F1 gossip: Bottas, Vettel, Sauber, Mercedes, Verstappen, Alonso

Valtteri Bottas won three races last season

Sunday, 6 May

Mercedes driver Valtteri Bottas has been awarded the Lorenzo Bandini trophy in Italy, given each year for a commendable performance in motorsport. (Sky Sports Italia - in Italian)

Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel says his battle with Mercedes' Lewis Hamilton this season is "different" to last year. (Sunday Express)

Sauber technical director Jorg Zander has left his position with immediate effect. (ESPN)

Mercedes boss Toto Wolff says working out how to give multiple drivers Formula 1 seats next season is a "good problem to have". (Autosport)

Red Bull driver Max Verstappen has revealed his training regime, including a computer game simulator. (Twitter)

McLaren's Fernando Alonso says he will go to next month's Le Mans 24 Hours "with confidence" after winning the World Endurance Championship at Spa. (F1i.com)

Fernando Alonso made a winning start to his FIA World Endurance Championship career with victory in the Six Hours of Spa-Francorchamps

Saturday, 5 May

Alonso's Toyota TS050 Hybrid will start Saturday's Spa Six Hours endurance race on the front row

McLaren's Fernando Alonso says he "misses" the Indy 500 and watches every IndyCar session he can. (Motorsport.com)

The Spanish two-time F1 world champion has secured his first front row start since 2012 at the World Endurance Championship at Spa. (F1i.com)

Ferrari president Sergio Marchionne says he has been "encouraged" by Liberty Media's "change in attitude" over their plans for F1 after 2020, but has reiterated the Scuderia could still "just pull out" of the sport. (Sky Sports)

The first images of the planned Miami Formula 1 track layout have been revealed. (Autosport)

Renault is expecting its Formula 1 engine to get a performance boost from next week's Spanish Grand Prix thanks to an upgrade from fuel supplier BP. (Motorsport.com)

Red Bull driver Max Verstappen says the Spanish Grand Prix could be "a defining moment" for the season. (Verstappen official website)

Team principal Guenther Steiner says Haas needs to record a strong weekend soon in order to banish the memory of its frustrating start to 2018. (ESPN)

Red Bull held a live demonstration on the streets of Vietnam's Ho Chi Minh City. (Red Bull)

Friday, 4 May

Sergio Perez finished third at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix in Baku

Force India driver Sergio Perez is being lined up as a potential replacement for Kimi Raikkonen at Ferrari next season. (Beyond The Flag)

Mercedes are keen on forging closer technical links with their customer Formula 1 teams, which include Force India and Williams, in the same manner that Ferrari work with Haas. (Autosport)

Stoffel Vandoorne, Lando Norris and Oliver Turvey will take part in the post-Spanish Grand Prix in-season test for McLaren at the Circuit de Catalunya. (Formula Spy)

Ferrari chairman Sergio Marchionne has stood by his threat to quit Formula One due to reservations on the future "economics" of the sport. (Crash)

Honda's power deficit is a problem which will need continued development to ensure they improve their pace. (Checkered Flag)

Kevin Magnussen was forced to clarify his widely-reported comments that he would rather "die in a car" than hold back

Thursday, 3 May

Red Bull could form a partnership with Honda for next season

Red Bull and Honda have scheduled further talks for the Spanish Grand Prix amid growing speculation over an engine link-up in 2019. (Autosport)

Renault say Nico Hulkenberg will be forgiven for throwing away a points finish in Baku, but only if that remains his one mistake for the season. (PlanetF1.com)

Former IndyCar champion Gil de Ferran says Fernando Alonso "absolutely" has a chance of winning the Indy 500 when he decides to return to the Brickyard. (Formulaspy.com)

Lewis Hamilton believes this year's Mercedes car is harder to drive than last year's "diva". (Sky Sports)

Force India chief operating officer Otmar Szafnauer says the team's podium finish at last weekend's Azerbaijan Grand Prix shows they have made progress. (The Checkered Flag)

Wednesday, 2 May

Red Bull and Honda held their first formal discussions about a potential future engine partnership in Baku last weekend

Red Bull have until the end of May to decide whether to stick with Renault or whether they opt to switch to Honda power for 2019 and beyond. (The Checkered Flag)

Daniel Ricciardo was "a passenger" in his accident with Red Bull team-mate Max Verstappen in Baku, according to F1 sporting chief Ross Brawn. (Autosport)

Force India chief Bob Fernley has hailed Sergio Perez as F1's "most underrated driver" and cannot believe the Mexican has been overlooked by top teams. (Sky Sports)

Perez is backing Verstappen to recover strongly from a difficult start to the 2018 F1 season. (Crash)

Robert Kubica and Oliver Rowland will share driving duties for Williams at the in-season Barcelona test in two weeks. (F1 Today)

Max Verstappen was able to blow off some steam after taking part in a street show in Hungary

Tuesday, 1 May

Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton celebrates after winning the Azerbaijan Grand Prix in Baku

Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton described the Azerbaijan GP as the "most challenging" race of his F1 career and admits doubts about his world championship prospects. (Sky Sports)

Max Verstappen insists there has been no falling out with Red Bull team-mate Daniel Ricciardo over their crash in Baku in the Azerbaijan Grand Prix. (Autosport.com)

Red Bull are to discuss the rules of engagement with Daniel Ricciardo and Max Verstappen before the Spanish Grand Prix on 13 May. (ESPN F1)

Formula 1 is to expand its presence on Twitter this year after agreeing a deal for the social medium platform to show exclusive videos. (Motorsport.com)

Force India will field three junior drivers in Formula 1's post-Spanish Grand Prix test at the Barcelona circuit later this month. (Autosport.com)

Monday, 30 April

Red Bull's Daniel Ricciardo won the Chinese Grand Prix in April

Formula 1 has trademarked the word 'Shoey' to claim the rights to Red Bull driver Daniel Ricciardo's podium celebration of drinking champagne from his shoe. (Independent)

Mercedes chairman Niki Lauda says Red Bull's Max Verstappen was 70% to blame for the collision with team-mate Ricciardo during the Azerbaijan Grand Prix. (ESPN F1)

Toro Rosso's Pierre Gasly has called Haas' Kevin Magnussen the most dangerous driver he has faced in his career after a clash in Azerbaijan.(ESPN F1)

Sauber driver Charles Leclerc, 20, says his sixth-placed finish in Azerbaijan feels like a victory. (Formula 1)

Toro Rosso driver Brendon Hartley is refusing to get carried away after scoring his first World Championship point at Baku on Sunday. (Crash)