Renault is unconcerned about potentially strengthening a rival team in McLaren in 2018, claiming success with their engine is more important than with their works team.

Last weekend it was confirmed the British team would be ending their troubled partnership with Honda and switch to the French manufacturer from next season after Mercedes and Ferrari had said no to the opportunity.

The main concern of the current top two teams on the grid was that supplying McLaren could make them close competitors due to their known strength in building a strong chassis, however, Managing Director Cyril Abiteboul insists the deal agreed meets with the company's ambitions.

"It's been a fairly long and complex process for the number of parties that this was involving, but I think that the solution reached is one that is good for all parties," he said. "It's in particular one that manages to keep Honda in the sport, and I think it's very important to keep a diversity of manufacturers involved.

"As far as we're concerned, it was not an easy decision. We know that we are making a competitor stronger. We know that very well," he acknowledged. "Having said that, the activity of Renault in F1, since 40 years that we've been in F1 is in particular articulated around what we are doing on the engine side.

"We are a car maker; the engine is at the core of the automotive. That's what we have always been doing. We have been a works team on and off, we are currently 'on' - but it doesn't remove anything from our engine activity that must be sustainable."

The current incarnation of the Renault works team is in its early stages, having picked up the remains of the former Lotus outfit at the end of 2015, and there is a plan in place which they hope can see them fighting for titles by 2020.

However, a wide-ranging partnership was spoken of with McLaren - after their last technical tie-up with Red Bull broke down - and the company does have a strong history as a supplier as Abiteboul pointed out.

"What we want to do is to supply aspirant teams, great teams, great drivers," he said. "We've done 13 years with Williams with five championships, 12 years with Red Bull Racing, four championships as Constructors', so we really look forward to the start of this new association with McLaren."

Carlos Sainz has admitted he wanted to move to Renault for "a long time" before he eventually secured a loan with the team in 2018 as part of the McLaren, Renault, Toro Rosso, Honda deal.

The Spaniard, who scored his best F1 finish this past Sunday in Singapore, came out over his desire to leave the junior Red Bull team in Austria earlier this year, however, his comments only drew condemnation from Helmut Marko and Christian Horner, who insisted he was staying put and honouring his contract.

Though that seemed the settle the matter, comments from Marko a few weeks ago suggested Sainz could leave and so it has turned out with the 22-year-old replacing Jolyon Palmer albeit remaining in the Red Bull stable. 

“I'm very enthusiastic. For me it’s a great step in my career," Sainz said of his opportunity. "I want to thank Renault for trusting in me, this comes from a really long way back in 2016 when they first spotted me and they wanted me to go to the team.

"To finally make it happen and to have everyone happy - Red Bull, Renault, Toro Rosso - with the deal is a great achievement for me.”

Under this new arrangement, a number of different ambitions were filled. The Austrian energy drinks giant retained the option to promote Sainz to their senior team should either Max Verstappen or Daniel Ricciardo leave after next season and Renault now has a line-up for next season full of potential.

Indeed, the son of former WRC champion Carlos Sainz Sr. believes there is nothing negative about the final outcome.

"I knew I had the probability, but a big probability just in the last month when everything started to happen as you might know," he said of how his 2018 situation played out.

"It has been on my radar for a long time but finally this last month everything has developed, everyone has agreed to what, I think, is a positive deal for everyone involved. I think it’s something everyone needs to be very happy about.”

Ferrari junior driver and Formula 2 championship leader, Charles Leclerc is to participate in four Friday morning practice sessions between now and the end of 2017 it has been confirmed.

The Monegasque, who has been phenomenal for Prema in F2 and is on course to wrap up the title as soon as next month at Jerez, has long been linked with a seat at the Swiss team for 2018 as the Scuderia look to use their new engine deal with Sauber as a launch pad for their young drivers.

The 19-year-old, who also participated in the post-Hungarian Grand Prix test for Ferrari, will get his chance to show his skills in the Sauber C36 at Sepang next weekend before also being in the car at the three pan-American races in Austin, Mexico City and Sao Paulo.

Leclerc's main competition for the anticipated seat alongside Marcus Ericsson next year is current Ferrari third driver Antonio Giovinazzi, who is also gaining F1 experience by appearing for Haas in a number of Practice 1 sessions before the end of the season. 

Lewis Hamilton has revealed he used the memory of Ayrton Senna's infamous crash during the 1988 Monaco Grand Prix to help stay focused as he eased to victory in Singapore on Sunday.

The current championship leader was largely untroubled after taking the lead on Lap 1, following a strong start and the crash involving Max Verstappen and the two Ferrari's at the first corner.

However, as Marina Bay saw its first ever wet race, the Mercedes driver admitted that recollection helped him maintain focus while ahead, as second-placed Daniel Ricciardo had gearbox trouble.

"It was the first time for all of us driving here in the rain, so it was a massive, massive challenge," he said. "I could have easily just binned it.

"Generally, through the whole race, I kept... every now and then, Senna pops into my mind... his Monaco Grand Prix where he was in the lead and hit the wall. That always comes in and reminds me not to do that.

"It's almost like he talks to me: 'just stay focused, keep it together'."

Hamilton's performance also came as quite a surprise after Mercedes had struggled for pace against their rivals around what is arguably their weakest circuit on the calendar despite three wins in four years.

"It couldn't be a more perfect scenario really for us, being that we are at a circuit where they [Ferrari and Red Bull] were in another world in hotter, drier conditions and we really had not a lot of hope," he said of the change in weather on Sunday.

"We really had to just bank on potentially a good start and maybe a bit of strategy, just to get us one or two places. It was going to be one place maybe, or hope for [bad] reliability for another car, but for the rain to fall, I was so happy - you can't imagine how happy I was."

The triple world champion also believes his well-known skills in the wet played a key part, putting that skill down to how he approaches the challenge of a wet track.

"Normally when it rains, you're a little bit apprehensive, it's a little bit nerve-wracking, because it makes it so much trickier for us and here we've never even driven in the rain," he commented.

"But for me, I'm kind of like... 'yes!'. I think there's a couple of us that particularly love those conditions more than maybe others.

"It's very much an opportunity to really make a difference with your driving, and I was really able to. I just know that when those conditions happen it's more of a lottery, there's more opportunity, it levels the playing field, and then there's a real race and that's what I was excited to have.”

Red Bull Team Principal Christian Horner believes Formula 1 needs to put the focus back on ensuring a great racing spectacle rather than technology in another attack on the current engines.

His latest comments come amid a number of debates surrounding engines with criticism of the grid penalty system after nine drivers were hit in Monza and the recent swaps between Toro Rosso and McLaren, as the British team looks to move on after a miserable few years with Honda. 

Horner, however, has never been a fan of hybrids since their inception in 2014, though some would argue that's because it ended Red Bull's period of dominance, and has consistently claimed their complexity, lack of sound and the level of influence they have in determining performance is hurting the sport.

“F1 is an entertainment and a sport which is why people watch it to see the best drivers in the best car," he told Sky Sports F1 recently. It should be predominately about the drivers and of course then the team element as well.

"It needs to look great, be a real challenge for the drivers and sound fantastic. They are the three elements we need to get back to.”

Looking forward, talks continue on shaping the future engine formula for 2021, with the main criteria being simpler, cheaper and louder. The manufacturers have argued that some level of electrification and hybrid power must remain to keep F1 road-relevant but Horner contests whether the current engines meet that point.

“There is zero road relevance what we have here,” he claimed. “The engines make no relevance to what is happening in everyday road car use and the aerodynamics don’t crossover.

“This goes back to what I have said before with F1 being at a crossroads and it needs to pick a direction. The manufacturers are now favouring Formula E as their technology route and that to me makes a great deal of sense.

“F1 is about emotion and drivers racing wheel to wheel – man and machine at the limit."

Max Verstappen remains unhappy with Sebastian Vettel over the crash at the start of Sunday's Singapore Grand Prix, revealing the Ferrari driver had not apologised.

There was disagreement between the Scuderia and Red Bull for what the stewards later deemed a racing incident with no-one at fault, with the Italian posting a rare evocative tweet claiming the Dutchman turned into Kimi Raikkonen.

Red Bull boss Christian Horner, however, claimed anyone blaming Max should "get their eyes tested" and the teen, who turns 20 before the next race in Malaysia, maintains the German is to blame.

"Vettel is fighting for the championship, so you don't need to take so much risk if you know that Hamilton starts fifth," he said. "If this would have been with Hamilton then it would have been a completely different story. From his [Vettel's] side, I don't understand that something like this happens."

On whether the four-time world champion had accepted any responsibility, Verstappen added: "He did say something like, 'yes, in hindsight things could have been done differently'. But what's done is done."

The 30-year-old, who's driving standards was called into question post-Baku, stated he was unsighted and was unaware of teammate Kimi Raikkonen's presence on the inside of the Red Bull driver. 

His argument did receive some support from an unlikely source, however, in main title rival Lewis Hamilton, who would use Vettel's retirement to extend his championship lead to 28 points.

“When you pull away [from pole] you can’t actually see the guy who’s in second place, they’re generally in your blind spot if they get as good a start as you,” the Mercedes man said. “It’s difficult to know where they are so your immediate thought is to cover your ground, get to the inside and cover and turn them so I assume that’s what he did.

“It’s difficult to know where they are so your immediate thought is to cover your ground, get to the inside and cover and turn them so I assume that’s what he did," he continued referring to Sebastian moving to the left approaching Turn 1.

“At least, when you do that, then all of a sudden they appear in your mirror so you can understand where they are or in your peripheral view but sometimes you do it and you realise you’re ahead so you actually didn’t need to. I don’t if Sebastian felt that way or not.”

Felipe Massa has claimed Williams is finally making efforts to adjust their approach to car development but doesn't anticipate any impact until 2018, amid a difficult run of results.

The Grove-based outfit has slipped back this year in the competitive order currently 65 points behind Force India in fifth place albeit maintaining a reasonable advantage over the rest of the midfield in the Constructors' standings.

However, a bad batch of upgrades at the Austrian Grand Prix has seen Williams struggling for single lap pace since and playing catch up although points results have continued through race day recoveries.

For Massa, who finished 11th in Singapore, a lack of good development is something he has tried to help with throughout his spell with the team, since 2014, but only now does the Brazilian feel like progress is being made even if not quickly enough.

“I don’t think it will be addressed for this season but I think we can still improve a little bit the car,” he said. “The mentality of the development needs to be different. It is different already, but maybe not for this year.

“Many mentalities, many ideas I have pushed for three years and it has not changed. I think now the mentality has changed, but it’s not for the now, it’s for the future.”

One event that was expected to change Williams' fortunes was the arrival of Paddy Lowe from Mercedes as the new Technical Chief, and Massa does admit he has made some impact. 

“Yes, a lot. Not only Paddy but I think the mentality of the team,” he said. “There were so many errors it was not really correct but now it’s correct. Unfortunately, we couldn’t improve the car in the way we wanted this year, but the mentality is completely different already.

“The idea is completely different for developing a new car, which I believe Williams can have next year in terms of even the looks but it’s impossible to say now how it will be next year. You don’t know what the others are doing.

“Everybody knows the rules, the rules are the same next year. To be honest, we know other teams are not stupid, but it’s important to change the mentality to really build things in the right way. We’ll see.”

Whether Massa will be around to find out, however, is unknown amid speculation Robert Kubica could be lined up to replace the former Ferrari driver, who stayed on this year after initially announcing his retirement at the end of 2016.

Jolyon Palmer is targeting a race seat alongside Lance Stroll at Williams for 2018, his father Johnathon Palmer has revealed, as the Briton scored his best finish in Formula 1 in Singapore.

Over the weekend it was announced the former GP2 champion would not be staying with Renault for next season, as current Toro Rosso driver Carlos Sainz will partner Nico Hulkenberg on loan from Red Bull. 

It then emerged Palmer himself only found out after reading an article on Autosport before confirming with his team. It's uncertain if another rumour suggesting he could be out for Malaysia is true but his father's comments claim he will be staying.

"A few good races and Williams might take notice," he said of the seat that is available for next year, with Felipe Massa's future uncertain. "Williams will want to take their best option and he has the chance to show he is that over the next few races."

Robert Kubica and Fernando Alonso have also both been linked but Jolyon did help his chances by capitalising on a chaotic race in Singapore to score his first points of the year in sixth place.

"I’m so happy, it’s been a long time coming but today everything fell into place," he said afterwards. "It was a tricky race with the drama at the start and the heavy rain but the circumstances put us in a good place to score some points.

"We had a good strategy, good pit stops and the car was good in the wet conditions. The next race should be even better!”

On what it meant for his chances of a 2018 seat, he added: "I hope I can build on this confidence. Of course, I want to stay in Formula 1, and there are other options. Whatever happens, happens."

McLaren is looking to rebuild their brand image and attract new sponsors to the team for 2018 after announcing a new "long-term" engine partnership with Renault in Singapore.

Current Executive Director Zak Brown was brought in last year to help the British team find a new title sponsor, having failed to replace Vodafone who ended their association in 2013. 

However, the lack of competitiveness with Honda since 2015 plus a difficult current climate for teams looking for extra revenue has meant McLaren have actually lost some partners rather than gained.

The potential financial impact of ending the partnership with Honda, who provided around $100m in funds, was one of the considerations some thought would lead to the team remaining with the Japanese manufacturer, but Brown insists there is no issue.

"We have very committed shareholders that want us to win races and that is the main aim so they have given us the remit to do what it takes to win and we will work together to deal with the financial side," he said.

"We will come to whatever financial arrangement we need to and that won’t compromise a good budget. We continue to unleash money as and when it is requested so we are not going to compromise our racing product."

The move to Renault power is anticipated to see McLaren challenging the likes of Red Bull and maybe higher in 2018 and the American entrepreneur believes that and F1 growing as a whole will see more deals come together.

“With sponsorship and decision-making time it will be typically Q4 of 2017 to Q1 of 2018," Brown explained. "We were anticipating this so we’ve got some great leads on it. It would have been nice to announce it before the summer break as you always want more time to prepare to get sponsors but we don’t plan on using it as an excuse.

“The sport is in a great place with TV ratings up and crowd attendance is up. The vibe in the pits is good and it is great that Mercedes has competition this year so that has contributed. The sport is in a good selling environment and McLaren has a good story. 

“It won’t be easy due to the magnitude of money over that period of time but I have done it before and we have a great restructured commercial team. It won’t be easy but it is achievable.”

While the main goal of the deal with the French manufacturer was to see McLaren back at the front, where they feel they should be, Brown concluded by insisting the two parties are ready to forge a lasting working relationship.   

"No, this is not a short-term fix," he said. "At the end of the day, no-one knows yet what the engine rules are in 2021, so I think it's hard for anybody to look beyond 202 because we don't know what '21 looks like.

"We think we've got a long-term partnership, the foundation for it. Renault's got a great history in the sport, won a lot of championships with Red Bull, won a lot of championships themselves, so we're very happy where we are. We think that we'll be very competitive together."

Fernando Alonso has revealed he will meet with Renault bosses to look at their potential in 2018 before deciding whether to remain with McLaren beyond this year.

On Friday in Singapore, it was confirmed the British team will end their partnership with Honda after three seasons to forge a new alliance with the French manufacturer next season, a switch that many believed would be the precursor for the Spaniard to sign a new contract.  

However, the double world champion insisted no decision had been taken on his own future and he will now evaluate whether the company he won his two titles with is on a path to matching the likes of Mercedes and Ferrari.

“After Singapore, I will try to know a little bit more about the project, the Renault engine and the expectations for next year, he revealed. "Obviously right now I don't know anything, so after I can see the data I will make decisions.

"You never know if it's a good move or a bad move for the team, but I think that if McLaren thought that it was time to split with Honda and go for Renault, it's because they have good information about next year."

Alonso would also claim he thinks the new tie-up with Renault would mean "normality" for the Woking-based outfit after a baron period of results, with their last win coming in 2012.

"The aim is, as I always said, to be on the podium and fight for victories, to be thinking 'what we will do at the start?' looking at the videos for maybe attacking and maybe leading the race in the first stint.

"Those are all the things I did for 13 years of my career. So as I said, back to normality."

On the failed Honda experiment, the 36-year-old, who ended a disappointing stint at Ferrari to be a part, would actually be positive suggesting it wasn't a waste of three seasons.

"I personally feel very proud of what we tried to do in the last three years, the people that work here,” he said. "Obviously they will stay in the sport with Toro Rosso and it will be interesting to see the future for them."