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From GMM

Dr Helmut Marko, Red Bull's often hard-talking F1 consultant, has a surprising view regarding the sport's likely newest rookie.

If 17-year-old Sergey Sirotkin makes his grand prix debut for Sauber next year as scheduled, he will be by far the youngest driver in the history of the sport ever to do so.

The Russian is therefore already being written off as simply the latest crude example of pay-drivers buying their way into the pinnacle of motor sport.

But Sauber team boss Monisha Kaltenborn insists at Spa-Francorchamps: "You can't cut him down just because of his age and his father."

He may be central to Sauber's Russian rescue deal, but Kaltenborn insists Sirotkin deserves a chance.

"There are drivers who pay for their cockpit, that's true," she admitted.

"But many who came with backing have very quickly got rid of the 'pay driver' accusation. Look at Raikkonen," said Kaltenborn, referring to Sauber's controversial driver choice way back in 2001.

One man who knows a lot about Sirotkin's current arena, Formula Renault 3.5, is Marko, who has placed a lot of up-and-coming Red Bull-backed youngsters in the 'world series'.

"Sirotkin is still young," Marko told Der Spiegel, "but he is already very good.

"I am of the view that it is not a mistake to promote him."

From GMM

A mischievous Mark Webber on Sunday gave away the name of his successor at Red Bull.

While the frenzied 'silly season' rumour-mongers wonder if Kimi Raikkonen, Jenson Button or even Fernando Alonso might still be in the running, Australian Webber said it is his younger compatriot who has secured the plum 2014 seat.

Team boss Christian Horner has insisted all weekend that a decision has not been made, and that an announcement is not due at least until Monza in two weeks.

Daniel Ricciardo, Mark Webber (Photo: WRi2)

But the Le Mans-bound Webber said at Spa-Francorchamps: "The decision's made.  We all know who it is.  I'm happy with that decision.

"It's good for him and good for Australia," he told Channel 10.

Sam Bird took a dominant victory in the feature race presented this weekend in Belgium, as part of the GP2 series' visit to Spa-Francorchamps. His countryman James Calado then went on to win the sprint race Sunday.

Bird, whose first place was never really in danger, drove superbly from pole position to claim his fourth victory of the season on Saturday, ahead of Marcus Ericsson and Alexander Rossi.

Sam Bird (Photo: GP2series.com)

Championship leader Stefano Coletti had an up and down race which featured a slow puncture and a collision with Dani Clos. His rival in the title hunt Felipe Nasr collided with his teammate Jolyon Palmer, which meant neither Coletti nor Nasr got to score points.

Saturday, James Calado got to start on pole for having finished eighth in the feature race. Like Bird, he won after starting first, but had to fight with Julian Leal, who finished a close second, for the prize. Adrian Quaife-Hobbs completed the podium.

James Calado (Photo: GP2series.com)

As both Coletti and Nasr failed for the second consecutive race to score any points, the situation at the top of the standings remained the same. But Fabio Leimer is now only one point behind Nasr, and seven behind Coletti.

Feature race results - GP2 (Spa)
1 - Sam Bird - Russian Time - 25 laps 52'55"642
2 - Marcus Ericsson - Dams - 7"001
3 - Alexander Rossi - Caterham - 8"242
4 - Fabio Leimer - Racing Engineering - 13"950
5 - Tom Dillmann - Russian Time - 15"353
6 - Julian Leal - Racing Engineering - 18"643
7 - Stephane Richelmi - Dams - 26"086
8 - James Calado - ART - 27"559
9 - Robin Frijns - Hilmer - 28"425
10 - Adrian Quaife Hobbs - Hilmer - 30"497
11 - Mitch Evans - Arden - 33"190
12 - Simon Trummer - Rapax - 33"341
13 - Stefano Coletti - Rapax - 33"837
14 - Johnny Cecotto - Arden - 48"970
15 - Jolyon Palmer - Carlin - 49"347
16 - Daniel Abt - ART - 52"471
17 - Jake Rosenzweig - Addax - 57"102
18 - Vittorio Ghirelli - Lazarus - 57"982
19 - Rio Haryanto - Addax - 1'03"628
20 - Dani Clos - MP Motorsport - 1'20"316
21 - Ricardo Teixeira - Trident - 1'27"365
22 - Nathanael Berthon - Trident - 1'28"885

Sprint race results - GP2 (Spa)
1 - James Calado - ART - 18 laps 36'21"338
2 - Julian Leal - Racing Engineering - 0"447
3 - Adrian Quaife Hobbs - MP Motorsport - 1"532
4 - Stephane Richelmi - Dams - 17"905
5 - Fabio Leimer - Racing Engineering - 29"053
6 - Jolyon Palmer - Carlin - 33"284
7 - Johnny Cecotto - Arden - 37"321
8 - Tom Dillmann - Russian Time - 40"052
9 - Felipe Nasr - Carlin - 40"455
10 - Mitch Evans - Arden - 43"421
11 - Simon Trummer - Rapax - 44"373
12 - Sergio Canamasas - Caterham - 45"170
13 - Nathanael Berthon - Trident - 45"987
14 - Sam Bird - Russian Time - 47"459
15 - Marcus Ericsson - Dams - 50"141
16 - Daniel Abt - ART - 50"726
17 - Daniel De Jong - MP Motorsport - 50"818
18 - Vittorio Ghirelli - Lazarus - 53"466
19 - Dani Clos - MP Motorsport - 54"532
20 - Rene Binder - Lazarus - 59"796
21 - Jake Rosenzweig - Addax - 1'03"052
22 - Alexander Rossi - Caterham - 1'18"035
23 - Stefano Coletti - Rapax - 1'21"639
24 - Ricardo Teixeira - Trident - 1'27"956
25 - Rio Haryanto - Addax - 1 lap

Championship
1.Coletti 135; 2.Nasr 129; 3.Leimer 128; 4.Bird 121; 5.Calado 111; 6.Ericsson 82; 7.Richelmi 71; 8.Palmer 68; 9.Lancaster 65; 10.Dillmann 64.

Ganassi's Dario Franchitti led his teammate Scott Dixon to a 1-2 front row on the starting grid for IndyCar's race at Sonoma after setting the fastest time during qualification.

The Scot set a time of 1m17.5271s which was faster by a mere 0.19s over Dixon.

Will Power  (Penske) ended up third in front of current series' champion Ryan Hunter-Reay (Andretti Autosport) while Power's teammate Helio Castroneves and Charlie Kimball (Ganassi) will complete row three.

Qualifying results - IndyCar (Sonoma)
Pos  Driver               Team/Engine      Time        Gap
1.  Dario Franchitti     Ganassi/Honda    1m17.5271s
2.  Scott Dixon          Ganassi/Honda    1m17.7196s  +0.1925s
3.  Will Power           Penske/Chevy     1m17.9735s  +0.4464s
4.  Ryan Hunter-Reay     Andretti/Chevy   1m18.1314s  +0.6043s
5.  Helio Castroneves    Penske/Chevy     1m18.1766s  +0.6495s
6.  Charlie Kimball      Ganassi/Honda    1m18.2009s  +0.6738s
7.  Justin Wilson        Coyne/Honda      1m18.2138s  Round 2
8.  Graham Rahal         Rahal/Honda      1m18.3051s  Round 2
9.  James Hinchcliffe    Andretti/Chevy   1m18.3135s  Round 2
10.  Simon Pagenaud       Schmidt/Honda    1m18.3787s  Round 2
11.  Marco Andretti       Andretti/Chevy   1m18.6230s  Round 2
12.  Sebastien Bourdais   Dragon/Chevy     1m26.7515s  Round 2
13.  Takuma Sato          Foyt/Honda       1m18.9164s  Group 1
14.  Tristan Vautier      Schmidt/Honda    1m18.3141s  Group 2
15.  EJ Viso              Andretti/Chevy   1m18.9344s  Group 1
16.  Tony Kanaan          KV/Chevy         1m18.3318s  Group 2
17.  Josef Newgarden      Fisher/Honda     1m19.0094s  Group 1
18.  JR Hildebrand        Herta/Honda      1m18.7114s  Group 2
19.  James Jakes          Rahal/Honda      1m19.1563s  Group 1
20.  Sebastian Saavedra   Dragon/Chevy     1m18.8967s  Group 2
21.  James Davison        Coyne/Honda      1m19.5285s  Group 1
22.  Ryan Briscoe         Panther/Chevy    1m18.9743s  Group 2
23.  Simona de Silvestro  KV/Chevy         1m19.5298s  Group 1
24.  Ed Carpenter         Carpenter/Chevy  1m19.2376s  Group 2
25.  Lucas Luhr           Fisher/Honda     1m19.9805s  Group 2

From GMM

Environmental activists Greenpeace on Sunday staged an audacious protest against race sponsors Shell at the Belgian grand prix.

Shell is the Spa-Francorchamps race's high-profile title sponsor, as well as backing the famous Italian team Ferrari.

First, paragliders took to the skies with banners protesting the oil multinational's Arctic oil drilling plans.

Abseiling activists then mounted the roof of the main grandstand and unfurled a huge banner that read 'ARCTIC OIL?  SHELL NO!'

Photo: savethearctic.org

After the race, as Sebastian Vettel, Fernando Alonso and Lewis Hamilton took their trophies, another abseiling protester tried to get onto the podium, amid the boos of the crowd and the resistance of the Shell-branded grid girls.

Although unsuccessful in their final bid, the activists did manage to place another Shell-branded banner prominently in front of the podium, reading 'Save the Arctic'.

Ganassi's Dario Franchitti led his teammate Scott Dixon to a 1-2 front row on the starting grid for IndyCar's race at Sonoma after setting the fastest time during qualification.

The Scot set a time of 1m17.5271s which was faster by a mere 0.19s over Dixon.

Will Power  (Penske) ended up third in front of current series' champion Ryan Hunter-Reay (Andretti Autosport) while Power's teammate Helio Castroneves and Charlie Kimball (Ganassi) will complete row three.

Qualifying results - IndyCar (Sonoma)
Pos  Driver               Team/Engine      Time        Gap
1.  Dario Franchitti     Ganassi/Honda    1m17.5271s
2.  Scott Dixon          Ganassi/Honda    1m17.7196s  +0.1925s
3.  Will Power           Penske/Chevy     1m17.9735s  +0.4464s
4.  Ryan Hunter-Reay     Andretti/Chevy   1m18.1314s  +0.6043s
5.  Helio Castroneves    Penske/Chevy     1m18.1766s  +0.6495s
6.  Charlie Kimball      Ganassi/Honda    1m18.2009s  +0.6738s
7.  Justin Wilson        Coyne/Honda      1m18.2138s  Round 2
8.  Graham Rahal         Rahal/Honda      1m18.3051s  Round 2
9.  James Hinchcliffe    Andretti/Chevy   1m18.3135s  Round 2
10.  Simon Pagenaud       Schmidt/Honda    1m18.3787s  Round 2
11.  Marco Andretti       Andretti/Chevy   1m18.6230s  Round 2
12.  Sebastien Bourdais   Dragon/Chevy     1m26.7515s  Round 2
13.  Takuma Sato          Foyt/Honda       1m18.9164s  Group 1
14.  Tristan Vautier      Schmidt/Honda    1m18.3141s  Group 2
15.  EJ Viso              Andretti/Chevy   1m18.9344s  Group 1
16.  Tony Kanaan          KV/Chevy         1m18.3318s  Group 2
17.  Josef Newgarden      Fisher/Honda     1m19.0094s  Group 1
18.  JR Hildebrand        Herta/Honda      1m18.7114s  Group 2
19.  James Jakes          Rahal/Honda      1m19.1563s  Group 1
20.  Sebastian Saavedra   Dragon/Chevy     1m18.8967s  Group 2
21.  James Davison        Coyne/Honda      1m19.5285s  Group 1
22.  Ryan Briscoe         Panther/Chevy    1m18.9743s  Group 2
23.  Simona de Silvestro  KV/Chevy         1m19.5298s  Group 1
24.  Ed Carpenter         Carpenter/Chevy  1m19.2376s  Group 2
25.  Lucas Luhr           Fisher/Honda     1m19.9805s  Group 2

From GMM

Bernie Ecclestone has confirmed reports from Spa-Francorchamps this week that Michelin wants to return to formula one.

"They do want to get back in," the F1 chief executive is quoted by Auto Motor und Sport, "but we have had contracts with Pirelli for some time."

Ecclestone is referring to commercial arrangements that have already been made with the sport's existing supplier.

But there is no such contract between Pirelli and F1's governing FIA beyond 2013.

That has ramped up the pressure on the already-frustrated Italian company, who said moves to change F1's supplier now would be "farcical".

"If Michelin wanted to return why didn't they come out and say so last September?" motor sport boss Paul Hembery told the Telegraph.

He was speaking at Spa-Francorchamps, where after Friday's punctures for Sebastian Vettel and Fernando Alonso, he had to show photographs to journalists to prove the problems had been simply caused by debris.

"We can't even get a flat tire now?" Hembery is quoted by Autosprint.

From GMM

Dr Helmut Marko, Red Bull's often hard-talking F1 consultant, has a surprising view regarding the sport's likely newest rookie.

If 17-year-old Sergey Sirotkin makes his grand prix debut for Sauber next year as scheduled, he will be by far the youngest driver in the history of the sport ever to do so.

The Russian is therefore already being written off as simply the latest crude example of pay-drivers buying their way into the pinnacle of motor sport.

But Sauber team boss Monisha Kaltenborn insists at Spa-Francorchamps: "You can't cut him down just because of his age and his father."

He may be central to Sauber's Russian rescue deal, but Kaltenborn insists Sirotkin deserves a chance.

"There are drivers who pay for their cockpit, that's true," she admitted.

"But many who came with backing have very quickly got rid of the 'pay driver' accusation. Look at Raikkonen," said Kaltenborn, referring to Sauber's controversial driver choice way back in 2001.

One man who knows a lot about Sirotkin's current arena, Formula Renault 3.5, is Marko, who has placed a lot of up-and-coming Red Bull-backed youngsters in the 'world series'.

"Sirotkin is still young," Marko told Der Spiegel, "but he is already very good.

"I am of the view that it is not a mistake to promote him."

Chevrolet has recalled 44,789 2011 and 2012 Cruze compact sedans to prevent possible brake failure.

The power-brake boosters in vehicles equipped with the DOHC 1.4 litre turbocharged engine and 6T40 automatic transmission may potentially malfunction because of an electric vacuum pump problem, causing brake failure. Drivers may need to apply extra effort in order to immobilize the vehicle if this problem occurs, thus increasing the risk of collision and injury.

Dealers will have to inspect and replace a micro switch in the power brake vacuum pipe assembly.

Source: Transport Canada

Photo: Sébastien D'Amour

Model: 2010 to 2012 Lincoln MKZ

Vehicle Type: Luxury Sedan

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Photo: Matthieu Lambert

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What Owners Dislike: Typical complaints include poor fuel mileage, sometimes-fussy infotainment controls, and some interior squeaks and rattles as the Lincoln MKZ ages.

Photo: Matthieu Lambert

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