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James May's Ferrari 488 GTB road test makes us miss Top Gear

Whoever the BBC lines up for the next iteration of Top Gear, the reality with which we're coming to grips is that the show will likely never be the same. The question is whether the departing hosts will ever be the same without each other, and without the show that brought them together. This clip could go a long way towards answering that question, though. In this video review for the Driving section of the Sunday Times, James May joined the gaggles of gathering journalists in Maranello to check out the new Ferrari 488 GTB. And suffice it to say, it's not quite as entertaining (or even as well-informed) as most of the segments in which we've grown accustomed to seeing Captain Slow driving fast cars. James does have some rather relevant experience he might have imparted, though, seeing as how he didn't just drive the ultimate version of the preceding model – he went out and bought himself a 458 Speciale shortly before losing his job. So with GBP200k of car payments to make, we're hardly surprised to see him fronting for another operation. Whether it's worthy of him or not, you'll want to watch the clip to decide for yourself.

Ferrari LaFerrari Spider reportedly debuts privately

If the Porsche 918 Spyder didn't fulfill your dream of open top motoring in a hybrid hypercar, look for Ferrari to publicly debut a topless version of the LaFerrari (standard version above) in the near future. The Facebook page for Automotive Passion (D. Benoit) asserts the LaFerrari Spider is finally on the way and backs up the claim with a photo of a carbon-fiber box that bears the vehicle's sharp silhouette (below). Motor1 claims that Ferrari plans to build 150 to 200 examples of the LaFerrari Spider, which is less than half of the 499 coupes, and customers already snapped them all up. The Prancing Horse is reportedly charging a hefty premium over the hardtop's $1.4-million price tag for the droptop. Given the coupe's sales success, we are surprised Ferrari didn't take the LaFerrari's roof off even sooner, and rumors about the Spider go back to at least 2014. The removable top might add a few pounds, but the 949-horsepower 6.3-liter hybrid V12 should still be plenty to hustle the hypercar around. Ferrari debuted the LaFerrari Spider at a private event, according to Motor1. Showing the hypercar suggests development in nearing completion, so expect a public debut and official info sometime this year. Ferrari is bringing out LaFerrari Spider!© Private #laferrari #spider #laferrarispider #ferrari Posted by Automotive Passion (D. Benoit) on Friday, March 4, 2016 Related Video:

Race Recap: 2014 Hungarian Grand Prix a thrilling wet mess

Three Free Practice sessions left us thinking Lewis Hamilton looked good to claim another victory for Mercedes AMG Petronas and close up the Driver's World Championship race, but the first qualifying session for the 2014 Hungarian Formula One Grand Prix threw out that script. A fuel leak in Q3 set Hamilton's car aflame and he never set a time. His chassis damaged beyond repair, the team built him a new one and he started from pit lane. That same session also claimed Ferrari's Kimi Räikkönen, when a bad call about whether to go out again dropped him down to 17th and out for the day.
Without a real challenge, that put Hamilton's teammate-slash-nemesis Nico Rosberg on pole in the other Mercedes, followed by a resurgent Sebastian Vettel in the first Infiniti Red Bull Racing, Valtteri Bottas in the first Williams and Daniel Ricciardo in the second Red Bull. Fernando Alonso waved the scarlet in fifth for Ferrari but figured he could be in third place by the end of the first lap. Felipe Massa put the second Williams in sixth, followed by Jenson Button in the first McLaren, Jean-Eric Vergne getting up to eighth for Toro Rosso, Nico Hülkenberg in ninth for Force India and Kevin Magnussen in the second McLaren.
When rain poured on the 4.381-kilometer Hungaroring before the race, every script up and down the field got rewritten, and they would continue come in for revision almost every one of the 70 laps.