9:39 PM ET ESPN staff Charlie Whiting, the FIA’s director of Formula One and one of the most influential people in the sport, has died at the age of 66. The news comes just three days ahead of the season-opening Australian Grand Prix on Sunday. The FIA, F1’s governing body, confirmed Whiting died on Thursday

12:18 PM ET When Lewis Hamilton said 2019 would be his biggest challenge since joining Mercedes, he wasn’t kidding. Lap times from testing can be misleading, but within his team there is a genuine concern that the new car, known as the W10, has already given away precious tenths of a second to Mercedes’ main

10:59 AM ET ESPN staff Seven British athletes cracked the ESPN Fame 100 (LINK HERE), which lists the most famous stars in world sport. The rundown of active sportsmen and women is compiled by judging three criteria: an athlete’s social media following, their Google Trend score and the amount of money that they bring in

8:01 AM ET MELBOURNE, Australia — The new Formula One season gives fresh hope to all drivers and teams, dreams of lifting trophies and taking trips to the podium abound, and (just about) everyone has a clean slate from all that has gone before. Lewis Hamilton tops the UK charts as the top British athlete

7:59 AM ET What a long winter it must have been for Sebastian Vettel. How tempting to dwell on the turning points that lost him the 2018 world championship. That underwhelming qualifying lap in Singapore; that collision with Lewis Hamilton on the first lap at Monza; that moment he threw away the lead of his

4:58 AM ET Maurice Hamilton Close • Veteran F1 journalist, covering the sport since 1977• Motor racing correspondent for the Observer for 20 years• Has written several books and covered F1 for BBC Radio 5 Live Last time I looked, Charles Leclerc was 4/1 to win in Australia. That could be generous. The odds against the Monegasque winning

4:57 PM ET Formula One will award a point to the driver who sets the fastest race lap, starting from this weekend’s season-opening Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne, providing he finishes in the top 10. The governing FIA said on Monday that the Formula One Strategy Group and F1 Commission had given unanimous approval in

12:00 PM ET Laurence Edmondson Close F1 Editor • Joined ESPN in 2009• An FIA accredited F1 journalist since 2011 Nate Saunders Close F1 Associate Editor • Previously worked in rugby union and British Superbikes • History graduate from Reading University• Joined ESPNF1 in February 2014 On the eve of the Australian Grand Prix, ESPN takes a look at the

8:10 AM ET Maurice Hamilton Close • Veteran F1 journalist, covering the sport since 1977• Motor racing correspondent for the Observer for 20 years• Has written several books and covered F1 for BBC Radio 5 Live Formula One looks set to award a point for the fastest lap this season, pending approval from the relevant parts of the