The Prancing Bulls Win Ferrari's Race Again - 2022 Azerbaijan GP Review

The 2022 Azerbaijan Grand Prix was dramatic - but it didn't offer the kind of drama we normally associate with the Baku City Circuit. High speed battles, overtakes and so on. 

The highlight of the race was Ferrari's double DNF (their first since 2020) followed by most retirements by Ferrari-powered teams. After starting the season strongly, the Scuderia now trail Red Bull Racing by 80 points in the Constructors' Championship. 

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 of the Inside Line F1 Podcast, Soumil and Kunal review the 2022 Azerbaijan Grand Prix; a race that wasn't as Baku-esque as we would've hoped. Red Bull was in such control over the race that Max Verstappen and his race engineer were discussing how slow they could drive to the finish line.

@F1StatsGuru aka Sundaram does his thing too - mind-boggling stats that defined the 2022 Azerbaijan Grand Prix.

"The Monegasque has taken pole in each of the last four races but has failed to win any of them. The last driver to do so was Juan Pablo Montoya for Williams in 2002"

But how did Sergio Perez lose the lead after snatching it at the start from Charles Leclerc? It was a race of tyre strategy - Ferrari opting to pit under VSC (courtesy: Caros Sainz) while Red Bull opting to stay out.

Also, Mclaren's team orders, Mercedes' porpoising, AlphaTauri's recovery, Sebastian Vettel's rallying ways to his season's best finish & more.

(Season 2022, Episode 34)

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

Image courtesy: Mercedes

**Grid Review**

* **Max Verstappen**: Qualified P3 but started P2 due to Leclerc's penalty. Drove a controlled race, managing his tires and fuel to take the victory.
* **Sergio Perez**: Started on pole but lost the lead to Leclerc at the start. Made a mistake on lap 11, allowing Verstappen to pass him. Struggled with tire degradation in the second half of the race and finished P2.
* **Charles Leclerc**: Started P1 but dropped to P2 at the start after being overtaken by Perez. Pitted under the VSC on lap 9 for hard tires. Retired on lap 20 with a hydraulic issue.
* **Carlos Sainz**: Started P4 but retired on lap 14 with a hydraulic issue.
* **George Russell**: Started P5 and finished P3. Drove a strong race, making up positions on the opening lap and then managing his tires well.
* **Lewis Hamilton**: Started P7 and finished P4. Complained of back pain throughout the race but still managed to score points.
* **Lando Norris**: Started P12 and finished P9. Overtook Daniel Ricciardo on lap 12 and then held off Fernando Alonso to score points.
* **Daniel Ricciardo**: Started P11 and finished P8. Was ordered to let Norris past on lap 12 but then repassed him on lap 17. Suffered from tire degradation in the second half of the race.
* **Fernando Alonso**: Started P10 and finished P7. Made a good start and ran in the top 10 for most of the race.
* **Pierre Gasly**: Started P8 and finished P5. Drove a strong race, making up positions on the opening lap and then holding off Yuki Tsunoda.

**Key Moments**

* **Lap 1**: Leclerc gets a good start and takes the lead from Perez. Verstappen also makes a good start and moves up to P2.
* **Lap 11**: Perez pits for hard tires under the VSC. Verstappen stays out.
* **Lap 14**: Sainz retires with a hydraulic issue.
* **Lap 20**: Leclerc retires with a hydraulic issue.
* **Lap 36**: Ricciardo is ordered to let Norris past.
* **Lap 40**: Ricciardo repasses Norris.
* **Lap 50**: Verstappen wins the race, followed by Perez and Russell.

**Post-Race**

* **Verstappen**: "It was a tough race, but we managed to control it well. The car was really good today, so I'm happy with the win."
* **Perez**: "I'm disappointed with P2, but I made a mistake on lap 11 that cost me the lead. The car was good, but we need to work on our tire management."
* **Leclerc**: "I'm gutted to retire from the race. We had a good car today and I was confident of winning. We need to investigate the hydraulic issue and make sure it doesn't happen again."
* **Sainz**: "It's a shame to retire from the race, but we had a problem with the hydraulics. We'll work on fixing it and come back stronger in Canada."
* **Russell**: "I'm happy with P3. The car was good today and we made the right strategy calls. We're making progress and I'm confident we can challenge for wins soon."
* **Hamilton**: "I'm glad to finish the race, but I'm in a lot of pain. My back is killing me. We need to find a solution to this problem."
* **Norris**: "I'm happy with P9. The car was good today and we made the right strategy calls. I'm looking forward to Canada."
* **Ricciardo**: "I'm happy to score points, but I'm disappointed with the way the race played out. I was ordered to let Lando past, but then I repassed him. We need to work on our communication."
* **Alonso**: "I'm happy with P7. The car was good today and we made the right strategy calls. I'm looking forward to Canada."
* **Gasly**: "I'm happy with P5. The car was good today and we made the right strategy calls. I'm looking forward to Canada."

**Conclusion**

The Azerbaijan Grand Prix was a dramatic race, with plenty of retirements and overtakes. Verstappen took a comfortable victory, while Perez and Russell completed the podium. Leclerc and Sainz both retired with hydraulic issues, while Hamilton struggled with back pain. The midfield battle was also close, with Gasly, Norris, Alonso, and Ricciardo all scoring points.

# Inside Line F1 Podcast: 2022 Azerbaijan Grand Prix Review

The 2022 Azerbaijan Grand Prix was a dramatic race, marked by Ferrari's double DNF and subsequent retirements by Ferrari-powered teams. This resulted in Red Bull Racing extending their lead in the Constructors' Championship by 80 points.

## Race Highlights

* Max Verstappen dominated the race, leading from start to finish and controlling the pace.
* Sergio Perez lost the lead to Charles Leclerc at the start but regained it after a strategic pit stop under VSC.
* McLaren employed team orders, instructing Lando Norris to let Daniel Ricciardo pass for better tire strategy.
* Mercedes continued to struggle with porpoising, affecting driver comfort and performance.
* AlphaTauri showed signs of recovery with Pierre Gasly finishing in the points.
* Sebastian Vettel achieved his best finish of the season, demonstrating his rallying skills.

## Key Insights and Perspectives

* Red Bull Racing's dominance raises questions about the competitiveness of the field.
* Ferrari's double DNF highlights the reliability issues plaguing the team.
* Mercedes' ongoing porpoising problems emphasize the need for driver safety and long-term health considerations.
* The debate surrounding pit stop regulations and driver health continues, with teams divided on potential solutions.
* The Azerbaijan Grand Prix showcased the importance of strategic decision-making and adaptability in Formula One racing.

## Notable Quotes

* "The Monegasque has taken pole in each of the last four races but has failed to win any of them. The last driver to do so was Juan Pablo Montoya for Williams in 2002." - @F1StatsGuru

* "It's only that you have to sacrifice lap time for it. And I don't think Formula One should pass a regulation, per se, where everyone needs to have a comfortable dynamite." - Soumil Arora

* "But when you see through interviews or in the driver's pan, you saw somebody even like Daniel Ricciardo trying to get himself a good twist in his back and Pierre Gasly was asking around for a massage and the likes." - Kunal Shah

## Overall Message

The 2022 Azerbaijan Grand Prix was a race of mixed fortunes, with Red Bull Racing asserting their dominance while Ferrari faced setbacks. The ongoing discussions about porpoising and driver health highlight the need for a balanced approach that prioritizes safety without compromising the essence of Formula One racing.

[00:00.000 -> 00:24.080] Now back in the old days there used to be this one prevailing ideology in the world
[00:24.080 -> 00:27.100] of motorsport. It was race on Sunday and sell on Monday
[00:27.260 -> 00:29.540] But considering that in the modern times
[00:29.540 -> 00:34.540] How many cars would you think that Ferrari would sell in the in the world of Formula One or just around the world?
[00:34.540 -> 00:37.320] In fact this whole weekend after what's happened in Azerbaijan?
[00:37.460 -> 00:38.440] Think about that
[00:38.440 -> 00:44.020] But that's not the major question that we're going to answer this weekend on the inside line of one podcast because there's so much of
[00:44.020 -> 00:50.160] other stuff to talk about including who do we think would have won this race and why did Sergio Perez not end up
[00:50.160 -> 00:54.080] winning this one because he was the one who had the track position beforehand didn't he so more
[00:54.080 -> 00:58.960] on that more on Mercedes and Porpoise and what exactly is going on who are our eight sleep
[00:58.960 -> 01:03.920] performers of the weekend and also we have a special stats review segment from F1 stats crew
[01:03.920 -> 01:09.400] coming up right here on the Azerbaijan GP review on the inside line F1 podcast and pitch the podium.
[01:09.400 -> 01:10.400] Let's begin.
[01:10.400 -> 01:13.220] Hey folks, welcome back in.
[01:13.220 -> 01:14.480] My name is Somal Arora.
[01:14.480 -> 01:19.000] I am joined by Kunal Shah, the former marketing head of the force India F1 team.
[01:19.000 -> 01:22.640] Baku Kunal, Baku, that's all I have to say.
[01:22.640 -> 01:23.960] I love this place.
[01:23.960 -> 01:26.240] It just ends up producing so much
[01:26.240 -> 01:30.680] of drama at all times and I suppose it has created another sense of drama in
[01:30.680 -> 01:34.280] the Ferrari boardroom right now because how do you even handle a situation like
[01:34.280 -> 01:41.960] this? Firstly I have to ask you is it really well done Baku? Let's go ahead and
[01:41.960 -> 01:49.320] rate the race. There we are. I knew this was coming at some point, but no, to be honest, a solid seven
[01:49.320 -> 01:54.240] in my opinion. It could have done more. We could have had some more drama towards the
[01:54.240 -> 01:57.440] end. It would have, of course, been lovely to see Charles Leclerc competing and we shall
[01:57.440 -> 02:02.280] discuss more on what would have happened had he not TNF'd. But yeah, seven for me, pretty
[02:02.280 -> 02:05.960] much decent in a way. It's not a boring way to spend two hours,
[02:05.960 -> 02:07.560] but what would you rank it as?
[02:08.560 -> 02:11.400] Well, I would rank it as a low three
[02:11.400 -> 02:14.360] or just about reaching a four,
[02:14.360 -> 02:18.300] because there was a race with no red flags.
[02:18.300 -> 02:23.300] Berne Maylander, the driver who normally participates
[02:23.760 -> 02:27.320] in the race in Baku with an 80% probability.
[02:27.320 -> 02:30.920] That's how high the safety car probability was.
[02:30.920 -> 02:32.320] There was no safety car.
[02:32.320 -> 02:34.720] And of course, I don't mean to say that we need safety cars
[02:34.720 -> 02:37.160] to sort of add things to the mix
[02:37.160 -> 02:38.260] and make it more entertaining.
[02:38.260 -> 02:43.260] But to me, it just seemed that the race was lacking
[02:43.260 -> 02:44.500] a little bit.
[02:44.500 -> 03:05.480] And then of course, lacking a lot after the Ferraris had, you know, disappeared from the scene. I mean, there was one point of time where GP and Max Verstappen were discussing things like, okay, maybe you shouldn't use the DRS. And okay, Max, maybe you should drive. Let's discuss how slow can we drive and still win the Azerbaijan Grand Prix right and
[03:05.480 -> 03:09.680] there is an old saying in the world of motorsport and I love it it's it's like
[03:09.680 -> 03:15.640] winning the race at the slowest possible pace and that's what Max Verstappen did
[03:15.640 -> 03:21.160] with his you know with his teammate Sergio Perez in number two at the race
[03:21.160 -> 03:28.960] yesterday so that's where my rating also stands. Yeah but critically he was slow but not slow enough because he ended up passing
[03:28.960 -> 03:32.660] Sergio Perez and we shall come to Ferrari in a minute Kunal but it's a
[03:32.660 -> 03:36.320] very interesting question that's just bobbling around in my mind about why
[03:36.320 -> 03:40.880] did Sergio Perez not end up winning this race and believe it or not from all the
[03:40.880 -> 03:44.320] reports that are coming out from all the journalists and from all the experts of
[03:44.320 -> 03:47.080] sorts in the world everyone is saying or rather at least
[03:47.080 -> 03:51.640] inclining towards the fact that Sergio Perez cooked up his tyres. Sergio Perez
[03:51.640 -> 03:56.840] of all people, that is bonkers the way that's happening. Would you kind of say
[03:56.840 -> 03:59.520] that this is something that really happened because his pace in the second
[03:59.520 -> 04:05.740] half of the race really seemed to dip down badly. I would say that's exactly what happened.
[04:05.740 -> 04:08.740] Firstly, you know, the VSC that was deployed,
[04:08.740 -> 04:11.240] he wanted to put in the VSC.
[04:11.240 -> 04:15.160] Red Bull wanted him to put PIT in the first VSC, right?
[04:15.160 -> 04:19.500] But what happened is the message to him came a second too late.
[04:19.500 -> 04:23.700] He had already crossed the PIT entry lane.
[04:23.700 -> 04:25.880] So then he couldn't end up coming and he actually
[04:25.880 -> 04:30.120] said post race that it was a miscommunication why we actually did not
[04:30.120 -> 04:34.920] pit under the VSC right so that's the first thing that happened. The second
[04:34.920 -> 04:40.160] thing that happened Sommel was that he actually ran at a very very fast pace in
[04:40.160 -> 04:45.000] the opening laps because he wanted to break away from Charles's DRS.
[04:45.000 -> 04:49.520] So I think by the fourth lap or something, he was two point something seconds ahead.
[04:49.520 -> 04:51.400] So he really built up that gap.
[04:51.760 -> 04:56.680] And then when that VSC happened, he cooled his tires down a little too much,
[04:57.120 -> 05:02.440] which is why he ended up not having the tires when he needed to have them,
[05:02.440 -> 05:11.080] and which is where the pace drop came in and which is also where Red Bull chose to just go ahead and win the race with Max Verstappen because
[05:11.080 -> 05:16.400] they said we're going to have a one-two race finish, especially at a time when Ferrari
[05:16.400 -> 05:17.960] are not finishing.
[05:17.960 -> 05:23.760] And of course, Verstappen being ahead of Perez is great for the championship, especially
[05:23.760 -> 05:28.300] with a whole number one, number two driver you know at least at the Red Bull end but that's
[05:28.300 -> 05:33.260] pretty much what happened with Checo Perez and mind you he actually snatched
[05:33.260 -> 05:38.360] the race lead from Charles Leclerc right at the very beginning of the race I
[05:38.360 -> 05:43.360] think he made a fantastic start to take the lead. I think it's probably the first
[05:43.360 -> 05:46.120] time that I ever saw Sergio Perez leading lap one of
[05:46.120 -> 05:47.120] a race.
[05:47.120 -> 05:49.120] I was like, hey, Checo, come on, let's do this.
[05:49.120 -> 05:52.440] But by the time we came to the middle of the race, that kind of faded out.
[05:52.440 -> 05:55.960] And of course, there's a sense of excitement attached to Checo because he doesn't win that
[05:55.960 -> 05:56.960] much.
[05:56.960 -> 06:00.560] It's not that I don't like Max Verstappen, but the point is, there was a certain novelty
[06:00.560 -> 06:02.420] around it that suddenly faded away.
[06:02.420 -> 06:09.280] But I was wondering at some point, and this discussion popped up between myself and my dad, because both of Sergio Perez's stops
[06:09.280 -> 06:13.680] again 2 seconds longer than what they were ideally meant to be. Perez at the end also
[06:13.680 -> 06:18.600] was told no fighting. Now on plain observation that might look like team orders, but there
[06:18.600 -> 06:23.560] was more to it Kunal, because as we discussed his pace was certainly being compromised and
[06:23.560 -> 06:26.000] had Leclerc been there on track,
[06:26.000 -> 06:28.040] it would have been better to have someone shielding off,
[06:28.040 -> 06:31.000] because Perez at the end, his performance dropped off badly.
[06:31.000 -> 06:35.120] He was, what, 17 seconds off at the end or something?
[06:35.120 -> 06:35.640] Yes, he did.
[06:35.640 -> 06:37.760] And after a point, they were just cruising around
[06:37.760 -> 06:39.480] bringing their cars home.
[06:39.480 -> 06:42.840] And we should also discuss why Perez
[06:42.840 -> 06:45.960] wanted to pit under the VSC, why the Ferrari is actually
[06:45.960 -> 06:51.120] pit under the VSC, because what the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, you know, what was happening at
[06:51.120 -> 06:57.920] that point of time when the VSC happened is suddenly we had the top two teams using different
[06:57.920 -> 07:01.200] race strategies to try and win the race.
[07:01.200 -> 07:06.720] Red Bull choosing to not pit under the VSC, whereas Ferrari choosing to
[07:06.720 -> 07:11.640] pit under the VSC. So clearly it was like, okay, which strategy is eventually going to
[07:11.640 -> 07:18.400] give the race win? And, you know, pitting under the VSC would have meant saving 10 seconds
[07:18.400 -> 07:23.120] of stoppage time, which in Formula 1 terms is extremely high. And that's what Charles
[07:23.120 -> 07:27.160] Leclerc wanted to do, or sorry, Charles Leclerc did do and Perez wanted
[07:27.160 -> 07:28.160] to do.
[07:28.160 -> 07:33.260] Now, this is also probably a good place to ask why Max Verstappen actually didn't end
[07:33.260 -> 07:40.080] up pitting under the VSC because Max was trying to attack Charles in the opening stages of
[07:40.080 -> 07:47.280] the race, but he was not able to make a move despite the Red Bull having higher speeds at the
[07:47.280 -> 07:56.880] end of that massive long straight sommel. So had Max also pitted under the VSC behind Charles Leclerc,
[07:56.880 -> 08:00.960] there's a good chance he would have just been chasing Leclerc eventually throughout the whole
[08:00.960 -> 08:09.000] race and not been able to make that move, which is why Red Bull actually told Max to do the opposite of what Charles did,
[08:09.000 -> 08:15.000] to try and give him a tire offset, to try and give him a different strategy to jump Charles Leclerc.
[08:15.000 -> 08:20.000] Now, of course, by the end of it all, by the end of lap 20,
[08:20.000 -> 08:25.360] it didn't really matter what strategy Red Bull was on and what strategy Ferrari employed
[08:26.160 -> 08:33.160] Because we literally did not have a race at our hands and for once it seemed like Ferrari did make the right call
[08:33.840 -> 08:35.800] bringing Charles in
[08:35.800 -> 08:41.720] You know at the first VSC although Samuel I think I think maybe you have a different view on that. Don't you?
[08:41.960 -> 08:48.300] Yeah, did they because when you judge how the other drivers around Charles Leclerc performed, I mean,
[08:48.300 -> 08:52.800] drivers who also had a similar strategy per se, it seems hard to really tell that if you
[08:52.800 -> 08:57.100] would have won the race, again, it would have been better if we saw this on track.
[08:57.100 -> 09:02.800] It's of course, not as objective to speculate, but hear me out for a second because Pierre
[09:02.800 -> 09:04.500] Gasly also pitted at the same time.
[09:04.500 -> 09:07.660] We also had Lewis Hamilton, George Russell, Sebastian Vettel.
[09:07.660 -> 09:09.480] Everyone boxed at a similar point of time.
[09:09.480 -> 09:13.380] And everyone go on from the mediums on to the hard compound tyres.
[09:13.380 -> 09:15.840] Like Charles Leclerc on lap number 9.
[09:15.840 -> 09:21.160] But the interesting part about that is, the runners who eventually pitted under the second
[09:21.160 -> 09:23.440] VSC, they had a better time off.
[09:23.440 -> 09:24.440] Like Russell, like Hamilton.
[09:24.440 -> 09:27.800] They were able to get past the likes of Gasly and Vettel. Of course, Vettel's spin
[09:27.800 -> 09:32.560] did not help out, but you get the idea, right? Later on, the hard compound was better. Now,
[09:32.560 -> 09:37.480] the interesting part is Leclerc, now Red Bull Racing, actually, they had two sets of hard
[09:37.480 -> 09:42.400] compounds and one medium. Ferrari had the opposite, one set of medium, no, one set of
[09:42.400 -> 09:48.120] hard compounds and two set of medium. So if Leclerc would have pitted at the second VSC, assuming that he was on track, he would
[09:48.120 -> 09:50.360] have come out with the medium compound tyres at the end.
[09:50.360 -> 09:52.680] And now, theoretically, that sounds like fun, right?
[09:52.680 -> 09:56.520] Softer compounds, less laps to go, final part of the race, this is when he can attack.
[09:56.520 -> 10:00.340] But if you take a look at what happened to Daniel Ricciardo at the end, he also went
[10:00.340 -> 10:05.040] to the medium compounds at the very end of the race and struggled with terrible degradation
[10:05.040 -> 10:08.880] and his engineer also came on the radio and said it's not just you Daniel we've got a couple of
[10:08.880 -> 10:13.600] cars around us who also struggled with bad degradation on the mediums towards the end
[10:13.600 -> 10:18.720] of the race so this just makes me wonder Leclerc on the softer compounds at the end would he really
[10:18.720 -> 10:22.640] have been as effective? Of course as I mentioned a couple of minutes ago it would have been better
[10:22.640 -> 10:28.360] to see it on the track but it seems seems like not quite, especially when you consider
[10:28.360 -> 10:31.500] that the Ferrari didn't really have the pace advantage
[10:31.500 -> 10:35.440] in the race per se in the period that we saw, actually, as well.
[10:35.440 -> 10:37.280] That's actually very well explained, Somul.
[10:37.280 -> 10:38.200] Thank you very much.
[10:38.200 -> 10:41.640] It was just how we dissect tire strategy
[10:41.640 -> 10:43.520] when it comes to different strategies
[10:43.520 -> 10:49.760] that teams end up using for a race. it must also be, you know, pointed out that lap 9 was
[10:49.760 -> 10:55.040] actually not very early to switch on to the harder compound because the harder
[10:55.040 -> 11:00.720] compound was actually the preferred race tire, right, and even though it was
[11:00.720 -> 11:06.800] literally halfway through the actual gap of what actual ideal lap when teams
[11:06.800 -> 11:14.960] would have ideally liked to pit. So to me, Ferrari did call it right, but yes, maybe they did not
[11:14.960 -> 11:22.240] have enough number of hard compound tires, right? Just to make that strategy work after the second
[11:22.240 -> 11:25.840] VSC. Yeah. And on this point as well,
[11:25.840 -> 11:29.020] because let's say Leclerc did what, say,
[11:29.020 -> 11:30.540] someone like Pierre Gasly would have done.
[11:30.540 -> 11:33.000] Let's say he stayed on the hard compound tires
[11:33.000 -> 11:35.400] and made those tires last for the entire race.
[11:35.400 -> 11:37.840] Gasly at the end was, I wouldn't say struggling,
[11:37.840 -> 11:39.680] but definitely you could see a pace difference.
[11:39.680 -> 11:41.220] So with Leclerc, it's hard to tell
[11:41.220 -> 11:42.360] if he would have been able to keep
[11:42.360 -> 11:43.960] Verstappen and Perez behind,
[11:43.960 -> 11:47.680] but I suppose that's all just theoretical stuff and we can all just speculate on that at this
[11:47.680 -> 11:53.200] particular moment in time. What's the bigger point is, what would have happened to Ferrari
[11:53.200 -> 11:56.240] had they not DNFed? And yeah, why did they DNF in the first place?
[11:59.120 -> 12:06.280] To just extrapolate a little further from what you said, Samuel, right? That maybe Ferrari would have just stayed on to the hard.
[12:06.280 -> 12:10.840] But this also allows them to sort of turn around and say
[12:10.840 -> 12:13.600] that, you know, at the end of the day,
[12:13.600 -> 12:17.480] maybe Red Bull could have also just stayed out,
[12:17.480 -> 12:21.340] or since they had enough of a gap on the Mercedeses,
[12:21.340 -> 12:27.360] made a second stop and gone a lot more aggressive in terms of chasing Leclerc.
[12:27.360 -> 12:30.160] But guys, that's exactly where we are right now.
[12:30.160 -> 12:34.040] We don't know how this race would have sort of transpired.
[12:34.040 -> 12:37.760] And definitely it was a race that I feel
[12:37.760 -> 12:40.160] we were all terribly robbed because, hey,
[12:40.160 -> 12:43.940] when was the last time that we actually saw
[12:43.940 -> 12:48.320] Charles versus Max battling for the lead of the race?
[12:48.320 -> 12:51.040] And of course, Checo Perez in the mix as well.
[12:51.040 -> 12:53.920] Because you remember the season started off with all those battles,
[12:53.920 -> 12:56.000] and then suddenly we've literally had nothing.
[12:56.000 -> 12:58.720] First Ferrari ran away, then Red Bull ran away,
[12:58.720 -> 13:01.200] and then Ferrari have had problems in Spain.
[13:01.200 -> 13:07.000] And come to think of it, Somm it, Ferrari have literally cost Charles
[13:07.000 -> 13:09.000] three back-to-back race wins.
[13:09.000 -> 13:11.000] At least that's what one would have assumed.
[13:11.000 -> 13:13.000] We saw Spain, we saw Monaco,
[13:13.000 -> 13:15.000] and then assuming, you know,
[13:15.000 -> 13:19.000] whichever driver would have won in Baku,
[13:19.000 -> 13:22.000] possibly three race wins.
[13:22.000 -> 13:25.000] Or at least I'll be correct in saying,
[13:25.000 -> 13:28.560] you know, Azerbaijan because he did retire
[13:28.560 -> 13:29.680] from the lead of the race.
[13:29.680 -> 13:33.280] So at least at that point he was sort of the race winner.
[13:33.280 -> 13:38.280] Yeah, I've been hearing this opinion on the internet
[13:38.380 -> 13:40.200] that Ferrari is just like a midfield team
[13:40.200 -> 13:41.720] who's been given a great car.
[13:41.720 -> 13:43.320] Well, I don't think you can say the same right now
[13:43.320 -> 13:48.800] because it's the car that's been backfiring over the last three races. One time strategy, yes, but yeah, terrible
[13:48.800 -> 13:54.080] how it's playing out. But what's actually running in my mind, Kunal, is that we saw out of the five
[13:54.080 -> 13:58.800] DNFs, DNFers, can you call them that? DNFers, that's a fun term, but out of the five people
[13:58.800 -> 14:08.480] who DNFed, four of them had Ferrari power units. Now, science apparently had something to do with his hydraulics. But you see a common link between Leclerc's DNF,
[14:08.480 -> 14:11.080] Magnussen's DNF, and all the others that also happen.
[14:11.080 -> 14:12.000] Zhouguan knew that is.
[14:12.000 -> 14:13.680] We should also get to him in a second.
[14:13.680 -> 14:14.760] It's just absurd, right?
[14:14.760 -> 14:17.840] A Ferrari is just putting an axe on its foot.
[14:17.840 -> 14:19.680] Apne pair pe kulhari maan is the Hindi term.
[14:19.680 -> 14:21.780] But it literally translates into just shooting yourself
[14:21.780 -> 14:22.480] in your own foot.
[14:22.480 -> 14:25.120] That's what's happening right now.
[14:28.320 -> 14:28.880] That's a good question, Samul. And you know, the other question to follow it up is,
[14:36.160 -> 14:43.520] can they fix it? Right. And this is where it's sort of getting very technical. I believe Ferrari will need to detune their engines as we at least approach Canada. It's too short to try and fix it.
[14:47.460 -> 14:52.460] Canada it's too short to try and fix it just as I believe Mercedes need to fix their chassis you know with with Toto Wolf saying that you know even by
[14:52.460 -> 14:58.180] raising the car the popping and bouncing wouldn't stop the truth is they need to
[14:58.180 -> 15:01.940] raise it probably even further that's what at least a large number of people
[15:01.940 -> 15:09.400] believe in the paddock but maybe this is the right time to turn around and play our stats review by F1
[15:09.400 -> 15:11.040] stats guru Sundaram.
[15:12.520 -> 15:15.840] Hey folks, it's time to do the stats review of the Azerbaijan Grand Prix.
[15:16.160 -> 15:18.320] I'm Sundaram, also known as the F1 stats guru.
[15:18.560 -> 15:19.480] Let's talk numbers.
[15:19.960 -> 15:23.680] Now it's difficult being the pole sitter around Baku because in the six races here,
[15:24.000 -> 15:28.400] the driver starting from pole has won just twice and on every other occasion, they've fallen
[15:28.400 -> 15:30.720] off the podium altogether, just like yesterday.
[15:30.720 -> 15:34.980] Max Verstappen, who had never stood on the Baku podium before this year, he had a brilliant
[15:34.980 -> 15:36.820] race and he came P1.
[15:36.820 -> 15:41.620] That means that he's been on the podium in 29 of the 31 circuits that he's raced at.
[15:41.620 -> 15:45.300] The ones that he's yet to take off are Mugello and Monza. It is a
[15:45.300 -> 15:49.540] big day for Red Bull because they have now entered the top 5 of the all-time F1 wins
[15:49.540 -> 15:54.740] list for a constructor. They are currently placed 5th with the Lotus F1 team with 81
[15:54.740 -> 15:57.700] victories. Verstappen and Perez are 1st and 2nd in the
[15:57.700 -> 16:01.920] drivers championship and this is the first time that both Red Bull drivers are leading
[16:01.920 -> 16:06.120] the standings since Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber in 2011.
[16:06.120 -> 16:11.060] George Russell came P3 at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, which means that a Mercedes-powered
[16:11.060 -> 16:14.180] car has been on the podium at every Baku race so far.
[16:14.180 -> 16:18.980] Okay, it's time to talk about Ferrari now, because Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc had
[16:18.980 -> 16:23.460] a terrible weekend, both of them retiring from the race within the first 20-odd laps.
[16:23.460 -> 16:28.640] Leclerc has taken pole in each of the last 4 races, but he's not won any of them.
[16:28.640 -> 16:33.440] The last driver to do so was Juan Pablo Montoya for the Williams team back in 2002, which
[16:33.440 -> 16:35.600] is 20 years ago.
[16:35.600 -> 16:40.080] Ferrari have also been the first retirement in 4 of the 8 races this season.
[16:40.080 -> 16:42.280] The last 2 were mechanical issues.
[16:42.280 -> 16:45.720] Finally, it was a difficulty for Ferrari customer teams
[16:45.720 -> 16:48.320] as well because there was no Ferrari powered car at all
[16:48.320 -> 16:49.860] in the top 10.
[16:49.860 -> 16:51.060] That was the stats review.
[16:51.060 -> 16:53.160] I'm Sundaram, you can find me on Instagram and Twitter
[16:53.160 -> 16:54.920] under the name F1StatsGuru.
[16:54.920 -> 16:56.160] I'll catch you guys soon.
[16:59.040 -> 17:00.160] Welcome back folks.
[17:00.160 -> 17:03.240] And wow, it's always so much fun to listen to Sundaram
[17:03.240 -> 17:05.040] and the stats that he's got,
[17:05.040 -> 17:10.160] so, so intriguing at all times. And I just want to discuss that a little bit further, Kunal,
[17:10.160 -> 17:15.200] at the point that you mentioned about Mercedes, what if they just end up with a truck, I mean,
[17:15.200 -> 17:18.560] later on in the season, like a proper Land Rover or something of sorts, because they come up with
[17:18.560 -> 17:23.040] a car that's very high. But that discussion we shall get to in a second, because first up,
[17:23.040 -> 17:26.760] we have to go to the eight sleep performers of the weekend.
[17:26.760 -> 17:28.960] And that's something very, very interesting.
[17:28.960 -> 17:31.340] Because I've got a completely wild range of picks.
[17:31.340 -> 17:32.880] And for the first time, there's no one
[17:32.880 -> 17:35.000] from the top of the grid to kind of talk about.
[17:35.000 -> 17:37.380] Because as you mentioned, it barely was a race over there.
[17:37.380 -> 17:40.000] But I just for a second want to talk about Zhuge Wanyu.
[17:40.000 -> 17:41.520] Because in the middle of the race,
[17:41.520 -> 17:43.680] he was also, again, another Ferrari-powered car
[17:43.680 -> 17:46.800] that didn't quite have the opportunity to finish the race.
[17:46.800 -> 17:48.840] But he was doing extremely well, mind you.
[17:48.840 -> 17:50.660] He didn't quite out-qualify Valtteri Bottas,
[17:50.660 -> 17:53.320] but in all practice sessions, he looked a bit faster.
[17:53.320 -> 17:55.660] Bottas was struggling with his car, which is a bit strange,
[17:55.660 -> 17:58.600] but Joe was very comfortably in the top 10.
[17:58.600 -> 18:00.320] I mean, if anything, he could have ended up scoring
[18:00.320 -> 18:03.200] a lot of points here today, maybe a couple at the max.
[18:03.200 -> 18:08.080] So his race weekend was surprisingly different for a pay driver, which is again,
[18:08.080 -> 18:10.080] good to see, right? Good to see progress in a way.
[18:11.640 -> 18:15.160] In fact, Somil, I have to correct you and I don't blame you for getting this wrong,
[18:15.160 -> 18:21.040] but it was the first time Joe Guan Yu qualified ahead of Valtteri Bottas, right?
[18:21.040 -> 18:27.520] And he did show some, some interesting pace out there, especially against Bottas and
[18:27.520 -> 18:32.960] seemed like the quicker Alfa Romeo driver, despite Baku being a Bottas circuit and all of that from
[18:32.960 -> 18:39.600] his Mercedes days. So yes, I would say Joe was definitely one of the drivers on the eight-sleep
[18:39.600 -> 18:51.280] performers of the race. It was unfortunate that he had a technical retirement again and now he's just down to one point finish that he had in Bahrain at the start of
[18:51.280 -> 18:54.760] the season. Did you just notice I said Australia because I've grown up in that
[18:54.760 -> 19:00.680] era that Australia was always the first race of the season. Yes, yeah. But talking
[19:00.680 -> 19:07.560] of Altari Botas, it was only the second time in eight races that he has not scored a point in a Grand Prix.
[19:07.560 -> 19:11.440] So Bottas was just not there for some reason.
[19:11.440 -> 19:20.400] But we have to talk about, I would say, I would put Sebastian Vettel clearly in that category because, you know, Sebastian,
[19:20.600 -> 19:27.000] I can't remember when last I, you know, in the last couple of seasons have seen him be so racy.
[19:27.000 -> 19:31.000] You know, he was, you know, overtaking cars, which is great.
[19:31.000 -> 19:35.000] He, of course, did a typical Sebastian, you know, going off and spinning around.
[19:35.000 -> 19:42.000] But that was a very, very quick reaction, another action, and then rejoining off the circuit.
[19:42.000 -> 19:47.320] And, you know, he actually credited his rallying skills to him participating
[19:47.320 -> 19:48.760] in the race of champions.
[19:48.760 -> 19:52.480] And, you know, eventually we're all laughing about it, but he also said that
[19:52.480 -> 19:58.000] had he not had that spin, he would have probably finished P5, which again is
[19:58.000 -> 20:02.840] very credible given all the struggles he's had at the start of the season.
[20:02.840 -> 20:05.440] Remember, he missed two races at the start.
[20:05.440 -> 20:07.200] And then Aston Martin, of course,
[20:07.200 -> 20:10.280] had a really bad car that they started the season off
[20:10.280 -> 20:11.120] with as well.
[20:11.120 -> 20:15.240] And P6 is their best performance together in 2022.
[20:16.120 -> 20:19.040] Yeah, and I suppose I would just give him extra points
[20:19.040 -> 20:21.080] for being the HLE performer of the week,
[20:21.080 -> 20:21.920] just for that spin.
[20:21.920 -> 20:23.080] Because at that point of the race,
[20:23.080 -> 20:29.280] we were kind of devoid of any sort of drama per se and that that turnaround was just fantastic right to
[20:29.280 -> 20:33.520] see him do that and you write about that how racy he was is very incredible to see how
[20:33.520 -> 20:38.360] Aston Martin in fact they were just a lopsided team right because Vettel was so racy at one
[20:38.360 -> 20:43.400] point qualified I think P9 got into Q3 again which is great for Aston Martin considering
[20:43.400 -> 20:50.160] where they were early in the year but it it's just making me wonder, are we at that stage where Lance Stoll is genuinely costing
[20:50.160 -> 20:55.280] Aston Martin badly now? Because we've seen that Vettel can drag a couple of good performances
[20:55.280 -> 20:59.440] from this car. So I'm just wondering, the day Aston Martin are really very serious about winning
[20:59.440 -> 21:10.800] a world championship, they'll probably not have him as their second driver. Not that he's terrible but the difference was alarming per se. You know what I actually beg to differ
[21:10.800 -> 21:15.840] because if it wasn't for Lance Stroll, Lawrence Stroll wouldn't have paid all
[21:15.840 -> 21:22.440] that money to bail out Racing Point in the first place. You're right, that's a good point. I actually forgot about that for a second
[21:22.440 -> 21:28.580] that oh yeah it's the owner but yeah I mean objectively if his real aim is to win a Formula One championship I
[21:28.580 -> 21:32.380] suppose the asterisks mean that winning it with his son that that's what he
[21:32.380 -> 21:37.580] tries to say but it's implicit isn't it. And let's remember he said we're on a five-year
[21:37.580 -> 21:41.420] journey this is year two of the five-year journey let's see where all of
[21:41.420 -> 21:44.900] that goes but maybe you know where Lawrence's money is also going is in
[21:44.900 -> 21:47.280] building much stronger Formula One cars,
[21:47.280 -> 21:50.880] given how his son Lance is always knocking
[21:50.880 -> 21:52.340] some part of the car around
[21:52.340 -> 21:53.760] when he takes it out for a stroll.
[21:53.760 -> 21:57.460] I mean, was that qualifying that he had that issue
[21:57.460 -> 22:00.840] where he put his front wing in and then it didn't break
[22:00.840 -> 22:02.760] and then he said, maybe I need to try harder
[22:02.760 -> 22:04.760] and then he just went into the wall
[22:04.760 -> 22:10.960] because some sort of strength testing. I know we're not always a funny podcast but
[22:10.960 -> 22:17.040] that's the inside line F1 podcast ladies and gentlemen. I think they're about they're kind
[22:17.040 -> 22:21.760] of sponsored by JCB as well the construction company so maybe that that's also one thing
[22:21.760 -> 22:28.840] linking that maybe they want to try and be more sturdier, more harder and try to break the car better and see how sturdy the Aston Martin can be.
[22:28.840 -> 22:31.640] But yeah, wrong brand mate.
[22:31.640 -> 22:34.600] We probably thought it would be better for something like a Tata in India, but that's
[22:34.600 -> 22:35.600] enough on large tour, right?
[22:35.600 -> 22:37.080] We focused too much on him.
[22:37.080 -> 22:40.320] I think we should also speak about other drivers who did really well.
[22:40.320 -> 22:42.920] And Pierre Gasly was fantastic this weekend.
[22:42.920 -> 22:43.920] What is it?
[22:43.920 -> 22:47.720] P5 at the end, the way things were working out, it's just the best performance
[22:47.720 -> 22:48.960] he's had all season long.
[22:48.960 -> 22:51.280] And considering the bad luck he's been carrying around,
[22:51.280 -> 22:54.160] I think this really could be the race that liberates him
[22:54.160 -> 22:56.160] and opens up Alpha Tauri in both ways.
[22:56.160 -> 22:59.940] And pun intended here because of Sonoda's flippy rear wing
[22:59.940 -> 23:02.000] and how that opened up only partially.
[23:02.000 -> 23:05.760] But I hope that's not the case with their season right now.
[23:09.280 -> 23:10.160] Oh yes, absolutely. Pierre Gasly, even Yuki Tsunoda, they would have finished
[23:16.960 -> 23:25.120] P5 and P6 had, you know, Tsunoda's rear wing not needed all that duct tape and stuff like that, because I think both the Alpha Tauris drove a fantastic race in the end. In fact, Formula One's simulation had
[23:25.120 -> 23:31.640] suggested that Alfa Tauri's race simulation was better than Mercedes and
[23:31.640 -> 23:36.720] they would have at least had one car finishing ahead of Mercedes. But yes,
[23:36.720 -> 23:41.960] Pierre Gasly I would say and then you know Max Verstappen, I mean you know
[23:41.960 -> 23:47.200] they were discussing should we do 47.0 or 47.5. I mean, that's how
[23:47.200 -> 23:56.160] relaxed he needed to be during the race. I mean, Sergio Perez out qualified him, outperformed him
[23:56.160 -> 24:02.160] in every single session, but the main session when it mattered, but hey, all points down to Red Bull.
[24:03.520 -> 24:05.600] Indeed, yes. And after after that I suppose it'll be
[24:05.600 -> 24:11.280] fun to discuss what happened in McLaren as well because in this race it was really absurd that
[24:11.280 -> 24:16.800] we saw Daniel Ricciardo not just be subservient to team orders because he had a say this time
[24:16.800 -> 24:21.520] on because he was driving fast which is firstly a good thing to see of course he struggled at the
[24:21.520 -> 24:27.400] end as I mentioned with the degradation but he was a thorn in Lando Norris' side which is I think something that McClennan
[24:27.400 -> 24:31.320] would want to see more often because this means that they got a double points finish
[24:31.320 -> 24:36.960] which was great but what was this all kefuffle or what in the end Kunal about swapping positions,
[24:36.960 -> 24:40.120] trying them out for one lap, bringing them back again and they didn't end up swapping
[24:40.120 -> 24:43.960] positions at the end. It's all just confusing what happened with McLennan but at the end
[24:43.960 -> 24:49.120] what we can say is they kind of finished where their pace was eighth and ninth so fair deal. I mean a decent
[24:49.120 -> 24:54.400] weekend for them on the whole. Especially considering that they started P11 and P12
[24:54.400 -> 24:59.760] finishing in the points was definitely was what the team said their target was and they knew that
[24:59.760 -> 25:06.680] it would be difficult to clear Fernando Alonso given Alpine's superior top line speed.
[25:06.680 -> 25:11.360] But yes, I quite like the team orders and the discussions they were having.
[25:11.360 -> 25:15.760] And you know, for once, Daniel was being more gentlemanly versus Lando was trying to be
[25:15.760 -> 25:17.440] the rebel out there.
[25:17.440 -> 25:22.200] But I think in the end, the team played it fair because, you know, in the first part,
[25:22.200 -> 25:25.160] Ricardo sort of held himself back.
[25:25.160 -> 25:31.160] And then in the second part, it was Lando who was forced to hold back.
[25:31.160 -> 25:35.200] And the question can be asked is, if they wouldn't have held Ricardo back,
[25:35.200 -> 25:39.200] could they have gotten Fernando Alonso, right?
[25:39.200 -> 25:43.200] And the truth is, at that point, they were trying to help Lando Norris
[25:43.200 -> 25:45.280] overcut Fernando Alonso.
[25:45.280 -> 25:51.440] So, you know, they reacted for the moment and maybe the team result would have been the same,
[25:51.440 -> 25:55.120] just inverted with, you know, Lando Norris being ahead of Ricardo.
[25:55.120 -> 26:00.960] But I'm glad they played it fair, that because Ricardo held back, they asked Lando to hold back.
[26:00.960 -> 26:06.320] And maybe they also know that, you know, Ricardo just needs a couple of such results where he's backed by the team.
[26:06.960 -> 26:11.840] He finishes ahead of Lando. He finishes in the points as well.
[26:11.840 -> 26:17.840] And that sort of just fires the spark up in himself because this was only the second time
[26:17.840 -> 26:21.440] this season that Daniel Ricardo actually ended up scoring a point, Somal.
[26:22.720 -> 26:27.840] Which is surprising. That's not just not just not what we associate with
[26:27.840 -> 26:32.240] Daniel Ricciardo, right? So again, great to see him back in the points and great to see him
[26:32.880 -> 26:38.080] happy at the end of the race. Of course, he was holding his back in pain and that should be the
[26:38.080 -> 26:42.080] next point we discuss. But for Ricciardo, great to see him doing what he's doing right now. I just
[26:42.080 -> 26:46.160] hope that it kind of continues on onto a race like Canada, where of course he has
[26:46.160 -> 26:49.880] performed so well previously, but that should be a discussion point in the race preview
[26:49.880 -> 26:52.240] episode, which will show, which shall come later.
[26:52.240 -> 26:56.200] What we should discuss immediately right now is the back issues, because as I mentioned,
[26:56.200 -> 27:00.320] Ricky Arora was holding his back, but he was not the most notable name doing so.
[27:00.320 -> 27:05.280] Lewis Hamilton complaining right in the middle of the race that he had back issues and wow,
[27:05.280 -> 27:09.360] the way he described it at the end was just proper hard and grueling stuff to see how
[27:09.360 -> 27:11.000] he fought through at the end of it.
[27:11.000 -> 27:17.200] But what's tough Kunal is that I don't think that Mercedes can find a fix, I mean, externally,
[27:17.200 -> 27:20.400] they just have to fix it on their own, like kind of by raising their car, coming up with
[27:20.400 -> 27:21.600] a different design.
[27:21.600 -> 27:25.640] From the looks of things, there has been a bit of discussion about teams working together
[27:25.640 -> 27:27.640] to maybe make the cars more comfortable.
[27:27.640 -> 27:29.440] But I think the point remains, right?
[27:29.440 -> 27:32.000] You can control the purposing on your car.
[27:32.000 -> 27:34.160] It's only that you have to sacrifice lap time for it.
[27:34.160 -> 27:37.520] And I don't think Formula One should pass a regulation,
[27:37.520 -> 27:39.960] per se, where everyone needs to have a comfortable dynamite.
[27:39.960 -> 27:41.960] Because essentially, it's on how you adapt to it.
[27:41.960 -> 27:43.920] Red Bull Racing are not facing the same issues.
[27:43.920 -> 27:45.920] So why should Mercedes be rewarded
[27:45.920 -> 27:50.520] for just being bad at managing their purposing?
[27:50.520 -> 27:52.200] That's a very good question, Somal.
[27:52.200 -> 27:55.520] I think eventually, it's going to be about the FIA stepping
[27:55.520 -> 27:58.720] in to ensure driver safety and long-term health.
[27:58.720 -> 28:02.960] Because yes, Lewis Hamilton was very, very evidently
[28:02.960 -> 28:07.760] and visibly discomforted after the race. But when you see
[28:07.760 -> 28:13.520] through interviews or in the driver's pan, you saw somebody even like Daniel Ricciardo trying to
[28:14.480 -> 28:20.080] get himself a good twist in his back and Pierre Gasly was asking around for a massage and the
[28:20.080 -> 28:27.340] likes. At least that's what the stories are going by. But let's put it this way. Different teams are experiencing different intensity
[28:27.340 -> 28:28.920] of harpessing and car bouncing,
[28:28.920 -> 28:32.160] but that it is being felt probably the worst
[28:32.160 -> 28:33.320] by the Mercedes drivers,
[28:33.320 -> 28:35.700] or at least the other most vocal ones, right?
[28:36.680 -> 28:38.280] Somebody like Christian Horner believes
[28:38.280 -> 28:42.560] that teams are using drivers to pressurize the FIA
[28:42.560 -> 28:43.760] into making changes.
[28:43.760 -> 28:45.480] Well, that could also be true.
[28:45.480 -> 28:48.360] Then there's this interview of Lando Norris doing the rounds where he said,
[28:48.360 -> 28:52.320] if Mercedes want to fix this, they should just race the ride height of the car.
[28:52.320 -> 28:56.160] And of course, Mercedes don't want to do that because if they
[28:56.160 -> 28:59.160] race the ride height of the car, they're going to lose performance.
[28:59.160 -> 29:01.720] And then they will no longer be in no man's land.
[29:01.720 -> 29:05.600] They will be fighting in the super competitive midfield, right?
[29:05.600 -> 29:10.560] So this is where the FIA might probably step in and lots of Twitter threads doing the rounds
[29:10.560 -> 29:17.040] about something called as vertical acceleration measurement and then limiting how much of
[29:17.040 -> 29:21.600] that can be achieved by any particular team through the weekend.
[29:21.600 -> 29:28.540] So this will then hopefully level the playing field. But yes then the question should also be asked that if Mercedes
[29:28.540 -> 29:33.860] are the only ones facing such a big problem, why should the other team sort
[29:33.860 -> 29:38.500] of give away? Now the unfortunate part in all of this at least to my mind is that
[29:38.500 -> 29:47.720] the drivers are the ones who are paying with their health more than anything else. So any solution that is thought of,
[29:47.720 -> 29:50.120] that is suggested, that is proposed
[29:50.120 -> 29:52.440] should be a driver first approach, Samal.
[29:53.920 -> 29:56.520] Yeah, but it's kind of hard to see all the teams
[29:56.520 -> 29:57.880] reaching a consensus with it,
[29:57.880 -> 29:59.120] because at the end of the day,
[29:59.120 -> 30:01.000] you do need a majority with this sort.
[30:01.000 -> 30:04.120] And there are a few teams like Red Bull and like McLaren
[30:04.120 -> 30:09.060] that aren't facing this with the same intensity. So I just hope that they are able to find a solution but if anything
[30:09.060 -> 30:14.460] it just means that Mercedes need need 8 sleep the most and if you don't know what 8 sleep is all
[30:14.460 -> 30:18.980] about well check out a special episode about sleep fitness on the inside line of one podcast
[30:18.980 -> 30:22.660] that came out a couple of weeks ago and that shall give you a better idea of exactly what we're
[30:22.660 -> 30:28.640] talking about right here but the interesting part is pit stops Kunal because a lot of them were super slow. I mentioned
[30:28.640 -> 30:33.360] Sergio Perez having a couple of slow pit stops. I think Lewis Hamilton also had one. It's just an
[30:33.360 -> 30:41.200] absurd weekend on the whole in terms of pit stops per se. I'm glad we're talking of pit stops Amul
[30:41.200 -> 30:46.720] and I'm reading out official data. the fastest pit stop was actually Alonso
[30:46.720 -> 30:53.520] for Alpine was 2.74 seconds, which by Formula 1 standards is very, very slow.
[30:53.520 -> 31:01.800] And to compare and contrast in Monaco, Checo Perez had a 2.3 second pit stop, right?
[31:01.800 -> 31:06.120] With a 2.7 second pit stop in Monaco you'd only just make it
[31:06.120 -> 31:14.340] into the top 10 right but in Azerbaijan McLaren with a 3.6 second pit stop for
[31:14.340 -> 31:20.000] Lando Norris made it into the top 10 so clearly there were issues that the teams
[31:20.000 -> 31:26.120] were facing with their pit stop equipment and the heat that is my simple
[31:26.120 -> 31:31.480] assumption and this is where I would also throw a lot of conspiracy theories
[31:31.480 -> 31:37.040] out of the window that said that you know Red Bull purposely gave slower pit
[31:37.040 -> 31:42.480] stops to Checo Perez to give Max Verstappen the advantageous position in
[31:42.480 -> 31:45.040] the race. Yeah when you're in the heat of the moment
[31:45.040 -> 31:49.040] that's what it feels like, oh they've called him not to fight, oh there's a slow pit stop,
[31:49.040 -> 31:53.840] come on Red Bull you're taking him away. But no, the truth is Perez was not the faster driver and
[31:53.840 -> 31:58.480] in the end you could say that the best driver and the best car won this weekend in Baku but
[31:58.480 -> 32:02.640] what's going to happen next time out in Canada is going to be the major question that we are
[32:02.640 -> 32:07.720] going to answer on the Inside Line F1 podcast and pitch the podium in a couple of days because we come
[32:07.720 -> 32:10.880] out with a Canadian GP preview episode rather soon.
[32:10.880 -> 32:12.280] So stay tuned for that.
[32:12.280 -> 32:14.160] But I hope you enjoyed this episode folks.
[32:14.160 -> 32:18.240] And if you did, leave a like, share this podcast with your friends and family members, leave
[32:18.240 -> 32:20.680] a good rating and we shall see you in a couple of days.
[32:20.680 -> None] Bye bye. Have a good time. you