Dope Vid. #235

Video courtesy of ChicagoAutoPros.

What to watch this Weekend (April 26th - May 1st)

• The Grand Tour. Season 3. Episodes on demand. Friday (Amazon Prime) 
• Formula 1 - Azerbaijan Grand Prix; from the street circuit in Azerbaijan, Baku. Practice 1. Friday @ 4:55am - 6:30am (ESPN2(HD)) new
• Formula 1 - Azerbaijan Grand Prix; from the street circuit in Azerbaijan, Baku. Practice 2. Friday @ 8:55am - 10:30am (ESPNU(HD)) new
• Formula 1 - Azerbaijan Grand Prix; from the street circuit in Azerbaijan, Baku. Practice 3. Saturday @ 4:55am - 6:30am (ESPNNEWS(HD)) replay
• Formula 1 - Azerbaijan Grand Prix; from the street circuit in Azerbaijan, Baku. Qualifying. Saturday @ 8:55am - 10am (ESPN2(HD)) live
• Formula 1 - Azerbaijan Grand Prix; from the street circuit in Azerbaijan, Baku. Race. Sunday @ 7:30am - 10am (ESPN2(HD)) live
• Chasing Classic Cars. Tuesday @ 7pm - 7:30pm (MotorTrendHD) replay
• Motorweek. Tuesday @ 7:30pm - 8pm (MotorTrendHD) replay
• Garage Squad. Wednesday @ 10pm - 11pm (MotorTrendHD) new
• Wheeler Dealers. Wednesday @ 9pm - 10pm (MotorTrendHD) new

Last we left off in China, the 1000th F1 race, Bottas took pole, Ferrari looked suspiciously slow and inept with strategy and Merc took another 1-2 in a row. Renault had another mechanical failure related DNF, Hulk the victim by himself this time around, and Ricciardo finally finished a race. Verstappen split the Ferraris again, which is putting Maranello in a bit of a pickle. If they can't keep up with Merc it leads to them shooting themselves in the foot by not covering off Verstappen with their strategy. Also, if Leclerc is as good as he appears to be and Ferrari seems to be favoring Vettel with the benefit of team strategies, this lack of letting their drivers race each other will likely decide this years Championship; probably in favor of the silver arrows if they continue to remain as reliable as they've been thus far. Albon crashed out in P3, which took him out of Qualy, but he made it up to his team by taking back one championship point from the starting at the back of the field during the race -- great drive to take 10th. Gasly finally performed up to expectations, finishing right behind Leclerc in 6th. He also wisely snagged the fastest lap since he had a big enough cushion to pit late for softs, keeping the front runners from holding onto it. Kimi took 9th, Perez too 8th and both Haas couldn't find any real pace and finished out of the points. Daniil regained his torpedo status with a 7-10 split of McLaren's on lap one, which he got penalized for, but it lead to both himself and Norris not finishing the race. Sainz finally finished a race, but it was only in 14th. Hamilton's start proved to be both decisive and the deciding in this grand prix; he never looked back and drove an excellent race. He now leads the championship.

With the checkered flag dropped the current Driver's Championship standings are as follows: Hamilton, Bottas (-6), Verstappen (-29), Vettel (-31), Leclerc (-32), Gasly (-55). This weekend in Azerbaijan should be another entertaining race, we'll see if Ferrari can respond after a lackluster performance in China.

Enjoy your weekends.

Video courtesy of Autosport.

Enthusiast Topic: BMW M2 Competition: Road Review (Carfection)

Henry explores the nature of the M2 Competition.


Video courtesy of Carfection.

Neo-Vintage Feature: Porsche 356 Carrera Speedster Zagato: Sanction Lost (Petrolicious)

This feature showcases famed coach builder Zagato, which turned 100 last Friday, who has initiated the reproduction of an old one-off gentleman racer Porsche 356 Carrera Speedster design from years past. Petrolicious founder and CEO Afshin Behnia came to own one of these reproductions -- it's quite the lovely machine.


Video courtesy of Petrolicious.

Automotive Workshop: How to build a 300mph Koenigsegg Jesko (TopGear)

Jack meets up with Christian at the Koenigsegg factory to go over the Jesko, prior to delivery to the Geneva Autoshow a few weeks ago, and talk current and future tech. Grab a snack.


Video courtesy of TopGear.