Force India COO Otmar Szafnauer believes Formula 1 can look forward to a four-team battle to finish 'best of the rest' in fourth in the constructors' championship in 2018.

Last year, the Silverstone based outfit pushed on from their best ever result in 2016 and repeated it in more dominant fashion, finishing over 100 points clear of Williams with 16 double points results in 20 races.

However, with key personnel now at Grove and two multi-championship winning teams looking to return to the top, Szafnauer admits a third straight year atop the midfield is going to be very difficult.

“With McLaren and their new engine partner in Renault making strides and Renault themselves pouring even more resources in and working hard to catch up, as well as Williams with Paddy Lowe and their new head of aero [Dirk de Beer], it will be difficult for us to beat all three of those teams," he told Racer.

Rather than thinking defensively, however, the American believes Force India's best hope is to aim even higher and look to do what they didn't manage in 2017.

“For us, it would be great if we could develop the car to such a point where we’ve got good potential for a few podiums,” Szafnauer claimed.

"If we achieve that and come closer to third but maintain fourth, I think that would be an objective that would be a big success for Force India."

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McLaren is considered the favourite by many to potentially make the big three into a top four thanks to Renault power and a chassis which they believe is a match for Red Bull.

Talking to Autosport about how they can achieve the latter, technical director Tim Goss, explained: “So much of producing a great F1 car these days is giving the driver a car that they can exploit, there is no point in giving them a car with very peaky performance.

“What we are trying to do is give the driver something that operates very well over a broad operating envelope.”

Daniel Ricciardo has claimed the "challenge" of staying ahead of Max Verstappen makes him the best teammate the Australian has had.

The two Red Bull pilots continued to push each other last season with Ricciardo finishing ahead of the Dutchman in the drivers' standings but lost the qualifying battle, the first time he has done so in F1, and scored one less win.

Their internal fight has extra significance in 2018 with the 27-year-old considering his future but with Verstappen only going to improve, the 'Honey Badger' insists he welcomes the competition.

"I think he's the first driver who can challenge me," he told Motorsport.com.  "I know if I made a little mistake in the past, maybe I could end up ahead still, now if I make a mistake, he's in front.

"It's the same if he doesn't quite put a perfect lap together - I'm in front, this is why I would say he's the better teammate," he added. "We've both raised our game. We can't afford to put a wheel wrong."

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By making the claim, Ricciardo is putting Verstappen ahead of four-time champion Sebastian Vettel, who he partnered in 2014, that year, however, the German struggled as Red Bull's domination ended and the man from Perth looked to make his mark.

Four years on, the Milton Keynes outfit continues to be close but not close enough in terms of fighting for wins and the championship but the five-time Grand Prix winner does think 2018 can be different.

"I believe this year we will close the gap," he predicted. "Is it enough to fight for a title? I think we can certainly get close."

Mercedes is keen to find out if the unpredictability nature of their 2017 car, which led to the 'diva' nickname, has been tamed with their latest design, the W09.

Last year, problems with the softer Pirelli compounds and on high downforce circuits allowed Ferrari and Red Bull to be more competitive but the strength of the engine proved decisive in what was the closest season in the hybrid era.

Ways of optimising the weaknesses were developed, though did not eradicate them but armed with the knowledge to do so with the 2018 car, motorsport boss Toto Wolff is confident progress has been made.

"We have had a good winter, I would say. No real drama, but there is always stress within the organisation at this time of year," he said, with the car being launched on February 22nd.

"It's never going completely seamlessly or smoothly because you are trying to push the boundaries, making the cars as light as possible and - eventually - as quick as possible," the Austrian added.

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Indeed, Wolff acknowledged that Mercedes won't find out for sure until they hit the track later this month but also insisted the target wasn't for wholesale changes.

"Some of the character traits from a diva, we like," he pointed out. "You need to be careful not to dump the things that actually work on the car, just to remedy the difficulties the car showed.

"We analysed it properly and when we go testing in a month's time, we will see if the car is a little bit better behaved or not."

Lance Stroll has rejected claims his first Formula 1 teammate Felipe Massa played a mentor role during his rookie season at Williams last season.

Having a driver with the experience of the Brazilian alongside the Canadian teenager was crucial in their decision to allow Valtteri Bottas to join Mercedes a year ago, with the Grove-based team trusting Massa to lead them forward.

However, the former European F3 champion has played down the influence Felipe had on him during his first year, believing their relationship was no different to any he had previously had.

“I don’t think I had any guidance from him last year, whatsoever,” Stroll told Motorsport.com.

“He was busy trying to drive as fast as he could, and I was trying to drive as fast as I could. That was it. There was nothing more to it than that."

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Despite some tough races, stand out weekends in Baku and Monza helped the 19-year-old in finishing just three points behind the newly retired veteran in the drivers' championship.

And Stroll would suggest his performances wouldn't have been any different if Massa helped him or not.

“I don’t know why people seem to think there was a coach or a mentor thing going on. There wasn’t; it was just him doing his job and me doing mine, and whoever did it better finished ahead,"  he claimed.

“Whether my teammate is someone with 15 years’ experience or someone of one year's experience, my approach doesn’t change.”

This season is set to be a major test for Stroll with some still doubting his ability and now another young charger in Sergey Sirotkin across the garage, that partnership is also being questioned by some, including reserve driver Paul di Resta.

“It’s a risky decision, the driver line-up, in the experience the guys have got. Obviously, Lance has got a year under his belt, Sirotkin coming in," the Scot told Racer.

“The key things for me is already you’ve got McLaren who are a key championship contender and Renault as a constructor should be able to beat somebody like Williams. Where does that fall within where you are in keeping the momentum?

“Obviously as the years go on, the experience of having a Mercedes engine diminishes a bit, so they’ve got a tough ask.”

Further confrontation between Ferrari and Formula 1 owners Liberty Media is "inevitable" as the Scuderia's privileges are targeted, McLaren executive director Zak Brown has claimed.

Ferrari chairman Sergio Marchionne has issued a threat to pull the Italian team out of the sport after 2020, believing the proposed engine changes for 2021, which call for some standardisation of parts, will take F1 in the wrong direction.

However, that is just the first area where the two sides have disagreements with the issue of financial benefits, notably Ferrari's $100m bonus payment, likely to be an even more toxic topic for negotiation as Liberty look to equalise the revenue distribution between the 10 teams.

"A confrontation between Ferrari and Liberty is inevitable," Brown told Spain's AS newspaper.

"Ferrari wants to protect the money they receive because they receive a disproportionate amount.

We all recognise that Ferrari as a team has added more value to the sport than anyone and should be rewarded accordingly.

"But I think it is very unbalanced, and that Liberty only wants and has to do the best for the sport," he added.

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The American entrepreneur has been one of the most supportive allies to the new F1 leadership, who reached their first year in charge last month, and he continued that backing by insisting teams should be more cooperative in the running of the sport.

"F1 is a fast-moving, impatient and unforgiving sport but the teams can’t rely solely on Liberty and F1 to solve all the problems," the McLaren boss claimed.

"Yes, there are several challenges but the key is to turn these into opportunities."

McLaren racing director Eric Boullier admits he feared a potential early exit for Fernando Alonso would be the catalyst to the British team's collapse.

A soon-to-be-released Amazon documentary named 'Grand Prix Driver' was behind the scenes at McLaren when the full extent of Honda's engine problems last year was revealed at the pre-season tests in Barcelona.

It would be the start of another troubled year between the two parties, which ultimately ended in their divorce being announced in September, and Boullier was sure the double world champion's patience would run out.

"After this testing, Fernando is quite pissed off," he said almost a year ago, speaking for the film. "He is clearly saying I may reconsider my position to race because I'm not going to survive another year like this.

"He will not stay. I am a 100 percent certain he will not stay..."

Considering the possible consequences of Alonso calling it quits, the Frenchman added: "My main worry at this time is not to have the team collapsing. I know the domino effect as well, you know. It takes years to build an F1 team but you can kill it in six months.

"In this business, you know how it works," he claimed. "When you are weak, people they come, they just poach who they want."

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As it is now, a Renault engine deal has brought new hope to McLaren with the 36-year-old signing on for at least one more year, with that, expectations are high that Alonso will be back battling with the best on the grid.

“I can’t wait to see Fernando mixing it up with Lewis [Hamilton] and being in a race-car that is capable of being a good race-car," executive director Zak Brown claimed.

“It was great to see in Mexico, a situation where he could race hard because we were a little more competitive, that tussle with Lewis. I hope we see more of that and at the front end of the field.”

Felipe Massa is hoping a change at the top of Brazilian motorsport can help address the lack of top racing drivers coming through the ranks.

2018 will mark the first time since 1969 that the South American country will not have a driver on the Formula 1 grid, following Massa's retirement at the end of last year with only one Brazilian, Sergio Sette Camara, competing in F2 in 2017.

The future of the country's Grand Prix at Interlagos is also uncertain, with finances and concerns over security raised after a number of incidents at the event last November and the former Williams and Ferrari driver admits it is a tough time.

"My country is an integral part of F1 with drivers like Senna, Piquet and Fittipaldi and I am honoured to have been a part of that," the 37-year-old told Auto Hebdo.

"What worries me is that there is no sign that another driver will come anytime soon. The economic situation in Brazil plays a role, but it is not the only problem.

"There is nothing that prepares them to go from karting to single-seaters and no national series that can prepare them for Europe," he added.

"Today, when I see F4 in many countries, I think Brazil needs such a championship."

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Soon after retiring from F1, Massa was announced as the new president of the FIA's karting federation, the CIK, but mere days later was forced to apologise after a brawl broke out involving a driver from his own team at an endurance event in Brazil.

The Brazilian motorsport association is also undergoing changes with a new president of its own.

"I really hope he will give a new impetus to do something for young people," the 13-time Grand Prix winner concluded.

Mercedes motorsport boss Toto Wolff is confident a new deal with world champion Lewis Hamilton will be signed claiming it is "a matter of time".

The Briton is entering the final year of his current contract with the German manufacturer, with whom he has claimed the title in three of the last four seasons, and has already indicated his intentions to stay on.

At the same time, however, talk is never far away of Hamilton calling time on his F1 career with his ambitions away from the sport well known, but Wolff is confident he will remain committed for now.

“Lewis has become such an important pillar within the team that it is a no-brainer that we continue with each other,” he claimed in a Q&A released by the team.

“The discussions are ongoing in a very positive mindset and it’s just a matter of time when we seal it and put a signature to the document.”

The 33-year-old has also claimed the emergence of Max Verstappen and the rivalry with Sebastian Vettel are re-energising his passion for racing, which is why he will sign a new deal.

In 2018, Hamilton looks to match Juan Manuel Fangio as a five-time champion,  joint second on the all-time list behind Michael Schumacher but his boss is expecting a tough fight to achieve it.

"All the points go back to zero,” said Wolff, offering his feelings on the year ahead. “We are extremely happy and proud of the four double titles but it isn’t a guarantee that we’ll get it a fifth time.

“The mindset in the organisation is to stay humble of your own achievements but motivated and energised and hopefully try to win races again in order to fight for the title.”

Motorsport boss Toto Wolff has claimed young Mercedes protege Esteban Ocon must beat Force India teammate Sergio Perez to prove his development from last year.

The Frenchman became known for his 'Oconsistency' in 2017, scoring points in all but two of the 20 races yet he would still finish 13 points behind his Mexican partner in the drivers' standings as the Silverstone outfit dominated the midfield.

As a member of Mercedes' young driver program, some are already wondering if the 21-year-old could be an option for the works team in 2019 - with Valtteri Bottas on a one-year deal - but Wolff is taking his progress one year at a time.

"Esteban performed very well against a very strong Sergio Perez," he was quoted by Autosport.

"[In 2018] he has to take the next step and improve this performance, he is incredibly consistent, makes few mistakes and has great speed but he will have to develop further in this respect and outperform Perez."

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The battle between the two Force India drivers is likely to be one of the closest followed after a sometimes explosive relationship last season which saw Ocon and Perez come to blows on several occasions.

Esteban revealed he actually spoke to Wolff about the situation with his teammate, which resulted in Force India bosses implementing team orders, and the Austrian admits he too was discouraged by what occurred.

"What bothers us are these intra-team rivalries that end with two damaged cars," he commented. "This applies not only to Esteban but also to 'Checo' [Perez]. As a team boss, I'm so annoyed by that."

The team orders are set to be dropped for 2018 with COO Otmar Szafnauer believing both men have learnt their lessons from last year.

The decision to drop Formula 1's tradition of grid girls has drawn a mixed reaction from a number of figures with criticising Liberty Media.

F1 bosses cited changes in society as the reason to end the use of models in front of each car before each race, however, many former grid girls have issued rebuttals, pointing out they enjoyed their work and will now lose out because of the decision.

Former CEO Bernie Ecclestone and Mercedes non-executive chairman Niki Lauda have also voiced their unhappiness, with the Austrian believing the opposite message is being sent.

“This is a decision against women,” he was quoted by PlanetF1. “Men have made the decision over the heads of women. This is not doing any favours to F1 and especially not for women.

“How stupid can they be? I hope there is a way to reverse the decision. I wouldn’t mind seeing grid boys next to grid girls. Why not?”

One of the most prominent female figures in the paddock, Williams deputy team boss Claire Williams, has backed the decision, however.

"We have to move with the times," she claimed, talking to the BBC. "[We need to] focus on further improvements that can be made to keep the sport growing and moving forward."

When Susie Wolff became the first female to drive in an official Grand Prix weekend in 22 years in 2014, the debate over the lack of female drivers also picked up, with a proposal for an all women's championship brought up.

Now actively working to increase female participation in motorsport, the Scot also believed the end of grid girls was a step in the right direction.

"I believe so," she said. "Let's take the successful women in the sport and make role models out of them to inspire others.

"Let's get school girls around an F1 show car and allow them to dream.," she added hoping such a move would "increase the talent pool of girls and women entering the sport."