Dirty Side Deckchair

  Ripley was not a fan of the track What do you mean you don't recognize this track? It is the most iconic and well known circuit loved by fans and drivers alike. Still no clue? OK, let me back up a little here and let you all catch up. There has been a lot written over recent weeks about the increase in street circuits, the "money over tradition" debate, and what really gives us the best racing.  This all kicked into gear again this week when the F1 2023 calendar was published and all of a sudden Vegas was being ridiculed despite not a single wheel rolling around that track yet. This got us thinking over at the Dirty Side... What would the perfect track look like if we made it from a blend of fans & drivers favorite sections from tracks currently on the calendar. After a huge amount of scientific research we present to you the greatest F1 track in the world! It's assembled from the top 10 tracks based on a blended view of drivers & fans enjoyment all calculat...

  Just writing the title to this weeks blog still doesn't make it feel real. We were face to face (on Zoom) with a racing legend and about to start talking to him about his career. For many sports journalist this is a very simple task I imagine.  However, it's fair to say that neither Brian nor I have any media training or have any remote exposure to journalism. We do our podcast as a passion hobby and just have fun doing it. Back in late 2021 when we came up with the idea of doing it, there was never any thought given to one day having an F1 World Drivers Champion on our humble little show. This Sunday that's exactly what will happen as we drop our episode that contains our chat with Jacques Villeneuve. Woo-hoo, I made it onto the Dirty Side pod! We've sat on this for nearly two weeks as we did not want this to be a bolt on to a regular race review episode.   Our vision was to ensure it dropped on a non-race weekend so it could take center stage. Therefore it was on...

  For listeners of the pod, this first real post on the Dirty Side Deckchair blog will come of something as a shock given that it is Rob mashing the keys right now... Tires. "Wait, what? Doesn't Rob hate the subject of tires?" Well, if I'm totally honest this is more about the overall subject of grip, not specifically caring about what compound is being used. Sorry Brian. As F1 heads to Montreal this weekend, the subject of grip at this track will no doubt raise it's slippery head again.  Why I hear you ask? Well luckily for you this whole post is dedicated to that subject. I had my own brush with grip problems in Montreal so can totally relate to what the teams will be facing this weekend.  A business trip to the city in January 2020 saw me staying 5 minutes away from the office I would need to walk to.  Things did not pan out this was as my shoes, while perfectly acceptable for the office, offered no grip on the snowy streets of Montreal.  I think a pair of bo...