Sidepodcast

The Stewarding Process, Now With Added Drivers

Credit: Williams F1

Alain Prost and Damon Hill, pose with a sponsor at Kyalami, '93. The FIA is putting it's trust in these men.

For the 2010 season, the FIA are introducing an F1 driver to each stewarding panel, in an attempt to make their judgements fairer, and to provide a little insight into what was happening during each incident. We've previously discussed this idea at great lengths, pondering whether it's right to allow drivers in. Their added experience can only be useful, but might they be a little impartial to their former teams? It's an unknown at the moment, but what we do know is who will be taking those positions for the next few races.

Alain Prost

Prost is at the helm in Bahrain this weekend, taking the reigns as the first former driver to participate in the stewarding process under this new ruling. The Frenchman was last seen driving in the sport in 1993 for Williams. He's also driven for McLaren, Renault and Ferrari - and had a held a bitter rivalry with Ayrton Senna along the way. Prost has four world championships under his belt.

Prost went on to start his own F1 team which lasted just five seasons.

Heinz-Harald Frentzen

Frentzen hails from Germany, and was last behind the wheel of an F1 car in 2003. He's since been competing in DTM. He's driven with Sauber, Williams, Jordan and Arrows, but never managed to grab that elusive championship. He won three Grands Prix, though, the last being in 1999. He was disqualified only once during his F1 career - for leaving the pit lane under a red light.

Alex Wurz

Wurz has never been far from our consciousness, last seen racing in China 2007. He attempted to launch his own F1 team for the 2010 season but the application was not successful. He's driven for Williams, McLaren and Benetton, but made more of an impact as a good development and test driver than a sparkling racer. He has no championships or wins to his name, but is known for speaking his mind, and as a comentator on his home TV networks in Austria, he'll be good at calling things as he sees them.

Wurz has on occasion been trusted at the wheel of the FIA medical car.

Johnny Herbert

Herbert has driven for quite a few teams during his 12 years in the sport, with the last Jaguar Racing in 2000. He's also been involved with Stewart, Sauber, Benetton, Ligier, Lotus and Tyrrell. Herbert never won the championship but stood on the top step of the podium three times, and picked up 98 points during his F1 career. Since leaving the sport, he has participated in Le Mans and BTCC, and advised Jordan and Midland before they became Spyker.

Damon Hill

Since leaving F1, Hill has kept himself extremely busy heading up the BRDC and managing their exploits at Silverstone and in keeping the British GP alive. The former champion won 22 races and one title in his eight years - driving for Jordan and Williams amongst others. Damon is a media friendly figure, but isn't afraid to share his frustrations, making waves and headlines in equal measures. Hill has been confirmed as a steward for two races.

What do you think of these driver choices? Will they make sensible decisions? Who else should be added to the list, and more importantly, who should not?

Races to Remember - Europe 1993

• Length: 4:02 
• Size: 3.7 MB 
• File: races5.mp3 
• Transcript: races5.pdf 
• Torrent: races5.torrent 

Welcome to Races to Remember, a mini series brought to you by Sidepodcast. We’re travelling back in time to look at some of the best races, those that shouldn’t be forgotten. Already, we’ve gone back as far as 1967, and been as recent as 2003, but now we’re settling on 1993.

Donington Park played host to the European Grand Prix in April 1993. It was the third race on the calendar, with Alain Prost and Ayrton Senna both having won a grand prix each. Prost was ready to fight for his fourth championship, and in what was considered the best car on the grid – the Williams. Senna was in the McLaren, and the battle was on. Traction control was in full force, not yet banned, and actually was a big factor in the race that was about to unfold.

The weekend was wet, as a lot of British GPs seem to be, but qualifying had seen a brief respite in the weather. Prost qualified on pole, with Damon Hill in second, Senna and Schumacher lining up on the next row. The track was soaking on Sunday morning, although the rain had eased when the pack got going. Senna dropped back a place at the start, but whilst everyone else was treading carefully around the first few corners, he put his aggressive hat on and bolted past them. Using every corner, running two abreast where possible, and taking the inside line a few times, he made amazing progress. By the end of the first lap, he was in front, having passed Wendlinger, Hill, Schumacher and Prost to take the lead. He didn’t settle for that though, and Senna increased the gap gradually over the next few laps.

The weather conditions were constantly changing, and in the early stages of the race, the sun came out. Senna was flying up front, whilst Prost and Hill were battling for second place, until the first round of pit stops mixed things up. The front runners switched to slick tyres, and continued on their way. 20 laps in, though, as Senna was starting to confront the backmarkers, the rain returned.

Prost was one of the first to dive back into the pit lane for wet tyres, whilst Schumacher, Blundell and Senna fought their cars to remain on track. Despite the conditions, Ayrton still maintained his lead and when he finally took his pit stop to change tyres, he emerged in first. Prost was soon up in second place, but still over ten seconds behind his rival. As the rain eased and the track dried, Prost returned to the pit lane for slick tyres, and after a quick stop by the Williams team, and a slow one by McLaren, Senna found himself behind Prost. Meanwhile, Barrichello had quietly made his way into third place, at the wheel of the Jordan.

With things settling somewhat, it was about time to throw in some more rain, and once again, Prost was the first to jump into the pit lane and change tyres. The cautious actions from Prost over the course of the race were to be a key factor in the end, as Senna was more interested in pushing each set of tyres to their limit. He only changed when it was absolutely necessary, and on the 37th lap, whilst the others were hurrying to fit wets, Senna set the fastest lap of the race so far on slicks. In fact, he kept the same set long enough for the rain to disappear once more. Prost returned to the pits again, but this time it was not a smooth stop with the Williams stalling on the way out. When he rejoined the race, it wasn’t long before Senna lapped him – meaning there was only one car other than the Brazilian still left on the lead lap.

After a few more rain scares, Senna led Hill, whilst Prost slipped into third, having overtaken Barrichello. With just 10 laps to go, wet tyres were the name of the game, and Senna bolted into the pit lane. Prost pitted, which allowed Barrichello into third, and at that time, he was due to be the youngest podium finisher ever. However, his Jordan slowed and a fuel problem ended that dream. In the last few minutes of the race, Hill managed to unlap himself, but it made no dent on Senna’s lead. The Brazilian crossed the finish line in first place – 1 minute and 23 seconds ahead of the Briton. Prost was a further 35 seconds behind.

That sums up an incredibly eventful race in just a few short minutes. If you have any thoughts about this Grand Prix that you’d like to add, please visit sidepodcast.com to leave your comments. Don’t forget to join me again tomorrow for another Race to Remember.

F1 People - Jean Alesi

• Length: 3:59 
• Size: 3.7 MB 
• File: people12.mp3 
• Transcript: people12.pdf 
• Torrent: people12.torrent 

Welcome to the fifth entry in a series of short shows brought to you by Sidepodcast, called F1 People. So far this series we’ve looked at Colin Chapman and Murray Walker, now it’s time to look at Jean Alesi.

Giovanni Alesi was born on June 11th, 1964 to Italian parents in France. His early racing career was in rallying, which he preferred to the single seater style series, but he worked his way to take part in the Renault 5 championship. He took part in French Formula 3, winning a title, and International F3000, again taking the title. His Formula 1 debut was in 1989 at the French Grand Prix with the Tyrrel-Cosworth team. He finished fourth, after running second for a portion of the race, and he decided to drive in both the Formula 1 and F3000 series in the same year. He was successful and claimed another F3000 title.

The next year, 1990, he took up F1 full time, still with Tyrrell. At the US GP that year, he made his name, by leading the race in an underperforming car, and battling with Senna along the way. Eventually, he had to concede the lead to Senna but his popularity soared. Several teams wanted his services and by mid-season, Tyrrell, Williams and Ferrari all claimed that they had signed Alesi for their own for the following season. Williams had also signed Nigel Mansell, and Alesi decided his best bet was to go with Ferrari. They were the dominant force at the time, and teamed with Alain Prost, Alesi assumed he would be learning from the best in the best team. It was also a popular decision with Italian’s, given Alesi’s heritage.

However, 1991 saw a downturn in Ferrari’s fortunes, and it was Williams who took five of the next seven titles. Prost abandoned the team at the end of 1991, replaced by Gerhard Berger. Alesi remained with the team until 1996, by which time he had gained a massive following from the Ferrari fans, but only one win. It was an emotional victory at Canada 1995, on his 31st birthday. Technically, the lead was inherited from other teams unreliability but no one could deny that Alesi had paid his dues. Michael Schumacher even celebrated with Alesi by giving him a lift back to the pit lane, when his car ran out of fuel on the celebration lap.

When Schumacher came to the red team from Benetton, Alesi went the other way, taking Gerhard Berger with him. The relationship between Alesi and Ferrari had deteriorated somewhat, with the driver desperate to win and the team trying their best. In 1996, Benetton were defending the championship, but once again, Alesi made the wrong move. Schumacher made Ferrari a force to be reckoned with, whilst Benetton declined slowly.

He moved on to Sauber, and then joined team Prost, owned by his former Ferrari teammate. With this team, Alesi finished every single race, consistently, but after the British Grand Prix, an argument saw Alesi walk out. His last F1 year was in 2001 with Jordan.

After Formula 1, Jean Alesi tried his hand in DTM, with some moderate success. Over five years he had three wins, but never got higher than fifth in the championship. He took a few years away from racing, but returned to take part in the Far & Middle Eastern Speedcar Series this year, with a few other notable ex-F1 drivers.

He has also been heavily involved in the Direxiv team – a potential F1 outfit that took part in the bidding for the final grid place in 2008. They would have been a McLaren B team, but were beaten by Prodrive. It’s assumed that Direxiv wouldn’t have been able to participate, just as Prodrive couldn’t.
Jean Alesi’s career is notable more for its longevity than the results he achieved. Whilst plenty of drivers have beaten his Grand Prix starts record, working for so long with various teams and only achieving one win is a true testament to a driver’s motivation.

That’s all for today, please join me tomorrow when we’ll look at another name in Formula 1. Until then, send me your feedback on the people we have covered so far – let me know your thoughts on the blog at Sidepodcast.com, via Voicemail on 0121 28 87225, or email me Christine at sidepodcast.com. See you tomorrow.

Theme music: Natives of the New Dawn, People.

Days that Shook the F1 World - Mosley Becomes President, 1991

• Length: 3:17 
• Size: 3.1 MB 
• File: day7.mp3 
• Transcript: day7.pdf 
• Torrent: day7.torrent 

Welcome to Sidepodcast’s series Days that Shook the F1 World. So far we’ve looked at the US Grand Prix in 2005, Ayrton Senna’s death in 1994 and more. Today we’re looking at a pivotal moment in Formula 1 history, and the date was 9th October 1991.

It’s fair to say that Max Mosley is not the most popular person in F1 at the moment, and his tenure at the top of the FIA may soon be drawing to a close. However, when he first got the job back in 1991, he was definitely the preferred option.

It was the events of the 1989 Japanese Grand Prix and the subsequent fallout that first promoted Max to stand against the then president of the FISA Jean-Marie Balestre. The FISA was the sporting part of the FIA, and they were suffering from a case of bad reputations. Already we have discussed the lacklustre attempt at banning ground effects, which ultimately led to more accidents and deaths.

In Japan, an accident between Senna and Prost caused the Brazillian to be excluded from the race, handing the ’89 World Championship to Prost. Further to that, an appeal by McLaren served to see Ayrton’s super-license suspended and he was given a fine for $100,000. Predictably Senna spoke out about the decision and his comments claimed championship manipulation by the FISA. This angered Balestre, so much so that Senna was called before the World Motorsport Council to explain himself. The courts decided to take away Senna’s superlicence altogether, and he wasn’t going to be allowed it back unless he apologised for his comments.

The following February, Senna was finally persuaded to make the apology and his licence was returned. Max Mosley started to solicit support to become the FIA President. Although this obviously had something to do with the incident with Senna, it may also have had origins in the history between Mosley and Balestre. A vicious war had been raging between the FISA and the FOCA.

The FOCA was headed up by Bernie Ecclestone with Max Mosley as his right hand man. They were working on the team’s behalf to increase revenue share and make sure that everyone had their say. The FISA was fighting against them.

Eventually, the war drew to a somewhat amicable resolution, with Balestre taking over as President of the FIA and continuing to make the rules for Formula 1, whilst Ecclestone took over the commercial rights for the sport and divied up the cash.

In 1991, Balestre’s FIA presidency was up for renewal, and Max Mosley stood against him. Mosley easily gained the presidency. For a while, teams were satisfied. Max was working with them instead of against them, rule changes began to happen and everything was hunky dory. Teams and drivers felt so comfortable that Senna was able to speak out against the former President without fear of losing his licence. He denied making any apologies about the manipulation claims.

Of course, the happiness couldn’t last, and you’ll find politics rearing up almost every day now. But it’s safe to say that at the time, Mosley was the best thing that could have happened to the sport.

That’s all for this episode of Days that Shook the F1 World, and all for this series. Please visit Sidepodcast.com to leave your comments about this and any of the other shows in the series. Thanks for listening.

Theme music: Dylan in the Movies, Better Days and Causeway, Change in My Lifetime.

F1 People - Ayrton Senna

• Length: 3:52 
• Size: 3.6 MB 
• File: people7.mp3 
• Transcript: people7.pdf 
• Torrent: people7.torrent 

This is F1 People, the Sidepodcast series taking you behind the scenes of the lives of some of the important names in the sport. Our last show features Ayrton Senna.

Ayrton Senna da Silva was born on March 21st 1960 in Sao Paulo, Brazil. He was a creative child at school, doing well in gymnastics, art and chemistry, but struggling with maths and English. His father was a wealthy landowner and businessman and started Senna off with a small kart at a young age. Senna excelled inside the kart, it brought him out of himself and really made him happy. When he turned 13 and was legally allowed to, he entered and won the South American Championship. He went on to be a runner up in the World Championships a couple of times. He adopted his mother’s maiden name Senna as a way to distinguish himself from the many da Silvas in Brazil.

In 1981, he entered the Formula Ford competition in Europe, and won it that year, and the next. In 1983, he moved to the British F3 championship, and won it. His natural ability meant four Formula 1 teams wanted him for a test – Williams, McLaren, Brabham and Toleman. He joined the latter in 1984. The Monaco Grand Prix of that debut year brought Senna the attention he deserved. He qualified a slow and difficult car in 13 th and on a wet day, he passed everyone except the leader before the race was stopped because of the weather.

Senna broke his contract with Toleman to join Lotus in 1985, and he achieved his first pole position at the opening round in Brazil. He retired from that race, but the rest of the season was more successful, with two wins, four other podium finishes and fourth place in the championship.

A few more years of success but no world championships, led Senna to McLaren in 1988, where he partnered with double-world champion Alain Prost. A fierce rivalry emerged between the pair, and after McLaren won 15 out of 16 races that year, Senna finally got his first world championship. Even when they were not team mates in following years, the battle continued. The championships yo-yoed between the pair, and the controversial incidents began to stack up. At one point Senna’s superlicence was suspended briefly for his conduct on track. However, he ended up with three world championships to his name, so it wasn’t all bad.

The early 90s saw a drop off in performance for McLaren, and although Senna still kept winning, his championship prospects were suffering and he started to look around for alternatives to his current team. His discontent led him to Williams in 1994. He had tried to join the team in 93, but they had Alain Prost who had a clause in his contract to keep his rival away from the team. When Senna joined in 94, Prost retired.

His early 1994 performance was good, and he took pole position at Imola – the third race of the season. He was rattled by other accidents and a death that weekend, but decided to race. On the 7 th lap, the car flew off track and hit a concrete wall. It took the medical team a long time to arrive at the scene, Senna was taken by helicopter to hospital and pronounced dead.

The Brazilian government declared three days of national mourning, and he was given a state funeral. It was discovered after his death that Senna had been donating millions of dollars of his own money to children’s charities – something he had kept secret while he was alive. The gentler side of him was only just beginning to emerge from the ruthless and talented, competitive driver that the world had seen. But no matter how many controversial incidents he was involved in, his popularity never wavered.

Ayrton Senna was the last driver to be killed during a Formula 1 race and his death continues to haunt the sport even after more than a decade.

That’s all for this episode, and this series of F1 People. Seven shows is not enough to do justice to everyone who deserves a biography, so look out for another series of F1 People in the future. Thanks for listening.

Theme music: Natives of the New Dawn, People.

History of F1 - 1980s

• Length: 3:48 
• Size: 3.6 MB 
• File: history5.mp3 
• Transcript: history5.pdf 
• Torrent: history5.torrent 

Welcome to Sidepodcast’s History of F1. After the safety concerns of the ‘70s, the ‘80s saw many more steps forward in developmental terms.

The 1980s saw the introduction of turbocharging, which is another banned technology that took the forefront of a lot of the team's attention. The Lotus team were concentrating on the ground-effect principle, whilst Renault re-entered F1 in with the first ever turbo. The technology was new, quick and exciting, but there were reliability problems, and the Renault did not finish an entire race distance until a year after the introduction.

1980 saw the first big disagreement between the two main F1 governing bodies, FISA and FOCA. The power struggle resulted in the Spanish Grand Prix being boycotted, and to avoid such situations in the future, the first ever Concorde Agreement was drafted up in 1981.

1980 also saw Team Williams dominating with their driver Alan Jones, whilst Ferrari were struggling with their own turbocharged car.

Despite the emergence of the turbo technology, Cosworth engines still dominated the grid, with 11 teams under their power in 1982. Turbos continued to improve, but Ferrari suffered more problems, this time with their drivers. Didier Pironi and Gilles Villeneuve were under team orders that Villeneuve should be given preference. Pironi overtook him at the San Marino GP, and Villeneuve decreed he would never speak to his team mate again. This turned out to be tragically true, when Villeneuve was killed whilst qualifying for the Belgian GP. The accident was terrifying, with the Ferrari skidding across the track and throwing the driver from the car, into the sand.

More accidents occurred this year, with Ricardo Paletti, a little known driver in a little known team Osella, killed at the start of the Canadian Grand Prix. He was coming through from the back of the grid, unaware that Pironi, in the Ferrari, had stalled at the front. Pironi also suffered from leg injuries in practice later that year, which put an early end to his racing career.

McLaren brought out a turbo powered car, steered by Alain Prost and Niki Lauda, and in 1984, the team won 12 out of 16 races, and took a record number of points to win the title. Lauda actually pipped Prost to the driver's title, by only half a point. Hang on, half a point? This was due to the Monaco GP that year being stopped because of a massive thunderstorm. Half points were awarded to teams and drivers.

Ayrton Senna joined McLaren in 1988 and took the championship in Japan, despite a deciding race that saw him stalling on the grid. 1989 saw Senna and Prost in-fighting after a broken agreement about not challenging each other on the track. Senna overtook Prost and the pair fell out, and later in the season, the pair collided and went off track. Prost took the championship, whilst Senna's superlicense was revoked, causing him to comment on the manipulation that may have been happening behind the scenes.

Turbo charged engines were banned in 1989, but a couple of years earlier, another major piece of technology was beginning to take shape. 1987 saw the one year that Williams took the crown from seven McLaren titles. But it was Team Lotus that introduced the new "active suspension", that was computer controlled. This technology was the turning point of the sport - from normal-ish cars into more technologically complex machines.

That’s all for this episode of Sidepodcast’s History of F1. Next time we’ll take a look at the 1990s, where it was all about two very different but brilliant drivers.

Theme music: Friction Bailey, Hope in my History.