McLaren P1, page #7

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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 confirms Sport Series Spider for 2017, another bodystyle due [w/poll]

While famous in motorsports and for the F1, McLaren is still building a name for as a major producer of modern supercars. Every year, the company just keeps adding more variants to the lineup, and now we're getting the scoop on some of the coming developments. In a recent latest financial announcement, McLaren tips its hand that two, new bodystyles for the Sports Series models are on the way for 2016 and 2017. Currently comprised of the 570S (pictured above) and 540C coupes, the Sports Series models are meant to challenge rivals like the Mercedes-AMG GT and Audi R8. Adding a convertible to the range isn't really a surprise, but now McLaren is verifying that's the case. "I can tell you that the new bodystyle for 2017 will be a Spider," spokesperson Wayne Bruce confirms to Autoblog. However, McLaren is clear in its announcement: "a second body-style will be introduced in 2016 followed by another in 2017." So what could next year's model be? Rumors suggest that the company might be working on an odd combination of GT and shooting brake for the Sports Series. While it isn't confirmed, leaks claim that the variant has a larger luggage compartment that runs on top of and possibly behind the engine, and this is somehow accessible from the side. Maybe the shape looks better in reality, than the description implies. Of course, that's not the only option. It's not hard to imagine McLaren doing a hardcore version of the 570S, like the relationship between the 675LT and 650S. Although for all we know right now, the company could even have a hyper hatch or tiny pickup to take on Australia's high-performance utes in the works. It's certainly fun to speculate. Let us know what you would like to see in the poll below. NEW MODELS DRIVE McLAREN AUTOMOTIVE TO RECORD RESULTS McLaren Automotive records second consecutive year of profitability just four years after opening its first retailer 2014 sales increased 18 percent over 2013, another year of growth Already a sustainable business investing in its future and people An expanding range of luxury sports cars designed, engineered and made in the UK...and intending to stay that way More than 1,200 people employed, most in the UK, with 50 percent of parts UK sourced, and 92 percent of output exported The incredible story of McLaren Automotive continues with the announcement of a second consecutive year of profitability four years since the company opened its first retailer.

McLaren honors Alain Prost with special P1 at Goodwood

McLaren is speeding off from Woking to Goodwood this year with an array of supercars specially outfitted by McLaren Special Operations. Each pays tribute to a legendary figure from the team's distinguished history. The assortment will include a number of different models from the company's lineup, but the key player featured here is based on the flagship McLaren P1. Done up in a white livery with blue and red details, this particular hybrid hypercar takes a decidedly different approach to the sinister red and black on the last one we saw. It borrows its livery from the iconic helmet design of Alain Prost, the world-famous French driver who won three of his four world championships driving for McLaren. (His fourth and final title was with Williams, in case you were wondering.) The Prost-inspired P1 will be joined by a 675LT that similarly borrows its livery from the Can-Am legend Denny Hulme's helmet design in white with twin black stripes and yellow headlamp lenses. Also on hand will be an orange 650S Spider in tribute to Bruce McLaren himself. The new 570S will be making its dynamic debut at the Festival of Speed, and there'll also be a P1 GTR and 650S Le Mans edition on site. History buffs, however, will likely be more intrigued by the silver F1 GT, one of only three road cars ever made to homologate the F1 GTR Longtail for racing. McLAREN MOMENTS TO HONOUR FAMOUS RACE-WINNERS AT GOODWOOD FESTIVAL OF SPEED - McLaren 'Moments' honour a number of the iconic names to have raced for McLaren over the last 50 years - Comprehensive collection of McLaren models on display, statically and dynamically - Recently announced three tier model range all represented with commissions by McLaren Special Operations - To read more about the McLaren 'Moments' visit: cars.mclaren.com/featured-articles/flat-out-and-fearless.html This weekend's Goodwood Festival of Speed will see a collection of McLaren models, displayed statically at McLaren House, adjacent to the famous Goodwood House, and in the Supercar Paddock prepared by McLaren Special Operations (MSO). The bespoke arm of McLaren Automotive has prepared models from the Sports Series, Super Series and Ultimate Series, the three newly-announced model tiers. Each of these celebrate this year's Festival of Speed 'Flat-out and Fearless' theme, highlighting a milestone or 'moment' from the history of McLaren, and honouring some of the legendary drivers who have driven for the team over the years.

2015 Austrian F1 Grand Prix switches to alternating current

It's called the Red Bull Ring, guests are welcomed by a statue of a leaping bull, and dominating its layout demands powerful cars that can run it hard. Perhaps all that aggression is what led both Mercedes-AMG Petronas cars to run off the track in the final qualifying session on their final hot laps, a little too aggressive on the charge. Lewis Hamilton was first into the gravel at Turn 1 when he lost his car under braking, but he was still fast enough to get pole ahead of teammate Nico Rosberg, who spun at Turn 8. Rosberg started second. Or perhaps it wasn't the red bull but the scarlet horse that caused The Silver Arrows to muck it up: Ferrari driver Sebastian Vettel had Mercedes' attention all weekend, and he'd line up in third just 0.355 off Hamilton's time. Williams truly rediscovered its power, Felipe Massa going fourth fastest, teammate Valtteri Bottas in sixth. Between them was newly-minted Le Mans winner Nico Hulkenberg, yet again – can we say that enough? – pulling the still-not-updated Force India to fifth place on the grid. Max Verstappen led the Renault-powered top-ten duo in his Toro Rosso in seventh, Infiniti Red Bull Racing driver Daniil Kvyat behind him in eighth. Kvyat, however, would start down the order because of a ten-place grid penalty for needing a fifth Renault engine. After that it's back to Mercedes Ferrari power, Felipe Nasr in the Sauber in ninth, Romain Grosjean in with Mercedes power in the Lotus in tenth – but fellow Lotus driver Pastor Maldonado actually started in tenth because of Kvyat's demotion. Before we get to the race, can we take a moment to talk about the shenanigans and gaudy penalties? Kimi Raikkonen waved the Ferrari flag in Canada after a season that's been full of "We didn't get it right this time," and we thought he was back. But no. In Austria the refrain returned, the Finn kicked out of Q1 after another miscommunication with the team – he qualified 18th. If the scenario plays to form, we'll now wait for team boss Mauricio Arrivabene to issue a clarification that suggests Raikkonen missed a step. Daniel Ricciardo parachutes ten spots back for the same reason as his teammate Kvyat, needing a fifth Renault power unit, dropping him to 18th on the grid and forcing him into a five-second time penalty when he comes in to pit.

McLaren's Oliver Turvey to drive in London ePrix

The Formula E grid is set to see at least one more new face before the season is out. Following the recent announcements of Simona de Silvestro and Sakon Yamamoto lining up for the season finale in London, the series has revealed that Oliver Turvey will also be competing in the event. A longtime Formula One test driver for McLaren, Turvey has raced (and won) in a variety of motorsports disciplines, from GP2 to Le Mans (where he took the LMP2 class victory last year). He also won the prestigious McLaren Autosport BRDC Award in 2006. He'll be driving for the NextEV TCR team in the double-header London ePrix at the end of this month alongside current frontrunner Nelson Piquet Jr. Turvey is filling a seat previously occupied this season by Ho-Pin Tung, Antonio Garcia, and Charles Pic. Turvey gets NEXTEV TCR drive China|18 Jun 15 McLaren Formula 1 test driver Oliver Turvey will make his Formula E debut for NEXTEV TCR in the Visa London ePrix double-header on June 27/28. Turvey – a winner of the prestigious McLaren AUTOSPORT BRDC Award – will race alongside championship leader Nelson Piquet Jr as the Brazilian aims to secure the inaugural Formula E title. Although Turvey has tested for McLaren already this season, his last race in a single-seater was in GP2 in 2011. Since then he has raced in GTs, Sportscars and the Japanese Super GT series alongside his F1 testing duties. Turvey, who was backed by the Racing Steps Foundation in his junior career, is the fourth driver to partner Piquet, following on from Ho-Pin Tung, Antonio Garcia and Charles Pic. Related Video: News Source: Formula EImage Credit: McLaren Green Hirings/Firings/Layoffs Motorsports McLaren Formula E

McLaren Special Ops cooks up a devilish P1

When you're paying a million bucks for a supercar, you earn the right to get it just the way you want. And this is how one British customer opted to have his (or hers) spec'd out. Outfitted by McLaren Special Operations, this particular McLaren P1 has been done up in a rather devilish black and red livery reminiscent of the scheme that the company's Formula One team is running on its single-seaters this season. The mostly black bodywork, as you can see, is accented by red nostrils, red fading into black along the fenders and doors, a red-framed roof, red aero, and red-accented black wheels. The theme continues on the inside, with glossy red inserts and contrasting red stitching adorning the black leather and bare carbon-fiber trim. It's certainly not for the faint of heart, but then a 900-horsepower hybrid hypercar seldom is.

Rowan Atkinson sells his McLaren F1 for $12 million

With little over a hundred produced (including prototypes and racers), there aren't a lot of McLaren F1 owners out there. Rowan Atkinson is among the most prominent, but he won't be any longer as reports from the UK reveal that he's sold his F1. The actor best known for his role as Mr. Bean bought his McLaren back in 1997 when it was still new for what was then a princely sum of GBP540,000 (about $830k). He drove it regularly over the nearly two decades since, putting some 41,000 miles on the odometer and crashing it twice – the most recent collision in 2011 cost his insurers a reported $1.4 million to fix. With values for the McLaren F1 skyrocketing, Atkinson put it on the market earlier this year. The consignment was handled by London classic and supercar broker Taylor & Crawley, headed by the same David Clark who sold Atkinson the car when he served as McLaren's sales director. Although the final transaction price has not been disclosed, the original asking price was GBP8 million – equivalent to over $12 million at current exchange rates. The supercar was reportedly purchased by another British enthusiast who intends to drive it as frequently as Atkinson did. Private treaty sales like this (where prices are not generally disclosed) notwithstanding, the Atkinson sale would eclipse the highest price paid to date for the iconic supercar at auction. According to Sports Car Market, the top price paid was at Pebble Beach in 2013, where Gooding & Co sold one for just under $8.5 million. The same event the following year saw one go unsold, despite a high bid of over $10 million. Related Video:

Race Recap: 2015 Canadian F1 Grand Prix is better behind the front

As of Saturday afternoon in Montreal, Canada, it was all about the number four. Lewis Hamilton put his Mercedes-AMG Petronas on pole position for the fourth time at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, and now his tally of pole positions matches his race number: 44. Nico Rosberg lines up beside him, which is the fourth time that particular one-two combo has occurred this season. Ferrari spent three engine development tokens to try and close the gap to Mercedes, Kimi Raikkonen making the most of it with third position on the gird. His teammate Sebastian Vettel got the worst of it, however, when the MGU-K unit failed during Q1, leaving him 160 horsepower down and out at the first hurdle. Valtteri Bottas put a revitalized Williams on the grid at fourth, ahead of a Lotus lockout of the third row with Romain Grosjean leading the way in fifth, Pastor Maldonado just beside. Nico Hulkenberg got the first Sahara Force India into seventh – the team is still waiting on the upgraded B car that should be available for Austria – ahead of Daniil Kvyat in the first Infiniti Red Bull Racing and a "pissed off" Daniel Ricciardo in the second Red Bull. Sergio Perez made it two Force Indias in the top ten, a welcome result from a team performing below expectations of late. When the lights went out, at the very front it was much ado about not that much at all. Hamilton got away clean and stabbed across the track to close the door for Rosberg, giving Raikkonen a chance to take the inside line into Turn 1 in an attempt to clear Rosberg for second place. That didn't happen, leaving the two Mercedes' to run in grid position for the entire race. It wasn't boring – Rosberg stayed close, rubber-banding the time gap to the leader from a little more than one second to just under four seconds, and Montreal is famous for race-rearranging safety cars and on-track incidents. But none of those occurred, so Hamilton crossed the line 2.285 seconds ahead of Rosberg after 70 laps to earn his fourth victory in Canada and the first-ever victory for the Brackley, UK-based Mercedes team. Valtteri Bottas drove his Williams to third position, the first podium place for the team this year and a welcome salve to heal the team's wounds from a poor showing in Monaco. That placing came courtesy of being in the right place at the right time, which was not far behind Raikkonen when the Ferrari driver spun at the hairpin on Lap 28 after his first pit stop.

McLaren won't offer 540C in United States

McLaren launched its new entry-level Sports Series in New York with the 570S, and followed up in Shanghai with the more affordable 540C. However we can now confirm that the 540C won't be offered in the United States. In correspondence with Autoblog (and following rampant speculation circulating the Internet), McLaren spokesman Wayne Bruce confirmed: "Following a series of previews in which interest from American customers has been exclusively in the 570S, we will now concentrate on only this model for the launch of Sports Series in the US to satisfy demand." That means the 570S will remain (for the time being at least) the most affordable model – if a term has ever been more relative – McLaren will offer in the US, priced at $184,900. We can also expect additional versions of the Sports Series to follow, including a roadster and a third bodystyle as well. The cheaper 540C won't be kept out of North America altogether, though: it will be offered in Canada. North of the Border, the 540C is priced at $196,500 Canadian (equivalent to about $158k at current exchange rates), with the 570S going for $219,750 Canadian (~$177k). Related Video:

2015 Monaco F1 Grand Prix race recap [spoilers]

Lewis Hamilton came to Monaco with a new three-year deal with Mercedes-AMG Petronas and a vow to not let anything, including any "mistakes" by teammate Nico Rosberg, stand in the way of his best qualifying effort. Mercedes reportedly made it rain with a 100-million-pound deal, and Hamilton made it rain right back with his first pole position at Monaco. Rosberg did make a mistake but this time it was behind Hamilton, which meant he stuffed-up the qualifying attempts of rival drivers like Sebastian Vettel. So Rosberg starts second, 0.342 behind Hamilton but 0.449 ahead of Vettel in the Ferrari. Daniel Ricciardo thinks he should have been third, but a communication error with his engineers left him in the wrong engine setting for his final hot lap, so by the very first corner he'd lost the time he would have needed to get higher than fourth on the grid. The second Infiniti Red Bull Racing of Daniil Kvyat slots in behind him, ahead of the second Ferrari of Kimi "Not A Very Happy Day" Raikkonen, who just can't get it going lately. Sergio Perez did for the Sahara Force India what the car can't do on its own, which is grab a top-ten qualifying spot. Toro Rosso rookie Carlos Sainz had qualified eighth but missed a call to the weigh bridge, so he's been slapped into the pit lane. Pastor Maldonado in the Lotus inherits his eighth place, ahead of rookie Max Verstappen in the second Toro Rosso, and Jenson Button in the McLaren. Button only got up there because of two penalties: for Sainz, and Romain Grosjean who had qualified 11th but took a penalty for a gearbox change. Want to know how hard it is to do better on race day than in qualifying at Monaco? Even the never-say-die Fernando Alonso said, "Monte Carlo is a train of cars on Sunday, the race finishes on Saturday afternoon." Well obviously, he didn't take Max Verstappen's seek-and-destroy tactics into account. The young Dutchman had made passing look like a real option in Monaco, getting past Maldonado at St. Devote on Lap 7 after a bit of argy-bargy on Lap 6, then taking advantage of blue flags to slink past teammate Carlos Sainz and Williams driver Valtteri Bottas while hiding in Sebastian Vettel's slipstream. He tried the same move on Romain Grosjean on Lap 65, but Grosjean locked him out. Verstappen lined up the Lotus driver over the following laps, then looked like he slipped to the inside at St.