F1-Inspired Lotus Evora GTE Special Edition Scooped Ahead of Geneva?

This past Wednesday, Lotus sent us an invitation to take part in the world premiere of a "special edition of a special edition" Evora at the 2012 Geneva Motor Show.

The company's invitation noted that the car would be an F1-inspired version of the limited-edition Lotus Evora GTE first shown at the Frankfurt auto show last year. This

"We're launching a special edition of a special edition, and to make things extra special our Lotus F1 Team driver Kimi Raikkonen will be there to field questions. Now, it doesn’t get more special than that…," read the British automaker's invitation.

Lotus did not release any photos of the car leaving us more or less in the dark, but today, Patrick Garcia from French auto site Caradisiac, sent us these photos of an F1-themed Evora that he discovered at a parking lot during a trip to Jerez to cover the F1 pre-season testing earlier this month.

Read more »

Formula 1: Mercedes GP Unveils New W03 at Barcelona

The SL63 AMG may have been a nice surprise, but the real reason why the press was gathered today at the Circuit de Catalunya track in Spain was the launch of Mercedes’ brand-new fighter for the 2012 Formula 1 championship.

Mercedes GP chose the first day of FIA’s second official pre-season test in Barcelona to unveil the W03. Admittedly, it has come late to the party, as the company's F1 racer was launched later than most of its competitors, but the team reckons that this was a good thing, since it gave them more time to hone the car.

Read more »

Mercedes Presents New 2013 SL63 AMG during Formula 1 Car Launch

Today’s Mercedes-Benz event at the Circuit de Catalunya in Spain was supposed to be all about the presentation of it's new Formula 1 car during the first day of the 2012 season’s official tests.

Yet the 2012 F1 racer wasn’t the only Silver Arrow that was launched at the Barcelona track: as you can see in the video that follows, Michael Schumacher arrived on the pit lane driving the brand-new 2013 model year SL63 AMG.

Read more »

Report: The Formula 1 Pre-Season Testing Paradox

A tenth of a second is an eternity in Formula 1. In qualifying runs, it can mean the difference between the pole position and third place or even worse at the starting grid. During a pit stop, it can make or break your entire race.

Moreover, if you multiply that tenth by 50 times or more, i.e. the number of laps in a Grand Prix, it is the difference between spraying the champagne on the podium and heading to the pits with your head down in disappointment.

That valuable split-second is what hundreds of people strive for months each year. Shortly after the new season starts, the designers back at the factory start working on next year’s car.

Read more »

Elia Dresses Up Renault Wind in F1 Colors

Albeit a little late to the party as Renault and Lotus parted ways in F1 at the end of 2011, German tuning firm of all things related to the Renault Group, Elia, has presented a Formula 1-themed version of the Renault Wind.

The small French roadster is dressed in the former Lotus Renault GP team's colors with decorative livery placed throughout the body of the car.

Read more »

F1: Ferrari Launches New F2012 Car, Massa Warned that he Must do “Something Special” this Year

The bad weather that is currently torturing much of Europe has forced Ferrari to make a last-minute change of plans for its 2012 Formula 1 car launch.

While it was initially scheduled to be revealed at Maranello, and then make its maiden test at the Fiorano circuit, the heavy snow that was more suited to the Ferrari-special Grand Cherokee than an F1 car resulted in the new F2012 to be launched via an online presentation.

Compared to last year’s F150o, which celebrated the 150th anniversary of the Italian Republic, Ferrari's new Formula 1 car has a very unimaginative designation. But names don’t matter that much; after all, the 2011 car had only one win to its credit.

Read more »

Ferrari F1 Drivers Have FFun Doing Slaloms at Ski Resort [Video]

With testing prohibited by FIA rules until the first official session at Jerez on February 7, Ferrari’s Formula 1 team took a break from preparing its 2012 racer and as usual, visited the Madonna di Campiglio alpine ski resort.

It’s a tradition that’s being going on for many years now (if you’re an F1 fan, you’ll surely remember Michael Schumacher’s exploits) and this time the Scuderia F1 drivers, Fernando Alonso and Felipe Massa, had a little fun on the snow-covered slopes.

Read more »

Ho, Ho, Ho, Merry Vroom! Scuderia Ferrari Sends Christmas Greetings

It’s the most wonderful time of the year - a year which certainly does not rank among those that the Scuderia Ferrari and its tifosi will consider worthy of the Prancing Horse’s history in Formula 1, having scored only one win and finishing third in the championship.

However, the people from Ferrari’s racing division seem to have been touched by the Christmas spirit, so they put their disappointment aside and had a little fun at work.

Read more »

Ferrari Chairman Luca di Montezemolo to Run for Italian Presidency in 2013

Luca Cordero di Montezemolo may soon exchange one presidential chair for another. Ferrari’s Chairman announced today in an open letter to Italiafutura, a liberal-centrist think-tank that he formed in 2009, that he would be a candidate for the presidency in the 2013 Italian elections.
"Italiafutura with its 40,000 members will be actively engaged in 2012 to try and change politics in Italy", said di Montezemolo in the letter, which was published on Gazzeta Dello Sport.
"The Second Republic has failed. When the Italian voters return to the polls, they must be offered a whole series of new ideas and new leaders in the elections, so that they can turn their backs on what has been a period of total failure in Italian politics," di Montezemolo added.
Di Montezemolo, who apart from being Ferrari’s Chairman has also been the President of the Italian industry association Confidustria, has been tipped to enter politics for a long time. He always refuted those reports as nothing more than rumors. Up until now, that is.
Read more »

Keep on Burning: Mika Häkkinen and Jenson Button Burn Their Initials on the Ashpalt with a C63 AMG

It's a strange cocktail to say the least: two of the world's finest professional drivers, two-time F1 champion Mika Häkkinen and 2009 F1 champ Jenson Button, get into a 450-horsepower Mercedes-Benz C63 AMG sports saloon to promote a 'don't drink and drive' campaign from renowned Scotch whiskey brand Johnny Walker by burning their initials on the asphalt.
You can watch the ad for yourself in the video after the break.
Read more »

Formula 1: Ferrari to Unveil its 2012 Car on February 7

The 2011 Formula 1 season is certainly one Ferrari would like to forget. Despite former champion Fernando Alonso giving it his best, in the end the Scuderia had only one win to show and a poor third place in the constructors’ championship.

Ferrari’s head of communication, Luca Colajanni, told Italian publication Autosprint that the 2012 car, upon which the Scuderia has focused its resources since August, will be revealed at the first official test of the new season on February 7 at Jerez racetrack in Spain.

Read more »

Formula 1: Sauber is Third Team to Leave FOTA, Toro Rosso to Follow?

A spokeswoman for the Sauber Formula 1 team has confirmed to ESPN that it has sent a letter to the Formula One Teams’ Association (FOTA), informing them that it will no longer be part of it.

The move makes Sauber the third team after Red Bull and Ferrari to leave FOTA which, ironically, was formed on July 2008 in a meeting in Maranello in order for the F1 teams to present a unified stance in talks with FIA and the Bernie Ecclestone-owned Formula One Group that owns F1’s commercial rights.

Read more »

Formula 1: U.S. Austin Race in Texas Makes the Cut, will be Included in 2012 Calendar

What Bernie Ecclestone wants, Bernie Ecclestone gets. This dictum has been proved repeatedly in Formula 1 as the British businessperson, despite beings 81 years of age, remains the man who pulls the string in F1.

Ecclestone wanted Formula 1 to return to the United States. His first attempt, a few years back, at the Indianapolis circuit was short-lived. The U.S. is very important to Ecclestone though, so he signed a deal with the Circuits of America for a race to be held in 2012 at a new track in Austin, Texas.

Read more »

Mercedes F1 Team Changes Name, Brings AMG into the Game

Mercedes-Benz announced that its Formula 1 team, which raced under the Mercedes GP Petronas moniker this year, is changing its name to “Mercedes AMG Petronas Formula One Team” from the 2012 season.

Up until now, AMG has been the three-pointed star’s in-house performance division, developing the sportiest versions of its production models like the SLK and the C-Class and, of course, the SLS AMG supercar.

Read more »

Formula 1: Bernie Ecclestone Extends Austin Deadline, Says Europe “is Finished”

On November 18, Formula 1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone issued an ultimatum to the organizers of the Circuit of Americas in Austin, Texas, that was supposed to host F1’s return to the U.S. Ecclestone had said at the time that they had a week to get their act together and solve their problems.

Yet the deadline has expired and nothing has changed. Ecclestone, however, decided to give Austin another week to secure a deal for hosting the 2012 Formula 1 U.S. Grand Prix.

Read more »

VW Motorsport's Skillful New Signing, Sebastien Ogier, Wins the Race of Champions [Videos]

Almost all motorsport racing series are over, so it's time for the Race of Champions, an annual challenege between drivers competing in different kinds of racing such as Formula 1, WRC and DTM.

This year’s event was held last weekend at the Esprit arena in Dusseldorf, with the VW Group providing many of the cars like the VW Scirocco R, the Audi R8 LMS and the Skoda Fabia S2000. It also displayed its brand-new 300HP Polo R WRC, with which it will enter the world rally championship in 2013 in front of the crowd for the first time.

Read more »

Ferrari and Red Bull Quit F1 Teams Association over Rules Disagreement, FIA Announces 2012 Entry List

Now we know what Ferrari CEO, Luca di Montezemolo’s statements were all about when less than a month ago, he hinted at the Scuderia leaving Formula 1, something that the company had then denied claiming that its head honcho’s words were misinterpreted.

Well, leaving the Formula One Teams Association (FOTA) is an action that is not really open to any sort of interpretations - especially when Ferrari itself issues a lengthy statement explaining why it is leaving the association that di Montezemolo himself was presiding over until 2009.

Read more »

Kimi Raikkonen Feels the Need for Speed, Returns to F1 With Lotus Renault GP

It seems that every recently retired Formula 1 world champion is just itching to get back in a racing seat again. Michael Schumacher’s comeback is the most well known example, but Mika Hakkinen also returned to the track, driving a Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG GT3.

Now, 2007 world champion Kimi Raikkonen, who made a switch from F1 to rallying, has returned to Formula 1, signing a two-year contract with the Lotus Renault GP team.

Read more »

Caterham Group Officially Named at Brazil F1 Grand Prix

Less than eight months after the purchase of Caterham Cars by Team Lotus, the company’s chairman, Tony Fernandes, confirmed the creation of a new group with four divisions that will all bear the Caterham name. Fittingly, the announcement was made at this past weekend's Brazilian Grand Prix

"We have been talking for some time now about our plans for Caterham in all its guises, from the road car company to Formula 1 and GP2, and in the technology, design and innovation fields”, said Fernandes.

Read more »

Formula 1: Brazilian Grand Prix Race Results

Always the bridesmaid, never the bride: this perfectly describes Mark Webber’s participation at the 2011 Formula 1 season so far. Despite driving the best car on the grid and being in the top-performing team, the Australian not only watched his younger teammate clinch the title with considerable ease, but until the last race of the season didn’t have a single win to show for himself. Read more »