Fernando Alonso has suggested the thought of former McLaren teammate Lewis Hamilton becoming a four-time Formula 1 world champion makes "more logic" than it does current quadruple title winner Sebastian Vettel.

The Spaniard has never really felt the German was worthy of his status believing his success was due to a superior Red Bull car rather than his talent and perhaps also held a personal grudge against the 30-year-old as two of his championships came at the expense of Alonso, who has been stuck on two titles since 2006.

Indeed, before making his later comments about Hamilton, Fernando was asked if he had any disappointment at seeing another year go by without a chance at challenging for a third.

"No, not really. You don't have any special feelings when you are not fighting," he told Channel 4. "I think when I was fighting for the championship you see Sebastian winning, maybe it is hurting sometimes because maybe you feel that you deserve it more or you had this possibility here and there. When you are not in contention I think it is not a big thing. It's not your battle."

This weekend the now Mercedes driver will indeed secure his fourth championship should he finish fifth or better in Mexico, which after five victories in the last six races would make his task appear rather easy.

Commenting on his thoughts about Hamilton reaching the same total as the Ferrari driver, Alonso said: "In a way, I am happy that Lewis gets this fourth title. It's strange to see four Vettel and three for Hamilton, now there is much more logic."

That would lead to whether the 36-year-old was suggesting his once arch rival was the better of the two most successful drivers of the current era.

"I think Lewis has had a better racing career," he replied.

Related Articles:

• Hamilton opens up on "better than ever" Mercedes relationship

Another driver praising Hamilton is Felipe Massa, the man the Briton beat to claim his first championship in 2008.

"Lewis is definitely one of the best drivers in the history of F1," the 37-year-old told Sky Sports. "You cannot really take him away or [put him] on a different level compared to Michael Schumacher and Ayrton Senna. He's there.

"All the time you see Lewis in the car he was impressive. He impressed the people in whatever category he did. It was the same with Senna. It was the same with Schumacher."

Yet the Brazilian thinks it will take time for one of F1's most divisive figures to get the recognition he deserves.

"The problem is people always love to look back and say in the past it was much better than now, which is not true,” he claimed.

In the wake of Max Verstappen's controversial post-race penalty at the United States GP, several high-profile Formula 1 personalities have criticised how modern circuits are designed to allow such incidents to occur.

The Dutchman was awarded a five-second time penalty for cutting the track and gaining an advantage after overtaking Kimi Raikkonen by putting all four wheels inside the apex kerb of Turn 17 on the final lap.

The arguments used by those angry with the stewards' decision is that drivers had been taking liberties with track limits all weekend without penalty so why then put a dampener on a spectacular ending by penalising a driver for the same offence, in other words, where's the consistency?

"In all other cases where the drivers left the circuit, they went a longer distance. Max, on the other hand, cut the corner with all four wheels," said FIA Race Director Charlie Whiting addressing that very question.

Lewis Hamilton also agreed to the penalty, stating "He's off track!" but admitted the simple fact Verstappen could take a line which was inside the kerb was another frustration he had.

“This is the problem with today’s circuits there are all these run-off areas," the Mercedes driver said. "If that was grass, he wouldn’t have gone there. I don’t know why they made all these floors on the circuit.

“Particularly like the new generation of driver coming in and is very happy to exploit those things. Clearly, he’s way off the line, he can’t go there.”

The non-Executive Chairman of Mercedes actually disagreed that Verstappen had gone off the track, adding: "Why can you not driver over white lines if it is possible? Build a wall there if you want, but as long as there is normal circuit you can use it. The white line is not a limit, we agreed this last year. It was all agreed and now this. I think it's wrong, completely wrong."

The Austrian's biggest quarrel with the penalty, however, is that it signals a return to stewards targeting every small potential infraction of the regulations going against efforts to allow the drivers to race more freely.

"We agreed all together that the stewards would not interfere. Very simple," the triple world champion said. "If the driver goes over another and [ends up] upside down, only then would they weigh in. That was at the beginning of last year.

"For six months it was OK, but this decision today was the worst I've ever seen. He [Verstappen] did nothing wrong. These are racing drivers and we are not on the normal roads and it is ridiculous to destroy the sport with these kind of decisions.

"At the next Strategy [Group] meeting we will put it back on the agenda and start all over again because we cannot do that. They go too far and interfere and there was nothing to interfere with. It was normal overtaking."

For Red Bull boss Christian Horner, there is also the consideration of how such penalties make sense for the fans.

"Where do you draw the line? For the fans and casual viewers, it needs to be clear," he said. "How can you say what Valtteri did (when he stayed in front of Daniel Ricciardo by running wide at Turn 1 early on), on one hand, is okay but what Max did isn’t?

"In any other sport if you are out you are out. You can’t have it’s alright to be out there but not okay to be out here. Either get rid of it completely and just let them race. Or if you don’t want the cars to go there put in a gravel trap or bigger curbs or a deterrent for drivers not to go there.”

It is thought Verstappen could be in hot water with the FIA after claiming "one idiot steward" was to blame, though there has been no word yet if the governing body considers that bringing F1 into disrepute.

Formula 1 Motorsport Director Ross Brawn has claimed top teams are privately asking for the creation of a "regulatory authority" in the sport to police spending and reduce costs in the sport.

The financial situation in F1 has been a major area of discussion for a long time and encompasses a number of different areas from the spending of top teams, to smaller teams going bust and the uneven distribution of revenue across the grid.

When Liberty Media took over as the new Commercial Rights holder back in January one of their first declarations was that they would address the rising expenditure and the spending epidemic of the leading teams.

Now, nine months on, Brawn has reiterated that point again when speaking about the success of the team he led as team boss until 2013 and has recently secured their fourth straight Constructors' Championship last weekend in Austin.

“If you take the current dominant team, Mercedes, they have the biggest resources in F1,” he said in an interview with Forbes. “They spend around half a billion dollars on their F1 program a year to get the results they get on the track and that's a fantastic achievement.

"The problem is they are four seconds quicker than the guys at the back of the grid and that's no good for the business. Also, it's not really sustainable."

Explaining why, the Briton added: "What happens is when they are winning, those budgets have grown. During their period of domination, they spend more to stay dominant. When that domination fades away, the budgets become awkward because they are not succeeding yet they are spending a huge amount of money.”

Related Articles:

• McLaren boss open to budget cap, fewer team bonuses in F1
• Carey: Engines and money have too much competitive influence in F1
• First stage budget cap to be introduced in 2019?

Previously, when talking about greater financial controls in F1 many have scoffed at the likelihood of any kind of agreement being made believing the top teams, including Ferrari and Red Bull, wouldn't want to lose what it is a key competitive advantage.

But Brawn insists even they acknowledge changes must be made and are desperate for help in making competing in F1 more attractive.

"Those teams, particularly the boards of those teams, have come to us and said 'Please save us from ourselves because we have to get in that loop of achieving success. We want a regulatory authority'," Ross revealed.

"'We want control over what we can and can't do and to make the business more sustainable. To bring the budgets down to a level that even if we are not winning we can still justify it.'

"So Mercedes, if we take an example, always want to be winning and they want to be in the top three and they are prepared to accept a reduced competitiveness if it means greater sustainability," he clarified.

"They are in this vicious loop now of huge budgets, having to dominate to justify the budget and looking for a way out. Not a way out of F1, a way out of that condition they are in."

Lewis Hamilton has revealed what went on behind the scenes to create what he now believes is a relationship with his Mercedes team that is "better than ever" before.

At the end of last year, tension between the Briton and those at Brackley was at its highest following the controversial season finale in Abu Dhabi but had followed a year of growing distrust and unhappiness following the reaction to the incident between Hamilton and Nico Rosberg in Spain and a number of mechanical problems which had affected him but not so much his teammate.

This year that has completely changed with Rosberg gone and Valtteri Bottas across the garage, with the greater harmony considered crucial to Mercedes overcoming hurdles they have faced during the season.

“Going and seeing (motorsport boss) Toto (Wolff) at the end of last year was crucial in solidifying the longevity in the team,” Hamilton said, considering what was the catalyst for the significant turnaround in the relationship.

“We just put everything on the table and said what needed to be said and then to build on creating a new stronger relationship which we have done.”

The 32-year-old claims the same approach had the desired impact throughout the entire factory at Brackley and created the atmosphere that exists today.

“People in the team will be able to tell you what the dynamic was, and for sure I can’t say it was great last year,” he admitted. “But this year for sure having that talk with Toto and coming in and really working on the relationship with the guys: don’t mess with it.

“The formula works and I just want to continue to build on that relationship, which we have.

“My guys did an exceptional job and my relationship with the whole team, both sides, is stronger than it has ever been. I think the time I spend with the engineers back here is better than ever.”

Hamilton also points to the rise of Ferrari as equally important to getting everyone at Mercedes on the same page, as they push for the same goal.

“It’s great that we are fighting with another team so the focus is different,” he said. “When you have two strong drivers in the team as we had and when the battle is within the team, it’s like a hurricane, with strong energy and it is just stuck in the room.

“Whereas now, together, we have this hurricane or whatever bundle of energy which we are firing to the car and it is overall a much happier dynamic.”

In separate comments, Wolff would repeat many of his driver's comments but also revealed his awe at the performances Hamilton is putting in as he closes in on a fourth F1 title.

“I’ve worked with him for five years and I’ve never seen him operate on that level,” the Austrian claimed. “The raw pace is spectacular, understanding the tyres and the ability of the car - which was difficult at times - is not easy. The sustainable performance is on a level I haven’t seen before.”

Never far from the spotlight, Fernando Alonso has been commenting on a number of issues in recent days ranging from his future to fellow countryman Carlos Sainz and looking ahead to this weekend's Mexican Grand Prix.

In the build-up to Austin, the Spaniard confirmed he would be staying with McLaren for 2018 and even indicated his new deal goes beyond just a one-year extension. However, it is widely known that Fernando is weighing up appearances elsewhere, with a Le Man 24 Hours bid believed to be in the works as he aims to add another leg of motorsport's Triple Crown to his CV.

Looking to learn from his attempt at the Indianapolis 500 this year, Alonso could be set to compete at the Daytona 24 Hours as an experience builder ahead of the most famous endurance race, but he was coy on such claims when asked in Texas.

"Maybe the next race I will do in the US will be the 24 hours of Daytona," he teased. "The Indy 500 was one of the best races of my life so I'd like to do more races in America and one could be in January. That would be fine."

RACER is already reporting Alonso will drive for the United Autosports team run by McLaren Executive Director Zak Brown alongside recently crowned European F3 champion Lando Norris and regular driver Phil Hanson.

"If Fernando would like to do some additional racing that doesn't compromise our F1 efforts then we'll be open to that conversation and flexible," Brown said, commenting on the speculation.

Focusing on the final races of the current F1 season, the double world champion is expecting a tough weekend, this weekend in Mexico as a new but also upgraded engine will be installed after the latest failure in Austin.

"But, on the positive side, we tested a lot of new components on Friday in the USA which we were very happy with, and we hope to take those forward to use in Mexico," he added.

Alonso is also keen to return to the Latin American nation and put on a "show" to help bring happiness and an escape for the fans there after recent events.

"It’s very important that we head to Mexico with everybody in our thoughts that have been affected by the recent earthquake, and show them as much support as we possibly can at this really difficult time," said the two-time world champion.

"The welcome we receive in Mexico City is among the best in the world – you can really feel the warmth of the fans all around the circuit, especially in the arena section, and the support is unbelievable.

"For me, it’s nice to be able to arrive in a country, travel to the hotel and check in using my own language! But seriously, I love Mexico and the Mexican people, and I hope we can put on the show they deserve."

Finally, he spoke about Carlos Sainz's excellent debut for Renault at the Circuit of the Americas, where the heir to the Spanish motorsport throne, in F1 at least, finished seventh.

"That Carlos performed very well is not a surprise," Alonso told broadcaster Movistar. "Nothing to say, we knew Carlos was going to be good."

With Sainz and Alonso's teams set to work together from next year, the 36-year-old did have one little jibe.

"Next year he will have it more difficult because McLaren will be ahead, but he should enjoy this moment," Alonso smiled.

Daniel Ricciardo insists he has no "regrets" for the attempted passes he made on Valtteri Bottas in the early laps of a United States GP that would ultimately end in disappointment for the Australian.

Starting fourth, the Red Bull driver looked to have the better pace compared to the Finn but once again the power deficit to the Mercedes engine would prove a major problem as Ricciardo couldn't  stay close enough to make a decisive pass.

In trying to make the move, the 28-year-old would damage his tyres, forcing him to pit earlier than most,  though his pace afterwards suggested he would perform the undercut,  he would never find out as an engine problem forced him to retire for the third time this season.

“It’s obviously never nice to be out of the race early but I think I tried to get the most out of it today and the laps I raced were fun but also frustrating,” Ricciardo commented.

“I felt that, especially earlier on, we were quicker than Valtteri, but I always had to come from so far back that it was never going to be an easy move. I tried a lot of times to make it stick but could never quite manage it.

“I wasn’t going to drive behind him all weekend wondering what could have been, so I don’t have any regrets with the moves I tried,” he added, having tried to use the wide approach to the Turn 1 hairpin to divebomb down the inside of the Mercedes.

“It’s just frustrating to not continue that battle. I did enjoy it out there though. Every time I tried to overtake Valtteri he would just slip back underneath me and I thought: alright let’s try again.”

It was thought Ricciardo could be in line for a grid penalty this weekend in Mexico as he takes on the upgraded Renault engine which teammate Max Verstappen used and therefore dropped to the back as a result in Austin.

Now, after the failure, the five-time F1 winner believes that is now a certainty although his Red Bull team boss Christian Horner is so quick to confirm it.

“I hope that the engine is salvageable," he said after revealing a loss of oil had sent the engine into a safety mode. "It’s a great shame because he was hustling Valtteri very hard and very competitive at the beginning of the race. I think today we had a very competitive race car. Again, on a Sunday we look very competitive compared to a Saturday afternoon.

“The intention with Daniel, and still hopefully the intention, is not to have to take a penalty between now and the end of the season.”

The United States GP was Daniil Kvyat's last with Toro Rosso, Red Bull motorsport advisor Helmut Marko has confirmed, with the pairing of Pierre Gasly and Brendon Hartley to see out the 2017 season.

The Russian returned to the Italian team in Austin, having been replaced by Gasly for the Malaysian and Japanese Grands Prix, and was hoping the appearance would mark a final chance to prove his worth to Marko and fellow Red Bull bosses.

A strong weekend would see him claim his first points since Spain in 10th but it has now been revealed that was not enough to even be kept as an option for Toro Rosso in 2018.

"Kvyat will not return again," Marko told Germany's Auto Bild. "We do not believe he can make the turnaround in the long term."

The comments will likely signal the end of the 23-year-old's association with Red Bull after being touted as the next Sebastian Vettel when he won the GP3 championship in 2013, stepped up to the junior outfit in 2014 and then replaced the German at the senior team for 2015.

His career started to fall apart early last season, however, as, following a great podium in China, two collisions with Vettel on the opening lap of his home race in Sochi triggered Red Bull to swap him with Max Verstappen, the first time a driver had been demoted.

That did great harm to his confidence for the remainder of the year and now in 2017, he has again struggled to meet the potential he previously had which led to his eventual dropping.

At just 23, there is still hope Kvyat can turn his career around, though with limited options in F1 for next season it is likely he will have to race elsewhere before trying to earn another chance.

Force India is considering an easing of the team orders imposed since the Italian Grand Prix following their 14th double points finish of the season at the United States GP.

Collisions between their drivers, Esteban Ocon and Sergio Perez, in Baku and Belgium, had left the Silverstone outfit no choice but to intervene as they looked to guarantee fourth place in the Constructors' Championship.

Though their standing was never under threat even before the introduction of the orders, such has been their dominance in the midfield in 2017, now with a 91-point lead over Williams, COO Otmar Szafnauer admits they could be relaxed.

“Probably one more race," he told Autosport about how long they would remain. “We have just got to get through one more race and hopefully by then, we’ll have clinched fourth place. That’s what it is all about.

“Once we get through that then maybe we can relax and do things a bit differently in the last two.”

For Perez, that could be a blessed relief after having to sit behind his teammate both in Japan and Austin, with the inability to attack in the latter costing him a place to Carlos Sainz and dropping the Mexican to eighth.

"I thought I had much better pace because I was saving tyres but then the traffic damaged my tyres and I stepped back," the 27-year-old explained. "Esteban was also taking care of his tyres to get to the end.

"I was in a very difficult position with Sainz and with Kvyat the entire race. I could have had a little more pace and looked after the tyres (if I had been ahead) but I don't know if it would have been enough to keep Sainz behind and it would have put Ocon in a complicated position."

As for the Frenchman, he would set a new record of 26 consecutive finishes for a driver at the start of his F1, beating the 25 Max Chilton had managed with Marussia before eventually retiring in Canada in 2014.

Ocon, who was suffering from migraines on Saturday, would reveal he did have a brief car scare before the race but all would be well as he finished 'best of the rest' in sixth.

"Sixth place feels very satisfying because it was not an easy race with so much pressure from Sainz in the final stages," said the 21-year-old.

"Before the race, there was an issue on the grid with a control unit in my car, but the team did a really good job to make the repairs in time for the start. Then I spent a big part of the race just managing my pace and looking after the tyres to make the one-stop strategy work.

"The team told me when to push and when to manage the pace, and to finish sixth shows we judged this almost perfectly."

Depending on the result this weekend in Mexico, where Perez will be the local favourite, the two drivers who have become of the most evenly matched pairings on the grid, could have a  two-race duel to decide who finishes in the coveted seventh in the Drivers' Championship, a position Sergio currently holds by 13 points.

Renault Sport Managing Director Cyril Abiteboul has accused Mercedes of "blocking the system" by implementing excessive periods of gardening leave on staff that leave the  Brackley-based outfit for other teams.

The issue has become a hot topic in recent weeks after the French manufacturer, who are still building their workforce at Enstone after returning to Formula 1 as a works team in 2016, announced the controversial appointment of Marcin Budkowski last month.

Budkowski is set to join as early as January after leaving his position as Technical Chief at the FIA prior to the Malaysian Grand Prix, but due to his vast knowledge of not only this year's cars but also early plans some have for 2018 several top teams, including Mercedes, want that period extended.

Though Abiteboul's comments were not directly related to Budkowski and more to signing engineers in general, the Frenchman singled out Mercedes when talking about the process of bringing new members to the team.

“Red Bull is not too aggressive in the way they are keeping their people, but Mercedes are the most aggressive,” he claimed. “We signed up a senior person from Mercedes last year, and he is not due to join before 2019 because of the contractual situation.

“The UK is very favourable to protect employees for the benefit of the employer, but that is giving us a bit of a hard time," Abiteboul added. “We know it, so we simply have to deal with it."

Though it is understandable a team such a Mercedes wouldn't want their secrets, which have cost a lot of money and time to develop, to end up benefiting a rival, the Renault boss also suggested that the prolonged period a member of staff has to wait before assuming his new position is detrimental to the sport when top teams already have significant advantages elsewhere.

“Red Bull are not stupid in the way they are protecting their staff. Mercedes have the right to do what they are doing, but I think it is a bit unfair," he said. “They already have the financial resources but now they are blocking the system by making sure no one can go anywhere.

“It is still a sport and we need to provide a good show and interesting show and that is not what is happening if you are doing that.”

Carlos Sainz is confident there is still plenty of room for improvement despite what he called a "close to perfect" first race with Renault as he finished seventh at the United States GP.

It was an excellent weekend for the Spaniard as he stepped straight into the seat previously filled by Jolyon Palmer and gave new teammate Nico Hulkenberg the competitive partner he has lacked as they engaged in a very close battle in practice.

Unfortunately, engine penalties for the German prevented their battling from continuing, but the first time after stepping out of the Red Bull environment that he has been used for so long, the 23-year-old proved himself more than capable to lead the charge for the French manufacturer.

"So far, we've done our first weekend very close to perfect,” Sainz said. “We need to continue like that. Thanks to all of them for making me feel so at home right from the beginning and giving me a competitive car."

Highlighting how strong his debut was, he would take the fight to the lead midfield team Force India and split their two drivers after an amazing move on Sergio Perez. But, for the second generation driver, that was just a first step and expects to be much stronger as he continues to settle in.

"I think we have still a big margin of improvement, all of us, but it will come with more races and more experience,” he claimed. “It's very difficult to have gone any better than it has been. We put together a really, really strong weekend right from FP1 to the last lap of the race.

"Even in the race we went from less to more, we were picking up pace, attacking first Checo and then Esteban. A shame I ran out of fuel in the last three or four laps and I couldn't attack Esteban, but really fun."

Another man delighted by the showing of Sainz was Renault Sport Managing Director Cyril Abiteboul, who described his new employee's first weekend on the job as "remarkable".

"It’s not easy to change teams in the middle of a season," the Frenchman continued. There have been previous circumstances when things have not happened that way in other teams in the history of F1.

"It’s a move that we were all looking forward to. There was lots of preparation put into that. It’s not easy with a busy weekend between Suzuka and this race. A lot has happened to get everything ready and that is to the credit of him first but also to the team that has done such a good job altogether."