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Ferrari patents new electronic steering assist

Automobiles keep getting more and more advanced, with computers playing an ever-increasingly vital role in their operation. But some things remain the same. Despite more advanced (if not necessarily better) technologies available, we still burn fossils to fuel our engines, we still check what's behind us in actual mirrors and (with few exceptions) we still turn a steering wheel mechanically connected to the front wheels to change directions. But that doesn't mean automakers aren't working at new solutions.
We've sampled electric steering systems developed by Japanese automakers like Honda and Infiniti that disconnect the front wheels from the steering column, but while those systems may be the way of the future, they leave the driver feeling physically disconnected from the road. Ferrari, however, has a different idea.
Instead of either relying completely on a traditional system or replacing it with an entirely digital one, Ferrari appears to have found a sweet spot in the middle. According to a patent filing obtained by Evo, Ferrari is developing a system that still uses a direct mechanical steering linkage, but enhances it through the use of software that corrects for certain inconsistencies.

Sebastian Vettel wins the Singapore Grand Prix in Ferrari 1-2

SINGAPORE — Ferrari driver Sebastian Vettel took advantage of an early pit stop to win the Singapore Grand Prix on Sunday and end a 13-month winless streak in Formula One. Vettel, who started third on the grid, crossed the finish line 2.641 seconds ahead of Charles Leclerc — who was unhappy with team pit strategy — in a Ferrari 1-2. It was four-time F1 champion Vettel's first win since the 2018 Belgian Grand Prix. "Obviously the start of the season has been difficult for us but in recent weeks we started to come alive," Vettel said. "It's been incredible to get so much support from the fans and I tried to put it all into the track today and into the car and I'm glad it paid off." Red Bull's Max Verstappen was third while championship leader Lewis Hamilton was fourth. With six races remaining, Hamilton holds a 65-point lead over Mercedes teammate Valtteri Bottas, who finished fifth. The winner of each race gets 25 points. It was Vettel's fifth victory under the lights in Singapore and ended a 22-race winless streak. Leclerc started from pole and held the lead at the 3.1-mile (5-kilometer) Marina Bay street circuit until he pitted on the 21st lap of the night race. When Leclerc rejoined, he was behind Vettel, who had pitted a lap earlier. Leclerc made it clear over the team radio that he was not happy that Vettel pitted first and got the lead. Vettel said he received the call from his team to pit and it wasn't his decision. "It was a very late call," Vettel said. "I thought it was a bit early because I wasn't sure we can make the tires last in the second stint but, yeah, then I just gave it everything in the outlap because I saw the two cars in front of me not pitting, especially Lewis. I was then very surprised a lap later to come out ahead." Leclerc, who won the previous two races and appeared set for a third straight victory, was diplomatic later when asked about the pit strategy of Ferrari. "It's always difficult to lose a win like that but in the end it's a 1-2 for the team," Leclerc said. "We arrived here hoping for a podium and come back with a 1-2 so are extremely happy." During the race, Leclerc had a different take when he was told to save his engine 15 laps from the finish. His response to Ferrari included: "I just don't think it's fair, but I won't do anything stupid." Red Bull's Alexander Albon was in sixth place and Lando Norris finished seventh for McLaren, ahead of Toro Rosso's Pierre Gasly.

Ferrari 488 Pista Prototype Drive | Pants-soiling straight-line performance

Independent studies confirm that Lotus Elise drivers are 221.6 times more likely to spontaneously dispose of light-colored undergarments after driving on curvy roads. That's because the weight distribution of a mid-engine car encourages novice drivers to inadvertently ask the rear wheels to pass the fronts in the middle of a corner. Adding insult to staining, the layout's resulting low polar moment of inertia ensures that this rotation happens more quickly than the average person's sphincter-startle clench reflex. The flip side is that even the most powerful mid-engine cars have enough weight over their rear wheels to make straight-line acceleration a worry-free affair. Well, they used to. Full-throttle acceleration in the Ferrari 488 Pista is genuinely terrifying. Wheelspin is a genuine threat at any road-legal speed — and when that happens, its rear end steps out with the same violence as the car accelerates. And that is saying something. The 488 Pista is diabolically quick. Like, hallelujah-hold-on-tight, praise-the-lord, scream-like-a-child and slap-yo-momma quick. Or, in slightly more objective terms, the Ferrari's claimed 7.6-second sprint from a standstill to 200 km/h (124 mph) is but 0.3 second behind that of the 1,000-hp Bugatti Veyron 16.4. When we say quick, we mean QUICK. Perhaps too quick for the road, so it's a good thing the car is literally named after the track. The Pista is the latest in the lineage of harder-core Ferraris that began with the 360 Challenge Stradale. The 360CS, like the F430 Scuderia ("Team") and 458 Speciale ("Special") that followed, was a little quicker than the regular car, a little more devoid of creature comforts and a lot louder. The same basic recipe applies to the 488, though in its transition from GTB to Pista (say "peas-ta"), its engine gets a bigger power boost than any of its predecessors. Boasting 720 metric horsepower, or 710 American ponies, the Pista makes 49 hp more than the already absurdly powerful 488 GTB. The expected weight-savings measures are also present, accounting for a claimed 198-pound reduction in total mass. Ten-percent-stiffer springs and recalibrated magnetorheological dampers offer tighter body control, and Michelin Sport Cup 2 tires conspire with those changes to generate massive cornering grip. But more on that later — the star of this prototype preview drive was the engine, Ferrari's award-winning 3.9-liter flat-plane-crankshaft V8.