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Rain prolongs the Championship battle | 2016 Brazilian Grand Prix recap

Rain and an old-school circuit are the antidotes to Formula 1's constricting technical regulations and Tilke tracks. At Brazil's Autodromo Jose Carlos Pace – otherwise known as Interlagos – rain Saturday night and on race day washed away everyone's careful plans, except for those of the man at the front of the pack. Lewis Hamilton put his Mercedes-AMG Petronas ahead of the field throughout the weekend. On Sunday, a storm-delayed start behind the Safety Car assured Hamilton of a clean path to the lead and a clear track. The Briton didn't waste it, pulling out a gap on teammate Nico Rosberg behind, and Rosberg appeared to have no interest in going hard after Hamilton. Safety Cars and red flags kept resetting the gap to zero, though. After the Mercedes-AMG GT S led the first seven laps, it emerged again on Lap 13 for another six laps when Marcus Ericsson crashed his Sauber. Seconds after racing resumed, Kimi Raikkonen aquaplaned his Ferrari into the wall on the front straight. That caused the first red flag, leading to another eight-lap Safety Car interval, then a second red flag stoppage due to conditions on Lap 28, then three more Safety Car laps, and then, finally, racing again. Hamilton never surrendered his lead. The Briton changed tires once during a stoppage, and drove fast enough to cover the full race distance despite the intermissions. Afterward, he said "it was a very easy race." Rosberg had it harder, defending against the preternatural Max Verstappen in third. Barring misfortune it's already clear the Red Bull pilot has at least one Driver's Championship in his career future. In Brazil the young Dutchman drove like he's worthy of the hardware right now. After Verstappen passed Rosberg for second on Lap 34, the Red Bull driver pitted for intermediate tires on Lap 44 – a huge gamble in the conditions – coming back out in fifth. That tire wager failed, giving Rosberg a safe position in second when Verstappen had to pit for extreme wets on Lap 54 of 71. The teenager re-emerged in 16th. Over the race's final 17 laps Verstappen passed 13 drivers at six different places on track. He ran it close-but-clean a couple of times, especially when getting around Sebastian Vettel and Sergio Perez, but he was simply untouchable. Not only did the Dutchman score an amazing third place, he put in what could be the drive of the season.

Mercedes-Maybach G650 Landaulet is the ultimate safari machine

Update: A Mercedes representative has informed us that the Mercedes-Maybach G650 Landaulet will not be available in the United States. The text has been updated to reflect this. Vehicles such as the Mercedes-Benz G63 AMG 6x6 and G500 4x42 are all well and good, but they have one key issue: They simply aren't extravagant enough. Now we know that sounds insane because one of those vehicles has six driven wheels and the other is available in tennis-ball green. But they must not be decadent enough because Mercedes went a step further with the new Mercedes-Maybach G650 Landaulet. While the most obvious change here is the soft-top, which will make this perfect for the wealthy to view wildlife on private safaris, we should start under the hood. The previous two monster G-Wagens made do with lowly V8s. This one features a twin-turbocharged V12 making 630 horsepower and 738 lb-ft of torque. Like its predecessors, this G650 uses a four-wheel-drive system with front, center, and rear differential locks, and sends power to solid portal axles front and rear. These axles move the differential and drive axles above the wheel centers for additional ground clearance. Inside, the rear passengers will be in the lap of luxury, even while the driver is navigating particularly harsh terrain. The soft top can be electrically raised or lowered, as can a glass partition to the driver's compartment. The two individual rear seats can be fully reclined, and leg rests deploy from below, taking full advantage of the truck's long wheelbase. This would likely make for an amazing vehicle for stargazing. The passengers also have access to folding tables, 10-inch LCD displays, and heated, cooled, and illuminated cup holders. Only 99 of these G650s will be built. Mercedes will show the SUV at this year's Geneva show, and it will hit the market this fall. Mercedes hasn't announced pricing, but expect it to be exorbitant. Not that matters for American buyers, since a Mercedes representative told us it won't be offered in the States. For buyers in countries where the G650 will be available, they will have the option of four interior color schemes, three soft-top colors, and four paint hues. Related Video:

Mercedes AMG and Cigarette Racing debut 2,220-HP electric motor boat

Take the Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG E-Cell, stretch it and take off the wheels then make it float and you've basically got the just-unveiled Cigarette AMG Electric Drive Concept. Powered by an all-electric powertrain that offers 2,200 horsepower and 2,213 pound-feet of torque (and uses "numerous components" taken from the not-quite-as-yellow SLS AMG Coupé Electric Drive), the sleek concept is being called the "world's most powerful electric drive powerboat." What that means is a top speed of over 100 miles per hour from four 60-kWh lithium-ion batteries and two banks of six liquid-cooled, permanent-magnet synchronous electric motors. And the 240 kWh of total energy should provide plenty of juice out on the water.
Launched (but not literally) at the Miami International Boat Show today, the Cigarette AMG Electric Drive Concept is the result of a partnership between Mercedes-AMG and Cigarette Racing. The boat is 38 feet long (much longer than the 15-foot SLS) and is plastered with AMG branding on the sides and top of the bow above the matte chrome yellow paint (officially called AMG Electricbeam mango). Two 220-kW chargers can refill the batteries, dockside, in about seven hours.
The idea of a powerful electric boat is nothing new (Henrik Fisker talked about a plug-in hybrid watercraft late last year), but this is the first time we've seen Mercedes put its EV technology on the water. Anyone who's afraid of driving an EV in the rain should take note. Check out the complete press release below.