Daytona Seats, Rear Challenge Grille, Red Calipers on 2040-cars

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Ferrari driver Sebastian Vettel crashes in F1 preseason testing

MONTMELO, Spain — Sebastian Vettel crashed into a tire barrier in Formula One preseason testing on Wednesday, damaging his Ferrari but not sustaining any injuries. Vettel lost control on Turn 3 at the Barcelona-Catalunya Circuit, going through the gravel and hitting the wall. Ferrari said Vettel was "off due to a mechanical problem." It said the car was sent back to the garage "for all the needed checks." The Italian team did not specify what problem led to Vettel's crash in the morning session of the second of four days of testing. The crash prompted a red flag, and Vettel's Ferrari had to be towed back to the garage. McLaren driver Carlos Sainz was leading Wednesday's session with a time of 1 minute, 17.144 seconds, the fastest so far after six days of testing. Vettel had the second fastest time of the day, followed by Red Bull driver Max Verstappen and Mercedes rival Valtteri Bottas. Also Wednesday, McLaren said two-time world champion Fernando Alonso will be the team's ambassador and continue to advise its drivers and engineers, as well as "drive at selected tests to support the development" of the team's cars for 2020. Alonso, who was at the Barcelona track on Tuesday, will drive for McLaren in this year's Indy 500. Renault said Russian driver Sergey Sirotkin, who raced for Williams last season, will be the team's reserve driver in 2019. Testing will continue through Friday at the Barcelona-Catalunya Circuit, home to the Spanish Grand Prix. The season-opening Australian Grand Prix is on March 17. More AP racing Motorsports Ferrari Racing Vehicles F1 Sebastian Vettel

Finali Mondiali 2016 was an incredible celebration of all things Ferrari

For the first time ever, Ferrari held its Finali Mondiali event in North America, and we were there to soak it all in. This event is a four-day celebration of everything Ferrari, but the main event is the world final championship for the Ferrari Challenge series drivers, who normally compete in European, American, and Asia Pacific regional series. While they were racing 458 Challenge EVO models, we also saw the debut of the 488 Challenge – which, needless to say, was stunning. There were also demonstrations of past F1 cars, and a running of the incredible FXX Program vehicles, which simply looked (and sounded) amazing. In addition, the last Ferrari LaFerrari built was auctioned off to help victims of the Italian earthquakes, and predictably it raised a lot of money. That's great. In fact, it also set a record at a whopping $7 million – the most for a car from this century, period. Probably didn't hurt things any that it was also a one-off with a special paint job. Enjoy the photos above from our time at this fantastic event at Daytona International Speedway. Related Video:

Ferrari recalling 85 LaFerraris under two separate campaigns [UPDATE]

Of the recalls we see on a regular basis, million-dollar exotic supercars don't often pop up. But that's exactly what we have on our hands today as Ferrari North America and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration have issued a pair of recalls for all 85 examples of the flagship LaFerrari hybrid hypercar in the United States. The first of the recall campaigns revolves around the headrests, which "may not absorb the required amount of energy" and therefore fail to comply with the federal safety requirements. The issue involves the larger L32 seat supplied by Lear, fitted as standard for the passenger and optional for the driver's seat. Addressing the issue will require dealers to replace the headrests. The second recall involves the Tire Pressure Monitoring System, which – in the event of a puncture – will display the wrong message. Instead of telling the driver not to proceed on the punctured tire, as apparently required under federal regulations, the system would (as currently programmed) tell the driver to keep driving, but not above 50 miles per hour. Ferrari dealers will need to update the software to fix the problem. These recalls do not represent the first time Ferrari has called in the hybrid hypercar over a potential safety issue. This past March, owners were offered the opportunity to have the fuel tanks replaced. However, unlike these latest campaigns that are being handled in coordination with the NHTSA, Ferrari insisted that the previous fuel tank issue did not constitute a recall. UPDATE: Ferrari North America confirms that no accidents or injuries have been reported to have resulted from either of these issues, which will be addressed in other markets as well - including Canada, where a further 11 units are affected. In order to fix the seat issue, "a small insert will be added to the back of the (large size only) seat headrest." Rectifying both issues "will take approximately an hour of service." Related Video: RECALL Subject : Headrest Impact Energy Absorbtion/FMVSS 202a Report Receipt Date: MAY 22, 2015 NHTSA Campaign Number: 15V305000 Component(s): SEATS Potential Number of Units Affected: 85 Manufacturer: Ferrari North America, Inc. SUMMARY: Ferrari North America, Inc. (FNA) is recalling certain model year 2014-2015 LaFerrari vehicles manufactured May 15, 2014, to March 4, 2015. The affected vehicles have L32 seats as standard equipment for the passenger seat and as optional equipment for the driver seat.