Miami had style, but was there any substance? | What was going on with Sir Jackie Stewart and Roger Federer?

On this week's Sky Sports F1 Podcast, Matt Baker is joined by Martin Brundle, Natalie Pinkham and Karun Chandhok to discuss all the thrills from the Miami Grand Prix. The team discuss if all 3 tyre compounds should be used during different races (05:06), what did Sir Jackie Stewart say to Roger Federer? (30:47) and debate the success of LL Cool J's pre-race introduction (39:04).

## Podcast Episode Summary:

### Race Review: Miami Grand Prix

- Matt Baker hosts the Sky Sports F1 podcast alongside Martin Brundle, Natalie Pinkham, and Karun Chandhok.
- The panel discusses the recently concluded Miami Grand Prix, with varying opinions on the race.
- Martin Brundle found the race entertaining despite criticism, highlighting the overtakes and battles throughout the field.
- Natalie Pinkham coined the term "Miami Vice-stappen" to describe Max Verstappen's dominant performance.
- Karun Chandhok deemed the race as "decent," praising the strategic battle between Red Bull drivers and the midfield action.
- Matt Baker suggests a rule change to mandate the use of all three tire compounds during a race, promoting two-stop strategies.
- The panel acknowledges the lack of memorable races in recent times and emphasizes the need for more unpredictability and competition.

### Factors Contributing to Exciting Formula One Races

- Natalie Pinkham stresses the importance of jeopardy and unpredictability in creating compelling races.
- Karun Chandhok highlights the need for more competition among teams, particularly in the top positions.
- Martin Brundle attributes the lack of competition to Mercedes and Ferrari's struggles this season, contrasting it with previous seasons' multi-team battles.
- The panel discusses the impact of the new regulations, particularly the raised ride height, on the cars' ability to follow closely.

### Max Verstappen's Dominance and Sergio Perez's Challenge

- The panel agrees that Max Verstappen is currently in a dominant phase, with a well-rounded car and exceptional driving skills.
- Martin Brundle emphasizes the importance of Sergio Perez finishing second in races to maximize Red Bull's points haul.
- Natalie Pinkham believes Perez has improved this season but may need to find a weakness in Verstappen to consistently challenge him.
- The panel acknowledges that beating Verstappen is a challenging task, given his exceptional talent and the strength of the Red Bull car.

### McLaren's Struggles and Lando Norris' Situation

- The panel discusses McLaren's disappointing performance in Miami, contrasting it with their apparent progress in Baku.
- Martin Brundle highlights the team's financial and marketing strengths under Zac Brown's leadership.
- Natalie Pinkham praises Lando Norris' positive attitude despite the team's struggles, emphasizing the importance of maintaining morale.
- Karun Chandhok suggests that Daniel Ricciardo may be in a favorable position, receiving a substantial salary while taking time off to reassess his future.
- The panel acknowledges Oscar Piastri's solid performances despite the team's struggles, suggesting that he is learning valuable lessons away from the spotlight.

# Miami Grand Prix Podcast Episode Summary:

## Key Discussion Points:

- Should all three tire compounds be used during different races?
- What did Sir Jackie Stewart say to Roger Federer?
- Debate on the success of LL Cool J's pre-race introduction.

## Detailed Discussion:

### Tire Compounds:

- The podcast team discusses whether it would be beneficial to mandate the use of all three tire compounds during different races.
- This would add an extra layer of strategy and unpredictability to the races.
- However, it could also lead to more tire-related incidents and safety concerns.

### Jackie Stewart and Roger Federer:

- Martin Brundle shares an amusing anecdote about an encounter between Sir Jackie Stewart and Roger Federer on the grid before the race.
- Stewart, known for his charm and wit, managed to convince Federer to speak to him for an interview, despite the tight schedule and security protocols.
- The incident highlights Stewart's charisma and his ability to connect with people from all walks of life.

### LL Cool J's Pre-Race Introduction:

- The team debates the effectiveness of LL Cool J's pre-race introduction, which featured a musical performance and a speech.
- Some drivers expressed mixed feelings about the show, with George Russell calling it distracting and unnecessary.
- Others, like Lewis Hamilton, appreciated the effort to make the pre-race show more entertaining and engaging for fans.

### Gridwalks:

- The podcasters discuss the recent trend of gridwalks, where reporters interview drivers on the grid just before the race.
- Some drivers have expressed concerns that the gridwalks are disruptive and take away from their focus.
- However, others see it as a valuable opportunity to connect with fans and promote the sport.

### Off-Track Development:

- The team considers whether the increased number of races in the Formula One calendar is hindering teams' ability to develop their cars.
- The cost cap introduced in Formula One has also had a significant impact on teams' development budgets.
- Some teams have struggled to keep up with the pace of development, leading to a wider performance gap between the top teams and the rest of the field.

### Fernando Alonso's Chances of Winning:

- The podcasters discuss Fernando Alonso's impressive performance in the Miami Grand Prix, where he finished on the podium.
- Alonso has been in excellent form this season and is seen as a potential contender for race wins.
- The team analyzes Alonso's strengths and weaknesses and assesses his chances of securing his elusive 33rd Formula One victory.

## Conclusion:

- The podcast team wraps up the discussion with a brief summary of the key points and takeaways from the episode.
- They also tease the upcoming triple-header of races and express their anticipation for the exciting battles to come.

[00:00.000 -> 00:05.960] The Miami Grand Prix was always going to deliver glitz and glamour in abundance, but did it deliver on the track?
[00:06.200 -> 00:12.540] Max Verstappen starting from ninth was able to blow the rest of the field away including his teammate to take victory
[00:12.540 -> 00:17.260] But for fans, was it a good watch? This is the Sky Sports F1 podcast
[00:22.060 -> 00:27.080] Hello everyone, welcome along to this week's episode. I hope you're doing alright. Joining
[00:27.080 -> 00:32.280] me for this one is Martin Brundle, Natalie Pinkham and Karun Chandhok. Hello all.
[00:32.280 -> 00:33.280] Hello.
[00:33.280 -> 00:34.280] Morning Matt.
[00:34.280 -> 00:35.280] Hello.
[00:35.280 -> 00:39.760] Good morning. Hello, hello. Right, I want to get straight into our one word reviews. So
[00:39.760 -> 00:44.000] Martin, you were there, you were in Miami. Give us your one word review and why.
[00:44.000 -> 00:48.560] Interesting. I thought it was a good race. I don't know why people are moaning about it so much,
[00:49.600 -> 00:55.760] the winner came from ninth on the grid, we had an intriguing battle, almost race long between the
[00:55.760 -> 01:01.920] Red Bull drivers, and down the field, incredible overtakes, George Russell on Charles Leclerc,
[01:08.480 -> 01:13.280] George Russell on Charles Leclerc, Lewis coming through, Kevin Magnussen attacking, defending, counterattacks. I thought it was fine. I mean, we won't be talking about that Grand Prix in the
[01:13.280 -> 01:18.640] future much, but I thought it was good. I enjoyed it. Yeah, I'm going to say interesting right back
[01:18.640 -> 01:27.840] at you. It was very interesting. Go on, Nat, what about yourself? Well, can I have two words? I mean, it's sort of like one word. It's a phrase. I'm going
[01:27.840 -> 01:30.840] to say Miami Vice-stappen.
[01:30.840 -> 01:33.720] I'm not sure I can give you that for a one word race with you.
[01:33.720 -> 01:38.040] What? What do you mean? Miami Vice-stappen. Miami Vice-stappen. Because this guy needs
[01:38.040 -> 01:43.000] his own show. He was phenomenal. Completely in control. I mean, they said over team radio,
[01:43.000 -> 01:47.000] we didn't make it easy on ourselves, but actually it looked it, didn't it? The small criticisms Mae'r cyfrifiadau ychydig dros y blynyddoedd o ddrwyma Max yn ymwneud â'r cyfrifiadau ychydig dros y blynyddoedd o ddrwyma Max
[01:47.000 -> 01:52.000] yn ymwneud â'r cyfrifiadau ychydig dros y blynyddoedd o ddrwyma Max
[01:52.000 -> 01:55.000] yw'r ffordd y gallai'r cyfrifiadau ychydig dros y blynyddoedd o ddrwyma Max
[01:55.000 -> 02:00.000] y gallai'r cyfrifiadau ychydig dros y blynyddoedd o ddrwyma Max
[02:00.000 -> 02:06.320] y gallai'r cyfrifiadau ychydig dros y blynyddoedd o ddrwyma Max clean and he did both of those perfectly on Sunday and yeah he deserved it was
[02:06.320 -> 02:11.400] just a great victory it's funny isn't it because if you had perhaps flipped it
[02:11.400 -> 02:16.680] and it'd been Max on pole and Checo starting in ninth you wouldn't have
[02:16.680 -> 02:21.600] thought for one minute that Sergio would have overtaken him for the win but
[02:21.600 -> 02:27.400] somehow you just knew Max was gonna do it. Emphatic, emphatic I think we can say. Karun what about you?
[02:27.400 -> 02:29.960] Is that your word then Matt? Is that what you're saying? Emphatic?
[02:29.960 -> 02:32.160] No, no, no. You're jumping in before Karun nicks it.
[02:32.160 -> 02:35.280] Yeah, what was yours Karun? Was it emphatic?
[02:35.280 -> 02:40.720] It wasn't, no. I'm gonna go with decent because I think it was a decent race.
[02:40.720 -> 02:45.600] It was a decent show, a decent race. Yeah, as Martin rightly said,
[02:45.600 -> 02:49.240] I don't think it is going to go down in history books as one of the greatest Grands Prix,
[02:49.240 -> 02:54.220] but it was, there was enough going on in there. It was an absorbing contest between the two
[02:54.220 -> 02:59.800] Red Bull drivers. You know, we had that sort of contra strategy and there was various periods
[02:59.800 -> 03:08.920] of times where you wonder whether, you know, Max would get back at Sergio and how quickly and there was
[03:08.920 -> 03:14.480] enough going on and watching the Mercedes drivers come through the pack was interesting
[03:14.480 -> 03:15.480] enough.
[03:15.480 -> 03:18.760] There was intrigue around signs and the penalty and how that would shake out.
[03:18.760 -> 03:20.920] So I thought it was a decent race.
[03:20.920 -> 03:22.160] Decent I'm going to go for spotless.
[03:22.160 -> 03:28.480] And I'm going to go for spotless because there were no DNFs, no yellow flags, no red flags,
[03:28.480 -> 03:29.880] no safety cars.
[03:29.880 -> 03:37.880] All 20 drivers completed 57 laps, which according to my maths is 1,140 spotless laps.
[03:37.880 -> 03:38.880] So there you go.
[03:38.880 -> 03:43.840] That's a good debating point because all I heard after the Australian Grand Prix was
[03:43.840 -> 03:45.280] outrage.
[03:45.440 -> 03:48.280] Why restart a race with two laps to go?
[03:48.440 -> 03:51.920] Like, you can just clip a couple of laps off when you fancy it.
[03:52.080 -> 03:55.160] There was bound to be crashes. Why did they do it like that?
[03:55.320 -> 03:58.920] Why don't we have a rolling restart and not standing?
[03:59.080 -> 04:01.680] How can we create such chaos?
[04:01.840 -> 04:07.180] And of course, so we had red flags galore there and lots of people
[04:07.180 -> 04:13.380] moaning. But I think the vast silent majority absorbed their Formula One, enjoy it and realise
[04:13.380 -> 04:19.460] that sometimes it's a 5-4 last minute thriller and sometimes it's a nil all draw. And I think
[04:19.460 -> 04:21.460] Miami was sort of somewhere in between.
[04:21.460 -> 04:26.080] You can't have a memorable race every single time in that sense, because otherwise, I guess,
[04:26.080 -> 04:29.520] every single race would, none would stand out, would they?
[04:29.520 -> 04:33.080] You've got to have the ebbs and flows of a season.
[04:33.080 -> 04:35.640] I suppose that when you go to a street circuit like Miami
[04:35.640 -> 04:37.840] and there is such a buildup, I mean,
[04:37.840 -> 04:42.280] it is all the razzmatazz and excitement of the magic city.
[04:42.280 -> 04:44.880] You do expect it, and after, as Mark says,
[04:44.880 -> 04:47.080] Australia, that's your anticipation.
[04:47.080 -> 04:48.920] You've got adrenaline searing through your veins.
[04:48.960 -> 04:51.960] If you're just watching from the sidelines, when that doesn't happen,
[04:51.960 -> 04:53.200] you feel like it's a damn squid.
[04:53.200 -> 04:56.440] But actually, when you break it down and consider it for what it was,
[04:56.440 -> 04:57.720] it was a brilliant race.
[04:57.720 -> 05:00.520] Well, I think, you know, Baku was a terrible race, wasn't it?
[05:00.520 -> 05:01.840] It was an utter snoozefest.
[05:01.840 -> 05:04.560] And I think this was this was decent.
[05:04.560 -> 05:09.440] It was sort of middle of the road. But I think I still go back to the point I put a tweet out about it yesterday
[05:09.440 -> 05:15.440] and I've been banging on about this since 2016 in every FP1 that I go with Crofty or FP2 whatever
[05:17.200 -> 05:22.080] is that I still think we should have a regulation where they have to use all three compounds in the
[05:22.080 -> 05:28.480] race it'll have a two-stop race because you know and I immediately got a couple of texts back from engineers in the pit lane
[05:28.480 -> 05:32.600] saying well we couldn't have done that in Miami because the soft tire wasn't
[05:32.600 -> 05:36.760] good enough but so what you know it would have done five or six laps at some
[05:36.760 -> 05:41.240] point they would have all had to use it for between six and eight laps and it
[05:41.240 -> 05:45.920] would have jumbled things up around around the pit stops and I think more in
[05:45.920 -> 05:52.440] Baku as well I think and I still haven't understood why it hasn't happened because anytime you
[05:52.440 -> 05:56.060] talk to someone at F1 or the FIA they go oh that's an interesting idea we should look
[05:56.060 -> 06:00.520] into that and then it's been seven years and nothing's actually happened so I'm gonna
[06:00.520 -> 06:01.520] just keep using the draw.
[06:01.520 -> 06:04.040] Well Karim I feel like you have the influence within the sport I feel like you can make
[06:04.040 -> 06:05.640] this happen. Well clearly not I've had seven years and I'm banging my head keep using the drop. Well, Karine, I feel like you have the influence within the sport. I feel like you can make this happen. Well, clearly not.
[06:05.640 -> 06:08.240] I've had seven years and I'm banging my head against the wall
[06:08.240 -> 06:11.560] so it might need someone more powerful than me.
[06:11.560 -> 06:13.560] I'd go with that because, you know,
[06:13.560 -> 06:16.800] the best races unquestionably are the marginal two stoppers.
[06:16.800 -> 06:19.680] Will they get to the end without needing a third stop?
[06:19.680 -> 06:22.240] Followed by the marginal one stoppers.
[06:22.240 -> 06:23.480] We used to have it a lot, didn't we?
[06:23.480 -> 06:29.160] We're falling off the cliff. It all looks set for the last five laps and suddenly people
[06:29.160 -> 06:30.760] just fell by the wayside.
[06:30.760 -> 06:35.600] They've kind of managed that a lot better these days, both at Pirelli and in the teams.
[06:35.600 -> 06:39.720] But I don't think you don't necessarily want to fabricate it, but the tyres are there,
[06:39.720 -> 06:42.840] they've done a world tour, let's put them on and use them.
[06:42.840 -> 06:48.400] Exactly, because a lot of the criticism now from the, shall we say, purist fans are saying
[06:48.400 -> 06:52.080] oh, you're doing too much to create a show and fakeness.
[06:52.080 -> 06:55.800] This isn't, for me, this is a sporting regulation like you have any other set of rules, like
[06:55.800 -> 06:59.000] you have 13 sets and defined in the rules.
[06:59.000 -> 07:07.680] All I'm talking about is a line of sporting regs, so it does it in a way that doesn't create a fake race.
[07:07.680 -> 07:11.820] And I think you'll get some convergence, right?
[07:11.820 -> 07:14.180] Because all the strategists, they're
[07:14.180 -> 07:16.100] of a similar mindset, of a similar personality,
[07:16.100 -> 07:18.520] and they probably come up with the best similar optimum
[07:18.520 -> 07:19.520] strategy.
[07:19.520 -> 07:22.200] But with the way the undercut and overcuts will work
[07:22.200 -> 07:24.040] and when they use the tires, you will have
[07:24.040 -> 07:25.600] some variance by definition.
[07:25.600 -> 07:28.200] So yeah, I'd like to see it happen.
[07:28.200 -> 07:30.680] I mean, we seem to be in a culture of more openness,
[07:30.680 -> 07:31.520] don't we?
[07:31.520 -> 07:33.260] We're trying sprints, we're trying quali formats,
[07:33.260 -> 07:35.560] we're trying different things.
[07:35.560 -> 07:40.000] I'd like to see a bit of variety for the main Grand Prix,
[07:40.000 -> 07:42.520] because I feel like we've sort of not done anything
[07:42.520 -> 07:45.520] with that in terms of the actual lights out to check a flag
[07:46.280 -> 07:51.620] And also Karun to your point about the engineers saying well the soft just won't last the point is
[07:52.080 -> 07:56.480] Our predictions in terms of the behavior of the tires has been wrong
[07:56.480 -> 08:01.940] We didn't think the hard tire was going to be as competitive as it was and Max proved everyone wrong on that
[08:02.940 -> 08:04.940] Taking that strategy
[08:04.400 -> 08:06.400] ac mae Max wedi ddod yn iawn i bawb ar y strategaeth yma, strategaeth arwain ar Checo.
[08:06.400 -> 08:09.160] Felly, dydyn ni ddim yn gallu gwneud y predifentiaethau hynny,
[08:09.160 -> 08:10.480] yn ystod y cyfnod, fel y dweudwch,
[08:10.480 -> 08:11.680] er mwyn eu bod yn ddod yn ôl i'r cyfnod,
[08:11.680 -> 08:13.080] byddai'n werth,
[08:13.080 -> 08:14.000] a byddai'n caeol.
[08:14.000 -> 08:16.920] Ydym ni'n meddwl bod y cymorth un-stop
[08:16.920 -> 08:18.360] yn y broblem yma?
[08:18.360 -> 08:19.480] Yn amlwg, drwy wneud hynny,
[08:19.480 -> 08:21.640] byddwch chi'n cael cymorth dwy-stop.
[08:21.640 -> 08:24.080] Ydych chi'n meddwl bod cymorth dwy-stop yn y maes mwyaf?
[08:24.080 -> 08:28.640] Yn amlwg, rydyn ni wedi gwneud i'r pethau, fel ychydig o aethu, ond yw'n ymdrech i ddod yn iawn a two-stop race. Do you think having a minimum of two stops, I mean obviously you know we've got rid of things like refueling you know but is it a case of
[08:28.640 -> 08:33.300] perhaps bringing elements back that kind of add that level of jeopardy to a race?
[08:33.300 -> 08:38.020] Well I think you know as Martin alluded to they're doing this management thing
[08:38.020 -> 08:40.700] now where basically they spend the entire race, the engineers tell them a
[08:40.700 -> 08:47.440] lap time and they drive to that lap time whereas you know if they had to do two stop, then they can all go a bit
[08:47.440 -> 08:48.680] quicker and push a bit harder.
[08:48.920 -> 08:53.640] The problem we had in Baku, for example, you know, we had, um, we had a
[08:53.640 -> 08:56.760] Hulkenberg and Ocon to me started from the pit lane and they just drove around.
[08:57.160 -> 09:00.400] And the likes of Norris and Sonoda and Piastra just sat there behind them
[09:00.400 -> 09:03.920] because they're all managing their tires for this entire race.
[09:04.360 -> 09:06.160] And didn't really have a go.
[09:06.160 -> 09:08.280] Whereas actually, if there's a two-stop,
[09:08.280 -> 09:10.960] they don't need to manage as much
[09:10.960 -> 09:13.600] and they can all just have a bit more of a go.
[09:13.600 -> 09:17.360] I also think some of the issues right now with Sunday
[09:17.360 -> 09:18.880] are the fact that fundamentally,
[09:18.880 -> 09:22.040] Mercedes and Ferrari have under-delivered this year.
[09:22.040 -> 09:26.960] If you look at last season, the gap between the winner, i.e. the same
[09:26.960 -> 09:36.400] winner as last weekend, Max Verstappen, and the best non-Mercedes, non-Red Bull was, I think it was
[09:36.400 -> 09:42.640] 28 seconds or something like that, and this year was 26 seconds to Alonso. So actually, you know,
[09:42.640 -> 09:48.160] the gap between the winner and, say say P4 should have, is about the
[09:48.160 -> 09:53.520] same as last year, except that Ferrari and Mercedes have just not turned up to the party this season.
[09:53.520 -> 09:58.160] What's excellent about Formula One? I mean, and we're going to talk about this a little bit later
[09:58.160 -> 10:05.000] as well, but the what is the essence of Formula One? And for me me it is unbelievable speed
[10:05.480 -> 10:07.880] and excellence, those two things together
[10:07.880 -> 10:10.280] and that's what we should always be aiming for.
[10:10.280 -> 10:13.480] It's about the finest engineering,
[10:13.480 -> 10:16.560] it's about this extraordinary speed.
[10:16.560 -> 10:21.560] So should tires even be a factor at all in that respect?
[10:22.120 -> 10:24.680] But of course they are, whichever form of motorsport
[10:24.680 -> 10:25.600] you watch,
[10:25.600 -> 10:31.040] two and four wheel or whatever, it's about managing your tyres, managing your fuel, managing
[10:31.040 -> 10:34.440] your pace and driving or riding to what you've got.
[10:34.440 -> 10:39.080] So we will always have that to an extent, I don't think we can blame Pirelli on that
[10:39.080 -> 10:46.400] one, but it would be fascinating if you had mandatory pit stops as well to know if just how fast
[10:46.400 -> 10:52.800] and hard these races could look if tyre degradation was taken out of the equation.
[10:52.800 -> 10:58.440] Nat, what makes a brilliant Formula One race? What's like the ingredients? If you were to
[10:58.440 -> 11:02.320] dream up a Hollywood script, there is obviously a Hollywood film being written about Formula
[11:02.320 -> 11:05.840] One, what would you put in that final race?
[11:05.840 -> 11:09.000] I mean, I think the key word for me in this is jeopardy.
[11:09.000 -> 11:11.480] There needs to feel that sense of jeopardy.
[11:11.480 -> 11:14.320] I'm not a fan of seeing big crashes,
[11:14.320 -> 11:16.520] but I need to feel on the edge of my seat
[11:16.520 -> 11:18.200] that I don't know what's gonna happen next.
[11:18.200 -> 11:21.320] And there's always an element of that in motorsport.
[11:21.320 -> 11:22.140] Of course there is.
[11:22.140 -> 11:24.760] And to your earlier point,
[11:24.760 -> 11:25.220] I don't think
[11:25.220 -> 11:28.820] we should be disappointed that it doesn't deliver every single week I mean
[11:28.820 -> 11:32.660] can you imagine the roller coaster that our nerves will just be frayed but we do
[11:32.660 -> 11:36.320] need to feel on the edge of our seat how you achieve that I just I don't know I
[11:36.320 -> 11:41.260] mean Baku is always unpredictable until this year it was really boring as
[11:41.260 -> 11:45.560] Karim says I think competition for me is key. To me, that's the key word.
[11:45.560 -> 11:49.400] And I think at the moment, we're somewhat lacking that
[11:49.400 -> 11:53.040] in terms of, you know, we've got an inter-team battle,
[11:53.040 -> 11:56.840] but as Natalie said earlier, you know,
[11:56.840 -> 11:57.680] all things being equal,
[11:57.680 -> 11:59.920] we all kind of expect Max to come out on top, don't we?
[11:59.920 -> 12:02.480] You know, Czechos had a couple of blinding races
[12:02.480 -> 12:04.280] so far this year, and all credit to him
[12:04.280 -> 12:09.320] for especially what he did in Jeddah and the second stint in Baku.
[12:09.320 -> 12:13.640] But I think on the whole, we need more than one team.
[12:13.640 -> 12:18.080] You know, and if I look back at my favorite seasons of Formula One, it's involved having
[12:18.080 -> 12:20.760] two, three, four teams in the fight.
[12:20.760 -> 12:25.720] And we want to arrive on Saturday morning, not knowing what the top six is going to be in the grid.
[12:25.720 -> 12:28.000] We want to know, we didn't, you know, Miami,
[12:28.000 -> 12:30.640] we had that jumbled grid, but because Leclerc
[12:30.640 -> 12:33.640] and Mastappin made mistakes, isn't it really?
[12:33.640 -> 12:37.360] And I, you know, I think we, that for me is the key
[12:37.360 -> 12:39.480] to having a good, to answer your question
[12:39.480 -> 12:41.600] on a good Formula One race or a season.
[12:41.600 -> 12:43.960] I think something that's hitting this season
[12:43.960 -> 12:45.200] quite hard as well is
[12:46.480 -> 12:52.080] as the teams have loaded the cars up with downforce and and maybe the regulation changed
[12:52.080 -> 12:57.120] over the winter to lift the skirts to to get rid of some to lift the height of the floor to get
[12:57.120 -> 13:06.000] rid of some porpoising and bouncing I think it's undoubtedly harder to follow and stay close and Mae'n anodd iawn i ddod o hyd i'r ffordd a chael ychydig o ffocws a chyflawni ar y ffordd.
[13:06.000 -> 13:10.000] Mae'n rhaid i'r cymdeithasau hynny gwneud hynny.
[13:10.000 -> 13:14.000] Mae'n rhaid i'r cymdeithasau hynny gwneud hynny.
[13:14.000 -> 13:18.000] Mae'n rhaid i'r cymdeithasau hynny gwneud hynny.
[13:18.000 -> 13:22.000] Mae'n rhaid i'r cymdeithasau hynny gwneud hynny.
[13:22.000 -> 13:25.520] Mae'n rhaid i'r cymdeithasau hynny gwneud hynny. of what the 2022 cars were all about is beginning to fade away.
[13:25.520 -> 13:32.560] On that Martin, do you think we've had worse or less close racing than we did last year
[13:32.560 -> 13:35.600] on the basis of these five races?
[13:35.600 -> 13:42.920] I don't think it's that. I think as Karim said, it's lack of competition. Mercedes,
[13:42.920 -> 13:46.000] for whatever reason, decided to just stick with something that didn't work last year.
[13:46.000 -> 13:53.000] Ferrari have stepped on their own tails, thank goodness for Aston Martin and Fernando Alonso, I would say.
[13:53.000 -> 13:57.000] And Red Bull have just got it even more right.
[13:57.000 -> 14:09.120] That Red Bull is a genius car, particularly with the rear wing open, it's unbeatable. It is absolutely, in a race where you will have DRS,
[14:09.120 -> 14:11.120] which you don't always do on a very, very wet day,
[14:11.120 -> 14:12.840] for example, but generally, of course, you do.
[14:12.840 -> 14:16.160] And why do you have DRS on a qualifying lap, for example?
[14:16.160 -> 14:19.200] You're not overtaking anybody, but whatever it is,
[14:19.200 -> 14:23.520] it's just unbelievable, and that makes it unassailable,
[14:23.520 -> 14:29.140] I think, in a Grand Prix now with with its rear wing open. It's genius though isn't it you know you look we've
[14:29.140 -> 14:35.540] had DRS now for was it 12 season there's a 12 season of it and they've just gone
[14:35.540 -> 14:42.540] there and thought right we need to find something that gives us this incredible
[14:42.540 -> 14:48.360] advantage and so even if we don't qualify on the front row, it doesn't matter as prove of the weekend
[14:48.360 -> 14:54.760] because somebody was showing me some drag numbers and when they hit the magic button,
[14:54.760 -> 14:59.480] the Red Bull loses about 24, 25% of its drag.
[14:59.480 -> 15:07.560] This was the case in Baku, the speeds there, whereas most others are sort of 14, 15%. So they've just given the drivers free performance.
[15:08.040 -> 15:12.360] And so yeah, more often than not, they're going to qualify in the front row, but
[15:12.360 -> 15:15.240] even if they don't, they're still going to come through the pack.
[15:15.920 -> 15:19.760] Karoo makes the point of competition being what sort of grips us, but I think maybe
[15:19.760 -> 15:31.520] we need to step back in moments like this and see as you know doff your cap to Red Bull because that in itself this this race to create a car is competition and they've
[15:31.520 -> 15:36.820] excelled at it over a period of time and actually all these things are cyclical
[15:36.820 -> 15:40.300] and we should enjoy it for what it is and and really you know respect to them
[15:40.300 -> 15:43.400] for achieving that. They have no weakness either they can you know it's like
[15:43.400 -> 15:46.120] cricketing they can bat down to number 10.
[15:46.120 -> 15:50.920] They've got two incredible drivers, the car is quick and qualifying, it manages its time
[15:50.920 -> 15:54.500] as well, the engine's strong, it can overtake.
[15:54.500 -> 15:59.440] The strategy team is brilliant, the pit stop team is brilliant.
[15:59.440 -> 16:00.920] And there's no lack of motivation.
[16:00.920 -> 16:07.940] You know, Adrian is heading into nearly, well, his 40th year at the forefront of the sport, be
[16:07.940 -> 16:14.480] it IndyCar or Formula One, if not more actually, probably he was in Copacabana in 79, 80, so
[16:14.480 -> 16:19.960] he's 43 years in and he's still motivated, isn't he? And his brain is still there and
[16:19.960 -> 16:29.960] he sort of motivates that team of people around him. And it's,'s yeah there is just no weakness in that team. Is this the era then Martin of Max Verstappen after
[16:29.960 -> 16:34.560] that win? I mean it's a marker isn't it especially after after Baku and getting
[16:34.560 -> 16:40.120] beaten by Perez. Yeah I think over a season long I think we all know that Max
[16:40.120 -> 16:45.680] will turn up all day every day and on Saturday you had Sergio saying, look I'm not driving
[16:45.680 -> 16:52.440] well in his own press release, so I'm not getting it together. It's indicative of what's
[16:52.440 -> 16:57.780] going to happen if you look at the points last year because of Max's unreliability issues
[16:57.780 -> 17:07.160] in the early part of the season and then where it ended up by the end of the season, I just think Max will have an answer all day, every day,
[17:07.160 -> 17:14.800] and will recover a P9 on the grid better than Sergio, unless unreliability comes into play,
[17:14.800 -> 17:19.400] because what we've got going on here, and we've seen it in the past with absolute dominance,
[17:19.400 -> 17:26.080] maybe in 88 with Senna and Prost and what have you, but if you don't win, you must finish second,
[17:26.080 -> 17:32.320] because when you've got a dominant car, your team-mate, that's what's available to you
[17:32.320 -> 17:37.680] is first and second. You can't afford to miss the second places because you'll struggle
[17:37.680 -> 17:41.080] to play catch-up at that point, and that's what we're looking at here.
[17:41.080 -> 17:46.780] I mean, Sergio's doing a great job in terms of, you know, he's raised his game,
[17:46.780 -> 17:48.680] he seems to work with this car better,
[17:48.680 -> 17:53.120] but we are in a dominant Max Verstappen phase
[17:53.120 -> 17:55.180] with a, given a red bull underneath him.
[17:55.180 -> 17:57.460] And I was gonna say that one of the comments
[17:57.460 -> 18:00.120] that caught my attention in Baku was George,
[18:00.120 -> 18:01.800] and it didn't sound like a flippant,
[18:01.800 -> 18:03.360] throwaway, jokey sort of line.
[18:03.360 -> 18:07.680] He said, we're not sure if we take, we think if we take the rear wing off our Mercedes,
[18:07.880 -> 18:11.480] we still won't be as fast down the straights as a Red Bull with a DRS open,
[18:11.480 -> 18:13.520] which was an extraordinary thing to say.
[18:13.520 -> 18:17.440] But I think it underlines what Karun was saying, just how good it is.
[18:17.760 -> 18:21.280] Nat, do you think Sergio has stepped it up a gear this season?
[18:21.520 -> 18:23.880] But is that still going to be enough?
[18:23.880 -> 18:24.920] I believe he's stepped it up.
[18:24.920 -> 18:28.480] I don't believe it will be enough. I think to Martin's point,
[18:28.480 -> 18:35.640] this car does seem better suited to him. And I think Saturday was a surprise for him that
[18:35.640 -> 18:39.760] he was on pole. Obviously that happened for things outside of his control. But I feel
[18:39.760 -> 18:46.560] that with Max, that slightly petulant, churlish streak in him has been ironed out.
[18:46.560 -> 18:52.960] And beforehand you think, is he going to go for moves that aren't on and cause an accident
[18:52.960 -> 18:54.520] in his typically bullish way?
[18:54.520 -> 18:58.320] I feel that he's grown out of that.
[18:58.320 -> 19:02.480] There wasn't the sense that towards the end of the race, I mean, they looked balletic,
[19:02.480 -> 19:03.480] didn't they?
[19:03.480 -> 19:10.200] His overtake on Perez was just, it was perfect, it was in harmony. I think it's going to be very frustrating
[19:10.200 -> 19:18.760] for Sergio because he has to be at his very best weekend in, weekend out. Whereas Max,
[19:18.760 -> 19:25.200] even an A- is enough for Max to win a race and I think it will be it reminds
[19:25.200 -> 19:29.720] me a lot of Rosberg and Lewis I think he's going to have to find something
[19:29.720 -> 19:34.360] else because everyone's got a weakness he's gonna have to find a weakness in
[19:34.360 -> 19:40.480] Max that he can exploit in order to beat him. Max is very much in the driving
[19:40.480 -> 19:47.040] seat. Well there's no shame in that though. No there's no shame in in it. No, no, if anything, Rosberg, fair place to him.
[19:47.320 -> 19:50.560] He, he, he worked very hard, which is one of the reasons why he said he retired.
[19:50.600 -> 19:53.960] It took so much out of him to win that one world championship.
[19:54.320 -> 19:58.560] Um, and if Perez can take the world title, then, you know, he'll have earned it, but
[19:58.560 -> 19:59.720] it's not going to be easy.
[19:59.720 -> 20:04.040] And finding that weakness in Max Verstappen, identifying it, it's
[20:04.040 -> 20:05.600] going to be the hardest thing to do. Yeah. So no, what I meant was there's no shame in being beaten by Max Verstappen, identifying it, is going to be the hardest thing to do.
[20:05.600 -> 20:06.600] Yeah.
[20:06.600 -> 20:09.960] So, no, what I meant was there's no shame in being beaten by Max Verstappen, I think,
[20:09.960 -> 20:10.960] because he...
[20:10.960 -> 20:11.960] Oh, I see.
[20:11.960 -> 20:12.960] Yeah.
[20:12.960 -> 20:13.960] Yeah.
[20:13.960 -> 20:16.800] No, what I mean is, you know, he, if you look at, and I've said this before, you look at
[20:16.800 -> 20:21.840] the history of the sport, every five, six, seven years, a genius comes along.
[20:21.840 -> 20:25.600] And you're, you know, before Max was, was was Lewis before Lewis was Fernando and
[20:25.600 -> 20:31.760] Kimmy sort of came together you had Michael Senna etc and you know what if
[20:31.760 -> 20:37.400] you if you can take the odd win off one of these geniuses and finish behind them
[20:37.400 -> 20:41.120] and rack up a whole bunch of wins you would have had a very good Formula One
[20:41.120 -> 20:45.680] career frankly. Well a bit like Valtteri when he was driving alongside Lewis.
[20:45.680 -> 20:49.960] At some point he had to concede that he was never going to beat him.
[20:49.960 -> 20:53.600] Yeah, but he just got more and more angry and frustrated and bitter about it.
[20:53.600 -> 20:56.560] But I think of someone like Eddie Irvine or someone like David Coulthard.
[20:56.560 -> 21:00.600] You know, when he was, DC was up against Mika and there was a period where he was getting
[21:00.600 -> 21:03.960] angrier and angrier, but then at some point you just go, you know,
[21:03.960 -> 21:07.000] there'll be a year where the car suits me a bit better and I'll have a chance.
[21:07.040 -> 21:09.320] But actually, guess what? You know,
[21:09.320 -> 21:12.600] you can have nine years at McLaren or whatever, make a lot of money,
[21:12.600 -> 21:17.360] win some great races and build a great career. And, and this is it. You know,
[21:17.360 -> 21:21.840] I think it's a poison chalice, isn't it? If your teammate, Max Lewis, um,
[21:21.880 -> 21:27.360] Schumacher, et cetera, and Martin, you've been in that position. It it's quite good because it means you've
[21:28.080 -> 21:31.520] you're inevitably one of the best cars on the grid or one of the top three.
[21:32.280 -> 21:34.080] But the downside is you've got to be
[21:34.080 -> 21:36.800] you're always compared to the guy genius in the other car.
[21:37.120 -> 21:41.800] To add to what you're saying there, Karun, in the, you know,
[21:42.040 -> 21:48.280] a Messi or Ronaldo or Federer or, you know, a Messi or a Ronaldo or Federer or, you know, Haaland knocking in
[21:48.280 -> 21:50.800] goals left, right and centre at the moment.
[21:50.800 -> 21:54.900] We're witnessing something special, something incredible.
[21:54.900 -> 21:59.000] So I don't know why we need to run and hide from it or talk about it being boring or whatever.
[21:59.000 -> 22:06.000] It's the, you know, Verstappen is extraordinarily in control of a very challenging Formula 1 car.
[22:06.000 -> 22:11.000] And it's for everybody, you know, this is not about the lowest common denominator Formula 1,
[22:11.000 -> 22:14.000] it's about, as I said earlier, it's about excellence.
[22:14.000 -> 22:19.000] And so, everybody's got to raise their game and they will, they will find a way.
[22:19.000 -> 22:26.320] We know that these circles of dominance fall away and it's for others to get their acts together.
[22:26.320 -> 22:29.840] So I think we should embrace it and enjoy it.
[22:29.840 -> 22:33.680] Much like I feel about you two being on the team.
[22:33.680 -> 22:37.880] Rising tide lifts us to it.
[22:37.880 -> 22:43.320] Can I grab MB's line and segue into those who need to raise their game.
[22:43.320 -> 22:46.920] I mean, what was happening with McLaren at the weekend?
[22:46.920 -> 22:48.320] Unbelievable.
[22:48.320 -> 22:52.000] Not out in Q1, I mean, droning around at the back,
[22:52.000 -> 22:54.920] they looked like they'd seen a bit of a breakthrough in Baku.
[22:54.920 -> 22:58.040] You know, both cars were sort of hovering around the points.
[22:58.040 -> 23:00.720] And yeah, qualified.
[23:00.720 -> 23:02.400] Lando got in Q3 and did a good job.
[23:02.400 -> 23:05.600] And then, you know, one week later absolutely
[23:05.600 -> 23:11.520] nowhere. Mick on Twitter sent a message in, and Martin I'm intrigued to get your thoughts on this,
[23:11.520 -> 23:17.840] you know, is Zac Brown safe in his job was the question. I don't know if that's a bit too strong
[23:17.840 -> 23:23.040] for this point in the season but yeah you're right it's tough times at McLaren isn't it?
[23:24.240 -> 23:26.080] But yeah, you're right, it's tough times at McLaren, isn't it? It is, and they're restructuring.
[23:26.080 -> 23:31.840] I think what's unquestionable is Zac's genius on the financial side, on the sponsorship
[23:31.840 -> 23:34.000] and marketing side.
[23:34.000 -> 23:38.560] They're restructuring now with Andreas Stella and some other people coming into the team.
[23:38.560 -> 23:40.400] They've got a new wind tunnel coming.
[23:40.400 -> 23:46.960] They're hanging an awful lot on that, feeding into the team very, very quickly in
[23:46.960 -> 23:53.840] the next year or two. So, you know what, you'll often hear me say in commentary in Formula
[23:53.840 -> 23:58.600] One, you're either giving pressure or you're taking it. There's nothing in between. And
[23:58.600 -> 24:03.480] McLaren in general, and Zach in particular, will be feeling the pressure. Andreas Seidel's
[24:03.480 -> 24:05.040] gone off to Alfa
[24:05.040 -> 24:09.120] Romeo but that's not exactly flying along brilliantly there at the moment either is it?
[24:09.120 -> 24:16.640] So it's difficult, it's a difficult business and we'll see what these changes do for them. But
[24:17.840 -> 24:30.360] Lando's incredible, he's like this is my team, I'm here for a good number of years now, I support them but in the end his chin's gonna drop if they're midfielders at best.
[24:32.480 -> 24:37.680] Now what's Lando thinking do you think right now? The start to the season.
[24:37.680 -> 24:50.320] I think as Martin says he's doing a very good job of saying, towing the party line, saying the right thing, keeping morale up because, and just to draw on what
[24:50.320 -> 24:55.880] Lauren Rossi said about Alpine a few days ago, I cannot see any benefit in
[24:55.880 -> 25:00.640] publicly embarrassing, criticising, humiliating your team.
[25:00.680 -> 25:02.160] There's no good can come from that.
[25:02.800 -> 25:04.320] Keep it behind closed doors.
[25:04.360 -> 25:05.200] What do you think
[25:05.200 -> 25:11.440] they don't know that they're not doing their best? I mean, it's name and shame. I just,
[25:11.440 -> 25:17.440] anyway, I've never understood that approach. And I think Lando is mature beyond his years,
[25:17.440 -> 25:23.280] the way that he keeps that positive front up. I mean, I have to say, Daniel Ricciardo must be
[25:23.280 -> 25:29.520] sitting there thinking, and he'll be frustrated, no doubt, that he is not in Formula One racing at the moment. It's a bit of a sad
[25:29.520 -> 25:33.920] picture seeing him on the pit wall. But to be paid tens of millions not to drive that car,
[25:34.720 -> 25:39.280] I mean, it's and take time out and press the reset button and work out what you want to do
[25:39.280 -> 25:45.520] with your future properly with a clear head is not in a bad position now is he? No and also I
[25:45.520 -> 25:49.720] think alongside that you know you've got to mention Oscar because I think he's
[25:49.720 -> 25:53.700] actually in a tricky position because he's you know when you arrive in F1 you
[25:53.700 -> 25:57.040] you want to make an impact you want to make a name for yourself and straight
[25:57.040 -> 26:01.200] away you think of when Lewis arrived 2007 car at the forefront Bosch nine
[26:01.200 -> 26:06.200] podiums in a row to start his career. Oscar's not got that opportunity and he's actually doing a great job.
[26:06.400 -> 26:09.440] In Miami, nine hundreds of Norris in qualifying.
[26:09.760 -> 26:13.160] In Baku, 32 thousands of Norris in qualifying.
[26:13.200 -> 26:16.800] You know, he's, he's actually doing a cracking job, I think, but it's just
[26:16.800 -> 26:20.400] sort of going under the radar because of the situation.
[26:20.400 -> 26:21.920] Yeah, but that's not a bad thing, is it Karun?
[26:21.960 -> 26:23.800] To be under the radar in your rookie year.
[26:24.200 -> 26:25.840] In a way
[26:29.560 -> 26:30.360] He's learning. I think you'd the hard stuff away from the spotlight
[26:33.240 -> 26:34.000] Yeah, it takes the pressure off, but I think you'd always much rather
[26:39.820 -> 26:49.180] Have the spotlight because you're trying to establish yourself, you know, Norris is Norris has made that impact He's established himself as a genuine future star. We all you know, we all talk about the fact that if he gets an opportunity he'll be a championship contender. But
[26:49.180 -> 26:53.680] Oscar, unless it's people like us who go and deep dive and look into the results
[26:53.680 -> 26:58.380] and look at these numbers, 99% of the people don't really know, you know, that
[26:58.380 -> 27:03.140] he's actually not far off Norris. So I think it's, it's tough. I think it's a lot
[27:03.140 -> 27:07.720] tougher for Lando though. I mean he he could have won those three races on the bounce,
[27:07.720 -> 27:08.880] couldn't he, a while back.
[27:08.880 -> 27:13.040] And he's seeing George and Carlos
[27:13.040 -> 27:15.320] and contemporaries winning Grand Prix
[27:15.320 -> 27:18.480] and challenging for podiums.
[27:18.480 -> 27:22.480] So all Oscar's got to do is stay close to or beat Lando.
[27:22.480 -> 27:25.400] Lando needs to try to beat everybody else on the grid.
[27:25.400 -> 27:27.880] So it's a really challenging time for him.
[27:27.880 -> 27:33.200] Martin, do you think he should be on the phone to Ferrari, for example?
[27:33.200 -> 27:41.400] Carlos isn't having a great run. At what point do you start to get twitchy if you were Lando, you think?
[27:41.400 -> 27:46.000] You want to be reassured. I mean, everybody,
[27:46.000 -> 27:50.400] I mean, get the crystal ball out. I mean, and I was talking to this, I had a lovely interview with
[27:50.400 -> 27:54.320] Fernando at the weekend and, you know, he mentioned, I don't think it made the cut,
[27:54.320 -> 27:58.640] that particular piece, but, you know, we all try to see the crystal ball and who's going to have
[27:58.640 -> 28:05.700] the downforce and power and grip and get their teams together. But yeah, Lando will be looking around.
[28:05.700 -> 28:09.500] He's got to be looking around, but he's nailed on with the
[28:09.500 -> 28:11.500] contracts and the contract recognition board.
[28:11.500 -> 28:15.200] So he's got a while there and I do, he's got time, he's a young
[28:15.200 -> 28:21.800] man, but he'll be keen to, you know, McLaren will have to
[28:21.800 -> 28:24.000] deliver up for him in the next 18 months.
[28:24.000 -> 28:26.000] So he'll be scouting around hard. Patience is a virtue though. Mae'n rhaid i McLaren ddod o'r ffordd arno ar y cyfnod ychydig mlynedd, felly bydd yn ymgyrchu'n fawr.
[28:26.000 -> 28:30.000] Mae'r ddiddordeb yn ymdrech, ond nid oedd hwnnw'n ymlaen yn ystod y byd
[28:30.000 -> 28:33.000] pan roedd George Russell yn siwr o'r brosiect,
[28:33.000 -> 28:37.000] yn ymgyrchu'n fawr i ddod i mewn i'r car fwyaf a'n allan o'r Williams.
[28:37.000 -> 28:40.000] Alex Alborne, ar y ffwrdd gyda Red Bull, ac yna'n ymgyrchu'n fawr,
[28:40.000 -> 28:44.000] a'r cyfle oedd ei gyrfa ar ôl, ac yna ddod yn ôl.
[28:44.000 -> 28:46.000] Rwy'n credu bod yna ddiddordeb iawn o ddiddordeb gyda'r lluniauwniad yn ymwneud â'r cyd-destun, mae'n dod yn ôl. Rwy'n credu bod yna
[28:46.000 -> 28:48.000] ddewis o gymryd i'r llyfrgellion
[28:48.000 -> 28:50.000] a gallant i gyd
[28:50.000 -> 28:52.000] ddod o'r rhan o gynradd ymchwil ym Mhartain.
[28:52.000 -> 28:54.000] Felly gall pethau newid
[28:54.000 -> 28:56.000] yn ychydig yn gyflym.
[28:56.000 -> 28:58.000] Efallai y bydd McLaren yn gobeithio
[28:58.000 -> 29:00.000] y bydd yr arian a'r gysylltiad
[29:00.000 -> 29:02.000] y byddent yn ei ddod yn ymwneud â hyn yn digwydd.
[29:02.000 -> 29:04.000] Ond nid yw'n gallu dod yn ddiweddar.
[29:04.000 -> 29:06.000] Mae'n dweud wrthych, pa swydd gwych wedi'i wneud ystod y diwethaf. that they're throwing at this, it will happen, but it can't come soon enough, can it? I'll tell you what, what a great job George did though,
[29:06.000 -> 29:07.000] on the weekend, wasn't it?
[29:07.000 -> 29:11.000] I thought he was a standout of the weekend,
[29:11.000 -> 29:13.000] picked his, clearly the car's difficult to drive,
[29:13.000 -> 29:15.000] we saw him qualifying, but, you know,
[29:15.000 -> 29:18.000] got in the top six, picked his moments,
[29:18.000 -> 29:21.000] it was so important for him to clear the Alpine
[29:21.000 -> 29:23.000] early in the race and get a bit of free air
[29:23.000 -> 29:25.040] and break away and then run
[29:25.040 -> 29:32.560] his own race and to finish fourth you know um i thought that was a stellar performance what i
[29:32.560 -> 29:36.240] think on the road obviously because science got the penalty but four seconds ahead of science
[29:36.880 -> 29:43.120] um not million miles off fernando i thought another really really impressive drive from george
[29:43.280 -> 29:44.000] I thought another really, really impressive drive from George.
[29:47.520 -> 29:49.400] Only one thing better than his driving, Karun, his radio messages.
[29:50.680 -> 29:51.040] He's so polite.
[29:55.280 -> 29:57.840] Even when he tries to be cool, he sounds like trying to be cool. Like, that's how we roll guys.
[29:59.120 -> 30:01.040] It's when he goes, it's when he goes crikey.
[30:02.680 -> 30:03.280] Sugar.
[30:03.600 -> 30:04.120] Sugar.
[30:04.480 -> 30:08.720] Sugar is my favorite. He's such a sweet guy. Is that a Kingsland
[30:08.720 -> 30:14.160] thing Martin? Were you as polite on the radio? We're always very polite in Norfolk but I
[30:14.160 -> 30:18.600] was going to pick up on that and say yeah for me it was a close call between George
[30:18.600 -> 30:23.720] and Kevin Magnusson for driver of the day because I loved the way K-Meg kept coming
[30:23.720 -> 30:26.440] back at Charles Leclerc in the works for our ring.
[30:26.440 -> 30:28.740] You know, he looked like he was done and dusted and passed.
[30:28.740 -> 30:29.720] And no he wasn't.
[30:29.720 -> 30:31.280] Through a wind he went again.
[30:31.280 -> 30:34.000] And you know, he started fourth on the grid.
[30:34.000 -> 30:36.040] I know he made the most of some opportunity.
[30:36.040 -> 30:38.940] But those two did have a fine race.
[30:38.940 -> 30:41.040] And Lewis, I thought Lewis had a strong race too.
[30:41.040 -> 30:42.160] For Mercedes.
[30:43.200 -> 30:47.680] I think Sir Jackie Stewart got driver of the day for me.
[30:53.360 -> 30:58.000] Well let's move on to talk about that because we have to ask you Martin. There's a tweet here from Fueled by Coffee which asks very simply did Jackie Stewart get into trouble for getting
[30:58.000 -> 31:09.280] Roger Federer to talk to you? Come on let's hear it. I don't know, I mean, what a legend, 83 years old, I happened across him at the front of
[31:09.280 -> 31:13.680] that sort of rope, it was sort of like trying to get into a dodgy nightclub, wasn't it?
[31:13.680 -> 31:19.800] The pair of us, we had no chance, we had the wrong dress code or something, I don't know.
[31:19.800 -> 31:26.440] And I found that whole procedure a little bit weird on the grid. But yeah, so there were so many people around
[31:26.440 -> 31:28.920] and I particularly wanted to talk to Roger
[31:28.920 -> 31:30.620] as I got to the front there.
[31:30.620 -> 31:32.160] And I just happened to say to Jackie,
[31:32.160 -> 31:34.480] I, he's like, do you want to talk to him then?
[31:34.480 -> 31:37.960] I said, yeah, well, I'll get him, I'll get him, you know.
[31:37.960 -> 31:40.360] And then he sort of jumps under the robe
[31:40.360 -> 31:42.720] and now there's three people running after him.
[31:42.720 -> 31:44.320] And I'm like, oh my God,
[31:44.320 -> 31:49.480] I've just gotten Jackie Stewart thrown out of this place and we've both been thrown out of
[31:49.480 -> 31:53.920] better places than that and it was it was hilarious really then I then I
[31:53.920 -> 31:58.760] started to panic a little bit if I'm honest and like no he's 83 you know I
[31:58.760 -> 32:08.280] don't need him over there risking himself just for an interview so he was great and I know you know that's
[32:08.280 -> 32:12.900] a true mate isn't it when when I go the extra mile for you like that. I think
[32:12.900 -> 32:16.920] what a lot of people don't realize is Jackie's seen Martin's side of the fence
[32:16.920 -> 32:20.880] you know he used to cover Formula One for many I mean I've got there's a book on my
[32:20.880 -> 32:28.360] shelf up there called faster which I'd recommend. It's Jackie's diary from 1970, the year after his first world championship.
[32:28.760 -> 32:32.720] Now imagine this, he's the reigning Formula One world champion, right?
[32:33.140 -> 32:37.480] And he goes off to cover races in America as a, as a reporter, as a
[32:37.480 -> 32:41.420] journalist, as a reigning world champion, while also racing in F1.
[32:41.480 -> 32:43.640] It's completely mad when you think about it.
[32:44.080 -> 32:47.860] Um, but you know, so Jackie's seen so Jackie's seen this side of the fence.
[32:47.860 -> 32:51.220] He's seen how tricky it is to be a broadcaster
[32:51.220 -> 32:54.020] and cover things out on the grid.
[32:54.020 -> 32:55.260] He is a national treasure,
[32:55.260 -> 32:58.180] which needs to be protected at all costs.
[32:58.180 -> 33:00.060] Sometimes from himself.
[33:00.060 -> 33:01.060] He was just brilliant.
[33:01.060 -> 33:02.220] Yeah, from himself.
[33:02.220 -> 33:03.900] And that's the thing.
[33:03.900 -> 33:05.920] We offer him protection, he doesn't need it.
[33:05.920 -> 33:08.080] You can't beat up Sir Jackie Stewart.
[33:09.000 -> 33:12.960] That might be my most famous line in commentary, actually.
[33:14.200 -> 33:16.600] But everybody's got a job to do on the grid
[33:16.600 -> 33:19.040] and to put some control function into it,
[33:19.040 -> 33:21.360] including me, trying to get some interviews
[33:21.360 -> 33:22.840] or what have you, so.
[33:22.840 -> 33:25.440] You're the one who spends it out of control, Martin.
[33:25.440 -> 33:26.840] Yeah, I know.
[33:26.840 -> 33:29.760] Tell me, Mark, what are the anxiety levels like?
[33:29.760 -> 33:31.280] Because I could hear you saying,
[33:31.280 -> 33:33.560] I've got 30 seconds, I've got 15 seconds,
[33:33.560 -> 33:35.360] all this hard work from Sir Jackie,
[33:36.320 -> 33:38.360] is it a waste of his time and energy?
[33:38.360 -> 33:40.000] I'm thinking, sorry, I'm out of time.
[33:40.000 -> 33:41.860] How do you feel in that moment?
[33:41.860 -> 33:44.880] Yeah, obviously I was in what we call a hard count
[33:44.880 -> 33:46.480] in our business, don't we?
[33:46.480 -> 33:50.160] Into throwing to the presentation.
[33:50.160 -> 33:55.880] And it's sort of non-negotiable, as you know, when you're anchoring the show, Pinky.
[33:55.880 -> 34:02.000] And now I'm watching security guards, Roger Federer,
[34:02.000 -> 34:09.800] then George Russell gets involved trying to explain what's going on and Sir Jackie Stewart, I see this sort of negotiation going on over
[34:09.800 -> 34:16.680] there and literally my count in my ear just finishes as Federer turns
[34:16.680 -> 34:21.680] around and walks over, escorted by Sir Jackie, so I thought well I've got to talk
[34:21.680 -> 34:25.920] to him now, I think we got away with it somehow, but huge amounts of anxiety level.
[34:25.920 -> 34:28.000] It's why I've never watched the damn things.
[34:28.960 -> 34:31.680] And I haven't watched it for 26 years.
[34:31.680 -> 34:32.760] Have you not watched it back yet?
[34:32.760 -> 34:33.760] I can't believe it.
[34:33.760 -> 34:36.000] I've seen it on social media that bit.
[34:36.000 -> 34:38.160] Yeah, I've never watched a grid ball back ever.
[34:38.160 -> 34:42.560] I don't know who that bloke is running around being cheeky and rude.
[34:42.560 -> 34:44.800] My sort of alter ego somehow.
[34:44.800 -> 34:45.840] It was a good shirt. It was a punchy shirt, wasn't it? bloke is running around being cheeky and rude, my sort of alter ego somehow. Yeah, it was good shirt.
[34:45.840 -> 34:46.840] It was a good shirt.
[34:46.840 -> 34:50.160] It was a punchy shirt, wasn't it? It was Miami.
[34:50.160 -> 34:56.400] Martin, what is it about the US gridwalks that seem to deliver? I mean, you had a few
[34:56.400 -> 35:01.920] incidents in recent years, thinking of Megan Thee Stallion being the other one in Texas.
[35:01.920 -> 35:05.600] What is it about the United States that delivers these moments?
[35:06.400 -> 35:11.520] Well there's an awful lot of A-listers, celebs, whatever. So last year when,
[35:12.480 -> 35:20.080] between as we managed to get Patrick Mahomes and Paolo Banchero mixed up, we got a final list of 60
[35:20.080 -> 35:25.800] celebrities who were coming on the grid. This is last year. So in amongst doing a
[35:25.800 -> 35:30.760] live show we're feverishly trying to be sure who all you know that we get teed up
[35:30.760 -> 35:35.280] through the weekend but you get a final list of who's actually going to show up.
[35:35.280 -> 35:42.680] This year it was about 40 and I'm trying to learn all of these people in amongst
[35:42.680 -> 35:45.040] our live show at the beginning of the race and then trying to learn all of these people in amongst our live show at the beginning of the race
[35:45.040 -> 35:50.280] and then trying to spot them and then you, so you Google them and they don't look anything
[35:50.280 -> 35:55.240] like their pictures online, nothing like it at all.
[35:55.240 -> 35:59.840] I was supposed to be talking to Patrick Mahomes finally on the grid, he was in a sort of a
[35:59.840 -> 36:07.400] very pink sort of short, shorts and tops, matching suit or something but I never did see him again.
[36:07.400 -> 36:12.360] So it is and they come on in a wave by the way they don't they don't drip feed them
[36:12.360 -> 36:17.240] onto the grid there's just a massive wave of people and then I'm trying to work out
[36:17.240 -> 36:22.960] who they are half of whom I've never heard of and then they've got you know 50 million
[36:22.960 -> 36:30.260] followers or something like that. It's complete Captain Chaos I have no idea what I'm doing and how it happens
[36:30.260 -> 36:34.920] but it seems to happen in the end but you know then one of my nieces will go
[36:34.920 -> 36:41.440] oh so cool Uncle Martin you spoke to whoever and I'm like did I?
[36:41.440 -> 36:45.000] See there's the jeopardy I'm talking about Mark.
[36:45.000 -> 36:46.000] That's what we need.
[36:46.000 -> 36:47.000] It was a brilliant gridwalk.
[36:47.000 -> 36:49.000] Definitely going to live long in the memory.
[36:49.000 -> 36:56.000] I also want to talk about, because that was part of this sort of pre-race show on the grid,
[36:56.000 -> 36:57.000] which I think we can call it.
[36:57.000 -> 37:00.000] And it's received some mixed reactions from the drivers.
[37:00.000 -> 37:02.000] Some of them are a little unhappy.
[37:02.000 -> 37:06.960] George Russell called it distracting and said that there's not another sport where 30 minutes before you go out to do your
[37:06.960 -> 37:10.120] business you're out there in the sun all the cameras are on you and they're
[37:10.120 -> 37:16.800] making a bit of a show of it. Karun, what what did that get in the way of? If
[37:16.800 -> 37:20.940] you're a driver on the grid what are you doing before the race and how would
[37:20.940 -> 37:28.560] being a part of this sort of grid show interrupt that? You know I saw some of the comments and the first thing I thought is none of these drivers
[37:28.560 -> 37:33.920] have been to Le Mans or to Sebring or to the Indy 500 recently because you know
[37:34.720 -> 37:39.760] Le Mans the race starts at three o'clock as everyone knows but you're on the grid from noon
[37:39.760 -> 37:44.880] you know it's like it goes it's a three hour they play the national anthem of every driver competing
[37:42.000 -> 37:45.640] You know, it's like it goes, it's a three hour, they play the national anthem of every driver competing
[37:45.640 -> 37:47.480] at the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
[37:47.480 -> 37:51.000] You know, it goes on and on and on.
[37:51.000 -> 37:52.180] But guess what?
[37:52.180 -> 37:54.320] It's part of it, it's part of the show, you know?
[37:54.320 -> 37:56.680] But they don't have a morning warmup anymore.
[37:56.680 -> 38:00.080] They don't have, you know, the only actual driving bit
[38:00.080 -> 38:02.000] is the Grand Prix itself.
[38:02.000 -> 38:07.040] So if you've got to go through some of the other stuff that happens
[38:07.040 -> 38:11.120] because of the commercial reasons, you know, the reason all of them are being paid as much as
[38:11.120 -> 38:16.160] they're being paid is because of the commercial benefits of Formula One and there's sponsors and
[38:16.160 -> 38:22.240] partners and people queuing up to be a part of the show and it is a show. You've got to embrace it.
[38:22.240 -> 38:25.120] So look, I think there's things we can, I'm not to embrace it so look I think there's things we can I'm not saying
[38:25.120 -> 38:31.840] it's perfect and I think there's this timing can be better and it can perhaps you know the
[38:31.840 -> 38:36.400] positioning of each of these slots can be different and could be better to help the drivers
[38:37.120 -> 38:43.520] do what they need to do from a sporting perspective but I think having the show is is fine
[38:43.520 -> 38:45.400] it's good you know, it makes some people cringe
[38:45.400 -> 38:48.760] and that's just what it is.
[38:48.760 -> 38:51.120] But I don't have a huge problem with it.
[38:51.120 -> 38:54.160] I think it needs tweaking but I think it's fine.
[38:54.160 -> 38:59.200] Lewis was in support of it saying, it's cool that sport is continuously growing and evolving
[38:59.200 -> 39:01.880] and they're not just doing the same thing they've done in the past, they're trying new
[39:01.880 -> 39:06.160] things, trying to improve the show always and I'm in full support of it. Nat, what did you
[39:06.160 -> 39:07.800] make of it watching at home?
[39:07.800 -> 39:12.080] I absolutely loved it. We're in the entertainment
[39:12.080 -> 39:17.200] industry for goodness sake and this is something that we should embrace, look
[39:17.200 -> 39:21.400] forward to, I know there are critics of it, I can't begin to pretend what it
[39:21.400 -> 39:26.720] feels like to get into a car and drive 200 miles an hour. I just love the fanfare.
[39:27.120 -> 39:32.200] The Americans know how to do sport, all singing, all dancing, jazz hands, the works.
[39:32.560 -> 39:36.240] And it was captivating watching from home on a, on a drip.
[39:36.240 -> 39:38.960] Well, we just had the coronation, which was, you know, pretty spectacular
[39:39.200 -> 39:42.880] within itself, but it was a dreary old day back in the UK.
[39:42.880 -> 39:49.840] And I just loved the sunshine and the razzmatazz and yeah. As, I'm going to throw George's quote back at him,
[39:49.840 -> 39:51.920] that's how we roll, take it baby.
[39:53.920 -> 39:55.120] Very good, very good.
[40:00.080 -> 40:06.720] Martin, Fernando Alonso said that, you know, it's, if we're going to do it for the fans in Miami, why
[40:06.720 -> 40:11.040] are we not doing it for the fans in Italy or Spain or wherever we go on the Formula
[40:11.040 -> 40:12.040] One calendar?
[40:12.040 -> 40:16.240] Do you think it's something that needs to be a one-size-fits-all for every race or something
[40:16.240 -> 40:18.400] that we modify depending on where we are?
[40:18.400 -> 40:25.880] I think it's a fair comment, why would we just do it in America or wherever but we have to
[40:25.880 -> 40:31.600] accept we've got a new audience, the demographic age group of our audience
[40:31.600 -> 40:35.660] has changed a lot in recent years and has grown dramatically and we need
[40:35.660 -> 40:40.400] we need something for everybody. Obviously as a man of a certain age I
[40:40.400 -> 40:45.000] perhaps am less need that sort of showy stuff.
[40:45.780 -> 40:47.540] I thought it was a bit two dimensional, if I'm honest.
[40:47.540 -> 40:50.420] They'd already seen the drivers anyway on the driver parade
[40:50.420 -> 40:53.020] in some old jalopies and gave them away.
[40:53.020 -> 40:55.820] I found it odd that it had its back to the grid.
[40:55.820 -> 40:56.860] We couldn't see it.
[40:56.860 -> 41:01.220] It was sort of, and it was, I don't know,
[41:01.220 -> 41:03.180] did it really add anything?
[41:03.180 -> 41:06.260] Some sort of generic lines and the drivers come out,
[41:06.260 -> 41:08.180] but I'm very open to change.
[41:08.180 -> 41:10.140] I think you have to keep your mind open on this,
[41:10.140 -> 41:15.140] but what I do think is when the green light goes on
[41:15.780 -> 41:16.900] and the cars leave the pits,
[41:16.900 -> 41:20.340] that's a moment of very high energy for Formula One,
[41:20.340 -> 41:23.680] where we're getting close to the Grand Prix,
[41:23.680 -> 41:25.240] and then what happens after that and
[41:25.240 -> 41:30.180] this army of people and equipment and these beautiful racing cars and the finest drivers
[41:30.180 -> 41:37.140] in the world all heading to the grid and I think you need to keep that energy and what
[41:37.140 -> 41:47.920] happened 26 years ago was some very creative people I was working with in F1 on F1 TV were like, they came up with the gridwalk idea because
[41:47.920 -> 41:53.120] they wanted to keep the energy between the green light and the star and the formation lap and,
[41:53.120 -> 41:59.200] you know, and sort of keep it on the boil. And I, my concern is things like that, let, let the whole,
[41:59.200 -> 42:05.880] let the boil go and let it sort of fade away a bit. So we have to think about that,
[42:05.880 -> 42:09.240] but we can't just keep doing the same old thing
[42:09.240 -> 42:10.440] decade in, decade out.
[42:10.440 -> 42:12.460] I accept that.
[42:12.460 -> 42:14.320] Whether that adds to it,
[42:14.320 -> 42:16.180] whether we could do it at a different time
[42:16.180 -> 42:21.180] and just go to the grid and go hard racing,
[42:22.080 -> 42:24.480] because we used to go to the grid 30 minutes before,
[42:24.480 -> 42:25.400] now it's 50 minutes
[42:25.400 -> 42:33.480] before the weekend. It's open for debate, but it didn't add anything for me being there
[42:33.480 -> 42:39.320] on the day. It's just when I hate to see those shots of the drivers loitering in their garage,
[42:39.320 -> 42:45.280] almost playing cards or something, they're off the grid, they don't want to be around,
[42:45.280 -> 42:50.080] they're just going to lose 20 minutes somewhere. So that doesn't feel energetic enough to me.
[42:50.880 -> 42:53.600] I think, you know, you've got to think about when we go to Vegas,
[42:54.320 -> 42:59.920] where everyone's going to have grand plans, but guess what, it's going to be six degrees at that
[42:59.920 -> 43:04.720] time of the night in the desert in November, and the drivers will definitely want to be back in
[43:04.720 -> 43:07.080] the motorhomes or the pits trying to keep warm.
[43:07.080 -> 43:08.920] I think it's a good point.
[43:08.920 -> 43:13.220] What they do in IndyCar, I think, could be the answer, where they do this driver presentation,
[43:13.220 -> 43:17.980] but it's done a couple of hours before the race, so the time where we do the driver's
[43:17.980 -> 43:26.000] parade in F1, and they do this big razzmatazz for the people at the ground but then you know the build-up as Martin
[43:26.000 -> 43:32.880] said is still a you know a shorter time with a with a more compact high energy intro so yeah
[43:32.880 -> 43:37.600] maybe maybe as I say it needs a bit of tweaking and that's a better balance. But honestly Matt
[43:37.600 -> 43:45.600] anything that connects the fans to the drivers I think the one thing that we often take for granted
[43:45.600 -> 43:49.080] because we know and talk to the drivers all the time we understand their
[43:49.080 -> 43:53.960] personalities. Fans want to know what makes racers tick and most of the time
[43:53.960 -> 43:57.560] they're immersed in this cockpit with a helmet on their head. One thing that
[43:57.560 -> 44:01.480] Drive to Survive has been great at and all these deep dives that we take into
[44:01.480 -> 44:11.900] the drivers backgrounds and behind the scenes stuff is that you can relate to them and they are they they're young lads who do
[44:11.900 -> 44:18.220] something superhuman and anything that connects the the fans to them has got to
[44:18.220 -> 44:23.220] be a good thing because then you feel not only that they're relatable but you
[44:23.220 -> 44:25.000] you invest in them and therefore you're gunning for them when they're relatable, but you invest in them
[44:25.560 -> 44:28.280] and therefore you're gunning for them when they're racing
[44:28.280 -> 44:30.560] and you go on a journey with them.
[44:30.560 -> 44:32.320] It's all part of that process.
[44:32.320 -> 44:33.800] Yeah, it certainly is.
[44:33.800 -> 44:35.320] I think it's gonna be interesting to see how it evolves
[44:35.320 -> 44:37.200] over the coming year and I think it's here to stay,
[44:37.200 -> 44:39.320] so we will follow that progress.
[44:39.320 -> 44:41.480] I wanna end the podcast just with a question
[44:41.480 -> 44:44.520] from someone at home who sent this in yesterday.
[44:44.520 -> 44:45.200] Said, It's from
[44:45.200 -> 44:50.240] Brian, it was on Twitter. We're now five races into the season and the majority of teams
[44:50.240 -> 44:55.000] are no further forward than at the start. Is the volume of races hampering off-track
[44:55.000 -> 44:59.960] development? I don't know if anyone has a thought on obviously we're now in 23 races
[44:59.960 -> 45:05.120] that could possibly go up next year to even more. We even had a break in April. So, Martin, y gallai hynny fynd ymlaen y flwyddyn nesaf i fwy. Roedd gennym ni hefyd ychydig o'r diwethaf yn ymbron.
[45:05.120 -> 45:07.680] Felly, Martin, byddwn i'n dechrau gyda chi.
[45:07.680 -> 45:11.200] A ydych chi'n meddwl bod y fwyaf yn effeithio ar y datblygiad?
[45:11.200 -> 45:13.600] Wel, mae'n heriad ar gyfer y tîmau.
[45:13.600 -> 45:14.880] Yn amlwg, os oes gennych ddiddordeb,
[45:14.880 -> 45:16.240] mae Alpina wedi cael ychydig o farchnau'n sioch,
[45:16.240 -> 45:18.000] yw'r rhan fwyaf o'r rhanau gredeg,
[45:18.000 -> 45:20.320] ac mae Charles Leclerc yn cael ei ddod yn dda
[45:20.320 -> 45:23.520] i ddismantio'r Ferrari hefyd o amser i amser.
[45:23.520 -> 45:25.680] Ond rwy'n credu mai'r cyllid cystaffeyddol sy'n gwneud y gwahaniaeth fwyaf, dismantling his Ferrari as well from time to time. But I think it's the cost cap
[45:25.680 -> 45:27.340] that's making a bigger difference.
[45:27.340 -> 45:31.340] But part of that is going to so many races as well.
[45:31.340 -> 45:35.040] So I think in terms of the development,
[45:35.040 -> 45:37.720] they got their fundamental packages wrong, some of them,
[45:37.720 -> 45:40.960] and it happens, and they might be next winter
[45:40.960 -> 45:42.800] before they can even address that.
[45:42.800 -> 45:44.660] So I think it's a combination of things.
[45:44.660 -> 45:48.960] But cost cap has really energised Formula One
[45:48.960 -> 45:52.420] in some other respects too, so I wouldn't knock it.
[45:52.420 -> 45:56.740] But, you know, if you took Red Bull
[45:56.740 -> 45:58.060] out of the equation right now,
[45:58.060 -> 46:00.800] that would have been a stormer of a Grand Prix,
[46:00.800 -> 46:04.000] an absolute, from the front to the back of the grid,
[46:04.000 -> 46:07.840] so I think we need to just keep a perspective on it.
[46:07.840 -> 46:11.440] Karun, what about, you know, is it a case of, for example,
[46:11.440 -> 46:13.960] you know, Mercedes have got upgrades coming to Imola,
[46:13.960 -> 46:17.280] haven't they, in the next race?
[46:17.280 -> 46:19.840] Would those upgrades have come sooner, perhaps,
[46:19.840 -> 46:23.480] if we hadn't have already had, you know, so many races?
[46:23.480 -> 46:26.080] No, they take as long as they take.
[46:26.080 -> 46:27.760] I think that's what people need to understand.
[46:27.760 -> 46:31.240] You can't just think of an idea,
[46:31.240 -> 46:32.800] just put it on the car the next race.
[46:32.800 -> 46:35.080] There's a six to eight week lead time
[46:35.080 -> 46:38.440] before you come up with an idea,
[46:38.440 -> 46:41.000] design it in CFD in a virtual world.
[46:41.000 -> 46:43.160] Then once you were happy with that,
[46:43.160 -> 46:46.760] then you make a model which goes in the wind tunnel there's an X amount of testing has to happen with
[46:46.760 -> 46:50.740] that then it goes to the composite department to make the parts and get to
[46:50.740 -> 46:55.560] the actual race and that whole process is six to seven weeks you know at least
[46:55.560 -> 46:59.320] so what we're gonna see in the car in Imola is something they would have
[46:59.320 -> 47:04.240] started back in Bahrain the process to get here I believe there's a decent
[47:04.240 -> 47:06.960] upgrade coming to the Mercedes
[47:06.960 -> 47:12.480] and Imola. I'm really intrigued to see where that moves them. I don't think it'll move them
[47:12.480 -> 47:18.400] into Red Bull territory, but I think they're hoping it'll clear them ahead of Aston and Ferrari.
[47:18.400 -> 47:26.160] That's their ambition, I think, with the update. So we'll see, I don't think you could put the blame on the number of races, no. I think
[47:26.160 -> 47:32.320] it's, it's, it just is what it is, you know. I think Martin's absolutely right. Teams haven't
[47:32.320 -> 47:36.880] hit their targets with the base car. They've arrived, so many of them at the opening race,
[47:38.160 -> 47:42.480] who have under-delivered. And as I was saying earlier on, I think Red Bull, I was talking to
[47:42.480 -> 47:50.320] Rob Marshall, the, you know, the chief designer in Australia, he came out and I was saying have you guys
[47:50.320 -> 47:54.720] just made this massive jump and he said not really, we think we've
[47:54.720 -> 47:58.080] gained about seven tenths of performance which year-on-year is what we expect.
[47:58.080 -> 48:03.720] Aston under delivered last season with their car so actually they've
[48:03.720 -> 48:09.640] made a bigger jump because they under delivered last year and and if you look at where Alpine and
[48:09.640 -> 48:14.160] people like that has they've sort of made a sensible gap it's more I think
[48:14.160 -> 48:21.920] what we were saying earlier you know McLaren, Ferrari, Mercedes, Alfa Tauri you
[48:21.920 -> 48:26.360] know there's a bunch of teams who have actually not hit the targets
[48:26.360 -> 48:30.920] that they should have done for this season and we're creating this disparity in the field.
[48:30.920 -> 48:33.560] Now, these races are going to come thick and fast, aren't they?
[48:33.560 -> 48:34.560] Absolutely.
[48:34.560 -> 48:36.120] We've got a triple header just around the corner.
[48:36.120 -> 48:37.560] It's going to get pretty busy.
[48:37.560 -> 48:38.560] Absolutely.
[48:38.560 -> 48:45.420] And I think there was an argument that said that the unintended unplanned break through China's cancellation
[48:45.420 -> 48:51.340] was going to somehow work in Red Bull's competitors' favour because it's not like they're closing
[48:51.340 -> 48:56.980] the factory, they can work hard to make up the difference in a way.
[48:56.980 -> 48:59.980] It doesn't feel like that has happened.
[48:59.980 -> 49:03.540] Christian made the point that they have to make hay whilst the sun shines and really
[49:03.540 -> 49:07.720] capitalise now before the wind tunnel restrictions kick in.
[49:07.720 -> 49:09.640] And he feels that the others are going to come back stronger.
[49:09.640 -> 49:14.720] So perhaps actually the amount of races may work in the other's favour.
[49:14.720 -> 49:16.520] Who knows?
[49:16.520 -> 49:17.720] It will take its toll though.
[49:17.720 -> 49:22.520] I mean, in a few races time, people are going to be pretty exhausted.
[49:22.520 -> 49:27.200] But it'll be fascinating to see whether they can bridge that gap because it is disappointing.
[49:27.200 -> 49:28.040] It really is.
[49:28.040 -> 49:29.780] I mean, if you're a McLaren fan,
[49:30.800 -> 49:33.760] hugely perplexing, frustrating, disappointing,
[49:33.760 -> 49:35.840] but also any fan of the sport,
[49:35.840 -> 49:37.760] you want to see those at the front being challenged.
[49:37.760 -> 49:38.580] And they're not.
[49:38.580 -> 49:40.860] 26 seconds, as we said at the very start,
[49:40.860 -> 49:42.640] is a huge difference between Red Bull
[49:42.640 -> 49:43.960] and the nearest competitor.
[49:43.960 -> 49:50.680] But again, thank God for Fernando, because he's kept it interesting hasn't he?
[49:50.680 -> 49:54.040] He certainly has, he certainly has. He's gonna get bored of podiums soon I'm fairly sure.
[49:54.040 -> 49:57.560] He's sort of racing nobody at the moment isn't he?
[49:57.560 -> 50:01.000] You know this other weekend he was racing he was just sort of driving around
[50:01.000 -> 50:07.400] by himself. But that elusive 33rd win is gonna come,. It will, because one of them will trip over each other.
[50:07.400 -> 50:08.120] Yeah, maybe.
[50:08.120 -> 50:09.080] But I mean, he was so bored.
[50:09.080 -> 50:10.680] He was watching Lance on the screen, wasn't he,
[50:10.680 -> 50:11.240] at one point?
[50:11.240 -> 50:13.160] That was so interesting, because I
[50:13.160 -> 50:18.080] thought that was a really interesting little moment.
[50:18.080 -> 50:21.040] Because he was actually asserting his, I think,
[50:21.040 -> 50:22.080] authority on the moment.
[50:22.080 -> 50:28.440] Said, you know, I'm so in control of the situation, I can even throw a compliment out there at my teammates, who, by the way, is languishing
[50:28.440 -> 50:30.080] much further back than me.
[50:30.080 -> 50:31.080] True.
[50:31.080 -> 50:34.160] Martin, you obviously interviewed him, you referenced earlier in the podcast, you interviewed
[50:34.160 -> 50:35.160] him this week.
[50:35.160 -> 50:38.160] Can you see that win just around the corner for Fernando?
[50:38.160 -> 50:42.560] He was, when I asked him that question, he was very direct and immediate in his response.
[50:42.560 -> 50:45.040] Yes, he sees, he can, he can steal a race or
[50:45.040 -> 50:49.960] two this year. He thinks where there are a lot of slower corners involved and maybe you
[50:49.960 -> 50:54.320] even heard him in the cool-down room after the race saying, you won't pass me in Monaco
[50:54.320 -> 51:00.080] if I get in front of you. That's what's in his mind. I love that attitude. He was showing
[51:00.080 -> 51:09.320] off a bit, wasn't he? Because he obviously saw Lance overtake on a big screen somewhere and was like, yeah, I'll just congratulate him on that. That was just to let you know
[51:09.320 -> 51:16.520] how easy this is for me this afternoon, which was brilliant. So yeah, as we said, thank
[51:16.520 -> 51:19.280] goodness for Fernando and Aston Martin at the moment.
[51:19.280 -> 51:23.200] Okay, that's all we've got time for. Thank you very much for your company. We'll be back
[51:23.200 -> None] next Tuesday. Until then, bye for now. you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you