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Race recap: 2015 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix is Germany rising as sun sets

Mercedes-AMG Petronas driver Nico Rosberg Rosberg doesn't attribute anything mystical to the form that got him ahead of teammate Lewis Hamilton. He said simply, "Before it was close in the other direction, now it's close in this direction." Mercedes non-executive chairman Niki Lauda went further, saying Rosberg's "brain has switched." Under the desert spotlights it switched so far ahead that Lewis Hamilton qualified nearly four tenths behind the German. Kimi Raikkonen flew the scarlet for Ferrari in third position. Being three spots ahead of Valtteri Bottas gave Raikkonen a huge advantage in locking up fourth position in the driver's championship. Even if he doesn't care about it, as he's publicly stated, Ferrari probably does. Teammate Sebastian Vettel was classified 16th after the German slowed down after making a mistake on his final hot lap, and neither he nor his engineer realized how quickly times were falling on a cooling track. He'd be promoted to 15th when Lotus driver Romain Grosjean was penalized for a gearbox change. Sergio Perez knocked it out of the park for Sahara Force India, claiming fourth ahead of Daniel Ricciardo in fifth for Infiniti Red Bull Racing. Williams driver Bottas was in sixth, in front of the second Force India of Nico Hulkenberg and the second Williams of Felipe Massa in eighth. Daniil Kvyat ensured both Red Bulls were in the top 10 with his ninth position, and Carlos Sainz got the upper hand in qualifying over his Toro Rosso teammate Max Verstappen for the final time this year, rounding out the top 10. Beyond Nico Rosberg's mind, one of his weaknesses was his slow starts. Those are stronger, too, the German tearing off away from the field when the lights went out. Hamilton bogged enough to have to defend from Perez behind, the Mexican trying to slide between Hamilton and Raikkonen on the run to the first corner. Rosberg held the lead into Turn 1 and likewise held it through Turn 21 on the last lap of the race, only ceding it during pit stops. Rosberg's 14th victory gets him level with Graham Hill on the wins list – on the anniversary of Hill's death in a plane crash – and marks the first time in his 10-year F1 career that he's won three races in a row. More proof of his strength: the last few races we haven't heard Rosberg ask for regular updates about what Hamilton's doing, he just drives. Hamilton gave it his best but that wasn't enough.

Infiniti offers chance to design Sebastian Vettel's helmet for the USGP

The Circuit of the Americas will host its second United States Grand Prix in November, and based on what's happening with New Jersey it might be the only US torch left alight in the Formula One firmament. The story even before the inaugural event was about getting American fans involved, and Infiniti appears to be making the first splash this year with a competition to design Sebastian Vettel's helmet for the first two days of race weekend.
The only thing required of the graphic designer within you is to head to the competition site, download the helmet template and slather it in your unique technicolor vision. It will require some thought to make something interesting, though, since much of the helmet is already committed to team and sponsor logos; other than a few thin strips along the sides, your creativity will be confined to the oval atop the shell. Vettel will choose the winner and will wear the selected lid during the free practices and qualifying.
The grand prize winner will also get a VIP trip for two to the grand prix as a guest of Infiniti, which includes some face time with the triple world champion himself. The contest is on now, the deadline for entries is 11:59 pm GMT (6:59 EST), Sunday, September 29th and the winner is chosen the very next day. There's a press release below with more info if you want the complete skinny before putting stylus to digital paper.

2022 Infiniti QX55 pricing is out, and it carries a premium over the standard QX50

Pricing for the coupe-ified 2022 Infiniti QX55 crossover is out, and just like every other coupe-like version of a crossover, it’s more expensive than the regular one.  For starters, the QX55 comes with standard all-wheel drive. It also starts at the second trim up the QX50Â’s hierarchy, Luxe. The premium over an equivalent QX50 is $3,000, landing the QX55 at a $47,525 starting price, including the $1,025 destination charge. There are only two other trims available: Essential and Sensory. A QX55 Essential starts at $52,625 and adds leather seats (heated/cooled in front), a heated steering wheel, navigation, 16-speaker Bose audio and a 360-degree camera. For a little more cash, you can tack on a ProAssist and ProActive package to the Essential trim for a host of driver assistance features, including all the goodies weÂ’re accustomed to in NissanÂ’s ProPilot Assist. The last and top trim is Sensory, and it starts at $58,075. You get all the packages and features of the lower trims, plus a motion-activated hatch, semi-aniline leather seats, open-pore wood trim, tri-zone climate control and ambient lighting. Unlike the regular QX50, there is no top-of-the-line Autograph trim. If youÂ’re interested in a QX55, Infiniti says itÂ’s opening up a digital reservation program today. If you reserve one via this method and go through with the purchase or lease, Infiniti promises you the choice of “a tasteful trendsetting gift.” Your options include a Transparent Sound speaker, Away luggage bundle or a Tom Dixon Brew coffee set. QX55s will start landing in dealers this spring, where you can buy one the old-fashioned way, sans gift. Related video: