Sidepodcast

Everybody Needs an #F1HappyPlace

Regardless of where you sit in the ongoing refuelling debate, it's fair to say that F1 is going through a tough time right now. Even if you think the Bahrain Grand Prix was fabulous, the general consensus seems to be F1 can offer more, and for it to be undergoing this backlash already is worrying. They normally wait until at least the summer before screwing everything up.

Anyway, I thought it was time to bring out the #f1happyplace, a hashtag used on Twitter to collect good thoughts and feelings about the sport. We needed this in 2009, when the politics overtook the racing. We need it in 2010 because... there wasn't any racing.

Here are some of the #f1happyplace entries I've seen flying by on Twitter:

• @SauberRG: Ahh, #f1happyplace Bahrain GP 2008, Qualifying.
• @lukehmuse: #f1happyplace A year ago... that sunday morning in Melbourne, 29th March... Jenson and Rubens on the top 2 steps of the podium <3
• @RubberGoat: My #f1happyplace is making pretty graphs for my blog 'Making Up The Numbers': http://bit.ly/JBKsY
• @Lou_uk: #f1happyplace When Schumacher went marching grumpily into Toyota pits coz he just saw the red +thought it was his Ferrari garage. Ha!!!
• @andonida: #f1happyplace Standing in the rain at Monza watching Sebastian Vettel take victory for Toro Rosso :)
• @Markenzeichen: #f1happyplace Rubens's win in Valencia last year. I've got it on my iPod, for down days. :)
• @kateatthemotel: An #f1happyplace: Germany 2009, and Mark Webber's first victory - that cathartic, joyful pit radio extract is still so wonderful to hear.
• @Chrislee12: #f1happyplace Vettel winning at Silverstone
• @jpancoast: My #f1happyplace is the @sidepodcast comment section.
• @lookingspiffy: #f1happyplace 2 days after Massa's crash, I read the 3rd paragraph down in this forum post & shed quite a few tears: http://bit.ly/au51oO
• @lacanta: My #f1happyplace: The week either side of 2009's August Bank Holiday (clue: the reasons are mostly Fisichella-related)
• @enjard: #f1happyplace 2007, Fuji. Absolute bliss.
• @TheFable: My #f1happyplace is Lewis winning in Hungary last year.
• @robynmelbourne: #f1happyplace Webber's maiden pole/win in Germany last year. Epic drive that had me too excited to sleep after.
• @TommyB89: #f1happyplace The whole weekend of Spa 2009 :D
• @VioletPingu: my #f1happyplace was when Lewis got his first win of his career in Canada '07
• @mrschristine: #f1happyplace Sitting on the track at Silverstone 07, after an incredible weekend. http://bit.ly/ci85az
• @glhunt31: #f1happyplace Watching Damon Hill win at Silverstone in 94 from the grandstand opposite the pits (showing my age...).
• @stephfarnsworth: #f1happyplace seeing Massa win the title (well I thought he did for a few seconds!)
• @RocketRedhead: #f1happyplace Jenson's first podium in Malaysia 2004, in fact the whole season was really exciting!
• @euis_t: #f1happyplace Looking for public spots around Marina Bay street circuit to watch FP1 in 2009. The sound, the smell, the sights = LOVE
• @Booooothman: #f1happyplace Brawn GP's 1-2 in Oz last year; that sort of stuff is only shown in Disney films.
• @thedementor: #f1happyplace being able to sneak away and watch the drivers parade. thanks to my vantage spot i could watch the procession twice. Happy <3
• @anngilmour: My #f1happyplace - watching Nick Heidfeld's overtaking moves in a rain-soaked Spa 08 for 2nd place. And Bourdais crying over it.
• @jpgdesign: #f1happyplace Monza 2006, Monaco 2007
• @adamclarke501: #f1happyplace Brawn taking the 1-2 at the Oz GP
• @toxicfusion: #f1happyplace Japan 2005 - Alonso overtakes Schumacher through 130R
• @S_Rogers: #f1happyplace There's absolutely nothing like hearing all the engines at once, live and in person.
• @FerrariNumber27: #f1happyplace San Marino 2005. Alonso states his intentions...
• @allaboutf1: #f1happyplace the last few corners of Brazil 2008 - agony turning to ectasy
• @motorsport_bts: My #f1happyplace - San Marino '05 - my friend got me a painting done of Alonso & Schumi battling that now hangs proudly on my wall =)
• @4chords: #f1happyplace Button winning in Monaco in 2009, then proceeding to do the 'front straight of honour' after parking in the wrong place!
• @chrisward77: #f1happyplace Last lap of Brazil 2008 and Mansell vs Senna at Monaco in 92
• @thedanshires: #f1happyplace 2003 British Grand Prix
• @dapperdansc: My #f1happyplace - taking my seat at Spoon's exit at Suzuka in '06 and cheering for Super Aguri with a quarter-million fans.
• @F1Weekender: #f1happyplace Button crossing the line in Brazil '09 to win the WDC. Followed since F3 days, was a very special moment. Enough said!!!
• @Twiger: #f1happyplace The Yas Marina Circuit
• @Claudia_Writes: #f1happyplace October 13, 1996. Getting up ridiculously early in the morning to watch Damon Hill win the title.
• @SportTradesTalk: #f1happyplace Johnny Herbert winning the 1999 European GP (i cried when he won the race) and the last lap of the 2008 season. Go Lewis!"
• @IngrydLamas: my #f1happyplace is back to 2000, German GP, Barrichello's first victory. Think there's no need to say why... Beautiful win tough
• @fumi905: #f1happyplace My apartment near the uni, 9th Oct 2005, and 27th to 31st 2009, around of me!
• @trippruding: Tie for my #f1happyplace 1)2001 USGP (1st and only live F1 experience), 2) 2007 Brazil GP (most exciting ending I have ever seen)
• @neil_in_france: My #f1happyplace has to be Damon overtaking Scumi at Hungary in the Arrows in '97 even thought ITV were on an adbreak at the time GRRRRRRRR!
• @Half_way_there: #f1happyplace Alonso going around the outside of Schumacher in the 130R at Japan 2005
• @felipe_leite: #f1happyplace Piquet vs Senna, Hungary '86 - my first F1 memory. I was 6 years old then.

I'll keep this updated as I see them, and we can forever use it as a reference and more importantly, a refuge. If you're not on Twitter, please feel free to leave your happy place in the comments.

Daily: 20th January 2010

Mid-way through the week already, and we have reached the twentieth day of this brand new year. It's Will Wright's birthday today and I'm only telling you that because he created The Sims, and The Sims is brilliant. Now, moving on to more Formula 1 related things, here are some of the items we're currently talking about:

• The BBC Olympics blog has an interesting post about how the GB cycling team relates to the McLaren Technology Centre. It's one of those: "F1 is useful to other technologies, honest" type posts, but it makes for good reading if you have a spare five minutes.
• We were intrigued by the news about Pedro de la Rosa yesterday, particularly his signing over the anticipated Heidfeld announcement. We talked about it in the breakout thread, there's a Pedalo shaped F1 Big Picture, and RG has written about the news, coming to the conclusion that it's not all bad.
• The official F1 site have a history piece up about Mercedes, and how they fit into the bigger motorsport picture. There's nothing new in there, but it's a great recap of how they've got where they are - which is basically taking over the grid. This piece reminded me of the mini series episode I did on the Safety Car and Medical Car, both powered by Mercedes.

Anyway, that should keep you going for now. As I said, we're mid-way through the week, so it's all downhill from here. I'll see you in the comments.

Sidepodchat - Jim Clark Grew Up as a Boy Who Loved Cars

• Length: 8:30 
• Size: 9.9 MB 
• File: chat15.mp3 
• Transcript: Coming soon 
• Torrent: chat15.torrent 

Steven Roy takes the reigns in his penultimate guest podcast - guiding us through his first experience of Formula 1, and the big effect Jim Clark had on him.

"On April 7th 1968 Jim Clark died in a formula two race at Hockenheim. He remains one of the small group of drivers inevitably mentioned whenever the subject of "the greatest of them all" arises. This tribute explains the effect that Clark's fatal accident had on a small boy in Scotland.

40 years ago the greatest driver of his generation was killed in a Formula 2 race at Hockenheim in West Germany. Today it is inconceivable that a top grand prix driver would compete in a lower formula but then it was quite normal..."

Read more on the original post.

Sidepodchat - Bernd Rosemeyer

• Length: 16:40 
• Size: 19.2 MB 
• File: chat14.mp3 
• Transcript: Coming soon 
• Torrent: chat14.torrent 

For his third guest podcast, Steven Roy reads his previously published post telling the fascinating story of Bernd Rosemeyer, a figure of importance in F1 history.

"Some drivers slide under the door of grand prix racing unnoticed and after serving a respectable apprenticeship get promoted into top drives. Some like Kimi Raikkonen fly through the junior formulae so quickly that they can only be granted a license to compete on a probationary basis. One man never drove a race car of any description before he drove a grand prix car and died a legend less than 3 years after his debut with his entire motor racing career lasting less than 1,000 days...."

Read more on the original post.

Sidepodchat - The Fastest Grand Prix Driver Ever

• Length: 26:03 
• Size: 30.0 MB 
• File: chat13.mp3 
• Transcript: Coming soon 
• Torrent: chat13.torrent 

In the second of our story-telling specials, Steven Roy turns his previously published guest post into an audio treat, and informs us about the fastest racer ever, Gilles Villeneuve.

"Gilles Villeneuve died on 8th May 1982 during qualifying for the Belgian GP at Zolder. He was in a rage after being betrayed by his team mate in the San Marino GP two weeks earlier. F1 lost the greatest driver of his generation and one of its most popular drivers ever. I decided to write a few words to mark the anniversary and it turned into a bit of a monster. I could easily have written 10 times as much..."

Read more on the original post.

Sidepodchat - The Fastest Driver Who Never Raced

• Length: 8:18 
• Size: 9.7 MB 
• File: chat12.mp3 
• Transcript: Coming soon 
• Torrent: chat12.torrent 

In a change to the usual Sidepodcast format, we're turning all Jackanory as Steven Roy reads you his previously published post. Some great history will come to life as Steven guides you through F1 stories that will surprise you.

Imagine if Rory Byrne, who designed the Ferraris that Michael Schumacher dominated F1 with, had found himself at Spa in 2003 with the latest Ferrari but without a driver. Now imagine that he decided with no drivers available he would test the car himself. Now stretch credibility to breaking point and imagine that he was as fast as Schumacher. Utterly impossible? Of course it is nowadays but once upon a time...

Read more on the original post.

Forgotten F1 Teams - Series 2 Omnibus

• Length: 27:06 
• Size: 24.9 MB 
• File: forgottenomnibus2.mp3 
• Transcript: forgottenomnibus2.pdf 
• Torrent: forgottenomnibus2.torrent 

The second series of Forgotten F1 Teams opens the history books once again to look at teams old and new who are no longer in the sport, and tells their story. Everything from teams being turned away from the paddock to record breaking wins, stay tuned for seven fascinating stories.

Here are the links to the individual show notes:

1. Hesketh Racing
2. Jaguar Racing
3. Shadow Racing
4. Toleman Motorsport
5. Spyker F1
6. Andrea Moda
7. Vanwall

Don't forget you can check out the Series 1 omnibus for more teams, and if you have any suggestions for future episodes, please feel free to share them in the comments.

Races to Remember - San Marino 2005

• Length: 3:47 
• Size: 3.5 MB 
• File: races6.mp3 
• Transcript: races6.pdf 
• Torrent: races6.torrent 

Hello and welcome to Races to Remember, a mini series taking a look back at some of those great Grands Prix that shouldn’t be forgotten. Last time we looked at the European Grand Prix in 1993, but today we’re travelling just a few years forward to 2005.

On April 24th, the San Marino Grand Prix was held for the penultimate time. It was the fourth race on the calendar, and defending champion Michael Schumacher had yet to win a race. The Renault was dominating with Fisichella winning the first round, and Alonso racking up two victories of his own.

Raikkonen put his McLaren on pole, ahead of Alonso and Button. He made a good start and pulled out a lead, but after only nine laps, Kimi was struggling. His car had developed a driveshaft problem and he had to retire from the race. Schumacher had a very poor qualifying and started in 13th, but as you would expect, began to make his way through the pack. Unfortunately, he got stuck behind the Trulli train, and couldn’t get past. Being stocked full of fuel, Michael wanted to make as much use of his long first stint as possible, but could only make a further leap forward once the Toyota came in for it’s pit stop. When the Ferrari was called in on lap 27, it was from third and he rejoined in the same position.

The next target on Schumacher’s list was second-place Button. He was 20 seconds behind and had a lot of work to do, but it took him just 13 laps to catch up, and in a blink he was past. He set off after Alonso, and soon saw the rear wing of the Renault directly in his path.

Schumacher wanted a home win, needed a victory for his championship campaign, and above all, hated being in second. He tried every legal trick in the book to try and get past the Renault roadblock, but Alonso was playing a smart game. He had the skills in defensive driving to keep the seven times world champion behind him. He slowed wherever possible to not only keep Schumacher from gaining any advantage, but also to stop the pair of them catching up to any traffic. 10 excruciating laps of edge-of-the-seat action, until finally, the last lap was upon us. Schumacher tried at every corner, and there was a heart-stopping moment when Alonso ran wide, but it was not to be. The Renault took it’s fourth victory in a row, and Schumacher had to settle for second. They were just two tenths apart as they crossed the finish line, with Button’s BAR-Honda ten seconds behind.

Of course, if you were watching in the UK, you would have missed half the action. The ITV coverage cut away from the race on the penultimate lap. Completely inexcusable, and a simple way of making this a race to remember for all the wrong reasons.

However, ITV weren’t the only culprits on this point. After the race, the BAR-Honda of Jenson Button was found to be underweight once all the fuel was drained. A secondary fuel tank was discovered and the team argued that this was completely within the rules. The race stewards let the matter go, but the FIA overruled the decision and the matter went to court. After reviewing the evidence, the team were found guilty, and both cars were disqualified from the San Marino results, despite the fact only Button’s car had been found underweight. The FIA wanted to go even further and ban the team from the entire championship that year, but in the end, they settled for a two race ban. The entire affair overshadowed what was a fascinating race.

The on track battle really was something to behold, as modern F1 is constantly hailed as a miserable time in the sport. Little overtaking, no proper rivalries, that’s often the subject of complaints. But we saw an amazing duel between two competitive and closely matched cars, and two extremely competent drivers. What more could you ask for?

That’s it for this episode of Races to Remember. We just have one more episode to go now, so don’t forget to leave your feedback in the comments, or email me christine@sidepodcast.com, and join me tomorrow for the last Race to Remember of this series.

Races to Remember - Italy 1967

• Length: 3:23 
• Size: 3.1 MB 
• File: races3.mp3 
• Transcript: races3.pdf 
• Torrent: races3.torrent 

Hello and welcome to the Races to Remember mini series, brought to you by Sidepodcast. So far, we’ve checked out some controversy in 2003, and some chaos at Spa in 1998, now it’s time for a close race in Italy, 1967.

Back in 1967, the circuit at Monza was very similar to its current condition, although there was a distinct lack of chicanes. Most of the corners were flat out, and there was a worrying lack of runoff area. The F1 circus came from Canada to Italy, with Honda nice and refreshed – having missed out on the North American race, in favour of getting their new chassis completed. Jim Clark was a double world champion, and had won just two races so far in the season. There were only three Grand Prix remaining, and he needed to start winning.

There was no qualifying in those days, and the grid was determined on the Free Practice times. Clark put his Lotus on pole, with Jack Brabham behind. Brabham was also on a tally of two wins for the season, and the pair were ready to battle it out. When the race got underway, Brabham took the lead but he soon lost it as a stream of cars passed him. By the third lap, Clark had re-taken the lead and was pulling out a nice gap.

On the 14th lap, Clark was comfortably in front but suffered a puncture and had to pit. The stop took much longer than he would have hoped, and he rejoined more than a lap down and just three places from the back of the field. Meanwhile at the front, the lead changed hands on almost every lap, with a total of 12 race leaders by the time the chequered flag was waved.

Whilst the front runners were busy battling each other, Jim Clark was working hard making his way through the field. Some of his progression was due to the unreliability of others, and the many retirees during the afternoon. In fact, there were only seven classified drivers when the race finished. However, Clark’s progress was also a mix of skill, slipstreaming, and pushing his Lotus to the limit. Before long, he was back on the lead lap. Even more impressively, it was just a few more minutes before he was back in front, and heading for a victory.

On the final lap, though, the Lotus ran out of fuel. The Ford Cosworth engine struggled to keep going, and in the end, Clark was left coasting for the finish line, helpless and merely a passenger. All his hard work had come to nothing, and what could have been one of the greatest comebacks had been thwarted.

The excitement wasn’t over though, as in second place, Jack Brabham was doing his best to defend from third place John Surtees, who was in the Honda. On the last corner, Surtees used the momentum and slipstream to pull out next to the pit wall, and in a blink, the pair crossed the finish line, and the race was over. Surtees had managed to win the race by just two tenths of a second. Brabham had to settle for second, and Jim Clark’s Lotus drifted across the line over twenty seconds later for third.

The result was Honda’s second win as a constructor in Formula 1, and was the last before the 39 year drought led them to the 2006 Hungarian GP victory.

That’s it for this episode of Races to Remember. Please let me know your feedback on this race, this show, or Honda’s lack of wins. Email me christine@sidepodcast.com, or leave a comment on the site. I will see you again tomorrow for another look at a Grand Prix from history.

Races to Remember - Belgium 1998

• Length: 3:55 
• Size: 3.6 MB 
• File: races2.mp3 
• Transcript: races2.pdf 
• Torrent: races2.torrent 

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.