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From GMM

Sebastian Vettel is reportedly chewing over the interest in his services expressed by McLaren-Honda.

In the media, Ron Dennis' desire for a truly top driver to spearhead the new McLaren era beginning next year has centred on Fernando Alonso.

But the Spaniard has effectively ruled himself out of the running this week, as he said he is not only committed to the rest of his Ferrari contract, but is even eyeing an extension to the deal.

And insiders believe Lewis Hamilton is unlikely to abandon his coveted seat at Mercedes, even if teammate Nico Rosberg goes on to secure the 2014 title.

"Lewis is not having any discussion with any other team, so this is why we trust each other," team boss Toto Wolff insists.

McLaren's hopes might therefore be pinned now on Vettel, the reigning quadruple world champion.

The German has struggled at Red Bull this year as the champion team's engine partner Renault faltered at the start of the new turbo V6 era.

But he has even failed to match his new teammate Daniel Ricciardo, with some believing Vettel may now be open to a change of stimulus as Red Bull plots its future with younger stars including Daniil Kvyat and Max Verstappen.

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

The specialist Italian sources Italiaracing and Omnicorse report this week that McLaren-Honda's interest in Vettel has definitely reached the 27-year-old German.

Italiaracing claims he is likely to resist the call and stay at Red Bull in 2015.

Omnicorse, however, believes Vettel has responded to the noises from Woking by seeking "certain guarantees" about the new McLaren-Honda project, particularly about the likelihood of a package capable of taking on Mercedes in 2015.

"Rumours in Italy suggest that the Red Bull driver has asked for a period of reflection before giving his answer to McLaren," the report said.

Counting in McLaren's favour is that a man central to Vettel's success at Red Bull in recent years, aerodynamics chief Peter Prodromou, started work at Woking a few days ago.

"It (Prodromou's arrival) will bolster our revitalised aero team," Dennis said recently, "so I'm not concerned about aero performance next year. It will come right."

And Honda has also made clear this week that, contrary to rumours it is currently missing its target of matching Mercedes' dominant engine performance, the Japanese marque intends to win as soon as possible.

"I have confidence that we will match Mercedes," chief Yasuhisa Arai told F1's official website.

"Formula one is a very important part of our strategy -- and winning is very important for Honda," he added.

"We want to raise the awareness of our brand and I trust - I am a firm believer - that we will win races next year."

Mercedes AMG Formula 1 drivers Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg talked to the reporters Thursday in Monza as they participated in the mandatory FIA press conference.

A journalist asked if the Mercedes AMG team was divided.

“What has happened in the past is in the past and it is what it is. It is important for us to keep a good rapport between us so we can keep the team lifted up - we don't want one side of the team to want to do one thing,” Hamilton told Sky Sports News HQ.

“That is our job and we have to remember we are ambassadors for one of the biggest brands in the world, Mercedes Benz, so it is really important how we shine a light on that and that is what we are paid to do”.

Rosberg explained it took him five days to apologize to the team after the incident.

“Time and the opinion of others,” Rosberg explained, thereby denying that he had been pressurised into doing so by the team.

“They can't make me apologise, it was definitely a decision that came from me. After looking at it again, I felt that it was my responsibility. I was not proud in Spa of how it went. I really want to contribute to our sport because I want F1 to be the most entertaining sport in the world,” Rosberg added.

“I am really excited about the races going forward and fighting hard as always. It has not been the easiest or smoothest season, but I wouldn't have it any other way,” Hamilton said at the end.

However, neither driver shot a single sideward glance during the 40-minute conference.

Mexican driver Sergio Perez said in Monza that he is close to clinching a deal to remain with Force India Formula 1 team next season.

Perez expects to stay with the team based in Silverstone despite rumours linking Force India reserve driver Daniel Juncadella with his seat.

“All I can say is that for me we are still discussing on a deal for next year - Juncadella I really don't know anything, that is for the team or Daniel himself,” Perez told the journalist in the Monza paddock.

“I think we are closer to the end than we were before.”

The Mexican admitted he did not talk to any other team.

“There are not really many options and I am happy and the team is really progressing well - and I know what we are doing for next year especially - so I would like to have a second year in this team ideally,” Perez explained.

“When you move teams so much you really don't establish yourself in a team so I would like to establish myself in a team and I think to do that in the second year is the best thing,” he added.

Remember that mysterious front grille partially revealed by Infiniti last month? Well, it belongs to the all-new Q80 Inspiration Concept, which will make its debut at the Paris Auto Show in early October.

Hinting at a bold new high-end model, Infiniti said that “the intent of the low-slung, ingeniously aggressive 4-passenger fastback is to demonstrate to the premium world just how Infiniti aims to play its part.”

The Q80 Inspiration may wind up competing against the likes of the BMW 6 Series Gran Coupe and Mercedes-Benz S-Class Coupe.

As for powertrain details and available features, we'll have to wait a few more weeks to find out.

Source : fr.cars.yahoo.com

Photo: Infiniti

Toyota Division plans to make active safety technology -- including anti-collision systems -- available throughout its entire lineup in the United States by 2017, said Bill Fay, Toyota Division's general manager.

CarMax said it is recruiting for more than 1,000 positions to fill across the country. The used-car retailer said in a statement Wednesday it is offering full- and part-time permanent positions.

Toyota, in a move to expand its digital media marketing efforts, began sponsoring a new entertainment Web program that debuted Wednesday.

Riding strong U.S. demand for crossovers and big pickups, automakers sold almost 1.6 million light vehicles in August, up 6 percent from a booming year-ago period. In August 2013, auto sales jumped 17 percent.

Tesla Motors is expected to announce Thursday that it has selected Nevada to be the site of its "gigafactory," the large-scale lithium ion battery manufacturing plant estimated to cost up to $5 billion to build.

Ford of Canada said today that it was the country's top seller of new vehicles in the month of August, as sturdy truck demand helped it maintain leadership for a fifth consecutive month.

Mazda, which has staked its future on making its cars lighter, more efficient and more fun to drive than their competition, on Wednesday revealed the purest execution of that strategy: a redesigned MX-5 Miata built with Mazda's full suite of...

Mazda revealed the new MX-5/Miata, which will go on sale next summer. The new generation of the roadster has more responsive handling and is more fuel efficient.

Daimler has bought Mytaxi and RideScout, two smartphone applications that will help the maker of Mercedes limousines provide services to people who do not own cars.

Since the landing of the first Chinese-made vehicle in 2008, the Changhe M100, the Brazilian market has been reasonably receptive but the mood has changed with time.

New models fueled double-digit sales gains at Volkswagen Group of America's Audi and Porsche luxury brands, but not enough to offset ongoing weakness at the VW brand and buoy the German automaker's overall U.S. sales in August.

GM's August sales were bad for market share but good for the bottom line.

With Ford beginning the prolonged shutdown and changeover to the 2015 aluminum F-150, the company's F-series sales dropped 4 percent to 68,109 units in August.

Nissan Division reported rising U.S. demand in August across its product portfolio. The division sold 125,224 cars and light trucks last month in the United States, up 15 percent from August 2013.

Car market leader Maruti Suzuki India sold 110,776 units in August 2014, including 98,304 units in India and 12,472 exports. The automaker sold 87,323 units in August 2013.

Truckmaker Navistar International has announced a third quarter 2014 net loss of $2m, or $0.02 per share, greatly reduced compared to Q3 2013's net loss of $247m, or $3.06 a share. Revenues in the quarter were essentially flat at $2.8bn.