Ferrari were already feeling the frustration and Sunday's Chinese Grand Prix added a measure of embarrassment to the mix for Formula One's most successful and glamorous team.
Valtteri Bottas won the Azerbaijan Grand Prix on Sunday and retook the Formula One lead from team mate Lewis Hamilton after a fourth successive one-two finish for Mercedes.
Professional sports events in Italy have been played without fans since March due to the COVID-19 pandemic, although some supporters have been allowed into pre-season soccer friendlies.
"The comparison? I see still Ayrton winning the game because in the end Ayrton was such a charming guy and a personality. And obviously if someone loses his life and stays with us in the way of a legend, it's always something special. But I try to see it from a performance point and from a performance point, Lewis is going from one pole position to the next one and Lewis is going from one race win to the next one. Just like Ayrton did."
Much has been written about that afternoon, and the Brazilian's career and epic rivalry with Frenchman Alain Prost, with questions still asked about what caused the crash. What is certain is that it changed Formula One, triggering a major safety review and altering the course of sporting history.
The prospect of seeing Sebastian Vettel beaten for the first time since last July is just one of the many novelties Sunday's season-opening Australian Formula One Grand Prix promises to deliver.
Stewards were investigating whether the Mercedes driver, who won from 14th on the grid, illegally crossed a line separating the entry from the track when he hurriedly changed his mind about pitting during a safety car period.
In a thrilling race with two safety car periods, reigning champion Hamilton went from pole position to the rear of the field before finishing second for Mercedes in a superb fightback. Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen was third.
World Champion Lewis Hamilton has poked fun at Sebastian Vettel's remarks that Mercedes' recent dominance has made F1 'less exciting', saying that the German's run of four years in Red Bull was more boring than his two years supremacy.
Novak Djokovic's parents, wife and children watched him win a record-breaking 23rd Grand Slam title at the Philippe Chatrier court on Sunday.
Formula One's struggling teams played down talk of a possible boycott of Sunday's U.S. Grand Prix on Friday as argument over division of the sport's revenues grew more heated on Friday.
Formula One world champion Lewis Hamilton saw off a strong Ferrari challenge at the Italian team's home Grand Prix to seal his seventh pole position in a row and 11th in 12 races on Saturday.
Formula One is feeling a fresh wave of optimism under its new owners, while Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso are the two most popular drivers, according to an extensive fan survey released on Friday.
Charles Leclerc swept to pole position for the Mexico City Formula One Grand Prix on Saturday with Carlos Sainz qualifying second in a surprise Ferrari front-row lockout.
Mick Schumacher, who will face intense scrutiny as embarks on his Formula One career, said for now he was simply overwhelmed to be following in his father's footsteps and called his promotion a dream come true.
Force India collected one of Formula One's stranger sanctions on Sunday when they were given a suspended 25,000-euro ($27,317.50) fine for a breach of the rules concerning driver numbers on their cars.
Lewis Hamilton has signed a new contract with Mercedes and will continue to partner compatriot George Russell in 2024 and 2025, the team said on Thursday.
Sebastian Vettel justified his favourite tag for the Singapore Grand Prix when he stormed clear of his rivals in Friday's second free practice, lapping more than half a second quicker than Red Bull team mate Mark Webber.
The German was joined on the front row of the grid by reigning world champion and closest rival Lewis Hamilton, in a Mercedes.
Force India Formula One team boss Vijay Mallya feels beating McLaren for fifth spot in the team standings will be a 'big task' in the remaining four races of the season.
IMAGES from the Belgian F1 Grand Prix
Germany's Nico Rosberg put Mercedes on pole position for Sunday's Japanese Formula One Grand Prix with championship-leading teammate Lewis Hamilton joining him on the front row.
Formula One world champion Lewis Hamilton won the Belgian Grand Prix from pole position on Sunday to increase his lead over Mercedes team mate Nico Rosberg to 28 points with eight races remaining.
Daniel Ricciardo showed Red Bull's pace on Wednesday by lapping Barcelona's Formula One circuit faster than anyone since the track was reconfigured in 2007.
Red Bull's Max Verstappen celebrated his first Formula One pole position at the Hungarian Grand Prix on Saturday.
Formula One plunged into its biggest crisis in 60 years on Friday with eight of the 10 teams announcing plans to set up their own championship.
Ferrari's Charles Leclerc qualified fourth with Mexican Sergio Perez, Verstappen's closest title rival and team mate but a massive 151 points adrift after 15 of 22 rounds, fifth and 0.773 off his team mate's pace.
Five-times Formula One world champion Lewis Hamilton led a Mercedes front-row lockout with a blistering pole position at the season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix on Saturday.
In fact, NASCAR will just about be the only show in town, with the NBA and NHL, which would in the thick of the playoffs at this point of the season, and MLB all on the sidelines muddling through various return to play scenarios.
Hamilton has won 71 races, 20 fewer than Schumacher, and four titles for Mercedes in the past five years. The first was with McLaren in 2008.
Red Bull's Max Verstappen sang "Viva Las Vegas" after racing to a record-extending 18th victory of the season and joining Sebastian Vettel in third place on Formula One's all-time winners' list.
Lewis Hamilton, who is also an avid tattoo lover, revealed that each image on his body has a meaning to it.
A summary of sports events and sports persons, who made news on Wednesday.
Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel, the Briton's closest rival, finished only sixth after an early collision with Red Bull's Max Verstappen left the German fighting back from 19th place.
Valtteri Bottas announced split from wife Emilia, an Olympic swimmer
Formula One said a tribute was in the works, with details to be confirmed. A minute's silence is likely before the race.
Reader Abhishek Parasar sent us this picture from Bahrain.
Formula One's governing body is to investigate an incident that saw cars cleared to race while a marshal was still on track following a Singapore Grand Prix safety car period on Sunday.
Fernando Alonso made a troubled start to testing McLaren's new Formula One car
The shocked 21-year-old rookie was unhurt in the incident between turns two and three but Williams said the chassis would have to be replaced, sidelining the Briton until Saturday's final session before qualifying. Former world champions Williams are already facing plenty of problems with an uncompetitive car that is some way off their rivals' pace.
