F1 Features

Formula 1 breaks away from the European leg of the calendar for a brief trip across the Atlantic and the Canadian Grand Prix this weekend.

Lewis Hamilton has seized the initiative in the 2019 Formula 1 title fight with an incredible victory at the Monaco Grand Prix. 

When the announcement was made that Lewis Hamilton had been excused from Wednesday's FIA press conference, a boo from one journalist in the media centre was so loud that it could be picked up on the audio for the broadcast.

Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes – 10

- Lewis Hamilton swept to the 77th victory of his Formula 1 career on Sunday in Monaco, leading every single lap for Mercedes. It was his fourth win of the season, and saw him extend his drivers’ championship lead to 17 points over Valtteri Bottas.

For all of the criticism the Monaco Grand Prix may receive in terms of the on-track spectacle it offers, Sunday’s race was proof of how tense and dramatic a race without overtaking at the front of the pack can be.

Mercedes may have been the team to beat so far this year, sweeping to five straight one-two finishes, but for many, neither Lewis Hamilton nor Valtteri Bottas has been the stand-out driver so far this season.

- Lewis Hamilton swept to his second pole position of the season on Saturday in Monaco after beating Mercedes teammate Valtteri Bottas in the final stage of qualifying by eight-hundredths of a second. It marked the Briton's 85th career pole, and the second around the streets of Monaco.

We’ve not even had the race in Monaco yet, and we’re already asking ourselves just how Ferrari has scored yet another own goal in its fight against Mercedes in Formula 1 this year.

- As is tradition in Monaco, Friday was rest day, meaning there were no Formula 1 activities taking place on-track.

- Lewis Hamilton topped both FP1 and FP2 on Thursday in Monaco for Mercedes, marking the first time he has led a session around the streets of the principality since opening practice in 2017.

- Tributes continued to pour in from the Formula 1 community on Wednesday in Monaco following the death of three-time world champion Niki Lauda earlier this week at the age of 70.

Sunday will see Kimi Raikkonen reach a landmark only made by four other drivers in Formula 1 history when he enters his 300th grand prix. But he really, really does not care.

Formula 1 action continues this weekend with the iconic and prestigious Monaco Grand Prix. Lewis Hamilton heads to the principality with a seven-point lead over Mercedes teammate Valtteri Bottas in the championship following a lights-to-flag victory.

Valtteri Bottas is enjoying his best-ever start to a Formula 1 season. The Finn has bounced back from a winless 2018 campaign in fine style to record three pole positions and two victories from the opening five races of the 2019 season.

“It’s going to be 1988 all over again, isn’t it?” After seeing Mercedes sweep to not only its fifth consecutive victory but also its fifth-straight one-two finish, the above comment made in the press conference room prior to the drivers’ arrival was made with a feeling of disbelief.

Lewis Hamilton served up a timely reminder of why it is foolish to doubt him as he claimed a comprehensive win in Formula 1’s Spanish Grand Prix.

Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes – 9

We’re close to running out of superlatives when it comes to Mercedes in 2019. Five races, five one-two finishes, and 217 out of a possible 220 points – or 98.6 percent – with the three that were dropped coming only on the fastest lap bonus in Bahrain, China and Azerbaijan.

- Lewis Hamilton moved back into the lead of the Formula 1 drivers’ championship with victory in Sunday’s Spanish Grand Prix, marking his third success of the season.

- Valtteri Bottas took the ninth pole position of his Formula 1 career on Saturday in Spain after topping qualifying for Mercedes, setting three laps good enough for P1.

Little time has been wasted in the early part of the 2019 Formula 1 season in boiling the battle for the drivers’ championship down to the two Mercedes drivers. But if the opening four races are anything to go by, that fight should go into the very embers of the campaign.

- F1 drivers’ championship leader Valtteri Bottas continued his impressive run of form as he topped both FP1 and FP2 for Mercedes on Friday in Barcelona. Teammate Lewis Hamilton completed a one-two finish in second practice, with the team running three-tenths clear of Ferrari in second.

- Valtteri Bottas arrived in Spain on Thursday leading the F1 drivers’ championship once again after his victory in Baku, but rejected the suggestion Mercedes’ results flattered its performances so far this year.