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From GMM

F1 legend Alain Prost doubts struggling engine supplier Renault can catch dominant Mercedes in 2015.

Having faltered at the start of the new turbo V6 era, Renault - whose prominent F1 partner is the outgoing world champion team Red Bull - can upgrade its 2014 engine to the tune of 48 per cent under the existing 'freeze' regulations.

But Mercedes' rivals are arguing for the 'freeze' to be further relaxed.

"It will be hard for them (Renault) to catch up with Mercedes," quadruple world champion Prost, a Renault ambassador, told Germany's Auto Motor und Sport.

"But it also depends on whether there is a change in the development timetable (the engine freeze) by the FIA.

"A total freeze as it is now is synonymous with stagnation," Prost argued. "But just opening up everything is too expensive. A good compromise is needed.

"We should not make a final judgement about Renault until next year," he added.

Renault Sport F1. (Photo: WRi2)

At the same time, Prost thinks it is understandable that Renault fell behind Mercedes just as the rules changed so dramatically, given Red Bull's run of title domination at the end of the V8 era.

"It was almost inevitable that Mercedes would start with an advantage," he said.

"Last season I was saying that it would be hard to beat them as they started developing much earlier.

"Renault was always defending a world title in the last years," Prost explained, "while Mercedes was able to concentrate fully on the new project."

From GMM

Stefano Domenicali will reportedly start work at Audi next week.

Earlier this month, reports emerged that the former Ferrari team boss had accepted an offer to work for the Volkswagen-owned carmaker.

It triggered rumours not only that Audi could be set to abandon its Le Mans and DTM projects and head to F1 for 2016, but that the project could be spearheaded from the cockpit by the Domenicali ally and friend Fernando Alonso.

Italy's Corriere dello Sport now claims Domenicali, 49, will move into his new office in Ingolstadt next week, having signed a contract with Audi at the beginning of last week.

Official confirmation is expected within days.

The reports so far suggest Domenicali will not have a motor racing role, but will instead be in charge of business development in the service and mobility area.

Others are not so sure.

"Why would (Audi chairman Rupert) Stadler sign up an Italian F1 insider for 'service and mobility'?

"Domenicali's signing only makes sense if they (Audi) want someone competent to lead them into formula one," said Ralf Bach, reporting for Germany's Sport Bild.

It is rumoured Audi might partner with the already VW-aligned Toro Rosso or Red Bull, or perhaps struggling Sauber -- who reportedly already rent out the Hinwil wind tunnel to Audi for EUR 2 million per month.

Audi reacted to the latest rumours by insisting it remains committed to Le Mans, DTM, GT and the new 2015 programme Audi Sport TT Cup.

"Audi in F1?" said a spokesman. "These rumours have appeared with regularity for years. It's pure speculation again this time and without any foundation."

From GMM

An increasingly impatient Carlos Sainz jr says he will have to wait another month for Red Bull to decide his future in formula one.

"After what we have achieved this year," the new Formula Renault 3.5 champion told Spain's Marca, "there is no alternative choice for me other than formula one."

Carlos Sainz Jr, Champion Formula Renault 3.5 2014. (Photo: WRi2)

20-year-old Sainz was openly disappointed when Red Bull picked the 17-year-old F3 sensation Max Verstappen for his Toro Rosso debut in 2015.

Now, the son of world rally legend Carlos Sainz is hoping Red Bull selects him over Jean-Eric Vergne for the second seat at Faenza, after Daniil Kvyat was called up to replace the suddenly-departing Sebastian Vettel.

"Unfortunately we are still waiting," said Sainz jr. "It will be within a month or so, when the F1 season ends.

"But I would prefer to have the news as soon as possible, whether good or bad, because it is a difficult situation," he added.

The young Spaniard is referring to the fact that, when the Verstappen news first emerged, he began to wonder if he should be looking around for an alternative seat for his F1 debut, despite the energy drink Red Bull's long support.

"Honestly, two months ago I had that option, but now as the Toro Rosso decision is closer, other options are increasingly distant, because they (other teams) are closing doors, closing contracts," Sainz added.

He said Dr Helmut Marko - Red Bull's ultimate F1 decision-maker - phoned recently to congratulate him on his 2014 title.

"He gave congratulations, but he said they had not decided everything yet and they would tell me something later," said Carlos Sainz Jr.

Former owner of Caterham thinks there'll never be room for small teams in Formula 1.

Speaking on Sky Sports News, Tony Fernandes said unless there's a reduction in spending throughout the grid, there'll never be room for small teams like Caterham in F1.

"People can blame whoever, but the big teams are as much at fault as anyone. The gap has become way too big and it's money. And so I thought, ‘Well, I can't compete'. But I can compete at QPR; I can compete at Air Asia," he said.

Both Caterham and Marussia entered in F1 in 2010, having been told they could compete with a budget cap. The deal broke down and it's now a total about 500 jobs under threat as the two teams went in administration.

"Rather than continue something where I thought, one, I wasn't able to give it as much time as possible, two, I thought we were on a beating to none anyway, you've got to be brave and say ‘Look, we screwed up. You can't compete; you thought you could and time to leave'," Tony Fernandes said.

"The sport has to examine itself as well. Ultimately we couldn't carry on and we would have eventually gone into administration anyway or closed down the team."

Photo: Caterham F1 Team

Administrators might look for a new buyer and the businessman adds: "There are people who want to go racing, for different reasons and Caterham has everything there to do it. There may even be teams within F1 who want a second team - a Red Bull/Toro Rosso situation.

"So we'll give it maximum support but it's not something I want to get involved in anymore. You've got to immerse yourself in it. Racing's over for me."

Red Bull Racing driver Sebastian Vettel says the team has yet to take a decision about the possibility of a complete power unit change for this weekend's United States Formula 1 Grand Prix.

The four-time World Champion admitted that the possibility of having to use a sixth power unit this season was “very likely”.

Vettel has been on the edge of breaking the penalty-free limit of five power units for the season.

If a sixth V6 internal combustion unit needs to be installed in his RB10, Vettel would receive a 10-place penalty on the grid. If the team changes the complete power unit (V6, turbo, recovery systems and batteries), Vettel would have to start from the pit lane.

If this is the case, Red Bull Racing may simply keep Vettel out of the qualifying sessions to save mileage on the new unit and to avoid further penalties in Brazil and Abu Dhabi.

“It's to be seen, we need to confirm, but yes we have to get an extra engine at some stage this year and it's very, very likely for this weekend,” Vettel told journalists Wednesday in Austin.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk tweeted that sales of the electric Model S rose 65 percent in North America last month and reached a 'record high' worldwide.

General Motors has confirmed that the company's Warren Transmission Plant will build the electric drive unit for the second-generation Chevrolet Volt.

It's a burning question for auto marketers on Twitter: Are our tweets influencing people to buy cars? To tackle this question, the social network released new data today that attempts to show just how much 140 characters are worth.

ASEAN's new vehicle market continued to decline in the third quarter of 2014, with sales in the region's six main markets combined falling by 10.5% to 767,419 units, from 857,051 in the same period of last year, according to data compiled exclusively for just-auto by AsiaMotorBusiness.com.

AutoNation has stopped selling used vehicles that are subject to the Takata airbag recalls and warnings. The action affects fewer than 400 cars, AutoNation said today.

The acting chief of the NHTSA, the top federal automotive safety regulator, is unlikely to be nominated for the job and an active search is under way to fill the position, a source familiar with the matter told Reuters on Monday.

James Verrier, BorgWarner Inc. CEO since January 2013, is working to double the size of the giant supplier from $7.5 billion in revenue to $15 billion by 2022.

Automotive safety technology supplier TRW Automotive Holdings, preparing for its $13.5 billion acquisition by ZF Friedrichshafen, today said its third-quarter revenue dropped 1 percent to $4.

European supplier body, CLEPA's new CEO, Paul Schockmel, says he believes the automotive sector is well-poised to secure the benefits of any Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP).

News 28 Oct, 2014

Economical Plug-In version of the new Mercedes M-Class spotted testing

Falling sales and hefty incentives undercut North American profit at Honda in the latest quarter, as the automaker trimmed its full-year sales and profit outlooks.

VW Group says it will launch more than 20 EVs and plug-in hybrids in China over the next few years. The automaker previously said it planned to offer more than 15 green vehicles in China by 2018.

VW Group says it will launch more than 20 EVs and plug-in hybrids in China over the next few years. The automaker previously said it planned to offer more than 15 green vehicles in China by 2018.

Takata knew at least as early as 2001 of manufacturing defects that could lead its airbags to explode, U.S. drivers claimed in lawsuits.