Sidepodcast

Everything that has gone before comes down to this moment, race day. All we can talk about is the chances of Vettel managing to keep his lead for the distance, and what the weather is going to be like. One of them directly affects the other.

Let’s look at the weather first. It appears to be raining, or if it’s not raining right now, it just has been and probably is about to. Will the drivers have to start on intermediate or extreme wet tyres? Will they run out of tyres? The questions begin to pile up. Can Massa hold his own in the wet weather and prove that he does know how to drive in the rain? Will there be any major chicane cutting incidents on a circuit that is full of that type of corner.

Secondly, let’s talk about Vettel. It would be incredible for the Toro Rosso driver to become the youngest pole sitter and the youngest race winner in the same weekend. He’s worked hard all season and this could be his chance to shine before he moves up to the big team. If he decides that a Red Bull move is the right way to go, of course, having completely outshone his destined team this weekend.

Drivers always say that being in the mid-field is dangerous because there are so many drivers scrapping for positions, that there’s bound to be a collision or two. What will happen with the midfield drivers now they are at the front of the pack? And can Lewis and Kimi fight their way through the field. So many questions, and only one race can answer them all. I can’t wait.

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We’ve seen more interesting practice sessions, I’m sure, but the drivers who took to the track can’t be outdone for bravery. Once more it was wet in Italy, and that looks to be the theme for the whole weekend. We have time now for the rain to ease up before qualifying begins, but whether it will do so, and what that means for the track, are the big questions.

It’s been a long time since Hamilton finished at the bottom of a timesheet, but it doesn’t really count for anything. He completed 8 laps, whereas the Ferrari boys only managed 9 between them. I don’t know how much you can learn from a track that is that wet, but it might be useful once the qualifying sessions kick off.

There’s not much else to say about Free Practice, so let’s look forward to qualifying. If anyone can acurately predict the top five, I will be majorly impressed. It may turn out to be a straight forward running with the usual suspects finishing at the top, but somehow, I doubt it. Chances are we will see drivers out early to put in banker laps, regardless of what the weather is doing.

Hamilton’s last couple of laps in the pouring rain saw him on a 1:50, whereas pole position last year was just under a 1:22. There’s a big gap there for all the other drivers to squeeze into position, and I can’t wait to see who ends up where.

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Stuart is being our man on the ground in Italy this weekend, and has already given us a weather update for the morning.

Not looking great out there at the moment. Track temp is 20 and air temp is 22. There was a thunderstorm overnight but the track surface is drying already.

On the other hand, there’s barely any wind so there may not be much change.

Hopefully it won’t be like yesterday, because although it was quite amusing to see a river pouring down the pit lane, it wasn’t particularly helpful. When we did get some sensible running in FP2, it appeared that Ferrari may have had the upper hand with Kimi on top. McLaren have been keen to point out they were running heavy fuel loads, concentrating on race setup, and not that bothered about grabbing any headlines.

FP3 usually sees a lot more experimentation with the tyres, as the track is the closest it’s going to be to qualifying before the afternoon. Last year we had the soft and medium compound, but this year Bridgestone has moved one step up and brought along the hard and medium tyres this time round. This will no doubt be helpful for riding the kerbs, and avoid any blistering that might become a problem.

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Well, I certainly wasn’t expecting that! A bit of rain, I said, and what do we get? Thunder, lightning and a torrential downpour. Still, it certainly livened things up for the short while cars were out on track.

Then the session was red-flagged and that was it, Sutil was on top.

So, is there any point in making predictions or introducing Free Practice 2 in the same way? In the Live Comments, Scott pointed out that from here on in, it looks like rain, rain and what else? Oh yea, a bit of rain.

It was dark as anything, as Stuart’s pictures from the circuit show, and the pit garages were flooding. If it’s still raining, they might all be underwater by now. I pity the poor spectators, sitting in that downpour.

We didn’t learn that much in FP1, except that Nakajima had the biggest off on the damp track. He headed straight back to the garage, and shamefully faced Sam Michael. He needn’t have worried though, plenty of drivers were taking a closer look at the gravel traps.

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Whoever sorts out the calendar really needs to have a good, long, hard think. I know you can’t predict things like this latest Hamilton-gate, but to have such a gap after the snooze-fest of Valencia, and then be thrust into another race weekend before we’ve digested Spa is just, plain wrong. Also, back to back races, can we stop doing those? I don’t think there’s enough unnamed energy drink in the world.

Anyway, Free Practice 1 is upon us, whether I like it or not, and so we must look forward. It looks like there’s less chance of rain today than was earlier predicted, although there could be thunderstorms at some point before qualifying tomorrow. As ever, the weather keeps us guessing, but it’s not as likely to be raining as it was at Spa.

The teams tested at Monza very recently, just before the Belgium GP, so Friday could be a quiet day for us. The morning, in particular, will probably be lacking in action, as everyone keeps their cards close to their chest, and doesn’t feel the need to get any extra running in.

We’ve got a few drivers that need to have a good weekend. Heidfeld finally appears to have pulled his socks up and improved his performance, but it looks like the BMW bosses still haven’t made up their minds (waiting on Alonso, perhaps), so he still needs to work hard. Likewise, team mate Kubica has said that he might just still be thinking about the championship, despite the massive point deficit he holds to the leader at the moment. I guess if Raikkonen won’t give up until the end, and Kubica above him on points at the moment, it’s only fair for the BMW to keep up the challenge.

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I’ll be honest and say that qualifying didn’t exactly live up to my expectations yesterday. There were only two notable incidents, one was Bourdais leading a session, and the other was Hamilton being amazingly fast. With the weather maps saying that rain is unlikely today, it looks like it’s going to be a normal race.

Having said that, I’m still hoping for good things. Raikkonen starts fourth and needs to really work hard to get on the podium and continue his championship campaign. Massa lines up next to Hamilton on the grid, and if we’re really lucky, he could do an Alonso and fight Hamilton all the way through Eau Rouge for first place.

Heidfeld is also going to be a factor, finally placing well in qualifying. As a consistent racer, starting in fifth will see him end there or higher, most probably, but he might get in some of the top runners way. Alonso may also do the same, starting from sixth.

The chances of seeing a safety car are higher than at some circuits, and with the lap being so long, this can be really costly in terms of strategies. Expect McLaren to play it safe, and some of the lower teams to run risks to try and rise up the ranks.

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Free Practice 3 just added to the overall sense of confusion I’m getting from this weekend, but at least a couple of things were cleared up. Firstly, Honda are really struggling. Button only made a few feet from the pit lane before pulling off to the side of the track. There was no spectacular blowout or crash, just a depressing exit from the session. With Barrichello as the slowest man completing a lap today, the team really have their work cut out for them.

On to happier subjects, Heidfeld showed he does know what he’s doing by topping the time sheets, although Kubica still struggled down in 13th. Alonso continued his fine form so far this weekend to end up third. With many people featuring Alonso in their Fantasy Racers teams, there are plenty of fingers crossed that he can pull off something spectacular this weekend.

However, despite not finishing near the top, Massa, Hamilton and Raikkonen still look like the guys to beat. Massa braved only a few minutes of the session this morning, proving that he really doesn’t like the rain. The Ferrari has the pace, it’s all in the hands of the two men behind the wheel. Hamilton put in a blinder of a lap on his first go out, showing that he’s full of confidence, even if they may be a step behind their rivals this weekend.

Supposedly the rain has cleared up now for the rest of the day, but I wouldn’t place any bets on this. It’s been unpredictable so far, and if it carries on this way, we’re in for one hell of a qualifying session.

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Although some of us prayed for the rain to come and spice things up a bit, the one thing it does do is make things very confusing. We’ve had two sessions in the wet at Spa now, and we haven’t really learned much. It does seem like Ferrari have the upper hand so far this weekend, but then by their own admission, McLaren weren’t actually trying very hard yesterday.

The weather looks set to be a bit less damp today, although there was a lot of rain overnight. Showers are predicted for the morning, but things should start clearing up by the time qualifying gets going. Either way it looks like FP3 will at least start damp, whether it gets any worse we’ll have to wait and see.

Several drivers will be hoping conditions stay clear for them, as they missed out on plenty of running yesterday. Webber, Raikkonen and Fisichella in particular all spent some time tucked into the tyre barriers, so they will be wanting to make the most of any dry areas on track today. Kubica also couldn’t find anything positive to say about his car, so for the sake of his sanity, I’m hoping he has a good day.

We should also see more experimentation with the tyres if it is dry today, although if weather predictions show more rain for the weekend, it’s not going to make that much difference. So far it looks like the softer tyre is the faster option, but as a long lap, they could wear out quite quickly. Hopefully we’ll see some evidence of that this morning.

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FP1 wasn’t a spectacular start to the racing weekend, but the greenery makes all the difference after the blandness of the last location. It was dry to start with, and mercifully, we didn’t have to wait too long for some proper lap times - amazingly it was a Ferrari putting down the first marker.

It worked out well for them, for although Raikkonen had a slow start, the pair topped the times for the first session.

A little bit of rain spiced up the action towards the end, but it was mostly a few slip ups here and there, and no major incidents.

Things to watch out for in Free Practice 2 include the Toro Rosso boys, who both seem to be showing well again this weekend. Heidfeld hasn’t exactly shone yet, but then he was only just behind Kubica in 11th this morning. Also, Alonso is putting in a fine performance so far, and it will be interesting to see if the Renault can keep it up all day.

At the bottom of the timesheets, both Hondas feature prominently, whilst Nakajima fell behind the Force India boys. He will be looking to improve somewhat, although Rosberg doesn’t seem to be finding it easy either.

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Finally we can put Valencia behind us and move on. From the early anticipation to arguments about the track to the pit lane antics of Ferrari, it really feels like we have been talking about it forever. Now it’s time to move on, and what better place to follow the European GP than Belgium and the ever-popular Spa.

The three day test at Monza was really setup for the Italian race next weekend, and with Fisichella finishing third at one point, it didn’t really offer up any insight into the possibilities of this weekend. One particular man to watch out for is Nick Heidfeld, who is under pressure from his team to buck up his ideas a bit. He may want to get in plenty of practice before trying his best in qualifying so as not to start in the traffic.

For some reason, the battle at the top seems to have segregated into team only warfare. Hamilton proclaims that McLaren are better than Ferrari so he’s not particularly worried, whilst Massa says his only rival is Raikkonen - who will also support him if need be. Doesn’t seem like antagonising him is the best way to garner support from your team mate, but presumably Massa knows what he’s doing.

This is Kimi’s track, but with the weather looking to be inclement for the majority of the weekend, Ferrari may find themselves struggling. If the wet weather becomes an issue, then at least any tyre problems will vanish, but at Spa, handling the rain is not easy.

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