F1 gossip: British GP, Alonso, McLaren, Honda, Vettel, Ferrari

Sunday, 14 May

Silverstone first staged the British Grand Prix in 1948

The future of the British Grand Prix could be in the balance after F1's new owners Liberty Media told Silverstone bosses that they will not offer the circuit an improved deal. (Daily Mail)

Fernando Alonso thinks he would need more than 50bhp extra from his Honda engine to fight for pole position in Formula 1, after qualifying seventh for the Spanish Grand Prix. (Motorsport.com)

Honda boss Yusuke Hasegawa is unsure whether significant revisions to its V6 engine will be ready for June's Canadian Grand Prix. (Autosport)

Officials at the Spanish Grand Prix opted to extend the pit straight DRS zone by a further 100 metres, bringing the start of the zone to 57 metres after Turn 16 whereas previously it had been 157 metres. (Pitpass)

Sebastian Vettel has paid tribute to Ferrari mechanics for doing a "phenomenal job" between final practice and qualifying in Barcelona, as they changed his engine in two hours. (GPupdate)

Max Verstappen chats amiably with Williams driver Felipe Massa

Saturday, 13 May

Fernando Alonso's McLaren was on the back of a recovery truck rather than the Spanish GP circuit on Friday

McLaren executive director Zak Brown said his team felt "disbelief" when Fernando Alonso suffered engine failure on his first practice lap at the Spanish Grand Prix. Honda are still trying to find out why Alonso's engine blew up after encountering a sudden oil pressure loss just three corners into an installation lap. (Autosport)

Alonso took out his frustrations on the tennis court at his hotel. (Daily Telegraph)

The Spaniard denied his decision to leave the Circuit de Catalunya to play tennis before the end of first free practice was intended as a publicity stunt, and said it was merely an opportunity to get some training in since he could not perform on the track. (Crash.net)

Lewis Hamilton believes the radical differences an upgrade has made to the front of the W08 at the Spanish GP shows Mercedes are rising to the challenge laid down by Ferrari. (Sky Sports F1)

FIA president Jean Todt has announced that he will seek a third term in the role, with elections set to take place later in 2017. (GPupdate)

Force India deputy team principal Bob Fernley admits he cannot understand why Mercedes would offer advice to its Japanese rival Honda over reliability and performance issues. (Pitpass)

Daniel Ricciardo emphasises the team ethic

Force India engage in some badinage with their Renault counterparts

Friday, 12 May

Fernando Alonso's last win was at the Spanish Grand Prix in 2013 as a Ferrari driver

McLaren driver Fernando Alonso has said he will "talk to anyone", if his team are not in a position by October to win next season's championship. (Independent)

Felipe Massa says it's "not correct" for Fernando Alonso to miss the Monaco Grand Prix to race in the Indy 500. (Fox Sports)

Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel has refused to deny rumours that he could join Mercedes next season. (Daily Mail)

Mercedes non-executive chairman Niki Lauda has praised Vettel, calling him "the best at the moment". (Auto Bild via Planet F1)

Lewis Hamilton says his and Mercedes problems are well behind them, as he aims to bounce back at the Spanish Grand Prix.(Daily Mirror)

Kevin Magnussen won a coin toss with his Haas team-mate Romain Grosjean on Thursday to be the first driver to have the team's upgrades on his car at this weekend's Spanish Grand Prix.(AFP via Yahoo)

Young drivers got to meet their heroes at the Circuit De Catalunya

Force India's Sergio Perez says he is waiting for a move to one of the big F1 teams. (Formula1.com)

Fernando Alonso will get to keep the Indianapolis 500 car that he races in later this month to add to his museum collection. (Reuters)

Red Bull's much-awaited upgrade for the Spanish Grand Prix appeared on Thursday, with heavily revised bargeboards appearing on its RB13 car. (Eurosport)

But Daniel Ricciardo says it is wrong to expect miracles from Red Bull's new upgrade package.(ESPN)

Max Verstappen feels that added experience has been his biggest gain in F1 over the 12 months that have passed since his breakthrough win at the Spanish Grand Prix. (Crash.net)

Lewis Hamilton has revealed the last time he and former Mercedes team-mate Nico Rosberg ran into each other...was out jogging.(Sky Sports)

Thursday, 11 May

Max Verstappen's independence is both a strength and a weakness, says Red Bull team-mate Daniel Ricciardo

Max Verstappen's youthful independence can be a "weakness" and the 19-year-old should listen more to Formula 1's established drivers, says Red Bull team-mate Daniel Ricciardo. (Autosport)

Mercedes' car just needs a bit of "tuning" tor reach its full potential in response to Ferrari's impressive start to the season, says team boss Toto Wolff. (AFP)

F1 chairman Chase Carey expects the Singapore Grand Prix to remain on the 2018 calendar despite ongoing talks over renewing its contract, which expires this year. (Crash.net)

Two-time world champion Fernando Alonso has 10 years to claim the Le Mans 24 hours title but the Indy 500 - which the Spaniard will race this month - will be tougher to win, according to ex-F1 driver Mark Webber. (Autosport)

And McLaren driver Alonso has revealed his latest endeavour - the founder of a fashion label. (Motorsport)

Mercedes are the first team to reveal the new mandatory driver branding, with bigger numbers and names on the car

Wednesday, 10 May

The 3.5-litre Benetton-Cosworth Ford B191, driven by Nelson Piquet when he won the 1991 Canadian Grand Prix, is up for auction

Having come out of brief retirement to race for Williams this year, Felipe Massa has hinted that he could yet stay in F1 beyond this season. (Crash.net)

Sahara could sell their 42.5% stake in the Force India F1 Team in a bid to help release founder Subrata Roy from jail. (The Checkered Flag)

One of the first F1 cars to by driven by seven-time world champion Michael Schumacher is going up for sale. Auctioneers Bonhams say the car, also driven by Nelson Piquet, is in working condition and should attract bids of up to $1m. (Autoweek)

British IndyCar driver Max Chilton has tipped Fernando Alonso to do well on his Indy 500 debut but has warned the Spaniard that it will be "mentally draining." (The Checkered Flag)

Force India's Sergio Perez says he welcomes the competition from team-mate Esteban Ocon as it has helped improve his own performance. (Crash.net)

Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton tweets support to his brother Nicolas, who has secured a return to the Renault UK Clio Cup

Tuesday, 9 May

Ferrari are second in the Constructors' Championship, a point behind Mercedes

Mark Webber believes Jenson Button is "not very interested" in his one-off return to Formula 1, standing in for McLaren's Fernando Alonso at the Monaco Grand Prix. The former Red Bull driver says Button's involvement is a "non story" and expects the Briton to get a wake up call when he takes part. (Autosport)

Spanish IndyCar driver Oriol Servia says countryman Fernando Alonso's decision to skip the Monaco GP to race at the Indy 500 is like 'Bill Gates showing up at the Apple Christmas party instead of his own, because he knows it's going to be cooler'. (USA Today)

Former BMW and Toro Rosso chief and 10-time Formula One race winner Gerhard Berger thinks his nephew Lucas Auer could be the next Austrian on the F1 grid.(F1i)

Sebastian Vettel's 18-year-old brother, Fabian, made his debut in the Audi Sport TT Cup over the weekend. (Autoweek)

Ferrari will receive the largest share of revenues allocated for Formula 1 teams, with Mercedes and Red Bull second and third on the list.(Autosport)

Monday, 8 May

Ex-driver Mark Webber (right) believes Fernando Alonso is effectively running the McLaren team

Former driver Mark Webber says a "colossal" Fernando Alonso is currently running McLaren, resulting in a tough but ultimately beneficial environment for team-mate Stoffel Vandoorne. (Crash.net)

Williams driver Felipe Massa says mentoring rookie team-mate Lance Stroll brings back memories of his relationship with Michael Schumacher at Ferrari. (Motorsport)

Mercedes are afraid of resurgent rivals Ferrari after both teams have claimed two wins in the first four races of the season, according to Ferrari president Sergio Marchionne. (La Repubblica, via F1i.com)

Haas are set to stick with Brembo brakes during this weekend's Spanish Grand Prix, having found they were not getting enough cooling in a recent trial of Carbon Industrie brakes. (Motorsportweek)

Haas driver Kevin Magnussen enjoyed a weekend off by going fishing with his younger brother