Sidepodcast

Technically this is the post for the live streaming of the podcast later on this evening, but first we have to watch Top Gear, and apparently there is demand to live comment that, so this is the place.

The race was unbelievable, I can’t write too much here because I haven’t formulated my thoughts yet. Make sure you start preparing your own, either for the comments, email, voicemail, or live on the show via Skype. We’ve got a Debrief and a Sidepodpanel to get through, so there’ll be plenty of chance to have your say.

We should be going live at 9pm GMT, and hopefully it will be just as good a show as it was a race. We want to be able to send the season off in style.

We’ve been building up to this for an entire season, and really, it all comes down to the first corner. Massa has the edge over his rival and starts from pole position. Hamilton is where he needs to be in terms of points, but in the middle of a very busy pack. 100 yards and a left hand bend, and the race can be won or lost.

Of course there are 71 laps after that, and with uncertain conditions, it really is anyone’s guess as to what is going to happen. Amazingly, Trulli put his Toyota in second position on the grid. I have no idea what their strategy is, are they really that competitive, are they running light to get into the mix, do they even have a plan? I will be fascinated to know what Trulli’s gameplan is and whether he will become the Ultimate Trulli Train for yet another Grand Prix.

Aside from that, we have Kovalainen just ahead of Alonso, meaning their battle is going to be intense. My money is on Alonso, of course, but perhaps Kovi will put in a last ditch super drive to save the face of himself and his team.

Further back, Kubica couldn’t qualify well for the second weekend in a row. He’s obviously struggling with his car, which is unfortunate, as Heidfeld has just started to get to grips with his. He’s just in front of Coulthard, who was also hoping for better for his last race. I’m keeping my fingers crossed that he can stay out of trouble and have a nice clean race. It doesn’t look like scoring points will be an option, but you never know, and it’d be nice for him to go out in style (because the new livery isn’t helping).

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Alonso did it again! He jumped from a relatively normal position on the timesheets to the very, very top in the dying moments of Free Practice 3. Now, either he has really found some pace, or he’s just messing with everyone’s heads, and either way, I’m loving it. I can’t wait to see what he can manage to achieve in qualifying. The Ferrari / McLaren battle was won by the boys from Woking today, as the Italian team had Massa in 4th, but Raikkonen all the way down in 12th.

The weather was nice and dry, as predicted, and it looks like we’ll see more of the same for our drivers. The humidity is quite high, but temperatures are not soaring as you would expect from Brazil. With the anti-clockwise track, I’m sure everyone is thanking their lucky stars, and we haven’t seen anyone looking particularly under strain just yet.

Things to watch out for in qualifying include Alonso, as I mentioned above, but also Kovalainen. He’s determined to try and prove that he can be useful to McLaren, and said his aim is to win the race. This is quite a lofty ambition considering recent performance, but with unknown conditions expected, starting from pole position could be useful. Vettel also seems to be hovering in the top ten, and could play an important part in proceedings today, and Webber is outshining his retiring teammate in rather unfortunate style.

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Yesterday didn’t really give us too much concrete information to work on. It looked as though Ferrari had the edge, slightly, which is surprising considering the cold conditions. Hamilton appeared to be on top form, but his afternoon times didn’t seem to reflect that. Alonso managed to put the boot in, by topping the timesheets at the very last second, which has no doubt set some minds whirling.

Going into Saturday in Brazil, early weather forecasts look like the rain has cleared up for the moment. We saw some very light rain yesterday, but it appears today will be dry. The wind may be a factor, a couple of drivers complained that things were tricky for them during the first two practice sessions.

For today, we will still need to be keeping an eye on the Massa and Hamilton battle, but there are plenty of other drivers to look out for. Kubica was running quite far down the order for a lot of Friday, and although improvements came for both BMW drivers by the end of the day, it’s worth watching. BMW are notorious for not worrying about speed during practice, however, so I’m sure they will prove me wrong.

Free Practice 3 should be all about the tyres, as well. With the damp track yesterday, we saw a couple of spins, and a lot of drivers were concerned about getting the most out of the tyres, especially the soft compound. Graining seemed to be a problem, but thankfully the dreaded bumps appear to not have resurfaced… yet.

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In the championship contenders articles I wrote earlier this week, I said it was Hamilton’s championship to lose. This race is the same. The man starts from pole with what is clearly the fastest car on the grid. On paper, he should be able to blitz the competition and get the win. Whether that means he successfully closes his championship campaign with one race still to go depends on how the Ferrari duo fare.

Raikkonen is ahead of Massa, but assuming they get off the line and round the first corner cleanly, there are plenty of opportunities for Massa to pass, or be let past. The threat of rain will be worrying the red team, not only for the confusion and chaos it tends to bring but also because of their tyre performance in the cooler climates.

The only other championship contender, in the form of Kubica, starts from 11th, which has ultimately shoved his title bid into the “not this time” box. Kub must be bitterly disappointed, of all the races for the BMW to start having issues, it had to be his sole surviving opportunity to make it to the championship finale. Heidfeld was in a position to help him out a little, starting in 6th, but after messing with DC’s head, he faces a three place grid penalty.

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BMW have been known for mediocre Free Practice times that translate into solid performances for the rest of the weekend. Heidfeld is known for being behind Kubica the majority of the time. What does it mean, then, that Heidfeld pulled out all the stops in FP3 to top the timesheets by 0.074 seconds?

Hamilton would have wanted to lead all three sessions, but I’m sure he can console himself with being second in FP3. The McLaren looks superb at the moment, although both drivers did struggle to keep the car on track at various points throughout the sessions. The Ferrari boys don’t appear to have any pace, not if you go by their latest times. However, Free Practice is not the be all and end all of everything, and it remains to be seen what will happen in the next hour.

Barrichello popped up into third at one point, and whilst he was pushed down to 11th by the time the session had finished, this is still an impressive showing from the Honda. He was in front of both Ferrari’s, and Vettel, while Button held off Alonso for 15th in the timesheets. All very curious.

Webber suffered the indignity of a massive engine failure, the Red Bull pouring thick plumes of smoke from the back. This may be worrying for the other three Renault runners for the upcoming sessions, especially if they recall how dodgy the Renault power plant was earlier in the season.

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With Hamilton leading both sessions already this weekend, it looks as though the McLaren’s are on fire for for this final championship push. Ferrari look to be less speedy, although they may be struggling with the cooler temperatures and their tyres. The battle will become clearer today during FP3 and Qualifying, so we’ll be keeping a beady eye on all four drivers from the two teams.

Alonso managed to sneak into second at the last minute in FP2, so it shows that he believes it’s never too late for a bit of competitive running. Perhaps Fernando is enjoying some better speed, or perhaps he’s just trying to mess with the other guys heads, but either way, it is nice to see the man in the thick of it once again. Even Piquet managed to find a bit of pace at the end of Friday, so the Renault boys could do well this weekend.

Bourdais had a bit of an off into the gravel during Free Practice, and whilst it wasn’t a damaging incident, it might have knocked his confidence a little. He was running well, close behind Hamilton, but after a few too many trips wide, he found himself beached off track. He even had to help the marshals sort themselves and the crane out to recover his stricken Toro Rosso. With just two more opportunities to prove his worth, perhaps the pressure is getting to the Frenchman.

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Joy of joys, another weekend of mixed up sleep. It doesn’t matter, of course, because we’re down to the last two races of the season, and the championship is still a fight to the finish.

The schedule for Shanghai, and therefore Live Commenting is as follows (all time in BST):

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For the second race in a row, things went Renault’s way, and we’re amazed by the action in Japan. After some worryingly dull early sessions, the race pulled it out of the bag, and now we’re going to talk about it.

Of course, we want you to join in the fun as well, so please visit the Live Commenting Live… Thing to join the chat. We’ll also be taking some Skype calls later, so if you’ve got something you want to get off your chest, we’re all ears.

Naturally, we’re running late, I don’t know why we bother saying a time, really. Hoping to be ready by 7:45pm BST. Chatter amongst yourselves, and we’ll be with you shortly.

It looks like this weekend is going to decide whether the championship gets even closer, or is pretty much over in Hamilton’s favour. He leads to Massa’s fifth, and whilst Raikkonen and Kovalainen are both in the middle of things (in more ways than one), it looks like this could be the deciding moment.

So far, Fuji doesn’t seem to be a particularly thrilling race track. We’ve seen a couple of spins, and some running wide at Turn 1, but there doesn’t seem to be too much to challenge our drivers. Plus, that long straight is particularly yawnsome. The weather was supposed to play a factor, but with most forecasts suggesting a dry race, this seems highly unlikely.

However, you never know what’s going to happen, and it’s always worth getting up at 4 in the morning to see what’s going on. Both Toyota and Toro Rosso boys have made it into the top ten, and they may be able to wreak some havoc with the natural order of things. Coulthard is only just out of the top ten, and if he feels like doing some overtaking, we could see all manner of incidents.

It may be that the race comes down to action in the pit stops rather than on track. Ferrari have already had some worrying glitches with their reinstated lollipop, however that may just be the guys blowing the dust off and getting ready for the real action to begin. Honda have decided not to race with their new traffic light system, so it will be lollipops down the order, and here’s hoping that everything goes smoothly, and no mechanics get hurt.

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