Hello and welcome to Saturday. It's the last Saturday of the summer break - the one before things really start gearing up again. We've really enjoyed the downtime, it's allowed some great new development, and even given me enough time to write a new mini series (latest episode here, more soon). What else has been going on though?
- Renault have been doing their bit to break up the summer drought by taking to the streets of Rotterdam and providing some entertainment to the fans. Vitaly Petrov and Jan Charouz are on hand to be in the R29 throughout the weekend and will be doing the usual donuts and demos like above. I know that Mr Charouz has come in to replace Ho-Pin Tung, who's recovering from a back injury, but I don't know anything else about him. Anyone got any clues?
- It's been confirmed that Yamamoto will be in the HRT car again alongside Bruno Senna, which means our Character Cup winner Chandhok is taking a back seat once again. It's not looking great for Karun, who hasn't sat in the car for almost six weeks now, and is looking at two months without race experience. Boo to HRT and I say boo again.
- In a shameless bit of self-promotion, I'd like to link to my recent post about Life Lists. It's basically a list of things you might want to do before you shuffle off this mortal coil, but it's absolutely the opposite of morbid.
- Finally, the super duper epic Sidepodspa trip is really kicking into gear now, and those that are going are looking for input from you. From the finest detail such as what songs they will listen to on the journey down (some excellent suggestions, although who picked The Little Mermaid??) to where are the best places to stand at the circuit and what photographs you would like. They're even taking requests on what food and drinks to have. I'm pretty sure it's going to be a lot of fun for everyone, whether you're making the trip to Belgium or not - so read up and get your thinking caps on.
That should do it for now. I think we may be in for a quiet weekend, but let us know what you're up to, and why not throw out your predictions for the Belgian Grand Prix while you're at it. I will see you in the comments.