Formula 1 gossip: Ecclestone, Raikkonen, Ferrari, Giovinazzi, Vandoorne, Wolff

Friday, 3 February

Mercedes boss Toto Wolff warns of a "risk that a lot of knowledge will be lost" if F1's new owners, Liberty Media, discard the sport's former chief executive Bernie Ecclestone completely.(Pitpass.com)

Ferrari driver Kimi Raikkonen says it is "pointless" to speculate on how the teams will fare this season until the cars take to the track and the impact of the rule changes becomes apparent.(Autopsort)

Raikkonen finished sixth in the drivers' standing in 2016

McLaren's reserve driver Stoffel Vandoorne believes the new cars will mean corners becoming faster in the 2017 season. (McLaren)

Antonio Giovinazzi drove an F1 car for the first time when he took a 2015 Ferrari for a session at the team's Fiorano test track in Italy. The 23-year-old Italian joined Ferrari as their third driver in December.

Lewis Hamilton tweeted a video of his new Mercedes car's engine firing up with the word "beast".

Hamilton seems to be impressed by the engine of the Mercedes car

The minimum weight of F1 cars for the 2017 season has been increased by 6kg because of the new Pirelli tyres. (Planet F1)

Haas driver Kevin Magnussen likes what he sees as he looks at some pictures of himself

Thursday, 2 February

Valtteri Bottas (right) met Hamilton's former team-mate Nico Rosberg before joining Mercedes

Retired 2016 world champion Nico Rosberg says his replacement at Mercedes, Valtteri Bottas, asked to sit down with him before he joined the team but that he did not give the Finn "any tips" or "secrets" on how to beat former team-mate Lewis Hamilton. (Planet F1)

Hamilton says three-time world champion Ayrton Senna would have been his ideal team-mate but added they "maybe wouldn't get on". (Formula1)

FIA president Jean Todt has warned F1's new owners against a major overhaul of the sport. (ESPN)

Ford says it is not planning to return to F1, despite hopes more manufacturers could come into the sport following the takeover of Liberty Media. (Autosport)

Valterri Bottas is gearing up big style for the new season

Wednesday, 1 February

Retired reigning world champion Nico Rosberg says he is not going to join the Formula E championship. (Autosport)

Williams' search for a replacement for Mercedes-bound Valtteri Bottas was complicated by demands from their alcoholic drink sponsor that teenager Lance Stroll's team-mate was older than 25. (Autoweek)

Red Bull's Max Verstappen racks up the hours on the simulator, but there is unlikely to be room for his pet dog in the real thing

Renault's Nico Hulkenberg says the the 2017 cars feel "brutally fast" in simulation. (Auto Motor Und Sport - in German)

FIA president Jean Todt has asked the media not to place too much pressure on Mick Schumacher, the 17-year-old son of seven-time world champion Michael, as he prepares to make his European F3 series debut. (Pitpass)

The possibility of a Grand Prix on the streets of London has been raised again in the wake of Liberty Media's takeover of the sport last week. (Sky Sports)

Ferrari are considering 3D printing technology to produce an innovative piston design for the 2017 season. (Motorsport)

Tuesday, 31 January

Daniel Ricciardo says he was tempted by a move to Mercedes but thinks Red Bull will challenge for the title this year. (Formula 1 official website)

Lewis Hamilton was spotted heading out for dinner with singer Lionel Richie's daughter Sofia. (Daily Mail)

Esteban Gutierrez admits he was "too confident things were taken care of" regarding his Formula 1 future, before losing his Haas seat to Kevin Magnussen. (Eurosport)

Fernando Alonso is confident in his McLaren car's power, but is unsure how aerodynamically successful his 2017 ride will be. (Marca)

Toro Rosso took risks during the 2016 Formula 1 season to counter the deficit of running a year-old Ferrari engine, according to team principal Franz Tost. (Autosport)

Lewis Hamilton's competition for fans to design his new helmet has been hijacked on Instagram with some interesting results. (Telegraph)

Monday, 30 January

Mercedes F1 non-executive chairman Niki Lauda says the team's new driver Valtteri Bottas is "at least as good as" 2016 world champion Nico Rosberg. Lauda adds that Mercedes "do not mourn" the team's loss of Rosberg. (Sports Bild, via F1i.com)

Formula 1's governing body, the FIA, has made more than $80m (£63.7m) from the F1 takeover by Liberty Media. (F1today.net)

Liberty Media's new managing director of motorsport, Ross Brawn, says he wants to see more races in an F1 season. There were 21 races in 2016 and there will be 20 in 2017. (ESPN)

Sauber team principal Monisha Kaltenborn says F1's new owners Liberty Media need to act as soon as possible to ensure the prize money paid is more evenly distributed. (Crash.net)

Valtteri Bottas says he can handle the pressure of being Nico Rosberg's replacement at Mercedes. (MTV, via PlanetF1.com)

New Haas F1 recruit Kevin Magnussen has said that his competiveness has led to him "overdriving the car". (F1i.com)

Force India team boss Otmar Szafnauer expects Esteban Ocon, 20, to do as well as the team's former driver Nico Hulkenberg. Force India came fourth in the Constructors Championship in 2016. (PlanetF1.com)

Red Bull's Daniel Ricciardo posted a picture on Twitter of him on a bike ride on Sunday

Sauber's Marcus Ericsson has also been warming up for the new season with some training on the bike

Mercedes' Lewis Hamilton opted for a different form of transport. He wrote on Instagram: "This Maverick X3 is a BEAST."