Auto News 5

ZF says that it has been delivering Just-in-Time and Just-in-Sequence complete axle systems to automotive manufacturers' production lines for 20 years.

UK car output fell by 277 units in November with 137,347 cars produced. Year to date output was stable at 1,419,427 units, a drop of 0.3%.

BASF India and Würth India have announced that effective 1 January 2015, Würth India will take over the import, distribution and technical service in India of Glasurit, a BASF premium automotive refinish paint brand.

Wolf-Henning Scheider has been appointed chairman of the Mahle group management board with effect from 1 July, 2015. He will join the group on April 1, initially assuming the role of vice chairman.

News 17 Dec, 2014

Drop in cost of oil could take fuel prices to lowest level since May 2009

Mahindra & Mahindra says it may stop production and observe 'no production days' at some of its plants for up to seven days a month, effective until March 2015.

Alfa Romeo plans to introduce new high-performance engines, including a range-topping V-6, in a bid to reconnect the brand to its sporty heritage.

Mercedes-Benz's marketing plan for the new S-class plug-in hybrid aims to show prospective buyers that going green doesn't mean slowing down or paying more.

From GMM

Michael Schumacher was the most searched-for sportsman in 2014, the internet giant Google has announced.

An analysis of the more than two trillion searches on the world's most popular search engine this year also showed that Schumacher's skiing crash and recuperation was the ninth most popular internet news story overall.

The F1 legend's struggle was only out-searched by those seeking news about paralympian Oscar Pistorius' murder trial and the Malaysia Airlines disasters, with ALS and Ebola topping the list overall.

Despite the high interest in Schumacher's recovery, however, the Swiss news website Bluewin reports that his personal fashion sponsors Navyboot and Jet Set have terminated their deals with the 45-year-old German.

The news comes after the German mineral water company Rosbacher ended its commercial backing of Schumacher earlier in 2014.

A spokesperson for the Gaydoul group, owner of the Navyboot and Jet Set brands, confirmed that its sponsorship deals with Schumacher have ended.

The deals were estimated at $5 million per year.

In a very, very brief press release issued Wednesday, Ferrari announced that Hiroide Hamashima was leaving the team.

“Ferrari announces that Hiroide Hamashima, currently responsible for tire performance analysis, will leave the Scuderia at the end of the year.”

The Japanese engineer was the director of motorsport tire development at Bridgestone between 1981 and 2011.

In January 2012, Ferrari announced that Hamashima moved to the team and took a role in its technical department to improve the interaction of the Formula 1 car and the tires.

Stefano Domenicali, Hiroide Hamashima and Felipe Massa, Ferrari. (Photo: WRi2)

American telecommunication giant Sprint announced on Tuesday that it would not extend its sponsorship of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series beyond 2016.

The significant changes within Sprint and the highly competitive business environment it is in led to a decision not to extend its Cup Series entitlement position following the 2016 season.

Sprint has been the title sponsor for NASCAR's top series since 2004, when Nextel signed a 10-year agreement for the Nextel Cup Series. The name changed to the Sprint Cup Series in 2008 following the corporate merger between Nextel and Sprint.

"We are proud of our association with NASCAR's top series but have made the decision not to extend our sponsorship beyond the next two years," Sprint's vice president-Marketing Steve Gaffney said.

"As we look to the future, Sprint is focused on investing in maintaining a competitive edge and providing consumers with the best value in wireless."

The announcement Tuesday gives NASCAR two seasons to find a replacement.

Photo: NASCAR

German Formula 1 driver Nico Hulkenberg enjoyed a successful season in 2014, showing remarkable pace and consistency.

“Hulk” ranked 9th in the drivers' standings with 96 points while his team, Force India finished the year in 6th position behind McLaren.

In an exclusive interview with Formula1.com, Hulkenberg said he was really happy with his performance, especially in the early part of the year.

“I think on the whole I'm pretty satisfied with 2014. It was my best season in terms of points scored and my position in the championship,” Hulkenberg said.

“The first half of the year was a lot of fun - that was when the car was at its most competitive and we made that count. The four P5 finishes were results we worked hard to achieve and were definitely the highlights. Monaco stands out for me because it was such a tough race and I really had to nurse my supersoft tires in the last 20 laps. I also remember my overtaking move on Kevin [Magnussen] at Portier. The second half of the year was more challenging. Things did not really go my way and I was quite unlucky in several races. But it was good to end the season with a strong result in Abu Dhabi,” he explained.

Nico Hulkenberg, Sahara Force India. (Photo: WRi2)

At the end of 2013, the German left Sauber after only one year to return to Force India. What made him decide to switch teams?

“I don't think it's a sixth sense, but sometimes you have to make a decision on what you feel in your stomach,” Hulkenberg replied.

“The decision at the end of 2013 was not so much about leaving Sauber, but about the opportunity at Force India - a team I already knew very well. There were lots of factors in that decision, but Force India with the Mercedes engine seemed like the best combination. Yes, it proved to be the right decision. Sometimes you need some luck,” he explained.

Mexican Sergio Perez will remain Hulkenberg's teammate in 2015. How well are the two working together?

“Checo is a very strong team mate, which is a good thing because it helps bring out the best in me,” Hulkenger declared.

“The first year with Rubens [Barrichello, in 2010] was interesting and tough. He was very quick. He also taught me a lot. My relationship with Checo is very competitive but also healthy. We both want to beat each other but we get on okay and work well together to move the team forward,” the German said.

Former BMW works driver in the DTM, American Joey Hand will replace Memo Rojas in Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates' No. 01 Ford EcoBoost Prototype in the TUDOR United SportsCar Championship.

Joey Hand will be codriving alongside veteran Scott Pruett next year.

The team also announced that partner Ford and their EcoBoost engine technology will serve as the primary sponsor of the No. 01 in the endurance series.

With Rojas leaving the team, his sponsor Telmex also leaves Ganassi.

Both Ford and Hand step into their new roles with the team as part of multi-year deals.

Riley Ford EcoBoost No. 01. (Photo: United SportsCar)

This year's Caterham Formula 1 driver, Kamui Kobayashi set the best time in both days of the Super Formula test held at Okayama circuit in Japan.

Kobayashi, who raced for Toyota, Sauber and Caterham in Formula 1 wants to give his career a new swing.

For that test, the Japanese was behind the wheel that Frenchman Loic Duval drove this season.

Other drivers in action during that test included 2013 GP2 champion Fabio Leimer, IndyCar series' Takuma Sato, former Williams-Toyota F1 driver Kazuki Nakajima, former IndyCar driver Bertrand Baguette and Nissan protégé, GP3 driver Jann Mardenborough.

From GMM

Alain Prost gave Mercedes crucial advice early this year to help avoid a repeat of his troubled pairing with Ayrton Senna in the late 80s.

Only in the past days has the bitter extent of the intra-team championship clash between Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg become clearer.

Briton Hamilton suspected Rosberg deliberately faked a mistake to spoil his qualifying session at Monaco, and a few months later at Spa all-out "war" was declared as the pair collided.

It reminded many observers of the iconic Prost versus Senna battles of 1988 and 1989, when the fiery duo went head-to-head as dominant McLaren teammates.

Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost, McLaren-Honda, Suzuka 1989. (Photo: WRi2)

Mercedes' similar 2014 clash was managed by relative team boss newcomer Toto Wolff, who confirmed to Italy's Autosprint this week that he took advice straight from Frenchman Prost's mouth.

"You have to learn from past mistakes. I discussed it a bit with Niki Lauda when we signed Hamilton and Rosberg," Wolff said.

"Then at the beginning of this season I was talking with Prost and I asked him his opinion about what I should do not to fall into the same all-out war situation he had with Ayrton," Austrian Wolff explained.

"Then he said the magic word -- transparency. He told me that at the time McLaren did not act in a transparent way with the drivers. Perhaps because Senna was the last to arrive so he was the novelty.

"Prost said that in the end he couldn't understand how the team was organised as disagreements and rivalries between the drivers spread to the mechanics. The team was split in two.

Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg, Mercedes AMG, Spa-Francorchamps 2014. (Photo: WRi2)

"So Alain gave me very precise advice not to do the same. (He said) 'Put the two drivers on an even footing and tell everyone exactly the same things. Do not play favourites. It is the only way to contain the rivalry'.

"And so I did. It was one of the most important lessons I have learned about becoming a good team leader," Toto Wolff added.

Stand 21 Racewear and the Ayrton Senna Foundation present a limited edition of 41 replicas of Ayrton Senna's racing suit from the 1985 Portuguese Grand Prix at Estoril.

This racing suit in JPS-Lotus team colors is an exact replica of that worn by Ayrton Senna on his first Formula 1 victory.

Produced by Stand 21 under the watchful eye of Yves Morizot, founding president of the company who in 1985, personally looked after the development of the Brazilian champion's personal equipment, this edition limited to 41 copies (the number of Ayrton Senna' F1 wins) and manufactured in accordance with the period's standards, comes inside a beautiful wooden frame protected by safety glass.

Ayrton Senna's racewear. (Photo: Stand 21)

This framework includes a numbered plaque and a certificate of authenticity signed by the hand of Mr. Morizot.

The portion of revenue from Ayrton Senna brand goes to Ayrton Senna Institute.

Price: €5000 (VAT excluded), about US$6,200.

Certificate of Authenticity of Ayrton Senna's racewear. (Photo: Stand 21)

Adapted from GMM

Undoubtedly the highest-profile change at Ferrari for 2015, however, is the departure of Fernando Alonso, although as he leaves for McLaren the Spaniard has been quoted as predicting a "very strong" season for the Maranello marque next year.

According to La Repubblica, however, he decided to leave the fabled Italian outfit because "in these five years we (Ferrari) lost a bit in terms of technical expertise".

"At first it was aerodynamics and now it is the power unit," he explained.

"Now from the outside it will be difficult to judge how Ferrari is doing but they have talented people, resources and motivation from everyone in the team, then in time they will win," said Alonso.

Some of those resources will be funded by new reserve driver Esteban Gutierrez's incoming Mexican sponsors, including Telmex, Telcel and Claro, the team also announced on Tuesday.

Fernando Alonso said he will miss Ferrari.

"I will certainly miss Italy in general," he is quoted by La Gazzetta dello Sport, "but particularly the family atmosphere of the team.

"At McLaren I will certainly not find this Latin ambiance," said Fernando Alonso.

Finally, Ferrari said it has signed up the respected and experienced Autosprint journalist Alberto Antonini to run the team's press office.

Fernando Alonso, Ferrari F14 T, Brazil. (Photo: WRi2)

U.S. regulators investigating failures of Takata Corp. airbags are preparing for a legal fight in case the Japanese parts maker doesn't comply with a request to expand a recall.

Mark Rosekind's nomination to head the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration was confirmed late Tuesday by the U.S. Senate, filling a yearlong vacancy atop the nation's auto safety regulator.

Mark Rosekind, confirmed to head the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, faces immediate pressure to take a tougher stance with automakers and suppliers on safety matters, reset the agency's culture and manage the coming wave of...