Sidepodcast

• Length: 10:27 
• Size: 9.6 MB 
• File: digest52.mp3 
• Transcript: digest52.pdf 
• Torrent: digest52.torrent 

What could have been a dull race was saved by the last few laps. Hamilton vs Raikkonen, McLaren vs Ferrari, and guess what? It’s not over yet. Hear all about it in this F1 Digest recap.

The Race

The start was good, and the middle was okay, but oh how wonderful the last few laps were. A little bit of rain makes all the difference and we saw a fierce battle for the lead before Raikkonen ended up in the wall. It doesn’t end there though, as the controversies, penalties and appeals will continue long after the drivers leave Belgium.

Conclusions

Whilst some of the quotes are irrelevant given penalties and a change of order, we can get the idea from most drivers. Some had frustrating days, Webber and Coulthard aren’t that happy, and Trulli and Glock faced a difficult start. But some had a great time even with the adversities, Vettel in particular still has a smile on his face.

• Length: 9:40 
• Size: 8.9 MB 
• File: digest48.mp3 
• Transcript: digest48.pdf 
• Torrent: digest48.torrent 

Race day in Valencia finally took place then after weeks of anticipation. Unfortunately it didn’t live up to the hype and was marred by controversy rather than action. F1 Digest presents a full round up of events.

The Race

We were probably expecting too much, and as the field got further and further apart, it didn’t look like it was going to deliver. In the end, it was a couple of retirements and some pit lane incidents that caused the excitement.

Conclusions

Only a couple of drivers had a good day, Vettel and Massa in particular. Most people were frustrated with their performance, thinking things could have gone better, and everyone is looking forward to Spa.

• Length: 9:41 
• Size: 9.0 MB 
• File: digest44.mp3 
• Transcript: digest44.pdf 
• Torrent: digest44.torrent 

We were all expecting a dull race, so it’s nice to have a bit of a surprise waiting for us on track. Nobody said that all suprises have to be good ones.

The Race

As predicted, there was very little overtaking to be had, except perhaps off the line. All the excitement came from the tyres and from the pit stops, and the odd engine failure as well.

Conclusions

Those drivers having a good day had a supremely good day, count them, Kovalainen, Glock and Alonso. But for those who couldn’t make the end of the race, or who struggled every inch of the way there, they can only be glad there’s a three week break coming up.

So here’s the plan. Yesterday we released the beta version of a new live commenting system, and as that was designed to aid discussion during live video we figured we ought do something to test it out.

It’s the Hungarian Grand Prix next weekend, which means we’re due another episode of Inside Track and thus we’ll be filming the pieces to camera shortly.

If you’re around please fire up live commenting and let us know if you can both see us and talk to us at the same time. We’ll be doing the same so should be able to talk back in realtime… well hopefully anyway.

There’s a donate button hidden away at the bottom of the right hand navigation bar. We don’t mention it very much, and it’s not very prominent, because we’re terribly British and wouldn’t dream of asking you for money.

However, if you have donated recently, we appreciate it very much, and in the interest of being open about what we do here at Sidepodcast HQ, here’s what those donations have gone towards:

Drop.io Upgrade

This service has made such a difference to Live Commenting and generally sharing things with each other. I was sceptical at first, but now I don’t know what we’d do without it. So, this past Canada weekend, we upgraded our account so there’s more space to keep uploading your photos, videos, links and files.

Flickr subscription

We’ve been so busy creating podcasts this year, that we haven’t been out and about as much as we’d like. However, it’s coming to the season now, where it’s all go. Silverstone and Goodwood are fast approaching, and there’s only one place we want to share our photos with you (well, aside from drop.io). A Flickr Pro account allows us to organise the photos well and gives us more space to do so and last week we were able to extend for another two years thanks to your donations.

Continue reading…

• Length: 11:02 
• Size: 10.2 MB 
• File: digest23.mp3 
• Transcript: digest23.pdf 
• Torrent: digest23.torrent 

A bit of rain always spices things up somewhat, and whilst it held off for qualifying, we saw what could happen in FP3. Fingers crossed for tomorrow.

Free Practice 3

Kovalainen is the first of today’s barrier victims, although he still managed to retain the fastest time, thanks to the weather.

Qualifying

Coulthard was the second to clout the barrier in a series way, heading off track at a swift rate and leaving his wheel behind.

Conclusions

The teams seem to agree that today was pretty tough with the weather, so some are hoping for clear skies tomorrow and others are keeping their fingers crossed for more rain.