Stoffel Vandoorne and Fernando Alonso head to Melbourne buoyed by the team's new relationship with Renault, hopeful for a competitive season for McLaren. read more »

Esteban Ocon says that Force India can challenge for points in 2018's season opening race in Australia. read more »

Nico Hulkenberg says Renault are "pumped" ahead of the new season after a reliable pre-season meant they were able to amass laps and data. read more »

Christian Horner believes that Mercedes and Lewis Hamilton are the favourites for the 2018 Formula 1 season, but hopes that Red Bull can close the gap. read more »

Lewis Hamilton is excited by the prospect of a multi-team fight at the front of the F1 pack as he tips Red Bull to put up a "real challenge". read more »

The Australian is confident Aston Martin Red Bull Racing can go into the new season aiming to challenge at the front of the field. read more »

While Carlos Sainz concedes that Mercedes, Ferrari and Red Bull will be the pace-setter, he says it is up to Renault to close the gap and challenge for fourth. read more »

Although Fred Vasseur is "fully convinced" Charles Leclerc is up for the F1 challenge, he says the rookie must be given time to adjust. read more »

Lewis Hamilton expects Mercedes to face a stiff challenge from Red Bull in 2018, and he also expects another strong campaign from Ferrari. read more »

Max Verstappen doesn't believe McLaren or Renault will challenge Red Bull this season, saying their focus is firmly on the teams "ahead." read more »

Formula 1 world champion Lewis Hamilton says Red Bull could pose a "real challenge" to four-time reigning champion outfit Mercedes this season read more »

Red Bull needs to be within 0.3s of Mercedes' one-lap pace in order to challenge for victories during the 2018 Formula 1 season, according to Max Verstappen.  read more »

After setting a new Circuit de Catalunya track record on Wednesday Daniel Ricciardo predicted Red Bull will be hot on the heels of Mercedes and Ferrari at the Australian Grand... read more »

The halo represents not just a structural challenge to the teams to incorporate it onto their cars, but it has opened up new aero development paths too read more »

The greater the challenge the greater the satisfaction insists Lewis Hamilton as he admits to wanting a more level playing field. read more »

Eric Boullier says McLaren did not take any shortcuts with the chassis design of its MCL33 2018 Formula 1 car despite the challenge of incorporating the new Renault engine read more »

The creation of a chassis that could accommodate the halo has been challenging for the teams. read more »

While Cyril Abiteboul acknowledges that taking on Red Bull and McLaren with the same engine is an "extra challenge" for Renault, it is, he says, also extra motivation. read more »

Renault will measure its performance against the success of its customer teams in 2018 as it continues to build towards its target of a full championship challenge in 2020. read more »

Cyril Abiteboul says Renault is “motivated” by the prospect of fighting customer F1 teams Red Bull and McLaren in 2018. read more »

Max Verstappen has heaped praise on Lewis Hamilton, but said he would prefer to have a "real challenge" for the World Championship rather than "win it easy"... read more »

Jérôme Stoll says that Renault are on track to improve on their 2017 season, and will soon be able to challenge for race wins. read more »

Daniel Ricciardo says that he wants to challenge four-time world champion Lewis Hamilton as his team-mate during some stage of his career. read more »

Lando Norris will be left to focus on his Formula 2 championship challenge and his reserve driver roles with McLaren in 2018. read more »

Video: Max motivation: Sumo knockout challenge read more »