Welcome to another Motor Sport audio podcast. This month we take a look at the first three races, the drivers, the teams and of course the racing.
One of our favourite parts of doing these podcasts is the variety of questions that we get sent in so if you haven’t yet done so, make sure you ask the team a question for next month by clicking here.
And because it features so much in this month’s recording… here’s that radiator…
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If it looks right, it is right: Renault AK 90CV, Bugatti Type 35, Alfa Romeo Tipo B, Maserati 250F, Lotus …
Something quite extraordinary has been announced. An event that no motor racing enthusiast can afford to miss, that nobody ever …
Never exactly one to kowtow to convention, Patrick Head. But then great race engineers never are. It’s written in their …
@Lesmo6 Disagree with Rob? No surprises there then...
It's a Williams Formula 1 special this month! Simon Taylor has lunch with Patrick Head – who has also taken us through the intricacies of the FW14B, while Nigel Roebuck writes about the team's early days. It's not to be missed.
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Where’s the link to subscribe to the Podcasts?
Hi Keith – all the podcasts are on iTunes so you can subscribe through there.
If you don’t use iTunes then if you register on this site then we will let you know when we’re doing one through Nigel’s emails so that you can look out for it.
Hope that helps?
Best
EF
about overtaking in F1, when you look at the lower divisions GP2, F3 etc. there is always plenty of overtaking, and yes there are younger drivers and take more risks, but in all these series they all drive the same car. Now i know it would never happen as there is too much branding and sponsorships deals, but id all the cars were the same then it could make the overtaking situation a thing of the past.
They could even make it so that they are not exactly the same, say for example the front and rear wings are created by the teams. This would also reduce the costs further which is in ongoing discussions to reduce the cost of racing in F1.
More about overtaking, yes it is hard, but the youngest driver on the grid Alguersuari, managed to pull off some amazing overtaking maneuvers, for what has been said as his best ever performance in F1. So maybe the big guys just need to take more risks.
The mistake by Virgin not to have a big enough fuel tank in F1 racing where the rules are that you are fueled from the start to finish, was just stupid and no i wouldn’t like to be in that meeting with Branson.
I think with lotus, snapping up Trulli and Kovalainen was a very could acquisition, that could enable them to get up further the grid, with toro rosso having 2 very unexperienced drivers Lotus could be past them by the end of the season.
oh and great podcast guys
oh and i couldn’t hear any radiator noises, lol
great podcast as always…..
Great podcast, as usual. I was disappointed, though, that you guys did not discuss the beginning of very dubious tactics in WRC and how it seems to be affecting the outcomes of the rally’s. Perhaps next time.
Mario
Another really enjoyable Podcast.
I wish we could have one every 2 – or even 3 – weeks during the Grand Prix season!
Hartening to hear Kubica included in Mr Roebuck’s elite category.
As regards the Drivers’ World Championship…
…Alonso is going to be on his 4th Ferrari engine at the 4th Round in China and could encounter the same problems Vettel had to over come last year…but with a 19 Race schedule (as opposed to a 17 Race schedule in 2009)!
I think the above issue should not be discounted when penciling in a name for the 1st Place Trophy at the FIA Gala in Monaco at year end.
Again, WONDERFUL Podcast.
Very enjoyable podcast guys and no mention of Lewis Hamilton’s run in with the law in Melbourne!!! Looking forward to receiving my copy of the magazine, the mail planes to Australia seem to be flying slower these days.
Get rid of diffusers? Sorry but imho it’s a bad idea.
F1 cars need more ground effects, because ground effect downforce is much more resistant to dirty (turbulent) air than downforce generated by wings. If you get rid of ground effects (which at the moment contribute to about 35 % of car’s downforce) you will loose even more downforce (in proportion of course) in dirty air then now.
More ground effect downforce would allow smaller, simpler wings which should not only be less vulnerable to turbulent air but also produce less turbulence.
Also I know an actual aerodynamics expert (with 15 years of experience), who told me that diffusers do not produce that much turbulence. Most of the turbulence comes from rear wheels and the rear wing.
After 30 years ground effects should be much safer.
Well I think the Rallycross driven longcut is actually quite a good idea. Think about it, Germany, several laps around the Ersatzring but a compulsory lap around the Nordschleife. Belgium, several laps around the admittedly half decent current Spa, but a compulsory lap around the proper Francorchamps, Interlagos, Silverstone, the more I think about it the more I like it :o)
How much does a wet race track effect the aerodynamics of a Formula One car? Whenever we have a wet race the action is tremendous but there’s no change to aero regulations.
Thanks guys for answering my question about Tambay. He’s indeed quite a nice guy, maybe was too nice for F1 as you said.
Hmm. The endless school girl gigling started to be annoying. The talk about the Malaysian GP didnt raise anything new to what was discussed on many websites already. I pressed stop after 20 minutes. Sorry!
The bit about the Indy racing and the Delta wing. The Deltwing proposal isn’t a concept it’s a prototype of what the designer wants IndyCar to run! It would have been interesting to discuss the other three design proposals for the next manifestation of IndyCar racing. All four proposals are to be able to fit a number of engine possibilities and I would have liked to have heard discussed the possibility of making all four designs eligible and actually making Indy type racing relavent again. Instead of just wringing that it’s past glories will never be seen again.
Dear Motor Sport team,
I’ve just re-subscribed to your great magazine which continues to find that balance across the sport between what was great then and now.
I’ve been listening to the podcasts and it’s interesting to hear intelligent comment with, of course, such great depth of experience. The Niki Lauda impression was unexpected and startling. Nigel, have you ever presented a performance to the great man himself?
Finally, please get Simon Taylor into the PodCast room with you. Simon’s radio broadcasts in the 1970s/80s/90s were, for me, the commentary of choice; informed, measured, yet full of passion. I recall listening to the 1979 Italian Grand Prix at Monza and Simon’s description of the last few laps as Scheckter took the title; and Germany that year, in the brutal heat at Hockenheim, as Jones finally got his first Williams win. Still got the tapes. Thanks, Simon; yours was the voice of F1.
Motor racing doesn’t have to be all about who is the ‘greatest’, ‘best of all time’ etc etc. I have had much pleasure from watching drivers put in a performance in a particular car on a particular track-Elio De Angelis finishing 2nd in Brazil in’80 for instance, Niki Lauda at Monaco in ’78 after his puncture,Jenson in Brazil, that sort of thing. Which is the long way round of getting to the point that Patrick Tambay’s two Grand Prix wins were two of the most emotional victories I can remember. Stepping up to fill Gilles shoes and then winning at Hockenheim after Pironi’s accident, and even more so at Imola in ’83. If ever a grand prix win was written in the stars, it was that one. Patrick finished the 83 season 8/7 up in qualifying over Rene, and this was an Arnoux who had the better of Alain Prost for much of ’82. Patrick deserved to finish higher in the championship in 1983, and was very unlucky not to win two or three other races that year. (They were also driving the car that Gilles would have been sensational in and I truly believe would have seen him winning back to back titles. If only….)
Going onto the Delta wing project, which is, err, interesting: does it have a steering wheel, and if so, what does it do? I might be missing something here, but there doesn’t seem to be much scope for turning the front wheels very much. However, if it has rear wheel steering, that really will be worth watching, but from a very safe distance!
Finally, lovely, lovely shot of Jody in the T4 in Bahrain in the current edition. A very unconventional looking car, but one I have always found great to look at. I’m sure there are an equal number of people who have a different view. Well done.
Another excellent podcast. First comment – get rid of those silly blue flags. If a faster car is behind a slower one, then it must pass. Period. Whether that’s forcing by, or waiting to strategically do it, it doesn’t matter – just do it. If the cars don’t allow it, then raise holy hell every damn weekend until the technical problems are solved. There’s no doubt that the combinded minds of Adrian Newey, etc, etc, can figure out a solution. Or … have Gordon Murray, hired by the FIA, solve it!
thanks for another great podcast. Studio guests are always great, but this one shows we don’t need one every month. At the end of the podcast, the article in this month’s magazine, Lunch With Riccardo Patrese was mentioned. I really enjoyed the feature and it reminded of something I’d seen on youtube. Search for Riccardo Patrese drives wife crazy in civic type-r. It’s hilarious and explains why Patrese always seemed so cheerful.
That’s a very interesting comment about the blue flags. Do we need them? I have noticed that the flaggies are sometimes inconsistent with them and wave them instead of hold them or vice versa. What are the pros and cons of getting rid of them? Can someone put a compelling case for their retention? I suppose you could argue the safety aspect, but I like the idea that the faster car should take responsibility for passing the slower car without forcing the slower car to yield.
So now Alonso is down to 6 engines for 16 Qualifying sessions and 16 Grand Prix races.
The one which he changed in Bahrain is now well and truly cooked.
Ferrari will be hoping that Korea is a no-go because having one less race would be a bit of a ‘reprieve’ for Alonso’s World Championship hopes which, in my mind, are still slim..
I thought it would be Vettel’s World Championship before the season started, but I think you can throw McLaren with their powerful and efficient Mercedes engine into the mix.
It’s going to be an exciting spring and summer.
And don’t forget the “F- duct”. If the McLarens can qualify better, no one will be able to pass them. It’s like KERS without the complexity. Just lift your left knee and open the flap. Why is this legal?
Holly Samos on the BBC final practice coverage for the Chinese Grand Prix says reckons that the F Dust is called ‘RW80′.
That sounds like an airship to me.
Oh dear.
Rosberg is really putting the hammer down on Schumacher’s head.
The gap was CONSISTENTLY 6/10ths to 7/10ths in EVERY session that matters most – i.e. Saturday Qualifying – when the Aces bring their “A Game” to the battle.
Whilst Rosberg is qualifying the car amongst the Vettels, Alonsos and Hamiltons of the grid, Schumacher barely scraped into Q3 – again.
How long before Mercedes decide they’re losing points unneccessarily by having a driver who isn’t fast enough?
What happened to the podcast with Patrick Head?
Reddo – we’re recording the Patrick Head podcast next week, so do check back then.
All the best
EF