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Ferrari's 986-hp mid-engine hybrid supercar stays bundled up in spy shots

With less than a week to go until its debut for VIP clients, Ferrari remains engaged in testing its hybrid V8 supercar. As these spy shots show, the Italian carmaker still insists on giving nothing away. The photographer wasn't able to figure out any more details, noting only that the camo panels were decorated with yellow triangles warning of electric shocks. The last intel we got came from Auto, Motor und Sport, the German magazine predicting 1,000 PS (metric horsepower), which is 986 of our ponies. That grunt would come from the 3.9-liter twin-turbo V8 borrowed from the F8 Tributo, and three electric motors — two on the front axles, one in the gearbox. All-wheel drive and instant torque would get the coupe from zero to 62 miles per hour in no more than 2 seconds, and cornering prowess will increase thanks to e-motor torque vectoring. Another stroll through the FerrariChat forum says power might be more than the 1,000 CV (cheveaux — metric horsepower again, but in French) indicated even on Ferrari's invitation to the launch event. A member wrote, "The current numbers doing the rounds are 1,050 — 1,100," bettors guessing 720 hp from the V8, roughly 200 combined horses from the front axle motors, and anywhere from 150 to 180 hp from the gearbox unit. That would be 1,080 hp at most, which is 1,095 CV. The looks are inscrutable. It's clear the door handles are in a different place, above the shoulder line, the front brakes calipers are mighty, and the headlights reveal some severe lines. The motorcycle rider who chased the coupe through the hills above Maranello said he saw squared taillights, but allowed that it could have been the shape of the camouflage openings. A Ferrari owners group from France visited the factory and apparently saw the complete bodywork for the hybrid coupe codenamed F173, describing the car as "wide and flat" with "huge rounded intakes" like half circles, a red body and a black glasshouse. On a side note, they also saw the 812 Spider bodywork, and said it's beautiful. Finally, another FC poster wrote that "the name has been already decided and there are very few chances that it will be changed. It will remind us of a Ferrari model launched years ago and also an actual car, a fast one." Depending on when Ferrari plans a public debut, we have anywhere from six days to three weeks left to play with this puzzle.

Mick Schumacher in F1 Ferrari test scores second-fastest lap at Bahrain

MANAMA, Bahrain — Mick Schumacher, son of seven-times world champion Michael, made his Formula One test debut for Ferrari in Bahrain on Tuesday and lapped second fastest behind Red Bull's Max Verstappen. On a surprisingly wet day at the same track where his father won the first grand prix in the Middle East with Ferrari 15 years ago, Schumacher was 0.597 seconds slower than the 21-year-old Dutchman. His time of 1 minute 29.976 seconds was set on the softest, and fastest, C5 tires — softer than anyone else's — and he completed 56 laps on a day where track time was limited by bad weather washing out much of the middle of the day. "I really enjoyed today. It felt like home in the garage from the very first moment with a lot of people that know me since I was very young," he said. The 20-year-old German, who made his Formula Two debut at the Sakhir circuit over the weekend and finished eighth and sixth in the two races, had been top with five minutes remaining before Verstappen went faster. It was still the first time since 2012 that a Schumacher had led an official Formula One time chart. "The SF90 is incredible because of the power it has, but it is also smooth to drive, and that's why I enjoyed myself so much," said Schumacher. "I was impressed by the braking power an F1 car has. It seemed to me you could brake later and later and the car would have made the turn anyway." The reigning European F3 champion will also test with the Ferrari-powered Alfa Romeo team (formerly Sauber) on Wednesday. Tuesday's test was Mick's first experience of a modern F1 car, although he did drive his father's 1994 title-winning Benetton at the Spa-Francorchamps circuit before the 2017 Belgian Grand Prix. Michael Schumacher, who still holds the record of 91 grand prix wins, won five of his titles with Ferrari in a golden period from 2000 to 2004. He last raced for the team in 2006 before a comeback with Mercedes from 2010-12 and has not been seen in public since he suffered severe head injuries in a skiing accident in the French Alps in December 2013. Mick, who joined the Ferrari academy in January, was the only debutant on track in a rain-hit session that followed Sunday's second grand prix of the season. Lewis Hamilton, Sunday's race winner for Mercedes after Ferrari's Charles Leclerc suffered a late engine problem, was sixth fastest.

Race Recap: Belgian Grand Prix is new skirmishes, same war [spoilers]

It's been four weeks since we last saw a Formula One race, when Lewis Hamilton improbably put his Mercedes-AMG Petronas in P1 in Hungary. Even more improbably, he held onto the first spot at the finish of the race, ahead of Kimi Räikkönen in the Lotus and Sebastian Vettel in the Infiniti Red Bull.
Resuming the season at Belgium's Spa-Francorchamps circuit this weekend, Hamilton picked up his recent - and just as improbable - pole-setting form by putting the Mercedes in P1 for the fourth time in a row. The effort came during a qualifying session visited by intermittent rains and dry spells, his 54th trip to the front of the pack, tying Niki Lauda.
But neither the fireworks and surprises, the mid-field full of backmarkers, nor the tire strategies and timing choices changed the mission for the drivers in with a chance at the title: finish in front of Vettel.