The launches of Formula 1 continued this week and yesterday, Ferrari revealed the new SF90. Named to celebrate the 90th anniversary of the Scuderia Ferrari, it is a development of what was arguably the fastest 2018 Grand Prix car. In addition to the changes made to comply with the revised regulations, it also boasts a revised cooling architecture, which allows a smaller and more efficient engine cover.
McLaren meanwhile took the wraps off the MCL34 Renault, which the British racing car builder hopes will finally bring the team to the sharp end of the grid. Compared to last year's car, it features a revised livery with additional blue touches reminiscent of classic McLaren racing cars like the M20 Chevrolet Can-Am machine.
This week, some interesting road cars were announced. Among them was the Bentayga Speed, which Bentley claims is the fastest SUV in the world. This comes courtesy of a 626bhp version of the venerable W12 engine. The Bentayga Speed can accelerate to 100 km/h in 3.9 seconds and on to a 306 km/h top speed.
Further announcements include an all new Alpina B7 and a first glimpse of the MINI John Cooper Works GP that is due to debut later this year.

Next Monday, the Formula 1 season will kick off with the first official four-day test session at Barcelona. Today we offer a first glimpse of what the cars that will be testing at the Circuito de Catalunya will look like. One of the most highly anticipated machines for 2019 is most definitely the Red Bull Racing RB15. Fitted with the Honda power unit, this is the first Red Bull Racing car not powered by a Renault-built engine in over a decade. In addition to the new engine, the team also has a revised driver line-up with Max Verstappen joined in 2019 by Pierre Gasly. The latter's old team, Scuderia Toro Rosso, already revealed their new STR14 yesterday. Sharing the driving duties for the Red Bull junior squad this year will be old hand Daniil Kvyat who makes a return to the team and newcomer Alexander Albon.
Unquestionably set to star at the sharp end of the grid will be the Mercedes-Benz W10 EQ Power+, which like the RB15 already briefly ran for a filming session this morning. It is the latest in a line of Grand Prix cars that has won the World Championship every year since 2014, so the W10 will start the year as the car to beat.
Over the last few seasons, Renault has gradually moved up the field and with the R.S. 19 unveiled yesterday, the French team aims to score regular podium finishes. To give the final push, Renault managed to pry Daniel Ricciardo away from Red Bull Racing to join Nico Hulkenberg.
At Williams, there is a new livery as shown on this mock-up FW42 courtesy of new title sponsor RoKIT and also a new driver line-up with Robert Kubica finally making a return to F1 racing. He is joined by the highly regarded Mercedes-Benz junior driver George Russell, who makes his F1 debut.

Last week, all eyes were on Paris for the annual Retromobile show and the three major auctions held during the week. Held for the 44th time this year, the event rarely fails to impress and this year certainly was no exception. Among the many amazing cars on display last week were the very first motorised vehicle built by Ettore Bugatti, the unique Group 5 Ferrari 308 GTB, no fewer than three Mercedes-Benz CLK GTRs, the oldest Bentley in existence and the world's largest truck. In addition to the five-day show in the Paris Expo there were three auctions. The official Retromobile sale was organised by local specialist Artcurial and grabbed the headlines this year by selling this superb Alfa Romeo 8C 2900B Touring Berlinetta for €16.7 million. It is one of just five built and was offered in highly original condition and from an over 40-year single ownership.
Having not missed an edition since 2003, we were in Paris for a couple of days to capture all the highlights. The results is this detailed report, illustrated by a 210-shot gallery complemented by a further three 80-shot galleries from the respective auctions.

All eyes in the historic motoring world are on Paris this week because of the Retromobile show and associated sales. We were also in the city of lights to capture the highlights and will follow up with a detailed report early next week. Today we take a look at the first two auctions staged on Wednesday and Thursday. First up is the RM Sotheby's sale that kicked off the action this week. The 86-lot, €32 million sale was topped by the Ferrari F40 LM, which found a new owner for just over €4.8 million.
Yesterday, British auction Bonhams held their annual Les Grandes Marques du Monde sale in the fabulous Grand Palais. With a 67% sell-through rate, the sale totalled €11.4 million. The top seller in the Grand Palais was the Mercedes-Benz 540 K Cabriolet A that was offered by the Jordan royal family, having been cherished for many years by the late King Hussein.
Aston Martin Lagonda have offered a first glimpse of what is to come in Geneva next month with a teaser image of the Lagonda All-Terrain Concept. The show car serves as a preview of an upcoming Lagonda production car.

For some years now local auctioneer Artcurial stages the official Retromobile Sale. Each year, the Paris-based team manages to consign a formidable collection of collectible machines, headlined this year by the truly spectacular Alfa Romeo 8C 2900B Touring Berlinetta, which has a pre-sale estimate of €16-22 million. Our eye was also caught by the nice selection of Bugattis consigned of which we have highlighted three today. The most interesting is undoubtedly the Type 51 Grand Prix. Originally delivered to Marcel Lehoux, the car was raced by successive owners for close to two decades. The last owner that raced the car was Maurice Trintignant, who then displayed the car in his living room for two decades. It was later part of a museum collection and the most recent owner has campaigned the Type 51 extensively in historic events.
Also on offer are a pair of Type 57s fitted with a Cabriolet bodywork. The earliest is this Type 57 Graber Cabriolet. One of seven built, it has been in the same ownership for the past 49 years. The second is the rarer still Type 57 C Cabriolet that has been in Dutch hands for most of its life.
There is also a brand new car consigned in the form of this Aston Martin Vanquish Zagato Shooting Brake. The car is the 12th of 99 built and it is so new that it is still VAT applicable.

We have taken the liberty to badge today F5000 Friday by taking a look at a pair of small-block engined single seaters. The earliest of the two is the McRae GM-1 Chevrolet that debuted in 1972. The car started life as the Leda LT27 but had input from 'Kiwi' racer and engineer Graham McRae from the start of the development and it was subsequently dubbed the McRae GM-1. In McRae's hands, the car proved to be the F5000 racer to beat on three continents with the hugely talented driver winning races 'Down Under', in Europe and North America. The car also proved a sales success as a total of 14 were built in 1972 and 1973. All are accounted for and most raced in historic events around the world. Of these, four are featured today.
From 1973, Lola produced the most successful F5000 cars with the T330 and subsequent T332 dominating all of the major championships. For the British manufacturer the all-conquering single seaters proved a tough act to follow. In order to keep ahead of the rivals, Lola developed the sophisticated T400 with rising rate suspension. The teams struggled to get to grips with the car and reverted back to their T332s. Today, the T400 has been mastered and in particular the featured example is among the fastest F5000s of all in the hands of Michael Lyons.