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Infiniti hires Sebastian Vettel as Director of Performance

Remember when, during the Grand Prix of the Americas weekend last November, we told you that Sebastian Vettel had worked with Infiniti on the new G Coupe and that there'd be more of that kind of involvement on the way? It's been made official with the three-time Formula One World Champion being named Infiniti's Director of Performance.
Although the announcement is fresh, Vettel's time on the job isn't, Infiniti saying that Vettel went to Japan, the Nürburgring and the Circuit de Catalunya to assist in the development of the Q50 sedan.
When we spoke to Andreas Sigl, the man in charge of Infiniti's F1 collaboration with Red Bull, about the tie-up he had also said, "Like Mercedes has AMG and BMW has M - whether it's called IPL or not - we want to have something in that space." If the brand is still serious about that, Vettel's chops could help them deliver the kind of performance they'd need as upstarts to challenge the ringleaders of that particular hi-po circus.

What happens to Renault-Nissan after Ghosn is gone?

Carlos Ghosn is a very, very busy man. Like, really busy. As in, he heads up three automakers (and their subsidiaries), running facilities in 68 countries and selling vehicles in 170 different markets across the globe. He flies over 300,000 miles per year and works 15 to 16 hours a day, just to manage an alliance between the Japanese and French that's responsible for an expected $140 billion in sales this year alone. The Chairman and CEO of the Renault-Nissan Alliance, Ghosn has managed a number of remarkable feats during his time at both automakers, but there are some that are questioning how much longer the 60-year-old exec can handle the punishing nature of his responsibilities. According to Fortune, six months ago Ghosn signed a four-year contract to continue running Renault, while his tenure at Nissan will continue until at least 2017. Beyond that, though, the future is rather murky, and it's made worse by the high-level turnover that Renault-Nissan has experienced over the past few years, losing execs like Carlos Tavares, Johan de Nysschen and Andy Palmer. Fortune has an excellent, and lengthy, feature on Ghosn, his responsibilities and the danger posed to Renault-Nissan by his departure. If you're at all curious about what the exec has done for the two automakers, how this alliance has worked when so many other industry partnerships have failed and just what a post-Ghosn future may hold, head over and have a look. News Source: FortuneImage Credit: Lee Jin-man / AP Hirings/Firings/Layoffs Read This Infiniti Nissan Renault datsun dacia lada readthis

Infiniti offers chance to design Sebastian Vettel's helmet for the USGP

The Circuit of the Americas will host its second United States Grand Prix in November, and based on what's happening with New Jersey it might be the only US torch left alight in the Formula One firmament. The story even before the inaugural event was about getting American fans involved, and Infiniti appears to be making the first splash this year with a competition to design Sebastian Vettel's helmet for the first two days of race weekend.
The only thing required of the graphic designer within you is to head to the competition site, download the helmet template and slather it in your unique technicolor vision. It will require some thought to make something interesting, though, since much of the helmet is already committed to team and sponsor logos; other than a few thin strips along the sides, your creativity will be confined to the oval atop the shell. Vettel will choose the winner and will wear the selected lid during the free practices and qualifying.
The grand prize winner will also get a VIP trip for two to the grand prix as a guest of Infiniti, which includes some face time with the triple world champion himself. The contest is on now, the deadline for entries is 11:59 pm GMT (6:59 EST), Sunday, September 29th and the winner is chosen the very next day. There's a press release below with more info if you want the complete skinny before putting stylus to digital paper.