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Lewis Hamilton takes pole as Mercedes speed stuns rivals

MELBOURNE, March 16 (Reuters) - Formula One champion Lewis Hamilton blazed to a record-extending eighth pole and sixth in succession at the Australian Grand Prix on Saturday to lead Valtteri Bottas to a Mercedes sweep of the front row of the grid. Hamilton struggled with a brake problem during the frenetic final session at Albert Park but edged his Finnish team mate by 0.112 seconds with a searing second lap of one minute 20.486 seconds that set a record at the lakeside circuit. The one-two punch by Mercedes left Ferrari and their championship rivals stunned, with Hamilton's chief challenger Sebastian Vettel, who qualified third, more than seven-tenths of a second off the five-times champion's pace. "Oh man, I'm shaking it was so close out there," Briton 34-year-old Hamilton said after extending his pole record to 84 on a warm, sunny afternoon in Melbourne. "Coming from winter testing, we had no idea where we would be. We were hoping to be where we are ... Valtteri did an exceptional job out there, it was very close." Hamilton matched Ayrton Senna and Michael Schumacher for the record number of poles at a single race track. Senna took his eight at Imola, with Schumacher dominating the Suzuka circuit. Four-times champion Vettel, bidding for a third successive win at Albert Park, was separated from his new team mate Charles Leclerc by fourth placed Max Verstappen of Red Bull. It would have felt like 'deja vu' for Ferrari, having trailed Mercedes by nearly seven-tenths of a second in qualifying at last year's race. "Certainly Mercedes are the clear favorite," Vettel told reporters with a touch of resignation. "I'm certainly surprised (by their pace), I think everybody is, probably even themselves." "I think, there is still a bit of margin (to improve) but certainly the gap is there today, and it was a surprise," the four-times champion told reporters. "We didn't expect it coming here but now it is that way. ... Obviously there is a lack somewhere, because we are too slow – but didn't feel like it." German Vettel's new team mate Charles Leclerc qualified fifth fastest behind Red Bull's Max Verstappen but the highly regarded 21-year-old was harder on himself than the car. "I'm not happy with myself. I didn't do the job in Q3, which is a shame," said the Monegasque, who locked up in turn one of a "messy" second lap.

Ferrari looks to capitalize on brand name as it promises faster growth

MILAN — Strong sales of Ferrari's Portofino and 812 Superfast models enabled the Italian luxury carmaker to raise its outlook on Monday, with a new brand strategy promising even more growth. Ferrari's Milan-listed shares rose as much as 7.4% to an all-time high of 155.15 euros ($172.65) after it reported "solid" third quarter results and signaled a strong year ahead. The 'Cavallino Rampante,' or 'Prancing Horse,' launched a plan to enhance its brand through new apparel and accessory collections, entertainment offers, and luxury products and services for clients. They include an agreement with Italian fashion house Giorgio Armani and the opening of a restaurant with star chef Massimo Bottura in the group's hometown of Maranello in northern Italy. Ferrari expects the new brand initiative to represent around 10% of the group's profitability in the next seven to 10 years, in what Chief Executive Louis Camilleri described as an "ambitious but realistic target". "It is our intention to increase the size of the cake and our share of the cake," he told analysts in an earnings call, referring to the group's bid to expand revenues outside of selling cars. The new branding strategy builds on the group's aggressive roll-out of new premium models. Ferrari said core earnings would be around 1.27 billion euros ($1.41 billion) for the full year, topping a previous forecast of 1.2-1.25 billion euros ($1.34-1.39 billion). Camilleri said that this year Ferrari would match what it forecast last year for 2020. "I think it's rather premature for us to address 2020 at this time. But clearly, we do anticipate a strong year," he told analysts. The carmaker also increased its outlook on 2019 revenues to about 3.7 billion euros ($4.12 billion), from a previous forecast of more than 3.5 billion euros ($3.89 billion), and industrial free cashflow. "We expect the stock to rise but (the) focus will be on 2020," Morgan Stanley said in a note, adding that Ferrari's results were better than expected across the board. Ferrari will present its latest new model in Rome next week, taking the total to five this year, including the F90 Stradale, its first hybrid car in series-production. To support Ferrari's growth and profitability Camilleri's strategy plan from September last year promised to launch 15 new models between 2019 and 2022.

Ferrari 488 GTB among the best car designs of 2016 [UPDATE]

Can't decide whether the Ferrari 488 GTB looks better than the 458 Italia it replaces? A design jury has make up its mind. The 2016 Red Dot design awards are being announced today, and Maranello's latest eight-cylinder, mid-engined supercar won top honors. The Red Dot Awards for Product Design recognize the best new products on the market across an array of categories and industries, including automobiles. This year's panel of 41 experts, including Chris Bangle and Ken Okuyama, evaluated some 5,200 designs. From those, they selected 1,304 for a Red Dot award, and only 79 as the "Best of the Best" – among them the new Ferrari. This is the second year in a row the Prancing Horse marque has been awarded the honor, having been earned an award for the FXX K last year. A full list of this year's honorees isn't yet available, and it's uncertain that other automakers will earn awards. Last year's list also included the Mazda MX-5, Mercedes-AMG GT, and Volvo XC90. The Peugeot 308 SW, if you can believe it, was the only car awarded Best of the Best in 2014, the Audi R8 in 2013, and the Renault Twizy in 2012. UPDATE: The Red Dot organization has released the full list of this year's product design honorees, with the McLaren 570S and Kia Optima also awarded among the Best of the Best. Red Dots were also awarded to the Audi A4, R8, and Q7, BMW 7 Series, M2, and X1, Fiat Toro, Hyundai Ioniq, Kia Sportage, Mercedes C-Class, Skoda Superb Estate, and Volvo S90. The jurists also gave Honorable Mentions to the Borgward BX 7, Genesis G90, Mini Clubman, Qoros 3 City SUV, and Smart Fortwo Cabriolet. The 488 GTB wins the Red Dot award The V8 sports car named "Best of the Best" Maranello, 30 March 2016 – The 488 GTB has won the Red Dot Best of the Best award for its design and innovative lines. This is the latest in string of plaudits garnered by the Ferrari Style Centre which also picked up several IF Design Awards in Munich, Germany, at the start of the month. On the latter occasion, the big winner was the FXX K (Red Dot Best of the Best 2015) which took home the Gold Award, the Hannover institute's top prize. However, the 488 GTB and 488 Spider also scored a double whammy at the same event with a Design Excellence Award apiece.