Valtteri Bottas finished fastest in opening practice for the season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix as Sebastian Vettel crashed out.

JONATHAN McEVOY IN ABU DHABI: Ferrari have admitted for the first time that they are considering a move for Lewis Hamilton with his contract due to expire after the end of the 2020 racing season.

After taking a stunning victory in Brazil last time out, the Dutchman narrowly pipped Hamilton to the fastest time as he looks for back-to-back wins for the first time in his career.

The two-time world champion departed the grid at the end of the 2018 season, opting to continue his career away from the sport, since winning the prestigious Le Mans 24 hour race for Toyota.

JONATHAN McEVOY AT YAS MARINA: Lewis Hamilton signed off from qualifying in style - ending his nine-race pole drought - by setting the pace ahead of Sunday's Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

Lewis Hamilton on Saturday night fluttered his eyelashes at Ferrari, as the wooing and cooing over his future hotted up in the desert.

JONATHAN McEVOY AT YAS MARINA: His trainer was hanging Lewis Hamilton's laundered overalls on the balcony railing while inside his boss speculated over a move to Ferrari.

For the third successive season, Lewis Hamilton wrapped up the drivers' prize with two rounds to spare. So to what needs to happen: Hamilton joining Ferrari for the 2021 season.

Talk of Hamilton's future dominated the final round of the Formula One season in Abu Dhabi, as Ferrari admitted they were open to the idea of signing the sport's biggest star.

A new mural has been unveiled at the Farm Bridge section of Silverstone, depicting the Mercedes driver in front of the Union flag following his sixth world title this season.

Under new rules introduced this year, a digital chequered flag mounted on the starting lights gantry took precedence over the physical flag.

Aston Martin, one of the most iconic names in British motoring, could enter Formula One as the new identity of the Racing Point team.

Hamilton, who collected his F1 champion's trophy at an FIA gala in Paris on Friday, will head to Valencia's Ricardo Tormo circuit for the closed event organised by mutual sponsor Monster.

The 34-year-old racer became just the second driver in the sport's history to win six titles - and needs just one more to match all-time great Michael Schumacher's record.

All 10 Formula One teams have unanimously voted to keep the current specification of Pirelli tyres after testing and analysing results of a new prototype in Abu Dhabi, the sport's governing body (FIA) said.

Racing royalty met up in Valencia and traded places for the day, as Lewis Hamilton hopped on a motorbike and Valentino Rossi took control of a Formula One car.

The super-ambitious Wolff, currently head of Mercedes, has harboured a desire to replace Liberty Media's moustachioed Chase Carey, who is likely to relinquish his post in the next 18 months.

Hamilton's £40million-a-year deal with Mercedes expires at the end of next year, and Ferrari chief executive Louis Camilleri has confirmed that preliminary discussions have taken place.

If you look at the Sports Presonality of the Year shortlist, Lewis Hamilton stands supreme in terms of achievement. He has made extraordinary deeds appear routine.

The £120m deal for Sky to show every Grand Prix bar one on their subscription channel was signed off by Bernie Ecclestone last year. Channel 4 previously showed 10 races a season.

COMMENT BY JONATHAN MCEVOY: I wonder whether F1 - and the other sports being lured there - might not play a constructive role in helping the kingdom towards improvement.

Lewis Hamilton revealed he is in training to be a Hollywood movie star after sharing videos on a shooting range preparing for his future career.

Formula One bosses have been accused of getting into bed with the Saudis who 'stole' their own TV rights deal.

Lewis Hamilton's future with Mercedes is under increasing threat and the British driver could join Ferrari in 2021. He has one more season with the Silver Arrows on his £40million-a-year deal.

The six-time world champion's clarification follows Italian media reports claiming negotiations with team boss Toto Wolff have broken down over his annual pay demands.

The prospect of a woman competing in F1 for the first time in 44 years has moved a step closer, when the W Series announced that its 2020 champion will receive 15 points towards a 'super licence'.

COMMENT - JONATHAN MCEVOY: There are long years when I would have wagered life and limb on Lewis Hamilton ending his career in a Ferrari. But it no longer looks like it will be the case.

Red Bull's 22-year-old star Max Verstappen is convinced that, with the right car, he can become Formula One's world champion in 2020 as he insists rival Lewis Hamilton 'is not God'.

Mercedes driver Hamilton claimed his sixth world championship last season and is now eyeing Schumacher's record with the Brit approaching the new campaign as the strong favourite.

Lewis Hamilton has switched up his look ahead of Formula One's pre-season winter testing period, with the six-time world champion Mercedes driver revealing a scruffier style. 

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.

They will come face to face when Hamilton, whose contract is due for renewal at the end of the season, returns to work at the Silver Arrows' Northamptonshire factory on Tuesday morning. 

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.

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.

Lewis Hamilton has unveiled the new Mercedes he hopes will fire him to a record-equalling seventh Formula One world championship.

Lewis Hamilton has hit back at criticism from Red Bull rival Max Verstappen , calling the Dutchman's comments 'a sign of weakness' after he recently lit the fire ahead of the upcoming season.

INTERVIEW BY JONATHAN SPENCER: Lewis Hamilton heads into the new season as big favourite to claim his seventh world title and draw level with legend Michael Schumacher.

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.

JONATHAN MCEVOY IN BARCELONA: Lewis Hamilton is making Mercedes wait to open contract talks, though he revealed that 'freedom' will be a central demand when negotiations finally start.

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.

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.

Lewis Hamilton's decision to get out of the car saw a red flag deployed on the session so that the car and the British driver could be retrieved and taken back to the Mercedes garage before action resumed.

Lewis Hamilton has said he needs to figure out his next 'five to 10-year plan' before signing a new contract with Mercedes. Hamilton joined Mercedes from McLaren back in 2013.

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.

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.

His comments came as the FIA admitted on Thursday they were not convinced last year's Ferrari was always legal, but took no further action because it was too complex to prove.

Nico Rosberg has backed one of Formula One's crop of exciting youngsters to make a breakthrough this season and seize the Formula One title.

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.