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Ferrari driver Sebastian Vettel crashes in F1 preseason testing

MONTMELO, Spain — Sebastian Vettel crashed into a tire barrier in Formula One preseason testing on Wednesday, damaging his Ferrari but not sustaining any injuries. Vettel lost control on Turn 3 at the Barcelona-Catalunya Circuit, going through the gravel and hitting the wall. Ferrari said Vettel was "off due to a mechanical problem." It said the car was sent back to the garage "for all the needed checks." The Italian team did not specify what problem led to Vettel's crash in the morning session of the second of four days of testing. The crash prompted a red flag, and Vettel's Ferrari had to be towed back to the garage. McLaren driver Carlos Sainz was leading Wednesday's session with a time of 1 minute, 17.144 seconds, the fastest so far after six days of testing. Vettel had the second fastest time of the day, followed by Red Bull driver Max Verstappen and Mercedes rival Valtteri Bottas. Also Wednesday, McLaren said two-time world champion Fernando Alonso will be the team's ambassador and continue to advise its drivers and engineers, as well as "drive at selected tests to support the development" of the team's cars for 2020. Alonso, who was at the Barcelona track on Tuesday, will drive for McLaren in this year's Indy 500. Renault said Russian driver Sergey Sirotkin, who raced for Williams last season, will be the team's reserve driver in 2019. Testing will continue through Friday at the Barcelona-Catalunya Circuit, home to the Spanish Grand Prix. The season-opening Australian Grand Prix is on March 17. More AP racing Motorsports Ferrari Racing Vehicles F1 Sebastian Vettel

Race Recap: 2014 Russian Grand Prix is like Valencia, but in Russian

The Sochi International Street Circuit used to host the Russian Formula One Grand Prix has a few things in common with the Valencia Street Circuit that was used to host the European Grand Prix. Both are built among existing infrastructure used for other events, both contain long, narrow stretches run between concrete walls and chain link fencing, and both are, shall we say, not exactly exciting.
We wouldn't know that after qualifying, though, when Lewis Hamilton in the Mercedes AMG Petronas finally put in a mistake-free Saturday to line up first on the grid, ahead of teammate Nico Rosberg in second. Valtteri Bottas got his Williams closer than anyone expected, blistering the first two sectors but falling apart in the third and ending up third on the grid. Behind him, Jenson Button impressed in the McLaren in fourth, Daniil Kvyat even more impressive in the Toro Rosso, taking fifth in front of his home crowd. Kevin Magnussen put the second McLaren in sixth, Daniel Ricciardo was the first Infiniti Red Bull Racing in seventh ahead of a Ferrari duo who knew they'd have a hard time, Fernando Alonso in eighth and Kimi Räikkönen in ninth. Jean-Eric Vergne made sure to keep himself in the news with tenth position.
When the lights went out, the most exciting events of the entire race happened in just sixty meters of the braking zone going into Turn 2.

Ferrari 458 Speciale Aperta frolics topless in the rain with Evo

With nearly 600 horsepower from a sonorous 4.5-liter V8 nestled in an already fantastic platform, Ferrari might have outdone itself with the 458 Speciale. At this year's Paris Motor Show, it took the idea to the next logical step by letting buyers drop the coupe's top with the limited-edition 458 Speciale Aperta. Evo recently got the chance to drive one of the 499 of them; unfortunately, it was pouring rain the whole time. Still, when you get an opportunity to drive such a special Prancing Horse, you don't pass it up, no matter what the weather is doing.
All of the standing water on the road does allow for a chance to see how the Aperta's traction control works in the slippery conditions, and the car handles it with aplomb. In fact, the host has a hard time taking the big grin off of his face for the entire clip. Check out the video to watch this special, new Ferrari and its wonderful V8 go singing in the rain.