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F1's Raikkonen to race for Sauber as Leclerc brings youth to Ferrari

Kimi Raikkonen will not be going out of Formula One at the top, or even with a top team. The announcement on Tuesday that the 2007 world champion is leaving Ferrari, the sport's oldest, most glamorous and successful team, at the end of the season was only to be expected. Less so was the subsequent revelation that the 38-year-old "Iceman" had agreed a two-year deal to continue with Ferrari-powered Sauber in a swap with that team's Monegasque rookie Charles Leclerc. That will close a circle at least, the Swiss team being the ones who gave Raikkonen his debut in 2001 despite the powers-that-be fearing he was too inexperienced. And it will keep the Finn racing on into his 40s. It will also please Formula One's owners, already facing the retirement of double world champion Fernando Alonso, by keeping one of the best known and most popular drivers on the starting grid. But the days when Raikkonen could hope for poles and wins, already scarce even at Ferrari where Sebastian Vettel is the main contender and team orders have been applied, are surely over now. Sauber was last in 2017 and is ninth of 10 teams now, even if the signs are more encouraging than they were, and there is a likelihood that Raikkonen will now be simply making up the numbers. The Finn will still relish racing with less media attention and more freedom, while for Ferrari there are also clear benefits. For the first time in four years, they now have a new benchmark for four-time champion Vettel and a (very) young driver who represents the future rather than the past. Vettel has outperformed Raikkonen consistently since the pairing started in 2015 with the German's move from Red Bull, and the Finn is already 62 points adrift this season with seven races remaining. Raikkonen has been more competitive this year, taking nine podium finishes and pole at Ferrari's home Italian Grand Prix with Formula One's fastest ever lap, but there are those who question whether Vettel is being pushed hard enough. Some even wonder just how quick the German really is. Ferrari will hope that 20-year-old Leclerc, unless told to adopt a subservient role, can apply a bit more pressure and help answer those questions. The gamble is that the youngster's relative inexperience could impact, in the short-term at least, Ferrari's constructors' championship hopes as he finds his way under considerable scrutiny.

Ferrari officially teases successor to Enzo throne

You're looking at our best view yet of the upcoming successor to the Ferrari Enzo. Rumors kicking around the web insist the new reigning monarch of the Italian kingdom will carry the "F150" name when it bows, otherwise known as the Special Limited Series. Word has it Ferrari has focused all of its experience in Formula One to create the new model. According to the manufacturer's official online magazine, the new ultracar will boast a carbon fiber monocoque chassis built in "an almost handmade style" using four types of the composite. We aren't sure exactly what that means, but the design should keep weight to a minimum.
Power should come courtesy of an 800 horsepower V12 engine married to a HY-KERS system good for an additional 100 hp. Early estimates say the creation will tip the scales at under 3,000 pounds, which means the vehicle will be a performance marvel. Sounds like a party.

2015 Ferrari 458 Italia to go turbo?

Forced induction has definitely hit trend status when it comes to performance cars. Whether it's the supercharged Hellcat V8 in the Dodge Challenger SRT, the latest twin-turbocharged M3/M4 or even the entry-level speed of the Ford Fiesta ST, if you want the fastest car in any given segment, in all likelihood it has a turbo or supercharger. Even Ferrari hasn't avoided the bandwagon with the latest iteration of the California that replaces the original 4.3-liter V8 with a 3.9-liter turbo V8 offering 552 horsepower for more power and better fuel economy. If recent rumors prove true, it might not be the only Prancing Horse to use this engine for long.
According to Car in the UK, Ferrari is planning to boost the 3.9-liter V8 up to around 670 hp and place it in a refreshed 458 Italia in 2015. If true, that is an astounding increase over the version from the latest California and a roughly 70-hp improvement over the current 458 Speciale.
The extra power would come with a serious challenge of how to maintain the 458's delicious exhaust note. Turbocharged engines are often quieter than their naturally aspirated counterparts, modern Formula One cars serving as a prime example. The California may get a pass because it's more of a GT, but the 458 is the brand's bread-and-butter sports car. It needs to sound like a proper Ferrari V8. However, Car claims Maranello is a step ahead and has a complicated exhaust layout - as is the case with the California T, we might add - ready to keep much of the characteristic yelp in tact.