Ferrari's Hamilton-Leclerc problem – and other F1 stories to follow

This weekend's Sao Paulo Grand Prix is in many ways the first page of the first chapter of the next championship battle. Charles Leclerc trails Ferrari team-mate Lewis Hamilton by 14 points in the drivers' championship The drivers' title is sewn up, and the constructors' may well be on Sunday, but Formula 1 marches restlessly, relentlessly on. New world champion Kimi Antonelli says he sees the final races of the season as preparation to defend his title in 2027, and his vanquished Mercedes team-mate George Russell is working on understanding where things went wrong, with the aim of putting them right. The team's main target this weekend is securing the three points more than Ferrari they need to lock away the constructors' championship, to underline their return to the form they showed for so long in the 2010s.

Mercedes' rivals, meanwhile, are continuing the work that has seen them turn what was a chasm in performance at the beginning of the year into a highly competitive battle between the top four teams at the end. The season has been in two parts. Mercedes dominated the first third, winning seven of the first eight races. Since then, Ferrari, McLaren and Red Bull have all had their time in the sun, and out of the past 12 races, Mercedes have won six,