Mercedes have won the last seven drivers’ and constructors’ titles, after Red Bull won four in a row with Sebastian Vettel from 2010-13.
Jehan Daruvala showed his mettle in the second race too, climbing from 11th to fourth after a brilliant run, but missed a second straight podium finish by a whisker.
Arjun Maini, who had switched to sports car racing in 2019, will race for Mercedes-AMG with GetSpeed in the 2021 DTM season comprising eight rounds with 16 races across Germany and Europe.
Red Bull's Max Verstappen was quickest on two of three days of testing at Bahrain's Sakhir circuit while Mercedes looked strangely off-form.
Mercedes say Honda-powered Red Bull have the edge on performance but Red Bull, who have brought in the experienced Sergio Perez alongside Max Verstappen, say Mercedes are very much the favourites.
Racing Team 22 bet no deposit has entered the Asian Le Mans series as part of its bid to become the first 22 bet no depositn team to race at the iconic 24 Hours of Le Mans.
A lot has changed in the last 12 years. Once the worst among the beginners is among the best in the world now.
Fernando Alonso, who is a two-time Formula 1 champion, was taken to hospital after an accident in Switzerland on Thursday and he will remain under observation for a further 48 hours.
Lewis Hamilton had been out of contract since the end of last year but the negotiations had turned into something of a saga, with questions raised about why it was taking so long.
Lewis Hamilton, Sergio Perez, Lance Stroll, Lando Norris. and Charles Leclerc have all tested positive for COVID-19 since the start of the global pandemic.
The season will instead start with the Bahrain Grand Prix less than four months after the Sakhir venue held two races as part of the 2020 season.
The 37-year-old CS Santosh, who was representing the Hero MotoSports in one of the world's biggest rallies, crashed on Wednesday and is being kept under a 24-hour observation.
Hamilton, who secured his seventh F1 title last month to equal Michael Schumacher's record, has said his recent success was partly inspired by the Black Lives Matter movement.
The Asian Le Mans Series, to be held in Abu Dhabi on February 5-6 and February 19-20, consists of four races spread over two weekends, with each event lasting four hours.
Lewis Hamilton, who last month equalled Michael Schumacher's record of seven F1 titles, overcame Jordan Henderson and Hollie Doyle to win BBC's prestigious prize in a public vote.
Lewis Hamilton was voted Personality of the Year by permanently accredited media and also received a joint FIA President Award with Michael Schumacher, the only other seven times champion.
A letter - from 11-year-old Ahmed Ramadhan asking Lewis Hamilton to help save his father from a death sentence - “really (hit) home," said the Formula One world champion.
Formula 1 successfully staged a season at a time of the pandemic, reviving races that had fallen off the calendar and inventing some new ones.
Max Verstappen led every lap of what turned out to be a processional race to cross the line 15.9 seconds ahead of Mercedes pair Valtteri Bottas and Lewis Hamilton.
Lewis Hamilton has returned to action after testing positive for coronavirus and missing the Sakhir Grand Prix in Bahrain last weekend. He has tested negative repeatedly this week.