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Ferrari picks up ex-Sauber driver Esteban Gutierrez as test pilot

With McLaren's long-awaited confirmation of Fernando Alonso and Jenson Button, the grid for the 2015 Formula One World Championship is finally complete. (That is, at least, aside from the bankrupt Caterham and Marussia teams, whose fate for next season still remain open.) But with the big game of musical chairs now drawn to a close, not everyone who had a seat this year will have one the next. And that includes one Esteban Gutierrez, who lost his ride with Sauber but has landed a test driver role with Ferrari instead. Gutierrez climbed up through the formula racing ladder, winning the 2008 Formula BMW Europe and 2010 GP3 titles before getting his start as a test driver with the Sauber team – a role which he held for two seasons while simultaneously putting up a good fight and winning races in GP2. Sauber promoted him to the race seat in 2013 (when he placed a career-best seventh place at the Japanese Grand Prix) and kept him on board for another season. But after failing to finish in the points even once this past year, both he and veteran team-mate Adrian Sutil were both replaced for next season. Taking their place will be Marcus Ericsson (who drove for Caterham this year) and newcomer Felipe Nasr (who served this season as test driver at Williams). That's left Gutierrez without a race seat, but Scuderia Ferrari has snapped him up as its official test and reserve driver for next season. In that capacity he'll be offered the chance to drive top-flight machinery and hone his skills with a front-running team, and will be on standby should either Sebastian Vettel or Kimi Raikkonen be unable to drive at one grand prix or another. Most of the other teams have yet to confirm their third drivers, but Williams recently announced it was promoting Susie Wolff to the job and McLaren confirmed Kevin Magnussen was bumped down for next season to make way for Alonso. The move may strike some as odd since Gutierrez is not part of the Ferrari Driver Academy development program, but Sauber has long shared close ties with the Maranello-based team. Ferrari supplies engines to Sauber, which in turn sometimes graduates drivers to the Scuderia. Former Ferrari drivers Felipe Massa and Giancarlo Fisichella both drove for Sauber, and current drivers Vettel and Raikkonen both got their starts there as well. A Mexican driver is back to Maranello Maranello, 15 December 2014 – Ferrari announces that, as from next season, Esteban Gutierrez will become part of the Scuderia workforce.

Ferrari IPO worth $1 billion to launch imminently

Or maybe not. Back in July, we reported that Ferrari's initial public offering could come any day, based on what FCA honcho Sergio Marchionne told reporters at an international economic forum. Marchionne himself ensured investors that the Maranello automaker was "days away" from filing the paperwork. That didn't happen. Now it's October, and the rumormill is churning about all things Ferrari IPO on the news that the company has filed amended IPO documents with the SEC on September 22. Like last time, the launch is apparently imminent – as early as today, reports CNBC – and sources are hearing an offer of $1 billion in stock, or roughly 10 percent of what FCA believes Ferrari to be worth. Back in July, Marchionne insisted that Ferrari was worth as much as $11 billion, despite experts at the time pointing out that this was much higher than even the company's internal assessment of the brand's value. Bloomberg is also reporting that demand for Ferrari stock may exceed supply by as much as 10 times, even before the IPO. Much of this value (as much as half) is derived from the brand as intellectual property, as opposed to its assets or profitability. Part of the brand value equation is Marchionne's attempt to reposition Ferrari as a "luxury" brand, as Business Insider notes – the word "luxury" is mentioned 151 times in the document. The broad universe of branded Ferrari goods, like luxury clothing and toys, are a strong illustration of Ferrari's power as a brand. For traditionalists and Ferrari fans jittery at the thought of their beloved manufacturer subject to the whims of shareholders, a few calming notes. Tech Times reports that the documents confirm that Ferrari will remain incorporated as an Italian company. More importantly, there's no indication at present that Ferrari's new emphasis on "luxury" will change their product plans, meaning ever-faster exotic cars will continue to roll out of Maranello for now.Related Video:

Weekly Recap: Ferrari pens a provocative F1 car of the future

Scuderia Ferrari unveiled its vision of the future for Formula One this week, revealing sketches of a sleek, muscular racecar. Called the Concept F1, Ferrari is showcasing the design to start a conversation about the next generation of Formula One cars and spur interest in the sport, which has been maligned for its unattractive racecars in recent years. The Concept F1 was penned by the company's in-house studio, Centro Stile Ferrari, with input from its aerodynamics department. Though the sketches look futuristic, the company says the design could be executed without changing F1 regulations. From its beginning, Ferrari's racecars have had both form and function, winning on the track and turning heads with everything from the 250 Testa Rossa, 330 P3, Michael Schumacher's single-seaters from the early 2000s and many others. That lineage led the Scuderia's leaders to survey the paddock, wring their hands and come up with the Concept F1. As Ferrari said on its website: "Our challenge was to create something that was – to put it short – better looking." It's a philosophy that was implemented for this season's car, the SF15-T. While not groundbreaking in appearance, Ferrari cleaned up the design, particularly up front, and the racecar now has a more attractive nose that delivers better aerodynamics. It's more of the same in back, where a tighter design creates more downforce. "This year's car is certainly an awful lot better looking than last year's car," Ferrari technical director James Allison said in a video on the Scuderia's website. The updates come as Ferrari, and all F1 teams, get a better handle on the extensive 2014 rule changes that brought back turbocharged engines and altered the aerodynamic regulations for the series. Less dramatic changes also are going into effect this year. Ferrari, which is coming off a disappointing fourth-place finish in the World Championship, is obviously looking to the future. Appearances have always mattered for the red cars. We'll see if they bring the Scuderia success this season and beyond. Other News and Notes Next-generation Chrysler Town & Country spied Fiat Chrysler Automobiles is hard at work on the next-gen Town & Country minivan, and our spy shooters have captured heavily covered prototypes during testing on the road. We can't tell anything about the exterior design, though we see glimpses of an instrument panel (which looks vaguely Dodge Charger-esque) and infotainment screen inside.