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First test of Formula 1 shield cut short, Vettel reports dizziness

At this weekend's Formula One British Grand Prix, Ferrari driver and four-time world champion Sebastian Vettel tested the "shield," a polycarbonate canopy intended to protect a driver in an accident. Teams have tested other protective devices like the "halo," but Vettel was the first to trial the new shield. In theory, the shield would protect from debris like a loose wheel or a bouncing spring without hampering visibility. Unfortunately, Vettel called it quits early after getting dizzy out on the track. There has been a big push in recent years to make the sport safer for drivers, especially after the death of Jules Bianchi in 2015. In 2009, Felipe Massa missed much of the season after being hit in the head by a broken suspension part. The shield is essentially a windshield or canopy, protecting the driver from anything coming into the car. The open top allows the driver to escape quickly. Vettel said the curvature of the shield distorted his vision and made him dizzy. He also complained about irregular airflow coming over the shield on the back straight, forcing his head forward. We'll have to wait to see how things develop. The FIA is determined to introduce some sort of head protection, but the current solutions are proving difficult to implement. Related Video:

Ferrari families have 'agreement' to prevent takeover

With its initial public offering already a massive success, Ferrari is now officially a publicly traded company on the New York Stock Exchange. While anyone can buy those shares, don't expect investors to take control away from some of the top owners of the Prancing Horse anytime soon. To maintain their power, Enzo Ferrari's son, Piero, and Exor chairman John Elkann will sign a deal guaranteeing themselves nearly half of the automaker's voting rights, Bloomberg reports. As part of this arrangement, shareholders that agree to hang onto Ferrari stock for at least three years would receive additional voting rights in the company, and that would give Piero and Elkann a combined 48.7 percent of the automaker by banding together. While not quite complete control, the move should be enough to prevent a takeover of the business. "We have an agreement among the families to protect our interests in Ferrari," Piero said to Bloomberg. This agreement won't really become a concern until next year because only 10 percent of Ferrari will be traded for now. FCA will distribute another 80 percent to its shareholders in early 2016, and Elkann's Exor will be getting the largest portion of the Prancing Horse in the spin-off. Meanwhile, Piero holds the remaining 10 percent but has absolutely no intention to sell his stake in his father's business. The newly public Ferrari will push to grow volume with a goal of moving 9,000 vehicles annually by 2019. To reach that 30-percent boost, expect to see a new model every year, and some of them might use a new, modular platform that's reportedly under development. Related Video:

Race Recap: 2013 Indian Grand Prix mostly calm with chances of Championships

The smog around the Buddh International Circuit got so bad over the weekend that the FIA had to change the practice sessions. Then the soft tires that Pirelli brought to be the options were found to degrade so quickly that teams had to change their qualifying and race strategies. The only man it didn't seem to affect was - guess who? - Sebastian Vettel, who put his Infiniti Red Bull Racing on pole position.
Behind him came Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton in the Mercedes-AMG Petronas, Mark Webber in the second Infiniti Red Bull and on medium tires, Felipe Massa in the first Ferrari, Kimi Räikkönen in the first Lotus, Nico Hülkenberg in the first Sauber, Fernando Alonso in the second Ferrari, and the McLaren duo of Sergio Perez and Jenson Button. The tire strategizing didn't work out for Romain Grosjean in the second Lotus, who didn't get out of Q1 after only running the medium compound tire and lined up 17th.
The Indian Grand Prix has been held twice and Vettel has led every single lap of both races. If nothing else, we knew there would be at least one new thing about this Indian Grand Prix: there'd be a lap not led by Vettel since he qualified on softs and would have to pit before Webber and Alonso who were both on mediums.