Sidepodcast

With a wet start to FP3 and a dry end we were treated to some great insight as to how the cars may fare in Qualifying this afternoon. It’s all weather dependant of course - at the moment it’s cold and windy but hopefully will be a dry start to Q1.

Alonso finished at the top of the sheets, and with the Renault looking particularly good in the changing conditions, he’ll be hoping for more of the same this afternoon.

As for the rest we’re probably not in the best position to be passing comment, but with Kimi in 9th and Kubica in 19th, we’re as confused as anyone else as to who’ll have the upper hand this afternoon.

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At the time of writing, this is what we know. Massa, Trulli, Alonso and both Toyota drivers had a scrappy Friday, all spending time out of their cars. BMW appeared to be lacking pace, but that wouldn’t be the first time on a Friday and Vettel’s outclassing his French team mate, while Kovi looked impressive in FP2.

We woke up to pouring rain, which has cleared up now. The wind has picked up considerably though, and with a wet track, the question is who will brave the tarmac to provide a dry line? If the weather stays fine it should dry up before qualifying, but today’s first session is another story.

As it’s FP3, we’re looking for yet another spot to watch the action. We know for fact the BBC will be offering commentory, Bernie has live timing online, but there won’t be anything coming from ITV’s direction until qually. More information can be found on our F1 on the Internet page.

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FP2 comes kicking and screaming into the world at two o’clock this afternoon, and the sun’s gone into hiding. We’re a bit chilly at the moment and the wind’s picked up. It feels a little like the weather we had during testing last week, so Fissi might want to be careful out there.

Alonso’s earlier blowup caused much havoc, especially with Massa’s rear end. We’re hoping for a whole lot of on track action as teams and drivers play catchup for the lost time.

Vettel gets much respect for his mornings effort, while Piquet seems to be on a high after his points finish in France. Will Ferrari have time to get Massa running again though?

Today’s second 90 minute session should give us a better idea as to what’s what this weekend. From 2pm in the UK we’ll be following all the action somewhere near a fast section of the track, while live timing details the facts and ITV provides the video coverage.

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We’re taking a belt and braces approach to live commenting this weekend, so this post might appear a while before free practice begins. However, if you’re reading this at all, then we’re halfway there (probably literally).

The sun is up this morning and the sky is very blue. We’ve no idea what the weather holds in store so we’ve packed flip-flops, sun cream, an umbrella and some wellies. A typical English summer day then.

On the driver front, many will be overly familiar with Silverstone given the amount testing done there last week. How much action we’ll see this morning is anyone’s guess, but hopefully the unpredictability and instability of the climate may help us here.

As you may have already gathered we’ll be at the circuit for the whole weekend, while Christine’s Mother-in-Law is manning the servers back home. Do be nice to her, it’s her first day after all.

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It’s raceday in France and we’re just a little bit excitable this morning. When was the last time anyone said that prior to the French Grand Prix?

Today’s grid was always going to be a mixed up affair given the 10-place drops imposed on Hamilton and Rosberg, but Kovalainen’s unexpected 5-place penalty for impeding Webber really puts the silver cats amongst the pigeons. Two out of position McLaren’s could see us witness a masterclass in overtaking this afternoon.

Also coming to McLaren’s aid (and providing us some additional drama) could well be the weather. As Stuart pointed out in the comments earlier there was a little rain falling on the circuit earlier this morning and the clouds overhead aren’t looking very friendly.

The woes of one team are benefiting many others, with both Renaults now joining two Toyota’s and two Red Bull’s in the top ten. The opening laps in the mid-field pack should be blink-and-you-miss-it stuff, as everyone tries to capitalise on McLaren’s poor fortune.

The fight for the win will also be worth keeping an eye on. It looks to be a Ferrari walk-over up front, but which of the two drivers will take ten points?

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This mornings one hour practice essentially told us nothing in terms of who has pace and who’s having problems. Without wanting to pick on the guy too much, you know something’s not right when the first name on the timing sheet is Nelson Piquet Jr.

There did seem to be less off-track rallying action today, with the majority of drivers figuring out the quickest way around this place is to stick to the asphalt. The soft tyre appears to be causing headaches up and down the pitlane, with the quickest time being set on the harder of the available compounds. That’ll probably be the story of qualifying this afternoon. Who can make the soft rubber last a single flying lap?

In terms of the midfield, Lewis Hamilton will be the man to watch. McLaren have a variety of strategies they can use to help Hamilton fight back from his 10-place penalty, from fuelling him light and fighting through the traffic, to going long and bagging as many points as he can. We’ll have a better idea which way the team will go in less than two hours.

Keep an eye also on the BMW drivers. Yesterday Kubica’s running was curtailed by a misfire while today the cars look a handful, but they’ll be hoping to build on the win in Canada and may try something aggressive for tomorrows race.

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Saturday dawns then, and seeing as this is the home country of the FIA’s preferred forecasters Météo France, you’d expect this weekends predictions to be pretty accurate. However, no-one seems to know if it’s going to be a wet or dry weekend. Stuart pointed out in the comments earlier, it’s clear skies and bright sunshine at the moment, so we’ll go with that.

The highlight of yesterday’s running was Alonso’s late flyer in FP2, netting him the top spot in the timesheets. The track is supposed to get slower as the day goes on, but evidently no-one informed the Spaniard. There’s no doubt that the lap was designed to keep the big Renault cheeses happy, but until we see the real pace of the top cars here, it’ll be hard to tell just how fast the guy is.

Kimi also managed to put in some very quick sectors yesterday, but never managed (or tried?) to hook up a complete lap. His weekends always go well when Friday’s run as planned, so his will be the times we’ll be watching this morning.

Yesterday’s initial safety car test is expected to be augmented by a second run this morning, although if anyone has the faintest idea what the FIA learned from the first one please do let us know.

As it’s FP3, we’ll be following live timing online, and as ITV don’t / won’t / can’t cover this session, it’s TVlizer streaming or TVU access for us today. More information on our F1 on the Internet page.

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After the worlds most uneventful first practice, we soldier straight onto FP2 in France. The weather down that way is still mild and the sun may break through shortly.

The only things worth noting from the mornings running is that Alonso made his engine go bang so close to the end of the session it almost looked to have been planned, while both McLaren driver struggled with front locking to the point that Heikki met first the gravel trap and then almost the wall.

Further back, things were business as usual although Vettel managed to punch above his weight, taking himself up to the dizzy heights of 8th, while Button languished near bottom of the order, with only the two Force India’s for company.

The next 90 minute session should offer more information as to how the land lies this weekend. A quiet start to the day leaves teams with much to do, so from 1pm in the UK (2pm local) we’ll be following all the action on live timing as well as watching ITV’s online (and slightly unreliable) video coverage. Radio 5Live are offering us a better service this week and you can catch their commentary on Sports Extra.

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It’s Friday morning, and Formula One returns to the middle of nowhere for more racing action. Round 8 of the F1 Calandar and the destination is Nevers, France.

Depending on who you feel like believing, Sunday will either bring bright sunshine or thunderstorms, but either way, there’s no arguing today’s forecast - it’s fine and dry.

Sébastien Bourdais is driving on home soil for the first time in F1 this morning, and based on previous outings from STR’s newly updated machinery, he’s going to need all the time available and more. We saw BMW changing their approach to Friday Practice last time out in Canada, hitting the pace almost immediately, and boy did that work out for them. Watching their weekend strategy unfold will certainly be compelling stuff, while no doubt Ferrari’s confidence at this place will see them sit out large parts of the day.

Free Practice 1 is a 90 minute session, and earlier this week we we’re led to believe that times from FP1 will be used to calculate the target for this afternoon’s safety car test. As yet though this hasn’t officially been confirmed, but we’ll keep one eye on how this unfolds.

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Actually, the title may be a bit misleading. I’m not staying awake for 24 hours, not even for Franck. This thread is here for any Le Mans discussion, although it’s not aiming to replicate the Live Comment phenomenon of an F1 race weekend. If you spot anything interesting over the course of the 24 hours, then drop it in the comments and we can all try and stay informed.

So far, the online sources we’ve uncovered are:

Live Timing
Autosport Live
Radio Le Mans
Speed TV à la TVU Networks (look for Wheels under the Sports category)
Planet Le Mans 
Justin TV (Mac friendly)

We all know that I’m rooting for Mr Montagny in second position for Peugeot, and I’ll be on edge and snappy until it’s over.

It’s gonna be a great weekend at Sidepodcast HQ!