In David Coulthard’s latest column for ITV, he talks about yet another missed opportunity in Germany, the comparisons between Toro Rosso and Red Bull, and the future of KERS. But my favourite piece in his column, is just a couple of small paragraphs.
As an aside, I notice that the rear wing fell off the Toyota at Silverstone and it was a right-rear suspension failure that caused Glock’s crash at Hockenheim.
I didn’t hear of any investigation into the structural integrity of the Toyota – but presumably that will happen because when we had a suspension breakage in Malaysia we came under the spotlight of the FIA in a way that was publicly uncomfortable for the team.
Now, my first reaction to this was: “That’s because the Toyota didn’t smash into a billion tiny pieces!” Thinking about it, however, Coulthard does have a point. If there is a structural problem with the Toyota that has caused these last two failures, then it probably should be looked at.
It’s a sort of homecoming for Formula One this weekend, as racing returns to Silverstone 60 years after the circuit hosted the first ever race of the first ever FIA Drivers’ World Championship. In its honour Sidepodcast actually visits the circuit for this special episode of Inside Track.
We look back at the preparation for last year’s British GP with Red Bull’s very own Ole Schack, as well as finding out what to look out for in 2008 with all the boys from Toyota. There’s the usual lap of the circuit plus a quick championship refresher. In short, everything you need to know about the next race on the F1 calendar.
Formula One takes an early breather from its European tour and heads across the Atlantic to Montreal for the Canadian Grand Prix. Following swiftly on from the lottery that was the Monaco weekend, Sidepodcast takes a look at what this year’s sole North American race has to offer.
Last years event was the scene of one of motorsports most spectacular accidents, when Robert Kubica bounced off of a Toyota, a kerb and two concrete walls. Safety improvements have been made this year to prevent similar incidents, so join Christine on a hot lap of the track to make sure you’re up to speed with the changes for 2008, and everything else you need to know about racing in Canada.
Something we failed to mention in this week’s show, and something I’m sure we’d have had a lot to say about, is the Toyota pit stop bungle.
Glock and Coulthard had a coming together in Spain, as anyone who gets near Coulthard runs the risk of doing, and there was some damage to the Toyota. Therefore, the mechanics all scrambled to the pit box, ready to receive their car and make the necessary fixes.
Last week we looked at the drivers taking to the grid, these week we look closer at the 2008 contenders - the teams, how they’ve changed and how they will fare.
Intro
A quick update on the status of my bad luck - this week is better but I have proof that last week was the worst ever.
Good Week / Bad Week
Bernie Ecclestone gets someone onside, Super Aguri can’t find anyone, Fuji are looking to stay in the sport, and which one is Pinocchio Schumacher?
News and Views
Alonso has his main sponsor following him around, so does that means he’s a pay driver? We’re worried about the state of mind of Toyota drivers, they seem unable to stick to an opinion. And we briefly recap a very wet testing session, and discover we’re looking forward to the return of a previously disliked figure.
A welcome return for the audio half of Sidepodcast, this first show of 2008 covers some of the news stories that have cropped up over the holiday period. We also introduce a couple of new segments to the show, and as ever, solicit some feedback.
Intro
Mobile phone fun, as the new theme tune is uncovered in grand, theatrical style. Or not.
Good Week / Bad Week
A new part of the show, featuring some of the shorter news items of recent days. This week featuring Super Aguri, Toyota and Autosport International. I’ll leave you to guess who fits in which category.
Vijay Mallya certainly seems determined to get the name of his team out there, he’s now started television adverts in India. I’ve never seen a Formula 1 team specifically advertising themselves. You quite often see an F1 car zip across the bottom of a Renault advert, for example, but purely to advertise the team?
Welcome to Sidepodcast’s History of F1. We’ve covered the entire history of F1 from the early beginnings in the 1900s, through the inaugural championship in the 1950s, and the safety fears of later decades. Now we’re catching up with modern F1, the 21st century, and where it might be headed in the future.
[Sweeper]
We left 1999 with a new championship winning pairing of Michael Schumacher and Ferrari. Between 1999 and 2004, they won 5 consecutive driver and 6 consecutive constructor championships. Michael Schumacher could not be stopped. He made records and broke them, overtaking many famous names to grab most Grand Prix wins, most driver championships, most wins in a single season, and many other titles.
It wasn’t until 2005 that it looked like Ferrari’s dominance might be under threat.
The rules of the championship kept being changed. The FIA couldn’t settle on a way forward to improve the racing and make it more of a show. They wanted to cut costs but keep the fans happy, and they could not decide how to do it. So, instead of picking a course of action and sticking with it, they tried any number of things. One of the changes for 2005 was that teams could only use one set of tyres through an entire race.
Ferrari struggled with this new ruling, and it allowed Renault to dominate the season, and Fernando Alonso to become the youngest champion. They repeated the feat in 2006, although it was a much tighter contest.
Other rule changes include constant revamps of the qualifying format. It started as an hour long session where everyone bundled out on track to get the best time they could. Except they didn’t bundle on track until the very end, and viewers were left bored. They switched to a one lap format, where each driver took his turn, and this allowed for very interesting grids, but the action was slow. The current format of three knockout sessions seems to be a compromise between action and strategy, but there are still complaints floating around.
Team orders were banned in 2002. There were several incidents that were questionable in terms of race manipulation, but the one that turned most people off was the Austrian Grand Prix of that year. Barrichello led the race and was a clear winner, until he was asked to let Michael Schumacher through for championship reasons. Needless to say the negative impact this had on the sport rustled the FIA into action.
The grid these days consists of many manufacturer teams. Road-car makers such as Honda, Toyota, BMW and Renault are firm favourites on the grid. Independent teams such as Williams are struggling to keep up with the ever-changing and ever-expensive world of F1. Red Bull Racing are an independent team but backed by a fortune of money, so it will be interesting to see how long Williams can hold off the giant companies taking over the sport.
The FIA are determined that we should go green, so the future of F1 looks set to include many more regulation changes to try and save both the planet and money at the same time. Making F1 technology more relevant to road cars is something they’re going to be pushing for.
In terms of the drivers, they continue to get younger and younger, fitter and stronger, but there is still room for old favourites like Coulthard and Barrichello, who could still be successful if only they had the right car beneath them. But then, they all say that, don’t they?
[Sweeper]
That’s all for this series. I hope you’ve enjoyed Sidepodcast’s History of F1, I’ve certainly learnt a lot about where it all started, and tried to share the important points with you. Don’t forget to leave your feedback, opinions and comments over at Sidepodcast.com, and check out our other audio and video podcasts while you are there.
It’s time to leave the fair shores of Europe and head West, as the Formula 1 show crosses the Atlantic to Canada and the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve. Allow Christine to take you around the sights of Montreal and a lap of the track, as Sidepodcast does F1 - Canada style.
We’ll also take a look at the unique braking demands this track poses for drivers, as well as catching up with the ING Formula 1 Race Index to compare how the asphalt across the Atlantic stacks up to streets of Monaco.
