Hiroshi Fushida Beppe Gabbiani Bertrand Gachot Patrick Gaillard
Floyd Anthony Raines Scott Russell Riggs Hiroshi Fushida Beppe Gabbiani
Alan Dennis Kulwicki Travis Wade Kvapil Robert Allen Labonte Terrence Lee Labonte
Filed under: Motorsports, Hirings/Firings/Layoffs
Many eyebrows were raised when Red Bull jumped from sponsoring existing F1 teams to buying its own 2005, but then the energy-drink giant surprised the pundits again by buying an unprecedented second team in 2006. So why'd they do it? To give the aspiring talents, which the outfit nurtures through its extensive young driver development program, a leg up into the pinnacle of motorsport. That's what has prompted Scuderia Toro Rosso to change its drivers from time to time, but it usually does so one driver at a time. But the upcoming season marks a drastic change for the team, which has just dumped its current drivers in favor of an entirely fresh line-up. In the place of Jaime Alguersuari and Sebastien Buemi, STR will be fielding newcomers Daniel Ricciardo and Jean-Eric Vergne for the 2012 championship. Both are known entities among Toro Rosso's engineers, having tested for the team previously: Ricciardo as the team's official back-up driver, and Vergne as the team's nominee for the Abu Dhabi young driver test this season. Australia's Ricciardo also drove eleven races this season for HRT, and both he and France's Vergne are former champions of the British Formula Three series. As for Alguersuari and Buemi, well, they both drove admirably these past few seasons, but with months still to go before the start of the new season, hopefully they'll find drives elsewhere.Toro Rosso ditches its drivers for fresh talent in 2012 originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 16 Dec 2011 08:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink | Email this | CommentsFiled under: Concept Cars, Geneva Motor Show, Hyundai, Design/Style
Hyundai has decided to drop a little gift ahead of the 2012 Geneva Motor Show. Yes, we said Geneva, which means this teaser comes a full three months before the curtains drop on its official debut. In any case, the Korean automaker says the I-oniq "will preview the next evolution of the brand's 'fluidic sculpture' form language," and that its two strong arched curves create "a playful contrast between the sharp character lines and soft but muscular features." Who are we to argue? Based on this image alone, it's hard to say whether this is a hatchback, a shooting brake, a crossover of sorts or even a four-door coupe in the vein of the Mercedes-Benz CLS. See an enlarged version of the teaser by clicking on the image above, and stay tuned for more information on the Hyundai I-oniq as we get closer to its Geneva debut.Continue reading Hyundai teases I-oniq concept for Geneva
Hyundai teases I-oniq concept for Geneva originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 15 Dec 2011 11:32:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink | Email this | CommentsScott Russell Riggs Hiroshi Fushida Beppe Gabbiani Bertrand Gachot