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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.

McLaren P1 looks retrolicious in Gulf livery

We live in a bit of a conundrum over here in the Autoblog editorial office. On the one hand, we're big fans of progress – and things move fast in the automotive industry. On the other, we do like a bit of retro style from time to time – especially when it comes to classic racing liveries. Where those two intersect, though, can leave us weak in the knees. Like this McLaren P1, for example, decked out in retro Gulf livery. Commissioned from the McLaren Special Operations by Canadian venture capitalist and philanthropist Miles Nadal, this one-of-a-kind take on Woking's flagship hybrid hypercar looks prime to line up alongside a Martini-liveried Porsche 918 Spyder or trounce a JPS-inspired Lotus Evora. It may not have the Gulf Oil logos plastered all over it – that would strike us as a little over the top – but it has been done up in the traditional baby blue with orange accents, from the tapered orange stripe running over the top to the orange brake calipers. The theme continues subtly inside where McLaren's own signature orange accents are joined by more baby blue to complete the theme. Though McLaren might not be as closely associated with Gulf as say, Aston Martin or Porsche, the two have crossed paths on a handful of notable instances over the course of their respective histories in racing. One of the most iconic of the long-tail McLaren F1 GTRs wore Gulf livery alongside Davidoff logos, as did another short-tail example, as well as an M8D, M16B-2 and M19A straight through to the modern MP4-12C GT3. Featured Gallery McLaren P1 in Gulf livery View 12 Photos News Source: McLaren via Facebook McLaren Coupe Supercars mclaren p1 mclaren special operations gulf mso

Formula 1 seeking independent engine supplier

Formula 1 could get a new engine supplier in the near future, if Bernie Ecclestone and the independent teams gets their way. According to Autosport, the FIA is soon to open the contract up for bids, and there are already several manufacturers that have expressed interest. Currently Mercedes, Ferrari, Renault, and Honda supply engines – both to their own premier teams (Red Bull and McLaren for the latter two) but also to other teams like Williams, Sauber, and Toro Rosso. Because the new turbocharged V6 hybrid power units cost those four suppliers so much to develop, they're charging their customer teams big bucks – around $20-30 million per season – to provide the engines. These costs are much higher than the $10 million or so it used to cost to purchase a V8 engine under the previous regulations. Ecclestone figures it's time to bring in another supplier who will not run their own team and not play favorites, but will supply engines to private teams at a lower cost. There are already a number of potential suppliers under consideration. One of them is said to be Cosworth, which has a long history in the series stretching back to 1963. The British firm stepped back between 2007 and 2009, returned in 2010, and dropped out again after 2013. The development could be of particular benefit to Red Bull, which has been unable to find an engine supplier and could be forced out of the series as a result. The team has long been powered by Renault, but that relationship has grown sour. And the other three engine manufacturers have not been forthcoming in offering an alternative arrangement for the team. Related Video: News Source: AutosportImage Credit: Cosworth Motorsports Ferrari Honda Infiniti McLaren Mercedes-Benz Renault F1 engine contract