FIA GT1 & EUROPEAN GT3 LIVE FROM NOGARO

It’s the opening round of the FIA GT1 and European GT3 championships. Watch the action LIVE from Nogaro in France.

HAMILTON DRIVES SENNA’S McLAREN HONDA

JENSON ON THE BUTTON IN MELBOURNE

Jenson Button took home the first 25 points of the 2012 season after a dominant dominant drive at the Australian Grand Prix. The 2009 World Champion and now three times Melbourne winner rocketed from P2 on the grid to lead the race home, virtually leading from start to finish. Button swiftly passed his team-mate Lewis Hamilton on the way down to the first corner after the younger Briton pulled slowly off the line. He quickly established a three second buffer, from which point he remained untouchable. Reigning World Champion Sebastian Vettel hauled his Red Bull into second place, despite an uncompetitive qualifying session that had him starting from P6. Vettel jumped one place to fifth off the line after Mark Webber suffered from a problematic getaway, from which point he applied pressure to fourth-running Nico Rosberg, and quickly passed him. Although Vettel succumbed to an early and uncharacteristic mistake in the chase for third-placed Michael Schumacher, a brief excursion onto the grass triggered a mechanical failure in the W03, gifting the younger Champion P3.

WEBBER WINS BRAZIL, BRONZE! BRONZE! BRONZE! FOR AUSTRALIA

Mark Webber has taken his first win of the season at Interlagos overnight, winning his second Brazilian Grand Prix. Webber started second on the grid for the final race of the season, but was gifted the lead on lap 30 after gearbox issues forced Sebastian Vettel to let his team-mate pass. The win secured the Australian third [...]

VETTEL HOT IN INDIAN TAKE AWAY

Sebastian Vettel has written his name in the Formula One history books once again, winning the first ever Indian Grand Prix at Greater Noida. Vettel led from pole to flag, never at any point under pressure from his racing peers, eventually building a gap of over six seconds between himself and the rest of the field. The German also set a new record for number of laps led in a Grand Prix, taking the title from previous record holder Nigel Mansell from the 1992 season. And, as if his dominance was being at all questioned, he set the race's fastest lap on his final circulation of the circuit: at 1 minute, 27.249 seconds. 'Obviously it was a very good race for us,' said Vettel, stating the obvious. 'I enjoyed the time in the lead very much.' 'Overall obviously a fantastic performance. Thanks to the whole team. 'All in all it was fantastic. I'm very proud to be the first winner in India.' Jenson Button finished best of the rest, and subsequently strengthened his claim for the same title in the year's Drivers' Championship.

VETTEL ON POLE FOR TITLE DEFENCE IN JAPAN

Sebastian Vettel is just one day away from claiming his second World Championship after claiming pole position ahead of tomorrow’s Japanese Grand Prix. The German needs only one point to become the sport’s youngest ever World Champion. ‘What a qualifying,’ exclaimed Vettel. ‘It was a tough qualifying, but I enjoyed it a lot.’ ‘Yesterday I went off in [...]

ON THE BUTTON IN HUNGARY

Jenson Button has commemorated his 200th Grand Prix start with a scintillating win of strategy in Hungary overnight. The Briton, who won his first Grand Prix at the Hungaroring in 2006, came from negotiated a green circuit and two rain sessions to take his 12th career victory and second of the season. 'For some reason I like these conditions, don't ask me why', said Button after the race. 'All round, an amazing weekend'. 'A great call by the team to put me on the prime tyres when they did.' 'I think we're going into the break on nice high.' He led home championship leader Sebastian Vettel who, despite not taking victory for the past four rounds, has extended his championship lead to 85 points over teammate Webber. 'I couldn't push as hard as I would like to', commented Vettel. 'Second today was an important step. Nevertheless, I think the win was in reach today and we didn't get it'. 'It's clear now that they [McLaren] have done a step forward and we need to make sure we come back.' Fernando Alonso completed the podium with a strong third place finish, confirming Ferrari's return to form is able to persist through all conditions.

WEBBER ON POLE FOR GERMAN GP

Mark Webber has taken his third pole position of the season to start from P1 for the second consecutive race at the Nurburgring. Webber set his lap within the first five minutes, which saw Alonso and Hamilton swap fastest times before the RBR-7 put four-tenths between the Australian and his nearest competitor. "The form's been getting a little bit better over the last couple of races," said Webber post-qualifying. "The boys did a great job with the car. They had some pretty late nights in the lead up to this event. "If someone was to get me, they'd deserve it because I couldn't have gotten much more." Despite starting from pole twice this season, Webber has failed to lead a single lap so far in 2011, often conceding his position off the line. "I'll be in there [tomorrow] pushing very, very hard, don't worry," he said confidently. The first stint of Q3 saw Sebastian Vettel follow him closely, slotting in behind his teammate by little more than a tenth, keeping Fernando Alonso's Ferrari at bay by a further 0.4 seconds. It was Hamilton, however, who throw his unlikely hat into the ring to compete for pole during the Q3's second stint, posting a time faster than anyone in the first sector. "It was one of the happiest and most comforting laps I've ever had, it's just incredible" commented a joyful Hamilton. The Englishman, however - who spent most of the weekend talking his chances down - fell painfully short, with less than one-tenth separating him from Webber, not that he seemed to mind. "That was a good lap," he said over team radio as qualifying finished. "That was a wicked lap." "We definitely underestimated how good the car would be when we went to light fuel," he added in the post-qualifying press conference. "A huge congratulations to my team, a fantastic effort. I'm really happy I could put it up here for them." Hamilton's last-ditch efforts meant that Vettel was relegated beyond the first row of the grid for the first time this season, breaking a fourteen race streak.

McLAREN TAKES A VIRGIN

Virgin Racing has confirmed a technical partnership with frontrunner McLaren alongside the purchase of former technical partner Wirth Research Technology. The moves, which came at undoubtedly considerable cost, signify the team's intent to move up the field, with their season's progress thus far being below expectation. Virgin are currently last in the constructors' championship. The McLaren tie-up will see the pseudo-Russian team gain access to their facilities in Woking as well as a number of McLaren's technical crew. 'Our Technical Partnership with McLaren is very exciting indeed,' said Andy Webb, CEO of Virgin Racing. 'We can benefit enormously from McLarenís far-reaching techniques and capabilities and I have no doubt that this partnership will see us take the technical steps necessary to make a significant leap forwards.' McLaren team principal Martin Whitmarsh wishes them well.

VETTEL VICTORIOUS IN VALENCIA

Sebastian Vettel led home the longest field in Formula One history to claim his sixth victory of the season in a largely uninspiring European Grand Prix. The German, now well accustomed to the sensation, dominated from pole to flag in flawless style as Red Bull's closest rivals in McLaren and Ferrari failed to make in impression on the leader. 'I tell you I enjoyed it so much,' he said. 'When it's just between you and the car... for some reason I enjoy this track.' 'We managed to put everything together for a faultless weekend. 'From beginning to the end, fantastic.' The most Vettel had to battle with was traffic as he set about lapping a full-length field, with all 24 cars finishing to make it the greatest number of drivers to complete a race. Fernando Alonso did well, however, to prove Ferrari's progress thus far this season to finish a confident second after a number of position changes with Australian Mark Webber, who managed third. 'It was an interesting race, for the fans and for the people watching on the TV, to see the fight with Webber all the way through,' reflected the home crowd favourite. 'The teams did a very good strategy by keeping the car out a few laps longer on the soft tyre. 'In the end I think the second place is the maximum we can have.' Webber held on to second place on the first lap after a spritely start from Felipe Massa, but eventually succumbed to a combination of KERS problems and Alonso's pace on the soft tyre. His gearbox would prevent him from challenging the Spaniard later in the race. 'I think we should have [been able to score a Red Bull one-two], but in the end we didn't,' conceded Webber. The fight between the two culminated in the final pit stop, which saw Webber gamble on an early switch to the prime compound. His pace on the opening few laps saw Alonso maintain his place after his stop, while a gearbox fault saw any chance of a fight back neutralised. 'It was my fault to miss second today. It was not really known how the medium tyre would perform on the out lap. '[But] I think it was my best race of the year, to be honest.'