Auto News 5

From GMM

Sebastian Vettel will make a brief appearance during qualifying on Saturday ahead of the US grand prix in Austin.

Earlier, team figures suggested the reigning world champion would sit out the session because penalties for running his sixth 'power unit' of 2014 means he will start the race from pitlane.

Red Bull has now confirmed Vettel's pitlane start, but it appears the 27-year-old will no longer simply sit out the qualifying action.

Rumours suggest the FIA was unimpressed with Vettel and the team's vocal criticisms of the long-life engine rules and the associated penalties.

It might mean stewards are less inclined to give the German driver an exemption from the 107 per cent qualifying rule and force him to also sit out the race.

Sebastian Vettel, Red Bull RB10 (Photo: WRI2)

Another rumour is that Bernie Ecclestone put pressure on Red Bull to at least send Vettel onto the circuit during the 'Q1' session, to appease the locals and television audience.

"Out of respect for the audience," confirmed the German newspaper Bild, "Red Bull decided late on Friday afternoon to let Vettel drive at least in the first session of qualifying, although he will start the race from pitlane."

Meanwhile, American F1 legend and 1978 world champion Mario Andretti has tipped Vettel to emulate Michael Schumacher's success once he switches to Ferrari from 2015.

"Michael knew exactly what he was doing," the 74-year-old told the German newspaper Die Welt ahead of the US grand prix.

"He took the men who he succeeded with at Benetton to Ferrari and after a few years they were unbeatable.

"I would advise Sebastian to do the same -- maybe he will even persuade Adrian Newey to go with him.

"That would certainly be the ideal situation, because - for sure - Ferrari needs more than just a new driver," Andretti added.

From GMM

Battle lines are being drawn as F1 reacts to the 'crisis' of collapsing teams.

But Red Bull's Dr Helmut Marko declared unequivocally ahead of the US grand prix: "We are ready."

He was referring to the concept of three-car teams, as he admitted to Germany's Auto Motor und Sport that it might cost the sport's big players up to $30 million each.

The mood ahead of the US grand prix is therefore dramatically tense, with some declaring it the sport's latest 'crisis' following the collapse of the backmarkers Marussia and Caterham.

David Richards, the Prodrive chief who told Autoweek that he was approached about saving the embattled teams, said he believes at least "one other team" is also in dire straits.

At least two other teams are at risk of collapsing, according to Prodrive's David Richards (Photo: WRI2)

But according to Bernie Ecclestone, the currently 18-car grid could actually dwindle by a further two teams.

"It could go down to 14 (cars)," the F1 chief executive told British television Sky.

Trackside in Austin, the situation is rapidly deteriorating from the initial shock to obvious anger, as the next most endangered teams - reportedly Sauber, Force India and Lotus - threaten to boycott Sunday's race in protest of the increasingly inequitable balance of power.

At Force India, anger about the make-up of the powerful 'strategy group' - chaired only by the richest and most historically important teams - has been bubbling for months.

Deputy team boss Bob Fernley declared in Austin: "Two teams have now gone and I think the commercial rights holder is comfortable in thinking there might be 14 cars next year.

"So the question is, if we are driving teams out of the business, to what agenda is it? And what's the game?" he added.

The suspicion is that Ecclestone and F1's controversial owner CVC are happy to see the stragglers go out of business and for their grid places to be filled by big teams running third cars.

Referring to the most struggling privateers, Ecclestone said: "We need them if they are going to be there performing properly and not moving around with begging buckets."

There was also little sympathy from Mercedes, F1's dominant force in 2014, who said: "I have great respect for what Tony Fernandes and Andrey Cheglakov have done in their businesses, but maybe formula one is just a different ball game."

The paddock is splitting into two distinct camps in Austin (Photo: WRI2)

The feeling in the paddock is that the teams are separating into two distinct camps, and according to the Times newspaper, the anger of the 'have nots' has now descended into a boycott threat.

"It is 50-50 whether it happens," the newspaper quoted one executive as saying at the scene of the US grand prix, "but what else is there?

"We haven't got anything to lose, have we? No one listens, so the only thing we can do is take action that CVC will understand. It would be painful but it would make the point."

Reuters quoted Lotus team owner Gerard Lopez as confirming that while a meeting took place, he was "not aware" of the boycott threat.

The BBC, meanwhile, quoted Force India's Vijay Mallya as also playing down the US boycott, but he hit out at the "arrogance" of the big teams who are resisting the idea of cost control.

"There are many fans out there who support the smaller teams and they need to be respected. The small teams cannot be taken for granted," he insisted.

But Red Bull's Marko thinks the three-car solution is a good route, even for improving the spectacle and popularity of F1.

"Imagine if we could put a NASCAR driver like Jimmy Johnson or Tony Stewart in the (third) car here in the US," he told Germany's Auto Motor und Sport.

"The promotional effect would be huge."

U.S. auto safety officials on Friday told Takata to work harder to meet demand for replacement parts for airbags that could prove defective in millions of U.S. cars.

Joseph Herman, COO of dealership group Kuni Automotive and a 40-year veteran of the auto retailing industry, died the morning of Oct. 29 after a year-long battle with pancreatic cancer.

Yes folks, there's a ghost in the house and the temptation is to say, it's the ghost of safety. Okay, that's a bit laboured in the week of Halloween, but safety was an underlying theme in some of this week's news.

Hitachi Metals will pay a $1.25 million fine and plead guilty for fixing prices and rigging bids of brake hose installed in cars in the United States, the U.S. Justice Department said Friday.

Ally Financial disclosed today that it is being investigated by the Securities and Exchange with regard to 'subprime automotive finance and related securitization activities.'

When fully autonomous cars become ready to sell, consumers around the globe -- particularly in Asia -- may be ready to buy, but many of them still have concerns, according to a new survey by the University of Michigan.

Daimler's purchase of a stake in motorbike brand MV Agusta is nothing like Audi's purchase of Ducati.

Fiat Chrysler Automobiles' Ram brand chief says cockpit technology was partly responsible for the brand's ranking in the latest Consumer Report's reliability study.

Fiat Chrysler Automobiles' Ferrari brand has been fined more than $3.5 million for not filing "early warning reports" indicating safety issues with federal safety regulators.

Denso has posted first half net sales totalling JPY2.07bn (US$18.9bn), a 4.2% rise, while consolidated operating income was JPY161.3bn (US$1.5bn), a 16.1% decrease from the previous year.

News 31 Oct, 2014

Mercedes-AMG announces it has acquired a 25% stake in motorcycle firm MV Agusta for a long-term partnership

Daimler will buy a 25 percent stake in Italian motorcycle manufacturer MV Agusta as part of a long-term cooperation that gives the German car and truck maker access to lightweight three-cylinder engines.

Daimler will buy a 25 percent stake in Italian motorcycle manufacturer MV Agusta as part of a long-term cooperation that gives the German car and truck maker access to lightweight three-cylinder engines.

Calum MacRae interviews Han Hendriks, VP Advanced Product Development & Sales for Johnson Controls Automotive Interiors, to hear about the company's business strategy in the area of interiors.

In the light of continued losses in Europe, Ford Europe COO Barb Samardzich has updated just-auto on the company's assessment of the business environment and its strategy to get back to sustainable profitability.

TE Connectivity says full-year net sales were US$13.9bn, up 5% on an actual and organic basis versus the prior year, while fourth quarter net sales increased to US$3.58bn.

Family-owned German headlight maker Hella said today it would raise 278 million euros ($349.4 million) in a stock market flotation to fund international expansion and innovation.

News 5 Nov, 2014

Volvo has released details of the all-wheel-drive V60 Cross Country, due for release in early 2015