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Despite early struggles, Ferrari F1 still has Mercedes in its sights

It would be an understatement to say that Ferrari has not had the opening to the 2016 Formula 1 season that it had hoped for. Having come in to the new campaign brazen about wanting a winning start, that Mercedes has taken all the poles and all race victories so far has come as a disappointment. There have been other headaches too – including reliability problems for both Kimi Raikkonen and Sebastian Vettel, and of course the points lost with the China/Russia incidents with Daniil Kvyat. But perhaps of more concern is that the trend of performance has not pointed towards a narrowing of the gap between Mercedes and Ferrari – as the Silver Arrows advantage seemed greater than it had been any point this season in Russia. So with the results against it, and it seemingly having no response in pace terms, the cynics are already suggesting that it is game over for Ferrari's 2016 title ambitions. But that is not how Maranello itself sees the situation: and it still has reason to believe not only that there is plenty to play for this season: but that it can take the fight to Mercedes. Pressure game Ferrari is well aware that it needs to quickly make up lost ground in both championship standings (Mercedes has more than double its point haul) and pace terms. But rather than be downbeat about what has happened, team principal Maurizio Arrivabene still senses opportunities: especially with Mercedes appearing to be on the edge in reliability terms. And it this area that he thinks needs to be exploited to give Ferrari the opening it needs. "If you have before you a team that has won four races out of four, you cannot but take note that they are very strong," he said after the Russian Grand Prix. "But if we look at what happened to [Lewis] Hamilton [with engine problems in qualifying], we see that they also have had reliability problems. "We must put pressure on them. That is our first goal. "All their problems have happened on a single car, while ours have happened on both. But there are still 17 races to go, that is something worth emphasising, so there time to make up the difference." Power battle Ferrari introduced an upgraded engine at the Russian Grand Prix that it hoped would lift it closer to Mercedes in the power stakes. But the weekend appeared to show that wasn't the case, with Mercedes' advantage on the Sochi circuit – the fourth most power-sensitive venue on the calendar – appearing bigger than ever.

2016 Ferrari 488 Spider First Drive | Pure, uncut spectacle

The majority of the cars that have rolled out of the gates at Maranello can be described as varying degrees of spectacular. Still, until you settle in behind the wheel, you wonder if a real Ferrari can live up to the hype. The first thing I took note of in the Ferrari 488 Spider was the immense and nearly instantaneous acceleration into questionable speeds. It should have been obvious from the start, but the rate that this car builds speeds still managed to surprise me, like the cold wind on a January morning. You've checked the weather on your phone and you know it's going to be cold, but you still wince with that first sharp breeze on your cheek. It's a totally different sensation than something like the Dodge Viper. The Viper requires deliberate effort for everything. Getting in and out is a pain in the ass. The clutch is long and heavy and the pedal box is tiny. The hefty steering requires some strength, especially at low speeds. The shifter wholly mechanical thing that requires a little more motivation than you would expect. It's not easy and it's not trying to be, just so you're not tempted to underestimate it. By comparison, the Ferrari is cake. The doors open wide allowing easy access, made even easier with the retractable hardtop stowed away. The cabin, while completely covered in black leather, is open enough to not feel claustrophobic. The steering is light but doesn't feel loose and the 7-speed dual-clutch transmission can be left in automatic to make things easier. In sport mode, the exhaust is relatively subdued, allowing you to actually enjoy the stereo should you choose to. But goose the gas and a wave of panic and exhilaration momentarily wash away any other thoughts. The 488 Spider packs a mid-mounted 3.9-liter twin-turbocharged V8 making 661 horsepower and 561 lb-ft of torque. It's not quite the screamer of past Ferrari V8s, but what it lacks in aural excitement it makes up for in brute force. The old 4.5-liter V8 in the Ferrari 458 was powerful, but most of that power was at the top of the rev range. On the other hand, the 488 feels strong in any gear at any RPM. Boost is limited in lower gears, changing the power band in an effort to dull the turbo lag somer. While there isn't a big kick when boost comes on, it doesn't feel quite like a naturally-aspirated engine either. Once you're in boost, complaints seem to fall by the wayside.

Party boy videos his night of drinking, driving - and downfall

So, I've thrown around the word "Schadenfreude" a lot around here. Roughly translated as "joy at another's misfortune," it's one of those lovely German-language compound words that perfectly sums up some part of the human condition. Another of my favorites is " B ackpfeifengesicht." This one translates as "a face in need of a fist." In this story out of Morocco about a rich young man drinking, driving, and crashing a Ferrari, both of those words come immediately to mind. According to NDTV, a 20-year-old spent a wild night on the town in Rabat back in April. The unnamed man spent his evening partying, drinking champagne, dancing at clubs, and racing his slate-colored Ferrari California around the city. Someone who was with him recorded the evening for posterity, and caught him drinking out of a bottle of champagne, completely annihilated, while driving and generally acting the fool. As you can imagine, the evening didn't end well for him. In the morning, he was still apparently drunk and driving around. He smashed into a small, silver sedan, which caved in that car's door and mangled the California's frontend. Unfazed, our man shot a little video of himself dancing around the crash scene, giving the cops lip, and smoking in the back of an ambulance. I guess he thought his wealth and status would get him out of trouble. Joke's on him, though. Morocco's official MAP news agency stated that the Ferrari driver was found guilty of driving while intoxicated and driving without insurance. For this, he got two years in jail and was slapped with a 2,000 euro fine. And that, friends, is Schadenfreude and B ackpfeifengesicht in action. Related Video News Source: NDTV Auto News Weird Car News Ferrari drunk driving morocco