March 2013 recap - Getting ready to rhumble - All our off-season preparations lead to the start of a mega season

Published 3 April 2013 by Christine

Formula One finally returned to our screens, with new drivers and new strategies playing out in front of our eyes. A couple of early flyaway races meant early starts for us in the UK, but plenty of action to keep us entertained, as the teams come to terms with F1 2013 style.

Formula One in March

After two full and action-packed race weekends, it's hard to believe that at the very beginning of March we were still in the midst of testing. Three final days of preparation in Spain, before the season began at last in Melbourne.

Date	Event
1-3 Mar	Barcelona test - part 2: Day two / Day three / Day four
17 Mar	Australian Grand Prix
24 Mar	Malaysian Grand Prix

Sidepodcast in March

With the number of podcasts this month a little higher than in previous recap editions (see below), updates to the site were on the smaller side. Good things come in small packages, though, and we made a few bits and pieces a lot easier to read and generally better looking.

Firstly, the featured articles on the homepage were in danger of being lost and overshadowed, tucked away in the corner like they were. Now they stand loud and proud with a fancier looking list, and a bonus picture as well.

The Factbyte Factbox returned with a bang in Albert Park, and has so far been available for both qualifying sessions and both races with minute by minute, lap by lap coverage. In an effort to keep improving the FBFB, we debuted some new crisper, cleaner graphics that should stand out more when browsing the live blog for key events.

There's still more on the way, as the site-tweaking never stops.

Shows in March

A busy month of shows - we had a pre-season catch up with Joe Saward followed by a bonus talk with him after the first race too. Feet Up Friday provided some entertainment going into the weekends, and the hard-working community got together to make their predictions for the season as well.

Features in March

We launched two brand new features this month, with Will on top technical form with his Tech Spec column. Here, you can delve deeper into the designs and concepts that go into making an F1 car go faster. Stuart also debuted a new artistic feature, turning his comic cartoons into a classic column. Postcards from F1 gives you a sneak peek at the things you may have missed from each race weekend.

Ryan brought back his 107 Per Cent feature for the new season, with a brand new outlook. HRT's disappearance means the pressure is on both Caterham and Marussia to deliver where other backmarkers have failed. My very own Midfield Monitor column returned with a few thoughts on the strange appearance of McLaren in the middle of the pack.

Adam's excellent off-season work continued in the build up to the season, with a couple more of his top five countdowns. He looked at which drivers struggle with the pressure of F1, as well as who could be the best driver in 2013. Then, of course, it was time for the more traditional Class of the Field race roundups, starting with Australia, and keeping up with Malaysia.

Posts in March

Lots of posts on the site this week, and in between all the more regular results and scheduled posts were some gems. Amy's run around Albert Park, a look at a dancing pit crew, as well as Christine's Rankings updates and more.