F1 Digest - Italy Preview
- Length: 8:28
- Size: 7.8 MB
- File: digest53.mp3
- Transcript: digest53.pdf
- Torrent: digest53.torrent
We thought we wanted rain and all it brought us was controversy. Hopefully this weekend in Monza can bring us what we want to see - good, competitive racing.
Vital Statistics
- Date: 14th September
- Circuit: Monza
- Length: 5.8km
- Laps: 53
- 2007 Winner: Fernando Alonso
Preview
The last European race of the season takes place at Monza, one of the fastest circuits on the calendar. With plenty of long straights and slow corners, our drivers have plenty to think about, and thankfully, they share some of it with us.
September 10th, 2008 at 11:50 pmBassano Clapper said:
Reckon Lewis & Mac will be fired up for this one, point to prove and all that. Should be good
September 10th, 2008 at 11:59 pmme said:
the slightly-less-reliable-than-fom-weather-page says there may be some rain during the weekend:
perfect for a fightback methinks.
September 11th, 2008 at 12:22 amRich said:
I am hoping for an outside Vettel Victory … here is a quote from the guy on everyone saying the STR is doing well recently due to the Ferrari engine. So Vettel responded with this observation of Red Bull Racing at Valencia…
Source: http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/70027
September 11th, 2008 at 1:03 amJourneyer said:
Early fearless forecast: Rain on Sunday, Lewis is quick, but gets taken out by a spinner at the Retifillo.
Heh. That’s very detailed.
September 11th, 2008 at 2:02 amSteven Roy said:
Whoever planned this year’s calendar must be kicking themselves. They left a three week gap after the Valencia bore then only a week after Spa which has generated more coverage that any race in recent history. I am sure Bernie would have much preferred the gaps to be switched.
Nico Rosberg’s nationality just gets more complicated. I knew he grew up in Monaco and thought he was Finnish. I knew his mother was German and I can see why he is German but now he spends all his time with Italians. It is just as well Nico is not involved in any of the recent controversies as it is way to difficult to figure out which nationalistic biases apply. Which nation’s press is biased in his case? I don’t know. Before he gets a decent drive he needs to pick one nationality so that I can figure out if I am for him or against him.
September 11th, 2008 at 2:11 amSteven Roy said:
Oh I forgot predictions. Monza should be a McLaren track with its short duration corners where the McLaren’s mechanical grip is more important than Ferrari’s aero grip. The same property of the corners coupled with the long straights should compound Ferrari’s difficulty in heating their tyres while mitigating against Lewis shredding his and it could be wet so it should be the Lewis show.
But Ferrari have a habit of somehow producing results at Monza even when it is utterly hopeless. McLaren won every other race in 1988 but Schlesser subbing for the injured Mansell took out Senna when he was strolling away with the race and gave Ferrari a 1-2 just after Enzo had died. These things seem to happen at Monza.
I have to say I think Lewis will win but not with any confidence.
September 11th, 2008 at 9:20 amStuart C said:
Buongiorno everyone,
Steven, I must thank you for that delicious piece of irony. I’ve just had to cough up 120 Euros for WiFi and am therefore in need of a giggle.
September 11th, 2008 at 9:43 amStuart C said:
As a sort of postscript to yesterday’s discussion about press ‘bias’, a couple of thoughts:-
- The notion that newspapers, etc, have a ‘duty’ to report everything accurately and fairly is both naive and fundamentally incorrect. Right from the invention of the moveable-type printing press, print has been a tool for people with agendas – those who would distribute propaganda, or simply those who would turn a profit by selling a product. Granted, there are some American papers with highfalutin’ ideals, but, as evinced by recent history, even they can be used as shills by govenments, etc.
People who bleat about press bias or “poor journalism” on websites often exhibit what I call the “Woodward and Bernstein complex”. They view everything as some grand conspiracy that is waiting for some plucky investigator to unpick – and when that unpicking does not take place, the web-bleaters rail against what they perceive as the incompetence of the press.
Generally speaking these conspiracies do not exist. Furthermore, in the modern age investigative journalism is almost dead. To use Woodward and Bernstein as an example, Watergate took several years of concerted digging before Nixon fell on his proverbial sword. No modern newspaper would permit two journalists to spend that long working on something while only producing a trickle of articles. We live in an age of time management and productivity – this applies to all businesses, not just newspapers. If people such as Rich want to change this, I’m afraid the only way to do so would be to invent a time machine, rewind to the 1970s and assassinate Ronald Reagan, Margaret Thatcher and Milton Freidman.
- Generally speaking, the people on web forums who are loudest in shouting about bias are partisan themselves. In this case, there exists a clan of people who for various reasons have cultivated a dislike of Lewis Hamilton that borders on the fanatical. They can brook no praise of Lewis. If you write anything other than unqualified criticism of him, their hackles rise. Perhaps Lewis has been excessively praised in some quarters. However, you are not going to effect a proportional righting of the wrong by pushing back in the opposite direction. This is sport – it’s not Newtonian physics!
September 11th, 2008 at 9:52 amFlibster said:
This is going to be a tight race I think.
Ferrari appear to have the speed edge, but on a low downforce circuit with most of the aerodynamic garbage removed it could be very close.
Will be good in Toro Rosso keep up their good form.
September 11th, 2008 at 9:53 amFlibster said:
Gaah, typing gone to hell.
Will be good IF Toro Rosso keep up their good form
September 11th, 2008 at 10:22 amme said:
my favourite comment of the week methinks
you be at monza, what’s the weather / paddock atmosphere like at the moment?
September 11th, 2008 at 10:28 amme said:
both ferrari’s have new engine’s and lewis is on E2 (have discounted kovi from all reckoning on the grounds that he’s bloody hopeless, come rain or shine).
unless lewis has the outright pace, the two ferrari’s have the chance to play the team game against him. mind you, in damp conditions they’re sitting ducks. although on extreme wets they may fair better.
September 11th, 2008 at 10:46 amFlibster said:
is it really the 30th anniversary of Ronnie Peterson’s death this weekend?
September 11th, 2008 at 11:02 amChristine said:
Today, isn’t it? Just read up on Wikipedia.
Apparently a museum was opened in May to recognise the anniversary.
http://www.ronniepetersonmuseum.com/index_eng.html
September 11th, 2008 at 11:27 amFlibster said:
I knew about the Museum. It’s scheduled to have his Lotus there. I believe Classic Team Lotus held it back temp temporally after someone heavily crashed one of their others and they were going to use Ronnies to make some templates from.
I didn’t realise that it was today.
September 11th, 2008 at 11:42 amme said:
it’s almost not worth the effort to type this, but:
“The FIA has given the Ferrari engine of Felipe Massa the all-clear, following a routine inspection prior to the Italian Grand Prix.”
http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/70465
September 11th, 2008 at 11:44 amStuart C said:
It’s hazy but warm at the moment, so tricky to draw conclusions. This part of the world is prone to snap thunderstorms overnight, owing to the proximity of the Alps.
Most people are still just turning up, but as you can imagine the opening gambit of many a conversation is, “What did you think about last week?”
You have to get here early to snag a good seat in the press room because some don’t have a very good view of the monitors. We (not the royal ‘we’ - me, and Jonny N and Edd S from Autosport) were here at half nine and the window seats overlooking the McLaren pit had already been taken - by German journalists, would you believe? The seating area doesn’t extend over the Ferrari pit so I’ve settled for a spot overlooking Renault and Williams. BMW would have left me too near the area earmarked for radio people, which would have been too noisy.
September 11th, 2008 at 11:54 amme said:
do radio people not sit in the commentary boxes then? 5live were in the booth next to allen and co. at silverstone, or is that different?
September 11th, 2008 at 12:00 pmScott Woodwiss said:
Autosport’s weather forecast also has rain forecasted over the weekend. Light rain over Friday and Saturday and showers on Sunday.
You don’t need as much power in the wet, especially with the traction issues being there no driver aids. So if it does start raining then Lewis’ engine might not cause him that much of a problem, since we’ve all seen what the Ferraris are like in the rain - utterly hopeless.
Besides, when was the last time we saw a McLaren engine failure? Monaco 2006 or something like that. Since then, that Mercedes unit has not completely failed once. Contrast that with Ferrari, and that engine has grown steadily unreliable since Suzuka 2006 when MS blew up and damaged his title chances.
September 11th, 2008 at 12:09 pmStuart C said:
They’re not full-time commentators, so to speak. They have headsets and periodically burst into animated speech – it probably works like when Radio 5 throw to their various football correspondents at matches around the country. There is a particularly loud French bloke, and someone else whose mobile ringtone is like a cat’s miaow.
Speaking of commentators, Bob C managed to do a 28-second “Champaaaaaaaaaagne” into my colleague’s Dictaphone last weekend. Perhaps Sidepodcast’s listeners could be persuaded to ring in and see if they can match that?
September 11th, 2008 at 12:20 pmme said:
ahh, right. with ya.
28 seconds? yikes. i’m game, anyone else?
September 11th, 2008 at 12:24 pmScott Woodwiss said:
OMG! I think i just did over 30 seconds, no kidding.
September 11th, 2008 at 12:27 pmme said:
cool. this sounds like a sunday breakfast show live challenge to me.
is there anything special we need to know about bob’s shouting, stuart?
September 11th, 2008 at 12:32 pmChristine said:
Remind me to be making the croissants when this happens
September 11th, 2008 at 12:33 pmFlibster said:
Thank god I’m not here to listen to it.
I have big toys to go play with.
September 11th, 2008 at 12:39 pmme said:
i said it was missable content
September 11th, 2008 at 12:47 pmFlibster said:
Oooh - actually going to feed Me this time? Or just do enough for yourself and leave him wanting?
So glad I will be missing it.
I have a microphone configured with my MP3 player - hopefully it’ll work for talking to Clive Chapman.
September 11th, 2008 at 1:17 pmStuart C said:
I think that all participants should adhere to the template. I’ll leave an approximation on your voicemail – maybe you can put it on Drop-Your-Yo-Yo so that everyone can hear what’s required before they ring in…
September 11th, 2008 at 1:22 pmSteven Roy said:
Unbelievable. I remember it like it was yesterday. All he had were leg injuries and no-one thought there was anything serious in it. The next day at work my boss came in after lunch and said ‘I know you like you motor racing. One of the drivers that crashed yesterday has died.’ I asked who and he didn’t know so I said that it must be Brambilla because he had the most serious injuries. ‘That wasn’t the name’ he said and I told him it had to be because the only other driver injured was Peterson and he only had leg injuries. ‘That’s the guy’ he told me and I spent the next half hour telling him he had got wrong until someone else confirmed it. It would have been like finding out Schumacher had died as a result of breaking his leg at Silverstone.
September 11th, 2008 at 2:19 pmFlibster said:
Got to admit - I was about 4 months old at the time so surprisingly, I don’t remember the incident as it happened.
I’ve seen it since then though. It looked absolutely horrific as all the fuel went up. He was extremely lucky to survive that, sadly didn’t survive the night in the hospital.
September 11th, 2008 at 2:44 pmLe BOL said:
I didn’t even exist at that point in time but recently watched classic F1 seasons on ESPN and got to learn more about Ronnie, nice bloke he was or so it seems at least.
Off the topic but Portimão circuit - the best in Europe so they say - is ready to host its 1st event, SBK round on the 2nd of November and I’m planning to be there to take some pics.
Hopefully, F1 may rediscover Portugal’s new Autódromo as fantastic testing venue.
Stuart C! Man, you must spread the word among F1 teams about this new miracle track!!!
I’ll provide a link on drop-yo-ya.
September 11th, 2008 at 3:55 pmme said:
hehe, cheers.
looking at the pic you’ve posted le bol. it looks damn similar to the proposed layout for the new circuit at lake balaton.
http://drop.io/sidepodcast/asset/algarve
http://drop.io/sidepodcast/asset/balaton-ring
must in vogue at the moment.
September 11th, 2008 at 4:32 pmR.G (The Nurburgring/Sato/BMW Fan) said:
What’s this, a race?
I can beat the 28 seconds easy, I once did a 31 second GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAL!
And yeah, 30th anniversary of Petersen’s death.
September 11th, 2008 at 4:57 pmme said:
really? you willing to go head-to-head against scott?
i’ve managed about 22 seconds today.
September 11th, 2008 at 5:10 pmStuart C said:
I look forward to hearing this…
Apparently Jose Mourinho is going to be here as a guest of Red Bull at the weekend, and Richard Branson will be here with Vijay Mallya.
That’s it from me for today. Air temp is currently reading at 29 but it’s been cloudy for most of the afternoon and there have been a few spots of rain. There’s supposedly a 70 percent chance of rain at the weekend.
September 11th, 2008 at 5:28 pmR.G (The Nurburgring/Sato/BMW Fan) said:
I’ll see if I can, when may I ask?
September 11th, 2008 at 5:51 pmme said:
aren’t those two competitors?
excellent news… i think.
September 11th, 2008 at 5:54 pmme said:
am guessing live calls during the parade lap, which is recorded prior to itv’s f1 race coverage. so 11am sunday.
if you can’t make it, a voicemail before then is fine too.
September 11th, 2008 at 5:55 pmR.G (The Nurburgring/Sato/BMW Fan) said:
After the Sparce in Belgium, anyhing is good.
September 11th, 2008 at 5:57 pmR.G (The Nurburgring/Sato/BMW Fan) said:
It’ll probably be option b for, me considering I have a match on Sunday (subject to postponemet). So I’ll see what I can do.
September 11th, 2008 at 6:12 pmOllie said:
Heh, so it’s true then!
Yes, but what’s that line about keeping your friends close and your enemies closer.
From what I’ve seen of multi-multi-millionaire entrepreneurs, they’re mostly a friendly bunch, even with each other. Mallya and Branson are rich enough not to worry too much about what the other is doing, besides they can probably share ideas to increase each of their wealth’s anyway.
I can’t remember the last time I saw a wet Italian Grand Prix?
September 11th, 2008 at 6:14 pmRich said:
Since in the previous two Fantasy racers I forgot to change my team I have decided to miss out using practice as some inspiration and just select the team.
My first choice is Roberto as he is celebrating his first podium he got at Monza with a Special Helmet design and I will show my support by having him in my Fantasy team.
Generally I like to support a driver or team at their home circuit* (e.g. Lewis/Macca at the Silverstone and the German drivers and teams at the German GP). I have therefore decided that all the rest of the team must have an Italian connection - specifically be Ferrari-powered. I cannot afford to have both Italian Teams (Ferrari and STR) and both their drivers. Consequently I have selected both STR drivers (Le Seb and De Seb). To this I will add one Ferrari driver so have decided on Massa and then to use the remainder of the funders I will add Sutil with the Ferrari powered Force India. I think the latter team has actually been doing really well (in pure time difference with the front runners they have closed the gap significantly from last year).
September 11th, 2008 at 6:16 pmAlex Andronov said:
I have to say it’s very easy to think you’ve gone on for a lot longer than you have when you put a stopwatch in front of you.
I thought I’d been going for ages. Then I did a version with the stop watch and it was like 14 seconds!
Are you allowed to spend any time saying “Champ”?
September 11th, 2008 at 6:17 pmAlex Andronov said:
Working from home is quite helpful in these situations
September 11th, 2008 at 6:46 pmAlex Andronov said:
There is a lot of talk of global tie ups at the moment…
September 11th, 2008 at 7:35 pmFlibster said:
Argh!
The wedding I’m off to on saturday is happening when qualifying is on!
Good job I’ve got some custom moulded earphones that are flesh coloured. Just one in and the DAB radio on.
Shhhhh.
September 11th, 2008 at 7:48 pmJordan Allen said:
So guys, what are the odds that Flibster screws up the attempt to say “I do” at the right time, for something like “Kimi’s gone purple in Sector Two?”
Could be wedding to remember, wish I was invited…
.
September 11th, 2008 at 8:01 pmThe Champaaagne Challenge | Sidepodcast : Your Weekly F1 Podcast said:
[...] commented earlier today that Bob recently managed an astonishing 28 second performance without taking a breath. In the same [...]
September 11th, 2008 at 8:41 pmFlibster said:
Just wait…
Vicar:
“Does anyone know any reason why these two should not be married?”
Me:
OH YES!
Expect a disaster. It’s only the other half’s brothers wedding though.
Not family.
September 11th, 2008 at 9:07 pmJordan Allen said:
See what I mean…. this could be very entertaining….
September 11th, 2008 at 9:15 pmFlibster said:
The other half is threatening to hide my headphones!
Luckily she doesn’t know where they are at the moment.
September 11th, 2008 at 9:30 pmJordan Allen said:
As long as you know where your headphones are……
September 11th, 2008 at 9:38 pmBassano Clapper said:
Speaking of Race Sunday breakfast, can’t remember who it was that favoured the egg, bacon & chilli sauce set up during the last Parade Lap but for me it’ll be
Scrambled egg with fresh chopped chilli. Sweet chilli sauce on the side with tea & toast, natch
September 11th, 2008 at 10:00 pmSteven Roy said:
I can’t make my mind up if this is romantic or plain weird.
http://www.gpwizard.co.uk/forum/index.php?topic=6534.0
September 11th, 2008 at 10:29 pmBassano Clapper said:
The kidney donation part or marriage to Niki Lauda?
September 11th, 2008 at 10:35 pmFlibster said:
That was me.
Your breakfast sounds good too. Egg and chilli is such a tasty combination.
September 11th, 2008 at 10:43 pmJordan Allen said:
Oh for crying out loud. Stewardess get married to Pilots all the time. She just manged to land Lauda Air’s Chief Pilot that’s all.
But, yeah, most guys just want their gals hand in marriage. wanting her kidney is a little weird…..
September 11th, 2008 at 10:54 pmSteven Roy said:
I guess I missed the obvious pun. I should have said plane weird. I will get kicked out of the punners union for that
September 11th, 2008 at 10:58 pmRich said:
Thanks Stuart
Very revealing. I want to pick on some of these points as your response should raise concerns for anyone reading stuff on the web and in F1 magazines.
When I argued that newspapers etc should report fairly rather than being naive I was reflecting a Utopian ideal of the world.
When Channel 4 broadcasted the Great Global Climate Swindle it represented a stance opposing the idea that human activity is causing climate change and was an exercise of skilful deception. The entire documentary is fraudulent given the consensus of the scientific community and use evidences that has been discredited.
See http://www.monbiot.com/archives/2007/03/13/channel-4s-problem-with-science/
There were complaints lodged with Ofcom. In terms of accuracy news programmes must be but in respect to other programmes “there is no such requirement” So I am pleased that Stuart has come out confirming that what we read basically does not need to be factual accurate and more than likely reflects an “agenda” of some kind. It is interesting to note that the BBC charter makes the following commitment…
we should do all we can to treat controversial subjects with due accuracy and impartiality in our news services and other programmes dealing with matters of public policy or of political or industrial controversy.
So again there is no necessity for accuracy/impartiality in reporting of sporting events like F1
I do not generally believe most conspiracy ideas, certainly not in the F1 industry. While accusing the public of having belief in conspiracy its an ironic twist that much of the British F1 Press often weave stories of complicity between the FIA and Ferrari.
This probably is a sad truth about the world we live in today, fortunately there are columnists such as the Guardian’s George Monbiot who still seek to reverse this situation.
Likewise these is a mass of mostly British F1 journalists that have cultivated a dislike for Ferrari and the FIA that also borders on the fanatical. Of course this polarisation is cultivated in order to make headlines and sell stories and magazines.
I think this conclusion is very well expressed.
I am now going to play devil’s advocate. Since the F1 press are not bound to either being impartial or accurate is it in a position to require the FIA to be impartial? After all the FIA could argue that it provides entertainment and if this means being selective in awarding penalties (like the one given to Lewis at Belgium) to keep the title contenders closer it is entitled to do so. I am afraid it is rather “What’s sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander“. Expressed differently for the press to expect the FIA to be impartial in governing of the sport when the press itself does not feel any need to be accurate and impartial in the reporting of the sport is hypocritical.
Back to my final thoughts on the penalty handed to Lewis. The FIA regulations are remarkably vague (deliberately?). All the discussion of handing back position, speed across the start finish line and actually when Lewis re-took the lead is irrelevant. Hamilton is in breach of Article 30.3(a) of the Sporting Regulations which states:
During practice and the race, drivers may use only the track
These regulations do not mention that an advantage gained by an off-track excursion has to be returned.
In the case of Belgium, I wonder if any driver did not leave the track at some point. As a consequence of this all-encompassing situation the FIA officials are in a situation to investigate any breach and make a decision. This is is a bit like randomly selecting a car to examine that its engine development has been frozen. Whether a penalty is imposed is part luck and part discretionary.
No one can question that Lewis left the track, the only permissible argument is if Kimi pushed Lewis off the track. Unless that can be established it is clear that Lewis is in breach of the regulation and therefore subject to a penalty.
To conclude, McLaren’s appeal and the public petition are futile. In all probability the FIA will not even accept it for consideration. As viewers and fans we need to expect that not all infringements of the regulations will be investigated and to expect selectivity in the way they are applied. Lewis and McLaren, as well as other drivers and teams, basically have to accept this situation (whether it is fair or not). I personally do not like it since it is difficult to know exactly what could be done to avoid be penalised once a chicane is missed or the track left. I also do not like reversing results. As a viewer and/or fan your only “voice” is to abstain from watching FIA events (TV or Live). For the time being I will continue to be a viewer, but if it gets to the situation of predictability and unacceptable bias (like during the Schumacher era) I will suspend my interest in the sport as I did a few years back.
September 11th, 2008 at 11:15 pmRich said:
I guess Steak and Kidney will not be on the Wedding menu.
September 11th, 2008 at 11:40 pmSteven Roy said:
This looks to me like a new governing body for a breakaway is being formed
http://www.itv-f1.com/news_article.aspx?id=43906
September 12th, 2008 at 1:04 amme said:
just read the strangest damn post on grandprix.com:
“The job of being an F1 steward is one of discretion and not talking about how decisions were made.”
huh? surely more transparency is always better? but then this very peculiar line is swiftly followed up by:
“…this does not detract from a very clear desire on the part of the F1 world to know how the decision was made”
what the…? read the rest of the article here:
http://www.grandprix.com/ns/ns20749.html
September 12th, 2008 at 1:08 amme said:
nice to see ross get the techie post. seems like good choices all round and i’m sure the timing isn’t in the slightest bit coincidental either.
September 12th, 2008 at 1:36 amLe BOL said:
Yeah, I know. Probably racing won’t be too exciting but will do for testing and in case of second coming we’ll have Portuguese GP back on the calendar, Spaniards are guaranteed will appear en masse in masses to cheer for Alonsito. Would be good for the tourism and good for your humble servant because it’s a shame that I have to travel to Spain to get close to action.
September 12th, 2008 at 1:54 amme said:
all true. am looking forward to your pics good man.