Romain Grosjean will return to the cockpit of a Formula One car for the first time since his horrific accident at the 2020 Bahrain Grand Prix when he takes part in testing for Mercedes next month.

Grosjean, 35, remarkably walked away from a shocking crash in November last year when his Haas car was split in two and caught fire after smashing through barriers on the opening lap of the race.

The Frenchman spent another 27 seconds in the vehicle after the crash and was left with severe burns to his hands, though that was the extent of his injuries.

It proved to be his final race, as he missed the final two events of the season and his departure from Haas had already been confirmed.

Since leaving, Grosjean has started competing in the IndyCar series, however he will be back momentarily in F1 for the French Grand Prix at the end of June, with Mercedes boss Toto Wolff inviting Grosjean to take part in a specially arranged testing session, plus pre-race demo laps.

A Mercedes statement read: "In an emotional return to Formula One, Romain Grosjean will turn the wheel of an F1 car for the first time since his dramatic accident at the 2020 Bahrain Grand Prix, when he drives Lewis Hamilton's world championship-winning W10 at the Circuit Paul Ricard next month.

"In the aftermath of his accident, Toto Wolff made a commitment to Romain that his crash would not be his final act in F1.

"True to his word, Toto invited Romain to the Mercedes F1 base in Brackley on March 30 to undergo a seat fit and spend time on the team's simulator in preparation for a specially organised test at the Frenchman's home circuit on June 29 – seven months to the day since his accident.

"He will also take part in a series of demo laps ahead of the French Grand Prix on Sunday 27 June."

Grosjean thanked Mercedes and Wolff for the opportunity to drive at his home track.

"I am so excited to jump back in an F1 car! It will be a special opportunity for me and to drive a world championship-winning Mercedes will be a unique experience," he said.

"I'm very grateful to Mercedes F1 and to Toto for the opportunity. The first I heard about the chance to drive a Mercedes was in my hospital bed in Bahrain when Toto was speaking to the media and made the invitation. Reading that news cheered me up a lot!

"F1 didn't get the chance to race in France during 2020 because of COVID so driving a Mercedes at the French Grand Prix in 2021 and then completing a test at the Circuit Paul Ricard, my home track, will be so special. I can't wait for the day to arrive."

Lewis Hamilton also paid tribute to Grosjean but could not resist a quip about letting him behind the wheel of his car.

"I'm really happy to see Romain back in an F1 car after his accident last year," the seven-time champion added. "When it happened, we were all praying for him and seeing him walk away from it and recover so well was a massive relief.

"I'm looking forward to seeing him again in France and welcoming him to the team for the weekend – although he better look after my W10!"

After the high of Saturday’s victory over three-time champion Johan Kristofferson, Jamaica’s Fraser McConnell had to settle for third place in today’s (May 2) round of competition at the 2021 RallyX Nordic Supercar competition in Denmark.

Lewis Hamilton is relishing his Formula One title fight with Max Verstappen and expects the battle to go to the wire, by which point the pair are "going to be sick of each other".

Defending champion Hamilton landed another blow at Sunday's Portuguese Grand Prix, winning ahead of Verstappen to stretch his championship lead to eight points.

The Mercedes and Red Bull rivals have been the top two in all three races so far this season, with Verstappen boosted by the apparent superior pace in his car.

That superiority was less apparent in Portimao, where the Dutchman repeatedly complained of a lack of grip, even telling Sky Sports: "I hope we don't come back."

But Verstappen was still Hamilton's nearest challenger and the Briton is enjoying a "great fight".

"It's very tight," Hamilton told a news conference. "I saw that he'd gone in for the fastest lap and got it but obviously Valtteri [Bottas] ended up with it at the end.

"As you can see, it's a great fight between Mercedes and Red Bull – I'm sure also down the field.

"It's clear that we just have to continue. We're going to be pushing each other right until the last race.

"We're going to be sick of each other, I imagine, or at least sick of racing, because there are so many races."

Verstappen responded: "It's close. I wish it was closer. But it's a long season and we can't afford to have any retirements or silly mistakes, so we have to keep on doing what we're doing."

Hamilton won the championship by 124 points in 2020 and even then Silver Arrows team-mate Valtteri Bottas was the man in second.

Although he suggested Red Bull's standards slipped this week – seemingly relating to the grip issue – Hamilton welcomed the competition.

"I'm massively excited and driven," Hamilton said. "I think we all are, as a team, to be in the fight with Red Bull.

"This weekend I feel like Red Bull lost a little bit of performance, because I don't think we improved. From the last race to here, I think they took a slight step closer to us for whatever reason.

"But this is great. This is what we all live for. This is what we live and breathe for, to get up and fight and try to pull out the smallest bits of performance to be able to fight a great competitor."

Despite his own complaints, Verstappen acknowledged Red Bull cannot afford to make excuses if they plan to beat Mercedes.

He added: "Clearly we still have to improve and do better because we should be fast on every single track in every single condition, because the track is the same for everyone."

Lewis Hamilton insisted Sunday's win at Portimao was "such a tough race" despite easing clear of Red Bull title rival Max Verstappen and pole-sitting Mercedes team-mate Valtteri Bottas.

Hamilton qualified in second and fell to third early in the race as Verstappen raced past him coming out of a safety car situation.

But the defending champion's skill and speed came to the fore as he outmanoeuvred the two men ahead of him.

Hamilton also reeled in Sergio Perez, who had stayed out on his tyres in a desperate attempt to hold up the 2021 Formula One leader.

A comfortable margin of victory gave Hamilton a second win of the season, having finished second in the other race, but he was keen to emphasise the difficulty of the task.

The Mercedes superstar, while acknowledging "today wasn't all perfect", said: "That was such a tough race, physically and mentally, just keeping everything together.

"It was very windy out there, obviously, so it was very easy to put a foot wrong.

"I didn't quite get as good a start as Valtteri and then lost out on the restart, which I was not happy about, naturally. I really had to try to position myself the best I could.

"I think Max made a mistake at some point through the lap, which was perfect. I knew that was going to be the lap I was going to get as close as I could to him in the last sector.

"With Valtteri, I had to make the move early on before the tyres were destroyed. I managed to just get him at Turn One, just where I wanted him. It was a great race."

Verstappen had bemoaned the tricky conditions after qualifying, saying the Portuguese Grand Prix had "not been a lot of fun to drive".

"Hopefully everything stabilises," he added on Saturday, but Turn 14 continued to test the Red Bull, errors at that corner letting Hamilton in and later denying the Dutchman the fastest lap as he ran wide.

"I think this was a bit of an odd weekend in terms of grip," Verstappen said. "We were not on top of it, but we'll see what we can do in Barcelona."

Bottas, who profited to claim the fastest lap but finished third, was not happy either.

"It was a little tricky day today," the Finn said. "I don't know what happened in the first stint, I just didn't have the pace for unknown reasons.

"I need to have a look at that. The second stint was pretty good but there was an issue with some sensor or something."

Lewis Hamilton continued his excellent start to the 2021 Formula One season with a masterful display to win the Portuguese Grand Prix.

Defending champion Hamilton – pursuing a record-breaking eighth title – won the opener at Bahrain and battled back to a heroic P2 after a crash at Imola last month.

That gave the Mercedes superstar a one-point lead over Max Verstappen in the standings heading to Portimao, and he increased that advantage on Sunday.

Hamilton started from second, behind team-mate Valtteri Bottas in pole, but produced another inspired performance.

The Briton initially trailed Bottas, who caught his colleague cold and pushed further clear coming out of a safety car for Kimi Raikkonen's tangle with team-mate Antonio Giovinazzi.

Verstappen beat Hamilton into Turn One to climb to second after the safety car and was then hunting Bottas.

But after failing to sufficiently close the gap, Verstappen lost pace on the remainder of that lap and Hamilton went past him as they crossed the same section of the track again.

It was Turn One again that gave Hamilton the opening for another smart manoeuvre, making use of DRS to take the outside when Bottas stayed tight on the inside.

Hamilton informed his team those overtakes had left his tyres "pretty shot", prompting a tactical battle.

Verstappen pitted first and Bottas quickly followed, but a slower stop meant he was soon caught and overtaken despite emerging ahead of the Red Bull.

Hamilton had enough of a lead to pit without falling behind either man, instead eventually catching Sergio Perez, who had been left out on the track until that point, perhaps hoping for a safety car.

There would be no further twist as Hamilton claimed a second consecutive Portimao triumph, leading a familiar podium – Hamilton, Verstappen and Bottas have now shared the steps on a record 15 occasions.

Verstappen missed out on the consolation of the fastest lap, his best time deleted after both he and Bottas, who would claim the extra point, had pitted for the final lap while Hamilton opted not to take the risk.

'YOU'RE RACING HIM!'

So slow was Perez by the time Hamilton caught him, the Mercedes man thought he was lapping a straggler.

Apparently unaware he had not himself been leading the race to that point, Hamilton appealed for a blue flag for the Mexican.

"No, you're racing him," replied Mercedes over the team radio. "He's yet to stop."

THE MIDFIELD MASTER

While Hamilton is again proving himself to be the best driver among those in the leading cars, Lando Norris heads the midfield battle.

He was fourth in Bahrain and third in Imola but this time had to settle for fifth – beaten by Perez for the first time this season.

That was an impressive result after qualifying in seventh, Norris following Bottas and Verstappen in making a fast restart after the safety car but, unlike those two, making his advantage last.

Jack Miller admitted his first MotoGP win in just under five years left him "sobbing like a baby".

The Ducati rider won the Spanish Grand Prix on Sunday to finish at the top of the podium for the first time since the Dutch TT at Assen in June 2016.

Miller took the lead early in Jerez and despite being overtaken by Fabio Quartararo he held his nerve in the second half of the race to regain the lead.

Quartararo faded and the Australian passed the chequered flag in first place ahead of Ducati team-mate Francesco Bagnaia with Franco Morbidelli (Petronas Yamaha SRT) back in third.

"It’s out of this world, honestly. Ever since that chequered flag, ever since turn 12 I’ve been on this rollercoaster and it just keeps going," Miller told BT Sport.

"I’m crying and I’m sobbing like a baby. I don't know, it's too hard to put into words what I feel today.

"Last time I won it was a big old shock in the wet. This one I've definitely worked hard to get this."

Miller said he thought his chances of victory were gone when Frenchman Quartararo overtook him, but his near-perfect ride secured the win.

Quartararo slipped down to finish 13th as he surrendered his place at the top of the world championship to Bagnaia.

Miller added: "When Fabio [Quartararo] got past me I just thought he was going to bolt, he got nearly a second gap but then he plateaued off and started coming back to me so I just had to knuckle down and get past him.

"He began to really drop off as soon as I passed him so I knew then I had to just make my break and get away as quick as possible and try to manage my lead out front.

"It seemed like a tall order at the time as I still had like 12 or 13 laps to go and I was thinking ‘that’s a long time out front by myself’ but I was able to do it.

"I’ve never rode that precise, that good in my whole entire life. I don’t think I’ve done 25 laps in a row like that in my life. So, it’s fantastic to get that."

Jack Miller won the Spanish Grand Prix as the Ducati rider notched his first MotoGP victory since 2016.

The Australian made a superb start to lead and, despite being passed by Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha) in the middle stages, he held his nerve in the second half of the race to return to the front.

Miller finished ahead of Ducati team-mate Francesco Bagnaia with Franco Morbidelli (Petronas Yamaha SRT) in third spot.

Quartararo slipped down to finish 13th as he surrendered his place at the top of the world championship to Bagnaia.

The Frenchman started poorly as he slipped from pole position to fourth as Miller surged ahead, but like the Portuguese Grand Prix last time out he initially recovered.

Quartararo overtook his rivals on the final corner of successive laps to regain the lead before he pulled one-and-a-half seconds clear at the front.

With 11 laps to go, a third consecutive victory seemingly beckoned for Quartararo, but he dropped two seconds on one lap, allowing Miller to seize the advantage.

Miller was able to hold on until the end as he secured his first MotoGP win since the Dutch TT at Assen in June 2016 and his eighth overall.

Quartararo lost further ground as Italian duo Bagnaia with Morbidelli scrapped it out for second, with the former edging it to make it a one-two for Ducati.

Six-time MotoGP champion Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda) returned to the Jerez track where he suffered a broken arm last July –  an injury that kept him out for nine months – and came through unscathed.

Marquez, who had escaped injury in a big fall on Saturday and another accident in warm-up, started the race in 14th spot and eventually ended in ninth in his second race since returning.

Takaaki Nakagami (LCR Honda Idemitsu) claimed fourth place as Joan Mir (Suzuki Ecstar) and Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia) both secured top-six finishes.

TOP 10

1. Jack Miller (Ducati) 41'05.602
2. Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati) +1.912
3. Franco Morbidelli (Petronas Yamaha SRT) +2.516
4. Takaaki Nakagami (LCR Honda Idemitsu) +3.206
5. Joan Mir (Suzuki Ecstar) +4.256
6. Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia) +5.164
7. Maverick Vinales (Monster Energy Yamaha) +5.651
8. Johann Zarco (Pramac Racing) +7.161
9. Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda) +10.494
10. Pol Espargaro (Repsol Honda) +11.776

CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS

Riders

1. Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati) 66
2. Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha) 64
3. Maverick Vinales (Monster Energy Yamaha) 50
4. Joan Mir (Suzuki Ecstar) 49
5. Johann Zarco (Pramac Racing) 48

Teams

1. Monster Energy Yamaha 114
2. Ducati 105
3. Suzuki Ecstar 72
4. Pramac Racing 65
5. Repsol Honda 40

What's next?

Quartararo will hope for more luck on home turf at the French Grand Prix at Le Mans on May 16.

Valtteri Bottas feels he has learned important lessons from his previous race after claiming pole position for the Portuguese Grand Prix.

Bottas qualified eighth last time out at the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix as Max Verstappen took victory for Red Bull.

Verstappen had been tipped to grab pole in Portimao but, after struggling in the windy conditions, he was denied the fastest lap after a correction to avoid a crash at Turn 4 saw his time chalked off for exceeding track limits.

Bottas will start Sunday's race from the front of the grid, denying team-mate Lewis Hamilton the 100th pole of his career by 0.007 seconds, with Verstappen in third.

The Finnish driver was in buoyant mood after tying the great Jackie Stewart on 17 career pole positions, especially given his inauspicious drive at Imola last month, when a crash with George Russell ended a disappointing race weekend.

"It definitely put a smile on my face, because in the first two races of the season, the qualifying really from my side… at least the Q3 session hasn't been the strong point and getting everything out of the car and tyres to work well has been a bit of a weakness," he said.

"But now, it felt like things are starting to go in the right direction. I've been feeling strong all weekend so I knew it was possible and it definitely makes me really happy to put it together in Q3 and be on pole. And as a team as well, with the pressure and with the battle from Red Bull, it's good to be ahead.

"Mentally, I took all the learning points [from Imola], and there were a lot of lessons from that last race, as always. So, I took those, and the rest that I should forget, I completely moved aside and forgot those and moved on."

Hamilton was able to secure a 71st front-row lockout for Mercedes since 2014 but struggled throughout the session, while even the softer compound in Q3 did not yield sufficient grip for better times.

"There was honestly so much time available and I just didn't put it together," said the reigning world champion. "It's really tricky conditions here. The surface of the track is very smooth, and not a lot of grip and the tyres – you need extra laps to get the temperatures even though it's a really nice day.

"Then the balance… one minute you have grip; the next minute, you don't, so it's very tricky for everyone.

"It felt quite good in P3 today and on that Q2 lap it felt solid, and I thought that we were in the right window but it's temperatures... there are gusts of wind so you can be unlucky and get tail winds that perhaps you wouldn't normally get on particular corners."

Verstappen, meanwhile, is hoping for better on Sunday after admitting the lack of grip has made little about the weekend enjoyable so far.

Having won from third at Imola, he remains hopeful Red Bull's straight-line speed will be enough to put the Mercedes under pressure as he aims to overturn the one-point gap to Hamilton in the standings.

"It's been a bit hit and miss anyway, the whole weekend; we're just struggling a lot to find the balance," said Verstappen, who, like the front two, will start the race on medium tyres.

"To be honest, I didn't enjoy one single lap this weekend, just because of the state of the track. I mean the layout is amazing but the grip we are experiencing I don't think is nice. I know it's the same for everyone but for me personally, it's just not enjoyable to drive.

"We'll see [on Sunday] what we can do. It's not so easy to follow here but if we have good pace then, for sure, we'll put the pressure on."

Fabio Quartararo made MotoGP history at the Spanish Grand Prix after becoming the first rider to secure four consecutive pole positions at the Jerez circuit.

The 22-year-old Monster Energy Yamaha rider, who won on each of the last two occasions he clinched pole at Jerez, set an early benchmark with a time of one minute and 36.807 seconds.

He was nearly toppled from top spot by his former team-mate Franco Morbidelli, who at one point got to within 0.005 seconds of a provisional pole position. 

Frenchman Quartararo's first time ultimately would have been enough to secure pole, but he went even better with a later run.

He ended the session with a best time of one minute and 36.775 seconds to secure first spot on the front row, with a 0.057s advantage over Petronas Yamaha's Morbidelli.

"It felt really good today," Quartararo told his team's official website. "Jerez is one of the tracks that I really like. I have ridden a Yamaha four times at this track and four times I got pole position. It's quite an amazing moment, I'm really happy about this.

"But I will say that today's Q2 session was a qualifying where I was more on the limit. I thought I was going to crash in turn six and turn 13. I made a mistake in turn six, but ultimately what matters is that we got the pole position today.

"Tomorrow it's not going to be easy, but I feel prepared and that I have good potential. The medium and hard tyres are both working well, so we will use the warm-up tomorrow to decide which one we will use."

Ducati team-mates Jack Miller and Francesco Bagnaia will start in third and fourth respectively, ahead of LCR Honda rider Takaaki Nakagami in fifth.

Repsol Honda's former world champion Marc Marquez, meanwhile, put in a career-worst qualifying performance and will start Sunday’s race in 14th.

Provisional classification

1. Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha) 1:36.775
2. Franco Morbidelli (Petronas Yamaha) + 0.057s
3. Jack Miller (Ducati) + 0.105s
4. Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati) + 0.205s
5. Takaaki Nakagami (LCR Honda) + 0.253s
6. Johann Zarco (Pramac Racing) + 0.299s
7. Maverick Vinales (Monster Energy Yamaha) + 0.315s
8. Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia) + 0.330s
9. Alex Rins (Suzuki Ecstar) + 0.369s
10. Joan Mir (Suzuki Ecstar) + 0.399s
11. Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM) + 0.712s
12. Stefan Bradl (Honda HRC) + 0.747s

Max Verstappen's title challenge was blown slightly off course as a deleted lap time handed pole position at the Portuguese Grand Prix to Valtteri Bottas.

The Red Bull driver was victorious last time out at Imola and his team again looked to have the best pace in Portimao ahead of qualifying.

But Verstappen complained of a lack of straight-line speed in Q1 and struggled with grip throughout amid windy conditions on the Algarve.

And a correction to avoid a crash at Turn 4 saw a lap that would have been the fastest of Q3 chalked off for exceeding track limits, and he could not replicate it on his sole flying lap that did count.

It meant Bottas claimed pole with a time of one minute and 18.348 seconds, with Mercedes team-mate Lewis Hamilton denied a 100th career pole as he took second, missing out by just 0.007secs.

Verstappen, whose disqualified lap was a 1:18.209, conceded he has found little joy out of the challenge presented by the Algarve International Circuit.

"Whole qualifying was very difficult to drive, was struggling with grip," he said in the post-session interviews. 

"I was quite confident I could do another good lap, [but a] car in front in the last corners disturbs you.

"It's of course not ideal, we'll try to fight them [Mercedes] in the race and see what we can do. Hopefully everything stabilises, up until now it's not been a lot of fun to drive here."

Bottas' emotions were a marked contrast, the Finn left unsurprisingly satisfied with the 17th pole position of his career.

"Feels like it's been a while. It's been a weak point for me in the first two races, getting the tyres to work," said Bottas. 

"The team have been working hard all weekend and we have a good position for tomorrow.

"Starting with the medium tyre tomorrow is good, and it opens up opportunities that we can go as long as we want in the first stint.

Hamilton added: "A great job by Valtteri and our teams for us both to be on the front row, it was not expected. We have to be happy for that, it was not the perfect lap but I gave it everything.

"You can never be satisfied, we exist to keep moving forward but I'm happy with what we're doing and the steps we're taking."

The Red Bulls were far from the only ones to struggle with the wind, McLaren's Daniel Ricciardo failing to make it out of Q1, he will start 16th.

But there was better news for Sebastian Vettel, who made it through to Q3 for the first time since joining Aston Martin.

Vettel will start 10th in a race that will provide plenty of intrigue after an unanticipated shakeup at the front, with both Red Bulls behind an all-Mercedes front row but expected to have better race pace.

Sergio Perez, who will start fourth, told Sky Sports: "I never really got on top of the car in this session, I lacked a bit getting into a rhythm.

"Not really everything worked but at least we have a good starting position, our race pace seems to be better."

If that proves to be the case, it will set the stage for a fascinating duel on Sunday.

PROVISIONAL CLASSIFICATION

1. Valtteri Bottas (Mercedes) 1:18.348
2. Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) +0.007s
3. Max Verstappen (Red Bull) +0.398s
4. Sergio Perez (Red Bull) +0.542s
5. Carlos Sainz (Ferrari) +0.691s
6. Esteban Ocon (Alpine) +0.694s
7. Lando Norris (McLaren) +0.768s
8. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) +0.958s
9. Pierre Gasly (AlphaTauri) +1.127s
10. Sebastian Vettel (Aston Martin) +1.311s

This was not how the start of the season was supposed to pan out for Red Bull, who had the fastest car in Formula One testing.

Superstar Max Verstappen has finished second and first over the opening two weeks, yet he still trails Lewis Hamilton by a point. Mercedes are also on top again in the constructors' championship, seven points clear even after Valtteri Bottas crashed out of the epic Emilia Romagna Grand Prix.

"To come away leading both championships almost felt like a get out of jail free card, because our rivals didn't maximise the opportunity we gave them," Silver Arrows boss Toto Wolff said.

Verstappen is certainly in a title race, but seven-time champion Hamilton will be the favourite as long as he has the lead.

There is pressure on Red Bull to change that this week when the season continues with the Portuguese Grand Prix.

LAST TIME OUT

It would perhaps be easier to start with what did not happen at Imola, such was the drama.

Verstappen was the victor, while Hamilton came in second, but that does not even start to tell the full story, with incident right from the outset in the pouring rain.

The Mercedes driver started from pole but was trailing and damaged by Turn One, pushed wide by a rapid Verstappen dash.

Worse was to come for Hamilton as he careered off into a gravel trap midway through the race and attempted to get his sparking Silver Arrow back to the pit lane as Verstappen streaked clear.

But an unexpected intervention gave Hamilton a reprieve, with a crash – not the only one – between Bottas and George Russell prompting a suspension of the race.

That meant Verstappen had to restore his advantage after a nervy restart, while Hamilton resumed from ninth and weaved through the field to finish a distant second, retaining his season lead with a late fastest lap.

WHAT TO LOOK OUT FOR AT PORTIMAO

Now that Hamilton has proven the worth of the W12 car – previously dismissed by Bottas as "undriveable" – Mercedes might expect a more straightforward weekend.

Hamilton won at the Algarve International Circuit last year, after all.

But the tricky circuit, dubbed 'the rollercoaster', could encourage another eventful outing, particularly with Verstappen keen to ensure he has not missed his chance to pull clear over the past two grands prix.

The battle below the top two teams is similarly intriguing, with McLaren's Lando Norris as high as third in the standings after following up a fourth place in the opener by taking third last time out. Ferrari's Charles Leclerc, meanwhile, is fourth in the standings.

Neither McLaren nor the Scuderia had the pace to stick with Hamilton when his crash gave them a rare opportunity to compete with the Mercedes superstar, but those two teams will be determined to prove they are the best of the rest.

Sebastian Vettel's challenge right now is simply to get a point on the board after coming 15th in back-to-back races.

TOP FIVE OPTA STATS

Reaching the Max – Having either won (twice) or secured pole position (twice) in each of the past three races, Verstappen is enjoying the best run of his career.

Hundred up for Ham – Hamilton's pole position at Imola was his 99th in F1, meaning he could this week become the first driver to reach a century. This is the same circuit where the Briton passed Michael Schumacher's record for race wins last season.

Keep your friends close – While challenging Hamilton, Verstappen also finally has competition again from within his own garage. Sergio Perez qualified in second last time out, the first time Verstappen had been beaten in qualifying by a team-mate in 19 races.

Yet so far – Leclerc is fourth in the standings and all too often fourth on race day. The Ferrari man has gone 15 races without a podium but has finished fourth on four occasions during that span.

Fail to Finnish – Bottas will hope to avoid a career first following his retirement last time out. In his 158-race career, he has never failed to place at consecutive grands prix.

CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS

Drivers

1. Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) – 44
2. Max Verstappen (Red Bull) – 43
3. Lando Norris (McLaren) – 27
4. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) – 20
5. Valtteri Bottas (Mercedes) – 16

Constructors

1. Mercedes – 60
2. Red Bull – 53
3. McLaren – 41
4. Ferrari – 34
5. Aston Martin – 7

There will be no Canadian Grand Prix in Formula One in 2021, with the series instead heading to Turkey in June.

Montreal had been set to host the event across June 11-13, but travel restrictions relating to the coronavirus pandemic have dictated a change in plans.

The Azerbaijan Grand Prix is scheduled for the week prior and Canada currently imposes a mandatory 14-day quarantine.

The COVID-19 crisis saw last season's Canadian Grand Prix cancelled, too, but F1 has agreed a two-year extension, meaning the race will return in 2022.

In the meantime, the Turkish Grand Prix has been restored to the calendar.

It was on the slate in 2020 and saw Lewis Hamilton's latest title triumph confirmed with victory in Istanbul in November.

A new sprint qualifying format will go ahead at three Formula One races this season.

The FIA, F1 and all 10 teams have agreed to the changes to be implemented at two European circuits and one non-European track, with all three venues to be announced in due course.

Drivers will race over 100 kilometres in sprint qualifying on Saturday afternoon to determine the grid for Sunday's race. 

Sprint qualifying winners will earn three points, with two awarded for second place and one for third.

The grid for the sprints will be decided on Friday afternoon using the current qualifying format, with cars entering Parc Ferme conditions from the start of Friday qualifying.

There will be one-hour practice sessions on both Friday and Saturday mornings. 

F1 president and CEO Stefano Domenicali said: "We are excited by this new opportunity that will bring our fans an even more engaging race weekend in 2021.

"Seeing the drivers battling it out over three days will be an amazing experience and I am sure the drivers will relish the fight.

"I am delighted that all the teams supported this plan, and it is a testament to our united efforts to continue to engage our fans in new ways while ensuring we remain committed to the heritage and meritocracy of our sport."

The sprint qualifying format in full:

Friday
60-minute first practice in the morning with two sets of tyres for teams to choose freely
Normal qualifying format in the afternoon with five soft tyre sets available only

Saturday
60-minute second free practice in the morning with one set of tyres for teams to choose freely
100km sprint qualifying in the afternoon with two sets of tyres for teams to choose freely

Sunday
Full distance race with two remaining sets of tyres

Lewis Hamilton believes his remarkable recovery to finish second at the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix on Sunday will prove "very valuable" this season.

In the second race of the year, Hamilton seemed set for a lowly finish at best.

Having lost first place to Max Verstappen at Turn One on the first lap of an epic affair, the defending champion, chasing his rival, ran off into a gravel trap midway through the grand prix.

Hamilton was briefly stuck against the wall, struggling to reverse his car back onto the track, before the W12 limped towards the pit under a shower of sparks.

But a red flag prompted by an incident involving team-mate Valtteri Bottas then brought the race to a standstill.

Hamilton had been ninth and a lap down, yet the restart allowed him to weave through the field and claim P2, behind Verstappen but still ahead of the Red Bull man in the drivers' championship.

"I think, without doubt, getting back to second and getting these points will be very valuable through the season," said the Briton.

"If I'd lost 25 points, that would have been hard to recover based on the fact that [for] Red Bull it's the first time that they've had a championship-winning car.

"Their car is incredibly fast. They were faster than us this weekend, definitely in qualifying trim but it looks like a little bit also in race trim.

"I don't know if they made a couple of mistakes – I think they did, Max did in qualifying for example otherwise he would have been on pole.

"But we've got a real close battle. We love the fact that it's a close battle and it's great to see McLaren back up there after such a long time, it's great to see Ferrari looking strong.

"So, there's going to be a lot of exciting races up ahead and challenging for all of us in so many different ways."

Although Hamilton's resurgence prevented Verstappen from taking an early lead in the standings, the Dutchman was delighted to land a blow in the title tussle, having trailed the Mercedes man in the season opener.

But he was also not getting carried away after a first win of the year.

"It's a very long season. We just have to keep on working very hard," Verstappen said. "I'm very happy with the result today, of course, but that's today.

"I'm of course going to be happy about today, but tomorrow, we start again. We have to keep on improving because there's still a lot of work to be able to keep doing this the whole season.

"It's great to be fighting against Lewis, Mercedes who, I think, as a team, have been so dominant and they're very difficult to beat.

"To be able to sit here now, now two races in a row, we were very, very competitive – that's very promising but no guarantees."

With his nose pressed against the wall and rivals crashing elsewhere on the track in torrid Imola rain, Hamilton could easily have retired following his crash.

He was not to know then that the collision between Bottas and George Russell would provide a reprieve, but he was delighted to be able to continue and learn "an amazing lesson" regardless.

"I remember just sitting there, looking at the barrier, and I refused to think that the race was over," Hamilton said. "I refused to believe that the race was done.

"I could have obviously just turned the car off and got out but I'm grateful that I didn't.

"I'm grateful that I did do a reverse and then, after that, just kind of getting out the car and trying to switch the anger and turn it into positive energy so that I could get back in and race forwards.

"It's an amazing lesson to be sent and experience."

And Hamilton, so often starting from the front of the grid, actually relished the chance to blaze past the opposition from ninth place.

"I loved it," he added. "That's how my career actually started as a kid, coming through.

"We had a really dodgy, old go-kart, so I was always starting at the back. It just took me back to my roots."

Lewis Hamilton apologised for his error at the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix but was relieved to be able to secure an outstanding P2 on Sunday.

Defending Formula One champion Hamilton, who started from pole, looked to have blown his chances of a podium finish when he ran off into a gravel trap while chasing Max Verstappen midway through the race.

But as his Mercedes limped back to the pit lane a lap down, an incident involving Silver Arrows team-mate Valtteri Bottas and Hamilton's one-time reserve George Russell brought out the red flag.

Neither man involved in the crash could continue, although both avoided injury, but the stoppage gave Hamilton time to regroup.

That he did and the Silver Arrows superstar climbed from ninth to second, behind only Verstappen in a stunning display of resolve.

"Awesome job, guys," the Briton told his team radio. "Apologies for that mistake earlier on."

After congratulating Verstappen and third-placed Lando Norris in the post-race presentation, Hamilton said: "On my side, it was not the greatest of days.

"It was the first time I've made a mistake in a long time, but I was grateful I was able to bring the car home still."

He added: "I was really, really grateful that we got to get going again and to get some points for the team. That was really important."

Having set the fastest lap time late in the race, too, Hamilton still leads the drivers' championship, a point ahead of Verstappen.

But he said such a scenario was not on his mind as he prepared to restart.

"I wasn't thinking about it," he said. "I was just trying to get over the gutting feeling it is when you make a mistake and just moving on from it, learning from it real quick.

"You don't have time to dwell on it. So, that's what I did, get back into racing spirit.

"I didn't know if we'd be able to overtake, because off-line was really wet, but I still had some really fun battles with all the guys."

Verstappen is not concerned by his placing in those standings, however, responding: "It's a long season. We'll stay calm."

The Dutchman was one of the few drivers to enjoy himself in difficult conditions, most notably in the approach to Turn One as he pushed past Hamilton.

"I surprised myself," Verstappen said. "Last week we were struggling a little bit off the line, but we worked really hard to make that better.

"In these tricky conditions, we did a great job."