Mercedes motorsport boss, Toto Wolff is refusing to be complacent believing the team do still have lingering issues with the W08 despite a comprehensive one-two in Canada.

The two Silver Arrows were left somewhat by themselves during the race in Montreal, with Lewis Hamilton able to beat team-mate Valtteri Bottas by 20 seconds with the Finn equally untroubled.

Though problems for their rivals was the main cause for that, it was still a massive contrast to the issues they faced the race before in Monaco, which led to 24-hour work for 10 straight days afterwards to come up with solutions.

"I never feel that," Wolff said when asked if he though Montreal signalled an end to Mercedes' issues. "Monaco looked pretty grim but we didn't dive into depression and Montreal looked pretty great, but I wouldn't say that the problems are solved. We understood it much better, another set of valuable data points, now we have to move to Baku."

"We understood it much better, another set of valuable data points, now we have to move to Baku."

In looking to prove his ongoing caution, the Austrian would point to the seven-tenths deficit between his two drivers in qualifying as the decision to use different tyres played a key part in their gap in the race.

"Although we had pretty similar setups, Lewis' grip level was increasing throughout qualifying and Valtteri's grip level was decreasing throughout the session. For no obvious reasons," Wolff claimed.

"These are the little question marks that remain and we have to just get on top of."

With Mercedes' issues mostly specific to the ultrasoft, with only a handful of circuits left on the calendar likely to see the purple-marked rubber, it will be interesting to see if the Brackley-based team continues the form from Canada and, more importantly, whether Ferrari can match it.

Long-time Renault engineer and now trackside operations director Alan Permane is urging caution over a potential Robert Kubica comeback in Formula 1 despite a successful test last week.

The Polish driver returned to the cockpit of an F1 car for the first time since his near-fatal crash at the Andorra Rally in early 2011, an incident that left Kubica is severe right arm injuries.

Driving a 2012 Lotus E20, now run under the Renault name, the now 32-year-old managed 115 laps on the Ricardo Torno circuit in Valencia, as he completed a full weekend simulation in just one day.

"From what I've seen from the statistics, from the data, the pace is there. That's for sure," Permane said talking to Poland's Eleven Sports.

"I had no doubt on his pace, ever, at all [before the test], I did not know, I don't think he knew, whether he would be able to drive physically... and, more than that, be able to drive a lot.

"He's driven some things," he continued. "He's driven simulators, he's driven a GP3 car earlier this year in preparation for this, but we didn't really know what his limitations would be. And, honestly, it went very well. He was quick. He did some long runs, he did some short runs, he did qualifying, we did race simulations and it all went very well."

Though impressed by how easily Kubica settled back in, Permane admits there is still a lot of hurdles in the way of a full-time return.

"On that Tuesday in Valencia, he did a fantastic job. However, there are many other circuits and whether he has physical limitations on those, only he knows at the moment," he said.

"If it needs to go any further, that would be the next step."

As for the man himself, Kubica, who's only race win in F1 came at the Canadian Grand Prix nine years ago, says he is now working towards having one last stint on the grid.

"I don't know what it will bring," he said to Sky Sports of the Valencia test, "but definitely it's a nice feeling to know I can drive an F1 car after such a difficult period and having my limitations.

"To know I can drive the car and I can drive the car at a good pace and for an entire Grand Prix distance is something which makes me happy and proud.

"I would like to test more," he admitted. "It doesn't depend only on my side, but I will keep working and hopefully one day I will have a chance to go forward and step-by-step maybe have a proper comeback."

Fernando Alonso should consider leaving Formula 1 if he is unhappy, claims his former Ferrari team-mate, Felipe Massa.

There is a great deal of speculation surrounding the future of the double world champion, with his contract at McLaren expiring at the end of the year.

The Spaniard his also in the midst of his worst year in F1, having only finished one of the six races he has participated in as Honda's nightmare return to the sport continues.

"Fernando is complaining about F1 because he does not have a good car," Massa told Spanish publication El Confidencial.

"F1 is the same now as it was in the 80s," he continued.

"Now with Liberty we are going in the right direction to attract people, but with the cars, we still do not make a difference because the gaps between Mercedes and Ferrari and the rest is too great.

"Small teams should be given more opportunity, but until another Concorde Agreement is signed in 2020 it will be impossible."

Alonso returned to the F1 paddock at the Canadian Grand Prix after opting to skip Monaco and participate in the Indy 500 as part of a tie-up between McLaren, Honda and Andretti Autosport.

Though that, like many of his races this year, would end in an engine failure while competing towards the front, the 35-year-old was full of praise for the atmosphere generated in IndyCar both for the fans and by the media.

"In F1, everyone is looking for some controversy with what you say," he said in Montreal.

"Or thinking about the future rather than the weekends, because you already know who will be the top 15 in qualifying and the race."

Alonso has already said he wishes to remain in F1 after this year as a third world title remains his career goal, but Massa, who himself put off retirement for at least another year to remain at Williams, believes Fernando should consider his options carefully.

"I think it depends on a lot of things, but I think if you're not having a good time, it's best to leave," he said.

"He does not seem to be enjoying much right now, so maybe he will. Maybe he will go to another team or take on other challenges outside of F1.

"It's something we don't know," Massa concluded.

Pirelli motorsport chief Paul Hembery has played down suggestions Sebastian Vettel has advantage with the 2017 tyres after completing numerous tests last year.

In preparation for the wider tyres introduced this year, the top three teams, Mercedes, Ferrari and Red Bull, all completed a number of tests with adapted 2015 cars, designed to mimic the downforce levels expected this year.

While Pascal Wehrlein usually stepped in to drive for Mercedes, Vettel was a willing participant in these tests completing 2000km of running.

“Yes, Sebastian did a lot of testing,” Hembery said.

“It was very intense and he gave us a lot of feedback. We thank him for that. That is what we wanted: the top drivers giving us good feedback."

On whether that running also benefited the German, however, Hembery added: “Because he didn’t really know what he was testing - he was blind-testing - it might have helped him psychologically, but I doubt it helped practically.”

Mercedes motorsport boss Toto Wolff made the most impactful suggestion of some kind of collaboration when he claimed his team's problems in Monaco were an "Italian mystery".

Commenting on the situation of the defending world champions' inconsistency with the Pirelli rubber, Hembery added: “Actually Mercedes’ issue is linked a bit to certain circuits: in Barcelona they were fine - and in Silverstone and Spa they will be as well.

"It’s the lower-grip circuits where they’ve had a few more problems, but I am sure they will resolve any issues as we go through the season."

Ferrari will give the new 'Shield' cockpit device its track debut at the British Grand Prix next month, it is being reported.

Formula 1's governing body, the FIA, has been pushing for the introduction of greater driver protection while behind in the wheel, in response to the tragic deaths of several racing drivers in recent years including Jules Bianchi in 2014.

It was hoped a device would be ready for introduction to coincide with the rule changes for this year but it was felt the development of the then-preferred 'halo' solution hadn't progressed enough.

Efforts are now underway to develop the 'Shield' concept, believed to be more similar to the aero screen (in the main picture) Red Bull trialled in Russia last year, which is designed to deflect smaller parts, similar to the spring that struck Felipe Massa in 2009, away from the cockpit area.

Early estimations put the first on-track test at around the Italian Grand Prix in September, but now it is believed Ferrari will have the first prototype ready to trial during Friday practice at Silverstone.

Opinions on increasing cockpit protection continue to be wide-ranging with Jolyon Palmer commenting earlier this year: “There's no group opinion of the drivers, some people seem to think there is, but there's not. It's very split, some people want nothing, some people think the Shield is a good idea, some people still want the Halo.

“There's no real consensus from the drivers, even if some people seem to think there is.”

Another area of debate has centred around the aesthetics of adding such as device, with very few impressed by the look of the Halo. Felipe Massa and Valtteri Bottas have already claimed the Shield "looks nicer" than the last idea but the jury will still be out until one is seen fitted to an F1 car and circles a racetrack.

The introduction of a cost cap would be the best all-around solution to Formula 1's financial issues, claims Williams technical director Paddy Lowe.

The topic of expenditure, whether it be engines for customer teams or the development of the car during a season, has been thrust back firmly into the spotlight since Liberty Media became the new majority shareholders earlier this year.

The idea of a cost cap is also nothing new, with a planned $40 million cap from 2010 proposed eventually scrapped, much to the detriment of the three teams that entered F1 that year, but a new effort is set to be undertaken, something Lowe agrees with.

“I prefer a cost cap or some sort of cost constraint. A constraint on the input side,” the former Mercedes team boss said.

However, he does admit other measures introduced in recent years have had some success.

“I think we had done a lot of experiments over the last 10 or 15 years by trying to control the output side," Lowe claimed.

“They haven’t been entirely worthless those manoeuvres, for instance, the elimination of routine track testing has allowed us to not need whole test teams and cars to support those and people to sort those. That has been effective.

“The control of aerodynamic testing, restricting the number of wind tunnels you can use, that’s all been good."A key part

Last weekend, the managing director of motorsport for the Formula One Group, Ross Brawn, made it clear any regulation on costs would not be allowed to change the fundamental principles that F1 has built up during its history.

But maintaining that, in Lowe's opinion, is easier said than done.

“I think the problem with continuing down that road is that if you really want to reduce the leverage of your spend, in terms of lap time, significantly you end up having to make the cars too similar," he said.

“You end up with a lot of standardisation and effectively dumb down the cars themselves and the innovation with the cars and to be effective it would be too detrimental to the product that we all enjoy as spectators.

“So I think the only real way to solve it is to control the spending at the input end of things, for which one of the solutions would be a cost cap.”

Esteban Ocon showed why he will be a future star in Formula 1 with his performance at the Canadian Grand Prix, according to Mercedes motorsport boss Toto Wolff.

The 20-year-old, who is still part of the young driver program with the German manufacturer, has been one of the underrated success stories this season, scoring in all-but-one of the seven races so far since joining Force India from the now defunct Manor team for 2017.

In Montreal, the Frenchman had the pace to score his first podium finish until he became stuck behind team-mate Sergio Perez, with the Mexican unwilling to play the team game and allowing the faster Ocon by.

"Force India could have done many more points," Wolff commented after the race, as a charging Sebastian Vettel passed both pink VJM10's in the closing laps.

"He (Ocon) did a great race. Really fantastic for his first season. He's developing just in the right way, he's going to be a superstar of the future."

The decision to promote Ocon to Force India ahead of Pascal Wehrlein, now at Sauber, for this season surprised many after the German's strong performances.

However, COO for the Silverstone-based team, Otmar Szafnaeur, never doubted the abilities of the former European F3 champion.

"It's one of the reasons we chose him," he said, referring to Esteban's performance in Canada. "It's hard to predict the future but we're happy he's done what we thought he could do.

"We've got two drivers that can work together and now they're close together which means they'll be pushing each other.

"We had that with Nico [Hulkenberg] and Sergio and we were a little unsure with Esteban, we thought, but he's quickly gotten up to speed now and that will just push both of them forward."

Certainly, with the trials and tribulations of Wehrlen this year, after his back injury earlier in the year, Ocon is putting a strong case forward to be the first young driver in line for a seat at Mercedes when one should become available.

The most important three seats on the Formula 1 grid that could change owners for 2018 will not be resolved anytime soon it seems.

Both Ferrari drivers and Valtteri Bottas are all out of contract at the end of this year with speculation already considering possible driver changes.

Sebastian Vettel is being linked to a seat at Mercedes for next year, though the chances of a possible Vettel/ Hamilton partnership at the German manufacturer would likely be slim.

It is thought Ferrari may look to the next generation of drivers, with names like Carlos Sainz and Sergio Perez linked to replace a then retiring Kimi Raikkonen, while Bottas was hurried to Mercedes this year following Nico Rosberg's shock retirement and will need to convince Toto Wolff to keep him on.

With the two teams currently embroiled in a battle with each other for this year's championship, at Maranello, team boss Maurizio Arrivabene claims no talks are currently underway regarding their future line-up.

“We are not thinking about contracts now, we are thinking about the championship,” he said.

“They are two separate issues. We are all concentrated. As I have said many, many times we are working altogether, including the drivers, we are very focused on our job and I have to say the contract is not an issue.”

That's despite a report last week that Ferrari president Sergio Marchionne does want at least Vettel's future decided by the Italian Grand Prix in September.

As for Bottas, he too isn't looking beyond this year and hopes his results will make that decision easier.

"Of course I hope to stay at Mercedes," The Finn, who won his first Grand Prix in Russia earlier this year, reportedly told Sky Italia.

"But it's still too early to talk about it. I'm thinking about doing well day by day, race by race so I'm focusing on the present," Bottas explained.

"If I do well in the future then it will be downhill."

One thing the 27-year-old thinks is in his favour, however, is the harmony at Mercedes between himself and Lewis Hamilton.

"We will get to know each other better during the season because before this year I didn't know Lewis well," he said.

"We are definitely very different. I like to stay in a calm environment, at home with my family. I care very much about my privacy, while Lewis is more social and good around people.

"But we have a very professional relationship and respect, but at the same time, we want to beat each other on the track. We accept this and can work together well.

"I think there's a great team spirit," he added.

Red Bull team boss Christian Horner has responded to engine supplier Renault declaring there would be no significant upgrades until 2018.

Instead, managing director Cyril Abiteboul, who also played down Horner's earlier claims of an upgrade for Montreal or Baku, said the French manufacturer would be focusing on regular, small gains for the remainder of this year.

The news also upset driver Max Verstappen who, after failing to finish in Canada, believes the decision could harm Red Bull's chances to be competitive next season.

"Well, this is Renault's decision," Horner said about the upgrades situation in an interview on the official F1 website. "We take whatever we can when we can - for sure we'd rather sooner than later!

"We knew that Montreal would be tricky and so will be the next two races, Azerbaijan and Austria. We will probably introduce our next engine [from the season's allotted allocation] in Austria - and hopefully, that will be a bit of a boost as our fuel supplier ExxonMobil did a great job finding performance. In this area, there is quite a bit of potential."

When asked if he had been surprised by Abiteboul's announcement, he added: "Nothing surprises me these days. You deal with the hand that you've got and we will keep on pushing the best we can.

"As I just said, we are very confident our new partner ExxonMobil will help in performance from that side. The last three races have been promising, so let's see what Baku holds for us."

Horner also insisted the actions of Renault would not affect decisions taken by Red Bull in terms of car development as the team look to make up for a disappointing start to 2017.

"You always try in all areas [to improve], he said. "I don't believe that Renault has given up on this year - that's what they have told us.

"For us, it doesn't change anything. We are always pushing hard and it is good to see that the last three races showed good progress."

McLaren may have already decided to divorce with Honda at the end of this year, former technical director Mike Gascoyne has suggested.

Speaking to Sky Sports, the former Jordan, Toyota and Caterham man believes the change in tone to statements coming out of the British team in recent weeks, particularly last weekend in Canada, indicates there has been a marked change in their relationship.

"The rhetoric has been quite critical for the last couple of races and it just sounds like a decision has been made and they are just fencing around about how to make it public," Gascoyne claimed.

Executive director, Zak Brown has been a lot harsher in his criticism towards McLaren's engine partner, calling them "lost" prior to the weekend in Montreal as an upgrade, which has been promised since Spain, failed to be delivered. He would go on to say the team was "near our limit" and that the executive board had called for an initiation of the process to consider their future options.

"I think it just becomes a business decision," Brown added. "As nice as the Honda contract is and I'm sure there's lots of teams here that would love to have the contractual relationship, at the end of the day you start losing a lot of money in prize money which is all easily documented."

He also claimed the team had lost more sponsors in the past few years than in the last decade, stating: "You've got two different types of sponsor losses, you have those that leave the sport, sometimes you don't know if that was you or the sport or circumstances, but when someone leaves a team to go to another team what that means is they are happy with the sport, they're not happy with the team."

Racing director Eric Boullier also expressed his frustration declaring Honda' problems as "completely unacceptable" after Fernando Alonso's power unit failed two laps from the end in Montreal while running in the final points paying position.

Speculation is now rampant that McLaren is seeking a return to former supplier Mercedes, with meetings between bosses of both parties seen taking place at several races this year, however, whether the German manufacturer is prepared to offer their class-leading units to a potential title rival, a concern held by long-time CEO Ron Dennis, is likely to be a key hurdle to overcome.