El Plan To El Pain - 2022 Canadian GP Review (ft. Abhishek Takle)

We won't lie - we had high expectations from Fernando Alonso who started the 2022 Canadian Grand Prix from the front row. And we know that we were not alone. 

We expected the former World Champion to make life difficult for Max Verstappen at the start and on the opening lap. But what a damp squib that turned out to be!

However, that didn't deter Formula 1 from delivering a nail-biting race at the Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve in Montreal.

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FIA-accredited Formula 1 journalist Abhishek Takle joins Soumil and Kunal to review the 2022 Canadian Grand Prix. Why was Carlos Sainz unable to overtake Max Verstappen? Could Alpine have had a better strategy for Fernando Alonso? Would on-time pit stops have helped Charles Leclerc & Mclaren's fortunes? 

Did you know: Mclaren have failed to score in the Canadian Grand Prix since 2014! As always, @f1statsguru (aka Sundaram) delivers mind-boggling stats in his segment.

There's a lot more in this near-hour long episode. Tune in & happy listening!

(Season 2022, Episode 36)

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

Image courtesy: Alpine

**Summary of the Inside Line F1 Podcast Episode on the 2022 Canadian Grand Prix:**

* The episode begins with a discussion about Fernando Alonso's disappointing performance in the race, despite starting from the front row.
* The hosts analyze the reasons behind Alonso's struggles, including Alpine's questionable strategy calls and Alonso's own mistakes.
* The conversation then shifts to the race winner, Max Verstappen, and his impressive performance under pressure.
* The hosts discuss the new regulations and how they have affected overtaking and the overall competitiveness of the field.
* They also highlight the strong performances of Lewis Hamilton, George Russell, and Valtteri Bottas, who all finished in the top six.
* The episode concludes with a discussion about the upcoming British Grand Prix and the title fight between Verstappen and Sergio Perez.

**Key Insights and Perspectives:**

* The new regulations have made it more difficult to overtake, but they have also led to more competitive racing.
* Max Verstappen is the clear favorite for the championship, but Sergio Perez is still in contention.
* Fernando Alonso is still a top driver, but he needs a better car to challenge for wins.
* Lewis Hamilton is back in form and could be a factor in the championship race.
* The midfield battle is heating up, with several teams showing strong pace.

**Controversies and Insightful Moments:**

* There was some debate among the hosts about whether Carlos Sainz could have overtaken Verstappen if he had used a different strategy.
* The hosts also discussed the controversial weaving penalty that was given to Alonso.
* There was a lot of praise for the new regulations and how they have improved the racing.

**Overall Message:**

The 2022 Canadian Grand Prix was a thrilling race that showcased the new regulations and the competitiveness of the field. Max Verstappen is the clear favorite for the championship, but there are several other drivers who could challenge him. The midfield battle is also heating up, and there are several teams who could finish in the top three.

# Inside Line F1 Podcast - Episode 36: Canadian Grand Prix Review

**Key Points:**

- The Inside Line F1 Podcast reviews the 2022 Canadian Grand Prix, analyzing the performances of various teams and drivers.

- The episode discusses why Carlos Sainz was unable to overtake Max Verstappen and explores whether Alpine could have had a better strategy for Fernando Alonso.

- The podcast also examines the impact of pit stops on the fortunes of Charles Leclerc and McLaren, highlighting the significance of timely pit stops in Formula 1.

- The hosts analyze the recent dominance of Red Bull on street circuits, noting their impressive record of winning 7 out of the 9 street races since 2021.

- The episode features insights from FIA-accredited Formula 1 journalist Abhishek Takle, who provides expert analysis and commentary on the Canadian Grand Prix.

- The podcast acknowledges the achievement of Mercedes-powered cars securing a podium finish in every Canadian Grand Prix since 2010.

- The hosts discuss Fernando Alonso's performance, his post-race time penalty, and his eventual points finish, marking his first points in Montreal since 2014.

- The episode highlights the intriguing statistic that Max Verstappen and Carlos Sainz both reached their 150th race entries in Formula 1 during the Canadian Grand Prix, a milestone also achieved by Lewis Hamilton in his 150th race.

- The podcast reviews the Canadian Grand Prix stats, including McLaren's failure to score points since 2014 and the remarkable consistency of Mercedes-powered cars on the podium.

- The hosts engage in a detailed discussion about Mercedes' recent performances, questioning whether their progress is genuine or conditional, given their fluctuating results throughout the season.

- The episode addresses the reliability issues faced by teams, particularly Ferrari and Red Bull, and explores the potential consequences of these problems on the championship standings.

- The podcast analyzes the contrasting performances of Aston Martin and McLaren, highlighting Aston Martin's disappointing season and McLaren's struggles with pace and pit stops.

- The hosts anticipate the upcoming British Grand Prix at Silverstone, expressing excitement about potential upgrades and improvements from various teams, especially Mercedes.

- The episode concludes with a discussion about the thrilling opening lap camera angles at Silverstone, particularly the iconic shot around the old pit straight and Luffield hairpin.

[00:00.000 -> 00:23.520] Hey folks, welcome to the Canadian GP review on the InsideLine F1 podcast and pitch to
[00:23.520 -> 00:27.100] podium but this time it's with a little bit of a twist.
[00:27.100 -> 00:29.840] It's not just the two of us and myself and Kunal that are going to be a part of this
[00:29.840 -> 00:33.420] episode but we also have a special guest with us.
[00:33.420 -> 00:37.620] More on him in a second but apart from him we also have the stats review segment on this
[00:37.620 -> 00:43.300] particular episode and we answer all the big questions about is this it from Carlos Sainz
[00:43.300 -> 00:48.880] and why does Max Verstappen not put any mistakes under pressure what just happens with him? More on Charles
[00:48.880 -> 00:52.920] Leclerc's recovery, more on Alpine and what just happened with Mercedes are
[00:52.920 -> 00:56.880] they finally back? All of this and more on this episode of this of the Inside
[00:56.880 -> 01:03.560] Line F1 podcast and pits the podium. Hey folks welcome back in my name is
[01:03.560 -> 01:08.880] Somal Arora I am joined as always by Kunal Shah, the former marketing head of Force India and the Motorsport
[01:08.880 -> 01:13.080] consultant at the Vsport Network in Norway, where he also acts as a Formula One accredited
[01:13.080 -> 01:14.400] journalist too.
[01:14.400 -> 01:18.120] But Kunal, it's just not the two of us this time around, as I mentioned in the intro.
[01:18.120 -> 01:25.840] We also have a special guest who we have heard quite a lot of times on this podcast.
[01:29.760 -> 01:34.920] Thanks for that Somal. Thanks for the introduction. Yes, we have a special guest, somebody who pretty much everybody has heard multiple times before, somebody
[01:34.920 -> 01:40.400] who I would call a friend inside and outside of the paddock, but that's not
[01:40.400 -> 01:45.040] why he's here. He's here because he is an FIA accredited journalist.
[01:45.040 -> 01:46.600] He's a freelance journalist.
[01:46.600 -> 01:47.920] Abhishek Thakle is here.
[01:47.920 -> 01:50.280] He contributes regularly to Reuters.
[01:50.280 -> 01:55.720] So some of the breaking news that you would normally see from Reuters, Abhishek has a
[01:55.720 -> 01:58.720] high probability that he's reported on them.
[01:58.720 -> 02:04.920] And those reading news in the Indian subcontinent would also remember him from his contributions
[02:04.920 -> 02:05.840] in the midday.
[02:05.840 -> 02:10.720] So Abhishek, thank you so much for taking time after Canada. It's great to have you back on our show.
[02:11.440 -> 02:16.240] Likewise Kunal and Sourav, thanks for having me back. It's always fun to be on this
[02:16.240 -> 02:21.840] podcast, so happy to be back. I've had a few hours to catch up on my sleep as well.
[02:24.960 -> 02:28.400] No, that was the most important part considering just when the race started.
[02:28.400 -> 02:32.040] Seriously, it's crazy that the race has started so late back in India but that's only a regional
[02:32.040 -> 02:33.260] complaint.
[02:33.260 -> 02:37.520] It does contribute a little bit to kind of taking away from the excitement but that wasn't
[02:37.520 -> 02:41.960] the problem with this weekend Abhishek because I mean I get a feeling that your race rating
[02:41.960 -> 02:45.760] will be very high because mine was a solid 8 as it always tends to be because
[02:46.080 -> 02:50.960] two hours of great F1 drama, a good last half an hour with science pressuring Max Verstappen
[02:51.200 -> 02:55.920] and lots of jeopardy with the safety cars. I mean what more could you ask for? It's just good TV all around.
[02:56.960 -> 03:04.640] Yeah, absolutely. I think the whole weekend all around with the wet qualifying throwing up a surprise front row start for Fernando Alonso
[03:04.640 -> 03:05.480] that stirred
[03:05.480 -> 03:07.160] up plenty of interest as well.
[03:07.160 -> 03:10.960] And then the race, even though it was dry, it was quite a quite a riveting watch.
[03:10.960 -> 03:16.680] So I think, yeah, I would give it 8.2 maybe, slightly higher than your rating.
[03:16.680 -> 03:21.800] But then, you know, I can't remember a dull race this year.
[03:21.800 -> 03:24.060] Maybe I've got like a really short memory.
[03:24.060 -> 03:28.360] But even Baku, which was kind of a Red Bull walkover, had its own sort of
[03:28.680 -> 03:32.520] drama with the Ferrari failure. So, you know, I can't say there's been a
[03:34.080 -> 03:37.960] out-and-out dull race this year. So, yeah.
[03:40.040 -> 03:43.040] You're testing my memory as well. I can't remember a dull race, though
[03:43.040 -> 03:45.720] I know I've given some races like 4 on 10 ratings
[03:45.720 -> 03:49.120] or something and people have like thrown brick bats at me.
[03:49.120 -> 03:53.080] But I'm going to rate the Canadian Grand Prix a full 10 on 10.
[03:53.080 -> 03:56.760] And I'm hoping I get bouquets for this this time, guys.
[03:56.760 -> 04:03.800] And my actual reason, just adding to what you also shared, Abhishek, is the fact that
[04:03.800 -> 04:05.440] we had a battle for the lead.
[04:05.440 -> 04:10.920] The DRS, which we pretty much don't like, actually acted very well.
[04:10.920 -> 04:13.400] You know, it didn't make Max Verstappen a sitting duck.
[04:13.400 -> 04:16.760] Carlos Sainz was, you know, attacking him for laps at the end.
[04:16.760 -> 04:21.640] Samuel mentioned at the top of the episode, how is it that Max doesn't make a mistake under pressure?
[04:21.640 -> 04:24.480] He did not. And this is what we want to see.
[04:24.480 -> 04:26.240] I don't really want to see an overtake.
[04:26.240 -> 04:27.960] I want to see drivers battle it out.
[04:27.960 -> 04:31.420] I want the best driver to eventually finish ahead,
[04:31.420 -> 04:36.020] not because he or she just flicked a wing open and went by.
[04:36.020 -> 04:38.760] So to me, that actually was one of the reasons
[04:38.760 -> 04:41.240] why I rated the race so high.
[04:41.240 -> 04:42.480] It was 70 laps.
[04:42.480 -> 04:47.840] It seemed like a really long race, but you know, very, you know,
[04:47.840 -> 04:51.200] nerve-wracking, pulsating, those are the words that came to my mind.
[04:52.800 -> 04:57.360] Absolutely, it was and that's where the new rules have really delivered. I mean,
[04:57.360 -> 05:02.000] we're getting these battles for the lead where there's a genuine fight, it's not, you know,
[05:02.000 -> 05:07.520] you get too close to the car and then you lose downforce, that's not happening, I mean you can visibly see cars being able to follow each other
[05:08.320 -> 05:13.680] much more closely, so it's giving us these genuine fights for the lead, but equally what it's done
[05:13.680 -> 05:20.320] is it's reduced the slipstream effect and therefore the DRS effect as well, because the turbulence
[05:20.320 -> 05:25.540] coming off the cars that destabilizes them in the corners is also not acting as
[05:25.540 -> 05:27.960] as a thing that pulls them down along the straights.
[05:27.960 -> 05:33.720] So that's one thing I noticed because in Canada I remember so many races take 2011
[05:33.720 -> 05:39.120] one for example the longest race in F1 history and I remember watching when Michael Schumacher
[05:39.120 -> 05:43.520] was on course for a podium and then you know everyone just DRS past him as the conditions
[05:43.520 -> 05:46.480] changed.
[05:52.240 -> 05:56.400] Yeah exactly and that's not what we're getting to see right now. I mean in a way we are seeing some DRS trains form in the middle and some drivers are getting frustrated but it's the
[05:56.400 -> 06:00.880] challenge of the overtake that makes it so much fun to watch. I mean those last 20 odd laps that
[06:00.880 -> 06:10.560] we got in the end was so so amazing. I mean probably they have to be the highlight for me because it was okay not exactly the same intensity of the Imola 05-06 races where
[06:10.560 -> 06:15.280] we had Alonso and Schumacher dueling with each other without DRS but in this case it did feel
[06:15.280 -> 06:19.520] somewhat similar where passing was hard so you really had to earn it and at the end of the day
[06:19.520 -> 06:23.680] I just still don't get how Max Verstappen does not make a mistake. I mean come to think of it,
[06:23.680 -> 06:28.140] it's kind of become a reputation now that oh it's Max, he won't fail and that's such
[06:28.140 -> 06:32.240] a big compliment when there are drivers making mistakes left right and centered in big situations.
[06:32.240 -> 06:36.520] So I mean I have to give my hat to him and he's just absolutely fantastic but what would
[06:36.520 -> 06:47.840] you pick as your highlight of the race Abhishek? I think my highlight of the race would have to be, I think it would be the battle for the lead.
[06:47.840 -> 06:53.680] I mean, it's difficult to pick any other highlight when you had such a great battle for the lead.
[06:53.680 -> 07:01.840] So it was a beautifully set up race, you know, with the safety cars and the virtual safety cars,
[07:01.840 -> 07:06.960] the way sort of the strategies played out and the way the closing
[07:06.960 -> 07:13.040] laps were set up, I think it was incredible to watch and you know just gutted that Sainz missed
[07:13.040 -> 07:18.720] out on his first win, he's been he's been waiting for that for a while but there you go, Verstappen
[07:18.720 -> 07:28.280] like you said doesn't make any mistakes and he got the job done. He did and you know my highlight
[07:28.280 -> 07:33.800] would actually be Mercedes's performance because for once that my memory
[07:33.800 -> 07:37.000] stretches back again you know my memory is being tested in the opening minutes
[07:37.000 -> 07:48.880] of this podcast but I can't remember when last did a Mercedes media release not have the words porpoising, bottoming or bouncing and
[07:48.880 -> 07:54.640] that was actually after you know yesterday's race. For once they did not have those three words. We
[07:54.640 -> 08:02.320] had a very happy Lewis Hamilton, we had a happier Toto Wolf I would say and it just goes to show
[08:02.320 -> 08:06.500] that you know my mind goes back to what David Coulthard said on the YRP broadcast.
[08:06.500 -> 08:08.500] He said drivers just need a quick car.
[08:08.500 -> 08:12.000] And if they don't have a quick car, then they just keep complaining about it.
[08:12.000 -> 08:19.000] So I don't know if it's a reference to Mercedes or not, but it did seem like they had lesser and fewer issues.
[08:19.000 -> 08:26.040] And the changes that they made after their experiments on Friday actually delivered a good
[08:26.040 -> 08:29.440] result for them and the icing on the cake was that they finished ahead of
[08:29.440 -> 08:34.880] Leclerc and then of course Checo Perez had his own you know reliability issues
[08:34.880 -> 08:41.760] in the race which sort of promoted them only forward. Yeah yeah I mean I think
[08:41.760 -> 08:47.760] there was a world of a difference in Hamilton's mood after Friday and after the race.
[08:47.760 -> 08:53.120] I mean, you could tell. I mean, there's a clip doing the rounds on social media where he goes on Friday,
[08:53.120 -> 08:55.840] this is the worst car ever or something like that.
[08:55.840 -> 08:59.360] And I'm not quoting directly, but he says something to that effect.
[08:59.360 -> 09:04.400] And then on Sunday, you know, cycle switch has gone off and he's in a much happier place.
[09:04.400 -> 09:10.600] Of course, they were experimenting with, as Kunal said, with a lot of different setups on Friday that made the car difficult to drive.
[09:10.600 -> 09:20.600] But, yeah, you know, things also worked in their favour in the sense, we had a mixed-up grid, which meant we had no Leclerc in the mix,
[09:20.600 -> 09:26.360] we had no Perez in the mix, of course Perez retired as well. So things
[09:26.360 -> 09:31.480] went in their favour. But I think Hamilton has been due this podium for a few races now
[09:31.480 -> 09:37.560] because and we have our stats guru here. So I mean, correct me if I'm wrong, but this
[09:37.560 -> 09:46.720] is only Hamilton's second podium this season. He was on course for a few others that he should have had but didn't because
[09:46.720 -> 09:53.400] things didn't go his way, things like safety cars and factors outside his control. So really
[09:53.400 -> 09:58.120] great to see Lewis back on the podium.
[09:58.120 -> 10:02.240] And I suppose that would make him one of our eight sleep performers of the weekend at the
[10:02.240 -> 10:09.120] end of the day, considering how he performed and how the weekend actually started off for him but it's interesting right no paupers and chatter at
[10:09.120 -> 10:13.440] the very end for him and how he's actually ended up transforming this race weekend into a terrible
[10:13.440 -> 10:17.840] one i mean from a terrible one into a great one at the end but it could have been so much different
[10:17.840 -> 10:22.800] had perhaps he been the one to try out the six and in qualifying because he was trying to think
[10:22.800 -> 10:28.020] about it initially and then Mercedes told him you have the option, you go and try what you want to and Lewis
[10:28.020 -> 10:31.680] refrained from doing that but had he done that, maybe Mercedes would have had a far
[10:31.680 -> 10:36.040] worse Sunday at the end. So crazy how one small decision has ended up seeing him pip
[10:36.040 -> 10:40.080] Russell at the end of the day but I think more on Mercedes later. I want to talk about
[10:40.080 -> 10:44.920] Carlos Sainz here for a second because now with him trying to lead the Ferrari charge
[10:44.920 -> 10:47.560] in this weekend, it was obviously clear that the championship gap to
[10:47.560 -> 10:51.560] Verstappen was only going to get bigger it is of course bigger but I just
[10:51.560 -> 10:55.680] wonder right is this probably Carlos Sainz's best race ever and if it is his
[10:55.680 -> 10:59.840] best race ever well is he missing that X factor because we just saw that
[10:59.840 -> 11:18.000] difference between himself and Verstappen this past weekend? I think I'd rate Monza where Pierre Gasly won ahead of him in 2020 that was. I think I'd rate that drive higher than or on par with this drive.
[11:18.000 -> 11:26.360] So, I mean, I hope it's not his best performance ever. I do think he's still got a lot of potential
[11:26.360 -> 11:31.560] that he can unlock from himself and from the combination of him
[11:31.560 -> 11:33.840] and this car.
[11:33.840 -> 11:35.600] Because, I mean, look, he's no slouch.
[11:35.600 -> 11:37.240] But he's had a tough year.
[11:37.240 -> 11:38.520] He's had a tough season.
[11:38.520 -> 11:41.200] And things also, when you have that,
[11:41.200 -> 11:43.320] mentally also you tend to go into a spiral.
[11:43.320 -> 11:53.700] So maybe this was a good sort of race for him to sort of bounce back mentally and then sort of use this as a base to build from.
[11:53.700 -> 11:57.460] Yeah, but I wouldn't say it's his best performance ever.
[11:57.460 -> 12:05.080] I still think Monza 2020 was slightly better, where again, he missed out on that first win.
[12:05.080 -> 12:09.540] My memory is being tested again you guys but okay I'm gonna say this is Carlos Sainz's
[12:09.540 -> 12:16.240] best race performance in 2022 given his struggle so maybe I could get both of you to settle
[12:16.240 -> 12:23.520] on that at least but you know Carlos Sainz we had two questions on social media which
[12:23.520 -> 12:26.080] we'd like to sort of bring across.
[12:26.080 -> 12:29.640] First is very simple, why could he not make it work?
[12:29.640 -> 12:33.080] And I believe this is also going back into the question,
[12:33.080 -> 12:34.640] is the Red Bull the quicker car
[12:34.640 -> 12:36.400] or is the Ferrari the quicker car?
[12:36.400 -> 12:40.160] And something that Carlos said post race was that
[12:40.160 -> 12:41.980] he was actually the fastest man on track
[12:41.980 -> 12:50.880] and that he had more pace than Max Verstappen. But he said the pace differential was just a tenth or two tenths and that the overtaking delta
[12:51.760 -> 12:57.760] in Canada was up to half a second or 0.5 of a second and he said that's why he could run so
[12:57.760 -> 13:03.200] close but not make an overtake. And another question that actually came in from social
[13:03.200 -> 13:05.360] media as well was why could Carlos Sainz
[13:05.720 -> 13:13.260] not have taken the medium instead of the hards after his last stop under the safety car period and that was purely down to the
[13:13.380 -> 13:16.080] tire compounds that were available to him.
[13:16.080 -> 13:23.440] He had the option to either take the soft, which was probably more risky, or he had to take a hard because he anyway
[13:23.640 -> 13:28.240] used his only set of mediums when he started the race?
[13:28.240 -> 13:32.040] Yeah, I think what we've seen this year is,
[13:32.040 -> 13:34.200] and not just this year, but generally in Formula 1,
[13:34.200 -> 13:36.320] you may have the fastest car over a single lap,
[13:36.320 -> 13:40.000] but that doesn't mean you have the fast or the most raciest
[13:40.000 -> 13:42.320] car in that sense.
[13:42.320 -> 13:43.880] I mean, and we've seen this especially
[13:43.880 -> 13:45.720] with Ferrari this year. I mean, and we've seen this especially with Ferrari this year.
[13:45.720 -> 13:50.400] I mean, Charles Leclerc has been on pole before this weekend.
[13:50.400 -> 13:53.880] He'd been on pole at the last four races.
[13:53.880 -> 13:57.480] And he hadn't converted a single one to victory.
[13:57.480 -> 13:59.600] So of course, there were other factors,
[13:59.600 -> 14:01.520] like Spain and Monaco.
[14:01.520 -> 14:04.000] Spain was retirement.
[14:04.000 -> 14:04.960] Baku was retirement.
[14:04.960 -> 14:08.560] Monaco, Spain was a retirement, Baku was a retirement, Monaco was a strategy.
[14:08.560 -> 14:14.960] But we've seen, for example, Miami, where Max Verstappen breezed past him because he
[14:14.960 -> 14:19.380] had a better race car or a better car and race trim.
[14:19.380 -> 14:24.240] We saw in Baku where he was struggling to keep up with Sergio Perez before his retirement
[14:24.240 -> 14:30.440] and was instead fending off Verstappen and even in Canada I think it was both
[14:30.440 -> 14:35.300] Ferraris I think even Leclerc complained about not being able to you know nail
[14:35.300 -> 14:40.020] the corner exits that would give him a good run on the guys he was chasing and
[14:40.020 -> 14:53.840] I think it was a similar case for Sain I mean, the Ferrari is fast, but it's not fast in the bits that you can overtake on. So that's basically been the theme this season.
[14:53.840 -> 14:59.980] Yeah, that's, that's such a good point, actually, because that's what we're trying to actually
[14:59.980 -> 15:03.920] try to notice in the races where Ferrari is just not able to get past. Case in point,
[15:03.920 -> 15:07.640] Imola as well. Well, Eclair tried so hard hard but then there's just no respite at the end of the
[15:07.640 -> 15:11.840] day. But it's kind of progressing into a very interesting battle because it's not like Red
[15:11.840 -> 15:15.980] Bull are completely devoid of their reliability issues as well because Sergio Perez had that
[15:15.980 -> 15:20.600] issue this time out as well. But I think we should come to reliability in a bit more depth
[15:20.600 -> 15:25.280] a bit later on because we've got one Mr. Fernando Alonso to chat about and
[15:25.280 -> 15:28.920] I really want to do that because we were on the subject of strategy, we were on the subject
[15:28.920 -> 15:33.400] of how some teams were able to make it work and some weren't and Alpine just weren't able
[15:33.400 -> 15:34.400] to do so.
[15:34.400 -> 15:40.360] I mean it was tremendously bad to see Alonso start second and then end up I think seventh
[15:40.360 -> 15:45.440] on track and ninth at the end of the day because he also got that weaving penalty at the end
[15:49.440 -> 15:55.120] and what really went wrong for Alonso was a bit intriguing Abhishek because in the first VSC he decided not to box that was the VSC where we saw Verstappen and Hamilton box
[15:55.120 -> 16:00.240] at the end and in the second one interestingly enough he missed the chance to do so because he
[16:00.240 -> 16:05.360] just went past the pit lane when the VSC was announced. So just bad timing or do you think
[16:05.360 -> 16:09.600] Alpine maybe should have come in because at the end of the day he just got locked out in the middle
[16:09.600 -> 16:12.880] and he had to box with the green flag out there which really ruined his race at the end.
[16:13.920 -> 16:17.600] Yeah he lost a lot of time through the pit stop summit as you pointed out through both of those
[16:17.600 -> 16:27.000] pit stops. The first one I mean the first one I wouldn't really say Alpine dropped the ball on that because, I mean, even signs stayed out at that time.
[16:27.000 -> 16:31.700] So, I think if they had a chance of a result, they had to do something different.
[16:31.700 -> 16:34.000] But the second one really, really cost him.
[16:34.000 -> 16:42.200] I actually was expecting Alonso to also make a monster start because he has a history of doing that.
[16:42.200 -> 16:45.800] He has a history of making really monster getaways
[16:45.800 -> 16:46.480] off the line.
[16:46.480 -> 16:49.600] And he can generally, I expected him
[16:49.600 -> 16:51.000] to sort of slot into the lead.
[16:51.000 -> 16:53.800] I didn't expect him to finish in the top three in a dry race.
[16:53.800 -> 16:55.920] I didn't expect him to sort of hold on to the lead.
[16:55.920 -> 16:58.360] But I thought he'd certainly jump
[16:58.360 -> 17:01.400] into the lead at the start and lead through the first stint
[17:01.400 -> 17:01.900] at least.
[17:07.200 -> 17:09.560] Yeah, I must say his start was actually most disappointing.
[17:09.560 -> 17:11.960] You know, I thought he's gonna do all his fireworks
[17:11.960 -> 17:15.600] and he and Max Verstappen literally like,
[17:15.600 -> 17:18.000] he being the generation of the previous, previous,
[17:18.000 -> 17:20.960] you know, past, I would say not even the past generation.
[17:20.960 -> 17:24.280] I was hoping for more from Fernando Alonso at the start.
[17:24.280 -> 17:25.080] And then, you know, more
[17:25.080 -> 17:30.200] from Alpine, it seemed like, we are C1, no, we're not going to pit. We are C2, no, we're
[17:30.200 -> 17:35.000] not going to pit. We are going to pit only under green flag conditions. And the contrasting
[17:35.000 -> 17:40.280] thing here is Alpine actually had a very good strategy for Esteban Ocon, right? So it was
[17:40.280 -> 17:44.840] as though that they forgot that Fernando was fighting up at the front and, you know, they
[17:44.840 -> 17:46.800] just couldn't get the strategy working for him.
[17:46.800 -> 17:49.600] And then he had an energy issue as well.
[17:49.600 -> 17:53.120] He was clipping at the end of the straights, apparently is what Alpine say.
[17:53.320 -> 17:58.520] But great teamwork there where Alpine told Ocon to slow down so that,
[17:59.160 -> 18:03.240] you know, Fernando Alonso would have DRS and then they'll be able to keep the
[18:03.920 -> 18:05.480] Alfa Romeo cars at bay.
[18:05.480 -> 18:12.320] But of course, you know, the weaving thing was a little unexpected from somebody like Fernando Alonso.
[18:12.320 -> 18:18.480] It was probably just that, you know, I remember reading, I remember hearing his mid-race radio and he was like, what?
[18:18.480 -> 18:22.440] You know, Alpine turned around and said, keep doing what you're doing.
[18:22.440 -> 18:23.520] And he's like, what are we doing?
[18:24.720 -> 18:28.680] And it was just one of those things that actually came up but eventually you know
[18:28.680 -> 18:32.360] double points for them and the gap between them and McLaren is actually
[18:32.360 -> 18:40.520] closing in especially since McLaren had no score in Canada. Yeah our stats guru
[18:40.520 -> 18:46.080] has come up with the statistic that shows that McLaren haven't scored in Canada
[18:46.080 -> 18:51.120] Yeah exactly and Alpine are just getting there a little bit bit by bit and it was interesting
[18:51.120 -> 18:56.020] that Esteban Ocon was also able to hold off Charles Leclerc for I mean what was it almost
[18:56.020 -> 18:57.200] half the race.
[18:57.200 -> 19:01.000] It clearly seems that this Alpine is moving in the right direction Kunal and that we are
[19:01.000 -> 19:05.200] getting to see more of a fight in the midfield and it's amazing right in the first
[19:05.200 -> 19:09.440] race of the season we thought oh well i mean at least i was thinking what's the point of alpine
[19:09.440 -> 19:13.680] even competing because alonzo even competing i meant to say because he came back to formula
[19:13.680 -> 19:18.480] one to fight for podiums and championships and here we are alpine are struggling in the midfield
[19:18.480 -> 19:23.520] is this ever going to change but suddenly we saw harsco down mclaren come back up alpine get even
[19:23.520 -> 19:25.000] better and speaking
[19:25.000 -> 19:29.560] of, even Alfa Romeo actually surprisingly sustained their pace because this weekend
[19:29.560 -> 19:33.920] they actually got a double points finish which was, if I'm not mistaken, their first time
[19:33.920 -> 19:36.760] since Pahrain early on this year when they've done that.
[19:36.760 -> 19:40.720] And even Jogwan Yoo got a lot of points and he has to be one of my eights league performers
[19:40.720 -> 19:41.720] of the weekend.
[19:41.720 -> 19:42.720] But more on him in a second.
[19:42.720 -> 19:48.160] I want to talk about Valtteri Bottas because his strategy was also like textbook perfect
[19:48.160 -> 19:53.380] exactly what to do in a VSC situation wait I mean just just don't box for the
[19:53.380 -> 19:57.700] first VSC and when the second one comes in just you absolutely get benefited by
[19:57.700 -> 20:01.320] that not the second VSC but when the safety car came in that's when Bottas
[20:01.320 -> 20:07.080] was exactly right in the correct position and he benefited he got all the points that he possibly could have otherwise he would
[20:07.080 -> 20:11.880] have dropped down but great weekend for Alfa Romeo on the whole. I think very
[20:11.880 -> 20:15.560] good weekend for Alfa Romeo they won the race on or rather they did well in the
[20:15.560 -> 20:21.560] race on strategy purely speaking and you know one of the things that actually
[20:21.560 -> 20:25.640] stood out was the way Leclerc actually used the hard medium,
[20:25.640 -> 20:27.840] the reverse strategy to finish fifth.
[20:27.840 -> 20:33.800] Botas also used the hard medium strategy to finish eighth and he just remained out on
[20:33.800 -> 20:37.480] the hard compound till such time that the safety car came.
[20:37.480 -> 20:42.120] So he sort of got a free pit stop and that just propelled him up, you know, higher up
[20:42.120 -> 20:47.020] in the race and he tried to overtake Alonso which eventually happened, you know, anyway
[20:47.380 -> 20:50.760] with the penalty, but the question that we actually got from social media is
[20:51.200 -> 20:58.100] Could Alpine have had a different strategy for Fernando Alonso and sitting here with the no tools and the keyboard
[20:58.320 -> 21:00.320] you know, keyboard armchair warrior
[21:00.740 -> 21:04.120] tactics that we have it could have been that you know, yes
[21:06.580 -> 21:11.560] tactics that we have. It could have been that you know yes the virtual safety cars would have been ideal for him to pit especially the second one
[21:11.560 -> 21:15.680] given that the you know the first one was early but now we already know that
[21:15.680 -> 21:22.160] he sort of just about missed it, missed making the most of that when he
[21:22.160 -> 21:25.820] needed to do so. So it was just unfortunate. But yes, Joe Guan
[21:25.820 -> 21:31.280] Yu definitely one of the eight sleep performers of the race. One of the other eight sleep
[21:31.280 -> 21:35.820] performers of the race, even though he wasn't very happy with his performance, was Charles
[21:35.820 -> 21:49.260] Leclerc because he went from P19 to P5 despite being stuck in a DRS train, despite being stuck behind Ocon, despite having a slow pit
[21:49.260 -> 21:53.100] stop, literally nothing just about went his way.
[21:53.100 -> 21:56.140] And talking of Charles Leclerc, actually, Ferrari's strategy
[21:56.140 -> 22:00.160] was very clear when they decided to participate in qualifying.
[22:00.160 -> 22:02.500] Because mind you, with the power unit penalty,
[22:02.500 -> 22:04.580] he was anyway going to start at the back.
[22:04.580 -> 22:05.520] But they participated in Q1 so that they could finish, because mind you with the power unit penalty he was anyway going to start at the back but they
[22:05.520 -> 22:11.840] participated in q1 so that they could finish they could start one position ahead of yuki sunoda and
[22:11.840 -> 22:19.760] charles leclerc actually said that we already made one position up for the race tomorrow you know
[22:19.760 -> 22:30.240] that's what he said after qualifying but a question we have from socials which is a very interesting one to discuss since we discussed just how Leclerc's P5 felt a
[22:30.240 -> 22:34.160] little more rewarding for us as viewers despite all the struggles was you know
[22:34.160 -> 22:40.200] would Leclerc have come out ahead of the DRS train if not for a poor pit stop
[22:40.200 -> 22:53.440] and poor pit stops we are seeing too many of them but Abhishek, what are your thoughts on that? I mean that pit stop definitely cost him. Now how much did it cost him? It's
[22:53.440 -> 22:58.680] a lot of ifs and buts and what ifs. The fact is that he came out in that DRS train and
[22:58.680 -> 23:08.200] I think what we saw with the clerk was again another example of these new cars and the relative lack of a slipstream that
[23:08.200 -> 23:14.040] they produce. So it wasn't just the fact that it was a DRS train, but I think it, and that's
[23:14.040 -> 23:17.400] nothing about Lukaku's performance, right? I mean, he did a great job to come through
[23:17.400 -> 23:23.040] the field, but I think what people expected, there was slightly a slight tinge of disappointment
[23:23.040 -> 23:25.220] because I think what people expected was to see him
[23:25.420 -> 23:30.800] come sighting through the field, maybe like Hamilton in Brazil last year or something like that and that didn't happen.
[23:32.420 -> 23:38.180] Overtaking was really difficult. So yes, if you know losing time in that pit stop dropped him into that DRS train then
[23:38.900 -> 23:41.400] it cost him. It cost him a lot of time.
[23:45.280 -> 23:48.740] Yeah, that was a bit of an issue with Leclerc at the end of the day and
[23:49.480 -> 23:54.480] if only he could have gone a bit faster, the damage limitation would have been a lot better because at this stage
[23:54.480 -> 24:00.800] Verstappen is now leading the championship by 46 points from Sergio Perez and then there is a bit of a gap to
[24:00.800 -> 24:02.040] Charles Leclerc back there.
[24:02.040 -> 24:08.400] So it's really tricky for them to actually claw back from this stage right now and I wonder how things will play out. But I have
[24:08.400 -> 24:13.360] to talk about another good performer this weekend, another eight-sleep driver of the
[24:13.360 -> 24:20.040] week and it has to go to Joe Guan Yu, who in fact this weekend Kunal, not just out qualified
[24:20.040 -> 24:24.440] Valtteri Bottas but also got his second points finish of this Formula One season and he was
[24:24.440 -> 24:29.840] just fantastic and his run of form has been continuing from Baku last time out as well but I just wonder
[24:29.840 -> 24:34.960] what's changed for Jogwan Niu? Why is he so much better right now and it's good to see that and his
[24:34.960 -> 24:41.040] is sort of growth and confidence is great to see for someone who in a way came in as a paid driver
[24:41.040 -> 24:48.720] so it kind of shows that not paid rowers are very very bad.
[24:54.400 -> 24:59.920] Yeah that's correct. I mean you know he out qualified Valtteri Bottas for the second race in a row. He finished you know second time in the season. He scored points. He scored more than one
[24:59.920 -> 25:06.000] point which is a great thing. I think it's just down to him having far worse reliability than
[25:06.000 -> 25:11.840] Valtteri Bottas. That was probably one of those things and it's lovely when Alfa Romeo is
[25:11.840 -> 25:16.160] a team that scores points. I mean we all have such great memories of them from their
[25:16.160 -> 25:23.360] sour days and for them to do so well in 2022 after their recent seasons of struggles is also very good.
[25:23.360 -> 25:26.360] And since we spoke about the DRS
[25:26.360 -> 25:29.200] and we also spoke about eight sleep performers of the race,
[25:29.200 -> 25:31.600] I'm gonna add DRS to the list
[25:31.600 -> 25:33.560] of eight sleep performers as well,
[25:33.560 -> 25:36.740] because like I said at the start of the show,
[25:36.740 -> 25:40.360] it did not rob us of that title,
[25:40.360 -> 25:42.760] of the race battle that we enjoyed so much
[25:42.760 -> 25:47.200] in the last few laps of the race, Amul.
[25:51.840 -> 25:55.200] No, it didn't. It generally didn't. It kind of added to the show at the end of the day
[25:55.200 -> 25:59.600] and which is amazing to see that this year we can look at Formula One and say, yeah,
[25:59.600 -> 26:04.000] the regulations did succeed because the cars are able to follow so much better. But Abhishek,
[26:04.000 -> 26:08.160] I want to come to you for this. Do you think there's any other driver that we can add to
[26:08.160 -> 26:12.360] this 8 sleep drivers of the weekend list? We've already got Bruce Hamilton, we've already
[26:12.360 -> 26:18.400] got Max Verstappen in this and now Joe Guan Yu. Anyone else you want to highlight?
[26:18.400 -> 26:24.520] Fernando Alonso just because of his qualifying performance in the wet rally. I mean I know
[26:24.520 -> 26:27.740] the wet weather is a leveller and I know that you can often get
[26:28.200 -> 26:30.200] surprise results, but the fact is that
[26:31.160 -> 26:35.240] the old master delivered his very best in that session and
[26:35.960 -> 26:42.200] lined up on the front row. Now, I know the race didn't go to plan, didn't go to El Plan,
[26:43.160 -> 26:47.020] but you know, it shows that Fernando is
[26:47.020 -> 26:50.700] still sort of, thing with Fernando is because he's not been in front-running
[26:50.700 -> 26:57.500] machinery since, well since 2014, it's sort of very difficult to gauge how
[26:57.500 -> 27:02.140] good he still is. I mean we know he's one of the best drivers to have raced in
[27:02.140 -> 27:05.480] Formula One but how good is he relative to his peak?
[27:06.480 -> 27:09.220] It's often difficult to sort of get a sense of that, but I
[27:09.840 -> 27:12.380] Think this showed that you know the fire still burning
[27:12.380 -> 27:16.640] He still got what it takes and so he's he's gonna be one of the
[27:17.040 -> 27:20.720] One of the performers of not the race, but of the weekend for me, I would say
[27:23.320 -> 27:29.000] Exactly and with that actually it's time to go to the stats review segment from F1 stats guru Sundaram
[27:29.000 -> 27:33.320] who you can follow on all of your social media platforms and he's got some few fun stats
[27:33.320 -> 27:36.000] for us today pertaining the Canadian GP.
[27:36.000 -> 27:37.000] So let's listen to him.
[27:37.000 -> 27:40.360] Hey folks, it's time to do the stats review of the Canadian Grand Prix.
[27:40.360 -> 27:43.120] I'm Sundaram, also known as the F1 stats guru.
[27:43.120 -> 27:44.120] Let's talk numbers.
[27:44.120 -> 27:48.480] Now Max Verstappen is in red hot form and he's not making any mistakes no matter how much
[27:48.480 -> 27:53.440] of pressure you put on him. He took pole on Saturday, which was his first ever pole around
[27:53.440 -> 27:58.220] a street circuit and he converted that to a nice little race win on Sunday. He's actually
[27:58.220 -> 28:03.440] won 11 of the 15 races that he started from pole, which makes for a very nice pole to
[28:03.440 -> 28:05.920] win conversion ratio of 73% the
[28:05.920 -> 28:11.240] highest any formula 1 driver has with more than one pole position to their name.
[28:11.240 -> 28:14.640] Red Bull are also on a very nice run when it comes to street circuits.
[28:14.640 -> 28:19.400] They've in fact won 7 of the 9 street races since 2021.
[28:19.400 -> 28:23.720] Lewis Hamilton seemed very relaxed, comfortable and happy on Sunday because of course he came
[28:23.720 -> 28:29.420] P3 which also meant that there's been a Mercedes-powered car on the Canadian Grand Prix podium every
[28:29.420 -> 28:31.220] single time since 2010.
[28:31.220 -> 28:35.680] Now, we have to talk about Fernando Alonso, the man, the guy everyone was talking about
[28:35.680 -> 28:40.100] on Saturday. He had a bit of a questionable strategy during the race, but he eventually
[28:40.100 -> 28:45.440] finished P9 after copying a post-race time penalty as well, but he eventually did score points,
[28:45.440 -> 28:50.880] which makes for his first points around Montreal since 2014. And the last stat for the day is that
[28:50.880 -> 28:56.800] Max Verstappen and Carlos Sainz both finished on the podium in their 150th race entry in Formula
[28:56.800 -> 29:01.200] 1. And the man who accompanied them to the podium, Lewis Hamilton, knows a thing or two about that
[29:01.200 -> 29:05.460] as well, because he too took a podium on his 150th race entry
[29:05.460 -> 29:11.360] in Formula 1 which was the 2015 Malaysian Grand Prix and he came second in that race.
[29:11.360 -> 29:14.760] That was it, that was the stats review of the Canadian Grand Prix. I'm Sundaram, you
[29:14.760 -> 29:19.080] can follow me on Instagram and Twitter under the handle F1StatsGuru. I'll see you guys
[29:19.080 -> 29:20.080] later.
[29:20.080 -> 29:30.320] Hey folks, welcome back into the InsideLine F1 Podcast and Pitch to Podium and I want to pick up at that one stat that F1 Stats Kurosundara mentioned about Mercedes and their
[29:30.320 -> 29:34.920] record of having Mercedes-powered cars on the podium every single time.
[29:34.920 -> 29:38.560] Now this time around it was a bit of an anomaly actually, we didn't quite expect Mercedes
[29:38.560 -> 29:43.840] to be as good but Abhishek, just what's changed and do we see that promise that we saw in
[29:43.840 -> 29:45.600] Spain extending as a result
[29:45.600 -> 29:50.040] of this or was this just a one-off result at the end of the day? It seems like they
[29:50.040 -> 29:54.160] are clawing their way back up but you just can't tell at this stage whether it's real
[29:54.160 -> 29:57.600] or not because it's so conditional depending on the circuits.
[29:57.600 -> 30:05.960] Yeah, absolutely. I think what we saw, perfect example, I mean, Spain, we saw a rebound in their fortunes, we saw the
[30:05.960 -> 30:12.300] clerk fighting at the front, right at the front, you know, and sorry, Russell, sorry,
[30:12.300 -> 30:17.600] we saw George Russell fighting right at the front and we saw Hamilton mount that
[30:17.600 -> 30:23.800] stunning recovery all the way from the back after his first lap incident. But
[30:23.800 -> 30:27.940] then, but then, you know, we had that sort of dip through the next couple of races,
[30:28.760 -> 30:35.820] you know, where they were not quite on the same level. So, I mean, yes, I mean you'd expect Mercedes to make progress given
[30:37.240 -> 30:43.040] their pedigree, given the resources at their disposal, even with the budget gap.
[30:44.080 -> 30:46.680] But, honestly, I would have expected
[30:46.680 -> 30:48.080] them to have made further progress
[30:48.080 -> 30:49.240] at this point in the season.
[30:49.240 -> 30:50.920] And I'm sure that's what they would have
[30:50.920 -> 30:53.120] expected going in as well.
[30:53.120 -> 30:54.880] But we have to wait and watch.
[30:54.880 -> 30:57.240] If it's progress, it's certainly not linear.
[30:57.240 -> 30:58.720] It's sort of up and down.
[30:58.720 -> 31:00.720] But I think we'll have to wait a few races
[31:00.720 -> 31:03.880] to see if this progress is genuine.
[31:06.080 -> 31:11.560] Mercedes scored a 3-4 in Canada. It was the fourth time this season that
[31:11.560 -> 31:16.040] they actually had a 3-4 result in the race which I think is you know pretty
[31:16.040 -> 31:19.560] solid for them and one of the reasons why, Somal, you know you asked this
[31:19.560 -> 31:24.000] question why was it different in in Canada, why was there no talk of
[31:24.000 -> 31:26.180] purposing especially after the race and so on?
[31:26.180 -> 31:27.440] And something that actually, you know,
[31:27.440 -> 31:30.740] Mark Hughes pointed out was that certain sections
[31:30.740 -> 31:33.600] of the circuit in Montreal were relayed
[31:33.600 -> 31:37.140] and hence were not as bumpy as teams expected them
[31:37.140 -> 31:39.520] beforehand, and that was one of the main differences
[31:39.520 -> 31:41.820] between Baku and Montreal.
[31:41.820 -> 31:43.760] And then again, you know, Montreal,
[31:43.760 -> 31:45.280] while it's a high-speed circuit
[31:45.280 -> 31:51.040] it doesn't have as many high-speed corners as you know as Baku did for
[31:51.040 -> 31:55.660] example but you know I think it's always great you know I like to sign off
[31:55.660 -> 31:59.740] Mercedes's segment by quoting what Charles Leclerc said he said Mercedes
[31:59.740 -> 32:03.760] looked really strong and if they continue this trend then they will join
[32:03.760 -> 32:06.480] the battle for race wins,
[32:06.480 -> 32:07.960] you know, at some point in the season.
[32:07.960 -> 32:10.360] But I also liked how Abhishek put it,
[32:10.360 -> 32:13.480] that, you know, one would have expected a little more
[32:13.480 -> 32:18.480] from Mercedes, you know, by the ninth race of the season.
[32:18.540 -> 32:21.640] I mean, soon we are, you know, reaching halfway point.
[32:21.600 -> 32:28.300] reaching a halfway point.
[32:29.100 -> 32:29.500] No, exactly.
[32:32.180 -> 32:32.200] I for one thought that Mercedes would come up with an upgrade
[32:34.980 -> 32:35.000] and the one record I really want to see continue is
[32:38.280 -> 32:38.300] Hamilton winning in every single one of his Formula 1
[32:38.900 -> 32:41.600] seasons. I wonder if we'll actually get to see that later on.
[32:41.800 -> 32:44.380] But before that, before we get to discuss that in more depth,
[32:44.400 -> 32:47.520] I want to talk about the Haas for a second as well because I am just
[32:47.520 -> 32:48.520] baffled now.
[32:48.520 -> 32:53.740] On the subject of Lewis Hamilton, Abhishek, wasn't it Saudi last year when he had that
[32:53.740 -> 32:58.300] clash with Max Verstappen and ended up with a slightly broken front wing.
[32:58.300 -> 33:01.860] He also had a clash with Kevin Magnussen this time and it was Magnussen's front wing that
[33:01.860 -> 33:10.000] was apparently broken enough to get him a black and orange flag. But I mean visually it didn't seem like it was broken that badly. So what do you reckon on that?
[33:10.000 -> 33:14.000] Was it deserved because that really compromised his race badly from there on?
[33:16.000 -> 33:20.320] No, I don't think it was deserved if you ask me. And one thing I've noticed about
[33:20.320 -> 33:23.680] front wings in general this year is because of the way they're mounted,
[33:24.640 -> 33:30.000] front wings in general this year is because of the way they're mounted, they're stronger, they don't seem to fall off as easily or you know break as
[33:30.000 -> 33:33.480] easily and that's probably the way they're mounted. Of course Magnuson's wing
[33:33.480 -> 33:37.340] we saw had damage but you know he was able to drive, he was able to keep the
[33:37.340 -> 33:42.560] car on track and and drive fast so it wasn't like it was shedding bits and
[33:42.560 -> 33:49.000] pieces as it was driving along so I didn't see it as being risky
[33:49.000 -> 33:50.440] driving with that front wing.
[33:52.080 -> 33:54.120] And this leads to questions about race control
[33:54.120 -> 33:57.320] that teams and drivers and fans and other experts
[33:57.320 -> 34:01.280] have been asking over the last many weekends,
[34:01.280 -> 34:03.800] like the delay we faced in Monaco.
[34:03.800 -> 34:05.000] And then, I don't know
[34:05.000 -> 34:09.360] suddenly the jewelry ban is no longer the hottest topic to speak about and
[34:09.360 -> 34:14.720] then the new technical directive that you know the FIA put out for purposing
[34:14.720 -> 34:20.320] on the Thursday just before Canada so you know strange things happening at the
[34:20.320 -> 34:24.320] FIA level and and you know I'm hoping that they also sort of sort themselves
[34:24.320 -> 34:25.440] out and guys when
[34:25.440 -> 34:30.320] they do we'll add them to our list of eight sleep performers from the race weekend because
[34:31.040 -> 34:36.560] it was a little strange to see Kevin McNewson be you know be shown a black and orange flag and
[34:36.560 -> 34:41.280] you know one for our stats guru when was the last time that the black and orange flag was
[34:41.280 -> 34:48.840] shown in two successive races because I think in Baku it was Yuki Sonoda who had it for his DRS wing and you know I liked
[34:48.840 -> 34:52.440] how Kevin McNeilson put it he said you know we are racing we are going wheel to
[34:52.440 -> 34:57.360] wheel and sometimes it's okay to have a car with you know cuts and bruises and
[34:57.360 -> 35:01.880] scratches that you just make last through the race I mean if anything you
[35:01.880 -> 35:06.000] know it's the sponsors who have the broken part who rely on, you know
[35:06.000 -> 35:08.640] the broken part for exposure should be the ones most
[35:09.280 -> 35:11.280] pissed off but you know
[35:11.440 -> 35:19.160] Kevin's race was you know destroyed by that and then Mick Schumacher, you know also had of you know a reliability issue. So
[35:19.720 -> 35:22.440] Just goes to show in this, you know in chasing
[35:23.880 -> 35:26.960] just goes to show in this, you know, in chasing Red Bull, who's not traditionally a car manufacturing company.
[35:26.960 -> 35:28.720] Ferrari is pushing their power units
[35:28.720 -> 35:31.760] and the reliability to its limit.
[35:31.760 -> 35:34.540] And Mercedes is pushing its chassis
[35:34.540 -> 35:36.360] and, you know, and its floor to the limit.
[35:36.360 -> 35:37.720] So, you know, who would have thought
[35:37.720 -> 35:39.880] that an energy drinks company would, you know,
[35:39.880 -> 35:42.200] pose a big headache for two of the, you know,
[35:42.200 -> 35:45.280] most known and the biggest car manufacturers in the world.
[35:51.000 -> 35:51.840] Yeah, no, exactly.
[35:51.840 -> 35:54.300] And Abhishek, I actually want to know your thoughts
[35:54.300 -> 35:55.640] on this whole reliability drama,
[35:55.640 -> 35:58.080] because this weekend we saw Sergio Perez
[35:58.080 -> 36:01.200] and Mick Schumacher again have reliability issues.
[36:01.200 -> 36:03.360] Firstly for Mick, just what will it take
[36:03.360 -> 36:04.200] for him to score a point?
[36:04.200 -> 36:09.280] But secondly, that's again another Ferrari customer team having a reliability issues. Firstly for Mick, just what will it take for him to score a point? But secondly, that's again another Ferrari customer team having a reliability issue,
[36:09.280 -> 36:14.000] but it's not like Red Bull Racing are completely free with it. So just what's changed in 2022
[36:14.000 -> 36:18.800] and why is reliability suddenly such a big issue when, well, the parts are different,
[36:18.800 -> 36:23.000] yes, but they can't be so different that teams are completely unreliable with them, no? So
[36:23.000 -> 36:26.160] what's just going on this year?
[36:32.320 -> 36:36.640] I wish I knew Sourmith, I mean yeah I mean it baffles me as well why because the engines haven't really changed, I mean they've probably changed a little bit and they've got to meet the
[36:36.640 -> 36:42.560] new ethanol blending requirements and all of that but the engines haven't really changed that much
[36:43.120 -> 36:49.300] but maybe it's just to do with the fact that Ferrari just decided to introduce more performance this year
[36:49.300 -> 36:54.700] with their engine and performance often comes at a cost and maybe this is and
[36:54.700 -> 36:58.060] that's where I guess you've got to strike the balance because I remember
[36:58.060 -> 37:04.580] going into this season, Alpine's CEO Laurent Rossi, he was adamant that you
[37:04.580 -> 37:07.560] know he's prioritizing performance over reliability
[37:07.560 -> 37:08.560] this season.
[37:08.560 -> 37:12.560] So he's like, it's okay if we blew up a few times with our engine, but I want the engine
[37:12.560 -> 37:14.640] to be fast.
[37:14.640 -> 37:18.080] So maybe a similar approach.
[37:18.080 -> 37:23.800] And about another point on reliability, I think Perez's failure showed that, and also
[37:23.800 -> 37:27.160] the way the championship situation has turned around in the last few races, I think Perez's failure showed that. And also the way the championship situation has turned around in the last few races.
[37:27.160 -> 37:34.720] I think it shows that Verstappen can't feel comfortable with the gap he has.
[37:34.720 -> 37:40.420] He's pushing up to, he's getting into that sort of two races without finishing territory
[37:40.420 -> 37:42.640] and still being in the lead.
[37:42.640 -> 37:45.120] He's pushing towards a 50-point gap now, which
[37:45.120 -> 37:51.160] would put him sort of, yeah, he can still be in the lead if he doesn't finish two races.
[37:51.160 -> 37:57.640] But you know, I think it can turn around. And it's a long season. We got, what, 22 races.
[37:57.640 -> 38:02.000] So it's anything can still happen despite the margin that we've seen. As we saw with
[38:02.000 -> 38:05.920] Leclerc, Leclerc at one point led Verstappen by 36 points.
[38:06.120 -> 38:08.680] So it can really just turn around.
[38:11.240 -> 38:17.140] That's a very good point Abhishek because you know everyone thinks that Max can actually be a little more comfortable with
[38:17.380 -> 38:22.580] the points that he scored over Leclerc and Perez in Canada and you never know.
[38:22.580 -> 38:25.440] I mean, you know the next race is when Max could face
[38:25.440 -> 38:30.320] issues and this is also why, you know, just scoring maximum points each time you finish a
[38:30.320 -> 38:35.280] race is probably going to be key. I mean, that's always the key in Formula One, but a little more
[38:35.280 -> 38:41.440] crucial this season till teams sort of push reliability and Max will probably consider
[38:41.440 -> 38:45.920] himself lucky that the only reliability issue he faced was when his radio
[38:46.600 -> 38:51.360] Failed, you know just at the safety car restart. I mean that was a small thing to
[38:52.000 -> 38:55.480] You know suffer from but on a more serious note, you know
[38:56.280 -> 39:00.120] You spoke of Laura Rossi. I'm gonna speak of Laura Mickey's the Ferrari guy
[39:00.120 -> 39:04.320] He actually said the same thing that you just said Abhishek that you know
[39:04.320 -> 39:11.020] There is a power unit freeze coming up and before that Ferrari are trying to push as much as they can
[39:11.740 -> 39:17.220] with their performance and that's costing or that's coming at the cost of reliability and
[39:17.820 -> 39:19.820] another, you know, very
[39:19.860 -> 39:24.820] well-known expert from the paddock and a former Formula One driver Pedro Dallarosa
[39:24.820 -> 39:30.960] I believe he was one of the first ones very early in the season to say that Ferrari and
[39:30.960 -> 39:38.840] Red Bull are actually already planning to use more power units in 2022 than just the
[39:38.840 -> 39:43.720] three that they can, because that's the level at which they were anyway pushing performance.
[39:43.720 -> 39:47.200] So maybe that's already a part of the plan to just do what Mercedes did last year.
[39:47.200 -> 39:51.840] Just keep putting those power units, take those penalties at circuits when you can
[39:52.120 -> 39:56.360] and just try and, you know, damage, you know, limit your damage.
[39:57.720 -> 40:00.680] Kunal, I think what you said just now, especially about, you know,
[40:00.680 -> 40:04.920] you have to maximize the points when you can.
[40:05.640 -> 40:10.280] I think that's very pertinent especially in Ferrari's case. I mean, I would say they've had, yes,
[40:10.280 -> 40:14.800] Max and Charles have had an equal number of DNFs this season but I would say
[40:14.800 -> 40:20.240] Ferrari have had three reliability affected races because obviously the
[40:20.240 -> 40:27.600] Baku knock-on was that the clerk had to drop to the back in this race. But equally,
[40:27.600 -> 40:32.960] when Imola comes to mind, where Leclerc didn't make the most of his opportunity because he
[40:32.960 -> 40:40.640] spun while chasing Perez, Monaco comes to mind where they should really have won, but
[40:40.640 -> 40:45.880] they dropped the ball on strategy. So Ferrari while they've also suffered reliability
[40:45.880 -> 40:51.760] issues they haven't made the most of when they've had the car to win.
[40:51.760 -> 40:59.680] No that's true and the gap is just growing bigger isn't it because now Sundaram F1 stats
[40:59.680 -> 41:04.540] guru has just popped up and said that no driver in history has overcome a deficit of more
[41:04.540 -> 41:05.720] than 46 points
[41:05.720 -> 41:06.720] to win the title.
[41:06.720 -> 41:08.960] And if the reliability issues of Ferrari continue,
[41:08.960 -> 41:11.120] and if they keep on carrying on, let's say,
[41:11.120 -> 41:13.320] one issue in one race and then they have to carry over
[41:13.320 -> 41:15.920] a penalty into another one, it seems like this gap is just
[41:15.920 -> 41:16.760] going to get bigger.
[41:16.760 -> 41:20.280] And so it's hard to think that Ferrari
[41:20.280 -> 41:21.600] might be able to overcome this.
[41:21.600 -> 41:24.920] And Vettel actually overcome 44 points in 2012.
[41:24.920 -> 41:25.680] So it's just going to
[41:25.680 -> 41:30.800] take a Herculean effort from Leclerc and Ferrari to actually get past this. But speaking of Herculean
[41:30.800 -> 41:34.880] efforts, Sebastian Vettel and Lance Struel actually seem to be putting those in FP3,
[41:34.880 -> 41:40.320] but then it just all vanished in qualifying suddenly. And that Abhishek has been making
[41:40.320 -> 41:44.160] me scratch my head because I was trying to look for articles, trying to look for some quotes
[41:44.160 -> 41:45.940] from Aston Martin from the team
[41:46.000 -> 41:48.640] Principal I'm not sure even they know what's gone wrong
[41:48.960 -> 41:53.400] But that was a bit of a silly qualifying wasn't it because had things continued on
[41:53.600 -> 41:59.060] Maybe if Sebastian Vettel could have been one of our eight sleep performers of the week because the way things were going in qualifying
[41:59.060 -> 42:04.440] I don't think so that they would have finished outside the top 10 considering the kind of pace they were showing throughout the weekend
[42:04.420 -> 42:05.000] So that they would have finished outside the top 10 considering the kind of pace they were showing throughout the weekend
[42:10.540 -> 42:15.900] Yeah, they were absolutely mega in FP3 and Sebastian has been driving very well this year It's not maybe very obvious and again, is he as good as he was at his Red Bull peak?
[42:15.900 -> 42:19.300] I don't know. But the point is he's driving. He's he's looking much more of
[42:19.900 -> 42:23.640] The old Sebastian Vettel in the way he's driving than than than before
[42:24.600 -> 42:30.320] the thing with, you're scratching your head, I think even Sebastian was scratching his head in qualifying.
[42:30.320 -> 42:38.240] We all heard that sort of radio transmission when he was told that he'd been knocked out.
[42:38.240 -> 42:40.160] And even he couldn't believe it.
[42:40.160 -> 42:46.080] And he said something felt like something was broken at the back of the car or something on the left or something like that
[42:46.400 -> 42:49.760] So again, I mean Aston Martin
[42:50.840 -> 42:55.000] They've disappointed me this season. I think they've disappointed a lot of people this season actually
[42:57.920 -> 43:09.840] And I believe Aston Martin actually said that maybe they went wrong with tire pressures and qualifying and that's why both the drivers had been knocked out. And then the inevitable, the team orders that came into play
[43:09.840 -> 43:15.280] because Sebastian Vettel just had really poor grip. He was eating through his tires and he was
[43:15.280 -> 43:21.520] just spitting when he needed to rather than when he actually had to, which is why Lance Stroll on
[43:21.520 -> 43:27.760] fresher tires, they were asked to let Lance through. Lance then of course rewarded
[43:27.760 -> 43:33.920] the team with overtaking Daniel Ricciardo for 10th place and that extra point has actually helped
[43:35.120 -> 43:46.320] Aston Martin jump harsh for P8 in the constructors standing. So a well rewarded point, but yes,
[43:46.320 -> 43:50.100] it's difficult to disagree with Abhishek's view
[43:50.100 -> 43:52.300] that Aston Martin has been, you know,
[43:52.300 -> 43:55.380] very disappointing this season, you know,
[43:55.380 -> 43:58.020] even though they've had the green Red Bull concept
[43:58.020 -> 44:01.240] that's sort of been around, I would say.
[44:06.720 -> 44:09.960] Yeah, with this concept as well, no go ahead Akshay, don't worry.
[44:09.960 -> 44:14.720] Sorry, no I was just saying and you know they remember what Kunal Kunal remembers well I'm
[44:14.720 -> 44:19.140] sure what they were doing as Force India and on the much smaller budget and with much more
[44:19.140 -> 44:28.000] limited resources so it's just it's quite disappointing. And this is only going to fan speculation about Vettel's future.
[44:28.000 -> 44:35.000] Because I can't see him wanting to stay on and endure the sort of races he's been enduring this season.
[44:35.000 -> 44:45.220] If he's not going to be around to sort of enjoy the payoff, which might be many years down the line and would have retired by then anyway.
[44:47.280 -> 44:48.680] That's a good reference to Force India
[44:48.680 -> 44:52.360] because I think one of the key parts
[44:52.360 -> 44:54.000] or the key architects of Force India
[44:54.000 -> 44:55.640] was always Otmar Safnauer.
[44:55.640 -> 44:58.680] He was the guy who could run things tightly
[44:58.680 -> 45:00.280] on a very tight budget.
[45:00.280 -> 45:02.240] And he, of course, is now at Alpine.
[45:02.240 -> 45:05.600] And I think with the influx of money,
[45:05.600 -> 45:07.880] maybe the team is still figuring out
[45:07.880 -> 45:10.600] how to make best use of the resources
[45:10.600 -> 45:11.440] that are coming their way.
[45:11.440 -> 45:13.360] Andrew Green is, of course, still there.
[45:13.360 -> 45:16.880] And talking of Sebastian's future,
[45:16.880 -> 45:18.720] you know, given the way he's been racing
[45:18.720 -> 45:20.680] the last few races, like you said, Abhishek,
[45:20.680 -> 45:22.920] it's not something we always get to see,
[45:22.920 -> 45:25.440] but just seeing how well he's
[45:25.440 -> 45:30.880] been driving and, you know, with all the hopes we had after FP3, I mean, if Alonso was P2, could
[45:31.600 -> 45:36.160] Vettel have been in the battle for, you know, a top three, top five qualifying position and,
[45:36.160 -> 45:41.760] you know, all the joy that would have come with that. I think these kind of performances will
[45:42.720 -> 45:45.000] help Vettel make a decision,
[45:45.000 -> 45:47.500] if it's a performance-based decision,
[45:47.500 -> 45:54.500] on whether or not he'd like to continue with Aston Martin in 2023.
[45:54.500 -> 45:57.500] But the last team that we should speak about
[45:57.500 -> 46:01.000] was a team that actually failed to score a single point.
[46:01.000 -> 46:02.500] We're going to talk about McLaren.
[46:02.500 -> 46:06.640] And something that stood out for me after when I
[46:06.640 -> 46:14.000] heard both Lando Norris and Daniel Ricciardo in the post-race media, they said that they just did
[46:14.000 -> 46:21.120] not have the pace to overtake any of their rivals. So they were just all over the place. And I think
[46:21.120 -> 46:25.320] this is the third time in nine races that McLaren has actually
[46:25.320 -> 46:27.960] failed to score a single point.
[46:27.960 -> 46:31.440] Yeah, yeah, absolutely.
[46:31.440 -> 46:37.720] And remember, not too long ago, although it feels like an age ago, but going into preseason
[46:37.720 -> 46:50.400] testing and especially after Barcelona, you know, they looked to be one of the most promising teams to come out of the opening test.
[46:50.400 -> 46:55.560] They looked like they were really going to make big strides up this year.
[46:55.560 -> 46:57.400] That's what this year is all about, wasn't it?
[46:57.400 -> 47:05.280] For a lot of these teams. A reset, a budget cap, a more even distribution of the TV rights money.
[47:05.280 -> 47:08.640] So it's all about leveling out the playing field and teams like McLaren,
[47:09.120 -> 47:14.160] I would have thought, especially after the season they had last year, to have made that stride up.
[47:14.160 -> 47:17.600] But no, they haven't and they've sort of slipped backwards and
[47:19.680 -> 47:23.920] they're fourth in the constructors, but they shouldn't be in a position where they're not
[47:23.920 -> 47:25.960] scoring points, Certainly not.
[47:28.560 -> 47:31.720] Yeah, and it's just happening very consistently now, isn't it?
[47:31.720 -> 47:35.800] As you rightly mentioned Kunal, it's just a strange little thing for McLaren and
[47:35.800 -> 47:39.960] slow pit stops also were a bit of an issue because
[47:39.960 -> 47:44.280] I mean, we all saw the kerfuffle that happened with Landon Norris midway through the race and
[47:44.280 -> 47:48.320] then he also had, apparently, an older engine that really compromised his performance.
[47:48.320 -> 47:50.840] Abhishek, there's this question we've got from social media.
[47:50.840 -> 47:54.920] Would they have done better had their pit stops been better in general or do you reckon
[47:54.920 -> 47:56.480] the pace was just that bad?
[47:56.480 -> 47:58.640] I suppose I'm going for the latter.
[47:58.640 -> 48:01.280] They just didn't look competitive all weekend round.
[48:01.280 -> 48:06.240] Yeah, I mean, pit stops are a part of it, but I think they just didn't have the pace there this weekend.
[48:09.920 -> 48:11.600] True, absolutely. It was just that, you know,
[48:11.600 -> 48:16.120] and Daniel Ricciardo himself said that, you know, yes,
[48:16.120 -> 48:18.360] if he would have had a correct pit stop,
[48:18.360 -> 48:21.840] he would have probably been fighting for 10th place,
[48:21.840 -> 48:24.480] but that's not where McLaren or their drivers want to be.
[48:24.480 -> 48:26.280] They need, they just lacked overall pace.
[48:26.280 -> 48:30.080] And that's just the summary of their race.
[48:30.080 -> 48:34.000] But on to Silverstone, which is going to be the home race
[48:34.000 -> 48:36.800] for pretty much every team, home race for Formula One,
[48:36.800 -> 48:38.480] so to say, right?
[48:38.480 -> 48:41.200] I am actually very excited for the race
[48:41.200 -> 48:47.200] just to see what is it that each team is going to bring as
[48:47.200 -> 48:52.320] upgrades to their cars. I know that on the Thursday and a Friday, the show and tell document that
[48:53.680 -> 48:59.600] the FIA releases was actually very lengthy at the Spanish Grand Prix, which is traditionally the
[48:59.600 -> 49:05.040] first European race. But this is Silverstone, you know, teams are within 20 kilometers, 20 miles,
[49:05.840 -> 49:09.840] you know, from the circuit. I'm excited to see who brings what, except for Haas, of course,
[49:09.840 -> 49:16.480] they've said their next upgrade is coming in Budapest, right? But, and most specifically,
[49:16.480 -> 49:22.000] you know, last year, if you remember, Mercedes's upgrades at Silverstone, that was one of the best
[49:22.000 -> 49:27.700] upgrades we've seen in recent times. It brought them back into the title fight with Red Bull.
[49:28.000 -> 49:31.700] And I'm waiting to see if Mercedes has another special Silverstone
[49:31.700 -> 49:35.500] upgrade planned for the next race that's coming up.
[49:38.700 -> 49:39.700] Yeah, absolutely.
[49:39.700 -> 49:42.500] I think there'll be a lot of new bits on the car.
[49:44.200 -> 49:45.680] Almost every team, I think with the
[49:45.680 -> 49:51.920] exception of Ferrari and Alfa Tauri, I was gonna say Toro Rosso but Alfa Tauri
[49:51.920 -> 49:57.280] are based and of course Alfa Romeo are based in Silverstone so or in and
[49:57.280 -> 50:03.000] around Silverstone as Kunal said. So yeah it's gonna be it's gonna be
[50:03.000 -> 50:06.320] interesting to see how that affects the pecking order.
[50:06.320 -> 50:12.080] I mean, in Spain, we saw Ferrari take a big jump up in sort of, they were dominating that race.
[50:12.080 -> 50:15.600] So, Leclerc was way, way out ahead in the lead.
[50:15.600 -> 50:21.200] And maybe, if that trend continues, or maybe if the car characteristics don't change too much,
[50:21.200 -> 50:25.080] I mean, Ferrari could be in a similar place in Silverstone because Silverstone again has those
[50:25.640 -> 50:31.720] flowing high-speed corners, you know, I mean, of course, we know about maggots and beckets, but you've got cops, you've got Stowe
[50:32.280 -> 50:34.840] so, you know, I think the Ferrari could again be
[50:36.160 -> 50:38.160] a car to watch in that sense.
[50:39.560 -> 50:41.080] You know
[50:41.080 -> 50:46.280] Abhishek, I just got a flashback of what Sebastian Vettel was doing. I think it was Baku, was it?
[50:46.280 -> 50:47.720] He did exactly what you did.
[50:47.720 -> 50:51.840] He called it Toro Rosso, and then he called it Sauber,
[50:51.840 -> 50:53.040] and then he would just smile.
[50:53.040 -> 50:55.560] He's like, I know the names have changed,
[50:55.560 -> 50:57.600] but for me, it's always gonna be Toro Rosso,
[50:57.600 -> 50:58.880] given that he, you know, of course,
[50:58.880 -> 51:00.800] drove for them and then Sauber as well.
[51:00.800 -> 51:03.920] But, Samuel, what is it that you are looking forward to
[51:03.920 -> 51:06.560] for Silverstone? Hmm, apart from is it that you are looking forward to for Silverstone?
[51:12.560 -> 51:17.680] Apart from the upgrades that you've mentioned I suppose closer racing at the end because yes Montreal is wide and yes we have seen that the cars can follow but Silverstone just offers that
[51:17.680 -> 51:23.840] extra edge and just one particular thing very specific but the opening lap camera around the
[51:24.880 -> 51:29.920] old pit straight and then where you have the hairpin before that I forgot the name Luffield hairpin the first lap
[51:29.920 -> 51:32.320] It just feels amazing the way the Formula One director actually
[51:32.880 -> 51:38.320] Manages to shoot that part because you see the cars going side by side there then he loops it around 180 degrees
[51:38.320 -> 51:43.880] It's wonderful. That is one thing and of course the better racing and a whole but yeah, what a wonderful weekend
[51:43.880 -> 51:46.160] That's gonna be just as good as this one, I hope.
[51:46.160 -> 51:49.040] But folks, I hope you enjoyed listening to this episode.
[51:49.040 -> 51:51.320] And Abhishek, thank you so much for taking out your time
[51:51.320 -> 51:52.200] to come out over here.
[51:52.200 -> 51:54.940] It was such a pleasurable episode, so much
[51:54.940 -> 51:56.880] that I actually forgot that we've gone so long.
[51:56.880 -> 51:59.920] But it's been such a fun one.
[51:59.920 -> 52:01.880] So yeah, I was saying, yeah, not at all.
[52:01.880 -> 52:04.120] I mean, it's always a pleasure to chat with you guys.
[52:04.120 -> 52:08.580] So it's always a fun conversation chat with you guys So it's all it's always a fun fun conversation then and time has flown on the sea
[52:08.580 -> 52:11.920] I didn't realize we've been at it for I've lost track of
[52:12.580 -> 52:17.200] How long we've been at it, but yeah, but it's always fun. So it's always great to talk
[52:18.520 -> 52:19.840] Thank You Abhishek and folks
[52:19.840 -> 52:22.640] Thank you for listening to this episode and to watch this episode as well
[52:22.640 -> 52:25.200] You know what to do if you enjoyed this one.
[52:25.200 -> 52:28.300] Leave a good rating, share this episode with your friends and family members
[52:28.300 -> 52:31.900] who like Formula 1 and also follow and subscribe the podcast.
[52:31.900 -> 52:35.800] But folks, once again, thank you and we shall see you rather soon actually.
[52:35.800 -> None] Bye bye. you