2000 Mercedez-benz Slk 230 Kompressor Hard Top Convertible on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Max Verstappen wins rain-soaked German Grand Prix

HOCKENHEIM, Germany — Max Verstappen won a chaotic and rain-soaked German Grand Prix on Sunday as championship leader Lewis Hamilton finished 11th and his Mercedes teammate Valtteri Bottas crashed near the end. Verstappen kept his composure on a treacherous track to clinch his second victory this season and seventh of his Red Bull career, topping a surprise podium ahead of Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel — who started from last — and Toro Rosso driver Daniil Kvyat. "It was amazing to win, it was really tricky out there, you had to be focused," Verstappen said. "It was about trying to not make too many mistakes. You learn over the years. I'm very happy with the result." Following this week's crushing heatwave, wet weather caused Hockenheimring havoc as drivers took up to six pit stops for new tires and several crashed at the same spot where a section of tarmac was notoriously slippery. Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc was in contention for a podium, despite starting from 10th, but crashed after switching for quicker tires and slid off the track, over the gravel and into the barriers. Remarkably, Hamilton had the same mishap moments later, mangling his front wing after losing control at the same corner. He came in for a new wing and tires, but it took Mercedes by surprise and a painfully long stop cost him any chance of victory. For Vettel it was a remarkable turnaround, and almost the opposite to last year — when he crashed near the end after leading the race from pole position and Hamilton won, having qualified only 14th. "It was a lot of fun, it was very tough to read what the smartest move was in the conditions," Vettel said. "I stayed tidy in the whole race. Congratulations to Max, he was superb." The red-clothed Ferrari mechanics and engineers mobbed the four-time F1 champion, doubtless relieved after the team's botched qualifying on Saturday. Vettel could not even get out on track to set a time and Leclerc's qualifying bid was undone late in the session, forcing him to start 10th. For Kvyat it was a third career podium but, above all, a point proved. The 25-year-old Russian driver was ruthlessly replaced at Red Bull by Verstappen after just four races of the 2016 season, and could not even get a seat in F1 last year. "Amazing to be back on the podium," Kvyat said. "The race was crazy. Incredible roller-coaster, like my whole career." The track was drenched by the time the race started. For safety reasons, a safety car was deployed.

2017 Mercedes-Benz C300 Coupe Quick Spin

Now that Mercedes has completed its rollout of four-door C-Class variants, it's time to subtract two doors and get down to the business of sport. The sedan smashed the entry-level luxury paradigm by being good enough to (maybe) keep you from aspiring to an S-Class. The C Coupe, on the other hand, wants to keep you from looking sideways, to certain BMW and Audi competitors. Driving Notes An obvious feature it shares with the sedan is its sense of maturity. The sheetmetal and proportions convey gravitas. The long-hood-into-short-tail that is The Mercedes Way gets another handsome showing here. There's an additional 2.4 inches between the bulkhead and the front axle – although to our eye that trim, curt rear end is overwhelmed by the visual weight of the rest of the car. It looks better on the AMG C63, where flared wheel arches put more emphasis in back. The front and rear of the coupe are altered from the sedan design. The crease under the headlights curves down into the lower intakes forming a continuous design element to the bottom of the curved lower lip. In back, the minimal taillights of the sedan get stretched across the fenders and the wider, straighter trunk of the coupe. The two-door is 1.5 inches lower than the sedan. Although the they share the same width, the coupe looks wider from the rear. Other markets will get a choice of four gasoline and two diesel engines. In the United States, we'll get the rear-wheel-drive C300 next spring with its 241 horsepower and 273 pound-feet of torque, same as in the sedan, with a seven-speed automatic transmission. After that will come a 4Matic version, and in summer comes the AMG C63. Mercedes hasn't broached the subject yet but our market should follow the sedan route, skipping the standard C400 to get the C450 AMG 4Matic with 362 hp and 384 lb-ft. At some point in the undisclosed future, the coupe will be upgraded to the nine-speed automatic. The interior is a delight, but that's what we're used to here – the materials look and feel excellent. The COMAND screen placement is still a hot-button issue, and we think the bezel-to-screen ratio is out of whack. Buyers don't seem to care. This year, the C-Class is just a couple thousand units behind the barn-busting 2013 numbers. In spite of the additional swoopiness versus the previous coupe, the larger size means larger interior dimensions everywhere – trunk space grows by 20 percent.

2016 British Grand Prix kept mostly calm and carried on

Three bursts of chaos decided the course of the British Grand Prix. The first was a literal cloudburst a dozen minutes before the race, which poured water on the Silverstone Circuit while drivers sat on the grid. Six minutes before the lights-out, the race director decided to start the race behind the Safety Car. The field loped around the wet track for five laps. When the Safety Car pulled off, the three leaders – Mercedes-AMG Petronas' Lewis Hamilton, followed by teammate Nico Rosberg and Red Bull's Max Verstappen – stayed out. Behind them, the second chaotic moment occurred: a big group of drivers made pit stops for intermediate tires. When Manor's Pascal Wehrlein spun at Turn 1 on Lap 7, officials issued a Virtual Safety Car. With the rest of the field slowed down, the three leaders ducked into the pits on Lap 8 for intermediates. The fortuitous timing meant all three drivers rejoined the track in their original positions. By Lap 9, with racing resumed, Hamilton had a 4.9-second lead on Rosberg. From that point, even as the track dried, no one bothered Hamilton during what one commentator called "a measured drive." The Brit won his home grand prix, taking the checkered flag seven seconds ahead of Rosberg. Rosberg had to earn second place on track. The German's car didn't respond well to the intermediate tires, so Verstappen excecuted an outstanding pass on Rosberg on the outside through Chapel on Lap 16. After everyone switched to slicks, Rosberg's Mercedes reclaimed its mojo and the German hunted Verstappen down, passing the Dutchman on Lap 38. The final touch of chaos happened when Rosberg's gearbox threw a tantrum on Lap 47 of the 52-lap race. Rosberg radioed his engineer, "Gearbox problem!" His engineer replied, "Affirm. Chassis default zero one. Avoid seventh gear, Nico." The race stewards allowed the engineer's first two statements, but stewards said the instruction about seventh gear contravened the rule that "the driver must drive the car alone and unaided." After the race, officials added ten seconds to Rosberg's time, demoting him to third behind Verstappen. Rosberg's is the first penalty arising from radio communication restrictions. Unsurprisingly, Mercedes will appeal. At this year's Baku race the radio controversy stemmed from engineers refusing to tell drivers what to do. Now we know what happens when the pit wall gets loose lips.