Robert Kubica has claimed his second test was "even better" than the first after completing 90 laps of Circuit Paul Ricard in a 2012 Renault on Wednesday.

The Pole was participating in what the French team had described as a test that would "assess his capabilities to return to the highest level of competition" when it was announced late last week following his first run in a Formula 1 car in six years last month in Spain.

It is also part of the process to determine whether a much-anticipated comeback for the former BMW and Renault driver is possible, something Kubica recently rated at "80-90 percent".

"Physically, there are no problems," the Pole told French daily L'Equipe after the day's running.

"In Valencia, I was already pleased with the way my body and mind had reacted. Today, I feel even better and it gives me confidence as I realise that I can drive rather well."

Should Renault feel the same it could open the door for a first run in the 2017 car as soon as the post-Hungarian Grand Prix test in a little over two weeks. Something further hinted at after it emerged Kubica tried this year's car in the simulator before his outing on Wednesday.

When asked if a run at the Hungaroring was possible, the 32-year-old was non-committal simply saying: "I don't want to come back for nothing. I want to come back to the best possible level. I haven't tested a current-spec car, so I wouldn't be able to be ready for Silverstone.

"I would need a couple of days in a car, and that would boost my chances by 100 percent! Honestly, I'm doing my best to maximise my chances. But I don't know what the future holds."

The major question that hangs over the 2008 Canadian Grand Prix winner is whether he can physically cope with competing in a full F1 season given his limitations in his right arm which was severely injured in his near career ending rally crash in 2011.

Kubica has previously claimed he is in the best physical shape of his career as he tries to make a comeback but does acknowledge some aspects to driving are different for him now than before his accident.

"I have to compensate with my left hand, so there's more stress on that side but it doesn't affect my driving," he claimed.

"The only modification in the car is the fact that I'm using my left hand to change gears.

"I don't have any doubts about my ability but it's still a long road ahead. I need to recover my instinct. I do have physical limitations but there is no impact on my driving."

McLaren executive director Zak Brown has acknowledged the progress made by engine partner Honda in recent races but admits time is running out regarding a decision on their future.

In Austria, the Japanese manufacturer introduced a 'Spec 3' power unit aimed at solving many of the reliability and some of the performance issues of the heavily revised design introduced this year.

On the performance side, there was some progress as Stoffel Vandoorne maintained 12th place despite a drive-through penalty for ignoring blue flags, on reliability, there was still some problems as Fernando Alonso had to switch back to a 'Spec 2' unit due to an MGU-H problem on Friday.

Overall, the outlook was better for McLaren, with Alonso claiming points should become a "normal" target for the team, but with a lot of work still do to before Honda can offer the power unit the British team desires, the doubts remain as to whether it will be enough to prevent a split.

"It's still very much a work in progress," Brown told reporters in Austria.

"We need to figure out our relationship with them moving forward, soon. You start getting into next year's car (design) in the next few months and what we have to have is a competitive engine for next year.

"They (Honda) are working hard on it and doing some things that are for them to speak about to make those improvements. So we want to give them as much runway as possible to get there."

One thing Brown refused to criticise was the effort being put in to try and reach that goal, acknowledging wins and championships are a shared target.

"As far as their enthusiasm to address the issue, that's been there from day one but it's a results-oriented business," he said. 

"We do like what we're seeing and what they are telling us about how they are going about addressing some of the issues."

There was still a warning for Honda F1 chief Yusuke Hasegawa and his men back in Japan, however.

"I would say our position hasn't changed on our requirement to have a competitive situation next year," the American concluded.

Ex-Renault boss Frederic Vasseur has been confirmed as the new team principal at Sauber following the departure of Monisha Kaltenborn last month.

Kaltenborn, a long-time member of the Swiss team and team boss since 2010 becoming the first female to do in Formula 1, left after a disagreement with the board prior to the Azerbaijan Grand Prix.

According to reports, Sauber chiefs want to favour Marcus Ericsson, who's backers are linked to owners Longbow Finance, over Pascal Wehrlein despite the German scoring all six points for the team so far this season.

It was quickly speculated that Vasseur, who himself left Renault in January after disagreeing on the direction of the team with managing director Cyril Abiteboul, would be her replacement and on Wednesday that was proven accurate.

“Frédéric Vasseur’s long and successful career in top level international motorsport speaks for itself, and we are thrilled to welcome him to Sauber,” chairman Pascal Picci declared in a statement.

Indeed, the Frenchman has since been continuing his role with the ART Grand Prix team, a highly successful outfit in junior series including F2 and GP3, but now he's looking forward to his next challenge.

“I’m very proud to be joining Sauber Motorsport AG, and wish to thank the company’s shareholders for their trust in me,” he said.

“I’ve been impressed by the facilities in Hinwil and by the talent and ambition of the workforce, and I very much look forward to complementing the team with my experience and determination and drive all people in the right direction in everything they do.

“I am convinced that all together we will achieve ambitious targets. I cannot wait to start working with our drivers, engineers and all the staff. I look forward to contributing to the next important phase in the development of the team.”

In a related story, a report in Germany has claimed the recent turmoil at Sauber could have led Honda to cancel its deal to supply the team from 2018.

When asked for comment, however, a spokesperson for the Japanese manufacturer called it "media speculation" insisting their future tie-up "has not changed".

Lewis Hamilton admits his desire to beat Sebastian Vettel and claim a fourth Formula 1 world championship is the reason for recent downbeat comments.

The Briton appeared back on form after the low of Monaco with a commanding victory in Canada and dominating the weekend in Baku, but a loose headrest would end hopes of a near-certain victory, dropping him to fifth and then a grid penalty for a gearbox change in Austria would again swing the momentum away from the Mercedes driver after being the man to beat on Friday.

Hamilton acknowledged the constant setbacks at individual races and then in the championship more broadly are having an impact, but insists they are not affecting his feelings of his own personal performance or the overall battle with the Ferrari driver.

"Generally when there is adversity, it's an opportunity to grow and do something pretty special," he said. "I'm really generally happy with the way I've been driving. I think it's important for people who are watching and people who are reporting to understand that.

"You have to have patience with us drivers, and I can't speak for everyone else, but you can't be happy every day you have a result, whether it's second, fifth, 10th, whatever it is, you're going to be pissed at one point because you put so much into it.

"You train, you sacrifice everything to make sure you get the best result possible, so when you don't personally deliver and other things are stacked up against you, it's hard to come out smiling and be all 'it's fine' because that means you don't care enough. And the fact is I care more than anything.

"So there are days where it feels more painful than others. There are days where it's easier to handle and move forward. So just when you make comments or write your stories or when people make comments, just bear that in mind. It's not a sign of being ungrateful or anything like that. It's an intense battle which I'm loving and I think we are enjoying as a team, but I want to win this championship."

Mercedes motorsport boss Toto Wolff says he can understand the feelings of Hamilton and suggested the team had "let him down" with the recent problems.

“In my opinion, Lewis had all the bad luck than you can have, we’ve let him down with the headrest, we’ve let him down with the gearbox. Now it’s about time to fight back and hopefully that’s going to happen in Silverstone,” the Austrian said.

“It can’t go much worse than it has, and still we are flat out in a fight. It’s so early in the season. So, we’re not even halftime and we start counting points.

"It’s about time that this changes, the momentum going in the other direction," he added.

“He wouldn’t be as successful as he is if he wouldn’t feel the pain as much as he does when he has a bad day when he loses.”

Max Verstappen has revealed his Red Bull team has apologised amid a recent run of poor results including five retirements in seven races.

His latest on Sunday in Austria began with a clutch issue that led to a poor start before being caught up in a first corner collision between Daniil Kvyat and Fernando Alonso.

Despite constant reminders that his luck will eventually turn, the Dutchman, who has completed the least race laps of any driver on the grid this year, admits the disappointment is having an effect.

“I actually was reasonably calm but it’s very disappointing of course, what happened,” the 19-year-old said of his reaction after retiring at the Red Bull Ring.

“This way you lose confidence. Not in myself, but in the whole thing I mean, if it keeps on happening. After a while, you think 'How long can this go on?'"

Asked by Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf what Red Bull boss Christian Horner said upon his return to the pits, Verstappen replied: "What did they say? Sorry, sorry, sorry. That should not happen."

Following up, the 19-year-old claimed the team is aware of his current feelings.

"Yes, I have told them clearly I am not happy, but I think they see that already," he said. "I no longer think about the world championship, but having good individual races."

Though rejecting any speculation the current situation could lead to him leaving Red Bull, Verstappen is adamant the overall performance must improve.

"We have a contract and I think the team can do a good job," he told Italian publication Autosprint.

"But the whole package must be able to get results. I think, at the moment, that is not the case. We can see clearly that we are not the fastest on the straight."

As for the rest of the season, he concluded: "It is absolutely not a good time and I am very disappointed. But it will be important to continue to push everyone forward because there are still a lot of races."

Max Verstappen will be a Red Bull driver in 2018,  according to his father Jos, as speculation swirls over his longer-term future.

That confirmation comes amid a difficult year for the 19-year-old having failed to finish at the last three races and an overall total of five in the last seven. As a result, Verstappen dropped behind Sergio Perez to seventh in the Drivers' Championship after Austria, compare that to his team-mate Daniel Ricciardo, who is currently on a roll of five consecutive podiums and sits fourth in the Drivers' standings.

That, as well as concerns over Red Bull's overall competitiveness, has led to rumours over his future, but the team has always claimed his contract is watertight and has been accepted by the Dutchman.

"We will stay with the team next year for sure," former F1 Jos told Sky Sports.

With next year settled then, that has led to attention shifting to 2019 with reports claiming Ferrari is being eyed up should Red Bull continue to be uncompetitive.

"Total rubbish, propaganda," team principal Christian Horner said of those claims in Austria. “No he has a contract with the team for '19. After '19 he is on the open market.”

The Briton is also confident that the Verstappen's will look beyond the current poor run of results and acknowledge that the Milton Keynes-based outfit is gradually returning to competitiveness at least from a pace perspective.

"Despite his age he has actually got quite a bit of experience and he has had similar issues in his karting career and so on,” he claimed.

“What he has actually taken is a lot of heart from the car getting stronger and stronger and today was arguably our most competitive race this season, certainly since Monaco and particularly on this layout type of circuit.

"So you can see all race, sector two, the twisty bit, we were the fastest car compared to Mercedes and Ferrari there. He can see that progress coming.”

In fact, Horner would make a bold prediction based on the speed Verstappen has shown when his car has been working.

“When it does come his way, as so often the case in sport, he could end up winning three races on the trot by not necessarily changing anything that he is doing. It will just turn for him," he said.

Carlos Sainz admits he is surprised by Haas F1's lack of consistency and pace given his belief the Banbury-based American squad is effectively a "Ferrari 'B' team".

The Spaniard's claim is based on the lack of improved performance by Haas in 2017 compared to that the Scuderia has made despite using many of the same components on the VF-17 as seen on the three-time race winning SF70-H.

Currently, Haas sits seventh in Constructors' Championship, four points behind Sainz's Toro Rosso team but have scored their best results of the year at the last two races with Romain Grosjean's sixth in Austria and Kevin Magnussen seventh in Baku.

"Haas, in the end, is a Ferrari 'B' team," he said. "If you look at the car and the engine itself, it's more a Ferrari than anything else.

"It is a bit of a surprise that they haven't performed better up until now."

The 22-year-old did acknowledge, however, that the brakes, which have been an issue for Haas and are not supplied by Ferrari, seem to be the main performance indicator.

"On tracks where they don't struggle with brakes, with bumps or with kerbs, they put the downforce they have and the engine that they have and you look here and they have a very competitive car," he commented.

"They performed really well in Australia, they performed massively in Austria."

Adding to Sainz's comments, Force India deputy team boss Bob Fernley believes experience and expertise are also significant factors.

"Perhaps Carlos is right and they are a Ferrari 'B' team," he said. "They have some Ferrari technology in their car which makes it a good one.

"However, it's not Ferrari personnel extracting that performance," he expanded. "You've still got to do a lot of things right trackside in order to extract the performance.

"As the time goes on, if the car is fundamentally good they'll learn how to extract that performance," he predicted.

Ferrari President Sergio Marchionne has rejected recent thoughts of Fernando Alonso returning to the Scuderia for 2018, just four years after he left.

Recently in Baku, the double world champion's manager Flavio Briatore talked up the possibility as the Spaniard looks for a seat that will guarantee him competitiveness after three miserable seasons at McLaren.

Though the idea of a potential Vettel/ Alonso partnership would be appealing to many and with the second seat, indeed both seats at Ferrari yet to be filled for next year, Marchionne doesn't seem interested.

The future of the British Grand Prix is once again uncertain after Silverstone bosses confirmed they would activate the 2019 break clause in the contract.

The long-term future of the race had seemed secured when a new 17-year deal was signed with former CEO Bernie Ecclestone and redevelopments were undertaken in 2009, however, due to a five percent escalator in the hosting fee that was due to come into effect in two years, the decision has been taken to try and renegotiate.

And renegotiate appears to be the key word with circuit bosses hopeful a more cost-effective deal can be struck with new Formula 1 owners Liberty Media, who have previously said a race in the UK is integral to the sport.

Daniel Ricciardo is confident his team are making significant progress towards fighting with Mercedes and Ferrari after claiming his fifth straight podium of 2017 in Austria.

The Australian was once again left as the sole RB13, as team-mate Max Verstappen had clutch issues before being taken out at Turn 1, but he is carrying that torch well as he just stayed in touch with leaders Valtteri Bottas and Sebastian Vettel before holding off a fast-approaching Lewis Hamilton on quicker tyres in the closing laps.

Ricciardo was clearly elated as he roared down the radio on the lap back to the pits in celebration and later he would admit the performance he extracted to achieve third place made it particularly special.

"I think that's probably the biggest satisfaction with today," he claimed.

"Don't get me wrong, the kind of relief over the finish line was for sure for the podium but I'd say the biggest happiness for today is that we had raw pace.

"Obviously Baku was a victory, but things happen in the race, today we earned a podium on a circuit which for sure isn't our strength," he added, suggesting the Austria result was more important.

"The car is certainly getting there and it's all I can ask for."

Lewis Hamilton would acknowledge the "fantastic" pace the Red Bull showed, but there was one moment at the end when it looked as if the Briton was set to dash the hopes of the thousands of fans wearing dark blue at the Red Bull Ring.

"The second-last lap I didn't get the best exit out of Turn 1 and he got a good run, so I defended into Turn 3, and then I knew he had DRS so I had to defend into Turn 4," Ricciardo explained.

"It got pretty close but I just stuck to my braking points and when I thought the limit was and held [him] off."

As a result, the Aussie now sits pretty comfortably in fourth in the Drivers' standings, 24 points clear of Kimi Raikkonen in fifth with two races where the Milton Keynes outfit will be stronger at Silverstone and Hungaroring before the Summer break.