McLaren's Lando Norris edged out championship-leading teammate and Formula One title rival Oscar Piastri to take pole position for what could be a wet and chaotic Belgian Grand Prix on Sunday.
Formula One's 2026 season opens at the Australian Grand Prix with sweeping chassis and power unit changes, new overtake modes and sustainable fuel ushering in a bold but uncertain new era.
Here's a look at some key moments which helped decide the championship fight.
The Qatar Grand Prix scheduled for next month has been postponed to November due to the conflict in the Middle East, MotoGP announced on Sunday.
F1 champion Max Verstappen revelled in McLaren's strategy horror show at the Qatar Grand Prix on Sunday.
Kimi Antonelli of Mercedes wins the Japanese Grand Prix, becoming the youngest-ever championship leader. The race saw a high-speed crash involving Oliver Bearman, who was later cleared by doctors.
The sanctions, while nothing to do with actions on the track, could have championship ramifications with three reprimands in a season triggering an automatic 10 place grid penalty for the next race.
Kimi Antonelli secured his second consecutive pole position at the Japanese Grand Prix, leading a Mercedes front-row lockout. Max Verstappen struggled, starting 11th.
Four-times World champion Max Verstappen was given an aerodynamic tow by teammate Yuki Tsunoda to go top on his first flying lap.
Lewis Hamilton says he 'forgot who I was' after a tough Ferrari season but insists he is reset, refreshed and ready for the new F1 campaign.
The first big technical controversy of Formula One's new engine era has its day in court on Monday with champions Red Bull confident they have a strong case in appealing Daniel Ricciardo's Australian Grand Prix exclusion.
Red Bull's Max Verstappen secured a dominant win from pole position in the Azerbaijan Grand Prix in Baku, leading the race from start to finish.
An angry Leclerc dropped to fourth after Ferrari called him in again for slicks and then told him, too late, to stay out after Sainz also pitted and went directly from wets to the dry tyres.
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.
Red Bull's Max Verstappen won the Las Vegas Grand Prix on Saturday but McLaren's Lando Norris had one hand on the Formula One title after finishing second and stretching his lead over teammate Oscar Piastri to 30 points.
Max Verstappen suffered his first retirement of the Formula One season on Sunday after a collision with Mercedes' Kimi Antonelli on the opening lap of Red Bull's home Austrian Grand Prix.
Red Bull's four-times World champion Max Verstappen gave his fans fresh hope -- at least for some of the afternoon -- with a stirring and spirited fightback at Interlagos.
Audi launched their debut Formula One livery, outlining a five-year plan to challenge for championships by 2030 as the former Sauber outfit begins a new era.
With eight points on offer to the winner of Saturday's 100km race, he and Norris -- 22 points behind Piastri -- both have a good chance to reduce the gap to the Australian who was three tenths slower than his teammate.
Max Verstappen asked a journalist to leave his Thursday media briefing at the Japanese Grand Prix, with the Dutchman still upset over a question asked by the same reporter in December about an incident that potentially cost him a fifth straight drivers' title.
Mark Webber has tipped fellow Australian Daniel Ricciardo to replace him at Formula One champions Red Bull next season.
The Perth-born driver has yet to finish higher than seventh in a Formula One career that started in 2011 with now-defunct HRT but he now stands on the cusp of the big time with the dominant team of the last four years.
Australian Grand Prix chief executive Travis Auld anticipates no impact on this weekend's Formula One season-opener at Melbourne's Albert Park from the travel issues caused by the conflict in the Middle East.
Mercedes said the W17 car completed 67 laps and nearly 200km without any problems.
Formula One's new energy rules face criticism after the Japanese GP, with drivers questioning racing quality and safety ahead of a five-week break.
The aftershock of Sunday's double disqualification in Nevada hangs over champions McLaren ahead of a sprint weekend in Qatar that could hand Lando Norris his first F1 crown -- or erode his lead.
Kimi Antonelli became the youngest Formula One driver to take pole position for a full Grand Prix after qualifying fastest for Mercedes in China on Saturday.
Formula One will crown its champion in Abu Dhabi on Sunday with McLaren's Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri both seeking to dethrone Red Bull's Max Verstappen and deny the Dutchman his fifth title in a row.
McLaren's Lando Norris won the Sao Paulo Grand Prix to surge 24 points clear in the Formula One championship on Sunday.
Summary of sports events and persons who made news on Monday
Each of the three title contenders had them in 2025: Norris might have had an easier run to his first crown had he not driven into the back of Piastri's car and retired in Canada three laps from the end.
The FIA is also under fire on other fronts, with confusion about the scoring at last Sunday's shortened Japanese Grand Prix and widespread driver anger, about the deployment of a recovery tractor on track while cars were lapping in the heavy spray.
Four times World champion Max Verstappen said he had nothing to lose and would go all out to win.
Oscar Piastri led McLaren teammate and Formula One title rival Lando Norris at the top of the timesheets in sole practice for the Qatar Grand Prix on Friday.
Oscar Piastri won the Dutch Grand Prix to take a mighty 34 point lead in the Formula One championship on Sunday as McLaren teammate and title rival Lando Norris saw his hopes go up in smoke.
Formula One leader Oscar Piastri put his McLaren on pole position for the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix at Imola on Saturday
Norris won't ask Piastri to gift him F1 title in Abu Dhabi
Formula One and the championship-leading Red Bull team mourned the death of the energy drink company's Austrian founder Dietrich Mateschitz on Saturday at the age of 78.
Lando Norris can be crowned champion on Sunday but a win for Oscar Piastri would take the battle down to a final showdown in Abu Dhabi next weekend.
McLaren's Oscar Piastri ended a long win drought with a pole-to-flag victory in the Qatar Grand Prix sprint race in Doha.
