Sidepodcast

Live Telemetry and More From F1 Teams This Year

This week, two F1 teams launched revamped websites to coincide with the new season. Both have taken different routes and both have pushed the online F1 experience forward in their own unique way.

AT&T Williams

The new Williams site offers inline commenting on all stories including news items, and iWitness columns. Additionally you can rate posts, and leave feedback on videos. This puts user generated content front and centre within the site. No longer are thoughts from fans tucked in a corner where people in suits hope no-one will spot them.

I love that the Williams teams have done this and the only downside appears to be the need to register before commenting. When Red Bull Racing revamped their site a few weeks back, they too opened comments on posts and multimedia items, but allowed anyone to comment with ease.

Another tantalising section of the Williams site promises driver blog updates throughout the year, apparently Rubens is up first and blogging in Bahrain. This is something we've been calling for since Sidepodcast started way back in 2007, and might just set new standards in F1 coverage.

One notable exemption from the Williams site, is the live timing system, which debuted during winter testing, and that is where McLaren have the edge.

Vodafone McLaren Mercedes

Team McLaren will to be pushing the technological envelope to it's maximum this weekend in Bahrain, with the launch of their new Race 1.0b Live Data Viewer. A system that will provide live information to fans during every practice session, qualifying and the race.

Credit: mclaren.com

A screenshot of the Race 1.0b live data viewer, offering insight from the pit wall.

McLaren are no strangers to supplying live updates over the web. Last year they came up with a peculiar telemetry widget which detailed information on braking and acceleration changes from both of their drivers on track.

The Race 1.0b (no I don't get the name either) appears to be a vast improvement though. Amongst other things, it promises:

• Live GPS circuit map data
• Detailed car telemetry
• Comments from the pit wall
• Comments from mission control (in Woking)

The accompanying teaser video also suggests driver radio messages will be transcribed and relayed back to us, which will be a massive boon after the commentators have talked all over them.

We are very much looking forward to seeing the 1.0b in action. Whilst we can't pretend to be huge fans of the revamped McLaren web site, the offer of live data more than makes up for the kooky design. In fact it pushes McLaren to the forefront of fan interaction. Can anyone raise them?

Daily: 23rd January 2010

It's Saturday, and that means the weekend is officially here! Woohoo! As ever, we're going to be around during the weekend, fiddling with bits and pieces on the site and gradually making Sidepodcast a better place to be. Starting with:

• Mr C has been busy at the coding grindstone and has put the awesome comment filter box on every single page. So, if you are using Ye Olde Comments, you can now filter those as you would be able to on the LCLT or the Doohickey. If this means nothing to you, we'll probably be explaining in more detail soon, but why not test it out and let us know how it goes?
• We created another breakout thread yesterday with the news that Jaime Alguersuari has finally been confirmed at Toro Rosso. It seemed like an obvious signing, and everyone involved seem to think that he was all set for the drive, so we're not sure why the delay occurred. Either way, we are now down to just four unclaimed seats for the upcoming season.
• Massa finished up his return to the F1 cockpit, albeit an F2008 with GP2 tyres on. He took over the reigns from Valentino Rossi at Barcelona, and said he feels 100% fit and isn't worried about returning to the grid at all. Yay for the return of Massa!

That should do it for now. Let us know how your weekend is going and what you're up to, and I'll see you in the comments.

2010 F1 New Year's Resolutions

Last year, we opened up the blog to your new year resolutions. They were meant to be F1 related, but as it happens, writing your promises down, and sharing them with a community, is a great way of getting the motivation to keep them up - whether they are F1 related or not. That's the theory anyway.

Recently, we ran through how successful we had been with our 2009 resolutions, and I think it can be summed up as: hmmm.

Mine, in particular, were a little over-ambitious, so I am toning it down a little for 2010:

1. Try and stay up later to take part in the best conversations.
2. Speak to Franck.
3. Keep track of birthdays and Sidepodversaries for daily post shoutouts. (Sorry Journeyer.)
4. Expand collection of F1 themed keyrings. (Don't tell Mr C, he hates junk.)
5. Try and stay more positive about Formula 1 as a whole.

These seem to be doable, and I am keen to be a much better person by the end of the year by means of these small changes. Mr C, on the other hand, is going big and setting some quite lofty goals. Here are his resolutions:

1. Stop making ludicrous bets with Lou, otherwise I'll end up wearing McLaren attire all season.
2. Read the show notes.
3. Make more use of the playground for blindingly brilliant innovations.
4. Never miss a single word that Christine writes over her many blogs, including the contents of the daily posts... and F1 Minute.
5. Finally get round to making that merchandise Christine keeps nagging me about.

That should keep him busy for a while, at least. Now it's over to you. What are your New Year's resolutions - F1 related or otherwise? As usual, we will revisit these at the end of the year and see how well we all got on, so choose carefully!

Happy Birthday Daily Thread

This time last year, I came up with an idea to try and help the flow of conversation. Instead of random comments piling up on whatever blog entry was the last to be posted, I suggested a separate thread, posted every single day for any off-topic thoughts. Mr C thought I was crazy.

Fast forward one year, and the daily thread is a Sidepodinstitution.

From the very first words, we had a good response, but it was only meant to be a trial and initially received just 240 comments. These days, we regularly see 700+ comments a day and struggle to keep on top of them all. If there is a particularly contentious issue to be discussed we can break the 1,000 barrier. Numbers aren't everything, of course (and we've gone out of our way to prevent them being so), but while we are on that subject, it looks like this weekend we will hit half a million comments since we started. Amazing. Thanks to everyone, always.

Special thanks have to go out to RG who spotted that it was the daily thread's birthday today. Way back in August, I noted the date on my calendar of Sidepodstuff, ready to mention it in today's thread. We have since moved house, and the calendar remains folded up on Mr C's desk. We would have missed the event entirely if it wasn't for RG's penchant for looking through the archives.

Still, this way the birthday can be celebrated in its own thread, and I think that is a much better way to mark the occasion. Lukeh created the above picture to honour the daily thread, and really, without each of you, it would have fizzled out a long time ago. Here's to another year of daily thread discussions of pandas, Sidepodspace, iPhone apps, and sausage rolls.

Daily: 3rd February 2009

With the possible return of in-season testing, and the news that Singapore will finally have a safe pit lane (boo about the bumps), yesterday was a good day in Formula 1. Let's hope today brings us more, but for now, here's what Sidepodcast stuff we're talking about:

• The wiki now comes under Sidepodcast itself, with the new URL as: wiki.sidepodcast.com. With that in mind, it's also worth plugging the Quikmaps page, as there has been some great recent activity on there. Please, please have a go at making your own circuit, it's very easy and the results are brilliant.
• With the additional functionality to the Doohickey that drop.io images can now be viewed without leaving the site, there's never been a better time to post some pictures and share them with the world!
• Also, this seems to have brought the live commenting solutions to the fore. If you're not sure of the difference, there's information available here. Once you're comfortable with them, let us know what features you'd like to see. No promises of anything, but development is happening in the background slowly, and we love to take your ideas on board.
• Oh, and don't forget to choose between Massa and Fisi in the Character Cup.

Phew, that's probably the most self-indulgant daily thread we've ever done. Let's get back to talking about F1 now... or maybe snow. I'll see you in the comments.

McLaren MP4-24 Ready for 2009

McLaren are the third and final team to launch their 2009 chassis this week. The MP4-24 will be unveiled at a press launch at the MTC in Woking this morning.

The team aren't planning on running the car on track until next week, but drivers and team personnel will be on hand with a sound bite or ten. We're hoping for good things on the chassis front, last year McLaren's reflective livery offered one of the better looking packages on the grid, but how will it compare to those we've already seen?

Unlike Toyota, this isn't specifically an online launch, so we're not all invited to this one. However, we'll keep the thread updated with press clippings and pictures as and when they become available. If you spot anything exciting on the car, or are just hanging around praying for a decent looking chassis, let us know in the comments.

Update: As before, more pictures and reactions in the comments. It does look as though McLaren have managed to produce a decent looking car for this season. Although the team have been careful to only photograph the most complimentary angles, and we've yet to see a head-on view. Of the three we've seen, this one is by far the best looking.

F1 Digest - Belgium GP

• Length: 10:27 
• Size: 9.6 MB 
• File: digest52.mp3 
• Transcript: digest52.pdf 
• Torrent: digest52.torrent 

What could have been a dull race was saved by the last few laps. Hamilton vs Raikkonen, McLaren vs Ferrari, and guess what? It's not over yet. Hear all about it in this F1 Digest recap.

The Race

The start was good, and the middle was okay, but oh how wonderful the last few laps were. A little bit of rain makes all the difference and we saw a fierce battle for the lead before Raikkonen ended up in the wall. It doesn't end there though, as the controversies, penalties and appeals will continue long after the drivers leave Belgium.

Conclusions

Whilst some of the quotes are irrelevant given penalties and a change of order, we can get the idea from most drivers. Some had frustrating days, Webber and Coulthard aren't that happy, and Trulli and Glock faced a difficult start. But some had a great time even with the adversities, Vettel in particular still has a smile on his face.

F1 Digest - Europe GP

• Length: 9:40 
• Size: 8.9 MB 
• File: digest48.mp3 
• Transcript: digest48.pdf 
• Torrent: digest48.torrent 

Race day in Valencia finally took place then after weeks of anticipation. Unfortunately it didn't live up to the hype and was marred by controversy rather than action. F1 Digest presents a full round up of events.

The Race

We were probably expecting too much, and as the field got further and further apart, it didn't look like it was going to deliver. In the end, it was a couple of retirements and some pit lane incidents that caused the excitement.

Conclusions

Only a couple of drivers had a good day, Vettel and Massa in particular. Most people were frustrated with their performance, thinking things could have gone better, and everyone is looking forward to Spa.

F1 Digest - Hungary GP

• Length: 9:41 
• Size: 9.0 MB 
• File: digest44.mp3 
• Transcript: digest44.pdf 
• Torrent: digest44.torrent 

We were all expecting a dull race, so it's nice to have a bit of a surprise waiting for us on track. Nobody said that all suprises have to be good ones.

The Race

As predicted, there was very little overtaking to be had, except perhaps off the line. All the excitement came from the tyres and from the pit stops, and the odd engine failure as well.

Conclusions

Those drivers having a good day had a supremely good day, count them, Kovalainen, Glock and Alonso. But for those who couldn't make the end of the race, or who struggled every inch of the way there, they can only be glad there's a three week break coming up.

Live Video with Live Commenting

So here's the plan. Yesterday we released the beta version of a new live commenting system, and as that was designed to aid discussion during live video we figured we ought do something to test it out.

It's the Hungarian Grand Prix next weekend, which means we're due another episode of Inside Track and thus we'll be filming the pieces to camera shortly.

If you're around please fire up live commenting and let us know if you can both see us and talk to us at the same time. We'll be doing the same so should be able to talk back in realtime... well hopefully anyway.