Red Bull driver Sebastian Vettel has claimed his third consecutive world title – making him the youngest-ever triple world champion – after a dramatic Brazilian Grand Prix, while McLaren’s Jenson Button took his third win of the season. Vettel stopped four times en route to a sixth place finish, having lost time with a spin and sustained damage following contact with another competitor on the opening lap. The P Zero Silver hard tyres and P Zero White medium were nominated for the race, while the Cinturato Green intermediates and Cinturato Blue full wets were also used. All the drivers started on the medium tyre apart from Michael Schumacher (Mercedes), Kamui Kobayashi (Sauber) and Romain Grosjean (Lotus), who began on the hard tyre. The race started in ambient temperatures of 19 degrees with light drizzle, but the rain intensified during the first 10 laps. Lotus driver Kimi Raikkonen was the first to pit for Cinturato Green intermediates, on lap five, followed progressively by many other drivers all the way down the field. Button, who claimed an early lead from second on the grid, stayed out on the medium tyres while the rain fell. The different strategies shook up the established order: the Caterham of Heikki Kovalainen running as high as sixth overall, ahead of the Marussia of Timo Glock in seventh – who also both remained on the slicks until laps 15 and 14 respectively. When the safety car came out for 10 laps, Button pitted on lap 23 for hard tyres while the track still remained damp as the rain eased off. In the closing stages of the race, the rain returned with a vengeance, meaning that it was no longer possible to stay out on the slicks. On lap 50 Mercedes driver Nico Rosberg went onto the intermediates, while Vettel stopped for medium tyres on lap 52 and then two laps later for intermediates as the rain fell harder. On lap 57 Button made his second and final stop onto intermediate tyres without losing the lead. Toro Rosso’s Daniel Ricciardo and Kovalainen ended the race on the Cinturato Blue full wet tyre. Vettel’s tyre strategy consisted of starting on the medium tyre, switching to the intermediate, then to the hard, then to the medium, and finally to the intermediate again. His title rival Fernando Alonso, who needed to finish at least third with Vettel 10th or lower to claim the championship, made one less stop: starting on the medium, then to the intermediate, then to the medium, then to the intermediate again. The regulations state that drivers have to use both slick compounds during the race unless they have used either the intermediate or wet tyre. Button was the only finisher to stop just twice: all the others made at least one more stop. Pirelli’s motorsport director Paul Hembery concluded: “On this day 11 years ago we won the World Rally Championship with Richard Burns, so it is quite fitting that today we have seen another truly dramatic title-decider, here in Interlagos.” “The weather played a huge part in proceedings, forcing the teams to alter their strategy and react to the changing conditions. The teams faced a particularly hard task because conditions in free practice and qualifying were a lot warmer and much drier, so the race was a step into the unknown. “With the weather so unpredictable, some teams used strategy by putting one driver on slicks and the other on intermediates, in order to have real-time data about the relative performance of the tyres. “Congratulations to Red Bull and Sebastian Vettel, who adapted their strategy calls brilliantly to changing circumstances, as well as to Fernando Alonso and Ferrari, who pushed them every inch of the way. We’d also like to congratulate Jenson Button, who got the very best out of both the slick and the intermediate tyres, and take this opportunity to pay tribute to Michael Schumacher: a great champion and fantastic ambassador for the sport, who ended his final grand prix in the points.”  

Some of the fastest hatchbacks rely on the V8 engine. The Audi S7 Sportback, the Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, the Mercedes C63 AMG Black Series, and the Ferrari 458 Spider all drive a V8. What does it do, exactly, that means any new car with sports ambitions can’t seem to be without it? A V8 engine is an eight-cylinder engine, which is mounted on either a cross-plane or flat-plane crankcase in two banks of four cylinders. Mostly, the banks are set at a right angle to one another, although smaller angles are possible. The 90° angle is generally considered optimal in terms of firing and vibration characteristics, and is also present in many V6 and V10 engine configurations. All eight pistons are therefore firing a common crankshaft. In its simplest form, this is flat, although a cross-plane crankshaft, i.e. a cross-plane crankshaft, which consists of four crank pins, arranged at 180° angles of one another, creating the image of a cross when viewed from the end. The advantage of the cross-plane crankshaft is its use of counterweights on each crankpin, which serves to eliminate engine vibrations and prevent damage to the engine occurring through displacement. The disadvantage of the cross-plane crank shaft is the slowed acceleration time. Relative to the flat crankshaft engine, engines incorporating a cross-plane crankshaft will typically be unable to speed up or slow down very quickly. This is due to the increased rotation mass caused by the vibration-preventing counterweights on the cross-plane crankpins. Flat crankshaft V8 engines are the engines of choice for motor racing – naturally aspirated V8 engines are used in Formula 1. So why are they so good? The V8 is an extremely powerful engine. Even with a cross-plane crankshaft arrangement, it enables extremely quick acceleration. The Audi S7 Sportback accelerates from 0 to 62 mph in just 4.7 seconds, the Chevrolet Camaro manages an impressive 4.3 seconds. The Ferrari 458 Spider’s V8 engine accelerates to 62mph in 4.2 seconds, while the Mercedes C63 AMG Black Series takes just 3.4 seconds. It is also responsible for the Ferrari vs. Ford Focus feeling – the latter knows when its speed is maxed out, whereas the former’s engine shows determination even at top speeds. Due to the sheer size of the V8 engine, its application is limited to large-bonnet luxury and sports cars, as well as pickup trucks and SUVs. The last may seem surprising, however coupled with an all wheel drive, the V8 engine provides initial power as well as stamina, while being powerful enough to counter the increased weight of an SUV.

Long time Ferrari owner and internationally renowned chef, Gordon Ramsay, has visited Ferrari and added a visit to the staff canteen to the traditional tour of production line, test track and show room so he could see if food made by Ferrari performs as well as its cars. Indeed, the visit to the staff canteen came first, or to give it the correct name, Il Podio. Watched anxiously by Ferrari’s head chef and his team, Ramsay tested all the day’s menu choices including the most popular, the classic Bolognese tagliatelle. Following a moment of uncharacteristic Ramsay silence, the chef announced “bellissimo” and “delicious” to broad smiles, clapping and cheering. “You can feel the passion of the people working here,” Ramsay said. “It’s incredible; I couldn’t imagine such a place where everyone shares same passion, right across the company: bellissimo!” Ferrari’s employees could not believe their eyes either and warmly welcomed Gordon to their canteen asking for autographs and photos. The visit then continued to Tailor Made and the Atelier, where Gordon Ramsay met Amedeo Felisa, Ferrari’s CEO, who introduced him to the new Ferrari F12berlinetta. Ramsay gave the new Ferrari a thumbs up and was heard saying that it’s a fantastic sexy car. Having watched Ferrari’s supercar chefs prepare his automotive meal, it was time for the supercar taste test with Ferrari test driver Raffaele de Simone providing Ramsay with the ride of his life in the new F12berlinetta on the Ferrari Fiorano test track. The chef got to try his own hand and test his skills on the test track where Ferrari cooks its new models, behind the wheel of a Ferrari 458 Italia. After a busy day at Maranello, Ramsay was left with one overall impression of Ferrari. “The perfection. I work for perfection every day and winning three Michelin stars was a dream, but my second biggest dream was having my first Ferrari. “From the minute you step inside to the minute you get out of the car and of the Factory you have one word in mind: perfection. I mean perfection 100%, absolutely incredible. And the passion, you can feel the passion in every corner of Ferrari from all the staff: from the stitching, to putting the engine together and to these amazing test drivers. Great day: I’ve had the thrill of a lifetime…Grazie mille…Thank you.”

Ferrari has recorded a 1-2 class win in the Le Mans 24 hour classic at the weekend (16-17 June 2012) and a podium finish in another class demonstrating the strength of the Ferrari 458 in the world’s most famous endurance race. The AF Corse Ferrari 458 GT2 of Giancarlo Fisichella, Gianmaria Bruni and Toni Vilander was first across the line in class GTE-Pro, a doubly remarkable achievement considering their car was wearing an entire new bodyshell, fitted after an accident on Wednesday in practice, which meant the team only just made final practice and started at the back of the grid. They took over the lead in the tenth hour of the race when the number 74 Corvette hit trouble and never looked back. Runner-up was another Maranello machine, run by Luxury Racing in the hands of a crew made up of Frederic Makowiecki, Dominik Farnbacher and Jaime Melo, thus confirming the excellent performance of the 458 racing machines. Fourth in class was the other AF Corse Ferrari 458 GT2, No. 71, driven by Marco Cioci, Andrea Bertolini and Olivier Beretta. In the GTE AM category, the best of the Ferraris entered was the Krohn Racing team car (Niclas Jonsson, Michele Rugolo and Tracy Krohn) which finished on the podium in third, while a sixth place went to crew made up of Robert Kauffman, Rui Aguas and Brian Vickers, entered by AF Corse-Waltrip. Unfortunately, the AF Corse Ferrari No. 81 (Piergiuseppe Perazzini, Niki Cadei and Matt Griffin) did not make it the finish, retiring after an accident.

Valentino Rossi will once again test his skills behind the steering wheel as the nine-times World Champion participates in this weekend’s Blancpain Endurance Series round at Monza in Italy, which commences on Friday. Rossi will drive a Ferrari 458 Italia for the Kessel Racing team, as he starts his latest adventure on four wheels. The Ducati Team rider will be joined by his friend and long-time assistant Uccio Salucci in the team, and will hope to match or even improve upon his last performance in an Endurance outing. Rossi finished third in his category and 11th overall at the Six Hours of Vallelunga in 2009, behind the wheel of a Ferrari F430 GT3 of the Kessel Racing team. Others taking part in this weekend’s Monza round will be Le Mans 24 winner David Brabham, former F1 drivers Mark Blundell and Karl Wendlinger, and a number of Endurance specialists. Rossi and his fellow competitors will take part in free practice and pre-qualifying sessions on Friday, before the formal qualifying session on Saturday and the three-hour race on Sunday.