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From Pirelli

At last weekend's Italian Grand Prix in Monza, the Red Bull Racing RB10 of Daniel Ricciardo reached 362.1 km/h (while slipstreaming) on the main straight.

At this speed, the wheel is rotating around 2800 times every minute, or just under 50 times every second.

Daniel Ricciardo, Red Bull Racing. (Photo: WRi2)

These extreme speeds have a serious effect on the tires. At full speed, which is frequently the case during a lap of Monza, an F1 tire is often subjected to a downforce load up to 1000 kilograms. Another important aspect is that the high speeds generate a huge centrifugal force on the tire itself.

Because of these loads, the footprint of the tire increases and the part of the tire against the ground is subject to a lot of deformation, as shown in illustration 1 below. The structure of the tire has to be incredibly strong and elastic to cope with this constant flexing.

In red: beyond 350 km/h, the part of the tire in contact with the asphalt undergoes notable deformations.

At the same time, the upper section of the tire (which is not in contact with the ground - illustration 2) is subjected to a big centrifugal force, but despite this the shape of the tire does not change much: stretching by just 1%. This is due to the low weight and extremely high stiffness of the materials developed by Pirelli for Formula 1.

Beyond 350 km/h, the highest part of the tire only changes shape by 1%, despite being subject to an enormous centrifugal force.

The F1 tires are designed precisely with these extreme forces in mind: during laboratory testing, before they even see a race track, the tires are exposed to higher loads and forces than they would normally experience, and accelerated to speeds of up to 450 km/h. Not only that, but they are also fired into solid surfaces at speeds in excess of 250 km/h: simulating the impacts with kerbs for which Monza is also famed.

Last month, Squamish, B.C., became the first Canadian city to receive a Supercharger from Tesla. And on Thursday, Toronto (York) and Cornwall (near Highway 401) got theirs.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk wants to give Model S owners the ability to drive from Detroit to Quebec City without stopping for long hours to charge their car.

Drivers with an 85 kWh battery can complete a trip from Toronto to Cornwall (436 km) and Cornwall to Quebec City (372 km) without any other stop along the way — provided they maintain a reasonable speed, of course.

Model S cars with a 60 kWh battery, however, have a range of just 335 kilometres according to the EPA.

In Quebec
Tesla will soon begin installing Superchargers in Quebec, starting with the city of Drummondville, about halfway between Montreal and Quebec City. Other locations across the province have yet to be determined.

FYI, these Superchargers can charge a Model S back to 50% in as little as 20 minutes.

Photo: Tesla

Toto Wolff, Head of Mercedes-Benz Motorsport, said he was worried about the implications of the radio instructions' clamp down imposed by the FIA.

As we explained yesterday, it means that the Formula 1 teams will no longer be allowed to tell their drivers what to do to alter their speed, and how to modify the settings of their cars.

A Formula 1 engineer also confirmed Auto123.com that the teams will no longer be allowed to tell their drivers how to adjust the buttons and knobs located on the steering wheel to change the settings of the car.

“It has been confirmed that we will now see less radio traffic,” Wolff said.

“This is a complex and controversial decision which will require a significant effort from the teams to understand how best we can work around it”, the Austrian explained.

“The directive is not yet fully clear and there will inevitably be some controversy, so it will need further clarification as to how much the essential on-track procedures will be affected - particularly before the start of the race,” Toto Wolff added.

UPDATE

Formula 1 teams will not be allowed to issue coded messages to drivers as a way of getting around the clampdown on team radio instructions.

Here are some example of what will be alloweed, and not:

Allowed

- Telling a driver when he is allowed to or meant to stop for new tires

- Team orders in terms of overtaking or letting a teammate past

- Warning a driver about the traffic situation during qualifying and the race

- Safety warning relating to yellow flags or dangerous situations on the track

Not allowed

- Informing a driver to change any settings on his car to improve its performance

- Informing a driver about his fuel consumption and how to manage his pace

- Informing a driver about his own performance in sectors and where he can improve

- Informing a driver about the condition or state of his tires

- Informing a driver how best to approach the formation lap or setting changes to make better start

Paddy Lowe and Toto Wolff, Mercedes AMG. (Photo: WRi2)

From GMM

Lewis Hamilton has pointed the finger at Pirelli in the wake of last weekend's Italian grand prix.

In fact, despite his psychological title war with teammate Nico Rosberg, the Mercedes driver says the tires supplied at Monza would have contributed to the German's highly controversial 'mistakes' that handed him victory last Sunday.

Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes AMG, winner at Monza. (Photo: WRi2)

"Honestly," Hamilton is quoted by Brazil's Totalrace, "the tires were too good last weekend.

"It was basically very easy in terms of making one (pit) stop.

"There was only one risk," the Italian grand prix winner explained, "and that was if you got a flat-spot.

"That's why we saw so many drivers going straight at the first chicane -- to avoid damaging the tire, otherwise they would have had to convert to two stops which would be much slower," said Hamilton.

"I think Monza is such a cool track but I don't know if it was a cool race to watch -- more battles, more pitstops would have been nice. If they (Pirelli) had brought a softer tire it would have been a greater challenge, because the tire we had was really easy to look after," Lewis Hamilton added.

From GMM

Christian Horner and Alain Prost have welcomed the FIA's immediate clampdown on radio communications within formula one.

Responding to criticism from fans, F1 race director Charlie Whiting on Thursday circulated a directive to teams clarifying the existing rule about drivers needing to "drive the car alone and unaided".

It means that from Singapore and beyond, all radio messages from the pitwall to the drivers relating to "performance" are now strictly banned.

Whiting said the FIA "intends to rigorously enforce this regulation with immediate effect".

The move is a reaction to claims fans are being turned off the sport amid the impression the 'heroes' - arguably the world's best drivers - are being told how to drive the complex cars in 2014 by engineers.

"Therefore no radio conversation from pit to driver may include any information that is related to the performance of the car or driver," said Whiting.

He added that "general" radio calls about race strategy and safety are excluded from the ban.

Whiting told Germany's Auto Motor und Sport that the penalties applied will be "at the discretion of the stewards", but will probably be of a sporting nature rather than fines.

The ban will also end the perception that drivers are being told by their teams during races to save fuel, brakes and tires.

"That (kind of instruction) would violate the rule," Whiting clarified. "The driver can see the fuel consumption on the steering wheel, just as you do in your normal car."

As for advice about engine settings, fuel mixtures and energy-recovery charging, Charlie Whiting insisted: "Absolutely not (allowed). This is clearly contrary to Article 20.1."

But he said the issuing of team orders and advice about traffic is "okay".

Red Bull Racing pitbox. (Photo: WRi2)

Red Bull team boss Horner told the Times he fully backs the FIA's new stance.

"The driver should be on his own when he gets into the cockpit. They all need to be told about pitstops and safety and so on, but none of this picking up advice on where other people are a tenth of a second faster and what gear to choose. That is nonsense. It is time for the drivers to drive," he insisted.

Also supportive is Alain Prost, the F1 legend and quadruple world champion.

"People can think formula one has become something too assisted, easy and controlled by somebody else than the driver," he said.

From GMM

As a brand new, global single seater series prepares to launch off the grid, boss Alejandro Agag insists Formula E is not trying to take on F1.

With battery-powered and nearly completely silent cars, designed with input from McLaren, Williams and Renault, the inaugural race will take place on the streets of Beijing on Saturday.

"Changing a car halfway through a race is quite strange," said McLaren driver Jenson Button.

"But it might work. It's all in city centres and it might attract people to the sport that aren't interested in motor sport normally. If they aren't true racing fans, it's quite fun to watch some cars go around that are electric."

Button's backhanded compliment sums up the general attitude about Formula E within the F1 paddock.

Photo: FIA Formula E

But some big and familiar names are involved in Formula E.

All ten teams feature drivers well known to formula one, including driver-owner Jarno Trulli, Takuma Sato, Nick Heidfeld, Jaime Alguersuari and many others.

Another is Sebastien Buemi, who played down any comparison between the Formula E car - generating 270 horse power and a maximum speed of 225kph - and its F1 cousin.

"Formula E is something completely different," he told the Austrian news agency APA. "They not only have much less power, but the cars also have significantly less grip."

Series boss Agag was asked by Germany's Welt newspaper about all the quiet criticism within the F1 paddock, including by its reigning champion Sebastian Vettel.

"The bottom line is that top drivers will be competing to win. For me this is already enough to talk about pure motor sport," he answered.

Not only that, Formula E has a healthy grid, the involvement of manufacturers like Audi, and a truly global calendar spanning Asia, the Americas and Europe.

Is Agag's plan to eventually replace formula one as the pinnacle of motor sport?

"I think that would be the wrong approach," the Spaniard insisted.

"We want to be a complement to formula one -- it's not about doing things better or worse than them. We are an independent racing series with our own profile. To put us in a race with formula one would not be fair," Agag added.

Photo: FIA Formula E

Undoubtedly, though, while F1 is arguably locked in an identity crisis at the start of its new, quieter turbo era, Formula E's vision is clear and modern.

"We are environmentally friendly and fit with the sustainable approach suitable for the cities in which we travel," said Alejandro Agag. "We consume no fuel, people do not have to spend hours driving out of the city to come to the track."

And Agag said that, while F1 is struggling at the moment to boost its television ratings and fill grandstands, Formula E will not face the same problems.

"Of that I am absolutely convinced," he said.

"Our approach is different to that of formula one. For example, we rely heavily on social media -- the internet is at the heart of Formula E.

"With their vote, the fans can give their favourite driver 50 extra horse power in the race. As I said, it's a great show.

"You also have to understand that you do not necessarily have to buy a ticket to watch a Formula E race -- we have big video screens on which the race will be shown.

"There are 500,000 people each day in the olympic park in Beijing, so the more of them that choose to stay with us, the better," Alejandro Agag said.

There are convertible people. And then there are convertible people! The access to open-air driving is as important as the air they breathe. A coupe just won't suffice. It's too stifling.

So what happens when they are just so enamored with a drop-top, but they want a little bit more power? They generally wait.

And for those who fell in love with the third generation Beetle Convertible, but wanted to wait for a turbocharged version, that patience has paid off.

To check out our full review on the 2014 Volkswagen Beetle Convertible Turbo, head on over to Auto-Venus.com.

Photo: Alexandra Straub

From GMM

Sources close to Fernando Alonso insist this week's news from Maranello will not affect his future.

Even before long-time Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo's demise, and the shock death of his friend and sponsor, Santander's Emilio Botin, Alonso was already being linked with a move to McLaren.

Publications have suggested the week's events at the increasingly crisis-struck Ferrari may be the final straw for an increasingly frustrated Alonso.

But a source close to the Ferrari driver, who remains under contract until 2016, told the Spanish sports daily Marca: "The press has overblown everything.

"For a driver, the arrival of a new president of the company does not change anything."

Fernando Alonso, Ferrari F14 T. (Photo: WRi2)

Nonetheless, Montezemolo's departure is big news not only for Ferrari but also for F1, as the 67-year-old was a powerful influence.

Mercedes team chairman Niki Lauda, whose relationship with Montezemolo dates all the way back to his driving days at Ferrari, said this week's news was a surprise.

"In my opinion Montezemolo didn't want to go to Alitalia, he has been the president of Ferrari for 23 years and he achieved so many things.

"But, as happens in all companies, when things start to go wrong it is logical that these changes occur," F1 legend Lauda told Italian-language Metro.

"I understand (Sergio) Marchionne and I am not critical of his decision. I hope to meet him soon, now that he is president of Ferrari, to talk about formula one.

"It will not be easy to bring Ferrari back to the competitiveness of the past, but it is the right time to make decisions for the following season," said Niki Lauda.

"It was the time for a change. It will be hard for them to come back this year but they can plan for next season and get to work to improve the engine, which is Ferrari's real problem," he added.

General Motors is issuing two more recalls, both on the 2015 Chevrolet Corvette, according to stop-delivery orders sent to dealers today. The recalls, GM's first in more than a month, bring its total number for the year to 67.

Federal auto safety regulators have received more than 100 complaints about engine stalling from owners of Chrysler minivans from model years 2004-2007, according to a Reuters analysis.

Hertz Global Holdings reached an agreement in principle with billionaire investor Carl Icahn to appoint three directors to the board of the rental-car company in place of current members.

Tesla Motors CEO Elon Musk can add another accomplishment to his resume today: Vanity Fair has named him the top disrupter in its New Establishment list of influential players in technology, entertainment, finance and politics.

The Kia Soul EV, Hyundai Motor Group's first all-electric vehicle, will cost $33,700 before shipping and government incentives when it arrives in U.S. dealerships this fall.

Toyota recalling 130,000 2014 Tundra pickup trucks in the United States to correct a problem with side airbags, the automaker's sales arm said today.

The aftermath of the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks swept through the auto industry, from the executive offices to the plants to the dealer lots. At the time, there were more questions than answers in a shaken nation #8211; and a global industry.

Dealers who buy almost any vehicle at a Manheim auction location also can purchase the right to return those vehicles for any reason for up 21 days or 500 miles, whichever comes first.

Dealers who buy almost any vehicle at a Manheim auction location also can purchase the right to return those vehicles for any reason for up 21 days or 500 miles, whichever comes first.

Faurecia has announced its 38th North American plant, a seating factory in Simpsonville, Kentucky.

Ford has made its three millionth small-capacity diesel engine at its Dagenham 'diesel centre'.

News 19 Nov, 2018

Estimated 2.3 million clocked cars on UK roads, costing motorists around £800 million a year