McLaren 570S, page #13

Auto blog

Race recap: 2016 Monaco Grand Prix gets very wet, a little wild

More than at any other race, the Monaco Grand Prix question is: which combination of demolition derby, Safety Cars, and bad pit strategy will decide the podium? Last year Lewis Hamilton's late, confounding pit stop cost him victory. The year before, Nico Rosberg's qualifying "mistake" put him on pole and Mercedes-AMG Petronas' pit strategy sealed his win – good for Nico, bad for Hamilton and the rest of the field. In 2013 Hamilton dropped from second to fourth when he lollygagged in the pits. In all three years, Rosberg won. The new X factor for 2016: a Red Bull resurgence that helped Daniel Ricciardo clinch his first career pole. Nevertheless, bad pit strategy had its say in the results. Ricciardo built up a 13-second lead by Lap 15 in spite of heavy rains that forced the Safety Car to lead the first eight laps of the race. Ricciardo stopped on Lap 23 to switch to intermediate tires for the drying track, ceding the lead to Hamilton. Hamilton pitted from the lead on Lap 31 for softs, then Red Bull pulled Ricciardo in again on Lap 32 and made a snap decision to put him on ultra softs, but the tires weren't ready when Ricciardo reached his pit box. What should have been a three-second pit stop turned into a 13.6-second pit stop. Ricciardo left the pits as Hamilton came down the straight and the Aussie lost the lead into the first corner. Despite two attempts to pass later in the race, Hamilton finished first, the Aussie second. It's the second race in a row where pit strategy cost Ricciardo a near-certain win. Conversely, Force India nailed both tire strategy and pit timing with Sergio Perez. The Mexican started in eighth but got into third before half the race was done, passing four cars in the pits, and finished on the podium's final step. Otherwise the order barely changed from about half distance, with Ferrari driver Sebatian Vettel in fourth, followed by Fernando Alonso in the McLaren, Nico Hulkenberg in the second Force India, Rosberg in the second Mercedes, Carlos Sainz for Toro Rosso, Jenson Button in the second McLaren, and Felipe Massa taking the final point for tenth for Williams. Storms didn't only hover over the area, though – dark clouds hung around several teams and drivers. Mercedes' reliability is no longer so reliable. The Silver Arrows suffered engine issues on both cars in qualifying, and Hamilton's problem almost kept him from setting a time in Q3.

2017 McLaren 570GT First Drive

The late, great LJK Setright used to rail at engineers who thought that "if you can't measure it, it doesn't exist." There's an element of that in McLaren's starter Sports Series, particularly the 570S, where spectacular performance doesn't quite fill the soul. What McLaren has so far failed to understand is that at this level ($198,950 before state and federal taxes) its products need to appeal to more than just number-obsessed track junkies. While incisive turn-in, roll-free handling ,and jet-fighter fast tick some boxes, others such as space and grace are left resolutely unticked. GT derives from The Grand Tour, a 17th-century European rite-of-passage cultural tour undertaken by well-heeled young blades anxious to see and hear the great works of art and music for themselves; food, wine, and other earthly pleasures might also have been involved. And while the name has been lifted by Clarkson, Hammond, and May for their forthcoming Amazon car show, true petrol heads will more properly associate Grand Tour with the Italian Gran Turismo, a car capable of high-speed, cross-continental peregrination in style, with space for expensive luggage. Whoops, did I mention Italy? Not something done lightly in the presence of McLaren, which has a culture of omerta when it comes to rivals: Ferrari, Lamborghini, and even Audi and Porsche. McLaren Cars might be passionate and fired with the winning spirit of its racing founder Bruce McLaren, the mercurial and talented Kiwi who died in a testing accident at Goodwood 46 years ago, but its clinical approach to the business of making cars leaves some cold. The new 570GT aims to change all that. It's basically a 570S with a glass rear hatchback that opens toward the according sidewalk for right- and left-hand-drive depending on the country of sale. Unlike the S owner cramming luggage behind the seats, the GT owner elegantly posts weekend bags into the leather-floored trunk. Actually the width of the rear fender means they'll likely be dragging them across the all-aluminum bodywork. At least McLaren offers a vinyl-coating service to protect the paint. Another advantage of space is a welcome simplicity to the coachwork. The GT transformation declutters chief designer Rob Melville's basically sound proportions, and they breathe a little better as a result. The hatchback gives an additional 7.8 cubic feet to add to the 5.3 cubic feet under the trunk lid, which added together is more room than in a Ford Focus.

Watch a vintage McLaren F1 car fall from the sky in Monaco

All hell broke loose during last week's Monaco Historic Grand Prix after a crane dropped a vintage racecar right in the middle of a track. During a race. Then things got worse. The track was already under a full-course yellow with a safety car when the corner workers unsuccessfully tried to hoist the already stricken McLaren M23 off the track at Mirabeau. But before they could communicate what had happened to the head marshals, the safety car was back in pit lane and the field was moving up to speed. What happened next could best be described as chaos. In the coverage from Motors TV, you can just barely see the Renault Megane safety car rampaging through the pits trying to intercept the field of vintage F1 cars before they make the turn at Sainte Devote. It's ultimately unsuccessful, which leads to the bizarre sight of a bright yellow French hatchback trying to slice through a field of priceless cars on one of the tightest, most difficult tracks on the F1 calendar. The drivers, getting frantic communications from the pits about the danger at Mirabeau, do their best to slow down and get out of the Megane's way. An Avon slows a little too quickly and gets whacked by a lovely Tyrell. Like we said, chaos. Check out the action up top.

McLaren F1 boss says team will dethrone Mercedes

Motorsports Honda McLaren Mercedes-Benz F1 mercedes-amg

The 2016 Spanish Grand Prix flipped all the scripts

The Monaco Formula 1 Grand Prix circuit and the Hungaroring fly the flag for processional races, yet Spain's Circuit de Catalunya is arguably as bad. Before this weekend, the pole-sitter won the race 19 times out of the last 25 years. The front row of the grid produced 23 winners in the past 25 years. The racing gods edited that script this year, when a first-lap crash and two mid-race strategy changes kept things open until the end of the 66-lap race. It started when Mercedes-AMG Petronas teammates Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton took each other out on Lap 1. After Rosberg passed pole-sitter Hamilton into Turn 1, Rosberg's car slowed through Turn 3, somehow in the wrong mode. Hamilton closed in on Rosberg so quickly that once the Brit ducked inside for the pass, he couldn't back out. Rosberg, however, closed the door so suddenly that Hamilton had no choice but to drive onto the grass. When Hamilton spun, he collected Rosberg and both Mercedes' ended up in the gravel trap. The stewards deemed it a racing incident. The crash put Red Bull teammates Daniel Ricciardo and Max Verstappen in the lead, followed by Toro Rosso driver Carlos Sainz and the Ferrari duo of Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen. Both Ferraris cleared Sainz by Lap 10, leaving 56 laps for them to haul in the Red Bulls. Ferrari loosely followed Red Bull's pit strategies. Ricciardo pitted on Laps 11 and 28, Vettel pitted on Laps 15 and 37. Verstappen pitted on Laps 12 and 35, Raikkonen pitted on Laps 13 and 36. Pirelli predicted a three-stop race as the fastest and that the medium tire could only go about 23 laps. Verstappen and Raikkonen didn't get those memos. So while Ricciardo and Vettel came in for third stops the Dutchman and the Finn stayed out, with Verstappen ahead of Raikkonen at the front of the race as of Lap 43. That's when Verstappen – 18 years and 227 days old – proved how good a driver he is, lapping perfectly as second-place Raikkonen closed the gap to a little more than half a second. The Finn still couldn't get past the Dutchman down the pit straight even with the help of DRS, nor under braking at the only real passing opportunity into Turn 1. At the end of Lap 66 Verstappen crossed the line ahead of Raikkonen, a victorious end to Verstappen's first race weekend after being promoted to Red Bull. Further back, Vettel and Ricciardo fought for scraps, the German staying ahead to finish third.

More than half of new McLarens will be hybrids by 2022

McLaren has an ambitious growth plan. After building just 1,654 cars in 2015, CEO Mike Flewitt expects the Woking, UK,-based company to churn out 3,000 units in 2016, but doubling production is only the start. Flewitt predicts that figure will swell to 4,500 to 5,000 annually, which "is about capacity," for the company's production facility, he told Automotive News Europe. The increase in production is key to a revenue-driven research-and-development effort that will allow the company to create 15 new products and introduce "a completely new powertrain architecture ... specifically designed for a hybridized application," Flewitt said. "In the latter part of this business plan to 2022, more than half our cars will be hybrids," Flewitt told ANE. "This second powertrain will run in parallel to the eight cylinder we have today and will have hybrid technology integrated into it from day one." This new model would arrive near the end of the decade, Flewitt said, but unlike the company's current and only hybrid, the P1, it won't be a plug-in hybrid. Related Video:

McLaren uses 20-year-old laptops on its first supercar

You've no doubt heard of organizations clinging to ancient technology to keep their businesses running, but probably nothing like this. A Jalopnik tour has shown that McLaren relies on a roughly 20-year-old laptop, a variant of Compaq's LTE 5280, to maintain its classic F1 supercar. Simply put, the automaker made the mistake of chaining itself to very specific technology: it needs a custom card in the computer to interface with the F1 and find out what's wrong. That's crucial to buyers who may have spent millions and would rather not see their vehicular pride and joy become a giant paperweight. The good news is that McLaren won't have to search auction sites and garage sales for decades-old tech. It's working on an updated interface that will work with PCs released this century, so you should see F1s on the roads for years to come. Let's just hope that the company's newer rides are a little more future-proof – you don't want a beast like the P1 to have a limited shelf life because of its diagnostic tools. Related Video: This article by Jon Fingas originally ran on Engadget, the definitive guide to this connected life. Image Credit: © DBURKE / Alamy Auto News Weird Car News McLaren Auto Repair Maintenance Technology Coupe Performance Supercars F1 supercar transportation gear vehicle laptop

Forza Motorsport 6's new drivable Hot Wheels cars are the best

Each month, Turn 10 Studios releases a new car pack for the latest installment of its Forza Motorsport video game. Sometimes that means less-than-exciting stuff coming to our Xbox Ones – BMW X6M, bleh – but this time our inner seven-year-old is beyond ecstatic. Two of the seven cars are based on actual Hot Wheels models. And. They're. Awesome. First we have the 2011 Hot Wheels Bone Shaker. Yes, there are flames on the side. And yes, there's a giant skull where the grille should be. This one came from the imagination of "Mr. Hot Wheels" Larry Wood, whose design was so popular it inspired an actual real-world creation. Like all good things in this world, it's powered by a small-block Chevy V8. Oh, and it has no roof. This will be a popular one among gamers. The other digitized Hot Wheels creation is a 2005 Ford Mustang. A modest vehicle, sure, but the toy designers have festooned this pony car with a wild paint scheme and the body mods to emphasize it. Originally developed to celebrate the 'Stang's 50th birthday, this Hot Wheels car trades Americana for wild Japanese style. There's just one functioning life-size version of this car in existence as well, but if you look hard, you might be able to find one of the 1:64 scale models that inspired it. Other highlights from this month's car pack include the latest Ford Focus RS – finally time to replace that NASCAR-V8-powered, all-wheel-drive 2009 Focus RS – the 2015 McLaren P1 GTR, the 2016 Chevrolet Camaro SS, the aforementioned X6M, and Alain Prost's 1990 Ferrari 641 F1 car. The Hot Wheels Car Pack is available for download today. Related Video: Featured Gallery Forza Motorsport 6: Hot Wheels Car Pack News Source: Turn 10 Studios via YouTube Toys/Games BMW Chevrolet Ferrari Ford McLaren Racing Vehicles Performance video games Hot Wheels forza motorsport chevy camaro ss forza motorsport 6

F1 Race recap: 2016 Russian Grand Prix same as it ever was

The three-year-old Sochi Autodrom that hosts the Russian Grand Prix combines beautiful scenery with a hallmark turn 3, a tricky turn 13, and two long DRS zones. So far, however, those haven't added up to exciting races after the first lap. Despite an in-race issue with his car's MGU-K, Mercedes-AMG Petronas driver Nico Rosberg aced the weekend with his first career grand slam: pole position, fastest lap of the race, leading every lap, and victory. Behind him, not much happened on the leaderboard after an incident-filled opening lap. The drama started at turns 2 and 3. Ferrari driver Sebastian Vettel lined up in seventh on the grid because of a five-place gearbox penalty, Red Bull's Daniil Kvyat sat next to him in eighth. Kvyat hit the back of Vettel's Ferrari in the braking zone for Turn 2, shoving Vettel into Daniel Ricciardo – Kvyat's teammate. Kyvat then clobbered the back of Vettel's car at the entry to Turn 3, spinning the German into the wall and out of the race. Kvyat probably regrets saying before the race that he would show Vettel "no mercy" on the first lap. At the back of the grid at Turn 2, Haas F1's Esteban Gutierrez hit Force India's Nico Hulkenberg and Manor's Rio Haryanto. Gutierrez continued, both the Force India and the Manor retired. A brief Virtual Safety Car period ensued, then the actual Safety Car emerged for three laps while marshals cleaned up the track. Mercedes-AMG Petronas driver Nico Rosberg nailed the restart and took off for the rest of the race. Teammate Lewis Hamilton battled his own gremlins all weekend but still finished second, 25 seconds behind Rosberg. During the final qualifying session on Saturday Hamilton's car suffered the same MGU-H failure as in China two weeks ago. The problem relegated him to tenth on the grid. In the race, Hamilton fought his way to second place by Lap 19 out of 53 laps and began closing the 13-second gap to Rosberg. On Lap 37, the gap now under eight seconds, Mercedes told Hamilton his car had a water pressure issue. The malfunction forced the Briton to manage his race and settle for second. Afterward, Hamilton said he was certain he could have won if not for the malfunction. The rest of the top ten barely changed throughout the contest. The first five positions on Lap 21 crossed the finish line in that order 32 laps later. Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen took the final podium position ahead of the Williams duo of Valtteri Bottas and Felipe Massa.

Meet the carbon-fiber F1 racer that started it all

We take it for granted that Formula One racing cars are made from carbon fiber. But that wasn't always the case, of course. And as with any revolution, this one had to start somewhere. Enter the McLaren MP4/1. It was the very first F1 car built around a carbon-fiber monocoque, introduced at a time when every other team was still using aluminum. McLaren introduced the original MP4 after merging (at Marlboro's behest) with the Project 4 team, bringing its chief Ron Dennis on board to call the shots. The design made its debut in 1981, winning the British Grand Prix at Silverstone that year and serving as the basis for the team's design for the next three years. Niki Lauda won two grands prix behind the wheel of the subsequent MP4B. But more importantly, the carbon-fiber MP4 changed the face not only of racing, but of supercar design to follow. Little wonder then that McLaren hasn't made a race or road car since that hasn't been based around a carbon monocoque chassis, from the prototypical MP4/1 to today's MP4-31, and from the legendary McLaren F1 road car to the latest 570S. But don't take our word for it; hear the story direct from the car's designer John Bernard in this latest video direct from Woking. Related Video: