The cover story for the first edition of AUTO in 2019 is given over to the 1000th Grand Prix in the history of the FIA F ormula 1World Championship, the Chinese Grand Prix, which takes place in Shanghai in April.
It’s an important milestone for this series, which has hundreds of millions of fans around the world and which has been a significant driver of technological progress in the automotive world. It is also symbolic that such a landmark in the history of the pinnacle of motor sport takes place in China, a country that more than any other characterises the present and the future of the automobile, due to its size and the opportunities it offers. With that in mind, we also feature a profile of China’s latest motor sport hope, Guanyu Zhou, in the section dedicated to talented youngsters.
Sadly, the world of Formula 1 was dealt a terrible blow just before the start of the season with the sudden death of FIA Director of F ormula 1, Charlie Whiting. His passing shocked everyone in motor sport and we wanted to honour him with a special tribute.
Road safety and sustainability remain major priorities for the FIA and the Federation recently addressed the topics at the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos. In this edition you can read a report on this year’s outcomes, as well as two linked features: one on the work of the FIA Foundation to produce a more realistic framework to deal with air quality in urban areas and another on the new Green NCAP programme. This initiative is supported by the FIA and its aim is to rebuild consumer trust in vehicle emission tests.
Also in this issue, our growing collection of profiles of key auto industry figures shines a light on Chung Mong-Koo, who has transformed Hyundai and Kia into global brands, while our regular look at motor sport legends features the only driver who can boast of having been and FIA world champion in two different disciplines, rally and rallycross, namely Petter Solberg. These are just some of the features you will find inside. I hope you enjoy them and, as usual, I invite you to send in suggestions on how we can improve the magazine still further.

Jean Todt, FIA President 

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