Madness in Monaco: Perez, Ferrari, FIA - 2022 Monaco GP Review

The 2022 Monaco Grand Prix was unusual, fun & chaotic. Did the late start & fewer race laps rob us of more fun and chaos on the streets of Monaco?

Soumil & Kunal review the 2022 Monaco Grand Prix on the Inside Line F1 Podcast, along with the stats review segment by @f1statsguru aka Sundaram. 

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Did Sergio Perez win the 2022 Monaco Grand Prix? Or did Ferrari lose it for Charles Leclerc? What could Ferrari have done differently to convert Leclerc's splendid pole position into a victory - his first at home?

Carlos Sainz's defiance of Ferrari's strategy, Williams' drivers hampering the progress of both Ferrari drivers, George Russell's continued top-5 finish trend, Lewis Hamilton in an Alpine sandwich & finally, the nearing of the end of Daniel Ricciardo's career in Formula 1?

Tune in!

(Season 2022, Episode 30)

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

Image courtesy: Red Bull Content Pool

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**2022 Monaco Grand Prix Review: Controversies, Surprises, and Driver Performances**

The 2022 Monaco Grand Prix was an eventful race filled with controversies, surprises, and exceptional driver performances. The late start and reduced race laps due to rain raised questions about whether the full potential of the race was realized.

**Ferrari's Strategic Missteps:**

- Sergio Perez's victory sparked discussions about whether Ferrari lost the race or if Perez won it. Ferrari's strategy choices came under scrutiny, particularly their decision not to pit Charles Leclerc for fresh tires during a late safety car period. This decision cost Leclerc a potential victory, leaving him in fourth place.

- Carlos Sainz's defiance of Ferrari's strategy by pitting for fresh tires proved beneficial, allowing him to finish second. This incident highlighted the tension between driver autonomy and team strategy in Formula One.

**Bottas' Impressive Performance:**

- Valtteri Bottas quietly moved from P12 to P9, demonstrating the effectiveness of Alfa Romeo's strategy and his own driving skills. This performance was particularly notable considering Bottas' recent struggles in qualifying.

**Alpine's Focus on Frustrating Lewis Hamilton:**

- Fernando Alonso's tactics of slowing down behind Lewis Hamilton appeared to be a deliberate attempt to frustrate the seven-time world champion. This strategy allowed Lando Norris to make an additional pit stop and secure the point for the fastest lap.

**McLaren's Strategy Conundrums:**

- AlphaTauri's Pierre Gasly became the first driver to use all five tire compounds in a single race, highlighting the team's unconventional strategy.

- Daniel Ricciardo's struggles continued, with the Australian driver finishing well behind his teammate Lando Norris. McLaren's team principal, Zak Brown, has hinted at potential contract exit mechanisms for Ricciardo due to his underperformance.

**Mick Schumacher's Crash:**

- Mick Schumacher's heavy crash raised concerns about the safety of the new car regulations, which require the rear of the car to detach in the event of an impact. The crash also marked Schumacher's second major incident in seven races, highlighting his ongoing struggles.

The 2022 Monaco Grand Prix provided a mix of excitement and controversy, with several standout performances and strategic decisions shaping the outcome of the race.

[00:00.000 -> 00:24.160] You're listening to the Monaco GP review on the Inside Line F1 podcast and Pits to Podium
[00:24.160 -> 00:25.280] and on this episode
[00:25.280 -> 00:29.720] we are going to answer all the pressing questions from the weekend including firstly rating
[00:29.720 -> 00:33.400] the race and asking, well was it just the rain that made it exciting or could it have
[00:33.400 -> 00:38.400] been really fun otherwise as well. Apart from that we have to answer the major question,
[00:38.400 -> 00:43.000] did Red Bull Racing win this race or did Ferrari end up losing it and also we have to discuss
[00:43.000 -> 00:46.800] Lewis Hamilton who probably ended up becoming the first driver in history
[00:46.800 -> 00:49.560] to change helmets in the middle of a Grand Prix.
[00:49.560 -> 00:55.760] There's all of this and more, which includes a special stats review from F1StatsGuru on Instagram
[00:55.760 -> 00:59.280] right here on this episode of the Inside Line F1 Podcast and Pitch Deporium.
[00:59.280 -> 01:01.760] So, if you're ready for all of that, let's begin.
[01:03.680 -> 01:04.880] Hey folks, welcome back in.
[01:04.880 -> 01:06.000] My name is Somal Arora.
[01:06.000 -> 01:10.160] I'm the host of the Driving Force on Disney Plus Hotstar, joined by Kunal Shah, the former
[01:10.160 -> 01:12.560] marketing head of the Force India F1 team.
[01:12.560 -> 01:17.160] And wow Kunal, straight up, I just have to give this race such a good rating, 8 on 10
[01:17.160 -> 01:20.320] for me because frankly, it was just beyond my expectations.
[01:20.320 -> 01:24.080] I was just wondering all this while, well Monaco, it's going to be a procession.
[01:24.080 -> 01:28.600] Yes, the rain can make it a little bit of fun, but I did not expect it to be this one.
[01:28.600 -> 01:31.560] Did you by any chance?
[01:31.560 -> 01:37.480] This is precisely why I would rate it a 10 on 10, because you normally never expect Monaco
[01:37.480 -> 01:38.480] to be fun.
[01:38.480 -> 01:42.040] You're expecting, you know what, the race will be on in one corner of the room.
[01:42.040 -> 01:45.160] I'll do some other things, talk to friends, you know, or
[01:45.160 -> 01:49.120] do some chores, but you know, that's because people just go around and round, and this
[01:49.120 -> 01:51.160] is one pit stop and the likes.
[01:51.160 -> 01:55.720] But when Monaco offers chaos, it's a different level of chaos.
[01:55.720 -> 01:59.040] And that's why I would say I would rate it a 10 on 10.
[01:59.040 -> 02:02.360] So we actually have different ratings again.
[02:02.360 -> 02:05.160] And had it not been for the delayed start,
[02:05.160 -> 02:07.000] had we had more wet weather running,
[02:07.000 -> 02:09.800] had we seen 100% of the race distance,
[02:09.800 -> 02:12.080] who knows, maybe the rating would have gone up
[02:12.080 -> 02:15.320] to 11 on 10, Somal, because I think maybe
[02:15.320 -> 02:16.680] we could have started the race earlier.
[02:16.680 -> 02:19.280] Of course, it was only known much later
[02:19.280 -> 02:23.360] why the race was also delayed with not just the weather,
[02:23.360 -> 02:25.680] but the issues that the FIA was facing and
[02:25.680 -> 02:28.680] the likes. But yes, 10 on 10 from me Somal.
[02:28.680 -> 02:32.880] Yeah, really fun. And I knew early on that this was going to be a good race when the
[02:32.880 -> 02:37.840] first couple of scenes that we saw right after the green flag were Nicholas Latifi and Lance
[02:37.840 -> 02:42.560] Stroll ending up in a wall. And the fun part is that came up literally around three seconds
[02:42.560 -> 02:49.200] after the commentators, at least here in India, in India ended up saying well it's going to be a show of some great car control and then that happened.
[02:49.200 -> 02:54.240] No but jokes aside in all honesty it was great to see all four top runners in the hunt for a win
[02:54.240 -> 02:58.240] and let's be honest Kunal three of them were actually leading the race at some point so
[02:58.240 -> 03:00.960] this is just unlike Monaco in every sense of the way.
[03:03.360 -> 03:06.040] This is also actually one of the reasons why I would still
[03:06.040 -> 03:08.280] stick with my 10 on 10 rating, not that I've
[03:08.280 -> 03:10.400] been challenged by you or any of our listeners
[03:10.400 -> 03:12.280] who will probably write in to us, right?
[03:12.280 -> 03:16.800] But yes, we rated seven races for this phenomenon,
[03:16.800 -> 03:20.400] which is that all four drivers with the two top teams,
[03:20.400 -> 03:23.400] so we are talking of Leclerc, Sainz, Verstappen, Perez,
[03:23.400 -> 03:26.000] for all those who didn't know the four drivers we were talking about,
[03:26.000 -> 03:31.000] that they had equal machinery, they had machinery to fight each other for race wins,
[03:31.000 -> 03:35.000] and that actually happened for the very first time in 2022.
[03:35.000 -> 03:38.000] And to me, that is pretty fantastic.
[03:38.000 -> 03:43.000] And I hope that this is what is going to be like for the rest of the season.
[03:43.000 -> 03:47.280] We've waited 33% of the season, literally, for this to happen.
[03:47.280 -> 03:51.000] But the good part is we still have 66% of the season to go.
[03:51.000 -> 03:54.160] And boy, oh boy, it's going to be crazy if all four actually
[03:54.160 -> 03:54.920] get to be there.
[03:54.920 -> 03:58.660] And helmets off to Checo Perez for winning this one,
[03:58.660 -> 04:03.400] but even more so for being just 15 points away
[04:03.400 -> 04:04.680] from Max Verstappen.
[04:04.680 -> 04:06.880] And the reason I'm saying that is, guys,
[04:06.880 -> 04:10.000] remember, he's the number two driver at Red Bull Racing.
[04:10.000 -> 04:13.360] He knows that, we know that, media knows that,
[04:13.360 -> 04:14.320] Max knows that.
[04:14.320 -> 04:17.040] And along with the number two driver tag,
[04:17.600 -> 04:20.480] what also comes is the attitude from the team,
[04:20.480 -> 04:21.920] whether it's to strategy,
[04:21.920 -> 04:23.440] whether it's to do with the upgrades.
[04:23.440 -> 04:25.840] I mean, so many times through the season,
[04:25.840 -> 04:28.080] we've read that the upgrades have gone to Max's car,
[04:28.080 -> 04:30.640] his car is lighter and so on.
[04:30.640 -> 04:33.360] But for Perez to be doing what he's doing
[04:33.360 -> 04:35.880] with the number two tag, being 15 points away,
[04:35.880 -> 04:37.700] Samuel, is pretty fantastic.
[04:38.600 -> 04:39.800] Yeah, and things are,
[04:39.800 -> 04:42.560] I hope that things are just gonna get better with him
[04:42.560 -> 04:48.960] because I just want to see that circumstance where Perez and Verstappen are both fighting for the championship because now with this win,
[04:48.960 -> 04:53.760] Perez as you rightly mentioned is just 15 points away and he did the best thing that he could have
[04:53.760 -> 04:58.880] done here that is just end up being on the pace when Verstappen is not and if you look at it
[04:58.880 -> 05:03.360] pace-wise as well Kunal, you can't quite put him as a certified number two driver because so far
[05:03.360 -> 05:10.720] this year there have been many occasions where he has gone ahead and beaten Max on merit case in point Saudi Arabia case in point Barcelona
[05:10.720 -> 05:12.360] Until it was robbed away from him
[05:12.360 -> 05:15.480] So can you really call him a number two driver in terms of pace?
[05:15.480 -> 05:17.680] What happens when they're fighting for a championship?
[05:17.880 -> 05:23.120] Because if they're level or maybe foreign for instance if the Eddie Irvine circumstance comes in right where?
[05:23.640 -> 05:28.880] Unfortunately, the lead driver has to miss a couple of races or there are some DNFs or whatever, does Schumacher or in this
[05:28.880 -> 05:33.600] case Verstappen help out his teammate? Because in the contract it might be saying that Sergio
[05:33.600 -> 05:37.680] Perez is a number two driver, but his pace clearly just does not make him a number two driver anymore.
[05:39.360 -> 05:46.240] His pace doesn't make him a number two driver, but this is exactly what Red Bull want from the number two driver as well,
[05:46.240 -> 05:49.280] which is that when Max is not on the pace,
[05:49.280 -> 05:50.560] when Max is not winning,
[05:50.560 -> 05:52.160] and we said this after Spain, right?
[05:52.160 -> 05:54.180] Will Perez be allowed to win a race?
[05:55.320 -> 05:57.240] If Max is in a position to win it,
[05:57.240 -> 05:59.680] and that's probably what happened in Monaco.
[05:59.680 -> 06:03.780] Red Bull had to watch Perez win because Max was not,
[06:04.760 -> 06:06.080] the Max Verstappen we know.
[06:06.080 -> 06:10.400] You know, for the first time, he finished a race in 2022, which he did not win.
[06:10.560 -> 06:13.400] Right. Otherwise, he's won every race he's finished.
[06:13.400 -> 06:23.040] Right. So to me, it's pretty clear if it came into a title battle between the two, you know, there's no question in who, you know, Red Bull Racing would support.
[06:23.400 -> 06:26.720] And that's purely down to the choices
[06:26.720 -> 06:28.520] that they've sort of made some.
[06:28.520 -> 06:33.240] So unless, unfortunately, what the Eddie Owain scenario
[06:33.240 -> 06:36.800] you're talking about, so Michael Schumacher
[06:36.800 -> 06:40.360] missed a few races as well.
[06:40.360 -> 06:41.120] Yeah, exactly.
[06:41.120 -> 06:43.160] And if something like that happens,
[06:43.160 -> 06:45.080] I'm really curious to see what Red Bull Racing
[06:45.080 -> 06:48.960] does because right now things are just even Stevens and you've got to give it a search
[06:48.960 -> 06:53.640] of Paris. His performance this weekend was absolutely superb and he was just right there.
[06:53.640 -> 06:58.880] And we shall talk about what exactly happens in the end with what exactly happened. I'm
[06:58.880 -> 07:02.540] sorry in the end with Ferrari. But before we go to that Kunal, I suppose it's best to
[07:02.540 -> 07:07.760] talk about the FIA as well because their performance this weekend was under a lot of scrutiny and a lot of pressure.
[07:08.000 -> 07:10.000] I mean, case in point, the weather delay.
[07:10.200 -> 07:13.500] Do you think it was kind of justified on their part to push the race so far?
[07:13.500 -> 07:19.560] And does it kind of prove that F1 now needs almost like very limited amount of water on track to race?
[07:19.560 -> 07:22.060] Because back in the day, we've raced on tougher conditions.
[07:22.060 -> 07:23.400] So was it fair on their part?
[07:25.920 -> 07:27.480] You know, if you ask the teams and drivers,
[07:27.480 -> 07:30.120] they are all saying race direction did the right thing.
[07:30.120 -> 07:31.480] Visibility was very low.
[07:31.480 -> 07:33.520] Drivers were anyway struggling with visibility
[07:33.520 -> 07:37.200] with these new cars, given the wheel caps and so on,
[07:37.200 -> 07:39.560] the wheel covers that they've got.
[07:39.560 -> 07:42.280] To me, of course, outside first, it
[07:42.280 -> 07:44.520] seemed fairly embarrassing that we were literally
[07:44.520 -> 07:45.000] waiting what Max Verstappen said. Are they waiting till it dries out? For me, of course, outside first, it seemed fairly embarrassing that we were literally waiting.
[07:45.000 -> 07:49.000] What Max Verstappen said, are they waiting till it dries out?
[07:49.000 -> 07:55.000] Because like you said, the races in the yesteryears were held in far more treacherous conditions.
[07:55.000 -> 08:02.000] I mean, F1 is the pinnacle of motorsport and you'd expect them to sort of race in the most difficult conditions.
[08:02.000 -> 08:05.200] And you'd love to see the drivers revel in these
[08:05.200 -> 08:09.680] sort of conditions. So it was a bit disappointing, but it was of course revealed much later after the
[08:09.680 -> 08:17.440] race that the wet weather had issues with the FIA race control systems and
[08:18.000 -> 08:33.040] for example the start lights didn't really have power going into them, which is why we were given rolling starts and not standing starts in Monaco. But yes, I always hoped that we would have started, but we didn't. But that's
[08:33.040 -> 08:39.120] not just enough. I think the Ocon Hamilton incident that happened also pissed Ocon and Alpin off
[08:40.400 -> 08:46.520] real time, that, oh my God, we've been robbed and you've been robbed of points in Monaco.
[08:47.880 -> 08:49.720] And then it of course turned out post-race
[08:49.720 -> 08:52.920] that it was a second incident which was missed out on TV
[08:52.920 -> 08:55.960] that he was penalized for, or at least that's what,
[08:55.960 -> 08:57.320] you know, sort of Mercedes said.
[08:57.320 -> 09:02.280] And then, you know, the post-race protest from Red Bull,
[09:02.280 -> 09:03.440] maybe we should talk about that
[09:03.440 -> 09:09.600] because the FIA ruling was a little confusing around that as well. And you know in light of
[09:09.600 -> 09:14.560] this, the jewelry ban and you know those things that sort of are otherwise in
[09:14.560 -> 09:19.560] focus just seem far less important when you look at sort of some of the
[09:19.560 -> 09:24.200] decisions that came out of Monaco. Yeah exactly and that whole post-race ruling
[09:24.200 -> 09:29.520] was really absurd because what really happened was that Ferrari protested against Red Bull for both of the
[09:29.520 -> 09:34.420] drivers crossing the line and they immediately kind of admitted to the fan that well Perez's
[09:34.420 -> 09:38.360] protest was kind of useless eventually. But for Verstappen's one, it turned out that he
[09:38.360 -> 09:44.160] did touch the yellow line, but the FIA claimed that yes, the rule had changed, but we hadn't
[09:44.160 -> 09:46.360] quite updated the dossier of sorts for this season. So the rule had changed, but we hadn't quite updated the dossier of sorts
[09:46.360 -> 09:47.480] for this season.
[09:47.480 -> 09:50.160] So the rule has changed, but it's not a part of the document
[09:50.160 -> 09:51.920] so thank you for reminding us, Ferrari,
[09:51.920 -> 09:53.080] we'll change it right away,
[09:53.080 -> 09:54.600] which means that your protest result
[09:54.600 -> 09:56.080] is that you failed in the protest,
[09:56.080 -> 09:58.720] even though the document says that according to the rules,
[09:58.720 -> 09:59.800] the protest was correct.
[09:59.800 -> 10:01.560] So it's just all confusing stuff.
[10:01.560 -> 10:02.680] The FIA just walked up and said,
[10:02.680 -> 10:04.080] well, the rules have changed,
[10:04.080 -> 10:07.040] but we're just gonna update it right now. Thank you so much for reminding us. And so
[10:07.040 -> 10:12.080] it's just absurd what happened all the way down. But yeah, crazy weekend for the FIA and for the
[10:12.080 -> 10:17.040] race direction, I suppose, a great test because for them, it's kind of their first taste of Monaco
[10:17.040 -> 10:22.080] in Formula One and of a proper change in condition race. And they were just tested to the limit all
[10:22.080 -> 10:25.500] the way through over here.
[10:28.500 -> 10:31.000] And you know, just a little word on the protest still, you know, there are two wordings that sort of were important.
[10:31.000 -> 10:33.500] First is being on the right side of the line.
[10:33.500 -> 10:35.800] And second is crossing the line.
[10:35.800 -> 10:41.200] So if you're on the line in the yesteryears, that would have sort of meant a penalty, right?
[10:41.200 -> 10:45.520] But now being on the line is okay but being on the left side
[10:45.520 -> 10:50.200] of the line is not and guys I'm sorry if you know people have become new Formula
[10:50.200 -> 10:55.320] One fans but Formula One's always been fairly confusing this is a bit of a gray
[10:55.320 -> 10:59.320] area like Samuel pointed out and hopefully it is now turned into black
[10:59.320 -> 11:08.400] and white but yeah I think I think it was just one of those off days again for the FIA, just like I would say it was an off day
[11:08.400 -> 11:10.240] for the Ferrari strategists.
[11:10.240 -> 11:12.920] Or was it really an off day, or is this what they've
[11:12.920 -> 11:14.360] done all along, Somal?
[11:14.360 -> 11:17.080] Yeah, I saw a meme on some WhatsApp group
[11:17.080 -> 11:20.200] which says that the major rival for all the top four this year
[11:20.200 -> 11:21.760] was Stampin, his engine.
[11:21.760 -> 11:23.520] Sergio Perez, the team radio messenger,
[11:23.520 -> 11:26.960] because of course, team orders come in that way. For Carlos Sainz, it's the gravel
[11:26.960 -> 11:32.800] trap. And for Charles Leclerc, it's the team principals and the strategy group sitting
[11:32.800 -> 11:40.000] on the pit wall. Yet again, Ferrari have done it. But let's look at this incident independently and
[11:40.000 -> 11:50.320] not on the lens that Ferrari always end up doing it although they do have a bit of a track record but on its own Kunal what just really happened here because it just seemed like Ferrari got a
[11:50.320 -> 11:55.600] bit too overconfident in a way and they mistimed their decision and Leclerc just ended up being in
[11:55.600 -> 12:00.480] the middle of nowhere. What's the frustrating part for you? It's the fact that Sainz got to
[12:00.480 -> 12:06.920] make his own decision but Leclerc wasn't even consulted about it apparently that oh do you want to switch or do you just want to go on the dry
[12:06.920 -> 12:13.320] tires directly? You know actually all of this is a concerning part that you had
[12:13.320 -> 12:17.640] your lead driver and you sort of made a strategy error and when your driver who
[12:17.640 -> 12:22.880] was in P2 you couldn't course the driver into pitting which which eventually
[12:22.880 -> 12:25.040] turned out to be the right decision. But you know,
[12:25.040 -> 12:30.960] just goes to say, will Charles, will Carlos Sainz trust the team's strategy going forward,
[12:30.960 -> 12:36.240] or will they keep second guessing it each time? Because, you know, Carlos was doing what we've
[12:36.240 -> 12:40.800] always heard of him, or known of him to be doing, which is engineering his own car,
[12:40.800 -> 12:47.200] engineering his own strategy, and so on. So to me, I think Ferrari were just not
[12:47.200 -> 12:48.400] wanting to be caught out.
[12:48.400 -> 12:50.720] And they said, let's just pit Leclerc.
[12:50.720 -> 12:53.720] And like Charles said, when he was asked,
[12:53.720 -> 12:56.040] what do you think your team should have done differently?
[12:56.040 -> 12:59.000] He said, we should have just followed the guys at the back
[12:59.000 -> 13:00.720] because we had track position.
[13:00.720 -> 13:06.880] And track position is what we know is paramount in Monaco. Yeah exactly and so it just
[13:06.880 -> 13:12.000] makes me wonder did Red Bull win it or did Ferrari lose it according to you Kunal? I suppose it's
[13:12.000 -> 13:18.960] going to be the latter for me. I think I would say Red Bull actually won it because you know
[13:18.960 -> 13:26.400] it's one thing that Ferrari made their mistakes but Red Bull still capitalized their strategy. And we saw Checo Perez.
[13:26.400 -> 13:33.080] He actually undercut the two Ferrari drivers,
[13:33.080 -> 13:36.800] and he is phenomenal when it comes to undercutting drivers
[13:36.800 -> 13:37.600] in Monaco.
[13:37.600 -> 13:43.720] Last year, he did that with Vettel, Pierre Gasly,
[13:43.720 -> 13:44.760] and Lewis Hamilton.
[13:44.760 -> 13:47.680] This year, he's done that with the two Ferrari drivers.
[13:47.680 -> 13:51.640] And all in all, I think it's great to see
[13:51.640 -> 13:54.440] that strategy was so paramount as well
[13:54.440 -> 13:56.920] because overtaking was so difficult.
[13:56.920 -> 13:58.940] And, you know, an interesting insight
[13:58.940 -> 14:00.920] that came up on Twitter for me, Samuel,
[14:00.920 -> 14:02.700] we all know Hannah Schmidt,
[14:02.700 -> 14:05.420] she leads strategy for Red Bull Racing.
[14:05.420 -> 14:08.080] Helmut Marko was actually, you know,
[14:08.080 -> 14:11.160] very praiseworthy of her after the race.
[14:11.160 -> 14:13.880] But it also turns out that the top three drivers
[14:13.880 -> 14:16.260] in the Indy 500 yesterday
[14:16.260 -> 14:19.260] were also, had female strategists
[14:19.260 -> 14:21.140] running their strategy, right?
[14:21.140 -> 14:24.440] So I think that in itself is so, so interesting to follow
[14:24.440 -> 14:27.360] that we have female race strategy engineers,
[14:27.360 -> 14:28.680] making drivers win.
[14:28.680 -> 14:31.240] And case in point, yesterday was a great day
[14:31.240 -> 14:34.520] for former Saaber drivers, unless their name
[14:34.520 -> 14:36.640] was Charles Leclerc, Perez winning Monaco,
[14:36.640 -> 14:39.520] and Marcus Ericsson winning the Indy 500.
[14:39.520 -> 14:42.040] Yeah, great to see times change in that sense.
[14:42.040 -> 14:45.200] And Kawi Kobayashi, by the way, another former Saab driver,
[14:45.200 -> 14:46.980] has also ended up winning Le Mans last year.
[14:46.980 -> 14:51.480] So it's like Saab are having a golden 12 or 14 months per se,
[14:51.480 -> 14:53.240] even with their car and their team,
[14:53.240 -> 14:55.800] which we shall get to later on when we discuss the eight
[14:55.800 -> 14:57.400] sleep performers of the week.
[14:57.400 -> 15:01.320] But I just have to talk about the lap cars
[15:01.320 -> 15:03.080] as well, because another major factor that
[15:03.080 -> 15:04.620] came in midway through the race canal
[15:04.620 -> 15:09.200] was Williams holding up both Ferraris. It was Alex Albon for Charles Leclerc,
[15:09.200 -> 15:14.240] it was of course Niklas Latifi holding up Carlos Sainz which could potentially be the decisive
[15:14.240 -> 15:19.040] factor because had that not happened and had Sainz had a bit of a faster in-lap, who knows maybe he
[15:19.040 -> 15:23.200] could have been ahead of Sergio Perez and could have taken his first win but what do you reckon
[15:23.200 -> 15:28.960] another Latifi error or another Latifi action that has kind of given the win to Red Bull
[15:28.960 -> 15:35.020] is that the only reason why he's on the grid now? Well but that's what you get in
[15:35.020 -> 15:40.520] Monaco right you got to call your strategy so much to perfection that you
[15:40.520 -> 15:44.240] know you can't be stuck behind slower cars and unfortunately in the case of
[15:44.240 -> 15:48.480] Carlos Sainz you know at the pit exit Lat stuck behind slower cars. And unfortunately, in the case of Carlos Sainz, you know, at the pit exit, Latifi overtook him.
[15:48.480 -> 15:50.320] And it was only again at the tunnel
[15:50.320 -> 15:51.520] when Latifi let him go.
[15:51.520 -> 15:52.680] And that's what you get in Monaco.
[15:52.680 -> 15:54.960] You're just following each other through, right?
[15:54.960 -> 15:59.960] And it was probably just that that cost Carlos Sainz,
[16:00.600 -> 16:02.720] because I think he drove pretty well
[16:02.720 -> 16:05.160] to eventually, you know, sort of being contention for the win, drove pretty well to eventually you know sort
[16:05.160 -> 16:09.480] of being contention for the win even in the end you know the way he was
[16:09.480 -> 16:14.000] pressurizing Checo Perez and the likes was pretty pretty phenomenal so
[16:14.000 -> 16:20.000] Carlos Sainz just has to wait that much longer for his first win in Formula One
[16:20.000 -> 16:24.720] and briefly before we go to the stats review by Sundaram, the F1 stats guru
[16:24.720 -> 16:25.780] coming up rather soon
[16:25.780 -> 16:31.440] I just have to ask one question about Max Verstappen because this weekend slightly off-color slightly off-pace
[16:31.440 -> 16:37.080] I think his race was just settled up on Saturday, right? Because it becomes so hard then to get past three other cars
[16:37.080 -> 16:40.000] But what do you reckon? Could he have done anything else on Sunday?
[16:40.000 -> 16:45.680] I really doubt it because he didn't have the track position. So Red Bull kind of preferred Sergio with the strategy part
[16:45.680 -> 16:47.680] So, how do you see this happening Kunal?
[16:49.640 -> 16:54.680] I'm just glad Red Bull didn't do the switcheroo between the drivers early part of the race because had they done that
[16:55.200 -> 16:57.720] Maybe Max would have been the one winning
[16:57.720 -> 16:58.140] But yeah
[16:58.140 -> 17:05.160] He was a little off pace throughout the understeer. Red Bull wasn't to his liking and which is why he probably
[17:05.160 -> 17:09.440] wasn't as quick as we would have thought and he was actually resigned
[17:09.440 -> 17:15.420] to settling for second place in Monaco and he kept saying it's one race let's
[17:15.420 -> 17:19.500] pick up the points and go which we know because you know we still have 66% of
[17:19.500 -> 17:24.000] the season to go forward with right. So I think at the end of the day
[17:24.000 -> 17:26.280] Max was just not comfortable,
[17:26.280 -> 17:29.020] and that's what is key to getting a good lap.
[17:29.020 -> 17:31.960] But that also being said, we got to remember
[17:31.960 -> 17:33.520] two things that happened on Saturday,
[17:33.520 -> 17:35.880] which at least one we should talk about.
[17:35.880 -> 17:38.500] The first thing was the Perez crash,
[17:38.500 -> 17:41.240] which gave him track position, right?
[17:41.240 -> 17:42.680] Ahead of Max Verstappen.
[17:42.680 -> 17:49.240] Of course, that made sure that Max, who was probably going to take P2 from Checo and Carlos
[17:49.240 -> 17:50.680] Sainz, didn't get P2.
[17:50.680 -> 17:54.460] So that's why Max was really, really pissed off with that crash.
[17:54.460 -> 18:00.720] And then the first thing, the phenomenal laps that Charles Leclerc was putting in at the
[18:00.720 -> 18:08.080] front to grab his third consecutive pole position of the season.
[18:08.080 -> 18:14.320] And then of course his fifth overall, his second consecutive pole in Monaco. For him just being
[18:14.320 -> 18:19.040] at home and doing this is pretty fantastic. Although he turned around after the race and said
[18:19.040 -> 18:24.800] I am used to being disappointed at home or going back home disappointed, something to that effect.
[18:25.200 -> 18:30.720] to being disappointed at home or going back home disappointed, something to that effect. Yeah, and I think the same can be said for Max Verstappen as well, because at this stage,
[18:30.720 -> 18:35.320] it's also as much of a home race for him. And it's two years in a row, Kunal, that he's
[18:35.320 -> 18:40.840] been dropped off pole position due to a crash in qualifying involving a Ferrari. So that's
[18:40.840 -> 18:47.120] a bit crazy, right? I don't know whether it becomes a trend like Leclerc's Monaco curse of sorts if you like to call it a curse
[18:47.120 -> 18:51.000] But yeah, it's also growing. It's two years in a row. So keep an eye out for that streak
[18:51.000 -> 18:53.160] But speaking of stats speaking of streaks
[18:53.360 -> 18:59.520] Let's go to the stats review segment by F1 stats guru Sundaram and he's got some really fun stats coming up for you
[18:59.520 -> 19:01.520] Right here. Let's begin
[19:01.880 -> 19:04.920] Hey folks, it's time to do the stats review of the Monaco Grand Prix
[19:04.920 -> 19:06.120] I am Sundaram Ramaswamy,
[19:06.120 -> 19:11.120] also known as F1StatsGuru on the internet. Let's talk numbers. Well, the last three F1
[19:11.120 -> 19:14.840] races around Monaco to have been affected by rain have all been won by the driver who
[19:14.840 -> 19:19.760] started third on the grid. It was Hamilton in 2008, it was Hamilton yet again in 2016,
[19:19.760 -> 19:28.960] and it was Sergio Perez this time out. Something very, very unusual happened at Monaco. Everyone in Monaco was treated to seeing three different race leaders
[19:28.960 -> 19:33.280] up at the front of the pack. Something that hasn't happened in the last decade since 2012.
[19:33.840 -> 19:38.720] Another very unusual thing that happened was on the podium. I saw Max Ostapen standing third
[19:38.720 -> 19:45.640] on the podium. Not first, not second, but third. That's his first P3 result in his last 25 podiums.
[19:45.640 -> 19:50.200] And he's always finished first or second in all his race finishes post that.
[19:50.200 -> 19:51.200] I think it's good.
[19:51.200 -> 19:53.800] This dates back to 2020.
[19:53.800 -> 19:55.840] Pretty unusual, I would say.
[19:55.840 -> 20:00.880] But one thing West Hampton did do was also equal Sebastian Vettel's tally of 65 podiums
[20:00.880 -> 20:02.200] for Red Bull.
[20:02.200 -> 20:06.400] That's the most any Red Bull driver has done for the team. The only ones ahead
[20:06.400 -> 20:11.200] of him are Lewis Hamilton and Michael Schumacher for Mercedes and Ferrari respectively, each
[20:11.200 -> 20:17.280] scoring over 100 podiums for their teams. Now, this is a very interesting stat because the last
[20:17.280 -> 20:23.440] four Red Bull wins at Monaco have come with four differently patched engine suppliers. It was
[20:23.280 -> 20:25.360] with four differently patched engine suppliers. It was a Renault in 2012,
[20:25.360 -> 20:26.880] Tag Heuer in 2018,
[20:26.880 -> 20:28.820] Honda in 2021,
[20:28.820 -> 20:31.660] and then this time Red Bull powertrains.
[20:31.660 -> 20:33.960] We have talked about homeboy Charles Leclerc.
[20:33.960 -> 20:36.560] He was pretty much on the other,
[20:36.560 -> 20:38.760] he was worst affected by Ferrari's strategy,
[20:38.760 -> 20:40.160] dropping from P1 to P4.
[20:40.160 -> 20:42.220] He was visibly frustrated,
[20:42.220 -> 20:46.960] which also means that he has won just four of his 14 races from pole
[20:46.960 -> 20:52.320] position. If I was a world-famous singer betting money on who would win certain races, I would keep
[20:52.320 -> 20:57.040] my money in my pockets because unless Ferrari starts showing a little bit of smartness when
[20:57.040 -> 21:02.800] it comes to strategy or even in terms of reliability. Now, one other thing that I have
[21:02.800 -> 21:05.000] to talk about is that a lot of drivers switched
[21:05.000 -> 21:09.560] to inters very early on in the race, one of whom was Pierre Gasly. He did quite a few
[21:09.560 -> 21:14.360] good moves on track, but the fact is that he finished P11 and he hasn't scored points
[21:14.360 -> 21:20.080] for the last four races, which is his worst scoreless streak since 2018, his first full
[21:20.080 -> 21:26.000] season in Formula One. Pretty much a bad spell for someone who actually wants to join the Red Bull senior team in
[21:26.000 -> 21:29.680] 2023 unless Sergio Perez has already signed there.
[21:29.680 -> 21:34.280] The last fact for today is that Yuki Tsunoda was the only driver on Sunday to use all the
[21:34.280 -> 21:37.880] available compounds dry plus wet for the Grand Prix.
[21:37.880 -> 21:40.080] He started on wets and then there were enters.
[21:40.080 -> 21:44.280] There was a good stint on hards, mediums and then there was a last stint on softs.
[21:44.280 -> 21:46.760] Well, that is the stats review of the Monaco Grand Prix.
[21:46.760 -> 21:47.760] I am Sundaram Ramaswamy.
[21:47.760 -> 21:49.760] I will catch you guys soon.
[21:49.760 -> 21:52.280] You have got to love him.
[21:52.280 -> 21:53.640] You absolutely do.
[21:53.640 -> 21:59.160] And if you were a famous singer Kunal, if you had 400,000 Euros or Dollars in your back
[21:59.160 -> 22:02.760] pocket, I am sure you would know better than to put your money on Charlotte Player at some
[22:02.760 -> 22:03.760] point, right?
[22:03.760 -> 22:09.280] Because luck sometimes at Monaco just kind of goes away from him even though Dre did that in Barcelona
[22:09.280 -> 22:15.120] and not Monaco but still it's a hard time to predict who to put your money on. I would never
[22:15.120 -> 22:18.960] even think of putting five dollars at this stage because you just can't tell and that's fantastic.
[22:20.800 -> 22:29.160] I think so and this just goes back to all four drivers who could have challenged for victory were actually challenging for victory and that's just
[22:29.160 -> 22:34.680] how it goes but if I had so much money I'd probably just not bet it out I'm
[22:34.680 -> 22:38.960] pretty sure that I'm really bad at betting I would say I probably get
[22:38.960 -> 22:46.340] emotional or too too clinical about it either way but yeah fantastic stats from you know F1
[22:46.340 -> 22:52.600] stats guru I absolutely love those stats and the one driver who statistically is
[22:52.600 -> 22:56.400] having a brilliant season and the trend continues Somil and we should talk
[22:56.400 -> 23:00.280] about him I know we are going to do that next when we speak about Mercedes but
[23:00.280 -> 23:08.960] George Russell 100% of the laps still only driver to have scored in all races and
[23:08.960 -> 23:13.200] score only top five positions. I think that is pretty phenomenal.
[23:13.760 -> 23:17.600] Yeah, he's just been fantastic all the way through. And he got the jump for Lando Norris
[23:17.600 -> 23:22.080] in the strategy game. And there was one piece of footage that got cut out or kind of missed
[23:22.080 -> 23:29.200] out from the F1 broadcast, which involved Russell and Norris side by side at the pit exit when Russell came out and that was just fantastic.
[23:29.200 -> 23:34.200] But yeah, I suppose he has to be one of my eight sleep performers of the weekend Kunal
[23:34.200 -> 23:38.240] because if you come to think of it, there's nothing he's done wrong and this weekend,
[23:38.240 -> 23:42.960] Mercedes had a particularly tauted car because seemingly everything that their design philosophy
[23:42.960 -> 23:50.000] stands for is the opposite of what Monaco stands for. It's not fast, it's not full of straights, not full of high-speed corners,
[23:50.000 -> 23:54.480] so Mercedes really had a tough time, especially with the bouncing and Hamilton was really
[23:54.480 -> 23:59.120] really not enraged by that but disappointed by it and for Russell to come out there and do what he's
[23:59.120 -> 24:07.760] done is just fantastic isn't it? Yes and it's important to say it wasn't parposing that was causing Mercedes the problems,
[24:07.760 -> 24:11.080] because there were barely any straights, so to say.
[24:11.080 -> 24:14.060] But in just general, for them to extract performance,
[24:14.060 -> 24:16.600] the car was riding really stiff.
[24:16.600 -> 24:19.160] And that's why there were all those mechanical bumps
[24:19.160 -> 24:20.080] that they were facing.
[24:20.080 -> 24:21.920] And that's what Lewis Hamilton said,
[24:21.920 -> 24:25.340] that they've resurfaced Monaco, but it's still so bumpy.
[24:25.340 -> 24:26.840] And then it was highlighted that,
[24:26.840 -> 24:30.000] will the problems be the same in Baku 14 days from now?
[24:30.000 -> 24:33.620] And he said, Baku is actually a smoother circuit, right?
[24:33.620 -> 24:36.660] So it all goes down to seeing if Mercedes
[24:36.660 -> 24:40.340] actually do well in Baku, because now when we look back,
[24:40.340 -> 24:42.800] Spain was just track specific.
[24:42.800 -> 24:45.600] They have so much data and information about Spain
[24:45.600 -> 24:49.160] that maybe their performance jump in Spain
[24:49.160 -> 24:54.760] was down to just them being good at that circuit, Samil.
[24:54.760 -> 24:56.000] Yeah, could very well be.
[24:56.000 -> 24:58.320] But now I'm very intrigued by this.
[24:58.320 -> 25:00.720] Is it just Spain, or can this kind of come back
[25:00.720 -> 25:03.440] when we come to other circuits like Canada, which also
[25:03.440 -> 25:04.960] feature a lot of high-speed corners?
[25:04.960 -> 25:06.520] So let's wait and watch with Mercedes.
[25:06.520 -> 25:07.320] It's really curious.
[25:07.320 -> 25:09.720] But who else would you put in your list of eight
[25:09.720 -> 25:13.080] sleep performers of the weekend, Kunal, apart from George Russell?
[25:13.080 -> 25:16.520] Is there any space for Leclerc?
[25:16.520 -> 25:20.920] I would say so for his qualifying finesse, absolutely.
[25:20.920 -> 25:27.040] For him being, I love that, how he was leading the race till things went crazy.
[25:27.040 -> 25:32.960] He trusted the team. He was let down. He was furious on radio, but it takes him so little
[25:32.960 -> 25:38.800] time to calm down again. And his post-race message, I, I, I, let's make sure this never
[25:38.800 -> 25:44.560] happens again. He was very, very disappointed in all the interviews that I sat through, Samuel.
[25:43.240 -> 25:45.200] was very, very disappointed in all the interviews that I sat through, Samuel.
[25:45.200 -> 25:48.640] But yeah, his qualifying prowess, I would say,
[25:48.640 -> 25:50.240] I would put Charles Leclerc there.
[25:50.240 -> 25:56.400] And even Checo Perez, it's a very, very tough environment
[25:56.400 -> 25:59.240] for him, that Red Bull Racing team, because he knows,
[25:59.240 -> 26:02.600] everybody knows, like we spoke, Max is the blue-eyed boy.
[26:02.600 -> 26:07.600] And that's the reason why somebody like a Daniel Ricciardo left as well, right?
[26:07.600 -> 26:12.140] So for him to go there and still do what he's doing is pretty, pretty awesome.
[26:12.140 -> 26:18.940] And you know, when Daniel Ricciardo won in Monaco, he did the belly flop or belly flap.
[26:18.940 -> 26:21.080] He fell flat on his belly.
[26:21.080 -> 26:26.600] I never thought that Checo Perez, of all people, could do a one-legged somersault.
[26:26.600 -> 26:28.280] And he did that into the swimming
[26:28.280 -> 26:29.640] pool on the energy station.
[26:29.640 -> 26:33.460] So extra points for him to join the Eight Sleep
[26:33.460 -> 26:35.320] list of performers from Monaco.
[26:35.320 -> 26:36.200] Exactly.
[26:36.200 -> 26:37.200] That was fantastic.
[26:37.200 -> 26:39.560] And to see how the whole team was cheering on for him
[26:39.560 -> 26:40.600] was superb.
[26:40.600 -> 26:43.080] But I just want to say that, as we mentioned early on,
[26:43.080 -> 26:45.800] do Red Bull support him all the way through.
[26:45.800 -> 26:49.720] But also another driver I want to talk about, I mentioned early on that we will speak about
[26:49.720 -> 26:55.200] Alfa Romeo at some point and here we are with Valtteri Bottas because he very quietly, Kunal,
[26:55.200 -> 27:01.840] went all the way up from P12 to P9 in an amazing piece of strategy, an overcut I hear and that's
[27:01.840 -> 27:03.560] extremely hard to do at this place.
[27:03.560 -> 27:08.820] I mean, there's no other driver who's done that. I think he was the most driver with the most positions gained
[27:08.820 -> 27:14.820] apart from P.A. Gasly. So, driver with the most positions gained in the points per se.
[27:14.820 -> 27:19.620] That's interesting. We got to dig that through. But yeah, I think the very fact that, you
[27:19.620 -> 27:27.760] know, P9 seems low for him and it's disappointing. Just shows how great the season has been for them, Samil.
[27:27.760 -> 27:33.160] So I would add him to that list of performers,
[27:33.160 -> 27:36.280] the segment that is sponsored by It's Sleep.
[27:36.280 -> 27:39.960] But I would also go on to say that him missing Q3
[27:39.960 -> 27:43.320] was such a surprise because he's pretty much been in Q3
[27:43.320 -> 27:45.840] all barring two races this season if I remember.
[27:47.120 -> 27:51.920] Yeah, exactly. Borthuis has been tremendous and in the midfield it's such a big bottle because
[27:51.920 -> 27:58.640] close by were Alpine and my word canal, I think I have deciphered what the purpose of Alpine and
[27:58.640 -> 28:02.880] Formula One is, what's the purpose of Alonso returning to Formula One is. It's just simple,
[28:02.880 -> 28:05.480] they're just here to frustrate Lewis Hamilton, that just simple. They're just here to frustrate Lewis Hamilton. That's all.
[28:05.480 -> 28:07.440] They're just here to nag him every single time
[28:07.440 -> 28:09.120] for every single race weekend.
[28:09.120 -> 28:11.200] And if you think I'm actually joking,
[28:11.200 -> 28:13.040] Fernando Alonso ended up saying
[28:13.040 -> 28:14.600] in one of his race interviews that,
[28:14.600 -> 28:17.240] if Lewis Hamilton was frustrated staying behind me,
[28:17.240 -> 28:18.760] that's not my problem.
[28:18.760 -> 28:21.760] You know, he's right, but that's a bit outright, isn't it?
[28:21.760 -> 28:23.880] That's a bit of a vocal driver.
[28:26.000 -> 28:28.000] Yeah, that's vocal. And I'm sure it was just a repeat of what
[28:28.000 -> 28:30.000] we saw in Hungary last year where, you know,
[28:30.000 -> 28:32.000] Alonso did what he did to help Esteban
[28:32.000 -> 28:34.000] Ocon win. And
[28:34.000 -> 28:36.000] you know, unfortunately, Alonso slowing
[28:36.000 -> 28:38.000] down was
[28:38.000 -> 28:40.000] a bit of a surprise, you know, being two, three
[28:40.000 -> 28:42.000] seconds off the pace, allowing
[28:42.000 -> 28:44.000] Lando Norris to do one more pit and get
[28:44.000 -> 28:45.000] the point for the fastest lap of the race, allowing Lando Norris to do one more pit and get the point for the
[28:45.000 -> 28:50.240] fastest lap of the race, which Norris actually becomes only the third driver to take the
[28:50.240 -> 28:56.280] point for the fastest lap of the race, just as Checo Perez becomes only the third driver
[28:56.280 -> 29:00.960] to win a race this season because all the wins have been shared either by Leclerc or
[29:00.960 -> 29:01.960] by Verstappen-Sommel.
[29:01.960 -> 29:02.960] Yeah, exactly.
[29:02.960 -> 29:07.600] It's funny how things have really panned out
[29:07.600 -> 29:12.160] but I want to talk about Esteban Ocon over here as well for a second because we discussed that
[29:12.160 -> 29:17.840] he got a penalty and it was not the one that actually ended up was was ended up shown on TV
[29:17.840 -> 29:22.560] so have you had a look at that incident Kunal? Was it a fair justified penalty in that case because
[29:22.560 -> 29:26.540] Esteban Ocon was extremely frustrated at the end?
[29:32.180 -> 29:33.500] You know, I think it was a bit cheeky that decision but it was it's probably like
[29:35.500 -> 29:35.620] that at the end of the day was
[29:42.160 -> 29:46.080] what Ocon said that if you're going to overtake and defend in Monaco, there is going to be a bit of contact. And unfortunately this incident, which I'm told he was penalized for,
[29:46.080 -> 29:48.160] wasn't shown up on TV and hasn't come up
[29:48.160 -> 29:51.160] on F1's socials yet as well.
[29:51.160 -> 29:52.800] So we just gotta wait a few more days
[29:52.800 -> 29:54.120] before it actually comes up.
[29:54.120 -> 29:56.760] But that's just what you get in Monaco.
[29:56.760 -> 29:59.760] Lewis was actually very calm about being sandwiched
[29:59.760 -> 30:00.640] between the Alpines.
[30:00.640 -> 30:06.540] He was very calm about Alonso slowing him down as well because he said that's
[30:06.540 -> 30:09.620] just what you get in Monaco and that's true actually.
[30:09.620 -> 30:13.620] Or was he just too busy enjoying the fact that he became the first driver in history
[30:13.620 -> 30:17.700] to change helmets in the middle of a race? I mean that was fantastic right? He started
[30:17.700 -> 30:21.720] off with a white one, ended up with this traditional yellow one. Apparently that was just because
[30:21.720 -> 30:25.880] of some visor issues or whatever it might be. But hey, that's fun.
[30:25.880 -> 30:28.320] Maybe F1 can introduce a rule like that as well.
[30:28.320 -> 30:31.200] That in the case of a red flag, you have the liberty to change your helmet.
[30:31.200 -> 30:35.040] So we might be seeing substitutions of sorts, if you'd like to call it that way.
[30:35.040 -> 30:36.680] But that's more on the lighter side.
[30:36.680 -> 30:39.000] We have to focus on McLaren for a second because...
[30:39.000 -> 30:41.040] Not McLaren, I'm sorry.
[30:41.040 -> 30:42.320] AlphaTauri at the end.
[30:42.320 -> 30:46.080] Because their strategy games are really absurd all the way through, with Pierre Gasly
[30:46.080 -> 30:47.800] becoming the first driver on the intermediates
[30:47.800 -> 30:48.640] and really doing well.
[30:48.640 -> 30:52.680] But the case over here is that he is now
[30:52.680 -> 30:54.800] beating Lucas Nura, but that's for the first time
[30:54.800 -> 30:55.680] in many, many races.
[30:55.680 -> 30:58.080] So a great positive, but he didn't end up in the points.
[30:58.080 -> 31:00.580] So it's just absurd how this season is panning out,
[31:00.580 -> 31:01.960] full of good driver performances,
[31:01.960 -> 31:03.660] but barely any points to show for.
[31:05.040 -> 31:10.960] I think Gasly's race was actually destroyed on the Saturday itself because he missed crossing the
[31:12.080 -> 31:17.920] the Q2 timing line by one second. So Yuki made it but he did not and then you know what happens
[31:18.480 -> 31:23.840] or rather it was actually Q1 that he had an exit in right. So it's it was just down to that but
[31:23.840 -> 31:26.240] Yuki Sonoda's strategy, I think,
[31:26.240 -> 31:28.240] you know, for the first time, at least in 2022,
[31:28.240 -> 31:32.600] and this is for Sundaram, our stats guru, to find out,
[31:32.600 -> 31:35.080] when was the last time a driver used
[31:35.080 -> 31:37.400] all five compounds in a race?
[31:37.400 -> 31:40.280] Because Yuki Sonoda actually did that.
[31:40.280 -> 31:43.400] He used the extremes, he used the intermediates,
[31:43.400 -> 31:47.800] he used the hards, he used the mediums, he used the mediums and he used the softs, right?
[31:47.800 -> 31:54.400] And I don't know what's up with that strategy but yes, he actually ended the race on the soft tyre.
[31:54.400 -> 31:59.400] And of course, he was the last of the finishers in 17th place sum up.
[31:59.400 -> 32:02.400] Yeah, I suppose he was just doing some tyre testing for Pirelli, right?
[32:02.400 -> 32:08.220] Because dates are so hard to come by and so it's better if you squeeze all your tyre testing into one Grand Prix.
[32:08.220 -> 32:10.460] So what if it's shorter than all the other ones?
[32:10.460 -> 32:13.180] So what if we have to compromise in a few other laps as well?
[32:13.180 -> 32:16.420] But yeah, that's just how it went for Yuki Tsunoda.
[32:16.420 -> 32:20.060] Absurd little race for him and absurd little race for Daniel Ricciardo.
[32:20.060 -> 32:23.600] I just have to wonder, is it really getting embarrassing for him now?
[32:23.600 -> 32:26.480] Because this has to be the biggest blow of the season for him.
[32:26.480 -> 32:31.640] Now, I know that Imola statistically was worse with Lando Norris getting a podium and Daniel
[32:31.640 -> 32:33.120] Ricciardo all the way at the back.
[32:33.120 -> 32:35.600] But over here, both drivers were fine.
[32:35.600 -> 32:36.600] Both drivers were normal.
[32:36.600 -> 32:38.200] There was no crash involved, nothing as such.
[32:38.200 -> 32:42.960] But Ricciardo was still dramatically off the pace and Norris was 6th in the McLaren.
[32:42.960 -> 33:13.640] So I just don't even know what's happening in this case. And for the first time, you know, Zach Brown and McLaren have been very vocal about it. In the lead up to Monaco, you know, it was revealed that there are mechanisms in Ricardo's contract that could lead to an early exit.
[33:13.640 -> 33:20.640] And I'm pretty sure just the way drivers have an exit clause in case the team doesn't perform, the reverse is also true.
[33:20.640 -> 33:25.620] Because at the moment, Ricardo's an underperforming, but a very highly paid
[33:25.620 -> 33:27.260] number two driver at McLaren.
[33:27.260 -> 33:29.260] And that's not what he was hired for.
[33:29.260 -> 33:32.060] So much so that Daniel Ricardo had to also turn around
[33:32.060 -> 33:35.900] and say, I'm beautiful, tanned and thick skinned, right?
[33:35.900 -> 33:40.060] So will the battle actually be about his contract exit
[33:40.060 -> 33:43.620] in 2023, because it's not looking good.
[33:43.620 -> 33:46.800] He's gone three races without scoring points and I can't
[33:46.800 -> 33:52.320] remember when was the last time Daniel Ricciardo actually went three races without scoring points
[33:52.320 -> 34:00.080] after he joined Red Bull. And we already know from last race that it's the worst start to his season
[34:00.080 -> 34:05.600] since 2013 and I think that is very, very absurd.
[34:05.600 -> 34:08.960] So I'm not sure how the Ricardo story
[34:08.960 -> 34:10.800] or the nightmare is gonna end.
[34:10.800 -> 34:13.200] Could it just be that Ricardo walks out,
[34:14.320 -> 34:17.740] you know, of Formula One and McLaren by his own admission
[34:17.740 -> 34:19.140] that it didn't work out?
[34:19.140 -> 34:21.120] Because I don't see him going to a smaller team.
[34:21.120 -> 34:22.920] I mean, where would he go out?
[34:22.920 -> 34:24.040] He'll go out to Williams,
[34:24.040 -> 34:26.280] or he'll go out to Aston Martin?
[34:26.280 -> 34:28.040] I'm not pretty sure, but let's just
[34:28.040 -> 34:29.800] see how that pans out.
[34:29.800 -> 34:31.960] Yeah, absurd to see what's happening with him.
[34:31.960 -> 34:34.040] But very briefly before we end, we
[34:34.040 -> 34:36.240] have to talk about Mick Schumacher and the crash,
[34:36.240 -> 34:38.080] and so glad that he's OK.
[34:38.080 -> 34:40.400] But it just seemed like the crash was harder
[34:40.400 -> 34:41.680] than it actually was, Kunal.
[34:41.680 -> 34:44.760] Was that just a regulation change coming into impact?
[34:44.760 -> 34:46.480] Because of course, with the 2020 new cars,
[34:46.480 -> 34:48.360] they're supposed to break off from the back
[34:48.360 -> 34:50.480] when they crash to avoid any sort of fires,
[34:50.480 -> 34:52.120] like in the case with Romain Grosjean.
[34:52.120 -> 34:54.880] So if that's the case, I mean, it's
[34:54.880 -> 34:57.920] funny that the first car that we saw get in tested output,
[34:57.920 -> 34:58.880] it was also a Haas.
[35:03.080 -> 35:05.000] You know, the crash looked a little scary in two parts.
[35:09.680 -> 35:11.960] First part was the crash happened
[35:11.960 -> 35:13.100] and then like you pointed out,
[35:13.100 -> 35:15.220] the rear just detached itself out.
[35:15.220 -> 35:17.680] So it literally broke into two, right?
[35:17.680 -> 35:20.520] Which was like, okay, as we know about the regulations
[35:20.520 -> 35:23.320] or at least people who didn't know finally got to know.
[35:23.320 -> 35:25.020] The second part was the crash happened
[35:25.020 -> 35:26.700] and then suddenly TV Direction decided
[35:26.700 -> 35:28.420] to go to Kevin Mark-Newson.
[35:28.420 -> 35:30.940] And you could see, you're like,
[35:30.940 -> 35:32.660] is that Schumacher who's crashed,
[35:32.660 -> 35:34.460] but Mark-Newson is out of the car?
[35:34.460 -> 35:36.140] Or, you know, there was a bit of a confusion
[35:36.140 -> 35:37.780] because, well, nobody was focusing
[35:37.780 -> 35:39.640] on the horses at that time, right?
[35:39.640 -> 35:42.180] But yeah, in the end, it was, you know,
[35:42.180 -> 35:47.360] like Mick Schumacher said, it was a 10 centimeter offline, and that's what caught him out.
[35:47.360 -> 35:50.960] But it just happens that it's his second terrible crash
[35:50.960 -> 35:52.600] in seven races.
[35:52.600 -> 35:57.520] Gunter Stein is, of course, annoyed by his own admission.
[35:57.520 -> 36:00.400] And all of this down to the team with probably the smallest
[36:00.400 -> 36:03.520] budget, and the team that is not even
[36:03.520 -> 36:08.520] dreaming of operating to the budget cap this year as well.
[36:08.520 -> 36:12.800] So just unfortunate that 29 career races and Mick Schumacher
[36:12.800 -> 36:15.720] still doesn't have a point in Formula 1.
[36:15.720 -> 36:18.520] Yeah, it's looking a bit unfortunate for him.
[36:18.520 -> 36:21.920] But folks, this was what it was for Mick Schumacher,
[36:21.920 -> 36:23.520] a bit of a crazy weekend.
[36:23.520 -> 36:29.080] And on the whole, you can call it a bit crazy considering all that happened but I hope you enjoyed this episode of the
[36:29.080 -> 36:33.660] Inside Line F1 podcast and pitched the podium and if you did you know exactly what to do
[36:33.660 -> 36:38.100] leave a good rating leave us a like share this episode and subscribe to the podcast
[36:38.100 -> 36:42.520] so folks thank you for listening thank you for watching and see you rather soon for the
[36:42.520 -> 36:44.120] preview of the next Grand Prix right here.
[36:44.120 -> 36:46.520] Goodbye. watching and see you rather soon for the preview of the next Grand Prix Ride here. Goodbye
[37:00.240 -> 37:02.300] you