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Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull) only needed one run in Q3 to secure pole position ahead of the 2013 Singapore Grand Prix.

Mercedes' Nico Rosberg came close to beating Vettel, but ultimately had to settle for second. Romain Grosjean (Lotus) stormed to third, ahead of Mark Webber (Red Bull) and Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes).

Felipe Massa, who will be replaced by Kimi Raikkonen at Ferrari at the end of the season, proved quicker than Fernando Alonso, as the pair lines up sixth and seventh. Jenson Button (McLaren), Daniel Ricciardo (Toro Rosso) and Esteban Gutierrez (Sauber) completed the top 10.

Unlike his unusually faster teammate, Nico Hulkenberg didn't make it to Q3. He lines up 11th on the grid.

Charles Pic edged Giedo van der Garde at Caterham. Jules Bianchi (Marussia) settled for 21st ahead of his teammate Max Chilton, who brings up the rear.

Before qualifying, Vettel had also topped the last free practice session, from the same men who starred in qualifying. The order that time was Grosjean second fastest, followed by Rosberg, Webber and Hamilton. Raikkonen (Lotus) failed to crack the top 10 on both occasions, as he went from 12th in FP3 to 13th on the grid.

The times in FP3 showed Mercedes struggled less compared to Red Bull on the medium compound than it did on the supersoft.

Qualifying results* - Singapore Grand Prix (Marina Bay street circuit)
1.Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull RB9-Renault) - 1'24"841 - Q3

2.Nico Rosberg (Mercedes W04) - 1'42"932 - Q3

3.Romain Grosjean (Lotus E21-Renault) - 1'43"058 - Q3

4.Mark Webber (Red Bull RB9-Renault) - 1'43"152 - Q3

5.Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes W04) - 1'43"254 - Q3
6.Fernando Alonso (Ferrari F138) - 1'43"890 - Q3
7.Felipe Massa (Ferrari F138) - 1'43"938 - Q3
8.Jenson Button (McLaren MP4/28-Mercedes) - 1'44"282 - Q3
9.Daniel Ricciardo (Toro Rosso STR8-Ferrari) - 1'44"439 - Q3
10.Esteban Gutierrez (Sauber C32-Ferrari) - no time - Q3

11.Nico Hulkenberg (Sauber C32-Ferrari) - 1'44"555 - Q2

12.Jean-Eric Vergne (Toro Rosso STR8-Ferrari) - 1'44"588 - Q2
13.Kimi Raikkonen (Lotus E21-Renault) - 1'44"658 - Q2
14.Sergio Perez (McLaren MP4/28-Mercedes) - 1'44"752 - Q2
15.Adrian Sutil (Force India VJM06-Mercedes) - 1'45"185 - Q2
16.Valtteri Bottas (Williams FW35-Renault) - 1'45"388 - Q2

17.Paul Di Resta (Force India VJM06-Mercedes) - 1'46"121 - Q3
18.Pastor Maldonado (Williams FW35-Renault) - 1'46"619 - Q3
19.Charles Pic (Caterham CT03-Renault) - 1'48"111 - Q3

20.Giedo Van der Garde (Caterham CT03-Renault) - 1'48"320 - Q3
21.Jules Bianchi (Marussia MR02-Cosworth) - 1'48"830 - Q3
22.Max Chilton (Marussia MR02-Cosworth) - 1'48"930 - Q3
*Unofficial timing

From GMM

Just because Fernando Alonso has played down the McLaren rumours, it doesn't mean Sergio Perez's place at the British team is now safe.

"Sergio has a tremendous benchmark in Jenson, who is consistent, a great quality driver, a great team player and who brings a tremendous amount of benefits to our team," boss Martin Whitmarsh told reporters.

"For a young charger like Sergio, he knows and I know that he has to come in and beat him.  He hasn't done that consistently enough so far this year.

"He is going to give it a good go this weekend I expect," he added in Singapore.

Two-time world champion and former McLaren driver Fernando Alonso was high on Whitmarsh's list of candidates to potentially replace the Mexican, until recently.

"McLaren?  I love Ferrari, until the end," Spaniard Alonso was quoted late on Friday by Italy's La Gazzetta dello Sport.

Kevin Magnussen (Photo: McLaren)

But McLaren also has two young chargers in its pocket -- Formula Renault 3.5 title challengers Kevin Magnussen and Stoffel Vandoorne.

"They're in the frame," said Whitmarsh, who admitted 2014 might be slightly too soon for the youngsters to leap straight into F1 with McLaren.

"There's no doubt they will come into F1, and openly, we've spoken to a number of formula one teams about them."

Stoffel Vandoorne (Photo: McLaren)

Whichever way the enter F1, it's not going to be on Jenson Button's seat, which seems very safe indeed.

The 2009 world champion told reporters his 2014 deal is completely "done".

Asked if that's right, team boss Martin Whitmarsh told the British broadcaster Sky: "That's accurate."

From press release

The International Motor Sports Association (IMSA) announced today a 12-race schedule for the 2014 debut season of the TUDOR United SportsCar Championship starting with the 52nd running of the Rolex 24 At Daytona on Jan. 25-26.



(Photo: ALMS)

Illustrating the post-merger synergy is the fact that the 2014 lineup features four race tracks currently on the Rolex Series schedule, four that are on the current ALMS schedule and four that are on both series' 2013 slates.

With three circuits (Long Beach, Detroit Belle Isle and Virginia International Raceway) on the 2014 schedule not having all four TUDOR United SportsCar Championship classes competing, each class (Prototype, Prototype Challenge, GT Le Mans and GT Daytona) will race 11 times next season.


In addition, preseason test sessions have been set for Nov. 16-17 at Sebring International Raceway and Nov. 19-20 at Daytona International Speedway. The test sessions will be open to all four classes of cars that will compete in the new championship: Prototype, Prototype Challenge, GT Le Mans and GT Daytona.



“When we announced the merger plans last year, we immediately envisioned a dream schedule,” said IMSA President and COO Scott Atherton. “One that our industry and, most importantly, our fans would embrace. Although it wasn't easy, we feel like we have arrived at just that.



“This lineup will have it all - historic road courses, major market street circuits and two of the most spectacular superspeedways in the world, Daytona and Indy. And it also will have the continent's new jewel - Circuit of the Americas. Overall, a dream schedule, indeed.”


2014 TUDOR United SportsCar Championship Schedule

Date Event

Jan 25-26 Daytona International Speedway
Mar 15 Sebring International Raceway

Apr 12 Long Beach Street Circuit

May 4 Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca

May 31 Detroit Belle Isle

Jun 29 Watkins Glen Internationa
l
Jul 13 Canadian Tire Motorsport Park

Jul 25 Indianapolis Motor Speedway

Aug 10 Road America
Aug 24 Virginia International Raceway

Sep 20  Circuit of The Americas
Oct 4 Road Atlanta

A joint venture of a Banco Santander unit and Chrysler Group was accused in a lawsuit by Ally Financial of violating a copyright on loan forms to avoid a $150 million accounting penalty.

A joint venture of a Banco Santander unit and Chrysler Group was accused in a lawsuit by Ally Financial of violating a copyright on loan forms to avoid a $150 million accounting penalty.

Just like automakers, video-game makers have to resort to more and more exotic and entertaining commercials to sell their product. For every and#8220;

We are having a blast driving this car around Santpoort Nord, the nice coastal area west of Amsterdam where we are staying.

Beyond the Cadillac Elmiraj Concept

Cadillac's concept previews an S-class competitor.

The Cadillac Elmiraj concept, which debuted at the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance, clearly hints at what Cadillac's S-class fighter will be. Our spy illustration of the S-class fighter is shown above and photos of the Elmiraj concept are at the bottom of the story.

Photo Gallery: Beyond the Cadillac Elmiraj Concept - Automobile Magazine

Photo Gallery: Beyond the Cadillac Elmiraj Concept - Automobile Magazine

Beyond the Cadillac Elmiraj Concept | Digg It | Add to del.icio.us

Beyond the Cadillac Elmiraj Concept

Cadillac's concept previews an S-class competitor.

The Cadillac Elmiraj concept, which debuted at the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance, clearly hints at what Cadillac's S-class fighter will be. Our spy illustration of the S-class fighter is shown above and photos of the Elmiraj concept are at the bottom of the story.

Photo Gallery: Beyond the Cadillac Elmiraj Concept - Automobile Magazine

Photo Gallery: Beyond the Cadillac Elmiraj Concept - Automobile Magazine

Beyond the Cadillac Elmiraj Concept | Digg It | Add to del.icio.us

Beyond the Cadillac Elmiraj Concept

Cadillac's concept previews an S-class competitor.

The Cadillac Elmiraj concept, which debuted at the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance, clearly hints at what Cadillac's S-class fighter will be. Our spy illustration of the S-class fighter is shown above and photos of the Elmiraj concept are at the bottom of the story.

Photo Gallery: Beyond the Cadillac Elmiraj Concept - Automobile Magazine

Photo Gallery: Beyond the Cadillac Elmiraj Concept - Automobile Magazine

Beyond the Cadillac Elmiraj Concept | Digg It | Add to del.icio.us

Fiat named Chrysler Group manufacturing head Scott Garberding as its global chief purchasing officer.

Fiat named Chrysler Group manufacturing head Scott Garberding as its global chief purchasing officer.

Fiat named Chrysler Group manufacturing head Scott Garberding as its global chief purchasing officer.

Fiat named Chrysler Group manufacturing head Scott Garberding as its global chief purchasing officer. Chrysler appointed Mauro Pino head of manufacturing in North America, replacing Garberding. Both appointments are effective immediately.

Fiat named Chrysler Group manufacturing head Scott Garberding as its global chief purchasing officer. Chrysler appointed Mauro Pino head of manufacturing in North America, replacing Garberding. Both appointments are effective immediately.

Fiat named Chrysler Group manufacturing head Scott Garberding as its global chief purchasing officer.

Fiat has named Chrysler Group manufacturing head Scott Garberding as its global chief purchasing officer. Chrysler has named Mauro Pino head of manufacturing in North America, replacing Garberding. Both appointments are effective immediately.

The McLaren P1 underwent some hot-weather testing last week in California.

Anyone who lived through the 1970s knows that fuel efficiency was a big deal; the rest of us have heard about the dark days of rationing and woefully underpowered motors.

Beyond the Cadillac Elmiraj Concept

Cadillac's concept previews an S-class competitor.

The Cadillac Elmiraj concept, which debuted at the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance, clearly hints at what Cadillac's S-class fighter will be. Our spy illustration of the S-class fighter is shown above and photos of the Elmiraj concept are at the bottom of the story.

Photo Gallery: Beyond the Cadillac Elmiraj Concept - Automobile Magazine

Photo Gallery: Beyond the Cadillac Elmiraj Concept - Automobile Magazine

Beyond the Cadillac Elmiraj Concept | Digg It | Add to del.icio.us