Verstappen wins title, Oscar wins hearts - 2023 Qatar GP Review

Seriously, how entertained were you by the 2023 Qatar Grand Prix? For starters, it delivered a great F1 Sprint. Then for the Grand Prix, FIA and Pirelli mandated stint lengths to avoid tyre failures. But even with so many stops, was the 2023 Qatar Grand Prix entertaining...at all?

Max Verstappen won, the McLarens finished second and then the rest of the grid featured. The Mercedes' tangled on the opening lap with Lewis Hamilton accepting full blame for the incident, but did George Russell-Hamilton have a pre-race agreement for the soft-starting Hamilton?

Lance Stroll's physio-pushing ways, Williams' score in the F1 Sprint vs. Alfa Romeo's double scoring in the Grand Prix, McLaren's 1.8 second fast World Record F1 pit stop, the humidity knocking out the fittest athletes on the planet, literally speak and more.

The 2023 Qatar Grand Prix had a lot of narratives but litle on-track entertainment that we will remember the race for. Irrespective of whether you agree with Soumil Arora, @f1statsguru and Kunal Shah in this episode of the Inside Line F1 Podcast, this episode is a must-hear for their banter, insights and Soumil's 'daddy jokes'.

Tune in!

(Season 2023, Episode 54)

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

Image courtesy: McLaren

**Summary of the Podcast Episode Transcript:**

The 2023 Qatar Grand Prix was a race full of surprises and talking points. The weekend started with an exciting Sprint race, which saw Oscar Piastri take his first career victory. However, the main event, the Grand Prix, was marred by mandatory pit stops and stint lengths imposed by the FIA and Pirelli to avoid tire failures.

Despite the unusual race format, there was still plenty of action on track. Max Verstappen won the race, but the midfield battle was intense, with McLaren finishing second and third. The race also featured several incidents, including a collision between Lewis Hamilton and George Russell on the opening lap.

The podcast hosts, Soumil Arora, Kunal Shah, and Sundaram, discussed the various aspects of the race, including the mandatory pit stops, the tire issues, and the driver performances. They also analyzed the power dynamics within the Mercedes team, which has seen some tension between Hamilton and Russell in recent races.

**Key Insights and Perspectives:**

* The mandatory pit stops and stint lengths were a controversial topic among the hosts. Soumil Arora felt that they robbed the race of unpredictability, while Kunal Shah argued that they were necessary to ensure safety.
* The hosts praised Oscar Piastri for his impressive performance in the Sprint race, and they believe that he has the potential to be a future star in Formula One.
* The hosts were critical of Lewis Hamilton for his collision with George Russell on the opening lap, but they also acknowledged that it was a racing incident.
* The hosts believe that the power dynamics within the Mercedes team are becoming increasingly strained, and they wonder how the team will manage the situation in the future.

**Overall, the podcast episode provided an informative and engaging discussion of the 2023 Qatar Grand Prix. The hosts offered their unique perspectives on the race, and they raised several important questions about the future of Formula One.** # Inside Line F1 Podcast: Episode 54 - Qatar Grand Prix Debrief

**Race Recap:**

- Max Verstappen secured his third Formula One World Championship title in dominant fashion at the Qatar Grand Prix.
- McLaren's Lando Norris finished second, followed by a mix of drivers from various teams, reflecting the unpredictable nature of the race.
- An incident on the opening lap between Lewis Hamilton and George Russell sparked controversy, with Hamilton accepting full responsibility.
- Lance Stroll faced criticism for his behavior toward his physiotherapist, prompting a private apology.
- Williams' strong performance in the F1 Sprint contrasted with Alfa Romeo's double-scoring finish in the Grand Prix.
- McLaren achieved a world-record 1.8-second pit stop, demonstrating their progress in both on-track and pit-lane performance.
- The extreme heat and humidity of Qatar posed challenges for drivers, leading to several instances of physical discomfort and even a retirement.

**Key Points and Analysis:**

- The 2023 Qatar Grand Prix lacked on-track excitement, but provided ample storylines and controversies for discussion.
- Max Verstappen's championship victory was underwhelming due to its predictability and lack of drama compared to previous seasons.
- Sergio Perez's struggles highlighted the importance of consistency and precision in Verstappen's dominant campaign.
- Lance Stroll's behavior raised questions about his frustration and the impact of Fernando Alonso's strong performance as his teammate.
- Alexander Albon's points finish in the Sprint demonstrated the potential for lower-ranked teams to score points in the new format.
- McLaren's world-record pit stop showcased their improvement in both on-track performance and pit-lane efficiency.

**Insights and Perspectives:**

- Soumil Arora emphasized the importance of consistency in Verstappen's success, highlighting his ability to maintain peak performance across different tracks, conditions, and rivals.
- Kunal Shah described Verstappen's season as "inch perfect," praising his ability to avoid track limits penalties and maintain a high level of precision in qualifying and races.
- Sundaram Ramaswami expressed a sense of "blankness" regarding Verstappen's championship victory, reflecting the lack of surprise and excitement surrounding his dominance.

**Overall Message:**

The 2023 Qatar Grand Prix may not have delivered thrilling on-track action, but it provided a wealth of narratives, controversies, and insights into the world of Formula One. The episode highlighted the dominance of Max Verstappen, the challenges faced by other drivers, and the ongoing storylines that shape the sport.

[00:00.000 -> 00:22.560] It was a weekend full of lots and lots of jokes.
[00:22.560 -> 00:26.160] Let's start with the worst one. First up, hardly a plain
[00:26.160 -> 00:33.200] loose sailing day, wasn't it for Max Verstappen? Right? I do the jokes get better or do they get
[00:33.200 -> 00:38.880] worse from this? I'm trying to get that. It's the anticipation like, Oh my God,
[00:38.880 -> 00:45.520] three stops in a race. How much more entertaining will it be? guess what it wasn't. So Samuel do
[00:45.520 -> 00:50.880] the jokes get better or do they get another one? I'll get the next one. Okay right this joke failed
[00:50.880 -> 00:54.120] it's okay sometimes the first joke of the evening doesn't quite go well let's
[00:54.120 -> 00:58.240] go to the second one why don't we talk about tires that in itself was a joke
[00:58.240 -> 01:06.200] wasn't it? Yeah well tires have always been a joke. You can admit it. I think the science speaks a lot.
[01:06.200 -> 01:11.080] I think tyres have always been a joke in this Pirelli era of Formula One.
[01:11.080 -> 01:15.400] But yesterday was a non-Pirelli-ish race that we just witnessed.
[01:15.400 -> 01:17.400] Okay, that's joke number two.
[01:17.400 -> 01:19.520] Sundaram, I'm coming to you for joke number three.
[01:19.520 -> 01:20.920] What is the bigger one?
[01:20.920 -> 01:28.840] Aston Martin or the people at Aston Martin? Bigger what? Bigger joke? Oh I mean
[01:28.840 -> 01:31.600] I know there's a lot of pushing and shoving going on in your mind as it did
[01:31.600 -> 01:38.120] in the garage as well. Yes it definitely is it definitely is lots of things could
[01:38.120 -> 01:42.600] be better in my opinion but I'm not gonna start off today's episode by going
[01:42.600 -> 01:45.360] and complaining about certain factors or certain
[01:45.360 -> 01:50.400] aspects of the team so let's have a better start. Okay, for joke number four, track limits Kunal.
[01:51.840 -> 01:59.120] My goodness, I'll tell you what Pierre Gafsley and Checo Perez on track limits that's a bigger
[01:59.120 -> 02:05.600] joke I would say from yesterday's race because yeah they had they're like oh keep giving me time penalties no
[02:05.600 -> 02:13.200] problem i'll accumulate penalties instead of points and ah well but i have to okay
[02:14.720 -> 02:18.720] this is joke number four joke number five ladies and gentlemen we've talked about tires right
[02:18.720 -> 02:23.680] let's also talk about racing because clearly folks the drivers can't do any like we've seen
[02:23.680 -> 02:25.720] so many clashes of them going side by side
[02:25.720 -> 02:28.000] and hitting each other and going off in the gravel.
[02:28.000 -> 02:30.680] Clearly we've got five big jokes in the weekend.
[02:30.680 -> 02:32.440] What are we starting off with Kunal?
[02:33.640 -> 02:37.360] Why don't we start off with, by asking all of us
[02:37.360 -> 02:42.280] and probably also the poll that I'll put out on Spotify.
[02:42.280 -> 02:47.280] How exciting was the 2023 Qatar
[02:47.360 -> 02:50.480] Grand Prix? Did all those number of pit stops
[02:51.600 -> 02:54.760] make any difference to our racing experience?
[02:54.800 -> 02:57.520] Why don't we go with you first, Mr. Effernstats Guru.
[02:59.360 -> 03:03.120] Firstly, Kunal, it's not Qatar or it's not cat-ar,
[03:03.600 -> 03:06.400] the way Kroftty kept mentioning it time and
[03:06.400 -> 03:10.440] again during the broadcast and that's my one gripe with him but it's Qatar. Okay,
[03:10.440 -> 03:13.960] so that that things are... Ladies and gentlemen, that comes from a person who has actually
[03:13.960 -> 03:18.120] lived in the Middle East. I would probably go with Sudharam. I will
[03:18.120 -> 03:23.080] retrain my mind to say Qatar and not Qatar and I definitely can't do it the
[03:23.080 -> 03:28.600] way Krafty does. It sounds better also also. Okay so now what is the question again? How entertaining was
[03:28.600 -> 03:34.920] the Qatar Grand Prix despite or with all those mandatory pit stops and stint
[03:34.920 -> 03:40.460] lengths that were regulated? So I think the whole weekend was pretty exciting
[03:40.460 -> 03:43.960] considering there were so many things happening we also had the sprint there
[03:43.960 -> 03:48.560] was a lot of action happening during even sprint qualifying, the normal qualifying. And I think
[03:48.560 -> 03:55.880] even the race was very enjoyable to a certain extent. Yes, I mean, if you're diving into
[03:55.880 -> 04:02.000] the whole pit stops and stint lengths discussion, I think that kind of robbed us away from the
[04:02.000 -> 04:07.780] unpredictability and also the fact that F1 was repeatedly broadcasting that on screen that, okay,
[04:07.780 -> 04:11.740] we'll stop and has to pit by lap 52 or 54. I think,
[04:12.340 -> 04:15.660] I mean beyond the point, I think it's just too much information. Otherwise,
[04:15.860 -> 04:18.500] you know, it's, they're just following a template. So,
[04:19.340 -> 04:22.060] and I think this just then leads to the next question.
[04:22.060 -> 04:28.840] Do we like mandatory pit stops or mandatory stint lengths I think like I said it's just too much information I
[04:28.840 -> 04:32.740] would really be of the opinion that sure we use three different compounds I would
[04:32.740 -> 04:36.760] like to see three different compounds being used mandatorily and and surely
[04:36.760 -> 04:41.040] the FIA and our formula one will have to do a lot of you know arrangement here
[04:41.040 -> 04:44.280] and there just to ensure that everyone has sufficient tires and everything but
[04:44.280 -> 04:51.400] I am really not for the fact that pit stops have to be predefined or stint lengths have to be predefined.
[04:51.600 -> 04:55.200] But generally, I would, generally speaking, and I also got my bowl prediction right.
[04:55.200 -> 05:01.500] So I had mentioned that Verstappen is not going to be topping every single session.
[05:01.500 -> 05:05.760] So we had Verstappen taking pole for the race and he won the race.
[05:05.760 -> 05:10.800] Piastri got pole in the sprint and he also won the sprint. So my prediction's been pretty right.
[05:10.800 -> 05:15.200] Yeah, you nailed it. And Kunal, also your take as well about Piastri having driven at Qatar
[05:15.200 -> 05:20.080] previously and having that experience. I don't know how much of it counted, but it did eventually
[05:20.080 -> 05:30.560] get him a win. But we're now starting off talking about the jokes. So let's finish the jokes and then let's then get to the good stuff. So the question is now to you, Saumil. How exciting was the race for you with
[05:30.560 -> 05:34.320] the three stops? I think Sudarman's given a brilliant answer. Do you want to top up to that or do you
[05:34.320 -> 05:39.440] just want to say, ditto? Or you know like a lot of Formula One drivers say in the press conferences,
[05:40.320 -> 05:46.840] same as him, same as what he said. I don't have anything to anything. I think when they're so dead tired after all the heat exhaustion, I think they can't speak
[05:46.840 -> 05:47.920] more than three words anyway.
[05:47.920 -> 05:49.400] So I pity them on that.
[05:49.400 -> 05:53.720] But when we're talking about this, right, I think it's a lot like, have you guys seen
[05:53.720 -> 05:57.480] those old Russian communist buildings that they used to have in the past, where they
[05:57.480 -> 06:01.080] used to have town blocks, and they all ended up looking the same.
[06:01.080 -> 06:05.040] And have you ever seen documents where an art designer is trying to express the vibe but
[06:05.040 -> 06:10.160] it's all in Times New Roman and you feel like, it feels so bland and predictable and that's not
[06:10.160 -> 06:15.120] what Formula One is meant to be all about right. It's meant to have color, some sort of unpredictability
[06:15.120 -> 06:19.760] which at least looking on Twitter after my flight I thought it would be because I ended up missing
[06:19.760 -> 06:24.560] the race unfortunately in the moment and only I got online with seven laps to go and I look at
[06:24.560 -> 06:25.280] the chaos,
[06:25.280 -> 06:29.200] all the crashes, safety car, George Russell hitting Lewis Hamilton, Verstappen and all the
[06:29.200 -> 06:34.000] drivers complaining of heat exhaustion. I thought it was a good race until I watched it this morning.
[06:34.880 -> 06:41.520] I mean, I'm honestly slightly annoyed but isn't it brilliant Kunal that at least we get a race
[06:41.520 -> 06:49.680] otherwise this Qatar GP in itself would have been a part of the inside line stand-up club, because we used to have the Indy 2005 join that list. It is in fact,
[06:49.680 -> 06:54.880] front and center is the biggest joke that Formula One has ever cracked. But this one luckily avoided
[06:54.880 -> 07:00.880] that. So at least we got a race in the first place. Oh, yeah. And hats off to the FIA and to Pirelli
[07:00.880 -> 07:08.320] for, you know, acting on it, acting on all the data they got from Friday in a proactive manner.
[07:08.320 -> 07:14.480] They were preventive in crashes, safety came first, no damages. They said we have to do a
[07:14.480 -> 07:19.440] certain number of stint lengths, doesn't matter whatever number of pit stops. Yes, there was a
[07:19.440 -> 07:25.920] lot of data overload, but it was a different way of looking at the sport because usually we
[07:25.920 -> 07:27.960] never look at stint lengths.
[07:27.960 -> 07:33.880] My only takeaway, which is a little different from Sundaram's, is we actually saw a race
[07:33.880 -> 07:37.840] that was sprint laps separated by pit stops.
[07:37.840 -> 07:40.500] So the pace of the race was high.
[07:40.500 -> 07:49.520] Even though Max Verstappen won, he won in the most non-Max Verstappen way I would say, because he wasn't 30 seconds ahead of the rest, he wasn't managing his tires.
[07:49.520 -> 07:55.400] We heard Lando Norris say, guys I think I can use my tires more in the second stint, right?
[07:55.400 -> 08:05.280] So in a way it was great because the Pirelli era is all about get on to a tire, extend your life as much as you can, so you have to pit the least number of times,
[08:05.280 -> 08:11.200] and then just manage your tires, manage your stint. Here, somebody else was managing the stint.
[08:11.200 -> 08:14.560] Somebody was saying, that's it, you've done 18 laps, there you go, either you're out of the race
[08:14.560 -> 08:21.120] or you're coming into the pits. And it created a lot of chaos, a lot of chaos that was impossible
[08:21.120 -> 08:27.760] to decode in real time while the race was happening. But eventually, we saw the drivers push.
[08:27.760 -> 08:31.960] I believe a certain part of the drivers being so exhausted
[08:31.960 -> 08:35.360] after the race was also linked to the higher race pace
[08:35.360 -> 08:36.520] that they had to follow.
[08:36.520 -> 08:39.040] And if we look into the data,
[08:40.720 -> 08:42.800] and we were actually doing this data, guys,
[08:42.800 -> 08:44.600] the 2021 Qatar Grand Prix,
[08:44.600 -> 08:48.780] the race time was one hour, 24 minutes and 28 seconds.
[08:48.780 -> 08:52.540] There was one VSC, I haven't seen how long that VSC was,
[08:52.540 -> 08:54.460] but there was no safety car at that time.
[08:54.460 -> 08:59.460] The average race speed was 217.8 kilometers per hour.
[09:00.160 -> 09:01.980] The 2023 Qatar Grand Prix,
[09:01.980 -> 09:08.400] the race time was one hour and 27 minutes. So it wasn't actually
[09:08.400 -> 09:14.480] a faster race, but yes, we had a safety car, four over four laps. So one assumes that the race was
[09:14.480 -> 09:22.400] a little faster in eventuality, right? And the average pace compared to 2021 was 211 kilometers
[09:22.400 -> 09:25.520] per hour. So I think it is to do with the faster pace.
[09:25.520 -> 09:26.640] There was little time.
[09:26.640 -> 09:28.040] There was a lot of chaos.
[09:28.040 -> 09:29.520] And of course, the humidity.
[09:29.520 -> 09:33.480] I mean, the race in 21 happened end of November.
[09:33.480 -> 09:35.720] This has happened early October.
[09:35.720 -> 09:40.560] Six weeks, and the humidity was 2x or 3x, I'm being told.
[09:40.560 -> 09:42.840] Yeah, all over the world generally as well.
[09:42.840 -> 09:44.880] MotoGP in India, we had Jorge Martin,
[09:44.880 -> 09:47.000] one of the finest athletes in the world, faint
[09:47.000 -> 09:49.960] because of heat exhaustion, exhaustion, sorry.
[09:49.960 -> 09:52.040] Logan Sargent also having that same issue.
[09:52.040 -> 09:56.160] But in this whole scenario, Sundaram, are we seeing Formula One drivers being pushed
[09:56.160 -> 09:57.320] to their absolute limit?
[09:57.320 -> 10:01.280] Are we going a little bit too far in this whole thing, do you think?
[10:01.280 -> 10:02.280] Absolutely.
[10:02.280 -> 10:06.080] And I think where F1 kind of made a mistake I think I
[10:06.080 -> 10:11.120] would term it that way because I think the scheduling of the Qatar race wasn't right
[10:11.120 -> 10:15.520] and I'm glad that next year's Qatar race is actually closer I think it's on the 1st of
[10:15.520 -> 10:20.000] December so it's going to be a lot cooler I actually checked the charts of humidity
[10:20.000 -> 10:30.960] and temperature over the last few years so So in that sense, next year's Qatar race would be more suited. And I think that's why I have a feeling that, I mean, drivers have always
[10:30.960 -> 10:35.680] said that the Singapore Grand Prix is always the most challenging or physical Grand Prix.
[10:35.680 -> 10:40.440] And you can always hear teams putting out social media content on how drivers prepare
[10:40.440 -> 10:50.800] for the race. I'm not really sure if drivers were well prepared for this race or really did they expect that level of humidity and it kind of became more evident as the race
[10:50.800 -> 10:57.440] went on. But yes, drivers are being pushed to the limit like Kunal mentioned. This is what even
[10:57.440 -> 11:04.160] Piastri mentioned in the post-race interviews. He was literally doing 57 qualifying laps and if that
[11:04.160 -> 11:05.600] is the case case it's really
[11:05.600 -> 11:10.080] pushing them up against the limit and especially if the conditions are not
[11:10.080 -> 11:14.200] that good I mean Fernando Alonso was saying that his seat was burning and he
[11:14.200 -> 11:17.680] was literally asking the team if they could drop a bucket of water over him
[11:17.680 -> 11:21.400] and they said no we can't do that. Why is that not actually, why can't they do that
[11:21.400 -> 11:27.680] genuinely like why can't they pour a bucket? Good question. I've been wondering the same thing so maybe Kunal can check on that.
[11:27.680 -> 11:36.560] Yeah, yeah. Samuel, given your love for F1 history, do you remember in the 60s they actually threw buckets of water?
[11:36.560 -> 11:37.920] They did.
[11:37.920 -> 11:49.560] I just assume that the cockpit has so many electronics that you couldn't really just throw a bucket of water. I mean, I don't know, but I mean, they still race in a lot of rain, so it
[11:49.560 -> 11:53.840] can't be that the cockpit is not water resistant. I would have loved for that to
[11:53.840 -> 11:57.640] happen. Just somebody goes and throws buckets of water or a bucket of water on
[11:57.640 -> 12:01.680] on Fernando. But you know what, Fernando Alonso got instead of the bucket of
[12:01.680 -> 12:08.600] water. There were two people standing on either side of the cockpits, right, with air blowers on him.
[12:08.600 -> 12:10.880] And I was like, you're just blowing hot air
[12:10.880 -> 12:12.480] on that poor chap.
[12:12.480 -> 12:13.320] Yeah.
[12:13.320 -> 12:14.680] Yeah, they were just, and for what?
[12:14.680 -> 12:16.480] His top was 2.3 seconds.
[12:16.480 -> 12:19.360] So for two, for a whole 2.3 seconds,
[12:19.360 -> 12:24.360] he got air blown onto his helmet, not even onto his face.
[12:24.440 -> 12:26.280] Absolutely fantastic. as if that
[12:26.280 -> 12:30.460] absolutely helps in making him feel a little cooler but even Russell did
[12:30.460 -> 12:33.840] something similar Sundaram. He was driving without hands. Look ma, no hands
[12:33.840 -> 12:38.320] obviously everyone does that but he was desperately trying to cool his fingers
[12:38.320 -> 12:42.160] in the middle of the race and also we saw Yuki Tsunoda open his visor until he
[12:42.160 -> 12:45.640] realized oh I'm in the middle of a desert. Desert has sand.
[12:45.640 -> 12:46.640] Sand doesn't go into ice.
[12:46.640 -> 12:47.640] Yikes.
[12:47.640 -> 12:48.640] Top.
[12:48.640 -> 12:49.640] Visor down.
[12:49.640 -> 12:51.080] That was a bit of a realization for him as well.
[12:51.080 -> 12:53.320] But craziness actually all the way through.
[12:53.320 -> 12:57.680] No, that's a very good point that you mentioned that sand went into Tsunoda's helmet because
[12:57.680 -> 13:01.880] I think I remember reading this somewhere, especially during the Bahrain Grand Prix weekend
[13:01.880 -> 13:10.440] is that they put in some sort of resin or some adhesive liquid, some sort of an adhesive on the sand around the track so that it
[13:10.440 -> 13:14.200] doesn't blow on track or it doesn't blow into the driver's cockpits. I'm not sure
[13:14.200 -> 13:19.040] if Qatar actually did that. Okay now I'm forgetting the question what was it?
[13:19.040 -> 13:23.760] I think Qatar is one of the more liberal Middle Eastern countries at least in
[13:23.760 -> 13:25.120] that regard at least it wants to portray that.
[13:25.120 -> 13:26.240] Even Bahrain is.
[13:26.240 -> 13:27.440] Even Bahrain is.
[13:27.440 -> 13:28.160] Yes.
[13:28.160 -> 13:30.800] Okay, my joke didn't really go to plan.
[13:30.800 -> 13:33.200] But let's talk about another joke very, very quickly.
[13:33.200 -> 13:33.840] Pirelli.
[13:33.840 -> 13:36.640] Guys, I know we spoke about this a minute ago,
[13:36.640 -> 13:39.520] about how big an achievement it is for Formula 1 just to have a race.
[13:39.520 -> 13:44.000] I know it's a bit of a farce that we had tyre limits restricted down to 18 laps.
[13:44.000 -> 13:48.820] But genuinely, in my head at least, I like that they're being proactive.
[13:48.820 -> 13:51.740] The teams didn't get any sort of head start whatsoever on the news.
[13:51.740 -> 13:55.420] They just immediately got told by the press release by Pirelli all the way through.
[13:55.420 -> 14:00.580] And the incredible part for me is that it wasn't even something visible.
[14:00.580 -> 14:04.700] Like the level of detail in their scanning, that is something that honestly, even I was
[14:04.700 -> 14:08.880] unaware of, that they would take every single tyre and check the insides as well, not just
[14:08.880 -> 14:10.120] the outside parts.
[14:10.120 -> 14:14.320] And the scan really detected something that was microscopic.
[14:14.320 -> 14:19.320] That level of detail for every single tyre Kunal, in my head, is fantastic.
[14:19.320 -> 14:23.280] So we might bog them down for having tyres that didn't quite work out, or for them not
[14:23.280 -> 14:24.380] predicting the problem.
[14:24.380 -> 14:25.760] But whatever it might be,
[14:25.760 -> 14:28.080] that is phenomenal stuff from therein.
[14:28.640 -> 14:33.600] It was, and Indy 2005 was on everybody's mind,
[14:33.600 -> 14:34.880] saying, what's going to happen?
[14:34.880 -> 14:36.920] Will they change something?
[14:36.920 -> 14:39.280] They, of course, changed the corner a little bit,
[14:39.280 -> 14:41.000] they tightened the exit, etc.
[14:41.000 -> 14:43.120] But we got to remember, at Indianapolis,
[14:43.120 -> 14:45.520] Michelin just came with the wrong tire,
[14:45.520 -> 14:51.520] right? They came with a tire that couldn't or didn't or would definitely not have lasted the
[14:51.520 -> 14:58.960] race distance. In Qatar, and I said Qatar, okay, just for you, right? In Qatar, Pirelli came with
[14:58.960 -> 15:09.600] the correct tire. None of the pre-event information that was shared by the local organizers included what the changes to the curbs were.
[15:09.600 -> 15:14.300] And I remember I was reading some documentation from Mercedes and they said,
[15:14.300 -> 15:20.800] unspecified updates have been put to the curbs to avoid tire failures in 2023.
[15:20.800 -> 15:23.900] It just so happened that they put the pyramid curve.
[15:23.900 -> 15:26.960] So we've gone from sausage curbs to pyramid
[15:26.960 -> 15:32.960] curbs, which is at least vegan sounding, I would say. Right. And the funny thing is, the claim was
[15:32.960 -> 15:39.920] that the pyramid curbs came because of MotoGP. But the truth is, as Mr. Weiss of MotoGP would know,
[15:39.920 -> 15:48.640] Samuel, even the pyramid curbs were not approved by MotoGP. I believe that the curves in Misano eventually
[15:48.640 -> 15:50.480] were the ones that were approved.
[15:50.480 -> 15:53.320] But for some reason, somebody in Qatar
[15:53.320 -> 15:55.400] thought, let's put the pyramid curves out there.
[15:55.400 -> 15:57.600] So it was lost in translation.
[15:57.600 -> 15:59.960] Sometimes, there's the FIA, there's
[15:59.960 -> 16:02.840] the circuit owners, and the teams.
[16:02.840 -> 16:05.280] And the teams would rely that the FI has sorted it out.
[16:05.280 -> 16:09.600] The FI has been told, yes, we've sorted it out. But between all of them, the circuits are the
[16:09.600 -> 16:14.800] only thing we need to sort out is just change the current curbs we had from 21. Put the pyramid
[16:14.800 -> 16:19.200] curbs and that was a disaster. No, no, but the pyramid curbs were there in 21. The difference
[16:19.200 -> 16:23.280] was that the pyramid curbs were on the outside of the sausage curb as an extra deterrent.
[16:23.280 -> 16:27.960] This time they brought them in and they were the only deterrent. That is why Pirelli couldn't anticipate it
[16:27.960 -> 16:30.920] all the way through. But yeah, craziness, isn't it Sundaram?
[16:30.920 -> 16:34.460] Yeah, exactly. And that's why I also felt that how come there was probably a lack of
[16:34.460 -> 16:39.360] communication between the circuit and Formula One on the type of curbs that's being used
[16:39.360 -> 16:44.880] and also considering that we have a lot of races, a lot of circuits where MotoGP and
[16:44.880 -> 16:49.360] Formula One both are being held. So why is this a specific thing to Qatar? So a
[16:49.360 -> 16:52.720] lot of questions that I was wondering around that but one question that's been
[16:52.720 -> 16:57.320] floating around especially before the race was why is the stint length
[16:57.320 -> 17:02.760] specific only to 18 laps despite of us having three different compounds? Isn't
[17:02.760 -> 17:07.440] it supposed to be lesser for the soft compound? Isn't it supposed to be more for the hard compound? And I see a
[17:07.440 -> 17:11.560] lot of people asking us this question and that's down to the fact that the
[17:11.560 -> 17:15.680] issue that Pirelli identified was down to the construction of the tyre in
[17:15.680 -> 17:19.480] general and it was the sidewall that was getting affected which remains the same.
[17:19.480 -> 17:23.360] So the construction remains the same, the sidewall remains the same although they
[17:23.360 -> 17:30.320] are three different compounds and hence that's why we had a stint length that was uniform for all compounds.
[17:30.760 -> 17:35.800] And that was interesting to see all the way through, to see Pirelli then being very open with it.
[17:35.840 -> 17:39.400] In fact, that is something I really, really appreciate, even though it could have gone wrong.
[17:39.600 -> 17:42.600] And I don't think you can blame them for this one, honestly.
[17:42.600 -> 17:44.760] It's just miscommunication between the circuit.
[17:46.240 -> 17:47.200] you can blame them for this one honestly it's just miscommunication between the circuit and sort of
[17:50.800 -> 17:56.960] reaching out there and cursing Pirelli for something like this I don't think that really solves the problem but that's all the jokes done let's now go to the good stuff let's now uh let's
[17:56.960 -> 18:01.680] not talk about Saturday shall we folks because Saturday was such a good race that at the National
[18:01.680 -> 18:06.920] Racing Championship in India that we're having right here, I managed to convert a few bike racing fans into watching the
[18:06.920 -> 18:11.040] sprint and they loved it and if you all know your hardcore bike racing fans, they
[18:11.040 -> 18:16.080] will never ever ever watch anything that has more than two wheels but the sprint
[18:16.080 -> 18:19.640] was just that good even that was chaotic we saw drivers passing on the outside
[18:19.640 -> 18:22.680] drivers making moves on the inside consistently, Hamilton with that
[18:22.680 -> 18:25.160] brilliant beautiful dummy on Carlos Sainz at the end.
[18:25.520 -> 18:28.400] Different tyre compounds coming in and out of the race as well.
[18:28.720 -> 18:31.440] And all we saw at the end was a new winner.
[18:31.480 -> 18:34.200] The crowning of a new, I wouldn't say champion,
[18:34.240 -> 18:37.760] but the arrival moment of sorts for someone who we know for a fact
[18:37.800 -> 18:39.320] is going to be dominating in Formula One
[18:39.600 -> 18:41.440] in the course of the next six, eight, ten years.
[18:41.800 -> 18:43.720] Isn't it fantastic that we have a new winner,
[18:44.040 -> 18:45.200] but the entire chat is just not about him. Like we talk about him 18 minutes into the 8, 10 years. Isn't it fantastic that we have a new winner but the entire chat is just
[18:45.200 -> 18:50.400] not about him. Like we talk about him 18 minutes into the episode Sundaram. Exactly and the fact
[18:50.400 -> 18:55.840] that although Oscar Piastri has won the sprint as a rookie as well that I think that's a more
[18:55.840 -> 19:01.120] important fact. The fact is that once the sprint was over everyone is celebrating Max Verstappen's
[19:01.120 -> 19:08.640] third world championship. I think he took prime position as well in the area after where the interviews happened
[19:08.640 -> 19:09.640] as well.
[19:09.640 -> 19:11.800] So everyone had kind of forgotten Piastri then and there as well.
[19:11.800 -> 19:15.720] But a really, I think a brilliant drive by the young guy.
[19:15.720 -> 19:20.340] And it just kind of makes it even more exciting just because he's a rookie.
[19:20.340 -> 19:24.240] And considering all the circumstances that he came in, the whole controversy about Alpine
[19:24.240 -> 19:25.160] and McLaren,
[19:25.160 -> 19:28.560] and the first set of races, them finishing P15, P17,
[19:28.560 -> 19:31.040] I'm sure this thought must have crossed his mind.
[19:31.040 -> 19:32.760] Did I make the wrong decision?
[19:32.760 -> 19:34.840] And then once the upgrades come in,
[19:36.360 -> 19:38.200] the thing that I'm really excited about
[19:38.200 -> 19:41.040] is the fact that he is not phased
[19:41.040 -> 19:44.240] by the sudden increase in pace by the team.
[19:44.240 -> 19:48.360] And he is able, he's there or there about with Lando Norris,
[19:48.360 -> 19:52.760] not too far, but still managing to bring the results.
[19:52.760 -> 19:56.880] That's what I'm really happy about with Piastri's results.
[19:56.880 -> 20:01.960] Two points on that, Kunal, before we talk about the depths of Piastri's strengths.
[20:01.960 -> 20:04.880] I think it's beautiful to see his weaknesses also out there,
[20:04.880 -> 20:05.120] like tyre management sometimes and also extending his stint. depths of Piyashtri's strengths. I think it's beautiful to see his weaknesses also out there,
[20:05.120 -> 20:10.000] like tyre management sometimes and also extending his stint, because then you can track that story
[20:10.000 -> 20:14.080] as you go along in his career. And that makes you even more involved, like, hey, has he has he
[20:14.080 -> 20:19.120] overcome it? Has he fixed that part? And so that is beautiful to see. But Piyashtri being totally
[20:19.120 -> 20:23.040] neutral when he got to know he dropped that grip position, we talk about track limits in a second,
[20:23.040 -> 20:28.000] and also being totally neutral when he won. It's a lot like Kimi and it sort of redefines
[20:28.000 -> 20:33.760] what a rookie really is in the modern era. And it really also makes a point about our last episode,
[20:33.760 -> 20:38.000] talking about Logan Sargent and Lance Stroll as well, about how even though they've got more
[20:38.000 -> 20:42.720] experience, they're just not on that same level, which is what makes it even more serious to see
[20:42.720 -> 20:47.120] that case when Piastri is doing so well. I know it's partly the car, but taking the challenge up
[20:47.120 -> 20:48.840] to Lando Norris, that is quite something.
[20:48.840 -> 20:54.360] I mean, I don't think it's partly the car, definitely, Samil, because to be there and
[20:54.360 -> 20:59.360] thereabouts with Lando Norris is where it's his talent that's bringing the car there.
[20:59.360 -> 21:04.320] And a contrast is from what Daniel Ricciardo was unable to do last year.
[21:04.320 -> 21:05.920] Again, lots of Ricciardo fans,
[21:05.920 -> 21:10.880] I'm a big fan of his talent and whatever his return to Formula One will be, could be, should
[21:10.880 -> 21:18.320] be next year. But you also raised a very important point, Samuel, which is the one thing that Oscar
[21:18.320 -> 21:27.540] himself has said he needs to do better on, which is tyre management. And now, should we be able to track his progress
[21:27.540 -> 21:29.140] when it comes to tire management,
[21:29.140 -> 21:30.660] extending stints, and so on.
[21:30.660 -> 21:34.860] And we have to also say that Oscar Piazzari
[21:34.860 -> 21:37.700] picked up the pieces when Lando Norris
[21:37.700 -> 21:39.020] didn't do it himself.
[21:39.020 -> 21:41.140] On the Friday, then on the Saturday,
[21:41.140 -> 21:44.620] track limits or whatever, or whatever you call all of that,
[21:44.620 -> 21:49.160] Oscar should have, sorry, Lando Norris should have taken the poll on both days.
[21:49.160 -> 21:53.840] He actually said this yesterday, I should have been on poll on Friday and then on poll on Saturday.
[21:53.840 -> 21:57.840] And it's for all of Lando Norris' talent,
[21:57.840 -> 22:03.280] especially when you're in a non-Red Bull car and you get that one opportunity coming your way,
[22:03.280 -> 22:06.000] you need to pick it. And now he's dropped three of them.
[22:06.000 -> 22:11.000] Russia 2021, you know, and Qatar Grand Prix Sprint,
[22:11.000 -> 22:13.000] as well as the Grand Prix format.
[22:13.000 -> 22:15.000] I know I'm being a little harsh.
[22:15.000 -> 22:18.000] I know Landon Norris is even harsher on himself.
[22:18.000 -> 22:22.000] He's taken all the blame for lack of performance, etc.
[22:22.000 -> 22:27.040] But to see Oscar pick up the pieces is also where I say his
[22:27.040 -> 22:33.600] talent lies because at the moment, Oscar is not the quicker McLaren driver, but he still delivered
[22:34.160 -> 22:40.160] when it mattered the most two times in a row. Now, I want to talk about this in a really
[22:40.160 -> 22:44.080] interesting light with the Mercedes drivers. But Sundar, we had something to say because this might
[22:44.080 -> 22:47.480] change the topic and go to Mercedes because I'm very, very curious
[22:47.480 -> 22:52.000] to know more about the power dynamic, but you had a word on Oscar before we went there.
[22:52.000 -> 22:57.860] Yeah, I was just extending on Kunal's part because the fact is that in this sort of domination
[22:57.860 -> 23:02.040] that we have with Red Bull, I mean, if you take if you consider the hybrid era itself,
[23:02.040 -> 23:07.160] there have been a handful of races where a team apart from Mercedes, Ferrari, or Red Bull
[23:07.160 -> 23:07.660] has won.
[23:07.660 -> 23:09.200] So there are very few chances where
[23:09.200 -> 23:11.320] you are given the opportunity to take pole,
[23:11.320 -> 23:13.520] or you're given the opportunity to win a race.
[23:13.520 -> 23:16.600] And when the chances are that few,
[23:16.600 -> 23:17.960] you really cannot drop the ball.
[23:17.960 -> 23:20.080] And that's what I really felt happened, especially
[23:20.080 -> 23:21.080] during sprint qualifying.
[23:21.080 -> 23:22.760] When you have the opportunity, when
[23:22.760 -> 23:25.120] you have the pace to put the car on pole
[23:25.120 -> 23:31.440] and convert that to a race win, you cannot afford to drop the ball. And that's kind of why
[23:31.440 -> 23:36.560] the criticism towards Landon Norris is you never really know when is his next big opportunity to
[23:36.560 -> 23:41.440] start at the front of the grid or to convert that to a race win. So yeah, that was what I wanted to
[23:41.440 -> 23:48.960] mention as well. And actually interesting we mentioned Lando Norris because in the moment where McLaren had a choice yesterday,
[23:49.840 -> 23:53.520] yes, by yesterday, I mean on Sunday night, right, about who finishes P2 and P3,
[23:53.520 -> 23:56.160] they asked Lando Norris to wait and not attack.
[23:56.160 -> 24:01.120] We've seen this before, Italy 2021 as well, Norris was told, don't attack Ricciardo.
[24:01.120 -> 24:04.800] The power dynamic in McLaren, I really appreciate it,
[24:04.800 -> 24:05.640] because there are moments
[24:05.640 -> 24:09.680] in time when Norris will also call for it and he'll get things in his way. But I like
[24:09.680 -> 24:14.320] that the drivers listen. I like that it's a cordial relationship between two almost
[24:14.320 -> 24:18.960] alphas, let's put it that way. We're seeing Piastri get there. I wonder how it'll be managed
[24:18.960 -> 24:23.440] once he's at that same level of Norris. But at this moment in time, at least, the drivers
[24:23.440 -> 24:26.160] listen and their smarter,
[24:26.160 -> 24:31.120] non-monkey brain does the right thing eventually. Whereas at Mercedes, when you compare the whole
[24:31.120 -> 24:36.320] scenario, both alphas, both at the top of their game, it seems like we've reached that point now,
[24:36.320 -> 24:41.120] Kunal, where they can't really work together. They'll have a good cordial relationship on the
[24:41.120 -> 24:48.640] camera. They'll be chatting with each other, really helping and respecting each other as well. But on the track, you notice what's happened earlier on the year
[24:48.640 -> 24:55.800] in Spain, in Belgium as well, Suzuka, and now this one. So many incidences of them just
[24:55.800 -> 25:00.380] not aligning themselves on the track. And yes, this time, Lewis came out there and very
[25:00.380 -> 25:04.420] openly and correctly said that it was his fault. But time and again, we're seeing the
[25:04.420 -> 25:08.480] sparks now flying. Had this been a championship battle, this would have been the headline story
[25:08.480 -> 25:12.400] all the way through. That's interesting. I mean, it is still a championship battle, hopefully for
[25:12.400 -> 25:19.440] P2 between Perez and Hamilton. But frankly, I don't think it's spilled over as much just because
[25:19.440 -> 25:25.440] it's not a championship battle. So I'm just saying the contra point to your Summell which just says
[25:25.440 -> 25:31.280] that your point was spot on that Mercedes clearly I think that's what George Russell said two races
[25:31.280 -> 25:37.360] in a row they've touched right. Hamilton has had the run on George in the first part of the season
[25:37.360 -> 25:42.480] for a large part of the season George is now you know trying to make a comeback he's had I think
[25:43.040 -> 26:05.880] three front row starts in the last four races or two, three front row starts in the last some whatever, two front row starts in the last three races. So he's sort of, you know, gotten up there as well. But I get a feeling that that turn one incident, I was a little disappointed with the number of times George Russell was trying to clear himself on radio because it
[26:05.880 -> 26:11.980] just shows how much in awe of Lewis Hamilton he is himself.
[26:11.980 -> 26:16.620] He knows Mercedes is also in as much or more awe of Lewis Hamilton.
[26:16.620 -> 26:20.060] He knew that, oh my goodness, could I have done different?
[26:20.060 -> 26:21.820] Should I have done different?
[26:21.820 -> 26:22.820] And so on.
[26:22.820 -> 26:26.160] At the end of the day, it was Lewis's fault. He was on the soft,
[26:26.160 -> 26:31.280] he got a little too greedy. Yes, he had to be greedy if he had to sort of take the lead of the
[26:31.280 -> 26:38.320] race and that was his glory moment. But he didn't leave any space for George Russell or for that
[26:38.320 -> 26:46.200] matter. He just turned in too early, too quick, was going to make an early apex, took himself out.
[26:46.200 -> 26:51.120] Thankfully for Mercedes, George Russell could continue to draw a fantastic race.
[26:51.120 -> 26:58.200] And I know, Sundaram, we were talking of, was there a pre-race agreement between George Russell and Lewis Hamilton
[26:58.200 -> 27:04.000] that George wouldn't fight Lewis because he was on the soft, even if there was one?
[27:04.000 -> 27:05.900] And the drivers and teams discuss
[27:05.900 -> 27:11.880] all these various scenarios, my view is that George actually wasn't fighting Lewis. He
[27:11.880 -> 27:17.700] was fighting Max all along because he had a great start. He was almost alongside Max
[27:17.700 -> 27:23.140] and then out of nowhere, Lewis comes to his left, right, and then turns in early. So George
[27:23.140 -> 27:28.280] literally couldn't have done anything whether or not there was a pre-race agreement. I've actually watched the
[27:28.280 -> 27:32.200] footage literally 20 times since yesterday just to try and understand
[27:32.200 -> 27:38.000] George and Hamilton's and Lewis's part as well and the fact is that George and
[27:38.000 -> 27:42.320] Lewis they both of them got very good starts compared to Verstappen.
[27:42.320 -> 27:45.920] Verstappen was I think two to three tenths slower and the fact
[27:45.920 -> 27:51.760] was that Russell was really being blocked by Verstappen right in front of him. He couldn't
[27:51.760 -> 27:57.280] move to the right because that's where the circuit was ending and he really and he was in Verstappen's
[27:57.280 -> 28:03.200] slipstream so he was really kind of gaining pace on Verstappen. Now even if there was a pre-race
[28:03.200 -> 28:05.840] agreement that Russell shouldn't
[28:05.840 -> 28:09.480] battle with Hamilton just because he's on a softer compound, it doesn't mean
[28:09.480 -> 28:15.680] that Russell has to compromise on his own race as well. So there was a half
[28:15.680 -> 28:19.320] chance of him, although he and Verstappen were on the same
[28:19.320 -> 28:26.040] compound, there was a half chance of him going past Wustabin and he really went for the gap.
[28:26.040 -> 28:31.640] And like Kunal said, I actually looked at one other fact as well.
[28:31.640 -> 28:33.480] Russell said he wasn't looking behind.
[28:33.480 -> 28:37.840] So Russell looked five times behind before they entered the breaking zone.
[28:37.840 -> 28:41.500] And the breaking zone was where Lewis Hamilton shot past.
[28:41.500 -> 28:45.400] So up until that point, Russell knew that Lewis is there, but really not as
[28:45.400 -> 28:51.600] close to me or as in front. And that's why I feel probably Hamilton was more at fault
[28:51.600 -> 28:56.160] over here and I really can't fault Russell for anything over here.
[28:56.160 -> 29:00.880] Guys, very quickly, let's also have a word about another big story that sort of happened
[29:00.880 -> 29:09.840] in this weekend. There's this guy called Max Verstappen. He became a three-time champion on Saturday. Routine stuff. We all expect this to happen. It's like the moon
[29:09.840 -> 29:14.400] rising up in the night. Totally, totally normal. But I want to talk about the circumstances in
[29:14.400 -> 29:19.040] which that happened. Is it… Do you guys think it's the most underwhelming way to become a
[29:19.040 -> 29:30.400] world champion? Because when you consider the high end drama of 21, the madness of Suzuka 22, and then this one, I think the way Vastapan wins a championship sums up the year he's had.
[29:31.160 -> 29:34.600] And this one was just underwhelming in every single way, in every single point.
[29:34.600 -> 29:40.160] Like, you wake up on a Monday feeling, hey, we have a new world champion, but you don't get that feeling anymore for some reason, Kunal.
[29:40.160 -> 29:42.840] It's just, it's okay.
[29:42.840 -> 29:43.360] It's happened.
[29:43.720 -> 29:46.040] But I want to talk about his teammate more than the driver actually.
[29:46.040 -> 29:47.920] Yeah, we should talk about his teammate as well.
[29:47.920 -> 29:52.280] But I get a feeling we knew all along it was coming.
[29:52.280 -> 29:54.760] And if we knew all the way back in.
[29:54.760 -> 29:57.600] All along since December?
[29:57.600 -> 30:00.480] No, I would say since April or May this year.
[30:00.480 -> 30:03.040] Not March.
[30:03.040 -> 30:07.360] Not March, because at that time for some some his teammate that we're going to talk about
[30:07.360 -> 30:12.400] had a bit of resistance in the first four races of the season and then it was like okay one more
[30:12.400 -> 30:16.480] race okay one more race and is somebody going to catch him and one more race and then okay he's
[30:16.480 -> 30:21.440] racing in the car and he's racing in the sim and then he's back in the car and he's you know he's
[30:21.440 -> 30:27.580] I love the way Max has sort of created his own dominant era in his own different
[30:27.580 -> 30:28.580] ways for him.
[30:28.580 -> 30:30.880] It's only and only about racing.
[30:30.880 -> 30:35.720] And I think it was underwhelming because it was literally just a matter of when rather
[30:35.720 -> 30:37.920] than if.
[30:37.920 -> 30:42.260] And the only clean part was there was no Abu Dhabi 2021 controversy.
[30:42.260 -> 30:46.640] There was no budget gap or lap count or point scoring controversy
[30:46.640 -> 30:53.280] or whatever we had confusion we had in Suzuka last year. It was just about Max was supposed
[30:53.280 -> 30:58.960] to win, whether it was in Qatar or in Kota, it didn't matter. He's just won at the earliest
[30:58.960 -> 31:06.320] possible chance in typical Max Richtappen way. And I think the only thing I will specifically remember about this race
[31:06.320 -> 31:12.080] more than Max's win, maybe two things. His first is Oscar Piastri's rise which we discussed and the
[31:12.080 -> 31:20.080] second is that extreme heat and humidity which saw every driver on the grid complain. One driver
[31:20.080 -> 31:26.960] actually pulled out, Sergeant Logan and I think that doesn't bear too well on him in his rookie season
[31:27.520 -> 31:31.840] because if Piastri can go and be on the podium two times in a row, you should at least be able
[31:31.840 -> 31:37.520] to finish a race. He had some prior illnesses as far as I remember. But that's the catch and this
[31:37.520 -> 31:41.680] is what we were discussing in wire play and I'm not going to name anybody else but through the
[31:41.680 -> 31:45.280] whole week and as the weekend came, there was no talk
[31:45.280 -> 31:47.240] of Logan Sargent is unwell.
[31:47.240 -> 31:51.200] Okay, it was when he retired from the race and he had to get out of the car.
[31:51.200 -> 31:55.280] It's like, oh, actually he's been unwell through the whole week and it just peaked on Sunday.
[31:55.280 -> 32:00.720] So maybe that's a true story, maybe that's not, but I know that drivers have commercial
[32:00.720 -> 32:05.280] agreements which just dictate what the messaging is around their lack of
[32:05.280 -> 32:10.160] performance when it comes like we are seeing in the case of Checco Perez. But Esteban Ocon,
[32:10.160 -> 32:19.120] he puked in his helmet. Lap 15. Alexander Albin had to go to the medical center and there's so
[32:19.120 -> 32:26.000] many people who are just passing out or just losing focus while in the car. So in a way it was actually unsafe.
[32:26.000 -> 32:31.360] I'm just glad we got through this without any problems. Sundaram, trivia question. When was
[32:31.360 -> 32:36.640] the last time a Formula One driver puked in his helmet? Mark Webber. Nice, you're getting there.
[32:36.640 -> 32:45.000] Getting there. 2007, Suzuki. Fuji. Fuji, yes. Was it Fuji? No, no, but it was Fuji. Yeah. No.
[32:45.000 -> 32:46.000] Seven and eight were Fuji.
[32:46.000 -> 32:47.000] I have a lot of...
[32:47.000 -> 32:49.440] And then from eight, from nine, we went to Suzuka again.
[32:49.440 -> 32:52.840] Goodness me, I'll never remember these things.
[32:52.840 -> 32:58.560] No, coming back to the Logan Sajan point, because the moment he got back into the pits,
[32:58.560 -> 33:02.840] Krofty actually had James Bowles on the radio and he asked this point to him straight away.
[33:02.840 -> 33:05.240] Was Logan unwell throughout the weekend
[33:05.240 -> 33:10.080] or was it just something that's happened during the race? So he straight away denied that
[33:10.080 -> 33:15.440] he was unwell. I mean, he basically said that he was well up until the race started and
[33:15.440 -> 33:21.000] it's a result of the heat and humidity during the race. So I wouldn't suppose he was unwell
[33:21.000 -> 33:28.000] if the team principal is admitting to that. Yeah, I mean it's just PR stuff it seems like.
[33:28.000 -> 33:31.880] But hopefully, in all honesty, hopefully he is doing better.
[33:31.880 -> 33:34.480] But now that we're talking about Logan Sargent for a second,
[33:34.480 -> 33:37.600] guys, very, very quickly before we get to the world champion properly.
[33:37.600 -> 33:42.200] Lance Stroll, I know we've bashed him and beaten him enough,
[33:42.200 -> 33:45.040] but come on man, shoving your personal trainer and I know apologizing is one thing. beaten him enough, but come on, man, shoving your personal trainer.
[33:45.040 -> 33:46.880] And I know apologizing is one thing.
[33:46.880 -> 33:49.040] He had no choice but to apologize.
[33:49.040 -> 33:50.400] But still, did he apologize?
[33:50.400 -> 33:52.280] I didn't even read an apology.
[33:52.280 -> 33:53.280] Okay.
[33:53.280 -> 33:54.880] Yeah, apparently, apparently he did.
[33:54.880 -> 33:59.560] Privately, he apologized, which basically must have meant that, accept it or else you
[33:59.560 -> 34:01.760] lose your job, most likely.
[34:01.760 -> 34:05.600] But at the end of all of this, like this is all tantrums.
[34:05.600 -> 34:09.900] Honestly, what is he frustrated about, Kunal?
[34:09.900 -> 34:11.500] Like I'm trying to answer that question.
[34:11.500 -> 34:12.700] What is he frustrated about?
[34:13.600 -> 34:19.300] About nothing going his way, no podiums, despite Fernando Alonso
[34:19.300 -> 34:22.200] doing everything right in the car, etc, etc.
[34:22.200 -> 34:27.200] By the way, sorry, the one driver who actually didn't feel the heat or the humidity as much
[34:27.200 -> 34:29.640] as the younger ones was Mr. Fernando Alonso.
[34:29.640 -> 34:36.360] And I wonder if his Dakar rally preparations and all of that and him being 42 played a
[34:36.360 -> 34:37.360] part in that.
[34:37.360 -> 34:39.960] That, oh, this is standard stuff I've raced in the desert.
[34:39.960 -> 34:42.640] This is a circuit next to a desert or whatever.
[34:42.640 -> 34:46.540] Anyway, but Lance Stroll, do we really got
[34:46.540 -> 34:49.960] to have to talk about him? Will he be there in 24?
[34:49.960 -> 34:52.360] It's honestly atrocious behavior, isn't it?
[34:52.360 -> 34:57.360] It is. Oh, yeah, absolutely. But you ask why is he upset? What's he upset about? Clearly
[34:57.360 -> 35:04.800] everything, including, you know, why he is still even in Formula One. Is he there because
[35:04.800 -> 35:06.400] his dad wants him to be there?
[35:06.400 -> 35:08.280] Is he there because he wants to be there?
[35:08.280 -> 35:12.280] Because clearly it's his worst season ever.
[35:12.280 -> 35:15.000] And there's nothing to really hide about.
[35:15.000 -> 35:17.920] And Fernando Alonso has exposed him big time.
[35:17.920 -> 35:20.760] Actually, Lance has exposed himself big time.
[35:20.760 -> 35:22.280] Forget any other driver.
[35:22.280 -> 35:23.280] Yeah.
[35:23.280 -> 35:24.360] Yeah, 100%.
[35:24.360 -> 35:25.760] And Sundaramaram this also
[35:25.760 -> 35:28.200] doesn't bode well for someone like Sergio Perez who's in a similar
[35:28.200 -> 35:32.520] circumstance not in terms of the behavior but in terms of the performance
[35:32.520 -> 35:38.960] it's a yeah what do we have to say about that. Now before you come back to go to
[35:38.960 -> 35:48.200] go to Perez Kunal you mentioned that Lance Stoltz having his worst season. He's actually 10th in the standings, which is actually his best ever position.
[35:49.600 -> 35:54.040] Yeah, he's finished 11th in 2020 and he's 10th currently.
[35:54.240 -> 35:56.400] But the fact is that he's had just 47 points.
[35:56.400 -> 35:58.400] He's not scored in the last five races,
[35:58.400 -> 36:01.680] which is still lesser than his best from 2020, which was 75.
[36:02.040 -> 36:06.840] So best season, not best season, yeah, somewhere in between.
[36:06.840 -> 36:13.680] But he is the highest placed driver to have not scored a podium. We had Garth Lee and
[36:13.680 -> 36:18.600] Okon who are 11th and 12th and just two points separate the two of them, actually have a
[36:18.600 -> 36:27.720] podium each. And guess who's 13th? Alexander Alban. But anyway, that's for another day, because Alban got two points in the sprint as well.
[36:27.720 -> 36:32.760] There's so much to talk about from this weekend, including all the jokes and the serious stuff that was there.
[36:32.760 -> 36:36.320] Yeah, no, but can we just jump to Alex Alban quickly right now?
[36:36.320 -> 36:38.200] Go ahead.
[36:38.200 -> 36:42.260] No, because he started the sprint, I think, from 17th.
[36:42.260 -> 36:45.440] And I think one of the major concerns with the new sprint
[36:45.440 -> 36:50.080] format was that a lot of the lower end teams, how would they end up scoring points in the
[36:50.080 -> 36:54.640] sprint if it's just 100 kilometers and there are no pit stops. It basically, I mean, there
[36:54.640 -> 36:58.320] were a lot of talks about it just being a test session for all of them. And James Wowell
[36:58.320 -> 37:03.840] mentioned this yesterday as well. Sure, we might not have the regular chance of scoring
[37:03.840 -> 37:07.480] points. But nevertheless, if there is a little bit of chaos,
[37:07.480 -> 37:10.280] or there is a little bit of action or battles
[37:10.280 -> 37:12.680] happening up in front, and someone loses out,
[37:12.680 -> 37:16.040] sometime we might be in the right place
[37:16.040 -> 37:16.960] at the right position.
[37:16.960 -> 37:19.360] So, he managed to get, how many points did he get
[37:19.360 -> 37:20.180] in the sprint?
[37:20.180 -> 37:21.020] They got two points.
[37:21.020 -> 37:21.960] They got two points in the sprint.
[37:21.960 -> 37:23.680] Two points, and very crucial,
[37:24.760 -> 37:26.640] Alfa Romeo scored six points. So
[37:26.640 -> 37:31.680] they have jumped harsh and the gap between Williams and Alpha Romeo is down to seven points.
[37:31.680 -> 37:38.080] So that's how crucial every single point is because every position in the Constructors
[37:38.080 -> 37:46.960] Championship eventually means how much money they'll get paid and so on and so forth from FOM but we cannot forget that there was a world record
[37:46.960 -> 37:56.400] pit stop made in the heat and humidity of Qatar. McLaren on Lando Norris's car had a 1.80 second
[37:56.400 -> 38:09.000] pit stop. The previous world record was 1.82 but that was with the smaller wheels. This is with the 18-inch wheels that we have.
[38:09.000 -> 38:14.120] Also, usually we've seen heat and humidity means the pit equipment works slower, but
[38:14.120 -> 38:20.880] here they were on target. And with the new directives they had last year, we had a two-tenth
[38:20.880 -> 38:28.400] weight before you plug in and plug out a wheel and a wheel nut and whatever you, you know, everything that they've done to slow down a pit stop,
[38:28.400 -> 38:40.000] McLaren has said, we will still go quicker. And it's 1.8. The other second fastest was Red Bull in Hungary with Checo with a 1.98, right?
[38:40.000 -> 38:46.900] So two-tenths actually slower, now that you look back on it But they had a world-record pit stop, and I think that's great.
[38:46.900 -> 38:53.800] It speaks volumes that McLaren has been progressing on track and in the pit lane
[38:53.800 -> 38:58.700] because both of them are different sets of progressions you make within the budget gap.
[38:58.700 -> 39:03.900] And that their team is trained enough, synchronized enough to deliver to the tool.
[39:03.900 -> 39:05.280] So it's not just the drivers,
[39:05.280 -> 39:13.280] but also the mechanics. Do you remember? No, this is a very interesting point, Kunal, because
[39:13.280 -> 39:18.080] if you remember, last year at the end of the 2022 season, we discussed this very point,
[39:18.080 -> 39:23.520] when I identified that McLaren's pit stops were a lot quicker than in the previous years. So it's
[39:23.520 -> 39:28.940] not something that's just turned up one fine day. The team have actually been working towards this for the
[39:28.940 -> 39:35.540] last two years and you can see that with each passing weekend. So if McLaren has a world
[39:35.540 -> 39:40.760] record right now, it's clearly a lot of effort, practice, a review of everything that of all
[39:40.760 -> 39:47.100] the procedures that they've been doing. And's I think a well-planned way of getting better in your pit stops and a lot of teams for
[39:47.100 -> 39:51.800] example Mercedes have been a lot more scratchy in the pit stops I would say
[39:51.800 -> 39:56.560] there was a time when they were doing 2.3 2.5 second pit stops this year I
[39:56.560 -> 40:00.580] think their average is roughly 3 to 3.1 seconds so Mercedes have in fact become
[40:00.580 -> 40:04.000] slower in the pits and do you guys remember all the old McLaren memes that
[40:04.000 -> 40:07.040] used to come about 2017-18 about them dropping the car in a pit
[40:07.040 -> 40:12.080] stop and being absolutely terrible. No no no times have really changed badly but
[40:12.080 -> 40:16.440] guys we need to know end the episode we are going pretty pretty long we are just
[40:16.440 -> 40:20.880] like the Singapore GP but better in that regard but we need to end with one thing
[40:20.880 -> 40:32.320] one word on Verstappen within the title I'll begin I'll say neutral what's your words Sundaram? I am blank probably just as blank as Verstappen
[40:32.320 -> 40:38.160] okay. Sim if you had to pick one. I don't know. Okay I can give Sundaram some time I
[40:38.160 -> 40:43.240] think consistency that's the one. No no no what's the one word that comes to your
[40:43.240 -> 40:47.700] mind like what do you feel? I feel I feel consistency. Absolutely
[40:47.940 -> 40:50.020] Like I kept saying and I've said it all the time
[40:50.020 -> 40:56.420] I would love to be like Maxwell Staple wake up every day when everything that I participate in do every single day
[40:57.020 -> 40:59.440] dominate like nobody else ever has and
[41:00.900 -> 41:02.900] And no
[41:02.980 -> 41:05.000] Highlight the opposition.
[41:05.000 -> 41:07.000] Consistency, I stick by that.
[41:07.000 -> 41:09.000] That's the one word that I feel like,
[41:09.000 -> 41:12.000] oh my goodness, can somebody be so consistent
[41:12.000 -> 41:15.000] for so long across different tracks,
[41:15.000 -> 41:18.000] conditions, rivals, rules.
[41:18.000 -> 41:21.000] And, you know, Checo Perez, we've seen
[41:21.000 -> 41:24.000] he's demolished Perez just by being so quick and consistent.
[41:24.000 -> 41:25.040] So, if you're...
[41:25.360 -> 41:30.280] I'm actually going to go for two words rather than one because I would say he was inch perfect.
[41:30.600 -> 41:36.040] I think he and someone else did not exceed track limits during yesterday's race.
[41:36.040 -> 41:36.880] I can't remember who the other one was.
[41:36.880 -> 41:38.720] Say Hamilton, I think, but I'm not sure.
[41:40.360 -> 41:41.360] He did it only once.
[41:44.000 -> 41:50.480] Yeah, but Verstappen did not exceed track limits yesterday and Perez was really having a different difficult time during qualifying
[41:50.680 -> 41:53.880] trying to understand where track limits actually were and
[41:54.080 -> 42:01.900] The fact is that Verstappen has not had the cushion that many a times people compare this era with the Hamilton Bottas era and everything
[42:02.680 -> 42:05.000] Verstappen's not really had the cushion
[42:05.000 -> 42:08.000] with Sergio Perez racing somewhere in P8, P10, P12.
[42:08.000 -> 42:12.000] Just in case if he makes a mistake, just in case he goes off track,
[42:12.000 -> 42:15.000] he really doesn't have Perez kind of backing up or
[42:15.000 -> 42:17.000] the team being able to make strategy work.
[42:17.000 -> 42:20.000] So that's why he's had to be that much more perfect
[42:20.000 -> 42:23.000] in all aspects, quali and in the race.
[42:23.000 -> 42:25.000] So if I have to describe Verstappen's campaign, Ii and in the race. So, if I have to describe
[42:25.000 -> 42:27.000] Mustapin's campaign, I would say just inch perfect.
[42:27.000 -> 42:29.000] Not his campaign, what do you feel at the end?
[42:29.000 -> 42:31.000] That's the central.
[42:31.000 -> 42:33.000] What do I feel?
[42:38.000 -> 42:40.000] Maybe blank is the word.
[42:40.000 -> 42:41.000] Maybe blank is the word.
[42:41.000 -> 42:43.000] Because it's all so expected.
[42:43.000 -> 42:46.480] But that's beautiful, isn isn't it the fact that
[42:46.480 -> 42:51.360] greatness is all expected from Max Verstappen. I think that is an achievement in itself joining
[42:51.360 -> 42:57.120] so many other great drivers. Kross, Schumacher, Vettel, Nelson Piquet, nobody would not,
[42:57.120 -> 43:02.400] I think he's the only champion who'd like to join Nelson Piquet in all honesty but no what a what
[43:02.400 -> 43:05.880] an illustrious club to be a part of and And what a weekend we've had all the way through
[43:05.880 -> 43:07.680] with chaos all the way in the end.
[43:07.680 -> 43:09.240] The race might not have been interesting,
[43:09.240 -> 43:10.760] but all the stories surrounding it,
[43:10.760 -> 43:14.000] I think that makes up for why we have such a long episode,
[43:14.000 -> 43:16.320] because there are so many stories to talk about.
[43:16.320 -> 43:18.400] But let's hope that the next time we're back
[43:18.400 -> 43:20.200] on the Inside Line F1 podcast,
[43:20.200 -> 43:22.040] it is going to be even more fun.
[43:22.040 -> 43:23.440] Folks, thank you for listening.
[43:23.440 -> 43:24.480] Thank you for watching.
[43:24.480 -> 43:26.320] Please subscribe to the Inside Line F1 podcast, and we'll be back soon even more fun. Folks, thank you for listening. Thank you for watching. Please subscribe to the InsideLineF1 podcast
[43:26.320 -> 43:28.640] and we'll be back soon with more fun episodes.
[43:28.640 -> 43:29.120] See you then.
[43:29.120 -> 43:29.620] Bye-bye.
[43:30.160 -> 43:31.520] And maintain track limits.
[43:31.520 -> 43:32.400] Don't go off-track.
[43:32.400 -> None] Please. you