Sidepodcast

F1 Advent Calendar 2009 - Roundup

Christmas has been and gone, and that means our advent calendar season review has drawn to a close. We featured 25 short shows covering the entire year, as a wrap up to the 2009 season. The Advent concept was designed as an extended mini-series, and in normal circumstances, there would be an omnibus edition for those who would rather listen to the shows in one sitting. Given that there were 25 shows, that they are roughly three minutes each, and that Mr C faints at the sight of a podcast over an hour in length, that is impossible to do for this series.

However, there is still scope for rounding up everything we covered, in an easy-to-view list.

1. The Brawn Surprise - Pre-season Brawn testing raised eyebrows.
2. A Key Admission - Vettel and Kubica collide in Australia.
3. Truth in Kind - Lewis Hamilton falls foul of the stewards.
4. Back to Front - The double diffusers cause controversy.
5. Rain Stops Play - The Malaysian GP is a little bit wet.
6. Running on Empty - Massa almost runs dry in Spain.
7. Keep on Running - Button enjoys a jog around Monaco.
8. Two Tribes - The FIA and FOTA square up to avoid a breakway.
9. The First Time - Webber takes his maiden win despite penalties.
10. So Long, Farewell - Toro Rosso bid goodbye to their French Seb.
11. Accidents Happen - Massa recovers from a huge crash in Hungary.
12. In the Dark - Timing chaos descends on Hungarian qualifying.
13. Back on Form - Hamilton turns McLaren's fortunes around.
14. Not Quite Banned - Renault narrowly escape a ban following a loose wheel.
15. Take My Place - The campaign for the FIA Presidency gets dirty.
16. Goodbye From Us - BMW leave and the team faced an uncertain future.
17. Spin Me Round - Piquet Sr and Jr cause problems for Renault.
18. Out of Practice - Luca Badoer steps in to deputise for the injured Massa.
19. It's About Time - Barrichello finally finds his way back to the top step of the podium.
20. Rise and Fall - Fisichella takes Force India's first points with a podium finish.
21. Crossing the Line - Rosberg messes up in Singapore, compounding a miserable year.
22. Injury Time - Glock takes a time out, whilst Kobayashi steps in.
23. While You Wait - The Brazilian qualifying turns into the longest session ever.
24. Fight or Flight - Trulli wages war against Sutil with evidence to back him up.
25. Doing the Double - The Championships are decided and the season draws to a close.

Thank you for sharing the season with me, it's been great fun whittling down the important points of the year for an end-of-season review. Let's hope 2010 provides just as much interest, although hopefully more of it on the track!

F1 Advent Calendar 2009 - Day Twenty-Five

• Length: 4:06 
• Size: 3.8 MB 
• File: advent25.mp3 
• Transcript: advent25.pdf 
• Torrent: advent25.torrent 

Hello and welcome to the final episode of Sidepodcast's F1 Advent Calendar 2009. We've come a long way since the 1st December, peeking behind door after door to reveal the story of the 2009 season. Here we are at the last one - Day Twenty-Five - Doing the Double.

With Trulli and Sutil out of the race and squabbling amongst themselves in the pitlane, the Brazilian Grand Prix continued. The Safety Car was out, and Kovalainen came into the pits after sustaining damage from a collision with Vettel. Raikkonen was also into the pits early, after a brief contact with Webber that damaged his front wing. The McLaren team released Kovalainen when the fuel hose was still attached to the car. It flew out behind Heikki as he travelled down the pitlane, spraying fuel directly into the path of the oncoming Ferrari. The fluid very quickly ignited for a brief fireball moment, but burnt itself out just as quickly. Later, Kimi said his eyes were still sore long after the incident had taken place.

Meanwhile, out on track, the safety car came in, leaving pole sitter Barrichello still in front with Webber and Kubica behind him. Button had moved up a few places thanks to the chaos around him, and from 14th on the grid, 9th was his reward. Being outside the points and having his nearest championship challenger leading was clearly not good enough, so he chased down and overtook Grosjean . Before an entire lap had passed he had overtaken Nakajima, and was heading towards Kobayashi. The rookie gave him a bit of trouble, and Button was on the radio complaining about his rival potentially moving about in the braking zones. However, he eventually dispatched Kobayashi in the same manner as the previous two, and began to hunt down his next target.

Webber managed to jump Barrichello in the first round of pit stops, and Rubens found himself under pressure from Robert Kubica, and Lewis Hamilton. Despite starting so far down the order, Lewis had pitted early, getting rid of the unfavourable tyres behind the safety car, allowing him to move forward. Hamilton and Vettel both managed to get ahead of Button when the Brawn driver came in for his second stop, and it was in fifth place that Button managed to finish.

Webber took the win, with Kubica and Hamilton joining the Australian on the podium. Button's nearest championship rival Barrichello picked up one point, and although Vettel finished ahead of Button in fourth, it was not enough to stop the Brit taking his very first world championship.

Jenson was screaming down the radio to his engineers, and there was even a dodgy version of We Are the Champions ringing out during the slowing down lap. Brawn had done enough to secure the constructor's championship as well, so it was time for a double celebration. For the second year in a row, the champion was not on the podium as he won the title, but that didn't dampen Button's spirits. It may have dampened Webber's, who celebrated his win but was completely overshadowed by the success of his rival team.

Ross Brawn summed it up best, saying: "The spirit in which our two drivers have fought for the Championship makes me very proud. They have been a credit to the team and our sport. The work and the commitment that the team showed over the winter and throughout this season really has been sensational." Button though, wanted to give credit where it was due: "This team would not exist if Ross was not here. The car has his name on the side, and that is a lot pressure on a person. So for him to win today both the constructors and the drivers championship is exceptional."

That brings our mini series to a close. We’ve covered the entire 2009 season in 25 short shows, about three minutes each, meaning it has taken at least 75 minutes to sum up the year. That’s not surprising considering how jam packed full of racing and politics it was. From the very beginnings of Brawn GP’s good form, through potential breakaways, non-existent comebacks, injuries, collisions, new winners and old, to a double world championship celebration. It has been brilliant sharing this year with you, so thank you for sharing it with us. All that remains is for me to say bring on 2010, oh, and a very Merry Christmas as well.

F1 Advent Calendar 2009 - Day Twenty-Four

• Length: 3:41 
• Size: 3.4 MB 
• File: advent24.mp3 
• Transcript: advent24.pdf 
• Torrent: advent24.torrent 

Hello and welcome to the penultimate episode of our F1 Advent Calendar 2009. We have been peering behind a door on each day of advent, and discovering the story of a key moment from the year. It’s Christmas Eve, which means it must be time for Day Twenty-Four - Fight or Flight.

The Brazilian Grand Prix had barely got underway before there were drivers colliding with each other. Kovalainen and Vettel had a bit of a tangle, and a couple of corners later, Trulli and Sutil had a coming together. My goodness, that was the start of something. Trulli was attempting to overtake the Force India, but managed to tap the rear of the car, both cars spun off, one each side of the track. Sutil's car went flying into the grass before returning to the circuit into the path of Fernando Alonso, who was duly knocked out of the race. The three drivers exited their cars, and Trulli immediately ran over to Sutil, gesturing wildly.

The safety car was deployed, while the stricken Force India, Toyota and Renault cars were recovered. All three drivers got a ride back to the pit lane, and with Trulli still visibly fuming, their race had come to an end. In the post-race quotes, Jarno said: "I am extremely frustrated by what happened today because I had a very good chance to challenge for the podium... I think there was enough space for both of us to get around the corner." Adrian was having none of it though and in the Force India press release, he said: "Trulli was there on the outside trying to go round. It was a really stupid maneouvre as there was no space and I couldn't see him at all."

Afterward, the stewards investigated the incident, and although there was no action taken on the crash itself, they fined Trulli for his post-race behaviour. He was reprimanded and had to hand over $10,000 as the stewards found his arguments with Sutil to be unsporting. If only they knew what was to come!

The Italian would not let the matter go. During a later interview, he said of the Force India driver's manouevres: "To happen once is a racing accident – we might have a touch or we might bang wheels. But when someone does it deliberately at that speed, this is crazy. It is unacceptable." Sutil kept his head down, defending himself where necessary but otherwise not rising to the Italian's bait.

When the circus turned up to the next race in Abu Dhabi, the FIA wasted no time in arranging Thursday's press conference with Trulli, Sutil and Alonso present, plus Adrian’s nemesis Raikkonen for good measure. When the questions came from the floor, it wasn't long before the incident in Brazil was brought up. Trulli said they were going to discuss what happened in the drivers' briefing, but Sutil didn't think there was anything to be discussed. In response, the Italian said he had photographic evidence of the incident, which he then pulled from his pocket to show to Sutil. "I don’t know if you’re blind but they clearly show you that my front wing is next to your front wing..." to which Sutil responded:"...it was not my problem, it was his problem. I don’t know why he’s freaking out like that, to be honest." The pair continued to argue to the point where Alonso said to Raikkonen: "Shall we go?"

Alan Baldwin was next to ask a question, and he tried to continue the conversation, presumably for the amusement of everyone. However it wasn't to go on much longer, Trulli confirmed: "Just so long as we all know the rules." While Sutil pointed out: "I know the rules." That was how the matter was left in public, and as far as I know, it wasn't brought up again. I would imagine Sutil is not top of Trulli's Christmas Card list though.

That's all for this penultimate episode of our F1 Advent Calendar 2009. Just one more show to go, and that is the big one - Christmas Day. I know you’ll be busy but please remember to listen to our final advent episode - Day Twenty-Five.

F1 Advent Calendar 2009 - Day Twenty-Three

• Length: 3:39 
• Size: 3.4 MB 
• File: advent23.mp3 
• Transcript: advent23.pdf 
• Torrent: advent23.torrent 

This is the F1 Advent Calendar 2009, welcome. We are running through the 2009 season in short bite size chunks, peeking behind each door of advent for a new story of the year. We're moving on to Day Twenty-Three - While You Wait.

When the teams and drivers turned up to the Brazil paddock, ready to get on with another weekend of racing, the pressure was high. Vettel's win in Japan had saved his championship challenge, but he would have a real fight back on his hands if he were to make it stick.

Qualifying was going to be crucial, so the fact that it was raining on Saturday afternoon put a bit of a spanner in the works. All the cars were out early in the first session to try and get a banker lap done and dusted. However, just a few minutes in Fisichella spun and stalled, meaning a red flag came out. The Ferrari was recovered, and the teams were ready to get going again. Just seven drivers had a time on the board, but it was raining hard now. The FIA said conditions weren't suitable for running, and there was a sizeable delay until things improved.

When the session did get going, Rosberg was the fastest driver out there, whilst both Vettel and Hamilton were knocked out. Vettel was not at all happy, storming out of the car and even throwing his steering wheel out of the cockpit. He had plenty of time to rant and rave though, as the second session was delayed, again due to the weather.

After a couple of minutes of action, Liuzzi was into the barriers. Another red flag. His was a pretty serious accident, but the Force India driver escaped unharmed. By this time, the rain was really coming down, and although the red flag was thrown initially to clear the track debris, it turned into another weather watch. Everyone had to sit and wait for the conditions to improve, and every ten minutes or so, the medical car did a tour of the track to assess the situation.

Some of the drivers remained in their cars, whilst others climbed out and sat about the garage, talking to their engineers and messing about to pass the time. There was a lot of time to pass, though. If we thought the Q1 delay was big, that was nothing compared to this. We had to wait a whopping 75 minutes for the session to get going again. Waiting, watching, crossing our fingers that the something would happen. The sky was was getting darker and darker, and the completion of qualifying wasn't a sure thing.

Eventually the action got underway, with 12 minutes of the second session still to run. Rosberg was fastest once again, whilst Button dropped out early - another big name out before the top ten shootout. This seemed to be a disaster for his championship challenge and afterwards he admitted he was very disappointed. Ross Brawn even said that they would be happy with a last race championship decider, if it came to that, but only if it was both his drivers in the fight for the title. Barrichello did the best he could to make that come true, as when the third and final part of qualifying got underway - without delay this time - he and Webber were trading places at the top. It was the Brazillian driver who finally took pole position at his home circuit. Webber was behind in second and Sutil third in the Force India.

Altogether, qualifying had taken 2 hours and 41 minutes - making it the longest qualifying session ever. The BBC coverage overran by half an hour and they were forced to switch it to a sister channel. During the delay, Red Bull boss Christian Horner said they were all happy to wait it out as they weren't on a deadline. You can bet Bernie was thinking differently though.

That's all for this episode of our F1 Advent Calendar 2009. Tomorrow is our penultimate show, and we're drawing towards the end of the season, so join me then for Day Twenty-Four.

F1 Advent Calendar 2009 - Day Twenty-Two

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

F1 Advent Calendar 2009 - Day Twenty-One

• Length: 3:36 
• Size: 3.3 MB 
• File: advent21.mp3 
• Transcript: advent21.pdf 
• Torrent: advent21.torrent 

Hi there, you've tuned in to the F1 Advent Calendar 2009 - brought to you by Sidepodcast. We are peering behind a new door for each day of advent, revealing a key moment from the 2009 season. It's time for today's story from Day Twenty-One - Crossing the Line.

Thankfully, by the time this year's Singapore Grand Prix rolled around, the trouble surrounding last year's race had been dealt with. There were still reverberations around the paddock, and Renault were busy unpicking the stickers of their rapidly departing sponsors, but it was a chance to get back to the racing.

The Brawn boys were back on form, topping the timesheets in Free Practice 1. Everyone held a collective breath when Romain Grosjean spun his Renault in exactly the same way as Piquet did in exactly the same place as Piquet did. Silence on the Renault radio. It seemed to break a little bit of the tension though, and things were a little more relaxed after the irony had died down.

On Saturday morning, Hamilton was fastest, with Vettel and Rosberg in second and third respectively, and then it was on to qualifying. Rosberg resumed his pace, posting the fastest time in Q1. Q2 was a similar story, with Rosberg up top, whilst Button struggled and couldn't make it through. Barrichello, Webber and Vettel all proceeded to Q3. Hamilton was the fastest man taking the vital pole position, with Vettel lining up beside him on the grid. Rosberg qualified third and Webber fourth.

This was Williams’ best chance for a good finishing position. The car may have had pace early in the year, and Rosberg topped many a Friday practice session but he could never seem to convert it into a podium finish.

On to the night race, and Rosberg made an excellent start. He was on the clean side of the grid and overtook Vettel to slot in behind leader Hamilton. Sadly, during the first round of pit stops, Rosberg made a crucial error as he exited the revised Singapore pitlane. He may have been going too fast, or couldn't turn in time on the dusty surface, but the German flew across the painted pitlane exit line on his way out. He caught the car and straightened up but by then it was too late.

It wasn't just a stray wheel over either, it was as if the line didn't even exist. It appeared to be a silly mistake, and Rosberg was duly punished with a drive through penalty, one that effectively ruined what had been his best performance of the season.

Later, Sutil tried a move on Alguersuari, but spun and ended up facing the wrong way. In trying to correct himself, he lunged the Force India forward, into Heidfeld, ending the BMW drivers reign of consecutive finishes. Sutil's behaviour was considered dangerous and he was later fined $20,000. This wasn't the last time he'd be in the middle of a controversial accident, either.

The subsquent Safety Car delayed Rosberg's drive through penalty, but once he had taken it, he found himself out of the points, down in 11th place. Hamilton secured his second win of the year, joined on the podium by Glock and Alonso - perhaps going some way to mend the damage the Piquet drama had done to Renault's reputation.

Rosberg’s pit exit mishap meant he missed out on a golden opportunity to show his team what he could do, although that pretty much sums up his whoel year. There were many points finishes for Nico, and only one retirement but the best he could manage was two fourth places. Despite the lack of standout results, Rosberg has been picked up by the former Brawn team Mercedes GP for the 2010 season, and no matter who his teammate is, he’s really going to have to do better than he did in 2009.

That's all for this episode, thank you for listening, and I hope you will join me tomorrow when we open the door for Day Twenty-Two.

F1 Advent Calendar 2009 - Day Twenty

• Length: 3:32 
• Size: 3.3 MB 
• File: advent20.mp3 
• Transcript: advent20.pdf 
• Torrent: advent20.torrent 

Hello and welcome to another episode of the F1 Advent Calendar 2009. This extended mini series takes a look at the 2009 season, in bite size stories, revealed each day behind the doors of advent. Today we are on to Day Twenty - Rise and Fall.

You'll never believe it, but the Belgian Grand Prix weekend started out a bit wet. There was some rain during the first Free Practice session, and it was Trulli in the Toyota who managed to post the fastest time. Things dried up ahead of FP2, which allowed a bit of normality to resume and Hamilton secured the top spot. The sensible times didn't last for much longer, as Friday turned into Saturday, and it was BMW fastest in the morning practice session. Heidfeld led the way, with Toyota up there again in second.

Throughout the sessions, Force India had shown good pace, and they weren't to be discounted when it came to qualifying. Fisichella was fastest in Q1, with regular names dropping out - Grosjean, Buemi, Alguersuari. In the second session, Toyota was fastest, and we really began to raise our eyebrows. What were all these unusually fast cars doing at the top of the times? Button, Alonso and both McLarens were all knocked out in the second session, meaning it was going to be a very interesting top ten shoot out.

The Red Bull boys could only manage 8th and 9th position, with Vettel ahead, whilst Raikkonen qualified 6th. Barrichello was 4th but it was Fisichella, Trulli and Heidfeld who took the top three positions, and turned up at the qualifying press conference moments later. This was Force India's first ever pole position, and Fisichella's first since 2006, when he was driving for Renault.

Come Sunday, and it was still dry as the race began. Barrichello made a terrible start, practically stalling on the grid, and falling way down the order. It was not to be a good day for the Brawn drivers, as on the first lap, Button was involved in a collision with Grosjean. The Renault ran into the back of Button, spinning them both off track and out of the race. Hamilton saw this happening and lifted off, which caused Alguersuari to run into the back of the McLaren. Both of them were out of the race as well. There were a few choice words said afterwards regarding rookie races and the lack of testing available this season.

The safety car came out, and Raikkonen found himself up in second position, with Fisichella still ahead. Once the Safety Car pulled off, it was so easy for Kimi in the KERS assisted Ferrari to get past the Force India, and he was off into the lead.

At his first pit stop, Mark Webber was released rather aggressively by his Red Bull team, and unfortunately, he was headed straight for Nick Heidfeld. Webber was granted a drive through penalty, and this time, couldn't turn it around to take a win, the penalty pushed him far down the order.

Trulli and Alonso both retired from the race, whilst Vettel suddenly found some speed and began chasing Raikkonen and Fisichella up front. There weren't enough laps remaining to do anything about it, but managed to finish on the podium, with Raikkonen taking his first win since Spain 2008, and Ferrari's first of the year. Fisichella was second, scoring Force India's first ever points - quite a way to make your mark on the championship table.

There were six retirees altogether, and of course, Luca Badoer finished last. Were Ferrari's eyes opened by Fisichella's performance during this weekend? It was just three days later that he was signed up to take Badoer's place.

That's all for this episode of our F1 Advent Calendar 2009. I hope you're enjoying the shows, as we head into the final stretch. Tomorrow we'll be looking at Day Twenty-One.

F1 Advent Calendar 2009 - Day Nineteen

• Length: 3:45 
• Size: 3.5 MB 
• File: advent19.mp3 
• Transcript: advent19.pdf 
• Torrent: advent19.torrent 

This is our F1 Advent Calendar 2009 - a mini series brought to you by Sidepodcast. We are reliving the 2009 season with a peek behind each door of advent, finding the story of a key moment of the year. Now we're on to Day Nineteen - It's About Time.

After all the kerfuffle, surrounding Massa's recovery, Renault's potential ban, Schumacher's non-existent comeback, and the just-emerging Singapore drama, it was almost a relief when the European Grand Prix weekend arrived. Finally, some racing! Well, some cars on track at least.

The warmer climate in Spain meant that the Brawn cars were recapturing some of their competitive form, and Barrichello duly topped the timesheets for Free Practice 1. Alonso was top for FP2, and Sutil took the headlines on Saturday morning, showing much increased pace for Force India, although it didn't translate to qualifying quite so well. Fisichella, at this point still driving for Force India, qualified 16th and was knocked out alongside Badoer - who's seat he was about to take. Confusing, I know. Sutil qualified 12th, missing out on the top ten.

As ever, qualifying was all about the battle for pole, and the Brawn's faltered slightly. Barrichello qualified third, with both McLaren's in front of him - Hamilton and Kovalainen locking out the front row with Lewis ahead. Vettel was fourth, Button in fifth.

When it came to race day, it was clear Hamilton would have a great start, the team’s early seasonKERS niggles all figured out. Meanwhile, Button had a terrible time and dropped four places off the line. Further back, there was trouble with the new boys. Luca Badoer initially made up some places on the grid, but then Grosjean, also new to the cockpit, ran into the back of him and spun the Ferrari round. Glock and Buemi also collided, so Timo had to pit for a new nose, and Grosjean had to pit with his own problems.

Webber found himself behind Button, but told his crew over the radio that the Brit had cut the chicane and halted an overtaking move from himself. It's not clear whether this was the case or not, but as a preventative measure, Button fell back and allowed the Red Bull driver through.

Hamilton was enjoying a comfortable lead, whilst Vettel's first pit stop saw the team struggle with a a fuel pump problem that meant he had to come in again. Hamilton came in to the pits four laps earlier than Barrichello, which allowed the Brazilian to put his foot down at the front and make the most of his opportunity. He managed to jump Kovalainen as he exited the pits, and had made up plenty of ground on the second McLaren as well.

Before his next stop, Hamilton seemed to be pulling away a little, but in the pits, it all went wrong. The McLaren crew didn’t have tyres ready - they were still snugly wrapped up in their heated blankets - and he lost many seconds waiting for them to be fitted. Inevitably, Barrichello's final stop saw the Brazillian exit the pits in the lead, and although Hamilton chased him down valiantly, there weren't enough laps remaining to regain first place. Rubens Barrichello took the chequered flag for the first time in five years. His previous victory was with Ferrari at the Chinese Grand Prix 2004, where he led from pole andfor the majority of the race. With this new win, Rubens could put to rest any of the demons that had followed him from that team. He was understandably ecstatic and afterwards said: "It has been a weekend that I will never forget especially because after five years you don’t forget how to do it, but it is tough."

The win, coupled with Button's seventh place saw Barrichello close a bit of the gap in the drivers championship, whilst Red Bull's failure to secure any points during the weekend meant Brawn tightened their grip on the constructors title.

That's all for this episode of the F1 Advent Calendar 2009. Tomorrow we will reach our 20th day and that means we are drawing towards the end of the series. I hope you'll join me.

F1 Advent Calendar 2009 - Day Eighteen

• Length: 3:49 
• Size: 3.5 MB 
• File: advent18.mp3 
• Transcript: advent18.pdf 
• Torrent: advent18.torrent 

Welcome to the F1 Advent Calendar 2009 - an extended mini series brought to you by Sidepodcast. We are reviewing the season over the month of December, looking at a key moment each day of advent. Now it's time to open another door to find another story, we're on to Day Eighteen - Out of Practice.

Massa's recovery was going well, and the prognosis was good, but initially, there was no talk of him returning to racing. He missed the Hungarian GP, leaving an empty spot on the grid, but Ferrari had the summer break to find a replacement for the upcoming European GP.

Immediately, the name Michael Schumacher emerged as a potential candidate, and despite the fact his manager denied any such reports - claiming to be 200% sure it would not happen - it was soon confirmed that he would undergo the FIA medical, and start training for a return in Valencia.

Most people, within the paddock at least, were excited for this comeback. Hamilton said: "Michael is one of the sport's greatest competitors and a legend in his own right and it would be great to compete against him." Button added that Schumacher was brave to take up the challenge but was sure he'd be competitive.

Schumacher had a run in an F2007 chassis around the Ferrari track at Mugello, saying that although it was an old car, any experience was good for getting back in shape. Ferrari wrote to the other teams asking if they could waive the testing ban briefly, for Schumi to get some more practice in, but they quite vociferously said no. After a second go in the F2007, and just ten days before the European GP, Schumacher cancelled his comeback. The German had been in an accident whilst testing a superbike in February, and although he had hoped to be fit enough, some quite serious neck problems meant he wouldn't be ready.

Instead, Ferrari drafted in their long-term test driver, Luca Badoer. The Italian had been with the team since 1998, but had not been in the current car since December 2008. From the outset, Badoer said he relished the chance to compete in a race for the red team, but he also approached the weekend very conservatively. At each stage, he labelled the sessions as a test for him, as he learnt the car. Just a test, he kept saying.

During Free Practice at Valencia, he was consistently a couple of seconds off the pace. He qualified last, and finished the race one lap down, although ahead of Nakajima and two retirees. He never seemed to get to grips with the car, or generally being a racing driver. At one point he’d forgotten the pass needed to get into the correct paddock areas. Despite the struggles, Ferrari gave him the benefit of the doubt and allowed the Italian to race at Spa as well.

He was still slow. He qualified last, spinning on his final flying run. He kept out of trouble in the race itself, but finished 14th, which was also last. This time, Ferrari couldn't ignore the results, and replaced him with Force India driver, and fellow Italian Giancarlo Fisichella.

Badoer was quick to cast the finger of blame around - the car was difficult to drive, he was not given enough of a chance, there was not enough testing, the media portrayal of him was too negative. At least half of those were true. He turned up in the paddock at the next race - the Italian Grand Prix - but won't have gained any satisfaction from seeing his replacement qualify 14th and finish the race 9th, just missing out on the points.

The car was difficult to drive and Fisichella was better but not brilliant. He earnt himself a test driver role with the team for 2010, alongside Badoer and Gene. Ferrari have also signed up young driver Jules Bianchi following a test this month. If a similar incident were to occur next year, they want to keep their options wide open.

That's all for this episode of our F1 Advent Calendar. Please join me tomorrow, when we will hopefully look at some faster drivers, on Day Nineteen.

F1 Advent Calendar 2009 - Day Seventeen

• Length: 3:27 
• Size: 3.2 MB 
• File: advent17.mp3 
• Transcript: advent17.pdf 
• Torrent: advent17.torrent 

Hello and welcome to the latest episode of an extended mini series from Sidepodcast. This is our F1 Advent Calendar 2009 - 25 short shows recapping the season just gone. It's time to open yet another door in our advent calendar, so let's get started with Day Seventeen - Spin Me Round.

Whilst Renault were waiting for their appeal hearing regarding the one-race ban dished out after Hungary, they found themselves in another bit of bother. Their driver of 18 months Nelson Piquet Jr, published a note on his website saying he had been let go from the team. It was a bitter letter, and although the news wasn't exactly unexpected for anyone who had seen him drive, it's delivery was slightly unusual. Piquet criticised his former team, particularly Flavio Briatore, suggesting that his boss had been demanding, uncompromising, even threatening.

Just a few days later, the rumblings of a huge scandal began. Rumour had it that Piquet Jr had been asked by his team to crash at the Singapore Grand Prix in 2008, to bring out the Safety Car that aided Alonso to win the race. It's something that had been mentioned in jest many times, but no one thought it could be true.

The FIA duly investigated, and on the 4th September, a statement was issued saying Renault would have to answer to the charges. A World Motorsport Council meeting was scheduled for later in the month, in fact just before the Singapore Grand Prix for this season.

Above anything else, I think this case will be known as the one where everything was leaked. We had letters to and from the FIA, statements from Piquet Jr and his father, documents regarding Briatore, and much more. Anything that was written down seemed to make it out into the wider world, and gave us and the media a lot to talk about. Piquet claimed that Flavio Briatore and Pat Symonds had asked him to crash the car, and he had felt pressured into doing so. Both he and Alonso were given immunity from any penalties regarding the case.

Initially, the team denied the charges. They even said they would begin legal proceedings against the Piquets, suggesting that it constituted blackmail, and the allegations were false.

About a week before the trial, Pat Symonds was offered immunity by the FIA if he would answer their questions, but he did not take it. At this point the story suggested conversations about the crash had taken place prior to the race, but that it was all Piquet's idea. The truth is yet to be known.

On 16 September, both Flavio Briatore and Pat Symonds left the team, and Renault F1 confirmed they would not contest the charges against them - essentially pleading guilty. The World Motorsport Council still met, and a mysterious Witness X - reportedly from the Renault team - gave evidence. With no defence to be heard, though, it was simply a matter of doling out the punishment. The result? A two year ban, suspended, for the team, plus bans of varying lengths for Symonds and Briatore.

Whether this was an acceptable punishment is really a matter of opinion. However, the team lost two key members of staff, several sponsors withdrew after the hearing, and worse than all of that - they had to watch Piquet's replacement, Romain Grosjean, spin at exactly the same corner during the Singapore Grand Prix weekend, just a few days later. Sometimes, you just have to laugh.

That's all for now. Thank you for listening to this F1 Advent Calendar 2009, and I hope you will join me again tomorrow, when we will see what's behind the door for Day Eighteen.