The British racing star's contact is set to expire at the end of the year, and the six-time world champion has been heavily linked with a move to Ferrari.

EXCLUSIVE BY JONATHAN McEVOY: F1 bosses are expected to confirm in the next 48 hours that the race in Shanghai will not go ahead due to growing fears over the outbreak.

Although Liberty Media, the sport's owners, left open the possibility of the Chinese GP being rescheduled, the chances of finding a replacement date look remote to non-existent.

Lewis Hamilton fired a warning shot to his rivals, saying he is feeling 'on another level physically and mentally' ahead of the Formula One season. 

Hamilton, whose Mercedes contract is set to expire at the end of the year, had held informal talks about joining Ferrari last year but any move now looks dead in the water.

Formula One star Lando Norris isn't going to follow Lewis Hamilton to Monaco - because he can't afford it. Norris, 20, would rather stay in Surrey than move to the playground of the grid's high-rollers.

The Chinese Grand Prix could be rescheduled for November as part of a two-day event sandwiched in between the Brazilian and Abu Dhabi races after the original race was postponed.

The British Formula One driver, who shared the Laureus World Sportsman of the Year award with Lionel Messi on Monday, has been linked with a switch from Mercedes to Ferrari.

Mercedes' reinvention of the steering wheel has been banned just a day after it broke cover. Not that Lewis Hamilton and his boffins will mind because it won't be outlawed until 2021.

JONATHAN SPENCER IN SALZBURG: When we rocked up to the iconic Hangar-7 in a Red Bull themed double-decker party bus, we knew we were in for one special night.

INTERVIEW BY NATHAN SALT: Jenson Button has warned Charles Leclerc that his honeymoon at Ferrari is over and he must now put up a fight with Lewis Hamilton for the title.

The Chinese Grand Prix, which was scheduled for April, has already been cancelled amid growing fears about the virus but F1 chief Chase Carey has announced it is 'all systems go' for Melbourne.

The Dutch driver, heading into his seventh season in Formula One, lost control and spun around, going off the track at turn five. He was unharmed in Thursday morning's session in Barcelona.

It has been reported that Hamilton could pocket around £60million from a new deal with Mercedes but he and Wolff both claimed that they have not yet spoken about figures.

WILL JEANES IN MARRAKESH: Felipe Massa says the future of gas-guzzling Formula One is under threat due to the climate emergency.

The seven teams, which includes Lewis Hamilton's Mercedes, Red Bull and McLaren, are concerned that that FIA's probe does not identify whether Ferrari bent the rules.

JONATHAN MCEVOY: Seven Formula One teams have threatened to take Ferrari and the governing body, the FIA, to court for hushing up a potentially illegal Ferrari engine.

On Wednesday, seven of Formula One's 10 teams published a joint statement expressing surprise and shock at the FIA's confidential agreement with Ferrari.

Mercedes have reinvented the wheel - for now. Their new DAS system took onlookers by surprise when cockpit cameras showed Lewis Hamilton tugging on his steering wheel.

JONATHAN McEVOY IN MELBOURNE: Lando Norris lef for Melbourne without a care, other than to avoid company. Nothing to do with coronavirus, it is just that he insists on isolating himself.

Here are all the major changes that have happened over the winter ahead of the 2020 Formula One campaign which begins on Sunday with the Australian Grand Prix.

EXCLUSIVE BY JONATHAN MCEVOY IN MELBOURNE: Todt has told Formula One's teams he took the decision to strike a settlement with his old team over their allegedly illegal engine.

FIA president Jean Todt accused the seven teams angered by their investigation into Ferrari's suspect engine of making 'false, injurious and defamatory' allegations.

Hamilton said it was 'shocking' that the Australian Grand Prix could go ahead amid the threat of the coronavirus and suggested organisers had put financial concerns ahead of people's health.

JONATHAN McEVOY IN MELBOURNE: The season-opening race has been abandoned here in the early hours of Friday morning after a McLaren mechanic was diagnosed with coronavirus.

EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW BY JONATHAN MCEVOY: Bernie Ecclestone does not believe Lewis Hamilton should move to Ferrari and he is happy to reel off why. Ecclestone is enjoying a burger in a regular haunt.

After Sunday's season-opener in Melbourne was called off, the FIA and the sport's owners Liberty Media are seeking a new timetable including the key Grand Prix in Monaco.

Formula One boss Chase Carey has issued a public apology for the last-minute cancellation of the Australian Grand Prix. It was called off 90 minutes before first practice.

Many drivers are out of contract at the end of the season, including Vettel and his former Red Bull team-mate, and Renault fear Ricciardo could leave for Ferrari if they fail to make significant progress.

The three latest races to be called off take the grand total of postponed events to seven, with Australia, Bahrain, Vietnam, China, Holland, Spain and Monaco all now falling foul of the virus.

Formula One will run a series of virtual races, with some current drivers taking part, to replace a string of grands prix postponed by the coronavirus outbreak.

Silverstone bosses have promised fans a full refund if the British Grand Prix on July 19 is called off. The first seven races of the F1 season have been cancelled over coronavirus pandemic.

Formula One star Lewis Hamilton has warned the public they must self-isolate in order to reduce the threat of the coronavirus.

Max Verstappen admitted he is focused on winning the Formula One Championship this year with Red Bull and believes he now has the experience to do so. 

Daniel Ricciardo reveals he is still benefitting from a good training regime despite coronavirus disrupting plans for the 2020 Formula One calendar. 

The boss of the British Grand Prix has told Formula One's owners that he needs to know by the middle of next month whether the showpiece event is going ahead on July 19.

Eight rounds have been postponed, and more look likely to follow with countries in lockdown, but F1 bosses have said they hope to get back on track some time in the European summer.

The rules which would have effectively started a new era for F1 by pushing the reset button were set to come into force for 2021 before the coronavirus pushed their introduction back a year to save costs.

Formula One and Silverstone admit they have until the end of April before they find out if the British Grand Prix could be held this year.

The reigning Formula One champion is waiting to agree terms over a new contract with Mercedes, with his current £40million-a-year deal expiring at the end of this season.

The Canadian Grand Prix in Montreal has joined a growing list of Formula One races postponed due to the new coronavirus pandemic on Tuesday, with the 2020 season yet to get on the starting grid.

Sportsmail recounts Ian Wooldridge's thrilling escapades alongside motor racing legend Sir Stirling Moss, who has passed away aged 90, in the 1991 Mille Miglia motor race...

JONATHAN McEVOY: The French Grand Prix is about to become the 10th Formula One race, of 22, to be postponed or cancelled owing to the coronavirus outbreak.

Nico Rosberg (right) has praised Max Verstappen (left)'s role and influence in F1 - but has called the Red Bull racer one of the most annoying rivals he faced in Formula One.

McLaren team principal Andreas Seidl has warned that a number of Formula One teams could fold if a crisis meeting on Thursday does not endorse money-saving plans.

So far nine Formula One Grand Prix meetings have been postponed or cancelled with the French GP likely to follow. F1 bosses however hope to start the season in Austria in July.

Sebastian Vettel is feeling the lockdown strain as yet another would-be Formula One race weekend breezes by with drivers still holed up at home. Vettel should be in Shanghai for round-four of the season.

Schumacher is the most successful driver to grace the sport after winning seven world championship titles before retiring in 2012 but Jordan says his legacy is tainted by his single-mindedness.

EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW BY JAMES SHARPE: In normal times, George Russell would ready to belt up and take on Lewis Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel at the Chinese Grand Prix.

The coronavirus pandemic has already led to the postponement or cancellation of nine grands prix, and the income shortfall generated has led to speculation some teams could go under.