2005 Ferrari 612 Scaglietti (gated Manual) on 2040-cars

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2015 Italian Grand Prix is smoke, mirrors, stalls, and stewards

For the first day-and-a-half of the Italian Formula One Grand Prix weekend, everything went to blueprint: Mercedes in front, Ferrari lurking, everyone else scrambling in their usual orders behind. Then qualifying came, and someone stirred the pot. About the only thing we expected was for Lewis Hamilton to put his Mercedes-AMG Petronas on pole position, the 11th time he's done it this year. He did it with a brand-new specification engine, one that represents not only an evolution in components, but also in power unit philosophy. Kimi Raikkonen lines up in second. It's been a long time since we read those words; the Iceman hasn't been on the first row since the 2013 Chinese Grand Prix, when he put his Lotus second on the grid behind... Lewis Hamilton. Raikkonen lined up just ahead of a Ferrari at that China race, then driven by Fernando Alonso. In Italy this weekend, he lined up in front of the Ferrari driven by his teammate, Sebastian Vettel, who qualified third. Both Ferraris benefitted from an upgraded power unit, ending a front-row drought for the scuderia that goes all the way back to Monaco in 2009 Germany in 2012. Nico Rosberg has a lot of work to do from fourth in the second Mercedes-AMG Petronas. Mercedes discovered a problem with Rosberg's engine but couldn't figure out the cause, so he reverted to the previous-spec engine he used in Belgium, one that's six races old. The lack of power hurt. Williams teammates Felipe Massa and Valtteri Bottas took fifth and sixth, with Massa seemingly given a team-ordered helping hand. Williams told Bottas to tow Massa down the front straight, giving Massa a blistering time in the first sector. Then Bottas did it again, ensuring he would line up behind Massa. The first Sahara Force India of Sergio Perez nabbed seventh, three places ahead of teammate Nico Hulkenberg in tenth, with Romain Grosjean in the Lotus behind Perez in eighth. Marcus Ericsson in the Sauber qualified ninth, but some clumsy driving saw him impede Hulkenberg twice. The stewards penalized Ericsson with a three-place grid penalty and two points on his superlicense, so Hulkenberg inherited ninth and Pastor Maldonado in the second Lotus inherited tenth. We hardly saw Hamilton during the race, because he led from the start, worked up a larger gap to second place on every lap, and didn't give up the lead for the whole event.

Top Gear brings together LaFerrari, McLaren P1 and Porsche 918

Earlier this month, Top Gear released a brief video of the comparison test between three hybrid hypercars we'd all been waiting for: the Ferrari LaFerrari, McLaren P1 and Porsche 918 Spyder. The story was done by the print magazine and not by the television show, and the video they released was barely over half a minute long, reserving the full version for subscribers of the iPad edition. Now the British mag has put the full video on YouTube, and while it's still only a minute and a half long – three times the length of the previous teaser – it's packed with electrified exotic goodness. The test surely took some serious wrangling to put together, and though the metal (or carbon fiber, as the case may be) was apparently furnished mostly by private owners, to hear Top Gear tell it, the manufacturers – Ferrari, McLaren and Porsche – were eager and helpful in putting the showdown together. For the final conclusions, we're afraid you'll still have to buy the magazine, but for a rare chance to watch all these three world-beaters on the same road at the same time, you'll want to scope out this latest video clip. Related Video: News Source: Top Gear via YouTube Ferrari McLaren Porsche Hybrid Supercars Videos porsche 918 spyder mclaren p1 ferrari laferrari

FIA president and former Ferrari boss Jean Todt named UN special envoy

Jean Todt, the 69-year-old former Scuderia Ferrari boss, Ferrari CEO and current FIA president has been named the United Nation's special envoy for road safety. UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon announced the appointment Wednesday in Paris. Citing the 1.3 million people killed and the 50 million people injured each year on the world's roads, the UN is appointing Todt to mobilize "sustained political commitment towards road safety." Beyond that, the Frenchman will work towards raising awareness of the UN's "road safety legal instruments." "The road safety challenge is too often ignored, but road injuries are the number one killer of young people aged 15 to 29. That being the case, it deserves much more attention on the global political agenda," Todt said in the attached statement. "This appointment will bring greater visibility to efforts to tackle this health and development crisis, as well as new leadership and renewed momentum." Meanwhile, the FIA also confirmed Todt and 44 other delegates in Nepal to attend the organization's Asia-Pacific Sport Regional Congress in Kathmandu were safe after the country was struck by a devastating earthquake last week. Scroll on down for the official press release from the FIA. FIA President Jean Todt appointed as UN Special Envoy for Road Safety UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has appointed FIA President Jean Todt as his Special Envoy for Road Safety at a meeting held today in Paris. In this capacity, he will assist the UN Secretary General in mobilizing sustained political commitment towards road safety. Mr. Todt will also advocate and raise awareness about the United Nations road safety legal instruments, and share established road safety good practices, through his participations in global and regional conferences on road safety. In addition, the Special Envoy for Road Safety will generate funding for advocacy efforts through strategic partnerships between the public, private and non-governmental sectors. FIA President Jean Todt said: "The road safety challenge is too often ignored, but road injuries are the number one killer of young people aged 15-29. That being the case, it deserves much more attention on the global political agenda." adding "This appointment will bring greater visibility to efforts to tackle this health and development crisis, as well as new leadership and renewed momentum". "In my position as FIA President, with the backing of our members, road safety has become a key priority.