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.

• File: track9.m4v
• Length: 06:19
• Size: 72.6 MB
• Transcript: Coming soon

Share:

It’s a sort of homecoming for Formula One this weekend, as racing returns to Silverstone 60 years after the circuit hosted the first ever race of the first ever FIA Drivers’ World Championship. In its honour Sidepodcast actually visits the circuit for this special episode of Inside Track.

We look back at the preparation for last year’s British GP with Red Bull’s very own Ole Schack, as well as finding out what to look out for in 2008 with all the boys from Toyota. There’s the usual lap of the circuit plus a quick championship refresher. In short, everything you need to know about the next race on the F1 calendar.

Continue reading…

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…

• File: episode68.m4a
• Length: 48:14
• Size: 44.3 MB
• Transcript: Coming soon

A few days late, due to us both attending various days of the Silverstone test. Of course, that means this show is packed full of the gossip from the track.

Intro

Apologies for being slightly late, but there’s plenty to talk about.

Good Week / Bad Week

Good week for Raikkonen’s engine and BMW demonstrations, but a bad week for BMW and the FIA.

News and Views

We quickly run through the World Council findings at their Paris meeting last week, including the calendar, entry fees and Formula 2.

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…

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…

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…

For the next 14 days Sidepodcast is going a little bit Great Britain crazy, because not only is our home GP just around the corner, but we’ve got three days of fantastic Silverstone testing to look forward too as well.

As I attended on my lonesome last year, Christine’s never been to a test before, so we’re planning a whole bunch of coverage for you this week. Wednesday is the big day and if you’re in the vicinity of Northamptonshire please don’t hesitate to stop us and say “Hi”. We’ll be packing both audio and video equipment, so if you’re up for an interview then all the better (no pressure, although we have been known to offer bribes).

Continue reading…