Racing Fanatic

Lewis Hamilton wins ahead of Sebastian Vettel in China GP

2017-04-09T21:36:00.002+03:00

Lewis Hamilton converted pole position into a controlled Formula 1 race victory in a mixed-conditions Chinese Grand Prix.

Hamilton and his Mercedes team bounced back from defeat against Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel in Australia, the German failing to present a major challenge this time around, not helped by losing time in traffic after making an early pitstop.

Vettel did finish the race a clear runner-up, with Red Bull's Max Verstappen completing the podium from 16th on the grid, holding off a strong late challenge from team-mate Daniel Ricciardo.

While the Shanghai track was drying quickly after morning rain, all but two cars - the Toro Rosso of Carlos Sainz and the Renault of Jolyon Palmer (which pitted at the end of the formation lap) - had intermediate tyres fitted. See full story >>>>

Lewis Hamilton takes pole position for China GP

2017-04-08T21:49:00.003+03:00

Lewis Hamilton emerged from another tight Formula 1 qualifying battle with Sebastian Vettel to claim pole position for the Chinese Grand Prix.

Barely more than two tenths of a second covered the Mercedes and Ferrari drivers after the first runs in Q2, with Vettel fractionally ahead of Hamilton, followed by Valtteri Bottas and Kimi Raikkonen - who eventually went fastest in that segment by doing a second run when the others didn't.

But Hamilton moved into the ascendency at the start of Q3, leading Vettel by almost two tenths of a second after the first runs despite running wide out of Turn 3 and suffering a snap of oversteer at the exit of Turn 11. See full story >>>>

Sebastian Vettel fastest for Ferrari in final China GP practice

2017-04-08T21:46:00.002+03:00

Sebastian Vettel set the pace during final Formula 1 practice for the Chinese Grand Prix, heading a Ferrari one-two after Lewis Hamilton made a mistake on his final run.

Vettel ended up just five-hundredths clear of team-mate Kimi Raikkonen, setting his benchmark 1m33.336s during a super-soft run midway through the hour-long session.

Hamilton wasted his opportunity to knock Vettel off top spot when he ran wide at the hairpin on his final super-soft run, having set the best first sector time of all and been just two-thousandths of a second slower than the Ferrari driver in the second. See full story >>>>

China GP second F1 practice session cancelled

2017-04-07T16:27:00.000+03:00

Second practice for Formula 1's Chinese Grand Prix was cancelled on Friday due to poor weather.

After the opening free practice session of the day was compromised heavily by two lengthy red flag periods, the same fate forced a delay to the start of the action for FP2 at Shanghai.

While the damp track conditions were fine for the cars, a lack of visibility meant it was not safe for the medical helicopter to operate if needed, forcing a halt to the proceedings.

F1 race director Charlie Whiting said: "The helicopter can't land at the hospital, which is about 38 kilometres away unfortunately. See full story >>>>

Max Verstappen tops in first China GP free practice

2017-04-07T16:24:00.001+03:00

Max Verstappen topped the first Formula 1 free practice session of the Chinese Grand Prix weekend, which was disrupted by two lengthy red flag periods.

The Red Bull driver made the best of the very limited running on offer, emerging from the garage on the intermediate tyres at just the right time to end up 1.5s clear of Williams drivers Felipe Massa and Lance Stroll.

It took more than 45 minutes for the session to properly get going, thanks to a lengthy red flag.

The stoppage was initially called shortly after the session had started, due to weather conditions in Shanghai being unsuitable for the medical helicopter to land at the hospital if needed. See full story >>>>

Sebastian Vettel jumps Hamilton for first 2017 win in Australia

2017-03-26T10:30:00.003+03:00

Sebastian Vettel defeated Lewis Hamilton in a gripping Australian Grand Prix to kick off Formula 1's new era with a superb victory for Ferrari.

The German jumped poleman Hamilton in the pitstops then comfortably led home the Mercedes driver, who just kept new team-mate Valtteri Bottas at arm's length in third.

Hamilton made a strong start from pole position, but Vettel kept him in sight throughout the opening stint and closed to within a second before Hamilton dived into the pits on lap 17.

The Briton still had the upper hand when he emerged, but the pendulum swung towards Vettel when Hamilton got bottled up behind Max Verstappen's Red Bull. See full story >>>>

Lewis Hamilton ahead of Sebastian Vettel in Australia qualifying

2017-03-25T11:24:00.001+03:00

Lewis Hamilton claimed pole position for the Australian Grand Prix, after winning a tense qualifying battle with Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel and Mercedes Formula 1 team-mate Valtteri Bottas.

Hamilton was three tenths up on Vettel after the first runs in Q3, with Bottas just two thousandths of a second slower in third, before Daniel Ricciardo crashed his Red Bull heavily at Turn 14 and caused the session to be stopped.

Hamilton went even faster on his final run once the session resumed, sealing pole position with a 1m22.188s lap - the fastest ever recorded by an F1 car around Melbourne's Albert Park circuit.

Bottas momentarily held top stop before Hamilton's improvement despite a scruffy final flying lap, with Vettel then denying Mercedes a front row lockout by posting the second fastest time on his final run. See full story >>>>

Sebastian Vettel fastest in final Australia practice

2017-03-25T09:23:00.002+03:00

Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel broke the unofficial Albert Park lap record on his way to top spot in third practice, ahead of qualifying for the Formula 1 season-opening Australian Grand Prix.

Vettel was the early pace-setter as Ferrari decided to complete a burst of swift laps on ultra-softs in the opening minutes of the session, with he and team-mate Kimi Raikkonen setting the early pace.

German Vettel subsequently improved his time midway through the hour-long session, recording a session's best of 1m23.380s - again set on a set of ultra-soft tyres. See full story >>>>

Lewis Hamilton fastest again in second Australia practice

2017-03-25T09:21:00.001+03:00

Mercedes Formula 1 driver Lewis Hamilton continued his Australian Grand Prix stranglehold with the fastest time in second practice in Melbourne.

The three-time world champion was again more than half a second quicker than his nearest opposition, which in FP2 came in the form of Sebastian Vettel's Ferrari.

Vettel was the first driver to dip below the 1m25s mark when he used super-soft tyres to post a 1m24.926s early in the session.

The German's spell at the top of the times was extended when the session was halted just over 20 minutes in by Jolyon Palmer's heavy crash at the final corner. See full story >>>>

Lewis Hamilton fastest in first Australia GP practice

2017-03-25T09:18:00.001+03:00

Lewis Hamilton headed a Mercedes one-two in the opening practice session for the 2017 Formula 1 season-opening Australian Grand Prix.

Hamilton led new team-mate Valtteri Bottas as the German marque offered an early reality check in Melbourne after Ferrari dominated pre-season testing.

The Mercedes drivers led as soon as the class of 2017 started posting representative lap times, with Bottas holding the early advantage with a 1m25.142s on super-softs.

The Finn was the first to switch to ultra-soft tyres, and he improved to a 1m24.803s despite a mistake in the final sector on his best lap. See full story >>>>