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From GMM

Sebastian Vettel insists he is not worried his friendship with Kimi Raikkonen will suffer as they go wheel-to-wheel for the title in 2013.

The pair are arguably the closest friends among all the drivers in the pitlane, living close to one another in Switzerland and often meeting up to play badminton.

But they have never fought against each other for F1's biggest prize -- Raikkonen departed F1 at the end of 2009, just as Vettel began his series of titles in 2010.

So will the heat of a championship battle in 2013, with Raikkonen already leading Vettel in the world championship, spoil their friendship?

"I think you have to separate the two things," German Vettel told Bild newspaper.

"Anyway, we get along very well, but it's not like we spend every spare minute in the paddock together," he added.

Bild correspondent Frank Schneider wrote: "Raikkonen and Vettel are completely different.

"Raikkonen is tattooed, smokes, drinks, while Vettel lives a disciplined life free of scandal."

Sébastien Loeb will take part in the famous American hill climb of Pikes Peak.

The Frenchman will be at the wheel of a Peugeot 208 prototype especially developed by Citroën for the event.

The nine-time world rally champion has never raced before at the Pikes Peak, a 20-kilometre race against the clock that finishes at 4,300 meters of altitude.

Can 'won-it-all' Loeb find something new to win in 2013? (Photo: ppihc.com)

This year's Pike Peak is held on June 30th.

From GMM

Caterham has belatedly confirmed reports that talks about a possible merger with rival backmarker Marussia took place over the winter.

In explaining the delay in Marussia being offered a 2013 commercial deal, Bernie Ecclestone dropped the bombshell about the mooted merger.

"As I understand it, the conclusion (of the merger talks) was unacceptable to our shareholders," Marussia chief executive Graeme Lowdon said on Thursday.

Marussia MR02, Sepang (Photo: WRi2)

"So nothing happened."

Initially, Caterham pointedly denied the existence of the merger talks, team founder Tony Fernandes insisting "no such thing" ever took place.

New team boss Cyril Abiteboul told the New Straits Times: "I'm still young and new here, but since I've been here I must have heard stories about mergers at least ten times.

"These talks with Marussia happened over the Christmas period and as with everything, we looked at whether it made any sense and it didn't make sense," he added.

Caterham CT03, Sepang (Photo: WRi2)

"End of story."

Meanwhile, Abiteboul and Fernandes were spotted chatting in the Sepang pitlane on Saturday morning with former team driver Heikki Kovalainen.

"Who knows what will happen in the future?" the Finn, who arrived at the Malaysian GP venue on Saturday morning in a green Ferrari road car, told British broadcaster Sky.

For once this year Denny Hamlin was in the news with good news.

The Joe Gibbs Racing driver who was fined in February for statements about the Gen 6 NASCAR Sprint Cup car and in a Twitter verbal war with Joey Logano had won his second-straight pole at Auto Club Speedway.

Driving a Toyota Hamlin turned a lap of 38.410 seconds around the two-mile oval.

Hamlin was surprised he took the pole because he was third in Friday's qualifying order. “I thought my chances of grabbing the pole were slim,” he said.

“I think our car was really fast. It's cocky to say, but I was saying I could almost guarantee a pole if we had a late draw. I think, except for one exceptional car, the pole would have been later. I knew my lap was really good. I knew it felt good. It's a good way to start the weekend. Hopefully I won't see any passing.”

This is Hamlin's third pole is his last six races at Auto Club Speedway and his second consecutive. He finished 11th last year. In October of 2009, he also captured the pole and finished 37th.

Denny Hamlin (Photo: Denny Hamlin Facebook)

It was Hamlin's 13th pole in 264 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races and his first pole and four Top 10 start in 2013. Hamlin has just one Top 5 finish in 12 previous Sprint Cup races at Auto Club Speedway, finishing third in August of 2008.

Greg Biffle and Brad Keselowski had the second and third fastest laps in qualifying, respectively, but both will start at the back because of engine changes. Kyle Busch and Matt Kenseth, Hamlin's teammates, rounded out the top 5.

Biffle explained, due to the engine change “unfortunately we had about eight minutes of practice today before qualifying. The guys worked really hard to get the engine changed. I got out with three minutes to go to make a lap and we made adjustments from that lap and we were able to put down a pretty fast lap.”

Keselowski, the series points leader, was likewise concerned that both he and Biffle had to change engines.

“I am a little nervous about the engine issues the 16 and 2 cars both had in practice and hopefully those will subside for the race and we are both going to start in the back. It is unfortunate but we will have a good time hopefully racing to the front.”

Current IndyCar champion Ryan Hunter-Reay (Andretti) and runner-up Will Power (Penske) dominated each Friday practice sessions for this weekend St Petersburg season opener but the Australian was the one who set the fastest time at the end of the day.

Still, Hunter-Reay was a mere 0.1785s behind while Simona de Silvestro showed that she was at ease in her new KV Racing car by finishing third. The Swiss driver finished up 0.06s off Hunter-Reay's time.

Oriol Servia (Panther/DRR) was fourth-fastest, just ahead of Takuma Sato (AJ Foyt Racing), who was the best of the Honda-powered entries.

The Ganassi squad had somewhat of a quiet start with Charlie Kimball leading the team with the 13th-best lap, leaving Dario Franchitti 17th and Scott Dixon 19th.


Morning session
1.  Ryan Hunter-Reay - 1m02.4534s
2.  James Hinchcliffe - 1m02.4544s  + 0.0010s
3.  Will Power - 1m02.5464s  + 0.0930s
4.  EJ Viso - 1m02.5759s  + 0.1225s
5.  Tony Kanaan - 1m02.6114s  + 0.1580s
6.  Dario Franchitti - 1m02.6823s  + 0.2289s
7.  Simona de Silvestro - 1m02.6950s  + 0.2416s
8.  Josef Newgarden - 1m02.7308s  + 0.2774s
9.  Sebastien Bourdais - 1m02.8867s  + 0.4333s
10.  Marco Andretti - 1m02.9252s  + 0.4718s
(...)


Afternoon session
1.  Will Power - 1m01.4467s
2.  Ryan Hunter-Reay - 1m01.6252s  + 0.1785s
3.  Simona de Silvestro - 1m01.6895s  + 0.2428s
4.  Oriol Servia - 1m01.7650s  + 0.3183s
5.  Takuma Sato - 1m01.7703s  + 0.3236s
6.  Helio Castroneves - 1m01.7853s  + 0.3386s
7.  Tony Kanaan - 1m01.8087s  + 0.3620s
8.  James Hinchcliffe - 1m02.0039s  + 0.5572s
9.  Tristan Vautier - 1m02.0459s  + 0.5992s
10.  Marco Andretti - 1m02.0877s  + 0.6410s
(...)

A federal bankruptcy court has approved the sale of a bankrupt Toyota dealership in St. Augustine, Fla., for $18.7 million. The buyer, Michael Beaver, owner of Beaver Toyota in Santa Fe, N.M.

Skoda Auto has revealed global build numbers by model for 2012, and announced where and when several new vehicles will be built or assembled.

A busy news week started early Monday, with the details of the redesigned 2014 Cadillac CTS sedan's new 420-hp twin-turbo 3.6-liter V6 engine option.

Also in this episode: Toyota hosts Dream Car art contest; Ford of India facing criticism for insensitive ads.

Anybody remember Polocore? That weird little moment in the mid-'90s when a sect of hardcore kids were all decked out in Ralph Lauren finery? What seemed incongruous in '95 was simple, unvarnished fact a dozen years later, when it was announced that...

Speaking at the launch of the Mirage A-segment hatchback, Mitsubishi UK managing director Lance Bradley said that brand sales were up 105% in February, and have averaged a 56% rise YoY for Q1.

Set adrift in mechanized life with just one tool, what would you choose? Probably Vise-Grip pliers. One do-it-all vehicle? Perhaps a Jeep Wrangler.

The CAW has canceled a ratification vote for members at a General Motors assembly plant in Ingersoll, Ontario, originally scheduled for this Sunday, a union representative said.

Bosch said Bernd Bohr, board member responsible for its auto-supply unit, will leave the supplier. Bohr was once a candidate to become Bosch CEO.

Germany's Robert Bosch GmbH today said Bernd Bohr, board member responsible for its automotive unit, will leave the company at the end of June.

Just how good can a sub-GBP 6,000 car be? A lot better than you would expect, Glenn Brooks finds, as he tries out the Dacia Sandero.

Ford will launch an ad campaign touting its EcoBoost engine brand within the next two weeks, the company said today.

Midsize Madness - Day Five

It’s the 2013 Honda Accord.

Our winner is the 2013 Honda Accord. Really, it comes as a surprise to us, too.

Photo Gallery: Midsize Madness - Day Five - Automobile Magazine

Photo Gallery: Midsize Madness - Day Five - Automobile Magazine

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Marco R. della Cava went to the Vatican to cover the election of the new Pope, but he managed to leave with

Chrysler will launch a special edition of the 200 sedan with trim inspired by work clothes maker