Sidepodcast

Daily: 12th October 2009

It's Lou's birthday today! Lou has been commenting on the site since August 2007 and I know that everyone will want to wish her a happy birthday. Today is the day to do it. We're also talking about some F1 related things today, though:

• RG has spent a long time putting together an about page for his Timo Glock blog. There is so much information in there, it must have taken quite a lot of research, but as RG says - now you need never get a quiz question about Glock wrong.
• Jackie has been writing a multi-part series of posts on Pitlane Fanatic, focusing on the F1 naughty step. There are plenty of tables and pretty graphs that we love so much, illustrating who has picked up the most penalties and fines, and things like that. A really fascinating read.
• We're onto our fourth Forgotten F1 Team in the mini series so far, with another one on the way later today. Yesterday's featured team was Spyker, who admittedly weren't that long ago, but their tenure in Formula One was so brief, it's very easy to forget about them.

That'll do it for now. At Sidepodcast HQ, we are aching from all the moving about over the weekend, but hopefully things will be nice and normal for the week ahead. Fingers crossed. I'll see you in the comments.

Japan 2009 - Qualifying Results

There were red flags and all kinds of chaos today making the grid something to behold. Plenty of penalties were handed out afterwards, mixing things up even more.

Note: Sutil, Barrichello, Button, and Alonso given five place grid drops for speeding through yellow flags. Buemi given five place drop for continuing on to the pitlane with a damaged car and impeding other drivers.

Note: Kovalainen and Liuzzi given five place grid drops for changing gearbox.

Note: Glock and Webber using new chassis so will start from pitlane. Decision on Glock's participation to be made tomorrow.

McLaren Admit Lying to Stewards

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

The matter of Lewis Hamilton's disqualification from last week's race results has now moved on to a much bigger problem. It's not simply about getting an extra point or having to pay a fine, it's now a matter of being dishonest with the stewards. More and more details are emerging about this incident, and while there is a case to make that it is being blown out of proportion, it is still clearly a case of lying to the stewards. We've had press conferences from McLaren and Hamilton, and we've had access to the pit-to-car radio that the stewards reviewed as well.

Hamilton went past Trulli when the Toyota ran off line, and immediately asked his team if that was okay. They said to let the car back past. Then they came back on the radio and said to hold station, but by that time, Lewis had already allowed Jarno through. Hamilton then spent the next few minutes asking the team to check with race director Charlie Whiting if he could take the place back, as he didn't think he needed to let the car past. Race control was busy at that point, overseeing the last few laps of the Grand Prix under the safety car, so they didn't get an answer.

When Hamilton exited the car, he did an interview with the waiting media, telling them what had happened, and then he was ushered to the stewards office. He met with sporting director Dave Ryan to discuss the situation, and conscious of not wanting to receive any kind of penalty, they decided to omit the fact that the team had allowed the car through.

Thus, they lied. Or they omitted the truth, but either way, the dishonesty meant Trulli got the penalty.

Now, with things regarding the race rectified, the only matter remains how the FIA are going to deal with the fact the team lied. McLaren have suspended Dave Ryan, sending him home on a plane the moment they did so. It seems as though he is taking a lot of the blame, but Hamilton also held a solo press conference where he held his hands up and admitted he should have told the truth.

The FIA are still reviewing the situation, but this is yet another bit of seriously bad PR that McLaren could have done without.

Hamilton Stripped of Third Place

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

Rumours began yesterday that Lewis Hamilton was being called back in front of the stewards (only this time in Malaysia) to go over what happened in Australia again. The McLaren driver was promoted to third after it emerged that Jarno Trulli had overtaken him under safety car conditions.

However, the stewards had reviewed the radio evidence between Lewis and his team that suggested the driver was told to allow Trulli past - meaning Jarno was not at fault. Hamilton has been disqualified from the results of the Australian Grand Prix, meaning he and the team lose the six points that they had gained. Trulli has also been reinstated to third, meaning that the other positions do not change (again!).

This incident has been controversial from the outset. Fans are generally never impressed when results are changed post-race, and it seemed that the best thing to do would have been to just switch Hamilton and Trulli's positions round, and everyone would have been happy. Instead, the Toyota driver received a harsh penalty that under normal circumstances might have knocked him down a couple of places, but under the slow safety car conditions, cost him nine positions. Toyota lodged an intent to appeal immediately the penalty was given, but they were told you can't appeal a time penalty of this matter. The team were going to take it further but eventually decided against it.

It turns out they had no need to in this case, as it seems that Hamilton and McLaren haven't been entirely truthful with the stewards. An interview given by Lewis almost immediately stepped out the car suggested he had been told to give the place back to Trulli but by the time they got to the stewards office, this piece of information was omitted. The FIA insist they asked Hamilton outright twice whether he was told to give the place back and he said no.

This may not be the end of the situation, either. Although the Australian Grand Prix results should be left alone for now, the fact that McLaren haven't been truthful with the stewards will surely not go without further sanction.

Two Penalties from Australia

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

There were two main penalties handed out after the Australian Grand Prix had been completed. One affects the results of the race we've just seen, and the other will have some bearing on what happens in Malaysia next weekend.

Trulli vs Hamilton
In the last few laps, when the safety car came out for the incident with Vettel, Trulli ran wide off the track. Hamilton went past him, which was a perfectly legitimate thing to do, and they carried on for a few corners. Trulli was now behind the McLaren, and says that Hamilton slowed right down and either had a problem or was allowing him to pass. Hamilton says that he wasn't letting the Toyota past him.

Thus, Trulli was given a 25 second penalty, post race, which pushes him from 3rd place all the way down to 12th, and promotes Hamilton and the others upwards.

Kubica vs Vettel
The incident that caused this safety car period in the first place was a collision between Vettel and Kubica. The pair were battling for second place, and they both turned into a corner at the same time, aiming for the same piece of track. It was inevitable they would crash, and both ended up spinning off into the wall. However, Vettel did manage to travel a little way round the track with one of his wheels hanging off.

After the race, the stewards called the pair to discuss the incident, and Vettel held his hands up and admitted it was his fault. It seemed more like a racing incident to me, but if Vettel believes it was his fault, then it is very honest and gracious of him to admit this. Especially as the stewards handed him a ten place grid drop for Malaysia. Red Bull were also fined for allowing Vettel to continue circling the track, despite the fact that he was only running on three wheels. It looks like they thought they might be able to cruise behind the safety car and pick up a point. In the end, Vettel ended up in the wall, but clearly this is not allowed, and the fine is justified.

F1 Digest - China GP

• Length: 9:45 
• Size: 9.0 MB 
• File: digest68.mp3 
• Transcript: digest68.pdf 
• Torrent: digest68.torrent 

It couldn't be billed as the most exciting race of the season, but it had it's moments, and F1 Digest is here to fill you in on the Chinese Grand Prix.

The Race

Perhaps we built it up to much, but the penultimate round of the 2008 championship really didn't live up to expectations. It wasn't the worst race of the season, but it certainly wasn't thrill-a-minute either. The Ferrari boys struggled, the BMWs tried to make their way through the field, and all the while Hamilton just pulled away at the front.

Conclusions

Trulli and Bourdais start a war with each other, whilst Raikkonen says he knew what to do. The other teams all seemed to struggle with most drivers having tyre issues, trying to fix it with clever strategies, and failing miserably.

Episode 80 - His Nose Flew Over His Head

• Length: 1:12:02 
• Size: 62.0 MB 
• File: episode80.mp3 
• Enhanced: episode80.m4a 
• Transcript: Coming soon 
• Torrent: episode80.torrent 

This week we discuss Canada's removal from the calendar, and all the action from the Japanese Grand Prix, plus we have a record number of call about the subjects too.

Intro

Of course we're tired, but that still doesn't mean I'm important enough to be in good week / bad week.

Good Week / Bad Week

A good week for test drivers and sponsorship deals, but a bad week for Renault and the other manufacturers.

News and Views

It's all about the lack of Canada on the '09 calendar this week, and pretty much nobody is happy about it.

Qualifying

We talk about the tyres, what we were expecting from Fuji (which wasn't much), the few incidents that were worth talking about, and of course, our race predictions.

The Race

ITV let us down, but the race did not. The first corner held all the drama and influenced the rest of the race. Naturally, we discuss all the penalties and get some callers with varying views on them.

Feedback

A couple of emails regarding the last show, with some corrections, some history, and another about Canada.

Linkage

• Make Cars Green
• Ted Kravitz on ITV-F1
• Vee8

F1 Digest - Japan GP

• Length: 10:26 
• Size: 9.6 MB 
• File: digest64.mp3 
• Transcript: digest64.pdf 
• Torrent: digest64.torrent 

With just three races to go, the championship battle looked like it was going to be won or lost here. Thankfully, all it's done is got just that little bit closer. Listen to today's F1 Digest for a rundown of all the race action.

The Race

Considering we were expecting a dry race at Fuji to be on the duller side of things, the racing action was amazing. The first corner had an impact throughout the rest of the race, as drivers spent ages trying to restore the chaos of that initial turn.

Conclusions

A few penalties here and there, and a few surprises to be aware of, we take a look through the driver quotes post-race and find out how people are feeling going into the penultimate race of the season.

ICA Reject McLaren Appeal

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

On Monday, 22nd September 2008, the FIA's International Court of Appeal met at the Paris headquarters to rule on McLaren's appeal.

The Belgium penalty has been the topic of conversation since it happened, with the media, fans and drivers talking about little else. Despite a race in Italy since then, it has played on our minds and we couldn't wait to hear the result.

Unfortunately, the result is that the appeal is inadmissible. Despite the fact that both McLaren and Ferrari representatives, including Lewis Hamilton, all turned up in Paris to share their side of the story, the FIA ruled that the appeal couldn't go ahead.

The official statement declared that the Sporting Code that governs Formula 1 stated drive through penalties, as given to Lewis Hamilton, couldn't be appealed. McLaren were arguing against this, using a previous penalty appeal from last year as a precedent for the case. The FIA didn't agree with this idea, and after a day's deliberation, ruled against the team.

Therefore, the championship remains as it stands, with Massa just one point behind Hamilton in the fight for the driver's title, and McLaren catching Ferrari in the constructor's battle.

This ruling, as most FIA actions seem to do at the moment, has caused a lot of frustration and questions amongst fans. Why did it take them a day to decide that the appeal wasn't going to be allowed? Why did they have to sit through all the evidence, listen to everyone's speeches, and then take a good few hours to just throw the case out of court.

McLaren and Hamilton have issued statements saying they are disappointed with the day's events, but are prepared to let the matter drop and move on. Hamilton, in particular, says that he isn't going to get depressed about it and is ready to get back to racing. With the upcoming Singapore race a complete unknown, this is something he really needs to do.

Hopefully, we will be able to do the same - put the politics behind us and get on with watching some spectacular track action.

Driver Penalties

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

The stewards are constantly on the lookout for drivers making mistakes and committing serious offences as a race progresses. They will announce an investigation into an incident, and then reach a decision on whether the incident deserves a penalty or not. These are some of the more common penalties that are handed out during a race weekend.

During the Race

Drive Through Penalty – A driver has three laps from the time of notification to return to the pit lane and drive straight through and out the other side. He can’t stop for fuel, tyres, or any mechanical interference. It is simply a trip through the pit lane. The penalty in this is that the pit lane has a speed limit which means the rival cars will be going full speed down the home straight, whilst the driver has to negotiate the pit lane. This is often given for causing an avoidable accident or blocking another driver.

Stop Go Penalty – This is similar to the drive through but a driver must stop at his pit box, and be held in place for a certain length of time – usually 10 seconds.

Black Flag – A driver is immediately retired from the race, and must return to the pit lane to take no further part in proceedings. We have seen this in very serious conditions, for instance, when a driver ignores the red light at the end of the pit lane.

Post-Race

Fine – Quite often, if a misdemeanour hasn’t actually affected anyone else and is simply a matter of discipline, the stewards will issue a fine. This often occurs if a driver has been speeding in the pit lane, or not adhering to the white lines.

25-Second Penalty – After a race has finished, or if a drive through is issued in the last five laps, the stewards can add 25 seconds to a drivers finishing time. Depending on the field spread during a race, this can drop a driver down the finishing order quite a long way.

Grid Drops – These can be imposed for serious offences, but also when a driver has to change a long life component in his car. Switching out the engine for a fresh one when it has only completed one race of a two-race cycle will result in a grid drop. The standard drops are 10 places, or 5 places. This means that at the next race weekend, wherever the driver qualifies he will have the specified number of places added to his start position. So, to qualify 2nd with a 5 place grid drop would see him start 7th. This can be a particularly harsh penalty, and involves one race weekend’s incidents in the following race’s action.