Formula 1 Spa Recap & Silly Season Storylines | Grid Walk August 3, 2023

F1 has officially entered summer break but Grid Walk hasn’t! So don’t worry Episode 28 is the first episode you’ll be getting throughout the entire F1 Summer Break! Grid Walk will give you the Formula 1 fix you’re missing!Briana and Nicole deliver a one of a kind Spa Summary, definitely opposite of the weather from the Belgian Grand Prix. Once again Max Verstappen tops the podium at P1. It seemed like Oscar Piastri was finally cracking the secret of catching up to Oracle Red Bull Racing and Max Verstappen during the F1 Sprint Race. If only Oscar Piastri was able to race on Sunday and we got to see even more competition with his Mclaren F1 Teammate Lando Norris. Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 Team came to the Belgian Grand Prix with some pretty big upgrades. How will Mercedes drivers’ Lewis Hamilton and George Russell perform when the rest of the upgrade is installed at the Dutch Grand Prix?It has been a rough few weeks for BWT Alpine F1 Team. Most recently it was announced that Team Principal Otmar Szafnauer and Sporting Director Alan Permane will be leaving the team. Technical Director Pat Fry is also departing BWT Alpine F1 Team for the same role at Williams Racing. BWT Alpine F1 Team has the double DNF at the British Grand Prix that let Mclaren F1 Team leapfrog them in the Constructor’s Standing. Then at the Hungarian Grand Prix it was another double DNF for Pierre Gasly and Esteban Ocon. Is there any hope for BWT Alpine F1 Team??The Tire of Topics returns to decide which F1 drivers’ silly season headlines and rumors Briana and Nicole will discuss! Has a recent sponsorship change at Scuderia Ferrari revealed the faith of Carlos Sainz Jr.? Where do you even start with the Oracle Red Bull Racing #2 seat? The second Red Bull seat currently belongs to Sergio Perez but with the removal of Nyck de Vries and return of Daniel Ricciardo should Sergio Perez be nervous?? What about the other Scuderia Alpha Tauri driver Yuki Tsunoda?? Williams Racing is one of the F1 teams with a rookie! Logan Sargeant has yet to score a point. Did MoneyGram Haas F1 Team driver Nico Hülkenberg’s decision to go platinum blonde was to get more attention?It isn’t a secret that Spa is Briana and Nicole’s least favorite circuit but they still managed to deliver podiums this week! Nicole delivers shares moments from the weekend that made her smile but it is all off track because the Belgian Grand Prix makes her nervous. Has Scuderia Ferrari and Oracle Red Bull Racing started the F1 Sticker Wars? Susie Wolff shared the major announcement that all F1 Academy races will now be broadcasted! Briana shares how the coverage of the Belgian Grand Prix would have been different if it wasn’t right before the start of the F1 Summer Break! Shouldn’t tifosi be celebrating a Scuderia Ferrari and Charles Leclerc podium much louder? Can we please get a deeper diver into Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 Team upgrades?? Grid Walk is a weekly Formula 1 show that releases every Thursday. For daily F1 content follow @gridwalkshow on all social media platforms.00:00 F1 Summer Break is Here03:49 Belgian Grand Prix Race Recap04:00 Red Bull is too Fast08:02 Oscar Piastri Had a Break Out Race16:15 Mercedes Upgrades24:15 Podium: Happy Spa Moments26:33 More Changes at Alpine33:26 Pat Fry to Williams35:42 Alpine Team Principal Rumors39:29 Podium: Questions We Have to Wait For45:57 Tire of Topics: Silly Season47:05 The Second Red Bull Seat51:17 Carlos Sainz54:29 Nico Hulkenburg57:10 Podium: Summer Break Media Coverage58:15 Yellow Sector Notes

**Race Recap:**

* Red Bull's dominance continues, with Max Verstappen winning every race so far this season.
* Mercedes brought a significant upgrade to their car, resulting in improved performance and Lewis Hamilton securing the fastest lap.
* Ferrari's result at Spa was met with mixed reactions, with some fans expressing optimism for Charles Leclerc's championship chances.
* Alpine underwent a major shakeup, with the departures of team principal Otmar Szafnauer, sporting director Alan Permane, and technical director Pat Fry.

**Key Insights and Perspectives:**

* The reliability of cars has improved significantly compared to last season, leading to fewer DNFs and a more competitive field.
* The lack of crash-prone drivers has contributed to the reduced number of incidents on track.
* Oscar Piastri's impressive performance at Spa, including a top-three finish, has generated excitement and anticipation for his future in Formula One.
* Lando Norris' reputation as a rain specialist has been questioned due to inconsistent performances in wet conditions.
* Mercedes' strategic decisions, particularly during pit stops, have hindered Lewis Hamilton's ability to secure podium finishes.
* The porpoising issue faced by Mercedes is attributed to their high downforce setup, which provides speed but requires precise adjustments.

**Controversies and Memorable Moments:**

* The penalty imposed on Lewis Hamilton in the sprint race at Spa remains a contentious topic, with fans and pundits debating its fairness.
* The sticker wars between Ferrari and Red Bull added a lighthearted element to the weekend, with team members playfully placing stickers on each other's cars and personnel.
* The announcement that the remaining F1 Academy races will be shown live, coinciding with Formula One events, was welcomed by fans eager for more coverage of the feeder series.

The hosts, Briana L. Klein and Nicole Katz, discussing the recent leadership changes at Alpine F1 Team. They speculate on the reasons behind the departures of Otmar Szafnauer, Alan Permane, and Pat Fry, and consider the potential impact these changes may have on the team's performance. They also discuss the appointment of former Aston Martin technical director, Dan Fallows, as Aston Martin's new technical director.

The hosts then shift their focus to Alex Albon's recent performances for Williams F1 Team. They praise Albon's driving and express their hope that he will continue to score points and bring success to the team. They also discuss the possibility of Albon moving to a top team in the future.

Next, the hosts discuss the various rumors and speculations surrounding the driver market for the 2023 Formula One season. They consider the possibility of Sergio Perez leaving Red Bull Racing and discuss potential replacements for him, including Daniel Ricciardo, Yuki Tsunoda, Liam Lawson, and others. They also discuss the contract negotiations of Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc with Ferrari and the possibility of Sainz leaving the team.

The hosts then discuss Nico Hulkenberg's recent comments about his desire to return to Formula One and the possibility of him joining Red Bull Racing or AlphaTauri. They also discuss the recent hair dye change of Nico Hulkenberg and speculate on the reasons behind it.

The podcast concludes with a segment called "Yellow Sector Notes," where the hosts discuss various news and developments from the Formula One world. They discuss Mercedes' announcement that their F2 title contender, Frederik Vesti, will drive FP1 in Mexico City later this year. They also discuss Max Verstappen and Lando Norris's attendance at Tomorrowland, Lance Stroll and Oscar Piastri's participation in a Pirelli tire test, Sophia Flörsch becoming the first female driver to score points in F3, and Susie Wolff's announcement that the F1 Academy will be broadcast for every race going forward.

**Key Insights and Perspectives**

* The hosts speculate that the leadership changes at Alpine F1 Team may have been caused by disagreements between the departing executives and the new team owners.
* The hosts believe that Alex Albon has the potential to become a top driver in Formula One and hope that he will continue to perform well for Williams.
* The hosts discuss the various rumors and speculations surrounding the driver market for the 2023 Formula One season and consider the potential impact these changes may have on the teams involved.
* The hosts believe that Nico Hulkenberg is a talented driver who deserves a chance to return to Formula One and speculate on the possibility of him joining Red Bull Racing or AlphaTauri.
* The hosts discuss various news and developments from the Formula One world, including Mercedes' announcement that Frederik Vesti will drive FP1 in Mexico City, Max Verstappen and Lando Norris's attendance at Tomorrowland, and Susie Wolff's announcement that the F1 Academy will be broadcast for every race going forward.

**Controversies and Insightful Moments**

* The hosts briefly discuss the controversy surrounding the departure of Otmar Szafnauer from Alpine F1 Team and speculate on the reasons behind it.
* The hosts also discuss the possibility of Carlos Sainz leaving Ferrari and consider the potential impact this could have on the team.

**News and Updates:**

- Joe Guan Yu's love for playing Mario Kart as Peach is revealed, adding a touch of fun and personality to the often-serious world of F1.
- Daniel Ricciardo and his sponsor Optus join forces to support young innovators with a $64,000 grant program, inspiring the next generation of talent in STEM fields.
- Gunther Steiner's culinary skills take center stage as he impresses with his guacamole, adding a lighthearted moment to the podcast.

**Summer Break Plans:**

With the F1 summer break in full swing, the hosts discuss their plans for filling the Sundays without races. They encourage listeners to share their own summer break activities and engage with the podcast community.

**Social Media Engagement:**

Listeners are encouraged to follow, like, and subscribe to the podcast on various social media platforms, including YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, Twitter, and Threads. Engaging with the podcast through comments, reviews, and shares helps the show reach a wider audience and connect with fellow F1 enthusiasts.

**Consistency During Summer Break:**

Despite the F1 summer break, the Gridwalk podcast remains committed to delivering weekly episodes every Thursday. The hosts express their gratitude for the continued support of their listeners and look forward to connecting with them throughout the break.

[00:00.000 -> 00:02.000] Nicole, are you ready to...
[00:02.000 -> 00:04.000] Nicole?
[00:04.000 -> 00:05.000] What's up?
[00:05.000 -> 00:07.000] What are you wearing? What's up with the outfit?
[00:07.000 -> 00:12.000] It's summer break. I'm just embracing the vacation mood.
[00:13.000 -> 00:18.000] But isn't this our spa race weekend recap podcast?
[00:18.000 -> 00:19.000] What?
[00:19.000 -> 00:22.000] Yeah, but like, spa was super stressful.
[00:22.000 -> 00:26.320] And like we established last week that everyone at Gridwalk aka us
[00:26.320 -> 00:28.560] thinks it's the worst.
[00:28.560 -> 00:33.320] So we can like, can we at least just like pretend we're on a tropical vacation if we're
[00:33.320 -> 00:34.320] gonna have to talk about it?
[00:34.320 -> 00:35.320] Okay, that's a good point.
[00:35.320 -> 00:36.320] Please hold, be right back.
[00:36.320 -> 00:45.480] Oh my gosh, we are a vibe.
[00:45.480 -> 00:53.840] Wow, if only every F1 race actually felt like this or if Spa just felt like this.
[00:53.840 -> 00:55.840] Summer vacation, summer vibes.
[00:55.840 -> 01:03.840] We're now on a tropical island where we can talk about all the stress that has gone on
[01:03.840 -> 01:06.880] in this sport that we consider ourselves a fan of.
[01:08.000 -> 01:11.280] Well, let's get into a stress-free formation now.
[01:12.200 -> 01:13.920] Well, we made it through our least favorite race
[01:13.920 -> 01:16.400] of the season, and all it cost us was probably
[01:16.400 -> 01:18.760] about five years off my life as we watched 20 cars
[01:18.760 -> 01:21.280] attempt to navigate around the track in rainy conditions.
[01:21.280 -> 01:27.280] But we can't, oh, that set line didn't make sense. I wrote this
[01:27.280 -> 01:33.320] in a delusional space. I was like, it technically did... I mean, like, yeah, yeah. No! Like...
[01:33.320 -> 01:41.760] But! I'm gonna leave all this in. Hi! I'm tired! We're on vacation! We're on vacation
[01:41.760 -> 01:46.000] at some point. We're not on vacation. This is a whole new episode of the podcast.
[01:46.000 -> 01:47.000] Right.
[01:47.000 -> 01:51.760] All right, but there are things to discuss.
[01:51.760 -> 01:54.680] Red Bull is a rocket ship that no one is close to.
[01:54.680 -> 01:59.280] Mercedes surprised us with a giant upgrade that allows me to finally use this sounder
[01:59.280 -> 02:01.600] that I have queued up since the launch of Gridwalk.
[02:01.600 -> 02:08.360] I mean, honestly, it makes me sad that I had to use it because of the Mercedes car, but
[02:08.360 -> 02:09.360] it's such a good sounder!
[02:09.360 -> 02:14.080] I just wish it wasn't Mercedes.
[02:14.080 -> 02:15.080] Right.
[02:15.080 -> 02:19.360] Ferrari gave us a result that I'm sure all Tifosi, us included, will be very rational
[02:19.360 -> 02:20.360] about.
[02:20.360 -> 02:23.600] And no, no, no, there definitely won't be people saying that Charlotte Clare will mount
[02:23.600 -> 02:27.000] a championship battle in the back of the season.
[02:27.000 -> 02:32.000] Your service has been temporarily disconnected.
[02:32.000 -> 02:48.320] Also, since we last recorded, Alpine has hit the reset you are the problem, but I don't think anyone
[02:48.320 -> 02:54.480] has bought the decision makers of Alpine Amir in about a decade.
[02:54.480 -> 02:59.120] Finally, step into the circus with us.
[02:59.120 -> 03:01.320] Because Formula One is in full circus mode.
[03:01.320 -> 03:09.440] Silly season rumors are aplenty, so the Tire of Topics returns to let chance decide which of those rumors we will dig into today.
[03:14.640 -> 03:18.880] That wraps up the Formation Lab for episode 28 of Gridwalk, a weekly Formula 1 podcast that
[03:18.880 -> 03:24.720] believes there are fascinating stories to discuss across the entire F1 grid. Don't forget to like
[03:24.720 -> 03:27.680] and subscribe if you're watching on YouTube, follow Turn On Auto Downloads
[03:27.680 -> 03:30.160] and leave us a review if you're listening on an audio platform.
[03:30.160 -> 03:47.440] All of these things greatly help support the show. The coal and ground are lined up on the grid, it's lights out, and away we go on this week's
[03:47.440 -> 03:48.440] grid walk.
[03:48.440 -> 03:49.440] Well, Spa.
[03:49.440 -> 03:58.760] Spa, I think fitting to match our distaste for this track, we should start our post-race
[03:58.760 -> 04:03.880] recap talking about the fact that we're halfway through the season and Red Bull has won every
[04:03.880 -> 04:11.200] race. That's like, it's so infuriating to a whole other level. I think not only just
[04:11.200 -> 04:13.720] because it's like it's only Red Bull winning, but also just due to the
[04:13.720 -> 04:18.060] difficulties that Checo had like throughout a good part of this season
[04:18.060 -> 04:22.080] that I'm like, alright so like we had the one race that we could get Checo in but
[04:22.080 -> 04:25.600] now we're just like, hello?
[04:25.600 -> 04:31.960] No one else can maybe, I don't know, and I guess maybe I'm also just expecting the probability
[04:31.960 -> 04:37.120] of Red Bull having any sort of DNF, it's just not going to happen with Max ever!
[04:37.120 -> 04:38.120] I don't know.
[04:38.120 -> 04:39.120] This is-
[04:39.120 -> 04:41.360] Eviene Unknown Well, Checo DNF'd in the sprint, and I was
[04:41.360 -> 04:47.200] watching it happen and went, oh no, of course their unluckiness was in the race
[04:47.200 -> 04:58.160] that doesn't count for any real points. Overall, across the field, compared to last year,
[04:58.160 -> 05:00.800] reliability has been incredible.
[05:00.800 -> 05:07.860] Karly Yeah, and I guess at least not having that part in terms of understanding where teams
[05:07.860 -> 05:12.140] are falling in terms of their competitiveness, I feel like that feels really good.
[05:12.140 -> 05:15.480] I feel like we were missing so much data, I mean now we're missing so much data because
[05:15.480 -> 05:20.100] of rainy qualifyings, but I feel like there were so many different instances where we
[05:20.100 -> 05:25.680] just weren't getting to see Kars perform at all because they would take out themselves.
[05:25.760 -> 05:26.760] Last year, you mean?
[05:26.840 -> 05:28.760] And then like three others.
[05:28.840 -> 05:31.300] Yeah. Or just overall reliability issues,
[05:31.380 -> 05:34.140] definitely at least in terms of like PUs and everything,
[05:34.220 -> 05:35.220] a lot better.
[05:35.300 -> 05:41.100] Now, if only that made a difference for the P1 competition, but...
[05:42.020 -> 05:49.280] Yeah. This is also the least crashy field I think F1 has had in a long time. Like, not
[05:49.280 -> 05:55.800] that every driver is a fantastic driver, but we don't have a couple of crash-happy drivers.
[05:55.800 -> 05:58.880] And then I think a lot of people thought that Nick DeVries was going to be a really crash-happy
[05:58.880 -> 06:02.960] driver because of his reputation in Formula E, and he didn't even provide that. So it's
[06:02.960 -> 06:06.320] been a really... there's been a lot of really impressive things going on,
[06:06.320 -> 06:08.280] but they're not kind of the impressive things I need
[06:08.280 -> 06:11.760] in a season of prolonged dominance.
[06:11.760 -> 06:12.600] Yeah.
[06:13.520 -> 06:14.640] It's funny to be saying that,
[06:14.640 -> 06:15.920] you know, not a lot of, you know,
[06:15.920 -> 06:17.120] accident things like that,
[06:17.120 -> 06:21.000] especially coming off of Spa, turn one, Carlos, Oscar,
[06:21.000 -> 06:23.340] I just feel like, you know, yes, it's been less,
[06:23.340 -> 06:29.520] but I feel like it's, since this is a Spa recap, and we're talking about accidents and things like, yeah, okay,
[06:29.520 -> 06:32.640] well, that happened. So I don't want someone to be screaming at us. I'm like, yeah, but
[06:32.640 -> 06:37.040] what about this? Like, we know we watched but I just, in general in comparison.
[06:37.920 -> 06:43.440] I guess you know what it is? It's not, I'm sure actually, if I ran the numbers, the number of DNFs
[06:44.000 -> 06:46.300] might actually be similar. But the difference is in order for it to I ran the numbers, the number of DNFs might actually be similar.
[06:46.300 -> 06:52.660] But the difference is in order for it to matter for the race, it needs to happen to Max.
[06:52.660 -> 06:59.000] So Max hasn't DNFed, therefore it feels like reliability's up and DNFs are down.
[06:59.000 -> 07:03.200] So because now that I'm sitting here thinking through this, like, I think Haas has DNFed
[07:03.200 -> 07:08.800] like every other race and like, oh, yeah, we had the double DNFs from Alpines, you know what, just scratch everything I said.
[07:08.800 -> 07:13.280] I'm really just upset that Red Bull doesn't have an issue.
[07:13.280 -> 07:19.600] Yeah, Red Bull didn't have their start of the 2023 season like they did with the 2022 season,
[07:19.600 -> 07:24.640] where it's like, wow, look at all this Ferrari on the podium, and da da da, and then it was like,
[07:24.640 -> 07:26.120] oh no, Red Bull figured it out.
[07:26.640 -> 07:28.800] Now they figured it out and they still figured it out and they
[07:28.800 -> 07:31.960] remain figuring it out and are fast.
[07:33.160 -> 07:38.160] If Red Bull didn't mess up the setup in Brazil, that gave the
[07:38.160 -> 07:43.960] shock George Russell win. They now would have won 23 races in a
[07:43.960 -> 07:50.000] row, I believe the number is it's's 23 or 24. And I would feel less...
[07:50.000 -> 08:08.120] I don't know. It's a lot of dominance. We should talk about something nugget Oscar Piastri having a coming out race weekend?
[08:08.120 -> 08:14.240] Tilda Oh my god, Saturday had me so hyped for Sunday, and then as soon as the race
[08:14.240 -> 08:15.240] started I was like, ahhh!
[08:15.240 -> 08:16.240] Sam, but it's okay!
[08:16.240 -> 08:19.600] Tilda But the fucking hundredth of a second, the
[08:19.600 -> 08:22.560] picture of McLaren was like, how far are you away?
[08:22.560 -> 08:32.640] And then he's like, this far away! And.011 seconds. It's like, what? Hello? You showed it was possible? That was
[08:32.640 -> 08:34.000] crazy to see happen.
[08:34.480 -> 08:41.600] And then he got his first top three. Because it's, you know, one of my new
[08:41.600 -> 08:45.720] things that my favorite thing was Oscar Piastri is actually his interviews
[08:45.960 -> 08:51.720] Because you can tell that he's gotten more confident and that he's willing to say more words other than like
[08:51.720 -> 08:52.440] I don't know
[08:52.440 -> 08:57.300] I was in p18 because the car's slow like to be fair like what kind of personality can you have when
[08:57.960 -> 09:01.380] McLaren's the second or the worst car in the field
[09:02.120 -> 09:07.040] But his post sprint interview in the media pen where he was like,
[09:07.040 -> 09:13.680] I don't really know what this sprint thing is, but I guess I'm happy with my first top three
[09:13.680 -> 09:17.680] because I can't call it a podium. And I was like, that's like me every week.
[09:18.800 -> 09:26.080] I don't know what to call this either, Oscar, but congratulations on being there and doing that.
[09:26.080 -> 09:29.160] He let a lap?
[09:29.160 -> 09:30.160] Crazy.
[09:30.160 -> 09:31.160] You know what?
[09:31.160 -> 09:32.160] It's so much growth.
[09:32.160 -> 09:36.920] And I think to your point, it's like he almost got to like, get some practice trials of,
[09:36.920 -> 09:41.760] you know, it wasn't like he got like ambushed of like making a podium, you know, with the
[09:41.760 -> 09:45.960] whole safety car thing if he races back and, God, that was Silverstone?
[09:45.960 -> 09:47.560] Feels like a whole other life.
[09:47.560 -> 09:48.840] And then he finishes P4.
[09:48.840 -> 09:53.280] So like, he was like, almost there and things and like, so it's like he gets to practice.
[09:53.280 -> 09:56.760] He's practicing for an eventual podium finish.
[09:56.760 -> 10:03.000] In a weird way, McLaren having a bad start to the year technologically was really good
[10:03.000 -> 10:05.000] for Oscar, because he got to spend
[10:05.000 -> 10:08.840] 10 races just driving around the back of the field and like learning procedures and how
[10:08.840 -> 10:13.480] to be an F1 driver. But I've been unbelievably impressed with him for the last three races
[10:13.480 -> 10:17.000] and like Lando should be nervous.
[10:17.000 -> 10:19.400] She said words.
[10:19.400 -> 10:28.440] If this is him, like I, Oscar came in as, as hey this might be the next Lewis Hamilton
[10:28.440 -> 10:34.000] Max Verstappen type like he is that good and I think because he sat on the bench
[10:34.000 -> 10:38.840] and I personally don't pay a lot of attention to f2 and I it's mostly pay to
[10:38.840 -> 10:42.600] play so I don't know what to make of it and then he just sat on the bench in
[10:42.600 -> 10:46.280] Alpine's driver system for a year so I didn't really know also what to make of it. And then he just sat on the bench in Alpine's driver system for a
[10:46.280 -> 10:51.440] year, so I didn't really know also what to make of that. But I think he's the real deal.
[10:51.440 -> 10:53.000] And this is really fun to watch.
[10:53.000 -> 11:00.520] Karly. Yeah, I mean, I'm all gonna travel back far in my brain to... Oscar was our first
[11:00.520 -> 11:06.880] rookie of points, I'm pretty sure, at Australia. Because I remember he scored points at his home race?
[11:06.880 -> 11:13.080] Plus, I believe, yeah, we already saw such promise for him and we were expecting it,
[11:13.080 -> 11:17.160] and especially after the Alpine shakeup last year, it's going to be very interesting to
[11:17.160 -> 11:23.680] see what transpired and to see what he's been able to do in the McLaren as a newer driver,
[11:23.680 -> 11:26.800] as they're figuring out their upgrades, has gotten me very excited.
[11:26.800 -> 11:31.360] As I say, as the Daniel Ricciardo fan who's still really bitter about last year and things,
[11:31.360 -> 11:32.360] but that's not Oscar.
[11:32.360 -> 11:33.360] That's not his fault.
[11:33.360 -> 11:34.360] Right.
[11:34.360 -> 11:37.200] That had nothing to do with Oscar.
[11:37.200 -> 11:38.200] There we go!
[11:38.200 -> 11:40.880] So I can vote for Oscar and that's fine.
[11:40.880 -> 11:46.600] But no, he definitely really impressed me this weekend, continues to do so.
[11:46.600 -> 11:50.320] Definitely excited to see what happens with him in the remainder of the season.
[11:50.320 -> 11:55.960] I'm intrigued to see if there's, in my viewpoint, the inevitable when he finishes higher than
[11:55.960 -> 12:00.960] Lando in some kind of scenario and seeing how that plays out in the press.
[12:00.960 -> 12:03.320] But that's just kind of what I would like to see go down.
[12:03.320 -> 12:04.320] Eviene O'Connor Like the sprint?
[12:04.320 -> 12:06.960] And this whole race weekend?
[12:06.960 -> 12:09.400] Where he has a much better race weekend?
[12:09.400 -> 12:14.320] Yeah, I just keep thinking of the sprint as like, not counting.
[12:14.320 -> 12:17.520] So I'm talking about a Sunday.
[12:17.520 -> 12:26.440] No, but I think over the course of this whole race weekend, we saw an Oscar Piastri that was significantly better than
[12:26.440 -> 12:32.160] his teammate. In every qualifying session, in every on track session we saw, with the
[12:32.160 -> 12:39.440] exception of the race, because Oscar didn't finish it. The like everything before that
[12:39.440 -> 12:44.160] he was significantly better than Lando. And so I am with you, though, like if that is
[12:44.160 -> 12:45.420] something that persists, because Lando has become the media am with you, though, like if that is something that persists, because
[12:45.420 -> 12:50.840] Lando has become the media darling of like, oh, he's actually the best driver on the grid
[12:50.840 -> 12:56.080] and he's better than Max and better than Lewis and we're all like, and he owns the rain!
[12:56.080 -> 13:06.160] Lando owns rain! He is rain! If an announcer says one more time that Lando is a rain specialist, I was going to check my monitor
[13:06.160 -> 13:14.560] at a wall. I didn't want to hear it. Because it was also always like the commentator would say it,
[13:14.560 -> 13:19.680] and then he would go off track. It would never make sense when it's being said. I'm like,
[13:19.680 -> 13:26.120] okay, sure. You want to give him rain specialist, that's fine, but like, where? What is the reasoning?
[13:26.120 -> 13:27.120] Because he's still driving?
[13:27.120 -> 13:31.680] Because he's put on- he wanted to throw on slicks when it's like, oh, it's drizzling.
[13:31.680 -> 13:36.200] I don't understand what you think is him being like a rain god.
[13:36.200 -> 13:43.720] Until a driver proves that they consistently win races in the rain, can we just stop calling
[13:43.720 -> 13:45.040] them a rain specialist?
[13:45.880 -> 13:51.920] Like, there are many drivers that I do think perform really well in the rain, and I do think we are watching a bunch of
[13:51.920 -> 13:55.460] them on track, but I don't think- it's just, it's lazy commentating.
[13:55.460 -> 13:58.280] George Russell doesn't even know when it's raining!
[13:59.760 -> 14:05.720] He's another one that they're like, rain specialist George Russell, because he'll throw on slicks that one time in the Williams
[14:05.720 -> 14:12.020] And I'm like and get that shock result at spot. He's a sweat specialist. He doesn't know what rain is
[14:12.560 -> 14:13.960] I
[14:13.960 -> 14:15.960] Love you
[14:16.320 -> 14:18.320] This is all all in good
[14:19.560 -> 14:23.960] Yes, but I I think over all like we are starting
[14:23.960 -> 14:27.160] I think if we think back to Lewis Hamilton's rookie
[14:27.160 -> 14:31.360] year where he came in and had to be teammates with Fernando Alonso.
[14:31.360 -> 14:35.600] Like Lando is not Fernando Alonso and obviously he's not a two-time world champion like he
[14:35.600 -> 14:36.760] was then.
[14:36.760 -> 14:40.520] But the media aren't playing it up like he is.
[14:40.520 -> 14:46.000] Which means if a rookie is competitive with him, we need to start treating Oscar like
[14:46.000 -> 14:50.200] a serious threat to that.
[14:50.200 -> 14:57.040] And then Max got to do some time in the AlphaTauri, and then got called up to the big leagues
[14:57.040 -> 15:03.840] in the Red Bull C, but he only had Daniel Ricciardo as his teammate.
[15:03.840 -> 15:25.040] And I'm sorry, Nicole Katz, you can cover your ears if you want. Lando has won anything. Yeah. And it's just that just facts.
[15:25.040 -> 15:29.360] Like, it's just if you want to be comparing like the, oh, it's a, you know, but either
[15:29.360 -> 15:36.160] way, Oscar did a wonderful performance against a driver with experience in a Formula One car.
[15:36.960 -> 15:37.460] Yes.
[15:37.760 -> 15:38.640] Multiple years.
[15:38.640 -> 15:44.080] So Oscar's definitely showing like what a rookie can be doing.
[15:44.080 -> 15:44.580] And.
[15:44.880 -> 15:47.440] Right. And when there's actually talent there, you
[15:47.440 -> 15:51.680] can start to see it in a crazy way, which is really fun to watch.
[15:51.680 -> 15:53.360] Us as fans, it's fun to watch.
[15:53.360 -> 15:57.340] And I say that they have the upgrade underneath them.
[15:57.340 -> 16:02.040] They come back from Spring Break, I'm mentally starting Oscar and Lando at zero points a
[16:02.040 -> 16:03.040] piece.
[16:03.040 -> 16:05.080] And I'd be intrigued who wins out
[16:05.080 -> 16:06.520] for the rest of the season.
[16:06.520 -> 16:08.960] Oh, that's definitely gotta be tracked.
[16:08.960 -> 16:11.080] Please actually do track this.
[16:11.080 -> 16:12.880] Put that on my Spotify wrapped.
[16:12.880 -> 16:14.080] Would love to see it.
[16:17.360 -> 16:19.540] All right, one more spa thing.
[16:19.540 -> 16:20.880] I mean, there's obviously,
[16:21.900 -> 16:23.480] there's obviously a ton of things
[16:23.480 -> 16:24.600] we could talk about for spa,
[16:24.600 -> 16:25.680] but I don't wanna dwell here for for spa but I don't want to
[16:27.280 -> 16:34.720] and this is our show so we can talk about what we want to talk about so we knew mercedes was going
[16:34.720 -> 16:38.720] to bring something or it was rumored that mercedes was going to bring something then
[16:39.280 -> 16:51.560] they ended up bringing a giant upgrade package with the next evolution of their front wing, their side paws, and their floor, and a super, like, low-drag rear wing that Lewis ran but George
[16:51.560 -> 16:53.160] didn't run all weekend.
[16:53.160 -> 16:57.240] It was basically, like, if we've been calling the car they're running their B-spec, this
[16:57.240 -> 16:59.760] was like B-spec version B.
[16:59.760 -> 17:09.160] Like, it was so much, there was so much different and change and I don't know how I feel about
[17:09.160 -> 17:10.160] that.
[17:10.160 -> 17:11.160] That just makes me nervous every time.
[17:11.160 -> 17:18.880] Like, I'm just like, ah, this could just be so much worse or, I don't know.
[17:18.880 -> 17:19.880] Or!
[17:19.880 -> 17:31.480] Right, that's also part of the fear. Yeah, I wasn't expecting such a dramatic upgrade.
[17:31.480 -> 17:36.040] And they also said that this is only part of a bigger upgrade package that they're bringing
[17:36.040 -> 17:38.400] like right after summer break with the rest of it.
[17:38.400 -> 17:41.280] I don't know if they're going to bring it to Zandvort because it's like a very specific
[17:41.280 -> 17:42.280] track.
[17:42.280 -> 17:48.480] Or if they'll bring it to Monza, which I believe is after Zandvort. I don't know. That feels like ages away right now because it's summer break.
[17:50.160 -> 17:55.280] But yeah, I don't think you should be nervous because it worked.
[17:57.120 -> 18:01.600] Like Mercedes was clearly the second fastest team. George didn't have the full upgrade because he
[18:01.600 -> 18:08.960] didn't have the circuit's specific rear wing. Or George chose not to run it. I was unclear. I really tried to figure out if George chose
[18:08.960 -> 18:13.520] the more the higher downforce wing or if they only had one and they put it on Lewis's car,
[18:13.520 -> 18:17.880] but I couldn't find any information on that anywhere. Cool. I was hoping you would know
[18:17.880 -> 18:27.280] the answer to that, but great that you don't, I do think that Mercedes, of all teams, is very intentional about the
[18:27.280 -> 18:33.960] fact that we, you, me, most people know that Lewis is the number one driver, but I don't
[18:33.960 -> 18:38.920] think they like to go to the press and talk about when Lewis gets upgrades first in a
[18:38.920 -> 18:41.400] way that would make George feel insecure.
[18:41.400 -> 18:44.560] Karly I want the upgrades too, please!
[18:44.560 -> 18:45.000] Can I also have the upgrades, please? Give me the upgrades! It's not raining!
[18:45.000 -> 18:46.000] Same thing, I'm not a fan of the rain.
[18:46.000 -> 18:47.000] I'm a fan of the rain.
[18:47.000 -> 18:56.000] Karlye and Karlye's Mom- Can you tell that Nicole is a little tired of George Russell,
[18:56.000 -> 18:57.000] as am I?
[18:57.000 -> 19:00.480] Karlye and Karlye's Mom- I just, you just, there's just, I can't, and I mean, honestly,
[19:00.480 -> 19:03.560] I feel like almost in every single team you can be like, one of them is just complaining
[19:03.560 -> 19:04.560] a lot more than the other.
[19:04.560 -> 19:05.000] Like, I feel like that can just go across any F be like, one of them is just complaining a lot more than the other.
[19:05.000 -> 19:08.000] Like I feel like that can just go across any F1 team.
[19:08.000 -> 19:13.040] And as if you're new to gridwalk here, we're very partial to Lewis Hamilton.
[19:13.040 -> 19:15.560] So like, whenever we're just like, well, look what he can do.
[19:15.560 -> 19:19.000] So if you think that you're so great, then like do it too.
[19:19.000 -> 19:20.000] Yeah, yeah.
[19:20.000 -> 19:21.000] I don't know.
[19:21.000 -> 19:28.560] George is doing a lot of complaining and politicking over the radio, which is my least favorite thing in an F1 driver, and he's doing it against our favorite driver, which really
[19:28.560 -> 19:35.600] accelerates the dislike. But so yes, I don't know if they just only had one rear wing and Lewis got
[19:35.600 -> 19:41.360] it, or if George chose the higher downforce, or they could have had more rear wings and they
[19:41.360 -> 19:50.960] wanted to test them, like get a live comparison test on track, like all three of those things could have happened. But that Mercedes was really
[19:50.960 -> 19:56.080] fast. And you know what I'm really tired of is seeing the graphics at the end of the week,
[19:56.080 -> 19:59.120] which shows you the race pace of all the drivers. And no matter how you cut it,
[19:59.120 -> 20:03.040] Lewis is the fastest non-Red Bull driver, but he, for the second week in a row, is not on the podium
[20:04.640 -> 20:13.840] not a Red Bull driver, but he, for the second week in a row, was not on the podium because of qualifying operations issues, pit stops, pit stops, pit stops, pit stops, and operations issues.
[20:13.840 -> 20:20.720] Is it pit stops? Do we think, do we, is there like a potential inkling that they lost the time
[20:20.720 -> 20:24.320] in the pits? I really just have this gut feeling.
[20:24.560 -> 20:32.480] time in the pits. I really just have this gut feeling. No, I think it's just like overall the team doesn't seem to be operating at the
[20:36.480 -> 20:49.160] level that Red Bull spent all those years operating at. And still do today. But, like, Mercedes never had to. So now, like, in order for Mercedes,
[20:49.160 -> 20:54.440] the gap between them and anyone behind them is so small that a small operational mistake
[20:54.440 -> 20:59.920] in qualifying, a slightly too long pit stop, like, all of that stuff matters and it's keeping
[20:59.920 -> 21:06.460] Lewis from having podium results. Versus, like, when Red Bull was in the position Mercedes
[21:06.460 -> 21:10.760] is in now, which is normally the second fastest team.
[21:10.760 -> 21:15.840] They just were so good operationally that they could get the result.
[21:15.840 -> 21:17.640] They could hit their ceiling.
[21:17.640 -> 21:27.360] Mercedes right now on pace is the second fastest team, but they are unable to hit their ceiling. Which is so frustrating. And then Max Verstappen wants to practice pit stops in the middle of the race!
[21:30.480 -> 21:33.120] You know, it felt really good to watch Lewis swipe the fastest lap.
[21:33.840 -> 21:35.920] Yeah, it did feel really good.
[21:35.920 -> 21:39.120] As soon as you saw him hitting, it was like,
[21:39.120 -> 21:41.200] that one point, he's gonna get it.
[21:41.200 -> 21:42.320] It's gonna be his!
[21:42.320 -> 21:43.120] But yeah, that was...
[21:44.160 -> 21:49.760] Speaking, by the way, of points, we're, we cannot get into the penalty from the sprint,
[21:49.760 -> 21:53.200] because then I will go back to angry Brianna mode, and there's a reason we haven't really
[21:53.200 -> 21:59.200] talked about it. But if Mercedes appealed that like they should, and won that like they should,
[22:00.240 -> 22:06.000] Lewis would be P3 in the standings right now above Fernando. He's one point behind.
[22:06.000 -> 22:10.080] And it's really frustrating to me that that's the difference going into summer break.
[22:10.080 -> 22:16.440] I don't even want to touch all of it, because I think we'll go down to an unbelievable,
[22:16.440 -> 22:33.680] aggressive, angry deep dive of what Mercedes should have done. So to address the porpoising, apparently the team thinks that it's a setup. Like, we've
[22:33.680 -> 22:37.880] had this trend, a setup issue, sorry, I didn't finish that sentence, I just kept talking.
[22:37.880 -> 22:47.440] The team thinks it's a setup issue. And the, there's been this trend where teams bring a big upgrade and you might see
[22:47.440 -> 22:51.680] a bit of their performance but it takes them a week in order to really get on top of them.
[22:51.680 -> 22:55.760] Mercedes brought a big upgrade on a week where they had zero practice time.
[22:57.360 -> 23:07.400] Like FP1 was rained out and then you had the sprint and the race and two qualifying sessions where you can't really change your setups because of park ferme.
[23:07.400 -> 23:12.100] So I am inclined to believe them.
[23:12.100 -> 23:19.600] And I will point out that as annoying as pro-pursing is, A, it's fun that we finally can use this sounder.
[23:19.600 -> 23:26.000] And B, pro-pursing is an effect of having high downforce.
[23:26.000 -> 23:32.000] So, there... like, I don't want to be like... this is like a very...
[23:32.000 -> 23:37.000] There is a technical dive into this that I'm not going to do right now.
[23:37.000 -> 23:51.140] And this is... I know what I'm saying right now is only partially accurate, but Spa is a very high speed track, and the fact that they had high
[23:51.140 -> 23:55.440] downforce issues that was causing porpoising on a track...
[23:55.440 -> 23:56.440] I...
[23:56.440 -> 23:57.840] How do I say this?
[23:57.840 -> 24:01.400] I'm gonna definitely cut out part of this.
[24:01.400 -> 24:07.680] Basically, it at least shows that they brought downforce to the car, which is speed, and
[24:07.680 -> 24:12.680] like, if they can set up the car right, like, I'm okay.
[24:12.680 -> 24:13.680] In the pits!
[24:13.680 -> 24:17.240] It's all in the pits!
[24:17.240 -> 24:22.720] At Gridwalk, we love our podiums, even for races that we don't really enjoy, we'll find
[24:22.720 -> 24:29.240] podiums to give you. So here are my moments from the weekend at spa that put a smile on my face,
[24:29.240 -> 24:32.400] but no surprise, all of it's off track because I don't like spa.
[24:36.440 -> 24:41.480] So off track moments at spa that put a smile on my face.
[24:41.480 -> 24:45.160] P3, Alex Albon gifted a knitted horsey.
[24:45.160 -> 24:53.640] Horsey! And horsey is one of his many cats and not a horse, to be very clear. A fan knitted
[24:53.640 -> 24:58.840] him a stuffed animal of one of his many pets. Follow at Albon Pets if you're not already.
[24:58.840 -> 25:05.520] And it made its way to Alex and he posted it. The fan was really excited. And I always just love when that fan-to-driver pipeline
[25:05.520 -> 25:06.720] goes all the way through.
[25:07.760 -> 25:11.080] P2, the sticker wars.
[25:12.080 -> 25:13.560] This is only P2.
[25:13.560 -> 25:15.120] This is only P2.
[25:15.120 -> 25:19.040] But the nonsense all weekend of Ferrari Red Bull stickers
[25:19.040 -> 25:21.160] and it's gonna branch through the whole paddock.
[25:21.160 -> 25:22.000] I can't wait.
[25:22.000 -> 25:24.200] Highlight was Fred trying to put a Red Bull sticker
[25:24.200 -> 25:25.680] on Helmet Marco's forehead,
[25:25.680 -> 25:29.960] and helmet is definitely not a fan of stickers.
[25:32.440 -> 25:33.280] Or people.
[25:33.280 -> 25:35.720] Or people, but you know there's people that's like,
[25:35.720 -> 25:37.800] I don't do stickers, like sticky things,
[25:37.800 -> 25:39.180] like doesn't surprise me.
[25:39.180 -> 25:41.360] You know, Marco's not one of those.
[25:41.360 -> 25:52.400] And anyway, P1, the F1 Academy announcement. Finally, finally, finally, finally,
[25:52.400 -> 25:57.000] finally, finally, finally, finally, we got news from Suzy Wolfe, the managing director
[25:57.000 -> 26:03.000] of F1 Academy this weekend, that the remaining F1 Academy race on the calendar will be shown
[26:03.000 -> 26:09.600] live because it will be the first race paired with F1 in Austin. And then every F1 Academy race on the calendar will be shown live because it will be the first race paired with F1 in Austin and then every F1 Academy race
[26:09.600 -> 26:14.760] remaining will be shown live because now they'll also correlate with F1 races.
[26:14.760 -> 26:20.440] Thank goodness! It was the exact news that I wanted to hear, have been waiting
[26:20.440 -> 26:25.000] to hear, and thank goodness we got it.
[26:25.900 -> 26:29.360] And you're right, none of those have anything to do with spa.
[26:29.360 -> 26:30.940] None of them have to do with spa,
[26:30.940 -> 26:35.380] but they all happened during spa weekend.
[26:35.380 -> 26:37.580] So we got to talk about Alpene
[26:38.820 -> 26:43.820] because everything is clearly not fine with Alpene.
[26:47.000 -> 26:49.000] As you have. Oh boy. As you teased at the start of the show,
[26:49.000 -> 26:52.000] kind of feels like they're basically resetting,
[26:52.000 -> 26:55.000] turning the entire team off and turning it on again.
[26:55.000 -> 26:59.000] We have the exiting of team principal Otmar,
[26:59.000 -> 27:00.000] we'll miss you buddy.
[27:00.000 -> 27:04.000] Sporting director Alan's out and Pat Fry,
[27:04.000 -> 27:07.640] their technical director, is going to Williams
[27:07.640 -> 27:11.120] to be Williams' technical director.
[27:11.120 -> 27:15.840] We're also coming off, there was the two races of a double DNF.
[27:15.840 -> 27:19.320] Pierre had a little bit of a stronger weekend this weekend, but I think a lot of that was
[27:19.320 -> 27:24.880] on his emotional drive was really pushing him for a lot of this this weekend.
[27:24.880 -> 27:27.280] And sprints are dumb and there's no tire deck.
[27:27.280 -> 27:29.000] There you go!
[27:29.000 -> 27:36.600] So other than that, Alpine, they're not number four in the constructors, they're really suffering.
[27:36.600 -> 27:41.760] It's a fire across the board for their executives, it seems, in their car.
[27:41.760 -> 27:45.120] I don't know what, I'm scared for Esteban, I don't know what I'm scared for Estaban. I don't know
[27:45.120 -> 27:48.000] what's happening.
[27:48.000 -> 27:55.640] I think I think it's important to put into context that Otmar was hired and started this
[27:55.640 -> 28:06.760] job at the beginning of the 2022 season. Last year. He has done this job for less than two years, and in a sport where right now
[28:06.760 -> 28:10.260] they're developing the core of the 2024 car.
[28:11.480 -> 28:13.680] How can you know if he's doing a good job?
[28:14.560 -> 28:15.900] And that's even what he said.
[28:15.900 -> 28:18.380] He's like a lot of developments that he's made.
[28:18.380 -> 28:21.400] A lot of the people he hired aren't starting.
[28:21.400 -> 28:22.240] Haven't started.
[28:23.320 -> 28:25.360] We had a story we talked about last week
[28:25.360 -> 28:29.140] about how Ferrari hired away a Mercedes engineer that
[28:29.140 -> 28:31.920] can't start until 2025.
[28:31.920 -> 28:34.940] Like, the lifecycle of these teams are so long.
[28:34.940 -> 28:39.360] And as much as we kind of tease Alpine's continuous 100 race,
[28:39.360 -> 28:41.960] like, continually setting those goalposts,
[28:41.960 -> 28:44.600] the reason they need to keep pushing back those goalposts
[28:44.600 -> 28:51.740] is because they keep firing the people they put in charge. And every single big firing like this means
[28:51.740 -> 28:54.560] you're resetting back at zero.
[28:54.560 -> 29:02.960] Oh, I can't make it make sense. Someone somewhere, make it make sense, especially after they
[29:02.960 -> 29:05.400] have like this big investment coming in.
[29:05.400 -> 29:13.120] It just seems like a lot of really quick decisions that I didn't fully understand why they were
[29:13.120 -> 29:14.120] happening, especially now.
[29:14.120 -> 29:17.760] And I understand Alpine's having a difficult time, but to your point of all the things
[29:17.760 -> 29:23.360] that we've just listed, I don't understand how hiring your team principal and your sporting
[29:23.360 -> 29:25.600] director are going to be
[29:25.600 -> 29:27.160] the answer to all of that.
[29:27.160 -> 29:31.280] Well, what's confusing to me is I can't figure out if they were fired because F1 is always
[29:31.280 -> 29:35.120] like really vague and it's like they departed and it's like, all right, who quit?
[29:35.120 -> 29:36.360] Who was fired?
[29:36.360 -> 29:47.000] Who like, this one feels a little more like a... So they let go politely.
[29:47.000 -> 29:52.000] They gave new direction to their CEO,
[29:52.000 -> 29:53.800] Rossi, I believe.
[29:53.800 -> 29:55.480] Right, yeah.
[29:55.480 -> 29:57.920] Like a week ago, a week or two ago.
[29:57.920 -> 29:59.880] So to me it feels like whoever the new guy
[29:59.880 -> 30:02.080] who came in to be in charge of everything,
[30:02.080 -> 30:04.000] walked down to Autmar and said,
[30:04.000 -> 30:06.160] we need to be winning races next season, which
[30:06.160 -> 30:07.760] is the most laughable thing that's
[30:07.760 -> 30:09.320] come out of this whole thing.
[30:09.320 -> 30:12.960] It's like, Mercedes and Ferrari can't win races right now.
[30:12.960 -> 30:14.880] And you're like, yeah, Alpine can.
[30:14.880 -> 30:17.000] OK.
[30:17.000 -> 30:19.120] Yeah, it seems like that there was a lot of people
[30:19.120 -> 30:22.080] who maybe fully don't understand the process of developing
[30:22.080 -> 30:25.840] an F1 car, getting leapfrogged by McLaren
[30:25.840 -> 30:28.800] and then was making some really strong decisions
[30:28.800 -> 30:31.920] that I don't necessarily think will help them
[30:31.920 -> 30:34.920] fix said decisions.
[30:34.920 -> 30:38.120] And none of those decisions are investing in their facilities
[30:38.120 -> 30:40.520] because I think part of the reason it's so laughable
[30:40.520 -> 30:43.400] that that would be the goal for Alpine right now
[30:43.400 -> 30:52.840] is that their infrastructure is so far behind their like competitors and unlike Aston Martin and McLaren who have spent
[30:52.840 -> 30:58.080] the last two years investing in their facilities to get their facilities to be at a Mercedes
[30:58.080 -> 31:02.160] Ferrari Red Bull level, we haven't seen that from Alpine.
[31:02.160 -> 31:04.600] Yeah.
[31:04.600 -> 31:09.480] It's it's definitely something stinks smells like fish stinky over here.
[31:09.480 -> 31:10.480] I don't know.
[31:10.480 -> 31:11.480] It definitely doesn't.
[31:11.480 -> 31:12.800] It felt wrong.
[31:12.800 -> 31:18.040] I feel like to your point of going back to like, is it F1's like way of doing things?
[31:18.040 -> 31:21.920] Like how do you know who was let go or who was like chose to leave on their own accord?
[31:21.920 -> 31:26.180] I feel like if you end up getting a graphic, like from F1, then you're,
[31:27.140 -> 31:28.860] usually if you're not a driver,
[31:28.860 -> 31:30.280] cause I'm now suddenly thinking like
[31:30.280 -> 31:33.060] Fernando going to Aston was definitely like his choice.
[31:33.060 -> 31:36.260] But usually if F1's like releasing a graphic about you
[31:36.260 -> 31:37.680] and you're in a leadership role,
[31:37.680 -> 31:40.220] I feel like it probably wasn't necessarily
[31:40.220 -> 31:43.600] your decision in departing.
[31:43.600 -> 31:48.600] Cause Pat Fry did not get a graphic, but Alan and Otmar did get a
[31:48.600 -> 31:53.040] graphic. And we have to put a pin in the Pat Fry for one second, because I do think that's probably
[31:53.040 -> 31:59.400] the more interesting thing that's going on here. But it definitely, a graphic definitely means that
[31:59.400 -> 32:06.640] for a non-driver category, that this wasn't a happy thing that happened normally.
[32:06.640 -> 32:12.240] Like normally it's like... so I actually am on the side of I think
[32:13.200 -> 32:21.280] Otmar was like, f this I'm out. But I don't think he wanted to be f this I'm out.
[32:21.280 -> 32:21.680] Got it.
[32:21.680 -> 32:26.240] I think he was... this is just like me trying to put the pieces together and all the
[32:26.240 -> 32:31.200] things he's saying to the press now and everything that's going on, it kind of feels like the new
[32:31.200 -> 32:36.000] bosses came down and said, so you're going to do this on this timeline, can it be done? And he
[32:36.000 -> 32:43.840] looked at them and said, no. And they said, but we need it to be. And it was a mutual goodbye. So.
[32:43.680 -> 32:44.520] And it was a mutual goodbye. So.
[32:46.280 -> 32:49.320] But obviously it happened after he recorded
[32:49.320 -> 32:51.560] his F1 Beyond the Grid episode.
[32:52.840 -> 32:54.160] I think that gives us some insight
[32:54.160 -> 32:56.880] into how early they record those episodes, I guess.
[32:56.880 -> 33:01.880] It felt comical that it was like the same week, basically.
[33:02.040 -> 33:02.880] What?
[33:04.320 -> 33:09.300] Which also makes me think that no one knew inside the team, no one knew that
[33:09.300 -> 33:13.380] this was going on or what was happening or anything, because the PR arm of the
[33:13.380 -> 33:17.780] team wasn't going to set him up for that interview to talk about those things.
[33:18.980 -> 33:20.420] And then for this to happen,
[33:20.520 -> 33:24.000] Yeah, it's all days. It was literally within days.
[33:24.360 -> 33:27.360] It all just screams mess, big mess, so much
[33:27.360 -> 33:34.360] mess. But Pat Fry is more interesting because Williams has been saying for months now that
[33:34.360 -> 33:39.560] they've been in discussions with a big guy to bring in as their new technical director. And I
[33:39.600 -> 33:49.720] personally never guessed that it was going to be someone who was already in the Technical Director role at a different team, but that is exactly what they did in poaching Pat Fry
[33:49.720 -> 33:55.800] here. So what's interesting to me is that that was announced simultaneously with these
[33:55.800 -> 34:00.480] other announcements, but was that always meant to be announced this weekend? And it just
[34:00.480 -> 34:05.520] like happened to coincide? Maybe some of the reason that like, Otmar and the
[34:05.520 -> 34:10.320] sporting director left was because they were also losing their technical director. Like,
[34:10.320 -> 34:15.240] I think how much are these things connected or separate? And how exciting is this for
[34:15.240 -> 34:21.200] Williams because I know that Alpine isn't rocking the world with their car right now,
[34:21.200 -> 34:26.000] but like, they're also not doing an awful job. And Pat Frye has proven that
[34:26.000 -> 34:31.760] he's really good at this. So I'm excited for Williams. Yes, very excited for Williams.
[34:31.760 -> 34:39.440] Get Alex Albon consistently in points would make me so happy and so full of joy. I agree. I also
[34:39.440 -> 34:43.600] started to question, is this the timing of things? Because then also depending on what
[34:43.600 -> 34:45.100] news outlets you went to,
[34:45.200 -> 34:46.900] it changed how they were like reporting it.
[34:47.000 -> 34:49.540] Like a lot of people were saying like three executives
[34:49.640 -> 34:50.880] have been asked to exit.
[34:50.980 -> 34:55.140] And I'm like, well, no, two maybe have been and one not.
[34:55.240 -> 34:57.620] Like a lot of places were reporting it differently,
[34:57.720 -> 34:59.820] where they were only reporting about Alan and Atmar,
[34:59.920 -> 35:01.320] and they were reporting about Pat.
[35:01.420 -> 35:04.020] And then like it was some in different combos.
[35:04.120 -> 35:06.080] And like F1's formal announcement was just about At, and then it was some in different combos, and F1's formal
[35:06.080 -> 35:10.640] announcement was just about Otmar and Alan departing, and it did not mention Pat Frye
[35:10.640 -> 35:15.840] in the same message. So, at first, I didn't know about Pat till later. Whereas, I didn't think.
[35:15.840 -> 35:21.200] That's a really great question. I will never know the answer, and unfortunately, I don't think
[35:22.080 -> 35:25.560] you will either, but... Yeah, I don't think you will either. But
[35:29.000 -> 35:30.320] I don't know, it might. I think it depends how
[35:33.520 -> 35:36.400] Aupmar's job prospects are because he doesn't he's not one to shy away from the press and explaining what happens
[35:36.420 -> 35:41.880] as he already has been like, Hello, why are you doing stuff?
[35:41.880 -> 35:43.600] But I guess, bye.
[35:44.800 -> 35:48.520] So there's already a name lined up to well, of course, there's an
[35:48.560 -> 35:53.200] interim team principal at Outpain right now. But there was a
[35:53.200 -> 35:57.160] certain someone seen in the paddock, who has been both a
[35:57.640 -> 36:07.600] fantastic technical director, and a and a experienced existing team principal, I didn't know what adjective to put there,
[36:07.600 -> 36:11.840] who was seen in the paddock at Hungary, I believe it was? Oh no, it was Silverstone? One of those
[36:11.840 -> 36:17.280] two races. And everyone was like, why is that there? And now his name is being floated for the
[36:17.280 -> 36:21.040] Alpine team principal job. But I will throw out there that he might not be getting the team
[36:21.040 -> 36:27.520] principal job, he also might just be getting the technical director job. But, Nicole, did you see our favorite Where's Waldo?
[36:27.520 -> 36:31.520] Bekkah I saw Edna Mode! This is also now when
[36:31.520 -> 36:37.680] Gridwalk gets to learn that I called Matilda Bernardo Edna Mode. It's been a while, I haven't
[36:37.680 -> 36:39.680] done that in a minute. Wow, that rocked my world.
[36:39.680 -> 36:41.840] Nicole Which is, by the way, a high compliment.
[36:41.840 -> 36:44.480] Bekkah Oh, of course. Please, I mean that,
[36:44.480 -> 36:46.000] and really it's like glasses.
[36:46.000 -> 36:51.000] Like, I think, come on, like, if you make him, if you put him as a character in The Incredibles, they can be siblings.
[36:51.000 -> 36:53.000] Not the point of all of this. I was sure-
[36:53.000 -> 36:56.000] What are you talking about? That is always the point of this.
[36:56.000 -> 37:00.000] We bring up Matia strictly to get you to talk about Edna Mode.
[37:00.000 -> 37:01.000] No capes!
[37:01.000 -> 37:02.000] And The Incredibles.
[37:04.000 -> 37:07.000] Could you imagine that one driving around with a cape?
[37:07.000 -> 37:12.000] Anyway, rocked my world having Matia anywhere.
[37:12.000 -> 37:17.000] Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait,
[37:17.000 -> 37:18.000] wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait,
[37:18.000 -> 37:19.000] wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait,
[37:19.000 -> 37:20.000] wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait,
[37:20.000 -> 37:21.000] wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait,
[37:21.000 -> 37:22.000] wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait,
[37:22.000 -> 37:23.000] wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait,
[37:23.000 -> 37:24.000] wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait,
[37:24.000 -> 37:25.040] wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, explore this before you make your good points. So if they're driving the car and we know they kind
[37:25.040 -> 37:31.120] of like sit like leaned back a little bit, are you imagining the cape coming off the helmet? And if so,
[37:31.120 -> 37:36.000] what part of the helmet is the cape coming out of? Or is the cape coming out the back of the car?
[37:36.000 -> 37:40.800] I just need to get your vision. Oh my god, I thought of none of those and I just imagined a
[37:40.800 -> 37:46.340] bunch of superheroes sitting in cars, sitting on their capes and getting stuck
[37:46.340 -> 37:47.180] in their brake pedals.
[37:47.180 -> 37:50.400] But now I can't unsee capes on helmets
[37:50.400 -> 37:53.260] because capes on cars would just create a lot of issues.
[37:53.260 -> 37:55.480] So we can't even consider.
[37:55.480 -> 37:58.120] This is like the craziest conversation
[37:58.120 -> 37:59.680] we might've ever had.
[37:59.680 -> 38:00.520] And that's saying a lot.
[38:00.520 -> 38:03.440] But now I'm imagining it on the rear wing,
[38:03.440 -> 38:06.000] but then I'm like, how would the DRS activate?
[38:06.000 -> 38:11.000] And then you're back to why Edna does not want capes in the first place.
[38:11.000 -> 38:14.000] It'll get sucked up in a car wheel, just like it did-
[38:14.000 -> 38:15.000] 100%?
[38:15.000 -> 38:17.000] Car wheel, what is this, a tire tab?
[38:17.000 -> 38:21.000] It'll get sucked up in a tire, just like it did in that one scene with The Incredibles with the guys.
[38:21.000 -> 38:33.000] Cape gets sucked into an airplane engine, and then you go, no capes! So no capes for F1 drivers. What is this podcast? How did we end up-
[38:33.000 -> 38:43.280] Summer break on Gridlock? Okay, but make your- so circling back, Matija was seen in the paddock
[38:43.280 -> 38:46.000] and he's now connected to a job at LP.
[38:46.240 -> 38:50.800] And he was chitchatting with Atmar. So like, maybe this was the thing that like, was known and going
[38:50.800 -> 38:56.080] on and like, they were spotted together. So maybe it was a discussion. Can't who knows?
[38:56.280 -> 38:58.880] Maybe it was actually for the technical director job then.
[38:59.480 -> 39:03.360] As there you go. Because they knew that Pat Pry was leaving.
[39:03.680 -> 39:04.360] Yeah.
[39:05.120 -> 39:07.600] Well, there we go. We just put it all together and F1 still
[39:07.600 -> 39:12.200] doesn't have any capes. You're welcome, everybody. It will be
[39:12.200 -> 39:14.800] very interesting. I think as soon as we saw Matia there, it
[39:14.800 -> 39:18.720] was like, all right, so who's getting fired? Or who's getting
[39:18.720 -> 39:22.560] hired? Because that there would be no reason, I think, why he
[39:22.560 -> 39:25.040] wouldn't be there if it wasn't necessarily a job hunt.
[39:25.040 -> 39:26.720] Suddenly, out of nowhere, he's just like,
[39:26.720 -> 39:27.760] what's up, guys?
[39:27.760 -> 39:30.440] I'm here now, like, just to say hello.
[39:30.440 -> 39:32.320] Mm.
[39:32.320 -> 39:37.280] This is a podium of things that we feel like we desperately
[39:37.280 -> 39:39.080] need answers on, but we know we're
[39:39.080 -> 39:41.400] going to have to wait until after summer break
[39:41.400 -> 39:47.840] to get any information about any of this. And Nicole and I both did this
[39:47.840 -> 39:52.960] podium, so we're gonna alternate, like I'll give my P3 and Nicole will give hers, and back and forth.
[39:54.720 -> 40:00.960] I feel that it is important for me to share with our listeners that my podium gets progressively
[40:00.960 -> 40:05.000] sillier as it continues, And some of you have made,
[40:05.000 -> 40:07.660] you probably haven't thought of some of these questions,
[40:07.660 -> 40:10.680] but just know a lot, some of these keep me up at night.
[40:10.680 -> 40:13.920] I've thought about these for a couple of months, so.
[40:13.920 -> 40:17.240] And I've thought about these for a total of 36 hours.
[40:17.240 -> 40:19.880] These are just things coming off of spa
[40:19.880 -> 40:21.600] that I'm like, hmm, that's interesting,
[40:21.600 -> 40:23.100] but I don't have an answer to.
[40:25.060 -> 40:27.500] Okay, would you like to start with your P3?
[40:28.680 -> 40:29.720] Yes.
[40:30.640 -> 40:33.480] My P3 is,
[40:33.480 -> 40:38.480] why was Checo's top speed so much lower than Max's
[40:38.720 -> 40:40.560] when they technically drive the same car
[40:40.560 -> 40:43.060] with the same power unit this weekend?
[40:43.060 -> 40:43.900] Ah!
[40:45.800 -> 40:47.120] That was too much of a mouthful.
[40:47.160 -> 40:48.720] I'm normally pithier about that.
[40:48.960 -> 40:53.040] But yeah, I, I think there was about like a 20 kilometers per
[40:53.040 -> 40:56.880] hour difference between the cars and that's confusing to me.
[40:57.680 -> 40:57.880] All right.
[40:57.880 -> 40:58.640] What's your P3?
[40:58.880 -> 40:59.800] No, that's great.
[40:59.800 -> 41:04.360] It's a perfect lineup because my P3, my big question is Checo
[41:04.360 -> 41:06.120] going to stay in his Red Bull seat?
[41:07.680 -> 41:10.200] Or really what's happening with anyone's seats.
[41:10.200 -> 41:12.720] But really this is stemming from completely a Checo place.
[41:12.720 -> 41:15.680] I'm dying, and it's not like I'm the only one.
[41:15.680 -> 41:17.920] I'm dying to know what is gonna happen with this
[41:17.920 -> 41:19.760] because I'm on the side,
[41:19.760 -> 41:21.200] I don't believe he's sticking around
[41:21.200 -> 41:25.800] and I have no idea who's going there if he isn't.
[41:25.800 -> 41:27.800] It's less, will Checo stay in the seat?
[41:27.800 -> 41:32.600] And it's more like, what driver is going to be in that second seat?
[41:32.600 -> 41:34.320] Shuffle gonna go.
[41:34.320 -> 41:36.400] Yeah, and they better be fast.
[41:36.400 -> 41:40.520] It honestly feels like the tipping point of this year's silly season, because it feels
[41:40.520 -> 41:44.280] like all the drivers who are uncertain right now are like waiting and it might open up
[41:44.280 -> 41:49.440] a really big seat. I don't know. Yes, I, Lots of questions. That's a good P3. Thank you, thank you.
[41:50.960 -> 41:57.920] All right, my P2 is why did Alpine do any of this ever? I don't...
[41:59.840 -> 42:05.800] I just... there's like... I feel like we only talk about Alpine in the weirdest way this
[42:05.800 -> 42:06.800] season.
[42:06.800 -> 42:10.000] Like, either they're getting Hollywood investors, they're firing big things, they're expecting
[42:10.000 -> 42:14.560] wins, they randomly get a podium in Monaco, which was great.
[42:14.560 -> 42:18.940] But I just, why is Alpine Alpine?
[42:18.940 -> 42:21.120] And they don't lean into French Pien.
[42:21.120 -> 42:23.400] That's gonna be my answer here.
[42:23.400 -> 42:24.400] That's why it's all happening.
[42:24.400 -> 42:25.520] It's because they
[42:25.520 -> 42:31.280] didn't take advantage of it. Now it's... What is alpine? How is alpine? Why is alpine? Just alpine.
[42:32.560 -> 42:49.600] Great question. My P2. So unbelievably pressing. Has Alex Albon completely abandoned his colored hair phase. This is the most important question that we've asked so far.
[42:49.600 -> 42:51.600] And you're right, we're not gonna know.
[42:51.600 -> 42:55.600] He hasn't necessarily had colored hair.
[42:55.600 -> 43:00.000] I'm not talking about like a ginger, a brown, or his blonde.
[43:00.000 -> 43:04.800] August of 2022 is the last time we saw full red-headed Alex.
[43:04.800 -> 43:05.000] And we've seen the blondes, we've seen him experiment with toner and things. August of 2022 is the last time we saw full red-headed Alex.
[43:05.000 -> 43:06.200] And we've seen the blondes,
[43:06.200 -> 43:08.800] we've seen him experiment with toner and things.
[43:08.800 -> 43:09.800] Are we done?
[43:09.800 -> 43:10.640] We're done.
[43:10.640 -> 43:11.480] Are you done with the blonde?
[43:11.480 -> 43:12.300] Where is it?
[43:12.300 -> 43:13.680] Or you just gave up that whole phase?
[43:13.680 -> 43:14.520] No more comment?
[43:14.520 -> 43:17.640] Checo gave you blue hair dye for Christmas.
[43:17.640 -> 43:20.200] I know, and we never saw any blue hair.
[43:20.200 -> 43:23.320] Yeah, and I'm gonna miss the properly toned blonde Alex.
[43:23.320 -> 43:24.700] I will too.
[43:24.700 -> 43:27.280] So I just need to know, is the phase over Alex?
[43:29.360 -> 43:32.480] All right, P1. Does Mercedes know what they're doing?
[43:35.120 -> 43:35.920] Oh god.
[43:37.200 -> 43:41.920] I just, they bring upgrades and they give me lots of hope, but...
[43:43.840 -> 43:47.680] Please? Yeah, I don't, I just... do they... do they actually know
[43:47.680 -> 43:51.280] what they're doing? Are we gonna see Mercedes catch up to Red Bull in this generation?
[43:52.320 -> 43:56.800] Do they know what they're doing? I don't... I don't know. And we're not gonna know until we
[43:56.800 -> 44:02.000] see week two of an upgrade at Zandvoort, and that's a long time to wait. I'm frustrated
[44:02.000 -> 44:06.220] that we have to wait a month to see if this Mercedes upgrade package will bring performance.
[44:06.980 -> 44:09.840] Uh, I don't have words.
[44:11.420 -> 44:12.180] What's your P1?
[44:12.580 -> 44:13.560] My P1?
[44:14.520 -> 44:17.240] Will Horsey McHorse be at Austin?
[44:19.680 -> 44:23.840] The second thought in my brain after Daniel Ricciardo was announced
[44:23.840 -> 44:24.840] as the Al Fatari seat.
[44:24.840 -> 44:25.280] So first it
[44:25.280 -> 44:29.760] was, AHHHHH! And the second was, oh my god, is Horsey McCorse going to Austin?
[44:32.080 -> 44:36.960] So you present great questions, I also present great but different questions.
[44:36.960 -> 44:42.800] I should have known when you said that this podium gets crazier that that was gonna be your
[44:42.800 -> 44:45.160] P1. It's a good question.
[44:45.160 -> 44:49.720] I just, I feel like he can't do it two years in a row. Does it give the same impact?
[44:49.720 -> 44:54.600] I don't know. Maybe is there more horses? Like if he thinks that's gonna be like going
[44:54.600 -> 44:58.240] out with a bang and he gets the horse and the thing and all the stuff and whatever and
[44:58.240 -> 45:05.360] then like, you know? What's the leveling up of horsey mcorse? Is it Horses McHorses?
[45:05.360 -> 45:07.280] Like you come in with a crew,
[45:07.280 -> 45:09.320] Dookie also gets a horse?
[45:09.320 -> 45:12.120] Is everyone on horse?
[45:12.120 -> 45:14.820] Does Red Bull allow shenanigans?
[45:16.560 -> 45:20.160] Because if so, I think the honorable mention question,
[45:20.160 -> 45:22.000] the leveling up of your question,
[45:22.000 -> 45:24.300] is what is he gonna do in Vegas?
[45:25.040 -> 45:31.200] So a lot of my questions stemmed from Vegas, but unfortunately a lot of them were answered
[45:31.200 -> 45:35.120] because I was like when are we gonna see drivers in sequins? Done, got it. When is Danny Rick
[45:35.120 -> 45:39.840] getting a sequin jacket? Guess what, he got one. When is someone gonna be put in an Elvis costume?
[45:39.840 -> 45:45.040] Surprise, already happened twice. Like, Vegas has so many
[45:45.040 -> 45:48.480] possibilities of silliness that I couldn't even come up with
[45:48.480 -> 45:51.520] questions. So I stopped myself at Austin. So Horsey McHorse, I
[45:51.520 -> 45:55.760] hope to see you soon with that VIP paddock pass. I'd love to
[45:55.760 -> 45:57.440] attend with you, but I am allergic to horses.
[46:00.640 -> 46:07.540] Welcome back to Tire of Topics, a segment where we let a soft Pirelli tire select what
[46:07.540 -> 46:09.680] topics we're going to talk about.
[46:09.680 -> 46:17.920] Because Silly Season has ramped up, especially since we have a new driver on the grid.
[46:17.920 -> 46:23.080] And there are, I think almost every driver on the grid is on this tire with something
[46:23.080 -> 46:26.240] Silly Season adjacent for us to talk about.
[46:26.240 -> 46:29.600] So we're gonna, we obviously can't talk about all of them right now, so we're gonna let
[46:29.600 -> 46:33.200] the tire pick which ones we discuss today.
[46:33.200 -> 46:35.160] Summer break is going on all month.
[46:35.160 -> 46:39.160] We are going to be making gridwalk episodes through the full summer break.
[46:39.160 -> 46:43.160] We're not missing a week, so make sure you come back and spend some F1 time with us,
[46:43.160 -> 46:45.520] even if there's no active racing right now.
[46:45.520 -> 46:49.360] So we'll probably get through all of these stories by the end of summer break,
[46:49.360 -> 46:55.520] but Tyra's gonna let pick where we start. All right, you ready, Nicole?
[46:55.520 -> 47:04.800] Spin the wheel! Spin the tire! Guys, there's a real tire spinning. I need everyone to go watch this.
[47:08.080 -> 47:13.360] Guys, there's a real tire spinning. I need everyone to go watch this. No way! Oh my god, this is gonna be the spiciest start! Holy! Wow!
[47:13.360 -> 47:18.880] It gave us... so, there's most drivers on this wheel, if you're not watching on YouTube,
[47:18.880 -> 47:25.360] this looks rigged. It literally landed on the most interesting, spiciest topic, which is the Red Bull number two seat,
[47:25.360 -> 47:30.040] which is us talking about Ricardo, Yuki, Perez,
[47:30.040 -> 47:35.040] Liam Lawson, insert magical driver here, me, you.
[47:36.680 -> 47:38.480] Annoy, I'm bad in the simulator.
[47:38.480 -> 47:40.880] We've seen that I can't drive.
[47:40.880 -> 47:42.200] I can drive a normal car.
[47:43.120 -> 47:44.320] Okay, yeah, I just want to be clear,
[47:44.320 -> 47:46.000] the Pulse are actually a fantastic driver.
[47:46.000 -> 47:48.000] Not a simulator.
[47:48.000 -> 47:50.000] Not when she has to go fast.
[47:50.000 -> 47:55.000] So I do think that there's a lot that we've talked a lot about here.
[47:55.000 -> 48:00.000] Like, if you want our thoughts about just overall listen to any of the last three episodes,
[48:00.000 -> 48:03.000] including the Oh My Gosh, Danny Ricardo is Back on the Grid episode,
[48:03.000 -> 48:11.680] I think we give some decent, decent thoughts about this. So the angle I would love to go here is assuming
[48:11.680 -> 48:18.000] that Checo is not coming back next season, because I think that's more interesting. And
[48:18.000 -> 48:22.480] let's talk more about the rumors of all the other drivers who've been connected to the
[48:22.480 -> 48:26.080] seat who are not Yuki Tsunoda, Daniel Ricciardo, or Liam Lawson.
[48:26.960 -> 48:31.040] Because, I mean, Yuki is an untapped potential.
[48:31.040 -> 48:34.800] Liam, they've pretty much said, is going to get an Alfatari seat.
[48:34.800 -> 48:37.120] Like, he's not going to go directly into the Red Bull seat.
[48:39.200 -> 48:42.560] And I think we all know that if what we're looking for out of that seat
[48:42.560 -> 48:46.520] is a competitive number two, it's probably not going to be Daniel Ricciardo.
[48:46.520 -> 48:51.000] No, I love Daniel Ricciardo.
[48:51.000 -> 48:58.160] Putting Daniel Ricciardo in the number 2 seat is putting someone that I believe would be
[48:58.160 -> 48:59.680] what Red Bull wants.
[48:59.680 -> 49:06.660] It'll be someone that would maybe perform to a level, but not better than Max, but could just be there enough
[49:06.660 -> 49:09.320] that they're gonna have the constructors solidified
[49:09.320 -> 49:12.060] and P1, P2 drive.
[49:12.060 -> 49:15.620] They don't want anyone touching them there,
[49:15.620 -> 49:16.660] but they want Max there.
[49:16.660 -> 49:19.060] And then I think Danny Ricardo
[49:19.060 -> 49:21.100] would be a good second to Max.
[49:21.100 -> 49:23.980] But as a person who's not a Red Bull fan,
[49:23.980 -> 49:26.240] I don't want that kind of driver in the car.
[49:26.240 -> 49:28.920] So there's a lot of confusion in my brain.
[49:28.920 -> 49:30.520] Well, I also am not convinced
[49:30.520 -> 49:33.200] that he's going to be better than Checo.
[49:33.200 -> 49:35.600] Which we also, right, that's the lot of this is like,
[49:35.600 -> 49:38.400] we just don't really know.
[49:38.400 -> 49:43.400] I don't feel like I've seen enough to fully answer that.
[49:43.560 -> 49:48.000] So let's take those three drivers out of this seat for a second.
[49:48.000 -> 49:53.000] Red Bull is going to be just as dominant next season.
[49:53.000 -> 49:55.000] So we need a second driver to compete with Max.
[49:55.000 -> 49:59.000] Nicole, who are you putting in that seat
[49:59.000 -> 50:04.000] for pure entertainment value purposes?
[50:04.000 -> 50:06.680] Lewis Hamilton excluded because we would never do that
[50:06.680 -> 50:09.160] to Lewis, even though we want him to be competitive,
[50:09.160 -> 50:11.080] we don't want him to have to be on Red Bull.
[50:11.080 -> 50:14.040] So who would you put next to that seat,
[50:14.040 -> 50:15.560] not including Lewis Hamilton?
[50:15.560 -> 50:18.840] Put Lando Norris in the Red Bull.
[50:20.680 -> 50:22.680] Yeah, I mean, he's been connected to it a lot,
[50:22.680 -> 50:24.840] but Lando has turned down Red Bull so many times.
[50:24.840 -> 50:25.000] He followed them on Instagram. Yeah, I mean, he's been connected to it a lot, but Lando has turned down Red Bull so many times.
[50:25.000 -> 50:27.000] He followed them on Instagram.
[50:29.000 -> 50:46.600] Yeah, I hope it's be Lando Norris.
[50:46.800 -> 50:47.760] I want Fernando.
[50:48.720 -> 50:49.760] Woo-hoo!
[50:49.760 -> 50:52.480] Oh my God, I take back exactly what I just said
[50:52.480 -> 50:53.920] about Lando being the wildest,
[50:53.920 -> 50:56.480] and it's definitely Fernando.
[50:56.480 -> 50:57.320] Wow.
[50:59.760 -> 51:01.360] All right. I have no words.
[51:01.360 -> 51:03.160] Next. Let's spin again.
[51:05.080 -> 51:06.960] It's going round, it's going round.
[51:08.160 -> 51:09.000] And...
[51:13.520 -> 51:14.360] Carlos Sanz.
[51:14.360 -> 51:19.360] All right, right between the spicy ones today.
[51:19.600 -> 51:20.440] Yeah.
[51:21.360 -> 51:26.440] So both of the Ferrari drivers have a contract through 2025.
[51:26.440 -> 51:30.680] And yet, I think I've read an enormous amount of press
[51:30.680 -> 51:33.760] and reporting about them negotiating their contracts.
[51:33.760 -> 51:35.400] Or, no, wait, I got that wrong.
[51:35.400 -> 51:38.000] I think they both have contracts through 2024,
[51:38.000 -> 51:39.880] like through the end of next year.
[51:39.880 -> 51:41.960] From when we've played Red Flags,
[51:41.960 -> 51:46.760] Charles finishes his contract in 2024.
[51:46.760 -> 51:47.760] Yes.
[51:47.760 -> 51:51.160] Okay, so they both have contracts through 2024.
[51:51.160 -> 51:54.800] So technically they're still under contract for all next year, but there is so much coverage
[51:54.800 -> 52:00.200] right now about both of them negotiating contracts and deals.
[52:00.200 -> 52:06.340] And then just this week, it came out that Carlos's dad is who does a lot of his negotiations
[52:06.340 -> 52:12.760] is like talking to other teams, particularly like Audi coming in in 2026 has been a rumor
[52:12.760 -> 52:14.080] for a while.
[52:14.080 -> 52:15.420] I don't know how to feel.
[52:15.420 -> 52:20.680] But I just the scariest thing that happened as a Carlos science fan is that Ferrari announced
[52:20.680 -> 52:23.660] a new beer partnership.
[52:23.660 -> 52:26.840] And that makes me nervous because Carlos's main sponsor is a beer and he brings
[52:26.840 -> 52:29.000] that to every team he goes to. So does that mean Carlos Sainz
[52:29.000 -> 52:30.880] is leaving Ferrari because I don't think I'm gonna be able
[52:30.880 -> 52:36.560] to take it. Or and exactly what I said to you last week when
[52:36.560 -> 52:39.120] you had this spiral even though you had a great rebuttal to
[52:39.120 -> 52:43.080] this point, maybe Carlos is no longer being represented by
[52:43.080 -> 52:48.400] Australia anymore. Maybe they've just decided to part ways.
[52:48.400 -> 52:51.200] I say earnestly.
[52:52.400 -> 52:53.700] You don't believe that?
[52:53.700 -> 52:58.000] I don't believe it because as soon as you sent that headline of like,
[52:58.000 -> 53:00.900] well, they can't have two beer sponsors and Peroni makes so much more
[53:00.900 -> 53:05.900] sense for Ferrari to have than Estrella Garcia, but like Carlos,
[53:05.900 -> 53:09.700] yeah, that was, that's a red flag.
[53:12.360 -> 53:14.660] But I don't think Carlos would go without a seat.
[53:14.660 -> 53:16.460] Like I think that's the,
[53:16.460 -> 53:18.440] but then there needs to be a seat to go.
[53:18.440 -> 53:22.600] But I don't foresee him like not being on the grid.
[53:22.600 -> 53:23.920] Yes, I agree with that.
[53:23.920 -> 53:26.160] So I'm not like massively stressed. And
[53:26.160 -> 53:28.560] I don't think that Ferrari is going to end his contract at the
[53:28.560 -> 53:30.600] end of this season. Like I think we're really talking about
[53:30.600 -> 53:33.560] ending, but the beer sponsor starts next year. I'm just
[53:33.560 -> 53:35.640] stressed. I don't have any more words.
[53:35.680 -> 53:39.440] Our marketing brains if you're new here also, I mean, we love
[53:39.440 -> 53:42.640] marketing and gosh, that just points you in all of the right
[53:42.640 -> 53:51.340] direction. So I think you have a really solid point of being concerned about that announcement because
[53:51.340 -> 53:56.700] competition rules and clauses and all of those things, there's definitely no way that these
[53:56.700 -> 54:03.540] major beers are making these agreements with Ferrari and not saying that they have a non-competitors
[54:03.540 -> 54:05.960] clause, like exclusivity clause.
[54:05.960 -> 54:09.900] Unless maybe Peroni just gave them so much money
[54:11.480 -> 54:13.000] that they had to accept the deal.
[54:13.000 -> 54:14.740] And then maybe like Australia will just continue
[54:14.740 -> 54:16.720] to be like an only Carlos sponsor.
[54:18.520 -> 54:20.580] But then there'd be no, yeah, panic.
[54:20.580 -> 54:22.620] All right, anyway, I think we spin the wheel
[54:22.620 -> 54:25.760] to not freak out about Carlos.
[54:25.760 -> 54:26.260] Ooh, Nico.
[54:33.180 -> 54:34.060] Right, right, right?
[54:34.060 -> 54:36.420] Yeah.
[54:36.420 -> 54:40.300] So Nico dyed his hair because he wanted more press attention.
[54:40.300 -> 54:43.540] And it's decently reported that he
[54:43.540 -> 54:49.000] is lobbying for a seat in a different team because he's doing so well in the Haas.
[54:49.000 -> 54:51.000] And, uh...
[54:53.000 -> 54:55.000] What are your thoughts?
[54:55.000 -> 54:59.000] First when I saw the blonde hair, I was like, why?
[54:59.000 -> 55:01.000] Nico has great hair.
[55:01.000 -> 55:10.200] I mean, the press thing makes sense, though. Because I was like, if you're going to make such a drastic, not drastic change, and that becomes headline news in
[55:10.200 -> 55:14.400] Formula One, or just to get enough people, like, demonstrates that enough people will
[55:14.400 -> 55:20.720] just talk about you because you made that kind of change to your appearance, definitely
[55:20.720 -> 55:24.640] can show teams that people care about you and are interested in you.
[55:24.640 -> 55:27.720] It was a brilliant move.
[55:27.960 -> 55:30.560] It was a very, very smart move.
[55:30.560 -> 55:31.800] Alex Albon, dye your hair.
[55:32.160 -> 55:36.440] Um, again, again, please, but don't leave Williams.
[55:36.880 -> 55:40.480] No, he, he he's not on.
[55:41.520 -> 55:48.080] Oh no, he is on this, but not because he is at risk of leaving. Williams, it was because of a different story.
[55:48.360 -> 55:53.520] But I just I don't, I think so much of the driverless market
[55:53.520 -> 55:59.440] right now hinges on what Red Bull chooses to do, that I don't
[55:59.440 -> 56:04.360] necessarily see an avenue for a seat. But I also didn't see
[56:04.360 -> 56:08.000] Fernando Alonso going to Aston Martin.
[56:08.000 -> 56:16.000] It just takes, you know, Seb joining Instagram for suddenly Nico Hulkenberg to end up on the grid.
[56:16.000 -> 56:26.640] Happy anniversary! I think the day we're recording this, by the way, is the one year anniversary of Fernando Alonso's announcement. And then being on a boat without
[56:26.640 -> 56:29.480] service, but then he was really just hanging out in Spain.
[56:29.480 -> 56:36.880] I still just can't, I will never forget the feeling of, oh, Sepp joined Instagram! Sepp
[56:36.880 -> 56:42.320] posted a black and white video. Oh no, like it was just such a rollercoaster. I'll never
[56:42.320 -> 56:45.480] forget it. Anyway anyway this is about Nico
[56:45.480 -> 56:48.680] Red Bull scene?
[56:48.680 -> 56:57.520] that's my response that's it I can't even
[56:57.520 -> 57:02.000] if that happens if he gets either Alphatauri or Red Bull I'm clipping that out and
[57:02.000 -> 57:09.840] bragging about that till the end of time. If that happens, I will go buy a platinum blonde wig that literally matches his
[57:09.840 -> 57:11.840] exact haircut and I'll wear it for an entire episode.
[57:13.840 -> 57:19.120] Since it is now summer break, the media technically doesn't have a regulated summer break,
[57:19.120 -> 57:26.120] but they definitely take one. So this is my podium of coverage that would be very different right
[57:26.120 -> 57:35.180] now if it wasn't the last day of school. P3, all Mercedes coverage of their upgrades. As
[57:35.180 -> 57:51.580] we covered, there was porpoising and I haven't seen any scary headlines about porpoising is back. Nothing. See nothing either. P2 McLaren Sunday. After all the promise of their big
[57:51.580 -> 57:56.660] upgrade and everything and then they just had a disaster of a Sunday and I've no one
[57:56.660 -> 58:11.400] talking about it. Everyone's just asleep. They're on vacation. And P, Ferrari's podium. I even took a peek in like some Italian
[58:11.400 -> 58:20.040] tabloids and I'm confused by the lack of coverage. Have they given up? Welcome to
[58:20.040 -> 58:23.680] Yellow Sector Notes, not the fastest walk around F1, but we will complete a
[58:23.680 -> 58:30.080] full lap around the paddock hitting every F1 garage. I always- I forget that you look at me when I do that
[58:30.080 -> 58:35.560] and I just now do it because I'm so used to hearing you say it, I'm so sorry. Those who
[58:35.560 -> 58:40.440] are on audio only just know that every time I do that, Nicole sits there and mouths what
[58:40.440 -> 58:45.280] I'm saying at me and is like really sassy about it and every week I try not
[58:45.280 -> 58:49.720] to break as she does that. You could go over to YouTube and watch her do that
[58:49.720 -> 58:55.840] and if you go back for the last like 10 episodes they're all...every time. Now I
[58:55.840 -> 58:59.680] will warn you that yellow sector notes might slow down a little bit as we enter
[58:59.680 -> 59:04.960] summer break and everyone goes on hiatus so news is a little sparse but not this
[59:04.960 -> 59:05.200] week we got some good things to talk about. Starting with Mercedes has break and everyone goes on hiatus. So news is a little sparse, but not this week. We
[59:05.200 -> 59:09.920] got some good things to talk about. Starting with Mercedes has announced that their F2
[59:09.920 -> 59:15.200] title contender, Fedrik Vesey, will drive FP1 in Mexico City later this year. It will
[59:15.200 -> 59:22.640] be his first FP1 run. Reminder that all the teams have to run rookie drivers in both of
[59:22.640 -> 59:26.080] their cars in an FP1 and no one has done it yet this season.
[59:26.080 -> 59:31.920] Unlike last season where early on there were some inters first, so it's going to be a little
[59:31.920 -> 59:36.000] chaotic and rapid for the second half of the year here.
[59:36.000 -> 59:41.240] Max Verstappen and Lando Norris flew directly from the end of race podium celebrations to
[59:41.240 -> 59:45.000] Tomorrowland on Sunday night to watch Martin Garrix perform.
[59:45.000 -> 59:49.520] And I do really enjoy all the memes that Martin Garrix is the true wag of the F1
[59:49.520 -> 59:55.600] paddock. They're really great. Lance and Oscar Piastri were in their
[59:55.600 -> 01:00:00.800] respective cars again on Tuesday for a Pirelli tire test where they are still
[01:00:00.800 -> 01:00:06.880] in spa and they're testing the 2024 wet and inter tires. Sophia Flourish became the first
[01:00:06.880 -> 01:00:14.240] female driver to score points in F3 this weekend driving from P24 to P7 in the future race. Of note
[01:00:14.240 -> 01:00:17.680] this is the second time we've had this announcement because she was disqualified
[01:00:17.680 -> 01:00:20.960] the last time she did it for a tech thing that the team did to the car.
[01:00:22.640 -> 01:00:31.420] Similarly in great news for women in motorsports, Suzy Wolfe announced that the F1 Academy will
[01:00:31.420 -> 01:00:35.980] be broadcast for every race going forward as they officially join the F1 Support Series
[01:00:35.980 -> 01:00:42.500] circuit with their season finale at the US Grand Prix and they will be an F1 support
[01:00:42.500 -> 01:00:46.440] race for every race in 2024.
[01:00:46.440 -> 01:00:51.500] You can design an NFT and end up on the back of the Williams rear wing going forward as
[01:00:51.500 -> 01:00:54.840] a partnership they're doing with a crypto sponsor.
[01:00:54.840 -> 01:01:00.640] It looks like Joe Guan Yu plays Mario Kart as Peach, which I love.
[01:01:00.640 -> 01:01:07.400] Danny Rick and his sponsor... the words... Danny Rick and his sponsor Optus are giving out
[01:01:07.400 -> 01:01:14.640] $64,000-$3,000 grams to kids 13 to 19 who have big ideas in association with
[01:01:14.640 -> 01:01:17.920] the Women's World Cup that's currently going on in Australia and New Zealand.
[01:01:17.920 -> 01:01:23.080] And finally, last but not least, Gunther made guac and it was extra.
[01:01:23.080 -> 01:01:29.420] Those are the Yellow Sector notes for episode 28 of gridwalk. How's my sector time today, Nicole?
[01:01:30.200 -> 01:01:34.240] Faster than we transported ourselves to a tropical vacation
[01:01:36.080 -> 01:01:38.140] Because it's summer break, okay
[01:01:39.480 -> 01:01:42.320] Anyway, as always thank you to voiceover man
[01:01:42.560 -> 01:01:46.960] Thank you to the tire of topics that chose the drivers
[01:01:46.960 -> 01:01:52.240] and we discussed their fate today, or what we believe their fate to be, and our four-legged
[01:01:52.240 -> 01:01:57.600] executive producers. If you're an audio listener, don't forget to follow, turn on those auto
[01:01:57.600 -> 01:02:01.840] downloads, you really don't know how much that helps us, and rate and review the pod.
[01:02:01.840 -> 01:02:05.360] If you're watching on YouTube, subscribe, like the video, turn on
[01:02:05.360 -> 01:02:10.720] notifications, leave us a comment, tell us what are you doing for F1 summer break? What are your
[01:02:10.720 -> 01:02:15.520] plans? How are you filling those Sundays without a race? I'm still trying to figure that out.
[01:02:16.080 -> 01:02:20.960] But really leave us a comment, leave us a review, follow us on all of our social medias,
[01:02:20.960 -> 01:02:30.160] all of these things really, really help us find new people to find our podcast on every social media platform, TikTok, Instagram, Twitter, Threads. You'll
[01:02:30.160 -> 01:02:35.100] find us at Gridwalk Show and we sincerely hope that you follow us and that you'll join
[01:02:35.100 -> 01:02:41.020] us every single Thursday. And yes, even during F1 summer break, every Thursday we'll be here
[01:02:41.020 -> 01:02:47.880] and we can't wait for you to join us. But as always, today felt like a tropical vacation, not a group one.