Just because the Ferrari 458 Speciale is special, here’s a collection of all the pics Ferrari’s media department has made available. And if you missed the collection of videos during the week which told us what the media think of this 445kW supercar then why not sit back and watch them now!
A Ferrari F50 is the latest car to be given the Tax the Rich treatment. That means all sorts of slow motion abuse that we generally can’t get enough of. And it’s precisely because of that we think this video, at just over 90 seconds, is way too brief.
Over the last couple of weeks motoring journos have been putting their thoughts on the 445kW Ferrari 458 Speciale to video. We’ve grabbed three of them for you which should give you some idea of what this more extreme 458 is like.
Jethro Bovingdon from Evo is first up and he starts by doing his research at the wheel of a standard 458 Italia before returning to the 430 Scuderia to see what tricks Ferrari might have up its sleeve for the Speciale. It’s fair to say his expectations were high by the time he took the wheel of the Speciale and those expectations were met and perhaps even exceeded.
Steve Sutcliffe from Autocar had a turn as well, also testing the 458 Speciale on the road and track. Like his Evo colleague, Sutcliffe thought the Speciale was, well, quite special. Both marvelled at the freedom displayed by the car’s Side Slip angle Control system (SSC), which allows sideways action without the horrors of spinning out of control. At least that’s the theory.
Ben Barry from Car drove the 458 Speciale on the road only. And, interestingly, he wasn’t as convinced by the step from the standard car to Speciale.
This video claims to feature Ferrari’s 2014 turbocharged V6 F1 engine being tested at the company’s Fiorano circuit. As you’ll hear the oncoming car sounds like it’s sucking up the road before a pleasantly aggressive exhaust note roars as the car whizzes by.
Of course, that sucking sound could be the energy recovery system doing its business. Remember, in 2014 the energy boost available will be much bigger in terms of horsepower and time available for use compared with what we’ve become used to with the old KERS technology.
Now, that car; it looks a bit like a LaFerrari, but that large overhead air intake does seem a little out of place. And a tweet from Ferrari does indicate that they may have been doing something F1 related at Fiorano in recent days.
[Thanks to Wes for the tip]
The anonymous crusaders from Tax the Rich are back with this brief and very slow Ferrari Enzo video. It’s all the usual stuff, megabucks supercar being thrashed about some old farm buildings and muddy roads. And all filmed in super slow motion. Well, you would if you could!
Mark Webber’s Formula 1 career began with an Australian flag on the podium after his stellar debut with Minardi at the 2002 Australian Grand Prix. Twelve years later, after 217 grands prix have eclipsed, it ended in the same fashion at the 2013 Brazilian Grand Prix.
Of course, it would have been much better if we were celebrating Mark’s tenth career victory. But it wasn’t to be. Instead we’re left with the memories of what he has achieved and what might have been.
We can’t wait to see Mark join Porsche and breathe new life into the FIA World Endurance Championship and the 2014 24 Hours of Le Mans.
In the meantime there’s 21 other Formula 1 drivers we have captured below in a gallery of over 130 pictures. Until next year we hope you’ve enjoyed another season of F1 pics.
Following Mark Webber’s second place in the Brazilian Grand Prix here’s your last chance to read what the straight shooting Aussie had to say in one of his last official engagements with F1.
Before you do, this is what Daniel Ricciardo had to say before he steps into Webber’s shoes at Red Bull.
“The conditions were very difficult with the occasional drop of rain,” Daniel said. “From the cockpit, it’s actually quite difficult to judge how much rain there is. You see a few drops on your visor, look at the guy in front of you and if he doesn’t go off, you assume it’s dry.
“We were not very quick from the start and I was struggling with cold graining on the front right. We did try and rebalance it during the race, but we struggled in terms of pure pace, so I was quite happy to come away with a point.”
Young Daniel didn’t forget to say goodbye to his friends at Toro Rosso. “At midnight tonight I become an Infiniti Red Bull Racing driver,” he added. “But for now I just want to say thank you to everyone at Scuderia Toro Rosso, here at the track, back in Faenza and at our wind tunnel for two fantastic years. Thanks guys!”
The full transcript of the post-race press conference featuring the first three drivers can be read after the break.
[Pics: Red Bull/Getty Images]
Sebastian Vettel’s record season has been capped with another victory. It’s his ninth win a row, the first time that’s ever been done in a calendar year, and it’s his thirteenth win of the season, which equals Michael Schumacher’s 2004 season. How crucial does that controversial Malaysian Grand Prix win look now?
Off the line both Red Bulls lost ground. Vettel was swallowed up by Nico Rosberg, although restored his natural order by reclaiming the lead at the start of Lap 2. Webber dropped one position to P5, but his race pace was soon apparent and by Lap 13 he had found a way past both Mercedes AMG drivers and Fernando Alonso to earn himself P2.
Mark lost that position due to an uncharacteristic error from Red Bull during his pit stop. Although with new boots Webber was able to catch and overtake Alonso within a couple of laps. He didn’t really make any inroads into Vettel’s lead until another pit stop drama. Red Bull was waiting for Webber to pit, however—anticipating a Safety Car after an incident between Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas—Vettel dived into pit lane for his final set of tyres. He caught the team off-guard and half of his 13 second lead was lost waiting for his tyres.
Although, with Mark soon stacked behind Seabstian the impact to Vettel’s lead was minimised to a degree. As the race drew to a close light rain increased as the skies threatened to open. Late drama was averted when the downpour didn’t eventuate and Vettel won the race by just over 10 seconds.
Perhaps finishing second to Sebastian was a fitting result for Mark in his final F1 race. Mark won nine races in his 215-race career, the same number of wins Vettel has strung together in succession at the back-end of this season.
Webber ensured he left the sport with nothing to hide, by allowing the crowd got to see his emotion after he removed his helmet during his cool down lap.
The 18 points earned by Mark for P2, coupled with a drive-through penalty for Hamilton for causing his incident with Bottas, ensured Webber finished third in the drivers’ championship. While Mark didn’t win a grand prix in 2013, third in the title race equals his best season results from 2010 and 2011.
Webber has certainly made his mark on F1, maybe not as much in terms of net results as he would like, but we can’t ever remember a driver leaving F1 with the overwhelming support and grace Webber has enjoyed from his peers. The admiration of his character appears universal. Even on the podium his fiercest rival, Sebastian Vettel, ensured the post-race interviews defied protocol by starting with Mark in honour of his final F1 appearance.
Fernando Alonso will be happy with P3 after a poor end to the season for Ferrari. Although, it emerged he would have moved aside for teammate Felipe Massa had the Brazilian not been pushed down the field following a drive through penalty for crossing the pit lane entry in race conditions.
McLaren, too, finished a poor season well by seeing Jenson Button and Sergio Perez finish in fourth and sixth respectively. Perez qualified in P14, but started from P19 after a gearbox change, which meant Button started from P14. McLaren will no doubt be hoping to see an improvement in fortunes when F1 enters its turbocharged V6 “power unit” era in 2014.
Lotus ended the year in disappointment when Romain Grosjean’s final race with a normally-aspirated V8 engine behind him was over after just two laps when said engine dropped its guts all over the circuit. Heikki Kovalainen, filling in for Kimi Raikkonen, was unable to make an impact at Sao Paulo and finished in P14.
On the positive side, Daniel Ricciardo ended his season and career with Toro Rosso by claiming the single point offered for P10. We look forward to greater things from Daniel when he moves to Red Bull in 2014.
Another year, another title for Vettel. He and Red Bull have collected four championships on end now. Well done them. Yet, with mixed emotions, considering Daniel’s move to RBR, we do hope to see a different script in 2014.
[Pic: Red Bull/Getty Images]
Even in the face of heavy rain Sebastian Vettel cannot be stopped. He claimed his 45th career pole position and ninth for the year at the Brazilian Grand Prix this morning with a blistering lap (1:26.479), almost 0.7 seconds faster than Nico Rosberg (1:27.102) in P2.
The final Q3 session was delayed for around 40 minutes to allow heavy rain to pass and track conditions to improve. Once underway drivers first took to the track in full wets but it soon became clear that intermediates were the best option.
Fernando Alonso (1:27.539) qualified third and said he was no hope of catching Vettel but felt with a better lap he could have eclipsed Rosberg. Amazingly, for a man of Alonso’s talent, P3 equals his best grid position for the year, meaning he has not started on the front row all season.
Mark Webber (1:27.572) was fastest in a compromised FP3, but could only manage P4 in qualifying.”We are where we deserved to be I think, as I didn’t feel that quick in qualifying,” he said. “The car felt slow and I was struggling for grip. It was tricky for all of us, but we’re on the second row and we can still do something from there.”
Lewis Hamilton (1:27.677) will start from P5, ahead of Romain Grosjean (1:27.737) and Daniel Ricciardo (1:28.052). Indeed, Toro Rosso will be well pleased to see Jean-Eric Vergne (1:28.081) starting alongside Daniel after both drivers only just scraped through Q1 in 15th and 16th place.
“It’s the best qualifying the team has had in a long time and I am very happy that both cars are in the top eight,” Daniel explained. “I don’t think there was much between me and JEV today. Tomorrow? The weather will probably decide the story, but anyway, seventh is a great place from which to start. I will be very motivated to convert today’s work into points tomorrow on what will be my last race with Toro Rosso after two very happy seasons with them.”
Felipe Massa (1:28.109) and Nico Hulkenberg (1:29.582) round out the top 10.
[Pics: Red Bull/Getty Images]
A cashed-up Ferrari owner—is there any other kind—has used his own 458 Italia to create a personal tribute to Niki Lauda. Inspired by Rush and the livery of Niki Lauda’s F1 car from the era, the owner had his car prepared by Ferrari’s Tailor Made personalisation programme.
The white roof and gold wheels are the most obvious visual cues that this isn’t an ordinary 458, but the customisation continued to the interior as well. Special stitching on the seats and more Italian flag graphics on the centre console ensure that the owner will be reminded of his expenses at all times.
As far as one-off creations go we reckon this one looks pretty good. What about you?
So it’s eight straight for Sebastian Vettel and with the chance of a record-equaling thirteenth win for the season on the cards in Sao Paulo next weekend we can forget any hopes of a consolation race victory handed to Mark Webber in his final Formula 1 appearance. Indeed, with Mark’s sometimes loose run with good fortune in F1 we should probably take bets on which lap his car will expire.
For now, though, let’s relive the good times from Austin and enjoy seeing Mark on an F1 podium for what could be the last time ever.
Nineteenth century composer Richard Wagner drives a Ferrari 288 GTO! Who knew? Thanks to the mysterious Tax the Rich gang we now have the video to prove it.
[Thanks to Richard for the tip]