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From GMM

This year's F1 grid is the very youngest in the history of the sport.

That is the finding of Spain's AS sports newspaper, having calculated the average age of the drivers on the Melbourne grid this weekend at just over 27 years.

The statistic has been boosted for 2013 by the retirement of 44-year-old Michael Schumacher, making 36-year-old Australian Mark Webber now the oldest driver in F1.

Also helping is the arrival of youngsters including Esteban Gutierrez, Max Chilton (both 21) Valtteri Bottas and Jules Bianchi (both 22).

Esteban Gutierrez, Sauber, is the youngest race driver in 2013. (Photo: WRi2)

From GMM

Bernie Ecclestone has admitted he understands why Danica Patrick is not interested in switching to formula one.

The F1 chief executive said he has been searching for a female driver for his sport "for years".

But American Patrick, who has moved from open wheel IndyCars to NASCAR, has said she has little interest.

"She has everything a driver needs for F1," Ecclestone told Bild newspaper.

"How old is she?" he asked the reporter.

"At 30," Ecclestone continued once learning the answer, "I can understand why she doesn't want to get into formula one. In the US she is already a superstar."

Danica Patrick. (Photo: NASCAR)

Meanwhile, the 82-year-old Briton - who has not travelled to Australia for the 2013 season opener - said he hopes Michael Schumacher makes another return to F1, this time to run a team.

"He is and remains a racer," Ecclestone said. "He wants to win. He would be a very good team leader. If he wants to? I don't know, but I'd like to see it."

Michael Schumacher. (Photo: WRi2)

Finally, after Ayrton Senna and Niki Lauda were recently featured in major films, Bernie Ecclestone said he has no interest in being the subject of the next one.

"There were movie deals (proposed), but I don't want that. I don't have the time to waste on something like that," he insisted.

Well, the greatest car show on earth. I've been to many auto shows in Europe and North America (Tokyo or Shanghai would be my next goals), and I always walk away (painfully, need better shoes) from Geneva thinking about how brilliant it is.

This was my third time cruising the many pavilions of the Geneva Palexpo, and every time I get lucky with the scale of the event. This year was no exception.

In fact, this may have been the best blow-out auto show I've ever attended. How about I list a few of the unveilings?

• Porsche 911 GT3 / GT3 Cup
• Ferrari LaFerrari
• McLaren P1
• Lamborghini Veneno
• Chevrolet Corvette Stingray convertible
• Rolls-Royce Wraith
• Spyker B6 Venator
• Volkswagen GTI
• Alfa Romeo 4C
• Audi RS6

Shall I go on? Didn't think it was necessary, either. In reality, I could have stopped at the fourth one and my point would have been made abundantly clear.

The cars are one thing -- well no, they're all things, and getting to them can be the most annoying obstacle at an auto show. I won't use any examples, but take the Montreal Auto Show for example; it's on five floors with narrow hallways, small rooms, tight escalators, cramped floor spaces, and it's on in early January (I can complain about my hometown show...). It has poor flow, and so it's tough to get around.

Photo: Mathieu St-Pierre

Geneva is the exact opposite. The Palexpo consists of two huge, wide-open spaces that flow into each other with uncanny ease. It takes no more than 10 minutes to walk from one end to the other, and it's impossible to get lost or disoriented. I still lose my way at the Palais des Congres after 10 years...

But let's get back to the cars: Nowhere have I been where so many carmakers are represented. What's more, brands like Qoros, Fornasari, Exagon Motors, Soleil Motors, and countless others have a huge stage on which to display their products. What great exposure for them, and for members of the automotive media.

Then there's the ambiance which is serious and laidback at the same time. There's always a press conference going on (especially on day one, and at the Audi booth), but the show doesn't freeze or stop, and the atmosphere is generally good. Granted, the car business is just about broken in Europe, but enthusiasm still runs deep.

If ever you're in Europe (small place, you know) in early March and love cars, I strongly suggest that you make your way to the Geneva Auto Show. Here's the link to the show's web page: http://www.salon-auto.ch/en/

From GMM

Mercedes' new bosses are not responsible for the German marque's apparently sudden speed boost.

That is the claim of former team driver Michael Schumacher, referring to the removal of Norbert Haug and the installation of new co-owners and chiefs Niki Lauda and Toto Wolff.

The Brackley based team had a very strong end to the recent pre-season period, but Schumacher said: "I see it more to do with the background.

"(To do) with the engineers, the infrastructure of the team itself. And I think these steps were taken some time ago," added the great German.

Although team boss Ross Brawn's future now appears very clouded, Schumacher is undoubtedly referring to the Briton's decisions to bring in the likes of technical boffins Bob Bell, Aldo Costa and Geoff Willis.

Mercedes W04. (Photo: WRi2)

Former F1 driver Gerhard Berger agrees.

"I do not think those two (Lauda and Wolff) have been able to have any influence on the performance of the car," he told APA news agency. "Why? Because this (2013) car predates their time. But we must not underestimate the impact of fresh wind."

Another pundit, the 1996 world champion Damon Hill, thinks Mercedes' boosted form is due to the team spending more time than usual last year designing the 2013 car.

"I think Ross Brawn had decided 'Listen, this year is a write-off'," Hill told the Sun. "By the looks of things they'd been focussing on 2013 (last year) and pretty much shelved 2012. They'd looked worse than they are."

From GMM

Gerhard Berger has slammed as "incomprehensible" F1 tire supplier Pirelli's approach to the 2013 season.

"Last year, the tires were quite usable," the former McLaren and Ferrari driver, and ex Toro Rosso co-owner, told the Austrian news agency APA.

"Probably they want to improve the show by providing for one more pitstop (per driver). But it cannot be that, having invested millions in the wind tunnels and the engines and the drivers, you go to the track and can't use the tire," said Berger, referring to the recently-concluded winter test season in chilly Spain.

"It's an unfortunate situation," he added, acknowledging that the situation could be different at the actual races.

Photo: WRi2

He also acknowledged that tires have always been a major talking point in F1, but there was often a tire war, or as Berger described it, a "real game".

"Now that there is one tire, it cannot be that it (the tire factor) governs the entire field," he insisted.

Berger's Austrian countryman, the Red Bull team owner Dietrich Mateschitz, agrees.

"It would be good," he told Blick newspaper, "if we had tires that did not need to be analysed for days and days."

General Motors will sell the current Chevrolet Impala for another year to fleet customers only, while the soon-to-be launched replacement will be geared for sale mainly to retail buyers.

GM is considering another shakeup in Chevrolet marketing that would end a joint venture created last year between two large agencies to handle Chevy's creative advertising globally.

With everything that happened last weekend in Amelia Island, attendees could be forgiven for missing the auctions. Attendees could be forgiven, but a failure by

Germany may be forced to pay millions of euros in penalties by the European Union's highest court for failing to change its so-called Volkswagen law to conform to EU rules.

Germany may be forced to pay millions of euros in penalties by the European Union's highest court for failing to change its so-called Volkswagen law to conform to EU rules.

Three months after the Obama administration gave California permission to start mandating the sale of zero-emission vehicles, automakers are again seeking to block the state's ZEV program.

Federal safety regulators are looking at three General Motors vehicles for potential brake light defects that could result in a recall of more than a million mid-sized vehicles.

The Minnesota Automobile Dealers Association -- at least for now -- is ending its push for legislation to block Tesla Motors from operating dealerships in that state.

Chic on the Cheap

It embraces the ideal of style at the right price.

Let us celebrate the Volks-wagen Beetle convertible, a car that has successfully ridden the wave of chic-on-the-cheap fashion for more than sixty years. As evidence, we present here an example of the first production Beetle convertible, the 1949 VW Type 14A Hebmueller cabriolet. And for perspective, we also present a representative of the demographic group known for the way it embraces the ideal of style at the right price.

Photo Gallery: Chic on the Cheap - Automobile Magazine

Photo Gallery: Chic on the Cheap - Automobile Magazine

Chic on the Cheap | Digg It | Add to del.icio.us

Also in this episode: U.S. buyers may get the Volvo V60 wagon after all, and GM trims the fat to boost its fleet fuel economy.

For all the love and praise heaped on the 2014 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray since its debut at the

A new iPhone 5 case designed to resemble the head gasket of a V8 engine will be available on March 20th. Creators id America -- specialists in mobile accessories -- say the design is not only visually appealing but durable and comfortable to hold.

Lexus, aiming to reach consumers who have not considered the brand in the past, will launch its first global advertising campaign in May.

U.S. consumers will have the option of a TDI engine in Audi AG's next-generation

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