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Rumours about Volkswagen/Audi's potential involvement in F1 are still swirling.

Having recently hired former F1 men Stefano Domenicali and Jörg Zander, Audi is now reportedly considering buying Toro Rosso to race under Lamborghini's name.

According to Italy's Omnicorse, Red Bull would be open to the idea of selling its junior team to a serious company like Audi.

The two brands do have a history together, the energy drink company being a sponsor of both Audi and Volkswagen in the DTM and WRC championships.

Lamborghini also has a history in F1 before. It supplied engines to several teams between 1988 and 1993, including its own Modena Team in 1991. At the time, the company was owned by Chrysler.

It belongs to the Volkswagen group since 1998.

Derek Warwick behind the wheel of a Lamborghini-powered Lola in 1993 (Photo: WRI2)

Almost a year after Michael Schumacher injured himself in a skiing accident, DVAG is still sponsoring the seven-time world champion.

Schumacher's manager Sabine Kehm confirmed the news.

"We never saw our partnership with DVAG as strictly professional. It's also a personal relationship. That's why it is still going strong," she is quoted as saying by several German reports.

DVAG boss Robert Peil added that his company never considered dropping Schumacher "in such difficult times", unlike Jet Set and Navy Boot, which recently ended their partnership with the racing legend.

The investment company has been sponsoring Schumacher since 1996.

Former Sauber driver Adrian Sutil seems to be running out of options in Formula One.

The German and his teammate during 2014, Esteban Gutierrez, were replaced by Marcus Ericsson and Felipe Nasr at the end of the season, leaving them both without a race seat.

Gutierrez settled for a reserve driver role at Ferrari, but Sutil seems ready to leave F1 again, according to Autosport.

"There are plenty of opportunities in categories that are really interesting - it doesn't need to only be Formula 1," he told the British magazine.

Mark Webber is among the F1 drivers who recently switch to endurance racing (Photo: WRI2)

"Maybe the year after Haas is coming to Formula 1, and this is an interesting project. The WEC could [also] be an interesting project," he added.

"Everyone is saying good words about it, and that's how I feel about it. The cars are quick and probably similar to Formula 1.

"I definitely want to do the 24 Hours of Le Mans in my career, and I'm looking at certain Formula 1 drivers who did that step and are very happy."

From press release

Canadian David Bensadoun and his co-driverPatrick Beaulé of the ALDO Dakar Racing Team, have left for South America to compete in the 37th running of the Dakar Rally Raid, the longest annual off-road race in the world, scheduled to take place January 4-17, 2015.

Facing the challenges at the Dakar is the reason why Bensadoun competes in the event.

"This will sound nuts but I look forward to the really tough moments because that's where Pat and I do our best. I also visualize the feeling of being on liaison after the stage is over. It's a great moment of satisfaction and freedom knowing you finished another day and can actually look around and eat something!"

ALDO Racing's Toyota Tacoma Overdrive (Photo: ALDO Racing)

The Marathon stages on Day 7 and 8 (January 10-11) between Iquique, Chile and Uyuni, Bolivia particularly seem to be a concern for the ALDO Team as they will be on their own to fix their vehicles prior to the return trip to Iquique. "The marathon run will be a huge test of man and machine," concludes Bensadoun.

"It means that we'll be sleeping in a very rough camp overnight without some of the spare parts or mechanical support. In a marathon stage, we will have to be the mechanics! The best approach will be to drive very carefully so that we minimize the work to be done."

The 2015 Dakar Rally will cross the Andes Mountain range twice during their trek across Argentina, Chile and Bolivia from January 4th to the 17th.

Audi will spend $29 billion to develop technology and expand production, boosting its five-year investment plan by $2.44 billion as it chases BMW for the top spot in luxury-car sales.

American collectors who envision a wave of classic cars from Cuba coming onto the market will need to temper their expectations.

From WRC.com

In only its second season, the German manufacturer broke many records competing in the World Rally Championship (WRC).

When title-winner Sébastien Ogier won Wales Rally GB, for example, he presented VW with its 12th victory from 13 rallies - a new record for the number of wins in one season that eclipsed the previous record of 11 held by Citroën. VW also equalled the record eight one-twos in a season, set by Peugeot back in 2002.

Volkswagen wrapped up the Manufacturers' title at the earliest point of the season for 25 years, as well as becoming only the second manufacturer in WRC history to provide all of the top three drivers in the Drivers' World Championship. Only Lancia had achieved this feat before them - in 1987 and 1988.

The season added more impressive statistics to the winning record of the Polo World Rally Car. Since its WRC debut in January 2013, the car has racked up 22 victories and 41 podiums in 26 rallies. This year it powered Ogier, Latvala and Mikkelsen to 197 stage wins from a possible 249.

Jari-Matti Latvala, VW Polo R WRC (Photo: WRI2)

McLaren tried a new approach in 2014, as it developed the MP4-29.

Instead of trusting only mathematical models to decide whether or not new parts work and should be raced, Woking takes "driveability" into consideration as well.

"The word ‘driveability' has definitely moved up the ranks of our decision-making process as the season's gone on," admits McLaren's engineer director Matt Morris.

But what does it mean?

"What I mean by that," Morris adds, "is that in the past, we've used some very mathematical models to tell us a new part is faster - and we've tended to believe that.

It's not just about the potential of the car. It's also about how the driver feels (Photo: WRI2)

"Now, however, what we've been increasingly doing is looking at some of those aerodynamic concepts, and thinking beyond what the computer predicts as the laptime improvement."

In short, McLaren discovered that the overall behaviour of the car on track is more important than its theoretical potential.

As an example, Morris mentions Suzuka, where this approach helped the team give the drivers the confidence they needed to attack and improve.

"At the start of this year, the drivers had complained about the driveability. We tried lots of things to resolve that, but we didn't really bolt something onto the car that made a difference until we got to Japan, where we ran a new front-end aero package.

"All of a sudden, the drivers were saying: ‘The car's changed - it's better.' Increasingly, we're finding that if the driver likes it, he can use his self-confidence in the balance and handling to make the car go faster."

From Dakar.com

Many have tried over the years to take on the famous Dakar rally-raid with Volkswagen's cute little Beetle. But nobody ever succeeded.

Stéphane Henrard is the latest one to try. This year, he will line up in Buenos Aires with his very own "DunBee", and hopefully be back in two weeks to cross the finish line.

The name DunBee came from the words "Dunes" and "Beetle", and the car itself from months of hard work.

Stéphane Henrard's DunBee (Photo: Facebook)

Henrard knows how difficult the Dakar is, so he didn't want to enter his buggy before finishing it: "The DunBee made its debut in the Africa Race, because it wasn't ready yet for the Dakar as we know it these days. Now, I know the car can do it," he says.

"It's a buggy with some experience, which we know will be reliable and fast."

Henrard has finished three times in the top 10 at the Dakar. But this year, he hopes people will notice the DunBee.

"It's a great little car, but there are 50 other models just as competent. Although I think the DunBee is a car anyone would be proud to drive. It makes you want to sit in it."

There is no other way to put it: life is at the race track for the oldest active team in NASCAR. That's why Wood Brothers Racing owner Eddie Wood wants to get his team back to racing full time eventually.

"I think if we have some success and just keep doing what we're doing, I think eventually we can get back full time," said Wood on the NASCAR's "The Morning Drive" radio show earlier this week.

From 1985 to 2008, Wood Brothers ran at least 28 races a season in NASCAR's premier series, and Wood said that's how he was raised in the sport. Now, they are limited to a part-time schedule.

"When I started racing, we raced every race, every week," Wood said. "It was like that for years. Now that you've cut back a little bit, there is a life, but if you're us, your life is really at the race track so that's just the way it is."

Still, the current plans for next season include some pretty interesting races, especially from long-time partner Ford's point of view: Daytona, Talladega, Michigan, Indianapolis, Charlotte and Texas.

"Obviously the superspeedways, we've had some success there so there's four of them," comments Wood.

"(We're) going to race at Michigan because that's home for Ford Motor Company. Then (we're) going to race Indy, and we're going to race Charlotte and Texas. The big areas for Ford Motor Company."

From Ferrari.com

When, on March 13th, Sebastian Vettel settles into the cockpit of his car for the first free practice session of the 2015 season, he will become the fifth German to have officially driven a Ferrari Formula 1 car.

The previous one was the great Michael Schumacher, who drove 180 Grands Prix for the Scuderia, winning 72 of them and taking five world titles.

Michael Schumacher took five world titles with Ferrari (Photo: WRI2)

Another German to make a significant contribution to the Ferrari story was Wolfgang Von Trips, who seemed to be heading for the 1961 World Championship title, but was killed in an horrific accident at Monza, which also claimed the lives of 14 spectators. He raced for Ferrari in 25 Grands Prix, winning two of them.

The remaining two on this list played a less significant role: Kurt Adolff took part in the 1953 German Grand Prix in an Ecurie Espadon 166, but had to retire, while Hans Stuck Snr, also entered by Ecurie Espadon, took part in qualifying for the 1952 Italian Grand Prix, but did not make the cut and therefore did not race.

Vettel is also the fifth driver to come to Maranello having already won world titles elsewhere, just as did Schumacher, Juan Manuel Fangio, Fernando Alonso and Alain Prost. The first two managed to add to their tally of titles during their time with Scuderia Ferrari.

Tesla Motors is offering a suite of upgrades to its sporty two-seat roadster, which it no longer sells, giving owners as much as a 400-mile range, enough to drive from San Francisco to Los Angeles.

Tesla Motors will help Chinese buyers trade in their old cars if they buy a Model S, part of the automaker's latest efforts to spur sales of its all-electric sedan in the world's biggest vehicle market.

Hyundai Motor and affiliate Kia Motors promoted younger executives Friday in moves analysts said would help smooth an eventual leadership succession at the family-owned conglomerate.

Many people are very disappointed to see the look of the new, 2014 Formula 1 turbo cars. Most think they are one of the ugliest F1 cars ever born.

Well, this may not be the case... Some really ugly and even horrible F1 cars have been run during the past 64 years of the World Championship.

Let's take a look at them.

5

Lotus 76. (Photo: WRi2)

Lotus 76
Ronnie Peterson driving the Lotus 76-Ford Cosworth during the 1974 Spanish Grand Prix at Jarama. Not Colin Chapman's nicest race car.

4

Arrows A2. (Photo: WRi2)

Arrows A2
Riccardo Patrese at the wheel of the Arrows A2 Ford-Cosworth. The car was supposed to generate massive ground effect. It was not the case.

3

March 711. (Photo: WRi2)

March 711
Ronnie Peterson (again) power sliding the March 711-Ford Cosworth during the 1971 Monaco Grand Prix. The high-perched flat front wing did not work.

2

Tyrrell 025. (Photo: WRi2)

Tyrrell 025
Mika Salo at the wheel of the Tyrrell 025-Ford in 1997. The infamous, inelegant X-Wings were banned for safety reasons.

1

Ensign N179. (Photo: WRi2)

Ensign N179
Derek Daly in the 1979 Cosworth-powered Ensign N179. Removing the water and oil radiators from the sidepods allows Mo Nunn more freedom to play around with the wing profiles to generate more downforce. Ugly, and did not work.

Bernadette Collins is one the (very) rare female engineers to work in Formula 1. Surprisingly, she was not a fan of motorsport until she completed her Mechanical Engineering degree at Queen's University in Belfast, Northern Ireland.

“In fact, I discovered motorsport when I got involved in the Formula Student project where we had to design and build a race car,” Bernadette Collins said.

Bernadette Collins, 2014 Canadian Grand Prix (Photo: René Fagnan)

“The position within McLaren Racing was advertised through the Mechanical Engineering department within Queen's University. After a series of interviews and an assessment centre I was offered a position on the Graduate scheme,” she explained.

Additionally, Bernadette is also an ambassador for the government's “Make it in Great Britain” campaign.

Last year, she became the performance engineer for British driver Jenson Button.

Her work at McLaren has allowed her to work on some "amazingly cool" projects.

Bernadette Collins at work in the Mclaren garage. (Photo: McLaren)

"Our work involves being creative and overcoming design challenges -- not assembling greasy machinery in a workshop. We don't fit the old engineering stereotypes."

Bernadette Collins never considered the gender of the people behind the technology. It remains a non-issue for her.

"We've got some of the best engineers in the business," she told The Guardian. "Whether it's a male or a female doing the job really doesn't matter."

But we were curious to know if it was difficult to be in the minority?

"I've never really noticed it," she replied. "The number of women in engineering and motorsport is increasing all the time, and I wouldn't want any young female engineers to be put off by a so-called gender division."

Jenson Button, helmet on, with Bernadette Collins in the McLaren garage. (Photo: McLaren)

Jenson Button sees no problem with working with the female engineer.

“She's Irish, so some of the words are a little bit tricky to understand. I have to turn up the volume of my radio because she's softly spoken,” he recently said to Sky Sports F1.

Bernadette had the final word on this. “It's a job, and I am here to do a job,” she said.

From a successful kart racer to a winning Formula 3 driver to three-time Formula 1 World Champion, sheer courage, unshakable determination, and fabulous raw talent highlighted the late Ayrton Senna's career.

This year, we commemorate the 20th anniversary of his tragic death.

Ayrton Senna (Photo: WRI2)

Auto123.com will publish this year a series of exclusive articles about the life and the career of Ayrton Senna. All these articles will be posted on this page.

Ayrton Senna was born March 21, 1960 in Sao Paolo, Brazil. He tried a father-made go-kart when he was just four years old. The sensation of speed and control over the elements really caught his attention.

The young Brazilian from Sao Paulo was not only highly gifted; he was also a very hard worker. He did not hesitate for a second to migrate to Great Britain in order to pursue his dream.

From 1984 to 1994, Senna raced Formula 1 for teams Toleman, Lotus, McLaren, and Williams.

He tragically lost his life during the 1994 Grand Prix of San Marino when his Williams-Renault suddenly left the road in a fast corner and hit the concrete wall at high speed. He died from massive head injuries, throwing his native Brazil into profound sadness.

Remembering Ayrton Senna, 20 years after his death

Karting
Ayrton Senna competitively raced kart from 1977 to 1982. Was runner-up in 1978 and 1980 World Karting Championships.

A fantastic debut as world-class kart racer

Ayrton Senna's helmet painter Sid Mosca dies (+video)

Formula Ford 1600
Won the RAC and Townsend-Thoresen Formula Ford 1600 in Great Britain in 1981, driving a Van Diemen.

Formula Ford 2000
Won the 1982 British and European Formula Ford 2000 championships.

Formula 3
Captured the British Formula 3 Championship with West Surrey Racing in 1983.

Formula 1 Toleman
Made his Formula 1 debut with Toleman in 1984.

Ayrton Senna: An outstanding data processor

Formula 1 Lotus
Raced for Lotus-Renault in 1985 and 1986, and Lotus-Honda in 1987.

A qualifying lap around Brands Hatch in Ayrton Senna's Lotus (+video)

Interview with Ayrton Senna's former engineer, Steve Hallam

Formula 1 McLaren
Raced for McLaren-Honda from 1988 to 1993. Won three World Championships.

Penske engineer recalls the day Ayrton Senna drove an Indy Car

Formula 1 Williams
Raced for Williams-Renault in the first three Grands Prix of 1994.

Remembering Ayrton Senna

Fuji Heavy Industries, the maker of Subaru brand cars and SUVs, has scrapped a plan to shift production of the new XV Crosstrek to its plant in the United States and will instead make the SUV in Japan, a source familiar with the company's production...

Here is our selection of world rally cars that stand out from the pack because of their outstanding results or their stunning technical features, even if some of them never have won an event or a title.

At the beginning of the World Championship, the rally cars are quite simple machines. Then, the rally world entered the mighty Group B era where scary, super powerful cars were the rule. Then, the FIA imposed the WRC regulations destined to bring the rally cars closer to their road going cousins.

The next photos should bring good memories to many!

Photo : WRI2

10. MG Metro 6R4
Group B car created in 1985 and fitted with a V-6 engine. Started to race in 1986 but abandoned following the ban put on Group B cars.

Continue reading Rally: Top 10 historical world rally cars

Videos 25 Dec, 2014

German touring car champ Mattias Ekström takes on a 13-year old with an RC car in his Audi S1 in this video