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'The best Lewis' Hamilton faces resurgent Ferrari in F1

SHANGHAI (Reuters) - Lewis Hamilton has raised his game but whether the Mercedes driver can deny Ferrari a second successive win of the season in China this weekend remains to be seen. On paper, the triple world champion is still the man to beat -- the most successful driver by far in Shanghai with four wins to date. "Lewis is the best Lewis that I've seen in the last four years, both on and off the track," said Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff after the Briton started on pole and finished second to Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel in the Australian season-opener. "He has become a pillar of this team and he proved that in Melbourne." But Vettel is leading the championship, the first time a non-Mercedes driver has done that since he took his fourth title with Red Bull in 2013, and once-dominant Mercedes have a fight on their hands. Mercedes, who have taken both the drivers and constructors' titles for the last three years, have won four of the last five races in China. As Melbourne showed, however, past form may count for little in a season of sweeping rule change. "If you think you are going to cruise to victory in the future, based on a track record of success, you'll be proven wrong very quickly," said Wolff. "Australia was a weekend full of lessons, now we go to China ready and excited for another battle." Ferrari have not started a season with consecutive wins since 2004 at the peak of the Michael Schumacher era, the Italian team taking 15 victories from 18 races that season. Vettel's win in Australia ended a victory drought for Ferrari stretching back to September 2015, and drew rare praise from company chairman Sergio Marchionne, but they must now prove they can be genuine contenders. "You really have to go step by step," said Vettel. "It's good to know that we have a great car but it's just the beginning: new regulations, new generations of cars so there will be a lot of progress." The cars this year are longer and wider, sporting fatter tires and more swept-back bodywork as part of a rules shake-up aimed at making them faster, more spectacular to watch and harder to drive. But overtaking has also become more difficult, with Australia raising concern about the lack of real moves. The long straights and wide sweeps of the Shanghai circuit saw 128 passes last year, more than at any other track, and should provide a more definitive verdict.

Mercedes spent ˆ250 million to win Formula One titles last year

Success in Formula One requires skill, diligence, commitment and ingenuity. It also takes truckloads of money. In the case of Mercedes in last year's world championship, in which it took both the drivers' and constructors' titles in dominant style, those truckloads came to ˆ250 million last season alone – equivalent to over $285m in dead presidents. A report from Germany's own Auto Motor und Sport details the staggering investment that Mercedes made in order to get to the winner's circle last season. After 15 seasons with McLaren netting one constructors' and three drivers' titles, Mercedes motorsport chief Norbert Haug convinced the Daimler board late in 2009 to take over the Brawn GP team that had just won the championship. Because the team would be getting a large payout from Bernie Ecclestone as the returning champions the following year, and with sponsors lined up, Daimler only had to pony up a small portion of a smaller budget: in 2010 (its first season under the Mercedes banner), the team ran on a budget of "only" ˆ153 million ($175m). Over the course of the following seasons, though, the team's share of the TV revenues from Formula One Management went down as Mercedes struggled to climb back up the standings, but successive advocates (including Haug, Ross Brawn and Niki Lauda) successfully convinced the bean-counters in Stuttgart to ratchet up the payments. By 2012, the budget was expanded to ˆ200 million, and further climbed to ˆ250 million in 2013 and 2014. Fortunately for Daimler, the investment was starting to pay off by then as the team finished second in the constructors' standings in 2013, bringing ˆ74 million in from Ecclestone's coffers to cover roughly a third of the budget. With Malaysian oil giant Petronas alone kicking in upwards of another ˆ30 million per season as title sponsor (as of 2009 when it signed on), and untold millions more coming in from other partners, it looks like the actual cost to Daimler for securing both world titles and a winning reputation was actually more like hundred million or so.

The first trailer for Top Gear's 24th season shows a hands-free drag race

In the excitement over Amazon's new motoring show, it's important to remember that there's a certain series from the BBC that's attempting to get its mojo back for a 24th season. Yes, we're talking about Top Gear. Since Chris Evans' departure earlier this year, Top Gear news has been relatively sparse, particularly as The Grand Tour and its hosts Jeremy Clarkson, James May, and Richard Hammond seized headlines. But on Christmas, watchers of the series' YouTube channel caught a glimpse of the first scene from the next season. Featuring hosts Matt LeBlanc, Chris Harris, and Rory Reid in what looks like a trio of old, dilapidated cars. We're thinking TG is running a taxi comparison. There's a London black cab and a Mercedes-Benz W210 – a favorite of European cabbies – but we aren't sure where Harris' boxy wagon fits in. Did the Volvo 850 Estate ever serve as a livery vehicle? But it's the basis for this comparison that's weird, because the hosts appear to be having a no-hands drag race. The cars veer off in different directions, traveling across what looks like a snow-covered dirt lot. We're assuming hilarity ensues. And while we don't quite know what they're hoping to accomplish, we are looking forward to watching it go down. Top Gear's 24th season doesn't have an official air date, and the video ends only with a cryptic "Coming Soon." Expect to hear more in the next few months.