Qualifying offered up the goods already this weekend, so we're expecting either great things from the race, or nothing very much at all. There is no in between. With Red Bull on pole, as per usual, and a handful of other drivers sprinkled out of position, anything could happen. The only question is, how many penalties will be dished out during the course of the race?

Weather Update

Spa-Francorchamps, Belgium

Saturday, 28 August

• 12℃
• Low: 8℃
• Humidity: 87%

• Heavy rain showers

More rain is predicted over the next couple of hours, and if the wet conditions do happen, it means tyre strategy goes straight out the window. The normal tyre strategy anyhow. At Spa, it will likely be a case of when to put on the wets and when to gamble staying on dry tyres. The temperatures look pretty cool, so grip might be an issue.

One to Watch

It pains me to say it, but I'll be keen to see what Schumacher can achieve. He's starting way down the grid, is supposedly awesome when the conditions aren't the best, and has everything to prove. Ahead of the race, he was pragmatic about their chances:

We know that we are, out of our own efforts, unable to win the race - that is pretty clear to everybody. But with these particular weather conditions we will face this weekend, who knows what is going to happen. We just have to make sure to be ready for it.

---

Michael Schumacher

Predictions Please

Who will be the first to spin off? How many places can Michael Schumacher make up? WIll Force India manage to screw up their tyre allocation again? Who will win the race? I know, let's have another poll:

So here we are at last. It is Saturday and Formula 1 has returned to us. Not only is it back, but it brings with it one of the most-loved circuits on the calendar. It also brings with it some, let's say, damp conditions. Alright, it might as well be a monsoon. We've been keeping an eye on our men/ladies on the ground, and by all accounts they got quite wet yesterday. Let's hope today is slightly better for them, and for the action we're hoping to see.

I know Mr C has been trying to encourage the bullet points to disappear, but you know what? They got me through a year's worth of daily posts, I think they can go on a bit further. Here goes nothing:

• There is a fabulous post on Manipe F1, with photos and a description of Naoise's recent track walk. It's not your normal track talk, though, as this is through the eyes of a real fan - seeing the circuit in all it's glory, for the very first time. It wasn't even pouring down with rain, either.
• Whilst we're talking about Spa, and our fabulous group that are down there, Crofty gave them all a shoutout during Free Practice 1 this morning. The clip can be heard here, and features Mr Crofty being slightly concerned about the lightning.
• Our Sidepodspa crew were a busy bunch, as they were on it right from the moment that they got there. Stepping out of their transportation to be faced with Jake Humphrey and a camera! They took a starring role on his Twitpic account, and we marvelled at their stardom on their very first day. Where will they be come Sunday?
• Don't forget that if you haven't already voted on James' excellent poll, you really should. Before the race begins we'll be closing the vote, so take the time now to decide who you think will be the F1 World Champion this year. You've got a few contenders to choose from, but is it going to end up a one horse race, or be wide open? Let us know your thoughts and vote now.
• The lovely Bridget (who wrote this excellent guest post for us earlier in the month) has a cute post on her own blog wishing Rubens well for his 300th Grand Prix weekend. I particularly like the last line.
• Oh yes! And Forlan won something. I don't know what. But I'd forgotten he even existed. So yay!

That should do it for now. There's some extra-curricular activities happening today, with some IndyCar racing at Chicagoland (I may be FBFBing that one), and a MotoGP race in the States (probably not FBFBing that one). I will see you in the comments.

I have been thinking about F1's biggest "what if?" - about Gachot not spraying that taxi driver in London with CS gas and how it affects Michael Schumacher’s career. For the year 1991, I have three different viewpoints, two of which are based on facts and one of which is a rumour which was made by a team to cover its tracks.

First to simplify things, let us say that we only have the ability to make the one small change to F1 history in 1991, and that done, things like the order that the cars finished a race stays the same after qualifying for the Belgium Grand Prix for every race. (Basically I am saying that Michael Schumacher drives no better than Roberto Moreno did at Benetton, and looking at their results at Benetton, it was a safe assumption).

Furthermore, I see that this one slight change directly affects the outcome of Alex Zanardi, as Gachot’s replacement at Jordan, and for this we have no way of guessing what the immediate future will hold of him. At the end of the 1991 to the start of 1992 season, we also have no idea of the effect that our one slight change has beyond some idea of who’s contract is still valid for which team. However, with Benetton being able to get Schumacher from Jordan in real history, it surely seems more than possibility that Benetton will have Schumacher in 1992, and thus the line-up of 1992 in our alternate history looks like it has no surprises from the actual 1992 line up, but that is another story.

The more we project our slight little change into the future, the more uncertain and more difficult it is for us to return to actual present. Therefore this “what if” will only concentrate on the events of the 1991 season until its conclusion. So grab a baseball cap and act sullen. Let us set our Wayback time machine (cleverly disguised as a red British Public Telephone Booth) to 1991 and use the cutest girl we have to hail the Taxi Cab that was meant for Gachot to take us to Heathrow Airport (do not worry, we can take the tube back to London).

Gachot takes the next cab, and not needing to use his CS canister against this new taxi cab driver Gachot gets to race in the '91 Belgium Grand Prix for Jordan after all. Sadly, due to our inability to control further events from the time of catching Gachot’s cab our 'European driver from parts unsure' retires on the first lap due to clutch problems! Looking at how his replacements did historically, and Gachot being roughly equal in capability to them all it is not too hard to see Gachot still getting just a couple of ninth place finishes, a tenth place finish and bunch of retirements. Either way, shall history be changed by saying Mauricio Gugelmin will be replacing Gachot for the 1992 season instead of Stefano Modena? Six of one and half a dozen of the other to me.

Now what happens to Schumacher?

1) Based on historical facts as to the order of precedence that Mercedes wanted their Sportcars drivers to enter F1, namely Schumacher, Wendlinger, and Frentzen: a) The result was that Schumacher got a deal with Jordan after Gachot sprayed the taxi driver. Wendlinger gets a two race deal with Leyton House, replacing Ivan Capelli. And Frenzten has to drive sportcars for Mercedes. b) So with Capelli leaving Leyton House and Gachot getting a tenth and nineth place finishes (actual result for Moreno and Zanardi) Schumacher is the first driver available at Mercedes to enter F1 - with Leyton House! The real funny thing is, just looking at the actual results of the last two races in the 1991, it would have turned out better for Michael, getting a 20th place in Australia as opposed to the double retirements in the Benetton...

2) There is a possibility that is based on the rumour that Roberto Moreno was too in awe of his teammate Nelson Piquet. This seems silly to me, as Benetton’s results overall were reasonably close, with Piquet being a former world champion after all. On the flip side of the coin, Piquet was the one who had the higher positions, especially on the few times they both finished the race. But it was Benetton who dumped Moreno to get Schumacher from Jordan so I will pretend for this theory that Benetton was looking for the right driver to sack Moreno with and we have Schumacher joining Benetton sometime after the Belgium Grand Prix. Boy what Mystic abilities are displayed here. But the important difference here is that Schumacher has joined Benetton directly from the Mercedes Sportscar program! The more I think about this possibility the more I doubt that Benetton would take a risk on a rookie German driver… maybe one on that has a few races under his belt at Leyton House.

3) My last idea has Alain Prost complaining that his Ferrari is a truck to drive one too many times and well, it is Gianni Morbidelli (who?), Dario Benuzzi (wha?), Andrea Montermini (Ferrari had a female test driver?), or “German rookie” to the rescue - filling in for the fired Frenchman. If you are having as tough a time trying to remember who these people are as I am (Andrea could be both a guy and gal’s name in Italian after all), then can you really blame Ferrari for punting a “German rookie” on the last race of the F1 season so that your "nobody" test drivers can continue work on the 1992 car? (No hindsight here, but the 1992 Ferrari needed a lot more work to be done to it at the end of 1992 season to make it into a racing car). Let us face it, Ferrari went after and still does go after “veteran” F1 drivers and there were better odds of finding a snowball in Hell than a rookie at Ferrari, right?

If we reflect back, under the theory that Schumacher was the most available driver at Mercedes, we would have found Schumacher driving for Leyton House as a worst case situation for the final two races of the 1991 season. That is, unless Benetton was ready to sack Moreno to the point of hiring a rookie driver, which face it, was not that unlikely. Either way, we have Schumacher in 1992 with March (previously known as Leyton House, under the same terms as the historical Windlinger deal) or more likely Benetton. (Either by getting him from direct from Mercedes to replace Moreno or more likely getting him from Leyton House before they become March.)

Anyway, dial up our co-ordinates to get back home (yes, it’s a rotary dial, it is 1991, after all), and drop £2,000 for the long distance fee (£2,000 is way more than a ton of money) into the slot, ‘cause I do not think we can reverse the charges. “Out of Service! Even in the future, nothing works!” Stupid British Telecom.

It's time for a blast through the hills and valleys of the Ardennes as Formula 1 returns to racing in style. The Belgian Grand Prix sees F1 bounce back from its self-imposed summer hiatus and what better venue than the 7k high stakes rollercoaster ride that is Spa-Francorchamps.

Event Schedule

The usually quiet Thursday will likely see the paddock regulars swapping holiday snaps and catching up on missed news. Scrutineering will show whether revised front wing deflection tests have caught the regulation pushing Ferrari's or Red Bull's out.

Friday should offer a decent clue as to who's made the best of their revised aero configurations. Look out for Renault testing their brand new, but ultimately rather belated, f-duct. Kubica believes his chances on Sunday rest on the success of the device.

With the prospect of a wet qualifying session on the cards, Saturday afternoon is not to be missed, whilst the addition of artificial grass at turn one should make the opening laps on Sunday a little more tricky. With Kimi Räikkönen absent from the field this year, at least someone else has a chance to go for the win. Michael Schumacher carries a 10 place grid drop into this race, so expect him to start near or at the back of the pack.

Support racing for this event includes GP2, GP3, Formula BMW and Porsche Supercup.

The Weather

Welcome to the world of the Belgium microclimate. Races at Spa bring with them a level of unpredictability, and that only adds to the entertainment. Thursday leading into Friday will likely see the worst of the weather, with cold but clear practice sessions expected. Saturday qualifying could be a wet one before more unsettled weather arrives on Sunday. In short, expect the unexpected.

Francorchamps, Belgium

Friday, 27 August

• 15℃
• Low: 8℃
• Humidity: 80%

• Light rain

Francorchamps, Belgium

Saturday, 28 August

• 16℃
• Low: 9℃
• Humidity: 63%

• Light rain showers

Francorchamps, Belgium

Sunday, 29 August

• 22℃
• Low: 11℃
• Humidity: 65%

• Scattered showers

Regularly updated weather information for the region can be found on the BBC.

The Circuit

Spa offers drivers the longest lap of the season, and Bridgestone will be arriving with the hard and soft compound tyres for the weekend. Inclement weather would mean that both types may not be required during the race.

Thankfully the two overtaking opportunities (at Les Combes and the final chicane) during the lap, mean out of position drivers at least have a slim chance of making up places during the course of the afternoon.

Circuit Map

Press Conference Schedule

Official press conferences are organised by the FIA and happen four times during the weekend. The qualifying and post race press conferences will take place after the television unilateral interviews.

Race Stewards

Four stewards oversee a Formula 1 race weekend, two FIA stewards, together with one experienced former F1 driver and a steward representing the National Sporting Authority.

Following Live

A thread will be created on Sidepodcast.com for every session and every thread is live enabled, meaning you can follow along and contribute to the conversation without refreshing the page.

From the Archives

A reminder of the finishing order from all five sessions the last time Formula 1 cars raced in Belgium.

• Belgium 2009 - Free Practice 1 Results
• Belgium 2009 - Free Practice 2 Results
• Belgium 2009 - Free Practice 3 Results
• Belgium 2009 - Qualifying Results
• Belgium 2009 - Grand Prix Results

When Jordan F1 driver, Bertrand Gachot, was jailed for actual bodily harm just prior to the 1991 Belgian Grand Prix, little did anyone know the world of Formula 1 would soon be changed forever.

With no experienced driver ready or able to take the seat alongside team leader Andrea de Cesaris for the annual visit to Spa-Francorchamps, Eddie Jordan took a punt on the then unknown Michael Schumacher.  By the end of practice and qualifying on Friday, the career of Gachot was cooked meat.  Schumacher on the other hand qualified 7th, but retired on the opening lap with an overheated clutch; however the message was clear and Gachot was gone.

The life and career of Bertrand Gachot is a rather interesting tale.  The son of a French European Commission official in Luxembourg nearing the end of 1962, he would spend much of his career claiming either French or Belgian nationality; something that many commentators would pick at during his career, including the ever irascible James Hunt.

Gachot though was often keen to point out that he was European as opposed being from Luxembourg and even based his helmet design on that of the EU flag.

Jumping into karting at the age of 15, the Luxembourg / French / Belgian (take your pick) driver moulded his skills and eventually attended the famous Winfield School at Paul Ricard.

Winners of the "Volant Elf" (fastest driver at the course) at the School would receive a full budget for a Formula Renault season, but Gachot would just miss out on this scheme - he would lose out to future Ligier pilot, Eric Bernard, who also beat Jean Alesi to the prize.

For a time Gachot attended university, but longing for a life in motor racing, he dropped out of his course and decided to have a go at the Formula Ford 1600 series in 1984.

Within two years, he had taken titles in both the European Formula Ford 1600 series and the British Formula Ford 2000 Championship, before Formula 3 beckoned.  A rather successful year in 1987, saw Gachot take 3 wins in 18 races for West Surrey Racing and 2nd in the title hunt, losing out to the popular Briton, Johnny Herbert. Keen to progress through the ranks, Gachot would finish 5th in the 1988 Formula 3000 Championship with Spirit Racing; however despite a somewhat disappointing campaign, Gachot would find himself in Formula 1 just one year later.

Nearly every driver that one speaks to would consider Formula 1 to not only be the pinnacle of motorsports, but also one of the toughest racing series' on the planet, yet when the 26 year-old Gachot joined the newly formed Onyx squad - it was around this time that Gachot applied and received a Belgian racing license. Unfortunately for the small team, Formula 1 consisted of 39 entries at the season opener in Brazil and the team were simply not prepared - the event at Rio's Jacarepaguá circuit would be the first of many DNPQ (did not pre-qualify) for Onyx.  For the opening six rounds (including long trips to Mexico, Canada and the US), Gachot would be busy packing up for the trip home by 10am Friday morning. Meanwhile his team mate Stefan Johansson was having a much better of it - the Swede qualified for the races in the Americas; however Johansson retired from the events at Mexico and the US and was disqualified in Canada.

Although Gachot made it on to the grid at France and Britain, he still struggled against his more experienced team mate and was eventually replaced by JJ Lehto following that years Italian Grand Prix. Gachot would sit out the next two races without a drive, but secured a seat with the Rial Racing team for the final two flyaway events at the end of what was a turbulent season.  Gachot was Rial's fifth driver that season and did not qualify for either race - in fact, Gachot and team mate Pierre-Henri Raphanel completed a run of ten consecutive races whereby neither Rial car qualified for a Grand Prix.  Unsurprisingly, the lacklustre German team disappeared during the off-season.

If 1989 was bad, then the beginning of the Nineties was a truly dire time for the Luxembourg / French / Belgian (again, take your pick) man.  Following the dissolution of Rial Racing, Gachot joined the Subaru-powered Coloni squad and was the Italian teams' only driver for the season. Sadly, Gachot did not qualify for a single race and did not even pre-qualify for the first ten rounds!!  The Coloni C3B with its flat-12 Subaru engine was more than 110 kilos overweight and was reportedly a dire handling car. A move to a Ford V8 engine halfway through the year improved things a little, but the Coloni was simply a bad car and never looked like making any race.

Anything had to be better than Coloni and while the Italian team busied themselves not even pre-qualifying for a single during the 1991 season, Gachot landed himself with another brand new team - Jordan. Not much is ever really expected of new teams entering Formula 1, but Jordan were one of the few to break the trend and ran in the top-6 of the Constructor's title all season, eventually finishing in 5th spot, sandwiched by Benetton and Tyrrell.  With a 5th place (Canada), two 6th place finishes (Britain and Germany) and a fastest lap  (Hungary), things were going well for Bertrand. Even outside Formula 1 Gachot was finding success as in June of that year, he picked up his sole victory in the Le Mans 24 Hour Race while driving a Mazda entry with Johnny Herbert and Volker Weidler. All was going swimmingly for the Luxembourg / French / Belgian (ho-hum) until his arrest.

Whilst in London one evening, Gachot was involved in a minor car accident with London taxi-driver, Eric Court.  During a brief altercation with Court, the Jordan ace sprayed him with CS gas - a device that was illegal in Britain at the time. Initially Gachot was convicted and sentenced to six-months at Brixton Prison, but was released after two months on appeal.  Although the conviction was not quashed, the sentence was considered by the appeal courts to be far too harsh; yet while Gachot was now free, his career and reputation had nosedived. Gachot was first replaced by Schumacher for the Belgian Grand Prix and then later Roberto Moreno and recent Formula 3000 series runner-up, Alex Zanardi.  Upon his release, he flew out to Japan despite having no drive, but was able to secure a seat with the struggling Larrousse team for the final race of the season at Adelaide; however Gachot could not qualify.

For the 1992 season, Gachot changed his nationality to French on his racing license and stayed with Larrousse, but this did not lead to an improved year.  A single point was his sole reward during a difficult year which saw the V12 Lamborghini-powered machine finish only four-times in a sixteen race season.  His team mate, Ukyo Katayama fared little better with ten retirements and no points. Suddenly the Luxembourg born French or Belgian had no drive for the 1993 season and as far as many were concerned, that was it for Bertrand Gachot... or at least nearly it.

During his gap year, Gachot ran a number of touring car events and even secured a points finish in his sole CART race at Toronto, but the following year, he found himself back on the grid, driving for Pacific Grand Prix - the same squad with which he won his British Formula Ford title eight years previously.  In this case, there were few problems in getting the seat as he part-owned the team with the king of junior formulae, Keith Wiggins.

However, in this case, it was an unmitigated disaster.  Gachot only managed to qualify for five of the sixteen races and retired from all of the them - his team mate, the lamentable Paul Belmondo only made it onto the grid twice, finishing neither.  On the Saturday evening of the Australian Grand Prix, while packing to once again go home early, Gachot claimed it to be one of the best days of his life as he would not have to drive PR01 ever again.

In the off-season that followed, the original Lotus team disintegrated and the famous British marquee merged with Pacific for the following year and while 1995 saw results improve somewhat (including 8th place finishes for Gachot at Adelaide and for team mate Andrea Montermini at the Hockenheimring), it was not enough to keep the squad afloat.

The signs were there early during the season though - as Pacific struggled for cash, Gachot stepped aside so that pay drivers Giovanni Lavaggi and the legendary Jean-Denis Délétraz could display their meagre talents. When both drivers eventually defaulted on their payments, Gachot was back in the car to drive the final three races of the season and as Pacific Grand Prix folded, so did Bertrand Gachot's Formula 1 career.

While Pacific Racing racing went back to Formula 3000, before going to CART and eventually IndyCar, Gachot's career in single-seaters was well and truly done. There were further attempts at the 24 Hours of Le Mans and the Japanese GT Championship, but these only served to give him some seat time before he hung up his helmet for good at the end of 1997.

Nowadays Gachot concentrates on business dealings, running a drinks company called "Hype Energy Drinks" and is currently sponsoring Michael Annett's NASCAR Nationwide efforts for Germain Racing. However, for all his achievements - whether it be winning Le Mans, getting the fastest lap at Hungary in 1991 or that he achieved five points in mostly tiny squads, Bertrand Gachot may simply be remembered as the guy that inadvertently introduced Formula 1 to Michael Schumacher.

What Schumacher did next is, as they say, history.

We're getting towards the heart of the F1 weekend now, having previously looked at Wednesday, Thursday and Friday through the eyes of Amy. The Australian Grand Prix was a while ago now, but with these excellent posts, it feels like it was only yesterday. Read on for tales from qualifying day in Melbourne.

On Saturday, we agreed to meet up for a late breakfast as there was no F1 action on track until 2pm. Even with a late start I was still not on time and when I finally got to 2 Doors Down the others were nowhere to be seen outside where we usually sit (outside is best for people spotting). After wandering into the cafe and not finding anyone in there either, I had just got out my phone to call Pamela when I spotted her talking to someone at a table at the cafe next door. I figured that more Sidepodpeople must have turned up for breakfast today so made my way over, but got the shock of my life to find Pamela and Paul talking to Ant and Crofty from BBC 5Live! I had spotted Crofty a couple of times on the Friday and gone ‘is that Crofty? I think that’s him? I’m not sure though...’ only to have Ant walk past a couple of minutes behind him, which made me go ‘oh that WAS Crofty!’

They were both very friendly and didn’t seem to mind at all that we had interrupted their breakfast, even with all their friends (we later found out that one was Autosport’s Jon Noble) laughing their heads off at the other end of the table at the fact they had been recognised. We thanked them for our shout out during FP1 and for their overall brilliant commentary. They couldn’t believe that there are so many people who bother getting up in the wee hours of the morning back in the UK to listen to them when they are down here in Australia. We talked to them about Sidepodcast and they knew straight away who Christine and Mr C were, in fact the first thing Crofty mentioned was when he met Christine for the first time she was drunk. Amazing what you can find out from F1 people! I couldn’t resist being cheeky and asking for more shoutouts at my other races this year, but I’m sure they’ve forgotten by now! After that they happily posed for photos with us and then said goodbye as they had finished eating. We went off to start our meals but the conversation never got far beyond ‘we just met Ant and Crofty! They were so lovely!’ and apologising to Jeremy that he missed out because he was even later than me.

Once we got to the track we went our separate ways again, for Saturday my seat was in the Brabham grandstand, inside turn one. I don’t remember anything too exciting happening during FP3, Bruno’s car stopped just by my grandstand and Heikki went for a shortcut over the grass but that was about it. The local crowd also was quite happy anytime Webber went fastest, the grandstand got a bit shaky as everyone stamped their feet for him.

Between FP3 and Qualifying we got caught up at Pete’s Bar again for some food. The two hours flew by and then it was back to the grandstands for the first real competitive part of the weekend. It was so cold during qualifying that I ended up with my Finnish flag wrapped around my legs like a blanket. It was a lifesaver! It then tried to rain but didn’t succeed, which was nice. Action wise, the main qualifying event I remember is when Lewis went out in Q2 most of my stand started cheering and applauding. Poor form, Brabham stand. There were also some boos when Webber didn’t manage to beat Vettel to pole.

After qualifying the rain was picking up but I had agreed to meet the others at the paddock entrance to see who we could spot. I was determined to see Heikki’s girlfriend Catherine before the end of the weekend and Pamela wanted to see Christian Horner up close.

Every year there are some ‘regulars’ at the paddock entrance and at the autograph stage. These people even miss the cars on track just so they can be right up the front! They have folders with pictures of every F1 person you can think of with post-it tabs on top so when people come out they can find the pictures for autographs quickly. These people scare me! As much as I love seeing drivers I’d never not watch qualifying just so I could be at the front of the queue to see anyone, even a Finn. I guess lots of them are selling the autographs on eBay afterwards which is a shame.

It was quite a while after qualifying before people started drifting out as they all had debriefs to attend to first. Mark Gene was the first to appear, and after he had signed a few autographs and then left people started asking ‘who was that?’ I couldn’t believe that people were literally pushing each other out of the way to get the autograph from someone they had never heard of. After Mark the next group of people we spied were all media, with the likes of Jake Humphrey, Eddie Jordan and Mr C’s favourite Ted Kravitz spotted wandering between the paddock and the media centre.

The sun went down and it got very cold, but we stayed as there was by now a steady stream of drivers and team personnel making their way over to the waiting crowd. That night we spotted Mike Gascoyne, Alex Wurz, Chris Dyer, Jenson Button and Paul Stoddart. Next out was Paul di Resta and we made sure to tell him that his biggest fan is a man by the name of Steven Roy! The next person to come out of the paddock was Heikki and he was with Catherine! I was rather excited but it looked like he wasn’t going to come over. Jeremy and Paul got up on the bleachers behind us with my Finnish flag and started waving it and calling him over, and Heikki being Heikki headed straight to us. Because I already had his autograph on the flag I was just pleased to see him but at the last minute I remembered I had been wearing my bright orange 2009 Heikki hat and he happily signed it for me. Catherine didn’t come near the crowd and because it was dark I couldn’t really see her, but the boys told me later that it looked like she had been taking photos of the flag on her phone. Hooray!

After Heikki had left, the next drivers to appear were Nico Rosberg and Karun Chandhok. Both were very friendly! Mark Webber was then the last out. Apparently. The security guards told us that all the other drivers had left out the back entrance and no one else would be coming out so we had to leave. A lot of people took them at their word and left straight away but we were having so much fun we were trying to hang around as long as possible. After the crowd had halved, Michael Schumacher came out. He is notorious for waving at the crowd but not actually signing anything, but the crowd always chants for him to come over. This time he seemed to hesitate for a while, but then he headed over, to a large cheer! He had a whole crowd of security guards with him which was fair enough as fans somehow were magically appearing on the other side of the fence and crowding him. The girl next to me was hyperventilating and almost crying because she is one of the crowd who are at the paddock 24/7 yet she had never managed to get his autograph before. He was remarkably friendly and one thing that stood out for me was when he stopped to chat to a German lady and then took a photograph of the two of them on her camera. She had been telling people about how she had tried to see him many times and had never succeeded before. He was so good with the fans for those few minutes it was hard to believe it was the same ruthless character we all feel so strongly about!

The security guards then tried to pull the ‘I swear, everyone has left out the back’ line again but no one was silly enough to fall for it the second time. Of course more drivers were still to come, the last two out were Bruno Senna and Felipe Massa. As a new driver Bruno wasn’t being mobbed like some of the others so I took the chance to ask him for a photo, which he very kindly agreed to. I wasn’t quite ready when it was taken though so I wish I had a better memento of the occasion! Pamela wanted to stay longer because she still hadn’t seen Christian Horner but it was clear that we really did have to leave.

This is where the fun really began. We decided to walk to the other side of the circuit and head back to Jeremy’s hotel like we had the night before. It was quite a hike to get over to Gate 4 and when we got there the gate had been padlocked for the night! We could see some security guards sitting on the other side of the fence but they weren’t much help. They kept saying they didn’t have the keys so couldn’t let us out, but also wouldn’t tell us where we actually could get out from. They didn’t even get off their chairs to talk to us so all communicating had to be done by yelling. It was starting to look like we would have to walk all the way back to Gate 1, where we had been in the first place. We weren’t keen to walk all the way back there just in case that gate was also locked. By now it was almost 11pm and there appeared to be no one else anywhere inside the circuit and we were starting to think we might have to sleep there the night!

It was then that a man in a big truck drove past, slowing down for a speed bump. We gestured for him to stop and asked him how we could get out of the circuit, because we figured if he was in there, he’d have to get out somehow! He told us that Gate 1 was still open and asked us if we wanted a ride, so all four of us piled into this strange truck cab with this strange man, and we really didn’t fit! I was sitting on people's laps and had to brace myself against the windscreen, we started filling this man in about how we had all met online but were now the best of friends and he must have thought we were crazy!

He apparently had laundry in his truck and just before he dropped us off at the entrance he asked us which part of the circuit we had been working at. I still wonder if he would have picked us up if he realised we were just fans! It was so crazy, being locked inside a circuit and asking for a ride from a stranger (what would my mother say!) but it’s definitely added to the list of stories from that weekend. With amazing things and meeting amazing people happening to us every day so far, we had to wonder, just how would we be finishing up the weekend on Sunday?

To be continued...

• Length: 3:47 
• Size: 3.5 MB 
• File: circuit5.mp3 
• Transcript: circuit5.pdf 

Hello and welcome to F1 Circuits Past and Present - a mini series from Sidepodcast that focuses on the tracks that make Formula One what it is. We’re looking at the good, the bad, the current and the former, and we’re travelling across the globe as we do it. Today, we’re going to look at the Adelaide Street Circuit.

Set in the East Parklands area of Adelaide, and owned by the local council, the track wound through the streets for eleven years. As a temporary circuit, the buildings and grandstands were put up and taken down as the season progressed. It was right in the heart of the Victoria Park horse racing track, so the buildings had to be temporary, otherwise people wouldn’t be able to see the horses for the rest of the year.

Adelaide was on the F1 calendar from 1985 until 1995, and took up it’s place at the very end of the season - the complete opposite to Australia’s current position. When it was first proposed that Formula One might descend upon the area, a lot of residents were up in arms about it. They had some environmental concerns - particularly about how local wildlife would be affected - but eventually the deal was done and the race was set.

The track itself is pretty wide, and it has an enormous long straight - which is unusual for a street circuit. The rest of the track makes up for it though, with several 90 degree corners, taking the cars round the street corners.

Although it was only on the calendar for a relatively short 11 seasons, the circuit was host to some of the more memorable moments in F1. In 1991, Adelaide held the shortest race in Formula One ever - as the wet conditions saw the Grand Prix halted after just 14 laps. Ayrton Senna was leading the race, and was seen waving at the stewards frantically, to try and demonstrate how dangerous the conditions were.

In 1994, Adelaide was the scene of the controversial collision between Michael Schumacher and Damon Hill - in which a change of direction by the leading Schumacher cut off Hill’s attempt to overtake and both of them were knocked out of the race. The double DNF allowed Schumacher to take his first World Championship.

The following year, 1995, the final Grand Prix weekend at Adelaide took place. The Friday practice sessions were underway, and in the afternoon, Mika Hakkinen’s McLaren picked up a puncture. He crashed heavily, and had to receive serious medical attention at the side of the track. He was given an emergency tracheotomy by the track medical team before being airlifted to the nearest hospital. It was pretty serious, but Hakkinen pulled through to be back in time for the 1996 season. In fact, even though he had had to miss out on the Australian Grand Prix, that was still the next race on his list.

For the 1996 season, Melbourne outbid Adelaide for the Grand Prix, and the change in location meant a change in calendar position as well. Moving right up to the start of the season, the new date meant we had two Australian races back to back, albeit with a winter in between. It was a tough transition, from the great end-of-season party atmosphere of Adelaide, to the more uptight and jittery opening race, but things soon settled down - both in Melbourne and at the track left behind.

After a few years, things were becoming a bit too quiet. The local government decided they wanted a race back in the area, and so they put on a couple of smaller, touring car races. These days, they’re also the location of the popular annual V8 Supercar race - although it is on a slightly shorter version of the track. The long, long straight has been curtailed, cutting off a portion of the original circuit.

Although plenty of fans miss the party atmosphere of Adelaide, Melbourne certainly holds it’s own in terms of atmosphere during a race weekend. It’s clear that wherever the Grand Prix is held in Australia, the fans make it what it is.

That’s all for this episode of F1 Circuits. We have just two more tracks to investigate now, and tomorrow we’re looking at... well, no, I don’t want to spoil it for you. While you’re waiting, you can head on over to Sidepodcast.com and join in the discussion. See you there.

Hello, Alison here. Gavin’s away taking a well earned holiday so I’m stepping in to write my first ever daily. We’re having a bit of a slow news week, everyone seems to be having a bit of a rest over the summer break but there are still plenty of things to talk about.

Firstly, if you’ve been missing your weekly F1 fix, Christine’s started an awesome new mini series about F1 Circuits Past and Present. The first installment is all about Silverstone and there should be another episode available later today so keep your eyes peeled for that.

This year is Bridgestone’s last in the sport and Pirelli are stepping up to supply tyres for F1 from next season. They’re busy testing this week with ex-BMW driver Nick Heidfeld behind the wheel of a Toyota F1 car. There were concerns that his links to Mercedes GP may make him a little less than independent but it’s now surfaced that he’s parted ways with Mercedes in order to become Pirelli’s official test driver.

Kimster has started a new blog with a great first post all about Nick’s new role at Pirelli . We’ll be keeping an eye on that for many more posts to come hopefully! Lukeh’s also penned a great post over on his blog about who might be a great choice to replace Nick at Mercedes.

Schumacher’s unexpected success in Christine’s rankings this week seems to have him convinced he can move away from scrapping over 10th place to fight for the title next season.

On the site, Mr C’s been working hard to introduce some great new features. There’s the confusingly named sidepodtoast as well as the, frankly terrifying, Big Blue Ping Box. These are both available to anyone viewing the site on Chrome and you should get the Blue Boxes in Safari too but they’re only available in the individual posts so perhaps it’s finally time to kick that doohickey habit!

For anyone that hasn’t yet noticed. Mr and Mrs C have put a huge amount of effort into developing the homepage and it’s beautiful! If you’ve managed to miss it, you should definitely check it out immediately. From there, you’ll also find links to the amazing number of recent guest posts currently hosted on the site. I personally am eagerly awaiting the next installment of Amy’s Australian Diary

Don’t forget that you can lend Christine some moral (and financial) support for her upcoming 5km run. All funds raised are going towards the Grand Prix Mechanics Charitable Trust.

Elsewhere on the web, you can find what we’ve all been waiting for, an insight into the Secret Life of Robert Kubica. I’m mainly excited that, like me, the man hates milk!

Pat’s also drumming up support for the fast approaching Sidepodspa Meetup on 24th August in London. Everyone welcome. More information can be found here.

That’s about it for today. Hopefully that’s plenty to keep you occupied. Thanks to Nick for his amazing link-finding assistance. Much appreciated. Have a nice day all and hopefully see you in the comments.

Finally, the drivers seem to be taking their holidays, as it's been an exceptionally quiet week on the news front. That reflects directly on the rankings, but we've got a couple of things to keep the points ticking over.

From old movies to happy birthdays to great advertising, we've got it all covered.

That's all the points I have to spare this week. Keep your eyes peeled for anything over the next seven days, as what you spot can have a direct impact on the rankings. From fashion problems to fantastic videos, I want to know about it all.

Now that we're halfway through the summer break, it's almost time to start looking ahead to the Belgian Grand Prix. As it's a lazy Sunday afternoon, I was browsing through some videos of racing at Spa, and remembering the best and worst bits since I started watching. I thought I'd share them with you, and then perhaps you can let me know what your best and worst Belgian Grand Prix moments are since you switched on and tuned in.

The Best

2005 is really pushing the limits of my memory, but even I can appreciate a good fight when I see one. Step forward one stressed out Michael Schumacher - being soundly beaten by not one but two drivers in the championship for the first time in quite a while. He lined up 7th on the grid of the Belgian GP that year, a chilly day in September. He had qualified just behind his brother - ah, remember the days when there were brothers racing.

The GP got underway and it was going relatively smoothly for Mr S until he found himself bunched up with a certain Takuma Sato. The BAR driver had moved up from 11th on the grid and forgot where his brakes where when he saw the big red obstacle ahead of him.

Schumacher's Ferrari slid off course, and Sato followed along behind just to make sure he finished off the job properly. A rather peeved Michael stepped out of the car, leaning ominously into Sato's cockpit to have a word. As a parting gesture, Schumacher slapped at Taku's visor, before stomping back to his own car.

I've dug out some video of the moment in all it's technicolour glory, but you have to sit through a naughty move by Villeneuve first. Those drivers do like to see gaps where there aren't any!

The Worst

A bit of emotion can go a long way when you're an F1 driver. It can keep you fired up for the racing to come, keep you on your toes when you're in the heat of battle, and spur you on to do even better next time.

Sometimes, though, emotions are just painful, and if you're desperate to do well and keep your job, things falling apart around you can be the final straw.

The 2008 Belgian Grand Prix was an absolute epic, and I'm by no means consigning the race to the category of "worst moment." Those final few laps turned everything on it's head and caused a lot of repercussions after the event. The incredible Hamilton and Raikkonen fight - corner after corner, a white knuckle ride to see who would blink first. Alonso's storming final lap, passing cars as though they were stopped, and picking up his final place just inches from the finish line and the chequered flag.

Where there is good in F1, there's usually something going wrong for someone else. Bourdais. He seemed to channel the exact opposite of what was fuelling Alonso's rise to the top and the Frenchman simply went backwards. Faced with some extreme wet conditions that he had little experience with, plus the added pressure of being in a really strong position for a team punching above it's weight, he buckled. Car after car passed him as Le Seb struggled with no grip and a desire to keep out of the wall. From third place and a potential career-defining podium, he slipped down to seventh.

And then he cried.

Mr C will tell you that I have a heart of stone, but that gets to me - and not just because I am/was a Bourdais fan. The disappointment, fear, uncertainty, embarrassment and desperation is all written across his face and in his tears. Poor Sebastien. Would his seat have been any more secure if he had achieved a podium, rolled on a bit of a high, brought some glory to the team? We'll never know. What ifs are fun but in reality, we just have the tears.