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).

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!

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.

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.

It’s Thursday, and that means it’s time for Podium or Pits!  This week Button meets an unlikely F1 fan, Lotus get sued, and a mini-Brawn GP makes its debut!

PITS.  Brawn GP -

The Brawn GP team may be no more, but someone clearly forgot to tell Scalextric.  The team, as we all know, has been rebranded (again) as Mercedes.  But Scalextric have released a 1:32 scale model this week of last year’s championship-winning car, as modelled above by Team Principal Ross Brawn.

According to Scalextric, this is only the first in a series of forthcoming Brawn GP products.  So Brawn GP lives on … but in toy-town tiny miniature!

PITS.  The Red Bull team -

After the furore at the Turkish grand prix, where the two Red Bulls crashed out of 1st and 2nd places, everyone’s been pointing fingers.  Brundle thought it was Vettel’s fault, team principal Christian Horner made a thinly-veiled attack on Webber’s track positioning, Webber blames Vettel, Vettel blames Webber, well, you get the picture.

However, POP blames the Red Bull team, naturally.  When you’ve got two drivers sitting pretty out in front of the rest of the pack, it is your duty as the team to make sure they don’t crash.  It’s pretty obvious really.  But … it was pretty funny to watch, hilarious in fact.  Keep up the good in-fighting guys!

PODIUM.  Jenson Button -

Yesterday Jenson became an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (otherwise known as the OBE).  He received his accolade from the Queen, who apparently is more of a motorsport fan than we could ever have imagined, “she knows quite a lot about racing which was quite nice” said Jenson after the event.  Brilliant.  The Queen has to be the most unlikely F1 fan in the history of the sport.  She’s been alive for the whole of Formula 1’s own lifetime, so by now her Majesty must be an F1-expert!

PITS.  Mike Conway -

The British Indy 500 driver survived one of the most horrendous crashes POP has ever seen.  Even more scary than Robert Kubica’s live unfolding crash at Montreal in 2007.  POP can’t even begin to describe the horror of this accident, so you’ll just have to watch it for yourselves. Disclaimer: those of a nervous disposition are advised to look away now.

Click here to view the embedded video.

PITS.  Lotus -

Impressive new team Lotus are becoming embroiled in Spygate Round II.  The team are being sued by Force India for copying their designs using a windtunnel previously used by Force India.  The claim is said to be worth nearly £20 million.  If true, it may also trigger an investigation by the FIA, which requires that teams build their own chassis.

Watch this space for POP’s continuing F1 Legal Bulletin… because what would Formula 1 be without the lawyers, eh?

PODIUM.  The United States of America -

Yee-haw!  F1 is coming to Texas, USA, in 2012!  There had previously been talk of a circuit based just outside New York, but Bernie’s jedi-like powers of persuasion have ensured that a new track will be purpose-built for Formula 1 near Austin in Texas.  As long as the folks of Austin don’t ‘do a Donington‘, they’ll be hosting the US Grand Prix from 2012 til 2021.

However, will the Americans even know, let alone care, about this news?  And will USF1 now finally get the financial backing they need to make it to the F1 grid at last?

PITS.  Lewis Hamilton -

And now for your exclusive Lewis Hamilton Criminal Activities Update, courtesy of Podium or Pits!  After reporting last month of Hamilton’s boy-racer stunt in Australia, which saw him getting in trouble with the Police and his car embarassingly impounded, Hamilton has this week been charged for ‘intentionally losing control of a vehicle’.

“What I did was silly, and I want to apologise for it,” said Hamilton at the time.  The UK equivalent offence is probably ‘driving without due care and attention’, which sounds a lot posher but essentially the same thing.  The court date is set for August 24, which is just before the Belgian grand prix, so it remains to be seen whether Hamilton will even be able to attend!

PODIUM.  Veteran British drivers -

Here's Johnny!

POP is immensely pleased that British ex-Formula 1 drivers have been finally given something useful to do – helping to steward the grand prix this year.  In Monaco we had Damon “the hate mail has started” Hill presiding over the controversial decision to penalise former arch-rival Michael Schumacher.  And now, at the Turkish grand prix, another British driver will be present… no, not Sir Stirling Moss, he’s still recovering from his fall, no, it’s going to be the return of POP’s favourite childhood (ever-so-slightly rubbish) racing hero … Johnny Herbert!

Herbert won the British grand prix in 1995, which is ironic given that he effectively inherited the win thanks to a crash between Damon Hill and Schumacher.  Some people never change, eh?  Anyway, POP is Herbert’s biggest fan, and even named a short-lived childhood goldfish after him.  Legend.  Here’s Johnny!

PITS.  FOM -

Formula One Management, FOM, the Bernie-controlled governing body of the sport, has got itself in trouble with the UK border police.  According to reports, 5 stowaways were discovered on the trucks which had been traveling back from the Monaco grand prix via Calais.  At this rate, Formula 1 is going to turn into an episode of Law & Order!

PODIUM.  Christian Horner -

At last!  POP can finally admit to a dark secret it has been shamefully hiding, until now, for fear of being laughed out of the F1 community.  For a while now, umm, POP has been harbouring an inexplicable crush on … Red Bull boss Christian Horner.  Don’t ask, because POP doesn’t know.  Sometimes these things just happen.  And now here’s the reason why it is now ‘ok’ to reveal this little secret:  Horner in all his glory circa Cosmopolitan magazine 1997… enjoy!

PODIUM.  Lucas di Grassi -

We all know that as drivers enter the world of Formula 1, they are inevitably swamped by hordes and hordes of adoring fans, models and actresses.  Lucas di Grassi has only been in F1 since the beginning of this season, but he left this somewhat mysterious message on Twitter yesterday…

My Veronica is getting fat and updated. Virginia is fat since Barcelona. Does anyone knows what I’m talking about?

What do you think?  Is Lucas having romantic liasons with several larger ladies, or is he copying Sebastian Vettel and naming his cars?

PITS.  Canadian water pipes -

The Canadian grand prix 2010?

So you’re all thinking POP’s taken some crazy pills this week, right?  Wrong!  There is actually a genuine F1-related reason for knowing about the state of Canada’s water pipes.  According to the Montreal Gazette, “the aging pipes located below the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve could jeopardize the Formula One event.”  Jeopardize?  Or add a brilliant exciting twist to the Canadian grand prix?  You decide.

PITS.  Williams F1 -

Williams had a particularly disastrous weekend in Monte Carlo, with Hulkenberg crashing out on the 1st lap, and Rubens Barrichello later joining him into the barriers.  But it’s not been a great year for Williams either really.  The TV cameras have barely acknowledged the existence of the long-standing F1 team in recent months.  And now, with Webber and Button looking stronger than ever, it got POP to wondering whether the Williams team has had its day?  Webber drove for Williams back in 2005-2006, and Button in 2000, and now … they’re the 2010 and 2009 winners of the Monaco grand prix respectively.  When asked what he thought of Webber’s recent successes, Williams boss Sir Frank Williams said, “I can honestly say, no bulls***, I’m delighted.”  Hey, at least the team’s got a sense of humour.  That’s pretty much all they’ve got going for them at the moment.