on 2040-cars

Auto blog

2016 Formula 1 Chinese Grand Prix recap: another wild show on and off track

Normally we use this space to provide a lengthy recap of the weekend's Formula 1 race, but we're going to try something different since most folks reading this know what happened at the Shanghai International Circuit on Sunday. Instead, we'll alight on what we saw as the big issues in and around the race. Let us know what you think in Comments. Proper qualifying is back. Thank goodness. It only took a month of embarrassment to fix it. And so is passing! For the third race in a row, big performance improvements at the ten teams behind Mercedes-AMG Petronas and a wider tire selection at this race graced us with opening stints filled with dicing cars. Seeing the McLarens on screen doesn't make us cringe. Manor doesn't only make the global feed when it's being lapped. We've been complaining about parade races for so long that we forgot excitement was possible without rain or wholesale regulation changes. Yes, Mercedes is still the king of the jungle, but there are some other proper midfield beasts on the hunt, too. Malfunctions up and down the grid did help the show in Shanghai, like Lewis Hamilton suffering perpetual troubles, Nico Hulkenberg's runaway front wheel which red-flagged Q2, and Sebastian Vettel's and Kimi Raikkonen's flubbed hot laps in Q3 that let Daniel Ricciardo slip by into second on the grid. Come race day things went all Grand Theft Auto at Turn 1 on the opening lap, sending some of the best cars to the pits. Then came Ricciardo's puncture while leading, then came the Safety Car – all by Lap 5. Nico Rosberg got 38 seconds of airtime on the way to victory – at the start and the finish, and that happened to be his margin of victory, too – otherwise he was a ghost. Everyone else was struggling and juggling. Rosberg's win at the Bahrain Grand Prix put the German at five consecutive victories going back to last year's Mexican Grand Prix. The history books show that any driver who's won five straight contests has gone on to win the championship. With his triumph in China, the German has won the season's first three races, the history books again show that the other nine drivers who've pulled that off have gone on to win the championship. Rosberg, 36 points ahead of his teammate in the standings, is having none of it. He said of the other victors, "But they didn't have Lewis Hamilton as their team-mate." Perhaps Mercedes was right not to make an engine deal with Red Bull last season.

Ferrari families have 'agreement' to prevent takeover

With its initial public offering already a massive success, Ferrari is now officially a publicly traded company on the New York Stock Exchange. While anyone can buy those shares, don't expect investors to take control away from some of the top owners of the Prancing Horse anytime soon. To maintain their power, Enzo Ferrari's son, Piero, and Exor chairman John Elkann will sign a deal guaranteeing themselves nearly half of the automaker's voting rights, Bloomberg reports. As part of this arrangement, shareholders that agree to hang onto Ferrari stock for at least three years would receive additional voting rights in the company, and that would give Piero and Elkann a combined 48.7 percent of the automaker by banding together. While not quite complete control, the move should be enough to prevent a takeover of the business. "We have an agreement among the families to protect our interests in Ferrari," Piero said to Bloomberg. This agreement won't really become a concern until next year because only 10 percent of Ferrari will be traded for now. FCA will distribute another 80 percent to its shareholders in early 2016, and Elkann's Exor will be getting the largest portion of the Prancing Horse in the spin-off. Meanwhile, Piero holds the remaining 10 percent but has absolutely no intention to sell his stake in his father's business. The newly public Ferrari will push to grow volume with a goal of moving 9,000 vehicles annually by 2019. To reach that 30-percent boost, expect to see a new model every year, and some of them might use a new, modular platform that's reportedly under development. Related Video:

Manor GP exits bankruptcy, secures Ferrari engine deal

Those who considered Manor Grand Prix down for the count may be in for a surprise as the struggling Formula One team is clawing its way back onto the grid. According to the latest intel, the outfit has not only re-emerged from bankruptcy proceedings, but it's also secured an engine deal for this season. Now if the name Manor doesn't ring any bells for you, it's probably because it never raced under that name. At least not in F1. Manor Motorsport has been competing in lower-level formulae since 1990, and secured an expansion slot in the big leagues in 2009. By the time it actually reached the grid, it had secured title sponsorship from Virgin, and was subsequently taken over by Marussia, under whose banner it competed for several season until things started to unravel late last season. After Jules Bianchi crashed at the 2014 Japanese Grand Prix, it fielded only one car (that failed to finish) at the subsequent Russian Grand Prix and then dropped off the grid altogether. After failing to make it to the season closer in Abu Dhabi, the team was declared bankrupt. In an effort to regroup and make it back on the grid for the 2015 championship, it appealed to its rivals for special dispensation to run last year's car this season. Unfortunately, some of the other teams rejected the proposal, and it looked like it was all over for the struggling backmarker. But it retained its slot on the entry list and paid its fees, and has now emerged from bankruptcy proceedings, eager to get back into the action – even if it misses the season opener in a couple of weeks in Australia. The team is now focusing on completing its original design for the 2015 MR04 chassis. And it appears to have cleared a major hurdle as Ferrari has reportedly agreed to supply the team with last year's engine. We'll just have to wait and see whether that will prove enough to get the team back up and running – especially since it already sold off many of its assets. News Source: ESPN F1 (1), (2)Image Credit: Paul Gilham/Getty Earnings/Financials Motorsports Ferrari F1 manor