Ahead of the 2012 Formula 1 season, we are launching a brand new section on Sidepodcast, created to allow in-depth and expansive content to shine through on a regular basis. Unlike existing posts such as this one, Features will deliver a known level of content on an expected date. You might equate a feature to that of a column found in a traditional magazine.

Features (or columns if you prefer) also differ from existing posts in that they are more oriented around the author that writes them. Each feature is 'owned' by a certain author, and it will be easy to follow the work of those you especially enjoy reading.

Christine has started the ball rolling with her first feature, Midfield Monitor, which will track the progress of teams farther down the grid for the course of the season. Her debut article examines the type of names you might expect to appear between now and November. With the exception of this first article, Midfield Monitor will appear on the last Monday of every month, until the end of the year.

Read all about it

We've spent a great deal of time working on page layout and formatting to ensure a distraction free reading experience on any device you have to hand. Whether it is the large screen sitting on your desk, or a small screen you hold in your hand, the clean look and feel of Sidepodcast means you can take your time absorbing and enjoying content.

For many years this site has been free from third-party advertising, meaning there are no annoying animated banners to catch your eye or distract you mid-sentence. This lack of advertising also means pages load incredibly fast, over even the poorest of connections. At nearly 2,000 words, Christine's first article is longer than most things you'll have read in the past on this site, but hopefully it won't feel that way.

Do the write thing

We know from past experience that there are a fine collection of incredibly talented people following Formula 1, and back in July of last year after we floated the idea of columns when daily posts came to an end. It's taken longer that expected to release this new section on Sidepodcast, but if you're interested in having your own column, please get in touch in the usual ways or in the comments below.

Features don't even need to be all about the words either - artists, photographers, cinematographers and more are all welcome. If there's interest, we'll likely prioritise F1 themed content over anything else (especially those dependant on the start of the season), but there is room for everybody.

Finally, be sure to look out for more updates once the season gets underway. The calendar almost got the better of us this week, and we didn't manage to get every thing we wanted into today's update. In the meantime enjoy the Midfield Monitor.