FERNANDO ALONSO

Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen have qualified 1-2 for the inaugural Qatar Grand Prix, setting up a showdown between the Formula One championship contenders at the very start of Sunday’s race.

Red Bull’s Max Verstappen edged championship rival Lewis Hamilton for pole position in qualifying Saturday at the Formula One U.S. Grand Prix.

Lewis Hamilton had the fastest qualifying time at the Turkish Grand Prix but a 10-place grid penalty prevented him from extending his record pole streak.

Lewis Hamilton has become the first Formula One driver to win 100 races with victory in the Russian Grand Prix to retake the championship lead from Max Verstappen.

Frenchman Esteban Ocon has won a chaotic Hungarian Grand Prix while an exhausted Lewis Hamilton moved up from third to second in the race after Sebastian Vettel’s disqualification.

Max Verstappen out-dragged Lewis Hamilton at the start of Formula One’s experimental first sprint qualifying race to take the pole for the British Grand Prix.

The race was effectively decided when Verstappen overtook Hamilton on Lap 53 of 56 but went too wide on a turn and off track limits. Verstappen still had a few laps to catch Hamilton and he almost did, finishing .74 seconds behind the Mercedes driver. Verstappen took a superb pole position on Saturday, the fourth of his career, and started immediately ahead of Hamilton under floodlights at the desert track. Hamilton was 1.5 seconds behind Verstappen when Mercedes took the bold strategy to switch him to hard tires on Lap 14. Bottas came in for the same tire change three laps after Hamilton, and Verstappen came in on Lap 18 but again for medium tires.

The Pagoda is seen before a practice session for the Indianapolis 500 auto race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Saturday, Aug. 15, 2020, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings)INDIANAPOLIS Andretti Autosport claimed the top of the speed chart midway through Indianapolis 500 qualifying, with former race winners Ryan Hunter-Reay and Alexander Rossi leading a strong Honda showing. Teammate Hunter-Reay was waiting on pit lane to make his run when Rossi radioed feedback from his four laps. Hunter-Reay made a quick adjustment then bumped Rossi with a qualifying run of 231.330 mph. We knew we had the speed, Hunter-Reay said.

Marco Andretti packs up his gear following practice for the Indianapolis 500 auto race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Indianapolis, Thursday, Aug. 13, 2020. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)INDIANAPOLIS The horsepower boost sent speeds skyrocketing over 233 mph early on Fast Friday at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The Andretti Autosport cars quickly jumped to the top of the board with Marco Andretti logging a lap of 233.491 miles per hour (375.77 kilometres per hour). It's the fastest lap in a practice which is considered unofficial since Sebastien Bourdais went 233.116 mph in 2017. The first thing you need is speed and then you need to put the four laps together," Andretti said.

Scott Dixon, of New Zealand, pulls out fo the pits during a practice session for the Indianapolis 500 auto race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Wednesday, Aug. 12, 2020, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings)INDIANAPOLIS Scott Dixon, already off to a tremendous start to the IndyCar season, quickly set the pace on the first day of practice for the Indianapolis 500. Dixon turned a lap of 224.047 mph (360.57 kph) around Indianapolis Motor Speedway in the two-hour session for veterans. He has won the Indy 500 once in his career. The day was scheduled to conclude with a 150-minute open practice session.

The Rolex 24 at Daytona kicks off in earnest Thursday as all classes take to the 3.56-mile course at Daytona International Speedway. But only a handful will enjoy a full payoff when they hop aboard the podium in Daytona International Speedways elusive Victory Lane. That comes from international racing superstar Fernando Alonso, a two-time Formula One champion and, last year in his second effort, part of a winning Rolex 24 effort. WeatherTech, the car-mat company, sponsors IMSAs highest series, which will race the Rolex 24. Within the WeatherTech Series are four classes of cars: Daytona Prototype international (DPi); Le Mans Prototype 2 (LMP2); GT Le Mans (GTLM) and GT Daytona (GTD).