McLaren executive director Zak Brown predicts there will be "fireworks" between teams and Formula 1 owners Liberty Media as a crucial year of negotiations to decide the future of the sport awaits.

This month marks the first anniversary since the American company completed their $7 billion takeover from former commercial rights holder CVC. They wasted no time either making their mark ousting long-time CEO Bernie Ecclestone and installing Chase Carey, but since then their tenure has been mixed.

Embracing social media was the first significant step and saw F1 become the fastest growing sport on such platforms in 2017, while TV audiences and race day crowds also saw an increase, however, entering the murky world of paddock politics has already led to frustration from some, who question the new leadership's direction.

"Some senior team executives have been openly critical of Liberty. I prefer we’re constructive," Brown told veteran F1 reporter James Allen.

"They’ve had to put an infrastructure in place, learn the environment and prioritise where to invest – all at the same time. F1 is a fast-moving, impatient and unforgiving sport but the teams can’t rely solely on Liberty and F1 to solve all the problems.

"Yes, there are several challenges but the key is to turn these into opportunities," the McLaren chief ended.

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Currently, everything is building to the new Concorde Agreement, the document that binds every F1 stakeholder, which is up for renewal in 2020. Liberty has made it clear they want to introduce major changes in many key areas both sporting and business and getting the teams on board is proving a tough task. 

"There will be some big negotiations going on through 2018 with the teams on contract renewal and I predict that there will be public fireworks; we are already starting to see that," Brown, who has previously stated teams should have less say over the rules, said.

"I do not think it’s going to be quiet. Will Ferrari really leave if they don’t like the new rules? I have my opinion but we’ll see how this plays out," he concluded.

One major change Liberty has introduced is a new logo for the first time in 25 years which is part, commercial director Sean Bratches has claimed, of a wider rebranding of F1 coming in 2018.

Having had a sneak peek at what is planned, Brown believes there is plenty for fans to be excited about.

"For this year there are products in place, like a new F1 App, OTT platforms (Over The Top/streaming) and they have brought in David Hill, one of the great TV sports innovators, to oversee the graphics package and the way the race is televised," he revealed.

"You’ll see significant changes there on the broadcast, on the graphics and the storytelling."

Red Bull chief technical officer Adrian Newey has revealed concerns over the competitiveness of Renault almost led him to accept a Ferrari offer in 2014.

The Briton, who has designed championship winning cars for Williams, McLaren and Red Bull, has long been a target of the Scuderia with aerodynamics often considered their main weakness.

In fact, Newey claimed he had been approached on three separate occasions to join the Maranello outfit with their most recent the most tempting.

"I was in a bit of a difficult position," he told Sky Sports. "I didn't want to walk out of Red Bull because it feels like home and I'd been heavily involved from the start with [team principal] Christian [Horner]."

However: "It became evident that the Renault engine was a long way behind the Mercedes in particular and to some extent the Ferrari - with no obvious end in sight," Adrian admitted.

"Renault didn't seem to be willing to put the funding in to really sort the problem out, which was the depressing and worrying bit."

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Newey claimed he endured "sleepless nights" pondering his future, as he weighed up his relationship with Red Bull against the possibility of competing "with one hand tied behind our back".

"Ferrari came up with an incredible offer, very attractive," he said. "In the end, it would have felt wrong to walk out on Red Bull."

Toro Rosso driver Pierre Gasly admits it is "important" Honda produces a reliable engine for he and teammate Brendon Hartley to use when pre-season testing begins in Barcelona at the end of next month.

The junior Red Bull team agreed to take on the Japanese manufacturer for 2018 after McLaren ran out of patience following three years blighted by poor performance and reliability, switching to the Renault units Toro Rosso had been using for this season.

Entering his first full season in Formula 1, after replacing Daniil Kvyat at last year's Malaysian Grand Prix, Gasly knows there will be a lot to do to ensure the Italian team heads to the first race fully prepared.

"The important thing at the test will be to have a reliable package so we can do as many laps as possible and get a good understanding of where we are with the car, the engine and how the package is planned to evolve," the Frenchman said.

"There are only eight days of testing before Australia and that really isn't very much."

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Executive director at former partner McLaren, Zak Brown, has backed Honda to start meeting the expectations the Woking outfit had when they teamed up again in 2015.

"There's a certain way you have to operate in F1 and I think that's something they now recognise," he said appearing at the Autosport Show began on Thursday.

"Maybe some more F1 experience, direct experience, is probably what they [Honda] were lacking most, it certainly wasn't effort, resources - the facility is great, and I think they'll get it right.

"It's more a way of working. I think they'll get there, but three years was as long as we could wait."

Former BRDC chairman Derek Warwick admits a deal to secure the future of the British Grand Prix is "absolutely not" guaranteed.

Last year Silverstone, which held the first Formula 1 championship race in 1950, activated a break clause in their contract with F1 management to cease holding the race after 2019.

The hope is, based on the aspirations of new owners Liberty Media, a better deal can be arranged without the year-on-year rise in the fee which was ultimately the reason for the British circuit's decision.

"The Grand Prix is too expensive, we’re losing money and that’s why we triggered the break clause,” Warwick told the Jersey Evening Post.

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Talks are set between the BRDC and F1 bosses to try and keep the race on the calendar, all the while rumours of a street race in London as an alternative continue to run.

Warwick warned, however: “Britain is the home of motorsport. Does that mean there will always be a British Formula One Grand Prix? Absolutely not.

“Of course we want a British Grand Prix and for it to stay at Silverstone, but we want it to be affordable so that we can make just enough money to reinvest in the circuit.

“We can’t do that under the present deal.”

Formula 1 CEO Chase Carey says he is "excited" as plans for a Danish Grand Prix on the streets of Copenhagen gain momentum.

Initial proposals for an event taking in landmarks such as the government building and crossing two major bridges were put forward last year and would look to attract fans from the Scandinavian countries, notably Finland and Sweden, as well as the interest created by current Haas driver Kevin Magnussen.

The event is the first which ties in with the vision of owners Liberty Media of festival-style race weekend's in iconic locations and also comes as hopes for a Dutch race, a second US race and a return to the Nurburgring are all being touted.

"We’re excited about the opportunity to explore a potential race here in Denmark," Carey told Reuters on Wednesday. "I think Copenhagen represents the type of location that we think can really provide a great platform."

2020 was the year suggested for the first race in Copenhagen and if it was to get the green light, it would the first time F1 visits the country since 1962. 

Former Sauber driver Pascal Wehrlein will remain part of the Mercedes motorsport program in 2018, Toto Wolff has confirmed.

The young German was dropped by the Swiss team after just one year with Ferrari junior and Formula 2 champion Charles Leclerc stepping up as part of their new enhanced partnership with the Italian team.

Despite the setback, however, he continues to have the backing of the German manufacturer with Wolff insisting his potential has not been forgotten.

"Pascal definitely deserves a place in Formula 1," the Austrian told Motorsport.com. "[He] is certainly one of the fastest drivers."

There was speculation Wehrlein could return to the DTM for what is Mercedes' final year in the series he won in 2015, but currently, his plans for this year are unknown.

"At the moment it looks a little bit bitter as far as the available driver seats are concerned," Wolff admitted.

"Whether or not he actively participates in a racing series other than F1, he will definitely remain part of our squad."

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Wehrlein would have been looking to make an impact in 2018, as speculation over the future of Valtteri Bottas continues, with the Finn only on a one-year deal at Mercedes.

Once considered a possible replacement for Nico Rosberg, now it seems a chance in the works team could be further away than ever with fellow junior Esteban Ocon's remarkable rise and Daniel Ricciardo considering a future away from Red Bull.

Renault is confident an enhancing of their quality procedures will help avoid a repeat of the engine reliability problems which impacted all three teams using it during 2017.

The works team believes their own problems cost them fifth in the constructors' championship while Red Bull believe they could have challenged Ferrari for second without the eight retirements caused by power unit issues.

Toro Rosso would publicly fall out with the French manufacturer in Brazil, suggesting the plethora of failures late in the year could have been intentional as the two battled for sixth in the teams' standings with Renault clinching it at the final race.

This season, the pressure is even higher with Red Bull and now McLaren desperate to challenge for the championship but managing director Cyril Abiteboul is sure of a significant improvement.

"We're changing our internal procedure on sign-off and making sure to be much more draconian in the way we are dealing with project milestones and sign-off of any new part," he explained to Motorsport.com.

"I'm very confident what we are doing on the dyno is very representative and will provide a product that is much more mature as soon as the winter tests [start]."

Another reason for greater optimism is the engine spec for 2018 is only an evolution of that used last year, rather than the much bigger design overhaul which was introduced last year.

"We are changing only the parts that will make a difference to the performance, whereas last year pretty much everything – internal combustion engine and hybrid – was new," Abiteboul added.

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Ensuring optimum reliability is even more important this season with only three engines permitted before penalties with less strenuous parts restricted to only two.

Though making gains in power is also necessary, with a deficit still evident particularly in qualifying, the Renault boss claims it will be less of an issue given the much closer gap in race modes.

"The qualifying mode is the combination of tricks maybe like oil burn - which will become much more restricted - but also the fact that you are damaging the engine," he stated.

"I'm expecting most manufacturers to be much more conservative in the way they operate the engine, but we are also looking at our own ways to extract more performance on a limited number of laps."

McLaren executive director Zak Brown admits it would be "dangerous" to set specific expectations for the 2018 Formula 1 season.

There is a lot of anticipation surrounding the British team this year after bringing to an end a difficult three-year partnership with Honda and switching to the same Renault engines which have won races in the back of the Red Bull.

McLaren has also often claimed they have a chassis which is capable of competing with the best on the grid but Brown is trying to be more measured in his approach.

"We are one of the big teams, we need to get back to the front," he told Sky Sports. "We haven't, and certainly won't publicly, set any expectations because that's dangerous, [but] we expect to be challenging towards the front."

There's also excitement the Renault switch could bring Fernando Alonso back into the championship picture against the likes of Lewis Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel, but the American entrepreneur thinks the Spaniard faces strong competition from within his own team.

"We think we'll have a competitive race car so I think you're going to see Fernando and Stoffel [Vandoorne] racing each other hard – which will be exciting as long as they don't take each other off!" he said.

"Hopefully, we're fighting for podiums and I hope that's the top step."

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To do so, however, would mean closing the significant margin to F1's 'top three', who were often in a different race in 2017.

"Mercedes, Ferrari and Red Bull are awesome teams that have significant budgets," Brown acknowledged.

"So we're going to chase them hard and hope that we're spraying some champagne."

Following his exit from the Red Bull stable late last year, Daniil Kvyat has now joined the Ferrari development program for the 2018 season.

The Russian driver had a turbulent final 18 months with the Austrian energy drinks giant, firstly losing his seat at the senior team following his home race in Sochi in 2016 and suffering a major confidence drop.

Finally, he would be replaced at Toro Rosso by Pierre Gasly from last year's Malaysian Grand Prix before making a final one-off return for the junior team in Austin.

Since it was confirmed he would be dropped by Red Bull, he has received support from ex-teammates Carlos Sainz and Daniel Ricciardo, both of whom believe the 23-year-old deserves another chance.

However, motorsport advisor Helmut Marko admitted a number of incidents, which led to his nickname of the 'torpedo', ultimately, led to his exit.

Now part of the Scuderia, Kvyat has a path back to F1 with future opportunities at Haas and Sauber possible and there will likely be chances for the two-time podium sitter to compete in sportscars along with helping Ferrari with simulator work.

It won't be lost on many that he is also now back working alongside Sebastian Vettel, the man he replaced at Red Bull in 2015 and also the man he clashed with on the opening lap in Russia two years ago.

Kvyat is also not the first driver to be given a Ferrari development driver role after leaving the Red Bull program as Jean-Eric Vergne also moved to Maranello before eventually focusing full-time on Formula E.

Former Formula 1 and WEC driver Mark Webber admits he is concerned his good friend Fernando Alonso "could risk getting hurt" if he attempts to combine the Le Mans 24 Hours with his McLaren duties.

The Spaniard is thought to be lining up a run at motorsport's most famous endurance race with Toyota as part of his personal career goal to achieve the Triple Crown, even participating at the Daytona 24 Hours this month to gain experience.

However, the Australian believes the double world champion could put himself in danger if he can't commit to the full Le Mans program because of the demands of racing in F1.

"It's a mistake, they are two totally different things," Webber told Italian website Automoto.it. "Either he chooses to do Le Mans properly and focuses on it, working on it three weeks in advance with a maniacal focus and forgetting the rest of the year, or he could risk getting hurt."

The 41-year-old would praise Alonso's decision to race at Daytona, although suggested he should use it to "take the right decision", he also brushed aside the argument of Nico Hulkenberg's successful 2015 foray, which saw the German win with the same Porsche team Webber was then part of.

"That was with a second-rate team in F1. The pressures are different," he responded, with Nico racing for Force India at the time. "He was also with the top Le Mans team and that simplified things a lot."

As for the 36-year-old himself, he seemed less worried about the two areas of uncertainty he had going into his first trip to Daytona following the 'Roar before the 24' test event last week.

“In F1 we have some night racing in Bahrain, in Singapore and in Abu Dhabi as well and the circuit is quite well illuminated here, it’s not like other endurance circuits. So I found no big issues there," he said.

“So it’s something that we should be on top of it for the race as well,” he concluded.