Autocar confidential: Keeping F1 clean, vegans don't drive Rolls-Royce and more

Our reporters empty their notebooks to round up this week's gossip from across the automotive industry

This week, our writers have been dispelling Formula One myths, finding out if long-running manufacturers are scared by the progress of Chinese start-up brands, and whether there's demand for vegan interiors at the very top end of the price spectrum.

*No foul play over F1 team radio*

Rumours that F1 teams swear in pit-to-car radio comms to make sure those messages aren’t broadcast to other teams turn out to be unfounded. Bernie Collins, head of race strategy at Aston Martin F1, said: “Team to team, nothing is filtered. So we’d still get that language and it wouldn’t prevent it [a radio message] going to another team.”

*No fear from Nissan as China grows*

Slow and steady wins the race – or does it? Nissan CEO Makoto Uchida thinks lengthy vehicle development times are giving Chinese start-ups the edge, because they react to the market far more quickly. “Do we do that as a Japanese enterprise? It’s not the same,” he admitted. “We do lots of testing and experimenting before we hit the road. They do have the speed to market, which we need to learn in the future.”

*This time will be different, says Polestar*

DRIVING FANS TEND not to be so keen on SUVs, especially electric ones, but Joakim Rydholm, chief test engineer at Polestar, hinted that the upcoming 3 will buck the trend: “A Polestar will always feel connected to the driver. The 3 will breathe and flow a bit more because it’s a different car [from the 2], but a driver will always choose a Polestar.”

*Rolls happy to go vegan - once customers ask for it*

“Nobody has ever asked us for a vegan interior,” said Rolls-Royce boss Torsten Müller-Ötvös, on whether his firm will ditch leather. “Sustainability is very important to us but it should not compromise luxury.” He called Rolls’ Goodwood factory a leader in sustainable production and said the firm is ready to respond to customer requests if there is a switch away from leather.