Checo Checks-in - 2022 Singapore GP Review

Tune in to our 2022 Singapore Grand Prix review episode.

Could Ferrari or Mercedes have won this race? Could the FIA have started the race earlier than they eventually did? And of course, 'jewellery gate' & now 'budget cap-gate' coming up. 

(Season 2022, Episode 59)

**Inside Line F1 Podcast - Singapore Grand Prix Review**

**Summary**

- The Singapore Grand Prix was a chaotic race with several incidents, driver errors, and penalties.
- The race started an hour late due to heavy rain, and the FIA was criticized for their handling of the situation.
- Sergio Perez won the race, leading from start to finish, and extending Red Bull's winning streak to 13 races.
- Ferrari and Mercedes were also in contention for the win, but both teams made strategic errors.
- Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen both made uncharacteristic mistakes, highlighting the challenging conditions.
- Nicholas Latifi caused a safety car period after crashing into the barriers, and George Russell was involved in a controversial incident with Mick Schumacher.
- Fernando Alonso's McLaren retired from the race, marking a disappointing end to his 350th Grand Prix.

**Detailed Summary**

The Singapore Grand Prix was a highly anticipated race, but it turned out to be a chaotic and unpredictable event. The race was delayed by an hour due to heavy rain, and the FIA was criticized for their handling of the situation. Some drivers felt that the race should have been started earlier, while others felt that the FIA made the right decision to wait until the conditions improved.

Once the race finally got underway, it was Sergio Perez who emerged victorious. Perez started from pole position and led the race from start to finish, becoming the first driver to lead every lap of a Singapore Grand Prix. Ferrari's Charles Leclerc finished in second place, and Mercedes' Lewis Hamilton completed the podium.

Ferrari and Mercedes were both in contention for the win, but both teams made strategic errors. Ferrari pitted Leclerc for new tires too early, which allowed Perez to build a significant lead. Mercedes made a similar mistake with Hamilton, who lost time behind Leclerc after his pit stop.

Hamilton and Verstappen, two of the most dominant drivers in Formula One, both made uncharacteristic mistakes during the race. Hamilton spun off the track on lap 33, while Verstappen made a mistake on lap 42 that allowed Leclerc to close the gap.

Nicholas Latifi caused a safety car period after crashing into the barriers on lap 40. The safety car bunched up the field, and it allowed McLaren's Lando Norris and Daniel Ricciardo to move up the order.

George Russell was involved in a controversial incident with Mick Schumacher on lap 46. Russell attempted to overtake Schumacher on the inside, but he made contact with Schumacher's car, causing Schumacher to spin off the track. The stewards investigated the incident but decided not to take any action against Russell.

Fernando Alonso's McLaren retired from the race on lap 34 due to a mechanical issue. It was a disappointing end to Alonso's 350th Grand Prix, and it marked the first time that he had retired from a race this season.

**Overall, the Singapore Grand Prix was a chaotic and unpredictable race that was full of surprises. Sergio Perez's victory was a well-deserved one, and it extended Red Bull's winning streak to 13 races. Ferrari and Mercedes will be disappointed with their performances, but they will be hoping to bounce back at the next race in Japan.**

# InsideLine F1 Podcast - Episode 59: 2022 Singapore Grand Prix Review

In this episode of the InsideLine F1 podcast, the hosts delve into the 2022 Singapore Grand Prix and discuss various aspects of the race, including potential race outcomes and controversies surrounding the FIA's handling of the event.

**Key Points:**

- **Hypothetical Race Outcomes:**
- The hosts speculate on how the race might have turned out if Ferrari or Mercedes had better strategies or if the FIA had started the race earlier.

- **'Jewellery Gate' and 'Budget Cap-Gate':**
- They discuss the ongoing controversies surrounding jewelry regulations and potential breaches of the budget cap by certain teams.

- **Fernando Alonso's Impressive Start:**
- The hosts praise Fernando Alonso's aggressive start, which saw him overtake five cars on the opening lap, and Lance Stroll's strong performance, resulting in a sixth-place finish.

- **Potential Impact of Budget Cap Breach Allegations:**
- The hosts debate the potential consequences of Red Bull Racing's alleged breach of the cost cap, including the possibility of a championship swing in Lewis Hamilton's favor.

- **FIA's Handling of Financial Regulations:**
- They highlight the challenges of policing the budget cap and financial regulations, given the complex nature of the rules and the time lag in reviewing team finances.

- **Engineers as Currency:**
- The hosts discuss the significance of engineering talent in Formula One and how teams are using the number of engineers they have had to lay off as a measure of their compliance with the budget cap.

- **FIA's Penalty System:**
- They criticize the FIA's seemingly inconsistent approach to penalties, citing examples of varying fines for different offenses.

- **Sergio Perez's Victory:**
- The hosts celebrate Sergio Perez's second win of the season and his fourth career Formula One victory, emphasizing the significance of these wins for a driver who has had fewer victories compared to his peers.

- **Upcoming Japan Grand Prix:**
- They tease their upcoming preview episode for the Japan Grand Prix, promising engaging discussions and analysis.

**Overall Message:**
The episode provides a comprehensive review of the 2022 Singapore Grand Prix, highlighting key moments, controversies, and potential implications for the championship standings. The hosts engage in insightful discussions, offering their perspectives on various aspects of the race and the sport as a whole.

[00:00.000 -> 00:25.440] Well folks, in our race preview episode we said that the Singapore GP would be just lights,
[00:25.440 -> 00:28.840] carnage and action, much like a blockbuster movie.
[00:28.840 -> 00:33.240] But in actuality, it just turns out that the race was more like a behind the scenes view
[00:33.240 -> 00:36.040] of what a movie actually looks like when you're making it.
[00:36.040 -> 00:40.520] Lots of fun, interesting phases, lots of chaos, but in the middle of it all, there's just
[00:40.520 -> 00:41.920] no momentum whatsoever.
[00:41.920 -> 00:43.240] But was it fun?
[00:43.240 -> 00:44.240] Was it good?
[00:44.240 -> 00:50.720] And what do we think of that late race penalty at game Sergio Perez's way that luckily has actually not ended up costing him the win?
[00:51.120 -> 00:56.560] All of that and more is going to be discussed on this race review episode of the Inside Line F1 podcast.
[00:56.960 -> 01:01.760] So welcome along folks and I've got to introduce myself and all of my other co-hosts at this stage.
[01:02.000 -> 01:09.600] Firstly myself, Saman Adora. I've hosted the Driving Force on Disney Plus Hotstar. And then we've got F1 Stats Guru Sundaram
[01:09.600 -> 01:14.880] joining us, not quite feeling 100%, but great here to see you F1 Stats Guru. And we loved
[01:14.880 -> 01:19.920] having you on the live watch along that we had yesterday as well. I think I can say yesterday,
[01:19.920 -> 01:24.480] because it's the Monday after the race, right? And also, Gunath Shah, the former marketing head of
[01:24.480 -> 01:25.560] the Force India F1 team, currently working at the Kunal Shah, the former marketing head of the Force India F1
[01:25.560 -> 01:28.520] team, currently working at the Viaplay network,
[01:28.520 -> 01:31.280] who are also one of Formula One's biggest broadcasters.
[01:31.280 -> 01:34.600] And he is an FIA-accredited Formula One journalist.
[01:34.600 -> 01:36.840] So that's all about us.
[01:36.840 -> 01:38.760] I now want to talk a lot about the race,
[01:38.760 -> 01:43.360] because the one weirdest thing that we got to see yesterday, guys,
[01:43.360 -> 01:46.180] was Lewis Hamilton, Max Verstappen and
[01:46.180 -> 01:50.800] yes, Yuki Tsunoda all making a driver error in one day.
[01:50.800 -> 01:51.940] What are the odds, guys?
[01:51.940 -> 01:56.180] It's as unlikely as a team like Manchester United scoring three goals against Man City.
[01:56.180 -> 02:00.340] Oh, wait, that actually happened as well, didn't it, Sundar?
[02:00.340 -> 02:01.900] Yeah, that actually did happen.
[02:01.900 -> 02:05.000] And I find it very interesting that you've bunched up
[02:05.000 -> 02:09.600] Yuki Tsunoda with the likes of Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen, but you've forgotten the
[02:09.600 -> 02:15.440] likes of Nicholas Latifi who also made a mistake or two.
[02:15.440 -> 02:20.920] But it's very odd seeing that so many drivers did not have a clean race and the ones that
[02:20.920 -> 02:25.400] did manage to keep the car on track were the ones that benefited
[02:31.400 -> 02:31.480] You don't tend to see Lewis Hamilton making two mistakes in the same race and that's what happened yesterday as well
[02:34.400 -> 02:34.920] so a very unlikely scenario, very
[02:38.120 -> 02:38.280] I would say a very different sort of race than what we expected
[02:44.440 -> 02:50.560] Initially because it was a bit of a slow burner like I mentioned yesterday at first and then it got really exciting towards the end. So quite different from what we expected overall. How would you rate it Kunal because really this
[02:50.560 -> 02:55.840] is unorthodox. This is the anti-Singapore race and I think it's two and a half minutes into the
[02:55.840 -> 03:00.640] episode and we haven't quite spoken about how good Sergio Perez was which is also somewhat
[03:00.640 -> 03:05.280] contrary to the tone that we've got so far on the podcast this year. Samal, you always do this to me.
[03:05.280 -> 03:07.100] You put me in the spot just the way
[03:07.100 -> 03:10.260] Formula One puts the FIA in the spot.
[03:10.260 -> 03:13.020] Heavens put FIA in the spot.
[03:13.020 -> 03:15.940] You asked me to rate the race, and I frankly
[03:15.940 -> 03:18.060] don't have a rating just yet.
[03:18.060 -> 03:21.980] Well, I could say maybe 7 on 10, maybe 8 on 10.
[03:21.980 -> 03:24.620] That could be my rating, I guess.
[03:24.620 -> 03:29.600] But I'll put it this way, right?
[03:29.600 -> 03:31.500] Then at the end of the day,
[03:31.500 -> 03:34.260] before we question drivers and their errors,
[03:34.260 -> 03:38.360] before we question everything else that sort of happened
[03:38.360 -> 03:40.660] or didn't happen between the teams,
[03:40.660 -> 03:44.100] what was the FIA doing at the start of the race?
[03:44.100 -> 03:47.000] Yes, we had a one-hour delay and so on.
[03:47.000 -> 03:52.000] But let's remember, the F1 teams have been provided with something called
[03:52.000 -> 03:58.000] the wet compound tires, which is supposed to be used when it's actually raining,
[03:58.000 -> 04:01.000] when it's a lot more wet.
[04:01.000 -> 04:05.960] We don't need to wait till it's semi wet so the drivers can use inters
[04:05.960 -> 04:11.080] and then go on to the mediums and so on. I mean, imagine if it was wet and then it
[04:11.080 -> 04:14.800] needed the inters and then finally the slicks and that would have been
[04:14.800 -> 04:19.360] pretty epic. All three tyre compounds being used through different stages of
[04:19.360 -> 04:23.880] the race and I wish that somebody reminded the FIA of the
[04:23.880 -> 04:25.400] wet compound being there.
[04:25.400 -> 04:31.400] I mean, we could probably do a segment in the mid-season or in the off-season
[04:31.400 -> 04:38.600] just to ask the question, what do the wet compound tires actually be used for?
[04:38.600 -> 04:46.200] I mean, is it something that we just see Pirelli being ready for, but Formula 1 not using?
[04:46.200 -> 04:48.840] Is it something that I think, yeah, they use it
[04:48.840 -> 04:53.480] for pit stop practices, right, on the Thursday,
[04:53.480 -> 04:55.840] Friday when the official sessions are not happening
[04:55.840 -> 04:56.480] and so on.
[04:56.480 -> 05:00.940] So first things first, the FIA, what exactly were they doing?
[05:00.940 -> 05:03.240] I know there will be a diplomatic answer coming.
[05:03.240 -> 05:06.640] I know there will be an explanation to justify exactly why the decision was
[05:06.640 -> 05:08.320] a valid and the right decision.
[05:08.320 -> 05:11.520] But hey, I would have just loved to see them go racing.
[05:11.520 -> 05:14.520] But probably just to understand that, Kunal,
[05:14.520 -> 05:18.480] how does the FIA come to this decision of when
[05:18.480 -> 05:19.320] to start the race?
[05:19.320 -> 05:22.560] I think there is obviously some input from the safety car
[05:22.560 -> 05:25.400] driver, Bernd Melander,
[05:25.400 -> 05:30.040] who goes out on the track and he probably provides his suggestion on how the track condition
[05:30.040 -> 05:35.120] is. Isn't that so? Because I think the drivers had an opposing opinion that they should have
[05:35.120 -> 05:36.680] probably started much earlier.
[05:36.680 -> 05:41.320] So what the FIA does is, yes, it's Bernd Melander that eventually goes, he keeps doing those
[05:41.320 -> 05:45.000] laps and that's the time we get to see some action on the circuit, right?
[05:45.000 -> 05:49.000] But they also rely on the official radar, right?
[05:49.000 -> 05:55.000] And there is a radar forecast as to what's going to happen in the next hour to come and so on.
[05:55.000 -> 06:01.000] And the official radar at the point when they said that formation lap is going to be 21.05 local time,
[06:01.000 -> 06:08.360] the official radar actually backed that up. So the FIA just decided to stick to the radar readings,
[06:08.360 -> 06:10.540] which normally are very accurate as well.
[06:11.680 -> 06:13.380] And that's how they made the decision.
[06:13.380 -> 06:16.320] And it's just so that I wish that the decision
[06:16.320 -> 06:19.800] was to start the race maybe 20 or 30 minutes earlier.
[06:19.800 -> 06:21.360] Let's put it this way,
[06:21.360 -> 06:24.600] we may rate the race a little differently,
[06:24.600 -> 06:27.000] seven on 10, 8 on 10, there
[06:27.000 -> 06:29.120] were boring parts of the race, so on.
[06:29.120 -> 06:36.300] But every driver needs to be commended for actually finishing the race, keeping it between
[06:36.300 -> 06:40.160] the barriers, making sure that yes, you make mistakes, but at parts of the circuit when
[06:40.160 -> 06:42.960] you could make a mistake and get away with it.
[06:42.960 -> 06:48.760] Because those conditions were treacherous, 23 corners, two hours of racing, et cetera, et cetera,
[06:48.760 -> 06:49.720] all of that.
[06:49.720 -> 06:53.640] But eventually, that's just how the FI makes a decision,
[06:53.640 -> 06:56.360] since that's what your question was, Sundaram.
[06:56.360 -> 06:57.680] Yeah, I think at the end of the day,
[06:57.680 -> 07:00.160] essentially what they did must have been a little more
[07:00.160 -> 07:02.560] frustrating for all of us, because at the end,
[07:02.560 -> 07:04.600] I think we started and ended the race
[07:04.600 -> 07:07.460] with an overall broadcast time of around three and a
[07:07.460 -> 07:10.780] half hours that is a long long time to actually sit down and watch a Formula
[07:10.780 -> 07:14.160] One race for. Of course the first hour we didn't quite get any Formula One action
[07:14.160 -> 07:18.900] going but still at the end the good part is we got two hours of racing and if you
[07:18.900 -> 07:22.860] are to trust everyone at the track apparently it was too dangerous to do
[07:22.860 -> 07:26.160] it actually the water was pretty stagnant, but hey, I suppose
[07:26.160 -> 07:27.800] we can discuss it till the cars come home, right?
[07:27.800 -> 07:29.920] It's really hard to really put a judgment call
[07:29.920 -> 07:31.600] when we are sitting where we are.
[07:31.600 -> 07:34.120] And it's actually hope that the FIA made the right call
[07:34.120 -> 07:35.800] because at the end of the day,
[07:35.800 -> 07:37.880] it really did get pretty frustrating.
[07:37.880 -> 07:42.460] But on the whole though, I think it really did not do much
[07:42.460 -> 07:43.780] to kind of sap off the momentum
[07:43.780 -> 07:45.520] because there were so many other things that really got
[07:45.840 -> 07:52.560] the race absolutely like kind of like an American football match in a way where you have one big moment and then it stops
[07:52.640 -> 07:58.540] But what I love the most about this race guys is now the Singapore GP circuit the Marina Bay has a Latifi
[07:59.240 -> 08:04.320] Sign of approval seal of approval, right? That's what we call it. I mean, he just had to christen it wrong time
[08:04.320 -> 08:07.500] Unfortunately, he had he just waited for 30 odd laps I think it would
[08:07.500 -> 08:11.940] have been a little bit better. Wait a minute before we actually move on to
[08:11.940 -> 08:17.340] Latifi and every other driver out there there are still more discussions around
[08:17.340 -> 08:20.940] the FIA that need to be had. They got involved this weekend with Lewis
[08:20.940 -> 08:25.920] Hamilton's nose ring right. Very interesting. Lewis Hamilton did what a lot
[08:25.920 -> 08:30.000] of people have done in their lives, which is come up with a doctor's note. I don't know what the
[08:30.000 -> 08:36.800] doctor's note would have said, but that doctor's note probably said Lewis needs to keep the ring
[08:36.800 -> 08:41.840] for whatever reason. And that was probably the exemption that he needed. Now it so happened that,
[08:41.840 -> 08:46.000] of course, Lewis forgot to tell Mercedes of the
[08:50.720 -> 08:51.280] letter. And Mercedes claimed that Lewis removed the ring when he hadn't, and that whole
[08:57.680 -> 08:58.640] documentation scrutineering form error that happened, which cost them 25,000 euros.
[09:03.280 -> 09:05.580] Right. So that was one thing. Then the whole financial regulations breach that happened. There were lots of rumors, Red Bull Racing,
[09:05.620 -> 09:08.120] the guys who originally made Red Bull,
[09:08.160 -> 09:11.200] and then Aston Martin, the guys who made the green Red Bull,
[09:11.240 -> 09:13.660] the copy of the Red Bull Racing car,
[09:13.700 -> 09:15.040] basically just coming out to prove
[09:15.080 -> 09:17.920] that if you want to design a quick car like Red Bull Racing,
[09:17.960 -> 09:19.880] whether it's the original or the replica,
[09:19.920 -> 09:21.620] it's actually going to cost you a lot more money
[09:21.660 -> 09:23.700] than what's in the budget cap, right?
[09:23.740 -> 09:29.040] But that's on a lighter note, the serious part here is the breach that actually happened at the
[09:29.040 -> 09:35.760] end of the FIA, because the documentation that the teams actually are undergoing for,
[09:35.760 -> 09:49.080] you know, or rather they filed in March 2021, are confidential. How on earth did it come out that Red Bull was under breach or Aston Martin
[09:49.080 -> 09:53.580] was under breach? Apparently, it seems that Ferrari and Mercedes knew even how much they
[09:53.580 -> 10:01.800] were under breach. So again, for the FIA, who is slowly trying to rebuild trust after
[10:01.800 -> 10:06.060] the fiasco in Abu Dhabi last year. Not good signs if there are moles,
[10:06.060 -> 10:08.540] there are leakages that are happening
[10:08.540 -> 10:11.260] within the whole FIA system.
[10:11.260 -> 10:14.220] So I'm still stuck onto the FIA.
[10:14.220 -> 10:15.140] And then finally, of course,
[10:15.140 -> 10:18.500] we had the post-race penalty for Checo Perez.
[10:18.500 -> 10:22.060] Lots of people asking, why is it not black and white
[10:22.060 -> 10:25.640] in terms of either he was within 10 car lengths or not?
[10:25.640 -> 10:28.340] And why did we have to wait two hours post-race?
[10:28.340 -> 10:31.860] Then there are people who've pulled out, and I know it's becoming a monologue now, but
[10:31.860 -> 10:38.560] there are people who pulled out data from 2010 when Sebastian Vettel had received a
[10:38.560 -> 10:39.800] penalty.
[10:39.800 -> 10:44.880] And then there are people who pulled out data from a couple of seasons ago where there was
[10:44.880 -> 10:45.800] a time penalty.
[10:45.800 -> 10:49.400] So lots of differences in the time,
[10:49.400 -> 10:51.840] you know, between 2010 and 2022
[10:51.840 -> 10:55.460] of how FIA is also looking at this penalty.
[10:55.460 -> 10:59.140] So I don't know why the FIA just ends up being involved,
[10:59.140 -> 11:03.640] but just goes to show that their job is not an easy job.
[11:03.640 -> 11:05.040] And this is probably why when a
[11:05.040 -> 11:08.840] youngster wants to grow up you want to become a driver or a mechanic or an
[11:08.840 -> 11:12.080] engineer but you'll never find somebody who will say hey I want to become an FI
[11:12.080 -> 11:15.640] race toward. That would be the kind of kid who would actually want to be
[11:15.640 -> 11:18.880] the referee in any football match growing up or something quite like that.
[11:18.880 -> 11:23.720] That would be the outlier in a way but no generally it was tricky all the way
[11:23.720 -> 11:26.160] through but after a long time no generally it was tricky all the way through but after after a long
[11:26.160 -> 11:30.560] time actually the FIA revealed that the infringement for Sergio Perez was actually a double infringement
[11:30.560 -> 11:35.280] in a way the first time he got over there he got reprimand for that the second time he got to the
[11:35.280 -> 11:40.400] safety car that is where that is why he actually got the penalty in the first place but crazy how
[11:40.400 -> 11:46.460] at the end of the race he was able to create such a big buffer that he was just not pressurized by the clerk at all.
[11:46.460 -> 11:51.400] I mean, any other scenario, any other driver in there, it would have been hard to imagine
[11:51.400 -> 11:55.460] them being so nonchalant about it and just end up pulling an even bigger gap in what
[11:55.460 -> 11:56.460] we actually need.
[11:56.460 -> 12:00.720] But Sergio Perez at the end, Sundaram, that stint, I don't know if it was just Ferrari
[12:00.720 -> 12:04.080] with their tyres being absolutely cooked or just Sergio Perez matching.
[12:04.080 -> 12:09.280] I suppose nobody can ever tell that, right right it's all very variable in this case but whatever it was that
[12:09.280 -> 12:14.480] was just an outstanding piece of driving and even with the penalty buffer he's won by 2.9 seconds
[12:14.480 -> 12:19.360] which is I think I think bigger than what the gap was for the most part of the race between the two
[12:19.360 -> 12:25.000] of them. Yeah so a very interesting point is that going into this race, Sergio Perez was not
[12:25.000 -> 12:26.000] even a dark horse.
[12:26.000 -> 12:30.120] We had spoken about every single possibility of rain and who could end up winning.
[12:30.120 -> 12:34.180] Lewis Hamilton, Charlotte Clark, Verstappen and probably even a couple of midfielders
[12:34.180 -> 12:37.600] like Alonso or Landon Norris being up there on the podium.
[12:37.600 -> 12:44.840] But no one really mentioned Sergio Perez until he put his car onto the front row during qualifying.
[12:44.840 -> 12:46.920] And it was, like we discussed yesterday,
[12:46.920 -> 12:48.240] it was a very gritty drive.
[12:48.240 -> 12:51.160] And he didn't let the ball drop at any point of time.
[12:51.160 -> 12:54.720] And obviously, he's been exceptionally good
[12:54.720 -> 12:56.640] when it comes to preserving his tires.
[12:56.640 -> 12:58.160] So it's either of two cases.
[12:58.160 -> 12:59.880] And we do know that Ferrari have been
[12:59.880 -> 13:02.720] suffering with tire degradation after the technical directive.
[13:02.720 -> 13:06.200] So it's either a point of Ferrari having too much of grain
[13:06.200 -> 13:08.200] that they didn't have enough pace,
[13:08.200 -> 13:10.160] or Sergio Perez was that good.
[13:10.160 -> 13:12.440] And when Red Bull told him that he
[13:12.440 -> 13:15.680] has to be on the pace and increase that gap to Luckluck,
[13:15.680 -> 13:18.880] his tires did have the pace, and he was able to extract that.
[13:18.880 -> 13:23.280] But overall, even he was chosen as the driver of the day,
[13:23.280 -> 13:30.200] which was a very befitting sort of way of ending the the race yesterday. And actually I'll add to that so Charles
[13:30.200 -> 13:33.840] Leclerc revealed a couple of things which sort of answer questions that you
[13:33.840 -> 13:39.260] guys have asked. First is Ferrari did not have the pace they were struggling with
[13:39.260 -> 13:42.520] their fronts which is something that's been evident since the new plank
[13:42.520 -> 13:45.400] regulations came into force from SPAR.
[13:46.000 -> 13:52.700] The second is, in the initial period, you know, when we saw Leclerc actually close in on Perez,
[13:53.200 -> 13:56.800] it was Perez who made a couple of mistakes and hence Leclerc could get in closer.
[13:57.200 -> 14:02.600] But once Checo sort of got back into rhythm, his tires got back into temperature,
[14:02.600 -> 14:06.800] if you remember, he said, I have issues in drivability, under braking, whatever.
[14:06.800 -> 14:10.760] He was able to pull out a gap because the Red Bull actually
[14:10.760 -> 14:12.600] ended up coming back into the zone
[14:12.600 -> 14:14.360] while Ferrari struggled with tire wear.
[14:14.360 -> 14:16.100] And that's why Checo Perez could actually
[14:16.100 -> 14:18.600] build that sort of gap that he did
[14:18.600 -> 14:19.760] towards the end of the race.
[14:19.760 -> 14:21.800] And to me, it was a fantastic drive.
[14:21.800 -> 14:23.680] I actually didn't rule him out because I
[14:23.680 -> 14:25.960] know in the preview, right till the very end,
[14:25.960 -> 14:27.360] I forgot to mention Checo Perez.
[14:27.360 -> 14:29.860] And I said, watch out for him, because he's a street circuit
[14:29.860 -> 14:32.240] specialist in that Red Bull.
[14:32.240 -> 14:34.640] He, of course, saved his tires till the very end.
[14:34.640 -> 14:38.060] We've known that since his debut season as well.
[14:38.060 -> 14:41.240] And he outqualified Max Verstappen
[14:41.240 -> 14:43.080] in Monaco, in Singapore.
[14:43.080 -> 14:46.720] Of course, caveats here in Monaco Checo Perez spun and hence
[14:46.720 -> 14:54.000] Max couldn't finish his final lap in Q3. In Singapore Max of course had those refueling
[14:54.000 -> 15:01.360] issues which Red Bull under-fueled him etc. So that's also why Perez won but this is how
[15:01.360 -> 15:05.740] this is why Perez is there in Red Bull. Red Bull want him to pick up a win
[15:05.740 -> 15:08.440] if Max wish, tap and can't, and he's done that.
[15:08.440 -> 15:10.800] And he's there till 2024,
[15:10.800 -> 15:13.800] but a couple of races not going right for him,
[15:13.800 -> 15:16.240] and suddenly everybody likes to write him off.
[15:16.240 -> 15:20.680] So these kind of drives will only build further confidence
[15:20.680 -> 15:22.600] for Checo, for Red Bull.
[15:22.600 -> 15:24.840] I mean, they are always being criticized
[15:24.840 -> 15:28.360] for being very, very critical with their drivers.
[15:28.360 -> 15:33.480] But when a driver comes up with performances like these, there is literally nothing left
[15:33.480 -> 15:34.480] to criticize.
[15:34.480 -> 15:38.640] So all in all, a fantastic race for Checo and Red Bull Racing.
[15:38.640 -> 15:43.760] And that's nice to see because Checo has shown in situations where his back is up against
[15:43.760 -> 15:49.200] the wall and like you mentioned people have written him off and he ends up producing a magical
[15:49.200 -> 15:53.560] performance when no one really expects him to do that. I mean going into the
[15:53.560 -> 15:57.040] race I had mentioned that the driver starting second had never won the race
[15:57.040 -> 16:02.360] at all in Singapore and that's exactly what happened absolutely demolishing my
[16:02.360 -> 16:06.320] start this weekend. Yep exactly but he's also ended up setting a new
[16:06.320 -> 16:10.960] record of sorts because as you just found out Sundaram, Sergio Perez just led from the first
[16:10.960 -> 16:16.560] corner of the race till the very end and he's the 58th F1 driver in history and the fifth Red Bull
[16:16.560 -> 16:20.560] driver to actually do so. First time he's ever done that actually, start to finish leading all
[16:20.560 -> 16:25.040] the way through, so crazy how the race went out for him. But it just makes me so
[16:25.040 -> 16:31.040] frustrated about what happened to Ferrari because we had so many viewers on our live stream on Paytm
[16:31.040 -> 16:35.520] Insider so curious about what happened to Ferrari at the very end. And I think Kunal you summed it
[16:35.520 -> 16:41.760] out a little bit too early right about Ferrari not having the pace since the new regulations
[16:41.760 -> 16:46.240] that come on. But do you have any more detail about why what really happened in there?
[16:46.240 -> 16:50.600] Because at so many stages, we were all just trying to pull our hair out like, oh my God,
[16:50.600 -> 16:52.880] the clerk, why can you just not get past?
[16:52.880 -> 16:54.640] Why can you just not get closer?
[16:54.640 -> 16:58.960] Now, I'll admit, there was only one dry line for the majority of the race.
[16:58.960 -> 17:02.200] So maybe passing on the outside was definitely going to be trickier.
[17:02.200 -> 17:05.440] But at the very end it was just
[17:05.440 -> 17:09.760] the usual frustration you could put it that way if that even makes any sense.
[17:09.760 -> 17:13.680] Before we switch to Ferrari again I'm gonna read out a couple of stats that
[17:13.680 -> 17:18.560] our dear F1 stats guru has given, two of my favorite stats okay. Red Bull racing
[17:18.560 -> 17:23.320] has now won 13 out of the 17 Grand Prix's this season which is equalling their
[17:23.320 -> 17:26.820] best tally of victories in a season ever,
[17:26.820 -> 17:29.960] which, of course, they first said in 2013.
[17:29.960 -> 17:32.360] And the second one, which is more interesting,
[17:32.360 -> 17:36.100] is that this is the first time since 2018
[17:36.100 -> 17:40.780] that both Red Bull drivers have actually bagged multiple wins
[17:40.780 -> 17:42.680] in the same season, right?
[17:42.680 -> 17:45.080] But coming to Ferrari, could Ferrari have won?
[17:45.080 -> 17:46.160] Could Mercedes have won?
[17:46.160 -> 17:48.680] Two questions that I think I will try and answer
[17:48.680 -> 17:52.400] in the same segment is, it was eventually
[17:52.400 -> 17:56.000] about starting on pole and leading the first lap.
[17:56.000 -> 17:59.800] And that's what Lewis Hamilton said when he was asked
[17:59.800 -> 18:00.720] if he could have won.
[18:00.720 -> 18:04.240] And Charles Leclerc said when he was asked if he could have won.
[18:04.240 -> 18:06.160] Charles, of course, started on pole,
[18:06.160 -> 18:08.800] but he had a lot of wheelspin, and that's
[18:08.800 -> 18:10.840] where Checo got the jump on him.
[18:10.840 -> 18:14.800] So that's where the race went away from Ferrari,
[18:14.800 -> 18:16.940] I would say, just at the start, especially
[18:16.940 -> 18:19.200] with such treacherous conditions.
[18:19.200 -> 18:21.160] It was about bringing the car home as well
[18:21.160 -> 18:24.640] and not just going for a very heroic or a valiant attempt
[18:24.640 -> 18:25.440] into getting
[18:25.440 -> 18:29.280] the lead of the race. And of course, it's Singapore, it's a street race, all those
[18:29.280 -> 18:37.440] factors also come into play. Which also makes me ask the question, just how close was Mercedes to
[18:37.440 -> 18:46.920] a race win? I mean, Lewis Hamilton was 0.054 away from pole position. He had a small lockup into turn 16 in qualifying.
[18:46.920 -> 18:50.360] Otherwise, Mercedes reckons that he could have had pole.
[18:50.360 -> 18:52.760] Now imagine if he would have started from the front row
[18:52.760 -> 18:53.960] or from pole position.
[18:53.960 -> 18:55.840] Maybe he could have won the race.
[18:55.840 -> 18:59.680] So for once, we actually had three teams
[18:59.680 -> 19:00.720] in the fight for win.
[19:00.720 -> 19:02.680] It just so happened that it was Singapore,
[19:02.680 -> 19:06.320] and we didn't really get to see them fight apart from, say,
[19:06.320 -> 19:07.560] the dying stages of the race.
[19:07.560 -> 19:10.980] By the time, lots of drivers had already made their mistakes
[19:10.980 -> 19:13.080] and were out of position, and so on.
[19:13.080 -> 19:16.920] So it's tough to say which was actually the quicker car,
[19:16.920 -> 19:19.220] because it was conditions dependent.
[19:19.220 -> 19:22.760] It was dependent on what tires they actually were on,
[19:22.760 -> 19:24.200] and so on and so forth.
[19:24.200 -> 19:26.240] And Lewis, for example, turned around and said,
[19:26.240 -> 19:28.960] had I wanted a switch in tires,
[19:28.960 -> 19:31.640] I would have definitely wanted the soft tire,
[19:31.640 -> 19:34.040] which we know he also asked for
[19:36.400 -> 19:40.080] when Mercedes gave George Russell the soft tire as well.
[19:40.080 -> 19:43.200] So just different choices, different things,
[19:43.200 -> 19:46.960] but I think it was all three teams in for a fight for the win.
[19:46.960 -> 19:51.960] It just happened that track position, which is ever so vital in street races,
[19:51.960 -> 19:53.840] actually was so vital.
[19:53.840 -> 19:56.960] And that actually kind of became the undoing of this race
[19:56.960 -> 19:58.880] at the very end from an entertainment perspective,
[19:58.880 -> 20:02.800] if you kind of ask me as well, because we could have seen more.
[20:02.840 -> 20:05.200] Of course, it's fun to see a few crashes here
[20:05.200 -> 20:10.060] and there, a few incidents here and there, but it's like watching any sport and if you
[20:10.060 -> 20:14.000] know that the race or the match or whatsoever is done within the first 20 minutes, like
[20:14.000 -> 20:18.560] is that even sense to watch anymore? Obviously, that didn't quite be the case with the Singapore
[20:18.560 -> 20:23.000] GP but with so many retirements, kind of takes away from the entertainment action and at
[20:23.000 -> 20:27.760] the end of the day, of course, it's great to see Sergio Perez ended up winning,
[20:27.760 -> 20:30.520] but what was really surprising for everyone
[20:30.520 -> 20:33.160] was just how rocky Max Verstappen's weekend
[20:33.160 -> 20:34.400] was all the way through.
[20:34.400 -> 20:35.360] I mean, in qualifying, right,
[20:35.360 -> 20:39.080] that is a rare, rare error that Red Bull Racing made.
[20:39.080 -> 20:41.080] And Steve Slater on the live race watch along
[20:41.080 -> 20:42.600] just had to say that, of course,
[20:42.600 -> 20:47.000] sometimes a team like Red Bull tries to push the limits by trying to be really creative stuff like
[20:47.000 -> 20:50.680] this but it ends up sometimes tipping over and falling on the wrong
[20:50.680 -> 20:54.400] side of it which is exactly what happened but I suppose Verstappen's
[20:54.400 -> 20:58.000] entire weekend was just kind of an entire summary of the Singapore GP
[20:58.000 -> 21:02.140] weekend Sundaram. It is just very chaotic not for the better many times but
[21:02.140 -> 21:07.880] ultimately pretty pleasing I mean you can't be disappointed with it at the end. I think it wasn't the best
[21:07.880 -> 21:11.600] of race weekends for him and it also goes to show that no matter how many
[21:11.600 -> 21:15.240] races he wins, he's won he had won five on the trot at some point of time they
[21:15.240 -> 21:20.320] do tend to falter very rarely especially drivers like Verstappen or Hamilton they
[21:20.320 -> 21:31.920] do tend to falter rarely but what I do think in qualifying as well, maybe Max Verstappen also made a little mistake on his behalf, I think on the penultimate push
[21:31.920 -> 21:37.680] lap that he did. He did have two purple sectors and I think he had a slight moment into sector
[21:37.680 -> 21:42.800] three. So that also is probably a reason why on the final lap he didn't have any fuel left.
[21:43.680 -> 21:46.480] And that whole momentum has carried on
[21:46.480 -> 21:52.160] into the race as well. He did make a mistake with Norris and he also had an issue
[21:52.880 -> 21:57.440] during the race start when his car went into anti-stall and that's what dropped him back to
[21:57.440 -> 22:04.480] P12. So it was a race for him to forget but all focus for him would definitely lie in Japan and
[22:04.480 -> 22:07.040] the only thing that he has to do in Japan is win
[22:07.040 -> 22:10.200] and take the fastest lap of the race to win the championship.
[22:10.200 -> 22:13.000] Yeah, and talking of Max Verstappen,
[22:13.000 -> 22:14.600] he of course was extremely upset
[22:14.600 -> 22:16.860] with the operational error that Red Bull had.
[22:16.860 -> 22:19.360] Now imagine if he was actually racing for Ferrari,
[22:19.360 -> 22:21.360] he would have probably been really pissed
[22:21.360 -> 22:23.960] because of all the operational errors made.
[22:23.960 -> 22:25.340] But it just goes
[22:25.340 -> 22:29.720] to show, you know, he was saying I need to have perfect race weekends even if I'm
[22:29.720 -> 22:34.460] winning the championship or not and that's just incidental if a championship
[22:34.460 -> 22:37.260] win or a race win comes his way and that's true and I think it was just
[22:37.260 -> 22:41.580] messy all the way for Max from free practices itself. He had interrupted
[22:41.580 -> 22:45.440] runnings. On pole, or rather in qualifying, the penultimate lap
[22:45.440 -> 22:50.560] that you're talking of, Sundaram, he didn't want to abort. It was Red Bull who told him
[22:50.560 -> 22:55.000] to abort. So that's also what he was annoyed with Red Bull about, saying, you asked me
[22:55.000 -> 22:59.320] to abort the lap and you asked me to go again. And then you, of course, forgot to tell me
[22:59.320 -> 23:05.920] that I would run out of fuel and, you know, etc. So it was really just something that we are not used to seeing
[23:05.920 -> 23:12.480] Red Bull do such operational errors. And an operational error I believe also moving on
[23:12.480 -> 23:18.440] from Max Verstappen to George Russell, a really trying race for him, had lots of issues with
[23:18.440 -> 23:23.720] the brake. Overall he just drove a very, you know, he was like Valtteri Bottas in Mercedes
[23:23.720 -> 23:25.360] when nothing was going his way.
[23:25.360 -> 23:29.420] He was driving a Mercedes but somewhere languishing in the midfield or the back of it.
[23:29.420 -> 23:35.300] And I'm surprised that the FIA did not penalize Russell for his incident with Mick Schumacher
[23:35.300 -> 23:37.960] because it was clear.
[23:37.960 -> 23:38.960] I mean, you see the replays.
[23:38.960 -> 23:43.680] To me, it was clear that, you know, Russell just came in on Mick and Mick was holding
[23:43.680 -> 23:44.680] his line.
[23:44.680 -> 23:48.280] And anyway, what happened, and unfortunately, Mick lost out on a point-scoring position,
[23:48.280 -> 23:53.360] especially when he was defending as though his life depends on the race,
[23:53.360 -> 23:56.400] because that's the joke that George Russell cracked, right?
[23:56.400 -> 24:00.320] And Haas believes that Mick could have been P5 or P6 in the race,
[24:00.320 -> 24:02.040] because that's just how well he was running.
[24:02.040 -> 24:05.400] And unfortunately, it just gets chaotic and even more chaotic,
[24:05.400 -> 24:07.080] the lower down you go in the order.
[24:07.080 -> 24:08.200] So that was that.
[24:08.200 -> 24:10.560] The other chaos was, of course, our friend Mr.
[24:10.560 -> 24:14.400] Ghotifi, who triggered that chaos.
[24:14.400 -> 24:16.320] And we all saw what happened.
[24:16.320 -> 24:18.800] And just Latifi walked out saying,
[24:18.800 -> 24:20.220] I couldn't see him in the mirrors.
[24:20.220 -> 24:21.600] I couldn't see him in the mirrors.
[24:21.600 -> 24:24.400] But Joe Guan Yu made a very interesting point.
[24:24.400 -> 24:26.400] He said that there is, he of course
[24:26.400 -> 24:29.360] hinted that there is something called his racing instinct when
[24:29.360 -> 24:30.080] you are in battle.
[24:30.080 -> 24:33.040] So even if you don't see someone in your blind spot,
[24:33.040 -> 24:35.160] you at least know you're battling someone
[24:35.160 -> 24:38.080] and that there could be somebody in your blind spot.
[24:38.080 -> 24:41.080] So you automatically learn to leave some room.
[24:41.080 -> 24:43.600] But that's exactly what Latifi didn't do.
[24:43.600 -> 24:45.920] And for all our listeners in Canada,
[24:45.920 -> 24:47.440] I know you might hate me for saying this,
[24:47.440 -> 24:50.440] but I am so glad that this is Latifi's last season
[24:50.440 -> 24:53.260] in Formula One, not assuming that he'll crop up
[24:53.260 -> 24:55.080] in Alpine racing for them next year,
[24:55.080 -> 24:58.280] but just saying that that lack of racing instinct
[24:58.280 -> 25:01.360] is something that really bothered me as well.
[25:01.360 -> 25:02.280] Yes.
[25:02.280 -> 25:05.800] And I mean, I don't want to beat down
[25:05.800 -> 25:09.860] Latifi any further but the fact that I've observed is that when Leclerc
[25:09.860 -> 25:13.960] usually ends up making mistake he's always so self-critical and he always
[25:13.960 -> 25:18.520] owns up to it saying that I'm stupid or I've made a mistake over here but I've
[25:18.520 -> 25:22.200] almost never seen Nicholas Latifi going out and saying that yeah that was
[25:22.200 -> 25:29.640] my mistake I couldn't see him the car just spun the battery was just there so it's a bit odd what we what we
[25:29.640 -> 25:32.440] just saw and probably he should have known that there might have been a car
[25:32.440 -> 25:36.400] behind or he should have left enough space for the car behind. He's a proper
[25:36.400 -> 25:40.400] typical racing driver of course he won't make he of course he won't call himself
[25:40.400 -> 25:44.480] as the real reason why the errors are happening obviously right racing drivers but I
[25:44.480 -> 25:47.920] want to talk about another really crazy thing that happened in the race.
[25:47.920 -> 25:54.000] It was just chaos in the midfield between Alpine, McLaren and somewhere lower down,
[25:54.000 -> 25:58.960] Aston Martin. And if you kind of think of it this way, McLaren fourth and fifth and Alpine DNFing,
[25:58.960 -> 26:03.040] it's just like the British economy undergoing tax cuts and then witnessing a rising pound
[26:03.040 -> 26:08.320] and a rising GDP. It's just like stuff of dreams. They couldn't really ask for more in this case. But I
[26:08.320 -> 26:12.120] really want to talk about Fernando Alonso for a second Kunal because I am
[26:12.120 -> 26:19.800] so... it's symbolic isn't it? Because Alonso, a ceremonial race, 350th, he said
[26:19.800 -> 26:23.040] let's make it memorable and it just turned out that his car wanted to make
[26:23.040 -> 26:27.280] it the memorable part of his career. just a McLaren years the second stint not
[26:27.280 -> 26:30.320] not the first one just a really memorable part and the car was like okay
[26:30.320 -> 26:34.520] let's give Fernando tribute let's go back to 2017 mode and suddenly it stopped
[26:34.520 -> 26:38.160] but all things considered this is just like a huge boost to McLaren who
[26:38.160 -> 26:42.480] certainly are back in the fight after being behind trailing for such a long
[26:42.480 -> 26:45.680] time. McLaren executed a fantastic race strategy,
[26:45.680 -> 26:48.200] but of course they had more luck play in.
[26:48.200 -> 26:51.400] But that's what happens in races such as Singapore,
[26:51.400 -> 26:54.280] where if you keep the race alive for long enough,
[26:54.280 -> 26:57.360] streets circuits can actually deliver fun races as well.
[26:57.360 -> 27:00.200] They really lucked out under the last safety card,
[27:00.200 -> 27:04.280] especially say in the case of Daniel Ricciardo and then
[27:04.280 -> 27:07.280] Lando Norris. So they've sort of lucked out there.
[27:07.280 -> 27:10.280] Also even more with a double retirement for Alpine,
[27:10.280 -> 27:13.160] their first double retirement of 2022.
[27:13.160 -> 27:15.560] And Fernando Alonso has turned around and said,
[27:15.560 -> 27:20.280] I have lost 60 points to retirements in 2022.
[27:20.280 -> 27:23.160] If I just do a quick math and I add 60 points,
[27:23.160 -> 27:26.060] he will of course be seventh ahead of Lando Norris,
[27:26.060 -> 27:28.220] 20 points ahead of Lando Norris.
[27:28.220 -> 27:31.700] Fernando is 59 points, I'm just rounding it off to 60
[27:31.700 -> 27:33.460] for plain speak.
[27:33.460 -> 27:36.900] And he would actually be just 50 points of Lewis Hamilton
[27:36.900 -> 27:39.380] had he actually got those 60 points.
[27:39.380 -> 27:42.780] But that's just how it is with Fernando Alonso.
[27:42.780 -> 27:45.520] Unfortunate that Alpine and Williams
[27:45.520 -> 27:49.560] had a double retirement in Singapore.
[27:49.560 -> 27:53.840] And then finally, since we are speaking of Aston Martin,
[27:53.840 -> 27:56.920] I think Fernando Alonso, what a fantastic start.
[27:56.920 -> 28:00.800] He actually said, I decided to be aggressive at the start.
[28:00.800 -> 28:03.320] And he actually overtook five cars
[28:03.320 -> 28:06.640] on the opening lap around the Singapore Grand Prix,
[28:06.640 -> 28:08.680] Marina Bay Street Circuit, you know.
[28:08.680 -> 28:10.240] And then Lance Stroll, you know,
[28:10.240 -> 28:15.240] he's only finished in 10th place at every race he's finished
[28:15.280 -> 28:18.480] or he's at five as Sundaram points out in five races,
[28:18.480 -> 28:21.660] but suddenly realized that, hey, I have the pace
[28:21.660 -> 28:26.400] and they managed to finish, I think he was sixth, which by itself
[28:26.400 -> 28:32.480] is also pretty fantastic. So well done to him. One of the rare times that our Canadian listeners
[28:32.480 -> 28:38.480] would notice that I'm praising Lance Stroll for a good race. Indeed, yeah, he was genuinely good.
[28:38.480 -> 28:43.440] They got the opportunity and they capitalized on it quite well. But I just have to think about
[28:43.440 -> 28:49.840] the word that he said about Fernando Alonso that he would have had 50 more points. That's actually 13 more points than his new team
[28:49.840 -> 28:55.520] will have. I mean, new team currently has, they're on 37. Alonso would have had 50 more points.
[28:55.520 -> 28:59.920] It's the best career decision. I know, it's something to talk about for some time later.
[28:59.920 -> 29:09.600] But we've got so much more coming in all the way through over this weekend as well. The FIA will have their statement on the financial regulation breach Kunal.
[29:09.600 -> 29:13.600] And the FIA just currently have said, essentially, without mincing my words, like,
[29:13.600 -> 29:16.880] shut up, let us do our thing. That's what they've basically gone out there and announced.
[29:16.880 -> 29:21.600] But I'm very keen on seeing how this actually pans out. Because at the end of the day,
[29:21.600 -> 29:28.680] as you mentioned at the start of the episode, it is genuinely intriguing how some teams apparently know the exact figures of how much
[29:28.680 -> 29:34.200] if Red Bull Racing actually breached the cost cap. And the FIA currently seem to have classified
[29:34.200 -> 29:38.720] information about that. So if this could happen, do you kind of expect the championship to
[29:38.720 -> 29:42.360] swing back in Lewis Hamilton's favor, the older one, or do you think they'll go for
[29:42.360 -> 29:50.240] the more diplomatic approach to it? Firstly, these are all unsubstantiated rumours that have been started by certain people in the
[29:50.240 -> 29:54.320] paddock. I'm not going to name them, you guys know them, it's not that I'm holding secrets. So let's
[29:54.320 -> 30:00.240] wait for what actually comes out on Wednesday. Secondly, let's remember, if Red Bull are so
[30:00.240 -> 30:07.040] operationally strong in every aspect of Formula One, I don't think on the financial aspect they would play around.
[30:07.040 -> 30:11.280] Could there be a loophole? Well, depends who you ask. Maybe or maybe not. But the
[30:11.280 -> 30:14.080] teams have been given two years to sort all
[30:14.080 -> 30:18.560] their questions out. So it could be that, you know, there is
[30:18.560 -> 30:21.920] nothing that the FIA actually finds and it's just a
[30:21.920 -> 30:26.140] procedural case where, you know, there has been this leak that,
[30:26.140 -> 30:28.520] hey, there is a procedural delay in Red Bull Racing.
[30:28.520 -> 30:32.260] And hence, let's just store it up that they are winning
[30:32.260 -> 30:35.560] by spending more money than what's permitted, right?
[30:35.560 -> 30:37.820] Of course, policing the budget cap
[30:37.820 -> 30:40.280] and the financial regulations is also tough
[30:40.280 -> 30:43.240] because it's only in the March next year
[30:43.240 -> 30:45.120] that you get to see what the teams
[30:45.120 -> 30:49.320] actually did in the previous season. So the questions are, are you penalized for
[30:49.320 -> 30:52.800] the previous year, the current year or the year to come? Something that Toto
[30:52.800 -> 30:57.680] Wolf has alluded to saying any gain in any year can be felt over three seasons
[30:57.680 -> 31:02.120] and so on. So lots of things to sort of keep in mind, lots of things to look
[31:02.120 -> 31:09.360] forward to. If you have to remember, Bull is not going to be the first team in breach of these regulations. Williams already had a breach. It was
[31:09.360 -> 31:15.360] a filing breach. They were delayed with their filing and they paid a $25,000 fine. So if
[31:15.360 -> 31:21.200] something happens, we'll see what the level of breach is. And you know, the funny thing, I studied
[31:21.200 -> 31:26.340] engineering and right now engineers are the currency currency the teams are trading when it comes
[31:26.340 -> 31:28.560] to talking financial breaches.
[31:28.560 -> 31:30.920] Lauren Makis of Ferrari, the racing director,
[31:30.920 -> 31:36.360] turned around and said, we could hire 70 engineers at $100,000
[31:36.360 -> 31:40.240] each if we wanted to have the overspend, which, by the way,
[31:40.240 -> 31:41.600] all teams have agreed upon.
[31:41.600 -> 31:45.880] There is a 5% overspend that is calculated in, right?
[31:45.880 -> 31:47.560] Ferrari turned around and said, sorry,
[31:47.560 -> 31:49.060] Mercedes turned around and said, we
[31:49.060 -> 31:52.760] had to make the positions of 40 engineers redundant
[31:52.760 -> 31:55.120] so that we could meet the budget cap.
[31:55.120 -> 31:58.000] And then guess what Christian Horner said?
[31:58.000 -> 32:01.560] We actually had to make 90 engineers redundant so
[32:01.560 -> 32:03.120] that we could make the budget cap.
[32:03.120 -> 32:06.000] So suddenly, engineers are the currencies that are being traded.
[32:06.000 -> 32:09.000] How many engineers have you made redundant today is the question
[32:09.000 -> 32:13.000] that teams will eventually be asked at some point, I guess.
[32:13.000 -> 32:16.000] But let's just wait till Wednesday. It's a tough job.
[32:16.000 -> 32:18.000] It's a procedural job.
[32:18.000 -> 32:24.000] And I'm pretty sure that the FIA will find a way to explain their actions.
[32:24.000 -> 32:25.780] Just the way I'm still waiting for them to
[32:25.780 -> 32:33.040] explain how they calculate a 10 car distance, a 10 car gap between the leader and the safety
[32:33.040 -> 32:35.320] car and hence every other car on the grid.
[32:35.320 -> 32:36.320] I still don't know.
[32:36.320 -> 32:37.320] I'm waiting to know.
[32:37.320 -> 32:43.160] I'm hoping that there's a tech solution and not just based on television visuals.
[32:43.160 -> 32:46.720] Since you mentioned about Williams copying a $25,000 fine,
[32:46.920 -> 32:49.120] it just made me think about
[32:49.120 -> 32:51.080] and I'm quite intrigued at intrigued
[32:51.080 -> 32:53.480] at how the FIA dishes out penalties
[32:53.480 -> 32:54.240] to different teams.
[32:54.240 -> 32:56.920] So Williams gets a 25,000 penalty
[32:56.920 -> 32:57.960] for filing their
[32:58.840 -> 33:00.960] their I mean, their financial report
[33:00.960 -> 33:01.520] a bit late.
[33:01.760 -> 33:03.160] First happen places a finger
[33:03.160 -> 33:04.040] on Hamilton's car
[33:04.040 -> 33:10.360] and he gets a 50,000 euro fine and how much was the fine yesterday? Yes, it was 25,000 euros
[33:10.360 -> 33:15.840] for incorrectly reporting that Lewis Hamilton did not have any jewelry on and
[33:15.840 -> 33:20.080] then if you speed in the pit lane you just get a 100 euro fine. I think quite
[33:20.080 -> 33:28.800] a few drivers did that this weekend and it's just 100 euros. Just ask the Swiss governing body to kind of help out the FI a little bit with the fines.
[33:28.800 -> 33:33.040] I don't know, maybe they just decided on the basis of, okay, yeah, we're kind of short
[33:33.040 -> 33:34.040] on our expenses.
[33:34.040 -> 33:35.320] How much should we put?
[33:35.320 -> 33:36.720] Okay, yeah, we need 100 euros.
[33:36.720 -> 33:38.080] Let's actually go for 100 euros.
[33:38.080 -> 33:41.040] Today we actually short of more, let's go for 50,000 today.
[33:41.040 -> 33:45.120] But ridiculous how things like that happen happen but ridiculous also how this weekend played
[33:45.120 -> 33:51.680] out eventually and it is amazing to see Sergio Perez get his second win of the season and believe
[33:51.680 -> 33:56.080] it or not his fourth win of his Formula One career and I find it amazing that when drivers get less
[33:56.080 -> 34:00.160] wins we kind of value them a little bit more. Max might have a gajillion by this stage but
[34:00.160 -> 34:06.160] so for Sergio Perez his fourth defeat is extra. But will it be the fifth next time out in Japan?
[34:06.160 -> 34:08.800] That is what we're going to discuss on the preview episode
[34:08.800 -> 34:10.800] on the InsideLine F1 podcast.
[34:10.800 -> 34:13.360] So we're going to have all of our regular coverage over there.
[34:13.360 -> 34:15.080] And don't forget to leave a good rating
[34:15.080 -> 34:16.320] if you like this episode.
[34:16.320 -> 34:18.120] Don't forget to subscribe to the podcast.
[34:18.120 -> 34:20.000] Don't forget to follow us on our social media
[34:20.000 -> 34:20.960] for latest updates.
[34:20.960 -> 34:23.760] And trust me, there will be a really fun one
[34:23.760 -> 34:30.520] coming rather soon. So stay tuned for that. See you folks have a good time, bye bye
[34:40.490 -> 34:42.490] you