Sidepodcast

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.

Daily: 7th November 2009

It is Saturday morning and I am already fifteen minutes late writing this daily post. Oops. Still, this is the first real day of my off-season, and I am determined to enjoy it. What about you? Meanwhile, here are some of the things we're talking about:

• Yesterday, we featured a little bit of Friday fun, just something to pass the time. Iain came up with a game and it was a great way to pass the day. If you haven't already, let us know what you think you'll never hear drivers say. If you've already had a go, then just wait until next week!
• There is all kinds of nonsense going on at Force India with the gossip abound that some of the FIF1 intellectual property may have been borrowed or suchlike by the new Lotus team. I can't imagine the proper Lotus name owners will be impressed with such headlines being associated with their brand.
• As pointed out by Alianora in the comments, Rob Smedley was given an honorary doctorate for his services to F1. Yay for Rob! Teeside University have seen what a great job he's done with Massa and offered him a Doctorate of Professional Studies for his work. I'm not biased about this at all, but it is well deserved.

That's all for now. There is no racing this weekend, which is upsetting for some of those who don't heart the off season like we do here at Sidepodcast Towers. If you spot anyone in distress, offer some support, and I will see you in the comments.

Sidepodradio (Part 24) - Felipe Baby Live

• Length: 3:21 
• Size: 3.8 MB 
• File: sidepodradio24.mp3 
• Transcript: sidepodradio24.pdf 
• Torrent: sidepodradio24.torrent 

A one off special performance of Felipe Baby, performed live by Christine, as promised to the Sidepodcommunity if the total charity donations reached more than £500.

Highlights include:

• Felipe Baby
• White Visor
• Gorilla Suit

Related links:

• Hour 24 Replay and Live Comments
• Sidepodradio Wiki Page
• Sidepodradio - The Aftermath
• Sidepodradio - The Charity

Daily: 4th September 2009

Friday at long last, and even though we were lucky enough to have a bank holiday on Monday, it has still felt like a long week to me. For those returning to school, it is probably even longer, so let's talk about something else. It's Friday!

• Last night, Kathi uncovered some pictures of Fisichella in his new home with Ferrari, and oh my god, is it good to see Rob with an actually capable driver. I never thought I would be relieved to see Fisichella anywhere near Rob, but there you have it. That is what Luca will do for you.
• I spent some time updating the SPC Regulars page on the wiki recently, and have already blogged about what is new and improved, so I highly recommend you check out that post and then the wiki. Neil asked when one should consider oneself a regular, and I think that is an entirely personal decision. It could be when you start commenting every race, or if you show your face in each daily, or maybe when you sing songs about live show outtakes.
• Finally, Alguersuari was in the news yesterday, talking about the fact that he is happy to keep on racing in other sports because above all things, as a 19 year old racer, he sees himself as a karting driver. Even above Formula 1. An interesting perspective on things, and a refreshing one. He's doing Formula Renault and karting alongside his STR responsibilities - yay for drivers doing other things.

That's all for now. Thanks to everyone who has pointed out the Franck news - he has been emailing Peter Windsor but that doesn't mean anything and I'm not getting my hopes up just yet. I'll see you in the comments.

F1 Debrief - Do I Really Sound Like Fisichella?

• Length: 44:34 
• Size: 41.0 MB 
• File: debrief109.mp3 
• Transcript: Coming soon 
• Torrent: debrief109.torrent 

We've got shoutouts, news and views, good weeks and bad, a circuit link up, race discussion, Sidepodtour updates, Fantasy Racers stats, voicemails galore and just a little bit of housekeeping. It's all go, go, go!

Intro

Two shoutouts for Sidepostcast. We think that might be us.

Good Week / Bad Week

It's been a good week for iPhone users and for bizarre surveys, but a bad week for Campos Racing and Donington Park.

News and Views

FOTA only went and did it, didn't they? Announcing a breakaway competition in the dead of night. Although things are still at a stalemate, at least we are one step forward. This is progress, and it creates lots of questions. We answer the most important one though.

The Race

We quickly run through all the happenings at Silverstone, such as the quick drop off of KERS, Button and Barrichello's varying performances, Bourdais vs. Heikki and those donuts.

Fantasy Racers

I am now 88th in the league, whilst Mr C went up for a change, now sitting in 308th. We also read an encouraging email.

Feedback

Voicemails galore, as Dan Brunell is pondering why the FIA are creating such a fuss over four grid spots, RG gives us an update on Croft, and Paul wishes me a Happy Birthday.

Housekeeping

There's a guide for anyone new to the site to help get started on Sidepodcast, plus a new way of commenting if you're on an old browser.

Linkage

• Making Up the Numbers
• Radio Le Mans
• Puma Motorsport
• Parade Lap
• Shell V Power
• F1 Punter
• Brits on Pole
• BBC Tees
• Radio 5live
• The Northern Waffler
• Mobile Doohickey
• New to Sidepodcast? Quick Start Guide
• F1 Minute
• Sidepodcast's Drop
• Fantasy Racers
• Sidepodcast Wiki

Daily: 30th April 2009

Last day of April, and we're expecting the last bit of news from the FIA for the month. They already essentially cleared McLaren to race for 2009, and now they'll discuss how things will shape up for the future of the sport. Here's what we're talking about:

• McLaren's suspended sentence means that they'll escape penalty if no further information comes out about the lying scandal, and assuming nothing else will happen in the next 12 months. It's safe to say that wil be the case, and I think most people are happy that the results of the hearing won't affect the racing.
• Despite Flavio's protests that KERS is basically rubbish, FOTA have confirmed that they are keen to work on the technology for 2010. Does this mean that Flav's efforts to try and break up the team's alliance is not working and that they are just ignoring him?
• Also, it turns out that the little parody I made for Felipe Baby is becoming kinda popular. Mr C has written a post explaining all about it but... basically... Rob Smedley has heard it. And I might die. That is all.

Keep the excellent comments coming, we should have lots to talk about today, particularly when we find out the budget caps and more. That'll do it for now, I'll see you in the comments.

Heard It on the Radio

Those who struggle to keep up with the seemingly never-ending stream of comments submitted to the Daily thread (and nowadays I count myself as one of those), may have missed something of a seminal moment in Sidepodcast's rather short history earlier today. Not only did Christine make her singing debut on a BBC radio station, but that same voice carried all the way to Italy, Maranello and to the ears of one Rob Smedley.

To cut a very long and convoluted story short, last Saturday a certain lady decided to pen a tune for Felipe Massa in the hope it might inspire the man to score some points in Bahrain. It didn't exactly work out, the Massa suffered another poor showing, and because we didn't do a podcast Sunday evening we sort of forgot about it.

Yesterday there was much discussion in the comments about a number of blogs / forums that had found, and enjoyed the song. So this morning, having decided that the Autosport forums helped to make Me and Page 22 happen, a link was copied over there too. Just a couple of hours later the following response was posted on that same thread:

BBC Tees played the first verse to Rob Smedley this afternoon.

The two of us did a bit of a double take upon reading this, and after some swift investigation from other commenters, it turns out that Lisa McCormick who hosts a light-hearted afternoon chat show on BBC Radio Tees, happened to be talking live to Felipe Massa's race engineer Rob Smedley, and really had played Christine's song to Rob. I wouldn't have believed it without hearing it, so here's an extract:

Anyone who's known Christine for more than five minutes will be well aware of her long term (but frequently denied) crush on Rob and I'll leave you to imagine her reaction upon hearing that particular radio segment.

I'm pretty sure when she wrote and recorded the lyrics, Christine's intention wasn't for it to be played on the radio. I'm absolutely certain she didn't for one minute expect anyone at Ferrari to hear it. However, we will both be eternally grateful to Lisa and the team behind the show for finding and then playing that snippet today.

Even if Christine doesn't know it yet, today has been an amazing day in our lives. Thank you to everyone who's picked up on it, to the Autosport Forums for highlighting the broadcast and to all those who have listened.

Update: BBC Tees have a post on story, as well as the full interview for your listening pleasure.

A Song for Felipe Baby

Massa hasn't really had an easy time of it recently. Following on from his strong, but disappointing, finish to 2008, the Ferrari hasn't really been up to scratch. It's understandable that the drivers confidence might not be as sky high as you would expect but just lately, they seem to have been very downbeat about this whole racing business.

It's a surprise, particularly going into Bahrain, where Massa tends to do well, and the team have testing experience in the desert as well.

I can only imagine what Rob is saying to his young ward right now. In fact, I did imagine what he was saying, and I formed into a little ditty that you might care to listen to.

Here's my song to Massa, entitled Felipe Baby, that is intended to wish him good luck for the race tomorrow.

Hopefully that does the trick. If not, Luca di Montezemolo is in town, and that will surely make the Ferrari's fly up the order. We'll find out tomorrow!