Friday has arrived and with it comes more testing in Jerez. It looks as though it might be a little less damp out there in Spain, but since when did the weather people ever predict anything right? I've been enjoying consuming testing through our dedicated threads though, so I hope you'll join us through the day. Anyway, here are some other things we're talking about:
The digital version of Autosport Magazine was launched yesterday, with three magazines available to peruse. We snapped up a subscription instantly, and although it isn't exactly a bargain, if you were thinking about subscribing to the paper version, definitely consider the digital version instead. You also get access to all the online stuff, including Forix, so it is well worth the money.
Yesterday, I mentioned the US F1 rumours which are still just that at the moment. More respected sources are reporting the Argentinian newspaper thoughts, but we're still not sure of anything official. Meanwhile, Campos are getting ever closer to being bought out and it looks like former Force India employee Colin Kolles might be involved as well. I do wish these teams would sort themselves out, don't they know I have an F1 Digest Preview series to write?
In former F1 driver news, Takuma Sato has secured himself an IndyCar drive with KV Racing, David Coulthard has said that he would like to have another test in a DTM car and apparently Mercedes are considering it, and finally Kovalainen is still keen on trying his hand at rallying despite having his work cut out with Lotus at the moment. I like to see drivers keeping busy.
There were other things I wanted to link to today, but at the time of writing Wordpress.com had spectacularly died, leaving me without some of our favourite blogs to share. Hopefully it is already back, or will be soon. I will see you in the comments.
Lee Mckenzie interviews Sebastian Vettel following qualifying for the Japanese Grand Prix in 2009.
The BBC had an F1 launch of a different kind on Thursday. The British broadcaster hosted a press launch to announce plans for its 2010 Formula 1 coverage and vowed to offer comprehensive coverage across TV, radio, online, red button and mobile.
The UK's F1 rights holder didn't make any significant changes to its 2009 lineup, nor offer any additional programming . However, they didn't reduce their commitment to covering Formula 1 either.
On television, anchorman Jake Humphrey will again be joined by Eddie Jordan and David Coulthard for pre and post race coverage. Martin Brundle and Jonathan Legard remain in the commentary box, while Lee McKenzie and Ted Kravitz continue to bring interviews and action from the pits.
Radio commentary will once more provided by David Croft standing alongside Anthony Davidson. Holly Samos will be found patrolling the paddock and the pitlane as usual. As in previous years, production will be handled by USP Content.
The BBC's Head of Formula 1 Ben Gallop said he was delighted with their efforts in 2009.
"The BBC Sport team will once again be bringing great coverage across all our platforms, meaning F1 fans can follow the action and interact wherever they are, whenever they want.
"We're proud to offer our audiences the opportunity to follow the great stories and share all the excitement of this fantastic sport."
Predictably there was no mention of High Definition F1 content appearing any time soon.
Today is World Standards Day, and supposedly this is to celebrate those who create and uphold standards in organisations. Do we need to come up with some Sidepodcast standards? For instance, pandas must be mentioned at least once a day? Or Mr C must bake a cupcake at least once a year and document it on a live show? What do you think? Meanwhile, here's what we're talking about:
Coulthard headed over the bridge in Mumbai, as mentioned in F1 Minute, and managed to break the speed limit as he did so. That's not surprising, given he was in an F1 car. What is surprising is that the state wouldn't give organisers their deposit back because he broke the rules. Weird.
Raikkonen is hoping to finish on the podium in Brazil, which he says he doesn't think will be easy. I'm not sure why, considering that he keeps popping up on the podium all the time. Of course Ferrari are fighting for third in the championship, so a podium would be a great help for that.
There's more politics about with Saudi Arabia suggesting they are backing Ari all the way, whilst Jean Todt has written a letter to club members saying that Vatanan's cause lacks any real plans and ambition. Charming!
That'll do it for now. Our Forgotten F1 Teams series came to an end yesterday, but there will be an omnibus along at some point, and you should also expect a Brazil schedule today. I'll see you in the comments.
Heading into the weekend now, apparently it's David Beckham's birthday today. Good to know, hey, fact fans? Anyway, it seems to be a quiet time in F1 at the moment, as teams have a rest before Spain, and digest the budget cap information. Here are some of the things we're talking about at the moment:
Coulthard can concentrate on his career as a broadcaster now, as Hartley has received the paperwork that will allow him to take on the third driver role at Red Bull. Hands up who's disappointed we didn't get to see DC back in the car if only for a short time?
The Boston Big Picture (inspiration behind F1 Minute's daily big pic) had an F1 feature yesterday. 31 pictures take a trip back over the last few races and look at some stunning shots. It's good to see that we featured a couple in our big pic as well, meaning that our homage is working out perfectly.
Finally, if you're craving some racing this weekend, Pat has written up a good guide to what you can look out for over the next couple of days. We're looking at A1GP, Touring Cars, and yes, NASCAR. Pat writes this up frequently, so it's always worth keeping an eye out if you're looking for more wheels to watch.
That'll do it for now. Let us know if you're up to anything exciting this weekend, and equally, let us know if you're up to anything not exciting. Yesterday's daily post saw comments about custard, so it's fair to say that anything goes. I'll see you in the comments.
I leave him for just four days and find that the daily post has shifted to arrive just five minutes before the next day begins. I am back now and order will be restored. Because I have no idea what's been going on and Mr C tells me I have missed nothing in F1 news, I will simply regale you with tales of my holiday. To add a twist, though, try and guess which F1 driver I was emulating at the time each event occurred.
I already mentioned in the comments the moment when I was allowed to take charge of the boat and guide it into a lock. Unfortunately, I managed to bounce off both walls and the other boat that was already inside. Who does that sound like?
We turned a sharp corner and didn't make it in time, getting stuck in the mud. This required some poles and some serious pushing. It's a little like marshals getting the call to shove a car back on track - who would do that?
Finally, having worked out how to not injure one's self in the dangerous call of duty that is steering and navigating a 50 foot long boat, I then dismounted and landed in a patch of stinging nettles, causing serious injury to one's right leg. I say serious, there's a bit of a red bit, that's all. However, injuries, right legs, sound familiar?
I won't bore you with anymore holiday stories, because I don't want to be that person, but I will be going through my camera soon, so look forward to holiday snaps shortly. Even if the sun didn't come out until we'd handed the boat back. I'll see you in the comments... after I've caught up.
This article was originally written for BellaOnline, but is republished here for posterity.
Every single part of a Formula 1 car is regulated, right down to the very paintwork and stickers that are applied. The rules are quite strict, although of course, there is no mandating what colours are allowed. That decision is strictly down to the team, and their sponsors. It can sometimes make for very beautiful cars, and sometimes make even the sleekest bodywork look terrible.
However, the FIA mandate that both cars in a team must run the exact same livery. We have seen a few deviations from this recently - in 2008, Rubens Barrichello ran a special livery to celebrate his 257th race start, and in Brazil last year, Coulthard ran a livery dedicated to promoting a charity, albeit for only one lap. This can be approved, as long as everyone agrees to it beforehand.
There was a situation in 1999, where BAR had to change their liveries at the last minute. They wanted to run a different branding on each car for two different cigarettes, but this wasn't allowed. Instead, the team went for a livery that was one half blue, one half white, with a weird zip up the middle. It wasn't a popular livery at all.
All cars must carry the race number and name of the driver within. In recent years, the numbers have been made smaller and smaller, seemingly less important. It used to be that the number was a big part of the car, Nigel Mansell's Red 5 springs to mind, but that gradually died out. However, it does seem to be making a comeback, particularly with the drivers who get to run the number one on their car. The number must be visible from the front of the car, whilst the name just needs to be on the chassis somewhere. The team also have to display their own logo on the nose of the car.
The only other real stipulation comes from the need to be able to tell the two cars apart. Above the drivers head, the onboard cameras are situated, and for the number one driver in any team, it must be coloured a flourescent red, and the number two driver has flourescent yellow. I can tell you from experience, this is only useful if you can remember which way round the colours are assigned and which driver in each team is the number one.
It's so close you can almost feel it, we're starting to get atmospheric pictures from the Sidepodcommunity on the ground in Australia. There's just one more day before things kick off, if you can count tomorrow as a full day. Meanwhile, here's what we've been discussing:
Two reserve drivers were revealed yesterday, with DC signed up for RBR and STR until poor Hartley can get his superlicence sorted. Meanwhile, Davidson will be the backup for Brawn GP. The BBC are losing their drivers all over the place, aren't they?
He's plugged it twice in the comments already, so I thought I'd save him coming back and plugging it again. Alex has a predictions game over on Sofa F1 that Mr C signed up for, and somehow I have been talked into it as well. It looks like fun, just a guessing game at the moment, of course. If you're interested, head on over to make your championship predictions.
Don't forget that if you've got a few minutes, you can post a comment with your short summaries for the F1 Digest - Australia Preview show. There's more info available here, and all I can reiterate for now is the shorter the better.
That'll do it for now. Just think, the next Daily post is due to go up about an hour before the live commenting gets underway. That's a nice feeling, isn't it? There's more info about our schedule for Australia here, and as ever, I will see you in the comments.
This article was originally written for BellaOnline, but is republished here for posterity.
Red Bull recently announced that they would be signing up New Zealand driver Brendon Hartley for the third driver role with the team, and with their sister team Toro Rosso. Hartley has been associated with Red Bull for a long time, and last year finished the F3 championship in third, having picked up five wins.
With cost-cutting in full force, the double stint would see Hartley have to step in if any of the four drivers were ill, and he can also take the car out during Friday practice. That is unlikely though, with testing so limited, the two main drivers will want all the mileage they can get.
Unfortunately for Hartley, his FIA Superlicence hasn't come through yet, which means he probably won't be able to be the official reserve until the European season gets underway. For the first few races, Red Bull are bringing David Coulthard back in case of emergency. David has been enjoying his retirement over the winter, celebrating the birth of his first child, and getting ready to be a pundit on the BBC's F1 broadcasting. However, it looks like he will have to get his fitness back up to scratch to be on hand if anything goes wrong. Reserve drivers do not have to get in the car very often, but it's always a good idea to be ready.
On the same subject, Brawn GP have announced their reserve driver will be Anthony Davidson. Anthony is also working for the BBC this year, as commentator on their radio coverage. He has been trying to find his way back into a seat though, since his drive with Super Aguri was lost as the team folded just four races into the 2008 season. With the ex-Honda team now led by Ross Brawn, everyone is just happy to be back on the grid, and Ross is picking consistency and experience over new, younger drivers. Davidson has a lot of experience in testing, and can give great feedback to the team if he needs to. I imagine he is very grateful for the chance to be associated with the team (after many years at Honda), even if it is not the full race drive that he craves.
Welcome to the second episode of Races to Remember, a miniseries from Sidepodcast that chronicles those races that shouldn’t be forgotten. Yesterday we were looking at the recent history of 2003, but today we travel just a few years back to the Belgian Grand Prix in 1998.
The Belgian Grand Prix in ‘98 was held in August and the weekend was unseasonably wet, although Spa is notable for it’s downpours. We barely got through qualifying safely, with both Jacques Villeneuve and Mika Salo crashing their Williams and Arrows respectively. Meanwhile, having better luck, Hakkinen and Coulthard locked out the front of the grid with McLarens, over a second faster than best of the rest Damon Hill.
The rain didn’t let up at all on Sunday, but the race got underway as scheduled, no safety car intervening. However, things didn’t go to plan. Hakkinen got away cleanly at the front, with Villeneuve, Schumacher and Fisichella all getting through safely as well. Coulthard, though, emerged from the spray sideways, and hit the wall. Debris and wheels flew everywhere, and that plus the lack of visibility, meant that pretty much everyone else trying to get off the grid became caught up in the accident. In just a few seconds, Irvine, Wurz, Barrichello, Herbert, Panis, Trulli, Salo, Diniz, Takagi, Rosset and Nakano were all tangled up with each other. Both Jordan drivers got through safely, whilst Verstappen made it back to the pits, albeit heavily damaged.
Clearly, the race couldn’t continue, and a red flag was shown to allow the debris to be cleared. The teams hurriedly worked to get themselves back in order. Barrichello couldn’t continue due to minor injuries, and three teams had both their cars written off. With just one spare T car for each, that meant three drivers sitting out the race.
It took almost an hour for the carnage to be sorted, and the race was restarted. Damon Hill took the lead almost instantly, whilst Hakkinen had to take evasive action to avoid Michael Schumacher around the first corner and spun into a Sauber. Moments later, Coulthard and Wurz made contact, with only DC able to continue, at the back of the field. At the front, Schumacher overtook Hill for the lead, and scampered into the distance. As the afternoon drew on, he came up to lap Coulthard.
Schumi was frustrated when David didn’t move over straight away, and when the McLaren did slow to let the Ferrari past, it was on the racing line. Michael crashed straight into the back of DC. Both cars returned to the pitlane but neither could return to the action. Schumacher was so incensed, he marched straight into the McLaren garage to shout at DC, so much so that he had to be held back by racing officials. Once Michael was done with McLaren, he went for a word with the stewards. They found it to be a racing incident, and let the accident pass.
Afterwards, and I’m talking five years later, Coulthard admitted that he probably hadn’t acted correctly, and if he could do it all again, he would never brake so heavily on the racing line in such conditions. It was a pretty dangerous racing incident.
However, let’s rewind five years again, and the race was continuing. Coulthard did eventually rejoin the racing, although he had lost an awful lot of time. Damon Hill was in the lead once more, and after just one more incident and safety car period, there were only six cars left. Finally, the chequered flag was waved, and Damon Hill took the top step of the podium to team mate Ralf Schumacher, making it a Jordan 1-2. Jean Alesi was in third. It was later revealed that Ralf had been constrained by team orders and felt that he could have easily won the race himself.
That’s it for this episode of Races to Remember. Don’t forget to leave your feedback on sidepodcast.com, about this Grand Prix in particular, or if you have a suggestion for a future episode. I will return to tomorrow with another race to remember.
Ahead of the fifth Sidepodcast outing to Autosport International, Christine takes a look at past experiences in Birmingham.
Transcript
Christine: Welcome to Sidepodcast Diaries. The last show got a lot of YouTube comments suggesting the video would flow much better if I took my top off. Now here at Sidepodcast we take feedback very seriously, so here goes. [Takes off jacket] Now we've got that out the way, let's get started.
This weekend we're going to Birmingham for our fifth Autosport International. Having been to the trade show four times already, I wondered what else there could possibly be for us to look at, but then I read some news about who was going to be there, and that was my answer. [Franck] While I was thinking about our history at the show, it ocurred to me that each year we go with a different objective. The first year we went, in 2005, we were brand new, we didn't know what to expect, and we realised our camera was really bad. [Blurry photo of DC] Our mission for 2006 was simple - get a better picture of David Coulthard. Thankfully, we'd upgraded our camera over the summer, so that objective was easy. [Better photo of DC] 2007 was all about the girls. I don't know why but that year the show floor was littered with pretty girls posing and draping themselves over cars. If you take a look at our Flickr group for that show, you can see there was only one thing we wanted to take pictures of. Last year we tested out our mobile recording equipment by doing a podcast in the restaurant, as you do. Other than that, I was just interested in picking up anything and everything I could find for free. [Photo of tat] This year I've been banned from picking up anything because our bags were just too heavy. It's even been branded as tat in Sidepodcast Towers. Now I don't know about you, but I can't believe this lovely picture of the Kumho Girls could be called tat, it's signed and everything. I won't be getting one of those this year because we've been tasked with taking as many pictures as we can ourselves instead of picking up ones that already exist. Oh well.
Nevertheless, it should be fun. We're going on Saturday, so if you're there, keep an eye out for us and say hi. If you're not there, don't worry, we'll be back on Sunday to tell you all about it. Stay tuned to Sidepodcast.com for all the coverage.
