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.

Continue reading…

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.

Continue reading…

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.

Continue reading…

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.

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…

• File: digest32.mp3
• Length: 10:05
• Size: 9.3 MB
• Transcript: Coming soon

It’s been a while since the French GP has been eagerly anticipated, but with such a mixed up grid, today was one of those days. Tune in to F1 Digest for a recap of all the action, plus driver reactions.

The Race

A race of some serious fighting, Raikkonen battling his machinery, Hamilton trying to get through the traffic, Trulli holding off Kovalainen.

Conclusions

Whilst Honda and Force India seem to be feeling pretty low right now, Toyota and Toro Rosso are flying high. The others fall into various moods in between.

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?

Continue reading…

• File: digest31.mp3
• Length: 10:36
• Size: 9.8 MB
• Transcript: Coming soon

When qualifying is preceded by a Free Practice with Piquet on top, you know you’re in for a fascinating day. Listen to today’s F1 Digest for details of the highs, the lows, and the many, many penalties.

Free Practice 3

Piquet led the way today, in a session where none of the regular’s made an appearance in the top four, and there was no apparent reason for it.

Qualifying

Knowledge of prior penalties, plus one handed out after the event spiced up the results today, and keep us all guessing over strategies.

Conclusions

The usual mix of optimism and disappointment. Hamilton is apologising, Bourdais is worried that it’s just too competitive and Raikkonen is honoured to help Ferrari hit 200.

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.

Continue reading…

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.

Continue reading…