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Romania's Forza Rossa to join 2016 F1 grid

Bazac's Maranello ties have prompted speculation that Forza Rossa could be as closely affiliated with Ferrari as Hass. Formula One may be in a bit of a crisis at the moment, with two of its smaller teams collapsing into bankruptcy, but there may yet be light at the end of the proverbial tunnel as two new teams are gearing up to take their place. One of those teams is Forza Rossa, and while we haven't much anything about the Romanian entry in in recent months, a new report from Pitpass indicates that plans are well under way – if not without their complications. Forza Rossa is being backed by a number of Romanian parties, including veteran race strategist Colin Kolles (who was most recently involved in the Caterham buyout) and Ion Bazac, former government minister and Ferrari's Romanian importer (pictured above next to Giancarlo Fisichella). Interestingly, the latter's ties to Maranello have prompted speculation that the team could be at least as closely affiliated with Ferrari as Haas (the American team being started by industrial machinery magnate and NASCAR team owner Gene Haas). A third Romanian individual – former soccer player Constantin Cojocar – turns out to have been the one who bought Caterham Sports Ltd, the company which designed and built the cars for the Caterham F1 Team until its recent collapse. The plan was to supply chassis and components to both Caterham and Forza Rossa, but Cojocar evidently had trouble paying the bills and keeping the lights on. Caterham's bankruptcy, however, could present a golden opportunity for Forza Rossa to scoop up the assets of both the team and the manufacturer at a good price, building the new team on the burnt foundations of the old one – even if it has already been granted the go-ahead by the FIA to form its own entry. That, however, won't happen until 2016 at the earliest, whittling down the grid in the meantime from 22 cars to 18. According to the arrangement between the FIA, Formula One Management and the teams, that threshold would oblige at least the leading teams to make up the lost places on the grid by fielding a third car each – something they couldn't prepare in time for US Grand Prix this past weekend, but which could be put into action for next season.

Ferrari-driving kid's parents charged by Indian police [w/video]

Earlier this month, we reported on a video that was circulating the internet which showed a young boy driving a Ferrari F430 on a street in India while other children watched and two adults recorded the whole thing. And that was all that we knew at the time. Now, there is more information about the car, the kids and their parents thanks to an article in the Daily Mail. As it turns out, a wealthy businessman let his son drive the Ferrari as a present for his ninth birthday and recorded the whole thing while his six-year-old son was riding shotgun.
According to the report, the father, Muhammad Nizam, faces charges and possibly the seizure of the car for letting his son get behind the wheel. Oddly enough, the video is still up on YouTube, and we have it posted for you below.

1967 Ferrari 275 GTB/4 is a love letter to Steve McQueen

There have been plenty of movie stars who've been into cars, but few genuine aficionados like Steve McQueen. The legendary King of Cool was known for driving his green Mustang and Porsche prototypes on the big screen, but in his private life, he loved his Ferrari.
There was, of course, his iconic 250 GT Lusso, but back in 1967, the actor and sometimes racer also bought a rare 275 NART Spyder. Sadly, that car was totaled a mere two days after he took possession, and there were no replacements available. So he bought this hardtop 275 GTB/4 instead.
Ferrari's Classiche department recently restored the car to pristine condition and RM Auctions sold it for over $10 million, but there's more to its story than its celebrity provenance and high hammer price. Listen to the guys who worked on it for McQueen tell the car's story in this latest video from the Aficionauto.