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

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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).

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• File: track8.m4v
• Length: 06:14
• Size: 71.8 MB
• Transcript: Coming soon

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Last year Bernie Ecclestone claimed there would be no more outings to the Circuit de Nevers Magny-Cours, yet Formula One returns there once again. In honour of the track that, despite being almost universally loathed amongst paddock regulars, will not disappear, Sidepodcast takes a spin around rural France to see what’s there to amuse our drivers this time out.

We also catch up with the sole French driver on this year’s grid, Sébastien Bourdais. Hear his thoughts on his debut F1 season, the support of the fans and the French federation as well as racing in Magny-Cours. If one man (other than Bernie) can save France’s place on the racing calendar, it’s likely to be Le Seb.

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Just over a week ago Christine pointed out on F1 Minute that revised safety car procedures would be tested out during the French Grand Prix weekend. Details were sketchy at the time, although she did say that it would likely involve the use of the standard ECU.

A regulations revision is needed in order to work around a side effect of rules introduced at the beginning of 2007, which, in an effort to remove the incentive for speeding back to the pits, sees the pitlane closed to anyone wishing to take on fuel. The problem of course is cars already running on fumes have no choice but to stop, and this has already ruined races for Kovalainen and Heidfeld this year.

Practice Makes Perfect

During this week’s Renault podcast, the team’s sporting manager Steve Nielsen divulged a few more details about what might happen next weekend in Magny Cours.

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• File: video24.m4v
• Length: 03:41
• Size: 42.2 MB
• Transcript: video24.pdf

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Last weekend in Canada there was a new man standing upon the top step of the podium, Robert Kubica. It was also the first time his team BMW Sauber F1 had won a Grand Prix and they did it in style with a perfect 1-2.

Formula One has been dominated by just two teams and a handful of drivers for the past 18 months, so we figured this was an event worth documenting. In the process, we catch up with Kubica and teammate Heidfeld along with big boss man Mario Theissen on their way back from the podium celebrations. But don’t you go pretending that a gutted Nick Heidfeld doesn’t make you want to cry, you know he does.

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As Christine pointed out in her F1 Digest show earlier, during yesterday’s race in Canada, Jenson Button entered the pit lane whilst it was closed under safety car conditions, and then exited without receiving a penalty.

Despite much due-diligence I’ve yet to find a single explanation for this anywhere. However, I have a vague idea that Button’s stop may have been a stroke of genius on Honda’s part, or at least, they may have found a way of exploiting a loophole in the regulations.

Retracing the Steps

Let’s take a quick look at the early part of Jenson Button’s Canadian Grand Prix.

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• File: digest28.mp3
• Length: 11:33
• Size: 10.7 MB
• Transcript: digest28.pdf

After days of abuse, the track decided to hold out for an entire race distance, which meant we could concentrate on the serious business of racing. Find out what happened in the Canadian GP in today’s F1 Digest.

The Race

With two of the heavyweights out early in the race, it’s time for some of the mid-field runners to shine.

Conclusions

Most people don’t really want to talk too much about the weekend. They’re probably tired, frustrated, and happy to move on. ‘Cept for BMW, of course.