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19-year-old Matthew Braham put on a clinic this weekend in St. Petersburg, racing for round three and four of the 2013 Star Mazda championship.

The grandson of three-time F1 champion Jack Brabham bounced back from mechanical problems in qualifying to win both races, presented Saturday and Sunday.

Diego Ferreira and Brabham's Andretti Autosport teammate Shelby Blackstock finished respectively second and third Saturday.

The same two drivers completed the podium Sunday, albeit in the reverse order.

Fabio Leimer and Stefano Coletti each won a round in his past weekend's GP2 season opener in Sepang, Malaysia.

Coletti started from pole position, but was under pressure from Fabio Leimer (who's had a great start from fourth place) moments after the start.

Leimer powered into the lead and cruised to his first season win, ahead of Calado, who dominated free practice, and Coletti, who finally finished third.

Stephane Richelmi, who finished 8th in race 1, started the second race from pole position thanks to reverse grid regulation.

But Coletti, who had a brilliant start from sixth on the grid, muscled his way through the field and captured the early lead. Coletti maintained his position until the checkered flag, and moved into the championship lead.

Bad luck struck for Fabio Leimer and James Calado, who both crashed at the start.

GP2 - Sepang

Race 1:
1 - Fabio Leimer - Racing Engineering - 31 laps in 57'49"385
2 - James Calado - ART - 2"045
3 - Stefano Coletti - Rapax - 11"271

4 - Felipe Nasr - Carlin - 12"810
5 - Julian Leal - Racing Engineering - 28"837

6 - Jolyon Palmer - Carlin - 34"209

7 - Sam Bird - Russian Time - 41"187
8 - Stephane Richelmi - Dams - 58"941
Etc.

Race 2:
1 - Stefano Coletti - Rapax - 22 laps in 40'49"455
2 - Felipe Nasr - Carlin - 0"832
3 - Mitch Evans - Arden - 8"358

4 - Stephane Richelmi - Dams - 11"935
5 - Johnny Cecotto - Arden - 15"874

6 - Simon Trummer - Rapax - 17"072

7 - Conor Daly - Hilmer - 17"479

8 - Rene Binder - Lazarus - 23"726
Etc.

Championship:
1. Coletti 36; 2. Leimer 25; 3. Nasr 24; 4. Calado 18; 5. Richelmi 12; 6. Evans 11; 7. Leal 10; 8. Palmer, Bird 8, etc.

Pro Mazda series' champion, Jack Hawksworth capitalized on some other drivers' misfortunes to earn his first Indy Lights victory in the streets of St. Petersburg.

Hawksworth was able to make the most of a bad start and come back later in the race when leader Gabby Chaves was involved in an accident with second-placed Carlos Munoz.

Damages to Chaves' car were beyond repair and he had to retire while Munoz was given a drive-through penalty, only to suffer a late gearbox failure.

With a clear track ahead of him, Hawksworth set about opening a substantial gap, eventually crossing the line 4.9 seconds clear of Peter Dempsey.

Sage Karam completed the podium ahead of Juan Pablo Garcia.

Photo: Indy Light

Only 9 entries lined up on the starting line, proving once again the worrying state of the IndyCar ladder series.

Results - 45 laps:
Pos Driver Team Time/Gap
1. Jack Hawksworth Schmidt 54m06.0120s
2. Peter Dempsey Belardi + 4.9073s
3. Sage Karam Schmidt + 8.0605s
4. Juan Pablo Garcia Moore + 18.2610s
5. Zach Veach Andretti + 20.5404s
6. Jorge Goncalvez Belardi + 21.1040s

Retirements:
Carlos Munoz Andretti 43 laps
Gabby Chaves Schmidt 10 laps
Ethan Ringel Moore 0 laps

From GMM

Robert Kubica is "definitely" in the running to return to formula one with Lotus in 2014.

Turning down an offer to return to circuit racing in the German touring car series DTM this year, the Pole has got off to a highly competitive start as he prepares to contest the second-tier world rally championship in 2013.

The 28-year-old admits he cannot currently drive a single-seater due to the limitations of his still-injured right arm, but he has not ruled out a return to F1 at some point.

In 2010, Kubica drove for the Eric Boullier-run Renault team - now known as Lotus - and the former BMW driver was preparing for his second season in 2011 at the time of his near-fatal rally crash.

Robert Kubica preparing the 2011 season, beginning of February, before his crash. (Photo: WRi2)

It was believed the relationship with Lotus had subsequently broken down, but Frenchman Boullier now insists he would have Kubica back.

"If Robert is completely ready for a return to formula one, he definitely would be among the candidates," he told Russia's f1news.ru, when asked about Lotus' 2014 lineup.

Currently, Lotus' number 1 driver is Kimi Raikkonen, but the Finn is yet to commit beyond the end of his 2013 contract.

Boullier was asked if Raikkonen will still be in F1 next year, and he admitted: "It's a very good question! I don't know the answer."

Another candidate to join the team in 2014 is therefore Davide Valsecchi, the reigning GP2 champion who has signed on this year as Lotus' official reserve.

Asked what chance the 26-year-old Italian has of racing in 2014, Boullier answered: "He has a better chance than anyone else. We have some plans for this season and we will see how he copes with his work -- on the track and off. Not in the course of a grand prix (weekend), but he will test with the old car."

I like to think that the human race is getting better with age. The longer we spend on this great green earth, the wiser we become, right? Right?!

Seems to not be the case, especially when it comes to driving while under the influence.

It still shocks me to hear how many accidents and deaths are caused by drinking and driving. Truly, it'sappalling . According to Statistics Canada, the number of impaired driving incidents has once again risen (for the fourth time in five years in 2011). With over 90,000 reports of impaired driving across Canada, I can't help but shake my head in wonder and, let's be honest, shame.

How are we still making decisions like that? We've all seen the commercials and heard the news stories. Taking a cab or delegating a designated driver (usually my domain) really isn't that hard to do, people!

According to Statistics Canada, the highest rates of police-reported impaired driving in Canada took place in the North West Territories, Saskatchewan and PEI in 2011. The Canadian provincial average was 262 reported cases (per 100,000 inhabitants) and the North West Territories tipped the scale at over 1,400 reports. Their bar industry must be lucrative.

On the flipside, Ontario boasted the lowest number of reports dipping way below the 200 mark.

Numbers aside, I'm still upset that people are getting behind the wheel inebriated. Come on. It's more than stupid. It's downright negligent. Consider this: When your blood alcohol level reaches 0.10% you increase your chances of having an accident by 51%.

What more can we do to keep drunk drivers off the road? I think I might actually agree with the idea of having a breathalyzer installed in your vehicle after you've been caught driving impaired. If you blow even an mg over zero, your car won't start. Too bad for you.

However, that doesn't stop all those who've never been caught to begin with and who keep thinking it's OK to get behind the wheel when they can barely put their jacket on properly. It's just not cool, not at all. It's not an accomplishment that you made it home in one piece. It's not a cool story to tell the next day, it's dangerous and it must stop.

Of course, if you want to play devil's advocate here, you could say that the increased numbers of reported incidents of drunk driving are due to the increase in roadside checks. What we don't know won't hurt us, right? Wrong.

All too often I've seen groups of partygoers piling into their vehicle at the end of the night, clearly all three-sheets to the wind, and I just want to run up to the driver, shake them and take away their keys. It's just not a smart situation.

So, please, next time you're out drinking consider calling a cab to get home or asking a friend to be a designated driver. Trust me, it's not that bad and you get to be the memory-keeper for the night (i.e., the one who tells everyone what they did the morning after).

From GMM

Mercedes' German-speaking faction has spoken out against the team orders that prevented Nico Rosberg from finishing on the podium in Malaysia.

German Rosberg asked and asked again to be let past his new British teammate Lewis Hamilton on Sunday, who was saving fuel to the finish as he ran in third place.

Team boss Ross Brawn answered repeatedly: "Negative."

Afterwards - but before Hamilton admitted on the podium that he was uncomfortable about finishing third - Rosberg told strategist Brawn on the radio to "Remember this one."

Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton. (Photo: WRi2)

It was a saga not unnoticed by Mercedes' newly-arrived Austrian shareholders and bosses Niki Lauda and Toto Wolff, who were not amused.

"From a sporting perspective, that was wrong," Lauda told German television RTL.

"They should have let him (Rosberg) go. We need to talk to Ross, if this is the strategy to be used from now on," he added.

Toto Wolff agreed: "From a sporting point of view, that's not what we want to see."

Brawn, whose role as team boss is believed threatened by the Austrian duo and also the likely arrival of McLaren's Paddy Lowe, is understood to have defended the 'team order' on the basis that Rosberg was also low on fuel.

Rosberg denied: "I did not have to save fuel. Everything was alright. I will sit down together with Ross to rethink whether this was really the right decision."

The 27-year-old's rationale is that, with tyres in good shape and fuel in the tank, he might have been able to chase down the leading Red Bulls.

According to Auto Motor und Sport, 1996 world champion Damon Hill agreed: "He might at least have been able to hurry the Red Bulls into a tyre problem."

Rosberg added: "I don't know if I would have gotten the Red Bulls. But I felt good at the time. I was doing well and would have liked to see how far I could have gone."

Justifying his anger on the radio, he explained: "I tried to get them to reconsider their decision."

But Rosberg denied Red Bull figure Dr Helmut Marko's claim that the episode demonstrates that Lewis Hamilton is Mercedes' obvious "number 1" driver.

"I can understand how this (episode) creates that impression," Rosberg responded, "but I am sure that if I had been in front, the decision would have been the same."