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Red Bull may seek engines from Ferrari after Mercedes snub

Red Bull and Renault's fractured relationship is pushing the Austrian F1 team to find a new engine provider. But after a trip across the German border to chat with Mercedes-Benz proved fruitless, the team is apparently set to head across its home country's southern border, and into Italy. Yep, Red Bull Ferrari could be a thing next season. According to RBR boss Christian Horner, the company is just doing "necessary due diligence" in contacting other engine suppliers, although he's willfully admitted to Germany's Bild newspaper that the "idea of Mercedes is finished," BBC Sport reports. It wasn't so much that Mercedes and Red Bull couldn't come to financial agreement – Red Bull owner Dietrich Mateschitz views throwing money into F1 in much the same way you or I toss pennies into the mall fountain – but rather that the Germans had no interest in supplying the best engines on the grid to the factory team's perennial rival. BBC Sport seems to think that fact, along with what the outlet calls Red Bull's "antagonistic" relationship with engine suppliers, killed the Mercedes deal. Honda and RBR aren't likely to happen either, thanks to McLaren (not that we think Red Bull would approach the Japanese, which have struggled mightily all season long). By process of elimination, that just leaves Ferrari. Scuderia Ferrari Team Principal Maurizio Arrivabene confirmed that his team can accommodate Red Bull's engine needs, and that he wasn't concerned with the idea of a Ferrari engine in an Adrian Newey-designed body. "In theory they have big names, with Newey as chief designer and it is easy to think that if you give them the engine they will build a scary chassis, which means they will be really competitive," Arrivabene told BBC Sport. "Concerning my team, my engineers and aerodynamicists know their own jobs. For that reason I don't have a problem, and competition is nice when you have a stronger competitor." "This doesn't mean tomorrow morning we will give our engines to Red Bull or Toro Rosso," Arrivabene added. And it's that statement we'd suggest remembering. There are, after all, still seven races left in the 2015 season, which is quite a lot of time for new and different developments within the sport's notoriously gruesome political process. In other words, don't count on an announcement from any team or manufacturer for at least a few more races. Related Video:

Britain orders 10,000 ventilators from F1/McLaren/Mercedes/Ford/Rolls-Royce/Airbus

Paramedics and ambulance personnel get instructions from a command unit outside London's ExCel Centre arena, which is being turned into a 4,000 bed temporary hospital called NHS Nightingale to deal with coronavirus patients. The hospital is due to open Monday, March 30. / AP     LONDON — Britain has ordered 10,000 ventilators from a consortium of leading aerospace, engineering and Formula One racing companies which will start production this week in response to an urgent government call for industry to help save lives. The 27-strong team, including Airbus, BAE Systems, Ford and Rolls-Royce, have joined forces to ramp up production of a ventilator made by Smiths Group, which supports those with complications from COVID-19. The consortium, which also includes seven Formula One teams including McLaren and Mercedes, home to World Champion Lewis Hamilton, said they had pulled staff off existing projects to meet the national need. Some 1,228 people have died from coronavirus in the United Kingdom and a senior health official said on Saturday the country would be doing well if it manages to keep the death toll below 20,000. "This consortium brings together some of the most innovative companies in the world," Dick Elsy, the head of the consortium, said in a statement. "I am confident this consortium has the skills and tools to make a difference and save lives." The United Kingdom, which initially only had 5,000 ventilators available in its National Health Service, has been trying to secure additional supplies after realising it needed 30,000 to cope with the peak of the outbreak. Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who is now in isolation in Downing Street after testing positive for coronavirus, made an emergency appeal earlier this month for manufacturers to retool their production lines and start making specialist health equipment including ventilators. Britain now has about 8,000 ventilators, with another 8,000 on order from international manufacturers that are due in coming weeks. Last week it placed an order for a newly-designed model from the vacuum cleaner company Dyson that will need to be approved by the health regulator. Mercedes part of a separate effort, too Separately on Monday a second consortium including Mercedes Formula One and other F1 teams said it had developed in less than a week a new version of a breathing aid that can help coronavirus patients.

Your guide to vehicle subscription services

They might be extremely limited in scope because of location availability, but vehicle subscription services are a growing trend that most luxury manufacturers are jumping on. Plans are expensive, but you're paying for much more than just the car typically. We highlighted four of the larger plans with a few more listed at the end. Care by Volvo Volvo launched its subscription service last year with its brand-new XC40. It was the only vehicle available for a time, but subscribers can now get an S60 sedan as well. Subscriptions are for two years, with the monthly price including insurance, a concierge service, wear-and-tear item replacements and all maintenance. You'll be able to drive 15,000 miles per year with whichever Volvo you choose, and although there are no options to extend that mileage, you can swap cars after a year. Pricing for the XC40 is $650 per month in base trim, while an S60 can be as expensive as $850 for the R-Design. Volvo's plan is to offer more cars soon through the service, but it's relatively limited compared to others right now. Porsche Passport Porsche has two levels in its subscription service: Launch and Accelerate. Launch will cost $2,000 per month and give you access to the Cayman, Boxster, Macan and Cayenne. All of those but the Cayenne can be had in "S" trim as well. Accelerate is where the fun really starts. For $3,000 per month you can choose from a fleet of 911s, including the S, 4S, Cabriolet and Cabriolet S. If those aren't enough, you can also get the Panamera 4S, Macan GTS and Cayenne S. There are no mileage limits and you can change vehicles as often as you'd like. Also included in the price is insurance, repairs, detailing and any maintenance. It might be extremely expensive and limited to Atlanta only, but this subscription service is second-to-none for what you get. Audi Select Audi just launched its subscription car service, and it's offered in one version for a flat fee of $1,395 per month. For that you'll have access to five different cars including the A4, S5 Coupe, A5 Cabriolet, Q5, and Q7. Not a bad range of vehicles, but it would've been neat to see the recently updated A7 in there too. Maybe in time. Like the others, insurance and maintenance are wrapped up in the price. Audi is allowing for unlimited miles and two car swaps per month here. In addition to that, you'll get two days of free rentals through Audi's Silvercar rental agency should you go on a trip.