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Haas F1 secures engine deal with Ferrari

Plans are coming together for Gene Haas to launch his US-based Formula One team in 2016. The tooling magnate and NASCAR team owner has renamed his grand prix racing outfit from Haas Formula to Haas F1, he's setting up shop in North Carolina with a satellite location to be announced somewhere in Europe, and now he's penned an engine supply deal with Ferrari.
The deal doesn't come as such a surprise after Haas signed on as a sponsor with the Maranello squad a couple of months ago, but confirms the reinforcement of the partnership between the two teams. "The multi-year agreement," according to Ferrari in the statement below, "is for the supply of the entire power unit starting from 2016," including the engine, hybrid assist and presumably the gearbox as well. But that's not the extent of the deal.
Billed as a "technical collaboration agreement," the deal opens the door for Haas and Ferrari to cooperate even more closely than the latter does with existing powertrain customers Sauber and Marussia. "We believe this new partnership has the potential to evolve beyond the technical role of supplying our power unit and all related technical services," said Scuderia Ferrari team principal Marco Mattiacci.

Harry leaves his Garage to drive Ferrari 488 in Maranello

Harry Metcalfe doesn't need to go anywhere these days. He's handed over the reins of the Evo magazine he founded and gone into retirement, enjoying some quiet time with the many drool-inducing cars in his expansive garage. In other words, it would take quite the car to get him to leave the serenity of the English countryside and fly all the way down to Italy and its industrial north. The Ferrari 488 GTB is just such a car. The Prancing Horse marque's latest mid-engined V8 supercar should require no introduction. It's the successor to the celebrated 458 Italia and a long line that stretches back through the F430, 360 Modena, F355, 348, and 328 straight through to the 308 GTB that debuted in 1975. Only unlike its naturally aspirated predecessors, the 488 has gone twin-turbo to reconnect more with the likes of the F40 and 288 GTO. That leaves the atmospheric sector of this particular territory to the Lamborghini Huracan and its unassisted V10, while cozying up closer to the McLaren 650S. But does it make it any less of a Ferrari, or a less-than-worthy successor to the 458? That's what Harry set out to find out on the roads in and around the factory's home town of Maranello. Watch the video above to find out how it stacks up in his esteemed opinion. Related Video: X News Source: Harry's Garage via YouTube Ferrari Coupe Supercars Videos ferrari 488 gtb harry metcalfe harrys garage

Sergio Marchionne wants Alfa Romeo back in F1

It's been decades since Alfa Romeo has competed in Formula One. But if Sergio Marchionne gets his way, it could make a comeback soon. Now we know what you might be thinking: Alfa Romeo and Ferrari are both part of the same Fiat Chrysler Automobiles group, so why would Marchionne want two brands competing against each other in such a costly racing series? Because technically speaking, Ferrari is no longer part of FCA, that's why. They share mostly the same owners and are run by the same person (Marchionne), but the Prancing Horse marque recently split off from its former parent company and floated its own shares on the stock market. That makes it a separate entity, and also means that FCA no longer has a direct link to F1. But its chief executive clearly thinks the investment is worthwhile. Marchionne has been known to state grandiose plans, but he's also been known to carry through on many of them. So the next question is, if the plan goes through, just how Alfa Romeo might participate in F1? Some automakers (like Mercedes) field their own teams, others (like Honda) compete as engine suppliers, and still others (like Infiniti) as branding partners. Alfa could go either route, but Marchionne told Italy's La Gazzetta dello Sport that "Alfa Romeo is able to make itself a chassis, and it is able to make engines." Of course, that doesn't mean that it necessarily will. It could outsource a chassis from a constructor like Dallara, which is located near the same Varano circuit that Alfa uses regularly. It could also source an engine from its former sister company: Marchionne floated the possibility of starting a separate engine program in Maranello for Red Bull when it was hunting for a new engine partner, and could ostensibly do the same for Alfa Romeo. "In order to re-establish itself as a sport brand, Alfa Romeo can and must consider the possibility of return to race in Formula 1," said Marchionne. "How? Probably in a collaboration with Ferrari." Alfa Romeo first competed in F1 in the early 1950s, winning the world championship two years running in 1950 with Giuseppe Farina (scion of Pininfarina) and 1951 with Juan Manuel Fangio. It then dropped out, only to resurface as a full constructor team between 1979 and 1985, with limited results. It also supplied engines to an array of teams in the 1960s, '70s, and '80s.