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Rain prolongs the Championship battle | 2016 Brazilian Grand Prix recap

Rain and an old-school circuit are the antidotes to Formula 1's constricting technical regulations and Tilke tracks. At Brazil's Autodromo Jose Carlos Pace – otherwise known as Interlagos – rain Saturday night and on race day washed away everyone's careful plans, except for those of the man at the front of the pack. Lewis Hamilton put his Mercedes-AMG Petronas ahead of the field throughout the weekend. On Sunday, a storm-delayed start behind the Safety Car assured Hamilton of a clean path to the lead and a clear track. The Briton didn't waste it, pulling out a gap on teammate Nico Rosberg behind, and Rosberg appeared to have no interest in going hard after Hamilton. Safety Cars and red flags kept resetting the gap to zero, though. After the Mercedes-AMG GT S led the first seven laps, it emerged again on Lap 13 for another six laps when Marcus Ericsson crashed his Sauber. Seconds after racing resumed, Kimi Raikkonen aquaplaned his Ferrari into the wall on the front straight. That caused the first red flag, leading to another eight-lap Safety Car interval, then a second red flag stoppage due to conditions on Lap 28, then three more Safety Car laps, and then, finally, racing again. Hamilton never surrendered his lead. The Briton changed tires once during a stoppage, and drove fast enough to cover the full race distance despite the intermissions. Afterward, he said "it was a very easy race." Rosberg had it harder, defending against the preternatural Max Verstappen in third. Barring misfortune it's already clear the Red Bull pilot has at least one Driver's Championship in his career future. In Brazil the young Dutchman drove like he's worthy of the hardware right now. After Verstappen passed Rosberg for second on Lap 34, the Red Bull driver pitted for intermediate tires on Lap 44 – a huge gamble in the conditions – coming back out in fifth. That tire wager failed, giving Rosberg a safe position in second when Verstappen had to pit for extreme wets on Lap 54 of 71. The teenager re-emerged in 16th. Over the race's final 17 laps Verstappen passed 13 drivers at six different places on track. He ran it close-but-clean a couple of times, especially when getting around Sebastian Vettel and Sergio Perez, but he was simply untouchable. Not only did the Dutchman score an amazing third place, he put in what could be the drive of the season.

Test drive the Mercedes SLS AMG Electric Drive with Chris Harris

It's hard to not like the Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG GT. The all-aluminum coupe is fitted with a wonderful naturally aspirated 6.2-liter V8 delivering 583 horsepower and 479 pound-feet of torque. Not only does the burly combustion engine launch the two-seater to 60 miles per hour in less than four seconds, but it does so with one of the world's greatest exhaust soundtracks as it roars, burbles and cackles down the road.
But what happens when Mercedes-Benz takes away the V8 and its accompanying fire-burning song? Stripped of one of its most appealing assets, does the SLS lose its soul?
Chris Harris recently had the opportunity to take the Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG Electric Drive for a track spin in Europe. Sans gasoline, but with four electric motors providing a combined 740 horsepower (737 pound-feet of torque), all-electric all-wheel drive coupe uses sophisticated torque vectoring and a multi-mode operating system to put oversteer - drifting! - back into the equation. Fun? You bet. See for yourself, below.

Recharge Wrap-up: BMW i8's Engine of the Year, biodiesel producer guilty

BMW has won International Engine of the Year for the hybrid system in the i8. The i8 PHEV uses a 1.5-liter, three-cylinder gasoline engine with a hybrid drive unit including a 96-kilowatt electric motor. BMW beat Ford's 1.0-liter EcoBoost engine by a small margin to win the award for best overall engine. It also took the award for the 1.4-liter to 1.8-liter category, as well as best new engine. Tesla beat BMW to win the green engine category for the electric powertrain of the Tesla Model S. Read more at Green Car Congress, or see all of the results from the International Engine of the Year Awards. The head of Audi powertain development is quitting as the automaker steps up electrification. Stefan Knirsch has worked at Audi since late 2013, and previously worked at Porsche as the head of quality management and engine development. Germany's Auto Motor und Sport magazine had reported that Knirsch was leaving Audi, which Audi confirmed without giving a departure date or saying if he would be working elsewhere. Audi has been feeling pressure from its competitor Mercedes-Benz, and has been working on improving its EV offerings and autonomous vehicle technology. Read more from Reuters. The owner of a biodiesel company has pleaded guilty to fraud. Philip Joseph Rivkin, aka Felipe Poitan Arriaga, took part in a scheme to defraud the EPA, falsely claiming to be producing millions of gallons of biodiesel. This allowed his company, Green Diesel, to receive renewable fuel credits and sell them to oil companies and brokers. "These crimes are a serious threat to an important program that helps combat climate change," says Cynthia Giles of the EPA. "Companies and individual managers should get the message that there are serious consequences for breaking the rules and undermining the integrity of this program." Rivkin faces over 10 years in prison and $51 million in restitution. Read more in the press release below. Biodiesel Fuel Company Owner Pleads Guilty to Fraud and Clean Air Act Crimes Connected to Renewable Fuels Scheme Philip J. Rivkin faces more than 10 years imprisonment and $51 million in restitution WASHINGTON – Philip Joseph Rivkin, a.k.a. Felipe Poitan Arriaga, 50, today pleaded guilty to a Clean Air Act false statement and mail fraud as part of his role in a scheme to defraud EPA by falsely representing that he was producing millions of gallons of biodiesel fuel.