Valtteri Bottas will compete in this weekend's Monaco Grand Prix with a crash helmet bearing Mika Hakkinen's old Formula 1 design.

F1 drivers often adopt special helmet designs for Monaco and ahead of Thursday's opening practice session Bottas unveiled his own inspired by his double champion compatriot.

It bears Hakkinen's classic stripes down the side in three shades of blue, atop a white base.

Hakkinen won in Monco for the only time 20 years ago, and Bottas said he wanted to honour to that success and the Finn's first world championship the same year.

"He won here 20 years ago exactly and that year he won the title," said Bottas, who works with Hakkinen's former manager Didier Coton.

"So, I wanted to pay a tribute.

"I respect him as a driver, as a guy, and I always loved the paint as well."

Stoffel Vandoorne and Brendon Hartley have already revealed special crash helmets for this weekend's race that feature a Monaco theme, while Charles Leclerc has opted for a design based on his late father Herve's that also carries a memorial to family friend Jules Bianchi.

It’s not unusual in Formula 1 for the FIA to check individual teams are operating their cars within the regulations. This weekend, Ferrari are under the microscope, with the governing body reportedly asking the Prancing Horse to run an extra piece of hardware that monitors their Energy Recovery System (ERS)…Ferrari's energy store - one of six components that make up an F1 power unit (PU) - is based around a twin-battery architecture. And while there is no evidence that the Italian team are breaking the rules with the way they are running it, there has been speculation that rival teams think they may be able to boost energy flow to the powertrain beyond the 120kW limit mandated by the technical regulations.

This weekend, reports suggest the FIA will monitor the system in operation before analysing data and making any judgements.

Red Bull Team Principal Christian Horner and his Mercedes counterpart Toto Wolff told reporters on Thursday in Monaco that they trusted the FIA to police the regulations effectively.

“We’re not an engine supplier, so maybe Toto can answer more on the engine specifics but there have obviously been some rumours that no doubt you guys are cottoning onto as well,” said Horner.

“I’m sure that the FIA have all the competence to be able to able to measure, administer and look at the car that’s presented for scrutineering and during a Grand Prix weekend, and of course it’s the team’s obligation to ensure that that happens. I think the FIA are probably the best people to [ask]."

Wolff added: “Yes, Christian is absolutely right. We have legality topics that come up regularly. Some are more controversial but it's the daily business of the FIA to check what the teams do.

“It is the obligation of the teams to comply with the regulations and this is an ongoing process. I have great confidence with whatever issues are coming up, be it on the engine or the chassis, the FIA has been on top of it a lot.

“And as far as I understand this is a process that’s taking place as we speak and we will see what the outcome is.”

Ferrari currently trail Mercedes by 27 points in the Constructors’ Championship, with Red Bull 46 further back in third.

It’s not often you see a Formula 1 driver reversing, but that’s what Max Verstappen resorted to after getting his braking wrong into Ste Devote during Monaco GP first practice…

The Red Bull driver had a big front-left lock up on the approach to the first turn and opted to take to the escape road rather than attempting to make the corner.

Rather than spin the car round, he engaged reverse and moved back on track, with Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel cutting the corner to avoid Verstappen.

The stewards investigated whether Verstappen had returned to the track in an unsafe manner, but after speaking to the Dutchman and reviewing footage, they deemed no further action was necessary.

They said yellow flags had been waved to warn other drivers Verstappen had run off track at the first corner and Verstappen had rejoined in a manner “that posed no danger to the other drivers”.

Verstappen was second quickest in first practice, 0.154s slower than Red Bull team mate Daniel Ricciardo, as the duo lay down a marker on a weekend where they are expected to challenge for pole position and the victory.

The FIA and Formula 1 bosses have asked Pirelli to simplify the names it uses for its tyre range in 2019 in order to make it easier for casual fans to understand.

The plan is to keep the current range of compounds but scrap names such as ultrasoft and supersoft – and instead have only hard, medium and soft each weekend, with the actual compounds using those names changing depending on the circuit, as before.

The idea has been around for some time, but it has now become an official request that Pirelli is currently analysing.

"We had a request from FOM and FIA to just call them hard, medium and soft," said Pirelli F1 boss Mario Isola.

"With three colours, the same colours and same names for all the races, but obviously different compounds, because you cannot use the same compounds in Silverstone or Monaco.

"On a second level we will have compound A, B, C, D, E, F or whatever, and we will tell you that for this race, the hard is B, the medium is D, and whatever. So for spectators it's probably more understandable, but you also have the possibility to go deeper in detail for technical information that we will continue to provide.

"It's an ongoing discussion, but we said we are available to evaluate this change."

One of the considerations is that whereas now all supersofts emerge from the factory with red sidewalls, in the future the colours of that compound will be different depending on whether the tyre is a hard, medium or soft for that weekend.

However, Isola says that as tyres are made for a specific race, that is easy to deal with.

"I made a check with production and logistics, obviously we need to understand all the implications.

"We produce a specific batch for each race, to be sure that they all come from the same batch, so honestly to put a purple label or a yellow label or any other colour is not a big issue."

Isola said he expects Pirelli to have "five or six" compounds in 2019.

Pirelli has also announced that the Hungarian GP will be the third race this season to feature a 'missing' compound in the range of available tyres.

Teams will be able to choose from medium, soft and ultrasoft tyres – skipping the supersofts – as will be the case in Germany and happened earlier this year in China.

For being the crown jewel of the Formula One season, the Monaco Grand Prix… usually leaves a little left to be desired. It’s one of those races that usually isn’t too exciting unless someone crashes because after the first lap, there’s not much action to be had. Racing isn’t what it used to be back in the day; it might be time to start looking at a different way to keep Monaco the edge-of-your-seat challenge it used to be.

This year’s race was lambasted by drivers and fans alike. Fernando Alonsocalled it the most boring F1 race ever, Kimi Raikkonen complained about the fact that everyone finished where they started, and even Lewis Hamilton has started calling for a revamped format so that the race itself delivers the kind of excitement that all the hype promises.

There have been plenty of different ideas thrown out there throughout the years. Maybe F1 could turn the race into a series of qualifying-like sprint races. Maybe it would be worth throwing a few competition cautions. Maybe we should find some way to manipulate the qualifying system itself (reverse grid, anyone?) to enable a little more overtaking.

It’s tough to think of something to aid Monaco that’s not gimmicky. But it’s also reaching a point where people don’t even bother to tune into the race because, barring some sort of rare disaster, nothing happens. Fans in the States are pretty much deciding between waking up early on Memorial Day weekend to watch a procession or, y’know, sleeping in. Which you might end up doing anyway.

It’s pretty obvious, though, that something needs to change. Monaco shouldn’t continue to the F1 season’s highlight only because of its history and glamour. If it’s not delivering, then it’s a letdown to everyone involved—fans, teams, drivers, and sponsors alike.

Pitch us your ideas in the comments. Let us know what you think we can do with Monaco to make this race the exciting, challenging, event of the year that it used to be.

BRISIGHELLA, Italy -- The Bandini Trophy is an unusual award. The winner is chosen by a jury of 12, including the founder of the Minardi F1 team Giancarlo Minardi, and awarded in recognition of a significant improvement over the previous season's racing. It was established in 1992 in memory of Italian racing driver Lorenzo Bandini, who died in a Ferrari at the 1967 Monaco Grand Prix, and in its 25-year history has been awarded to drivers, teams and the son of Enzo Ferrari, Piero.

Nothing too unusual about that, but that's before the lucky recipient is encouraged to collect the award by driving a Formula One car on public roads to Bandini's hometown of Brisighella, in Northern Italy. The route starts in the city centre of nearby Faenza, winds its way through the rolling countryside of the Emilia-Romagna region and ends with a short blast through the narrow streets of Brisighella itself. For the rest of the year the road is populated by tractors and Fiat Pandas, but on the day of the ceremony the police make a cursory effort to limit the amount of civilian traffic along the route.

For the 25th anniversary of the award, Mercedes equipped Bottas with a championship-winning W07 Hybrid to complete the 14-kilometer drive. When the car arrived in Faenza's Piazza del Popolo, the usual Saturday morning market was already in full swing, with fruit, clothing, flowers and local delicacies being traded 50 metres away from the open-air Mercedes garage. It didn't take long for the attention of the locals to be drawn toward the F1 car and a small crowd soon gathered to sneak a glimpse at the machine that took Nico Rosberg to the 2016 world championship, winning 19 of that season's 21 grand prix races along the way.

"It's not a Ferrari, but at least it was designed by an Italian," said one passerby in reference to Mercedes engineer director Aldo Costa, who was also being recognised with an award from the organisers.

By the time Bottas arrived in the afternoon, the market had been packed away and the full focus of the city was on the Silver Arrow sat in the piazza. After visiting the nearby Imola race track to sign autographs for fans attending the Historic Minardi Days, the 28-year-old Finn was welcomed to Faenza's city hall by a fanfare of trumpets. The trumpeters then insisted on following him throughout his preparations, and even a quick trip to the toilet was accompanied by a short blast of appreciation.

With Bottas suited and booted, the police readied an escort and checked the local train timetable to ensure a level crossing halfway along the route was clear. To the crowd's delight, the W07 was finally fired up and the masses of spectators parted to create an exit route to the southwest of the piazza in the direction of Brisighella.

The authorities' attempts to stop traffic accessing the route had not been entirely successful however, and cars, vans and cyclists whizzed past in the opposite direction along the country road. Much to the delight of the Carabinieri leading the procession, speeds had to be kept high enough to feed the W07's radiators with fresh air and prevent the V6 turbo and its hybrid system from overheating.

A support van full of Mercedes mechanics and engineers stayed in constant radio communication with Bottas to keep him informed of the various obstacles along the route, which included an elderly gentleman -- also travelling in the direction of Brisighella -- driving a transporter for a classic car. The convoy made quick work of both car and trailer when an opportunity presented itself on one the short straights, adding an unexpected overtake to Bottas' achievements for the day.

His arrival in Brisighella was met with cheers and yet more fanfare as the W07 pulled up in front of a small stage, on which the award -- a rather striking pottery sculpture of Bandini's Ferrari -- stood awaiting presentation. As he climbed out of the car, a bunch of security guards dressed in medieval costume created a human shield around him and helped the Mercedes driver pick a route through the enthusiastic locals to the stage. This being Italy however, the formalities were meticulously drawn out over several hours and it was not until the early evening that Bottas finally got his hands on the trophy.

"This is a big honour," Bottas said. "I saw the list of drivers who received the Bandini Trophy before. There are some really impressive names on that list -- just think of the total amount of championships these people have won.

"So I feel very honoured to now be a Bandini winner myself. I had some good moments last year and it's nice to be recognised for those. Driving the 2016 car on the roads just added to the excitement of this great day."

Also recognised with awards were Costa, Mercedes engineer Riccardo Musconi, F1 journalist Jonathan Noble and F1 photographer Steve Etherington.

Force India driver Esteban Ocon suggested Sunday that there is an unwritten rule that he won’t hold up any Mercedes factory driver during a Grand Prix event – the Frenchman being part of the Mercedes young driver setup.

When Lewis Hamilton pitted in an attempt to undercut and pass second-place Sebastian Vettel during the Monaco Grand Prix, he came out right on the tail of Ocon but, despite struggling to get anywhere near to the back of Vettel’s Ferrari during the first stint of the race, it looked suspiciously easy for the championship leader to pass Ocon -- a member of Mercedes' young driver program.

Granted, Ocon was on much older tires, and the Mercedes is a much stronger car, but Hamilton was able to glide past unchallenged. Such was the ease that even the television commentators suggested potential foul play at the time.

“Maybe,” said Ocon when asked whether there was an unwritten rule. “I’m a Mercedes driver, you should ask the boss. It was pointless to fight with him, especially as he had new tires.”

Ocon finished sixth in the F1 Monaco Grand Prix, and Hamilton finished on the podium in third.

Belgium newspaper La Derničre Heure asked Mercedes boss Toto Wolff about the situation, to which Wolf replied “Yes, because that’s the way it is.”

If there has indeed been foul play and Mercedes did order Ocon to move out of the way, the FIA may decide to issue some pretty stern punishments to the German manufacturer. The only similar incident to this, which if proven to be true is tantamount to fixing the race result, is in Singapore in 2008 when Renault ordered Nelson Piquet Jr. to deliberately crash his car to benefit and ultimately gift a victory to teammate Fernando Alonso.

While not as extreme in this instance, the 2008 saw Renault handed a suspended disqualification from the championship while those who made the call were initially banned from working in the sport.

Formula 1's recent decision to revise its aerodynamic rules for 2019, ahead of a major overhaul in 2021, is all about trying to improve the quality of racing in the short-term.

Processional races at the season-opening Australian Grand Prix, on the tight confines of Melbourne's Albert Park circuit, and in the recent Spanish Grand Prix at Barcelona, highlight how difficult it is for the current, high-downforce F1 cars to follow each other at speed and race closely.

The FIA is making radical aerodynamic changes for 2019 to improve overtaking, which are explained in this animation. The changes will reduce the aerodynamic wake created, allowing a car following another not to suffer from so much turbulence.

These regulations followed in-depth research in collaboration with the Formula 1 teams, and were given the green light earlier this month.

These changes broadly consist of a wider and simpler front wing, a tidier front brake duct assembly - removing the various winglets that presently adorn them, the exclusion of close channel brake duct aero - including blown front axles - and a wider, deeper rear wing devoid of endplate louvres.

These aerodynamic tweaks accompany an increase in the fuel limit to 110kg - to reduce the amount of lifting and coasting drivers do in races to save fuel - and a driver and seat combined weight limit, designed to alleviate the disadvantaged faced by heavier drivers in what remain extremely heavy cars.

As this new animation from Giorgio Piola explains, the new regulations seek to simplify the front wing so the aerodynamic losses caused by following a car are reduced, making it easier drivers to follow each other thanks to the car in front encountering greater drag and the car behind receiving less turbulent airflow to its own aerodynamic surfaces.

The front wings will become bigger, but less complex, featuring smaller endplates and fewer flaps.

The stacked cascades, 'r' vanes and endplate canards that have become commonplace will no longer be permitted, leaving designers fewer tools with which to reduce the drag created by the front tyre and pull any turbulent airflow it would otherwise create away from the edge of the floor to improve underfloor and diffuser performance.

Simplification of the front brake ducts will work in tandem with the front wing changes, encouraging designers to use the ducts for the primary purpose of cooling, rather than aerodynamic gain.

This should mean no more 'blown axle', which currently features on the Ferrari SF71H, Red Bull RB14, Haas VF-18, McLaren MCL33 and Force India VJM11.

The scope available for change at the rear of the car is much more limited dimensionally, but the rear wings will become taller, wider and simpler, which makes more surface area available to generate downforce but also changes the ratio of the main plane and top flap, increasing the strength of DRS thanks to the consequent increase in drag.

This all should give us a glimpse of how F1 will likely look in 2021, when grand prix racing will undergo wholesale changes.

Vijay Mallya has resigned as a director of Force India and is expected to handed the board role to his son Siddarth, while he remains the team principal of the Silverstone outfit.

Mallya says he want to focus on his own legal issues, and doesn't want them to impact the team.

Although best known in his home country as an actor and media personality, 31-year-old Siddarth has also worked in the family business, and served as a director of the Royal Challengers Bangalore IPL cricket team.

"I continue as team principal," Mallya told Autosport.

"There was no compulsion anywhere to resign, it's just that I decided that my son should replace me.

"I have my own legal issues to take care of, so it's better that the company remains unaffected."

Mallya downplayed ongoing suggestions that the team is close to a sale.

"Rumours keep going on and on and on, and people talk and talk and talk," he said.

"That's what the F1 paddock is all about. The finances of Force India, whether I'm selling or not selling, has been a matter of speculation on and off for many years.

"We don't go around with a 'for sale' sign. The bottom line is that we are focusing on getting the best performance out of the car, and that is our priority. We're focusing on getting more sponsors.

"There are three shareholders, remember, I'm not the only one.

"If somebody comes along with a serious offer, and puts cash on the table, we will jointly consider it."

Mallya also denied rumours Mercedes might strengthen its ties with Force India by extending the current cooperation on engines and gearbox and making into a junior or B-team.

"I have not had any discussions with Mercedes, they have not made any approach to us," he said. "This hasn't even featured in casual discussions."

Regarding this season's form he said: "We've not had the best of luck. Last year we had the good fortune of both cars finishing, and both in the points.

"This season for one reason or another both cars have not finished in the points yet. Hopefully that will get corrected as the season goes on.

"In terms of competitiveness and race pace this is evolving, and we're getting better through the year as we develop.

"We're quite pleased with where we are, we just have to make sure both cars are in the points from now on. There's a long way to go."

Formula 1's overhaul for 2021 should take inspiration from its ground-effect era, according to 2016 world champion Nico Rosberg.

Liberty Media took control of F1's commercial rights during Rosberg's title-winning season, and the former Mercedes driver has watched from the outside since retiring from F1 at the end of that year.

F1 will introduce simpler front wings next year to try to make it easier for cars to follow ahead of a raft of changes planned for 2021 that are designed to improve racing and reduce the competitive spread of the field.

Rosberg said his demonstration run in Monaco last week alongside father Keke, who drove a 1982 Williams, gave him an idea of what F1 should pursue for the make-up of the cars.

"I was looking at my dad's car and it's all ground effect," said Rosberg.

"The aerodynamics are under the car. They could follow each other in the gearbox all the time.

"They [F1] have to go into that sort of direction. And hopefully they'll manage [it by] 2021 at latest. Because that's what we all need, for the fun.

"We need to see battles, fighting and touching wheels. That is one of the biggest problems because it's as difficult as ever.

"Unfortunately at the moment it is not at the right place, and then the costs [need changing] to give more opportunities to the middle teams to have some success."

Ground-effect aero was tabled as part of F1's 2017 ruleset, but bigger, more powerful wings was pursued instead.

F1 is going back on that decision slightly with its 2019 changes, which represent the philosophy it wants at the heart of the wider 2021 overhaul.

As well as cars that are easier to race, F1 is pushing for cheaper, simpler engines, a cost cap and standardised parts to bring individual team budgets under control.

It wants to reduce the competitive spread of the grid and also review the way teams receive their cut of F1's income to try to reduce the impact of special deals given bigger teams another financial advantage.

In the short-term, Liberty has tried to invigorate fan interest by introducing several new concepts like live fans events, post-race broadcasts on social media and new ways to follow races trackside and at home.

"They are doing a good job because Liberty knows what entertainment is about," said Rosberg.

"They really try to bring all that in and try to bring the young people in in different ways and that's a great approach.

"So, this is all good. But the problem is, what pours through everything, is the two things that they are working as well but are much more difficult.

"It's the cost and the overtaking. The aerodynamics are just too much so it's as hard as ever to follow and that is such a pity.

"Sometimes a guy is so much faster, but he just can't get close.

"That's the key, because that's entertaining. If we see battles, that's awesome."

Formula 1 world champion Lewis Hamilton believes Daniel Ricciardo does not have a serious option beyond Red Bull for next season.

Ricciardo, who won last weekend's Monaco Grand Prix, has been backed by Red Bull his entire F1 career but his current deal expires this season.

Neither Hamilton nor Valtteri Bottas have a contract at Mercedes beyond this year, while Ferrari needs to decide who Sebastian Vettel's teammate will be.

Hamilton decided to leave long-time backer McLaren in 2012 to join Mercedes, but said Ricciardo's situation is not quite the same because there is no clear alternative to Red Bull.

"It's different for everyone so I can't imagine how he's mentally positioned himself," Hamilton said when asked by Motorsport.com about Ricciardo and his future.

"They're still a strong team, they've got good potential moving forwards. I would imagine his future is there, but he's one of the top drivers so I'm sure there are options for him.

"Obviously in the top area there's only Ferrari and Red Bull and Mercedes that he could consider.

"But currently here [Mercedes] that's unlikely. I don't think that's going to happen.

"And if you look at Ferrari, I imagine Kimi's going to want to continue - and why not?

"He's driving really well this year and he doesn't seem to be ageing. I'm sure he'll go for a little bit longer."

Ricciardo's teammate Max Verstappen signed a lucrative new deal last year that ties him Red Bull until at least 2020.

However, Verstappen has endured a fraught start to the season and denied Red Bull a likely one-two in Monaco by crashing in final practice and missing qualifying.

Hamilton said Ricciardo is "pretty much the lead driver" at Red Bull now and suggested he deserved to given an offer that matches his worth, joking he would negotiate on the Australian's behalf.

"I said to him he's doing a solid, solid job," said Hamilton. "Ultimately he's got a teammate that is, from what I hear, making a lot more money than him and yet he's more consistent, keeping the car together a lot more - and, more often than not, pulling through.

"It's important in a team to feel that you're valued according to your contribution. He should definitely have his contract on the table and have his options ready."

Red Bull could partner Honda next season in a bid to get back to championship-winning ways, but the Japanese manufacturer is a gamble after three unsuccessful years with McLaren.

Renault's underpowered engine has ultimately restricted Red Bull in recent seasons but Hamilton said the team is "not a bad place to be".

"If at some stage they get an engine, they're going to be even closer in the mix with us," said Hamilton.

"There's still a long way to go [this season - they could win a lot more races. He's just got to get his head down and keep doing what he's doing."

Haas is bringing a “significant” set of new parts to the Canadian Grand Prix after purposefully delaying the first major upgrade for its 2018 Formula 1 car.

While the American team struggled in Monaco last weekend, it has enjoyed an otherwise strong start to the season, even finishing sixth in Spain despite other teams introducing upgrades for that race.

Haas team principal Gunther Steiner said in Spain that it was a conscious choice to wait to introduce new parts on the VF-18, which will appear in Montreal next weekend.

“We’ve got quite significant changes,” he said. “Front wing, floor, and all the bargeboard area, we’ve made those updates.

“Obviously, their aim is to go faster, to gain us speed.

“A lot of people brought their upgrades to Spain. We decided to bring them to Canada to have a little bit more time, because we’re still a small team and cannot react as quickly as the big ones.”

Haas needed to remove bargeboard components from the cars of Romain Grosjean and Kevin Magnussen in Monaco because of an inherent structural fragility.

Both drivers had suffered parts breaking off in previous grands prix.

The removal of these aero parts, which have been beefed up as part of the upgrade package, contributed to a terrible weekend in Monaco.

However, Haas’s struggles were compounded by an inability to get the softer Pirelli compounds to work, particularly the hypersoft that made its debut in Monaco and will be used again in Canada.

“Tyre compounds are going to be the number one priority for us to understand with the new package,” said Grosjean.

“The circuit is very different. It is much more high speed with much more kerb riding, so the set-ups are quite different.”

“We’ve got to get a bit more understanding of them [the hypersofts] before heading to Canada.

“In the race, I’ve got to be honest, the three different compounds just didn’t work for us.

“We were just cruising around, not driving, not pushing as hard as we wanted.”

Magnussen predicted Monaco would be difficult for Haas because it put more emphasis on mechanical performance and the team’s biggest strength this year is its aero package.

He said Haas learned something about the hypersofts in Monaco that it would “try and work with” in Canada to boost its performance.

“The hypersoft tyre is a good tire, though in Monaco I think it was still too hard – it was difficult to switch on,” he said.

“Hopefully, in Canada it will be a little bit easier. You’ve got longer straights to put load on the tyres at high speed to switch them on.”

A switch from 13-inch to 18-inch wheels is set be part of the 2021 F1 rules package that is currently being formulated by a team of engineers under Ross Brawn, in conjunction with the FIA.

One F1 insider told Motorsport.com that is is now "more likely than not" that the move will be made.

When asked if he agreed that was the case, FIA race director Charlie Whiting said: "I would say so. It is part of the package that we are discussing."

Pirelli has been pushing for the change for several years, and has even demonstrated concept tyres, with Charles Pic running them on a Lotus at Silverstone in 2014, and Martin Brundle trying them on a GP2 test car in Monaco in 2015.

The company believes that low-profile tyres, as already seen in the WEC and Formula E, have more in common with road car technology than the current 13-inch spec, and would be better for marketing purposes.

The argument against a change has always been that it would have a major impact on suspension design, and hence add to development costs, but opinion has now swung in favour.

Some teams have even suggested that the move should be made as early as 2020, with the current cars. However, the consensus is that it would be logical to wait for the big package of changes that will come in 2021.

Pirelli's exclusive supply contract ends in 2019, and a move to 18 inches would be built into any future tender, which will be open to rival manufacturers.

The complication for any newcomer is that they will potentially have to develop 13-inch wheels for a single season in 2020, before the move to 18 inches.

Pirelli CEO Marco Tronchetti Provera confirmed in Monaco that the Italian company is ready to make the change.

"We are open," he said. "Obviously they have to find the right regulation, and have the teams ready to adopt it.

"There are a number of issues of aerodynamics, of suspension and so on. When the teams are ready, we are ready.

"For us it is always technology. We are happy with 13, we are happy with 18. Tyres are more visible, the bigger they are, the better it is. But the technological challenges are different."

The priority for Pirelli will be to organise a suitable test programme, which will require a "mule" car or cars with modified suspension.

"At the moment we haven't discussed this in detail yet," Pirelli F1 boss Mario Isola told Motorsport.com. "Because it's not just the tyre regulations that are missing, but all the regulations.

"We said that we are ready to do whatever they ask, with the proper time and testing. This is our position.

"We have to make a proper plan. In the past we made different tyres, we made wider tyres, we are always trying to follow what are F1's requirements. But we'll need a proper car to test. It's a similar situation to 2016, with the wider tyres."

Isola believes that the move should wait for the new cars in 2021: "I think that 2020 is too close for such a big change. It doesn't make a lot of sense considering that in 2021 we will have other changes, so it's better to do it all together."

Valtteri Bottas has said that he wants Lewis Hamilton to stay with him at Mercedes.

The Brit has been in talks with the team about what could possibly be the biggest deal in F1 history.

However, the four-time World Champion is yet to sign on the dotted line. Bottas, though, wants his team-mate to stay with the Silver Arrows.

“Of course, it would be nice that Lewis stays too, because I enjoy working with him,” Bottas said about Hamilton.

“The fact that he was won four championships and me none pushes me to outdo myself,” the Finn continued. “We work well together and that is why I would rather stay with Lewis on this team.”

Bottas put pen to paper on a new deal in September, but Hamilton could be waiting for Mercedes to bring upgrades to Canada before he makes his decision.

The Brit believes that it is not just between himself and Sebastian Vettel for the title.

“It is definitely a three-way fight,” Hamilton said. “They [Red Bull] will continue to get stronger through the year.”