Was the new Sprint format a success and has Sergio Perez's win rattled Max Verstappen?

Sky F1's Ant Davidson and Rachel Brookes are joined by Max Verstappen's former performance engineer Blake Hinsey to reflect on the new Sprint format in Baku (06:30). They also discuss the title battle between Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez (26:45) and explain why Aston Martin's 'bromance' is the dream partnership (49:31).

# Podcast Episode Summary:

**Title:** The Sprint Format in Baku: A Detailed Analysis

**Podcast:** Sky Sports F1 Podcast

**Hosts:** Rachel Brookes and Ant Davidson

**Guest:** Blake Hinsey, former performance engineer to Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez

**Main Discussion Points:**

- **Confusing Format:** The new sprint format in Baku left many, including the hosts and guest, feeling confused and exhausted. The condensed schedule and the lack of clarity regarding rules and procedures made it challenging for teams, drivers, and fans to follow.

- **One Practice Session:** The single practice session posed a significant challenge for teams, limiting their ability to gather data and make informed setup decisions. This impacted the drivers' confidence and performance throughout the weekend.

- **Impact on Race Strategy:** The sprint race influenced the race strategy for Sunday's Grand Prix. Teams had to balance their performance in the sprint with their tire management for the main race. This led to some drivers prioritizing Sunday's race over the sprint, resulting in a lack of excitement and drama during the sprint.

- **Max Verstappen's Disapproval:** Max Verstappen expressed his dissatisfaction with the sprint format, calling it boring and suggesting it should be scrapped. He felt that the format detracted from the traditional build-up and excitement of a race weekend.

- **Potential Tweaks to the Format:** The hosts and guest discussed various ideas to improve the sprint format. Suggestions included relaxing Parc Ferme rules to allow teams to make setup changes between the sprint and the race, giving points to more positions in the sprint, and reducing the sprint shootout session to a single lap.

- **Excitement Despite Format Issues:** Despite the challenges with the format, the hosts acknowledged that the sprint race in Baku still produced some exciting moments, such as the close battle between George Russell and Max Verstappen.

**Overall Takeaway:**

The sprint format in Baku presented several challenges and left many feeling confused and underwhelmed. The hosts and guest agreed that the format needs further refinement and adjustments to make it more engaging and beneficial for teams, drivers, and fans.

# Podcast Episode Summary:

**Title:** The Sprint Format, Title Battle, and Aston Martin's 'Bromance'

**Podcast:** Sky F1's Ant Davidson and Rachel Brookes are joined by Max Verstappen's former performance engineer Blake Hinsey.

**Main Segments:**

1. **The New Sprint Format in Baku:**
- The drivers' perspectives on the high-risk, high-reward strategy due to the sprint format.

2. **Title Battle Between Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez:**
- Perez's strong performance and potential to challenge Verstappen for the championship.
- Verstappen's body language and response to Perez's success.

3. **Aston Martin's 'Bromance':**
- The dynamic between Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll as teammates.
- Their willingness to help each other on the track and share information.

**Key Points:**

- The sprint format in Baku led to aggressive driving and increased risk-taking by drivers.

- Perez's victory in the sprint and strong race performance have positioned him as a potential title contender against Verstappen.

- Verstappen's body language and comments suggest he is feeling pressure from Perez's challenge.

- Alonso and Stroll's collaborative approach as teammates showcases a positive team dynamic at Aston Martin.

- The engineers play a crucial role in facilitating teamwork and sharing information between drivers.

**Insights and Controversies:**

- Blake Hinsey highlights the unique challenges faced by drivers in adapting to different car characteristics and finding the optimal setup.

- Rachel Brookes observes a change in Sergio Perez's demeanor this season, suggesting a more determined and focused approach.

- The discussion touches on the psychological aspects of street circuit racing, emphasizing the need for drivers to let go of inhibitions and enter a "flow state."

- The podcast briefly addresses the ongoing debate surrounding the effectiveness of the new sprint format in Formula One.

**Overall Message:**

The podcast provides an in-depth analysis of the title battle between Verstappen and Perez, the impact of the sprint format on driving strategies, and the positive team dynamics at Aston Martin. It also delves into the psychological and technical aspects of Formula One racing, offering insights into the challenges faced by drivers and engineers.

## New Sprint Format in Baku ##

- Sky F1's Ant Davidson, Rachel Brookes, and Max Verstappen's former performance engineer, Blake Hinsey, discuss the new Sprint format in Baku.
- The Sprint format introduced a shorter race on Saturday to determine the grid for the main race on Sunday.
- The drivers and teams had mixed reactions to the new format, with some finding it exciting and others criticizing it for being too short and chaotic.
- Hinsey believes the Sprint format could be improved by making it longer and giving the drivers more time to settle into a rhythm.

## Title Battle between Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez ##

- Verstappen and Perez are currently battling for the lead in the Drivers' Championship.
- Verstappen has a slight lead over Perez, but Perez has been closing the gap in recent races.
- The two Red Bull drivers have a good relationship and have been working well together so far this season.
- However, there is some concern that the title battle could become more intense as the season progresses.

## Aston Martin's 'Bromance' ##

- Aston Martin teammates Lance Stroll and Sebastian Vettel have developed a close friendship this season.
- The two drivers have been seen joking around and supporting each other both on and off the track.
- Vettel has been a mentor to Stroll, and the two drivers have helped each other improve their performances.
- The 'bromance' between Stroll and Vettel has been a positive story in Formula One this season.

## Other Notable Topics Discussed ##

- The drivers' concerns about the new regulations, which have made it more difficult to follow other cars closely.
- The excitement surrounding the upcoming Miami Grand Prix, which will be held for the second time this year.
- Blake Hinsey's thoughts on the new Sprint format and how it could be improved.

## Overall Message ##

The podcast provides an informative and engaging discussion of the new Sprint format in Baku, the title battle between Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez, and the 'bromance' between Aston Martin teammates Lance Stroll and Sebastian Vettel. The podcast also highlights some of the key issues facing Formula One this season, such as the difficulty of following other cars closely and the concerns about the new regulations.

[00:00.000 -> 00:05.440] F1 is back and with it our first sprint race of 2023.
[00:05.440 -> 00:09.440] A new format, but Verstappen says we should scrap the whole thing altogether.
[00:09.440 -> 00:12.720] So did it deliver or does it need changing yet again?
[00:12.720 -> 00:17.360] Sergio Perez didn't mind, the king of the streets, winning the sprint and the race on Sunday.
[00:17.360 -> 00:20.240] Is he now a genuine title threat to Verstappen?
[00:20.240 -> 00:22.720] This is the Sky Sports F1 Podcast.
[00:27.800 -> 00:30.360] This is the Sky Sports F1 podcast. Hello everyone, a very warm welcome to this week's episode.
[00:30.360 -> 00:31.360] I hope you're well.
[00:31.360 -> 00:37.560] Joining me for this one is Sky Sports F1 analyst and Davidson, Sky Sports F1 reporter Rachel
[00:37.560 -> 00:43.600] Brooks and former performance engineer to Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez at Force India
[00:43.600 -> 00:46.080] and now F1 content creator Blake Hincey.
[00:46.080 -> 00:47.080] Hello all!
[00:47.080 -> 00:48.080] Hello!
[00:48.080 -> 00:49.080] Hi!
[00:49.080 -> 00:50.080] Howdy!
[00:50.080 -> 00:51.080] Hello, hello, hello.
[00:51.080 -> 00:54.640] Now before I come to you and get your one word weekend reviews, I just want to tell
[00:54.640 -> 00:55.760] everyone how this is going to go.
[00:55.760 -> 00:59.360] So I want us to get into the sprint weekend and our thoughts on that because I'm sure
[00:59.360 -> 01:03.200] we've all got some fairly interesting thoughts on how that all played out.
[01:03.200 -> 01:09.640] Then I want to get into this sort of brewing title fight at Red Bull between Max and Sergio. I'm going to get excited,
[01:09.640 -> 01:13.060] even if maybe other people are going to temper that, but I think it's worth getting excited
[01:13.060 -> 01:16.920] about. And then we've also got some questions at the end of the podcast from people at home.
[01:16.920 -> 01:21.000] So Rachel, I'm going to kick off with you. Your one word weekend review. You were there
[01:21.000 -> 01:30.800] in Baku. So let's start with you. Exhausting. Exhausting, not just physically, not just physically. I think everybody was kind of,
[01:30.800 -> 01:33.600] we were looking forward to it because this new format, we're thinking, right, you know,
[01:33.600 -> 01:39.120] this is going to change it up. But being up and ready for every single session in the way that
[01:39.120 -> 01:43.680] everyone had to be, including drivers, teams, team personnel, everybody, I think by the time everyone
[01:43.680 -> 01:45.760] got to the end of the race yesterday, it was like,
[01:45.760 -> 01:48.400] wow, that was full on hard work.
[01:48.400 -> 01:49.920] And then the rain came.
[01:49.920 -> 01:52.160] So for those guys and girls packing up that paddock
[01:52.160 -> 01:54.400] and de-rigging, TV crews, everybody,
[01:54.400 -> 01:57.640] to then de-rig all that in the pouring rain quickly
[01:57.640 -> 01:59.020] so they could all get on a plane
[01:59.020 -> 02:01.720] for 14, 15, 16 hours to Miami today,
[02:01.720 -> 02:04.800] I mean, just exhausting and don't make it a back-to-back.
[02:04.800 -> 02:05.760] Sorry, that's it. Don't, please don't make it a back-to-back. Sorry, that's it.
[02:05.760 -> 02:10.320] Don't, please don't make it back to back like that. Yeah, my goodness. I mean when you put it like that
[02:10.320 -> 02:14.480] and also yeah this is the start of a six-week stretch. Obviously we've got a week off after
[02:14.480 -> 02:18.480] Miami but this is the start of a six-week stretch. Yeah, it's an exhausting way to start. Blake,
[02:18.480 -> 02:23.200] I'm going to come to you next. What's your one word weekend review? Well unfortunately Rachel
[02:23.200 -> 02:26.520] took my word but we didn't talk about it ahead of time.
[02:26.520 -> 02:29.640] So personally, I did feel exhausted
[02:29.640 -> 02:32.200] because at the same time, I'm not at the track,
[02:32.200 -> 02:34.960] I'm doing a lot of analysis at home about every session,
[02:34.960 -> 02:38.320] but you've got one practice, you've got qualifying,
[02:38.320 -> 02:40.880] you've got qualifying, you've got race, you've got race.
[02:40.880 -> 02:42.960] And there's a lot of information to try to understand
[02:42.960 -> 02:44.520] because that's the stuff that people want to dig into.
[02:44.520 -> 02:47.520] It's like, it's not a practice session session it's not a test session you're literally
[02:48.080 -> 02:51.920] everything on the line and there's a lot going on other than that I would say if I had to pick a
[02:51.920 -> 02:57.440] word that's not exhausting I would say a little bit confused I don't know how I feel about this
[02:57.440 -> 03:02.640] format yet and I'm sure we'll get plenty of thoughts on that as well but I think confused is
[03:02.640 -> 03:05.680] a good uh I don't know where to sit yet.
[03:08.480 -> 03:09.040] Yeah, we'll give you two words there seeing as Rachel took your first one.
[03:10.080 -> 03:10.880] Thanks. Sorry. No, no problem.
[03:11.440 -> 03:14.640] You're not going to believe this. You're not going to believe this. Yeah, I mean,
[03:16.160 -> 03:26.300] I was in spa all weekend. So trying to keep up the speed with what was going on in the world of F1 in Baku I found it
[03:26.300 -> 03:35.760] confusing so well done you just nicked my word! That's what you get for having two. I was going to go for
[03:35.760 -> 03:41.380] involving because you need I feel like you really needed to be there and be
[03:41.380 -> 03:46.080] involved and there's a lot to these condensed weekends now.
[03:47.520 -> 03:53.840] You know, with the only one practice session and qualifying come at you so quickly and
[03:54.560 -> 03:58.560] I just feel like it was a lot more like actually trying to keep up with speed what goes on in a
[03:58.560 -> 04:06.560] Formula E weekend where it's basically all on one day. that's how it seemed from the outside, you know, it comes at you relentlessly.
[04:06.560 -> 04:14.800] And to be away from it, as I was, quite detached that weekend from F1,
[04:14.800 -> 04:21.680] speaking to other colleagues who I was working with there, who have worked in Formula 1 in the past,
[04:21.680 -> 04:28.400] other friends texting me from abroad saying, hey, what's going on with this? Can Park Firm, can they do this?
[04:28.400 -> 04:31.320] Which tyres can they use for that?
[04:31.320 -> 04:36.360] What times the sprint on is that before qualifying for the race?
[04:36.360 -> 04:39.600] So it was really confusing.
[04:39.600 -> 04:42.280] But I think if you were there and you were involved in it,
[04:42.280 -> 04:45.080] I think then it must have been quite fun.
[04:45.080 -> 04:46.120] No, no.
[04:46.120 -> 04:48.000] And we said exactly the same thing.
[04:48.000 -> 04:49.120] All the way through the weekend,
[04:49.120 -> 04:50.280] we were in the office in the morning.
[04:50.280 -> 04:51.100] What time is this?
[04:51.100 -> 04:51.940] What time is that?
[04:51.940 -> 04:52.760] Are they allowed out of platform?
[04:52.760 -> 04:53.600] Can they change this?
[04:53.600 -> 04:54.920] And what titles are they using today?
[04:54.920 -> 04:57.760] We had all those questions and we were there.
[04:57.760 -> 04:58.600] Right.
[05:00.480 -> 05:01.440] That clears that one up.
[05:01.440 -> 05:06.920] I mean, I've gone for maybe, which basically I think, kind of
[05:06.920 -> 05:12.640] like you were saying Blake, is sort of like, maybe this format, maybe for another track,
[05:12.640 -> 05:16.720] maybe in the future this might be something that will be worth doing, but I think on the
[05:16.720 -> 05:21.160] basis of Azerbaijan, I don't think we can draw a definitive conclusion on the success
[05:21.160 -> 05:29.120] of it. I think, you know, there are many, many things that I want to get into, but also just basic things, and a bit like we're all saying with the fact that Friday is setting
[05:29.120 -> 05:33.920] the grid for Sunday. I think in my head it should be kind of chronological. I think you want, like,
[05:33.920 -> 05:38.400] you know, to build throughout the weekend, you want to have that narrative and have momentum
[05:38.400 -> 05:42.240] build. And the fact that on Sunday morning you're going, oh yeah, who is on poll? Oh yeah,
[05:42.240 -> 05:45.480] let's refer back to Friday. You know, oh, who's third, who's fourth?
[05:45.480 -> 05:47.080] Let's go back to Friday.
[05:47.080 -> 05:50.320] I think, yeah, for me, it just got a little bit confusing.
[05:50.320 -> 05:52.940] So there we go, it's all like this big circle of words
[05:52.940 -> 05:57.940] that we've all picked the same vague words within reason.
[05:58.280 -> 06:01.480] Okay, let's get into some questions from people at home.
[06:01.480 -> 06:03.520] And John C wants to know if,
[06:04.840 -> 06:06.020] he wants to know if the new
[06:06.020 -> 06:10.780] format played a part on the way the race was played out considering Baku normally
[06:10.780 -> 06:15.800] produces drama does it impact the teams only having one practice session Blake
[06:15.800 -> 06:19.180] start with you there was only one practice session how do you think that
[06:19.180 -> 06:23.640] impacted the teams well I can definitely speak from an engineering point of view
[06:23.640 -> 06:28.200] and I can speculate about a driver but we'd rather ask a driver what they think about the single practice run.
[06:28.200 -> 06:31.440] But from an engineering point of view, I mean Fridays are crazy.
[06:31.440 -> 06:32.560] FP1 is flat out.
[06:32.560 -> 06:34.680] You're trying to get maybe one test item done.
[06:34.680 -> 06:38.360] You're understanding both of the compounds at low fuel, maybe having a sniff of what
[06:38.360 -> 06:40.920] the high fuel balance and performance is like.
[06:40.920 -> 06:44.400] Then you've got another test program for FP2 where you've narrowed down what you want to
[06:44.400 -> 06:48.740] do. You've learned a lot. You've got different track conditions, and then you're going into your
[06:49.600 -> 06:52.120] dress rehearsal basically to get ready for Saturday.
[06:52.800 -> 06:55.100] Well, you don't have that anymore. You literally go in,
[06:55.780 -> 06:57.280] you get Friday,
[06:57.280 -> 06:58.960] you
[06:58.960 -> 07:03.580] throw some darts at a board and say this is what our setup we think we're gonna need for hotter track temps,
[07:03.580 -> 07:07.760] and it's locked down. And then from an engineering point of view all you're doing is reacting
[07:07.760 -> 07:12.320] you're understanding and giving feedback to the driver on what you can do with the settings and
[07:12.320 -> 07:15.840] the decisions you've made for the weekend for the rest of the weekend so you can't really do
[07:15.840 -> 07:21.360] anything so you know long gone is uh staying up until midnight changing the diff maps or you know
[07:21.360 -> 07:32.880] up or down a little bit on ride height you've done it friday so you're kind of in passenger reaction mode for the rest of the weekend and i don't as a as a as an outsider
[07:32.880 -> 07:38.800] now observing i don't know if that made much difference on the weekend itself from from a
[07:38.800 -> 07:45.320] fan's point of view at all other than maybe slightly confused and not clear because it's a new format but
[07:45.320 -> 07:47.820] Yeah, I'd one practice session is tough
[07:48.080 -> 07:52.680] But the best thing about one practice session is it breeds uncertainty
[07:52.680 -> 07:56.040] We don't know how the tires gonna behave you have to lean very heavily on your preparation
[07:56.120 -> 07:59.880] you have to lean very heavily on your understanding of tire compounds from different tracks and
[08:00.280 -> 08:11.280] Extrapolate to the track that you're on now. there's a lot more guesswork going on which in my mind as an engineer I'd hate it if I had one session to make all my changes I would hate it
[08:11.280 -> 08:16.160] but as a fan I don't think we've got a good taste of what that actually does yet.
[08:16.160 -> 08:23.520] Yeah and I think we saw with Gasly and De Vries they both had bad Fridays and it felt like they
[08:23.520 -> 08:26.560] never recovered from Friday you know I mean uh De Vries was the both had bad Fridays and it felt like they never recovered from Friday, you know, I mean
[08:27.440 -> 08:32.720] De Vries was the reason for the safety car in the race, he crashed out in qualy, Gasly had smoke billowing from his
[08:33.120 -> 08:39.520] from his car in FP1, which then meant he had a poor race when he finished P14. So as a driver
[08:40.320 -> 08:47.000] how much are you relying on momentum throughout the weekend to get to that place on Sunday where you're ready to go and you're ready to score good points?
[08:48.000 -> 09:01.000] So yeah, from a driver's point of view, you know, these kind of situations, Matt, means that if you are a driver that's, you know, a bit of a seat in the pants driver, it comes to you a bit more naturally, in a way.
[09:05.000 -> 09:06.200] naturally in a way it can really go in your favor,
[09:08.040 -> 09:10.600] and especially on a street track. You know, you're really scratching to find
[09:10.600 -> 09:13.580] that performance straight away as quickly as you can
[09:13.580 -> 09:15.600] and minimizing mistakes.
[09:15.600 -> 09:18.700] So every lap that you get, you gain knowledge,
[09:18.700 -> 09:20.680] just like from an engineer's point of view as well.
[09:20.680 -> 09:22.840] They gain knowledge from the laps that you do.
[09:22.840 -> 09:32.120] So if you can drive faster, more consistently, and get up to speed faster, it benefits everybody. And I think the biggest
[09:32.120 -> 09:37.880] rival or enemy in that stage is reliability. So if you do have any reliability woes, it
[09:37.880 -> 09:45.520] hits you three times as hard only having that one practice session as opposed to the three that we're accustomed
[09:45.520 -> 09:46.520] to.
[09:46.520 -> 09:48.080] So, it depends.
[09:48.080 -> 09:53.840] If you're a bit more of a harder worker, and there's no right or wrong, because some naturally
[09:53.840 -> 09:59.720] gifted drivers plateau quite quickly, and especially if you're a kind of naturally gifted
[09:59.720 -> 10:06.040] driver that doesn't like, hasn't got the work ethic, you don't find that last 5% say,
[10:06.040 -> 10:08.520] that will put you on pole position,
[10:09.720 -> 10:11.600] on a normal race weekend.
[10:11.600 -> 10:14.920] But I think it benefits those drivers
[10:14.920 -> 10:17.440] where it comes to them a bit more naturally.
[10:18.360 -> 10:22.640] And then it can elevate you to a level
[10:22.640 -> 10:26.080] that maybe you wouldn't be at given a normal race weekend,
[10:26.920 -> 10:28.520] because others can chip away at it,
[10:28.520 -> 10:30.320] keep working, keep working with the engineers,
[10:30.320 -> 10:32.360] oh, get everything perfect.
[10:32.360 -> 10:35.080] And that, I would put myself as,
[10:35.080 -> 10:37.080] when I was driving as more of the former,
[10:37.960 -> 10:39.700] and it used to annoy me actually
[10:39.700 -> 10:41.320] with the amount of practice sessions
[10:41.320 -> 10:44.040] that other drivers would start to catch up
[10:44.040 -> 10:45.320] through looking at your data,
[10:45.320 -> 10:46.640] through looking at their own data,
[10:46.640 -> 10:48.160] chipping away at it, getting close and you go,
[10:48.160 -> 10:50.760] well, it's kind of taken a lot of the skill out of it
[10:50.760 -> 10:53.240] in a way because anyone, if you give them enough time,
[10:53.240 -> 10:54.080] will get there.
[10:54.080 -> 10:58.260] So I quite liked what I saw in that respect.
[10:59.960 -> 11:02.280] It pulls on different skill sets as a driver.
[11:02.280 -> 11:03.560] It's a really interesting one.
[11:03.560 -> 11:06.120] I don't really think there's any right or wrong.
[11:06.120 -> 11:07.580] On Pierre Gasly on that,
[11:07.580 -> 11:09.560] he said to me on Saturday afternoon after the sprint,
[11:09.560 -> 11:10.440] he said, that's the first time
[11:10.440 -> 11:12.520] I've done 17 laps all weekend, you know,
[11:12.520 -> 11:13.680] and that's the street circuit.
[11:13.680 -> 11:15.520] So particularly on a track like that,
[11:15.520 -> 11:16.360] for someone like him,
[11:16.360 -> 11:18.560] where you need to build your confidence lap over lap,
[11:18.560 -> 11:20.360] that's gonna have a massive impact on your race.
[11:20.360 -> 11:21.840] So I can only imagine across the board,
[11:21.840 -> 11:23.400] it probably did have an impact.
[11:23.400 -> 11:24.880] What about the rookies as well?
[11:24.880 -> 11:26.720] Because I imagine if you're Oscar Piastri, I know you
[11:26.720 -> 11:30.800] would have driven in Baku before, but you're driving this car that you're still probably
[11:30.800 -> 11:35.960] getting to grips with at this point in the season, only four races in, and I mean Blake
[11:35.960 -> 11:40.160] obviously you were a performance engineer, how would you have tried to have coached someone
[11:40.160 -> 11:44.280] perhaps you know through the streets of Baku? Because it looks edge of the seat stuff doesn't
[11:44.280 -> 11:48.640] it? It's so exciting as a viewer. Yeah, I mean, the whole lap just builds and
[11:48.640 -> 11:52.360] builds and builds, and you've got the different characteristics and corners, but it's exactly
[11:52.360 -> 11:56.560] as Ant said, it's all about getting seat time and lap time and the ability to go back in
[11:56.560 -> 12:00.880] the garage, look at a printout or overlay to say, your teammates finding time here,
[12:00.880 -> 12:04.440] what do their tools look like? What is their approach to this corner? What is their approach
[12:04.440 -> 12:06.200] to this whole section of corners?
[12:06.200 -> 12:07.880] You know, you have lots of segments on this track
[12:07.880 -> 12:10.040] where drivers are trying to take chunks
[12:10.040 -> 12:11.680] out of the entry to corners,
[12:11.680 -> 12:14.640] and you say, you're not finding lap time there.
[12:14.640 -> 12:15.920] It's the exit of this whole segment.
[12:15.920 -> 12:18.640] Give up everything and focus on the drive out of this.
[12:18.640 -> 12:20.140] And there's so many different segments on this
[12:20.140 -> 12:22.560] through the castle, 15 down to 16,
[12:22.560 -> 12:23.880] and leading onto the back straight.
[12:23.880 -> 12:27.760] We saw in qualifying, a lot of drivers caught out there, giving up quite a bit
[12:27.760 -> 12:29.020] of lap time to their teammates there.
[12:29.020 -> 12:31.460] So more laps is better.
[12:31.600 -> 12:34.420] It gives the engineers more time to work with them and refine the tools to their
[12:34.420 -> 12:36.760] driving style as well, to help get more out of that.
[12:37.000 -> 12:41.000] We saw signs struggling a lot in three, four, five, and it's like.
[12:41.780 -> 12:47.160] Those corners aren't that much different than one, two, but there was certainly something else going on there with the characteristics of the track
[12:47.160 -> 12:50.360] that that was where most of his lap time was left on the board to his teammate
[12:50.360 -> 12:56.260] and it was a it was a huge gap this weekend yeah really it really was Rachel
[12:56.260 -> 13:00.080] you mentioned obviously what what Pierre Gasly said about about the format
[13:00.080 -> 13:04.400] Verstappen said he got bored in qualifying and and I think this is quite
[13:04.400 -> 13:06.160] a funny quote because I think boring
[13:06.320 -> 13:11.800] Is going shopping and you know going to the supermarket or doing those kind of you know
[13:11.840 -> 13:15.240] Cleaning the house not driving a Formula One car around the streets of Baku
[13:15.840 -> 13:18.820] And he said it was boring. I mean, what else do people say?
[13:19.640 -> 13:24.080] It's it's a funny one. I mean Max has never been a fan. He's been quite vocal about it, hasn't he?
[13:24.080 -> 13:28.400] And he said that you know afterwards he said scrap it, we need to scrap it kind of thing.
[13:29.520 -> 13:33.840] But he didn't come out of this weekend how he wanted. You know, he didn't win either of the
[13:33.840 -> 13:37.920] races this weekend. So, you know, there will be people who say, I quite like the sprint because
[13:37.920 -> 13:45.220] they came out of it in a good position. I mean, we obviously had the race qualifying on Friday and then the
[13:45.220 -> 13:52.140] sprint shootout on Saturday. I feel like the last SQ3, so sprint shootout three, should
[13:52.140 -> 13:56.260] only be five minutes. It should be one lap. They should have one quick lap. That is it
[13:56.260 -> 13:59.740] in that last final session, I think. I know we're going to come on to other ways to change
[13:59.740 -> 14:03.180] it, but I think if he thinks it's boring, fine, you get it nailed in one lap then. Off
[14:03.180 -> 14:06.960] you go. Let's see how boring that is. I think the biggest thing is when we're looking at this,
[14:07.520 -> 14:13.040] if the sprint format is a thing, it's staying for a while. I would much rather watch a sprint
[14:13.040 -> 14:18.240] shootout than an FP2 session with the cars in Parc Fermé. I like the sprint, the SQ.
[14:19.600 -> 14:24.800] Sorry, the sprint shootout format. I don't hate it, but I can understand where driver like Max
[14:24.800 -> 14:29.040] is coming from. It's just like the same, same, same, same, same. And they like the build-up
[14:29.040 -> 14:33.040] and the data gathering and the refinement and building an even bigger gap to their teammate.
[14:33.040 -> 14:37.440] Yeah, especially having already done a similar qualifying session on Friday. So he's already
[14:37.440 -> 14:42.720] kind of done a shootout on Friday. Let's talk about other ways we change it then. I'm going
[14:42.720 -> 14:45.080] to nick something from our very own Korean Chan Doc
[14:49.320 -> 14:54.680] On Twitter who was saying that we need to if we relax the park Ferme rules It gives you know, it gives teams a chance to at least catch up if you have a bad Friday
[14:54.680 -> 14:58.480] You can still tweak the car for a for a Saturday or a Saturday afternoon
[14:58.480 -> 15:00.960] Which hopefully would then put you in a better position for Sunday
[15:00.960 -> 15:10.720] I think that's a really good idea and I don't know if you've got anything else that you would suggest as ways to change it? I reckon you could give points all the way down
[15:10.720 -> 15:17.920] through the field to make it mean something for underperforming cars. Why not? It's something I
[15:18.800 -> 15:26.800] drove an underperforming car in Formula 1 and I had some fantastic 15th position finishes and 16th position finishes,
[15:26.800 -> 15:32.080] drove my heart out to beat your teammate or someone you were fighting for last place.
[15:32.720 -> 15:38.880] And you can have the race of your life and walk away from it with absolutely nothing to show for
[15:38.880 -> 15:47.580] it. And why not? You know, if you're gonna, in a way, it's gonna discourage people this format more so that we saw it with the tire usage
[15:48.440 -> 15:54.700] You know, you're focusing much more on the Sunday in your qualifying then you you don't care about the sprint race
[15:54.700 -> 15:56.980] You're not gonna score points in the sprint race anyway
[15:57.160 -> 16:02.000] So it becomes nothing for them and I can understand why some boredom might come into play
[16:02.360 -> 16:11.760] For the for the drivers further at the back with all due respect to them and their teams, but why not try to encourage racing all the
[16:11.760 -> 16:17.040] way down through the field? I know if you give these drivers, even on a computer game,
[16:17.040 -> 16:20.960] you set them a challenge, they're so competitive, they're going to drive flat out anyway and
[16:20.960 -> 16:32.400] have to get their muscles out and get their elbows out in a competition but really make it worthwhile really you know if you want to encourage them to treat it
[16:33.200 -> 16:41.120] properly seriously competitively then why not give a few more points and to add just for that
[16:41.120 -> 16:49.680] one race at least for their championship sake. We'd have to get down to decimal points wouldn't we of those if we were gonna have eight for the winner we'd have to be like
[16:49.680 -> 16:53.680] 4.2 or 0.7 or something like that.
[16:54.120 -> 16:56.120] They'll take anything I'm sure Matt.
[16:56.480 -> 17:01.780] What about the idea of a one-lap shootout for Qualy? How do we feel about that?
[17:01.780 -> 17:02.380] I mean
[17:02.380 -> 17:09.960] I guess the only issue is keeping it fair, right? Because if you have changes in weather, things like that, that could really favor some people and not others, but...
[17:09.960 -> 17:11.960] Track condition as well.
[17:11.960 -> 17:13.960] Anyone else have the idea of, yeah?
[17:13.960 -> 17:15.960] You don't want it to become...
[17:15.960 -> 17:20.800] You don't want it to become like a rally session where, you know, in a rally stage where
[17:21.760 -> 17:29.840] whoever starts first has the advantage, whoever starts last has the advantage. You want it to be fair. Honestly speaking, Formula 1, they've tried tinkering
[17:29.840 -> 17:37.160] with qualifying over the years and I really feel for F1, it's perfect how it is. There
[17:37.160 -> 17:43.400] are other areas that you could look at. The cars themselves, for example, with a reliance
[17:43.400 -> 17:46.320] on downforce coming through the wings still,
[17:46.320 -> 17:53.040] as they continue to generate more downforce from the wings, we're seeing wheel-to-wheel racing
[17:53.040 -> 17:58.560] suffer because of it. That's something I would fix way before looking at tweaks to qualifying.
[17:58.560 -> 18:04.400] For me, that's looking at changing things as a band-aid solution to the bigger problem.
[18:05.120 -> 18:07.760] I would say that, Matt, on what you were saying about Park Ferme and Corinne's point,
[18:07.760 -> 18:12.080] I had that down as well. I wanted actually to ask Blake, because what if you opened up Park
[18:12.080 -> 18:16.720] Ferme on Saturday night? You keep the format as we had it this weekend, but come Saturday night,
[18:17.280 -> 18:20.320] you're a team where your car is much further back than you want it to be in the field.
[18:20.320 -> 18:27.760] You can change that setup to get it racy. Maybe we would have had a better race on Sunday in Baku
[18:27.760 -> 18:30.340] if we'd had that, because teams could have made more changes.
[18:30.340 -> 18:32.460] They could have actually done a lot more work to the car,
[18:32.460 -> 18:34.480] and we may have actually had some competition.
[18:34.480 -> 18:36.640] Yeah, you could have seen a bit of chaos, especially.
[18:36.640 -> 18:39.120] A lot of people tended to run the lower
[18:39.120 -> 18:40.720] into the downforce packages.
[18:40.720 -> 18:44.560] So I think other tracks that would have worked here,
[18:44.560 -> 18:45.520] maybe not, because you
[18:45.520 -> 18:51.040] ended up having this weird situation where you had high efficiency car like a Ferrari, for example,
[18:51.040 -> 18:56.080] being trailed by a relatively low efficiency car like an Aston Martin or a Mercedes, which are
[18:56.080 -> 18:59.760] quite a bit more draggy this season. It's like they could get close and then you open up the
[18:59.760 -> 19:06.080] exit of 15. They can kind of close the gap a little bit and they're still 1.2 seconds back for many
[19:06.080 -> 19:10.720] laps in a row. But I mean, that's one of those things that could add variety to it. You hedge
[19:10.720 -> 19:15.840] your bets on Friday, you set your qualifying lap, go as fast as you can, and then you get to
[19:15.840 -> 19:22.240] re-optimize your car for Sunday. But I think probably Ant's comment on the Band-Aid is
[19:22.880 -> 19:25.980] probably actually the answer to that whole thing.
[19:25.980 -> 19:29.660] It's the cars being reliant on so much downforce.
[19:29.660 -> 19:34.100] And I think here we have quite a big set of differences
[19:34.100 -> 19:35.940] and performance gaps between the cars
[19:35.940 -> 19:38.420] as a result of this part of the development cycle.
[19:38.420 -> 19:40.260] But I mean, that would be super interesting
[19:40.260 -> 19:41.100] to see what they could do
[19:41.100 -> 19:44.580] if they could completely redo their setups for Sunday.
[19:44.580 -> 19:45.600] But I think we'd have
[19:45.600 -> 19:49.840] to see and trial it, you know, it's like what does it make? And I think the teams probably have a
[19:49.840 -> 19:55.520] pretty good idea what they can do in terms of the tools that they've got in the toolbox, effectively,
[19:55.520 -> 19:59.920] on what they could do. And maybe it would be a wash, but it would be interesting for sure.
[20:00.800 -> 20:05.600] We've got five more of them. So we've got Austria, Belgium, Qatar, Austin and Brazil.
[20:05.600 -> 20:11.800] Of those tracks, Rachel, which one would you say is the one you're most excited about seeing a sprint race at?
[20:11.800 -> 20:16.200] Which also, we should probably say the format might even change a little bit more.
[20:16.200 -> 20:18.400] Because they still can change the format, can't they?
[20:18.400 -> 20:20.400] They've left the regulations open to do that, haven't they?
[20:20.400 -> 20:25.280] I mean, if you looked at the sprint last last time or if you looked at the sprint with Lewis
[20:25.280 -> 20:29.360] coming through the field when he had all the penalties, that was exciting. That was a great
[20:29.360 -> 20:35.760] weekend for both the sprint and the Grand Prix. I would say on past history, I'd look at Brazil, but
[20:37.840 -> 20:40.800] I'll probably go for Brazil at the moment, I think, just because of what's happened there
[20:40.800 -> 20:44.720] before. We have these tracks where we think it's going to be fantastic or we think something's
[20:44.720 -> 20:48.080] going to happen, and then nothing happens. We say this about Baccar
[20:48.080 -> 20:53.040] all the time, if F2 has a lot of incidence and excitement, the F1 race is usually pretty quiet
[20:53.040 -> 20:58.640] and it's some weird anomaly that happens out there. That's what happened this time. I would
[20:58.640 -> 21:03.760] go with Brazil, but I've probably just jinxed it now. It's also the last one that we're going to,
[21:03.760 -> 21:09.840] so maybe by then we'll have a perfect format of the sprint. There's hoping yeah. Just to chip in on that
[21:09.840 -> 21:14.880] the only thing that I think was really really awkward for the the sprint shootout format was
[21:14.880 -> 21:21.760] the fact that who was it Norris didn't have any tires. No. And that was like the whole point of
[21:21.760 -> 21:29.640] the sprint shootout format is to get more cars on track And you've got you've got your McLaren of Landon or is in q3 the car looks a lot better
[21:29.640 -> 21:34.960] And he's like right I'm gonna sit out on this soft tire run on this brutal punishing Street Circuit track
[21:34.960 -> 21:36.000] And he sat there
[21:36.000 -> 21:41.120] I think an easy fix for that part of the rules is let teams run a soft like we saw teams
[21:41.280 -> 21:43.540] finding track evolution running used tires and
[21:44.600 -> 21:45.960] Ability to at least have a go
[21:45.960 -> 21:46.860] It's not ideal
[21:46.860 -> 21:48.860] the other thing the other solution is
[21:49.080 -> 21:51.420] Lock like the way you do for q3
[21:51.640 -> 21:56.060] Lock a set of soft tires away for sq3 and if you don't make it to sprint qualifying 3
[21:56.240 -> 22:01.740] You've got a new soft for the sprint or the race. I think we're pretty much
[22:01.740 -> 22:05.200] Yeah, we're trying to solve that same problem
[22:05.200 -> 22:06.760] by two different things.
[22:06.760 -> 22:08.360] Basically, it's an incentive, isn't it,
[22:08.360 -> 22:12.080] that we're trying to create for teams and drivers
[22:12.080 -> 22:16.120] that don't have a realistic chance of scoring points
[22:16.120 -> 22:18.160] on that, during that sprint race.
[22:18.160 -> 22:21.160] So, you know, you're going to sacrifice your performance
[22:21.160 -> 22:23.720] for quite happily, because you're not going to score
[22:23.720 -> 22:24.720] any points anyway.
[22:24.720 -> 22:30.240] Why do you care? Your main focus is I'll quite happily use my extra set of soft tyres for the
[22:31.040 -> 22:35.120] to get through further up through the field on the for the Sunday race. Thank you very much.
[22:35.680 -> 22:39.600] I really, you know, I'm not going to score points in this very short race without any pit stops
[22:40.640 -> 22:46.960] and a severe lack of drama or jeopardy. I'm looking further down the road, thanks.
[22:46.960 -> 22:49.900] And so yeah, we're coming at it from two different ways.
[22:49.900 -> 22:53.480] One, you offer up maybe points going further down,
[22:53.480 -> 22:54.900] you might then reconsider,
[22:54.900 -> 22:59.900] or you then force them into using that set of tires
[23:01.060 -> 23:04.040] or to tweak a rules to make them
[23:04.040 -> 23:05.840] basically take it more seriously.
[23:05.840 -> 23:11.760] Because that's the problem with less of an impact nowadays,
[23:11.760 -> 23:14.240] because it's not forming your grid for the Sunday.
[23:14.240 -> 23:18.240] Which was quite an interesting element of the sprint race before,
[23:18.240 -> 23:23.920] a frustrating one for many, but at least an interesting one.
[23:23.920 -> 23:27.760] And there was that incentive to push your heart out
[23:27.760 -> 23:30.640] to get further up on the grid for the Sunday race.
[23:30.640 -> 23:34.640] With that gone, you've now got to create a new incentive.
[23:34.640 -> 23:37.640] ♪♪♪
[23:50.000 -> 23:51.380] Kind of goes back to my point of saying, of saying the chronology of the race weekend just doesn't quite feel right at the moment does it?
[23:51.380 -> 23:55.960] The fact that you've just got that Saturday, anomaly Saturday in the middle and the form
[23:55.960 -> 23:58.880] doesn't necessarily carry on over to Sunday.
[23:58.880 -> 24:02.440] I think that's kind of, I think we've got into the sprint weekend, I think we're all
[24:02.440 -> 24:09.440] sort of saying there are still tweaks to be made. Is that fair? I don't think anyone's saying we've nailed it. This is the format for
[24:09.440 -> 24:15.120] the next five. Very unnailed. Yes, very unnailed. But I think everybody's on the same page with it
[24:15.120 -> 24:19.040] as well. I think even F1 and people would look at it and go, OK, we're not quite there. We've
[24:19.040 -> 24:23.200] got a good idea and a good basis. But I think even they would agree right now, didn't quite
[24:23.200 -> 24:28.320] work out 100% to how they wanted it to. The one last thing I'll say on it is that
[24:28.320 -> 24:32.960] without that sprint race this weekend, we wouldn't have seen that brilliant moment between
[24:32.960 -> 24:37.000] George Russell and Max Verstappen. I'm sure that would be a talking point coming up later
[24:37.000 -> 24:46.720] on because there is an element of, because in many ways there are fewer points up for grabs. It's a little bit more of a kind of free-for-all
[24:46.720 -> 24:51.240] and yeah, drivers are going to at some moments,
[24:51.240 -> 24:55.360] because they're not in a way taking it quite as seriously,
[24:55.360 -> 24:57.440] in a bizarre kind of twist of fate,
[24:57.440 -> 25:00.300] they go for moves perhaps that they wouldn't risk
[25:00.300 -> 25:03.920] on a Sunday, but there was a high-risk moment
[25:03.920 -> 25:07.180] that I really enjoyed. I'm sure the two
[25:07.180 -> 25:11.840] of them thought differently about it at the time but it definitely added
[25:11.840 -> 25:18.240] entertainment yeah for sure for sure do you think we would have say it wasn't a
[25:18.240 -> 25:21.720] sprint weekend do you think we still would have got situations like that
[25:21.720 -> 25:25.360] because obviously Baku does deliver drama, it does deliver excitement
[25:25.360 -> 25:29.360] most of the time, it's just on this it felt like this weekend it just it just struggled during the
[25:29.360 -> 25:34.880] race. I don't know if you agree Ant? I think it yeah I mean it's Baku you've got a load of 90
[25:34.880 -> 25:39.120] degree corners they're always hard to navigate from inside the car there's only one point of
[25:39.120 -> 25:47.180] apex you've got to nail the braking zone and nail the exit and meet that meet that point of the apex
[25:47.180 -> 25:51.940] So it makes it incredibly difficult on a street track with the barriers close to you as well
[25:52.300 -> 25:58.560] Then you throw in other cars on cold tires cold brakes into the mix and it's just a bit of a lottery in that first lap
[25:59.320 -> 26:05.280] As to who's gonna make a bit of contact here and there, who's going to make a move, who's not.
[26:05.280 -> 26:08.360] So, and we saw it on the restart as well,
[26:09.360 -> 26:12.920] with Fernando and Carlos with a real plucky move
[26:12.920 -> 26:17.320] down the inside into turn five and turn four.
[26:17.320 -> 26:21.000] And that's maybe a move you wouldn't see
[26:21.000 -> 26:22.160] on another type of circuit.
[26:22.160 -> 26:24.920] So it's just one of those tracks that lends itself
[26:24.920 -> 26:30.560] to kind of moments where you risk a bit of contact. Because you have to, you don't have another
[26:30.560 -> 26:35.680] choice. It's just like it's now or nothing. If the driver ahead of you makes a slight fumble,
[26:35.680 -> 26:39.680] it's like I need to get my nose in there, otherwise that could be the only chance I get for the rest
[26:39.680 -> 26:45.800] of this race. Hence the high risk high reward strategy we saw from a lot of drivers. Okay, let's
[26:45.800 -> 26:52.080] move on to talk about Max and Sergio. And as I said in the intro, the brewing potential
[26:52.080 -> 26:56.640] title battle that we maybe, maybe not do have on our hands. Certainly at the moment, it's
[26:56.640 -> 27:02.920] two to in, you know, two wins each across across the season, maybe three to if you include
[27:02.920 -> 27:05.600] Perez's win in the sprint although I'm sure Max wouldn't
[27:05.600 -> 27:11.760] include that. Hockey Life on Instagram would like to know is Checo a hundred percent a title
[27:11.760 -> 27:18.880] contender against Max now? Rach go on take it away do you see Checo as that title contender?
[27:19.920 -> 27:27.120] I do I think he does but I found it fascinating at the weekend watching their body language
[27:27.120 -> 27:32.360] because I love watching people's body language. I know a lot of the guys laugh at me sometimes
[27:32.360 -> 27:38.240] for trying to pick up the things, but it was just so interesting because I felt like, firstly,
[27:38.240 -> 27:44.600] the incident with Max and George, Max's response to that, his responses on Saturday, he was
[27:44.600 -> 27:46.640] really riled up. It wasn't
[27:46.640 -> 27:50.280] just the incident with George, I don't feel, it's because his teammate won a race. Blake
[27:50.280 -> 27:53.560] knows this better than anybody probably and can tell us more, but his teammate won a race
[27:53.560 -> 28:01.640] and drivers hate that. Then when I spoke to Sergio on Saturday, he was really calm. You
[28:01.640 -> 28:09.120] wouldn't have known he'd just won the sprint. He was very, very measured in his responses. He was really, he didn't even smile in my interview to the
[28:09.120 -> 28:11.520] point where I was thinking, what is he going to, it's like he's just been told to give
[28:11.520 -> 28:15.800] up the win of a race, not he's actually won a race. I mentioned this to him on Sunday
[28:15.800 -> 28:20.360] after the race and there's just this steely determination in him, this resilience in him
[28:20.360 -> 28:26.620] that just makes me feel like he is going to push Max a lot harder this season than he's ever done before and I think
[28:26.840 -> 28:30.400] Could be wrong, but I think that's starting to filter through to max a little bit as well
[28:30.840 -> 28:35.460] Checo was unbelievable at the weekend. I think even without the safety car. He would have won that race yesterday
[28:35.460 -> 28:37.520] I think he would have beaten max on that track yesterday
[28:37.520 -> 28:42.580] But there is a resilience in him that I I think I haven't seen it to this level before so yes
[28:42.580 -> 28:45.260] I think he's gonna push him a lot harder this season Let's not forget
[28:45.260 -> 28:50.040] I mean Max is amazing Max is an incredible Formula One driver and a lot is gonna play into his hands in terms of tracks
[28:50.040 -> 28:56.820] And his skill and his confidence, but I would like to think it's gonna go a lot longer this season than it has done in the past
[28:57.220 -> 29:00.960] Yeah, sort of Monaco last year wasn't it? I think the peak for Perez and then
[29:02.320 -> 29:07.440] Max Max took it took a stronghold on that championship. Blake, come on, you've
[29:07.440 -> 29:14.120] worked with both of these guys, you must know them both well. What did you make of Max's
[29:14.120 -> 29:18.760] sort of body language and that kind of slightly fraught nature that he had, certainly on the
[29:18.760 -> 29:20.160] Saturday with George?
[29:20.160 -> 29:26.800] Yeah, I think he, it was a really tough one to understand because looking at the performance
[29:26.800 -> 29:31.640] gaps and qualifying and where they're finding lap time, Checo was just in one of those weekends
[29:31.640 -> 29:33.440] where he was absolutely in the groove.
[29:33.440 -> 29:35.320] He didn't set a wheel wrong.
[29:35.320 -> 29:40.760] He was very, very comfortable with the car on a place like Leant said, it's super high
[29:40.760 -> 29:42.880] risk high reward type of circuit.
[29:42.880 -> 29:46.360] Like you saw how many people are flirting with the barriers at 15.
[29:46.360 -> 29:48.760] A lot of people, as you said, you know,
[29:48.760 -> 29:51.080] finding the apex, finding too much of it.
[29:51.080 -> 29:52.280] He didn't, he did none of it.
[29:52.280 -> 29:53.780] There may be a couple taps of the wall here,
[29:53.780 -> 29:55.160] but it was awesome.
[29:55.160 -> 29:58.080] Max really looked like he was not having a good time
[29:58.080 -> 30:00.800] with the very low speed section through the castle.
[30:00.800 -> 30:03.320] Like he was losing lots of time there,
[30:03.320 -> 30:05.520] didn't have confidence, getting the
[30:05.520 -> 30:12.480] entry done to 15, which is where Leclerc really shined on Friday. I think this is, we're race four
[30:12.480 -> 30:19.040] in, can check, I mean, Checo's six points behind in the championship. Is that including the sprint?
[30:19.040 -> 30:19.680] Yes, it is.
[30:21.040 -> 30:26.680] So he's there. If he can hang on to it and not have one of those dips like he had at the end of 2022
[30:27.000 -> 30:32.140] After the break in 22 something happened and there was the whole narrative of how they've developed the car for max
[30:32.140 -> 30:39.080] But having developed, you know all the way from 2015 to 21 cars and 22 cars in the simulator
[30:39.080 -> 30:41.640] I don't ever remember seeing one of those things where
[30:41.920 -> 30:45.720] You're pushing to help develop the car for the lead driver.
[30:45.720 -> 30:50.680] Both of the drivers are giving feedback and more often you're actually spending time looking
[30:50.680 -> 30:53.080] at solutions to find the driver.
[30:53.080 -> 30:57.280] Like for example, when Albon and Gasly were struggling with the car, we spent a lot of
[30:57.280 -> 31:02.160] time trying to find stuff to help them out to understand where their performance deficits
[31:02.160 -> 31:03.880] are to Max.
[31:03.880 -> 31:06.200] How can you get more stability in the car for them
[31:06.200 -> 31:07.700] so they can attack harder?
[31:07.700 -> 31:09.700] And that was one of the things that Max could cope with quite
[31:09.700 -> 31:14.000] well. So I think Checo's got as good a shot as he does any
[31:14.000 -> 31:17.900] year and Max is a very difficult measuring stick to go up
[31:17.900 -> 31:22.400] against. Like he's a very tough teammate and it's the only
[31:22.400 -> 31:23.800] person you've got to beat as your teammate.
[31:24.000 -> 31:27.440] I was going to ask on the Albon and Gasly example you've just given,
[31:27.440 -> 31:33.440] how do drivers react to going up against Max? Do they see it as this kind of mountain,
[31:33.440 -> 31:37.120] unachievable sort of thing and they're trying everything to try and get close to him or
[31:37.120 -> 31:39.360] what's the kind of psyche of those drivers?
[31:39.360 -> 31:42.560] They never think it's unachievable and that's the whole point, that's why you're in that position
[31:42.560 -> 31:49.200] in the first place, it's because you know that that's your job is to beat that guy or that's the goal. So it's
[31:49.200 -> 31:53.280] not unachievable, you know, but you know looking at stuff and say here's the data.
[31:53.280 -> 31:57.360] Can you carry five kilometers an hour extra speed on the entry to this corner?
[31:57.360 -> 32:02.880] And they tell you no and you're like well your teammate in the exact same machinery is able to
[32:02.880 -> 32:06.800] do that. You're going to have to find a way or you're going to have to accept it
[32:07.680 -> 32:11.320] that he's just going to keep, you know, getting those couple of hundreds away from you
[32:11.320 -> 32:13.640] every time you go into a corner like this.
[32:13.640 -> 32:15.760] And sometimes they accept it and sometimes they don't.
[32:15.760 -> 32:17.360] But we've also got other.
[32:17.360 -> 32:19.080] Are you still? Yeah, yeah, it is.
[32:19.080 -> 32:22.560] But we've also got other variables, you know, it's not always your weekend.
[32:22.640 -> 32:28.860] You know, sometimes you go off on a wrong foot on your starting setup and you never recover.
[32:28.860 -> 32:32.060] So you know, there's always you have to make the most of those opportunities, but sometimes
[32:32.060 -> 32:33.060] it is quite brutal.
[32:33.060 -> 32:36.500] But Checo has been especially this week and especially on it.
[32:36.500 -> 32:41.180] And it's hopefully, hopefully it continues like this because it'll be a little bit of
[32:41.180 -> 32:49.840] excitement at the front because we do have gaps forming throughout the rest of the field which I think for everybody else's enjoyment makes it a little bit less.
[32:51.360 -> 32:57.200] And how would you react in that situation if you were paired with Max Verstappen,
[32:57.200 -> 33:01.600] what would you be doing in your preparation to make sure you were in the best possible position
[33:01.600 -> 33:05.040] to take the fight to him? It's an interesting one, you know,
[33:05.040 -> 33:10.880] picking up on what Rachel said, because I could read that body language as well from the outside,
[33:10.880 -> 33:17.600] and I felt like we're seeing a little bit of a difference in Sergio this year. To start with,
[33:17.600 -> 33:26.080] you know, he's a bit more steely, a bit more determined. And really interesting that you've picked up on that you know first hand
[33:26.080 -> 33:32.640] there at the circuit Rachel because I honestly I think this is what he needs to do and I think
[33:32.640 -> 33:39.840] he realizes that he's come to this crossroads now this season already it's hit him pretty hard
[33:39.840 -> 33:47.140] in that he's got the car to do it this This current, this new car from Red Bull this season
[33:47.140 -> 33:49.240] seems to suit his style better.
[33:49.240 -> 33:52.800] He's getting more in bed with the team
[33:52.800 -> 33:55.800] and in bed with how the car feels.
[33:55.800 -> 33:57.460] Takes some time.
[33:57.460 -> 33:59.720] And it only takes a few little tweaks here and there
[33:59.720 -> 34:02.480] from season to season for a driver to really find
[34:02.480 -> 34:08.320] their niche, the sweet spot in how they can get the most out of the car
[34:08.320 -> 34:10.220] to extrapolate all that performance.
[34:10.220 -> 34:13.560] And I think he knows he's there.
[34:13.560 -> 34:16.040] Sure, you know, like Rach said,
[34:16.040 -> 34:17.960] there are circuits that Max is gonna come to
[34:17.960 -> 34:20.680] later this year, your Zandvoort,
[34:20.680 -> 34:28.400] your Interlagos, the Silverstones, the Suzukas where Max is gonna shine. We all
[34:28.400 -> 34:34.780] know it, he knows it as well. So what do you do? You've got to be more Rossberg
[34:34.780 -> 34:40.280] 2016. That's what you've got to do. And a street fighter, which is what he's being, isn't it?
[34:40.280 -> 34:46.240] I was always told, and probably rightly so as well from team bosses in my F1 time I was too nice
[34:47.280 -> 34:51.840] and I think they were right I think that's what made me a much better sports car driver
[34:51.840 -> 34:59.120] I was more of a team player always was and I think now it's time for Sergio to stop being Mr Nice Guy
[34:59.120 -> 35:06.000] he's got to take a leaf out of Rosberg 2016 and maybe as much as it might hurt to be the guy that he
[35:06.000 -> 35:11.800] doesn't want really to be, he's got to make sacrifices and decisions this
[35:11.800 -> 35:19.200] season that might go the way that his family doesn't want him to go.
[35:19.200 -> 35:23.840] He might have to take himself away what Rosberg did, he might have to say
[35:23.840 -> 35:28.680] things to the team they don't want him to say or he necessarily feels comfortable in saying
[35:28.680 -> 35:34.000] he's got to get under Max Verstappen's skin he's got to annoy him he's got to
[35:34.000 -> 35:40.660] he's got to get every this is moment it might only be his one chance I think he
[35:40.660 -> 35:45.680] knows that we all know it as well he's so close to six points behind after four races
[35:45.680 -> 35:51.120] and he's looking good. I don't think he'll be able to do it if he plays Mr Nice Guy this year.
[35:52.000 -> 35:57.920] Rach, what's Max been like to interview over the years? Have you seen a change in him
[35:57.920 -> 36:01.680] maybe this year compared to now he's obviously double world champion?
[36:02.480 -> 36:05.640] Not this year from last year.
[36:05.640 -> 36:09.360] I remember in 2021, at the very start of the season
[36:09.360 -> 36:12.880] at testing in Bahrain, being told that he'd come back
[36:12.880 -> 36:15.360] from the winter almost a different person.
[36:15.360 -> 36:18.160] He was so happy in his home life.
[36:18.160 -> 36:19.040] He was so confident.
[36:19.040 -> 36:20.200] He was just calmer.
[36:20.200 -> 36:21.480] He was just focused.
[36:21.480 -> 36:22.360] It was a different Max.
[36:22.360 -> 36:25.440] So I wasn't surprised to see that transfer on track
[36:25.440 -> 36:30.440] Okay, he had a fantastic car, but also he just pulled it all together last year continued that run
[36:31.440 -> 36:35.040] The only thing I would say was I got a feeling on Saturday evening
[36:35.580 -> 36:38.200] After the sprint the way he talked about the incident with George
[36:38.560 -> 36:42.480] The incident itself with George where he didn't pull out of it and then he said afterwards
[36:42.480 -> 36:47.520] Well, you know when you've got nothing to gain or whatever, you know, why in George's position would you push me
[36:47.520 -> 36:51.120] out that wide? And I said to him, well, turn that on its head, you've got everything to lose.
[36:51.120 -> 36:55.600] And you still went in and carried on as hard when you knew a lap later, you could have had him.
[36:55.600 -> 37:00.320] And that was more likely what was going to happen. And I felt almost as if there was a
[37:00.320 -> 37:03.680] tiny bit of the old Max creeping back in there now that he's under pressure from Checo.
[37:04.240 -> 37:08.720] In those desperate moves, that element of desperation that came in in the
[37:08.720 -> 37:13.280] past with Max, but that he seemed to have got rid of, and experience taught him to be
[37:13.280 -> 37:17.560] patient. You've got a great car, this is going to be your season, just bide your time.
[37:17.560 -> 37:21.800] That tiny bit of desperation that came in on Saturday, I felt was a tiny bit of the
[37:21.800 -> 37:25.560] old Max creeping back in. Then then on Sunday, after the race,
[37:25.560 -> 37:28.360] his body language, his demeanor was completely different.
[37:28.360 -> 37:29.960] And he said it's a great day for the team,
[37:29.960 -> 37:31.600] and it's positive, and I think he'd got
[37:31.600 -> 37:33.040] the new Max back in his head again.
[37:33.040 -> 37:34.440] And he was like, I just need to calm down,
[37:34.440 -> 37:36.560] it's a long season, I know there are races
[37:36.560 -> 37:39.000] that are gonna come to me, and I just need to bide my time.
[37:39.000 -> 37:41.220] But at just a moment on Saturday where I thought,
[37:41.220 -> 37:43.160] that's the old Max creeping back in a tiny bit.
[37:43.160 -> 37:47.020] But by Sunday it had gone, and that's experience, isn't it? That's age, that's the old Max creeping back in a tiny bit but by Sunday it had gone and that's experience isn't it that's age that's good people
[37:47.020 -> 37:50.380] around you telling you that calm down bide your time it's gonna come. I want to
[37:50.380 -> 37:55.240] I want to just touch on Sergio being this sort of street specialist which he
[37:55.240 -> 37:59.100] seems to be doing he's one in Singapore, Saudi, Monaco obviously in
[37:59.100 -> 38:03.500] Azerbaijan as well. Amanda has got a question for you Blake. So as you were
[38:03.500 -> 38:05.160] both Checo and Max's performance engineer,
[38:05.160 -> 38:08.280] what are Checo's strengths in street circuits
[38:08.280 -> 38:10.480] and Max's strengths in more normal, medium
[38:10.480 -> 38:14.680] to high-speed corners, if you can try and summarize that
[38:14.680 -> 38:16.000] in a shortish answer.
[38:16.000 -> 38:18.720] But yeah, he seems to really enjoy a street circuit,
[38:18.720 -> 38:19.320] doesn't he, Sergi?
[38:19.320 -> 38:20.000] Yeah.
[38:20.000 -> 38:21.600] One of the things I noticed the most looking
[38:21.600 -> 38:24.000] through their data this season and the end of last season
[38:24.000 -> 38:29.320] is there's a lot of instances where I saw that Checo was trying to take too big of bites out of entries to corners
[38:29.400 -> 38:33.200] And losing out on the exits being high and be speed medium speed and low speed corners
[38:34.520 -> 38:38.960] Somehow that level of aggression that you need to get the most out of a street circuit
[38:39.320 -> 38:42.820] He tends to go very well there and just looking at from a numbers point of view
[38:42.820 -> 38:49.640] And yes, there's all sorts of context and everything else, unlucky, red flags, you know, Max not
[38:49.640 -> 38:54.640] setting a second lap in Monaco, running out of fuel in Singapore last year. But if you
[38:54.640 -> 38:58.080] ignore all that and just say, let's just look at the numbers, because over a whole season,
[38:58.080 -> 39:06.560] maybe luck comes to you in equal doses. Traditional circuits, Max was
[39:07.880 -> 39:09.280] about half a percent ahead.
[39:11.360 -> 39:12.760] So, I mean, he had a clear gap to him at traditional circuits, half a percent
[39:13.000 -> 39:15.000] upwards of one percent gap to Checo
[39:15.480 -> 39:16.960] at the end of the season after the break
[39:17.320 -> 39:18.280] on street circuits.
[39:18.280 -> 39:20.280] There was no gap in the qualifying laps
[39:20.280 -> 39:21.280] that they set.
[39:21.280 -> 39:22.960] Obviously, the context from that removed,
[39:22.960 -> 39:24.880] but the numbers don't lie.
[39:24.880 -> 39:29.200] He does tend to go well there. When he qualifies well there, he tends to race well there. So
[39:29.200 -> 39:34.640] I think it's a little bit of everything. The killer instinct, adaptability, and there's
[39:34.640 -> 39:38.880] the narrative of him being exceptionally good on the tires. I think the dangerous thing
[39:38.880 -> 39:44.000] for all the other teams is both Max and Checo are insanely good on their tires. They have
[39:44.000 -> 39:46.120] the conundrum they can do it. Go fast, save tires. They have the conundrum. They can do it go fast safe tires
[39:46.480 -> 39:49.960] How they both do it? That's that's the thing most drivers you ask them
[39:50.560 -> 39:52.540] We need you to increase your pace by two tenths
[39:52.540 -> 39:57.800] Can you look after the tires that say no of whatever it is about the car in combination with these two guys?
[39:59.080 -> 40:02.920] I've seen checo do it many times and I've seen max do it multiple times now. They're both
[40:04.520 -> 40:05.680] Monsters but what is it
[40:05.680 -> 40:11.920] exactly that he's good at? Tires? Yes. The low speed 90 degree corners, great at it. Taking
[40:14.000 -> 40:18.400] risks when he needs to, leaving just enough margin, repeatedly over and over in the way
[40:18.400 -> 40:21.760] that you need to do that to do well in a race and qualifying session around a street circuit,
[40:21.760 -> 40:25.080] they both can do it. But he's traditionally
[40:25.080 -> 40:27.680] been much closer at these circuits numerically.
[40:27.680 -> 40:34.880] Yeah, fascinating. I mean, what as a driver do you look to do well at a street circuit?
[40:34.880 -> 40:38.960] What makes them, apart from the obvious of don't hit the wall because you will hurt the
[40:38.960 -> 40:44.720] car, what makes a good driver a street circuit driver, if that makes sense?
[40:44.720 -> 40:45.600] I think it's one of those things if everybody knew what made you a a street circuit driver, if that makes sense. I think it's one of those things,
[40:45.600 -> 40:51.840] if everybody knew what made you a good street circuit driver then they'd all be fast but
[40:52.720 -> 41:01.280] I think it's that risk-reward thing isn't it, that maybe, you know, say you can take a driver
[41:01.280 -> 41:05.840] like Pastore Maldonado, he was always mega around street circuits as well.
[41:05.840 -> 41:08.720] But then you'd go to another track like Spa-Francorchamps or
[41:08.720 -> 41:10.520] somewhere like that and you'd be off left,
[41:10.520 -> 41:12.640] right, center on the grass, over the ground.
[41:12.640 -> 41:14.480] You think, how does he do it?
[41:14.480 -> 41:16.560] How did he go to somewhere like Monaco and not hit
[41:16.560 -> 41:18.760] the barriers and be super quick?
[41:18.760 -> 41:22.240] Honestly, it's just one of those things that a driver,
[41:22.240 -> 41:25.680] maybe it is just that carefree element.
[41:25.680 -> 41:31.760] I always found, say, on street tracks where you had to, in a way, you had to lose respect
[41:31.760 -> 41:33.480] for the barriers to be quick.
[41:33.480 -> 41:38.460] When you did that, you could then generate the tire temperature you needed to.
[41:38.460 -> 41:40.000] Maybe a more aggressive driver.
[41:40.000 -> 41:41.880] I see a little bit of a difference.
[41:41.880 -> 41:48.320] When I do the skypad analysis and I do ride on boards and I did the side-by-side with Sergio and Max.
[41:48.320 -> 42:01.400] I can see that there's definitely more, and correct me if I'm wrong here, but I see a bit more kind of edginess to the steering.
[42:01.400 -> 42:05.360] I see a lot more frequency to the steering inputs from
[42:05.360 -> 42:09.440] from Perez than I do from Verstappen. Verstappen likes to flow the car a bit more,
[42:10.000 -> 42:16.160] which maybe goes against you in a street track. I mean really clutching at straws here because Max
[42:16.160 -> 42:22.400] is obviously brilliant everywhere. But I just feel like maybe it's those little nuances that makes
[42:23.040 -> 42:28.400] Sergio, you know, just he can bring the car alive a little bit more on those kind of tracks,
[42:28.400 -> 42:32.400] but he is quick on in other circumstances as well.
[42:33.920 -> 42:37.520] You know, looking after those tires on a higher speed track,
[42:37.520 -> 42:38.800] he's really good at it.
[42:38.800 -> 42:42.720] Say Monza as well, for example, another circuit he's pretty good at
[42:43.840 -> 42:46.160] and very good at looking after the tyres there.
[42:46.160 -> 42:53.440] So it's not just like a one rule fits all for what makes you a successful street circuit driver.
[42:54.960 -> 42:59.280] I really feel like that you need the car for you as well. You need it to be there.
[42:59.280 -> 43:06.560] And we heard Max complaining, not just in Baku, but in Melbourne as well.
[43:06.560 -> 43:09.440] The car not quite there under the braking somehow
[43:09.440 -> 43:11.360] and the relationship between the differential,
[43:11.360 -> 43:14.280] the way that works and the tools he has available
[43:14.280 -> 43:17.440] for the brake bias, the migration from front to rear,
[43:17.440 -> 43:19.600] vice versa with the brakes.
[43:19.600 -> 43:22.920] And he's not, he just, he seems like he's not quite
[43:22.920 -> 43:25.680] as happy with the car, generally speaking this year as he's not quite as happy with the car generally speaking this
[43:25.680 -> 43:30.320] year as he was last year even though the car is performing better as a whole it's a faster car
[43:30.320 -> 43:38.080] than it was last year by quite some margin um but somehow Perez seems most of the time a bit
[43:38.080 -> 43:43.120] more comfortable with it you hear fewer complaints can i ask you we had this conversation at the
[43:43.120 -> 43:47.440] weekend about for example the difference between char between Charles and Carlos that we mentioned earlier on and the massive difference
[43:47.440 -> 43:51.320] between them around this track. And there were there were thoughts that it's it's almost an
[43:51.320 -> 43:56.200] element of the drivers who do well at street tracks kind of just let themselves go a little
[43:56.200 -> 44:02.280] bit. They don't drive by numbers as such as much and you get a difference say Carlos works a lot
[44:02.280 -> 44:05.280] harder and is almost more in his head around a street track trying
[44:05.280 -> 44:10.320] to get it right every time, whereas Charles lets the track just come to him and I don't
[44:10.320 -> 44:13.920] quite know how to put it into words because you tell me as a driver, but is there an element
[44:13.920 -> 44:18.440] where some tracks you get to where you just feel it, you don't see the walls, you were
[44:18.440 -> 44:23.600] saying you know, you don't almost see or feel the walls as much, you just, the flow is there
[44:23.600 -> 44:30.000] and mentally you feel lighter and you feel more able to just nail that lap than other drivers worry too much or almost get in
[44:30.000 -> 44:34.160] their heads too much about it? Yeah, I think so. I think that's what can happen, you know,
[44:34.160 -> 44:39.120] you start to over-analyse things from inside the car, it doesn't feel natural to you under the
[44:39.120 -> 44:46.800] braking to really let the car move around. Drivers that like to, like I say, like fingertip style drivers,
[44:46.800 -> 44:55.040] maybe like Carlos, who like to flow the car a bit more, use all of the track. But then again,
[44:55.040 -> 45:00.000] someone like Jenson Button was always really good around street circuits and I would definitely class
[45:00.000 -> 45:09.760] him as one of those kind of drivers I've just mentioned with using all the track, keeping it nice and smooth. He was always good around the streets of Monaco as well and Singapore. So,
[45:11.280 -> 45:17.600] I think it just, maybe it boils down to a confidence thing, like we said, forgetting that
[45:17.600 -> 45:22.960] the barriers are there, getting into that trance-like state that we all saw and loved when
[45:22.960 -> 45:28.600] we ride on board with Senna during those amazing qualifying laps one after the other when qualifying was different
[45:28.600 -> 45:33.920] back in the day and he got into that kind of that we call it the zone it's
[45:33.920 -> 45:36.560] where you're doing things like when you're an autopilot when things are
[45:36.560 -> 45:39.920] flowing and you're doing all the right things without even thinking like you're
[45:39.920 -> 45:44.560] doing it's like like an out-of-body experience that's really where you need
[45:44.560 -> 45:46.400] to get into on a street track
[45:46.400 -> 45:51.920] more than any other track. You can do it on other tracks as well of course but more so on a street
[45:51.920 -> 45:58.240] track and you know I think the fact that we saw or we do see drivers just clip the barriers every
[45:58.240 -> 46:01.760] once in a while and you think why do they do that? It's because you're not even really looking.
[46:02.400 -> 46:05.840] You're there, like your senses are out there
[46:05.840 -> 46:09.160] on all the extremities of the car's edges
[46:09.160 -> 46:14.080] and you just, you are really just risking
[46:14.080 -> 46:15.960] and dancing with the barriers all the time.
[46:15.960 -> 46:18.080] And it's almost as if somebody's just,
[46:18.080 -> 46:21.000] they've just fizzled away and you don't see them anymore.
[46:21.000 -> 46:22.480] And when you have that little knock, you go,
[46:22.480 -> 46:24.600] oh yeah, I'm on the street track.
[46:24.600 -> 46:25.080] It's like that. don't see them anymore. And when you have that little knock, you go, oh, oh yeah, I'm on the street track.
[46:25.080 -> 46:27.160] It's like that.
[46:27.160 -> 46:28.920] I think that's good.
[46:28.920 -> 46:32.320] Some drivers, maybe that's what they can't do.
[46:32.320 -> 46:35.200] And it's a really interesting thing.
[46:35.200 -> 46:38.360] I think for a psychologist, a sports psychologist,
[46:38.360 -> 46:40.960] there's a lot to look into here, a real deep dive.
[46:40.960 -> 46:49.400] Because there are things that I think are untapped and it's not a very scientific
[46:49.400 -> 46:54.760] approach from teams when it comes to this aspect of their equipment.
[46:54.760 -> 47:02.360] It's the driver is this bizarre untrustworthy thing that is mystical to them and they want
[47:02.360 -> 47:05.760] to put it into ones and zeros and they can't and it annoys
[47:05.760 -> 47:10.160] them but it's something that's never really been studied that well.
[47:10.160 -> 47:13.280] Never thought of you as untrustworthy or mystical Ant but hey.
[47:14.720 -> 47:16.960] You can add that to my repertoire.
[47:18.000 -> 47:23.040] That's one of the biggest things though is the driver is very often a black box that the
[47:23.040 -> 47:26.740] engineers do not understand and they can do all they can to model the driver
[47:26.740 -> 47:28.740] But why do we still have drivers in the simulator?
[47:29.080 -> 47:34.360] because you still need them because you don't understand what's going between the inputs and outputs of that system and
[47:34.680 -> 47:41.680] Back back to your point as well and about the that flow state when you have stuff like your brake balance your differential settings your engine
[47:41.680 -> 47:43.880] Braking and you're not comfortable with where they're at
[47:44.360 -> 47:48.000] You can't get into that because you're always second guessing that. It's like, well,
[47:48.000 -> 47:52.240] I felt okay, two meters later on the brakes here, but then I get this weird lock or I get a little
[47:52.240 -> 47:56.160] bit of the rear axle dragging on the corner. I don't like that. And then you're, if you're in
[47:56.160 -> 47:59.760] your head thinking about that over and over and over, you don't have the confidence to get into
[47:59.760 -> 48:03.200] that flow state. And, you know, that could be one of the things that you see. I don't think that's
[48:03.200 -> 48:06.360] what happened this weekend, but it's, it's one of the things that you see. I don't think that's what happened this weekend but it's it's one of those things that happens if you
[48:06.360 -> 48:09.880] don't have much practice the performance engineer doesn't have any time to dial in the diff
[48:09.880 -> 48:13.680] maps the way they need to. You can't get the right compromise on your brake shapes and
[48:13.680 -> 48:18.280] your engine braking. So you know literally you heard Max's dialogue with GP throughout
[48:18.280 -> 48:23.900] the race. He's literally going through a diagnostics list of these combinations of brake balance
[48:23.900 -> 48:28.800] and differential and engine settings that he thinks he can get to make the corner better.
[48:28.800 -> 48:32.820] We even saw that with some other drivers as well, which is I think one of the other questions
[48:32.820 -> 48:36.880] you had later on is like it was a big topic this weekend, but it did go under the radar
[48:36.880 -> 48:37.880] a little bit.
[48:37.880 -> 48:43.200] And I think it's potentially slightly underappreciated by the fans how much those kind of tools and
[48:43.200 -> 48:45.600] systems are important for the
[48:45.600 -> 48:50.480] driver to get into that state where they're not thinking about, okay, how do I break?
[48:50.480 -> 48:53.920] Do I need to roll off the throttle sooner? Do I need to go on the throttle sooner to
[48:53.920 -> 48:57.600] get onto this corner to get stop the car from over rotating? And it's like, you have to think
[48:57.600 -> 49:01.840] about that as the tires are changing, you can't get in the flow and you can't get comfortable.
[49:03.200 -> 49:05.640] To me as a mere mortartar who hasn't driven a
[49:05.640 -> 49:11.600] Formula One car, I'm pretty transfixed by this idea of the flow and yeah I mean that
[49:11.600 -> 49:14.820] just sounds amazing to even be like that. I think the closest we'll get is watching
[49:14.820 -> 49:19.480] Senna's on board through Monaco isn't it probably? That's as far as we can dream.
[49:32.800 -> 49:38.240] Okay, I think that sort of rounds off Sergio and Max. I do just want to get into some questions from people at home who've sent in under our
[49:38.240 -> 49:42.520] little Twitter post that we put up yesterday online.
[49:42.520 -> 49:46.480] And this first question is really interesting because it's from Kristen.
[49:46.480 -> 49:50.680] I'll read it to you. It says, can you comment on the Aston Martin drivers wanting to help
[49:50.680 -> 49:55.160] each other out over the radio during the race? While Sergio kept quiet about his hiccup on
[49:55.160 -> 49:59.880] turn 15, presumably, so Max wouldn't be aware. Obviously, the Red Bull drivers have more
[49:59.880 -> 50:11.040] at stake than the Aston Martin team. But I find the dynamics fascinating. Rachel, what did you make of this sort of like, can we call it a bromance? Or is it like a father-son relationship
[50:11.040 -> 50:15.760] between Fernando and Lance? I don't know. I love the way as you were reading, as you were
[50:15.760 -> 50:19.840] saying that Matt, Blake hugged himself because as a team, you want drivers helping each other
[50:19.840 -> 50:23.200] like that, don't you? So I imagine for you, that's the dream. And actually, that's what
[50:23.200 -> 50:27.760] Fernando said. He said, look, if we find something different that the strats just didn't tell us about in the morning,
[50:27.760 -> 50:32.320] we tell each other, we share that information. He said, we're working together as a team.
[50:32.320 -> 50:36.240] Fernando is not stupid. He knows there are other teams out there where there is one driver who
[50:36.960 -> 50:41.360] is dominating that team. Fernando is making it very clear to everybody, we're best buds,
[50:41.360 -> 50:48.840] we're working together, I'm helping him, he's helping me and we are getting Aston further up in the Constructors. Who knows, maybe there's a nice
[50:48.840 -> 50:52.680] big bonus in the pay packet if they get a further point in the Constructors and he's
[50:52.680 -> 50:57.960] thinking of that as well. I don't know. But it is fascinating and I mean, they are both
[50:57.960 -> 51:02.600] happy. I've never had Lance so happy in the pen before talking to me. He's enjoying this
[51:02.600 -> 51:06.480] as well. I know he learned a lot from Seb, but he is loving
[51:06.480 -> 51:14.240] this battle or this competition with Fernando. He knows, he's not matching Fernando on track at the
[51:14.240 -> 51:18.400] moment, but he knew that wouldn't be the case. This is a two-time world champion, but he's getting
[51:18.400 -> 51:22.080] close and maybe even closer than he thought he was going to get to him. So he's enjoying this
[51:22.080 -> 51:27.040] season. And the way they came over the radio where Lance said, look, I'm not going to attack him. And Fernando said,
[51:27.040 -> 51:31.840] no, let him have a go. You know, it's brilliant. We love all this. It was one interesting element
[51:31.840 -> 51:37.680] to a rather long race. I'll put it that way yesterday. But yeah, it's great. And they both
[51:37.680 -> 51:41.440] seem really happy. Long may it continue. Let's hope it carries on this way. I was going to say,
[51:41.440 -> 51:46.360] I mean, imagine learning your, you know, Lance is obviously an accomplished Formula One driver by himself, but I mean,
[51:46.360 -> 51:50.400] imagine having the tutelage of both Sebastian Vettel and Fernando Alonso in
[51:50.400 -> 51:53.880] sort of consecutive seasons. You've certainly got the pick, haven't you?
[51:53.880 -> 51:58.760] Blake, have you ever experienced team-mates working that closely
[51:58.760 -> 52:02.800] together? I mean, having come from Red Bull, I'm gonna probably guess no. I think
[52:02.800 -> 52:06.000] the one thing is the way the drivers
[52:06.000 -> 52:10.180] approach it and they keep quite compartmentalised. But one thing that people don't get a whole
[52:10.180 -> 52:13.300] lot of insight to is how the engineers are working together. At the end of the day, during
[52:13.300 -> 52:17.760] the qualifying and the race session, at the time I would have Max and Daniel stayed up
[52:17.760 -> 52:21.880] looking at them and if the performance engineer did something on their car I was like, oh
[52:21.880 -> 52:26.600] Matt, what was that? And he's like, oh it was this. What do you think about that? And we'd be having a conversation on
[52:26.600 -> 52:30.680] the intercom about the settings and changes and what we're observing. And I've always
[52:30.680 -> 52:36.000] got, you know, the engineers probably have six voices in their ear at one time. It's
[52:36.000 -> 52:40.680] not a mental issue. It's more just like all the intercom going on and maybe some demons
[52:40.680 -> 52:46.400] saying, you know what, don't tell him the brake shapes there. But no, at the same time,
[52:46.400 -> 52:48.980] that was really cool that Fernando did that,
[52:48.980 -> 52:50.080] but at the same time,
[52:50.080 -> 52:52.680] teammates and the engineers in the background
[52:52.680 -> 52:54.440] are very often working closely together.
[52:54.440 -> 52:56.720] And you can't afford to have
[52:56.720 -> 52:59.320] inter-garage rivalries like that now,
[52:59.320 -> 53:00.680] which is much at stake.
[53:00.680 -> 53:02.280] Maybe in the past you had some people
[53:02.280 -> 53:03.920] getting a little bit catty about stuff,
[53:03.920 -> 53:08.000] but we were very open. Friday night. We talked about what we're doing.
[53:08.000 -> 53:14.000] You hear everything that's going on anytime during qualifying. So if you miss something, you're saying, oh, they've noticed something.
[53:14.000 -> 53:19.000] I would pass it on to the race engineer or driver when the driver is back in the garage at the same time.
[53:19.000 -> 53:25.260] So that was that was a nice little thing for Fernando. But I wonder what he's up to.
[53:25.260 -> 53:27.940] I wonder what he's up to.
[53:27.940 -> 53:30.420] I can't help but think what he's up to.
[53:30.420 -> 53:34.380] I think with this one, I think it's his sports car mentality
[53:34.380 -> 53:35.920] that kicked in for a little bit there.
[53:35.920 -> 53:39.300] Because when you share the car with one other driver or two
[53:39.300 -> 53:42.620] other drivers, and you've just driven a mega stint,
[53:42.620 -> 53:45.800] you're quite often asked, how are the conditions out there
[53:45.800 -> 53:48.320] for the next driver just about to jump in?
[53:48.320 -> 53:50.520] So you're quite well,
[53:50.520 -> 53:53.440] your brain goes somewhere else when you're in the car
[53:53.440 -> 53:55.760] and obviously you need a lot of capacity to do that,
[53:55.760 -> 53:57.880] which Fernando clearly has.
[53:57.880 -> 54:00.240] And so you're out there doing your own thing
[54:00.240 -> 54:04.440] and you're actually actively thinking in sports cars
[54:04.440 -> 54:05.360] before you come into the pits,
[54:05.360 -> 54:09.920] you're thinking about, right, how do we best keep this momentum going?
[54:09.920 -> 54:14.080] Because this car right now is feeling good, but there are pitfalls out there,
[54:14.080 -> 54:17.440] places where you really need to take care, braking into turn one maybe,
[54:17.440 -> 54:21.360] where there's a bit of rear locking. So you pass that on to all of your teammates,
[54:21.360 -> 54:23.680] or the teammate is just about to jump in after you.
[54:24.240 -> 54:28.280] And I just wonder, it only dawned on me there because I was kind of,
[54:29.040 -> 54:33.400] when I watched it, when I watched it back, I did laugh along with everybody else
[54:33.400 -> 54:35.160] thinking, you know, like, what was he up to there?
[54:35.680 -> 54:37.880] Was he actually trying to put him off in some way?
[54:37.880 -> 54:39.720] Because he knew that was a dodgy brake balance.
[54:40.480 -> 54:42.440] And Lance had a bit of a moment.
[54:42.440 -> 54:42.960] Oh, you cynic!
[54:42.960 -> 54:43.460] You cynic!
[54:43.460 -> 54:46.000] You had a bit of a snap into it. Oh, you cynic! You had a bit of a snap.
[54:46.000 -> 54:47.000] He had a bit of a snap.
[54:47.000 -> 54:48.000] Did he mean to do it like,
[54:48.000 -> 54:51.000] it's Fernando Alonso after all, that devious guy.
[54:51.000 -> 54:53.000] But it only just dawned on me there.
[54:53.000 -> 54:58.000] No, it was probably that's the way he's been trained
[54:58.000 -> 55:01.000] as part of his armoury as a driver.
[55:01.000 -> 55:03.000] He's more experienced,
[55:03.000 -> 55:06.600] not just in terms of age than anyone out there,
[55:06.600 -> 55:09.560] he's more experienced in terms of what he's done
[55:09.560 -> 55:11.800] in other forms of motorsport.
[55:11.800 -> 55:14.720] And I think that's really interesting.
[55:14.720 -> 55:18.480] And I think it's playing to his strengths
[55:18.480 -> 55:23.480] and also giving him advantages and the team advantages
[55:23.700 -> 55:27.120] that other drivers just wouldn't be on their radar
[55:27.120 -> 55:32.000] to help another yeah okay it obviously means he doesn't see lance as a threat so if you don't see
[55:32.000 -> 55:36.000] him as a threat like you clearly don't with your other two teammates because they're sharing the
[55:36.000 -> 55:48.340] same car as you in a sports car and you want the whole thing to carry on going with that same momentum, well, let's help them out here because as a unit,
[55:48.340 -> 55:50.660] we can all be better.
[55:50.660 -> 55:59.140] It's really interesting for F1 to see this schooling, if you like, taking something from
[55:59.140 -> 56:05.000] another category and applying it to F1, the pinnacle of single-seater motorsport,
[56:05.000 -> 56:08.000] I think maybe that's what was going on.
[56:08.000 -> 56:10.000] It just came to him in that moment as second nature.
[56:10.000 -> 56:14.000] Oh, I found something! And this is really going to help us as a team.
[56:14.000 -> 56:18.000] It would be really good if we can keep those two Mercedes behind us,
[56:18.000 -> 56:22.000] if I can relay that information somehow to Lance,
[56:22.000 -> 56:28.720] to keep those pesky Mercs behind because as a unit this will be better.
[56:28.720 -> 56:33.600] Just making sure there was no bad blood, hey? Sorry. Sorry, I had to do it.
[56:33.600 -> 56:34.600] Rachel.
[56:34.600 -> 56:40.080] It's the last one ever, I promise. No more Taylor Swift references.
[56:40.080 -> 56:46.600] We've got one more week of them. Maybe as we go to Miami, one more week of Taylor Swift
[56:46.600 -> 56:47.600] references.
[56:47.600 -> 56:48.600] Well if she turns up at the race, imagine!
[56:48.600 -> 56:49.600] Sorry!
[56:49.600 -> 56:57.600] Oh dear, I'm not even going to, no, I'm going to stop myself, I'm going to stop myself.
[56:57.600 -> 57:00.000] Right, let's move on to another question.
[57:00.000 -> 57:04.760] Paul would like to know if there's anything the FIA can do to allow the cars to follow
[57:04.760 -> 57:05.880] more closely. He seems to think we've gone a step FIA can do to allow the cars to follow more closely.
[57:05.880 -> 57:08.380] He seems to think we've gone a step backwards this year
[57:08.380 -> 57:09.860] and we're almost back to where we were.
[57:09.860 -> 57:11.540] Don't forget we brought in the new regulations
[57:11.540 -> 57:13.140] to try and get cars to follow closer.
[57:13.140 -> 57:16.700] I think last year we got really close racing,
[57:16.700 -> 57:20.040] you know, compared with say 21 or 2020.
[57:20.040 -> 57:23.500] Do we feel like we've gone back a step, Rachel?
[57:23.500 -> 57:25.080] What do you think?
[57:25.080 -> 57:28.160] I say I think so, because that's what all the drivers are
[57:28.160 -> 57:28.880] saying to me.
[57:28.880 -> 57:31.080] So a lot of them at the weekend said,
[57:31.080 -> 57:33.120] we can't follow as closely as we could last year,
[57:33.120 -> 57:35.520] whether that's because the teams are getting smarter
[57:35.520 -> 57:37.480] and they're finding the developments,
[57:37.480 -> 57:39.600] they are doing the work they need to do.
[57:39.600 -> 57:41.680] We also lost 100 meters of DRS in Baku,
[57:41.680 -> 57:42.720] which caused a problem.
[57:42.720 -> 57:45.120] And it seems to be not getting as much slipstreaming,
[57:45.120 -> 57:49.280] but I'll leave it to the other two to go into that a bit more. Yes, it definitely feels like that,
[57:49.280 -> 57:51.200] and the drivers are definitely saying that to me in the pen.
[57:51.200 -> 57:56.480] The thing is we shouldn't even, you mentioned DRS there, it's interesting, we shouldn't even
[57:56.480 -> 58:05.820] have DRS. The racing for me, it needs to be organic organic It needs to be like it is at the start of the race
[58:05.940 -> 58:13.060] You know Alonso diving down the inside of another car after the restart that wasn't DRS. That's brilliant. That's what we need
[58:13.060 -> 58:17.160] That's what you want to see we shouldn't be relying on DRS. It's another band-aid
[58:17.260 -> 58:23.800] Why do we need DRS because they can't follow each other close enough the whole reason we had this massive
[58:24.180 -> 58:26.400] rule change regulation change in the car,
[58:26.400 -> 58:32.320] is to encourage natural overtaking and a bid to one day get rid of the damn thing.
[58:33.360 -> 58:40.400] And we're not, we're still relying on it more and more. And we rely too much on that, I've said it
[58:40.400 -> 58:47.120] for ages now, it's funny, you know, me and some of the older drivers you know johnny herbert
[58:47.120 -> 58:53.360] damon hill we would we'd say we know we just got to get rid of take away the wings you can surely
[58:53.360 -> 58:58.720] make these cars with some clever engineering and maybe some active ride suspension and clever active
[58:58.720 -> 59:04.320] skirts or whatever it takes you've got to take these wings away they're the things that are
[59:05.880 -> 59:11.360] it takes. You've got to take these wings away. They're the things that are... that's doing the damage. That's doing the damage. And that's what you rely on the front wing and the rear
[59:11.360 -> 59:18.360] wing to generate so much downforce now. And the cleverer the aerodynamicists get in making
[59:18.360 -> 59:25.000] them more efficient and effective, well, they're only going to get the downforce one way,
[59:25.840 -> 59:29.160] that's by clean air flow over the car.
[59:29.160 -> 59:32.960] So, to not rely on, the best racing I've ever done,
[59:32.960 -> 59:34.780] and the best racing you'll ever see,
[59:34.780 -> 59:36.820] is where you've got slip streaming,
[59:36.820 -> 59:41.820] like motorbike racing, cycling, Formula Ford, karting.
[59:43.760 -> 59:47.320] It's brilliant because you've got no turbulence getting
[59:47.320 -> 59:51.240] anywhere. The turbulence is a benefit because it gives you it gives you a
[59:51.240 -> 59:57.440] suction to whoever's in front and with no downside. That's what delivers the
[59:57.440 -> 01:00:01.360] best racing and the more downforce we put on these cars because of the wings
[01:00:01.360 -> 01:00:06.080] getting more elaborate, more effective more reliance
[01:00:06.080 -> 01:00:12.320] on them it creates more turbulence more need to have perfect airflow going over them so it's
[01:00:12.320 -> 01:00:20.160] really simple in my in my simple world but yeah it just seems to be we're going we're starting to go
[01:00:20.160 -> 01:00:31.840] in the wrong direction again the cars are faster they're almost at the same speed now as they were in 2021 where there was a heavy reliance on DRS. I feel like the best years were behind us
[01:00:31.840 -> 01:00:37.920] now in terms of these new regs for the cars because they're getting more and more downforce
[01:00:37.920 -> 01:00:44.400] again through the wings. There you go Paul, the answer is just get rid of DRS. Get rid of the
[01:00:44.400 -> 01:00:46.160] rear wings, that's what the FIA can do.
[01:00:46.880 -> 01:00:50.560] Okay, that's almost all we've got time for. It's obviously Miami this week,
[01:00:50.560 -> 01:00:55.360] so I just want to quickly look ahead to Miami. Rachel, you were there last year.
[01:00:56.240 -> 01:01:02.720] Sum up what the Miami Grand Prix is, sum up how exciting it is, because it's a real event,
[01:01:02.720 -> 01:01:09.680] isn't it? It's the second year we're going. was incredible last year i mean it was chaos it was but brilliant chaos in terms of you know
[01:01:09.680 -> 01:01:14.880] my involvement in it all uh on track we didn't have what we wanted um but it's going to be much
[01:01:14.880 -> 01:01:19.120] hotter this year fernando was grinning all the way through his answer to me about those hotter
[01:01:19.120 -> 01:01:22.400] temperatures saying you know we're going to be all over the ferraris we're going to beat them
[01:01:22.400 -> 01:01:27.920] um we don't mind the hotter temperatures he's expecting a really good weekend and it'll be full of celebs it'll be full
[01:01:27.920 -> 01:01:34.880] of showbiz it's almost become the the jewel in the crown for American yeah Americans in terms
[01:01:34.880 -> 01:01:38.960] of Formula One now they are plowing everything into this Miami Grand Prix week there is an
[01:01:38.960 -> 01:01:43.040] awful lot going on away from the track as well it's going to be so busy for the drivers so
[01:01:43.040 -> 01:01:47.520] they've really got to get their heads in the game when they are on track in session because it's very distracting.
[01:01:47.520 -> 01:01:53.680] It is a brilliant event and the more America embraces it, the better it is for the sport
[01:01:53.680 -> 01:01:58.040] because it plows more money in and we get more racing and hopefully someone to take
[01:01:58.040 -> 01:02:01.040] away those front and rear wings. Keep Ant happy.
[01:02:01.040 -> 01:02:05.480] Maybe not take them away, but reduce them. I probably went a bit too far.
[01:02:05.480 -> 01:02:11.760] But it's my soapbox. Simplify them. Simplify them. If I go with take them away then maybe
[01:02:11.760 -> 01:02:18.800] we'll have smaller ones. It's like a bargaining practice. Ant's going to be there for the
[01:02:18.800 -> 01:02:22.000] first time this year by the way. There's a lot of stuff we're doing with Sky Sports.
[01:02:22.000 -> 01:02:28.400] Yeah, with Sky Sports F1 as well. Some some really exciting stuff too. We're going to be very busy, Ant, so I hope you're ready for it.
[01:02:28.400 -> 01:02:34.720] I am. I am indeed. I'm really excited. Yeah, first time for me at the Miami Grand Prix.
[01:02:34.720 -> 01:02:41.040] I missed out on it last year. Missed out on all the fun. After doing spa at the weekend,
[01:02:41.040 -> 01:02:42.560] it's about time I went to a warm-
[01:02:42.560 -> 01:02:44.320] You need some sun this year.
[01:02:44.320 -> 01:02:48.640] Have you got a Miami shirt, Ant? You've got to wear a really leery shirt on Sunday, it's the rules.
[01:02:49.760 -> 01:02:52.960] As leery as I can get I think, yeah, within reason.
[01:02:54.720 -> 01:02:57.360] And just finally, Blake, what are you looking forward to this weekend?
[01:02:57.360 -> 01:03:02.320] I don't know how I felt about Miami last year and I'm really, I really, like I'm one of those people
[01:03:02.320 -> 01:03:07.700] like I don't mind the new street tracks. I know a lot of people don't like them and we don't want to lose a lot of the traditional circuits
[01:03:07.700 -> 01:03:10.940] But as long as they produce good racing, that's fine
[01:03:10.940 -> 01:03:14.960] And last year Miami despite getting a fairly bad rap in terms of Sunday
[01:03:15.240 -> 01:03:20.960] There were quite a few overtakes and I think we just missed quite a few of them the narratives on the on the on the feed
[01:03:20.960 -> 01:03:22.600] exact so
[01:03:22.600 -> 01:03:25.120] I'm looking forward to it. I'm going to it with an open mind.
[01:03:26.160 -> 01:03:29.840] I want to come out of it with a positive outlook, but that's up to everybody else.
[01:03:31.600 -> 01:03:36.160] You know what? A little bit of chaos wouldn't hurt. It wouldn't hurt at all. But yeah,
[01:03:37.200 -> 01:03:45.120] I'm interested to go back to a normal race format for this weekend. I missed it a little bit.
[01:03:45.120 -> 01:03:47.120] I've got a big spare suitcase. We'll stick you in it.
[01:03:49.840 -> 01:03:51.200] I'll see you Heathrow on.
[01:03:51.200 -> 01:03:53.840] I'm going tomorrow morning very early.
[01:03:53.840 -> 01:03:57.920] You're still out there. Never mind. Yeah, I'm not flying to Bath first. No, thanks.
[01:03:58.960 -> 01:04:00.800] I'll rain check on that one. Thanks, Rachel.
[01:04:02.240 -> 01:04:05.640] Thank you very much, everyone. Thank you, Blake. Thank you, Rachel. Thank you, Ant.
[01:04:05.640 -> 01:04:10.680] I'm going to go and get you a shirt, a Miami-based shirt, Ant.
[01:04:10.680 -> 01:04:13.520] Okay, whether I'll wear it or not is another thing.
[01:04:13.520 -> 01:04:19.480] I'll make sure he does, Matt. Don't you worry. We'll make sure he does on Sunday. You'll
[01:04:19.480 -> 01:04:22.960] stand out a mile out if you don't because everyone else is wearing them. So you look
[01:04:22.960 -> 01:04:27.600] very boring if you don't wear it i'm telling you now. Why do you guys always do that when you go to America? Come on we're not
[01:04:27.600 -> 01:04:33.520] that bad. It's like the only person arriving at a fancy dress party not wearing fancy dress. Yeah
[01:04:34.160 -> 01:04:40.400] exactly. I'm sure you'll look great whatever you're wearing. So yeah thank you very much
[01:04:40.400 -> 01:04:45.460] everyone we will be back next Tuesday to look back at the Miami Grand Prix. We hope you can join us then.
[01:04:45.460 -> 01:04:46.300] Bye for now.