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Kimi Raikkonen fastest in first Belgian Grand Prix practice

SPA-FRANCORCHAMPS, Belgium — Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen lapped fastest in first practice for the Belgian Grand Prix on Friday but Mercedes, and title contender Lewis Hamilton, still looked every bit the team to beat. A four-time winner at Spa, and with a contract extension for 2018 announced earlier in the week, Raikkonen lapped the longest track on the calendar with a best time of 1 minute 45.502 seconds. The 37-year-old Finn's time was set on the quickest ultra-soft tires, however, while Hamilton — preparing for his 200th race start — was second-fastest and only 0.053 slower on the soft compound. Hamilton was 0.092 faster than Ferrari's world championship leader Sebastian Vettel, with the German third on the timesheets and also setting his time on the quickest but least durable tire. Vettel leads Hamilton by 14 points with nine races remaining. Red Bull's Dutch teenager Max Verstappen, Belgian-born and attracting a huge traveling support of orange-capped fans, was fourth fastest with Australian team mate Daniel Ricciardo fifth. Hamilton's teammate Valtteri Bottas, who bumped into the tire barrier after going off across the gravel and damaged his front wing, was sixth fastest. The session was halted after 15 minutes when Brazilian Felipe Massa, who missed the previous race in Hungary after feeling dizzy in practice, crashed heavily into the tire barrier at turn seven out of Les Combes. He was taken to the medical center for checks, before returning to the pitlane, with his team facing a long job rebuilding the car. The session resumed after a 10 minute stoppage. Williams said the chassis would have to be changed and the team still hoped to get the car back out on track for some of the day's second session, even if that looked like being optimistic. Fernando Alonso suffered a lack of power in his McLaren, but still ended up 13th fastest. Belgian team mate Stoffel Vandoorne, who will start his home race last on Sunday thanks to a 35 place penalty due to a power unit change, was 10th. Reporting by Alan BaldwinRelated Video: Image Credit: Reuters Motorsports Ferrari McLaren Mercedes-Benz F1 Lewis Hamilton Sebastian Vettel Kimi Raikkonen Max Verstappen Valtteri Bottas belgian grand prix

White Christmas: Miami Vice Ferrari Testarossa on eBay for $1.75M

Were the eighties responsible for more iconic television cars than any other decade? Without even thinking about it we can reel off B.A. Baracus' GMC van, the Knight Industries Two Thousand and General Lee, Hardcastle and McCormick's Coyote, Magnum P.I.'s Ferrari 308. That's before we dip into personal favorites like The Fall Guy's GMC and the Dodge Ram Power Wagon from Simon and Simon, or hop over to cartoons like Transformers, the GoBots and MASK. And then there was this, among the top rung of eighties memorabilia, a 1986 Ferrari Testarossa claimed to be one of two used in Miami Vice. You'll remember that the show began with James "Sonny" Crockett driving a black Daytona Coupe, but it was a replica built on C3 Corvette running gear. The story is that Ferrari sued the replica maker and made the show's producers an offer: blow up the replica on the show in return for two Testarossas to use. And that, it's said, is how Crockett's convertible got hit by a missile during an undercover assignment with an arms dealer. The original cars were Carbon Black, but the show's cameras couldn't keep up with them at night, so director Michael Mann had them painted white. For sale on eBay with a Buy It Now price of $1.75M, the seller says he has the all of the service history paperwork and documentation from Ferrari North America. According to the seller, he bought it about three years ago; before that, it was last sold in 1991 and sat in a Miami garage for years, so it has 16,000 miles on the odometer. The Hagerty Price Guide Report shows Testarossa values have nearly doubled in four years, but a pristine find should still only fetch about $93,500, just to make sure you're clear on the seller's Hollywood premium. Nostalgia awaits you in the gallery, and perhaps a new car at the link. Featured Gallery 1986 Ferrari Testarossa from Miami Vice View 12 Photos News Source: eBay via Car and Driver TV/Movies Ferrari Auctions Coupe Luxury Performance eBay ferrari testarossa

Apple CarPlay drawing early safety concerns [w/video]

Apple's CarPlay infotainment system hasn't made it into a single vehicle yet, and it's already drawing criticism for distracting drivers among safety advocates. The new tech unveiled at the Geneva Motor Show pairs users' iPhones with the car's dashboard display to make calls, dictate messages and listen to music. Some automakers, like Volvo, also let users interact with the HVAC system from the screen.
"The idea that people want to be on their phones, and therefore let's give them a way to do that -- that's not putting safety first, that's putting convenience and the desire to be in touch first," said Bruce Hamilton, manager of research and communications at the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety, to CNN Money.
Distracted driving is a huge concern on modern roads with more vehicles allowing drivers to use their smartphones through Bluetooth and infotainment systems. A Texas A&M study found that drivers' reaction time doubled while dictating text messages, according to CNN Money. The new tech is certainly not making drivers pay more attention.