Leclerc's Grand Slam, Verstappen's Grand Slammed - 2022 Australian GP Review

Charles Leclerc wins it in style - pole position, race win & fastest lap. The 2022 Australian Grand Prix was a boring-ish race that was also fun. Red Bull Racing's Max Verstappen failed to see the chequered flag for the second time in three races due to reliability issues with his car.

Did you know? Max Verstappen is yet to score a pole position in the 2022 Formula 1 season

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In this episode of the Inside Line F1 Podcast, Soumil and Kunal decode the stories from the 2022 Australian Grand Prix. What happened to Carlos Sainz Jr.? How did Alexander Albon make his almost no-stop strategy work? They celebrate George Russell's maiden Mercedes podium & wonder if there's more behind Lewis Hamilton's 'difficult' radio message to the team. 

Rejoice for Mclaren - but pain and agony for Fernando Alonso & Aston Martin.

Tune in!

(Season 2022, Episode 20)

Follow our hosts on Twitter: Soumil Arora and Kunal Shah

Image courtesy: Ferrari

**2022 Australian Grand Prix Summary**

- Charles Leclerc dominated the Australian Grand Prix, securing pole position, the race win, and the fastest lap.

- Red Bull's Max Verstappen retired from the race due to reliability issues for the second time in three races.

- Sergio Perez finished second for Red Bull, ahead of Mercedes' George Russell, who earned his first podium with the team.

- Lewis Hamilton finished fourth for Mercedes, but expressed frustration over team strategy during the race.

- McLaren had a strong race, with Lando Norris and Daniel Ricciardo finishing fifth and sixth, respectively.

- Fernando Alonso and Carlos Sainz had disappointing weekends for Alpine and Ferrari, respectively.

- Alexander Albon impressed with a points-scoring finish for Williams, using a one-stop strategy.

- Aston Martin continued to struggle, with Lance Stroll and Sebastian Vettel finishing outside the points.

**Key Insights and Perspectives:**

- Leclerc's performance showcased his maturity and mastery of tire management, solidifying his position as a title contender.

- Red Bull's reliability issues raise concerns about their ability to challenge Ferrari for the championship.

- Mercedes showed signs of improvement, with Russell's podium finish and Hamilton's competitive pace.

- McLaren's resurgence in the midfield battle is a positive sign for the team and its drivers.

- Alonso and Sainz's struggles highlight the importance of consistency and reliability in Formula One.

- Albon's strategic drive demonstrated his adaptability and potential to score points for Williams.

- Aston Martin's ongoing difficulties underscore the challenges they face in catching up to the frontrunners.

**Overall Message:**

The Australian Grand Prix showcased the growing rivalry between Ferrari and Red Bull, with Leclerc emerging as a dominant force and Verstappen facing setbacks. Mercedes made progress, McLaren impressed, and the midfield battle intensified, while Aston Martin's struggles continued. The season promises to be filled with excitement and uncertainty as the teams and drivers navigate the new era of Formula One.

# Inside Line F1 Podcast: Episode 20 - 2022 Australian Grand Prix

## Introduction

* Hosts: Soumil Arora and Kunal Shah
* Topic: Decoding the stories from the 2022 Australian Grand Prix

## Key Points

### Race Highlights

* Charles Leclerc dominated the race, securing pole position, race win, and the fastest lap.
* Max Verstappen faced reliability issues with his car for the second time in three races, resulting in a disappointing retirement.
* Alexander Albon impressed with his strategic no-stop strategy, finishing in 10th place.
* George Russell secured his maiden Mercedes podium, while Lewis Hamilton's radio message to the team raised questions.

### McLaren's Performance

* McLaren celebrated a strong performance with Lando Norris finishing fifth and Daniel Ricciardo in sixth place.
* However, Norris faced a power unit issue during the race, raising concerns about reliability.

### Aston Martin's Struggles

* Aston Martin endured a challenging weekend with both Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll facing difficulties.
* Alonso retired from the race due to a suspected water leak, while Stroll struggled with handling issues.

## Closing Thoughts

* The hosts praised the Australian Grand Prix circuit, Albert Park.
* McLaren's reliability concerns were highlighted, with Norris carrying a power unit issue throughout the race.
* The hosts emphasized the importance of reliability in Formula One racing.

## Conclusion

The Inside Line F1 Podcast provided an engaging analysis of the 2022 Australian Grand Prix, dissecting key moments and discussing the performances of various teams and drivers. The podcast highlighted the dominance of Charles Leclerc, the reliability issues faced by Max Verstappen and Red Bull Racing, and the strategic brilliance of Alexander Albon. The hosts also celebrated McLaren's strong showing while acknowledging their reliability concerns and highlighted the struggles faced by Aston Martin. Overall, the podcast delivered an informative and insightful perspective on the race, offering valuable insights for Formula One enthusiasts.

[00:00.000 -> 00:22.920] So then folks, bit of a fun sports fact for you.
[00:22.920 -> 00:27.600] Today marks the first time that someone has actually won a Grand Slam in Melbourne in the month of April.
[00:27.600 -> 00:31.600] And also probably the first time that a Monagask has won a Grand Slam in Melbourne.
[00:31.600 -> 00:37.200] How funny is it that at the home of the Australian Open, one competitor has absolutely smashed the other one
[00:37.200 -> 00:39.440] and has kind of given them a big Grand Slam.
[00:39.440 -> 00:44.960] Luckily for us, this battle isn't over. It's only the first set yet and so many more fireworks are going to come.
[00:44.960 -> 00:45.040] But folks, welcome to the Breakpoint Tennis Podcast and... For us, this battle isn't over. It's only the first set yet, and so many more fireworks are going to come.
[00:45.040 -> 00:47.400] But folks, welcome to the Breakpoint Tennis Podcast.
[00:47.400 -> 00:48.900] And oh, OK, OK, sorry, sorry.
[00:48.900 -> 00:50.160] We have to speak about Formula One, right?
[00:50.160 -> 00:51.080] OK, let's do that.
[00:51.080 -> 00:53.040] Welcome to the Inside Line F1 Podcast.
[00:53.040 -> 00:55.240] My name is Somal Arora, the host of the Driving Force
[00:55.240 -> 00:56.640] on Disney Plus Hotstar.
[00:56.640 -> 00:58.640] I'm joined by Kunal Shah, the former marketing
[00:58.640 -> 01:00.320] head of the Force India F1 team.
[01:00.320 -> 01:02.080] And no, we're not going to be talking about tennis,
[01:02.080 -> 01:03.400] although that'll be a lot of fun.
[01:03.400 -> 01:05.360] We are going to be talking about the Melbourne Grand Prix
[01:05.360 -> 01:08.600] and so many other things that happened about Ferrari and Charles Leclerc how
[01:08.600 -> 01:13.040] good they were about Dreadbull's pace and what happened to Sergio Perez was he
[01:13.040 -> 01:16.280] kind of more comfortable than Max Verstappen in this entire race about the
[01:16.280 -> 01:21.000] DNF Mercedes' pace in Russell's first podium Alonso and Sainz in their
[01:21.000 -> 01:24.200] disappointing weekend more about the midfield and how McLaren have suddenly
[01:24.200 -> 01:27.640] gone up and the likes of Alfa Romeo and Haas have suddenly gone down.
[01:27.640 -> 01:32.000] All of that and more along with Albon's strategy coming up right here on this episode of the
[01:32.000 -> 01:34.200] Inside Lineup podcast.
[01:34.200 -> 01:39.080] But firstly Kunal, this performance by Charles Leclerc, as I mentioned at the start, a Grand
[01:39.080 -> 01:43.060] Slam worthy performance quite literally because he got, I think Ferrari's first Grand Slam
[01:43.060 -> 01:47.520] since Alonso in Singapore 2010, a performance that let's just say not labor would be very
[01:47.520 -> 01:53.460] proud of in a way. A performance that the Tifosi would be proud of in every
[01:53.460 -> 01:59.020] single way Somal and you know by the time people hear this, by the time our
[01:59.020 -> 02:07.040] stats guru puts it out and every single page picks it up. Every driver since 2011 whoever has
[02:07.040 -> 02:11.680] scored a Grand Slam has gone to win the World Championship. That is the stat.
[02:11.680 -> 02:18.200] The other stat is that the driver who got the Grand Slam in 2010 did not win
[02:18.200 -> 02:22.800] the World Championship, that driver being Fernando Alonso. So it all depends you
[02:22.800 -> 02:25.680] know when you want your your your when
[02:25.680 -> 02:32.760] you're considering statistics to start or stop right but also a big grand slam
[02:32.760 -> 02:37.320] of an event by the organizers in Melbourne after you know the
[02:37.320 -> 02:41.960] disappointment two years ago and this was actually this this is what Formula
[02:41.960 -> 02:47.240] One and the promoters have actually said. This was the largest or the biggest sporting
[02:47.240 -> 02:49.800] event in Australian history.
[02:49.800 -> 02:55.160] There were 420,000 fans at the Albert Park Circuit
[02:55.160 -> 02:57.040] over the Grand Prix weekend.
[02:57.040 -> 03:01.280] And that, Samuel, is actually 20,000 more
[03:01.280 -> 03:04.320] than the race in Austin, Texas last year.
[03:04.320 -> 03:05.960] And I think these are fantastic
[03:05.960 -> 03:10.480] numbers. Hats off to Liberty Media for making Formula One what it is, hats off
[03:10.480 -> 03:15.520] to the organizers, hats off to the teams and drivers and all the stakeholders who
[03:15.520 -> 03:22.480] have worked so hard to get Formula One to this level. Yeah and hats off to the
[03:22.480 -> 03:25.280] fans as well, what kind of an environment they put up over there.
[03:25.280 -> 03:27.720] It was just amazing to watch on TV.
[03:27.720 -> 03:28.720] Just stunning stuff.
[03:28.720 -> 03:33.520] But in general, Kunal, the national anthems at the end was such a fun thing to watch,
[03:33.520 -> 03:34.520] right?
[03:34.520 -> 03:35.520] Because you had so many fans come up.
[03:35.520 -> 03:41.000] It was literally swarmed all the way through the entire main stretch.
[03:41.000 -> 03:42.000] This just feels amazing.
[03:42.000 -> 03:45.200] The monogast and the Italian national anthem together just feels amazing.
[03:45.200 -> 03:47.200] And so many people are bouncing around together over there.
[03:47.200 -> 04:00.000] It feels amazing and this is where I'm wondering if, you know, the Monaco and the Italian anthems are the new anthem mixes for Formula 1 fans to remember.
[04:00.000 -> 04:08.960] Because, you know, Michael Schumacher made the whole German and the Italian anthems very very popular especially when they were played in you know in sync together.
[04:08.960 -> 04:14.960] So now I'm wondering if it's going to be the Monaco and the Italian national anthems because
[04:14.960 -> 04:23.280] Samuel that performance from Charles Leclerc was so outstanding. It was a dominating race weekend
[04:27.680 -> 04:35.680] outstanding. It was a dominating race weekend and may I say on the borderline a bit boring Samil. Yeah exactly right this felt like the most interesting boring race weekend of all
[04:35.680 -> 04:39.000] if you put it that way because at the top there was barely any battling and we shall
[04:39.000 -> 04:44.400] get into exactly why that happened but it's outstanding right this entire race Kunal it
[04:44.400 -> 04:45.120] kind of showed what the new Formula One cars are all about. You can follow but it's outstanding right this entire race Kunal, it kind of showed what the
[04:45.120 -> 04:50.560] new Formula One cars are all about, you can follow but it doesn't undermine the challenge
[04:50.560 -> 04:54.320] of the overtake which is I think what the regulations were all meant to be and so Leclerc
[04:54.320 -> 04:59.040] in a way was able to pull ahead but behind there were so many fun battles but all in all this
[04:59.040 -> 05:06.040] feels like a new mature Charles Leclerc, it's just outstanding. It feels like a very very mature Charles Leclerc,
[05:06.040 -> 05:11.120] somebody who's now mastered tire management because that race was all about tire management
[05:11.120 -> 05:16.640] as well especially up in the front but one word on the whole new formula of Formula One,
[05:16.640 -> 05:21.120] something that we keep evaluating literally every single Grand Prix weekend for obvious
[05:21.120 -> 05:26.960] reasons right. Yes, following is being permitted permitted we saw Lance Stroll his only use
[05:26.960 -> 05:32.160] in the race for me at least was you know when he was leading the stroll train and cars were able to
[05:32.160 -> 05:39.280] follow him right but at the same time you know overtaking wasn't easy at the Albert Park Circuit
[05:39.280 -> 05:49.920] like it's not been through the the years of history right And another thing you know the new formula and I like what you said Somil that if this was a boring race at the
[05:49.920 -> 05:55.440] Albert Park Circuit, this was as good a boring race one could get from Formula
[05:55.440 -> 05:59.240] One where you're not bored but you were also entertained but hey it was you know
[05:59.240 -> 06:05.760] with a bit of a neutral factor I would say in both ends of the spectrum but you know the one thing the
[06:05.760 -> 06:12.160] rules do not do and this is rules across era is they do not you know they do not
[06:12.160 -> 06:18.000] compensate for teams not being quick, case in point Red Bull. They do not
[06:18.000 -> 06:26.880] compensate for teams not being reliable, again case in point Red Bull. Hmm yeah it it hurts so bad two out of
[06:26.880 -> 06:33.120] three races for Max Verstappen and there's two DNFs that's a that's basic I
[06:33.120 -> 06:36.440] think we kind of forgot about in the last few years because reliability was
[06:36.440 -> 06:40.280] such a minor issue that suddenly it's popped up and be like oh you must finish
[06:40.280 -> 06:44.520] first to finish first in a way and it's tremendous what's happening over here in
[06:44.520 -> 06:49.440] terms of the whole thing but Max didn't kind of seem comfortable all the way around right throughout
[06:49.440 -> 06:54.160] the race as well he was constantly falling back to Charles Leclerc. Was it something to do with
[06:54.160 -> 06:57.200] management of the tires or the brakes because I remember in Bahrain it was something to do
[06:57.200 -> 07:01.760] with brake management wasn't it the reason why he couldn't follow so closely. That's correct in
[07:01.760 -> 07:14.000] Bahrain it was about the brakes, in Australia it was about the tyres. Max, as we all heard on the World Feed, kept saying his front left was graining.
[07:14.000 -> 07:26.880] And graining is not good when it comes to tyre utilization. Degradation is good. Because see the tyre is anyway going to degrade when you use it, right? It's not going to remain brand new. It will keep getting scrubbed.
[07:26.880 -> 07:28.800] Graining is when the tires are overheating,
[07:28.800 -> 07:30.320] the surface is overheating.
[07:30.320 -> 07:32.120] Degradation is when the tire is actually
[07:32.120 -> 07:34.440] being used the right way and is going
[07:34.440 -> 07:38.120] through its expected life cycle, right?
[07:38.120 -> 07:40.520] But talking of that, Somal, I think
[07:40.520 -> 07:42.800] we still need to talk about Charles Leclerc,
[07:42.800 -> 07:45.440] because he's not been putting a foot wrong.
[07:45.440 -> 07:48.600] Literally, he's aced tire management like we spoke about.
[07:48.600 -> 07:49.760] That Ferrari is quick.
[07:50.160 -> 07:52.200] It seems it was quick on Saturday.
[07:52.200 -> 07:57.840] It seems like the easier car to take to the limit on the single lap pace, I would say.
[07:58.160 -> 08:02.400] It seemed like the fastest racing car on the Sunday as well.
[08:02.400 -> 08:04.600] It was it was easy on its tires.
[08:06.240 -> 08:10.320] racing car on the Sunday as well it was it was easy on its tires so all in all it just seems like an all-round package especially if the package is in the
[08:10.320 -> 08:15.920] hands of Charles Leclerc and you know Leclerc again he mastered those safety
[08:15.920 -> 08:20.240] car restarts you know and he's been mastering he's been mastering them the
[08:20.240 -> 08:26.880] last couple of races that we've had these restarts, right? And he's always had Maxwish Stappen, you know,
[08:27.400 -> 08:29.440] chasing him down through those restarts.
[08:29.440 -> 08:33.280] And we all know how good Maxwish Stappen can be in these restarts,
[08:33.280 -> 08:35.680] how aggressive he can be and so on.
[08:35.680 -> 08:40.240] Of course, we had the FIA clarify a certain rule with safety car restarts and so on.
[08:40.240 -> 08:45.620] Right. So I just think that it was a very dominant performance from Charles
[08:45.620 -> 08:52.100] Leclerc to take the lead in the world constructors championship as well
[08:52.100 -> 08:57.080] because that's what actually Charles has. Charles has more points than Mercedes
[08:57.080 -> 09:02.140] Charles has more points than Red Bull and in the drivers championship he is
[09:02.140 -> 09:08.320] 34 points or more than a race and a half win ahead of
[09:08.320 -> 09:09.720] George Russell.
[09:09.720 -> 09:14.460] Both of these are a surprise to me, honestly, the points gap, just three races in and the
[09:14.460 -> 09:15.720] driver who's second.
[09:15.720 -> 09:16.720] Yeah, exactly.
[09:16.720 -> 09:17.720] Russell is second.
[09:17.720 -> 09:18.720] It's not even Max.
[09:18.720 -> 09:21.880] Max is I think fourth, if I'm not mistaken, isn't he?
[09:21.880 -> 09:23.640] Because Lewis is even lower.
[09:23.640 -> 09:26.320] He's ahead of Max Maxar. Yeah,
[09:26.320 -> 09:30.480] exactly. That's what I remember watching earlier this morning. But tremendous, right? Tremendous
[09:30.480 -> 09:34.720] how Charles is playing it on. But this isn't good news for the championship if we're all considering
[09:34.720 -> 09:40.480] Maxar as the big contender. Because now, how does he cover it up? Unless there's some 2021 level of
[09:40.480 -> 09:47.560] drama coming up for us, I don't think it's going to be very easy for Red Bull to catch up especially especially I'm sorry with the
[09:47.560 -> 09:51.120] reliability which cannot be an easy issue to fix right because the
[09:51.120 -> 09:55.840] reliability tends to take a lot of time so there's that but seriously Kunal
[09:55.840 -> 10:00.000] what's happened I I don't know it just it just felt like Red Bull didn't have
[10:00.000 -> 10:03.600] that X factor this weekend that Ferrari had as you discussed a second ago which
[10:03.600 -> 10:06.800] means that it always felt that Max was going to be there but he had to
[10:06.800 -> 10:11.720] capitalize on a few golden moments ie the start or for instance let's say the
[10:11.720 -> 10:16.240] restarts apart from that it just didn't feel like they were on equal terms. It
[10:16.240 -> 10:20.680] didn't and you know it was it was always that Ferrari had an answer to everything
[10:20.680 -> 10:24.480] Red Bull and Max were stapping through at them and an important point you
[10:24.480 -> 10:26.320] mentioned about reliability
[10:26.320 -> 10:26.800] as well.
[10:26.800 -> 10:28.280] So Ferrari is a class of the field,
[10:28.280 -> 10:30.640] even when it comes to reliability,
[10:30.640 -> 10:33.600] again, for Charles Leclerc's car, I would say.
[10:33.600 -> 10:38.160] So all in all, I mean, Max has got a massive deficit
[10:38.160 -> 10:43.400] to crawl up in the Drivers' Championship.
[10:43.400 -> 10:48.360] And an interesting point that Pedro de la Rosa mentioned
[10:48.840 -> 10:53.560] through the weekend was that maybe Ferrari and Red Bull
[10:53.560 -> 10:55.760] are running an engine strategy
[10:55.760 -> 10:58.720] where they will use four power units through the season,
[10:58.720 -> 11:02.320] but Mercedes are probably sticking to running only three.
[11:02.320 -> 11:08.880] So he of course believes that the kind of performance that the Ferraris and the Red Bull powertrains are pulling out,
[11:08.880 -> 11:14.400] maybe even the Alpines, doesn't seem sustainable with the whole three power
[11:14.400 -> 11:20.160] unit rule through the season usage. So you know it all goes to see how it evens
[11:20.160 -> 11:26.160] out over the 23 race calendar saunal. A rule that was best exploited by
[11:26.160 -> 11:29.880] Mercedes last year and they're the ones not using it anymore so that makes it
[11:29.880 -> 11:34.960] even more fun doesn't it at the end of the day. It does and I think the one
[11:34.960 -> 11:40.720] driver who had most fun with the Mercedes cars was Sergio Perez. Yeah. He
[11:40.720 -> 11:46.560] actually, he actually battled and overtook both the Mercedes drivers.
[11:46.560 -> 11:48.800] He overtook Lewis Hamilton on the outside.
[11:49.200 -> 11:56.160] He overtook Fernando Alonso on track to get his second podium, not second,
[11:56.160 -> 11:57.600] but get second place in the race.
[11:57.600 -> 12:04.700] And Perez was just not the class of the Red Bulls because Verstappen still had his measure,
[12:05.240 -> 12:07.240] but he still had a fairly good race.
[12:07.240 -> 12:11.400] And he was also done in by one of the many safety car periods
[12:11.400 -> 12:14.320] that we had had, at least in terms of strategy.
[12:14.320 -> 12:15.040] Yeah, exactly.
[12:15.040 -> 12:17.760] But I loved the part where he had the battle with Lewis
[12:17.760 -> 12:20.920] Hamilton at the end of the turn 9, 10 section,
[12:20.920 -> 12:23.640] where Lewis was just able to capitalize for a second
[12:23.640 -> 12:27.720] until the safety car came in. So it just kind of show how racy Sergey has been so far
[12:27.720 -> 12:31.160] but what do you reckon Kunal I think he just looks more comfortable than last
[12:31.160 -> 12:36.200] year doesn't he it feels like this car feels more of something that's suited to
[12:36.200 -> 12:42.320] his style he isn't as far off as he was last year yeah that's true you know he's
[12:42.320 -> 12:50.880] got a pole position and Max Verstappen doesn't, right? And he, of course, seems much closer in qualifying to Max Verstappen than last year.
[12:50.880 -> 12:56.600] And, you know, that was his main challenge to make sure he qualifies well on the Saturday
[12:56.600 -> 13:01.320] so that he can use his race management skills on the Sunday to good effect, right?
[13:01.320 -> 13:04.120] And again, I'm going to quote Pedro de la Rosa in this.
[13:04.120 -> 13:10.200] He actually gave a very interesting explanation he said that these cars are so heavy that
[13:10.200 -> 13:14.880] they are actually far more predictable than the previous generation of Formula
[13:14.880 -> 13:20.400] One cars and you know both he and Damon Hill actually ended up saying that if
[13:20.400 -> 13:26.320] you want to separate the good from the great, give them a lighter and a more nervous car
[13:26.320 -> 13:28.240] and then see what the great drivers do.
[13:28.240 -> 13:30.600] They will still be able to take it to the limit.
[13:30.600 -> 13:34.060] And that's probably where Perez's comfort comes in
[13:34.060 -> 13:37.400] because a heavier car is a lot more predictable
[13:37.400 -> 13:41.040] at corner entry at apex, whereas a lighter car is not.
[13:41.040 -> 13:44.320] And that's one of the theories that they put forward
[13:44.320 -> 13:48.960] as to why Checo Perez is probably a lot more comfortable this year than he was last
[13:48.960 -> 13:53.440] year. That's very interesting and it reminds me speaking of predictability as
[13:53.440 -> 13:58.400] well about what Lewis Hamilton said on Saturday after qualifying that his car
[13:58.400 -> 14:02.360] actually is very unpredictable into the entry of the corners because of the
[14:02.360 -> 14:07.840] poor poising it just depends on where you catch the corner so it might end up being super understeer or super oversteer which
[14:07.840 -> 14:12.080] kind of makes it really fun to think about with these cars but that kind of leads us on very well
[14:12.080 -> 14:17.200] onto Mercedes right onto their second podium of the year that would be correct yes first for George
[14:17.200 -> 14:22.400] Russell on track after some racing by the way which makes it good again kind of lucky because
[14:22.400 -> 14:26.760] firstly Max's DNF but then then secondly, Russell getting the safety car
[14:26.760 -> 14:29.080] at exactly the right time, which is why Lewis got caught out.
[14:29.080 -> 14:31.480] But they were able to fight with Sergio Perez-Canal,
[14:31.480 -> 14:35.840] albeit a bit weakly, but they were able to stay with him
[14:35.840 -> 14:37.640] and sustain it for a little while.
[14:37.640 -> 14:39.320] So is it kind of sure that Mercedes
[14:39.320 -> 14:42.080] have got some part of it right, or is there a lot more
[14:42.080 -> 14:44.160] for them to get into?
[14:44.160 -> 14:49.680] I think Mercedes largely would believe they overperformed and over delivered at Melbourne.
[14:49.680 -> 14:54.520] They got lucky with Carlos Sainz being out of the way, Max Verstappen, you know, of course,
[14:54.520 -> 14:56.520] having his retirement and so on.
[14:56.520 -> 15:01.320] Personally, I believe they went a little slower and around the circuit of Melbourne, Albert
[15:01.320 -> 15:06.640] Park circuit because in qualifying they were further away in Australia than they
[15:06.640 -> 15:10.320] were in the first two races of the season. And one of the reasons why they were actually
[15:10.320 -> 15:16.640] battling Checo Perez in my view was because Perez was out of position after the safety car
[15:16.640 -> 15:26.880] things that we saw and so on. So it was and of course then Perez lost position also to Hamilton at the race start as well. So it was just down to
[15:26.880 -> 15:33.280] the fact that Perez was out of place and hence the Mercedeses were fighting much higher up the
[15:33.280 -> 15:38.880] grid than they thought because in qualifying Mercedes was actually fourth with Landon Norris
[15:39.680 -> 15:46.160] putting his McLaren ahead of both the Mercedes cars and you know leading up to Australia they said we are
[15:46.160 -> 15:51.680] closer to fourth than we would be to second place and they actually ended up being the fourth fastest
[15:51.680 -> 15:57.440] team but George Russell's first podium that's always fantastic. I also believe it's the first
[15:57.440 -> 16:03.360] podium he's raced for because the first his first podium last year was at Belgium where
[16:04.400 -> 16:07.400] only Bernd Meylander a race, I would say.
[16:07.400 -> 16:09.080] Everybody else was just driving around
[16:09.080 -> 16:11.120] in circles behind him.
[16:11.120 -> 16:12.600] We know the farce that had happened there.
[16:12.600 -> 16:14.920] But yeah, congratulations to George.
[16:14.920 -> 16:16.840] He made the most of his luck,
[16:16.840 -> 16:18.440] which pretty much every driver,
[16:18.440 -> 16:21.640] including Lewis Hamilton, has made all over the years,
[16:21.640 -> 16:23.560] which is why Lewis's,
[16:24.400 -> 16:26.100] you guys have put me in a difficult
[16:26.100 -> 16:32.700] position radio message just a little too out of place for me Sommal. Yeah what
[16:32.700 -> 16:37.300] was that difficult position he's talking about a position behind George but it
[16:37.300 -> 16:41.860] wasn't where Mercedes put him right here just where luck kind of ended up putting
[16:41.860 -> 16:44.940] him into so that was a bit absurd but what do you reckon that was Kunal?
[16:44.940 -> 16:45.800] Was he playing around?
[16:45.800 -> 16:51.300] Was he genuinely irritated or is it just that all former world champions just get too frustrated when they're not doing too well
[16:51.300 -> 16:53.300] Like Max did in Bahrain
[16:53.440 -> 16:53.940] Yeah
[16:53.940 -> 17:00.640] You know Max did in Bahrain, Max even in in Australia both Max and Lewis were a little too critical of their teams and and what
[17:00.640 -> 17:06.160] Actually happened there at least in Max's case. it's valid because he's suffering retirements.
[17:06.160 -> 17:11.160] He's losing very vital world championship points, right?
[17:11.800 -> 17:14.760] In Lewis's case, Mercedes actually did no wrong.
[17:14.760 -> 17:17.400] They just maximized their race result.
[17:17.400 -> 17:20.320] It just so happened that when it was George Russell's
[17:20.320 -> 17:22.360] time to pit, there happened to be a safety car.
[17:22.360 -> 17:28.760] So that was just the roll of the dice, I would and you know that to me was a bit of a puzzle but so
[17:28.760 -> 17:33.720] be it you know at the end of the day Lewis Hamilton still has more world
[17:33.720 -> 17:38.480] championship points than Max Richtap and Sommel. Yeah there's that at least you
[17:38.480 -> 17:41.800] can say with that for some time until the Mercedes form just kind of picks
[17:41.800 -> 17:45.520] back up but I want to talk about two drivers,
[17:45.520 -> 17:48.400] well, who had a bit of a disappointing race.
[17:48.400 -> 17:50.560] But I think let's do that after a bit of more chat
[17:50.560 -> 17:52.560] on Mercedes, shall we?
[17:52.560 -> 17:53.280] Yes, we should.
[17:53.280 -> 17:55.960] You know, Mercedes actually are one
[17:55.960 -> 18:00.080] of four teams that have scored points in all the three
[18:00.080 -> 18:02.240] races of the season, right?
[18:02.240 -> 18:03.600] So we've had Ferrari, of course.
[18:03.600 -> 18:04.440] We've had Mercedes.
[18:04.440 -> 18:10.480] We've had Alpine, surprisingly. And then we had Alfa Tauri. Okay, so with all their
[18:10.480 -> 18:15.240] pricing problems and various magic fixes that they're looking for, they are still
[18:15.240 -> 18:20.120] reliable, they are still scoring points which I think is pretty
[18:20.120 -> 18:25.160] fantastic and I think there are also four drivers who have scored points
[18:25.160 -> 18:28.800] in all the three races yet.
[18:28.800 -> 18:31.240] Max, of course, not being that, but we've
[18:31.240 -> 18:34.680] had Charles Leclerc, we've had George Russell, Lewis
[18:34.680 -> 18:40.000] Hamilton, and the former Mercedes Junior, Esteban Ocon.
[18:40.000 -> 18:44.120] Yeah, and Ocon has been doing surprisingly well, right?
[18:44.120 -> 18:48.320] I thought that he'd be absolutely schooled by Fernando Alonso when Alonso came back,
[18:48.320 -> 18:52.560] but it's been quite the opposite, which kind of ends up bringing us on to Fernando Alonso,
[18:52.560 -> 18:56.640] right? Because at the start of the weekend, Kunal, it seemed like he had amazing pace,
[18:56.640 -> 19:01.280] pace good enough to fight for P4, which is what Alpine was saying, that he should kind of be
[19:01.280 -> 19:10.560] there or thereabouts, but then that technical glitch glitch in qualifying that kind of cost him position and then what was that race he seemed to be so good on the hards but then
[19:10.560 -> 19:16.040] Graney wasn't it? Graney kind of compromised his race after the stop that was just absurd
[19:16.040 -> 19:22.520] why didn't he box earlier on? And then of course it was a safety car that caught him out as well
[19:22.520 -> 19:26.720] so Fernando was just you know in his in his words, he's like,
[19:26.720 -> 19:30.640] I've had bad luck in the first three rounds of the season.
[19:30.640 -> 19:33.400] So I'm going to have super luck in the balance 20
[19:33.400 -> 19:34.320] races of the season.
[19:34.320 -> 19:35.040] This is not me.
[19:35.040 -> 19:37.120] This is what Fernando Alonso said.
[19:37.120 -> 19:39.920] And I hope that comes true, because he definitely
[19:39.920 -> 19:47.440] looked, you know, game for a P3, P4, P5 lap in qualifying till he had that hydraulics failure.
[19:47.800 -> 19:49.760] He, of course, had a sore thumb as well.
[19:50.160 -> 19:54.480] So it was just unfortunate that, you know, Fernando is not able to make the most of Alpine.
[19:54.480 -> 20:06.040] And, you know, he seems like the quicker driver, but he just doesn't seem like the one who finishes as many races as Alpine, you know, as Esteban Ocon does. And case in point,
[20:06.040 -> 20:08.040] you know, driver number 14 is
[20:08.320 -> 20:15.580] actually, driver with car number 14 is actually 14th in the drivers championship with just two points and that's
[20:15.920 -> 20:17.680] extremely surprising to me, Salim.
[20:17.680 -> 20:21.520] Yeah, exactly. Should have been so much more. Should have been so much more for Alpine in general.
[20:21.520 -> 20:28.660] But was his weekend more disappointing in your eyes or was it Carlos Sainz who had the worst one? My god the
[20:28.660 -> 20:35.180] Spaniards just just had a torrid and terrible time. Hey talk
[20:35.180 -> 20:38.180] about an alliteration that's much better than what they ended up doing this
[20:38.180 -> 20:41.940] entire weekend especially Sainz who could have had pace to win but
[20:41.940 -> 20:49.440] something's going wrong and it kind of seems like if he doesn't quite bounce back very soon, it'll be too late for him to kind of establish himself
[20:49.440 -> 20:53.360] as an equal to Charles Leclerc. Ferrari tend to just pick their number one drivers very early,
[20:53.360 -> 21:00.720] don't they? They do and you know he's already less than half the number of points as Charles
[21:00.720 -> 21:06.400] Leclerc. Carlos Sainz ended his 17 race streak of finishing in the
[21:06.400 -> 21:11.760] points. That's how consistent that guy has been and you know to me I'm more
[21:11.760 -> 21:16.720] disappointed about Carlos Sainz's weekend since you asked Samuel because it's the
[21:16.720 -> 21:20.940] it's the car that won the race. It's the car that's the class of the field. If he
[21:20.940 -> 21:25.160] wants to remain in the title battle, the least he should do is be
[21:25.160 -> 21:32.720] second, the least he should minimize all points lost to Charles Leclerc as he
[21:32.720 -> 21:38.080] possibly can. Now what exactly happened to Carlos Sainz in my view and again I'm
[21:38.080 -> 21:42.160] being speculative, I'm gonna stir up a controversy here, but I just think he's
[21:42.160 -> 21:49.720] getting the Kimi Raikkonen treatment at Ferrari already. Right and I'll tell you why I'm saying this and again for all
[21:49.720 -> 21:55.000] the Tifosi listening please I'm not I'm not trying to stir things up even though
[21:55.000 -> 21:59.600] I know this might. You know in qualifying he was actually running fairly close
[21:59.600 -> 22:05.960] till in his second run of Q3 he had a problem where his car refused to start. So he
[22:05.960 -> 22:11.520] actually left the garage three minutes later than it was intended, which meant
[22:11.520 -> 22:17.280] that he was late and it affected his tire preparation for his final run in
[22:17.280 -> 22:23.040] Q3, right? As a result of which he was sliding all around as we saw during the
[22:23.040 -> 22:26.980] qualifying broadcast and that's why he wasn't up there with Charles.
[22:26.980 -> 22:29.780] And remember before that, he was just as quick
[22:29.780 -> 22:32.020] or probably a little quicker than Charles,
[22:32.020 -> 22:34.540] only to see the red flag come out
[22:34.540 -> 22:36.380] milliseconds before he crossed
[22:36.380 -> 22:40.360] the timing transponder line, right?
[22:40.360 -> 22:43.060] So that's just color science qualifying weekend.
[22:43.060 -> 22:44.680] Now that's bad luck, okay.
[22:45.140 -> 22:48.640] On Sunday, he actually had a steering wheel problem, right?
[22:48.760 -> 22:53.860] The steering wheel problem, the steering that he got wasn't set up
[22:54.100 -> 22:59.980] optimally for him to use during the race start. As a result of which, he actually hit anti-stall twice
[23:00.620 -> 23:05.240] just when he started, which is why he went backwards of all the other drivers
[23:05.240 -> 23:09.720] on the opening lap and then he was on the harder compound tire, they were cold
[23:09.720 -> 23:15.080] he was battling and got impatient in his own words and then we saw what happened
[23:15.080 -> 23:19.920] and I guess it was just a lot of team and driver disappointment that reached
[23:19.920 -> 23:30.240] its peak when he actually beached his car in in the gravel tunnel. Speak more Italian Carlos, I don't think things will happen to you if you start to speak more Italian honestly.
[23:30.320 -> 23:38.800] That's just the way it is at Ferrari at the end of the day. Just speak their language and you will be fine. But no what a terrible weekend all the way around. And I think I'll agree.
[23:39.040 -> 23:48.880] There's more pace and potential in that Ferrari than in the Alpine. So I'd say you had a more disappointing weekend. But I'm genuinely confused about the Alpine and McLaren and Alfa Tauri and where
[23:48.880 -> 23:54.400] Haas and Alfa Romeo ranked because what is it? It seems like a game of midfield musical chairs
[23:54.400 -> 23:58.320] because suddenly McLaren were top in this whole midfield battle. And by the way,
[23:58.320 -> 24:02.160] great performance by both of them, double points and barely anything to split up between
[24:02.160 -> 24:09.260] Norris and Ricciardo. But where McLaren won is where Haas and Alfa Romeo lost. I think they were in the exact
[24:09.260 -> 24:13.480] same position that McLaren were a couple of races ago. So track specific changes
[24:13.480 -> 24:17.000] are going to make this midfield battle very exciting to the very end.
[24:17.000 -> 24:20.520] What do you reckon about McLaren? How do you think this performance was for
[24:20.520 -> 24:25.600] them? Especially Ricciardo who's constantly been struggling in comparison to Norris.
[24:31.120 -> 24:36.560] So I think P5 and P6, again, they wouldn't have expected it, but they benefited from Fischstappen and Sainz not being there in the race. But hey, that's what everybody benefited, right?
[24:36.560 -> 24:45.440] To a lot of PADAC people, it seems like McLaren's form was track specific. This track just suits them a little better.
[24:46.760 -> 24:49.400] But Andrea Seidel of course said that
[24:49.400 -> 24:51.920] they brought some upgrades which they believe worked better
[24:51.920 -> 24:54.480] and that just probably gives them better hope
[24:54.480 -> 24:56.560] for the races to come.
[24:56.560 -> 24:57.800] But Somil, you're right.
[24:57.800 -> 25:01.820] There's a massively closed midfield battle
[25:01.820 -> 25:04.840] with all the teams, the five teams that you mentioned.
[25:04.840 -> 25:05.080] And that just makes it for so much more interesting because Valtteri Bottas, close midfield battle with all the teams, the five teams that you mentioned and
[25:05.080 -> 25:08.920] that just makes it for so much more interesting because you know Valtteri
[25:08.920 -> 25:13.980] Bottas we saw he didn't max his lap in in qualifying three and he ended a
[25:13.980 -> 25:19.400] hundred and three race streak of being in Q3 and I think that is pretty
[25:19.400 -> 25:25.820] phenomenal as well. Alpha Tauris were not in Q3 but you know Pierre Gasly still got
[25:25.820 -> 25:30.700] what he normally gets and to me the disappointment in the midfield was
[25:30.700 -> 25:36.580] actually Haas and it sounds funny when I say this but for the first time in 2022
[25:36.580 -> 25:42.660] they failed to score a point in a race because you know normally it would be
[25:42.660 -> 25:50.000] the other way, wow Haas has scored a point in a race this season but given their form, given their car, given Kevin
[25:50.000 -> 25:54.480] McNewson's magic that he's been pulling out it was a bit disappointing to see
[25:54.480 -> 26:07.520] you know to see Haas not be able to score points but I must say the biggest joy I got, Somil, was Alex Albin.
[26:07.520 -> 26:08.020] Oh, yeah.
[26:08.020 -> 26:11.040] He's running his mighty strategy.
[26:11.040 -> 26:13.720] He was disqualified from qualifying, right?
[26:13.720 -> 26:15.440] Well, he was given a grid placed penalty.
[26:15.440 -> 26:17.600] He started 20th, right?
[26:17.600 -> 26:23.640] And then he ended up going on that one-stopper strategy,
[26:23.640 -> 26:25.200] which was almost, which actually should be
[26:25.200 -> 26:31.840] considered as a zero stop because it's calculated on the last lap of the race. He drove perfectly
[26:31.840 -> 26:38.240] to the strategy. He made the hards work. I believe that's a good sign, but that's also a bad sign
[26:38.240 -> 26:48.200] because we saw that there was the gap between the Pirelli compounds was a little too much maybe. But you know, this is of course, looking back in hindsight.
[26:48.200 -> 26:53.440] But Alexander Albon scored his first points of the season, as did Daniel Ricciardo as well.
[26:53.440 -> 26:57.760] That leaves just four drivers who have not scored a single point yet.
[26:57.960 -> 26:59.960] And then, of course, Aston Martin.
[27:01.160 -> 27:04.600] They are dead last tenth, no points for them as well, Samuel.
[27:06.300 -> 27:10.820] they are dead last 10th no points for them as well Samuel. Yeah what do you even say about Lance Stroll's weekend or Sebastian Vettel's weekend I kind of
[27:10.820 -> 27:14.720] wonder just a question Gunaan, are damage costs included as a part of the
[27:14.720 -> 27:19.740] budget cap? I suppose they would be right? So with the rumors that Aston Martin
[27:19.740 -> 27:23.720] are trying to build a new car I don't think they'll have enough parts left to
[27:23.720 -> 27:28.240] kind of build the car because they're just constantly running through all of it.
[27:28.240 -> 27:34.880] Ridiculous how their season is going so far. It is ridiculous and you know just
[27:34.880 -> 27:39.880] to give you an example of how you know different the season, the race in
[27:39.880 -> 27:46.720] Australia was for both the drivers. The marshal who helped recover Sebastian Vettel's car
[27:46.720 -> 27:52.720] actually gave him the scooter to ride back to the paddock, for which of course Sebastian
[27:52.720 -> 27:58.400] Vettel was fine. But the marshal who recovered Lance Stroll's car in qualifying said, dude,
[27:58.400 -> 28:00.760] I'm going to ride you back.
[28:00.760 -> 28:08.060] Oh man, he probably knows that if he gives Lance Stroll the scooter he might reach too
[28:08.060 -> 28:12.840] late or might end up blindly crashing unfortunately into another scooter behind.
[28:12.840 -> 28:15.600] Now, sorry, I don't think we do that too much.
[28:15.600 -> 28:17.360] I think we should do that.
[28:17.360 -> 28:19.040] I don't think we should do that enough.
[28:19.040 -> 28:20.760] We've done that enough in the last couple of episodes.
[28:20.760 -> 28:23.520] So that's the Lance Stroll hate train kind of done.
[28:23.520 -> 28:26.240] But folks, thank you for listening to this episode.
[28:26.240 -> 28:27.720] So thank you for watching this episode.
[28:28.080 -> 28:30.800] And what were your thoughts on this whole weekend?
[28:31.200 -> 28:33.720] Finally to wrap up closing thoughts as such.
[28:34.720 -> 28:38.840] I mean, good race. It was nice to be in Australia, Albert Park circuit. I love it.
[28:39.600 -> 28:42.840] Just one point that came to my mind about McLaren,
[28:43.160 -> 28:45.760] which came up on the McLaren's pit wall app.
[28:47.040 -> 28:50.080] Lando Norris was actually carrying a power unit issue.
[28:51.120 -> 28:56.320] And McLaren thought that he may actually stop on the last lap of the race.
[28:56.320 -> 29:02.240] So actually, they warned Daniel Ricciardo to not drive too close to Norris,
[29:02.240 -> 29:05.720] because in case he just ended up having a
[29:05.720 -> 29:12.280] retirement, they didn't want you know Ricardo to be driving into the
[29:12.280 -> 29:18.120] back of Lando Norris. Interesting stuff and it didn't happen eventually so good
[29:18.120 -> 29:21.340] for McLaren for luckily being able to keep it but yes at the end of the day
[29:21.340 -> 29:29.040] reliability is turning out to be a major issue for everyone. But folks we at the Inside Line F1 Podcast and Bixter Podium here are super reliable we'll be
[29:29.040 -> 29:34.560] back with a new episode for the preview for the next race which is Imola when the race is about
[29:34.560 -> 29:39.040] to begin so that'll be say around the Wednesday or Thursday because we've got F1 Sprint as well
[29:39.040 -> 29:42.640] right so that's going to happen rather soon but folks thank you for listening to this one thank
[29:42.640 -> 29:48.800] you for watching see you for that one and you know the deal right, if you like this one, leave a share, leave a like, give a good rating
[29:48.800 -> None] and all that other stuff. Bye folks, have a good time, enjoy the weekend. Thank you guys, bye. you