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Why all of this year's F1 noses are so ugly [w/video]

If you're a serious fan of Formula One, you already know all about The Great Nosecone Conundrum of 2014. Those given to parsing each year's F1 regulations predicted the strong possibility of the so-called "anteater" noses as far back as early December 2013. Highly suggestive visual evidence first came after Caterham's crash test in early January, with further proof coming as soon as Williams showed a rendering of the FW36 challenger for this year's championship. That car earned a name that wasn't nearly so kind as "anteater."
Casual followers of the sport - or anyone who gets the feed from this site - probably don't know what's happening, except to wonder why the current year's F1 cars are led by appendages that would make Cyrano de Bergerac feel a whole lot better about himself.
The short answer to the question of ugsome F1 noses is "FIA regulations and safety." The reason there are various kinds of ugsome noses is simpler: engineers. The same boffins who have given us advances including carbon fiber monocoques, six-wheeled cars, double diffusers and Drag Reduction Systems are bred to do everything in their power to exploit every possible freedom in the regulations to make the cars they're building go faster - the caveat being that those advances have to work within the overall philosophy of the whole car.

Race recap: 2016 Bahrain Grand Prix was everything good and bad about F1

Nothing was as it seemed heading into Bahrain. We were told team bosses had nixed the qualifying experiment that flunked every test by every measure in Australia, but that didn't happen. The FIA didn't give the teams the option of a wholesale return to the old format, the governing body only held a vote on whether to revert back to the old format in Q3 but stick with elimination gimmicks in Q1 and Q2. McLaren and Red Bull dissented, denying the chance for hybrid rounds. We're surprised none of the smaller teams voted against since elimination qualifying is hardest on them. Given the chance to fix the system again in Bahrain, Formula 1 failed again. The FIA and Bernie Ecclestone don't want to go back to the old system – because the race promoters don't want to go back to the old system – so all we know for sure is that there will be more meetings. We also thought Fernando Alonso would race in Bahrain after being given medical clearance, but a follow-up scan by the FIA showed fractured ribs and a damaged lung, ruling him out. And we thought Ferrari might have the pace to conquer Mercedes-AMG Petronas this year – and they might yet, but not on Saturday. That's why the Bahrain race began with another Mercedes one-two, Lewis Hamilton ahead of Nico Rosberg, Ferrari drivers Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen behind. The Australian outback is plagued with rabbits, which must have something to do with how Daniel Ricciardo keeps pulling them out of his helmet; the Aussie got his Red Bull up to a surprising fifth on the grid. Williams drivers Valtteri Bottas in sixth and Felipe Massa in seventh would need to get him out of the way quickly to show what the car can do after an unsatisfying race in Australia. Nico Hulkenberg lined up in eighth for Sahara Force India. As proof the qualifying format failed again with its sophomore attempt, the last five minutes of Q2 were disappointing. Hulkenberg had the track completely to himself for his quali run, the only two cars on track after him were the Williams duo who weren't setting a time, but getting a set of soft tires ready to start the race on. As for Q1, the only reason for on-track action in the last three minutes was because Hamilton flubbed his first timed run. Romain Grosjean continued Haas F1's fruitful start to the season with ninth place, ahead of Max Verstappen in the Toro Rosso closing out the top ten. At the end of a long red light to start the race, Rosberg claimed his right to victory before Turn 1.

Mercedes pays tribute to 1955 Mille Miglia with special-edition SL

The Mercedes-Benz SL is one of the longest-running nameplates in the business, and its history has been marked with numerous achievements. But few were as impressive as the 1955 running of the Mille Miglia, and Mercedes pays tribute to that race and the results it achieved there with this latest special-edition roadster. Called the SL Special Edition Mille Miglia 417, this roadster starts with the eight-cylinder SL550 with dynamic stability management and adaptive damping and adds on several highlights. Red trim adorns the front spoiler, the stripe across the matte carbon rear spoiler, the brake calipers and the rims of the black AMG Performance wheels. The red pieces accent the matte black paint, while the interior features AMG Line sports seats with carbon-finish leather and red trim, along with a red and black nappa leather steering wheel and carbon trim. The SL arrives 60 years after the Mille Miglia in which a 300 SL driven by American gentleman racer John Fitch - bearing the number 417 and starting at 4:17 a.m. - led a 1-2-3 class finish, landing fifth overall and leaving many purpose-built racers in the dust. The special edition is confirmed for the US, arriving this fall with pricing to be announced closer to launch. SPECIAL EDITION SL "MILLE MIGLIA 417" Exclusive SL passion February 17, 2015 - Stuttgart -- Mercedes-Benz celebrates the 60th anniversary of a memorable motor racing success with an extraordinary special model of the SL Roadster. Its name commemorates the unexpected victory of a 300 SL in the production sports cars class at the 1955 "Mille Miglia", one of the world's most challenging long-distance races. What's more: the SL Special Edition "Mille Miglia 417" provides a special experience of the unique symbiosis of maximum comfort and motor racing spirit that traditionally characterizes every SL. The Special Edition adds a distinctive note, among other things, with red exterior highlights and fine materials in the exclusively appointed interior. The Mercedes-Benz SL Roadster is more than an icon. Passion shapes its character and its charisma – in the past and today. Legendary vehicles and their stories dominate the model history. One of them is told by the SL that started the famous "Mille Miglia" in 1955 with race number 417 at 4:17 am. After 11 hours, 29 minutes and 21 seconds it had completed the race distance of 1597 kilometres on public roads from Brescia to Rome and back.