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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.

Did Ferrari block Montezemolo from becoming F1 chairman?

The Formula One Group has appointed a series of new directors to its board. But while ousted Ferrari chief Luca di Montezemolo is among them, the latest reports suggest that he was earmarked to become the group's chairman, but that Sergio Marchionne blocked the appointment. Montezemolo, for those just joining us, served as chairman of Ferrari since 1991, but was ousted just a couple of months ago by Sergio Marchionne, chief executive of parent company Fiat Chrysler Automobiles who took his place at the head of the table in Maranello. During his tenure as Ferrari chief, Montezemolo sat as the team's representative on the F1 board (and also as chairman of the Formula One Teams Association), but despite having broken ties with Ferrari, Luca was renominated to the board as an independent member. That seat on the board, however, could have been at the head of the table, according to circulating reports, had Marchionne not expressed certain reservations, if not blocked the nomination outright. Montezemolo's appointment would have meant that both the F1 Group and the FIA would have been headed up by former Ferrari men, although Marchionne was quoted as saying that if it had been his call, he would have prevented Jean Todt from being elected to the presidency of the FIA as well. The chairmanship of the Formula One Group is separate from the role held by Bernie Ecclestone, who will continue to run the sport's day-to-day operations. Ecclestone has also rejoined the board along with Paul Walsh, the former head of distilling giant Diageo who was also tipped as a favorite to chair the F1 board. That role instead will return to Peter Brabeck, the former head of Nestle, who had previously stepped down from the chair of the Formula One Group.

Video proof that LaFerrari has a pure electric mode

Typically, a hybrid car, with its gas engine and an electric motor/battery pack is able to run on both forms of propulsion independently of each other. That means you can sip gas, run on pure electricity or some variation there of. The Ferrari LaFerrari is not like other hybrids.
See, the successor to the Enzo has batteries, an electric motor and a great, thumping V12 engine, but unlike its rivals from McLaren and Porsche, it has no standalone electric mode. That's been Ferrari's party line since day one. But have the Italians been exaggerating a bit? Judging by this video, it seems like a real possibility.
The video comes from what we're guessing is a European track day. It shows a black LaFerrari stealthily sailing through a tunnel on pure electric power, which it shouldn't be able to do, before its 789-horsepower V12 fires to life.