Filed under: Motorsports, Performance, Ferrari, Racing

If you’re lucky wealthy enough to own one of Ferrari’s retired works Formula One machines, the automaker’s F1 Client department takes care of maintenance and preparation of your historic racer, whether it be Nigel Mansell’s ex-F190, Michael Schumacher’s championship-winning F2001 or any number of pedigreed prancing ponies.

This week, the crew brought 10 of its most prized possessions out to the N

After months of teasing us, Ford has finally revealed the new Ford Explorer. We’re live on location in Herald Square with Alan Mulally and Mike Rowe.

Filed under: Motorsports, Government/Legal, Ferrari

If you followed yesterday’s 2010 German Grand Prix, you’ll remember that Felipe Massa mysteriously (not really) slowed late in the race, allowing his teammate Fernando Alonso to take the lead and the eventual win. Although this type of teamwork has been going on since the first two-chariot entry at the Circus Maximus, team orders are technically no longer allowed in Formula 1. As if the on-track maneuver wasn’t obvious enough, the radio chatter between Rob Smedley and the drivers made it pretty clear what was going on. And that radio chatter is monitored, so it wasn’t surprising that soon after the race an inquiry began into Ferrari’s tactics.

Well, the official word has come that Ferrari has been fined $100,000 for breaking the Sporting Regulations during the German Grand Prix. The stewards have also referred the matter to the World Motor Sports Council, meaning the result of the race could be in jeopardy. But for now the results stand.

Massa, probably stung by the call to move aside, admitted after the race that he let Alonso past, but he said he did it on his own accord. Ummmm… okay. Ultimately the driver has the final decision, but if he wants to return to the driver’s seat next season he’ll usually want to heed the advice of his team boss.

The official statement tells us that the stewards found Ferrari guilty of breaking article 39.1 of the Sporting Regulations, which forbids team orders that influence the outcome of the race. They also charged that Ferrari transgressed article 151c of the International Sporting Code, relating to bringing the sport into disrepute, the same section that McLaren was famously busted for back in 2007. Thanks to everyone for the tips.

Ferrari fined $100,000 for transgressions in German Grand Prix originally appeared on Ferrari News on Mon, 26 Jul 2010 13:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Motorsports, Videos, Ferrari

The Nuclear Test Ban Treaty may have made the world a better place, but the test ban in place in Formula One has had some other rather interesting effects. Take Jaime Alguersuari, for example, who was racing in actual grands prix before getting a chance to actually test out the machinery. Or Michael Schumacher, who had to sharpen his skills in a GP2 car before coming out of retirement. Or in this case, Fernando Alonso, who had never even lapped Ferrari’s iconic private Fiorano test track… until now.

Ferrari took advantage of a loophole in the regulations that allows teams to run their cars during the season for “promotional purposes.” So in order to test the revisions that the Scuderia made to its F10 racer in advance of this past weekend’s European Grand Prix, and allow their two-time world champion to get some track time at Fiorano, Ferrari had to release this clip. Follow the jump to watch the video from inside the cockpit, and consider the team suitably promoted.

[Source: Ferrari via Axis of Oversteer]

Continue reading Video: Fernando Alonso shows us how to get around Fiorano… and the test ban

Video: Fernando Alonso shows us how to get around Fiorano… and the test ban originally appeared on Ferrari News on Wed, 30 Jun 2010 14:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Motorsports, Ferrari

Luca di Montezemolo has never been one to mince words. The outspoken president of Ferrari - who until recently also chaired the Fiat group as well as the Formula One Teams Association - consistently makes headlines for speaking his mind, and has of late focused his criticism on the backmarker teams (principally comprised of newcomers), which most recently cost his star driver Fernando Alonso position - and arguably the lead - in last week’s Canadian Grand Prix.

During the closing laps of the Montreal round, Alonso lost the lead to race leader Lewis Hamilton when Heikki Kovalainen’s Lotus got in the way, and dropped further to third behind Jenson Button when Karun Chandhok’s HRT blocked his way past.

In speaking with Italy’s La Gazzetta dello Sport, Montezemolo said that the newcomers are running closer to the pace of the lower-rung GP2 series and ought to leave the bigger teams to race in F1. To fill their slots on the grid, Montezemolo has long advocated allowing teams like his to run a third car. His former right-hand man Jean Todt, now president of the FIA, is reportedly in favor of instituting a qualifying threshold that would force the backmarker teams to either shape up or ship out.

[Source: Autosport | Image: Pascal Guyot/AFP/Getty]

F1 backmarkers should drop to GP2, says Montezemolo originally appeared on Ferrari News on Mon, 21 Jun 2010 10:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Motorsports, Earnings/Financials, Ferrari, Rumormill

The USF1 project may be dead in the proverbial water, but that hasn’t deterred a group of American investors from breaking into Formula One. In fact, it only appears to have whetted their appetites as representatives headed to Montreal this past weekend for the Canadian Grand Prix to meet with Bernie Ecclestone and others to discuss new opportunities for involvement in the sport.

According to Autosport, the delegation was led by Parris Mullins, who was there representing an unspecified group of American investors. An advisor and close friend of YouTube co-founder Chad Hurley, Mullins was directly involved with USF1 until it collapsed.

Apparently, Mullins and company aren’t interested at this point in taking a fresh stab at forming another startup team, but are looking at possibilities to invest in existing operations. Given Mullins’ close ties with Ferrari, speculation has linked him with either Toro Rosso or Sauber, both of which use Ferrari engines and are in need of a fresh injection of cash. The reports also add another layer to Ferrari chief Luca di Montezemolo’s remarks regarding fielding a third car with American backing.

[Source: Autosport]

Americans reportedly looking into investing in existing F1 team originally appeared on Ferrari News on Wed, 16 Jun 2010 09:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Motorsports, Classics, Ferrari, Racing

As motorists are confronted with constricting regulations and fewer places to unleash their sportscars, track-day cars are becoming a bigger deal by the day. But if you’re going to take to the track, why limit yourself to something street legal? Especially if you’ve got the means. Like, say… $700,000.

What you’re looking at is the Scuderia Ferrari Tipo 642 which Jean Alesi campaigned in the 1991 Formula One World Championship. Though Alesi scored three podiums with this car, none were better than third place - peppered by eight DNFs - landing him seventh in the drivers’ championship behind the likes of Ayrton Senna, Nigel Mansell, Riccardo Patrese, Gerhard Berger, Alain Prost and Nelson Piquet. (All but Patrese and Berger would go down in history as world champions, several as multiple champs to boot.) That should hardly deter buyers from salivating over the 700-horsepower turbocharged V12 engine, though, reined in by none of the electronic driver aids that would creep into the sport in later years.

Interested? Follow the link below to the Aero Toy Store in Fort Lauderdale, which also appears to have a couple of F430 GTCs in stock if sportscar racing is more at your speed. Photos in the gallery below and video after the jump.

[Source: Aero Toy Store via CarScoop]

Continue reading Find of the Day: Jean Alesi’s 1991 Scuderia Ferrari 642 [w/video]

Find of the Day: Jean Alesi’s 1991 Scuderia Ferrari 642 [w/video] originally appeared on Ferrari News on Fri, 04 Jun 2010 16:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Motorsports, Hirings/Firings/Layoffs, Ferrari

The 2010 Formula One season isn’t even halfway through, and already speculation has been ramping up for next year’s line-up. The biggest piece of the puzzle revolves around Felipe Massa, the Brazilian driver who has - notwithstanding a few seasons spent farmed out to Ferrari-powered Sauber - been with the Scuderia since advancing to the series in 2002 with the European Formula 3000 title under his belt.

Word around the paddock is that Ferrari has been unsatisfied with Massa’s performance this season. After coming a close second in the championship in 2008, Massa suffered a crippling crash last season, sidelining him for the remainder, only to return to the scarlet cockpit this year. So far, however, Massa’s been languishing behind his rivals, currently sitting seventh in the standings while his team-mate Fernando Alonso holds on to fourth place.

The lackluster performance has led to rumors that Ferrari would opt to release Massa - who is managed by FIA president and former Ferrari CEO Jean Todt’s son Nicolas - rather than renew his contract which is due to expire at the end of this season. That, in turn, led to speculation that either Red Bull’s Mark Webber or Renault’s Robert Kubica could get called up to Maranello. But speaking with the BBC in the ramp up to this past weekend’s Turkish Grand Prix, team principal Stefano Domenicalli indicated that Massa’s contract would, in all likelihood, be renewed after all. Nothing is certain until the papers are signed - and even then things can change - but for now it looks like Felipe is set to stay in the red.

[Source: Autosport | Image: Alberto Cridpa/AFP/Getty]

Scuderia Ferrari chief says Massa is here to stay originally appeared on Ferrari News on Tue, 01 Jun 2010 17:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Motorsports, Etc., Ferrari

One of the questions creative types hate most is “Where do get your ideas?” So we won’t ask where this guy got the idea to “play” a lap of Bahrain, we’ll just chuckle and shake our heads at the fact that he actually did it. Sliding his fingers along a Gibson X-plorer, he recreates one of Fernando Alonso’s entire laps at the Bahrain GP down to gear changes and high-rev oscillations. So it won’t get this guy to Wembley, but it will get him all over the Internet, and that’s almost like the same thing, right? Follow the jump to check it out. Top tip, Jordan!

[Source: YouTube via New York Times]

Continue reading Video: A lap with Fernando Alonso’s F1 Ferrari - as soundtracked by slide guitar

Video: A lap with Fernando Alonso’s F1 Ferrari - as soundtracked by slide guitar originally appeared on Ferrari News on Fri, 09 Apr 2010 19:26:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Fighting with the AI in Sepang! simscreens.blogspot.com