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Normally, with Motorsports Monday we tell you everything you need to know about what happened and will happen in the wonderful world of racing. 

Over the weekend, however, so much happened at the F1's Australian Grand Prix that we've devoted the entirety of MM to the race.

As Lewis Hamilton's Mercedes-AMG took the checkered flag at Formula One's season-opening Australian Grand Prix, it marked the end of an eventful and shambolic weekend of racing.

First the shambles part of the weekend.

Ten teams and 20 drivers are set to compete in the 2015 F1 season, but like the opening night of a Broadway production in dire need of more rehearsal time, few teams seemed truly ready to race.

First there were the perennial backmarkers now known as Manor Marussia.

The team, which had just narrowly escaped bankruptcy over the winter, showed up to Melbourne with a full complement of cars, drivers, and equipment.

But the Dinnington, England-based outfit chose not to turn a wheel in anger over the weekend, citing problems with its cars related to computer software. 

McLaren Honda is the titan of the sport, and yet it could not even get both of its cars to the starting line. Kevin Magnussen's engine blew up while Magnussen was on his way to line up for the green flag. The team's other car, driven by Jenson Button, did complete the race. In last place.

Although Ferrari's new driver — four-time champ Sebastian Vettel — had a great race with a solid third-place result, the team left Melbourne embarrassed. Ferrari's 2007 world champ, Kimi Raikkonen, had to retire from the race because the pit crew sent the Fin back into the race before it could screw on his left rear tire.

Williams F1's lead driver, Felipe Massa, also had a great race, finishing in fourth place, but Williams' second car did not make the race after driver Valtteri Bottas injured his back Saturday and could not get clearance from F1 doctors to drive.

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Then there was Sauber. As bad as Manor's money problems may have been, Sauber's legal troubles may have been worse. The Swiss team began the weekend with the Australian courts threatening to seize all of Sauber's assets in the country. Why? Apparently, the team promised its two race seats to three drivers, which led driver Giedo van der Garde — the odd man out — to sue Sauber for breach of contract.

Only after a last-minute handshake deal with van der Garde's lawyers was Sauber allowed to continue with its planned driver lineup of Marcus Ericsson and Felipe Nasr. Fortunately for Sauber, its weekend got better. (More on that later.)

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The rookies stole the show! Entering the season, critics were somewhat skeptical about the class of incoming rookies, believing they were way too young and way too inexperienced to compete. Boy, were they wrong! Sauber's 22-year-old rookie, Nasr, capped off a great weekend with a spectacular and somewhat unexpected fifth-place finish.

Both of Scuderia Toro Rosso's young guns  — Max Verstappen, 17, and Carlos Sainz Jr., 20 — proved their mettle with poise and speed beyond their years. But the team and the car prevented the young duo from achieving race results to match its performance. Verstappen's engine conked out while the high-schooler fought for a top-five finish. Sainz lost half a minute during a pit stop after his crew could not attach the car's left rear wheel.

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Arnold Schwarzenegger needs his own talk show. When it came time to interview the drivers on the podium, race organizers sent out the former Governator himself to do the dirty work. The result was both awkward and spectacular. As soon as the Terminator stepped onto the podium, the three millionaire pro athletes were immediately reduced to 12-year old movie fans. Lewis Hamilton seemed more ecstatic about shaking Schwarzenegger's hand than about the dominant race victory he had just delivered.  

Here are the complete results from the 2015 Australian Grand Prix:

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SEE ALSO: Here's everything you need to know about the 2015 Formula One season

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Clik here to view.Here's everything you need to know about the wonderful world of motorsports this week.

McLaren racing director Eric Boullier believes competitors are 2 years behind Mercedes. 

Mercedes-AMG and its fellow Merc-powered teams are off to a flying start.

Although Ferrari has made great strides with its engines, the three-pointed star still managed to dominate the season opening race in Australia. Competitors have noticed.

Boullier told ESPN that competing engine manufacturers  — Ferrari, Renault, and Honda — could take two years to catch up with Mercedes. The McLaren racing director believes teams and fans will need to wait patiently for the field to match Mercedes' pace.

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Clik here to view.Brad Keselowski wins in California thanks to a late race surge. The 2012 Spring Cup champ used the extra speed from a set four fresh tires to pass leader Kurt Busch on the last lap to the AutoClub 400. 

Defending champion Kevin Harvick narrowly finished second in Fontana, California — just 0.711 seconds behind.  2004 series champion Kurt Busch was unable to cap off his most successful start of the 2015 season, after taking the pole position earlier in the weekend. Harvick's second-place finish allowed the Stewart-Haas racing driver to maintain his place atop the drivers standings, ahead of Daytona 500-winner Joey Logano.

SEE ALSO: Here's everything you need to know about the 2015 Formula One season

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Kuala Lumpur (AFP) - Fernando Alonso's return from his mysterious crash and concussion will give struggling McLaren a boost as the Formula One field strives to rein in Mercedes at the Malaysian Grand Prix.

The season is only one race old but warnings are already flashing that Mercedes could dominate this year like few before it after world champion Lewis Hamilton led an untroubled one-two finish in Australia.

McLaren's Jenson Button is convinced the celebrated marque can figure in 2015, but they have a long road ahead after the Briton trailed home 11th and last at the season-opener in Melbourne.

Alonso's second stint at McLaren will get off to a delayed start at the Sepang circuit, subject to final medical clearance on Thursday, with questions still hovering about his crash in testing on February 22.

The MP4-30 of Alonso, who suffered temporary memory loss in the accident, will be fitted with an extra sensor after he recalled "heavy steering" before the crash on an innocuous stretch of Barcelona's Circuit de Catalunya, McLaren said.

Although McLaren's expectations will be modest, Alonso was bullish as he tweeted about the three wins at Sepang which have made him one of the race's most successful drivers.

"Three victories with three teams," the two-time world champion posted in Spanish, highlighting his 2005, 2007 and 2012 triumphs for Renault, McLaren and Ferrari respectively.

World body FIA's medical staff will be busy on Thursday with Williams' Valtteri Bottas also seeking clearance from a back problem which ruled him out in Australia.

And Manor are expected to make a delayed debut after the new team, built from the detritus of failed outfit Marussia, were unable even to leave their garage in Australia.

Manor's woes, plus Bottas's injury, Alonso's absence on medical advice and mechanical problems for McLaren and Red Bull combined to leave just 15 cars on the Melbourne grid, the lowest number at a season-opener since 1963.

With Mercedes' dominance prompting Red Bull to hint at quitting F1, it was far from a smooth start even for a sport which is well used to crisis and controversy.

Inherent financial difficulties were underlined when Germany later announced it was unable to host a grand prix this year, ending a run of 54 consecutive races.

On the more positive side, Brazil's Felipe Nasr, 22, shrugged off legal challenges over Sauber's driver line-up to finish fifth in Australia on his Formula One debut.

And Max Verstappen, 17, will also hope to build on an encouraging start when the sport's youngest ever driver drove solidly before he suffered a mechanical failure.

But calls for change will only grow louder if Mercedes repeat their crushing performance in Melbourne, when Hamilton and team-mate Nico Rosberg outstripped their rivals by more than 30 seconds.

SEE ALSO: THE BBC HAS FIRED JEREMY CLARKSON

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Here's everything you need to know about the wonderful world of motorsports this week.

Sebastian Vettel gets his first win for Ferrari at the 2015 Malaysian Grand Prix.

In just his second race in a Ferrari, four-time world champion Sebastian Vettel delivered the team's first victory in nearly 2 years — the longest drought in Ferrari history.

Ferrari had not seen the victory circle in 30 races — since the Spanish Grand Prix in May of 2013. 

The 27-year old German took the checkered flag ahead of the Mercedes-AMG duo of Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg. After the race, both Mercedes drivers questioned the team's tire strategy after Vettel's Ferrari pulled away from the field.

Vettel's Ferrari teammate — 2007 champ Kimi Raikkonen — took home a hard fought fourth place finish. A tough qualifying session forced the enigmatic Fin to start in 11th place. Then a first-lap tire puncture put the Ferrari even further back in the field.  

Once again, McLaren and its new Honda engines struggled with speed and reliability. The McLaren duo of Jenson Button and Fernando Alonso — who qualified in 17th and 18th position respectively— failed to finish the race due to engine related problems.

On the other hand, Scuderia Toro Rosso's rookie duo of Max Verstappen, 17, and Carlos Sainz Jr.,20, continued to impress, finishing in 7th and 8th place respectively.

Formula One's next stop will be the Grand Prix of China on April 12.

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Juan Pablo Montoya kicked off the IndyCar season with a win on the streets of St. Petersberg, Florida.

Team Penske driver Juan Pablo Montoya took the checkered flag ahead of teammate and pole sitter Will Power on Sunday to win the 2015 Grand Prix of St. Petersberg.  This marks Montoya's second victory since the 2000 Indy 500 winner returned to the series after more than a decade away in Formula One and NASCAR.

Montoya's win finished off a truly dominant weekend for Team Penske with its quartet of drivers taking four of the top five spots.

IndyCar's next stop will be the Indy Grand Prix of Louisiana on April 12.

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Clik here to view.Denny Hamlin wins for the 5th time in Martinsville.

Joe Gibbs Racing driver Denny Hamlin crossed the finish line in first place ahead of Brad Keselowski to win the STP 500 over the weekend in Martinsville, Virginia. The victory marks the 25th of Hamlin's Sprint Cup career and his 5th at the track.

Pole sitter and Daytona 500 champ Joey Logano finished the race in third.

The STP 500 proved to be an emotional event after Joe Gibbs Racing president – J.D Gibbs— was hospitalized last week due to issues pertaining to the team bosses' brain function.  

The NASCAR Sprint Cup series' next stop will be at Texas Motor Speedway on April 11.

SEE ALSO: Here's everything you need to know about the 2015 Formula One season

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Here's everything you need to know about the wonderful world of motorsports this week.

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Clik here to view.Formula One supremo Bernie Ecclestone told the press at last week's Malaysian Grand Prix that female drivers may benefit from having their own racing series. 

According to CNN, Ecclestone hinted that an all-female series, an undercard to F1, could be in the works. 

Not since Lella Lombardi's 12th place finish at the 1976 Austrian Grand Prix has an F1 race featured a female driver.

In recent years, F1 teams have begun to incorporate female drivers into their development programs, with Williams and Lotus fielding Susie Wolff and Carmen Jorda, respectively, as test drivers.

However, Ecclestone also poured some cold water on the idea when he told CNN that the races may ultimately not happen at all. However, if the series is a go, it will be at only two or three Grand Prix weekends per year.

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Clik here to view.Pirelli racing boss: Formula One should pattern itself on NASCAR. Paul Hembery, motorsports director for Formula One tire suppler Pirelli, told the Guardian that F1 and its drivers  should take a page out of NASCAR's playbook. The Pirelli boss believes that F1 needs to become more fan friendly and offer greater levels of interaction and access to race attendees.  

Hembery also advised that F1 build their drivers up into brands in the same way that NASCAR has created superstars in Jeff Gordon, Jimmy Johnson, and Dale Earnhardt, Jr.

"In Nascar the driver is the king. Even the guy at the bottom is a superstar with a multi-million dollar contract, " Hembery said. "I would love to see our drivers held in that esteem."

He added, "In F1 the driver has to become an international superstar, like David Beckham."

SEE ALSO: Here's everything you need to know about the 2015 Formula One season

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Shanghai (AFP) - A track invader sparked a security panic during Friday's free practice at the Chinese Grand Prix after climbing over the pit wall and demanding to test-drive a Ferrari.

The fan scaled a fence and risked disaster by running across the tarmac in between the Sauber of Marcus Ericsson and Nico Hulkenberg's Force India, before vaulting the pit wall and walking calmly towards the Ferrari garage.

Waving his ticket, he shouted "I've got a ticket, I want a car!" before being tackled by stewards and handed over to the police, a race official told AFP, confirming that security would be beefed up after the incident in Shanghai.

According to the official, the man "appeared crazed rather than drunk", pointing out that climbing the main grandstand fence, negotiating cars travelling at 250 kilometres (155 miles) per hour and jumping over the pit wall would require both strength and coordination.

The fan was bundled into a police car after being apprehended, still in an agitated state, he added.

The security breach evoked memories of the 2003 British Grand Prix at Silverstone, when defrocked Catholic priest Neil Horan marched onto the track during the race, forcing drivers to swerve out of the way and bringing out the safety car.

Before that a former Mercedes employee, miffed at being sacked, hopped over safety barriers to invade the track at the 2001 German Grand Prix in Hockenheim.

Lewis Hamilton topped the timesheets in both of Friday's practice sessions as the world champion looks to reassert his dominance after being stunned by Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel in Malaysia two weeks ago.

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Clik here to view.Here's everything you need to know about the wonderful world of motorsports this week.

Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen returns to championship form. 

Over the weekend at the Bahrain Grand Prix, Mercedes-AMG's Lewis Hamilton took the checkered flag for the third time in four races this season . 

But the biggest story of the race was the sparkling second place finish by Ferrari's surging Kimi Raikkonen. 

Bahrain marks a dramatic comeback for the enigmatic Fin, who has struggled to regain the speed that made him a world champion in 2007. In fact, the runner-up finish is Raikkonen's first podium in two years – and his first since returning to Ferrari in 2014. 

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Scott Dixon wins on the streets of Long Beach. Three-time IndyCar series champion Scott Dixon earned his first win of the season on the streets of Long Beach. Polesitter Helio Castroneves followed in second, while series points leader Juan Pablo Montoya finished third. 

The New Zealand native won the 41st running of the Grand Prix of Long Beach by charging to the front from his third place starting spot. Prior to the race, the IndyCar series ordered teams to either remove or modify certain elements of the cars' aero package after a fan suffered a skull fracture after being hit by debris at the season opening race in St. Petersburg, Florida.

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Clik here to view.Matt Kenseth wins at a rain-soaked Bristol Motor Speed Way. 2003 Nascar Sprint Cup champion Matt Kenseth took his first win since 2013 over the weekend at the Food City 500. Kenseth crossed the finish line just 0.287 second ahead of Jimmy Johnson's Chevy SS. 

Rain delays forced the racers to run an extra 11 laps on top of the 500 scheduled at the half mile track. In fact, the race turned out to be the longest in history of the Bristol Motor Speed Way. Series points leader Kevin Harvick finished back in 38th position after a crash forced the Chevy to spend more than 40 laps in the pits making repairs.

SEE ALSO: Motorsports Monday: Trouble is brewing at Mercedes-AMG Formula One

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Here's everything you need to know about the wonderful world of motorsports this week.

NASCAR is investigating the circumstances around a massive pit lane fire at Richmond International Raceway.

During a mid-race pit stop at last weekend's Xfinity Series race, Brendan Gaughan's number 62 Richard Childress Racing Chevy burst into flames.

According to Fox Sports, two crew members of the RCR crew, along with one member of a neighboring team, were transported to the hospital. 

Two of the three have been treated and released, while doctors have kept number 62's rear-tire changer, Anthony O'Brien, for further observation. O'Brien is reportedly in "good condition."

All three members of the crew were wearing fireproof suits at the time of the fire. According to NASCAR.com, Gaughan's crew chief Shane Wilson believes the conflagration was triggered by a malfunction of the gas-can head during refueling.

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Williams Grand Prix suffers massive financial losses. Formula One's Williams Grand Prix has reported pre-interest and pre-tax losses of $52 million.

According to Bloomberg, this is the largest annual loss by Williams since the company's 2011 IPO.  Williams' CEO Mike O’Driscoll attributes the losses to a poor 2013 season, when the team finished in a dismal 9th position in the F1 constructor's standings. 

As a result, commercial sales fell from $198.9 million in 2013 to just $137.6 million in 2014. Williams Grand Prix posted $18.2 million profit in 2013.

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Clik here to view.Josef Newgarden wins at the Grand Prix of Alabama. The 24-year old scored his first career IndyCar win over the weekend at the Barber Motorsports Park.

Newgarden started the race in fifth position and quickly made his way through the pack to challenge pole sitter Helio Castroneves, who finished in 15th.

The young driver from Nashville, held off the hard-charging Graham Rahal to complete a rare 1-2 finish for American drivers. IndyCar series points leader Juan Pablo Montoya finished in 14th position. 

IndyCar's next stop is the Grand Prix of Indianapolis on May 9. 

SEE ALSO: Motorsports Monday: Sparks fly in Bahrain for a charging Ferrari

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Clik here to view.Here's everything you need to know about the wonderful world of motorsports this week.

The Iranian Government is planning to enter the world of Formula One. 

The head honcho of Iran's Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts and Tourism Organization — Masoud Soltanifar — announced last week that the Middle Eastern nation intends to build a Formula One specification race track.

According to NBC Sports, Iran plans to build the facility on Qeshm Island in the Strait of Hormuz.

Soltanifar believes the Qeshm Island facility, just across the Persian Gulf from the UAE, has the potential to be one of Formula One's more beautiful destinations, INRA reported.

This proposal is Iran's latest attempt at an F1 race track. A previous plan to build a facility near Tehran failed. There's no word whether F1 has any plans to organize a race in Iran.

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Clik here to view.JR. wins at Talladega!

Dale Earnhardt Jr. took his first victory of the season over the weekend at the Talladega Superspeedway. JR's #88 Chevy led 67 of 188 laps on his way to a narrow win over Hendrick Motorsports teammate Jimmie Johnson.

Pole sitter Jeff Gordon finished way back in 31st position after a pit lane speeding violation forced the #24 Chevy to the back of the pack with just 26 laps left. Series points leader Kevin Harvick maintained his grip atop the championship standings with a strong 8th-place finish.

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Clik here to view.Volkswagen could be headed back to F1.

With the recent resignation of long-time VW Group chairman Ferdinand Piech, the company's prolonged self-imposed exile from Formula One may be coming to an end. 

According to BBC Sports, sources inside the German auto industry say that the only thing keeping VW Group's family of brands out of the sport was Piech's personal animus towards F1 boss Bernie Ecclestone. With Piech gone, the barriers to F1 seem to have lifted.

VW's Audi brand — enjoying a 15-year-reign over endurance sports car racing — has conducted a feasibility study on the prospects of F1. It is also believed that Martin Winterkorn, Volkswagen's current CEO and Piech's likely successor, is a strong proponent of racing, Motorsports.com reported.

In the last year, Audi has quietly snapped up some serious F1 talent, hiring of former Scuderia Ferrari boss Stefano Domenicali as well as ex-Williams/BMW engineer and race car designer Jorg Zander.

SEE ALSO: Motorsports Monday: NASCAR is investigating a massive pit lane fire that sent three people to the hospital

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Normally, our weekly motorsports round up hits the Internet on the first day of the week, bright and early.

But due to our Monday participation in an event that bordered on actual motorsports (we took some cars out on a racetrack) we've briefly switched to "Motorsports Tuesday." 

Motorsports Monday is back next week.

Anyhow, here's everything you need to know about the wonderful world of motorsports this week.

Nico Rosberg showed his brilliance over the weekend at the 2015 Spanish Grand Prix. The 29-year old German won the race from the pole position to take his first victory of the season. 

Teammate Lewis Hamilton, the current series points leader, took second for a Mercedes one-two finish. The third-place finisher — Sebastian Vettel in his Ferrari — crossed the line a full 45 seconds behind the two AMG cars. 

Formula One's next stop will be the Monaco Grand Prix in two weeks.

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Clik here to view.Jimmie Johnson wins the Spongebob Squarepants 400. 

Six-time Nascar Sprint Cup champ Johnson won for the 73rd time in his illustrious career over weekend. The Hendrick Motorsports driver took the checkered flag at the rain-delayed race at Kansas Speedway.

The win marks Johnson's third victory of the season, and his second in five races. Kevin Harvick crossed the finish line in second place, followed by Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Jeff Gordon. Pole-sitter Joey Logano finished fifth.

The next stop on the Nascar Sprint Cup calendar is the Sprint Showdown on May 15 at the Charlotte Motor speedway.

And yes, there actually is a Nascar race named after Spongebob Squarepants.

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Clik here to view.Will Powers is dominant on the road course at Indy.

In the run up to the 2015 Indy 500, the IndyCar Series spent the weekend racing around the road course at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Defending series champion Will Power dominated the weekend by taking the pole position in qualifying and the checkered flag for his first win of the season. Graham Rahal — son of 1986 Indy500 champ Bobby Rahal — finished second, while 2000 Indy500 winner Juan Pablo Montoya finished third.

The IndyCar racing will return on May 24 – at the incredible Indianapolis 500!

SEE ALSO: Motorsports Monday: Iran wants build a Formula One track on an island in the Persian Gulf

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Helio Castroneves walked away unscathed after going airborne in a crash during a practice session at Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Wednesday.

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Coming into the first turn on his second lap of the practice run, Castroneves lost control and spun into the wall, causing his car to flip over in midair before landing on its back wheels and scraping to a stop in turn two.

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Castroneves was examined by medical personnel while still in his car and then brought to the emergency medical site on the tracks infield, where he was cleared to return to finish the practice session, AL.com reports.

Afterwards, Castroneves told reporters "I didn't expect to go flipping backward. I was very surprised by that. I was expecting a big shunt and big issues, but it was just like I spun out at any other racetrack."

"The car was fast; it certainly was taking off," Castroneves added. "It's not the way we wanted to take off. ... You can't be scared to go back out there. You're confident because of this group of guys."

The Brazilian has won the Indianapolis 500 three times in the past. The 99th running of the historic race is scheduled for May 24. 

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Here's everything you need to know about the wonderful world of motorsports this week.

IndyCar has a very scary problem to deal with just days ahead of its marquee event — the Indianapolis 500.

For the third time in a week, one of Indy's star drivers found himself backwards and airborne at 230 mph. 

During a practice run before Sunday's qualifying session, two-time defending Indy 500 pole sitter Ed Carpenter's Dallara-Chevy spun and hit the wall at turn two of the four-turn, 2.5-mile long track. 

Earlier this week, Carpenter's teammate Josef Newgarden and 3-time Indy 500 winner Helio Castroneves both suffered equally terrifying airborne crashes.

In recent years, IndyCar has featured only spec Dallara-built chassis. This year, organizers decided to shake things up and allowed the series' two engine manufacturers — Chevy and Honda — to design customized aerodynamic packages for the Indy 500.

According to the Indianapolis Star's Gregg Doyel, the Indy aerokits were rushed into use and were not tested until the race series reached the speedway on May 3.

All three crashes involved Chevrolet-powered cars.

So far, race officials have not been able to single out an exact cause of the accidents. Although the Honda-powered cars have not suffered any aerodynamic mishaps, IndyCar decided to scrap the "qualifying spec" aerodynamic packages across the board and instead use only the "race spec" packages for both qualifying and the race.  

The qualifying package is designed to maximize speed for short periods of time while sacrificing stability and drivability. Race packages are generally more conservative. Although they support lower speeds, they tend to be more stable and docile. However, no one is sure if the aerodynamic gremlins will show up at some point in race trim. 

Ultimately, qualifying for this year's 500 did go ahead on schedule, with 2008 winner Scott Dixon taking the pole position with a speed of 226.760 mph.

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Clik here to view.Formula One cars are about to get meaner, faster, louder, and have in-race refueling.

If you think this season's F1 cars are a bit too slow and quiet, things are about to change. According to Autoblog, Formula One will change its regulations for 2017 to allow the cars to run five or six seconds faster with each lap. This uptick in speed will be thanks to more aggressive aerodynamics, higher revving engines. There will also be louder, more crowd-pleasing exhaust notes.

In addition, in-race refueling will also make a return to the series, adding an extra dimension to teams' race strategies.

According to Autoblog, these changes have been agreed upon by representatives from the teams, engine suppliers, Formula One management, and the FIA — the world motorsports regulators. The new regulations will go into the rulebooks as soon they gains official approval from the F1 Commission, and the FIA's World Motor Sport Council.

SEE ALSO: Motorsports Tuesday: Mercedes-AMG and Nico Rosberg dominate in Spain

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Mercedes-AMG announced on Wednesday they have handed two-time Formula One world champion Lewis Hamilton a three-year contract extension.

Including win bonuses, the 30-year-old Briton stands to make as much as $44 million per year having won last season's world drivers' championship and is dominating the current campaign with victories in three of the five races so far.

Hamilton's current three-year deal had been due to expire at the end of the season.

Rumors of the completed contract extension have been floating around the F1 paddock for most of the season. However, with confirmation of the agreement not coming until this week, rumors of the world champion's departure from the team have heated up over the past few months— with Ferrari believed to have been a possible destination.

Lewis Hamilton joined Mercedes-AMG in 2013 after making his F1 debut with McLaren in 2007— with whom the driver won the 2008 F1 drivers title. 

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Monaco (AFP) - Championship leader Lewis Hamilton celebrated signing his new deal with Mercedes by topping the times in Thursday’s opening free practice session for Sunday’s Monaco Grand Prix ahead of Dutch teenager Max Verstappen in a Toro Rosso.

 The two-time champion, who announced on Wednesday a three-year extension of his contract to 2018, celebrated that deal with a composed performance and a best lap time in one minute and 18.750 seconds.

This left him 0.149 seconds ahead of Verstappen while his Mercedes team-mate and championship rival German Nico Rosberg was ninth fastest.

Rosberg, who won the Spanish Grand Prix earlier this month, trails Hamilton by 20 points in the title race and survived a "moment" at the Tabac corner when he "kissed" the barriers without damaging his car early in the 90-minutes session.

Australian Daniel Ricciardo was third quickest for Red Bull ahead of four-time champion German Sebastian Vettel in his Ferrari and Spaniard Carlos Sainz in the second Toro Rosso.

Venezuelan Pastor Maldonado was sixth for Lotus ahead of Russian Daniil Kvyat in the second Red Bull, Finn Kimi Raikkonen in the second Ferrari, Rosberg and Brazilian Felipe Massa who was 10th in the second Williams.

The track was cool and slippery from the start of the session following overnight showers and the surface temperature climbed slowly from 16 to 21 degrees Celsius while the air temperature hovered around 14 degrees, very cool by local Monegasue standards.

Sainz and Frenchman Romain Grosjean in a Lotus survived spins during a busy session that saw something of a recovery by the besieged McLaren team for which Briton Jenson Button who was delayed in his garage for the first 45 minutes.

The most impressive run came from Verstappen who proved to any doubters that, aged just 17, he has all the talent and skills to impress and total confidence in his Toro Rosso car.

SEE ALSO: Formula One superstar Lewis Hamilton just signed a monster $44 million a year contract

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Defending Formula One champion Lewis Hamilton has signed a new contract to remain with Mercedes, and the deal makes him one of the four highest-paid athletes alive.

Hamilton's deal is for three years and worth "around £100 million" ($155 million), according to Paul Weaver of The Guardian.

With an average annual value in the neighborhood of $52 million per year, Hamilton will be trailing only Barcelona player Lionel Messi ($56.3 million) as the highest-paid seasonal-sport athlete and trails boxers Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao among all athletes, according to ESPN.com.

The latter two made about $209 million and $142 million respectively for their recent fight in Las Vegas.

Hamilton, who is making $31 million per year on his current deal, jumps ahead of rival Sebastian Vettel ($50 million) as the highest-paid driver in the world.

Hamilton is a two-time F1 champion, having previously won the title in 2008 while driving for McLaren. He joined Mercedes in 2013.

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Every May the Formula One carnival descends upon the twisty streets of Monte Carlo for the annual Grand Prix of Monaco.

Over the weekend, the narrow streets of the tiny Mediterranean principality are transformed into a full-blown racing circuit.

So far this season, Mercedes-AMG has dominated the series.  The team's duo of drivers  — Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg — have won five of the first six races. However, Ferrari and four-time world champion Sebastian Vettel have been resurgent and are now challenging for race victories. 

As the F1 racing series heads for the small principality, Monaco is transformed into ...

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...a grand-prix race course!

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Over the years, the yacht-filled harbor has become the place to see and be seen.

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Here's everything you need to know about the wonderful world of motorsports this week.

Former FIA president Max Mosley believes F1 drivers are being paid too much.

Mosley, the former president of Formula One's governing body, told GQ Magazine that salaries for the sport's elite drivers are "absurd."

These comments come just days after Mercedes-AMG's Lewis Hamilton put pen to paper on a three-year contract worth an estimated $160 million.

At the same time, Formula One's less affluent teams such are struggling to stave off bankruptcy.

According to ESPN, Mosley explained to GQ that there would be a hard budget cap in place were he put in charge of the racing series.

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Clik here to view.IndyCar's Detroit race got wet and wild on Sunday. 

IndyCar followed up a memorable Indy500 with a wet and wild Sunday race in Detroit. In the second race of a two-race weekend, heavy rain wreaked havoc on the drivers and cars. Drivers struggled with visibility while the cars struggled to find traction in the near-monsoon like conditions.

An extensive debris field left by a late race crash involving Indy500 winner Juan Pablo Montoya forced officials to stop the race as marshalls cleaned up the track. When the race restarted, IndyCar switched the race to a 5-minute sprint to the checkered flag. Former F1 driver and Champ Car star Sebastian Bourdais took his first win of the season. Bourdais is the seventh different winner in eight races this season. 

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Clik here to view.Jimmie Johnson wins for the 10th time at Dover.

Jimmie Johnson won his fourth Sprint Cup race of the season over the weekend at Dover International Speedway. The victory is also the Hendrick Motorsport driver's 10th at the vaunted "Monster Mile." Johnson was followed across the line by defending series champion Kevin Harvick and young star Kyle Larson. Polesitter Denny Hamlin finished the race three-laps behind in 21st position after a late-race wreck. 

SEE ALSO: 30 awesome photos from Formula One's glamorous Monaco Grand Prix

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While tires might just look like round, black pieces of rubber, their simple exteriors belie some sophisticated engineering. And with its new Cyber Tire technology, Pirelli has taken them into the digital age.

As Evo reports, the Italian supplier of Formula One tires is currently working with Ferrari to test the innovative rubber on Modena's latest track-only hypercar, the FXX K. By embedding small sensors in each quadrant of the tires, Pirelli can relay real-time reports from the tire—including the friction coefficient, footprint, and pavement grade—to the vehicle's traction and stability control systems, allowing them to compensate for slippery surfaces or exploit grip.

Given the outrageous capabilities of modern supercars, the performance of the electronic aids are becoming a larger part of a vehicle's overall character, so the idea of a tire pressure sensors on steroids—so to speak—is a natural evolution in the quest for more useable power and better braking.

While there's no firm date on when we could start seeing talkative tires on to the market—and we look forward to reporting on those performance gains—Pirelli's technology chief Maurizio Boiocchi says we can expect to see them on high-end supercars in the next five years. And given the enormous potential for every type of driving, we can see this trickling down into mass market models in the next decade—price-permitting, of course.

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Sotheby's announced this week that an anonymous collector had put his entire exotic portfolio up for auction this summer. The crown jewel of this collection is a 1998 McLaren F1 LM hypercar. 

"The F1 is a technological tour de force and a real triumph in terms of packaging and design," McLaren Automotive executive chairman Ron Dennis said in a statement in 2010.

"Whether endurance racing or on road, it is supremely fast, agile, and yet comfortable. Its styling is enduring and will never fade."

The car up for auction is one of 106 McLaren F1 vehicles ever built and just one of a handful in the "LM" specification. According to Sotheby's, the ultra-rare British exotic is expected to fetch between $12 million and $15 million when it hits the auction block this August in Monterrey, California. 

McLaren automotive was born from the racing team founded by legendary driver Bruce McLaren.

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The team has dominated Formula One racing — winning 182 races and eight World Championships.

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In 1988, McLaren obliterated the competition by winning 15 of the 16 races on the F1 schedule. Afterward, the team decided it was time to use its talents to build the ultimate road car.

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Here's everything you need to know about the wonderful world of motorsports this week.

Mercedes-AMG destroyed the competition at the Canadian Grand Prix.

Mercedes-AMG continued its domination over the world of Formula One this past weekend at the Canadian Grand Prix in Montreal. 

Defending World Champion Lewis Hamilton started from pole position and never gave up the lead. The victory was the 37th of his career and his fourth of the season. 

Hamilton's Mercedes teammate, Nico Rosberg, started second and finished in the same position. For much of the race, the Mercedes duo spent the afternoon battling between themselves — with little opposition from the rest of the pack. They finished the race nearly half a lap ahead of the third place car of Valtteri Bottas. 

With victory at the historic Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, Hamilton returned to the top of the podium after Rosberg reeled off back-to-back wins in Spain and Monaco. The win also extends Hamilton's lead over his teammate in the world championship standings to 17 points.

The Formula One season continues in two weeks at the Austrian Grand Prix.

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Clik here to view.IndyCar puts on a show in the Lone Star State.

Three-time IndyCar series champion Scott Dixon took his second victory of the season over the weekend at the Texas Motor Speedway.  The affable New Zealand-native was followed across the finish line by his Ganassi Racing teammate, Tony Kanaan. Polesitter Will Power finished 13th and was not a threat to win for much of the race.

After suffering a series of high-profile high-speed crashes in the run up to the Indy500 last month, the IndyCar series managed to have a crash-free race at the notoriously fast 1.5 mile-long track. With an average speed of 191.94 mph, the race was the fastest in track history. 

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Clik here to view.Martin Truex Jr. wins for the first time since 2013.

After struggling to through a year of personal and professional adversity, the popular Jersey-native took his first victory since Sonoma two years ago. Truex Jr. started the race in third position and led 97 of the 160 laps at Pocono Raceway in Northern Pennsylvania. 

The victory moves Truex Jr. into second position in the series points standings behind defending Sprint Cup champion Kevin Harvick — who finished second at Pocono.

Pole sitter Kurt Busch finished the race in fifth position.

SEE ALSO: Former F1 racing boss believes star drivers make too much money

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