Alonso: Lance is my Hero - 2023 Bahrain GP Review

Fernando Alonso, Aston Martin & Lance Stroll - what a story they wrote in the 2023 Bahrain Grand Prix. Will this love story continue to entertain throughout the 2023 Formula 1 season? 

In this episode of the Inside Line F1 Podcast, Soumil, @f1statsguru and Kunal review all the headlines, stories and narratives from the season-opening race.

Tune in!

(Season 2023, Episode 9)

# Inside Line F1 Podcast: Season 2023, Episode 9 - Bahrain Grand Prix Review

## Hosts:

* Somal Arora
* Sundaram - @f1statsguru
* Kunal Shah - Former Marketing Head, Aston Martin Aramco Cognizant Formula 1 Team

## Key Points:

### Fernando Alonso's Triumphant Return:

* Alonso's impressive third-place finish in the Bahrain Grand Prix marks a significant turnaround after a decade of setbacks.
* His performance has generated immense excitement among fans and media, revitalizing Formula One with a compelling storyline.
* Alonso's positivity and enthusiasm have permeated the paddock, creating a cheerful atmosphere.

### Aston Martin's Strong Start:

* Aston Martin's performance in Bahrain showcased their competitiveness, challenging Red Bull and Ferrari.
* Lance Stroll's sixth-place finish, despite a broken wrist, highlights his determination and the car's potential.
* The team's focus on in-season development raises hopes for sustained competitiveness throughout the season.

### Mercedes' Struggles and Concept Dilemma:

* Mercedes' disappointing start to the season has prompted Toto Wolff to acknowledge the need for a concept change.
* The team faces the challenge of developing a new car concept within budget and time constraints.
* The upcoming races will reveal whether Mercedes can address their issues and remain competitive.

### Ferrari's Reliability Concerns:

* Ferrari's engine failure with Charles Leclerc's car underscores their ongoing reliability issues.
* The team's new philosophy under Fred Vasseur remains untested due to these problems.
* The team's ability to resolve these issues will determine their chances of challenging Red Bull and Aston Martin.

### Red Bull's Dominance and Strategy:

* Red Bull's one-two finish in Bahrain demonstrated their圧倒的な優位性.
* The team's aggressive strategy, including double stints on soft tires, showcased their car's efficiency and tire management.
* The extent of Red Bull's true pace remains unknown, leaving room for intrigue in upcoming races.

### Midfield Contenders:

* Alfa Romeo's strategic prowess, exemplified by Valtteri Bottas' points finish, highlights their potential for midfield success.
* Alpine's Pierre Gasly displayed impressive recovery skills, rising from P20 to P9.
* McLaren's struggles, including Lando Norris' six pit stops, underscore their need for improvement.

### Esteban Ocon's Penalties:

* Ocon's unfortunate penalties in Bahrain, including one for not serving a penalty correctly, marred his race.
* Alpine's chaotic race exposed their operational challenges, requiring swift rectification.

### Williams' Encouraging Start:

* Williams' improved performance, with Alex Salbon scoring a point, offers optimism for the team's progress.
* Logan Sargent's impressive debut, matching Lando Norris in qualifying and finishing P12, bodes well for his rookie season.

### Podium Age Diversity:

* The Bahrain GP podium featured drivers in their 20s, 30s, and 40s, a rare occurrence in Formula One.
* This diversity reflects the changing landscape of the sport and adds intrigue to the upcoming races.

[00:00.000 -> 00:23.480] We're all aware of that mathematical equation and that mathematical rule.
[00:23.480 -> 00:26.320] Minus minus equals to plus. In the case of Fernando
[00:26.320 -> 00:33.840] Alonso, it's been nearly 10 years of minuses, suddenly resulting into one giant fat plus.
[00:33.840 -> 00:38.720] So big a plus in fact, that at our event last night, where we hosted a big session at the
[00:38.720 -> 00:45.600] GigMix Supercar Club screening in Thane, Mumbai, we had people doing shoeies to celebrate Fernando Alonso coming third.
[00:46.320 -> 00:51.840] This is real, it is happening. Fernando Alonso has genuinely made a good career choice and
[00:51.840 -> 00:56.400] yeah, Red Bull Racing and Max Verstappen might have gotten a one-two, but that keeps on happening.
[00:56.400 -> 01:03.040] What's important is that our hero, our savior is back and Formula One finally has a super villain
[01:03.040 -> 01:05.160] once again. But it's so amazing
[01:05.160 -> 01:09.480] to see Fernando Alonso happy and that makes everyone here at the Inside Line F1
[01:09.480 -> 01:12.880] podcast happy. So let's introduce everyone of course on the show right
[01:12.880 -> 01:16.920] here. Firstly I'll start off with myself my name is Somal Arora I'm the host of
[01:16.920 -> 01:21.200] the Driving Force and also the Indian Racing League broadcasts on Star Sports
[01:21.200 -> 01:26.080] and joining me is firstly Sundaram F1 stats guru as you know him on social media.
[01:26.080 -> 01:34.080] His stats have been read out by Krofty on the Sky Sports broadcast and retweeted by the best driver of yesterday, Fernando Alonso.
[01:34.080 -> 01:41.280] And of course, we have Kunal Shah, the former marketing head of the Aston Martin Aramco Cognizant Formula 1 team.
[01:41.280 -> 01:43.280] And it's old guys when it was Force India.
[01:43.280 -> 01:50.000] And of course, he's now an FIA accredited journalist for the Viaplay network and it's just happy days Kunal. It's just amazing to
[01:50.000 -> 01:55.760] see Fernando Lon so happy. It's like the world can't handle it. There's just too much positivity
[01:55.760 -> 02:00.880] and he's dumped all that positivity for negativity on Alpine and Esteban Hocon who had so many
[02:00.880 -> 02:06.400] penalties. It's I think it's more than just happy days.
[02:06.400 -> 02:11.100] These are ecstatic days because all along we used to wonder
[02:11.100 -> 02:15.400] what would happen if Fernando Alonso has a competitive car
[02:15.400 -> 02:18.100] when Vish Stappan has a competitive car, of course, when
[02:18.600 -> 02:22.200] Lewis Hamilton has a competitive car and so on and he now has
[02:22.200 -> 02:26.560] a competitive car and we actually saw what he could do on track.
[02:26.560 -> 02:31.120] We of course up until now were seeing what he was doing in the media sessions and playing it down,
[02:31.120 -> 02:37.440] playing it up and so on, but we finally saw what he could do on track and my feeling, my prediction
[02:38.000 -> 02:45.080] is that 2023 doesn't matter who's going to be the world world champion whether it's a Lewis Hamilton or
[02:45.080 -> 02:50.080] a Charles Leclerc or even a Max Verstappen or maybe even Fernando Alonso
[02:50.080 -> 02:56.360] who knows the most popular driver is going to be hands-down Mr. Fernando
[02:56.360 -> 03:03.200] Alonso I mean the way he was driving on track yesterday he was literally owning
[03:03.200 -> 03:07.180] every piece of tarmac he had his Aston Martin car on.
[03:07.180 -> 03:12.680] He was owning every rival. And, you know, some things that stood out for me the most
[03:12.680 -> 03:16.800] was that the Aston Martin car was actually slower on the straights, which is why they
[03:16.800 -> 03:22.780] couldn't pull off all the moves in the DRS zones. So he technically had to work harder
[03:22.780 -> 03:25.580] into making those overtakes and putting those overtakes
[03:25.580 -> 03:31.200] off at turns nine and 10, predominantly on Hamilton and then Carlos Sainz, because hey,
[03:31.200 -> 03:34.160] that's where he had more grip and hence more pace.
[03:34.160 -> 03:39.200] So all in all, fantastic start for Formula One, not the most exciting of races, if you
[03:39.200 -> 03:45.000] were to put it that way, given that Red Bull cruised to, you know, to victory on a Sunday drive.
[03:45.320 -> 03:49.960] But we had a fourth team challenging team number two and team number three from
[03:49.960 -> 03:53.980] last year. But most importantly, Lando Norris,
[03:54.080 -> 03:57.720] six pit stops in the race. What was McLaren doing?
[03:58.160 -> 03:59.820] Also Lando Norris,
[03:59.840 -> 04:03.880] he is 17th in the Drivers' Championship.
[04:03.880 -> 04:07.040] 17th and last, right? Something I don't think I would
[04:07.040 -> 04:12.320] have imagined. And hence, that also means that McLaren is dead last in the Constructors'
[04:12.320 -> 04:19.200] Championship. So yes, there was Alpine and Ocon adding to all the, you know, all the humor or all
[04:19.200 -> 04:25.600] the shock value on TV saying, oh my God, how can they not get serving a time penalty correctly, right?
[04:25.600 -> 04:31.280] But they were exposed publicly. But I don't think McLaren and Lando Norris were exposed so publicly
[04:31.280 -> 04:35.600] for doing what they couldn't do, which is to deliver a good race, I would say.
[04:36.640 -> 04:43.280] Sundaram, every one of Alonso's old teams had a bad day. Ferrari had an engine problem. Alpine
[04:43.280 -> 04:45.680] were absolutely crushed with Hawk on and look at
[04:45.680 -> 04:50.200] McLaren it's just the international Fernando day it's just meant to be.
[04:50.200 -> 04:57.440] That's a nice that's a nice one there you know it's actually one of if you remember
[04:57.440 -> 05:03.320] one of those movies where actually the villain is actually considered the hero just because
[05:03.320 -> 05:06.400] his performance is that good or that convincing
[05:06.400 -> 05:10.400] that you kind of don't really care so much about the main hero
[05:10.400 -> 05:14.000] and yesterday's race was pretty much that sort of race
[05:14.000 -> 05:17.600] I mean the first movie that I can actually think of is the Dark Knight
[05:17.600 -> 05:24.800] where Joker's performance was so convincing that you can probably argue and say that he was the star of the movie
[05:24.800 -> 05:27.280] and that is exactly the case that happened yesterday. The
[05:27.280 -> 05:32.280] anti-hero actually went on to become the hero and and like Kunal mentioned it
[05:32.280 -> 05:37.600] probably wasn't the most exciting of races. We had 22 overtakes out of which
[05:37.600 -> 05:43.880] Alonso pulled three but yeah I think he actually did make the race otherwise if
[05:43.880 -> 05:45.920] not for that we wouldn't really be having
[05:45.920 -> 05:51.200] I mean, I mean we were not having great race anyway, there's very little to talk about it
[05:51.200 -> 05:54.160] But yeah, he was the top of the town yesterday
[05:54.720 -> 05:59.240] Actually that brings us on to a very interesting question that we should all discuss for a little bit. It's
[05:59.880 -> 06:08.560] It's about Fernando Alonso's chances on the podium if Ferrari wouldn't have had that engine failure with Sean Leclerc because we know that Carlos Sainz was struggling with degradation
[06:08.560 -> 06:13.920] very badly to a point where he didn't even bother to fight but also with Leclerc it's
[06:13.920 -> 06:17.520] kind of interesting isn't it Kunal that he had a decent bit of pace and eventually
[06:17.520 -> 06:22.960] had he not had that problem of his car with his car Alonso wouldn't have been there so it's not
[06:22.960 -> 06:27.240] completely happy days because they know they need to get some work done in terms of qualifying as
[06:27.240 -> 06:32.560] well and the interesting part is it could only just get better. I actually
[06:32.560 -> 06:38.680] beg to differ. I think if, okay let me let me put it this way, if Leclerc hadn't
[06:38.680 -> 06:44.800] had his power unit failure, right, we would have enjoyed an Alonso versus
[06:44.800 -> 06:47.120] Leclerc battle. I mean, Fernando Alonso
[06:47.120 -> 06:52.400] taking the fight to a Ferrari and a Charles Leclerc. He did that to Carlos Sainz. So technically,
[06:52.400 -> 06:58.400] I think it would have still been an Alonso podium. It would have also meant one more overtake. So
[06:58.400 -> 07:04.560] Sundaram would have then said, we would have had four overtakes for the podium position. And to me,
[07:04.560 -> 07:06.480] I mean, let's turn this around.
[07:06.480 -> 07:08.280] You know, it's like a mix of everything.
[07:08.280 -> 07:10.200] Fernando Alonso actually had a bad start,
[07:10.200 -> 07:12.400] and that's what gave us a good race, right?
[07:12.400 -> 07:14.800] But what the bad start robbed us of
[07:14.800 -> 07:19.080] was Aston Martin and Fernando Alonso's genuine pace
[07:19.080 -> 07:20.800] against the Red Bull Racing cars.
[07:20.800 -> 07:23.440] So he was 30-odd, 30-plus seconds off.
[07:23.440 -> 07:25.920] Had he run a normal race, which would have been even
[07:25.920 -> 07:32.960] more boring, if I could term yesterday's race a little boring, he would have probably been,
[07:32.960 -> 07:38.880] would he have been closer to the Red Bull cars? God knows. But clearly, nobody would have taken
[07:38.880 -> 07:49.240] the win and the one-two away from Red Bull. I think their advantage was just so much more, right? But to see Aston Martin walk away with a podium, second fastest car,
[07:49.240 -> 07:53.600] Fernando Alonso in the championship, top three, all of those, you know,
[07:53.640 -> 07:57.400] feel good stories was was pretty, pretty fantastic.
[07:57.400 -> 08:02.080] And, you know, I wouldn't be surprised after seeing what we saw in Bahrain
[08:02.080 -> 08:10.320] if people were to ask, oh, my God, is Red Bull going to win everything in 23 and will Verstappen be the champion? Now, the truth is, there are two
[08:10.320 -> 08:14.880] things to consider. First, which pretty much every driver on the grid and every team has said
[08:14.880 -> 08:23.200] that Bahrain is an outlier. The rear limiting is one of the reasons why it sort of stands out,
[08:23.200 -> 08:26.180] which is why pecking order in Bahrain doesn't mean it could be
[08:26.180 -> 08:29.080] the same pecking order for the next 22 races.
[08:29.080 -> 08:30.680] So that's one part.
[08:30.680 -> 08:33.500] The second part, of course, is the in-season development.
[08:33.500 -> 08:39.060] I mean, just to qualifying for Toto-Wulf to say, we need to scrap this concept.
[08:39.060 -> 08:44.520] We also saw that Leclerc gave up on a qualifying attempt so that he could save an extra set
[08:44.520 -> 08:45.200] on race day,
[08:45.200 -> 08:48.160] which sort of worked for him because he jumped Perez, right?
[08:48.160 -> 08:51.200] But we always kept asking through all our previews
[08:51.200 -> 08:53.200] and it not just us, pretty much everyone,
[08:53.200 -> 08:54.560] what was the question?
[08:54.560 -> 08:59.280] How much lighter on fuel is Aston Martin, right?
[08:59.280 -> 09:03.040] Is their pace genuinely as fast as it was in testing?
[09:03.040 -> 09:05.480] The truth is now it's shown up
[09:05.480 -> 09:07.240] that Aston Martin was genuinely quick.
[09:07.240 -> 09:08.920] Now the question is going to be turned.
[09:08.920 -> 09:12.000] Can Aston Martin keep developing their car
[09:12.000 -> 09:14.760] as fast as Red Bull and Mercedes would?
[09:14.760 -> 09:16.860] And do they have the depth and the resources
[09:16.860 -> 09:18.680] and the bandwidth to do that?
[09:18.680 -> 09:20.080] I think it's too early,
[09:20.080 -> 09:22.080] but maybe we should stop asking that question as well.
[09:22.080 -> 09:24.200] And maybe at some point just accept
[09:24.200 -> 09:27.500] it's going to be four top teams in 2023
[09:27.500 -> 09:31.260] and not just three top teams in 2023.
[09:31.260 -> 09:33.380] So that's just where I am.
[09:33.380 -> 09:35.540] And let's see how it goes.
[09:36.540 -> 09:38.680] Wait, which is the fourth one?
[09:38.680 -> 09:39.600] I didn't get it.
[09:41.140 -> 09:42.380] I was waiting to be challenged.
[09:42.380 -> 09:44.460] Yeah, so we of course have Red Bull.
[09:44.460 -> 09:46.160] We've got Aston Martin,
[09:46.160 -> 09:49.380] then we've got Ferrari or Mercedes and Mercedes,
[09:49.380 -> 09:50.680] depending on how you see it.
[09:50.680 -> 09:54.360] But the first race of the season actually proved a few things.
[09:54.360 -> 09:57.240] Toto Wolff saying Mercedes' concept is wrong
[09:57.240 -> 09:58.960] and needs to be scrapped.
[09:58.960 -> 10:01.440] Ferrari, of course, had their reliability issues.
[10:01.440 -> 10:04.120] So two teams have literally been pulled out.
[10:04.120 -> 10:06.120] That just then leaves Aston Martin.
[10:06.120 -> 10:08.520] So let's really hope that they're able to keep up
[10:08.520 -> 10:10.360] with the pace of development
[10:10.360 -> 10:13.640] to keep delivering a fantastic season for us.
[10:15.200 -> 10:17.440] I have an interesting question to put forward
[10:17.440 -> 10:19.560] considering Total Wolf and I think George Russell
[10:19.560 -> 10:23.120] also mentioned that the team has to change their car concept.
[10:23.120 -> 10:28.520] Just take a look at the other three teams, Red Bull, Ferrari, and Aston Martin. They've gone ahead with change their car concept. Just take a look at the other three teams Red Bull, Ferrari and Aston Martin. They have gone ahead with a
[10:28.520 -> 10:31.640] certain car concept, they have done testing, they've done one race with it.
[10:31.640 -> 10:36.720] Now if Mercedes actually changes their concept for the rest of the season, do
[10:36.720 -> 10:40.600] they have enough data about it already? Because they've not used all those parts
[10:40.600 -> 10:47.360] in preseason testing. So can they actually be considered as a front runner or a top 14?
[10:49.160 -> 10:50.360] I would say, you know,
[10:50.360 -> 10:52.100] when it comes to in-season development,
[10:52.100 -> 10:55.320] a lot of Mercedes's plans would have already been made
[10:55.320 -> 10:57.240] because even before the first race of the season,
[10:57.240 -> 11:00.080] people were waiting for when is the next big upgrade coming
[11:00.080 -> 11:02.680] and everyone also talks of the budget gap,
[11:02.680 -> 11:04.880] but let's remember under the budget gap,
[11:04.880 -> 11:07.240] Aston Martin actually made a concept change last year
[11:07.240 -> 11:09.880] and hence concept change this year as well.
[11:09.880 -> 11:12.480] So Mercedes knows that they have to figure a way
[11:12.480 -> 11:14.920] to make it work, otherwise they will be fourth
[11:14.920 -> 11:19.920] or even fifth if things really go off, you know, in 2023.
[11:21.480 -> 11:28.000] But another caveat, these 2023 cars have only been driven on the Bahrain circuit,
[11:28.000 -> 11:30.160] the Sakhir International Circuit.
[11:30.160 -> 11:35.100] So that's another thing to keep in mind that teams don't yet know how their cars and their
[11:35.100 -> 11:39.920] packages will stack up at some of the other circuits, and pretty much every other circuit
[11:39.920 -> 11:41.300] has its own challenges.
[11:41.300 -> 11:50.580] Like Fernando Alonso said that if they are quick in Jeddah and then they are quick in Melbourne, then he will say we're going to have a good 2023.
[11:50.580 -> 11:55.860] So up until now, 100% utilization, pretty much, if you keep the filming days aside,
[11:55.860 -> 11:59.680] and filming days are on different sets of tires and so on, right?
[11:59.680 -> 12:06.480] So 100% of the true accurate data collection has happened in Bahrain. And to answer your question, Sundaram,
[12:06.480 -> 12:10.200] if Mercedes was to bring a new upgrade to Imola,
[12:10.200 -> 12:12.880] like everybody's saying, or some other race,
[12:12.880 -> 12:15.140] like Silverstone through the season,
[12:15.140 -> 12:18.880] they just have to back themselves to believe that
[12:18.880 -> 12:21.680] then the efficiency that they have as a culture in the team
[12:21.680 -> 12:24.520] is going to sort of front, come to the fore
[12:24.520 -> 12:26.040] and help them make that change
[12:26.040 -> 12:28.160] because their constraints are pretty much
[12:28.160 -> 12:30.640] the same as every other team's constraints.
[12:30.640 -> 12:32.840] So if they want to move forward,
[12:32.840 -> 12:34.360] they have to figure a way to make it work
[12:34.360 -> 12:36.380] within the existing regulations
[12:36.380 -> 12:38.820] and the time that's afforded to them.
[12:38.820 -> 12:40.900] You know, on that very same point,
[12:40.900 -> 12:44.520] then is this a possibility that Mercedes
[12:44.520 -> 12:46.720] also follows a similar concept
[12:46.720 -> 12:51.720] to what Red Bull is actually has actually used because you can see that
[12:51.720 -> 12:55.400] the top three teams have gone with very different car concepts and I don't know
[12:55.400 -> 12:59.600] what hurts Mercedes more the fact that Red Bull are so quick or the fact that
[12:59.600 -> 13:02.760] one of their customer teams is actually faster than them so I don't know what
[13:02.760 -> 13:06.120] hurts them more so if that is the case, if a team like,
[13:06.120 -> 13:08.080] and Christian Horner and even Sergio Perez
[13:08.080 -> 13:11.240] did mention this, that it's nice
[13:11.240 -> 13:13.680] that we have three Red Bulls on the podium.
[13:13.680 -> 13:15.900] So they do kind of agree, they do kind of,
[13:15.900 -> 13:17.200] they're making a statement saying that
[13:17.200 -> 13:20.320] the Aston Martin is pretty much a copy of the Red Bull.
[13:20.320 -> 13:23.520] So is Mercedes actually going to go that route as well?
[13:24.760 -> 13:28.960] You know, it's a good question because one of the things is
[13:28.960 -> 13:30.680] if Mercedes has to beat Red Bull,
[13:30.680 -> 13:34.440] they need a concept that is able to beat Red Bull.
[13:34.440 -> 13:37.360] Now, can that come with the same concept?
[13:37.360 -> 13:39.120] I don't know, I'm not the tech expert.
[13:39.120 -> 13:42.400] Maybe we should get Craig Scarborough on the show again
[13:42.400 -> 13:44.560] to ask what exactly Red Bull needs to do.
[13:44.560 -> 13:47.940] But coming to what you said about what sort of hits
[13:47.940 -> 13:49.640] or what pains Mercedes more,
[13:49.640 -> 13:52.840] is it the fact that Red Bull is so quick and they're not,
[13:52.840 -> 13:54.560] or is it the fact that a customer,
[13:54.560 -> 13:59.280] Mercedes team in Aston Martin is quick?
[13:59.280 -> 14:01.360] I'm gonna add a third element to that.
[14:01.360 -> 14:02.800] They actually had one of their cars
[14:02.800 -> 14:05.120] beaten by Lance Stroll as well.
[14:10.720 -> 14:15.200] And Lance Stroll, I mean, I'm not taking anything, I'm not adding anything to the talent or what he can do. I have always taken it away. So maybe it's, you know, the season is going to
[14:15.200 -> 14:20.640] be about him proving me wrong of all the people. I'm completely irrelevant in his life, but yes.
[14:21.680 -> 14:27.000] But, you know, the fact is, the Strolls have hired a two-time world champion,
[14:27.000 -> 14:29.000] a podium finisher, et cetera, et cetera,
[14:29.000 -> 14:32.680] but also one of the best PR voices
[14:32.680 -> 14:36.260] to help amplify Lance's position in the sport.
[14:36.260 -> 14:39.060] I mean, the race ended, Fernando thanked the team,
[14:39.060 -> 14:40.720] next radio message was to say,
[14:40.720 -> 14:43.680] but guys, Lance is my hero.
[14:43.680 -> 14:46.280] So this is great publicity and PR for
[14:46.280 -> 14:53.480] Lance Troll as well. It feels wrong. Not Lance Troll doing well, that doesn't feel wrong.
[14:53.480 -> 14:57.100] I think we should give out a serious word to what he's done driving with a broken hand
[14:57.100 -> 15:01.800] and just having such great pace. I think that's when you know the Aston Martin really is a
[15:01.800 -> 15:05.000] good car. But Lance Troll, okay, he's good.
[15:05.000 -> 15:07.080] But with a broken hand, he can do so much.
[15:07.080 -> 15:10.240] But this Fernando optimism just confuses me.
[15:10.240 -> 15:13.520] It's like you know the bubble is going to burst at some point.
[15:13.520 -> 15:15.040] It's all just coming together.
[15:15.040 -> 15:17.960] It feels unreal in a way, isn't it Sundar?
[15:17.960 -> 15:20.120] That Lance Stroll is his hero
[15:20.120 -> 15:22.560] and he values Lance Stroll's feedback so much
[15:22.560 -> 15:24.560] and he's a world championship material driver.
[15:24.560 -> 15:28.240] But when will the fake quotes end?
[15:28.240 -> 15:30.720] It surely is too good to be true, right?
[15:30.720 -> 15:32.840] And if I was in Fernando Alonso's place,
[15:32.840 -> 15:35.520] or if anyone else, for that matter, was in his place,
[15:35.520 -> 15:37.880] and he's getting paid the money that he is,
[15:37.880 -> 15:41.960] and if he has a fast car, I will literally say anything
[15:41.960 -> 15:43.960] that the boss wants me to say, even if that
[15:43.960 -> 15:45.840] means praising Lance Stroll.
[15:45.840 -> 15:48.080] But the interesting fact is something,
[15:48.080 -> 15:49.360] I've actually done something,
[15:49.360 -> 15:50.440] I've actually done something
[15:50.440 -> 15:51.560] for the very first time yesterday,
[15:51.560 -> 15:53.840] which is actually cheer on Lance Stroll
[15:53.840 -> 15:57.280] when he was battling with George Russell,
[15:57.280 -> 15:58.600] because that's something that I've never done.
[15:58.600 -> 16:01.060] And when I did it, that felt really wrong.
[16:01.060 -> 16:02.720] And probably that's not gonna be the first time
[16:02.720 -> 16:04.760] this year that I do that.
[16:04.760 -> 16:05.200] But yes, I think Alonso going on and saying really wrong. And probably that's not going to be the first time this year that I do that.
[16:05.200 -> 16:11.380] But yes, I think Alonso going on and saying that Lance is his hero. I think one thing
[16:11.380 -> 16:15.480] is commendable, the fact that he was probably supposed to return only in Australia and he's
[16:15.480 -> 16:21.040] actually done a race in the season opener. It is a very commendable feat that despite
[16:21.040 -> 16:28.720] having broken wrists, he's actually gone through a full race distance and finished P6. The other the other thing which was probably running
[16:28.720 -> 16:32.080] in his in his mind is the fact that we actually have a good car and I don't
[16:32.080 -> 16:35.680] want to miss out on three races and drop further down in the standings. If I have
[16:35.680 -> 16:40.920] a fast car I want to drive it. Well Leclerc also seemingly had a fast car he
[16:40.920 -> 16:45.120] couldn't drive it a lot. It's amazing how the problems are back again. I think
[16:45.120 -> 16:49.680] the moment that happened Kunal, I was just thinking the more things change, the more they stay the
[16:49.680 -> 16:54.720] same. But what's interesting to me is what Fred Vasseur has said in the media once that DNF
[16:54.720 -> 16:59.040] actually happened, because I expected him to say, oh no this is not ideal, this is not Ferrari,
[16:59.040 -> 17:04.640] we'll come out there and fix it, but he just basically said, wait and watch. It's the philosophy
[17:04.640 -> 17:06.880] that changes, not just the overall parts of the car, it's a philosophy that changes not just the overall
[17:06.880 -> 17:11.360] paths of the car it's a minor problem that hampered us today but what i'm here for is not these tiny
[17:11.360 -> 17:19.200] things good body language i i like fred visser in that regard but it quite clearly still is a car
[17:19.200 -> 17:26.920] that was developed in the benotto era right so i think the good times are yet to come, but I wonder how many times we've all said
[17:26.920 -> 17:28.580] that the good times have never arrived.
[17:28.580 -> 17:31.100] So I don't even know what to think about it at this moment.
[17:31.100 -> 17:33.240] They need Vijay Mallya to lead the team.
[17:33.240 -> 17:34.940] That's when the good times arrive.
[17:34.940 -> 17:36.800] He's the emperor of good times
[17:36.800 -> 17:39.520] for all you Kingfisher drinkers, right?
[17:39.520 -> 17:41.840] But no, I mean, on a more serious note,
[17:41.840 -> 17:43.740] Ferrari, everything has changed
[17:43.740 -> 17:44.860] or lots of things have changed,
[17:44.860 -> 17:47.160] but still sort of seemingly the same.
[17:48.040 -> 17:55.680] You know, Charles's car fell apart on the opening lap in Q1, which was a bit of a surprise and not one, but two parts flew off.
[17:56.280 -> 18:12.120] Then, you know, they held back for one extra set of new tires, softs for the race, which helped because like I said before, Leclerc could jump Perez at the start but let's also put it this way you know to do that Ferrari did
[18:12.120 -> 18:17.920] not permit Leclerc to go for a pole lap in Q3 so technically they robbed us of a
[18:17.920 -> 18:22.160] pole fight at least something that we saw a lot of last year so if Ferrari are
[18:22.160 -> 18:25.440] not going to come to the battle on Sunday and hence also not
[18:25.440 -> 18:29.920] going to land up in the battle on a Saturday, I really hope there's somebody out there who will
[18:29.920 -> 18:35.440] end up challenging the Red Bull Racing drivers, right? But it was another thing, I mean, apart
[18:35.440 -> 18:41.360] from, you know, Leclerc's engine giving up, Carlos Sainz actually said the car is still bouncing too
[18:41.360 -> 18:45.480] much, something you would expect the Mercedes drivers to otherwise say,
[18:45.480 -> 18:50.240] not because it's a Mercedes, not because of any other reason, but Mercedes sort of faced
[18:50.240 -> 18:52.900] issues with porpoising more than everybody else.
[18:52.900 -> 18:58.720] So I can just hope that Ferrari actually have something in the back to pull things out,
[18:58.720 -> 19:02.520] because there was this whole talk of they have a Sunday car and not only a Saturday
[19:02.520 -> 19:04.280] car and so on.
[19:04.280 -> 19:05.320] But the truth is Red Bull
[19:05.320 -> 19:07.480] is built an everyday car.
[19:07.480 -> 19:10.000] I mean, I would love to drive that Red Bull to work
[19:10.000 -> 19:12.980] if I could, and it's one of those cars
[19:12.980 -> 19:14.660] you can drive on the road, on the track,
[19:14.660 -> 19:16.340] and it'll still be the most efficient
[19:16.340 -> 19:19.500] and most consistent and so on, right?
[19:19.500 -> 19:22.000] But adding one more question,
[19:22.000 -> 19:24.560] which has been asked very consistently
[19:24.560 -> 19:25.500] is how aggressive
[19:25.500 -> 19:27.800] could Red Bull go on strategy?
[19:27.800 -> 19:32.500] And the truth is Red Bull were so aggressive that they were the only team or the only two
[19:32.500 -> 19:37.240] drivers in the top 10, Verstappen and Perez, who ran two stints on the soft.
[19:37.240 -> 19:39.760] Just how good their tire degradation was.
[19:39.760 -> 19:46.520] And Bahrain is very high on tire degradation as we know. So imagine that they could run two stints
[19:46.520 -> 19:53.920] on the soft despite not having one new soft for one of the stints like, you know, like
[19:53.920 -> 19:58.200] Charles Leclerc did. And of course, since they were not being pushed, I'm pretty sure
[19:58.200 -> 20:02.920] they were using all the less aggressive engine modes and the drivers were not pushing and
[20:02.920 -> 20:05.000] keeping away from the curbs and so on.
[20:05.000 -> 20:07.600] So we still don't know the true pace
[20:07.600 -> 20:11.060] that Red Bull could have pushed themselves to, right?
[20:11.060 -> 20:14.480] So some of the things that we will still learn in Jeddah
[20:14.480 -> 20:17.200] and Australia about the Red Bull specifically as well.
[20:17.200 -> 20:20.780] But I will also move on to some of the other key learnings
[20:20.780 -> 20:24.200] we saw in Bahrain that Nico Hulkenberg's comeback qualifying
[20:24.200 -> 20:27.000] is often said that he loves the one lap pace.
[20:27.000 -> 20:28.440] It's him and the car on the limit.
[20:28.440 -> 20:31.080] He made that work, but a little sloppy in the race.
[20:31.080 -> 20:36.720] You know, when he went and hit someone, took a piece of his front nose off and compromised
[20:36.720 -> 20:37.920] a lot of performance.
[20:37.920 -> 20:41.600] So the Haas is clearly one of the three teams that did not score.
[20:41.600 -> 20:43.760] I would say Logan Sargent impressed.
[20:43.760 -> 20:46.240] I mean, he matched Lando Norris in qualifying,
[20:46.240 -> 20:54.080] finished P12 on debut. Williams, for once, aren't the slowest. The midfield is extremely tight.
[20:54.080 -> 21:00.240] And the best midfield story for me, apart from Aston Martin, who we've now sort of classified
[21:00.240 -> 21:07.000] as one of the top four teams, was when Alfa Romeo got Valtteri Bottas
[21:07.000 -> 21:10.560] into the points on merit by just pitting earlier
[21:10.560 -> 21:13.220] and sort of overcutting the rest.
[21:13.220 -> 21:15.280] And I remember when he suddenly came up on the screens,
[21:15.280 -> 21:18.160] I almost assumed, yeah, he's not made a stop,
[21:18.160 -> 21:19.360] only to realize that, oh my God,
[21:19.360 -> 21:21.340] he actually stopped four laps ago.
[21:21.340 -> 21:23.520] So that was one of those stories.
[21:23.520 -> 21:26.640] Alpine, Pierre Gasly, I think for the second time
[21:26.640 -> 21:33.360] in his career going from P20 into the points, he drove a phenomenal race to do that. And clearly,
[21:33.360 -> 21:37.840] the last team that I don't think we have much to talk about is McLaren. I mean,
[21:38.640 -> 21:51.760] God knows what happened. I mean, Oscar Piazzoli needing a steering wheel switch after which he couldn't restart the car. Lando Norris, six pit stops, the only driver to use all three tyre compounds in the race.
[21:53.360 -> 21:57.440] I think we will know more in Jeddah what was happening, but clearly a weekend to write off
[21:57.440 -> 22:11.200] for McLaren as well. I don't even know what to say about that weekend at the whole day but it kind of is good that Oscar Piastri gets to be away but it's funny I don't know what will be happening in the Alpine garage
[22:11.200 -> 22:16.320] at this moment in time because if you watch Try To Survive you know how much they hate Oscar
[22:16.320 -> 22:20.800] Piastri now that they've been absolutely slandering that little kid left right and
[22:20.800 -> 22:26.520] center in that series and now just to watch him. And it's funny, right? Because in one point of view, you can say,
[22:26.520 -> 22:28.600] oh, well, it's amazing that his team
[22:28.600 -> 22:31.080] have been absolutely dead last, no pace at all.
[22:31.080 -> 22:33.240] Steering wheel change, and we saw that car reboot up
[22:33.240 -> 22:35.200] like a Windows PC in the middle as well.
[22:35.200 -> 22:38.040] And then again, on their part as well,
[22:38.040 -> 22:42.240] they absolutely had the most chaotic race ever Sundaram.
[22:42.240 -> 22:44.240] How do you get a penalty
[22:44.240 -> 23:06.560] for not serving a penalty correctly? And then get another penalty on top of that. You know, on Alpine's fortunes yesterday, especially Esteban Ocon's, I'm actually disappointed
[23:06.560 -> 23:11.720] I didn't hear a particular radio message from Alonso asking the team, where is Ocon?
[23:11.720 -> 23:14.880] And the team goes back and says, oh, he's had three penalties and he's now retired.
[23:14.880 -> 23:17.460] And then Alonso goes, karma.
[23:17.460 -> 23:20.160] That is one thing that was actually missing from yesterday's race.
[23:20.160 -> 23:24.360] But it's very odd that they've had three penalties, if I'm not wrong.
[23:24.360 -> 23:27.120] I don't know how many seconds that actually added up
[23:27.120 -> 23:30.680] to 20 seconds, but not the best way for them
[23:30.680 -> 23:31.480] to start the season.
[23:31.480 -> 23:33.040] And actually, one of our predictions
[23:33.040 -> 23:35.400] was the fact that Ocon and Piastri would probably
[23:35.400 -> 23:38.080] be the most disappointing drivers in Bahrain,
[23:38.080 -> 23:39.600] and it turned out to be that way.
[23:39.600 -> 23:43.640] So yeah, Nalpine and McLaren not particularly
[23:43.640 -> 23:46.040] looking great so far, but let's see if they
[23:46.040 -> 23:49.220] can actually turn things around in the next few races.
[23:49.220 -> 23:54.440] I think Alpine will turn things around in the next race because Gasly showed that they
[23:54.440 -> 23:55.760] had the pace to come back.
[23:55.760 -> 24:01.360] I mean, P20 to P9 on strategy, on driving, on overtakes, on pit stops, they got it right.
[24:01.360 -> 24:07.980] It's just that one of those races where you just start off on the back foot and then the recovery is needing it, recovery needed
[24:07.980 -> 24:13.980] is just so high, right. And about Ocon, it's so unfortunate, you know, the pit
[24:13.980 -> 24:19.300] lane speed limiter, he was over by 0.1 kilometers per hour. So 80 was the limit,
[24:19.300 -> 24:26.800] his reading was 80.1, right. And then when he was serving the five-second penalty one
[24:26.800 -> 24:32.720] of the Alpine mechanics touched the car when the clock read 4.6 seconds
[24:32.720 -> 24:39.080] right so it was 0.4 seconds too soon and then yes Ocon has you know gone and
[24:39.080 -> 24:41.920] said that I've been doing this for all these years and never got a penalty
[24:41.920 -> 24:45.560] I think it was specific to his grid position.
[24:45.560 -> 24:49.880] But when you zoom in and when you actually see his right front was a little out of the
[24:49.880 -> 24:56.860] expected line. So it's good to just write off one race right at the start of the season.
[24:56.860 -> 24:59.840] And he's going to literally start the season in Jeddah, I would say.
[24:59.840 -> 25:05.240] Indeed, yes. But thankfully, Williams has started off the season a little earlier as well.
[25:05.240 -> 25:12.400] But I love that the most disappointed person in Bahrain is probably not going to be, okay,
[25:12.400 -> 25:15.400] not the most disappointed person in Bahrain, I think the most disappointed person in the
[25:15.400 -> 25:19.280] F1 community is not going to be Toto Wolff because he knew that they are going to be
[25:19.280 -> 25:21.600] that far away from Red Bull Racing.
[25:21.600 -> 25:24.680] It's probably going to be Nicholas Latifi Sundaram.
[25:24.680 -> 25:28.000] Because if Logan Sargent can get to P12 and Alex Salomon can get a point,
[25:28.000 -> 25:31.000] surely Latifi could have been at least P14, right?
[25:31.000 -> 25:36.000] I don't think so. He's going to be very disappointed.
[25:36.000 -> 25:42.000] Because one of the stats I was actually looking up is Logan Sargent finishing 12th.
[25:42.000 -> 25:46.560] Is that the best start for… I mean, who was the last rookie,
[25:46.560 -> 25:52.600] Williams rookie, to do better? It was actually Nicholas Latifi. In his debut race, he actually finished 11th.
[25:52.720 -> 25:55.760] So, he still has one up on Logan Sargent.
[25:56.720 -> 26:01.940] But yeah, generally pace-wise, I think he's going to be pretty disappointed that he's not in that Williams car.
[26:01.940 -> 26:11.760] Probably just like Sebastian Vettel, who also might be thinking, I think I might have retired a little too early. Indeed, yeah, but it's amazing that Alex
[26:11.760 -> 26:15.280] Salbon was able to pull out that good of a race even when conditions weren't quite favoring them.
[26:15.280 -> 26:20.640] So it's good to see the likes of Williams also get in there and also the fact that we have other
[26:20.640 -> 26:25.360] teams like Alpine generally showing a touch of pace and Alfa Romeo clearly,
[26:25.360 -> 26:27.920] clearly being an ace above the rest in terms of strategy.
[26:27.920 -> 26:31.320] But in terms of final notes to add for the race, Sundaram, just what have you got in
[26:31.320 -> 26:36.200] mind and just how do you look at the Bahrain GP?
[26:36.200 -> 26:37.720] A good start to the season, I would say.
[26:37.720 -> 26:41.280] I think it's been a good start to the season.
[26:41.280 -> 26:47.460] And the one thing that really interested me the most was the podium actually, because we've had three drivers
[26:47.760 -> 26:51.360] One of them in their 20s, one of them in the 30s and one of them in the 40s
[26:51.940 -> 26:57.520] Which is pretty unique I would say, but also the last time we actually had that was in Qatar 2021
[26:57.520 -> 26:59.460] Alonso was still in his 40s
[26:59.460 -> 27:02.600] Hamilton was in his 30s and Verstappen was in his 20s
[27:02.600 -> 27:09.160] And this is something that you don't tend to see a lot. It probably last happened in the 1990s or 80s before that.
[27:09.160 -> 27:13.960] Yeah, wait for the next decade and Alonso will make that 30, 40 and 50 as well. But
[27:13.960 -> 27:18.620] it's amazing to see what's happening with Aston Martin and more of that will be coming
[27:18.620 -> 27:22.200] for the Jetta GP as well. So thank you so much for listening to our review for this
[27:22.200 -> 27:27.960] episode ladies and gentlemen, and we will be back rather soon with the Saudi Arabia GP preview and a couple of really special
[27:27.960 -> None] episodes. you