Sidepodcast

We Talk About F1 Too, Honest

With the introduction of the daily post, and the permission granted to go off topic at will, there have been a wealth of comments about a variety of topics. Sometimes there are moments of genius, and a comment gets picked out as a contender for the Best Comment of the Year. RG even started a wiki page to compile what turned out to be an enormous list of potentials.

The initial plan was to have a poll and select the Best Comment of 2009. However, there are so many good ones that I think it would be too hard to choose. Instead, we'll pick out some of our favourites, and point you in the direction of the wiki to enjoy the full list.

Don't forget to keep your eyes peeled when you are in the comments this year, as we have started a new page for 2010, and there are already several candidates on there already. We're only three days in! For now, though, it's back to 2009 for a few of the great comments.

It's the Way You Tell 'Em

Before the long and drawn out process of picking a new FIA President was fully underway, we were discussing Max's decision not to stand for the position for another term. Max has said this a few times, and you can never be sure if he means it. When the question arose: "Are we taking [Max's decision] with a pinch of salt or is it the real deal?" Nick replied:

Max's promises come ready salted.

When Stuart went away from home to cover the WTCC at Porto, he still found time to share a couple of comments from the paddock. We were questioning the setup for media types at the touring car events, and wondered whether there was wifi available. Stuart replied:

Sort of - it comes and goes more than the Karma Chameleon...

Now, there is plenty of proof littered through the comments that Steven Roy's keyboard hates him. Some of the typos that occur are quite amusing, and even create some of the words that make it to the Sidepoddictionary. When a conversation occured about the film Deep Impact, Steven wrote: "Just decided this film is utterly unrealistic. They spotted the comment a year before impact. The last thing that came close to the Earth was spotted a week in advance."

Rachel read the movie review and replied:

Must have been one explosive comment.

Next up, at some point during the summer Mr C and I were very much in the mood for heading out of doors. It doesn't happen that often but at one point, Mr C revealed that for the third day in a row, he was going outside. Amy wasn't all that impressed:

This is becoming far too frequent. This is not outsidepodcast.

Nick was in Abu Dhabi during the Grand Prix weekend and claimed that it had hosted the best race of the year. Despite our best efforts, we couldn't shake his belief. Jackie turned up in the comments asking after him: "Is Nick back from his travels yet?" And Steven, no doubt exasperated by the positive GP reviews, replied:

No, he is still on a different planet.

Finally, Jon was struggling to get his links to work in the live comments. It became an established fact that Jon's links weren't functional and he said: "I have an ability." To which Boston Red Scott replied:

You see dead links?

Those are just a couple of our favourites but make sure you head over to the entire list and have a read through. It's a year in crazy comments, and seeing some of them taken out of context just makes them even more amusing. I can't wait to see what we come up with in 2010.

F1 Advent Calendar 2009 - Day Fifteen

• Length: 3:26 
• Size: 3.2 MB 
• File: advent15.mp3 
• Transcript: advent15.pdf 
• Torrent: advent15.torrent 

Hello and welcome along, thank you for joining me for another episode of our F1 Advent Calendar 2009 mini series. We're about midway through December now, and moving on from the Hungarian Grand Prix - at last! What will we find behind the door of Day Fifteen - Take My Place.

Max Mosley had already confirmed that he would not be running for the FIA Presidency again, seemingly as part of the deal to halt the FOTA breakaway. He's said things like that before, though, and it wasn't until potential replacements began popping up, that I really thought it might happen. Jean Todt was the obvious candidate for the role, but it was Ari Vatanen who peaked our interest.

The Finn announced his intentions in late July, saying: "I think the time has come for a change. My main focus is to reconcile views within the FIA and bring transparency to its stakeholders. The duty of President is to defend a billion automobilists and the great sport of ours." As a former World Rally Champion, Ari certainly had the credentials on the sporting side, but it was the political side where he faced most of his opposition.

Ari said a lot of good things. He appealed to fans, and he was a fresh face in what has become an increasingly stale organisation. He talked the talk and he hit out at Mosley, which went down well in a sport that has been dominated by the man and his decisions.

His campaign started out well, but he began to run out of steam. When he announced his cabinet, most of the names were a bit of a mystery, and although he had some support, it seemed to be less vocal than the support for Todt. The lack of momentum put pressure on Vatanen, who responded in less than ideal ways.

Firstly, he criticised the FIA Foundation, suggesting that hiring a private jet to fly Jean Todt's girlfriend around the world might be showing a bit of favouritism. The Foundation rebuffed the claims instantly. Michelle Yeoh was an ambassador for the foundation, and an actress and name in her own right, not just Jean Todt's girlfriend. Whoever is right in that argument, it didn't reflect well on Mr Vatanen.

Next, he complained again about favouritism - this time suggesting that Mosley had told him he had already pledged allegiance to Jean Todt. The instant reaction to this is to wonder about whether the current president should be expressing such an opinion, but it was the circumstances that rebounded on to Ari. He revealed that in asking Mosley to favour him, Mosley had said he favoured Jean. Ah. That's slightly different.

Jean Todt and his cabinet capitalised on this, with a letter to member clubs saying: ""In our campaign, we have emphasised teamwork and the need for the mobility and motor sport pillars to work together. In contrast, the negative tone of our opponent's campaign risks undermining the unity of the FIA. Our team recognises that there is far more that unites than divides the clubs of the FIA."

Once again, it was not a surprise when October rolled around, the elections took place, and Jean Todt became the new FIA President. We had been backing Vatanen from the start, but Todt's campaign made more and more sense as the weeks passed, and it was clear that Vatanen wasn't quite right for the role. As yet, we don't know whether Todt is the right man either. We will have to wait and see... either way, no more Max.

That is all for this episode of our F1 Advent Calendar. I hope you're enjoying the series so far, feel free to email me your comments at christine at sidepodcast dot com. I will be back tomorrow with Day Sixteen.

FIA Reject Allegations, Condemn Leaks

Earlier today, the Guardian newspaper ran a story claiming Flavio Briatore has accused the World Motor Sport Council and Max Mosley of being "blinded by desire for revenge". The information appears to have come from leaked documents seen by the paper, and predictably the FIA aren't happy about it.

The Guardian suggest that the allegation will be used by Briatore when he appeals against his lifetime ban from motor sport, in France's high court on the 24th November. The paper went on to say that Pat Symonds, Renault's previous director of engineering, will join Briatore's appeal in an attempt to overturn his own ban.

This afternoon the FIA put out a press release, presumably in response to the piece, refuting the claims and criticising such leaks.

The FIA press release in full:

The FIA condemns the selective leaking of extracts from Mr Briatore’s pleadings to the Tribunal de Grande Instance in Paris.

The FIA rejects the allegations made in these leaks and confirms that the decision to impose a sanction against Mr Briatore was made by an overwhelming majority of the attending World Motor Sport Council members.

In respect for the authority of the French Court, it would be entirely inappropriate for the FIA to comment further on this matter in advance of the hearing.

What the FIA haven't said though, is what they plan to do to prevent further leaks in the future. This isn't the first time they've experienced such problems, nor even the first time this year.

The FIA Presidency: Jean Todt vs. Ari Vatanen (Update: Todt Is Elected)

After 16 years in power, today is Max Mosley's final day as president of motor-racing's governing body, the FIA. By the close of play, either Jean Todt or Ari Vatanen will have succeeded him.

A majority vote will be required by a candidate, but from where we're sitting, it does appear that the outcome will favour Todt. If you're interested in the political machinations that seem to forever dominate motorsport, and if you're following the events going on in Paris, then this is the thread to discuss matters.

Update: Jean Todt has secured a majority vote with 135 votes to 49.

Update: FOTA have released a statement welcoming Jean Todt to the FIA Presidency. Chairman Luca di Montezemolo said:

I would like to send my best wishes to Jean Todt in his new role, as I have always appreciated his ability, dedication and commitment. I am sure that, under his guidance, the Federation will be rejuvenated and will restore a climate open to dialogue and constructive collaboration with the teams and FOTA, thus ensuring stability of the regulations and the whole environment.

Update: Maurice Hamilton is suggesting that Jean Todt will likely had the appointment of F1 commissioner to Michael Schumacher.

We will of course post updates as information becomes available.

Uprising

The dreaded FIA elections are drawing closer, and Lukeh has resurrected his video, in support of Ari Vatanen. Here, he explains why he made the video, and the reasons behind his choice of candidate.

As you most probably know by now, by the end of this month the FIA will have a new president in charge - this individual being Ari Vatanen or Jean Todt. The FIA obviously keeps check of all sorts of motorsports away from Formula 1 but as an F1 fan, I feel that Mr Vatanen is the man that can bring the change to an authority that is so often criticised by us fans.

The video that I made gets straight to the point concerning my support and my frustration at what the FIA has turned into. For me to get my point across clearly, I felt it necessary to have the song ‘Uprising’ by Muse (despite my own personal bias towards the band) to highlight the growing tensions and frustrations at the control the FIA have over us and the sport. As fans having a change in who’s in charge could benefit us in a massive way and the video is simply my own personal way of speaking out and supporting change.

"They will not control us". For too long Mr Mosley has seen it in his own will to change rules and change ideas without the fans support and bring in new things that I personally feel have let us F1 fans down. I will happily admit to you reading that I do not know the ins and outs of the politics, the reasons into various changes in F1 at times, and the more technical sides of things, but everything I do know about the FIA and some of the decisions they have made under Mr Mosley have been ridiculous and it is time for a change with Ari Vatanen. We deserve better as Formula 1 fans, and we deserve a sport that we want to see, not a sport that the FIA thinks is best for us.

"They will stop degrading us". No matter how much they plead it, Max Mosley, and the FIA, does not appear to care about the fans. The biggest example has to go towards ticket prices. Why is it, despite their constant promises in the past, that ticket prices are so extortionate? Sure, it is not just Formula 1 and other motorsports seeing ticket prices at a ridiculous level, but when the FIA is so intent on cutting costs, it is still us fans paying the price in more ways than one. Mosley has let the sport down time and time again, and I feel that under Ari Vatanen the FIA can change its ways and take Formula 1 back towards what it should be.

It seems that, to a lot of people who have been following this, that Jean Todt has already won before the results are in later this month and before the election occurs. It would be ignorant to brush aside the fact he does have major support from Mosley and Ecclestone, and he has a very rich history in Formula 1. For me, though, this history is partly the reason why I can’t support Todt. It would also be ignorant to say that Mosley has never done anything good as president – the safety aspect of Formula 1 has been improved to no end under his rule and it’s an area both the FIA and Mosley deserve credit for improving immensely.

However, I honestly feel that the FIA has to take a different direction to succeed after the years of Mosley’s rulings. The frustration at the FIA as it has acted over the past few years led me to making this video and showing my support for Mr Vatanen. It’s straight to the point and it is effective in producing the message I’m trying to reach out with, and with Vatanen’s words closing the video in what he wants to bring to the FIA, it backs up every hope I have for him winning this election.

We all have our own opinions about politics in Formula 1 and I know that there will be people who will object to Ari in the same way I do about Jean Todt’s campaign. The last thing I would want to do is to simply throw down my feelings on any of you and try to force you to agree, this is simply explaining why the video was made and why I personally support Ari’s campaign. I respect what Jean Todt’s manifesto explains and reveals, but I just feel that Ari has the stronger campaign behind him to do what is best for the FIA’s future, and for me, Formula 1’s future.

It’s quite a privilege and a humbling feeling to know that Ari has seen my video and supports the message being portrayed within the small clip that I made, the ultimate compliment for the supportive video. I just hope that, as Mr Vatanen said himself, sense prevails.

We will be victorious.

Final 2010 Grid Slot Choice of Three

Jonathan Noble tweeted earlier this simple statement:  "The 13th F1 team will be either BMW Sauber, Lotus or Epsilon Euskad." Which one will it be though?

In the paddock today, Mosley has said:

"Finally last night we got the final offers from the three most serious teams and in the next day or two, together with the due diligence people we'll assess them and then we'll pick one of them."

BMW are still part of the running, Max says:

"We were asked to give them another week to produce their documentation and answer further questions which they have done."

Who do you think might get the nod? BMW, Lotus or Epsilon?

Sidepodradio - F1 Phone In Show

Following on from Steven's suggestion that the Sidepodradio hosts plug their own shows (and the introduction of his own show), Alison quickly guides us through what her show is about and what you can do to get involved. Oh, and this one also involves Steven!

Hi all! Just a quick reminder about Sidepodradio (like you could forget!)

Got a great conspiracy theory you want to share with the world? Want to rave about your favourite F1 driver? Think someone deserves the sack? Any tips for Bernie and Max?

Steven Roy and I are doing a live phone-in show at 11pm. If you want to participate in Sidepodradio but don’t fancy hosting your own show, this could be the perfect opportunity for you to hear your own voice going out live to hundreds (well dozens) of eager listeners.

We’d love to hear from you. You can call in about any topic you like. If you’re stuck for ideas but still want to get involved, we can give you some suggestions (once we think of them ourselves).

There’s a page on the wiki where you can register your interest. This is looking a little sparse at the moment and, much as everyone loves the sound of their own voice, it’d be great to hear as little of myself as possible!

So whether you’re wanting to share deep insights about the future of F1 or just want to tell us how much you’ve enjoyed Sidepodradio, it’d be really great to hear from you. I’d love it if we could finish Sidepodradio off in style.

Look forward to talking to you all on the show.

Here We Go Again

This summer break has yet to be the peaceful few weeks off we desired, and now the FIA have thrown another interesting piece of news into the melting pot.

Following BMWs failure to meet the deadline to sign the Concorde Agreement, the FIA have opened up the selection process for new teams to fill the empty space in the paddock. AUTOSPORT reports that Max Mosley wrote to the seven reserve teams to let them know a place had become available.

I understand the need to do this, although it seems really close to the deadline, and quite harsh on BMW. They only just missed it, and are working really hard to try and find a solution to their withdrawal. Well, it seems as though Peter Sauber is, anyway. He is the only one making noises from the Hinwil camp, and it's not looking good for them. If the entry goes to one of the reserve teams, which it is likely to do, they may already have an infrastructure in place for producing their F1 car, leaving one massive factory in the middle of Switzerland with very little purpose.

Meanwhile, who would take up this final place for 2010? I wonder if the seven teams in reserve are still happy about joining the sport, what with the legal concerns over Mosley allegedly stipulating Cosworth as a partner. That being the case, it seems odd that the FIA would want to open this can of worms again, as they haven't sorted out the complaints from the last selection process yet. Perhaps they intend to choose a team without a Cosworth engine at the helm, which would essentially exonerate them from these claims. Except, manufacturers are only supposed to supply a couple of teams, and Cosworth have three signed up already. Which other manufacturers are ready to supply an engine?

This opens up many questions, and yet another deadline (not yet known). Will the team formerly known as BMW be ready in time to submit an application? Would they be selected above the others? Who else is still realistically in the running and what engine will they use?

Daily: 5th July 2009

We are now celebrating Goodwood Sunday, plus Wimbledon Finals day for the men's game and... actually, I think that's about it. Still, it is set to be a good day, and we are having a pretty good, relaxing weekend at SPC Towers. Finally, we are sitting back and taking stock of what we have got, and trying to improve things rather than bring new technology on board. Meanwhile, here are some F1 topics:

• Campos Racing have suggested that the lack of budget caps won't hinder them in 2010, so I am wondering if Max chose his new teams on the basis that they could survive without the caps? We know that USF1 were allowed in because they're working really hard on their funding, so is it all about the money? (Answer = yes.)
• Conspiracy theory of the day: Bruno Senna drove his uncle's title winning MP4-4 up the Goodwood Hill yesterday and trashed the gearbox. Lewis Hamilton was due to drive it today and has now been denied the opportunity. Coincidence or intention? Hamilton will now run last year's MP4-23 instead.
• Talking of Goodwood, we've had loads of people commenting as they navigate the grounds. Nick and Lukeh have both been in touch, and we were getting lots of snippets throughout yesterday about Newey and Glock. Expect more good stuff today.

That's enough to talk about for now, I reckon. It's a bit of a quiet weekend in terms of F1 news, as teams are either busy demonstrating or resting up for next week's race. Anyway, I'll see you in the comments.

Daily: 26th June 2009

It was all going much too well, and then Max came along and ruined it. It was bound to happen on Thursday, because that is never a good day, and now we are left with the repurcussions once more. Bah. Instead, I will talk about other things going on in F1:

• There's a lot of talk about iPhone apps at the moment, with the official F1 in high demand, and a new Red Bull one as well. James has a quick rundown of what to expect, and we'll be doing a review of the F1 app shortly. Stay tuned for that.
• McLaren have said that it was simply a matter of circumstance that saw the KERS initiative fail. Whitmarsh said the concept was good, but the timing was just a little off. It seems as though the system is officially dead to F1.
• We saw a prime example of reporting going wrong yesterday when it was rumoured that the Nurburgring would be naming a grandstand after Vettel. As it turns out, it's a Red Bull package, with fans paying a price to get a special Red Bull themed weekend, hence the name of the grandstand, plus a "free" hat and things like that.

That's all for now. I think we have moved beyond the capabilities of the happy place, and therefore, I will see you in the comments. Maybe.