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From GMM

Tony Fernandes has broken his silence to reveal it is "a relief" to have left formula one.

The entrepreneur, best known for his Malaysian low-cost airline Airasia, recently sold the Leafield based Caterham team to mysterious Swiss-Middle Eastern investors led by Colin Kolles and Christijan Albers.

"Yeah. It's a relief," he told the Independent.

"There's nothing wrong in trying and failing," said 50-year-old Fernandes, who is now focusing instead on Airasia, his football club Queens Park Rangers, and second-tier teams in GP2 and Moto2.

He said he did learn things from F1, including "how not to do things".

Fernandes admitted not focusing hard enough on Caterham was a mistake, but he also said the naming dispute with Lotus was a "major blow".

"I never said it to anyone, but it left me feeling that F1 was very nasty and vindictive," he said.

Tony Fernandes (Photo: WRI2)

"Then Caterham didn't really progress, a lot of investments didn't come through and it started to get tough."

Fernandes also said Max Mosley's vision of keeping costs low for small teams never materialised, meaning "everyone is struggling" apart from the sport's grandee names.

"Every team talked about working together but it never happened. So you've got to put your hands up and say 'We're beat. It doesn't make sense any more'."

Fernandes said buying Queens Park Rangers from Bernie Ecclestone and seeing how football's commercial model works was also an eye-opener.

"Whether you're a top team or at the bottom, you get enough money to survive, and that's the major difference (between football and F1)," he said.

"There's a better dialogue (in football)," Fernandes continued. "There's a general understanding that we are in it together."

From GMM

Luca di Montezemolo was coy on Saturday as he played down swirling speculation about his future.

The long-time Ferrari president arrived at Monza for his traditional qualifying visit amid intense rumours that it will be his last.

Some reports suggest the charismatic Montezemolo, 67, is at loggerheads with fellow officials over policy, while others think he is poised to quit Ferrari to become the new chief of the Italian airline Alitalia.

"Alitalia?" Italian reporters quote Montezemolo as saying at Monza. "I hope to take one one of their planes tomorrow afternoon," he joked.

"The rumours about me? I have seen a great fuss in recent days, but I have found it excessive.

Luca di Montezemolo (Photo: WRI2)

"I'm here to work -- today, tomorrow, the next months.

"We are preparing a big event for Ferrari in Los Angeles in October, for the Paris motor show with our cars, and I gave my commitment to shareholders and to the people of Ferrari in March to stay another three years.

"If there is any news, I will be the first to tell you," Montezemolo insisted.

Meanwhile, in what looked like a photo opportunity, Montezemolo gave Ferrari's lead driver Fernando Alonso a long embrace in the Ferrari garage before qualifying.

It could have been a message to rival teams, like McLaren, who have been eyeing the Spaniard.

"He has a contract until 2016," said Montezemolo, "and wants the same thing I want: a more competitive car."

From GMM

F1's 'silly season' is bursting into life at Monza -- and almost every team in pitlane is playing ball.

That goes even for the sport's dominant Mercedes, and one of the highest-paid and most marketable stars, Lewis Hamilton.

Boss Toto Wolff had already lifted the lid by warning that if the Briton and his teammate Nico Rosberg do not fix up their broken relationship, Mercedes might have to change its lineup for 2015.

He repeated the warning on Friday.

Toto Wolff (Photo: WRI2)

"My statements were about what would happen if we wouldn't get on top of it and this is something obviously which is a very, very worst-case vision and I don't think that we were ever going to get there," said Wolff.

Even so, the warning is now made. Could it be connected to Hamilton's "frozen" contractual negotiations, and rumours at Monza that Mercedes is trying to drive down the value of the 2008 world champion's next deal?

Hamilton is also now linked with shock moves to McLaren, or even Ferrari.

Is that why Fernando Alonso on Thursday was being so complimentary when he looked back at their apparently poisonous pairing at McLaren in 2007?

Would the Spaniard prefer Hamilton as his 2015 teammate over the struggling Kimi Raikkonen?

"(At McLaren) it never was a problem with Lewis," Alonso said. "It didn't work because of the team. I never had a problem with Lewis and it's not a surprise today that we still have a good relationship."

That does appear a long shot, but it seems clear that Mercedes is looking at its current pairing and wondering if it makes sense for the image of the brand and to best capitalise on performance.

Lewis Hamilton, Nico Rosberg (Photo: WRI2)

"If they (Rosberg and Hamilton) were more disciplined no one would be able to keep in touch with them," the visiting Flavio Briatore said at Monza on Friday.

"For me there has to always be a first driver and a second."

Even the academics agree, including Dr Paolo Aversa of London's Cass Business School who has concluded that pairings like Rosberg and Hamilton do not work.

"Toto Wolff now realises the internal conflict between Hamilton and Rosberg could lead to Daniel Ricciardo finishing between the two Silver Arrows teammates," he is quoted by The Times.

"It looks increasingly unlikely that both Hamilton and Rosberg will be lining up for Mercedes next season," he added.

"Their on and off track clashes are symptomatic of two roosters in the henhouse, which is statistically proven to decrease performance."

From GMM

Jean-Eric Vergne insists he has his "eyes open" to opportunities outside of formula one for 2015.

Now in his third campaign with the Red Bull junior team Toro Rosso, 24-year-old Frenchman Vergne will be moved over at the end of 2014 for the teen rookie Max Verstappen.

Dr Helmut Marko, the architect of the energy drink company's prolific and yet controversial driver programme, is unapologetic.

"Vergne has had three years at Toro Rosso, four years before that in the junior team and every opportunity -- everything a young driver needs," the always-blunt Austrian told Speed Week.

Vergne has been in F1 since 2012 (Photo: WRI2)

"Now he must find a way independently after 2014," Marko said. "We are not a pension fund."

Two weeks ago at Spa-Francorchamps, Vergne insisted he still sees his future in F1.

But he is now quoted as saying: "I am working in the background on the continuation of my racing career and exploring all possibilities.

"I know drivers who were too fixed on formula one and in the end were left empty-handed, driving nothing.

"I'm not stupid. I keep my eyes open," Vergne added.

Delphi Automotive PLC said it has lined up a contract to produce a vehicle-to-vehicle communication device that will warn drivers of possible accidents.

Mercedes-Benz plans to increase production capacity at its Alabama plant to 300,000 vehicles by the end of 2015, Daimler CEO Dieter Zetsche said Friday.

Mercedes-Benz plans to increase production capacity at its Alabama plant to 300,000 vehicles by the end of 2015, Daimler CEO Dieter Zetsche said Friday.

Mercedes plans to increase production capacity at its U.S. factory in Alabama to 300,000 vehicles by the end of 2015, Daimler CEO Dieter Zetsche said.

The signature element of Detroit's skyline -- GM's Renaissance Center headquarters -- is adorned with a massive GMC advertising wrap for the Detroit Lions' upcoming appearance on ESPN's 'Monday Night Football' broadcast.

Suspended Cleveland Browns wide receiver Josh Gordon, known for dodging truck-sized NFL defenders, will try his hand at selling trucks -- and maybe some cars, too.

General Motors, before recalling more than 200,000 Saturn Vues with ignition problems last month, discussed the issue with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration three times beginning in mid-June, documents revealed today show.

General Motors has won dismissal of a shareholder lawsuit accusing it of padding sales around the time of its November 2010 initial public offering by quietly unloading vehicle inventory on its dealers.

General Motors CEO Mary Barra could face protests from workers at the carmaker's Gujarat plant when she goes makes an expected visit to India later this month.

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