Nikki takes us on a whirlwind tour around the globe, introducing various members of the Sidepodcommunity as they tell us about their hometowns. Visits include Manila, Dunedin and London.
It seems as though all the talking that the teams and Max did yesterday has cheered them up a little, even if they haven't come to any kind of conclusion yet. This is good as we're heading straight back into the racing today, with Free Practice and Qualifying. Meanwhile, here's what we've been discussing:
Rumour has it that Jacques Villeneuve would be open and willing to return to F1, as it's current regulations appeal to him. He's also not exactly shone in NASCAR, so perhaps he's looking for a return to Europe. Is this a good thing or a bad thing? Would Mr C be sad if he gave up the singing?
Also in the news, Paul Ricard are tempted to make a bid for the French Grand Prix - although they missed out on the last selection round. Recently we saw a protest by locals to the current location, that involved tractors, so perhaps it would be less embarrassing all round for the racing to return to an actual race track.
By the way, have you seen the little sidebar banner on GrandPrix.com. It might be weird to be mentioning this over here, as you probably already know about An Aside with Joe, but it's very cool to see that over there. Big thanks to the GrandPrix.com team.
That'll do it for now. We'll be opening up threads during the day for FP3 and Qualifying, so please join us if you're around for those sessions. As ever, I will see you in the comments.
For those who have been expecting a mini series this week, I apologise that there isn't one. We contemplated taking a weekend off (shock, horror!), but decided to do a live show instead. If you're around about 7pm tonight, then tune in, and you never know what we'll be up to. Meanwhile, we're discussing:
The French are protesting! F1 Minute reported this yesterday, but just outside of Paris, some tractors gathered to protest the building of a GP track as the area is populated enough and it would just cause chaos. Will their concerns be heard?
The F2 championship has expanded to 25 cars now, which bugs me slightly, as it's an odd number. However, I wonder why some series are struggling to find teams to enter, whilst others are having to up their limits to make room for all the potential entrants.
If there's anything you would like us to discuss in the show tonight, feel free to offer up suggestions as we'll be trying to keep budget cap talk to a minimum. However, if you're mad about the budget caps, why not leave us a Tremayne style voicemail? The art of Tremayning first occurred here, with examples of the last competition here. Call 0121 28 87225 to send us your thoughts in the style of the angriest journalist around.
That'll do it for now, keep the excellent thoughts coming, let us know what you're up to and I'll see you in the comments.
This article was originally written for BellaOnline, but is republished here for posterity.
There are quite a few changes to the 2009 F1 Calendar compared to last season. We've lost one race, as Canada has been kicked off the calendar, and France pulled out due to financial difficulties. There is one addition, with a new circuit at Abu Dhabi, ready to host the season finale in 2009. Here's a quick guide to the first half of the year.
Australia There is ongoing confusion over the future of the Australian Grand Prix. The event constantly makes a loss, but in terms of racing, it's one of the most action packed weekends of the year. Everyone is excited to be back in action, and there's usually a certain amount of chaos to mix things up. Performance can't be judged on the Australian results, but it's a great way to get the season going.
Malaysia Malaysia hosts one of the hottest races on the calendar, with the humidity an added endurance factor for the drivers. As the second flyaway race at the start of the season, teams need to maximise reliability, as securing extra parts can be expensive and timely.
China When the Shanghai circuit was introduced on the calendar, it's facilities were impressive and their corporate hospitality seemed unbeatable. However, there have already been complaints about the lack of facilities for fans, and grandstand numbers have been falling. Moving from the end of the 2008 calendar to the start of the 2009 season will also mean a quick turnaround for organisers.
Bahrain Both Ferrari and Toyota spent a lot of time testing in Bahrain over the winter, so they will be accustomed to the hot, dry and dusty atmosphere. The others may take a while to adjust, but Bahrain is the last race before the European leg of the season begins, so teams will be looking forward to heading home.
Spain The one problem with the race being held at Barcelona is that a lot of time is spent testing there over the winter. Although the in-season testing ban will make the track's current conditions more of an unknown, all involved are still completely familiar with it's twists and turns.
Monaco The highlight of the calendar for many involved, Monaco introduces some glitz and glamour into proceedings, even if the racing can sometimes be dull. For the drivers, the race is one of the most intense, as concentration is paramount to not end up in the barriers. The tunnel is a particular highlight.
Turkey Turkey remains one of the more popular recent additions to the calendar. As one of the few tracks to run anti-clockwise, it presents a challenge to the drivers as they feel the strain on their necks. Turkey moved up the calendar from the 12th round to the 5th in 2008, but now slips back to the 7th.
Britain During the British Grand Prix in 2008, Bernie announced that Silverstone had lost the contract to hold the race, and it would be moving to Donington Park in 2010. If that is the case, and many still don't believe it will happen, then Silverstone, who held the very first F1 World Championship race in 1950, will feature it's last race this year.
If you enjoyed this look at the first half of the calendar for 2009, stay tuned for the second half - Germany to Abu Dhabi.
For the second month in a row, we are faced with a Friday 13th. At least it's a Friday though. Testing has finished now for this week, and we are still trying to come to terms with what we've seen. Here are some of the things we have been discussing:
Journeyer posed an interesting question in the comments yesterday, which is more surprising - Brawn being at the top or McLaren being at the bottom? Opinions were mixed, so I'd like to hear yours.
France has finally decided on which track they would like to use for a Grand Prix. Of course, they have to get the thing up to standard and present it to Bernie as a viable option. It hasn't been touched by the hands of Tilke, so it is already in our favour.
We're also discussing the options of how to get all the bits of junk out of space, because we're worried about the people in the ISS. It seems like a serious accident is going to happen soon. I'm in favour of a big magnet, but if anyone has any other ideas, we'd like to hear them. NASA don't seem to be coming up with anything, but I'm sure the Sidepodcommunity can.
That's it for now. As ever, on a Friday, let us know your plans for the weekend. If you're up to anything exciting, we especially want to know, but either way, feel free to share. I'll see you in the comments.
February is here, and we are looking forward to a busy day at Sidepodcast Towers. However, that doesn't mean we'll leave you with nothing to discuss. Here's what's going on at the moment:
Mateschitz has said he won't be rushing to sell Toro Rosso, as he only wants to give it to a buyer who will keep the team alive and well. This is good news for the team, and it's refreshing to see a team being sold without the controversy and depressing headlines.
Supposedly the French Grand Prix has been dealt another blow, as plans for a street race in Paris are ditched. This never seemed particularly likely, but what with all the recent news about a French race being negative, will it ever return to the calendar?
Don't forget to vote for your choice between Rosberg and Piquet on the first round of the Character Cup. You've got until 7pm tonight, so make your selection if you haven't already, and share your reasons, if you so desire.
We will be back later today with the second round, and more news, if there is any. Please feel free to discuss whatever is on your minds, and I'll see you in the comments.
This weekend we planned to not podcast because we intended to kick off the first part of our post-season tour, whereby we fill in the downtime with trips to a variety of motorsport related locations. As with everything we do, it's an ad-hoc affair, we don't expect to plan anything more than a week in advance.
The first location on the agenda was Paris, France. The lovely capital city houses basecamp for the motorsport governing body Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile. Ideally the trip would have seen us leave on Friday, spend a quiet few days figuring out how we make all of our equipment work on the continent, and return late on Sunday.
That was before Honda announced their rather unexpected exit strategy on Thursday evening.
Friday was a write-off given the amount of news bouncing around, and suddenly this wasn't a good week to skip a show. Instead we compressed all the above plans into two days as best we could.
There was no way we could drive to France, visit Max's pad and return in time for a live show on Sunday evening, so we've bounced that over to Monday for the first time in a long time.
As for the tour, well, we got lost... a lot. More than you could possibly imagine in fact. Aside from navigational issues, there's much to be sorted in terms of keeping in contact with the site too. The important thing, however, is we survived our first continental Sidepodcast outing.
We'll likely chat in more detail on Monday, and while peering at the outside of a locked door isn't the most auspicious start to a tour, we feel we've made a successful sidepodstep this weekend.
This article was originally written for BellaOnline, but is republished here for posterity.
The World Motorsport Council met in Paris this week to discuss various topics, one of which was the latest version of the provisional 2009 calendar. The calendar has been tweaked several times already, since the first version was introduced, but this one had to incorporate the loss of France.
A few weeks ago, the French motorsport organisation pulled out of Formula 1, saying they did not have funding to host an event in 2009. They were looking into funding and hoping to be able to return with a long-term plan in the future.
Therefore, it's no surprise to see that the French Grand Prix is no longer on the calendar, but it is disappointing to find that the Canadian race has not been reinstated. After meetings between Bernie Ecclestone and the mayor of Montreal, things were looking particularly hopeful. The mayor said he and Bernie now understood each other and he would be looking to raise the investment needed to participate. Clearly this hasn't happened yet, as they are missing off the list. However, it is still a provisional calendar, so there is still hope. I would have to say it seems unlikely we'll see their return for 2009 though.
There are other changes to note as well. The Chinese Grand Prix has moved from it's position as the third to last race, right up to the third race of the season. That's quite a change for them and means they're running races much closer together, without the benefit of a long break in between. This pushes the Bahrain event back a week, and brings forward the last two races. This means the season ends at the beginning of November, instead of running through the month.
Lastly, there is almost an entire month gap between Hungary and Valencia, which I just know is going to be an interminable length of time.
Here is the updated version of the provisional 2009 FIA Formula One World Championship.
29th Mar - Australia 5th Apr - Malaysia 19th Apr - China 26th Apr - Bahrain 10th May - Spain 24th May - Monaco 7th Jun - Turkey 21st Jun - Great Britain 12th July - Germany 26th July - Hungary 23rd Aug - Europe (Valencia) 30th Aug - Belgium 13th Sep - Italy 27th Sep - Singapore 4th Oct - Japan 18th Oct - Brazil 1st Nov - Abu Dhabi
This article was originally written for BellaOnline, but is republished here for posterity.
The French Grand Prix has been known in the past to be a relatively dull affair. Overtaking can be difficult at Magny-Cours, and the drivers are never very happy to be travelling to rural France after the decadence of Montreal.
However, we have yet to see a boring race this year, and France was no different. During qualifying, it looked as though it was going to be a Ferrari whitewash. They secured both of the top grid spots, with no one rivalling their times, and nearest competitor Hamilton suffering from a ten place grid drop – from the pit lane incident in Canada.
There was talk of rain, approaching the weekend, but throughout the three days of track action, we only experienced a couple of showers, nothing to upset any of the strategies.
The race got off to a clean start, with only a small incident between Button and Bourdais, that led to the Honda’s retirement a few laps later. Hamilton made a bold move on Vettel, but had to cut the chicane after missing the braking point. The stewards investigated the incident, and decided that he had taken the place from Vettel unfairly, and therefore handed out a drive through penalty. It was not McLaren’s weekend at all, after team mate Kovalainen had also started five places down on the grid after impeding another driver in qualifying.
Ferrari were pulling away at the front, but Raikkonen had a problem with his exhaust, that saw the lead switch to Massa. The errant exhaust was hanging off Raikkonen’s car and flapping around, but even through a pit stop, the team did nothing. The car survived the race, hanging on to second place, although there had been a hole melted in the side of the bodywork.
In the mid-field it was very competitive, with drivers out of position fighting with others. Nelson Piquet amazingly held up Hamilton for a great stretch of time, and later on overtook his team mate Alonso after the latter ran wide at the corner. This will hopefully have impressed his team enough to give him another chance. Trulli was the other notable performer, finishing in third and on the podium. It was just what the team wanted as a tribute to their ex-team Principal Ove Andersson who was recently killed in a rally accident.
Bernie Ecclestone has never been shy of admitting he wants the Grand Prix to move to Paris, and every year for the last few has appeared to be Magny-Cours last. However, they have a contract for next year, redevelopment plans are in place, and things are looking hopeful for a return there in 2009.
It's been a while since the French GP has been eagerly anticipated, but with such a mixed up grid, today was one of those days. Tune in to F1 Digest for a recap of all the action, plus driver reactions.
The Race
A race of some serious fighting, Raikkonen battling his machinery, Hamilton trying to get through the traffic, Trulli holding off Kovalainen.
Conclusions
Whilst Honda and Force India seem to be feeling pretty low right now, Toyota and Toro Rosso are flying high. The others fall into various moods in between.
