F1 Gossip: Mercedes closing in on deal with ex-Williams sponsor

- Former Williams title sponsor ROKiT, who split from the team earlier this year, is expected to switch loyalties to their engine supplier Mercedes for the upcoming 2020 F1 season (RaceFans) 

- The McLaren Group looks set to arrange a loan from the National Bank of Bahrain (NBB) as it seeks additional finances to address its “urgent” cash shortfall (Sky News) 

- McLaren Racing CEO Zak Brown believes it is “pretty likely” that Mugello will be added to the 2020 F1 calendar, while he says Portimao is the other circuit “that seems to be talked about most frequently” (Sky F1) 

- Renault managing director Cyril Abiteboul fears fans will not be able to return to the grandstands on F1 weekends until next year at the earliest due to the coronavirus pandemic (RACER)

- Six-time world champion Lewis Hamilton says he learned to stop ‘torturing’ himself over mistakes he made early in his F1 career, admitting he was “way too hard on myself” (Motorsport Week) 

- Pierre Gasly says AlphaTauri are now ready for the new F1 season to kick off in Austria, after the team completed a private test session at Imola on Wednesday (Formula 1) 

- Romain Grosjean says the difference in machinery between the 10 F1 teams on the grid makes it impossible to know who has been the best driver in the sport over the past 30 years (ESPN) 

Iceman vs Iceman Jr: Kimi Raikkonen has been racing his son Robin on track in karts ahead of the restart of the 2020 F1 season (Twitter)

It's Iceman v Iceman Jr on the karting track as Kimi takes on son Robin

Minttu Raikkonen (Instagram Stories)#F1 pic.twitter.com/oLC5mM1nUW

— Formula 1 (@F1) June 24, 2020