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From GMM

Lotus has recorded the biggest financial loss in motor racing history, according to F1 business journalist Christian Sylt.

A report in the Telegraph said the Enstone based team's latest accounts show an almost $86 million loss for 2012, due to declining sponsorship.

"No other F1 team filing publicly-available accounts has ever lost as much money," said Sylt.

There could be more bad news around the corner for Lotus, amid continuing rumours top driver Kimi Raikkonen could jump ship to Red Bull at the end of the year.

Photo: WRi2

"That would be a shame for Lotus, because he has done a great job for them. But it's his decision," F1 legend Alain Prost told Welt am Sonntag newspaper.

At the same time, Raikkonen's teammate Romain Grosjean is back in the wars, this time penalised ten places on the Montreal grid for crashing into Daniel Ricciardo on Sunday.

Double world champion Mika Hakkinen is not impressed.

"I think patting him on the head is not working anymore," the Finn told MTV3 broadcaster. "Something is going to happen and I'm sure the team is thinking about what to do."

Hakkinen's former McLaren teammate David Coulthard agrees: "It just goes to show speed is not enough.

"He's done a lot of damage and I don't think Lotus are flush with money," he said on BBC television. "They don't expect four crashes (in one weekend)."

Lotus, however, was also complaining about an erratic driver, following Sergio Perez's feisty race in the McLaren.

Kimi Raikkonen called the Mexican "stupid" and an "idiot" after their run-in at the chicane.

"Actually that (idiot) is a nice word compared with what he really said," said team boss Eric Boullier.

For the past 13 years, MINI has been the official vehicle of the Vienna-based Life Ball, the largest charity event held in Europe in support of those suffering from HIV/AIDS. Each year, MINI collaborates with a renowned designer to create the ultimate Life Ball MINI to be auctioned off.

This year, MINI joined forces with renowned designer, Roberto Cavalli for the May 25th 2013 Life Ball, offering him a brand new MINI Paceman to do with as he pleased. Featuring a special paint, the Roberto Cavalli logo on the roof and a fully redesigned and decked out interior, Roberto had this to say about his specially designed MINI:

“The iridescent paint used for the car was personally conceptualized by me. It is my own creation, which throughout the years I have used on my boat and my helicopter, for example. The only difference this time is that the base colour is from black to brown. I love how the colour changes according to the light...just like magic. And when I think of a style icon such as MINI, why not make it even more special with one-of-a-kind paint?”

Over the years, the 12 MINIs auctioned off at Life Ball have raised a collective half million euros; Cavalli's MINI Paceman raised 150,000 euros to benefit AIDS projects on its own!

Photo: MINI

From GMM

The FIA is not ruling out penalties, after stewards on Sunday investigated Mercedes' secret Barcelona tire test.

Before the Monaco grand prix, Red Bull and Ferrari filed an official protest, arguing the three-day test with a 2013-spec car was a breach of the sporting rules.

Having conducted an investigation after Sunday's race, the FIA confirmed it knew Pirelli wanted to do the test, but only gave a conditional green light in the event "every team is offered the opportunity" to also test.

"The FIA received no confirmation that all teams had been given an opportunity to take part in this test," the FIA statement added.

F1's governing body is not ruling out the intervention now of the International Tribunal, which could "inflict penalties".

Photo: Mercedes AMG F1 Team

Mercedes' Niki Lauda, however, told Brazil's O Estado de S.Paulo that the FIA "sent a delegate" to the test, and that Charlie Whiting and Bernie Ecclestone knew about it as well.

A Pirelli spokesman said Ferrari was invited to test and turned down the offer, while Dr Helmut Marko said a Red Bull engineer had also been "informally" asked.

It is rumoured that Red Bull and Ferrari both said no because they believed the test would have to be done with a two-year old car.

Indeed, between Bahrain and China, a Pirelli tire test took place with a 2010 Ferrari.

But "Every team would like an exclusive test with a current car," Red Bull team boss Christian Horner said on Sunday.

Sauber team boss Monisha Kaltenborn told Auto Motor und Sport: "We knew nothing about it (the Mercedes test)."

But Mercedes' executive director Toto Wolff denies the team tried to hide the test, and dismissed suggestions the German squad used the opportunity to test car developments.

"There was only ten days between the request and the test," he said, "which is not enough time to produce any development parts."

Photo: Mercedes AMG F1 Team

And Mercedes chairman Niki Lauda insisted: "When we were asked to do this, our team boss Ross Brawn called Charlie Whiting and asked if a test is compatible with the sporting regulations.

"Charlie consulted with the FIA lawyers and gave us the green light.

"Moreover, Pirelli didn't just ask us, but Red Bull as well."

Christian Horner confirmed that Red Bull was asked by Pirelli. "We declined," he said, "because we are of the opinion that such a test violates the regulations."

Wolff, however, is livid, particularly as the storm coincided with Nico Rosberg's convincing victory in Monaco.

"The term 'sore losers' comes to mind," he is quoted by Speed Week.

But the question remains: did Mercedes unfairly benefit from the exclusive test?

"Impossible to say," quadruple world champion Alain Prost told France's RMC Sport, "but I don't think we can say this win was because of the test. That wouldn't be fair.

"What is certain is that unauthorised things are not allowed. Time will tell," the great Frenchman added.

Electric car venture Better Place filed a motion to dissolve the company.

Electric car venture Better Place filed a motion to dissolve the company.

EDITOR WES RAYNAL: I like the 2013 Kia Sportage SX just fine.

The Toyota Prius was the most talked about hybrid vehicle online, generating $14.5 million in total media value, from January through April, according to a new study from a social analytics company.

Participants of the 2013 Boston marathon who were victims of the infamous bombings will have the chance to complete their race on the great Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

The famous oval also plays host to the Indy 500 this weekend.

"Boston Marathon participants from Indiana, Ohio, Illinois, Kentucky and Michigan will run approximately one-half mile from Turn 4 to the Yard of Bricks on the front straightaway of the famed IMS oval," a report from the track said.

Some 10 minutes later, the green flag of the Indianapolis 500 will drop.

"The tragedy last month in Boston still resonates with everyone, so we wanted to give runners the chance to finish the race in front of thousands of fans who will appreciate their persistence and determination", commented Doug Boles the IMS chief operating officer.

From GMM

A storm has erupted in the Monaco paddock about an until-now secret Pirelli tire test involving Mercedes.

British F1 broadcasters Sky and the BBC revealed on Sunday morning that Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg were both involved in a multiple-day, 1000km tire test between the Spanish and Monaco grands prix.

The BBC said Red Bull and Ferrari are furious, and "considering a protest" due to the ban on in-season testing.

Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg attended a secret tire test between Spain and Monaco (Photo: WRi2)

But the report also said sources confirmed the FIA was aware of the test, which is allowed on the grounds of needing to safety-test planned changes for Canada next month, and 2014.

"Some teams have reacted badly," 1996 world champion Damon Hill told Sky, "(but) I have spoken to Niki Lauda and he assures me that they have okayed it with the FIA and the reason it is ok is because the safety regulations overrule the sporting regulations.

"If there is a safety issue, which seems to be the insinuation, then somebody has to do the testing.  It just looks like Mercedes might have got in there first," he added.

From GMM

Mark Webber has ruled out continuing his F1 career with a "small team" -- but he's leaving the door open to Ferrari.

In the wake of the 'Multi-21' team orders saga, in which his relationship with Sebastian Vettel hit an all-time low, the 36-year-old Australian was photographed out for dinner with his friend Fernando Alonso.

"Well, Fernando and I have often had dinner together since 2001, but Twitter wasn't invented then," Webber told the Spanish newspaper El Pais.

"I've also posted pictures with Jenson and with others, but when it was Fernando, everyone said 'Oh my god!'  That's what the press does."

But, with Red Bull not ruling out pairing Vettel with his friend Kimi Raikkonen next year, does Webber rule out joining his friend, Spaniard Alonso, at Ferrari in 2014?

"In F1 you can never say never," Webber answered, "but right now my commitment to Red Bull is solid -- we've been through some very good moments together.

"I've always said I would not go back to a small team," he insisted.

Adapted from GMM

Bob Fernley, Force India's deputy boss, has admitted the Silverstone based team is in danger of being swallowed up by F1's rising costs.

But, amid reports only Red Bull, McLaren, Ferrari and Mercedes are immune to a worsening situation in the paddock, he insists Force India is not alone.

"Everything we're doing at the moment is about increasing costs," he told the Guardian.  "There is no initiative at all about reducing costs."

The most obvious rising expense facing teams is a huge hike in engine lease fees for the new V6 era, but FIA entry fees are also higher, and new commercial deals have tipped the scales even more in the big teams' favour.

Photo: Sahara Force India F1 Team

"I think all teams are struggling," said Fernley.  "You would be surprised by how high up they (the teams) are."

He slammed F1's owners, the private equity company CVC.

"I think CVC have done an absolutely awful job.  In my view they are the worst thing that has ever happened to formula one," said Force India's Fernley.

Separately, he told Reuters news agency that CVC might be trying deliberately to put smaller teams out of business.

"Are we actually trying to stack it in a way that is to get rid of teams so they can bring customer teams in maybe?" said Fernley.

Indeed, Bernie Ecclestone told the Daily Express newspaper last week that he thinks customer cars would be "a good thing".

"Everybody needs to agree to that but Frank Williams is the one who is against it," said the F1 chief executive.

Fernley confirmed that Force India is also opposed to the idea.

"There are four teams that have been given special privilege and those four teams would be the ones that are likely to supply the customer teams," he said.

"So everything is now moving in the way of the four teams."

From GMM

Sauber boss Monisha Kaltenborn was tight-lipped when asked about her visit to Moscow just prior to this weekend's Monaco grand prix.

Kaltenborn, and team founder Peter Sauber, were not in Monaco on Thursday as the practice action kicked off, with Blick newspaper reporting that they were instead looking for sponsors and partners in eastern Europe.

The Swiss newspaper now reveals that Kaltenborn and Sauber were in the Russian capital.

"We had an important meeting," was all she would tell veteran correspondent Roger Benoit.

Asked, however, if Sauber is now ready to run some new sponsor logos on the C32 car, Kaltenborn insisted: "No!"

Nico Rosberg has finally managed to turn Mercedes' impressive qualifying pace into victory, after claiming top spot in this afternoon's Monaco Grand Prix.

But the win has sparked controversy, since it was reported Mercedes conducted a secret three-day with Pirelli between the Spanish and Monaco grands prix. Rivals Red Bull and Ferrari have lodged a protest.

The weekend is also symbolic as it is 30 years since his father, Keke Rosberg, managed to win around the principality streets behind the wheel of a Williams.

In a race which was characterised by two safety cars and a red flag, the German driver managed keep his cool to claim his second career victory ahead of the Red Bulls of Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber.

Rosberg's teammate, Lewis Hamilton, finished fourth due to losing ground in the first safety car period which came out during the first pitstop phase as a result of Felipe Massa's crash at Saint Devote; a shunt which was a mirror image to the Brazilian's crash in yesterday's third free practice session.

Hamilton was forced to queue behind his teammate as the drivers who were scheduled to pit around that point did so immediately.

The race was later red-flagged due to Pastor Maldonado's accident, which was caused by Marussia's Max Chilton after the Brit swerved into the Venezuelan's path coming out of the chicane.

This shattered the Williams' front wing and sent Maldonado flying over it and into the barrier, thus halting the race until the debris was cleaned up.

Adrian Sutil finished fifth, one place ahead of Jenson Button in the best-placed McLaren.

The Force India driver also managed to pull off some well calculated overtaking manoeuvres against Button and the Ferrari of Fernando Alonso into the Loews hairpin.

Button's teammate, Sergio Perez, had an eventful race which eventually saw the Mexican parking his McLaren in the latter stages of the race following contact with Raikkonen's Lotus.

Despite this, the 2007 world champion still managed to salvage a point after overtaking Nico Hulkenberg's Sauber on the last lap.

Perez had also made light contact with Button on the opening lap and overtook the Briton by cutting the chicane. However, he was later made to give it back, but then managed to retake the position later on in the same place.

Ferrari's Fernando Alonso had a subdued afternoon and finished a quiet seventh after having a similar incident with Perez at the chicane.

Jean-Eric Vergne finished eighth after a solid weekend ahead of Paul di Resta's Force India.

Romain Grosjean had another eventful race after shunting against Daniel Ricciardo's Toro Rosso.

Other incidents of note also include Charles Pic's Caterham catching fire at the pit entry, and Jules Bianchi crashing as a result of the accident between his teammate and Maldonado.


Race results* - Monaco Grand Prix
1 - Nico Rosberg (Mercedes W04) - 78 laps
2 - Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull RB9-Renault) - 3"8
3 - Mark Webber (Red Bull RB9-Renault) - 6"3
4 - Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes W04) - 13"8
5 - Adrian Sutil (Force India VJM06-Mercedes) - 21"4
6 - Jenson Button (McLaren MP4/28-Mercedes) - 23"21
7 - Fernando Alonso (Ferrari F138) - 26"7
8 - Jean-Eric Vergne (Toro Rosso STR8-Ferrari) - 27"2
9 - Paul Di Resta (Force India VJM06-Mercedes) - 27"6
10 - Kimi Raikkonen (Lotus E21-Renault) - 36"5
11 - Nico Hulkenberg (Sauber C32-Ferrari) - 42"5
12 - Valtteri Bottas (Williams FW35-Renault) - 42"6
13 - Esteban Gutierrez (Sauber C32-Ferrari) - 43"2
14 - Max Chilton (Marussia MR02-Cosworth) - 49"8
15 - Giedo Van der Garde (Caterham CT03-Renault) - 1'02"5

Fastest lap of the race: 1'16"577 by Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull

Retirements
Lap 73 - Sergio Perez
Lap 63 - Romain Grosjean
Lap 61 - Daniel Ricciardo
Lap 58 - Jules Bianchi
Lap 44 - Pastor Maldonado
Lap 28 - Felipe Massa
Lap 7 - Charles Pic

Drivers' championship
1.Vettel 107; 2.Raikkonen 86; 3.Alonso 78; 4.Hamilton 62; 5.Webber 57; 6.Rosberg 47; 7.Massa 45; 8.Di Resta 28; 9.Grosjean 26; 10.Button 25; 11.Sutil 16; 12.Perez 12; 13.Ricciardo 7; 14.Hulkenberg 5; 15.Vergne 5.

Constructors championship
1.Red Bull-Renault 164; 2.Ferrari 123; 3.Lotus-Renault 112; 4.Mercedes 109; 5.Force India-Mercedes 44; 6.McLaren-Mercedes 37; 7.Toro Rosso-Ferrari 12; 8.Sauber-Ferrari 5.

*Unofficial

Nico Müller took a dominant win in the Formula Renault 3.5 race presented in the streets of Monaco.

The Draco driver made a big step towards victory when he secured pole position in the qualifying session ahead of Jazeman Jaafar and Marco Sorensen. At the start, Müller maintained his position, and took a light to flag win.

Müller crossed the finish line ahead of Sorensen and Jaafar, as Kevin Magnussen, the championship leader, took 4th position.

His closest championship rival, Stoffel Van Doorne, was among the fastest drivers on track, but he took a five place penalty on the grid for a dangerous move in the free practice session, which dropped him down to 9th on the grid. The Belgian driver finally concluded the race in the same rank.

Photo: Formule Renault 3.5

Race:
1 - Nico Muller - Draco - 32 laps
2 - Marco Sorensen - Lotus - 3"484

3 - Jazeman Jaafar - Carlin - 7"184

4 - Kevin Magnussen - Dams - 14"549
5 - Antonio Felix Da Costa - Arden Caterham - 15"378

6 - Carlos Sainz - Zeta Corse - 21"230
7 - Will Stevens - P1 by Strakka - 22"135

8 - Mikhail Aleshin - Tech 1 - 22"555
Etc.

Championship:
1.Magnussen 75; 2.Vandoorne 61; 3.Muller 45; 4.Da Costa 41; 5.Stevens, Pic 36, etc.

From GMM

Toro Rosso's new engine supply deal with Renault was announced on Sunday morning.

The news, announced in Monaco by Renault president Carlos Ghosn, means both of Red Bull's F1 teams will be powered by the French marque's V6 engines in 2014 and beyond.

Photo: Renault Sport F1

Toro Rosso has used Ferrari's V8 engine since 2007.

"Strategically for Red Bull and Renault, it makes perfect sense for Toro Rosso to use the same power unit as Red Bull Racing from the 2014 season, which enables synergies between Red Bull and Renault to continue to grow," said Red Bull team boss Christian Horner.

From GMM

Toto Wolff has confirmed reports Mercedes is in talks with Williams about the supply of engines in 2014.

Widespread and authoritative reports from the Monte Carlo paddock insist the deal for the currently Renault-powered British team to change suppliers next year is now done.

Wolff, Mercedes' motor sport boss, admitted that the German marque looked for a new partner following news McLaren is switching to Honda power for 2015.

"It's clear that we are losing an engine customer in 2015 and for Mercedes it is important to have a regular business case so it is important to have at least three customers from 2015 onwards," he said in Monaco.

"That is why we are having certain discussions with teams and Williams is one of them.

"It would be for 2014."

But while Renault is losing Williams, the French marque is expected to keep Lotus and Caterham on the books for 2014, in addition to Red Bull and Toro Rosso.

Adapted from GMM

A shadow is hanging over Nico Rosberg's Monaco grand prix win, after Red Bull and Ferrari launched a pre-race protest.

Mercedes' rivals allege the German squad conducted an illegal three-day test with Pirelli at Barcelona, just after the recent Spanish grand prix.

Nico Rosberg and Mercedes were unsually dominant in Monaco this weekend (Photo: WRi2)

The FIA summoned all of the parties to hearings in the Monaco stewards room in the immediate aftermath of the grand prix.

Mercedes team boss Ross Brawn insists he checked with the FIA prior to the test, "and they were happy".

But Ferrari and Red Bull agree in saying the car used for the test was not old enough.

"They have run a current car with current drivers and current tires.  That's a clear breach of the sporting regulations," slammed Red Bull boss Christian Horner.

His colleague Helmut Marko added that the advantage gained by Mercedes was just as clear to see.

"We are very unhappy," the Austrian told German broadcaster Sky.  "When we test for three days, we go a second faster -- that's what Adrian Newey says.

The German Association of the Automotive Industry (VDA) is pressing Chancellor Angela Merkel to reject the proposed new law that would lower CO2 emission standards in Europe from 135 to 95 g/km by 2020, claiming it would greatly harm the industry.

German automakers have made considerable efforts so far to reduce vehicle emissions, but it appears the stricter future standards represent too big a hurdle.

“We cannot let our powerful and high-performing premium segment, which accounts for nearly 60% of all jobs at German car manufacturers, be destroyed by arbitrary limitations,” the VDA said in a statement.

On the other hand, French automakers support the new standards. Will the Americans and Japanese step into the ring?

Source: Caradisiac.com

It's sort of a conundrum: Family-minded folks need crossover SUVs and some of them also need great big amounts of horsepower. So, for the shopper after maximum levels of performance, space and flexibility, there's the Sport-Ute.

From what was once a small, niche market segment, more automakers than ever are equipping family haulers with all-wheel drive (AWD), versatility galore, and a whole whack-load of power, handling and entertainment value.

Today, virtually every price-point is represented in this market segment. So, here's a cross section of the products available if you're after an SUV that can do double-duty as a sports car.

Model: Porsche Cayenne GTS

Starting Price: $95,000

Overview: Designed to be the most all-out athletic performer in the Cayenne lineup, the specially tuned GTS variant packs five seats, all-wheel drive, a big cargo space, and enough power to haul its big body up to 100 km/h in well under 6 seconds.

Engineers specified a naturally aspirated and silky-smooth 4.8L V8 engine for this one, developing 420 horsepower. A Tiptronic S gearbox offers eight gears and automatic or manual shifting. AutoStop technology is included for improved emissions and consumption figures.

Look for lowered suspension, enlarged wheels, massive ducting, and some radical available paint colors to help set this hot-rod Porsche family-ute apart from the competition.

Pros: The Cayenne is a great example of the resulted goodness when a brand famous for sports cars builds a sport ute. Comfort, performance, styling and safety are all world class, here.

Cons: The Cayenne's looks aren't everyone's cup of tea, and neither is the price tag, which approaches the six-figure mark.

Noteworthy: Porsche Traction Management (PTM) is an active AWD system that divvies engine power between the axles with millisecond precision based on inputs from numerous sensors. The system can even shuffle power around in cornering situations to enhance agility, effectively using its power distribution to help “steer” the Cayenne.

Photo: Sébastien D'Amour

Continue reading Sports Car Comparison: The Sport-Ute

Model: 2010 to 2013 Kia Sorento

Vehicle Type: SUV

The Verdict: The 2010 to 2013 Sorento seems to be fairly solid other than a few potential electronic issues that shoppers should be aware of. Thankfully, virtually all models in the used marketplace will have factory warranty remaining, which adds confidence. Ensure the electronics check out, and be sure the transmission is behaving itself and you'll likely enjoy a high-value, high-flexibility family hauler for years to come.

Photo: Matthieu Lambert

Price: Pricing for the pre-updated Kia Sorento in this generation will start around $14,000 for a basic model with some mileage, and climb well past $30,000 for a loaded model with V6 power sold as a dealer demo. The used Sorento market shows plenty of selection between $17,000 and $20,000.

What Owners Like: Typically, overall value for the dollar, looks, space, flexibility, and feature content are rated highly by owners of the 2010 to 2013 Kia Sorento. Access to the rear seats, as well as rear-seat room, is also highly rated as is all-around performance and driving confidence. In particular, the 3.5L V6 is highly rated when it comes to power output and refinement.

What Owners Dislike: Some owners wish for a quieter, more comfortable ride, and for more hip and shoulder room. Many complain of “cheap” and easily stained seat fabric, as well as poor sound quality from the factory stereo. Others wish for better outward visibility towards the rear of the Kia Sorento.

Photo: Sébastien D'Amour

History/Description: The pre-updated version of this generation Kia Sorento is the first model from the brand built in the USA. It offered up front or all-wheel drive, 4- or 6-cylinder power, and an upscale list of available features including navigation, voice command, heated leather, heated wipers, push-button start, full multimedia connectivity, and more.

Power came from a 4-cylinder engine with up to 191 horsepower or a 3.5L V6 with 276. Look for a 6-speed automatic on all models, and AWD with a locking function for added traction as required (if equipped).

Common Issues: Some owners reported sporadic illumination of several warning lights relating to the Sorento's stability control systems, possibly accompanied by difficulty starting the engine or shifting into gear. This problem was covered for numerous owners under warranty, and seems to stem from a faulty switch or module in the braking system.

Transmission drivability issues, up to and including rough shifting, power loss, a heavy “BANG” from the gearbox, and a transmission that self-shifts into neutral may be caused by an improperly inserted electronic connector. While it is a startling issue, it is also one that's easily fixed.

Service Campaign number SC 079 deals with inspection and correction of electronic connectors on affected models, which will typically be 2011 model-year units. Ask your local Kia dealer for more details.

Ensure both key fobs allow the push-button start system to fire up the engine, if equipped. Several owners reported a no-start situation that appears to be caused by a faulty electrical relay.

Photo: Sébastien D'Amour