THEIR ANNUS HORRIBILIS
If you’d have tapped them on the shoulder on New Year’s Eve and told them how this one would go, they’d have cracked open the absinthe
THE MCLAREN F1 TEAM
While Lewis Hamilton has notched up his ifth Formula 1 title – and his fourth since leaving McLaren – his ex-employers have had another torrid season. After predicting its switch to Renault power would see it outclass Red Bull at some circuits, CEO Zak Brown admitted the 2018 car wasn’t quite the corner-speed weapon he’d previously insisted it was. Racing director Eric Boullier stepped down ahead of the British GP. The only saving grace for a team that hasn’t won the constructors’ championship since ’98 is that it inished some way o the bottom of the standings, helped by Williams’ dismal season and Force India being stripped of its points prior to Spa.
TESLA’S ELON MUSK
Have you heard the one about Elon Musk and the farting unicorn? No, it’s not a joke, just one of many lapses of judgement that have befallen the co-founder of Tesla. The cartoon image of a latulent horned horse, created by a Colorado potter, turned up on Tesla touchscreens and promotional material. A spat on Twitter with the artist’s daughter followed. Not to be confused with his Twitter spat with a British diver involved in the rescue of a football team trapped in a Thai cave; Musk is facing legal action. In August Musk tweeted that he was considering taking Tesla private at $420 per share and had ‘funding secured’. The US Securities and Exchange disagreed, claiming fraud, and later reached a settlement that’s seen Tesla pay a ine of $20m, Musk pay a ine of $20m, and Musk step down as chairman.
DIESEL ENGINES
It’s not the run-up to Christmas you see in the Waitrose ads: about 2000 sta at JLR’s Castle Bromwich factory were put on a three-day week in response to poor sales, particularly of diesel Jaguars. The diesel slump was widespread – September igures showed a 42.5 per cent decline compared to 12 months earlier – and was prompted by a mix of new emissions regulations, post-Dieselgate anxiety and an about-turn in government advice. Millions of owners are left wondering if anyone will want to buy a used diesel.
ROLLS DESIGNER GILES TAYLOR
Taylor had quite a year, launching the most important vehicle in the history of a centuryold British brand, before being poached by China’s FAW. While the Rolls-Royce Cullinan wasn’t met with quite the level of vitriol that greeted Bentley’s initial Bentayga concept, Taylor’s baby didn’t exactly go down a storm. It’ll sell, and it’ll make Goodwood millions, but Rolls’ interpretation of an ‘all-terrain highbodied car’ is as ugly as it is gargantuan.
AUDI CEO RUPERT STADLER
The Dieselgate scandal rumbled on through 2018, with VW and Audi agreeing to pay respective ines of £880m and £700m to German prosecutors. The new twist was the arrest of Audi CEO Rupert Stadler. His home was raided and he was then held in pre-trial