2010 Infiniti Fx50s on 2040-cars

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2015 Russian Grand Prix was full of crashes and DNFs

Mercedes-AMG Petronas non-executive chairman Niki Lauda said of Lewis Hamilton's race-day domination this year, "The guy is driving like a god." Qualifying is another story, though – teammate Nico Rosberg taking pole proved that sometimes deities have to settle for second on the grid. Williams driver Valtteri Bottas surprised himself and his team with third place, half a second behind Hamilton but 0.05 sec ahead of the first Ferrari driven by Sebastian Vettel, while a mistake on Kimi Raikkonen's final flying lap left him in fifth, 0.4 sec behind Vettel. The Sahara Force India team had a good showing, with Nico Hulkenberg qualifying sixth just ahead of teammate Sergio Perez in seventh. It's the first time they've had both drivers in the top ten on the grid since the 2014 British Grand Prix. Romain Grosjean is leaving the stormy waters of Lotus at the end of the year for the unknown waters of Haas F1, but he made the shoestring operation look really good before Renault takes over by taking eighth place on the grid. Max Verstappen qualified well again with ninth in the Toro Rosso, ahead of the first Infiniti Red Bull Racing of Daniel Ricciardo in tenth. Red Bull driver Daniil Kvyat lined up eleventh for his home grand prix, certainly a disappointment after locking up fifth place on the grid last year in a Toro Rosso. When Pirelli brought soft and supersoft compounds to Sochi, the company said it hoped this year's race would be better than last year's. We're sure this first-lap mishap isn't what they meant. Rosberg and Hamilton dragged it down to Turn 1, with Rosberg getting the inside line. Hamilton had to go wide at Turn 2 as Rosberg fought to hold position, but they left a mess in their wake: Hulkenberg spun going into Turn 2 and stopped in the middle of the track, and Marcus Ericsson in the Sauber – who'd started 16th – collided with him. Both cars were out of the race immediately, and the Safety Car came in. The Safety Car returned to the pits on Lap 3 Rosberg led the field, but just two laps later the German complained of a sticking throttle pedal. Two laps later he had to retire, unable to drive the car properly. That put Hamilton at the front, and we've seen that race a bunch of times before. He built a double-digit lead and never lost it.

2023 Infiniti Q50 gets small price bump and Premium Care

The Infiniti Q50 sedan continues for 2023 without the support of its coupe sibling, the Q60. There are just three small changes on the way, one being the addition of Infiniti Premium Care. Expanded to every Infiniti sold or leased in the U.S., Premium Care is a regular maintenance program for items like oil and filter changes, tire rotations, and inspections for up to three years. The second change is a higher price, the Q50 starting at $43,725 including the $1,075 destination fee, a $610 increase over 2022. MSRPs for the three trims next year and differences from 2022 are: Q50 Luxe: $43,725 ($610) Q50 Sensory: $49,425 ($400) Q50 Red Sport 400: $57,575 ($600) The last change is the availability of a Saddle Brown interior, which used to require stepping up to the Sensory. Rear-wheel drive is the standard layout, all-wheel drive can be optioned to any trim for $2,000. The twin-turbo 3.0-liter V6 hold steady at 300 horsepower and 295 pound-feet of torque for the Luxe and Sensory, or 400 hp and 350 lb-ft for the Red Sport 400, shifting through a seven-speed automatic no matter the output. It's possible there are more people who want to know where the Q50 is going than want to buy the car. The brand sold 8,482 Q50s in the first half of 2021, but just 3,717 units in the first half of this year. The high point came in 2016 when 44,007 units moved that year, two years after the sedan went on sale, and the model heading into 2023 has been hanging on for 10 years. The brand talked about a potential new electrified platform for the sedan in 2018, but come 2021 Nikkei Asia reported parent company Nissan would be ending development of all sedans in Japan excepting the Skyline. The Q50 seems like it's doing circles in a product cul-de-sac, knowing there's no point in revamping the current generation or developing a new one. But the car on sale is just bringing down values; unlike much of the rest of the market, there's real money to be saved on a one- or two-year-old Q50. Perhaps when the electric revolution has some power behind it in 2027 or 2028, we could see a return to the hot Infiniti sedans of yore.   

Formula 1 seeking independent engine supplier

Formula 1 could get a new engine supplier in the near future, if Bernie Ecclestone and the independent teams gets their way. According to Autosport, the FIA is soon to open the contract up for bids, and there are already several manufacturers that have expressed interest. Currently Mercedes, Ferrari, Renault, and Honda supply engines – both to their own premier teams (Red Bull and McLaren for the latter two) but also to other teams like Williams, Sauber, and Toro Rosso. Because the new turbocharged V6 hybrid power units cost those four suppliers so much to develop, they're charging their customer teams big bucks – around $20-30 million per season – to provide the engines. These costs are much higher than the $10 million or so it used to cost to purchase a V8 engine under the previous regulations. Ecclestone figures it's time to bring in another supplier who will not run their own team and not play favorites, but will supply engines to private teams at a lower cost. There are already a number of potential suppliers under consideration. One of them is said to be Cosworth, which has a long history in the series stretching back to 1963. The British firm stepped back between 2007 and 2009, returned in 2010, and dropped out again after 2013. The development could be of particular benefit to Red Bull, which has been unable to find an engine supplier and could be forced out of the series as a result. The team has long been powered by Renault, but that relationship has grown sour. And the other three engine manufacturers have not been forthcoming in offering an alternative arrangement for the team. Related Video: News Source: AutosportImage Credit: Cosworth Motorsports Ferrari Honda Infiniti McLaren Mercedes-Benz Renault F1 engine contract