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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

Brabus rockets the Mercedes S65 to 900 horsepower

Some people you just can't please. They take a look at a vehicle with 621 horsepower and 738 pound-feet of torque on tap – one of the most powerful cars money can buy – and say that's still not enough. Fortunately there are companies like Brabus that cater to just such individuals. The Mercedes tuner extraordinaire brought the Rocket 900 to the Geneva Motor Show this year. It's based on the S65 AMG – yeah, the one with the twin-turbo V12 – but takes it a step or ten further. For starters, Brabus has bored the engine out to 6.3 liters and hooked up new turbochargers, exhaust, intake and more – cranking output up to 887 hp and a mind-bending 1,106 lb-ft of torque. Of course it didn't stop there, revising everything from the limited slip differential and air suspension to aero kit and interior. The result? Try 0-62 in 3.7 seconds, a 217-mile-per-hour top speed and a price tag approaching $400,000. Related Video: Featured Gallery Brabus Rocket 900: Geneva 2015 View 16 Photos Related Gallery Mercedes-Benz S65 AMG Brabus Rocket 900 View 30 Photos Related Gallery 2015 Geneva Motor Show Videos View 25 Photos Image Credit: Live photos copyright 2015 Drew Phillips / AOL Aftermarket Geneva Motor Show Mercedes-Benz Luxury Performance Sedan 2015 Geneva Motor Show Brabus mercedes s65 amg brabus rocket 900

BMW expects China to pass US as its top market in 2013

When you combine two billion citizens, 100 cities with more than a million inhabitants and an economy that's as unrestrained as Jim Cramer on an Adderall binge, China's explosive auto industry growth shouldn't be a huge surprise. Audi already lists the communist country as its largest market, while Mercedes-Benz is expecting it to be there in the next few years. Now, according to a report from Automotive News, BMW is expecting the People's Republic to overtake the United States in sales by the end of 2013.
We already discovered the extent that BMW is going to in establishing a dedicated Chinese stronghold, when we explored BMW's Shanghai-based DesignWorks studio ahead of April's Shanghai Motor Show. And while we argued that DesignWorks Shanghai hasn't really borne fruit, it isn't due to a lack of sales.
BMW China has seen a 16-percent jump in year-over-year sales, lead by a 28-percent gain in 5 Series sales. Part of BMW's growth strategy comes from an ever-expanding dealership network. Remember those 100 cities we mentioned with over one million people? According to Karsten Engel, CEO of BMW's Chinese operations, those 100-million-plus city dwellers don't have access to a premium dealership.