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2016 Malaysian Grand Prix recap: Surprises and missed opportunities

Mercedes-AMG Petronas pilot Lewis Hamilton drove so well in the run-up to the Malaysian Grand Prix that he said before the race, "Honestly, I don't feel anything is going to stop us." On Sunday, the Sepang race showed what it thought of plans and predictions. Heading into the right-hand Turn 1, Sebastian Vettel practically recreated the dust-up at the Belgian Grand Prix three races ago. When Mercedes' Nico Rosberg swept across from the outside line toward the apex, Red Bull's Max Verstappen had to jink right to avoid, touching Vettel's Ferrari on the inside. Vettel speared straight on and hit Rosberg. Vettel's left front suspension broke, ending his race. Rosberg spun and got moving again, but at the back of the pack. That appeared to put Hamilton on a clear run to the checkered flag. His car looked perfect, his pace was perfect, he easily kept Red Bull's Daniel Ricciardo and Verstappen behind. A result that would have seen Hamilton retake control of the Driver's Championship – at Petronas' home race – got crushed on Lap 41 when Hamilton's engine blew down the main straight. That put Ricciardo in the lead, followed closely by his teammate. Just two laps before Hamilton's exit, Ricciardo and Verstappen had battled for second place with some of the best driving we've seen all season. Ricciardo drove as if exorcising the demons of missed opportunities earlier in the year, keeping the young Dutchman behind. The two Red Bulls took the flag fifteen laps later in that order, clocking the first one-two finish for a team other than Mercedes since 2014. It's Red Bull's first one-two since Brazil 2013, when Vettel and Mark Weber took the top steps at the last race of the V8 era. Rosberg recovered to take third in spite of a ten-second penalty for an optimistic pass on Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen. The Finn crossed the line 12 seconds later, followed by Valtteri Bottas in the Williams and Sergio Perez in the Force India. In another Belgium repeat, Fernando Alonso drove from the back of the grid to finish seventh. Nico Hulkenberg secured eighth, Jenson Button ninth for McLaren in his 300th grand prix, and rookie Jolyon Palmer scored his first point of the season for Renault in tenth. The issue to trump all others from now until next week's Japanese Grand Prix: Lewis Hamilton's terrible luck with engines. Power unit gremlins earlier this season helped drop the Brit to 43 points behind Rosberg after the Russian Grand Prix.

Sebastian Vettel risks losing F1 championship lead in Sunday's Italian Grand Prix

MONZA, Italy — Sebastian Vettel has been on the podium at Ferrari's home Italian Grand Prix for the past two years, but anything less than a win on Sunday could cost the German the lead in the Formula One championship points race. The Ferrari driver is only seven points clear of Lewis Hamilton, the difference between first and second place, with his Mercedes rival fresh from last weekend's pole-to-flag success in Belgium and 5-4 up on race wins. Hamilton won at Monza in 2014 and 2015 and was runner-up last year to now-retired teammate and eventual champion Nico Rosberg. The Briton has also been on pole at the "Pista Magica" for the past three years. But Ferrari has closed the gap, and Vettel can count on a wave of local support at the historic Milanese track where he took his first grand prix victory with Toro Rosso in 2008. "I think Monza is never a critical race for Ferrari. I think it's the nicest race," the four-times world champion told reporters ahead of a weekend that will also see his team celebrate their 70th anniversary. "We have a lot of support, so I'm really looking forward to it already." Vettel, with a new three-year contract signed only last weekend, won at Monza with Red Bull in 2011 and 2013 but has yet to do so in Ferrari red. If he does, he will become the first driver to win the race with three different teams since Britain's Stirling Moss in the 1950s. In 2015, Vettel's first season since switching to Ferrari, he finished second. Last year he was third. "We've been second, we've been third, so maybe we can get the last step on the podium that is missing," said the 30-year-old, adding that there was no reason for Ferrari to fear any circuit from now on. Hamilton will also have plenty of fans, with the locals respecting a true racer, and can make history with a record pole position after equaling Michael Schumacher's all-time tally of 68 in Belgium. The Mercedes driver knows he needs to make the most of the moment in the last European race of the season, with Ferrari likely to have the upper hand again once the action switches to Singapore. "Clearly we have not a bad car on the straights. I imagine it's going to be very, very close in the next race," he said after Spa. Red Bull, with Australian Daniel Ricciardo in his ancestral homeland and smiling following his third place in Belgium, will again be the best of the rest although Max Verstappen is likely to have grid penalties following his retirement in Spa.

Apple CarPlay drawing early safety concerns [w/video]

Apple's CarPlay infotainment system hasn't made it into a single vehicle yet, and it's already drawing criticism for distracting drivers among safety advocates. The new tech unveiled at the Geneva Motor Show pairs users' iPhones with the car's dashboard display to make calls, dictate messages and listen to music. Some automakers, like Volvo, also let users interact with the HVAC system from the screen.
"The idea that people want to be on their phones, and therefore let's give them a way to do that -- that's not putting safety first, that's putting convenience and the desire to be in touch first," said Bruce Hamilton, manager of research and communications at the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety, to CNN Money.
Distracted driving is a huge concern on modern roads with more vehicles allowing drivers to use their smartphones through Bluetooth and infotainment systems. A Texas A&M study found that drivers' reaction time doubled while dictating text messages, according to CNN Money. The new tech is certainly not making drivers pay more attention.