Another week is ready to get going, although it seems like all the fun stuff is towards the end of it. We've got testing in Barcelona plus a meetup with Joe, but that doesn't kick off until Thursday and Friday. I'm sure we can keep ourselves amused until then, though, and here are some of the things we've been up to:
It was guest post central this weekend, as we had four posts over the course of three days. I've mentioned some of them already in previous daily threads, but in case you missed them, here's the full run down of the guest posts we had. It started with Lady Snowcat's In Search of the Iceman, then on to Lewis with Silverstone vs. Silverstone. Lukeh got us feeling optimistic with Approaching the Start Line and finally Brawn2bwild spent A Sunny Saturday Afternoon in Jerez. If you've got a story you want to share, please get writing and forward it to christine@sidepodcast.com.
If you're looking for more to read, Jackie has a great selection of posts to peruse in her Something for the Weekend roundup. I love reading the roundups in case there is something I have missed, which there usually is. Definitely worth checking out.
SpeedTV's Adam Cooper has written an interesting post about the possibility of a return to F1 by Jacques Villeneuve, although it really is more about the likelihood of Stefan GP making the grid. I can't believe there are so many team changes this close to the season beginning, but it's certainly giving the journalists something to do!
That should do it for now. There'll be an F1 Debrief podcast along at some point this evening, and until then, I will see you in the comments.
Although it is technically not Thursday anymore, we like to stretch the limits in our very own Sidepodtime timezone. Thus, here is a guest post from Lorenzo, answering Journeyer's initial question, with his ideal team line up.
My ideal team? When considering this question, I have opted to look at drivers that are alive and active, but maybe haven’t sat in an F1 car for many years. For the purpose of the exercise I will assume that the drivers would be at the same level as the day they left F1 (which is highly unlikely), but I suppose it is my team and before the season starts I am able to take such liberties with my decisions.
Ok, so my first choice would be the French Sicilian with the fiery temperament, who on his day gave both Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost more than a few headaches. I will always remember Jean Alesi's heroic efforts in the Tyrrell in 1990 passing, being passed and re-passing Senna many times on the notoriously difficult to overtake Phoenix Street Circuit. In fact he was a major reason as to why I fell in love with F1 in the first place, his talent was never questioned but his passion more than often led him to make the wrong decisions. Probably the move that effectively prevented him from becoming more than just a mere footnote, was inspired by his passion for Ferrari, when with his infinite wisdom he managed to wrangle himself out of an already signed contract with Williams for 1991 and ended up in his dream drive for Ferrari, alongside Alain Prost instead. Now we all know how that ended up, the Patrick Head/Adrian Newey Williams was the dominant force of the 90’s whilst Ferrari’s glory and form faded season upon season, until 1997 effectively. Still, Frank Williams was “donated” a Ferrari F1 car for his kindness in letting Alesi out of his signed multi-year contract and to this day I believe he still has the car in his Museum, but Alesi remains only a single time winner in the record books. What if, hey?
Number 2? Jacques Villeneuve. Who could ever forget his debut in the Williams in 1996, not I! Standing trackside you could see his unwavering commitment shining through in the body language of the FW18. Leading most of the race until he ran a little wide onto the grass outside of the first corner at Albert Park, shaking loose an oil line in the car, which resulted in the teams instructing him to pull over and let his more experienced team mate Damon Hill past for the win. Still his intentions were clear and Damon was served early notice. Also his relentless stalking and chase of Michael Schumacher in the Championship decider of Jerez 1997, followed by his scything pass down the inside from so far back that the German had no idea he was even coming. The audacity of Villeneuve in only his second season in F1, who in this one moment exposed what was both brilliant and flawed about Schumacher...his inability to accept defeat at almost any cost. My heart sank when in one fell swoop Villeneuve had confirmed for the world that Adelaide 1994 was no accident.
Test/Reserve? Kimi Raikkonen. His talent cannot be questioned, although we are all aware of his commitment issues and dare I say laziness over a season? I have a feeling that he would be horrible at developing the car for me and he would definitely hate the thought of me plonking him in the simulator for hour after endless hour, but I think I could tell when he has that glint in his eye and needs to be in the car. I might even arrange a special sponsor outing where we send Jean Alesi motocross riding on the weekend before Spa (no harm intended of course!) just so that I could slot Kimi in for his customary Belgium win, and then let him party for the rest of the year.
A final thought, sure Alesi, Villeneuve & Raikkonen mightn’t be a conventional choice for an ideal team but I have a secondary element to my choices. Jean owns a winery, Kimi loves a tipple and Jacques can sort of hold a tune. So when/if team Lorenzo F1 fail dismally, the year end Christmas party will be one to savour. Jean will supply the wine for Kimi to drink whilst Jacques provides the entertainment. I can’t lose!
It is Jacques Villeneuve Sr's birthday today - brother to Gilles and uncle of the baggy-overalled Jacques we know and love. Eh-hem. He was also a race driver too, and took part in a couple of years worth of F1. What a family! Meanwhile, here are some of the things we're talking about:
The Race of Champions Nations Cup happened and whilst we live commented it, we also did not enjoy it. Read more about Mr C's disappointment, and why he probably won't be watching today. We'll set up a thread anyway, because it would be wrong to cover half an event.
Meanwhile, I spent the evening putting together the last F1 Digest race review, and it's quite a short one. On the same subject, Rich wrote a blog entry about his thoughts on the race from the build up to the aftermath - an interesting read.
Also, a few days late, but I only just remembered, the Sofa F1 pole poll was decided, and Mr C came second. He was doing so well! I am firmly mid-pack, with Pat just two points above me. Well done to everyone who took part, and even more next year please.
That's all for now. As mentioned above, there'll be some more live commenting in the form of the Race of Champions individual event, although it is on in work hours. Boo. Nevertheless, I'll see you in the comments.
I hope everyone is having a good week so far, but if not, it's the mid-point today - Wednesday. Things can only get better, and if they don't get better then we're closer to the weekend than we were before. Now you have that uplifting thought, here are some other topics to think about:
Lukeh has written an excellent piece on his blog regarding his trip to Goodwood. It was his first time at the Festival of Speed and it's fair to say he got a lot more out of it than we did on our first attempt at navigating the hill!
For once, the letters F, I and A are not miserable around here, as there is the prospect of a new president come October. Okay, that's getting a bit carried away, but if someone is prepared to stand against the dreaded Max, then I am prepared to believe he can do it. Joe has some more information on Ari Vatanen and he seems to be an all round good guy.
Yesterday, we were discussing the relative merits of Villeneuve's attempts to rejoin the sport. Without wishing to ignite that debate again, Jacques did raise a good point that with the testing ban, experience counts for a lot. Who else would you like to see make a triumphant return, or who would you most like to stay away?
That'll do for now. Don't forget, you can listen to the last episode of the recent F1 Safety episode, or if you're hanging around for the omnibus, it should be along later today. I'll see you in the comments.
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.
Formula One takes an early breather from its European tour and heads across the Atlantic to Montreal for the Canadian Grand Prix. Following swiftly on from the lottery that was the Monaco weekend, Sidepodcast takes a look at what this year's sole North American race has to offer.
Last years event was the scene of one of motorsports most spectacular accidents, when Robert Kubica bounced off of a Toyota, a kerb and two concrete walls. Safety improvements have been made this year to prevent similar incidents, so join Christine on a hot lap of the track to make sure you're up to speed with the changes for 2008, and everything else you need to know about racing in Canada.
Special thanks to Allianz SE, Toyota Motorsports GmbH, Red Bull Racing, Honda Racing F1 and RTV GmbH for the use of their video footage and photographs.
