The German, taking his fourth win of the season, took the chequered flag 0.9 seconds ahead of Kimi Raikkonen with Hamilton finishing fourth after sportingly surrendering third place to team mate Valtteri Bottas on the last lap.
Nico Hulkenberg and Sergio Perez will start the season ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix from seventh and eighth on the grid courtesy a solid showing in the qualifying at the Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi on Saturday.
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.
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.
Formula One's post-season shake-up took another spin on Tuesday with Williams announcing the departure of technical head Pat Symonds while Valtteri Bottas moved closer to Mercedes and Felipe Massa's retirement looked to be coming to an end.
The Finn lapped the six-km Baku street circuit in one minute, 40.495 seconds, just 0.059 seconds faster than team mate and championship leader Lewis Hamilton.
Seven-times world champion Lewis Hamilton said he is still feeling the after-effects of COVID-19 after qualifying third for Formula One's Abu Dhabi season-ender but vowed to give his all in Sunday's race.
Lewis Hamilton is now just three wins short of Ferrari great Michael Schumacher's all-time record 91.
Britain's George Russell will stand in for Lewis Hamilton at Mercedes for Sunday's Sakhir Grand Prix after being released by Williams.
Lewis Hamilton took his 98th career pole position in qualifying for the Bahrain Grand Prix on Saturday
Canadian Lance Stroll celebrated an astonishing first Formula One pole position for Racing Point in a crazy weather-hit Turkish Grand Prix qualifying on Saturday.
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.
Nico Rosberg secured pole position for the Russian Grand Prix after Mercedes team mate Lewis Hamilton suffered more misfortune in Saturday's qualifying.
Ferrari's Charles Leclerc held off Lewis Hamilton to win his first Formula One race on Sunday in the Belgian Formula One Grand Prix.
Germany's Nico Rosberg romped to his fifth win in a row for Mercedes on Sunday and ended Formula One champion team mate Lewis Hamilton's hopes of a third successive Bahrain Grand Prix victory.
Verstappen leads seven times world champion Hamilton by six points with six races remaining and the pole at Austin's Circuit of the Americas was the ninth of the season for the Dutch 24-year-old -- and eighth in the last 11 races.
Reigning F1 champ warns Bottas about Hamilton rivalry
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.
The Mercedes driver was fastest in every phase of qualifying to take pole with a time of one minute 42.553 seconds, a track record.
Valtteri Bottas has denied signing a pre-contract with Ferrari, saying he was amused by some of the speculation about his Formula One future.
Finland's Valtteri Bottas took pole position for the Russian Grand Prix on Saturday with Mercedes team mate and Formula One leader Lewis Hamilton having to settle for second place on the starting grid.
Formula One world champion Max Verstappen won the inaugural Miami Grand Prix for Red Bull on Sunday, slashing Ferrari rival Charles Leclerc's overall lead from 27 to 19 points after five races.
Lewis Hamilton aims to stay in F1 for at least three more years
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.
Formula One championship leader Nico Rosberg chalked up his seventh win in a row at the Russian Grand Prix on Sunday with team mate Lewis Hamilton fighting back from 10th on the grid to seal a Mercedes one-two finish.
Red Bull's Max Verstappen won a chaotic and crash-halted Emilia Romagna Grand Prix at Imola on Sunday with Lewis Hamilton second for Mercedes and retaining the lead in the championship by a single point.
Lewis Hamilton put no limits on what he could achieve after roaring past retired Ferrari great Michael Schumacher on Sunday as the Formula One driver with most wins in the history of the sport.
World champion Max Verstappen took maximum points from Formula One's Imola sprint weekend, leading a Red Bull one-two on Sunday as Ferrari's homecoming turned sour for overall leader Charles Leclerc and his Italian team.
Finland's Valtteri Bottas and Brazilian Felipe Massa will be racing for Williams again next season, the Formula One team said on Thursday in an announcement, ending speculation about the possible return of Jenson Button.
Alfa Romeo announced Guanyu Zhou as China's first Formula One racing driver on Tuesday with his arrival in 2022 hailed by both the team and the sport as a historic breakthrough in a key growth market.
Red Bull closed the gap to champions Mercedes in the constructors' standings to one point.
The five-time world champion went from pole position to last on a chaotic afternoon, the Briton hitting the barriers and spinning before finishing 11th in a race won by Red Bull's Max Verstappen.
The pole was the 95th of Hamilton's career and seventh in nine races this season, continuing Mercedes' 100% record in qualifying.
The win also set a record, one that Hamilton had previously shared with seven times champion Michael Schumacher, of 41 wins from pole position.
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.
Seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton will be staying in Formula One for the next two years at least after he and Mercedes announced a contract extension on Saturday.
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.
Lewis Hamilton, winner of a record 94 races, said after winning Sunday's Turkish Grand Prix to clinch the title that he thought more of others.
Formula One championship leader Max Verstappen lifted himself into a league of his own as he beat title rival Lewis Hamilton to pole position with a blinding lap in qualifying for the French Grand Prix at Circuit Paul Ricard.
Max Verstappen lapped with a best time of one minute 27.422 seconds.
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