Ted and Crofty's top 10 team principals picks of 2023 - Part One

Ted Kravitz and David Croft join for our latest pod to rank the top ten best team principals of the 2023 season, starting from 10-6 in this part one.

**Navigating the World of Formula One Team Principals: A Comprehensive Analysis**

In this captivating podcast episode, Ted Kravitz and David Croft join forces to embark on a journey through the realm of Formula One team principals, meticulously ranking the top ten individuals who steered their teams through the 2023 season. With their expertise and experience in the sport, they dissect each team principal's performance, offering insightful commentary and engaging discussions.

**Deconstructing the Role of a Team Principal**

Before delving into the rankings, the trio establishes the key criteria they will use to evaluate the team principals. These criteria encompass leadership, technical performance, human resource management, and media and sponsorship duties. They recognize that the role of a team principal has evolved over time, shifting from team owners to individuals navigating the complexities of modern Formula One, often balancing the demands of ownership and the expectations of the team.

**Unveiling the Top Performers**

As they embark on the ranking process, the trio begins with the team that finished last in the 2023 season: Haas, led by Gunther Steiner. Steiner's media presence and ability to explain complex technical issues to the public earn him praise. However, his technical leadership and decision-making regarding car upgrades draw criticism, resulting in a lower ranking for technical performance.

Moving on to Alfa Romeo, represented by Alessandro Alunibravi, the discussion centers around his limited visibility and perceived anonymity within the paddock. While he receives credit for managing human resources effectively, his involvement in technical and media-related aspects is deemed insufficient, leading to a lower overall ranking.

Franz Tost, the departing team principal of Alpha Tauri, garners admiration for his passion, honesty, and dedication to the team. His ability to identify and address technical issues during the season is acknowledged, as is his leadership in motivating his team. However, his tendency to work excessively and his limited freedom to make decisions due to the influence of Red Bull's management structure result in a mixed assessment.

**Highlighting Exceptional Leadership**

The trio reserves special recognition for Christian Horner of Red Bull and Toto Wolff of Mercedes, acknowledging their exceptional leadership skills. Horner's ability to navigate the political landscape of Formula One and his strategic decision-making are lauded. Wolff's leadership in transforming Mercedes into a dominant force, his driver management, and his technical prowess are highly praised.

**Assessing Technical Brilliance**

In the realm of technical performance, Adrian Newey of Red Bull stands out as a visionary engineer whose innovative designs have revolutionized the sport. His contributions to the team's success are undeniable, earning him a top ranking in this category.

**Recognizing Media and Sponsorship Prowess**

When it comes to media and sponsorship duties, Zak Brown of McLaren is singled out for his exceptional skills. His charisma, eloquence, and ability to connect with fans and sponsors make him a valuable asset to his team.

**Celebrating the Human Touch**

In the area of human resource management, Andreas Seidl of Sauber is commended for his ability to create a harmonious and productive work environment. His leadership in fostering team unity and managing driver relationships is recognized as a key factor in Sauber's progress.

**Controversy and Insights**

The podcast also delves into controversial moments and insightful observations. The trio discusses the impact of social media on team principals, with some expressing concerns about the blurring of boundaries and the potential for reputational damage. They also highlight the importance of team principals maintaining a healthy work-life balance, acknowledging the demanding nature of the role.

**The Takeaway: Embracing Diversity and Evolution**

In conclusion, the podcast emphasizes the evolving nature of the team principal role in Formula One. The trio stresses the importance of diversity in leadership, recognizing that different backgrounds and perspectives can contribute to a team's success. They also acknowledge that the role of a team principal is constantly adapting to the changing landscape of the sport, requiring individuals who can navigate both the technical and human aspects of Formula One.

As the podcast draws to a close, the trio reiterates their appreciation for the contributions of all team principals, recognizing their pivotal role in the success of their respective teams and the overall spectacle of Formula One.

# Formula One Team Principals Rankings 2023: Part 1

## Introduction

- Ted Kravitz and David Croft join the podcast to rank the top ten team principals of the 2023 season, starting from 10-6 in this first part.

## Franz Tost (AlphaTauri)

- Tost was ranked 8th out of 10 by Kravitz, 24th by Croft, and 19th by the guest speaker.
- Tost's leadership was questioned after he publicly criticized his aero engineers and made controversial statements about his drivers' strategies.
- His HR skills were also scrutinized due to the high turnover of drivers at AlphaTauri during his tenure.
- Despite these criticisms, Tost was praised for his technical expertise and his ability to extract the most out of his team with limited resources.

## James Vowles (Williams)

- Vowles was ranked 5th by Kravitz, 33rd by Croft, and 27th by the guest speaker.
- Vowles' first season in charge at Williams was seen as a success, with the team finishing 7th in the constructors' championship.
- He was praised for his technical expertise, HR skills, and leadership, as well as his ability to communicate with the media and fans.
- Vowles was credited with bringing a fresh perspective and a new approach to Williams, and is seen as a potential future team principal of a top team.

## Bruno Famin (Alpine)

- Famin was ranked 10th by Kravitz, 18th by Croft, and 16th by the guest speaker.
- Famin took over as interim team principal at Alpine following the departure of Otmar Szafnauer mid-season.
- His technical background and experience in motorsport were seen as strengths, but he was criticized for his lack of experience in a team principal role.
- Famin's leadership and HR skills were also questioned, and he was seen as a placeholder until a permanent team principal could be found.
- The team's performance did not improve significantly under Famin's leadership, and there were concerns about the team's direction and investment in the future.

## Conclusion

- The podcast discussion provided an in-depth analysis of the strengths and weaknesses of three Formula One team principals: Franz Tost, James Vowles, and Bruno Famin.
- The rankings and commentary from the speakers offered valuable insights into the challenges and successes of these team principals in the 2023 season.
- The discussion also highlighted the importance of leadership, technical expertise, HR skills, and communication in the role of a Formula One team principal.

[00:00.000 -> 00:08.640] Hello everyone, welcome to this bonus episode of the Sky Sports F1 podcast, where we're
[00:08.640 -> 00:13.720] going to do our top 10 team principals of 2023. We've already done the drivers, so we
[00:13.720 -> 00:17.880] thought it was only fair we gave the team principals a go. To help me do this, I'm joined
[00:17.880 -> 00:23.040] by David Croft and Ted Kravitz. Hello to both of you. Ted, you're already smiling.
[00:23.040 -> 00:25.000] Yeah, to help me, because I thought you were going to say,
[00:25.000 -> 00:27.000] to help me in this thankless task,
[00:27.000 -> 00:32.000] I've roped in two people who are just going to get in trouble with themselves.
[00:32.000 -> 00:35.000] Yes, the reason why we're doing it is because, what,
[00:35.000 -> 00:38.000] Crofty and I have the most contact with the team bosses?
[00:38.000 -> 00:39.000] Yeah.
[00:39.000 -> 00:40.000] Crofty?
[00:40.000 -> 00:42.000] And we're the most amiable to get you out of a massive hole
[00:42.000 -> 00:49.720] that you've just dug for us both. And also we had nothing better to do this afternoon than try and defend your honor.
[00:49.720 -> 00:50.960] No, this is going to be fun.
[00:50.960 -> 00:52.400] Well, it's the middle of Christmas, isn't it?
[00:52.400 -> 00:56.600] We should say happy, happy Christmas, happy holidays for everyone who's celebrating and
[00:56.600 -> 00:57.600] nothing else to do.
[00:57.600 -> 01:01.680] We should also add the disclaimer that we don't actually believe what we're saying.
[01:01.680 -> 01:09.080] We're just, this is just a series of devil's advocate opinions on things. Uh, we, and so you, anyone who wants to pick up this and I know it's
[01:09.080 -> 01:13.400] a fallow period for F1 websites over the Christmas season and wants to make some stories of this.
[01:13.400 -> 01:17.120] You can't attribute what we're about to say to us because we need to believe it, nor is
[01:17.120 -> 01:21.440] it the views of Sky Sports F1. There you go, Matthew. There's your, uh, there's your disclaimers.
[01:21.440 -> 01:25.600] Whatever he just said. And that's the first time and probably the last that we're gonna agree
[01:25.600 -> 01:26.920] on this entire podcast.
[01:26.920 -> 01:27.760] Yes.
[01:28.920 -> 01:30.000] Smashing.
[01:30.000 -> 01:31.400] Right, disclaimer out the way,
[01:31.400 -> 01:33.160] let's have a look at these team principles.
[01:33.160 -> 01:36.520] I thought before we get into talking about
[01:36.520 -> 01:38.600] where we put everyone and go through them
[01:38.600 -> 01:40.680] sort of team principle by team principle,
[01:40.680 -> 01:42.560] let's talk about the criteria
[01:42.560 -> 01:50.720] that we're going to rank our team principles on. In my research for this I was thinking what are the key elements of a team principal,
[01:50.720 -> 01:56.440] what do they need to do? So the first category is leadership and this is the overall direction
[01:56.440 -> 02:02.760] they are pointing the team, long term, short term goals, are they an inspiring figure,
[02:02.760 -> 02:05.840] would you go into battle for this one team principal?
[02:05.840 -> 02:11.360] And how well perhaps they fight the case of their team with the FIA, with Formula One?
[02:11.920 -> 02:15.520] Anything anyone wants to add on the leadership element?
[02:15.520 -> 02:21.520] I think the leadership has changed a lot from the old days. From Ted, from when you first started,
[02:22.560 -> 02:26.080] when team principals tended to be owners
[02:26.080 -> 02:28.920] and in charge of their own teams.
[02:28.920 -> 02:33.200] And I think leadership was very different in those days.
[02:33.200 -> 02:35.080] The basic core principles still remain
[02:35.080 -> 02:37.280] that you want a team principal
[02:37.280 -> 02:38.640] that will inspire their workforce
[02:38.640 -> 02:41.160] to go out and annihilate the competition
[02:41.160 -> 02:42.700] week after week after week.
[02:42.700 -> 02:47.920] But I think there's a much more political edge to it now and not always acting on
[02:47.920 -> 02:53.280] your own instincts, but maybe on, on what is best or demanded by the people above
[02:53.280 -> 02:53.800] you, i.e.
[02:53.800 -> 02:54.880] those who own the team.
[02:55.640 -> 03:00.920] Yes, there is a couple of, because we've got this year and to extent last year, but
[03:00.920 -> 03:05.360] I think mainly this year we see sort of two types of team boss,
[03:05.360 -> 03:10.000] team principal. We see the sort of technical team principal who has somebody above them.
[03:10.000 -> 03:17.400] I'm thinking Andrea Stella, Mike Crack, and probably Alessandro Lunibravi. They are technical
[03:17.400 -> 03:23.400] team bosses and they have, in the case of, you know, Zach Brown, Lawrence Stroll, and
[03:23.400 -> 03:29.120] you know, Andrea Stella and whoever owns Salva these days, Audi, half, half of the quarter of them, they've got somebody above
[03:29.120 -> 03:33.920] them. So they're not invested in a leadership role in terms of, you know, the old sort of Ron
[03:33.920 -> 03:38.160] Dennis, Frank Williams, what you're talking about Crofty in terms of owning part of the team,
[03:38.160 -> 03:43.040] Toto Wolfhorns part of the team, Christian Horner doesn't. So then, you know, you do have a mix,
[03:43.040 -> 03:47.000] but Christian was much more in the old tradition of team principles.
[03:47.000 -> 03:48.600] Great, that's leadership.
[03:48.600 -> 03:50.080] Couple more, well, three more categories.
[03:50.080 -> 03:51.120] Technical performance,
[03:51.120 -> 03:53.100] which I think is pretty self-explanatory.
[03:53.100 -> 03:55.640] How well the team are doing on track,
[03:55.640 -> 03:57.000] how well they're operating within the rules,
[03:57.000 -> 04:00.160] how well they've understood the current regulations
[04:00.160 -> 04:01.680] in Formula One.
[04:01.680 -> 04:04.360] The next category, HR, I've put loosely,
[04:04.360 -> 04:06.960] which kind of is management of people,
[04:06.960 -> 04:11.520] but that might be the drivers. Have they got bickering drivers? Are they keeping everyone
[04:11.520 -> 04:16.080] happy beneath them? But that also includes the strategists, engineers, mechanics, everyone
[04:16.080 -> 04:21.360] associated with the team. The final category, which I think is quite interesting for us to discuss is
[04:21.360 -> 04:25.840] media and sponsorship duties. So what is their relationship
[04:25.840 -> 04:31.280] like with the media? How appealing are they? And how present are they perhaps in the in
[04:31.280 -> 04:35.040] the social media world in the in the public world? You know, how often do they appear,
[04:35.040 -> 04:39.600] for example, on Sky Sports, some appear regularly, some don't.
[04:39.600 -> 04:43.960] It's a massively important part of the job, to be honest, and I want to say to every single
[04:43.960 -> 04:46.760] team principal that joins us from the pit wall throughout the season,
[04:46.760 -> 04:50.040] we are eternally grateful for the insight that you provide,
[04:50.040 -> 04:52.000] but it's that connection with the fans,
[04:52.000 -> 04:55.960] that social media and the relaxation of what you can
[04:55.960 -> 04:58.800] and can't do social media-wise at a racetrack
[04:58.800 -> 05:01.680] has brought now, but also with the partners
[05:01.680 -> 05:03.800] and the sponsors of the teams too.
[05:03.800 -> 05:10.000] And team principal's job does not end when qualifying ends or a practice session ends.
[05:10.000 -> 05:15.000] It often is only just getting going and there's an awful lot they do throughout the race weekend
[05:15.000 -> 05:19.000] to engage with the partners, those that are bringing the money in to the team,
[05:19.000 -> 05:23.000] which is just as important as appearing on Sky Sports from time to time.
[05:23.000 -> 05:25.520] Yeah, I mean, it's not how many times you appear
[05:25.520 -> 05:27.160] on Sky Sports, is it, Crofty, but you know,
[05:27.160 -> 05:29.700] it's whether you can back up your team
[05:29.700 -> 05:32.900] and defend your team, but also on this,
[05:32.900 -> 05:35.200] you know, let's bear in mind that there are
[05:35.200 -> 05:38.160] other team principals whose job this is.
[05:38.160 -> 05:40.960] So Alessandro Lunibravi, for example,
[05:40.960 -> 05:47.080] is the team representative of Alfa Romeo Sauber. He doesn't really get
[05:47.080 -> 05:53.720] involved in the technical side. So there are different levels and excuses as to why people
[05:53.720 -> 05:58.000] won't be ranked quite as highly as others, simply because it's not really their job.
[05:58.000 -> 06:01.440] Has everybody given James Vowles a follow on Instagram?
[06:01.440 -> 06:02.960] Oh, absolutely.
[06:02.960 -> 06:03.960] Why?
[06:03.960 -> 06:06.800] I don't want to follow these guys on Instagram, you know, should they be on Instagram. Oh, absolutely. Why? I don't want to follow these guys on Instagram.
[06:06.800 -> 06:10.520] You know, should they be on Instagram? Actually, that brings me on to an interesting point
[06:10.520 -> 06:16.680] as to how one team principal in my eyes has been marked down because of his enthusiasm
[06:16.680 -> 06:21.660] for Instagram, but we'll get to that later. Very good. I look, why should we follow James
[06:21.660 -> 06:28.440] Vowles on Instagram? Because he's fascinating. engaging he's warm and also he posted a really cute picture of him and
[06:28.440 -> 06:32.000] his partner and their newborn baby just a couple of months ago as well which I
[06:32.000 -> 06:37.360] really liked there you go Ted that's reason enough surely you know I've
[06:37.360 -> 06:41.160] given up on social media these days I post pictures of nice things on
[06:41.160 -> 06:46.080] Instagram I thought Instagram when I, Instagram was for posting arty pictures
[06:46.080 -> 06:47.960] of cars and racing drivers.
[06:47.960 -> 06:50.560] So, yeah, that's what I do on there.
[06:50.560 -> 06:52.240] One most popular picture this year
[06:52.240 -> 06:54.800] was a picture of Ted Nye in a back row of a cinema.
[06:54.800 -> 06:57.480] It was a beautiful night, and it got a lot of likes.
[06:58.400 -> 07:00.720] There you go, no rhyme or reason for these algorithms.
[07:00.720 -> 07:02.000] Right, let's crack on then.
[07:02.000 -> 07:09.960] So we're gonna do this in reverse championship order. So we're to start with the team that finished last this year, which is HASS
[07:09.960 -> 07:13.760] and Gunter Steiner. I think we've just spoken about media and sponsorship and that probably
[07:13.760 -> 07:18.200] is the place to begin really with with with Gunter Steiner and his role. Since Drive to
[07:18.200 -> 07:25.000] Survive he has become a massively large figure in the paddock, we can say that.
[07:25.540 -> 07:27.920] Ted, go on, give me your sort of breakdown
[07:27.920 -> 07:32.240] of how you believe Gunter Steiner fits into this top 10.
[07:32.240 -> 07:37.140] So for media and sponsorship, I have ranked Gunter fifth,
[07:37.140 -> 07:40.200] which is higher than most other rankings I give him,
[07:40.200 -> 07:44.520] just because he's a very good communicator, we know that.
[07:44.520 -> 07:47.520] So he has managed to explain away,
[07:47.520 -> 07:50.120] and that's all we ask team principals to do,
[07:50.120 -> 07:52.160] is to explain away the troubles
[07:52.160 -> 07:53.640] so that people can understand.
[07:53.640 -> 07:56.240] So the way he explained it to us in Abu Dhabi
[07:56.240 -> 07:58.680] was that we started with the wrong concept,
[07:58.680 -> 08:01.640] we pinned everything on getting the right concept
[08:01.640 -> 08:03.840] in Austin with the big upgrade,
[08:03.840 -> 08:04.760] and that didn't work,
[08:04.760 -> 08:06.560] so we really need to
[08:06.560 -> 08:11.120] look at all of our processes. We have great drivers, we think Niko Halkenberg's been fantastic,
[08:11.120 -> 08:15.680] Kevin Magnussen's been good and you know well done to Gunther Steiner for managing them,
[08:15.680 -> 08:22.160] we'll get into the HR with him later and he's managed not to keep Gene Haas on board and
[08:22.160 -> 08:26.840] explain to Gene Haas what the problems are. And I think that's part of the communication
[08:26.840 -> 08:27.960] as much as anything else,
[08:27.960 -> 08:29.840] keeping the owner of the team happy.
[08:29.840 -> 08:33.520] So I think Gunter Steiner is good at explaining things
[08:33.520 -> 08:35.400] and communicating things.
[08:35.400 -> 08:38.720] And on the leadership as well, he keeps the team with him.
[08:38.720 -> 08:41.480] I think were he to go for any kind of perceived
[08:41.480 -> 08:43.400] lack of performance of the car,
[08:43.400 -> 08:45.520] then that would be badly met from the team,
[08:45.520 -> 08:48.480] who would all follow him anywhere.
[08:48.480 -> 08:50.400] Crofty, what about the on-track performance
[08:50.400 -> 08:53.400] of Haas this year and how he's managed?
[08:53.400 -> 08:56.640] Because 2022, the start of the new regulations,
[08:56.640 -> 08:58.000] was good for Haas.
[08:58.000 -> 09:00.000] They were outperforming the car,
[09:00.000 -> 09:02.400] and then cut to 2023,
[09:02.400 -> 09:04.240] it's been a difficult season, hasn't it, for Haas?
[09:04.240 -> 09:05.080] Yeah, well, it has. I think if we were marking on a season, hasn't it for Haas? Yeah, well it has.
[09:05.080 -> 09:07.160] I think if we were marking on a Saturday,
[09:07.160 -> 09:09.600] we'd probably give Haas way bigger marks
[09:09.600 -> 09:13.280] than we have done for an overall on a Sunday as well.
[09:13.280 -> 09:15.540] And just to muddle things a little bit,
[09:15.540 -> 09:17.160] I've given marks out of 10
[09:17.160 -> 09:19.480] rather than ranking my team principals.
[09:19.480 -> 09:22.720] I've actually thought, no, I'm gonna do what Ted does
[09:22.720 -> 09:25.620] and do that little schoolmaster's report here
[09:25.620 -> 09:27.500] and give marks out of 10.
[09:27.500 -> 09:31.380] I think technically, and I know Haas are a bit hamstrung
[09:31.380 -> 09:32.820] because of the way they operate
[09:32.820 -> 09:35.220] and the fact that their budget is not as significant
[09:35.220 -> 09:39.740] as others, they're not reaching the cost cap, for instance.
[09:39.740 -> 09:42.160] They've not addressed the problems,
[09:42.160 -> 09:45.280] the inherent problems of that car throughout the season.
[09:45.280 -> 09:47.120] And that's got to come from the top,
[09:47.120 -> 09:50.120] because it was obvious from the start,
[09:50.120 -> 09:53.480] and they said it themselves, where the difficulties lay
[09:53.480 -> 09:54.840] and what needed addressing,
[09:54.840 -> 09:57.920] and it didn't get addressed soon enough,
[09:57.920 -> 10:01.680] and it didn't get addressed correctly in the end.
[10:01.680 -> 10:04.000] So as much as I admire Gunther,
[10:04.000 -> 10:06.280] and I do hugely admire Gunter and I've
[10:06.280 -> 10:09.760] given him 8 out of 10 for media and sponsorship because I think I think
[10:09.760 -> 10:17.120] Gunter you know without Gunter what would be the the the mass fan appeal of
[10:17.120 -> 10:22.440] Haas. I know they're an American team with an American owner but Gunter is
[10:22.440 -> 10:30.480] Haas to a lot of people and he has absolutely done a brilliant job for the team in terms of putting them on the map.
[10:30.480 -> 10:33.040] But technically, it's a three out of 10 for me.
[10:33.040 -> 10:36.800] Oh yeah, you're right, Crofty. On technical performance, Gunter's last.
[10:36.800 -> 10:38.480] He's 10th out of 10 for me.
[10:39.120 -> 10:45.000] And that decision not to change things up earlier in the season,
[10:46.240 -> 10:49.400] I'm led to believe came from Gunter, came from the top.
[10:49.400 -> 10:52.760] And that's sadly why the ranking is kind of lower down.
[10:52.760 -> 10:54.360] It's not a case of, well, we can't do it.
[10:54.360 -> 10:56.360] It's a case of no, no, no, we don't need to do it.
[10:56.360 -> 10:58.040] Let's just see how things pan out.
[10:58.040 -> 11:00.440] And then things panned out to an extent
[11:00.440 -> 11:03.200] that the upgrade that they've been working for,
[11:03.200 -> 11:05.000] sorry, waiting for and working
[11:05.000 -> 11:10.720] towards came in Austin. It was too late by then. It really was. And, you know, leadership
[11:10.720 -> 11:18.080] though, I've given him a seven out of 10 because I do think when you need a crew to go into
[11:18.080 -> 11:23.040] the trenches, Gunter is the man, the team principal to inspire them. And people are
[11:23.040 -> 11:28.080] inspired by Gunter and he has a terrific relationship with the whole team.
[11:28.080 -> 11:30.960] He manages his drivers very well.
[11:30.960 -> 11:35.220] K-Mag and Nico Hülkenberg are vastly experienced,
[11:35.220 -> 11:37.680] but you never hear them complaining too much.
[11:37.680 -> 11:39.560] And you don't, you don't,
[11:39.560 -> 11:41.680] that rivalry that could have been there
[11:41.680 -> 11:44.720] after certain media pen moments in the past
[11:44.720 -> 11:47.500] has never spilled over at the team.
[11:47.500 -> 11:56.000] So in many, many ways, Gunter is a terrific team principal, but I think technically, and his technical leadership,
[11:56.000 -> 11:58.000] you have to mark him down for that.
[11:58.000 -> 12:05.280] Yeah, Matt, on leadership, I've got Gunter 7th out of the 10 team principals for leadership, his
[12:05.280 -> 12:10.120] positioning with the FIA, his, his willingness Crofty to actually get into
[12:10.360 -> 12:15.920] rights of review and fight gas is corner is almost unparalleled. I can
[12:15.920 -> 12:22.640] think only Andy Stevenson and Mike cracker Aston Martin are more vociferous
[12:22.640 -> 12:25.000] in going to the FIA stewards
[12:25.000 -> 12:28.840] and making things happen, making things work for their team.
[12:28.840 -> 12:29.960] But yes, no, you're right.
[12:29.960 -> 12:32.760] And I've got to tell you about a little moment
[12:32.760 -> 12:35.880] I saw with Gene Haas in the pit lane.
[12:35.880 -> 12:38.480] It was a couple of races before the upgrade.
[12:38.480 -> 12:40.960] And he was with Simone Resta, Simone Resta,
[12:40.960 -> 12:44.560] the technical director, who's sort of on the long line
[12:44.560 -> 12:45.160] from Ferrari,
[12:45.160 -> 12:46.960] but he is with Haas at the moment,
[12:46.960 -> 12:49.240] was going through Gene Haas with the car,
[12:49.240 -> 12:51.600] pointing things out physically on the car.
[12:51.600 -> 12:54.840] That was wrong, and Simone Resta wanted to change.
[12:54.840 -> 12:57.040] And Gene Haas was kind of saying, well, what about this bit?
[12:57.040 -> 12:57.840] What about this bit?
[12:57.840 -> 12:59.120] What about the side pods?
[12:59.120 -> 13:00.800] I've seen some other cars are doing this.
[13:00.800 -> 13:03.040] So Gene Haas is involved.
[13:03.040 -> 13:04.560] And I hadn't heard that, actually,
[13:04.560 -> 13:05.440] Crofty, what you said about
[13:05.440 -> 13:11.120] that Gunther thought it was the car was effectively okay, they just needed to work on the tyre
[13:11.120 -> 13:15.200] degradation. But in the end, it was all one and the same, wasn't it? And to get the tyre
[13:15.200 -> 13:19.120] degradation changed, they needed to change the car, which they will next year.
[13:20.240 -> 13:24.080] Yeah, they've also I think they've reached with their two drivers, as you mentioned,
[13:24.080 -> 13:26.040] if you think about the drivers that they've had
[13:26.040 -> 13:27.560] at that team over the last few years,
[13:27.560 -> 13:30.400] with Mazepan, with Schumacher as well,
[13:30.400 -> 13:32.160] it feels like now perhaps they have just kind of
[13:32.160 -> 13:35.080] reached a good point with two stable drivers
[13:35.080 -> 13:37.360] who on their day can perform very well.
[13:37.360 -> 13:40.600] And I think, yeah, Gunter has managed them brilliantly.
[13:40.600 -> 13:43.320] The key for me with Haas is that they've also now
[13:43.320 -> 13:45.440] got a long-term partnership
[13:45.440 -> 13:53.280] with a title sponsor. There's money coming into that team now that isn't Gene HASS or
[13:53.280 -> 14:02.840] Nikita Mazepin linked. And that title sponsor deal should allow them the freedom to pursue
[14:02.840 -> 14:06.480] more upgrades, to actually have a bit more of a technical budget,
[14:06.480 -> 14:08.320] but also with it comes pressure,
[14:08.320 -> 14:09.960] because I'm sure that sponsor will want
[14:09.960 -> 14:12.280] to see a bit more success on the track.
[14:12.280 -> 14:14.000] And at the moment, things are very harmonious
[14:14.000 -> 14:16.320] and it's all good on both sides,
[14:16.320 -> 14:18.640] but Gunther will find himself under pressure
[14:19.480 -> 14:23.120] the more they attract big sponsorship deals.
[14:23.120 -> 14:26.000] And I think they will do, You know, I really do.
[14:26.000 -> 14:30.640] They're a very marketable asset. You know, they are the underdog fighting against the big dogs,
[14:31.360 -> 14:37.280] Haas. And Gunther's very good at laying down that narrative as well. But you know, with that comes
[14:37.280 -> 14:41.040] pressure. And I think next year is a really interesting year for Haas because they can't
[14:41.040 -> 14:46.120] afford to and shouldn't be struggling at the foot of the table.
[14:47.200 -> 14:48.220] Certainly.
[14:48.220 -> 14:50.820] Shall we give a total then for everyone for Steiner?
[14:50.820 -> 14:55.820] So, so Ted, total of 15 points for you.
[14:56.040 -> 14:59.880] Crofty, it was a total of 25 points for you.
[14:59.880 -> 15:00.720] Yes, out of 40.
[15:00.720 -> 15:02.720] And for myself, out of 40, yeah, sorry,
[15:02.720 -> 15:05.600] we should say out of 40, and for myself 17. So in the middle of both of 40. Out of 40, yes, sorry, we should say out of 40. And for myself, 17.
[15:05.600 -> 15:07.880] So in the middle of both of you.
[15:07.880 -> 15:09.840] So is that 17 out of 40?
[15:09.840 -> 15:11.960] 17 out of 40, yeah.
[15:11.960 -> 15:13.560] So there's the big headline already.
[15:13.560 -> 15:16.640] Matt Baker thinks Gunter Steiner is all...
[15:16.640 -> 15:21.560] With all his experience of it, to F1T principle, is laying it on thick.
[15:21.560 -> 15:22.680] We'll go through at the end.
[15:22.680 -> 15:27.640] I think, I mean, around eighth, around eighth out of 10 is what I'm going.
[15:27.640 -> 15:29.160] Around eighth out of 10 is what I'm going.
[15:29.160 -> 15:30.000] Okay.
[15:30.000 -> 15:30.840] Okay.
[15:30.840 -> 15:35.840] All right, let's move it on.
[15:37.260 -> 15:42.260] To Alfa Romeo, who finished ninth in the championship
[15:42.720 -> 15:45.560] on 16 points, just ahead of Haas.
[15:45.560 -> 15:48.140] Alessandro Alunibravi, Crofty,
[15:48.140 -> 15:49.520] I'll start with you on this one.
[15:49.520 -> 15:52.800] Would you walk us through some of your scores, please?
[15:52.800 -> 15:55.080] Well, for a start, and sadly,
[15:55.080 -> 15:56.920] Alessandro is not the team principal,
[15:56.920 -> 15:59.120] he's the team representative.
[15:59.120 -> 16:02.160] And I'm assuming he is carrying out the orders
[16:02.160 -> 16:05.000] of the CEO, Andreas Seidel,
[16:05.520 -> 16:09.160] and that of the technical team.
[16:09.160 -> 16:11.960] But that said, I'm still not quite sure
[16:11.960 -> 16:15.400] where he really fits in at a racetrack.
[16:15.400 -> 16:18.040] And I'm sad to say he's fairly anonymous,
[16:18.040 -> 16:19.800] and that could be my fault as well.
[16:20.880 -> 16:23.640] But I don't hear from him very often.
[16:23.640 -> 16:25.840] I certainly don't speak to him very often.
[16:25.840 -> 16:29.480] He doesn't seem to be a big force in the paddock.
[16:29.480 -> 16:32.800] And I've marked him down quite severely
[16:32.800 -> 16:36.680] in everything but HR, management of people.
[16:36.680 -> 16:40.160] Because I do think, no one seems to be disgruntled.
[16:40.160 -> 16:44.800] Yes, they've had a couple of names
[16:44.800 -> 16:45.000] that have left
[16:45.640 -> 16:47.160] at the end of the season,
[16:47.160 -> 16:48.680] but no one seems to be bickering,
[16:48.680 -> 16:49.800] no one seems to be fighting,
[16:49.800 -> 16:51.120] no one seems to be saying,
[16:51.120 -> 16:53.340] we need this, this, this, and this.
[16:53.340 -> 16:56.480] Everyone maybe is treading water a certain extent
[16:56.480 -> 17:00.600] to when Audi come in full time from 2026.
[17:00.600 -> 17:03.240] The drivers seem fairly happy,
[17:03.240 -> 17:06.000] but their performance on the track has not been good enough.
[17:06.000 -> 17:08.000] It really hasn't.
[17:08.000 -> 17:13.000] When you look at the start they made to the 2022 season,
[17:13.000 -> 17:18.000] they then fell away and then they continued to fall away in 2023.
[17:18.000 -> 17:23.000] So, it was mediocre at best, but everyone seemed quite happy with it,
[17:23.000 -> 17:30.080] which is why you got a 7 out of 10 for HR and didn't really trouble the judges much in every other category.
[17:30.080 -> 17:36.200] Ironically, I was going to say in 2022, I was reading he was in charge of HR and IT
[17:36.200 -> 17:40.800] and marketing and communications. So, you know, there we go. HR.
[17:40.800 -> 17:45.800] He's an interesting character. Let me tell you about Alessandro Alunni Bravi, if you're not familiar with him.
[17:45.800 -> 17:51.080] Um, Italian lawyer, uh, made his name came into, came into formula one as Rick as a Robert
[17:51.080 -> 17:53.000] Kubitsa's manager.
[17:53.000 -> 17:58.760] And then when Kubitsa was kind of linked through, uh, all and the, the Polish oil concern with
[17:58.760 -> 18:03.760] that Sauber team, then he got involved, got a job with Sauber the team and, uh, was managing
[18:03.760 -> 18:05.560] director I think for a while, but anyway, so he is now the, the, with Sauber, the team, and was managing director, I think, for a while.
[18:05.560 -> 18:08.640] But anyway, so he is now the team representative.
[18:08.640 -> 18:11.440] So as we say, not truly a team principal.
[18:11.440 -> 18:14.440] It is a hybrid role.
[18:14.440 -> 18:19.600] But he has dealt with the technical side.
[18:19.600 -> 18:29.040] So Yan Monxiu, who was the technical director, out. James Key, who you could argue had a hand,
[18:29.040 -> 18:31.360] and whether it's quite a sizable hand or not,
[18:31.360 -> 18:35.320] we don't quite know, in the good bits of the new McLaren,
[18:35.320 -> 18:37.960] rather than the bad McLaren that started the season,
[18:37.960 -> 18:42.120] James Key in to the team that he used to be at, at Sauber.
[18:42.120 -> 18:44.240] So he has made a big change on there,
[18:44.240 -> 18:47.040] but it's not really, you know,
[18:47.040 -> 18:49.960] how much is it Alessandro Lunibravi's responsibility
[18:49.960 -> 18:51.080] to lead the team?
[18:51.080 -> 18:51.920] Not so much.
[18:51.920 -> 18:53.440] I've put him ninth for that.
[18:53.440 -> 18:55.200] HR, I've put him ninth also.
[18:55.200 -> 18:58.120] Technical performance, I've put him ninth.
[18:58.120 -> 18:59.960] And what was the other one?
[19:01.280 -> 19:02.120] Well, that was it, wasn't it?
[19:02.120 -> 19:03.480] No, media and sponsorship.
[19:03.480 -> 19:04.920] I put him ninth for that as well.
[19:04.920 -> 19:09.600] Actually, he is a jolly nice chap. If you do go down to Alfa Romeo Sauber and talk to him,
[19:09.600 -> 19:14.160] I'll talk to him after press conferences. In my experience, he'll give you very full and very
[19:14.160 -> 19:20.320] accurate and very truthful and self-critical in terms of the team answers. So actually on a media
[19:20.320 -> 19:25.360] and sponsorship, he's pretty good. It's just that the way Sauber have arranged it with
[19:25.360 -> 19:30.160] Andreas Seidel constantly in the background as they wait for the Audi takeover of the whole
[19:30.160 -> 19:34.320] team in a couple of years, he is a little bit anonymous. Right, I'll tell you what though,
[19:34.320 -> 19:37.840] Matt, I'm going to be swayed here because Ted's actually just reminded me of something.
[19:38.720 -> 19:47.440] I'm going to move up media and sponsorship to five out of ten. And the reason I'm also going to do that is because the one thing that Alfa Romeo,
[19:47.440 -> 19:49.400] as they were last year, have done
[19:49.400 -> 19:52.800] is get sponsorship on that car
[19:52.800 -> 19:55.080] and have brought in the sponsorship
[19:55.080 -> 19:59.200] that isn't just Audi over the last kind of year and a half.
[19:59.200 -> 20:02.680] And we saw the special livery, didn't we, in Las Vegas.
[20:02.680 -> 20:04.580] Not that I liked that special delivery,
[20:04.580 -> 20:06.280] did look a bit too much like the Mercedes,
[20:06.280 -> 20:08.260] but you know, black is the new color
[20:08.260 -> 20:09.460] because you don't have to paint black,
[20:09.460 -> 20:11.340] it's just carbon fiber and it saves weight,
[20:11.340 -> 20:14.180] ladies and gentlemen, so expect more black liveries
[20:14.180 -> 20:16.060] in the future on this one.
[20:16.060 -> 20:18.720] But I'll give him an extra couple of marks
[20:18.720 -> 20:20.820] for media and sponsorship then.
[20:20.820 -> 20:22.140] Okay, very good, very good.
[20:22.140 -> 20:28.960] I've gone very low, I've gone two for media and sponsorship just because we don't seem to talk to him. Doesn't seem to appear much in Sky Sports
[20:28.960 -> 20:31.120] or have much of a presence.
[20:31.120 -> 20:35.720] I do the interviews Matthew, it's not my fault if they don't get you. I think you need to,
[20:35.720 -> 20:40.080] you can't say that he doesn't appear because we do interview him but other things get in
[20:40.080 -> 20:43.480] the way. And with the best will in the world, you know, Sauber and Kitt, unless they have
[20:43.480 -> 20:48.660] a big point score or there's a big accident we don't tend to talk about them, which will
[20:48.660 -> 20:53.220] change next year when I confidently predict that we'll be talking about them more and
[20:53.220 -> 20:55.220] Crofty they return to being called Sauber.
[20:55.220 -> 20:56.220] Thank you very much.
[20:56.220 -> 20:57.220] Not that they ever stopped.
[20:57.220 -> 20:58.220] In my eyes, not that they ever stopped.
[20:58.220 -> 21:05.560] I'm beginning to think though, though Ted that Matt Baker is a proper
[21:05.560 -> 21:10.280] liability on this podcast. You know, after this first couple of marks that we've got
[21:10.280 -> 21:15.120] through here, I mean, if he was on strictly come dancing, there'd be a bit of revolt before
[21:15.120 -> 21:19.040] they got to the Blackpool Tower ballroom. Quite frankly, some of these marks over here.
[21:19.040 -> 21:28.680] Sorry. Well, I just wanted to go, I wanted to, once we get to the high marks, you see, it will shine through
[21:28.680 -> 21:36.160] and my scoring system will prove its worth. But yes, I've gone for two. So Alessandro
[21:36.160 -> 21:43.840] gets eight for Ted. Crofty, you with your new score would get 18 and I have given him
[21:43.840 -> 21:45.800] a total of 12. There we go.
[21:45.800 -> 21:46.620] Excellent.
[21:46.620 -> 21:47.460] All right, moving on.
[21:48.380 -> 21:49.220] Who's next?
[21:49.220 -> 21:51.920] Franz Tost and Alfa Tauri.
[21:51.920 -> 21:53.800] A goodbye, of course, to Franz Tost.
[21:53.800 -> 21:55.900] So, can I just say,
[21:55.900 -> 21:59.280] goodbye and thanks for the memories, Franz Tost.
[21:59.280 -> 22:02.960] Because, on a personal level,
[22:02.960 -> 22:06.000] I have really enjoyed speaking to Franz Tost over the years.
[22:06.000 -> 22:10.000] He's been nothing but honest, sometimes too honest.
[22:10.000 -> 22:11.000] Too honest.
[22:11.000 -> 22:16.000] Often giving me quotes that I couldn't ever possibly repeat in front of a family audience,
[22:16.000 -> 22:19.000] given his honesty about the team.
[22:19.000 -> 22:28.080] But a man who absolutely cared passionately about his job, his team, and the role he found himself in.
[22:28.080 -> 22:33.680] Ted, you went to see him at the factory in Fiennes, one of the most heartwarming pieces ever.
[22:33.680 -> 22:41.440] A man so proud to show you around as to what they had. And it's a strange anomaly because
[22:41.440 -> 22:45.960] you often got the feeling with Franz that he couldn't do what he wanted.
[22:45.960 -> 22:49.120] He was a bit beholden to the soft drinks company.
[22:49.120 -> 22:53.680] He was a bit beholden to the big team in what he had to say and do.
[22:53.680 -> 22:58.560] And his place was very much in charge of the junior team.
[22:58.560 -> 23:03.840] But my God, did he do some wonders for that junior team.
[23:03.840 -> 23:05.400] Let's not forget a junior team
[23:05.400 -> 23:07.840] that have won two races as well.
[23:07.840 -> 23:10.060] You know, that have produced podiums,
[23:10.060 -> 23:12.120] that have produced fabulous drivers,
[23:12.120 -> 23:14.400] that have gone on to even more success.
[23:14.400 -> 23:17.680] And I think the sport is gonna miss Franz Tost a lot,
[23:17.680 -> 23:20.820] because quietly in the background, he spoke common sense,
[23:20.820 -> 23:24.040] and he spoke with passion and authority,
[23:24.040 -> 23:26.400] and he cared deeply about what he was doing.
[23:26.400 -> 23:33.120] In the best tradition of, you know, the Sterling Moss level of, you know, honorific ability
[23:33.120 -> 23:35.320] in Formula One, he was a racer, wasn't he?
[23:35.320 -> 23:36.320] Yes.
[23:36.320 -> 23:39.440] He was a racer, and is a racer, Franz Tost.
[23:39.440 -> 23:45.480] And so in his honor, I've decided to dress in the Alpha Tauri livery for Las Vegas and Abu Dhabi
[23:45.480 -> 23:48.680] although this is the closest I get to a Christmas jumper I like to call it
[23:48.680 -> 23:52.280] French fisherman but I just realized that it does actually look like the
[23:52.280 -> 23:56.520] Alpha Tauri livery that they had for the last two race of the season. By the way
[23:56.520 -> 24:01.240] by the time this goes out they might be called now Racing Bulls financial
[24:01.240 -> 24:04.680] sponsor number one and financial sponsor number two so look out for that
[24:04.680 -> 24:07.080] and that's what we think they're going to be called. In my
[24:07.080 -> 24:11.920] rankings in the technical performance he actually comes seventh in that
[24:11.920 -> 24:17.160] because he realized that the car was going in the wrong direction and made
[24:17.160 -> 24:21.060] the technical changes, not spoken about too much during the season, that he
[24:21.060 -> 24:25.080] needed to and that came back to be the fastest of the sort of lower
[24:25.080 -> 24:29.240] midfield cars towards the end of the season. So actually I've given seventh
[24:29.240 -> 24:33.280] out of the tenth for technical performance. For HR I've given him the
[24:33.280 -> 24:37.080] eighth position, Franz Tost, because he could, as you say Crofty, be sometimes
[24:37.080 -> 24:42.500] quite hard on his own people but he saw that as a motivating way. And leadership
[24:42.500 -> 24:45.760] I've also put him around the 8th out of 10th mark because
[24:45.760 -> 24:51.580] you know while, as you say, exactly as you say Crofty, while he was very good in leadership, the team would have done anything for him,
[24:51.700 -> 24:53.700] he wasn't the actual
[24:54.100 -> 25:01.160] last case leader of the team. There was Helmut Marko who's above him and ultimately Oliver Mintslaff and before his passing of course Dietrich
[25:01.160 -> 25:03.160] Matschitz, but as far as leadership goes
[25:03.640 -> 25:05.480] Franz was always good on that.
[25:05.480 -> 25:08.280] I've given Franz seven out of 10 for leadership
[25:08.280 -> 25:10.240] because I think people respected him
[25:10.240 -> 25:12.320] and wanted to work hard for him.
[25:12.320 -> 25:13.880] But I've marked him down a little bit
[25:13.880 -> 25:15.320] because as Scrooge found out,
[25:15.320 -> 25:18.200] some people do want Christmas Day off from time to time.
[25:19.120 -> 25:22.040] I've given him four out of 10 for technical performance.
[25:22.040 -> 25:22.880] What I'm saying basically is-
[25:22.880 -> 25:29.800] Did he not used to give his people Christmas Day off? off. Eventually he had to. I was reading that last year he was working
[25:29.800 -> 25:35.440] on a sponsorship deal. Yeah. Lawrence Barreto's article he's working till 4 30 PM on Christmas
[25:35.440 -> 25:42.800] day. Yeah. Honestly, commitment. One of the things that help you understand Franz Tost
[25:42.800 -> 25:46.000] I saw on the world feed before the commentary
[25:46.000 -> 25:48.000] in Abu Dhabi, his last race,
[25:48.000 -> 25:50.200] as he sat down on the pit wall
[25:50.200 -> 25:53.360] and got out his notebook, ready to make a load of notes.
[25:53.360 -> 25:55.240] Like, Franz, why are you making the notes, mate?
[25:55.240 -> 25:57.380] It's your last race, just sit back and enjoy it.
[25:57.380 -> 26:00.600] You know, what are you going to do with this notebook?
[26:00.600 -> 26:02.400] Unless he wants to produce, you know,
[26:02.400 -> 26:09.560] a Gunter Steiner type epic for next year, I don't know. But he's got a 7 out of 10, 4 out of 10 for technical performance. Look,
[26:09.560 -> 26:14.880] I know that car was upgraded a lot. By the end of the season, it probably had more upgrades
[26:14.880 -> 26:21.100] brought to the track than any other car. But I don't think that was all coming from the
[26:21.100 -> 26:27.480] Alpha Tauri leadership, quite frankly, that seemed to be a bit of a helping hand on that one,
[26:27.480 -> 26:29.940] to me, and I don't,
[26:29.940 -> 26:32.600] whilst France might have identified it,
[26:32.600 -> 26:36.740] to me, that wasn't an Alpha Tauri thing.
[26:36.740 -> 26:39.280] That's all I'm gonna say on that one.
[26:39.280 -> 26:42.360] And the car was rubbish at the start of the year.
[26:42.360 -> 26:44.320] It really wasn't good.
[26:44.320 -> 26:47.200] Ask Nick De Vries, who I thought was,
[26:47.200 -> 26:48.960] I thought it was a real shame about Nick De Vries.
[26:48.960 -> 26:51.040] I'm not saying that Liam Lawson wasn't brilliant
[26:51.040 -> 26:52.400] or Daniel Ricciardo wasn't brilliant,
[26:52.400 -> 26:54.120] but it was a real shame for Nick De Vries
[26:54.120 -> 26:56.240] that he had to try and drive a Formula One
[26:56.240 -> 26:57.680] in that particular car.
[26:58.680 -> 27:00.560] And then didn't get a chance, you know,
[27:00.560 -> 27:03.680] when the good bits came later on in the season.
[27:03.680 -> 27:05.600] That wasn't Franz T Fran's choice there.
[27:05.600 -> 27:09.960] HR, he's got an 8 out of 10 because, you know,
[27:09.960 -> 27:14.360] the drivers seem harmonious, the team seem harmonious.
[27:14.360 -> 27:16.280] I don't think there was any reason to mark him down too much.
[27:16.280 -> 27:21.320] And media and sponsorship, 5, because he wasn't really allowed to do much media and sponsorship.
[27:21.320 -> 27:27.720] And there were times we asked and they said no. I think the more
[27:27.720 -> 27:35.000] it became closer to the leaving date, the less France was allowed to put his head above
[27:35.000 -> 27:40.040] the parapet to a certain extent. I'm praising France but I'm also going to praise his replacement.
[27:40.040 -> 27:46.240] I think Laurent Mekis will be a fabulous team principal and a very different way of doing
[27:46.240 -> 27:52.400] things, very different person, but they know him well in Fianza, having been there before
[27:52.400 -> 27:57.520] and I think he'll slot into the job excellently.
[27:57.520 -> 28:01.500] Speaking of leadership, do you remember in Saudi Arabia, I think it was, when he denounced
[28:01.500 -> 28:03.600] his aero engineers in the press conference?
[28:03.600 -> 28:04.600] Oh yeah.
[28:04.600 -> 28:05.240] He said he didn't trust them
[28:05.320 -> 28:12.320] Yeah, and that was that stage from not surprised. Well, yeah, but you surprised maybe he's airing it in such a public
[28:13.000 -> 28:15.640] And then on the last race, he said he thought that Sonoda's
[28:16.200 -> 28:21.840] Strategy was terrible and that the stretchers made a real mistake doing him doing him on the one stop and he could have possibly got
[28:21.840 -> 28:25.280] The points they needed to move up in the constructors. Had he gone on the two stop?
[28:25.280 -> 28:29.080] I think HR, I mean, I've put Franz eighth out of 10th in HR.
[28:29.080 -> 28:31.480] The fact that the team got through more drivers
[28:31.480 -> 28:34.360] than I've had Christmas dinners and I've had sprouts.
[28:34.360 -> 28:37.620] So I only had three sprouts and actually they got through
[28:37.620 -> 28:39.280] what, four drivers, five?
[28:39.280 -> 28:40.120] Yeah, four.
[28:40.120 -> 28:41.040] Four, it was four.
[28:41.040 -> 28:44.760] Sonoda, Daniel, Liam and Nick.
[28:44.760 -> 28:45.720] Yeah, exactly.
[28:45.720 -> 28:46.920] So that's not him.
[28:46.920 -> 28:49.120] That's not necessarily down to Franz.
[28:49.120 -> 28:51.320] So then he gets down on leadership as well.
[28:51.320 -> 28:52.320] So yeah, yeah.
[28:52.320 -> 28:54.640] Maybe HR should be going down one a bit.
[28:54.640 -> 28:58.440] I had a fabulous exchange with him in the paddock at a race.
[28:58.440 -> 29:01.600] We were just, we were talking in general.
[29:01.600 -> 29:04.880] Sometimes you could get Franz when he had five or 10 minutes
[29:04.880 -> 29:06.720] and just chew the cut
[29:06.720 -> 29:09.440] of Formula One.
[29:09.440 -> 29:16.000] And we were talking about drivers and he said, yeah, every single driver in this paddock
[29:16.000 -> 29:20.920] deserves to be in this paddock, deserves to be in Formula One except two.
[29:20.920 -> 29:22.960] I went, really, two?
[29:22.960 -> 29:26.860] I said, and who would they be he said blah blah blah and
[29:26.860 -> 29:31.080] blah blah blah and I'm not gonna name them but I could not this I could not
[29:31.080 -> 29:34.840] disagree with a word he said about that one he then went on to explain
[29:34.840 -> 29:39.960] absolutely why they really shouldn't be in Formula One at the moment but I'm not
[29:39.960 -> 29:42.920] gonna tell you who because that would be unfair on those drivers. I bet he did his little
[29:42.920 -> 29:50.720] snigger he's a little and then he said okay Crofty goodbye goodbye Crofty okay goodbye anyway goodbye goodbye
[29:50.720 -> 29:56.800] Franz I will miss you I love him. Goodness me. Thanking you Crofty thanking you. I said to
[29:56.800 -> 30:01.200] what's Franz thanks ever so much for being on the pit wall for us this weekend it's been absolutely
[30:01.200 -> 30:06.240] brilliant he went yes no it's been okay but next, pick a race where we're not tugging so badly.
[30:07.420 -> 30:10.140] And he was refreshingly honest about that
[30:10.140 -> 30:12.820] because they'd had a dreadful weekend.
[30:12.820 -> 30:14.340] Yeah, we're definitely going to miss him.
[30:14.340 -> 30:15.500] Formula One is going to miss him.
[30:15.500 -> 30:16.340] So yeah, there we go.
[30:16.340 -> 30:17.160] Franz Toth.
[30:17.160 -> 30:20.060] So Ted, you gave him a total of 12 points.
[30:21.020 -> 30:22.940] Crofty, 24 for you.
[30:22.940 -> 30:23.780] Yep.
[30:23.780 -> 30:52.040] And my one, 19. Seriously, you've done it again. errrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr Moving on. Right, James Vowles is next. Williams finished 7th and admirably held off that challenge
[30:52.040 -> 30:57.960] from Franz Tosz Alfatari at the end of the season. They scored 28 points. Let's, I mean
[30:57.960 -> 31:02.760] in terms of, it's obviously his first season in charge at Williams, so Ted, go on, take
[31:02.760 -> 31:06.360] the floor. How would you assess year one?
[31:06.360 -> 31:10.120] And probably I think in terms of where he's bought the team
[31:10.120 -> 31:14.200] from 2022, what he's done in 2023,
[31:14.200 -> 31:15.960] it's pretty impressive, isn't it?
[31:15.960 -> 31:18.520] It is, and I think that technical,
[31:18.520 -> 31:22.080] that position of where they finished in the constructors,
[31:22.080 -> 31:23.640] what was it, seventh?
[31:23.640 -> 31:29.800] Doesn't equate to where all of us, I think, have him in our rankings of, of, of team principals of the
[31:29.800 -> 31:35.560] year 2023. And it's weird because you would look at it on the surface and think James
[31:35.560 -> 31:40.440] Vowles is one of these technical team bosses that we mentioned earlier in the, in the,
[31:40.440 -> 31:47.040] in the style of, uh, Mike crack or, uh, Andrea Stella, but he's been given so much more latitude
[31:47.040 -> 31:50.760] by whoever it is who actually owns Williams these days,
[31:50.760 -> 31:51.640] Darleton Capital.
[31:51.640 -> 31:53.760] I don't think there's one person who's actually the owner.
[31:53.760 -> 31:56.160] Maybe there is, but we don't know who they are.
[31:57.320 -> 32:01.160] And so while he is a technical team boss in that sense,
[32:01.160 -> 32:03.840] he's been given so much more latitude
[32:03.840 -> 32:08.320] to revolutionize the way Williams Grand Prix engineering
[32:09.240 -> 32:11.980] go about making and racing Formula One cars.
[32:11.980 -> 32:13.040] And that's the crucial thing.
[32:13.040 -> 32:16.440] The job that he came to Grove to do was so huge,
[32:16.440 -> 32:18.720] is probably still so huge,
[32:18.720 -> 32:20.800] and that Williams, I think by common consent,
[32:20.800 -> 32:23.160] have kind of been stuck in the 90s, early 2000s
[32:23.160 -> 32:24.520] when they were last winning things,
[32:24.520 -> 32:29.120] and Formula One has moved on so much in that sense since then that Vowles said himself,
[32:29.120 -> 32:32.880] we have facilities we need to upgrade, we have working methods we need to upgrade,
[32:32.880 -> 32:37.120] we need to bring more people because this is a people business. He's done all that. He's been
[32:37.120 -> 32:41.760] great on communicating with the outside world through the media. He's been great on HR,
[32:41.760 -> 32:45.000] bringing in Pat Fry, a very good technical organiser. He's been great on HR bringing in Pat Fry, a very good technical organiser.
[32:45.000 -> 32:51.000] He's been great on dealing with the drivers, giving confidence and trusting Logan Sargent
[32:51.000 -> 32:57.000] with a second year in that car and just helping give Alex Albon everything he needs to shine.
[32:57.000 -> 33:04.000] And on technical performance, yeah, I mean I've ranked him consistently sort of 5th, 6th on all of mine.
[33:04.000 -> 33:06.180] Technical performance I've ranked him 6th. HR I've ranked him consistently sort of five six on all of mine technical performance. I've ranked him sixth
[33:07.040 -> 33:14.320] HR I've ranked him actually third because I think he's done a brilliant job on actually getting everybody right you don't hear many many
[33:15.600 -> 33:21.360] Grumbles do you from Williams even though he's in the middle of a sort of transformation as they call it in business, don't they?
[33:21.680 -> 33:28.500] But uh, and then uh, what else on leadership i've given him him, I've put him fifth out of 10 as well. Media sponsorship.
[33:28.500 -> 33:32.020] I've actually put him fourth. So yeah, I think Vowles has done a superb job and I
[33:32.020 -> 33:34.140] think more or less everybody agrees. Crofty?
[33:34.420 -> 33:38.500] Yeah. My, my, my overall marks might not reflect this, but he's my team boss of
[33:38.500 -> 33:46.040] the year. Um, without a doubt, if you look at the lead time that he had before he took up the role, you're
[33:46.040 -> 33:54.760] talking a matter of three months maximum. That is not a lot of time to put into operation
[33:54.760 -> 34:01.300] any sort of plan where you hit the ground running and you get instant results. He didn't
[34:01.300 -> 34:05.360] take up the reins until the start of February, I think it was officially.
[34:06.320 -> 34:14.480] So he had no real influence whatsoever on the car at the start, but it became quickly apparent to me
[34:15.040 -> 34:23.200] watching during testing that he was introducing simple tweaks and changes to the way Williams went
[34:23.200 -> 34:26.800] racing that would make them better right from the start.
[34:26.800 -> 34:31.840] Things that would have been run-of-the-mill behind the scenes at Mercedes for a race team,
[34:31.840 -> 34:36.880] he was now bringing in to Williams to say, look, I know you do it this way, try doing it this way.
[34:37.760 -> 34:47.240] Behind the scenes, he was also putting into preparation and operation long-term planning for the future, identifying
[34:47.240 -> 34:50.440] where he needed key members of technical staff.
[34:50.440 -> 34:54.600] Pat Fry joining was not a surprise to me whatsoever.
[34:54.600 -> 34:58.900] I think Pat become a bit disillusioned at Alpine and was a man that would be very much
[34:58.900 -> 35:01.080] on James' wish list.
[35:01.080 -> 35:06.760] He was looking at the factory and what needs changing at the factory, what capex spend Williams need.
[35:06.760 -> 35:13.800] There was a halfway through the season, he went and asked for the rules on capex to be relaxed a bit
[35:13.800 -> 35:17.000] because they wanted to spend money and they had money to spend.
[35:17.000 -> 35:26.580] Didn't quite get through everything he wanted and maybe there's a couple of marks lost in not playing the overall political strategic
[35:26.580 -> 35:33.260] game to its fullest extent within the auspices of other team principals in the FIA.
[35:33.260 -> 35:39.180] So just explain that CapEx, he wanted to increase the capital expenditure of what?
[35:39.180 -> 35:41.900] That was allowed under under cost cap rules.
[35:41.900 -> 35:42.900] New buildings.
[35:42.900 -> 35:43.900] New buildings.
[35:43.900 -> 35:46.500] He wanted an allowance for more money, and he
[35:46.500 -> 35:49.140] didn't get the full amount. Basically, it got a certain
[35:49.140 -> 35:51.700] amount, but not a full amount, because he realized that the
[35:51.700 -> 35:55.260] facilities at Grove were the infrastructure at Grove is
[35:55.260 -> 35:59.920] lagging behind, you know, the likes of McLaren, Ferrari, Red
[35:59.920 -> 36:02.860] Bull, Mercedes, you name it, because Williams were upgrading
[36:02.860 -> 36:05.680] their facilities first. So he's
[36:05.680 -> 36:11.960] put all that into operation, while still attending the races, still having an eye on the way
[36:11.960 -> 36:17.600] the team go racing, while still helping the drivers, because at Mercedes, a lot of his
[36:17.600 -> 36:23.360] work was working directly with the drivers. He was a perfect choice for a team principal
[36:23.360 -> 36:29.560] if you wanted someone to help driver development. So one of the reasons I'm really glad they've kept Logan
[36:29.560 -> 36:35.520] Sargent on because I think if anyone can get the best out of Logan Sargent, it will be
[36:35.520 -> 36:39.920] James. Now, whether he does or not, I don't know. That's up to Logan, but I think he's
[36:39.920 -> 36:45.600] a perfect man for that. And it didn't surprise me that they've kept Logan on for that reason.
[36:45.600 -> 36:48.520] And also he might have a plan for 2025,
[36:48.520 -> 36:51.580] that why change it now and just bring someone new in
[36:51.580 -> 36:52.820] for just one season.
[36:52.820 -> 36:53.960] We don't know necessarily,
[36:53.960 -> 36:57.280] but that's me hypothesizing on that.
[36:57.280 -> 37:00.040] And he's done all of that working 16 hour days
[37:00.040 -> 37:04.120] and he admits to working 16 hour days in doing this.
[37:04.120 -> 37:06.580] I saw him in Baku. We had a great chat in Baku.
[37:07.640 -> 37:08.920] As he was leaving the track
[37:08.920 -> 37:10.840] and I was walking back to the hotel.
[37:10.840 -> 37:12.880] So it was quite late at night,
[37:12.880 -> 37:15.960] because obviously, you know, things in Baku don't finish.
[37:15.960 -> 37:18.960] And we didn't finish at the track until about eight o'clock.
[37:18.960 -> 37:20.120] And I said, you're okay.
[37:20.120 -> 37:23.200] He went, he said, I'm exhausted, but I'm loving it.
[37:23.200 -> 37:25.440] He said, I knew there was a big job,
[37:25.440 -> 37:28.440] but I didn't realize how big this job was going to be,
[37:28.440 -> 37:29.880] but I'm absolutely loving it.
[37:29.880 -> 37:30.720] And that was in Baku.
[37:30.720 -> 37:33.000] And we've talked a lot since,
[37:33.000 -> 37:35.720] and he's still, I'm glad to say, really enjoying it.
[37:35.720 -> 37:37.440] He works brilliantly with the sponsors.
[37:37.440 -> 37:40.920] He engages with the media, explains things,
[37:40.920 -> 37:42.980] not just about Williams, but about, you know,
[37:42.980 -> 37:44.880] what's going on on track.
[37:44.880 -> 37:45.000] He engages with fans. I love him on social media explains things not just about Williams, but about you know what's going on on track.
[37:45.000 -> 37:50.000] He engages with fans. I love I love him on social media because he actually engages directly
[37:50.000 -> 37:58.000] with the fans. People are inspired by him. And I think he will go on to be one of the
[37:58.000 -> 38:05.360] top team principals at a top team in three or four years time. I really do.
[38:05.360 -> 38:08.200] He is, he understands marketing.
[38:08.200 -> 38:10.800] He is an engineer by trade.
[38:10.800 -> 38:12.360] He understands strategy.
[38:12.360 -> 38:13.920] He understands drivers,
[38:13.920 -> 38:16.200] and he's beginning to understand the politics.
[38:16.200 -> 38:21.120] And James Vowles could be the big team boss of the future.
[38:21.120 -> 38:22.760] And I really hope he will be,
[38:22.760 -> 38:23.760] because he deserves it,
[38:23.760 -> 38:25.440] because he works
[38:25.440 -> 38:29.000] tirelessly for success.
[38:29.000 -> 38:32.840] You gave him 10 for media and sponsorship and when we've had him on the pitbull this
[38:32.840 -> 38:38.840] year he's been excellent at breaking things down but also just in his little rap videos
[38:38.840 -> 38:44.720] that he does on YouTube on the Williams social media sites he's brilliant at it.
[38:44.720 -> 38:45.880] The way he dealt with Logan
[38:45.880 -> 38:47.640] at the end of the season I thought was really interesting.
[38:47.640 -> 38:50.280] It wasn't throwing him under a bus, it was justifying
[38:50.280 -> 38:52.400] everything that went wrong was able to go,
[38:52.400 -> 38:53.280] well, it's because of this,
[38:53.280 -> 38:55.160] imagine if you hadn't have had testing.
[38:55.160 -> 38:57.840] And he made sense of perhaps why he was struggling.
[38:57.840 -> 38:59.520] And I think that was quite refreshing
[38:59.520 -> 39:01.600] from a team principal to be that honest.
[39:01.600 -> 39:03.440] Just on the subjects of Logan Sargent,
[39:03.440 -> 39:08.560] I see a lot of criticism of Logan Sargent and sometimes that criticism can be
[39:08.560 -> 39:13.080] fair and he has crashed a few more times than he really, really
[39:13.080 -> 39:16.640] wants to be doing. But a lot of the criticism is, oh, look, he
[39:16.640 -> 39:19.240] hasn't even out qualified his teammate for heaven's sake, he
[39:19.240 -> 39:23.200] can't even beat his teammate in qualifying. It's true. But the
[39:23.200 -> 39:25.840] last person to go through a whole season and
[39:25.840 -> 39:32.040] not beat his teammate in qualifying was Alex Albon. And should we have written Alex Albon
[39:32.040 -> 39:37.440] off right at that moment? Well, actually, with the benefit of hindsight, no, we shouldn't
[39:37.440 -> 39:43.840] because he's turned into a fine driver. You're not always like a Max Verstappen coming out
[39:43.840 -> 39:45.680] of the box and being brilliant straight away.
[39:45.680 -> 39:49.600] Sometimes you need a bit more time. Let's see how Logan does next year,
[39:49.600 -> 39:53.760] and I think he'll do a lot better for the experience that he's had this year.
[39:53.760 -> 39:58.160] Yeah, but hang on, Alex Albon was outqualified all season by Max Verstappen.
[39:58.160 -> 40:01.840] So, you know, he should have his excuses there.
[40:01.840 -> 40:07.400] Yes, that's very true. But you've been extolling the virtues of Alex Albon this year, long before we gave you a free pair of trainers.
[40:07.440 -> 40:13.200] So, you know, I still think he's, you know, it's, there's no shame of being outqualified as a rookie by Alex Albon.
[40:13.440 -> 40:13.600] Yeah.
[40:13.640 -> 40:17.920] Those trainers, by the way, they raised almost 400 pounds for the Grand Prix trust.
[40:18.240 -> 40:19.120] So thank you very much.
[40:19.120 -> 40:19.760] Whoever did that.
[40:19.760 -> 40:21.800] So listen, James Vowles, let's sum it up.
[40:21.840 -> 40:23.640] I think he's, I think he's very high.
[40:23.680 -> 40:26.560] I like Crofty's idea that he's the team principal of the season.
[40:26.560 -> 40:28.200] I think that's a good argument to have.
[40:28.200 -> 40:31.880] I think in the end, I put him fifth.
[40:31.880 -> 40:35.200] He's like a sort of cool physics teacher, isn't he, when he does those explanations
[40:35.200 -> 40:36.200] of what's going on.
[40:36.200 -> 40:39.460] You kind of think, oh, thank heaven, we're in Mr. Val's lesson.
[40:39.460 -> 40:42.800] He's going to explain things in a way of physics that I understand.
[40:42.800 -> 40:50.080] Unlike that Mr. Croft who explains things in a really convoluted way. Okay. And I have got just to, just to round this out,
[40:50.080 -> 40:55.800] I have got the JV F1 Instagram. So clearly he couldn't get James vowels back when Instagram
[40:55.800 -> 41:01.600] launched. So someone else's is place sitting on James vowels on Instagram. So whoever it
[41:01.600 -> 41:07.160] is that if there is another James vowels in theles in the world, I'd be a bit surprised and B, can you give that and Monica back to J?
[41:07.160 -> 41:11.540] He's had to be JV dot f1. Not even JV f1 is Jack Villeneuve got that
[41:12.760 -> 41:18.320] Yeah, it looks it's just a series of pictures of himself. Really? There's one of Alex Albin there
[41:18.320 -> 41:22.200] It's his Instagram feed. Why not Ted? Well, I don't know
[41:22.200 -> 41:28.480] I don't know. I've got as I say say I've got pictures of cars and racing racing bits and you know pictures of time marbles but hey if you
[41:28.480 -> 41:31.160] want to put loads picture of yourself on your Instagram picture then why not
[41:31.160 -> 41:34.360] seems like everybody else why he's working 16 hour days yes right manager
[41:34.360 -> 41:40.680] new right exactly okay so there we go James vowels Ted your total was I think
[41:40.680 -> 41:51.640] I think he's fifth from he's pretty much fifth for me. Yeah. Crofty, you got 33 for him and you'll be pleased to know I did rank James very highly, 27 points.
[41:51.640 -> 41:52.640] Good.
[41:52.640 -> 41:54.440] It's about time you started being nice to someone.
[41:54.440 -> 41:56.360] I beg your pardon, yes.
[41:56.360 -> 41:57.360] Sorry, right.
[41:57.360 -> 41:58.360] Anyway, let's move on.
[41:58.360 -> 41:59.360] Who is next?
[41:59.360 -> 42:07.560] Alpine are next and Bruno Famin, the interim team principal at Alpine, interim for how long?
[42:07.560 -> 42:11.560] And at what point does interim become team principal?
[42:12.440 -> 42:17.000] In the words of football fans on the terraces
[42:17.000 -> 42:19.800] when your team's gone 2-0 up
[42:19.800 -> 42:22.080] and you want to taunt the home fans,
[42:22.080 -> 42:26.840] it's all gone quiet over there, yeah? It's all gone quiet over there. Yeah. It's all gone quiet
[42:26.840 -> 42:27.840] over there. This interim team.
[42:27.840 -> 42:31.240] I thought you were going to say you're getting sacked on Monday morning.
[42:31.240 -> 42:39.200] Yeah, yeah, sacked in the morning. No, I wasn't going to say that. This interim team principle
[42:39.200 -> 42:43.280] that had us all very excited that Batista Benotto was going to Alpine, it's all gone
[42:43.280 -> 42:45.440] a bit quiet, isn't it? The interim
[42:45.440 -> 42:54.800] bit seems to be getting longer and longer with no sign of a change in that. So maybe Bruno is here
[42:54.800 -> 43:08.400] to stay for a while. Bruno's vastly experienced, has been around motorsport for a long, long time, knows his onions, but has he instigated change for the
[43:08.400 -> 43:14.080] better compared to what was happening before or do we need to wait a little bit longer?
[43:14.080 -> 43:18.800] I'm told that there are people coming to Alpine and people that might have been put in place
[43:18.800 -> 43:25.520] by the previous regime. I think to get rid of a team principal halfway through the season and the glare of
[43:25.520 -> 43:31.400] the media spotlight at Spar was brave if I'm being generous, slightly foolhardy if I'm
[43:31.400 -> 43:41.760] being Matt Baker. But has anything at Alpine that has gone on off-track instigated change
[43:41.760 -> 43:47.360] on track? That's the big question, and I'm not sure it has.
[43:47.360 -> 43:50.120] So I've kind of gone for very mediocre,
[43:50.120 -> 43:52.560] middle of the road marks on this.
[43:52.560 -> 43:57.560] Yeah, also just to say on how Otmar left mid-season
[43:58.020 -> 44:01.200] was a very strange situation where he was told
[44:01.200 -> 44:03.800] on the Friday of Belgium, I believe,
[44:03.800 -> 44:06.560] or maybe he was even told a bit earlier, but publicly it was Friday.
[44:06.560 -> 44:08.040] And then sort of the rest of the weekend,
[44:08.040 -> 44:09.880] it became about him waving goodbye.
[44:09.880 -> 44:12.440] We had all these slow-mo shots of him kind of waving.
[44:12.440 -> 44:15.760] It was all a bit strange, I thought,
[44:15.760 -> 44:18.400] and an odd way to let someone go.
[44:18.400 -> 44:20.360] Perhaps you would choose to do that in the summer
[44:20.360 -> 44:22.760] or in the off season when maybe you don't have the glare
[44:22.760 -> 44:23.600] of the padded cameras on.
[44:23.600 -> 44:24.440] I don't know what you thought you were going for.
[44:24.440 -> 44:29.800] I'm glad they did it when they did it but if I was their PR
[44:29.800 -> 44:33.680] communications director I'll be saying could we just not wait four days for
[44:33.680 -> 44:38.680] this? No. Yes. No they chose to do it that way Crofty. I know they did. They chose to do
[44:38.680 -> 44:43.240] it. This was, I came to this realization and sort of checked it with
[44:43.240 -> 44:46.580] various people in the know who never really denied it.
[44:46.580 -> 44:49.720] But I think it was Renault's wish to show
[44:49.720 -> 44:51.480] that they were making big changes
[44:51.480 -> 44:53.120] and to be seen to doing that.
[44:53.120 -> 44:54.840] And the best way to be seen to doing that
[44:54.840 -> 44:58.060] was not to bury bad news in the summer break.
[44:58.060 -> 45:00.120] It was to do it on the Thursday or the Friday
[45:00.120 -> 45:03.120] of a race weekend where they could publicly say,
[45:03.120 -> 45:05.360] we think, whether they were or they were not,
[45:05.360 -> 45:07.480] that Ottmar Zaffner and Alan Permain,
[45:07.480 -> 45:09.240] and by the way, what did Alan Permain do wrong,
[45:09.240 -> 45:11.200] are the reasons why this car and this team
[45:11.200 -> 45:15.600] are not performing, and we have parted company with them
[45:15.600 -> 45:18.680] in some terms of they've agreed to leave the team
[45:18.680 -> 45:19.960] in whatever deal they came to.
[45:19.960 -> 45:24.680] So yeah, clearly on HR, Famin is last.
[45:24.680 -> 45:28.960] He's also last in my leadership category.
[45:28.960 -> 45:31.640] And tech performance, he's actually eighth,
[45:31.640 -> 45:34.360] because I think he addressed the one thing that he did do,
[45:34.360 -> 45:36.400] and I'll come on to why he did this in a second,
[45:36.400 -> 45:39.320] is address the fact that the Renault, the Alpine power
[45:39.320 -> 45:42.080] unit is down, and is addressing that for next year.
[45:42.080 -> 45:43.520] So there are reasons why we should
[45:43.520 -> 45:47.040] feel optimistic for Alpine next year. if they can get a good chassis.
[45:47.040 -> 45:48.920] They are working on their power deficit.
[45:48.920 -> 45:50.600] But the truth is that, as you say,
[45:50.600 -> 45:53.080] Famin is a very good engineer.
[45:53.080 -> 45:54.360] That's his background.
[45:54.360 -> 45:55.720] He's an engineer.
[45:55.720 -> 45:58.880] He's been thrust into this team principal role
[45:58.880 -> 46:00.200] that I don't know if he wants.
[46:00.200 -> 46:01.680] He doesn't seem particularly, didn't seem particularly
[46:01.680 -> 46:03.800] well prepared for it, certainly when he was announcing
[46:03.800 -> 46:07.440] and fielding questions about departure of Zafnauer and Permain, didn't seem particularly well prepared for it Certainly when he was announcing and fielding questions about departure of Zafnar and and per main
[46:07.640 -> 46:10.480] Didn't seem particularly well prepared for it, and I'm not sure he really wants it
[46:10.480 -> 46:14.240] So yeah, I think it's possibly unfair for this one, which is why in leadership
[46:14.240 -> 46:16.800] He's the last of all of them to say that he's
[46:17.320 -> 46:22.440] Scoring the way he is because he is only an interim team principal. I mean that Davide
[46:20.840 -> 46:21.200] interim team principal.
[46:25.800 -> 46:25.840] I mean, Davide Brivio is departing the team.
[46:26.120 -> 46:28.240] Go on. I would imagine Bruno has had a hand in that.
[46:28.240 -> 46:28.840] Back to MotoGP.
[46:29.200 -> 46:29.520] Yep.
[46:29.560 -> 46:31.440] And I think that's, that's, that's a good thing.
[46:31.480 -> 46:36.440] There seem to be a lot of chiefs at Alpine, um, and probably a few more chiefs than they
[46:36.440 -> 46:36.920] needed.
[46:37.240 -> 46:41.120] Matt Harman, I think, has, um, has slotted into his role well.
[46:41.560 -> 46:47.100] So things might be happening behind the scenes that will bring more success
[46:47.100 -> 46:54.860] in the future. But I hear at the moment their car is not where they want it to be on the
[46:54.860 -> 47:01.220] sim in terms of performance for next season. And Bruno will be judged on that because he,
[47:01.220 -> 47:12.220] you know, as team principal, he has to oversee that engineering side and I think it's another team for whom next year is a very big year. To finish fourth
[47:12.220 -> 47:20.800] in 2022 was good work. To bring Pierre Gasly in for last year I think was good, solid work.
[47:20.800 -> 47:26.840] I'll give Bruno his due. He's kept it harmonious between Pierre and Esteban.
[47:26.840 -> 47:29.780] And we did fear that things might spill over at times.
[47:29.780 -> 47:31.080] I know he wasn't there in Australia
[47:31.080 -> 47:32.440] when they had their crash together,
[47:32.440 -> 47:34.480] but you know, they have a good partnership
[47:34.480 -> 47:36.600] and that continued to the end of the season.
[47:36.600 -> 47:38.480] They finished sixth this year.
[47:38.480 -> 47:41.560] To start dropping down the pecking order even more,
[47:43.120 -> 47:45.700] then the car company are going to ask questions as to what's
[47:45.700 -> 47:49.000] going on and why we're putting all this money in and the fact is that they're
[47:49.000 -> 47:52.380] probably not putting enough money in and the engine isn't as good as it should be
[47:52.380 -> 47:55.700] so people at Endstone are a little bit hamstrung in what they're trying to do
[47:55.700 -> 47:58.780] but you try explain that to the bosses at Viri and I'm not sure you're gonna
[47:58.780 -> 48:02.300] get you know a sympathetic ear with it. Well where does it leave them with their
[48:02.300 -> 48:05.960] fated 100 race plan or was was it a five year plan?
[48:05.960 -> 48:10.080] Well, I forget about where we are.
[48:10.080 -> 48:12.640] Yeah, but that was Ottmar's downfall, wasn't it?
[48:12.640 -> 48:16.080] When he tried to point out that your five year plan
[48:16.080 -> 48:17.640] might need an extension.
[48:17.640 -> 48:19.680] And what happened to Zinedine Zidane?
[48:19.680 -> 48:21.480] Much announced in the launch.
[48:21.480 -> 48:23.040] Well, didn't they go and see him a couple of days ago?
[48:23.040 -> 48:24.400] Yes, a couple of days ago.
[48:24.400 -> 48:25.400] Season's over. Where was he at every race? In the back of the garage. He came, come on go and see him a couple of days ago? Yes, yeah, a couple of days ago. Recently, once. Season's over.
[48:25.400 -> 48:26.280] Where was he at every race?
[48:26.280 -> 48:27.280] In the back of the garage.
[48:27.280 -> 48:28.480] Come on, Alain Leblanc.
[48:28.480 -> 48:29.520] Come on.
[48:29.520 -> 48:31.480] Came to the season launch and was there
[48:31.480 -> 48:32.600] at the end of the season.
[48:32.600 -> 48:34.600] I expected to see him in the back of the garage.
[48:34.600 -> 48:37.560] Who needs Zinuzine Zidane when you've got Ryan Reynolds
[48:37.560 -> 48:38.480] and Rory McIlroy?
[48:38.480 -> 48:39.000] Come on.
[48:39.000 -> 48:39.480] That's true.
[48:39.480 -> 48:39.980] That's true.
[48:39.980 -> 48:43.680] They do have some weight to go, some performance
[48:43.680 -> 48:45.040] on the investment side.
[48:45.040 -> 48:47.720] But I think they do need a kind of
[48:47.720 -> 48:50.520] a strong leadership person.
[48:50.520 -> 48:52.200] I'm going to suggest the last person
[48:52.200 -> 48:53.880] to win two races for that Benetton team,
[48:53.880 -> 48:55.840] Johnny Herbert, he'd make a good team principal.
[48:55.840 -> 48:56.720] He knows Enstone.
[48:56.720 -> 48:58.960] They need someone who knows Enstone in and out,
[48:58.960 -> 49:01.060] inside and out, in the way that Flavio did
[49:01.060 -> 49:03.200] during the glory years at Enstone.
[49:03.200 -> 49:05.240] To actually pick up that team and go.
[49:05.240 -> 49:09.480] To go back to the investment from the Hollywood A-listers
[49:09.480 -> 49:11.640] and the sporting superstars,
[49:11.640 -> 49:14.160] it's not just about big names being associated
[49:14.160 -> 49:15.100] with the team.
[49:15.100 -> 49:18.720] With that brings opportunities to explore avenues
[49:18.720 -> 49:22.760] in other sports and in other high profile industries,
[49:22.760 -> 49:25.600] whereby if you use it correctly,
[49:25.600 -> 49:29.040] you make contacts and you bring people into the team
[49:29.040 -> 49:31.200] that you might not have thought about in the first place,
[49:31.200 -> 49:33.880] but actually might be the right people to do it.
[49:33.880 -> 49:37.200] And I think that we've seen Alpindo,
[49:37.200 -> 49:38.960] I think we'll see other teams,
[49:39.960 -> 49:41.720] I hate to use the phrase getting into bed,
[49:41.720 -> 49:46.520] but partnering with sporting entities
[49:46.520 -> 49:51.520] or investment companies that own other sporting groups
[49:51.760 -> 49:55.720] and giants, because Formula One can operate on an island
[49:55.720 -> 49:57.840] if it wants to be successful in the future.
[49:57.840 -> 50:00.240] And you have to go and seek out
[50:00.240 -> 50:03.120] where the new coaching methods are,
[50:03.120 -> 50:04.960] the new ways of running business,
[50:04.960 -> 50:09.600] the new way of economies of scale to still bring performance in.
[50:09.600 -> 50:12.800] And we can, you know, learn from other sports in doing that.
[50:12.800 -> 50:17.800] And I think you will see other teams doing that more and more in the future.
[50:17.800 -> 50:24.400] And, you know, Salva, God bless him, tried a partnership with Chelsea many, many years ago,
[50:24.400 -> 50:27.120] and didn't exploit that in the way
[50:27.120 -> 50:28.200] that maybe they should have done,
[50:28.200 -> 50:30.200] the potential that could have been there.
[50:30.200 -> 50:33.280] But Alpine are in prime position to exploit that,
[50:33.280 -> 50:37.080] and I know of other teams that will be looking
[50:37.080 -> 50:39.080] down that road in the future as well.
[50:39.080 -> 50:41.280] Yeah, I think since Rexham,
[50:41.280 -> 50:44.080] and since those guys took over Rexham,
[50:44.080 -> 50:46.040] yeah, that might be a trend, you're right.
[50:46.040 -> 50:47.120] But not just for Formula One,
[50:47.120 -> 50:49.320] but for other sports in the future, certainly.
[50:49.320 -> 50:51.280] So, go on, let's wrap up.
[50:52.920 -> 50:53.900] Alpine and Famine.
[50:53.900 -> 50:58.280] So, Ted, you've given him six points.
[50:58.280 -> 51:00.800] Crofty, you have given him 18 points
[51:00.800 -> 51:03.680] and I've given him 16 points.
[51:03.680 -> 51:04.600] Yeah, there we go.
[51:04.600 -> 51:06.360] I think the headline is,
[51:06.360 -> 51:09.400] we want to see Feast, sadly we had a famine.
[51:09.400 -> 51:11.200] No, he's well done, boom, boom.
[51:11.200 -> 51:13.080] He's well done in my list,
[51:13.080 -> 51:16.720] ninth out of 10th, possibly could have been 10th,
[51:16.720 -> 51:18.960] but for the real reason that
[51:18.960 -> 51:21.120] I think he is just an interim team principal.
[51:21.120 -> 51:23.720] I'm not even sure how,
[51:23.720 -> 51:28.240] whether he wants the job or is there long- term view. So maybe it's not fair to put
[51:28.240 -> 51:31.080] him on this list. And he was only he only had half a season
[51:31.080 -> 51:34.440] to show what he could do after that. That's that for now and
[51:34.440 -> 51:36.820] Permain. By the way, Alan Permain soon to be back in
[51:36.820 -> 51:38.980] Formula One. So the race says we're not gonna say which team
[51:39.200 -> 51:42.000] we think is coming back, but look out for him in 2024. Yeah,
[51:42.000 -> 51:43.040] sorry, Crufty, what we can say.
[51:43.080 -> 51:51.760] Yeah, no, absolutely right. He, Alan Permain messaged me in Abu Dhabi to say as much as I love
[51:51.760 -> 51:56.200] listening to you, I'm glad this is the last time I'm going to hear your commentary for a while. So
[51:56.200 -> 52:02.240] he's definitely coming back and will be a proper asset to the team that he's coming back to.
[52:02.600 -> 52:08.600] proper asset to the team that he's coming back to. Good. Always a compliment tinged with a typical Permane bit of...
[52:08.600 -> 52:09.600] Correct.
[52:09.600 -> 52:10.600] Bit of...
[52:10.600 -> 52:21.000] Hello everyone, I hope you've enjoyed part one of our top 10 team principles for 2023.
[52:21.000 -> 52:39.720] We ended up making this much longer than planned as there was so much to discuss. So we've to the world.
[52:35.010 -> 52:37.070] you