The faces say it all (c) LAT

PITS. Felipe Massa -

Fernando Alonso got his hollow victory at Hockenheim, and Ferrari came away from the weekend $100,000 poorer, but it was Felipe Massa who was the biggest loser of the weekend. You don’t become world champion by being the ‘nice’ guy; just look at Michael Schumacher. Some say it was in fact ’sportsman-like’ of Massa to gift Alonso the win, but it’s not very like a sportsman to just give up and let someone else beat you when they didn’t deserve the win.

If Massa stays with Ferrari he will be in a fast car, but he will never win the world championship. If he moves to another team his reputation as a lap dog will do him no favours either. Man up Massa! Show those Italian prancing poncy lot what you’re capable of!

PITS. Rob Smedley -

Oh dear, Rob. POP understands that you have to tow the corporate line sometimes, but nowhere in a person’s contract does it ever state that you have to tell properly bad porky pies. It was pure cringe to watch Rob Smedley’s post-race attempt to (very badly) pull the wool over our eyes. His ramblingly rubbish excuses sounded more like a child telling his teacher “but Sir, the dog ate my homework, honest!” Yeah, right.

To help Smedders with his future delivery of team orders, POP has compiled a handy list of code words for use during the race:

“Put the car into P-K mode” = crash into a wall at 180mph to allow Alonso to cheat his way to a win (see Nelson Piquet, Singapore 2008).

“It looks as though you have a pressure problem” = Uh oh, Stefano Domenicali is on the phone to Luca di Montezemolo again, watch out!

“That’s it Felipe baby! Today is your day! Don’t let Alonso through whatever you do!” = move out of the way for Alonso NOW!

To watch Smedders’ poor post-race performance for yourselves below!

Click here to view the embedded video.

PITS. Stefano Domenicali -

Why the pits for Ferrari bos Domenicali? He’s a coward, that’s why. He should have given the team order over the radio, not ‘Reluctant Rob’ Smedley. And after the race he should have taken some more responsibility, “my President [Luca di Montezemolo], I have to report to him, you know” said Domenicali. Coward.

PODIUM. F1 controversy -

The actual racing has been nothing short of spectacular this season, excluding Bahrain and Hockenheim of course. However, POP does have a penchant for some good old-fashioned Formula 1 scandal. Which is why POP constantly pines for Flavio Briatore and his cheating ways, sigh. Nevermind, there’s one thing that this season has been lacking, and that’s controversy. Thankfully this wish came true last weekend at Hockenheim!

There’s nothing more dull than everyone getting along, hugging, slapping each other on the back, taking happy clappy barge holidays together on the Norfolk Broads, and naming their first-borns after each other. Boring! Grab POP the sick bucket will you? Thanks.

PITS. Force India -

What? There were other teams racing at Hockenheim? Unbelievable! But true. The ‘Team Orders’ furore dominated all the headlines this week, so you’d be forgiven for not noticing that anything else happened during last weekend’s grand prix. Force India have been lucky really to have avoided press attention, because during the race they made a HIL-AR-IOUS mistake!

They somehow managed to get the drivers’ tyres the wrong way round, in other words they put Liuzzi’s tyres on Sutil’s car and vice versa. This is strictly against the sporting regulations, so the cars had to re-pit to rectify the problem or face exclusion from the race! Someone at Force India needs to go to Specsavers…

PODIUM. Top Gear -

Thought the BBC program Top Gear had lost its edge? Think again. A brilliant, interesting, reverent tribute to the late great Ayrton Senna.

Click here to watch on BBC iplayer (for UK users only).

2000

“I had been told that when you are leading a race the last lap is the longest- it really felt like it.

Rubens Barrichello

© LAT/Autosport

The German GP of 2000 was memorable for two reasons. Firstly, it ended with the first F1 win for one of the paddock’s most popular characters. Secondly, it saw a disgruntled (and probably deranged) ex-Mercedes employee wander on to the track to vent his anger at his former employers.

In a rain hit qualifying session David Coulthard put his McLaren on pole ahead of the Ferrari of Michael Schumacher, with Giancarlo Fisichella (Benetton) and Mika Hakkinen behind them on the second row. Rubens Barrichello meanwhile could only manage 18th, having made a mistake on his final run.

A stunning getaway from 4th starter Hakkinen saw the Finn lead in to turn one, where Schumacher and Fisichella’s races would end. Coulthard veered in front of Fisi, who was left with nowhere to go but in to Schumacher’s car. Both were done for the day.

So the McLarens were one-two and looking comfortable, whilst Rubens was charging through from the back. By lap 13 the Brazilian had climbed to 3rd, but found himself over 12 seconds behind the leading pair. He’d been running light on fuel to make up positions, and soon stopped.

Then, on lap 25, the aforementioned madman appeared on the side of the track heading to the first chicane. It later transpired that he was protesting his dismissal by Mercedes, and he did give them a real headache by forcing the Merc-powered team to compromise one of their drivers by leaving them out for an extra lap behind the ensuing safety car. Not for the first time, Coulthard got the thin end of the wedge.

The race restarted with Hakkinen leading from Trulli’s Jordan and Barichello. Another safety car appeared after Pedro Diniz ran in to Jean Alesi’s Prost, resulting in a spectacular shunt that the Frenchman was lucky to walk away from. Soon after that pulled in heavy rain began to fall in the stadium section of the circuit.

This prompted many, including Hakkinen and Trulli, to pit for wet tyres- wrong choice. Barichello meanwhile stuck it out on his dries- right choice. With much of the track dry Rubens only had to play it safe in the wet stadium section, and did so skillfully. He began to edge away from Hakkienn, and despite the rain intensifying the Finn couldn’t peg the gap- Rubens had won his first grand prix.

And it was emotional. He half climbed out of his car on the in lap, visor up, tears streaming from his eyes. And this is part of why we love old Rubinho- he wears his heart on his sleeve. Be it weeping at his first victory or Blah-Blah-gate last season he doesn’t hide his emotions.

So with a combination of luck and brilliant car control Barrichello had won his first grand prix. It had been a real classic, and one that, for a number of reasons, is definitely one to remember.

1997

“I really felt I had some very special powers here this weekend”

Gerhard Berger

© Rainer Nyberg/FORIX

What can we say about Gerhard Berger? During his F1 career he developed a reputation for practical jokes (he once threw Ayrton Senna’s briefcase out of a helicopter), shrewd contract negotiation and being willing number two to Senna at McLaren. But he was also two other things. Firstly, he was a man who suffered from sinus problems; and secondly, on his day, he was a also a world class racing driver.

We mention the sinus woes because they’d kept him out of three grand prix in 1997, his swansong season.  Upon his return to the Benetton Gerhard was grieving the recent loss of his father. With personal issues still in his head (but thankfully no sinuses) he would surely be out of sorts at Hockenheim.

Not a bit of it. He was refreshed from his break and determined to make his late father proud, and stunned the paddock but putting his car on pole, ahead of impressive rookie Giancarlo Fisichella in the gloriously liveried Jordan-Peugeot. At the start these two held position, with Michael Schumacher third and Mika Hakkinen fourth.

By lap 14 Berger held a 10 second lead over Fischella, before making his first stop. He rejoined 4th, behind Hakkinen, but wasted no time in passing the McLaren driver. He then cruised up on the back of Fischella and Schumacher, who pitted before he could make a move.

With Fisichella one stopping Berger needed to increase his lead. By lap 23 it was 18 seconds, but he’d need to extend that by another 7 to get in and out ahead of the Italian. So Gerhard got his head down and reeled of some blistering laps, but following his stop on lap 33 he found himself just behind the Jordan. Could he make the pass?

Could he ever! With surprising ease Berger making the move exiting the Ostcurve and immediately set about building a lead, and the race seemed his.

So the day looked set to finish with the old fighter edging out the young pretender- but there was heartbreak in store for Fisi. He suffered a puncture just a few laps from home, and despite getting back to the pits for a fresh set, would soon pull out for good with an oil pipe failure.

But that was a mere sideline to the main event- Gerhard Berger’s winning return to Formula One. People had said he was no longer motivated by the racing, that he was just cashing a final cheque before bowing out of the sport. How wrong Gerhard proved them to be that day at Hockenheim.

1982

“I was very sensible to keep my helmet of after the crash!”

Eliseo Salazar

© FORIX

What was so memorable about the 1982 German Grand Prix? Why, a spot of kickboxing of course! And who else would we expect to have indulged in such activities but a rather angry Nelson Piquet, who directed his fists (and feet) of fury towards former buddy Eliseo Salazar. The Chilean driver was lucky he was wearing his crash helmet at the time- old Nelson was pretty ticked off.

Driving the tailend ATS car Salazar was about to be lapped by Piquet. Entering the chicane Nelson made his move, but moved a tad to early. Salazar clipped his rear, and both spun out of the race. A furious Piquet jumped from his car, briefly remonstrated with Eliseo before launching several kicks and punches at the Chilean.

The event has gone down in racing folklore. Compilations of F1 action from the eighties always find space for this one, and it’s at its best with the original Murray Walker commentary: “take that, and that- oh my word!” Murray chimes, briefly imagining he were Piquet dolling out retribution for Eliseo’s foolishness. Still, the Chilean isn’t too bitter that this embarrassing moment is the best remembered of his F1 career. “I actually had a lot of respect for Nelson. He was instrumental in helping me in my early career,” Salazar recounted many years later. “He took me to my very first McDonalds”. Is that a good thing or a bad thing?

But the race wasn’t all crazy South American kickboxing bouts. It was also tinged with tragedy, what with Ferrari star Gilles Villeneuve having lost his life at the Belgian Grand Prix just 12 weeks earlier. His teammate (and since the San Marino race arch-enemy) Didier Pironi would suffer a crash in practice that ended his Formula One career, which in turn set him on powerboat racing. The Frenchman would eventually lose his life in this pursuit.

Oh, and by the way, the race was won by Patrick Tambay, replacing Villeneuve in the number 27 Ferrari. It was a glimmer of light for the Italian squad in what was one of the darker times in their history. Still, 1982 is best remembered for Piquet vs Salazar,

Karun delights the Silverstone crowd

PITS.  Karun Chandhok -

Bad bad HRT/Hispania team.  After putting the lacklustre Bruno Senna on the bench for the British grand prix in favour of Sakon Yamamoto, HRT have now decided to ‘pit’ the much-loved and brilliant Karun Chandhok for the race in Germany this weekend.  This isn’t musical chairs!  It’s Formula 1.

“Karun Chandhok is still part of the Hispania Racing, HRT F1 Team family

This is why we love Karun

and is likely to be in the car at some later races this season” said the team.  Just because Yamamoto managed to finish a race does not mean that Chandhok should be “demoted”.  Karun has finished 80% of his races which is impressive given the unreliability of the HRT car.  He even managed to finish 14th in both Australia and Monaco, which is only a few places short of the points.  POP is very seriously displeased with HRT.  Show your support for Karun by following him on Twitter by clicking here.

PODIUM.  Formula Student -

We all know that Formula 1 is all about innovation.  The successful teams in the sport are those which pump money and time into the development of their cars both mechanically and aero-dynamically.  So POP would like to applaud the organisers of Formula Student, an event which encourages teams from around the world to build their own competitive single seater car.  Ross Brawn is a patron of the event, and has long been supportive of nurturing engineering talent.

“Formula Student is a fantastic career opportunity [...] I, for one and as its Patron, have been really inspired by the commitment and enthusiasm of these young people. They are the future” said Brawn of the initiative.

If you feel inspired to get involved then check out the Formula Student website for more details.

PODIUM.  Jacques Villeneuve -

You’ve got to hand it to the guy, he certainly doesn’t give up!  After unsuccessfully attempting a comeback this season as a driver with one of the new teams, Jacques the wannabe comeback-king is putting plans in place to run his own team.  It is unclear who exactly will be in the racing seats, or whether the team will even make it to the grid, but count on Villeneuve to never give up!  The team name is currently ‘Team Durango’, which sounds more like a dodgy Renault model than an F1 team.  But hey, it’s got to be better than ‘HRT’.

PODIUM.  Grand Prix Tycoon -

Ever fancied yourself as the next Christian Horner, Eddie Jordan, or Ron Dennis?  Or even the next Flavio Briatore?  Well now you can live the dream (millions, yachts and models not included).  Test your F1 team management skills on this free online Grand Prix Tycoon game.  POP is addicted!  Warning:  if you have a life, or a job, POP strongly advises that you to consider how important these are to you before this game inevitably takes over your life.  Click here to play!

PODIUM.  Brian May -

And the final Podium of the week goes to Brian May from the legendary band ‘Queen’.  Apparently Brian is a big fan of Badgers.  Who knew?  He’s such a big fan that he is using his pop-cult status to campaign against the culling of badgers.  This culls, I mean calls, for a special POP-tastic pun-off!  Don’t .. .stop … May … now!  Badgers will rock you!  He’s just a poor Badger from a poor family … ahem, anyway, click here to join Brian on his quest to save all the badgers of Britain!  And here he is with a special message to animal lovers everywhere.  Aww.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Thanks to Ant Hot Wheels for the tip-off about Brian May.

This week Podium or Pits examines the toxic fall-out from the latest installment in the Red Bull Civil War, a familiar face may be returning to F1, and Ferrari finally grows up!

Vettel goes behind Webber’s back to tell the world that he himself is Red Bull’s No 1

PITS.  The Red Bull team -

They’ve got the fastest car by nearly a second, they’ve got the money to fund aggressive development, they’ve got two awesomely quick drivers … so why have things suddenly gone as sour as off milk at Red Bull?  Mark Webber will probably never live down the line “not bad for a number two driver” he made over the radio at the end of the British grand prix.  POP bets that Webber already had this darkly comic comment thought out half-way through the race, given his supreme dominance at Silverstone.

It’s not a secret radio, but why would Webber want the world to know?  Yes, it makes his dominant win all the more impressive given that he, apparently, only has the meager support warranted by his “second driver” status, but surely it also undermines Mark’s credibility?  He is well respected in the paddock, especially among other drivers as a former director of the Grand Prix Drivers’ Association (of which the majority of drivers are a member).  Interestingly, Webber’s team-mate Vettel is now a director along with Nick Heidfeld and Felipe Massa.

Team orders are “banned” in F1, although in reality that rule just means “please don’t make it too obvious that you’re favouring one driver, or the FIA will … write you a very strongly worded letter!”

What does POP recommend for this sticky situation?  Firstly, sack the person in charge of PR at Red Bull, and secondly, either treat Webber and Vettel equally (they’ll be a lot less likely to smash each other off the race track that way) or alternatively hire yourself a Heikki (a true number two driver if ever POP saw one).

PODIUM.  Martin Brundle -

Good news everyone!  Your favourite F1 commentator is on facebook!  No, not Jonathan Legard, but the seminal Martin Brundle.  Click here to become a ‘facebook fan’ of his.  Although at this point POP would like to make clear that this is not in fact the real Martin Brundle, but the quality of the mini-site is excellent.  Check out the notes tab for Brundle commentating gems which are regularly updated; here’s just a few to remind you of just how ace Brundle is:

“He gets a big dollop of opposite lock on the way out.”

“Jenson Button power-sliding through a corner? It just doesn’t happen.”

“You have to treat the back of Michael Schumacher’s car like the back end of a donkey today. I think he’s driven appallingly, frankly – poor on the grid and poor in the race.”

PODIUM.  Kimi Raikkonen -

YAY!  Yipee!  Hooray!  Wahooo!  Hurrah!  Wowzers!  would be POP’s reaction if Kimi Raikkonen were to make a comeback in Formula 1 next season.  So you can imagine the excitement when POP heard the rumblings of just such a rumour.  If you’re a regular reader of Podium or Pits you’ll know that POP constantly suffers from Kimi Raikkonen-related withdrawal symptoms: who doesn’t miss his incomprehensible mumblings, his ice-cool demeanor, fierce presence on the track, and penchant for ice lollies?

McLaren boss Martin Whitmarsh has ignited the rumour flame with his recent comments, “Formula One would be richer for having Kimi back.”  Richer?  In literal terms, no.  Raikkonen was probably the best paid driver on the grid when he drove for Ferrari last year.  But metaphorically richer?  Certainly.

You’re thinking, “but where would Raikkonen go?”  There may well be a seat at Red Bull available for 2011 at this rate (and Raikkonen’s rally car is Red Bull-sponsored), and if POP’s bet that Schumacher won’t last the season comes true there’ll be a seat at Mercedes too!

PODIUM.  Ferrari -

POP would like to initiate a virtual round-of-applause for the Ferrari team!  After weeks, months, nay, years of toddler-like behaviour from the team, they now deserve some congratulations for finally growing up.  Even by the wise Martin Brundle’s estimation, Fernando Alonso’s drive through penalty at the British grand prix was harsh.  It was indeed harsh.

In past days Ferrari would have reacted to this by running to the FIA (once fondly nicknamed Ferrari International Assistance) and whining “but it’s not fair” at the top of their voices.  But no so this week.  They have released a news article on their website entitled “A great desire to react” in which they rationally and adultly analyse their performance at the weekend, and are philosophical about their recent frustrations.  “We must remain rational, we must not let ourselves be discouraged nor frustrated”, said Ferrari boss Stefano Domenicali.  Even the usually firey Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo said this of the race, “There is no point in crying about it and I want the team to tackle the second half of the season in a positive manner.”

POP is genuinely shocked.  How could a team transform itself so quickly?  Oi, Red Bull, take note!

PODIUM. Jenson and Lewis

The World Champion Brits show Red Bull how two of the best drivers on the grid can work together, fight each other and still stay on top of both World Championships.  They also traveled to Silverstone together in a VW campervan for Vodafone promo thingy, speaking of which, Badger is happy to announce that Vodafone are somewhat wonderful, in that they provided us with a full 3G signal all over the circuit and campsite, impressive stuff and ensured Badger stayed up to date all weekend.

PODIUM. Al Murray the pub landlord

What does Al Murray have to do with F1?  Quite a bit actually, especially during the build up to the British GP where he had a get together with Jenson and Lewis along with Eddie Jordan and Chris Moyles.  See the Jake Humphrey’s blog for a great video featuring Lewis Hamilton on guitar playing a 90’s Britpop classic – watch it here: Al Murray’s Best of British (and Eddie Jordan)

PODIUM. The British Grand Prix

You already know from our reports, just how successful the Formula 1 British Grand Prix was, but you may not have heard about the HPV British Grand Prix where Gentlemen (and ladies) turn off their engines and get pedaling for victory.  If you’re looking for a cost effective way to get into racing or to work on your F1 engineering dream, Badger can’t recommend this enough -

We may even enter our own black white striped car one year (any budding engineers out there want to give us a hand!?)  Here’s footage of the ‘other’ British Grand Prix:

POP’s quite positive this week – if you have anything that you think should be in the pits then let us know in the comments below…

Badger meets Jenson Button, photo courtesy of McLaren.com

PODIUM.  Jenson Button -

Last Thursday POP was on a very important F1-related mission: to interview none other than Jenson Button! That’s right, POP and the F1 world champion Jenson Button, chatting one-on-one for an entire 15 minutes.  As expected, there is literally nothing bad to say about JB; he is a truly top bloke.

After spending a whopping 10 hours in McLaren’s state-of-the-art simulator back in Woking, JB arrived at the TAG Heuer

Badger's favourite: Jenson Button

boutique in London’s Westfield shopping centre all smiles and laughs.  At this point POP was desperately trying to conceal the pre-interview nerves by cracking a few jokes, but do you want to know what really makes Jenson nervous?  Not racing, not flying, not Eddie Jordan’s choice of clothing … instead it is, in fact, interviews.  JB held out his hand to show how shaky it was at the prospect of an interview, which is madness given that he regularly races at 200 mph without getting scared.  But you wouldn’t have guessed.

POP would liked to have recounted a bit more of the interview now, but sadly was too busy staring in wonder at JB during the interview to notice what his answers even were.  Sorry folks, you’ll just have to wait until the video is ready to see the full exclusive interview with JB!  He even signed BabyBadger’s autograph book.  POP would also like to thank TAG Heuer for organising everything and making sure things ran like clockwork.

PODIUM.  People Power!

Do you ever think to yourself, “wouldn’t F1 be better if …”?  What would you change?  Yes, of course Jonathan Legard would be canned immediately, but what other changes would you make to ensure the F1 spectacle is as exciting as possible?  Well now your ideas and opinions, both sensible and daft, will be considered at the annual Fans’ Forum organised by FOTA (the Formula One Teams’ Association).  The first one took place last Thursday, so that gives you a whole year to devise and formulate concrete proposals for F1.

PITS.  Ferrari -

Wait, wait, is that bitterness POP can smell in the air?  Or the pungent whiff of cheating, rivalry, and oil fumes?  No!  It’s the new Ferrari fragrance, ‘Scuderia Ferrari’.  Hilarious does not even begin to describe the accompanying advert…

Click here to view the embedded video.

PODIUM.  Goodwood -

Last weekend the Badger team wandered down to the sunny Goodwood Festival of Speed to see what all the fuss was about, and

Adrian Newey

can highly recommend it to any F1 fans with a non-grand prix weekend to fill.  We saw Formula 1 cars old, new and current, as well as classic cars, the new McLaren road car … and many more.  At the risk of seeming an obnoxious bragger, POP also got a word with Adrian Newey, the supremely talented engineer who designed this year’s almost untouchable Red Bull car.  Newey even drove this year’s car up Goodwood’s hill climb route for the many excited fans.  Then POP noticed Red Bull boss Christian Horner too, and he confessed that he was “absolutely hoping” for a 1-2 finish at Silverstone this weekend.  Not if JB gets his way though!

Check out all the Goodwood photos from the weekend here.

PITS.  Michael Schumacher -

Now POP’s not normally one for betting, but has recently made a wager that Michael Schumacher will quit F1 (again) at the end of this season.  Why else would the talented Nick Heidfeld have accepted a ‘test driver’ role at Mercedes unless he knew there was a strong possibility of being able to take the race seat after a year?  Mark POP’s words, there’ll be another mystery ‘neck problem’ announced before the season is out.

Talking of betting, it also turns out that the odds of Schumacher winning the world championship this year is 150-1.  Now that’s just embarrassing.

Both in the PITS - Schumacher and his manager Weber

PITS.  Willi Weber -

You may recognise the name of Willi Weber: he’s Michael Schumacher’s manager.  If you thought Schumacher’s week was going badly, then spare a thought for Weber because he’s facing a potential jail sentence!  Actually, don’t feel sorry for him, because he’s been charged in Germany for embezzling €1.2 million.  F1 hasn’t had any proper controversy for a while, so this does go some way to redressing that balance at least.

PITS.  Mark Webber -

Is there driver favouritism in the Red Bull team?  Yes there is, and POP has the evidence to prove it.  After Webber’s 200 mph crash at the European grand prix, the chassis was repairable but not ideal.  So he’s been given Sebastian Vettel’s cast-off chassis which was rejected by Vettel after Monaco because “something was not feeling right” with that chassis.  No-one wants a hand-me-down car, especially not a rubbish reject one.

But we all know that Webber is made of stronger stuff than most drivers; he’ll drive despite a broken leg, a scary 200 mph crash, and the worst luck in the history of F1.  With the odds of him winning the British grand prix only 4-1, he’s not a bad bet at all!

PITS.  Robert Kubica -

Surely it should be good news when a driver announces he’ll be staying with his team for the next 2 years?  However, POP has a nagging feeling that Kubica’s decision to stay at Renault will cost him his chance of a world championship.  Renault aren’t a bad team, but they’re certainly never consistently at the pinnacle of the sport like McLaren and Ferrari are (normally).  With Kubica staying where he is at least silly season won’t be as far-fetched and ridiculous as last year, so there’s one upside at least.

This weekend will of course see F1 hit Silverstone for the British Grand Prix. Like countless others Badger will be in attendance, and has organised a bit of a meet up for fans at the circuit to have a chat and maybe share a few beverages.

We’ll be meeting near the F1 Village (behind the grandstands) at around 4pm on Friday, and would love to see as many of you as possible. For more details check out the Facebook page- we look forward to seeing you there. for what will hopefully be a classic race weekend.

Even from the back seat Jenson tries to reach the clutch pedal!

PODIUM.  Jenson Button -

The reigning world champion has been relaxing between Valencia and Silverstone by doing a bit of partying in London town this week at the club Boujis.  Nice!

PODIUM.  Eddie Jordan -

Here at Badger, we’ve always liked Eddie Jordan – the voice of reason and all and this video shows just how much the loveable irish pundit is respected across the world:

PODIUM.  Lotus -

After the Kovalainen ‘Moving Bollard’ fiasco of Valencia, Lotus have turned things around this week to earn a podium!  They’ll be opening up their factory for tours in July and August!  It doesn’t come cheap at £80, but regardless it’s an amazing opportunity to get a glimpse of the ‘real’ F1. For bookings, please email the dedicated Lotus Racing Factory Tour booking service on factorytours@lotusracing.my

PODIUM. McLaren -

It’s not often a team makes a video that doesn’t seem like utter corporate fluff.  Trust POP, this one is the real deal:

Click here to view the embedded video.

PITS.  Sebastian Vettel -

POP heard a rumour from a little birdy that Vettel’s car names, Luscious Liz, Kate’s Dirty Sister, etc, are in fact from his, ahem, collection of naughty videos.  Lovely.  Can the readers suggest any better names from more moral sources?

PITS.  F1 Racing High Energy drinks -

Bernie is a busy man: so many places to go, so many deals, so many people to see, so many people to sue…  and now it’s the turn of the makers of an ‘F1′ branded energy drink.  POP hasn’t sampled the beverage itself, but is impressed by the can design which looks like a stack of F1 tyres.  Genius!

At 1 it’s the mighty F1 car!  Mark Webber looked rather cheesed off as he clambered out of the car following his crash, and only realising “in the shower” what a lucky escape he’d had.  So you can drive into the back of a slow-moving Lotus, flip the car high up into the air for a few seconds, do a mid-air side-roll, come back upright again, and slam it into the wall at 200 mph … and guess what?

You’ll escape completely unharmed.  You’ve really got to hand it to the designers and the FIA this time; they’ve done a great job on safety.  The drivers can be forgiven sometimes for forgetting about safety when their number 1 priority is to win win win, but at least we know the car is doing its job pretty darn well.

Number 2 is Germany.  Christian Horner, who is himself English, joked to the German Vettel that it would be Germany’s only win of the day when Vettel triumphantly crossed the finish line.  Sadly for us English fans this was not the case.  The 27th June 2010 was a great day for German sporting achievement.*

*unless you’re Michael Schumacher that is.

At 3 it’s the midfield!  Yes, the entire midfield.  It’s my Badgerometer ok, and if you don’t like it you can create your own and post it in the comment box at the bottom of this page.  Leaving aside the ‘B’ teams, it’s a great sight to see the whole of the midfield being competitive and successful at Valencia.  There’s a Williams in 4th, Renault 5th, Force India 6th, BMW 7th, and a Toro Rosso in 9th.

Everyone loves an underdog, and if Valencia was good for anything then this was it.

At number 4 it’s common sense.  Football is anti-technology altogether, and spurns time delays, resulting in some very dodgy decisions … but Formula 1 goes entirely the other way by having only ‘provisional’ results for hours after the race.  Poor Jenson Button had to stand on the podium knowing that his trophy and 3rd place could be taken away from him at any moment by the stewards for being the wrong speed behind the safety car.

However, common sense prevailed to everyone’s relief.  The 5 second penalties shuffled the deck a little towards the end of the points, but that’s about it.

At 5 it’s the only drivers who ever drove for Brawn GP – Jenson Button and Rubens Barrichello, now at McLaren and Williams respectively.  JB knew what he was doing all along with Kobayashi, and picked up a nice podium from it as well.  Did anyone notice he took the fastest lap of the race too?  Badger loves Button.  Simple.  And Rubens had a stunner of a race!  He won at Valencia last year, and took an extremely impressive 4th place behind his former team-mate in the race.

Nice work chaps.

Don't mess with Montezemolo

This week I’m miffed with Ferrari.  They are nowhere near fast enough on

the circuit, so who do they blame for their string of poor performances?  Themselves?  Of course not, you mad English fool!  Blame the FIA, blame McLaren, blame Hamilton, blame the rules, blame the Pope, blame Canada … blame everyone but themselves.  In the manner of some evil genius baddy in a bad Bond film, Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo said this of the Hamilton safety car controversy,

“We are sure that the FIA will fully analyse what happened, taking the consequent necessary decisions. Ferrari will watch this with interest.”

Quite frankly Ferrari should spend more time developing the car, and less time moaning!

Button and Brawn in happier times

PODIUM.  Jenson Button -

Apparently Jenson Button has recently been talking to his former team Brawn GP (now Mercedes).  Not for a friendly chat over a cuppa, but instead because he’s suing them!  Nice.  What a lasting legacy of friendship Button leaves behind him.  The issue would appear to be a clause in Button’s contract which entitled him to a Brawn 2009 car if he won the championship.

He duly won said championship, but sadly no Brawn car arrived.  Mercedes told Button that it was only possible for a replica to be delivered to him, but this was not good enough for Button.  POP wonders whether team principal Ross Brawn tried to fob him off with a scalextric replica – in which case Button was clearly within his rights to reject the offer!  POP is happy to reveal, however that according to reports Button and Brawn have reached a deal and Button will be receiving one of the championship-winning Brawn cars worth £1million.

PODIUM.  Tyres -

Phew!  After many months of behind-the-scenes wrangling, a tyre manufacturer has been found to replace Bridgestone starting from the 2011 season.  Bridgestone announced their intentions to leave some time ago, which surprised many in the sport, but now we’re set to see Pirelli tyres back on F1 cars for the first time since 1991.

Frankly POP was hoping for the return of Michelin and their chubby mascot the Michelin Man.  F1 needs more mascots.  And no, Eddie Jordan doesn’t count.  Ferrari will be happy after the announcement of this news – Pirelli are a well-established Italian manufacturer, and we all know how patriotically passionate those Italians are!

PITS.  The BBC crew -

Anthony Davidson takes a nap in his Economy seat

Formula 1 has a reputation for glamour, parties, royalty, sunny coastal cities, and now … nasty budget airline flights!  Poor Jake Humphrey and Anthony Davidson, of the BBC F1 crew, recorded a video of the less-glamorous side of Formula 1 on board a flight to Valencia.  Check it out by clicking here!

PITS.  Valencia -

Did you get all excited when you realised there was a grand prix this weekend?  Did you then humph and moan when you realised that the ‘European grand prix’ was not the wonderful Nurburgring of yore, but in fact … Valencia.  If that describes you, then you have what has been called the “Valencia Blues” – an F1-induced depression triggered by the broadcast of this non-event grand prix.

POP is sad to inform you that this crippling yearly condition is set to continue until 2014, when Valencia’s contract with Bernie Ecclestone runs out.

PODIUM.  Classy F1 -

Despite Jake and Anthony’s less-than-glamorous means of travel, there is  still some class and glamour to be found in Formula 1… the 2010 Grand Prix Ball!  For ‘only’ £352.50, you can mingle with the movers and shakers of Formula 1, have a black tie dinner, and the best bit?  You get to see Eddie Jordan’s “brilliant” band, ‘The Robbers’, play live!

You have to be 23 or over to attend, which pretty much rules out half the F1 field, and POP as a matter of fact, but would any amount of money actually be enough to compensate being forced to listen to Eddie Jordan sing?  No, you can’t put a price on that kind of pain.  You’ll have been “robbed” of 2 hours of your life!  For tickets, click here.

PODIUM or PITS (you decide!) – the 107% Rule

Yes that’s right folks, POP wants YOU to decide the fate of the jazzy titled “107% Rule” set to be re-introduced from 2011 to prevent overly-slow cars getting to the grid.  POP had trouble trying to make sense of this rule, so will pass you over to F1 super-brain Adam Milleneuve…

It’s very simple.

If pole position lap time is 100 seconds (or 1min 40secs) then the rest of the field have to be within 107% of that time to qualify.  Which in this case would be 107 seconds, or 1 minute 47 seconds.  So, if say a Lotus did a lap in 1minute 47.3 seconds they would not be allowed to start the race on Sunday because they’re too slow.

It used to be in F1 before, they’ve brought it back because of the new teams.  If it was in place this year we would have seen 7 cars not qualify so far….

Don’t forget to vote – the 107% Rule: Podium or Pits?

Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post's poll.

At number 1, somewhat controversially, it’s the Canadian grand prix itself.  They say absence makes the heart grow fonder, and that’s certainly true of the Gilles Villeneuve circuit on the stunning man-made island in Montreal.

After a year’s absence from the Formula 1 calendar, the Canadian grand prix returned and we were treated to yet another exciting wheel-to-wheel race.

Gone are the days when we would enthusiastically cheer one measly overtaking move per race.  On Sunday it was, at times, hard to follow what on earth was going on with all the pit stops, overtakes, drag races, scraps, pit lane racing … but it was brilliant.  Who needs rain?  Who needs a safety car?  The 2010 season is fast turning into an F1 classic already…

World © Sutton

At number 2 it’s Jenson Button, much like his result in the race.  But that’s not why he deserves a place in the Badgerometer Hall of Fame, it’s because of his maturity, sportsmanship and graciousness in defeat.  Either he’s a really really good actor, or there genuinely is mutual respect between the McLaren drivers.

Maybe it’s due to the fact that they both possess World Championship titles, or that McLaren learnt the hard way after the disastrous (but entertaining) Hamilton-Alonso pairing that saw them BOTH lose the championship in 2007.  Regardless, Button deserves a good old slap on the back for such a refreshing attitude.  Your time will come Jenson.

At number 3 it’s got to be the surprisingly fast Force India team!  Ok, so 9th and 10th isn’t stellar, but they did have their fair share of bashes and bumps during the race.  Liuzzi seemed like a write-off after his 1st lap dodgem-style collision(s) with Felipe Massa sent him spinning.  A battle with Kubica left Sutil with a puncture, and he dropped down to 13th after another pit stop, but managed to ‘force’ his way up to 10th.

Still, with both drivers in the points (something only Red Bull and McLaren can also boast) it’s a damn fine performance.

The headphones go in your ears, Vettel, not your actual head! World © Sutton

At 4, it’s the greatest invention since the dawn of Formula 1: the team radio.  Personally I think they should spend a bit more money harnessing the supreme power and hilariousness of team radios.  There should be a red button channel on the TV purely for team radio broadcasts, and another separate radio stream just for the Felipe Massa-Rob Smedley (his Ferrari race engineer) exchanges.  Who knows how many pet names Smedders has for his ‘Felipe baby’?

And perhaps Vettel might re-think his blatant sarcasm over the radio after having it broadcast to millions around the world during the race.  The Red Bull team asked him to nurse the car to the finish, due to a gear box problem, and then the following lap told him to get a move on and overtake!  Naturally Vettel was unimpressed, and confused.

At 5, it’s Nico Rosberg.  How someone can finish up in 6th without once being caught by the TV cameras in an impressive feat of ingenuity and sheer skill.  Did he take part in the race at all?  Was he sitting in his garage having a hot dog, before rejoining around lap 60 to see the chequered flag?  Who knows, but Petronas, Mercedes GP’s major sponsor are undoubtedly on the phone complaining to Bernie Ecclestone as we speak.

A typical F1 Steward?

This week I’m miffed with The Stewards.  Those mythical adjudicating creatures of Formula 1, much like the sand people of Star Wars fame, who seem to delight in making completely arbitrary and sometimes contradictory judgements and penalties.

I suppose it isn’t their fault.  Hamilton’s cheeky fumed-powered flying lap in qualifying left him pushing the car back to the pits to preserve enough fuel for steward testing – which isn’t strictly against the rules, but isn’t really fair either.  So what was the penalty?  £10,000… aka peanuts to McLaren.  Charlie Whiting, F1 race director, has said this of the tactic:

“Any team whose car stops on the slowing down lap after the race will be asked by the stewards to explain why this happened, ” Whiting said.

“If they are not satisfied that the reasons were beyond the control of the driver or team, and feel that this has been done deliberately to gain a competitive advantage, appropriate action will be taken.”

I bet the teams are quivering in their fire-proof boots at the thought of having to … “explain” their actions.  Scary stuff indeed.

The Badgerometer handy round-up of all the post-race rulings!

1. Michael Schumacher escaped penalty for double crossing on the straight to defend against former team-mate Felipe Massa.
2. Whereas Massa was handed a 20-second penalty for speeding in the pit lane!  It doesn’t make any difference though, as he was an entire lap ahead of 16th place Kovalainen in a Lotus.
3. Jaime Alguersuari was “reprimanded”, whatever that actually means, for an early collision with Rubens “The Plough” Barrichello.
4. Robert Kubica, or Bobby K as we like to call him, was also “reprimanded” for his supremely dangerous dive into the pit lane which nearly took out Adrian Sutil.  Doesn’t Bobby K remember that he nearly DIED at the Canadian grand prix in 2007?

It’s also pretty annoying to have to wait until the end of the race to have everything investigated – sort it out sand people!

Welcome to Podium or Pits, or POP for short, your entertaining weekly Formula 1 good week/bad week.  POP wagers that you’ll learn something new and exciting every week!

The happy couple (c) Sutton Images

PODIUM.  Felipe Massa -

It was confirmed yesterday that Ferrari have extended Felipe’s contract until 2012 – great news for the ‘cheeky chappy’ of the grid and great news for us as it means another two years of the “Rob (Smedley) and Felipe Show”

Confirmation of this casts doubt on those rumours growing that Ferrari were looking to sign Kubica from Renault and it’s also paving the way for a quite straight-forward driver market silly season, with most of the top seats in the sport filled for 2011 already. Red Bull have Vettel and Webber, Ferrari have Alonso and Massa, McLaren have Button and Hamilton.

PODIUM.  Virgin Racing & Moneysupermarket.com -

Now, POP doesn’t usually bow down to the mighty corporate powers of the world, but in this case POP sees fit to make an exception.  As with most of POP’s highly arbitrary ‘Rules’, they are mostly there to be broken.  So when POP heard of the chance to win two VIP/Paddock tickets to Monza MONZA MONZA, aka the Italian grand prix, courtesy of new team Virgin Racing and Moneysupermarket.com, it jumped at the chance to tell everyone.  Virgin Racing are fast becoming firm friends of the Sett, what with our recent chat with their driver Timo Glock, and our borderline stalking of reserve driver (and all round nice guy) Andy Soucek.  And if you win you’ll get to meet them!

But if you do win, seriously, POP is free the weekend of the Italian grand prix, and would be more than happy to take the extra VIP ticket.  More than happy.  Click here for the chance to win!

PODIUM.  Formula 1 Fashion -

You simply can’t call yourself a true F1 fan until you have wasted spent an obscene amount of your hard-earned cash on some naff quality Formula 1 merchandise.

Personally POP prefers the branded cap and shirt, but you can also get pens, mugs, shoes, the works!  Want a top so garish in colour you’re guaranteed to repel the ladies?  Then try a McLaren ‘victory’ shirt!  Want to look like an angry bumblebee just threw-up on you?  Try the Renault paddock bundle!

Gosh, now where would you be without POP’s expert F1-fashion advice?  If you came along to Badger’s F1 Live event at the Sports Cafe for the Monaco grand prix, you’ll remember we gave away loads of Henri Lloyd F1 caps as prizes.  Ace!

PODIUM.  Twitter & the ‘Ready Steady Glock’ show-

Ready Steady Glock!

POP has long advocated the joys and virtues of Twitter.  Reading the 140 characters thoughts of the good, the bad, and the frankly made-up of Formula 1 is highly entertaining stuff.  POP’s favourites include: Fake Max Mosley (it’s as good as it sounds), Heikki Kovalainen, Jonathan Legard (comedy gold), and Ferrari (succinct but brilliant).  But Twitter is not just for thoughts, no no … let POP tell you a little story to demonstrate – Timo Glock, of Virgin Racing, is always tweeting about food, so friend of Badger GrandPrixDiary got its Twitter followers to come up with a dish for ‘Ready Steady Glock’, and Timo would cook the chosen dish.  Brilliant!  Here’s a proud Timo with his dinner.  Bless.

PITS(TOP).  DIY F1 pitstops -

It looks easy on the TV, right?  You just take the wheel off, and put a new wheel back on.  Sorted.  What’s all the fuss about?  Wrong.  POP has been reliably informed that doing a pitstop is no easy task – read on for the FIRST EVER reader-written Podium or Pits entry thanks to Ant Bradbury Aka Ant Hot (Lukewarm) Wheels…

We’ve all seen them do it on TV in less time than it takes to pit your nose! But have you ever wondered just what it takes to do it yourself?

As part of ‘A taste of Spain’ the countries tourist board gave visitors in Regent Street a rare treat to do just that in their Motorsport zone.

Assisted by some actual F1 mechanics having donned ‘tinto’ red overalls (provided) I explode into action and within minutes as opposed to seconds revving up the bit drill. I jack the car up and fit a new tyre. ‘Ole’ I  throatily shout. My work is done but I sadly don’t make the leader board; Let’s just say it took me more time than to make’ flip and eat a Spanish omelette! Practice makes perfect. There was also a chance to experience an adrenaline rush behind the wheel in an F1simulator, although personally must admit I prefer racing in the real thing.