Lewis Hamilton eased to his sixth Formula One title by finishing second as Mercedes team-mate Valtteri Bottas took the chequered flag at the the US Grand Prix on Sunday.

Formula One is set for a record-breaking 22 races next year after the provisional calendar for the 2020 season was released on Thursday.

The Mercedes driver led from pole to chequered flag, with Red Bull's Max Verstappen more than eight seconds behind and Ferrari's Vettel a distant third.

Sebastian Vettel was fastest in final practice for the Italian Grand Prix on Saturday but Mercedes's Formula One leader Lewis Hamilton closed the gap.

Formula One leader Lewis Hamilton made the most of the changeable conditions to seize pole position for the Belgian Grand Prix ahead of Ferrari title rival Sebastian Vettel on Saturday.

Lewis Hamilton celebrated one of the luckiest wins of his career on Sunday after a crash-strewn and chaotic Azerbaijan Grand Prix that catapulted him into the lead of the Formula One world championship.

Sebastian Vettel marked his 200th Formula One race with a thrilling and brilliantly-judged victory for Ferrari in Sunday's dramatic Bahrain Grand Prix.

Lewis Hamilton rode his luck for the second race in a row to stretch his world championship lead over Sebastian Vettel but said he fears a Ferrari backlash in Japan this week.

Lewis Hamilton took over as leader of the drivers' world championship for the first time this year on Sunday when he claimed a lights-to-flag victory as Mercedes dominated the Italian Grand Prix.

Lewis Hamilton powered to victory in a chaotic Chinese Grand Prix in Shanghai on Sunday, taking swift revenge for his defeat by Sebastian Vettel in the Formula One season-opener.

The Shanghai weather all but wiped out the first two practice sessions for the Chinese Formula One Grand Prix on Friday with poor visibility in the city forcing the grounding of the medical support helicopter.

Italian investigators said on Tuesday they had foiled a plot to steal the body of legendary Formula One racing pioneer Enzo Ferrari and demand a ransom.