Auto News 5

From GMM

Reports Audi is contemplating a future in formula one are once again gathering steam.

The rumours were refuelled recently when ousted Ferrari team boss Stefano Domenicali resurfaced at Audi, one of the Volkswagen-owned German carmakers.

He started work in November, but Audi said his role was limited to the areas of service and mobility rather than motor sport.

However, on Thursday a report by the British broadcaster BBC said Italian Domenicali, 49, is in fact "conducting a feasibility study into a potential formula one entry" for Volkswagen.

The report has curiously coincided with news Bernie Ecclestone may soon be marginalised in his role, as the F1 chief executive and his VW counterpart Ferdinand Piech "have long had a difficult relationship", according to the BBC correspondent Andrew Benson.

"At least one of them would need to leave their current position before a VW Group brand could enter F1," he explained.

Starting grid in F1. (Photo: WRi2)

Impending changes at VW might also pave the road to F1, as former team owner and boss Eddie Jordan claims chairman "Martin Winterkorn is being groomed as Piech's successor".

Jordan, now a BBC pundit, said Winterkorn "has always believed that F1 is a great platform for the group's brands. I am told he privately believes VAG (Volkswagen AG) should be a part of F1."

Winterkorn told the German newspaper Bild am Sonntag last month: "Our brands in motor sport are as successful as ever, whether in the DTM with Audi or Le Mans with Audi and Porsche, or in the world rally championship with Volkswagen.

"We feel we have a really good position," he added.

Former Scuderia Ferrari boss Stefano Domenicali will replace Gerhard Berger at the head of the FIA single-seater commission.

Berger, himself a former Ferrari F1 driver, was given the job by the FIA to supervise and revamped the single-seater ladder leading to F1.

The Austrian brain mastered the revival of the European Formula 3 Championship, and the creation of the affordable Formula 4 series.

Last October, Berger announced that he would be standing down at the end of the year.

Domenicali's arrival was confirmed earlier this week during FIA World Motor Sport Council meeting, when the leaders of all Sporting Commissions were approved.

The Italian adds the role to his position at Audi, where he is "responsible for the development of new business areas in services and mobility."

Jean Todt and Stefano Domenicali at Monza. (Photo: WRi2)

From GMM

Adrian Newey agreed a sensational move to Ferrari earlier this year, it has emerged.

In June, Red Bull announced that its technical chief - easily the most famous and arguably the best engineer in F1 today - is stepping back from the front line.

He will instead head the energy drink company's all-new 'Advanced Technologies Centre', ostensibly to indulge his desire for other design projects outside of F1.

On Thursday, Red Bull finally confirmed speculation Newey's first project will be working with Ben Ainslie to design an America's Cup yacht.

"Ben Ainslie Racing are really excited to be partnering with Red Bull Advanced Technologies," Ainslie, the most successful sailor in Olympic history, said in a joint statement.

But a report in Russia's Championat claims Red Bull in fact came excruciatingly close to losing Newey altogether this year.

The report said the 55-year-old Briton had even "shaken hands" with now-departed president Luca di Montezemolo on a move to Ferrari for 2015 and beyond.

The report explained: "The agreement was leaked to the Italian press and Newey regarded it as an example of how political Ferrari is and so he informed Luca that the deal was off."

Adrian Newey spying Ferrari. (Photo: WRi2)

From GMM

The story of Korea's surprise return to the F1 calendar for 2015 has taken another bizarre twist.

Insiders were stunned on Wednesday when the FIA published a 2015 schedule featuring an unprecedented 21 races including the return of remote and unpopular Korea.

The calendar's author, Bernie Ecclestone, had declared only months ago "I don't want to go back there".

And organisers of the Yeongam event, having dropped off the calendar after 2013, declared that the FIA's move to reinstate a 2015 race had been "unilateral".

An unnamed race official told AFP the organisers were basically "broke", had lost the support even of the locals and had held "unsuccessful" talks with Ecclestone about reducing the annual hosting fee.

The French news agency said it is possible the provisional May 3 race in Korea next year might actually take place on the streets of Seoul.

But a couple of F1 insiders have another theory.

They think it is Ecclestone's way of sneaking an extra engine into the allocation of every F1 driver next year.

The future Honda V6 turbo hybrid engine. (Photo: Honda Racing)

The F1 supremo is no fan of the new V6 'power unit' era, but the regulations are due to clamp down even more on the long-life restrictions in 2015.

This year, drivers were allocated a maximum of five 'power units' for the entire season, resulting in penalties once unscheduled sixth engines were used.

But for 2015, the allocation was due to reduce from five to just four V6s per driver.

"That presupposes there are no more than 20 races," Andrew Benson, a BBC writer, said.

He has spotted the clause giving drivers a fifth engine in 2015 "if the number of events in the championship, as originally scheduled, exceeds 20".

Alan Baldwin, the correspondent for the Reuters news agency, agrees: "The key words are 'as originally scheduled'.

"Scheduling Korea, even if the race does not happen, should be enough to ensure the allocation of power units stays at five," he explained. "With rule changes requiring unanimous agreement from the teams at this late stage, it is simpler to tweak the calendar instead."

Alan Baldwin also quoted a team source as confirming that Korea is almost certainly "an elegant way of avoiding bargaining" over a tweak to the engine rules.

Aluminum giant Alcoa said today it has solved one of the biggest wrinkles automakers wrestle with when stamping aluminum body panels: formability.

The average fuel economy of light vehicles purchased in the United States last month remained unchanged from October and likely will remain unchanged in the near term as gasoline prices drop toward $2 per gallon, according to research posted this...

Mark Rosekind pledged to make the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration a tougher auto safety watchdog if confirmed as the agency's new administrator.

Johnson Controls CEO Alex Molinaroli, in his first public comment regarding his extramarital affair involving a former consultant to the company, said his employees and the community have 'rallied around' him since news of the scandal...

Johnson Controls CEO Alex Molinaroli, in his first public comment regarding his extramarital affair involving a former consultant to the company, said his employees and the community have 'rallied around' him since news of the scandal...

Takata's refusal to comply with a federal demand to widen its airbag recall leaves regulators in a quandary: take the parts supplier to court or try to convince automakers to do the job instead.

Car sales in Western Europe grew by a slight 1% in November versus last year, according to data released by LMC Automotive.

Toyota is betting that small pickup trucks are going to become big sellers.

Daimler has applied to the Russian city of St. Petersburg to set up a car factory there, Interfax news agency reported, citing local officials. Daimler's Mercedes-Benz is Russia's top-selling premium brand.

Cadillac today named Publicis Worldwide its new global advertising agency of record, replacing agencies controlled by Interpublic Group, which held the account since July 2013.

Volvo will expand its range of SUVs to three within the next four years with the introduction of an XC40 based on its next-generation compact-car architecture.

Valeo says applications for automobiles should not become "the Nokia of the next decade" as suppliers increasingly evaluate the use of mobile phone technology for cars.

James Bond will get back behind the wheel of an Aston Martin in Spectre, the next film in the 007 series. But, the secret agent will get in something considerably newer than the DB5 from Skyfall.

News 4 Dec, 2014

McLaren announce new customisation packs for its 650S, 12C and P1, allowing owners almost limitless tailoring

BMW Group and rental car operator Sixt have launched the car sharing service DriveNow in London.

BMW expects its brand sales to increase in 2015, building on this year's solid expansion, even though economic growth in core European markets is stalling. The carmaker is sticking to its goal of selling more than 2 million group vehicles this year.