Lewis Hamilton was like a kid before Christmas as he talked up the upgrades Mercedes have brought to the Austrian Grand Prix.

Having already introduced the Phase 2.1 engine last week at Paul Ricard, this week it's the W09 itself that has been given a revised look thanks to new sidepods, bargeboards, rear wing endplates and, controversially, mirror supports.

Why it's controversial is because Ferrari had an albeit much more extreme concept banned after the Spanish Grand Prix, when they were the first team to use Halo-mounted mirrors, but Mercedes has managed to incorporate their support into the bargeboard package.

Already, the improvements seem to be working, with Hamilton and Bottas topping Practice 1, and on Thursday the world champion was particularly enthusiastic.

“Up until now we’ve not really had a lot of development parts on the car, so it’s great to see,” he said.

“I’m aware that the guys have been working increasingly harder to try and make sure that we bring quality rather than quantity. So it’s great to see some new bits here this weekend, and I’m excited to try them on track.

“It will undoubtedly help us in our battle to frighten the other guys.”

Hamilton also explained it wouldn't take long to see what impact the new parts have on the performance.

“You feel the first couple of points [of downforce] straight away in a certain corner, you feel those improvements," he claimed. “I’m looking forward to experiencing it, and trying to figure out where those improvements are on the circuit.

“I’ve not really looked at the pieces, and only got told about it this morning. They mentioned it to me ages ago, but I don’t really think about that stuff, I only think about how I can get the car in the right ballpark so I [can] do what I do.

“But hopefully that will help me do it more.”

Daniel Ricciardo has given the biggest hint yet that he is going to re-sign with Red Bull beyond the 2018 season, ahead of this weekend's Austrian GP.

In recent days, the driver market for next year has started to take shape with Mercedes not only reportedly agreeing a $40m a year deal with Lewis Hamilton until 2020 but also signalling Valtteri Bottas is to be retained for another year at least.

At Ferrari, indications are that either Kimi Raikkonen or Charles Leclerc will partner Sebastian Vettel next season, after ruling out a move for Ricciardo due to the high salary costs, and now talks between Red Bull and the Australian have continued ahead of the company's home race in Spielberg.

“It’s not over yet but it will come. Soon. The time is not far away,” he told the media at a promotional event this week.

Other potential alternatives included Renault and notably McLaren, who admitted making contact with the 28-year-old following reports they were offering $20m a year for the seven-time Grand Prix winner.

As Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko pointed out, however: “Daniel is in a situation where he has no sporting alternative to us. He probably imagined it differently.

“We want it [to continue with Ricciardo], but not at any price.”

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It is the price though that could be a sticking point, with teammate Max Verstappen negotiating a big-money contract last year and most believing Ricciardo is currently worth more.

“I said it from the start, the priority is to try and get a car that can win a world title because I really believe I can. So that’s the first thing in my mind,” the 28-year-old was quoted by PlanetF1 on Thursday.

“If there was absolutely no possibility then you look into other things, but I think as a driver I think I’ve done enough now.

“Even Lewis touched on it, and I didn’t even need to really say it, your value as a driver is not ‘X’ amount of money it’s just what you feel your value is and what you bring to the sport.

“I feel I hold a certain value so I just want to at least match that with my expectations and what also people value me as.”

Both Ferrari drivers were among those admitting some scepticism at the FIA's decision to include a third DRS zone at this weekend's Austrian GP at the Red Bull Ring.

The track in Spielberg will be the third this season to feature a trio of zones, after Australia and Canada, but it is the location of the additional stretch that has some raising eyebrows.

Traditionally, the best overtaking spot at the circuit is into the tight Turn 3 at the top of the hill and for this year, the Drag Reduction System will be available on the straight that proceeds it.

However, it now means that for three consecutive straights the rear wing flap can be opened.

“I’m a bit puzzled on this,” Sebastian Vettel told reporters on Thursday.

“We’ve had in the past a race that is boring and it’s ‘F1 is a disaster’, we have a race where it’s exciting and it’s ‘Formula 1 is great and healthy and it’s never been [this] good' but I don’t know if it’s a solution to put DRS zones.

“I mean don’t get me wrong there’s maybe a lot of people that like the idea of Mario Kart including myself, I played it when I was young, then again I think it should get artificial.”

Teammate Kimi Raikkonen also wonders if the seemingly excessive number of zones will have an adverse effect, claiming "half the track" now has access to DRS.

“It should make [overtaking] pretty easy. I don’t know if it’s too easy or not," he commented. “Obviously we want overtaking but there must be a point where it’s kind-of artificial overtaking. But let’s see.”

Despite the announcement of Red Bull's decision to switch to Honda engines for 2019, the deal to confirm it remains in the early stages, according to Autosport.

In recent weeks, pressure for a decision has been building on the Milton Keynes-based outfit from Renault, who put a deadline of last Sunday's French GP in place, one week earlier than Red Bull had wanted.

Now it seems that could have been one of the driver's for the Anglo-Austrian outfit to commit to a new supplier for next season, but as it stands, the ghost of a previous deal with Sauber which later fell through still hangs over the process.

"What we first discussed and decided [with Red Bull] is we are going to supply the power unit. All the details regarding contracts will be discussed from now on," Honda motorsport boss Masashi Yamamoto explained.

"[In] the next couple of months we'll go into detail of all factors of the contract."

Any possibility a repeat situation is small though, with Sauber's decision largely driven by a change in team principal last season, with Fred Vasseur taking over from Monisha Kaltenborn almost exactly one year ago and later making a deal with Ferrari that has seen a closer partnership including the return of Alfa Romeo.

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• Honda's Montreal upgrades made 2019 engine deal "pretty clear cut" - Horner

Even though a final contract remains unsigned, Honda has started making plans to be in the best position possible to supply Red Bull in 2019 with the development of their power unit for next year already a high priority.

“This year’s spec is mainly all decided for this year, so the last half of this year now will be quite focused on the development of the specs for next year," Yamamoto said in an interview with the official F1 website.

“But all the others will be focused on the engine for next year, too.”

And as for expectations of their first partnership with one of the top three teams on the grid...

“Our next step is to win races and to win championships, we decided that getting together with Red Bull is the right choice,” he concluded.

Lewis Hamilton & Valtteri Bottas gave the upgraded Mercedes W09 the perfect birth as the only driver sub-1m05s in first practice at the Austrian GP.

Appearing to run higher engine modes based on the speed traps, the world champion would post a 1m04.839s, a tenth clear of his Finnish teammate as both Silver Arrows used the Ultrasoft tyres.

Ferrari and Red Bull weren't too far back though as Max Verstappen with within a quarter of a second of Hamilton in third and Sebastian Vettel, who was involved in an unsafe release with Stoffel Vandoorne during the session, a tenth behind in fourth.

Daniel Ricciardo was unhappy with his car in fifth, making suspension changes late on and also lost some track time after hitting one of the yellow baguette kerbs that line the exit of various corners around the Red Bull Ring.

Kimi Raikkonen similarly struggled in his Ferrari in sixth, six-tenths behind his teammate.

Overcast but dry conditions prevailed as the drivers got to grips with the technical challenge of the Spielberg track with the theme throughout being a series of lock-ups at Turns 1, 3 and 4 and drivers having to avoid the damaging yellow kerbs, particularly at the final two corners.

Verstappen had one of the more notable moments, spinning his Red Bull on the exit of Turn 4 after just touching the gravel on the outside, while Vandoorne's session was ended early by his front wing failing on one side following a particularly nasty kerb strike at Turn 10.

Otherwise, the first practice followed much the usual pattern of drivers and teams testing their upgrades, getting a feel for the set-up and trialling the different tyre compounds.

In the midfield, Romain Grosjean did what he did last weekend in France by putting Haas in the 'best of the rest' position in seventh.

He would lead Esteban Ocon in the Force India as Charles Leclerc again impressed in the Sauber in P9. Pierre Gasly made it four different teams in the four what would be points paying position in 10th for Toro Rosso.

Marcus Ericsson backed up Sauber's strong pace in 11th, while Kevin Magnussen was still P12 despite missing out on the final 30 minutes or so having had a slow puncture caused by a damaged floor on his Haas.

Renault again had a steady start to the weekend with Carlos Sainz only 13th and Nico Hulkenberg 15th.

Nearing the back, Lance Stroll was 16th but complained of a downshift problem towards the end of the session in his Williams. Robert Kubica made a second practice appearance of the season in the other car but brought up the timesheets as he focused on important development work.

McLaren's struggles also continued with Vandoorne's broken wing and unsafe release into the path of Vettel already mentioned, he was 18th just one place behind teammate Fernando Alonso as the Spaniard also focused on upgrades.

FIA race director Charlie Whiting has confirmed the governing body will complete a simulation to assess whether to remove the Mistral chicane at Paul Ricard for 2019.

For the first French Grand Prix in 10 years, organisers decided to split the famous 1.8km Mistral Straight into two parts with one of the numerous chicane configurations available just after halfway.

During the drivers briefing on Friday though, the consensus was that its inclusion had taken away one of the main features and challenges of the track at Le Castellet.

"Everyone would talk about the straight and the corner at the end, just like everyone talks about other sections in the world," said Renault's Carlos Sainz referring to the flat-out Signes bend.

"It would give it a touch of character that maybe it doesn't have at the moment."

In the race though, concerns over a lack of overtaking were unfounded as drivers completed numerous moves into the chicane as well as other parts of the layout.

"In my opinion, everything worked well," Whiting said. "There are some who think we shouldn't have it [the chicane], but the teams and drivers knew about it long before the Grand Prix. So I was surprised when on Friday it was suddenly an issue.

"We can do a simulation to check it but I would also like to hear the opinions of the drivers again because we saw a lot of good overtaking during the race and we might not have seen it without that chicane," he added.

One man who did more overtaking than most was Sebastian Vettel as the German made his way through from the back of the field following the collision with Valtteri Bottas at Turn 1.

Giving his view on the race, the Ferrari driver did point to one factor which likely helped improve the quality of the racing.

"I think it was to do with quite a strong headwind we had. From the east end of the track to the west end down the long straight," he stated.

"That was helping a lot because we were gaining a lot in the second part of the straights, which obviously made the tow quite strong.

"If the wind was the other way around I think it would have been more difficult."

The German Grand Prix is set to remain a biannual event with no deal reached that would see the race remain on the Formula 1 calendar in 2019.

In three weeks time, Hockenheim will once again welcome the sport back to Europe's most powerful country, as it has done every two years since 2014 after the Nurburgring pulled out of sharing the hosting duties in 2013.

Hopes had been raised that either the latter could revive their role under new ownership or that Hockenheim could reach a suitable arrangement could be made with new F1 owners Liberty Media, with CEO Chase Carey talking up the importance of historic races, but neither is likely to happen.

“We are not surprised but of course it’s a great pity,” Hockenheim boss Georg Seiler said to Sport Bild.

“We talked with Liberty Media but made it clear time and time again that we are interested in continuing only if the financial risk is minimised.

“We have not been able to reach a viable model at least for the upcoming season.”

Claims are the F1 bosses prioritised the second race in America, scheduled to take place in Miami but is facing opposition, over finding a solution for the German GP.

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However, asked if the race is likely to return to the once formidable Hockenheim in 2020, Seiler was more upbeat.

“The goal remains a fundamentally changed business model,” he added.

“To what extent our ideas can be aligned with those of Formula 1 in the future, we will see.”

Carlos Sainz admits he would have no problem at all remaining a Renault driver for 2019, even as his future is dependent on others.

The Spaniard is on loan at the Enstone team after switching from Toro Rosso as part of the engine deal which saw Honda move from McLaren to the junior Red Bull team and Renault in the other direction for this season.

However, he is still considered the first driver in line to be called up to the senior team should Daniel Ricciardo decide to leave the Milton Keynes outfit at the end of this year.

Well aware of that fact, the second generation driver still concedes he wouldn't be disappointed to stay at Renault.

“Actually I’m happy where I am, I think this team has a lot of potential and, whatever happens, I’m very proud of how we are doing things here at Renault," he told newspaper El Pais over the weekend.

“For me, it would be a pleasure to stay.”

Despite currently being little more than the lead midfield team and still quite some way off the top three teams, Sainz is most excited by the projection the French manufacturer is on.

“They were away from F1 for five years so this is a process of regrouping, of reforming and of going little by little in the right direction, improving," he claimed.

“I think the team is very ambitious and knows how to win, because it has won in the past, and that is a plus that other teams may not have.”

There was some disappointment at the company's first home race in a decade last weekend as a late failure of the MGU-K, akin to Ricciardo in Monaco, saw Carlos drop from sixth to eighth.

"We were having such a good weekend from start to finish. We had a strong qualifying, made a clean start running in the top three early on, and then controlling sixth," he explained.

"The second half of the race was fast-paced and we were managing it well until the sudden problem, which cost us two or three seconds a lap.

"It’s a shame and I feel sorry for the whole team, as I think we deserved to be best of the rest today. These things happen in racing, and it’s my first reliability issue of the year, so let’s move on and start preparing for Austria."

For this weekend's race at the Red Bull Ring, Renault will introduce a new MGU-K which has been on the test bench for well over a year.

Formula 1's managing director of motorsport, Ross Brawn believes any uncertainties related to the 2019 aero changes have now been resolved ahead of their likely ratification.

At the beginning of May, the Strategy Group surprised by passing changes to the design of both the front and rear wings as well as alterations to bargeboards and brake ducts all aimed at improving the racing, following several processional races.

The goal is the to simplify these areas and create an aerodynamic effect less harmful to the following car, allowing a driver to stay close and use a more powerful DRS which will be introduced.

“The teams wanted to know what’s going on, and I think everyone has been cooperating,” Brawn told Motorsport.com.

“It needed some refinement, which has been done. I think everyone realises that we don’t want uncertainty.

“As far as I know it’s all been sorted and we should be in good shape.”

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The final go-ahead for the changes will come at a meeting of the World Motor Sport Council next month, but with research into broader overhaul in 2021, the former Mercedes team boss admits next year is just a first step.

“It will be a useful insight into ensuring that we’re going in the right direction,” he said.

“It will contribute in itself, but also will give us better feedback on the concepts that we’re pursuing in order to make the cars more benign.

“The FIA eventually write the regulations and have to police them, so, therefore, that’s their role and responsibility," Brawn admitted

“We’re there to contribute towards the concepts that lead to that.”

A final agreement on Formula 1's engine regulations in 2021 could be reached by the end of this week, meeting a deadline set by the FIA.

The topic of changes to the power units in three years time has been a sensitive one, as it was the initial guidelines put forward that resulted in Ferrari chairman Sergio Marchionne issuing a threat to quit the sport.

Recently, talks entered the final stretch after Mercedes gave up their stance of wanting to maintain the MGU-H, which is set to be dropped as part of attempts to make the engines cheaper, simpler and noisier.

“It’s very complicated,” said race director Charlie Whiting last weekend in France.

“There’s meeting after meeting after meeting going on these things, and the reports I get on this appear to be very detailed, so they are going into fine detail.

“I’m fairly confident that it’s getting to the end of that process," he indicated. "And at the end of that process, we’ll have a far more detailed idea of what the power units will be in 2021.”

The governing body had set a deadline of June 30 to finalise the regulations, allowing manufacturers both current and potentially new, including Aston Martin and Porsche, time to develop the engines.

Something that Whiting was keen to stress though, was that it was the FIA and not those suppliers leading the way in the discussions.

“It might get talked about, but it’s not connected with the Strategy Group," he said, with a meeting of the World Motor Sport Council scheduled for next month.

“The manufacturers are involved in it, that’s why it’s taking quite a long time because they are to-ing and fro-ing on everything.”