Ted's Podbook | All set for Monaco!

Ted Kravitz is in Monte Carlo to look ahead to the weekend's Monaco Grand Prix. Ted wonders if Charles Leclerc can finally win his home race, discusses the rumours about Lewis Hamilton's future, and considers whether Mercedes' upgrades will make much difference on the streets of the principality.

## Summary: Monaco Grand Prix Preview

Ted Kravitz broadcasts from Monte Carlo ahead of the Monaco Grand Prix, providing insights and analysis on the upcoming race.

### Key Points:

- Charles Leclerc, the home-town favorite, is aiming for his first Monaco GP win, but faces stiff competition from Ferrari and Aston Martin.

- Sergio Perez and Max Verstappen express concerns about Red Bull's performance on the Monaco circuit, acknowledging that their car may struggle with tire warm-up and qualifying.

- Fernando Alonso remains optimistic about Aston Martin's chances, highlighting the team's strengths on tracks like Monaco and Hungary.

- Carlos Sainz downplays rumors of a move to Mercedes, emphasizing his commitment to Ferrari.

- Lewis Hamilton confirms ongoing contract discussions with Mercedes, dismissing rumors of a potential switch to Ferrari.

- Hamilton reveals his involvement in the upcoming F1 movie, produced by Brad Pitt and Joseph Kosinski, and teases exciting details to be disclosed later.

- The Mercedes team discusses the strategic decision to bring their new car to Monaco despite its unsuitability for the track, aiming to gather data and gain an advantage in future races.

- Alpine drivers Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly acknowledge the need for a faster car to improve their performance, responding to recent criticism from team CEO Laurent Rossi.

- Lando Norris expresses frustration with McLaren's current situation, emphasizing his desire to win a championship with the team but questioning whether it is feasible.

- Zhou Guanyu of Alfa Romeo Sauber looks forward to his second Monaco GP, aiming to actively participate in setup work and adjustments this time.

- Nick De Vries remains focused on scoring points and meeting the expectations of Red Bull, despite Helmut Marko's public statements setting a deadline for him to prove himself.

### Broadcast Schedule:

- Free Practice 1: Friday, 11:30 AM
- Free Practice 2: Saturday, 3:15 PM
- Free Practice 3 and Formula Two: Saturday, 10:15 AM
- Qualifying: Saturday, 2:00 PM
- Race: Sunday, 12:30 PM (on-air) and 2:00 PM (start)

[00:00.000 -> 00:18.400] Hello everybody and welcome back to the Sky Sports F1 podcast feed and to Ted's pod book
[00:18.400 -> 00:28.000] from the Monaco Grand Prix, the 2023 Monaco Grand Prix and given the events, the terrible events that happened in Emilia-Romagna
[00:28.000 -> 00:33.520] and as the clear up continues there and we've been hearing some real horror stories from people
[00:33.520 -> 00:37.280] who were working for Alfotari and people who were there in Imola at the time about the just the
[00:37.280 -> 00:46.120] devastation the floods had wreaked on the Emilia-Romagna region. It's you know with them in mind that we come to Monaco.
[00:46.120 -> 00:50.880] Very very different place, very different venue obviously but we're here to do the
[00:50.880 -> 00:54.400] same thing which is to get the racing back underway. We haven't had a race for
[00:54.400 -> 00:59.440] three weeks now since the Miami Grand Prix and everyone is really keen to get
[00:59.440 -> 01:02.400] going again. Not least the drivers. I'll tell you about them in a second. Just to
[01:02.400 -> 01:10.800] paint a picture of where we are. So we're down by somewhere called the Quai des Pêcheurs, which if you know French translates
[01:10.800 -> 01:16.960] to Fisherman's Quayside or Fisherman's Wharf. I think that's probably the anglicization of that.
[01:16.960 -> 01:25.600] To my left is a huge yacht. It's not really a yacht, it's a small cruise liner called Octopus which I believe
[01:33.920 -> 01:39.200] belongs to a Swedish pharmaceutical billionaire. And there are the other ones lined up down the quay that I can't see what they're called. Then there's a boat which is we think Ferrari is
[01:39.200 -> 01:45.680] staying on. That does look a bit more like a small cruise liner. That's here every year and is also hosting a
[01:49.660 -> 01:50.520] party for a watch sponsor of one of the teams that's
[01:56.940 -> 01:57.680] Tonight, I guess there are some men and women just getting everything ready for that over the next day or two
[02:02.600 -> 02:03.200] behind me is the paddock and just over the harbor that you can hear is
[02:05.840 -> 02:10.320] the sound of some of the, well it's the Porsche's going around in a practice session, but as you can hear the waves lapping against the
[02:10.960 -> 02:16.560] hull of the Octopus and of the boat that Ferrari is staying on, I don't actually know its name,
[02:16.560 -> 02:22.800] Pondnet? Something like that. You can imagine the scene here and it's started wet actually today,
[02:22.800 -> 02:25.040] there was a little rain shower early on, then it's dried out and it's started wet actually today. There was a little rain shower early on, then
[02:25.040 -> 02:30.440] it's dried out and it's been a beautiful day, a glorious day here on the French Riviera.
[02:30.440 -> 02:36.160] So it's been a reconvening of the Formula One family. And as I say, while everybody's
[02:36.160 -> 02:40.820] thoughts were very much with the people of Emilia-Romagna, the drivers were saying actually
[02:40.820 -> 02:49.900] how strange it was to have a kind of Melbourne 2020 feel that they all went to, some of them went to Imola and then had to come home and
[02:49.900 -> 02:52.860] some of them didn't go, but they were all keyed up, they'd all done their simulator
[02:52.860 -> 02:55.860] sessions and then there was something sort of empty within them, they were in a natural
[02:55.860 -> 02:59.820] rhythm. Sergio Perez talked about this, he felt that he had to go and do something, whether
[02:59.820 -> 03:10.240] that was training or going for a run or whatever, he had to do something to burn off the energy because his natural rhythm was expecting to race and to sort of extend himself.
[03:10.240 -> 03:12.440] But yeah, they all did that in various ways.
[03:12.440 -> 03:16.760] Landon Norris did some gardening, as did Lewis Hamilton in his home in London, his place
[03:16.760 -> 03:17.760] in London actually.
[03:17.760 -> 03:22.840] We'll come on to Lewis Hamilton and what else he did in the weekend off, the Enforce weekend
[03:22.840 -> 03:26.560] off in a moment before we start with, well, let's start
[03:26.560 -> 03:33.040] with Red Bull. And what Sergio Perez and Max Verstappen are saying is that this is their least
[03:33.040 -> 03:39.040] fancy track of the season. Now, of course, everything can happen on a Sunday, but because,
[03:39.040 -> 03:46.360] as we've been saying, this Red Bull RB19 is a great car when it gets going and because the way it's so easy on
[03:46.360 -> 03:50.920] its tyres and the way the suspension means that it takes them a while to get going in
[03:50.920 -> 03:56.040] qualifying they're wondering whether they're going to have to give second best to Ferrari
[03:56.040 -> 04:04.240] and Aston Martin in qualifying. Whether that's going to mean a very long Sunday afternoon
[04:04.240 -> 04:06.640] Grand Prix Sunday. I'm not sure Max
[04:06.640 -> 04:11.360] Verstappen really feels like that. Obviously he's got a good car, Sergio Perez too, but of the two
[04:11.360 -> 04:17.680] of them I'd say Max Verstappen looked the more relaxed. Maybe he thinks look you know the car
[04:17.680 -> 04:21.840] isn't really fancied here, maybe we might have to have a difficult weekend and maybe that takes some
[04:21.840 -> 04:27.260] of the pressure off. You know if they had gone to Imola maybe they thought all the expectations would have been on Red Bull to get a 1-2.
[04:27.500 -> 04:30.680] Maybe they're not expecting it here. Maybe they take some of the pressure off. I don't know.
[04:30.680 -> 04:32.160] Maybe he was just in a good mood.
[04:32.160 -> 04:34.160] But Sergio Perez a little bit more
[04:35.040 -> 04:37.040] reticent, I think that's the wrong word,
[04:37.560 -> 04:42.500] pessimistic about retaining his crown of the latest Monaco winner.
[04:42.800 -> 04:45.600] Thinks it's going to be hard, thinks that Ferrari are
[04:45.600 -> 04:52.480] going to be best because they are very good on the softest of the five tyres, the C5 compound
[04:52.480 -> 04:57.680] tyre, so watch out for Ferrari. Charles Leclerc was a man in a hurry today, he's got a very
[04:57.680 -> 05:06.380] nice new Monaco edition white cap, so it's got theie Prancing Horse in the middle it's got the CL16
[05:06.380 -> 05:10.560] stripes on the side and then it's got this diamond motif that you see around
[05:10.560 -> 05:14.580] Monaco a lot it's kind of one of the emblems of Monaco so you sort of red and
[05:14.580 -> 05:18.900] white diamond motif on the left hand side as Charles looks at it on the right
[05:18.900 -> 05:22.900] hand side as you look at it so it's you know white predominantly white is cap
[05:22.900 -> 05:28.880] and bits of red in there as well. But he will be just thinking not about the colour of his cap,
[05:28.880 -> 05:33.760] but about the colour of that Ferrari and how fast it is around Monaco streets,
[05:33.760 -> 05:39.680] because they really need a good result after Miami and after some races before that,
[05:39.680 -> 05:41.760] when they weren't able to capitalise on the pole.
[05:41.760 -> 05:43.600] They have the pole in Baku, for example.
[05:43.600 -> 05:48.800] Leclerc, I think I wouldn't be surprised to see him on pole, but I think he himself
[05:48.800 -> 05:51.240] would be surprised to win the race after that.
[05:51.240 -> 05:54.760] But in Monaco, they've got a better chance than anywhere else.
[05:54.760 -> 05:58.640] On a normal weekend, not the one we had last year when there was the chaos in the pits
[05:58.640 -> 06:03.120] and the strategy meant that Red Bull beat Ferrari very soundly, as well as Red Bull
[06:03.120 -> 06:06.120] having the quickest car. It will mean
[06:06.120 -> 06:10.960] that Ferrari have a chance if Leclerc can produce something magic on that C5
[06:10.960 -> 06:15.980] tyre, get it on pole, he's got a chance of winning the Monaco Grand Prix. Does
[06:15.980 -> 06:20.840] Fernando Alonso feel the same? Yes, well I think he's a bit more optimistic that
[06:20.840 -> 06:26.200] they can do something. He's really in the groove. He looks determined.
[06:26.200 -> 06:31.480] He looks like he knows what it takes to deliver the goods around here, which he undoubtedly
[06:31.480 -> 06:36.240] does and is going to use all of his experience and guile and all the other cliches he wants
[06:36.240 -> 06:41.680] to throw at it to mean that he actually can convert. But first of all, they have to qualify
[06:41.680 -> 06:45.280] well. Yes, that Aston Martin heats up his tyres well, should do it.
[06:45.280 -> 06:48.200] But can they actually get the win on Sunday?
[06:48.200 -> 06:49.200] I don't know.
[06:49.200 -> 06:52.560] I kind of think they might be looking at a P2 in the end of it.
[06:52.560 -> 06:54.560] I think they'd be happy with a second.
[06:54.560 -> 06:58.000] They're going for the win obviously but I think they would be happy with a second.
[06:58.000 -> 07:04.320] Of course, podiums seem like old news to Aston Martin and to Fernando Alonso at the moment.
[07:04.320 -> 07:06.080] I did ask him whether if he won the Monaco Grand Prix, would he get a new Aston Martin and to Fernando Alonso at the moment. I did ask him whether if he won
[07:06.080 -> 07:12.480] the Monaco Grand Prix would he get a new Aston Martin DB12 off of Lawrence Stroll and he laughed
[07:12.480 -> 07:19.440] and said at least I want at least a new DB12. The car that he helped launch here in Cannes
[07:20.160 -> 07:29.120] on Thursday. No, it was Wednesday night wasn't it, with his teammate Lance Stroll. And yeah, he wants, so it would be a colossal thing
[07:29.120 -> 07:29.960] if they can win it.
[07:29.960 -> 07:32.240] I know a lot of people are talking Aston up,
[07:32.240 -> 07:33.680] I think they're keeping very much
[07:33.680 -> 07:34.520] their feet on the ground.
[07:34.520 -> 07:37.240] They're very happy to have the Honda Works engine
[07:37.240 -> 07:38.080] for the future.
[07:38.080 -> 07:40.760] I did put it to Fernando that they mentioned,
[07:40.760 -> 07:43.480] the Honda Top Brass did mention in their press conference,
[07:43.480 -> 07:47.320] along with Martin Whitmarsh and Lawrence Stroll in Tokyo that they had a lot of
[07:47.320 -> 07:50.000] respect for Fernando Alonso and they would have no problem with him
[07:50.000 -> 07:54.040] driving an Aston Martin Honda. Alonso was completely
[07:54.040 -> 08:00.040] respectful in his reciprocation. He was respectful too. He said
[08:00.040 -> 08:04.560] it would be an honor to drive for Honda again. So any of you out there thinking
[08:04.560 -> 08:09.920] that that relationship is toast after what happened at McLaren and Honda, not a bit of it. Fernando
[08:09.920 -> 08:13.640] said it would be an honour to race for Honda again. They went through some tough times
[08:13.640 -> 08:16.960] he said, but clearly they know what they're doing. They have the best engine, they won
[08:16.960 -> 08:22.160] the championship in 2021, they won it in 2022 and they're probably going to win it in 2023
[08:22.160 -> 08:28.560] as well. That Honda engine is probably the most powerful on the grid, something Fernando was very happy about that it's coming to Aston Martin.
[08:29.520 -> 08:35.040] So yeah, that was the top three really. I'll get on to Mercedes in a second. So Max Verstappen,
[08:35.040 -> 08:41.200] yeah, is in good mood. I think he'll take whatever's coming. Sergio Perez feeling
[08:41.200 -> 08:52.920] maybe that he's got a bit of an uphill struggle to repeat his win of last year but is possible and Fernando high hopes here Hungary Singapore tracks
[08:52.920 -> 08:57.400] that are good for the Aston Martin and Red Bull's strengths especially in a
[08:57.400 -> 09:02.680] straight line aren't going to be shown up to be so powerful here said Alonso so
[09:02.680 -> 09:06.480] maybe they can't run and hide the way they have done in the
[09:06.480 -> 09:15.600] past. Carlos Sainz you might have seen online did the charity football match here on Tuesday
[09:15.600 -> 09:21.680] I think it was or was it Wednesday and sustained a leg injury. He said I've got a dead leg someone
[09:21.680 -> 09:25.240] gave me a dead leg I think they need him in his thigh and it's got a bit of a dead leg. Someone gave me a dead leg. I think they need him in his thigh.
[09:25.240 -> 09:26.840] And it's got a bit of a dead leg.
[09:26.840 -> 09:30.280] And he said it was an unfortunate, what was the words?
[09:30.280 -> 09:32.360] It was an unfortunate experience,
[09:32.360 -> 09:34.800] but, unfortunate incident,
[09:34.800 -> 09:37.120] but it's nothing that will impede me
[09:37.120 -> 09:38.560] for the rest of the weekend.
[09:38.560 -> 09:41.140] We've got one of the tenders from one of the Swiss yachts
[09:41.140 -> 09:42.520] just pulling up at the jetty here
[09:42.520 -> 09:44.500] at the Fisherman's Quayside.
[09:49.960 -> 09:53.540] Very nice. So yeah, that's what's going on with Carlos Sainz. And then I asked him about you know you keeping across all these silly season stories about people
[09:53.540 -> 09:56.340] going Lewis coming to Ferrari and maybe Charles going to Mercedes and you
[09:56.340 -> 10:00.400] teaming up with Lewis. He said look you know I do expect it around Monaco
[10:00.400 -> 10:09.840] Barcelona time every year. Silly season. week they had me going to Audi, last week they had Lando going to Red Bull. You know what's it gonna be
[10:09.840 -> 10:15.720] next time round? So Carlos dismissing those things. Which gets us on to Lewis
[10:15.720 -> 10:18.800] Hamilton and I didn't hear the written press conference but I certainly heard
[10:18.800 -> 10:23.160] the press conference that I was in, just as well, asking him some questions
[10:23.160 -> 10:26.460] and my colleague Mario Sanangiorgio from Italy,
[10:26.460 -> 10:29.680] obviously the rumored move to Ferrari is a big story
[10:29.680 -> 10:32.180] for our Italian colleagues.
[10:32.180 -> 10:34.480] And Mara was asking Lewis straight away,
[10:34.480 -> 10:36.320] and Lewis was saying, look, you know,
[10:37.720 -> 10:40.440] what do you put this story down to, she said.
[10:40.440 -> 10:42.980] And Lewis' answer was, bad reporting?
[10:44.000 -> 10:49.760] Okay, I mean, with, you know, due respect to the journalist and the vessel in question
[10:49.760 -> 10:52.880] and the vessel in question, they can't just write anything, they have to have a source
[10:52.880 -> 10:56.400] for it, so it would have come from somewhere.
[10:56.400 -> 10:59.000] And you know, who knows?
[10:59.000 -> 11:04.000] I put it to him that Ferrari is recruiting in every department, is it natural of course
[11:04.000 -> 11:05.320] that they would have made an offer?
[11:05.320 -> 11:06.840] They've made an offer to Adrian Newey
[11:06.840 -> 11:09.880] before he signed and confirmed with Red Bull.
[11:09.880 -> 11:12.560] They've made an offer to everybody else in the paddock
[11:12.560 -> 11:14.880] as they seek to replace some key people.
[11:14.880 -> 11:17.760] Would it not be usual for your representatives
[11:17.760 -> 11:18.680] to talk to Ferrari?
[11:18.680 -> 11:20.240] And he said, look, they're not talking.
[11:20.240 -> 11:24.080] We're hammering out, was the phrase I used,
[11:24.080 -> 11:26.400] are you just hammering out a deal with Mercedes?
[11:26.400 -> 11:28.440] He said hammering out is the wrong word.
[11:28.440 -> 11:32.080] We are discussing positively our contract for next year.
[11:32.080 -> 11:34.640] So I think we can put that one to bed.
[11:34.640 -> 11:37.920] Lewis also said that he had spent some of the time
[11:37.920 -> 11:40.240] as well as gardening in his place in London,
[11:40.240 -> 11:42.520] meeting Brad Pitt and Joseph Kaczynski,
[11:42.520 -> 11:47.000] the star and co-producer and director respectively
[11:47.000 -> 11:50.000] of the new as-yet-untitled F1 movie.
[11:50.000 -> 11:56.000] But I have some very interesting new details about that, so watch out for my notebook on Saturday
[11:56.000 -> 12:02.000] when I'll let you know the latest into the Brad Pitt and Lewis Hamilton-produced F1 movie,
[12:02.000 -> 12:07.420] including who is going to be starring in it. Yes, both cars and
[12:07.420 -> 12:12.300] personnel. Movie stars. Yeah, very interesting. Right, so what was anything
[12:12.300 -> 12:17.240] else from Lewis? Yes, and George Russell talking about how they had to bring the
[12:17.240 -> 12:19.880] new car here because they've changed so much so many of the internals it didn't
[12:19.880 -> 12:23.560] make sense to change it all back again for one race even though this is the
[12:23.560 -> 12:27.580] worst Hamilton said this is the worst kind of track you could possibly bring a new car to with which you've
[12:27.580 -> 12:31.600] added downforce because it's not a track that requires much downforce. It requires the car
[12:31.600 -> 12:39.520] to be soft and roll, have good roll characteristics and be good on its tyres. But what you don't
[12:39.520 -> 12:42.360] need is loads of downforce because the car never gets up to the speed to actually use
[12:42.360 -> 12:48.240] the downforce really. So while they're not going to learn too much about the new side-potted car,
[12:49.280 -> 12:54.800] they are going to use it because as George Russell said, if it gives at least two tenths around a
[12:54.800 -> 12:58.480] circuit like this and maybe when they get to Barcelona it'll be half a second, optimistically
[12:58.480 -> 13:02.480] speaking, they would have hated to have run the old car knowing that they still had two tenths
[13:02.480 -> 13:05.480] on the table that they could have used if they had run the new one.
[13:05.480 -> 13:11.480] Practically speaking, given that Spain is next week, I think it was too much of a cost
[13:11.480 -> 13:16.000] implication and too much of a bother to go back to the old car.
[13:16.000 -> 13:21.360] What they have done is raise the suspension wishbone points to where they are on the Red
[13:21.360 -> 13:22.360] Bull.
[13:22.360 -> 13:30.480] So it looks like they've adopted some of the anti-dive on braking, some of the suspension geometry that stops the car diving forward on braking
[13:30.480 -> 13:37.760] and gives the tyres a bit more of an easy ride. But that might hurt them in qualifying as it's
[13:37.760 -> 13:41.920] tended to hurt Red Bull now and again with locked front wheels. So watch out for any Mercedes
[13:41.920 -> 13:49.680] locking their front wheels. If they do, you'll know why. So yeah, we'll see how well the new Mercedes with its new side pods go. Although
[13:49.680 -> 13:53.040] George Russell said something interesting about the side pods. He said, look, it's not the side
[13:53.040 -> 13:56.320] pods, it's what's underneath the car that's important, i.e. the floor. They've got a new one
[13:56.320 -> 14:03.280] of them at Mercedes as well. The side pods, George Russell said, are just a box that we wanted to
[14:03.280 -> 14:06.120] tick to prove that, okay,
[14:06.120 -> 14:10.040] right, the no side pods, no pods didn't work, let's put some side pods on it and
[14:10.040 -> 14:15.080] are they quicker? So I need to get to the bottom of that, so follow us
[14:15.080 -> 14:19.040] throughout the weekend, we'll get to the bottom of exactly what George meant about why
[14:19.040 -> 14:22.360] they put the side pods back on if they're not expecting them to be so much
[14:22.360 -> 14:28.600] quicker. So we'll see what that's quite interesting. I want to know what that was. Alpine! And with the demise of the...
[14:28.600 -> 14:32.880] I was tempted to ask Pierre Gasly what the French for demise is, which I assume it's
[14:32.880 -> 14:36.360] demise, of the French Grand Prix. This is the closest that Alpine are going to get to
[14:36.360 -> 14:39.920] a home race, a home Grand Prix, even though we're not in France, we're in Monaco. Sorry
[14:39.920 -> 14:44.480] if that wasn't obvious. And he said, look, it is an important race for us. Monaco is
[14:44.480 -> 14:47.680] always important for every team, but because there isn't a Paul Ricard here
[14:47.680 -> 14:52.720] it is important to us and talking about Paul Ricard the previous boss of that
[14:52.720 -> 14:58.760] race Eric Boulier, the ex-team principal of McLaren was in the paddock today. Eric
[14:58.760 -> 15:03.720] Boulier who has been rumored to be the potential replacement for Otmar
[15:03.720 -> 15:07.120] Zaffner if Alpine decide that Otmar
[15:07.120 -> 15:11.200] Zafnar is after all not the right person to be leading them into the future given the
[15:11.200 -> 15:17.040] comments that the team's CEO, Lauren Rossi, had to say about a couple of weeks ago.
[15:17.040 -> 15:20.840] Otmar Zafnar is still here, he is still in charge, but I thought it was interesting that
[15:20.840 -> 15:24.720] Eric Boulier was in the paddock today. He wasn't meeting with any people from Alpine,
[15:24.720 -> 15:26.320] actually I saw him in the Mercedes motorhome.
[15:26.320 -> 15:30.880] But just to let you know what was going on, Pierre Gansly says, look, we have everything
[15:30.880 -> 15:31.880] we need.
[15:31.880 -> 15:33.640] We just need a faster car, but we're doing the job.
[15:33.640 -> 15:37.560] We just need a clean weekend and we can deliver on what Lauren Rossi wants.
[15:37.560 -> 15:40.000] Esteban Ocon, same sort of thing.
[15:40.000 -> 15:44.240] We scored two points, two cars in the points in Miami and want to do the same thing here.
[15:44.240 -> 15:47.160] But we just need a bit of a faster car. So I don't know if that's the
[15:47.160 -> 15:50.280] drivers saying back to Laura Rossi, look you know you can criticize us all you
[15:50.280 -> 15:53.600] like, it's not our fault, we're just driving the car we've got. You can only
[15:53.600 -> 15:57.640] drive with the car you've got and everyone needs to produce a faster car
[15:57.640 -> 16:01.520] which I suppose was the point of what Laura Rossi was saying in the first
[16:01.520 -> 16:06.000] place. But very heartwarming story, a wholesome story,
[16:06.000 -> 16:10.000] wholesome content from Esteban Ocon about taking his mum
[16:10.000 -> 16:13.000] to the Cannes Film Festival being on the red carpet,
[16:13.000 -> 16:15.000] which apparently was something that Esteban's mum
[16:15.000 -> 16:19.000] had always dreamed of doing, and she loves the Cannes Film Festival,
[16:19.000 -> 16:23.000] and had always followed it when it had taken place in previous years,
[16:23.000 -> 16:29.440] loves to see all the movie stars on the red carpet, loves all that kind of the film stuff and the glamour stuff
[16:29.440 -> 16:33.280] around it and is a big connoisseur of the Cannes Film Festival and so it was
[16:33.280 -> 16:37.920] a life highlight and what a pleasure a delight for Esteban to take his mum to
[16:37.920 -> 16:48.760] the film he did on Tuesday night. So well donee. Nice gesture there to Mrs. Ocon. Right who
[16:48.760 -> 16:55.400] else have we got to talk about? McLaren. Lando Norris was on a warm day he was
[16:55.400 -> 17:00.600] wearing quite a sort of heavy overcoat so warm overcoat so I don't know whether he's
[17:00.600 -> 17:08.720] feeling the chill a bit and he didn't really look full of the joys of May and Spring, really.
[17:08.720 -> 17:11.200] I think they expect to have a better weekend than they did in Miami.
[17:11.200 -> 17:14.200] Let's face it, it couldn't be much worse.
[17:14.200 -> 17:17.600] But I don't know, I'm going to hold judgement on Lando.
[17:17.600 -> 17:20.000] He's been quiet so far, I want to let you know.
[17:20.000 -> 17:22.240] And not sad, exactly.
[17:22.240 -> 17:26.880] I think he's just, you know, he's's just increasingly frustrated with the situation.
[17:26.880 -> 17:31.040] I did talk to him about Silly Season, do you see yourself moving around?
[17:31.040 -> 17:35.440] And he says, look, I want to win a championship with McLaren, which is laudable.
[17:35.440 -> 17:38.160] And he's obviously saying the right things to his current employer.
[17:38.160 -> 17:39.320] But is it actually going to happen?
[17:39.320 -> 17:40.320] Well, we'll have to see.
[17:40.320 -> 17:45.200] That happens sooner rather than later before McLaren might lose Lando to a rival.
[17:45.200 -> 17:46.600] But I hope that doesn't happen.
[17:46.600 -> 17:52.040] I hope Lando manages to get some cheer, manages to get a bit happier with his car and his
[17:52.040 -> 17:54.480] lot as the season goes on.
[17:54.480 -> 17:58.840] Right, let's wrap it up because I've already done 18 minutes and I'm only meant to do 10.
[17:58.840 -> 18:04.080] Alfa Romeo Sauber, Zhou Guangyu looking forward to his second weekend here as a Formula One
[18:04.080 -> 18:07.480] driver saying that actually this time round rather than just going in
[18:07.920 -> 18:11.760] Not being able to change the setup which he kind of hinted on had happened last time
[18:11.840 -> 18:17.080] He was here with Alfa Romeo Salvat. They gave him kind of a baseline setup and said get on with it learn the track
[18:17.080 -> 18:18.920] We're not going to change the car because we don't want to confuse you
[18:18.920 -> 18:24.560] He said okay, we might do I might get my eye in again in a FP1 unlike last year this year
[18:24.560 -> 18:28.920] I want to do some proper setup work and go through some changes and differences. So
[18:28.920 -> 18:34.520] that's what is happening at Alfa Romeo Sauber. And we'll finish with Nick
[18:34.520 -> 18:39.260] De Vries and Yuki Tsunoda. Yuki was talking about how he was helping clear
[18:39.260 -> 18:44.720] up after the the flood devastation from the floods in Emilia-Romagna in Faenza,
[18:44.720 -> 18:45.040] his hometown and where the team Alfa Tauri are based. So good for Yuki. He was the the flood devastation from the floods in Emilia-Romagna in Fianza his
[18:45.040 -> 18:49.200] hometown and where the team Alfa Tauri are based so good for Yuki he was talking
[18:49.200 -> 18:53.000] about what he was doing there it was a pleasure to do it. Nick De Vries also
[18:53.000 -> 18:57.880] about how many people in the team had suffered with flooded houses and damaged
[18:57.880 -> 19:02.560] flats and property and all of that so yeah it's just good to get everyone back
[19:02.560 -> 19:05.000] and safely and racing again.
[19:05.440 -> 19:09.560] And as for Helmut Marko, as I put it to Nick De Vries, Mr.
[19:09.560 -> 19:12.720] Motivator, his latest sort of motivational
[19:14.400 -> 19:17.480] press briefing or media story that come out from an interview
[19:17.480 -> 19:21.640] where he said that he would give Nick De Vries, Imola, Monaco and Spain
[19:21.640 -> 19:24.640] to prove himself to stop scoring points before the pressure really goes on.
[19:27.480 -> 19:32.800] Nick said, Look, I don't read the media because it's kind of self-protecting device so if Helmut has said that then I haven't read it but I
[19:32.800 -> 19:36.080] know full well the expectations of Red Bull, of Christian Horner and of Helmut
[19:36.080 -> 19:39.880] Margot and believe me I'm doing everything to try and score points and
[19:39.880 -> 19:43.760] to be as quick as I've shown and highlighted, well I highlighted but he
[19:43.760 -> 19:49.680] agreed, qualifying in Monaco, in Miami as for when things had gone right. So if he can just have
[19:49.680 -> 19:54.800] as positive qualifying here in Monaco as he did in Miami then he's starting to put a good weekend
[19:54.800 -> 19:59.280] together and that will surely for Nick de Vries' sake end up in points. So you will want to know
[19:59.280 -> 20:09.960] when we can see, when you can see, the action for the Monaco Grand Prix. Free practice one on Friday 11.30 we're on air. Free practice two we're on air at 3.15 on Saturday. It's an early
[20:09.960 -> 20:13.000] start because we're going to include free practice three and the Formula Two as
[20:13.000 -> 20:17.480] well so 10.15 all through your Saturday morning and then the all-important
[20:17.480 -> 20:22.560] arguably the most important qualifying session of the year is the Monaco
[20:22.560 -> 20:26.680] qualifying at 2 p.m. that's when we're on 2 p.m.
[20:26.680 -> 20:30.180] for Monaco qualifying Saturday afternoon and the race because it's a
[20:30.900 -> 20:35.840] usual European event it is 1230 on air for a
[20:36.360 -> 20:41.440] 2 p.m. Start for the Monaco Grand Prix. So we will say ahoy there or
[20:42.720 -> 20:45.760] whatever they say when you're leaving ships from the
[20:45.760 -> 20:50.160] fishermen's quayside and look forward to having a company on SkyF1 throughout
[20:50.160 -> 20:53.600] the weekend. Thanks for listening. Bye bye.