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From GMM

Nico Rosberg is convinced he is still in the running for the 2014 title.

The German, once the runaway championship leader, has fallen 17 points behind with just three races to go off the back of teammate Lewis Hamilton's run of dominant form.

"It's difficult for Nico now," team chairman and F1 legend Niki Lauda was quoted on Tuesday by the German news agency SID, "as Lewis is currently at his very best."

Nico Rosberg, Mercedes W05. (Photo: WRi2)

Even the fans agree. In a survey by the news agency, only 22 per cent believe Rosberg can track down Hamilton's lead and go on to win the drivers' title by the chequered flag in Abu Dhabi.

However, the highly controversial new 'double points' finale could work in the 29-year-old's favour, as the winner in Abu Dhabi next month will bank 50 rather than the usual 25 points.

"I love this rule," Nico Rosberg reportedly grinned on Tuesday.

On the other hand, he insisted: "I know I can win every race, so my tactics are not really changing.

"I won't give up on the championship until the chequered flag in Abu Dhabi," Rosberg added.

Following a three-week break, the 2014 Formula 1 World Championship bursts back into action this weekend in Austin, Texas.

The Circuit of the Americas has received universal praise since it made its Formula 1 debut in 2012. Its taxing 5.513km layout is a fascinating test of man and machine, and the atmosphere has been electric at the two grands prix staged at the circuit to date.

The track is situated on an 890-acre site, just a few miles southeast of Austin. It's the first purpose-built F1 track in North America, although it's the 10th different venue to stage an F1 race in the country and the second in the state of Texas, following a one-off street race in Dallas in 1984.

Here is the complete timetable of the event*:

Thursday October 30
Formula 1 Press Conference - Press Room 11:00

Friday October 31
Formula 1 Practice 1 10:00 - 11:30
Ferrari Challenge First Practice Session 12:00 - 12:30
Formula 1 Paddock Club Pit Lane Walk 12:35 - 13:45
Formula 1 Practice 2 14:00 - 15:30
Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup Practice Session 16:00 - 16:45
Formula 1 Press Conference - Press Room 16:00 - 17:00
Ferrari Challenge Qualifying 17:15 - 17:45

Saturday November 1st
Formula 1 Paddock Club Pit Lane Walk 08:15 - 09:45
Formula 1 Team Pit Stop Practice 09:00 - 09:30
Formula 1 Practice 3 10:00 - 11:00
Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup Qualifying 11:30 - 12:00
Formula 1 Paddock Club Pit Lane Walk 12:05 - 12:40
Formula 1 Qualifying 13:00
Ferrari Challenge First Race (10 Laps or 25 Mins) 15:00 - 15:30
Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup First Race (14 Laps or 30 Mins) 16:00 - 16:35

Sunday November 2nd
Ferrari Challenge Second Race (10 Laps or 25 Mins) 10:30 - 11:00
Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup Second Race (14 Laps or 30 Mins) 11:30 - 12:05
Formula 1 Paddock Club Pit Lane Walk 12:10 - 13:15
Formula 1 Formula 1 Drivers Parade 12:30
Formula 1 Starting Grid Presentation 12:45 - 13:15
Formula 1 National Anthem 13:46
Formula 1 Race 14:00

*Please be advised that this timetable is subject to change.

From GMM

Sahara Force India has avoided becoming the next formula one team to drop out of this weekend's US grand prix.

Now in administration, backmarkers Caterham and Marussia will miss not only Austin but also the penultimate round of the 2014 world championship a week later in Brazil.

Reports said the Silverstone based team needed to make an urgent engine payment to supplier Mercedes on Monday or risk joining Caterham and Marussia on the sidelines in Austin.

But Germany's Auto Motor und Sport now reports that Sahara Force India has "removed its neck from the noose" by paying the final engine instalment to the German marque.

Sahara Force India VJM07-Mercedes. (Photo: WRi2)

It means the team remains in the battle to catch McLaren for fifth in the constructors' world championship.

According to Auto Motor und Sport, the fifth-placed team will receive $62 million in official prize money from Bernie Ecclestone, rather than $59m for sixth.

Adapted from GMM

Because F1 has shed almost 20 per cent of its grid in the space of mere weeks, the FIA looks set to tweak the knockout qualifying format for Austin and Brazil.

"It is thought that the FIA ... will have to reorder the three-session qualifying because of there not being enough cars - just 17 with (Sebastian) Vettel missing - to go through the usual knockout sequence," said Kevin Eason, the correspondent for the Times newspaper.

Red Bull's Vettel is expected to sit out qualifying as he takes a penalty for using his unscheduled sixth Renault engine of the 2014 season.

Sebastian Vettel, Red Bull Racing. (Photo: WRi2)

From GMM

Marcus Ericsson's manager says he is in talks with three alternative teams after Caterham ran off track.

With the Leafield based team in administration and set to miss the forthcoming Austin-Brazil double header, Swedish rookie Ericsson's teammate Kamui Kobayashi admitted he is not sure the green team will be back in action for the Abu Dhabi finale next month.

"For the moment we don't know about Abu Dhabi. Maybe we can (race), we'll have to see within the next two or three weeks. I'm just waiting for the answer," the Japanese told his fans in a video message posted on Facebook.

"At the same time I need to use this time to try to stay in formula one," Kobayashi added.

Of Caterham's 2014 race drivers, 28-year-old Kobayashi's situation appears the most grim, as Ericsson is believed to carry around $18 million per year in personal sponsorship backing.

Departed team boss Manfredi Ravetto revealed recently he had already opened talks with Ericsson's management "and to his financial backers" about the 2015 season.

Marcus Ericsson, Caterham, at Sochi, Russia. (Photo: Caterham F1 Team)

But according to Ericsson's manager Eje Elgh, the fact the 24-year-old rookie is sitting out Austin and Brazil will have "no bearing on his future in F1".

Nonetheless, Elgh told the Swedish newspaper Aftonbladet that he hopes Caterham will be back on track in Abu Dhabi.

"(Bernie) Ecclestone has given them an ultimatum that they must be in Abu Dhabi to get the license for next year," he said.

"Without the license, the bankruptcy trustee cannot sell the team because it will be worthless. I am guessing that the team will be at the season finale and that Marcus will be asked to race," Elgh said.

He also said Ericsson, despite the absence of his team, will be in the paddock in Austin and Brazil because "in this business you never know what's going to happen".

But as for 2015, Elgh insisted that Caterham's woes do not affect Ericsson.

"I can't say when something will be done for next year. Whether you're 99.9 per cent sure or 80 per cent sure, you're still not sure. It will take some more time," he said.

Elgh admitted that, until Caterham's collapse, he had been in talks with four teams regarding the 2015 season.

"The only thing different now," he explained, "is that there is now greater competition for the places there are. We had a list of four teams, but Caterham was already at the bottom of the list."

Aftonbladet said Marcus Ericsson could not be reached for comment.

From GMM

October was a horror month for the F1 backmarker Marussia.

The first, tragic blow came in the shadow of the Suzuka typhoon, when the promising talent Jules Bianchi skidded into a recovery vehicle.

He remains in a Japanese hospital, but the latest unofficial news about the Frenchman is brighter.

Italy's Omnicorse claims Bianchi, 25, might soon be considered stable enough to be transferred from Japan to Europe, much to the relief of his French parents.

The report said Bianchi's next destination could even be Lausanne, Switzerland, and the very same building that until recently housed the F1 great Michael Schumacher.

At the same time, veteran F1 minds including Ross Brawn and Stefano Domenicali are working on a panel that is deeply investigating the circumstances, causes and reaction to the Bianchi crash.

Marussia MR03-Ferrari. (Photo: WRi2)

The respected correspondent Alberto Antonini, writing in the specialist Italian Autosprint, said the FIA panel is looking into whether Bianchi's crash may have been caused by the new in 2014 'brake-by-wire' system aboard his Marussia.

Electronic brake-by-wire, working in conjunction with the complex energy recovery systems for the new turbo V6 engines, has been problematic up and down pitlane in 2014.

Antonini said some insiders suspect brake trouble may have contributed at Suzuka, after eyewitnesses did not see tyre marks on the track before the Bianchi crash scene.

"Perhaps it is no accident that at Sochi, Max Chilton - the only Marussia in the race - was stopped for a reason that is not fully understood," he added.

Meanwhile, the Swiss newspaper Blick is reporting that a company called Air Zermatt is proposing that stricken F1 cars be lifted from danger by helicopter in future rather than by driving dangerous recovery vehicles into the escape zones.

"This is a safe, easy and quick method," said the helicopter company's chief executive Gerold Biner, who said Air Zermatt's standing proposal to the FIA remains unanswered.

Finally, Marussia backer Andrey Cheglakov confirmed to the Russian news agency Itar-Tass that he has indeed withdrawn from the F1 team.

"This is a sad note," he is quoted as saying, "but I want to express my gratitude to each member of the team, both at the track and in Banbury.

"We made the impossible possible, becoming the only team to earn points of the three that came to the world of formula one in 2010. We had the smallest budget but the most motivated staff," Cheglakov added.

Mazda wants a piece of the market for miniaturized crossovers.

If the success of an ad campaign -- and the brand it touts -- was measured by the number of parodies it generated, Lincoln's moody ads featuring Oscar-winning actor Matthew McConaughey would already be in the advertising Hall of Fame.

Federal safety regulators have opened an investigation of Chrysler Group's handling of two recalls for potential steering issues affecting nearly 1 million Dodge Ram pickup trucks in the United States.

New light-vehicle sales are expected to rise about 6 percent in the United States this month from last October to about 1.27 million vehicles, according to three forecasts. It would be the highest October sales volume since 2004.

Infotainment hiccups nagged the industry in the Consumer Reports 2014 Annual Auto Reliability Survey, while problems with the Q50 caused Infiniti's ranking to plummet.

Michelin Group has posted third quarter net sales down 4.6% to EUR4.9bn (US$6.2bn).

Ford's new chief executive, Mark Fields, reportedly is giving the Lincoln brand a little love and a lot of cash.

Media and car enthusiasts visiting the São Paulo Auto Show (media days were Tuesday 28 and Wednesday 29 October) will see evidence of Volkswagen's new strategy of playing the market more nimbly here in Brazil.

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Continental is said to be looking for an acquisition in the industrial sector as it seeks to boost its proportion of industrial sales to 40 percent from close to 30 percent now to reduce its dependence on volatile car markets.

Production of at least two eco car models in Thailand has been delayed because of the weak domestic market, according to media reports in Thailand.