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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.

Ferrari dominated classic car auctions in 2014

If it seems to you that the prices being paid for top collector classics at auction keep ratcheting up, you're right. In fact in the US alone, some $1.3 billion were spent on collector cars this past year – a $100 million increase over 2013's tally. And much of that was made up of Ferraris. In fact vintage Prancing Horses accounted for nine out of the ten most expensive cars sold at auction in 2014 – and their prices went up by some 43 percent. The headline of the year, of course, was the 250 GTO which Bonhams sold in Monterey for over $38 million, setting a new world record. But impressive as that was, the GTO wasn't the only eight-figure Ferrari auctioned off this year. On the same week, RM sold a 265 GTB/C Speciale for $26.4 million. Bonhams sold a 375-Plus for $18.4 million at Goodwood, Gooding got $15 million for a 250 GT California Spider, RM raked in $11.5 million for a 250 LM and another $10 million for Steve McQueen's 275 GTB/4. The rest of the list was populated by another 250 California, another 275 and a 250 Mille Miglia, each of which sold for around $8 million apiece. That's the list reported by Ferrari itself, but while the top prices listed on Sports Car Market differ slightly, any way you slice it, the top ten slots are still taken by Maranello's finest. (Hagerty, for its part, reported a slightly different list a few days ago, with eight of the top slots taken by Ferraris and two by Ford GT40s.) Oh, and in case you're wondering, the tenth car on the list was not a Mercedes – the only marque that has traded places with Ferrari for the top place any year since the turn of the millennium. No, this year, the list was rounded out by the pristine white McLaren F1 that Gooding sold for $10.75 million at Pebble Beach this year, slotting in just above the McQueen 275. News Source: Ferrari, Sports Car MarketImage Credit: Ferrari Ferrari Auctions Classics record

2020 Ferrari 488 GT3 Evo arrives with new aero, same great Italian looks

The new Ferrari 488 GT3 Evo race car is here. And though it’s not a whole lot different than the 488 that debuted a few years back, Ferrari has a comprehensive round of changes coming its way for the 2020 racing season.  To start, the 488 retains its name. Ferrari released the F8 Tributo not too long ago, but the race car isnÂ’t changing along with the updated road car. Ferrari says the lionÂ’s share of work for this new 488 GT3 Evo is all in the aero. It spent over 18,000 hours performing simulations and wind tunnel testing to develop a new front end design. Now, the 488 has a smaller frontal section under the headlights, which allowed engineers to fit a pair of flicks to the front bumper. A redesigned splitter complements the new front bumper. The door shape has changed for better airflow efficiency, and the vents on top of the rear wing are larger than before. Ferrari says that all of this results in a more aerodynamic car that produces even more downforce than before. The wheelbase is slightly longer than last year (Ferrari doesnÂ’t say by how much). This was done to reduce tire wear and facilitate the carÂ’s transformation from GT3 to GTE. Ferrari says it focused on reducing weight, but it didnÂ’t say by how much. This allows the team to better place the ballast forced upon it from Balance of Performance rules. Some re-tuning of electronic systems was done. Traction control, ABS and the engine management system were all given a refresh in this car. Ferrari claims the engine software update improves reliability and “guarantees smoother, more precise torque delivery." Lastly, if youÂ’re racing with an older 488, thereÂ’s no need to fret. Ferrari says all these upgrades can be applied to the older car to bring it up to date. Chevy also recently debuted the C8.R race car, the mid-engine Corvette that will meet the 488 on the battlefield.