Website speedtest (the sequel)

Measuring page load time once again

13/11/2016 by Mr. C

Digging through the archives, Christine found an old video comparison we created to compare page load times between this site and a number of others. Back in 2010 sidepodcast.com fared well against the competition with a load time of approximately three seconds. For fun we recreated the test to see if we have improved at all.

Day One - Motorsport Manager madness

Virtually hopeless in reality

11/08/2016 by Mr. C

With interest in eSports at an all time high and a brand new Formula 1 game about to launch, Sidepodcast takes to Twitch to live stream some motorsport gaming action. Beginning with a brand new season of Motorsport Manager we position ourselves on the virtual pitwall aiming to take Matrix Management to the upper echelons of racing history.

The price is rights

Selling F1 by the pound

24/03/2016 by Mr. C

Do you know what television will look like in 2024? Could you say for certain how the general populous will choose to consume their media eight long years from now? Can you predict the path of live streaming technology or media trends nearly a decade away?

Up for promotion

A new means of sharing audio content

31/01/2016 by Mr. C

One of the trickiest challenges we've long struggled with at Sidepodcast HQ, is the promotion of feature length podcasts in the social media era. With shows averaging an hour in length and no logical means of splitting them up, audio remains a tricky medium to generate buzz around.

Captain scarlett

Recording shows on the move

08/11/2015 by Mr. C

After many years of mostly average service, our much maligned audio recording interface finally stopped functioning. A modest software upgrade rendered its ageing connections obsolete and it became clear to all, we had to move on.

An unplanned gap year

Dealing with a self-imposed stop and go

10/03/2015 by Mr. C

Just days from the start of a brand new F1 season, it has become unquestionably clear that the two of us are not remotely ready for race one. Wildly unprepared and massively behind schedule, I cannot foresee any way we could competently cover the opening Grand Prix. It's time to take a break.

Faster for the feed of sound

Updating the backbone of podcasting

08/03/2015 by Mr. C

In preparation the 2015 season, we've spent a little time tweaking our behind-the-scenes website code. One subtle but important change made since last year relates to the way we're handling news and podcast feeds. Admittedly the finer detail of processing syndication updates is about the last thing most F1 fans will want to read about less than a week before the first track action of the year, but timing was never our strong point.

The genuine article

Can F1's worst news abuser clean up its act?

02/03/2015 by Mr. C

Arguably one of the biggest shocks during the past few months of Formula One downtime was unrelated to anything a driver or a team has said or done. Back in February the F1 editor of one of motosport's biggest online brands dropped a media bombshell and announced he would be leaving Autosport in May. Jonathan Noble decided to follow several of his colleagues to rival website Motorsport.com.

Talkin' bout a revolution

Moving F1 interviews outside the circuit

24/01/2015 by Mr. C

Ferrari's new man in charge Maurizio Arrivabene may have only been in the hot seat for five minutes, but he has already managed to make an impression. This week Arrivabene tabled one of the best suggestions for an improvement to Formula One I've heard in years. Cynics will no doubt already be listing out all the reasons why his suggestion is untenable, for the moment at least I want to believe.

Team standings - Germany 2014

Williams jump to third, leave Ferrari in their wake

20/07/2014 by Mr. C

Despite major technical changes to chassis suspension setup this weekend, the performance of each team appeared to vary little. Mercedes continue to waltz off into the distance, dropping only the bare minimum of points on Sunday, while behind them defending champions Red Bull do their utmost to maintain the gap to third.

Driver standings - Germany 2014

Hamilton minimises points damage thanks to strong drive in Hockenheim

20/07/2014 by Mr. C

The titanic scrap at the top of the table eased slightly this weekend thanks to Lewis Hamilton's struggles during qualifying. Nico Rosberg moves 14 points clear of his teammate and closest rival thanks to today's emphatic home win. But it could easily have been so much worse given Lewis' 20th place starting slot.

Race results - Germany 2014

Rosberg walks it as Hamilton demonstrates Mercedes rapid pace

20/07/2014 by Mr. C

While the threat of incoming rain never materialised, the German Grand Prix managed to deliver compelling racing action from beginning to end. Nico Rosberg's position at the front of the field was never challenged, but behind him drivers fought doggedly for every available point and position.

Rate the race - Canada 2014

Evaluating the coverage, the stewarding, the driving and more

09/06/2014 by Mr. C

Formula One provided a compelling and at times exhausting 100 minutes or so of entertainment for fans this weekend. On a weekend where the Grand Prix was confirmed for another 10 years, for once it was perhaps right to believe the hype. Or maybe it wasn't? It's your turn to let us and everyone else know how the Canadian GP faired in your eyes.

Team standings - Canada 2014

Red Bull put a stop to Mercedes domination

08/06/2014 by Mr. C

At last a team other than Mercedes managed to win a race this year and it was defending champions Red Bull who took the honours. The promise of full power from Renault, plus a minor misstep on the part of Mercedes positioned the soft drinks team on the top step. A first and a third for Red Bull has enabled the gap at the top to close for the first time this year.

Driver standings - Canada 2014

Rosberg puts distance between himself and Hamilton

08/06/2014 by Mr. C

It was almost a worst case scenario situation for Lewis Hamilton in Canada today as he failed to finish the race, while teammate Nico Rosberg stretched his championship lead yet further. The only positive must have been seeing the remaining hobbled Mercedes limp home second rather than first.

Race results - Canada 2014

Ricciardo gets the better of Mercedes

08/06/2014 by Mr. C

Just when it looked like Mercedes were unbeatable this season, their two cars ran into power problems which offered Daniel Ricciardo just enough incentive to go for gold. The Australian did exactly that, scoring his debut F1 win in front of a joyously packed Canadian house.

Race highlights - Canada 2014

Lap-by-lap live text coverage of an amazing race

08/06/2014 by Mr. C

The Canadian Grand Prix promised a lot, yet delivered even more. There was drama from the first corner of the first lap, until the first corner of the last lap. Reliability was the watchword of the day as the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve proved ultimate test for teams who very recently believed they had conquered early season problems.

Starting grid - Canada 2014

Caterham and Sauber make changes, incur penalties

08/06/2014 by Mr. C

It's all change at the back of the grid as Kamui Kobayashi's car required a gearbox change, while Esteban Gutiérrez's car needed a new car. The Caterham driver receives a five place drop, which knocks him from the lofty heights of 20th all the way down to 21st.

Qualifying results - Canada 2014

Rosberg makes it two poles in a row

07/06/2014 by Mr. C

You could have bet the farm on Lewis Hamilton bagging pole position on Saturday in Canada. The Mercedes driver has put distance between himself and his rivals in all but one practice session this weekend, it is a circuit he always goes well at and he was visibly keen to put the frustration of second place in Monaco firmly behind him. Yet against all odds it was Hamilton's team mate Nico Rosberg that took first blood around the tight and bumping Montreal race track.

Qualifying highlights - Canada 2014

An epic session throws up a surprise pole sitter in Montreal

07/06/2014 by Mr. C

A gorgeous summer's day welcomed the great and the good of F1 for qualifying in Canada. Out on track the racing action was just as hot, with drivers delivering an unexpectedly exciting hour of entertainment. Fans played witness to poor examples of driving and brilliant examples of driving in almost equal measure.