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Lotus F1 Team Junior driver Esteban Ocon will test for Lotus Formula 1 Team.

Ocon will drive a two-year old, Renault-powered Lotus E20 as part of his ongoing development programme and as a reward for winning the FIA Formula 3 Championship in his rookie season.

Esteban Ocon (Photo: Lotus F1 Team)

The 18-year-old Frenchman - who has been part of the Lotus F1 Team Junior programme since 2010 - took an unassailable lead in the championship standings this past weekend in Imola meaning the title is his with three races yet to run.

Over the course of his season to date with Italian squad Prema Powerteam, Ocon has achieved nine wins and 21 podiums. He currently has 454 points with nearest rival, Max Verstappen, on 368. Ocon has also secured the Rookie title, currently with 558 points to Verstappen's 448.

Ocon will drive the Lotus F1 Team E20 - as used by Kimi Räikkönen to win the 2012 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix - over the course of two days at the Circuit de la Comunitat Valenciana Ricardo Tormo on October 22-23.

Ahead of his test, he will be conducting a simulator programme at Lotus F1 Team's Enstone base.

Two-time Formula 1 World Champion, Spaniard Fernando Alonso is still widely expected to leave Ferrari at the end of the season.

However, talking to Sky Sports F1 in Sochi last weekend during the maiden Russian Grand Prix, Alonso mentioned he expects to race in Formula 1 next season.

The former Renault F1 driver said his plans for 2015 are ‘set', strongly suggesting that he has no intention of taking a one-year sabbatical, as some rumours suggest.

Fernando Alonso, Ferrari. (Photo: WRi2)

“My future is already set - or already set in my mind for some months. Now we are finalising everything, it is not a big thing,” Alonso said to Sky Sports F1 in Sochi.

“You need to be patient, you need to wait a little bit,” Alonso answered when asked about the date for a formal announcement.

“I cannot say anything until everything is completely done but it's good and I will do the best for my future and the best for the future of Ferrari because it is the team that I love. When you know it you will say ‘it was so obvious you will do that”, he added.

Under CEO Dave Zuchowski, Hyundai Motor America has made diversity a key objective of the company's business plans with clear-cut goals in areas such as hiring, the automaker's retail network, suppliers, marketing and advertising.

With automakers increasing their use of right of first refusal in buy-sell deals, some dealers want to structure transactions to effectively block its use.

Selling to a highly respected outside investor such as Warren Buffett may have been the ideal exit strategy for Van Tuyl Group -- and one of the few exit paths available to such a large automotive retailer these days, said some dealership buy-sell...

Lithia Motors expects to report a gain in third-quarter unadjusted net income, boosted by improved new-vehicle sales, service and parts business and FandI revenue, it said in a statement today.

A program to compensate victims of a faulty ignition switch in General Motors vehicles has approved three new death claims, bringing the total number of deaths linked so far to the switch to 27, according to a report released today by the lawyer...

Federal-Mogul Powertrain, a division of Federal-Mogul Holdings, has opened a piston ring manufacturing facility in Puebla, Mexico.

Sumitomo Rubber Industries (SRI) has opened its new head office of Sumitomo Rubber South Africa (SRSA), the Group's new tyre production and sales base in Durban.

Ford has announced 850 new jobs at its historic Rouge Center, comprised of the Dearborn Truck, Dearborn Stamping and Dearborn Diversified facilities.

SKF has signed two agreements with Scania totalling SEK360m (US$50.2m) for the supply of wheel bearings and high pressure valve stem seals.

Ford, on a hiring spree in advance of next year's labor contract negotiations, said it's adding 850 workers at its manufacturing site near Detroit to help make the new aluminum-bodied F-150 pickup.

Texas is the largest truck market in the US, accounting for more full-size pickup sales than the next three states, California, Oklahoma and Florida, combined.

Kiekert says it has developed an LED latch that will see the a locking system and light solution within one door latch.

Kiekert says it has developed an LED latch that will see the a locking system and light solution within one door latch.

Videos 13 Oct, 2014

We take a look at some of the most interesting Mazda MX-5s at a special owners club meet

Daimler is widening its partnership in China with BAIC Motor by signing an agreement to expand the number of vehicles it makes at Beijing Benz Automotive to include the GLA-Class.

Mercedes-Benz is recalling at least 39,000 C-Class sedans sold in the US and Germany because of a potential steering system fault.

Chrysler Group is recalling 291,703 vehicles in the US to check for a faulty ignition switch which could inadvertently turn off the engine.

General Motors is again recalling (Holden) Australian-made Chevrolet police cruisers, this time to repair potentially faulty automatic transmission selector mechanisms.