The clock is ticking for some of Formula One's big name drivers, with world champions and race winners out of contract at the end of the season and a restless young generation eager to take their places.
Daniel Ricciardo is ready for tears, and maybe a few celebratory beers, as the cheerful Australian gears up for his 100th and last race with Red Bull in Abu Dhabi on Sunday.
Qualifying took place at a sunny Suzuka on Sunday morning after being postponed from its usual Saturday slot due to the approach of Typhoon Hagibis.
German Nico Rosberg eased to victory in a chaotic Belgian Formula One Grand Prix on Sunday.
World champion Lewis Hamilton splashed through the puddles at a rain-soaked Sepang International Circuit to secure pole position for Mercedes in a hectic Malaysian Grand Prix qualifying session on Saturday.
Nico Rosberg won the Austrian Formula One Grand Prix for the second year in a row in a Mercedes one-two finish with team mate Lewis Hamilton on Sunday.
Lewis Hamilton, the sport's most successful driver of all time and badly affected by the outcome after leading until seven corners from the end, did not attend Thursday night's gala awards ceremony-- a requirement for the championship's top three.
The four-time world champion's fifth win of the season for Mercedes left him on 213 points to 189 for Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel, who finished second, and relishing the prospect of a stress-free family holiday.
Formula One's 10 teams will be limited to a maximum 80 people each at races held without spectators when the delayed season gets going in July. Formula One is hoping to start racing behind closed doors in Austria in early July, followed by a number of races in similar conditions elsewhere in Europe.
'Just the fact that people have mentioned it, it's already an honour, but it's not been something that I've been chasing in my life'
The 21-year-old is the first Ferrari driver since seven times champion Michael Schumacher to take four consecutive poles in a single season.
Three-time world champion Lewis Hamilton dominated practice at the season-opening Australian Grand Prix on Friday, putting Mercedes on top of the timesheets and leaving his Formula One rivals with plenty to ponder before the weekend.
Nico Rosberg had his Formula One world championship lead over Mercedes teammate Lewis Hamilton cut to one point after the German was demoted from second to third place in the British Grand Prix on Sunday.
Red Bull have given "a definite no" to four-times Formula One world champion Sebastian Vettel's hopes of returning to them next year, team boss Christian Horner said on Friday. The German, who is out of contract with Ferrari at the end of the season and facing an uncertain future, had said on Thursday he would say yes to a Red Bull drive if one was offered.
The Briton had won his own fifth championship in Mexico two weeks previously but the broader celebrations were kept in check until Interlagos.
Mercedes were summoned by stewards post-race for the infringement.
Britain's Lewis Hamilton eased his Mercedes to a dominant victory in the German Formula One Grand Prix on Sunday and secured his fourth victory in a row.
Champions Mercedes are chasing a sixth successive double, and Lewis Hamilton his sixth drivers' title, but the task looks tougher than ever.
Hamilton held off a mid-race challenge from Red Bull's Max Verstappen to register a record-equalling fourth triumph at the floodlit Marina Bay Street Circuit track, while Vettel finished third to slip further behind in the title race.
Sebastian Vettel's Formula One title bid could suffer a further setback after a bizarre post-race incident at the Malaysian Grand Prix on Sunday.
Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel, winner of 52 races, has gone more than a year since he tasted victory at last year's Belgian race.
Sports bodies moved quickly to strip Russia of events,
Lewis Hamilton seized pole position in the dying seconds of qualifying for the first Portuguese Grand Prix in 24 years on Saturday to deny and dismay Mercedes team mate Valtteri Bottas once again.
Hamilton has won half of the season's 20 races so far, propelling his team to an unprecedented sixth successive title double, but Brazil was a disappointing weekend with Valtteri Bottas retiring.
'I don't feel like I'm at the end. The next eight months or so I'll find out whether I'm ready to stop or not, I don't think I will personally, but you never know.'
Formula One has said it hopes to get the season started some time in the European summer with a reduced calendar of 15-18 races.
Lewis Hamilton surpassed Ayrton Senna's career haul of 65 pole positions in Formula One as he edged Mercedes team mate Valtteri Bottas to secure top spot the Azerbaijan Grand Prix on Saturday.
Seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton will be staying in Formula One for the next two years at least after he and Mercedes announced a contract extension on Saturday.
The race has been won from pole eight times out of 11 editions.
From bloody noses to sparks on the race track, Rediff.com has the best pictures from the last week snapped right here...
Lewis Hamilton took pole position at the Italian Grand Prix for the third year in a row on Saturday with Mercedes team mate and title rival Nico Rosberg joining the Briton on the front row of the grid.
IMAGES from the Silverstone F1 GP on Sunday
Team by team prospects for the 2016 Formula One season.
Ferrari were the fastest in pre-season testing, raising suspicions that their new SF70H car has closed the chasm between Mercedes and the rest.
'It doesn't really make a big difference if I go and drive like I do right now because I have already lost so much through the year. I can't give up because you never know what can happen. It's unlikely but you never know'
Formula One world champion Lewis Hamilton took pole for Mercedes at the season-opening Australian Grand Prix.
Nico Rosberg eased to victory at the Japanese Grand Prix on Sunday with a drive that handed Mercedes their third straight constructors championship and extended the German's lead in his pursuit of a maiden Formula One title.
Lewis Hamilton won the Mexican Formula One Grand Prix on Sunday, his landmark 51st career victory cutting Mercedes team mate Nico Rosberg's overall lead to 19 points and keeping the German waiting for a first title. The pole-to-flag victory was the triple world champion's eighth of the season and put him level with France's Alain Prost in the all-time lists of winners. Only Michael Schumacher (91) has more. Rosberg, who would have clinched the title had he won and Hamilton finished 10th or lower, crossed the line 8.354 seconds behind to anchor champions Mercedes to a sixth one-two finish of the season.
Formula One legend, Niki Lauda, thinks it's going to be a tighter fight between them, because the latter wants to make sure now he can beat the Briton.
Sebastian Vettel's expletive-laden radio rants betray his frustration at Ferrari's fading form, according to his former Red Bull team mate Daniel Ricciardo and predecessor Fernando Alonso.
