COMMENT BY JONATHAN MCEVOY: I wonder whether F1 - and the other sports being lured there - might not play a constructive role in helping the kingdom towards improvement.

W Series, the all-female racing championship, has broken into the Formula One family 15 years after Bernie Ecclestone said that 'women should wear white like all other domestic appliances'.

The prospect of a woman competing in F1 for the first time in 44 years has moved a step closer, when the W Series announced that its 2020 champion will receive 15 points towards a 'super licence'.

COMMENT - JONATHAN MCEVOY: There are long years when I would have wagered life and limb on Lewis Hamilton ending his career in a Ferrari. But it no longer looks like it will be the case.

The Shanghai Sports Federation wants the Chinese Grand Prix to be cancelled as the coronavirus death toll continues to rise. The virus has so far killed 500 people.

Mercedes driver Hamilton claimed his sixth world championship last season and is now eyeing Schumacher's record with the Brit approaching the new campaign as the strong favourite.

McLaren have unveiled the car they hope will take them another step forward on their journey back to the front of the Formula One grid.

Lewis Hamilton has unveiled the new Mercedes he hopes will fire him to a record-equalling seventh Formula One world championship.

The Grove outfit endured a turbulent 2019 in which they failed to make the start of pre-season testing before finishing last in the constructors' championship with just one point.

INTERVIEW BY JONATHAN SPENCER: Lewis Hamilton heads into the new season as big favourite to claim his seventh world title and draw level with legend Michael Schumacher.

The Chinese Grand Prix could be rescheduled for November as part of a two-day event sandwiched in between the Brazilian and Abu Dhabi races after the original race was postponed.

Sebastian Vettel has fallen ill on the opening day of Formula One testing after posing for group pictures on the starting grid with the other drivers. The four-time champion was due to test Ferrari's new SF1000.

The Dutch driver, heading into his seventh season in Formula One, lost control and spun around, going off the track at turn five. He was unharmed in Thursday morning's session in Barcelona.

WILL JEANES IN MARRAKESH: Felipe Massa says the future of gas-guzzling Formula One is under threat due to the climate emergency.

Red Bull's No 1 driver Max Verstappen, who is expected to seriously test Lewis Hamilton's dominance going forward, starred heavily during the documentary that premiered last month.

The seven teams, which includes Lewis Hamilton's Mercedes, Red Bull and McLaren, are concerned that that FIA's probe does not identify whether Ferrari bent the rules.

JONATHAN MCEVOY: Seven Formula One teams have threatened to take Ferrari and the governing body, the FIA, to court for hushing up a potentially illegal Ferrari engine.

Mercedes have reinvented the wheel - for now. Their new DAS system took onlookers by surprise when cockpit cameras showed Lewis Hamilton tugging on his steering wheel.

Here are all the major changes that have happened over the winter ahead of the 2020 Formula One campaign which begins on Sunday with the Australian Grand Prix.

Italy is currently on on lockdown due to the spread of the coronavirus, with the country's prime minister Giuseppe Conte ordering 60 million citizens not to travel or even socialise in coming days.

Pre-season testing has left us with more questions than answers as the new F1 campaign prepares to get underway at the Australian GP. Here are the 10 biggest talking points for the new season.

It is understood that the team member reported symptoms associated with the disease in the Albert Park paddock on Wednesday morning.

Formula One bosses on Wednesday took the first step to save the sport from financial meltdown by bringing forward the summer break from August to now.

The three latest races to be called off take the grand total of postponed events to seven, with Australia, Bahrain, Vietnam, China, Holland, Spain and Monaco all now falling foul of the virus.

EXCLUSIVE BY JONATHAN MCEVOY: Lewis Hamilton's future at Mercedes was cast into doubt when his boss Toto Wolff was absent from a heated conference call intended to save F1.

Formula One will run a series of virtual races, with some current drivers taking part, to replace a string of grands prix postponed by the coronavirus outbreak.

Silverstone bosses have promised fans a full refund if the British Grand Prix on July 19 is called off. The first seven races of the F1 season have been cancelled over coronavirus pandemic.

Liberty Media announced they would aim for up to 18 rounds, crammed into the back half of the year. Sportsmail understands the championship could even be extended into 2021.

Daniel Ricciardo reveals he is still benefitting from a good training regime despite coronavirus disrupting plans for the 2020 Formula One calendar. 

EXCLUSIVE: Bernie Ecclestone is locked down at his coffee farm in Brazil. At 490 acres it is literally the size of Monaco, and, with coronavirus lurking, staff living on site go out a couple at a time to shop.

Formula One have banned teams from developing their cars in line for the 2022 season when a revamp of rules and regulations are set to kickstart a new era for the sport.

The rules which would have effectively started a new era for F1 by pushing the reset button were set to come into force for 2021 before the coronavirus pushed their introduction back a year to save costs.

Formula One and Silverstone admit they have until the end of April before they find out if the British Grand Prix could be held this year.

Formula One is in a 'very fragile state' as a result of the coronavirus crisis and needs big changes to survive, says McLaren boss Zak Brown. 

The Canadian Grand Prix in Montreal has joined a growing list of Formula One races postponed due to the new coronavirus pandemic on Tuesday, with the 2020 season yet to get on the starting grid.

F1 team Haas have placed the majority of their UK staff on furlough as coronavirus continues to impact on major sports teams. Haas' drivers have also agreed to wage cuts.

Stirling Moss was among F1's first stars in its 1950s golden era racing against the likes of Juan Manuel Fangio. But the dangerous decade also claimed the lives of many famous drivers in their prime.

Nico Rosberg (right) has praised Max Verstappen (left)'s role and influence in F1 - but has called the Red Bull racer one of the most annoying rivals he faced in Formula One.

So far nine Formula One Grand Prix meetings have been postponed or cancelled with the French GP likely to follow. F1 bosses however hope to start the season in Austria in July.

Sebastian Vettel is feeling the lockdown strain as yet another would-be Formula One race weekend breezes by with drivers still holed up at home. Vettel should be in Shanghai for round-four of the season.

Schumacher is the most successful driver to grace the sport after winning seven world championship titles before retiring in 2012 but Jordan says his legacy is tainted by his single-mindedness.

The coronavirus pandemic has already led to the postponement or cancellation of nine grands prix, and the income shortfall generated has led to speculation some teams could go under.

Nine races have already been called off and with the British GP due to be on July 19, more could follow - but Pringle says Silverstone could host two successive races without any spectators.

The Monegasque was speaking as Formula One bosses devise a rescheduled programme to fit between 15 and 18 races into the second half of the year after the coronavirus hiatus.

McLaren boss Zak Brown has claimed Formula One can live without Ferrari if they refuse to go along with a lower budget cap.

The decision to cancel the French GP on June 28 seemed unavoidable after French president Emmanuel Macron placed a ban on mass gatherings in the country until at least mid-July.

Although the 'Silverstone Grand Prix' is a suggested title for this additional event, there is support for naming it after Sir Stirling Moss, who died earlier in April.

The French Grand Prix became the 10th race to be postponed or cancelled this season with the pandemic decimating the sporting calendar worldwide.

McLaren's young driver Lando Norris says there is no way to prepare his body for the 'shock' it will face when returning to Formula One after lockdown. Currently, F1 is set to return on July 5

It was the six-time world champion who broke the racing-must-go-on consensus ahead of the Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne, saying it was 'shocking' to press ahead.