Ferrari had every hope of winning their home Italian Grand Prix for the first time since 2010 on Sunday and they blew it.
The 31-year-old German fell 30 points behind race-winner Hamilton after a collision with the Briton left him struggling to finish fourth in Monza last time out, one of several races where Vettel has frittered away a position of authority.
The Shanghai weather all but wiped out the first two practice sessions for the Chinese Formula One Grand Prix on Friday with poor visibility in the city forcing the grounding of the medical support helicopter.
The German was joined on the front row of the grid by reigning world champion and closest rival Lewis Hamilton, in a Mercedes.
What started out as one of Jenson Button's worst day as a driver turned into his best as the Briton mounted one of Formula One's great charges to steal victory from Sebastian Vettel at the Canadian Grand Prix on Sunday.
Nico Rosberg is refusing to get carried away by thoughts of celebrating a maiden Formula One title triumph at the end of the season, despite getting one hand on the championship crown with victory in the Japanese Grand Prix. The German eased to a maiden win from pole position at the Suzuka circuit on Sunday, chalking up his ninth win of the year, to lift himself 33 points clear of Mercedes team-mate Lewis Hamilton in the overall standings.
Valtteri Bottas knows he needs to step up his game from last season if he is to have any chance of keeping his place at Mercedes.
A tribute to Formula One supremo Bernie Ecclestone, who celebrates his 80th birthday today.
Nico Rosberg put his Texas blues behind him on Sunday to win the first Mexican Grand Prix in 23 years and show triple world champion Mercedes team mate Lewis Hamilton how it feels to finish second.
Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel refused to blame his team for a wrong strategy call after the four time World Champion missed out on an elusive first win of the Formula One season in Sunday's Canadian Grand Prix.
Formula One champions Mercedes can rack up their eighth successive victory on Sunday but even if they do, a winning streak must end for either Lewis Hamilton or Nico Rosberg in Bahrain. Rosberg is chasing his fifth win in a row after starting the season triumphantly in Australia to follow the three victories he racked up at the end of 2015. Hamilton, the triple world champion who finds himself behind his German team mate in the standings for the first time since 2014, is on for a hat-trick after winning in Bahrain for the past two years. The Briton is the favourite at a circuit that has yet to witness a Rosberg victory but Ferrari, who roared into the lead at the start in Melbourne with Sebastian Vettel followed by Kimi Raikkonen, also fancy their chances.
Mercedes set for proper fight with Ferrari in Melbourne
Hubert Hurkacz battled back from a set and a break down to beat Casper Ruud 5-7 6-3 6-2 on Saturday and reach the Canadian Masters final.
Ferrari's Fernando Alonso gave a teasing hint about his Formula One future on Sunday by saying the decision would seem obvious once announced and he was unlikely to drive for a Mercedes-powered team.
McLaren aim to overtake glamour team Ferrari as Formula One's leading brand within the next 20 years, team principal Martin Whitmarsh said.
Charles Leclerc seized the first pole position of his Formula One career on Saturday with Ferrari team mate Sebastian Vettel second fastest to lock out the front row for the Bahrain Grand Prix.
Nico Rosberg stormed to his sixth pole position in a row and denied Mercedes team mate Lewis Hamilton a landmark 50th in Formula One's season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix on Saturday.
He will be hoping to maintain his push for a first championship with a maiden win in Singapore, a race that has only ever been won by world champions since the inaugural grand prix in 2008. "It may be time to change that then," said Rosberg, when reminded of the statistic.
Jenson Button was almost a write-off before he seized the Formula One title with Brawn last year and he starts the new season with critics again ready to scrap his chances.
Formula One champion Jenson Button says his move to McLaren will take him outside of his comfort zone so he can truly measure himself against Lewis Hamilton.
The Ferrari driver finished ahead of F1 championship leader Lewis Hamilton and BMW Sauber's Robert Kubica in that order in Sunday's race in Valencia.
Rosberg and triple world champion Lewis Hamilton shared testing duties on Tuesday, with the Briton taking over in the afternoon for a race simulation. Together, they did 169 laps without a hitch
Germany's Nico Rosberg set the fastest time in qualifying on Saturday to seize pole position for the Belgian Formula One Grand Prix.
Max Verstappen lapped with a best time of one minute 27.422 seconds.
Brazilian Bruno Senna, nephew of the late triple world champion Ayrton, made his test debut for Honda in a new-look Formula One at Barcelona's Circuit de Catalunya on Monday.
World tennis number one Roger Federer won the prestigious Laureus Sportsman of the Year award for a record fourth year in a row on Monday.
Lewis Hamilton will have to get past Mercedes team mate Nico Rosberg if he is to secure his third Formula One world championship at the US Grand Prix on Sunday.
After winning three of the first four races of the Formula One season in Asia and the Middle East, Jenson Button heads back to Europe and into the unknown. The championship-leading Briton has been the quickest and most consistent driver so far but, as McLaren's world champion Lewis Hamilton showed on Bahrain on Sunday, the rest are picking up the pace.
Germany's Nico Rosberg put Mercedes on pole position for the US Formula One Grand Prix on Saturday with championship leading team mate Lewis Hamilton qualifying second. Mercedes-powered Williams filled the second row with Finland's Valtteri Bottas third fastest and Brazilian Felipe Massa fourth.
Nico Rosberg drew first blood for Mercedes in the new Formula One season with a dominant Australian Grand Prix victory on Sunday after pole-sitter Lewis Hamilton and world champion Sebastian Vettel retired with reliability problems.
Win in Brazil on Sunday, win the Formula One title: Nico Rosberg's task sounds simple enough but is a lot harder to achieve.
Sebastian Vettel has lived through a number of false dawns at Ferrari but bright sunshine bathed the team's garage after the German's Australian Grand Prix victory on Sunday.
Mercedes were summoned by stewards post-race for the infringement.
Formula One supremo Bernie Ecclestone described abuse of Lewis Hamilton in Spain as an "isolated incident".
Nico Rosberg cruised to victory in the first Formula One race held in Azerbaijan on Sunday and increased his championship lead over Mercedes team mate Lewis Hamilton to 24 points. While the German enjoyed an uneventful drive in the late afternoon sunshine, triple world champion Hamilton worked up a head of steam as he wrestled with his car's settings without the team being able to help.
History suggests that when drivers are fighting for race wins and championships, and enjoy equal status in the same competitive cars, then real friendship is often the first casualty.
Team mate Lewis Hamilton remains the title favourite despite a Chinese Grand Prix that dealt the 22-year-old rookie his first retirement of the season after leading from pole position.
Along with film stars and fashion icons, sports stars and their better halves also showed off their whacky creations on the pink carpet.
Four times Formula One world champion Sebastian Vettel hopes Ferrari can become the strongest challengers to Mercedes this season after failing to win a race last year.
