Pierre Gasly will get his opportunity to race in Formula 1 with Toro Rosso from this weekend's Malaysian Grand Prix at Sepang, but it will be Daniil Kvyat he replaces at the Red Bull junior team.

The Frenchman was linked with a drive for the Italian outfit at Sepang but it was speculated he would replace Carlos Sainz, with the Spaniard moving to Renault early ahead of a loan move for 2018.

However, with that switch not taking place, Red Bull and Toro Rosso bosses have still decided to test last year's GP2 champion, who has been racing in Super Formula in Japan this year, with at least one seat becoming available next season.

“Scuderia Toro Rosso was established by Red Bull to bring youngsters from its Junior Programme into F1 and that’s what we are doing by giving Pierre this chance," Team Principal Franz Tost commented.

"He is the next in line at Red Bull for this opportunity and he has shown that he deserves it, having taken the 2016 GP2 title and this year is very competitive in the Super Formula series in Japan. He really has a valid chance of winning the title, as he is only half a point behind the leader.

"The driver switch gives us an opportunity to make a more informed decision regarding our 2018 driver choices," he added.

Though not specific on how long Gasly will get behind the wheel, it is possible he could drive at five of the final six races with the final round of Super Formula falling on the same weekend as the United States Grand Prix in Austin.

It was also confirmed Kvyat will remain in the Red Bull stable but explaining why the Russian was being replaced now, Tost said: "For a variety of reasons, some of them due to technical problems, but others being mistakes of his own making, Daniil Kvyat has not really shown his true potential so far this year, which is why we are standing him down for the next races.

"This will give us the opportunity to evaluate Pierre on track during a proper race weekend.”

There was some surprise Gasly wasn't given the promotion sooner, with Red Bull deciding to keep Kvyat at Toro Rosso this season despite a difficult year in 2016, which saw him demoted back to the junior team part way through.

Now it has arrived, however, the 21-year-old is keen to make the most of it.

“I would like to thank everyone who has helped me get this chance in my motor racing career and specifically, Red Bull, Dr Helmut Marko and Scuderia Toro Rosso, this is a great opportunity for me," he said.

"I feel as ready as I can be, having had to be prepared for anything in my role as Red Bull Racing’s third driver this year. I will do my best to perform well with Scuderia Toro Rosso during these coming races.”

Nico Hulkenberg has praised the progress made by his Renault team during 2017, claiming the French manufacturer has done "better than expected".

Development was always the main aim for the team this season, as they continue to rebuild their works operation at Enstone after picking up the leftovers of the Lotus team at the end of 2015.

After struggling towards the back with Sauber last year, heading into the closing stretch Renault, mostly through their German driver, is now regularly contending to be the fourth-placed team in the pecking order. 

Reliability and the reliance on Hulkenberg to score most of the points, means they sit seventh in the Constructors' Championship battling with Toro Rosso and Haas, but the 30-year-old, who was brought in to spearhead their renaissance from Force India this season is confident in the team's path.

“I have full trust and belief in it. I think we're on a good route," Hulkenberg claimed. "There is still plenty to do as we know, but things are definitely moving in the right direction.

"In terms of development, from the start of the year to now, I think we have done better than expected, at least the expectations I personally had. I think it's been pretty good so far this year."

Expectations are high that they can be the top midfield outfit over the closing six races, starting with the final F1 race at Sepang next weekend.

“We ought to go quite well in Malaysia with the mixture of low, medium and high-speed corners,” Technical Director Nick Chester said in a preview. “We should be the fourth quickest car again."

On the development side, Chester continued by revealing further updates are coming to the car, despite entering the time of year when many switch focus to the following year's design.

“A few things for Malaysia are on the way including some tighter rear bodywork which is the main development,” he explained. This will combine with some set-up progress we’ve been making, in particular over the past few races.

“Overall the car is working reasonably well at this stage in the season.”

The outlook for Renault in 2018 also changed following the news in Singapore that McLaren will be using their engines from next season, but Hulkenberg only expects that to be a motivator for the works team going forward.

"They have a strong package now and if we give them our power unit, for sure they will be one of our main competition next year I expect," he commented. "We need to do a good job over the winter."

The team will also have the arrival of Carlos Sainz on loan from the Red Bull stable to create one of the strongest partnerships outside the top three on the grid next season.

Red Bull motorsport advisor, Helmut Marko, has confidence in Honda capability to turn around their current engine problems, as junior team Toro Rosso start preparing to take on the Japanese manufacturer next year.

The Austrian energy drinks giant had reportedly walked away from talks with Honda about a deal in the summer but, as McLaren began talks with Renault and Formula 1 bosses intervened, an arrangement was agreed that facilitated the eventual swap in suppliers.

Though many don't see how the deal benefits Toro Rosso, as Honda has struggled to get their act together in the three years since their return, Marko says the evaluation done on the pros and cons of working with the carmaker actually makes him keen to see how a partnership can play out.

"We contacted Honda and did some of our own research too and from what we learned, we have an optimistic view of the future," he told Austrian broadcaster ORF. "We saw both McLarens in the top 10 in Singapore, we see an engine that is developing, and we know what is going on in the background."

Key to Marko's positive outlook is the scale of the operation Honda has for its F1 project, with their abilities believed to be greater than Renault.

"Honda has the financial potential, the necessary infrastructure, one of the most modern factories with corresponding test rigs and a complete commitment to F1 and winning in a partnership," he claimed. "But we must also address the Japanese mentality, as it is, of course, a little different than us Europeans."

With the possibility of Renault also dropping Red Bull at the end of next season, Marko admits a lot of focus will be on Honda and how they perform should they need to look elsewhere.

"In September 2018, I'll be able to say what we are going to do in 2019, which is a good time to see how Toro Rosso and Honda is working," he commented.

The news today of Aston Martin becoming title sponsor next year has little bearing on the future engine decision, with Marko adding: "It is a financial cooperation that has nothing to do with the powertrain."

As mentioned, there is some scepticism of just how beneficial the Honda/ Toro Rosso tie-up will be, with the strongest criticism coming from the always outspoken 1997 world champion Jacques Villeneuve, who worked with Honda during his BAR years.

"I don't understand Toro Rosso," the French-Canadian told Autosport. "They have seen what has been happening for three years. How can they imagine this will help them?

"Whenever you go and take money to go slower, after two years you pay the price. Okay, there is more money in the account. But to run last? It's like when teams start taking slow pay drivers. Two years later, they are dead," he warned. "McLaren survived it because it's McLaren. Now we're talking Toro Rosso."

He was also unconvinced by Marko's argument that they have the capabilities to put right their ongoing problems.

"Have we seen anything to suggest they can?" he retorted. "They need a new engine. The whole project was started wrong and it needs to be a full change. Unless someone else makes the engine and Honda put its name on it. Which is possible, I guess."

Daniel Ricciardo is sure he will have another chance to add to his sole victory in Baku before the end of the season, despite missing out on arguably the best chance to do so a week ago in Singapore.

After being quickest on Friday and missing out on the front row due to a storming lap from Sebastian Vettel in qualifying, different scenarios ganged up to prevent the Australian from putting up a major fight to eventual race winner Lewis Hamilton around Marina Bay. 

Of the six circuits left, some may allow an ever-improving Red Bull team to get closer to the Ferrari and Mercedes at the front but none are expected to see them be as close as they were on the streets of the city-state. 

However, that doesn't mean Ricciardo is giving up on standing on the top step of the podium one more time this year, particularly as the season next visits a circuit where circumstances saw him lead a first 1-2 of the hybrid era for the Milton Keynes outfit last season.

“My victory last year in Malaysia was definitely unexpected,” he commented. “I really didn’t think our car was well suited to the track, but Lewis’ problem opened the door and then I held off Max in the closing stages to take the win. It just goes to show you never know what can happen.

“Malaysia, Japan and then we’ll see. I think we can be podium cars, probably Malaysia, Japan, Austin. We might need some alternate conditions to really give us raw pace to fight for a win."

While rain could play a part in some races, the issue of reliability for the top two teams will also be a factor as they look to avoid taking any grid penalties which then could also offer Ricciardo and Red Bull hope if that was to be the case.

“I’m not going to sit here and say we’re not going to win one and I believe we’ll get at least one chance somewhere,” the 'Honey Badger' added.

Lewis Hamilton believes staying error-free this season has been the main difference between himself and Sebastian Vettel, with the Mercedes now in the driving seat in the championship with six races left.

The Briton has been very consistent in 2017 taking seven wins in 14 races including four of the last five. He has also only a handful of difficult weekends with a worst finishing position of seventh in Monaco.

Any situation where has been off the podium, however, has rarely been his own fault, with an extra pit-stop in Baku for a loose headrest, a gearbox penalty in Austria and a team agreement in Hungary preventing him from finish higher.

Compare that to Vettel who failed to capitalise on Hamilton's issue in Azerbaijan after being penalised for deliberately bumping his Mercedes behind the Safety Car and then suffering his first retirement of the year last time out in Singapore after being widely considered at fault for a start crash with Max Verstappen and teammate Kimi Raikkonen.

As a result of the events in Marina Bay, Hamilton now leads by 28 points, the largest gap for any driver at any point this year and now, for the triple world champion, remaining mistake-free is part of learning his lessons from missing out on the title to Nico Rosberg in 2016.

"Coming from last year, for example, where there were lots of mistakes, this is a year I try to make sure that, if I'm going to grow anywhere, in any space, that's going to be it," Hamilton said during a chat show appearance on ITV.

"The focus on not making any mistakes seems to be working. Ultimately I think it's important to respect people you're competing with and he (Vettel) is an incredible athlete and truly one of the best drivers we've seen in the sport.

"But it is great to have seen some of the weaknesses come through this year and I'm grateful for this recent one."

Throughout 2017, Lewis has spoken of how the battle with Vettel has rejuvenated his love and passion for F1, admitting he had considered retirement before with his ambitions off the track.

“I’m loving driving more than ever. I feel like I’m driving better than ever. I feel the most whole as a driver that I’ve ever been, which is a great feeling,” he said.

“I’m enjoying the challenge – the fact we have a balanced car alongside a Ferrari and sometimes a Red Bull, so it’s great to be able to be challenged by another team and really have to play on your qualities and work on your weaknesses.

“But at the end of every season, you always have a think about your future. I set a good five-year plan, but it gets altered every year as you add another year onto it.”

One target that won't be in his career plan, however, is to stay to try and capture further records, including Michael Schumacher's seven F1 titles.

“Honestly, I’m working just step by step. It’s hard enough to get these championships won one at a time; it’s hard enough just to get this fourth one,” he said. “Currently, it’s quite clear for me. Who knows if we’re going to get anywhere near Michael? Seven championships – I personally don’t have a desire to chase that."

Eric Boullier has outlined his initial expectations for the McLaren-Renault partnership, expressing his confidence that the team will score regular podium finishes.

One of the worst kept secrets in Formula 1 was finally revealed in Singapore as McLaren confirmed their split from struggling engine suppliers Honda.

The team are hopeful a switch to Renault power will propel them up the grid, having been hampered by Honda's straight-line speed deficit for the last three years.

McLaren, one of the most prestigious outfits on the grid, have not finished on the podium since the 2014 Australian Grand Prix, but Boullier is cautiously optimistic for 2018.

"We aim to be competitive and to be at least regularly on the podium if we can, and even better," the Frenchman said.

"It's a bit early. There’s still some regulation changes for next year with the introduction of Halo and this kind of stuff, and we’re just in September.

"Even if we started working early on next year’s car, we need to wait a little bit more.

"We also need to wait for testing and obviously Australia to understand where the other teams are in terms of performance."

Boullier admits a "huge load of work" lies ahead, but insists the team have only lost two weeks of development amidst the uncertainty over their engine partners.

"Obviously it’s a challenge," he told PlanetF1.com. "Now we have to work 24/7 I would say to try recover a couple of weeks where an ideal decision could’ve been taken.

"But, two weeks is recoverable, it won’t be any compromise next year.

"Of course, we don’t have the same experience as some of the customers, so we have to discover the package.

"I think we can trust our engineers to do a very good job, but this is going to be a huge load of work.

"I’m glad to see there’s a lot of energy going inside McLaren to try and recover as fast as possible."

Red Bull and Aston Martin have confirmed an intensifying in their relationship, with the British luxury car brand becoming the new title sponsor from 2018.

The announcement follows hints by both parties at an expansion of their activities together in Singapore and now it has been revealed the two will work more closely in a technical partnership including the creation of a new Advanced Performance Centre at Red Bull's F1 HQ  in Milton Keynes.

The move could also be the first step towards an eventual split with current engine supplier Renault, as Aston becomes the first title sponsor with Red Bull since Renault partner Infiniti, which ended their partnership at the end of 2015.

"Our innovation partnership with Aston Martin has been a pioneering project from day one," said Red Bull boss Christian Horner. "Having conceived and created the remarkably successful Aston Martin Valkyrie together in 2016, we extended our relationship this year and are now delighted to further strengthen the Partnership and see the team competing as Aston Martin Red Bull Racing in 2018."

"Having conceived and created the remarkably successful Aston Martin Valkyrie together in 2016, we extended our relationship this year and are now delighted to further strengthen the Partnership and see the team competing as Aston Martin Red Bull Racing in 2018."

For Palmer, the increased investment and participation also represent confidence both in the future of Red Bull and F1 as a whole under the leadership of Liberty Media.

"Title partnership is the next logical step for our 'innovation partnership' with Red Bull Racing," he claimed. "We are enjoying the global brand awareness that a revitalised Formula 1 provides."

On the prospect of joining as an engine supplier in four years time, Palmer added: “The power unit discussions are of interest to us, but only if the circumstances are right.

“We are not about to enter an engine war with no restrictions in cost or dynamometer hours but we believe that if the FIA can create the right environment we would be interested in getting involved."

Aston Martin has been and remains a big name in GT racing with the DBR9 and Vantage GTE as well as prototype partnerships with Lola in the past, combined with one of the most respected design teams in F1 it will be fascinating to see what this closer partnership will bring to Red Bull.

McLaren Racing Director Eric Boullier has claimed the failure to fully consider alternative means of helping Honda ultimately led to the decision to split with the Japanese manufacturer after 2017.

After months of speculation, it was confirmed last weekend in Singapore the two parties would be ending their partnership after just three years with the British team joining up with Renault from next season.

Commenting on how McLaren came to that decision, Boullier revealed several options put forward as soon as it became apparent the performance this year wasn't where it should be.

"At the first tests of 2017, we realised serious problems were waiting for us," he told Auto Hebdo. "We began to get nervous and started looking for solutions that could improve the situation.

"As a last resort, we were ready to offer that Honda skips the season while it improves and McLaren would use some other engines for that period."

With that idea rejected, rumours began that a collaboration with Mercedes had been put forward, albeit, with some objections from midfield teams, and talks were seen taking place between McLaren and Mercedes as early as China and particularly Canada.

"Honda engineers and their colleagues from Mercedes could do a technical cooperation," Boullier added confirming the stories. "Or forming our own group of specialists in the engine area made up of different companies to help Honda find more efficient solutions more quickly."

Though the situation has improved somewhat since the start of the season with developments since June, it appears McLaren became certain that Honda was never going to reach the standard desired without outside help.

"Unfortunately, none of the proposals were properly explored and as a result, we ran out of arguments," the Frenchman claimed. "We had to come to the conclusion that there was no other way out except for the termination of the cooperation."

Sauber boss Frederic Vasseur insists the team will not opt to retain Marcus Ericsson rather than Pascal Wehrlein for the 2018 season merely because of the Swede's financial backing. 

Ericsson, who joined Sauber in 2015, is backed by the owners of the historically cash-strapped Swiss outfit, so is set to keep his drive.

The team's renewed partnership with engine suppliers Ferrari has put the Scuderia's young prodigy -  runaway F2 leader Charles Leclerc - in pole position for the second seat.

Pascal Wehrlein, then, is widely expected to be ousted despite consistently out-performing Ericsson and scoring all five of the team's points in 2017.

Vasseur, though, insists it will not be an entirely financial decision, meaning there is still hope for the German.

"It would be a mistake to build a team around a driver just because he has a connection to the owner," he told Auto Motor und Sport.

"Rebuilding Sauber will require patience, while drivers normally want results in the next race.

"So if he wants to sit in a podium car next year, he will have a problem with Sauber. We will talk with the owners about what is best for Marcus and the team."

"Pascal knows our situation, and I know his skills because we worked together in the DTM.

"If you want to rebuild a team, you need not only fast drivers, but those who are willing to work with the team and push it in the right direction."

The team will hold discussions with Ferrari this week in a bid to finalise their line-up.

Jolyon Palmer has admitted his axing by Renault at the end of the year is "understandable" after the difficulties he has faced both with reliability and personal performance in 2017.

In Singapore, it was confirmed the former GP2 champion would be replaced by Carlos Sainz, who joins on a year-long loan while remaining in the Red Bull stable.

The main criticism many have had of the British driver is the performance gap to Nico Hulkenberg when his car has been healthy and how he hasn't been able to back up the German's results with points of his own.

"I've got a car that can score points and I am focused on doing the best job that I can," Palmer said, after scoring his first of the year at Marina Bay. "I would have loved it if the team had signed me for next year but with the way that the season has gone it is understandable that it has not happened. It has been a tough year all round.

"I want to go out with my head held high and prove I can do the job. At the end of the day, the decision has been made so I've got six races to do what I can and I've got the kit to do the job."

Questions over his immediate future appear to have died down with little talk of the once speculated early switch of Sainz from the next race in Malaysia and should he see out the year, Palmer is confident he can maintain the better form he showed last weekend.

"The next couple of races should be good for us and even stronger than Singapore," he said. "I'm still excited for the performance we've got as a team and still excited to be racing in a competitive car that I think is the fourth best, especially when we move on to the next few tracks, so there is a lot to be encouraged by. I'm not worried about next year."