After the thrilling end to the 2015 campaign, excitement levels are peaking ahead of the MotoGP season curtain-raiser, which will be staged at the Losail International Circuit in Doha, Qatar, this weekend. Jorge Lorenzo won the championship on the final day of the previous campaign, overhauling his Yamaha team-mate Valentino Rossi, who had led the way for much of the year. Those two will be seeking to get off to a strong start again in 2016, although Honda’s Marc Marquez will also be on the hunt for a third title in four years after underwhelming in 2015. Either way, the first race of the season is always a very special occasion and a grand prix that will reveal plenty about what to expect in the months to come.  Here are the key...

After the thrilling end to the 2015 campaign, excitement levels are peaking ahead of the MotoGP season curtain-raiser, which will be staged at the Losail International Circuit in Doha, Qatar, this weekend. Jorge Lorenzo won the championship on the final day of the previous campaign, overhauling his Yamaha team-mate Valentino Rossi, who had led the way for much of the year. Those two will be seeking to get off to a strong start again in 2016, although Honda’s Marc Marquez will also be on the hunt for a third title in four years after underwhelming in 2015. Either way, the first race of the season is always a very special occasion and a grand prix that will reveal plenty about what to expect in the months to come.  Here are the key...

Since the beginning of the 2015 Formula One season, though the evidence has suggested otherwise, Fernando Alonso has insisted his decision to leave Ferrari for McLaren-Honda was the right one. Even when Sebastian Vettel was winning grands prix in assured fashion and threatening the all-conquering Mercedes cars of Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg, Alonso was convinced it was he, not his rival, who was on the right path. His logic, of course, was that unless Ferrari were capable of winning the world championship—the biggest prize of all—he wouldn't be missing much at the Prancing Horse beyond the disappointment that comes with finishing second year after year. But on the eve of a season in which Vettel and Ferrari are set to s...

The 2016 Formula One Australian Grand Prix will be the first race of what is set to be a record-breaking year for the sport.The teams and drivers will contest 21 races, more than ever before, giving the front-runners a golden opportunity to smash the records for the most wins, points, podiums and poles in a single season.Lewis Hamilton heads into the weekend looking to get his title defence off to the best possible start. The reigning champion won here in 2015 on his way to a third world crown, and he starts as favourite, but team-mate Nico Rosberg and Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel are also expected to be in the hunt.Kimi Raikkonen may have a part to play in the fight over the podium spots, too, while the likes of Williams, Force India, Red Bu...

Three-time Formula One world champion Lewis Hamilton took some time away from the wheel last week to play a spot of golf.Only it wasn't quite golf as we know it. The man normally more familiar with the high-octane world of motor racing took his game to new heights when he teed off from on top of a glacier in New Zealand."Driving biodegradable golf balls above the clouds! Unreal experience!" he tweeted on Thursday.Fortunately, Hamilton's swing looked pretty solid—you wouldn't want to lose your balance while driving from up there, after all. [Twitter, h/t PlanetF1.com]Read more Motorsports news on BleacherReport.com...

After a long and at times very boring winter, the start of the 2016 Formula One season is finally upon us. The 2016 Australian Grand Prix marks the start of the sport's longest-ever year, and it will give us our first real chance to see all 22 drivers in action—and the first answers to our most burning questions. Are Mercedes still the team to beat? Have Ferrari cut the gap? Are Toro Rosso quicker than Red Bull, where do Williams stand and could McLaren return to regular points contention? Testing times and analysis have given us hints about the pecking order, but it's impossible to know exactly how competitive each team is until we see them all doing the same thing, on the same track, at the same time. After qualifying, we'll have an...

Formula One world champion Lewis Hamilton has avoided punishment after being investigated by New Zealand police for appearing to film himself with his mobile phone while riding a motorbike. According to Natalie Evans in the Mirror, Hamilton posted two videos on Snapchat that appeared to show him filming while riding a Harley Davidson in Auckland on New Zealand's North Island.  While it has been illegal in New Zealand since 2009 to use a mobile phone while operating a vehicle, a police spokesman said they lacked the evidence to establish whether Hamilton, 31, had committed an offence, per Press Association (via Sky Sports): "Auckland City Police will be taking no further action in r...

Four races down...22 remain in the regular season. Four races, four winners, no surprises. Four NASCAR titans burned out their tires as the sun set. The finishes have been thrilling, looking at you Daytona Beach and Phoenix. And we’re also trying to get a handle on the new aero package. The analysts are all over it, singing its praises (Are they being told to tout it and not criticize it?). Maybe that’s because they can see it in person and see a wide angle of 40-ish cars braiding around each other. Take Fox’s Larry McReynolds: This rules package wasn't designed to have a lead change every lap. We know we'll never get there. It's also shown we can have some great racing without a lot of cautions. Honestly, it makes it whe...

After almost four months of waiting, the 2016 Formula One season will kick off at this weekend's Australian Grand Prix at Albert Park. Having dominated for the last two years, Mercedes drivers Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg are expected to face a stern challenge from Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen in what will be the longest season in F1 history with 21 races. As the reigning world champion, Hamilton—a winner at Albert Park in 2008 and 2015—will enter the Melbourne-based event as the favourite for both the race and this year's title, but how will the first grand prix of the season play out? With a look at how the new qualifying format might affect proceedings, our tip for a shock podium finish, the driver(s) who ...

The 2016 Formula One season kicks off on March 20 with the Australian Grand Prix. The 22 drivers will line up on the grid in Melbourne with a record-breaking 21 races ahead of them, each man with his own personal goals for the season firmly in his mind. For the Mercedes and Ferrari drivers, race wins and the ultimate glory of the drivers' championship will be the target. Lewis Hamilton is aiming to become only the fourth driver in history to win a third consecutive world title; team-mate Nico Rosberg will again be trying to stop him. Sebastian Vettel will also have at least one eye on the title, while team-mate Kimi Raikkonen's goals may be a little more modest. No one else has a realistic hope of challenging for the top spot, but there's m...