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2015 Chinese Grand Prix shines bright sun on the dark days of racing

Yes, we tuned into the Formula One Grand Prix in Shanghai China to see a race. But we all know we really tuned in to see if Ferrari, or any other team, could make it a competitive race with Mercedes-AMG Petronas. Based on qualifying, things didn't get off the best of starts: Lewis Hamilton made it four-out-of-four at the front, leading all three Free Practice sessions and then taking pole position in his Mercedes. Nico Rosberg is making the most of his time in the simulator, getting closer to Hamilton as the months go by. This time he lined up in second, just 0.042 in arrears. Ferrari did its best to temper expectations after Malaysia. Even though Sebastian Vettel qualified in third, almost a second behind Hamilton, the Scuderia's race pace is still considered a danger. Kimi Raikkonen's final hot lap went sour in Turn 3 and dropped the Finn to sixth place on the grid. In between the Ferraris, Williams is another team desperately working to maintain its advantage, and both of its drivers capitalized on Raikkonen's misfortune. Felipe Massa took fourth, Valtteri Bottas was in fifth. Daniel Ricciardo led the Infiniti Red Bull Racing charge in seventh, ahead of Romain Grosjean in the Lotus earning a spirits-lifting eighth. The two Saubers continue to show how good the Ferrari engine is, with Felipe Nasr taking ninth position and teammate Marcus Ericsson in tenth. Yet when the lights went out, so did the racing, for the most part. At the end of the first lap, because of some excellent moves by Raikkonen on both Williams' and a terrible start by Ricciardo that dropped him to seventeenth, the order was Hamilton, Rosberg, Vettel, Raikkonen, Massa, Bottas, Grosjean, Nasr, Ericsson, and Pastor Maldonado in the Lotus rounding out the top ten. At the end of the race, the only positions that had changed were the final two: Ricciardo had a laps-long battle with Ericsson, passing, getting repassed, then passing again to take ninth for good, with Ericsson finishing tenth. Maldonado suffered the worst in a battle with Jenson Button in the McLaren, when Button misjudged the entry into Turn 1 for a pass and clouted the back of the Lotus. Button was able to finish but Maldonado had to retire. Yes, there were some decent moments in between, like Bottas getting by Massa at the start, then Raikkonen getting past Massa in the first few corners and the Finn's move on Bottas also letting Massa through.

Marchionne: all-electric Ferrari 'an obscene concept'

At the 2016 Geneva Motor Show, Ferrari Chairman Sergio Marchionne told reporters that Ferrari is not interested in building an all-electric car. "With Ferrari, it's almost an obscene concept," were his exact words. He added, "You'd have to shoot me first." This brings to mind another quote, this from Enzo Ferrari himself: "Aerodynamics are for people who can't build engines." Ferrari is, in its heart of hearts, an engine company. As Enzo Ferrari also said, "I build engines and attach wheels to them." Ferrari engines are beautiful things, as are the cars they power. There's a reason the Italian automaker displays its powerplants in its cars under glass like precious works of art. Of course, Ferrari did end up focusing on aerodynamics despite Enzo's remark. In racing as in business, you adapt or you get left behind. If you visit Ferrari's website, you can find a section on innovation. It's clear that the automaker prides itself on its technological advances (including aerodynamics, of course). It also values being a leader. "Each new model brims with technological innovation," it says, "solutions that pave the way for the rest of the industry and which are often picked up by other manufacturers at a later date." Ferrari follows nobody. The Italian marque may pride itself on being a holdout. As an automaker, it does things in the spirit of Ferrari, which is to say in the spirit of Enzo Ferrari. Former Ferrari Chairman Luca di Montezemelo said in 2011, "You will never see a Ferrari electric because I don't believe in electric cars, because I don't think they represent an important step forward for pollution or CO2 or the environment." Sports car manufacturers — Ferrari included — turn to electrification not just for efficiency, however, but also for performance. An electric motor can do certain things that an internal combustion engine simply can't. Who doesn't like being able to summon up loads of torque the very instant they first put a little pressure on the gas pedal? EVs can be spectacular to drive. Take the Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG Electric Drive and the Tesla Model S as proof of that. Marchionne's argument comes down to sound. He was not thrilled by the aural experience of driving a Tesla. Anyone with ears loves the sound of a Ferrari engine. Enzo said, "Race cars are neither beautiful nor ugly. They become beautiful when they win." While he was speaking about a car's visual aesthetic, it certainly applies to a car's sound profile as well.

Tesla layoffs, new safety mandates, and a bumper crop of V12s! | Autoblog Podcast #830

In this episode of the Autoblog Podcast, Editor-in-Chief Greg Migliore is joined by Associate Editor Byron Hurd for a gasoline-powered installment. They lead off by diving into the Tesla layoff news from this week before leaving electrification behind for a bit to talk about not one, but two production V12 unveilings. This isn't a drill, folks; Aston Martin and Ferrari are both committed. After that, they touch on the U.S. government announcement that it would mandate automatic emergency braking systems starting in 2029. They finish up the news segment with a chat about Fisker. Poor, poor Fisker. From there, it's on to the road tests. The Autoblog team has been testing out some EVs and both Byron and Greg had some thoughts to share, plus we get a final update from Byron on the long-term Subaru WRX and some notes from both drivers about the updated Range Rover Evoque.  Send us your questions for the Mailbag and Spend My Money at: Podcast@Autoblog.com. Autoblog Podcast #830 Get The Podcast Apple Podcasts – Subscribe to the Autoblog Podcast in iTunes Spotify – Subscribe to the Autoblog Podcast on Spotify RSS – Add the Autoblog Podcast feed to your RSS aggregator MP3 – Download the MP3 directly Rundown News Axing Tesla's Supercharger department raises worries as other automakers join network Fisker tells its staff that four companies are interested in buying it Ferrari confirms the 812 Superfast's successor will keep the V12 alive Aston Martin isn't done with V12s, it redesigns the engine U.S. to require automatic emergency braking on new vehicles What we've been driving 2024 Hyundai Ioniq 6 2021 Tesla Model Y 2024 Range Rover Evoque Long-term Subaru WRX Feedback Email – Podcast@Autoblog.com Review the show on Apple Podcasts Autoblog is now live on your smart speakers and voice assistants with the audio Autoblog Daily Digest. Say “Hey Google, play the news from Autoblog” or "Alexa, open Autoblog" to get your favorite car website in audio form every day. A narrator will take you through the biggest stories or break down one of our comprehensive test drives. Related video: Government/Legal Green Podcasts Aston Martin Ferrari Hyundai Land Rover Subaru Tesla Convertible Coupe Crossover SUV Electric Performance Sedan