Podcast: Sky Sports F1
Published Date:
Tue, 19 Sep 2023 17:02:03 +0000
Duration:
3089
Explicit:
False
Guests:
MP3 Audio:
Please note that the summary is generated based on the transcript and may not capture all the nuances or details discussed in the podcast episode.
Sky F1's Simon Lazenby and Anthony Davidson join Matt Baker to look back at a dramatic Singapore Grand Prix as Carlos Sainz claimed Ferrari's first win of the season to end Red Bull’s winning streak.
They debate which of the Ferrari drivers is quickest and ask which driver pairing is stronger – Ferrari or Red Bull?
They also analyse what went wrong for the Red Bulls in Singapore. Will they be back on top in Japan or has a weakness been exposed in the RB19?
Finally, they discuss Liam Lawson's future and his chances of securing a seat in the 2024 season.
**Navigating the Singapore Grand Prix: A Review and Analysis**
**Introduction:**
The Singapore Grand Prix, held under the captivating night lights, witnessed a dramatic turn of events as Carlos Sainz secured Ferrari's first victory of the season, breaking Red Bull's winning streak. This episode delves into the key moments, controversies, and performances that shaped the race, providing a comprehensive analysis for Formula One enthusiasts.
**One-Word Race Reviews:**
- **Night Fever:** The electrifying atmosphere, coupled with the strategic battles and late-race drama, made this race a spectacle to remember.
- **Refreshing:** The unexpected outcome, with a different winner and a captivating race unfolded, refreshing the Formula One landscape.
- **Wise:** Carlos Sainz's strategic brilliance, exemplified by his symbiotic relationship with Lando Norris, played a crucial role in his victory.
**Ferrari's Resurgence:**
- **Sainz's Stellar Performance:** Sainz showcased his strategic prowess and defensive skills, maximizing the potential of his Ferrari to secure his first win of the season.
- **Leclerc's Team Player Role:** Charles Leclerc demonstrated his commitment to the team by acting as a rear gunner, prioritizing Ferrari's overall success over his personal ambitions.
- **Improved Car Performance:** Ferrari's recent updates have yielded positive results, particularly on circuits emphasizing braking stability, slow-speed corners, and traction.
**Red Bull's Setback:**
- **Unbalanced Setup:** Red Bull's struggles in Singapore stemmed from an unbalanced car setup, resulting in poor performance in the first sector and difficulty navigating the bumpy track.
- **Mechanical Compliance Challenges:** The revised technical regulations, aimed at reducing flexi front wings and floor movement, may have contributed to Red Bull's struggles at this particular circuit.
- **Max Verstappen's Frustration:** Verstappen's dissatisfaction with the car's handling was evident, highlighting the team's need to address these issues for future races.
**Christian Horner's Leadership Under Scrutiny:**
- **Facing the Media:** Horner faced a barrage of questions regarding Red Bull's lack of performance and the controversial comments made by Helmut Marko.
- **Balancing Positivity and Negativity:** Horner's ability to navigate both positive and negative media attention, while maintaining focus on the team's goals, is a testament to his leadership skills.
**Conclusion:**
The Singapore Grand Prix served as a reminder that even in the face of dominance, Formula One can produce thrilling and unpredictable races. Ferrari's resurgence, Red Bull's setback, and Sainz's strategic mastery were key storylines that captivated fans. As the season progresses, the battle for supremacy promises to intensify, with Suzuka serving as the next battleground.
# Formula One Singapore Grand Prix 2022: A Post-Race Review
**Key Points:**
- Carlos Sainz secures Ferrari's first win of the season, ending Red Bull's winning streak and bringing excitement to the Formula One circuit.
- Debate over which Ferrari driver, Sainz or Leclerc, is quicker, highlighting the strength of the team's lineup.
- The Red Bull team faces scrutiny after their struggles in Singapore, raising questions about their dominance and potential weaknesses.
- Liam Lawson's impressive performance in his first Formula One race sparks discussions about his future prospects and chances of securing a seat for the 2024 season.
**Detailed Summary:**
1. **Ferrari's Triumph and Driver Comparison:**
- Carlos Sainz's victory in Singapore marks a significant moment for Ferrari, bringing an end to Red Bull's dominance and marking the team's first win of the season. This victory showcases the team's resurgence and adds intrigue to the remaining races.
- The performance of both Ferrari drivers, Sainz and Leclerc, has ignited a debate about who is the quicker driver. Their close competition and consistent strong performances highlight the strength of the team's lineup and their ability to challenge for wins.
2. **Red Bull's Challenges and Potential Weaknesses:**
- Red Bull's struggles in Singapore have raised questions about their dominance and exposed potential weaknesses in their RB19 car. The team's inability to maintain their usual level of performance has fueled speculation about whether their winning streak was a result of favorable circumstances or a genuine superiority.
- The team's strategy and decision-making during the race have also come under scrutiny, with some pundits suggesting that they may have made tactical errors that contributed to their poor showing.
3. **Liam Lawson's Promising Debut and Future Prospects:**
- Liam Lawson's impressive performance in his first Formula One race has generated excitement and discussion about his future prospects. His ability to qualify in Q3 and score points in a challenging race has demonstrated his potential and earned him praise from experts.
- The question of where Lawson will race in 2024 has become a topic of speculation, with various options being considered. His performance in Singapore has strengthened his case for a seat in the AlphaTauri team or potentially even a move to Williams.
4. **Predictions for the Japanese Grand Prix:**
- The upcoming Japanese Grand Prix is highly anticipated, with expectations that Red Bull will return to their winning ways. The Suzuka circuit is considered to favor Red Bull's car characteristics, potentially giving them an advantage over their rivals.
- While Red Bull is expected to be strong, there is optimism that Mercedes and McLaren may challenge for podium positions. Ferrari's performance in Japan will also be closely watched, as they aim to maintain their momentum and secure more victories.
- The battle for the Constructors' and Drivers' Championships remains intense, with the Singapore Grand Prix results adding intrigue to the remaining races. The outcome of the Japanese Grand Prix could have significant implications for the title races.
Overall, the Singapore Grand Prix provided thrilling racing, unexpected results, and plenty of talking points for Formula One fans. As the season progresses, the competition promises to be fierce, with several teams and drivers capable of challenging for victories and podium finishes.
[00:00.000 -> 00:08.520] Hello everybody, welcome to the Sky Sports F1 podcast with me Matt Baker. I hope you're
[00:08.520 -> 00:13.280] doing okay. To help me look back on a thrilling Singapore Grand Prix and a win for Carlos
[00:13.280 -> 00:17.920] Sainz. I'm joined by, well, two ships in the night. We've got Simon coming back from Asia,
[00:17.920 -> 00:23.080] from Singapore, and Ant this evening, you're going to go out to Japan. Hello to you both.
[00:23.080 -> 00:25.400] Simon, firstly, how are you? How's the jet lag?
[00:25.400 -> 00:33.840] I'm all right, actually. We pushed on through on Sunday night so that we got a ha-ha and
[00:33.840 -> 00:40.400] with a knowing nod to it. We were celebrating a good race and then we got on the nine o'clock
[00:40.400 -> 00:47.040] flight and myself, Danica and one of our producers, Tommy, were heading towards the airport
[00:47.040 -> 00:52.560] and then got back late yesterday, so all right, ship shape. Ship shape. Ant, how are you looking
[00:52.560 -> 00:58.800] forward to Japan? I am, Matt, yeah, again, because I was there just last week for the World Endurance
[00:58.800 -> 01:04.880] Championship, so I've come back for a week and back out there again today, so my body doesn't
[01:04.880 -> 01:05.900] really know where it is.
[01:05.900 -> 01:07.620] I've only just got over the jet lag.
[01:07.620 -> 01:09.120] That's why I've been talking now.
[01:09.120 -> 01:11.160] And then I'm going to go and do it to myself all over again.
[01:11.160 -> 01:12.620] But yeah, different location.
[01:12.620 -> 01:15.320] Well, we don't get the jet lag in Singapore.
[01:15.320 -> 01:16.660] No, because we're well sort.
[01:16.660 -> 01:18.460] We just live like vampires, as you know.
[01:18.460 -> 01:22.500] So we're up all night and stay on UK time,
[01:22.500 -> 01:26.080] but you don't have that luxury, do you, Ant, in Japan?
[01:26.080 -> 01:26.880] You just don't have it.
[01:26.880 -> 01:31.520] No, you don't. And you've got those lovely rice pillows to look forward to as well and rock hard
[01:31.520 -> 01:37.920] bed. So yeah, it's as if the jet lag wasn't hard enough. Yeah, it's at least I fit those beds
[01:37.920 -> 01:44.800] though. They're very, very short beds. I don't notice that unlike Crofty or not yourself so
[01:44.800 -> 01:46.840] much, Simon, but taller people
[01:46.840 -> 01:47.840] of the team.
[01:47.840 -> 01:50.640] Yeah, yeah, yeah.
[01:50.640 -> 01:53.000] Unique experience, certainly as Japan.
[01:53.000 -> 01:54.840] Okay, let's get straight into it.
[01:54.840 -> 01:57.800] Our one word race reviews from Singapore Grand Prix.
[01:57.800 -> 01:59.320] Simon, let's start with you.
[01:59.320 -> 02:04.000] You were there, go on, after you.
[02:04.000 -> 02:05.600] Night Fever. Ooh. We'll give you that as one word, will we? Is that one word? Go on, after you. Night fever.
[02:06.440 -> 02:07.160] Ooh.
[02:08.600 -> 02:09.440] We'll give you that as one word, will we? Is that one word?
[02:09.440 -> 02:10.280] Like the song title?
[02:10.280 -> 02:13.040] Night fever, that's not, is it not even hyphenated, is it?
[02:13.040 -> 02:14.440] Night fever.
[02:14.440 -> 02:15.440] I was thinking about that.
[02:15.440 -> 02:17.600] Do you remember Henry Hope Frost?
[02:17.600 -> 02:18.960] Really good guy.
[02:18.960 -> 02:21.760] It was Goodwood a couple of weeks ago
[02:21.760 -> 02:24.320] and he was known for having a fever.
[02:24.320 -> 02:27.600] And it was on Saturday and it was night and that one's been...
[02:29.440 -> 02:35.040] Why have you got a night fever apart from obviously being at night and being feverously exciting?
[02:35.040 -> 02:40.400] Yeah that's it. I mean it was for any motorsport fan and for a Formula 1 fan,
[02:41.600 -> 02:47.440] it was just good to see wasn't it? It was refreshing to see that the Red Bull,
[02:47.440 -> 02:50.040] despite their amazing domination so far,
[02:50.040 -> 02:51.040] and it has been amazing,
[02:51.040 -> 02:54.260] you've got to doff your cap to what is one of the best cars
[02:54.260 -> 02:55.960] possibly in the history of Formula One,
[02:55.960 -> 02:58.280] in fact, definitely in the history of Formula One.
[02:58.280 -> 03:00.080] 15 in a row, max, obviously,
[03:00.080 -> 03:03.080] with the record for consecutive wins.
[03:03.080 -> 03:06.960] And then it was just an amalgamation of many things,
[03:06.960 -> 03:11.760] which I'm sure will come on to, which cost them in qualifying and the race.
[03:11.760 -> 03:14.200] They had too much to do after qualifying on Saturday,
[03:14.440 -> 03:17.400] and it just brought a number of teams into it.
[03:17.400 -> 03:19.960] And that end, we had the last 17 laps.
[03:20.120 -> 03:21.680] It was outstanding.
[03:21.680 -> 03:23.760] It was the best race of the year.
[03:23.760 -> 03:25.360] I don't think anybody could deny that.
[03:25.360 -> 03:29.200] And everyone was on the edge of their seats after that late virtual safety car and Mercedes
[03:29.200 -> 03:33.360] kind of taking the chance to go for those two sets of new mediums,
[03:33.360 -> 03:36.480] which they'd held back exactly for a situation like that.
[03:37.680 -> 03:39.680] A glimpse, isn't it, into what would have happened,
[03:39.680 -> 03:42.480] perhaps, this season if Red Bull hadn't have been so far ahead.
[03:42.480 -> 03:44.480] And can you beat Night Fever?
[03:44.480 -> 03:46.560] And I bet you can, because you'll probably pick one word
[03:46.560 -> 03:47.840] which was within the rules.
[03:47.840 -> 03:48.800] It was really one word.
[03:49.440 -> 03:53.280] Simon already stole another one during that chat there.
[03:54.000 -> 03:55.760] I was going to say refreshing.
[03:55.760 -> 03:58.720] It was refreshing to see a different winner,
[03:58.720 -> 04:01.440] Red Bull not in the mix, right at the sharp end.
[04:02.240 -> 04:05.760] And it kind of justified everything that we had been saying
[04:05.760 -> 04:06.760] all along.
[04:06.760 -> 04:10.520] You know, not so much take Red Bull out of it, out of the equation, but you take Max
[04:10.520 -> 04:13.840] Verstappen out of the equation and suddenly you've got a mega race on your hands.
[04:13.840 -> 04:18.040] And that's what we've been seeing from second place down pretty much all the way through
[04:18.040 -> 04:19.040] this season.
[04:19.040 -> 04:22.460] I would say it was different.
[04:22.460 -> 04:28.480] It was strategic, tactical. it had a mix of everything.
[04:28.480 -> 04:34.540] The only thing, the only thing at the end, it was just a shame that, it was just a shame
[04:34.540 -> 04:39.720] in a way that I think everyone was behind Mercedes in a way, like you want the underdog
[04:39.720 -> 04:46.960] to kind of come through and they'd played a blinder with a virtual safety car, boxing both cars,
[04:46.960 -> 04:51.440] Ferrari had left Leclerc out there to do the defensive work, get his elbows out, but that
[04:51.440 -> 04:53.000] didn't last long.
[04:53.000 -> 04:57.400] And they were just on this surge to the front and it was just, we could all see what was
[04:57.400 -> 04:58.400] coming.
[04:58.400 -> 05:04.140] We were watching the lap times coming down and purple sectors flying from both drivers
[05:04.140 -> 05:06.680] and you're just waiting, waiting for it to just
[05:06.960 -> 05:13.520] Yeah, get right to the front and then it kind of, it didn't quite happen, but it was brilliant nonetheless, absolutely brilliant.
[05:14.000 -> 05:20.480] Remarkable, remarkable race. I've gone for Wise actually and I've gone for Wise because of Carlos at the front
[05:20.480 -> 05:22.480] I thought he was incredible, the way he
[05:26.560 -> 05:31.520] the front. I thought he was incredible, the way he brought Lando in within DRS to give him an extra tool against the, or tool in defense against the Mercedes, I thought was remarkable really.
[05:32.080 -> 05:38.240] And yeah, I just, I mean, obviously, Ant, you know this very well, but how drivers are able to
[05:38.240 -> 05:43.520] process so much information, think strategically, while also driving a car around a track like
[05:43.520 -> 05:48.160] Singapore where the walls are so tight, I just just I can barely do one thing at once let alone
[05:48.160 -> 05:52.640] what the drivers are doing I think it's absolutely remarkable so yeah yeah it
[05:52.640 -> 05:56.800] really was I mean another one word for you though I've kind of toyed with using
[05:56.800 -> 06:02.920] earlier on symbiotic because that's exactly yeah that's exactly what does
[06:02.920 -> 06:05.280] that mean and what does that mean? And what does that mean?
[06:10.200 -> 06:11.460] It was the relationship usually between two different organisms, uh, helping each other out in some way.
[06:11.460 -> 06:15.980] And that's exactly what the Ferrari and the McLaren were doing of Lando Norris
[06:15.980 -> 06:17.620] and Carlos science towards the end of the race.
[06:17.620 -> 06:19.360] It was very symbiotic.
[06:20.140 -> 06:21.760] Symbiosis in full flow.
[06:21.760 -> 06:27.400] That was because Carlos knew he needed Lando there to help defend him
[06:27.720 -> 06:32.840] By him having DRS so and Lando was protected by Carlos by giving him DRS
[06:32.840 -> 06:38.420] So it was a it was this two-way relationship that beautifully worked the two of them obviously very good friends
[06:38.420 -> 06:42.700] They maybe can read each other's minds as well. They've grown up racing against each other and
[06:43.640 -> 06:46.140] It was honestly it was amazing each other and it was honestly, it was amazing
[06:46.140 -> 06:55.000] to watch because it was subtle but Carlos, he played it brilliantly and as a driver myself
[06:55.000 -> 06:59.960] looking on, I could see exactly what he was doing and I was incredibly envious as well
[06:59.960 -> 07:05.560] at the same time because that was, it was very hard to execute.
[07:05.960 -> 07:07.280] Uh, and that's exacerbated.
[07:07.400 -> 07:11.640] He, there was even a moment when, uh, Lando and George were fighting
[07:11.640 -> 07:13.480] each other down towards turn 16.
[07:14.360 -> 07:18.400] And Lando had lost quite a bit of ground to Carlos.
[07:19.160 -> 07:23.560] And before the final corner came up, turn 18, 19, the gap
[07:23.560 -> 07:25.520] had risen to over one second.
[07:25.920 -> 07:29.760] And I saw this is going to be George's chance now down towards turn seven,
[07:29.840 -> 07:34.480] he'll be in the DRS, but Carlos has spotted it, slowed down intentionally
[07:34.480 -> 07:38.440] through the final corner and the first sequence of corners to make sure his
[07:38.440 -> 07:41.680] buddy was right there behind him once again, down the back straight towards
[07:41.680 -> 07:43.080] turn seven, had the DRS.
[07:43.080 -> 07:45.520] So he was, even the team didn't know what
[07:45.520 -> 07:50.720] Carlos was up to. He said, leave it to me. I know what I'm doing here. You're probably not going to
[07:50.720 -> 07:56.320] understand right now and I haven't got the time to explain, but watch this. It was awesome. Absolutely
[07:56.320 -> 08:01.920] awesome. He utterly deserved that victory. And actually you could say, couldn't you, that the
[08:01.920 -> 08:08.600] symbiosis extended to his teammate, Charles, because he was prepared to act as his rear gunner, particularly
[08:08.600 -> 08:12.000] as he got ahead on the softs at the start and he'd got two Ferraris
[08:12.000 -> 08:12.300] at the front.
[08:12.300 -> 08:15.300] When he got ahead of G Russell, they were able to, they were able
[08:15.300 -> 08:19.600] to kind of run at their own pace, manage their tires.
[08:19.800 -> 08:23.500] And when they came in after the first safety car, they double-stacked,
[08:23.900 -> 08:27.160] you know, Charles had to have the five and a half second pit stop,
[08:27.160 -> 08:28.520] which hurt him a little bit.
[08:28.520 -> 08:31.160] But even after the race,
[08:31.160 -> 08:33.360] I was quite surprised that Charles said,
[08:33.360 -> 08:36.080] look, we did the job we needed to do tonight.
[08:36.080 -> 08:37.080] It didn't work out for me,
[08:37.080 -> 08:38.320] but it worked out for the team.
[08:38.320 -> 08:41.400] And Carlos deserves it after the way he's been driving.
[08:41.400 -> 08:45.280] I think in his Ferrari overalls,
[08:45.280 -> 08:47.920] this is probably as good a run as he's had
[08:47.920 -> 08:49.400] since the summer break.
[08:49.400 -> 08:51.240] He's just totally on it.
[08:51.240 -> 08:55.160] And it feels to me like he's added Saturday,
[08:55.160 -> 08:58.980] single lap qualifying pace to his armory,
[08:58.980 -> 09:00.400] which was his weakness.
[09:00.400 -> 09:02.360] I think it's something like eight, seven now
[09:02.360 -> 09:05.400] to Charles on a Saturday, but he's no pushover.
[09:05.400 -> 09:08.600] That is, as we're talking about after the race with everybody,
[09:08.600 -> 09:10.700] it's not a 1-2 driver line up there.
[09:10.700 -> 09:15.300] It's two world-class drivers and they're working together
[09:15.300 -> 09:19.600] and driving the team forward and Ferrari executed very well.
[09:19.600 -> 09:21.800] And I think that would have been one of the biggest question marks.
[09:21.800 -> 09:23.800] Yes, a lot was down to the driver,
[09:23.800 -> 09:25.280] but overall as a team, they had a good weekend, I think. Yeah, they really did. I mean, Ferrari have come one of the biggest question marks. Yes, a lot was down to the driver, but overall as a team,
[09:25.280 -> 09:26.600] they had a good weekend, I think.
[09:26.760 -> 09:27.480] Yeah, they really did.
[09:27.480 -> 09:31.320] I mean, Ferrari have come under the spotlight numerous times in recent years,
[09:31.320 -> 09:36.800] you know, not getting their strategy completely right, not optimizing their car.
[09:36.800 -> 09:40.920] The two drivers sometimes not even really seeing eye to eye and not working well together.
[09:40.920 -> 09:43.800] But that race, everything came together.
[09:44.240 -> 09:49.960] There'll be some people questioning why they didn't pit Leclerc under the virtual safety car
[09:49.960 -> 09:54.220] because that would have that would have helped his race. He was falling,
[09:54.220 -> 09:57.880] personally he was falling back from car loss and that would have definitely
[09:57.880 -> 10:04.200] helped Charles race. But they say Simon playing the team game, the team looking
[10:04.200 -> 10:06.000] at it strategically,
[10:06.000 -> 10:12.040] they knew they needed to use Charles and you know, I know the Mercedes didn't spend long
[10:12.040 -> 10:18.800] behind him, but every little helped in that situation to try to further hurt the Mercedes
[10:18.800 -> 10:24.040] fresh medium tyres in their quest to try and get back to the front. So yeah, they used
[10:24.040 -> 10:25.600] him wisely. He understood the game. So yeah, they used him wisely, he
[10:25.600 -> 10:30.180] understood the game, he backed off when he needed to at the start of the race to
[10:30.180 -> 10:34.400] give that three or four second gap that the team were looking for. I think it
[10:34.400 -> 10:39.080] took a little while to sink in for Charles, but then he realized quite quickly that
[10:39.080 -> 10:47.640] that was going to help protect the lead of the race for Ferrari from a potential undercut of Mercedes or McLaren.
[10:47.640 -> 10:53.780] So together they just worked brilliantly well to make sure that they had covered their backs
[10:53.780 -> 10:55.800] and also pushed when they needed to.
[10:55.800 -> 11:00.440] And Carlos knew he had the speed, we saw it all weekend, he knew he had the speed to match
[11:00.440 -> 11:05.360] Mercedes or even better them and that of McLaren as well.
[11:05.360 -> 11:08.800] And that's why he was comfortable at the end of the race to do what he did.
[11:08.800 -> 11:15.360] He knew on equal tyres, he had the measure of Lando, it was, you know,
[11:15.360 -> 11:16.640] the Mercedes that were the threat.
[11:16.640 -> 11:24.800] So yeah, it was a strategic race and I think you can definitely applaud Ferrari this time
[11:24.800 -> 11:27.600] without question for how they played it.
[11:27.600 -> 11:32.800] Strategic, yes. And sometimes strategic races can be guilty of not being overly exciting,
[11:32.800 -> 11:38.080] or the spectacle of it not being as good. Whereas I think no one is in any doubt that the spectacle
[11:38.080 -> 11:44.160] of this race was phenomenal, certainly those last laps. Simon, I want to just chat to you about
[11:44.960 -> 11:46.160] Sainz versus Leclerc.
[11:46.160 -> 11:49.600] You alluded to it there that they're now quite evenly matched. And if we look at the points,
[11:49.600 -> 11:55.320] we've got Sainz on 142 points in the in the Drivers' Championship, Leclerc on 123. Do
[11:55.320 -> 12:00.000] you think now, would you say this was the weekend or this this period since the summer
[12:00.000 -> 12:05.240] break is where Ferrari now do officially have two, I mean there's no doubt that Carlos
[12:05.240 -> 12:09.440] Sainz has been a world-class driver, but they've got two excellent drivers who are ready and
[12:09.440 -> 12:13.840] if they get given the car next year, will both be in contention for a world championship.
[12:13.840 -> 12:19.560] Yeah, yeah, absolutely. I don't think you can, there's no doubt about either driver,
[12:19.560 -> 12:24.440] well there were small doubts about either driver. I've always said this to Han and he
[12:24.440 -> 12:25.040] knows what I feel
[12:25.600 -> 12:32.640] with Charles. I always think he's guilty of making a few too many mistakes and I think he's ironing
[12:32.640 -> 12:36.160] that out. He's still probably the quicker of the two drivers, in fact definitely the quicker of
[12:36.160 -> 12:49.000] the two drivers over one lap. But when it comes to the race itself, Carlos Sainz is, as I always say, he's from racing royalty, you know, his dad, very cerebral driver.
[12:49.000 -> 12:58.000] He's the same. They think their way through things. And as going back to what you were saying about wise and the intelligence that Carlos possesses,
[12:58.000 -> 13:05.400] I'd say he's one of the most intelligent drivers and he uses it every single Sunday, right? He might not have had the podiums this year,
[13:05.400 -> 13:07.000] but he's always there or thereabouts.
[13:07.000 -> 13:08.400] He's always been fourth or fifth.
[13:08.400 -> 13:11.000] He always maximizes what that car can do.
[13:11.000 -> 13:13.200] So if he's given a race-winning car,
[13:13.200 -> 13:15.200] if he's given a car that can challenge Red Bull
[13:15.200 -> 13:16.600] over the course of a season,
[13:16.600 -> 13:19.200] I think there's a very strong case to say that,
[13:19.200 -> 13:22.200] you know, that pairing is stronger than the Red Bull lineup.
[13:23.400 -> 13:26.700] I'd say that that is on a par, potentially,
[13:26.800 -> 13:29.500] perhaps not quite as good as the Mercedes pairing,
[13:29.500 -> 13:31.700] which I'd still say is number one,
[13:31.700 -> 13:33.500] but I don't know if Ant agrees,
[13:33.500 -> 13:36.400] but as you said, two world-class drivers,
[13:36.800 -> 13:39.300] give them the car, they'll turn it into wins.
[13:39.700 -> 13:42.400] Yeah, I mean, Carlos has definitely proven
[13:42.400 -> 13:45.920] in the last two Grand Prix that his defensive skills
[13:45.920 -> 13:49.960] are, I think they're the best out there.
[13:49.960 -> 13:50.960] I really do.
[13:50.960 -> 13:54.460] He's so wise in where he places the car.
[13:54.460 -> 13:59.040] He can understand what's going on behind him so well.
[13:59.040 -> 14:02.440] You know, he kept his teammate at bay in Monza.
[14:02.440 -> 14:10.400] He fought incredibly hard with Max, who's, you know, it's no mean feat to try and keep him behind you. And he's willing to take a good amount of risk as
[14:10.400 -> 14:17.120] well, but it's a calculated risk with Carlos. He's a very classy driver and, I mean, he can still
[14:17.120 -> 14:23.360] work on a little bit of that speed on more higher speed, faster flowing circuits. Street track's
[14:23.360 -> 14:28.080] very different. You often see different drivers come to the fore for whatever reason
[14:28.560 -> 14:34.720] at street tracks. You know, we've seen Lewis Hamilton get beaten at Monaco in the past from the likes of
[14:35.160 -> 14:41.200] Valtteri Bottas, Nico Rosberg, and we've seen Max get beaten in the past by Daniel Ricciardo in Monaco and
[14:41.600 -> 14:45.960] Singapore hasn't really been an incredibly strong track for Max.
[14:45.960 -> 14:50.640] And different drivers seem to excel at these street tracks and I think Carlos
[14:50.640 -> 14:55.560] is one of those drivers that, for whatever reason, can get a bit more out
[14:55.560 -> 15:02.160] of it than Sung. So, you know, yes Monza was a great weekend for him,
[15:02.160 -> 15:05.200] Singapore's obviously been fantastic for him as well.
[15:05.840 -> 15:12.320] But I want to see that level of performance roll on into Suzuka because that's a more
[15:12.320 -> 15:18.160] traditional kind of circuit where you would naturally expect a Leclerc to get the better
[15:18.160 -> 15:23.360] of Carlos. So I'm waiting to see that this weekend come in. Yeah, we're waiting to see
[15:23.360 -> 15:26.000] a lot of things at Suzuka, mainly about the Red Bulls as well.
[15:26.000 -> 15:31.320] We'll come on to that. Just sort of finally on the Ferrari story, and Ann, we've obviously
[15:31.320 -> 15:36.280] spoken about the drivers and where the speed has come in terms of Carlos and Charles stepping
[15:36.280 -> 15:43.080] up, but what about the car? Because it seems like since, well, the last two races, Monza
[15:43.080 -> 15:47.040] and Singapore, the cars looked great. I mean, where's this change come from?
[15:48.480 -> 15:52.720] Well, I mean, the teams are constantly updating their cars as well, don't forget. So, I mean,
[15:53.840 -> 15:59.600] I think this year has been more so than last year even. Now they're fully understanding these cars
[15:59.600 -> 16:05.240] and where the performance comes from. They attack this season pretty aggressively with their
[16:05.240 -> 16:12.200] updates and we've seen the likes of McLaren, they've surged forward this year. Ferrari
[16:12.200 -> 16:17.560] have made good updates as well, Mercedes, Red Bull have stayed constantly up there of
[16:17.560 -> 16:24.080] course but Aston Martin are the team that haven't quite kept up with the pack and it's
[16:24.080 -> 16:29.320] very easy when everybody's making those updates constantly through the year,
[16:29.320 -> 16:33.480] it's very easy just to think, well, nobody's really brought anything to the table.
[16:33.480 -> 16:37.880] It's pretty much a stalemate, but Aston Martin have lost out.
[16:37.880 -> 16:40.080] But it's far from that.
[16:40.080 -> 16:51.840] I know from, I mean, I don't want to give too much away, but just from my experience in the simulator, I've seen the car improve. Taking it back to different circuits that were earlier in the year
[16:52.720 -> 17:00.880] on, say, the current aero configuration, you see that relentless improvement through the season,
[17:00.880 -> 17:05.840] and everybody's doing that. So if you do stay still, you will fall behind the pack.
[17:05.840 -> 17:09.600] So Ferrari are definitely one of those teams that have kept up with the pack.
[17:09.800 -> 17:15.200] Maybe their updates have edged ahead of teams like Aston Martin that we're seeing
[17:15.400 -> 17:19.440] recently in the last couple of races, but again, two very different circuits, Matt.
[17:19.640 -> 17:23.360] You know, Monza, people think of it as this high speed circuit.
[17:23.560 -> 17:25.200] It is because it's got lots of straight
[17:25.200 -> 17:29.680] lines but it hasn't got many high speed corners and you don't run high downforce there.
[17:29.680 -> 17:35.680] So it's all about the braking and the slow speed corners. Just like Singapore.
[17:37.200 -> 17:42.720] You wouldn't think the two really are on the same plane here and in terms of downforce, no.
[17:43.440 -> 17:45.800] But in terms of car requirement,
[17:46.000 -> 17:50.400] braking stability, slow speed corners, lots of traction.
[17:50.600 -> 17:52.080] That's what you need at Monza as well.
[17:52.280 -> 17:55.160] So the Ferrari's been quite good on those circuits.
[17:55.360 -> 17:57.360] All season, Montreal as well.
[17:57.560 -> 18:00.720] Another one more similar to Monza.
[18:00.920 -> 18:05.440] High speed straights, long braking zones, slow speed corners, lots of traction.
[18:06.320 -> 18:12.080] That seems to be where their car shines. So in the same way I'm saying I'm waiting to see whether
[18:12.080 -> 18:18.480] Carlos can match Charles in Suzuka, I'm waiting to see whether Ferrari can carry on this pace
[18:18.480 -> 18:33.760] when they get to a higher speed, faster flowing circuit. It's going to be very, very interesting in Suzuka.
[18:40.000 -> 18:44.960] Simon, let's move on to Red Bull and this was a weekend in which, certainly from my perspective, not being there, it felt like Red Bull were on the ropes a little bit all weekend and we've seen,
[18:44.960 -> 18:47.720] haven't we, throughout the season, we see Max on a Friday perhaps be
[18:47.720 -> 18:53.520] frustrated or annoyed with the way the car's set up. But by Saturday, by quali, generally
[18:53.520 -> 18:57.040] all those problems seem to have eradicated themselves. That's been the trend across the
[18:57.040 -> 19:01.960] season so far. This weekend in Singapore, that wasn't the case and he was having problems,
[19:01.960 -> 19:08.160] wasn't he, all throughout the Saturday and into Sunday. What's your take on what went wrong
[19:08.160 -> 19:10.320] for Red Bull this weekend?
[19:10.320 -> 19:11.880] The lizard put a curse on him.
[19:11.880 -> 19:16.360] I think that's where it all started, wasn't it?
[19:16.360 -> 19:18.760] He saw Son of Godzilla, baby Godzilla.
[19:18.760 -> 19:21.720] It was haunting for him and it all went backwards from there.
[19:21.720 -> 19:23.520] At least that's one explanation you could say.
[19:23.520 -> 19:27.100] But the baseline set up wasn't right, was it, from the start?
[19:27.100 -> 19:28.500] So they were playing catch-up.
[19:29.900 -> 19:33.300] You know, he didn't seem to have any confidence in the first sector.
[19:33.300 -> 19:36.600] He was bottoming out under braking, which was...
[19:36.600 -> 19:38.700] Going back to what Alan was saying,
[19:38.700 -> 19:41.800] it's all about braking, it's all about traction out of the slow corners.
[19:41.800 -> 19:43.600] They had neither of those.
[19:43.600 -> 19:47.200] And I think with regards to the car itself,
[19:47.200 -> 19:49.160] we know that as an aero platform,
[19:49.160 -> 19:52.240] it tends to work on most circuits now,
[19:52.240 -> 19:54.580] medium speed corners, high speed corners.
[19:54.580 -> 19:57.020] But the slow speed corners combined, I think,
[19:57.020 -> 19:58.480] with the bumpy nature of the track
[19:58.480 -> 20:00.940] and the fact that there was such big curbs
[20:00.940 -> 20:03.240] meant that they had to adjust the ride height
[20:03.240 -> 20:04.800] and in adjusting the ride height,
[20:04.800 -> 20:06.840] it kind of threw the setup off a little bit.
[20:06.840 -> 20:12.200] They tried some tweaks between the third practice session and qualifying with the
[20:12.200 -> 20:16.120] software to try to counter that so they could run it a bit lower and it just got
[20:16.120 -> 20:17.040] worse, didn't it, Ant?
[20:17.040 -> 20:22.240] So, you know, I think it was just a combination of things.
[20:22.240 -> 20:25.400] There's been talk about whether the TDs on the flexi front wings
[20:25.400 -> 20:30.400] and the underside of the car had played anything into this,
[20:30.400 -> 20:32.300] but I'm not sure that's the case.
[20:32.300 -> 20:35.400] Maybe that's a red herring, but we'll find out, won't we, in Suzuka.
[20:35.400 -> 20:38.400] So Christian was playing it down.
[20:38.400 -> 20:41.000] The team was saying, look, it's absolutely nothing to do with that.
[20:41.000 -> 20:43.500] It is just, we've got an unbalanced car.
[20:43.500 -> 20:45.360] We can't get the setup right.
[20:45.360 -> 20:51.680] And I think it got slightly better in the race, they got unlucky, didn't they? They were holding
[20:51.680 -> 20:56.720] out for... the safety car came too early for them, really, because they both started on the sets of
[20:56.720 -> 21:01.840] hards. And then they pitted and then, what was it, three laps later, the virtual safety car came out.
[21:01.840 -> 21:05.320] So timing-wise, they got a little bit unlucky in the race.
[21:05.320 -> 21:07.120] They knew what they were trying to do,
[21:07.120 -> 21:09.280] but ultimately, it all stems from the fact
[21:09.280 -> 21:10.920] that they didn't get Quannie right.
[21:10.920 -> 21:12.880] And that's back-to-back years now
[21:12.880 -> 21:14.640] where it's not paid off for Max Verstappen.
[21:14.640 -> 21:16.720] And he was saying, look, it's totally unacceptable,
[21:16.720 -> 21:18.960] this car, you cannot drive it.
[21:19.960 -> 21:21.840] And it looked like it was just like skating
[21:21.840 -> 21:23.040] across the track at times.
[21:23.040 -> 21:30.200] So I thought for then, it was a horrible weekend, but for everybody watching
[21:30.200 -> 21:34.960] from the neutrals perspective, it kind of, it was, it just was a breath
[21:34.960 -> 21:37.400] of fresh air for the competition.
[21:37.400 -> 21:38.520] We needed that weekend.
[21:38.520 -> 21:43.320] We needed to see that there was a chink in the armor and obviously Red Bull
[21:43.320 -> 21:45.400] being Red Bull will go away and work on that
[21:45.400 -> 21:47.400] and clearly improve the car for next year.
[21:47.400 -> 21:50.400] So it kind of, you know, it's double-edged sword.
[21:50.400 -> 21:54.200] We got them, you know, Ferrari, we got them this year in Singapore,
[21:54.200 -> 21:55.800] but they'll get it right.
[21:55.800 -> 21:58.100] That car has got very, very few weaknesses.
[21:58.100 -> 22:01.200] Yeah, I mean, Red Bull is an interesting one, isn't it?
[22:01.200 -> 22:05.240] It reminds me of when Mercedes were in their dominant years and they arrived at
[22:05.240 -> 22:09.620] Singapore and that was their Achilles heel and everybody else had a chance to get the
[22:09.620 -> 22:10.280] better of them there.
[22:10.280 -> 22:15.280] And they went away and worked on that circuit relentlessly because it was their
[22:15.280 -> 22:16.020] only weakness.
[22:16.020 -> 22:17.600] They understood they had a weakness there.
[22:17.900 -> 22:20.760] And then they came back and they, in a couple of years, they had sorted it out.
[22:20.760 -> 22:24.940] So I fully expect Red Bull, with the great engineering team that they are, will get
[22:24.940 -> 22:29.520] their heads around it and, and, and kind of engineer that into next year's car,
[22:29.520 -> 22:37.840] the RB20. But I also think it's not a circuit that Max particularly enjoys so much. You
[22:37.840 -> 22:41.860] know, beaten by Perez there last year and, you know, the way the strategy unfolded and
[22:41.860 -> 22:45.520] everything kind of went against him as well, but
[22:49.840 -> 22:56.640] Max will be much more in his element and the car will be much more in his element in Suzuka. I'm fully expecting that. I don't think this new TD, the rule change in terms of the
[22:57.840 -> 23:04.000] more static front wings not allowing them to flex quite as much and the floor, I don't believe
[23:10.400 -> 23:19.000] allowing them to flex quite as much and the floor, I don't believe that was the main issue for Red Bull in Singapore. I think it requires a lot more mechanical compliance and agility from the car at that circuit, not just downforce.
[23:19.000 -> 23:21.600] So obviously downforce helps you everywhere.
[23:21.600 -> 23:25.760] As I say, as a driver, downforce is your friend. But, you know, whatever
[23:25.760 -> 23:30.320] speed, that's why we run higher downforce at circuits like Monaco and Singapore, because
[23:30.320 -> 23:36.000] it does work at slow speed as well. It's not just a high speed, but it has less of an influence in
[23:36.000 -> 23:40.720] the slow speed compared to the high speed. So I don't think it was all to do with that.
[23:41.360 -> 23:46.720] There'll be many teams out there crossing their fingers and hoping that that's
[23:46.720 -> 23:52.760] why they lost their speed there. But I'm fully expecting them to go back to Suzuka and the
[23:52.760 -> 23:58.560] car will be flying again. But it is interesting and it's nice to know that they have this
[23:58.560 -> 23:59.560] weakness in their car.
[23:59.560 -> 24:03.200] What I was hoping for you to say there, Ant, is that there is some hope and that maybe
[24:03.200 -> 24:06.300] when we get to Suzuka, Red Bull might not look as good as they did.
[24:06.300 -> 24:07.800] Maybe that will be the case.
[24:07.800 -> 24:09.880] Maybe it will hinder them a bit.
[24:09.880 -> 24:13.360] There are rumours going around, I'm not suggesting for a second that this is Red Bull, but there
[24:13.360 -> 24:21.200] are rumours going around that teams were using the titanium skid blocks in the underfloor
[24:21.200 -> 24:26.040] of the car in a way that would, I don't know the exact
[24:26.040 -> 24:30.520] technicalities to it, but would move and allow the teams to run their cars lower
[24:30.520 -> 24:34.940] and as we know in this ground effect era if you can run the floor closer to the
[24:34.940 -> 24:39.180] ground you're going to get a bit more suction, the car have effectively more
[24:39.180 -> 24:49.000] downforce and happy days because you're not, it's not a drag penalty by gaining downforce from the floor of the car as much as you would from a wing.
[24:49.000 -> 24:57.500] So yeah, if things like this are going on with different teams up and down the field, it must be a little bit of a negative impact.
[24:57.500 -> 25:06.560] But, you know, like I say, I'm not pointing fingers at anybody. It's all I've heard. I've read it online as well.
[25:07.360 -> 25:12.880] And you know, these rumors are out there. They don't come from thin air. And the regulation
[25:12.880 -> 25:20.160] wouldn't have changed if the FIA didn't feel like this was going on. I believe it has been going on.
[25:20.160 -> 25:25.440] They're clamping down on it. And yeah, let's see if there are any any shakeups, but I
[25:26.120 -> 25:32.560] Don't think it's gonna really affect Red Bull's stranglehold on the competition in those high-speed circuits. Okay
[25:33.120 -> 25:35.560] Simon I want to I want to just move on and talk about them
[25:36.280 -> 25:41.720] Christian Horner really this weekend because it was the first weekend. Like I said that Red Bull looked uncomfortable
[25:41.720 -> 25:48.740] We know obviously he was fielding a lot of questions at the start of the weekend on the Helmut Marko comments and then as the weekend progressed he was
[25:48.740 -> 25:52.280] obviously fielding a lot of questions from the media on the lack of performance and the
[25:52.280 -> 25:56.840] lack of improvement in performance in the Red Bull. How did he or how was he this weekend?
[25:56.840 -> 26:00.720] I mean you must have interviewed him a fair few times throughout the weekend. How did
[26:00.720 -> 26:04.680] it change and how has it changed from say early on in the season when obviously everything's
[26:04.680 -> 26:07.800] going well? I guess this is where you earn your money isn't it as a team principal
[26:07.800 -> 26:10.720] when the chips are down and when you've got to come out and face the media?
[26:10.720 -> 26:18.180] Yeah, I think it's not like you're responsible for a squad of 24 players like you might be
[26:18.180 -> 26:22.800] in a Premier League football team. You're responsible for a squad and a team of up to
[26:22.800 -> 26:26.100] a thousand, maybe more than a thousand people in the case of some of the bigger teams.
[26:26.100 -> 26:30.200] So I think as a team principal, you have to wear a number of hats.
[26:30.600 -> 26:33.200] I think Christian is actually pretty good at it.
[26:33.600 -> 26:38.300] I think, you know, there's a reason that he's the longest-serving team principal.
[26:38.300 -> 26:41.000] There's a reason that he's like the second youngest team principal,
[26:41.000 -> 26:43.300] I think he's second only to Colin Chapman, isn't it?
[26:43.300 -> 26:45.520] And there's a reason that he got that early.
[26:45.520 -> 26:50.640] He is driven, he is focused, he is an absolute competitor.
[26:51.840 -> 26:58.000] And I think over the last few years, they've been used to a lot of criticism
[26:58.000 -> 27:02.920] coming towards them for the right and the wrong reasons, but whatever the
[27:02.920 -> 27:06.880] reasons are, you have to be the judge of those yourself,
[27:06.880 -> 27:09.120] but they've certainly, and Christian particularly,
[27:09.120 -> 27:11.240] has had to field a lot of negativity.
[27:13.180 -> 27:17.080] So I think he had to do that at the beginning of the weekend
[27:17.080 -> 27:20.000] because Dr. Marko's comments were unacceptable.
[27:21.220 -> 27:23.840] He did, when we interviewed him,
[27:23.840 -> 27:28.000] I asked him about why there wasn't a statement released by the team.
[27:28.000 -> 27:32.100] And he said that is because he's an employee of the wider Red Bull
[27:32.100 -> 27:35.500] group. When you look on the company's house website,
[27:35.500 -> 27:38.800] he is one of only two active directors of Red Bull racing.
[27:38.800 -> 27:42.000] So you could say there was an element of spin there.
[27:42.000 -> 27:42.700] Dr.
[27:42.700 -> 27:45.500] Marco apologized, Sergio Perez accepted it.
[27:46.000 -> 27:47.600] Was that enough?
[27:47.900 -> 27:49.100] What would it have cost them?
[27:49.100 -> 27:51.800] I think the team to put out a statement saying it's just not
[27:51.800 -> 27:54.700] good enough, but you know, according to the team, they did
[27:54.700 -> 27:58.200] that via service TV from the wider group and that's where
[27:58.200 -> 27:59.600] they drew a line underneath it.
[27:59.600 -> 28:02.800] So number one, he had to deal with that.
[28:03.100 -> 28:09.000] Number two, he had a struggling car and two very frustrated drivers all weekend.
[28:09.000 -> 28:13.500] But I think there's an acceptance that they're just so far ahead, right?
[28:13.500 -> 28:16.000] The championships, both of the championships are theirs.
[28:16.000 -> 28:20.000] It's not a question of if, but when.
[28:20.000 -> 28:24.000] So I think they've got that leeway that he's able to take it on the chin and say,
[28:24.000 -> 28:26.100] okay, we'll learn from this, we'll move on.
[28:26.500 -> 28:28.800] I think he does it very well.
[28:28.800 -> 28:38.100] I, you know, I think that team occasionally, I would say, is a very unforgiving
[28:38.100 -> 28:41.400] environment, the pressure that goes on to the drivers.
[28:42.400 -> 28:45.680] I'm just looking at what Liam Lawson's going on, going through at the
[28:45.680 -> 28:48.880] moment, but certainly, you know, there is absolutely no room for error and
[28:48.880 -> 28:54.240] it's a highly, highly pressurized team and environment that perhaps differs
[28:54.640 -> 28:55.880] to some of the other ones.
[28:55.920 -> 29:00.360] Um, I'm thinking of, you know, just some of the bigger teams, it's definitely
[29:00.360 -> 29:01.640] a different way to go racing.
[29:01.640 -> 29:03.760] It's their own way, Red Bull's way.
[29:04.200 -> 29:11.000] So I think he handled it as best he could. Horrible weekend, came out, faced the
[29:11.000 -> 29:14.320] music like they all did. I think they just were like right okay, bad weekend,
[29:14.320 -> 29:18.560] move on, we'll be good for Suzuka. And to be fair, it's likely
[29:18.560 -> 29:21.520] they're going to win the Constructors' Championship in Suzuka and it's like
[29:21.520 -> 29:24.960] it was exceptionally likely that Max is going to win the Drivers' Championship in
[29:24.960 -> 29:28.960] Qatar. So I guess that will help them move forward and move on very very quickly.
[29:28.960 -> 29:33.680] Um okay I want to sort of honourable mentions to some other people within the field and George
[29:33.680 -> 29:38.560] Russell I think we need to give a give a shout out and a commiserations to George he obviously
[29:38.560 -> 29:43.760] crashed out in that final lap um and I think it just goes just goes to show the fine margins
[29:43.760 -> 29:47.560] involved in this sport you know that one lapse concentration, if that's what it was,
[29:47.560 -> 29:51.280] just that, you know, millimetres, and he's into the wall and he loses all the points.
[29:51.280 -> 29:54.760] And, Ann, I don't know if you've ever had any sort of similar experience,
[29:54.760 -> 29:58.480] but you, you know, particularly in Singapore, particularly with the physical demands,
[29:58.480 -> 30:00.480] particularly with the mental demands of that track,
[30:00.480 -> 30:06.200] after 62 laps, you then crash out and put it in the wall and lose all the
[30:06.200 -> 30:09.800] points that you gather for the team. I mean, that must just make you feel sick, mustn't
[30:09.800 -> 30:10.800] it?
[30:10.800 -> 30:16.200] It's one that every driver's been through in their career, Matt, whether it is in your
[30:16.200 -> 30:23.320] junior career or in the limelight and spotlight of Formula One, the world watching over you,
[30:23.320 -> 30:25.440] let alone for the leader of the race
[30:25.440 -> 30:27.700] or potential leader of the race, like it was for George.
[30:27.700 -> 30:31.780] So you've been that hero for so many laps in the race
[30:31.780 -> 30:34.440] and you just feel like you can walk on water.
[30:34.440 -> 30:38.960] And then suddenly reality hits you very hard in the face.
[30:38.960 -> 30:41.600] And yeah, he'll pick himself up.
[30:41.600 -> 30:42.600] He definitely will.
[30:42.600 -> 30:43.560] He's young.
[30:43.560 -> 30:49.360] He knows he's got the talent. He knows the team are right behind him, but it's embarrassing. As he said himself,
[30:49.360 -> 30:58.240] you know, it's a very elementary mistake, silly mistake, and it is not like it happens through
[30:58.240 -> 31:06.540] a corner and he just lost the car and understood why. It is just placing of the car before you turn in.
[31:06.540 -> 31:10.780] And it, I've seen it happen so many times, you know, people just dipping a wheel, like
[31:10.780 -> 31:16.320] Sergio Perez in first practice, first lap in Budapest on his outlet, dips a wheel on
[31:16.320 -> 31:18.120] the grass and spins off and goes into the barrier.
[31:18.540 -> 31:20.460] It, you know, they've all, they've all done it.
[31:20.460 -> 31:22.500] It happens to the best of them.
[31:22.920 -> 31:25.600] Um, yeah, he's just got to pick himself up, but it's
[31:25.600 -> 31:26.880] going to hurt for a couple of days.
[31:27.920 -> 31:33.280] What was he thrown though? I mean, the question, because Lando hit the wall as well. Lando
[31:33.280 -> 31:37.440] hit turn 10, he glanced it. And I wonder if he's kind of like, you're hypnotized, aren't
[31:37.440 -> 31:42.560] you? You're following him so closely. He's trying absolutely everything he can to, you
[31:42.560 -> 31:46.600] know, to get on his tail and make the miracle move, but he's so close.
[31:46.600 -> 31:50.000] He just be misjudged you by a fraction of an inch and hit it slightly harder
[31:50.000 -> 31:51.700] than the Lando's kiss.
[31:51.700 -> 31:54.400] And that's that's kind of what what did it for it?
[31:54.400 -> 31:57.200] But I mean, he looked yeah, I mean he called it pathetic.
[31:57.200 -> 31:57.400] Didn't he?
[31:57.400 -> 32:01.800] Once all the dust had settled once he'd got through the emotion of it all
[32:01.800 -> 32:04.800] which must have been absolutely coursing through his veins for about an
[32:04.800 -> 32:05.000] hour. Yeah, I think by the time he'd got through all the emotion of it all, which must have been absolutely coursing through his veins for about an hour.
[32:05.000 -> 32:05.400] Yeah.
[32:05.600 -> 32:07.900] I think by the time he'd got through all
[32:07.900 -> 32:10.500] the TV interviews, it kind of started to
[32:10.500 -> 32:12.200] settle that, you know, that's another one
[32:12.200 -> 32:12.700] that got away.
[32:12.700 -> 32:15.500] And you could tell from his radio comments
[32:15.600 -> 32:17.900] that he thought, this is what we could win.
[32:18.100 -> 32:20.900] And he said it in the press conference
[32:21.100 -> 32:22.200] after qualifying.
[32:22.200 -> 32:24.200] He said, you know, we're the only ones
[32:24.200 -> 32:28.400] realistically that could physically do a one or a two stop dependent on the safety
[32:28.400 -> 32:32.200] car coming out because they had that extra set of mediums and it worked out
[32:32.200 -> 32:37.000] almost perfectly that they were able to get those and strap on the new mediums
[32:37.000 -> 32:40.000] and just throw caution to the wind and attack, attack, attack.
[32:40.400 -> 32:45.500] But once he didn't get the pass on Lando done early, I think it was game over for him.
[32:45.500 -> 32:48.360] And then he was, you know, he was gambling a little bit
[32:48.360 -> 32:50.840] and therefore made the mistake right at the end.
[32:50.840 -> 32:55.060] So yeah, shame for George, but you know, he'll bounce back.
[32:55.060 -> 32:57.220] He's going to win a load more Grand Prix's
[32:57.220 -> 32:59.160] in his career, no doubt about it.
[32:59.160 -> 33:02.400] The thing I love him for and the team for
[33:02.400 -> 33:04.680] is that they tried.
[33:04.680 -> 33:05.840] It would have been so easy just to
[33:05.840 -> 33:11.360] skip there. In second place, like Lando did, he would have picked up a nice shiny trophy
[33:11.360 -> 33:16.480] with P2 written on it and yeah it would have been good. The team would have scored loads of points
[33:16.480 -> 33:22.160] and it would have been quite a boring race actually towards the end watching four cars
[33:22.160 -> 33:28.800] trundle around behind the Ferrari and after its tyres everybody else on the same same set. It could have been a really boring end to the
[33:28.800 -> 33:34.080] Grand Prix if you think about it like that but George wasn't willing to accept that and neither
[33:34.080 -> 33:39.360] was Lewis and neither were the team and I really loved them for the fact that they saw a bit of an
[33:39.360 -> 33:44.720] opportunity driven, you know, pushed by George the whole race. What can we do to win this? I want to
[33:44.720 -> 33:45.240] win this. I don't want to win this? I want to win this.
[33:45.240 -> 33:46.240] I don't want to finish second.
[33:46.240 -> 33:46.920] I want to win this.
[33:46.920 -> 33:48.400] I can't overtake him on track.
[33:48.400 -> 33:50.640] We have to think outside the box.
[33:50.640 -> 33:53.520] And them doing what they, they made it a race.
[33:53.760 -> 33:57.600] They all, Mercedes and their drivers, made that Grand Prix
[33:58.000 -> 34:01.120] a fantastic Grand Prix and one that was nail biting
[34:01.360 -> 34:02.520] right through to the end.
[34:02.520 -> 34:05.240] And I don't really, I don't care that George ended up
[34:05.240 -> 34:09.780] in the barrier because he showed fighting spirit
[34:09.780 -> 34:13.840] and determination and a will to win.
[34:13.840 -> 34:18.200] And it was, I win this race or nothing for him.
[34:18.200 -> 34:21.960] And that was, I just, you know, in a year
[34:21.960 -> 34:23.560] where you're not gonna win the world championship,
[34:23.560 -> 34:26.720] it's Red Bulls, it's Maxxes, why not?
[34:26.720 -> 34:28.880] Just let's turn it into a motor race.
[34:28.880 -> 34:30.920] And that's exactly what it was.
[34:30.920 -> 34:37.840] I would like to think that I would have done the same thing if I was in that situation.
[34:37.840 -> 34:38.840] Just go for it.
[34:38.840 -> 34:40.080] What have you got to lose?
[34:40.080 -> 34:46.360] We all owe the Mercedes team then a debt of gratitude to make it such an interesting race at the end.
[34:46.360 -> 34:50.280] Couple of other stories, the Lando obviously finished second
[34:50.280 -> 34:52.200] but I also want to bunch this in with a chat
[34:52.200 -> 34:53.360] about Aston Martin as well
[34:53.360 -> 34:56.800] because McLaren are closing in on fourth place.
[34:56.800 -> 34:59.080] They have 78 points behind Aston Martin.
[34:59.080 -> 35:01.680] And I think what's interesting here is
[35:01.680 -> 35:04.920] we talk about how McLaren now with the upgrades
[35:04.920 -> 35:05.940] have got two drivers who
[35:05.940 -> 35:10.700] can score points consistently over a weekend. Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris are generally
[35:10.700 -> 35:15.780] there or thereabouts since the summer, you know, going to be scoring points. On the Aston
[35:15.780 -> 35:20.340] side, yes, you've got Fernando Alonso, no one's doubting his abilities and his ability
[35:20.340 -> 35:29.520] to score points, but Lance Stroll, I've got down here, he's had one point in the last five races and they do not have, as things stand, two drivers in that team
[35:29.520 -> 35:35.600] that can score points consistently. So Simon, I wonder what you made of Mike Crack's comments.
[35:35.600 -> 35:40.520] He said after Stroll's crash in qualy, it was a big hit, it meant he wasn't in the race
[35:40.520 -> 35:45.120] on Sunday, he said it's proof that he's in. I think this is another proof that he fully
[35:45.120 -> 35:49.520] has it. He tried to make it a positive, spin it so that it looked like yeah he's committed.
[35:50.080 -> 35:55.520] Do you agree? Do you think that that's maybe a bit of a PR line from Aston or do you think Lance is
[35:56.240 -> 36:02.720] genuinely struggling in that car? Well first of all we're all glad he's all right because that was
[36:02.720 -> 36:06.720] that was a big one. I think Martin in his column on Monday morning said,
[36:06.720 -> 36:09.160] you know, you wouldn't have survived that in his time,
[36:09.160 -> 36:11.920] perhaps in the 80s, 90s, whatever,
[36:11.920 -> 36:16.920] before all of the safety changes became standard,
[36:17.160 -> 36:19.880] that would have been a very, very nasty shunt.
[36:19.880 -> 36:21.420] It still was a nasty shunt.
[36:21.420 -> 36:24.040] And I think a combination of that
[36:24.040 -> 36:28.520] and a hugely expensive and extensive rebuild of the car
[36:28.520 -> 36:30.240] meant that they just thought, right,
[36:30.240 -> 36:33.800] let's take the decision, pause, get him right,
[36:33.800 -> 36:36.160] get him back for Suzuka so that we can,
[36:37.480 -> 36:38.920] you know, so that we can get there
[36:38.920 -> 36:40.680] and just wash our hands of this weekend.
[36:40.680 -> 36:42.560] Because it didn't work out for Fernando Alonso either.
[36:42.560 -> 36:43.720] He had that little pit stop.
[36:43.720 -> 36:46.200] You're talking about the gambling, you know, 25 seconds.
[36:46.200 -> 36:47.000] He was stuck there.
[36:47.000 -> 36:50.500] He got the five-second penalty for crossing the pit lane entry line.
[36:50.800 -> 36:55.300] So all in all, that was a horrible weekend for them, bearing in mind
[36:55.300 -> 37:00.300] that they'd earmarked this one as a very good opportunity to at least
[37:00.300 -> 37:03.300] get a podium and potentially for Fernando to have pushed for the win.
[37:03.300 -> 37:07.800] But they didn't look like they were on it from the start of the weekend, really.
[37:08.000 -> 37:12.500] So, for Lance, look, you're benchmarking yourself against, to me, one of the
[37:12.500 -> 37:19.000] top three drivers on the grid and, you know, quite possibly on a par with
[37:19.000 -> 37:23.000] Lewis and Max because Fernando Alonso is that good.
[37:23.000 -> 37:28.000] So you're always having to compare yourself to that and that is
[37:28.000 -> 37:30.000] hard because he's not at that standard.
[37:30.300 -> 37:32.500] He very much is not Fernando Alonso.
[37:32.500 -> 37:36.200] It's very unlikely that Lance Stroll will become Fernando Alonso
[37:36.200 -> 37:36.700] in the future.
[37:36.700 -> 37:39.300] So where's his head at after that?
[37:39.400 -> 37:42.400] He was able to be, you know, reasonably competitive against
[37:42.600 -> 37:47.900] Sebastian Vettel towards the end of Sebastian Vettel's career, but he has been blown away this year.
[37:48.000 -> 37:49.300] He's been unfortunate.
[37:49.300 -> 37:53.800] He had obviously the preseason accident, which he, you know, came back
[37:53.800 -> 37:56.400] strongly from, but he's not on that level.
[37:56.900 -> 38:01.600] And if he was closer, they would be challenging for second and they
[38:01.600 -> 38:04.300] wouldn't be now trying to hold their own for fourth.
[38:04.300 -> 38:09.700] So they've got an issue and I'm fascinated with his father owning
[38:09.700 -> 38:14.700] scene to see how it pans out because I wonder if it's, you know,
[38:14.700 -> 38:18.000] if it's a case of, you know, is his heart in it?
[38:18.000 -> 38:18.900] Is his head in it?
[38:18.900 -> 38:24.000] I hope for his sake it is and that he, you know, bounces back in Suzuka,
[38:24.000 -> 38:27.680] but only time will tell on that one. It's
[38:27.680 -> 38:34.000] one of the great kind of quandaries at the moment I think in Formula 1 what goes on there.
[38:34.000 -> 38:38.960] Very unique to Formula 1 as well, not many sports have your father owning a team and
[38:38.960 -> 38:43.280] your son driving for that team. It's very unlikely to happen in football and I mean
[38:43.280 -> 38:48.760] yeah, other team sports I can't really imagine that happening. Or if it did, that would be quite kind of
[38:48.760 -> 38:53.280] kind of amazing. Okay, one one other story I just want to wrap up before we move on to
[38:53.280 -> 38:58.040] Japan and that's the Liam Lawson story. We mentioned him earlier. Incredible performance
[38:58.040 -> 39:02.560] from him. It was his first points in Formula One, finished P9. He also knocked Verstappen
[39:02.560 -> 39:06.960] out of out of Q2, which meant he could proceed into Q3.
[39:06.960 -> 39:13.820] And where do you see his future? Because I'm seeing reports on Twitter that stuff is worrying
[39:13.820 -> 39:18.900] around that Yuki Tsunoda is going to be announced for AlphaTauri for next year. So that leaves
[39:18.900 -> 39:23.960] one remaining seat, which might well be Daniel Ricciardo. So what more could Liam Lawson
[39:23.960 -> 39:27.120] have done and what more could he do in Japan
[39:27.120 -> 39:29.180] to ensure he's on the grid for 2024?
[39:30.200 -> 39:33.320] Well, I had a brilliant saying during my time
[39:33.320 -> 39:35.160] as a driver, Matt, when they,
[39:35.160 -> 39:36.960] I actually was with Shield to Ferran.
[39:36.960 -> 39:37.920] It came from him.
[39:37.920 -> 39:40.680] And I was asking him at the time,
[39:40.680 -> 39:42.360] what do you think I should do when I was a test driver?
[39:42.360 -> 39:44.080] What do you think I can do?
[39:44.080 -> 39:45.160] Is there a chance? How do I propel And I was a test driver. What do you think I can do? You know, is there a chance?
[39:45.160 -> 39:48.120] How do I propel myself from being a test driver
[39:48.120 -> 39:48.960] onto the grid?
[39:48.960 -> 39:52.320] He said, simple, and just you take care of the present
[39:52.320 -> 39:54.320] and the future takes care of itself.
[39:54.320 -> 39:55.880] And I thought, I never forgot that.
[39:55.880 -> 39:58.000] So that is a brilliant line.
[39:58.000 -> 39:59.120] It's so true.
[39:59.120 -> 40:01.280] And that's all that Liam can do.
[40:01.280 -> 40:04.880] And so far he is, he's really performing well.
[40:04.880 -> 40:05.600] I've been super impressed with what I'm and so far he is, he's really performing well. I've been super
[40:05.600 -> 40:10.720] impressed what I'm seeing so far out of the last three Grand Prix. Two of them
[40:10.720 -> 40:16.240] have been incredibly tough. I mean Zandvoort with those mixed conditions, thrown into
[40:16.240 -> 40:21.600] the deep end with no testing, hardly knew the car at all. I think he'd only
[40:21.600 -> 40:29.760] done one filming day in it or something like that around the short circuit at Silverstone. So he's thrown it deep in his hand for what a Grand Prix to try
[40:29.760 -> 40:37.040] and survive. He did really well, made a brilliant plucky move down the inside of a formidable
[40:37.040 -> 40:45.760] Charles Leclerc into the Turn 11 chicane. Precise, excellent showcase of his ability and determination.
[40:46.400 -> 40:49.400] And then Monza, of course, you know, another, another good weekend.
[40:49.760 -> 40:53.480] Uh, but an easier circuit, I must say one that any rookie would choose.
[40:53.880 -> 40:57.720] I think looking back at Nick de Vries, uh, from last year, any, any
[40:58.000 -> 41:03.200] drive would choose Monza as a circuit to have their first go at, or, you
[41:03.200 -> 41:05.400] know, uh, an early time behind the wheel.
[41:05.840 -> 41:09.200] And then this incredibly hard weekend at Singapore as well.
[41:09.200 -> 41:16.160] I mean, what a track to try and drive your fastest around in a car you barely
[41:16.160 -> 41:18.060] know in those tough conditions.
[41:18.060 -> 41:21.000] And my goodness, he did a great job there.
[41:21.460 -> 41:27.040] Like you said, Matt, in qualifying, pipping Max Verstappen, knocking him out. I mean,
[41:28.000 -> 41:32.800] maybe he sealed the nail in the coffin at that moment, but ever getting a drive for the A-team.
[41:32.800 -> 41:33.280] Yeah, right.
[41:34.240 -> 41:40.160] It did cross my mind. Oops, sorry about that, guys. Yeah, but he's out there for himself,
[41:40.160 -> 41:45.000] and I think he should be out there for himself. He, if the Red Bull deal doesn't work out for him,
[41:45.000 -> 41:48.000] I know they've nurtured his way and they've paid his way
[41:48.000 -> 41:53.000] to come about, you know, for this opportunity to come about.
[41:53.000 -> 41:56.000] But in the same way that we've seen Pierre Gasly
[41:56.000 -> 42:00.000] make his own bed somewhere else, if he has to do that
[42:00.000 -> 42:02.000] and I don't know how their contracts work,
[42:02.000 -> 42:04.000] they maybe take a financial hit as well,
[42:04.000 -> 42:06.600] because I'm sure they sign up for a long time
[42:06.600 -> 42:07.800] with the Red Bull program.
[42:07.800 -> 42:09.600] So be it.
[42:09.600 -> 42:11.600] He was annoying with himself when he stopped by
[42:11.600 -> 42:14.000] to talk to us afterwards because of his start.
[42:14.000 -> 42:16.600] He was like, he'd achieved that,
[42:16.600 -> 42:19.200] he'd got into the points,
[42:19.200 -> 42:21.400] they've had four drivers there
[42:21.400 -> 42:23.600] and only Yuki scored points alongside him
[42:23.600 -> 42:28.400] and only one point more than him. So, I'm with Ant, can't have done any more.
[42:28.400 -> 42:33.100] I think what they might do is if they are going to announce Yuki for another year,
[42:33.100 -> 42:36.400] and the likelihood is that they trust Daniel Ricciardo to come back
[42:36.400 -> 42:40.600] and give him the spot that they'd kind of held out to give him,
[42:40.600 -> 42:41.500] then what do you do with him?
[42:41.500 -> 42:44.300] So if you look with Alex Albon, you know,
[42:44.300 -> 42:46.800] maybe they'll send him out on a, you know,
[42:46.800 -> 42:49.400] piece of elastic somewhere else that they can come back.
[42:49.400 -> 42:52.500] And we were talking about it and Karuna and I were chatting about it.
[42:52.900 -> 42:56.300] You know, I think one of the likely places for him to end up is Williams.
[42:56.300 -> 43:02.400] I think he's the kind of guy that's made such an impression that, you know, as my
[43:02.400 -> 43:03.700] wife comes through the door, there we go.
[43:03.900 -> 43:05.600] Oh gosh, interrupting the podcast.
[43:05.600 -> 43:07.400] They are just gone for a morning coffee.
[43:08.400 -> 43:11.200] Anyway, let me let me continue with my train of thought.
[43:11.200 -> 43:11.600] Hold on.
[43:11.600 -> 43:12.500] What are we talking about?
[43:12.500 -> 43:13.600] Oh, yeah, Liam Lawson.
[43:13.900 -> 43:16.700] So yeah, he yeah, I just think the Williams would be a good fit
[43:16.700 -> 43:16.900] for him.
[43:16.900 -> 43:21.200] Imagine that as a combination, Alex Albarn and Liam Lawson, and
[43:21.200 -> 43:24.200] he's got a really good head on his young shoulders.
[43:24.200 -> 43:24.900] I'm with Ant.
[43:24.900 -> 43:26.600] I think he's exactly like Piastri.
[43:26.600 -> 43:30.800] I think they've come in and they seem, let's go back to wise, wise
[43:30.800 -> 43:32.500] beyond their years.
[43:33.900 -> 43:37.100] So I think that I think that would be a good option.
[43:37.100 -> 43:40.900] I wonder if it is an option or whether they just hold him back
[43:40.900 -> 43:43.900] as a reserve driver for next year and then slip him in when they
[43:43.900 -> 43:44.800] have the opportunity.
[43:44.800 -> 43:50.880] But right now, I think he's the kind of guy that is a breath of fresh air and we need more of that
[43:50.880 -> 43:56.320] next generation because he seems like he's to the man I'm born I reckon, I really do.
[44:10.940 -> 44:16.260] I think what will be interesting as well is what happens with Logan Sargent and I think it just, it's tough to say but you can be a rookie, you can come into a car and you
[44:16.260 -> 44:20.680] can look really really good. I think we've seen that with Oscar Piastri, we've seen what
[44:20.680 -> 44:30.100] Liam Lawson's done there and I do wonder if perhaps you might see James Vowles looking at what someone like Lawson has done and go, actually is Logan Sargent
[44:30.100 -> 44:35.000] our driver for 2024? But I'm sure time will tell as to what happens with that.
[44:35.000 -> 44:38.580] If you're a Red Bull and you're looking at it, look, you've got potential hot property
[44:38.580 -> 44:44.680] here in Liam Lawson. You have to nurture the young talent and finding time behind the wheel
[44:44.680 -> 44:45.840] is pretty tough these days.
[44:45.840 -> 44:49.600] You've got Daniel Ricciardo still there, once he's fit he'll be back in the car,
[44:49.600 -> 44:54.800] of course, and Lawson will go back to his super formula. Or will he? Do you really want him to be
[44:54.800 -> 45:01.840] doing that or do you want him to continue to hone his skills in Formula 1? It's probably a better
[45:01.840 -> 45:09.000] option. I would be wanting that if I was the team owner at Red Bull. I'd be thinking, he's done well so far and he's done this with such a limited
[45:09.000 -> 45:15.880] experience. Where's the limit for this kid? I want to see that. I want to put him, you
[45:15.880 -> 45:20.400] know, still out of the spotlight, relatively speaking, potentially in the Williams. They
[45:20.400 -> 45:27.600] get a good driver from it and we get our talent to continue learning his skills.
[45:27.600 -> 45:33.200] And against a formidable driver like Alex Albon in a nice environment.
[45:33.200 -> 45:35.600] And yeah, go and learn there.
[45:35.600 -> 45:40.100] And then when we think you're ready or there's a space for you,
[45:40.100 -> 45:41.500] we'll definitely have you back.
[45:41.500 -> 45:45.520] And then you're going to be closer to the finished article.
[45:45.520 -> 45:46.880] Feels like the right step, doesn't it?
[45:46.880 -> 45:49.080] For both the driver and for the Williams team.
[45:49.080 -> 45:50.760] And Valsey said that, didn't he?
[45:50.760 -> 45:54.240] When he came in to, after Monza, he just said,
[45:54.240 -> 45:56.360] look, I've said to Logan, it's in your hands.
[45:56.360 -> 45:59.080] You've got the next few races to prove
[45:59.080 -> 46:00.320] whether you can pick up the points.
[46:00.320 -> 46:03.480] And at the moment, he's not.
[46:03.480 -> 46:05.700] You see the opportunity to get somebody like Liam Lawson,
[46:05.700 -> 46:09.200] and you go, right, okay, that for the team, you know,
[46:09.200 -> 46:13.300] that's a really potentially very good lineup and one
[46:13.300 -> 46:15.400] that they've not had for a few years.
[46:15.400 -> 46:18.200] And with Alex pulling them in the right direction,
[46:18.500 -> 46:21.500] if they've got a second driver that can help him do that,
[46:21.800 -> 46:26.380] then all of a sudden sudden these green shoots of recovery
[46:26.380 -> 46:32.260] at Williams are growing into smaller plants and, you know, taking hold and that's exactly
[46:32.260 -> 46:33.980] what he's wanted to do, James.
[46:33.980 -> 46:38.460] And it feels like at last Williams are a team moving in the right direction.
[46:38.460 -> 46:46.080] So I wonder if that will motivate them for his signature, if they can get it.
[46:46.080 -> 46:52.600] Time will tell. Final couple of things just before we say goodbye. Japan, and you're obviously
[46:52.600 -> 46:58.880] going out there this evening, I should say. What are your expectations? I know in terms
[46:58.880 -> 47:02.600] of we've spoken about the Red Bull and we've spoken about what we think that perhaps they
[47:02.600 -> 47:08.880] might be back with a vengeance, but what are your expectations for that? And who do you think is going to be looking good
[47:08.880 -> 47:10.280] around Suzuka?
[47:10.280 -> 47:17.680] Well, I think that Red Bull will surge back to the front. I think, you know, they'll be
[47:17.680 -> 47:23.800] the team to beat. It's a circuit I think will really play to the strengths of their car.
[47:23.800 -> 47:26.440] Max flies around that circuit as well as one that he loves.
[47:27.240 -> 47:30.600] So they'll be the ones once again with the target on their back
[47:31.400 -> 47:33.840] with with the rest of the pack trying to catch them.
[47:34.560 -> 47:39.040] I'm sure it will be, you know, a much more plain sailing weekend
[47:39.560 -> 47:41.680] as far as Red Bull go.
[47:41.680 -> 47:44.840] After that, I think it can be it's going to be quite tight.
[47:44.880 -> 47:45.660] I'm intrigued
[47:45.660 -> 47:51.940] to see whether Ferrari can keep this pace up. My gut instinct is that they won't. I
[47:51.940 -> 47:59.480] feel like it'll be more Mercedes and McLaren that are picking up the pieces. And don't
[47:59.480 -> 48:05.920] forget that we'll have Oscar Piastri on the updates as well that he didn't have in Singapore so he'll be closer,
[48:05.920 -> 48:13.760] should be closer to the to Lando's performance, that track and I really expect a really close fight
[48:14.480 -> 48:18.960] that that battle from Singapore will continue between McLaren and Mercedes.
[48:21.040 -> 48:27.000] Will Aston Martin be better? I feel like they've been slightly left behind in recent races.
[48:27.000 -> 48:31.000] The updates haven't really been working out for them.
[48:31.000 -> 48:35.000] Other people have leaped in front of them in the development race.
[48:35.000 -> 48:37.000] Leapt in front of them, I should say.
[48:37.000 -> 48:43.000] And yeah, I think it will be Ferrari somewhere close to Mercedes and McLaren.
[48:43.000 -> 48:48.960] But this time I think it'll be McLaren and Mercedes with whichever order in
[48:48.960 -> 48:53.520] front of the Ferrari come the end of the race on Sunday. Very interesting. Simon
[48:53.520 -> 48:58.560] you'll be you'll be up will you at 1 a.m. for FP1 from home?
[48:58.560 -> 49:07.680] Yeah, of course I will. To be honest, you know, Japan is just such a great circuit, isn't it?
[49:07.680 -> 49:15.400] You just, you want to get up to witness cars going around Suzuka, you know, taking the
[49:15.400 -> 49:18.640] S's and 180R and all that kind of stuff.
[49:18.640 -> 49:22.480] It's just, it is an amazing track and it's a chassis track.
[49:22.480 -> 49:26.040] So I'm with Ann right it's it's it's effectively
[49:26.040 -> 49:33.080] it's gonna be Red Bull again unless unless something stratospheric happens
[49:33.080 -> 49:37.600] it's gonna be Red Bull but I just fancy I think Macquarie are the team
[49:37.600 -> 49:41.400] they're just doing this with the upgrades this year they they are they've
[49:41.400 -> 49:46.800] sorted out one of their Achilles heels, which was the low-speed corners, it seems, on Lando's car.
[49:46.800 -> 49:48.800] That update worked really well for them.
[49:48.800 -> 49:51.700] But just look at how he went at Silverstone.
[49:51.700 -> 49:58.500] You know, it's becoming a good car at most circuits now.
[49:58.500 -> 50:03.200] And I think if you had to pick one team that have developed best over the year,
[50:03.200 -> 50:04.600] it's obviously McLaren.
[50:04.600 -> 50:07.200] And you can see that in the results and how they've got better.
[50:07.200 -> 50:10.320] So yeah, bring it on.
[50:10.320 -> 50:10.800] Can't wait.
[50:10.800 -> 50:17.280] I need it for my sofa and not from the tiny hotel rooms that Ant's got to get into with
[50:17.280 -> 50:18.800] the rice pillows.
[50:18.800 -> 50:24.560] As Crofty always says, you just pour some hot water on the rice pillows and it fluffs
[50:24.560 -> 50:26.400] them up and makes them more comfortable.
[50:26.400 -> 50:27.400] So remember that tip.
[50:27.400 -> 50:29.400] Yeah, we're going to leave it there.
[50:29.400 -> 50:32.320] Simon and thank you very much and sleep well.
[50:32.320 -> 50:37.640] Try to give my regards for Yokai Ichi.
[50:37.640 -> 50:38.640] Will do Simon.
[50:38.640 -> 50:39.640] Yeah.
[50:39.640 -> 50:40.640] And sushi as well.
[50:40.640 -> 50:41.640] I know you love.
[50:41.640 -> 50:42.640] You'll be missing out.
[50:42.640 -> 50:43.640] We do.
[50:43.640 -> 50:44.640] Who are they?
[50:44.640 -> 50:45.000] Go on, explain who they are.
[50:45.000 -> 50:46.000] No.
[50:46.000 -> 50:47.000] What's that?
[50:47.000 -> 50:49.000] Explain who is it a person or is it a place?
[50:49.000 -> 50:50.000] Who?
[50:50.000 -> 50:51.000] Yokaiichi or sushi?
[50:51.000 -> 50:57.000] Yeah, she's a food map and Yokaiichi is Yokaiichi is the place we stayed, but we're just outside
[50:57.000 -> 50:58.000] Yokaiichi.
[50:58.000 -> 51:04.400] Um, and if you don't see she found a Domino's was recently only up there and Anna McDonald's
[51:04.400 -> 51:06.480] bar that's brand placement, can't do that.
[51:06.480 -> 51:14.000] So yeah, there's options but it's an extraordinary place Japan, I urge you to go if you've never been before.
[51:16.000 -> 51:20.160] On that note, we will leave it. Simon and thank you very much for your time, we'll be back
[51:20.160 -> 51:24.480] next Tuesday to look back at the Japanese Grand Prix. Hope you can join us then, bye for now.
[51:23.850 -> 51:26.910] back next Tuesday to look back at the Japanese Grand Prix.
[51:26.910 -> 51:28.910] Hope you can join us then, bye for now.