Sidepodcast

Scuderia Toro Rosso Reveal STR5

The Toro Rosso team unveiled their 2010 challenger - the STR5 - at the Circuit Ricardo Tormo in Valencia on Monday. The car features an almost identical livery to previous years, while the chassis takes its design cue from last year's car, including an extended engine cover and bevelled nose.

The rollout of this new chassis is an important achievement for the team, who this year have been required to bring the design department entirely in-house. The Italian outfit had until this season been riding on the coat tails of sister team Red Bull Racing.

Credit: Mark Thompson/Getty Images

The STR5 livery features stronger branding around the cockpit area, hopefully making it easier to distinguish from the Red Bull.

Chassis STR5-02 was presented at 09:05 GMT in Spain, where in front of the assembled media, drivers Sébastien Buemi and Jaime Alguersuari pulled the covers back on the new car.

Shortly after the unveiling, Buemi took to the track, but completed just 10 laps before suffering a gearbox problem. By the end of the day the team had managed a total of 18 laps, however the team's technical director, Giorgio Ascanelli is more than aware they could be in for a tough time this year.

"Before even thinking about producing a car, we had to acquire the right tools to carry out these tasks and also hire the people who are to use these structures. Finding fifty people and putting them in an environment where they can do their job has been a tough task."

Team Principal, Franz Tost offered a more optimistic view stating that STR "Must aim to finish in the top eight in the Constructors’ Championship".

Credit: Ker Robertson/Getty Images

Sébastien Buemi and Jaime Alguersuari display their 2010 helmet designs for the assembled photographers.

Chief Designer, Ben Butler was keen to point out that the car's heritage is closely tied to the package they ended their 2009 campaign with:

"The STR5 is definitely a case of evolution rather than revolution. We have taken a fantastic 2009 package as our starting point and we did not want to do too much with it, apart from changing and adapting it to take into consideration the regulation changes.

"It is easy to say there is little change between the 2009 and 2010 cars, but there have been a lot of significant evolutions that we have had to put in place, primarily to ensure reliability, and which will hopefully prove to be competitive once the racing starts."

Buemi will get two days in the car before Alguersuari takes over on Wednesday.

Credit: Mark Thompson/Getty Images

The highly sculpted nose of the STR5.

Toro Rosso Confirm Alguersuari for 2010

Credit: Vladimir Rys/Bongarts/Getty Images

Jamie Alguersuari, who made his F1 debut at the Hungarian Grand Prix in 2009, will start his first full season in March.

Scuderia Toro Rosso announced on Friday that the services of Jaime Alguersuari will be retained for the 2010 F1 season. The signing reduces the number of remaining seats on the grid to just four.

The confirmation came via the team's official website, ending months of speculation about this year's line-up.

Speaking of the signing, Team Principal Franz Tost emphasised the importance of the Red Bull Young Driver Programme on Jaime's career:

"Considering that he made his debut only halfway through 2009, at the Hungarian Grand Prix, with no prior testing, he did a good job, making steady progress throughout the second half of the year, with a mature approach considering he is still only 19 years old.

"This season, he will again face a steep learning curve, as all the circuits in the first part of the season will be new to him. Jaime's appointment also confirms our commitment to bringing on graduates of the Red Bull Junior Team young driver programme."

There was no word from the Alguersuari himself, but he starts the 2010 season as he finished 2009, again partnering Sébastien Buemi for the Italian team.

Karting in Las Vegas

New guest writer Jan Stahl originally only emailed me some of the photographs he had taken at the recent karting event. I demanded some more effort from the poor man, and I'm really happy to feature his words here.

I found out SKUSA was having a karting event in Las Vegas completely by accident - I don't follow the karting scene at all, though I enjoy racing one whenever I have a chance. As it turns out, I wouldn't have found out about it at all had no Formula One drivers been attending - the mention of the event on the official Formula One website is what made me look into it to begin with. Apparently SKUSA was happy with not advertising the event at all in any local Las Vegas media - the SKUSA website, and some karting websites and magazines were apparently the only two places where it was mentioned extensively. As a result, my impression was that most of the people attending the event were either hardcore karting fanatics, or those who read about it in F1 circles and turned up to see Schumi - the prevalence of Ferrari gear was fairly impressive. What that also meant is that the event could easily have held way more people than actually attended - places in the grandstands were readily available, and you were never fighting the mob when looking at the team garages or getting around the racetrack.

As for the track itself, it was a 0.6 mile loop, built right on the back parking lot of the Rio Resort and Casino in downtown Las Vegas. Having the Las Vegas strip as the backdrop for the racing was fairly impressive, although most fans were complaining that none of the grandstands provided a full view of the racetrack - they chose retaining barriers that were so high, that even from the top row of the grandstands you couldn't see the karts on the opposite end of the racetrack. By the end of the weekend, some fans were choosing to watch the races from the top of the Rio parking garage outside the grounds, simply because it was the only spot you could see the entire track from!

The races for some of the classes started as early as Wednesday, but the Superpro events - where Michael Schumacher, Seb Buemi, Nelson Piquet Jr, and IRL's Dan Wheldon raced, didn't start until Saturday (although some of them took part in the Thursday and Friday practice sessions). I unfortunately missed the Saturday qualifiers, but heard they were fairly entertaining, with Schumacher qualifying for the final race in 9th, and Piquet somewhere around 12th. Buemi missed out on the top 15 altogether, which was noteworthy in that his teammates racing Intrepid karts did a lot better, locking out the front row.

Sunday's final race was thoroughly enjoyable, though I was disappointed Schumacher had an atrocious start - whereas some racers were picking up as many as 5 or 6 positions, he dropped to eleventh by the first corner, and fought an uphill battle for the remaining 25 laps to get back in contention. Incredibly enough, Piquet Jr did a lot better, managing to work his way up and actually slotting in right behind Schumacher by the halfway point of the race. Buemi stayed roughly where he started in the back of the pack, until he retired on lap 13. The second half of the race was exciting in that an intense battle for the lead broke out, but unfortunately neither Schu nor Piquet were in contention - they picked up some positions due to some retirements ahead of them, and ended up finishing 7th and 8th.

I would say the highlight of the weekend for an F1 fan such as myself was how easy it was to get close to the Formula One drivers. Buemi and Piquet were by their karts in the Intrepid team garage for most of the day, which was not cordoned off! I was able to walk right in, and had a nice chat with both of them! What a contrast to a Formula One event, where this would have been absolutely impossible (though it has to be said that all F1 fans were crowding around Schumi's garage area all weekend)! Buemi seemed genuinely happy to chat to the handful of fans that came in and actually knew who he was. Piquet seemed less outgoing, neither talking much, nor seeming too excited to be there.

Schumi's garage area with the TonyKart team was somewhat different - expecting the place to get crowded, the team put up cordons around the entire place, along which fans started gathering right from when the gates opened in the morning. About two hours prior to the Supepro driver introductions, Schu fans were lined up three deep around the garage, although there was no sight of Michael himself (he spent most of the day in the Tonykart motorhome). He did finally come into the garage shortly before he was due out on track for the driver introductions, and was then escorted straight out to the track and back for the main Superpro race. He did come back about two hours after the race was over, and spent almost an hour signing autographs and exchanging some banter with the gathered fans (my favorite: "Hey, Schu, how's Ralf doing?" answer: "I have no idea, actually.") It definitely seemed impressive to me that he would devote that much time to spend with the fans - I overheard someone say he did the same thing during qualifying on Saturday.

It was definitely an enjoyable event for a Formula One fan - nowhere else are you going to get so close to F1 drivers so easily! Not sure if they plan another event like this in the future, but if so, I'd highly recommend it!!!

Live: Abu Dhabi - Qualifying

So far, it has been a pretty dull weekend in terms of track action. There have been a few spins (Grosjean), and some drivers dominating (Hamilton) but qualifying may be where the weekend really starts.

Weather Update

Hmm, what is the weather like? Well, it's still hot, obviously, but starting to get dark again. That didn't seem to affect the drivers too much yesterday but perhaps today when the pressure is on, it might.

One to Watch

Buemi did a fine job during FP3 and led for some of the session whilst his teammate sat in the garage waiting for his car to be fixed. Seb didn't finish on top, but look for him in Q3.

Predictions Please

Will anyone crash spectacularly? Will the pitlane exit cause any trouble? Who will be on pole? Will we lose any big names during the first session? Will it rain? Nah, just messing with that one.

Live: Brazil - Free Practice 3

It was a mixed day yesterday with the rain we expected not quite appearing in its great volumes. Free Practice 3 will be our first real indicator of qualifying.

Weather Update

Supposedly it is going to pour with rain in Brazil today, but there was talk of that yesterday and we saw little. The chances are more likely now, but we shall see.

One to Watch

Buemi had quite the day yesterday, with a crash in FP1, moving on to leading most of the afternoon session. He was knocked off the top spot by Alonso, can he make up for it today?

Predictions Please

I have given up asking for weather predictions because even the experts don't know. Who will end the morning on top? What will this session mean for qualifying?

Japan 2009 - Free Practice 3 Results

Finally some dry running, but an unusual bit of contact in the first few minutes. Buemi led for quite a lot of the session, but it was Trulli's session to shine.

Live: Hungary - The Race

After the highs and lows of yesterday, we're hoping the race is at least a little bit calmer. Great racing required though, to see us through the summer break.

Weather Update

After a cooler day in qualifying yesterday, it is really hot at the Hungaroring today. Will the Brawn's finally be able to get their tyres to work.

One to Watch

Buemi is promoted up the grid, and starts with his own choice of fuel load. Toro Rosso are usually way at the back, so it will be interesting to see if he can get into the mix.

Predictions Please

Will Hungary produce another new winner? Will it be a Brawn resurgance? Will the temperature affect anything? Will there be any Safety Car periods? What can Alonso do?

Daily: 18th May 2009

We've had a pretty good, relaxing weekend at Sidepodcast Towers. Always busy, but nothing hectic, so we approach this week with trepidation. The Monaco GP weekend is fast approaching and the schedules will be mixed up with Free Practice on a Thursday. That's in the future though, today we've been discussing:

• We live streamed a recording of F1 Debrief yesterday. Apologies to anyone who thought there wasn't going to be a show. I did mention it in yesterday's daily thread, but it may not have been enough warning. We tend to do things at the last minute round here, but you can always catch the replay and the edited version should be up later today.
• It looks like Singapore are struggling to get the bookings they saw last year, with Business Times reporting that some of the big hotels have only a 30% occupancy rate for the F1 weekend. Many of the hotels are extending their earlybird booking schemes to try and encourage more trade.
• Red Bull ran through the streets of Hungary today, (as mentioned in the debrief above, and in F1 Minute yesterday) with Vettel in the RBR show car, and Buemi trying his hand at driving a NASCAR. For all intents and purposes, he didn't really like it, saying it was too heavy and didn't turn well. They don't have to though, do they?

That's all for now, please keep the news and thoughts coming, we love to hear what you're up to. I'll see you in the comments.

Fantasy Racers Reminder - Spain

I'm going to be brutally honest this week and say that my normal plan of watching Free Practice and making my decisions didn't go to plan. I could only check in on the FP action occasionally, so I wasn't really aware of who was doing well and who wasn't. This is a pain as the European season has shaken things up again, and we're not really sure who's going to do well.

That being the case, I'm overly cautious going into the Spanish Grand Prix and have only made one change. I got fed up of Rosberg fooling me into thinking he was going to do well so I've taken him out and replaced him with Buemi. This may be a hasty decision, but I felt like taking a risk. The rest of my line up remains the same.

The prices are correct at the time of writing. I have no money left over this week (and I still think we should get bonus points for that rather than for having a million or two at the end of the selection process. My team value is 54.1.

Don't forget, the deadline for last minute changes to your team is 5pm BST (4pm GMT, 12pm EST). You can still sign up for a team if you haven't already, and join the Sidepodcast league - all the information you need is here. Once you've made your mind up, let us know who you're going for and what strategy you're employing.

If You Can't Beat It, Fake It

I know a lot of people have managed to avoid being sucked into the land of Twitter, and I applaud you. I also suggest you do not continue to read this post as it's another one of those annoying blog entries about how cool fitting things into 140 characters is.

Sidepodcast has had a love/hate relationship with the Twitterverse for a while, ever since March 2007 where we signed up thinking it would be nothing more than a fad. Two years, and a brief trip to Identica and back, and it's fair to say we are hooked.

Twitter is useful for connecting to users when the site fails, for discussing things outside Sidepodcast's scope (as if there is such a thing anymore), and for finding out useful snippets from other people. James Allen and Lee McKenzie are often sources of paddock gossip, and it's good to discuss F1 with an entirely different set of people.

Recently, a new genre of Twitter has emerged and it is 100% proud to be fake. Posing as Formula 1 drivers, team bosses, and F1 big-wigs, the fake Twitterers are gradually taking over. At first, the number of microposts was overwhelming, but as the novelty has now died down, we're seeing some fabulous gems cropping up.

Here's an example of a conversation I had with Fake Jarno Trulli:

FJT - I listen to your podcast on plane to Bahrain (I made a rhyme!), it is excellent, but needs more Jarno in it!
mrschristine - Ah. We will possibly need to see more crashes like at Shanghai then. They're good for a few minutes discussion.
FJT - Pah, I will give you something far better, a win! No more crashing for Jarno!
mrschristine - If you win, promise to make you a special jingle and everything.
FJT - Hooray! As I said to my engineer a few years back in Turkey, 'I'm a pushing like a hell!' That's how much I'm going for it!

Then Trulli took pole position, and I told myself not to make anymore rash promises on Twitter.

Mr C also had a good conversation with Fake Sebastien Buemi when the (fake) Swiss joined the site:

FSB - Not impressed with @sidepodcast laughing at me: http://is.gd/rN7d (1:08 in) nooooo.
sidepodcast - you almost linked to the right one, you were so close, three episodes out... nooooo

Of course, the fake universe may not be everyone's cup of tea, and I don't think all of it is worth paying attention to. But occasionally there are snippets of genius, and let's face it, it's the closest we're going to get to chatting with an F1 driver on Twitter.

A full list of the fake drivers and company is available here and I recommend following one or two, if only to watch from a safe distance. I'm wondering if it's only a matter of time before we start to see more fake accounts. Fake Sidepodcast, anyone?