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From GMM

Fernando Alonso and Sebastian Vettel on Thursday batted away the most recent 'silly season' speculation.

Earlier this week, Italy's Sky had triggered rumours the Ferrari and Red Bull drivers could be about to complete a sensational cockpit swap for 2015.

Spaniard Alonso said the fact the speculation originated in Italy, where fabled Italy is based, is "sad".

"Sometimes it's sad when it comes from Italy and they create for some strange purpose these rumours, which are not helping Ferrari," he said in Singapore.

Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull) and Fernando Alonso (Ferrari) won't swap their seats. (Photo: WRi2)

Earlier, Vettel had immediately denied the speculation, and he repeated the news on Thursday.

"As I've often tried to explain, I drive for Red Bull," said the reigning world champion.

"I have a contract, it has not changed," Vettel was quoted by the German news agency SID.

Not only that, the German says he has a "very special" bond with his energy drink-making employer as the partnership dates back "since I was twelve".

"Since I have worn the Red Bull helmet," Vettel added.

"I have a very, very strong connection to Red Bull and nothing has changed -- and it does not look as though anything will change."

From GMM

An F1 pundit thinks long-time president Luca di Montezemolo's departure is good news for Ferrari.

Marc Surer, a Swiss former grand prix driver, thinks the early noises being made by Montezemolo's successor Sergio Marchionne are honest and positive.

"In the short term, nothing will change," Surer, now a pundit on German television, told Speed Week.

"But long term, the change should have a positive impact.

"Montezemolo has usually protected the team and rather attacked the regulations if things were not going well on a sporting level," he explained.

"The engine - the sacred cow at Ferrari - was never questioned," said Surer.

"But Sergio Marchionne has already criticised not only the engine department but also admitted that energy recovery is also not good enough," he added.

From GMM

Mark Webber thinks "small, subtle details" are all that is holding back his former F1 colleagues Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen in 2014.

Both champions have struggled this year as F1 took the step into the radical turbo V6 era, with Webber's former teammate Vettel notably failing to match the impressive pace of his Red Bull successor Daniel Ricciardo.

Australian Webber, who stepped out of F1 at the end of last year and now races a prototype Porsche at Le Mans, joked that it is as though Vettel inherited his old car for the new era.

"Don't you think so?" he smiled to Finland's Turun Sanomat newspaper. "It does seem as though all the difficulties happen in that one car."

Webber and Vettel shared a tetchy relationship at Red Bull, but he declines to jump on the bandwagon of those who say 2014 has simply revealed the German's true colours.

Sebastian Vettel, Red Bull RB10-Renault. (Photo: WRi2)

Asked why he thinks Vettel is struggling, Webber answered: "It's impossible to say for sure, but almost certainly it is small, subtle details between the car and the driver.

"It is clear that Seb and Kimi have not got the feeling they need, while Daniel seems to be very comfortable with these new cars.

"At this level, the way F1 is, that's all about how a driver gets those last 2-3 crucial tenths out of the car.

"I think Seb and Kimi have two problems: a lack of feeling for the car and then not getting the setup they need. It's not easy and then you start to dig the hole deeper and deeper for yourself," said the 38-year-old.

Mark Webber said he also thinks Raikkonen's vast experience in formula one has actually contributed to his struggle in 2014 with the radically different, turbo V6 'power units'.

"When you've been driving at F1 level for 10, 12 years, it means you've driven V10, V8 and now V6. An experienced driver can almost have too much information and too much sense of what the cars used to be. Sometimes less experience is better when the rules change, and that does seem to be the case especially this season," he added.

"In fact, I feel that I left just at the right time," Mark Webber smiled.

From GMM

The FIA could back down over its newly-imposed radio communications ban.

It was the hot topic of controversial conversation in Singapore on Thursday, as the teams and drivers prepare for the rest of 2014 with tight restrictions on what they can and cannot say over the pit-to-car radio.

Then the team managers headed for their usual pre-race briefing with Charlie Whiting.

"It might be a long one," said Lotus' Alan Permane, according to Auto Motor und Sport.

Some chiefs had prepared to go into the meeting with the message that, irrespective of the merits of the ban, the haste in which it is being imposed is unreasonable.

Williams' Pat Symonds said: "In every sport, some coaching is allowed. In football, the coach is constantly giving his players instructions and nobody gets upset about it.

"We might have to at least wait until 2015," he added, "to give everyone sufficient time to prepare."

Ferrari's pitwall. (Photo: WRi2)

Others had a safety argument.

"The drivers will suddenly be playing with much more information on their screens, which could distract them, overwhelm them and they end up in the wall," said Sauber's Beat Zehnder.

And the struggling Swiss team's manager added: "We had also warned the drivers to look after the differential -- they forget that they can ruin the transmission."

Zehnder also said the ban disadvantages F1's minnows, because the rich teams can afford to respond quickly, for example at the controls of their sophisticated simulators.

And some teams do not even use the new McLaren-supplied LCD steering wheel display in 2014, which would mean the mid-season ban unfairly punishes some drivers who will have less information at their disposal.

In the end, the team managers' meeting with the FIA was the longest of the season -- three hours and 40 minutes.

"There were more questions than answers," an unnamed F1 chief said.

Auto Motor und Sport reports that Whiting promised to think over the teams' concerns, amid speculation the FIA might agree at least to wind back the severity of the clampdown.

A decision is expected early on Friday, before the first practice session in Singapore.

From Formula 1.com

Johnnie Walker Thursday announced a new partnership with the Formula One group that will enhance the brand's global positioning and significantly expand the platform for its highly successful responsible drinking initiative, Join the Pact.

The announcement of the new multi-year arrangement also sees Johnnie Walker become the Official Whisky of Formula 1.

The new partnership greatly strengthens the historical connections that the Walker family has with the world of motorsport and Grand Prix racing which go back to the 1950s.

Building on those historic links, in 2005 Johnnie Walker established a partnership with McLaren Mercedes which, over the past nine years, has enabled the brand to deliver successful marketing and responsible drinking programmes around the world.

McLaren at Monaco. (Photo: WRi2)

General Motors of Canada announced pricing for the all-new 2015 Chevrolet Colorado and GMC Canyon, available now at dealerships across the country.

The 2015 Colorado starts at $19,900. A Colorado LT 4x2 Crew Cab with short box costs $27,150, while a top-end Colorado Z71 4x4 Crew Cab with short box retails for $35,700. These prices do not include freight and delivery charges of $1,695.

Photo: Chevrolet

Meanwhile, the 2015 Canyon carries a base MSRP of $20,600. The SLE model climbs to $28,800, and the SLT 4x4 V6 with short box is priced at $38,850.

Customers have multiple cab and box configurations to choose from, including extended cab models with a 6'2'' box and crew cab models with either the 6'2'' or 5'2'' box. Likewise, they can select the 200-horsepower 2.5L 4-cylinder engine with direct fuel injection or the 305-horsepower 3.6L V6, also with direct fuel injection. Six-speed manual and automatic transmissions are available, too.

Photo: GMC

Source: General Motors

From GMM

Lawrence Stroll may now have moved his attention from Sauber to Marussia.

In the paddock at Monza recently, it was strongly rumoured that the Canadian fashion industry billionaire and racing enthusiast was in detailed negotiations to buy financially embattled Sauber.

Rumours quickly followed, however, that the deal had collapsed at the final hurdle.

"Lawrence Stroll received a negative response from Peter Sauber and Monisha Kaltenborn regarding his offer to take over the Swiss team," said a report by Italiaracing.

But Stroll may now be switching his attention from one embattled Ferrari customer to the next, the Italian report added.

He has close links to the Maranello marque, with his son Lance also a member of Ferrari's driver 'academy'.

Ferrari's other 'power unit' customer in F1 is Marussia; another team grappling with obvious financial problems, and already housing 'academy' driver Jules Bianchi.

Marussia MR03-Ferrari. (Photo: WRi2)

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Continue reading Auto123.com Contest: Is there a bug?

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Audi is the first automaker to receive an autonomous driving permit in California, as new laws in the state governing the process went into effect on Tuesday.

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News 17 Sep, 2014

Teaser shot of new Lamborghini concept hints at an all-new model, possibly with four seats