the idea during pre-season testing. "I've been doing it in GP2 and it's probably why you win the title but it's not why you win races." Grosjean said making cars harder and more physical to drive, and drivers more susceptible to fatigue and mistakes, would have the same end result in terms of adding to the excitement without being artificial.
Lotus expect to be far more competitive this season with a new Formula One car that they hailed as a massive step forward on Monday.
Formula One's governing body will investigate Sunday's Italian Grand Prix crash between title contenders Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton because it was 'unusual', according to race director Michael Masi.
The troubled Lotus Formula One team were locked out of their paddock hospitality at the Japanese Grand Prix on Thursday while freight, including engines, was also held up by payment problems.
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.
Lewis Hamilton won the Bahrain Formula One Grand Prix for Mercedes on Sunday after French driver Romain Grosjean had a miraculous escape from a fiery first-lap crash that ripped his car in two.
However intense the pain felt by Formula One after Jules Bianchi's horrific accident in Japan, and the shock is deep indeed, Friday's inaugural Russian Grand Prix practice offers some respite.
Force India's Nico Hulkenberg was handed a one-place grid penalty for the German Grand Prix following a breach of tyre rules in Saturday's qualifying session.
Sahara Force India enjoyed its second successive double points finish with Nico Hulkenberg finishing seventh and Sergio Perez ninth at their home race, British Grand Prix in Silverstone.
Kimi Raikkonen of Lotus was fined 400 euros for speeding in the pit lane during the first practice session of the Indian Grand Prix at the Buddh International Circuit (BIC) in Greater Noida.
Lewis Hamilton, who won from pole position to take the championship lead after three races, again took a knee while wearing a Black Lives Matter T-shirt, but some drivers were either too late or remained standing.
Team by team analysis of Sunday's US Formula One Grand Prix at the Circuit of the Americas.
The Finn's lap of one minute 17.221 seconds around Barcelona's Circuit de Catalunya was the second fastest of the eight days of winter testing and slower only than team mate Sebastian Vettel's best on Thursday.
A summary of sports events and persons who made news on Friday.
Sahara Force India's six-race point streak ended at the German Grand Prix as Paul di Resta and Adrian Sutil finished 11th and 13th respectively, at the Nurburgring circuit on Sunday.
Indian teenager Arjun Maini has joined the US-owned Haas Formula One team as a development driver alongside 18-year-old American Santino Ferrucci.
Red Bull's Max Verstappen won a wet and crazily chaotic German Grand Prix littered with crashes and safety car periods on Sunday with Mercedes' Formula One leader Lewis Hamilton failing to score.
All major sporting events in the Paris region were suspended on Saturday as France mourned the victims of the attacks in the capital city the night before that left 129 people dead and 352 wounded.
Hamilton is seven points clear of Finnish team mate Valtteri Bottas after five of the 21 races.
Netflix's behind-the-scenes 'Drive to Survive' Formula One documentary has been a huge success that could change the way broadcasters engage with audiences, one of the sport's top sponsors said on Tuesday.
Sebastian Vettel continued his imperious march towards a fourth consecutive Formula One world championship by storming to pole position at the Singapore Grand Prix on Saturday after dominating the two days of practice.
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.
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.
Hamilton said he only realised the significance of what he had done when he came into the pitlane after taking the chequered flag.
Sebastian Vettel made full use of the virtual safety car to sneak in front of Lewis Hamilton midway the race before the German held off the frustrated Briton to win the season-opening Australian Grand Prix on Sunday.
Lotus apologised on Monday for bad language in a heated exchange with their driver Kimi Raikkonen during Sunday's Indian Formula One Grand Prix.
Red Bull's Dutch 20-year-old Max Verstappen took the chequered flag in second place with Kimi Raikkonen completing the podium for Ferrari and Australian Daniel Ricciardo finishing fourth for Red Bull.
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.
Ferrari title rival Sebastian Vettel qualified only ninth.
Formula One leader Lewis Hamilton made the most of the changeable conditions to seize pole position for the Belgian Grand Prix ahead of Ferrari title rival Sebastian Vettel on Saturday.
The pole was the second of the Dutch 22-year-old's Formula One career and the first in Brazil for engine partners Honda since the late triple champion Ayrton Senna in 1991 with McLaren.
Vietnam is a growing market for sponsors such as brewer Heineken and would be a fifth Asian race on the calendar, making up for the departure of Malaysia.
Starting second behind pole-sitter Hamilton, Bottas got the jump on the Briton during a typically messy start at Albert Park and ended up cruising to his fourth win by some 20.80 seconds after delaying a tyre-change.
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.
Team by team analysis of Sunday's Russian Grand Prix (listed in championship order):
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.
Lewis Hamilton won a thrilling Italian Grand Prix for Mercedes on Sunday to stretch his championship lead to 30 points over Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel, who fought back to fourth after a first lap spin.
The French Formula One Grand Prix will return in 2018 after a 10-year absence with the race scheduled to take place at the Circuit Paul Ricard in southern France, regional politician Christian Estrosi said.
In a thrilling race with two safety car periods, reigning champion Hamilton went from pole position to the rear of the field before finishing second for Mercedes in a superb fightback. Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen was third.
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