Sidepodcast

Daily: 15th March 2010

Monday, and the day after the day before. F1 is back in business and we've ticked one event off of the 19 race calendar already. It will be a further 11 days before cars take to the track again. It looks like we have some time to kill.

Christine has entrusted me with daily duties, which I interpret to mean "discussing in-depth technical aspects of the site at great length". Something I shall gladly do.

This weekend, marked for Sidepodcast, the culmination of 4-6 months worth of work. During the off-season many hours were spent shoring up weaknesses of the old live commenting system, to enable the smooth experience of the past four days. I'm quite relieved it all worked as expected.

The debut of the Factbyte Factbox marks the new technical direction Sidepodcast.com is heading in. We bought a brand new server from Rackspace to host the system, and after a solid weekend's work, we'll be migrating the rest of the site there shortly. I don't remember the last time we had so few technical issues during a race weekend, and in fact the only downtime experienced was a 60 second server outage caused by the two of us attempting to publish F1 Big Picture and F1 Minute articles simultaneously. In over three years, we've never crossed the blogging streams before, and we should probably avoid it in future.

Back to the subject of F1, what's new for Monday?

• I've just been reading the latest edition of GrandPrix+, which might explain the delay in posting the daily. Joe and David are far more optimistic about what they saw in Bahrain than we have been. I understand races in days of yore used to be slow burners, building to a climax, but does the Playstation generation really have such patience nowadays?
• Lukeh debuted a new report card rating system on his blog, and he's given race number one a resounding 'D', although he is looking positively towards Australia.
• F1Photos offers a unique look at yesterday's first lap incident between Kubica and Sutil. I approve of the frame-by-frame sequence, and hope to see more as the season progresses.
• Finally, Gavin published his comprehensive analysis of the opening Fantasy Racers round. I faired better than I was expecting, so haven't started sulking about my position just yet.

That'll do for me. Don't forget to listen to Christine's F1 Digest roundup today, I don't remember the GP episode appearing as early as Sunday for a very long time. The girl worked incredibly hard throughout the whole of the race weekend, and I stand in awe of her work.

Fantasy Racers 2010 - Our Worst Position Ever

Panda Racing 2010 made a disappointing start to the new season in Fantasy Racers, finishing in just 12th place after the first round of action. In just over two years of competition, this is Sidepodcast's lowest starting position.

New rule changes for 2010, designed to make life easier for smaller teams, has blunted our usual strategy, leaving us flailing outside of the illustrious top ten table. !Singapore F1 are currently the top personal league with an average of 712.6 points, while The Real USF1 are the top team in Panda Racing 2010's own league with 722 points.

Notably the top 24 positions in Panda Racing 2010 are held by teams who selected the option of "fixed drivers" at the start of the season. More Fantasy Racers analysis is available on Making Up The Numbers.

If you've signed up to the league please let us know how you got on.

Fantasy Racers 2010 - Bahrain Reminder

Fantasy Racers is back and this time it's blog-only! We're not going to be talking about it in the show as the rule changes make it just that little bit too wordy for a short podcast section. However, it's taking pride of place on the blog and this is where you come in. I have selected Strategy 2, which is the option to not change your drivers but have a higher starting budget. Therefore, I will run out of things to say about my team very quickly. I want you to tell me about your team, who you're choosing and why. Email your thoughts to christine@sidepodcast.com and I will publish them in the next reminder thread.

For now, though, we have a league this year called Panda Racing 2010. You can get more information on joining up on this post, and please do! We'd love to have you. My team is called Chief Operating Panda, for obvious reasons. As mentioned above, I'm sticking with the same drivers throughout so my choice was important. I've gone with:

• Fernando Alonso
• Lewis Hamilton
• Sebastian Vettel
• Lucas di Grassi

I think I've got a good mix of championship potential and deliciousness. Who are you going for?

I had a message from Simon, part of which we read out in the latest debrief and part of it I saved for this post, as it related to his Fantasy Racers. Here are his thoughts:

I went for the 45m version, as my internet access is sporadic at best and therefore may not be able to change this during the season. My team is: Kamui, Lewis, The Hulk, Rubens, Kubica.

My reasons: I thought Kamui's performances in the last two races in 2009 were outstanding, the most exciting F1 debut since Lewis. Following the yawnfest that was the arrival of Buemi, Bourdais, Speed etc. etc. it was great to see a young driver with almost no F1 testing drive that well. I am delighted that he secured a drive following the demise of Toyota - so he was a must, my first name on the list.

Then Lewis, because it would be churlish to not have the man who will win the world championship in your fantasy team. Next Nico. I have been very impressed with his performances during pre-season testing and I also have a hunch, or is it just a hope (I miss the good old days of Hill etc.), that Williams will be competitive this year.

This left me with 17m to spend. So I had two choices: get one more top driver (would have been Vettel - I couldn't bring myself to pick someone in a red car!) and then have 5m left - not enough to get another, so wasted money, or get two 'best of the rest ' drivers. Rubens, for the Williams reason mentioned above, and because Rubens came to F1 around the same time I did and I have always liked him. Kubica, because well, I definitely think he fits into the category. Not the best but not the worst.

Fab stuff from Simon. Don't forget you can send me your team decisions: christine@sidepodcast.com. I also want to point you in the direction of Lukeh's blog post about his team Amazini Barresistancello. That one is definitely worth a read.

Also, don't forget to take part in the SofaF1 championship this year, as Alex has worked hard on creating a very interactive page for selections. F1 Wolf has a great predictions game going, and check out Pat's post for other worthy games.

Daily: 12th March 2010

It's Friday and at long last the 2010 Season is underway. In just a few short hours we will be up again, ready to watch Free Practice 1 and from then on, it's all about the racing. Well, hopefully. There's lots of good stuff and many threads to come today, so keep your eyes peeled so you don't miss a thing.

• Jake has written another great blog post, this time talking about time spent with some of the drivers ahead of the weekend's action. I particularly find the Schumacher/Rosberg stuff fascinating because we've seen visual evidence of their distaste for each other now, and... it's scary stuff!
• It's the last day to change your Fantasy Racers teams and whilst there will be a reminder post along later, I thought it was worth mentioning now. Particularly as I want to give a shout out for Pat's fabulous post about the different prediction and fantasy F1 games that are available at the moment. I had no idea there were so many!
• All that stuff about McLaren's rear wing is coming to a head now the teams have gathered together, and there is plenty of discussion about the silver car's extra hole. Scarbs has the detail (for Mr C), whilst Autosport put it into English (for me). Ahh, controversy. Is it November yet?
• In self-promotion news, Mr C wrote a great introduction to the Force India podcast which makes a triumphant return for 2010. More audio from teams is greatly appreciated. The man also posted a breakout regarding Renault's new sponsor, and he actually managed to create a picture with no red in it. Woohoo!

That'll do it for now. I know you're excited already, so instead, why not tell me how and where you are watching Free Practice, if you are. I'll see you in the comments.

F1 Debrief - Puffle Piffle Poffle Puffin F1

• Length: 52:12 
• Size: 48.0 MB 
• File: debrief136.mp3 
• Transcript: Coming soon 
• Torrent: debrief136.torrent 

Coming up this week, we discuss team members departing, really dodgy names, Hamilton opening up, an evening with Joe, and those dangerous new teams.

Intro

This time next week the first race of the season will already be over! It's pretty exciting. Before that though, lots of news to get through plus some Fantasy Racers roll calls.

Good Week / Bad Week

It's been a good week for the Korean GP as they reckon they are on schedule, and for Renault who have managed to find a little bit of sponsorship in the form of Lada. It's been a bad week for Force India though, who haven't quite worked out how to use bit.ly yet, and for Willy Rampf who is leaving BMW Sauber.

News and Views

We discuss a few conclusions from testing, although nothing particularly groundbreaking. The fastest drivers, and those that completed the most distance. We contemplate some Ferrari developments and Red Bull stickers. We also wonder whether anything will come of the McLaren aero complaints.

The topic of US F1 can't be avoided any longer, if only because this may be the last time we get to talk about them. Anderson and Windsor appear to be to blame for the sinking of the ship, and with no Stefan GP either, we're looking at a slightly smaller grid. We discuss Campos' new change of name and image, although we don't particularly like it, and we briefly look at Hamilton's new openness now he's out from his father's management.

Feedback

Loads of feedback including: Jonathan sends me a picture of a marmot, Steven wants to know what LOST podcasts we listen to, Toastboy bets on Jenson, Iain looks into his crystal ball, Lisa's spotted a problem with Zencast, John has a Zune, Andy is being volunteered to get involved, Pete says a quick hello, and Simon is travelling the world.

Housekeeping

Bassano leads us in to a brief discussion about the excellent evening out with Joe, plus we plug the competition. All of Sidepodcast is now live so you never have to refresh again. We do a quick reminder about the show notes, plug a couple of fantasy F1 type things, and say goodbye until next week.

Outtakes

Those Fantasy Racers Roll Call sections were a little bit tricky. We knew there would be outtakes galore, but we didn't know there would be six minutes worth! Here they are in two parts.

Part 1:

Part 2:

Linkage

• ScarbsF1's blog
• Viva F1: Testing
• NY Times: Testing Ends in Jerez, as Bigger Tests Continue for US F1
• Who Are You, Anyway? : Calling Planet Anderson...
• F1 Pulse: Bernie Always Has an Agenda When he Speaks
• The (not so) fast lane: Most Hair-Raising Season Ever?
• Marmot photo from Jonathan
• Media. Future. Change. : A Conversation with Leo and Mr C
• Sidepodcast: Win a Signed Copy of The Grand Prix Saboteurs
• Fantasy Formula One

Daily: 6th March 2010

The weekend is here, and whilst I am still fighting off germs, we're busy gearing up for the racing to start. This is the last weekend before everything kicks off in Bahrain, so I hope you're making the most of it! Here are some of the things we're talking about, in a super duper extended daily:

• A quick plug before we get into the motorsport stuff, I quickly posted a new episode of Media Future Change last night. It had been delayed a few days because of voice issues but finally made it into the public domain. Hope you enjoy listening, and as ever, feedback is always appreciated.
• I finally got round to updating the about page on I Heart Franck to feature more information about who I am, obviously, and how I discovered Monsieur Montagny. Not that I discovered him or am taking credit for his success or anything. I was tempted to write a bit about how I would faint on sight of FKM, but then I remembered he has read the site in the past, and that wouldn't really be a great opening line.
• Whilst we're talking about yummy people, Lucas di Grassi has partnered with some watch people. They sponsor Renault as well, which is slightly odd, although he was a development driver for them. I wonder if this will affect his position in the rankings.
• We often get people asking if we're bringing back the video previews and at the moment the answer is still no. Teams aren't really giving out as much footage as they used to, and now we know why. Red Bull kept it all for themselves! They have shared the packaged video with us, though, and it's pretty awesome. We'll let them off, especially as they intend to do it for every race.
• Don't forget the competition to win a signed copy of Joe's book. It closes on Tuesday, so if you haven't already entered, make sure you do!
• Whilst we're doing reminders, it's worth mentioning the Fantasy Racers league. We'll be doing a roll call of all the teams signed up in this weekend's show, so if you haven't yet joined, are planning to, and want a shout out, make sure you join the Panda Racing league before Sunday.

That should keep you going for now - double the usual number of items! Let us know how your weekend is going, and I will see you in the comments.

Daily: 2nd March 2010

We have reached Tuesday and I am busy dreaming up the final part of Life in the Fast Lane. Keep your eyes peeled throughout the day for the big finale. The voting closed last night, and I was once again surprised! I won't spoil it for you. Let's talk about more F1 related things:

• With the start of the season not far off, it's time to start thinking about Fantasy Racers again. We've had a couple of questions about our Panda Racing league, and all the information can be found on this post. Otherwise, head on over to Gavin's blog where he has a fabulous introduction to the 2010 Fantasy Racers season.
• Steven Roy has written a great guest post over on Viva F1 about how the FIA goes about making it's selection for new teams. It's a hot topic at the moment, with the apparent imminent failure of US F1 and the struggles for Campos. Check out Steven's view on the subject, and add your thoughts in the comments - there are some excellent opinions in there too.
• I found myself missing testing today, it was nice to be able to check in with the action every now and again without having pressure to keep up with everything. Having said that, I'm looking forward to seeing who is legitimately fast or not. On the subject of conclusions and predictions, F1 Punter is back with a roundup of testing but from the viewpoint of bets and odds. I always find Punter's posts fascinating, even though I can never get my head round betting.

That's all for now, l hope your week is going well so far. Let us know what you're up to and I will see you in the comments.

F1 Debrief - Longer is Better, and Pointy is Good

• Length: 55:22 
• Size: 50.9 MB 
• File: debrief132.mp3 
• Transcript: Coming soon 
• Torrent: debrief132.torrent 

This week we talk about goodbye videos, terrible lighting, spy photography, digital subscriptions, tweeting, Fantasy Racing and British accents.

Intro

It was incredibly busy this week with a grand total of five launches, and with more to come plus testing, there's plenty to discuss.

Good Week / Bad Week

Good week for Toyota leaving us with a fantastic video to sum up their time in the sport, and also for US F1 who finally got around to confirming their first driver... by proxy. Bad week for the F1 Calendar though, as Abu Dhabi want to keep their grip on the season finale, and for Kimi Raikkonen who smashed into a tree during his first rally of the year.

News and Views

We cover all the launches we've experienced so far, starting with Mercedes. Bad lighting, a wonky live stream and no actual new car didn't really get us off to a good start. Ferrari were next with an even worse stream, but a new car, and a tweaked livery. McLaren showed them all how it was done, though, with a stream that worked, a fascinating insight into how the team is going to work, a new car and bloggers in attendance. We listen to a voicemail from Adie who was present at the launch.

Sauber and Renault launched on the eve of the first pre-season test in Valencia, and whilst the BMW-Sauber was bereft of sponsors and a bit bland on the livery front, Renault took the opposite tack and turned up with a new bumble bee paint job.

We assessed each livery and assigned a score out of 10 for each one, for easy comparison:

We also quickly mention the fantastic news about the Autosport magazine going digital, plus some Ted News and a particular Twitter update.

Feedback

Lukeh kicks off the feedback section with a Tremayne about the constant regulation changes. Then we discuss the new Fantasy Racers league, my pronunciation, some jokes, Monaco Baby, accents and mankinis, testing and the Sidepodcast calendar.

Housekeeping

We finish with a quick mention of our brand new Twitter page, as linked below.

Outtakes

Linkage

• Toyota's Farewell Video
• Sidepodcast: F1 2010 Launch Coverage
• Who Are You Anyway: Going ga-ga for a poker face
• F1 Tailpipe: Thoughts on the Day with McLaren
• BlogF1: Renault's Livery Development: 2002-2009
• Sidepodcast: Autosport Magazine to Add Digital Option
• Claire Williams on Twitter
• Formula 1 NYC
• Sidepodcast: Panda Racing 2010
• Sidepodcast Twitter Page
• Sidepodcast Calendar Page

Fantasy Racers - Panda Racing 2010

Fantasy Racers was a mixed experience in 2009. The rule changes were of a similar magnitude to those in Formula 1 itself, and some of us adapted well, whilst others of us did not. Kathi led the way almost from the very start, and put on a really impressive show to make the Sidepodcast League the top scoring league of the competition for the second year in a row. She also completely outclassed the rest of us in the field, meaning we simply have to try harder in 2010.

Preparing to defend our Fantasy Racing title again. Click to join.

There are a couple of changes to the Fantasy Racers rules again this year, and we're also tweaking the way we play as well. Starting with the competition, though, you can now choose between two strategies, as detailed on the site:

Strategy 1 allows you to make unlimited changes during the course of the year, with a 40.0m starting budget.

Strategy 2 does not allow you to change your drivers, but has a starting budget of 45.0m. You may only remove a driver that is sacked / injured / unable to compete.

As a particularly lazy person, I have selected Strategy 2, although I have yet to choose my drivers. You are welcome to choose either option, and the selection you make will show up against your team in the league.

With the added complexity this gives the competition, we've realised it's going to be almost impossible to cover it in a sensible amount of time on the podcasts, so generally speaking, Fantasy Racing is now a blog-only thing. That doesn't mean we're not encouraging you to sign up and join in though, because we want you all to go ahead and do that now.

Sign up is free, just head on over to FantasyRacers.com, pick a team name, your strategy and your drivers - if you're thinking that far ahead already. I believe at the moment you can change your mind on the strategy front, but that will most likely be locked down at some point before the season begins.

We've created a league for everyone to join, although we want it to be less Sidepod-centric this year. Thus, we have named it Panda Racing 2010. To join the league you can simply click here, or search for Panda Racing. There's no password this year, so you can just sign right up and get choosing. Once you've done that, come back and let us know your team name and what your strategy is.

Daily: 25th January 2010

Monday heralds the start of a new week, and the start of the 2010 season proper as the first team launch gets underway. Mercedes will be showing off some new stuff in Stuttgart, and there'll be a thread along later to discuss it all. For now, though, here's what we're talking about:

• We're all sorted on the Fantasy Racers front now, as there was a bit of a confusion over what the Sidepodcast league was going to be called. We're now known as the Panda Racing 2010 league, so if you haven't already, head on over to Fantasy Racers, set up your team, and follow this link to join the league.
• We released an F1 Debrief podcast yesterday, another one that was recorded off-air, and it was actually an unscheduled one. We had a lot to discuss though, and the show features a brand new advert for the daily threads made by my own hands. I'm not good at the music but hopefully it fits in the podcast quite well. Also, don't miss the outtake on the drop.
• Nico Rosberg has stuck his neck out and said he's not afraid of Schumacher. Speaking to the L'Equipe paper (and assuming my French is up to it), he said he plans to win in Bahrain and he's not afraid to stand up against the seven times world champion. Go Nico! (Another thing I never thought I would say about him.)

That will do for now. We're also expecting some news about US F1's first driver announcement, so it will be a busy day for breakout threads! I'll see you in the comments.