Double Dutch for Max Verstappen at Zandvoort - 2022 Dutch GP Review

Max Verstappen won at home...for the second year in succession. Red Bull Racing's strategy helped Verstappen claim his 10th win of the season and 4th win on the trot!

The race at Zandvoort was a high-speed game of chess & Red Bull Racing once again proved why they are most-lethal when it comes to race strategy.

Could Mercedes have won with an alternate strategy?

Join our race watchalong sessions with the legendary British Formula 1 commentator Steve Slater (ex-Sky TV, ESPN, Star Sports).

On the live stream, you can discuss with Steve & our hosts various race-related topics - strategies, performances, insights & more. Join us to enhance your real-time race viewing experience!

Get your FREE access pass: Paytm Insider & Inside Line F1 Podcast - Race Watchalong with Steve Slater.

Soumil, Sundaram and Kunal review the 2022 Dutch Grand Prix. They decode the strategies that were at play, strategies that maybe were missed & explain why Verstappen would've won either way. 

Did Yuki Tsunoda-AlphaTauri conspire to help Red Bull-Verstappen win? There are lots of conspiracy theories doing the rounds on social media. But what's being celebrated a little less is Fernando Alonso's race from 13th to 6th!

And btw, Ferrari found another way to botch a race. We're sure you already know!

(Season 2022, Episode 53)

Follow our hosts: Sundaram Ramaswami, Soumil Arora and Kunal Shah

Image courtesy: Red Bull Content Pool

some summary

[00:00.000 -> 00:26.400] So then, 20 years later, if you look back at the history books at the 2022 Dutch Grand Prix, you'll be like,
[00:26.400 -> 00:31.680] Ah, what a boring race. Verstappen starts on pole, Verstappen wins with a comfortable margin.
[00:31.680 -> 00:37.600] Oh yeah, it's alright, George Russell came in second. I wonder what happened in this race that made it so interesting.
[00:37.600 -> 00:40.880] But, if that's the case Kunal, why should we bother doing the review, right?
[00:40.880 -> 00:50.560] Normal day, right? Verstappen starts on pole, Verstappenapen wins we've seen this what 20 times already this year normal days yeah and you know we actually had the same conversation
[00:50.560 -> 00:56.640] for the 2022 British Grand Prix which you know Carlos Sainz started on pole he won that race
[00:56.640 -> 01:03.200] his first race win of his career but there was just so much that happened between the start
[01:03.200 -> 01:05.200] and the che checkered flag.
[01:05.200 -> 01:08.560] Yeah, it felt like one of those war strategy movies
[01:08.560 -> 01:10.240] where you could see both the generals sitting
[01:10.240 -> 01:13.000] on the other side of the room, tinkering over their tactics
[01:13.000 -> 01:15.560] and just kind of predicting what's going to happen.
[01:15.560 -> 01:18.040] It was literally like a chess match that played out
[01:18.040 -> 01:18.600] in front of us.
[01:18.600 -> 01:19.520] That was amazing.
[01:19.520 -> 01:21.320] But just how did we get here?
[01:21.320 -> 01:24.840] To see Max Verstappen winning the Dutch Grand Prix again,
[01:24.840 -> 01:25.440] Max Verstappen taking, what Grand Prix again, Max Verstappen
[01:25.440 -> 01:29.400] taking what is it, I think 9th or 10th victory of the year, we've almost lost count.
[01:29.400 -> 01:33.680] It seems simple but this is exactly what we're going to have on this episode of the Inside
[01:33.680 -> 01:39.440] Line F1 podcast, analysing just how did we get to this situation, how did the VSC influence
[01:39.440 -> 01:43.800] the race, how did the safety car influence the race and could we potentially have seen
[01:43.800 -> 01:45.680] Lewis Hamilton finally
[01:45.680 -> 01:47.000] get his first win of the year?
[01:47.000 -> 01:49.240] That's going to be a lot of good stuff coming up
[01:49.240 -> 01:50.080] later in the episode.
[01:50.080 -> 01:53.080] But let's not start with all the heavy stuff immediately.
[01:53.080 -> 01:55.800] Let's start with some of the lighter things, which includes,
[01:55.800 -> 01:57.720] firstly, introducing the three of us.
[01:57.720 -> 01:59.200] My name is Somal Arora, folks.
[01:59.200 -> 02:02.040] I am the host of The Driving Force on Disney Plus Hotstar.
[02:02.040 -> 02:04.120] And the first voice you heard on the show after me
[02:04.120 -> 02:06.440] was Kunal Shah, the former marketing head of the Force
[02:06.440 -> 02:10.160] India F1 team, who's also an FIA-accredited Formula One
[02:10.160 -> 02:11.620] journalist for the Viaplay network.
[02:11.620 -> 02:13.760] And back again for a full episode
[02:13.760 -> 02:16.800] is Sundaram, F1 stats guru, right here with us.
[02:16.800 -> 02:21.360] So the funny thing, guys, this weekend,
[02:21.360 -> 02:23.080] I don't know where to begin, honestly,
[02:23.080 -> 02:24.880] because you can firstly start off
[02:24.880 -> 02:30.080] with qualifying in Max's amazing lap in that case, or then you could be like, oh my god, Mercedes is faster.
[02:30.320 -> 02:34.120] Then you could sit back on and wonder, well, are Ferrari now slower than Mercedes?
[02:34.120 -> 02:35.880] So just where do we begin Sundaram?
[02:36.280 -> 02:38.240] There's just so many places that we can start at.
[02:39.560 -> 02:47.400] Yeah, there are way too many places to start at but the first place where I had a little sneak peek on is Ferrari's wheel of misfortune
[02:47.800 -> 02:53.040] at the privilege of having a little glance at that and this time it's actually ended at
[02:53.560 -> 02:58.400] Surprise pit crew with the sudden pit stop and just to top it off. There's a sudden
[02:59.040 -> 03:01.040] unsafe release as well
[03:02.120 -> 03:07.520] Sundaram I have to ask are you by any chance still in Sanford?
[03:07.520 -> 03:11.480] Because I hear a lot of party music in the background.
[03:11.480 -> 03:17.200] And you know, you've always said you're a Fernando Alonso fan, but maybe secretly you
[03:17.200 -> 03:23.880] are a Max Verstappen fan celebrating still in Sanford because he had a fantastic win.
[03:23.880 -> 03:25.800] But you know, I'm not gonna
[03:25.800 -> 03:31.080] start with all the serious stuff I mean we got to talk about the pigeons right
[03:31.080 -> 03:36.360] there were just so many of them out there like I remember the marshals were
[03:36.360 -> 03:41.800] actually running trying to get the pigeons off the circuit like perfect
[03:41.800 -> 03:45.520] track limit sensors if that's the way to put it and some of those pigeons were
[03:45.520 -> 03:52.960] really brave especially during the Formula 2 races and unfortunately one pigeon got martyred by I
[03:52.960 -> 03:59.280] think Marcus Armstrong during the sprint race on Saturday, the Formula 2 sprint race and then
[04:00.080 -> 04:05.280] speaking of Saturday, Sebastian Vettel literally came up with a dad joke when he said,
[04:05.280 -> 04:14.640] I hit the Zand in sound food, talking of his excursion in qualifying, which saw him have yet another Q1 exit.
[04:14.640 -> 04:17.920] Yeah, firstly, we will miss Paddy the pigeon.
[04:17.920 -> 04:21.360] I mean, that was really unfortunate what happened in the incident there with Marcus Armstrong.
[04:21.360 -> 04:25.400] But on other terms, I don't know what happened
[04:25.400 -> 04:26.600] with the pigeons over there.
[04:26.600 -> 04:28.680] I mean, the pigeons in Mumbai aren't quite as aggressive
[04:28.680 -> 04:29.680] as they are over here.
[04:29.680 -> 04:31.200] I mean, if you look at them with one stare,
[04:31.200 -> 04:32.200] they run away over here.
[04:32.200 -> 04:33.660] So you've got to actually figure out
[04:33.660 -> 04:35.280] what they eat back in the Netherlands
[04:35.280 -> 04:36.120] for all the pigeons.
[04:36.120 -> 04:38.720] But the pigeons aside, not actually pigeons aside,
[04:38.720 -> 04:40.680] let's actually stay on the pigeons for a second.
[04:40.680 -> 04:42.800] Because isn't it the second time we're
[04:42.800 -> 04:45.680] seeing birds kind of hamper a race? Not
[04:45.680 -> 04:50.480] hamper but kind of get in the way of a race because I think Vettel had an incident in 2016 Canada.
[04:50.480 -> 04:55.440] I suppose it's seagulls for Vettel. So who are the pigeons' favorite? Do we know by chance?
[04:56.160 -> 05:01.440] I don't know. Maybe Montoya had the favorite in a deer. There have been groundhogs. There have
[05:01.440 -> 05:07.600] been the armadillos or the Godzilla in Singapore as Max Verstappen has called it before
[05:07.600 -> 05:12.120] as well. So had this been the Bernie Ecclestone era, he would
[05:12.120 -> 05:15.840] have figured a way to get an invoice to the pigeons for
[05:15.840 -> 05:21.120] watching the race so up close for free, right? So that's that's
[05:21.120 -> 05:24.640] one thing. But anyway, pigeons aside, there's a, you know,
[05:26.640 -> 05:32.880] So that's one thing. But anyway, pigeons aside, there's a, you know, Frederick Vasseur, the team principal of Sauber Alpha Romeo Racing, depending, you know, whether you call it Sauber if you're an
[05:32.880 -> 05:37.920] old timer like me or Alpha Romeo Racing if you're somebody who's just started to follow the sport,
[05:37.920 -> 05:42.080] he turned around and said something damn interesting about DNFs or did not finish
[05:42.080 -> 05:45.840] records because his team has had several. He said, sometimes it's
[05:45.840 -> 05:53.760] technical, sometimes it's the engine, sometimes it is Latifi. And as luck would have it, it was an
[05:53.760 -> 06:06.920] engine that got Alfa Romeo a DNF this season or this race. And I'm leaving my best for the last, right? There's this whole talk of Colton Hurta
[06:06.920 -> 06:09.920] going to Alpha Tauri with an FIA exception
[06:09.920 -> 06:12.480] towards a super license and all of that.
[06:12.480 -> 06:14.640] I'm sure you guys have read it everywhere.
[06:14.640 -> 06:17.200] But what you've not heard is Franz Stoss,
[06:17.200 -> 06:19.680] the team principal of Alpha Tauri,
[06:19.680 -> 06:21.120] actually turned around and said,
[06:21.120 -> 06:23.520] I have never seen Colton Hurta.
[06:23.520 -> 06:25.200] All I really care about is
[06:25.200 -> 06:32.800] his relationship with the right side pedal. I have to educate whoever you know
[06:32.800 -> 06:39.120] Red Bull puts in in my cars and maybe it's gonna be you next. Literally that's
[06:39.120 -> 06:43.160] what he said. You know what the funny part is Lewis Hamilton was asking the
[06:43.160 -> 06:47.160] other day who is Franz Tost and now Franz Tost is asking who is Colton Hurter.
[06:47.160 -> 06:48.160] I mean what is it?
[06:48.160 -> 06:49.800] Is it some sort of bubble the Parrot Canal?
[06:49.800 -> 06:52.040] Because you've been there more than we have.
[06:52.040 -> 06:53.960] Do people really not know each other there?
[06:53.960 -> 06:56.320] Or is it like too many people that they forget?
[06:56.320 -> 07:00.240] I can't imagine him not knowing Colton Hurter for the first time.
[07:00.240 -> 07:08.000] Well, as long as Colton Hurter doesn't turn around and say, what is Formula One? And oh my God, what's a super license?
[07:08.000 -> 07:12.000] I'm driving some of the fastest cars on the planet on the other side of the pond
[07:12.000 -> 07:16.000] without a super license. And suddenly you make me cross the pond and say
[07:16.000 -> 07:20.000] I need a super license. So as long as Colton Herta doesn't turn around and say
[07:20.000 -> 07:24.000] what's a super license, I don't care if Hamilton doesn't know Tost
[07:24.000 -> 07:25.680] or Tost doesn't know Herta.
[07:25.680 -> 07:29.280] I mean, but maybe that's something we should speak about later on in the show,
[07:29.280 -> 07:35.760] should the FIA make an exception for Colton Herta or not, but that's later on in the show.
[07:36.480 -> 07:41.280] Tost for thought? Food for thought? No, whatever. Sorry, bad joke aside, we should get to the race
[07:41.280 -> 07:51.520] in a second. But folks, firstly, we have to take a short break. But coming back up, we will be talking about the strategy and why the Dutch GP went the way it went. So
[07:51.520 -> 07:56.960] see you in a second. Hey, folks, welcome back into the InsideLine F1 podcast. Don't worry,
[07:56.960 -> 08:01.440] we're done with the pigeon chatter. We're done with the Franz Tosch chatter. Now on to the main
[08:01.440 -> 08:05.520] race. And oh my goodness, where do we begin guys?
[08:05.520 -> 08:09.120] Because there's just so many places to actually start from,
[08:09.120 -> 08:13.200] including firstly the start where we saw Lewis Hamilton come together with Carlos Sainz.
[08:13.200 -> 08:16.720] They luckily were all right. Kevin Magnussen had his incident and all that.
[08:16.720 -> 08:21.200] But I suppose in a race like this, it'll be so much fun to watch it with an expert live.
[08:21.200 -> 08:24.880] And that's luckily what we're going to have with Steve Slater in Monza next weekend.
[08:24.880 -> 08:28.120] So that firstly is going to be amazing. So if you haven't signed
[08:28.120 -> 08:32.840] up folks, you can do that for free now by checking out the link in our description.
[08:32.840 -> 08:36.920] Join us for Monza. Let's watch the race together and analyze all the data with Steve Slater
[08:36.920 -> 08:40.960] to get a better idea of just exactly how he watches the race and you can send in your
[08:40.960 -> 08:45.840] questions in real time as well. So that's going to be a lot of fun. But the first question I actually have to ask you,
[08:45.840 -> 08:50.080] Sundaram, is just what was your rating for the race in a way?
[08:50.080 -> 08:52.360] Do you think it was a bad one?
[08:52.360 -> 08:54.480] Because many people feel that had it not
[08:54.480 -> 08:56.480] been for the VSCs or the SCs, this
[08:56.480 -> 08:58.240] could have been a more climatic finish.
[08:58.240 -> 09:00.560] So how would you rate it?
[09:00.560 -> 09:03.400] Well, I would actually rate it quite high
[09:03.400 -> 09:06.880] in terms of my ranking, because going into the Sandford
[09:06.880 -> 09:12.280] weekend there was not much expectations of the type of racing that we would expect because
[09:12.280 -> 09:15.280] of the circuit's characteristics.
[09:15.280 -> 09:21.040] But obviously the increased DRS zone and obviously this year's cars would have probably helped
[09:21.040 -> 09:22.040] that a little bit.
[09:22.040 -> 09:28.880] But I think the overall race was ebbing and flowing and that was great to see. We had something happen, some sort of an incident happen and it
[09:28.880 -> 09:35.440] settles and then it was yet again another incident straight away. What I loved best about this race
[09:35.440 -> 09:40.560] was the fact that once again we saw Red Bull and Mercedes up at front fighting for the win and
[09:40.560 -> 09:47.200] throwing strategic punches at each other. Something that we've seen in Hungary, in Barcelona in the past and that's
[09:47.200 -> 09:50.140] something that I've missed. That's something that I've genuinely missed as
[09:50.140 -> 09:54.860] a fan, as someone who watches the sport and it was just great to see them throw
[09:54.860 -> 09:57.700] punches at each other every few laps. It was great.
[09:57.700 -> 10:01.300] So how would you rate it Kunal? Because I get a feeling for Sundaram it's gonna be
[10:01.300 -> 10:10.000] something like an 8.5 because that's the same as for me. He's basically covered the entire point that I had in mind that we finally are getting to see Mercedes versus Red Bull again.
[10:10.000 -> 10:17.000] Conditional as it may be of course based on track characteristics but you generally have been a bit more harsh in terms of your rating.
[10:17.000 -> 10:19.400] So I don't know. What is it going to be this time?
[10:19.400 -> 10:26.080] I think now I'm forced to be generous just because I've been harsh. But no, frankly speaking, I mean,
[10:26.080 -> 10:35.280] if I was to rate the weekend overall, I would say 11 on 10. Okay, because as a package,
[10:35.280 -> 10:41.120] if you consider Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday again, the Dutch Grand Prix,
[10:41.120 -> 10:45.820] Sunfort, a historic circuit, delivered a classic in qualifying, it
[10:45.820 -> 10:50.320] delivered a classic even during the race. You know, we were all waiting for a
[10:50.320 -> 10:54.620] Ferrari versus a Red Bull and suddenly we were, you know, delivered with a
[10:54.620 -> 11:00.640] surprise Red Bull versus Mercedes, Hamilton versus Verstappen, battle with
[11:00.640 -> 11:04.880] Russell somewhere in the mix. So to me it ticked off all the boxes and my
[11:04.880 -> 11:05.280] favorite part of the race was actually when the camera. So to me, it ticked off all the boxes. And my favorite
[11:05.280 -> 11:10.560] part of the race was actually when the camera panned to Hannah Schmitz on the Red Bull pit wall
[11:10.560 -> 11:17.760] and we caught her smiling. And you said it's a game of high-speed chess. And that's so true
[11:17.760 -> 11:28.640] when you look at these kind of strategy-driven races, right? Because it was only strategy that gave drivers
[11:28.640 -> 11:31.360] great results on the weekend.
[11:31.360 -> 11:33.920] And Sundaram, you pointed out saying
[11:33.920 -> 11:35.360] overtaking was going to be tough.
[11:35.360 -> 11:38.640] And taking cue from that, actually, it
[11:38.640 -> 11:41.960] was overtaking thanks to being on different strategies
[11:41.960 -> 11:45.880] why the race actually ended up becoming very, very interesting.
[11:45.880 -> 11:55.100] And I just love how Ferrari and Mercedes have to try just so hard at doing something that
[11:55.100 -> 12:00.560] comes seemingly so naturally to Red Bull Racing and Hannah Schmitz and the entire team out
[12:00.560 -> 12:01.560] there.
[12:01.560 -> 12:26.220] I mean, each time Max was doing something, you just seem that yeah, maybe that's the right thing to do, then whatever everyone else was was doing out there. So my my rating stands at a very hardcore 11 on 10. And I know this is exactly where a lot of viewers are going to write in saying, Oh, my God, but you rated that, you know, really bad race and 11 or 10. But you know, I'm very transient, but also very generous. So it's
[12:26.220 -> 12:32.640] my rating, I guess. Actually, taking cue from that one, I have to ask about just how could
[12:32.640 -> 12:38.900] the race have been better in any way? Because for many people, of course, it helps to be
[12:38.900 -> 12:43.420] neutral in this case to of course, give a better rating. But if you're a Mercedes fan,
[12:43.420 -> 12:46.340] obviously, this might have felt like a bit of a punch in the gut, right?
[12:46.340 -> 12:48.320] So let's actually get to just that.
[12:48.320 -> 12:51.760] Let's actually get to analyzing why for at least some people it could have been a little
[12:51.760 -> 12:52.920] more better.
[12:52.920 -> 12:57.560] And I think the best way to do it is to go by it sequentially, because merging all the
[12:57.560 -> 13:00.240] incidents together is going to be too much because there are so many great variables
[13:00.240 -> 13:01.240] to analyze.
[13:01.240 -> 13:04.520] So let's start off with the first incident that we had in mind.
[13:04.520 -> 13:09.360] Let's actually lay on the framework. We saw Ferrari and Red Bull Racing start on the softer
[13:09.360 -> 13:13.280] compounds because of course they were starting up ahead. They needed a bit of a boost at the
[13:13.280 -> 13:16.960] start to make sure that they weren't passed by the other cars and Mercedes taking cue from that.
[13:16.960 -> 13:20.560] They were like, okay, if you're on the softs, we're already starting behind you. We can go on
[13:20.560 -> 13:29.520] the mediums and maybe try to experiment with what we can do by going longer. That's the framework set. We, I think, reached the midway part of the race or somewhere thereabouts
[13:29.520 -> 13:33.680] where Red Bull Racing and Ferrari had made their first stops. Leclerc hadn't quite gone ahead of
[13:33.680 -> 13:39.760] Max Verstappen, signs we should come to him, we should discuss his race. But after the first stop,
[13:39.760 -> 13:44.080] Mercedes were leading one and two, actually, after Red Bull and Ferrari's first stop,
[13:44.080 -> 13:45.880] Mercedes were leading one and two, then they Red Bull and Ferrari's first stop, Mercedes were leading one and two,
[13:45.880 -> 13:47.160] then they made their pit stops
[13:47.160 -> 13:49.200] and went on the hard compound tires
[13:49.200 -> 13:50.800] and they were following Verstappen
[13:50.800 -> 13:52.640] and then Leclerc was somewhere behind them,
[13:52.640 -> 13:54.240] behind the two Mercedes as well.
[13:54.240 -> 13:56.880] So let's get to this particular situation, right?
[13:56.880 -> 13:58.680] Lap 40 something, whatever it may be,
[13:58.680 -> 14:00.200] I don't remember the exact one,
[14:00.200 -> 14:03.040] but Yuki Tsunoda has his incident, the VST,
[14:03.040 -> 14:04.440] which we should answer in a second
[14:04.440 -> 14:05.120] about what exactly
[14:05.120 -> 14:10.240] happened and was it the new crash kit or stop kit or something quite like that. But let's imagine
[14:10.240 -> 14:15.120] the VST hadn't quite happened, Sundaram. How do you see the race going from that case? Because
[14:15.120 -> 14:20.480] at that moment in time, Mercedes seemingly were very confident that their one-stop strategy
[14:20.480 -> 14:29.540] would have helped them in winning the race because the hard compound tyres were actually doing pretty well. The degradation was lower than what they expected, the tyres were holding
[14:29.540 -> 14:33.920] up well and even Max on the radio was surprised and remember Red Bull Racing had to make another
[14:33.920 -> 14:38.240] extra stop to go on the softs later on. So, how do you see things panning out? No VSC,
[14:38.240 -> 14:41.000] what would have happened in your opinion? I think it was pretty straightforward in terms
[14:41.000 -> 14:46.400] of strategy like you mentioned. So Mercedes were going to have a one-stopper continuing on the hards until the end
[14:46.400 -> 14:50.380] whereas Red Bull would have to make another pit stop but
[14:50.380 -> 14:53.800] Verstappen is quite keen on not switching on to the hards because of
[14:53.800 -> 14:58.920] very little data that they had on that set of tires, Red Bull as a whole. So he
[14:58.920 -> 15:04.040] would have most likely gone back to the softs closer to lap 50 with 20 odd laps
[15:04.040 -> 15:06.760] to go and by then then, Hamilton's tyres
[15:06.760 -> 15:11.200] would have been, I mean, by the end of the race, Hamilton's tyres would have been 40
[15:11.200 -> 15:15.640] laps old. I really don't know if he would have been able to keep Verstappen behind him
[15:15.640 -> 15:22.160] for the length of that race. Probably 10 laps into his stint, his final stint, I think Verstappen
[15:22.160 -> 15:27.820] would have caught up to Hamilton and he would have overtaken him regardless. But it would have been a very interesting fight is what
[15:27.820 -> 15:28.820] I think.
[15:28.820 -> 15:34.040] Yeah, you know, you're right. I mean, Red Bull's two stoppers versus Mercedes's one
[15:34.040 -> 15:38.620] stop. That would have been the story we would have been discussing today and which was actually
[15:38.620 -> 15:48.160] the better strategy to follow. Two things in mind. First is I believe Max Verstappen would have won
[15:48.720 -> 15:53.760] either way. It's just the manner in which he would have won would have been different. Red Bull
[15:53.760 -> 15:59.280] believe he would have finished 15 seconds ahead of the pair had things played out normally.
[15:59.280 -> 16:05.520] Mercedes believe they would have anyway lost to Max Verstappen, but the gap wouldn't have been as
[16:05.520 -> 16:10.480] much. So the winner would have been Max Verstappen either way. So this also throws all the conspiracy
[16:10.480 -> 16:16.960] theories out of the window. And it's very unfortunate that there is this minority segment
[16:16.960 -> 16:23.280] of fans that believe that conspiracies are what happened in the sport time and time again, and F1
[16:23.280 -> 16:25.220] is fixed, and all that crap comes up.
[16:25.220 -> 16:28.560] And I say crap for a very serious reason,
[16:28.560 -> 16:30.880] because when a Grand Prix is running,
[16:30.880 -> 16:33.020] when you're playing high-speed game of chess,
[16:33.020 -> 16:35.800] literally, I'll take Samuel's analogy forward,
[16:35.800 -> 16:39.520] you can't keep looking at what the other players
[16:39.520 -> 16:42.200] playing next to you are doing constantly,
[16:42.200 -> 16:45.200] and then keep that in mind while also keeping
[16:45.200 -> 16:47.100] your and your opponent's moves in mind.
[16:47.100 -> 16:48.160] So that's one thing.
[16:48.160 -> 16:52.000] And second is, you know, to cue to what Sundaram said
[16:52.000 -> 16:53.600] and, Somal, what you said about Mercedes
[16:53.600 -> 16:55.960] starting on the mediums and so on.
[16:55.960 -> 17:00.120] Mercedes knew that they were closer to Red Bull and Ferrari
[17:00.120 -> 17:06.160] in race pace this weekend than, say, for example, in Spa, right?
[17:06.160 -> 17:09.920] And you said circuit characteristics, the lower the Mercedes can drive the car,
[17:09.920 -> 17:15.440] and if the circuit doesn't have bumps, they actually are in a very sweet performance window.
[17:15.440 -> 17:21.520] So your mark used reports that the race pace deficit was just about two tenths,
[17:21.520 -> 17:23.760] which got Mercedes into the fight, right?
[17:23.760 -> 17:27.200] So they started on the medium to do something different.
[17:27.200 -> 17:32.500] They could also start on the medium because the run into the first corner was not as long,
[17:32.500 -> 17:39.000] so they could afford to have sort of a different tire than people around them and, you know, not be overtaken there, right?
[17:39.000 -> 17:46.840] And the second, which is something that everybody is talking about, Mercedes' pace on the hard
[17:46.840 -> 17:48.140] was what surprised everyone.
[17:48.140 -> 17:53.440] But one thing we also should keep in mind is Max Verstappen's pace on the soft, because
[17:53.440 -> 17:59.400] he was able to push without suffering from as much degradation than, say, for example,
[17:59.400 -> 18:00.400] Charles Leclerc.
[18:00.400 -> 18:06.080] And Mercedes didn't even touch the soft in the race, you know, on Sunday, right?
[18:06.080 -> 18:10.040] So just very interesting how teams are using
[18:10.040 -> 18:13.080] all sets of permutations and combinations
[18:13.080 -> 18:16.720] to get track position to finish ahead of their rivals
[18:16.720 -> 18:19.280] eventually when it comes to race day.
[18:19.280 -> 18:21.480] And also, since you mentioned conspiracy,
[18:21.480 -> 18:23.640] I have to top that off with another point,
[18:23.640 -> 18:26.000] but I won't give it too much attention.
[18:26.000 -> 18:28.800] What I felt is, yeah, the sort of views
[18:28.800 -> 18:33.000] that people have on social media, it's quite sad to see.
[18:33.000 -> 18:36.560] But what I felt is that there was more at stake in last year's
[18:36.560 -> 18:40.040] championship than this year for Red Bull
[18:40.040 -> 18:42.760] to pull any such sort of tactics.
[18:42.760 -> 18:44.680] If that was required, maybe that would
[18:44.680 -> 18:45.380] have happened
[18:45.380 -> 18:51.120] sometime in Abu Dhabi or in one of the previous races last year, where it was very closely
[18:51.120 -> 18:53.320] matched between Hamilton and Verstappen.
[18:53.320 -> 18:58.440] Exactly. And the kind of views that people have put out on social media are frankly atrocious.
[18:58.440 -> 19:04.320] Like to hear things like Hannah Schmitz actually called Al Fatahri to say, okay, guys, you
[19:04.320 -> 19:08.020] have to stop Yuki Tsunoda's car right now at this one particular moment I mean come
[19:08.020 -> 19:14.460] on okay there might be a faint possibility because obviously our minds
[19:14.460 -> 19:17.920] have been tarnished by the memory of Nelson PK 2008 crash care whatever it
[19:17.920 -> 19:22.380] may be but let's be real guys do we seriously think this happens in Formula
[19:22.380 -> 19:26.760] One a sport where it costs so much to run the car and everything. It's ridiculous, isn't it Sundaram?
[19:27.140 -> 19:29.140] Yeah, because so and I know there's been a lot of
[19:29.780 -> 19:32.360] Comparisons been made to 2008 Singapore
[19:32.360 -> 19:36.040] But you need to remember that there were there was a very small group of people involved in that
[19:36.260 -> 19:41.740] Probably just two to three or maybe four people involved in that but this year if you're actually talking about Red Bull
[19:42.060 -> 19:49.040] Alpha Tauri, their mechanics, some people even went to say that when Alpha Tauri's mechanics were fixing Sonoda's seatbelt,
[19:49.040 -> 19:53.040] they were actually giving him information on where he needs to stop on track.
[19:53.040 -> 19:57.440] So, you're basically talking about two teams, their team principles, management,
[19:57.440 -> 20:00.480] and even the mechanics being involved in this, that's just too much.
[20:00.480 -> 20:02.960] There'll be too many loose ends over there.
[20:02.960 -> 20:04.960] So, I don't think that's really, really possible.
[20:04.960 -> 20:05.000] And I would like to believe that's really, really possible.
[20:05.000 -> 20:08.200] And I would like to believe that's not how it functions.
[20:08.200 -> 20:11.200] I think we should give none of this crap anymore,
[20:11.200 -> 20:14.080] airtime on our super popular show
[20:14.080 -> 20:15.640] where millions are listening each time.
[20:15.640 -> 20:17.000] No, but seriously, I mean,
[20:17.000 -> 20:20.080] conspiracy theories are just out of the window.
[20:20.080 -> 20:22.040] But the one thing for certain,
[20:22.040 -> 20:30.000] is that the credibility of Formula One has been shaken after the Abu Dhabi 2021 incident, which
[20:30.000 -> 20:31.160] we all know what happened.
[20:31.160 -> 20:34.640] So it's only fair that people keep asking these questions.
[20:34.640 -> 20:39.400] But after a point, conspiracy theories
[20:39.400 -> 20:41.200] need to stop somewhere as well.
[20:41.200 -> 20:44.680] So the depth at which people are going,
[20:44.680 -> 20:45.160] somebody has
[20:45.160 -> 20:50.440] turned around and said about Sunoda could loosen his seat belt and he
[20:50.440 -> 20:54.040] couldn't wear it back again. You know, these are quick release seat belts and
[20:54.040 -> 20:58.540] there are so many ways to technically explain why a lot of these conspiracy
[20:58.540 -> 21:03.360] theories are actually crap, right? And the first and most important thing, I
[21:03.360 -> 21:05.520] mean, you know, it's not a point that
[21:10.560 -> 21:18.160] Red Bull Racing needs to score. They're like 100 points ahead. So they would definitely not want to risk expulsion from the championship for something so silly, especially when Mercedes
[21:18.160 -> 21:24.080] and Red Bull Simulations believed that Max Verstappen was anyway going to win. So why would
[21:24.080 -> 21:25.080] you fix a race? So why would you think of fixing a race that you was anyway going to win. So why would you fix a race?
[21:25.080 -> 21:26.680] So why would you think of fixing a race
[21:26.680 -> 21:29.280] that you are anyway going to win?
[21:29.280 -> 21:30.760] And when you've already literally got
[21:30.760 -> 21:32.360] both the championships in the bag as well,
[21:32.360 -> 21:35.040] so why even bother doing something quite like that?
[21:35.040 -> 21:37.120] I just have to say it once, bullshit, great.
[21:37.120 -> 21:38.760] I feel my chest feel a little bit heavy,
[21:38.760 -> 21:40.640] a little bit lighter now, great.
[21:40.640 -> 21:42.920] But let's move on to the implications of that
[21:42.920 -> 21:44.880] because obviously the VSC comes in,
[21:44.880 -> 21:49.920] we see Max Verstappen diving in for a quick pit stop and the same happened with Mercedes as well.
[21:49.920 -> 21:54.960] Verstappen tried to get a pit stop before that but luckily for him the timing was just great. Now,
[21:54.960 -> 21:59.680] luckily, right, no conspiracy, we have done enough on that for a second, but eventually what happened
[21:59.680 -> 22:04.880] was that Verstappen went on the hards and the Mercedes drivers were on the mediums and in that
[22:04.880 -> 22:05.280] case Kunal, we noticed that Mercedes were able to catch up quite well. I think the gap was reduced Verstappen went on the hards and the Mercedes drivers were on the mediums and in that case,
[22:05.280 -> 22:09.840] Kunal, we noticed that Mercedes were able to catch up quite well. I think the gap was reduced to
[22:09.840 -> 22:14.320] around 11 seconds from being somewhere around 20 odd. Hamilton was really having a great,
[22:14.320 -> 22:19.520] great time because obviously, it was able to kind of get those mediums activated a little bit faster
[22:19.520 -> 22:25.120] and of course, the hards take time to come into the race, right? So that was a really fun period until
[22:31.360 -> 22:35.520] we got to the safety car, the second safety car, no, sorry, the first safety car, but the second stoppage of sorts that we had. Valtteri Bottas, of course, stopping near turn one and Carlos
[22:35.520 -> 22:40.480] Seinz making that move on Ocon, which we should get to in a couple of minutes time. But in that
[22:40.480 -> 22:48.160] case, right, we get to the big question of this entire weekend. Were Mercedes wrong in not bringing Lewis Hamilton in?
[22:48.880 -> 22:55.840] Now, big one, because obviously, at a circuit like Zanvod, you can be inclined towards keeping
[22:55.840 -> 23:00.480] track position where passing already is pretty hard and you need quite a big pace advantage
[23:00.480 -> 23:04.960] to actually get a move done, as Sundaram mentioned early on. But seriously, do you think it was a
[23:04.960 -> 23:08.560] Mercedes team call to not favour Hamilton or were they screwing him over or whatever term he's
[23:08.560 -> 23:14.800] used on the team radio because on social media people have come out with extremely uh let's say
[23:14.800 -> 23:19.120] extreme views if you can put it that way but at that moment in time was it a justified call in
[23:19.120 -> 23:24.400] your opinion? You know it's in hindsight we're all talking in hindsight and firstly I don't want us
[23:24.400 -> 23:25.680] to bring up social media because this is where after a point it's in hindsight, we're all talking in hindsight. And firstly, I don't want us to bring up social media
[23:25.680 -> 23:28.680] because this is where after a point, it's just like,
[23:28.680 -> 23:30.400] oh my God, everybody has an opinion
[23:30.400 -> 23:32.760] and hence everybody will tweet their opinion.
[23:32.760 -> 23:35.000] At least I use Twitter, as you guys know.
[23:35.000 -> 23:40.000] In my view, Mercedes were sort of caught
[23:40.360 -> 23:41.480] in the middle of nowhere
[23:41.480 -> 23:43.400] because they had a pre-race agreement
[23:43.400 -> 23:46.280] where they played out this exact scenario that we will do a one-stop,
[23:46.280 -> 23:51.400] this is what's going to happen, Max is going to be behind and that pre-race agreement was probably that
[23:52.040 -> 23:58.800] Russell would sort of hold back Max before he could attack Lewis and then Lewis would go on and win the race.
[23:58.840 -> 24:04.440] This was because Lewis was ahead on the grid than George Russell. So it was not about favoring Lewis,
[24:04.440 -> 24:07.000] it was about who could give you the best chance for the win.
[24:07.000 -> 24:09.960] Now, I assume that if Russell would have jumped Lewis
[24:09.960 -> 24:11.840] at some point, maybe they would have favored Russell.
[24:11.840 -> 24:13.880] So that's one part, right?
[24:13.880 -> 24:16.900] What we should also hence look at is,
[24:16.900 -> 24:19.960] was that pre-race agreement
[24:19.960 -> 24:22.080] something that pissed Lewis Hamilton off
[24:22.080 -> 24:25.480] because he was very annoyed on radio, as we all know.
[24:25.480 -> 24:28.120] But that's one thing to keep in mind.
[24:28.120 -> 24:32.120] But as the race evolved, you mentioned track position,
[24:32.120 -> 24:34.320] Samuel, track position is very important
[24:34.320 -> 24:37.520] when the race is running in flow, right?
[24:37.520 -> 24:40.560] But when there is a stoppage, when there is a restart,
[24:40.560 -> 24:44.320] being on the right tire compound is far more important,
[24:44.320 -> 24:46.000] as we again learned in Abu Dhabi last year.
[24:46.000 -> 24:49.000] Abu Dhabi again being just one of the examples, right?
[24:49.000 -> 24:53.000] So Mercedes at that time chose to split strategy.
[24:53.000 -> 24:58.000] They said, you know what, Lewis will stay on the tire that he already is on
[24:58.000 -> 25:02.000] and try and defend Max while we will give George,
[25:02.000 -> 25:06.000] or George decided to take the soft to go and attack Max which happened.
[25:06.000 -> 25:12.000] So in theory, they all did what they believed was right, which was put Max in a Mercedes sandwich,
[25:12.000 -> 25:16.000] one will attack, one will defend and we will see where that goes.
[25:16.000 -> 25:27.160] Now, of course, Mercedes, a slower car was on a slower compound trying to fend off a faster car on a faster compound. And we all know how that plays out most of the time,
[25:27.560 -> 25:31.160] especially given that the DRS was a little more powerful or a little more
[25:31.160 -> 25:32.200] effective this year.
[25:32.200 -> 25:35.000] And the Red Bull anyway has more straight line speed advantage.
[25:35.300 -> 25:37.160] And then as Mark Hughes revealed,
[25:38.360 -> 25:42.260] Lewis Hamilton was actually in the wrong engine mode at the restart as well,
[25:42.260 -> 25:45.200] which is why Max could literally drive past
[25:45.200 -> 25:51.800] him and had to sort of lift off fractions before crossing the start finish line so that
[25:51.800 -> 25:55.440] he didn't really overtake Lewis before the race officially started as well.
[25:55.440 -> 26:00.880] So Mercedes went aggressive, they split strategy as they should, as they would.
[26:00.880 -> 26:04.360] And in hindsight, I believe they would do differently.
[26:04.360 -> 26:09.000] But in hindsight, you can always go and win as many world championships as you want.
[26:09.000 -> 26:21.000] You're so right about that. And on that same subject, Sundaram, I want to ask you this as well, because Lewis, I mean, obviously, we can get an idea that the pace differential between Red Bull and Mercedes definitely was there.
[26:21.000 -> 26:25.360] For sure, Mercedes were closer, but it didn't seem like they were the faster car
[26:25.360 -> 26:31.360] all weekend round. So even if Lewis Hamilton had gone on the soft compound tyres at that safety car,
[26:31.360 -> 26:34.320] would it really have meant that he would have been able to challenge Max? Because
[26:34.320 -> 26:38.800] the Red Bull Racing were firm with their decision, right? They were going to box for softs anyway.
[26:38.800 -> 26:43.840] So on the same compound with Max having track position, would it have made any difference?
[26:43.840 -> 26:48.560] So I think the only question we're asking is, would Hamilton have finished second instead
[26:48.560 -> 26:50.080] of finishing, what is it, fourth?
[26:50.080 -> 26:52.080] I think that's the major question, right?
[26:52.080 -> 26:55.720] And is Hamilton justified to be that angry about finishing fourth instead of second in
[26:55.720 -> 26:56.720] this case?
[26:56.720 -> 27:02.760] If they had all pitted and gone on the same compound, softs, then I don't see how Hamilton
[27:02.760 -> 27:04.920] would have won this because generally, they lacked pace.
[27:04.920 -> 27:07.500] Or generally, West Ham was a lot more quicker.
[27:07.500 -> 27:12.300] The only way they could have done this was to have or do something different than Red
[27:12.300 -> 27:13.300] Bull.
[27:13.300 -> 27:19.680] The only reason they could have won this is if they could do...
[27:19.680 -> 27:21.420] Seemingly the fireworks are on already.
[27:21.420 -> 27:26.640] People are really enjoying Max's win and Mercedes failing in Navi Mumbai, aren't they?
[27:26.640 -> 27:33.280] Yeah, it's quite distracting to be honest. But yeah, what I was getting to say is that
[27:33.280 -> 27:36.520] on the same compound, it would have been quite difficult for Hamilton. But what I'm trying
[27:36.520 -> 27:40.640] to say is, why settle for second and third? What is the reason? Why did Mercedes even
[27:40.640 -> 27:44.160] have to do that? They're not in the championship fight anyway. Even they know this. They're
[27:44.160 -> 27:48.400] not in there for the drivers or constructors championship. And what's the point of collecting
[27:48.400 -> 27:53.520] points? What's the point of collecting podiums? If they had the opportunity of a win, they go for
[27:53.520 -> 27:58.960] the win. And it's also because that car is very unpredictable. And what they were probably hit
[27:58.960 -> 28:05.680] the most is that at this track, they had an opportunity for a win. Why not go for that and settle for second or third?
[28:06.240 -> 28:12.320] So they had to go for the win and if it was a split strategy or if it was doing what they had
[28:12.320 -> 28:16.400] to do, was supposed to be opposite of what Red Bull does, they did give it a shot. They did give
[28:16.400 -> 28:21.440] it a shot. And secondly, also about people saying that George Russell should have played the team
[28:21.440 -> 28:25.120] game and tried to defend. I think that could have been
[28:25.120 -> 28:31.460] a good option to guarantee Mercedes or even go for a more delayed sort of, I mean a fight
[28:31.460 -> 28:37.360] into the race. But that is not George's responsibility. That's not his job to say that I'm going to
[28:37.360 -> 28:41.800] sacrifice my race and let Hamilton win this. That's the team's call. And I don't think
[28:41.800 -> 28:49.600] so that was actually made on the broadcast. So he had to look after his race also because Leclerc had switched to softs and I think what he did from
[28:49.600 -> 28:55.760] his side was right. Yeah and you know in the end that high speed game of chess just turned out in
[28:55.760 -> 29:08.000] a way that Lewis Hamilton from you know looking at winning the race literally ended up finishing off the podium, right? And he had three used soft compounds,
[29:08.000 -> 29:11.760] three used sets of softs if he wanted to use them.
[29:11.760 -> 29:16.600] But the reality is that they would have probably thought
[29:16.600 -> 29:21.320] that having Lewis hold Max was probably a better,
[29:22.200 -> 29:24.360] you know, a way of trying to get a race win
[29:24.360 -> 29:27.720] than trying to put him on the same compound and go for it.
[29:27.720 -> 29:29.480] Anyway, how it's all played out
[29:29.480 -> 29:32.360] is why exactly why we've spent almost 30 minutes
[29:32.360 -> 29:34.520] talking about strategy.
[29:34.520 -> 29:37.360] But a lot of things actually happened in Sanford.
[29:37.360 -> 29:38.200] They did, yeah.
[29:38.200 -> 29:39.480] And before we get to that,
[29:39.480 -> 29:40.960] I just want to point out one thing.
[29:40.960 -> 29:43.040] You remember Bono always on the radio saying,
[29:43.040 -> 29:44.920] get in there, Lewis, get in there.
[29:44.920 -> 29:48.720] The one time Bono didn't say get in there, Lewis had such a bad race, so maybe
[29:48.720 -> 29:52.360] it's just a good rule of thumb. Get in there Lewis. Every time you see an opportunity,
[29:52.360 -> 29:57.880] get in the pits. No? Bad one. Okay, we move on. We talk about Ferrari for a second because
[29:57.880 -> 30:02.800] in this entire scenario, I mean, I essentially was expecting Ferrari to be a little bit closer
[30:02.800 -> 30:05.680] because yes, we knew, we saw that they
[30:05.680 -> 30:09.440] had qualifying pace, but in the race, they were nowhere to be seen. I mean, no pace at all,
[30:10.560 -> 30:14.800] no way to challenge Russell for second place eventually as well, because I thought that maybe
[30:14.800 -> 30:19.520] on the soft compounds with all things leveled out, with only so little laps to go, I thought
[30:19.520 -> 30:22.720] that Ferrari would be able to get past George Russell, but that's not what happened eventually.
[30:22.720 -> 30:28.960] So to what extent can you blame it on degradation, Gunaal, which is what the popular theory seems to be all around.
[30:28.960 -> 30:33.920] That Ferrari, Leclerc, that is, we should get to science. I've been saying that for too long now,
[30:33.920 -> 30:38.160] but the reason why Leclerc wasn't able to challenge was degradation purely because
[30:38.160 -> 30:43.280] we saw that they were complaining about it on the radio saying that deg is bad in the early part. So,
[30:43.280 -> 30:45.280] was that the reason why, according to you?
[30:45.280 -> 30:46.160] Yeah, absolutely.
[30:46.160 -> 30:48.080] I mean, even in the opening stint of the race,
[30:48.080 -> 30:50.720] when Leclerc was chasing down Max Rich-Stappen,
[30:50.720 -> 30:53.600] each time Leclerc increased his pace,
[30:53.600 -> 30:56.680] Max was able to respond and increase his pace as well.
[30:56.680 -> 31:01.760] But then Leclerc hit a ceiling much before Max could.
[31:01.760 -> 31:04.320] So it was tires that were a limiting factor.
[31:04.320 -> 31:07.160] And just the way last So it was tires that were a limiting factor. And, you know, just the way last weekend,
[31:07.160 -> 31:10.040] it was about Ferrari asking a question to their drivers.
[31:10.040 -> 31:12.200] I don't know if why they stopped asking the question
[31:12.200 -> 31:14.400] this weekend, but this weekend,
[31:14.400 -> 31:17.960] everything that Matthea Binotto has answered
[31:17.960 -> 31:21.120] has been about, hey, your pit stops were bad.
[31:21.120 -> 31:24.480] We can fix our pit stops, but our car performance was bad.
[31:24.480 -> 31:25.680] Your tires were, you know, being eaten off far more. We can fix that, but our performance was bad. We can fix our pit stops, but our car performance was bad. Your tires were being
[31:25.680 -> 31:30.920] eaten off far more. We can fix that, but our performance was bad. We got overtaken on track.
[31:30.920 -> 31:36.520] We can fix that, but our performance was bad. So what I'm trying to say is, Mattia Binotto
[31:36.520 -> 31:42.040] has kept talking about performance being a deficit, and which is why they were unable
[31:42.040 -> 31:50.040] to use strategy to their effect. And the truth is that Mercedes were not as strong in qualifying as we've seen,
[31:50.360 -> 31:55.800] but were probably the second quickest car on the Sunday in Sandford.
[31:56.280 -> 31:58.600] I just so badly want to ask the question.
[31:58.640 -> 32:00.560] So are Mercedes a Ferrari now?
[32:00.560 -> 32:02.080] But it's hypothetical, right?
[32:02.080 -> 32:03.960] It differs circuit to circuit.
[32:03.960 -> 32:05.440] There's no concrete answer to that.
[32:05.440 -> 32:08.160] It makes no sense to discuss that for far too long,
[32:08.160 -> 32:09.900] but we should now finally come to science.
[32:09.900 -> 32:12.160] Now that we know why Leclerc wasn't quite there,
[32:12.160 -> 32:14.760] and now that we know why Lewis couldn't quite win this.
[32:14.760 -> 32:18.120] So Sundaram, have you seen one of those Vine videos
[32:18.120 -> 32:19.920] on Reddit as well, where you see a person
[32:19.920 -> 32:22.400] actually working in a storage house
[32:22.400 -> 32:24.360] and they accidentally trip over one carton,
[32:24.360 -> 32:25.840] and then the entire storage
[32:25.840 -> 32:31.040] room starts to break down and every single bottle or glass or whatever it may be starts to tumble.
[32:31.040 -> 32:35.520] It's just what happened to Carlos Sainz though. Just where do we begin with this weekend actually?
[32:35.520 -> 32:42.400] The bad qualifying or the bad start or the bad pit stop with the tyres not ready or the pit gun
[32:42.400 -> 32:45.840] or the move on Ocon under the yellow flags or
[32:45.840 -> 32:49.400] the unsafe release or maybe the fact that he didn't get the right dinner after his race
[32:49.400 -> 32:50.400] was over.
[32:50.400 -> 32:51.400] I mean where do we begin?
[32:51.400 -> 32:54.400] He looked absolutely distraught after the race.
[32:54.400 -> 33:00.280] He couldn't believe what's actually happening to him and how bad his luck has actually been.
[33:00.280 -> 33:03.800] And I think it started from, I mean talking specifically about race day, it started from
[33:03.800 -> 33:04.800] the first corner.
[33:04.800 -> 33:08.240] That little bit of a touch that he had with Hamilton
[33:08.240 -> 33:11.400] kind of probably compromised his whole race in terms of pace.
[33:11.400 -> 33:14.280] I mean, generally, they lacked pace overall in comparison
[33:14.280 -> 33:15.720] to Mercedes and Red Bull.
[33:15.720 -> 33:18.400] But I think he did have a little bit of damage
[33:18.400 -> 33:20.680] to his underbody, to his floor.
[33:20.680 -> 33:23.840] And that probably took him out of the race straightaway.
[33:23.840 -> 33:26.160] What happened in the pits was,
[33:26.160 -> 33:28.040] I have no words to describe it,
[33:28.040 -> 33:30.280] but I mean, I don't know if you've seen the video,
[33:30.280 -> 33:31.960] but there was actually a video of his pit stop
[33:31.960 -> 33:34.880] and the mechanic with the fourth tire
[33:34.880 -> 33:36.560] was actually in front of the car.
[33:36.560 -> 33:40.200] He was three seconds late into getting into position
[33:40.200 -> 33:41.520] and when his car pulls up,
[33:41.520 -> 33:43.200] he was actually in front of the car
[33:43.200 -> 33:45.040] and he couldn't make his way
[33:45.040 -> 33:48.320] around the mechanics to get to his position and that's what took time.
[33:48.960 -> 33:54.480] And I mean, I've actually pulled up a list of things where Ferrari have fumbled.
[33:54.480 -> 34:01.280] And in the last six races, they fumbled eight times. I can list out eight points. But
[34:01.280 -> 34:08.300] as a thing, we initially called Ferrari a title contender and but this is not how a championship winning team should do it
[34:08.300 -> 34:12.120] or would do it. Things have to be a lot more smoother if you want to win a
[34:12.120 -> 34:15.540] championship. I think we were right all along they are title contenders for
[34:15.540 -> 34:19.940] just title contenders on how to ruin your race consistently new different
[34:19.940 -> 34:24.500] ways Kunal, isn't it? It is and you know I like how Carlos Sainz actually went on
[34:24.500 -> 34:25.120] to the radio
[34:25.840 -> 34:29.600] during his Unsafe release because that was also one thing that happened with him right
[34:29.600 -> 34:35.440] where he says guys I saw the footage on the screen like imagine you know despite being a racing car
[34:35.440 -> 34:40.640] driver with limited visibility and so much of focus he's able to look at one of the screens
[34:40.640 -> 34:46.480] he's able to see the replay of it right so? So he's now gone from being a Formula 1 driver,
[34:46.480 -> 34:52.080] to a strategist, to a sporting director for Ferrari, to now even being a Ferrari fan,
[34:52.080 -> 34:58.160] you know, he was able to look at his own self and turn around and say, it wasn't an unsafe release,
[34:58.160 -> 35:06.240] I had to take avoiding action and if I get a penalty, I'm going to go speak to the stewards about it. But either way, that's just what happened.
[35:06.880 -> 35:12.240] I think I'd love to hear Sundaram's takes on the six times or eight times
[35:12.240 -> 35:13.440] they messed up in six races.
[35:13.440 -> 35:17.040] Maybe we should leave that for the Monza preview, Sundaram.
[35:17.040 -> 35:21.840] It's not the best way to pay tribute to Ferrari, the most legendary Formula 1 team brand,
[35:21.840 -> 35:26.780] but I think it's fair to leave it for that. But to my mind,
[35:28.740 -> 35:31.100] there's one thing that signs should have
[35:31.100 -> 35:32.360] sort of been pulled up for,
[35:32.360 -> 35:35.700] which was not something at least I got clarity on,
[35:35.700 -> 35:40.700] was did he actually overtake under yellow flags or not?
[35:40.820 -> 35:42.360] And did he give the position back?
[35:42.360 -> 35:48.340] Because I'm pretty sure I missed the visual of this till Samuel brought it up while we were preparing.
[35:48.340 -> 35:52.860] I'm still confused. I don't know why they didn't get a penalty for that Ferrari. The
[35:52.860 -> 35:57.260] reason why they didn't get a penalty for the pit gun issue was that the FIA said that oh
[35:57.260 -> 36:00.600] it's a tight pit lane stuff like this happens. So that's the reason why they were able to
[36:00.600 -> 36:05.240] bail out on that. But I don't see any official justification yet
[36:05.240 -> 36:10.200] on the yellow flag pass on Ocon. And of course, we saw the kafafalo that happened where science
[36:10.200 -> 36:14.160] wasn't quite able to give the position back. So we shall get back to you on that when we
[36:14.160 -> 36:19.480] have more information. I think Monza preview would be a good time to do so. But we have
[36:19.480 -> 36:23.320] to speak about other things as well very quickly before we wrap up this episode.
[36:23.320 -> 36:30.480] Another Spaniard who had quite the opposite of the day. Fernando Alonso guys started P13 and ended up finishing. I had it in
[36:30.480 -> 36:36.720] my notes. I just quickly pull it back up. Where was Alonso again? P6. P6. So after Carlos signed
[36:36.720 -> 36:41.680] this penalty, that's where he eventually ended up finishing. So as far as I can remember, Alonso was
[36:41.680 -> 36:49.440] on the hard compound tires for most of the race until the safety car came in and gave him essentially a free pit stop to be on the right compounds
[36:49.440 -> 36:54.680] and yes, he was not able to get past Landon Norris initially, but eventually the safety
[36:54.680 -> 36:58.040] car helped him out in the long run and as was where Alonso was able to pip him and maybe
[36:58.040 -> 37:01.920] get a few seconds on Carlos Sainz which eventually promoted him up to P6.
[37:01.920 -> 37:06.800] So great weekend for him, but also guys, Ocon could have also had a similar one
[37:06.800 -> 37:09.240] if Alpine had decided that, OK, we don't want
[37:09.240 -> 37:10.480] to continue with the one stop.
[37:10.480 -> 37:12.240] So they essentially split their ways
[37:12.240 -> 37:15.160] and said, OK, Fernando goes one way, Esteban goes the other.
[37:15.160 -> 37:18.600] But it still very much looks like a very balanced lineup,
[37:18.600 -> 37:19.160] this Sundaram.
[37:19.160 -> 37:22.480] And they are edging very close towards just solidifying
[37:22.480 -> 37:24.280] that P4 slot.
[37:24.280 -> 37:30.360] Yeah, actually, before the race, from what I picked up from everyone's opinions after Friday
[37:30.360 -> 37:36.240] practice was that the hard tyre is not a suitable tyre on race day and while I was looking at
[37:36.240 -> 37:40.580] everyone's tyre allocation, I, when I came to Alonso, I was like okay he has to basically
[37:40.580 -> 37:44.040] do a soft, medium soft and stay away from the hards.
[37:44.040 -> 37:45.520] And during the race broadcast,
[37:45.520 -> 37:47.640] when I saw Alonso switch to hards,
[37:47.640 -> 37:51.000] I was like, Alpine have totally fudged this
[37:51.000 -> 37:53.860] and this is gonna be another wrong decision
[37:53.860 -> 37:54.700] that they've made.
[37:54.700 -> 37:57.200] But thankfully, I've had to eat up my own words.
[37:57.200 -> 37:59.440] And I think he was one of the earliest people
[37:59.440 -> 38:02.700] who switched to hards and that had brilliant pace,
[38:02.700 -> 38:06.000] probably because of the climate, the weather conditions,
[38:06.000 -> 38:09.000] and also because of very good track evolution.
[38:09.000 -> 38:11.000] And that's something actually which people picked off.
[38:11.000 -> 38:15.000] And everyone moved off to Haartz because they had very good pace.
[38:15.000 -> 38:20.000] Track evolution is actually very interesting because that's something that happened a lot.
[38:20.000 -> 38:25.680] First is a theory from Pirelli which was reported that the sand which was on the circuit
[38:25.680 -> 38:29.200] kept getting cleaned off as more and more sessions ran through the circuit.
[38:29.200 -> 38:35.040] And hence, the hard, for example, which was expected to be a second away from the soft tire,
[38:35.040 -> 38:37.200] eventually was less than that.
[38:37.200 -> 38:43.120] So the gap between the compounds also ended up narrowing in the first place, right?
[38:43.120 -> 38:45.280] So all in all all I think this high
[38:45.280 -> 38:50.120] speed game of chess was was fantastic and we're gonna have a higher speed game
[38:50.120 -> 38:55.100] of chess come up this weekend it's the final race of the triple header and I
[38:55.100 -> 39:00.200] really hope you guys have conserved all your energy for meeting the Tifosi and
[39:00.200 -> 39:06.400] let's hope that for all the love that they give Ferrari, their answers or their prayers are answered.
[39:08.400 -> 39:13.520] Yeah, let's hope so. Let's certainly hope so. Let's hope that the DiVosi won't be dejected by the time they come to Monza.
[39:13.600 -> 39:16.960] And if anything, let's hope we get to see something different this time.
[39:17.040 -> 39:23.680] And let's hope we get to see a fun strategic race. And if we do have that, it'll be amazing to watch it with us
[39:24.160 -> 39:26.720] live on Paytm Insider with Steve Slater
[39:26.720 -> 39:32.600] The legendary Formula One commentator also joining us along and now the tickets are a hundred percent free
[39:32.600 -> 39:38.660] So click on the link below to register yourself for the event. We watch the race together. We analyze it
[39:38.660 -> 39:41.600] we understand how it happens and you can send in your questions live and
[39:42.120 -> 39:45.060] Stand a chance to win some amazing posters by Hidden
[39:45.060 -> 39:47.820] Prince as well if you take part in our quiz competition.
[39:47.820 -> 39:50.460] So that's another reason for you to tune in this Sunday.
[39:50.460 -> 39:51.900] So see you there folks.
[39:51.900 -> 39:55.100] But first, we go here on the podcast for the Monza Preview Show.
[39:55.100 -> None] Stay tuned for that and have a good time. Bye bye. you