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From GMM

Ferrari appears likely to shed at least one of its existing drivers.

That is the view of retired double world champion Mika Hakkinen, who thinks the Maranello team is grappling not only with a less than fully competitive 2014 car.

The Finn thinks Ferrari also has a driver problem.

"In my opinion Ferrari is more and more into the situation of eventually replacing one of the two drivers," he said in his latest interview with his sponsor Hermes.

"The comments being made by Fernando Alonso do not sound like someone who will be with Ferrari for much longer. And I don't want to say anything against Kimi Raikkonen, except that he is constantly behind his teammate," 45-year-old Hakkinen added.

The former McLaren driver also commented on the 2014 plight of F1's reigning quadruple world champion Sebastian Vettel.

"I do not understand how it is possible that his (Red Bull) car is permanently broken. Incredible," said Mika Hakkinen.

Fernando Alonso and Kimi Raikkonen, Ferrari F14 T, Montreal, Canada. (Photo: WRi2)

Antoine L'Estage (St-Jean-sur-Richelieu, QC) and Alan Ockwell (Toronto) of the Yokohama Canada Rally Team won the 2014 Rallye Baie des Chaleurs in their first event together. The two built a lead early on the first day and managed their advantage to a record sixth victory at the second round of the Canadian Rally Championship.

"This is very good for the championship,” said L'Estage. “It was a good event with just a few minor problems which the crew was able to fix without any issue. My Yokohama tires were perfect. The goal this year is to win a seventh Canadian rally championship and set a new record.”

L'Estage and Ockwell had worked together at the regional Rallye Saguenay, but Baie des Chaleurs was their first true test at full speed in competition. The team quickly found a strong pace and distanced themselves from the competition. 

Alexandre Béland (Val d'Or, Que.) and Lyne Murphy (St-Constant, Que.) set a strong pace together, carving out a second place finish in their 2007 Subaru Impreza STI. While Murphy has a number of podium finishes with other drivers, this weekend's result is a career-best with Béland.

The two had to fight through a variety of problems, including a small coolant leak, idle problems and reduced power thanks to a boost leak.     

“We're happy,” said Béland. “This weekend was a lot of hard work, but we're very happy to have done so well in spite of the problems.

Third place went to Joël Levac and Stéphanie Lewis of Rivière-Beaudette, Que. The two debuted their new Prodrive MINI which was originally campaigned in the World Rally Championship. Prior to the event Levac insisted the goal was to increase his experience with the new car and that finishing position was a secondary consideration. The two last competed in a round of the Canadian championship two and half years ago.

“I said to Stéphanie that the main goal was to better learn how the car drives,” said Levac. “I didn't want to make any mistakes or know what position I was in and feel encouraged to push harder. I haven't been in a car for a long time, so I want to be smart about how hard I push.”

Podium ot the Rally Baie des Chaleurs 2014. (Photo: Maxime Poirier)

Two Wheel Drive action was full of excitement. Simon Dubé (Jonquiere, QC) and Philippe Poirier (St-Rédempteur, QC) struggled early in the event to find a winning pace. However, their rivals pushed too fast, and suffered mechanical and electrical problems. Dubé and Poirier moved into the lead late in the event. The two were competing together for the first time. 

“We drove consistently and had to be patient,” said Dubé. “We had to be patient and it worked out for us. We had an almost flawless event. Philippe is a very good co-driver and I have to thank him for racing with me.”

Boris Djordjevic and Leanne Junnila of Calgary won the Production 4WD class, finishing 11th overall.

Pat Richard (Squamish, BC) and Nathalie Richard (Halifax) of Subaru Rally Team Canada were absent from the event after Pat suffered and injury leading up to the rally and was unable to compete.

The Canadian Rally Championship is comprised of six events held nationwide in a season that extends from February to November. The series is presented by Subaru Canada, supported by Yokohama Tire Canada and features a contingency program from Subaru Canada. The Canadian Association of Rallysport (CARS) is the official sanctioning body for rallying in Canada.

Rallye Baie des Chaleurs Final Results
1. Antoine L'Estage - Alan Ockwell - two hours, five minutes, 38.1 seconds
2. Alexandre Béland - Lyne Murphy - 2:11:39.1
3. Joël Levac - Stéphanie Lewis - 2:11:57.5
4. Jean-Sebastien Besner - Yvan Joyal - 2:14:28.4
5. Sylvain Vincent - Simon Vincent - 2:16:0.7
6. Maxime Labrie - Robert Labrie - 2:18:42.8
7. Steeve Hobbs - Jean-Mathieu Tremblay - 2:19:45.0
8. André Leblanc - René Leblanc - 2:20:14.5
9. Frank Lognay - Ludovic Lognay - 2:28:16.6
10. Mathieu Leblanc - Alex Litalien - 2:30:11.2

From GMM

Not even halfway through the 2014 season, Renault is having to acknowledge it will not catch up with V6 pacesetters Mercedes.

That, according to the French marque's F1 engine chief Rob White, is because of the FIA's homologation rules, more commonly known in the paddock as the development 'freeze'.

Renault is under huge pressure from disgruntled partner Red Bull to up its game, but White said: "The possibility to change the specification of the engine during the season is extremely limited.

"We are pushing for next year," he is quoted by Italy's Autosprint, "in order to have a greater scope of development.

"At the moment it is not possible to change the specification of the power unit without the permission of the FIA, and the federation does not give any permissions for performance reasons," Rob White explained.

Nonetheless, White says Renault has managed to make "significant improvements" since its pre-season crisis, and more is still in the pipeline for 2014.

"But the changes will be more long-term," he added. "At the end of the day we are not looking for excuses, because the rules are the same for everyone and we have to respect what the others have done."

Renault Sport trucks. (Photo: WRi2)

Meanwhile, Renault Sport F1 president Jean-Michel Jalinier has played down speculation Red Bull's patience has run out, as the reigning world champions declare their dissatisfaction publicly and repeatedly.

"The cooperation is very intense," he told Speed Week, "and we are in contact daily.

"But at the working level, everything is running smoothly," Jalinier insisted. "The atmosphere is good and constructive."

From GMM

As speculation swirls around the future of F1's most experienced active driver, McLaren supremo Ron Dennis has called on Jenson Button to up his game.

At the end of his fifteenth consecutive season on the grid, 34-year-old Briton Button's current McLaren contract is up.

Despite speculative links between the Woking based team and Button's fellow champions like Fernando Alonso, Sebastian Vettel and even Lewis Hamilton, Dennis insisted in Austria that McLaren is "not looking to finalise our driver lineup now".

He did, however, admit that he would "love" to have drivers of that calibre at Woking.

The rumour goes that Dennis could reunite with his former protege Hamilton if the 29-year-old fails to beat Mercedes teammate Nico Rosberg to this year's title.

"That's not really something I want to think about. Why would I even consider it (losing the title)? It's all about positive energy," Lewis Hamilton told British reporters at the weekend.

Indeed, 'positive energy' is something Dennis believes in strongly, and so he insists Button should not interpret his latest comments as some sort of threat.

"No one should ever feel threatened," he told British television Sky, "either as a driver or an engineer. All we want to do is win, and we have to take considered decisions in that process."

Jenson Button, McLaren MP4-29-Mercedes. (Photo: WRi2)

But Ron Dennis hinted that the 'decision' will only fall in 2009 title winner Button's favour if he is able to improve his performance this year, despite not having a race-winning car.

At the very same time, it appears likely McLaren will retain the services of rookie Kevin Magnussen beyond 2014.

"I'm sure Kevin is giving a big wake-up call to Jenson," Ron Dennis said.

"In some ways you say 'Great, we made a great choice with Kevin', and in other ways you say 'Come on Jenson, you are a world champion and absolutely one thing you can do on a consistent basis - and you should be doing it - is beating your teammate'.

"Do I want him (Button) to try harder? Of course I do," Ron Dennis insisted. "He's a highly paid grand prix driver, and yes, we're not giving him the best car, but he could do his bit, and Kevin's got to make it as difficult for him as possible."

From GMM

Investigators may be even closer to solving the theft of Michael Schumacher's medical records.

The Swiss newspaper Sonntagsblick reports that investigators are now looking elsewhere, having found that the doctor's letter was not taken or copied by staff of the university hospital in Grenoble, where Schumacher was in a coma.

Instead, French police are reportedly now looking across the border, into Switzerland, Sonntagsblick claims.

It is believed chief prosecutor Jean-Yves Coquillat suspects that it was during Schumacher's recent two-hour ambulance transfer between Grenoble and Lausanne that the medical summary was photographed.

The ambulance company is reportedly located in the Swiss canton of Valais, and a spokesperson said: "We have decided not to take a public position on the case of Michael Schumacher."

Following the launch of its new bumpr app last month, auto insurer belairdirect has published several interesting facts and stats about the dangers of texting while driving.

Did you know that 60% of drivers use their cell phone while driving? Or that 2 million Canadians were spotted using a cell phone while driving over a 2-week span?

At the current rate, the number of deaths caused by driving distractions will soon exceed the number of deaths resulting from drunk driving. This is mind-boggling, especially with the multiple awareness campaigns, shocking advertisements, and hefty fines that were put in place in recent years.

Bumpr is a free mobile application for Android devices helping you avoid being distracted by text messages or notifications while driving, and choose from a wide range of humorous automated responses, informing the caller that you are driving.

Once installed, the app starts automatically when the vehicle reaches a speed of 20 km/h. If you are not the driver, you can deactivate the app. You also have access to the history of notifications that were received while driving.

From GMM

The Sochi track is nearing completion, as preparations for the inaugural Russian grand prix race on.

Even amid speculation the Crimean crisis could derail the country's first ever F1 race, organisers have been stepping up their plans for the October debut.

Germany's SID news agency quoted promoter Sergey Vorobyov as revealing: "Due to popular demand, we have decided to build another grandstand on one of the most interesting points of the circuit."

And another official of the race promoter Omega has been quoted by the Russian news agency Interfax as saying the Sochi venue is now "99 per cent" ready for October.

Photo: Formula Sochi

From press release

For the second successive event Albatec Racing's chances of progressing to the FIA World Rallycross Championship finals were scuppered by a puncture, after Jacques Villeneuve's Peugeot 208 sustained first lap damage in heat four of World RX of Finland today.

The former F1 World Champion made contact with Alexander Hvaal at turn two, and the result was a front right puncture on his 600bhp two litre 16v Supercar, which cost him around two seconds a lap and prevented him from challenging for heat victory.

Jacques Villeneuve, Peugeot 208 Supercar. (Photo: Albatec Racing)

The 1995 Indycar World Series Champion's hopes of reaching his first semi-final were dented by an earlier incident, but this time involving Timmy Hansen's Peugeot which barrel-rolled in heat three causing a re-run which subsequently knocked Jacques out of the top 12. On actual race times Jacques' performance, in which he finished third, would have seen him maintain a qualifying position, however notional times were awarded to the race five finishers, dropping Jacques to P15 and losing him a pole start for his final heat.

The poor start position for his final qualifying race meant he was unable to get a clean run into the first corner, and consequently collided with Hvaal, bringing his third World RX outing to a premature finish. Jacques will be back in action in round five of the 12-round series in Höljes, Sweden next weekend, joining Team Principal Andy Scott who returns to race action aboard the #26 Albatec Peugeot 208.

Andy Scott, Albatec Team Principal: "There have been a lot of different decisions made today which ended up affecting our grid position for heat four. Jacques lined up on position five which hasn't been a quick starting spot all weekend, and didn't manage to take a good start and had a little contact at the second corner, which resulted in him getting a puncture.

"He managed to bring the car home, but obviously not quick enough to make the semi finals which rounded off a disappointing weekend for Albatec. On a positive note the car ran faultlessly all weekend, with no issues, so that bodes well for the next round in Höljes this weekend, where we are determined to once again make the cut and qualify into the semis at least."

Jacques Villeneuve, Peugeot 208 Supercar. (Photo: Albatec Racing)

Jacques Villeneuve, Albatec Racing Driver #25: "It's been a very disappointing second day in Finland. I started from the outside of the grid for heat one and it didn't go too well, and in the second I managed to get a few good corners racing in the wet but then had a puncture and the tyre came off the rim, which means we finished early.

"Looking ahead to the next round though I'm hoping to capitalise on the undoubted pace of the car, and to convert that into some good results and push for a semi final and final place in Sweden."


We're back for day four of the Goodwood Festival of Speed, and live coverage starts at 3:25 a.m. Eastern Standard Time right here on Autoweek.

GM is betting on the latest installment of the alien-robot Transformers saga to help jump-start Chevrolet sales in China.

The F-Type two-door sports cars are allowing Jaguar to re-create its image and history as it prepares for a new compact sedan due in 2016, says the brand's North America vice president, Jeff Curry.

After an eight-year run in which he spearheaded the salvation of Ford, Alan Mulally hands the CEO job to Mark Fields on Tuesday, July 1. But, like all great leaders, Mulally did not succeed in everything he tackled.

From press release

Mercedes-Benz driver Robert Wickens crowned a perfect weekend of racing at Norisring with his first victory of the season.

Robert Wickens, Mercedes AMG C-Coupé (Photo: DTM.com)

In slippery conditions at the 2.3 kilometres long street circuit, the Canadian converted his pole position in an undisputed lights-to-flag victory: "I am overjoyed. I was able to fully concentrate on driving my own race and extend my lead," he said.

"So far, it has been a crazy season for us and because of that, this victory is all the more beautiful for me and my team. The Norisring has always been good to us," added the 25-year-old said after scoring the twelfth Norisring victory in a row for Mercedes-Benz.

Robert Wickens (Photo: DTM.com)

British driver Jamie Green, who already scored four DTM race wins at Norisring, crossed the finish line in second place. Fellow Audi driver Mattias Ekström completed the good performance by the team from Ingolstadt after making his way up from twelfth on the grid to finish third.

Unfortunately for Canadian fans, Bruno Spengler completed a difficult weekend at the Norisring in 11th place, 1 lap down on his countryman Wickens.

In total, 121,000 spectators attended the fourth race weekend of the most popular international touring car series in Nuremberg.

Robert Wickens, Antonio Felix da Costa, Jamie Green (Photo: DTM.com)

Race results - Norisring
1 - Robert Wickens (Mercedes C-Coupe) - HWA - 82 laps in 1.15'21"118
2 - Jamie Green (Audi RS5) - Rosberg - 23"906
3 - Mattias Ekstrom (Audi RS5) - Abt - 25"922
4 - Edoardo Mortara (Audi RS5) - Abt - 32"875
5 - Adrien Tambay (Audi RS5) - Abt - 44"661
6 - Pascal Wehrlein (Mercedes C-Coupe) - HWA - 44"788
7 - Marco Wittmann (BMW M4) - RMG - 46"050
8 - Joey Hand (BMW M4) - RBM - 47"991
9 - Mike Rockenfeller (Audi RS5) - Phoenix - 48"803
10 - Timo Scheider (Audi RS5) - Phoenix - 1 lap
11 - Bruno Spengler (BMW M4) - Schnitzer - 1 lap
12 - Gary Paffett (Mercedes C-Coupe) - HWA - 1 lap
13 - Daniel Juncadella (Mercedes C-Coupe) - HWA - 1 lap
14 - Augusto Farfus (BMW M4) - RBM - 1 lap
15 - Paul Di Resta (Mercedes C-Coupe) - HWA - 1 lap
16 - Timo Glock (BMW M4) - MTEK - 2 laps
17 - Antonio Felix Da Costa (BMW M4) - MTEK - 2 laps
18 - Maxime Martin (BMW M4) - RMG - 2 laps
19 - Nico Muller (Audi RS5) - Rosberg - 2 laps
20 - Vitaly Petrov (Mercedes C-Coupe) - Mucke - 2 laps

Fastest lap of the race: 48"610 by Mattias Ekstrom

Retirements
Christian Vietoris
Miguel Molina
Martin Tomczyk

Drivers' championship
1.Wittmann 56 points; 2.Mortara 39; 3.Tambay 36; 4.Ekstrom 35; 5.Rockenfeller 33; 6.Molina 26; 7.Vietoris e Wickens 25; 9.Green 24; 10.Spengler 23.

From press release

Sergey Sirotkin won his first career Formula Renault 3.5 race this weekend, as the championship raced in his home country, Russia.

From pole, the Sauber reserve driver got the best of Zoel Amberg and Pietro Fantin at the start.

Despite Amberg's offensive on lap 7, Sirotkin maintained the lead, and on lap 29, crossed the finish line to win at the Moscow Raceway, which is set to host the first ever Russian Grand Prix later this season.

(Photo: World Series by Renault)

"It's incredible!" said the Russian teen.

"It's the best moment of my life. The season started so rough, but the team took advantage of the short break to come back stronger. There was not better place to do it!

"Free practice went well and it continued in the race. It wasn't easy managing the back tire temperature, but we made it.

"A huge thank you to the whole team!"

Quaker State 400 winner Brad Keselowski seemed on top of everything this weekend at the Kentucky Speedway. That is, until he climbed on the podium.

The 2012 Sprint Cup champion picked up seven positions over the final 47 laps, on his way to a second win this season. Then, in Victory Lane, he picked put a bottle of champagne and cut his right hand with it.

Keselowski before his injury (Todd Warshaw/Getty Images)

"There was blood flying everywhere," he remembers.

"I think I hit (the bottle) on the corner of the podium and then it broke. I don't know, I was trying to get the top off and shaking it at the same time, and people were spraying me and I couldn't really see all that well.  It was just one of them deals."

He had to rush to the infield care centre, where he received four stitches before he could go back to celebrating his dominant victory.

The 30-year-old doesn't expect to miss too much action: "The last time I had stitches it was seven days or so, and we're going to Daytona, which is probably the easiest track you could ask for. 

"I didn't break any bones or any of that stuff.  I just put a big gash, so I don't think it'll be an issue."

The future looks gloomy at Caterham, but driver Kamui Kobayashi is looking at the bright side of things.

"The season so far? Perfect!" he was recently quoted saying by Sky Sports.

Kobayashi, who returned to F1 in 2014 after losing his drive at Sauber, and his teammate Marcus Ericson are spending most of their time this season at the back of the pack, even behind Marussia.

Rumours say the team is about to be sold, yet the Japanese seems happy just to be back in F1.

Kamui Kobayashi, Caterham CT05 (Photo: Caterham F1 Team)

"I'm not really looking at (the rumours)," he says.

"Of course, I'm not wishing these stories. I'm here for driving - me, I can't change anything, you know? I cannot bring any money or stuff.

"Financially, I think we're in a very difficult situation but I cannot do anything so I just focus on my job. That's part of my job actually: I'll just try for a better result as much as I can.

"I just hope that somebody can help this team. This is the only thing I can say."

On the same day that Columbia won its FIFA World Cup knockout match, Columbians Carlos Huertas, Juan Pablo Montoya and Carlos Munoz swept the podium of race 1 at the Grand Prix of Houston.

It was obviously a special result for all three of them, but especially for 23-year-old Huertas, who scored his first win in the IndyCar series.

It was also a special race for Montoya, who enjoyed his best result since coming back to the championship after 13 years in F1 and NASCAR.

Juan Pablo Montoya, Carlos Huertas and Carlos Munoz (Photo: Chris Jones)

Munoz was simply happy to be on the podium with a childhood hero: "I grew up looking at Juan Pablo how to be a professional race car driver," he said.

"He's always been an example for me and also for a lot of drivers growing up, and all the time I remember always you saying you have to be a team, you have to arrive into Formula One.

"It was nice to have when I was small as an example, and right now competing against him at the track, he's very good."

From press release

Albatec Racing's Jacques Villeneuve is well placed to qualify for tomorrow's World RX event of Finland after another strong pace in the opening two heats puts him joint 12th in the intermediate standings.

The fourth round of the FIA World Rallycross Championship, held at the stunning Kouvola track, saw the former F1 World Champion power his two-litre, 16v Albatec Peugeot 208 to second place and the 13th fastest overall race time in heat one.

In the second round of heats held in changeable conditions, the Canadian took fourth, and a respectable race time, however as track conditions improved the subsequent heat times tumbled, pushing the Indy 500 winner back to 14th.

The joint results are enough to see him in joint 12th place though, with the results of tomorrow's two final heats helping to determine the final grid line-up for the two six-car semi finals.



Jacques Villeneuve (Photo: Toni Ollikainen / Tonigraphs.com)

"This Kouvola track is great," said Villeneuve.

"Unfortunately we didn't get the best results from the two heats and so that's a little frustrating. The car is good, there are no major problems there, we just need to get better starts and find an easier way to get past the slower cars out there.



"Lying joints 12th overnight means we need another two clean, strong races tomorrow, but the car is quick, so I'm confident we can move up the order and progress to the finals."

U.S. safety regulators are investigating complaints that a carpet cover trim panel is causing unwanted acceleration in Nissan Versa cars and preventing drivers from braking.

NHTSA is investigating complaints that rear axles on some 260,000 Dodge Ram pickups have locked up without warning while driving, causing vehicles to spin out at high speeds in some cases.