It’s been in the works for a while but McLaren and Honda have finally confirmed they will not be continuing with their partnership after the end of this year. It was promised to be a big technical partnership between the two but has been nothing but disappointment for everyone involved. So, clean break, McLaren are now going to be using Renault engines from 2018 onwards.

Meanwhile, Honda didn’t have any plans to leave the sport, and so the current Renault-powered team Toro Rosso will be switching to the Japanese manufacturer for their engines also from 2018. This will be the team’s third engine supplier in three years, having run Ferrari power in 2016, Renault engines this year, and now the scheduled Honda partnership in 2018.

Honda say: “We will work as one team to strive for progress and a successful future together. We appreciate the support of our fans as we begin this challenge.”

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Nico Rosberg retired at the end of the 2016 season but he’s never quite made the step back from the sport we might have anticipated. Now he’s found a new way to stay involved, by joining the management team for Robert Kubica, looking to get the Polish driver back on the F1 grid.

Kubica’s early exit from the sport after a rallying crash was assumed to be the end of his F1 career, but this year he’s been taking steps to work his way back onto the grid. After testing with Renault on a couple of occasions, he admitted he was realising what he’d missed and hoping for another chance in the sport.

Rosberg obviously has the same feelings, as he previously mentioned wanting to mentor someone and has opted for Robert for his first client. He tweeted: “Excited to be working with Robert and his return to F1. He and Lewis were the fastest I raced against.” Meanwhile, Kubica added: “It’s fantastic to be working on this with Nico. We know each other since we were kids and he is, and will be, a great asset in my F1 comeback.”

See more on Nico Rosberg joins forces with Robert Kubica

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It’s the Singapore Grand Prix this weekend, and what better way to celebrate than to announce a contract extension for the race? Singapore joined Formula One in 2008, and celebrate their tenth race this year, but they are set to stay on the calendar until 2021 after a new deal was agreed between organisers and Formula One Group.

Chairman Chase Carey says: “The Singapore Grand Prix is a signature Formula 1 race and therefore we are very pleased that it will continue to feature on the calendar for a further four years. The first ever night race in this sport is one of the most thrilling events of the year, taking place against the stunning backdrop of Marina Bay.”

The CEO of Singapore’s tourism board added thoughts from a different viewpoint, saying: “The race in Singapore has provided an excellent platform for businesses to test bed new lifestyle initiatives and products. This has not only created an exciting atmosphere during the race season, but also injected creative concepts and experiences that continue to attract tourists to Singapore all year round.”

See more on Singapore to feature on F1 calendar until 2021

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Valtteri Bottas joined Mercedes on a one-year contract, after the surprise retirement of Nico Rosberg, and by all accounts he’s done a superb job for the team. They’ve recognised this and signed him up for another season with the squad, meaning it will be Bottas and Hamilton as teammates for one more year.

Bottas says of the deal: “I’ve been very impressed by the mentality, commitment and the team spirit this team holds. Partnering Lewis has also been really good, and I’m enjoying the respect we have and the will to push this team forward together.”

It’s fair to say the atmosphere has been calmer at Mercedes this year compared to last, but there have been some awkward moments. Team boss Toto Wolff says: “The bonus factors are the respect and sportsmanship that has grown between our two drivers. The chemistry and dynamic between Valtteri and Lewis work and are what we need to take the fight to our competitors.”

See more on Bottas earns another year at Mercedes

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It may seem as though Formula One is rapidly disappearing behind paywall after paywall around the globe, but in France, there have been small steps in the opposite direction. The Formula One Group have agreed a deal with French television channel TF1 to show four full races exclusively free-to-air, with the rest of the 2018 season continuing as highlights.

This new deal has come about thanks to the return of the French Grand Prix, with Paul Ricard set to host the race when it rejoins the calendar in 2018. France has enshrined in law that big sporting events must be free-to-air, so the French Grand Prix fits into that category.

F1 bosses have also negotiated an additional three races, and have extended the deal for three years, to ensure reliable coverage of the main event for the French fans. France and Monaco are two races that have been confirmed, whilst the remaining two are still to be decided.

See more on Four races free-to-air in new French F1 deal

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There were so many grid penalties handed out ahead of the Italian Grand Prix that barely anyone started where they qualified. The potential for chaos was there, with out of position drivers throughout the field, but unfortunately it didn’t quite come to pass. Lewis Hamilton led from pole position and was comfortable throughout the race to take the victory, with Bottas second and Vettel third. That promotes Lewis into the lead of the title battle for the first time this year.

Elsewhere, Daniel Ricciardo rose through the field and put in a couple of fabulous overtaking moves to finish fourth, whilst Verstappen just managed to finish in the points despite an early puncture forcing him to the rear of the pack.

Lance Stroll started on the front row of the grid, but naturally dropped back. He, and the two Force India drivers, did battle for much of the race with Esteban Ocon eventually finishing ahead. Retirements included Palmer and Vandoorne, Alonso and Ericsson but there were no major dramas to speak of.

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The rain really hit hard in Italy on Saturday, with only 16 minutes of running for final practice in the morning, and a heavily delayed qualifying after an initial run ended with Grosjean in the wall. After just a handful of tentative laps, the Haas crashed which brought out the red flags, followed by a two and a half hour delay.

When things had cleared up somewhat, drivers resumed running, wet tyres bolted on their cars, and the next two qualifying sessions were without major incident. Palmer dropped out in Q1, whilst Sergio Pérez missed the cut for Q3 by the smallest of margins.

Into the top ten shoot out, and it was Lewis Hamilton on pole again, with Ferrari dropping back to seventh and eighth. Red Bull performed well to finish second and third, but both drivers have penalties to take, which promotes the Williams of Lance Stroll up onto the front row of the grid, followed by an equally impressive Esteban Ocon.

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First practice in Italy was relatively quiet. The Mercedes pair were comfortably fastest, with a full second over Ferrari who were next in line. The track was quite slippery and drivers were pushing to find the limits, and that only got worse as the expected rain came down with just 15 minutes of the session left to go.

In the afternoon, Bottas led the way from Hamilton – a switch from the morning session – but Ferrari had significantly closed the gap. All four cars were within half a second of each other. Both McLarens were also in the top ten, although Fernando Alonso did have momentary power loss that seemed to sort itself out.

Not so for Carlos Sainz, who endured a spin during FP1 and then an engine failure that halted his running in FP2. Kvyat was also told to stop towards the end of the session. Kevin Magnussen also stopped during FP2 with suspension trouble, picked up after running heavily over the kerbs around the tricky Monza track.

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Hamilton was worried about the condition of his tyres and had to lead through a safety car restart, but he dealt with the pressure from Sebastian Vettel and converted his pole position into another race victory. Vettel got alongside the Mercedes a couple of times but didn’t have the power in his Ferrari engine to muscle through, settling for second place. Daniel Ricciardo finished on the podium, after Bottas dropped back in the final stages and Räikkönen was penalised for failing to slow down during yellow flags.

The aforementioned safety car was brought out when the debris from an all-Force India crash was scattered about the track. Pérez and Ocon came together not once, but twice, the second time with damage to both cars when Sergio squeezed Esteban into the wall.

Meanwhile, Max Verstappen retired from another race due to engine reliability, disappointing in front of a lot of his Dutch supporters, and a disgruntled Fernando Alonso also ended his race early after complaining for almost all of it.

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Lewis Hamilton never really looked troubled as he soared to pole position for the Belgian Grand Prix, equalling the record held by Michael Schumacher for pole positions – 68. The qualifying session remained dry, but the conditions didn’t help Felipe Massa who has been having a difficult weekend. Both Williams drivers dropped out in Q1, and Massa also has a grid penalty for ignoring yellow flags in FP3.

Things were looking better over at Renault, as both drivers got into the top ten and Jolyon Palmer was running seventh in Q2. Unfortunately, the car developed a problem before he could complete his out lap in the top ten shoot-out, leaving him floundering. Fernando Alonso missed out on the final qualifying session thanks to yet another power loss situation.

Out front, Hamilton was on pole, with Vettel set to line up alongside him on the grid. Bottas and Räikkönen made it an all-Finn second row, finishing in that order, with the Red Bull drivers locking out fifth and sixth place.

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