Robert Kubica has responded to Sebastian Vettel questioning his Formula 1 return in 2019 with Williams.

Talking to Swiss publication Blick, the four-time world champion said he was pleased to see the Polish driver back but wondered if his seat would have been better given to a younger driver.

At recently turned 34, Kubica will be the second oldest driver on the grid behind Kimi Raikkonen but he also reminded Vettel that he was now one of the sport's elder statesmen at 31.

“You also can’t really say that Vettel is a lot younger than me," he was quoted by PlanetF1. "On the other hand, there are a lot of young drivers who are entering F1. My teammate for example.”

Indeed, 20-year-old F2 champion George Russell will join Kubica at Williams while 19-year-old Lando Norris joins McLaren and 22-year-old Alexander Albon heads to Toro Rosso.

A pair of 21-year-old's will also race at the front in Charles Leclerc and Max Verstappen while new Red Bull driver Pierre Gasly is a year older.

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Kubica does admit though that while most are happy to see him get a second chance eight years after his horrific rally crash, some will still be critical.

“Everyone has their own opinion,” he said. “Not everyone has to be happy that I am coming back.

"Certainly, when it comes to other drivers it’s normal that the competition is big.

Mercedes motorsport boss Toto Wolff has again hit out at what he called the "shameful" events which led to Valtteri Bottas losing the Azerbaijan GP this year.

The Finn had inherited the lead after Sebastian Vettel pitted during a Safety Car but at a late restart would run over a piece of debris on the main straight causing a puncture and his immediate retirement.

Wolff has already stated he believes that moment arguably cost Bottas a championship bid as he went on to endure a torrid year, failing to win a single race and the frustration of that day remains raw.

"Baku for me was a shock," Wolff told Motorsport.com. "I was very annoyed and very upset because of this whole manoeuvre."

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The debris was missed by marshals but was caused by Kevin Magnussen and Pierre Gasly touching in what was a very dangerous move.

"Magnussen v Gasly was crazy, and should have been severely penalised," the Mercedes boss added.

"Then the debris being on the track from this s**t fight, at this s**t place at the back of the grid costing Valtteri this win is shameful. It is shameful. This is one of the worst moments for me this year."

Lance Stroll should have another year at least before making the jump to Formula 1, Williams technical chief Paddy Lowe believes.

The young Canadian has endured a tough start to his career on the grid with a number of incidents at the start of 2017 in addition to the constant labelling as a pay driver without much talent by some.

It is often forgotten, however, that Stroll made the move after a pretty dominant European F3 season in 2016, even so, Lowe does think the 20-year-old should have considered F2 first.

“With Lance, his second year in F1, my personal view is that in hindsight he came into F1 too early,” he told RACER.

“There are a number of reasons for that, but I think he would have been better to come a year later when he was better prepared."

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His honest assessment comes as Stroll departs Williams for the renamed Racing Point F1 team in 2019, which was bought by his father Lawrence this past summer.

Though that has only increased the disdain many have for him, particularly taking the seat of Esteban Ocon, Lowe does concede Lance has made good progress.

“It was a really, really tough year for him last year but we have seen him make a real step change over the winter," he said.

“He’s been much stronger this year, particularly in his qualifying which was a difficult part for him last year. He completely transformed his approach to qualifying this year and that’s played out well for him.

“And then [he's] becoming more confident as a driver, therefore getting some better results from that.”

Max Verstappen could have finished second in the Drivers' championships without the early season mistakes, Helmut Marko has claimed.

The Dutchman was indeed P2 to Lewis Hamilton in the championship in the final 11 races of 2018 but it was a disappointment in Monaco which spurred a turnaround in his year.

After crashing in final practice, he missed out on the chance to qualify and had to fight through from the back while teammate Daniel Ricciardo took victory.

"We had an intense conversation," Marko was quoted by GPFans, as he reflected on those early season problems which saw other incidents in China, Bahrain and Baku. 

"The problem was that he was putting too much pressure on himself."

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Following Monaco, Verstappen would go on to score 10 podiums in the following 15 races, including two wins in Austria and Mexico. 

"He is still a very ambitious Max Verstappen but he realises [now] that he does not have to be up front in every session," Marko continued.

"He sees a race as a whole, and he must also have the championship in mind next year. You do not always have to be in front.

"We made a kind of 'what if' calculation internally and, if neither Verstappen nor the team - because we have made some mistakes - would have made those mistakes, Max would be second in the Drivers' standings and we would be second in the Constructors' Championship."

To put that into perspective, the 21-year-old finished 71 points behind Sebastian Vettel in fourth, while Red Bull was 152 points behind Ferrari with Ricciardo also suffering eight retirements over the year.

Mercedes motorsport boss Toto Wolff admits Esteban Ocon is poised for 2020 but currently Valtteri Bottas is still their guy.

The Frenchman has had to take a reserve driver role at the Brackley-based squad for next season after being the victim of the Stroll takeover at Force India.

After a difficult year, however, which saw Bottas fail to win a race, some believe Mercedes is simply honouring the contract signed with the Finn for 2019 before promoting Ocon.

"Yes, of course, Esteban is a factor for us in the future," Wolff told ESPN.

"We have options for Esteban for 2020, but of course he might also be an option for Mercedes. It depends how the season pans out in Mercedes and how Valtteri goes."

Asked why he doesn't simply give Ocon the seat now if the 22-year-old is the likely long-term choice for the team, the Austrian made it clear.

"Still, we haven't lost any of our trust in Valtteri," Toto stated. "We are 100 per cent behind him because there is trust within our drivers.

"If we wouldn't be behind him, we might as well make the change now. But we don't. We think that he's our man, and then obviously Esteban is in the starting blocks because he's keen to drive that car."

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There is also a certain sense at Mercedes that much of Bottas' poor performance in 2018 was the result of the difficult situation he was placed in as the 'wingman'.

"I think that for any driver it's very difficult to overcome a situation where you need to back your teammate for a Drivers' Championship," Wolff declared.

"That is normal when you are taking away the single most important motivation for a racing driver and we have seen that effect in Valtteri last year after Spa and this year after Monza.

"As long as he's in the hunt for the championship, he's going to drive at a very high level. I don't think it makes a difference whether he won a race or not because he knows that after the summer he was basically only second in line to win the race.

"He would have won in Sochi maybe. So on paper he should have had at least two or three wins this season."

Lewis Hamilton is Formula 1's greatest qualifier since Ayrton Senna, former Red Bull driver Mark Webber believes.

The Briton is already the sport's most successful driver ever on a Saturday with 83 pole positions to his name, 15 clear of Michael Schumacher.

For many though, the great Brazilian, who amassed 65 poles in his career, is still the greatest of all time but the Australian thinks Lewis does push him close.

"In qualifying – I’ve said it once, I’ll say it again – he’s the best since Senna. I mean he is better than Michael over one lap," Webber told Speedcafe.com.

"Arguably he is definitely the best in the last, getting on for 40 years. He’s up there with Ayrton on one lap.

"Lewis doesn’t go off the road much on Saturdays and he’s had this devastating turn of speed when he needs to turn it on."

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Having raced wheel-to-wheel with Hamilton before his retirement at the end of 2013, Webber also claims the five-time F1 champion has proved himself as the best of his generation.

"I don’t know what his real weaknesses are, that is why he is so dangerous," the Channel 4 pundit admitted.

"He has definitely had the measure of Sebastian [Vettel] of late. We know he is as strong as Fernando [Alonso], so he’s been hard work for all of us over the years and that’s why he’s got the track record that he has."

The debate still rages, however, on whether the 33-year-old will break the one record nobody thought would be touched for quite some, Schumacher's seven F1 titles.

On that point, Webber does think next season could determine if Hamilton believes that to be attainable.

"He could go all the way, especially if he gets (his sixth world championship) next year," he said. "I think that’s going to be a big indication of whether he’s got the motivation to try and get past Michael, which obviously will be eight.

"Have the next three years on the bounce, a lot of people probably would have switched off by then.

"To watch the record happen would be incredible but there is a lot, a lot of racing to be done."

Daniel Ricciardo admits his overriding emotion was relief rather than joy after winning the Monaco Grand Prix this year.

The Australian had a score to settle with Formula 1's most famous race after a botched pit-stop cost him victory in 2016 after dominating all weekend.

Ricciardo would again stake his claim on the streets of Monte Carlo by taking pole this season and this time would convert into a win but only after a very tough race.

“The feeling crossing the line in Monaco was more relief than anything else because that victory was two years in the making. Don’t get me wrong, I was ecstatic, but with everything going on with the car, relief was uppermost," he said.

That was because, during the race, the ERS on his Red Bull failed, leaving him with only the V6 engine to power him which at most circuits would usually end in retirement.

"I didn’t think I could hold on," he recalled. "I saw Seb [Vettel] ready to pounce and thought ‘oh boy’.

"I was losing so much time on the straights, the only way I could stay in front of him was to go very quickly in the corners, which was chewing up the tyres. I assumed I wouldn’t have them left to defend at the end of the race.

“After a while though, I got into a rhythm and started to believe I could hold him off – and by halfway I believed I could do it. That’s when the brakes started to fail!

"They became critical during a Virtual Safety Car period and the team thought we’d be retiring the car at the restart – but they didn’t tell me that!”

Ultimately, the slow pace of the race due to tyre wear came to Ricciardo's aid and he got his redemption for 2016 and what will likely be his last chance for a few years as he heads off to Renault in 2019.

Silverstone's owners, the BRDC, have rejected the latest reports as efforts to save the British Grand Prix beyond 2019 continue.

The Mail on Sunday was quoted as claiming the Northamptonshire circuit had proposed giving Liberty Media the roughly £30m in ticket sales to secure the race.

Formula 1's owners would then give back fees for managing those ticket sales, organising the race and having use of the track.

"As previously stated, we have no intention of talking about the British Grand Prix contract negotiation in public," BRDC chairman John Grant told RaceFans.

"The Mail on Sunday article is pure fiction and spurious speculation.

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"As has been made clear recently by Stuart Pringle, Silverstone’s managing director, we have consistently said that we would like to maintain the British Grand Prix at Silverstone," he added.

"But only on terms that are commercially viable and, obviously, that means a deal that is also commercially acceptable to Formula 1.

"We have agreed with F1 to keep these discussions private and will continue to do so."

It has been claimed, however, that a bridge does still remain between the two parties, with Liberty commercial chief Sean Bratches not ruling out taking the race elsewhere.

CEO Chase Carey has insisted they are "trying" to find a solution but it appears it'll be some time yet before we know if Britain will have a race in 2020.

McLaren CEO Zak Brown has called for a new budget cap currently being discussed to be implemented fully in 2021.

A limit of spending to $150m per season is believed to be one of the keystones of Liberty Media's vision for Formula 1 as they look to address the current inequality between the top three teams and the rest their extra performance directly linked to their bigger pockets.

All appear to concede it is a necessary measure, but the main stumbling blocks are how it will be policed and how it should be introduced with current plans for a three-year period to address any issues.

"I wish they would start the full budget cap immediately in 2021 as opposed to a glide path, ’21, ’22, ’23, as I think 'let’s get the sport to reset as quickly as possible'," the McLaren boss was quoted by GPFans. "I’m looking forward to that.

"FOM’s cost cap and their revised revenue distribution, I think, that’s going to be very healthy for the entire sport and ultimately put on a much better show for the fans which is what the sport is all about."

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McLaren is one of the most vocal voices on this topic as the rise of the manufacturers in recent years along with Red Bull has come at the expense of the British team, who hasn't won a race in F1 since 2012.

"I think that will get not only McLaren but other teams more competitive, and I think that we’d all agree if we came to Abu Dhabi and there were eight or 10 drivers that could win as opposed to the two that we would all guess, it would be a better show for the fans and healthier for the sport, our partners, and television," Brown continued.

"I think we’d all win in that situation."

Mercedes engineering director Aldo Costa has played down his boss' claim of a "setback" with the team's 2019 engine.

At the FIA gala, Toto Wolff suggested the defending world champions were struggling to reach their lofty performance targets with a new power unit concept on the test bench.

Many rather saw the Austrian's comments as an early attempt at mind games and certainly nothing serious and now Costa has rather confirmed that suspicion.

"I think it was a bit misunderstood," he told Italy's La Gazzetta dello Sport.

"When you put a new engine with new concepts on the bench, there may be something that doesn't work. But it's nothing dramatic."

Costa himself is to step back from his current role at the end of the year, remaining just an advisor to Mercedes from next season onwards.

And looking ahead to the challenge the German manufacturer faces in 2019, he is expecting a three-way title battle.

"Ferrari will obviously be there to fight with us, and I am also expecting Red Bull, considering that they always speak good things about the new Honda engine," he said.