F1 TV's Scarbs' 2023 Lowdown & Predictions

Pre-season testing for the 2023 Formula 1 season is finished. To bring to you the key takeaways for every Formula 1 team, we have F1 TV's Tech Talk's Craig Scarborough aka @ScarbsTech join us as a guest for this special episode.

Is porpoising a thing of the past? Will Mercedes continue with their 0.5 sidepod concept? Is Aston Martin really as quick as testing suggested? Can Ferrari take the fight to Red Bull Racing? And what about Williams, AlphaTauri and Haas? Also, is Mclaren really in trouble after testing woes?

In this episode of the Inside Line F1 Podcast, Soumil Arora spoke to @ScarbsTech about design innovations for the upcoming season, his personal journey as Formula 1's most-engaged tech guru and predictions. Tune in!

(Season 2023, Episode 7)

Follow our hosts on Twitter: Soumil Arora & Craig Scarborough (aka @ScarbsTech)

Image courtesy: Mercedes 

**Pre-Season Testing and Technical Innovations:**

* Pre-season testing concluded, offering insights into the performance and potential of each Formula One team.
* Craig Scarborough, a renowned F1 technical expert, joins the podcast to discuss the key takeaways from testing.

**Aston Martin's Impressive Performance:**

* Aston Martin emerged as a surprise standout during testing, showcasing significant improvement compared to last year.
* The team's investment in resources and the leadership of Dan Fallows are contributing factors to their success.
* Aston Martin's development potential is promising, with room for further improvement throughout the season.

**Mercedes' Side Pod Design and Performance Issues:**

* Mercedes' unique zero-side pod design has been a topic of discussion, but it's not the primary cause of their problems.
* The team's struggles stem from overall car setup, ride heights, and suspension issues, rather than the side pods themselves.
* Mercedes is working to resolve these issues and may start the season behind Red Bull, but they have the potential to catch up.

**Other Teams' Design Philosophies:**

* Other teams have not followed Mercedes' side pod design due to their own philosophies and development approaches.
* Teams like Ferrari and Red Bull have optimized their own designs, leading to a convergence of car setups in the midfield.
* The current trend suggests that teams will stick with their existing philosophies for the foreseeable future.

**Evaluating Pre-Season Testing Data:**

* Pre-season testing data can provide insights into team performance, but it has limitations.
* Factors like upgrades and development throughout the season can significantly alter the competitive landscape.
* It's important to consider the entire season when assessing team strengths and weaknesses.

**Red Bull Racing's Dominance and Development:**

* Red Bull Racing has a strong car and a balanced driver lineup, making them the favorites for the championship.
* However, their development will be impacted by the penalty imposed for exceeding the budget cap in 2021.
* Red Bull may have a strong start to the season but could face challenges later on as other teams catch up.

**McLaren's Struggles and Development Plans:**

* McLaren has had a disappointing pre-season testing, with technical issues and a lack of pace.
* The team aims to be a frontrunner in the midfield and eventually challenge for podiums and victories.
* McLaren's recent pattern of starting poorly and developing strongly may continue this season.
* The team is working on a more aggressive car update to improve their performance.

**Wind Tunnel Facilities and McLaren's Performance:**

* McLaren does not have its own wind tunnel facility and relies on the Toyota wind tunnel in Germany.
* The lack of an on-site wind tunnel may not be a significant factor in McLaren's struggles.
* The Toyota wind tunnel is a capable facility, and other teams have achieved success using it.

**Ferrari's Performance and Expectations:**

* Ferrari has shown promise during testing, but it remains to be seen if they have addressed their reliability and strategic issues.
* The team has made progress, but it's unclear if it's enough to challenge Red Bull and Mercedes consistently.
* Ferrari's performance will depend on their ability to execute flawlessly and avoid costly mistakes.

# Inside Line F1 Podcast: Pre-Season Testing Debrief with Craig Scarborough

## Introduction

- Pre-season testing for the 2023 Formula 1 season has concluded.
- F1 TV's Tech Talk's Craig Scarborough joins the podcast to discuss key takeaways for each Formula 1 team.

## Main Discussion

### Porpoising and Mercedes' Sidepod Concept

- Porpoising is no longer a significant concern for teams.
- Mercedes continues with their 0.5 sidepod concept, which has generated mixed reactions.

### Aston Martin's Performance

- Aston Martin's strong testing performance has raised expectations.
- However, it remains to be seen if the team can sustain this level of competitiveness throughout the season.

### Ferrari's Title Contention

- Ferrari's testing was low-key, and their car's design is an evolution of last year's model.
- Doubts exist about Ferrari's ability to challenge Red Bull and Mercedes for the championship.
- The team's long runs and pit strategy will be crucial in determining their competitiveness.

### McLaren and Alpine's Prospects

- McLaren has experienced testing woes, raising concerns about their competitiveness.
- Alpine is seen as a potential leader in the midfield, with a strong testing performance and planned upgrades.
- However, the team's management structure remains a concern.

### Haas and AlphaTauri's Progress

- Haas has shown promise in testing, but their ability to maintain competitiveness throughout the season remains a question.
- AlphaTauri's performance has been underwhelming, and the team's long-term direction is uncertain.

### Williams' Potential

- Williams has made significant improvements compared to last year's disastrous season.
- The team's new car, the FW45, is considered a conventional and sensible design.
- Williams has the potential to move up from the bottom of the standings, but their overall competitiveness remains uncertain.

### Craig Scarborough's Championship Predictions

- Red Bull is expected to start the season strongly, with Max Verstappen as the favorite for the Drivers' Championship.
- Mercedes may emerge as a stronger contender later in the season, potentially winning the Constructors' Championship.
- Ferrari is seen as a consistent podium contender but may struggle to challenge for the championship this year.
- Aston Martin, McLaren, and Alpine have the potential for occasional victories, depending on circumstances.

## Conclusion

- The 2023 Formula 1 season promises to be exciting and unpredictable, with several teams capable of challenging for wins and podiums.
- Fans are encouraged to follow the entire season to witness the evolving dynamics and potential upsets.

[00:00.000 -> 00:23.800] So, testing is over and done with at last.
[00:23.800 -> 00:26.000] And for some teams, it quite literally was
[00:26.000 -> 00:30.400] testing. Take a look at what happened with McLaren, for instance, a really, really tricky
[00:30.400 -> 00:34.840] time in testing. But on the other hand, there are teams like Red Bull and Ferrari, who have
[00:34.840 -> 00:41.340] had a fantastic test. But what I'm really curious about is what makes a test fantastic.
[00:41.340 -> 00:49.920] What are the technical components that differentiate a team from having a really good preseason testing and a really bad one? Now, that's not something that I specialize
[00:49.920 -> 00:54.320] in. So I realized, okay, we need to get someone who absolutely knows what they're doing and
[00:54.320 -> 01:00.120] knows what they're talking about in this field. And so we are so grateful to have Craig Scarborough,
[01:00.120 -> 01:06.080] the voice of the tech shows on F1 TV and also someone who we've seen for so long basically
[01:06.080 -> 01:10.880] on the internet talking about Formula 1 technicalities and just how the cars are designed.
[01:10.880 -> 01:16.000] So firstly Craig, it feels amazing to have you on the podcast at last.
[01:16.000 -> 01:20.800] I'm very curious though, firstly, how are you and how do you really watch testing?
[01:20.800 -> 01:23.200] Like what do you look forward to?
[01:23.200 -> 01:26.480] Oh well, thank you for the welcome. It's good to be here.
[01:27.240 -> 01:33.640] Yeah, testing for me is kind of part two of the beginning of the season. You know, for me, the most
[01:33.640 -> 01:38.800] exciting time of year is when we see all the new cars and then they start to go and test. So for me,
[01:38.800 -> 01:47.020] you know, the rest of the season really doesn't matter quite so much. And I get really excited. And testing has been different
[01:47.020 -> 01:53.640] over the years. You know, when I first started covering Formula One back in 2000, I would
[01:53.640 -> 01:58.200] go to winter tests, and the teams would be testing every two weeks. So testing really
[01:58.200 -> 02:04.040] didn't have a big importance. There was kind of no narrative running behind it. Nowadays,
[02:04.040 -> 02:05.760] testing has been reduced and reduced and has been
[02:05.760 -> 02:08.960] held back until the new cars and then this year, we're given
[02:08.960 -> 02:14.280] just three days at one circuit. So testing has changed. And now
[02:14.280 -> 02:17.800] it becomes absolutely critical. And it almost kind of forms how
[02:17.800 -> 02:20.280] the teams approach their seasons as well. Because if you only got
[02:20.280 -> 02:23.560] three days of testing, there's a limit to what you want to kind
[02:23.560 -> 02:31.360] of play around with with your new car, knowing that you've then got 23, potentially 25 races to follow. So in some respects, it's
[02:31.360 -> 02:36.880] important that it's dropped away, again, from the point where it was, you know, so common,
[02:36.880 -> 02:40.400] that it wasn't important then either. I'm very intrigued about what you do,
[02:40.400 -> 02:45.120] Craig, because of course, nowadays, a lot of the teams don't quite reveal their proper cars
[02:45.120 -> 02:50.000] in the show events. So essentially, what you've got on the first day of testing is the true
[02:50.000 -> 02:54.240] picture of what the teams have actually come up with. But there are so many changes throughout
[02:54.240 -> 02:58.400] testing as well. It's just how do you keep track of everything because those three days for you,
[02:58.400 -> 03:01.920] I can imagine working on the technical side of the sport must be super hectic.
[03:02.960 -> 03:06.760] It is super hectic. I mean, there's no easy way of doing it.
[03:06.760 -> 03:10.120] All you can do is to, obviously nowadays it's televised,
[03:10.120 -> 03:11.200] it never used to be.
[03:12.080 -> 03:14.680] And equally, I haven't been to testing this year,
[03:14.680 -> 03:17.240] unfortunately, I couldn't make it out there.
[03:17.240 -> 03:18.640] Being there is so much better
[03:18.640 -> 03:21.940] because you get to see everything that's going on.
[03:21.940 -> 03:23.320] But when you're not at testing,
[03:23.320 -> 03:26.240] which can be the case for me as well, I'm just
[03:26.240 -> 03:32.240] looking at all the photographs, all the TV footage as much as I can get, and seeing what other people
[03:32.240 -> 03:36.800] have spotted as well, because you know, I can't be looking everywhere at once, someone may find a
[03:36.800 -> 03:42.880] very nice picture of something and I'll notice something in the background. So when I'm trawling
[03:42.880 -> 03:45.600] through pictures, it's not always the obvious kind of
[03:45.600 -> 03:50.320] technical pictures that you would expect. For example, there was something on the Aston Martin,
[03:50.320 -> 03:54.720] it was a picture where Alonso was having his photo taken, sat on the front wheel,
[03:54.720 -> 03:59.600] it just so happened to be the perfect angle for me to zoom in on something in the background.
[03:59.600 -> 04:05.040] So there's always lots of little things that I look out for. And equally, as you say, when the cars are launched,
[04:05.040 -> 04:10.560] sometimes nowadays they are show cars, you know, literally not the car at all, which is intensely
[04:10.560 -> 04:15.200] frustrating. Often they'll use these computer renders, and it's a game of cat and mouse, just
[04:15.200 -> 04:19.920] trying to find out what the bits that are real, which bits are fake. And as testing goes through,
[04:19.920 -> 04:29.300] eventually you get an idea of what you think that the, you know, the final configuration of the car will be as they go into the first race. But there's no substitute for just looking
[04:29.300 -> 04:32.260] at photos and photos and photos.
[04:32.260 -> 04:35.700] In this entire process, though, Craig, have you managed to get enough sleep? Because I
[04:35.700 -> 04:41.160] know for sure that Aston Martin have after an amazing test that they've had, what really
[04:41.160 -> 04:45.000] strikes you about them as well? Just what's worked suddenly?
[04:45.000 -> 04:46.200] It's interesting, isn't it?
[04:46.200 -> 04:50.480] You know, Aston Martin, I mean, we kind of use that as the new name.
[04:50.480 -> 04:55.400] And if you think back to Racing Point, Force India and all the other names over the years,
[04:55.400 -> 05:00.560] you know, that team had been building during the late Force India and the Racing Point years
[05:00.560 -> 05:03.720] to actually look like they were really about to kind of really break through.
[05:04.480 -> 05:05.480] And then they obviously they
[05:05.480 -> 05:09.680] had that sort of financial crash and Aston Martin came in. And I
[05:09.680 -> 05:13.080] think what you're seeing now is the result of the Aston Martin
[05:13.080 -> 05:16.600] investment. Now, I've been a friend of the team and a fan of
[05:16.600 -> 05:19.280] the team for many years, and you'd go and talk to the
[05:19.280 -> 05:21.600] engineers, and the first question you would ask is, what
[05:21.600 -> 05:29.120] will it take you to jump from the midfield up to one of the top teams? And they've always said, it's just simply a case of just give us some more
[05:29.120 -> 05:35.760] money so we can have more staff or more resources. And now, finally, they've got that money from
[05:35.760 -> 05:41.120] Large Stroll and they're able to invest it. And I've been past their new factory, which they're
[05:41.120 -> 05:48.460] building literally next door to their old factory at Silverstone. It's enormous. The investment going in there is huge. They're getting the
[05:48.460 -> 05:54.700] right sort of people. They seem to have still quite good management. I think there is...
[05:54.700 -> 05:58.040] It's a worry when a team suddenly expands and they hire lots of heads from different
[05:58.040 -> 06:05.000] places that that kind of magic that the team used to have gets lost,
[06:05.000 -> 06:07.120] but I think there's still some of that in there.
[06:07.120 -> 06:08.800] And what you see as a result,
[06:08.800 -> 06:12.600] a really good bunch of engineers finally given some budget,
[06:12.600 -> 06:14.120] given a bit of direction as well
[06:14.120 -> 06:16.960] by someone like Dan Fallows being in charge
[06:16.960 -> 06:18.500] and then delivering.
[06:18.500 -> 06:21.920] But of course, this is, having said all of that,
[06:21.920 -> 06:26.480] this is still testing and clearly Aston Martin have made a jump
[06:26.480 -> 06:30.080] from where they were this time last year, but they did progress quite well through the
[06:30.080 -> 06:35.080] year last year as well. And I think this is just some of that momentum carrying them forwards.
[06:35.080 -> 06:39.040] The question will be is by the time that all of their obvious rivals have kind of got their
[06:39.040 -> 06:45.720] problems sorted out, where will it shake out by the time we get to mid season? And I think Aston Martin
[06:45.720 -> 06:50.760] will be towards the front of the midfield, but whether they are, you know, head and shoulders
[06:50.760 -> 06:56.480] at the front of the midfield or even, you know, vying with Ferrari and Mercedes, I haven't
[06:56.480 -> 07:00.320] jumped on that hype train yet, but I think it is good to see the improvement that the
[07:00.320 -> 07:03.240] team have created over the winter.
[07:03.240 -> 07:09.040] Clearly, you don't share the same opinion as Fernando Alonso, who has recently been going around claiming that they were faster than Ferrari
[07:09.040 -> 07:15.520] on the long runs. Now, I'll leave that to them. But what really excites me is the fact that there
[07:15.520 -> 07:19.760] is great development potential is what Aston Martin has been saying recently. Just what extent
[07:19.760 -> 07:23.920] do you think that is true? Because now we've got Aston Martin as a result of their, let's say,
[07:23.920 -> 07:28.000] relatively poor result last year, slightly more winter time. And you think that is true? Because now we've got Aston Martin as a result of their, let's say relatively poor result last year, slightly more wind tunnel time. And you think that's
[07:28.000 -> 07:32.280] really played an impact on also how other smaller teams like Alfa Romeo seemingly have
[07:32.280 -> 07:33.280] had a very positive test?
[07:33.280 -> 07:38.680] Yeah, I mean, I think this will be the first year that we really start to see the equalisation
[07:38.680 -> 07:43.080] that comes in with the aero testing and with the budgets that, you know, we saw it last
[07:43.080 -> 07:49.200] year, Mercedes couldn't buy their way out of trouble last year. So, you know, they couldn't just find money, find wind tunnel
[07:49.200 -> 07:54.800] time and that really picked them back last year. And teams like, you know, Alfa Romeo,
[07:54.800 -> 08:00.520] as you say, Williams and Haas, who have had, you know, more aero testing in the past, and
[08:00.520 -> 08:05.120] they've actually had budget and resources to actually use. I think this is the first year
[08:05.120 -> 08:11.360] that those teams will actually be able to use 100% of their available aero testing. And equally,
[08:11.360 -> 08:18.320] Red Bull have got, I think it was ridiculous, like 63% of the maximum available testing. It's a huge
[08:18.320 -> 08:25.600] difference. That will start to come in. And I think that is partly what you're seeing here. But equally, I think Aston
[08:25.600 -> 08:32.640] Martin have, you know, invested a lot of last year into this new car. And I think you're seeing
[08:32.640 -> 08:37.840] the results of that. And it has to be said, they've made the mistakes which some of the
[08:37.840 -> 08:42.960] rivals around there have, and they've ended up with what looks like as far as testing goes,
[08:42.960 -> 08:50.400] you say a car that does look very good on performance and on long runs when that potentially could be Ferrari's weak point again.
[08:51.200 -> 08:57.200] But I am still sort of confused because the talk of the town recently in terms of technical
[08:57.200 -> 09:02.240] innovations of the car has largely been side pods. Now that's courtesy of Mercedes going
[09:02.240 -> 09:06.000] completely against the norm. But again, that's probably
[09:06.000 -> 09:10.640] the most visual aspect of it. But clearly, every single expert who's been talking about testing
[09:10.640 -> 09:15.600] has been saying that there's more to the cars than the side pods. In the case of Mercedes,
[09:15.600 -> 09:20.960] because of course, it naturally leads on to them. If not the side pod, what is it that's seemingly
[09:20.960 -> 09:24.560] not working? Because if they're saying that that's not the problem, surely there must be something
[09:24.560 -> 09:27.600] greater than that, right? So just what is it in your opinion?
[09:27.600 -> 09:32.200] So I mean, with all the cars, the most important thing is the underfloor, these big tunnels
[09:32.200 -> 09:37.000] that they have the ground effect tunnels that give the car the majority of its downforce.
[09:37.000 -> 09:41.040] And then the other factor beyond that is the car's weight, which was a big issue for lots
[09:41.040 -> 09:48.000] of teams last year. So with Mercedes is they've taken an overall car approach.
[09:48.000 -> 09:49.880] Now we're not talking about the floor or the side pods,
[09:49.880 -> 09:52.320] just the general car philosophy
[09:52.320 -> 09:54.080] is that they're going for maximum downforce.
[09:54.080 -> 09:54.920] And to do that,
[09:54.920 -> 09:58.200] they want to run the car as low to the ground as they can.
[09:58.200 -> 10:00.720] And that in theory gives them so much downforce
[10:00.720 -> 10:02.460] that they can run with slightly smaller wings.
[10:02.460 -> 10:04.120] They've still got a powerful engine.
[10:04.120 -> 10:07.160] They get around the corners quickly. They get on the straights quickly, gives them
[10:07.160 -> 10:13.840] the lap time. That was their theory. The problem they've had is twofold really, is again, nothing
[10:13.840 -> 10:17.640] to do with the side pods. It's running the car solo to the ground. The teams haven't
[10:17.640 -> 10:23.160] been doing this now, even though Mercedes were, you know, up to 2021 running a relatively
[10:23.160 -> 10:26.680] low car, nothing like the levels now where the car
[10:26.680 -> 10:29.200] is literally grinding along the circuit.
[10:29.200 -> 10:32.080] And their aero tools don't allow them to detect
[10:32.080 -> 10:33.600] the problems that that creates.
[10:33.600 -> 10:37.440] And that's why all of the teams had porpoising last year.
[10:37.440 -> 10:40.200] And Mercedes then had subsequent issues
[10:40.200 -> 10:42.800] in getting the aero, the suspension,
[10:42.800 -> 10:46.880] but also the stiffness of all the bodywork to equalize so that
[10:46.880 -> 10:51.840] they're not getting this problem. Part of that is because the aero testing restrictions, part of
[10:51.840 -> 10:55.760] that is because of the weight that they were carrying, they couldn't afford to just make the
[10:55.760 -> 11:01.360] floor stiffer because it was kind of flapping around once the car started to paupers. So they've
[11:01.360 -> 11:08.600] got a whole heap of problems, they've had the winter to work them out. Now we know that they're having some issues and you know, sometimes you look
[11:08.600 -> 11:12.040] at it and you think this is just kind of teething problems.
[11:12.040 -> 11:12.800] It's very minor.
[11:12.840 -> 11:15.560] Other times you get the feeling that this is something a little
[11:15.560 -> 11:18.800] bit more deep rooted in the car.
[11:19.360 -> 11:22.880] I'd love to know the true state of the team at this point in the season, but
[11:22.880 -> 11:26.160] they are certainly behind where they want to be.
[11:26.160 -> 11:30.360] But I think it's not so much the porpoising, I think it's just the general setup of the
[11:30.360 -> 11:34.000] car that they're working towards now because they're playing with ride heights and suspension
[11:34.000 -> 11:37.160] setup and just trying to get all to work.
[11:37.160 -> 11:39.840] Everyone panics about the side pods, please don't.
[11:39.840 -> 11:41.680] The side pods are secondary in terms of performance.
[11:41.680 -> 11:47.000] They do have an effect, that's not to say that they're not important, but really it's all about things like ride heights, the shape
[11:47.000 -> 11:51.480] of the floor, the stiffnesses of the floor, the way the suspension works. That's the real
[11:51.480 -> 11:57.080] secret to getting these cars to work and that's what Mercedes have had so much trouble with.
[11:57.080 -> 12:02.200] And it's not insurmountable because we saw them improve last year. And I think what we'll
[12:02.200 -> 12:09.680] find is that Mercedes, you just have a bit of a slow start to the season in comparison to Red Bull, for example.
[12:09.680 -> 12:15.880] And in that case, then, Greg, I wonder, why has nobody followed Mercedes? And another
[12:15.880 -> 12:20.240] thing that comes to mind is now that the bouncing is gone, have you seen something encouraging?
[12:20.240 -> 12:24.960] Of course, it's not totally gone, it's just definitely slightly better according to the
[12:24.960 -> 12:29.840] drivers. But have you seen any encouraging signs? Just why don't other teams go down that
[12:29.840 -> 12:34.400] road? Of course, I understand that it's simple to copy the winning card, not copy exactly,
[12:34.400 -> 12:38.320] but take inspiration from. But surely there must be someone else who must have thought,
[12:38.320 -> 12:42.240] okay, this is an interesting design that we can work. And is it a reactionary thing after
[12:42.240 -> 12:48.240] their season that they've decided, okay, maybe we don't do that? I mean, it is interesting. And again, if we think back to the, you know,
[12:48.240 -> 12:53.520] the seasons running up to 2021, you know, Mercedes had had, what, those eight years of
[12:53.520 -> 12:59.120] dominance of the sport, but no one had copied them at that time, either. No one was running
[12:59.120 -> 13:03.680] super long wheelbases in a very flat setup. Everyone was trying to be a Red Bull with
[13:03.680 -> 13:05.760] rake and not short wheelbase,
[13:05.760 -> 13:11.520] but certainly much shorter than Mercedes until Aston Martin Racing Point decided to do that.
[13:11.520 -> 13:16.640] You know, copy. I don't want to get into that now. I think what you find is that every team
[13:16.640 -> 13:20.400] have got to be honest with themselves and where they're coming from. They'll develop their own
[13:21.280 -> 13:25.440] solutions. They'll know roughly how much downforce, how much drag they want to run.
[13:25.440 -> 13:29.440] And that kind of dictates the sort of setup that they have on the car and the overall philosophy.
[13:30.000 -> 13:35.760] And Mercedes have taken one extreme philosophy, no one has copied it. Williams did something
[13:36.560 -> 13:40.560] visually maybe similar, but actually in their approach was totally different.
[13:40.560 -> 13:44.080] And even when you look at the Mercedes this year, you can see that their zero
[13:44.080 -> 13:45.640] side pod philosophy has changed
[13:45.640 -> 13:48.600] slightly. It's kind of like a jelly mold, kind of the
[13:48.600 -> 13:52.520] cyclones flare out and are very flat and low at the sides. And
[13:52.520 -> 13:55.200] that's really where they're taking some of the kind of the
[13:55.200 -> 13:58.400] rebel and Ferrari philosophies into the zero pop, which is
[13:58.600 -> 14:02.840] very clever. And I can see how that will work. We know the car
[14:02.840 -> 14:06.160] can pull out some good performance because we saw that during testing.
[14:06.160 -> 14:08.360] It can do a fast lap.
[14:08.360 -> 14:10.680] It's just getting all of that dialed in.
[14:10.680 -> 14:13.880] And I think that will take the team just some time and a bit
[14:13.880 -> 14:15.120] more development.
[14:15.120 -> 14:17.520] Meanwhile, everyone else has kind of got a philosophy
[14:17.520 -> 14:20.760] which they have optimized and developed.
[14:20.760 -> 14:24.080] Ferrari really haven't gone too far from their 2022 car
[14:24.080 -> 14:26.800] setup as Abh house. And everyone in
[14:26.800 -> 14:32.560] the middle is kind of merged towards a kind of an odd red-blished Ferrari-ish side pod setup and
[14:32.560 -> 14:39.920] kind of general philosophy setup. And for them, it's working. There is a kind of a conservative,
[14:39.920 -> 14:43.840] obvious approach for the current generation of cars. And most people are following that at the
[14:43.840 -> 14:49.360] moment. Maybe in the next couple of years, it might diverge again. But I think everyone will
[14:49.360 -> 14:53.120] kind of stick with the general shapes that we're seeing of the car this year.
[14:53.120 -> 14:57.680] But that makes me wonder about something. I saw this one graph that's been trending,
[14:57.680 -> 15:02.560] not a graph per se, but a chart of Formula One essentially showcasing all the teams and the
[15:02.560 -> 15:09.120] amount of time that they've gained in comparison to where they were last year. That gets me intrigued, though, how relevant is it according
[15:09.120 -> 15:13.440] to you, Craig? Because just in the back of my mind, I was wondering, okay, but surely there's
[15:13.440 -> 15:18.080] been more, right? There's been upgrades through the season before, I mean, after we went to Bahrain
[15:18.080 -> 15:21.680] as well. So do you think that's been a super relevant graph? I actually look forward to
[15:21.680 -> 15:29.360] and basically understand, was that a good year in testing. I mean, there's lots of ways that the media and in particular the teams compare themselves to
[15:29.360 -> 15:34.480] everybody else. So yeah, that is a valid way of looking at things. But it's very restrictive,
[15:34.480 -> 15:39.520] and it's very narrow in what it does, because lots of teams have huge problems, you know,
[15:39.520 -> 15:44.560] all the way through testing and at the Bahrain Grand Prix last year. So comparing a team that
[15:44.560 -> 15:49.760] was in trouble last year to a team that may be just doing average this year. And I think Williams,
[15:49.760 -> 15:52.960] I think, topped that chart, if I can remember looking at it, same one as you were probably
[15:52.960 -> 15:57.600] looking at. Yeah, of course, Williams are found lots of time because they were so bad and then so,
[15:57.600 -> 16:01.440] you know, what is that telling us? So you need to kind of look at all of these things,
[16:01.440 -> 16:05.200] understand what it's trying to tell you, and, you know, extrapolate
[16:05.200 -> 16:10.960] your own opinion from that. So looking at that chart, plus the overall fast lap times, and maybe
[16:10.960 -> 16:16.000] some of the long run data, you can start to get a feel for how the teams are shaking out. And
[16:16.720 -> 16:21.200] all that ever can do really is show you some of the teams which are doing just generally quite well.
[16:22.320 -> 16:32.160] Some of the teams that are generally doing quite bad, and then everyone bundled in the middle, you can't really work out is Alfa Romeo, Alfa Tauri, and Alpine, what order
[16:32.160 -> 16:37.760] are they going to be in? It's very hard to extrapolate that from all of those data sources.
[16:37.760 -> 16:43.760] And equally, that is your only ever snapshot of where you're at. Because again, as I tell lots of
[16:43.760 -> 16:46.720] people this year that are kind of panicking about Mercedes
[16:46.720 -> 16:49.400] or about Red Bull running away with things or something,
[16:49.400 -> 16:51.480] it's a long season.
[16:51.480 -> 16:55.040] This year, 23 could go back up to 24 races
[16:55.040 -> 16:57.240] if China comes back on.
[16:57.240 -> 17:01.520] Over a long period with budget caps, with aero testing caps,
[17:01.520 -> 17:03.800] where you are today could be very different
[17:03.800 -> 17:06.080] to mid-season and late season.
[17:06.080 -> 17:10.320] So it's going to be something that's just moving all of the time. And I think we're
[17:10.320 -> 17:14.200] all desperate to see the cars go, aren't we, at this stage, we're just so close to the
[17:14.200 -> 17:21.360] first race. But, you know, that will only be race one of 23. And then you've, you know,
[17:21.360 -> 17:22.360] things will change constantly.
[17:22.360 -> 17:26.680] That's so true. I think we're all constantly looking for some sort of definitive order.
[17:26.680 -> 17:30.840] But again, that's not what Formula One is always about. It's super fluid. And that,
[17:30.840 -> 17:35.280] I think really brings us well on to Red Bull Racing, because it may seem like they've got
[17:35.280 -> 17:40.120] a locked on design, locked on approach, a very well balanced driver lineup. Everything
[17:40.120 -> 17:43.560] is just happy days. And they can just maybe even spin in Winner Race at this point in
[17:43.560 -> 17:49.280] time. But I'm just intrigued about how the penalty from last year is going to impact them because
[17:50.320 -> 17:55.520] in my mind, I doubt that the 2023 car will have a lot of impact because the testing and the penalty
[17:55.520 -> 18:00.160] was awarded so late on that probably by that stage, the car was already ready. So you think
[18:00.160 -> 18:03.840] this will impact their development and their upgrades over here. And that could be a little
[18:03.840 -> 18:05.720] caveat to watch for the year. I mean, be a little caveat to watch for over the year.
[18:05.720 -> 18:06.720] I mean, absolutely.
[18:06.720 -> 18:10.900] This is probably one of the biggest factors in kind of running away with a Red Bull hype
[18:10.900 -> 18:12.800] train at this time of the year.
[18:12.800 -> 18:16.480] Because again, as I say, it's a long season, they are going to have to at some point during
[18:16.480 -> 18:20.980] the year decide how much development do they put into the current car and how much development
[18:20.980 -> 18:24.640] do they put into the 2024 car.
[18:24.640 -> 18:26.560] And I've already had discussions like that
[18:26.560 -> 18:31.600] internally, or once that penalty was applied is how much development do they continue to push into
[18:31.600 -> 18:37.680] the early stages of the RB19 development? And I think we've seen on that car, I mean, I was
[18:37.680 -> 18:43.440] probably privileged a little bit, but I described it as an RB18 plus rather than RB19. It's not
[18:43.160 -> 18:46.760] as an RB18 plus rather than RB19. It's not a dramatic, aggressive new car.
[18:46.760 -> 18:51.500] It's very much a sensible, albeit quite aggressive,
[18:51.500 -> 18:55.360] evolution of last year's car, which works for them.
[18:55.360 -> 18:57.960] Bearing in mind, you only have three days of testing.
[18:57.960 -> 19:01.520] Bearing in mind, their rivals are still not really
[19:01.520 -> 19:07.040] with the case in terms of being super fast against them and knowing
[19:07.040 -> 19:10.720] that they're going to have to curtail development through the year. So they've really got to
[19:10.720 -> 19:14.800] kind of make the most of the early part of the season. And I wouldn't be surprised by
[19:14.800 -> 19:21.160] the time we get to the summer break that Red Bull have got a big lead in the championships.
[19:21.160 -> 19:25.760] That second half of the championship, I think they're going to be struggling a little
[19:25.760 -> 19:32.920] bit more compared with Ferrari and Mercedes, potentially, and with some of the midfield.
[19:32.920 -> 19:37.720] It's not guaranteed that Verstappen and Checo are going to be getting podiums every race,
[19:37.720 -> 19:42.160] certainly not victories in that latter part of the year when I expect the other teams
[19:42.160 -> 19:43.760] to come along stronger.
[19:43.760 -> 19:48.700] So again, it all kind of shakes up to be a super exciting season that, you know, one point you'll have one
[19:48.700 -> 19:53.420] set of fans cheering and then they'll be crying and someone else starts cheering instead.
[19:53.420 -> 19:58.580] So, you know, I think it shakes up to be a fascinating season in its totality.
[19:58.580 -> 20:01.660] It's good that you said that all the McLaren fans listening in at this point might probably
[20:01.660 -> 20:08.720] feel a little bit of encouragement after what's been unfortunately a terrible three days, self-admittedly in fact by the team. It's not
[20:08.720 -> 20:12.880] like we've observed something and been like okay McClaren look bad. It's just them coming out and
[20:12.880 -> 20:18.080] saying okay our targets haven't been met. Have you got down to the bottom of what that could be?
[20:18.080 -> 20:24.480] What targets is Zac Brown talking about? Because everyone who's observed and written articles
[20:24.480 -> 20:29.360] from the tribe they're saying that McClaren don't look that bad. They look decent, not the best in
[20:29.360 -> 20:33.760] the world, but Zach Brod and Landon Norris, in fact, if the reports are correct, clearly
[20:33.760 -> 20:37.600] they're absolutely frustrated behind it. So what do you see as the reason behind it?
[20:37.600 -> 20:42.320] Well, I'd love to know the exact technical reasons. But again, I think you've got to
[20:42.320 -> 20:45.600] think that, you know, what are McLaren trying to do?
[20:45.680 -> 20:49.440] You know, are they just trying to be a good team at the front of the midfield, which is kind of
[20:49.440 -> 20:53.600] where they've established themselves after some really tricky times, particularly as they were
[20:53.600 -> 20:59.200] with the Honda engines and trying to rebuild that team in the early kind of Zac Brown Mercedes era.
[21:00.640 -> 21:04.560] I think they want to be, you know, getting podiums, they want to be winning races, they want
[21:04.560 -> 21:08.360] to start to build up that sort of momentum that gets them towards talking about
[21:08.360 -> 21:09.360] championships.
[21:09.360 -> 21:15.280] And clearly this year's car is having almost the same kind of bad start that last year's
[21:15.280 -> 21:21.280] car and a few other ones that they've had, which is an odd McLaren, a recent McLaren
[21:21.280 -> 21:25.400] kind of trait where they, you know, start off with quite a poor car and then develop
[21:25.400 -> 21:29.200] it really well through the year and end up with a good car, but by then it's all too
[21:29.200 -> 21:34.280] late. It's feeling a bit like that again already. The car's having technical issues, the car
[21:34.280 -> 21:39.840] seems tricky to drive. It doesn't seem to have that all out pace that we were expecting.
[21:39.840 -> 21:50.120] And again, you just see another year where McLaren happens to put all of their effort into in-season development rather than that winter development, which is really where
[21:50.120 -> 21:54.620] you need to be making your performance advantages.
[21:54.620 -> 21:55.860] Why that is, I don't know.
[21:55.860 -> 22:02.260] I mean, soon as I saw the car, I was oddly disappointed because as much as I say, Red Bull
[22:02.260 -> 22:08.320] did a great thing and produced an evolution of last year's car. When I looked at the at McLaren and it was an evolution of last year's car, it's like, no,
[22:08.320 -> 22:13.200] no, no, that's not right, which makes it sound hypocritical, but it's for different reasons.
[22:13.200 -> 22:17.360] McLaren need to be making that jump. They need to be having an aggressive new car with lots of
[22:17.360 -> 22:23.120] performance. And somehow they haven't. Now it transpires, it seems that they realised this
[22:23.120 -> 22:29.200] during the off season and decided to kind of put this current car out as its early season
[22:29.200 -> 22:33.240] specification and then bring, start to develop a much more aggressive,
[22:33.240 -> 22:38.800] much more performant, new car, updated car early in the season.
[22:39.280 -> 22:40.400] Which is a good approach.
[22:40.520 -> 22:42.280] You know, it's what Aston Martin did last year.
[22:42.280 -> 22:45.040] And I think we can agree that worked very well for them through the year.
[22:45.040 -> 22:48.000] But McLaren shouldn't be having these situations.
[22:48.000 -> 22:52.920] They've got a big, experienced engineering team with all the resources.
[22:52.920 -> 22:56.320] I know that they haven't quite got into their new wind tunnel yet, but they're using the
[22:56.320 -> 22:57.320] total wind tunnel.
[22:57.320 -> 23:01.440] And there is absolutely nothing wrong with that as a tool to develop a modern Formula
[23:01.440 -> 23:02.440] 1 car.
[23:02.440 -> 23:04.360] It's probably still one of the best out there.
[23:04.360 -> 23:10.000] So I'm at a loss why we keep having this conversation about McLaren. Again, I think
[23:10.000 -> 23:16.160] in the fullness of time over that long season, I think they will be, you know, potentially head
[23:16.160 -> 23:21.520] and shoulders above the midfield. I think they have that potential. It's just a case of whether
[23:21.520 -> 23:26.000] can they realise that potential quick enough to really have an impact in the championships.
[23:26.000 -> 23:29.120] It's interesting you mentioned the wind tunnel because one of our listeners, James Ralph,
[23:29.120 -> 23:30.640] actually pointed out the same thing.
[23:30.640 -> 23:33.000] It's that they don't have their own wind tunnel.
[23:33.000 -> 23:34.960] Do you think that's a major factor?
[23:34.960 -> 23:38.240] Because I know Ross Braun in his book has written that he'd love to have everything
[23:38.240 -> 23:43.680] under one roof and all the technical aspects of the team all working together in synchronisation.
[23:43.680 -> 23:47.680] Does that play a major difference though? Because the facility is good, as we all know, could that be one thing
[23:47.680 -> 23:50.640] that's holding them back? The fact that it's a remote wind tunnel facility?
[23:51.440 -> 23:55.040] I don't think so. I mean, I think perhaps in years gone by, it may have been worse when you
[23:55.040 -> 23:59.840] were running the wind tunnel 24 seven. I mean, it was literally always running and you'd have three
[23:59.840 -> 24:08.400] teams of engineers working in three shifts every day. With the error testing restrictions, even where you know, McLaren are, you
[24:08.400 -> 24:11.640] you don't have anything like that. You're running one shift a
[24:11.640 -> 24:17.200] day with limited number of runs. So I don't think it's the
[24:17.200 -> 24:20.080] obstacle that it used to be. Of course, it will be better if
[24:20.080 -> 24:22.360] they were under one roof and you weren't having people having to
[24:22.360 -> 24:28.880] fly from the UK to Germany all the time and shipping parts and all that sort of stuff. That would be an improvement.
[24:28.880 -> 24:34.800] But I don't think that's the missing link in the McLaren package. And I don't know if I know what
[24:34.800 -> 24:40.160] the missing link is. I don't think that's it. And you know, as I've said, there's nothing wrong
[24:40.160 -> 24:45.420] technically with the Toyota wind tunnel. And you know, lots of teams have had lots of success
[24:45.420 -> 24:47.380] in using that in the past.
[24:47.380 -> 24:52.060] Actually, now on the subject of car evolutions, which is exactly what McLaren seemed to have
[24:52.060 -> 24:57.620] done, we should go to Ferrari at this point. And again, it's that time of the year where
[24:57.620 -> 25:01.420] naturally most people would actually bet on Ferrari winning the world championship. I
[25:01.420 -> 25:08.640] see that most people haven't quite made that mistake this time, I think they've learned from their own experience. But are we just all quietly optimistic
[25:08.640 -> 25:13.680] because of that whole thing that Ferrari have bottled it up so many times? Or is it generally
[25:13.680 -> 25:17.760] that they're just only marginally better than last year, in your opinion? What do you make of
[25:17.760 -> 25:22.080] their entire testing so far? And I think of all of the teams, I mean, maybe Ferrari are one of
[25:22.080 -> 25:28.800] the most difficult ones to predict. Because for the past few years, we've had the Ferrari Winter Championship,
[25:28.800 -> 25:34.480] they've come out of testing look like this. Yeah. I'm not a Ferrari fan, but I think we all have
[25:34.480 -> 25:40.080] a little bit of wanting Ferrari to win in our hearts. And, you know, every year, this is
[25:40.080 -> 25:45.680] Ferrari's year. And it, you know, the past few years, it looked like it was going to happen and it didn't.
[25:52.320 -> 25:58.000] This year, their testing was very low key. The car's design is very much an evolution of last year. And I'm at a loss to understand why Ferrari didn't take some different design directions with
[25:58.000 -> 26:03.920] the car. And looking at their testing performance, the driver seems much happy with the car's sort
[26:03.920 -> 26:05.640] of balance and general handling.
[26:05.640 -> 26:09.840] But we didn't really see those lap times showing that.
[26:09.840 -> 26:12.240] A driver can have a car that's really nice to drive,
[26:12.240 -> 26:13.280] and they're really comfortable with.
[26:13.280 -> 26:14.780] But when you're actually then trying
[26:14.780 -> 26:19.240] to get a super fast pole out of it, that handling helps you.
[26:19.240 -> 26:21.240] But you actually need the performance in the car.
[26:21.240 -> 26:23.000] I haven't seen that performance in the car.
[26:23.000 -> 26:24.360] And again, looking at its design,
[26:24.360 -> 26:28.560] I would question whether it could challenge Red Bull on sheer lap time.
[26:28.560 -> 26:33.080] And I'm worried about that. Their long runs don't look good. But then equally, they've
[26:33.080 -> 26:39.600] had this low key winter, which may be, you know, with Fred Vasseur now in charge, you
[26:39.600 -> 26:45.880] know, it's a bit more well managed as a team, and they could actually be taking a very sensible approach
[26:45.880 -> 26:51.680] to the limited testing that they've got. The only way we'll know is when it comes to qualifying
[26:51.680 -> 26:58.400] over the last few races and those eventual long runs and pit strategy to see if the tyres
[26:58.400 -> 27:04.560] can cope and the team can manage the strategy to get that through to the end. I feel Ferrari
[27:04.560 -> 27:08.160] this year are not going to be a championship contender team. I
[27:08.160 -> 27:10.960] think they're going to be podiums, they'll get wins. It
[27:10.960 -> 27:13.720] just doesn't feel that there's enough in that entire team
[27:13.720 -> 27:19.760] package with the management, the drivers, the car to beat Red
[27:19.760 -> 27:23.640] Bull and or potentially Mercedes if they can resolve their
[27:23.640 -> 27:29.000] issues. So yeah, I'm probably a little bit more low key about Ferrari's chances than I think we
[27:29.000 -> 27:30.600] have for the past few years.
[27:30.600 -> 27:34.600] I hope it's probably a sign of change considering what's happened over the last few years where
[27:34.600 -> 27:39.600] we've just gone and bet everything on Ferrari and it's never really worked out, has it?
[27:39.600 -> 27:44.040] Yeah, we can only hope that it's a slow start for them and they're just doing everything
[27:44.040 -> 27:45.800] right behind the scenes.
[27:45.800 -> 27:47.920] Which actually brings me to Alpine
[27:47.920 -> 27:51.080] because Netflix would like you to believe
[27:51.080 -> 27:53.680] that Alpine have done everything right behind the scenes.
[27:53.680 -> 27:54.520] They'd like you to believe
[27:54.520 -> 27:56.360] that they have the perfect management structure
[27:56.360 -> 27:58.360] with four CEOs and three team principals
[27:58.360 -> 28:00.800] and 12 managing directors or something like that.
[28:00.800 -> 28:04.920] But at last, we have seen the new Alpine car on track.
[28:04.920 -> 28:06.240] And there are two things that
[28:06.240 -> 28:10.600] really got me curious in testing. I think the technical director Craig, he mentioned
[28:10.600 -> 28:18.120] that they started work on the Alpine late in 2021. Could that even be true? That's not
[28:18.120 -> 28:21.840] even when the car was for 2022 was ready. I'm sure they might have had some things late
[28:21.840 -> 28:29.520] in November or December about the 2022 car that they must've worked on, but can it really be possible that a car for 2023 might be already
[28:29.520 -> 28:31.960] become work on in October 2021?
[28:31.960 -> 28:37.640] Yeah, I mean, it's possible because they were given a very restricted time to develop the
[28:37.640 -> 28:43.000] 2022 car because of the way that the pandemic and the regulations were working out for people.
[28:43.000 -> 28:47.280] So they probably thought, what can we do for 2022?
[28:47.280 -> 28:48.560] And they did a lot last year.
[28:48.560 -> 28:52.200] They made fundamental changes to every aspect of their car,
[28:52.200 -> 28:54.240] not simply because of the regulation changes,
[28:54.240 -> 28:56.680] just because of, almost it feels like
[28:56.680 -> 29:00.400] there's more commitment from the business,
[29:00.400 -> 29:02.200] Alpine, Renault, whatever you want to call it,
[29:02.200 -> 29:04.280] towards making a success of the team.
[29:04.280 -> 29:07.760] Now we've seen for many years, I mean, they've always felt like they've just lacked a little
[29:07.760 -> 29:13.840] bit of commitment and money and investment to just make that last step. So then, you know,
[29:13.840 -> 29:17.920] knowing that there was only so much you can do, it wouldn't surprise me that this is, okay,
[29:17.920 -> 29:22.240] well, where do we make our next step for the year after? Because at some point, we've got to just
[29:22.240 -> 29:26.240] simply make a 2022 car and get it out there.
[29:31.120 -> 29:35.840] Looking at the car, it doesn't look massively different. It looks like much like Red Bull have done a kind of aggressive evolution of last year's car, which again, is no bad thing,
[29:35.840 -> 29:41.440] because I think last year's Alpine was a good car. And it was certainly a good match from McLaren
[29:42.160 -> 29:46.000] over the whole span of the season. They were just let down, particularly
[29:46.000 -> 29:52.240] by reliability, which really kind of hampered their championships, and the car was relatively
[29:52.240 -> 30:00.400] inconsistent. So yeah, for this year, you know, for me, talking before we saw any of the cars,
[30:00.400 -> 30:10.720] and before the kind of the testing and everything started, I felt that Alpine were the team that should be leading the midfield this year. I felt that they just had a little
[30:10.720 -> 30:14.520] bit more in them than McLaren did to kind of make a jump. Now I'm not talking about
[30:14.520 -> 30:19.880] them being one of the top three slash four teams, but you know, leading the midfield
[30:19.880 -> 30:25.920] and everything I've seen through testing just makes me feel that that is possible. You know, the car looks
[30:25.920 -> 30:30.240] good straight out of the blocks, you know, in terms of testing, in terms of its design,
[30:30.880 -> 30:36.240] knowing that they've got some already, some visual updates planned over the first few races,
[30:36.240 -> 30:39.760] which means, which would they did last year? Again, you know, they kind of have a testing
[30:39.760 -> 30:45.760] race one package and then bring some obvious updates to it. Could be front wings and side pod details,
[30:45.760 -> 30:50.400] stuff like that. Upcy floor upgrades, which will come throughout the year. So Alpine,
[30:50.400 -> 30:55.520] for me, have got the potential this year, probably more so than McLaren, especially bearing in mind
[30:55.520 -> 31:00.880] that they've had a relatively good start to testing compared with McLaren, for example.
[31:00.880 -> 31:06.080] So I think we need to keep an eye on them. Like you say, for me, the concern
[31:06.080 -> 31:12.560] is the management structure, which I fail to understand. You know, the way that they went
[31:12.560 -> 31:18.000] about drivers last year was, you know, while that's not my bag, it just shows me that there's
[31:18.000 -> 31:23.040] something not right in the way that that team is operating internally in terms of communication and
[31:23.040 -> 31:30.080] management structures, and everyone speaking to everyone else. I'll leave the detail of that to people that know more about it
[31:30.080 -> 31:36.560] than I do. But it just doesn't feel like a team that is being directed efficiently. And that
[31:36.560 -> 31:40.640] could be the thing that makes them fall down on their potential this year.
[31:41.840 -> 31:45.100] Well, there have been more inefficient French teams in the past.
[31:45.100 -> 31:48.160] So it's, it's, it's not that bad.
[31:48.160 -> 31:51.200] It can only be worse, but it seems interesting.
[31:51.200 -> 31:56.320] What it looked like was that Alpine just had a very quiet test where he couldn't quite
[31:56.320 -> 31:57.320] read anything at all.
[31:57.320 -> 32:02.960] It's not as, not as extravagant as what Alfa Romeo seemingly had as well, which seemed
[32:02.960 -> 32:08.720] to be polar opposites in each skill, didn't it? Extremely fast lap times and then extremely disappointing failures
[32:08.720 -> 32:13.680] too, but they don't seem to be really dejected by that. Does that tell you something bigger
[32:13.680 -> 32:18.480] about their whole year? I think it does. And also tells you that they've taken a sensible
[32:18.480 -> 32:23.760] approach to testing. Again, you know, all new car, three days of testing, long season.
[32:23.760 -> 32:27.400] There's no point going to that testing, going for glory runs,
[32:27.420 -> 32:30.440] you know, put lots of soft tyres on, trying to get big lap times out of it.
[32:30.760 -> 32:34.620] Yeah, they've got all of their diligent work just to make sure that everything on
[32:34.620 -> 32:38.780] that car is working as it should, according to what the factory were predicting for it.
[32:38.780 -> 32:42.200] And I think that's really has been their approach, which is why you've not kind of
[32:42.200 -> 32:45.440] seen this little, you know, sparks of excitement
[32:45.440 -> 32:50.520] from Alpine, whereas some other teams maybe have decided to try and, you know, see what
[32:50.520 -> 32:55.720] they can get out of the car quite early, knowing that, you know, historically, as you say,
[32:55.720 -> 33:00.520] with Alfa Romeo, historically, struggle to get that car developed throughout the season.
[33:00.520 -> 33:05.040] Exactly, which leaves me a little, a little intrigued about where they actually rank
[33:05.040 -> 33:09.920] up. And I know we've had this discussion early in this very episode as well about how confusing it
[33:09.920 -> 33:15.520] is to actually put them in, how the order keeps on changing, but this quiet confidence is good in a
[33:15.520 -> 33:21.920] way. I think it reminds us of the Saab of old, essentially where you do see some sort of technical
[33:21.920 -> 33:25.120] innovation. And of course, now we of course, are seeing Audi
[33:25.120 -> 33:29.600] investing some of their money and this could not be a result of that. But it's encouraging to see
[33:29.600 -> 33:34.720] the team headed that right direction. And I just hope that the sliding scale can allow more teams
[33:34.720 -> 33:40.560] like them, like Haas, like Williams to at least get a bigger bite on. And seemingly for Haas as
[33:40.560 -> 33:50.320] well, that does seem to be happening. Everyone says that they've had a good test. Have they really? Yeah, I mean, I think, you know, as is so often the case with Haas, because they're
[33:50.320 -> 33:56.320] getting so much of the car from Ferrari, their test is really about not proving the bits they've
[33:56.320 -> 34:00.560] got from Ferrari, because they're already proven is actually just getting, you know, the bits that
[34:00.560 -> 34:04.640] they've made. So you know, the, you know, the structures and the aerodynamics get making sure
[34:04.640 -> 34:08.040] they're working. So their workload is reduced. And it does
[34:08.040 -> 34:12.800] tend to mean that they can hit the ground running much quicker than other teams. And
[34:12.800 -> 34:17.840] historically, that has been proven largely. The problem for us has always been not that
[34:17.840 -> 34:22.240] first confident step at the beginning of the season, but keeping that going through the
[34:22.240 -> 34:25.520] year, either by making a car faster and faster as the year goes on,
[34:26.080 -> 34:32.320] or understanding fundamental problems that the car has, which are partly a result of maybe some
[34:32.320 -> 34:37.840] of the Ferrari parts on there. Not that the Ferrari parts are a problem, but when someone
[34:37.840 -> 34:43.040] else designs something for you, you're eventually, you're effectively kind of given an end product.
[34:43.040 -> 34:46.320] And if there's a problem with that, it's very hard for you to diagnose issues with it,
[34:46.320 -> 34:48.120] especially when you've then, you know,
[34:48.120 -> 34:50.320] put that into your own package.
[34:50.320 -> 34:52.560] That's really where I think Haas have needed to grow
[34:52.560 -> 34:53.380] for many years.
[34:53.380 -> 34:56.780] And I think 2022 showed us that perfectly.
[34:56.780 -> 34:59.440] They looked so good when that car was released,
[34:59.440 -> 35:01.080] those first few races, you know,
[35:01.080 -> 35:03.840] Kevin Magnussen kind of reborn as a driver.
[35:03.840 -> 35:05.040] I think it was fantastic for all of us to watch that, you know, Kevin Magnuson kind of reborn as a driver. I think it was fantastic for all of
[35:05.040 -> 35:09.520] us to watch that, you know, seeing this suddenly doing so well. And again, you know, it's not
[35:09.520 -> 35:14.480] because we're all fans of the particular team, it's just nice to see a team meeting their potential,
[35:14.480 -> 35:19.120] but then they kind of just drifted down through the rest of the year. So I think this year,
[35:19.120 -> 35:23.840] and what's quite interesting, as I mentioned, probably a little bit earlier, was that this
[35:23.840 -> 35:29.840] is the first year that you know, Haas will be able to actually use all of their aero testing time. So they've actually got
[35:30.400 -> 35:35.440] enough money to use that wind tunnel and that CFD time, which means that they should be able
[35:35.440 -> 35:40.320] to bring parts out and you know, even going down to downsizing their pit walls so that they've got
[35:40.320 -> 35:45.560] a bit more money in the limited budget to put onto the car.
[35:45.560 -> 35:46.560] That's what they have to do.
[35:46.560 -> 35:50.120] So I wouldn't be excited about Haas starting this season.
[35:50.120 -> 35:54.960] Well, I'll be a lot more wary about how much they slip down through the year.
[35:54.960 -> 36:00.640] So for them, good start to be expected, but do keep an eye on them.
[36:00.640 -> 36:01.640] This is interesting.
[36:01.640 -> 36:06.240] You mentioned things like them buying Ferrari's parts and then being limited by that.
[36:06.240 -> 36:10.240] I want to talk about this from a broader sense because we've seen so many teams
[36:10.240 -> 36:15.200] have similar approaches in terms of a design to what let's say a rental racing is done because
[36:15.200 -> 36:19.600] naturally as a smaller team that's a quicker way for you to get up the order but do you think that
[36:19.600 -> 36:24.000] will limit them at some point? Does that put a ceiling on them that okay beyond the point they
[36:24.000 -> 36:28.560] can't quite go ahead and then maybe challenge for titles because quite literally, they are
[36:28.560 -> 36:32.800] limited by design. Do you think that really is the case or can they work their way around
[36:32.800 -> 36:33.800] it?
[36:33.800 -> 36:39.080] You're absolutely right. From my point of view, they will always be handicapped by that
[36:39.080 -> 36:44.720] approach. And I was lucky to speak to Gene Haas and Gunter Steiner before they even joined
[36:44.720 -> 36:45.320] Formula One
[36:45.320 -> 36:49.640] and had a fantastic long conversation with them and I've had many since.
[36:49.640 -> 36:52.000] And it's like, where are the team going from here?
[36:52.000 -> 36:57.440] Because if you're always buying secondhand parts, you're never going to be able to be
[36:57.440 -> 37:03.720] the team that used them first time round, especially with the might of Ferrari.
[37:03.720 -> 37:06.320] So at what point do they become a proper constructor,
[37:06.320 -> 37:12.720] where they're starting to develop parts of the cars themselves? And they seem to be stuck in
[37:12.720 -> 37:18.080] that trajectory and haven't veered from it. And it's surprising how long the Haas have been in
[37:18.080 -> 37:23.600] Formula One now, they still feel like the new team, but the years are ticking by, and they're
[37:23.600 -> 37:25.040] still following that approach,
[37:25.040 -> 37:30.280] which will always limit them to just being a midfield team.
[37:30.280 -> 37:33.980] And I'm at a loss to know what their direction is.
[37:33.980 -> 37:37.300] Is it just simply to be in the sport and to have, you know, a degree of competitiveness
[37:37.300 -> 37:42.760] or do they really want to get up there and start winning podiums and races and championships?
[37:42.760 -> 37:45.680] You know, it doesn't feel that they're on that trajectory
[37:45.680 -> 37:48.160] with the way that they run the team as a strategy.
[37:48.160 -> 37:53.480] Yeah, it's probably best to be a horseman only in entertainment in that regard. But
[37:53.480 -> 37:58.920] yeah, I wonder what where is the ceiling? Where can they move ahead? And the same goes
[37:58.920 -> 38:02.680] for me for Alfred Dowling as well, because they've long tried to establish at least in
[38:02.680 -> 38:05.320] the media that no, we're more than a B team.
[38:05.320 -> 38:07.000] We're now a sister team.
[38:07.000 -> 38:09.880] I don't kind of get the differentiation in the first place.
[38:09.880 -> 38:13.640] But regardless of that, they said that they've taken up some independent routes in terms
[38:13.640 -> 38:15.760] of design, which may or may not be true.
[38:15.760 -> 38:20.480] But in terms of performance, they're a long way out, which conventional wisdom might not
[38:20.480 -> 38:25.200] suggest to be the logic because if they are essentially just a team of the world champion
[38:25.200 -> 38:29.040] and they do share some parts, naturally one would expect them to be close, right? But just
[38:29.920 -> 38:32.400] what is it and why hasn't it worked out according to you, Craig?
[38:34.160 -> 38:41.600] The Alpha Tauri and all of its previous incarnations under Red Bull, again, defeat
[38:41.600 -> 38:46.720] explanation. They have got such potential in their package with the Red Bull
[38:46.720 -> 38:53.000] kit with, you know, a much more brother and sister relationship with Red Bull than perhaps
[38:53.000 -> 38:58.680] Haas, which is, you know, a customer and an owner. They should really just be trailing
[38:58.680 -> 39:06.640] Red Bull by one or two positions in the championship, but yet they fail on so many levels. And I think, you know,
[39:06.640 -> 39:11.840] it's odd, there's a lot of affection for the Alpha Tauri team and the people that run that
[39:11.840 -> 39:18.560] operation. But when you see that the car is always feels like it's a year behind Red Bull,
[39:18.560 -> 39:22.160] not just because the parts that are handed down, but just the general design of the car. I mean,
[39:22.160 -> 39:26.440] it's always a very pretty car, lots of nice details, but never looks like it's
[39:26.440 -> 39:28.320] kind of cutting edge.
[39:28.320 -> 39:31.600] And then when you actually see how the team operate through the year, I mean, for me,
[39:31.600 -> 39:36.840] it baffles me that they get so many penalties, they'll have a good qualifying and a bad race,
[39:36.840 -> 39:44.720] or they'll have, you know, a bad qualifying and somehow, you know, can win a race.
[39:44.720 -> 39:47.160] Almost as though it's a very badly run team. And I hate to
[39:47.160 -> 39:49.160] say that, because again, I've got lots of respect for people
[39:49.160 -> 39:53.000] that do run it, but there is a missing link in there somewhere.
[39:53.280 -> 39:57.720] And, you know, whereas the same again, houses is one setup,
[39:57.880 -> 40:01.240] there really is no excuse for AlphaTauri to be anything other
[40:01.240 -> 40:04.840] than, you know, potentially the fourth best team out there. Yet,
[40:06.240 -> 40:13.040] we've never seen that. And it's intensely frustrating and does make you wonder, what are Red Bull putting into this team?
[40:13.040 -> 40:17.440] What's their long-term aim with this team? Because whenever you speak to people that are saying,
[40:17.440 -> 40:23.360] there's new entrants to Formula One or there's a new investor, it's always the Fire Enzer team
[40:24.080 -> 40:26.240] that are the ones that are named, well, they're
[40:26.240 -> 40:27.240] up for sale.
[40:27.240 -> 40:29.400] Well, they've been up for sale since the Menardi days.
[40:29.400 -> 40:31.480] Yet no one's come in and bought them.
[40:31.480 -> 40:37.240] So yeah, they are one of those teams that you wouldn't be surprised if just suddenly
[40:37.240 -> 40:44.040] one winter, Red Bull go, no, we're pulling the plug on this operation now.
[40:44.040 -> 40:47.280] We just simply can't keep investing in this for the results we're getting.
[40:47.280 -> 40:49.440] So yeah, something needs to be done with that too.
[40:49.440 -> 40:53.760] But I don't know what goes on behind the scenes that would
[40:53.760 -> 40:57.360] lead it to either step up or disappear completely.
[40:57.360 -> 41:00.880] Yeah, there are now at least some reports of people wanting to
[41:00.880 -> 41:04.000] maybe cash their way out, maybe get a new owner or something like that.
[41:04.000 -> 41:09.520] But I think that's a conversation for perhaps when the season gets started and we then have to focus on
[41:09.520 -> 41:14.080] the external aspects surrounding Formula One. But right now, the tech build side and what we can
[41:14.080 -> 41:19.600] expect in Bahrain looks pretty, pretty good. But then, of course, we now have to get to Williams
[41:19.600 -> 41:25.600] as well. I was about to say our final team, but do you reckon they are once again going to be the
[41:25.600 -> 41:30.240] final team, because you mentioned earlier on, they have gained a lot of time, but gained a lot of
[41:30.240 -> 41:37.200] time from where is the big question. Yes, I mean, we have to remember that Williams last year was a
[41:37.200 -> 41:43.440] complete disaster, which is compounded by several pre-seasons before that, where the team have been
[41:43.840 -> 41:47.040] by several pre-seasons before that, where the team have been, organizationally and engineering-wise, a complete disaster.
[41:48.240 -> 41:50.720] And things don't seem to be getting better.
[41:50.720 -> 41:53.680] Obviously, they lost lots of staff over the winter,
[41:53.680 -> 41:58.400] over to Audi, and Alfa Romeo, as it may be at the moment.
[41:58.400 -> 42:03.520] And you think, again, there's something fundamentally wrong
[42:03.520 -> 42:05.560] with the way Williams are running themselves,
[42:05.560 -> 42:08.040] which has been going on for many years now,
[42:08.040 -> 42:10.400] both as the Williams team
[42:10.400 -> 42:13.920] and as the Darrelton Williams team.
[42:13.920 -> 42:17.920] However, when I first saw the FW45 released,
[42:19.340 -> 42:21.560] it was like, almost like a sigh of relief.
[42:21.560 -> 42:24.300] It's like they've just built a conventional car.
[42:26.100 -> 42:28.420] It almost looks like the sort of sketches that I do
[42:28.420 -> 42:29.940] because it's got a little bit of this,
[42:29.940 -> 42:30.780] a little bit of that,
[42:30.780 -> 42:32.660] and it's all very sensible,
[42:32.660 -> 42:34.060] a little bit aggressive in places,
[42:34.060 -> 42:35.300] a little bit conservative in others,
[42:35.300 -> 42:38.480] but it's had all those little ingredients
[42:38.480 -> 42:40.860] to make a car that should just work,
[42:40.860 -> 42:41.940] which they didn't do last year.
[42:41.940 -> 42:44.100] I never understood last year's car.
[42:44.100 -> 42:44.940] It was one of those things,
[42:44.940 -> 42:49.600] it was either going to fly or it was, well, it did. It didn't fly, did it? It did quite
[42:49.600 -> 42:57.920] the opposite. I think they will be the most improved team this year. So I think that they're,
[42:57.920 -> 43:03.760] you know, again, their testing pace didn't really excite us too much. But yeah, I think they've got
[43:03.760 -> 43:05.280] the potential to step away from
[43:05.280 -> 43:10.080] being the last team this year. I think there are other teams that could slip back there quite easily
[43:11.120 -> 43:18.560] past Alfa Tauri, even Alfa Romeo. Williams got the potential to step up. So I think they've got the
[43:18.560 -> 43:24.480] ingredients of a good car there. The question is now can everything that makes that team run
[43:26.400 -> 43:32.320] there. The question is now can everything that makes that team run improve enough to actually get a good season out of themselves? I don't know about their driver situation. That's not really my
[43:32.320 -> 43:37.280] kind of skill in spotting the skill there, but that could be better this year than it has been
[43:37.280 -> 43:48.600] in previous years. The management structure is wobbly at best. James Vowles is coming from Mercedes, which is an interesting introduction.
[43:48.800 -> 43:53.640] I'm on the fence on that one, whether it's good or bad for the team.
[43:54.160 -> 43:58.640] But, you know, again, you know, Williams has got a soft spot in many people's hearts.
[43:58.640 -> 44:01.480] I think we do want to see them do better.
[44:01.800 -> 44:04.280] You know, someone always has to come last.
[44:04.280 -> 44:07.960] And I fear for Williams's ability to actually extract
[44:07.960 -> 44:09.640] what they need from this season
[44:10.600 -> 44:13.640] to lift themselves up off that last spot.
[44:13.640 -> 44:16.200] As I say, although the potential could be there.
[44:16.200 -> 44:17.520] Speaking of your sketches, Craig,
[44:17.520 -> 44:19.440] we all know how adept you are
[44:19.440 -> 44:21.680] at analysing the technical side of Formula One.
[44:21.680 -> 44:24.400] They do have a role missing there though.
[44:24.400 -> 44:25.280] They do need a technical
[44:25.280 -> 44:31.040] director. So yeah, probably not that we could, we could hopefully see you sometime in a role like
[44:31.040 -> 44:34.800] that. But what's something like that ever interest you though, because in your years of working in
[44:34.800 -> 44:40.400] Formula One, I've always wondered, right, is that the next step? When are you going to go into the
[44:40.400 -> 44:44.400] barrack for working in the technical side of the team? But is that something that you've crossed
[44:44.400 -> 44:46.560] paths with or has the opportunity arrived per se?
[44:47.680 -> 44:52.400] Well, no, I mean, I when I finished studying, I applied to the teams as they were back then,
[44:52.400 -> 44:58.800] which included Williams, Benetton, etc. But yeah, my my engineering background and my
[44:59.680 -> 45:05.680] personal experience at that age of motorsport was limited to reading Autosport and Grand Prix International
[45:05.680 -> 45:15.200] Magazine. I'd never even touched a racing car or even seen many. So yeah, my career has taken a
[45:15.200 -> 45:20.720] different path now. And as much as I've chatted to teams about bits and pieces, there was never,
[45:21.840 -> 45:25.040] and lots of the engineers individually, there was never an offer of me
[45:25.040 -> 45:28.240] going. And to be honest, I don't think that's where my skills lie. I mean, at the end of the
[45:28.240 -> 45:35.120] day, I think my career has become as a reverse engineer rather than a making it engineer.
[45:35.120 -> 45:40.880] So I'm quite happy now just to, you know, watch the cars, pick out the details and explain it to
[45:40.880 -> 45:46.440] people. I don't think that I would be good, or I would even want to commit that much effort
[45:46.440 -> 45:50.840] to being a technical role within the team.
[45:50.840 -> 45:54.120] And I really enjoy what I do.
[45:54.120 -> 45:56.520] So I'm just gonna stick to that.
[45:56.520 -> 45:58.640] And we're so grateful that we get to hear you so often
[45:58.640 -> 45:59.560] through the internet as well.
[45:59.560 -> 46:01.760] So seriously, thank you so much for taking out the time
[46:01.760 -> 46:02.960] for this episode, Craig.
[46:02.960 -> 46:04.200] It was lovely having you on,
[46:04.200 -> 46:07.560] but I don't think I can leave you without getting an idea of
[46:07.560 -> 46:11.040] who you would pin on as the champions for this year.
[46:11.040 -> 46:13.840] Are you still going to continue with the defending champions?
[46:13.840 -> 46:18.760] What does the pecking order look like for you, at least in the top three?
[46:18.760 -> 46:25.120] So I mean, you know, I think that it will end up being a Red Bull early season success.
[46:26.000 -> 46:29.680] Ferrari will be there throughout the year and Mercedes will come on strong like they did last
[46:29.680 -> 46:36.080] year, but hopefully much quicker than they did last year. Red Bull clearly focused on Max Verstappen.
[46:36.080 -> 46:41.760] I mean, it almost doesn't make sense saying Mercedes have got two drivers that will take
[46:41.760 -> 46:53.440] points away from each other, particularly as they develop the car in that early season. And Ferrari, it's a little bit skewed towards Charles, who I think
[46:53.440 -> 46:59.040] gets a lot more out of the car on a consistent basis. So I would say as we get towards the end
[46:59.040 -> 47:07.840] of the year, it will be the Stafford Drivers Championship, largely because the focus on him the early season.
[47:07.840 -> 47:12.680] But I wouldn't be surprised if it was Mercedes that actually got the Constructors' Championship
[47:12.680 -> 47:18.340] as a result of generally a good season in total, with two drivers constantly scoring
[47:18.340 -> 47:23.840] points for the Constructors. I see Ferrari as kind of at least second in all of those
[47:23.840 -> 47:25.760] championships. I don't see that at the
[47:25.760 -> 47:30.880] moment, there's anything that would elevate them to the likelihood of gaining a championship this
[47:30.880 -> 47:37.600] year. Next year might be a little bit different. But I think for this year, that's generally how I
[47:37.600 -> 47:42.480] see it kind of shaking out. But I wouldn't be surprised if we saw some wins from outside those
[47:42.480 -> 47:49.200] top three teams. Aston Martin, McLaren and Alpine, I think have all got the
[47:49.200 -> 47:54.100] potential on the right day to get a victory, sometimes by luck and being
[47:54.100 -> 47:55.480] in the right place at the right time.
[47:55.480 -> 47:58.080] And some of it potentially just by the performance on the day.
[47:58.080 -> 48:02.440] So, you know, I think although that sounds rather dull and boring, I think
[48:02.440 -> 48:05.080] we're actually in for a super exciting season.
[48:05.080 -> 48:09.600] And, you know, as you go through each batch of races, you'll never know who's holding
[48:09.600 -> 48:12.040] the upper hand from the other teams.
[48:12.040 -> 48:16.960] So yeah, I think it is a season that definitely needs to be watched all the way through.
[48:16.960 -> 48:21.280] I love the term that you used over there, at the moment, and that's the best part.
[48:21.280 -> 48:26.840] It could completely topple over in the middle of the year. And that's going to be so amazing to watch.
[48:26.840 -> 48:28.760] But Craig, thank you for taking all the time
[48:28.760 -> 48:31.240] to be a part of the Insight Line F1 podcast.
[48:31.240 -> 48:32.400] We really enjoyed listening to you.
[48:32.400 -> 48:34.600] And I hope the same can also be said
[48:34.600 -> 48:35.600] of our listeners as well.
[48:35.600 -> 48:37.200] And folks, if you did enjoy,
[48:37.200 -> 48:39.200] don't forget to leave a decent rating
[48:39.200 -> 48:40.760] and also consider subscribing
[48:40.760 -> 48:43.000] to the Insight Line F1 podcast as well.
[48:43.000 -> 48:43.840] Thanks for watching.
[48:43.840 -> 48:44.680] Thanks for listening.
[48:44.680 -> 48:47.200] And we should be back with the Barre GP preview.
[48:47.200 -> 48:48.040] Thank you, folks.
[48:48.040 -> 48:48.880] See you there.
[49:02.890 -> 49:04.890] you