Sidepodcast

• Length: 06:05 
• Size: 72.1 MB 
• File: track16.m4v 
• Transcript: track16.pdf 
• Torrent: Coming soon 
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Formula 1 continues its relentless tour around the globe, this weekend taking in the sights and sounds of Japan. Fuji Speedway is the destination and while it’s not a classic venue by any stretch, the scintillating battle for the title means there could be more to this weekend than meets the eye.

As ever Sidepodcast provides the full rundown of the current state of play, what to expect before Sunday and a detailed look at the track that sits directly beneath a mountain. We catch up with local hero Nakajima as well as hearing the thoughts of a man who knows things.

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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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• Length: 8:50 
• Size: 8.1 MB 
• File: digest54.mp3 
• Transcript: digest54.pdf 
• Torrent: digest54.torrent 

Rain doesn’t fall at Monza that often, but as the saying goes, when it rains it pours. Today saw Sutil take P1 for a session, and that’s almost all you need to know about Free Practice. The rest you can learn in today’s F1 Digest.

Free Practice 1

Have you ever seen such monsoon weather? The drains were flooding into the McLaren garages, and Sutil ended the day on top, followed by a Honda. Bizarre goings on in Italy.

Free Practice 2

Things seemed to take a much more natural shape with Raikkonen leading the way, although he wasn’t the only one to hit P1, in a session that saw a lot of chopping and changing.

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• Length: 11:02 
• Size: 10.2 MB 
• File: digest23.mp3 
• Transcript: digest23.pdf 
• Torrent: digest23.torrent 

A bit of rain always spices things up somewhat, and whilst it held off for qualifying, we saw what could happen in FP3. Fingers crossed for tomorrow.

Free Practice 3

Kovalainen is the first of today’s barrier victims, although he still managed to retain the fastest time, thanks to the weather.

Qualifying

Coulthard was the second to clout the barrier in a series way, heading off track at a swift rate and leaving his wheel behind.

Conclusions

The teams seem to agree that today was pretty tough with the weather, so some are hoping for clear skies tomorrow and others are keeping their fingers crossed for more rain.