2006 Ferrari 430 F1 Spider on 2040-cars

Auto blog

The Monaco Grand Prix clearly highlights Ferrari's team orders

Sebastian Vettel stretched his championship lead over Lewis Hamilton to 25 points on Sunday after becoming the first Ferrari driver since Michael Schumacher in 2001 to win Formula One's showcase Monaco Grand Prix. Teammate Kimi Raikkonen, on pole for the first time in nine years, lost out in the pitstops but secured a Ferrari one-two with Hamilton finishing seventh for Mercedes after starting 13th. The German celebrated as jubilantly as his seven times champion compatriot would have done, whooping over the radio and beaming from the podium as mechanics sang the Italian national anthem. "It's obviously a great day for the team... great to get the points, great to get the win," said Vettel. As with Schumacher in his pomp there was also a distinct whiff of 'team orders', with Raikkonen pitting first and Vettel staying out for a further five laps in a move that worked in his favor. Vettel's 45th career win was the German's third in six races but there was plenty of sympathy for Raikkonen, who last won with Lotus in 2013. The Finn looked far from happy on the podium, staring fixedly ahead and taking gulps of the Champagne as Vettel sprayed his. "It's still second place but it doesn't feel awful good," he said. "It's how it goes sometimes." "I know how it feels, it's not a good feeling," reigning champion Nico Rosberg, who retired at the end of last year after years of battling Hamilton at Mercedes, consoled him as he conducted the post-race interviews on the finish straight. Australian Daniel Ricciardo took his second successive podium with third place for Red Bull. MINIMAL OVERTAKING In a race with plenty of sunshine and minimal overtaking, late crashes ensured the safety car made its traditional Monaco appearance. While Raikkonen led for the first 34 laps, the writing was on the wall at the pitstops with a consensus emerging already before the start that Ferrari would favor the championship leader. "It was a very tense race. I knew that (staying out) was the chance to win and I was able to use that window and come out ahead. After that I was able to control the gap behind," said Vettel. What had been a processional race, with the wider new cars making overtaking more difficult, turned into sudden drama with a collision between Jenson Button's McLaren and Pascal Wehrlein's Sauber at the tunnel entrance.

Ferrari FXX K could get even more extreme Evoluzione version

Whenever a new Ferrari comes out – a mid-engined one especially – speculation begins to ramp up over how the boys in Maranello could make it even faster. When the 458 Italia was revealed, for example, focus immediately turned to what would become the 458 Speciale – just as the F430 begat the 430 Scuderia before it. Ditto LaFerrari, which was instantly projected to breed a new track variant, and that's exactly what we got with the debut of the FXX K in Abu Dhabi last month. And now that it's here, speculation is beginning to mount for an even more hardcore Evoluzione version. Look over the history of Ferrari's Corse Cliente version and you'll see the original Enzo-based FXX was followed by an FXX Evoluzione, and the subsequent 599XX bred a similarly enhanced 599XX Evoluzione. It would stand to reason, then, that an FXX K Evoluzione could be in the cards, but it won't come anytime soon. Speaking with Autocar, Ferrari test driver, former grand prix pilot and Le Mans winner Marc Gene said, "Right now, I think we cannot improve" on the FXX K, "but no doubt something will come up. I wouldn't be surprised if it happens, but it won't be in two years." Approximately three years separated the debut of the FXX and FXX Evo, but the 599XX was only out for a year or two before the 599XX Evoluzione came around. If and when a FXX K Evo does arrive, Gene figures it will focus more on weight reduction, efficiency and handling than on power. As it is, the FXX K already produces 1,035 horsepower, after all. Given the nature of the XX development program, however, owners of the FXX K can expect their track machine to get incrementally more advanced as the Prancing Horse marque uses the program to test new components.

2019 Ferrari 488 Pista Piloti Ferrari is only for people racing Ferraris

Ferrari revealed an interesting special edition car, the 2019 Ferrari 488 Pista Piloti Ferrari. Part of what makes it interesting is that it doesn't matter how much money you have, you probably can't get it. That's because this version was created to celebrate Ferrari's motorsports teams and the car that won its class in the 2017 World Endurance Championship. As such, this car is only available to people "involved in the company's motorsports programs." We're guessing it's aimed at drivers of Ferrari race cars, but we bet that managers and other members of Ferrari race teams with enough scratch could get one, too. Besides the exclusivity, Ferrari spruced up the 488 Pista Piloti Ferrari with a number of unique features. It has a special paint scheme with a center Italian flag stripe inspired by the championship winning 488. On the passenger side of the car is the WEC logo, and on the driver's side is the word "PRO" indicating the class of the winning car. On each side, the owner can choose a custom number that will also be placed on the steering wheel. In the case of the show car, it has the number 51 for the aforementioned race car. Inside, the car features black Alcantara everywhere. There are also a few Italian flag tributes. The seat backs have the Italian flag colors fading as they head to the top of the seat. The same colors are also found on the shift paddles. Red stitching also helps break up the black interior. Nothing has been changed mechanically about the Piloti Ferrari, which means it still has the 711-horsepower turbocharged V8. But we suspect that none of the customers will be complaining about it being too slow, and the exclusivity is pretty cool. Plus, we're sure plenty of these customers will at least have access to a race car if they need something more hardcore. Related Video: