Title race is over - but intrigue in F1 continues

The drivers' title is sewn up, and the constructors' may well be on Sunday, but Formula 1 marches restlessly, relentlessly on. This weekend's Sao Paulo Grand Prix is in many ways the first page of the first chapter of the next championship battle.

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.

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, Red Bull three, McLaren two and Ferrari one. Chief among them is the tension between Ferrari drivers Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc after they contrived to throw away a potential one-two finish in Mexico last Sunday by tangling on the first lap.