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Lewis Hamilton needs to step up in his 200th F1 race

LONDON — Lewis Hamilton will start the 200th grand prix of his Formula One career in Belgium this weekend, but the triple world champion has smaller but more significant numbers on his mind. Refreshed from an August break in the Caribbean, including a trip to Cuba in his role as UNICEF ambassador, the Mercedes driver is 14 points behind championship leader Sebastian Vettel as he revs up for the second half of the season. A fifth victory of 2017 for the Briton would put the pressure back on Ferrari's Vettel, and Hamilton can celebrate another milestone by bagging pole position on Saturday at the long and fast Spa-Francorchamps circuit. That would see Hamilton, who sportingly relinquished third place to team mate Valtteri Bottas in Hungary before the summer shutdown, match the record of 68 poles set by Michael Schumacher with Ferrari in 2006. Mercedes has won the last two Belgian Grands Prix, with now-retired 2016 world champion Nico Rosberg triumphant from pole last year after Hamilton won in 2015. Nobody will be taking anything for granted, however, after Ferrari's one-two win in Budapest at the end of July. "On paper, people will assume that Spa should suit our car because it is a circuit where aerodynamic efficiency is extremely important," Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff said. "But assumptions are dangerous — we have seen too many times already this season that the form book can be rewritten from one weekend to the next. So we will be making no assumptions." Hamilton has won twice before at Spa, as has Vettel, but the track — a classic blast from the past — has not been particularly kind to him. In 2008, when he won his first title, the Briton was demoted from first to third after the race for cutting a chicane, with then Ferrari rival Felipe Massa savoring victory instead. Spa can often be a lottery, with its capricious weather, and rain could be a boon for Red Bull's Belgian-born Dutch teenager Max Verstappen, who can count on plenty of local support in what amounts to a home race. "I just love the track and it'll be nice seeing so many orange (Dutch) fans in the grandstands," he said. "Spa is my favorite track of the year. You have to get everything right but when you get a good lap it's very rewarding." Belgium could also be good for Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen, who arrives with a new contract for 2018 in his pocket.

Mercedes-AMG celebrates F1 dominance with special A45

Mercedes-AMG is celebrating its second straight Formula One World Championship with a special edition hot hatch based on the A45 AMG. The Mercedes-AMG Petronas 2015 World Champion Edition is available in three shades of gray or silver offset by teal and black accents inspired by the Silver Arrows livery. The aero kit is also upgraded with a new front splitter and rear roof spoiler. Inside, it comes standard with sports seats in leather and microfiber, and both Mercedes' Night and Dynamic Plus packages are standard. There's also special trim and and badging, and it all runs on unique 19-inch wheels. The 2.0-liter turbo four carries over with 381 horsepower, as introduced in the recently upgraded A45. That's more muscle than even the Focus RS, but unlike the Ford, this Mercedes isn't offered stateside. Here we have to suffice with the GLA45 crossover and CLA45 sedan, which pack the same engine, but different body styles. The 65,402.40-euro ($69,216.34) asking price may seem like a lot for an A-Class, but it's considerably more accessible than the special-edition SL63 roadsters with which the German team celebrated last year. This is the second year running that Mercedes took both the drivers' and constructors' championships in F1, with Lewis Hamilton re-crowned champion and Nico Rosberg coming in second. Out of 18 rounds already held, Mercedes won 15, with one race still to go. If it wins this weekend in Abu Dhabi, it will match its run from last year, when it took 16 out of 19 grand prix victories. Exclusive A-Class marks victory in the constructors' and drivers' world championship: Mercedes-AMG celebrates Formula 1 world championship title with special edition of the Mercedes-AMG A 45 4MATIC Affalterbach, Nov 26, 2015 Affalterbach. It doesn't get any better: with victory in the constructors' world championship as well as the drivers' championship plus runner-up titles clocked up by Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg, the MERCEDES AMG PETRONAS Formula One Team has achieved the ultimate in motorsport's champion's league in 2015. To mark the end of the season Mercedes-AMG is celebrating this outstanding team achievement with an exclusive special model: the MERCEDES AMG PETRONAS 2015 World Champion Edition of the A 45 4MATIC blends the expressive Formula 1 look of the victorious Silver Arrows with particularly extensive and unique equipment.

Aston wants to build DBX on its new platform, not Mercedes'

Aston Martin is proceeding with plans to launch the DBX as its first production crossover. It just can't say at this point what it will be based on. Speaking with Automotive News Europe, Aston's new CEO Andy Palmer indicated that basing the DBX on a Mercedes SUV platform would not be its first choice because they "clearly sit in a very different space to the one we want to go" with the DBX. Instead, the company's first choice would be to build the crossover atop the new platform it's developing for its sports cars. "It just depends how high off the ground it could go," said Palmer. "I don't exclude the possibility of using some [Mercedes] parts, but I would say very much the primary route is our platform." The prospect of building an Aston SUV on Mercedes architecture – namely that of the GL-Class – has been on the table for some time now. The Lagonda SUV concept it showcased at the Geneva show in 2009 was based on the GL, and the two automakers have been forging a tightening alliance in the years since. The British automaker's next-generation engine is to be built by Mercedes-AMG, and it is expected to source other components from the German automaker as well. For its part, Mercedes has been taking a sportier approach with its latest crossovers, as demonstrated by the GLE Coupe that debuted before the more conventional version and the Concept GLC Coupe that previewed the GLK's replacement in Shanghai last month. Aston Martin, on the other hand, is building a new sports car platform that will underpin its next generation of luxury GTs, replacing the long-serving VH architecture that has served for decades as the basis for its entire model line. Perhaps the most surprising of ANE's report, though, is that Aston seems to be proceeding with plans to build the DBX apparently without even knowing what platform it will use.