Glimpse of F1 without Red Bull domination - 2023 Singapore GP Review

OMG! It actually happened, Red Bull Racing and Max Verstappen's record-breaking race-winning streak ended in Singapore. Singapore remains Verstappen and Red Bull Racing's unconquered frontier for yet another year.

Remember 1988 and McLaren's race-winning streak then? Ferrari broke the streak back then. In 2023, it's Ferrari that broke Red Bull-Verstappen's race winning streak. Above all else, the 2023 Singapore Grand Prix was an absolute thriller.

Four cars were battling for the race win in the last 4 laps of the race. When last did we see that in recent times? 

In this week's episode of the Inside Line F1 Podcast, Soumil Arora and Kunal Shah dissect the 2023 Singapore Grand Prix. How did Carlos Sainz win this race for Ferrari? We explain his 'smooth operation'. Just why was Carlos Sainz driving so slow in the first half of the race? 

Why did Red Bull Racing have a sub-standard car in Singapore. How did McLaren score yet another podium with Lando Norris? Why did Mercedes pit George Russell and Lewis Hamilton under the VSC (courtesy: Esteban Ocon)?

Helmets off to Liam Lawson and Oscar Piastri for scoring points on their Singapore debut. And of course, an ode to the fantastic qualifying session from Saturday, we discuss that, too. We love Singapore, don't you, too?

Tune in!

(Season 2023, Episode 49)

Follow our hosts on Twitter: Soumil Arora and Kunal Shah

Image courtesy: Ferrari

**Introduction**

* The Inside Line F1 Podcast hosts, Soumil Arora and Kunal Shah, express their excitement over Carlos Sainz's first Grand Prix win in Singapore, ending Red Bull Racing and Max Verstappen's winning streak.
* The 2023 Singapore Grand Prix is hailed as an absolute thriller with four cars battling for the win in the final laps.

**Race Highlights**

* Sainz's victory is attributed to his intelligent race strategy, including conserving tires and bunching up the field to prevent rivals from pitting and undercutting him.
* Ferrari's split strategies for Sainz and Charles Leclerc on race start tires paid off, allowing Sainz to gain an advantage and protect his position.
* Red Bull Racing's subpar performance in Singapore is attributed to a softer suspension setup that compromised the car's drivability and front grip.

**Qualifying Session**

* Sainz's pole position is praised for his intelligent approach, attacking the first sector to secure tires for the crucial third sector.
* The shorter corner layout of the Singapore circuit favors Ferrari's car, which struggles on longer, sweeping corners.

**Other Notable Moments**

* McLaren's Lando Norris secures a podium finish, scoring his third of the season, despite significant upgrades to his car.
* Mercedes' George Russell and Lewis Hamilton pit under the Virtual Safety Car, a strategic move that ultimately proves unsuccessful.
* Rookies Liam Lawson and Oscar Piastri impress with points-scoring finishes on their Singapore debuts.

**Overall Takeaway**

* The Singapore Grand Prix showcases the excitement and unpredictability of Formula One racing without Red Bull Racing's dominance.
* The race highlights the importance of strategy, composure, and driver skill in achieving success in Formula One. **2023 Singapore Grand Prix: An Exciting Race with Four Cars Battling for Victory**

The 2023 Singapore Grand Prix was a thrilling race that saw four cars battling for victory in the final laps. Carlos Sainz of Ferrari ultimately took the checkered flag, marking the end of Red Bull Racing and Max Verstappen's record-breaking race-winning streak.

**Key Points:**

- Ferrari's Carlos Sainz won the race, breaking Red Bull's winning streak.
- Sainz's victory was a result of his "smooth operation" and strategic driving.
- Red Bull's subpar performance in Singapore raised questions about their car's competitiveness.
- McLaren's Lando Norris scored another podium finish, highlighting the team's late-season recovery.
- Mercedes' decision to pit George Russell and Lewis Hamilton under the VSC was a strategic gamble.
- Liam Lawson and Oscar Piastri made impressive debuts, scoring points in their first Singapore Grand Prix.
- The qualifying session on Saturday was highly competitive, showcasing the drivers' skills.

**Detailed Summary:**

The 2023 Singapore Grand Prix was an exhilarating race that kept fans on the edge of their seats until the very end. Carlos Sainz's victory was a testament to his strategic driving and the Ferrari team's well-executed race plan. The race also marked the end of Red Bull's dominant run, raising questions about their car's performance on certain tracks.

McLaren's Lando Norris continued his impressive form, scoring another podium finish and solidifying his position as a contender for second place in the Constructors' Championship. Mercedes' decision to pit George Russell and Lewis Hamilton under the VSC was a strategic gamble that ultimately paid off, allowing them to finish on the podium.

The Singapore Grand Prix also saw the impressive debuts of Liam Lawson and Oscar Piastri, who both scored points in their first race on the Marina Bay Street Circuit. The qualifying session on Saturday was equally exciting, with drivers pushing their cars to the limit in pursuit of the best grid positions.

Overall, the 2023 Singapore Grand Prix was a thrilling race that showcased the best of Formula One racing. The unpredictable nature of the sport and the intense competition among the teams made for a captivating spectacle that left fans wanting more.

[00:00.000 -> 00:27.720] Ladies and gentlemen, Carlos Sainz has finally won a Grand Prix.
[00:27.720 -> 00:33.200] After, I think, what, 30 races, maybe even 50 races of betting
[00:33.200 -> 00:37.240] on a Carlos Sainz win, Samuel Arora
[00:37.240 -> 00:41.320] has finally hit gold the way Carlos Sainz has hit gold.
[00:41.320 -> 00:43.880] Yes, it's that gold medal which drivers suddenly
[00:43.880 -> 00:46.920] have started to be getting since the last many races.
[00:46.920 -> 00:52.680] You have no idea what that is, but that is precisely why I am opening this
[00:52.760 -> 00:57.440] episode of the Inside Line F1 podcast, because Soumil literally was on the
[00:57.440 -> 01:04.120] streets dancing and celebrating a Carlos Sainz win. While most of us, maybe me,
[01:04.520 -> 01:06.000] was rewing the fact that
[01:06.000 -> 01:08.000] Red Bull Racing didn't get the 11th
[01:08.000 -> 01:10.000] win on streak with Max Verstappen.
[01:10.000 -> 01:12.000] But, Saumil,
[01:12.000 -> 01:14.000] how are the celebrations?
[01:14.000 -> 01:16.000] If you can sense that my voice is somewhat
[01:16.000 -> 01:18.000] low this week, it's because I have
[01:18.000 -> 01:20.000] been down celebrating so
[01:20.000 -> 01:22.000] bad, like I've only just gotten
[01:22.000 -> 01:24.000] sober to record this episode.
[01:24.000 -> 01:25.000] Because why not it's
[01:25.000 -> 01:29.360] I mean for all those who thought my Carlos science prediction was away it
[01:29.360 -> 01:33.680] was never away it was always in the background is always in the background
[01:33.680 -> 01:37.560] but just the right occasion to bring it out and Carlos science does it but I
[01:37.560 -> 01:43.240] can't believe it like it's I'm sorry but Sunday was incredible but has Saturday
[01:43.240 -> 01:51.400] sank in for you yet Kunal? I know, I know the gravity of a Carlos Saenz win is something else, but a Red Bull not in Q3 at all?
[01:51.400 -> 01:55.400] Like that just isn't making sense to me yet. I mean, I've had so many friends calling me and saying,
[01:55.400 -> 02:01.920] Dude, you said Formula One was getting boring for a bit. What's up? What do you say to everyone? This is amazing.
[02:01.920 -> 02:05.360] Well, I had a friend message me saying I am going to
[02:05.360 -> 02:10.800] launch a petition to have 12 out of 24 races in Singapore and I said you know what, Max will still
[02:10.800 -> 02:18.000] win the other 12 and get the world championship. But either way, on Sunday finally coming back to
[02:18.000 -> 02:26.960] get P5 in that self-proclaimed box of a car if I can put it that way. It's amazing how even in
[02:26.960 -> 02:29.460] the worst of the weekends they're able to pull off something like that but it's
[02:29.460 -> 02:34.220] not about Red Bull, it's not, it's just not about Red Bull. I can't hide my smile.
[02:34.220 -> 02:38.060] Okay, but what are you feeling like Kunal, at the end of the entire weekend,
[02:38.060 -> 02:42.460] like what's on your mind? The one thing on my mind is you know we always
[02:42.460 -> 02:48.600] imagined what would 2023 Formula One be like without Red Bull Racing.
[02:48.920 -> 02:52.280] Well, the Singapore Grand Prix was a live example.
[02:52.560 -> 02:57.760] This is exactly what Formula One can be like without Red Bull Racing.
[02:57.760 -> 02:59.520] I'm not saying we shouldn't have them.
[02:59.520 -> 03:00.600] I'm not saying whatever.
[03:00.880 -> 03:03.320] I'm just saying we all wanted to check what's it like.
[03:03.720 -> 03:09.880] And we actually got what's it like. No, we wouldn't want Red Bull Racing to be out of Formula One. That way
[03:09.880 -> 03:13.480] Helmut Marko won't be able to come on our show and we won't be able to get Christian
[03:13.480 -> 03:17.040] Onner or David Coulthard or all the other big guests that we have on the Inside Line
[03:17.040 -> 03:22.720] F1 podcast. So please stay Red Bull Racing but be just half competitive all the time
[03:22.720 -> 03:26.400] because how often honestly Kun, in your entire life,
[03:26.400 -> 03:28.080] have you seen four cars battling,
[03:28.080 -> 03:29.000] actually three at the end,
[03:29.000 -> 03:30.520] but we'll talk about that in a second,
[03:30.520 -> 03:32.680] but four cars battling for the win
[03:32.680 -> 03:35.560] for literally the last five to six laps of the race.
[03:35.560 -> 03:39.200] I mean, that is why we watch racing in the first place.
[03:39.200 -> 03:41.200] And okay, I know Mercedes didn't win it.
[03:41.200 -> 03:44.600] I know George Russell made like the rarest of rare errors.
[03:44.600 -> 03:46.960] It's kind of like Carlos Sainz in Sochi 2020,
[03:46.960 -> 03:48.880] where he just couldn't judge the wall, that sort of stuff.
[03:48.880 -> 03:52.120] But nevertheless, the fact that they tried for a win
[03:52.120 -> 03:55.400] instead of settling for P2, take my heart, Mercedes.
[03:55.400 -> 03:56.560] That's more like it.
[03:56.560 -> 03:59.360] I'm not a fan, but if I ever had to pick one team,
[03:59.360 -> 04:01.160] I think that gets me somewhat closer.
[04:01.160 -> 04:06.160] The daringness to do that, it's quite something actually. It is, they went on the
[04:06.160 -> 04:10.960] attack instead of being on the defense and this is of course while also attacking Carlos Sainz on
[04:10.960 -> 04:15.120] track. Like George Russell said, I want to win this race and he said you need to keep putting
[04:15.120 -> 04:20.960] the pressure on Carlos Sainz and you know now it's getting a little unstructured which is fun
[04:20.960 -> 04:29.480] because it's more like a conversation that's going go on for maybe an hour. But when George Russell crashed that Mercedes, I actually thought
[04:29.480 -> 04:34.740] of Somil Arora. I'm like my goodness this guy is gonna be up clapping, screaming,
[04:34.740 -> 04:39.480] hooting and usually and mind you guys Somil is a very well accomplished
[04:39.480 -> 04:46.720] commentator. So you know usually you don't really celebrate a driver spinning, crashing, especially because
[04:46.720 -> 04:49.000] you know, they're, you know, they're working hard for it.
[04:49.000 -> 04:53.440] I mean, unless it's a driver like Latifi or Mazepin, and I mean that with all seriousness,
[04:53.440 -> 04:54.440] right?
[04:54.440 -> 04:58.240] When you have a driver as talented as Russell and yes, Russell has also had his errors,
[04:58.240 -> 04:59.440] but hey, guess what?
[04:59.440 -> 05:05.000] Hamilton, not so many errors when he was junior younger driver, sorry.
[05:05.400 -> 05:08.400] Verstappen has had errors and Vettel has had errors
[05:08.400 -> 05:13.400] and so on, but the key point is this battle for car,
[05:16.880 -> 05:21.120] battle for the lead of the race, for the win of the race,
[05:21.120 -> 05:24.560] Carlos Sainz judging it to perfection.
[05:24.560 -> 05:28.640] And my mind goes back to that post-race radio
[05:28.640 -> 05:34.720] message from Ferrari. That was a smart race, that was very intelligently driven and it
[05:34.720 -> 05:41.080] was his brain along with his talent that got Carlos Sainz the win, Samal. Yeah, I mean
[05:41.080 -> 05:45.360] Carlos Sainz seriously, I know why he does such strong shoulder workouts
[05:45.360 -> 05:48.960] because the guy has the biggest brain in the entire world.
[05:48.960 -> 05:50.680] Like he's strategizing on his own.
[05:50.680 -> 05:55.440] And even though Kunal, we had a bit of a scare, like Ferrari didn't do a double stack properly.
[05:55.440 -> 05:57.120] We just have to put it out there in the universe.
[05:57.120 -> 05:58.120] It just happened.
[05:58.120 -> 06:00.200] So we have to tell the world it's never a clean weekend.
[06:00.200 -> 06:01.200] It's never perfect.
[06:01.200 -> 06:05.200] But even after all of that, they still got Carlos Sainz to judge it to perfection.
[06:05.200 -> 06:10.160] And the radio message that I loved the most from this entire weekend was Carlos Sainz saying,
[06:10.160 -> 06:14.720] yeah, the gap is 0.6 because it's intentional. I'm letting Lando Norris come past.
[06:15.680 -> 06:21.520] Wow, man, come on. Like you're meant to be a racing driver, not a strategist or a chess player
[06:21.520 -> 06:25.000] or something quite like that. I think this is Formula One.
[06:29.200 -> 06:31.240] Honestly, this is what Formula One is meant to be all about strategy all the way through. And okay,
[06:31.480 -> 06:34.840] let's just consolidate things altogether because we both are clearly very
[06:34.840 -> 06:38.360] emotional. So let's just tell you who we are. Firstly, we're not,
[06:38.720 -> 06:40.840] we are Carlos Science fans. Yes, deep down we are.
[06:40.840 -> 06:43.480] So welcome to the Carlos Science Appreciation Club podcast,
[06:43.480 -> 06:45.040] or sometimes known as the Inside
[06:45.040 -> 06:46.440] Line F1 podcast.
[06:46.440 -> 06:47.560] My name is Somal Adhora.
[06:47.560 -> 06:49.680] I am the host of the Indian Racing League.
[06:49.680 -> 06:54.560] I sleep with a Carlos Sainz bed sheet at times, so you need to know that about me.
[06:54.560 -> 07:00.160] But I'm as always joined by Kunal Shah, the former marketing head of the Force India F1
[07:00.160 -> 07:06.000] team, who now works as an F1 consultant and an FIA accredited F1 journalist for the Viaplay Network in Norway.
[07:06.000 -> 07:09.000] You had studio duties this weekend Kunal.
[07:09.000 -> 07:14.000] Just talk me through what the environment was like over there in that last lap when Russell made that error.
[07:14.000 -> 07:18.000] Because at the end of the day, I know we're all professionals who work in the sport.
[07:18.000 -> 07:20.000] We make some money out of it here and there.
[07:20.000 -> 07:30.480] But at the end of the day, these are moments where the fan inside you really sort of wakes up doesn't it. It does and there was so there was so much excitement because you
[07:30.480 -> 07:35.280] know you want to see cars battling you want them to sort of make a mistake not make a mistake drive
[07:35.280 -> 07:42.160] to precision and then the George Russell overtake at first seemed like a driver error but it actually
[07:42.160 -> 07:48.160] wasn't really a driver error yes it was a driver error but it was not a blatant driver error, but it actually wasn't really a driver error. Yes, it was a driver error, but it was not a blatant driver error under
[07:48.160 -> 07:48.960] pressure or something.
[07:48.960 -> 07:50.080] And we'll come to that, right.
[07:50.560 -> 07:54.800] But I'm going to, I'm going to tell you why I think it was a very intelligent
[07:54.800 -> 07:55.600] win, right?
[07:56.160 -> 08:01.080] Carlos Sainz got pole position, which was purely on talent.
[08:01.240 -> 08:01.740] Okay.
[08:02.120 -> 08:05.960] And even his pole lap actually was a very intelligent one. So
[08:05.960 -> 08:13.360] in Singapore, the soft tire was not lasting the full lap. Charles Leclerc
[08:13.360 -> 08:17.840] actually lost pole position because turn 17 he had a snapper oversteer and he
[08:17.840 -> 08:23.160] lost a tenth and a half and you know it was publicly known, right. So to
[08:23.160 -> 08:26.520] make sure you had tires for the third sector,
[08:26.520 -> 08:29.360] you sort of compromised the first sector.
[08:29.360 -> 08:30.400] Every driver was doing that.
[08:30.400 -> 08:32.800] But if you go back and see Carlos Sainz's first lap
[08:32.800 -> 08:36.920] or last lap in Q3, he attacked the first sector.
[08:36.920 -> 08:39.260] He cooled it down for the second sector,
[08:39.260 -> 08:41.800] which was not the major sector
[08:41.800 -> 08:42.880] where Ferrari was pulling a gap
[08:42.880 -> 08:48.680] because it's got all the slow speed stuff. But he saved those tires for the third sector where Ferrari was pulling a gap because it's all got all the slow speed stuff but he saved those tires for the third sector. He got his
[08:48.680 -> 08:53.860] pole position on the last two corners of his flying lap from George Russell.
[08:53.860 -> 08:58.680] That's brainwave number one. This is guys and girls, this is not down to
[08:58.680 -> 09:03.080] just driving intuition alone, it's down to a lot of data digging. You know
[09:03.080 -> 09:05.700] exactly which corners your car's doing well,
[09:05.700 -> 09:08.180] not doing well, where you can gain and lose advantage.
[09:08.180 -> 09:10.780] And that's what Carlos is known to be doing,
[09:10.780 -> 09:13.240] as you all would know, and Samuel knows this,
[09:13.240 -> 09:15.800] he's known to be a thinking driver.
[09:15.800 -> 09:18.280] He's constantly thinking, right?
[09:18.280 -> 09:20.680] So that was brainwave number one.
[09:20.680 -> 09:22.900] The second brainwave, which I'm sure
[09:22.900 -> 09:26.440] is collectively done by Ferrari, if you see
[09:26.440 -> 09:30.240] his average lap time and we are going to probably ask Nityanand to do this, Carlos
[09:30.240 -> 09:33.000] Sainz was doing 100 seconds a lap, right?
[09:33.040 -> 09:35.240] One minute, 40, one minute, 40, one minute, 40.
[09:35.240 -> 09:35.600] Yeah.
[09:35.640 -> 09:39.840] For the first 20 laps of the race, even the slowest driver, Logan Sargent was
[09:39.840 -> 09:46.640] doing one minute, 40 seconds a lap, which usually doesn't happen, right? But that was another
[09:46.640 -> 09:50.640] strategy they knew they didn't have the tires, so they were managing the pace of the race
[09:50.640 -> 09:57.520] to an extent where they can protect their tires and crucially bunch up the entire grid.
[09:57.520 -> 10:01.640] And that takes so much of composure Kunal because honestly at that level of driving
[10:01.640 -> 10:05.000] you I mean I know Singapore is a tricky circuit to pass on regardless.
[10:05.320 -> 10:06.280] But moves can be made.
[10:06.360 -> 10:11.960] If you're genuinely lacking pace, as we saw with Lewis Hamilton and Sergio Perez, a tricky bold move can be done.
[10:12.000 -> 10:18.240] So for Carlos Sainz to just step out there, hold his hand up and say, no, no, no, no, no, I won't drive as fast as I possibly can.
[10:18.640 -> 10:19.800] I will bunch everybody up.
[10:19.920 -> 10:29.080] And that too in that McLaren, in terms of practice, when you look at all the data, their lap times were flying. I mean, they were incredibly quick, somewhere around the top two, three teams.
[10:29.080 -> 10:32.280] And then you have someone like George Russell in the Mercedes who throughout the entire
[10:32.280 -> 10:34.400] weekend hasn't made an error.
[10:34.400 -> 10:38.680] To do that and to raise your hand up and say, no, I will bunch everybody up is genuinely
[10:38.680 -> 10:40.520] a courageous decision.
[10:40.520 -> 10:44.800] And also that, speaking of Carlos Sainz's brainwaves, in qualifying as well, Charles
[10:44.800 -> 10:49.120] Leclerc got completely boxed up in terms of where he went for the qualifying order.
[10:49.120 -> 10:51.920] Carlos Sainz confident as ever, I'll go first, I'll figure it out.
[10:51.920 -> 10:56.640] Okay, I don't mind the track evolution coming back to bite me, but I know I need an open
[10:56.640 -> 11:01.200] set of tarmac, I need some degree of air to put my lap time in.
[11:01.200 -> 11:04.840] Even if it means I'll have to barge my way past initially, I'll do that because I want
[11:04.840 -> 11:06.120] time to warm up my tyres.
[11:06.120 -> 11:09.600] And guess what, Leclerc's final lap wasn't properly warmed up eventually.
[11:09.600 -> 11:14.560] And we saw so many other Mercedes cars also struggling because they just didn't have enough
[11:14.560 -> 11:15.600] prep time properly.
[11:15.600 -> 11:16.880] But Sainz did.
[11:16.880 -> 11:20.800] So just small little things adding up, which is good.
[11:20.800 -> 11:26.320] It's like the moment you eliminate Red Bull Racing, you open up your eyes to so many possibilities of everything
[11:26.320 -> 11:27.320] that's happening around.
[11:27.320 -> 11:28.320] So thank you.
[11:28.320 -> 11:30.660] Thank you for not having a good car this week at Red Bull.
[11:30.660 -> 11:32.400] I'm so glad.
[11:32.400 -> 11:35.320] And that's also because it was also a mystery, right,
[11:35.320 -> 11:36.240] in that regard.
[11:36.240 -> 11:37.080] It was a mystery.
[11:37.080 -> 11:37.880] We'll get to that.
[11:37.880 -> 11:40.920] And you know, one of the things that's important to explain
[11:40.920 -> 11:43.600] is why Carlos Sainz was bunching it up.
[11:43.600 -> 11:46.640] Yes, I said tire degradation, he was reducing the
[11:46.640 -> 11:52.800] rate of tire wear, but crucially what he was doing is he was not letting the field open up a gap.
[11:53.360 -> 11:59.200] So, what happens is if his rivals, Lando Norris, who was in second place or George Russell, who was
[11:59.200 -> 12:05.840] also in second place, wanted to pit, they couldn't pit and come out in open air. I mean, and if you look at the
[12:05.840 -> 12:12.400] example when Checo Perez pitted from fifth place, he came out in P18. Why? Because the field was all
[12:12.400 -> 12:17.680] bunched up and that's what Ferrari was trying to do. They were trying to keep the field all
[12:17.680 -> 12:25.200] bunched up so that nobody's able to make a pit stop and undercut them because the undercut was supposed to be very very powerful in
[12:25.200 -> 12:33.920] Singapore. And I just loved the whole execution by Ferrari, they were very sure we will sacrifice a
[12:33.920 -> 12:41.600] one-two or a one-three to get a race win. They even split strategies, tyre strategies, race strategy,
[12:41.600 -> 12:47.040] sorry race start tyres on Leclerc and Carlos Sainz. Leclerc got the jump
[12:47.040 -> 12:53.920] on Russell and sort of opened up a gap while trying to keep Carlos Sainz protected. And I
[12:53.920 -> 12:59.760] think it was just flawless execution by Ferrari and I really hope this sort of trend continues
[12:59.760 -> 13:06.000] because we saw it in Monza, we've seen it now in Singapore, two different circuits, sorry,
[13:06.000 -> 13:13.280] two different kind of circuits, very low downforce to very high downforce. The big common factor is
[13:13.280 -> 13:17.920] shorter corner, shorter apex corners. You know, Ferrari struggles when the corners keep going
[13:17.920 -> 13:25.840] on and on, like for example, turn three in Barcelona, right? And it's lovely when Ferrari just ends up winning in Formula 1.
[13:26.040 -> 13:28.040] It's yeah this
[13:28.200 -> 13:32.680] Everyone's smiling today. It feels like a good day. It feels like a happy day for some reason suddenly
[13:32.680 -> 13:36.160] The sky is a little bit bluer. The moon is a little bit more shiny
[13:36.280 -> 13:43.160] The Sun is shining brighter in Norway as well I see Kunal for some reason there. So it's it's incredible that it's it's joy
[13:43.160 -> 13:47.760] It's happiness. All you need in life is for Ferrari to keep on winning, which is great.
[13:47.760 -> 13:50.720] And okay, where do we go to next?
[13:50.720 -> 13:53.960] Because we've covered Carlos Sainz, we've poured our heart out.
[13:53.960 -> 13:59.520] We've now, okay, I don't think we've expressed the shock and horror of Red Bull not winning every single race.
[13:59.520 -> 14:02.880] Because you and I Kunal, have officially lost the bet to F1 Stats Guru.
[14:02.880 -> 14:04.200] And I'm so glad we have.
[14:04.200 -> 14:09.080] So for a second, I'll just take a deep breath and oh my God, it's actually happened.
[14:09.080 -> 14:15.720] So it's hard to put it out there firstly, but sorry, what was Saturday all about?
[14:15.720 -> 14:21.120] Like I love, I mean, normally I don't like to listen to commentators on Saturdays, just
[14:21.120 -> 14:23.800] more fun to watch the cars do their own thing.
[14:23.800 -> 14:26.800] But I really love this one comment that Martin Brundle actually made afterwards.
[14:26.800 -> 14:29.920] It said that the Red Bull actually looks like the worst car.
[14:29.920 -> 14:34.800] And if you watch every single onboard, every single car, okay, maybe barring the Alfa Romeo,
[14:34.800 -> 14:38.280] just turns in so well through the corners where you know that, okay, the car can slide
[14:38.280 -> 14:39.280] around a little bit.
[14:39.280 -> 14:41.520] If you chuck it in, it's got enough momentum and enough commitment.
[14:41.520 -> 14:42.920] Barring Lance Stroll's Aston Martin as well.
[14:42.920 -> 14:43.920] That's a different story.
[14:43.920 -> 14:46.560] But the Red Bulls, they looked leery.
[14:46.560 -> 14:49.120] They looked like they didn't want to move and that's strange.
[14:49.120 -> 14:51.040] So it's not the technical directive.
[14:51.040 -> 14:53.200] That's what clearly is the message.
[14:53.200 -> 14:54.320] It's not the tires.
[14:54.320 -> 14:56.880] It's not the suspension changes, not the floor.
[14:56.880 -> 14:58.240] Have you gotten down to the bottom of it?
[14:58.240 -> 15:00.560] Or would Red Bull even know at this stage, to be honest?
[15:00.560 -> 15:03.600] There's a bit of guesswork that's been going on in the paddock.
[15:03.600 -> 15:09.560] And again, I look back to Mark Hughes, who's a bit of guesswork that's been going on in the paddock and again I look back to Mark Hughes who's actually one of my you know journalists
[15:09.560 -> 15:15.720] to go back and you know consume F1 content from. He's made it very clear
[15:15.720 -> 15:19.480] Red Bull came with a new suspension a softer suspension given that Singapore
[15:19.480 -> 15:30.320] has a lot of bumps. There's a resurface track in, or see resurface parts of Singapore were not as bumpy, but the old parts were. So on Friday, they use a softer
[15:30.320 -> 15:38.320] suspension, on Saturday, they realized that the harder suspension will actually do better, right. But what was happening is that they were still, they
[15:38.320 -> 15:49.040] couldn't run their car as low as they wanted. Otherwise, they would have sort of been illegal because of plank wear. So they raised the height and then the minute you raise the height, they lost performance.
[15:49.040 -> 15:53.520] And Red Bull's performance, as we know, comes from that really complicated underflow, which is what
[15:53.520 -> 15:58.080] no other team has sort of been able to crack. So the minute they raised the car,
[15:58.080 -> 16:03.600] the car was just not drivable. And one of the challenges was that they were not able to put
[16:03.600 -> 16:08.680] in the tires. And I think Perez said, I just couldn't load the fronts up, which means he just couldn't
[16:08.680 -> 16:09.840] get any front grip.
[16:09.840 -> 16:10.840] Right.
[16:10.840 -> 16:15.960] So it was just down to the characteristics of the circuit, how the car needs to be dialed
[16:15.960 -> 16:16.960] in.
[16:16.960 -> 16:22.360] And I think it's a coincidence that it happened on a weekend when a technical directive was
[16:22.360 -> 16:26.800] issued to control flexing of F1 car parts.
[16:27.520 -> 16:34.800] I don't believe it's flexi floor, flexi wings that has got Red Bull out. Yes, we will know more only
[16:34.800 -> 16:40.640] in Japan but Max Verstappen actually said that when he drove the Singapore settings in the
[16:40.640 -> 16:46.880] simulator, the car was really undrivable. They switched to the Japanese settings and he said, yes, that's it.
[16:46.880 -> 16:48.800] That's my car. It's all back to normal.
[16:48.800 -> 16:51.120] So at least he believes that it's all going to be fine.
[16:51.360 -> 16:55.720] But here's a question, Samuel, that we should probably leave behind for our
[16:55.720 -> 16:59.920] listeners and viewers that remember, Red Bull has an error penalty.
[16:59.920 -> 17:03.720] They have 10 percent less error available than everybody else.
[17:04.120 -> 17:10.000] This directive, if Red Bull needs to do more testing
[17:10.000 -> 17:13.200] arrow research to make sure that they comply fully,
[17:13.200 -> 17:17.000] did they have lesser resources to run tests?
[17:17.000 -> 17:18.680] I'm just throwing up a question.
[17:18.680 -> 17:21.560] Maybe we'll know the answer just enough in about four or five
[17:21.560 -> 17:22.400] days time.
[17:22.400 -> 17:25.120] But what's important is for us to throw up the question.
[17:25.240 -> 17:25.920] Yeah, exactly.
[17:26.040 -> 17:27.360] And wait a minute.
[17:27.360 -> 17:31.840] I think that throws up another question because F1 stats guru, I remember he made a
[17:31.840 -> 17:36.000] lovely deal about when Max Verstappen could realistically seal up the championship as
[17:36.000 -> 17:36.880] early as possible.
[17:37.640 -> 17:41.280] I hate to say it, but it's been thrown away to the side because he's not won every
[17:41.280 -> 17:47.640] single race in a row and it won't happen in Japan, which means that Red Bull Racing should be happier now because their biggest PR
[17:47.640 -> 17:51.360] day of the entire year won't come up at what five o'clock in the European
[17:51.360 -> 17:55.120] morning. So even earlier than that, no, it's a, what time is Japan for you guys?
[17:55.400 -> 17:58.600] Well, it's a 7am start, but you're right. You know, it's,
[17:58.600 -> 18:02.800] it just seems really early. We'll all be prep preparing for it from 5am.
[18:02.800 -> 18:05.040] So that time was actually not bad
[18:05.040 -> 18:11.600] but why don't we you know you touched upon Mercedes no no wait before we go to
[18:11.600 -> 18:16.880] Mercedes the big the big question you know it's it's a puzzle Mercedes sorry
[18:16.880 -> 18:23.360] Red Bull's loss of pace in qualifying is as puzzling as Max Verstappen not
[18:23.360 -> 18:25.600] picking up a grid penalty for impeding,
[18:25.600 -> 18:29.000] despite having three investigations on Saturday.
[18:29.000 -> 18:34.400] I think, yes, I know we have a lot of listeners from the Netherlands.
[18:34.400 -> 18:38.000] Again, no biases, no appeasing the fan base, etc.
[18:38.000 -> 18:42.000] But Max should have gotten a penalty for the whole Sunoda incident
[18:42.000 -> 18:45.600] and not just a financial one for the team.
[18:47.040 -> 18:52.640] That's my view, Samil. Easily. I think there were so many other ones that also just got away. Because I remember I
[18:52.640 -> 18:58.160] kept on checking the FIA final list of incidents under review and they just kept on piling up one
[18:58.160 -> 19:02.640] after the other. But barely any penalties got through at the very end, which was strange for
[19:02.640 -> 19:06.600] me to see at the end. So that's also a little bit inconsistent in the way things were delivered, but
[19:06.920 -> 19:10.800] that's just classic FIA, right? But I am not complaining. It's okay.
[19:10.800 -> 19:15.480] We got one weekend where we got to see what Formula One can really be like.
[19:15.480 -> 19:17.040] So I'm not going to complain on that at all.
[19:17.440 -> 19:21.120] But I'm going to complain about it and I'll tell you why. I'll just,
[19:21.640 -> 19:25.000] I mean what the FIA in a sense said is,
[19:27.920 -> 19:28.320] yes, Maxwell Stampern impeded Yuki Sonoda,
[19:33.040 -> 19:36.640] but he impeded Yuki Sonoda because Red Bull didn't give him enough information on the radio. So in effect, they said it was not the driver to blame,
[19:36.640 -> 19:39.240] but the team was to blame and they charged,
[19:39.240 -> 19:41.520] they penalized the team 5,000 euros or something,
[19:41.520 -> 19:43.800] which is loose change for a Formula One team.
[19:44.240 -> 19:45.680] But what this does Samuel is
[19:45.680 -> 19:50.480] it gives teams a chance to actually use this, you know it'll become a precedent in the
[19:50.480 -> 19:55.360] races to follow. I just won't tell you on the radio out of purpose, you'll block a rival, you won't get
[19:55.360 -> 20:00.720] a sporting penalty or a grid penalty but we'll just pay 5,000 euros. But hey, guess what, we ruined
[20:00.720 -> 20:06.360] a rival's race and in this case that rival was a Red Bull driver, Yuki Sunoda, who got kicked out of
[20:06.360 -> 20:10.520] Q2, but he actually topped Q1.
[20:10.520 -> 20:12.200] He was the fastest in Q1.
[20:12.200 -> 20:13.920] And guess who got through to Q3?
[20:13.920 -> 20:14.920] Liam Lawson.
[20:14.920 -> 20:19.560] At least at this stage in their careers, you'd assume that Sunoda has a couple of tenths
[20:19.560 -> 20:24.960] on Lawson just purely because of experience and wisdom of being a Formula One driver for
[20:24.960 -> 20:25.840] Alpha Cavalry for now is third. and just purely because of experience and wisdom of being a Formula One driver for Alpha Tauri for
[20:25.840 -> 20:32.720] now is 30. Do you associate the word wisdom with Yuki Tsunoda? I'm sorry, but like that's just not.
[20:32.720 -> 20:38.640] You know, I would associate the word wisdom with a driver who's been now doing three seasons versus
[20:38.640 -> 20:44.320] a driver who's done three races. You are wiser in the car, out of the car, etc. That's kind of
[20:44.320 -> 20:46.240] like saying car loveainz is absolutely
[20:46.240 -> 20:51.200] careless and like thoughtless, if that's a word, if that really made wisdom with Yuki. So what are
[20:51.200 -> 20:57.200] we talking about? In comparison to Lawson? I get where you're coming from, though. I get where you're
[20:57.200 -> 21:02.320] coming from. But I like that we're touching upon this, because before we go to Landonautas, talk
[21:02.320 -> 21:05.680] about McLaren, and also just a bit on Mercedes.
[21:07.680 -> 21:10.000] Liam Lawson out qualified Yuki Tsunoda. And I know the circumstances were kind of shady in which it happened.
[21:10.000 -> 21:13.360] But I know it was also hard to see who was the real fastest driver.
[21:13.360 -> 21:17.280] Because track evolution was so prominent that, again, it was tricky to compare lap times.
[21:17.280 -> 21:21.760] And once you really have that big gulf in qualifying, it's anyone's guess right at Singapore.
[21:21.760 -> 21:23.760] So Lawson really capitalized on that so well.
[21:24.400 -> 21:30.000] Something that, let's say, I mean, it's an Alfa Tauri, it's not Oscar Piastri's McLaren.
[21:30.000 -> 21:31.760] It can't really climb up that much on Sunday.
[21:31.760 -> 21:34.400] So you can't really blame Sunona a lot for that as well.
[21:34.400 -> 21:39.760] But eventually, it's interesting because in that little battle, I am genuinely curious
[21:39.760 -> 21:41.440] to know who's the faster driver now.
[21:41.440 -> 21:44.280] And that's incredible because suddenly you have another story to track.
[21:44.280 -> 21:47.100] And being a Red Bull Racing management person being
[21:47.100 -> 21:50.800] Helmut Marko it's another really stupid problem to have because once Daniel
[21:50.800 -> 21:54.240] Ricardo is fit what do you do do you break the momentum of this young driver
[21:54.240 -> 21:58.160] who's constantly beating his teammate I don't know what are you meant to do in
[21:58.160 -> 22:02.120] that case so it's a it's a brilliant headache yeah it's a brilliant headache
[22:02.120 -> 22:06.400] for Red Bull Racing and Alfa Tauri for 2023.
[22:06.400 -> 22:09.560] In fact, could just very well be in the next couple of races
[22:09.560 -> 22:11.860] whenever Daniel decides to come back.
[22:11.860 -> 22:14.760] Because Yuki himself said he's been told
[22:14.760 -> 22:16.200] he's on a race by race basis.
[22:16.200 -> 22:20.560] And Japan could very well be his final race for Alfa Tauri
[22:20.560 -> 22:23.400] because Riccardo is expected to be back around Qatar
[22:23.400 -> 22:31.160] or thereabouts, which is a race after Japan right but Liam Lawson finished ninth scoring two
[22:31.160 -> 22:35.880] points which means he's one point away from Yuki Sonoda. Liam Lawson's ninth
[22:35.880 -> 22:41.800] place is actually Alpha Tauri's best result in a race in 2023. He's already
[22:41.800 -> 22:45.000] ahead he's already 19th in a 22 driver championship.
[22:45.040 -> 22:49.480] Right. And I would say actually both the rookies went off well.
[22:49.480 -> 22:52.240] Yeah. Two out of three rookies went off well because Logan Sargent,
[22:52.240 -> 22:55.200] despite driving 10 seconds off the expected pace,
[22:55.200 -> 22:58.720] still managed to clip a wall and bring out a safety car and all of that.
[22:58.760 -> 23:00.880] But Oscar Piastri in the points,
[23:00.880 -> 23:03.840] the Q1 elimination bringing him in the points,
[23:03.840 -> 23:05.440] despite not having the upgraded
[23:05.440 -> 23:13.520] McLaren in Singapore. So the rookies did absolutely fantastic and McLaren since we don't you think
[23:13.520 -> 23:21.160] so? No not all the rookies. 2 out of 3 rookies yeah 66% of them. We had 4 rookies. I missed
[23:21.160 -> 23:25.640] that. Not in the race not on Sunday On Saturday at least we had four rookies.
[23:25.640 -> 23:29.760] Sorry, I'm just gonna let that slide. Hopefully he's doing better physically
[23:29.760 -> 23:34.760] because it's not great to see a driver not taking part in the race but what was that qualifying?
[23:34.760 -> 23:40.720] Sorry, but I really hope he's physically doing better because you never wish ill on anyone.
[23:40.720 -> 23:45.120] I mean he had a crash pre-season and he had a shoulder, whatever,
[23:45.120 -> 23:51.680] I think wrist injury. We don't wish ill on anybody, especially in terms of health.
[23:51.680 -> 23:56.080] Like you said. What are those qualifying gaps, man? Seriously? And you know what,
[23:56.080 -> 24:01.840] Mike Crack has the audacity to come back on the air and has told the media that the crash in
[24:01.840 -> 24:07.060] Singapore showed Lance Stoltz's commitment. What? What sort of
[24:07.060 -> 24:10.880] rubbish is that meant to mean? Honestly, like I think my crack is the new
[24:10.880 -> 24:14.400] Christian on it because I'm just absolutely trying to ignore every single
[24:14.400 -> 24:17.760] one of his media statements but I can't because it all equally rubbish one after
[24:17.760 -> 24:21.680] the other. What do you mean by the crash shows his commitment? Somal, when you are
[24:21.680 -> 24:28.520] gonna be paid or when and if you are ever paid by Laurence Stroll to speak well about Lance Stroll, you will find different
[24:28.520 -> 24:33.560] ways to make Lance Stroll not seem stupid at all. You will find every way to
[24:33.560 -> 24:37.800] equate him to a four times world champion like he did last year. I mean I
[24:37.800 -> 24:42.080] think Mike Crack's job is easier this year because last year he had to say
[24:42.080 -> 24:46.000] statements where he was equating Lance Stroll to a four times world champion.
[24:46.080 -> 24:49.960] This year onwards, he has to equate him to a two times world champion.
[24:49.960 -> 24:51.920] 50% of the work less this time.
[24:52.600 -> 24:55.560] I mean, if he can sound silly, why can't I?
[24:56.040 -> 24:56.320] Right.
[24:56.320 -> 24:59.440] But terrible place for Aspen.
[25:00.040 -> 25:00.560] Exactly.
[25:00.560 -> 25:05.400] But if I was earning like two, three million a season, which I'm assuming what, again, maybe more, maybe less.
[25:05.400 -> 25:11.240] But if it's that sort of money, I think that's because we find a way to be more creative on the inside.
[25:11.240 -> 25:13.480] And at least we try to be more creative on the inside.
[25:13.480 -> 25:14.800] And I phone podcast every week.
[25:14.800 -> 25:18.280] Right. So my crack is not different to you and me in that regard.
[25:18.280 -> 25:19.880] So I think he's one of us.
[25:19.960 -> 25:21.400] He's good fun.
[25:21.520 -> 25:25.120] Yeah. I mean, Aston Martin, Fernando Alonso for the first time failed to
[25:25.120 -> 25:30.240] score points at a Grand Prix weekend in 2023, which means only Verstappen and Hamilton are
[25:30.240 -> 25:35.520] the two drivers who continue to have scored points at every race. Aston Martin now is some
[25:36.080 -> 25:43.040] 72 points from second place, which is where they want to be. And if you remember mid-season,
[25:43.040 -> 25:45.060] I made a bold prediction McLaren are
[25:45.060 -> 25:50.880] gonna catch Aston Martin. There's an 80 point gap well is it? 77 point gap or
[25:50.880 -> 25:57.700] something right but or 78 points if my math is correct mental math but imagine
[25:57.700 -> 26:03.840] this I mean in the last two races McLaren has scored 28 points whereas
[26:03.840 -> 26:06.960] Aston Martin has scored two points. Okay.
[26:07.520 -> 26:08.400] Wow.
[26:08.400 -> 26:13.520] That's to do with Aston Martin. We saw rare driver errors from Fernando Alonso as well.
[26:13.520 -> 26:18.480] Pit lane was clearly, you know, an indecision becoming a decision, but then he just sort of
[26:18.480 -> 26:29.440] let things through. But let's talk of one of Fernando Alonso's previous teams, McLaren, because Lando Norris drove to second place, scoring his third podium of the season.
[26:29.440 -> 26:45.680] He was literally the least spoken driver on the podium. It was either Carlos Sainz is going to win or George Russell from P4 or P3, whatever he was,'s going to go to win. But hey, he's going to just drive past Lando Norris
[26:45.680 -> 26:51.600] to claim the win. But excellent execution by Lando Norris on a weekend where McLaren brought
[26:51.600 -> 26:58.000] significant upgrades to his car. Yeah, I think honestly that last four laps when you saw the
[26:58.000 -> 27:02.400] McLaren sliding around on the exit of every corner, the Mercedes also to a decent degree
[27:02.400 -> 27:08.800] because by that point they chewed up their tyres just a little bit. But the composure because I honestly thought and I had lots of
[27:08.800 -> 27:13.600] new F1 fans actually watching the race with me as well this time. They were all dead certain as I
[27:13.600 -> 27:17.680] was that hey Landon Norris is just going to be a pushover. Like it was just a matter of time that
[27:17.680 -> 27:22.400] they get past the McLaren and then they fight with the Ferrari. But no he didn't he actually held it
[27:22.400 -> 27:28.560] up so well and even in qualifying I know he eventually got pushed over a little bit here and there because of a couple of really good
[27:28.560 -> 27:33.440] laps in the final part of qualifying by all the other drivers. But if that upgraded McLaren can
[27:33.440 -> 27:39.280] do that well, Kunal, we genuinely have a fight for P2 in the championship, which is, no, I mean,
[27:39.280 -> 27:43.680] P2 in the Constructors' Championship. I mean, actually, how bad is Sergio's season been?
[27:43.680 -> 27:50.400] Let me just quickly check the points standings. Where is he actually? Checo is now 43 points ahead of Lewis Hamilton.
[27:50.400 -> 27:58.080] And Lando Norris, I mean, let's look at his race. He's 50 points ahead of Lance Stroll in
[27:58.080 -> 28:04.160] eighth place, but that's not really the benchmark. He's only 12 points behind George Russell in
[28:04.160 -> 28:12.960] seventh place. And George, of course, has scored just once in the last three races, or basically since the summer break, he scored just in one race in Monza, which was 10 points.
[28:12.960 -> 28:15.440] But Lando Norris has scored 28 points.
[28:15.440 -> 28:27.080] So that McLaren, since it's been upgraded, Lando's actually outscored George Russell since Austria. So to my mind McLaren's late season
[28:27.080 -> 28:32.920] recovery might not reflect their actual positions in the championship but bears
[28:32.920 -> 28:37.760] really well for what's to come in 2024. Yeah I actually love this because it's
[28:37.760 -> 28:42.560] funny how Aston Martin somehow are still second in the championship but wait are
[28:42.560 -> 28:49.200] they? No they're down to fourth. They're down to fourth now correct but like for majority of the entire season right up until I think a couple of
[28:49.200 -> 28:53.920] weekends ago second in the championship but for the last five six weeks we saw that that just
[28:53.920 -> 28:58.400] wasn't clearly the case at all and then the same with Mercedes as well floating somewhere through
[28:58.400 -> 29:04.560] in the midfield McLaren all the way down. I like how we're seeing fluctuations and so all we really
[29:04.560 -> 29:05.560] really need is some
[29:05.560 -> 29:09.320] volatility maybe if they can all close up to Red Bull Racing imagine how
[29:09.320 -> 29:12.600] beautiful the product might be every single week and imagine how much
[29:12.600 -> 29:16.400] business would all flourish for everyone as well because I mean it generally
[29:16.400 -> 29:20.220] makes an impact because every time we do events as well we touch what we do
[29:20.220 -> 29:24.200] have a really really dedicated core of Krogor group of followers come to every
[29:24.200 -> 29:29.680] single inside line F1 pit stop But you notice a difference because when the races are not as fun,
[29:29.680 -> 29:33.680] you normally tend to have, let's say around 80-90 odd people. But when it's super fun,
[29:33.680 -> 29:38.080] when things are really buzzing, 150-170 odd people constantly popping in here and there.
[29:38.640 -> 29:41.840] That's where the fun really is there, when you have more people interested. And so
[29:42.400 -> 29:49.360] this weekend, looking at the hype, looking at all the social media, I think that's what you really feel like, wow, this is what the sport can truly do.
[29:49.360 -> 29:54.560] Which is why, before we get to speak to Mercedes for a second, can we just write a small love
[29:54.560 -> 29:58.560] letter to Singapore? Because heading into this weekend, we asked the question that if every
[29:58.560 -> 30:03.680] single street race is a night race, why does Singapore still somehow find a way to be special?
[30:03.680 -> 30:07.340] And I have thought about this a little bit. I still I don't know I don't know how I
[30:07.340 -> 30:11.900] can articulate it but something about it maybe just the visuals of cars flying
[30:11.900 -> 30:15.540] through those exact streets that maybe you've seen as a child or something like
[30:15.540 -> 30:19.680] that. Maybe it's just the lights seem extra bright, the corners seem extra
[30:19.680 -> 30:24.960] tricky. Something about Singapore just just works. There's never a bad race here
[30:24.960 -> 30:25.600] ever. I think everything about Singapore just works, there's never a bad race here ever.
[30:25.600 -> 30:29.760] I think everything about Singapore just works and especially the opening lap
[30:29.760 -> 30:35.440] every car was throwing up sparks and I loved it you know Lewis
[30:35.440 -> 30:39.640] Hamilton tried to do a Fernando Alonso just that you know you can't be as
[30:39.640 -> 30:43.240] cheeky as Fernando Alonso ever and then Lewis had to give up get back those
[30:43.240 -> 30:46.440] positions etc but yes you're right.
[30:46.600 -> 30:52.960] Singapore, the original night race, just always delivers excitement.
[30:53.400 -> 30:58.600] And I mean, every single Singapore Grand Prix has had a safety car.
[30:58.880 -> 31:10.480] We had one this race as well, even though it was a little doubtful that you need a safety car for those bits of wings, but the FIA just needs better, knows better. But I think the whole physical
[31:10.480 -> 31:16.480] challenge, the mental challenge, the walls being so close and Mercedes actually, why don't we just
[31:16.480 -> 31:20.880] speak about them? They're the only team that's probably left from our key talking points.
[31:21.680 -> 31:27.980] And the reason why I said walls and I thought of Mercedes is because George Russell drove into that wall and it just shows you know like
[31:27.980 -> 31:32.440] there are times when racing car drivers are like donkeys you know and I said
[31:32.440 -> 31:41.760] this on the air. I said that with a straight face because you're so focused on you know overtaking the
[31:41.760 -> 31:46.600] driver ahead you're following the driver's tire tracks, literally.
[31:46.600 -> 31:49.120] What happened in that George Russell incident?
[31:49.120 -> 31:51.360] Toto Wolff said lapse of concentration.
[31:51.360 -> 31:52.680] George Russell also said that.
[31:52.680 -> 31:55.520] But really, what he was doing, he just
[31:55.520 -> 31:58.920] was following Lando Norris's tracks.
[31:58.920 -> 32:03.000] Lando Norris nudged the wall, and boom, George Russell
[32:03.000 -> 32:03.560] hit the wall.
[32:03.560 -> 32:04.080] Why?
[32:04.080 -> 32:07.280] Because, hey, I'm going to follow his track so closely that if he hits the wall, I, George Russell hit the wall. Why? Because, hey, I'm going to follow his track so closely
[32:07.640 -> 32:09.480] that if he hits the wall, I'm going to hit the wall.
[32:09.480 -> 32:11.320] And that's what happened. Right.
[32:11.320 -> 32:13.080] But a great weekend for George Russell.
[32:13.080 -> 32:17.200] He was P2, Mercedes, a brilliant strategy,
[32:17.200 -> 32:19.280] tried to go win the race, attacked.
[32:19.720 -> 32:23.560] And Lewis Hamilton came alive in the latter part of the race as well.
[32:24.000 -> 32:27.640] Yeah. And they were on the podium. But you know what actually two points to add to that
[32:27.640 -> 32:31.760] it really happens with young racing drivers as well because I've been lucky
[32:31.760 -> 32:34.880] enough to watch so many of them through their development phase. They've not all
[32:34.880 -> 32:38.540] gone to become Formula One drivers or even F3 drivers but you can see how
[32:38.540 -> 32:41.600] they mature when you see them from go-karting to Formula Four levels and
[32:41.600 -> 32:46.040] all that stuff and even the kids do. Like every single time when they race,
[32:46.040 -> 32:47.960] they tend to metamorphose into the other driver
[32:47.960 -> 32:48.800] that they see in front of them.
[32:48.800 -> 32:51.200] Which sometimes they even tend to gain lap times
[32:51.200 -> 32:52.040] in terms of that.
[32:52.040 -> 32:53.280] So it's fun to see that happen.
[32:53.280 -> 32:55.520] And then one smaller and the same,
[32:55.520 -> 32:57.880] I've seen this with bike riders quite a fair bit as well
[32:57.880 -> 33:00.320] in bike racing where they're so hell bent
[33:00.320 -> 33:01.920] on following their lines and making sure
[33:01.920 -> 33:04.280] that they're able to understand the strengths and weaknesses
[33:04.280 -> 33:07.040] like they're actually studying the car up ahead.
[33:07.040 -> 33:10.240] So if they make an error, they just boom, straight up end up doing the same thing.
[33:10.240 -> 33:11.680] It's a really fun phenomenon.
[33:11.680 -> 33:12.840] Monkey see, monkey do.
[33:12.840 -> 33:17.960] But for George Russell actually, Kunal, throughout the weekend until that last lap, I don't know,
[33:17.960 -> 33:22.480] but it felt like he made Lewis Hamilton look like an ordinary teammate, especially in qualifying.
[33:22.480 -> 33:25.160] Like, four 10s, the gap in qualifying. Like, four 10s to gap in qualifying.
[33:25.160 -> 33:26.160] Like, what?
[33:26.160 -> 33:29.360] And they were all on a similar run plan, similar warm-up plan as well.
[33:29.360 -> 33:32.880] And I was like, whoa, something's gone horribly wrong for Lewis Hamilton.
[33:32.880 -> 33:38.040] Because I know there's been weekends where Hamilton has been equally faster in comparison
[33:38.040 -> 33:39.040] to George Russell.
[33:39.040 -> 33:42.960] But I like when there's two alphas in one team because then they're constantly training
[33:42.960 -> 33:44.280] blows to each other.
[33:44.280 -> 33:48.640] And one weekend, you see Hamilton punching Russell straight up and making him look like an amateur
[33:48.640 -> 33:53.840] and then this weekend the way Russell performed all the way through up until literally the last
[33:53.840 -> 33:59.520] lap I think that was such a great performance it kind of feels a lot like Sakhiar 2020 but just
[33:59.520 -> 34:06.000] like with Russell being the culprit at the end. It's a brilliant performance in every single way.
[34:06.000 -> 34:08.000] Also, I know we mentioned this at the start of the episode,
[34:08.000 -> 34:11.000] but the call to go out there and say,
[34:11.000 -> 34:13.000] guys, we need to do something about the wind.
[34:13.000 -> 34:14.000] Let's just grab on the medium tires.
[34:14.000 -> 34:15.000] Let's try something.
[34:15.000 -> 34:16.000] Let's make something happen.
[34:16.000 -> 34:18.000] I know it didn't work out,
[34:18.000 -> 34:20.000] but just like with Landon Norris, Sochi 2021,
[34:20.000 -> 34:22.000] I remember us discussing the same thing.
[34:22.000 -> 34:23.000] You can't follow the intent.
[34:23.000 -> 34:26.440] Like it's a driver going for a race when that's what we all love to see.
[34:26.440 -> 34:26.760] Isn't it?
[34:26.880 -> 34:27.240] Yeah.
[34:27.240 -> 34:31.520] And you know, George Russell after qualifying, you know, if you asked him,
[34:31.520 -> 34:32.360] Hey, what's your name?
[34:32.360 -> 34:34.000] He'll say, I'm George Russell.
[34:34.000 -> 34:34.920] I drive a Mercedes.
[34:34.920 -> 34:37.560] Hey, I have a new set of medium for tomorrow's race.
[34:37.920 -> 34:38.880] Where have you qualified?
[34:39.120 -> 34:40.560] I've qualified in P2.
[34:40.640 -> 34:42.880] Hey, I have a new set of medium for tomorrow's race.
[34:43.080 -> 34:44.200] What are you going to eat for dinner?
[34:44.240 -> 34:50.000] I'm going to eat sushi, but Hey, I have a new set of medium for tomorrow's race. What are you going to eat for dinner? I'm going to eat sushi but hey I have a new set of medium for tomorrow's race. He actually was so
[34:50.000 -> 34:55.520] happy and proud about the fact that Mercedes ran an offset strategy all the way from free practice
[34:56.160 -> 35:02.240] and then that medium tire came to use literally got him the race win at least got in the podium.
[35:02.240 -> 35:06.080] Yes he was second traded that to finish third, but eventually
[35:06.080 -> 35:09.240] crashed, but like you said, Samuel, they wanted to go for
[35:09.240 -> 35:09.560] the win.
[35:09.560 -> 35:10.320] And guess what?
[35:10.680 -> 35:16.940] It was actually Checo Perez that helped Lewis Hamilton and George
[35:16.940 -> 35:19.320] Russell pit in that part of the race.
[35:19.320 -> 35:22.000] Because remember at the start of the episode, we said Carlos
[35:22.000 -> 35:28.160] Sainz was bunching everybody up in the field, but guess what Checo Perez was doing to help Max Verstappen.
[35:28.160 -> 35:32.680] He was holding up a DRS train, if you guys remember, which included Esteban Ocon as
[35:32.680 -> 35:33.480] well, who had a great race.
[35:33.480 -> 35:34.320] We'll talk about that.
[35:34.720 -> 35:41.080] But Checo Perez opened up about 10, 11 seconds, you know, between himself and Max.
[35:41.080 -> 36:00.640] So when they both pitted, Max still, you know, had those 10, 11 free seconds that were there. So when Perez pitted, suddenly there was a gap to Fernando Alonso. And that's when the Mercedes crew said, you know what, we're going to take those new mediums that George Russell has told everybody in the world we have. And then they did all the chasing.
[36:07.040 -> 36:11.040] chasing and and that was fun to watch i think those alternate strategy uh sort of angles and arcs that you get to see in a race as well are so much fun to watch eventually where you have these different
[36:11.040 -> 36:17.840] things to track but that's mercedes and again almost flawless and it's fun it's fun because
[36:17.840 -> 36:22.720] they were just nearly a tenth away the entire time and carlos sainz being that big brain guy that he
[36:22.720 -> 36:28.720] is eventually was able to eke it out fun story watch. But also the last fun story that we have to talk about eventually,
[36:28.720 -> 36:35.200] Kunal. I know it's been late in the episode, but we won't let go of this one. Esteban Ocon
[36:35.200 -> 36:43.760] versus Fernando Alonso. I was eating my heart out. That is racing. You could see the vendetta. I know
[36:44.640 -> 36:46.560] they were all best friends until last year.
[36:46.560 -> 36:49.120] They were all really good friends on really good terms.
[36:49.120 -> 36:50.960] They've never said a bad thing about each other.
[36:51.600 -> 36:55.680] But the way Esteban drove, it felt like he's trying to kick someone's backside.
[36:55.680 -> 36:58.400] It didn't feel normal. It felt personal.
[36:58.400 -> 37:02.960] And then the disappointment in his voice because he was beating Fernando Alonso fair and square.
[37:02.960 -> 37:04.480] Beating his teammate fair and square as well.
[37:04.480 -> 37:05.620] Beating a Red Bull fair and square as well beating a Red Bull fair
[37:05.620 -> 37:09.180] and square as well and then the engine went down. I was like come on man
[37:09.180 -> 37:11.160] That's the last thing in the world that can happen
[37:11.160 -> 37:17.280] But did you did you also feel that that battle really was personal it just wasn't normal something something was off about it
[37:17.280 -> 37:22.300] Of course, it was personal and the jury is still out there. Did they touch or did they not touch?
[37:23.140 -> 37:27.640] Or was there a hairs breadth gap between the two of them?
[37:27.640 -> 37:31.840] But yes, unfortunate for Esteban, Ocon and Alpine.
[37:31.840 -> 37:35.600] You know, they suddenly have really good races or really bad ones.
[37:35.600 -> 37:37.640] And that's what's been happening off late as well.
[37:37.640 -> 37:42.080] Qualifying either they are in Q3, both cars, or they're just out of Q1.
[37:42.080 -> 37:50.100] I hope they hit some bit of, you know, stability because the more teams joining the midfield fight, the more fun it is.
[37:50.100 -> 37:54.700] And today, like I said, we saw how Formula One can be if we don't have Red Bull at
[37:54.700 -> 37:59.500] the front. Did I miss them at the front? Yes, I did. But this was an example of how
[37:59.500 -> 38:06.160] great Formula One has been or can be when we don't have Red Bull out there at the front.
[38:06.160 -> 38:11.240] I mean, honestly, most people say, oh dude, it's become a boring sport now.
[38:11.240 -> 38:15.520] But that's only because we're forced to see someone at the top and you can't blame them
[38:15.520 -> 38:16.520] for that.
[38:16.520 -> 38:17.520] Clearly, they're just too good.
[38:17.520 -> 38:20.640] But the product behind is madness.
[38:20.640 -> 38:23.000] And today was just one opportunity for people to realize.
[38:23.000 -> 38:27.800] So if you have any friends or family members who haven't been watching Formula 1 lately
[38:27.800 -> 38:34.440] and have been saying it's boring, 2023 Singapore GP, show them that and then tell us why Formula
[38:34.440 -> 38:35.840] 1 really is not a good product.
[38:35.840 -> 38:36.840] Because it is.
[38:36.840 -> 38:39.200] We just need the teams to close up just that little bit.
[38:39.200 -> 38:41.560] But hopefully Japan is something similar.
[38:41.560 -> 38:44.920] Hopefully we get to see more teams fighting up there on merit, even though Red Bull is
[38:44.920 -> 38:48.160] doing a good job over there. So let's let's hope that something similar
[38:48.160 -> 38:53.120] happens and we'll be back for our Japanese GP preview episode as well on the Inside Line F1
[38:53.120 -> 38:57.360] podcast. So stay tuned for that and also we're going to be opening up the link for the next
[38:57.360 -> 39:02.000] Inside Line F1 pit stop at CarSocial for the Japanese GP as well in Mumbai. So if you're
[39:02.000 -> 39:08.600] around town let's watch the race together and it'll be a ton of fun but folks thank you for listening to this episode thank
[39:08.600 -> 39:12.440] you so much for being such a continued patron of the InsideLine F1 podcast as
[39:12.440 -> 39:16.600] well so in case you have loved listening to all of our stuff subscribe to the
[39:16.600 -> 39:19.560] InsideLine F1 podcast share this episode with all your friends and family
[39:19.560 -> 39:24.120] members and also if you've reached as far join us in also wishing F1 stats
[39:24.120 -> 39:25.320] would have speedy recovery as well.
[39:25.320 -> 39:27.320] So, fingers crossed on that front as well.
[39:27.320 -> 39:30.400] But folks, thank you and we'll see you for the Japanese GP Preview.
[39:30.400 -> 39:30.900] Bye-bye.
[39:44.160 -> 39:46.160] you