LONDON, October 26 (Reuters): Mercedes Formula One boss Toto Wolff jokingly suggested he would have to sell the factory to keep Lewis Hamilton after the Briton's record 92nd career win in Portugal on Sunday. Hamilton is out of contract at the end of the year, by which time the 35-year-old is likely to have won a record-equalling seventh championship and rank as the most successful driver in the history of the sport. He and Wolff have yet to sit down and hammer out the de

Reuters Valtteri Bottas's Formula One title chances took a huge hit on Sunday when the Mercedes driver suffered his first retirement of the season in the Eifel Grand Prix at the Nuerburgring. The Finn, who will stay second in the overall standings, had won the previous race in Russia to cut team mate and six-times world champion Lewis Hamilton's overall lead to 44 points. Bottas started on pole position on Sunday and stayed in front until he locked up on lap 13 and ran

Reuters Lewis Hamilton equalled retired Ferrari great Michael Schumacher's all-time record 91 wins at the Eifel Grand Prix on Sunday. The following details their key statistics: HAMILTON Career starts 261 Pole positions 96 Points finishes 224 Podiums 160Wins 91 Fastest laps 51Titles 6 SCHUMACHER Career starts 306 Pole positions 68 Points finishes 221 Podiums 155 Wins 91 Fastest laps 77 Titles 7 Milestones: First win: Hamilton

Reuters  Lewis Hamilton equalled Michael Schumacher's all-time record 91 Formula One wins on Sunday with an Eifel Grand Prix victory that catapulted the Mercedes driver closer to a seventh world championship. While the Briton triumphed at the Nuerburgring, the German circuit where Ferrari great Schumacher won five times, team mate Valtteri Bottas suffered a huge hit to his title hopes with a first retirement of the season. Hamilton, celebrating his seventh win of the

LONDON, October 3 (Reuters): Renault will meet their obligations under the rules if Red Bull ask for an engine supply after Honda leave Formula One at the end of 2021, the French team's boss Cyril Abiteboul said on Friday. Honda announced their departure earlier, leaving Red Bull Racing and sister team AlphaTauri seeking a new power unit supply for 2022. The sporting regulations state that "each manufacturer must, if called upon to do so by the FIA, supply at least three

(Reuters): Lewis Hamilton accused Formula One stewards of trying to stop him winning after being handed two time penalties in Sunday's Russian Grand Prix. The punishment, for infringements before the race had even started, cost the six-times world champion the lead and the chance to fight for a record-equalling 91st career win. The Mercedes driver finished third after starting on pole position. "I need to go back and see what the rules are and what exactly I did

Reuters Six-times world champion Lewis Hamilton took his tally of Formula One wins to 90 and the brink of Michael Schumacher's record on Sunday, but he said it felt like he had just done three in a day. The Briton's latest victory, in a Tuscan Grand Prix that was twice red-flagged and re-started, left him one shy of the Ferrari great -- a record once held up as a milestone to withstand the test of time. "Hectic," said the 35-year-old Mercedes driver, when ask

(Reuters): McLaren's Lando Norris crashed in practice for the Tuscan Grand Prix at Mugello on Friday but his spirits were lifted by Formula One allowing fans back into the grandstands for the first time in a COVID-19 ravaged season. The Ferrari-owned track in central Italy is celebrating glamour team Ferrari's 1,000th world championship grand prix this weekend with 2,880 paying fans allowed to attend on every day. Norris said the lucky few had made a big difference a

ISTANBUL, September 2 (Reuters): Turkey hopes to secure a permanent place on the Formula One calendar after it stages its first event in nearly a decade later this year, albeit at half-capacity due to the coronavirus pandemic, the operator of Istanbul Park circuit said on Tuesday. The Turkish Grand Prix is set for Nov. 15 after F1 last week adjusted its 2020 calendar of 17 races, and cancelled the Chinese Grand Prix due to the virus. Turkey last played host in 2011 when Istanbul&

BARCELONA, August 16 (Reuters): Sergio Perez picked up where he left off on Saturday, qualifying fourth for the Spanish Grand Prix in his first race back from COVID-19 quarantine. The Mexican had also lined up fourth in Hungary, the last Formula One race he started before testing positive for the new coronavirus and missing the subsequent two rounds at Silverstone. If anyone was surprised at Perez's strong return, with Canadian Racing Point team mate Lance Stroll qualify

SILVERSTONE, August 7 (Reuters): Six-times Formula One champion Lewis Hamilton said on Thursday he felt uncomfortable negotiating a lucrative contract extension with Mercedes during the COVID-19 pandemic as the team confirmed Valtteri Bottas was staying next year. Hamilton is out of contract at the end of the year but looking sure to stay at the dominant champions, with no other available seat as competitive. "Ultimately, honestly, it just doesn't feel like the right tim

SILVERSTONE, July 31 (Reuters): Germany's Nico Hulkenberg will replace Racing Point driver Sergio Perez at this weekend's British Formula One Grand Prix after the Mexican was ruled out by a positive COVID-19 test result. Hulkenberg, a veteran of 177 grands prix, raced for the team when they were known as Force India. He competed for Renault last season. "Having to find a replacement for Sergio at short notice is no easy task, but in Nico we've got a fantastic sup