Sidepodcast

We’ve got the hard work out of the way now, although I thought yesterday’s matchups might have been a bit closer than they were. Nevertheless, we’re moving on to the third heat of the first round.

Suzuka vs. Barcelona

Suzuka played host to the Japanese Grand Prix for year after year until Fuji decided to get in on the act as well. With plenty of history under it’s belt, the circuit has plenty to offer. However, Barcelona is a staple for the testing calendar meaning most drivers know it like the back of the hand – does that add to it’s character?

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• Length: 34:37 
• Size: 32.4 MB 
• File: aside5.mp3 
• Transcript: Coming soon 
• Torrent: aside5.torrent 

The F1 paddock returns to its European roots, which means Joe Saward talks to us from the comfort of his (near) Barcelona hotel.

With questions from the comments, we discuss whether F2 can emulate or improve on the success of GP2, what is to be expected in Spain, plus the budget caps and their impact on the sport. We also investigate which potential new teams may have a chance in 2010.

Tune in for this, plus much more, on An Aside With Joe.

Linkage

• Subscribe to Grand Prix+ Magazine
• Read Joe Saward’s Grand Prix Blog
• Follow Joe on Twitter

• Length: 08:29 
• Size: 7.8 MB 
• File: digest94.mp3 
• Transcript: digest94.pdf 
• Torrent: digest94.torrent 

The Spanish race weekend gets underway with some flames from Buemi, some spins from Piquet, and of course, a top time from Rosberg. Catch up with all the FP1 and 2 action in today’s F1 Digest.

Free Practice 1

The installation laps were completed straight away and then an entire half hour passed before Bourdais thankfully got to work. There was little of interest in the morning, except some surprisingly fast BMWs.

Free Practice 2

FP2 followed the usual pattern, only this time we got to see a Toro Rosso in flames, and plenty of action from young Piquet with an unhappy Briatore watching on.

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The weekend has got off to a good start, as although there was a brief respite in the action this morning, there was plenty to look out for as well.

Weather Update

The weather for today looks as though it will remain sunny, although there may the odd cloud getting in the way. The humidity is a little over 50%, and the wind is perhaps stronger than teams were expecting but not obstructive as yet.

One to Watch

The BMW boys are navigating the circuit with a seriously disturbing looking car, but so far it seems to be working. Free Practice times, and BMWs in particular, are not to be believed, but have they found any of the pace they were looking for?

Predictions Please

Button topped the timesheets in FP1, so will he be able to continue the Brawn domination? The McLaren’s were somewhere near the back, but are they just dragging their heels before the action really gets going?

Although we thought Bahrain was the weekend for normality to be restored, it turned out to be too hot. Perhaps Spain will be it instead?

Weather Update

Early weather indications suggest that Sunday might be a bit wet, but for the most part, the few days leading up to the Grand Prix will be nice and sunny. That doesn’t help data collection, really.

One to Watch

Alonso must be the one to watch today, just to see if being in front of his home crowd does add anything to his motivation. There are so many teams with new parts though, it’s worth keeping your eyes peeled at all times.

Predictions Please

Will we see rain this weekend? Will BMW be able to pull themselves off the bottom of the timesheets? Will Nico reign supreme during practice again? Can Brawn fend off the competition?

Free Practice gets underway today, so we will finally get back to the racing action. It’s been a good couple of weeks, so it’ll be nice to see those cars going round and round again. Meanwhile, here’s what we’ve been talking about:

• Turn 9 has had some safety upgrades following Kovi’s massive accident there last year. Apparently a bit of an incline has been added at the back of the gravel trap, new gravel, plus some improvements to the tyre barrier itself. Heikki himself says he isn’t worried about returning to the track at all.
• Mario Theissen is just as concerned about the two-tier championship as the rest of us, and has even hinted that presenting it to the board – who are already unhappy about the lack of results – will not encourage them to continue in the sport.
• Finally, Ferrari have decided to keep KERS on board for Barcelona, despite all the problems they’ve faced so far with it. Massa must have got his way, as he was adamant that without the technology they had nothing to give, and that pretty much seemed to be the case.

That’ll do it for now. There’ll be multiple threads along later to get the action going throughout the day. Don’t forget to update your Fantasy Racers team (a reminder will be along shortly, so save your strategy stories for then!), and I’ll see you in the comments.

• Length: 07:03 
• Size: 6.5 MB 
• File: digest93.mp3 
• Transcript: digest93.pdf 
• Torrent: digest93.torrent 

We’re well rested ahead of the race at Barcelona, and as a track we visit frequently for testing, are we expecting anything out of the ordinary? Listen on to the F1 Digest preview to find out.

Vital Statistics

• Date: 10th May
• Circuit: Circuit de Catalunya
• Length: 4.7km
• Laps: 66
• 2008 Winner: Kimi Raikkonen

Preview

The weather for the 2009 season is topsy-turvy, sometimes hot, sometimes wet, and this race is going to head one way or another, it seems. All the teams are glad for the rest, looking forward to their updates, and hoping they’re better off for them.

After a well-needed rest, and two illnesses in Sidepodcast Towers, we’re ready to get racing again in Spain. The Barcelona track is well-used and known by all the teams and drivers, but Fernando Alonso will particularly want to do well in front of his home crowd. The last few races have not gone well for him, but this may be his chance.

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This article was originally written for BellaOnline, but is republished here for posterity.

The penultimate test in Barcelona saw all the teams together for the first time, now that Brawn GP have joined the pack. Thankfully, the weather was mostly good, with just the odd shower and some strong winds to cause problems.

McLaren
McLaren have spent most of the week at the wrong end of the timesheets, with some particularly slow times. Whilst it’s not imperative to be at the top of testing all the time, it is slightly worrying to see the McLaren fighting to beat a Force India lap time. Ron Dennis has said that they aren’t worried about the clock at all, and are simply concentrating on developing the car to the standard they want. Although this should calm any fears over their performance, it does raise another question. McLaren have been working on this car for a long time, before 2008 was even finished, so shouldn’t they have most of the performance gremlins sorted out by now?

Toro Rosso
Toro Rosso launched their new car in Barcelona ahead of the test, and it hit the track straight away. Unfortunately, a couple of the valuable days were lost to unreliability, particularly a problem with the front suspension. Bourdais and Buemi have been sharing testing duties during the day, but both were forced to sit out one day having completed only 20 laps between them. New parts had to be brought in from the factory, but once they were fixed to the car, things started looking slightly better.

Brawn GP
Ross Brawn’s new team immediately made headlines by running at the top of the timesheets on their first day out on track. They finished the day fourth, but by the time the test finished, they had two days at the top under their belts. Brawn says he isn’t surprised by this performance, as it’s something they’ve been working on since 2007. However, you would have thought the problems over the winter had shaken the team up a little, and these impressive times straight out of the box are something to be wary of.

Last time I suggested that this Barcelona test was the last, but I have now realised there’s another one in Jerez next week. The last few days of testing before the teams head to Australia for the beginning of the season.

Testing continues in Barcelona, and we’re really starting to see a pattern in the times, even if we can’t trust that Brawn GP are topping the timesheets and McLaren are at the bottom. Whatever they’re doing, at least they are consistent. Elsewhere:

• Briatore is kicking up a bit of a fuss about the rear diffusers again. Williams and Toyota found a clever design loophole that the other teams had missed, Mosley said it was smart but not illegal and now Flav isn’t happy. Really, though, isn’t he just miffed that he didn’t think of it?
• Ron Dennis has told us that the poor McLaren form in testing is nothing to worry about, which I don’t think we were anyway. He said that testing is a discipline and the times are not relevant to what will happen in Australia.
• Dank shared the news that the Mark Webber Challenge won’t be held in 2009, due to economic troubles. It doesn’t seem all that positive that the event will be back at all, which would be a shame, because it certainly brought publicity and money to the charities involved.

That’ll do it for now. I hate Thursdays, remember, but don’t worry about that, I’ll still see you in the comments.