Hours after Formula One drivers voiced concerns about a race already dogged by human rights issues, Saudi Arabia’s war with Yemen landed on F1's doorstep when Houthi rebels attacked an oil depot near the glittering Saudi track where they were racing.
(AP Photo/Kamran Jebreili)SAKHIR – World champion Lewis Hamilton just managed to hold off Max Verstappen to win the season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix and clinch the 96th Formula One win of his career on Sunday. The race was effectively decided when Verstappen overtook Hamilton on Lap 53 of 56 but went too wide on a turn and off track limits. He was told by his team to give Hamilton the position back, as he risked a time penalty. Verstappen still had a few laps to catch Hamilton and he almost did, finishing just .74 seconds behind the Mercedes driver. Verstappen took a superb pole position on Saturday, the fourth of his career, and started immediately ahead of Hamilton under floodlights at the desert track.
FILE - In this Saturday, Nov. 28, 2020 file photo Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton of Britain gestures after taking the pole position after the qualifying session at the Formula One Bahrain International Circuit in Sakhir, Bahrain. World champion Lewis Hamilton tested positive for COVID-19 and will miss the Sakhir Grand Prix this weekend, his Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 Team said Tuesday Dec. 1, 2020. (Hamad Mohammed, Pool via AP, File)SAKHIR – Seven-time Formula One champion Lewis Hamilton has tested positive for COVID-19 and will miss this weekend's Sakhir Grand Prix. The Mercedes team said it would announce a replacement driver later in the week. Hamilton is the third F1 driver to test positive for COVID-19 this season, following Sergio Perez at Silverstone and Lance Stroll in Germany.
Hamilton now stands alongside F1 great Michael Schumacher on seven titles, having replaced the German driver at Mercedes in 2013. Vettel and Hamilton pitted for new tires on Lap 9, followed by Stroll, Perez and Verstappen three laps later. At the restart Hamilton tried to overtake Vettel but locked his tires, while Albon passed Hamilton and Vettel to move into fourth spot. Halfway through the race, Stroll and Perez were ahead of Hamilton but losing ground. Stroll came in for new tires on Lap 37 and Hamilton used DRS to get past Perez one lap later and take the lead.
Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton of Britain holds up the trophy on the podium after winning the Emilia Romagna Formula One Grand Prix, at the Enzo and Dino Ferrari racetrack, in Imola, Italy, Sunday, Nov.1, 2020. (Miguel Medina, Pool via AP)IMOLA – Runaway championship leader Lewis Hamilton overcame a sluggish start to win the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix on Sunday for a record-extending 93rd Formula One victory. The safety car remained on the track following another crash as George Russell lost control and slammed into the track barriers. This gave Bottas a chance to pressure Hamilton with six laps left, but Hamilton got away cleanly after the re-start and clocked fastest laps on his way to another comfortable win. “It was an exhausting race, the speed we were having to go after a poor start," Hamilton said.
Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton of Britain celebrates after winning the Formula One Portuguese Grand Prix at the Algarve International Circuit in Portimao, Portugal, Sunday, Oct. 25, 2020. Observers questioned the move and in 2013 Hamilton won only one race while Vettel finished the season with 13. Hamilton was dominant in 2015, sealing his third F1 title at the U.S. Grand Prix with three races to spare. 2, Hamilton won the next two championships in 2017 and 2018 as Vettel blew midseason leads for Ferrari. Last year's title was emphatic as Hamilton won 11 races compared to three for Bottas, finishing 87 points clear of him.
(Jorge Guerrero, Pool via AP)PORTIMAO – British driver Lewis Hamilton made Formula One history on Sunday, winning the Portuguese Grand Prix for a 92nd career victory to move one ahead of German great Michael Schumacher. Hamilton added five more F1 titles and the runaway championship leader is now set to equal Schumacher’s record of seven. Hamilton took a record-extending 97th career pole position, starting ahead of Bottas and Verstappen on a track being used for the first time in F1. McLaren's Carlos Sainz Jr. briefly held the race lead and then Bottas led until Hamilton passed him on Lap 20. Kimi Raikkonen went from 16th to sixth with some typically daring moves but the 41-year-old Finn started to drift back while, up ahead, Bottas led until Hamilton overtook him.
Hamilton gets the helmet as a gift from Michael Schumacher's son Mick because he equals Schumacher's record of 91 wins in the Formula One. (Bryn Lennon, Pool via AP)NÜRBURG – NÜEven Lewis Hamilton once saw Michael Schumacher's record of 91 wins in Formula One as unbeatable. Hamilton took a big step closer to matching Schumacher's record of seven titles too after his teammate Valtteri Bottas failed to finish with an engine problem. Hamilton started faster than Bottas and had the inside line into the hairpin bend at turn one. After Hamilton matched Schumacher’s record in front of a German crowd at a track where Schumacher won five times, he can surpass it on a track where F1 has never raced before.
Officially, the German Grand Prix is on hiatus this year, and this race — a late replacement on the coronavirus-affected calendar — is called the Eifel Grand Prix after a nearby mountain range. As many as 20,000 fans could attend, making it the best attended race of the season apart from the Russian Grand Prix. NEW GENERATIONIt's been eight years since Michael Schumacher's last F1 race, and now his son will officially be part of an F1 race weekend for the first time. Michael Schumacher hit his head on a rock and sustained severe brain injuries which left him requiring constant care. When Hamilton and Michael Schumacher last raced together at the Nürburgring in 2011, there were six Germans on the grid including then-world champion Sebastian Vettel.
Hamilton's Mercedes teammate Valtteri Bottas cruised to the win Sunday after Hamilton, who was leading, was penalized 10 seconds for practicing his starts in the wrong place before the race. Hamilton came into the race looking to match Michael Schumacher’s record of 91 wins in Formula One but had to settle for third behind Bottas and Max Verstappen. Bottas built a sizeable lead over Verstappen with ease and eased to his first win since the season-opening Austrian Grand Prix. Hamilton had asked Mercedes over the radio if he could perform the starts at the pit exit, and was told he could. Albon has finished behind his teammate Verstappen every time they have both completed a race this season.
Taylor was a Black emergency medical worker fatally shot by police serving a narcotics search warrant in her home on March 13. “Justice for Breonna Taylor,” Hamilton said during his interview after winning. The first F1 race on a Mugello track with super-fast corners usually used by MotoGP riders was incident-packed. Ferrari reverted back to an age-old burgundy livery for its 1,000th F1 race, reflecting the color first used by the famed Italian manufacturer. Verstappen, meanwhile, was angry with his team after a second straight retirement following the Italian GP last weekend, where Gasly won his first F1 race.
Mercedes driver Valtteri Bottas of Finland steers his car during the third practice session ahead of the Grand Prix of Tuscany, at the Mugello circuit in Scarperia, Italy, Saturday, Sept. 12, 2020. The Formula One Grand Prix of Tuscany will take place on Sunday. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno, Pool)MUGELLO – Mercedes driver Valtteri Bottas completed a sweep at the Tuscan Grand Prix when he posted the fastest time in third and final practice ahead of qualifying later Saturday. But Bottas test drove here with Williams back in 2012 and so far has looked more assured than Hamilton, who hasn't driven here before. Hamilton looked set to beat Bottas when he led on the first time split, only to fall back in the second and third sectors.
Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton of Britain celebrates after clocking the fastest time during the qualifying session for Sunday's Italian Formula One Grand Prix, at the Monza racetrack in Monza, Italy, Saturday, Sept. 5, 2020. (Jennifer Lorenzini/Pool via AP)Lewis Hamilton set the fastest Formula One lap ever to grab pole position at the Italian Grand Prix, nudging Mercedes teammate Valtteri Bottas into second place by just 0.069 seconds on Saturday. Defending champion Hamilton raced around the 3.54 miles (5.79 kilometers) of asphalt at the so-called Temple of Speed in the fastest lap recorded in the sport at 164.267 mph (264.362 kph). That eclipsed Kimi Raikkonens one-lap record of 163.785 mph, set by the former world champion on his way to pole at Monza two years ago. But its a reality at the moment for us unfortunately.Vettel finished 17th after being hampered by traffic on his final lap.
