Alt+F1: 40 - Chinese GP & Bahrain GP Prerace 2015

VROOM VROOM!

BAM!

Yeah podcasting continues.

I'm probably the only person in the world who feels bad for Nico. He seems damned if he does, damned if he doesn't. Not everyone knows the bitter feeling of coming constantly second, but it's an acerbic sensation that gnaws away at your confidence. At least Weber had a huge fan base supporting him when he was coming second to Vettel - Nico doesn't seem to get that. He just can't seem to escape the constant scrutiny and hatred. I really want to read the book on Nico and Hamilton Mercedes partnership, because it's one of the most tremendously interesting dynamics in a sport I've seen in a long time.

Edit: I also feel bad for Pastor. I know it's funny to make fun of him, to the point where he's developed into a meme, but this race it wasn't his fault :(

HEY PASTOR

Poor Max Verstappen, he had such an outstanding race only to have that rather spectacular engine failure at the end.

Edit: Also, Kimi continues to be a beast. It almost looked like he had the potential to pass Vettel before Vertappen's engine blow out caused a safety car. But then again, in Malaysia Kimi went from last place to 4th last race after losing a tire so it's pretty obvious he's doing pretty well right now.

PASTOR MALDONADO!

@billymaysrip: In pure pace is Rosberg much closer to Hamilton this year, he was ca. 4 sec behind when the safetycar got deployed compared to 18,7 sec in 2014. In Malaysia was he 3,7 sec behind him compared to 17,3 in 2014

I surprised no one brought up this super awkward wolf whistle that appeared on the sky broadcast during the last race.

Poor Pastor. Never gets a break.

"Thanks, Internet!" hahaha

BENEDICT CUMBERBATCH!

Edit: Here is a video of that crazy guy running onto the track:

I am looking forward to a Formula EJay guest appearance soon.

The smugness of the Sky Sports commentary team after the race was almost unbearable. I get that they're happy Lewis is winning but the mean spirited delight at Nico's frustration is just gross.

Still, China showed us that even if Nico doesn't prove a challenge to Lewis, at least the Ferraris will challenge Nico most of the time. Such a relief that this season will be better than the last!

Drew angrily going "Shut up. Shut up." when someone says something he doesn't want to hear is always super funny.

Also:

• China!
• Japan!

I hope they keep telling us what NASCAR race is on each week, because some of the names are pretty great. They missed out on last week's "Duck Commander 500".

... while I was at my friends house and the China race was on, our catchphrase for the day was "... just a little bit of fire."

@nkster: I caught that. $20 (£13,55) says it was Ted Kravitz.

I never knew who she was, and when they showed a picture of her looking attentively at a Lotus car from the back of the garage, I thought Pastor had just fired a massive broadside in the WAG arms race. Phew, that was a close call. I guess Jenson Button is still winning that one.

I don't care how correct or not Danny (o'Dwyer)'s aussie accent is, but I don't want him to stop. Hopefully Ricciardo voice is the Hamilton's Radio Guy voice of this season.

"We are the meat in a formula one sandwich."

I love you.

I love F1 but it has been a snooze fest of a season so far. The best racing of the weekend, and of the year so far, was in the WEC. Audi vs. Porsche lap after lap.

If nobody makes Danny's stinger bit a real stinger, I'm going to be disappointed with all of you.

@hammondoftexas: Damn.

@nkster: man, even the title of that video is shitty.

@nkster: She is real good looking.

I liked when Drew took Ryan's advice to chew his vowels and speak out of only one side of your mouth.

@supercubedude said:

Is NASCAR race announcements this podcast's version of talking about the week's WiiWare releases?

I sure hope so. Unfortunately, there's no "Heluva Good! Sour Cream Dips 400" this year.

@billymaysrip: You're not the only one. I'm just finishing up catching up on last season, and I feel like I was the only one on team Rosberg when it came to the Mercedes Drivers. I don't totally understand why either, it's not like he's that bad at dealing with the press, and he hasn't really done that much shady stuff in the races. He's not a bad driver either, just not quite as good as Hamilton. Even the contact at Spa last year which everyone keeps bringing up I'm pretty sure was actually an accident, and he was guilted into saying he did it by management, as Hamilton is clearly Niki Lauda's golden boy. He seems like an honest guy who is trying his best to win, and definitely realizes that he is getting misrepresented and trying to change that. I'd rather have him than Hamilton who is consistently a total asshole to his crew, whines everytime he doesn't get his way. There's so much that you could nitpick about Hamilton, except nobody does.

@ehside: I think the controversy at Monaco with him ruining Hamilton's run really soiled people on him. We'll never know if it was deliberate, but it was the most obviously shady thing that a driver has done to get an advantage in a while. Drivers have done underhand things to get ahead for years and years, but Nico's not the Virgin Mary. However, Nico does seem to constantly get the shorter stick on that kind of stuff.

If Nico was the one in first at China (and he was damn near close to being so) and Hamilton was in second, I think people would still be critical of Nico saying he's not a team player and such. When the golden boys do lame shit then it's all fine, but when others are it's a problem. Lauda said that Alonso was "selfish" while at Ferrari a few days ago, and then proceeded to praise Hamilton after China saying that "drivers need to be egotistical."

It's a sport that's more than just the cars and it's the stories outside of the racetrack that makes F1 so good, so I'm happy to see Nico as the (as Dan would put it) "face" of F1. I hope all the best for Nico in the next few years, so he can shut up all of critics.

I don't need much of an excuse to post an Eddie Izzard video. I feel Danny is of the same mindset on National Anthems.

Ready your engines, its time for Alt-F1!

It's still very early in the season so I'm hoping Nico gets his mojo back soon and turns it around. Also, he's gotta stop being such a team player because, unfortunately, they are kinda giving him the shaft.

Just in time. Thank you.

@billymaysrip: I'm not going to lie, I didn't watch qualifying for Monaco last year, so I only heard about that in passing, but I looked it up and I'm not sure where I stand on that one. Yeah it definitely gave him an advantage, and wouldn't put it past most drivers to do something like that to gain an advantage, but having the foresight to actually be able to pull it off is slightly less believable, as he would have had to have some help from his pit wall.

@nasar7: If by the shaft you mean screwing him over then they're not. That's not what mercedes is about really, they want to go racing. Rosberg just hasn't got the fight in him like he did last year. Hasn't really been 100% since he went and hit hamilton on purpose at spa then basically admitted it.