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The eighth round of the World Championship sees the F1 circus head for Austria's Red Bull Ring.

With only nine corners, this track at 4.326 km in length, although the third shortest after Monaco and Sao Paolo, is going to be the shortest in terms of lap time.

Like all teams, Scuderia Ferrari will be relying more than usual on simulation work to provide a set-up baseline, although one aspect that cannot be simulated is tire wear.

“We will have the Soft and Supersoft Pirellis, just as we did in the last two races. You need to ensure you get the tire prepared for a hot lap in Q2, while being sure the tire can then cope with the first stint of the race,” said James Allison, Scuderia Ferrari's technical director.

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

The British engineer is heavily involved in Ferrari's efforts to speed up development on the F14 T.

“Every season is dominated by the efforts back at the factory to try to improve the package. If you're in front you work to stay in front and if you're not, then your efforts are aimed at moving your way up the grid,” said Allison.

“Currently, we're doing our level best across every aspect of the car: mechanically, aerodynamically, electronically, every single component, set-up wise, everything we can do to try to improve is being done. In recent races we have brought more upgrades than usual to the track and this has improved our position marginally. We just need to keep fighting the same fight; we have upgrade plans race by race. If we do a good job with all of those, it will start to tell and we will start to see Ferrari run more consistently relatively to the opposition,” Allison explained.

The relative high altitude of the Red Bull Ring - scene of the Austrian Grand Prix this weekend - causes some concerns to the Formula 1 engine suppliers.

“There are only nine corners at the Red Bull Ring, which will not give the MGU-K many opportunities to recover significant energy under braking,” Remi Taffin, Renault Sport F1 head of track operations said.

“That said, we will need the MGU-K to feed the ICE with extra power, so making efficient use of the little energy recovered will be extremely important',” he added.

The Austrian circuit is located around 700m above sea level, comparable to Interlagos, Brazil.

Normally aspirated engines, which rely on oxygen content in the air, are around 7% down on power at this altitude since power decreases by approx. 1% for every 100m in height, as there is less oxygen to burn at a higher altitude.

The Red Bull Ring. (Photo: Red Bull)

A turbocharged engine does not have this power drop off. It instead always pressures the ambient air to the same level inside the turbocharger and then compressor, ensuring there is always the same amount of oxygen content in the air inside the engine.

“The high altitude will cause the turbo to spin at a much higher rate to compensate for the low ambient pressure - very close to the hardware limit,” Taffin explained.

“We have recreated some of these climatic conditions on the dyno and feel confident we have a good handle on the preparations,” the French engineer said.

From a three-time champion, to a veteran of more than 200 Grands Prix and a man with just one F1 start but who was still competing at Daytona at the age of 73, Austrians race car drivers have been pretty successful in Formula 1.

Here are the statistics of these great Austrians.

Niki Lauda
Active: 1971-1979, 1982-1985
Grand Prix starts: 171
Teams: March, BRM, Ferrari, Brabham, McLaren
Best result: 25 victories (First win: Spain 1974)
Best home result: 1st, 1984
Three-time World Champion

Niki Lauda. (Photo: René Fagnan)

Helmut Marko
Active: 1971-1972
Grand Prix starts: 9
Teams: BRM
Best result: 8th (Monaco, 1972)
Best home result: 11th, 1971

Helmut Marko. (Photo: WRi2)

Dieter Quester
Active: 1974
Grand Prix starts: 1
Teams: Surtees
Best result: 9th (Austria, 1974)
Best home result: 9th, 1974
Contested the 24 Hours of Daytona at the age of 73!

Hans Binder
Active: 1976-1978
Grand Prix starts: 13
Teams: Ensign, Wolf, Surtees, ATS
Best result: 8th (Netherlands, 1977)
Best home result: 12th, 1977

Gerhard Berger
Active: 1984-1997
Grand Prix starts: 210
Teams: ATS, Arrows, Benetton, Ferrari
Best result: Ten victories (First win: Mexico 1986)
Best home result: 7th, 1986

Karl Wendlinger
Active: 1991-1995
Grand Prix starts: 41
Teams: Leyton House, March, Sauber
Best result: 4th (Canada 1992; Italy 1993; San Marino 1994)
Best home result: N/A

Alexander Wurz
Active: 1997-2007
Grand Prix starts: 69
Teams: Benetton, McLaren, Williams
Best result: 3rd (Great Britain 1997; San Marino 2005; Canada 2007)
Best home result: 5th, 1999

Alex Wurz. (Photo: WRi2)

Patrick Friesacher
Active: 2005
Grand Prix starts: 11
Teams: Minardi
Best result: 6th (USA, 2005)
Best home result: N/A

Christian Klien
Active: 2004-2006, 2010
Grand Prix starts: 49
Teams: Jaguar, Red Bull, HRT
Best result: 5th (China, 2005)
Best home result: N/A

Gone, but not forgotten...

Jochen Rindt
1970 F1 World Champion

Jochen Rindt and Graham Hill, Team Lotus. (Photo: WRi2)

Harald Ertl

Jo Gartner

Helmuth Koinigg

Roland Ratzenberger

As previously reported, BMW has been talking to Tesla about a possible alliance, and now Nissan wants in. A major part of the deal is to develop a universal charging standard.

“It is obviously clear that everyone would benefit if there was a far more simple way for everyone to charge their cars,” said one executive, who preferred to remain anonymous.

These three companies currently account for about 80% of global EV sales.

“Nissan welcomes any initiative to expand the volumes of electric vehicles,” the Japanese manufacturer said. “Nissan is the market leader in EVs and has worked with other manufacturers to help proliferate the technology.”

High prices, lengthy charging times, and a lack of charging stations (which results in range anxiety) keep holding EV sales down. Tesla badly wants to change that, going as far as to share the patents of its Superchargers to accelerate development on a global scale.

Source : electric-vehiclenews.com

German motorsport web site Motorsport-Total claims that organisers of the FIA World Touring Car Championship are debating on staging a race on the long loop of the Nurburgring next year.

The FIA has not provided a confirmation of this rumour.

Motorsport-Total explains that the WTCC race would be held in conjunction with the famed 24 Hours of the Nurburgring.

However, WTCC race distances are always equal or below 60km. That would mean that the race would only be three laps long as, the Nordschleife is 20.8km in distance.

Nurburgring Nordschleife. (Photo: FIA WTCC)

The Austrian Grand Prix last appeared on the Formula 1 calendar in 2003. Eleven years later, the circuit has been modified and now returns as the Red Bull Ring for round eight of this year's world championship.

Here are six things to know about this race.

1
Mastering the wet weather, Italian driver Vittorio Brambilla, driving a March 751, won the 1975 Austrian Grand Prix. As Brambilla took the flag on lap 29, he crashed into the barriers and the March team celebrated a historic victory.



2
The last Austrian race was held in 2003 and saw Michael Schumacher (Ferrari) win from Kimi Raikkonen (McLaren) and Rubens Barrichello (Ferrari).

3
In 1987, Stefan Johansson hit a deer with his McLaren after it wandered onto the circuit during Friday's practice. The McLaren, traveling at close to 225 km/h, killed instantly the terrified deer. Johansson was fortunate to escape with little more than a headache.

4
The first Austrian F1 race - a non-championship event - was held in 1963 on Zeltweg's airport and saw Jack Brabham captured victory in a Braham-Climax

5
Roger Penske collected his first and only Formula 1 victory in Austria. His driver, John Watson won the 1976 race in a Ford-powered Penske PC4. After the race he shaved off his beard, the result of a bet with Penske.

John Watson, Penske-Ford (Photo: WRi2)

1975
The 1975 event was marred by the fatal accident of American Mark Donohue. During a practice session for the race, Donohue lost control of his March after a tire failed, sending him careening into the catch fencing at the fastest corner on the track. Donohue did not appear to be injured significantly but his head had received a major blow. At the hospital, Donohue lapsed into a coma from a cerebral haemorrhage and died.

There was such a car. We wouldn't lie to y'all. The wagon may be all but dead at the moment, but there was a time not so long ago when they roamed the earth as freely and commonly as crossovers do today.

Some we remember fondly, others not so much, and a few most of us never knew existed. Here are some examples of station wagons that were sold in Canada that you likely do not remember.

Nissan Maxima Wagon (1987-‘88)

Photo: Wikipedia

Honda Civic Wagon (1988-‘90)

Photo: Honda

Toyota Corolla Wagon (1992-‘96)

Photo: Toyota

Toyota Camry Wagon (1992-‘96)

Photo: Toyota

Nissan Sentra Wagon (1987-‘89)

Photo: Wikipedia

Hyundai Elantra Wagon (1995-2000)

Photo: Hyundai

Continue reading Top mass-produced wagons from the past 30 years you never knew existed

From GMM

An alternative to Danica Patrick is a 'pay driver', F1's newest team owner Gene Haas has admitted.

Earlier, American Haas said the world's most famous female driver, who already races for his NASCAR team, "would be the dream driver" for his 2016 outfit.

However, 32-year-old Patrick said this week that she is "happy where I am".

At the same time, there are rumblings that Haas, 61, and his new team principal Gunther Steiner are having fundamental disagreements about the project.

Gunther Steiner, for instance, is said to be opposed to involving Danica Patrick.

"This is just the latest divergence that every day becomes more pronounced," said Omnicorse correspondent Franco Nugnes, claiming the disagreements could lead to Steiner's departure from Haas.

Gunther Steiner and Gene Haas in Montreal, for the Canadian Grand Prix. (Photo: WRi2)

In the end, the team may opt for the more traditional 'middle of the grid' F1 model, featuring an experienced name alongside a so-called 'pay driver'.

Gene Haas told F1 business journalist Christian Sylt: "Having an American driver would be one of those 'knock it out the ballpark'-type moments.

"I think initially what we really would like is probably a veteran formula one driver, preferably someone who has driven the 2014 car, to help us.

"Then the remaining seat would go to someone who has a lot of promise, that could be an American, or someone else that brings some sponsorship money to the table too," he added.

General Motors today said it is recalling 3.

Lithia Motors' plans to buy DCH Auto Group were greeted with cheers in the stock market today as publicly traded Lithia's share price jumped 13 percent, or $9.85, to close at an all-time high of $86.53.

GM is recalling 3.4 million cars in North America because bumpy terrain and weight attached to the key could move the ignition switch out of the run position -- the same basic problem that began its recall crisis earlier this year.

If you had any doubts that the market for top-tier muscle cars (or investments, as they've come to be called somewhere along the way) is back after all that unpleasantness around 2009, here's proof.

This lightly disguised prototype previews the Bentley SUV due in 2016.

BMW track day drivers will have another reason to smile this July.

Casey Kasem, the Detroit-born disc jockey who hosted the popular radio show 'American Top 40' and died on Sunday, lent his voice to American classics -- rock 'n' roll, cartoons and cars.

General Motors has repaired 154,731 cars of the 2.59 million recalled worldwide to fix a defective ignition switch tied to 13 fatalities, according to a memo released by U.S. congressional investigators.

Google will unveil its first in-car operating system at its annual software developer conference this month, intensifying its race with Apple to become the leader in dashboard computing.

Google will unveil its first in-car operating system at its annual software developer conference this month, intensifying its race with Apple to become the leader in dashboard computing, sources said.

A plan to allow self-driving trucks to deliver goods in the Netherlands could accelerate the introduction of driverless cars onto public roads.

Opel has reached a severance deal with workers at its factory in Bochum, Germany, a crucial step in the GM unit's restructuring to return to profitability.