Robert Kubica has suggested his presence back in a Formula 1 paddock may only last one season if he can't find a race seat for 2019.

The Pole, who has recently admitted his attempted comeback could end in disappointment, has spent this year as reserve and development driver at Williams after losing out to Sergey Sirotkin for the place next to Lance Stroll.

With expectations low for a promotion for next season and limited options elsewhere, the 34-year-old admits opportunities he previously declined, such as in the WEC, could be more appealing.

“I spent a lot of time and effort to have a chance and the priority would be to be on the starting grid in Australia,” Kubica told Autosport.

“But if this doesn’t happen I would consider some different championship or a different role. As I said, now I’m focused on trying to get a chance.”

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The problem the popular former Renault and BMW driver faces is limited opportunities to show and sharpen his skills.

“When you don’t do it for a long time or you do it like I do it, every three months, it’s normal that you have to go through different phases in order to get back your rhythm, get back feelings as natural as possible," he explained.

“If you would take even the best tennis player and you say to him: now you stop for six years. Even without injuries, nothing, then you give him one hour of training and smash him into the final of Wimbledon, he will probably struggle more than all the people who are playing regularly.

“I would have so much time in the car [if he had raced this season], there would be no more question marks about myself.”

Red Bull team boss Christian Horner has claimed Esteban Ocon would likely be a clear choice to drive for Toro Rosso in 2019 if he wasn't associated with Mercedes.

The Frenchman is seemingly racing on a week-by-week basis at Force India as work continues behind the scenes to facilitate Lance Stroll's move from Williams while keeping the 21-year-old on the grid.

A move to Renault was cancelled after Daniel Ricciardo opted to leave Red Bull and McLaren also rejected the opportunity to sign him with Horner explaining the reasons why.

“For what is relatively little investment by Mercedes it’s been to their merit that they’ve helped these guys to get into F1,” he told Motorsport.com.

“But now it seems to be almost an anchor being a Mercedes driver. Being on a recall mechanism isn’t attractive to a vast majority of teams.

“The crazy situation is you’ve got a driver like Ocon who might end up without a seat next year. If he was to be contractually free he’d be an obvious candidate for Toro Rosso," the Briton added.

“But Red Bull aren’t going to invest in a Mercedes driver, understandably, and I wouldn’t expect the same to happen the other way round.”

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• Wolff "optimistic" about Ocon but 2019 options are dwindling
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Despite the uncertainty, Ocon himself believes he is doing all he can to prove himself.

“Of course it hasn’t been an easy situation. I’m trying to do the best I can on track and I don’t think I’m doing too bad," he told RaceFans.

“It’s not a distraction because I manage to switch off quite well and I’ve been in more difficult situations than I am in now."

McLaren CEO Zak Brown sees little reason for optimism between now and the end of the season as his team struggle with an "extremely poor" car.

2018 was expected to see a big revival at the Woking-based squad after dropping Honda in favour of Renault and producing a chassis that was very competitive last season.

However, that strength did not continue as instead a draggy, flawed design has left the once great team stuck towards the back of the grid.

“We’ll continue to push on this car but unfortunately we’ve produced an extremely poor race-car that is not that responsive to changes, which will tell you that inherently we don’t have a good race-car,” Brown told Autosport.

“I would expect, unfortunately, a similar type of results – maybe a little more circuit-specific – over the balance of the year.

“I certainly wouldn’t expect any miracles,” he concluded.

The unexpected strength of teams like Haas, Sauber and Toro Rosso, have only added to the woes McLaren have faced, but the American chief accepts they can only blame themselves.

“Other teams have developed at a faster pace than ourselves," he admitted. “It appears we’ve gone backwards. In reality, everyone else has gone forwards, but in Formula 1 if you’re not going forwards you’re going backwards.

“We knew Spa and Monza-type circuits would be our absolute weak points in the car, which are proving to be the case. We’re not giving up on developing because we’re identifying the issues and want to see if we’re able to solve them.”

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In recent years, the streets of Singapore have offered McLaren the chance to be more competitive and Stoffel Vandoorne is hoping for a repeat again this weekend.

"I’m 100 per cent determined to give everything for the remaining Grands Prix this season," said the Belgian, head to the first race since his exit was confirmed.

"Racing at Singapore was an incredible experience last year and I’m really looking forward to doing it again. It was there and in Malaysia that I scored my best result yet in F1, in seventh place.

"It’s a track that definitely suits the strengths of our package more than others. I’m hopeful of a more positive weekend where we can show improved pace and take the fight to our competitors."

Valtteri Bottas claims the fact he has failed to win so far this season is "amazing" with just seven races left to go.

During his first year with Mercedes, the Finn won three times, with two of those venues still left to come, however, under pressure to put up a stronger fight against teammate Lewis Hamilton, poor luck has worked against him.

"I really want to win races, that’s why I’m here," he said ahead of the Singapore Grand Prix this weekend.

“For me, it’s quite disappointing and amazing that I haven’t won a race this year. It’s been quite close many times, especially in the first third of the season."

The 29-year-old could have won in China, Bahrain and most clearly in Baku where he was leading in the closing stages before a race-ending puncture, instead he sits along with Kimi Raikkonen as the only drivers from the top three teams yet to win in 2018.

97 points behind Hamilton, Bottas now faces the prospect of having to support the Briton in his championship quest, but Valtteri still sees hope to break his winless streak.

"If I have a good pace, a good qualifying, I’m strong in the race, I think I can definitely win," he claimed. "But for sure it’s a bit more simple if Lewis secures the title."

Sunday's race at Marina Bay is expected to be a damage limitation job for Mercedes, who struggle in hot climates and on street circuits, but the events of 12 months ago mean expectations remain the same.

“You never know. You saw what happened last year!" said Bottas, referring to the Ferrari's and Max Verstappen wiping each other out.

"It’s racing, and we go there with the mindset that anything can happen.

"Hopefully we can be more competitive there than we were last year, compared to other teams. It is tricky at the moment," he added.

“The Ferrari is quick everywhere. Red Bull will be quick in Singapore. For us, we don’t really know how competitive we are going to be but we are going to go there, try to get more points than Ferrari," he concluded.

Mercedes motorsport boss Toto Wolff has tempered expectations for the German manufacturer at the Singapore Grand Prix, with the team having a mixed recent record.

Only once since the start of the turbo-hybrid era in 2014 has the Brackley-based team failed to win at Marina Bay, yet in recent years they have been second if not third fastest behind their rivals, Ferrari and Red Bull, in the pecking order.

Last year, the first lap chaos involving the two Ferrari's and Max Verstappen wiped them out of contention before a gearbox issue prevented Daniel Ricciardo from challenging eventual race winner Hamilton.

And Wolff knows that similar circumstances are typically now needed to give Mercedes a chance.

“Singapore has features that we’ve struggled with in the past," he said in his pre-race preview.

“The short straights, the slow, tight corners and the bumpy surface all make the Marina Bay Street Circuit one of the trickiest tracks of the season for us.

“In 2015, we endured one of our most painful experiences in recent years there. Last year, we started the race from the third row – and came home with a win and a third place."

Also Read:

• Bottas: Failure to win a race in 2018 is "amazing"

Based on experience, however, the Austrian knows there's no reason to give up.

“On paper, the track should favour the Ferraris, but the championship fight is so close that predictions are almost meaningless,” the Mercedes chief concluded.

The ongoing speculation over who'll be alongside Sebastian Vettel at Ferrari next year appears to suggest Kimi Raikkonen is back as favourite.

New bosses at the Scuderia are known to favour keeping the 'Iceman' but a contract signed by former chairman Sergio Marchionne, who tragically died in July, to promote Charles Leclerc is proving a hurdle.

After a supposed meeting in Italy to announce the 20-year-old last Thursday didn't materialise, it is thought efforts are still underway to put off the Monegasque's eventual promotion until 2020 by keeping him at Sauber but on the salary that he was set to earn with the Maranello squad.

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Clearly, more questions will be asked this weekend in Singapore if a decision isn't made sooner, yet there are some who wonder if the uncertainty over his future is leading Raikkonen to not support Vettel in his championship fight.

The German lambasted Ferrari after the Italian Grand Prix claiming he had to "race three cars" before later saying he would be "happy" to do so, still it does beg the question if this is proving a distraction right when the team don't need it.

A petition set up on Change.org calling on Ferrari to keep Raikkonen has already reached 75,000 signatures only highlighting how popular the 38-year-old is.

Ferrari has officially announced Charles Leclerc as a race driver alongside Sebastian Vettel in 2019.

The news is merely a formality after Kimi Raikkonen confirmed he would be returning to Sauber next season on a two-year deal, where the Monegasque is currently racing.

While there was a desire from the new hierarchy at Maranello to delay the promotion until 2020, the decision to go ahead with a contract initially signed by former chairman Sergio Marchionne marks a bold step by the Scuderia, who are not known for promoting their young drivers.

The case of Leclerc is unique, however, after dominating the first F2 season in 2017 and impressing in his rookie season with Sauber, scoring points on five occasions.

"Dreams do come true... I'll be driving for Scuderia Ferrari for the 2019 Formula 1 World Championship," he wrote on Twitter.

"I will be eternally grateful to Ferrari for the opportunity given. To [my manager] Nicolas Todt for supporting me since 2011 [and] to my family, to a person that is not part of this world anymore but to whom I owe everything of what is happening to me, Papa.

"To Jules [Bianchi], thank you for all the things you learnt me, we will never forget you, and to all the persons that supported me and believed in me.

"I will work harder than ever to not disappoint you. But first, there is a season to finish with an amazing team that gave me the opportunity to fight and show my potential. Let's go Sauber!"

Carlos Sainz has backed former teammate Daniil Kvyat to make a return to Formula 1 amid rumours of a surprise comeback with Toro Rosso in 2019.

A year ago, a crash in Singapore would be the final straw as the Russian was ousted from the junior Red Bull team and replaced by Pierre Gasly, later making a final one-off outing at the US Grand Prix in Austin.

It brought to an end a devastating 18 months which had seen him replaced at Red Bull by Max Verstappen and out-performed by Sainz during their time together at the Italian team.

Even so: "I do feel Dany is one of the most talented drivers I’ve ever raced against,” Sainz told Motorsport.com.

“When he left F1, I don’t know why, I had this feeling that he one day he would make it back.

“I actually told my manager, I told my dad: ‘I have this feeling that this guy is not over yet, that he is going to come back’."

The Spaniard's own career took an unexpected path, heading to Renault from the Japanese Grand Prix where has been since but will now jump ship to McLaren for next season.

Also Read:

• Buemi the latest driver linked to a Toro Rosso seat in 2019
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Focusing back on Kvyat, who has spent this year in the Ferrari development program, Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko recently also talked up the prospect of a return, believing the year or so since his exit has been beneficial.

“I would say he is more mature," he said. "But we are not in a hurry with Toro Rosso. We will solve our driver problems. We have a big list of names, and we’ll see.”

Charles Leclerc will be making the move to Ferrari in 2019 replacing Kimi Raikkonen, who will return to Sauber on a two-year deal it has been confirmed.

The announcement follows days of speculation which began over the Italian Grand Prix weekend when it emerged the new bosses at the Scuderia wanted to retain the Finn for one more year but were tied by a contract promoting Leclerc which was signed by former chairman Sergio Marchionne.

As rumours of an announcement last Thursday came and past without occurring, it was then suggested Ferrari had come to an arrangement to keep the Monegasque at Sauber for one more year but on a higher salary but now all that has been put to bed.

Leclerc has impressed in his rookie season at the Swiss team with a run of five points finishes in six races from Baku, which ultimately led to the decision by Marchionne to promote him, although since Austria he has failed to finish on three occasions without scoring a point.

For Raikkonen though, his move back to Sauber marks a return to where it all started in 2001 and confirming the news he alluded to that on an Instagram post.

"Guess who’s back?! Next two years with @sauberf1team ahead! Feels extremely good to go back where it all began!"

Confirming his departure from Ferrari, where he has raced for a combined eight years over two spells, the Italian team thanked the 38-year-old for his service.

Scuderia Ferrari has announced that Kimi Raikkonen will step down from his current role at the end of the 2018 season.

"During these years, Kimi’s contribution to the team, both as a driver and on account of his human qualities, has been fundamental," a statement read.

"He played a decisive role in the team’s growth and was, at the same time, always a great team player.

"As a world champion for Scuderia Ferrari, he will always be part of the team’s history and family. We thank Kimi for all of this and wish him and his family a prosperous future."

Leclerc official confirmation and first comments are still pending at the time of writing.

Future McLaren driver Lando Norris admits his sympathy for Stoffel Vandoorne, believing the Belgian was a victim of circumstances during his career.

Considered one of the hottest future prospects when finally getting his opportunity in Formula 1 at the beginning of last year, Vandoorne has struggled to grasp it going up against Fernando Alonso in an uncompetitive car.

Often finding himself near if not at the bottom of the timesheets, it was confirmed after Monza that the 26-year-old would be ousted with the 18-year-old current F2 driver stepping up.

"Stoff I rate as a pretty damn good driver, probably higher than most other drivers on the grid," said Norris earlier this week.

"But I think getting put against Fernando, going into F1 when McLaren are probably at their worst ever, it’s not easy going from championships and always challenging for the win.

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"Going into a category where there’s so many good drivers out of how many drivers and people there are in the world, getting down to 20 drivers, they’re all pretty damn good," he added.

"I think it’s just an unlucky circumstance basically that he was thrown in probably at the deepest end possible."

As for the expectations McLaren has of Norris when entering F1 fully next year, CEO Zak Brown sees little reason to be concerned.

“He’s very mature for his age in the racing environment. He’s quite relaxed, you don’t see him get nervous, I don’t see any anxiety out of him," the American said.

“The way I saw him do free practice on in Monza, his build-up to that was kind of no different than I’d seen in Formula 3.

“I think he’s got a really good temperament for Formula 1. What that tells me is I don’t think he’ll be rattled easily by adversity which no doubt he will have at some point.”