Daniel Ricciardo
Lewis Hamilton of Mercedes won the season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix on Sunday, beating Red Bull's Max Verstappen, who put him under immense pressure. Hamilton's celebrated his 96th win in Formula 1.
Mercedes' Valtteri Bottas finished third as Mercedes got a double podium finish once again. Lando Norris was fourth for McLaren ahead of Sergio Perez, who had started from the pit lane in the second Red Bull, Charles Leclerc of Ferrari and Daniel Ricciardo, of McLaren.
Sergio Perez celebrated Sunday his first-ever Formula 1 victory at the Sakhir GP. Renault's Esteban Ocon and Racing Point's Lance Stroll completed the podium on a wild evening in Bahrain.
Carlos Sainz finished fourth, ahead of Renault's Daniel Ricciardo and Red Bull's Alex Albon.
Hamilton, who celebrated his seventh title two weeks ago, had a comfortable 0.289 seconds lead to Mercedes team-mate Valtteri Bottas and collected the 98th pole of his Formula 1 career.
Red Bull's Max Verstappen and Alexander Albon were third and fourth, with Sergio Perez in the fifth position.
Renault's Daniel Ricciardo and Esteban Ocon were sixth and seventh, separated by just 0.002secs, ahead of Alpha Tauri's Pierre Gasly and McLaren's Lando Norris.
Racing Point's Lance Stroll beat Red Bull's Max Verstappen by 0.290 seconds and took the pole position for the Turkish Grand Prix. Lewis Hamilton, on the verge of his seventh title, could manage only a sixth place.
Stroll's pole came completely out of the blue on a day when his Racing Point team clearly had their car set up just so to work the tyres effectively on a treacherously slippery track in challenging conditions.
Stroll's team-mate Sergio Perez was third ahead of Red Bull's Alexander Albon and Renault's Daniel Ricciardo.
With 4 races to go in the 2020 calendar, Mercedes celebrated this weekend a new record. The team achieved their 7th consecutive championship in Formula One.
Lewis Hamilton claimed his 93rd race victory despite falling from 2nd to 3rd position in the opening laps of the race. Daniel Ricciardo achieved his second podium with Renault, finishing 3rd behind Valtteri Bottas.
Valtteri Bottas beat Mercedes team-mate, Lewis Hamilton, to take the pole position for the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix at Imola. The Finn was 0.097 seconds quicker than Hamilton, with Red Bull's Max Verstappen starting in third.
The top five are complete with Alpha Tauri's Pierre Gasly taking a surprise fourth position followed by Renault's Daniel Ricciardo in fifth.
Lewis Hamilton is on pole position for the Russian Grand Prix, in Sochi. Hamilton, the current leader of the Formula 1 championship, finished ahead of Red Bull's Max Verstappen.
Mercedes team-mate Valtteri Bottas took the third place, Sergio Perez the fourth position, and Daniel Ricciardo will start in the fifth position.
After the session, Hamilton said, "Firstly, I have say a big hi to all the fans that are here, we've missed the fans all year! I hope everyone's staying safe."
The Russian Grand Prix will happen Sunday, September 27, at 11:10 (UTC).
Lewis Hamilton is on pole position for the Belgian Grand Prix, in Spa-Francorchamps. Hamilton, the current leader of the Formula 1 championship, finished half a second ahead of Mercedes team-mate Valtteri Bottas.
Red Bull's Max Verstappen took the third place, Daniel Ricciardo the fourth and Alexander Albon the fifth position.
Lewis Hamilton dedicated the pole position to the actor Chadwick Boseman: "What he accomplished and the legacy he left is so incredible to me. He’s inspired a whole generation of young black men and women and provided them with a true superhero to look up to. Rest in power, my friend."
Following the announcement of 4-time world champion Sebastian Vettel leaving Ferrari by the end of the 2020 season, the Ferrari and McLaren Formula 1 teams have now announced hiring Carlos Sainz and Daniel Ricciardo for their 2021 vacant seats. The Renault F1 team is now looking for a replacement for Ricciardo at the end of the current season, with the return of Nico Hulkenberg rumoured to be a possibility.