With an entire day wiped out of our podcasting schedule, we are marvellously behind which means Alex is even more in charge than he was before. Living up to his title as the host, naturally.
We're in for a fun-filled hour of songs, chatter, predictions and probably talk of food, and we are not allowed to run late because apparently the BBC have something special for their opening VT.
We'll be going live at 11:10 BST, so make sure you're in the live comments, as you'll likely get a mention on the show. See you there!
What news will keep the Formula 1 conversation flowing today? There was plenty to discuss yesterday - Renault found a new partner, the Malaysian GP is heading into darkness, and the Pussycat Dolls approve of Lewis.
The never-ending cycle of rumours, gossip and the occasional fact continues unabated, so here's a few things to get the conversation started:
The pressure appears to be getting to Bernie, as the Telegraph reports, the man has now taken to swearing erratically and insulting random Irishmen. Is he becoming F1's very own Father Jack?
The debate about the safety of marshalling in 2009 rages on, as the sport tries to figure out a way to protect both drivers and trackside personnel from high voltage KERS devices. Whilst we can argue until our fingers are sore, we really want to hear from keiththemarshal and anyone else who's going to be out there on the racetrack dealing with this. Are marshal's concerned?
In the comments yesterday littlepurplegoth provided one of the best comments of all time. If you haven't seen it yet, go read it now. Don't worry, I'll wait.
Just a few choice cuts there to keep the brain cells ticking over. If anything comes to mind, just throw your thoughts into the comments and don't forget there's always some big F1 piccies demanding your attention.
Ah yes, your friendly daily post from Sidepodcast. I've no idea what's going on in the F1 world at present, but thankfully Christine does. According to F1 Minute, newsworthy topics include Paul di Resta and Michael Schumacher. Let us begin then:
Paul (or PdR if you prefer), says for him Formula One remains a possibility. I don't think there are many people in the world who would begrudge him a drive, but if McLaren don't give him a chance where else do you think he'd fit in, and who would he replace?
Schumi has suggested that Hamilton may not have been able to bounce back if he'd suffered a second championship loss in Brazil, but are there any past drivers who've come closer, yet still managed to fight back to eventually take the crown?
Off-topic and in the comments, Trig has asked for thoughts on the evolution of the biscuit, which must be a sidepodfirst. If anyone has any opinion on the matter, please let us know.
Just like always, the daily thread is the best place to discuss anything that doesn't belong anywhere else on the site. Do shout if you find any exciting F1 related news, because it's a bit thin on the ground at the moment.
So remind me, how does this work again? We're down one Sidepodmember today, as the girl picked up a bit of a cold after experiencing fresh air recently - it's a dangerous world out there people, be warned. As a result I'm left to write the daily post and all I've been doing all day is geeky things, the kind that bore people senseless at parties.
However, if you're so inclined, you may like to check out Christine's other site - F1 Minute, and tell us if you can spot any noticeable performance improvement. I'm busy looking for the elusive last tenth that should make the everything feel snappier, and just like Valentino Rossi in charge of four wheels, I'm finding it's tougher than it looks.
Regardless, there's plenty to discuss in the ever changing world of F1:
It's the final day of testing in Jerez. McLaren just revealed their grotesque side, by rolling out the '09 spec front wing, who's left to show their hand and how late can they leave it?
The Motorsport Business Forum continues in Monaco. Max was truly on form yesterday, but what will the major headlines be before everyone heads home this evening?
Sato's already talking like he own's that STR seat and Buemi finished ahead of Bourdais again, so what happens if Button takes up the alleged offer for one of those seats? Who will accompany him?
There's bound to be plenty more to discuss, it's Formula One, there always is. Yell if you hear anything exciting or if you happen to find my missing tenth.
The best laid plans and all that. We had intended to complete Sidepodpanel before Top Gear, but now it has been bumped to after Jeremy & co do their stuff. We did manage to complete the Debrief though, and it's being edited as we speak.
This time we're planning to go live at 9pm GMT, and because we're all set up already - it really should be at that time. Feel free to live comment Top Gear if you're watching. We won't be but please use this space as you see fit. Dan Brunell is hosting the Podpanel this week, the pinger is no more, and we'll see what other chaos we can create.
F1 Debrief has been resting on it's laurels while we came to terms with the season just gone. Also because we couldn't fit it in with that Top Gear show returning. Anyway, it's back, and we're starting earlier so that everything can go to plan. Just like it always does.
Today we're catching up with all the news we have missed over the past couple of weeks, and of course getting some feedback as well. Sidepodpanel is scheduled for straight afterwards, although that may change depending on how the time goes and who is around. It's all very flexible, as always. We're set to go live at 4pm(ish) GMT. Sorry if it's a bit later than expected, but we got a little bit busy playing I Spy.
