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Everybody's favorite racing driver has been getting a lot of attention since claiming her "maiden" victory in the IRL race at Motegi in Japan two weeks ago. Now officials are considering giving Danica Patrick a shot at test driving a Formula One car.

Patrick has had a checkered past with F1 prospects. She was initially offered a chance to demonstrate an F1 car at Indy in 2005, but declined saying it was just for show. Around the same time, she was shocked by Bernie Ecclestone, who compared her to a kitchen appliance. Since her Motegi win, however, the international motorsport community has been abuzz about the prospect. Honda, which supplies the engine in Danica's IndyCar (and everyone else's, for that matter) says it will seriously consider giving Patrick a shot at testing for its F1 team. While some debate whether a woman has the physical strength to drive an F1 car, Patrick says she wants to focus on contending for the IRL championship before she considers a possible step up to Formula One.

[Source: Autosport, Photo by Christopher Lee/Getty]

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General Motors is on a campaign to streamline and cut through red tape, and to that end is changing the management structure of its brands. As of June 1, GM is establishing four new "brand czars" who will have increased control over their products and be responsible for their divisions' successes and failures. Pontiac-Buick-GMC, Cadillac-HUMMER-Saab, Chevrolet and Saturn will each be accountable to a new brand chief, who in turn will report to the corporate VP of sales, service and marketing. The positions, which will all be vice-president-level appointments (except for Saturn, whose brand czar will coordinate with Opel), will have increased input into the overall process from product development through sales.

The new brand czars will replace the five regional general managers that have acted until now as an insulator between the brands and its dealers. Insiders are hailing the move as a positive step, helping General Motors to streamline its bureaucracy.

[Source: Advertising Age]

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June 3 is still a long way off with something like this dangling overhead. That's the date for which Max Mosley, the embattled president of the FIA, has called an exceptional general assembly of the organization's constituents to discuss his future with the governing body. In addition to four of the world's largest automobile manufacturers - all of which participate actively in Formula One - several of the 222 member organizations that make up the FIA (including AAA) have called for his resignation. However Mosley, who was videotaped performing a Nazi-themed S&M orgy with five prostitutes, plans to fight for his job. He claims that for every letter of reprimand, he received another seven letters of support.

Whichever way the vote goes, however, Mosley says he'll retire at the end of his current term, which expires in October 2009. The vote will be taken via secret ballot from each of the 222 member organizations representing 130 countries.

[Source: ESPN]

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Tom Purves, Chairman of BMW North America, is getting a new desk -- one that is adorned with a silver Flying Lady. As of July 1, Purves will take over as the CEO of BMW's Rolls-Royce brand in Goodwood, England. Replacing Tom Purves as the CEO of BMW's North American Unit will be Jim O'Donnell, who has occupied the No. 2 seat since the beginning of this month.

Purves is no stranger to Rolls-Royce. He spent the first 17 years of his career there occupying several different management positions. The timing for his departure from BMW is interesting, though. BMW has a mandatory retirement age of 60. Coincidentally, that just happens to be the age Purves will celebrate on his birthday this November. Rolls-Royce, one of the most prestigious automakers in the world, doesn't have a mandatory retirement age.

[Source: Automotive News, subs. req'd]

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Continue reading GM aligns brands into four marketing channels, hires away Nissan exec

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Imagine getting a contract with a major F1 team before you're even out of high school. That's what Lewis Hamilton got with McLaren when he was young(er), and what karting protégé Will Stevens has achieved with the Honda Racing F1 Team, reflecting a growing trend in motorsport recruitment. While team leaders have always kept an eye on feeder series like Formula 3 and, more recently, GP2, to scout up-and-coming talent, the rising level of competition has driven the teams to start earlier and earlier with their recruitment programs.

At 16 years old, Stevens has the FIA-CIK KF2 European and Asia-Pacific, International Open Masters KF2, WSK Junior ICA and MSA British Junior titles to his name, along with five national championships. He met over the weekend with Honda's Ross Brawn and Nick Fry to sign a long-term driver support agreement that will help him develop and advance through the ranks until he's ready to race in Formula One, giving David Coulthard a heads-up on the next little pischer to complain about. Details are in the press release after the jump.

[Source: Honda F1]

Continue reading The next Lewis Hamilton? Honda F1 signs 16-year-old Will Stevens

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NBC is inching closer to finalizing the cast for the American version of the hit BBC series Top Gear, but it looks more and more like Jay Leno, Jerry Seinfeld and Tim Allen won't be part of the program. Reportedly to be called just "Gear", the show is anticipated to include four presenters instead of the BBC's three - although one could be assuming the role of The Stig as the show's test driver. Adam Carolla announced on his radio show that he'd be taking part in the program. Formula D driftmaster Tanner Faust is also tipped to be on the show (possibly in the aforementioned test driver role). However Dan Neil, the Pulitzer Prize-winning automotive journalist for the Los Angeles Times, revealed that despite having a signed contract with NBC, he would not be part of the line-up. Neil was suitably disappointed, but attributed the change of heart to a lack of on-air personality on his part, although last year he was part of the 10-episode WIRED Science show on PBS.

In a more discouraging sign, meanwhile, indications are that the scathing rhetoric that makes the BBC show such a hit will be severely curtailed by NBC, who fear a backlash from sponsors. According to Carolla, the program was set to begin filming at the El Toro Marine Air Base in California on March 20.

[Source: The Truth About Cars]

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Alfa Romeo has announced Christopher Reitz as its new head of design, succeeding Frank Stephenson who announced his departure last week. Reportedly a relative of the Porsche family, Reitz started his career at Volkswagen after graduating from the Art Center Europe in Switzerland. From there, he moved on to head Audi's Advance Design department before defecting to Nissan and then on to the Fiat Group.

The big question, however, remains over where the multi-talented Frank Stephenson will head next. Among his other creations, Stephenson is known as the father of the retro hatch, having designed both the MINI and the Fiat 500.

[Source: Car Design News via Inside Line]

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Remember Scott Speed? Despite having the best name in racing, the American driver is easy to forget. While drivers like Juan Pablo Montoya and Jacques Villeneuve found great success in Formula One, Speed just dropped out of the bottom of the pinnacle racing series, and has continued to fall since. The former Scuderia Toro Rosso driver has finally landed at the bottom rungs of the American stock-car racing ladder, but he's preparing to race his way back up to the top.

The latest development sees Speed getting behind the wheel of a Toyota racing pick-up in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series. Thanks in (large) part to Speed's benefactor, Red Bull, he'll be joining the Bill Davis Racing line-up, making his debut with the team in Kansas later this month before moving on to ten more races this season in addition to a full calendar of ARCA races in the No.2 Toyota that's sponsored by...you guessed it, Red Bull. Speed will also have an experienced coach in his corner: Richard "Slugger" Labbe, whose previous pupils include the likes of Dale Jarrett, Michael Waltrip and Speed's fellow F1-NASCAR migrant Jacques Villeneuve. Even with all the support, we'll have to wait and see how Speed fares on the lower rungs of the American oval racing ladder.

[Source: AutoWeek]

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Iconic automobile designer Frank Stephenson is on the move again. After six years in the Fiat Auto Group, Stephenson is stepping down from his position as head of design for Alfa Romeo. Stephenson denies the conclusion that he's leaving Fiat because of Lorenzo Ramaciotti, the former Pininfarina design chief sho Fiat coaxed out of retirement to head its group design.

Stephenson is widely known as the father of the retro-hatch, having designed the MINI while at BMW before designing the Fiat 500, Alfa Mi.To and, it's speculated, the upcoming Lancia Ypsilon. Stephenson also had a hand in designing cars as diverse as the original BMW X5, Maserati MC12 and Quattroporte, and Ferrari F430 and 612 Scaglietti. With a portfolio like his, the big question is where he will turn up next, a subject on which the American-educated designer remains mum.

[Source: AutoWeek]

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Although Ferrari got a mysteriously identical $100m payment last year, those funds came from Bernie Ecclestone's Formula One Management and not from Max Mosley's FIA, which imposed the fine. That cash was never meant for Ferrari to receive, but it is now being reported that two leading Ferrari figureheads will form part of the ad-hoc committee responsible for allocating $30 million of the funds. Michael Schumacher and Jean Todt, who despite having both left their positions at Ferrari remain inexorably connected to the team, will join McLaren-Mercedes' Norbert Haug, Automobile Competition Committee president Nick Craw and FIA president Max "J-Edgar-ain't-got-nothin'-on-me" Mosley on the committee that will allocate the funds towards a variety of causes to support motorsport development programs worldwide.

[Source: PlanetF1 via World Car Fans]

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Jacques Villeneuve will be back behind the wheel next week when the F1 circus heads to Bahrain, but he won't be competing in the grand prix. Instead, Villeneuve will be piloting a stock car in the Speedcar Series race that will support the main event.

We initially brought you news of the Speedcar Series when fellow Francophone former F1 driver Jean Alesi signed on to headline the series, which campaigns stock cars of all things at events across Asia. Although several retired F1 drivers compete in the series, Villeneuve is the only former world champion to line up. Following the Bahrain event, JV will join the Speedcar grid the following week for the season finale in Dubai. The Canadian driver has fought hard to stay racing since retiring from Formula One, driving for Peugeot at Le Mans while trying his darnedest to break into NASCAR.

[Source: Speedcar Series]

Continue reading Not quite NASCAR: Villeneuve signs on for Speedcar races

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Continue reading Mercedes confirms Wagener as new design chief

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The inability of Formula One drivers to sit still may seem natural, but Fernando Alonso may be taking it to the next level. After switching from Renault to McLaren for 2007 and then back to Renault for this season, the two-time world champion is back at it, fuelling rumors that he could move to Ferrari in another year or two.

Speculation of Alonso's potential move to the Scuderia crew began to circulate when he was on his way out of McLaren, and were furthered when his new contract with Renault reportedly left him with an out after one season. But after two disappointing races for Ferrari pilot Felipe Massa, the rumors are flying once again. Coming rather short of denying the prospect, Alonso told the press in , "I always want to be in the best car in the field... It is clear that Ferrari has one of the best cars already." Despite a contract that ostensibly secures his ride through 2010, if Massa doesn't manage to adapt to driving without traction control, Alonso just might get his chance.

[Source: F1-Live]

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What a tangled web we weave. Scuderia Toro Rosso driver Sebastian Vettel is one of the only drivers in Formula One who doesn't have a manager, and the rookie has no plans to change that despite an increasingly complicated entanglement of contracts between several teams now being reported in the motorsport media.

[Sources: GrandPrix.com and F1-Live, Photo by Mark Thompson/Getty]

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