Autoblog

Click above for hi-res gallery of the McLaren F1 LM

Now that Lewis Hamilton has secured the Formula One championship, supercar fans around the world are asking when he'll get his hands on that rare McLaren F1 LM. The incredibly valuable supercar – initially reported at $4 million but now apparently worth closer to 8 – was promised to the budding young driver if he won the title. However, the condition was that he win both the drivers title and, together with team-mate Heikki Kovalainen, lock up the constructors' title for the team, as well. Although he won the drivers' championship, the constructors' crown went to arch-rivals Ferrari, but since McLaren chief Ron Dennis is such a good sport, he's renegotiated the terms.

If Hamilton manages to repeat his title victory with a hat-trick – that is, take another two championships – he'll get his hands on the bright orange supercar. That's quite a challenge, but Dennis called it a "small price to pay for three world championships." Indeed, but by then McLaren will have a whole slew of supercars on the market for Lewis to choose from. In the meantime, he'd better keep his head down and focus on the prize.

Gallery: McLaren F1 LM

It's official: Fernando Alonso won't be driving next year for McLaren. The double world champion just completed a tumultuous first season out of his contracted three years with the British team, but it was clear for all to see that the driver wasn't happy, and the team wasn't happy with its new driver. As was widely speculated, the unhappy couple has split faster than a Hollywood divorce, which may be the fastest performance McLaren and Alonso have pulled off all season long. Because the feelings were mutual, Alonso won't have to pay the team anything to be released from his contract.

Follow the jump for more analysis and the press release from McLaren, including quotes from Alonso and team principal Ron Dennis.

Ah scapegoating, the last refuge of the defeated. This season McLaren got caught red-handed (pardon the pun) and lost the constructor's championship. Then its poor reliability and performance meant that neither of the team's incredibly talented pilots could lock up the driver's title, either. Rather than look inwards to find cause for his team's enormous disappointment, team principal Ron Dennis is pointing his finger. And he's pointing in our direction.

"The internet is an unregulated source of information that is a nuissance." That's what Dennis had to say. "It has added to the pressure on our team." Ron went on a bit, but that's pretty much the gist of it. Feel free to follow the link to find out how else we and our ilk screwed things up for McLaren.

(For those not yet sufficiently entertained, Autosport is reporting that McLaren mechanics made Dennis a fake trophy.)

Don't blame us, Ron. Blame Al Gore. After all, he invented the internet.

[Source: F1-live]

In the ongoing struggle between magazines and websites, it should be immediately clear to anyone where we stand. With websites like ours getting constantly updated as the news emerges, magazines are increasingly becoming an outdated relic for delivering automotive news to enthusiasts (like yourself, reading this post).

There are, however, a few redeeming publications out there that deliver the kind of features that are best enjoyed in print, despite the stale news that precedes the juicy articles. Some of our favorite magazines come from across the pond, where members of the motoring press seem to have a better grasp of what makes for a quality publication. Among them are evo and Octane, two small-time magazines that consistently deliver quality content that rivals, if not exceeds, the offerings from the more established car mags on the news stand. (Check them out at your local magazine rack and you'll see what we mean.) evo consistently puts the most exciting cars through the paces while forgoing the boring minivan group tests, with a long-term test fleet that includes track cars and exotics. Octane, meanwhile, is a favorite of classic car enthusiasts and features regular columns from the likes of Jay Leno and Carroll Shelby alongside retrospectives and buying guides on the most iconic cars ever to grace asphalt.

Now these two quality publications will be coming under the same roof, as evo's parent Dennis Publishing has announced the acquisition of Octane Media. Dennis is an independent publishing house, where Octane joins its motoring division along with evo and Auto Express. The new synergy between these two top-drawer magazines should only help both continue to elevate the level of quality that will keep us reading even during those sad moments when we have to step away from our monitors.

Press release after the jump.

[Source: Dennis Publishing]