Formula 1 will do a dry run of the way it monitors how teams will adhere to a cost cap next season, despite it not being officially enforced until 2021.

New regulations are set to make significant changes to the cars in order to promote closer racing, alongside a revised revenue distribution and a cost cap in the region of $175 million per season. There will be certain exceptions to the cost cap, but F1 CEO Chase Carey told a Liberty Media earnings conference call that next year will be used to identify weaknesses in the way it will be monitored.

“In terms of the cost cap, actually one of the real positives is the evolving attitude toward it,” Carey said. “We feel quite positive about where we are with the cost cap, in many ways teams — some of whom had concerns or issues going in — are increasingly supportive.

“I think by and large right now the support is quite broad and everyone believes it’s an important element of the future of the sport. I do think the teams really are behind it as being an important cornerstone to build the sport going forward.

“We wouldn’t have done it if we didn’t think it was enforceable. Clearly you account for everything which you need to make sure you have access to the right information to do the accounting, and that’s about us being disciplined and firm about what we need.

“(In) 2020, all the teams will participate in effectively a dry run as the cost cap won’t actually be enforced with consequence until 2021. In 2020 what we are going to go through is shaking out the bugs of accounting, and accounting for the costs.”

Carey added that the planned cost cap introduction has also led to increased interest from new teams that could enter the sport in future.

“Clearly one of the goals in terms of the cost cap is to create a healthier (sport) — I’ve talked about the competitive goals, but it is equally important we create a cost cap that supports a business model that is healthy and growing and positive for existing teams and potential new teams coming into it.

“That has been enforced as we’ve had discussions with potential new teams; all have looked at sort of steps in terms of cost discipline and a more balanced revenue distribution as being cornerstones to creating what they think is an exciting opportunity, so certainly that is a part of it.”

Valtteri Bottas says he has a "Plan B" and "even a Plan C" in case he is not retained by Mercedes as Lewis Hamilton's teammate next year.

The Finnish driver is second in this year's drivers' championship but faces an uncertain summer break as he waits on Mercedes to decide on his contract option for 2020. He faces competition for the drive from reserve driver Esteban Ocon, with Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff planning to make a decision during F1's summer break.

Bottas started the year with two wins from the first four races, but his form has dropped off at recent rounds and he now trails Hamilton by 62 points in the standings. The last two races were particularly costly after Bottas crashed out of the German Grand Prix and finished eighth in Hungary, and although Wolff says he will not make a decision based on one-off results, Bottas faces a long summer waiting for a decision.

"I'm not really nervous, but for sure it would be nice to hear some news from the team, to know what they want to do as well," he said on Sunday night in Hungary. "But what can I do?

"I don't think one race is going to change anything and I'm sure we'll get some more news soon."

Ocon has been linked to drives at Renault and Haas if he does not secure the Mercedes seat, which could also represent options for Bottas if Wolff's decision goes the other way. The Finn said he is already lining up potential options if Mercedes does not retain him.

"Of course when you are in this situation, as with everything in Formula One, you need to have a Plan B and, sometimes, even a Plan C," he said. "For sure when you're talking about stuff it's always good to have different plans and that's what I'm doing."

Bottas admitted the extra pressure of not knowing his future is not helping his bid to fight Hamilton for the championship.

"For sure when contract-wise you're on the limit, it never helps," he added. "Some people might think some drivers perform better under pressure when things are on the limit but, for sure, for me it doesn't help.

"I can't say that going into Turn 1 [in Hungary] I was thinking about it -- I don't think so. ... I was very hungry for the win, no matter if there are contract talks or not. I wanted to win this race, so I took the risk.

"[It] just didn't go quite as planned, it could have been a lot different, we're talking about centimeters here and there, so ... that's how it goes."

Double-world champion Mika Hakkinen is banking on a tighter fight at the front between Mercedes, Red Bull and Ferrari in the second part of the 2019 season.

The Silver Arrows squad's supremacy was finally undermined in the last few races, courtesy of Red Bull and Max Verstappen's two wins.

Hakkinen sees Ferrari also coming to the fore after the summer break, at power circuits Spa and Monza.

"They should be back in contention in Spa and Monza, where their straight-line speed will matter, but it is clear that their car is just not competitive from race to race," Hakkinen wrote in his Unibet column last week.

"Not only have they been unable to beat Mercedes they are now behind the Red Bull Honda package in terms of competitiveness."

Hakkinen is expecting the fight up front between F1's usual suspects to take on a different complexion, with Mercedes no longer the de facto favourite at each race.

"The second part of this year’s World Championship should be quite different from the first," added the former McLaren charger.

"I expect Ferrari to be pushing really hard for a win in Spa and Monza, but Red Bull and Honda will also be continuing to develop their car and Mercedes cannot take their domination for granted any longer.

"We have just had four really exciting Formula 1 races and I fully expect we have many more to look forward to before Championship ends in Abu Dhabi on December 1st."

Claire Williams has revealed that her father and founder of Formula 1 team Williams, is no longer leading the team. Frank Williams has played a vital part in the journey and success of the team but it seems that now, due to health reasons, he is no longer fit to lead the team.





"Frank no longer leads the team," Claire Williams said to GrandPX.news.

"Of course, I keep him informed about everything that is happening and he understands our situation. He also went through difficult times with Williams.

"People think that my dad would be furious about what is happening, but Frank is a realist who really understands the ups and downs of Formula 1," Williams added.

Williams has had a tough season and will hope that they can add to their single championship point after the Summer break. There has been much talk over their driver lineup and the future of Robert Kubica.

However, Claire Williams said that she believed in both of her drivers.

"We needed a driver like Robert with his engineering and technical intelligence," she said.

"It's not an easy season for him, but neither Robert nor George is able to show all their skills in this car. But Robert is doing everything I expect from him."

Williams will hope that they can drag themselves up from the bottom of the grid and fight for more points in the second half of the season.

Haas have had some problems with their driver line up over the past few seasons and it seems that Guenther Steiner could consider replacing one of them if things do not improve. One name that the Haas boss has targetted is Esteban Ocon. The driver has had a year out on the sidelines and a season with the American team could be what is needed to catch the eye of the bigger teams

“It’s a time to take a bigger risk if you have less to lose,” told the official F1 website. "Every situation is different. You need to move accordingly. It could be anything, I don’t want to jump to a conclusion, just because we did it once, this is how we are now doing it for the rest of our life.”

The Haas boss clearly believes that there is a problem at his team and will hope that a new driver could fix these issues.

“I think with one year out, it drops the stock obviously, because you are one year out of sight, out of mind, but then again, [Ocon] was very good the last years he raced, he did a good job," he explained.

“After two years, it’s getting difficult that somebody gets a second chance, but look at [Daniil] Kvyat, he was out a year and he came back, and he’s pretty strong. You always look at what happens, and you always take a risk with any driver, except if you take somebody who is there for a long time.”

Ocon could be exactly what Haas need to get back on track and with silly season well underway, who can blame Steiner for daydreaming?

It is being reported that the FIA are planning on introducing a standard tyre pressure monitoring system (TPMS) to Formula 1 in 2021. This will give the sports officials full information on the pressures and temperatures of all tyres that are used in the sport

The decision means that sensors will be fitted to the new 18 inch wheels and with the ban on tyre blankets, should add an interesting element to the sport.

“A standard system to monitor F1 tyre temperatures and pressures is planned to be introduced for the 2021 F1 season," said an FIA spokesperson to Motorsport.com.

“The objective is to make the tyre running pressure and temperature data available to the FIA and the teams with a standard format and level of accuracy. In addition, the use of a standard measurement chain will streamline the tyre identification process and tyre usage monitoring.”

The new system “must cover the needs for on-car use and for typical F1 tyre storage garage areas. Offers to include details of the installation required for a typical garage layout. Price list to include cost of expected complete kit for a single garage storage area.”

It is not yet known if the information will be available to the viewers via an on-screen graphic but the introduction of these sensors suggests that managing the temperature and pressure of tyres is going to remain a vital part of the sport in years to come.