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A weird end to a weird F1 season | 2016 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix recap

The 2016 Formula 1 season ended with a bang that came from a direction no one expected. Lewis Hamilton put his Mercedes-AMG Petronas on pole position and then got away clean to start the race. Teammate Nico Rosberg did the next best thing, lining up in second and following right behind Hamilton for most of the race. Other than Rosberg's wicked pass on Red Bull's Max Verstappen to retake second place on Lap 20, things stayed all quiet at the front. Come Lap 32 of the 55-lap race, however, observers began to wonder why Hamilton was driving so slow. The Brit, working every trick he could think of to win the Driver's World Championship instead of just the race, dogged it out front trying to push Rosberg back into the chasing mix of Red Bulls and Ferraris. Over the next 15 laps Hamilton's race engineer repeatedly radioed ideal lap times. Hamilton only occasionally hit the times until finally saying, "I suggest you let us race." When the one-stopping Sebastian Vettel blasted his Ferrari from sixth to third, nosing up to Rosberg's gearbox, Mercedes team honcho Paddy Lowe got on the radio to instruct Hamilton to go faster. Hamilton replied that if he wasn't going to win the championship he didn't care about winning the race. Hamilton repeatedly zoomed through the first sector to keep everyone behind, then clogged up the works through Sectors 2 and 3. The problem with his plan was that the Red Bulls in fourth and fifth couldn't get close enough to threaten the trio at the front; even if Vettel had got by Rosberg, Rosberg would still win the Championship with a third-place finish. As it happened, Rosberg finished second behind the disconsolate Hamilton. Vettel took third, followed by Red Bull drivers Verstappen and Daniel Ricciardo, then the second Ferrari piloted by Kimi Raikkonen in sixth. Nico Hulkenberg took seventh, beating Force India teammate Sergio Perez for the last time as an intra-team rivalry. Felipe Massa closed his F1 career with ninth place in a Williams chassis that he got to take home as a gift from the team. Fernando Alonso scored the final point for McLaren, a touch of sweet for the team after the bitterness of Jenson Button retiring on Lap 12 with suspension damage. Rosberg's second place earned him 385 points for the season, enough to take the World Driver's Championship from Hamilton by just five points. Some have put the title down to Rosberg's consistency, others to his car's reliability.

Marchionne holds Maranello talks amid Ferrari's struggles

Ferrari president Sergio Marchionne has been in Maranello this week holding key meetings with staff to work out what needs to be done to rescue its season. With the Formula 1 campaign approaching its halfway point, Ferrari is still without the victory that it has been targeting since the first race in Australia. And worse than that, it appears to have fallen behind in the development stakes against Mercedes and Red Bull – leaving it now facing a challenge to finish second in the constructors' standings. On the back of a deeply disappointing British Grand Prix, where the team struggled for pace all weekend, Marchionne has elected to spend the last few days in Maranello to try to get to the bottom of what has gone wrong. For although its early season progress was impacted by the tragedy surrounding technical director James Allison, whose wife died just after the Australian Grand Prix, progress more recently has not been good enough. While Mercedes has been pushing on with upgrades at each race to keep improving its speed, Ferrari is still struggling to understand why its car has such a sensitive set-up that allows it to be competitive only in a very narrow performance window. Rather than sitting back and simply hoping for answers, Marchionne has taken it upon himself to push things forward. Motorsport.com has learned that he has held a series of key meetings at Maranello with the chassis and aerodynamic departments – with a particular focus on speaking to those who report to department heads as well as their juniors. Marchionne is determined to find out whether or not there is a belief from the shop floor that more potential can be extracted from the SF16-H, and if the true state of progress of the car is as he has been led to believe by senior management. It is possible that Marchionne could take action after these meetings to tidy up internal structures – moving around those staff who he believes have not been exploited to their best, and moving aside those whom he believes have been holding things back. It could be this action plan that team principal Maurizio Arrivabene was referring to after Silverstone, when he said that the situation at Maranello was now getting more serious – and that the potential for big change was coming if things did not improve. "After Hungary we cannot fool around any more," said Arrivabene.

Ferrari 250 California fit for Ferris may sell for millions

Planning on playing hooky for a day of adventure in, say, Chicago? You're going to need the right set of wheels. Something like the Ferrari you see here ought to do the trick. Coming up for auction at Amelia Island, this 1961 Ferrari 250 GT SWB California Spider is one of just 56 made – only 37 of which have those highly sought-after covered headlights. The short-wheelbase model followed the previous long-wheelbase version and featured a number of upgrades, including timeless coachwork by Scaglietti, a more nimble chassis, and four-wheel disc brakes. This particular example – bearing the VIN 2871 GT in classic red over black – starred alongside Sophia Loren in the film Ieri, Oggi, Domani. It was sold new in 1961 to Italian industrial designer Giangranco Frattini, who owned it for 17 years before selling it to one Terzo Dalia in 1978, who in turn sold it to its current owner in 1985. This represents the first time it's being offered for public sale. Gooding & Company anticipates it will fetch a good $16 million (give or take) when it crosses the auction block on March 11. That would, according to the records at Sports Car Market, put it right in the range of what California Spiders have been selling for in recent years – the record currently standing at $18.6 million paid for the Baillon barnfind example in Paris a year ago. If you have the means, to paraphrase our childhood hero, we highly recommend picking one up. Related Video: Gooding & Company Unveils Iconic 1961 Ferrari 250 GT SWB California Spider To Highlight Amelia Island Auction The Quintessential Ferrari 250 GT with Limited Ownership from New and Cinematic History SANTA MONICA, Calif. (February 12, 2016) – Gooding & Company, the auction house acclaimed for selling the world's most significant and valuable collector cars, is privileged to announce the addition of a 1961 Ferrari 250 GT SWB California Spider (estimate $15,000,000-$17,000,000) to be sold at the Amelia Island Auction on March 11, 2016. This highly coveted Ferrari is the 22nd SWB California Spider built and one of only 37 covered-headlight examples produced. Remarkably, it has been in the loving care of the current owner for over 30 years. "We are thrilled to present this California Spider to our clients," states David Gooding, President and Founder of Gooding & Company.