Formula One and ESPN have agreed to a multi-year digital partnership to broadcast every race live in the U.S. from the start of the 2018 season.

Beginning with the Australian Grand Prix, every race will air live on the either ESPN, ESPN2 or ABC. The whole package will include every practice and qualifying session and involve more than 125 hours of F1 programming across the first season.

"ESPN has had a long commitment to motorsports, and Formula One is a crown jewel in the sport," said Burke Magnus, ESPN executive vice president of programming & scheduling. "There are many passionate Formula One fans in the U.S. and we look forward to bringing the pageantry, spectacle and excitement of F1 to viewers across the ESPN platform."

"We are excited about the return of the world's foremost motor racing platform to the ABC and ESPN platforms," said Sean Bratches, managing director, commercial operations at Formula 1. "ABC's Wide World of Sports first started airing live grands prix in the early 1960's and this linear and digital partnership with ESPN represents a significant step forward in achieving Formula 1's aim of broadening the sport's appeal.

"The U.S. market is a very important growth opportunity for Formula 1 and we are looking forward to working with ESPN to ignite the growing fan interest."

ESPN affiliate ABC broadcasted the first race aired in the U.S., the 1962 Monaco Grand Prix, shown on its Wide World of Sports programme. Select races continued to appear on the network until 1988.'

ESPN began televising F1 races in 1984 with a 10-race deal, expanding to 14 races for the next four seasons and 15 from 1989-1993. The number continued to rise each season until 1997, the last year F1 appeared on ESPN.

Jenson Button thinks he stayed in Formula 1 a year too long, a move he feels led to him falling out of love with motor racing for a while.

But a recent outing in the Suzuka 1000km has helped rekindle his enthusiasm for the sport, and has made him determined to return to full-time competition in 2018.

Speaking during an appearance at the Japanese Grand Prix on Friday, Button said that a year away from F1, despite his one-off outing in Monaco, has been essential for reflecting on his career and realising exactly what he wanted to do.

"It has been lovely and it has been necessary as well," said Button about his year in America. "Lots of things have happened in my career that I have not had time to think about at the moment in time.

"I've needed this year to sit down and have a little chat to myself about what has happened. It has been good.

"Obviously I did the race in Monaco, the race we can forget about, but qualifying I loved. Driving these monsters in Monaco...and the other race that really stands out is this one, driving a 2017 car must be pretty special. But do I miss F1? No.

"I miss racing. I've sort of fallen out of love a little bit with motorsport. I think that maybe I left it a year too long racing in F1."

Button said that the run in the Suzuka 1000km with Honda has especially rekindled his enthusiasm to get back behind the wheel properly next year.

"I came away from it, we didn't get a very good result, as we had every issue you could possibly have, but I came away and I felt that I had the love back for racing," he said. "I absolutely loved it.

"As soon as we finished, I wanted to get back in the car and do it all again. It has been a while since I've had that feeling.

"I've been itching to drive anything to be fair. Next year I will be racing something. I don't know what yet, whether it will be in America, or Europe, or Japan. I don't know.

"There are a few options and I want to do a full season and take it properly seriously."

IndyCar 'scares me'

While Button may yet continue some form of working relationship with McLaren, having been reserve driver this year, he says his focus is mainly on finding a full time cockpit in sportscars.

When asked what series is appealing to him he said: "I think IMSA, I don't know what it is called now, DP cars, I love there is a selection of tubs that they race with and then they can make it their own with the aerodynamic package and power unit. So there are a few manufacturers racing there, which is great.

"It's a growing sport, motorsport in America. The GT category is great but I'm not sure I can be in a car being overtaken by DP cars. That's something I can't get my head around.

"I'd love to do Le Mans at some point, but I'm not sure it's the right time to jump in and do it. I think the LMP2 category is awesome, there are so many teams, it's a lot of talented drivers but you have P1. I can't get my head around racing a car that is 20 seconds slower than something else."

Button is clear, however, that he has no interest in other major single seater categories like IndyCar or Formula E.

"No interest. IndyCar, there are some great drivers racing in IndyCar, but it scares the shit out of me," he said. "I'm amazed they still race. Very brave guys. But I wouldn't touch that. I don't feel it's necessary at this point in my career.

"Formula E, it definitely has its place, I think it's great for manufacturers, technology that is being used, it's going to keep growing, but again, it's not something that excites me.

"I want to go racing and have fun. I want to hear the engine, I want to hear it roar. I want to drive something that has 600+ horsepower. It's what I grew up with.

"I used to go to places like Donington or Castle Combe and you'd see these crazy arse cars racing, a Porsche turbo with 900hp racing against a mini that is as wide as it is long with a big crazy engine in it!

"It's what I loved, I loved the power and drivers just totally out of control the whole time."

Formula 1 chiefs have begun talks to get the Dutch Grand Prix back on the calendar – with ambitious plans being considered for a street race in one of the country’s major cities.

Motorsport.com can reveal that F1’s commercial boss Sean Bratches recently visited Holland for talks with local representatives to work out what needs to be done to make the event a reality.

It is understood that Holland is high on the list of countries that F1’s new owners want added to the grand prix schedule, with the country’s booming interest thanks to Max Verstappen meaning it would be hugely popular.

While it had previously been thought that Holland’s best hopes of winning an F1 race would be for it to take place at permanent track Zandvoort, which last hosted a GP in 1985, sources have revealed that Bratches is actually looking at bolder plans.

With F1’s new vision to make grands prix festival events, Bratches is targetting a street race in one of Holland’s major cities – most likely either Amsterdam or Rotterdam.

All options are currently being considered, with F1 well aware that it will have to balance out the attraction of Amsterdam being a more well-known destination city against the likely more difficult logistical problems that could come from hosting an event there.

Rotterdam has regularly held F1 street demos in the past (pictured above), so the city does at least have some experience of the complications that can come from hosting an event there.

It is not clear what timeframe Bratches is looking at to make a Dutch GP city race get on the calendar, but his recent visit highlights that he is eager to get the ball rolling.

Verstappen’s Red Bull boss Christian Horner believed that a Dutch Grand Prix in one of the big cities would be phenomenally successful.

“Street races are always fun – they always have big crowds and big atmospheres, Horner told Motorport.com.

“Obviously the amount of support there is behind Max in Holland at the moment means it would bring the country to a stop, so you can only imagine it being something huge.

“So as long as the venue and the track layout work, then why not?”

Pierre Gasly is set to contest the Super Formula title at Suzuka rather than race for Toro Rosso in the Formula 1 United States Grand Prix, Motorsport.com has learned.

Gasly, the 2016 GP2 champion, replaced Daniil Kvyat at Toro Rosso for Malaysia and Japan, the team announcing he would also stay on for Austin.

But Red Bull motorsport advisor Helmut Marko then suggested a final decision had yet to be made as to where Gasly would race during the weekend of 20-22 October.

Honda said it was its priority for Gasly to race in Austin, even if that meant it would sacrifice the Super Formula title to rival Toyota.

However, the Japanese manufacturer said it would welcome him back to Team Mugen if a replacement driver could be found for that race.

It has now emerged Toro Rosso boss Franz Tost is keen to run another driver in the second seat in Austin alongside Kvyat, as he weighs up his 2018 driver line-up.

As a result, it has been decided that Gasly, who trails Super Formula championship leader Hiroaki Ishiura by 0.5 points, will return to Team Mugen to contest the title.

Gasly, who is favourite to drive full-time for Toro Rosso next year, is then expected to return to F1 to contest the final three races - Mexico, Brazil and Abu Dhabi.

It remains unclear who will replace Gasly at Toro Rosso in Austin.

Kubica nearly lost his right hand in a 2011 Italian rally crash

Robert Kubica is in the mix to return to Formula 1, but at 32 years old and seven years removed from the paddock, is he even worth the risk?

First and foremost, Kubica was one of the fastest drivers on the grid during his time at BMW Sauber and Renault. And had he not nearly lost his right hand to a 2011 rally incident, he very well may have developed into a world champion.

As recent tests for Renault and Williams indicate, he can still compete at a high level. Only a few movements were uncomfortable or impossible, but that could be worked around through steering wheel design.

But problem No. 1 is provided by the current F1 car. Kubica tested in a pair of 2014 cars, some of the least physically demanding cars in recent Formula 1 history. The machines on the grid this year, by comparison, are the toughest, and within a year of development, the 2018 regulations should be even tougher. And this might be a step too far for the Polish star.

Problem No. 2 surrounds just how much time Kubica has been away from the discipline.

Yes, he has competed in the World Rally Championship, which is tough in itself, but it's a completely different challenge from Grand Prix circuit racing. Being more positive about any potential drive for 2018, if Kubica can cope with the stresses of the cars, he will be bang on the money. Maybe he won’t be winning grands prix, but he would be capable of scoring points on a fairly regular basis.

For any team brave enough to take a chance on his endurance, Kubica will bring a raft of good PR and attention to the team. As a former grand prix winner and with a fairy-tale story of beating the odds to make a comeback, the media will not be able to get enough of him.

To put it bluntly, signing Kubica would be a sponsor’s dream.

That said, the problems outweigh the positives at face value. Signing Kubica would be a real game of chance, and in a results-based business, it’s up to the individual to decide whether that is a risk too far.

Williams is a team with championship aspirations down the road. With Lance Stroll improving vastly over the course of the season, this is a team that may not be the best fit for Kubica. The only reason for Williams to take the risk is sponsor Martini’s requirement that one driver is older than 25 for marketing purposes.

Ultimately, Kubica returning to the sport would be a fairy tale, but F1 is not a fairy-tale business, with little room for sentiment. The signing of Kubica would be pure sentiment with a slight chance of success -- a PR dream but a sporting risk too far.