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From GMM

Fernando Alonso is locked in "tough negotiations" with McLaren, the F1 correspondent Luis Vasconcelos claims.

Although the Spanish driver insists Sebastian Vettel's switch to Ferrari is a mere symptom of his own plans for the future, there are sections of the media who think the German actually caught Alonso off guard.

Some well-placed Spanish correspondents, for instance, think Alonso expected to be replaced at Ferrari by Lewis Hamilton, therefore opening up the prime seat at dominant Mercedes.

That suspicion would tie in with the fact that, like the rest of F1, even Red Bull was apparently caught off guard by Vettel's news, which was revealed to the team mere hours before it was made globally public.

But when Red Bull made it official, the energy drink company simultaneously closed the door to Alonso, saying the junior Daniil Kvyat will be promoted instead.

"This is a better solution than to have a star in the final years of his career," Dr Helmut Marko insisted to Austrian broadcaster Servus TV on Monday.

Fernando Alonso and Ron Dennis, back in 2007. (Photo: WRi2)

Vasconcelos, reporting for the Finnish newspaper Turun Sanomat, said Red Bull's Marko "told Kvyat the good news just half an hour before it was officially announced".

Arguably the best driver in F1 but also perhaps the most temperamental, the dramatic turn of events may have left Alonso with only two choices for the 2015 season.

Vasconcelos claims that taking a sabbatical next year, just as Alain Prost had to do when he left Ferrari acrimoniously in 1991, is now a very real possibility for Alonso.

His only other option appears to be McLaren-Honda.

But those negotiations, Vasconcelos claims, are "tough". Indeed, a McLaren source told us "no one" currently knows how the situation with the Woking team's 2015 driver lineup will ultimately turn out.

"The Spanish star wants only a one-year contract, while McLaren is insisting on a commitment of at least two years," said Vasconcelos.

A one-year deal would leave Alonso theoretically free to leave McLaren after earning up to an incredible EUR 40 million in 2015, and then jump into Hamilton's plum seat at Mercedes for 2016.

Reports indicate that Fiat-Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne will retire four years from now after completing a five-year strategic plan to expand operations within all of the group's divisions.

“I'll undoubtedly do something else” after the end of 2018, Marchionne, 62, said last week in an interview with Bloomberg Businessweek at the Balocco test track in northern Italy. “I am not going to do any more turnarounds. I'm done; let some of the young punks do it.”

Since Marchionne took over Fiat in 2004, the Italian automaker's revenue have tripled. Following the merger with Chrysler, his goal is to boost net income fivefold to about $6.3 billion in 2018.

Fiat-Chrysler has invested €48 billion to develop more upscale vehicles including new Alfa Romeo models, and plans to increase Jeep sales to 1.9 million units mainly through overseas expansion.

Who will become the new boss? No one knows, but Marchionne said his role may be split among more than one executive.

Source : bloomberg.com

A winner of three Verizon IndyCar Series races, Canadian James Hinchcliffe has signed a multi-year contract with Schmidt Peterson Motorsports (SPM) to drive the team's No. 77 Dallara, beginning with the 2015 race season.

Sam Schmidt team has finished fifth or better in the series championship for the past three years, and Hinchcliffe, 27, will join the team immediately for off-season testing.

Schmidt ran Simon Pagenaud for the past seasons, but Penske signed the Frenchman last month.

In 2009, Toronto-area native Hinchcliffe drove for SPM in Indy Lights, finishing fifth in the championship. He entered IndyCar in 2011, earning Rookie of the Year honors.

His highest championship finish has been eighth, where he finished in 2012 and 2013, and his three wins came in 2013 on street courses at the Streets of St. Petersburg and Sao Paulo, as well as on the short oval at Iowa Speedway, driving for Andretti Autosport.

Photo: IndyCar

DS-branded cars may enter the U.S. market as early as 2020 according to the company's president and CEO, Yves Bonnefont.

PSA/Peugeot-Citroen, which owns DS, left America in 1991.

This return is part of a global strategy to sell DS vehicles in 200 large cities worldwide, including 30 in North America (20 in the U.S.), Bonnefont told Automotive News Europe.

How many Canadian cities will welcome the DS brand? It remains a mystery for now.

None of the five DS models currently sold in Europe meets U.S. regulations and standards, so modifications will be necessary before they start being shipped overseas.

They all take their name from Citroen's iconic lineup produced from 1955-1975. Today's versions compete with premium vehicles such as the MINI Cooper and Audi A3.

Source : europe.autonews.com

GKN has developed the world's first Disconnect All-Wheel Drive System for A-, B- and C-segment vehicle platforms, which improves fuel economy at cruising speed by up to 4%.

The system responds to driver inputs and road conditions, connecting and disengaging drive to the rear axle on demand. By eliminating rotating losses from the driveline, fuel efficiency can be improved.

As a tightly packaged AWD system, it replaces features such as the standard power transfer unit (PTU) with a monoblock housing that fully integrates the propeller shaft's constant-velocity joint. The clutch system at the heart of the disconnect system is an evolution of the one used in the Range Rover Evoque.

Moreover, a dedicated driveline control unit continuously monitors vehicle dynamics and environmental conditions, disconnecting the AWD system during steady-state driving speeds when the AWD function is not needed. If the driver or conditions require more traction, the AWD system reconnects within 300 milliseconds.

Source : GKN

Photo: GKN

The tire choices for this season are now complete, with Pirelli having announced the compounds that will be used for the final three Grands Prix of the 2014 season.

United States
For the Circuit of the Americas, the P Zero White medium and Yellow soft tires will be nominated. This has been the most frequent nomination this year, and is well suited to circuits with a wide-ranging series of demands, such as Austin with its combination of fast corners and more technical sections.

Brazil
The two hardest compounds in the range have been nominated for Brazil: P Zero Orange hard and White medium. While Interlagos is the shortest lap of the year, the energy demands are high as the anti-clockwise track essentially consists of a series of non-stop corners, with a high level of asphalt roughness.

Abu Dhabi
By contrast, Abu Dhabi is one of the smoothest tracks of the year, and well-known territory for Pirelli, with a lot of the company's testing carried out there prior to its arrival in Formula 1. The race takes place into the evening, with ambient and track temperatures dropping, The most suitable tire choice is the P Zero Yellow soft and Red supersoft, which will put the accent on strategy.

Photo: Pirelli

Jules Bianchi's terrible crash at the recent Japanese Formula 1 Grand Prix suddenly reminded us that motorsport racing is still dangerous.

Despite all the recent developments and innovations in safety technology, driving at 350km/h -- even on a closed course -- remains a hazardous activity. You never know what might happen.

Since the introduction of composite materials and carbon fibre in the making of Formula 1 cars, the type of injuries to F1 drivers has evolved.

During the ‘60s, ‘70s and early ‘80s, drivers involved in accidents mostly received devastating leg injuries.

Alain Prost, Renault RE30B, 1982. (Photo: WRi2)

The monocoque chassis were made of sheets of aluminum that were glued and riveted together. That generation of wing car was designed with the driver sitting as far forward as possible, with his feet located ahead of the front axle.

In case of a head-on impact, the driver's feet, ankles and legs were crushed.

Remember the accidents of:

David Purley at Silverstone in 1977
Ronnie Peterson at Monza in 1978 (deceased)
Marc Surer at Kyalami in 1980
Jean-Pierre Jabouille in Montreal in 1980
Clay Regazzoni in Long Beach in 1980
Didier Pironi at Hockenheim in 1982
Riccardo Paletti in Montréal in 1982 (deceased)
Jacques Laffite at Brands Hatch in 1986

The full carbon chassis were introduced in F1 back in the early ‘80s. The technical regulations were also changed to save the legs of drivers.

Today, just the top of the helmet emerges from the cockpit. A U-shape collar of high-density foam protects the head of the driver and the HANS device limits head movement.

Nico Rosberg, Mercedes W05, 2014. (Photo: WRi2)

Nowadays, driver's legs are very well protected in case of a crash, while his head remains highly vulnerable.

Quite a few drivers have suffered from several head injuries in the past few years, such as:

Ayrton Senna at Imola in 1994 (deceased)
Roland Ratzenberger at Imola in 1994 (deceased)
Karl Wendlinger at Monaco in 1994
Felipe Massa in Hungary in 2009
Henry Surtees (a formula 2 driver who was killed by a bouncing wheel that hit his head in 2009)
Maria de Villota in Duxford in 2012 (she died last year resulting from her head injuries)
Jules Bianchi at Suzuka in 2014

Let's just hope that the FIA will continue to invest time and money to make motor racing safer in every category.

Marussia Formula 1 team is going to run just one car at the maiden Russian Grand Prix this weekend, RMC announced Wednesday.

The French speaking RMC explained that mechanics, technicians and engineers who normally worked on Jules Bianchi's car are still deeply shocked following the Frenchman's nasty crash at Suzuka last Sunday in which he received life-threatening head injuries.

RMC explained that at first Marussia did not want to race at all in Sotchi.

After going it a serious thought, it was decided to run just one MR03-Ferrari for Briton Max Chilton.

Needless to say that Bianchi's tub was completely destroyed in the accident.

Jules Bianchi remains in the Intensive Care Unit of the Mie General Medical Center in Yokkaichi. He has suffered a diffuse axonal injury* and is in a critical but stable condition.

From GMM

Ferrari could be looking for yet another new president in a few years time.

Sergio Marchionne, also the Fiat-Chrysler chief, is officially taking over from Ferrari's Luca di Montezemolo next Monday.

But the 62-year-old has now told Bloomberg that he will "undoubtedly do something else" after the end of 2018.

"I am not going to do any more turnarounds. I'm done; let some of the young punks do it," he said.

The new president Sergio Marchionne and the departing one Luca di Montezemolo. (Photo: Ferrari)

On this day, October 8, 1978 Canadian Gilles Villeneuve won his maiden Grand Prix in front of a home crowd here in Montreal.

I was there, frozen like a Popsicle like the other tens of thousands of race fans. I was sitting in the “gold” grandstands located right in front of the pits of the prestigious Scuderia Ferrari.

Heavy rain caused chaos during the two days of practice and qualifying. At the end of each day, the old garages, located at the far end of Ile Notre-Dame, were transformed into a big car wash as the F1 cars returned covered with mud!

Gilles Villeneuve, Ferrari 312 T3 (Photo: WRI2)

We later found out that Villeneuve made a hazardous Michelin tire choice for the race. The cold temperature would give him reason if he could drive fast yet carefully without damaging them.

We all followed his progress during the race. We all cheered for Gilles when he passed Alan Jones (Williams) and then Jody Scheckter (Wolf), before race leader Jean-Pierre Jarier in the second Lotus dived into the pits with terminal rear brake problems. Villeneuve was leading the race!

From that moment on, no one was cold despite the very light snow that began to fall.

At the conclusion of his 70th lap, Gilles Villeneuve, in his Ferrari 312 T3, passed the finish line in triumph, saluted by Michel Hanson waving the checkered flag.

The Villeneuve legend had just begun.

Gilles Villeneuve son the podium, wearing his agent Gaston Parent's coat. (Photo: WRI2)

Russia will stage its first Formula 1 Grand prix of the new era this weekend.

The 18-turn circuit of Sochi is located inside the Sochi Olympic Park. It was designed by German architect-engineer, Herman Tilke, who also directed two other projects in Russia, one in Moscow and another, east of the city of Smolensk.

Sochi will now be the 6th city to have proudly hosted both a Formula 1 Grand Prix and the Olympic Games. Previously, Melbourne (1956), Mexico (1968), Montreal (1976) and Long Beach (Los Angeles 1932, 1984) had such privilege. Let us not forget that Berlin (1936) also hosted once (1959) the German Grand Prix.

Layout of the Sochi track, in Russia.

Sochi is the third longest lap on the calendar after Spa and Silverstone. At over 5.8km fuel consumption per lap will be high predict the Renault Sport F1 engineers, but with plenty of tight corners and short bursts of power the high rate will be balanced out by energy recovery via the MGU-K and MGU-H, so Renault do not expect to be on the 100kg fuel limit permitted for the race.

“Sochi is a brand new track on the calendar this year, but the characteristics are very similar to other circuits we have visited in the past or this season,” said Remi Taffin, Renault Sport F1 head of track operations.

“It is actually most like Singapore or the street track in Valencia we visited from 2008 to 2012 - a high-speed, street track with tight corners. From our simulations we see that the average speed will be 200kph, with approximately 56% of the lap spent at wide open throttle, well above the ‘traditional' street average”.

16th round of the 2014 Championship, 1st edition, 1st on the Sochi circuit, in the Olympic Park.
53 laps of a 5,853 km track (310.471 km in total)
October 10, 11 and 12, 2014
Qualifying: Saturday 11, 3:00 pm, local time; 7:00 am ET
Race: Sunday 12, 3:00 pm, local time; 7:00 am, ET

From Formula1.com

Formula One group CEO Bernie Ecclestone and Azad Rahimov, Azerbaijan's Minister of Youth and Sport, unveiled the layout of the new Hermann Tilke-designed Baku European Grand Prix street circuit at a special press event in Baku, Azerbaijan on Tuesday.

The Baku European Grand Prix will take place in 2016 and Tuesday's event saw Mr Ecclestone and Minister Rahimov presenting the layout of the street circuit that will see Formula 1 cars racing through the streets of Baku on F1's newest track.

Photo: Baku Grand Prix

Hermann Tilke, CEO Tilke Engineering: “I am absolutely thrilled about the Baku European Grand Prix project and delighted we can now unveil the track design. We have created a challenging street circuit, in terms of engineering and design, and one that thrives on Baku's very attractive urban atmosphere and its great combination of history and 21st century style. The historic city centre, the beautiful seaside promenade and the impressive government house all combine to provide the perfect backdrop for a spectacular new track.

“Obviously street circuits present a number of challenges, in terms of circuit design, but we have been able to incorporate some unique features that will provide the teams and fans with fascinating racing.

“For example, there will be an extremely narrow uphill section at the old town wall that will reward pinpoint accuracy and courage, and we have an acceleration section of almost 2.2 kilometres along the promenade which will see the cars running flat out at very high top speeds - something that will create an incredible spectacle for the race fans on track and the viewers at home, Tilke explained.

Azad Rahimov, Azerbaijan's Minister of Youth and Sport; Formula One group CEO Bernie Ecclestone; Anar Alakbarov, Executive Director of the Heydar Aliyev Foundation and the president of Azerbaijan Automobile Federation; circuit designer Hermann Tilke. (Photo: Baku Grand Prix)

From GMM

Marussia says the withdrawal of its GP3 team ahead of this weekend's round in Russia is not connected to Jules Bianchi's fight for life.

At the time of writing, it is still not clear how the similarly Manor-run, Marussia-branded F1 team will tackle this weekend's Sochi round, after Frenchman Bianchi's life-threatening Suzuka crash mere days ago.

But some might have linked Wednesday's news that Marussia Manor Racing GP3 is not racing this weekend in Russia with the Bianchi situation.

In a statement, however, the GP3 team insisted "its non-participation in the Sochi event is for purely commercial reasons and these have not been influenced in any way by events at last weekend's formula one race in Suzuka."

Marussia GP3 added that the freight deadline for Russia was in fact last Thursday, long before Marussia F1 driver Bianchi's crash on Sunday.

Marussia Manor GP3 cars at the Red Bull Ring. (Photo: WRi2)

From wrc.com

Hyundai Motorsport has carried out the first tests of an all-new World Rally Car based on the latest version of the Korean manufacturer's i20 road car.

Hyundai test driver Bryan Bouffier carried out the very first shakedown of the car in Germany last month, checking systems and collecting data for upcoming development tests this year and next.

The newly launched third generation i20 road car is a complete overhaul of the current model, and Hyundai says the WRC version incorporates all the learning and feedback that the team has collected during its first season in the World Rally Championship.

Hyundai's new i20. (Photo: wrc.com)

The current i20 World Rally Car was introduced at Rallye Monte Carlo

Hyundai Motorsport Team Principal Michel Nandan said: “It's always an important moment when you take a car to the road for the first time and this one was no exception. We have been working on the development of our future WRC car for some time now and we were finally able to put the first prototype on its wheels last month. The data and experience that we have accumulated during our debut WRC season has contributed to our approach with this new car.

The current i20 World Rally Car made its competitive debut at this year's Rallye Monte Carlo and has been been developed further throughout the season. The model scored a surprise one-two victory at Rallye Deutschland in August.

Nandan added that the team was in no rush to replace the existing model. “We will introduce it in competition when we are absolutely sure that it is ready to replace the current i20 World Rally Car,” he said.

“It's a totally different car compared to current WRC model; the platform is different, the car is longer, lower and wider and it features a new engine, transmission and other components. Of course we are just at the beginning of a long process and we will continue to work hard on development and continue testing in the next months and throughout 2015.”

From GMM

McLaren was moved on Wednesday to deny wild speculation Lewis Hamilton is set to return to the team in 2015.

The British team said the rumour Ron Dennis' former protege - who is currently leading the world championship for dominant rival Mercedes - had recently travelled to Woking to sign up are "utterly without foundation".

But it would tie in with the climate of sensation in the F1 'silly season' at present, after Sebastian Vettel announced his departure from Red Bull, ostensibly to replace the disgruntled Ferrari driver Fernando Alonso.

Spaniard Alonso has been much more strongly linked than his 2007 McLaren teammate Hamilton with Woking's looming Honda era.

But when asked about Alonso's rumoured interest in Japan last weekend, team supremo Dennis fascinatingly answered: "There's no impediment for Lewis Hamilton coming back. There's no impediment for Fernando Alonso coming back.

"And there's no impediment for Kevin (Magnussen) and Jenson (Button) staying," he told Sky.

Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes W05. (Photo: WRi2)

Wednesday's strong Hamilton rumour, however, is new, but it emerged just as the German magazine Sport Bild went to print with comments attributed to the 2008 world champion.

"I feel very happy here," said the Mercedes driver. "For me it's like a family. The team and I have a positive feeling that we want to keep working together."

Lewis Hamilton is under contract for 2015 already, and team figures have indicated that talks to extend the deal are to take place.

The 29-year-old insisted he has "no thoughts" about leaving the silver arrows.

"I never have had. Mercedes is one of the coolest and most traditional brands in the world," said Hamilton.

Indeed, one of his chiefs at Mercedes - the F1 legend Niki Lauda - thinks it is another former McLaren driver who is returning to Woking to lead the new Honda era.

"The agreement (between Alonso and McLaren) was signed last Thursday," the great Austrian was quoted on Wednesday by Spain's El Mundo Deportivo.

Lamborghini president Stephan Winklemann confirmed to journalists at the 2014 Paris Auto Show that the hot new Asterion will remain a concept as its sole purpose is to showcase the company's ability to build hybrid supercars.

Photo: Lamborghini

Winkleman said Lamborghini is not interested in producing hybrids, although he admitted that some elements of the technology could find their way into the upcoming Lamborghini Urus.

Photo: Lamborghini

That being said, if you're wealthy enough to make a reasonable offer (at least in the seven figures), Lamborghini may agree to build your own custom Asterion... with an Aventador-sourced V12 engine.

Source : wot.motortrend.com

Photo: Lamborghini

Porsche, feeling the heat from such cars as the redesigned Chevrolet Corvette, is giving the venerable 911 a tune-up for 2015.

Denso is giving Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe a reason to believe his weak yen policy will eventually boost investment by manufacturers.

Denso, an affiliate of Toyota and the automaker's biggest supplier, said it is considering expanding production in Japan.

Garmin International says Honda has selected it as the navigation provider for future Civic and CR-V models in Europe, Russia and South America.