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McLaren F1 chassis 063 restored by MSO is a beauty in silver

McLaren Special Operations announced its F1 Certified program one year ago at the Hampton Court Concours of Elegance in England with an F1 GTR race car restored to as-new condition. The skunkworks division must have been working on its next beauty at the same time, F1 road car chassis 063 built in 1994, as MSO is ready to show the second fully restored chassis after 18 months and nearly 3,000 hours of work.  After stripping the drivetrain and body of 063, MSO stitched up the interior to original spec. That meant sourcing ten suitable hides, preparing them as semi-aniline and dying them Woking Grey. The three seats are sewn up in matching Woking Grey, the driver's seat set off by a red, perforated Alcantara center panel. More Woking Grey leather goes on the dashboard and as piping for the Woking Gray floor mats over the same-colored carpeting. The steering wheel is new-old stock, pulled from a container of original F1 parts McLaren has kept in storage for decades. Technicians rebuilt the 6.1-liter BMW-sourced V12, then dyno tested it to ensure the original output of 618 horsepower and 479 pound-feet of torque. The Bilstein dampers were returned to the manufacturer for as-new refurbishment, as were the driveshafts and hubs. Then came reinstalling the body panels, repainted over the course of almost 900 hours in the original Magnesium Silver hue. A final bout of road and track testing verified chassis 063 was ready to be returned to its owner, along with a Certificate of Authenticity, an illustrated book documenting the history of the car, and a laser-scanned 3D model of the F1.  Any other owners of the 106 F1s built between 1993 and 1998 — 64 standard road cars and 28 GTR racers — are welcome to avail themselves of the MSO service. For the second year running, MSO will display its work at the Hampton Court Concours from September 6-8.

2016 British Grand Prix kept mostly calm and carried on

Three bursts of chaos decided the course of the British Grand Prix. The first was a literal cloudburst a dozen minutes before the race, which poured water on the Silverstone Circuit while drivers sat on the grid. Six minutes before the lights-out, the race director decided to start the race behind the Safety Car. The field loped around the wet track for five laps. When the Safety Car pulled off, the three leaders – Mercedes-AMG Petronas' Lewis Hamilton, followed by teammate Nico Rosberg and Red Bull's Max Verstappen – stayed out. Behind them, the second chaotic moment occurred: a big group of drivers made pit stops for intermediate tires. When Manor's Pascal Wehrlein spun at Turn 1 on Lap 7, officials issued a Virtual Safety Car. With the rest of the field slowed down, the three leaders ducked into the pits on Lap 8 for intermediates. The fortuitous timing meant all three drivers rejoined the track in their original positions. By Lap 9, with racing resumed, Hamilton had a 4.9-second lead on Rosberg. From that point, even as the track dried, no one bothered Hamilton during what one commentator called "a measured drive." The Brit won his home grand prix, taking the checkered flag seven seconds ahead of Rosberg. Rosberg had to earn second place on track. The German's car didn't respond well to the intermediate tires, so Verstappen excecuted an outstanding pass on Rosberg on the outside through Chapel on Lap 16. After everyone switched to slicks, Rosberg's Mercedes reclaimed its mojo and the German hunted Verstappen down, passing the Dutchman on Lap 38. The final touch of chaos happened when Rosberg's gearbox threw a tantrum on Lap 47 of the 52-lap race. Rosberg radioed his engineer, "Gearbox problem!" His engineer replied, "Affirm. Chassis default zero one. Avoid seventh gear, Nico." The race stewards allowed the engineer's first two statements, but stewards said the instruction about seventh gear contravened the rule that "the driver must drive the car alone and unaided." After the race, officials added ten seconds to Rosberg's time, demoting him to third behind Verstappen. Rosberg's is the first penalty arising from radio communication restrictions. Unsurprisingly, Mercedes will appeal. At this year's Baku race the radio controversy stemmed from engineers refusing to tell drivers what to do. Now we know what happens when the pit wall gets loose lips.

Ron Dennis vacates McLaren F1's CEO position after 35 years

McLaren's Ron Dennis, one of the biggest names in F1 history, is stepping down from his CEO position after 35 years. Dennis was told on Tuesday he must give up his position as McLaren's chairman and chief executive, reports the BBC. Dennis, who holds a 25-percent stake in McLaren, attempted to contest the shareholders' decision to put him on so-called "gardening leave" redundancy. Reports say McLaren's other owners, TAG Group CEO Mansour Ojjeh and the Bahrain-based investment fund Mumtalakat, ousted him due to being at odds with Dennis' management style. Ojjeh holds another 25-percent stake in McLaren, and Mumtalakat holds the remaining 50 percent. According to Dennis, the rest of the management team warned Ojjeh about the possible consequences of removing him from McLaren. As Dennis says, "My management style is the same as it has always been and is one that has enabled McLaren to become an automotive and technology group that has won 20 Formula 1 World Championships and grown into an GBP850m-a-year business." Due to differences in vision regarding McLaren's future, there was no other option for Dennis than to leave the company. Dennis will still retain his 25-percent stake in the company and remain on the boards of both McLaren Technology Group and McLaren Automotive. Dennis states he plans to launch a new technology investment fund as soon as his contractual commitments expire; he also pledges to "use his McLaren board seat to protect the interest of the business and its 3,500 employees." McLaren has failed to win a F1 title after Lewis Hamilton's drivers' championship eight years ago and the latest constructors' title was won in 1998, 18 years ago.Related Video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. News Source: BBC SportImage Credit: Mark Thompson via Getty Images Hirings/Firings/Layoffs Motorsports McLaren