The Unsportsmanlike Review of the 2023 Canadian Grand Prix

Lando Norris, the least likely driver to be unsportsmanlike was given a time penalty for being exactly that, unsportsmanlike. And for what? Driving slowly in the pits to hold up his rivals while Mclaren double-stacked their cars! Didn't we applaud drivers for their spatial awareness when they did this for years on end?

In this episode of the Inside Line F1 Podcast, Soumil Arora and Kunal Shah review the 2023 Canadian Grand Prix. Max Verstappen's dominant win, Fernando Alonso vs. Lewis Hamilton, Esteban Ocon's flexi-rear wing, Lance Stroll's gamer move into the pits, George Russell's wall-banging ways (spatial awareness, huh?) and more.

This episode is also packed with Oscar Piastri's Kimi Raikkonen moment, Yuki Tsunoda's attempt to 'be fast between the grass', Ferrari's great tyre strategy, of course and Alexander Albon's immaculate drive to 7th place. Tune in!

(Season 2023, Episode 30)

Follow our host on Twitter: Soumil Arora, @f1statsguru and Kunal Shah

Image courtesy: Mclaren

**Canadian Grand Prix Review**

* **Max Verstappen's Dominance:**

* Verstappen's victory in Canada marked his 10th win in the last 19 races, extending Red Bull's dominance.
* He became the fifth driver to win 100 races for a single constructor, joining an exclusive club that includes Lewis Hamilton, Michael Schumacher, Sebastian Vettel, and Alain Prost.
* Verstappen's consistent performance and ability to manage tire degradation were key factors in his success.

* **Sergio Perez's Struggles:**

* Sergio Perez continued to struggle, finishing nearly one second per lap slower than Verstappen.
* His qualifying performance was also disappointing, failing to make it into Q3.
* Perez's lack of pace has raised questions about his ability to challenge for the championship.

* **Epic Battles:**

* The Canadian Grand Prix featured several exciting battles throughout the field.
* Fernando Alonso and Lewis Hamilton engaged in a thrilling duel, with Russell joining the fight later on.
* Alex Albon impressed with his defense against Russell and Magnussen, showcasing his skills in a midfield car.

* **Lando Norris' Unsportsmanlike Penalty:**

* Lando Norris received a three-place grid penalty for impeding other drivers in the pit lane.
* The penalty sparked debate about the definition of unsportsmanlike behavior in Formula 1.
* Some argued that Norris was simply using a loophole in the rules to gain an advantage, while others felt that his actions were unfair.

* **Esteban Ocon's Flexi Rear Wing:**

* Esteban Ocon's Alpine car featured a flexible rear wing, which generated downforce while braking but became stable under acceleration.
* The FIA deemed the wing legal after post-race scrutineering, but it raised questions about the legality of such designs.
* The incident highlighted the ongoing debate about the interpretation of the technical regulations in Formula 1.

* **Lance Stroll's Gamer Move:**

* Lance Stroll made a daring pit stop decision, gambling on a late pit stop to gain track position.
* The move paid off as Stroll emerged from the pits ahead of several other drivers.
* Stroll's aggressive strategy demonstrated his willingness to take risks in order to improve his race result.

* **George Russell's Wall-Banging Ways:**

* George Russell continued his trend of making contact with the walls, crashing out of the race in Canada.
* Russell's aggressive driving style has led to several accidents this season, raising concerns about his ability to maintain control of the car.
* The incident highlighted the importance of finding a balance between pushing the limits and avoiding costly mistakes.

* **Oscar Piastri's Kimi Raikkonen Moment:**

* Oscar Piastri made a mistake similar to Kimi Raikkonen's infamous "leave me alone" incident.
* Piastri ignored his team's instructions to let Albon pass, resulting in a loss of position.
* The incident served as a reminder of the importance of teamwork and following team orders in Formula 1.

* **Yuki Tsunoda's Attempt to 'Be Fast Between the Grass':**

* Yuki Tsunoda crashed during qualifying, attempting to push the limits of his car's capabilities.
* Tsunoda's eagerness to improve his performance led to a costly mistake, highlighting the fine line between pushing hard and making errors.

* **Ferrari's Great Tyre Strategy:**

* Ferrari's strategic decision to switch to hard tires early paid off, allowing Carlos Sainz to climb up the order and secure a podium finish.
* The team's ability to adapt to changing track conditions and make quick decisions contributed to their success.

* **Alexander Albon's Immaculate Drive to 7th Place:**

* Alexander Albon put in a remarkable performance, finishing in seventh place despite driving a Williams car.
* Albon's ability to extract the maximum from his car and hold off faster rivals showcased his talent and determination.
* The result marked a significant achievement for Williams, demonstrating their progress in the midfield. **Race Recap and Analysis:**

* Max Verstappen's dominance continued with a commanding victory in the Canadian Grand Prix, extending Red Bull's consecutive wins to nine races and putting them on track to break McLaren's record of 11 consecutive wins set in 1988.

* Fernando Alonso continued his impressive season with Aston Martin, securing his sixth podium finish and surpassing 100 points after eight races, his best start to a season under the current points system.

* Alex Albon delivered a stellar performance for Williams, completing over 50 laps on a single set of tires and securing P7, their best result in a full race since 2021.

* Lando Norris received a penalty for unsportsmanlike behavior, highlighting the importance of spatial awareness in Formula 1 racing.

**Ferrari's Improved Strategy:**

* Ferrari demonstrated improved strategy during the Canadian Grand Prix, employing cryptic terms to keep their plans concealed and successfully managing the race with Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc.

* The team's decision to hold Leclerc back from attacking Sainz raised questions about their internal dynamics and whether it was a strategic move to protect Sainz's position.

**Lance Stroll's Gamer Move:**

* Lance Stroll entertained fans with his pit lane antics, replicating a move often seen in racing games where drivers push AI cars into the pit lane to slow them down.

* While Stroll's performance has been criticized, his contribution to the Aston Martin team's existence and his ability to entertain fans were acknowledged.

**Quotes and Notable Moments:**

* Oscar Piastri's Kimi Raikkonen-like moment in qualifying, where he crashed and then laughed it off, saying "I just did a Kimi Raikkonen there."

* Yuki Tsunoda's aim to "be fast between the grass" during the weekend, reminiscent of Raikkonen's famous quote.

* Nico Hulkenberg's humorous response to a question about his plan into Turn 1 with Max Verstappen, saying "I'm going for fame into Turn 1."

* Logan Sargeant's precise execution of the Williams pit wall's instruction to park his car next to a Marshall Spartan, resulting in a swift virtual safety car period.

**Conclusion:**

The Canadian Grand Prix provided exciting moments, strategic battles, and entertaining incidents, showcasing the ever-evolving nature of Formula 1 racing. As the season progresses, fans can anticipate more thrilling races and intriguing storylines.

[00:00.000 -> 00:23.840] So what is Formula 1 ladies and gentlemen? At the end of the day, it's just a sport,
[00:23.840 -> 00:29.540] where people go round and round in circles, some people crash, Yuki Tsunoda makes an error, Lange
[00:29.540 -> 00:34.760] Toll disappoints and at the end of it all, we get a great qualifying and Max Verstappen
[00:34.760 -> 00:40.120] dominating. That's just Formula 1. In the history books, the 2023 Canadian GP will come
[00:40.120 -> 00:44.120] across as a very boring one. Verstappen again…
[00:44.120 -> 00:45.560] Wait a minute, wait a minute. Did I just hear you say boring one? That was a very boring one. Verstappen again hates it. Wait a minute. Wait a minute.
[00:45.560 -> 00:47.560] Did I just hear you say boring one?
[00:47.560 -> 00:50.200] That was a very interesting introduction.
[00:50.200 -> 00:53.200] But you just said the race was boring.
[00:53.200 -> 00:55.800] The history books would say that.
[00:55.800 -> 00:58.720] Again, because at the end of the day,
[00:58.720 -> 00:59.800] I mean, at the end of the day, it
[00:59.800 -> 01:01.600] looks like Verstappen dominated from start
[01:01.600 -> 01:02.980] to finish, which is what happened.
[01:02.980 -> 01:10.480] But let's be honest, that was a fun one, wasn't it? We got great racing at the end of the day. And what we essentially had
[01:10.480 -> 01:16.800] was a masterpiece of sorts. But let's just actually analyze what really happened over there.
[01:16.800 -> 01:21.840] And why did Kunal impede me at the start? Why did you do that, Kunal? Why are you being so rude to
[01:21.840 -> 01:32.000] me? You're going to get a three-place grip penalty. Well, you can return the favor to me next episode because that's similar to what Pierre Gasly and
[01:32.640 -> 01:38.480] Carlos Sainz did, right? Sainz got impeded in Spain and then he returned the favor. He was like,
[01:38.480 -> 01:45.120] you impede me at a circuit where they speak my language and I impede you back at a circuit where they speak your language.
[01:45.680 -> 01:47.120] Not bad, not bad.
[01:47.120 -> 01:48.720] I mean, you know the best part,
[01:49.360 -> 01:53.040] Pierre Gasly and Alpine actually, once they got that double penalty last weekend in Spain,
[01:53.360 -> 02:00.480] they sat down Kunal for a 90 minute meeting to discuss how not to impede somebody and get a penalty like that.
[02:00.560 -> 02:05.920] And guess what? The next weekend they get impeded in Q1. It's beautiful. It's as if it's
[02:05.920 -> 02:15.440] written in the stars. But that is because the meeting after Spain was how not to impede.
[02:15.440 -> 02:23.120] But the meeting didn't discuss how not to get impeded. If my sad humor makes any sense. But
[02:23.120 -> 02:30.500] that's what we do. We have sad humor while we have great races and we have fantastic humor when there are not so great races,
[02:30.500 -> 02:35.000] which typically means most of our episodes are very humorous, especially in these dominant eras.
[02:35.000 -> 02:39.000] Oh no, but it might seem that way, but what a race we eventually had.
[02:39.000 -> 02:41.000] We want to know what you thought of it as well.
[02:41.000 -> 02:48.840] So you can use the poll feature if you're listening on Spotify to give us your opinion on the race. But personally here at the Inside Line F1 Podcast, we've
[02:48.840 -> 02:53.520] got so many points to discuss with you. We're going to be talking about what Max Verstappen
[02:53.520 -> 02:58.240] can't do and just why Sergio Perez is that slow. We're going to be talking about the
[02:58.240 -> 03:02.960] amazing battles this weekend and just why did we see all of them? Why did Alex Albon
[03:02.960 -> 03:07.880] finish where he did and also a lot more on Malando Norris' unsportsmanlike
[03:07.880 -> 03:08.880] behaviour penalty?
[03:08.880 -> 03:10.640] What is that even supposed to mean?
[03:10.640 -> 03:12.760] What is unsportsmanlike behaviour?
[03:12.760 -> 03:18.200] So all of that and more is going to be a part of this episode of the Inside Line F1 Podcast.
[03:18.200 -> 03:19.380] Welcome along folks.
[03:19.380 -> 03:23.160] This is the Spanish, no it's not the Spanish, it's the Canadian GP Review.
[03:23.160 -> 03:26.440] See I made an error like George Russell, but I corrected it.
[03:26.440 -> 03:28.640] I'm not crashing into the wall and retiring this episode.
[03:28.640 -> 03:29.640] This will go on.
[03:29.640 -> 03:31.400] But my name is Somal Arora.
[03:31.400 -> 03:34.960] I'm the host of the Indian Racing League broadcast on Starsports.
[03:34.960 -> 03:39.640] Joining me as always is Kunal Shah, the former marketing head of the Sahara Force India Formula
[03:39.640 -> 03:45.000] One team, and also is an FIA accredited F1 journalist for the Viaplay Network.
[03:45.000 -> 03:49.000] That was, I very nearly made it there Kunal, quite like the drivers.
[03:49.000 -> 03:53.000] Because all the way through, every single one of them were flirting with the walls.
[03:53.000 -> 03:55.000] And that is such a sight.
[03:55.000 -> 04:01.000] Did you see that initial battle between Alonso and Hamilton and Russell when they were all three in the same train?
[04:01.000 -> 04:04.000] And the way they were sliding with the walls, my God.
[04:04.000 -> 04:05.760] That is why we
[04:05.760 -> 04:10.880] watch Formula One. And that is why the Canadian Grand Prix was also so epic I mean that whole
[04:10.880 -> 04:15.280] battle Hamilton being chased by Alonso being chased by Russell it was either going to be
[04:15.280 -> 04:22.480] decided on track or in the pit lane on the pit wall it was all about two against one and you
[04:22.480 -> 04:26.320] know the usual things that we've seen and I think Aston Martin would have been like,
[04:26.320 -> 04:29.440] yeah, we would have sharpened our strategy tools
[04:29.440 -> 04:30.880] had we sort of been in the fight.
[04:30.880 -> 04:33.600] But Fernando said, just leave it to me,
[04:33.600 -> 04:35.560] I'm gonna deal with it on track.
[04:35.560 -> 04:39.200] I love this whole banter they had on the wire play network.
[04:39.200 -> 04:40.640] The reporter asked Hamilton,
[04:40.640 -> 04:41.880] yo, you got him at the start?
[04:41.880 -> 04:43.440] And then he said, yeah, yeah, I did.
[04:43.440 -> 04:46.000] And then Hamilton said, it's just age.
[04:46.000 -> 04:47.560] His reflexes have slowed down.
[04:47.560 -> 04:49.040] Of course, this was in good chest.
[04:49.480 -> 04:54.280] And then Fernando said, you know, I'll pay it back in Austria.
[04:54.280 -> 04:58.720] And, you know, it was an epic, it was an epic podium, three world champions on the
[04:58.720 -> 05:00.640] grid, all three of them on the podium.
[05:01.080 -> 05:08.880] And Adrian Newey, 200 wins in Formula 1. I mean just on the weekend when Max equaled
[05:08.880 -> 05:13.440] Senna's record, Christian Horner went and told him you need to win a few more because Adrian has 200
[05:13.440 -> 05:19.120] wins in Formula 1. My god at this rate it might probably still happen. Actually you know what
[05:19.120 -> 05:24.400] I so badly want to talk about all the other battles about Alonso versus Hamilton, about
[05:24.400 -> 05:29.800] Magnussen versus De Vries, about Lando Norris's stupid penalty in my opinion, and a lot more about
[05:29.800 -> 05:34.700] Lance Stroll as well. But we just have to get Red Bull Racing out of the way, right?
[05:34.700 -> 05:37.920] Because they just run away with every single race. Let's just actually give them that one
[05:37.920 -> 05:42.480] minute of space, and then we can move to the good stuff. Because Kunal, is there something
[05:42.480 -> 05:45.760] that Max can't do at the moment in time anything? I think
[05:45.760 -> 05:49.440] at this stage he might as well drive the Formula 1 2-seater car with Kelly Piquet in the back and
[05:49.440 -> 05:59.120] still might end up winning. Well I think one thing that Max couldn't do in Canada was top the drivers
[05:59.920 -> 06:04.720] you know driver of the day fan voting whatever thing but I guess that's the least interesting
[06:04.720 -> 06:07.160] thing that anyone could sort of be interested in.
[06:07.160 -> 06:09.520] But he was so interesting. Max was driving around.
[06:09.520 -> 06:10.680] He hit the wall. He laughed.
[06:10.680 -> 06:12.680] Ha ha ha. That curb almost got me out.
[06:12.680 -> 06:16.160] And, you know, that's how much ease with which he was driving.
[06:16.160 -> 06:18.520] Ladies and gentlemen, this is the Max Wischtappen era.
[06:18.520 -> 06:21.080] We've just come out of the Lewis Hamilton Mercedes era.
[06:21.080 -> 06:23.320] We've enjoyed that history being made.
[06:23.320 -> 06:26.560] Now is this. It is time to sit back and
[06:26.560 -> 06:32.880] enjoy history being made with Max Verstappen and Red Bull Racing. And like Lewis said,
[06:34.000 -> 06:40.720] Max is very capable of winning his 103 wins record. I mean, come to think of it, that's like
[06:41.680 -> 06:45.520] 60 plus more wins, but could it happen in the next 70 races?
[06:45.520 -> 06:50.880] You never know. I mean, Red Bull is what? 18 wins in the last 19 races, right?
[06:52.320 -> 06:57.840] That's bad. That's bad. But, uh, I, for a second, really want to talk about Sergio Perez-Cunal.
[06:57.840 -> 07:01.920] It just doesn't add up. In the middle of the race, we were tracking his lap times and he was
[07:01.920 -> 07:07.360] consistently around seven tenths, one second slower slower than Max even though he was on the mediums when Max
[07:07.360 -> 07:10.920] was on the hards yes Chekhov was in the middle of a train that he shouldn't have
[07:10.920 -> 07:14.880] been a part of in the first place and yes his tyres were slightly older here
[07:14.880 -> 07:19.760] or there but one second off on an average that just isn't right and yet
[07:19.760 -> 07:24.640] again it's another qualifying when he's not out of Q I'm not into Q3 basically
[07:24.640 -> 07:26.480] is where he is that just is silly in my opinion and apparently it's another qualifying when he's not out of Q, I'm not into Q3 basically, is where he is. That just
[07:26.480 -> 07:31.280] is silly in my opinion and apparently it's because Sergio Perez has come out to the media and said
[07:31.280 -> 07:36.240] that hey I'm trying to change my driving style. Now to what he's changing it to is just all of
[07:36.240 -> 07:40.320] our guess. I think definitely has to be something closer to what Max does right because that's how
[07:40.320 -> 07:45.440] you can extract the maximum out of the car. But whatever it is Kunal, I think it's just
[07:45.440 -> 07:50.720] costing him more than he's gaining at the moment. I think the biggest gap in history overturned
[07:50.720 -> 07:56.160] has already been surpassed. Sergio has to pass what? Overturn a 60-70 point gap to win the title
[07:56.160 -> 08:00.080] now? Surely that's going to happen right? It's very very very possible. Definitely it is.
[08:00.080 -> 08:06.400] It is. It is possible if Max Verstappen decides to take a few breaks and be like,
[08:06.400 -> 08:10.560] hey, I need some more competition, I need more drivers to sort of come in.
[08:10.560 -> 08:12.720] But you asked a very interesting question,
[08:12.720 -> 08:16.080] is there something Max Verstappen cannot do?
[08:16.080 -> 08:18.000] And I actually found an answer.
[08:18.000 -> 08:22.400] He cannot or he is not allowed to run at Nürburgring
[08:22.400 -> 08:24.720] when Sebastian Vettel and Daniel Ricciardo
[08:24.720 -> 08:25.360] actually take their old Red Bull racing cars around the Nürburgring when Sebastian Vettel and Daniel Ricciardo actually take their
[08:25.360 -> 08:29.760] old Red Bull racing cars around the Nürburgring and Helmut Marko turned around and said, guess what,
[08:30.320 -> 08:37.520] my dear Max, you will take it to the max. So I will do my max to not let Max drive Max's Red Bull
[08:37.520 -> 08:41.840] car at Nürburgring. I was trying to, you know, you guys get the gist of what I was trying, but
[08:42.480 -> 08:45.440] One sec, one sec, one sec, one sec, I have to stop you there.
[08:45.840 -> 08:47.680] I did the impeding part again, but no,
[08:47.680 -> 08:50.320] is it similar to rising number one of Formula 1,
[08:50.320 -> 08:53.360] one wonders what he would want to win his first Formula 1,
[08:53.680 -> 08:55.440] if one had to pick one?
[08:56.000 -> 08:57.760] I miss one Pablo Montoya,
[08:57.760 -> 09:00.720] just because we cannot make any Formula 1 jokes.
[09:10.720 -> 09:16.000] I mean, his son, Sebastian Montoya might race here but Sebastian you know Formula Sebastian doesn't make sense we can just call him one Fablo Junior so like Carlos Junior just for
[09:16.000 -> 09:26.000] fun sake but version 1.1 we digressing too badly We're digressing way too badly.
[09:26.000 -> 09:32.640] Banter is what you get on our podcast because banter is what we actually love watching Formula
[09:32.640 -> 09:33.640] 1 for.
[09:33.640 -> 09:35.960] And I can't remember where exactly were we.
[09:35.960 -> 09:39.060] We were at the Nürburgring Max Verstappen.
[09:39.060 -> 09:40.060] You cannot do that.
[09:40.060 -> 09:42.200] But you know Red Bull should actually flip it around.
[09:42.200 -> 09:44.120] Max, you want to have a go at Nürburgring?
[09:44.120 -> 09:50.000] Great. Go win the title before that and then you can sit out the next many races if you'd like to.
[09:50.000 -> 09:54.000] But it's not just Helmut Marko that can put him in his place.
[09:54.000 -> 09:58.000] Gian Piero Lambiasi as well. Like, yeah, thank you, Max. Go ahead and do your job.
[09:58.000 -> 10:02.000] Like, put your head down. That's what he said on the radio. It's amazing.
[10:02.000 -> 10:05.600] I think nobody else has that much control over Max Verstappen.
[10:05.600 -> 10:07.600] Not even his dad at this stage.
[10:07.600 -> 10:14.000] You know, they should put GP in Perez's car. Period.
[10:14.000 -> 10:18.000] Then you'll find somebody who's able to match Max Verstappen.
[10:18.000 -> 10:21.600] Maybe even put him in his place. Like you said, of course, guys, I'm joking.
[10:21.600 -> 10:24.600] GP is a former colleague from Force India.
[10:24.600 -> 10:28.560] Now you hear him. Very calm, very course, guys, I'm joking. GP is a former colleague from Force India. Now you hear him very calm, very composed, very direct,
[10:28.560 -> 10:33.440] putting Max in proportion, if that's the word to use.
[10:33.440 -> 10:38.160] But I love that banter that sort of goes on the circuit.
[10:38.160 -> 10:41.320] But I think, Somal, that's enough of Max and Red Bull.
[10:41.320 -> 10:42.840] 100 wins, congratulations.
[10:42.840 -> 10:46.560] All 100 under Christian Horner, Adrian Newey, all of that.
[10:47.120 -> 10:54.800] I mean, history is being made, only five constructors have won 100 races. And you know,
[10:54.800 -> 10:58.640] you know the other four, you don't even need to need me to read them out. It's easy to guess the
[10:58.640 -> 11:05.920] historic ones. Yeah, exactly. But on the subject of Max, were you saying we've spoken enough on Max or we've seen
[11:05.920 -> 11:11.040] enough on Max in a broader sense? Because I think I really want Max to dominate at the top because
[11:11.040 -> 11:18.160] what that does is create such an epic battle at the back. Now, yesterday, oh no, actually from
[11:18.160 -> 11:21.840] the day we're recording, yesterday from the day we're recording, we had this amazing event at
[11:21.840 -> 11:29.680] Versova Social in Mumbai. Firstly, a huge thank you to all 20 of you who showed up. It was very, very late at night. So, generally, it means the
[11:29.680 -> 11:33.760] world to us that you showed up, even though tomorrow, the next day was a Monday, right? And
[11:33.760 -> 11:38.000] so that's just a great commitment for you to make. And we really appreciate it from the bottom of
[11:38.000 -> 11:43.280] our hearts. But for all of them who showed up, Kunal, they got a treat because we got to see
[11:45.280 -> 11:47.860] All of them who showed up, Kunal, they got a treat because we got to see Lewis versus Fernando, a proper classic battle.
[11:47.860 -> 11:51.740] And not just that, we got to see Russell in that battle as well.
[11:51.740 -> 11:55.600] We got to see another incredible battle with Landon Norris and Oscar Piastri.
[11:55.600 -> 12:02.020] We got such a great, great one with Russell versus Albon, Albon versus Magnussen, DeVries
[12:02.020 -> 12:04.300] versus Magnussen as well at the end of the day.
[12:04.300 -> 12:05.760] Just so much great racing
[12:05.760 -> 12:11.200] and you mentioned to me while we were preparing for this episode that we had two major DRS trains
[12:11.200 -> 12:16.000] but none of those trains felt boring for even a minute. Just what changed suddenly for Canada
[12:16.000 -> 12:20.400] that gave us such a great show and helped us enjoy so much at the live event that we had there.
[12:20.400 -> 12:46.800] Well one of the things that happened is Nico Halkenberg was massively out of place right. He He was P2 and then of course he got the penalty, which was very strange. He got a penalty for driving too slow under the red flag. Usually it's like the reverse, like, hey, you were too fast and boom, penalty. And you know, people keep asking Hulkenberg about, hey, are you rusty? You've come back after three years of racing. Are you a little slow? Well, the truth is he knows how to be fast,
[12:46.800 -> 12:49.840] but he doesn't know how to be slow when he needs to be slow.
[12:49.840 -> 12:50.880] So that's what caught him out.
[12:50.880 -> 12:52.960] So it was, of course, a Hulkenberg train,
[12:52.960 -> 12:55.760] which was where he went backwards.
[12:55.760 -> 12:58.320] Then it was the Alban train where Alban actually
[12:58.320 -> 12:59.280] went forwards.
[12:59.280 -> 13:04.800] I mean, it was the most epic way to witness a Grand Prix,
[13:04.800 -> 13:05.520] I would say.
[13:05.520 -> 13:06.520] Yeah.
[13:06.520 -> 13:07.520] It's absurd, Kunal.
[13:07.520 -> 13:14.520] Alex Albon firstly does not belong in the points or does not belong in the 13th minute of any episode of the Inside Line F1 podcast.
[13:14.520 -> 13:16.520] Especially, you know, Williams.
[13:16.520 -> 13:17.520] How?
[13:17.520 -> 13:21.520] Like, just, I know qualifying was incredible and they were able to maximize the long straights.
[13:21.520 -> 13:23.520] But does it still baffle you?
[13:23.520 -> 13:29.760] Because I have slept over it and I still can't imagine how he firstly got past Kevin Magnussen and Oscar Piastri. Yes,
[13:29.760 -> 13:34.000] they both made mistakes, but to keep that position when he was consistently 7 tenths
[13:34.000 -> 13:39.200] slower than everyone around him, it just doesn't add up to me. Well, I'll tell you what, I love
[13:39.200 -> 13:45.400] Formula 1 without the DRS wing. We, you know, we normally keep saying the Red Bull is so good
[13:45.400 -> 13:49.120] just give them a Red Bull chassis. In the previous era I was like the Mercedes
[13:49.120 -> 13:53.120] engines are so good give everybody a Mercedes engine. I think in this era we
[13:53.120 -> 13:57.640] need to give everybody a Williams chassis and the Mercedes engine or
[13:57.640 -> 14:05.680] whatever that goes. Yes. You know as slippery, low downforce, draggy, whatever you call it is that and is that I mean
[14:06.240 -> 14:16.400] Albin for 30-40 laps whatever kept DRS enabled cars behind him. To me that was absolutely epic.
[14:16.400 -> 14:21.680] I mean he didn't even have to switch on the DRS to keep everybody behind him. Yeah and the one
[14:21.680 -> 14:28.060] time he made an error Kunal, he was immediately able to force the other driver back into an error so that he got the position which was Oscar
[14:28.060 -> 14:33.340] Piastri at the end of the day. I just love it and even in his battle with George Russell,
[14:33.340 -> 14:37.000] he was able to hold his nerve so well and then of course, things happen that helped
[14:37.000 -> 14:41.360] Russell go past and eventually Russell retired but we'll get to that in a second but you're
[14:41.360 -> 14:49.040] right we should just give a Williams to everyone because low downforce means more exciting racing and it's the same debate that people in MotoGP are
[14:49.040 -> 14:52.280] also having where they're just contemplating wings and looking at them and being like do
[14:52.280 -> 14:56.120] we really need them because without them racing is just better so let's just give everyone
[14:56.120 -> 14:57.120] a Williams Kunal.
[14:57.120 -> 15:01.760] And you know Samuel Williams knew that this circuit would aid them.
[15:01.760 -> 15:05.400] They knew Albin would be the driver to bet on. Obviously, I'm not
[15:05.400 -> 15:10.280] saying Sargent is bad, but Albin is just more experienced, right? So what did they do? They
[15:10.280 -> 15:16.520] gave Albin the upgrades. Only Albin had the upgrades, right? And then the second is they
[15:16.520 -> 15:22.180] actually took a new engine on Albin's car. So they basically, in their own words, threw
[15:22.180 -> 15:25.280] everything they could at this weekend. And guess what?
[15:25.760 -> 15:26.920] They scored points.
[15:26.920 -> 15:29.800] They beat AlphaTauri to ninth place in the championship.
[15:29.800 -> 15:33.040] And I think it's their 800th or 801st race.
[15:33.040 -> 15:37.760] So also a milestone Grand Prix for Williams as a team, as a brand, as a legacy.
[15:38.080 -> 15:39.000] Yeah, exactly.
[15:39.000 -> 15:42.560] And I'm just curious to see what happens in Austria the next time out.
[15:42.560 -> 15:45.200] Because remember, long straights over there as well.
[15:45.200 -> 15:47.440] Lots of quick corners.
[15:47.440 -> 15:51.040] And I wonder how the Williams will fare in that particular circuit.
[15:51.040 -> 15:52.560] And also a couple of really slow ones too.
[15:52.560 -> 15:53.880] So I'm just curious.
[15:53.880 -> 15:57.840] And that means that when we have a live event for Austria in Mumbai as well,
[15:57.840 -> 16:00.840] I think we should all just gather in, not to watch Max,
[16:00.840 -> 16:03.560] but just to watch what Alex Albon particularly can do.
[16:03.560 -> 16:06.480] Because I am a fan. But you know what,
[16:06.480 -> 16:12.640] I'm also a fan of Kunal. I'm such a huge fan of Fernando Alonso faking things. Did you see his
[16:12.640 -> 16:16.880] unsafe release drama over there? It was like a footballer diving because there was so much space
[16:16.880 -> 16:20.960] for Lewis Hamilton to get into but it felt like Alonso was just like, oh no he hit me, he hit me,
[16:20.960 -> 16:31.600] but yeah fair game. You know Samuel, I'm going to actually just go back to Alban for one thing. If Checo Perez doesn't keep performing, we keep wondering, will they
[16:31.600 -> 16:35.840] put Ricardo in the car, et cetera, et cetera. And there are a lot of questions about Ricardo for
[16:35.840 -> 16:42.400] obvious reasons. I would just say, they should put Alexander Alban back in the Red Bull. I mean,
[16:42.400 -> 16:46.280] look at that guy. You get one opportunity like this,
[16:46.280 -> 16:48.120] or one or two opportunities in the season,
[16:48.120 -> 16:49.640] you grab them, you seize it,
[16:49.640 -> 16:51.880] and you're like, I'm gonna wring everything out of the car
[16:51.880 -> 16:53.360] and score all the points that I need to.
[16:53.360 -> 16:56.200] I mean, remember, he's still half Thai.
[16:56.200 -> 16:57.940] Red Bull is still half Thai.
[16:57.940 -> 17:01.120] You never know if there are any backroom conversations
[17:01.120 -> 17:02.280] that end up saying, you know what,
[17:02.280 -> 17:11.360] we need to give our boy one more chance, and so on, just so that, I mean, I'm just stirring up a controversy. I would love to see Ducato back,
[17:11.360 -> 17:17.200] I would love to see Perez do his thing, but just wanted to do that. But you spoke,
[17:18.080 -> 17:25.640] Fernando Alonso, right? Very, very, very interesting how, leave it to me, it actually worked for him.
[17:25.640 -> 17:30.040] He said he'll never have a single race in 2023 where he'll be off the podium.
[17:30.040 -> 17:31.040] And guess what?
[17:31.040 -> 17:35.780] He delivers first thing in after the next race in Canada.
[17:35.780 -> 17:36.780] He was P2 last year.
[17:36.780 -> 17:38.620] He didn't finish P2 last year.
[17:38.620 -> 17:39.620] He was P2 this year.
[17:39.620 -> 17:41.700] He actually finished P2 this year.
[17:41.700 -> 17:42.900] I love Fernando.
[17:42.900 -> 17:48.480] I really do. And I just loved the mind games at the end,
[17:48.480 -> 17:50.640] where Fernando just had to lift off here and there.
[17:50.640 -> 17:52.360] And I was just wondering, OK, but why?
[17:52.360 -> 17:53.080] What is it?
[17:53.080 -> 17:54.760] But he was able to make the tires last.
[17:54.760 -> 17:57.480] And even with that brake issue that he
[17:57.480 -> 17:59.680] was suffering at the end, he was calm as ever.
[17:59.680 -> 18:02.360] In fact, he was pulling up time on Lewis Hamilton,
[18:02.360 -> 18:03.520] which I find amazing.
[18:03.520 -> 18:06.000] But again, I think we got one hint
[18:06.000 -> 18:11.280] of the old Fernando Canal when he faked that unsafe release thing. I mean, we know, we know for
[18:11.280 -> 18:15.680] a fact that Fernando Alonso had so much space for Lewis to come in there, but he was like,
[18:15.680 -> 18:20.080] oh, we've got to give it a try at least. It's like a football or diving. And I love the mind games.
[18:20.080 -> 18:30.200] It's beautiful. And this is what we watch Formula One for, right? I mean, drivers trying everything they can to force the opposition off, pressure them,
[18:30.200 -> 18:31.520] force the stewards, all of that.
[18:31.520 -> 18:32.520] I loved it.
[18:32.520 -> 18:35.560] I love Toto Wolff imitating Fernando.
[18:35.560 -> 18:37.400] I don't think Toto can do it in the actual cockpit.
[18:37.400 -> 18:40.480] So he said, why don't I just do it for the cameras and on the mic?
[18:40.480 -> 18:42.640] It's easier for me to do that.
[18:42.640 -> 18:44.920] And I don't know, could you call that unsportsmanlike?
[18:44.920 -> 19:06.200] Well, we can go down that road later. But no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, They were one second slower than Aston Martin and that's why Lewis was put in the position he was put in.
[19:06.200 -> 19:11.200] But guess what, it made for great television, it gave us a glimpse of the old Fernando.
[19:11.200 -> 19:18.200] I loved it. But yes, let's go on to Lando Norris, the most unsportsmanlike driver in Canada.
[19:18.200 -> 19:21.000] Because he was the only one to get the unsportsmanlike penalty, right?
[19:21.000 -> 19:29.100] Actually, even Max was unsportsmanlike, to be honest. He just didn't leave a chance for anyone. That's that's unfair. That's not right. Damn
[19:29.100 -> 19:34.860] you FI for not penalizing Max. No but on a more serious note, just sorry Kunal
[19:34.860 -> 19:38.620] but what does unsportsmanlike mean at the end of the day? I'm just curious. I
[19:38.620 -> 19:47.600] mean when you do things to get an advantage, an unfair advantage if that's the word to put it that way.
[19:47.600 -> 19:52.600] I mean and frankly okay let me put it this way if Norris got an unsportsmanlike penalty
[19:52.600 -> 19:58.800] for slowing down himself and hence everybody else in the pit lane that's opening you know
[19:58.800 -> 20:04.600] the FI is opening a Pandora's box because typically when a driver does that oh my god
[20:04.600 -> 20:05.200] look at that.
[20:05.200 -> 20:06.200] He's so smart.
[20:06.440 -> 20:09.120] He needs more time so he doesn't have to be stationary.
[20:09.120 -> 20:11.920] He's holding himself back and, you know, special awareness.
[20:11.920 -> 20:13.840] And, you know, we go into those whole conversations.
[20:13.840 -> 20:14.720] Special awareness.
[20:15.480 -> 20:16.960] I'm using that for a reason.
[20:16.960 -> 20:18.600] It's a cue to what's coming next, guys.
[20:18.600 -> 20:24.120] Right. But, you know, we suddenly praise these drivers and we've done that several times in history.
[20:24.120 -> 20:26.960] And that's what that's what, that's what Lando Norris said.
[20:26.960 -> 20:32.960] If you go back in history, there are several drivers who will then deserve the same penalty for being on Sportsmanlike, whatever.
[20:32.960 -> 20:35.840] Right. And let me just also go back.
[20:35.840 -> 20:40.480] Since I said Pandora's box, I'm sort of opening it up again.
[20:40.480 -> 20:46.960] 2016, Abu Dhabi, Lewis Hamilton slowing down Nico Rosberg so Max Verstappen could
[20:46.960 -> 20:53.040] attack him and this was you know title deciding race last race of the season. If Lewis is
[20:53.040 -> 21:00.340] able to slow Nico Rosberg in racing conditions on the racetrack and then we don't call that
[21:00.340 -> 21:05.040] unsportsmanlike and mind you it's not me I'm not calling it unsportsmanlike. And mind you, it's not me, I'm not calling it unsportsmanlike. I think
[21:05.920 -> 21:10.960] I believe in that old adage, winning the race at the slowest possible pace. And that's what
[21:10.960 -> 21:15.680] Lewis was trying to do at that time, right? So if that was not unsportsmanlike, where in real
[21:15.680 -> 21:20.400] racing conditions, you're slowing somebody down, well, in a pit lane where you're already slow,
[21:20.400 -> 21:25.280] why is it unsportsmanlike if you slow somebody down there? And again, this is where
[21:25.280 -> 21:29.760] the FIA's inconsistencies can sort of show up. And I really hope they go back and say,
[21:29.760 -> 21:35.440] we made a mistake. Drivers, please do all the cheeky things you can to get an advantage.
[21:36.640 -> 21:42.880] I mean, at one point I get it because eventually, if you allow it to happen, people will sort of
[21:42.880 -> 21:45.220] take advantage of it in very extreme ways.
[21:45.220 -> 21:50.260] But again, I don't think you can clamp that down as being unsportsmanlike.
[21:50.260 -> 21:53.780] It's hardly he's just trying to take advantage of a rule that exists.
[21:53.780 -> 21:57.660] Because if that's the case, even spending more than your competitors in Formula One
[21:57.660 -> 22:00.420] Kunal is unsportsmanlike.
[22:00.420 -> 22:03.660] You're making it an unfair playing field.
[22:03.660 -> 22:04.660] That's unfair.
[22:04.660 -> 22:06.840] That's unsportsmanlike in my opinion.
[22:06.840 -> 22:10.480] I mean, banging wheels while going wheel to wheel,
[22:10.480 -> 22:13.080] you know, not giving somebody space,
[22:13.080 -> 22:15.840] or just giving enough space, or squeezing someone,
[22:15.840 -> 22:18.040] all of those things are then unsportsmanlike.
[22:18.040 -> 22:21.320] I mean, now that we are expanding on unsportsmanlike.
[22:21.320 -> 22:23.440] So I really think they should,
[22:23.440 -> 22:26.320] FIA should turn up and say, guys, we screwed up. Not that they ever do that.
[22:26.320 -> 22:33.360] But that's just where we are with this whole unsportsmanlike conversation, I would say.
[22:33.360 -> 22:37.760] Oh, no, no, no. They'll come back at the start of the next race saying that, hey, we'll come back with the report.
[22:37.760 -> 22:40.720] Then two weeks later, they'll come back with another report that says, hey, we fucked up.
[22:40.720 -> 22:46.240] Wait, I wasn't meant to say that. But yeah, we messed up. And we're not going to
[22:46.240 -> 22:50.080] correct it because it's not our fault. We made a mistake, but it's not a mistake. But it's not
[22:50.080 -> 22:54.720] our fault, but we're not going to correct it. So I just don't get it. By the way, shouldn't cutting
[22:54.720 -> 23:00.400] the curve also be unsportsmanlike and all technically? Oh, boy, Samu. Let's move on.
[23:00.400 -> 23:05.760] What's next? Are we moving on to spatial awareness? I'm itching to talk about that.
[23:05.760 -> 23:10.840] Actually, before we get to spatial awareness, let's actually put this as well.
[23:10.840 -> 23:15.920] Is also having a flexi rear wing on Sportsman like because Esteban Ocon had that?
[23:15.920 -> 23:16.920] Oh boy.
[23:16.920 -> 23:17.920] Oh boy.
[23:17.920 -> 23:18.920] Oh boy.
[23:18.920 -> 23:19.920] That was interesting.
[23:19.920 -> 23:20.920] That flexi rear wing.
[23:20.920 -> 23:24.920] I mean, Alpine was like, everybody has flexing front wings.
[23:24.920 -> 23:27.080] Let us show the world and Laura Rossi
[23:27.080 -> 23:29.020] how we can have a flexible rear wing.
[23:29.020 -> 23:34.020] And that was very interesting physics at play
[23:34.160 -> 23:37.600] because every time he was breaking,
[23:37.600 -> 23:39.560] every time he was going through the curves,
[23:39.560 -> 23:42.560] the wing was flexing because it had no load on it
[23:42.560 -> 23:43.640] at that time.
[23:43.640 -> 23:46.000] But every time Esab1 Ocon picked up speed
[23:46.640 -> 23:51.200] and there was aero load and pressure, that wing was as stable as it could have ever been on
[23:51.200 -> 23:56.800] television. And Landonaut is joked post-racing. After I saw it, I was sort of ducking in my
[23:56.800 -> 24:03.840] cockpit a little more just in case that thing flew off. I mean, we either expected it to fly
[24:03.840 -> 24:05.200] off, which thankfully it didn't,
[24:05.200 -> 24:06.600] because that could have been dangerous,
[24:06.600 -> 24:09.880] or we thought the FIA will offer some sort of a flag
[24:09.880 -> 24:13.420] or penalty or something, but well, it's crossed,
[24:13.420 -> 24:16.360] it has passed post-race scrutineering as well.
[24:16.360 -> 24:19.080] And is this where Adrian Newey turns up and says,
[24:19.080 -> 24:22.720] I can make my rear wings flex, you watch me guys.
[24:22.720 -> 24:25.680] And that's what's coming up in next Red Bull upgrade you know and
[24:26.640 -> 24:32.560] Red Bull's next upgrade and then they will also write saying we saw Canada 2023 Alpine flex so
[24:32.560 -> 24:39.360] we have flexi wings now and you know I'm going to offer this thing Adrian Newey 200 bins you know
[24:39.360 -> 25:05.000] number of championships etc legend he was standing now you know guys remember the pit lane opens and closes 10 minutes earlier. So usually it was you know 20 past the hour to you know 30 past the hour and now it's 10 past the hour to 20 past the hour. So Adrian knew he gets 10 more minutes on the on the start grid. He was literally just standing and staring at every car on the grid with his pen, pencil,
[25:05.280 -> 25:06.280] I don't know what it was.
[25:06.280 -> 25:08.840] And I could see it was a white notebook.
[25:08.840 -> 25:10.600] And I was just like, wow, that's the best thing,
[25:10.600 -> 25:14.360] best job in the world to just stare at Formula One cars.
[25:14.360 -> 25:15.440] We do that too, Ishaan.
[25:15.440 -> 25:17.560] We just don't get paid half as much.
[25:17.560 -> 25:20.280] Yeah, it's unsupportable from Red Bull not to hire us.
[25:20.280 -> 25:24.440] No, but all the jokes aside,
[25:24.440 -> 25:28.880] really it is just amazing to see the guy and how raw his
[25:28.880 -> 25:30.500] passion is.
[25:30.500 -> 25:33.520] It's outstanding when you can get to see and it's amazing to have him at the race weekends
[25:33.520 -> 25:37.720] because every now and then after every dramatic Red Bull event, you can pan the camera to
[25:37.720 -> 25:40.400] Adrian Newey and he'd be doing nothing.
[25:40.400 -> 25:41.840] Just same expression all the time.
[25:41.840 -> 25:42.840] It's beautiful.
[25:42.840 -> 25:51.920] But actually, before we get to all the other stuff and before we also get to chat a lot more about spatial awareness, we need to actually
[25:51.920 -> 25:57.600] first get to some more context of the race from a numbers perspective. And so for that,
[25:57.600 -> 26:03.280] we have F1 Stats Guru with his post race review of the stats of the race. Let's go.
[26:03.280 -> 26:07.560] Hey folks, it's time to do the stats review of the Canadian Grand Prix. My name is Sundaram,
[26:07.560 -> 26:11.640] also known as the F1 Stats Guru. Let's get straight into the numbers.
[26:11.640 -> 26:16.200] Max Verstappen has matched Ayrton Senna's number of race wins in Formula 1, 41. He's
[26:16.200 -> 26:21.960] led 224 consecutive laps, the most since 1992. And Red Bull became the fifth team to take
[26:21.960 -> 26:25.120] 100 wins in Formula 1. You see, Verstappen and Red Bull have the fifth team to take 100 wins in Formula 1. You see, Bustappen and Red Bull
[26:25.120 -> 26:30.240] have continued to achieve milestones and break records in nearly every race this season.
[26:30.240 -> 26:34.320] However, the record that really captures my interest is the one for the most consecutive
[26:34.320 -> 26:40.640] wins by a constructor. McLaren set the benchmark for winning the first 11 races of the 1988 season
[26:40.640 -> 26:45.680] and that's remained unbroken for 35 years. It's the ultimate test of dominance.
[26:45.680 -> 26:51.200] Now Red Bull have won 9 races in a row, including all of the 8 opening rounds this season.
[26:51.200 -> 26:54.960] And the record could potentially be broken at the Belgian Grand Prix this year.
[26:54.960 -> 26:57.040] Which is the last race before the summer break.
[26:57.040 -> 27:00.520] The perfect way to head into the mid-season break, don't you think?
[27:00.520 -> 27:02.920] But now let's shift focus to Mercedes engines.
[27:02.920 -> 27:05.000] Because since 2010, there's always been at
[27:05.000 -> 27:09.840] least one Mercedes-powered car on the podium of the Canadian Grand Prix. First it was the
[27:09.840 -> 27:13.880] McLarens, then the Mercedes-Benz Works team joined along with Williams, and now it's
[27:13.880 -> 27:16.420] Aston Martin's time in the spotlight.
[27:16.420 -> 27:20.360] Like I said before, Fernando Alonso is having the time of his life. He's already secured
[27:20.360 -> 27:28.800] six podium finishes in 2023, which is two more podiums than what Sergio Perez has taken this year. And it's also the first time since 2014 that Alonso has surpassed
[27:28.800 -> 27:35.120] 100 points in a single season. His current tally of 117 points after 8 races is his best
[27:35.120 -> 27:38.080] start to a season under the current points system.
[27:38.080 -> 27:41.760] And remember, Fernando said Aston Martin are going to be taking a podium in each and every
[27:41.760 -> 27:46.320] race year onwards. And I'm only wondering where is Lance Stroll?
[27:46.320 -> 27:51.320] But Alex Albon was the star driver of the Canadian Grand Prix because he completed over
[27:51.320 -> 27:55.080] 50 laps on one set of tyres and eventually secured P7.
[27:55.080 -> 28:00.040] That's Williams' best result in a full race since Nicholas Latifi's P7 finish at
[28:00.040 -> 28:05.920] the 2021 Hungarian Grand Prix and their best result in a dry race since 2017. No wonder
[28:05.920 -> 28:08.400] they were celebrating as if they had won the race.
[28:08.400 -> 28:13.400] All in all, it was a fantastic weekend for Mercedes' customers, except one, McLaren.
[28:13.400 -> 28:17.200] Blanco Norris pulled some impressive moves during the race, but perhaps he pulled one
[28:17.200 -> 28:21.840] too many, because he received a penalty for unsportsmanlike behaviour, which ultimately
[28:21.840 -> 28:29.520] pushed him out of the points. Interestingly, the circuit Gilles Villeneuve is the only track where Norris has not scored points when starting a minimum of
[28:29.520 -> 28:36.160] 3 races. And McLaren haven't scored in Canada since 2014. So it remains to see how long will
[28:36.160 -> 28:40.960] they take to get on the scoreboard in Canada. And that was the stats review of the Canadian
[28:40.960 -> 28:48.880] Grand Prix. I hope you folks enjoyed it. For more such interesting stats and facts from this race week, do follow me on my Twitter and Instagram under the name F1StatsGuru.
[28:48.880 -> 28:53.760] I'll see you folks very soon. Welcome back in folks to the InsideLine F1 podcast. That ladies
[28:53.760 -> 29:00.640] and gentlemen was F1StatsGuru with his post race stats review and we now have to talk a lot about
[29:00.640 -> 29:05.680] Ferrari and also George Russell. But before we do that, let's talk about spatial awareness, Kunal.
[29:05.680 -> 29:08.360] George Russell apparently has great spatial awareness.
[29:08.360 -> 29:12.960] His F1 game rating is 83 as far as I'm aware.
[29:12.960 -> 29:20.520] He did a good job, but I just don't get how Kevin Magnussen, who made the absolute worst
[29:20.520 -> 29:24.920] move I've seen so far this season on Nick DeVries, gets an 85 awareness rating.
[29:24.920 -> 29:26.400] I mean, where was the space? You know, Somil, I think by the end of this season on Nick DeVries gets an 85 awareness rating. I mean where was this face?
[29:26.400 -> 29:29.920] You know Samul I think by the end of this season, well actually that's too late, but
[29:29.920 -> 29:34.160] by the end of the next two or three races you would have memorized that whole table
[29:34.160 -> 29:41.320] of which driver has how many points in which part of awareness, racing, experience, speed,
[29:41.320 -> 29:42.480] whatever those metrics are.
[29:42.480 -> 29:45.320] You know we could wake you at two in the morning saying,
[29:45.320 -> 29:46.480] Samul, wake up.
[29:46.480 -> 29:49.440] What is Yuki Sonoda's blah, blah, blah rating?
[29:49.440 -> 29:51.160] And you'll be like, 73.
[29:51.160 -> 29:52.000] And you'll go back to sleep.
[29:52.000 -> 29:54.440] That's a good chance you'll do that.
[29:54.440 -> 29:58.480] But George Russell, spatial awareness.
[29:58.480 -> 30:00.680] I can't remember my English pronunciation.
[30:00.680 -> 30:04.000] But I noticed you and I are doing different things,
[30:04.000 -> 30:05.220] but that's good because we have different
[30:05.220 -> 30:11.120] setups anyway, even though we are teammates on the podcast, right?
[30:11.120 -> 30:18.620] He was so spatially aware that he could hit the wall, have what we thought was a suspension
[30:18.620 -> 30:32.000] failure, but turned out to be just a wheel rim and a knocked out thing and go back to the pits and get it fixed and run in the top 8. That was incredible for me.
[30:32.000 -> 30:46.040] But Samil, also a note to how strong these cars were. We saw all of them, I'm exaggerating, probably all of them did hit the wall at some point, but we saw some of them, especially in the top, hit the wall.
[30:46.040 -> 30:48.360] But these cars could withstand those hits.
[30:48.360 -> 30:52.720] I mean, a few years ago, we were just seeing everything just flying over, including like
[30:52.720 -> 30:56.360] the smallest nut and bolt would just be all over the circuit, right?
[30:56.360 -> 31:01.480] And then Max Verstappen, he hit a bird and he still finished the race.
[31:01.480 -> 31:02.480] He won.
[31:02.480 -> 31:06.200] I think one of his brake ducts actually had a bird stuck, and he still won by 10 seconds.
[31:06.200 -> 31:11.720] So hats off to these tanks that the FIA has got the teams
[31:11.720 -> 31:13.320] to build by the regulations.
[31:13.320 -> 31:15.400] But there we are.
[31:15.400 -> 31:19.440] But you also mentioned Mugnuson and DeVries.
[31:19.440 -> 31:22.480] And to me, that was interesting, because Russell
[31:22.480 -> 31:30.640] made a good point of that and overtook overtook two cars in one corner which was great but Nick DeVries was doing what they probably
[31:30.640 -> 31:37.920] do in Formula E. It was like I won't make the corner but I'll make sure you don't make the
[31:37.920 -> 31:43.280] corner either let's just go down the escape route. I mean when they say he has experience
[31:43.280 -> 31:48.160] I don't know what experience they were talking about because that looked like a rookie rookie error. You
[31:48.160 -> 31:52.400] know we have that ancient saying right, your mom will always tell you, hey if
[31:52.400 -> 31:55.520] your friend will go and jump into a well will you follow him as well. I think
[31:55.520 -> 31:59.160] Nick DePriest was doing precisely that. If I don't make the corner, you don't
[31:59.160 -> 32:03.560] make it as well my friend. But it's funny Kunal, on Kevin Magnussen, before we get
[32:03.560 -> 32:05.400] to Ferrari for a second, I really
[32:05.400 -> 32:10.860] want to talk about how just a couple of minutes ago, before this whole incident, I literally
[32:10.860 -> 32:15.160] made a note in my notebook saying that, hey, Kevin Magnusson is actually maturing.
[32:15.160 -> 32:18.840] When his team told him to drop a position because of, again, an unfair move that he
[32:18.840 -> 32:21.920] made, he just reacted normally and said, okay, I'll do it.
[32:21.920 -> 32:27.680] I thought, wow, five years ago, Kevin Magnusson would have rioted at that he would have complained on the radio made
[32:27.680 -> 32:30.440] a total fuss of it I thought for a second he was getting
[32:30.440 -> 32:35.920] mature five laps later and he ends up making that move like where was the
[32:35.920 -> 32:40.520] space my friend did you honestly does that even count Kunal does that move
[32:40.520 -> 32:45.920] even count in any way whatsoever it counts under the unsportsmanlike behavior on track.
[32:45.920 -> 32:46.640] Just that.
[32:47.400 -> 32:48.160] Here we go.
[32:49.720 -> 32:50.560] Oh boy.
[32:51.440 -> 32:53.560] But, uh, incredible.
[32:53.560 -> 32:57.520] And George Russell also had a funny moment in qualifying because he actually turned
[32:57.520 -> 33:01.440] out to one of the via play reporters and said, today there was real rain.
[33:01.440 -> 33:03.280] It was not just my sweat.
[33:03.760 -> 33:07.760] So a hundred percent for spatial awareness.
[33:07.760 -> 33:09.400] Or did I just change the way I pronounce it?
[33:09.400 -> 33:11.360] I don't know, but yeah, there we go.
[33:11.360 -> 33:12.840] Spatial awareness.
[33:12.840 -> 33:14.960] I think that's the point where people start to,
[33:14.960 -> 33:17.880] you know, so just to make sure that they don't,
[33:17.880 -> 33:21.400] let's talk about Ferrari because I think Kunal,
[33:21.400 -> 33:23.200] sorry, but we're bad people, honestly.
[33:23.200 -> 33:27.280] I really think we're not very nice as human beings.
[33:27.280 -> 33:29.000] We've criticized Ferrari a lot.
[33:29.000 -> 33:31.880] They've really done some terrible, terrible stuff.
[33:31.880 -> 33:35.400] We've really, really said some bad stuff to them
[33:35.400 -> 33:36.680] about when they have a bad day.
[33:36.680 -> 33:39.160] But the one time they've had a good day,
[33:39.160 -> 33:40.800] it's taken us how many minutes?
[33:40.800 -> 33:43.400] 35, 36 minutes to chat about them?
[33:43.400 -> 33:46.560] 31 minutes to be precise, since we go all
[33:46.560 -> 33:51.600] unedited. We're horrible people. We're horrible people. Sorry, sorry, sorry. But well, well,
[33:51.600 -> 33:56.400] well, well, they took time to come good this weekend as well, right? They weren't great on
[33:56.400 -> 34:00.160] Saturday, usually the day when they shine, they weren't good on Saturday. They waited till the
[34:00.160 -> 34:05.200] second half of the race on Sunday to come good and the two halves being the safety car halves,
[34:05.200 -> 34:13.680] right? So we are okay with a 31-minute entry for Ferrari. I mean, I love that they have,
[34:14.720 -> 34:20.080] for once, they had strategy that worked and they probably knew that. So they said, guess what?
[34:20.080 -> 34:25.800] We're going to have new cryptic terms on the radio. So nobody guesses what our strategy is.
[34:25.800 -> 34:28.200] Like we heard things like switch red, switch red,
[34:28.200 -> 34:30.000] and something like more decks.
[34:30.000 -> 34:30.800] More decks, yeah.
[34:30.800 -> 34:34.200] Yeah, and Carlo signs, you know, typically saying,
[34:34.200 -> 34:35.600] no guys, we're gonna go longer.
[34:35.600 -> 34:37.000] And very interestingly, he said,
[34:37.000 -> 34:39.800] the driver is also a sensor in the car.
[34:39.800 -> 34:42.400] In fact, it's one of the most important sensors in the car.
[34:42.400 -> 34:46.400] And that's why he's so happy with being the team's
[34:46.400 -> 34:54.480] strategist while in the car and this is the same team that in Q2 refused to give Leclerc the softs
[34:54.480 -> 35:05.680] if you remember. That's all? Are we just gonna say that much about Ferrari? No, we can add, we can add one more.
[35:12.080 -> 35:17.600] Actually, I've got something really exciting to talk about with them. You mentioned something so interesting about Carlos Sainz resisting, he still didn't had confidence and somehow for once it's
[35:17.600 -> 35:22.720] actually ended up working. But again, as you mentioned, it was not a proper, proper great
[35:22.720 -> 35:30.480] Ferrari weekend as well, because they had the silly impeding penalty and I think we should actually start tracking how many impeding penalties
[35:30.480 -> 35:35.280] each driver has because I'm pretty sure that this is not Carlos Sainz's first. I think he got one in
[35:35.280 -> 35:42.560] Monaco as well. So, clearly something's really working out very well at that team. Well, they
[35:42.560 -> 35:46.240] have to show that things are working because they really need to hold on to Leclerc.
[35:46.240 -> 35:48.480] I mean, every couple of weekends, look at it this way.
[35:48.480 -> 35:53.880] We suddenly have a fortnight's break to Austria and there is going to be, could Aston Martin
[35:53.880 -> 35:58.680] go and sign up Leclerc because Ferrari, whatever, you know, and then Leclerc, of course, said
[35:58.680 -> 36:02.280] it was a very track-specific performance that we had.
[36:02.280 -> 36:06.480] But I loved how Ferrari also told Leclerc two times in the race,
[36:06.480 -> 36:12.960] signs will not attack you, signs will not attack you. Which in my interpretation is that if Leclerc
[36:12.960 -> 36:17.520] was anyway quick enough, signs wouldn't have been able to attack him. But was Ferrari's way of saying
[36:17.520 -> 36:25.120] don't worry, signs is quicker than you, but he won't attack you. So was that something that we could take as a team?
[36:25.640 -> 36:32.680] Didn't mean to imply but did end up implying. I don't know. I'm just complicating our lives by by saying that but
[36:33.280 -> 36:34.440] Yeah
[36:34.440 -> 36:38.200] Ferrari, that's where we are. We need to talk off Lance troll
[36:38.800 -> 36:44.920] Somal, I mean very very crucial. He deserves to be spoken to at the very last because
[36:47.560 -> 36:50.800] Sometimes I just guess that people don't end up thinking we are too serious about him
[36:50.800 -> 36:52.560] or we are making too much fun of him.
[36:52.560 -> 36:55.800] But frankly, we are almost always making fun of him.
[36:55.800 -> 36:58.080] He was amazing this weekend, Kunal.
[36:58.080 -> 36:59.840] I really think he was.
[36:59.840 -> 37:02.000] He had his old grandstand as well.
[37:02.000 -> 37:03.800] People were really cheering on for him.
[37:03.800 -> 37:05.280] He did a great job.
[37:05.280 -> 37:09.960] And he actually gave us, Kunal, the moment of the entire weekend.
[37:09.960 -> 37:13.600] Have you played your F1 games quite a fair bit, usually?
[37:13.600 -> 37:15.240] Are you big on them?
[37:15.240 -> 37:16.680] Well, not anymore.
[37:16.680 -> 37:20.360] When I was way younger, I was always on the simulator.
[37:20.360 -> 37:24.040] There was GP3, and then there was a managerial game and the likes.
[37:24.040 -> 37:26.760] But now it's just F1
[37:27.080 -> 37:34.200] Content everywhere all the time and written on Twitter or audio and video with you and then the television stuff
[37:34.200 -> 37:36.120] So no, where are you going with this?
[37:36.120 -> 37:41.260] Yeah, but you definitely right if you have played a racing game, you know of that phenomenon
[37:41.260 -> 37:44.120] but you just wait at the pit lane entry and
[37:45.680 -> 37:50.000] you know of that phenomenon, but you just wait at the pit lane entry, and then you push someone, push the AI cars into the pit lane deliberately and make them slow down. Because again, the AI
[37:50.000 -> 37:54.080] is designed to go super slow in the pit lane. So once you do that, they just get stuck up at a
[37:54.080 -> 37:59.520] speed limit of 60 and they keep on slowing and ragdolling along over there. And I for a second
[37:59.520 -> 38:05.760] really thought that this was a replication of one of those utter crap moments in real life.
[38:05.760 -> 38:10.320] But it turns out Aston Martin were actually there to put him. So my dream for that moment
[38:10.320 -> 38:14.960] to actually happen in real life has been ruined, which is a shame. But hey, Lance Stoll didn't
[38:14.960 -> 38:19.680] disappoint in many other ways as well. You know what, Kunal? I hear a lot of people actually
[38:20.480 -> 38:26.000] going out there and saying Stoll isn't performing, he isn't delivering, look at the points. I mean, there's such a huge delta.
[38:26.000 -> 38:34.720] Out of the 150 odd points that Aston Martin has, Stroll has only 37 and Alonso has 117 or something of that sort.
[38:34.720 -> 38:37.280] But I think he's the biggest contributor to the team anyway.
[38:37.280 -> 38:38.560] I still think so.
[38:38.560 -> 38:39.520] Yeah.
[38:39.520 -> 38:41.840] You got to explain why.
[38:41.840 -> 38:45.000] I think I know where this is going.
[38:45.000 -> 38:50.000] Because had it not been for Stroll or Lance, Lawrence wouldn't have bought the team.
[38:50.000 -> 38:53.000] And then Aston Martin wouldn't have happened.
[38:53.000 -> 38:58.000] And then Force India would have just been shut down as Force India, I guess.
[38:58.000 -> 39:00.000] No other person would have bought the team.
[39:00.000 -> 39:03.000] Or at least Mazipin's May would have bought it.
[39:03.000 -> 39:04.000] But I'm not going down that road.
[39:04.000 -> 39:05.280] But yeah, I really feel that all of us F1 fans who tend to criticize Lance Stroll, team or at least Mazipin's may have bought it, but I'm not going down that road.
[39:09.440 -> 39:13.920] But yeah, I really feel that all of us F1 fans who tend to criticize launch trolls, just we don't, we don't see the big picture well enough, do we Kunal? We're just sort of
[39:13.920 -> 39:19.120] restricted a little bit. You mean we lack spatial awareness as well? Oh boy, here we go again.
[39:21.280 -> 39:25.000] No, it's how much did the troll entertain you this weekend, Kunal?
[39:25.000 -> 39:31.040] Because I had a jolly good time watching his lap times and just being amazed at how, I
[39:31.040 -> 39:34.520] mean, I was disappointed by Sergio Perez and how slow his lap times were.
[39:34.520 -> 39:37.800] I was just having fun when Lance Shroel wasn't quite able to put those lap times.
[39:37.800 -> 39:38.800] It was hilarious.
[39:38.800 -> 39:46.960] Yeah, well, it all depends how we evaluate his performance because he, in the fourth fastest car,
[39:46.960 -> 39:48.320] wasn't in Q3 again.
[39:48.320 -> 39:50.480] I mean, if we can pile on to Checo Perez
[39:50.480 -> 39:52.700] for missing Q3 for three consecutive times
[39:52.700 -> 39:54.120] in the most dominant car on the grid,
[39:54.120 -> 39:55.320] he has the second most car,
[39:55.320 -> 39:58.520] unless we flip the equation and we say,
[39:58.520 -> 40:01.600] it's actually an eighth fastest car.
[40:01.600 -> 40:03.480] I read this on Twitter somewhere.
[40:03.480 -> 40:06.000] Aston Martin is an eighth fastest car, but Fernando,
[40:06.000 -> 40:10.000] knowing that he always outscores the package,
[40:10.000 -> 40:12.000] he's finished second in an eighth fastest car.
[40:12.000 -> 40:17.000] We could also flip that whole narrative around and see how that goes.
[40:17.000 -> 40:23.000] But Lance Stroll, I mean, you know, he blamed the safety car saying,
[40:23.000 -> 40:25.600] we put it and then the safety car came out again.
[40:25.600 -> 40:33.200] And okay, so be it, right? And I don't know. I mean, he's just happy driving around and,
[40:33.200 -> 40:38.880] you know, not talking to media or talking like he deserves to be there. I haven't heard complaints
[40:38.880 -> 40:43.040] of people who actually sat in the Landstuhl grandstand if the experience was as good as
[40:43.040 -> 40:46.340] as bad as most of the other grandstands.
[40:46.340 -> 40:50.760] But I like that whole pit lane thing where you sort of got pushed in and you know, he
[40:50.760 -> 40:55.200] was practicing that pit lane entry all weekend because I think in one of the free practice
[40:55.200 -> 41:03.200] sessions Lance was so obsessed with the number 18 that he was 18 kilometers per hour over
[41:03.200 -> 41:08.000] this pit lane speed limit. So speed limit was 80, Lance was at
[41:08.000 -> 41:14.400] 97.8 and you know we are in the process of rounding off numbers right had he been 18 or 17.8
[41:14.400 -> 41:17.920] he would have still paid the thousand euros that he did which is like loose change but
[41:19.120 -> 41:25.680] I am going to read out some snippets from qualifying. You know, I had some really interesting ones.
[41:25.680 -> 41:27.560] Oscar Piastry crashed in Q3,
[41:27.560 -> 41:30.000] came to a wire play reporter and was asked,
[41:30.000 -> 41:32.080] hey, guess what happened there?
[41:32.080 -> 41:34.600] Oscar said, well, I hit the wall.
[41:34.600 -> 41:35.960] And then he burst out laughing saying,
[41:35.960 -> 41:37.760] I just did a Kimmy Wright kid at that.
[41:37.760 -> 41:40.040] And actually, you know, he really did that.
[41:41.960 -> 41:46.640] Then, you know, Yuki Sunoda was was asked in the build-up to the weekend,
[41:46.640 -> 41:48.160] hey, Yuki, what's the plan this weekend?
[41:48.160 -> 41:52.640] And he said, my plan is to be fast between the grass.
[41:52.640 -> 41:56.560] Again, a very Kimi Raikkonen-ish weekend, right?
[41:56.560 -> 42:01.360] And Nico Hulkenberg, he had that penalty, which is why he didn't start on the front row.
[42:01.360 -> 42:04.720] I was a bit too bummed because post-qualifying, he was asked,
[42:04.720 -> 42:05.120] Nico, what's your plan into Turn 1 with Max Verstappen? which is why he didn't start on the front row. But I was a bit too bummed because post qualifying, he was asked,
[42:05.120 -> 42:08.160] Niko, what's your plan into turn one with Max Verstappen?
[42:08.160 -> 42:11.360] Niko said, I'm going for fame into turn one.
[42:11.360 -> 42:12.200] Okay.
[42:12.200 -> 42:14.680] I would have loved that.
[42:14.680 -> 42:17.880] And then Niko of course said,
[42:17.880 -> 42:20.880] well, my aim is to finish anywhere between P1 and P10,
[42:20.880 -> 42:22.720] which is also interesting way to look at it.
[42:22.720 -> 42:24.040] It's long as I get points.
[42:24.040 -> 42:25.600] And last but not the
[42:25.600 -> 42:32.800] least, it's the driver who finished or is last in the driver's championship. I loved how Logan
[42:32.800 -> 42:38.400] Sargent, or I'll flip it, Sargent Logan was given a command by the Williams pit wall to say,
[42:38.960 -> 42:46.040] Sargent Logan, you got to park your car next to a Marshall Spartan. Marshall is also a term used by the armed
[42:46.040 -> 42:51.700] forces and that's what Sergeant Logan did. He went and he parked it so nicely that he
[42:51.700 -> 42:55.100] could get out of the car, they wheeled it back and the virtual safety car was there
[42:55.100 -> 42:57.660] for all of seven corners maybe.
[42:57.660 -> 43:03.540] Yeah, that's the fastest VSC I've ever seen in my life. That just came and went. So I
[43:03.540 -> 43:05.520] was like, hey, is is something gonna happen now but
[43:05.520 -> 43:11.360] yeah that was that was a little interesting but let's hope let's hope we get this level of drama
[43:11.920 -> 43:17.680] all the way through especially for Austria and if that happens it'll be so amazing to watch the race
[43:17.680 -> 43:22.800] live with all of you folks. So if you are in Mumbai stay tuned to all of our social media
[43:22.800 -> 43:28.880] channels because we're going to be announcing where that event happens. So check out the link in the description for more information but we
[43:28.880 -> 43:33.520] can't wait to watch that race with you and also discuss the sport with our pre and post race
[43:33.520 -> 43:38.800] interaction as well. So just keep tracking our social media, we'll be back with more and firstly
[43:38.800 -> 43:43.440] thank you for listening to the Inside Line F1 podcast. In case you like what you heard, again
[43:43.440 -> 43:45.220] feel free to leave a subscribe
[43:45.220 -> 43:48.580] and also to share this podcast with other friends and family members who might really
[43:48.580 -> 43:52.900] enjoy this. But for now, folks, I think it's goodbye. And we're going to be meeting rather
[43:52.900 -> None] soon, aren't we, for the Austrian GP. So stay tuned, then we'll be back. Take care. Bye-bye. you