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Lewis Hamilton blasts to pole position for British Grand Prix

SILVERSTONE, England - Lewis Hamilton took pole position for his home British Grand Prix for the third year in a row on Saturday with a sensational lap that left him one step away from Michael Schumacher's Formula One record. Hamilton's championship-leading Ferrari rival Sebastian Vettel, who has a 20-point advantage after nine of 20 races, qualified third. The Mercedes driver was half a second quicker than Ferrari's second placed Kimi Raikkonen and his time of one minute 26.600 seconds was so outrageously quick there were gasps before the crowd erupted. "I always try to leave the best to last," the Briton told retired champion Jenson Button in post-qualifying interviews on the grid. "I had to make sure I got that lap in. I couldn't do it last weekend (in Austria) so I made sure I could here." Hamilton still faced a nervous wait after race stewards announced they were investigating an incident involving French driver Romain Grosjean, who complained he had been blocked earlier in the session. They swiftly decided to take no further action. The Briton's mastery of a damp but drying track lit up an overcast afternoon and the pole was the 67th of his career, sixth of the season, and gave him every chance of equalling Schumacher's record 68 before the August break. The triple world champion has won the last three British Grands Prix and can equal the late Jim Clark's feat of four home wins in a row, and five in total, on Sunday. Saturday ensured he has already matched Clark's 50-year-old record of five British Grand Prix pole positions. "I feel amazing in front of a great crowd like this. I hope you liked the lap," Hamilton told the grandstands full of cheering fans. "I generally like it to be dry, but I like it when the conditions are tricky." Hamilton's Finnish team mate Valtteri Bottas, winner in Austria, was fourth fastest but has a five-place penalty following a gearbox change. That promoted Red Bull's Dutch teenager Max Verstappen, who has suffered five retirements in the last seven races, to the second row. Renault's Nico Hulkenberg and his former Force India team mate Sergio Perez filled the third row. There was good news for beleaguered McLaren, who raised a cheer when Fernando Alonso made the most of improving conditions to set the fastest time in the first phase of qualifying, with Belgian Stoffel Vandoorne qualifying ninth.

Mercedes AMG GT3 racecar due in 2016

Our life with the Mercedes-AMG GT has only just begun, and a full life it looks like it will be. The latest in preposterous two-doors from AMG is launching in GT and GT S flavors, but a few more branches of the family tree are already planned: a racing entry for the FIA GT3 championship is scheduled to appear in 2016, giving the current SLS AMG GT3 another year to gobble up victories before it takes a drive across the Styx. More exciting for those who only suit up on Sunday for church, whispers are that a we'll also get a streetable version of the race car - not called "GT3" because that alphanumeric is owned by Porsche, but definitely aimed at its Stuttgart rival. AMG boss Tobias Moers told Autocar the objective for that car is "more power, less weight, better aerodynamics and different suspension but the targets should be the power to weight ratio, drivability, lap time and tremendous feel." Those targets will be aided by a carbon fiber weight-loss regime of up to 220 pounds and more power - perhaps 550 horsepower - from the currently "very understressed" engine. Supposing that still isn't enough for you, then the Black Series version should curl your toes, if you can wait until 2018 for it.

2016 Mercedes S-Class Cabriolet airs out the good life

Mercedes-Benz has finally dropped the top on its range-topping model, the long-lived S-Class. The new cabriolet takes the handsome, sophisticated good looks of the hardtop model and adds a three-layer canvas roof that can be lowered or raised in just 20 seconds. On top of the unlimited headroom, the new S-Class Cabriolet adds Mercedes' popular AirScarf neck-warming system, as well as a new nine-speed automatic transmission on the S550 model. As we previously reported, the S63 AMG will continue to use the seven-speed AMG Speedshift transmission. Both cars match their hardtop and four-door counterparts in terms of output. On top of AirScarf, Mercedes also fitted the Thermotronic climate control system. It uses 12 sensors and 18 actuators to measure a wide array of metrics, all in the pursuit of keeping the cabin temperature at the driver's ideal temperature. Scroll up for our full gallery of photos of the new S-Class Cabriolet from the floor of the 2015 Frankfurt Motor Show. We also have the official press release from Mercedes down below. Check them out. The new Mercedes-Benz S-Class Cabriolet Open-top luxury Stuttgart. The new S-Class Cabriolet is the fourth variant of the current S-Class family in the U.S. market and the first open-top flagship four-seater from Mercedes-Benz since 1971. It offers a distinctive, sensual and exclusive design, the cutting-edge technology of the S-Class and a comprehensive warmth and wind protection concept which includes intelligent climate control for convertibles. The elegantly sporty model will have its world premiere at the Frankfurt International Motor Show in September. Also on display in Frankfurt will be a superlative dream car from Mercedes-AMG in the guise of the S63 4MATIC Cabriolet. Its 5.5-liter V8 biturbo engine offers an output of 577 hp and peak torque of 664 lb-ft, AMG Performance 4MATIC all-wheel drive with rear-biased torque split as standard and acceleration from 0 to 60 mph in 3.9 seconds. "After 44 years we are once again able to offer Mercedes aficionados an open-top car in the S-Class. The new S-Class Cabriolet symbolizes our passion for individual and timelessly exclusive mobility, which we share with our customers," remarks Ola Kallenius, Board Member of Daimler AG, Mercedes-Benz Cars Sales. The new S-Class Cabriolet is exceptionally rigid.