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Brazilian F1 driver Felipe Massa to retire at end of 2016 season

Williams Formula One driver Felipe Massa announced plans to retire at the end of the 2016 season ahead of the Italian Grand Prix. After 14 years in F1, the 35-year-old Brazilian driver competed in 242 races and won 11 grands prix over his tenure, placing him in the ranks as one of the most experienced drivers in the sport. The last race of the 2016 season in Abu Dhabi will be Massa's 250th race, capping off a career where the Brazilian drove for Sauber, Ferrari, and, most recently, Williams. In an emotional video, which was posted on his Facebook, Massa confirmed that he would be leaving Formula One and provided some insight into his lengthy career. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. The move to announce his retirement before the Italian Grand Prix was a premeditated decision as it was the same location where Michael Schumacher (who was a large influence on Massa) announced his retirement. Massa also spent numerous years behind the wheel of a Ferrari F1 car and came extremely close to winning the title in 2008 in one. The Italian Grand Prix, then, is the ideal spot for the announcement. Massa's career, which the F1 driver claims has given him "great pride, joy and happiness," started in 2002 with the Swiss-based Sauber team. In his first season, Massa scored four championship points and went on to spend the following season as one of Ferrari's test drivers. For the 2004 season, Massa rejoined Sabuer's lineup alongside Giancarlo Fisichella, where he finished with a total of 12 championship points. The 2005 season was Massa's last with Sauber as the Brazilian was partnered with former champion Jacques Villeneuve, but still managed to score a total of 11 championship points. The 2006 F1 season started the most successful part Massa's career. Massa partnered with the legendary Schumacher, where the Brazilian won his first F1 race in Turkey. Ferrari retained Massa for 2007 to drive with Schumacher's replacement, Kimi Raikkonen, who would go on to win the Driver's Championship by one point. The next year, 2008, was Massa's most memorable with the driver losing out on the championship by a single point to McLaren's Lewis Hamilton. In 2009, Massa was involved in a life-threatening accident in qualifying for the Hungarian Grand Prix where the driver was struck in the head by a loose spring from Rubens Barrichello's vehicle.

Ferrari 488 GTO possibly revealed in new spy shots

As every new Ferrari debut approaches, enthusiasts worldwide can't wait to pore over each and every photo, video and spec sheet. That's why these new spy photos have us so excited. It looks like the engineers at Maranello are cooking up a new variant of the 488 GTB. We're not exactly sure what it may be, but our Italian spy photographer believes this might be a new high-performance variant that could be called the GTO. The past few generations of Ferrari's mid-engine V8 sports cars have gotten a late-life performance kick that results in a hot new model. See: 360 Challenge Stradale, 430 Scuderia and 458 Speciale. These new models ditch nearly every creature comfort in the pursuit of speed and power. Engines are cranked up, suspension geometry is reworked, and the bodywork is adjusted for aerodynamic efficiency. While we can't see what's changed under the skin, these prototypes do appear to have slightly different bodywork than the standard 488 GTB. The most notable changes are to the front end and rear fenders. The front intakes appear to be the same size and shape, but the splitter hanging out front looks like it's been reworked. Around to the side, the large air intakes just behind the doors look larger than before. This all leads credence to this being the 488 GTO – especially given the turbo connection between the original 288 GTO and the 488. Still, this could be something milder, although that's less likely. There's been rumors for a while that Ferrari have been working on a less expensive mid-engine car that will be called the Dino. We've seen other test mules running around that some claim were powered by the Ferrari-built twin-turbo V6 in the Alfa Romeo Giulia. Either way, a new Ferrari is always something to look forward to. Related Video:

Watch Evo pick its 2015 Car of the Year in this epic video

With just a few days left in 2015, it's the perfect time to check out Evo's annual Car of the Year test to determine the greatest performance vehicle of the last 12 months. The writers' picks for the 11 finalists spanned a breadth of engaging models and included: Peugeot 208 GTi by Peugeot Sport, Lamborghini Aventador SV, Seat Leon Cupra Sub8, McLaren 675LT, Porsche 991 GT3 RS, Porsche Cayman GT4, Honda Civic Type R, Ferrari 488 GTB, Chevrolet Camaro Z/28, Lotus Evora 400, and Mercedes-AMG GT S. For the venue to test the mettle of these performance machines, Evo stuck close to home this year and visited the twisting roads at the beautiful north coast of Scotland. Racing brothers Marino and Dario Franchitti also came along for the ride to provide two more voices in the competitive challenge to determine a winner. Evo's video explains why each model deserves to be among such rarified company but doesn't gloss over their faults either. There can be only one winner, though. We don't want to spoil it, so check out the clip for magnificent views of these performance machines through the Scottish countryside.