Ferrari F1 car turning 19,000 rpm at Laguna Seca

Formula 1 has never raced at Laguna Seca Raceway in Monterey but F1 cars have taken flying laps in historic races and exhibitions. 

Case in point is this Ferrari F1 car tackling the tight track, including the famous Corkscrew. Laguna Seca is too small for F1 cars to really open up at high speed, but this video captures the glorious sound of a normally aspirated F1 engine revving to more than 19,000 rpm and accelerating like no other cars on Earth.  

It's hard on novice ears but heaven for any race fan, particularly on the eve of racing season. 

Whoops!

The March issue of Racecar Engineering has an "exclusive" that isn't so relevantGreat moments in bad timing:

Just saw on newstands the latest edition of Racecar Engineering magazine, which features an "exclusive" look at the new car from U.S. F1. "Inside a New Breed of Grand Prix Team," the teaser reads.

One problem: U.S. F1 earlier this year missed deadlines to race in 2010, and earlier this month laid off all employees.

D'oh!

Lotus lives on

March 2010 issue of MotorsportThe March issue of Motorsport magazine arrived in the mail today, and, whoa, it contains a 21-page special package on Lotus that includes an in-depth look at the famed Lotus 79 that inspired me to become a rapid open-wheel fan.

The elegant black-and-gold John Player Special remains a thing of beauty 30 years after it earned a spot in racing annals as one of the first cars to truly exploit ground effects and complex aerodynamics.

Formula 1 fans know that a Malaysian company is reviving the Lotus name this F-1 and IndyCar this season, so there's a resurgence in the brand that once was one of the most famous in racing before hitting hard times in the late 1980s and vaporizing in the mid-1990s. Even the separate but related Lotus automaker -- once a threat to Ferrari and Lamborghini among road-car fiends -- is a shadow of its former self.

Mario Andretti drove the Lotus 79 to his only Formula 1 world title, in 1978.

Even though there's no connection to the original team founded by Colin Chapman, I'll be rooting for Lotus this season, and hoping they'll do justice to a name made famous by Jim Clark, Stirling Moss, Graham Hill, Emerson Fittipaldi, Mario Andretti and Ayrton Senna, among many others.