Although it was raining in Jerez yesterday, it was intermittent and that meant we saw a good bit of running, even if it wasn't representative of anything. Virgin Racing are still struggling, and they are who I am keeping my eye on today. I hope you'll join me in the dedicated testing thread to do the same (or similar for whichever team you're interested in). Elsewhere:
We're also keeping an eye out for any US F1 related news, as the rumour mill is really hotting up that there are bad vibes coming from Peter Windsor and the team. There is nothing concrete, and it's all speculation at the moment, but this is a similar feeling to the one's that happened before Honda and before Toyota.
In better news, KerbRider gave us some more thoughts on the upcoming season in another great guest post - this time focusing on the relationships between the drivers in the four teams we'll all be watching closely. There are some interesting thoughts in there, and it's well worth a read. The inter-team relationships are going to be super important this year, I think.
We were curious why Lotus ran Fauzy on their first day of testing, particularly as Heikki was at Jerez, tweeting away from the garage. Apparently, the car lacked some power steering though, so perhaps Heikki didn't want to bother when the car wasn't going to be setup right? Either way, the new team did really well, certainly won the battle of the new boys in terms of first day of testing!
Dan Brunell has published this week's Thursday Thoughts question and it's a tough one. Head on over to his site for more detail, and leave a comment or blog your response before the end of today. Don't forget to plug like crazy if you take part.
That should do it for now. Let us know what you're up to, and how you're coping with horrible Thursday, and I will see you in the comments.
Following the discovery of the Stefan GP website earlier this week, and their advertisement for F1 personnel, we were a bit surprised at their openness in the job descriptions. The English isn't the best, and they also offer up a fantastic line that is bordering on the unethical:
Slightly advantage if you are ex Toyota F1!
So, this week's Friday Fun pays homage to the F1 team who have no grid slot, Stefan GP. If you were the boss of an F1 team, how would you advertise for new staff? What would you specify in the job description?
I have already touched on this a little bit in my Thursday Thoughts answer this week, where I decided:
My wish list is actually quite a simple one - I only want drivers in my team who are on Twitter, and use it a lot. The added communication, the contact with the fans, the feeling of inclusion in events is something that is extremely valuable to a team. Just ask Mr C how he feels about Claire Williams after watching her Twitter feed all week.
That's the rule. Tweet and you're in. What requirements or requests do you have for your potential employees?
The last F1 team to launch a new car online were Toyota back in 2009. This year Virgin Racing are flying that virtual flag, by announcing details of their new VR-01 chassis design online on Wednesday morning.
Credit: Virgin Racing
The Virgin Racing livery in all its red and black detail.
Today will offer the public a first look at a new car from a new team, as Virgin Racing become the first of Formula 1's new entrants, to debut a chassis. The VR-01 has been making headlines in the run up to the launch because it has been designed solely in the virtual world using CFD technology.
The online launch begins at 10:00 GMT and can be seen on the official homepage virginracing.com. It will be of particular interest to see how the shape of the car, created by Wirth Research, compares to traditional teams efforts.
Credit: Virgin Racing
Video: 5Live's David Croft presents a fantastic behind the scenes look at the launch photo shoot.
Virgin Racing Technical Director, Nick Wirth:
"I have been fortunate to have worked with the very best designers in F1 and I am well aware of exactly what it takes to be successful in this sport. When you see what the existing teams have achieved using the conventional but proven design approach, it is unsurprising that there is a great deal of scepticism about our all-CFD approach. But we are competing in a sport that is undergoing significant change having come face to face with today’s harsh economic realities."
Credit: Virgin Racing
A side view of the Virgin Racing VR-01.
Following this mornings launch, the car is expected to under go a two day shakedown at Silverstone.
This week we talk about goodbye videos, terrible lighting, spy photography, digital subscriptions, tweeting, Fantasy Racing and British accents.
Intro
It was incredibly busy this week with a grand total of five launches, and with more to come plus testing, there's plenty to discuss.
Good Week / Bad Week
Good week for Toyota leaving us with a fantastic video to sum up their time in the sport, and also for US F1 who finally got around to confirming their first driver... by proxy. Bad week for the F1 Calendar though, as Abu Dhabi want to keep their grip on the season finale, and for Kimi Raikkonen who smashed into a tree during his first rally of the year.
News and Views
We cover all the launches we've experienced so far, starting with Mercedes. Bad lighting, a wonky live stream and no actual new car didn't really get us off to a good start. Ferrari were next with an even worse stream, but a new car, and a tweaked livery. McLaren showed them all how it was done, though, with a stream that worked, a fascinating insight into how the team is going to work, a new car and bloggers in attendance. We listen to a voicemail from Adie who was present at the launch.
Sauber and Renault launched on the eve of the first pre-season test in Valencia, and whilst the BMW-Sauber was bereft of sponsors and a bit bland on the livery front, Renault took the opposite tack and turned up with a new bumble bee paint job.
We assessed each livery and assigned a score out of 10 for each one, for easy comparison:
Team Launch
Christine's Score
Mr C's Score
Mercedes
3
4
Ferrari
6
4
Williams
0
6
McLaren
8
6
Sauber
2
4
Renault
2
4
We also quickly mention the fantastic news about the Autosport magazine going digital, plus some Ted News and a particular Twitter update.
Feedback
Lukeh kicks off the feedback section with a Tremayne about the constant regulation changes. Then we discuss the new Fantasy Racers league, my pronunciation, some jokes, Monaco Baby, accents and mankinis, testing and the Sidepodcast calendar.
Housekeeping
We finish with a quick mention of our brand new Twitter page, as linked below.
Coming up on this week's show, we discuss Flavio Briatore, US F1, testing, rankings, tyres, pit stops and shortcuts.
Intro
Welcome to 2010! Is that two thousand and ten, or twenty ten?
Good Week / Bad Week
Good times for Jenson Button and Ross Brawn as they are honoured by the Queen, and for Toyota as they are eyed up by Zoran Stefanovich. Bad times for safety as Abu Dhabi aren't changing very much at all, and for headline grabbing news items that don't really tell us much at all.
News and Views
There's a lot of news to cover this week, as we get started with Flavio Briatore's overturned ban, and Renault's team principal replacement - Eric Boullier, Mr C's new best friend!
Meanwhile, Mercedes have a new sponsor, and a new driver who is already up to tricks by testing out a GP2 car. The new teams are trying to prove Bernie's doubts wrong, and Peter Windsor is stirring up a hornet's nest with his thoughts on the summer shutdown, whilst US F1 are simultaneously getting extra tests.
Mr C manages to get through the segment about the Castrol Driver Rankings without swearing - a first, and we discuss Ted's thoughts on the strategies for 2010, and Bernie's ideas for taking a shortcut.
Feedback
Four excellent messages - one putting us straight about CFD, one happy to hear the history from Steven, one worried about the sheer number of comments appearing on the site, and the final one concerned about a seatless Heidfeld.
Housekeeping
We tried out some F1 Minute video, and the experiment is mostly halted but slightly ongoing at the same time. Our first 2010 show wasn't live but the server will be back bigger and better - or so says Mr C.
Gather round as our Sidepodcast listeners and commentors take to their microphones to bring you a round up of the 2009 season. All the major points are covered, with insight into the Brawn success, the Toyota failure, and everyone in between.
Hello and welcome to the penultimate episode of our F1 Advent Calendar 2009. We have been peering behind a door on each day of advent, and discovering the story of a key moment from the year. It’s Christmas Eve, which means it must be time for Day Twenty-Four - Fight or Flight.
The Brazilian Grand Prix had barely got underway before there were drivers colliding with each other. Kovalainen and Vettel had a bit of a tangle, and a couple of corners later, Trulli and Sutil had a coming together. My goodness, that was the start of something. Trulli was attempting to overtake the Force India, but managed to tap the rear of the car, both cars spun off, one each side of the track. Sutil's car went flying into the grass before returning to the circuit into the path of Fernando Alonso, who was duly knocked out of the race. The three drivers exited their cars, and Trulli immediately ran over to Sutil, gesturing wildly.
The safety car was deployed, while the stricken Force India, Toyota and Renault cars were recovered. All three drivers got a ride back to the pit lane, and with Trulli still visibly fuming, their race had come to an end. In the post-race quotes, Jarno said: "I am extremely frustrated by what happened today because I had a very good chance to challenge for the podium... I think there was enough space for both of us to get around the corner." Adrian was having none of it though and in the Force India press release, he said: "Trulli was there on the outside trying to go round. It was a really stupid maneouvre as there was no space and I couldn't see him at all."
Afterward, the stewards investigated the incident, and although there was no action taken on the crash itself, they fined Trulli for his post-race behaviour. He was reprimanded and had to hand over $10,000 as the stewards found his arguments with Sutil to be unsporting. If only they knew what was to come!
The Italian would not let the matter go. During a later interview, he said of the Force India driver's manouevres: "To happen once is a racing accident – we might have a touch or we might bang wheels. But when someone does it deliberately at that speed, this is crazy. It is unacceptable." Sutil kept his head down, defending himself where necessary but otherwise not rising to the Italian's bait.
When the circus turned up to the next race in Abu Dhabi, the FIA wasted no time in arranging Thursday's press conference with Trulli, Sutil and Alonso present, plus Adrian’s nemesis Raikkonen for good measure. When the questions came from the floor, it wasn't long before the incident in Brazil was brought up. Trulli said they were going to discuss what happened in the drivers' briefing, but Sutil didn't think there was anything to be discussed. In response, the Italian said he had photographic evidence of the incident, which he then pulled from his pocket to show to Sutil. "I don’t know if you’re blind but they clearly show you that my front wing is next to your front wing..." to which Sutil responded:"...it was not my problem, it was his problem. I don’t know why he’s freaking out like that, to be honest." The pair continued to argue to the point where Alonso said to Raikkonen: "Shall we go?"
Alan Baldwin was next to ask a question, and he tried to continue the conversation, presumably for the amusement of everyone. However it wasn't to go on much longer, Trulli confirmed: "Just so long as we all know the rules." While Sutil pointed out: "I know the rules." That was how the matter was left in public, and as far as I know, it wasn't brought up again. I would imagine Sutil is not top of Trulli's Christmas Card list though.
That's all for this penultimate episode of our F1 Advent Calendar 2009. Just one more show to go, and that is the big one - Christmas Day. I know you’ll be busy but please remember to listen to our final advent episode - Day Twenty-Five.
Hello and welcome to Sidepodcast's F1 Advent Calendar 2009. This extended mini series is bringing you the highlights of the 2009 season - peering behind a door for each day of advent for another key moment. We're on to Day Twenty-Two - Injury Time.
With just three races left to go, there were still three drivers in contention for the title. Button maintained his lead in front, but Barrichello was closing up and Vettel mathematically still had a chance, albeit very small.
The Japanese Grand Prix weekend started out wet, and the Friday practice sessions were pretty quiet. The notable absentee was Timo Glock, who was taking a day of rest to try and recover from a fever he was suffering from. In his place was GP2 and Toyota test driver Kamui Kobayashi. He finished 19th in FP1 but improved to 12th in the second session.
On Saturday, Glock was back behind the wheel, finishing 14th in the morning practice. Webber crashed heavily towards the end of the session, trashing his car so badly, he couldn't take part in qualifying. Buemi crashed at exactly the same place during qualifying 1, but his mechanics worked super hard to get the car fixed, and the Toro Rosso, which for the first time this season finally had good pace,made it through to the second session.
With Q2 underway, Alguersuari also crashed at the Degner Curve - that's three cars at the same corner now - and he was out of qualifying. Moments later, Glock crashed head on into the barriers at the final corner. His Toyota was buried deep into the barrier, and qualifying was halted while the marshals and medics attended the scene. It took them a long time to get him out of the car, and he was flown to hospital by helicopter, complaining of back pains. He also had a wound on his leg. Worryingly, Glock was taken to the wrong hospital - they weren’t expecting any incoming patients from the circuit, and the helicopter had to take off again soon after. Thankfully it wasn’t too serious an injury, but that reflected very badly on the circuit.
Qualifying continued, with Buemi crashing once again, scraping his way down the barrier of the long straight, leaving debris all over the track. His mechanics deemed that he'd gone a step too far this time, and his car couldn't be repaired. Kovalainen made it four drivers to crash at the Degner Curve, his session over as well. Finally, we learnt that Vettel was on pole.
Glock's leg was strapped and he was released from hospital but he was not cleared to race. He turned up in the paddock anyway to watch from the garage. Toyota requested that Kobayashi be allowed to fill in but the FIA declined, as to participate in a Grand Prix, a driver has to have taken part in at least one session on Saturday.
Vettel won the race, thus keeping himself in contention for the championship. Just.
Although initially, his main injury seemed to be the leg, Glock was ruled unfit to race in Brazil as well. Subsequent tests had revealed a cracked vertebrae that meant he needed more time to recover. This time, Kobayashi participated in all the sessions and got to have a go in the race. He finished 9th and proved himself to be pretty racy and a just little reckless as he went about it.
Abu Dhabi proved to be a similar story for Timo, although the excuses for keeping Kobayashi in the car grew slightly flimsier. Toyota suggested they had conflicted medical opinions on Glock's condition, so for his own safety, they weren't going to let him race. This time, Kobayashi finished sixth picking up some points and again putting on a pretty good show.
Just days later, Toyota pulled out of Formula 1, leaving both Glock and Kobayashi without a seat. Glock subsequently signed up for Manor Grand Prix, now called Virgin Racing. Hopefully, they will let him drive.
That's all for this episode of our F1 Advent Calendar 2009. I hope you will join me again tomorrow, when we open the door for Day Twenty-Three.
Tuesday has dawned, and silly me for thinking the news had ended already. We are just a few days from Christmas now and yet there are still new things to discuss each and every day. Here are some of the things we've got on our list at the moment:
We all thought Petronas had given up on F1 but it seems as though their work within the sport is not over yet - they have signed up with Mercedes as title sponsor. Is it a coincidence that Brawn had very few sponsors, but now they are Mercedes, names are flocking to them? F1 Wolf has some thoughts on this news, plus a mockup of how the car could look next year.
There is also talk of another new Grand Prix as Rome pops its head up to reiterate their plans again. Organisers say that they have a preliminary contract with Bernie, that says he will support the idea. If you've got Bernie on side, what else do you need?
I've just caught up with this interview with Mike Gascoyne which makes for interesting reading. He's quite frank about Toyota, but that is hardly surprising given their past.
That's all for now, keep up the good work in the comments, and I will see you there!
This week's question for Thursday Thoughts was posed by Maverick of Pitlane Fanatic, and relates to comments made by Christian Horner of Red Bull Racing earlier this week. Initially I thought the answer was simple and that this might be a very short post, but maybe there's more to it than that?
Horner suggested on Tuesday that his team were holding back on renewing the contract with existing engine partner Renault, until the outcome of meeting between members of the Formula One Commission next week, was understood. Specifically the topic of interest is engine parity and the team boss is adamant that a means of equalising engine performance within the sport should be found.
Which brings us to this week's question: Is engine parity necessary for 2010?
Nothing Left to Win
I completely understand Christian's stance, and although I don't for one second think he'll ink an engine deal with anyone other than Renault, I am glad he's brought the issue to the public's attention. Ever since the idea of engine homologation was first suggested by the FIA, Christine and I have been dead set against it. Sport at it's most basic level is about competition and standardising any part of that competition, for whatever reason, rarely serves to benefit the sport or those that compete.
Right now engine manufacturers are exiting the sport left, right and center. There may be a number of factors that have instigated such a mass exodus, but can it be entirely coincidental that the one engine manufacturer bucking this trend and investing heavily in Formula 1, is the one who also happens to have built the most competitive engine? The same engine that recently took both the drivers and constructors championships?
In a recent article Auto Motor und Sport noted that this year the Toyota engine was approximately 18hp down on the Mercedes. That equates to a couple of tenths a lap. In the past Toyota could have worked harder, invested more heavily or innovated in unique ways to claw back some of that deficit, but in the midst of an engine freeze their hands are tied.
Power of Goodbye
I have long argued that one of the primary reasons Honda quit this sport is because they knew their homologated engine was a complete lemon. I suspect company culture prevented those involved from openly admitting such a thing, and bailing out of the sport altogether was the lesser evil. Could Brawn have achieved what they did this year under Honda power? I very much doubt it. That engine regularly failed in hot temperatures, which was exactly where the Brawn chassis and tyre combination worked its magic.
Who's to say further tweaking will fair any better?
I believe FIA engine homologation contributed to the demise of Honda. I strongly suspect it had a bearing on Toyota's decision to quit too, while BMW's legendary power advantage just a few years back was likely curtailed by the same restrictions. Add to that mix the spectre of a non-competitive tyre supplier, and the F1 development race exists solely in the domain of the aerodynamics and chassis department. Imagine working in the wind tunnel and being told you first have to claw back a 3/10ths of a second engine deficit before you start, what hope do you really have?
None of this of course answers the initial question, and in part that's because any form of agreed engine parity will simply be a sticky plaster over the gaping homologation wound. Last year Renault were allowed minor engine upgrades for exactly this reason, but clearly they didn't have the desired effect despite all teams agreeing that they would. Who's to say further tweaking will fair any better?
In years gone by, a poor engine would likely cost you a season. In the modern era, you can wipe out five or more and if that's the case you may as well walk away. Parity may offer some small respite, so kudos to Christian for trying, but I suspect exactly the same question will come up again this time next year.
