Red Bull dismisses Vettel tantrum report

Formula One champions Red Bull recognized on Saturday they were well behind rivals in preseason testing but dismissed reports that Sebastian Vettel had "thrown a hissy fit" about the situation.

Four-time champion Vettel and his team have suffered a string of setbacks due to the new Renault power unit and the problems continued in Bahrain on Saturday with the German breaking down on his first lap of the day.

Vettel helped marshals push the stricken RB10 back to the garage.

Red Bull team principal Christian Horner told Sky Sports News that speculation Vettel had thrown a tantrum when he first tested the car back in January was "complete and utter rubbish."

"I don't know where that came from about Sebastian," he added. "He is fine, he understands that there are issues and he is trying to help the team where he can.

"There has not been one raised voice, one bit of discontent. He has just got his head down and he has a huge amount of trust in the team."

The Red Bull website also carried a highly sarcastic report from their "F1 Spy" about the rumor mill.

Vettel, it joked, had sent the team a postcard to say sorry and decided to spend a couple of weeks chilling out watching daytime soaps and eating chips at former teammate Mark Webber's house.

While Red Bull and some of the other Renault-engined teams have been struggling to string a significant number of laps together, Mercedes and Ferrari-powered rivals have been doing race simulations.

Vettel's new Australian teammate Daniel Ricciardo, preparing for a home season-opener in Melbourne on March 16, said on Thursday the team was still "not up to scratch" with time running out.

Ricciardo had a more positive day on Friday but Saturday brought more gloom and Horner said the team was "still definitely on the back foot.

"This is the 10th day of testing and we are about 10 days behind I reckon," he added.

Horner said cooling issues that had sidelined the team during the first team in Jerez, Spain, had been addressed and Red Bull were working hard with Renault to fix other problems that had emerged.

"We still have another two weeks before Melbourne, for sure we will be bringing more parts to Melbourne. It would just be great if we could have another couple of days like we had yesterday." - Reuters

source: gmanetwork.com

Meet Hyundai's lean, mean zombie killing machine

Even the most brain-depraved zombie would think twice before messing with this vehicle.

Hyundai has built a fan-designed "Zombie Survival Machine" for the television show "The Walking Dead," based on its Santa Fe sport utility vehicle.

"As part of The Walking Dead Chop Shop configurator app designed by Hyundai and INNOCEAN USA (launched during San Diego Comic-Con), fans have designed thousands of custom zombie survival machines using the Hyundai Veloster Turbo, Santa Fe or Elantra. This summer, Kuo’s Santa Fe design was picked as the winner out of more than 82,500 fan submissions," Hyundai said.

“We love Anson Kuo’s take on this Santa Fe Zombie Survival Machine – it’s creative… and deadly. With help from the popularity of The Walking Dead franchise, Hyundai continues to expand the conversation around Hyundai vehicles with young and passionate audiences,” said Steve Shannon, vice president, Marketing, Hyundai Motor America.

Features of the anti-zombie machine include "knife blades, an automatic crossbow, razor-wired windows, three machine guns, a samurai sword, aluminum armor and a muffler silencer."

Hyundai said Kuo's winning vehicle was constructed by Galpin Auto Sports (GAS).

The machine is to be unveiled on the New York Comic-Con show floor on October 10 at the Future US booth.

Kuo, a native of Arizona, had created the urban camouflaged Zombie Survival Machine.

He had wanted to create a "stealthy vehicle with abundant cargo space for supplies and passengers, maximizing survivability against the undead," Hyundai said.

Kuo added the knives as a primary weapon aims to save on scarce ammunition.

Last July at the San Diego Comic-Con, Hyundai unveiled a customized Veloster Zombie Survival Machine designed by Robert Kirkman and built by GAS.

“Having Anson’s winning design on display at New York Comic-Con is a fun way to celebrate The Walking Dead’s 10th anniversary,” said Robert Kirkman.

A separate article on Discovery News noted Hyundai is one of the TV show's sponsors.  — TJD, GMA

source: gmanetwork.com