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Race recap: 2016 Australian F1 Grand Prix a rowdy start to season

The three brief Formula 1 tests ahead of the current season belied how much had gone on since the last race in November: Infiniti subbed out for Tag Heuer, Renault is back, the all new Haas F1 team, a revamped Manor, three brand new drivers and two returning drivers, a raft of regulation changes among the newly tilled soil. The four engine manufacturers spent a combined 67 tokens among the 138 in the kitty, Renault using just seven of their 32. The only conclusive proof to come from the annual intermission was the otherworldly capability of Mercedes-AMG Petronas. The Silver Arrows didn't even try the super- and ultra-soft tires, focusing on reliability instead of speed. The result? They ran more than 19 race distances, obliterating the lap totals of every other team. There are certainly a few people who enjoyed the complicated new rolling-elimination qualifying format fast-tracked to approval just a few weeks ago. They were wildly outnumbered by those who thought it was awful, including the same team heads who voted for it. We'd probably have to go back to the debacle at the 2005 Indianapolis Grand Prix for an equivalent fiasco when Michelin pulled its teams over safety fears, leaving six cars out of 20 to qualify. In Australia, within 24 hours of the conclusion of qualifying, the new format had itself been eliminated. Nevertheless, qualifying also taught us what didn't happen over the winter: any other team progressing enough to outduel Mercedes. After admitting that he dropped off after winning the championship last year, then getting questioned in the press for some dubious off-season activities, Lewis Hamilton proved he can still turn it on when he wants to. The Brit smoked the Albert Park track in 1:23.837, more than three-tenths of a second ahead of teammate Nico Rosberg in second place. Ferrari did make strides during the off-season, but only enough to keep the same gap it had to Mercedes last year: Sebastian Vettel lined up third, a half-second behind Rosberg, teammate Kimi Raikkonen another four-tenths back in fourth place. Max Verstappen said Toro Rosso is the best of the rest, the Dutchman taking fifth place in front of Felipe Massa for Williams in sixth and Toro Rosso teammate Carlos Sainz in sixth. Daniel Ricciardo – who wasn't smiling after qualifying – kept Red Bull and its new "Tag Heuer" engines in the conversation with eighth on the grid.

Brabus takes Mercedes-Maybach even further

Hard as it may be to imagine for most, even the flagship Mercedes-Maybach S600 won't be enough for some. And those individuals can now turn to Brabus to customize their limousines even further. The latest tuning package includes an array of enhancements, starting with the engine. That's where Brabus has installed all the upgrades from the Brabus Rocket 900, boring the 6.0-liter twin-turbo V12 out to 6.3 liters, and producing a massive 887 horsepower and 1,106 pound-feet of torque. That'll propel the limo up to an Autobahn-crunching top speed quoted at 217 miles per hour, reaching 62 in just 3.7 seconds. Buyers going for the less potent Maybach S500 offered in certain markets can also opt for the Brabus B50-540 performance kit, which offers 83 extra hp and a further 88 lb-ft of torque. Brabus has also fitted a choice of 21-inch wheels, retuned suspension dropped by an inch, a full aero kit, and new radiator grille. And as sumptuous as it is already, the tuner is also offering upgrades to the interior with special leather and Alcantara upholstery, wood and carbon-fiber trim, and its full iBusiness suite. All of which promises to make the flagship Mercedes even more expensive, of course, but if there was ever an example of "if you have to ask, you can't afford it," surely the Maybach is it. BRABUS refines the new Mercedes-Maybach 662 kW / 900 HP, 1,500 Nm, top speed 350 km/h plus, high-tech forged wheels, sporty-elegant design and even more luxurious BRABUS fine leather interiors The new Mercedes-Maybach represents the absolute pinnacle of state-of-the-art automotive engineering. Nonetheless, even this luxury sedan offers room for individual refinement, which BRABUS (Brabus-Allee, D-46240 Bottrop, phone + 49 / (0) 2041 / 777-0, fax + 49 / (0) 2041 / 777 111, internet www.brabus.com) realizes with a select team of the best engineers, designers, technicians and master craftsmen. The BRABUS ROCKET 900 6.3 V12 twin-turbo increased-displacement engine provides the Mercedes-Maybach S 600 with an enormous rated power output of 662 kW / 900 HP (887 bhp) and a peak torque of 1,500 Nm (1,106 lb-ft). Top speed is in excess of 350 km/h (217 mph). To match the extreme performance of the luxury liner, the appearance of the four-seat car receives some sporty-elegant emphasis with BRABUS aerodynamic-enhancement components and BRABUS Monoblock "PLATINUM EDITION" 21-inch forged wheels. Another BRABUS domain is exclusive interior design.

New details emerge on forthcoming Mercedes-Benz SLC

Last we heard, the Mercedes-Benz SLC had been put on indefinite hold, but now Car Magazine is reporting that the Porsche 911-fighting "Baby SLS" coupe could be on sale by 2015. Riding on a modified SLS AMG chassis, the smaller and lighter SLC could be priced in the sub-$100,000 price bracket.
We'd already heard that the new car would feature conventional doors (instead of SLS-like gullwing doors), but this report focuses on some of the possible powertrains Mercedes-Benz is likely to use. At launch, the SLC could offer a pair of V8-powered models - a 485-horsepower SLC and a 585-hp SLC S - both being powered by a 4.0-liter twin-turbo V8. About a year after launch, a new V6 model could emerge giving the SLC an estimated 333 horsepower and its lowest price point.
It also sounds like the car's name hasn't been completely finalized as some people within Mercedes are favoring a return of the SLR name.