The 2017 FIA Formula One World Championship is the 71st season of Formula One motor racing. It features the 68th Formula One World Championship, a motor racing championship for Formula One cars which is recognised by the sport's governing body, the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA), as the highest class of competition for open-wheel racing cars. Teams and drivers are competing in twenty Grands Prix—starting in Australia on 26 March and ending in Abu Dhabi on 26 November—for the World Drivers' and World Constructors' championships.
As the reigning Drivers' Champion Nico Rosberg announced his retirement from the sport in December 2016, the 2017 season is the first since 1994 in which the reigning champion did not compete.Mercedes started the season as the defending Constructors' Champion, having secured their third consecutive title at the 2016 Japanese Grand Prix.
After Fourteen races, Lewis Hamilton leads the World Drivers' Championship with 263 points, with Sebastian Vettel second with 235 points, and Valtteri Bottas third with 212 points. In the World Constructors' Championship, Mercedes leads with 475 points, with Ferrari second with 373 points, and Red Bull Racing third with 230 points.