Formula One celebrates 1,000th race

F1 Formula One - Austrian Grand Prix - Red Bull Ring, Spielberg, Austria - July 1, 2018 Mercedes' Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen and Mercedes' Valtteri Bottas lead the field at the start of the race [Courtesy]

Formula One celebrates its 1,000th world championship race this weekend at the Chinese Grand Prix in Shanghai, one of the sport’s newer tracks, but the milestone requires careful wording.

The sport has often had a problem with anniversaries, with statisticians quibbling over how many starts teams and drivers have made according to different definitions, and this one is no exception.