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Ferrari's stock price falls off a cliff

The stock price skidded. The stock price stalled. Use whatever automotive analogy you want. It was a bad day for Ferrari on the New York Stock Exchange. Warning that sales growth would slow because of the economic slump in China, Ferrari NV watched its stock price slump accordingly. Shares of the company were down more than 13 percent in afternoon trading, falling to $34.64. Sprung from the Fiat Chrysler Automobiles less than four months ago, Ferrari's stock has lost a third of its value since its October initial public offering and is nearly half the price of its $62 high set days after the IPO. In a conference call with investors, chairman Sergio Marchionne said the company expected to ship approximately 7,900 vehicles this year. Marchionne said the company would be "fine" over the long term as long as it maintains a decades-long philosophy of maintaining strong demand. That means Ferrari won't follow some of its sports-car competitors who have broadened their vehicle portfolio's with the addition of SUVs. Marchionne bristled at such a suggestion. "You have to shoot me first," he told Bloomberg. But never say never? Previously, Ferrari had restricted its output to 7,000 vehicles per year. The company is already past that number, and Marchionne foresees the possibility that it could rise to approximately 9,000 by 2019. In a regulatory filing, Ferrari said, "we believe we can grow in a controlled manner while preserving the exclusivity of our brand by continuing to explore controlled growth in emerging markets to capitalize on the substantial wealth creation and the growing affluent populations in those markets." For now, those markets won't include China. Shipments there decreased 22 percent in 2015, even as worldwide output increased. Related Video:

Without engine deal, Red Bull could be squeezed out of F1

It would have seemed unthinkable just a couple of years ago when it was winning more races than it lost and scoring one world championship after another, but these days Red Bull can't get a competitive engine. And if it doesn't get one soon, it could be forced out of Formula One altogether. This development emerges after two years of the once indomitable but now deteriorating relationship between Red Bull and its longtime engine partner Renault. When F1 switched from the previous V8 engines to the new hybrid turbo V6 power units ahead of last season, Renault dropped the ball, and Mercedes picked it up. Ferrari has since recovered much of the lost ground to push the Mercedes factory team for wins, but Red Bull and Renault have not. The stress of falling off their perch has left both parties pointing fingers at each other to the point that the team's longtime technical director Adrian Newey doesn't think the marriage is salvageable, or worth salvaging. "Unfortunately, our relationship with Renault is pretty terminal – there's been too much of a marriage breakdown, so we have no engine," said Newey. That's left Red Bull looking elsewhere for a new engine deal, but so far it's been unable to find one. The prospect of replacing sponsor Infiniti and supplier Red Bull with a similar partnership with Aston Martin and Mercedes has apparently come to naught. And the proposed buyout and engine deal from the Volkswagen Group evidently collapsed in the wake of that brand's diesel emissions scandal. That leaves Red Bull to turn to one of the existing engine suppliers in the series, and apparently neither Ferrari nor Mercedes are willing to sell their engines to one of their chief rivals. As McLaren has demonstrated this season, the Honda engines aren't up to speed, either. Which leaves Red Bull with nowhere else to turn. And if it doesn't find something in time for next season (or the following one at the latest), Newey says it may have to pack it in and close up shop. "Red Bull should not be put in a position where they're only there to make up the numbers." Related Video: News Source: Reuters via Motorsport.comImage Credit: Felipe Dana/AP Motorsports Ferrari Renault F1

Hamilton wins at Monza, takes Formula One lead from Vettel

MONZA, Italy (Reuters) - Lewis Hamilton won the Italian Grand Prix for Mercedes on Sunday with an utterly dominant drive that sent the Briton clear at the top of the Formula One world championship for the first time in a year. The triple champion, who started the last race of the European season from a record 69th career pole position, led Finnish team mate Valtteri Bottas to a runaway one-two finish at Ferrari's home track. "I love it here in Italy and I love the passion of the fans," Hamilton declared on the podium jutting out over a sea of red-shirted Ferrari fans, with plenty of boos coming his way amid the cheers. "We did a great job, the team did an exceptional job this weekend," he added. "Mercedes power is definitely better than Ferrari power." Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel, who had led the standings since he won the Australian season-opener in March, finished third in the final race of the European season and 36.3 seconds behind the winner. Bottas was 4.4 adrift of Hamilton. "It was a difficult day, a difficult start," said Vettel. "My race was fairly isolated, we tried to keep as close as possible but we simply didn't have the pace... You could say it's a bad day but I know the team is on the right way... so I am in a very positive mood despite the numbers." Hamilton is now three points clear of the German, with seven races remaining. Mercedes are 62 points clear of Ferrari in the constructors' standings. The first driver to win two races in a row this season, with Monza following on from Belgium a week ago, Hamilton now leads Vettel 6-4 on victories in 2017. He has 238 points to Vettel's 235. The last time Hamilton led the standings on his own was at Monza a year ago, with now-retired team mate Nico Rosberg emerging as the eventual champion. FEW THRILLS Hamilton and four-times champion Vettel were level on points this year after China in April, with one win and one second place each. If Sunday's race was a dull affair, there was at least plenty of sunshine in marked contrast to the steady rain that drenched fans and delayed qualifying for hours on Saturday. Hamilton pulled away cleanly from his historic pole, and fourth in a row at Monza, and was never challenged as he drove to the chequered flag with the minimum of fuss. It was his third Italian Grand Prix win in four years and 59th career victory – only Michael Schumacher, whose pole record he beat, can boast more – and few have been more straightforward.