This third episode of the 2010 Season Preview takes a closer look at the calendar, whisking you on a whirlwind tour around the globe to find out which circuits are going to present a challenge, and which we could live without.
The Calendar
We begin in Bahrain, which is a change from last year's season opener in Australia. Will the dusty circuit be able to provide a chaotic start to the year or will it be less than enthusiastic? Canada is back on the calendar this year, a supremely popular decision by Bernie, and we also have a brand new circuit to ogle in Korea.
Another change sees the European race move up the calendar quite a lot, whilst Abu Dhabi remains the season finale - clearly they learnt nothing from 2009.
Coming up this week, we discuss tyres, skipping races, Ferrari moaning, Doctor Who, green paint, plus a special Tremayne.
Intro
Everyone in the whole world is counting down to the season now, so it must almost be here.
Good Week / Bad Week
It's been a good week for Michelin as they're contemplating coming back into F1, although we can't figure out why. Also for Ferrari as Alonso really rates their car. It's been a bad week for race fans as the Abu Dhabi race is still safe, and for Alvaro Parente who is out of a reserve driver role.
News and Views
We consider the future of US F1 and Campos. US F1 don't seem to be struggling something chronic, and I'm not happy about their desire to miss four races. If they miss four then I want to as well! Campos, though, have found a way forward at least, but it seems as though they won't be the Campos we know and, erm, love.
Testing was mixed weather, starting out rough much to Ferrari's disgust. It improved towards the end of the week though, so we evaluate who was fast, who was slow, who James Allen rates, and the Lotus/Virgin battle.
Feedback
A quick hi to a Twitter user, plus an update on the McLaren hoody contest. We get a voicemail from Dan and an email from Tom regarding the green paint situation. Zach says we are mostly fun, whilst Lewis has a major Tremayne about Twitter and liveries. Adie has launched an online magazine, Peter wasn't keen on the CSI New York episode with added motorsport references, and Mike updates on his coverage in Canada. Finally in website feedback, Darryl is impressed, whilst Dr J wants a little tweak to the breakout threads.
Housekeeping
No real housekeeping except to say there's no show next week, because of Joe's meetup on Friday, plus the real important testing over the weekend. When we return in two week's time, it's the last show before the season begins.
Before I get going on this, I want to encourage volunteers for the lead blogger over the coming weeks. We have five more Thursday Thoughts to come before the season gets underway, so if you fancy having a go at posing the question, then please sign up to the wiki. If you don't have a blog of your own, we'd be more than happy to host the guest post here. If you've already had a go at asking the question, you can sign up again, there's no limit to the number of attempts you can have.
What track or tracks not on the current F1 season calender do you want added? Also, what current tracks need to go? And finally, if this isn’t enough, how many Grands Prix should F1 have?
This is a fabulous question but I am going to have to skip the first bit. Mr C and myself have long since said there are too many races. For mostly selfish reasons, the more races are on a calendar, the more we moan. We relish the off season almost as much as, or even more than, when the action is underway. Therefore, I don't really want to add any tracks to the calendar, but when it comes to taking some off, now we're on to something.
I feel a bit harsh singling out Abu Dhabi to be chopped before it even gets a second chance to host a race, but that first Grand Prix was so dire, I can't bear to think of it on the calendar in the future. It's an obvious selection, along with Valencia - two brand new circuits that promised a lot but left little to remember. Valencia, in particular, is so dull and grey that the only thing I would miss if it was dropped is the lime green building that lines the circuit.
Whilst we're throwing tracks away, we might as well get rid of China. The Shanghai International Circuit is nowhere near as bad as some of the two already mentioned, but it does have two very long straights that are quite dull, and there seems to be no atmosphere at the circuit at all. There's also too much will they/won't they news floating around about the track, and we have enough of Bernie's decisions with circuits that are actually good.
I'm tempted to knock Singapore right off there, too, but I think if the organisation was a bit better, it does have potential. The first night racing circuit is still a good title to hold, even if the novelty has worn off a bit now. Plus, it wouldn't be fair for Renault to forget their Singapore mishaps too soon, would it?
Another circuit that used to come under fire is Hungary, and I can see why. Initially I wanted to give Hungary a reprise, because there are other tracks that are much worse. Giving it a little more thought, though, I'm not at all impressed with how the circuit treats Felipe Baby. In 2009, he suffered the terrifying accident that saw him out of the car for the rest of the year. The previous season, his engine gave up heartbreakingly close to the end of the race, after such a fight from him that deserved the win. Instead, Kovalainen became the 100th different winner, and got his name in the record books. So, no, Hungary has to go too.
That's three circuits I want to get rid of, which is starting to get the calendar down to a sensible size. It would be impossible to judge the new South Korea track without seeing it, but I'd be just as happy if it wasn't ready in time. I also think I would get rid of Malaysia because they only gave me half a race in 2009. It wasn't necessarily their fault, but I had to mess about with half points for the rest of the season, and I do hold a grudge. So, what does my new and improved calendar look like?
It's shorter, obviously. I've taken the liberty of removing any back-to-back nonsense, because fortnightly racing is a sensible way to go about things. I've also chopped out the summer break, because we want to keep Peter Windsor happy, and Mr C and I rarely holiday anyway. Finally, I have re-ordered the races by number of laps.
Date
Race
Laps
29th May
Bahrain
TBC
5th Jun
Belgium
44
19th Jun
Italy
53
3rd Jul
Japan
53
17th Jul
Australia
58
31st Jul
Turkey
58
14th Aug
Britain
60
28th Aug
Singapore
61
11th Sep
Spain
66
25th Sep
Germany
67
9th Oct
Canada
70
23rd Oct
Brazil
71
6th Nov
Monaco
78
That's the Sidepodcast Calendar. Short, and in an orderly fashion.
With the introduction of the daily post, and the permission granted to go off topic at will, there have been a wealth of comments about a variety of topics. Sometimes there are moments of genius, and a comment gets picked out as a contender for the Best Comment of the Year. RG even started a wiki page to compile what turned out to be an enormous list of potentials.
The initial plan was to have a poll and select the Best Comment of 2009. However, there are so many good ones that I think it would be too hard to choose. Instead, we'll pick out some of our favourites, and point you in the direction of the wiki to enjoy the full list.
Don't forget to keep your eyes peeled when you are in the comments this year, as we have started a new page for 2010, and there are already several candidates on there already. We're only three days in! For now, though, it's back to 2009 for a few of the great comments.
It's the Way You Tell 'Em
Before the long and drawn out process of picking a new FIA President was fully underway, we were discussing Max's decision not to stand for the position for another term. Max has said this a few times, and you can never be sure if he means it. When the question arose: "Are we taking [Max's decision] with a pinch of salt or is it the real deal?" Nick replied:
Max's promises come ready salted.
When Stuart went away from home to cover the WTCC at Porto, he still found time to share a couple of comments from the paddock. We were questioning the setup for media types at the touring car events, and wondered whether there was wifi available. Stuart replied:
Sort of - it comes and goes more than the Karma Chameleon...
Now, there is plenty of proof littered through the comments that Steven Roy's keyboard hates him. Some of the typos that occur are quite amusing, and even create some of the words that make it to the Sidepoddictionary. When a conversation occured about the film Deep Impact, Steven wrote: "Just decided this film is utterly unrealistic. They spotted the comment a year before impact. The last thing that came close to the Earth was spotted a week in advance."
Rachel read the movie review and replied:
Must have been one explosive comment.
Next up, at some point during the summer Mr C and I were very much in the mood for heading out of doors. It doesn't happen that often but at one point, Mr C revealed that for the third day in a row, he was going outside. Amy wasn't all that impressed:
This is becoming far too frequent. This is not outsidepodcast.
Nick was in Abu Dhabi during the Grand Prix weekend and claimed that it had hosted the best race of the year. Despite our best efforts, we couldn't shake his belief. Jackie turned up in the comments asking after him: "Is Nick back from his travels yet?" And Steven, no doubt exasperated by the positive GP reviews, replied:
No, he is still on a different planet.
Finally, Jon was struggling to get his links to work in the live comments. It became an established fact that Jon's links weren't functional and he said: "I have an ability." To which Boston Red Scott replied:
You see dead links?
Those are just a couple of our favourites but make sure you head over to the entire list and have a read through. It's a year in crazy comments, and seeing some of them taken out of context just makes them even more amusing. I can't wait to see what we come up with in 2010.
It is Allan McNish's birthday today, and as it is drawing nearer to January, he must be getting prepared for the Autosport International show. Just like DC, we have seen him up in Birmingham pretty much every year that we have been. Although we still haven't decided if we'll go this year. Anyway, here are some of the things we're talking about:
All the talk is of US F1 at the moment, as they came out and said their silence over recent weeks has been on purpose and hasn't necessarily been because they haven't nothing to say. The problem is now they are talking, there are also rumours about Ralf Schumacher coming back as well. Oh dear.
Abu Dhabi organisers have confirmed that there will be no changes to the pit lane exit, despite the fact there were plenty of concerns during the 2009 race. Granted, nothing untoward happened, but that didn't settle any fears over the dangerous tunnel element to the exit. They say all changes there will be minor, and they aren't worried about it.
Jean Todt is bringing old friends in to the FIA now, with the news that Gilles Simon, an ex-engine guy for the red team, has been brought in to advise on future technology and greener initiatives. The FIA are still trying to recover from the KERS debacle, so fresh blood may be what's needed.
That should do it for now, let us know what you're up to, and as ever, I will see you in the comments.
The FIA held a meeting of the World Motorsport Council today who came up with several changes for the 2010 season, and confirmed the final version of the calendar for 2010.
Calendar
Date
Race
14/3
Bahrain
28/3
Australia
4/4
Malaysia
18/4
China
9/5
Spain
16/5
Monaco
30/5
Turkey
13/6
Canada
27/6
Europe (Valencia)
11/7
Great Britain
25/7
Germany
1/8
Hungary
29/8
Belgium
12/9
Italy
26/9
Singapore
10/10
Japan
24/10
Korea*
7/11
Brazil
14/11
Abu Dhabi
*Subject to the homologation of the circuit.
Stewards
The F1 stewarding process will be altered next season. The changes include, selecting two stewards from a permanent group, plus an experienced former F1 driver, to oversee to each race. A nominated member representing the National Sporting Authority will also be present.
The position of non-voting Chairman has been removed, a role Alan Donnelly previously filled, instead stewards will elect a Chairman from amongst themselves for each event. The changes have been brought in to enable decisions to be made more efficiently.
Ambassadors
An FIA F1 Ambassador will be appointed for each race. Their role will include liaising with national sporting authorities, event organisers, VIP guests, FOM, teams and other stakeholders. Individuals will be come from the membership of the World Council.
Points
Yesterday's proposed points system revisions have been accepted and will come into practice for next season. This awards points to the top ten finishing positions instead of the top eight and has been introduced due to the expanded grid of 13 teams.
Working Groups
As requested by the F1 Commission, the F1 Sporting Working Group has been tasked with developing proposals to improve "the show". The Working Group has until January to make recommendations for the WMSC to consider in advance of the 2010 F1 season.
Towards the end of last year, we asked you for your predictions about the season ahead, posing a few probing questions and welcoming any other Nostradamus-like thoughts about the upcoming year.
Now we have lived through the 2009 season, and would all most likely admit it was a bit of a surprise, it's time to look back at how very, very wrong we were.
Don't worry, I'll start with my own very poor predictions. I gave the Australian win to Vettel, clearly discounting any form of resurgence from the team formerly known as Honda. Then I figured, in my infinite wisdom, that Robert Kubica would be a shoe-in for the driver's title.
Hmm. Moving on.
Driver Changes
We asked the question - will any contracts be torn up and ripped apart before the end of the year? Bassano instantly said:
Yes - Piquet Jr
He could not have been more right, although perhaps the circumstances could not have been predicted. Or could they? Alianora added some thoughts:
Piquet Jr will crack under the pressure of looking for a new employer and we won't see him in F1 in 2010 as a result.
Quickly followed up with:
A driver will get sacked for doing something really, really dumb.
Alenyaa had thoughts about Fisichella's future:
Most likely to lose seat during the season: Fisichella
Technically true, I suppose, but only because he was given the "promotion" of moving up to Ferrari. He's happy with a test driver role for 2010, but there were erroneous rumours he could return to Force India, so it seems the relationship is still good, at least.
Dom didn't think there would be much in the way of driver movement at all:
No, I think this is the last season before a big driver market shake up in 2010.
Both right and not. We saw many, many team movements this year, both due to hirings and firings, plus injuries and reserve drivers. Next year we're seeing a big mix up though, so Dom was at least half right.
Winners and Losers
We asked whether KERS would have the desired impact and increase the racing spectacle. Dank didn't think so:
No. Racing will still be very close and overtaking won't be vastly improved.
Spot on! Despite no massive improvement in overtaking, there were some predictions about potential good drives. RG said:
Surprises of the year, Force India grabbing points at a wet GP and Abu Dhabi being a good race.
Let's ignore the Abu Dhabi bit for now! Steven wasn't expecting great things from the team though:
The other disappointment will be Force India who will not improve much despite the McLaren involvement. Expect big changes in that team this time next year.
With the benefit of hindsight, we can see that Force India made vast improvements towards the end of the year and have signed on their drivers for 2010 as a sign of consistency.
Changing the subject to new winners, Lou predicted there would be at least 2 rookies taking the top step of the podium, whilst Le Wombat du BOL (who is now known as the FOFA Chairman) said:
Heidfeld simply MUST win, he’ll do “irvine” and break his duck because Melbourne is the right place for it.
Nick didn't quite manage the win, but did pick up plenty of points in his pursuit. Trulli also put his all into the season but Dank wasn't so sure it would be enough:
Toyota will announce they will be leaving F1 at the end of the season. Also marking the end of Jarno's career.
Sadly, he was right about the end of Toyota, and maybe even Trulli, although nothing has been made official yet. Aitch also added:
I think we could lose 1 maybe even 2 teams by years end.
Again, sadly true.
Circuits and Races
Aitch didn't stop at spelling out the end of several team futures, but the calendar was about to take a hit as well:
We will lose more races this year. Last year for the British GP and German GP maybe even the Chinese GP .
The British GP saga is still ongoing, so it seems very few people did have faith in Donington. Meanwhile, the brand new track on the 2009 calendar Abu Dhabi, came in for some varying predictions - not least RG's as mentioned above. Lou said:
Valencia will be slightly more colourful, but no more exciting. Fans will not like the Abu Dhabi GP as the finale to the season.
And finally, Felipe Leite had the season all planned out before it had even begun:
The championship will be decided at Brazil (Abu Dhabi will hold the last race of the year).
I think this is what we all hoped, and it came to pass.
These are just a selected few of the fantastic predictions we had last year, I highly recommend taking a look through what was said last year. Hindsight is fabulous, isn't it?
Towards the end of the year, we'll be asking you for your 2010 seasons, and we can repeat this cringeworthy process at the end of next year as well!
Joe extends the season just a little bit longer as he covers the week's important topics, including the shenanigans at Toyota, BMW and Renault, the long term view at Williams and a free Prius.
Additionally we talk knocking Gino, punching Ron and solving the problem of the Ferrari roof.
As ever, all of this and very much more, in this episode of An Aside With Joe.
It is Jacques Villeneuve Sr's birthday today - brother to Gilles and uncle of the baggy-overalled Jacques we know and love. Eh-hem. He was also a race driver too, and took part in a couple of years worth of F1. What a family! Meanwhile, here are some of the things we're talking about:
The Race of Champions Nations Cup happened and whilst we live commented it, we also did not enjoy it. Read more about Mr C's disappointment, and why he probably won't be watching today. We'll set up a thread anyway, because it would be wrong to cover half an event.
Meanwhile, I spent the evening putting together the last F1 Digest race review, and it's quite a short one. On the same subject, Rich wrote a blog entry about his thoughts on the race from the build up to the aftermath - an interesting read.
Also, a few days late, but I only just remembered, the Sofa F1 pole poll was decided, and Mr C came second. He was doing so well! I am firmly mid-pack, with Pat just two points above me. Well done to everyone who took part, and even more next year please.
That's all for now. As mentioned above, there'll be some more live commenting in the form of the Race of Champions individual event, although it is on in work hours. Boo. Nevertheless, I'll see you in the comments.
It's a brand new month, and we are looking at a brand new circuit for the final race of the year. Abu Dhabi has looked stunning but so far the action has left quite a lot to be desired. Meanwhile, there is plenty to talk about as the season draws to a close:
Yesterday, Mr C finally got round to writing his post about the recent site updates, which he was supposed to do when he released them mid-week. Still, it's worth having a quick read if you want to know what we're trying to achieve and why it has taken us so long to get round to it. Don't forget to leave your thoughts and feedback at any time, we are always open to ideas.
Campos META confirmed the speculation that they have signed up Bruno Senna for 2010. They seem very impressed with the young driver, who has risen through the motorsport ranks very quickly. I haven't watched him in any lower formulae but have heard concerns that he may not be ready. What do you guys think? There's a breakout thread waiting for your comments.
Another thread we opened up yesterday was to discuss the lighting situation in Abu Dhabi. It seems to work very well, but it is so vastly different to Singapore that it has made me pause for thought. In one of my digest shows, I also picked up that Heidfeld did say it was brighter in Singapore, but that here it hasn't been a problem so far.
That'll do it for now. Don't forget that there is an extra special super duper two hour Parade Lap season finale extravaganza starting at 10am Sidepodtime today. In fact, here's a trailer for it, as created by host Alex:
We'll be waiting for you and I will see you in the comments.
