Ferrari: 308 Base Coupe 2-door on 2040-cars

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2015 Russian Grand Prix was full of crashes and DNFs

Mercedes-AMG Petronas non-executive chairman Niki Lauda said of Lewis Hamilton's race-day domination this year, "The guy is driving like a god." Qualifying is another story, though – teammate Nico Rosberg taking pole proved that sometimes deities have to settle for second on the grid. Williams driver Valtteri Bottas surprised himself and his team with third place, half a second behind Hamilton but 0.05 sec ahead of the first Ferrari driven by Sebastian Vettel, while a mistake on Kimi Raikkonen's final flying lap left him in fifth, 0.4 sec behind Vettel. The Sahara Force India team had a good showing, with Nico Hulkenberg qualifying sixth just ahead of teammate Sergio Perez in seventh. It's the first time they've had both drivers in the top ten on the grid since the 2014 British Grand Prix. Romain Grosjean is leaving the stormy waters of Lotus at the end of the year for the unknown waters of Haas F1, but he made the shoestring operation look really good before Renault takes over by taking eighth place on the grid. Max Verstappen qualified well again with ninth in the Toro Rosso, ahead of the first Infiniti Red Bull Racing of Daniel Ricciardo in tenth. Red Bull driver Daniil Kvyat lined up eleventh for his home grand prix, certainly a disappointment after locking up fifth place on the grid last year in a Toro Rosso. When Pirelli brought soft and supersoft compounds to Sochi, the company said it hoped this year's race would be better than last year's. We're sure this first-lap mishap isn't what they meant. Rosberg and Hamilton dragged it down to Turn 1, with Rosberg getting the inside line. Hamilton had to go wide at Turn 2 as Rosberg fought to hold position, but they left a mess in their wake: Hulkenberg spun going into Turn 2 and stopped in the middle of the track, and Marcus Ericsson in the Sauber – who'd started 16th – collided with him. Both cars were out of the race immediately, and the Safety Car came in. The Safety Car returned to the pits on Lap 3 Rosberg led the field, but just two laps later the German complained of a sticking throttle pedal. Two laps later he had to retire, unable to drive the car properly. That put Hamilton at the front, and we've seen that race a bunch of times before. He built a double-digit lead and never lost it.

Watch 40 Ferrari F12s hit the Nurburgring at once

Of all the cars we'd love to drive around the Nurburgring, the Ferrari F12 Berlinetta ranks pretty high. It's got mountains of power sent from a smooth V12 at the front to a set of fat tires at the back, near-perfect handling balance, anchor-like brakes... we could go on and on, but the point is that it'd be a hoot to drive on any track, let alone the vaunted Nordschleife. As you can see from this video, the boys from Maranello evidently agree. This latest owners' meeting attracted 40 F12s (and at least one California T) to the Green Hell to see how their machinery could handle one of (if not the) most challenging racing circuits in the world. Ferrari's chief test driver Raffaele de Simone was on hand to drive some hot laps, and the owners had the chance to push their F12s to near their limits. The official video footage is a little overproduced, in typical style, and could do with a little less dramatic music and a little more of the unbridled engine and exhaust sounds for which Ferraris are known. But as far as the fantasy of gaining admission to such an elite cadre of supercar owners, this is about as close as most of us are likely to get. Related Video:

Ferrari FF spotted testing, may get new turbo engine

With the introduction of the turbocharged Ferrari 488 GTB at the upcoming Geneva Motor Show, the FF is about to be the oldest model in the Ferrari lineup. The Prancing Horse doesn't appear to want the 2+2 shooting brake getting too much longer in the tooth, though, if this prototype is any indication. This one wears all of its camouflage around the lower grille and hood, and the tape makes it look like Ferrari is trying to direct air to some new ducting under its bodywork. Beyond just some updated styling, these changes suggest something different is going on under the hood. One possibility stems from an earlier rumor that Ferrari's V12 models could get hybrids to be more efficient and boost power. Alternatively, other rumors suggest that the FF might get the 3.9-liter turbocharged V8 from the California T and 488 GTB to create a new, entry-level model. Ferrari has already been caught on video lapping an FF around the Fiorano test track. It looked relatively normal except for some odd exhausts poking out the rear, which weren't on display for this test car. In any case, one thing is certain: The Prancing Horse definitely has something in the works for its all-wheel drive wagon.