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The Ferrari 488 Challenge is the one-make series' first turbo car

Ferrari has revealed its newest Ferrari Challenge series racecar, just in time to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the one-make series next year. The new model is the 488 Challenge, and like its road-going sibling, it features a turbocharged V8. This makes the 488 Challenge the first car in the series to use a turbocharger, and at 670 CV (660 horsepower), it's the most powerful car the series has featured. The car made its debut at the season-ending Finali Mondiali event at Daytona International Speedway over the weekend. In addition to the new powertrain, the 488 Challenge gets other updates compared to its 458-based predecessor. The engine is lighter by more than 43 pounds, and the exhaust has lost nearly 19 pounds. The front bumper and the hood have been completely redesigned, and the rear wing is larger than its predecessor's. Drivers also now have a pair of manettinos (make that manettini) on the steering wheel for managing traction control settings, instead of one like on the road cars. One adjusts when it activates, and the other controls how aggressive the system is when it does kick in. Thanks to these various changes, the 488 Challenge is notably faster than the previous Challenge car, the 458 Challenge Evoluzione. Ferrari claims the 488 lapped its Fiorano test circuit a full second faster than the 458. You'll be able to see this new Ferrari in action in the coming year's Ferrari Challenge Series. But until the series starts, check out our live photos of the new machine above and a gallery of Ferrari-supplied images below. Related Video:

Hamilton wins in Singapore as Vettel crashes out from pole

SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Lewis Hamilton took a huge stride toward his fourth Formula One title on Sunday by winning an incident-packed Singapore Grand Prix after Ferrari title rival Sebastian Vettel crashed out at the start. The Mercedes driver now has a 28-point cushion over the German with six of the 20 races remaining. Red Bull's Daniel Ricciardo, who also emerged from the opening lap carnage unscathed, was second for the third year in a row with Finland's Valtteri Bottas completing the podium for Mercedes. "God blessed me today for sure," said Hamilton, who set a lap record on his way to a third win in a row, as he spoke from the podium on a night where everything fell into his lap. "I came here today really thinking it was about damage limitation, and we've come out ahead. So I'm very grateful," he said later. "To come to a track that was potentially our weakest circuit, and come away with a win like this and those points, it's really such a fortunate scenario... so I definitely have a skip in my step." The Briton cashed in after Vettel, Ferrari team mate Kimi Raikkonen and Red Bull's front row contender Max Verstappen smashed into each other as they raced off the wet starting grid and into the first corner. Raikkonen had made a storming start from fourth, Vettel a less impressive one from pole position while Verstappen went for the middle ground and was caught in a Ferrari sandwich as they converged. The stewards summoned all three and decided no driver was predominantly to blame. BITTER BLOW The first race to be hit by rain in the decade that Singapore has hosted Formula One had started in treacherous conditions, puddles gleaming in the floodlights, after a formation lap behind the safety car. With Hamilton starting fifth, everything looked set for Vettel to retake the overall lead that he had surrendered only two weeks earlier at Monza in Italy. And then it all went wrong, the collision with Raikkonen punching a hole in the side of Vettel's car before he spun into the wall at turn three. "It's bitter but it's done," said the German, a four times Singapore GP winner, whose retirement ended a run of 18 successive points finishes and left him with a mountain to climb. "Championship-wise it's a big step forward," recognized Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff. "The quickest car and the quickest driver were out within a minute into the race and that can happen all the time.

Lewis Hamilton takes pole position at German GP as Ferrari falters

HOCKENHEIM, Germany — Lewis Hamilton took pole position for the German Grand Prix on Saturday, while Sebastian Vettel's miserable form continued for Ferrari as he was unable to even set a time and will start from the back. It got even worse for Ferrari as Vettel's teammate Charles Leclerc was unable to start the last part of qualifying, known as Q3, and is set to begin from 10th place on the grid on Sunday. "I don't know really how we did it today. I'm not quite sure what happened to the Ferraris," Hamilton said. "I think if Leclerc had done a lap at the end, it would have been close between us." Ferrari is winless in 10 races this season and that terrible run looks to continue, while Hamilton is aiming for a sixth win in seven. It was a record-extending 87th pole for the five-time world champion, who is 11 wins shy of Michael Schumacher's record of 91. Hamilton starts on the front row alongside Red Bull's Max Verstappen, who knocked Hamilton's Mercedes teammate Valtteri Bottas into third place. Red Bull's Pierre Gasly goes from fourth. "A bit disappointed with qualifying and I just struggled," said Bottas, who is level with Hamilton on four poles this season. "Ferrari (were) extremely quick and we knew it would be difficult to beat them ... We've been a bit lucky." Vettel, who crashed at last year's German GP despite leading from pole, looked visibly upset as he climbed out of his car in the team garage. The incident happened during the first part of qualifying, making him one of five drivers eliminated from Q1. The issue appeared to be related to a turbo problem, even more surprising given Ferrari had topped all three practice sessions heading into qualifying. Worried faces in the Ferrari garage turned to sheer horror as mechanics then detected a problem on Leclerc's car, ruling him out of the top-10 shootout in Q3. "Mine was a fuel system problem. It is a shame but we will be trying to understand what happened and not to reproduce it. The car felt great today so it's a shame it ended like this," Leclerc said. "I feel for the whole team. I will give absolutely everything to make everyone smile again tomorrow." Television footage showed a Ferrari fan in the stands sinking his face into his hands in disbelief. Mercedes head of motorsport Toto Wolff was sympathetic when commenting on Ferrari's latest setback. "It is a shame for Ferrari and for Sebastian at his home GP," Wolff told broadcaster Sky Sports, adding.