It's arrived! No more nostalgia from us, we can now look forward to the year ahead with anticipation and I would almost say glee. There is no excuse for quiet F1 news days anymore, either, with launches happening throughout the month, then testing, then the season begins. I get ahead of myself, though. Here's what's going on at the moment.
- Hamilton has made the New Year's honours list, meaning the Queen is bestowing him with an MBE. Although we're questioning some of the awards given out, it has been noted that of the racing drivers given awards, Hamilton seems to have been handed the lowest. Plenty of time for him to become a Sir yet, though.
- Kubica has said that any positive comments about his driving ability through 2008 are all very nice but they don't mean anything. He's got his heart set on the title, and only the title will be good enough. Them's fighting words.
- Scott Woodwiss has come up with a way for us to pass the time if news does slow down. He's set up a Sidepodcast Batracer game. You can join in the fun here, and Scott has written a great guide on the Wiki. We know nothing about Batracer but are prepared to have a go and make fools of ourselves along the way. Join in, won't you?
All that's left to be said is a big Happy New Year to everyone who visits Sidepodcast regularly, or on a more infrequent basis. We love you all, and here's to 2009.
happy new year xxxx
As the Hootenany song goes at the minute
"Dancing in the street"
Happy 2009 everyone :D
Here's to 2009. :)
cheers ollie. all the best sir.
I will have to be off soon as I have to work later on today. Isn't that great - first day of the new year and I have to work. Still, I get time and a half pay and I'm expecting it to be quiet since everyone will likely have hangovers and/or still be asleep so not all bad. :)
night scott, have a good one tomorrow.
Additionally sir, have a nice sleep
I'm not going yet :P Soon, but not yet. ;)
RONS ON!
RON IS ON JOOLS HOLLAND NOW! :D
He wants a double world champion.
Hiring Kimi is he :D
hehehe.
he was quite cool there.
new prediction for the '09 season, kovi won't last the season. he has zero support in that team.
Had another thought about LH... he's done a 'bunk' overseas hasn't he? Could that too have, um, noooo surely not!
What about his race engineer?
maybe, but does his race engineer have any support. kovi really is the next rubens.
i gotta be careful though. best not break my new year's resolution 18mins into '09 :)
True.
So in actual fact he's going to stay there for another 5 years before switching to a lesser team that has done well up until that point, will slowly slide down the grid and after 3 seasons there will have his career unexpectedly ended?
Happy new year sidepodders ^^
happy new year to you papa smurf.
I find it best to either make a resolution that cannot possibly be broken until the 31st December or to break it straight away.
Happy New Year folks,
here's to an (even) better one
All those lying in bed tomorrow morning, spare a thought for us poor shift workers :)
I'll be doing my boozing on Saturday (so may make little sense on Sunday if I'm around these parts)
SidePodHugs to all
Hmmm - like the one that you made that you wouldn't make one?
When did I do that?
Hahahahaha! Hilarious! :P
Couple of great videos for you guys to check out
First a video of an RTL report about F1 2009 which has a moving diagram of how the KERS will work.
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=yoOoC0zrewA&feature=related
And second, remember that amazing BBC F1 2009 "inspiration" video some guy did? Well, he's done a slightly modified second version!
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=Dtms1IppbPg&feature=channel_page
Comment in moderation. First one of 2009. *sigh* :/
Happy New Year all and remember when you've had too much to drink and you're done worshiping at the porcelain altar and then you wake up in the morning with a massive hangover (been there done that) you need to have a very big breakfast (got my supplies) to soak up all that nasty alcohol in your system. Happy New Year once again less than 7 1/2 hours to go for us here and the drinking begins.
It's like having our very own time machine.
From the West Coast then, Aitch? Enjoy yourselves! :D
Ooo so are you in the sunny bit or the wet/cold/bleurgh bit??
I just love that word: bleurgh. :P
From BC and it's going to be a very good night.
Hmmm. Got quiet a bit there. Good on you, Aitch! :)
So that's either British Columbia or you're very old.
Hahaha! Surely, that's British Columbia? :P
I'm confused why iplayer is saying bbc one is showing The Terminal atm but on bbc one it's actually showing Risky Business...
is it programmed by microsoft?
i'll stop now.
hahaha
Apparently all the 30GB Zunes will work again tomorrow, i.e. both of them. :)
any idea what was up with the pair?
Something to do with the Leap Year apparently...
Yes that's British Columbia and I'm positive that I'll be feeling very old by the end of the evening, you know can't drink like one did wnen one was in his teens, oh how I envy the young.
A regional thing maybe or is it that The Terminal is more family friendly?
The Terminal is on tonight (Thurs 1st)
someone has just told me The Terminal is being shown this evening.... I think iplayer is confused...
tis a very good thing actually :) cause i've wanted to see that film for a while now.
Goodniight all Catch you later on. Bed time now, work tomorrow...
Work on New Years Day? Darn. G'night, Andy. :)
we gotta sleep to. night all.
Working on New Years Day that's gotta bite. Goodnight to everybody who's off to bed.
6 1/2 and counting.
You see what alcohol does to you kids that's 5 1/2 hours. Well off to get another beverage.
Happy New Year
I first came across SidePodCast by accident I had just bought an iPod and my brother tells me that I should download podcasts, so I start downloading F1 podcasts. I found that as good as some podcasts were they took them themselves too seriously except for maybe Negative Camber and Grace at Formula 1 Blog. Then I came across the SPC podcast around the Singapore GP then came the discovery of the website and I've been hooked ever since. SPC is the future of podcasting with the Daily Posts and the F1 Minute the live commentating as well as the live Sunday broadcasts, vive le sidepodcast. The first thing I do when I get home from work is fire up the laptop and read the the comments, this is what Speedvision was for me before they thought NASCAR was the definition of motor racing. SPC is where I go for F1 news thanks to Mr. & Mrs C and everybody in the comments you are keeping those of on this side of the North American border informed on F1, damn Nascar and bloody yanks. My apologies if I offeneded anyone. Keep up the excellent work you guys are doing at SPC Towers, I now have a reason to get up at 5:00 am on weekends, Live Commentating. I can't wait till till the new season starts. 4 hours 12 minutes to go. Off to get yet another beer
Nice story for the Cs to read in the morning. Hope you stick around, Aitch! :)
No I haven't had too much to drink not yet anyway but I'm working on it. As Jeremy said the other night less lurking more posting.
It's wet and cold and almost 90 cm of snow. We do not get this much snow here in the Lower Mainland. We did have about 60cm back in '96 but we haven't had this much snow since 1964, I think we are just short of a snowfall record. If I never see snow again it will be too soon, I hate shoveling.
If I'm right I think this is the first white Christmas since 1971 I think I could be wrong about the year but it's beesn well over 30 years since that has happened. Damn snow.
That's first cross country white Christmas. Damn Booze.
Happy New Year
It's the first rainy New Year we've had in recent memory, so there's a first for everything.
Happy New Year, CD! :)
Happy New Year CD
Oh what I would give for some rain about now.
Happy New Year Aitch!
Cheers
Hmm, I spent the first moments of 2009 on the toilet which should define the rest of the year.
Check this out: Kawasaki is quitting MotoGP and NASCAR's Petty Enterprises is out of business. It looks like Japanese folks are using this moment to cut spending. Are big bosses in Tokyo really frightened? Not sure I care too much for NASCAR, not after I watched a few minutes of that monstrous Herbie movie. There must be a decent F1 movie some day, it will not be easy to find the right actors because their necks would have to look like tree trunks.
Mr and Mrs C.
If you remember, I've got an online racing team and I'd be intrested in putting Sidepodcast somewhere on the car, preferably on the rear wing. I'm thinking of possibly using the logo on the mug? Is that alright with you guys?
Hmmm... Here's the oddity so far: only Japanese car companies have been making the big cuts in their racing departments, and even within Japan, it's not universal. US companies Ford and GM, as well as all the major European makes, have more or less maintained their racing efforts in 2009, as well as Japanese company Toyota (who are on both sides of the racing pond).
Happy New Year guys...
Here's hoping it's a good one for you all....
Bring on the racing....
happy new year jackie
thank you ladysnowcat. happy new year to you.
that's brilliant r.g. do you need a bigger version of it?
aww, aitch. that's lovely, you're too kind, thanks you :)
if the car design changes, how about putting the logo on one of those beautiful new front wings? ;)
RG, how do you have an online racing team?
It would be nice, the logo anyway
AI driven racing series on Grand Prix 4, just finished season one, and we (ItalianEnglish Racing) finished 10th, but acclaimed to have one of the best liveries.
http://i274.photobucket.com/albums/jj263/Gaulty94/car.jpg
I'm thinking of putting it where Lost Boys is
Damn. That is a five-pints-of-AWESOME livery!
If I may ask, though: why did you pick green? :)
Inspired by the old MG Racing Cars
I see, I see... but I thought that was a darker shade of green, kinda like British Racing Green?
I only said inspiried. But I don't think its to different
http://www.endurancesportscar.com/photo/mglaunch.jpg
I spent the first moments of the New Year watching fireworks in an extremely localised snowfall (as in, my house had snow, then there was a gap until two-thirds of the next street along got snow, then another gap stretching at least two miles...), drinking a glass of good red... ...strawberry milkshake.
Hmmm... the MG green in the picture seems to be lighter than BRG. Oh well.
Localised snowfall... Spa microclimate? :P
Strawberry milkshake... Nice! :D
I see, I see… but I thought that was a darker shade of green, kinda like British Racing Green? {Journeyer - 3 comments ago}
British Racing Green used to be a pretty broad colour, ranging from the olive of Vanwall, the very dark colour used by BRM to an extremely light shade for Stirling Moss' varied teams. Nowadays, BRM's is the type of green most likely to be classified as "British Racing". Maybe RG is simply being traditional (if not especially MG-ish).
Localised snowfall… Spa microclimate? :P {Journeyer - 2 comments ago}
That was my thought when I saw the effect while coming home from shopping. The snow stopped about four minutes past midnight and it had all melted by morning.
Strawberry milkshake… Nice! :D {Journeyer - 2 comments ago}
My thoughts exactly. Good celebratory drink when a bit of gravitas is required (though lemonade is still great when the occasion is a bit more casual, like Christmas lunch).
Happy New Year folks! Hope 2009 brings you lots of delicious things! :-D
When does the first BATracer practice session begin by the way?
i shall dig it out for ya asap.
i think we need a few more people? alia's plugged it on her blog and we're gonna do a post later. soon as the places are filled i guess.
Practice has already started, Scott just needs to give the thumbs up then we can start qually.
More glamorous than what I had/where I was
Doubt it. Just told the guy who painted the car, something similar to MG, stick some sponsors on, Alfa as the engine, and see how it goes.
Good painter though
damn, i haven't yet.
practice has begun, but i think Scott is not gonna start quali until we have everyone :)
Don't worry, us BMW's are currently sweeping the top 2 :D
S'what I meant! Doh!
I'm down to 7th already, but then I am in a Force India and I am still feeling my way into BATRacer again (the last time I played was last February!)
and currently honda is last... i'm hoping Alenyaa will get a better time than i did.
That is likely, lou, especially if you post the settings you have on your team's Team Talk space. Then Alenyaa can see the settings before she does her practise session, therefore allowing her to be that much more accurate with her testing. It would be especially good if she then posted those settings onto Team Talk for you to apply before qualifying gets underway.
And don't worry - only your team can see Team Talk.
Wishing a very Happy New Year to Christine, me and all fellow Sidepodcasters!
Hope 2009 brings you all you wanted and much, much more!
A sign of things to come?
Happy New Year everyone!
Happy new year everyone from another person intending to lurk less.
christine and i send our love to all those who're lurking less this year :)
So, I see the ITV-F1 site didn't turn into the proverbial pumpkin last night then. Maybe they have a better advertising strategy than Honda... come to think of it so does my mum!
what i really want is for someone other than ferrari / mclaren to fight for the title. here's hoping. cheers all :)
A 4 way fight including Renault, BMW or Red Bull would be quite nice
Paul Di Resta: "I'm close to putting pen to paper on a deal"
(Assume he means testing).
Didn't realise he was manged by Anthony Hamilton
http://en.f1-live.com/f1/en/headlines/news/detail/081231132508.shtml
Will he get a Pussy Cat Doll in the deal too, seems to be the norm :D
gotta be. steven reckons a years testing, then a drive in 2010. inclined to agree with him.
hehehe. there's plenty to go around.
Hey Al! Welcome to the community! Hope to see more of you too. :)
Anthony Hamilton manages drivers OTHER THAN Lewis? I mean, he doesn't seem to be that good a manager, to be honest.
that must scupper di resta's chances for a macca drive, surely that would give anthony way too much power?
I don't know, getting some pop fluff in the deal doesn't seem too bad.
If Di Resta does get a PCD of his own will she become THAT OTHER WOMAN?
nope. THAT woman's mate.
No, it doesn't scupper PDR's chances. On the contrary, it strengthens them. Of course, that would doom him to life as Lewis' number two driver for his whole McLaren career, but hey, it's still a McLaren drive.
Golly. :O
Ok I know it's a long shot, but what are the chances or Force India doing better than Torro Rosso this season?
Bourdais isn't great and as for whoever is in the second seat, because it's not Vettel I'm doubting if they could even get near the 08 season.
i'm gonna say non-existent fiox.
only because the team have to figure out how to fit a macca engine and drivetrain into their chassis and then figure out how to make it go faster than something adrian newey's designed and happens to be fitted with a ferrari engine.
it's a massive ask and i doubt the drivers will make much difference will they?
depends how much we see of her and if she gives Di Resta an American accent :P
Be hard to tell until we see the teams testing with their full 2009-spec setups. With so many changes coming in it's more difficult that ever to say that Team X are going to be better than Team Y. Who knows, perhaps Newey will get it right this year for both RBR and STR?
I think Bourdais deservers another chance in F1 to show what he can do. The STR3 suited Vettel more than Le Seb.
Trust the Germans to get a Hoff reference into a Kers explanation :D
I'm going to be more optimistic than Mr C over there and actually give Force India a decent chance of doing it. That is, while not probable, it is possible that Force India beat STR.
Why?
1. Force India will not just get the Merc engine, but the McLaren drivetrain and KERS as well. That in itself should give them a significant boost. Let's remember that the RBR/STR 2009 car won't be out until March, so Force India won't really be that far behind, if at all.
2. Force India now has a more stable future than STR. STR has been on and off the seller's stump for a year or two now, and that is never good for a team's stability. Force India, on the other hand, will finally see some stability for the first time in half a decade (both in terms of ownership and driver lineup), and that will help in getting good results.
that's a fine point indeed. mallya's sniffing around honda though. it seems like he's thinking longer term, and less on this year.
they're also coming from less far back this year, fiox i've changed me mind :)
If Vijay buys Honda will he give the "evil empire" access to the Honda research...
How hateful and galling would that be to Ross and his Ferrari friends?....
Nice theoretical BBC intro there but, come to think of it, will the Beeb be able to have any footage in their titles until show 2 as it'll all have some ITV copyright attached (unless they go way back)
They definitely have access to footage from 1976-1996. For 1997-2008, they'll need ITV's permission. But seeing as that ITV have used BBC F1 footage in some of their shows (take Michael Schumacher's 2006 docu, for instance), I don't see ITV having any problem returning the favor.
Hahaha! He probably will.
But then... wouldn't this end up like the misadventures of Tom Walkinshaw with Prost in 2002? Vijay would do well not to follow that example.
Maybe, but for their show titles?
they'll be at every remaining test. or do it all in cgi anyhow.
Yeah, sure, why not? Only problem is it might cost the Beeb quite a bit.
If I were the Beeb, I wouldn't want to show off those 2009 cars. :P
I say they go retro, big style with an untampered 'The Chain' to celebrate F1 being back in the no-ad-breaks fold
Cough
http://www.shell.com/home/content/ferrari-en/formula_one_2008/2008_seasons_wishes/2008_seasons_wishes.html
Sorry.
It depends where the BBC gets the footage from. There is plenty out there that was broadcast elsewhere and therefore not ex-ITV (and that is possibly where ITV got apparently ex-BBC footage from as well). Plus utimately anything broadcast on ITV came from another source anyway (exception being British GP, last year only, where the cameras were 'hired in' by ITV/Whatever bit of the FIA or whatever do the filming...
The GP since the ITV years, have always been filmed by a 3rd party and then sold on, with the edit for broadcast done by the broadcasting country/company being the only part of the footage covered by that outlets copyright.
In the BBC years, it was usually filmed by the BBC themselves, or by a partner organisation in the country in question. For a long time GPs in Europe were filmed/output by the European Broadcasting Union, to the member states.
Who would have thought that my degree would actually have some use eh?? (it was far more fun to work F1 into an essay on the EBU that talk about the ruddy songcontest like everyone else did, lol)
Sounds reasonable. Thanks for the breakdown LPG
i don't understand. bernie / cvc own the copyright to f1 broadcasts since 1978. just pay him / them.
i suck:
http://drop.io/sidepodcast/asset/picture1-3
i got better though:
http://drop.io/sidepodcast/asset/picture2-7
My attempt
http://drop.io/sidepodcast/asset/lou-6
Just reading BBC Quotes of the year. F1 related
"If the Ferrari president is right about the Singapore Grand Prix being a circus, then we have to be grateful to him for providing the clowns."
Bernie Ecclestone after the Ferrari pit crew allowed Felipe Massa to exit the pit box with the fuel hose still attached.
"I've been laughing - I said 'Dad, how do you crash a car at 30mph?'"
Lewis Hamilton after Dad Anthony stuck a borrowed Porsche in a hedge.
"It was unfortunate."
Hamilton not laughing four days later
"Where's Timo? I want to give him a kiss."
Anthony Hamilton makes a beeline for Timo Glock, after his boy Lewis passed him on the final lap in Brazil to claim the F1 title.
Hey everyone!
If I could briefly revert conversation to batracer again, I have a question regarding tyres.
If anyone with some experience at this game could help me out, that would be great.
Scott's guide says you should use one set of softs in practice, and use sets 2-4 in qualifying.
For as far as I can tell, there's only three sets of softs available, or do more become available as soon as qualifying gets underway?
Ah, I was using my RLB IndyCar game at the time and must have thought F1 2008 has the same amount.
Yes, the 2008 carset only has 3 sets of each tyre. Use the first set for practice, the 2nd and 3rd in qualifying and any of the 3 in warmup. A mistake on my behalf there.
Updated the guide with new and corrected info on tyre choices.
Oh, and one more question for experienced players:
Under Car Setup, there are three buttons underneath your tyre choice: 'load' 'save' and 'test'. The same three appear at the bottom.
Does it matter where I select 'test' or 'save'?
i.e. does selecting 'test' at the top only refer to tyres and experimentation and does the one at the bottom only refer to the rest of your settings?
Thanks loads in advance :)
Thanks!
Nope, the ones at the top and bottom do exactly the same thing ;)
Thanks again :)
Webber looks like he's in good spirits. Just been looking through a mates pictures on Facebook taken at the New Year's party at Il Maschio last night which he attended. Still on crutches mind!
aww, bless'im. what a quality place to celebrate new year!
Anthony Hamilton manages a few drivers now
I would guess that unless there is a Force India deal to be done it will be GP2 since testing opportunities have all but disappeared since the in season testing agreement was dreamt up.
He got Lewis McLaren sponsorship from the age of 10 or 11 and got him a debut in a car that let him challenge for the championship in his first season. He also did a multi-season deal that involved a serious salary review based on first year results. Name me a manager who has done better for his driver.
If he is faster than Lewis he will be Ron's favourite. Just like Senna when he joined Team Prost.
warning: you may enjoy this:
http://axisofoversteer.blogspot.com/2009/01/yabai.html
CRASHUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU! :D
Actually looking at that video, wouldn't flat noses be better instead of raised? It definately reduces downforce and also would look a whole lot better.
That was a great video. I had almost forgotten what it's like to see F1 cars pass each other on the track not in the pits. I guess we have Bernie and his minions to thank for that.
A very interesting point...
Name me another manager who has been involved with his driver at the age of 10...
I am intrigued by the idea that Anthony managed to get Lewis to get into a position to manipulate Ron to back the boy from a young age...
That reading of the situation could have Lewis as having a high but not extraordinary level of talent but Anthony as having a Masters in management skills...
Most deals are negotiable after the first year... although I was a little surprised that Lewis is paid a bit less than Kimi and Alfonso this year...
I think Anthony's management skills will be evident from the deals he does for non family members... I will watch with interest...
And at that time we were all complaining that there was not as much real racing as there was 10 or 20 years earlier.
There are people who get involved with drivers at a young age. Martin Hines was a seriously successful kart racer and multiple world champion. He own Zip karts and runs a team called Zip young guns and presumably has some kind of management contract. As to how good Lewis really was at that age. After watching him qualify in the middle of the grid for his very first race Martin Hines who happened to be at the event went to find out who he was and offered to do anything he could to help as he thought Lewis was clearly an exceptional driver.
John Button father of Jenson was a rallycross driver. National champion or something. He managed to get a small piece on Jenson in Autosport when he was about 10 but never managed to get a deal for him that was anything special.
You've got to love those Japanese commentators. Great set of clips there :)
Willi Weber did a great job for Michael. Julian Jakobi also did a good job.
Anthony's big weakness is PR. Sure, he can do money matters well, but he doesn't seem to be as good at handling Lewis' image.
Fan-bloody-tastic :-D
Take it you've watched the French one as well?
OOLALA!
:-D x 1,000
.
And he didn't manage Jenson... so not a real comparison...
He may turn up to races but he didn't manage him...
Is there anyone else on the current F1 grid who has had a manager since the age of 10?... and a manager with the same opportunity to create a "mini-me"....
My favourite part is when the guy goes mad when Hamilton bins it in the gravel in China. :D
AND all the commentary from 2008 :D
If Murray Walker had been French, he'd sound like that. "C'est pas possible!" = "Unbeliveable!"
Wili Webber did a brilliant job and acted from Michael since Michael was 19...
The Robertson's have done well for Kimi and have acted since he was quite young, late teens again I think...
I had forgotten that they also originally acted for Jenson and brought him into F1 too ...
Flav has looked after Fernando since he was 18 and Mark Webber of course... and I recall Fisi at one time too...
It'll be interesting if Anthony can do what these guys have done, with several drivers...
Talking of videos, you think the last lap finish last season was unbelieveable, look at this. The 2007 IndyCar title gets decided on the last corner too, although not in quite the same way as Lewis won his. :P
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=dSDnPoZyJP8&feature=related
At least we don't get politics in the way of racing in F1.
Oh wait
It also features the US version of "That Woman" :)
So I reply to this post, include the link and get moderated. Either that or it's because I mentioned "That Woman" :)
youtube? nasty place :)
I reply to the post, include the link, and doesn't get moderated.
I think it likes me?
if you use doohickey or lclt, it's less likely to get moderated. i would hazard a guess andy used the standard comment box? could be wrong though.
Anthony Hamilton was his father at the age of ten and evovled into a manager despite having no motorsports background. Many of the other drivers fathers have a motorsports background and didn't get close to the same kind of deals.
If we're comparing him to other drivers' fathers, he's the best of the bunch, no question. But comparing him to managers in general, I'd think he's just average, as some of the deals Anthony got are also similar to what other drivers get. Like the multi-year deal with salary review? Surely, other drivers have that too?
was it not just blind luck, that ron had *his plan* to bring a driver through the ranks from a young age at that particular moment in time?
couldn't it literally have happened to anyone? a fortuitous moment in history, just one of those things. could easily have been button, could easily happen to the next guy ron picks.
My point is that he got Lewis sponsorship from a leading F1 team at the age of 10 or 11 and got him into a car to challenge for the championship in his first season.
Ron wasn't out looking for drivers they went to him.
i agree. but you're also assigning a huge amount of credit to anthony for that. and on that particular point i have to disagree.
eh? i heard it was a his plan to do it for a very long time and lewis fitted the bill best. is that not true?
for my money, that sounds about right for me, you get a few amazing drivers going through karting but that dosent mean they'll do well in karts.
Who put Lewis in front of Ron? Who told Lewis to approach Ron at the Autosport Awards? There are lots of other talented karters but none of them have been involved with any F1 team at that age. There has to be a reason for that.
That's not something I have ever heard.
yeah, but that's one of them moments that may have been overblown. it happened to be recorded. now it's a story.
it could well be that the next time anthony called ron, he'd totally forgot who lewis was anyhow. credit to AH for doing it sure, even better that it's on tape for posterity, but i'm not convinced it made the world of difference.
when i get a moment, i'll have to google it. think it was something he'd discussed with witmarsh and had tabled for ages and ages.
I was using the doohickey, my guess is that the post I made had the same link as 2 recent posts and that got picked up as a spam attempt.
night all.
ahh cheers. good info. will run some tests.
night.
Happy New Year to you