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Lewis Hamilton wins record sixth British Grand Prix

SILVERSTONE, England — Formula One championship leader Lewis Hamilton won a record sixth British Grand Prix on Sunday after jumping ahead of Mercedes teammate Valtteri Bottas by taking advantage of the safety car being deployed. In front of his home fans, Hamilton made the decisive move to the front in the 20th of the 52 laps by pitting to get new tires. With the safety car still out after Antonio Giovinazzi spun off in his Alfa Romeo, Hamilton rejoined ahead of pole-sitter Bottas. "The safety car came out and it was perfect timing," Hamilton said. Hamilton had initially attacked Bottas on the fourth lap, overtaking but failing to keep position. "It was maybe not my luckiest day," Bottas said after falling 39 points behind Hamilton in the championship standings. "But that's life." After finally moving into the lead, Hamilton avoided pitting again so stayed on hard tires while Bottas was on fresher soft ones but the world champion still set a lap record on the final lap. By beating Bottas by almost 25 seconds, Hamilton extended his championship lead over the Finn to 39 points and moved ahead of Jim Clark and Alain Prost to take the record for British GP victories. "I love you Silverstone," Hamilton said over the team radio in the week when the track's future for the race was secured until at least 2024. It was an 80th career win for Hamilton, of which seven have come in the 10 races this season. "Today was one of the best days I can remember having," Hamilton said. "I have done so many races you would think I would get used to it or the feeling would numb down but it feels as amazing as the first win (at Silverstone in 2008)." Charles Leclerc of Ferrari completed the podium after a crash in the fight for third saw Sebastian Vettel crash into the back of Max Verstappen on lap 38. "It was my mistake," Vettel said. "He passed me and he ran a bit wide which gave me the chance to come back. "I looked for a second he was going for the right and there would be a gap on the left ... but it didn't open and by that time it was already too late." Too late for Vettel to avoid crashing his Ferrari into the back of Verstappen, damaging the floor and diffuser of the Red Bull. "He apologized," Verstappen said. Vettel finished 15th and now trails Hamilton by 100 points in fourth place. Motorsports Ferrari Mercedes-Benz Racing Vehicles F1 Lewis Hamilton british grand prix

China's BAIC looks to invest in Daimler

Daimler and Beijing Automotive Group (BAIC) are already intertwined in China. Daimler is a 12-percent shareholder in BAIC Motor, the third largest shareholder in the passenger-car division of BAIC. They have a joint manufacturing venture Beijing Benz in which BAIC is the majority partner by one percent, a sales joint venture Beijing Mercedes-Benz Sales Service Co. in which Daimler is the majority partner by one percent, and Daimer says, "BAIC is our most important partner in China." Beijing Benz is ten years old this year. They'll become even closer if talks between the two concerning BAIC taking "a major stake" in the German conglomerate come to anything. Reuters reports that the two are in talks now, with BAIC Chairman Xu Heyi saying it should be resolved one way or another by the end of this year. If they agree, the China-based, Hong Kong-listed company will join Renault-Nissan and the Kuwait Investment Authority as Daimler's top shareholders. Some China analysts see a potential Daimler investment as a coup for BAIC, similar to BAIC's 2009 purchase of old Saab platform, engine, and transmission technologies, that would give it access to technologies it wouldn't have to develop on its own and hastening the development of its own cars. A deal is also seen as potentially opening up export possibilities for the Chinese company. Other analysts aren't sure that BAIC would get any useful technology, noting that that last deal between the two gave BAIC the outdated E-Class platform, but none of Mercedes' headline tech. If a deal is done, BAIC will join Dongfeng Group and SAIC as Chinese automaker investors in western automotive companies.

Missouri Mercedes dealer offering free Smart with every SLS AMG purchase

The Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG GT is an exquisite sports car that probably needs no help flying off dealer lots, even with a starting price of almost $200,000, but Mercedes-Benz of Kansas City has come up with an interesting incentive to sweeten the deal. For buyers who purchase a new SLS AMG from dealer stock before the end of the year, the dealership is throwing in a new Smart Fortwo from its inventory at no charge... with a required coupon no less.
In addition to being a great tactic to get a little free press, the spare car also makes sense as an alternative to the SLS, which measures more than 15-feet long - almost twice the length of a Fortwo - and has a 563-horsepower engine that sucks down gas at the rate of 13 miles per gallon in city driving (and even that's provided you don't give in to the devil on your shoulder). Plus, at the end of the day, this really isn't that big of an incentive. Being given a slow-selling $12,490 car for the purchase of a model starting at $199,500 represents about a six percent incentive, which is along the lines of a $1,900 rebate for a $30,000 car.
To get the free Smart, just visit the Mercedes-Benz of Kansas City Facebook page, redeem the coupon and then go buy yourself a new SLS AMG. Congratulations!