Triple Crown Weekend Spectacular: The Indy 500 & F1's Monaco Grand Prix

In honor of the F1 Monaco Grand Prix and the Indianapolis 500, Grid Walk is bringing you a BONUS EPISODE this week! The Triple Crown Spectacular! Take a deep dive with Briana and Nicole through the history of the Triple Crown. Do all motorsports drivers agree on what the Triple Crown is? Why is the F1 Monaco Grand Prix such a big deal historically? What about the F1 Monaco Grand Prix makes it so special to win. We also discuss the unique driver and tech challenge the circuit creates for anyone attempting to win it.Lastly, Briana gives you the voice notes she was going to send to Nicole for an F1 fan's first Indianapolis 500. What are the key differences that might trip up a Formula 1 viewer when watching the race? What are the big storylines heading into the Indy 500 to route for or against? She also provides a complete rooting guide for a Formula 1 fan watching the Indianapolis 500. Learn everything you need to know before race day on Sunday!Who are you routing for this Triple Crown Weekend?Grid Walk is a weekly Formula 1 show that releases every Thursday. For daily F1 content follow @gridwalkshow on all social media platforms.

**Navigating the Triple Crown Weekend: A Formula One Fan's Guide to the Monaco Grand Prix and the Indy 500**

**Introduction:**

Welcome to a special bonus episode of Gridwalk, the podcast dedicated to all things Formula One. This episode focuses on the Triple Crown Weekend, which coincides with two of the three races that make up the prestigious Triple Crown of motorsports: the Monaco Grand Prix and the Indy 500. Join hosts Briana L. Klein and Nicole Katz as they dive deep into the history, significance, and excitement of these iconic races, providing a comprehensive guide for Formula One fans who want to expand their horizons into the world of IndyCar.

**The Triple Crown: A Coveted Achievement in Motorsport:**

The Triple Crown, consisting of the Monaco Grand Prix, the Indianapolis 500, and the 24 Hours of Le Mans, is a rare and coveted achievement in the world of motorsports. Only one driver, Graham Hill, has ever completed the Triple Crown, and the feat has not been accomplished since 1972. The combination of these three races presents a unique challenge, requiring drivers to master different types of circuits and demonstrate their versatility and skill.

**Monaco Grand Prix: The Glamour and Prestige of Formula One's Crown Jewel:**

The Monaco Grand Prix, held annually on the streets of Monte Carlo, is one of the most prestigious and glamorous races in Formula One. With its iconic setting, rich history, and high-stakes competition, Monaco is a race that captures the imagination of fans worldwide. The narrow, winding streets and tight corners demand precision and skill from drivers, making it one of the most challenging circuits on the Formula One calendar.

**Indy 500: The Greatest Spectacle in Racing:**

The Indianapolis 500, also known as "The Greatest Spectacle in Racing," is the most significant race in the IndyCar calendar. Held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, the race attracts hundreds of thousands of spectators each year and is a cultural phenomenon in the United States. The Indy 500 is known for its high speeds, close racing, and unpredictable nature, making it a thrilling event for fans of all levels.

**IndyCar vs. the Indy 500: Understanding the Differences:**

While the Indy 500 is often referred to as the "IndyCar 500," it's important to note that IndyCar is the sanctioning body for the IndyCar Series, which is a championship consisting of several races throughout the season. The Indy 500 is a single race that is part of the IndyCar Series, but it holds a special place in the hearts of drivers and fans alike.

**A Formula One Fan's Guide to the Indy 500:**

For Formula One fans who are new to IndyCar and the Indy 500, there are a few key things to keep in mind:

1. **The Cars:** IndyCar cars are significantly different from Formula One cars. They are heavier, have less downforce, and use a different engine formula. This results in different driving styles and techniques.

2. **The Oval:** The Indianapolis Motor Speedway is an oval track, which is a stark contrast to the street circuits and traditional road courses that Formula One drivers are accustomed to. Oval racing requires drivers to maintain high speeds while navigating the unique challenges of an oval track.

3. **The Drivers:** While there are some drivers who compete in both Formula One and IndyCar, the majority of drivers specialize in one series or the other. This means that fans will see a different cast of characters at the Indy 500 compared to a Formula One race.

**The Month of May: A Celebration of Racing**

The Month of May is not just a single race; it's a month-long celebration of racing. The focus is entirely on the Indianapolis 500, with extensive practice sessions, qualifying rounds, and the main event itself. This extended period allows drivers to familiarize themselves with the track and fine-tune their strategies.

**The Spec Car: A Level Playing Field**

The Dallara DW12 is the spec car used in IndyCar, ensuring a level playing field for all participants. While teams can make adjustments to setup and aerodynamics, they cannot modify the car's fundamental design. This creates a competitive environment where driver skill and team strategy play crucial roles.

**Unique Race Characteristics**

IndyCar races differ from Formula One races in several ways. Pit stops are slower due to refueling, and drivers must balance fuel conservation and tire strategy. Additionally, IndyCar employs a push-to-pass system, allowing drivers to gain a brief burst of speed at strategic moments.

**Rooting Guide: Drivers to Watch**

The Indy 500 features a diverse field of drivers, each with their own strengths and storylines. Pato O'Ward, Colton Herta, and Alexander Rossi are among the popular contenders, known for their impressive performances and captivating social media presence. Team Penske and Chip Ganassi Racing are the dominant teams to watch, with a history of success in the Indy 500.

**Underdogs and Rookies to Support**

Callum Ilott, a former Formula 2 driver, is a rising star in IndyCar, impressing with his qualifying performance. Marcus Ericsson, a former Formula One driver, is another contender to watch. Santino Ferrucci, a rookie, made history by securing the fastest rookie qualifying time ever at the Indy 500.

**The Quest for History: Hélio Castroneves**

Hélio Castroneves, a four-time Indy 500 winner, aims to make history by becoming the first driver to win the race five times. His experience and skill make him a formidable competitor.

**Conclusion: A Thrilling Month of Racing**

The Month of May and the Indianapolis 500 offer a unique and captivating experience in the world of Formula One. With its month-long celebration, spec car format, and diverse field of drivers, the Indy 500 promises thrilling racing and unforgettable moments.

[00:00.000 -> 00:06.320] Welcome to our special bonus episode of Gridwalk that we're calling the Triple Crown Weekend Special
[00:06.960 -> 00:12.960] Title to be Workshopped post-recording this so you will know the title even though we don't really
[00:12.960 -> 00:19.840] know the title right now. That's so special. Yes, but if you haven't listened to the normal
[00:19.840 -> 00:26.000] Gridwalk episode, it came out Thursday like always. Go and listen to that afterwards.
[00:26.000 -> 00:32.560] We talk more in depth about all the F1 topics for the weekend as an F1 podcast. So we talk
[00:32.560 -> 00:37.880] about all the ways Monaco is controversial and whether or not we'll be as controversial
[00:37.880 -> 00:45.040] this year. We also give our predictions for the Monaco GP, and we talk about how all the F1 teams filled
[00:45.040 -> 00:51.160] the gap of the race weekend last week. But that's our other podcast, so make
[00:51.160 -> 00:56.640] sure you download, subscribe, do all the things like that one, leave us a comment
[00:56.640 -> 01:01.920] if you're watching on YouTube. But, Triple Crown Special. We're gonna talk a lot
[01:01.920 -> 01:05.360] about what the Triple Crown is in detail in a moment,
[01:06.000 -> 01:11.360] but this weekend we have the Indy 500 and we have the Monaco GP, which are two of the three
[01:11.360 -> 01:17.840] Triple Crown races. So we wanted to do a special episode to dive deep into Monaco,
[01:18.400 -> 01:26.040] dive deep into the Indy 500 from an F1 fan's perspective, but F1 fans who grew up in America
[01:26.040 -> 01:28.160] knowing that the Indy 500 was a thing.
[01:29.360 -> 01:30.200] Yeah.
[01:30.200 -> 01:32.240] And then we're going to go through
[01:32.240 -> 01:35.540] an IndyCar routing guide for the F1 fan.
[01:35.540 -> 01:38.800] So if you have a passing interest,
[01:38.800 -> 01:40.720] either after listening to us here,
[01:40.720 -> 01:41.560] you're like, you know what,
[01:41.560 -> 01:43.200] maybe I will tune into the Indy 500
[01:43.200 -> 01:51.920] because it's this big historic race. We're going to give you a reading guide based around your F1 interests so lots to get into today
[01:52.640 -> 01:59.360] I'm excited so we're an F1 show we're primarily F1 fans it's really mostly at this point the only
[01:59.360 -> 02:05.000] motorsports we avidly consume but I wanted to talk a little bit about our
[02:05.000 -> 02:09.200] experience with IndyCar and the Indy 500 before we get into
[02:09.200 -> 02:13.440] talking about all of this. So before we decided to do this
[02:13.440 -> 02:17.480] Triple Crown weekend special, what was your personal
[02:17.480 -> 02:20.000] experience with both IndyCar and the Indy 500?
[02:20.960 -> 02:30.160] So I heard I like, oh, had always heard of IndyCar and of course the Indy 500, knowing of the milk tradition
[02:30.160 -> 02:36.000] is probably one of the big things that you always hear about Indy, but I haven't really
[02:36.000 -> 02:37.840] learned too much experience too much.
[02:37.840 -> 02:43.960] I actually got to basically secondhand experience Indy when you most recently got to go, which
[02:43.960 -> 02:47.600] we'll I'm sure get into, and in 100 Days to Indy when you know, you most recently got to go, which I'm sure get into and in a hundred days to Indy.
[02:47.720 -> 02:52.440] So fairly new to the sport again, we're F1 podcast.
[02:52.440 -> 02:54.680] That's a lot where my interests lie in motor sports.
[02:54.680 -> 02:59.680] And then my sports interest tends to be in other sports that don't involve cars
[03:01.620 -> 03:05.360] that go vroom. Uh, so kind of very new to Indy,
[03:05.360 -> 03:07.240] but it's interesting to be coming at it
[03:07.240 -> 03:09.440] from this perspective and kind of learning the ways
[03:09.440 -> 03:10.680] that it's different from F1,
[03:10.680 -> 03:13.040] since I had learned so much about Formula One
[03:13.040 -> 03:14.080] in that aspect, it's like,
[03:14.080 -> 03:16.120] kind of feel like I'm unlearning things,
[03:16.120 -> 03:18.360] something that seems so similar.
[03:18.360 -> 03:21.200] So coming from a very new, fresh perspective.
[03:22.800 -> 03:26.160] I am very similar.
[03:26.160 -> 03:34.480] I think the Indy 500 has always been peripherally present in my life.
[03:34.480 -> 03:36.440] It's like the Kentucky Derby to me.
[03:36.440 -> 03:38.240] I'm not a horse racing fan.
[03:38.240 -> 03:46.540] I do not watch horse racing, but once a year it becomes a part of popular culture and I'll pay attention to the Kentucky Derby.
[03:46.540 -> 03:48.200] And actually, interestingly,
[03:48.200 -> 03:52.480] if like it's the horse racing triple crown as well,
[03:52.480 -> 03:53.800] I'm pretty sure.
[03:53.800 -> 03:54.640] Yeah.
[03:54.640 -> 03:55.480] And then-
[03:55.480 -> 03:56.620] It's also called the triple crown, yeah.
[03:56.620 -> 04:00.400] Right, so if there's a horse that is looking
[04:00.400 -> 04:01.840] like it could win that,
[04:01.840 -> 04:04.600] then it like becomes more prevalent in my life
[04:04.600 -> 04:08.960] and the sport, me and the other sports fans around me
[04:08.960 -> 04:10.080] will be interested in that.
[04:10.080 -> 04:13.560] Indy 500 has always been the same where it's like,
[04:13.560 -> 04:15.240] oh, the Indy 500 is coming up,
[04:15.240 -> 04:17.320] so SportsCenter is talking about it.
[04:17.320 -> 04:18.160] And I'll-
[04:18.160 -> 04:18.980] You know, you're going to say,
[04:18.980 -> 04:21.960] it's like when other sport,
[04:21.960 -> 04:23.920] it'd be filed and they're like others
[04:23.920 -> 04:26.120] in like a gym class or something.
[04:26.120 -> 04:31.400] Like obviously not car racing or like horse racing and something, but if ESPN or Sports
[04:31.400 -> 04:35.640] Center is starting to cover it, that's when it's like starting to become in that zeitgeist.
[04:35.640 -> 04:39.200] I mean, it's kind of similar how we're like watching Formula One growing, but like this
[04:39.200 -> 04:43.080] was just the one, it's like a cyclical thing that you can always expect.
[04:43.080 -> 04:45.720] It'll be on like a major TV show.
[04:45.720 -> 04:46.800] It'll just be on TV.
[04:46.800 -> 04:48.960] Your dad will just like have it on, on the weekends.
[04:48.960 -> 04:50.800] Like one of those types of things, like major events.
[04:50.800 -> 04:52.560] It'll just be in the background.
[04:52.560 -> 04:53.960] Exactly.
[04:53.960 -> 04:57.680] Yeah, and actually when people find out that I'm an F1 fan,
[04:57.680 -> 05:01.440] the first thing they ask me is about the Indy 500,
[05:01.440 -> 05:04.960] because in general American knowledge,
[05:05.100 -> 05:09.640] they don't realize that all of these like open
[05:09.640 -> 05:12.800] wheel, open cockpit race, single seater racing series are
[05:12.800 -> 05:16.200] different. It just all like meshes together. It's like, like
[05:16.200 -> 05:18.800] I actually get questions all the time about the three triple
[05:18.800 -> 05:22.240] crown races. It's like, Oh, F1, like, are they doing Le Mans
[05:22.240 -> 05:27.800] this year? And it's like, no. And then it's like, Oh, F1, like, are they doing Le Mans this year? And it's like, no. And then it's like, oh, F1, like, who won the
[05:27.800 -> 05:32.720] Indy 500? And I'm like, that's a completely different series. So
[05:32.720 -> 05:35.080] it's interesting that, like, even if people don't know
[05:35.080 -> 05:37.840] motorsports, like, they will always associate with these
[05:37.840 -> 05:42.560] three races, because they are covered. So that's, and then to
[05:42.560 -> 05:45.600] your point, the milk, like, it's always gross. It always
[05:45.600 -> 05:50.280] looks gross. I mean, it looks cool, fun, great photo, but like ew.
[05:50.280 -> 05:55.280] Great marketing. So fun. Go, I mean, don't, not go big milk, not go big dairy. Like that's
[05:55.280 -> 06:00.640] weird, but like marketing, interesting, like decision and choice of things. But yeah, it's
[06:00.640 -> 06:07.040] like that thing in the zeitgeist. Like that's what my, when me, you know, the F1 Spark started, my dad's like, so how Indy?
[06:07.040 -> 06:11.600] And I'm like, you don't know anything about motorsports, but that you, so if I explain
[06:11.600 -> 06:14.160] to you the difference, will you understand the difference?
[06:14.160 -> 06:15.760] Probably not, but tell me anyway.
[06:17.120 -> 06:22.240] So I did go to my first IndyCar race because I went to the Long Beach race because it was
[06:22.240 -> 06:27.280] driving distance from where I am now. So I think I have
[06:27.280 -> 06:36.080] had two-ish months now to kind of become like a little more knowledgeable about this, but I'm not
[06:36.080 -> 06:46.420] saying I am knowledgeable. I come at everything from an F1 fan's perspective. And I think this year I was very set on,
[06:46.420 -> 06:48.160] I'm gonna watch the Indy 500 this year.
[06:48.160 -> 06:51.180] This year I'm going to actively,
[06:51.180 -> 06:54.560] and I did watch hours of qualifying this weekend.
[06:54.560 -> 06:55.860] That was really cool.
[06:56.700 -> 06:58.520] So I'm excited to,
[06:58.520 -> 07:01.500] like my relationship with IndyCar is the race was fun
[07:01.500 -> 07:03.800] and I'm excited to know more about it
[07:03.800 -> 07:07.000] because it is really different than F1.
[07:08.040 -> 07:12.000] Yeah, Tiring, you talk about qualifying and being like,
[07:12.000 -> 07:14.040] and I love qualifying, I love F1 qualifying,
[07:14.040 -> 07:18.520] but there are some things that like Indy does, it's fun.
[07:18.520 -> 07:20.240] And I would love to see it over here.
[07:20.240 -> 07:22.560] And it's just like, wow, Brianna wants to touch
[07:22.560 -> 07:25.680] the sacred bit that is qualifying on Saturdays.
[07:25.680 -> 07:28.680] Let me be clear.
[07:28.680 -> 07:29.680] Right.
[07:29.680 -> 07:32.840] Not always, or really at all.
[07:32.840 -> 07:35.240] Actually, I probably take all of that back.
[07:35.240 -> 07:40.440] But I was, I was so enthralled with Indy 500 qualifying.
[07:40.440 -> 07:46.720] And this whole like two lane system thing that they have, that I was like, wow, I wanna see F1 cars do this.
[07:46.720 -> 07:48.820] Because essentially they could run again.
[07:50.440 -> 07:51.280] I don't know.
[07:51.280 -> 07:52.160] I'm not gonna get into that
[07:52.160 -> 07:53.440] because that's not what we're talking about today.
[07:53.440 -> 07:56.260] And I could talk for about 15 minutes about this.
[07:57.320 -> 08:00.120] But I really enjoyed qualifying.
[08:00.120 -> 08:02.120] I'm excited to watch the Indy 500.
[08:02.120 -> 08:04.440] And then I'm excited to have this triple crown
[08:04.440 -> 08:06.300] back-to-back race experience.
[08:07.800 -> 08:10.600] I'm excited to talk about all this with you right now.
[08:11.900 -> 08:21.400] The Triple Crown is the Indy 500, apparently controversially the Monaco GP, which Nicole will probably get into.
[08:21.400 -> 08:35.680] She was telling me before we started recording, and I now have so many questions. And the 24 hours of Le Mans. All I know is that only one driver has ever won
[08:35.680 -> 08:41.040] the Triple Crown. And I'm pretty sure only one team has ever won the Triple Crown,
[08:42.080 -> 08:46.320] which is McLaren, which is why they just announced their special livery
[08:46.320 -> 08:53.280] for this weekend. All four of their Indy 500 cars are running special Triple Crown-related liveries.
[08:54.560 -> 09:00.240] But Nicole, I have no idea where this all started. What are the origins of the Triple Crown?
[09:11.960 -> 09:18.140] crown? So I searched high and low on the internet. I literally do not know, in terms of the name, like there doesn't, I cannot find an answer of who started calling it this, why did they
[09:18.140 -> 09:26.920] start calling it this, like when officially it became like these three races. The one driver who has completed the triple crown,
[09:27.840 -> 09:29.260] including Monaco,
[09:29.260 -> 09:31.300] which we'll get to the definition of all of this.
[09:31.300 -> 09:33.240] Graham Hill says that it doesn't,
[09:33.240 -> 09:35.600] he didn't specifically say it doesn't include Monaco
[09:35.600 -> 09:36.760] necessarily, but he said,
[09:36.760 -> 09:40.720] he says during like a 75 interview,
[09:40.720 -> 09:43.440] it is the F1 World Drivers,
[09:43.440 -> 09:46.980] World Championship for Drivers, Indianapolis
[09:46.980 -> 09:48.480] and the Le Mans.
[09:48.480 -> 09:50.320] 24 hours is what he did.
[09:50.320 -> 09:54.840] And for context, Graham Hill is the only driver to have ever won the Triple Crown.
[09:54.840 -> 09:58.840] Yes, Graham Hill is the only driver to have ever completed the Triple Crown.
[09:58.840 -> 10:03.040] And he says that it includes the F1 Drivers' Championship.
[10:03.040 -> 10:06.320] Either way, he still would be the only driver
[10:06.320 -> 10:12.800] to have completed the Triple Crown if you consider it being the Drivers' Championship,
[10:12.800 -> 10:21.280] or if you consider winning Monaco and Indy and Le Mans. And he's won Monaco five times,
[10:21.280 -> 10:25.280] but then Senna beat his record in 93 and Schumacher tied in 2001.
[10:25.280 -> 10:29.280] But for a very long time, he was known as Mr. Monaco, dominating Monaco.
[10:29.280 -> 10:33.760] So it's very interesting to see that even he doesn't necessarily include Monaco in the
[10:33.760 -> 10:34.760] title.
[10:34.760 -> 10:39.080] But Monaco is so prevalent and huge in F1 history and things, which we'll get into in
[10:39.080 -> 10:47.480] a little while, that it makes sense to be part of this incredible, I mean, triple crown of motorsports and the
[10:47.480 -> 10:52.800] timing of it all, it's, it all just is like a beautiful triangle of chaos.
[10:52.800 -> 10:58.780] And it also wouldn't, in my brain, not that things in the history of motorsports tend
[10:58.780 -> 11:03.000] to make a lot of sense, but it doesn't make sense for it to be race race championship.
[11:03.000 -> 11:08.560] Like it makes sense to me for it to be like the premiere race in each series.
[11:08.560 -> 11:10.560] Karly Right, right. I think his argument,
[11:10.560 -> 11:14.880] like some people say it's like, well, Monaco is just only like one race of the thing. But it's
[11:14.880 -> 11:19.760] like, okay, it's, it's very interesting of perspective. But either way, it just comes
[11:19.760 -> 11:25.760] down to like an argument of who do you want to say is like the second, like who's closest to being
[11:26.880 -> 11:30.880] with Graham Hill. Like it all depends on how you want to look at it that way and then it just comes
[11:30.880 -> 11:36.800] down to who's missing a driver's championship and who's missing Monica. Or any of the other races.
[11:36.800 -> 11:41.920] But it also depends on which is the hardest thing to win, which I'm sure there's there's
[11:41.920 -> 11:45.000] 1000% no consensus on that.
[11:45.280 -> 11:49.120] Well, I'll make an argument either way in a second,
[11:49.120 -> 11:52.680] but like Fernando Alonso has Le Mans and has Monaco
[11:52.680 -> 11:54.900] and has a driver's championship, so it doesn't matter,
[11:54.900 -> 11:57.440] but he doesn't have the Indy 500.
[11:57.440 -> 11:58.740] But I do think it's interesting,
[11:58.740 -> 12:01.040] of the three races with the Triple Crown,
[12:01.040 -> 12:04.660] right now F1 is the only one that's closed off.
[12:08.560 -> 12:09.680] So anyone can enter in, well,
[12:19.680 -> 12:26.720] loose anyone, it takes a lot of money to enter into the Indy 500. Or like you could get a seat on a team for Le Mans. Like you can't just go to Mercedes and be like, hey, could you do
[12:26.720 -> 12:34.000] a third car for Monaco? And like, hey, I want to do this one race and I want to do this
[12:34.000 -> 12:42.520] thing. And, and thank you. Like, you know, if they did that though, I wonder if this
[12:42.520 -> 12:45.840] is my hypothetical and maybe you have some drivers where this is the case. Like, I wonder if, this is my hypothetical, and maybe you have some drivers where this is
[12:45.840 -> 12:52.880] the case, like I wonder if any drivers have won the Indy 500 and have won Le Mans, and
[12:52.880 -> 12:56.920] they are sitting there like, can I be in a car for Monaco please?
[12:56.920 -> 12:57.920] So I can win the Triple Crown?
[12:57.920 -> 13:07.520] No, I don't have that information, but we can potentially find that for some content is where my brain is gearing up.
[13:07.520 -> 13:10.960] Editing Brianna might come in with this fun fact now.
[13:12.080 -> 13:18.400] Hi, Editing Brianna here, jumping in from the editing booth to tell you that I did do some
[13:18.400 -> 13:27.680] follow-up research here. There is one driver in history that has won the Indy 500 and the 24-hour Le Mans,
[13:28.640 -> 13:34.160] and it was A.J. Foyt, who's actually one of the very few four-time Indy 500 winners.
[13:34.720 -> 13:38.720] So I did some digging into whether or not he ever got a shot in F1.
[13:39.680 -> 13:43.760] It's unclear, because we're talking about the early 70s, the late 60s,
[13:45.480 -> 13:51.880] It's unclear because we're talking about the early 70s, the late 60s, but it seems like he was entered into 3 various F1 races and he didn't attend.
[13:51.880 -> 13:56.120] So he never showed up, he never took the track.
[13:56.120 -> 13:59.640] And that was all the information I found about it.
[13:59.640 -> 14:08.360] He did race in the time where the Indy 500 counted as an F1 race, so it looks like he had three
[14:08.360 -> 14:15.720] starts. But they're all Indy 500 races, so it wasn't because he was specifically racing
[14:15.720 -> 14:27.480] in F1. I also don't think AJ Ford particularly likes F1, because As recent as early this week, he gave quotes about how little interest he had
[14:27.480 -> 14:35.080] in watching F1 racing. Which I always wonder if that's because he never got his shot, and
[14:35.080 -> 14:40.440] he could be with Graham Hill having won the triple crown, or if that's how he actually
[14:40.440 -> 14:45.600] feels about it. But interesting, in all motorsport history,
[14:45.600 -> 14:48.880] there's just one driver that you look at
[14:48.880 -> 14:51.840] who's won the other two and not the Monaco GP,
[14:51.840 -> 14:52.920] and it's AJ Foyt.
[14:55.640 -> 14:58.360] Crazy, wild, it is very interesting.
[14:58.360 -> 15:02.640] And of course, McLaren, I mean, yeah, one driver.
[15:02.640 -> 15:05.680] So, but it makes sense.
[15:05.680 -> 15:08.120] One driver, one team.
[15:08.120 -> 15:09.720] I think the team thing is so hard
[15:09.720 -> 15:14.560] because teams come and go so much in all of motor sports.
[15:14.560 -> 15:16.720] So for a team to be like McLaren,
[15:16.720 -> 15:18.640] to be able to confidently say,
[15:18.640 -> 15:22.320] yes, this is the same team and we did all the things.
[15:22.320 -> 15:23.160] Right.
[15:24.400 -> 15:26.520] I wonder, I don't know,
[15:26.520 -> 15:28.800] Ferrari's participating in Le Mans this year.
[15:29.800 -> 15:32.040] Then they just need to enter an IndyCar.
[15:34.680 -> 15:38.520] Wow, that's a lot to unpack in that process.
[15:38.520 -> 15:40.120] Yes.
[15:40.120 -> 15:42.000] Okay, here's the question though,
[15:43.480 -> 15:44.840] because I know you have more facts
[15:44.840 -> 15:48.640] about the history of the Triple Crown stuff, but I've derailed us a little bit here.
[15:49.760 -> 15:55.760] Which F1 team would you most want to see attempt the Triple Crown?
[16:01.840 -> 16:07.400] I mean, I want to say Mercedes, but that's just because I'm biased, like acknowledging
[16:07.400 -> 16:12.440] the bias, but like it would be really cool.
[16:12.440 -> 16:14.560] I Ferrari just gets me nervous.
[16:14.560 -> 16:19.960] And I don't know if it's because I'm going into like Monaco nervous for Charles, like
[16:19.960 -> 16:30.000] I just, the vibes are just a lot like, um, I can't really, I don't know.
[16:30.000 -> 16:36.240] Um, yeah, I mean, I don't want to say Red Bull, but I just know it'd be really interesting
[16:36.240 -> 16:37.840] to see what Red Bull does.
[16:37.840 -> 16:43.840] I was gonna say, I think I would love to watch Red Bull go be a disruptor again.
[16:43.840 -> 16:44.840] Right.
[16:44.840 -> 16:45.680] Because Red Bull- Go do this! again. Right. Because Red Bull is-
[16:45.680 -> 16:46.680] Go do this!
[16:46.680 -> 16:47.680] Go do it somewhere else.
[16:47.680 -> 16:48.680] Somewhere else.
[16:48.680 -> 16:53.480] Well, because Red Bull, I wouldn't consider Red Bull a disruptor in F1 anymore.
[16:53.480 -> 16:54.480] Yeah.
[16:54.480 -> 16:55.480] The way they were when they came in.
[16:55.480 -> 16:57.480] Yeah, they're just an established, really good team.
[16:57.480 -> 17:11.000] So it'd be interesting to watch them take on other series like that. Oh my god, do you think then, would it just be like history repeating itself?
[17:11.000 -> 17:19.400] We need to dive into the first lovely race of the weekend, Monaco Grand Prix.
[17:19.400 -> 17:23.240] It's a personal favorite, it is one that I always look forward to, I know you look forward
[17:23.240 -> 17:25.100] to it too, which some may take as a hot
[17:25.100 -> 17:30.200] take and like whatever. Monaco is a whole bunch of chaos. It's
[17:30.200 -> 17:35.540] a whole it's so based in F1 tradition and history that it's
[17:35.540 -> 17:38.360] just so a lot it's so tied into the sport that it's almost like
[17:38.360 -> 17:42.320] you can't have F1 without Monaco in some type of way. And it is
[17:42.320 -> 17:47.540] always exciting in some fashion, depending on what
[17:47.540 -> 17:57.040] factors are at play. Like Monaco predates F1 existing. Like it is literally so old and
[17:57.040 -> 18:06.320] people love old things. The first Grand Prix was in 1929. It was called the Grand Prix. It was in 1929.
[18:06.320 -> 18:10.080] It was called the, it was part of like the European championship and this was pre-World
[18:10.080 -> 18:15.280] War II because obviously World War II happens and like, you know, no one's auto racing during
[18:15.280 -> 18:16.280] the war.
[18:16.280 -> 18:20.120] Like, so there's a big pause in motorsports.
[18:20.120 -> 18:23.360] And then shortly after World War II ends, they come back and that's when Formula One
[18:23.360 -> 18:24.360] begins.
[18:24.360 -> 18:28.160] And the FIA starts doing different sort of like auto racing, but there was all different
[18:28.160 -> 18:30.040] kind of formulas put in place.
[18:30.040 -> 18:31.040] And then 1950 happens.
[18:31.040 -> 18:35.640] It's the first year of Formula One, the driver's championship that we know and love.
[18:35.640 -> 18:38.740] And it was also the first year of Monaco Grand Prix.
[18:38.740 -> 18:44.160] So literally from the inauguration there, from that we know of, Monaco has been there.
[18:44.160 -> 18:49.520] It's come to be known of high levels of prestige and glitz and glamour and tons of celebrities
[18:49.520 -> 18:54.600] and people are watching from yachts and it's just like, again, it's what Miami was trying
[18:54.600 -> 18:59.080] to be in a parking lot in real life.
[18:59.080 -> 19:07.000] It's crazy antics off track and the track itself like basically matches that energy so very well.
[19:07.000 -> 19:18.000] So street circuit, it's unbelievably narrow, the elevation is all over the place, there's a tunnel, there's tight corners, it's nuts.
[19:18.000 -> 19:25.600] It is the only Grand Prix that does not meet the FIA's length requirement of 305 kilometers, or if you're an American,
[19:25.600 -> 19:35.280] 190 miles. It falls at 161.7 miles, around like 260-ish kilometers, 78 laps. So Monaco
[19:35.280 -> 19:40.920] just always guarantees something to talk about, something for the fans to talk about, something
[19:40.920 -> 19:47.260] to see. It'll never necessarily be what you expect it is, whether it's the weather, whether it's the
[19:47.260 -> 19:50.740] corners, or, you know, the yachts.
[19:51.500 -> 19:54.380] And even though we're not talking about all three races
[19:54.380 -> 19:58.600] this weekend, because Le Mans isn't happening this weekend,
[19:58.700 -> 20:03.940] right? I think really what ties all three of the Triple Crown
[20:03.940 -> 20:06.240] races together is they're all
[20:06.240 -> 20:10.860] very old and they're all very hard to win.
[20:10.860 -> 20:17.280] So if you were explaining to someone, well, why is the Monaco GP the one that's in the
[20:17.280 -> 20:18.780] Triple Crown?
[20:18.780 -> 20:21.880] It's because it's really hard and it's old.
[20:21.880 -> 20:28.000] Like, that's the general gist. And like, the glitz and the glam and how I think every...
[20:28.000 -> 20:33.000] Like, there's a lot of feelings about modern day Monaco GP,
[20:33.000 -> 20:36.000] which you can go listen to the episode that came out on Thursday
[20:36.000 -> 20:38.000] to hear our thoughts on.
[20:38.000 -> 20:39.000] Tease.
[20:39.000 -> 20:43.000] But the reason it's so important is because of those two things.
[20:43.000 -> 20:50.220] Like, it is the hardest driver challenge on the calendar, and probably the hardest team challenge
[20:50.220 -> 20:52.240] on the calendar, too.
[20:52.240 -> 20:56.480] Yeah, it definitely is.
[20:56.480 -> 21:02.620] In terms of drivers on the grid right now, the grid is very young, acknowledging that.
[21:02.620 -> 21:06.800] Of drivers on the grid, it's Lewis, Fernando, Checo, and Max.
[21:08.720 -> 21:14.480] Honorary mention to Seb and Danny Ricardo. I had to bring him, I want to go ahead today.
[21:15.600 -> 21:20.800] Lewis has only won it three times, which if you think about how dominant Lewis has been in the
[21:20.800 -> 21:26.920] sport, it just shows you how hard that race in particular is to
[21:26.920 -> 21:27.920] win.
[21:27.920 -> 21:31.720] You go to any other track, and normally Lewis has won at that track more unless he just
[21:31.720 -> 21:34.760] hasn't raced there enough, and it's a newer track.
[21:34.760 -> 21:39.200] He can't have won in Miami more than that, it's physically impossible.
[21:39.200 -> 21:42.560] But if you compare that to Silverson, and the amount of times he's won there, it's
[21:42.560 -> 21:45.280] just a really hard race to win.
[21:45.280 -> 21:50.720] Yeah, it's incredibly difficult. And in terms of teams, McLaren has such an unbelievable
[21:50.720 -> 21:56.880] dominance and wins at this track, but also acknowledging that a lot of that was the Prost-Sena
[21:56.880 -> 22:05.000] years and there's like, 84 to 93 it either like Prost or Seta.
[22:05.920 -> 22:08.500] So, and that was just of the times,
[22:08.500 -> 22:10.460] but like that's the facts.
[22:10.460 -> 22:12.360] Epsilon records are so difficult
[22:12.360 -> 22:16.140] because there's just such errors of dominance.
[22:16.140 -> 22:17.860] And I also always find it interesting
[22:17.860 -> 22:19.020] that this is one of the few tracks
[22:19.020 -> 22:20.620] that Mercedes didn't dominate at
[22:20.620 -> 22:22.400] because that's not how they built their cars.
[22:22.400 -> 22:24.560] They built their cars for like every other circuit
[22:24.560 -> 22:26.240] on the calendar and were like,
[22:26.240 -> 22:27.680] all right, Red Bull, you can win Monaco.
[22:27.680 -> 22:29.120] And Red Bull said, thank you.
[22:32.320 -> 22:33.640] We get to go in the pool.
[22:36.000 -> 22:41.000] I think Monaco is also just such a specific tech challenge.
[22:42.200 -> 22:48.480] That's like teams bring Monaco specific upgrades that they won't use at any
[22:48.480 -> 22:55.440] other circuit, but they just need that much downforce and that much cornering power. That's
[22:55.440 -> 23:06.000] not the right word to put here. I know what you mean. Yes. It's I mean, ability to turn the car. Ability to corner. Right.
[23:06.000 -> 23:08.000] Um...
[23:08.000 -> 23:10.000] So...
[23:10.000 -> 23:12.000] Historically, we're in a cost cap era, but people
[23:12.000 -> 23:14.000] could bring essentially
[23:14.000 -> 23:16.000] entirely different cars to the
[23:16.000 -> 23:18.000] Monaco GP because of the specific
[23:18.000 -> 23:20.000] nature of the track
[23:20.000 -> 23:22.000] and how, again, hard it is
[23:22.000 -> 23:24.000] to win. Like, I think
[23:24.000 -> 23:25.480] I will never,
[23:25.480 -> 23:28.280] when people talk to me about not liking the Monaco GP,
[23:28.280 -> 23:29.400] I'm like, what are you talking about?
[23:29.400 -> 23:31.240] This is one of the most difficult races
[23:31.240 -> 23:32.160] to win on the calendar.
[23:32.160 -> 23:33.760] And there's so much skill,
[23:33.760 -> 23:35.920] whether it's the engineering of the car,
[23:35.920 -> 23:38.280] the car setup to then the driver's execution.
[23:38.280 -> 23:41.020] This is one of the few racetracks we have on the calendar
[23:41.020 -> 23:44.960] that's like, wow, the skill to not mess up.
[23:44.960 -> 23:46.480] It's all about the skill to not mess up it's all about the skill to not mess
[23:46.480 -> 23:53.200] up here and so many of like the biggest moments are like at Monaco have been like oh my gosh they
[23:53.200 -> 23:58.480] you know crashed in qualifying this was their pole position and this was their position you know for
[23:58.480 -> 24:02.560] the race and then the overtakes are like having to deal with some kind of issue on the track and
[24:02.560 -> 24:09.200] like being able to make such unbelievable comebacks and it just says so much more about a driver when they're able to produce some sort of comeback like that
[24:09.200 -> 24:13.500] on a circuit like Monaco because it seems near impossible.
[24:14.500 -> 24:19.000] Plus, the good news is there's rumors that we're going to get smaller cars come 2026.
[24:19.000 -> 24:21.500] So, that will improve things overall.
[24:21.500 -> 24:26.640] But I think my biggest thing about talking about Monaco in the
[24:26.640 -> 24:31.680] context of the Triple Crown is I wish Monaco was a little more like the Indy 500, where we could
[24:31.680 -> 24:38.880] have Monaco-specific bids in the field and people come over and participate in this race. And I
[24:38.880 -> 24:43.760] understand, like, you don't, you know what, hold on, pause, one, two, three, thank you for leaving
[24:43.760 -> 24:47.000] the comment and the engagement about why that couldn't work.
[24:47.000 -> 24:49.840] I 100% understand why that can't work.
[24:49.840 -> 24:52.360] Now let me give you my actual pitch for it.
[24:52.360 -> 24:57.480] I think that all 10 teams should be required to race a third car because definitely what
[24:57.480 -> 25:01.600] we need is more congestion on the Monaco Circuit.
[25:01.600 -> 25:03.560] And then...
[25:03.560 -> 25:05.400] Yes, those corners need more cars. circuit. And then...
[25:10.200 -> 25:10.400] Yes, those corners need more cars. Put more cars in the tunnel.
[25:12.000 -> 25:12.400] Definitely a great idea.
[25:17.300 -> 25:20.500] Or Monaco shouldn't count towards the Driver's Championship. It can only count towards the Constructor's Championship and they
[25:20.500 -> 25:26.720] have to send, if we're committed to this really silly thing where the Monaco GP
[25:26.720 -> 25:31.040] and the Indy 500 always have to be on the same day, I think there should have to be swaps.
[25:32.880 -> 25:40.240] I think every year F1 needs to send a driver to the Indy 500 and then they get to pick and draft
[25:40.240 -> 25:45.600] an Indy driver to come race at the Monaco GP. Because I do want more people trying to go
[25:45.600 -> 25:47.440] for the Triple Crown.
[25:47.440 -> 25:51.200] So we need more indie car drivers able to race in Monaco.
[25:51.200 -> 25:54.120] And coupons drivers able to race in Monaco.
[25:55.080 -> 25:57.200] The only reason why you can't just have Monaco
[25:57.200 -> 25:59.280] be an only constructors winning piece
[25:59.280 -> 26:01.640] is because it'll then just like, but you need that.
[26:01.640 -> 26:03.120] Yeah.
[26:03.120 -> 26:04.320] I guess you can think of it that way,
[26:04.320 -> 26:05.660] but that would be chaos.. I guess you can think of it that way, but, uh,
[26:05.660 -> 26:11.580] that would be chaos. And I kind of love it. That would be, wow, so many people would hate
[26:11.580 -> 26:13.620] it and I would love to see that.
[26:13.620 -> 26:17.780] Right. And I just, I want to be very clear that like, maybe this is the first time you're
[26:17.780 -> 26:22.380] listening to Gridwalk. Like, I understand that that logistically wouldn't make a lot
[26:22.380 -> 26:23.380] of sense.
[26:23.380 -> 26:24.380] It's really hypothetical.
[26:24.380 -> 26:26.120] I'm just throwing out something that sounds fun.
[26:26.120 -> 26:29.040] I like throwing around goofy fun ideas.
[26:29.040 -> 26:33.760] Then maybe someone will have a smarter idea to actually make this happen.
[26:33.760 -> 26:38.440] Actually implement this and do this this way.
[26:38.440 -> 26:42.160] My whole motorsports philosophy is more fun please.
[26:42.160 -> 26:46.560] Yeah, I mean, Monaco just just the wild moments of Monaco are
[26:46.560 -> 26:50.400] always like some of the best to like look back on. I think how many times do
[26:50.400 -> 26:55.800] I reference Kimmy you know having to retire and then he's just like all right
[26:55.800 -> 27:01.440] gonna go to the yacht like that's it's so iconic. Santa basically did the same
[27:01.440 -> 27:05.000] thing yeah he like you crashes. I'm gonna
[27:05.000 -> 27:10.040] go home. He gets out of the car. It's like, all right. So it's wild. They just like go
[27:10.040 -> 27:14.640] on home because everyone lives there, you know?
[27:14.640 -> 27:21.620] I also like races that the drivers really care to win. I think that's why we love watching
[27:21.620 -> 27:25.360] drivers at their home race because they really care to win.
[27:25.360 -> 27:28.560] And it means a little bit more, and Monaco was always that.
[27:28.560 -> 27:31.200] Like, if you get a new winner like we did last year,
[27:31.200 -> 27:32.720] like, they're going to cry.
[27:32.720 -> 27:36.240] And I think that level of emotion around a race.
[27:36.240 -> 27:41.200] So even if maybe like a portion of the F1 fan base
[27:41.200 -> 27:43.660] doesn't love Monaco so much anymore,
[27:44.720 -> 27:47.000] I just will always love it for that reason.
[27:47.000 -> 27:50.560] Like I love watching athletes really care about something.
[27:50.560 -> 27:51.680] Yep, yep.
[27:51.680 -> 27:55.480] It's always like a movie ending moment.
[27:55.480 -> 27:58.800] It there's like the best clips are always from Monaco
[27:58.800 -> 28:00.440] and it is, there's a different vibe,
[28:00.440 -> 28:01.800] there's a different energy.
[28:01.800 -> 28:04.400] The drivers care differently because it's Monaco
[28:04.400 -> 28:10.720] and because it has this historical significance to the sport they dedicated their lives to. Like yeah, I get it,
[28:10.720 -> 28:18.640] same. It has to be really sick to win Monaco. A couple of acknowledgements up front. As we've
[28:18.640 -> 28:24.000] said through this, neither of us long-time diehard IndyCar fans, both very new to this,
[28:27.520 -> 28:34.640] us long-time diehard IndyCar fans, both very new to this. We are not experts, nor are we trying to be experts. Essentially, what this is going to be is me, who knows a little more than Nicole,
[28:34.640 -> 28:40.320] telling Nicole all the things that I would have sent her on a voice note, so she's well-informed
[28:40.320 -> 28:45.000] going into the Indy 500, or at least as informed as I am.
[28:45.000 -> 28:53.280] I want to shout out at the front that Donut Racing Show did a fantastic episode about
[28:53.280 -> 28:59.520] the connections between F1 and the Indy 500, and Elizabeth Blackstock did a fantastic article
[28:59.520 -> 29:04.780] that she's posted all links all over her social media about a Formula One fans guide to the
[29:04.780 -> 29:06.080] Indy 500 and Indy
[29:06.080 -> 29:11.040] car. If you are at least a little bit interested in this or something I say here sparks your
[29:11.040 -> 29:17.200] interest, go check out her materials. They're way more in-depth. She is way more educated than I am
[29:17.200 -> 29:28.300] on this. Her episode made me be like, I want to, I need to watch this. Right. And this episode right now came to be because I was like,
[29:28.300 -> 29:30.600] Nicole, I'm super excited to watch the Indy 500.
[29:30.600 -> 29:33.000] Can I tell you all this information?
[29:33.000 -> 29:36.700] And then we both were like, let's just record that on the podcast
[29:36.700 -> 29:40.100] and we can tell everyone this information if they're even a little
[29:40.100 -> 29:41.000] bit interested.
[29:41.000 -> 29:49.680] So I'm going to start with IndyCar versus the Indy 500. Because this is the weirdest
[29:49.680 -> 29:54.320] thing, at least for me, when I first was like, all right, I'm going to go to the Long Beach Grand Prix.
[29:55.280 -> 29:59.760] I'm going to start to explore this interest. And you'll notice very quickly that everyone
[29:59.760 -> 30:06.640] talks about the IndyCar 500 and no one talks about any of the IndyCar championships? And all the drivers
[30:06.640 -> 30:12.800] seem to only care about the Indy 500. And essentially in all of my research, this is because
[30:12.800 -> 30:21.520] IndyCar's history, unlike F1's, is a lot less linear. There's a lot of open-wheel racing series.
[30:21.520 -> 30:26.880] At many times there were two because there were splits in the series, then
[30:26.880 -> 30:32.640] there were mergers, and then there were splits, there were mergers. So the actual championship
[30:32.640 -> 30:38.320] for the IndyCar championship has been very inconsistent throughout history, but the Indy500
[30:38.320 -> 30:45.760] has been very consistent throughout history. The most recent one that you'll hear IndyCar fans reference a lot is the
[30:45.760 -> 30:52.720] 2008 merger. For that reason, the modern day Drivers Championship really only goes back to 2008.
[30:54.000 -> 30:59.120] And you'll actually hear Drivers, so Joseph Newgarden is one of the most accomplished
[30:59.120 -> 31:05.840] Drivers in IndyCar history and is a multi-time champion but has never won the Indy 500. So he acts like he's never
[31:05.840 -> 31:15.120] won anything. It's true. That's such like a... it's a sad statement. Right. But that says a lot about
[31:15.120 -> 31:21.600] how big of a deal Indy 500 is. So much so that their drive to survive equivalent is called 100
[31:21.600 -> 31:25.280] Days to Indy, not the Indy car championship, let's
[31:25.280 -> 31:29.920] see who wins. No, like they're tracking the drivers to what they always refer to as the
[31:29.920 -> 31:34.320] month of May. So when you're watching social media content or people talk about this, you'll
[31:34.320 -> 31:37.920] be like, it's the month of May. It's almost the month of May. We're in the month of May.
[31:37.920 -> 31:46.640] And it's because the Indy 500 is like a race with 100 hours of practice.
[31:46.640 -> 31:48.640] That's crazy!
[31:48.640 -> 31:51.140] It could just be the month of May.
[31:51.140 -> 31:54.940] You could just have the entire sport be just only in May.
[31:54.940 -> 31:56.940] And yeah, that's...
[31:56.940 -> 31:58.940] Can you imagine that?
[31:58.940 -> 32:00.940] The last example I'll make of this is that
[32:00.940 -> 32:06.960] when drivers win a race before the Indy 500, the first question they seem
[32:06.960 -> 32:11.600] to get asked by a reporter is, how do you think this will affect your efforts in the
[32:11.600 -> 32:15.640] month of May? Or is this going to help your momentum going into the month of May? It's
[32:15.640 -> 32:21.440] not congratulations, you won the Long Beach GP, how are you feeling? How does this lead
[32:21.440 -> 32:25.760] into your championship? It's like, how is this going to affect you at the Indy 500?
[32:25.760 -> 32:27.960] Also, we've alluded to this a couple of times,
[32:27.960 -> 32:32.280] but there are drivers who participate in the whole series.
[32:32.280 -> 32:34.400] And then there are drivers who are just participating
[32:34.400 -> 32:36.080] in the Indy 500.
[32:36.080 -> 32:38.960] Imagining that in F1, which obviously again,
[32:38.960 -> 32:43.680] different sport, but just like entertaining that idea
[32:43.680 -> 32:45.480] would be bananas. Just like,
[32:45.480 -> 32:49.000] goodbye. That was all. Just this month of May. That's all I
[32:49.000 -> 32:49.520] wanted.
[32:50.400 -> 32:53.920] This leads me to, okay, how is that even possible? Let's talk
[32:53.920 -> 32:57.280] about the car. Let's get nerdy for a second. This is a spec
[32:57.300 -> 33:02.400] series. They're all racing the Dallara. You know, I think
[33:02.400 -> 33:04.000] that's one of those words that I've never actually had to say
[33:04.000 -> 33:05.840] out loud. I just read and type all the time.
[33:05.840 -> 33:10.200] You just see it and it has like a noise in your head and that's exactly what you think
[33:10.200 -> 33:11.200] it sounds like.
[33:11.200 -> 33:17.200] Yeah, the Dallara DW12. It was introduced in 2012. So the really interesting thing is
[33:17.200 -> 33:21.960] that they've been racing this car and particularly racing this car at the Indy 500 for over 10
[33:21.960 -> 33:25.680] years now. The teams know it like the back of their hand.
[33:25.680 -> 33:28.480] So not only do they know this circuit incredibly well,
[33:28.480 -> 33:30.840] but they know this car really well.
[33:32.420 -> 33:35.760] The easiest way to think about this car,
[33:35.760 -> 33:40.680] because it's like not, it's spec, it's a spec car,
[33:40.680 -> 33:44.040] but that doesn't mean the teams can't make a difference.
[33:44.040 -> 33:49.040] Think about it, I'm gonna put this in F1 terms, IndyCar fans don't get mad at me, I know it's more complicated
[33:49.040 -> 33:56.280] than this, but F1 teams can design parts of the car and they can control setup on the
[33:56.280 -> 34:07.600] car. So like the different things they do in a race weekend, which we call setup, IndyCar can't bring new parts to the car, can't change the car, but they can change
[34:07.600 -> 34:15.680] setup. So they can change things like ride height, details about how the suspension works,
[34:16.320 -> 34:20.320] weight placements. Like in F1 cars, we talk a lot about how if you're underweight and then you can
[34:20.320 -> 34:28.400] control where the weight is on the car with additional weight. So they can do that in IndyCar, wing use and angle.
[34:28.400 -> 34:34.800] Also IndyCar, interestingly, particularly for this circuit, they have aero packages
[34:34.800 -> 34:36.240] that they give to all the teams.
[34:36.240 -> 34:40.040] It's like, hey, here's all these additional wings that can create downforce.
[34:40.040 -> 34:44.200] And then the teams can choose whether or not they run those wings, how they run those wings,
[34:44.200 -> 34:48.080] when they run those wings, because interestingly, IndyCar doesn't have Park Ferme.
[34:48.080 -> 34:55.240] So that's everything, that's like baseline, throw in, like, here's your foundation to
[34:55.240 -> 34:56.240] stand on.
[34:56.240 -> 35:03.440] Here's your cheat sheet, here's your index card of IndyCar, Indy 500.
[35:03.440 -> 35:09.500] You're watching the race. Here are some things that confused me about watching Indy car races,
[35:09.500 -> 35:12.000] because they're different than F1 races.
[35:12.000 -> 35:16.500] For starters, just know that they refuel in their pit stops.
[35:16.500 -> 35:20.500] So their pit stops are slower, they're about 7 to 8 seconds,
[35:20.500 -> 35:23.500] but they actually don't have any incentive to make them go faster
[35:23.500 -> 35:27.920] because that's the length of time they need to refuel the cars anyway. So everyone has
[35:27.920 -> 35:33.740] to do it anyway, like no one's not refueling. Yes, yes, because so they're
[35:33.740 -> 35:38.600] actually playing an interesting strategy game of so how often do we need to pit,
[35:38.600 -> 35:44.460] do we want to put more fuel in the car so therefore the car is heavier but then
[35:44.460 -> 35:46.240] the driver can go flat out, or do we want to put less fuel in the car, so therefore the car is heavier, but then the driver can go flat out,
[35:46.240 -> 35:52.160] or do we want to put less fuel in the car, the car will be lighter, but then the driver needs to
[35:52.160 -> 35:57.280] conserve fuel. And you'll actually hear a lot over the radio about their chief strategist telling
[35:57.280 -> 36:02.800] them like, hey, you need to like save fuel here, or no, you can go flat out, like that's a common
[36:08.400 -> 36:15.520] no, you can go flat out. That's a common strategic thing you'll hear. And you'll also hear a lot of, so actually, think of it in F1 when Carlos had to save his tires, so he had to slow down.
[36:15.520 -> 36:17.760] Yeah, it sounds like tire strategy.
[36:18.320 -> 36:26.920] Right. Essentially, fuel saving is like tire saving. And like when F1 drivers have to like hit a lap time,
[36:26.920 -> 36:29.560] it's exactly the same, except it's more about fuel.
[36:30.460 -> 36:32.360] But I actually do think that it's,
[36:32.360 -> 36:35.240] since it is double layered, it's like tires and fuel.
[36:35.240 -> 36:38.780] And so IndyCar drivers have to care about both.
[36:38.780 -> 36:39.620] Right, got it.
[36:39.620 -> 36:41.200] Yeah, I was like, because you still have to care,
[36:41.200 -> 36:42.460] they still have tires.
[36:43.340 -> 36:44.960] They don't have DRS.
[36:44.960 -> 36:46.960] They have push-to-pass.
[36:46.960 -> 36:51.280] So the interesting thing is that it's not distance-based.
[36:51.280 -> 36:53.760] Drivers can use their push-to-pass allotment
[36:53.760 -> 36:55.120] at any point.
[36:55.120 -> 36:56.960] They have a certain amount of seconds
[36:56.960 -> 37:00.480] that they basically get a little bit of an engine boost.
[37:00.480 -> 37:02.160] Think of it like it does.
[37:02.160 -> 37:03.840] It feels a little Mario Kart.
[37:03.840 -> 37:06.800] Like, you press the fast button, you gotta step to start.
[37:06.800 -> 37:07.800] Yes.
[37:07.800 -> 37:08.800] Yes.
[37:08.800 -> 37:17.400] They do rolling starts, so there's no standing start, so don't be surprised when all of a
[37:17.400 -> 37:21.600] sudden, they just go, like, they've been going in circles, and the guy's like, green flag,
[37:21.600 -> 37:22.600] go!
[37:22.600 -> 37:26.320] And you're like, oh, okay, great, they're going.
[37:26.320 -> 37:27.160] It started.
[37:29.320 -> 37:34.040] Before we get into storylines, drivers, rooting guide.
[37:34.040 -> 37:38.280] Hi, my bias is I root for Colton Hurta and Pato Award.
[37:38.280 -> 37:39.920] Colton Hurta is from Los Angeles,
[37:39.920 -> 37:42.920] that is Southern California, that is where I live.
[37:42.920 -> 37:44.320] I think it's fun to root for him.
[37:44.320 -> 37:51.120] Pato Award is better at social media than any driver. Period. Take the series
[37:51.120 -> 37:55.960] out. He is unbelievable at social media and marketing. Love it.
[37:55.960 -> 38:01.600] He has a corgi! I was just saying his dogs, both of his dogs have social media accounts.
[38:01.600 -> 38:06.120] They're fantastic follows. Please. It's like, what is it?
[38:06.120 -> 38:13.520] I don't remember the names of the dogs, but it's a German Shepherd and a Corgi. They're
[38:13.520 -> 38:30.240] so cute. I also just like to point out before we start, like how great Pato Aw Award is at social media. He is so far and away the most popular driver
[38:30.240 -> 38:35.440] that actually the AP put an article out about this today and I'm pulling up the
[38:35.440 -> 38:47.200] stat. Maybe? There it is. And I purposely didn't send this to you because I wanted to surprise you with this fact.
[38:47.200 -> 38:48.200] Oh, I'm excited.
[38:48.200 -> 38:58.800] Paddo Award IndyCar merchandise sales are nearly 35% higher than the next closest driver.
[38:58.800 -> 39:00.800] 35?
[39:00.800 -> 39:02.800] Mm-hmm.
[39:02.800 -> 39:04.800] That's insanity.
[39:04.800 -> 39:06.440] Right.
[39:06.440 -> 39:11.280] He is, I internally, like with the people in my life joke,
[39:11.280 -> 39:16.280] that Paddle Award is the marketing arm of IndyCar.
[39:19.000 -> 39:21.920] I mean, and he's a great marketing arm.
[39:21.920 -> 39:23.880] He's just so fun and interesting
[39:23.880 -> 39:26.080] and like knows what he's doing.
[39:28.320 -> 39:36.400] So that's my bias in all of this, essentially. But I wanted to take this from an F1 angle,
[39:37.520 -> 39:43.120] but also give everyone the big storylines going into this. So, thing you should know is that in
[39:43.120 -> 39:46.480] IndyCar there's two dominant teams, and it's Penske
[39:46.480 -> 39:53.200] and it's Chip Ganassi Racing. So, just know even if they're not on pole or they're further back,
[39:53.200 -> 39:58.080] like, those are the two dominant teams. Penske has won more Indy 500s than anyone else. Chip
[39:58.080 -> 40:03.120] Ganassi Racing has won, like, the last three or four. Like, they are... Honestly, Chip Ganassi
[40:03.120 -> 40:07.360] Racing, for the 500, is the team to beat. Period. So now
[40:07.360 -> 40:13.920] if you pick any of those drivers, you're picking a, uh, like, it's like picking Red Bull this season.
[40:14.560 -> 40:22.160] That's a really, except more competitive, but it's a really safe bet. Um, then you have a second tier,
[40:22.160 -> 40:25.520] which is McLaren and Andretti.
[40:25.520 -> 40:31.240] I will point out that McLaren has had a fantastic qualifying for the Indy 500, Andretti has
[40:31.240 -> 40:32.240] not.
[40:32.240 -> 40:37.400] And I think those are just like some baselines you should know going into this.
[40:37.400 -> 40:48.680] But, I figured, Nicole, how random should I be, or organized organized should I be in going through this routing guide?
[40:48.680 -> 40:52.360] On a scale of 1 to 10, 10 being most random, I say 9.
[40:52.360 -> 40:55.760] Okay, okay, then we're, got it.
[40:55.760 -> 40:56.760] I can do that.
[40:56.760 -> 40:58.800] I can do full randomness.
[40:58.800 -> 41:03.160] The organized thing was that I was going to go through the top 12 drivers, which is essentially
[41:03.160 -> 41:09.600] like getting into Q3, but we're not doing it in that order. We're going to go completely random. All right, first
[41:09.600 -> 41:15.920] thing, if you were the type of person who liked Red Bull when they came into F1 as the fun
[41:15.920 -> 41:21.520] disruptor team trying to shake up the grid, then you should pick any of the four McLaren drivers
[41:21.520 -> 41:27.680] to root for this weekend. When I was in the paddock at the Long Beach GP,
[41:27.680 -> 41:33.760] McLaren was the only team that played music while they were working. McLaren is the fun team
[41:33.760 -> 41:45.000] in IndyCar. I know, shocking, confusing, but true. I would recommend Pato for all the aforementioned reasons.
[41:45.000 -> 41:50.000] Alexander Rossi actually has a huge F1 connection.
[41:50.000 -> 41:59.000] I'm not going to go through it all right now, but up until Logan Sargent, Rossi was the last American to race in F1.
[41:59.000 -> 42:04.000] He really got a short end of the deal and has shown how good he is in IndyCar.
[42:04.000 -> 42:06.280] So much so that he won the Indy 500
[42:06.280 -> 42:12.440] his rookie year in IndyCar in 2016, having never raced an Oval before.
[42:12.440 -> 42:14.160] Insanity.
[42:14.160 -> 42:15.480] That's crazy.
[42:15.480 -> 42:18.240] This is his first year with McLaren.
[42:18.240 -> 42:22.480] And then there's Felix, who's the third full-time McLaren driver.
[42:22.480 -> 42:28.720] Everyone thinks that he's going to lose his seat at the end of this season in IndyCar and McLaren's gonna shuffle him to Formula E,
[42:30.240 -> 42:40.560] but he is the highest qualified McLaren driver for the Indy 500. He's starting P3, which is row one
[42:40.560 -> 42:50.160] because it's three drivers a row in the Indy 500. If you are rooting for underdog fun team,
[42:50.160 -> 42:58.720] Felix is a good one. If you are the type of F1 fan that liked McLaren and the Ron Dennis sticks,
[42:59.600 -> 43:11.880] you should root for anyone on Team Penske. Team Penske has this thing that I couldn't find the origins of that's like Penske perfect. They're like the buttoned up, like we are the best drivers.
[43:11.880 -> 43:17.980] I literally refer to Joseph Newgarden as Captain America. I don't need to explain it more.
[43:17.980 -> 43:27.240] Captain America in the Marvel movies, Joseph Newgarden. So they're traditionally not. They don't, the team itself doesn't give off the
[43:27.240 -> 43:34.200] most fun vibes. But they're very good. And the qualifier to that is that Scott McLaughlin
[43:34.200 -> 43:38.620] and Joseph Newgarden do a show called Bus Bros, which I will describe as incredibly
[43:38.620 -> 43:42.800] fun vibes. So.
[43:42.800 -> 43:45.360] So much explosions.
[43:45.360 -> 43:47.200] So many explosions.
[43:47.200 -> 43:49.200] Really fun and entertaining.
[43:49.200 -> 43:56.080] I actually, I put down like my assumption when Nicole started to look into this.
[43:56.080 -> 43:58.120] I'm like, Nicole's going to be a Joseph Newgarden fan.
[43:58.120 -> 43:59.720] Yeah, I'm not opposed.
[43:59.720 -> 44:07.200] I'm not, I'm not off the bandwagon there. I just think you are gonna love Bus Bros,
[44:07.200 -> 44:09.800] is essentially what I think it is.
[44:11.600 -> 44:14.560] Scott McLaughlin is also an interesting character.
[44:14.560 -> 44:17.160] So he's a three-time supercar champ,
[44:17.160 -> 44:19.280] and he just asked, he wanted to come
[44:19.280 -> 44:22.520] and start doing single-seater racing.
[44:22.520 -> 44:24.580] And this is his second or third season,
[44:24.580 -> 44:26.100] and is really
[44:26.100 -> 44:30.340] good has already won a race this season so he's just one of those guys like if
[44:30.340 -> 44:36.680] you like race car drivers that can do multi-disciplined and it's kind of like
[44:36.680 -> 44:39.720] hearkening back to the old days where drivers would just switch series all the
[44:39.720 -> 44:47.680] time Scott he's also one half of Bus Bros. He's very popular. If you want a safe bet for the win,
[44:48.240 -> 44:54.880] root for Chip Ganassi Racing. I will point out that Chip Ganassi Racing has the driver on pole,
[44:54.880 -> 45:00.640] which is Alex Pillow. If you as an F1 fan remember our Oscar Piastri saga from last year,
[45:10.440 -> 45:17.280] from last year. Alex Pelo did that in IndyCar, except it was as if Oscar Piastri was now driving for Alpine. And the funny thing is that Alex Pelo wanted to be driving for McLaren.
[45:17.280 -> 45:21.280] It was a McLaren and Chip Ganassi racing. So when you saw all these people online be
[45:21.280 -> 45:26.720] like, this is the second time this scandal has happened with McLaren when the piastri stuff was going on?
[45:26.720 -> 45:27.720] How's this?
[45:27.720 -> 45:30.600] It's just like two nickels meme.
[45:30.600 -> 45:33.600] It's just, you know.
[45:33.600 -> 45:34.600] Right, right.
[45:34.600 -> 45:38.900] The interest, so Alex Pellot was in this lame duck year.
[45:38.900 -> 45:41.880] Everyone pretty much knows he's going to go to McLaren, but he's not allowed to negotiate
[45:41.880 -> 45:49.040] with them for this contract that we all know already exists until September, but he's won a race this season, is now on poll for the
[45:49.040 -> 45:55.960] Indy 500, could likely win the Indy 500 for Chip Ganassi Racing, a team that he wants
[45:55.960 -> 45:56.960] to leave.
[45:56.960 -> 46:10.200] What a crazy storyline that would turn out to be, if and when he does it. Uh-huh. Part of me is rooting, like, if a Chiff Ganassi racing driver is going to win,
[46:10.200 -> 46:16.480] he would be my personal rooting interest because of the chaos that it would create. If you
[46:16.480 -> 46:31.680] really like rooting for Alex Albon specifically as a Williams driver, then you should root for Callum in the Indy 500. So, there, Who Goes Racing is a two-car
[46:31.680 -> 46:39.920] team that is very, very new, is not a fast team, but have had a really fast start this season,
[46:40.560 -> 46:46.240] and it's mostly because Callum's really great. So much so that when his contract's up this year,
[46:46.800 -> 46:51.440] he's like everyone says it's going to be one of the craziest bidding wars we've ever seen for a
[46:51.440 -> 46:57.440] top team to get him into a car. Callum is an F2 driver, you might know him because he's kind of
[46:57.440 -> 47:05.320] screaming meals adjacent. He also posted that he was upset about the repeal of Roe v. Wade. So I like Callum.
[47:06.720 -> 47:08.320] I think he deserves support.
[47:10.520 -> 47:12.720] Interesting storyline going on with Callum's car.
[47:13.020 -> 47:15.120] So they have the car they race all season,
[47:15.120 -> 47:18.620] and then they have a car that they're specifically building for the Indy 500.
[47:19.920 -> 47:22.020] Remember when I talked about all this practice time?
[47:22.520 -> 47:24.820] Well, Callum got in the car for all this practice time
[47:24.820 -> 47:26.760] and just kept saying that the car was wrong
[47:26.760 -> 47:28.360] and felt weird and felt wrong.
[47:28.360 -> 47:31.660] The night before qualifying, they agreed,
[47:31.660 -> 47:35.360] decided they had to completely scrap that car.
[47:35.360 -> 47:37.720] So they did, because it was unsafe,
[47:37.720 -> 47:41.980] rebuilt his car overnight.
[47:41.980 -> 47:44.440] In the practice, the morning before qualifying,
[47:44.440 -> 47:47.440] were his first laps in this brand new car.
[47:47.440 -> 47:52.920] So he had to do the setup that other drivers spent
[47:52.920 -> 47:56.740] 30 hours in the car for, he did in 12 laps
[47:56.740 -> 48:00.000] and easily qualified for the race.
[48:00.000 -> 48:03.600] Incredible.
[48:03.600 -> 48:06.200] If you want to root for a rookie, root for Peterson.
[48:06.200 -> 48:10.520] He was the only rookie to get into the Fast 12, which, again,
[48:10.520 -> 48:12.800] is like getting into Q3.
[48:12.800 -> 48:16.160] And he posted the fastest rookie qualifying time
[48:16.160 -> 48:20.080] ever at the Indy 500.
[48:20.080 -> 48:23.120] If you want a driver with a strong F1 connection that
[48:23.120 -> 48:31.040] has a good chance to win, you should root for Marcus Eriksson or Alexander Rossi. Eriksson won the race last year. If you
[48:31.040 -> 48:36.320] want to root for a driver with a strong F1 connection that doesn't have a great chance
[48:36.320 -> 48:43.120] to win, root for anyone on the Andretti team. And if you want to root for an underdog win,
[48:54.640 -> 49:06.160] And if you want to root for an underdog win, that isn't impossible. I'd pick any non-Penske or Chip Ganassi car that's in the top 12, essentially. Because even though McLaren has somehow gotten all four of their cars in the top 12, they're still going into this the underdog. The last thing is there is one driver in the field
[49:06.160 -> 49:10.960] that has won the race four times, which is the maximum amount of times that an Indy 500 driver,
[49:11.520 -> 49:16.320] a driver has ever won the Indy 500. I said that backwards the first time around. And that's
[49:16.320 -> 49:22.000] Castronovus. So if you really want to root for history, winning a fifth time would be the most
[49:22.000 -> 49:25.800] ever. There's only, and there's only a couple who've ever won it four times.
[49:26.380 -> 49:28.980] So, Nicole, who are you rooting for?
[49:28.980 -> 49:31.940] I mean, I think
[49:31.940 -> 49:33.440] I want him for Padaho.
[49:33.440 -> 49:36.900] I mean, I kind of just it's where Tobias was before.
[49:37.540 -> 49:40.580] He'll give me more, you know, content with his dogs.
[49:41.500 -> 49:43.540] That's where my that's where it is right now.
[49:43.540 -> 49:46.760] But I'll report back after the weekend.
[49:46.760 -> 49:52.800] I'll let you know. Thank you for watching this bonus episode of Gridwalk. This extra
[49:52.800 -> 49:59.040] special triple crown in the car Monaco preview. It was a whole bunch of fun. Go watch the
[49:59.040 -> 50:04.360] full episode from Thursday. If you haven't already, you can watch it now. It is live
[50:04.360 -> 50:05.840] wherever you find your
[50:05.840 -> 50:10.800] podcast. Let us know who you're rooting for in the comments section below. DM us on all of our
[50:10.800 -> 50:15.840] socials at Gridwalk Show. Let us know who your rooting interests are, not only for the IndyCar500,
[50:15.840 -> 50:20.320] but also who you're rooting for for Monaco. And we'll see you next Thursday for our regular
[50:24.920 -> 50:26.920] regular Code Walk episode.