McLaren Racing Director Eric Boullier has praised Stoffel Vandoorne's improvement during his first full season in Formula 1, after claiming the Belgian was "exposed" alongside Fernando Alonso at the beginning of the year.

This year, the former GP2 champion finally got his much-anticipated opportunity with the British team, replacing Jenson Button and was expected to be one of the men to watch during the season, particularly after scoring points on debut last year in Bahrain. 

Instead, it has been a slow-burner for the 25-year-old as Honda's ongoing engine problems led to a lack of competitiveness and Boullier admits the spotlight of being next to one of F1's biggest names also threw Vandoorne it right at the deep end.

"He has been very exposed because of his teammate, Fernando, a double world champion," the Frenchman said. "Any young driver who joined F1 in the last five years had a period, the same as Stoffel, to adapt to F1.

"If you're in a [smaller] team, it's more quiet. But if you're at McLaren, next to Fernando Alonso, obviously it's more difficult."

Eventually, Vandoorne scored his first points of the year in Hungary and two consecutive seventh-place results in Singapore and Sepang have actually seen him move ahead of Alonso in the Drivers' Championship.

More broadly, his performances have been more on a level with his Spanish teammate, something Boullier put down to "hard work, trust, confidence and talent".

"Since June now, the approach we had with Stoffel, and his approach with us, has been a bit different," he explained. "We've worked on his understanding of F1 and obviously tyres.

"Now he has gained the confidence he has needed to be able to extract the best out of his car, this is why you're seeing the Stoffel we are expecting to unlock."

Offering his own view, Vandoorne admits it has taken him time to learn and adapt to his new surroundings despite a long prior partnership with McLaren.

"The way I am working with the team, working with engineers has developed a lot," he said. "Having had the opportunity to have a bit more track time enabled us to see what I needed from the car, to understand what I needed from the car.

"I am just confident that things will work and things will go and that is a nice feeling to feel comfortable and do with the car what you want to do."

Following on from their first outing last week at Silverstone, 2018 Williams hopefuls Robert Kubica and Paul di Resta have completed a second day of running in the 2014 car, this time at Budapest's Hungaroring circuit.

The two men are hoping to replace current driver Felipe Massa at the Grove-based team next season with Polish driver Kubica completing what was described as a "productive" day on Tuesday behind the wheel at the same track he made his public debut at earlier this summer in a test for Renault.

On Wednesday, Di Resta, who's performance standing in for the Brazilian at the Hungarian Grand Prix earned him the opportunity to return to a race seat for the first time since 2013, will also run as Williams do back-to-back comparisons.

The battle over his seat has left Massa very unhappy as he has maintained the belief he is the best option alongside youngster Lance Stroll. Earlier he claimed those with motorsport knowledge were supporting his bid to remain while later suggesting thing would be "very much worse" if he was forced out.

The 37-year-old has also hinted money could be a factor with Kubica reportedly offering substantial backing from Poland along with his reputation which once saw him as a future world champion by many.

Regardless, Massa, who put off retirement to continue this season, enabling Valtteri Bottas to join Mercedes, has put a deadline in place for when he wants his future to be determined.

“We don’t have a deadline but I think it would be good for the team and for myself that we know what is going to happen before the race in Brazil to see what is possible,” he said.

If that is to be met, Williams has just three weeks to go through the data of the respective tests and come up with a decision. 

Lewis Hamilton insists talk of wrapping up a fourth Formula 1 title at this weekend's United States Grand Prix is 'silly', insisting Ferrari will return to form.

Hamilton, who leads by 59 points after a woeful string of races for title rival Vettel, can seal the championship if he wins and Vettel finishes lower than fifth.

The Briton, though, expects Ferrari to be fighting at the sharp end, so will not change his approach.

"He [Vettel] has been a strong fighter all year," the Mercedes driver said. “Obviously he’s had a few technical issues but I think still the car is as good as it's always been.

"For sure they’ll have some sort of upgrade coming this weekend. They’ve definitely had a couple of hiccups but I anticipate they’ll be very strong this weekend and for the last four races.

"That’s why nothing changes for me. I’ve still got to continue to put the pressure on. There’s no reason to back out, just keep pushing forwards."

"Honestly I think the talk of the championship win this weekend is silly really. You can’t expect them to have a difficult weekend again. They’re going to be quick."

Hamilton 'doesn't care' where he clinches the crown, as long as he gets the job done in the four remaining races.

"We’ve got an opportunity to win the championship, as long as it’s done in the next four races that’s my focus," he said.

"I honestly couldn’t care whether it was here or the last race. As long as it’s done."

The 32-year-old will nonetheless head into the weekend brimming with confidence, having won four of the five Grands Prix held at the Circuit of the Americas.

Daniil Kvyat may not race for Toro Rosso beyond this weekend's United States Grand Prix despite Carlos Sainz's early switch to Renault, according to reports.

An out-of-form Kvyat was dropped ahead of the Malaysia GP so the team could evaluate young driver Pierre Gasly.

Yet with Carlos Sainz making an early move to rivals Renault, Kvyat will return to action in Austin.

Pierre Gasly's Super Formula commitments mean the Russian will race alongside experienced sports car racer Brendon Hartley.

Kvyat is then expected to see out the season alongside Gasly, but rumour has it that could all depend on his performance relative to Hartley at the Circuit of the Americas.

The 23-year-old has scored only four points in a wretched 2017 campaign, testing the patience of Toro Rosso.

If Hartley turns in an impressive display, he could yet be handed another outing at the next race in Mexico.

The decision will rest with Red Bull's notoriously ruthless motorsport consultant Dr. Helmut Marko.

Should Kvyat be ousted for a second time, it would surely see him leave the Red Bull set-up once and for all. 

Sebastian Vettel maintains that 2017 has been a 'very good season' for Ferrari despite their recent reliability woes.

The Scuderia have emerged as the first genuine match for Mercedes in the turbo-hybrid era, with Vettel leading the way before the summer break after racking up four victories.

Yet his campaign has since unravelled after a dramatic crash in Singapore and disastrous mechanical faults in Malaysia and Japan.

That leaves the German a whopping 59 points behind championship leader Lewis Hamilton with four races remaining.

Vettel, though, was keen to focus on the positives as he faced the media ahead of the United States Grand Prix, pointing out that Ferrari have exceeded expectations.

"Overall, I think it's been so far a very good season," the four-time world champion said.

"You always judge depending on the last couple of races, and they were not so good, but I think we are the team that did the most progress.

"Everybody expected Red Bull to be very strong this year, and as a fact they were not, especially in the beginning, and it was a given that Mercedes would be strong.

"Nobody expected us to be as strong as we are.

"I think there's still massive potential that's not unleashed completely, so it's up to us and the people in charge to make sure, but overall I think things are heading the right way.

"I think the direction is the right one, but we want to make bigger steps obviously."

His chances of snatching the title may be extremely slim, but the four-time world champion is refusing to throw in the towel.

"Obviously our chances are slimmer than they have been some races ago, but still I think there is a chance," he said.

"We have a great car, we had the package to win the past couple of races, which we didn't, but that doesn't mean that we have no chance to win the next races.

"We need to look forward to what's next, and the next race is here."

McLaren Executive Director Zak Brown has hinted at a deal to keep Fernando Alonso at the team for 2018 at least could be agreed and announced this weekend at the United States Grand Prix.

The Spaniard had targeted the two-week break between Japan and Austin as the time he would make his final decision on where he will drive next season but has sounded increasingly positive since it was confirmed the British team would be switching to Renault engines next season, ending their difficult partnership with Honda.

Alonso has also made it clear F1 is where he wants to be racing and challenging for a third world title, therefore, with all his alternatives seemingly elsewhere, Brown believes it is only a matter of when not if he signs on the dotted line.

"We wanted to get the Asian swing out of the way and our new power unit partner in place which is now done," he commented. "I expect we’ll have a positive conclusion to our plans with Fernando here in not too long."

The American even offered what could be a subtle hint, adding: "He’s in the FIA Press Conference on Thursday. We have to get a deal done before anything is announced."

It would appear the end of the Honda association was a key moment in deciding Alonso's future, as the F1 chief at the Japanese manufacturer revealed a tricky relationship with the 36-year-old. 

"Alonso always came to put pressure on me," Yusuke Hasegawa told El Confidencial. "If the car was bad, he had no qualms about telling me he was not happy. He is a good person and he probably felt very bad about having to scold me but he had to because he wanted everything to be right."

While Hasegawa accepted and understood his frustration, he admitted not everyone at Honda was quite so able to take in the constant barbs.

"There are people at Honda who were not happy with Alonso's attitude, but for me, it was not a problem," he explained. "[But] because he was not happy, it is very difficult to establish a good working relationship, though, of course, it was not personal.

"Alonso did his job, as he was a good professional, but drivers are very emotional guys and you have to understand when they behave like that. If he had the best car, would he be happy? Yes, and that is why we cannot complain."

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As for his future with McLaren, after his appearance earlier this year at the Indianapolis 500, it is thought the 36-year-old is considering more one-off races next season with Daytona and Le Mans two events mentioned.

"Fernando has a desire to win the Triple Crown as we all know. He’s a pure racer who would like to race every weekend and has a desire to race other races," Brown said.

"It’s something we’re certainly open to doing with him when and where appropriate. We’re also open-minded to allow him to compete in other races on a very limited basis if the scenario is complementary to his F1 efforts and not detrimental to his F1 program.

"What we wouldn’t allow is to run in multiple racing series. But like Indy, if there’s the occasional one-off, on a case-by-case basis we’ll allow him to do that."

Haas F1 team boss Guenther Steiner believes Formula 1 is well on the way to a situation where most teams on the grid could regularly compete for podium results.

A major criticism of the sport in recent years has been the growing gap between the top three teams on the grid, Mercedes, Red Bull and Ferrari, and the rest of the grid both in terms of spending and consequently performance. 

That situation was only exacerbated following the new car design rules introduced in 2017, with a clear two-tier championship emerging split into the aforementioned groups.

So dominant have been the big three teams in terms of filling the top three places, that only Lance Stroll's remarkable run in Baku, where he slipped to third behind Valtteri Bottas right on the finish line, has broken their stranglehold on the podium positions despite impressive performances from various midfield teams across the season.

"At the moment, it is impossible, because the budgets and the people working in it involved is so different," Steiner acknowledged when talking to ESPN.

Since the arrival of Liberty Media as the new F1 owners back in January, the issue of costs, whether it be a reducing spending or evening the amount of revenue each team receives from the commercial rights holder, has been high on the agenda.

"There are plans to get it a lot better by regulation with cost control -- I don't call it cost cap, it's cost control -- and a better way to distribute the prize money," Steiner continued. "So that should close it up and close it up naturally."

The performance gap will also naturally decrease as development continues and the regulations remain somewhat static but the Haas chief points to the tight battle that has emerged in the midfield as proof his ambition for a more competitive grid isn't just a fantasy.

"Every team should have the chance to go on the podium, that would make it interesting. I believe that," he said. "That's what F1 should be aiming for in the next two or three years.

"Not every team in one season, of course, because then you're close to spec racing, but over a couple of seasons every team should have a realistic chance of scoring podiums with the right work and development. At the moment, the best job most teams do is for eighth, ninth, tenth, and that's out of the way [for most fans attention].

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"If you take the big three out, there it is -- there's nothing else to do," he added. "You have Ferrari, Mercedes, Red Bull. If you take them away, every team would have been on the podium this season because that fight behind the big three is so unpredictable and changes every race. But usually it's fighting for scraps.

"If you take those teams away, you only need to finish sixth to be on the podium. We have finished sixth, Force India have finished sixth, Williams, Toro Rosso, McLaren, the only ones which didn't are Sauber. So it isn't so far off!"

Formula 1 will go pink as part of breast cancer awareness month in association with the Susan G. Komen Foundation at this weekend's United States Grand Prix at the Circuit of the Americas.

The dividing line between the fast lane and the pit boxes in the pit-lane has gone pink while Pirelli will bring pink-banded Ultrasoft tyres for one weekend only compared to the traditional purple.

"Pirelli is completely behind this key initiative, using its tyres to get the impactful message across," the Italian supplier commented when revealing the one-off colour change,

"It's a symbol of solidarity and commitment, as well as a powerful reminder of the importance of the cause. So, this weekend, make sure you think pink."

A number of other events are planned with everyone in the paddock set to be involved helping to raise money with the merchandise for this year's race also getting a pink tone.

For the race promoter Bobby Epstein, it marks an incredible opportunity to put a spotlight on a major issue as well as team up with a cause that has deep-seeded roots in the state of Texas.

"F1 is partnering with the Susan G. Komen Foundation to raise awareness for breast cancer research and I think using the global platform of F1 to raise awareness is of tremendous value to those people whose lives would be bettered by those advancements to breast cancer research," he told veteran journalist James Allen.

"Over a half million people die every year due to breast cancer and tremendous strides are being made in the search for cures and treatments.

"I grew up less than two miles from the Susan Komen foundation as their headquarters are in Dallas and I watched them grow and it’s nice to see them making great strides towards treatment," he added.

"People may not realise that but the research and research facility are in Houston as well as the Susan Komen facility in Dallas so it’s a great effort and Texas has been [important] to cancer research and breast cancer research.

"So that’s what we’ll try and do this year: help the cause."

Red Bull has made an early start on development of the RB14 in an effort to overcome the sluggish initial performance at the beginning of seasons, Daniel Ricciardo has revealed.

The Milton Keynes outfit has a reputation for struggling in the early races each year having only won the opening round once in 2011. Instead, they come on strong at the end of the year, as has been the case in 2017 with at least one driver on the podium at every race since Belgium.

The surprising performance they faced to Mercedes and Ferrari has also continually shrunk with Max Verstappen winning on pure pace in Malaysia, beating Lewis Hamilton in a head-to-head.

But these slow builds are considered detrimental to their championship hopes and that is something Ricciardo wants addressing for 2018.  

“I always feel like our starts to the season have been slow, particularly since I’ve been with the team, but as far as I’m aware that’s not planned. I don’t know why exactly,” the Australian said.

“We definitely get stronger and it’s a nice trend to get better and better but we’d like to start better. I still don’t really know the answer why that is. We always feel like we start on the next year’s car early enough but maybe what we think is early isn’t early enough.

"I know for next year it has been brought forward more than it was for this year," Ricciardo added.

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With the rapid development of the chassis over the course of 2017, further work over the winter could be all Red Bull needs to make it a three-team duel for the title next season, something that is deemed essential if the team wants to retain their current drivers.

For the 28-year-old from Perth, there is also extra incentive to want a race-winning car right from the start as the season-opener is also his home Grand Prix.

 “It’s never the intention not to be on the podium in Melbourne, it’s probably more my intention than any other race,” he claimed.

Long-time Formula 1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone has claimed new owners Liberty Media "haven't done anything yet" to improve the sport despite all their bluster upon completing their takeover at the start of the year.

The 86-year-old has maintained his voice when it comes to airing views on those who replaced him after some 40 years in January and even got into a brief spat with current CEO and Chairman Chase Carey earlier in the year.

Offering his latest musings on the current state of F1, Ecclestone believes Carey, along with Commercial Director Sean Bratches and Motorsport Director Ross Brawn, have found it much harder than they imagined to invoke their vision going forward onto the rest of the sport's power players.

"They haven’t done anything yet as far as I can see," he said to the Daily Mail. "They said they wouldn’t talk, they would act. They said I talked before doing anything. I didn’t. I got things done quietly.

"All they do is talk. They said they wanted six races in America, for example. If I say I am going to whack someone next time I see them, I’d better bloody well do it."

It is believed the future shape of F1 could start to be revealed in the coming weeks as the 2021 engine rules and a first stage budget cap from 2019 could be announced at the end of the month.

As for the future relationship between the teams and commercial rights holder, that is still one area that is being determined, with the current Concorde Agreement set to expire after 2020.

Regardless, Ecclestone thinks the new man in charge has found it much harder than he thought to invoke his vision onto the other main power players in the sport.

"Chase had preconceived ideas of what needed to be done," he stated. "But now he’s on board, it isn’t quite as easy as he thought. So I feel sorry for him."

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As for his own status, though Ecclestone remains on the board in the honorary role of Chairman Emeritus, he suggested Liberty have in effect, told him to stay away from the paddock as he explained his reduced attendances this season.

"Chase sent a message to one of the girls in the office to tell me that they haven’t got so many offices at the circuits, only what the race promoter gives them," he commented.

"There are three of them, so the three offices are being used. So basically they don’t want me to come to races. It would have been just as easy to have said that to me. Anyway, I have obliged them."

And as for the title battle that has developed this season, the Briton believes his fellow countryman will get the job done sooner rather than later.

"Lewis Hamilton will win it in Austin next race," he claimed, with the Mercedes driver needing to win and Sebastian Vettel lower than fifth to do so. "He has driven superbly this season, while Ferrari awoke and then fell asleep."