Sidepodcast

Thoughts on the McLaren Verdict

It all happened much quicker than we'd anticipated, but McLaren's hearing has been and gone and the result is in. The FIA have handed out a suspended three-race ban, with the charge being that old favourite bringing the sport into disrepute. The suspended ban essentially means that McLaren are free to go but if there are any more dismeanours in the next 12 months, then it could be brought into force.

As reported earlier in the week, Martin Whitmarsh attended the hearing alone, and having already written a letter of apology to the FIA, he reiterated the sentiments in person. Apparently he was only inside the FIA Headquarters for an hour, before leaving to await the sentence.

This, plus the somewhat lenient sentencing tells us several things.

Firstly, the FIA are pushing for a new, much more open and honest sport. There have been plenty of discussions in our comments over the last few weeks centering around the fact that McLaren are not the only people to have ever lied in F1. Of course this is true, but given the shift in FIA thinking over the past year or so, they had to take Whitmarsh to account for what happened.

With so much internet reporting, there is no room for lying, cheating or generally covering up small problems for the good of the sport. Whatever happens will be found out and the FIA need to be seen to act.

Having said that, they must have been slightly concerned about what punishment to hand out. To ban the team now would cause an outrage, just as the sport is having one of the best season starts they could ask for (in terms of racing action). We all breathed a collective sigh of relief when the diffusers were deemed legal, and really, I think the same can be said for this result. Even though McLaren did wrong, it's hard to want the championship battle to be interrupted in anyway.

One of the biggest "storylines" of this season is whether McLaren can return to form and allow Hamilton back up the order to defend his championship. To mess with that now could prove disastrous. In the same way to have fiddled with the Alonso v. Hamilton championship battle in '07 would have brought F1 to it's knees.

On the other hand (how many hands do you have?), it can also be said that with Ron Dennis' convenient step aside, the FIA no longer have their arch enemy to rally against. The McLaren team have lost a key member of staff, some credibility within the paddock, and pretty much all contact with Ron Dennis on day to day matters. I'm not sure the governing body could have had a better result if they tried.

It may have been brave for Whitmarsh to face the judge and jury by himself, but I'm pretty sure all involved knew that the battle had already been won.

The Belgium Incident in More Detail

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

There are two different parts to the controversial incident in Spa between Hamilton and Raikkonen, and they’ve both got some fans very upset, for different reasons.

Should Hamilton have been penalised?

The first question is obviously whether the penalty should have applied in the first place. There are two very different schools of thought on this. The incident occurred when Hamilton cut across the chicane to avoid colliding with Raikkonen, and ended up in front of him. He had to return the position to the Ferrari, but as they were running down the straight at the time, it’s perceived he had the speed advantage to be able to take the place straight back. One side believe that Hamilton definitely had the advantage and therefore the penalty is valid. Others say that as Hamilton was fully behind the Ferrari, evidenced by the fact that Raikkonen pulled across in front of Hamilton down the straight, that the place had been fairly given back and no penalty should have been imposed.

There’s another argument to say that in the end, it the incident made little difference to the end result of the race, and therefore a penalty is not applicable. Raikkonen couldn’t control his car twice on the same lap, and ended up in the wall, therefore the damage was done by the rain, and not by Hamilton. I think I fall into this category, but I can understand every side of the argument and the strong feelings that the penalty is stirring up.

Should a driver be stripped of a win post-race?

Regardless of whether the penalty should have been imposed or not, the next important question is whether a driver should be stripped of a win after he crosses the line first. The podium ceremony, the press conference, the celebrations all become a farce, and championship-altering decisions can be made in a steward’s office. It’s not fair on fans to have to wait to see what the result of a race is going to be, having invested the time and energy into watching and understanding the action for two hours. To go away, and then return to find the result changed is an insult to fans.

However, the alternatives are few and far between. Delaying the podium ceremony wouldn’t work for TV companies and would mess up the post-race schedule. On weeks like this when there are back to back races, every minute is important for teams. Pushing any post-race penalties onto the next Grand Prix work to an extent, but when you get to the end of the season, you are still stuck with the same problem. I favour this idea, because to have just one race disturbed by post-race politics would be much more preferable than having this problem scattered through the season.

Opinions on Hamilton's Penalty? This is the Place to Be

If you're not sick of us by now, then this is the place to be. We're recording the first official episode of F1 Debrief, otherwise known as Sidepodcast Episode 76.

What a day we've had! The race at Spa was pretty mega in itself, and then you add in the controversial penalties and the enormous amounts of discussion that follow such decisions, and you're left with a brilliant Sunday afternoon.

This show will touch on such matters as well as others, but more than anything we want your thoughts. As ever the live commenting will be go, go, go, click the triangle in the corner to get to the groovy auto-refresh page. We also want to hear your voice though, and if you're willing to talk to us, then Skype is the place to be. More details coming up in the show.

We've been a bit pushed today, as you can imagine, so we need your help more than ever. Be prepared to dive in with thoughts, corrections, opinions, anything that can make the show a much better thing to behold. We'll hopefully be going live at 9:15pm BST (running a bit late already) and would love to see you there.

F1 Digest - Belgium Qualifying

• Length: 9:39 
• Size: 8.9 MB 
• File: digest51.mp3 
• Transcript: digest51.pdf 
• Torrent: digest51.torrent 

The rain continues, but it's not enough to see a crazy grid in qualifying. Still, there's a couple of things to note, and F1 Digest is here to straighten it all out for you.

Free Practice 3

A slow session with the rain coming on and off meant that tyre issues and setup changes were a real problem. Button didn't make a very good start at all.

Qualifying

Bourdais topped the first session which gave us false hope that it was going to be another mixed up session. It wasn't. The only other notable thing was Force India almost making it through to the second session, and failing.

Conclusions

A lot of drivers are relatively satisfied with what they achieved today considering the conditions, but know that it really all comes down to tomorrow. If it rains, which is looking less likely, the whole thing is going to be, as Massa puts it, a lottery.

F1 Digest - Europe Qualifying

• Length: 10:42 
• Size: 9.8 MB 
• File: digest47.mp3 
• Transcript: digest47.pdf 
• Torrent: digest47.torrent 

Despite all the unusual events we have seen, with drivers topping timesheets when we weren't expecting it, qualifying ended up as we might have anticipated. Still, F1 Digest rounds up all the action that got us there.

Free Practice 3

Very overcast at the beginning of the day, and poor Trulli was very much under a cloud. He only managed two laps, without setting a time. Probably better than the Renault's though who set ridiculously slow times. When will that be banned?

Qualifying

Although Toro Rosso looked to be amazingly strong throughout every session, they couldn't quite make it stick. Both through to Q3, but that's about it. Massa and Hamilton both outshone their team mates as well.

Conclusions

It seems as though one side of the grid is more favourable than the other, so Hamilton is understandably concerned about the pace Massa will show off the line. Some of the names who are more used to being at the front are also expressing worries about being in amongst the traffic. Who's money is on a safety car?

F1 Digest - Hungary Qualifying

• Length: 10:14 
• Size: 9.5 MB 
• File: digest43.mp3 
• Transcript: digest43.pdf 
• Torrent: digest43.torrent 

At first glance, it looks like McLaren will walk this weekend easily, securing a 1-2 in qualifying. However, there are glimpses of hope from unexpected quarters, including Kubica, Glock and maybe even Massa.

Free Practice 3

Another slow start to the day, but once the cars were out on track, it was worth keeping an eye on them. The Renault's were trying out a radical new (slow) strategy, whilst Vettel was making the most of being able to get through an actual session.

Qualifying

Heidfeld had issues from the very start, whilst Kubica was very much best of the rest. Hamilton and Kovalainen led the way, looking unbeatable.

Conclusions

A five-place grid drop for Bourdais means that he lines up in 19th place, whilst at the very other end of the grid, Hamilton is ecstatic with the new updates to the car.

Guide to F1 Flags

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

We all know there’s a red flag, a blue flag and a chequered flag, but I was quite surprised to learn that there are actually ten types of flag that could be waved at some point during a race weekend. Here is a reference guide to the different flags and what each of them mean:

Chequered: The black and white checked flag means that the race has ended and the winner has crossed the finish line. It’s shown to every car to cross the line behind the winner, even though some of them may be a lap down and won’t have technically completed all the laps – the race is still over.

Red: If the red flag has been waved, it means there are dangerous conditions on the track and the race is stopped. It could be that there has been an accident and a car is in a precarious position, or it could be that the weather is too hazardous.

Yellow: A single waved yellow flag means that there is danger ahead on this section of track. It is usually when a car has spun off and there are marshals on the track. Cars must slow down and overtaking is prohibited. Double waved yellow flags mean the driver needs to be prepared to stop if necessary.

Green: The green flag means that whatever danger was there has now been removed and cars can proceed at their previous pace. This usually occurs on the corner after the previous yellow flags.

Blue: The one that causes most consternation during a race, a blue flag is waved to warn a driver that he is about to be lapped and he must move out of the way. Officially the flag is to say a faster car is behind and trying to overtake, so it could be shown to the leaders at the front, but this seldom happens. Usually it is to the back markers, who have to steer clear of the race leaders without losing positions to their rivals.

Black: A car must return to the pits and that driver’s race is over. This is usually for dangerous driving, as we saw this year in Canada, when both Massa and Fisichella were black flagged for exiting the pit lane through a red light.

Red and Yellow Stripes: This means the track surface is slippery (usually oil) and caution is needed.

Black with Orange Circle: With a car number attached, this flag is displayed to a driver when his car has mechanical troubles and should return to the pits. With the pit to car radio, this flag is rarely seen.

White and Black Diagonal: With a car number this is like a yellow card is in football. It tells the driver that he is warned for his behaviour and a black flag could follow.

White: A white flag warns that there is a slow-moving vehicle on the track, such as a tow-truck, but the cars are usually behind a safety car when this is occurring.

Keep your eye out in upcoming races and see how many flags you can spot!

F1 Guide (Part 3) - Pit Stops

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

Welcome to the Sidepodcast Guide to Formula 1.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Theme music: Cedar Falls, Car Crash.