What to watch this Weekend (Oct 31st - Nov 6th)

• WRC. Rally action from Spain. Thursday @ 10pm - 11pm (MAVTV) replay
• Fifth Gear (UK). Aston Martin 100th Anniversary. Friday @ 10pm - 11pm (VelocityHD) new
• Formula 1 - Abu Dhabi Gran Prix; from the Yas Marina Circuit, Abu Dhabi in UAE. Practice. Friday @ 9am- 10:30am (NBCSN(HD)) same-day delayed airing
• Formula 1 - Abu Dhabi Gran Prix; from the Yas Marina Circuit, Abu Dhabi in UAE. Qualifying. Saturday @ 1:30pm- 3pm (NBCSN(HD)) same-day delayed airing
• FIA European Rally Championship. GEKO Ypres Rally from Belgium. Saturday @ 2pm - 3pm (VelocityHD) new
• Formula 1 - Abu Dhabi Gran Prix; from the Yas Marina Circuit, Abu Dhabi in UAE. Race. Sunday @ 7:30am - 10am (NBCSN(HD)) live
• Australian V8 Supercars - The Gold Coast 600. From the Gold Coast street circuit in Queensland, Australia. Saturday @ 11pm - 1am (FS2(HD)) delayed airing from 10/25-10/27
• Top Gear (UK). Marathon of past episodes. Monday @ 4pm - 3am (BBC America(HD)) great replays
• Motorweek. 2013 Chevy Cruze Diesel. Tuesday @ 8pm - 8:30pm (VelocityHD) replay
• Chasing Classic Cars. Back to the Beach. Tuesday @ 10pm - 10:30pm (VelocityHD) new
• Top Gear America. Season 4 - Episode 7. Fully Charged. Tuesday @ 9pm - 10pm (History Channel(HD)) new
• Wheeler Dealers. Willy's Jeep. Wednesday @ 9pm - 10pm (VelocityHD) replay

We have a good bit of motorhead action to look forward to with the start of November. But without further adieu, let's recap last weekend's action from F1 GP of India and get the weekend started...

Maldonado has a wheel nut fly off in FP2 (not a whole wheel this time) resulting in a new fine for Williams Renault. Vettel has the fastest time of both FP1 and FP2. Front left tire wear on the soft tire has been the talking point, most notably some blistering being seen as fast as 4 laps in (Hulkenberg's car), but most averaging about 10 laps. The medium tire is lasting more than twice that (20+ laps), so the qualifying strategy will be interesting to see who wants to start the race on the softs. Pirelli's Director tells Will Buxton that FIA didn't want another boring one stop race (like Vettel enjoyed in 12') so softs and mediums have been offered rather than last years mediums and hards. The current rumor is that Massa could be heading to Williams; he has plenty of Brazilian backing for where ever he goes next, which presumably would replace Maldonado's bank roll. Buddh International circuit is off the F1 schedule for 2014 and its future is unclear; we'll see how things work out going forward, but this could be the end of a relatively short era here in India.

In related tire news, Pirelli's Chairman tells the FIA if they don't allow them to perform winter testing before the season begins they're backing out of supplying tires in 2014. This is what happen prior to the beginning of this season and all hell broke loose when it was made known that they had some private testing sessions with one of the teams, as Pirelli wanted to get more data. They want to avoid this problem for 2014 -- especially with the numerous spec changes, from chassis minimum weight to engine configuration to KERS.

Grosjean just misses Q2 in 17th position while Botas takes his 16th spot. It appears that the team misjudged the cutoff time for Q2 and Button went a bit quicker than most accounted for; he was caught out in the pit, but he's quick enough to work from the back as he's done in the past. Massa pulls a flyer to make the cut once again, and Alonso take matters into his own hands earlier in the session, throwing on the softs to ensure a time low enough to make the cut.

Q2 starts much like Q1, Alonso throwing down another hot lap in the softs to ensure Q3 entry. It appears people are using the softs through Q2 at least. The pace quickens and Vettel and Alonso break into the 1:24s after Webber puts down a 125.097. Button starts off high on the lineup but by the end of Q2 he's barely hanging on. The McLaren chassis looks better in India than most previous races and both Perez and Button make Q3. Kimi, Hulkenberg, Perez, Rosberg and Massa make the cut as well.

Q3 starts off with the heavy hitters on softs. this is interesting as if you get your Q3 time on softs you'll be starting with a full tank on them. Vettel throws down a 124.119 with about 5mins n change left. Webber throws down a 125.215 with the mediums. Alonso puts in a 125.826 on softs. Now the other teams react and pit. 4:30 to play and Mercedes puts hams on newer softs. Raikkonen is still out on softs. Vettel pits for another set of new softs, seemingly trying to improve on his time and starting the race on an even newer set of softs, but it doesn't quite work out after going wide on his flyer. Q3 ends with Kimi's 125.248 on softs sticking him into P6. Massa (125.201) pulls off P5, out qualifying Alonso again. Rosberg (124.871) and Hamilton (124.941) take P2 and P3, respectively on softs, Webber (125.047) P4 but will be starting on mediums which could be a serious advantage. Kimi (125.248), Hulkenberg (124.334), Alonso (125.826), Perez (126.153) and Button (126.487) round out the top 10.

The race starts off with a great launch from Hamilton, leap-frogging Rosberg for P2 but unable to pass Vettel. Shortly afterwards, Massa takes off passing both Petronas' and taking P2. Alonso mixes it up in the field and loses elements on the front left when coming into contact with the back of Webber. Webber also gets into Kimi in traffic, but doesn't take on any damage. Vettel gets a 2.5 second gap after lap one, but after lap two he pits quick for the mediums; reason is to avoid the mid-pack traffic he'd be coming out in if he pitted later on. Alonso comes in shortly afterwards as he needs a wing and swaps to mediums while he's in. Massa assumes the lead and tries to put a bigger gap between himself and Vettel. This strategy isn't working as Vettel is going faster than the leaders on softs on the mediums. By lap 6 the softs are done and the pits begin. Rosberg comes in for mediums on 7/70, Massa is in for mediums on 8/70. Vettel is back up to P8 by 9/70 and P5 in 10/70 (his pit cautions him on being too aggressive). Webber now assumes P1 on 10/70, still on the mediums. Oddly enough Perez and Ricciardo are P2 and P3, respectively, all on mediums.

Vettel is up to P4 by 12/70, now chasing the top three down. He passes his 2014 teammate on 13/70. Massa is in 8th by 14/70. Grosjean pits on lap 14 for another set of mediums, coming out in 15th. Webber is still in front, Perez 8secs back and Vettel going purple, 4secs back from Perez. Hamilton is P10.

Rosberg and Hamilton are running P7 & P8 on 21/60. Vettel finally passes Perez and starts chasing down Webber; the gap is 11.8. After some dodgy defensive moves by Gutierrez, Alonso finally passes Esteban Gutierrez. By lap 26 the gap to Webber is 10.8. It appears that since Webber has to run softs still, now would be the time so he could then go onto mediums for this last stop of the race about the same time that Vettel goes in for his last set of tires; this would make for a great shootout. 

Rosberg pits on 28/60 for a set of mediums and it feels he's going to finish the race out on them. He comes out in 13th ahead of Grosjean. On 29/60 Webber comes in for softs to bang in some hot laps; comes out in 2nd behind Vettel. Gutierrez continues his double blocking moves on 29/60, keeping Grosjean behind him in a very unsportsmanlike manner. On 31/60, the runs for the last sets of tires for the other players begin; Massa comes in for mediums, Hamilton and Alonso do the same. A lap later Vettel comes in for his mediums (32/60) as Webber is flying on the softs. Webber comes in and gets his mediums back on to wrap this race up (33/44); he returns to the field in 3rd. 

Meanwhile Daniel Ricciardo is in P2 as he's yet to pit this entire race, but he finally comes in 34/60. Now it appears the RedBull showdown is about to begin, as Vettel is going purple, Webber has a gap of 12.5 seconds to cut down and Vettel's Engineer is telling him to save his tires so he can finish the race out. The only other driver that hasn't pit yet is Adrian Sutil in his Force India, who is currently out on lap 37 with his original mediums; he's running in 3rd, but he'll need to pit some point soon.

Then all of a sudden Webber is told to shut it down due to the now notorious Renault alternator issues affecting the gearbox -- "gearbox Synch". He pulls off after letting his feelings be known, via inflection, over the radio. Vettel's team tells him that Mark has retired for electronic issues and Vettel acknowledges that he's aware. Given the two RedBulls are identical, the RedBull pit looks anxious. Webber gets picked up by a track marshal on a scooter; this has happened to Mark so many times in the last few races it's almost expected his luck will be crap for the rest of 2013. 

Sutil finally pits on 43/60 for his second set of tires. Hamilton is behind Massa and can't get by him; Massa is have another solid outing. Alonso is further back as he's still making up for the damaged from wing from early in the race. Currently it's Vettel, Raikkonen, Rosberg (44/60). Raikkonen's pit tells him to conserve fuel as it appears he's going to stay out for the rest of the race (50/60); trouble is his tires are older than those around him...Rosberg is coming.

Rosberg takes P2 on the straight 52/60. Vettel's pit is telling him not to use the drink bottle in order to take the lightest possible toll on the electrical system; seven laps left and it's getting real. Hulkenberg has to come into the pit on 54/60 for some reason. Alonso is in 11th trying to make lemonade and Grosjean has worked his way into 4th and is aiming for the podium; remember that he started in 17th(!). 

Unfortunately on lap 56/60 Hulkenberg comes into the pit again and retires the car for good; he had a great race, but once again his car has let him down despite his best efforts. Meanwhile Grosjean is up Raikkonen's ass; Kimi's tires are going off. The Iceman doesn't do Roman any favors as they jockey for P3 (56/60). Shortly afterwards the Lotus pit tells Kimi to let Roman through and he makes the pass -- Lotus Renault has a new #1 (57/60). Massa, who was capitalizing on the Lotus battle, passes Kimi also. Then the train of drivers come; Hamilton who's tires are failing him as well is getting reeled in by Perez, who has had an awesome weekend so far. While trying to get around Raikkonen Perez and his happier mediums makes an outside move and takes the position. Hams makes it around Raikkonen as well, but doesn't have the tire to claw the position back from Perez (59/60).

Grosjean takes 3rd and holds onto it through the checkered flag. Rosberg keeps 2nd position for a great result in the battle of Mercedes and Ferrari in the Constructors Championship (Hams in 6th). Perez has his first top 5 finish ever and possibly the best finish for McLaren this year. Vettel goes on to win his 6th race in a row and the drivers title, doin donuts after his victory lap at the start finish line, with standing ovations. There are a lot of things we learned with Vettel taking his fourth Driver's Championship as a 26 year old. For one he's very talented and two he has a great working relationship with his very talented Engineers (arguably the best of all time -- ie, Newey), who have built a car that exploit his driving style (or vice versa). Third, it's clear that Vettel has some of the best luck in motorsport; he hasn't had a significant mechanical failure (well...alternator issues in Spain) all season and no retirements in over a year. All of these things have resulted in a mind boggling run that will not be matched in quite a long time. Vettel is now one of the greats and it'll be interesting to see who, if anyone, can dethrone him (and Horner/Newey) with the start of the V6 Turbo era in 2014.

Current Drivers standings are as follows: Vettel, Alonso(-115), Raikkonen(-139), Hamilton(-153), Webber(-174). Current Constructors standings are as follows: RedBull. Ferrari, Mercedes(-157), Ferrari(-161), Lotus(-185). The race for P2 is still yet to be determined in both departments and I think we'll still see plenty of fight in the remaining three races. This will start tomorrow with the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. Enjoy your weekends.

Video courtesy of V8Supercars.

Quick Vid: Audi S3 review (2013) (Autoblogger)

Our friends at Autoblogger check out the 2013 Audi S3 (8V). I'm still not sure why Audi won't bring this 3-door to America, but apparently knocking folks over the head (~40k) to get a Golf R, alone, is still better business for VAG than having two similarly priced high-end 3-door hatchbacks.

Video courtesy of Autoblogger.

Quick Vid: The One With The 2014 Mercedes-Benz E63 AMG Wagon! (MotorTrend)

Justin Bell takes the newest E63 AMG Wagon to the track to see what it's made of. I can't think of many other family haulers I'd rather own without a manual transmission. Someone would have to gift it to me though; we're taking donations.

Video courtesy of MotorTrend.

Car Pron: Killing Tires With a Ferrari F12 (CHOC)

Not a bad way to start off the week.

Video courtesy of Drive.

Dope. #154

Image courtesy of Svda Photographics.

What to watch this weekend (Oct 25th - Oct 30th)

• Formula 1 - Grand Prix of India; from Jaypee International Circuit in Greater Noida, near New Delhi. Practice. Friday @ 4:30am - 6am (NBCSN(HD))  live
• Fifth Gear (UK). Mercedes G63 AMG. Friday @ 10pm - 11pm (VelocityHD) new
• Formula 1 - Grand Prix of India; from Jaypee International Circuit in Greater Noida, near New Delhi. Qualifying. Saturday @ 4:30am - 6am (NBCSN(HD)) live
• FIA European Rally Championship. France. Saturday @ 2pm - 3pm (VelocityHD) new
• Formula 1 - Grand Prix of India; from Jaypee International Circuit in Greater Noida, near New Delhi. Sunday @ 5am - 7:30am (NBCSN(HD)) live; replay at 2pm
• Top Gear (UK). Marathon of past episodes. Monday @ 4pm - 3am (BBC America(HD)) great replays
• Motorweek. 2014 Cadillac CTS. Tuesday @ 8pm - 8:30pm (VelocityHD)
• Chasing Classic Cars. Cannonball's Run. Tuesday @ 10pm - 10:30pm (VelocityHD) new
• Top Gear America. Season 4 - Episode 6. Can cars float? Tuesday @ 9pm - 10pm (History Channel(HD)) new
• Wheeler Dealers. 57' Chevrolet Bel Air. Wednesday @ 9pm - 10pm (VelocityHD)

Solid line up ahead, with new shows and more importantly the countdown to the end of the Formula 1 season. Last week we saw the end to the ALMS franchise, which will be rolled up with Grand Am into the IMSA 2014 TUDOR USCR Series (see video below). FIA F1 won't be going bye bye, but it will be saying good bye to V8 engines and hello to an all new turbo V6 setup which will bring Honda back to grand prix racing. With change comes new challenges and intrigue, but let's not get too ahead of ourselves. The Grand Prix of Japan was full of surprises, but was far from surprising simultaneously.

The story of FP2 was Spoon corner; this lovely yet quick bend caught a wide variety of drivers out. Perez barely put a rear tire off the track heading into it, locked up the rear and went right into the tire wall. Alonso lost it on this corner as well, but was fortunate and didn't hit anything. Vettel ran wide around Spoon too, getting the now trademark green dye of the fill grass on his tires. Kimi found himself in the kitty litter on the way through Dunlop curve, resulting in his need for a lift out. Suzuka is loved for the very reason that is pushing these drivers to the edge; it's an old school technical track that demands a lot from the driver to master. Earlier though, in FP1, Maldonado had an spin-out where his rear wheel fell off without any noticeable evidence of the wheel nut removing itself; a seemingly clean release of the most disconcerting kind. The FIA investigated and later fined Williams for an improperly fastened wheel nut. Maldonado went off track again in FP2, however on this occasion, all four wheels stayed on.

Q1 started with Redbull working to get Vettel's car together after a KERS battery failure in FP3. Additionally Adrian Sutil went into the barriers backwards during FP3, requiring a gearbox change, as if his season could go any more wrong than it has over the last three races. Esteban Gutierrez quickly hops out of his Sauber Ferrari in the paddock due to a flash fuel vapor fire that erupted before he headed out for his first run of Q1. On a sad segway, RIP Maria De Villota, who passed away at the young age of 33 from "natural causes", seemingly stemming from her terrible accident as a Marussia test driver last year. 

Webber is at the top early in Q1, but his pit is telling him to run again as the seemingly building wind gusts could impede a later run. Meanwhile Jean Eric Vergne's Torro Rosso rear brakes both catch on fire (along with his chassis), resulting in a red flag halting Q1 with 2:55 left. Everyone low in the qualy standings are getting a tough draw, as when the green flag comes there is traffic out the wazoo. Everyone high up is sitting in the pit to avoid the gridlock. Massa, facing a knockout, throws a mean lap down with the options, taking P2 in Q1. Maldonado just makes the cut. Grosjean takes P1 with a 131.9.

Q2 starts off with both Lotus's running 132.0xx. It appears they're both quite dialed in, accomplishing these times on the hard tires. The option/mediums start circulating the paddock -- Alonso, Hamilton and Button pop off 131.8xx's. Vettel throws down a 1:31.290 with the mediums, Webber following shortly afterwards with a 131.513. Grosjean puts mediums on and puts in a 131:565. Hulkenberg's strong outings continue this weekend, taking P5 in Q2. In the final seconds drivers are getting pushed down the order. Perez and Di Resta are out, but Massa out paces his teammate Alonso on a flyer, again, taking P6 ahead of Rosberg, with Alonso, Button and Hulkenberg rounding out the top 10.

Q3 starts off with Vettel getting radio concerns about a KERS failure requiring adjustments for his brake bias. He almost goes off the track, putting two wheels off in a quick drift, but still puts down a 131.3xx. Webber puts the hammer down shortly afterwards, breaking into the next echelon with a 1:30.975. The big hitters (read Lotus) scramble to adjust to the news that Vettel is having issues. Alonso and Hamilton come by with high 1:31s, but hit the pits again for new options. 1:56 left and everyone is working their tires up to temp for the final flyer for pole. After the smoke clears, not much changes; Webber takes pole for his final Suzuka F1 farewell, lowering his time to an incredible 1:30.913. This is Webber's first pole all season and his first time out qualifying Vettel this year. Vettel improved slightly (1:31.089), but whatever issues concerning his KERS system put a ceiling on his potential. Hamilton hustles to take 3rd (1:31.253) followed by Grosjean 4th (1:31.365), Massa 5th (1:31.378), Rosberg 6th (131.397), Hulkenberg 7th (1:31.644), Alonso 8th (1:31.665), Raikkonen 9th (1:31.684) and Button 10th (1:31.827). Hulkenberg is a contender, Webber seems to have gotten some good fortune and Massa is working on his 'Ferrari can kiss my ass tour' with another solid performance. That last bit is my own opinion of course, but I'm happy he's still fighting hard since getting a very stylish leather boot from Maranello. Oddly enough on this same story line, Alonso isn't so keen on Ferrari either. He's on record stating how he's had a car 8/10ths a second off the leaders pace for the past four years; it'll be interesting to see where Alonso decides to 'take his talents', if anywhere else, this off-season.

Race day in Suzuka, Japan is as beautiful and sunny as it's been the last couple days with strong wind gusts to match. During the warm up lap Massa complains of throttle issues and Rosberg has issues with his steering wheel electronics. Alonso is trying to make Vettel's road to the Driver's Championship as hard as possible, so immediate success is measured in if he can finish above 8th position. Vettel's KERS issues have seemingly been addressed last night, but will this be enough? 

The race started off with plenty of contact, Webber and Vettel both getting jumped by Grosjean and Hamilton, but Hamilton gets into Vettel's front wing and starts losing air by Turn 1. Further towards the back of the pack Bianci and Van Der Garde touch and fly into the kitty litter (much like Alonso's retirement on this same track last year), with Van Der Garde hitting the tire wall. Hamilton's right rear tire falls to pieces as he makes his way around the track to the pits, takes on the hard tires and heads back out with a new strategy from the back of the pack. Roman Grosjean is killing it (5/53), doing his best Vettel impression with a ~1 second lead. Vettel meanwhile isn't going fast enough to catch the front runners, in a major turn of events. Kimi isn't doing very well, in 11th 5/53. In additional bad news for Hams, the rear damage the destroyed tire did in some of his down force so he's running a second behind the leader.

By 8/53 Alonso is trying to chase down his stablemate Massa. Hamilton retires on lap 9/53, suggesting there was more damage than just aero. Hulkenberg is catching up with Alonso, but then pits for hards on 11/53. Ferrari's both stay out. Vettel seems to be getting into a grove and is starting to reel Webber in...then Webber pits for the hards on 12/53. Webber returns in 6th. Massa and Raikkonen pit for hards, Hulkenberg passes Massa when he returns to the field. Grosjean comes in for hards and gets a smokin' stop (2.6), comes out ahead of Webber. Rosberg pits for hards and is released right in front of Perez who's looking to pit; FIA investigating unsafe release. Alonso pits for hards on 14/53 to try passing Massa, but he still comes out behind Massa on pit exit. Perez and Button mix it up in a battle for 11th. Vettel pits from P1 for hards and comes out in 3rd behind Webber (15/53). Grsojean goes purple.

Ricciardo, who hasn't pit yet (hards) is holding up Hulkenberg in 5th, playing into Ferrari hands (20/53). On the front straight Massa is looking for his opportunity ahead a bit too much and gets passed in the DRS zone by Alonso. Hulkenberg finally passes Ricciardo into 130R in a ballsy maneuver, then Alonso works his way past into the front straight. Unfortunately for Massa, he's stuck behind Ricciardo which is leaving him open to the advances of Esteban Gutierrez. Massa and Gutierrez bump wheels, but Massa stays ahead (23/53). 

Webber is reeling Grosjean in, now within 1sec (25/53). Vettel, trailing those two is being told to stay patient, but is still locking up here and there trying to catch up. Webber comes in to pit on 26/53, so it appears that Redbull is trying to make their passes in the pits. It's odd Webber came in so far ahead of Vettel, so it's possibly they're on two different strategies. Vettel, still out, is chasing down Grosjean. Webber comes out in 3rd, 15 seconds back. Grosjean pits on 30/53, coming back out in 3rd. By lap 33/53 Vettel is losing time to Grosjean, who is flying, taking 3/10ths out of him per lap. This may play back into Webber's hands, who appears to be on the short end of the RedBull strategy stick currently. By lap 35/53 Vettel is still losing time to Grosjean, but he stays out. It appears his pit is trying to make this last stop as short as possible to have the best tire strength possible to fight it out for the finish. Massa speeds in the pit lane on his last stop, so his drive through penalty is going to hurt his current 6th position quite a bit; comes back out in 11th. Vettel finally stops for hards on lap 38/53, bypassing the mediums. He comes out in 3rd behind Grosjean and starts the hunt. It appears that Webber, currently 1st, will be going onto mediums for his final stint. A bit further back on the track, Raikkonen is reeling in Alonso for 5th (39/53). Hulkenberg is still holding onto 4th.

Vettel passes Grosjean on 41/53 on the front straight, his newer hard tires the take the edge this time around. Now we talk pit deltas. If Webber comes in, there's a good chance he won't be able to take the win. His gap on vettel is 14 seconds, but the pit delta is about 22 seconds and will mediums be enough for him to pass Vettel before the end? Will the RedBull pit let him pass Vettel? Welp, Webber comes in on 43/53 for mediums. Time for a 10 lap firefight for the race. Webber is now 5 seconds back from Vettel, 3 seconds back on Grosjean who presumably needs to stop again (43/53). By 45/53 a small blister appears on Vettel's left front. Webber is taking hearty chunks out of Grosjean's time. Vettel is running into lap traffic, the pressure intensifies. Webber gets within reach of Grosjean, but there's no where to pass (47/53); he's losing time. Roman isn't going to pit either, too little time left. Vettel is sounding frustrated on the radio, stuck behind 3 lapped cars on 49/53. Webber still unable to pass Grosjean on the straights, almost like Webber's DRS/KERS isn't working. By lap 50 Grosjean and Webber come upon the same lap traffic Vettel did previously.

Webber finally gets Grosjean on lap 52/53. Rosberg has low fuel, but is stuck behind Esteban Gutierrez who is trying to get some championship points for himself and team. Vettel takes the checkered flag, Webber comes in second and Grosjean third (and pulls off and stops right past the finish line). Alonso follows in 4th, Raikkonen 5th, Hulkenberg 6th and his Sauber stablemate Gutierrez takes 7th, Rosberg 8th, Button 9th, Massa 10th. The question is if RedBull subtlety sabotaged Webber's change of winning by having him pit so early for that second to last set of tires when he was still in a good place gap-wise. I'm going to go out on a limb and say that RedBull wanted Vettel to win this race and despite the x-factor here, which was Grosjean holding Webber up, this appeared to be one last "Vettel is our guy" jab in the ribs before Webber leaves the team. Then again, Mark was slowed by Grosjean for about 4 laps so it's up for debate. Regardless, this makes five straight wins for Vettel and Grosjean has a hell of a race. What did we learn? Sauber Ferrari put in work for 6/7 finish, Massa sabotages his own possible strong finish, Alonso did himself a service by taking 4th, Hamilton's bad luck lead to a retirement and Suzuka was one of the best races of the season. Renault power plants sweep the podium and there are only 4 races left.

The current standings are as follows: Vettel, Alonso (-), Raikkonen (-), Hamilton, Webber (-). Vettel has all but sown up the Driver's championship and barring a DNF in India he'll be crowned there. The Manufacturers championship P2 is the real battle, with Petronas Mercedes and Scuderia Ferrari neck and neck; this contest will probably be determined by the last race of the year. Enjoy your weekends.

Video courtesy of Drive.

Car Pron: 2014 BMW M5 Competition Package: A Better Driver's Car? (MotorTrend)

MotorTrend's Carlos Lago checks out the 2014 BMW M5 Competition package to see if it improves upon the base F10 M5. Video courtesy of MotorTrend.