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Ferrari rated world's most powerful brand ahead of Apple

Ferrari has nabbed the honor of becoming the world's most powerful brand from Apple. According to Brand Finance, the Italian automaker earned the highest rating among all brands on the Global 500 list despite being worth considerably less than its competition. But the ranking takes into account more than just a company's bottom line. Brand Finance also looks at margins, average revenue per customer and less tangible notions like brand affection and loyalty.
There's no disputing those latter two categories, and this year saw Ferrari enjoy the best financial results in the automaker's history. In 2012, the company's revenue jumped by eight percent to 2.43 billion euro thanks in part to a 4.5 percent increase in deliveries worldwide.
Meanwhile, Apple squeaked out ahead of Samsung to earn the top spot as the most valuable brand at $400 billion. You can check out the Brand Finance press release below for more information.

What next for Stefano Domenicali?

Ferrari is a team that's used to being on top. It does, after all, have more world championships to its name - 15 drivers' titles and 16 constructors' - than any other team in the history of Formula One racing. But despite having some of the best drivers and resources at its disposal, it hasn't won a championship in over five years. Someone had to take the blame for that, and that someone turned out to be Stefano Domenicali.
The team principal who took over after Jean Todt stepped back to focus first on the running of the entire company and then the FIA, Domenicali has presided over the driest spell in the team's history since Michael Schumacher and Ross Brawn arrived in the late 90s to bring Ferrari back to its winning form. Whether that ultimately proves to have been Domenicali's fault or not, the buck stopped on his desk and he resigned a couple of weeks ago, making way for Ferrari's North American chief Marco Mattiacci to take the reins. At least for now, anyway, as rumors circulate of a longer-term solution that could bring Ross Brawn back into the fold following his recent departure from Mercedes.
The big question now, however, is what Domenicali will do next. The latest intel suggests that he could leave four wheels behind but stay in the field of competitive sports to coach an Italian basketball team. The rumors are fueled by reports that Domenicali has been in touch with Giovanni Petrucci, head of the Federazione Italiana Pallacanestro - Italy's national basketball federation. The organization runs two professional basketball leagues within Italy as well as its national team that's won eight international championships, two gold, four silver and four bronze medals in the European league and two silver medals in the Olympics.

Race Recap: 2014 Australian Grand Prix quietly opens the new F1 era [spoilers]

The first chapter of the new Formula One era has been written with the conclusion of the Australian Grand Prix, and it included a rookie rush, some resurgent and some unsurprising performances, the sound of screeching tires and a couple of firsts.
Outside predictions as to the pace of the Mercedes AMG Petronas team were proved as soon as the Friday practice sessions, with Lewis Hamilton recovering from an engine sensor fault in the first session to top the second, followed by teammate Nico Rosberg. That didn't change come the start of qualifying, not even the rain slowing down the Silver Arrows, Hamilton taking pole as the last man across the line in Q3.
The surprises were in the order behind him, with new Infiniti Red Bull Racing man Daniel Ricciardo grabbing second spot just three-tenths of a second down on Hamilton. Ricciardo not only looked like he belonged at the front of the grid the entire weekend, but he seems to have reversed the Mark Webber jinx: four-time World Champion Sebastian Vettel had car issues and didn't get into Q3, having to settle for 13th on the grid.