Sebastian Vettel may be the next high profile member to leave Ferrari, doing so at the end of 2019, former team manager Romolo Tavoni has suggested.

The four-time world champion is looking to put the disappointment of two consecutive championship defeats to Lewis Hamilton behind him and go again with the Scuderia this season.

However, given the similar story of errors by team and driver largely gifting the Briton the title on both occasions, should there be a repeat again Tavoni believes a decision will need to be made.

“I sincerely believe that the departure of [former team boss Maurizio] Arrivabene is just the first shock,” he told Italy’s Autosprint.

“Let’s not forget that Vettel did a bad championship in 2018. I believe the immediate future of Ferrari rests on the situation with Vettel. We saw some unacceptable mistakes, and now we just have to see what will happen.

“In other words, Ferrari has a new boss but it is also necessary that Vettel, the spearhead on the track, regains his head.”

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This week, Red Bull confirmed Sebastien Buemi would be retained as the reserve driver for an eighth consecutive season in 2019.

It is a position he has held ever since he was dropped by Toro Rosso at the end of 2011, with this year marking a decade since the Swiss driver made his debut with the junior team.

That hasn't stopped Buemi from carving a successful motorsport career elsewhere with championships both in the WEC and Formula E, and that meant he was thought to be an option for a Toro Rosso comeback this season.

However, as it turned down, those achievements may have worked against him.

"He earns very, very good money in Formula E," Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko told Motorsport-Total.

"He's in a happy environment. We could not offer him the same salary he earns in Formula E and the World Endurance Championship at Toro Rosso."

Instead, the Italian team will feature another former driver in Daniil Kvyat alongside F2 graduate Alexander Albon in an all-new line-up.

Valtteri Bottas declared himself "fully recharged" as he returned to work at Mercedes ahead of the 2019 Formula 1 season.

The Finn faces a critical year with the German manufacturer after a mixture of bad luck and poor performance meant he went the full 21 races without scoring a victory.

By the end, Bottas would finish fifth in the Drivers' Championship, 161 points behind champion and teammate Lewis Hamilton, and with Esteban Ocon now on the sidelines waiting for his opportunity that gap must be closed.

Chilled. Refreshed. And back to work. ? We checked in with @ValtteriBottas on his first day back in the factory ahead of the new season... pic.twitter.com/ZZUzWRS82V

— Mercedes-AMG F1 (@MercedesAMGF1) January 16, 2019

However, at this point, Valtteri was just pleased to be back on the job.

“It was a really good break, I went to Finland to see Santa Claus, to South America, Chile and Argentina for a good holiday, [it was] a good disconnect from Formula 1 so [I’m] fully recharged for the new year," Bottas claimed.

“It’s good to be back here [at the factory]. Everything is still as it was when I was here last time in December. Everyone’s working hard for the new car, it’s nice to see the progress we’ve been making.

“Soon I’m going to see the car in the wind tunnel and all that, [I've] already done some seat fittings for next year, already done some engineering meetings with the guys about testing and about the new year.”

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McLaren inadvertently offered a partial glimpse at their 2019 car on social media on Thursday before deleting the image.

The British outfit first updated their logo but it was a larger header which gave more away than perhaps intended with a direct look down the centre of the car plus the inadvertent confirmation of a new sponsor.

The instantly recognisable Coca-Cola logo can be seen on the rear wing which suggests a new deal has been reached between McLaren and the drinks giant after first appearing on the side-pod turning vanes in the final races of last year.

CEO Zak Brown recently spoke of the challenge of attracting new sponsors, pointing to political and economic uncertainty as factors impacting F1's appeal.

"It’s as hard as it’s ever been," he said at the Autosport International Show. "Corporations are a bit nervous to invest long-term because they are not quite sure if something happens over here what does that mean.

"It does put everything into a bit of a slowdown and holding pattern.

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Daniel Ricciardo admits he is under no illusion of the challenge he faces against Nico Hulkenberg at Renault this season.

The Australian may have escaped the growing shadow of Max Verstappen at Red Bull, but his new teammate promises to be no pushover either despite Hulkenberg's reputation as one of Formula 1's nearly men.

Nico has the unwanted record of the most starts without scoring a podium in F1 history, having never gotten his big break at a top team during his decade on the grid, but Ricciardo knows that doesn't take away from the talent the German has.

“I’ll certainly take a lot of the highs with me and use them as confidence moving to Renault,” Ricciardo told Motorsport.com.

“And I’ll need that as well because of Nico. I think that everyone who knows F1 knows his calibre.

“From the outside, you can think that he’s done 200 races or whatever and never had a podium, but we all know he isn’t that level of driver.

“So I know I’ll need to bring all of this, not only to beat him but also to help fast-track the team to progress.”

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Toro Rosso is prepared to give up their 2019 Formula 1 season to help Red Bull and Honda make as much competitive progress as possible.

Last year, the Faenza-based outfit did effectively the same thing following the senior team's decision to drop Renault for the Japanese manufacturer this year, taking engine penalties to develop both performance and reliability.

The potential of the Spec-3 'Suzuka special' in the final races has raised expectations of a title challenge at Red Bull this season and Toro Rosso boss Franz Tost wouldn't mind if that came at his team's expense.

“If that helps the strategy for Red Bull to win races and the world championship, of course,” he told Motorsport.com.

“We do not even need to discuss this, it’s within our philosophy. I’m more than happy with it because in parallel we also improve the performance.”

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Sergio Perez has warned former teammate Esteban Ocon that taking a year off the Formula 1 grid is a "risky move" for his career.

The Frenchman had little choice over his future following his axe at the renamed Racing Point team to accommodate the arrival of Lance Stroll and after failing to secure a seat will instead be on the sidelines as a Mercedes reserve.

While it is thought a rapid return in 2020 is more than likely, Perez admits the stock Ocon had at the end of 2018 may not have the same value a year later without a regular race seat, particularly with another young talent in George Russell at Williams.

"Definitely. It definitely can hurt him more than it can benefit him," the Mexican told Motorsport.com. "Formula 1 is evolving so much year by year. You never know what the future will hold."

What Perez does acknowledge, however, is Ocon's ability and that he could still make arguably the biggest return there is in today's F1.

"He is in a great position with Mercedes. He definitely deserves a seat in Formula 1, he is one of the best drivers in this sport," he stated.

"But I think a year out of this can change so much. Maybe he comes back and drives for Mercedes, but you never know what the future will hold.

"So, it is a risky move."

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Ferrari wants to run their 2019 car a day earlier than the rest of the grid with a shakedown in Barcelona prior to the first pre-season test.

The Scuderia will take advantage of the 'filming day' regulations which permit 100km of running on demonstration Pirelli tyres to check key systems on February 17, the day before the first four days of action get underway at the Spanish circuit.

Should any issues emerge in the build-up to the test, however, Autosport understand the shakedown plan will be abandoned and the filming day take place on February 21 instead.

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Max Verstappen is now performing at the level required to compete for the Formula 1 championship going into 2019, Karun Chandhok believes.

Last year was arguably the most crucial in the Dutchman's career as a flurry of early-season incidents was replaced by a slightly less instinctive but much more consistent driver following a major disappointment in Monaco.

Indeed, had the championship started from Canada, Verstappen would have finished second to Lewis Hamilton with the former F1 driver drawing a key comparison between the pair.

"I think Max has now matured enough and he's ready to be world champion," Chandhok said at the Autosport International event recently. 

"He's like Lewis was in 2008, he's ready to be fighting for the world championship and put together a season-long campaign."

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Renault is ready to unleash "three years of attack" in their effort to become a winning team in Formula 1 again, says executive director Marcin Budkowski.

The French manufacturer has been making good progress through the midfield since returning as a works team in 2016 and would highlight that by finishing fourth in last year's Constructors' Championship.

But that isn't sufficient for a team like Renault and now, the former FIA man claims, the real push begins with the foundation of the Enstone & Viry-based operation in place.

"We do not work for the short-term," Budkowski explained to France's Auto Hebdo. "We don't just hire experienced people, but mostly young people coming out of university. We invest in the future. We are not looking for immediate results as we are still rebuilding the team.

"We could have done better last year if the short-term had been our goal, but rather it is to build a team capable of being world champions and after three years of construction, three years of attack are beginning."

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