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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.

McLaren gunning for Ferrari 458 Speciale with hardcore 12C

Since the launch of the MP4-12C back in 2011, McLaren has rolled out endless variations on the theme. The original coupe was followed by the 12C Spider, the GT3 racing version, the Can-Am hardcore track toy (pictured above), the GT Sprint mild track version and more special editions than we could count. But Woking isn't done yet. Not by a long shot. The latest word coming in from the UK has it that McLaren is preparing an even more focused version of the 12C to take on the Ferrari 458 Speciale. That should mean some trimming of the fat and upgrading of equipment to raise that all-important power-to-weight ratio. According to Autocar, the House that Bruce Built plans to boost the 3.8-liter twin-turbo V8 from its current 616 horsepower to around 650 – which shouldn't be too difficult since the same engine has already been optimized to produce 727 hp in the McLaren P1, even before the hybrid boost is taken into account. Standard carbon-ceramic brakes are expected to help keep the extra power in check, while some aerodynamic enhancements are said to be in the mix as well. The hardcore 12C is also tipped to get a new front-end treatment reminiscent of the P1 that's then slated to make the transition to other versions of the 12C to give the derivatively-styled supercar more personality and family resemblance. Featured Gallery McLaren MP4-12C Can-Am Edition View 10 Photos News Source: Autocar McLaren Coupe Performance mclaren mp4-12c mclaren 12c

McLaren F1 sells for $15.62 million at Bonhams auction

CARMEL-BY-THE-SEA, Calif. – The first McLaren F1 imported to the United States sold for an eye-popping $15.62 million Friday at the Bonhams auction here. Offered by its original owner, the legendary supercar is in impeccable condition and has all of its service records, including one from just last month. The F1 gaveled for $14.2 million and the price included a 10-percent buyer's fee. The sale was held at the Quail Lodge as part of vintage car week in the run-up to the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance. The car, designated a 1995 model, has a 627-bhp DOHC V12 teamed with a six-speed manual transmission, four-wheel independent suspension and four-wheel drilled and vented disc brakes, according to the Bonhams listing. This car is the 37th F1 produced and still wears its original silver exterior and black/grey leather interior. The unnamed owner bought it new from the factory in Woking, England, in 1996. This F1 has 9,600 miles on its odometer – half of them from a European roadtrip its owner took after buying the car. This F1 was converted to be road legal in the US shortly after purchase, but has been returned to its original form for the auction. All of the conversion pieces, however, were saved. Only seven of the 64 F1s produced were federalized for US roads. Related Video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. Featured Gallery 1995 McLaren F1 at Bonhams Quail Auction View 19 Photos Related Gallery First US-Spec McLaren F1 View 34 Photos Image Credit: Copyright 2017 Drew Phillips / Autoblog.com McLaren Auctions Special and Limited Editions Performance Supercars Pebble Beach bonhams