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2016 Japanese Grand Prix | Hamilton faces the beginning of the end

We're told the Japanese mamushi viper haunts the undergrowth around Suzuka. If the pit viper attended the weekend's Japanese Grand Prix, it avoided human visitors but it put a nasty bite on Lewis Hamilton's championship hopes. The Briton, lined up second on the grid next to Mercedes-AMG Petronas teammate Nico Rosberg, flubbed his start. By the end of Turn 1 Hamilton was in eighth. Hamilton didn't suffer alone. The beginning of the race was a melee; many of the leaders got caught out either by the damp track or by having to swerve around slow starters. Only Mercedes' Nico Rosberg and Red Bull's Max Verstappen took off clean. The German rolled up another lights-to-flag victory despite the pass-happy race happening behind him. Rosberg was as unbothered by the Dutchman in second place as he was by the official Formula 1 camera feed. Verstappen didn't have much work to do until the final ten laps of the race. Thanks to the Mercedes team's strategy – or Ferrari waiting too long to pit – Hamilton got up to third on Lap 36 of 53. Unable to make a DRS-enabled pass on Verstappen down the front straight toward the end of the race, the Mercedes driver took a creative line through Spoon corner. Closing in down the back straight, Hamilton jinked inside to try a pass through the final chicane. Verstappen moved over in the braking zone while Hamilton was still behind him, closing the door on the move. Hamilton protested over his team radio, but seemed resigned to a third place finish after the incident – he didn't try any more passes in the final laps. The Ferrari duo of Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen crossed the line fourth and fifth, respectively, in recovery drives after penalties. The scuderia tried an aggressive final stint after Hamilton successfully undercut Vettel in the pits. Ferrari put Vettel on the soft-compound Pirellis so he could hunt the Mercedes, but after a few laps of close pursuit the tires gave up and Vettel fell back. Daniel Ricciardo couldn't get comfortable in his Red Bull the entire weekend. The Aussie finished where he started, in sixth place. Sergio Perez and Nico Hulkenberg followed the Red Bull home in two-up formation for Force India, Williams doing the same in the final two points-paying positions with Felipe Massa and Valtteri Bottas. Rosberg's 23rd career victory – his ninth of the season and first ever in Japan – puts him 33 points ahead of Hamilton in the Driver's Championship with four races left.

Ferrari 400 Superamerica Aerodinamico fetches record $4.4M

RM Sotheby's moved an impressive $38.6 million in vintage metal at Amelia Island this year. And the top lot was the sleek classic you see here. It's a 1962 Ferrari 400 Superamerica LWB Coupe Aerodinamico, and its $4.4 million final tally is a record for its type. That's well past what it was estimated to sell for, with pre-sale expectations ranging from $2.7-3.3 million. Sports Car Market records that the previous high-water mark stood only a few hundred grand less at $4.07 million, achieved by a similar example sold by Gooding & Company last January. This particular example was the show car at the 1962 Turin Auto Show and has belonged to Erwin Goldschmidt and his family for the past four decades. As much as it sold for, of course, the Superamerica wasn't the only lot on the docket at RM Sotheby's Amelia Island sale. Other top sellers included a 1984 Ferrari 288 GTO and '68 330 GTS that sold for $2.6 and $2.2 million, respectively, a Pagani Huayra that topped $2 million, and a Bentley R-Type Continental Fastback that went for a high bid of $1.8 million. There was even a highly sought-after 1985 Ford RS200 Evolution that found a new home for $522,500 and a 2003 Aston Martin DB AR1 that went for $363,000. Check out the action in the high-resolution image gallery above, the videos below, and the press release at bottom for the full recap. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. Related Video: BEST-OF-CATEGORY AUTOMOBILES DRIVE RM SOTHEBY'S $38.6 MILLION AMELIA ISLAND CONCOURS D'ELEGANCE SALE · RM Sotheby's generates $38.6 million in sales with 89 percent of all lots sold at its 18th anniversary Amelia Island, Florida sale · Top seller: 1962 Ferrari 400 Superamerica LWB Coupe Aerodinamico surpasses estimate at $4,400,000 to set new auction record · Bidders from 20 countries spur lively bidding contests, propelling numerous lots to above-estimate prices · Complete results from RM Amelia Island available online at www.rmsothebys.com · RM Sotheby's continues its global calendar of events in Monaco, May 14, during the Grand Prix Historique de Monaco weekend AMELIA ISLAND, Florida (13 March, 2016) – RM Sotheby's, the official auction house of the Amelia Island Concours d'Elegance, celebrated its 18th anniversary sale in Amelia Island yesterday (March 12) with $38,685,100* in sales and 89 percent of all lots sold.

Are supercars becoming less special?

There's little doubt that we are currently enjoying the golden age of automotive performance. Dozens of different models on sale today make over 500 horsepower, and seven boast output in excess of 700 hp. Not long ago, that kind of capability was exclusive to supercars – vehicles whose rarity, performance focus, and requisite expense made them aspirational objects of desire to us mortals. But more than that, supercars have historically offered a unique driving experience, one which was bespoke to a particular model and could not be replicated elsewhere. But in recent years, even the low-volume players have been forced to find the efficiencies and economies of scale that formerly hadn't been a concern for them, and in turn the concept of the supercar as a unique entity unto itself is fading fast. The blame doesn't fall on one particular manufacturer nor a specific production technique. Instead, it's a confluence of different factors that are chipping away at the distinction of these vehicles. It's not all bad news – Lamborghini's platform sharing with Audi for the Gallardo and the R8 yielded a raging bull that was more reliable and easier to live with on a day-to-day basis, and as a result it went on to become the best-selling Lambo in the company's history. But it also came at the cost of some of the Italian's exclusivity when eerily familiar sights and sounds suddenly became available wearing an Audi badge. Even low-volume players have been forced to find economies of scale. Much of this comes out of necessity, of course. Aston Martin's recent deal with Mercedes-AMG points toward German hardware going under the hood and into the cabin of the upcoming DB11, and it's safe to assume that this was not a decision made lightly by the Brits, as the brand has built a reputation for the bespoke craftsmanship of its vehicles. There's little doubt that the DB11 will be a fine automobile, but the move does jeopardize some of the characteristic "specialness" that Astons are known for. Yet the world is certainly better off with new Aston Martins spliced with DNA from Mercedes-AMG rather than no new Astons at all, and the costs of developing cutting-edge drivetrains and user interfaces is a burden that's becoming increasingly difficult for smaller manufacturers to bear. Even Ferrari is poised to make some dramatic changes in the way it designs cars.