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Race Recap: 2015 US Grand Prix was wet, wild, and historic

Hurricane Patricia made landfall in Mexico this weekend, and made her presence known throughout the South. For two of the three days of the grand prix weekend it rained non-stop in Austin, so badly on Saturday that qualifying had to be postponed until Sunday morning, and then it only stayed dry enough to conduct the first two sessions. At the end of a tricky, slippery Q2 Nico Rosberg had put his Mercedes-AMG Petronas on the front row, one tenth ahead of teammate Lewis Hamilton. The German had done the best he could to keep his hair-thin chances of a World Championship fight alive. Daniel Ricciardo lined his Infiniti Red Bull Racing chassis in third ahead of teammate Daniil Kvyat, both drivers having moved up a place because Ferrari driver Sebastian Vettel took a ten-spot grid penalty for using a fifth engine and dropped to 13th. Continuing the two-up theme, Sergio Perez and Nico Hulkenberg were fifth and sixth for Force India. After that came variety: Felipe Massa in seventh for Williams, Max Verstappen for Toro Rosso in eighth, Fernando Alonso looking good in the rain for McLaren in ninth, and Romain Grosjean for Lotus in tenth. When the lights went out, Turn 1 set the tone. Pole position is on the outside line at Circuit of the Americas, and Hamilton had got himself far enough under Rosberg by the time the two got up the hill that Rosberg had to stick to the outside through the corner. At the corner exit Hamilton used the entire track, pushing Rosberg wide, their cars touching. As Rosberg left the track and dropped back to fourth, Hamilton radioed to the team to say the contact was unintentional. The two Mercedes' and two Red Bulls animated the front. Rosberg passed Ricciardo at the end of a Virtual Safety Car period employed to let the marshals clean the debris at Turn 1. Kvyat started chasing down Hamilton until the Russian ran wide and let Rosberg and Ricciardo through, then Rosberg ran wide on the next lap to let Ricciardo through. On Lap 15, Ricciardo passed Hamilton through the esses to take the lead. After the first round of pit stops the Aussie still had the lead, followed by Rosberg, Kvyat, Hamilton, and Vettel. Then Rosberg got around to take the lead and Vettel closed in on Hamilton as the Brit duked it out with the Russian. Rosberg showed excellent speed, building up a nine-second gap on Ricciardo, but a Safety Car period erased that when Marcus Ericsson had to park his dead Sauber on the inside of the track after Turn 10.

At long last, Infiniti plans a production EV

After years of false starts, it appears that Nissan's Infiniti division will finally launch a production electric car in 2019 and debut it as a concept in January at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit. Details at this point are scant, but Infiniti Executive Design Director Alfonsa Albaisa told Autocar the EV would be an all-new electric-only vehicle based on a new platform. Citing the company's grand prix-inspired Prototype 9 racecar concept that was shown a few weeks ago at Pebble Beach, Albaisa said consumers would see "parts of the car in a different context" on the concept EV. The Prototype 9's all-electric powertrain was developed by parent company Nissan's Advanced Powertrain Department. The last we saw of any electric offering from Infiniti was way back in 2012 with the LE Concept sedan, which was supposed to show up in dealerships two years later. Those plans were initially postponed in 2013 and then again in 2015 amid doubts over EV sales projections and larger concerns over boosting overall Infiniti sales. The LE had a 24 kWh lithium-ion battery pack paired with a 100 kilowatt electric motor delivering 134 horsepower and 240 pound-feet of torque. Related Video: Featured Gallery Infiniti Prototype 9 at Pebble Beach View 26 Photos Related Gallery Infiniti LE Concept: New York 2012 Green Infiniti Concept Cars Electric Pebble Beach

First Infiniti QX30 Concept image released ahead of Geneva Motor Show

After releasing a shadowy glimpse of the rear of the QX30 Concept a few days ago, Infiniti is finally shining some light on the premium compact crossover's backside ahead of the vehicle's full debut at the 2015 Geneva Motor Show on March 3. The QX30 is a thorough reworking of the brand's Q30 Concept from the 2013 Frankfurt Motor Show. Many of the same styling elements show up on the latest luxury crossover interpretation, but the touches are tweaked to better align with Infiniti's latest look. In addition to jacking up the ride height by 1.2 inches, the CUV gets hard creases in its sheetmetal and complicated 21-inch aluminum wheels that really grab the eye. The rear wears a contrasting dark purple stripe that separates the hatch area from the exhaust tips housed in the skid plate, and both concepts share a coupe-like proportion with the backseat door pulls hidden for a cleaner line. While not pictured, the company says the vehicle has a glass roof. Infiniti still isn't showing the aluminum-trimmed front of the concept yet, but the automaker admits that the styling on display here hints at the possibility of a future premium compact crossover, which isn't really a surprise. The company has talked about a production QX30 several times in the past. First image release of strong and stylish Infiniti QX30 Concept • Concept combines elevated crossover stance with strong coupe contours • World premiere at 2015 Geneva International Motor Show • Enhanced crossover is 30mm taller than Q30 Concept HONG KONG – Infiniti today provides the first full glimpse of the QX30 Concept, which will have its world premiere at the 2015 Geneva International Motor Show. The crossover concept hints at a future premium compact vehicle and gives a strong indication of the brand's commitment to this segment. Pushing design boundaries, the QX30 Concept combines the sleek lines of a coupe with the distinguishing features and higher stance of a crossover. Looking poised for action, yet fluid, it promises to deliver effortless capability with style. "We wanted the spontaneous fluidity of the QX30 Concept design to cut through the urban clutter and rigidity, reflecting its go-anywhere and spur-of-the-moment nature," said Alfonso Albaisa, Infiniti Executive Design Director.