Sidepodcast

Live: Jerez Testing - Day Eight (February 2010)

Today teams will head into their last day of testing at the Jerez track, before everyone decamps and heads for a final four day test in Barcelona next week. Time is rapidly running out for all concerned.

Friday seemed to be red flag day in Jerez, with a total of six stoppages throughout the test causing all manner of delays. Kamui Kobayashi appeared to suffer more than most though, only managing 28 laps, Timo Glock faired little better with just 34. Notably Jarno Trulli will finally see some testing action as he settles into his green and yellow Lotus office.

On track action begins at 9am CET (8am GMT).

Circuit Information

• Track length: 4.428km
• Corners: 13
• Lap record: 1:23.135 (Heinz-Harald Frentzen, Williams, 1997)

You'll find Circuito de Jerez located in South of Spain.

Drivers and Teams Attending

The following teams and drivers are confirmed for testing on Wednesday

Useful Links

• Official Circuit Homepage
• Autosport Live
• F1 Today
• Motor 21
• The F1.com

Live: Jerez Testing - Day Seven (February 2010)

Heikki Kovalainen managed to make a bit of mess of Team Lotus' testing plans yesterday. He's scheduled for more car time today, but if I were Mike Gascoyne I'd be calling on Jarno Trulli to hop in that (slightly damaged) seat a day early.

Elsewhere in the pitlane it's all change again, as Button takes over from Hamilton, Webber's in for Vettel and Alonso will keep Massa's seat warm. Notably Kamui Kobayashi will be manhandling the Sauber C29 around what likely be a wet Jerez track, while Ferrari's man on the ground bemoans, well, everything.

On track action begins at 9am CET (8am GMT).

Circuit Information

• Track length: 4.428km
• Corners: 13
• Lap record: 1:23.135 (Heinz-Harald Frentzen, Williams, 1997)

You'll find Circuito de Jerez located in South of Spain.

Drivers and Teams Attending

The following teams and drivers are confirmed for testing on Wednesday

Useful Links

• Official Circuit Homepage
• Autosport Live
• F1 Today
• Motor 21
• The F1.com

F1 Debrief - LOL, Retweet!

• Length: 47:05 
• Size: 43.3 MB 
• File: debrief133.mp3 
• Transcript: Coming soon 
• Torrent: debrief133.torrent 

This week we discuss CBeebies, ARCA, exclamation marks, red vs orange, James Allen’s awesome Twitter thing, Kamui Kobayashi and Canadian coverage.

Intro

Our sincerest apologies, but this is definitely a Twitter heavy show.

Good Week / Bad Week

It's been a good week for the BBC, as they keep Anthony Davidson, and got to launch nothing at all. It's also a good week for Paul di Resta who was confirmed at Force India. It's been a bad week for Christian Klien and Nelson Piquet Jr, though, who are still outside of Formula 1.

News and Views

We have more launch coverage, with Toro Rosso revealing their year old Red Bull to the world during the test. Virgin Racing had an even worse time as their online launch didn't go very well at all, and even Twitter couldn't save them.

Also of note, testing was seriously popular which was unexpected, Twitter was huge, and Mercedes signed Heidfeld as their test driver.

Here's the updated table of our launch scores:

Feedback

A voicemail from Nick leads us into a discussion of GP2 vs F1, we get constructive criticism over our content and my pronunciation, plus some thoughts on how teams do and don't declare their fuel weights. We also almost get distracted by talk of LOST.

Housekeeping

There's a new rankings system in town, and it's based on some seriously technical algorithms, plus Kathi convinced Danny to start Fantasy WRC.

Linkage

• Jaime Alguersuari on Twitter
• Sidepodcast: F1 2010 Launch Coverage
• F1 Photos
• Virgin Racing
• James Allen's Twitter Thing
• Tweets of the Week
• Claire Williams on Twitter
• Media. Future. Change.
• Fantasy WRC
• Craig Scarborough on Twitter
• Sidepodcast: Introducing Christine's Rankings
• McRae Formula 5000

BMW Sauber Reveal C29 for 2010

Both Renault and Sauber are launching their 2010 cars on the same day - just before the first pre-season test gets underway in Valencia. We're interested in both cars, naturally, and both teams also have a surprise to offer in terms of the livery as well. Peter Sauber has managed to buy back his team from the clutches of BMW, so he will want to put his own mark on things, I'm sure.

Credit: BMW Sauber F1 Team

The new C29 chassis from BMW Sauber.

Sauber will have their two confirmed drivers at the launch, in the form of Kamui Kobayashi and Pedro de la Rosa. They make an odd pairing, so it will be interesting to see how they get on. Plus, de la Rosa will be making his return to a race seat, and will probably be pretty happy to get things going.

Credit: BMW Sauber F1 Team

The C29 full frontal.

We haven't had two teams launch on the same day this year, so it will be interesting to see who gets the majority of the headlines. We'll be watching the news with a keen eye, and looking out for pictures and any gems from Twitter to keep you updated.

Credit: BMW Sauber F1 Team

The business end of C29 with blanked out diffuser.

Pedro de la Rosa Confirmed at BMW Sauber F1

Credit: Daimler

Never looking backwards. Pedro de la Rosa requests a wing mirror adjustment.

Spanish driver Pedro de la Rosa was confirmed on Tuesday as the second driver for BMW Sauber. He will partner Kamui Kobayashi at the Swiss team.

The 38-year-old driver, who has previously managed 71 Grand Prix starts, will make a return to full-time competitive Formula 1 action after spending seven years as McLaren's test driver.

Team Principal Peter Sauber, who today completed his 2010 team lineup, said of the signing:

"Pedro has spent many years working for a top team at the highest technical level

"We as a team stand to gain from his experience, and the same goes for young Kamui. The combination of a seasoned racer and an up-and-coming young driver has repeatedly proved a very fruitful one. I don’t expect either of them to disappoint in 2010."

During his tenure as a McLaren test driver, de la Rosa stood in as a reserve driver for a number of races. In 2005, he finished fifth in Bahrain, the circuit that will open this year's race calendar. Speaking about his new position, Pedro said:

"I’m really excited about the season with Peter Sauber’s team, which has been a solid fixture in Formula One ever since 1993."

Pedro's team mate Kamui Kobayashi was confirmed at the team last month.

F1 Advent Calendar 2009 - Day Twenty-Two

• Length: 3:48 
• Size: 3.5 MB 
• File: advent22.mp3 
• Transcript: advent22.pdf 
• Torrent: advent22.torrent 

Hello and welcome to Sidepodcast's F1 Advent Calendar 2009. This extended mini series is bringing you the highlights of the 2009 season - peering behind a door for each day of advent for another key moment. We're on to Day Twenty-Two - Injury Time.

With just three races left to go, there were still three drivers in contention for the title. Button maintained his lead in front, but Barrichello was closing up and Vettel mathematically still had a chance, albeit very small.

The Japanese Grand Prix weekend started out wet, and the Friday practice sessions were pretty quiet. The notable absentee was Timo Glock, who was taking a day of rest to try and recover from a fever he was suffering from. In his place was GP2 and Toyota test driver Kamui Kobayashi. He finished 19th in FP1 but improved to 12th in the second session.

On Saturday, Glock was back behind the wheel, finishing 14th in the morning practice.  Webber crashed heavily towards the end of the session, trashing his car so badly, he couldn't take part in qualifying. Buemi crashed at exactly the same place during qualifying 1, but his mechanics worked super hard to get the car fixed, and the Toro Rosso, which for the first time this season finally had good pace,made it through to the second session.

With Q2 underway, Alguersuari also crashed at the Degner Curve - that's three cars at the same corner now - and he was out of qualifying. Moments later, Glock crashed head on into the barriers at the final corner. His Toyota was buried deep into the barrier, and qualifying was halted while the marshals and medics attended the scene. It took them a long time to get him out of the car, and he was flown to hospital by helicopter, complaining of back pains. He also had a wound on his leg. Worryingly, Glock was taken to the wrong hospital - they weren’t expecting any incoming patients from the circuit, and the helicopter had to take off again soon after. Thankfully it wasn’t too serious an injury, but that reflected very badly on the circuit.

Qualifying continued, with Buemi crashing once again, scraping his way down the barrier of the long straight, leaving debris all over the track. His mechanics deemed that he'd gone a step too far this time, and his car couldn't be repaired. Kovalainen made it four drivers to crash at the Degner Curve, his session over as well. Finally, we learnt that Vettel was on pole.

Glock's leg was strapped and he was released from hospital but he was not cleared to race. He turned up in the paddock anyway to watch from the garage. Toyota requested that Kobayashi be allowed to fill in but the FIA declined, as to participate in a Grand Prix, a driver has to have taken part in at least one session on Saturday.

Vettel won the race, thus keeping himself in contention for the championship. Just.

Although initially, his main injury seemed to be the leg, Glock was ruled unfit to race in Brazil as well. Subsequent tests had revealed a cracked vertebrae that meant he needed more time to recover. This time, Kobayashi participated in all the sessions and got to have a go in the race. He finished 9th and proved himself to be pretty racy and a just little reckless as he went about it.

Abu Dhabi proved to be a similar story for Timo, although the excuses for keeping Kobayashi in the car grew slightly flimsier. Toyota suggested they had conflicted medical opinions on Glock's condition, so for his own safety, they weren't going to let him race. This time, Kobayashi finished sixth picking up some points and again putting on a pretty good show.

Just days later, Toyota pulled out of Formula 1, leaving both Glock and Kobayashi without a seat. Glock subsequently signed up for Manor Grand Prix, now called Virgin Racing. Hopefully, they will let him drive.

That's all for this episode of our F1 Advent Calendar 2009. I hope you will join me again tomorrow, when we open the door for Day Twenty-Three.

Kobayashi Confirmed at Sauber

Kamui Kobayashi has signed a contract to drive for Sauber next season. The Japanese racer made a strong impression on the field in the final two races this season, and that performance has seen him conclude a deal to race with the Swiss based team in 2010.

Following confirmation Kamui said:

"I am very happy that my two races in 2009 have earned me a cockpit place. I will do my very best for Peter Sauber’s team and I am proud to be able to carry on flying the Japanese flag in Formula 1."

Recently reinstated team boss Peter Sauber added:

"Particularly in the Abu Dhabi race he demonstrated not only that he can drive fast and aggressively, but also his ability to successfully implement a strategy. I am convinced he has a great deal of potential and will be able to make the most of it in our team."

Kobayashi's team mate for next season is currently unknown.

Daily: 5th November 2009

If you were hoping for a quiet off season, you will need to wait just a little bit longer. It is Bonfire Night tonight, and we have certainly seen fireworks in Formula 1 for the past few days. Ahh, I like being cheesy about it. Here are some of the things we're focusing on:

• Toyota pulled out of the sport and we have tons of coverage of this. There's a breakout thread, a brilliant guest post from Stuart, a quick roundup in F1 Minute, and a Toyota shaped Big Picture as well.
• Meanwhile, the rumour mill went into overdrive with suggestions that the top bosses at Renault were gathering as well. Could there be another team on the way out already? That would be three teams out in the space of a few months, plus Bridgestones. No wonder the FIA are starting to sit up and take notice.
• All this to-ing and fro-ing has put a bit of a spanner in the works of our 2010 Season line up thoughts. We now have even more drivers to try and squeeze into less teams, with Trulli and Kobayashi needing a drive as soon as possible. Do we think they'll fit in anywhere neatly?

That's all for now. Let us know how Thursday is going for you, as it is notoriously not a great day for Sidepodcast regulars. As ever, I'll see you in the comments.

Toyota Withdraw from Formula One

There was an announcement of an announcement earlier in the week, when Toyota confirmed they'd be breaking news on Sunday. However, they obviously couldn't wait and confirmed they are pulling out of F1 with immediate effect. A statement from the team read:

"TMC, which had viewed its participation in F1 as contributing to the prosperity of automotive culture, remained dedicated to competing at the pinnacle of motor sports even in the face of the abrupt economic changes that started last year.

However, when considering TMC's motorsports actitives next year and beyond from a comprehensive mid-term viewpoint reflecting the current severe economic realities, TMC decided to withdraw from F1."

This news, of course, leaves a gap on the grid, and there is one team in particular who would like to fill it. Personally, I feel sorry for Kobayashi. What do you guys think?

Updated: The FIA has responded to the Toyota withdrawal with the following statement:

The announcements this week by Toyota and Bridgestone of their withdrawal from Formula One are of concern to the FIA.

Bridgestone has given almost 18 months’ notice of its intentions, thereby allowing the necessary arrangements to be made for the future supply of tyres to the championship.

Toyota’s decision, however, comes just weeks after its F1 team signed the new Concorde Agreement until 2012.

Urgent clarification is now being sought from the Toyota F1 team as to its legal position in relation to the championship. This will have a direct bearing on the admission of any future 13th entry.

Updated: Not be outdone FOTA added their thoughts and thanked John Howett for efforts as Vice Chairman of the teams association:

The Formula One Teams Association today expressed sadness at the unexpected decision by Toyota to withdraw from Formula One and be absent from the 2010 World Championship.

Toyota has made a significant contribution to the success of Formula One for the past eight seasons, having recorded a number of podium finishes and other points-scoring results in that time.

We hope very much that Toyota will return to the world’s most technologically-advanced racing competition in the not too distant future, but in the meantime every effort must be made by the sport’s management to ensure that the 2010 season is as successful as we all hope.

F1 Digest 2009 - Abu Dhabi Preview

• Length: 05:56 
• Size: 5.5 MB 
• File: digest141.mp3 
• Transcript: digest141.pdf 
• Torrent: digest141.torrent 

F1 Digest is back for the final preview of the year, but with a brand new circuit to look at. There's no history available for the Yas Marina circuit, but the teams and drivers believe this will level the field.

Vital Statistics

• Date: 1st November
• Circuit: Yas Marina
• Length: 5.5km
• Laps: 55

Preview

Once again, Glock won't be in the car, with Kobayashi deputising for him. Meanwhile, it looks as though Friday practice might be busy as drivers learn the track, and Kimi thinks it will be a different race now the pressure is off.