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Kimi out, Bottas in at Ferrari?

Things have not gone well for Scuderia Ferrari driver Kimi Raikkonen since he returned to the team in 2014. After a pair of strong seasons for Lotus that saw him finish third and fifth, the Finn ended last season in 12th, 106 points behind his teammate, Spaniard Fernando Alonso. His 2015 fortunes have improved – he currently sits in fourth, only a spot behind teammate Sebastian Vettel – but he's been remarkably inconsistent, struggling with the SF15-T, a car that was specifically designed to work with his driving style. He only has a single podium this season, was forced to retire in Australia after a bad pitstop, and he crashed out of the most recent round in Austria. Clearly, Kimi should just stay away from races starting in "Austr." That advice may have come too late, though, as rumors are bubbling up that Ferrari may be swapping its Finns, dropping Raikkonen for his young countryman, Valtteri Bottas. Fox News, citing a report from Germany's Bild, claims Ferrari has made an offer to Bottas' current team, Williams, to secure his services. It doesn't sound like the British team will give him up all that easily, though. According to Fox, Williams enjoys a contractual "option" on the 25-year-old Finn's contract for next season, and that Ferrari would need to buy that contract out to steal him away. Bild claims the Italians have offered $4.4 million, but Williams' second-in-command, Claire Williams, wants nearly four times that. Ferrari has, rejected that figure, allegedly and unsurprisingly. Should the two sides come to a compromise, German and Sahara Force India driver Nico Hulkenberg seems to be the popular choice to take the open Williams seat, Fox is reporting. It's unclear where Raikkonen would end up next. And with that, we consider the 2015 Formula 1 silly season officially open.

1954 Ferrari 375-Plus sells for record $18 million at Goodwood

Among all the action at the Goodwood Festival of Speed this past weekend, Bonhams held its classic car auction, bringing in a massive $38.4 million in sales. And this was undoubtedly the highlight.
Bearing the chassis number 0384 AM, this 1954 Ferrari 375-Plus has a storied racing history, competing that year in such events as the 24 Hours of Le Mans, the Mille Miglia and the Silverstone endurance race, where the late José Froilán Gonzalez drove it to victory. One of only five made, the 375 Plus packed a 4.9-liter V12 with 330 horsepower under aluminum barchetta bodywork by Pininfarina. It was subsequently owned by Kleenex scion Jim Kimberly, trading hands between owners on both sides of the Atlantic and was the subject of a legal dispute over its ownership four years ago.
With the dispute now resolved and after heated competition between two bidders, the Ferrari finally sold for £10.7 million, equivalent to $18.2 million at today's rates and accounting for nearly half of the day's sales totals. Other highlights included a 1902 De Dietrich 16-HP "Paris-Vienna" Rear-Entrance Tonneau and a a '75 Lamborghini Countach, each of which sold for around $1.7 million - the latter eclipsing the example that Bonhams also recently sold for $1.2 million.

Bid on Floyd Mayweather's Ferrari Enzo in New York

Floyd Mayweather has a bit of a thing for supercars. Heck, he bought 100 cars from one dealership alone. While his Ferrari Enzo is just one of many impressive cars in his collection, it's certainly special. And it's for sale. The 295th example in a run of 400 was done up in Rosso Corsa over black leather and sold new to a buyer in Dubai who barely ever drove it. Mayweather bought it from its original owner last year and put it in his collection, alongside so many other Ferraris and Bugattis. He only drove it some 200 miles, though, leaving this as one of the lowest-mileage Enzos around with just 560 miles on the odometer. Now that Mayweather is retired, he's putting the Enzo up for auction, consigning it to RM Sotheby's for its upcoming Driven By Disruption sale in New York next month. The record for the highest price paid for an Enzo at auction currently stands at over $6 million, set at Monterey this past summer by - you guessed it - RM Sotheby's. But that was the very last example, made for Pope John Paul II, with just 111 miles on it. The next highest price (also achieved by RM) was recorded a year prior at $1.925 million. That all-black example had three owners who clocked over 8,000 miles on it. The auction house anticipates that this example will sell for $3-3.5 million. Given the celebrity provenance and low mileage on this example, we won't be at all surprised to see it reach that amount. 2003 Ferrari Enzo Chassis no. ZFFCW56A130135440 Engine no. 79706 Assembly no. 52427 660 bhp, 5,998 cc DOHC 65-degree V-12 engine with Bosch Motronic engine management and electronic fuel injection, six-speed electro-hydraulic computer-controlled sequential F1 transmission, limited-slip differential and traction control, front and rear pushrod-actuated double wishbones with horizontal external reservoir coil-spring damper units, and four-wheel ventilated carbon-ceramic disc brakes. Wheelbase: 104 in. - The 295th Enzo of 400 produced - Just two owners and 560 miles from new - Formerly owned by renowned boxer Floyd Mayweather - Surely one of the finest Enzos extant FERRARI'S 21ST CENTURY SUPERCAR At the Paris Motor Show in 2002, the pressure was on for Ferrari to unveil its latest supercar. The company was back on top after years of struggling both in motorsport and in sales, and it was clear that their next supercar, the successor to the Ferrari F50, would be a monumental milestone for the company.