Liberty Media has agreed to allow the use of grid girls at Formula 1's most glamorous event, the Monaco Grand Prix.

The sport's bosses ended the decades-long tradition of having models in front of each car before the start of a race this year, believing it to be outdated and no longer appropriate in today's society.

Instead, a new 'Grid Kids' initiative was introduced with local karters and other racers taking their place, but given the image which the iconic street race has, a compromise for Monte Carlo has been reached.

"The relationship is good with Liberty Media because they understand that Monaco is not Spa or Monza," ACM president Michel Boeri told Monaco-Matin.

"We've had no problems except for the grid girl issue, they'll be there, on the gird, but won't be holding any name-boards.

"They're pretty and the cameras will be on them once again," he added.

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Monaco is not the only race looking to bring back grid girls, however, with the organiser of the Russian Grand Prix taking perhaps a more old-fashioned stance.

"Our girls are the most beautiful," race chief Dimitry Kozak was quoted as saying. "It’s wrong at races to lead out children, who are frightened of mechanical things, you need grown-ups.

"In all kinds of motorsport, girls advertise the cars and it looks harmonious and pretty."

Both Toro Rosso drivers, Pierre Gasly and Brendon Hartley, are set to use the second of their allocated MGU-H and turbochargers in Bahrain as Honda bring modifications.

After expectations were raised of the reliability of the Japanese manufacturer's engine in testing, Australia proved a tough pill to swallow as the performance remained lacking and Gasly as forced to retire with an MGU-H failure.

Upon further inspection back at the factory, the Frenchman will also require his second Internal Combustion Engine (ICE) this weekend, as Honda technical director Toyoharu Tanabe explained.

"During the race in Australia, we had an issue with the MGU-H and turbocharger on Pierre’s car, this had the knock-on effect of also damaging the ICE," he said. "The MGU-H and turbo have both been modified, in light of what we learned in the first race.

"We have decided, as a precautionary measure, to also change the MGU-H and turbocharger on Brendon’s car."

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The bigger issue now facing the junior Red Bull team, however, is with just three of the main engine components available for the entire season, to be already using a second will raise concerns that penalties could start earlier than hoped.

"Replacing components for the second race is obviously a difficult decision and not ideal," Tanabe continued. "[Especially] given that the number of power units and ancillary components is now limited to just three per season.

"However we believe this is the right way forward and we will continue our development in order to ensure the same issue does not reoccur," he added.

Haas F1 team principal Guenther Steiner has revealed what measures have been put in place to avoid a repeat of the pit-stop problems in Australia.

After their incredible pace saw both drivers in the top five at one point, Kevin Magnussen and Romain Grosjean would be forced to retire with loose wheels after their respective stops.

The American squad as given a $10,000 fine for the unsafe releases and Steiner admits they were a result of a lack of preparation.

“The team were very good at the end of last season and that maybe gave us a little bit of overconfidence,” he was quoted by RaceFans.net.

“We didn’t practice in Australia, we made mistakes in our decisions which then ended up to be a mistake on the car.”

With hopes they can continue to lead the midfield this weekend in Bahrain and make up for the some of the points lost, the team boss explained what would be different when the drivers enter on Sunday.

“We put an additional person in so that if it isn’t caught we can stop the car, push it back and put it right,” Steiner said.

“[We have] swapped a few positions [of the mechanics], the main reason is, not because they did the mistake, but getting their confidence back,” he added.

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Despite every moment counting when the car is stationary in the box, Haas is also prepared to take a little longer to ensure everything goes smoothly.

“We need to make sure that we get the wheels on even if it takes half a second longer," the Italian stated.

"What we need to do is solid stops, we don’t need 2.4 second stops, we need solid three-second stops. Then if we do them in 2.7 it’s fine but we’re not going for the 2.3 or 2.4 stops.”

Mercedes motorsport boss Toto Wolff is considering the calculation error which allowed Sebastian Vettel to steal victory from Lewis Hamilton in Australia as another "learning experience" for the team.

The world champions were on course to start the Formula 1 2018 season with an easy win in Melbourne before a mid-race Virtual Safety Car allowed the Ferrari driver to pit and emerge in front after the pitwall had overestimated the time it would take to complete his tyre stop.

Vettel's success came as a stark reminder to the Brackley-based outfit that no matter the performance advantage they may have, nothing is certain and Wolff admits the feeling is still raw.

"We made mistakes and did not perform to our maximum," he acknowledged ahead of this weekend's Bahrain GP.

"It reminded us that this is the toughest racing series in the world and every error is punished. It hurt to leave all those points on the table, especially because we know we had the pace to win in Australia."

Nevertheless, the Austrian conceded it was further proof of how close the battle with Ferrari and potentially Red Bull will be this year and is sure Mercedes have now regrouped.

"We did what we always do after a tough weekend, we made sure that we understand what went wrong and put a process in place to make sure that we don't see a similar issue in the future," he said.

"These painful moments are the real learning experiences, mistakes become training."

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Switching attention to round two this Sunday in the desert, the Mercedes chief maintained the cautious tone he set before Australia with the challenge of Sakhir potentially more suited to Ferrari.

"We expect Bahrain to be another challenging weekend," he said. "The conditions change drastically between sessions, that makes it extremely difficult to find the right set-up with the car.

"We saw in Melbourne that the Ferraris, in particular, were very quick, so I expect it to be a close battle," Wolff added.

"We've seen some great racing in Bahrain in recent years, particularly between our drivers back in 2014. I think we can look forward to an exciting and competitive weekend."

Fernando Alonso has opened up on what he considers a "crucial" period for McLaren and why a lack of competitiveness in today's F1 leaves him "sad".

The former double world champion has often touted the Woking-based team's "potential" in 2018, after making the switch from Honda to Renault engines, and his fifth place in the opening round in Australia backed it up, even if it was helped by external factors.

But Alonso is sure McLaren can close the gap to the leading trio at the front and maintains the same lofty expectations he set before the start of the season.

"The next two months are crucial for us. If it is not a world championship fight, it will hopefully be some podium positions," he said.

"There is still a lot to improve to catch the top three teams, it's quite a reasonable gap to close but it is up to us now.

"It is probably the first time in the last three years it is up to us - the car has the potential," the 36-year-old added.

Later, the Spaniard was asked about the important meeting scheduled for Friday with F1 bosses set to unveil their vision for the sport from 2021.

New financial rules, including a budget cap, new-look cars and a second engine proposal is among the items believed to be included, and for Alonso, he hopes the eventually agreed changes will address one problem.

"I think it could be a closer battle [between all the teams]," he said. "That would always be welcomed, but it has always been like that in F1.

"If you see now other series, you watch a race of IndyCar with an unpredictable result until the last 10 laps, it makes you excited in front of the TV.

"Now we can put out the qualifying order for this race on the Thursday and that is a little bit sad."

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The 17-year veteran of the grid has confidence though, backing the approach taken by the new owners and having trust in the people involved.

"Definitely Liberty [Media] has been quite open to us from day one and they have been asking us all last year about opinions and different ideas that we may have," Alonso explained.

"They were very productive conversations, so I think now they have a plan. They will show tomorrow to the teams and we will agree whatever the decision is because they have all the power and all the knowledge of how to do things.

"Hopefully they bring new ideas and new things that can improve the show and that will be welcome from all of us."

Nico Hulkenberg remains positive that Renault will once again fight for wins and championships, believing it is just a matter of "how long it will take".

The French manufacturer has been on a very aggressive development plan of their Enstone base after picking up the remanents of the former Lotus team at the end of 2015.

Their ultimate goal has always been to be back at the front of the grid by 2020 and they have made huge strides to move from backmarker status in 2016 to challenging at the head of the midfield just 12 or so months later.

"The question is just how long it will take, I'm pretty sure about that," the German, who joined the lead the project in 2017, was quoted by F1i.com.

Hulkenberg also defended the huge financial effort Renault has put in.

"That's what they have to do and that's what they are doing," he commented. "You need to invest and you need to work harder than the others to catch up.

"You don't get to the front in F1 just by staying where you are, you need to make progress. You feel it eventually, yes, because it translates into performance.

"This is also what I wanted from the team and what I expect," the 30-year-old added. "We have a good vision together, we will get closer to the front."

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A frustration that was aired after Australia though, was the lack of indentation made into the performance gap between Renault and the top three, who remain largely in a class of their own.

"You have to bear in mind that Mercedes, Ferrari and Red Bull are one step ahead of everyone else," said second driver Carlos Sainz. "Then there is McLaren and Renault."

Another Formula 1 Grand Prix weekend, another assurance that a new contract for Lewis Hamilton at Mercedes is "as good as done".

It is well-documented by now the world champion is in the final year of his current deal with the German manufacturer and it is also well reported that the talks over an extension have dragged longer than expected.

However, the latest claim by Germany's Sport Bild is the 33-year-old will now sign a three-year deal, one more than previously thought, worth a staggering $60 million each season.

Though he wouldn't confirm any details, motorsport boss Toto Wolff insisted the confirmation was close saying: "It is as good as done.

"We are absolutely on the same wavelength but a contract like this is over 100 pages with a corresponding number of points to address and all that has to be done first."

Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko has thrown a new angle into the equation though, believing the new contract has been delayed by Hamilton discovering a Mercedes plot.

“Toto tried to get Vettel and Max, but both declined him,” the Austrian also told Sport Bild. “Of course, Lewis heard about this so he put up his price.”

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That price is worth paying though, in the mind of former Ferrari driver Gerhard Berger, who sees Hamilton as the only man keeping the Brackley-based team on top.

"Without Lewis, Mercedes would be only third behind Ferrari and Red Bull," he claimed. "Hamilton is the fastest driver on the grid. He can make the difference. So Mercedes has to do everything to secure him."

Ross Brawn has hit back at what he called "personally offensive" claims by Ferrari chairman Sergio Marchionne that he was trying to dumb down Formula 1.

The Briton, who was technical director at the Scuderia during Michael Schumacher's era of dominance, is now the managing director of motorsport at Liberty Media and is currently developing a set of regulations for implementation in 2021.

His first proposals for changes to the engines drew ire from the current manufacturers, however, with Marchionne threatening to pull Ferrari out of the sport claiming the simpler layout with more standardisation attacked the DNA of F1.

"F1 has a long history of incredible competition," Brawn told Radio Sport New Zealand and was quoted by ESPN. "It's the pinnacle of motorsport. Why would we choose to damage that?

"I find it personally offensive when people accuse me of dumbing down the sport. We know if we did that we'd spoil the sport at its core and we would spoil the commercial basis of the sport as well."

And it is the commercial aspect that Brawn has in mind as he tries to reduce the spiralling amounts top teams spend and also make F1 more financially viable for the smaller outfits down the grid.

"The teams at the top are probably spending two or three times what they were spending five or six years ago," he continued. "You wouldn't say five or six years ago that the sport was dumb.

"We have to help the teams at the top recognise and realise that to have a sport for the future we've got to rebase the commercial revenues for the teams.

"We've got to rebase the amount of scope that the teams are allowed to explore technically in order to give a more exciting competition."

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This week in Bahrain sees another meeting between the major stakeholders with proposals to be put forward, and the highly-respected figure believes that, for all of Ferrari's bluster, the general direction with future rules is already "well supported by the teams" and simply sees politics as the main hurdle.

"When you've got three or four areas that are being hotly debated, sometimes it colours or clouds other issues," Ross explained.

"Governance is a sensitive topic, the commercial revenue to the teams is a sensitive topic. Budget control, which is something we're very enthusiastic about, is a sensitive topic.

"There are always vested interests," he added. "It's not just a simple technical problem."

Alfa Romeo Sauber boss Fred Vasseur has warned the recent instances of FIA staff moving to Formula 1 teams could lead to "mistrust" of the governing body.

Last year, Renault announced the signing of ex-technical director Marcin Budkowsky as executive director and before the start of the season, Ferrari confirmed safety delegate Laurent Mekies will switch in a new technical role in September.

Their moves are controversial as rivals are worried the knowledge both men have of their cars could be passed on to their new employers and under Swiss law, which the FIA follows, only three months of gardening leave is permitted.

“I remember perfectly the situation with Marcin [Budkowsky], he was in all the wind tunnels two weeks before he left," the ex-Renault boss told Motorsport.com

“Laurent [Mekies] is aware of key details of every single car, even if he was more focused on safety he’s aware of the key structure," he added. "It’s a shame that we are not in the situation that the FIA could find a solution to keep their key guys."

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The situation with Mekies led to a fiery confrontation between Red Bull's Christian Horner and Ferrari's Maurizio Arrivabene in Australia, with the prior accusing the latter of ignoring a 'gentlemen's agreement' which had called for a period of one year away from F1 before starting in a position at a new team.

Vasseur's concern, however, is if there is any suspicion an FIA official could be employed to a single outfit it could lead some to not be as forthcoming with their ideas and concepts.

"If we can’t trust them it will be an issue because we need to be very open with the FIA," the Frenchman said. “We need to ask them if we’re in the regulations or not. If we are scared about this, it will be the beginning of a mess."

A Spanish media report has claimed McLaren is wanting to offload Fernando Alonso at the end of this season and replace him with Valtteri Bottas.

Diario Gol believes the British team wants to reduce their costs by cutting the reported 40 million Euros they currently pay the double world champion each year after the decision to split with Honda and join Renault also proved very costly to their budget.

The likely very speculative piece even suggested McLaren only kept Alonso as they feel "in debt" to him after the troubled three years with the Japanese manufacturer.

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A move for Bottas, who is only on a single year deal with Mercedes, would then free up a seat for Daniel Ricciardo to switch from Red Bull, triggering Carlos Sainz to be called back from Renault.

The ultimate result for the 36-year-old would be a last hurrah with the Enstone team he won his two world titles at in 2005 and 2006.

Frankly, this early in the season, it is preposterous to think there is any truth to their claims, particularly as Renault would have to allow Alonso to continue his WEC superseason participation with Toyota, but it is an example of the kind of scenario that might play out when the serious 'silly season' begins later in the year.