Category: Ferrari

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Ferrari Formula 1 McLaren Red Bull Racing

2011 Hungarian GP: Post-race press conference

2011 Hungarian Grand Prix

Jenson Button (McLaren) found the perfect way to celebrate his 200th F1 race overnight by winning a rain-affected Hungarian Grand Prix. In the early to middle stages of the race he and teammate Lewis Hamilton entertained with some great wheel-to-wheel racing in slippery conditions. Each of the drivers made mistakes with the other there to pounce.

In the end poor tyre strategy and a stop-go penalty for obstructing traffic while recovering from a spin cost Lewis Hamilton any chance of the win, and he did well to finish fourth.

Championship leader Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull) made a good start from pole position, but ran wide later in the first stint to allow Hamilton to inherit the lead. Fernando Alonso (Ferrari) also endured a tough race, including an uncharacteristic poor start, and was happy to finish in third place

Mark Webber (Red Bull) followed form by losing two places off the starting line, but was able to work his way back through the field with good tyre strategy. Unfortunately, late in the race, he was spooked by a quick rain shower and came in for intermediate tyres which he changed after just one flying lap. He was in a creditable fourth place after rejoining from his fifth pit stop. But Hamilton, who stopped six times, easily closed the gap and made the pass.

Daniel Ricciardo (Hispania Racing) enjoyed his highest finish in a Grand Prix so far. He placed eighteenth, two places ahead of his teammate Tonio Liuzzi.

Vettel managed to extend the lead over his closest rivals. His 234 points gives him a comfortable cushion over Webber (149pts), Hamilton (146pts) and Alonso (145pts). Red Bull, meanwhile, has an astonishing 103pt lead over its closest competitor in the manufacturers’ championship.

There’s a three week break now until the Belgian Grand Prix in late August.

[Pic: Ferrari]

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2011 German Grand Prix in pictures

2011 German Grand Prix

We give you over 80 images to help you relive the German Grand Prix. You’ll see race winner Lewis Hamilton shaking hands with former McLaren adversary Fernando Alonso. You’ll also see Fernando welching on his taxi fare with Mark Webber. And, as always, you’ll get access to fantastic high-quality Formula One images at 2000px super image sizing right here on AUSmotive. See you next week after Hungary, where we hope Mark Webber can back up his 2010 success.

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Ferrari Formula 1 McLaren Red Bull Racing

2011 German GP: Post-race press conference

2011 German Grand Prix

Lewis Hamilton won the German Grand Prix overnight, helping to ease the perceived pressure on McLaren team boss Martin Whitmarsh. Fernando Alonso (Ferrari) relegated Red Bull off the top two steps for the first time in 2011, while Mark Webber (Red Bull) managed third place. In some respects it was a disappointing result for Mark after he started from pole position.

All three men on the podium led the race at varying stages and in the first half of the race were nose to tail. It was after the second round of pitstops that Hamilton was able to slowly build a race-winning lead.

It’s the second race in a row now where the Red Bulls have not had the race pace to hold off their competitors. The second half of the 2011 season could have some real excitement if Ferrari and McLaren can remain consistent on Sundays.

Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull) registered his worst result for the year finishing fourth. A position he claimed on the second last lap in pit lane when he and Felipe Massa (Ferrari) came in to make a compulsory tyre change.

Vettel (216pts) still enjoys a very comfortable 77 point lead in the drivers’ championship over Webber (139pts). The fight for second is hotting up, however, with Hamilton (134pts) and Alonso (130pts) close behind. In the race for the constructors’ title Red Bull would have to suffer a total loss of performance to squander their 112pt cushion.

Daniel Ricciardo finished the race in 19th position and was the sole finisher for HRT following Liuzzi’s retirement on lap 37. The young Aussie is making steady progress but is hungry for more. It’s probably fair to say many were expecting his performance relative to his teammate to be much closer. With more experience let’s hope he closes the gap further.

You can read the full post-race press conference, courtesy of the FIA, after the break.

[Pic: Vodafone McLaren Mercedes]

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Ferrari McLaren

McLaren MP4-12C v Ferrari 458 v Noble M600

Before Evo magazine discovered what they thought needed improving in the McLaren MP4-12C first they had to test it against its competitors. The most obvious rival is the Ferrari 458 Italia. For extra laughs Evo added the Noble M600 as well.

Roger Green took on the track testing duties at the Bedford Autodrome West Circuit. Above you’ll see what he thought of the 12C. After the break you’ll see his views on the Fez and the Noble. Also included is a drag race with all three cars, plus a Porsche 911 Turbo S.

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Ferrari New Stratos

Ferrari says NO to New Stratos

New Stratos

The New Stratos project is one that has captured the imagination of car enthusiasts across the globe. It also captured the imagination of 40 wealthy enthusiasts who were ready to splash the cash and buy one. Pininfarina, the company responsible for the styling, was ready to build them.

Not any more.

Ferrari is throwing its toys out of the cot and telling the New Stratos backers that they won’t allow Pininfarina to supply their services to the F430-based project. Pretty piss poor, don’t you think?

The project can now only go ahead with the use of companies that are not dependent on Ferrari.

[Source: New Stratos]

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Ferrari Fifth Gear McLaren Top Gear

“Clarkson wouldn’t know a great handling car if it hit him in the face”

Jason Plato, reigning BTCC champ, Fifth Gear luminary and known for his willing opinions on the internet, has taken aim at Jeremy Clarkson after the latter reviewed the McLaren MP4-12C on Top Gear last weekend.

In fact, after watching Clarkson compare the MP4-12C to the Ferrari 458 Italia, Plato felt compelled to tweet the following to his 22,000+ followers: “Tonight’s top gear, prove that JC may be a great wordsmith, however he wouldn’t know a great handling car if it hit him in the face, journos!”

Them there are fighting words, and if you can be arsed you can follow some of the dialogue fired Plato’s way.

Here at AUSmotive, though, we’re not too fussed with the nail files at dusk. We just like the opportunity of seeing two great cars being thrashed around a track. Twice. Which you can do too by watching the Fifth Gear review above and the Top Gear review below.

Let us know which you think is best—McLaren or Ferrari, Fifth Gear or Top Gear—in the comments section after the break.

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2011 British Grand Prix in pictures

2011 British GP

Here’s the pics from Silverstone. You’ll see plenty of Alonso in his winning Ferrari, plenty of action and plenty of Prince Harry. He gets around a bit, too, spotted at most of the media portals while we were sourcing the pics from the British Grand Prix. He really doesn’t look too much like his dad, does he?

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Ferrari Formula 1 Red Bull Racing

2011 British GP: Post-race press conference

2011 British GP

Fernando Alonso has celebrated the 60th anniversary of Ferrari’s first world championship race win in the best possible manner by taking out the 2011 British Grand Prix at Silverstone.

Starting from third on the grid the dual-world champion capitalised on an uncharacteristic pitlane mistake from Red Bull Racing to drive past Sebastian Vettel for the lead. Vettel, stuck in his pit box waiting for his right rear wheel to be secured, was powerless to stop Alonso. From there Alonso’s Ferrari seemed in a league of its own slowly building a race winning buffer.

Vettel had taken the lead of the race on the first lap. Red Bull teammate Mark Webber got a clean start from pole position but was unable to defend Vettel’s move into the first corner.

The race began in somewhat bizarre conditions with half of the track being very wet while the other was dry. Starting on intermediates the drivers were free to use the softer compound tyres for the rest of the race when conditions allowed. A three-stop strategy was the order of the day even if it cost Vettel a chance of victory.

McLaren also made an awful blunder that robbed Jenson Button of a tight tussle with Mark Webber. Button was released from the pits before his front right wheel was fastened and he had no choice but to pull to the side of the track on the pit exit.

In the closing stages Webber was closing in fast on Vettel and appeared to have the pace to fight for second position. On the last lap the radio instruction from Christian Horner came telling Mark to ‘maintain the gap.’ A comment which, in true F1 style, has created all sorts of controversy in response to the use of team orders. Webber himself has admitted he paid no attention to the order, which first came with four or five laps remaining, so we must assume that he tried but was unable to pass Vettel.

Sebastian Vettel maintains a stranglehold on the drivers’ champsionship table, 80 points clear of Webber who is now in outright second place. Alonso’s win moves him up into third. Red Bull Racing also enjoys a strong lead in the constructors’ title race.

It was a tough race for Daniel Ricciardo who was unable to make an impression on Hispania Racing teammamte Tonio Liuzzi. We’ll have more coverage from HRT later today.

The full transcript from the post-race transcript is available below, which includes plenty of questions from the press gallery about team orders.

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Ferrari Formula 1 Red Bull Racing

2011 British GP: Qualifying press conference

2011 British GP

Mark Webber claimed his eighth career pole position after posting the fastest time in qualifying at the British Grand Prix overnight. One Australian leads the field, while another is at the rear, with F1 debutant Daniel Ricciardo setting the slowest time in a weather-affected Q1.

Expectations at Hispania Racing are not so high, of course, and there will be greater things to follow for young Ricciardo.

Webber, on the other hand, will be expecting to win tonight’s race. Silverstone is clearly a place where Webber loves to race, following his famous win last year and at the 2008 British Grand Prix he found himself on the front row for the first time.

Despite hissy fits from Christian Horner and Martin Whitmarsh over changes to exhaust mapping, Red Bull again found a way to lockout the front row of the grid. Webber’s quickest time (1:30.399) was just three hundredths faster than runaway championship leader Sebastian Vettel (1:30.431), who maintains his 2011 record of starting every race from the front row.

Fernando Alonso is the next best in his Ferrari (1:30.516) ahead of teammate Felipe Massa (1:31.124), Nico Rosberg (MercedesGP, 1:31.898) and Paul di Resta (Force India, 1:31.929).

Comments from the first three can be read after the break, along with words from Daniel Ricciardo and HRT.

[Pics: Red Bull/Getty Images & Hispania Racing]

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Ferrari Jaguar Mercedes-Benz Motor Shows

AIMS 2011 gallery: Motorclassica

Motorclassica at AIMS 2011

In the back corner of the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre this week you’ll find the Motorclassica display. It has some of the motoring world’s most iconic designs on show. Almost all would have been stars on the international motor show circuit of their era.

A 1956 Mercedes-Benz 300 SL ‘Gullwing’ grabbed our attention. It’s one of the world’s most recognisable cars and we can’t help but be transfixed whenever we see one.

A couple of classic Jaguars featuring beautiful period styling in the form of the XK120 and XK140 are to be admired. And you certainly won’t see a Tucker Torpedo every day. The DNA of virtually every modern Ferrari can be traced back to the Dino. You may not know what a Talbot Lago Type 26C looks like, but we reckon you’ll be transported back in time once you start reading its history.

For more info on Motorclassica and the annual show at the Royal Exhibition Building in Melbourne, be sure to check out the official website.

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F1 in pictures Ferrari Lotus McLaren Mercedes-Benz Red Bull Racing Renault

2011 European Grand Prix in pictures

2011 European Grand Prix

Perhaps the most exciting stat to emerge from the 2011 European Grand Prix is that all 24 starters finished the race. That’s only the fourth time in history this has happened. Indeed, Narain Karthikeyan has his name etched into the record books for being the first ever F1 driver to finish 24th. To help relive this rare occurrence here’s 88 pics, featuring all 24 cars, for you to enjoy.

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Ferrari Formula 1 Red Bull Racing

2011 European GP: Post-race press release

2011 European Grand Prix

Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull Racing) won the 2011 European Grand Prix in Valenica overnight. It was his sixth win of the year. He has quite a large lead on the championship leaderboard.

Fernando Alonso (Ferrari) finished second. It was his equal best finish for the year.

Mark Webber (Red Bull Racing) finished third. He had problems with his gearbox.

Pretty exciting report so far? Well, it matches the lack of excitement in the race. If you didn’t, perhaps you should have watched the Nürburgring 24 hour race instead.

[Pic: Red Bull Racing/Getty Images]

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