From GMM
Pastor Maldonado insists it is not fair if he is gaining a reputation as a 'crash driver'.
Sauber's Sergio Perez was furious with the Venezuelan after their clash at Silverstone, which was one of just several incidents blamed on the Williams driver so far in 2012.
Barcelona winner Maldonado's latest run-in was with Paul di Resta in Hungary, earning him a drive-through penalty.
"There was a small contact, but this is racing," he is quoted by
Sapa-AFP news agency. "I saw Raikkonen and Grosjean (battling) and it was more or less the same."
 |
| Pastor Maldonado's Williams after his crash with Sergio Perez (Sauber) at Silverstone. (Photo: WRi2) |
Maldonado also told the online
GP Week magazine: "They're normal mistakes. If you look at other drivers, they've done the same in the past."
He also suggested the spotlight has been shining more brightly on him since becoming a grand prix winner earlier this year.
"Before I won the race nobody was here, now everyone is here," said Maldonado, referring to the big media-scrum surrounding him in Hungary. "I made a couple of mistakes, that's it."
Sauber F1 Team offers a unique interactive 360° movie to fans who already miss Formula 1 action!
The Sauber web site features a lap on the Circuit de Catalunya in Barcelona with Mexican Sergio Pérez at the wheel of the Sauber C31-Ferrari.
While ‘Checo' is driving and in the pits with the mechanics working on the car, users can change the angles they view from by using the mouse or the arrows on their key boards.
Pérez and and Kobayashi enjoyed playing with the new gadget. Pérez said: “This is amazing, I can look over my own shoulder while driving!” Kobayashi added: “I had seen things like this before in photographs, but with this one even as a driver you get to see things at full speed you have never spotted before. Get on board and have fun!”
Here you can jump onto the 360° driving experience:
www.sauberf1team.com
“Why would anyone ever turn it off,” asked my teenage boy in reference to the button that activates the Sport exhaust setting in the
2013 Porsche Panamera GTS and a number of other Porsche performance machines. And in a way, his testosterone-fuelled assertion makes sense.
Why suppress the auditory bliss so fundamental to the car's
raison d'être? It's not unlike Mick Jagger and the Stones suddenly going unplugged. It's still the greatest rock band ever but where's the power behind Charlie's manic drumming and the energy behind Keith's screaming guitar?
 |
| 2013 Porsche Panamera GTS (Photo: Rob Rothwell) |
This week's Panamera GTS tester is a good example of what I mean. Its 4.8L V8 powerplant produces 430 horsepower and a whole lot of acoustics that leave me near breathless. The sound is so integral to the full GTS experience.
Let me ask this: Would Martin Luther King's
I Have a Dream speech carry the same degree of influence and inspiration if the words were only read by the masses, not heard? Probably not.
Obviously, I'm getting a little melodramatic and carried away with my argument - and having some fun doing so - but I think you see my point. What's a performance car without the performance sound?
That said, there were a few times during my week with the GTS when I went stealth by deactivating the sport exhaust. It was only for a few blocks though, and mostly near my home out of respect for neighbours and the furry creatures that prowl at night.
If the novelty of the GTS and its Opus in Twin Pipes were to wear off, I might opt to mute the notes but I doubt it. I may be well past a half-century in existence but I'm not dead or deaf (entirely), so play on Mick and my twin pipes.
Paying tribute to the Martini Racing team, whose epic triumphs in the 70s have gone down in racing history, Porsche has painted the
918 Spyder in the team's signature livery.
 |
| Photo: Porsche |
The 918 Spyder consumes only 3 litres per 100 km, thanks to its high-performance heat engine along with its two electric engines, producing a combined power of 770 hp.
Buyers will be able to purchase the 918 Spyder in Martini Racing colours in 2013, when it is slated to make its launch appearance on the market.
Veteran Italian race car driver Giorgio Pantano will fill in for Novo Nordisk Chip Ganassi Racing driver Charlie Kimball in the Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio this weekend.
Kimball fractured the fifth metacarpal in his right hand in a testing incident at the road course July 26.
Evaluation in Indianapolis revealed Kimball would not be ready to return for the 85-lap race on the 2.258-mile, 13-turn road course.
Pantano, the 2008 GP2 series' champion competed in three late-season road/street races for Dreyer & Reinbold Racing in 2011 (best finish of 16th at Twin Ring Motegi) as a substitute for the injured Justin Wilson.
He made his first two starts in the IZOD IndyCar Series with Chip Ganassi Racing in 2005 at Sonoma and Watkins Glen (started second, finished fourth).
To raise funds for the American Cancer Society, Ford has donated a
Mustang Boss 302 Laguna Seca to the 10th Anniversary of the Cattle Baron's Ball Auction, held on September 29.
The Candy Red Mustang was customized for the event to attract the highest bids from collectors and raise the most money for cancer research.
 |
| 2013 Ford Mustang Boss 302 Laguna Seca (Photo: Ford) |
“Like many people, my family has been personally affected by the challenges of cancer and I am proud to chair the
Cattle Baron's Ball in Detroit,” said Jim Farley, Ford Motor Company Group Vice-President, Global Marketing. “As a fan of the powerful, historic Mustang, I am especially pleased to provide this American icon for this worthy auction.”
Joel Ewanick is barely out of the door after a tumultuous two years with General Motors, and interim CMO Alan Batey is already jumping into action, attempting to steer the conversation about GM's marketing activities to a positive place.
Lexus Division unveiled its new LS 460 flagship that arrives in dealerships this fall, with standard and long-wheelbase editions, a hybrid version, and a new F-Sport trim level with improved handling dynamics.
Phil Brady, president of the National Automobile Dealers Association, is leaving after 11 years at the helm to become head of government relations at the newly reconstituted Phillips 66.
GM's Chevrolet brand will adorn the jerseys of England's Manchester United soccer club under a seven-year sponsorship deal with the team beginning with the 2014-15 season.
Also in this episode: Formula One driver Lewis Hamilton claims victory at the Hungarian Grand Prix, and
Mitsubishi today said its net and operating profit rose in the April-June quarter as the company sold fewer but more-profitable vehicles.
The Hagley Car Show will return to Wilmington, Del., on Sept. 16, and this year's focus is antique pickup trucks.
A German unit of TRW Automotive Holdings has agreed to pay a $5.1 million criminal fine and plead guilty to fixing the prices of seat belts, airbags and steering wheels as part of an ongoing global antitrust investigation.
The 23-car collection of Michigan architect Tony Herk includes numerous examples of the Pontiac Trans Am, a 1987 Buick Grand National, a 1991
Olympic trap and skeet champion Kim Rhode isnand#8217;t just a globally competitive athlete; sheand#8217;s also the proud owner of an extensive car collection.
There are only a few places in the world where driving a Jeep dragster/sandrail makes any sense. But the sand dunes of Silver Lake, Mich., is such a place.
The latest auto news, reviews, prices, product and vehicle releases. 
