Sidepodcast

Fantasy Racers Reminder - Hungary

The Hungarian Grand Prix is upon us and it's time, once again, to take a look at the mysterious world of Fantasy Racers. I am currently 85th in the Sidepodcast league and I can't seem to get away from that sort of position. This week, I'm going to do much better.

Thinking about it, though, I am quite happy with the team I have currently got. There is a sampling from all the teams that look like they might spring a surprise, and the only one I'm missing is Lewis Hamilton. I can't afford him, and I don't really want to switch anyone for him.

The prices are correct at the time of writing. With 0.7 million still left to spend, my team value has gone up slightly to 52.9. I wonder what it will be like after Hungary. At least I will have several weeks to come up with a new strategy for Valencia.

Don't forget you can still join in the fun if you haven't already. Chances are winning the league is out of the question, but there are plenty of battles to be fought and won throughout the field. All you need to know to get started is here, and you've got until 5pm BST (4pm GMT, 12pm EST) to select your drivers. Good luck everyone, and let us know who you're going with.

Fantasy Racers Reminder - Germany

It's been weeks and weeks since I looked at Fantasy Racers. During the last race, we were unexpectedly at the track on Friday and missed the cut off for swapping the team. Now, I am right back on form though, and have chosen for the upcoming German Grand Prix.

Firstly, I decided to give Massa a second chance, mostly because Rob is ace. If it's going to be wet this weekend then I'm going to be very misguided, but Lewis was having problems with his KERS, and right now I trust the Ferrari more than the McLaren. LewHam had to go, and Felipe Baby got the nod. Next, I knew I was happy with Vettel and Button, and remembered that a while back I wanted to purchase Alonso but couldn't quite afford him. I decided to ditch Trulli and grab the Spaniard whilst I could. I don't really have thoughts on Rosberg either way, so I left him in.

The prices are correct at the time of writing. I have 0.7 million left to spend, which won't get me much, and the total value of my team is 52.2. This means although JB's value went down slightly, Der Seb's improvement has more than counteracted any lasting effects.

To change your own teams, head on over to Fantasy Racers - you've got until 5pm BST (4pm GMT, 12pm EST). Let us know who you go with and why, and if you're not joined up yet, all you need to know is here. Good luck everyone!

Fantasy Racers Reminder - Great Britain

Unexpectedly we are at the track today, which means I can't access Fantasy Racers. In which case, I will be sticking with whatever team I chose last time.

Don't forget to visit Fantasy Racers, update your team, and let us know who you've gone for and why.

Bye!

Fantasy Racers Reminder - Turkey

We're back into the swing of it, having to choose drivers based on what they've been saying over the past few days, their demeanour in the paddock, and some not entirely reliable Free Practice data.

I wasn't happy with only having four drivers, and wanted to swap one of mine for a less expensive couple instead. Massa was easily the choice to go, as my misplaced faith in him last time round garnered very little reward. I chose Trulli, simply because I wanted a Toyota (god knows why - perhaps I think I can spur them on to better things) and Jarno was the lead driver in FP1. Then with my leftover cash, I really wanted to get Alonso but he was just out of reach so I settled for Rosberg instead. The Free Practice whizz has got to come through in a race at some time.

The prices are correct at the time of writing. From what I can tell, my worth is gradually slipping away, and my good fortune at the beginning of the season was simply a lucky gamble. Never mind, it's not over till it's over. I have 0.6 million left to spend, and the value of my team is down to 51.3.

The deadline for your own decision is 5pm BST (4pm GMT, 12pm EST). Just head on over to Fantasy Racers, make your selections and then tell us why. If you haven't signed up yet, you still can. All the details are here and you're still in with a chance of doing well. Good luck and have fun.

Fantasy Racers Reminder - Monaco

Given that Free Practice was yesterday, I've already had a good few hours to contemplate who to have in my team. I've given it some proper thought, evaluated all the options, interviewed all the drivers and... okay, maybe not.

I was tempted to take out Vettel, as Red Bull look like they've taken over all of Webber's bad luck so far this weekend. However, I still have faith in the youngster, so I kept him in. I immediately took Glock out, as Toyota haven't performed well so far. I have a horrible feeling this will be a bad decision, but never mind, it's too late now. I couldn't afford anyone that I wanted for Glock's price, so I decided instead to sell Buemi as well and opt for Massa. The Ferrari seems somewhat improved, and Monaco was his turning point last year. With Hamilton and Massa in the same lineup, this is starting to look eerily like last year!

The prices are correct at the time of writing. I have 4.4 million left over this week, and my team value is now 51.9. I think this represents the first time my overall total has gone down. It's a slippery slope, and I'm pretty sure I'm headed that way.

Monaco has confused things slightly, but the deadline for last minute changes to your team is 5pm BST (4pm GMT, 12pm EST). You can still sign up for a team if you haven't already, and join the Sidepodcast league - all the information you need is here. Once you've made your mind up, let us know who you're going for and what strategy you're employing.

Fantasy Racers Reminder - Spain

I'm going to be brutally honest this week and say that my normal plan of watching Free Practice and making my decisions didn't go to plan. I could only check in on the FP action occasionally, so I wasn't really aware of who was doing well and who wasn't. This is a pain as the European season has shaken things up again, and we're not really sure who's going to do well.

That being the case, I'm overly cautious going into the Spanish Grand Prix and have only made one change. I got fed up of Rosberg fooling me into thinking he was going to do well so I've taken him out and replaced him with Buemi. This may be a hasty decision, but I felt like taking a risk. The rest of my line up remains the same.

The prices are correct at the time of writing. I have no money left over this week (and I still think we should get bonus points for that rather than for having a million or two at the end of the selection process. My team value is 54.1.

Don't forget, the deadline for last minute changes to your team is 5pm BST (4pm GMT, 12pm EST). You can still sign up for a team if you haven't already, and join the Sidepodcast league - all the information you need is here. Once you've made your mind up, let us know who you're going for and what strategy you're employing.

Fantasy Racers Reminder - Bahrain

There's still time to sign up to Fantasy Racers and join the league if you haven't already. Mr C is doing so poorly, that you even stand a chance of beating him despite being three racers down. All the information you need to do so can be found here.

My decision this week was quite a lot easier than it has been in previous weeks, if only because my lineup was pretty darn good from before. However, I made one small change and that was selling Rubens Barrichello, using up a little bit of my spare cash and purchasing Lewis Hamilton. This may be a foolish reaction based on Free Practice results that aren't trustworthy, but I get the feeling McLaren are on the way up. Even if this weekend isn't theirs, I reckon they'll be doing well soon. Here's my final lineup for Bahrain:

The prices are correct at the time of writing. I have less money leftover, only 0.7, but the value of my team has increased slightly on last week to 53.5m. I reckon that won't be the case next week, though.

I do want to take this time to point out the excellent recap work Ollie has been doing on his Fantasy Racers teams. He's putting us all to shame with the total points each team scored, points per driver, plus his standings in our league and overall. We must try harder.

Anyway, the deadline for last minute changes to your team is 5pm BST (4pm GMT, 12pm EST - thanks to Fantasy Racers for the times, you know we're no good at working these things out.) Head on over and make your selects, and let us know what you decide.

Fantasy Racers Reminder - China

Before the season gets too far underway, if you haven't already signed up to the Sidepodcast Fantasy Racers league, then head here for all the information. If you're setting up a new team, you might be a couple of races down on points but there's still plenty of time for you to beat me. (And by me, I mean Mr C of course, because I'm doing so much better this year.)

With much thought (at least five minutes) put into my selection choices this time round, here's where I went. I immediately ditched Trulli for Glock which is so stupid because it's the opposite of what I did before the last race, and I should have just kept the German. I also decided to get rid of Raikkonen, for many reasons but mostly because they no longer have KERS. And the ice cream thing, as well. In his place, I selected Vettel because... well, Dank has bet on him to win, and it seems like a good way to go. Here's my final China lineup:

The prices are correct at the time of writing. I was left with 1.4m to spend, and an overal team total of 51, so it's definitely an upward curve. I also just discovered the "View Change History" on the driver selection page, which is fascinating, because I am very forgetful about who I swapped and when. It will tell an interesting story at the end of the season.

The deadline for team changes is 5pm BST (4pm GMT), so don't forget to head over to Fantasy Racers and make your selections. If you're feeling particularly confident, let us know who you've gone for, or whether your lineup remains the same.

Fantasy Racers Reminder - Malaysia

It's not too late to sign up to the Sidepodcast league. Last year, many teams joined mid-way through the season, and plenty of them still managed to beat me. If you want to do so, head on over to Fantasy Racers to set up your team, and you can find joining details for the league here.

Of course, this time round, I'm taking it much more seriously and choosing my driver lineup properly, so you will have a harder time beating me. At the moment, I'm top of the league!! Alright, it's only after one race, and yes, 13 other people got the exact same score as me and I'm only first because I was the earliest top team to sign up to the league. Whatever. I'm still top, and that's all that matters.

So, let me run through what I've done for this weekend in Malaysia. Last week, my lineup was Sutil, Button, Webber, Rosberg, Barrichello and Glock.

Initially, I wanted to get rid of Webber, because let's be honest, he is just too unlucky. I swapped him out for Jarno Trulli, thinking I would like to have a Toyota driver in there. However, I forgot that I already had Glock, so I decided to stick with the Italian and drop the German. Having seen slightly improved performance from the Ferrari boys, I wanted one of those, and decided on Raikkonen rather than Massa. Thinking about it now, that probably wasn't such a great idea as his KERS device clearly isn't stable, and he may be a little on edge now that he's had a cockpit full of smoke. Anyway, I plumped for Kimi, sacrificing Sutil so that I could afford the Finn.

I was left with 1.6m to spend, and an overal team total of 49 - which isn't a bad profit in just a week. However, I know this is all about the Brawn drivers, and I need them to continue doing well.

Don't forget to create your team, if you haven't already, and update your team if you've got one set up. The deadline is 5pm UK time (which is GMT+1 at the moment). Let us know who you're choosing, or if you're staying with the same lineup as before. Strategies are even more important now the driver prices are changing, so I'd love to hear your thoughts.

Fantasy Racers Reminder - Australia

Firstly, if you haven't set up your team yet, it's really easy to do. Head on over to Fantasy Racers to sign up, and you'll find league details and further instructions here. The Sidepodcast League now boasts over 400 entrants, and if you've not joined already, you're missing out.

Now, let's get on to the business of selecting our teams. The deadline is 5pm GMT (this is not Sidepodtime), which means we have the luxury of having seen both Free Practice sessions which turns out to have been very useful.

Initially, and based on nothing in particular, I chose Alonso, Button, Kubica, Barrichello and Vettel. I assumed Renault would be good (because I want them to be), Brawn for obvious reasons, Kubica because he seems to be the stronger BMW driver, and Vettel because he's the "rising star."

Having seen both Free Practice 1 and Free Practice 2, I have completely and utterly changed my mind. Only the Brawn boys remain.

I was left with 1.3m to spend, which I think is a pretty good use of resources. I swapped Vettel due to his inability to keep the car on track, Kubica because he basically said the car was undriveable, and Alonso, simply because the car seems to be slow. I brought in Webber, who looks to be doing well, Rosberg because he was quickest twice, and Glock as the Toyota looks pretty handy as well. Sutil was simply because I had the cash, although he didn't do too badly today, either.

So, don't forget to update your team, given all the information we've learned today. If you're not feeling secretive about it, you can share your driver lineup and strategies in the comments, and we can all compare notes.