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.
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, Red Bull three, McLaren two and Ferrari one.
Only the beginnings of a competitive picture have emerged in Sao Paulo, with Antonelli and Lando Norris in an upgraded McLaren initially appearing in good shape in Friday practice, but beyond that there are a number of running narratives to maintain the interest.
The Hamilton-Leclerc problem Ferrari boss has to solve
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.
After that race, Hamilton said the team had "big problems" and needed "serious talks".
Those happened on Thursday evening, after Leclerc and team principal Frederic Vasseur arrived back in Brazil having returned to Europe between races.
Vasseur said on Friday: "It went well. It was good to discuss. It was good to clarify our positions and now we turn the page.
"The guidelines are still the same. They need to respect each other. They are competitive with fighting spirit but they need to respect the other one and the brand and the people working back home and on track.
"The message was clear and will stay clear. Overall it is true that they are working for the team and the team has to come first. It's clear we failed and we have to react but the meeting was a clear reminder that Ferrari comes first."
The magnitude of this situation is obvious, as is the difficulty in finding a solution, and the potential for further trouble down the line.
Hamilton has been especially outspoken on this topic.
The seven-time champion has drawn a contrast between the way Leclerc races him and the way he approaches other drivers, pointing to him ceding to Max Verstappen when they were racing side by side to the first corner in Singapore, compared with how he dealt with Hamilton in Mexico City.
"We could have easily had a one-two and so we definitely have to work towards making sure that doesn't happen again," Hamilton said, adding that he thought this was a theme between Leclerc and his team-mates that he had also seen with his predecessors Sebastian Vettel and Carlos Sainz.
He also said: "Of course, there's some times you say things and maybe you might regret it afterwards, but I don't.
"I've never apologised for being authentic and real. And I'm not going to be silenced. I have not been asked to not say anything. And that's just the way it is.
"I wear my heart on my sleeve and I say how I feel in the moment."
From Vasseur's point of view, this is a problem that really needs to be solved because if Ferrari can keep hold of the chassis advantage they have had this year and bring their engine up to the level of Mercedes and Red Bull, they could be title contenders next year.
Hamilton said: "Naturally, it's not so easy having someone like me come into a team because I'm very outspoken and I push and push and push, push for so many changes and I'm going to be pushing for more.
"As long as I'm here, that's how it's going to be. I'm here to win. And to be able to win, you have to work with everyone around you.
"I truly believe that this team can be fighting for the championship next year.
"I'm in the process of working with the head of aero, the head of aerodynamics to make sure that we hold on to the goodness of the car we have this year and fix some of the small, subtle things that could be better.
"And obviously, the power-unit, they're doing their thing and I really hope that they're able to pull through."
Red Bull's 'big turnaround'
At Red Bull, the situation is much simpler as the team build serious momentum in this final part of the season.
Verstappen was the beneficiary of the Ferrari battle in Mexico, and his victory there was his third in four races.
That has moved him up into second in the drivers' championship - something that looked impossible as the team floundered in the first third of the year, when they were not far off a second off the pace.
"It's a big surprise to be second in the championship, but we take it," Verstappen said.
"We had a lot of difficulties as a team in the beginning. The car was not where we wanted it to be. Probably also we still had to learn quite a bit from the power units, and I think we really learned a lot throughout the season.
"From my side, it's just you never really give up or, in terms of, like, you just never really settle for P6 or P7, right?
"Even when I was in that position or fighting the midfield, I was still trying to do the best that I could get out of the situation.
"Sometimes that is a P6 when the car is not able to perform better. But then once the car is in a better window, then you can fight further up front and eventually, of course, win races.
"And, of course, when you win, you take points out of everyone else. So that's been the scene a bit the last races, and I'm, of course, very happy with that.
"But it also shows that the team never gave up and they were really pushing to find these improvements and understand the difficulties. I'm just happy that within a season we had such a big turnaround."
The battle for second place is tight - Verstappen is just two points ahead of Hamilton, who is nine clear of Russell, who has a lead of five over Leclerc.
None of them are that bothered about finishing second - winning is what counts.
And none would be that unhappy to be fourth, because that would mean they did not have to fly to China a week after the end of the season to attend the FIA prize-giving in Shanghai, which is mandatory for the top three.
But as a motivator for next season, it would mean something. And for the teams it matters, as the constructors' championship decides prize money and there are only 17 points between Red Bull and McLaren in the battle for third, and in the region of $10m on the line.
McLaren hoping for another revival
McLaren are not currently in as competitive a position as Red Bull, but their season has not been dissimilar in pattern.
They, too, have significantly reduced what had been a substantial gap to Mercedes at the start of the year.
In the summer, when Lando Norris took his two wins in Hungary and the Netherlands, they were briefly the fastest team. Since then, they have slipped back again.
But they have upgrades this weekend and hope they can be more in the mix.
"I certainly feel like the last few weekends, the pace has not been too bad on Sundays," Norris said.
"I feel like if things were just a little, little bit better, talking small amounts, we certainly could have had better results. And I'm hoping that the upgrades and some of the things we have this weekend can maybe just shift us a little bit more in this direction.
"I certainly don't expect to go out and win races all of a sudden. But the last few weekends, we've certainly not been miles away. We certainly have some weaknesses in the car and just the drivability, the difficulty of driving it is certainly one of the biggest factors at the minute.
"But the potential has been there. So I hope if it just puts us a little bit more forward in qualifying, we just have a little bit better chance in the race. And of course, I would like to be back on the podium as soon as possible."
McLaren knew heading into this season that they had compromised their chances in 2026 to ensure they got the championship over the line last season.
They also know now that the car has inherent issues that they were not aware of before the season started - too-short gear ratios, too much drag, a smaller than ideal wheelbase.
These can all be fixed for next year, when the lack of knowledge on power-unit operation that hamstrung them so much as the start of the new engine rules will not be anywhere near as big.
Qatar and Abu Dhabi deadline looming
How many more races are there after Brazil for the teams to learn whatever lessons 2026 can provide them for 2027? On paper, the answer is three - in Las Vegas, Qatar and Abu Dhabi.
But there remains doubt about the two races in the Gulf in the context of the war in the Middle East.
MotoGP, which is owned by the same US group that runs F1, is in Qatar this weekend as a kind of test balloon for the grand prix at the end of the month.
Personnel there have been issued with a rather alarming set of instructions for how to behave in the event of a missile strike., external
The deadline for a decision is looming. F1 has been talking to governments and security experts and feels as if it has done everything it can to seek the right assurances.
Just as with the teams, though, they can work to the best of their ability but they cannot control what happens outside.
They will move forward with optimism having done all the preparation and research they can, but also bravely in hope that things turn out as planned.
Sao Paulo Grand Prix
6-8 November
Live commentary on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra; live text updates on BBC Sport website and app
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