Chris Evans stands in as a last minute host, but ably guides us through topics such as where Lewis Hamilton could go if he were to move teams, what F1 technology you would want in real life, and of course, there are imitations galore.
Sidepodpanel will be back next week, assuming we can find a guest host to take the reigns. If you fancy having a go, please sign up on the wiki. If you'd rather take part as a panellist, there's also a page for that.
A quick glimpse of the thoughts on our minds as those who attended the Science Museum meet up in London kindly agreed to stream a live Sidepodchat... of sorts. Expect diffusers, predictions, and of course, McLaren.
Joining us in this show:
Gavin, littlepurplegoth + children, Chris Evans, Kris, Bassano Clapper, Lukeh, Lou, Toastboy, Chris, Alex, Flibster, Jackie, SteveintheUK and Pat W.
As an irregular part of the schedule, we're not sure when the next Sidepodchat will appear, but if you fancy taking part whenever the next one rolls around, you can sign up on the Wiki.
This week we discuss the Chinese Grand Prix, and update the Fantasy Racers competition, plus talk about our trip to London and the Science Museum to meet the lovely Sidepodcommunity.
Intro
Someone picked up a cold at the Science Museum, and it wasn't me!
Good Week / Bad Week
A good week for legal rear diffusers, and for Hamilton and Vettel being nominated for awards. A bad week for Ferrari who have to sort out their personnel, and for the Race of Champions who need to sort out their decision making.
News and Views
Why has Ron decided to go? We ponder the three possible reasons for his decision. We also discuss what is up with Flavio Briatore and his sudden hate for all things Brawn.
The Race
A Safety Car start meant the good action was delayed slightly, but once it started it was all go. We discuss some great pit stop work from Toyota, the difference between Heikki and Hamilton this race, plus whether Sutil should be embarrassed or not.
Fantasy Racers
I have regained some of my dignity and now place 12th in the league, whilst the other half sits down in 195th.
Feedback
An email from Keith the Marshal leads us into a voicemail from Lukeh, expertly imitating the BBC's Legard. Then we also hear from Sebastien who is disappointed with the Beeb's pitlane reporting.
The Sidepodscience meetup was actually less scientific and more of a picnic than we'd initially intended. The Science Museum exhibit was really, really poor. No doubt we will be regaling you with tales of how the day went, plus pictures, and endless stories of how drunk Mr C really was, but I wanted to share an initial reaction to what we saw yesterday. I've come up with a five point plan for the Science Museum to get their act together.
Know your target audience. Clearly, we were a unique set of visitors to the science museum that day. A group of twenty or so hardcore F1 fans that dedicate a disproportionate amount of their spare time to discussing the sport we love. I'm pretty sure this exhibit wasn't actually aimed at us. However, it wasn't clear who it was aimed at. There weren't enough details for the really scientific, there certainly wasn't enough action/movement/colour for children, there wasn't enough relation to sports for fans, and it was much too easy to bypass the exhibit if you're the general public. You can get a lot more out of something if you know who it's aimed at, even if it's not your target group. We could have analysed how well the display was working if we knew exactly what was supposed to be got out of it.
Improve the lighting. It was very dark in there, and although I could see the plan was to be rather minimalistic and arty, white and black is so boring. Especially when there's a lot of white, and it's all just tucked away in a dusty corner of the museum. Photography was difficult, reading the placards wasn't much easier, and the touch screen displays burned our eyes after only a few moments.
Keep the F1 stuff together. One step inside the museum, and you're confronted with an upside down McLaren hanging from the roof. Up the stairs and along the corridor is an F1 themed exhibit. Down the stairs and through two other halls there's a McLaren as beaten about by Mika Hakkinen. Clearly the new display wasn't directly related to the existing cars, but to bring the Formula 1 goodness together might have been helpful.
Be a little less vague. I really like the idea behind the collection of goods that we saw, but there really wasn't enough to make it worthwhile. Even saying that, the museum appeared to be struggling for tenuous links. Here's a fishing rod that has grooves like rubber tyres. There's a big pod that the drivers use to relax in. Here's some rubber boots... At this rate, you could relate anything to F1 and get away with it. Here's a panda which is black and white, a little bit like the McLaren. Hooray!
Sort out the security. Lukeh sums this up in his post: SERIOUS SECURITY GUARD IS SERIOUS. The display had some kind of random alarm going off when you crossed invisible beams, despite the fact that everything was behind glass and not even slightly roped off. You step too close to a podium, the alarm beeps, the man comes running to shout that you are too close. Then why let us get that close in the first place? It was weird, and very off-putting.
This isn't meant to be a post full of whines, because really, it is fabulous that F1 is getting into places such as the Science Museum. I just think the exhibit could have been so much more, and reached a much wider audience. There was very little to say that McLaren were particularly involved, except the two McLarens, and they could have made it a much better marketing exercise, whilst informing new and existing fans just how influential F1 can be.
It's D-Day all round for everyone, as we should be getting the results of the diffuser hearing, and we're also heading to the science museum for the meetup. So, chances are those two items will dominate discussions today:
Big apologies to anyone not going to the Science Museum who has had to put up with us wittering on about the Sidepodscience meetup for weeks now. If it makes you feel any better, I'm spending my one year wedding anniversary in a stuffy museum looking at F1 technology that will probably all go way over my head.
Having said that, we should have lots to talk about with the lovely people we meet, and we'll take some pictures and report back to you as we always do. We'll be taking as much equipment as mobility allows so that if the opportunity arises we can snap photos, record audio and maybe even capture some video. Who knows what will happen?
Finally, we'll be keeping our ear to the ground and waiting for the diffuser decision. Part of me thinks the FIA will string it out and make us wait another couple of days. They have the power, you know. However, should the result occur today, we will finally found out how the rest of the championship is going to shape up, and at last it can be put to rest... as if!
That'll do it for today. Again, apologies to those who aren't sciencing it up, but there will be plenty more opportunities for meetups in the future. Thank you to my mother-in-law for manning the blogging pumps in our absence and I will see you in the comments (as much as signal and battery life allows).
News was very slow yesterday, which actually makes a nice, refreshing change as it doesn't seem to have stopped since well before the season actually started. With that being the case, here are some of the other things we're discussing at the moment:
In case you've missed it, there's a Sidepodscience meetup happening next Wednesday at the Science Museum in London. Plenty of information available on the wiki, and this time next week we'll be recovering from ogling all the lovely F1 stuff in the museum.
There are a couple of other great new pages on the wiki. Jackie created the Stages of a Sidepodaddiction page, and I see that people are starting to add which stage they feel they are at. If you haven't already, go and check it out and evaluate which point you're at on the list. Is there a stage 50? Cos I think that's me!
A new episode of Sidepodcast Diaries is available to view. I've been a little bit sneaky and combined it with a plug for meandpage22.co.uk. If you haven't taken a picture yet, do it now!
That'll do it for now. Keep your eyes peeled for any news as it happens, although I'm not expecting any. F1 people are allowed holidays too, I suppose. I will see you in the comments.
You may have already seen this mentioned in the comments over the last few weeks, but this is the official announcement. Sidepodcast is going to the Science Museum!
From 11th March onwards, the Science Museum in London have a Formula 1 related exhibit called: "Fast Forward: 20 ways F1 is changing our world". It's a look at how technology is being passed between F1 and real life, and includes bikes, materials, road safety, medicine, and much more. In fact, this video from the BBC can probably explain it better.
The idea initially came from Gavin, who suggested a meetup at the Museum, and then the wiki page was started, and now we even have a date. On the 15th April, Mr C and I will be in London poring over all the sciencey stuff, times to be confirmed. If you fancy meeting up, then feel free to leave your name on the wiki. You don't have to, of course, but Mr C does like his roll calls.
If you want more information about the exhibit, there's plenty to look at on the Museum's website. There are also details of how to find the place, for those planning ahead. The best part, aside from meeting us, of course, is that entry is free.
