Sidepodcast

• 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.

Race day in Hungary and it’s hot. According to Stuart in the comments, the track temperature is up to 35C already, and only likely to get hotter.

Post-qualifying yesterday, we learned that Bourdais had received a five-place grid drop for impeding Heidfeld. Personally, I think this is a bit harsh, but no doubt it makes Heidfeld feel slightly better and masks the fact that he still hasn’t put his qualifying woes behind him. Teammate Kubica starts from a much better position up front in fourth, and I’m looking on him to get a good start and mix it up with the McLarens.

At a track where there is very little overtaking, McLaren’s 1-2 makes them almost unbeatable, especially considering how strong Hamilton has been recently. It may be that Hamilton can get his third consecutive win, but it would be even better if Kovalainen could get his maiden victory, proving his extended contract is worthwhile.

As for the rest, and I’m now counting Ferrari in that bunch, Raikkonen may get stuck behind Glock in the Toyota, and if Glock is capable of a Trulli-train himself, Kimi will want to put his foot down. I’m also curious to watch the battle between Alonso, Webber, Trulli and Piquet at the bottom of the top ten. We know the Renault drivers like a battle, and Alonso will be hoping to get the upper hand this weekend. Keep your eye on Vettel as well, in 11th, as the Toro Rosso has appeared strong so far in Hungary, and has whatever fuel load the team desire.

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• Length: 10:14 
• Size: 9.5 MB 
• File: digest43.mp3 
• Transcript: digest43.pdf 
• Torrent: digest43.torrent 

At first glance, it looks like McLaren will walk this weekend easily, securing a 1-2 in qualifying. However, there are glimpses of hope from unexpected quarters, including Kubica, Glock and maybe even Massa.

Free Practice 3

Another slow start to the day, but once the cars were out on track, it was worth keeping an eye on them. The Renault’s were trying out a radical new (slow) strategy, whilst Vettel was making the most of being able to get through an actual session.

Qualifying

Heidfeld had issues from the very start, whilst Kubica was very much best of the rest. Hamilton and Kovalainen led the way, looking unbeatable.

Conclusions

A five-place grid drop for Bourdais means that he lines up in 19th place, whilst at the very other end of the grid, Hamilton is ecstatic with the new updates to the car.

The man is making some tweaks to the new Live Commenting beta page, so I have been entrusted to write my very first Live Commenting opening thread.

What did we learn from Free Practice 3? On the face of it, very little. It was a slow start to the day, and even when cars were out on track, we were getting some very mixed results. Hamilton continued to dominate, and as it’s looking very much like a McLaren weekend, we have to look further down the field for any notable scraps.

Raikkonen appeared to be struggling for pace in FP3, although he looks to have chosen the shark fin as a viable aerodynamic option, and may have been fiddling with the setup to accomodate that. Massa continues to be right on Hamilton’s tail, so he may opt for a super-competitive qualifying lap to outpace the McLaren in qualfiying.

Renault look to be playing the long game, apparently choosing tyre optimisation over any flat-out lap times, but even so, by the end of the session Piquet still jumped into 5th. Compared to Alonso’s 11th, the Spaniard may have something to prove in the qualifying sessions.

At the back of the grid, this may be a perfect opportunity for Force India to finally get into their desired second qualifying session, after both Hondas, Nakajima, and even Webber wound up FP3 towards the lower end of the timesheets. With little overtaking to be had on the Hungaroring, qualifying is going to be super-important for those wishing to fight for points.

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• Length: 8:16 
• Size: 7.7 MB 
• File: digest41.mp3 
• Transcript: digest41.pdf 
• Torrent: digest41.torrent 

It’s that time of year again, when F1 descends upon Hungary. All the drivers appear to like it, but is it a matter of protesting just that little bit too much?

Vital Statistics

• Date: 3rd August
• Circuit: Hungaroring
• Length: 4.4km
• Laps: 70
• 2007 Winner: Lewis Hamilton

Preview

Glock returns to action and is looking forward to the race, as many of our drivers are. It seems that Hungary was a time of firsts for a lot of them, first win for Button, first race for Vettel. Nakajima is slightly nervous as he’s never driven on the track in an F1 car before. All this, plus a dusty track and no overtaking should lead to a less than stellar race.