If Haas' slide down the rankings - compared to 2018 - has raised eyebrows, spare a thought for Renault.

The French outfit, which finished fourth last year, is currently sixth, and under pressure from Alfa Romeo and Racing Point, while trailing customer team McLaren by 43 points.

Admitting that the first half of the season has been disappointing, Nico Hulkenberg who is currently at the centre of intense speculation in terms of 'who goes where' in 2020, says that the forthcoming races in Belgium and Italy are "make or break" for the French team.

"We know the season has fallen below our expectations so far and it's up to us now to ensure we recover it for the remainder of the year," he said.

"I relaxed a little, recharged the batteries on a boat in Croatia," he said of the summer break, "but now it's time to get going again and I'm ready for the challenge.

"These next two back-to-back races are almost a make or break for our season," he added. "We have to be on it."

Though linked with a move to Haas, most likely to replace Romain Grosjean, this week the German teased fans when he took to Instagram, posting a picture of Esteban Ocon in Renault overalls which he captioned: "Finally a more exciting Thursday ahead".

While some believe this confirms that Ocon is to replace the German at Renault, others believe that it is actually Daniel Ricciardo who will depart the team, the Australian linked with both a return to Red Bull and in some quarters a move to Ferrari to replace Sebastian Vettel.

Thus far, Ricciardo has pretty much out-performed the German, both in qualifying and on race day, despite the Australian being the hardest hit in terms of the team's poor reliability.