Ferrari 308 Gts Quattrovalvole on 2040-cars

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2015 Russian Grand Prix was full of crashes and DNFs

Mercedes-AMG Petronas non-executive chairman Niki Lauda said of Lewis Hamilton's race-day domination this year, "The guy is driving like a god." Qualifying is another story, though – teammate Nico Rosberg taking pole proved that sometimes deities have to settle for second on the grid. Williams driver Valtteri Bottas surprised himself and his team with third place, half a second behind Hamilton but 0.05 sec ahead of the first Ferrari driven by Sebastian Vettel, while a mistake on Kimi Raikkonen's final flying lap left him in fifth, 0.4 sec behind Vettel. The Sahara Force India team had a good showing, with Nico Hulkenberg qualifying sixth just ahead of teammate Sergio Perez in seventh. It's the first time they've had both drivers in the top ten on the grid since the 2014 British Grand Prix. Romain Grosjean is leaving the stormy waters of Lotus at the end of the year for the unknown waters of Haas F1, but he made the shoestring operation look really good before Renault takes over by taking eighth place on the grid. Max Verstappen qualified well again with ninth in the Toro Rosso, ahead of the first Infiniti Red Bull Racing of Daniel Ricciardo in tenth. Red Bull driver Daniil Kvyat lined up eleventh for his home grand prix, certainly a disappointment after locking up fifth place on the grid last year in a Toro Rosso. When Pirelli brought soft and supersoft compounds to Sochi, the company said it hoped this year's race would be better than last year's. We're sure this first-lap mishap isn't what they meant. Rosberg and Hamilton dragged it down to Turn 1, with Rosberg getting the inside line. Hamilton had to go wide at Turn 2 as Rosberg fought to hold position, but they left a mess in their wake: Hulkenberg spun going into Turn 2 and stopped in the middle of the track, and Marcus Ericsson in the Sauber – who'd started 16th – collided with him. Both cars were out of the race immediately, and the Safety Car came in. The Safety Car returned to the pits on Lap 3 Rosberg led the field, but just two laps later the German complained of a sticking throttle pedal. Two laps later he had to retire, unable to drive the car properly. That put Hamilton at the front, and we've seen that race a bunch of times before. He built a double-digit lead and never lost it.

2014 Ferrari FF

Ferrari announced a panoramic roof option for its all-wheel drive FF at the 2012 Paris Motor Show, promising the new full-length glass panel would offer its well-heeled clientele "a genuine open-air driving feeling, while providing thermal and acoustic insulation." That statement was intriguing, as my experience with glass roofs usually ends abruptly after I close the opaque shade - as a Southern Californian, I always find tinted glass panels too hot during the day and too cold at night.
While the FF I reviewed in August was fitted with a solid aluminum roof, I was fortunate to catch up with a brand-new silver Ferrari FF (it only had about 160 miles on the odometer) with the optional panoramic roof at the Formula One race at Circuit of the Americas just last month. It was my lucky day, as I was about to spend about six hours with the four-place Italian, blissfully enjoying it during the warm day until long after the sun had set on the Texas horizon.
Driving Notes:

Ferrari chief staying on to launch new models in October

Luca di Montezemolo has been running Ferrari since 1991. That's a whopping 23 years already, and having been born the same year that Ferrari was founded, Montezemolo is now 67 years old. But don't expect him to be stepping down any time soon.
Addressing the rampant rumors circulating the paddock at Monza this weekend, the hereditary Marquis of Montezemolo (pictured above at the unveiling of the 458 Speciale in Frankfurt last year) insisted that he is not about to leave Ferrari. Not before 2017, anyway, having signed as recently as this past March to stay on another three years. (After that, it's anyone's guess, with some suggesting that controversial Fiat scion Lapo Elkann could take his place.) But in dismissing the rumors, the affable and long-serving Ferrari chairman did reveal some new product plans.
First of all, according to racing site Autosport.com, Luca confirmed that the Prancing Horse marque "will present a fantastic new car" at the Paris Motor Show next month, widely expected to be a new variant of the 458: either the new Speciale Spider or the turbocharged 458 M. While he was at it, though, Montezemolo also revealed a new limited edition model to be presented in California.