Small Mistake For Leclerc, Giant Leap For Verstappen - 2022 French GP Review

Oh, Charles - what a costly error! One small mistake for Leclerc, a giant leap for Verstappen - the gap in the Formula 1 Drivers' Championship is now a mammoth 63 points!

Earlier in the season, Verstappen was 44 points down on Leclerc; this means that in the 12 races of the 2022 Formula 1 season, Verstappen has pulled 99 points on Leclerc! incredible.

Here's the 2022 French GP preview episode on the Inside Line F1 Podcast.

The Inside Line F1 Podcast is brought to you by Eight Sleep, the most-trusted name in high-performance sleep.

Would you like to sleep on a bed-mattress designed by Formula 1 engineers to enhance your sleep quality? Here's an exclusive offer for our listeners.

Save $150 at checkout on the Eight Sleep Pod Pro Cover. Go get yours today: https://www.eightsleep.com/insideline

In this episode, Soumil and Kunal discuss if Leclerc had the pace to win the 2022 French Grand Prix? Could Carlos Sainz have scored a podium? Was Sergio Perez literally napping at the VSC restart or should Formula 1 investigate further in the software glitch that saw Perez lose a podium finish.

A great result for Mercedes, but one of their most-embarrassing performances in qualifying? We're not sure about the others, but we are definitely alighting the Mercedes hype train.

@f1statsguru is on holiday - but his jaw-dropping stats are with us, as always. Did you know? Red Bull Racing is only an 11 race streak of podium finishes; their highest since 2013!

Lots in this episode, tune in!

(Season 2022, Episode 44)

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

Image courtesy: Circuit Paul Ricard (Facebook)

**French Grand Prix Review**

**Leclerc's Crash and Race Strategy**

- Leclerc's crash was a driver error, and he acknowledged it.
- Leclerc was performing well and keeping Verstappen at bay before the crash.
- Ferrari's incremental upgrades to the car helped Leclerc stay ahead of Verstappen on the straights.
- Red Bull's strategy of undercutting Leclerc forced him to stay out and push for faster laps.
- Leclerc's spin was a result of trying to maintain the pace and avoid being overtaken.
- It's difficult to say if Leclerc could have won the race due to the safety car and changing track conditions.

**Ferrari's Performance and Strategy**

- Ferrari's strategy was to pit Leclerc later and attack Verstappen with fresher tires.
- Team Principal Mattia Binotto expressed confidence in this strategy post-race.
- However, it's uncertain if this strategy would have resulted in a victory for Leclerc.
- Leclerc has made two driver errors in 12 races, which is a concern for his title hopes.
- Ferrari needs to deliver consistent performances and minimize errors to challenge for the title.
- Verstappen's consistency and Red Bull's reliability have been impressive.

**Carlos Sainz's Race**

- Sainz's penalty for a pit lane infringement affected his race strategy.
- Ferrari's initial misunderstanding of the penalty further complicated the situation.
- Sainz drove well and showed pace throughout the weekend.
- Sainz could have potentially finished on the podium without the penalty and a cleaner pit stop.
- Ferrari's indecision and lack of clear communication were evident during Sainz's pit stop.

**Sergio Perez's VSC Issue**

- Perez lost a podium finish due to a software glitch that caused a delay in receiving the VSC ending message.
- Red Bull and Perez were critical of race control for the incident.
- This is the second time Perez has been affected by race control decisions this season.
- The incident raises concerns about the reliability of race control systems.

**Russell and Perez's Incident**

- Russell and Perez had a controversial incident at the Seine chicane.
- Russell was ahead of Perez but did not leave enough space for Perez to make the corner.
- Race control deemed it a fair racing incident and did not penalize Russell.
- Perez was forced to let Sainz pass, losing further positions.

**Track Limits and Consistency**

- Track limits policing was consistent throughout the weekend.
- Mick Schumacher expressed frustration over losing a qualifying lap due to a minor track limits infringement.
- Drivers and teams want clearer guidelines and more consistent application of track limits rules.

**Mercedes' Performance**

- Mercedes had a strong result with a 2-3 finish, their best of the 2022 season.
- Lewis Hamilton praised Verstappen's relaxed and controlled race.
- Verstappen opted to conserve tires and secure the win rather than push for the fastest lap.

**Conclusion**

- Verstappen's dominance continues, and he has closed the gap to Leclerc in the Drivers' Championship.
- Ferrari needs to improve its consistency and minimize errors to challenge for the title.
- Red Bull's strategy and reliability have been key factors in their success.
- Race control decisions and incidents have raised concerns about consistency and fairness.
- The French Grand Prix provided exciting battles and talking points for fans.

**2022 French Grand Prix Inside Line F1 Podcast Episode Summary:**

The Inside Line F1 Podcast discusses the 2022 French Grand Prix, analyzing key moments and performances.

**Main Discussion Points:**

* **Leclerc's Costly Error:** Charles Leclerc's mistake led to a significant gap in the Drivers' Championship, with Max Verstappen extending his lead to 63 points.

* **Verstappen's Dominant Performance:** Verstappen's victory in France showcased his consistent dominance, highlighted by his impressive recovery from a 44-point deficit earlier in the season.

* **Mercedes' Mixed Results:** Mercedes achieved their best result of the season with a second and third-place finish, but their qualifying performance was disappointing, raising questions about their overall competitiveness.

* **Red Bull's Podium Streak:** Red Bull Racing extended their podium streak to 11 races, their best run since 2013, demonstrating their consistent strength.

* **Alonso's Impressive Performance:** Fernando Alonso continued his impressive form, securing a P6 finish for Alpine, while Esteban Ocon finished eighth, resulting in a strong points haul for the team.

* **McLaren's Upgrades:** McLaren brought upgrades to the French Grand Prix, with Lando Norris and Daniel Ricciardo showing signs of improvement, potentially challenging Alpine for midfield supremacy.

* **Haas's Upgrade Potential:** Haas is set to receive upgrades for the upcoming Hungarian Grand Prix, raising expectations for improved performance and a potential rise in the standings.

* **Alfa Romeo's Struggles:** Alfa Romeo endured a difficult weekend, with Valtteri Bottas experiencing his worst pointless streak since his rookie season, and the team facing challenges in both pace and reliability.

**Overall Impression:**

The 2022 French Grand Prix was a mixed bag, with some teams showing progress while others faced setbacks. The episode highlighted the evolving dynamics in the midfield and the ongoing battle for supremacy between Red Bull and Ferrari.

[00:00.000 -> 00:24.520] I'm sorry, I hold my hands up. I was naive to bet on Ferrari. But were you making the
[00:24.520 -> 00:25.520] same mistake as well,
[00:25.520 -> 00:28.820] Kunal, earlier this year? I mean, I genuinely thought that they couldn't drop the ball,
[00:28.820 -> 00:33.340] but they have done it once again. And now I'm actually astounded to know that Ferrari
[00:33.340 -> 00:38.680] are closer to Mercedes and the Constructors than they are to Red Bull Racing. How do we
[00:38.680 -> 00:43.660] even bring it up this way? I mean, Verstappen has closed up a point gap of 46 points so
[00:43.660 -> 00:45.280] far this year, but Leclerc now has to do 63. I mean, this justappen has closed up a point gap of 46 points so far this year, but Leclerc
[00:45.280 -> 00:47.640] now has to do 63.
[00:47.640 -> 00:52.840] This just looks like an uphill task and I just think that the championship is somewhat
[00:52.840 -> 00:53.840] over.
[00:53.840 -> 00:58.560] I mean, I know I'm being a bit too pessimistic, but this just can't be right, can it?
[00:58.560 -> 01:01.520] Well, I'll tell you the math.
[01:01.520 -> 01:02.840] That is actually right.
[01:02.840 -> 01:06.080] 46 points, the deficit that Max Verstappen had
[01:06.080 -> 01:08.480] after the first three races,
[01:08.480 -> 01:11.900] and now he's got a 63 points advantage.
[01:11.900 -> 01:16.900] So he has had a swing of 99 points on Charles Leclerc
[01:17.600 -> 01:20.840] in 12 races, right?
[01:20.840 -> 01:23.580] And that is, well, what?
[01:23.580 -> 01:26.660] About eight points per race, if one may put it that is, well, what, about eight points per race, if
[01:26.660 -> 01:29.120] one may put it that way, which typically means that Max has
[01:29.120 -> 01:31.480] literally won every race and Charles has finished second, and
[01:31.480 -> 01:33.560] this is where they find themselves, right? Or
[01:33.560 -> 01:38.560] thereabouts. But, you know, it's incredible that we are even
[01:38.560 -> 01:41.920] talking about a title battle. Yes, we are hopeful, it's
[01:41.920 -> 01:48.880] wishful thinking. You know, wishful thinking was a term that I heard Toto Wolf say several times this weekend,
[01:48.880 -> 01:52.040] so I can say it at least once in the review show.
[01:52.040 -> 01:56.960] But it's now soon going to be a case of, hey, how many laps or how many races before the
[01:56.960 -> 02:08.160] end of the season will Max Verstappen clinch his second world title in a car that's not the quickest and in a car that's not the
[02:08.160 -> 02:14.960] most reliable one Somal. It can only happen when you're competing against Ferrari it can only be
[02:14.960 -> 02:19.840] that case but I'm just as surprised about their disappointing performance this weekend as I am
[02:19.840 -> 02:45.520] about the fact that I haven't quite introduced who we are and what to do with it.
[02:45.520 -> 02:51.160] And you're right, Kunal, it's wishful thinking. I don't know. I just get a feeling of those
[02:51.160 -> 02:56.520] mid 2010 years when we had early 2010 years where we had Sebastian Vettel comfortably
[02:56.520 -> 03:00.120] dominating, but you saw just brief glimpses from Ferrari here and there, but never in
[03:00.120 -> 03:04.360] something concrete. And it's just the anti 2012 where Ferrari had the worst car, but
[03:04.360 -> 03:08.540] they had a great driver pushing them forward. But now they have a great car and it's just the anti 2012 where Ferrari had the worst car but they had a great driver pushing them forward but now they have a great car and it's still themselves
[03:08.540 -> 03:13.700] holding them back so what is it what other fact can come in and hold them back?
[03:13.700 -> 03:20.780] We shall discuss that later on in the episode but the other naive thing that I believe every
[03:20.780 -> 03:50.920] single person did maybe apart from Mercedes was assuming that Mercedes would be in the battle for the win and we'll have six cars in the race fight. I make such an assumption were in place right so Mercedes as well yes they got a 2-3 their best ever
[03:50.920 -> 03:56.920] result in 2022 it was the first time Max and Lewis shared a podium after 2012 or
[03:56.920 -> 04:01.780] 2021 Abu Dhabi you guys know what race I'm talking about but yes there was a
[04:01.780 -> 04:05.840] lot of wishful thinking with that whole will Mercedes join the
[04:05.840 -> 04:11.440] you know Ferrari and Red Bull and battle for the race win in France the circuit is high speed smooth
[04:11.440 -> 04:18.160] etc etc and but somehow the most naive thing yes you still bet on a Carlos Sainz win I'm sure you're
[04:18.160 -> 04:24.720] going to do that for Hungary as well. Oh come on I actually didn't know that he was going to take
[04:24.720 -> 04:26.240] the penalty but you know
[04:26.240 -> 04:31.400] what let's actually discuss Ferrari and their interesting race weekend in a second but first
[04:31.400 -> 04:33.960] we should be back after a small break.
[04:33.960 -> 04:39.680] Hey folks, welcome back into the Inside Line F1 Podcast, this is our French Grand Prix
[04:39.680 -> 04:44.000] review and we were talking about Carlos Sainz but before we go there for a second, there's
[04:44.000 -> 04:47.640] this big question in my mind and I'm sure that's the question everyone will be wanting
[04:47.640 -> 04:52.160] to know and unfortunately we can't quite tell at this stage but could Charles Leclerc have
[04:52.160 -> 04:56.960] won had he not crashed? But first I should tell you why he crashed. I think we just take
[04:56.960 -> 05:01.860] Formula 1 too seriously Kunal, we just focus too much on throttle pedal issues or the gust
[05:01.860 -> 05:08.600] of wind that came in or downforce, we just got confused by the stripes. Just get rid of the stripes, Ferrari will win once again. It's as clear
[05:08.600 -> 05:11.000] as that.
[05:11.000 -> 05:15.680] You wanted to drive a red car over the red stripes and little did he know he'd actually
[05:15.680 -> 05:20.080] find one of those barriers. Sorry, that was a bad one. But in all seriousness, Samuel,
[05:20.080 -> 05:25.520] I literally loved what Charles Leclerc was doing all the way till he actually crashed.
[05:25.520 -> 05:30.880] He again came into another race. He needed to get Paul. He needed to get Winn. He needed to
[05:30.880 -> 05:37.920] keep Max Verstappen at bay. He did all of that. And I loved those opening battles that we saw,
[05:37.920 -> 05:42.480] although it was barely a battle. It was Max trying to chase down Leclerc.
[05:42.480 -> 05:45.200] And what I actually loved about that was, you know,
[05:46.080 -> 05:50.720] while Dreadbull have been developing the floor of their car to keep going quicker,
[05:50.720 -> 05:56.080] Ferrari are actually bringing incremental, you know, gains to their car, like, you know,
[05:56.080 -> 06:03.280] the new rear wing. And had it been, say, five or seven races ago, Max's powerful rear wing and DRS
[06:03.280 -> 06:06.600] would have just made him drive past Charles Leclerc.
[06:06.600 -> 06:11.920] But given Ferrari's upgrades, given that they are making sure they're responding to their
[06:11.920 -> 06:16.960] weaknesses against Red Bull, especially on the car side of things, Charles was able to
[06:16.960 -> 06:19.080] stay ahead of Max.
[06:19.080 -> 06:28.160] And you know, that Delta was, you know, if Max was anything more than 6 to 7 tenths behind Charles, you know, he
[06:28.160 -> 06:33.160] was of course getting DRS and he would get closer with the DRS, but they were very well
[06:33.160 -> 06:37.200] matched in straight line speeds where Max couldn't overtake Charles.
[06:37.200 -> 06:42.040] But then what happened was, you know, Red Bull called, Max was strapping in, his dials
[06:42.040 -> 06:46.600] were short, they tried to do the same thing that they did to Lewis Hamilton last year,
[06:47.600 -> 06:48.760] which was undercut him.
[06:48.760 -> 06:51.360] And had Charles Pitt the next lap,
[06:51.360 -> 06:52.720] he would have been undercut.
[06:52.720 -> 06:54.720] He would have lost the lead of the race.
[06:54.720 -> 06:57.240] So what he had to do was stay out,
[06:57.240 -> 06:59.000] do as quick laps as possible,
[06:59.000 -> 07:02.240] and then hope that when he hits his pit window,
[07:02.240 -> 07:05.000] eight or 10 laps after max,
[07:05.440 -> 07:09.440] he still comes out with fresher tires to attack for later, right?
[07:09.440 -> 07:12.280] So that was where the scenario was.
[07:12.280 -> 07:16.480] And he spun because in, you know, this is another thing I love about Charles.
[07:16.480 -> 07:19.520] He just said, hey, driver error, it was my error.
[07:19.520 -> 07:23.880] And if I keep making these errors, I do not deserve to win the title.
[07:25.440 -> 07:30.600] Where else will you find a more honest driver? Seriously, that's amazing, the way he's actually
[07:30.600 -> 07:34.280] come out and he did such a great job at the start, as you rightly mentioned, so much so
[07:34.280 -> 07:38.720] that I was actually confused whether it was just the new cars not performing effectively
[07:38.720 -> 07:43.360] because it was at that stage of the race where we saw Sergio Perez also dropping that back
[07:43.360 -> 07:48.120] down from Lewis Hamilton and Russell backing off a little bit, so I thought, oh well, this could just be the cars
[07:48.120 -> 07:52.680] not performing properly, but as it turns out, it was indeed Leclerc and Ferrari doing an
[07:52.680 -> 07:53.960] incredible job.
[07:53.960 -> 07:58.120] And in a way, Kunal, they had to do that because Red Bull Racing were quietly confident about
[07:58.120 -> 08:02.560] their ability to just manage their position with their incredible straight line speed,
[08:02.560 -> 08:08.680] but they just could not get past, which is, again, Ferrari doing a brilliant job for a change until we
[08:08.680 -> 08:12.840] actually got to the point where it unraveled. But it's crazy how the race is working. And
[08:12.840 -> 08:18.160] also, I doubt that he would have won it because with the track conditions being incredibly
[08:18.160 -> 08:22.660] difficult and with the tyres having to go through so much at the very end with a lot
[08:22.660 -> 08:26.960] of heat in the track temperature, of course, It could have been unlikely that Leclerc would have been
[08:26.960 -> 08:28.320] able to keep on a one-stop.
[08:28.320 -> 08:30.560] Of course, the safety car came in midway through
[08:30.560 -> 08:32.020] and completely changed the dynamic.
[08:32.020 -> 08:34.480] But had it not been the case, a one-stopper
[08:34.480 -> 08:37.040] would have been hard to execute, as we shall discuss
[08:37.040 -> 08:38.360] with Carlos Sainz later on.
[08:38.360 -> 08:40.860] But you've got to give credit to the Pirelli tires at the end
[08:40.860 -> 08:42.880] for the way they held out.
[08:42.880 -> 08:46.640] The Pirelli tires were actually my eight sleep performers
[08:46.640 -> 08:49.360] of the race on pole position because what
[08:49.360 -> 08:52.400] we saw Max do to Charles, and I'm just talking
[08:52.400 -> 08:54.600] of the lead battle here.
[08:54.600 -> 08:58.400] In my view, I think they were able to follow each other
[08:58.400 -> 08:59.760] better than what would have been.
[08:59.760 -> 09:00.600] I mean, imagine this.
[09:00.600 -> 09:03.080] You said about the heat, about track temperatures,
[09:03.080 -> 09:04.400] air temperatures.
[09:04.400 -> 09:07.200] Had it been last year's tires,
[09:07.200 -> 09:09.480] just to put it in perspective here,
[09:09.480 -> 09:11.760] drivers would have actually gone
[09:11.760 -> 09:13.880] into extreme tire management mode.
[09:13.880 -> 09:17.000] And that's when we've seen races become extremely boring,
[09:17.000 -> 09:20.520] including a few French Grand Prix's of the past,
[09:20.520 -> 09:22.600] before 2021.
[09:22.600 -> 09:26.720] So I think 2019 was actually one of the most boring French GP races I remember.
[09:26.720 -> 09:33.760] Right. So I'm very glad that the Pirelli tyres held up while the drivers were engaged in battle
[09:33.760 -> 09:38.800] and through the heat. And that's why I will choose them for my eighth sleep performer of the race.
[09:38.800 -> 09:44.640] Right. But the other point that I will counter, Samuel, is that I believe Charles had the pace
[09:45.980 -> 09:52.660] point that I will counter some lizard I believe Charles had the pace to win I believe Ferrari were gonna have the strategy to win again and Matteo Pinotto
[09:52.660 -> 09:55.840] of course he is supposed to sound positive about everything that happened
[09:55.840 -> 10:01.520] given that it was Ferrari he actually said post race that in the first 15
[10:01.520 -> 10:06.240] laps the tire degradation that they saw versus Verstappen in the Red Bull
[10:06.580 -> 10:12.460] gave them enough belief that they should stick to their strategy to pit later and then attack
[10:12.740 -> 10:19.280] Max on fresher tires and go for the win of the race. So he was pretty positive that they would have won anyway.
[10:20.440 -> 10:25.760] Yeah, exactly. But the fact is, we can't quite tell at this stage, which means that Hungary
[10:25.760 -> 10:30.200] is going to be all the more exciting because we get the answer to a similar question like
[10:30.200 -> 10:33.100] that. Of course, Hungary different in characteristics should be fun, but I think we should talk
[10:33.100 -> 10:36.840] about Hungary more when we preview that particular race. And that should also happen in a couple
[10:36.840 -> 10:41.760] of days. So be right here on the Inside Line F1 Podcast. But the clerk now, three retirements
[10:41.760 -> 10:48.760] in 2022, all from pole position. He retired from the lead in all three and Verstappen ended up winning each of them,
[10:48.760 -> 10:50.640] with Russell coming in third in all of them as well.
[10:50.640 -> 10:54.000] The stat courtesy of F1 stats guru Sundaram.
[10:54.000 -> 10:56.600] And he just keeps on coming up with bangers like this one.
[10:56.600 -> 10:59.400] And it's true, the clerk, he's lost so many points from pole.
[10:59.400 -> 11:04.560] And we can't tell that if this one was a win lost or a second place lost.
[11:04.560 -> 11:06.700] But yeah, tough, tough weekend.
[11:08.760 -> 11:09.600] Very tough.
[11:09.600 -> 11:12.760] And you said three retirements from pole, which is true.
[11:12.760 -> 11:17.400] Also the second driver error in just 12 races this season.
[11:17.400 -> 11:19.960] We saw the error in Imola where he spun
[11:19.960 -> 11:23.260] while chasing Sergio Perez for a podium place.
[11:23.260 -> 11:26.920] And now we saw the driver error here in France, right?
[11:26.920 -> 11:29.000] And typically in the world of motorsport,
[11:29.000 -> 11:31.700] and I'm talking of, you know, since the ages,
[11:31.700 -> 11:33.320] there was always this thing of,
[11:33.320 -> 11:37.480] you're allowed one mistake in a championship season.
[11:37.480 -> 11:40.160] And Leclerc has already made two of them, right?
[11:40.160 -> 11:43.120] And, you know, it's not that I sound pessimistic.
[11:43.120 -> 11:47.440] I would love to see Charles take the fight to Max,
[11:47.440 -> 11:48.560] but for that to happen,
[11:48.560 -> 11:50.720] there need to be two things that need to happen,
[11:50.720 -> 11:54.080] which has not happened till date in 2022.
[11:54.080 -> 11:59.080] First, Ferrari and Leclerc need to deliver perfect races
[11:59.520 -> 12:02.720] throughout, not a single race that they can slip up.
[12:02.720 -> 12:07.220] So they need to bring in that robust consistency,
[12:07.220 -> 12:09.640] you know, in terms of pace, in terms of performance,
[12:09.640 -> 12:12.180] in terms of strategy and driver errors, just do that.
[12:12.180 -> 12:13.140] They've not done that yet.
[12:13.140 -> 12:17.400] And the second thing is for MAX to then have a few DNFs
[12:17.400 -> 12:20.600] or retirements or few low scoring races, right?
[12:20.600 -> 12:25.000] And that's also not happened as consistently since 2021,
[12:25.000 -> 12:27.000] if I was to put it that way, right?
[12:27.000 -> 12:32.000] So for the title battle to actually become a title battle
[12:32.000 -> 12:33.000] that we're all hoping for,
[12:33.000 -> 12:37.000] a lot more is needed from Ferrari and Leclerc-Sawall.
[12:37.000 -> 12:42.000] Actually, I'm so glad you mentioned how consistent Max has also been so far this year,
[12:42.000 -> 12:45.840] because my word, he's actually gone up to, correct
[12:45.840 -> 12:48.760] me if I'm wrong, 27 Grand Prix wins.
[12:48.760 -> 12:52.960] Now isn't that two more than Niki Lauda, if I'm not mistaken, once again.
[12:52.960 -> 12:55.400] And I know that having a longer calendar helps.
[12:55.400 -> 12:59.720] And I know that, of course, being in a safer era of Formula One where you don't get injured
[12:59.720 -> 13:01.080] so often also helps.
[13:01.080 -> 13:04.520] But my word, this guy is so, so consistent.
[13:04.520 -> 13:06.020] He just, I don't remember him
[13:06.020 -> 13:10.820] making a mistake for a long long time in a critical situation in a race that is so full
[13:10.820 -> 13:15.340] marks to Max as well but with Ferrari I think Jeremy Clarkson put it very well the day you
[13:15.340 -> 13:19.060] actually want to drive your road car Ferrari it's often punctured and you don't want to
[13:19.060 -> 13:22.940] do that every single day so it's just a piece of art a piece of beauty and consistency from
[13:22.940 -> 13:25.040] beauty is never quite there but I don't know maybe it's just them piece of art, a piece of beauty and consistency from beauty is never quite there.
[13:28.400 -> 13:32.400] I don't know, maybe it's just them trying to live up to their road car image perhaps, keeping up the marketing strategy. Poor jokes aside, let's talk about Carlos Sainz because
[13:32.400 -> 13:38.000] his race was very, very interesting and strategy Kunal, I know we consistently have been rambling
[13:38.000 -> 13:43.280] on about indecision at Ferrari and I think David Croft put it best on the Sky broadcast when he
[13:43.280 -> 13:48.240] just said that Ferrari, they've forgotten to look at the screens when instructing Carlos Sainz went to pit because
[13:48.240 -> 13:54.480] he was right in the midst of a crazy battle with Sergio Perez. So that's error number one,
[13:54.480 -> 13:58.000] but some might say boxing him in the first place was error number two. Now,
[13:58.000 -> 14:02.320] I don't agree with this because it seemed like his tyres were absolutely gone. Yes,
[14:02.320 -> 14:07.400] the performance was coming back in, but it was unlikely that it would be there till
[14:07.400 -> 14:10.320] the end of the race considering how tricky the conditions were.
[14:10.320 -> 14:13.800] But was it a defeatist policy as many have been calling it?
[14:13.800 -> 14:17.480] Or do you think it is more safe from Ferrari's point of view to accept what they have that
[14:17.480 -> 14:18.480] is?
[14:18.480 -> 14:24.320] Well, their biggest mistake, even more than what the two mistakes you listed out, Samuel,
[14:24.320 -> 14:25.040] their biggest mistake
[14:25.040 -> 14:29.560] for me was when they actually misunderstood Carlos's penalty.
[14:29.560 -> 14:34.120] I couldn't believe my ears that I actually heard that.
[14:34.120 -> 14:40.000] I mean Carlos Sainz is reminding me of Sebastian Vettel at Ferrari.
[14:40.000 -> 14:46.680] These two drivers keep engineering their race at Ferrari while still racing that Ferrari and
[14:46.680 -> 14:51.960] go back 15 seconds press the button here what I said but they are race engineers just as
[14:51.960 -> 14:58.700] much as they are race drivers at Ferrari and Carlos Sainz he was very sure that he could
[14:58.700 -> 15:04.720] have gone from the back of the grid to the podium had they executed a clean race and
[15:04.720 -> 15:07.000] the clean race execution would have also
[15:07.000 -> 15:09.880] meant cleaner pit stops, which they didn't have,
[15:09.880 -> 15:13.040] and then a very, very clean pit stop release,
[15:13.040 -> 15:16.660] which was eventually the five-second stop-go penalty
[15:16.660 -> 15:17.240] that they had.
[15:17.240 -> 15:19.280] At least if you ask Ferrari, they still
[15:19.280 -> 15:21.760] thought it was a stop-go penalty when it was actually just
[15:21.760 -> 15:24.960] a five-second time penalty, someone.
[15:24.960 -> 15:25.000] It reminds me of Johnny English and his agent, not agent, penalty when it was actually just a five second time penalty.
[15:25.000 -> 15:29.880] It reminds me of Johnny English and his agent, not agent, but his assistant Buff, where Johnny
[15:29.880 -> 15:33.520] English very confidently comes up with one particular statement and Buff has to remind
[15:33.520 -> 15:38.280] him, no sir, I'm sorry, I think you're wrong about that, but except it's the driver here
[15:38.280 -> 15:39.600] doing it to the race engineers.
[15:39.600 -> 15:43.840] It's crazy how it went out, but you've got to give him credit for the way he's driven
[15:43.840 -> 15:44.840] so far this weekend.
[15:44.840 -> 15:49.520] I mean, incredible in qualifying, incredible in practice. Not that that counts, but he showed
[15:49.520 -> 15:53.360] that pace in the race as well, which makes Carlos Sainz one of my eight sleep performers
[15:53.360 -> 15:59.040] of the weekend. But at the end of the day, had it not been for that missed nine VSC,
[15:59.040 -> 16:03.520] you kind of get a feeling that it could have been third. Do you kind of agree with the same
[16:03.520 -> 16:05.920] statement, Kunal? Maybe they had more pace to go to second?
[16:07.920 -> 16:14.240] You know, I never believe that a safety car or a virtual safety car is mistimed.
[16:14.240 -> 16:18.960] It just comes out when it has to. You know, a lot of times, and Ferrari specifically have
[16:18.960 -> 16:22.400] said this before, that, oh, the safety car came out at the wrong time. Well, yes,
[16:22.400 -> 16:26.680] they are, of course, expressing it emotionally, but race control doesn't decide
[16:26.680 -> 16:31.100] Ha Charles has just crossed the pit exit. Why don't I just pit entry? Sorry
[16:31.100 -> 16:34.560] Why don't I release the safety car now and boom they press the safety car? No guys
[16:34.560 -> 16:36.100] They don't actually do that, right?
[16:36.100 -> 16:41.480] But you spoke of Carlos Sainz in qualifying his lap in Q2 was out of nowhere
[16:41.740 -> 16:44.260] so much that Helmut Marco has gone and made a statement
[16:45.120 -> 16:49.560] in Q2 was out of nowhere, so much that Helmut Marko has gone and made a statement saying if they actually make a lap like that in qualifying, then Red Bull are in trouble because he was
[16:49.560 -> 16:54.120] one second clear of the entire field out there.
[16:54.120 -> 16:59.160] But in all honesty, I was just reading the tire performance out here.
[16:59.160 -> 17:07.920] Pierre Gasly did 35 laps on the medium tire and he finished 11th. So Ferrari were in my view right to
[17:07.920 -> 17:14.960] pit Carlos Sainz because he was engaged in battle with much faster cars and had it not
[17:14.960 -> 17:20.720] been for the penalty that he actually faced maybe they would have decided differently
[17:20.720 -> 17:26.560] because what would have happened is he would have needed to finish ahead of those cars and then still have a five-second buffer and
[17:27.360 -> 17:31.280] Had he not had the five-second buffer and if he was anyway gonna finish fifth
[17:31.660 -> 17:38.360] Why not just take newer tires and then secure fifth place and see if something else opens up later on
[17:38.360 -> 17:41.560] I mean imagine if there was a safety car in the last two three laps of the race
[17:42.080 -> 17:45.280] Carlos Saenz would have been in a fantastic position
[17:45.280 -> 17:46.480] to gain more position.
[17:46.480 -> 17:49.040] So I think what Ferrari did at that time
[17:49.040 -> 17:50.200] was probably right.
[17:50.200 -> 17:52.240] It was safe to just bank in all those points
[17:52.240 -> 17:53.080] that they could.
[17:53.080 -> 17:55.800] But yes, I have spoken to a few engineers
[17:55.800 -> 17:59.880] who of course believed that they would have just kept
[17:59.880 -> 18:02.640] Sainz out and kept the podium position
[18:02.640 -> 18:09.400] because Russell and Perez were anyway fighting. So either it's done but that's what Ferrari believes and
[18:09.400 -> 18:14.160] Carlos Sainz believes that they did the right thing obviously. Now it's true that
[18:14.160 -> 18:17.580] you only criticize things very deeply if you genuinely love them and you can tell
[18:17.580 -> 18:21.680] that I'm a big Ferrari fan but the indifference the indecision I'm sorry
[18:21.680 -> 18:25.160] was a bit alarming somewhat similar to what we saw in the British GP when
[18:25.160 -> 18:29.320] Ferrari were confused about what strategy they should pick between Leclerc and Sainz.
[18:29.320 -> 18:34.600] Over here, I just got a feeling, again, everyone is a better race strategist than those at
[18:34.600 -> 18:35.600] the circuit.
[18:35.600 -> 18:37.040] It's common knowledge, we all know about that.
[18:37.040 -> 18:42.520] But perhaps if Ferrari had decided to bring Carlos Sainz in a lap or two earlier, because
[18:42.520 -> 18:48.760] they were a bit confused because Sainz said a pit for us, he said we were calculating. If anything, an earlier stop would have kind
[18:48.760 -> 18:51.780] of helped out a little bit more because then he would have had more laps to claw the gap
[18:51.780 -> 18:55.940] back in. But at the end, we saw that it was a bit too big and it didn't really matter
[18:55.940 -> 19:00.780] at the end. But yeah, perhaps that indecision, it doesn't really help out with the way things
[19:00.780 -> 19:06.560] are going. But one point you spoke about Kunal was race control deciding a good
[19:06.560 -> 19:12.720] time for VSC to get over or to begin. Now, you rightly mentioned there's no good time for a VSC,
[19:12.720 -> 19:17.920] but there is a bad time or rather a bad way to receive the news that VSC has ended because that
[19:17.920 -> 19:23.920] is exactly what happened with Sergio Perez. And my word, that had that happened for the leader
[19:23.920 -> 19:25.740] of the race, that Sergio Perez been P1 and
[19:25.740 -> 19:30.500] Russell been P2, and Perez had been caught napping, at least on the first impression,
[19:30.500 -> 19:35.120] and then it turned out that it was a VSC notice glitch on his steering wheel that cost him
[19:35.120 -> 19:37.580] the win, we would have been going bonkers.
[19:37.580 -> 19:39.580] But it's only third, so we're not as mad about it.
[19:39.580 -> 19:44.820] But generally, we should be talking more about that, because this, in a way, it feels like
[19:44.820 -> 19:46.520] Red Bull have been very, very hard done.
[19:46.520 -> 19:48.920] It's only three points, but still.
[19:48.920 -> 19:50.920] Well, it's only third and it's only Perez.
[19:50.920 -> 19:52.560] If it was third and Max was Schlappen,
[19:52.560 -> 19:54.400] maybe there would have been more noise about it
[19:54.400 -> 19:57.880] in all seriousness, but no, I think you're right.
[19:57.880 -> 20:01.000] The issue that, you know, Christian Horner spoke of,
[20:01.000 -> 20:03.680] there was a software issue at race control.
[20:03.680 -> 20:06.400] And that's why that there was this whole
[20:06.960 -> 20:13.520] discrepancy in when it actually ended because Sergio Perez said that he was given information
[20:13.520 -> 20:19.840] it would end between turns 9 and 12 and that he was just looking out for it. But eventually it
[20:19.840 -> 20:28.200] ended closer to turn 14. So what happened is he actually picked up pace only to realize that he had crossed the Delta.
[20:28.200 -> 20:30.880] So he had to slow down and that's where,
[20:30.880 -> 20:33.820] you know, George Russell got the jump on him.
[20:33.820 -> 20:37.780] But this is what, a second time that Checo Perez
[20:37.780 -> 20:39.840] has had an issue that race control has taken
[20:39.840 -> 20:43.000] over some parts of his race, I believe in Austria,
[20:43.000 -> 20:47.260] it was down to track limits, you know some half a millimeter or something that happened.
[20:47.260 -> 20:49.800] But either way, my point is that such incidents
[20:49.800 -> 20:50.640] shouldn't happen.
[20:50.640 -> 20:54.120] These just paint a darker shade
[20:54.120 -> 20:55.840] on what the FIA have been doing.
[20:55.840 -> 20:58.280] I mean, you remember Monaco of last month,
[20:58.280 -> 21:00.280] or was it two months ago now?
[21:00.280 -> 21:02.000] They couldn't get the race started
[21:02.000 -> 21:14.000] because apparently there were major fights and debates and heated debates going on at race control about whether or not to start the race in the wet conditions there were or not or what.
[21:14.000 -> 21:30.520] So in my view, Checo Perez was just undone and he was, you know, he's also being undone by Red Bull and the way they're developing their car, which is now going closer to how Max Verstappen prefers it which is where Perez is actually further away from Max and this whole conversation
[21:30.520 -> 21:35.680] around hey Perez versus Max for the Drivers' Championship is probably never going to return
[21:35.680 -> 21:37.420] this season.
[21:37.420 -> 21:41.220] Or ever because now they're going to stick with this car concept it seems like for the
[21:41.220 -> 21:42.220] next few years.
[21:42.220 -> 21:45.680] I remember this comic made by, I think it was
[21:46.480 -> 21:50.960] the Lollipop Man F1 comics was actually pretty famous all the way on social media,
[21:50.960 -> 21:55.840] where after 2021, after of course Sergio Perez helping Max Verstappen out, Sergio was like,
[21:55.840 -> 21:59.760] great Max, I'm so glad that you did this, I'm proud of you, but you're going to help me next
[21:59.760 -> 22:06.000] year, right? Right? And there's no response. And it certainly seems that way. But yeah, it really
[22:06.560 -> 22:10.880] was odd to see what happened because we all thought that Sergio Perez was caught napping,
[22:10.880 -> 22:15.200] but how could it be possible? He's so sharp, so astute while racing. But Russell might disagree
[22:15.200 -> 22:20.560] with that because of that incident that happened at the Seine chicane, or the Mistral straight
[22:20.560 -> 22:24.320] chicane. It's not the Seine chicane, the Seine corner is the one after that. But yeah, that
[22:24.320 -> 22:28.560] incident over there, Kunal. Now, everyone's talking about it, apart from race
[22:28.560 -> 22:31.840] control that is, because they straight away said, no, we're not going to discuss it.
[22:31.840 -> 22:37.280] It's a fair incident. But if you go by the doctrine that's been laid out by race control,
[22:37.280 -> 22:43.120] it says that it needs to be, I think the front end of the car ahead of the rear end of the car
[22:43.120 -> 22:46.360] that you're attacking. and Russell certainly did that.
[22:46.360 -> 22:51.160] It's clear that Russell was, it was going to be on the route of not making the corner
[22:51.160 -> 22:52.160] perfectly.
[22:52.160 -> 22:56.360] It's not the right racing line, certainly, but by the word of the rule, he was ahead
[22:56.360 -> 22:58.460] and he could have gotten that corner in place.
[22:58.460 -> 23:02.040] So what do you think about FIA not giving that place back?
[23:02.040 -> 23:05.480] And it's certainly clear that Sergio Perez didn't quite relent any advantage
[23:05.480 -> 23:07.400] because of course he let Carlos Sainz by,
[23:07.400 -> 23:08.880] but there was still around a second and a half
[23:08.880 -> 23:10.600] of a difference between him and Russell
[23:10.600 -> 23:12.320] after he let Carlos Sainz go past.
[23:12.320 -> 23:15.080] So again, was Russell hard done by at the end?
[23:15.080 -> 23:17.280] Of course, it doesn't matter now, but still.
[23:18.400 -> 23:21.520] You know, we are being hard done by Formula One,
[23:21.520 -> 23:23.520] Ferrari and FIA, if I was to say.
[23:23.520 -> 23:26.160] I mean, Ferrari is taking away all Leclerc
[23:26.160 -> 23:31.840] versus Verstappen battles that we want to see. FIA are taking away from this whole consistency
[23:31.840 -> 23:37.600] that we wish to see in race, racing approach. In my mind, I think the other way around, I think
[23:37.600 -> 23:44.320] Perez just did not have space to make that corner. Now, unfortunately, that's what happens when it's
[23:44.320 -> 23:46.200] a left-right chicane,
[23:46.200 -> 23:49.680] because like you said, Russell was finding himself
[23:49.680 -> 23:51.400] on the inside, he turned in,
[23:51.400 -> 23:54.200] but hey, the corner that he came to,
[23:54.200 -> 23:55.920] which was the right-hander after that,
[23:55.920 -> 23:58.800] there was literally no space for Checo Perez
[23:58.800 -> 24:02.380] to make the corner, so it could be argued either way.
[24:02.380 -> 24:04.040] And at the end of the day,
[24:04.040 -> 24:10.880] I just take it for what it is at that moment because hey, I'm not racing. I'm not the one who's disadvantaged or not
[24:11.120 -> 24:17.660] But yes all of this including track limits including, you know, I hope that there is
[24:18.360 -> 24:22.960] Light at the end of the tunnel because you know Mick Schumacher in qualifying
[24:22.960 -> 24:26.880] he put up a fantastic lap in Q1 to go P10
[24:27.440 -> 24:32.560] and then he said he was probably one or two millimeters off he said yes that's the ruling
[24:32.560 -> 24:37.600] right now and I accept it I appreciate you know how he was funny in his Instagram post as well
[24:37.600 -> 24:45.920] where he said track limits one MSC zero but he said at the end of the day in Formula One, we shouldn't be debating and discussing
[24:45.920 -> 24:51.120] track limits down to that much of a margin because he said when you're on a quick lap
[24:51.120 -> 24:55.600] and you guys know the rest of it. But yeah, track limits, Somal.
[24:55.600 -> 24:59.200] I like it. I like it. I like it because I'm not a racing driver.
[24:59.200 -> 25:02.480] I like it because I can just sit back from the outside and say that,
[25:02.480 -> 25:08.560] yeah, it's a black and white rule and all rules should be black and white and things are great. But I suppose it depends
[25:08.560 -> 25:12.480] on who you are and what position you watch the race from, because seriously, if you're
[25:12.480 -> 25:16.160] racing in it, I kind of get their point as well, because it's so hard to see out of the
[25:16.160 -> 25:20.320] Formula One car. It's so hard to judge where your front wing is, where your left tyre is,
[25:20.320 -> 25:24.160] and so to actually tell if you've crossed the line or not, especially in a corner like
[25:24.160 -> 25:30.080] Turn 10 in Austria, which was the major point of contention last week. But if anything, what else can you do,
[25:30.080 -> 25:34.160] right? You can't have a moving goalpost. Fair enough, white line is what it is. And I think
[25:34.160 -> 25:38.080] the FIA were doing a decent job at policing that all the way through. If anything, I was just
[25:38.080 -> 25:41.840] slightly sad that they didn't show all the warnings this weekend because we just heard
[25:41.840 -> 25:45.640] some drivers getting two warnings and then that was conveyed by the team radio.
[25:45.640 -> 25:50.320] And just the fun of getting all those messages on the broadcast immediately was kind of interesting
[25:50.320 -> 25:54.680] because you were always on your toes thinking, oh, well, another mistake and certain driver
[25:54.680 -> 25:56.560] could have a penalty or something quite like that.
[25:56.560 -> 26:01.760] So that was interesting, but in general, very consistent, very great, just like Max Verstappen
[26:01.760 -> 26:02.760] and Kunal.
[26:02.760 -> 26:05.280] The way these guys are pushing ahead, I never would have
[26:05.280 -> 26:10.240] thought that Red Bull would not even make a single mistake and that kind of buffer of making one big
[26:10.240 -> 26:14.960] mistake per season is still in their bag halfway through. So that's kind of incredible the way
[26:14.960 -> 26:22.400] Ferrari are doing. Now, Red Bull are racing this moment. Max Verstappen had a super chilled Sunday
[26:22.400 -> 26:26.400] drive. These are not my words, these are words of Lewis Hamilton.
[26:26.400 -> 26:28.740] He said, I was really pushing behind him
[26:28.740 -> 26:31.340] and Max was having a super chilled Sunday drive
[26:31.340 -> 26:32.340] and that's what he did.
[26:32.340 -> 26:37.040] He was of course at the start chasing down Charles Leclerc.
[26:37.040 -> 26:38.720] Like I said, hats off to both of them
[26:38.720 -> 26:43.720] for not succumbing to pressure in the heat of that battle.
[26:43.760 -> 26:48.340] But I think the minute Charles went off
[26:48.340 -> 26:51.180] and he was told that Charles is doing okay,
[26:51.180 -> 26:52.840] I believe he just said, you know what,
[26:52.840 -> 26:55.280] let me just bank in the points I can.
[26:55.280 -> 26:58.060] And a couple of people I spoke to were surprised
[26:58.060 -> 27:00.300] that he didn't go for the fastest lap of the race point.
[27:00.300 -> 27:05.000] But I guess that would have been impossible to battle,
[27:05.000 -> 27:10.000] especially with signs on what 10 or 11 lap old rubber
[27:11.360 -> 27:16.120] as compared to Verstappen with 37 lap old hard tire.
[27:16.120 -> 27:19.080] So to me, Max Verstappen, this was one of the easiest moves,
[27:19.080 -> 27:23.760] easiest races he's had since the last easy race he had
[27:23.760 -> 27:27.640] after Charles Leclerc and Ferrari had a retirement
[27:27.640 -> 27:28.480] or a driver era.
[27:28.480 -> 27:31.880] I believe Azerbaijan is something that comes to my mind.
[27:31.880 -> 27:33.800] Spain is what comes to my mind.
[27:33.800 -> 27:36.820] And F1 stats guru, he's not there on this show,
[27:36.820 -> 27:40.000] but his stats are very much with us.
[27:40.000 -> 27:44.640] Red Bull Racing are now on an 11 race streak of podiums,
[27:44.640 -> 27:49.360] their best streak since 2013.
[27:49.360 -> 27:52.440] And you already read out the most important stat
[27:52.440 -> 27:56.740] that Verstappen overturned a gap of 46 points
[27:56.740 -> 28:01.280] and that no driver has ever overcome a deficit
[28:01.280 -> 28:03.240] bigger than 44 points.
[28:03.240 -> 28:07.920] So that's pretty incredible, right? I wish I could
[28:07.920 -> 28:12.960] have that sort of ability to constantly be there at the top in my college
[28:12.960 -> 28:15.640] lectures because that way I wouldn't have to sit for every single one of them
[28:15.640 -> 28:19.180] but I would get attendance for every one because whenever you ask, oh well, Max
[28:19.180 -> 28:24.040] Verstappen, top performance? Present, sir. Always. He's never ever off the mark. It's
[28:24.040 -> 28:25.400] incredible but it seems like Mercedes aren never ever off the mark. It's incredible. But it seems
[28:25.400 -> 28:30.240] like Mercedes aren't getting to the mark because this weekend, if you look at it on paper,
[28:30.240 -> 28:35.440] it's their best result of the season, isn't it? Second and third. They, of course, scored
[28:35.440 -> 28:38.520] the most points that they possibly could have and it seemed like they are on the right direction.
[28:38.520 -> 28:43.800] But we know after watching the race that there's still a little bit of things to kind of work
[28:43.800 -> 28:45.440] out for them, maybe just a half a tenth
[28:45.440 -> 28:51.040] here or there, but encouraging science, not perfect, but it's a step in the right direction.
[28:51.040 -> 28:57.200] And I certainly think that if Ferrari continue on their tirade of self-destruction, Mercedes could
[28:57.200 -> 29:01.520] actually end up getting second, if of course, it turns out to be extremely destructive. At this
[29:01.520 -> 29:08.560] moment, it seems unlikely, but if they go all guns blazing and sort of hampering their own season, Ferrari that is, Mercedes could be there because they
[29:08.560 -> 29:12.640] scored the most points that they possibly could in the season. They've never really dropped any.
[29:14.880 -> 29:18.960] Now, that's a very bold thing to say. But yes, it could be possible. Like you said,
[29:20.080 -> 29:25.520] Ferrari are closer to Mercedes in the Constructors' Championship than they are to Ferrari.
[29:25.520 -> 29:29.440] And likewise, Leclerc is closer to Perez.
[29:29.440 -> 29:31.040] I think seven points is the gap.
[29:31.040 -> 29:34.080] Then he is, of course, to Max Verstappen.
[29:34.080 -> 29:35.200] So let's see where that goes.
[29:35.200 -> 29:40.160] But, you know, in my view, Mercedes got their best result of the season ever.
[29:40.160 -> 29:42.560] Double podium, all of those things.
[29:42.560 -> 29:44.960] You know, Lewis's fourth podium on a streak.
[29:45.600 -> 29:49.360] First time that a Mercedes car finished second, great stuff.
[29:49.360 -> 29:51.200] But in all honesty,
[29:51.200 -> 29:53.560] and this is where I'm gonna quote Toto Wolff,
[29:53.560 -> 29:57.260] he said, we have a fantastic racing car,
[29:57.260 -> 30:00.520] we need to improve our qualifying car.
[30:00.520 -> 30:02.320] Because in qualifying,
[30:02.320 -> 30:06.120] there was almost nine tenths separating Leclerc and
[30:06.120 -> 30:10.900] Hamilton and that is madness and even if you were to take away the couple of
[30:10.900 -> 30:16.140] tenths that Leclerc got with the tow from Carlos Sainz it is still seven
[30:16.140 -> 30:22.940] tenths in qualifying at a track that is supposed to suit Mercedes so to me great
[30:22.940 -> 30:25.580] result but not great performance
[30:25.580 -> 30:29.240] from the reigning world constructors champions.
[30:29.240 -> 30:33.680] And I'm just interested to see what and which race next
[30:33.680 -> 30:37.140] will they actually be back in the fight, if at all, in 2022.
[30:37.140 -> 30:39.540] And one more thing about Mercedes.
[30:39.540 -> 30:42.580] With the upgrades that McLaren brought this weekend,
[30:42.580 -> 30:45.660] Mercedes now are the only team on this, you know,
[30:45.660 -> 30:49.020] different sideboard configuration, right?
[30:49.020 -> 30:51.540] And they believe that they're going to continue
[30:51.540 -> 30:52.660] going down this road.
[30:52.660 -> 30:54.300] And I think that's a very smart thing to do
[30:54.300 -> 30:56.380] because whether they switch or not,
[30:56.380 -> 30:58.720] they don't believe it's going to affect their competitiveness.
[30:58.720 -> 31:02.180] So, hey, I'd rather try something new and finish third
[31:02.180 -> 31:06.400] than go back to knowing what we already know and still finishing
[31:06.400 -> 31:14.320] third so let's just see how these zero parts and you know eventually develop. I'm so curious because
[31:14.320 -> 31:18.720] we all know that there's a good car in there but the question is when and you really can't fault
[31:18.720 -> 31:23.920] the drivers for what they're doing so far this year they're pushing extremely hard and their
[31:23.920 -> 31:25.280] performances have been incredible.
[31:25.280 -> 31:29.680] Russell may be a bit too hard this weekend as we have discussed of course and that ruling
[31:29.680 -> 31:34.960] going in the favour of Sergio Perez eventually at the end but the point is they are pushing
[31:34.960 -> 31:40.320] that team hard and Mercedes and the back end also. They are developing a few upgrades here
[31:40.320 -> 31:43.440] and there that seem like they're working in the right direction but it's a bit too much of a gap
[31:43.440 -> 31:47.360] to bridge right now so it's hard to tell when they'll be back in there. So it's just a waiting
[31:47.360 -> 31:51.440] game for all of us right now just as it is for all the drivers but it was also fun to listen to
[31:51.440 -> 31:57.360] Toto Wolf come on the radio to calm Russell down because he was actually doing what many might call
[31:57.360 -> 32:01.360] or facing what many might call the Hamilton syndrome, complaining on the radio in the midst
[32:01.360 -> 32:05.200] of a battle. So the old wise head of Total Wars coming in to calm
[32:05.200 -> 32:09.120] matters down. That was also interesting. Not once, not twice. I think thrice he was on the radio,
[32:09.120 -> 32:16.800] wasn't he? Yes, he was. And you know, Lewis Hamilton is now on a four race streak of finishing
[32:16.800 -> 32:22.080] ahead of George Russell. Of course, at Silverstone, George Russell did not finish, but that still
[32:22.080 -> 32:28.840] counts as finishing ahead of George Russell in my view. So it was this 300th race, he came second. He actually said I
[32:28.840 -> 32:33.560] was so grateful that I came second. He had a drinks bottle issue so he actually
[32:33.560 -> 32:37.240] did not drink throughout the French Grand Prix and he said you know
[32:37.240 -> 32:41.240] typically I do not drink water but the one race I actually wanted to drink
[32:41.240 -> 32:48.340] water it did not work for me. But yes, overall, like I said, you know, good, uh, result,
[32:48.360 -> 32:50.960] not the greatest of performances overall.
[32:50.960 -> 32:52.840] When you consider Mercedes-SAMUEL.
[32:54.100 -> 32:54.480] Indeed.
[32:54.480 -> 32:54.720] Yes.
[32:54.720 -> 32:58.080] But talking about good performances, we just have to talk about Fernando
[32:58.080 -> 33:02.520] Alonso perpetually there at the top of the midfield P6 for him.
[33:02.600 -> 33:04.840] Esteban Ocon comes home in eighth in his own race.
[33:04.840 -> 33:05.000] That's
[33:05.000 -> 33:09.800] a total of 12 points for Alpine this weekend. But, Kunal, interestingly enough, as you rightly
[33:09.800 -> 33:14.880] mentioned McLaren are on their way as well. They've got new upgrades. Things look brighter.
[33:14.880 -> 33:20.260] And in this particular weekend, Norris wasn't quite there for sure, but Ricciaro was definitely
[33:20.260 -> 33:23.520] able to match it up a little bit here and there with the likes of Esteban Ocon. So I
[33:23.520 -> 33:27.680] just get a feeling that this Alpine solo run has been derailed for the better for all
[33:27.680 -> 33:33.040] of us because we now get to see Fernando Alonso fighting with a representative car apart from
[33:33.040 -> 33:36.320] his teammate and that is always a fun recipe for entertainment.
[33:36.320 -> 33:38.120] I mean, who doesn't like it?
[33:38.120 -> 33:40.180] Yeah, he made a great start.
[33:40.180 -> 33:44.660] He was, you know, all the way up to P5 till everybody else took their positions ahead
[33:44.660 -> 33:45.520] of him.
[33:50.320 -> 33:55.040] And I loved Alonso. I mean, I've said this every race. It was Alpine's home race. So, you know, Alonso was extra charged as well. But all in all, I loved how he was like,
[33:55.040 -> 33:59.280] yeah, yeah, let the McLarens come closer to me. I wanted them to kill their tires. So,
[33:59.280 -> 34:09.160] again, just so much of presence of mind, which pretty much every driver shows but we just appreciated a little more when it comes to drivers like Sainz or Alonso or
[34:09.160 -> 34:14.920] Sebastian Vettel or the likes of him. But another team which I was really hoping a
[34:14.920 -> 34:20.300] lot more from was Haas because Kevin Magnussen could get in all the way up to
[34:20.300 -> 34:27.000] Q3 but then he had the penalty and then Mick Schumacher, again, a very quick lap and qualifying was taken away.
[34:27.000 -> 34:32.480] Apparently, it seems that they had very high degradation, which is why they were one of
[34:32.480 -> 34:33.760] the first teams to beat.
[34:33.760 -> 34:38.200] Their mediums were short within the first eight or nine laps of the race, which is why
[34:38.200 -> 34:39.200] they actually came in.
[34:39.200 -> 34:49.360] So they were literally going to be committing to a two stopper come what may. And now, uh, the other team that we should talk about, Sommel and, uh, you know,
[34:49.360 -> 34:54.400] Alpha Romeo, uh, Botas is now on his worst
[34:54.480 -> 34:59.040] pointless streak of three races since his rookie season in
[34:59.040 -> 35:04.440] 2013. Wow. Thank you, Mr. F on Stats Guru.
[35:08.000 -> 35:13.560] I know Botas won't be thanking him for that particular number. Absurd how things have gone about and it's just a bad turn
[35:13.560 -> 35:16.940] of events for Alfa Romeo because the pace also seemed to be lacking. They
[35:16.940 -> 35:21.080] seem to be back in 2021 mode unfortunately so far this weekend and we
[35:21.080 -> 35:24.600] also had Joe Guan Yu involved in that crazy accident with Mick Schumacher
[35:24.600 -> 35:29.840] towards the end of the race as well. So things are just not going in their direction anywhere. So I don't
[35:29.840 -> 35:34.640] know what it's going to be all about. With Haas, we can certainly tell that the pace could potentially
[35:34.640 -> 35:39.280] be on the rise because it's going to be the end of Haas's upgrade-less run because they're going
[35:39.280 -> 35:43.440] to get upgrades next weekend in Hungary and we should talk about that later in the Hungary GP
[35:43.440 -> 35:47.760] preview. But with Alfa Romeo Canal, I just don't know.
[35:47.760 -> 35:49.280] Do they have more upgrades coming in?
[35:49.280 -> 35:50.600] There's no word from them.
[35:50.600 -> 35:52.700] There's no excitement or buzz about that.
[35:52.700 -> 35:56.560] It just seems to be a bit of a slump and not just in fortunes, but also in pace it seems
[35:56.560 -> 35:57.560] like this weekend.
[35:57.560 -> 36:01.280] So could be a rocky ride ahead as we head towards Hungary and towards the later part
[36:01.280 -> 36:02.280] of the preseason.
[36:02.280 -> 36:08.440] But I just can't believe we're halfway through. This battle is just really edging towards Verstappen,
[36:08.440 -> 36:10.920] but I just saw Giraffine in the second half.
[36:10.920 -> 36:12.480] It could be a little bit better,
[36:12.480 -> 36:14.920] but about this whole weekend, if you have to sum it up,
[36:14.920 -> 36:16.200] what would you use to describe it?
[36:16.200 -> 36:17.400] One word, if you had to.
[36:18.320 -> 36:22.120] Lacking, that's the word I would use to describe
[36:22.120 -> 36:24.840] this weekend for everything that we spoke about
[36:24.840 -> 36:26.280] in the last 30 odd minutes.
[36:26.280 -> 36:30.600] I don't need to really sum it up, do I?
[36:30.600 -> 36:35.240] Fair enough, but I hope that this episode wasn't lacking in quality and wasn't lacking
[36:35.240 -> 36:37.240] in the points that you wanted to hear about.
[36:37.240 -> 36:39.840] And if it wasn't, folks, you know exactly what to do.
[36:39.840 -> 36:43.880] Subscribe to the Insideline F1 podcast, share this particular episode with all your friends
[36:43.880 -> 36:49.280] and family members who love Formula One, and don't forget to tune in, no wait, you can't tune
[36:49.280 -> 36:52.960] into a digital episode can you, so don't forget to log in, but that doesn't make any sense,
[36:52.960 -> 36:57.840] don't forget to be here next time on Thursday when we record the Hungarian GP preview coming
[36:57.840 -> None] up very very soon. So thanks for listening, thanks for watching, see you folks, buh-bye. you