Renault's Giancarlo Fisichella had about as perfect a race weekend as one can have, capturing pole position, and more or less leading the entire Australian Grand Prix en route to his second F1 victory (and his first well deserved podium celebration). With the new two-session aggregate qualifying system in play, and rearing its ugly head due to torrential rains during the first session, the starting grid was noticably jumbled, with Michael Schumacher's Ferrari starting on the back row behind both Minardi's and Jordan-Midland's machines. The expectation of seeing good racing was quickly put to rest as it became apparent that regulations changes, designed to reduce costs and improve racing, were doing little to help the on-track action.

Continue reading Fisichella storms to Australia victory

Fisichella storms to Australia victory originally appeared on Autoblog on Sun, 06 Mar 2005 20:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

This weekend's Formula One season opener in Melbourne, Australia just got a whole lot more interesting. Minardi, F1's perennial backmarkers, have gained special dispensation from eight of the nine other F1 teams to run their 2004 challenger for the first few races of 2005. This dispensation was given as late rule changes were made for the 2005 season, and Minardi has F1's lowest budget, making them unable to begin the production of their 2005 car until rules had been set. Makes perfect sense, especially since F1 can ill-afford to lose another team, and Minardi is not a threat to win a grand prix any time soon. Yet, Ferrari, who have won six consecutive Constructor's Titles, are the only team refusing to agree to let Minardi run their old cars. Without Ferrari's signature, Minardi's cars are unlikely to pass scrutineering, thus being deemed illegal to race. This is where things could get very, very interesting, as Paul Stoddart (Minardi's owner) recently had this to say...

"Put it this in way, if Minardi's wheels do not turn this weekend they will not be the only ones, the Group of Nine (made up of all F1 teams but Ferrari) is pretty strong and there is an agreement between everyone except Ferrari."

Interesting statement indeed. Stay tuned for more, as the Australian Grand Prix will surely provide more interest this weekend.

F1 opener gets interesting originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 02 Mar 2005 17:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Amongst the falling snow in Maranello, Italy this morning Ferrari took the wraps off their 2005 Formula One contender, the F2005. Ferrari has the hopes their new vehicle, which will likely not make its race debut until the European leg of the F1 season begins, will carry Michael Schumacher (or that other guy...Rubens Barichello) to a World Driver's Championship, and bring Ferrari themselves yet another Contructor's Championship. The F2005 is quite obviously evolution, not revolution for Ferrari (hey, if it ain't broke, don't fix it), and what will likely be the last iteration of this evolution of V10-powered Ferrari F1 cars before the sport likely moves to smaller V8 engines in 2006. With Michael Schumacher winning the last 5 consecutive Driver's Championships, and Ferrari winning the last 6 consecutive Contructor's Championships, the team's recent success in F1 has been remarkable, and never before seen. And of course according to Jean Todt and Ross Brawn, the F2005 is the "best [F1 car] we have built to date."

Ferrari launch F2005 originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 25 Feb 2005 11:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

In a study of the six top-selling automakers in the United States by the Ecology Center, Toyota scored highest for their use of safe, recyclable plastics in their vehicles. But something tells me this test should have been graded on a curve, as General Motors, Ford, DaimlerChrysler, Honda, and Nissan all earned D's or D-pluses, while Toyota's high mark was nothing to go out and brag about, with the Japanese manufacturer only earning a grade of C. The study revealed that all six manufacturers are still heavily reliant on petrochemical-based plastics, which often release toxic chemicals and are difficult to recycle, and that many foreign manufacturers make better use of sustainable plastics because of tighter recycling requirements.

Toyota scores highest for use of 'green' plastics originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 23 Feb 2005 14:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Rumors have been rampant the last few weeks that Sauber would be ending it's engine partnership with Ferrari after the 2005 season. However, the big question was, who would be supplying the Swiss team with engines from 2006 onward. Peter Sauber has long been rumored to be courting Volkswagen for a supply of engines, which would likely carry an Audi badge, to bring the German manufacturer to compete with rivals Mercedes-Benz and BMW on motorsports grandest stage. But today, BMW.WilliamsF1 boss Frank Williams, confirmed that BMW would be supplying Sauber with customer engines starting in 2006. This is a reversal for BMW, who has long said that supplying a second team in F1 was not economically feasible.

BMW to supply Sauber in 2006 originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 22 Feb 2005 17:50:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Lexus is denying claims that the Cabir worm poses a threat to Bluetooth capable navigation systems on their vehicles. The denial rebuffs claims made by a Kapersky Labs, a Russian IT security firm, that Lexus navigation systems could be infected with the virus via infected Bluetooth enabled phones. Kaspersky Labs now says that no cars were actually found to be infected, and that the inquiry was posed by a customer who was curious as to the vulnerability of the navigation system on some Lexus models. While the possibility of infection does exist, it appears as though the worst case scenario would be an error message would be displated on the navigation system screen. Lexus owners should have little to worry about.

Lexus rebuffs navigation system virus originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 18 Feb 2005 15:05:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

More from Ferrari and Fiat originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 18 Feb 2005 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

The final race seat on the 2005 Formula One grid was filled by Red Bull Racing when they confirmed that Austrian Christian Klien will partner David Coulthard on the grid at Melbourne. Tonio Liuzzi, the reigning F3000 champion and contender for the second seat at Red Bull Racing, will fulfill Red Bull's third driver testing duties. The decision to race Klien will be reviewed throughout the season, with Liuzzi waiting in the wings. The confirmation of Klien at Red Bull fills all the available race seats on the 2005 F1 grid, in an offseason that has seen a considerable amount of driver shuffling, the sale and purchase of two F1 teams, the introduction of India's first F1 driver, as well as a considerable amount of battling and strategic positioning over the future of the sport and it's regulations.

Klien confirmed at Red Bull; 2005 race seats full originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 18 Feb 2005 10:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Dear Arizona, you're my hero originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 17 Feb 2005 17:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

How will Fiat's purchase affect Ferrari? originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 16 Feb 2005 18:05:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

It was almost a year ago that Ford unveiled it's Shelby Cobra Concept car at the 2004 Detriot Auto Show. Two months prior to the unveiling, MotorTrend writer Matt Stone was chauffered around California's Irwindale Speedway in the experimental Shelby Cobra Concept by the legend behind the original Cobra, Carrol Shelby. After his ride, Shelby and Ford's global design chief J Mays promised next time, he would drive. Well, that promise of piloting the Shelby Cobra Concept recently came to fruition, and Stone (no, that's not Michael Moore) was able to pilot the car around that same Irwindale Speedway.

A ride in Ford's Shelby Cobra concept originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 15 Feb 2005 16:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

A year ago, we didn't know if there was going to be a Champ Car World Series, as IRL founder Tony George battled Kevin Kalkhoven and Gerald Forsythe in court for the ownership of the series. Kalkhoven and Forsythe won out, and the series stuggled through a tough 2004 season, with some odd rules such as mandatory pit-stop windows with forced tire changes, designed to improve the racing. In reality, it limited the strategic creativity teams could employ to try winning races, as everyone was on more or less the same strategy. It turned many people off (myself included), so thankfully for 2005, some of those odd rules have been repealed, and Champ Car appears set to go racing again.

Continue reading Champ Car gets back on track

Champ Car gets back on track originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 15 Feb 2005 15:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

It seems as though MINIUSA has stepped up it's battle against counterfeit MINI Coopers, with a new website, counterfeitmini.org. The site, run by the Counter Counterfeit Commisson, in cooperation with MINI and international law enforcement, is dedicated to ending the victimization associated with purchasing a counterfeit MINI Cooper. Of course, this is all in good fun, and is another creative advertising ploy from MINIUSA's award winning marketing team, who also brought us the MINI Cooper Robot and BatBoy stealing a MINI Cooper on the cover of Weekly World News.

MINIUSA battling counterfit MINIs originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 14 Feb 2005 09:35:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Robert Farago, over at The Truth About Cars, has [updated] an interesting article regarding Jaguar. And since I still have not forgiven Jaguar (and more importantly Ford) for pulling the plug on their Formula One program, I'm more than happy to talk a little smack about the Leaping Cat (is it Leaping Kitten these days?). Now Farago examines what Jaguar really needs, a fast, inexpensive sports roadster to generate cash. We wouldn't complain if they did that.

Dear Jaguar, what happened? originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 10 Feb 2005 10:05:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

As long as their has been memorabilia, especially sports memorabilia, there have been attempts to sell fraudulent items. As we all know, eBay has made it easier for frauds to pass off their fake goods as the real deal, so it is even more important for a potential buyer to do their research to make sure they are going to get what they bit on. But you know, sometimes a fraudulent seller should do some research themselves. Take the picture at right for example, a very nice photograph of Michael Schumacher and David Coulthard which has been autographed by the late Formula One legend, Ayrton Senna. Except, the photograph is circa 1997...Ayrton Senna died in 1994. Something doesn't add up here.

Does something look wrong here? originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 09 Feb 2005 14:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

What may very well be the last Jordan F1 car, the EJ15, broke cover today at Silverstone. Rookie Tiago Monteiro completed some installation laps in preparation for the car's first proper test later this week which will also involve Indian rookie Narain Karthikeyan. The look of the EJ15 is very similar to that of it predecessor, and still sports that instantly recognizable Jordan yellow. The only instantly notable differences on the EJ15 is the front wing height, and very sexy rear wing shape (which if it functions as well as it looks, the Jordan may get some much needed grip over the ill-handling EJ14). However, this is a rather bittersweet moment, knowing this will be the last hurrah for Jordan, before it becomes Midland F1 at the end of 2005. Maybe Jordan can pull out a few surprises now that it has strong financial backing.

The Jordan EJ15 breaks cover originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 08 Feb 2005 14:50:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Red Bull Racing's 2005 Formula One contender broke cover at Jerez, Spain late last week. The RB1 was piloted by a very scruffy looking David Coulthard in it's initial rundown, and the official first test will commence later this week with Christian Klien and Tonio Luzzi joining Coulthard. The RB1 shares many design queues with its Jaguar predecessor, but of course loses that sexy British Racing Green livery that Jaguar was known for, and gains Red Bull colors. With rumors of morale being at an all-time low at Red Bull's Milton Keynes factory, 2005 should prove interesting for Red Bull Racing.

Red Bull Racing reveals the RB1 originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 08 Feb 2005 09:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

The the delight of PETA members everywhere, Mercedes-Benz has agreed to offer "leather-free" versions of its vehicles. The move was made to pacify the German chapter of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, which claims thousands of cows are slaughtered each year for leather automobile seats and interiors, and were threatening protests at MB's Stuttgart headquarters. Mercedes say they are prepared to make vehicles without leather on demand (reading between the lines: Nobody will actually buy leather-free luxury Mercedes', but because you're a bunch wackos smearing fake blood on yourselves and lying in the street, you kind of scare us, so we'll appease you), but who actually buys an SL500 without leather? Of course, PETA considers this a huge victory because the skins of four to fifteen cows are needed for each car. Man, doesn't a nice juicy steak sound pretty good right about now?

Mercedes-Benz to offer "leather-free" vehicles originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 08 Feb 2005 09:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Before I'm raked over the coals, let me preface this post with a statement: this doesn't look real, but rather a semi-skillful Photoshop job. In fact the lines of look rather like that of a cross between a Porsche Cayenne and BMW X5. And the 2007 date? Something would have popped onto the radar by now. But none the less, it's always interesting to see (and read) the reaction to images and rumors like this, especially when a marque that inspires as much emotion as Ferrari is involved. The posts in AutoWeek's forum are surely entertaining. So have it Autobloggers, a 2007 Ferrari SUV? Hrm...

A Ferrari SUV? originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 04 Feb 2005 09:35:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Williams launch FW27, Heidfeld gets to drive originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 01 Feb 2005 09:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.