With Jenson Button absent from this year's Formula One grid and Lewis Hamilton recently turning 32, who could emerge as Britain's next star at the top of the sport?
Button's one-year sabbatical (and likely retirement) leaves just two British drivers at the highest echelon of motorsport; Renault's Jolyon Palmer and Mercedes' Hamilton.
It is perhaps too early to judge Palmer considering the 2014 GP2 champion has only had one season in F1 to prove his worth. Renault's rebuilding project did little to strengthen the 25-year-old's case during a tough rookie campaign, though he did manage to secure his maiden point.
Hamilton meanwhile, is approaching the tail-end of his career, having spearheaded Britain's success in F1 over the past decade with three world titles and over 50 grand prix victories. At this stage you are probably wondering 'where is Britain's next F1 world champion going to come from?'
Well no need to panic just yet -- an abundance of promising British prospects are currently rising through the junior categories. ESPN takes a look at just a handful of the UK's brightest up-and-coming talents who could be F1 stars of the future...
George Russell
18-year-old George Russell boasts an impressive record in his career to date. In 2014 he won the British Formula Four Championship with a season-high total of five wins and was subsequently named the winner of the McLaren Autosport BRDC Award, earning himself a prize F1 test with McLaren.
Russell graduated to FIA European Formula Three with Carlin for 2015, recording one victory on his way to a sixth-place finish in the championship. Switching to Hitech GP for 2016, Russell was one of the standout performers of the year as he secured third place in the championship with two wins and three pole positions.
On Thursday it was announced that Russell had been added to the Mercedes junior programme for 2017, where he joins an exclusive club of elite drivers, including recently-signed Sauber driver Pascal Wehrlein and Force India's Esteban Ocon.
Here, Russell is the only member of the three-time constructors champions' pool of junior drivers who is not currently on the F1 grid. This year the Briton will dovetail his Mercedes duties with a campaign in the GP3 Series for ART Grand Prix, where he will be looking to take the next step on his possible path to F1 by emulating Ferrari protege Charles Leclerc, who claimed last season's title with the same team.
Standout performance: F3 - 2016 Pau Grand Prix, 1st
Russell broke his 2016 duck with victory in testing wet/dry conditions around Pau's tricky street circuit. The Brit stormed into the lead from pole position and successfully negotiated two safety car periods.
Possible roadmap to F1:
GP3 in 2017 - Confirmed
GP2 in 2018
DTM or reserve/test driver role with Mercedes-powered team in 2019
F1 drive with Force India, Williams or Mercedes in 2020
Russell has so far accumulated 38 of the required 40 points to qualify for an F1 superlicence.
Likelihood of making it to F1: 8/10
Russell could progress through the traditional route of GP3/GP2 and land either a reserve/test role at a Mercedes-powered team, possibly earning a drive by 2020. A spell in DTM -- emulating Wehrlein and Ocon -- would provide an alternative route to F1.
Jack Aitken
British-Korean driver Jack Aitken already has three championship titles to his name at the age of 21. Aitken had a strong 2013 and finished runner-up in Formula Renault 2.0 Northern European Cup, but it was two years later when he made a real breakthrough in his single-seater career.
After storming to title glory in the five-round Pro Mazda Winterfest, Aitken successfully won a further two championships before the end of 2015 as he combined campaigns in Formula Renault 2.0 Alps and Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0, taking a total of nine wins across both campaigns.
In 2016, Aitken was announced as one of four drivers to join Renault F1's young driver programme as he graduated to GP3 with Arden. He enjoyed a consistent debut year in the series and scored his maiden race win in the Spa-Francorchamps sprint race, while he also collected a further six podium finishes.
Aitken enjoyed a strong end to the year and recorded four podiums in a row across the Malaysia and season-ending Abu Dhabi rounds to secure fifth place in the drivers' standings. He took part in the post-season GP3 Abu Dhabi test for both ART and DAMS and is yet to announce his racing plans for the upcoming season.
Standout performance: FR 2.0 - 2015 Jerez, 1st x2
Aitken trailed Louis Deletraz and Kevin Jorg by seven points heading into the season finale, but took two vital wins in wet conditions on Saturday. A further points finish on Sunday sealed an unlikely title.
Possible roadmap to F1:
GP3 in 2017 - TBC
GP2 in 2018
Reserve/test driver role at Renault or Renault-powered team in 2019
F1 drive with Renault in 2020
Aitken has so far accumulated 27 of the required 40 points to qualify for an F1 superlicence.
Likelihood of making it to F1: 7/10
Providing he remains a member of Renault's Junior programme for 2017, Aitken's best F1 hope might be to replicate the path Palmer took after winning GP2. Palmer earned a full-time seat having spent a year-long spell as test driver for Lotus.
Callum Ilott
At 16 years old Callum Ilott was touted as a potential superstar after switching straight from karts to European F3 in 2015, following his selection as a member of Red Bull's renowned Junior programme. Ilott showed flashes of promise at Carlin but ultimately failed to win a race in his rookie year in F3, finishing 12th in the championship with just one podium to show for his efforts.
Ilott was subsequently dropped from Red Bull's Junior scheme at the end of the year. Despite the blow of seeing his partnership with the F1 outfit come to an end, a revitalised Ilott joined Van Amersfoot Racing and took two wins on his way to sixth in the 2016 F3 rankings.
A notable performance came at the notoriously difficult Macau Grand Prix, where the Brit crossed the line less than one second behind former Red Bull junior Antonio Felix da Costa in the qualification race, before taking the flag as the highest ranked British driver with fifth place in the main race.
After testing GP2 machinery in Abu Dhabi at the end of 2016, Ilott announced he will remain in F3 in 2017 but switch to Italian outfit Prema Powerteam, replacing reigning champion and Williams-bound F1 rookie Lance Stroll. Ilott will be joined at Prema by Mick Schumacher, son of seven-time F1 world champion Michael.
Standout performance: 2016 F3 - Paul Ricard, 1st
Ilott made the most of a chaotic opening lap and took advantage of a late mistake from leader Nick Cassidy to claim his maiden win in the series, despite starting from sixth in a rain-affected race.
Possible roadmap to F1:
European F3 in 2017 - Confirmed
GP3/GP2 in 2018
GP2 and F1 reserve/test driver in 2019
F1 drive in 2020
Ilott has so far accumulated seven of the required 40 points to qualify for an F1 superlicence.
Likelihood of making it to F1: 6/10
Back-to-back title challenges might prove enough to earn a place back within an F1 team's junior programme. Red Bull rarely allow second chances, reflected in Daniil Kvyat's demotion to Toro Rosso after just three races in 2016, so Ilott may have to look elsewhere.
Lando Norris
Arguably the most exciting British prospect of recent years. At just 14, Lando Norris had already bagged the CIK-FIA KF World Championship to become the youngest karting world champion. In 2014, a move into Ginetta Juniors yielded a top three overall finish and Rookie Cup title.
A switch to single-seaters and the MSA Formula (now British F4) with Carlin followed in 2015, as Norris beat fellow Brit Ricky Collard to the title with eight wins, 10 pole positions and a total of 14 podiums. Norris began 2016 as he finished the previous year, by dominating the New-Zealand-based Toyota Racing Championship with six wins -- double the amount of his nearest challenger.
He swept aside his competition in the Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 and Formula Renault 2.0 NEC to win both championships with a combined total of 11 victories and 16 poles. Elsewhere, Norris got his first taste of European F3 at Hockenheim, while he also scored four victories in 11 races in the British F3 Championship.
Nothing seemed to phase Norris as he switched between varying cars and championships with ease, demonstrating instant speed along the way. In an eye-catching maiden performance at the Macau Grand Prix, Norris recovered from 27th to finish 11th in the main race and rounded off a stellar 2016 by winning the coveted McLaren Autosport BRDC Award.
The 17-year-old will compete full-time in F3 with Carlin during 2017 and it is hard to bet against him mounting an instant title challenge as he continues his rapid rise up the single-seater ladder.
Standout performance: 2016 McLaren Autosport Award
Norris' display during two-days of intensive on-track performance tests and fitness examinations at Silverstone -- against far more experienced drivers -- secured the award, which is arguably his most important feat to date.
Possible roadmap to F1:
European F3 in 2017 - confirmed
GP2 in 2018
F1 or Honda-backed Super Formula drive in 2019
F1 drive with McLaren in 2020
Norris has so far accumulated 25 of the required 40 points to qualify for an F1 superlicence.
Likelihood of making it to F1: 8.5/10
A competitive year in F3 and a strong performance in his McLaren F1 test could lead to a spot at the Woking-based outfit's young driver programme. If a Max Verstappen-esque jump to F1 is not possible in 2019, Norris could follow in the footsteps of Stoffel Vandoorne by switching to Japan's Super Formula for a season.