Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff has questioned Formula 1’s stated objective of attracting more manufacturers into the sport by lowering costs.

That was the original aim of the new technical regulations due to be introduced in 2021 which sought to make F1 more attractive to prospective manufacturers considering entering the championship.

Those hopes have since waned and FIA president Jean Todt has admitted that the focus now is to make sure that none of the current line-up of manufacturers – including Mercedes, Ferrari, Renault and Honda – decide to quit.

“We should be happy with four premium manufacturers committed to the sport,” Wolff told ESPN in a recent interview.

• Manufacturers to share engine technology with new entrants from 2021

“[The ones that are] already in there for a long time,” he continued. “Trying to make sure that, foremost, we seek compromise with the loyal partners in there.

“And then we look at the ones who might join in the future and listen to them. But that is only the second priority.”

Wolff admitted he couldn’t see a strong logical argument for wanting more than four manufacturers in the sport.

“You want more than four? What do you want, five or six?” he asked. “Where does that thinking come from? Is it greed?”

Wolff had been particularly aggrieved that the initial proposed rule changes planned to ditch the MGU-H part of the power unit, which reclaims heat energy to increase power and efficiency.

Dropping it would have made implementation simpler and cheaper, but Formula 1 has since rolled back on such plans – and Wolff is happy that this has been done on “purely economical” grounds.

©Mercedes

Today’s House impeachment inquiry hearings kicked off at 9 a.m. ET. A second hearing is scheduled for 2:30 p.m. ET.

WASHINGTON — 

Tuesday’s House impeachment inquiry hearings kick off a breakneck week of public testimony, with Democrats bringing in nine witnesses to testify before leaving Thursday for the Thanksgiving recess.

First up is Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman, the top Ukraine expert on the National Security Council, who said in his deposition that he repeatedly raised concerns in the White House about President Trump’s push on Ukraine for investigations into his political rivals during a July 25 phone call. Vindman was the first current White House official to give a deposition, and was one of the first witnesses to provide direct, firsthand confirmation of numerous details in an anonymous whistleblower’s complaint that first fueled the inquiry.

Alongside Vindman is Jennifer Williams, a State Department Ukraine expert assigned to Vice President Mike Pence’s office. In her deposition, Williams testified that Trump’s request for specific investigations in the July 25 call struck her as “unusual and inappropriate” and “shed some light on possible other motivations” for Trump’s decision to freeze security aid to Ukraine.

Testifying in the afternoon starting at 2:30 p.m. ET is former Ambassador Kurt Volker and National Security Council official Tim Morrison, Trump’s top advisor for Russian and European affairs.

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WASHINGTON — 

The House passed a short-term spending bill Tuesday that would keep federal agencies running for another month in hopes that the additional time will help negotiators wrap up more than $1.4 trillion in unfinished appropriations bills.

The bill would avert a Thanksgiving government shutdown, but opens the door to a possible shutdown just before Christmas.

The 231-192 vote sent the measure to the Senate, which is on track to pass the legislation in time to meet a midnight Thursday deadline. President Trump has indicated he will sign it.

The monthlong spending bill comes as negotiations on the full-year spending package have hit a rough patch. Most recently there was a failed effort by lawmakers to win even more money on top of $100 billion in additional agency dollars permitted by July’s hard-won two-year budget and debt deal.

Treasury Secretary Steven T. Mnuchin, who negotiated the July budget deal with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), reentered the talks last week but was unable to produce a breakthrough.

The measure would fund the government through Dec. 20. There isn’t much optimism, however, that the deadline will make it easier for a successful negotiation on a full-year measure that would fully put in place the July budget pact.

The House is also expected to be in the midst of impeachment proceedings in December, adding another obstacle to negotiations.

The chief holdup is Trump’s demands for up to $8.6 billion more for the U.S.-Mexico border wall. Republicans controlling the Senate have stuck with Trump despite worries that an impasse over his demands could force Congress to fund the government for the entire budget year at current spending levels.

“It is vital that we work in good faith to fund important priorities for the coming year,” said Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky).

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Gordon Sondland, U.S. ambassador to the European Union, has emerged as a pivotal link between the president and a shadow foreign policy led by Rudolph W. Giuliani.

WASHINGTON — 

Gordon Sondland, U.S. ambassador to the European Union, has emerged as a pivotal link between the president and a shadow foreign policy led by Rudolph W. Giuliani, who was urging the Ukrainians to conduct investigations into former Vice President Joe Biden and his son as military aid to Ukraine was being held up.

Sondland will be the first of three witnesses to testify Wednesday. In the afternoon, lawmakers will hear testimony from Laura Cooper, a deputy assistant secretary at the Department of Defense who specialized in Ukraine issues, and David Hale, the undersecretary of State for political affairs who was stationed in Kyiv.

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MEXICO CITY — 

Coming off the most interception-filled back-to-back games of his 16-year career, Philip Rivers remains the Chargers’ starting quarterback.

Coach Anthony Lynn indicated he wasn’t going to make a switch during the team’s week off but said every position will be re-evaluated given the team’s 4-7 record.

“I’m not going to entertain that right now,” Lynn said of possibly replacing Rivers. “I’m evaluating everything. Right now, Philip Rivers is our starting quarterback.”

Rivers threw four interceptions Monday in a 24-17 loss to Kansas City at Aztec Stadium, a home game for the Chargers as part of the NFL’s annual international schedule. He has been picked off seven times over the last two games, his highest total in consecutive weeks.

“I’m not going to single one position out,” Lynn said. “I’m looking at everybody. You know, we’re sitting here 4-7. Everybody could be doing something better.”

Tyrod Taylor is the Chargers’ backup. Rivers has been the team’s No. 1 quarterback since 2006 and Monday started his 230th consecutive game, including the playoffs.

With 14 interceptions, Rivers already has topped his totals from each of the last two seasons. He has been picked off on 3.4% of his attempts this year, matching the second-highest rate since he became a starter, and with just 15 touchdown passes, he’s on pace for his fewest since 2007.

The Chargers’ offense has struggled with turnovers and reaching the end zone, the main reasons the team’s seven losses have come by one score.

Those issues were most glaring over the last two games, in which the Chargers outgained Oakland and Kansas City but lost to both after they turned the ball over seven times and managed one takeaway.

“I like the way the offense has been moving the ball…” Lynn said. “We have to stop turning it over.”

Rivers was intercepted seven times on his first 333 attempts this season. He has been intercepted seven times on 83 passes since.

And those numbers could be worse. Against the Raiders, two other Rivers interceptions where nullified by defensive penalties. Also, Kansas City safety Tyrann Mathieu dropped a deflected ball that floated into his hands Monday.

“I know he would like to have those interceptions back,” Lynn said. “I mean, hell, who wouldn’t? But it’s got to get better. He knows that. … He understands where we’re at right now and how we’ve got to win.”

Against the Chiefs, Rivers was picked off by two safeties, a cornerback and a defensive tackle.

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Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers walks off the field during the second half of a game against the Chiefs on Nov. 18. 

(Eduardo Verdugo / Associated Press)

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Chargers receiver Mike Williams catches a 50-yard pass from quarterback Philip Rivers late in the fourth quarter of a game against the Chiefs in Mexico City. 

(Rebecca Blackwell / Associated Press)

3/22

Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers is sacked by Chiefs defensive end Frank Clark (55) and defensive tackle Joey Ivie (93) during a game Nov. 18 at Estadio Azteca in Mexico City. 

(Rebecca Blackwell / Associated Press)

4/22

Chargers receiver Keenan Allen can’t make a catch against Chiefs cornerback Charvarius Ward during a game Nov. 18 in Mexico City. 

(Marcio Jose Sanchez / Associated Press)

5/22

The Chargers take the field before a game against the Chargers at Estadio Azteca in Mexico City. 

(Rebecca Blackwell / Asssociated Press)

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The flags of Mexico and the United States cover the field before an NFL game between the Los Angeles Chargers and the Kansas City Chiefs at Estadio Azteca on Nov. 18 in Mexico City.  

(Eduardo Verdugo / Associated Press)

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Players for the Chargers and Chiefs warm up before an NFL game Nov. 18 at Estadio Azteca in Mexico City. 

(Eduardo Verdugo / Associated Press)

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Fans look on before an NFL football game between the Los Angeles Chargers and the Kansas City Chiefs on Nov. 18 in Mexico City. 

(Eduardo Verdugo / Associated Press)

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Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers throws a pass during the first half of a game against the Chiefs on Nov. 18. 

(Marcio Jose Sanchez / Associated Press)

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Chargers running back Austin Ekeler gets away from Chiefs defensive end Tanoh Kpassagnon during the first half of a game Nov. 18. 

(Marcio Jose Sanchez / Associated Press)

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Chargers running back Austin Ekeler reacts during the first half of a game against the Chiefs on Nov. 18. 

(Marcio Jose Sanchez / Associated Press)

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Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes looks to pass during the first half of a game against the Chargers on Nov. 18 at Estadio Azteca in Mexico City. 

(Marcio Jose Sanchez / Associated Press)

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Chargers strong safety Rayshawn Jenkins, center, celebrates an interception with his teammates during the first half of a game against the Chargers in Mexico City. 

(Eduardo Verdugo / Associated Press)

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Chiefs running back LeSean McCoy scores a touchdown during the first half of a game against the Chargers in Mexico City. 

(Marcio Jose Sanchez / Associated Press)

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Chiefs running back LeSean McCoy celebrates after scoring touchdown against the Chargers in Mexico City. 

(Marcio Jose Sanchez / Associated Press)

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Chargers running back Melvin Gordon leaps over Chiefs strong safety Tyrann Mathieu during the first half of a game Nov. 18 at Estadio Azteca in Mexico City. 

(Marcio Jose Sanchez / Associated Press)

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Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce hauls in a pass against his helmet during a game against the Chargers on Nov. 18 in Mexico City.  

(Rebecca Blackwell / Associated Press)

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Chargers strong safety Rayshawn Jenkins (23) intercepts a pass intended for Chiefs receiver Demarcus Robinson (11) during a game Nov. 18. 

(Eduardo Verdugo / Associated Press)

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Chargers strong safety Rayshawn Jenkins celebrates after intercepting a pass from Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes during a game Nov. 18.  

(Eduardo Verdugo / Associated Press)

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Chiefs running back Darrel Williams (31) celebrates with offensive guard Andrew Wylie after scoring a touchdown against the Chargers on Nov. 18. 

(Rebecca Blackwell / Associated Press)

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Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce celebrates after scoring a touchdown against the Chargers on Nov. 18.  

(Rebecca Blackwell / Associated Press)

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Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes motions before a play during a game against the Chargers on Nov. 18. 

(Marcio Jose Sanchez / Associated Press)

One of the interceptions led to a Kansas City touchdown on the subsequent play. The loss was sealed when Rivers threw short trying to pass to Austin Ekeler in the end zone in the final 25 seconds. Free safety Daniel Sorensen easily grabbed the underthrow, leaving Rivers face down on the turf as his teammates trudged off the field and the Chiefs celebrated.

Rivers’ second interception came when Mathieu read the situation perfectly and cut in front of Keenan Allen just as the ball was arriving. Mathieu’s 35-yard return set up Kansas City’s first touchdown.

“‘Honey Badger’ did a good job of reading his eyes and picking him off in the middle of the field,” Lynn said. “Give Kansas City some credit. They forced some of those plays.”

Lynn particularly referenced defensive end Frank Clark, who continually pressured Rivers, often at the expense of Chargers rookie left tackle Trey Pipkins. Clark finished with five tackles, a sack, two other quarterback hits, a pass knocked down and a forced fumble. His hit on Rivers led to one interception as the ball fell right to teammate Derrick Nnadi.

“Kansas City forced some of that,” Lynn said. “We’ve just got to do a better job making decisions with the football, period.”

Rivers’ recent struggles also include a failed final drive in Oakland when he threw eight consecutive incompletions — one of which was wiped out by a defensive penalty — to kill the Chargers’ last hope.

In that sequence, and again Monday night, Rivers was victimized by throwing deep instead of taking safer, shorter routes that appeared to be open.

“If he feels like someone drops coverage and he has a chance to go deep, that’s where the ball may go,” Lynn said. “But, for the most part overall, he’s been pretty intelligent with where he’s going with the football.”

James nearing return?

All-Pro safety Derwin James appears to be close to returning and could rejoin the Chargers in practice after the week off.

Lynn said James will continue to rehabilitate at the team’s Costa Mesa facility while most teammates receive a break. He has been on injured reserve all season because of a stress fracture in his right foot that required surgery in August.

Despite the Chargers’ record and third-place standing in the AFC West, Lynn said James won’t remain sidelined just to further protect a player who emerged as a rookie in 2018.

“Why would we do that?” Lynn said. “If we’ve got a healthy player as good as D.J., if he can play, he’s going to play. But we’re definitely not going to put him out there until he’s ready.

“We’re not tanking, guys. We’re 4-7. Last time I checked, we got five games left. We still have a chance to have a winning record here and maybe get some help. Who knows?”

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SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA REGIONAL

Regional championships, Tuesday

Open Division: San Diego Torrey Pines d. Mater Dei, 25-17, 25-23, 23-25, 25-20

Division I: Vista Murrieta d. Carlsbad La Costa Canyon, 25-20, 21-25, 32-30, 23-25, 15-9

Division II: Ontario Christian d. Carlsbad, 25-23, 21-25, 25-23, 16-25, 16-14

Division III: South Pasadena d. Palm Desert, 25-10, 25-18, 16-25, 25-22

Division IV: Nordhoff d. St. Bonaventure, 25-18, 25-16, 29-31, 25-14

Division V: Los Angeles University d. Mammoth Lakes Mammoth, 15-25, 25-23, 23-25, 25-21, 15-13

NORTHERN CALIFORNIA REGIONAL

Regional championships, Tuesday

Open Division: Kentfield Marin Catholic d. Oakland Bishop O’Dowd, 25-17, 25-15, 25-23

Division I: Moraga Campolindo d. Atherton Menlo-Atherton, 25-14, 25-19, 20-25, 25-14

Division II: Los Gatos d. Modesto Central Catholic, 25-17, 27-25, 25-13

Division III: San Francisco Lowell d. Atherton Sacred Heart Prep, 27-29, 21-25, 25-20, 25-22, 15-11

Division IV: Aptos d. Mill Valley Tamalpais, 25-22, 25-17, 25-22

Division V: Watsonville Mount Madonna d. San Mateo Nueva, 18-25, 25-22, 25-18, 25-23

STATE CHAMPIONSHIPS

at Santiago Canyon College (Orange)

Friday

Division V: Los Angeles University vs. Watsonville Mount Madonna, 4 p.m.

Division I: Vista Murrieta vs. Moraga Campolindo, 6:30 p.m.

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Saturday

Division IV: Nordhoff vs. Aptos, 11 a.m.

Division III: South Pasadena vs. San Francisco Lowell, 1:30 p.m.

Division II: Ontario Christian vs. Los Gatos, 4 p.m.

Open Division: San Diego Torrey Pines vs. Kentfield Marin Catholic, 6:30 p.m.

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A magnitude 3.5 earthquake was reported Tuesday evening at 10:42 p.m., seven miles from Palm Springs, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

The earthquake occurred 3.5 miles east-southeast of Anza, 11 miles from La Quinta, 11 miles from Palm Desert, 14 miles from Rancho Mirage and 16 miles from Indio.

In the past 10 days, there have been seven earthquakes of magnitude 3.0 or greater centered nearby.

An average of 234 earthquakes with magnitudes between 3.0 and 4.0 occur per year in California and Nevada, according to a recent three year data sample.

The earthquake occurred at a depth of 3.2 miles. Did you feel this earthquake? Consider reporting what you felt to the USGS.

Even if you didn’t feel this small earthquake, you never know when the Big One is going to strike. Ready yourself by following our five-step earthquake preparedness guide and building your own emergency kit.

This story was automatically generated by Quakebot, a computer application that monitors the latest earthquakes detected by the USGS. A Times editor reviewed the post before it was published. If you’re interested in learning more about the system, visit our list of frequently asked questions.

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I used to look askance at Angelyne. In the 1990s and early aughts, I’d see her around town, on one of the now-iconic billboards (image, name and nothing more) or driving her Pepto-Bismol pink Corvette like Barbie brought to life, and I would think: This is everything I like least about Los Angeles.

What I’ve come to understand, however, is that Angelyne was nothing if not ahead of her time. In the era before social media, she operated as a first-generation influencer, famous for being famous, using the mechanisms of celebrity to become a celebrity.

At the same time, unlike the influencers of the present, Angelyne has a kind of purity: Her product is herself. Not for her, Instagram photos of her college room outfitted with free items from an online retailer. Not for her, a reality TV show that helps promote a fragrance or a clothing line.

No, Angelyne’s designs on us are simpler. She has never wanted much more than to be recognized. She is paid for personal appearances and sells T-shirts from a website and the trunk of her car, but her self-construction is more existential than commercial, less a matter of campy notoriety (although that too) than something I now see as a deeply rendered and admirable act of will.

In 2017, an article in the Hollywood Reporter revealed her back story: She was born in 1950, the daughter of Polish Jews who’d survived the Holocaust. After attending high school in the San Fernando Valley, she decided — as people have been known to do in Los Angeles — to set her past aside.

Angelyne’s representatives disputed the accuracy of the Reporter’s account, but that hasn’t stopped NBCUniversal from putting it into development as a limited series. A few weeks ago the company announced that Emmy Rossum, late of “Shameless,” would be starring as Angelyne on Peacock, NBC’s new streaming service, in the spring.

If truth be told, Angelyne’s biography, and her day to day life, doesn’t interest me particularly; I read the Reporter story, but I doubt I’ll watch the show. What I find compelling is something more elusive: that Angelyne represents the psyche of this city, in which reinvention can often seem a strand of our collective DNA.

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Whoever Angelyne is and wherever she came from, it is the becoming that is her legacy. She’s an icon not because of her persona exactly, but rather because she has made us pay attention in spite of ourselves.

She’s also a Los Angeles original, a vivid signifier of the place and how it operates. Image, her presence tells us, isn’t frivolous; it has substance, especially here. Angelyne may get a bad rap, regarded as trivial with her sunglasses and wedgies, her pile of platinum locks, her Barbie silhouette: a fantasy built on a cliché. But I’d suggest the truth is just the opposite. She is as serious as it gets.

It’s unclear what, if anything, Angelyne has to do with the Peacock series, or what she might get out of it. If nothing else, it could introduce her to a new generation, and in any case, an unauthorized biopic would be oddly fitting: a simulacrum based on a simulacrum based on the original simulacrum — image taken to an extreme. At the same time, I’m not sure we need a re-creation when the real person, the living, breathing Angelyne, can still be found driving the city’s boulevards.

After all, Angelyne needs to be encountered in the flesh, or at least as a larger-than-life billboard image, an element in the landscape, in three dimensions. As much as she may have prefigured the role of influencer, Angelyne is not very present on the two-dimensional internet, despite her website and a not especially well-tended Instagram feed. The digital realm is not her medium. That’s why the Corvette has always been essential — when we catch a glimpse of her, on the same streets we traverse, we are reminded of what reality is here: a complicated dance in a city that remains suspended between artifice and authenticity.

Once, back in her heyday, I attended a party in Hollywood where Angelyne had been hired to make an appearance. Up close, she looked a little peaked, pancake makeup on a tired face. But why not? She was working. It requires effort to bring illusion to life.

This is the narrative Angelyne embodies. She’s made herself a part of the city’s fabric, a monument as much as a human being. In the process, she has taught us something about what it means to live here, about the drive (yes) that it requires. She is the definition of self-made, from the persona she inhabits to the history she obfuscates. Everything I like least about Los Angeles? I don’t see it that way now. Angelyne defies both her own limits and our expectations. Like the city, her presence is a function of her resolve.

David L. Ulin is a contributing writer to Opinion.

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