In an attempt to distract from the potential diffuser row that could ruin all semblance of racing in Australia, it's time for a daily post that is all about the shameless plug.
- The 2009 montage that was played during Episode 97 is now available all by itself. I really enjoyed making the six minutes of montage in the first place, and I've listened to it about ten times without getting bored. Everyone who voicemailed should give themselves a pat on the back.
- We've decided that this particular off-season was the best ever. Now that it's over we can look back with fond (and not so fond) memories of the fun and games we have had since Brazil 2008. I know everyone is getting antsy for the racing to begin, but it is worth it to take a moment and think that the winter has gone amazingly quickly. Remember when we sat back and realised there were months ahead of us? Now they are all past.
- The penultimate episode of the F1 Digest 2009 Season Preview series is available now, taking a whistle stop tour through the calendar. Let us know which events you are looking forward to, and which ones you are dreading. I think I can probably guess a couple that fall into that category.
That'll do it for now. Feel free to talk about things that aren't shameless self-promotion for Sidepodcast, maybe even self-promote your own season preview wares. Either way, as we countdown another day to Friday, I'll see you in the comments.
Shameless self-promotion of me promoting yourself
Blimey am I first in a Daily post?
Oh the season preview. I ought to do a proper one really. Thursday. Yes. Thursday.
best position to give yourself a plug :)
i love the idea that you're going to update your links page this weekend!
I tinker with it all the time. I just added Joe Saward's and removed someone else's that has been deleted. There are plenty of people here who's blogs I want to add but I never get around to it. I'd start with Stephen's, but...
haha!
that is an fab piece of promotion pat, thank you.
http://wiki.sidepodcast.com/page/Your+Drivers+And+Teams
My bit probably looks like a mess, but I'd be delighted for everyone to do their bit their own way. Plus I didn't put the actual page in a section which I probably should have done, wasn't sure where to put it. Let me know what you think.
Oh and by the Current bit on mine, I mean from drivers on the grid now.
No worries.
Cool! I'll add mine now.
groovy, yell when you're done and i'll do the same.
thanks joe ;)
Done! :)
Christine tidies up every so often so I am sure he will put it in the appropriate section.
me too.
Looking at it now, actually...
No love lost for McLaren then, eh? :P
You can add in bits like Team Members, Media Guys or whatever. Don't just stick to my bit, but thanks Journeyer and Mr. C, I'm honoured : P Glad I can do a tiny bit for Sidepodcast.
I'll be waiting for someone to add their own style ;)
i'll tweak it when i've thought some more. i like mika, but can't say i was a fan of the team even when they were beating msc. odd really.
I should add a disliked drivers bit, oops.
feel free to jump in any time. it's a great question.
Really now... that's rather interesting. I wonder why...
I'll update mine with it.
you know what is kinda scary mind you? the line:
"Sidepodcast isn't just an F1 site!"
my immediate reaction to that was "of course it is!", but somehow it isn't any more is it? and that wasn't the plan at all :)
there are some old podcasts in the archive where we refuse to discuss motogp etc, yet this week we kicked off with a chat about sportscars.
Think I beat you : P
Also:
http://www.f1technical.net/news/11873
Dunno how reliable it is but damnit anyway recession!
Done! Saw your list, Joe. Why the active dislike for Firman and Doornbos? They seem like OK guys - Doornbos even has some pace.
not sure. i'm getting old because i can't remember which team i was supporting, but i cheered mika and maybe arrows or someone?
Perhaps Arrows in 1997? Hill was driving for them that year.
You can't just follow one series. You just can't. It would drive me mad just following one series. I used to be "all F1 all the time". Then I discovered touring cars and CART and a new world opened up.
\
Hmmm... Good point! Mind you it's still primarily an F1 site, but I like it that it's diversified a bit. But most of all, it's more of a community now than a podcast per se. :)
yeah, must've been. i'll have to find time to re-watch some videos. mind you bernoldi annoyed me for holding up dc in monaco and i really disliked mclaren for screwing his start system that weekend.
I just think both were bad when they werein F1. Sure they were in poor cars, but I think that guys like Albers were a lot better,in F1 at least. I don't hear much praise for Albers
Good point - I do follow MotoGP and WRC now. Even tried following NASCAR regularly for a year or two - until it vanished off our sports channels.
that is true.
i really was, until very recently f1 and nothing but f1.
He DID pull his fuel hose out of the pits. But I think Doornbos beat him when they were teammates at the end of 2005.
I haven't delved into the nuances of the technical side of F1 since I diversified into other forms of racing. This was when MSC started to dominate and I got bored of F1. Still watched of course..
I meant to add "as much as I have lately"
Added mine.
Has anyone seen James Allen's latest entry? He says on the threatened McLaren-Renault boycott:
hehe. love the last comment.
on the plus side, plenty to learn and to discuss. on the negative side, a whole season of it may get tiring.
i guess you make of it what you wish, and if we want racing to have the emphasis it's up to us to keep the focus in that direction.
It's not up to us - it's up to the media. Even if we want to focus on the racing, if the media give more attention to the politics, it may get a bit nasty for F1.
It's true.
It probably should extend to anyone who drove Lotus' too when they sold older cars to privateers. ;)
Lotus do have many unique points in F1 history though.
First team to get 50 World Championship race wins
Sadly the only posthumously awarded World Champion :(
First car to use active supension
Amongst many others...
Stirling Moss! :)
A true gent. So small too. Teeeeeeny!
true enough. f1 can't get much more political than 2007... or can it?
2007 was about FIA vs. McLaren. 2009 will be about FIA vs. all the teams. Add to that the diffuser row, and it suddenly gets a lot more complicated.
due you think it'll be sorted by, say, the middle of the year?
I know there's some folks here who follow other sports, such as RG. So I'm wondering, which sports team/person do you follow more?
I also follow football (Man Utd) and snooker (Stephen Hendry and others) but I think Brawn GP and Button might get my attention slightly more than any else. I've folloed the team like many religiously follow football teams. I know Lou's the same.
The diffusers - yeah, probably; Ross is a sensible guy, and the bigger teams have enormous budgets. They won't bother chasing this for too long; anyway, they're probably running it through their windtunnels now as we speak. Even if they lose to Brawn, they've already bought themselves enough time to reproduce his concept and catch up. But most importantly, the teams know they can't afford to get distracted from the bigger battle...
FIA vs. FOTA - nope, probably not; They're battling over 2010 regs, so there will be a lot of pushing and shoving before one set of regs come out. In the process, there will be a LOT of talking too. This may get ugly.
The diffuser row will get sorted before the teams are back in Europe.
i heard the wimbledon final that followed the british gp...
...
...nope, i'm out.
I occasionally watch the Six Nations *when I remember* I don't care who wins as long as England stuffs the French and the Scottish. ;)
I will watch Wimbledon, just to laugh at the British players getting knocked out early. :D
I used to follow a lot more motorsport, but since leaving the industry I have lost the will to do that.
The only sports I closely follow outside of F1 are other forms of motor racing...
I like to watch the odd game of other things but I don't make a point of it. I like watching the national team in any sport. Track and field is quite interesting too.. more track than field..
How is it 1am already? Where did that go?
too quote something i read earlier:
"Warning: This will take over your life."
;)
With me - triple espresso and a damn good selection of 1940's blues. Time whizzes by.
:-D
Anyway, off to have breakfast, guys.
Get some sleep! :P
I'm intending to not be here tomorrow until 11pm or so, while I do my 'college catch up' which I meant to do today. We'll see how that goes.
I'm going now, bye :-)
g'night pat.
see ya :)
I'm off to go watch a film in bed chaps/chapettes
Tonight I shall mainly be watching Nightmare on Elm Street. :D
Turun Sanomat added up the testing kilometres.
link
päivää = days
Good morning all, from the sunny metropolis that is Londinium.
By my reckoning we've only got 42 hours 'til the 1st action of the new season. Can't wait. I'm hoping the diffuser thing does'nt detract too much from the racing and if the stewards do what the FIA say they're going to do, i.e. be more transparent and let the public know whats going on at the first opportunity then I can't see that they'll be any probs.
Quote of the day is from Joe Saward:
"Then it is off to get the permanent pass for the season and catch up with everyone in the paddock in Albert Park. I was with the Brawn GP engineers on the flight this morning and I must say they seem very chirpy. Not surprising when the car appears to be a second clear of the rest…"
That should make our Brawn fans' day today. :)
So, Coulthard is to be reserve driver at both Red Bull teams until Hartley sorts his superlicence. When we met Mark Webber earlier this year, he was quick to point out DC had let himself go a little (only fair, after years of top fitness).
I hope he's been down the gym of late, just in case! :)
Didn't Brendon get a superlicence then?
Not in time.
http://www.red-bullog.com/2009/03/25/coulthard-the-reserve/
Funny how Kimi could from Formula Renault and Jenson could at a similar age coming from F3 though, isn't it?
I guess it depends what criteria he failed on.
Not being from a mainstream motorsports country.
Why does it matter what country he's from?
Maybe if he was British or Finnish or Brazilian he would have fewer problems because these countries have more ties in F1.
grandprix.com report that Davidson will become Brawn's reserve driver for this season: http://www.grandprix.com/ns/ns21280.html
In further Brawn news, reports suggest that the team are looking to lay-off 275 or so staff and face financial struggles.
That's great news - and very sensible as Davidson will be attending at every race.
Just to ensure that he doesn't break his contract with BBC I suggest that he also commentate from in the car ;-)
But it sucks about the financial stuff. 275 is a lot smaller than I expected too.
I don't know enough about how it works to be that cynical, I'm afraid. Did Buemi and Kubica have problems then?
Buemi automatically qualifies according to this and Kubica must have as well for winning the World Series by Renault (Powered by Nissan).
But, there is a clause that a driver that finishes consistently well in a series of a standard such as British F3 will also qualify. Brendon finished third, narrowly missing out on the championship and he won a few races. So what's the problem with giving him a superlicence?
Maybe they just submitted it too late?
Just reading through James Allen's '09 preview. And er, does he know something we don't as he has forgot to mention a single thing about Renault?
Speaking of NZ ties to motorsport, I met Bruce McLaren's sister Jan today, she is a lovely lady! I wonder how it feels to see what the small team her brother founded has turned into.
I've met her too. She's a lovely woman and was very proud of the fact that people still look up to Bruce and his achievements :-)
I'm very new to F1 - only really been watching properly for 2 years, though became very addicted very qucikly. I have a question about reserve drivers - how often do they get used?
In further Brawn news, reports suggest that the team are looking to lay-off 275 or so staff and face financial struggles.
I also read that they look like making upto 300 people redundant at Brackley, which is bad newa but I suppose it's better than 700.
last years red bull racing reserve driver, buemi, was used by the fia to drive the medical car in a couple of racers.
last time i recall a third driver doing his actual job would've been... when jenson injured himself prior to the BGP in 2007, but he was only replaced on the friday.
someone's bound to correct me though :)
Genrally speaking 1 of the main drivers has to have a tennis accident for the reserve to be used, I think that's how it works is'nt it.......ha ha
Seriously though I'm not 100% but was'nt it either Wurz for Williams or then again it might have been De La Rosa at McLaren that was the last 1 to step in, for Montoya.
Ah second thoughts could you count Nakajima Brazill 2007.
Wouldn't the last reserve driver to actually drive on a Sunday be Vettel for BMW in 2007?
Ah yes, how could I forget him mowing down his pit crew!
i think you're probably right with that one.
Yeah he did, but I think Nakajima would scrape it as the last one as a test driver to step up during a season, as Wurz retired before the last race 2007 I think. He only had 1 race 2007 and made a right hash of it flying over the top of Fisicella as I re-call, then at the end of that race we had the Williams/BMW fuel temp thing too
So, by the way guys, I have had my scan done - it was an EEG scan and not an MRI scan (thankfully!). This is the one where they stick electrodes to your head and run some tests. It went really well and the doctor seemed to think it was ok - but I will know for sure within a month.
One test which they did was that they asked me to close my eyes while they flashed a strobe light in my face. Basically you see loads of coloured patterns which looked really cool. A bit of a weird experience with the electrodes (it feels like a hat) so I'm glad to have that one out of the way!
Guys,
Check this out F1 Technical have a great article comparing the 2008 and 2009 technical changes :-)
They thought you had epilepsy?
Yeah, the whole thing was an epilepsy test because apparently when I fainted I had a bit of a fit. But the thing is, I've sat in front of a screen for so many years it can't be that. I was assured that I did ok in the tests too.
glad you're okay sir.
Cheers ;-)
I just got a call from Team McLaren - I'm going on a pit tour tomorrow evening. Tomorrow is shaping up to be the best day EVER
you have no idea how jelaous we are :)
how was today?
new video for y'all:
http://www.sidepodcast.com/2009/03/25/inside-track-2009-season-preview/
woohoo! Its been aaaaaaages
Something for the people who enjoy F1 games; there's a micro machines-style game coming out this weekend on the PC I've been keeping my eye on for a long time. Some of the stuff it has is:
Star in a full career spanning 10 seasons
Compete on 17 real world tracks
Upload you best lap times to the online leaderboard
Watch out for changing weather conditions
Make tactical pit stops
Keep an eye on tyre wear, damage and fuel
Zoom the camera in or out to suit your driving style
Watch replays of the entire race
Manage relationships with the boss, pit crew, fans and friends
Purchase sports cars and race them on the test track
Gamble your prize money at the casino
Create your own tracks with the built in editor
They previously made a game called New Star Soccer that had a fantastic career mode so this should be just as fun. There's a free demo over available on the net that's good fun to play and it'll be about £6. Just thought I'd give it a heads up for those that enjoy f1 games and remember such classics as micro machines :P You can find out about it here.
Today was really good. I thought it was exciting being in the pit lane itself, but I think going into the paddock and the garages might just top it ;)
The driver interviews were also very good, it was nice to have different drivers from what were there yesterday. Unfortunately my battery in my camera didn't charge (because I forgot to turn the charger on at the wall...) so I couldn't film anything.
Rob Smedley Interview!!!
In Italy, Smedley's chirpy northern brogue has already assumed legendary status among Ferrari fans who download his radio transmissions to use as mobile phone ring tones.
Oooooh.
In which case, Im sold!
...and it was worth the wait :) - cheers guys!
That has been kind of expected - Brawn has a much smaller budget than last year as Honda, and less money means less jobs.
cheers kris :)
something to look forward to when i get home. uni and c++ are frazzling my brain :(
Anybody else read (or guess view in this case) the car-a-day blog?
Today features the Renault R29: http://car-a-day.blogspot.com/2009/03/f1-2009.html great effort, he makes it look infinity better than it does in the flesh.
Yesterday was the Audi R15. The bloke is very talented.
James Allen has a new piece about the imminent protests over the diffusers. He ends on:
I might be about to get very cross indeed.
Adrian Sutil not with a panda but with a koala
Ehehe. I like this one.
I didn't know he had family in Australia? :-)
How on earth did they contact you?! Sooo jealous right now.
Will you be allowed to take pictures/videos tomorrow, though?
I'm betting the FIA will let it stay, if only to try and get the other teams angry at them.
I'm SURE Ross DOES have a plan B in case it doesn't work out, but I still think they'll be right up there for the win. It won't be a runaway anymore, though.
Hey J,
You still want those questions I asked on Sunday?
Yes, please. :D
The order is probably wrong - but here you go anyway:
Q: Which do you prefer – “Winner takes all” or “Points win Prizes”?
Q: Outside of the top 3, what do you think will happen in Melbourne?
Q: Which is in better health - Sportscars or F1, and why?
Q: Jeremy told us that in Australia there is a phrase ‘Doing a Bradbury’ in honour of Steven Bradbury, a speed skater who struggled to reach the top of his sport, got into the final as an underdog and won the gold medal because all of the others crashed out in front of him. So who in F1 has done or will do a Bradbury?
Q: Inspired by Bruno Senna's switch from GP2 to DTM, I'd like you guys to think of the strangest series swap for an F1 driver.
Q: Following the Digger cartoon about NASCAR, how can you make F1 more annoying?
In a spate of maximum plugtasticness I would like to encourage everyone here to take part in the SofaF1.com Pole Poll championship 2009.
We want your predictions for the championship and then for every race during the season (you only have to do the championship today). It's a lot of fun especially as it shows how rubbish we all are at making predictions.
Or maybe you're not bad at making predictions and you'd like to beat us?
Anyway to play make your guesses here: http://www.sofaf1.com/2009/03/sofaf1-pole-poll-2009-championship.html
And if you want to know how to score points and what will be required of you take a look here: http://www.sofaf1.com/2009/03/sofaf1-pole-poll-2009-rules.html
I included 4 plugs for Sidepodcast in the first of those posts so we should be even in the plugtasticness stakes ;)
Dictionary!
Crikey. That's a lot of predicting. I'm so glad I didn't sign up for... oh.
mwahahahaha!
Wow... I just went to add it and it was already there! Awesome!
Oops. I was a bit keen :)
Not it was great :)
No it was great I mean :)
Righto, this evening I am preparing the F1 Digest - Australia Preview show which can only mean one thing - the 2009 season is underway, people!
Anyway, towards the end of last year, I started asking for short summaries from the lovely Sidepodcommunity to be read out in each Digest show. Normally this would be a sentence or two about the day's action, but for the preview show, I'd love a few submissions about how glad you all are that the racing has returned, or how you feel now that the Grand Prix is just inches away.
I'm not looking for predictions, we've done that already :) Just a few words telling us how you feel. I'll pick the best ones for the show. Remember though, the shorter the better!
When is the deadline?
Not sure yet.
I am really excited now that the political bickering is about to get underway again, I was getting slightly bored of the on track action.
No wait - that should be the other way around ;)
For those joining Sunday's panel:
Research Question: What do you think has been the most influential rules change F1 has ever seen, and why?
Killer Question Pre-Work: Think of your all-time favorite F1 moment. ;)
Hehehe, I like it.
I thought the killer Q was supposed to be a secret?
It's the killlllleer question...
Gunpowder, Gelatine
Dynamite with a laser beam
Guaranteed to blow your mind
Anytime
You know that question and Gelatine don't rhyme, don't you?
Please sing that for us!
:D
Ah yes...
Oh lummy
I updated the wiki page for you :-)
It's the killlllllleer question...
no chance for exemption
me's impressions, don't mention
Guaranteed to blow your mind
Anytime
Much better. Brilliant in fact :)
christine, do
youwe still have queen karaoke in itunes?i think one of them backing tracks needs fropioing :)
I do! I knew it would come in handy one day.
http://drop.io/sidepodcast/asset/alonsoscores-jpeg
Thing is, even I could get it in the net from that close with no goalkeeper.
alex, i did done my predictions like what you asked, but i put my name as mr s :(
i like to get matters of to a confusing start.
I think we are going to have to make you Mr S. Idepodcast ;)
And thank you :)
Is this a sneaky way that we can't hold you to them later?
was concentrating so hard on my choices ya see. taking it seriously n'all that.
Thanks! :D
I done mine too.
Sadly I don't think I can modify it with blogger :(
Woweeeee!
Thanks guys!
no probs, so long as you know it was me.
who should i be tomorrow?
Mr T?
nice shirt:
http://drop.io/sidepodcast/asset/f1-bbc-sport-shirt-jpg
with my laugh?
i'm sorry, but could they have made more of a hash of this if they tried??
http://drop.io/sidepodcast/asset/rubbish-bridgestone-marker-pen-jpg
You are kidding?
That's shocking!
I pity the fool
It makes Brawn's highlighters look state-of-the-art. :P
Righto, here's my anecdote as promised. It's inspired by the F1 coverage changing channels here in Denmark.
Now, finding out what channel something is on is a little tricky. Most countries have a number system to their channels which makes sense, but Denmark seems to have lost that convenience a good few years ago.
A bit of history first. The state broadcaster is "Danmarks Radio" which launched the first TV channel - DR1. Then, about 30 years ago this was followed by a new channel from a new company called TV2 (both the channel and the company). Fine so far. Then, in the 90's when satellite became more popular, Viasat Corporation came on board with TV3 (with some other sports and movie channels) and then Kanal+ launched channels 4 and 5. We are still OK at this point.
This is where all logic and rational thinking get thrown out of the window. To retaliate, Viasat launched TV3 plus, which most people tune into channel 6 on their TV's as 3 is already taken. Canal+ then launched SBS which most people tune to channel 7.
Still with me? It gets worse :-(
Not to be outdone, Danmarks Radio launched a DR2 - but as TV2 had channel 2, most people tune that into channel 8 or 9. TV2, being the chief rival to DR, decided to launch some satellite channels, all with the name "TV2 something" - Zulu, Charlie, Film, News and sport. At this point Danes are so confused that they shunted these channels to whereever they fit :-(
Now here's the best bit. Viasat have launched a new channel (which will have the F1 and MotoGP on it) and in keeping with the theme, have called it TV3 Puls. Not only does it mean we have another channel with a bloody 3 in it, Plus and Puls are words that are waaay too close to each other. I have no idea where to put TV3 plus ... er I mean puls and I know I will end up taping the wrong channel at some point! Not to be outdone, Canal+ have decided to relaunch SBS as channel 6 - but that is already taken with TV3 puls ... I mean plus!
So, to sum up, we have Seven channels with the number 2 in the name, three channels with the number 3 in the name, and every channel except for 4 of them will have to be moved in some way because they are all numbered wrong! It means that every Dane's channel tuning preference will be as unique as they are!
As for me, I have given up - I watch my telly on the internet now :-D
here's what i can't fathom...
they print the bridgestone logo on every item. why not print a stripe at the same time?
Why not just have white sidewalls for Pete's sake!
:D
Because not all bridgestone tyres will have the stripe.
ok smartypants. why not print a green stripe on half of them then?
They're gonna mess this up and stripe the primes at one race, I know it.
They may even be accused of sabotage if it happens to just one team!
no, seriously! :) I honestly think they won't use a whole new machine for putting stripes on half the tyres. Also, I don't think they ever use green paint in tyre manufacturing.
Nah, I don't think so. It didn't happen last year, why will it happen now?
Kimi Raikkonen's profile on the BBC website has been updated.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/motorsport/formula_one/drivers_and_teams/7878971.stm
because this year they appear to have employed the dulux dog!
http://drop.io/sidepodcast/asset/official-bridgestone-tyre-painter-jpg
Well that was a real insight :-(
I'm guessing it's cheaper to paint the tyres by hand.
...or by paw. :-)
:D
It seems someone at Formula1.com thinks Bourdais is Vettel....theres a picture of a driver from behind, quite obviously Bourdais, but no, labelled as Vettel! silly people!!
Flav on Renaut Driver Paycuts....
"I said to them that a reduction would be appropriate. They understood the situation and we reached an agreement," Flavio Briatore shared
I bet Piquet is fuming, Alonso got loads more last year and i bet he got pittance, now its been lowered again. Gutting
fair enough, hard times n'all that, everyone's gotta take a hit. am sure the guys in the garage appreciate the gesture not to mention those back in enstone.
what reduction did flav take?
that sir, is a very good question :P
given how well he drove last year, he must be pinching himself he's still got a seat :)
also true :D
Lucky you, quite jealous
Enjoy
From CimaRacing on Twit-a-lot:
Brawn's diffuser to be 'discussed' tomorrow. Not expecting a positive outcome.
Uh-oh.
I think because the Brawn is so fast that the protest may succeed, especially because the red cars don't have one...
In the other one I do, I have to predict the pole posistion and fastest lap times. So count yourself lucky.
But Brawn has never lost a technical appeal before. Never.
Something's gotta give.
how can speed have any bearing on matters? they haven't taken to the track yet, and we don't know who was sandbagging in testing?
I'm betting Brawn will get away with it. Bernie needs his team to survive. It will also help his cause of getting the teams to fight each other.
the rest of the grid thinks their pace is legit - there may not have been much sandbagging this year, after all.
The other teams will survive even if they lose this case. Will Brawn?
So we clearly need to copy this from CNBC for the next panel:
http://drop.io/sidepodcast/asset/cnbc-ten-box-jpg
Sure there might be a bit of buffering ;)
Because it's just so unfair that the other teams never thought of it (at least that's how they seem to be whining about it)...
"the rest of the grid thinks their pace is legit" is not a reason to ban part of a car though?
either it's legal, or illegal.
*gasps*
Worked for Ferrari and Mass Dampers though?
Look, if Ferrari don't have the part you can almost guarantee that it will be 'clarified'...
regardless, the pace or not of the diffuser+ cars won't have any bearing on the discussion will it?
well, they say it's against the "spirit of the rules". but let's face it, if they weren't dominating the pre-season tests, no one would've protested it.
I just saw it on the big telly in our office and I thought.... "I know what we could do with that!"
red bull pointed out that brawn was getting an unfair advantage of 0.5secs/lap. how can pace not have any bearing if one of the complainants mentioned it?
i know what you can do with it ;)
good point, but there is no "spirit". no-one took an oath of allegiance.
it has a bearing in that it's the reason the complaint was made. it should have no bearing on the outcome though?
There once was a time when F1 did not have Sidepods, me... So in reaility, Sidepodcast can be best described as a Post-Sidepod era F1 site....with of course major exceptions like I think the Ferrari 152....
that's why it's in quotes. it's just a cover for why they're really going after it. and they do have a chance because it is just taking advantage of a loophole.
I am sure Steven Roy will be able to come up with examples of something that was within the letter of the law, but against the spirit of the rules...
Agreed, but this is the FIA & their merry men of stewards (Ahem, with Mr Donnelly - still)
oooh, interesting. that i hadn't thought of.
technically, yes. in reality, it's less clear. you never know with the stewards.
didn't the stewards ruling change this year? can ex-drivers apply now, and if so, did any?
haven't heard anything of it.
In another attempt to break the 150 K barrier, I know all of you have favourite circuits but are there others like myself who have favourite circuit configurations? As much as Silverstone is a good track, to me it went to hell with the introduction of the Vale, Proirity, Luffield complex in 1991.
Of course for myself, you can not go wrong with the second revision of Spa, when Eau Rouge was born and was considered to be a poor cousin to the much feared Masta Kink.
Summary e-mailed.
Oooh, will do so very soon.
Not a current GP track but i prefer Brands Hatch Indy to the GP circuit in terms of spectator watching!! However from a racing round on my playstation point of view i prefer the GP circuit...
Perfect, thank you :)
That is pathetic.
All the wheels are balanced when the tyres are fitted. All they need is a stand with a marker pen and hold it next to the spinning wheel to get a circle. This is not rocket science.
I've decided that instead of my normal bacon and egg butties,I'm going to eat something from each country during the grand prix.
So for Australia - I have a selection of stuff. Mostly really easy to get actually.
Tim tam biscuits
Veggimite *not so sure about this idea now - smells atrocious*
Alligator steak *I couldn't get crocodile*
Kangaroo steak
:D Should be an interesting meal.
Bahrain and Abu Dhabi should be fun. ;)
And what of Monaco? :D
and your going to eat this at 5am? have fun with that....
Nurburgring,pre 74' great circuit, should still be on the calender. Post 74' etc small bad lay-out boring. This is just my opinion and is in no way the opinion of the circuit designers, and other opinions are available!!!!
Leo Laporte has a 4 way version which runs on 4 Macs so that he can have 4 panellists on separate Skype video connections.
But Ferrari are siding with FOTA so this may be an opportunit for them to be punished for being naughty.
he's not having one.
But it could also be an opportunity for them to lure Ferrari back to the dark side.
Bahrain and Abu Dhabi - Camel and other stuff. I can get camel reasonably easily.
Monaco? Well it's by the sea, swordfish probably.
Fan car, twin chassis, sliding skirts and a million and one other things.
That's not good news for Brawn - they were all banned.
Yup. One for qualifying, one for the race.
I'm nothing but ambitious. :D
in the first case, after it won a gp?
Now they have to attend 5 races before they can be a steward. Imaging watching 5 football matches then refereeing the world cup final. Utterly, utterly insane. There are many, many people round the world who have been stewards for decades in other classes. I guess the only reasons they don't get the promotion is that they know what they are doing and they will not be intimidated by Donnelly.
Okayyyyy...
Just tasted the vegemite *spelt correctly this time*
What the holy hell have I just put in my mouth? People actually voluntarilly eat this crap?!
sliding skirts won races too. but yep, they all got banned.
It's an acquired taste, much like marmite
I'm not a fan of either
Ferrari's 'badly made' sliding and flexing front wing. ;)
I liked the version that had the Woodcote chicane and no other mods from the original flat out version. The new Becketts is worthy of the original but most of the rest is not as good.
As for Spa. Everyone raves about Eau Rouge now but there was a time when the only part anyone spoke about was the Masta straight and the Masta kink.
15th April now officially booked off work, so we just need a meeting time and place??
Thanking You.
I had the Brabham Fan Car and the Lotus 88 in mind, but just wanted to check with you first!
I feel the need to gargle bleach - the taste doesn't go away!
Because they somehow fooled everyone into think the fan was for engine cooling...
Billy Connolly says it tastes like licking a cat's bottom !
It looks really cool though. The panda and bibendum could have their own cameras which would stop any fighting and Christine could have a permanent Franck cam.
I don't want to know how he came by that assessment :D
I have got some vegemite in my desk which I wheel out at staff breakfasts... Seems like no-one wants to try it for some reason? ;-)
:(
That is what I have been thinking. Bernie and his boy will use this to try to break FOTA.
You know, these are the people that have had to ride out hurricanes, work in some dodgy places, get really dirty, eat awful food and no sleep for two weeks and yet they are afraid of vegemite!!! :-D
The thing with the spirit of the law argument is quite simply that there is no way any of the other teams wouldn't have taken a legal advantage like that if they'd thought of it.
What are the people at the zoo going to say when you walk out with a camel?
The dreaded split Bernie is so desperate for.
He's really suiting the Star Wars Emperor-type right now...
The fan car was never banned. Bernie decided to withdraw it because he was more interested in keeping FOCA together than winning.
Do you not think he withdrew it because he knew it would get banned by protest from the teams?
I'll take his word for it!
No masochists at your office then?
I've downed 2 double espresso and 2 cans of coke and the taste is still there! I'm going to be a gibbering wreck with all that caffine soon though. :D
I thought it was banned after winning in Anderstorp?
The fan actually did cool the engine. The rules said something like no moveable device can have aerodynamics as its primary purpose so 55% of the fans airflow cooled the engine and the other 45% created suction. The amount of power that thing had I would be surprised if the engine needed a radiator. I read an interview with Gordon Murray recently and he said FISA inspected the car and verified the airflow split.
In a sane world yes.
In F1....
He had no interest in whether it was banned or not. He didn't want the other FOCA teams to think he had an unfair advantage. If they thought that it could de-stabilise FOCA and could lead to him losing control of the commercial side of the sport which he was in the process of acquiring. As ever Bernie was more interested in the mighty dollar then anything else.
It was never banned.
Could have been worse for Piquet - Flav could have offered performance related pay
Just checked Joe Saward's GP Encyclopedia - it says the thing was banned.
http://www.grandprix.com/gpe/con-brabh.html
Where did you see it wasn't banned?
Gordon Murray said it was not banned. Bernie withdrew it before it could be banned.
He he, he owes Renault some cash then
So, to a fashion, they did fool the scrutineers then?
Interesting... that pretty much goes against conventional wisdom. As far as I knew, the results stood, but they weren't allowed to use it again.
The fan was powered by the engine, and therfore controlled by the throttle - the drivers were told "If you feel the car start to loose grip - put your foot down!"
No it was legal. Its main function was engine cooling and their was no law against it having subsidiary functions. Had it been 55/45 the other way it would have been illegal. Stupid rules are not a new thing in F1.
I just did a quick search for "Brabham fan car" withdrew and got a stack of returns with the same story.
And what's more, Colin Chapman was already thinking about how to copy the design.
In F1, imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, but if that fails, then so is protesting to the scrutineers :-D
The drivers didn't like having gravel being flung at them at a couple of hundred miles an hour though.
http://atlasf1.autosport.com/2000/hun/faq.html
This gives a good explanation about half way down the page. The guy who wrote this clearly has never heard of the Chaparral 2J.
sidepodspace update.
The hatches between the shuttle and the ISS are being closed prior to Discovery leaving the station at 3:53pm EDT (7:53pm UK)
They've finished already?
We're both right - his car wasn't banned, but the concept was.
The Pitlane Fanatic quiz is on tonight isn't it? Might be able to catch it half way through as I have a match but I'll still be able to beat Mr C.
They shortened the mission after the last launch delay because the next ISS crew members are due to launch from Baikanour tomorrow so the shuttle had to clear the station before they arrive. That is why they only did three spacewalks instead of the four originally scheduled.
The concept was banned after the event.
Ah, just one shuttle at a time then.
oi!
The permanent ISS crews don't use the shuttle they use a Soyuz. I am not sure why they can't all be there at the same time. Maybe there is not enough space or maybe they don't want too many people there in case of an accident.
You would think in space there would be enough space.
I did think of that and I was going to change it but I thought no-one is going to pick me up on that. Maybe space is shrinking.
Just checked the betting odds on bet365 again, this time for Australia. Vettel's worth a few quid at 22/1 I think. Rubens is 7/1, wow.
no idea if this is true, but f1scoop on twitter:
"F1 teams prepare to splash out in Melbourne: €2000 to submit a protest. 7 teams set to submit 3 protests each, - a cool €42000 for the FIA!"
http://twitter.com/f1scoop/statuses/1389324768
wouldn't a single protest be enough?
ahh, bugger. wrong thread!
exactly. how very odd.
aw dang. transfer it?
done, refresh, nothing to see here :)
You could go for the sidepod mounted bargeboards Ferrari has come up with this year.
Or when the high cockpit sides were introduced in 96, Newey saw that the minimum hight of the bodywork, and the minimum hight of the padding were different.
I guess that explains one of the reasons why the FIA did not rule earlier.
You'd think the teams would've thought this through...
ha!
good summary of the diffuser situation here:
http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/73888
oops, forgot the key quote:
"It is understood that Brawn GP, Williams and Toyota are so convinced that their diffusers are legal that they have not thought it necessary to come up with a contingency plan to run a different design if the stewards rule against them."
So in other words.
If it's deemed illegal, we are in the cack...
nope. because an appeal won't happen until after malaysia. that's two races to go out and win.
If not only the scruiteneers results are protested but the race results are protested due to illegal cars - then they could have the wins taken away from them so it could leave them back where they started but this time with no diffuser.
true enough.
Yes I'm lazy and can't be bothered to search, but those BBC Australian GP previews/highlights from yesteryear are on the red-button now if you want to watch on the big screen. Or channel 301 for those with freeview.
And Twitter rant... I think a cull of some of the people I have as 'following' might be in order soon. It's like GMM in real-time with some folk.
hahahah! bound to happen.
i've stopped following "people" and mostly follow hashtags when i'm in the mood.
I guess this means they are going to stand and fight. If their diffusers are ruled illegal they will race under protest.
Leo has a new mixer.
autosport preview article here (subs req): http://www.autosport.com/features/article.php/id/2056
however, i bring attention to it only because at the very beginning it asks a rather cool question:
"If you were to scribble down a wish list for what you'd like to see in a new Formula 1 season, what would it include?"
i'll start with:
- more chances for the fans to see the cars in action (bring back in-season testing, ensure lots of friday and saturday running).
- a lower rear wing.
- the introduction of lie detectors during driver and team principle interviews.
- insist that the trophies be too big for the crash-dieting drivers to lift
anyone else?
he bought an onyx? damn him.
Franck.
that is your only wish?
Can I have 2008 again?
oooh. yes.
2008 with added Franck. There you go.
:)
Leo's new mixer is only temporary. He has a new super duper one coming. Maybe he could lend you the current one then.
Introduction of lie detectors for every time Bernie , Max, Donnelly, Whiting or any of the stewards said anything to anyone ever.
You want Franck to use a lie detector?
ooooh, i likes your thinking
Return of Canada to the calendar
Bernie to retire
Televised Stewarding meetings
Teams to run a third car with only rookie drivers allowed the seat
Proper KERS that isn't a dumned down version
A fairer points distribution with wins getting a bigger share of the points
More testing
Less street circuits, Monaco and Singapore is enough
if you mean "drop valencia", you can just come out and say it. we won't judge ;)
Who's Leo?
Oh and press accreditation for sidepodcast pitlanefanatic and blogF1
we might've borrowed the whole "live streaming" idea from him:
http://twitlive.tv/
He had a loop of shows from Sunday running yesterday where he was explaining about the new mixer and about the new one. I think it waswhile he was being interviewed by the people from boinx.com who make software to let you podcast video.
Piquet wins something for once
It's OK. On the same thing that he was talking about the mixer he said he copied it from someone else and a few of the people who are regular guest on his shows are setting up studios so they can do it as well.
"Racing against Australian V8 Supercar driver, Cameron McConville, and a host of up and up and coming youngsters"
:D
:D
Roll bars and seat belts in a kart? I thought Aussies were real men?
so near, yet so far with boinx. they have a silly solution for live streaming. i wish they'd stop calling it a "solution" when it's just a fudge. one day, they'll be exactly what we need.
hey everyone :) how are you all today? I've had an awesome day, mainly cause i was told that i am going to be a prefect. The weeks of writing applications, and interviews actually paid off :D
Well done you. :D
go lou!
Congratulations :D
Email from F1 Racing this month asks what question I would like to pose Nico Rosberg.
Any suggestions?
"What shampoo and conditioner do you use to get such fine, tangle-free, hair?"
thanks :D it's pastoral prefect so a lot of work :D but i'm really excited.
Why did you bottle out of going to McLaren?
This looks quite funky: http://timesonline.typepad.com/formula_one/2009/03/pretend-youre-i.html
Times Online F1 Tracker
Could you explain what exactly a (pastoral) prefect is? Haven't got the faintest clue.
funky isn't the word, that is immense!
me neither.
go lou!
oh it's like caring for the school and students. So like running the school student council, setting up a peer to peer mentor/ counselling type system, anti bullying schemes, working with the teachers especially the head and dept head of the school coming up with lots of ideas to improve the school experience for the students (based on discussions with student council, and talking to the students) etc. it's one of the highest prefect positions too :D
:D that looks awesome :D
:D
holy cow. do you have time for all that?
The shuttle is now 35 feet away from the ISS. The separation took place on time to the minute. That is bound to confuse NASA.
I am really impressed by the Times feature. I really hope that they can deliver on that. I am even more excited about Melbourne now. I need more computers.
You didn't get into a heated debate and turn around to find it gone again, did you?
Does anyone know if there might be a way to fool the BBC streaming site to allow me to watch the BB online coverage of Friday Pratice while i'm here in Las Vegas?
student council is one a month, prefect meetings are once every 2 weeks, and everything else kinda fits in around frees and stuff. I'm only doing 3 subjects next year so that should help. But no it's not going to be the easiest thing in the world. However things should calm down after this term as most of the reason i've been so busy is because of applications and interviews :)
I'm sure there is a way and we're not allowed to say what it is.
Sorry
and now the stress of apps and interviews are all over and you get to look forward to an exciting new role at school and the wonderful world of formula 1 returning. yay! :)
Another cool pic today
http://www.f1minute.com/category/f1-big-picture/
what we need is another site with all the info, that we can direct people too, but that won't implicate us in any way :)
No. I saw this one.
It's called Google isn't it? :D
hehe :) i've been at the same school for 13 and half years now... it's nice to have a slightly different role ;)
You either started early or have been held back once or twice :D
oh that's including nursery and reception too :P not just yr1,2,3 etc.
Oh that reminds me, in our law lecture this afternoon the agenda was about the legality of the media being overintrusive with the data protection act around, etc and the rights people have with personal stuff. Most of the lecture consisted of a discussion about max mosley :D
some of the things mentioned by other students I don't think I should repeated to be honest but it was funny hearing someone comment about a fear of seeing him and his 'fancy dress party' slowly making it's way into formula 1.
if only they could've given the idea before the panel question on sunday about making f1 more annoying...
Nice pics of the ISS and its new solar panels from the shuttle on NASA TV
Quiz time
shoot. no ready. be there in a mo.
For those who are about and like predicting things... And I don't want to push it too much but you might enjoy the sofaf1 championship prediction competition
http://www.sofaf1.com/2009/03/sofaf1-pole-poll-2009-championship.html
It's key if you want to give it a go to get in early because if you miss the start it's kind of hard to catch up :)
from vee8 on twitter... bbc circuit guides. really, really good stuff:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/motorsport/formula_one/circuit_guide/default.stm
And I would just like to say a big thank you to Christine and Me for being the first entrants!
Oh wow. That's amazing! BBC are really starting to bring out excellent stuff online... just hope that the television coverage turns out to be of a stellar standard as well! Which I;m sure it will.
This is fantastic! I am really looking forward to the weekend now.
(moving Apprentice to right thread)
So far so predictable, all the management and sales quotes are flying around!
One week I should probably do this quiz everyone's talking about.
:)
It is amazing how many of them look like contestants from previous years
At this rate they'll both lose.
BBC have their circuit guides up.
They're really quite cool.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/motorsport/formula_one/circuit_guide/default.stm#top
The men are losing this. They were making a fortune cleaning shoes and gave up to not make money cleaning cars. Their PM is finished if they lose.
Made me laugh how dismal he looked when they got over to the car wash. I reckon he'll be going.
wow the boys won... fair enough.
The current Macheist deal includes the $199 version of Boinx TV - the bundle price is $39 which gets you a number of other products:
macheist.com
doesn't matter if they gave it away. it doesn't go live streaming :(
I see their method - it's not pretty is it.
you first use 75% of your proc power to encode a video with overlays. and then they suggest running a second encoder to record your screen? the noise of the fans would make the concept unworkable and that's assuming you can find another 40% of spare processing power.
It's like filming the TV set with another camera - as used to relay the Apollo XI feed and in Ireland, to maintain 405 line TV coverage after their convertor broke.
:D
Anyone else seen this?
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/motorsport/formula_one/7957788.stm
Yeah, three?
USGPE and who else? Prodrive becoming intrested again?
video from today at kinglake (cheers amy):
The trick to Vegemite is more butter. Think tea and toast with a tiny scraping of the black stuff. Do you have Twisties over there? I'm sure I saw a TV show once that said they have Vegemite (or similar ingredients to) in them.
Still UGH. LPG likes it though.
Relevant scores for the Pitlane Fanatic Quiz
Mr C - 12
RG - 20
Steven Roy -22
The winner got 23.
you beat me and you joined halfway?
was the 5th difference what i thought it was?
I did catchup mind you ;) Still got a 100% record against you.
Answers are going up in a tic
Flav' bottom button ?
I had that one easily.
got that one, i think it was nick sleeve?
sorry, whitmarsh's sleeve.
The five I had were
Flavio top left jacket button missing, the pattern on Martin Whitmarsh’s tie, Vijay Mallya’s lapel badge, logo between Ron and Vijay, Flavio bottom right jacket button appeared
Here we are
http://www.pitlanefanatic.com/viewtopic.php?f=13&t=731
in that case there are 6 differences :D
Late drama, RG and Steven Roy docked a point for unknown reasons. Mr C still dead last.
:D
What? Is this like the diffuser protests?
OK guys...
Who dun it?...
by the way steven, what did you say here:
http://allenonf1.wordpress.com/2009/03/25/protest-on-brawn-imminent/#comment-3139
to warrant moderation?
and can we call you "steve" too?
But please don't get us sued either.
oh yeah, that too.
Anyone know why my mouse wants to jump one scroll-wheel notch, all by itself, at irregular intervals?
Well guys and gals, ive just come in from seeing 'Knowing'..very odd film...
Anywho....
I'm very proud of you guys, i see you've all be commenting away.
Can we have a comment count please Mr/Mrs C?
It's like a telethon. Please keep commenting, every comment counts towards our target.
Every comment you give saves 1 life in sidepodland
hahaha. give comments generously.
what happens when we reach the target?
149,453.
we whoop.
fair enough :D
i become overly happy....then try and get to 200,000 :D
We set a new one.
WOOOW!!! THATS GREAT!!! :D
You wanna save some of that enthusiasm for the target :)
dont worry, theres plenty left where that came from....imagine the un-enthusiasm i had for James Allen....then reverse it into enthusiasm....and then times it by a kajillion!! then your nearly there
Capital letters for a good reason :)
:D
Easy! You guys should get that halfway thru tomorrow. :-)
151k by FP1, then?
I said the Charlie Whiting told McLaren twice that Lewis Hamilton was fine twice after the incident at Spa and after the race changed his mind after a discussion with Donnelly.
Verifiable fact. Its in the transcripts.
He lied to the enquiry on the Spa incident and that he had claimedto have spoken to Tony Scott-Andrews and said the TSA had changed his mind about a similar incident the previous year. McLaren had a sworn statement from TSA saying that not only had he not changed his mind but Whiting had never spoken to him.
Verifiable fact. Its in the transcripts.
The third one was something about the people in power being corrupt. That is probably a bit too near the knuckle for someone on the inside to have on a personal blog.
hehehe.
aha, i like your thinking
If you like a lot of people do.
Ok. I have a question that's been bugging me for a while now...
Mclaren, Renault and Ferrari have confirmed that they'll use KERS in Australia.
I realize that there will be a big weight advantage to those teams not using the device, What are we expecting here in terms of time difference between the non KERS runners and those that do run it?
isn't it 0.6 seconds per lap?
Typo I meant they can use it for 6.6 seconds per lap :)
They can use it for 6.67 seconds and it gains 0.6sec/lap.
0.6 seconds....Does that include the weight difference?
night all x
goodnight lou.
I suppose this has been discussed but, Bernie says there's 3 new teams for 2010? 26 cars, is he having the maximum car limit tweaked now?
when was this announced? do you have a link?
night
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/motorsport/formula_one/7957788.stm
They are allowed to press the button for 6.5s a lap. The lap difference will be 0.3-0.5 seconds.
I posted the link but everyone ignored it. I think it's because I didn't add an opinion of my own :(
I just remembered my college day finishes early tomorrow 'cos the tax guy isn't coming in. 5.45pm instead of 7pm - result!
nah, probs just got caught up in teh mele
happens to me all the time
They are re-writing the rules on a daily basis.
i thought the max was 26?
I thought the max was 24, 12 teams.
We know US-F1 (or whatever they're called) will be one...
Who the hell are the other two?
They brought in a rule a few years ago limiting the number of cars to 24 now they are doing yet another U turn.
13.6 No more than 24 cars will be admitted to the Championship, two being entered by each competitor.
you are correct, i do love bernies rambling nonsense
ProDrive?
im also wondering about this ive just found....
ii) three one day young driver training tests carried out between the end of the last Event of the Championship and 31 December of the same year, any such driver having not competed in more than two F1 World Championship Events ;
i thought a young driver was not more than 2 in 24 months, this just says ever
That reminds me, anyone have a clue on the current rule concerning customer cars?
So after USGPE, who else? Pro Drive? Richard Branson? Some oil rich Arabian country?
I thought they were trying to phase that out, hence STR building their own car in the future??
banned from next year. however, fia rules exist in a quantum domain and no-one knows what state they may be in at any given time.
What day of the week is it? I think Wednesdays are 'in favour' days. Tomorrow is Thursday and I think they don't like them on Thursdays.
:D
He doesn't have two other teams. He is just creating headlines.
“Any fool can make a rule, and any fool will mind it".
- Some 18th century poet bloke.
Has anyone listened to the interview with Bernie that the 26 cars quote is from? God I hate listening to that man speak.....
It is now, officially, my birthday :)
happy birthday alia!
Happy birthday. This is the second site today I have wished you happy birthday on.
Thank you, "me" and Steven Roy.
And yes, I suspect there may be a few other sites where I need to post my birthday on...
Happy birthday!
And g'night!