Sidepodcast

The British Grand Prix weekend kicks off tomorrow morning and with David Coulthard choosing today to announce his impending retirement, we’re all set for a Sunday afternoon to remember.

I get the impression that DC fully intends to enjoy his last few months racing in F1, as yesterday’s visit to his old team’s headquarters will attest. Today’s official press conference came across as a pretty relaxed affair with just the three British drivers in attendance. Plenty of banter ensued, that culminated in Lewis offering to go head-to-head against Jenson in a future triathlon, while David wisely avoided the proposition.

I’m hoping that some of DC’s good vibes will wear off on the rest of the paddock, giving us a nice and chilled out second half to the year. Max, apparently has other ideas though, trying as he did today to quash David’s announcement (and his personal thanks to Bernie), with a poorly timed “open-letter” to the teams on the subject of cost cutting (another shining example of transparency when it suits).

Regardless, we shall not be dragged down by yet more politics. There’s much to look forward to and one of those things is David Coulthard’s very last British Grand Prix.

So with the Silverstone test all wrapped up and under our belts, this week sees us heading off to… Silverstone. Damn.

The British Grand Prix is almost upon us and we’re fired up for a classic weekend. There’s a four way battle at the top of the drivers championship and there’s rain predicted for at least part of the weekend. Now I’m not one for encouraging the bad weather, but if it helps mix up the status quo, I’m more than prepared to suffer.

Continue reading…

The pictures we’ve been posting over the three days of testing are all very well and good, but we’ve missed out two of the most important.

Bourdais

He was emerging from the Toro Rosso garage and heading towards the motorhome. I know I said I wasn’t bothered about him anymore, but he seemed to be the nicest man ever.

A crowd gathered around him and blocked his path across the paddock. He stopped, he signed and signed, kept on giving out those autographs and muttering greetings to the surrounding fans, and didn’t stop until everyone had gone. When his way was finally clear, someone approached him with a microphone and asked him if he could spare a couple of seconds. He nodded, but said they had to walk and talk, and he indicated for the person to join him in the motor home.

Why didn’t we think of that?

Continue reading…

On the final day of testing at Silverstone, the big guns came out to play. With Fernando, Lewis and Kimi all on hand to try out their respective machines in preparation for next weekends British Grand Prix there was far more media interest than on previous days.

Fernando Alonso

Alonso had a rough day testing, first his engine expired in the morning wiping out a large portion of the days running and then his final lap was compromised when the Renault powered Red Bull gave up in the closing minutes.

The man didn’t appear to be a happy camper in Silverstone, he left the circuit quickly after one of the shortest debriefs in the paddock.

Continue reading…

I haven’t left for the 3rd day of testing yet, as yesterday knocked us both for six. We’re out of practice and not match fit. I’m planning on heading off shortly, and generally getting in the way as all the motorhomes are dismantled. In the meantime here are a few shots from Wednesday’s testing.

Nelson Piquet

Piquet was on duty for day two of testing, and for the second time his running was curtailed due to car failure (probably engine related).

The man took an unusual line into the pits in this shot, drawing alongside much earlier than usual. As he blasted by he showered us in what might have been carbon brake dust.

Continue reading…

Oh, poor Webber.

We’re taking shelter because of the weather, although it looks like it’s brightening up. Now that I’ve said that, it will start pouring again, and I will be lynched. However, it’s time for a quick sit down and recap over what we’ve seen so far.

Continue reading…

Here we are - both of us. We’ve been here just half an hour, and already it’s action packed.

So far, we’ve seen all but McLaren do at least one lap, we’ve got a serious case of lens envy, and the Red Arrows have done a sort of recce with a Black Arrow. Weird.

Continue reading…

I hope a picture paints a thousand words, because I have much to say but I’m just too tired. Here’s a few more shots from the first day of Silverstone testing.

Nelson Piquet

Up close and personal with Nelshino. The guy was in a surprisingly good mood until his engine went ‘pop’ on the main straight around 3 o’clock and that was after he had a slow start to the morning session.

When sitting in the pits the helmet visor can be used much like a pair of sunglasses, obscuring the drivers eyes as he waits patiently for the mechanics to go about their business. It was nice of him to open the lid for a brief moment before he set off for another run.

Continue reading…

He went without me!? Well, he’s lucky I’m in a good mood and don’t mind updating you on his progress.

The laptop used to post the previous pictures died, but not before capturing some live video. Check it out:

I can also tell you that it is nigh on impossible to hold a sensible telephone conversation with someone standing near the track of an F1 test. However, we shall do our best to remain in touch, and keep you in the loop as well. Stay tuned.

Continue reading…

Psst. Don’t tell Christine, but I’ve sneaked into the Silverstone test a day earlier than her.

A number of cars have done installation laps and returned to the pits. All is quiet at the moment. The sky is clear and the sun damn hot. Below are a couple of pics to start the day off. I’ll add some more as and when. If you’re in the area, please yell, also if you have any questions / photo requests I’ll do me best to check back frequently.

Continue reading…