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The 2016 Spanish Grand Prix flipped all the scripts

The Monaco Formula 1 Grand Prix circuit and the Hungaroring fly the flag for processional races, yet Spain's Circuit de Catalunya is arguably as bad. Before this weekend, the pole-sitter won the race 19 times out of the last 25 years. The front row of the grid produced 23 winners in the past 25 years. The racing gods edited that script this year, when a first-lap crash and two mid-race strategy changes kept things open until the end of the 66-lap race. It started when Mercedes-AMG Petronas teammates Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton took each other out on Lap 1. After Rosberg passed pole-sitter Hamilton into Turn 1, Rosberg's car slowed through Turn 3, somehow in the wrong mode. Hamilton closed in on Rosberg so quickly that once the Brit ducked inside for the pass, he couldn't back out. Rosberg, however, closed the door so suddenly that Hamilton had no choice but to drive onto the grass. When Hamilton spun, he collected Rosberg and both Mercedes' ended up in the gravel trap. The stewards deemed it a racing incident. The crash put Red Bull teammates Daniel Ricciardo and Max Verstappen in the lead, followed by Toro Rosso driver Carlos Sainz and the Ferrari duo of Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen. Both Ferraris cleared Sainz by Lap 10, leaving 56 laps for them to haul in the Red Bulls. Ferrari loosely followed Red Bull's pit strategies. Ricciardo pitted on Laps 11 and 28, Vettel pitted on Laps 15 and 37. Verstappen pitted on Laps 12 and 35, Raikkonen pitted on Laps 13 and 36. Pirelli predicted a three-stop race as the fastest and that the medium tire could only go about 23 laps. Verstappen and Raikkonen didn't get those memos. So while Ricciardo and Vettel came in for third stops the Dutchman and the Finn stayed out, with Verstappen ahead of Raikkonen at the front of the race as of Lap 43. That's when Verstappen – 18 years and 227 days old – proved how good a driver he is, lapping perfectly as second-place Raikkonen closed the gap to a little more than half a second. The Finn still couldn't get past the Dutchman down the pit straight even with the help of DRS, nor under braking at the only real passing opportunity into Turn 1. At the end of Lap 66 Verstappen crossed the line ahead of Raikkonen, a victorious end to Verstappen's first race weekend after being promoted to Red Bull. Further back, Vettel and Ricciardo fought for scraps, the German staying ahead to finish third.

Ferrari 458 Speciale buyers told to spec options to secure orders

Want to get your hands on a Ferrari 458 Speciale? You're in good company, because demand for what could be the last naturally aspirated V8 supercar from Maranello is apparently soaring. As a result, some buyers who've already placed their orders are reportedly being "advised" to add on extra options or risk losing their place on the waiting list to someone who will. The news comes from UK-based Magnitude Finance, whose director Tim Marlow said, "One client ordered the car many months ago but he was subsequently advised to increase the options he selected to guarantee delivery simply because others are prepared to go pay over the odds to get one new." Another Magnitude client was asked by the dealer "on five occasions to say others wanted to buy it if he changed his mind." Reached for comment, Ferrari spokesperson Krista Florin told Autoblog: "As with any Ferrari, customization is offered as a service to make each car unique. However, there are no requirements in order to secure an order." The options list on the 458 Speciale can add up fast. Active headlights add over $2,500 to the price, fitted luggage nearly $11k, leather interior and front lift system a solid $6k each and those NART stripes another $11k. Ordering items like the engine cover ($7.8k), rear diffuser ($9.6k) and outer sill cover ($10k) in carbon fiber can add to the $288k base price as quick as the Speciale can gather pace. That's how our recent tester ended up topping $336k – and that's if we could actually get one. Part of the demand is surely coming from moneyed enthusiasts keen to take possession of one of the finest mid-engined supercars Ferrari has ever made, but the demand and values are surely being driven up as well by speculators. "Everyone we speak to sees this as the next appreciating model over the long-term like the 360 Challenge Stradale and 430 Scuderia 16M before it," added Marlow, "so demand is really high." We can only imagine that demand has been even higher for the convertible version, as Ferrari will only make 499 examples of the 458 Speciale A, putting the roadster in an even more rarified class. Ferrari 458 Speciale demand (Leeds: UK. November 2014). Customers are going to extraordinary lengths to buy the Ferrari 458 Speciale, luxury car finance specialist, Magnitude Finance, reveals. Earmarked as a potential collector's item, some prospective buyers have been told a GBP20,000 deposit would only put them on a list of 'possible clients' but not guarantee an order.

'World's Most Expensive Car Crash' results in 10 charged [w/video]

Justice is slowly being served to those drivers who were involved in a 10-car pile up in Japan last year that saw eight Ferrari models, one Lamborghini and three Mercedes-Benz vehicles hauled off for scrap. As you may recall, the lead driver lost control of his machine, pin balling into those following behind and doing some $4 million in damage in the process. Now the 61-year-old lead driver and nine others have had their cases sent to prosecutors.
The group are currently being charged with suspicion of violating traffic laws. We'll take a moment to wait for the laughter to die down before continuing.
Prosecutors claim the drivers were exceeding the speed limit and not paying attention to the road when the incident happened. Six people were injured in the dust up, but everyone survived. The group was on their way to a supercar event in Hiroshima. Feel free to watch the original news reports below.