The Belgian Grand Prix

With all of the teams recovered over the summer break, it was time for Formula 1 to get under way once more. And what a circuit to start of the second half of the season. The circuit de Spa-Francorchamps. Arguably the best circuit on the calendar. With its gradient changes and famous Eau rouge corner, everyone was itching to see another spectacular race there. And what a race it was.

It all started with qualifying. Which turned out to be a very soggy affair. With a massive downpour 20 minutes before the race, it was surprising it was not delayed. The famous circuit certainly caught some people out, With many an off-track moment and spin. In the end it was Rosberg who gained pole, with Hamilton in second and Sebastien Vettel in third.

The actual race dawned dry, to the relief of some people. Sebastien Vettel overtook Rosberg on the first corner to take second, before trying a daring over take on the inside on the straight after Eau rouge, something he did last year when he went on to win. Unfortunately the Mercedes car was too fast and the move was not completed. Elseware on the grid, Andre Lotterer came to a stop only 6 laps into his F1 debut and Pator Maldonado and Jules Bianchi also retired early on. After a brief battle between Rosberg and Hamilton there was contact between the two, with Rosberg losing some of his front wing, with shredded one of Hamiltons tyres. This took Hamilton out of the race, with him retiring 10 laps from the finish.Daniel Ricciardo mangled to take a stunning back to back win, closely followed by Nico Rosberg and Valterie Bottas taking another podium. Ferrari looked in good shape aswell, with Raikkonnen finishing fourth. The next race is Italy, in two weeks time. Can Ricciardo take another victory? We'll have to wait and see.

Nev

Below: Hamilton with his shredded tyre

Mercedes AMG GT: serious 911 rival?

Unfortunately, the Mercedes SLS is no longer in production. After a good number of years of being the super cool supercar, Mercedes has decided that enough is enough, and stopped production. And the car featured is its successor, the AMG GT. A car built from the ground up by AMG. The car you see is in disguise paint as it is not going to be released for another couple of month (probably November). It is not a supercar like the SLS, though. No, this is Merdedes' Porsche 911 rival, a sports car sitting at roughly £110,000 for the AMG GT S. As it is a sports car and carries a vague 'usable' tag, there are no gull wing doors sadly.

As a car it uses an evolved version of the SLS's chassis, and reduces physical proportions, although there is still the telltale long SLS style bonnet. The engine is the first of the new AMG motors that will power the next generation of Mercedes AMG. This is the first in line for the new 4.0 litre V8 bi-turbo engine, which has its turbos nestled between the V- a 'hot V' formation. The AMG GT S develops 501 bhp from this new engine, and delivers 479lb ft of torque from fairly low revs. Although no official figures have been released regarding top speed or acceleration, think about 180mph and 3.5seconds as an estimate. It promises to definitely take the fight to the 911. We'll just have to wait and see who comes out triumphant.

Nev