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2015 Belgian Grand Prix is a return to scheduled programming

With summer intermission over, the second half of the Formula One season commenced in the Belgian countryside at Spa-Francorchamps. After qualifying, it looked a lot like the first half of the season with just a few minor changes. Lewis Hamilton was even more dominant in his Mercedes-AMG Petronas than usual, regularly taking half a second out of his teammate in just the middle sector of the circuit. Teammate Nico Rosberg tightened it up a tad for his final hot lap, but Hamilton still took pole by 0.45 seconds ahead of Rosberg in second. With his Williams back at a power track, Valtteri Bottas got himself up to third, although more than a second behind Hamilton. Romain Grosjean in the Lotus in fourth had his best qualifying performance since his fourth-place grid spot at the 2013 US Grand Prix. This was a huge boon for Lotus, the team facing another financial issue off track that threatened to have its cars impounded as soon as they left the circuit. Grosjean had to have his gearbox changed before the conclusion of six races, however, so the five-spot penalty meant he'd actually line up ninth for the race. Sergio Perez put the Sahara Force India in fifth, where we're more used to seeing his teammate Nico Hulkenberg, just ahead of Daniel Ricciardo in the Infiniti Red Bull Racing in sixth. Felipe Massa got the second Williams in seventh, in front of the second Lotus of Pastor Maldonado in eighth. Then came the first and only Ferrari in the top ten, Sebastian Vettel qualifying ninth after a disappointing Saturday for the scuderia; teammate Kimi Raikkonen suffered gearbox issues and qualified way down in 16th. Carlos Sainz took tenth in the Toro Rosso. A new start procedure in Belgium meant drivers had to handle clutches on their own, without the engineers finely tuning bite points between the garage and the start line. That was in conjunction with another rule limiting the kinds of radio messages possible between engineers and drivers, aiming to put more of the car in the drivers' hands. After an aborted start when Hulkenberg's car quit while sitting on the grid, Hamilton made the most of the new procedure. His start wasn't amazing but he beat everyone else off the line, while those behind were alternately getting bogged down or leaping ahead. Midway through the first lap the top ten was Hamilton, Perez, Ricciardo, Bottas, Rosberg, Vettel, Maldonado, Grosjean, Massa, Marcus Ericsson. At the end of 43 laps, Hamilton would still be in the lead.

Rebuilt Ferrari Enzo sells for $1.75 million at auction

See this Ferrari Enzo? See how it's in one piece? Well it wasn't always. It was involved in a horrendous crash a decade ago that split it clear in half. But it's long-since been rebuilt and sold for $1.75 million at the RM Sotheby's sale in Paris on Wednesday. The supercar in question belonged to Silicon Valley tech exec Stefan Eriksson, who crashed it into a pole along the Pacific Coast Highway in 2006. The Enzo was split in half, with the cockpit and nose on one side of the highway and the engine with its subframe on the other. If it were any less valuable a car, it might have been a complete write-off. But as yesterday's sale attested, the Enzo was worth fixing. So it was sent back to the factory where it was repaired, refurbished to as-new condition, repainted from red over black to black over red, and certified by the manufacturer. It was one of the top lots at RM Sotheby's autction, but even at that price, it wasn't the top earner of the day. That honor went to a rare 1962 Ferrari 400 Superamerica Aerodinamico, which sold for $3.3 million. Next up was a 1955 Porsche 550 Spyder that went for $3.07 million, followed by a '57 BMW 507 Roadster for $2.25 million. The Enzo came in fifth. Oh, and that Delta Integrale we were pining after? It went for $150 grand. Shame we weren't there with cash in hand. Related Video:

Ferrari 458 Speciale Spider will make Paris debut

The news out of Ferrari is coming nearly as fast as its wonderful sports cars, as of late, with CEO Luca di Montezemolo stepping down and a special model for America upcoming. Now, it's looking increasingly likely that the 458 Speciale Spider is making its world debut at the 2014 Paris Motor Show in early October, confirming earlier rumors.
Di Montezemolo had already confirmed that the Prancing Horse would unveil a new car in Paris, but exactly which model it would be had been a mystery. However, an unnamed Ferrari insider has recently confirmed to 4WheelNews that it would be the droptop Speciale.
As the name suggests, the special model takes the sonorous 4.5-liter V8 engine from the 458 Speciale with 597 horsepower and 398 pound-feet of torque and drops it into the convertible hardtop from the Spider. According to the source, the special Ferrari is also getting new wheels, stripes and seats, but the folding top might mean losing the coupe's transparent engine cover.