Esteban Ocon has made his position clear regarding his future, ahead of a year on the sidelines with Mercedes in 2019.
The Frenchman impressed during his two-and-a-half years on the grid, initially with Manor in 2016 before two seasons at Force India.
However, he was ousted at the Silverstone-based outfit at the end of the year and replaced by Lance Stroll following his father's takeover of the team last summer.
“I want to be world champion one day. It’s my goal and my dream,” Ocon stated to Auto Hebdo.
“Of course it’s not great not to compete this season, but I’m still focused on F1 and I think it’s the right choice.
“After, if I do not find a drive for 2020, then it will turn to something because I have to continue working.”
Haas F1 boss Guenther Steiner says the team is still earning the respect of their rivals as they enter their fourth Formula 1 season.
The American outfit enjoyed a step forward in the midfield last year, following two eighth-place finishes in the Constructors' Championship with a fifth in 2018, following a battle with Renault.
However, their status on the grid is still questioned by some, who see their approach of a close technical partnership with Ferrari as making Haas an effective 'B-team'.
"When you come into the sport you cannot just demand respect, you have to earn your respect," Steiner told Autosport.
“We’re putting a good show on and always do what we say we’re going to do.
"We’re competitive out on track and behaving well for the sport and a good addition to the sport [so] you are recognised more, but there is still a long way to go because always the guy that wins can have the biggest voice and we have got a long way to go to get there.”
Toro Rosso has become the first team to confirm their 2019 car, the STR14, has passed the obligatory FIA crash tests.
Following a change to the regulations several years ago, all cars must now be declared safe by the governing body before they can roll out on track in pre-season testing.
That means teams face an even tighter schedule to ensure their designs are ready, however, the junior Red Bull team has met the criteria with just over a month to go until the first four-day event in Barcelona.
Carlos Sainz may not have raced for McLaren yet but is already looking to stay well beyond his current contract.
Rather than replace Daniel Ricciardo at Red Bull, the Spaniard instead opted to follow his hero and mentor Fernando Alonso to the British team for 2019.
While McLaren has been in a performance slump in recent years, having not won a race since 2012, Sainz wants to be part of the bid to rekindle previous success.
“I am in a two-year commitment with them,” the 23-year-old told Motorsport Week.
“I want, as a driver, but also as a fan because I am a McLaren fan, to see the team going forward. So, if we manage to get a good first year and a good head start on how things are going to evolve I really think I can create a family out of McLaren and spend a few years there.
Having been very critical of stewards decisions in Formula 1 in recent years, the governing body took the opportunity to give Max an insight into how the stewards operate and the Red Bull driver was pleasantly surprised.
“It’s interesting to see it from the other side. Normally you can’t spend an entire day with the stewards!” he told his official website.
“Everybody does their own job during the weekend, and it’s good to really see what it takes to make these important decisions.
“Sometimes a decision might not be nice for a certain person but it has to be taken and you have to follow the rules," Verstappen conceded.
“I think it’s good to experience different things in racing rather than just sitting in the car. To be here and do this kind of work has been a constructive thing for me.”
The day also gave Verstappen the chance to sample Formula E up close and the 21-year-old gave the series a strong thumbs up.
“I’ve of course followed Formula E a bit on TV but I’ve never been in the paddock, and I really enjoyed the day," he commented.
“First of all, it was a really exciting race, the championship is clearly growing and there are a lot of manufacturers here, so I think it’s a cool series.”
There was a little opposition to Verstappen's presence, however, with DS Virgin's Sam Bird suggesting the FIA's decision belittled Formula E.
“I mean, to call coming to Formula E race ‘community service’ I think does Formula E a bit of an injustice," he said. “It shouldn’t be a punishment to come here.
“I hope he enjoyed it and I hope he will give good feedback to some of his colleagues.”
The design of Vietnam's Formula 1 circuit in Hanoi was created using what has been described as the world's first "overtaking simulation".
Former Williams technical chief Pat Symonds is working alongside F1 motorsport director Ross Brawn to develop regulations which would encourage closer racing and generate more action from 2021.
While changes to the cars are being made, Symonds also revealed research into circuit design looking to ways of encouraging more overtaking without needing such aids as DRS.
"We've produced what I think is the world's first overtaking simulation," he said at the Autosport International show which began this week in the UK.
"It's been extremely complex to do. To run a lap takes several hours and it's a very, very complex simulation but it has a proper wake model of the cars, it looks at the surface and the tyre characteristics and all these sorts of things.
"We're now using that to design our new circuits and to look at some modifications."
McLaren CEO Zak Brown is confident the abilities of Carlos Sainz and Lando Norris will make up for the departure of Fernando Alonso.
Still considered one of the best drivers on the grid even when he called time on his 17-year career at the end of 2018, the Spaniard was a key component of the British team as they tried to make progress up the grid.
Alonso is expected to retain a close relationship with McLaren though, including a likely test the new MCL34 at some point, and Brown doesn't think his squad will miss the race-by-race advice Fernando brought.
“Carlos has a lot of experience and it is good that he has been in a couple of different teams.
“Lando has proven that he is extremely quick, so as far as ultimate performance of how fast our race car is, I think those drivers will get the most out of the car," he told Motorsport.com
“They will be able to tell us [of areas to improve], someone like Lando does not have the experience of Fernando, nor the type of feedback, and it will take some time for him to develop, but for Carlos it is his fifth year in the sport [F1], so we are comfortable with our drivers.”
The events that took place at the German & Italian Grand Prix's proved "things weren't right" at Ferrari under Maurizio Arrivabene.
That is according to former Formula 1 driver turned Sky Sports pundit Martin Brundle as he gave his view on the Scuderia's decision to replace the Italian with technical director Mattia Binotto this week.
At both races, Sebastian Vettel committed key errors which heavily swung the championship in Lewis Hamilton's favour, but with better management, Brundle believes they could have been avoided.
"You don't know what you don't know if you're not inside an organisation, but I did observe it and see that things weren't right," he said at the start of the Autosport International show in Birmingham.
"You look at situations like Hockenheim, where Vettel was put under pressure because they didn't do the right things earlier on in the race, then he fell off the road and he fell out of the championship from that moment onwards.
"You look at other things like the slipstreaming in Monza [where Kimi Raikkonen claimed pole after running behind Vettel in qualifying], certain things weren't being done."
Sergio Perez believes his seat at Racing Point is the best on the grid for a driver outside the top three teams.
The Mexican will be entering his sixth season with the Silverstone outfit, formerly known as Force India, and in that time he has built a reputation as one of the top midfield runners on the grid.
Last year was a little rocky, as financial problems led to a stint in administration which Perez himself initiated, but the team remains as close as it ever has and now has the potential for a bright future.
“I have been here for a lot more years than I thought it to be," Checo, who joined after his failed season at McLaren in 2013, told FormulaRapida.
“I am comfortable here, I am very optimistic. I think if you cannot be in a Ferrari or Mercedes, Racing Point is a great place to be and definitely, there’s a huge potential in this team.
“I have been the best of the rest for the last two years – was very close to be for the third year in a row – so there is a prospect to go forward.
“We will see how things go for next year, I am definitely very excited about the future of this team.
“I have been charting with very much the whole team from mechanics to engineers, catering and everyone is really excited.”
Honda has issued a defiant response to reports from Germany last week claiming of two key setbacks with the development of their 2019 engine.
As the Japanese manufacturer prepares to supply both Red Bull and Toro Rosso this season, Autobild suggested there was disagreement between Honda and a consultant AVL.
However, a spokesperson denied there was a partnership between the two parties and that it was the possibility of working together that fell through.
"It is not a fact that we cancelled our partner contract with AVL because we have not signed a partnership agreement with AVL in the first place," the spokesperson was quoted by GPFans.
"It is true that Honda was talking to work together with AVL, but there is a gap between what Honda is seeking and what they can do and we have not concluded. There must have been a misunderstanding."
