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Race recap: 2015 British Grand Prix is a testament to timing

In front of his home crowd, Lewis Hamilton actually had to work for pole position at the British Formula One Grand Prix. The World Champion couldn't get on top of the setup for his Mercedes-AMG Petronas on Friday, lapping behind teammate Nico Rosberg and the two Ferraris. Come Saturday, after a few alterations and a whole lot of wing to clamp down on understeer, Hamilton returned to his regular program at the front, taking pole position by just over a tenth of a second from his teammate. Williams, thought to be headed for another stretch in the weeds a few races ago, showed its best strength all year. The Grove team got both cars on the second row and in front of the Ferraris, Felipe Massa qualifying ahead of teammate Valtteri Bottas, but they were eight and nine tenths behind the Mercedes'. Kimi Raikkonen out-qualified Ferrari teammate Sebastian Vettel for the second time this year, and only the first time in a straight-up battle with two healthy cars. But more than a second behind the two cars at the front, and with two nearly-impossible-to-pass Williams' in front, neither the Finn nor the German is happy with where they are. Daniil Kvyat claimed seventh, his side of the garage at Infiniti Red Bull Racing having got through the weekend to that point without a single complaint about their Renault power unit. Carlos Sainz, Jr. put a single Toro Rosso inside the top ten in eighth position, ahead of Nico Hulkenberg who did the same for Sahara Force India by slotting in ninth. The second Infiniti Red Bull driven by Daniel Ricciardo did have an unspecified engine complaint – his car kept "bleeding power" on the straights – but even so he managed to qualify tenth with his second-fastest lap. The stewards deleted his best lap because he ran three centimeters outside the track limits at Copse, an infraction that stung a few other drivers as well. Up in front, what would sting the Mercedes-AMG Petronas drivers the most was the start. That's when a dearth of grip struck both Hamilton and Rosberg, allowing Massa and Bottas to slide right up the middle between them and take the first two places. The leapfrogging was so surprising that it looked like the Mercedes drivers were giving the Williams drivers a head start. They diced through the first corners, Hamilton sliding past Bottas into second place halfway through the lap. And then the safety car reported for duty.

Lotus says it's hiring 200 new engineers in effort to expand

Lotus is making moves to rise back up in the automotive world. A report from The Telegraph says the British company will hire 200 new engineers. This batch of hiring comes from the pockets of new Chinese owner Geely. The plans also include the opening of a new engineering center in the U.K. away from its longtime home in Norfolk. Lotus CEO, Phip Popham said this about the new moves. "Lotus has been in survival mode for many years. We're taking on people here and also in the Midlands. We need to tap into the industrial resource outside Norfolk to help our growth," Popham said. These new hires are all part of a multi-billion dollar investment into Lotus from Geely to try and turn the company around. Ultimately, Lotus wants to triple its current production all the way up to 5,000 cars per year. One of the initiatives from this investment is an all-electric hypercar we saw teased not too long ago. Popham also spoke of making cars with a slightly different focus than the Lotus we know of today. "A car not just for the weekend, but one you can live with," Popham says. Ideas of a Lotus SUV or grand tourer have bounced around in the recent past, and those still appear to be in the company's plans. The British brand plans on tapping Geely for many items it doesn't already have, according to the report. These include modern items like digital display screens and parts required for electrification of its vehicles. A new platform meant to house these "livable" Lotus cars is said to be in the works.

Lotus hands Pastor Maldonado a new Evora S in Monaco

Being a Formula One driver has its privileges. First off, you get to drive F1 cars for a living. You get treated like royalty and fly around the world. And if you're lucky, you might get a supercar thrown at you once in a while. It all depends on which team you drive for.
Fernando Alonso, for example, has had countless Ferraris, Maseratis, Abarths and Jeeps thrown his way. Lewis Hamilton was a little disappointed not to get the keys to that rare McLaren F1 LM when he won the championship. But Pastor Maldonado just got his hands on a new Lotus Evora S.
Pastor who now, you ask? Pastor Maldonado. The first Venezuelan driver in F1, Maldonado won the GP2 title in 2010 then made the jump to F1, driving for Williams for the past three seasons, impressively winning the Spanish Grand Prix in 2012. Now he's at Lotus filling Kimi Raikkonen's seat, and took delivery of his white Evora - complete with 3.5-liter supercharged V6 and six-speed sequential gearbox - in Monte Carlo last weekend during the Monaco Grand Prix.