McLaren special with Norris and Piastri | Can Mercedes challenge Red Bull?

Matt Baker is joined this week by McLaren's Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri.

Your Twitter questions are asked to Norris (1.15) and Piastri is asked about his love of cricket ahead of the upcoming Ashes (11.00).

The Australian discusses his performance in Spain (11.00) and answers fan questions too (14.35).

Damon Hill and Rachel Brookes then drop in to review the Spanish Grand Prix (25.31) before debating whether Mercedes can challenge Red Bull this season (30.10).

## **Spanish Grand Prix Review**

- **Matt Baker:** Hello everyone, welcome to this week's podcast. We've got a special episode for you this week. I've managed to gatecrash Sky F1 filming day and ahead of this year's Ashes, Sky F1 and the Sky cricket team have come down here to film a cricket match. Joining us are team McLaren, Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri.

- **Lando Norris:** I'm very good, thanks, how are you?

- **Matt Baker:** I'm very well, thanks. How was the cricket, first question?

- **Lando Norris:** How was the cricket? I mean, we lost. It's a sad thing but it was actually really fun.

- **Matt Baker:** And obviously a slightly disappointing result. Just talk about that.

- **Lando Norris:** We can move on from that because Lando Norris fans have been in touch with some questions. Quite a few, actually, so thank you very much, Lando Norris fans.

- **Matt Baker:** Thank you. And they on Twitter want to know, if a bad result on race weekend, is it very hard to get over, or how do you get over it in your downtime?

- **Lando Norris:** Depends a little bit on the reason for the result. If it's definitely through my own doing, a lot longer to get over.

- **Matt Baker:** Is that a case of doing things in your downtime, like golf or kind of stuff that's just away from racing that's completely different, and that takes your mind off things?

- **Lando Norris:** Sometimes, like sometimes you just want to know, like yeah, sometimes you just want to stop thinking of it, so you can, it takes the emotion out of it.

- **Matt Baker:** When you poach someone from another team is it kind of like I don't know signing a striker from another team in football, is it do you get that kind of buzz and that thrill from going, oh, you know, we've got, you know, Rob Marshall from Red Bull.

- **Lando Norris:** Yeah, I mean, I wouldn't have used the football analogy, but I think, yes, I mean, I don't know these guys, I guess, personally.

- **Matt Baker:** Kaylee on Twitter would like to know, when is Lando gonna revive Lando.jpg?

- **Lando Norris:** I think your last post was in April. It was. Is there a bank of photos maybe? Oh, there's a lot. Are there? There is, yeah. I don't know why I just started it because I wanted to. Dip in, dip out.

- **Matt Baker:** Miles on Twitter would like to know, have you ever had a sweaty visor and confused it for rain?

- **Lando Norris:** I don't think I have. I don't know where I would have, it must have been working hard to sweat that much in Barcelona.

- **Matt Baker:** Now one thing I want to talk to you about and Jack does as well on Instagram is about the Vegas track.

- **Lando Norris:** I just don't think people realize just how cool it's gonna be. Like you're driving in Vegas, like streets of Vegas.

- **Matt Baker:** Can you, as a Formula One driver, because there's not many of you who get to do the game and also get to drive a Formula One car, will that experience of driving it on the game genuinely help your knowledge and experience of the track?

- **Lando Norris:** Yeah, no, absolutely. I think by the time it comes, we'll also have it on actual simulator.

- **Matt Baker:** Lando, we'll let you go. There's some kids over there who I think want one more bowl. Bowl me out again. Yeah, off you go. Thanks Appreciate it. Pleasure

- **Matt Baker:** Oscar welcome to the Sky Sports F1 podcast. How you doing?

- **Oscar Piastri:** Very good. Thank you

- **Matt Baker:** What is it about the sport that you like? I mean, how much have you played?

- **Oscar Piastri:** So, like, before I started racing, I played a fair bit, and then even whilst I was racing.

- **Matt Baker:** This is where it could happen.

- **Oscar Piastri:** This is where it could happen.

- **Matt Baker:** So look, it was Spain this weekend, and Saturday qualifying was obviously great for the team and you got into Q3 and then obviously perhaps a slightly more disappointing race. Where do you see McLaren being at the moment in terms of race pace?

- **Oscar Piastri:** I think so, yes. I think qualifying on Saturday was pretty unexpected to be that high up on the grid.

- **Matt Baker:** What about those upgrades that we hear are coming? Is it either Austria or Silverstone? What are you hoping is going to come from those upgrades?

- **Oscar Piastri:** Hopefully a pretty decent step in performance I would say.

- **Matt Baker:** Okay, we're going to try and get through as many fan questions as possible because I know that loads of people have sent them in, basically until you're needed on the cricket pitch.

- **Matt Baker:** The first one's actually from Lando Norris Fans. So there you go. What are the biggest differences between working in F2 and F1?

- **Oscar Piastri:** So everything but the driving aspects, honestly is the biggest differences.

- **Matt Baker:** And even the driving, it's the best drivers in the world. So that's certainly not an easy part either. Yeah, well now you obviously I think what we seven or eight rounds in How do you reflect on having a year away from the sport?

- **Oscar Piastri:** I think there was positives and negatives from from having the year off Obviously the negative being I'm a racing car driver and I want to race cars.

- **Matt Baker:** Ashley on Twitter would like to know, if you weren't a driver in the team, what else would you be doing?

- **Oscar Piastri:** I'd probably want to be an engineer.

- **Matt Baker:** You've got quite a direct influence on the performance for the weekend as well.

- **Oscar Piastri:** So yeah, there's that element of pressure and competition, but also it's highly technical, which I like as well.

- **Matt Baker:** What were your A-levels?

- **Oscar Piastri:** Maths, physics, and computer science.

- **Matt Baker:** Michael on Twitter would like to know, what do you guys do to prepare yourself for a race any traditions?

- **Oscar Piastri:** Not really any traditions, I think all of us on the grid have like a routine before we get in the car

- **Matt Baker:** Do you look at what other drivers are doing?

- **Oscar Piastri:** No matter how small, everyone's trying to look at what other people are doing. Is that the case?

- **Oscar Piastri:** I mean, I've seen him doing it before, but I think every driver has their own routine.

- **Matt Baker:** Yeah, I can see the chilled. I'm getting the chilled vibes. If you're like this before a race, you're fine.

- **Oscar Piastri:** Yes, exactly, yeah. I'm pretty low energy before a race, I think.

- **Matt Baker:** Katie would like to know when is Lando going to get Oscar on the golf course?

- **Oscar Piastri:** He actually offered me to come and, well he offered a spot for me on I think was Wednesday before Barcelona.

- **Matt Baker:** Are you one of those, I mean, obviously I know you're cricket, you know, you're pretty good at cricket. Are you someone who was always good at sport at school?

- **Oscar Piastri:** I think before I started racing, I was decent at most of the sports I did.

- **Matt Baker:** Lucas would like to know if you could drive in any era of F1, which would it be and why?

- **Oscar Piastri:** I mean, I think the cars from sort of the mid-2000s to 2010s, so the V10s, V8s, lighter cars. I think that's probably the era I would have chosen.

- **Matt Baker:** Okay, thank you very much to Lando and to Oscar, but I found Rachel and Damon, who are gonna help me look back at the Spanish Grand Prix.

- **Damon Hill:** Hello to you both, you well?

- **Matt Baker:** Very good, very good, thank you. Yeah, I'm a bit sore after running around after a cricket ball, very good, thank you. Yeah, I'm a bit sore after running around after a cricket ball, very good, thank you. Yeah, I'm a bit sore after running around after a cricket ball.

# Formula One Spanish Grand Prix Review and Analysis

## Overview:

The Spanish Grand Prix at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya provided thrilling moments and strategic battles, offering insights into the competitive landscape of the 2023 Formula One season. Mercedes showcased significant progress with a two-three finish, while Red Bull maintained dominance with Max Verstappen's victory.

## Mercedes' Resurgence:

- Mercedes displayed encouraging signs of improvement with Lewis Hamilton finishing second and George Russell securing third place.
- The team's upgrades, particularly to the side pods and underbody, appeared to unlock more potential in the car.
- The positive result boosted morale and provided a springboard for further development throughout the season.

## Red Bull's Continued Strength:

- Max Verstappen's commanding victory highlighted Red Bull's ongoing dominance, extending his lead in the Drivers' Championship.
- Despite Mercedes' gains, Red Bull remains the team to beat, with further updates expected to enhance their performance.

## Ferrari's Struggles:

- Ferrari faced challenges in Spain, with Carlos Sainz Jr. finishing fourth and Charles Leclerc retiring due to a power unit issue.
- The team's struggles raised concerns about their direction and ability to compete with Red Bull and Mercedes.

## Aston Martin's Disappointing Performance:

- Aston Martin's anticipated strong showing at Barcelona failed to materialize, leaving Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll outside the top ten.
- The team's performance raised questions about their competitiveness and the effectiveness of their upgrades.

## Impact of Wind Tunnel Time and Cost Cap:

- The impact of wind tunnel time and cost cap restrictions on team development strategies was discussed.
- Teams must carefully balance their resources to maximize performance while adhering to the budget limitations.

## Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes Contract Talks:

- Lewis Hamilton's contract negotiations with Mercedes were a topic of discussion.
- The focus is on the team's future plans, support for Hamilton's ambitions, and the possibility of an ambassadorial role beyond his driving career.

## Conclusion:

The Spanish Grand Prix provided a glimpse into the evolving dynamics of the 2023 Formula One season. Mercedes' resurgence, Red Bull's continued strength, and the struggles of Ferrari and Aston Martin set the stage for an intriguing battle for supremacy in the upcoming races.

[00:00.000 -> 00:09.000] Hello everyone, welcome to this week's podcast. We've got a special episode for you this week.
[00:09.000 -> 00:13.880] I've managed to gatecrash Sky F1 filming day and ahead of this year's Ashes, Sky F1 and
[00:13.880 -> 00:18.400] the Sky cricket team have come down here to film a cricket match. Joining us are team
[00:18.400 -> 00:22.680] McLaren, Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri. So while they're filming, I'm going to get through
[00:22.680 -> 00:28.200] as many of the questions you submitted as possible before I chat to Damon and Rachel about the weekend's Spanish Grand
[00:28.200 -> 00:33.040] Prix and how much Mercedes fans can read into their double podium. Let's get straight into
[00:33.040 -> 00:34.760] it and chat to Lando Norris.
[00:34.760 -> 00:36.320] Hello Lando, how are you?
[00:36.320 -> 00:38.000] I'm very good, thanks, how are you?
[00:38.000 -> 00:42.240] I'm very well, thanks. How was the cricket, first question?
[00:42.240 -> 00:47.000] How was the cricket? I mean, we lost. It's a sad thing but it was actually
[00:47.000 -> 00:52.440] really fun. You got a six? Did you not get a six? It was close. In my eyes it was a six.
[00:52.440 -> 00:57.800] But no I've not played cricket since I was what 13 years old or something, 12 years old.
[00:57.800 -> 01:02.880] So brought back some memories. I feel like I'm as bad as what I was back then even. But
[01:02.880 -> 01:05.060] yeah it was good fun. Yeah.
[01:05.060 -> 01:06.240] We're speaking to you after Spain,
[01:06.240 -> 01:08.020] and obviously a slightly disappointing result.
[01:08.020 -> 01:09.460] Great qualy session, of course,
[01:09.460 -> 01:10.300] but a slightly disappointing result.
[01:10.300 -> 01:11.700] Just talk about that.
[01:11.700 -> 01:13.900] We can move on from that because
[01:13.900 -> 01:15.860] Lando Norris fans have been in touch with some questions.
[01:15.860 -> 01:17.300] Quite a few, actually, so thank you very much,
[01:17.300 -> 01:18.140] Lando Norris fans.
[01:18.140 -> 01:18.960] Thank you.
[01:18.960 -> 01:20.660] And they on Twitter want to know,
[01:20.660 -> 01:22.460] if a bad result on race weekend,
[01:22.460 -> 01:23.660] is it very hard to get over,
[01:23.660 -> 01:28.240] or how do you get over it in your downtime?
[01:28.240 -> 01:31.780] Depends a little bit on the reason for the result.
[01:31.780 -> 01:33.980] If it's definitely through my own doing,
[01:34.920 -> 01:36.480] a lot longer to get over.
[01:37.560 -> 01:39.480] If it's my mistake, whether I crash,
[01:39.480 -> 01:41.960] or I spin, or get a penalty,
[01:43.500 -> 01:46.080] if it's 100% down to me to me even say 50% down to me
[01:46.400 -> 01:51.200] It's a lot worse than if it's just because we don't the pace in the car things like that, you know
[01:51.200 -> 01:53.720] So it depends a lot on the situation we're in
[01:55.240 -> 01:58.880] Sochi 21 was probably the say one of the hardest things to get over
[02:00.080 -> 02:04.400] Not simply because of what happened but also what was we were almost achieved
[02:04.360 -> 02:05.680] Not simply because of what happened, but also what was we were almost achieved
[02:11.800 -> 02:12.880] So it depends on the situation of how things happen. What is happen like what it's for and so on
[02:18.080 -> 02:19.040] But I'm a lot better now than what I was I used to struggle probably a lot more back in 19 back in 20
[02:20.720 -> 02:26.000] now I I Guess I just look at in the constructive way of learning what went wrong, how can you fix it,
[02:26.000 -> 02:29.220] how can you be better at whatever the problem was,
[02:29.220 -> 02:31.640] and just try and move on from that.
[02:31.640 -> 02:33.220] Is that a case of doing things in your downtime,
[02:33.220 -> 02:35.880] like golf or kind of stuff that's just away from racing
[02:35.880 -> 02:37.360] that's completely different,
[02:37.360 -> 02:38.840] and that takes your mind off things?
[02:38.840 -> 02:41.440] Sometimes, like sometimes I just want to know,
[02:41.440 -> 02:44.940] like yeah, sometimes you just want to stop thinking of it,
[02:44.940 -> 02:47.080] so you can, it takes the emotion out of it.
[02:47.080 -> 02:51.160] I think it's the emotion side which is the one which makes you sad and frustrated and
[02:51.160 -> 02:53.260] all of this.
[02:53.260 -> 02:57.680] And that's what's not very constructive.
[02:57.680 -> 03:03.200] So to get rid of that, it's a couple days off, you know, just with my friends or family
[03:03.200 -> 03:06.080] or alone, whatever it is.
[03:06.080 -> 03:11.320] Being bowled out by 8 year olds. Exactly so just all of these things it takes your mind
[03:11.320 -> 03:14.960] away from racing which is a good thing and then you can kind of come back and
[03:14.960 -> 03:17.800] relook at things from a different perspective and just with a fresh mind
[03:17.800 -> 03:26.900] which is always important so yeah like the the relaxation the taking time away is very important but at the same
[03:26.900 -> 03:31.780] time I always want to try and figure out what the reasons were and how can we do
[03:31.780 -> 03:35.700] a better job next time. Absolutely, right stay on Twitter would like to know how
[03:35.700 -> 03:38.660] excited you are for the new technical appointments within the design group and
[03:38.660 -> 03:56.000] with the new wind tunnel coming online how competitive do you think McLaren are going to be in 2025? Of course, from the side of the team and the new people, very happy. I think there are
[03:56.000 -> 04:00.000] some big names coming in, which is always a great thing, a great addition. People who
[04:00.000 -> 04:11.100] have been in the sport for many years, who have been a crucial part in success of other teams, a lot of success in other teams. So just knowledge is one of the
[04:11.100 -> 04:15.400] biggest things in Formula One and personnel, so I think getting some
[04:15.400 -> 04:19.480] big guys in, not that we had bad people because that's absolutely not true, but
[04:19.480 -> 04:27.120] just making the force bigger is what we needed to go and compete against these other teams,
[04:27.120 -> 04:28.560] Mercedes, Ferrari, Red Bull, and so on.
[04:28.560 -> 04:31.900] So yeah, it's a very good thing.
[04:32.800 -> 04:35.220] So fresh at the time being, but already,
[04:36.640 -> 04:38.240] factually there's been some good improvements
[04:38.240 -> 04:40.280] from the development rate and things like that,
[04:40.280 -> 04:41.560] new ideas, new perspectives.
[04:41.560 -> 04:43.880] So already good progress has been made.
[04:43.880 -> 04:45.960] So therefore I guess I look forward to this year.
[04:45.960 -> 04:48.460] I look forward to how we can go into winter
[04:48.460 -> 04:50.420] and be better prepared for 24.
[04:51.320 -> 04:52.880] And by then, you know, we'll have the new winter
[04:52.880 -> 04:54.480] and we'll have the new simulator,
[04:55.300 -> 04:57.560] more people coming in 24 beginning.
[04:57.560 -> 04:59.680] So then I look even more forward to 25.
[04:59.680 -> 05:01.760] So yeah, a lot of exciting things.
[05:01.760 -> 05:06.280] I guess I tried in a way to not look too much at the future
[05:08.280 -> 05:08.680] but when you're struggling and
[05:11.680 -> 05:12.300] Difficult weekends, then you also want to look at the future, you know, so
[05:17.480 -> 05:17.880] Yeah, different minds on both, but I'm very excited for what McLaren are doing what they've done and the change we've got ahead Yeah
[05:17.880 -> 05:23.080] When you poach someone from another team is it kind of like I don't know signing a striker from another team in football
[05:23.080 -> 05:25.320] Is it do you get that kind of buzz and that thrill
[05:25.320 -> 05:26.800] from going, oh, you know, we've got, you know,
[05:26.800 -> 05:28.240] Rob Marshall from Red Bull.
[05:28.240 -> 05:29.840] It's someone who comes with his experience
[05:29.840 -> 05:30.940] and his credentials.
[05:32.400 -> 05:34.720] Yeah, I mean, I wouldn't have used the football analogy,
[05:34.720 -> 05:38.960] but I think, yes, I mean, I don't know these guys,
[05:38.960 -> 05:40.780] I guess, personally.
[05:40.780 -> 05:42.860] I've not been in Formula One anywhere near as long
[05:42.860 -> 05:45.600] as the people who are the guys who recruited these guys, you know, so
[05:46.120 -> 05:52.920] I just have the respect for knowing what they've done what they've achieved whether it was with Red Bull Ferrari or Mercedes whatever team it is
[05:54.080 -> 05:56.080] like you got our respect and
[05:56.680 -> 06:02.380] yeah, look forward to working with these people because they're they're like I guess the f1 drivers of
[06:03.220 -> 06:06.360] Whatever all the job it is, you know, whether it's aerodynamics or performance or like
[06:07.160 -> 06:08.640] design
[06:08.640 -> 06:10.520] They're like the formula one drivers of that
[06:10.520 -> 06:16.520] So it's cool and you're quarter working with those people because when you hear them start talking and they go into the details
[06:16.520 -> 06:18.740] It's like I love that stuff. You know, it's impressive. So
[06:20.000 -> 06:22.000] Yes, very
[06:22.040 -> 06:24.040] positive for the team
[06:24.520 -> 06:26.680] But it's not always down there. it's not even down to me,
[06:26.680 -> 06:28.000] it's down to the guys above me.
[06:28.000 -> 06:29.200] You weren't in the job interview process.
[06:29.200 -> 06:31.000] I was not, I just said get the best people
[06:31.000 -> 06:33.280] and that's what they try to do.
[06:33.280 -> 06:34.800] I'm sure they've done a very good job.
[06:34.800 -> 06:36.080] Kaylee on Twitter would like to know,
[06:36.080 -> 06:38.760] when is Lando gonna revive Lando.jpg?
[06:38.760 -> 06:40.720] I think your last post was in April.
[06:40.720 -> 06:41.560] It was.
[06:41.560 -> 06:42.880] Is there a bank of photos maybe?
[06:42.880 -> 06:43.720] Oh, there's a lot.
[06:43.720 -> 06:44.540] Are there?
[06:44.540 -> 06:45.840] There is, yeah. I don't know why I just
[06:45.840 -> 06:54.160] I just didn't started it because I wanted to. Dip in, dip out. I know exactly it's just the time I felt
[06:54.160 -> 06:59.400] like doing it and sometimes I don't feel like doing it. Simple as that really so
[06:59.400 -> 07:04.000] just times change. What I liked and enjoy doing changes at the same time
[07:04.000 -> 07:07.080] sometimes I like to you know go away sometimes I like and enjoy doing changes at the same time. Sometimes I like to, you know, go away.
[07:07.080 -> 07:08.200] Sometimes I like to stay home.
[07:08.200 -> 07:09.280] Sometimes I like to take pictures.
[07:09.280 -> 07:10.120] Sometimes I don't.
[07:10.120 -> 07:10.940] Simple as that.
[07:10.940 -> 07:13.400] So no reasoning for not doing it apart from just,
[07:14.400 -> 07:15.480] just not wanting to do it.
[07:15.480 -> 07:16.320] Simple as that.
[07:16.320 -> 07:17.960] And when I want to, I'll start again.
[07:17.960 -> 07:19.680] Yeah, totally fair enough.
[07:19.680 -> 07:21.320] Miles on Twitter would like to know,
[07:21.320 -> 07:24.260] have you ever had a sweaty visor and confused it for rain?
[07:26.520 -> 07:27.460] Oh, George, hey?
[07:28.760 -> 07:29.800] I don't think I have.
[07:30.760 -> 07:32.280] I don't know where I would have,
[07:32.280 -> 07:34.960] it must have been working hard to sweat that much
[07:34.960 -> 07:35.800] in Barcelona.
[07:35.800 -> 07:36.640] Yeah, not Singapore.
[07:36.640 -> 07:37.960] I mean, this is, yeah.
[07:37.960 -> 07:38.880] Yeah, like I was gonna say,
[07:38.880 -> 07:42.000] the only place I've probably had it is Singapore.
[07:42.000 -> 07:43.880] I think probably every single year.
[07:43.880 -> 07:45.400] You start getting a bit of sweat drop down
[07:45.400 -> 07:51.600] on your nose or on your hair or whatever. No I've never confused it for rain
[07:51.600 -> 07:56.200] that's a whole different story. Have you spoken to George about that since? I've not, no I've not.
[07:56.200 -> 08:00.640] He was too busy celebrating a podium but uh no I've not I know he's got some
[08:00.640 -> 08:04.040] work to do on that one. Okay now one thing I want to talk to you about and
[08:04.040 -> 08:05.440] Jack does as well on Instagram is about the that one. Okay. Now one thing I want to talk to you about, and Jack does as well on Instagram,
[08:05.440 -> 08:06.500] is about the Vegas track.
[08:06.500 -> 08:07.340] Okay.
[08:07.340 -> 08:08.940] Right, so you've, there's a video of you
[08:08.940 -> 08:11.180] on the Quadrant YouTube site,
[08:11.180 -> 08:12.740] driving it, and it's well worth,
[08:12.740 -> 08:14.020] please check it out because it's amazing.
[08:14.020 -> 08:16.340] And your excitement for driving that track
[08:16.340 -> 08:17.680] was clear for everyone to see.
[08:17.680 -> 08:19.820] How excited are you, after doing that,
[08:19.820 -> 08:22.300] after doing that, about driving Vegas?
[08:23.540 -> 08:24.580] I just don't think people realize
[08:24.580 -> 08:26.560] just how cool it's gonna be.
[08:26.560 -> 08:29.160] Like you're driving in Vegas, like streets of Vegas.
[08:30.720 -> 08:32.280] I don't know, like everyone knows of Vegas.
[08:32.280 -> 08:35.360] You've seen it in movies and like the stories
[08:35.360 -> 08:37.360] or whatever it is, like everyone kind of knows of it.
[08:37.360 -> 08:40.240] So just the fact it's getting closed down,
[08:40.240 -> 08:41.760] just for us to go and race.
[08:41.760 -> 08:45.080] I think that's just such a cool thing to think of.
[08:45.080 -> 08:47.040] So, I'm really looking forward to it.
[08:47.040 -> 08:49.880] I've never been to Vegas, I've been in and out of Vegas
[08:50.960 -> 08:52.600] many years ago.
[08:52.600 -> 08:53.560] I had to go and do an event,
[08:53.560 -> 08:55.160] but I didn't even get to see anything,
[08:55.160 -> 08:56.300] I just went in and out.
[08:57.880 -> 09:00.120] So I'm gonna class this as my first proper time
[09:00.120 -> 09:01.840] going to Vegas.
[09:01.840 -> 09:04.920] But yeah, I love street circuits, first of all.
[09:04.920 -> 09:08.560] The layout, it doesn't look, it looks odd
[09:08.560 -> 09:10.860] on a piece of paper when you see the track layout,
[09:10.860 -> 09:12.880] but I think it's gonna be a good qualifying track,
[09:12.880 -> 09:14.740] a good race track, most of all.
[09:16.000 -> 09:17.040] Which is always something to look forward to.
[09:17.040 -> 09:18.480] You know, if it's a good race track
[09:18.480 -> 09:20.840] and you can look forward to a Sunday
[09:20.840 -> 09:21.760] that you can go out and race,
[09:21.760 -> 09:23.940] no matter if you're first or last,
[09:23.940 -> 09:25.560] those are the places you look forward to the most in a way.
[09:25.560 -> 09:27.580] And then it's in Vegas.
[09:27.580 -> 09:29.400] So, double whammy.
[09:29.400 -> 09:32.080] And you've obviously done it on the game.
[09:32.080 -> 09:33.560] Can you, as a Formula One driver,
[09:33.560 -> 09:35.840] because there's not many of you who get to do the game
[09:35.840 -> 09:38.480] and also get to drive a Formula One car,
[09:38.480 -> 09:40.520] will that experience of driving it on the game
[09:40.520 -> 09:44.080] genuinely help your knowledge and experience of the track?
[09:44.080 -> 09:45.280] Is there any crossover there at all?
[09:45.280 -> 09:46.120] Yeah, no, absolutely.
[09:46.120 -> 09:48.560] I think by the time it comes,
[09:48.560 -> 09:51.440] we'll also have it on actual simulator.
[09:51.440 -> 09:54.000] I think we might even have it already,
[09:54.000 -> 09:55.360] whether it's scanned or not,
[09:55.360 -> 09:57.040] or whether it's just like a best guess
[09:57.040 -> 09:58.440] of what it's gonna be like.
[09:58.440 -> 10:00.800] But it helps massively.
[10:00.800 -> 10:02.700] First of all, it helps set up the car.
[10:03.560 -> 10:06.360] It sets you up with at least a good ballpark to kind of start with this car,
[10:06.360 -> 10:09.240] the car set up. And secondly, I think just for your, your,
[10:09.280 -> 10:10.920] your standard reference points,
[10:10.920 -> 10:15.920] whether it's using a 100 meter board somewhere or a 50 meter board or avoiding
[10:15.920 -> 10:18.640] certain bumps there's always things that you learn from it.
[10:18.640 -> 10:22.600] So a hundred percent it helps comparing to someone who didn't do it.
[10:23.640 -> 10:26.240] It's a fact there'll be things that you know
[10:26.240 -> 10:28.040] that other people might not if they haven't done it.
[10:28.040 -> 10:31.400] So, yeah, it's not like you go there and you're like,
[10:31.400 -> 10:34.080] yeah, I've got this guy covered because
[10:34.080 -> 10:35.560] everyone in Formula One is kind of good enough
[10:35.560 -> 10:36.840] to be able to reach a level.
[10:36.840 -> 10:39.400] But little things that it might take them
[10:39.400 -> 10:41.880] two, three laps later to adjust to,
[10:41.880 -> 10:43.400] and by that time you could already start working
[10:43.400 -> 10:44.240] on something else, you know?
[10:44.240 -> 10:45.040] So, I believe it does. It's the reason I do it. later to adjust to and by that time you could already start working on something else, you know, so
[10:49.120 -> 10:49.160] I believe it does the reason I do it. Yeah, nice. Well Lando, we'll let you go
[10:54.120 -> 10:56.120] There's some some kids over there who I think want one more bowl. Bowl me out again. Yeah, off you go. Thanks Appreciate it. Pleasure
[10:59.480 -> 11:03.560] Oscar welcome to the Sky Sports F1 podcast. How you doing? Very good. Thank you
[11:03.560 -> 11:06.800] Yeah, good and and we are here at this beautiful cricket pitch
[11:07.400 -> 11:11.720] Ahead of you taking to the pitch and giving us your best cricket. How is it?
[11:12.840 -> 11:17.720] Yeah, I'll I'll give it my best shot. See see if I've still got it. I'll be a bit rusty
[11:18.720 -> 11:23.800] Nah, I enjoyed cricket growing up. So looking forward to it. Yeah. Yeah. What what is it about the sport that you like?
[11:23.800 -> 11:26.200] I mean, how much have you played?
[11:26.200 -> 11:28.220] So, like, before I started racing,
[11:28.220 -> 11:31.540] I played a fair bit, and then even whilst I was racing.
[11:31.540 -> 11:34.400] Because in Australia, obviously our seasons
[11:34.400 -> 11:36.540] are the opposite to here, so the racing season
[11:36.540 -> 11:40.320] kind of went from like April to October, November,
[11:40.320 -> 11:43.080] and then the Christmas period was cricket season.
[11:43.080 -> 11:47.080] So, I used to play cricket in the racing off season.
[11:47.080 -> 11:48.840] Even when I went to school here in the UK,
[11:48.840 -> 11:52.260] I played a few games in between races when I could.
[11:52.260 -> 11:54.660] So yeah, I always enjoyed it.
[11:54.660 -> 11:56.380] I guess it's kind of just in my blood
[11:56.380 -> 11:58.040] being Australian to enjoy it.
[11:58.040 -> 12:01.480] So no, just really like it and yeah,
[12:01.480 -> 12:03.720] hopefully we can win the Ashes this year, that'd be nice.
[12:03.720 -> 12:04.560] Well, there we go.
[12:04.560 -> 12:06.780] I mean, quite a safe sport as well for a racing driver, right, because I guess if you're like it and yeah, hopefully we can win the Ashes this year, that'd be nice. Well, there we go. I mean, quite a safe sport as well for a racing driver,
[12:06.780 -> 12:08.940] right, because I guess if you're like taking to the,
[12:08.940 -> 12:11.360] taking to the pitch doing rugby or anything like that,
[12:11.360 -> 12:12.580] there's always the risk of injury, right?
[12:12.580 -> 12:13.700] Yes, very true.
[12:13.700 -> 12:16.180] Definitely, it's definitely a bit safer than rugby.
[12:16.180 -> 12:17.880] It's funny though, I've actually had more injuries
[12:17.880 -> 12:20.700] playing cricket than I have racing cars, you know.
[12:20.700 -> 12:21.540] A ball getting in.
[12:21.540 -> 12:22.380] Broken fingers, that sort of stuff.
[12:22.380 -> 12:25.100] Yeah, I haven't broken anything playing cricket,
[12:25.100 -> 12:27.820] but yeah, a ball to the end of the finger
[12:27.820 -> 12:30.540] or something like that, it's painful when it happens.
[12:30.540 -> 12:33.260] So hopefully that doesn't happen today.
[12:33.260 -> 12:34.340] Fingers crossed.
[12:34.340 -> 12:35.860] This is where it could happen.
[12:35.860 -> 12:37.020] This is where it could happen.
[12:37.020 -> 12:42.020] So look, it was Spain this weekend,
[12:43.840 -> 12:46.440] and Saturday qualifying was obviously great for the team
[12:46.440 -> 12:50.200] and you got into Q3 and then obviously perhaps a slightly more disappointing race. Where
[12:50.200 -> 12:56.460] do you see McLaren being at the moment in terms of race pace? Is it a case of actually
[12:56.460 -> 13:00.560] where you finished was probably more a real reflection of where the team is at the moment?
[13:00.560 -> 13:07.000] I think so, yes. I think qualifying on Saturday was pretty unexpected to be that high up on the grid.
[13:07.000 -> 13:15.000] Obviously, Lando in third, myself in Q3, and I think without a big mistake I made in Q3,
[13:15.000 -> 13:19.000] I think we should have been able to have both of us up there, which was very encouraging.
[13:19.000 -> 13:25.360] But yeah, I think the Sunday was a bit more back to reality, probably even harder than we thought it would
[13:25.360 -> 13:31.800] be. So yeah, we just seem to be really good in those cold, tricky conditions. Monaco was
[13:31.800 -> 13:37.520] a bit of a similar story when it rained. So yeah, that seems to be our strength and yeah,
[13:37.520 -> 13:42.160] the races and when it's warmer seem to be our weakness at the moment. So we need to
[13:42.160 -> 13:45.840] try and get on top of that and make our Sundays a bit easy
[13:45.840 -> 13:49.440] because obviously that's where all the points are. Yeah definitely. What about those upgrades that we
[13:49.440 -> 13:53.120] hear are coming? Is it either Austria or Silverstone? What are you hoping is going to
[13:53.120 -> 14:00.240] come from those upgrades? Hopefully a pretty decent step in performance I would say. Baku was
[14:01.360 -> 14:06.360] probably the the first step but in a pretty different direction in terms of where the
[14:06.360 -> 14:08.640] car development was heading.
[14:08.640 -> 14:16.060] And that's all been as we expected from all the numbers and now this is building on that
[14:16.060 -> 14:17.060] new direction.
[14:17.060 -> 14:20.420] So hopefully we can find a decent step of performance.
[14:20.420 -> 14:27.960] Of course all the other teams are adding performance to their cars as well. So, yeah, we'll see how big of a step it is,
[14:27.960 -> 14:31.880] but we're hoping to definitely take a good step towards the top four teams.
[14:31.880 -> 14:34.480] Yeah, well, that's, I mean, fingers crossed.
[14:34.480 -> 14:37.520] Okay, we're going to try and get through as many fan questions as possible
[14:37.520 -> 14:39.480] because I know that loads of people have sent them in,
[14:39.480 -> 14:42.040] basically until you're needed on the cricket pitch.
[14:42.040 -> 14:43.440] Okay, so here we go.
[14:43.440 -> 14:46.160] The first one's actually from Lando Norris Fans.
[14:46.160 -> 14:47.320] So there you go.
[14:47.320 -> 14:48.440] What are the biggest differences
[14:48.440 -> 14:50.720] between working in F2 and F1?
[14:50.720 -> 14:52.080] And they sort of specified everything
[14:52.080 -> 14:52.920] but the driving aspect.
[14:52.920 -> 14:53.860] Obviously a different car,
[14:53.860 -> 14:56.840] but what have you noticed as the big differences?
[14:56.840 -> 14:59.140] So everything but the driving aspects,
[14:59.140 -> 15:01.640] honestly is the biggest differences.
[15:01.640 -> 15:03.800] The driving is probably the most similar part.
[15:03.800 -> 15:09.440] It's just a bit quicker. But it's what I've grown up doing.
[15:09.440 -> 15:14.480] The media commitments, the partner commitments, that's all, you know,
[15:14.480 -> 15:18.720] there's basically none of that in F2. Playing cricket on a Monday after a race.
[15:18.720 -> 15:24.040] Yes, exactly. But yeah, in F2, you know, most of the media time you do is
[15:24.040 -> 15:25.760] when things are going very well.
[15:25.760 -> 15:31.760] And partner commitments, there's not really any, and especially with a team like McLaren,
[15:31.760 -> 15:36.080] that's a very different story. We've got a lot of great partners on board,
[15:36.080 -> 15:40.800] which requires a lot of commitments, but it's all part of the job.
[15:40.800 -> 15:44.640] So that's probably the biggest difference, and then just the calendar as well.
[15:44.640 -> 15:45.240] My F2 season I had was, I think, eight rounds, So that's probably the biggest difference. And then just the calendar as well.
[15:45.240 -> 15:47.960] My F2 season I had was I think eight rounds.
[15:47.960 -> 15:49.760] And we've already done, well,
[15:49.760 -> 15:52.240] supposed to have done eight rounds and we're in June.
[15:52.240 -> 15:56.840] So yeah, it's much more busy from that aspect.
[15:56.840 -> 15:58.300] Spending more time at the factory,
[15:58.300 -> 16:00.760] more time with the engineers, working with more people.
[16:00.760 -> 16:03.080] That's probably the other biggest difference.
[16:03.080 -> 16:06.560] The F2 team I was with had maybe 30 people,
[16:06.560 -> 16:09.800] and in F1 I probably have 30 people working on my car
[16:09.800 -> 16:11.360] on a race weekend, and then there's, you know,
[16:11.360 -> 16:13.840] eight or 900 people back at the factory building the car.
[16:13.840 -> 16:17.920] So, it's a big step up from that aspect,
[16:17.920 -> 16:21.520] but it's, yeah, just a completely different league
[16:21.520 -> 16:23.480] in everything except for the driving, I would say.
[16:23.480 -> 16:26.040] And even the driving, it's the best drivers in the world. So that's
[16:27.000 -> 16:32.240] Certainly not an easy part either. Yeah, well now you obviously I think what we seven or eight rounds in
[16:32.620 -> 16:37.720] How do you reflect on having a year away from the sport? What do you think? The impact has been of having that break?
[16:38.880 -> 16:43.840] I think there was was positives and negatives from from having the year off
[16:43.840 -> 16:49.000] Obviously the negative being I'm a racing car driver and I want to race cars.
[16:49.000 -> 16:55.520] So that was difficult to go watch everyone else go racing whilst I couldn't.
[16:55.520 -> 16:59.320] But in saying that, I tried to have quite a conscious focus on learning as much as I
[16:59.320 -> 17:06.640] could from obviously Fernando and Esteban last year in the debriefs and stuff like that.
[17:06.640 -> 17:12.960] But also the sort of schedule of being an F1 driver, looking at all these partner commitments,
[17:12.960 -> 17:17.320] the media commitments, and just sort of getting into that routine last year.
[17:17.320 -> 17:22.060] So I came into this year sort of having a rough idea of what to expect from that front.
[17:22.060 -> 17:25.080] But yeah, you can't replace track time
[17:25.080 -> 17:27.680] for your own development, so that's probably been
[17:27.680 -> 17:29.840] the biggest thing I'm trying to catch up so far
[17:29.840 -> 17:32.760] at this stage of the year, which obviously,
[17:32.760 -> 17:35.360] without a year off, would have been a bit easier, I think.
[17:35.360 -> 17:37.120] Yeah, I mean, learning from Fernandez,
[17:37.120 -> 17:38.640] you know, not a bad person to learn from.
[17:38.640 -> 17:39.480] Correct, yes.
[17:39.480 -> 17:41.280] I'm sure he manages it pretty well.
[17:41.280 -> 17:44.840] Next question, Lando is known for having many hobbies.
[17:44.840 -> 17:47.160] What does Oscar enjoy doing in his downtime?
[17:49.040 -> 17:50.400] Honestly, not too much at the moment.
[17:50.400 -> 17:53.280] Sleep is very high up there in the priority list.
[17:53.280 -> 17:54.120] Yeah, yeah.
[17:55.200 -> 17:56.040] But, yeah, I mean.
[17:56.040 -> 17:57.560] Can't beat a good sleep, can you?
[17:57.560 -> 17:58.400] Yeah, exactly.
[17:58.400 -> 17:59.220] That's just the best.
[17:59.220 -> 18:00.060] There's nothing better.
[18:00.060 -> 18:03.600] So, yeah, just relaxing, sleep.
[18:03.600 -> 18:06.120] You know, I try and spend time with my girlfriend when
[18:06.120 -> 18:12.200] I'm not at the track as well because obviously it's a busy year.
[18:12.200 -> 18:13.920] Apart from that, I've got a sim at home.
[18:13.920 -> 18:20.160] I like playing on that when I'm not doing anything or playing video games as well.
[18:20.160 -> 18:22.480] So, yeah, nothing too fancy yet.
[18:22.480 -> 18:25.120] Obviously, spending a lot of time,
[18:26.200 -> 18:29.000] trying to focus on my career and working with the team to go faster and faster,
[18:29.000 -> 18:30.220] which is taking up a lot of my time.
[18:30.220 -> 18:32.040] So I'm sure later down the line
[18:32.040 -> 18:33.680] some more hobbies will come in.
[18:33.680 -> 18:35.460] Yeah, I'm sure they will.
[18:35.460 -> 18:37.520] Ashley on Twitter would like to know,
[18:37.520 -> 18:39.200] if you weren't a driver in the team,
[18:39.200 -> 18:41.400] what else would you be doing?
[18:41.400 -> 18:43.360] I'd probably want to be an engineer.
[18:43.360 -> 18:44.200] Yeah, yeah.
[18:44.200 -> 18:47.980] Yeah, at school I took very engineering based subjects
[18:47.980 -> 18:51.760] and I think there's an advantage to knowing
[18:51.760 -> 18:53.580] what different changes on the car do
[18:53.580 -> 18:57.580] and having a rough idea on setup ideas and stuff.
[18:57.580 -> 19:00.580] So I think that would probably be the next part
[19:00.580 -> 19:03.180] I would have done if I couldn't be a driver.
[19:03.180 -> 19:06.980] You've got quite a direct influence on the performance for the weekend as well.
[19:06.980 -> 19:10.440] So yeah, there's that element of pressure and competition,
[19:10.440 -> 19:13.400] but also it's highly technical, which I like as well.
[19:13.400 -> 19:14.880] What were your A-levels?
[19:14.880 -> 19:17.000] Maths, physics, and computer science.
[19:17.000 -> 19:17.840] Oh my God.
[19:17.840 -> 19:21.800] So yes, I was most likely gonna be an engineer.
[19:21.800 -> 19:23.600] Yeah, yeah, yeah, I can see.
[19:23.600 -> 19:25.920] I mean, do you think because of that background,
[19:25.920 -> 19:27.560] you have a kind of slightly unique,
[19:27.560 -> 19:29.520] you know, out of sort of all of the drivers on the grid,
[19:29.520 -> 19:33.920] perhaps that is a slightly unique aspect of your background
[19:33.920 -> 19:35.440] is that you can perhaps speak to the engineers
[19:35.440 -> 19:37.280] in a way that maybe they're not used to speaking
[19:37.280 -> 19:38.780] to some other drivers like?
[19:40.040 -> 19:41.240] I'm not sure, obviously.
[19:41.240 -> 19:42.440] I suppose you only have your own experience.
[19:42.440 -> 19:44.280] Yes, I only have my own experience.
[19:45.320 -> 19:48.820] I think at this level, even without that background,
[19:50.040 -> 19:53.600] you change an anti-roll bar or a front wing,
[19:53.600 -> 19:55.940] the driver knows exactly what it does after one time.
[19:55.940 -> 19:59.980] So I don't know if it's the most important thing
[19:59.980 -> 20:00.820] to have that.
[20:00.820 -> 20:01.980] I think coming into the sport,
[20:01.980 -> 20:04.060] it's nice to have a bit of background knowledge
[20:04.060 -> 20:05.000] on that kind of stuff.
[20:05.000 -> 20:10.000] And obviously being the drivers now in F1, that's probably one of the other differences I didn't mention is,
[20:10.000 -> 20:17.000] we have a bespoke car for each team that the drivers can influence the development direction on.
[20:17.000 -> 20:21.000] So knowing a little bit of the background of that is always nice.
[20:21.000 -> 20:25.520] I don't actually know how many drivers finish school so I guess maybe
[20:25.520 -> 20:32.160] I'm a bit unique in that. But no, it's hard to say if it adds an advantage. I certainly
[20:32.160 -> 20:33.640] don't think it's a disadvantage.
[20:33.640 -> 20:38.240] No, definitely not. And I guess the lesson is stay in school. If you're a young aspiring
[20:38.240 -> 20:41.880] racing driver, stay in school because you never know what might happen.
[20:41.880 -> 20:42.880] Exactly.
[20:42.880 -> 20:48.000] Michael on Twitter would like to know, what do you guys do to prepare yourself for a race any traditions?
[20:50.500 -> 20:55.980] Not really any traditions, I think all of us on the grid have like a routine before we get in the car
[20:56.760 -> 20:58.240] So, you know like for myself
[20:58.240 -> 21:02.760] I do a warm-up which is the same warm-up before each session at you know
[21:02.760 -> 21:08.240] Roughly the same time before each session speak to the the engineers about what the plan is for the day or the
[21:08.240 -> 21:14.640] session as well but yeah I'm pretty pretty chilled with stuff like that.
[21:14.640 -> 21:20.200] I do my warm-up, I jump in the car and that's kind of it. You know to get
[21:20.200 -> 21:23.960] ready for a weekend of course we're in the gym, we're running, we're cycling
[21:23.960 -> 21:26.660] trying to be physically ready as well, of course, where we're in the gym, we're running, we're cycling, trying to be physically ready as well,
[21:27.600 -> 21:31.620] which is also difficult because we're away so much now.
[21:32.600 -> 21:34.920] But yeah, just physically preparing to be the best
[21:34.920 -> 21:36.760] and then time on the sim as well.
[21:36.760 -> 21:38.880] I think all of us probably do at least a day
[21:38.880 -> 21:41.240] before each race to get ready there.
[21:41.240 -> 21:43.320] Yeah, do you look at what other drivers are doing?
[21:43.320 -> 21:44.960] You know, for example, do you see Pierre on the grid
[21:44.960 -> 21:47.440] doing the tennis ball thing, go, I wanna do that. You know, for example, do you see Pierre on the grid doing the tennis ball thing, go, I want to do that.
[21:47.440 -> 21:49.840] You know, that's, are you sort of trying to,
[21:49.840 -> 21:51.400] because everyone's trying to get an advantage, aren't they?
[21:51.400 -> 21:53.320] No matter how small, everyone's trying to look
[21:53.320 -> 21:55.920] at what other people are doing. Is that the case?
[21:55.920 -> 21:58.400] I mean, I've seen him doing it before,
[21:59.440 -> 22:01.960] but I think every driver has their own routine.
[22:01.960 -> 22:04.000] And, you know, I think at this stage,
[22:04.000 -> 22:05.840] we more or less all know what works for us
[22:05.840 -> 22:08.960] You know, I've been doing a similar kind of thing through my junior career
[22:09.360 -> 22:13.140] You know, I'm sure Lando does a completely different warm-up to me
[22:13.640 -> 22:18.220] So, you know, it's it's individual for everyone. Some people like to do a bit more get a bit more hyped up
[22:18.220 -> 22:20.600] some people like to do less and
[22:21.240 -> 22:25.780] And just be more chilled. So yeah depends on the driver and the personality, I think.
[22:25.780 -> 22:27.420] Yeah, I can see the chilled.
[22:27.420 -> 22:28.380] I'm getting the chilled vibes.
[22:28.380 -> 22:30.180] If you're like this before a race, you're fine.
[22:30.180 -> 22:31.700] Yes, exactly, yeah.
[22:31.700 -> 22:36.700] I'm pretty low energy before a race, I think.
[22:36.700 -> 22:38.900] I think if you're, in my opinion,
[22:38.900 -> 22:41.740] if you're too hyped up, too wound up,
[22:41.740 -> 22:43.660] then that could be when stuff goes wrong.
[22:43.660 -> 22:46.080] So nice and chilled and able to think straight.
[22:46.080 -> 22:50.880] Yeah. Katie would like to know when is Lando going to get Oscar on the golf course?
[22:50.880 -> 22:57.000] He actually offered me to come and, well he offered a spot for me on I
[22:57.000 -> 23:02.560] think was Wednesday before Barcelona. Yeah. I think his handicap is really good.
[23:02.560 -> 23:05.320] I've like never played golf in my life. He's got a lot better. Yeah
[23:10.360 -> 23:15.320] So I've never played golf before so I was never played really Wow, not properly I think maybe I think I've maybe done nine holes with a couple of mates for a bit of fun, but
[23:16.040 -> 23:17.280] I
[23:17.280 -> 23:20.440] Wasn't gonna jump straight in he gave me like an hour's notice as well
[23:20.440 -> 23:27.400] He's like do you want to come and play golf this afternoon? Like maybe not maybe the driving range But I'm sure he'll get me out there sometime and Zach as well because Zach's like, do you want to come and play golf this afternoon? I'm like, maybe not, maybe the driving range, but I'm sure he'll get me out there sometime.
[23:27.400 -> 23:29.720] And Zach as well, because Zach's a massive golf fan.
[23:29.720 -> 23:30.720] So I'm sure.
[23:30.720 -> 23:32.120] Good time on the course with the bosses.
[23:32.120 -> 23:33.120] Yes, exactly.
[23:33.120 -> 23:36.040] I'm sure all three of us will be out there at some point during the summer.
[23:36.040 -> 23:37.040] Yeah.
[23:37.040 -> 23:39.560] Are you one of those, I mean, obviously I know you're cricket, you know, you're pretty
[23:39.560 -> 23:40.560] good at cricket.
[23:40.560 -> 23:42.880] Are you someone who was always good at sport at school?
[23:42.880 -> 23:45.960] You just one of those annoying people.
[23:47.800 -> 23:50.080] I think before I started racing, I was decent at most of the sports I did.
[23:50.080 -> 23:53.100] Once I took up racing, it was just so hard
[23:53.100 -> 23:56.120] to commit enough time to anything else.
[23:56.120 -> 23:59.740] So, kind of went downhill from there, to be honest.
[24:01.080 -> 24:03.880] Never been a massive fan of contact sports
[24:03.880 -> 24:05.120] and stuff like that.
[24:05.120 -> 24:06.680] It's a bit ironic when I drive a race car
[24:06.680 -> 24:07.880] at 300 k's an hour.
[24:07.880 -> 24:12.120] But, yeah, I don't know.
[24:12.120 -> 24:14.500] I'm okay at most sports.
[24:14.500 -> 24:16.400] I think, yeah, since I've been racing,
[24:16.400 -> 24:18.220] it's been, I'm good at racing
[24:18.220 -> 24:19.960] and everything else has taken a bit of a hit,
[24:19.960 -> 24:21.440] but I'm happy with it like that.
[24:21.440 -> 24:22.280] Yeah, okay.
[24:23.320 -> 24:24.760] Final question, because I'm going to let you go
[24:24.760 -> 24:26.560] and go and warm up for your cricket match.
[24:26.780 -> 24:31.200] Lucas would like to know if you could drive in any era of F1, which would it be and why?
[24:32.840 -> 24:34.840] I mean, I
[24:35.320 -> 24:37.680] think the cars from
[24:38.520 -> 24:43.000] sort of the mid-2000s to 2010s, so the V10s, V8s,
[24:44.200 -> 24:45.000] lighter cars.
[24:48.080 -> 24:49.960] I think that's probably the era I would have chosen.
[24:49.960 -> 24:52.400] Obviously now, the cars are their safest,
[24:52.400 -> 24:54.640] so I probably wouldn't go back to like the 70s or 80s,
[24:54.640 -> 24:55.880] as cool as that would be,
[24:55.880 -> 24:58.400] I don't know how I feel about that.
[24:58.400 -> 25:01.460] But yeah, mid-2000s, 2010s, just the noise.
[25:01.460 -> 25:03.960] I actually never got to go to a race with the V8s.
[25:06.920 -> 25:08.440] Did you hear them? Am I right in thinking you?
[25:13.760 -> 25:15.040] Yes, I'd ever park I could hear them from my house, but I never actually saw them in person so
[25:18.680 -> 25:19.280] Yeah, that's probably the year. I'd go back to the good cars sounded awesome looked awesome
[25:24.540 -> 25:25.160] You know, they're nice and light as well. So that's probably the era I would choose. Yeah, nice one. Well, Oscar, thank you very much.
[25:25.160 -> 25:26.360] Best of luck for the rest of the season.
[25:26.360 -> 25:27.760] Thank you very much, cheers.
[25:32.120 -> 25:35.060] Okay, thank you very much to Lando and to Oscar,
[25:35.060 -> 25:38.480] but I found Rachel and Damon, who are gonna help me
[25:38.480 -> 25:39.960] look back at the Spanish Grand Prix.
[25:39.960 -> 25:41.440] Hello to you both, you well?
[25:41.440 -> 25:42.280] Very good, very good, thank you.
[25:42.280 -> 25:44.760] Yeah, I'm a bit sore after running around
[25:44.760 -> 25:46.120] after a cricket ball, very good, thank you. Yeah, I'm a bit sore after running around after a cricket ball.
[25:46.120 -> 25:49.920] But yes, it's amazing how much you can damage yourself
[25:49.920 -> 25:50.760] playing cricket.
[25:51.680 -> 25:52.520] I'll find out tomorrow.
[25:52.520 -> 25:54.200] Oh, I was gonna say, I think everybody's gonna wake up
[25:54.200 -> 25:56.000] tomorrow morning very, very sore indeed.
[25:56.000 -> 25:58.360] And possibly Lando too, the dive he made for the wicket.
[25:58.360 -> 25:59.480] Yeah. Sensational.
[25:59.480 -> 26:00.840] Incredible, wasn't it? Incredible.
[26:00.840 -> 26:03.600] He looked in all right shape by the end.
[26:03.600 -> 26:10.080] Right, let's do our one word race reviews of Barcelona. Rachel rachel you go you go first it's more of a noise than a word but it's
[26:10.080 -> 26:16.480] like oh that's basically my one word review oh yeah is that what is that an english dictionary
[26:17.120 -> 26:21.440] it's the only way i can describe it because i wanted it to promise so much and then there was
[26:21.440 -> 26:29.520] a there was the odd moment where you thought it was gonna deliver a bit more and it just was yeah you're right unsurprising is my
[26:29.520 -> 26:33.800] word in other words we sort of knew that it was gonna be a rebel track but there
[26:33.800 -> 26:38.320] were some that's my word by the way that's not I'm just extending the
[26:38.320 -> 26:41.720] conversation a little bit more so it's more interesting but to fill in the
[26:41.720 -> 26:50.400] blanks a little bit I'm with Rachel you know you kind of thought interesting is going to happen here it nearly did but it didn't and um but more promising
[26:50.400 -> 26:58.640] for Mercedes you'd have to say um but what was surprising was Aston Martin's performance I really
[26:58.640 -> 27:01.840] thought they were going to do something special there and they and it just sort of withered and
[27:01.840 -> 27:08.720] I don't know what went wrong there but anyway. The stars you thought were aligned for Aston Martin at this race, the numbers, I mean I lost
[27:08.720 -> 27:13.920] count of how many 33s or this was going to be Alonso's next win, it was all throughout the grid
[27:13.920 -> 27:17.200] wasn't it? I mean if we could write the script for a season it would have been wouldn't it
[27:17.200 -> 27:22.960] ultimately but I think Fernando's issues, the damage to the car, what that would have been worth
[27:23.520 -> 27:25.280] perhaps for him in qualifying, I mean I said to him was it 1.2 seconds worth and he said no no y broblemau, y dyluniad o'r car, beth bynnag oedd hynny'n werth, efallai i ni i'w gynhyrchu.
[27:25.280 -> 27:27.280] Rydw i wedi dweud i hi, oedd o'n 1.2 secynd o werth?
[27:27.280 -> 27:30.640] Ac mae'n dweud, na, na, na, o'n 2.10. Roedd yna llawer mwy na hynny, yn wir, yn realistig.
[27:30.640 -> 27:32.560] Ond rwy'n credu bod y dyluniad wedi'i wneud.
[27:32.560 -> 27:34.240] Ac yna roedd y cwrs,
[27:34.240 -> 27:35.960] nid oedd e'n cael y cynyddu.
[27:35.960 -> 27:37.520] Nid oedd e'n gallu cael mwy o hynny.
[27:37.520 -> 27:39.720] Rwy'n credu bod Lance yn cael diwethaf ffantastig.
[27:39.720 -> 27:41.800] Rwy'n credu bod Lance yn cael ei diwethaf ffantastig o'r seswn, oes hi?
[27:41.800 -> 27:44.160] Mwy o ddangos, hefyd, ar y Lewis hefyd.
[27:44.160 -> 27:47.520] Roedd e'n cymryd y ddangos hwnnw i gyd, ac roedd y cwrs yn ddangos yn dda. Lance probably had his best weekend of the season, didn't he? Great move as well down on the Lewis as well. He completely committed to that move and it was a clean overtake,
[27:47.520 -> 27:52.520] which was one of the very few overtakes of the race that was actually not DRS inspired.
[27:52.520 -> 27:56.040] But I mean, George's overtake on Carlos was pretty brave,
[27:56.040 -> 27:58.240] but that was set up by the DRS in a way.
[27:58.240 -> 28:02.320] But so, I'm not a huge fan of Barcelona,
[28:02.320 -> 28:04.200] no disrespect to Barcelona,
[28:04.200 -> 28:05.540] it's a fantastic city and a
[28:05.540 -> 28:09.880] fantastic part of Spain, but the track itself has always had this issue.
[28:09.880 -> 28:15.760] It's long, constant radius corners, they're not very interesting corners, you can't really
[28:15.760 -> 28:16.760] get into them.
[28:16.760 -> 28:23.200] And yet, you'd have to say, the really good drivers still seem to perform on that track.
[28:23.200 -> 28:26.580] But it's not a place that you can actually,
[28:26.580 -> 28:29.360] I don't think you can hustle a time out of the car.
[28:29.360 -> 28:31.660] You just have to behave really as a driver
[28:31.660 -> 28:32.560] when you drive around there.
[28:32.560 -> 28:34.480] But on that though, what I found really interesting
[28:34.480 -> 28:36.080] was on the Saturday after qualifying,
[28:36.080 -> 28:38.920] speaking to so many drivers who got caught out by turn 10
[28:38.920 -> 28:41.600] and a little bit of wet, getting onto the kerb
[28:41.600 -> 28:44.760] and finding a wet patch and having problems at turn 10.
[28:44.760 -> 28:48.400] And the drivers that didn't have that problem at turn 10, I thought Lando was sensational in qualifying
[28:48.400 -> 28:51.680] and put everything together and he said the conditions suited the car.
[28:51.680 -> 28:56.400] But he didn't get caught out by that and a lot more experienced drivers, Lewis, Fernando, did get caught out by it.
[28:56.400 -> 28:58.400] My word is...
[28:58.400 -> 29:00.400] Sorry, yes Matt, what's your word?
[29:00.400 -> 29:02.400] Since you both asked...
[29:02.400 -> 29:04.400] I didn't know you got a word.
[29:04.400 -> 29:05.120] I thought we were interviewing us,
[29:05.120 -> 29:06.120] so we should get a word.
[29:06.120 -> 29:06.960] No, come on.
[29:06.960 -> 29:07.800] Come on, let's hear it anyway.
[29:07.800 -> 29:09.640] My word, which I'm gonna level with you,
[29:09.640 -> 29:13.680] I had to look up online in a thesaurus, is pathetic.
[29:13.680 -> 29:14.520] Oh, okay.
[29:14.520 -> 29:15.640] Do you wanna know the definition of pathetic?
[29:15.640 -> 29:16.800] That sounds like me on my phone
[29:16.800 -> 29:19.680] when I just predict a text and it gets it wrong.
[29:19.680 -> 29:21.120] Below something?
[29:21.120 -> 29:24.800] Yeah, producing an unintentional effect of anti-climax.
[29:24.800 -> 29:31.000] Which I think kind of sums up your yes is that if I do it right I think my vocalization
[29:31.000 -> 29:34.960] of pathetic yeah I'm not gonna take credit for knowing that word off the top
[29:34.960 -> 29:39.360] of my head but there we go it's a new word it's great it's a great word we're
[29:39.360 -> 29:45.600] gonna hear that word a lot more I think in the future. Do you think? I hope not. How did you find it? What did you type into Google to get that to come up?
[29:45.600 -> 29:47.600] Oh, I think it was like meh,
[29:47.600 -> 29:49.360] or you know, better words for meh,
[29:49.360 -> 29:51.400] which is kind of what I was gonna go with.
[29:51.400 -> 29:52.240] Yeah.
[29:52.240 -> 29:54.440] But let's move on and talk about Mercedes,
[29:54.440 -> 29:55.880] because I think they were the big story
[29:55.880 -> 30:00.000] and the big kind of drive that came out of Barcelona.
[30:00.000 -> 30:02.960] And you know, 24 seconds behind Verstappen
[30:02.960 -> 30:03.920] was Lewis Hamilton,
[30:03.920 -> 30:08.160] but it was a two, three finish for Mercedes, their first double podium of the year.
[30:08.160 -> 30:11.840] Damon, how excited or maybe not excited,
[30:11.840 -> 30:16.560] but how much heart can Mercedes fans take from that performance?
[30:16.560 -> 30:20.280] I think quite a bit because they've actually shown in the race,
[30:20.280 -> 30:27.400] they have leapfrogged the threat from Aston Martin and Ferrari as well.
[30:27.400 -> 30:36.000] So they've actually shown on a circuit where it really pushes the car's ability to look after its tyres
[30:36.000 -> 30:38.600] and have a good aero balance and have good aero performance.
[30:38.600 -> 30:41.400] It's actually shown that it's got the potential there.
[30:41.400 -> 30:45.880] Now, all the circuits are different. That's the great thing about our sport.
[30:45.880 -> 30:47.560] They're not all like Barcelona,
[30:47.560 -> 30:50.900] but Barcelona's one of those places where it tests the,
[30:52.080 -> 30:55.440] it shows up pure performance, aero package,
[30:55.440 -> 30:57.600] and ability to get a balance
[30:57.600 -> 30:59.320] and be good on the tyres and so forth,
[30:59.320 -> 31:02.000] which is why the Rebels were so dominant,
[31:02.000 -> 31:03.440] at least Max's was.
[31:03.440 -> 31:07.000] But, so I think there's encouraging signs there for Mercedes, definitely.
[31:07.000 -> 31:11.000] What about Lewis's smile in the pen after the race on Sunday?
[31:11.000 -> 31:13.000] It was so nice to see it.
[31:13.000 -> 31:20.000] A lot of times you put a smile on because you know people need to see you smile in the team or other people.
[31:20.000 -> 31:22.000] But it was so genuine at the weekend.
[31:22.000 -> 31:25.000] It was almost relief as well. And for George too, both of them looked as though a big weight had been taken off their shoulders. Ond roedd yn ddiddorol iawn ar y diwydiannau. Roedd yn ychydig yn ymdrechion hefyd.
[31:25.000 -> 31:27.000] Ac i George hefyd, roedd y ddau'n edrych fel
[31:27.000 -> 31:29.000] bod y cyd-dwyrain yn cael eu gwneud o'u sgwrs.
[31:29.000 -> 31:31.000] Dyma'r dyrfa.
[31:31.000 -> 31:33.000] Mae'n cael ei wneud yn yr un ddiwedd.
[31:33.000 -> 31:35.000] A dweudais i George,
[31:35.000 -> 31:36.000] beth bynnag dweudwch i bobl a dweud,
[31:36.000 -> 31:38.000] pam ddim chi'n rhoi'r cyllidebion yma?
[31:38.000 -> 31:40.000] Dwi'n gwybod bod hynny'n ddim yn hwyr.
[31:40.000 -> 31:42.000] A dweud George, dyna ddim y cyllidebion.
[31:42.000 -> 31:44.000] Dyma pethau sydd wedi mynd i mewn i mewn i'r car,
[31:44.000 -> 31:47.520] i mewn i'r sgyn, a dyma'r gwaith sydd wedi mynd i mewn i hynny. Mae'n edrych, dwi'n meddwl, i bobl ar y ffwrdd, And George said it's not the side pods, it's things that have gone in under the car, under the skin that you can't see. It's all the work that's gone into that. It looks,
[31:47.520 -> 31:51.280] I guess, to people on the outside like, oh, look, they've gone down the Red Bull route
[31:51.280 -> 31:54.720] of the side pods and suddenly it's working. There's a whole lot more to that. There's
[31:54.720 -> 31:58.880] the impact structure that they couldn't change. Just explain what, because obviously the exterior
[31:58.880 -> 32:02.080] changes, but that means all the interior has to change, right? Because space is so tight.
[32:02.080 -> 32:05.600] Exactly, exactly. And you've got so much, I mean, Damon knows better than me,
[32:05.600 -> 32:07.800] but you've got so much under those side pods, whether you're talking about
[32:07.800 -> 32:09.840] the radiators, where it joins with the impact structure,
[32:09.840 -> 32:12.280] they couldn't change that bit at the front at all.
[32:12.280 -> 32:16.080] So they had to do whatever they were doing with the side pods in line with that.
[32:16.080 -> 32:20.160] And the sculpting underneath, yes, that looks very much like the other cars now,
[32:20.560 -> 32:23.880] but it's more than just changing how that looks on the outside.
[32:23.880 -> 32:25.300] An incredible amount of work goes through there. Yeah, because the bones, if you like, if you imagine it's more than just changing how that looks on the outside. An incredible amount of work goes through there.
[32:25.300 -> 32:28.800] Yeah, because the bones, if you like, if you imagine it's like a body, you know,
[32:28.800 -> 32:34.200] you've got the skin, which is the bodywork, and then you've got the organs in there as well.
[32:34.200 -> 32:35.000] Love this analogy.
[32:35.000 -> 32:35.800] Great analogy.
[32:35.800 -> 32:37.000] Why did I think of that?
[32:37.000 -> 32:42.400] But the skeleton is the chassis, is the tub, and you can't really, you know,
[32:42.400 -> 32:45.920] you'd have to do a complete new car if you want to change all
[32:45.920 -> 32:46.920] that.
[32:46.920 -> 32:51.600] So they're a bit hidebound a little bit there until they get a chance to start from scratch.
[32:51.600 -> 32:57.880] They've gone down a different road, as they said they would do if it was quicker, although
[32:57.880 -> 33:03.040] James Allison said you can't just copy other people, you've got to know where you're going.
[33:03.040 -> 33:11.120] Maybe this has unlocked more potential, but whether it's able to unlock as much potential as it needs to be rebel is is questionable because
[33:11.120 -> 33:15.360] i think they're stuck with what they've the fundamental chassis that they've got underneath
[33:15.360 -> 33:22.160] there but to hear lewis say i've enjoyed driving the car that's a good sign and it's also vindication
[33:22.160 -> 33:25.280] for him because he's been saying I told you we
[33:25.280 -> 33:28.460] should have done something earlier blah blah blah and they've gone and done what
[33:28.460 -> 33:34.240] he's been pleading with them to do and they've seen some progress so well done
[33:34.240 -> 33:38.160] Lewis. Do you think it's now a springboard now that they've got this
[33:38.160 -> 33:43.080] foundation which appears to for the drivers to be better, Damon do you think
[33:43.080 -> 33:46.400] that springboard will allow them to build throughout the season,
[33:46.400 -> 33:47.860] constantly adding little upgrades,
[33:47.860 -> 33:49.480] but now they're on the right path, right?
[33:49.480 -> 33:53.760] So it's gonna be easier for them to work, I guess.
[33:53.760 -> 33:58.300] Yeah, I think to overhaul Red Bull
[33:58.300 -> 34:01.720] before the end of the season is gonna be very difficult.
[34:01.720 -> 34:06.880] But to maybe compete with them, to cause them problems? I think if they manage to firmly establish themselves ddifficult. Ond efallai y gallant gymryd â nhw i, rwy'n credu, i'w cau'r broblemau. Rwy'n credu, os ydyn nhw'n cymryd
[34:06.880 -> 34:16.080] i sefydlu'r eu hunain'n ffyrdd i fynd i 24, ar ddiwedd y seswn, yna byddaient wedi'i ystyried
[34:16.080 -> 34:21.680] o fwyta. Rwy'n cymryd â chi, oherwydd rwy'n credu, rwy'n credu, nid yw'n bwysig pa mor rydyn ni'n credu eu bod
[34:21.680 -> 34:25.920] wedi'u gysylltu gyda'r newydd dylunio, rwy'n ddweud, rwy'n ddweud, rwy design. I'm sorry, I think Red Bull have
[34:25.920 -> 34:29.760] a whole lot more in that car we haven't seen yet. So I don't think I think yes, they've closed the
[34:29.760 -> 34:33.440] gap a little bit, but actually, Red Bull are developing all the time. Red Bull have got
[34:33.440 -> 34:38.000] updates coming, which is even scarier. They've got updates coming. So I think it's been it's
[34:38.000 -> 34:41.520] brilliant for Mercedes. I think the morale boost for the team and for everyone's been working so
[34:41.520 -> 34:45.640] hard these last couple of years is fantastic. And I think, yes, it's a springboard,
[34:45.640 -> 34:46.800] but it's not a springboard for this year,
[34:46.800 -> 34:48.460] it's a springboard for the future.
[34:48.460 -> 34:50.640] Lewis, and I don't know if you heard this after the race,
[34:50.640 -> 34:51.960] but he was saying that actually,
[34:51.960 -> 34:53.960] the scary part is that Red Bull can kind of
[34:53.960 -> 34:56.560] forget about 23 sooner or later, can't they?
[34:56.560 -> 34:59.280] And their attention's gonna turn to 24.
[34:59.280 -> 35:00.120] Probably already is.
[35:00.120 -> 35:00.940] Yeah, probably already is.
[35:00.940 -> 35:03.000] So they're gonna get a head start on 24,
[35:03.000 -> 35:04.320] and obviously, yeah, I mean,
[35:04.320 -> 35:07.600] what do you think the impact of that's gonna be for the season coming? It's probably not
[35:07.600 -> 35:12.880] great news for the other team. It's not. But also, I think, for example, with Mercedes now,
[35:12.880 -> 35:18.640] they have got this springboard for now. They will use all of that in 2024. I mean, if you find
[35:18.640 -> 35:22.960] suddenly find the right direction to go in, you can go straight down that road. Until now, you've
[35:22.960 -> 35:26.040] been trying all these different directions. Now you've got it, you're on that motorway
[35:26.040 -> 35:27.960] and you can go flat out and try and get this right
[35:27.960 -> 35:28.800] for next year.
[35:28.800 -> 35:30.400] And to a certain extent, while Red Bull might be able
[35:30.400 -> 35:31.920] to sign off this year or write off this year
[35:31.920 -> 35:32.880] because we've got it in the bag,
[35:32.880 -> 35:34.240] Mercedes can go, well, they've got it in the bag,
[35:34.240 -> 35:36.720] we can write it off, we can just concentrate on 24.
[35:36.720 -> 35:39.280] And everything they're doing now, be geared towards 24.
[35:39.280 -> 35:42.680] So, it is scary, but I also think now that they've found
[35:42.680 -> 35:45.280] a route, my worry is that Ferrari are going
[35:45.280 -> 35:49.440] in the opposite direction. I'm worried, you know, they changed their car. We saw a very
[35:49.440 -> 35:53.760] different Ferrari last weekend in Spain. They are now trying to chase that route as well.
[35:55.280 -> 36:00.240] Where's the other challenge going to come from? There is a lot of work for a lot of teams,
[36:00.240 -> 36:03.760] head scratching going on. Aston, maybe it was just the track, but that's a track you want
[36:03.760 -> 36:06.720] to go well at because it reflects a lot on the rest of the season.
[36:06.720 -> 36:08.860] I don't know where they're at right now.
[36:08.860 -> 36:10.440] No, and it's a funny season in a way
[36:10.440 -> 36:13.140] because we've seen quite a lot of disparity
[36:13.140 -> 36:17.120] between form, apparent form, on one circuit
[36:17.120 -> 36:20.520] and the same form or the expectations
[36:20.520 -> 36:21.680] going into another circuit.
[36:21.680 -> 36:23.640] And we're kind of, everyone's scratching their heads
[36:23.640 -> 36:26.360] a little bit about that one, apart of course Red Bull which deliver on every
[36:26.360 -> 36:30.720] track we go to but yeah I mean there's that there's that aspect to it so we
[36:30.720 -> 36:35.660] can't predict we can't say we look at Barcelona and say that is now the form
[36:35.660 -> 36:39.560] book for the rest of the season because Canada is a completely different track
[36:39.560 -> 36:45.840] Britain is another type of track so, there's still going to be variety through the field
[36:47.200 -> 36:53.840] but you know I think that and Ferrari definitely, what can you say about Ferrari, they somehow
[36:53.840 -> 37:00.000] managed to when one's up the other's down, it's like they're running with one leg all the time,
[37:00.000 -> 37:07.640] it's just it always seems to be a problem with them, but um, you know, so I think I think going forward
[37:07.640 -> 37:08.840] I think that
[37:08.840 -> 37:10.840] that we got
[37:10.840 -> 37:14.640] You've got the development curve and the cost cap restrictions
[37:15.100 -> 37:21.440] To think about because you know ironically the better Mercedes do the less scope they've got for the following year
[37:21.520 -> 37:25.820] So you've got Aston Martin who are benefiting if you like from a poor performance relatively from last year. They've got for the following year. So you've got Aston Martin who are benefiting, if you like, from a poor performance
[37:25.820 -> 37:27.340] relatively from last year.
[37:27.340 -> 37:31.180] They've got ability now to soak up the,
[37:31.180 -> 37:34.080] they haven't got the glass ceiling is much higher for them.
[37:35.520 -> 37:37.140] And you kind of wonder whether Mercedes
[37:37.140 -> 37:38.840] ought to be thinking about doing really badly
[37:38.840 -> 37:40.800] between now and the end of the year.
[37:40.800 -> 37:41.980] I mean, there is that, isn't there?
[37:41.980 -> 37:43.380] Do you deliberately want to do badly
[37:43.380 -> 37:44.220] so you get more wind tunnel time?
[37:44.220 -> 37:46.400] Do you think the wind tunnel time is that impactful?
[37:46.400 -> 37:51.200] I think so. I think that when there's a big difference it's that impactful.
[37:51.200 -> 37:56.000] I think when you've got the budget and you can spend it but you can't because you did so well the previous season
[37:56.000 -> 37:58.800] then it kind of makes you wonder whether you ought to do really badly.
[37:58.800 -> 38:01.200] We can't have that can we?
[38:01.200 -> 38:07.000] No you can't but you know if you're not going to win this year, you want to win next year.
[38:07.000 -> 38:09.000] But then you get prize money for your position in the championship.
[38:09.000 -> 38:10.000] Sure, sure.
[38:10.000 -> 38:13.000] So then you have to offset that with, yeah, but we're going to lose out on X millions.
[38:13.000 -> 38:14.000] And is that worth that much wind tunnel time?
[38:14.000 -> 38:15.000] There's so much.
[38:15.000 -> 38:22.000] There'll be accountants and all sorts of experts who are going to tell me that's an absolutely stupid policy and strategy, Damon Bart.
[38:22.000 -> 38:24.000] It's something that occurred to me.
[38:24.000 -> 38:26.000] Accountants usually tell me I'm stupid, so it's fine.
[38:26.000 -> 38:28.000] It's the sort of thing you ask, the question you ask.
[38:28.000 -> 38:33.000] I mean, I'm sure there's a good reason why it's daft, but, you know, I mean.
[38:33.000 -> 38:35.000] We need more teams at the front, don't we?
[38:35.000 -> 38:40.000] I think that's why we're all getting excited by perhaps Mercedes becoming a bit better
[38:40.000 -> 38:43.000] because obviously that means competition with Red Bull and that means ultimately, I think,
[38:43.000 -> 38:48.440] better races for us viewers at home. Final thought on the Mercedes weekend as a whole
[38:48.440 -> 38:53.760] was the incident in qualifying and you know what I thought I thought it was very telling
[38:53.760 -> 38:58.280] and it probably was a great team performance the two three as well because they had that
[38:58.280 -> 39:01.800] incident in qualifying but Rach I don't think it I don't think it sort of leaked into the
[39:01.800 -> 39:05.160] media it didn't it just was dealt with within the team,
[39:05.160 -> 39:07.000] calmly, professionally.
[39:07.000 -> 39:08.600] You know, maybe there was some hotheads
[39:08.600 -> 39:09.800] that we didn't hear or didn't see,
[39:09.800 -> 39:12.560] but you know, didn't air their dirty laundry.
[39:12.560 -> 39:15.240] We had communications director Bradley Lord
[39:15.240 -> 39:18.400] on the, I won't say pit wall because he's in the garage,
[39:18.400 -> 39:19.840] but on the section there.
[39:19.840 -> 39:21.760] But that's the first time we've had Mercedes in session,
[39:21.760 -> 39:23.520] somebody senior at Mercedes talking to us.
[39:23.520 -> 39:24.640] So immediately we could talk to him
[39:24.640 -> 39:46.000] and he could tell us, no, just a misniwr y Mercedes yn iawn ar ôl.
[39:46.000 -> 39:48.000] Unwaith iddo newid y ffwrdd ymlaen,
[39:48.000 -> 39:50.000] diddordeb ddim.
[39:50.000 -> 39:52.000] Felly, dim rhesymau i fod yn broblem.
[39:52.000 -> 39:54.000] Mae'n digwydd.
[39:54.000 -> 39:56.000] Pryd, mae gennym ddau ymchwil i ddim
[39:56.000 -> 39:58.000] gweld pobl yn dod i'w holl.
[39:58.000 -> 40:00.000] Felly, yn ymwneud â'r cyfathrebu,
[40:00.000 -> 40:02.000] mae'r holl rhanfodau yn cael llawer i ddysgu.
[40:02.000 -> 40:04.000] Ond, yn ymwneud â'r rhanfodau sy'n mynd allan,
[40:04.000 -> 40:28.160] dyna'r cyfle i fod yn fwy cyflym. Nidwydd rwy'n credu bod y ddau o'n nhw wedi sylwi roedd yna, roedd yna, roedd yna, roedd yna, roedd yna, roedd yna, roedd yna, roedd yna, roedd yna, roedd yna, roedd yna, roedd yna, roedd yna, roedd yna, roedd yna, roedd yna, roedd yna, roedd yna, roedd yna, roedd yna, roedd yna, roedd yna, roedd yna, roedd yna, roedd yna, roedd yna, roedd yna, roedd yna, roedd yna, roedd yna, roedd yna, roedd yna, roedd yna, roedd yna, roedd yna, roedd yna, roedd yna, roedd yna, roedd yna, roedd yna, roedd yna, roedd yna, roedd yna, roedd yna, roedd yna, roedd yna, roedd yna, roedd yna, roedd yna, roedd yna, roedd yna, roedd yna, roedd yna, roedd yna, roedd yna, roedd yna, roedd yna, roedd yna, roedd yna, roedd yna, roedd yna, roedd yna, roedd yna, roedd yna, roedd yna, roedd yna, roedd yna, roedd yna, roedd yna, roedd yna, roedd yna, roedd yna, roedd yna, roedd yna, roedd yna, roedd the end of the press conference yesterday in a very casual way, he said, I'm meeting with Toto tomorrow and hopefully we can get something done. So who
[40:28.160 -> 40:34.640] knows by now, there might have been pen to paper, maybe not. I think the understanding is it's one
[40:34.640 -> 40:40.560] of many meetings that have sort of happened, but it's progress. His talks with Mercedes now over
[40:40.560 -> 40:46.000] his contract, I think everyone thinks, oh, is it about time? Is it about money? But from everything Mae Mercedes ar y contract erbyn hyn. Mae'n mynd i'w gwybod, yw'n ymwneud â'r amser, yw'n ymwneud â'r arian? Ond o'r pethau sydd wedi'u ddweud i mi,
[40:46.000 -> 40:48.000] pan fyddwn wedi'u gwrthi,
[40:48.000 -> 40:50.000] mae'n ymwneud â beth y bydd Mercedes ar y ffordd.
[40:50.000 -> 40:52.000] Beth y byddant arall yn ei wneud
[40:52.000 -> 40:54.000] i gefnogi'r cyfrifiadau a ydynt yn eu credu
[40:54.000 -> 40:56.000] beth y byddant arall yn ei wneud i wella'r ddifrifiaeth?
[40:56.000 -> 40:58.000] Beth y byddant arall yn ei wneud i edrych ar y dyfodol?
[40:58.000 -> 41:00.000] Mae'n dweud, ar hyn o bryd,
[41:00.000 -> 41:02.000] mae'n helpu i'w hymdrechu
[41:02.000 -> 41:04.000] pan nad oes car y gallwn ei fynedi.
[41:04.000 -> 41:05.600] Dyna'r pethau sy'n mynd i'w gynllunio.
[41:05.600 -> 41:07.040] Amser a'r penni, wrth gwrs, mae'n bwysig,
[41:07.040 -> 41:08.920] ond mae'n rhaid i'w gael llawer o arian
[41:08.920 -> 41:10.080] ac mae wedi bod yn ystod llawer o amser.
[41:10.080 -> 41:12.520] Felly mae'n cael arall hynny'n ymdrechu hefyd.
[41:12.520 -> 41:14.760] Ac rwy'n meddwl, yna, Damon,
[41:14.760 -> 41:18.560] os nad oedd wedi cyflawni'r cyfan a'r pwddi yma i gyd iawn i gyd,
[41:18.560 -> 41:20.480] a oedd wedi dweud, byddwn i'n syddio gyda Toto ymlaen
[41:20.480 -> 41:21.840] i roi'r ysgrifennu i Toto
[41:21.840 -> 41:22.960] y byddant yn siarad yn y cynllunau,
[41:22.960 -> 41:24.320] ydych chi'n credu?
[41:24.320 -> 41:30.080] Ie, rwy'n credu tomorrow just to give Toto a little reminder that they're talking contracts, do you think still? Yeah, I think that he would probably have had that meeting lined up anyway.
[41:30.080 -> 41:31.600] But told us about it, I mean, sorry.
[41:31.600 -> 41:36.240] Told about it, yeah. So I think that, you know, it's more difficult to go in and start complaining
[41:36.240 -> 41:40.400] about the car when you've come second than it is when you've come tenth. Let's say he kind of had
[41:40.400 -> 41:51.200] a pauling, Mercedes were way off the pace, you go and have a meeting with Toto and Toto's going to have to try and convince him to stay probably. But I think it looks
[41:51.200 -> 41:57.760] more likely they've got a team that they want to continue with and so Lewis will stay with
[41:57.760 -> 42:03.080] Mercedes and also I think George is going to stay, we might even have already, there's
[42:03.080 -> 42:06.000] a hint that he's already signed up. So Lewis will know who his team mate's going to be, y byddai George yn dal, efallai y byddwn yn gweithio. Mae cyfeiriadau yw bod hi wedi'i ysgrifennu. Felly, bydd Lewis yn gwybod
[42:06.000 -> 42:08.000] pa fydd ei cymdeithasau,
[42:08.000 -> 42:10.000] y pethau ychydig yn y rôl
[42:10.000 -> 42:12.000] cyn iddo ddangos.
[42:12.000 -> 42:14.000] Mae'r sain yn optimistig,
[42:14.000 -> 42:16.000] mae'n edrych fel y byddent wedi gwneud y rhan,
[42:16.000 -> 42:18.000] mae'n edrych fel y bydd y Supertanker
[42:18.000 -> 42:20.000] wedi gwneud y rhan
[42:20.000 -> 42:22.000] ac mae'n mynd yn ôl i'r ddrechnau da.
[42:22.000 -> 42:24.000] Ac hefyd, ar ôl i chi, pan fyddwch chi'n clywed
[42:24.000 -> 42:28.520] y llwybr o'r contract, rwy'n credu byddai rhai rôl ambansodol hefyd, And is now heading back in the right direction And also by the way when you hear the length of the contract I think there will be some sort of ambassadorial role as well. Even when he stops driving
[42:28.520 -> 42:31.720] I think Mercedes will hang on to him for a long time whether that's driving or not
[42:31.720 -> 42:36.040] So even if you hear, you know, however many years you hear of I think he'll be there for a long time
[42:36.440 -> 42:38.920] Working with the team whether that's driving or not
[42:39.440 -> 42:41.200] team principal I
[42:41.200 -> 42:44.200] Don't think he wants to do that. I don't think it was no
[42:44.840 -> 42:45.760] You know five years time. No, you can transition perfectly. It's team. Who'd want to be a team principle. I don't think he wants to do that, do you? I don't think he wants to do that.
[42:45.760 -> 42:49.440] Five years time, you can transition perfectly into team principle. Who'd want to be a team
[42:49.440 -> 42:53.800] principle? That's a lot of work. Yeah, it's a lot of work. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah. We'll
[42:53.800 -> 42:57.840] have to see what happens to Toto of course before that. Thank you, Rachel. Thank you,
[42:57.840 -> 43:02.320] Damon. And next week, we've got James Vowles on the podcast, the Williams team principle.
[43:02.320 -> 43:05.600] So there is a Twitter post up and an Instagram post
[43:05.600 -> 43:08.640] and if you see that please let us know your questions. We'll try and ask as many of those
[43:08.640 -> 43:15.440] to James as possible. Until next week, bye for now.