F430 F1 Spider Scuderia Carbon! Carfax Certified! Clean! Below Nada! We Finance! on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Recap: 2013 Australian Formula One Grand Prix is all about the rubber [w/spoilers]

A pre-season full of talking points was swapped for a brand-new set of talking points after the running of the opening grand prix of the 2013 Formula One season. The consistency of the regulations from last year to this year and the triplicate dominance of Infiniti Red Bull Racing meant that no one would have been that surprised if the relative order of things remained the same. But teams found so many ways to switch things up that, in typical pre-season fashion, no one was ready to make any bets on in-season performance, and a couple of surprising players suffered the ignominy of getting it really wrong: McLaren knew it was in trouble from the very first test, while Williams drivers applauded their car as the best in years, only to have Pastor Maldonado call it "undriveable" on the very first day of practice in Melbourne.
And then there were those Pirellis, the Italian company talking up the fact that its super soft tires would only go off so quickly that it would force teams to pit at least twice during the race.
Even then, no one could have seen the first round of pit stops beginning on Lap 5.

Ferrari looks to cut 20% total C02 emissions over 7 years

In the late 1970s, performance cars suffered a huge blow when the necessity for better economy and lower emissions crippled their power. It took nearly a decade for the horsepower to return. Today, we're in the middle of another push for greater vehicle efficiency, but don't expect another era of malaise this time. Instead, lightweight materials, turbos and hybrids mean that everyone can be happy. However, the pressure to clean up isn't just for the mass market, supercars must improve too, but Ferrari at least seems to be taking on the challenge in stride.
Ferrari Powertrain Director Vittorio Dini recently told Automotive News Europe that the Prancing Horse will improve its current average C02 emissions of 270 grams per kilometer by 20 percent by 2021, to reach about 216 grams of C02 per kilometer. To achieve these lofty ambitions, the company will exploit a relatively simple path. "In the future, all of our V8s will use turbos," said Dini said to ANE. Also, its V12s will use hybridization because it'll be a better choice for them compared to the heat of multiple turbos, he claimed.
The first steps of this strategy are already in front of us. The new California T ditches its naturally aspirated V8 in favor of a smaller displacement, more powerful turbocharged unit, and the LaFerrari is already using the hybrid V12. Dini's quote certainly lends some credence to the rumor that the 2015 refresh for the 458 Italia may use an even more powerful version of the California's turbo V8. With a new Ferrari model planned for each year between now and 2018, the Prancing Horse seems unperturbed by any threats posed by emissions.

Ferrari boss Montezemolo expects big changes from FIA

You'd think that with former Ferrari principal Jean Todt running the FIA, the relationship between the motorsport governing body and the team he once called home would be a solid one. But his former boss expects more from the organization that overseas Formula One.
In a recent interview (excerpts from which you can read below), Ferrari chairman Luca di Montezemolo pointed to some perceived inconsistencies in rulings made by FIA officials this season and called for "strong changes." Among those controversies was a drive-through penalty handed to Felipe Massa at the season-closing Brazilian Grand Prix last weekend, his last for the Scuderia. Massa was reprimanded for cutting across the white line that marks the exit from the pit lane, the penalty for which dropped him from fourth place in the race to seventh, and cost Ferrari its second place in the final standings for the constructors' championship - and with it a good $10 million in prize money. Montezemolo characterized the penalty as "disproportionate and unjust".
The Ferrari chief also pointed to penalties handed to Mercedes as either too harsh or not harsh enough, calling for greater consistency in FIA rulings and implying that more permanent race stewards be appointed instead of alternating race to race.