Source: http://www.metrof1.com/blogs/metrof1/2011/10/vettel-sprouts-a-second-finger.html
Kurt Adolff Fred Agabashian Kurt Ahrens Jr Christijan Albers Michele Alboreto
Tuesday, July 31, 2012
The season so far: pattern amid the unpredictability
This Formula 1 season has so far been a perfect storm of unpredictable results, thrilling races and a closely fought title battle.
Who would have predicted that a man who has not once had the fastest car would be leading the world championship as it neared its halfway stage?
Yet Fernando Alonso, whose Ferrari started the campaign more than a second off the pace, goes into this weekend's British Grand Prix with a 20-point lead.
Who would have predicted that the defending world champion, who took 15 pole positions in 19 races last year, would fail to get into the top 10 qualifying shoot-out?
Formula 1 teams will have the opportunity to test a new hard tyre compound that Pirelli are developing for the future during the practice sessions of the British Grand Prix. Photo: Getty
Yet that is exactly what happened to Red Bull's Sebastian Vettel in China - and very nearly again in Monaco.
Who would have predicted that last year's runner-up, a man who is renowned for his delicacy with tyres, would struggle for pace in a season in which the fragile Pirellis are the defining characteristic? Yet there is Jenson Button having a terrible time in the McLaren.
Who would have predicted that a driver who owes his place to sponsorship money and who was previously known best for inconsistency and mistakes would win a race? Williams's Pastor Maldonado did exactly that in Spain.
Or that it would take until the eighth grand prix for the season to have its first repeat winner? Step forward Alonso again.
F1 has been maligned for years as being boring and predictable - overtaking, people said, was too hard and working out who was going to win too easy.
No longer. There has been so much action in the eight races so far this season that you almost don't know where to look.
There are concerns that F1 has now gone too far the other way, that it is too unpredictable, that too much of a random element has been introduced by the fast-wearing, hard-to-operate Pirelli tyres that are at the root of this new direction.
In essence, the fear is that F1 has been turned from an exercise in precision engineering into a lottery.
And there is unease in certain quarters that the drivers are always having to race "within themselves", with tyre life their biggest concern.
Yet through the fog of uncertainty and apparent haphazardness, a pattern has emerged.
As the competitive edge swung wildly from one team to another in the opening races, it was revealing that the positions at the top of the championship were very quickly occupied by the best drivers - Alonso, Vettel, his Red Bull team-mate Mark Webber and McLaren drivers Lewis Hamilton and Button.
The list of different winners continued, until Alonso's spectacular win in Valencia last time out, but through it all the big hitters continued to be the ones who scored most consistently.
Despite that, there has undoubtedly been a welcome element of unpredictability, and the top teams have not had it their own way.
So while Red Bull, McLaren, Ferrari, Mercedes and Lotus - the teams who have won every world title for the last 15 years - have all figured at the front, Williams and Sauber have also been up there mixing it with them. As, on occasion, have Force India.
This is partly to do with the tyres. This year's Pirellis have been deliberately designed with an unusually narrow operating-temperature window. Getting - and keeping - them there is far from easy, and the big teams do not have exclusivity on clever engineers.
The unusually great importance of the tyres has so far lessened the effect of aerodynamics - for so long the determining factor in F1.
Just as importantly, the regulations have now been pretty stable for the last four years. When that happens the field always tends to close up. Both Sauber and Williams have serious engineering resources of their own, and have clearly built very good cars.
Through all of this, one man has stood out above all others.
Alonso has long been considered within F1 as the greatest all-round talent, and this year the Spaniard has driven with a blend of precision, aggression, opportunism, consistency and pace that is close to perfection.
He has taken two stunning wins and scored consistently elsewhere. In fact, had Ferrari's strategy brains been a little sharper, he may have had four victories by now - that's half the races. And all without anything close to the best car.
Of the two wins he has taken, Alonso himself rates the wet race in Malaysia as the better.
For me, though, the one in Valencia shades it, for the skill and determination he showed in battling up to second place from 11th on the grid before Vettel's retirement from the lead handed him the win.
Some of the overtaking moves Alonso pulled on the way to that win were utterly breathtaking in their audacity, the way he balanced risk and reward and made it pay off.
Hamilton's season has been almost as good, but he has been let down by a number of operational errors from McLaren, ranging from bungled pit stops to refuelling errors in qualifying. He now faces an uphill battle to get back on terms with his old rival.
Alonso has long regarded Hamilton as the man he fears most in this title battle, but one wonders if he might change his mind following Valencia.
After two years of domination, Red Bull have stumbled a little this year. Yet operationally they have still been the best team and their car has always been among the strongest on race day.
After a difficult first three races, either Vettel or Webber have now been on pole for four of the last five.
Before retiring with alternator failure in Valencia the German put in a performance as crushing as any in his title-winning years (2010 and 2011), thanks to a major aerodynamic upgrade at the rear of his car.
Up and down the pit lane, rivals fear Red Bull have moved their car up to another level.
The confirmation - or otherwise - of that will come at Silverstone this weekend. Its blend of high-speed corners provide one of the most stringent tests of a car's quality on the calendar.
Last year, following a one-off rule change that hampered Red Bull more than anyone else, the British Grand Prix was won by Alonso.
But if the Red Bull proves as effective around the sweepers of Northamptonshire as it did at the point-and-squirt right-angles of Valencia, even Alonso at his most perfect will find it hard to fend it off.
Both this weekend and for the rest of the year.
Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/andrewbenson/2012/07/andrew_benson_the_season_so_fa.html
Enrique Bernoldi Enrico Bertaggia Tony Bettenhausen Mike Beuttler Birabongse Bhanubandh
Lewis Hamilton: ?This weekend shows it?s all to play for still?
A win for Lewis Hamilton in Hungary has put the McLaren driver back in the World Championship hunt ahead of the August summer break, after a run of three races that produced just four points. Hamilton now lies fourth on … Continue reading 
George Abecassis Kenny Acheson Andrea de Adamich Philippe Adams Walt Ader
Monday, July 30, 2012
Video: Batmobile documentary in the works
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With the final installment of the Dark Knight trilogy now in theatres, the fix for anything and everything Batman is surely in the spotlight. Never fear, fans of the Caped Crusader! You’ll have something to look forward to once the Dark Knight Rises comes to pass.
At this year’s Comic-Con, Batman fans were treated a sneak preview of a documentary featuring the Dark Knight’s prized steed, the Batmobile. The film will feature a number of interviews with notable people in the industry that have been involved in bringing the superhero to the silver screen. From movie directors like Christopher Nolan, Joel Schumacher, and Tim Burton to actors like Christian Bale and Adam West, fans will be treated to a comprehensive look of the Batmobile and the evolution it has undergone since we first saw it in our TV screens back in the 60’s.
Dive into the trailer of the documentary because the final cut version probably won’t be available at least until the end of the year.
Video: Batmobile documentary in the works originally appeared on topspeed.com on Saturday, 28 July 2012 23:00 EST.
Source: http://www.topspeed.com/cars/car-news/video-batmobile-documentary-in-the-works-ar132468.html
Ian Ashley Gerry Ashmore Bill Aston Richard Attwood Manny Ayulo
Lexus LS first official photo released
Following yesterday's leaked photos Lexus has released via Facebook and Twitter a photo of the 2013 Lexus LS ahead of its full media release scheduled for July 30th.
Giulio Cabianca Phil Cade Alex Caffi John CampbellJones Adri·n Campos
GRAND-AM: Starworks Wins Wet And Wild Brickyard GP
Sebastien Bourdais, Alex Popow become first Rolex Sports Car Series winners at Indy; Peter Baron-led team seals North American Endurance Championship...
Source: http://auto-racing.speedtv.com/article/grand-am-starworks-wins-wet-and-wild-brickyard-gp/
Martin Donnelly Carlo Abate George Abecassis Kenny Acheson Andrea de Adamich
Sunday, July 29, 2012
Mercedes SLS AMG E-Cell Roadster under consideration - report
According to a recent report, Mercedes is considering an SLS AMG E-Cell Roadster. It could be built if the coupe proves unsuccessful. 
Michael Bleekemolen Alex Blignaut Trevor Blokdyk Mark Blundell Raul Boesel
All good for revitalised Webber
"All good, mate," is probably Mark Webber's favourite phrase. It's a fair bit more loaded with meaning than it sounds, and it sums up the way he will be feeling after the Monaco Grand Prix.
The Australian's second win in three years in Formula 1's most prestigious race, and his first of the season, had been coming for a while and it confirms Webber's return to form after a difficult 2011.
It will have been particularly sweet as it came at another race in which he has had an edge on team-mate Sebastian Vettel, whose romp to the world title last year was probably harder on Webber than anyone.
When a driver takes 11 wins and 15 pole positions in 19 races, as Vettel did last year, most of his rivals can console themselves with the thought that he has a better car than they do. Not so his team-mate, who suffered through 2011 with dignity and largely in silence.
Mark Webber (right) is congratulated by Prince Albert II (left) of Monaco after winning the Monaco Grand Prix. Photo: Getty
This season, though, has seen a Webber more like the one who led the championship for much of 2010 before falling at the final hurdle.
There was virtually nothing to choose between the two Red Bull drivers for most of that season - and this year Webber is back to that position.
Although it has taken until Monaco for Webber to draw level with Vettel on points, the qualifying score is four-two in Webber's favour.
It would almost certainly have been five-one had Red Bull not erroneously decided not to send him out for a second run in the second session of qualifying in Spain two weeks ago, thinking he had done enough to make it through to the top-10 shoot-out.
Out-qualifying Vettel so comprehensively again in Monaco, on a track where all the drivers admit the man in the cockpit can make that bit more of a difference than on more mundane tracks, will have been particularly sweet.
The two Red Bull drivers have been more evenly matched in races this year, but while it took until his Monaco victory for Webber to draw level with Vettel in the championship, that is not necessarily an accurate reflection of their relative pace.
Webber scored four consecutive fourth places in the first four races as Vettel took a win, a second and a fifth. But only in Bahrain was Vettel demonstrably faster - and Webber would almost certainly have taken the second place his team-mate did in Australia had it not been for a pit-stop delay.
A win in Monaco, to become the sixth different driver to win in the first six races of the year confirms - as if confirmation were needed - that Webber is a major contender for the championship again this year.
He admitted after the race in Monaco that "last year was a little bit of a mystery; the gap was sometimes really, really extreme". One imagines Vettel feels very much the same about this season.
Monaco was another example. There was Webber on the front row while Vettel was back in 10th having used up all his 'super-soft' tyres just getting into the top-10 shoot-out - exactly as had happened in Spain.
Red Bull have been struggling comparatively in qualifying all year, but their race pace has been strong almost everywhere. So it was again in Monaco, where Vettel, on a different strategy, suddenly became a factor for victory mid-way through the race.
"That wasn't in the plan," Webber joked afterwards, admitting he had been a little nervous about his team-mate's progress. Eventually, though, the tyres on Vettel's car cried enough - and he had to settle for fourth.
Team boss Christian Horner could not explain after the race how Vettel was so competitive in the race in the same car in which he had struggled in qualifying. But the answer will almost certainly lie somewhere in the behaviour of the Pirelli tyres, the secrets of which are proving elusive to the teams so far this season.
It says something for Red Bull's professionalism and competence as a team that although aspects of their car's performance are flummoxing even a man as brilliant as their designer Adrian Newey, they find both drivers tied on points just three off the championship lead.
Equally, it speaks volumes for the quality of Fernando Alonso's driving so far this year that he is the man they are chasing, despite being in a car that has not yet been fast enough to set a pole position.
The Spaniard was in impressive form again in Monaco. From fifth on the grid, he made another great start and ran fourth to the first pit stops, when he jumped Lewis Hamilton's McLaren thanks to a stunning in-lap, on which he set the fastest times of the race until that point on both the first sectors.
Alonso and Ferrari team boss Stefano Domenicali both admitted afterwards that he could potentially even have got ahead of second-placed Nico Rosberg and perhaps Webber, too, had he stayed out a little longer. But, as they said, you only know this in hindsight.
Still, third place was enough to vault him past Vettel into a clear championship lead. No wonder Horner said after the race: "Fernando has driven very well. He's going to be a key factor all the way through this championship for sure."
He wisely added that it would be wrong to rule out McLaren, despite another lacklustre performance in Monaco, and the same should also be said of Mercedes.
Mercedes bounced back with a bang in Monaco after a dip in form in Bahrain and Spain following Rosberg's dominant win in China last month.
And after a difficult start to the season, it was Michael Schumacher who stuck the car on pole, which he lost as a result of the five-place grid penalty he earned for running into the back of Williams's Bruno Senna in Spain.
Schumacher was unlucky in the race, tagged by Lotus's Romain Grosjean at the start, and then retiring with a fuel pressure problem after running seventh for a while.
It will take a few more performances like that to convince everyone that the veteran German can be a consistent force at the front, and he is almost certainly too far behind to be a factor in the championship battle.
But his presence at the front, should it continue, will add an intriguing dimension to an already fascinating season.
"All good," as Webber would doubtless say.
Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/andrewbenson/2012/05/andrew_benson.html
Red Amick Chris Amon Bob Anderson Conny Andersson Mario Andretti
Saturday, July 28, 2012
LH drives onwards
Lewis Hamilton continued to set the pace in Hungary, although the second practice session of the event was disrupted by heavy rainfall in mid-session. Kimi Raikkonen was next ahead of Bruno Senna, Felipe Massa and Fernando Alonso. Then came Jenson Button, Paul di Resta and Sebastian Vettel were next with the top 10 completed by [...]
Source: http://joesaward.wordpress.com/2012/07/27/lh-drives-onwards/
Tom Belso JeanPierre Beltoise Olivier Beretta Allen Berg Georges Berger
Abt AS7 tuning kit based on Audi S7 announced
Well known Volkswagen/Audi tuner and motorsports team Abt Sportsline has announced an introductory tuning package for the Audi S7 Sportback. 
Marco Apicella M·rio de Ara˙jo Cabral Frank Armi Chuck Arnold Rene Arnoux
2013 Toyota Auris revealed in leaked brochure
The 2013 Toyota Auris has been revealed in yet another leaked brochure. 
Giorgio Bassi Erwin Bauer Zsolt Baumgartner Elie Bayol Don Beauman
Friday, July 27, 2012
Ferrari F12 Berlinetta
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Ferrari has just dropped the first official details on the replacement 599. Up until now, the vehicle has been dubbed the F620 GT, but its official name is the F12berlinetta. The best part is that it is the most powerful high-performance Ferrari road car ever launched.
The new F12berlinetta was designed by the Ferrari Styling Center in cooperation with Pininfarina. It is said to be "a perfect balance of uncompromising aerodynamics with harmonious proportions interpreting the typical elements of Ferrari?s front-engined V12 cars in an original and innovative way."
The F12 Berlinetta is powered by a V12 engine with an impressive output of 740 HP - an increase of 120 HP over the previous 599 GTB Fiorano. This increase in power also comes with a decrease of fuel consumption, specifically a 30% reduction. With a total weight of just 3362 lbs, the F12berlinetta will sprint from 0 to 60 mph in just 3.1 seconds, while top speed goes up to over 211 mph. Ferrari has also announced that the new model lapped the Fiorano circuit in 1:23, faster than any other Ferrari road car.
UPDATE 02/29/2012: Just a few hours after its official debut, Ferrari has unveiled an online configurator for the new F12 Berlinetta. So, go online and start playing with the colors.
UPDATE 07/05/2012: You want some important 4th of July news from Ferrari? Well, here it is: the Italian automaker has released the official price for the F1 Berlinetta at ?274,000, which is around $343,385 based on current exchange rates.
UPDATE 07/26/2012: Ferrari has just unveiled a new video featuring a few shots from the International Media Test Drive, dedicated to the F12berlinetta. The first group of specialised journalists from all over the world have for the first time the possibility of personal contact with the model from the Prancing Horse, the spearhead of a new generation of Ferrari 12-cylinders. Meanwhile the Scuderia Ferrari drivers Fernando Alonso and Felipe Massa are back behind the wheel of the F12 and seems like they have all the fun in the world.
Hit the jump to read more about the new Ferrari F12berlinetta.
Ferrari F12 Berlinetta originally appeared on topspeed.com on Thursday, 5 July 2012 13:00 EST.
Source: http://www.topspeed.com/cars/ferrari/2013-ferrari-f12-berlinetta-ar112050.html
Tom Belso JeanPierre Beltoise Olivier Beretta Allen Berg Georges Berger
Advantage Alonso as summer break looms | 2012 Hungarian Grand Prix preview
Advantage Alonso as summer break looms is an original article from F1 Fanatic. If this article has been published anywhere other than F1 Fanatic it is an infringement of copyright.
Whatever happens in Hungary this weekend, we already know one thing: Fernando Alonso will be leading the championship in the summer break.
Advantage Alonso as summer break looms is an original article from F1 Fanatic. If this article has been published anywhere other than F1 Fanatic it is an infringement of copyright.
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/f1fanatic/~3/fcwSb5xJhmg/
Keith Andrews Elio de Angelis Marco Apicella M·rio de Ara˙jo Cabral Frank Armi
Thursday, July 26, 2012
Advantage Alonso as summer break looms | 2012 Hungarian Grand Prix preview
Advantage Alonso as summer break looms is an original article from F1 Fanatic. If this article has been published anywhere other than F1 Fanatic it is an infringement of copyright.
Whatever happens in Hungary this weekend, we already know one thing: Fernando Alonso will be leading the championship in the summer break.
Advantage Alonso as summer break looms is an original article from F1 Fanatic. If this article has been published anywhere other than F1 Fanatic it is an infringement of copyright.
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/f1fanatic/~3/fcwSb5xJhmg/
Stefano Domenicali: ?We need to improve the car?
Ferrari boss Stefano Domencali agrees with Fernando Alonso?s assertion that the team still doesn?t have the fastest car ? despite the Spaniard?s healthy championship lead. Domenicali stressed that Ferrari cannot afford to fall behind in the development race, given the … Continue reading 
Source: http://adamcooperf1.com/2012/07/22/stefano-domenicali-we-need-to-improve-the-car/
Gino Bianco Hans Binder Clemente Biondetti Pablo Birger Art Bisch
Wednesday, July 25, 2012
More 2014 Mazda6 semi-revealing photos released
Following last night's first image and a series of teaser videos, Mazda has released three additional semi-revealing photos of the all-new Mazda6 sedan plus a few details. 
Jay Chamberlain Karun Chandhok Alain de Changy Colin Chapman Dave Charlton
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