2023 Ferrari Portofino M M Certified Cpo on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Sebastian Vettel captures Belgian Grand Prix

SPA-FRANCORCHAMPS, Belgium – Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel sped away from first corner carnage to celebrate a commanding Belgian Grand Prix victory on Sunday and trim Lewis Hamilton's Formula One lead to 17 points with eight races remaining. Hamilton, last year's winner in Belgium, started from pole position but finished second for Mercedes while Red Bull's Max Verstappen gave his army of Dutch fans something to cheer with third place. In the battle of four-times world champions, Hamilton now has 231 points to Vettel's 214. "I had a great start, I'm not sure Lewis saw me as he pushed me to the left in the first lap, but after last year I ended up short, and this year it was the other way around," said Vettel of his decisive pass on Hamilton. "As soon as I was ahead I relaxed. I had a good restart after the safety car, and after that it was a very smooth race," he added. The start provided most of the afternoon's excitement, with Fernando Alonso's McLaren flying over Charles Leclerc's Sauber at the La Source hairpin after being rammed by Renault's Nico Hulkenberg. All three retired as the safety car was deployed for four laps but Leclerc had reason to thank the 'halo' head protection system -- introduced this season -- for allowing him to step away unscathed. Television close-up images after the race showed the structure heavily marked by the impact. "The Halo was a very good thing to have today. I think for him, it helped," commented Spaniard Alonso, who will be leaving Formula One at the end of the season. Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen, a four times winner in Belgium, and Red Bull's Daniel Ricciardo also collided at the start and retired after pitting, the Finn having to wait for his 100th career podium. At the front, Vettel swiftly seized the lead from Hamilton down the Kemmel straight on the opening lap and never looked back, taking the checkered flag 11.0 seconds clear of Hamilton. "He drove past me like I wasn't even there on the straight," said Hamilton, who was quick to shake his rival's hand and offer congratulations. "They have got a few trick things going on in the car," he added. "I did what I could, we did what we could so we have to keep working." It was the German's fifth win of the campaign, matching his British rival, and 52nd of his career -- one more than the great four times champion Alain Prost managed. Hamilton's team mate Valtteri Bottas finished fourth, and set the fastest lap, after starting 17th.

LaFerrari 3D model adds depth to Maranello's new supercar

At its recent Geneva Motor Show unveiling, we couldn't help but spend a good long time gawking at the new LaFerrari supercar. It isn't just that it's the newest top-line Ferrari, or even that it picks up where the Enzo left off - it's just that there's so much to look at, from the ductwork in its long nose to the delicate artistry of its sideview mirrors. There's so much aerodynamic wizardry in play on every surface that you just want to pick it up in your hand and look underneath to take a closer look every which way - even underneath.
Sadly that's not possible, but we may just have the next best thing. Autoblog reader Giorgio has come up with this clever interactive 3D model of the LaFerrari, and we think it's neat enough that you might want to take a look - check it out by scrolling below. And don't forget - we love featuring what our car-crazed readers are up to, whether here or on our Facebook page, so keep those tips coming.

Race Recap: 2014 Russian Grand Prix is like Valencia, but in Russian

The Sochi International Street Circuit used to host the Russian Formula One Grand Prix has a few things in common with the Valencia Street Circuit that was used to host the European Grand Prix. Both are built among existing infrastructure used for other events, both contain long, narrow stretches run between concrete walls and chain link fencing, and both are, shall we say, not exactly exciting.
We wouldn't know that after qualifying, though, when Lewis Hamilton in the Mercedes AMG Petronas finally put in a mistake-free Saturday to line up first on the grid, ahead of teammate Nico Rosberg in second. Valtteri Bottas got his Williams closer than anyone expected, blistering the first two sectors but falling apart in the third and ending up third on the grid. Behind him, Jenson Button impressed in the McLaren in fourth, Daniil Kvyat even more impressive in the Toro Rosso, taking fifth in front of his home crowd. Kevin Magnussen put the second McLaren in sixth, Daniel Ricciardo was the first Infiniti Red Bull Racing in seventh ahead of a Ferrari duo who knew they'd have a hard time, Fernando Alonso in eighth and Kimi Räikkönen in ninth. Jean-Eric Vergne made sure to keep himself in the news with tenth position.
When the lights went out, the most exciting events of the entire race happened in just sixty meters of the braking zone going into Turn 2.