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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.

Multimillion-dollar Ferraris line up for Pebble Beach

Wherever high-value classic cars are being sold, you can bet that vintage Ferraris will be topping the list. Especially at Pebble Beach. And that's precisely the auction for which Gooding & Company has lined up a trio of multi-million-dollar examples. Arguably the most enticing (and sure to fetch the highest price) of them all is a classic red 1961 Ferrari 250 GT SWB California Spider, complete with the highly-coveted covered headlights – just like the one in Ferris Bueller's Day Off. Chassis number 3095 GT is one of just 37 made in this configuration. It's been fully documented and certified, but not restored. This is the first time this particular example will be offered in the United States, and Gooding expects it will fetch around $17 million - placing it at the high end of the Sports Car Market database of prices paid for 250s of any kind. Joining the California Spider is a striking 1957 Ferrari 410 Superamerica – the fastest road-going sports car of its time with a top speed in excess of 150 miles per hour. Painted in metallic grey with a contrasting dark red roof and red leather interior, this Series II coupe was purchased by Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, the last Shah of Iran. It went with his wife following their divorce, and was awarded first in class at Pebble Beach in 1978. It's projected to raise between five or six million in financial scholarships, potentially eclipsing any record for Superamericas to date. Finally, in what could be a footnote only in this rarefied company, is a 1965 Ferrari 500 Superfast that boasts similarly lofty provenance, having been delivered new to Prince Sadruddin Aga Khan. In stunning dark blue with red leather, chassis 6049 SA is anticipated to sell for over $3 million (over a million more than any Superfast yet) when the gavel drops at the Concours d'Elegance next month. Gooding & Company Announces Multiple Show-Stopping Ferraris Including a 1961 Ferrari 250 GT SWB California Spider to Headline Pebble Beach Auctions This quintessential open-air Ferrari is expected to set record-breaking numbers when it crosses the block this August SANTA MONICA, Calif. (July 14, 2015) – Gooding & Company, the official auction house of the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance®, is pleased to announce the addition of three unparalleled classic Ferraris to its sale in August – a 1961 250 GT SWB California Spider, a 1957 410 Superamerica Series II Coupe, and a 1965 500 Superfast.

Ferrari, BMW lend expertise to Olympic bobsled, skeleton, luge

LONDON — There are plenty of reasons why the sport of bobsleigh is sometimes referred to as Formula One on ice, but few as obvious as Italy's World Cup sleds. Resplendent in Ferrari red, and with a set of team sponsor Pirelli's P-Zero tyres painted on the sides, they are even liveried to look like racing cars. Ferrari, Formula One's most glamorous and successful team, have worked with the Italian federation, whose sleds run without sponsor branding at the Olympics, since 2010 and in the run-up to next month's Pyeongchang Winter Games. Former rival BMW, title sponsor of the World Cup, has long partnered the U.S. bobsleigh team, while McLaren teamed up with Britain's bob and skeleton athletes for the 2014 Sochi Games in Russia. "There's always the link between the Formula One companies, or any motor company, and skeleton and bobsleigh," says Rachel Blackburn, the engineer who has been involved in Britain's skeleton program since 2006 and who used to work for McLaren. "There's the Ferrari sleds and the BMW sleds ... when we were at McLaren it kind of made a good story," she told Reuters by telephone from her home in Dubai. That somewhat manufactured rivalry has died down in the years since Sochi, with McLaren no longer involved and Ferrari's presence low key. But the worlds of grand prix motor racing and sliding sports still have plenty in common. Bobsled, luge and skeleton are among the fastest of Olympic sports, with bobsleds reaching speeds over 90 mph. Drivers are subjected to gut-wrenching G-forces, and crashes can be fatal. And then there is the ongoing debate about cost controls, the direction of future rules, preserving a level playing field and obsessive secrecy — all endlessly recurring themes in Formula One. 80 mph on a tea tray Blackburn said skeleton, where riders hit 80 mph on what has glibly been compared to an oversized tea-tray, sits somewhere between Americas Cup yachts and Formula One cars in terms of speed and aerodynamics. "Applied engineering is far more interesting than the pure stuff, so when its applied to something that's fun and exciting it does make it a lot easier to solve problems," she said. "There is the Americas Cup, sailing, Formula One and the high speed ice sports as well. It's the same concept.