Sidepodcast

Days that Shook the F1 World - Ferrari Bargeboard Scandal

• Length: 3:16 
• Size: 3.0 MB 
• File: day13.mp3 
• Transcript: day13.pdf 
• Torrent: day13.torrent 

Hello and welcome to the penultimate episode of the second series of Days that Shook the F1 World. We’ve looked at big accidents, big fines and big changes, now it’s time to look at another big day in F1’s history. Today we’re looking at 22nd October 1999.

In 1999, Michael Schumacher broke his leg and missed out on six races. It was obvious his championship chances were gone, but teammate Eddie Irvine kept the Ferrari flag flying in his absence. By the time Schumacher returned, at the Malaysian Grand Prix, the title battle was between Irvine and Hakkinen in the McLaren. It was a tough race for the Woking based team, with a couple of bad strategy calls, and Hakkinen ended up third, standing on the podium below two Ferrari drivers. Irvine took the win, with Schumacher doing everything he needed, but no more, to make it a 1-2.

It seemed as though the championship battle would go right down to the wire at the final race in Japan, that is until the FIA got involved. Upon checking the Ferrari cars for legality, some questionable bodywork was found. The team were called up for discussion, and before the evening was out, Irvine and Schumacher had been disqualified.

Ferrari weren’t about to take this lying down and instantly appealed. The case would go before the International Court of Appeal. In the intervening period, both Irvine and Hakkinen spoke out against the penalty, despite the fact that Mika was provisionally World Champion. Even Bernie Ecclestone spoke out and said the rules were too strict, and the whole thing was bad for the sport.

Nevertheless, the ICA convened and heard all the evidence. There was speculation that McLaren had tipped off the FIA to look closer at Ferrari’s bargeboard, as the cars were initially cleared, only to be recalled for a second glance. They strongly denied any such involvement, of course.

After mulling it over, the appeal process found in favour of Ferrari, and all points and positions from the Malaysian Grand Prix were reinstated. The FIA insisted that their measuring system was at fault, and admitted that the regulation was not clear enough. The FIA Technical Delegate admitted his mistake, and there was great debate amongst the drivers and teams.

Ferrari went on to change their bargeboard, causing Coulthard to question how it could be legal if they had to change it anyway. Jackie Stewart suggested that the faulty measuring system had governed all the races, and shouldn’t be used as an exception for one. Opinions flowed in from all over the globe, and yet, the championship had to continue for one more round.

At the Japanese Grand Prix, Hakkinen won the race, with the Ferrari boys taking the other two steps on the podium. Mika got the championship he had been fighting so hard for, whilst Irvine missed out but Ferrari scored yet another constructor’s title. So, it appears the FIA have been getting involved in championship battles for many years.

That’s it for this episode of Days that Shook the F1 World. I’d love to hear your thoughts on this scandal, or any of the other days we have touched upon so far this series. If you’ve got any ideas, feedback or suggestions, please feel free to leave them in the comments at Sidepodcast.com.

Theme music: Causeway, Change in My Lifetime.

F1 People - Series 2 Omnibus

• Length: 30:13 
• Size: 27.7 MB 
• File: peopleomnibus2.mp3 
• Transcript: peopleomnibus2.pdf 
• Torrent: peopleomnibus2.torrent 

Welcome to F1 People - Series 2. This is the omnibus edition of the series, which was seven short shows originally released over seven consecutive days. Now they are all gathered up in one place for easy listening.

Here are the links to the individual show notes:

1. Colin Chapman
2. Niki Lauda
3. Murray Walker
4. Eddie Irvine
5. Jean Alesi
6. Adrian Newey
7. Juan Manuel Fangio

This is the first omnibus edition we've tried, the idea came from a suggestion on Facebook by Dave Monks. I'd love to have your feedback - is it useful to have the information presented this way, or is it just clogging up your feeds with the same shows twice? Also if you missed a mini series, do you think this would be a good way to catch up or are the seven separate shows easier?

F1 People - Eddie Irvine

• Length: 3:51 
• Size: 3.6 MB 
• File: people11.mp3 
• Transcript: people11.pdf 
• Torrent: people11.torrent 

Welcome to Sidepodcast, this is the fourth episode in our latest mini-series F1 People, a series featuring seven important people in the world of Formula 1. So far we’ve looked at Colin Chapman, Niki Lauda, and Murray Walker. Today we’re focusing on Eddie Irvine.

Edmund Irvine Jr was born on the 10th November 1965 in County Down, Northern Ireland. His family were involved in motor racing, which got Irvine interested from a young age. He began in Formula Ford, and spent several years in the mid-field, with the occasional lucky podium. In his fourth year, he signed with a better team and started winning championships, meaning he was noticed by the WSR Formula Three team. He outperformed a car that couldn’t win by finishing on the podium 8 times.
Irvine worked through F3000 and the Japanese Formula Nippon series, and as he progressed, he was noticed. Eventually, F1 came calling, with a debut in 1993 for Jordan at the Japanese Grand Prix.

Having finally found his way into Formula 1, Irvine was determined to make the most of it. Despite being in a car that was often at the back of the grid, he would regularly try and push forward at the start, perhaps a little too hard. He started making a name for himself as a wild driver, one who could often cause early exits from races for both himself and the drivers around him. Some collisions actually led to him being banned for multiple races.

One particular incident involved Ayrton Senna, where Irvine allowed himself to be lapped, but then was frustrated when Senna didn’t move on to lap Damon Hill in front of him. Irvine took the initiative, unlapped himself and overtook Damon Hill. After the race, Irvine said Senna had simply been driving too slowly, so Senna walked into the Jordan Motorhome and punched Irvine in the face.

In 1996, Irvine was snapped up by Ferrari to team with Michael Schumacher, and played second fiddle to the champion’s number one status. During the first few years, Irvine couldn’t hold a candle to Schumacher’s performance, but he continued to fight hard and tamed his driving style. When Schumacher broke his leg in 1999, Eddie stepped up and took on the lead driver role, and he found himself fighting for the championship. Schumacher returned after six races away, and became the supportive second driver. In Malaysia that year, Schumacher allowed Irvine past him and held up Mika Hakkinen in the McLaren. There was a fiasco with McLaren accusing Ferrari of having illegal barge boards for that race – but that’s a story for another day. Ferrari were first disqualified, and then their points were reinstated, and it all came down to the last race that year. Unfortunately, Irvine did not manage to capture the title.

With Michael back to fighting fitness, Irvine decided he’d had enough of being second best, and left to join the fledgling Jaguar team. From 2000 to 2002, Irvine worked hard with the team, shared his knowledge, and developed the car but all he got in return was a slow and unreliable car. In 2003, the team’s financial problems began and Irvine announced his retirement from F1.

Since leaving the sport, Irvine has played himself in the 2004 film The Prince and Me, he’s been in talks to buy out or invest in several teams, and he’s built up a property portfolio worth millions. More recently, he’s been involved in television reality shows such as Soccer Aid on ITV and The Race on Sky One.

Although he started out being seen as a reckless individual, both on the racetrack and off it, as the F1 world became more corporate and bland, Irvine began to stand out as a real personality and someone who made the sport a little bit more fun. He spoke his mind, he raced as hard as he could, and whether you loved him or hated him, he added some colour to Formula 1.

That’s all for today’s episode of F1 People. Stay tuned as we have three more VIPs coming up this series, and until then you can leave your thoughts on Eddie at Sidepodcast.com.

Theme music: Natives of the New Dawn, People.