Sidepodcast

In Search of the Iceman

Lady Snowcat recently spent some time in the freezing depths of Sweden to watch Kimi Räikkönen get his rally career off to a good start. Here, she tells us about what it's like supporting your man in such a chilly environment.

Credit: GEPA pictures/ Citroen

Kimi Räikkönen and Kaj Lindstroem blast through snowy Karlstad.

Have you ever stood in the dark, in a forest, far from home, very early in the morning, with frost forming on your hair because it’s minus 23°C, all for the sight of a guy driving a car exceptionally fast? If you have I’ll bet you will end up asking yourself if you are totally mad.

Of course the answer to that question is obvious. You are quite certainly off your head, albeit that there seem to be quite a few people infected with the same malady, as in this icy place you are most certainly not alone. There is a burbling under-current of discussion which, for once, does not allow my usual pastime of listening in, as English does not predominate.

With a number of small fires pocketing the dark gradually coming to life as the pink tinge of the sky then turns to a gentle blue, you can see more people picking their way through the soft, deep snow hiding the rather tricky terrain under foot. You only have to smile to begin a conversation in English and to get a welcome around one of the small fires. This happens just before your toes fall off with frost-bite and allows you to imagine taking your top layer of gloves off in order to get a photo as the Iceman hurries by.

Then you hear a growling in the distance and the thwack of helicopter blades and anticipation rises. All at once a car arrives - it’s Mikka; then another and it’s Seb; followed by Jari-Matte - each leaping over the ridge with a roar, squirming across the track as they brake for a corner and douse you in snow as they pass so, so close to you they take your breath with them as they go. Some more than others!

Once a certain cool Finn goes by it’s time to move on, perhaps to another stage, perhaps to the Service area, perhaps for a snack from one of the trestle tables set up with refreshments (no burger vans or even ice creams! in sight here).

The Service area in the middle of the very bleak Hagfors airfield doesn’t have the charm of the F1 paddock, with, of course, one exception. The exception is very important to my visit so all is okay with the world. When you aren’t amongst the trees, as on a stage, even a minor breeze freezes your bones. The cars are under rather flimsy canvas awnings with no sides and you have to feel sorry for the mechanics struggling to do enough work in 15, 30 or a generous 45 minutes, to make the gradually worn looking vehicles fit for another battering.

The tyres look like a Goth's dream with 384 studs in each. Being run over here would result in rather severe acupuncture so I resist throwing myself in front of anyone’s car!

Sweden is totally beautiful with its snow like very smooth icing on the great expanses of frozen lakes, pretty little houses, acres of trees and the blue sky to set it all off. And rally cars! You trip over them everywhere, including getting overtaken on the open road as they move from stage to stage. As they come past I am cricking my neck trying to establish if it’s number 8. Please let it be number 8.

It’s always clear when Kimi is expected as a crowd forms and from a distance it appears to boil with enthusiasm as some jump up and down and others brace themselves to take a snatched photo. He rarely leaves his car at the beginning or end of a stage but travels a short way along the road and, when out of sight or a distance from the fans, jumps out to remove his helmet and check the tyres. In fact a lot of drivers follow this process, particularly if, like Dani Sordo you need to prune the car of foliage and the stripped tape bordering the stages.

I could go on for hours but expect you are all bored by my enthusiasm. I do have to say that seeing them on the road from 5.30am to 8.40pm with only short breaks for service stops has given me a huge respect for the guys who do this. Also there is something rather real about rallying which makes the F1 crowd seem almost, but not quite, effete by comparison. Perhaps real men go rallying.

Daily: 28th August 2009

Free Practice Friday again, already, and hopefully we will see more enjoyment today than we did this time last week. Actually, that's a given because we're not in the land of concrete. Anyway, here are some of the things we're discussing:

• F1 Punter has taken a closer look at the possibility of a safety car interrupting proceedings on Sunday, and it's fair to say the chances are high. Apparently, there are bets to the contrary available though, so if that's your kind thing, stay tuned to the Punter.
• Over on Axis of Oversteer, there's a video of how Spa used to be. The intro line says: "The guard rails were made of barbed wire and were meant to keep the cows off the road..." How things have changed?
• Now looking at the paddock as they set and prepare for the weekend ahead, Brad Spurgeon has a post that gives props to the mechanics and how much they love their job, whilst the Renault blog has some insight into Thursday at Spa, including some beautiful photos showing what great weather it is right now.

That'll do it for now, but if you've got a spare few minutes and haven't already, check out our Flickr account. Photos are going up now from our exploits at the British GP. We're nothing if not timely. I'll see you in the comments.

Qualifying Strategy - Fuel Loads

This article was originally written for BellaOnline, but is republished here for posterity.

Formula 1 is all about a driver going as fast as he possibly can, with the equipment supplied to him by his team. However, on a race weekend, strategy plays an important part as well. One big element of strategy falls on the Saturday, if a driver gets into the third session of qualifying.

Anyone getting through to the top ten then has to complete the third session with the fuel load they will start the race with. This becomes the ultimate strategy choice.

If you go into qualifying with a light fuel load, you will (hopefully) be super quick and start far up the grid, maybe even from pole position. On race day, assuming you can keep your position, you will be able to scamper away at the front, and pull out a good lead for your first pit stop. However, this pit stop will come a lot earlier than the other drivers, and they will benefit from more rubber on the track as the conditions improve.

The other option is to fuel heavier in qualifying. You will most likely not get pole position, and will qualify somewhere down in the top ten. However, as the race goes on, the drivers in front of you will pit and fall behind, leaving you at the front. You will, by that time, be light, on good tyres and a good track. The possibility is there to put in a couple of fantastic laps, and pull out enough of a lead to jump your nearest rival when you come out of the pit lane.

Of course, none of this is taking into account any unexpected overtaking, weather conditions, or safety car conditions, and it’s these variables that make races so exciting. However, on paper, this is the choice that drivers are faced with each race weekend. Some drivers prefer one strategy over another, sometimes one is a better strategy at a particular circuit. Whether a team gives their top scoring driver the choice, or if they are given the better strategy automatically is a closely guarded secret, but it can often make the difference in a race.

There are people that don’t like this added element of qualifying, as you can’t tell who is purely the fastest driver on the day. It does mix things up a bit, though, and we can often see a starting grid we weren’t expecting.

We Never Change, Do We?

It’s a rollercoaster ride for Formula 1 drivers at the moment, especially for those who are teetering on the brink of expulsion from their teams. We already know Heidfeld is being observed closely, and with the Alonso-to-BMW rumours getting stronger, he’s probably quite worried right now. Bourdais is also under scrutiny, having been told to shine just that little bit more.

Le Seb has hit back, though, and said to his team that there’s no point keeping him if they think he’s going to adapt to a car that he doesn’t like and isn’t working.

If they believe in my potential and my perception of things, which I personally believe can lead to an even better car because it has always been the way I function, then yes, we should definitely give it a try, keep on working and make it better.

It does seem as though Bourdais (despite the luck) has picked up his game, so perhaps the car is working now, and maybe he does like it. Whether that gets him a place for next year, we don’t yet know, but this has made me think. Is it possible for a driver to not suit a car so much that he has to leave?

Restructuring

Some drivers are a bit too tall, aren’t they? Kubica is tall, and Webber has to fold himself in half to get into the car. Wurz has also suffered for his height. In 2005, McLaren designed their car around Raikkonen and Montoya, obviously, and believing third driver Wurz was moving on, they ignored him. He just didn’t fit in the cockpit.

It’s not just about height, either. Kubica (him again) was very vocal about his weight loss at the start of this season, something he undertook specifically to help the balance of the car.

Personality

You don’t have to look very far back at all to find a driver struggling to fit in with his team. Alonso and McLaren in 2007 were just a complete mismatch almost from the word go. Forget about battling with your team mate, if you’re not fitting in with the bosses, then it’s going to be a tough season. If you last the season. Scott Speed saw the harsh realities of this in 2007 as well.

Flavio has never been one to support a driver if he's not pulling his weight, and Kovalainen never seemed to fit in at Renault, whereas he's slipped into the McLaren role very nicely indeed. Raikkonen went the other way, presumably glad to see the back of Mr Dennis, given how relaxed and happy he was donning the red suit instead.

Mechanics

What I’m curious about is a driver just not getting to grips with the car itself. If I remember correctly, Alonso campaigned for McLaren to change his brakes from one supplier to another because they suited him better. Does that mean he would never have been as fast last year if they had refused to budge? How far should a team adapt for their driver, and does it depend on whether they rate his chances or not?

You can imagine Toro Rosso would be willing to tweak their designs slightly for Vettel, but apparently not for Bourdais. Have there been any other examples of this in the past? Does it mean that I’m judging some drivers harshly when really it’s just a bad fit?

Dangers of the Pit Lane

This article was originally written for BellaOnline, but is republished here for posterity.

When it comes to racing, there's no doubt that motorsport is dangerous. It's printed on the tickets you buy to go to a Grand Prix, and there are signs scattered around the circuit as you meander.

However, the most dangerous place to be during a Grand Prix, aside from standing in the middle of the track, must be the pit lane.

Cars
There's a speed limit in the pit lane which was introduced to try and improve safety conditions. There are a lot of people in the pit lane, team bosses, engineers, mechanics, sometimes even guests of the teams. The drivers must hit the pit lane speed limiter as they enter the pits and keep it on until they cross the white line at the pit exit. There are penalties for failing to do so.

This is obviously a great help to safety, but it doesn't solve every problem. We often see team members dashing from the garage to the pit wall, and this means looking before they take that leap. It can't be done during a busy time in the pit lane. We've also seen mechanics having to clear out of the way of cars, especially if they are battling side by side to get out of the pits in front.

Fuel
One of the major dangers during a pit stop is the refuelling. Temperatures in the pit lane and specifically round the car can get very high, and it's not unusual to see a flash fire. They will normally burn out, or be blown out as the car speeds away, but it can sometimes need the use of a fire extinguisher. Fires and extinguishers are not ideal situations in a race, as they both do damage, but at least the foamy mess will make things safer.

Technology
The lollipop men are gradually being replaced by traffic lights. Ferrari have introduced a fully digital system, whilst some of the lollipops are bringing in lighting elements as well. If this technology goes wrong, it can be disastrous. As we saw in Valencia, mechanics can be injured, or collisions occur.

The amount of new technology can also be a worry, as was demonstrated by BMW at a test earlier in the year. Their newly introduced KERS gave one mechanic a serious electric shock. He was okay, and the team investigated the incident thoroughly, but it's just an added danger in an already worrying environment.

History of F1 - 1900s to 1940s

• Length: 3:34 
• Size: 3.3 MB 
• File: history1.mp3 
• Transcript: history1.pdf 
• Torrent: history1.torrent 

Welcome to Sidepodcast’s History of F1. This series will take us back to the beginning of the 20th century, when Formula 1 was all about honour, it was a gentleman’s sport, and it mostly involved getting to the end of the road without falling in a pothole. We’ll travel through time (not literally, of course), to see how Formula 1 became the corporate and money-orientated sport that it is today.

The F1 championship, and all the official records, date back to the 1950s, but the essence of F1 can be traced all the way back to the early 1900s. Back then it involved heavy cars. Drivers would be accompanied by a mechanic because reliability was such a problem, and the track was just a simple road in France. I say simple, but actually, the races were long and tough. The first proper motor race was called the Paris-Bordeaux because… well, it went from Paris to Bordeaux. It was 1200km, and the winner achieved it in 48 hours. Average speeds were a rocketing 29.9 miles per hour. 1901 saw the first race with Grand Prix in the title, the French Grand Prix, taking place at Le Mans. This time they covered the 700 miles at a much speedier 63 miles per hour.

Our first important milestone occurs in 1908. Previously the cars had wheels and spokes that were permanently attached and often breaking. Now, detachable tyre rims were introduced so that mechanics could play around with them and keep their cars in the race. Shallow bunkers were built at the side of the roads, at pre-arranged places, so the drivers could pull over and allow the tyres to be changed. These were called pits. Ah… the first pit stops were now taking place. The ability to change tyres didn’t make the cars any easier on the rubber though, as the winning Mercedes of the 1908 French Grand Prix went through ten sets of tyres. Perhaps not impressive by today’s standards, but he would have been changing tyres because he had to.

During World War 1, racing was stopped in Europe, so a lot of the drivers went to the States to participate in the Indy 500. After the war, Grand Prix began to take place in both Le Mans and Lyons, with France being the main hosts for motorsport. The racing bug spread though, with Monaco and Belgium both hosting their own GPs. Notable winners were Ferrari, Mercedes, and Bugatti, all ahead of their compatriots in engineering terms.

Just before the Second World War, interest in Grand Prix racing fell to an all time low, due to the Depression and the impending war. However, the instigator of the fighting, Adolf Hitler, actually funded quite a lot of the technological development in racing, with both Audi and Mercedes benefiting from government support. Germans began to take the power of racing away from the French and the Italians, and introduced new techniques, including aerodynamic research, and special mixtures of fuel.

A legendary driver, Tazio Nuvolari from Italy, began to shine as he won everything he entered. He won the first race to feature a qualifying format – the Monaco Grand Prix in 1933 - but his greatest achievement was at the German Nurburgring in 1935, where he beat nine up to date cars with a four year old Alfa Romeo. The first Formula 1 racing superstar was born.

That’s all for our first episode of Sidepodcast’s History of F1. In the next show, we’ll have a look at the 1950s, when the official F1 championships began to take place.

Theme music: Friction Bailey, Hope in my History.

Pit Stop Guide

This article was originally written for BellaOnline, but is republished here for posterity.

A Formula 1 race is littered with pit stops, because the high tech cars need a lot of maintenance to survive through 50 or so laps. Generally, the cars need filling up with fuel, a change of tyres and maybe some small setup adjustments before they are sent off for the next stint.

But what actually happens in a pit stop?

Firstly, the cars are signalled to the pits via radio from the mechanics in the garage to the driver on the track. The next time the driver approaches the pit entrance, he will aim for the white line that signals a reduction in speed. A speed limit is imposed in the pit lane for safety as there are hundreds of people milling about there.

Each team has a specific space in the garage, with the closest to the entrance being the previous year’s championship leader and so on to the end of the pit lane. The driver pulls up to a stop in the white marked box, where his mechanics are all waiting.

Two guys at the front and back lift up the car on jacks so that the tyres can be changed. This all happens in only a couple of seconds. A few more people are on the fuel pump, and the length of the pit stop is determined by how much fuel the team want to put in.

When each mechanic has finished his specific task, he raises his arm so that it’s clear he’s done. With everybody finished, the car is lowered back onto the ground and the lollipop man at the front signals for the driver to get ready to go. It’s the lollipop guy’s responsibility to release the car when the pit lane is clear to avoid any collisions, and when he raises the lollipop, the driver is off racing back to the track.

That’s what happens when a pit stop goes well. Sometimes it doesn’t go to plan. In the past we have seen mechanics have problem with fuel hoses getting stuck in the car, or things catching fire. Sometimes the lollipop man gets it wrong, or the driver just ignores him, and there’s almost a collision between two cars in the pit lane. Sometimes it can almost be like a mini race just to get out in front! Sometimes, when a car goes too early it can even be dangerous for the pit crew, and it’s not unheard of for a mechanic to be run over.

But those events are few and far between and pit stops these days are slick operations that are usually over within 10 seconds. Blink and you’ll miss them!

F1 Guide (Part 3) - Pit Stops

• Length: 3:29 
• Size: 3.3 MB 
• File: guide3.mp3 
• Transcript: guide3.pdf 
• Torrent: guide3.torrent 

Welcome to the Sidepodcast Guide to Formula 1.

Pit stops are a funny thing – absolutely necessary to keep the cars running for the length of the race, but ultimately a bit of an inconvenience.

The pit lane runs alongside the start/finish straight, with the entrance just before and the exit just after the line. The teams set up their garages there, with mechanics waiting to assist their team and engineers monitoring all that is happening out on track. Given the amount of people milling around the pit straight, a speed limit is imposed to try and improve safety.

The pit crew is not insubstantial. Some teams have as many as 22 people ready and waiting for each pit stop, including three on each wheel, two on the fuel rig, two with jacks, some people clearing the sidepods and the lollipop guy. In a normal racing pit stop, the car will be flagged to come into the lane via radio. It used to be that signs were held out by the pit crew over the race track, but technology has made that all but redundant. You do find the odd occasion when the radios aren’t working and someone is risking their arms out on the pit wall.

Anyway, the car comes in to the pit lane and crosses a white line signalling an immediate reduction in speed. Drivers are often penalised for speeding in the pit lane. The lollipop man will be furthest away from the garage, indicating to his car where to pull in, and the driver will pull to a stop in the marked box. Immediately, the car is jacked up so that the wheels can be changed, and it will also be refuelled, and any adjustments made to tyre pressures and wing positions.

The average pit stop is probably about 6-8 seconds, and to get through the pit stop and out in front of your opponent, you probably need a 30 second advantage.

Teams can run any combination of pit stop strategies, fuelling their cars longer to run a one-stop strategy, or keeping the weight of the car down but having to stop two or even three times. There is no limit to the number of times a car has to pit, but the size of the fuel tank dictates that they must stop at least once during a race.

Sometimes, pit stops occur more often than the race engineer planned. When a car is in trouble and can manage to get back to the pit lane, mechanics can try their best to fix it and get it back out on track, albeit further down the running order. Often a car will limp into the pits and retire, if it makes it back to the garage at all.

If a driver breaks a rule, the stewards can impose a drive-through penalty which means the car has to visit the pit lane without stopping at his garage. Because of the speed limits within the pit lane, this can be disastrous.

The sport of F1 is notoriously lacking in overtaking – when it does happen it’s usually quite an event – and so a lot of the jostling for position takes place in the pits. It can be based around strategy, but for those cars at the front of the grid, a good lead is essential. Each lap that you stay out longer than your opponent, will gain you a few seconds advantage. That’s because you will still be running light, whilst the other driver will be full of fuel and heavier. So, of course, decisions need to be made about how heavy you will run to start with, which in turn impacts on your qualifying position as well.

It’s then that you start to see what a rich tapestry the sport really is, where seemingly off-hand decisions can result in a podium position or a retirement from the race. Nowhere is this more obvious than in the pit lane.

In our fourth instalment of the Sidepodcast Guide to Formula 1, we’ll be looking at how a Formula 1 car is different to that car out in your garage.

Theme music: Cedar Falls, Car Crash.

F1 Guide (Part 2) - Race Weekend

• Length: 3:59 
• Size: 3.7 MB 
• File: guide2.mp3 
• Transcript: guide2.pdf 
• Torrent: guide2.torrent 

Welcome to the Sidepodcast Guide to Formula 1.

You’ve heard the introduction and you know what F1 is about, so now you want to sit down and watch a race. The first thing you need to do is find out when the next race is on. The calendar for each year is available a couple of months before the season starts, and is published on many different websites. The official sites have calendars and countdowns, many blogs will post about the dates to come. A quick Google search will point you in the right direction.

The coverage you get will depend on where you are in the world. Here in the UK, we get both qualifying and the race on the TV, but have to rely on the internet for all the practice and testing results as and when they happen. Of course, if all else fails, you can subscribe to Sidepodcast for race reports and all the news you need to know.

Anyway, shameless plug over, what can you expect from a race weekend?

Races usually take place every two weeks, but it seems to be getting more and more erratic, sometimes having races weekly, and then an entire month off. Once the teams have arrived at a circuit, the race weekend can really begin.

Friday practice is so called because it takes place on the Friday before the race. It consists of two sessions, both 90 minutes, and the teams can run what they want, when they want, to get a feel of the track and the conditions. It’s not always an accurate prediction of who’s going to fare well during the race, but it can give you a good idea of who’s fast and who is lagging behind. The teams like to get the fastest times because it’s good publicity for them and their sponsors.

Saturday morning consists of another practice session. This one is 1 hour long and is more indicative of what is going to happen in qualifying later that day. Track conditions will be improving all the time, as the cars get more rubber from their tyres onto the tarmac, and again, drivers will be striving to get the fastest time.

The qualifying format has changed several times over the years, but the idea behind it is still the same. Throughout the hour-long session, the teams will run their cars to find an ultimate fast lap – one that will dictate the position they will start in for the race the following day. If a car fails to secure a time due to driver or mechanical error, it is most likely they will start at the back of the grid. Where you position yourself in qualifying is more than just aiming to get first – you also have to think about where on the track you end up. The racing line favours the driver in pole position, and when in grid formation, two cars are staggered next to each other all the way back, so the second place car will suffer the worst track surface.

Sunday is race day. Teams will get their cars set up and their drivers ready, and then wave them off around the track to form their grid position. All the mechanics are welcomed onto the grid to make their very last minute preparations and escort their famous guests around for the pursuing cameras. The atmosphere before the race begins is feverish and the anticipation is almost better than the race itself. However, it’s when the track is cleared of people, and the drivers head off on their parade lap, that you know something good is about to happen. The five lights come on one by one and when they go out, its go, Go, GO! Sorry, almost turned into a commentator then. The first corner is usually the most exciting, with 20+ cars bundling and jostling for position. After that, the 50 or so laps of a race fly by, with retirements, overtaking and pit stops, until eventually the winner crosses the start finish line for his share of the glory. The top eight drivers receive points, as do the top eight constructors. The race winner, and those in second and third get to partake in a little champagne on the podium, whilst receiving their trophies. The winning constructor of the day also receives a magnificent trophy for their contribution to a great race day.

After that, there’s just time for a debrief in the following press conference, where the top three talk about how tough the conditions were and what they did to outsmart their fellow sportsmen, before everyone goes home for a rest.

Next time on the Sidepodcast Guide to Formula 1, I’ll be looking at pit stops in more detail.

Theme music: Cedar Falls, Car Crash.