F1 Paddock Notebook - German GP Friday

Recapping all of the additional news and notes from Hockenheim on Friday, Crash.net F1 Editor Luke Smith brings you his paddock notebook.

- The FIA confirmed Daniel Ricciardo's drop to the back of the grid for Sunday's race following Red Bull's changes to his power unit. Ricciardo's car has been fitted with a new MGU-K, control electronics and energy store for the race weekend, exceeding the permitted number of components for the season on each element. With this penalty in mind, Ricciardo opted to focus solely on long runs through FP2, finishing the session 13th.

- Other power unit changes came for all of the Ferrari-powered drivers, all of whom have taken a fresh MGU-K, while Sebastian Vettel, Kimi Raikkonen and Max Verstappen have also taken a new energy store. All of these changes are within the regulations, so no added penalties will be dished out.

- By way of new gearboxes, Valtteri Bottas, Esteban Ocon, Max Verstappen and Marcus Ericsson all have new units for the event. Bottas and Ocon take fresh gearboxes after making their previous ones last six events, while Verstappen and Ericsson failed to finish the last race, meaning they are permitted to make a free change.

- Pierre Gasly revealed his move on Sergio Perez in the British Grand Prix was discussed at length during the drivers' briefing, with "everyone" agreeing with his view that it was a racing incident. Gasly said he hoped it would set a precedent for what should be classed as a racing incident in the future.

- Despite the high-speed first and second sectors at Hockenheim, Red Bull was able to charge to the top of the timesheets in both FP1 and FP2 on Friday via Daniel Ricciardo and Max Verstappen in the respective sessions. Lewis Hamilton finished a narrow second for Mercedes both times around, with the Ferraris of Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen remaining within striking distance.

- High temperatures led to high levels of degradation throughout practice, especially on the Ultrasoft tyre. However, temperatures are not expected to reach the same level this weekend, while tomorrow's qualifying could even be wet, judging by some forecasts.

- While Sunday's race may reportedly be a sell-out, the grandstands were noticeably bare for much of Friday's running. Hockenheim will deliver its attendance figures post-race on Sunday.

- The big news this morning was Valtteri Bottas' contract extension with Mercedes for 2019, with an option in place for 2020. It came less than 24 hours after teammate Lewis Hamilton had been confirmed at Mercedes for the next two seasons, making the team the first to confirm its full line-up for next season.

- The other news breaking ahead of FP1 was the FIA's invitation to tender for the 2020 to 2023 tyre supply, with confirmation of a ban on tyre blankets and a switch to 18-inch wheels from 2021 also being confirmed. This means that if a rival tyre manufacturer were to replace Pirelli, it would have to produce two different sizes of wheels in the space of two years.