Sidepodcast

It’s the 31st October, and Halloween, meaning everyone should be thinking about pumpkins, trick or treating, and fancy dress. Not us! Today is all about Interlagos and what’s going to happen this weekend. Free Practice has never been more important, as we try to gain the slightest inkling of who’s going to have the upper hand over the weekend.

If it rains, however, which is looking more and more likely (60% chance at the time of writing), we will probably not see an awful lot of action. Therefore, we will just have to make assumptions based on what we already know.

We know that Hamilton and McLaren are feeling quietly confident, but aware that no race weekend is entirely straight forward. Word on the street is that the team are bringing a new rear wing and other aerodynamic bits and pieces, even at this late stage of the game. It could be a risky business, as rear wings are integral to the performance of the car. However, I can’t believe they would jump in without whole-heartedly believing it will make them faster, so that will be something to look out for.

Meanwhile, in the Ferrari camp, Massa says he’s completely optimistic that he can win the title. I suppose you’d have to be, wouldn’t you? We’ve made a lot of the fact that he knows his only job is to win, and the rest is up to fate. Raikkonen seems a little bit more realistic about the fact, saying that Massa will need a complete miracle to clinch the title from seven points behind. Presumably he’d prefer that lightning doesn’t strike twice, and he remains the comeback king in championship showdowns.

Continue reading…

It was a slow start to the morning for most teams, with the usual format of installation laps followed by a long lull in the action. However, when it got going, the normal four led the way for the majority of the session.

Hamilton looked to be on fine form, the only man to get into the 1:35s, four tenths faster than the two Ferraris. The red cars were perhaps struggling a little, or maybe not too worried about times. It’s always hard to tell.

We saw quite a few excursions into the grass, from Barrichello, Hamilton, and Raikkonen, whilst Trulli’s morning session was shortened abruptly. He spun the Toyota slightly, but managed to keep the car out of the wall, returning to the pit lane for a check up before returning to the track. He didn’t do particularly well for the rest of the session though.

The track is supremely wide, with plenty of run off area, so incidents may be few and far between for the first few sessions. However, we’ve already seen Piquet repeat Lewis Hamilton’s gravel trap escapade from last year. He managed to get out safely, but it looks as though the pit lane entry will definitely be one to watch out for.

Continue reading…

China has already had the pleasure of hosting one international sporting event this year, and now it’s time for something even more important: Formula 1. The penultimate round of the 2008 season kicks off right now with Free Practice 1, and here’s some things we’ll be looking out for.

Now that Alonso has found some pace in his Renault, he seems to be all about the rivalry with Hamilton once again. I don’t imagine there will be any visible hostility, but to add more fire to the Spaniards determination can only be a good thing. However, this all depends on whether the Renault really has suddenly got a lot better, or if back-to-back wins is enough for one season, thank you very much.

Heidfeld will no doubt want to make sure he has all the information he can possibly get about his tyres, after such a unfortunate start to last weekend. With Kubica still in the hunt for the title, Heidfeld may be able to play a good second driver role here, or he may just let his team mate fight it out alone.

The weather may play a part in proceedings this weekend, as it looks like clouds and perhaps some precipitation could appear at some point during the action. Stuart is at the circuit, and has commented that there’s sun and smog, but the most troublesome aspect looks to be the wind.

Continue reading…

Hands up who thought they were going to get a break after the great racing in Singapore? Me too, but we haven’t had a chance to blink. Following Alonso’s amazing win, we’ve had controversy with the calendar, Ferrari admitting their pit stop failures, and the confirmation of a couple of team lineups.

Now though, it’s time to return to the track and today we’re at Fuji. The poor old Speedway has two major problems. Firstly, almost everyone prefers Suzuka and secondly, there’s the big mountain that threatens the weather at every turn. Last year wasn’t the best race we’ve ever seen, so hopefully the weather will hold off this time around.

At the moment, it’s looking like Saturday is the only day with a chance of precipitation, but forecasts can often be wrong (especially the way I read them), so it’s best to wait and see. If it does rain, we at least will be spared the sight of Bridgestone’s luminous green stripes, but I believe that would be the only benefit.

Elsewhere, we have already discovered that Glock will be taking his freebie engine this weekend, and I’m expecting to hear more announcements as we progress through the Free Practice sessions. There are only three races left, and they can’t use it in Brazil, so now seems like the opportune moment.

Continue reading…

• Length: 10:02 
• Size: 9.3 MB 
• File: digest15.mp3 
• Transcript: digest15.pdf 
• Torrent: digest15.torrent 

The problem with this weekend is that you can never quite tell who’s legitimately fast and who’s just playing up to the crowds - Alonso being an extreme example of the mystery.

Free Practice 3

Raikkonen’s still up there at the top, but edged out by a BMW in this session.

Qualifying

Alonso does it for the Spanish crowds, whilst McLaren struggle slightly, and Raikkonen takes pole.

Continue reading…

Alrighty, it’s a new day and we’re back with more live comment, chat and opinion on the wonder that is free practice. This third session of the weekend is slightly shorter, running 60 minutes in length.

Our friends at ITV have unwisely chosen not to broadcast this particular session so we’re running with blinkers on at the moment, Steven Roy’s on the case though. If anyone has visuals, please do keep us up to speed.

Live timing is, as ever, available on the official site.

Shout if you’re up and about, and don’t forget we’re featuring the best comments and insight on our daily podcasts. The show covering Free Practice 1 & 2 can be listened to here.