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From press release

Williams is pleased to announce that Susie Wolff will be stepping up to the position of Official Test Driver for Williams Martini Racing for the 2015 Formula 1 season.

In this role Susie will be driving the Williams Mercedes FW37 in two FP1 sessions and two test days during the 2015 Formula One season. She will also be conducting extensive simulator testing to help in the ongoing development of the FW37 and FW38. This new role builds on Susie's three seasons as Development Driver for Williams which culminated in driving the FW36 during FP1 at the 2014 British and German Grands Prix. This saw her become the first female driver to drive in a Grand Prix weekend for two decades. The team is currently evaluating a number of drivers to replace Susie as Development Driver.

Susie Wolff, Williams FW36-Mercedes. (Photo: WRi2)

Speaking about her new role Susie Wolff said; “This is another step in the right direction for me. I am delighted Williams are recognising my progression, hard work and that it is performance that counts. Williams is at a very exciting stage in its history and we are moving into 2015 with fantastic momentum, I'm proud to be part of the team. I'll be using my position to work closely with Felipe and Valtteri to make sure that the FW37 builds on the strong performance shown by the FW36.”

Claire Williams, Deputy Team Principal of WILLIAMS MARTINI RACING added; “We are delighted to have Susie continuing with the team next season in this new role. She continues to impress us with her strong technical knowledge, the feedback she delivers and the performance when she drives the car both on the track and in the simulator. She has steadily increased her time behind the wheel since she joined us in April 2012 and her appointment as Official Test Driver was a natural progression. We have a very strong and stable driver line-up for 2015 and this will be a key asset as we look to build on a positive 2014 season.”

From GMM

The F1 Commission this week failed to act on the issue of the sport's struggling small teams.

A report at Italy's specialist Autosprint described the Geneva meeting as a "fiasco", as 29 items were on the agenda "but only six were actually discussed".

It added: "The idea to give the customer teams a discount on the supply of their engines was rejected.

"Bernie Ecclestone was ready to make a contribution if the biggest teams also did, but instead the 'status quo' was maintained," said Autosprint.

From GMM

Jean-Eric Vergne says he was a contender to replace the Ferrari-bound Sebastian Vettel at Red Bull.

But the Frenchman, who has instead been dropped from the energy drink company's F1 roster altogether, explained that circumstances simply conspired against him in 2014.

When Mark Webber retired at the end of 2013, 24-year-old Vergne was disappointed to lose out on the seat to his Toro Rosso teammate Daniel Ricciardo.

A similar story unfolded this year: when Vettel made his shock decision to go to Ferrari for 2015, Red Bull once again chose Vergne's Toro Rosso teammate - now the Russian rookie Daniil Kvyat - as the successor.

Daniil Kvyat and Jean-Eric Vergne, Toro Rosso. (Photo: WRi2)

Jean-Eric Vergne, who now appears likely to rescue his F1 career with the Williams reserve role next year, told the French broadcaster Canal Plus: "What really didn't help me is that Red Bull had no idea that Vettel was going to go.

"They had had to sign and announce (Max) Verstappen very quickly, so obviously they were going to replace him with the older driver, because it made no sense to replace Daniil Kvyat after just half a season at Toro Rosso," he explained.

"Although the people at Red Bull had told me that if Vettel left the team it would be me who would replace him, I think it was difficult to reverse a decision that was made in August when they said I would not be with Toro Rosso or Red Bull in 2015.

"But at that time they had no idea that Vettel was going," Jean-Eric Vergne added.

Takata's safety crisis linked to five fatal auto accidents threatens to shake confidence in Japanese manufacturing and the country's auto industry, the nation's transport minister said Friday.

Great Wall Motors' Haval division has begun selling the H9, the brand's largest model yet. Haval, once known as Hover, also makes China's best selling SUV, the H6.

With no fanfare whatsoever, Mercedes-Benz has slipped a partial image of a forthcoming BMW X6 rival onto its media website.

Lord Bhattacharyya, who was instrumental in helping to secure the sale of Jaguar Land Rover to Tata Motors, has written of his concern for the company's future in Britain. JLR is currently embroiled in a wage dispute with its UK workforce.

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BorgWarner has said that it supplies its advanced turbocharging technology for Volkswagen's latest four-cylinder gasoline engine for the Chinese market.

BMW will reportedly reduce the number of models in the MINI line-up from eight to five in the long-term to reduce cost and complexity.

The planned Ferrari spin-off will cut Fiat Chrysler Automobile's net industrial debt by some EUR750m (US$936m) according to a regulatory filing.

Five Honda cars have recently returned from a pioneering tour to demonstrate and increase awareness of the benefits of Intelligent Traffic Systems (ITS) in improving road safety and reducing congestion across Europe.

Thailand's SAIC Motor-CP Co Ltd, a joint venture 51%-owned by China's SAIC Motor Corporation and 49% by the local Charoen Pokphand Group, plans to produce eco-cars at a new plant in the country.

Toyota has said it will recall 57,000 vehicles globally to replace potentially faulty airbags made by Takata.

The head of product planning for BMW Australia says the next 1 Series range is due in 2017, will be front-wheel drive and shall include a sedan body style.

Continental has inaugurated an extension building to its research and development centre in Singapore.