Sidepodcast

Daily: 16th March 2010

Yesterday, I trusted the daily to Mr C and it was almost two hours late, so I have snatched the reigns back for Tuesday. The conversations are mostly still revolving around Bahrain and the impact of the refuelling ban, but there is a dedicated thread for that. Instead, I will point you in the direction of some completely different topics:

• It was a huge week for Christine's Rankings with loads of drivers moving up and down. Mr C commented earlier in the weekend that if Chandhok wasn't leading there would be something very wrong with the world. Thankfully, we don't have that problem!
• I posted our F1 Debrief show yesterday, and it's a good one, mostly because it features a lot of voicemails from our lovely listeners. Rather than listen to us whine about the Bahrain GP, we hear from you guys and what you think. More please.
• I stumbled across the return of Paddock Life. I love the behind the scenes peek, although of course we have such unprecedented access this year that it's not as special as it used to be. Still, there are great stories about Rubens being a bit cheeky, and the grid protest by the drivers.

That'll do it for now. Let us know how your week is going, and I will see you in the comments.

F1 Debrief - This is an Absolute Nerdfest

• Length: 55:05 
• Size: 50.6 MB 
• File: debrief137.mp3 
• Transcript: Coming soon 
• Torrent: debrief137.torrent 

Coming up on this week's show, we talk about visits to the Queen, Williams holding a grudge, surreptitious snorkels, bumpy roads and singing commentators.

Intro

A curious thing has happened, in which Mr C finds himself agreeing with an unlikely source.

Good Week / Bad Week

It has been a good week for Brawn GP and Nick Fry as he accepted a Laureus award on their behalf. Jenson Button is also having a good time of it as he is fast becoming bi-lingual. It's been a bad week for Stefan GP, as their road to F1 might be a bit tough, whilst the Bahrain organisers struggle to control their champions.

News and Views

The McLaren wing kerfuffle seems to be over for now, although that only seems to be because the team didn't do so well in Bahrain. Elsewhere, it feels like the entire paddock is picking on Schumacher.

The Race

We recap some of the key points, including Chandhok's lack of laps, Vettel's reliability problems, and Webber's overfill of oil. We've created a fabulous Factbyte Factbox that has made the weekend much more interesting for us, which is lucky because the racing was dire. We decide to forego moaning about the race and instead let our voicemails do the talking.

Feedback

Two quick shoutouts, some emails regarding Fantasy Racers and pronunciation, a message from Sir Stirling Moss, and a note about how very nerdy the weekend has become.

Linkage

• Williams iWitness
• Darren Heath: Diminishing Returns
• Manipe F1
• mclaren.com
• Live Commenting
• Sidepodcast: Bahrain 2010 - Race Highlights
• Greta Cottage Workshop
• Alex Snell on GetJealous.com
• Stirling Moss

F1 Digest 2010 - Bahrain GP

• Length: 10:50 
• Size: 10.0 MB 
• File: digest151.mp3 
• Transcript: digest151.pdf 
• Torrent: digest151.torrent 

The final show of our F1 Digest Bahrain coverage looks at the race in detail, examines how the drivers feel after the event and recaps the results and championship standings.

The Race

Vettel got off to a good start but reliability issues handed the lead to Ferrari. Further back, only one of the new teams saw their drivers get to the end, and the number of retirements was high.

Team by Team

Alonso is very pleased to have picked up his first win for Ferrari, and dedicates it to Luca di Montezemolo. Meanwhile, a lot of drivers struggled with their tyres, whilst hydraulic issues seemed to be the in thing.

F1 Digest 2010 - Bahrain Qualifying

• Length: 13:24 
• Size: 12.3 MB 
• File: digest150.mp3 
• Transcript: digest150.pdf 
• Torrent: digest150.torrent 

Our second Digest episode for the Bahrain GP weekend takes a look at all three free practice sessions, plus a fabulous qualifying session. We compare the top ten to their teammates, and find out what the drivers think of their performance so far.

Free Practice

We saw the new teams struggle a little, particular poor Chandhok, whilst it really became clear that Rosberg was outshining Schumacher, and Ferrari and Red Bull were going to battle it out at the top.

Qualifying

Vettel was very strong as he posted his qualifying lap, whilst it was down to the Ferrari boys to try and challenge him. Webber could only manage 6th, and the McLaren drivers didn't fare as well as they'd hoped.

Team By Team

Most of the new teams are happy with their debut qualifying efforts, particularly Virgin who managed to get Glock the highest up the order. Chandhok's shakedown went successfully and he didn't get in anyone's way. Schumacher is satisfied with his comeback so far and Sutil celebrates being in the top ten.

Daily: 11th March 2010

Hello and welcome to horrible Thursday. However, I believe this one won't be as bad as others we have experienced recently, as we are all focused on the goings on in Bahrain. We were super busy yesterday and we're going headfirst into the weekend in a similar fashion. Meanwhile, here are some things we're talking about:

• I was catching up on some blog feeds yesterday and discovered this excellent post from RG, discussing people in Formula One, and motorsport generally, in the north of England. I liked the post, even if it does appear that RG forgot all about Rob Smedley. Humph!
• Mr C's favourite blogger ScarbsF1 has a Bahrain Preview post up which goes into a bit more detail about the McLaren rear wing issue. We're expecting the FIA to inspect the part and make a decision in Bahrain, which is leaving it a bit late if you ask me.
• We posted plenty of fab things here on Sidepodcast yesterday, including your Bahrain Race Information. This tells you important facts and figures about the race, and highlights the TV and podcast schedule. The F1 Digest Preview was posted, and Mr C had a quick look at some of the new websites from teams.
• Also, for everyone who has been curious about the Joe Saward competition - it is now closed, but we have not yet picked a winner. We will do so as soon as we can, and let you know via the blog. If there's no post, it's because we haven't got our winner yet!

That should do it for now. Let's all keep our fingers crossed that Thursday goes okay, and I will see you in the comments.

F1 Digest 2010 - Bahrain Preview

• Length: 11:05 
• Size: 10.2 MB 
• File: digest149.mp3 
• Transcript: digest149.pdf 
• Torrent: digest149.torrent 

The Formula One season finally gets underway with Bahrain replacing Australia at the start. We've got all the information you need to know from weather to driver quotes and my own predictions.

Vital Statistics

• Date: 14th March
• Circuit: Bahrain International
• Length: 6.3km
• Laps: 49

Preview

In the first digest preview of 2010, we solicit opinions on the Bahrain circuit, recap what happened in 2009, and run through what each of the teams is hoping for from the weekend. Notably, Lotus aren't feeling that positive, whilst McLaren and Ferrari are both confident they can do well.

Bahrain 2010 - Race Information

Formula One has returned! We are gearing up for the first race of the season and by all accounts, it's going to be a spectacular one. Although Bahrain has a lot to live up to, replacing Australia as the season opener, there is so much going on, it's bound to be a fantastic weekend.

The Weather

The long range forecast for the weekend suggests there will be nothing but sunshine for F1 to look forward too. Saturday might see a little cloud, but nothing that should make a difference to the action and the high appears consistent for both Saturday and Sunday.

Regularly updated weather information can be found on the BBC.

The Circuit

This year, the Bahrain circuit sees the first major change to its layout since it began hosting F1 races in 2004. The track has been extended by nine corners and the number of laps reduced accordingly.

Credit: Bridgestone Corporation

Bahrain Circuit Map

Event Schedule

An F1 weekend comprises of events spanning three days. Action begins on Friday and ends on Sunday.

Support races for this event include GP2 Asia and the Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup.

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.

Podcast Schedule

Sidepodcast provides comprehensive coverage of every Grand Prix weekend with free audio podcasts.

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.

Additionally, for every session this weekend we'll be providing up-to-the-minute F1 information via the all new Factbyte Factbox.

Daily: 9th March 2010

Tuesday has arrived and before I do anything, I must point you towards yesterday's F1 Debrief. The show itself is marvellous, of course, but in the show notes there are some rather excellent outtakes - if such a thing exists. Actually, I might just post them again now anyway. Mr C and I could do with the embarrassment.

Now, on to other topics:

• Adam Hay-Nicholls has an unusual post on his Metro F1 blog - spending some time with Tamara Ecclestone. She has some rather forthright views on Jenson Button, but if she's anything like her dad, I don't suppose she worries about what she says.
• I mentioned yesterday that Mr C had spent some time watching NASCAR, and it looks as though that sport has just as much politics as F1. There was an incident involving Carl Edwards that he admits he caused on purpose, to try and knock his opponent out the way - revenge, if you will, for an early incident. Leigh has some thoughts on the concept of on track payback, and suffice it to say, it's not a good idea!
• Today is the last day for the Joe Saward competition, where we are offering you the chance to win a signed copy of his book The Grand Prix Saboteurs. We've had tons of entries, but there's still time to get yours in, and you never know, luck might be on your side.
• Finally, a quick plug to the TOTAL 2010 Grand Prix Travel Guide. It's clearly a marketing ploy, but has plenty of useful information in there including: "Where to stay in Korea? Where to get a drink in Bahrain?" The things you need to know.

That should do it for now. I hope your week is going smoothly, and as ever, I will see you in the comments.

F1 Debrief - Puffle Piffle Poffle Puffin F1

• Length: 52:12 
• Size: 48.0 MB 
• File: debrief136.mp3 
• Transcript: Coming soon 
• Torrent: debrief136.torrent 

Coming up this week, we discuss team members departing, really dodgy names, Hamilton opening up, an evening with Joe, and those dangerous new teams.

Intro

This time next week the first race of the season will already be over! It's pretty exciting. Before that though, lots of news to get through plus some Fantasy Racers roll calls.

Good Week / Bad Week

It's been a good week for the Korean GP as they reckon they are on schedule, and for Renault who have managed to find a little bit of sponsorship in the form of Lada. It's been a bad week for Force India though, who haven't quite worked out how to use bit.ly yet, and for Willy Rampf who is leaving BMW Sauber.

News and Views

We discuss a few conclusions from testing, although nothing particularly groundbreaking. The fastest drivers, and those that completed the most distance. We contemplate some Ferrari developments and Red Bull stickers. We also wonder whether anything will come of the McLaren aero complaints.

The topic of US F1 can't be avoided any longer, if only because this may be the last time we get to talk about them. Anderson and Windsor appear to be to blame for the sinking of the ship, and with no Stefan GP either, we're looking at a slightly smaller grid. We discuss Campos' new change of name and image, although we don't particularly like it, and we briefly look at Hamilton's new openness now he's out from his father's management.

Feedback

Loads of feedback including: Jonathan sends me a picture of a marmot, Steven wants to know what LOST podcasts we listen to, Toastboy bets on Jenson, Iain looks into his crystal ball, Lisa's spotted a problem with Zencast, John has a Zune, Andy is being volunteered to get involved, Pete says a quick hello, and Simon is travelling the world.

Housekeeping

Bassano leads us in to a brief discussion about the excellent evening out with Joe, plus we plug the competition. All of Sidepodcast is now live so you never have to refresh again. We do a quick reminder about the show notes, plug a couple of fantasy F1 type things, and say goodbye until next week.

Outtakes

Those Fantasy Racers Roll Call sections were a little bit tricky. We knew there would be outtakes galore, but we didn't know there would be six minutes worth! Here they are in two parts.

Part 1:

Part 2:

Linkage

• ScarbsF1's blog
• Viva F1: Testing
• NY Times: Testing Ends in Jerez, as Bigger Tests Continue for US F1
• Who Are You, Anyway? : Calling Planet Anderson...
• F1 Pulse: Bernie Always Has an Agenda When he Speaks
• The (not so) fast lane: Most Hair-Raising Season Ever?
• Marmot photo from Jonathan
• Media. Future. Change. : A Conversation with Leo and Mr C
• Sidepodcast: Win a Signed Copy of The Grand Prix Saboteurs
• Fantasy Formula One

Daily: 6th March 2010

The weekend is here, and whilst I am still fighting off germs, we're busy gearing up for the racing to start. This is the last weekend before everything kicks off in Bahrain, so I hope you're making the most of it! Here are some of the things we're talking about, in a super duper extended daily:

• A quick plug before we get into the motorsport stuff, I quickly posted a new episode of Media Future Change last night. It had been delayed a few days because of voice issues but finally made it into the public domain. Hope you enjoy listening, and as ever, feedback is always appreciated.
• I finally got round to updating the about page on I Heart Franck to feature more information about who I am, obviously, and how I discovered Monsieur Montagny. Not that I discovered him or am taking credit for his success or anything. I was tempted to write a bit about how I would faint on sight of FKM, but then I remembered he has read the site in the past, and that wouldn't really be a great opening line.
• Whilst we're talking about yummy people, Lucas di Grassi has partnered with some watch people. They sponsor Renault as well, which is slightly odd, although he was a development driver for them. I wonder if this will affect his position in the rankings.
• We often get people asking if we're bringing back the video previews and at the moment the answer is still no. Teams aren't really giving out as much footage as they used to, and now we know why. Red Bull kept it all for themselves! They have shared the packaged video with us, though, and it's pretty awesome. We'll let them off, especially as they intend to do it for every race.
• Don't forget the competition to win a signed copy of Joe's book. It closes on Tuesday, so if you haven't already entered, make sure you do!
• Whilst we're doing reminders, it's worth mentioning the Fantasy Racers league. We'll be doing a roll call of all the teams signed up in this weekend's show, so if you haven't yet joined, are planning to, and want a shout out, make sure you join the Panda Racing league before Sunday.

That should keep you going for now - double the usual number of items! Let us know how your weekend is going, and I will see you in the comments.