Mercedes are reportedly eyeing a potential seat at Williams for their young British driver George Russell in 2019, according to The Times.

The 20-year-old is currently competing in Formula 2 having won the GP3 championship last year and is on top again in the penultimate step of the motorsport ladder, leading McLaren junior Lando Norris by 12 points.

If he was to go on and clinch the title in Abu Dhabi he would mimic the achievement of now Sauber driver Charles Leclerc in winning the two junior categories at the first attempt in consecutive years.

That would make a promotion to F1 thoroughly well deserved and as rumours link Lance Stroll to Force India that would open the path for Russell with Mercedes holding some weight as the engine supplier.

“George is doing a great job this year in F2, leading the championship right now in spite of some setbacks, and there’s lots of interest in him for all the right reasons,” Mercedes boss Toto Wolff said.

“We don’t have free seats at Mercedes in the foreseeable future but he is one of our young guys, and we will be looking at all options for how he could make the step to F1 for next year.”

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Williams' second driver Sergey Sirotkin admits he also isn't sure what his future holds, as the only driver this season yet to score a point after 12 races.

“No one has a guarantee in F1,” the Russian said. “At the same time and especially in our situation, the worst thing you can do is start thinking about the next season.

“I have a job to do, I know how to do it and I know what the team expects of me."

This week, Russell was back in the W09 at the post-GP test at the Hungaroring, setting a new unofficial lap record of 1m15.575s on the Hypersoft tyre on Wednesday.

While for some the summer break started on Sunday, for others two days of testing at the Hungaroring stand between them and a likely trip to the beach.

Tuesday has seen the commencement of that post-Grand Prix test with Williams and Force India offering a first look at the simplified 2019 specification front wing on the opening morning.

Designed to help drivers follow the car ahead more closely, the design sees a lot of the swoops on the endplates and upper elements completely removed while underneath, the number of strakes are limited to just two.

The new wing is also 200mm wider and 25mm deeper and is part of a raft of changes for next year which includes wider and deeper rear wings and a new location for bargeboards, all with the aim of making the cars less sensitive to turbulent air.

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• Brawn confident all uncertainties over 2019 aero rules have been resolved
• GPDA chairman Wurz hopes 2019 changes a first step towards end of DRS

Some scepticism remains over how effective the changes will be, however, with the designers keen to gain real on-track data as focus shifts more to next year it will be interesting to see what the feedback will be.

Renault Sport managing director Cyril Abiteboul has revealed concerns over Force India becoming closely aligned with Mercedes are why he has blocked an effort by Liberty to aid the British team.

Last Friday, following a legal claim brought by driver Sergio Perez and joined by Mercedes, the Silverstone-based outfit went into administration, with efforts now underway to find a new buyer during the summer break.

However, on Monday, it emerged three teams, with Williams and McLaren the other two, were opposing an idea by CEO Chase Carey which would allow Force India to keep their prize money and revenue income even if they change the name.

For Renault, the possibility for the squad to follow Haas and Sauber in becoming 'B-teams', in their case with Ferrari, is the only reason.

“That’s not the type of F1 we like,” Abiteboul was quoted by PlanetF1.

“We are a little bit afraid that such a construction would make it impossible for anyone who is not enjoying the benefit of a master team or slave team to be competitive at their own level.

“We start to see some glimpses of that today in certain aspects of the grid or the development of the chassis or engine.

“We need to make sure it does not become a necessity, otherwise our model does not work and our involvement can’t be sustainable.”

One guarantee the French manufacturer has made, however, is their current position would not stand between Force India and a new owner.

“The answer is no because we want to save the jobs," he stated. "But we want to have the reassurance required before we have to vote that this will not be the case.”

Some reassurance has come from Mercedes motorsport boss Toto Wolff who insists a Haas/Ferrari style relationship is not want his company wants.

“We don’t like the concept of B-teams in Formula 1,” he told BBC Sport.

“We’d rather not have this structure because it provides advantages to both teams, and competitive advantages, you could argue. We are not buying Force India and we would rather not have the concept of a B-team.

“I understand there are questions from Cyril and others over what is the future of F1 if big teams buy smaller teams, which I completely respect. I completely share those thoughts and I don’t think it is the right way forward.

"We need to find a solution to how the small teams can benefit from shared infrastructure but at the same time not gain an advantage that is currently possible."

The Austrian did admit, however, that the German manufacturer is involved in the process of finding a new owner.

“We have held discussions with every potential buyer to my knowledge and the most important thing is someone with the right funds buys the team. But we are not orchestrating it. It is in the hands of the administrator," he said.

“It needs to be the best outcome for the creditors of the team and that is to sell for the best financial outcome.”

Marcus Ericsson didn't have any sympathy for Kimi Raikkonen after his drinks problem in Hungary, revealing he hasn't raced with a bottle for two years.

The Finn was heard complaining over the radio about not being able to get a drink after his Ferrari team forgot to connect the straw that feeds inside the helmet to the bottle inside the car.

That certainly wasn't ideal in conditions well over 30 degrees in the air and upwards of 60 inside the cockpit, levels only really matched by the hottest races in Bahrain and Singapore.

However, for the fellow Scandinavian, it was just another day on the job.

“Haven’t had a drink system installed for over 2 years (including today),” he wrote on Twitter replying to a tweet from journalist Will Buxton.

“It weighs around 1.5 kg. So we choose not to use it because of the weight. Just one of the reasons why we should have the same weight for all drivers."

Ericsson is one of the taller drivers on the grid and, therefore, one of the heaviest and his response refers to a problem F1 has had for several years with teams struggling to stay close to the permitted minimum weight of a car, which is 733kg.

That figure does also include the driver, which is why every last kilo the taller ones can lose is important, however, from 2019, 80kg of the 740kg minimum will be allocated for the driver and ballast used to bring smaller drivers upto that number.

Daniel Ricciardo is certain a new deal with Red Bull will be done and made official by the Belgian Grand Prix later this month.

The Australian's future has been one of the most closely followed stories of the year with speculation of moves elsewhere, however, after Mercedes confirmed their line-up in Germany and Ferrari ruled out signing him, staying put has been the most likely conclusion.

"It'll definitely be done by Spa," he said after completing a day behind the wheel of his Red Bull at the post-Hungarian GP test on Tuesday.

"Whether it gets announced over the break or at Spa [I'm not sure], but it's just a little bit of fine-tuning. It's all good. You will hear something soon I'm sure."

There were expectations it would be made official in Budapest but Ricciardo later admitted that was just an attempt to stop the questions.

Also Read:

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• Red Bull believe Ricciardo deal a formality after Hamilton announcement

The main factor the 29-year-old has been considering is whether the decision to use Honda engine in 2019 and beyond will allow Red Bull to remain competitive.

Pierre Gasly's sixth place in Hungary for Toro Rosso was a positive in that regard while Daniel's teammate Max Verstappen retired with another Renault problem.

After entering administration last Friday, the process of finding new owners for Force India could be hindered by opposition to a proposal by Formula 1 CEO Chase Carey.

Auto Motor und Sport has suggested Renault, Williams and McLaren are blocking a move which would allow the Silverstone-based team to retain their prize money and TV revenue even if the name should change, something that is usually only agreed between seasons.

If no agreement can be reached, the new owners would have to forego that payment, which could cost around $150m this season as well as potentially becoming ineligible for further payments in the coming years should a new company entirely be set-up.

McLaren and Williams' objections are reportedly linked to Liberty's future plans for budget caps and a restructuring of the revenue distribution model, with the aim of possibly trying to get concessions for their approval.

At Renault is believed their stance is in protest to the power of Mercedes and Ferrari and how they also use their customer teams for political gain.

The action began with legal action by driver Sergio Perez over a debt of £3m with Mercedes and other parties joining on.

Speaking about his decision to do so over the weekend, Perez insisted it was for the good of the team.

“I don’t really understand all the terms with lawyers and so on, but certainly, the bottom line of this is we either do this or the team will have gone bust. It’s what I got from the lawyers and from members of the team," he said.

“There are 400 people out there at risk, their jobs, families, team members. You cannot imagine. We are all aware of the situation that my friend Vijay [Mallya] is going through.

“I have gone through a very difficult moment emotionally more than mentally. For me, it’s been hard the position I’ve been put in. So yeah, I have to say, I’m not going through a good time at the moment.”

Mercedes motorsport boss Toto Wolff is also closely following the situation.

“A formal process has been started with administration and we have to wait and see who will bid for the assets,” he said, with billionaires Lawrence Stroll and Dmitry Mazepin linked, both of whom have race drivers for sons.

“We as Mercedes are interested spectators of the process and we would like to understand what the funding strategy from a potential new buyer is, how it could affect the collaboration between the two teams. We aren’t there yet.”

The Austrian remains confident, however, a resolution will be found.

“Now that the process has been kicked off by the administrator, there are many potential buyers with great interest, with deep pockets, [and] with an understanding of what kind of spending levels are needed in order to perform in F1," he claimed.

“It’s something that is positive for the team, and for all its employees, I would say."

Former Formula 1 driver Jolyon Palmer has suggested Valtteri Bottas didn't care if he made contact with Sebastian Vettel during their late tussle at the Hungarian GP.

The Finn played what Mercedes motorsport boss Toto Wolff described as a "wingman" role for teammate Lewis Hamilton in Budapest, holding off the Ferraris for as long as he could,

However, after opting to pit early to cover Kimi Raikkonen, degrading tyres allowed Vettel the chance to catch and finally pass on the approach to Turn 2 with the pair touching as Bottas braked late into the corner.

"It's fair to say Vettel arguably could have given Bottas more room on the inside as they headed to Turn 2," Palmer wrote in his post-race column for the BBC.

"Vettel did close the door to take the apex and could have been more cautious, but Bottas never should have tried to recover the position in the manner he did.

"I think it was desperation from Bottas - he wasn't fussed about crashing with Vettel at that point and put his car in a position where a crash was almost inevitable."

The merest hint that Valtteri was in some way willing to ruin his own race by hitting the Ferrari is interesting because that was the tone Mercedes took about the Scuderia when Raikkonen hit Hamilton on Lap 1 at Silverstone, with the latter calling it "interesting tactics".

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Palmer also admits it was a good thing that there were no repercussions for Vettel after the incident.

"For F1's sake it was good (and lucky) Vettel managed to continue unscathed - because if he had retired after that hit from Bottas, it could have put a real taint on what has been a breathtaking season so far," added the former Renault F1 driver.

"In the end, Vettel finished second and Bottas picked up damage - ultimately his comeuppance - and Vettel was magnanimous afterwards.

"If Vettel had retired, I think the inquisition from Ferrari and governing body the FIA would have been a deep one."

Renault Sport managing director Cyril Abiteboul has brushed off the latest tirade of negativity from Red Bull in the wake of Max Verstappen's failure during the Hungarian GP.

The Dutchman was forced to pull over after just five laps at the Hungaroring as an MGU-K problem resulted in the fourth engine-related retirement for the Milton Keynes outfit this season and third in four races.

Over the radio, the 20-year-old launched a sweary tirade, though would later apologise, while team boss Christian Horner accused Renault of supplying a sub-standard product that the Austrian company pays millions of pounds for.

The Briton also said he expected excuses from Abiteboul, but instead, the Frenchman was beyond trying to respond.

“Our bosses have stopped reading what Christian Horner is saying about us since 2015,” he told Autosport, with the relationship between the two parties continuing to deteriorate.

“It’s very clear that we don’t want to have any dealings with them any more. It’s very clear it’s done.

“They will have their engine partner that will be paying a helluva money to get their product on board, and I wish them good luck. I have nothing else to say.”

He was, of course, referring to Red Bull's decision to drop Renault at the end of the season and switch to Honda power from 2019.

As for an explanation as to why their customer team is struggling with so many engine issues, Abiteboul would lay the blame at Red Bull's door.

“We switched at Monaco to an improved MGU-K but Red Bull is not using it because it affects the way the power unit is packaged on their car," he claimed.

“The new MGU-K manages and contains the temperatures more effectively. There were no problems with our cars, but we cannot force Red Bull to go with it. It’s their decision.”

Bahrain is not among the circuits being considered to host Formula 1 testing next February, Williams technical chief Paddy Lowe has claimed.

Last week, there were murmurs that Liberty Media was willing to find a solution to allow all the teams to travel to the Middle East where weather conditions are much more favourable than in Europe.

Indeed, this year saw frigid temperatures and even snow hamper teams' testing plans in Barcelona with a new track surface at the Spanish Grand Prix venue an added frustration.

The issue is the significant cost of freight to Bahrain whereas in Spain teams can not only travel there easier but also fly parts in on a daily basis should they wish.

“I think during this week it’s become clear that there isn’t enough support to do it," Lowe told Autosport about the Bahrain idea. “I think it’s being discussed where exactly to go."

Concerns over weather have made F1's traditional test circuit a little less favourable with venues like Paul Ricard, Valencia and Portimao all possible options.

There is another which is also gaining more interest...

"Jerez is an option. I think it has been resurfaced, that’s why it’s in the frame," the Williams boss said. “There may be other places to consider but they would be the two most likely.

Fernando Alonso praised the decision of his McLaren team after strategy allowed him to claim eighth place on his birthday at the Hungarian Grand Prix.

After a tricky qualifying, which saw him just outside the top 10 in 11th, the Spaniard would look to make progress in the race and he would do so jumping up the order after running longer than most of the midfield cars around him.

His eventual result in eighth signalled the third time he has finished in that position in the past four races and offered the British team a nice boost entering the summer break.

“Yeah definitely, I enjoyed it and it is a happy Sunday and birthday for me,” Alonso said back in the paddock.

“Again, we struggled on Saturday, even with the mixed conditions but then on Sunday, we delivered the result and more points for the team.

“Anyway, I think it was a good and happy day, especially for the strategy. I think the pit wall really did an amazing job today, extending the first stint.”

Teammate Stoffel Vandoorne was also enjoying one of his stronger races, closely following the double world champion in ninth, only for disaster to strike with just under 20 laps to go.

“We were in a strong position, also with Stoffel, double points for McLaren, but unfortunately he had a gearbox problem," Alonso stated.

For the now 37-year-old, his next month is a little busier than the rest as he will return to his duties with Toyota in the WEC as he looks for a third straight win.

“I still have two weeks completely off now,” he said. "I don’t know what I will do in these weeks but yeah, I am looking forward to [the 6 Hours of] Silverstone.

“It is a fantastic circuit, and with an LMP1 car, it will fit quite well to that track.”