March 2014 recap - The month the Debrief returned - As the new F1 season arrived, we dusted off the mics and got talking
Published by Christine
F1 finally returned in March, the long-awaited 2014 season began and we finally got to see what all the fuss was about. At the same time, we managed to ramp up our podcasting schedule by bringing back the F1 Debrief in a new and improved form. There was a lot of activity on the site over the past month, so here's what you might have missed.
Formula One in March
It seems an age ago now, but the final two days of pre-season testing were completed in Bahrain in March. That gave teams just a couple of weeks to prepare for the season proper, and we managed to squeeze in two of the nineteen races this month.
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| 1 Mar | Red Bull manage half a lap in penultimate Bahrain test day |
| 2 Mar | Engine failures dominate final day of pre-season testing |
| 16 Mar | Australian Grand Prix |
| 30 Mar | Malaysian Grand Prix |
F1Minute in March
The news increased tenfold this month, with drivers and teams descending on Australia and Malaysia and kicking off the 2014 season. Hand-picking what was important was tricky, as was condensing the key information from a couple of packed races down to just sixty seconds.
- Caterham complete three Friday practice laps in Australia
- Dennis admits comeback to ensure Magnussen seat
- Dickie Stanford steps down as race team manager of Williams
- Ferrari feeling positive after Free Practice in Sepang
- The FIA admit new nose designs weren't what they intended
- FIA confirm hearing date for Red Bull fuel flow appeal
- First pole for Hamilton in rain-hit qualifying
- Hamilton makes it two for two with Malaysia pole position
- Lotus promote Federico Gastaldi to deputy team principal
- McLaren reveal one-off new livery for Australia
- Mercedes dominate as Magnussen earns a trophy
- Mercedes score first 1-2 finish since 2010 comeback
- Pirelli confirm single step compound difference for Australia
- Red Bull to appeal Daniel Ricciardo's disqualification
- Teams run out of track time as testing draws to a close
- Team tyre days are confirmed for mid-season testing
- Williams believe team orders row is resolved
- Williams sign title partner Martini to "put the stripes back on the grid"
Shows in March
As you'll have no doubt noticed, F1 Debrief made a return this month. The show that used to delve in depth into race weekends has now expanded into more topics but condensed into a shorter show. It's allowing us more flexibility and a quicker publishing schedule, and we love it!
- An Aside with Joe - Saying nothing is not promotion
- F1 Debrief - Don't tell me, tell Sidepodcast!
- F1 Debrief - Infamous for predictioning
- F1 Debrief - Massa is super quick... to judge
- F1 Debrief - Williams have bagged them all
Sidepodcast in March
Development came to an abrupt stop when the racing began, but before the lights went out in Australia, we just had time to finalise some huge projects.
The first involved a tidy up of the entire Sidepodcast archives, something only a crazy person would have attempted. Scattered through the history of the site were all kinds of various codes and errors, and a two year project to clean it all up finally came to its conclusion. We celebrated by writing even more posts and recording more podcasts!
We also updated the F1 Encyclopedia so that it picks up all the great content from F1Minute and F1 Big Picture, now they have been brought in to the Sidepodcast fold. The text in the encyclopaedia has also been updated for the new season, with teams, drivers and expanded personnel sections.
Finally, just in time for the first race information post and Factbyte Factbox coverage, new weather graphics were released, featuring new imagery, new colours and a clearer layout. With Bahrain being a night race this year, we only had to wait three races before seeing the moon graphics too!
Features in March
Our hardest working feature writer is Adam, who has jumped back into the 2014 season in style, with the return of his Class of the Field column. Reviewing the drivers who put in the best performances on a Sunday, Adam picks out those who shone for all to see, and some of the better drivers that you might have missed.
For Australia, there was talk of the rookie driver Kevin Magnussen, whilst the Malaysian review took a closer look at the performance of race winner Lewis Hamilton, as well as what is going on at Lotus.
Posts in March
Christine's Rankings continued unabated this month, celebrating the good, the bad and the weird of off-track activities for our drivers. We also had a look at more social stuff from the teams, a couple of reviews, and those oh-so-important season predictions.
- A normal guy's introduction into karting
- F1 teams on Pinterest
- Fast, fearless, victorious - Christine's Rankings, Week 3
- Have you got a... oh, driver! - Christine's Rankings, Week 4
- I predict a riot
- Making a brew for the mechanics - Christine's Rankings, Week 2
- Official F1 App comes to the iPhone and iPad
- Pick and mix - Busy schedules in Sepang
- Pick and mix - F1's auspicious start in Australia
- Ricciardo excluded from GP results after fuel error
- Take five - Fresh Friday faces
- Take five - McLaren's potential fight back
- Take five - Race stars: The rivals
- Take five - Reliability to the fore
- Take five - The Red bull challenge
- There can be only '1'
- Tomorrow's world
- Won't be doing that again in a hurry - Christine's Rankings, Week 5
Hidden gems in March
We were eagerly anticipating the return of the Formula One season, but just managed to squeeze in a Sidepodcast Hangout to send the winter off in style. We also enjoyed a full twelve hours of racing in Sebring, and waved goodbye to the brilliant championship Crashed Ice. Finally, Lukeh helped us welcome the new IndyCar season in with a dedicated thread.
There were a lot of videos released in the build up to the first race in Australia, but my particular favourite was the conversation between Vettel and Ricciardo, very intriguing relationship developing there. Ahead of the Malaysian Grand Prix, I was very happy to see Professor Nico start to explain this crazy sport in more detail. Also, a final quick shout-out for The Pat & Susie show. Love it.
This year, I'm posting all the best articles, posts and items to read in a handy collection using the Readlists service. You can grab the collection and export it to an ebook reader of your choice in a variety of formats.
