The speculation surrounding Esteban Ocon's future at Force India has been turned up with COO Otmar Szafnauer willing to entertain a Renault approach for the Frenchman.

Links have been between Ocon and the French manufacturer over the seat currently held by Carlos Sainz amid talk that Lance Stroll is set to move to the Silverstone-based team for 2019 as part of a takeover of the squad by father Lawrence.

Though the 21-year-old does have prior experience with Renault, having been reserve driver before switching to Manor mid-way through 2016, it is thought any such deal would have to get the blessing of Mercedes, where Esteban is a junior driver.

"It’s safe to say that we would have to release him if circumstances made it the best thing for us to do, we’d have to look at it," Szafnauer told Motorsport.com.

"We like Esteban and he’s done a great job for us. At the end of the day, it’s our call. If Renault want to pay a bunch of money, I’ll consider it!”

The problem is, with Mercedes and Ocon still eyeing a future together, switching to a rival manufacturer would be complicated.

“We don’t know. We can’t comment. It’s tricky, the situation," motorsport boss Toto Wolff admitted.

Others believe a Stroll buyout could spell trouble for Sergio Perez's future, as his Mexican backing is currently essential to Force India.

The COO though was keeping his cards close to his chest.

“It’s too early. It’s genuinely all wide open," he insisted. "The time frame is to start speaking with some of his backers and supporters on what they want to do next year.

"It’s usually around the Mexican Grand Prix that we face that, so it’s way premature for Checo."

Hopes for a first Formula 1 Grand Prix in Miami next year have been put on hold until 2020 amid "complicated negotiations", Liberty Media confirmed on Monday.

Plans for a second race in America have been high on the new owners' agenda since taking over from Bernie Ecclestone at the beginning of last year, with the Floridian city giving the green light for talks to take place back in May.

However, in the face of opposition from residents, a final meeting this week has been postponed to agree to a race contract and now commercial director Sean Bratches admits time has run out to organise a race for the proposed October 2019 date.

“In the last few months we have worked diligently alongside our promoter Stephen Ross of RSE Ventures, the City of Miami and Miami Dade County, to realise our ambition to bring a Formula 1 Grand Prix to Miami,” the Liberty chief said in a statement.

“We have made significant progress. However, these are complicated negotiations.

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“There was always a point by which delivering the best possible wheel-to-wheel racing experience for our fans, drivers and teams wouldn’t be possible in the time available. We have now reached that point as far as racing in Miami in 2019 is concerned," Bratches added.

“However, we are taking a long-term view and as a result, we have decided, in consultation with the Miami authorities, to postpone sign-off until later in the summer, with the aim of running the first Formula 1 Miami Grand Prix in the 2020 season.”

A street event ahead of the US Grand Prix in Austin will still go ahead but, for many, this will bring back memories of the proposed race in New Jersey on the streets of Port Imperial which was set for 2011 before later collapsing.

With this past weekend's race in Germany also set to remain a biannual event at Hockenheim, the absence of Miami means the calendar could well return back to 20 events next year.

Red Bull have indicated that Daniel Ricciardo should not be facing more grid penalties at this weekend's Hungarian GP after his failure at Hockenheim.

The Australian took a 20-place grid drop in Germany for taking on three new engine components which exceeded his permitted allocation for the season only to pull over during the race after reporting "sick" noises and a loss of power.

That has prompted fears that should the cause be linked to one of the new parts Ricciardo may take another penalty in Budapest, a race Red Bull aim to win, but a team spokesman looked to quell questions.

The part will be "replaced with one from our quota", according to the BBC, though information on which element it was remains unconfirmed.

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At the same time, there is also talk of more unhappiness between Red Bull and Renault at the French manufacturer not supplying an entirely new engine to the 29-year-old last weekend.

"There was no reason to change the ICE [internal combustion engine], at the time," Renault Sport managing director Cyril Abiteboul told Autosport.

"First, we are really focused on 'spec C', and we are in between two specs and it's better to try and wait for spec C availability.

"Secondly there was enough mileage available on that engine and another previous engine in order to make it to the spec C. There was enough mileage from the engines already in the pool to cover the rest of the season with those plus a Spec C."

The third specification engine is expected to be ready for the Belgian Grand Prix after the summer break.

Nico Rosberg and Max Verstappen have offered differing views on the potential effect Sebastian Vettel's mistake at the German Grand Prix could have going forward.

The Ferrari driver skidded off while leading at the Sachskurve in damp conditions as rain showers caused chaos during Sunday's race at Hockenheim, allowing Lewis Hamilton to come through the field from 14th and take an unlikely victory.

That led to a big swing in the championship as the Mercedes driver went from facing a likely 20-point deficit to his main rival in the standings to a 17-point advantage ahead of this weekend's race in Hungary.

“I think he’s going to remember that as one of the darkest moments of his whole career,” Rosberg suggested in a post-race blog.

“In front of his home crowd here with such a chance to get a huge points haul over Lewis, he puts it away like that. Such a big mistake – he threw it away."

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The 32-year-old former champion also believes the place that Vettel went off shows he was pushing too hard.

“He could have gone a little bit slower and taken it easy, but he chucked it into the wall," he said.

“That’s the one corner where there’s no margin for error, so in that corner, you’ve got to take even more reserves, and he didn’t. He went over the edge.”

Having had to deal with the conditions himself, however, Verstappen, who rarely sees eye-to-eye with the German, defended the four-time world champion.

“It was super tricky out there, especially in that corner. Even if you experience the slightest lock up there, you immediately go off,” the Red Bull driver said.

“So things like this can happen. It could have happened to someone else just as easily.

“You just try to find good grip everywhere, but you don’t want to take too many risks because you already have some good points in the bag,” the 20-year-old added.

“You don’t want to risk losing those by going off. Dealing with that risk is very difficult. If you lock up for just a moment, you fly off the track.”

Lewis Hamilton has claimed he took inspiration from the pockets of supporters he had within a Hockenheim crowd that largely booed him prior to the German Grand Prix.

The Briton admitted it was a rollercoaster weekend in terms of emotions from the low of qualifying to the high of taking victory and even in between as the large race-day crowd, mostly made up of Max Verstappen and Sebastian Vettel fans made their feelings known.

Commenting on the reaction he received, Hamilton compared it to that all the drivers had gotten at Silverstone two weeks prior.

"When you come to England, going around I don't remember any of the fans booing. We've got quite a good group of fans in England," he told Autosport. "When I came here, there was a lot of booing.

"The weird thing is that I was really happy about it. It was unusual. It's weird that I'm still happy.

"It was because I kept seeing individually, a couple of different British flags in amongst a hundred or a thousand [others]. It was a sea of red and then you've got a British flag in there.

"It was just so positive for me. That's why I said at the end, that love conquers all."

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Before the weekend, some wondered if Hamilton would look for a little payback on Vettel for his radio jibe after winning the British Grand Prix, hailing victory at Lewis' home race and just down the road from Mercedes' Brackley base.

"Honestly, I don't need to search for a boost or energy from other people's business. I just focus on mine," he said.

"I'm just focused on trying to be the best I can be in myself because the best me - if I'm my best and my higher self - I feel like I'm able to drive like I was able to today, regardless of all the people and who else is around doing whatever they are doing.

"I did say when I came here that you can see things and they can often be maybe a sign of weakness.

"As I said, if we just kept our heads down, we knew this weekend Ferrari were going to be quick. I'm just really proud of my guys as well, not getting phased by this fight that we're having."

Mercedes motorsport boss Toto Wolff has brushed off claims the use of team orders during the German Grand Prix signifies Valtteri Bottas as No.2 to Lewis Hamilton.

The Finn tried to make a move on his teammate in the first lap after the Safety Car period, caused by the off for Sebastian Vettel, but after unsuccessful attempts at the hairpin and Turn 8, was given the order to hold station until the end.

While Valtteri accepted the reasons for that decision, naturally many believe it was proof that the 28-year-old is simply now playing a support role to the four-time world champion.

“No, absolutely not,” he declared in response. “If it would have been the other way around with Valtteri in the lead and Lewis second we would have made the same call.

“Identical call. It was about bringing it home, we respected who was in the front.”

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The Austrian tried to reiterate his point by once again going over the policy in place at Mercedes when it comes to favouring a single driver in the championship.

“We’ve always said that if we get to the last quarter of the championship with one of the drivers having a big advantage, then we could take some unpopular measures, but the time for this has not yet come," he said.

“Today we used team tactics so that both cars were guaranteed to finish. As I said, if Valtteri had been leading, we would have made the decision in his favour.”

Just days after being replaced as Fiat CEO and Ferrari chairman, Sergio Marchionne has died as a result of the complications suffered after recent shoulder surgery.

Over the weekend, the Italian-Canadian, who revived the Italian carmaker by pioneering a merger with Chrysler and has helped Ferrari's Formula 1 team turnaround their form in recent years, was relieved of his duties due to health problems.

Jeep CEO Mike Manley is set to take over at Fiat while company heir John Elkann has been named chairman at Ferrari with Louis Carey Camilleri recommended for CEO.

Announcing the news his Marchionne's passing on Wednesday, Elkann said: "Unfortunately, what we feared has come to pass. Sergio Marchionne, man and friend, is gone.

"My family and I will always be grateful for what he has done."

Marchionne made quite an impression on F1 during his time at Ferrari, taking an aggressive stance against owners Liberty Media and threatening to pull the Italian brand out of the sport over proposals forward for 2021.

At the same time though, he also initiated the return of Alfa Romeo to the grid, as technical partner and title sponsor at Sauber.

During the German Grand Prix weekend, Mercedes CEO Dieter Zetsche paid tribute to Marchionne and also spoke of the impact of his departure.

"I have always worked together well with Sergio, even throughout our battles," he told the Ansa news agency.

"I don't know what will happen now, because we must start over. I have no doubt that I will continue to have good relations as I did with Sergio.

"It is clear, however, that we had reached certain fixed points on which we could work together. This will no longer be possible," he added.

"The future is a big question mark."

It was very much a case of the tale of two Toro Rosso's at the German Grand Prix as Brendon Hartley's experience shined through in tricky conditions at Hockenheim.

The Kiwi, starting 16th, made the most of his years competing in endurance racing to read the weather and decide not to pit for intermediates during the brief rain showers with one decision coming from the driver and another by the team.

At the chequered flag, Hartley may have crossed the finish line 11th but a penalty for Carlos Sainz moved him up into just his second points result of the season.

Explaining what happened as the rain began to fall, he said: “The lap they called me to come in, it was still going to be much quicker on slicks as long as I could survive in Turn 6. If there was a downpour it was absolutely the wrong decision.

“I looked at the sky. I didn’t go against the team, I just asked the question, ‘OK, I think I can do one more lap’. There was good communication, it was teamwork.”

That would work as several drivers took the gamble only to pit again a few laps later but the roles were reversed when a second shower hit the circuit.

“There was one lap in Turn 2 it got really wet. I said ‘guys I think we have to box the next lap’. I think it was two laps before [Sebastian] Vettel went off,” he continued.

“But the team gave me information that it wasn’t going to get any worse and it was going to get better. They had this information, so initially, I said let’s stay out, and then when I said I think we have to box now, they said ‘no we’re good to stay out’.”

Compare to the next garage where Pierre Gasly did listen to his team's instruction to pit when the first downpour hit and, bizarrely, would have the full wets fitted despite rain at just one corner.

"I didn’t really expect them to put the [full] wet," the Frenchman said.

“They put them on and I was like, OK, let’s try. They have the radar and of course, you don’t have this information in the car. I thought probably it’s going to work out.

“We stayed out for three laps, the tyres were completely overheating, it was impossible. It could not even feel how slippery it was with the wet on the dry we were just sliding everywhere.

"We saw it didn’t work so we came back to the dry tyres and two laps later the rain was much more intense," he added.

“We were more or less for 20 laps on the opposite tyres we would have needed.”

Speculation that Lance Stroll is to join Force India in 2019 has taken a big step with reports in Germany his father Lawrence is now poised to buy the Silverstone-based team.

The squad, owned by embattled entrepreneur Vijay Mallya, has been for sale for some time with British energy drinks company Rich Energy linked to a takeover, however, as Williams struggle for competitiveness, the billionaire fashion mogul is set to step in with Force India poised for bankruptcy.

That will undoubtedly result in his son moving for next season with rumours suggesting Esteban Ocon is to return to Renault and Carlos Sainz to McLaren, replacing Stoffel Vandoorne or an exiting Fernando Alonso.

This season has been more of a struggle for Force India, with the team slipping back in the midfield after finishing fourth each of the past two seasons.

Despite that, they still only sit one place lower in fifth with a double points finish at Hockenheim moving them level on points with Haas.

Even so, COO Otmar Szafnauer admits the financial situation is the main hurdle the team is facing as they look to keep pace with those around them.

“To win a development race you need the resources to be able to develop,” he told Autosport. “We are suffering, truth be told.

“If we had more resources, both financial and internal manufacturing, we’d have parts on the car quicker. And in a development race, that hurts you."

While nothing is yet official regarding Stroll's takeover, it is considered a matter of when not if the Canadian will make his move and bring Mallya's 10-year F1 foray to a close.

Nico Hulkenberg compared the confusion during the mid-race rain showers at the German Grand Prix to that at the memorable Brazilian race back in 2012.

That year at Interlagos, the then-Force India driver could well have won as he led for a good number of laps before colliding with Lewis Hamilton and taking both drivers out.

At Hockenheim though, it was a different story as he benefited from Esteban Ocon and Marcus Ericsson taking themselves off to make up two places and would later move up ahead of the Haas cars as he realised his error in switching to intermediates more quickly.

The result would be a fifth-place finish, in the 'best of the rest' position, leaving the Renault man delighted.

“Yeah, very happy. First half, obviously, was standard, a little bit boring race but then once the rain hit us, it unfolded nicely,” Hulkenberg said.

“It was getting pretty tricky out there, trying to keep it on the road but that is where we made some gains. I am very happy with the outcome.

“Good points, I think the best finish of the season and at the home race, I couldn’t ask for much more. A little bit more crazy conditions would have been nice but I will take this too.”

With such a fine margin between staying on slicks or switching to the wet compound, as some parts of the circuit became wetter than others, the 31-year-old admits it was tough to know what call to make.

“Yeah, it is dynamic. It reminded me a lot of Brazil 2012 where it was a similar thing where you were sort of, ‘yeah I am pitting, no wait I am staying out’,” he added.

“It was that that kind of reminded me a lot about this. We made the right decisions and that is why we deserved the P5 today.”