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From GMM

Daniel Ricciardo has declared himself in the hunt for the 2014 world championship.

Before the title war between Mercedes teammates Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg exploded in Belgium, no one would have bet against a dominant victory for one or the other of the silver-clad duo.

But as their personal battle spilled into on-track carnage at Spa-Francorchamps, Red Bull's surprise newcomer Ricciardo grinned through the melee to secure his second consecutive race victory.

It was the Australian's third win of the season and his career, and a look at the drivers' standings shows he is now only 35 points behind Hamilton for second.

"The fact that Daniel only has one win less than Nico is really remarkable," said team boss Christian Horner.

Closing down the 64 point gap to championship leader Rosberg is more unlikely, but it cannot be forgotten that the winner of November's Abu Dhabi finale will secure no fewer than 50 points.

Daniel Ricciardo, Red Bull, winner in Belgium. (Photo: WRi2)

It is enough of a concern for Mercedes that, after Sunday's clash, the dominant Brackley based team is rethinking its policy on standing team orders.

As was expected, Mercedes' engine advantage shone through on the long stretches at Spa-Francorchamps, but Red Bull's Renault-powered car also looked quick in a straight line on Sunday.

"I guess on TV you could see that the rear wing was pretty simple, there wasn't much to it," said Ricciardo, "but obviously it was a good package here and we'll see if the Monza wing can get any smaller!

"Monza we know will be tricky again but obviously the package we brought here was pretty racy, and then I think Singapore and Suzuka will be pretty good for us," he added.

Ricciardo acknowledged that winning the championship is a long shot, but he insisted he will keep pushing anyway.

"If I'm within fifty (points) coming into Abu Dhabi then it's still mathematically possible -- we'll keep fighting."

Daniel Ricciardo, third win of the season. (Photo: WRi2)

The added bonus for Ricciardo is that he has achieved his success alongside none other than reigning quadruple world champion Sebastian Vettel, and his demeanour on Sunday indicated he is yet to feel the weight of the growing pressure.

"I'm enjoying it more than ever," he said. "Each race that goes on I'm having more and more fun. The in-team battle has, let's say, gone really well. I think the team has been really pleased and I've been pleased so we're in a good place."

German television commentator and former driver Marc Surer echoes Ricciardo's claim that the title cannot be ruled out, but he also acknowledged that overcoming the might of Mercedes' dominance is unlikely.

"That would be amazing," he said, "and I almost can't imagine it. Of course, if it carries on like this and looking at the (double) points situation for the final race, then it is possible. But I don't think so. There will be races again where Mercedes will clearly dominate, driving all alone at the front of the field," added Surer.

There was a big crash for Tomas Enge in his Lamborghini at the start of the BlancPain Endurance Qualifying Race at Slovakia Ring.

The was red flagged moment after the start after Enge, a former Formula 3000 champion and former Formula 1 driver, crashed hard.

In the hustle of the opening lap Enge lost control of his No. 88 Reiter Engineering Lamborghini, hitting the barriers hard and rolling the car several times.

The Czech driver was unharmed, but the barriers needed to be repaired so the race had to be interrupted.

Going to school out of town is big step in a teenager's life. The same goes for a first job. In both instances, punctuality is key and therefore, the argument for a reliable new car can be made.

The purchase of a new car is and always will be a large purchase. The new car market is flooded with countless new offerings, and many look like one another. It can be difficult to navigate through this vast ocean of makes and models.

For those looking for a first new car, here's the list of cars I'd consider:

No. 10
Nissan LEAF
If you've got a little more coin to spend than the average student and want to demonstrate your beliefs, the LEAF is a superb electric car. Range needs to be considered, but you likely live well under 100 km from school or work.

Photo: Nissan

Continue reading Top 10: New cars for Young'uns

McLaren's director of racing Eric Boullier said he truly enjoyed the action-packed Belgian Grand Prix and has backed Kevin Magnussen over his aggressive driving against Fernando Alonso.

During the closing moments of the race, Magnussen and Alonso fought hard while overtaking lapped traffic.

The Ferrari and the McLaren took the slipstream of a Caterham. Alonso tried to pass the McLaren, dropping two wheels into the grass at more than 300 km/h
"Then there was a little bit of action in the next corners,” said Alonso.

Magnussen was penalised for his action. The Dane was handed a 20-second penalty, which relegated from sixth position to 12th overall.

Kevin Magnussen (McLaren) and Fernando Alonso (Ferrari) at Spa. (Photo: WRi2)

However, Boullier defended Magnussen's aggressive driving, saying that F1 should be embracing such exciting battles at a time when some are complaining the sport is boring.

"I love it. This is racing," Boullier told Autosport magazine. "It is all what we are talking about, and I think we had an incident-packed race, so it was a great race."

Eric Boullier says Kevin Magnussen is driving very well now.

"Obviously it is part of the experience he is gaining over the season," Boullier explained. "He is very motivated.

"He is new to the category and it is nice to see the big boys a pushing a little bit to show him 'stay behind, kid'. It is part of the learning process, so it is good.

"I think it is not easy to step into F1, especially with a top team. There is a lot of pressure in delivering when there is no more testing. It is not easy,” Eric Boullier declared.

The collision that ruined the races of Mercedes' teammate Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton on lap 2 of the Belgian Formula 1 Grand Prix yesterday will undoubtedly have major consequences.

But first, the FIA is not expected to launch a retrospective investigation into the clash despite Hamilton's claim his teammate confessed to causing the collision during the Mercedes post-race debrief.

In fact, close examination of the collision reveals that Rosberg suddenly swung back into the leading Mercedes of Hamilton in a second movement through the chicane

However, sources close to the governing body have revealed the FIA regard the incident as closed after the Spa stewards adjudged the collision as a racing incident.

Several former F1 drivers put the blame on Rosberg.

Nico Rosberg, Mercedes W05. (Photo: WRi2)

"It was outrageous. I think with everything we've seen and know about now with Nico saying he didn't want to back out of a collision that was obviously going to happen - if you don't back out you're going to hit something. He's got history; we have to go back to 2012 where he actually drove Lewis Hamilton off the track in Bahrain, and Fernando Alonso in exactly the same race," said Johnny Herbert on Sky Sports F1.

Martin Brundle saw things a bit differently. "My interpretation of his words is ‘I refuse to get out of the way' rather than going and hitting him," he said.

“If you run into somebody you're guaranteed to break your wing, you're nowhere near guaranteed to puncture another driver's tyre, although it's possible. It seems to me he's saying that ‘I deserved more space' - which he didn't. Unless you're fully alongside the rules are the driver in front is allowed to take the normal racing line, although he can't force you off the road necessarily, and there is an escape road there,” he explained.

“The rules say you have to have a significant part of the car alongside [to attack] but there's not a significant part alongside, he was never in a position to mount a challenge,” declared Anthony Davidson.

“It was clumsy driving from an experienced driver. There was a double movement on the wheel, went to turn in once and then again and it was on that second time that the contact was made. If that was an inexperienced rookie driver, he would be hammered. Hamilton is on the normal racing line and Rosberg is an area where he had to back out. I can understand why people are so unhappy with the move,” Davidson said.

An S-Class Mercedes, like an Audi A8 or a BMW 7 Series, is a state of mind and a financial statement. It's also a testament to where the owner's mind and soul reside. The S-Class is like Downton Abbey. The moment you see it, you understand grandeur and opulence.

On what is essentially its 60th anniversary, the 2014 Mercedes S-Class has never been better sorted, loaded with more features or more desirable. A comment I got from a friend on Facebook following the posting of a picture sums up the car quite well: “They should drop the ‘S' and just call it ‘class.'”

The Mercedes S-Class is a tremendously complex automobile that does its best to distract the occupants from that. The effortless way it drives and its Queen-Elizabeth-like on-road presence along with its gobs of power make everything seem right and serene in this world.


What is a Mercedes-Benz S-Class?
The 2014 S-Class is and will likely always be Mercedes' flagship super-luxury sedan. It has been since 1954 and could be credited with having set the standard for the uber-luxo saloon.

Now in its 6th generation, the S-Class carries on with new nearly unprecedented levels of technology, once more at the forefront of what is possible in an automobile. Mercedes have used the S-Class as their platform of choice for introducing new technologies in the past, with varying degrees of reliability issues.

2014 Mercedes-Benz S-Class Price and Specs
A 2014 Mercedes S 550 4MATIC short wheelbase retails for $106,600. In long wheelbase form, the price rises to $115,200. There exists a 63 AMG version and it starts at a paltry $151,600.

Both 550s are motivated by a twin-turbocharged 4.7L V8 that develops 449 horsepower and 516 lb-ft of torque. Merc's 7G-TRONIC PLUS 7-speed automatic transmission slots itself between the 8 and the standard 4MATIC AWD system.

This powertrain combination launches the S 550 to 100km/h in only 4.8 seconds and will go forth until it tops out at 210 km/h.

My long wheelbase S 550 sports a sticker price of $131,500, which includes the advanced driving assistance and Premium packages.

Driving the 2014 Mercedes-Benz S-Class
A sense of powerful wellbeing is what the Mercedes S-Class casts upon its occupants. Upon start-up, a sense of all encompassing strength takes over. Picture Thor heading towards Jane Foster to save her. That feeling of relief, safety and that everything will be OK washes over her. The S-Class does the same, to its occupants.

A light tug downwards on the column-mounted shifter puts the 7G-TRONIC in “D” and with determined throttle application, the S 550 lusts towards the horizon. This car does nothing sharply; the S picks you up and forcefully yet gently pushes forward with force akin to that of Thor throwing his hammer.

The rumble from the V8 is present however muffled by the incredible level of sound-deadening materials. The soundtrack increases ever so slightly as the revs build towards 6,500 rpm, but the gauge that deserves attention is the speedometer as it climbs at a rate that defies logic for such a huge car.

The 2014 Mercedes S-Class weight is perfectly managed unless the car is tossed into a decreasing radius onramp. Otherwise, this ultra-mega-super-luxury car floats above nearly all imperfections with uncanny ease thanks to its standard continually adaptive damping of the S-Class' AIRMATIC suspension. The German engineers from Stuttgart have taken refinement to a level that Bentley and Rolls-Royce attain: this in a car that retails for far less than a Mulsanne or a Ghost.

Driving, or piloting, this luxury cruise ship is an experience unto itself. Manipulating the sumptuous wood and leather steering wheel results in the hood-ornament-adorned nose slowly banking over to one side in the glossiest possible manner. Steering weights up properly at highway speeds, but again nothing is ever sharp.

The 2014 Mercedes S-Class' countless bits of technology come together to create the ultimate in high-end driving experience. The S-Class is actually capable of driving itself for a few moments thanks to DISTRONIC PLUS with Steer Assist, Active Lane Keeping Assist, and collision prevention assist. These systems use radar and camera to steer, accelerate, and brake the car. The combined systems will “drive” the S-Class but only for a few moments until a warning chime is heard. At this point, best to put both hands back on the wheel.

Inside and Out of the 2014 Mercedes-Benz S-Class
Like the Abbey, it's not especially boisterous visually but leaves no doubt as to what the car stands for. The new 2014 Benzo S-Class is not beautiful. In fact, few would ever state that such and such generation of the S-Class is gorgeous but this one tips the scale in favour of a serious “wow” and “damn, that's kinda hot.”

The new C-Class may be the only pretty Mercedes at the moment and, given that it has been referred to as the baby S-Class, I supposed the S 550 is handsome.

Where the new 2014 Mercedes S-Class really demonstrates how special a car it is is within the confines of its crisp and muscular body panels. The cabin is sumptuous, regal, and insanely comfortable and spacious.

The car's inner sanctum is covered in the finest hides, steels, and woods. The string of pearls layout of the vents (along with start-button and clock) is simply beautiful. The screens, however, are not, especially when off. When on, their graphics and animation are fantastic. The Burmester audio system creates sounds as gorgeous as the machined aluminum grills are. Every aspect of the S 550's interior received what can only be described as an inordinate amount of attention. The incredible ambient lighting is another example.

The rear bench is exceptionally roomy and welcoming. Few large sedans are as welcoming where being driven everywhere really wouldn't be a bad thing. In short, the 2014 S 550's cabin is stylish and fantastically good for one's health.

Comparing the 2014 Mercedes-Benz S-Class
The Mercedes-Benz S-Class faces off with a number of flagship juggernauts including the Audi A8, BMW 7 Series, Porsche Panamera, Lexus LS and, the current star of the segment, the Tesla Model S.

I truly enjoyed the S 550, however, the Tesla tugs at all my strings and would win my affections if I were fortunate enough to be in the market for such a car. The Model S' cabin may not be as special, but for nearly every other aspect, go Tesla.

From GMM

The fallout of Sunday's explosive clash between warring teammates Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg is only just beginning to hit the ground.

Although Kevin Magnussen was penalised by the stewards for his wheel-to-wheel behaviour at Spa, German Rosberg escaped even an FIA investigation after driving into the rear tyre of Hamilton's sister Mercedes.

"The stewards' job is to make the fight for the title fair," Brazilian journalist Livio Oricchio wrote in Universo, "but in this case they inexplicably failed to act."

Rosberg, booed in the podium and slammed by his bosses, refused to apologise.

"A real champion would do this and say afterwards 'I screwed up'," 1997 world champion Jacques Villeneuve told the German newspaper Bild.

Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg, Mercedes AMG W05. (Photo: WRi2)

Boss Toto Wolff admitted the post-race meeting involving Rosberg and Hamilton had been particularly "heated".

"Emotions have not cooled," he admitted to Austrian television ORF. "(The emotions are) very hot and very high.

"In the heat of battle sometimes things are said that are a bit hard," added Wolff, giving a hint of the flavour of the late afternoon summit.

"Please understand," Rosberg's media manager Georg Nolte said, "Nico only wants to discuss things internally."

Lewis Hamilton was much more publicly forthcoming.

He even spoke about a pre-Belgian GP meeting on Thursday, during which Rosberg made clear "how angry he was" about the team orders shenanigans of Hungary.

"I was thinking 'It's been three weeks you've been lingering?' He sat there and said how angry he was at Toto and Paddy (Lowe)," said Hamilton.

"After that, and this, it's interesting," said the 2008 world champion.

Hamilton then made the explosive revelation that, in the post-clash meeting late on Sunday, Rosberg admitted Sunday's incident had been "on purpose".

"He (Rosberg) said he could have avoided it," Lewis Hamilton claimed. "He said 'I did it to prove a point'. I was gobsmacked. You need to ask him what point he was trying to make."

Toto Wolff, albeit obviously furious with Rosberg, said the suggestion the German crashed into Hamilton deliberately was "nonsense".

But he confirmed: "Nico felt he needed to hold his line. He needed to make a point."

The fact Rosberg's conscious actions resulted in contact might now attract the attention of the governing FIA, who have the power to open investigations even long after the fact.

Nico Rosberg's front wing and Lewis Hamilton's tire after their accident. (Photo: WRi2)

Team chairman Niki Lauda's blunt assessment was that the collision was "avoidable" -- a conclusion that should in theory be punished by the stewards.

"Keep the steering wheel to the left," the triple world champion added, "go a bit over the kerb and nothing happens. But he pulled to the right at the wrong moment."

That is despite a spokesperson for the Paris federation as insisting that, as far as the FIA is concerned, "It's over".

But it's far from over for Mercedes. First, the Brackley based team could punish Rosberg.

"Lewis said it's going to be a slap on the wrist and there is no consequence," Wolff said. "But today we have seen the limits of slaps on the wrists."

But an even bigger consequence is the re-think in Mercedes' policy of letting the drivers race freely.

"Unfortunately yes," Wolff admitted when asked if the team is thinking about altering that policy in light of what happened in Belgium.

"We haven't decided that yet, we will in the next few days but I am extremely upset -- I feel let down and the team has been let down. We have defined rules and we have broken those rules.

"We are all fans and we owe it to everyone out there to let them race but today that philosophy has ended with Mercedes losing many valuable points and we don't want to end up in Abu Dhabi losing a title because we are race fans.

"What's the point of great races and great fights if at the end we look like idiots?

"We hate the words team orders," he added, "but that is now up for discussion.

"We believed both of them understood but now this has happened and we need a new system," said Toto Wolff.

"This cannot - and will not - happen again."

Lauda has been the loudest voice arguing against team orders at Mercedes, and even he is now quoted by Auto Motor und Sport as saying: "I think we can keep this policy, but I can't promise anything.

"Our policy is that our drivers know what they are doing, but a collision in the second lap shows that this is not the case."

After four years of secrecy, Renovo Motors unveiled a two-seater based on the Shelby Daytona, which it says can hit 60 mph in 3.4 seconds. Renovo co-founders saw an opportunity to do for supercars what Tesla aims to do for mass-market cars.

Daimler AG plans a line of vehicles with modified engines and sport-tuned suspensions to bridge the gap between standard Mercedes-Benz models and high-performance AMG derivatives.

Follow Auto123.com's Racing editor René Fagnan and his team as they roam the paddocks in various auto racing series. You'll get a closer look at every F1 team, from Ferrari to Red Bull and all the others in-between including Lotus, McLaren, Sauber, Mercedes, Williams, Caterham, Force India, and Toro Rosso. Auto123 Racing also provides complete coverage of every Grand Prix.

In addition to F1, René focuses on all the major series and championships including NASCAR, Canada's DMCC, and Europe's DTM. He also writes articles on rally and karting events and drivers.

Thanks to Auto123 Racing, you'll become more familiar with local drivers such as Philippe Poulin and Rémy Audette, not to mention Robert Wickens, who happens to race overseas. Meet today's F1 stars like Jensen Button, Lewis Hamilton, and Kimi Räikkönen, and learn more about the legends that are Michael Schumacher, Ayrton Senna, and Gilles Villeneuve.

Count on Auto123.com's Racing section to bring you up to speed on all the latest and hottest stories from the world of auto racing.

From GMM

The delayed announcement of McLaren's 2015 lineup will not drag on until the winter, boss Eric Boullier insists.

On paper, the Woking team is the only F1 grandee whose driver plans for next year are not at all clear.

It is known that McLaren's new works engine partner Honda is pushing for a truly top name - like Alonso, Hamilton or Vettel - to spearhead the project.

But Spaniard Alonso could be on the cusp of falling out of the running, with Ferrari's Marco Mattiacci answering a clear "yes" at Spa on Saturday when asked by the British broadcaster Sky if he is keeping both existing drivers for 2015.

With Kevin Magnussen having a solid rookie season for McLaren, it is believed the man most likely to move on would be the veteran and 2009 world champion Jenson Button.

David Coulthard, a former long-time McLaren driver, thinks the British squad holds the key to the 2015 market.

Mclaren is key for the 2015 driver market (Photo: WRI2)

"A lot depends on McLaren," he told the Telegraph.

"McLaren think he (Button) is two tenths slower than Lewis Hamilton, and Kevin Magnussen has not been consistently two tenths quicker than Jenson.

"Therefore they are looking for that Lewis Hamilton two tenths. If they can source that, they will go with the laptime. That said, it would be a bold decision to jettison someone of Jenson's calibre," Coulthard said.

Team boss Boullier said on Saturday the uncertainty will not roll on beyond the next few months and into the off-season.

"It is not our plan to wait that long, no," he is quoted by NBC Sports.

"I'm sure there are a lot of fans waiting, and these two guys (Button and Magnussen) are waiting.

"We are in the position to wait a few days or a few weeks until we know where we go in the next few years. That's why it takes a bit of time," Boullier added.

From GMM

Red Bull is getting deeply involved with the improvement of engine partner Renault's F1 project.

Deeply frustrated with the French marque's start to the new V6 turbo era, Red Bull forced a restructuring at Renault, involving the return of boss Cyril Abiteboul.

But that is not all. Germany's Auto Motor und Sport reports that Red Bull is now at the forefront of Renault's push to vastly improve its 'power unit' and bridge the rumoured 60 horse power gap to Mercedes.

The report suggested development lines have been clearly drawn, with Viry-Chatillon remaining in charge of the engine and turbo but Red Bull taking over the electric and energy-storage side of the package at Milton-Keynes.

Photo: WRI2

But Red Bull is actually "advertising for personnel in all disciplines of engine development," Auto Motor und Sport claims.

"The listed address is always Red Bull. Are they building an engine in-house?"

The question was triggered because, last month at Silverstone, Infiniti chief Andy Palmer reportedly met with Red Bull chiefs and discussed building a Red Bull engine.

Renault's engine chief Rob White played down the rumours of engine-specialist recruiting at Milton Keynes by saying: "It is just easier (for Renault) to recruit people in England than it is in France.

"And the new Red Bull technology centre also needs engineers," he added.

From press release

Brembo and Mercedes revealed the final conclusions of the investigation regarding Lewis Hamilton's spectacular brake failure during qualifying for the German Grand Prix.

The investigation has revealed the quality of the Brembo disc was not at fault.

"Both parties can now confirm that the quality of the disc material was not a contributory factor," said the investigation report.

"Instead, extensive analysis and experimentation has demonstrated that the specific interaction between the structure of the brake material in question and the brake mounting on the F1 W05 Hybrid was at the root of the failure."

In conclusion, Mercedes will be able to run Brembo discs on its cars once more.

Red Bull's Daniel Ricciardo delivered another brilliant performance in Spa-Francorchamps to deny Nico Rosberg and pick up his third win of the season.

(Photo: WRI2)

Mercedes trod on its on tail in Belgium, when at the start pole-sitter Rosberg made contact with his teammate Lewis Hamilton, trying to reclaim the lead of the race. Rosberg broke his front wing and Hamilton picked up a puncture.

The Brit's hopes of a good result ended right then and there.

Lewis Hamilton, Nico Rosberg (Photo: WRI2)

Rosberg lost a lot of time in the pits taking on a new front wing. A late charge put him back in contention. But ultimately he came short 3.3 seconds.

Riccardo's victory in Spa is the first for an Australian since Jack Brabham's in 1960.

A power unit failure put a sad end to German Andre Lotterer's first - and possible last - race in F1.

Nico Rosberg, Mercedes W05 (Photo: WRI2)

Race results* - Belgian Grand Prix (round 12 of 19)
1 - Daniel Ricciardo (Red Bull RB10-Renault) 54 laps in 1.24'36"556
2 - Nico Rosberg (Mercedes W05) - 3"383
3 - Valtteri Bottas (Williams FW36-Mercedes) - 28"032
4 - Kimi Raikkonen (Ferrari F14-T) - 36"815
5 - Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull RB10-Renault) - 52"196
6 - Kevin Magnussen (McLaren MP4/29-Mercedes) - 54"262
7 - Jenson Button (McLaren MP4/29-Mercedes) - 54"580
8 - Fernando Alonso (Ferrari F14-T) - 1'01"162
9 - Sergio Perez (Force India VJM07-Mercedes) - 1'04"293
10 - Daniil Kvyat (Toro Rosso STR9-Renault) - 1'05"347
11 - Nico Hulkenberg (Force India VJM07-Mercedes) - 1'05"697
12 - Jean-Eric Vergne (Toro Rosso STR9-Renault) - 1'11"920
13 - Felipe Massa (Williams FW36-Mercedes) - 1'15"975
14 - Adrian Sutil (Sauber C33-Ferrari) - 1'22"447
15 - Esteban Gutierrez (Sauber C33-Ferrari) - 1'30"825
16 - Max Chilton (Marussia MR03-Ferrari) - 1 lap
17 - Marcus Ericsson (Caterham CT05-Renault) - 1 lap

Fastest lap of the race: 1'50"511 by Nico Rosberg

Retirements
Lewis Hamilton
Romain Grosjean
Pastor Maldonado
Andre Lotterer

Valtteri Bottas, Williams FW36 (Photo: WRI2)

Drivers' championship
1.Rosberg 220; 2.Hamilton 191; 3.Ricciardo 156; 4.Alonso 119; 5.Bottas 110; 6.Vettel 98; 7.Hulkenberg 69; 8.Button 66; 9.Magnussen 45; 10.Massa 40; 11.Raikkonen 39; 12.Perez 31; 13.Vergne 11; 14.Grosjean 8; 15.Kvyat 7; 16.Bianchi 2.

Constructors' championship
1.Mercedes 411; 2.Red Bull-Renault 254; 3.Ferrari 158; 4.Williams-Mercedes 150; 5.McLaren-Mercedes 111; 6.Force India-Mercedes 100; 7.Toro Rosso-Renault 18; 8.Lotus-Renault 8; 9.Marussia-Ferrari 2.

*Unofficial results

From NASCAR

Logano took the lead from Matt Kenseth with 44 laps remaining and scooted to his third Sprint Cup victory of the season in Saturday's IRWIN Tools Night Race at Bristol Motor Speedway.

"We can win the championship. We've showed it at every kind of race track. We've just got to keep doing it," said Logano, 24, who held off his Team Penske teammate Brad Keselowski in the final laps.

"What a year we're having. I'm having so much fun. The past six or seven races have been unbelievable."

Joey Logano leads at Bristol (Tom Pennington/NASCAR via Getty Images)

Logano has finished no worse than sixth in any of the last five races but took special pride in winning at the track known as the "World's Fastest Half-Mile."

"It's just the baddest mamma jamma race track ever built," said Logano, who two years ago was struggling with a loss of confidence at Joe Gibbs Racing.

"At that point, I would never think I'd have a year like this," he said. "That's why the mental side of this is just as important as the physical side. But I'm happy I went through all that. It's made me what I am now and made me aware of how I have to be, mentally, to win these things."

From GMM

Bernie Ecclestone has returned to the executive board of F1's parent company.

Although he remained F1 chief executive, the 83-year-old had stepped down from Delta Topco amid his corruption trial in Germany.

Briton Ecclestone settled that case with a highly-controversial $100 million payment to the Bavarian state.

"The system in law is pretty fair," he told the BBC at Spa-Francorchamps this week.

"I just had to pay to get rid of the case, that's all."

And Ecclestone also said in Belgium that the fact he is now returning to the Delta Topco board will make "no difference" to how F1 has been run in the past days and months.

Photo: WRI2

"I stood down for obvious reasons, but I'll be back on again now," he told the Telegraph recently. "Everything is back to normal."

Asked if F1's major shareholder CVC is happy about his return to the board, he insisted: "Yes of course."

That appears also true even of Mercedes, whose strict corporate rules had made parent Daimler particularly nervous about Ecclestone's alleged association with bribery.

But team boss Toto Wolff said at Spa: "I have seen a very strong Bernie coming back from the shutdown, after the court case. The court case has been settled and this is good news.

"For us it's important to have a strong guy, a strong leader and good discussions. We had one of these today," he added on Saturday, after a meeting between team bosses and Ecclestone that was held in the Mercedes motor home.

From GMM

Roberto Merhi has admitted he is in the running to be the next occupant of sidelined Caterham racer Kamui Kobayashi's seat.

At Spa, reigning Le Mans winner Andre Lotterer is racing in the Japanese's place, but he has only been released by his Super Formula team TOM's as well as the works Audi outfit for one weekend only.

The 32-year-old Belgian-raised German admitted he might also add value to the newly Colin Kolles-led team at Suzuka, a circuit he knows intimately.

But Lotterer is not counting on a F1 future beyond that.

"Even if I do an outstanding performance here, I cannot imagine that suddenly a top team is going to present me with a three-year contract," he is quoted by Germany's Auto Motor und Sport.

That attitude is an acknowledgement of Caterham's current situation; with Kobayashi having been pushed from his seat due to the one-off sponsor offering of Lotterer's sponsor, the Hype energy drink.

Caterham says the mainly unfunded Kobayashi remains part of the team, but already it is clear that Kolles has his eye on at least one or two likely alternatives for the remaining seven race weekends of 2014.

One of them could be Carlos Sainz jr, whose backer Red Bull earlier had talks with Kolles but could not agree financial terms for the opportunity.

Robert Merhi has overtaken Carlos Sainz Jr in the running for Kamui Kobayashi's driver in Monza (Photo: WRI2)

The big frontrunner now is Roberto Merhi, a 23-year-old Spaniard who according to the Spanish newspaper AS "has the necessary financial support thanks to Russian businessmen".

Merhi is at Spa this weekend as a guest of Caterham.

But he denied it is now a simple matter of the Russians striking a deal with Kolles.

"It is not true that the Russians put in the money because it is precisely those of my team (Zeta Corse) in the World Series who don't want me in F1 because they want to win this championship (Formula Renault 3.5)," said Merhi.

But speculation is rife that the deal on the table for Merhi is two races in 2014 in Kobayashi's place.

"I am likely to be in Monza, but still nothing is certain because in this world nothing is," he insisted.

"It is true that I was invited to be here (at Spa) and I am. They (Caterham) called me to come to the factory and test the simulator, which I did, they ended up quite happy and presented me with this opportunity."

AS claims Merhi's two-race stint actually would have started in Belgium, but because his European F3 title was three years ago, the FIA did not automatically issue him with a F1 super license.

Supplier Metaldyne Performance Group on Friday filed with federal securities regulators for an initial public offering of its common shares.

Bentley's Mulsanne Convertible Concept is back on track. Shown by Bentley CEO Wolfgang Duerheimer to a select few customers at the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance in 2012, the stately convertible was intended for production.

GM has passed a significant milestone in its campaign to replace potentially defective ignition switches in millions of cars recalled worldwide: It cleared its backlog of parts orders.