Will Verstappen win every remaining race? | Second half of the season predictions!

Matt Baker, Natalie Pinkham, Damon Hill and Max Verstappen's former performance engineer Blake Hinsey join for our latest pod.

They preview the second half of the season and discuss at which race Red Bull's Verstappen could win his third world title.

Who will come second in the driver and constructor standings behind Verstappen and Red Bull is debated.

They finish by giving their thoughts as to who'll be the most improved driver on the grid and provide their bold prediction for the rest of the year.

# Formula One Podcast Episode Transcript Summary

## Introduction

- Matt Baker hosts the Sky Sports F1 podcast with Natalie Pinkham, Damon Hill, and former performance engineer to Max Verstappen, Blake Hinsey.
- They preview the second half of the season and discuss at which race Red Bull's Verstappen could win his third world title.
- They debate who will come second in the driver and constructor standings behind Verstappen and Red Bull.
- They conclude by giving their thoughts on who'll be the most improved driver on the grid and provide their bold prediction for the rest of the year.

## Race Predictions for the Second Half of the Season

- All participants agree that Max Verstappen will win the World Championship and the Constructors' Championship.
- Damon Hill believes that Verstappen could win the title as early as the Japanese Grand Prix, while Natalie Pinkham thinks it will be in Qatar.
- Blake Hinsey highlights Verstappen's dominance and questions if anything can stop him from winning every remaining race.

## Potential Challenges to Verstappen's Dominance

- Natalie Pinkham raises the concern that Verstappen may become bored or unmotivated due to the repetitive nature of the racing schedule.
- Damon Hill suggests that Verstappen may need a "reset year" to reignite his passion for Formula One.
- Blake Hinsey proposes that a stint in a slower car could provide Verstappen with a new challenge and motivation.

## Runner-up in the Drivers' World Championship

- Natalie Pinkham predicts that Lewis Hamilton will finish runner-up, citing potential improvements in Mercedes' car.
- Damon Hill initially favored Fernando Alonso but changed his prediction to Sergio Perez.
- Blake Hinsey also selects Perez, emphasizing his strong performances in the second half of the season.

## Most Improved Driver on the Grid

- The participants discuss the difficulty in predicting the most improved driver due to the competitiveness of the midfield.
- Damon Hill suggests Alex Albon as a potential candidate, given his impressive performances in the Williams car.
- Natalie Pinkham highlights Lando Norris' consistency and potential for further improvement.

## Bold Predictions for the Rest of the Year

- Damon Hill predicts that George Russell will win a race before the end of the season.
- Natalie Pinkham expects to see more surprises and unpredictable results in the remaining races.
- Blake Hinsey believes that Nyck de Vries will impress if he gets the opportunity to race for Williams.

## Conclusion

- The participants emphasize the importance of focusing on the fights and rivalries rather than just the outright victories.
- They acknowledge that the second half of the season promises excitement and uncertainty, with the potential for more memorable moments.

# Formula 1 Podcast Episode Summary: Predicting the Second Half of the Season

**Key Points:**

- Red Bull's Max Verstappen is expected to win his third world title, and the team is likely to secure the Constructors' Championship as well.


- Mercedes is the favorite to finish second in both the Drivers' and Constructors' standings, with Lewis Hamilton potentially challenging for the runner-up spot.


- McLaren has shown significant improvement and could challenge for third in the Constructors' Championship, with Alex Albon emerging as the most improved driver.


- Oscar Piastri is expected to make a strong impact in the second half of the season, potentially closing the gap to teammate Lando Norris.


- Aston Martin's early-season gains have faded, while McLaren has made significant strides, becoming the most improved team.


- Sergio Perez is seen as the most likely non-Red Bull driver to win a race, with the possibility of an upset victory by Fernando Alonso, Lewis Hamilton, or a McLaren driver.


- A bold prediction is that McLaren could overtake Ferrari in the Constructors' Championship standings.


- Alex Albon is tipped to win a race for Williams, which would be a major upset.


- McLaren is expected to secure several podium finishes before the end of the season.


- Lewis Hamilton's retirement is a possibility, leaving open the question of who would partner George Russell at Mercedes.


- The Dutch Grand Prix at Zandvoort is highly anticipated, with fans eager to see the return of F1 cars to the iconic track.

[00:00.000 -> 00:08.760] Hello and welcome to the Sky Sports F1 podcast with me, Matt Baker.
[00:08.760 -> 00:14.120] We are finally almost just about to have F1 cars back on track and to help me make some
[00:14.120 -> 00:18.000] predictions for the second half of the season, but also to look ahead to the Dutch Grand
[00:18.000 -> 00:22.600] Prix, I'm joined by Natalie Pinkham, Damon Hill and former performance engineer to Max
[00:22.600 -> 00:29.540] Verstappen, now content creator, Blake Hintze. Hello to you all. I guess we should get some pleasantries out the way. How everyone's
[00:29.540 -> 00:33.580] summer was. Nat, I'll start with you. How was your summer?
[00:33.580 -> 00:35.580] It's not over, is it? Is it over?
[00:35.580 -> 00:36.580] It's hardly.
[00:36.580 -> 00:37.580] What are you talking about?
[00:37.580 -> 00:38.580] Yeah, it might be.
[00:38.580 -> 00:39.580] It's over.
[00:39.580 -> 00:40.580] It was over before it began.
[00:40.580 -> 00:48.000] We've been about three days of sun, didn't we? Yeah, but listen, I loved it, loving it, will love it.
[00:48.000 -> 00:50.000] I don't believe it's over.
[00:50.000 -> 00:52.000] I refuse to believe it's over.
[00:52.000 -> 00:55.000] So when we were sent back to school, I always remember,
[00:55.000 -> 00:57.000] oh, summer's over, go back to school.
[00:57.000 -> 01:00.000] And you'd go back and you'd have all your new autumn clothing
[01:00.000 -> 01:03.000] and stuff like that and you'd be sweating like crazy.
[01:03.000 -> 01:04.000] I do.
[01:04.000 -> 01:10.720] You'd be like, you're wearing woolly trousers or something that was ridiculous it's it'd be really hot in September
[01:10.720 -> 01:15.440] Damon have you got loads of new threads and pencils and pencil cases and and notepads for
[01:15.440 -> 01:21.680] Xanthor? Yeah I sharpened all my pencils for well I haven't been to a race since Austria I think it
[01:21.680 -> 01:25.240] was so that was hot, Austria and sunny.
[01:25.240 -> 01:28.560] But yeah, so I haven't been for a while
[01:28.560 -> 01:31.040] and I've never been to Zandvoort for Formula One.
[01:31.040 -> 01:32.560] So this is going to be fun for me
[01:32.560 -> 01:35.100] because obviously it's a max,
[01:36.400 -> 01:38.920] well, Bedlam is what I expect it to be like.
[01:38.920 -> 01:42.640] You know, it'll just be utter chaos and everything orange.
[01:42.640 -> 01:45.400] And I know that the guy who's running the
[01:45.400 -> 01:48.620] event is asked people not to use orange flares but that's just like an
[01:48.620 -> 01:51.660] invitation to use orange flares isn't it? I mean when they said bring more of them
[01:51.660 -> 01:56.380] please yeah I mean so unlikely that's gonna happen and but I have very fond
[01:56.380 -> 02:01.500] memories of Zandvoort because I used to go there in Formula 3 it was one of our
[02:01.500 -> 02:07.000] away trips for the British Formula 3 Championship. We had two races. One was in for overseas races.
[02:07.000 -> 02:10.000] One was Zandvoort and the other one was Spa.
[02:10.000 -> 02:14.000] And I won both of them. So I have very happy memories of Zandvoort.
[02:14.000 -> 02:22.000] It was slightly in its old configuration, but it was perfect for F3 cars and a lovely track to drive on.
[02:22.000 -> 02:26.700] And when we did it after our testing, we we go to the beach after us. It's fantastic
[02:27.820 -> 02:33.020] What a life Damon did I remember seeing a tweet where you hit did you hit a bird at Zandvoort?
[02:33.020 -> 02:35.540] Yes. No, there was the first lap
[02:36.020 -> 02:37.140] This is very sad
[02:37.140 -> 02:39.800] so anyone who's sensitive with regards to
[02:40.260 -> 02:44.220] Anything to do with animals and cruelty and stuff like that. You have to put your fingers in your ears and
[02:44.900 -> 02:46.920] Don't listen to this bit. It's horrible
[02:48.280 -> 02:51.360] But basically we we all around did this lovely
[02:51.960 -> 02:54.060] Sweeping hill around the back dune around the back
[02:54.060 -> 02:58.920] we came around the corner the fast one at the back to to see a family of I
[02:59.440 -> 03:01.440] think they were geese or
[03:01.560 -> 03:04.520] ducks crossing the track and and
[03:03.760 -> 03:08.480] they were geese or ducks crossing the track. And to my eternal credit, I tried to take avoiding action
[03:08.480 -> 03:10.520] and took to the grass and everyone,
[03:10.520 -> 03:13.000] you imagine there's five Formula Three cars
[03:13.000 -> 03:14.000] on the first lap of race,
[03:14.000 -> 03:17.120] suddenly trying to avoid all these ducks crossing the road.
[03:17.120 -> 03:18.820] So there were a lot of feathers.
[03:18.820 -> 03:21.280] It was a bit like a pillow fight, unfortunately.
[03:21.280 -> 03:23.920] So it was a bit tragic.
[03:23.920 -> 03:25.240] Oh, yes. Yeah, we know, we sadly know how that story ends. Very good, all right. unfortunately. So it was a bit tragic. Yes.
[03:25.240 -> 03:28.200] Yeah, we know, we sadly know how that story ends.
[03:28.200 -> 03:30.880] Very good, all right, well let's move on from that
[03:30.880 -> 03:32.520] and to more positive things.
[03:32.520 -> 03:34.400] Because look, we've got the second half of the season
[03:34.400 -> 03:37.640] coming right up and I'm gonna shout out James Galloway,
[03:37.640 -> 03:40.320] who wrote a brilliant article on the Sky Sports website
[03:40.320 -> 03:43.920] to whet your appetite for these upcoming races.
[03:43.920 -> 03:45.820] We've got races on four continents
[03:45.820 -> 03:46.940] in nine different countries.
[03:46.940 -> 03:50.180] We've got the first ever Las Vegas Grand Prix,
[03:50.180 -> 03:52.660] three double headers and one triple header.
[03:52.660 -> 03:56.060] We've got two street tracks, three sprint weekends,
[03:56.060 -> 03:59.980] and early morning and prime time evening UK races.
[03:59.980 -> 04:01.780] There is so much to be excited about.
[04:01.780 -> 04:03.820] Blake, what are you excited about
[04:03.820 -> 04:06.900] in the second half of the 2023 season?
[04:06.900 -> 04:08.860] Suzuka, always Suzuka.
[04:09.760 -> 04:14.280] And Austin, and honestly, Vegas looks super exciting.
[04:14.280 -> 04:16.240] That is going to be a spectacle.
[04:16.240 -> 04:18.400] Love it or hate it, it's gonna be wild.
[04:18.400 -> 04:19.820] I don't think I'm gonna love it,
[04:19.820 -> 04:22.660] but I'm looking forward to seeing what it's about.
[04:22.660 -> 04:27.180] But yeah, I think that's something to look forward to
[04:27.180 -> 04:29.540] and I think some of your questions
[04:29.540 -> 04:30.680] might lead into some of the other things
[04:30.680 -> 04:31.520] I'm looking forward to,
[04:31.520 -> 04:33.960] the best of the rest competition, really.
[04:33.960 -> 04:35.920] Yes, the non-Max Verstappen championship
[04:35.920 -> 04:37.440] to coin Ted Kravitz's phrase.
[04:37.440 -> 04:38.600] Nat, what about yourself?
[04:38.600 -> 04:41.600] What are you pumped for for the rest of 2023?
[04:41.600 -> 04:42.880] I think that's the point, isn't it?
[04:42.880 -> 04:45.520] Shift it away from the emphasis that is
[04:45.520 -> 04:51.360] that max domination and accept that is history being made and we'll look back and reflect
[04:51.360 -> 04:57.760] and be well feel lucky that we were able to witness it be a part of it. Enjoy it. And then
[04:58.480 -> 05:05.760] yeah, go for locations over anything else because we are going to some absolutely cracking racetracks. I love
[05:05.760 -> 05:12.880] Singapore, I love Suzuka, I cannot wait for Vegas. So there is there's much to enjoy in the latter
[05:12.880 -> 05:20.880] stages of the season. Damon, Vegas is that top on your must-see list for 2023? We watched Casino,
[05:20.880 -> 05:25.060] the film, you know with Robert De Niro and stuff. So Vegas obviously has got a
[05:25.820 -> 05:27.720] very fruity
[05:27.720 -> 05:30.640] history and reputation and and
[05:31.400 -> 05:37.780] And so I have been to Vegas once before a couple of years ago in January something like that
[05:37.780 -> 05:43.660] So I hadn't been before so I'm looking forward to see what it is all about
[05:43.660 -> 05:46.720] I mean it is showbiz capital of the world
[05:46.720 -> 05:50.360] and there's all this kind of reputation
[05:50.360 -> 05:51.400] that it carries with it.
[05:51.400 -> 05:54.760] And so now Formula One is gonna put its head
[05:54.760 -> 05:57.840] in the lion's mouth and see whether we get spat out
[05:57.840 -> 06:00.720] or whether they take to it and love it.
[06:00.720 -> 06:03.840] But the moment, the feeling is that America
[06:03.840 -> 06:05.960] has really taken to Formula One
[06:05.960 -> 06:07.600] and they're desperate to get to Vegas.
[06:07.600 -> 06:10.240] And so it should be a good vibe.
[06:10.240 -> 06:12.440] So Matt, can I just tell you that we went out
[06:12.440 -> 06:14.880] to the launch of it last year.
[06:14.880 -> 06:18.560] And I was slightly reticent about Vegas,
[06:18.560 -> 06:21.240] you know, big, busy casino floors
[06:21.240 -> 06:24.120] and just kind of claustrophobic
[06:24.120 -> 06:26.320] and a bit overwhelmed by it all.
[06:26.320 -> 06:31.360] And my husband's a big fan of Vegas, I can't imagine why, but he has been many, many times
[06:31.360 -> 06:36.840] and he said to me, just go, you'll have a great time, just enjoy it, go for it.
[06:36.840 -> 06:43.480] And we all went to this bar on the first night and I rang him and I said, look, quite frankly,
[06:43.480 -> 06:45.200] this is really tacky I don't
[06:45.200 -> 06:49.120] like it at all I want to come home it's terrible he said for God's sake you take
[06:49.120 -> 06:53.280] yourself way too seriously look I tell you what I'll tell you a really classy
[06:53.280 -> 06:58.680] cool place to go and it has got a giant chandelier in the middle and you won't
[06:58.680 -> 07:05.120] you can't fail but to love the place as I looked up to a giant chandelier above my head I was already in the
[07:05.120 -> 07:14.800] one place he said that I would find classy. It was not and that was the place I rang him from to say
[07:14.800 -> 07:19.440] it was seriously tacky. Anyway at that point I had a change of mindset. I said you know what I'm not
[07:19.440 -> 07:30.920] going to take this too seriously. Take it with a massive trowel of salt and have one of the best weekends of my life. After my wedding, my children, we had a blast. It was brilliant.
[07:30.920 -> 07:35.180] And I think that's the key, you just have to go into it with a very different
[07:35.180 -> 07:38.080] mindset to anywhere else on planet Earth.
[07:38.080 -> 07:39.480] Kitsch is probably a better word.
[07:39.480 -> 07:43.960] I know what you mean when you say tacky but maybe...
[07:43.960 -> 07:46.120] But Blake, you sound like you're from the United States.
[07:46.120 -> 07:46.960] So you're from America.
[07:46.960 -> 07:49.280] So you go all the time then, right?
[07:49.280 -> 07:51.120] So you've never been to Vegas.
[07:51.120 -> 07:51.960] I've never been to Vegas.
[07:51.960 -> 07:52.800] You've never been?
[07:52.800 -> 07:54.480] I'm like you, it's one of those places,
[07:54.480 -> 07:56.960] like the gambling and all this stuff,
[07:56.960 -> 07:59.360] and the show biz, that doesn't really appeal to me.
[07:59.360 -> 08:02.640] So I'm like, okay, this is gonna be interesting.
[08:02.640 -> 08:04.120] But if somebody was like,
[08:04.120 -> 08:07.720] hey, we'd like to bring you out to the event and I'd be like, oh, yes
[08:07.720 -> 08:09.980] No, I totally not going now. I'm going for sure
[08:14.200 -> 08:18.760] Let's just I'm I'm not the kind of guy that can afford that kind of event though that's gonna be
[08:19.400 -> 08:21.800] That's gonna be a little bit of a spindi event
[08:22.240 -> 08:29.600] Honestly, if I could pick one, I'm going to go to Austria or something, you know, have a nice schnitzel in a village somewhere, go ride my bike in
[08:29.600 -> 08:32.040] the mountains and go watch the races.
[08:32.040 -> 08:36.880] We offer all sorts of variety of experience with Formula One. Exactly. That's the great
[08:36.880 -> 08:41.640] thing. I mean, Singapore, I mean, it is a it's a fantastic setting. The whole thing
[08:41.640 -> 08:47.840] looks spectacular. So I think from a visual point of view it's going to look amazing being held at night at Vegas of course
[08:47.840 -> 08:52.700] that's when it all comes alive anyway so it will be brilliant I don't know what
[08:52.700 -> 08:58.120] to expect but I'm sure it's gonna be us TV spectacular. Another thing is is all
[08:58.120 -> 09:01.560] of those events that are in the city assuming you're staying near the event
[09:01.560 -> 09:06.880] the the convenience of walking to and from the circuit as a personnel or a fan or everything else,
[09:06.880 -> 09:09.840] the stands vacate after the session,
[09:09.840 -> 09:11.880] you go straight to a bar or restaurant
[09:11.880 -> 09:15.880] like Monaco, Singapore, those events are a lot of fun.
[09:15.880 -> 09:17.320] But I think Natalie's gonna say something
[09:17.320 -> 09:18.160] contrary to that.
[09:18.160 -> 09:19.560] Well, my only concern though, Blake,
[09:19.560 -> 09:22.440] is whether we may lose a few people
[09:22.440 -> 09:24.560] on the way back to the track.
[09:24.560 -> 09:28.160] If you've got to walk through a casino floor,
[09:28.160 -> 09:30.440] it could be dangerous.
[09:30.440 -> 09:31.360] Discipline.
[09:31.360 -> 09:32.640] Discipline is always important.
[09:32.640 -> 09:34.000] Discipline is key.
[09:34.000 -> 09:35.040] It's Thursday night.
[09:35.040 -> 09:36.520] Do you have that extra beer or not?
[09:36.520 -> 09:37.560] I don't know.
[09:37.560 -> 09:40.000] Do you hit the slot machine for 12 hours?
[09:40.000 -> 09:41.360] I don't know.
[09:41.360 -> 09:43.000] Well, given the timings of the race,
[09:43.000 -> 09:47.280] it's going to be very, those, when we actually finish racing,
[09:47.280 -> 09:49.360] let alone when people are actually gonna get to bed.
[09:49.360 -> 09:51.000] I mean, yeah, it's gonna be very interesting.
[09:51.000 -> 09:52.080] It's definitely gonna be, as well,
[09:52.080 -> 09:54.560] the last time we went to Vegas, which was in a car park,
[09:54.560 -> 09:57.040] which was far less exciting than doing it
[09:57.040 -> 09:57.880] along the main strip.
[09:57.880 -> 09:59.700] But I would urge our viewers,
[09:59.700 -> 10:02.440] I don't know if Sky's got the rights to it,
[10:02.440 -> 10:08.000] but anyway, there was a very brilliantneud gan Clive James yn Vegas.
[10:08.000 -> 10:12.000] Ac roedd hynny'n y tro cyntaf oedd ganddyn nhw y cerdd yno.
[10:12.000 -> 10:14.000] Ac fel dweud, roedd yn y parc fiatu.
[10:14.000 -> 10:16.000] Doedd e ddim yn gweithio.
[10:16.000 -> 10:19.000] Doedd nhw ddim yn gwybod bod e'n digwydd, doedd nhw ddim yn gwybod beth oedd Formula 1.
[10:19.000 -> 10:22.000] Ond nid yw'n gwbl, mae'n ffilmio'n ddangos iawn.
[10:22.000 -> 10:26.160] Felly mae yna ymchwil ychydig i bawb i weld beth sydd wedi digwydd yn y tro cyntaf. watchable documentary and so a bit of research there for everyone to go and see what happened
[10:26.160 -> 10:31.600] last time. It's a good story and for Formula One lovers it's a brilliant piece of TV.
[10:31.600 -> 10:36.000] How times have changed now. I don't think anyone in the US will not know that it's happening in
[10:36.000 -> 10:41.440] Vegas this year. Okay let's move on to talk about our predictions then for the rest of the 2023
[10:41.440 -> 10:46.440] season. I've got some various categories which I asked all of you to go away and have a think about.
[10:46.440 -> 10:47.260] So-
[10:47.260 -> 10:48.100] Damon, did you?
[10:48.100 -> 10:48.940] Did you, Damon?
[10:48.940 -> 10:49.760] Did you?
[10:49.760 -> 10:50.600] Yeah, I've done my homework.
[10:50.600 -> 10:51.440] I've just looked at it now.
[10:51.440 -> 10:55.100] Far away, far away, Matt, come on.
[10:58.880 -> 11:01.080] Give you some lines to do after this, Damon.
[11:02.360 -> 11:03.940] Right, our very first category,
[11:03.940 -> 11:05.120] and I promise we're not going to spend too
[11:05.120 -> 11:08.480] long on this, is the winner of the World Championship. I haven't got yours, Damon,
[11:08.480 -> 11:13.040] but I'm going to guess you're probably going to go with Max. All of us have gone with Max,
[11:13.040 -> 11:17.040] and I think it's probably now a case of when will he win the world title?
[11:17.840 -> 11:22.080] You're talking about the Constructors, right? Yes. Yeah. And the Constructors. Yeah.
[11:23.120 -> 11:25.280] He's going to get both. Yeah, he's gonna get both. Yeah
[11:30.860 -> 11:36.880] I mean, he's 125 points clear of second place in the championship the earliest he could win it is Japan But that does require quite a few of his competitors or his nearest in in in second place to have bad weekend
[11:36.880 -> 11:40.360] So it's most likely gonna be in Qatar, which is also a sprint weekend
[11:40.480 -> 11:44.980] So I guess the question now I'll come to you on this could anything get in the way of
[11:49.340 -> 11:53.600] Max Verstappen winning that title as early as Qatar? Do you think it could be pushed back? Is there anything that would push it back to the USA, to Mexico, even to
[11:53.600 -> 11:54.600] Brazil?
[11:54.600 -> 11:58.480] I think the more pertinent question is, is there anything to stop him winning every single
[11:58.480 -> 12:06.840] race that remains on the calendar? Because he's just in imperious form. I suppose the summer break may have been
[12:06.840 -> 12:10.600] disruptive, you know, they're clutching at straws there but some of the
[12:10.600 -> 12:15.120] opposition may hope that just that little break in momentum may be enough
[12:15.120 -> 12:19.000] to put him off his stride ever so slightly. I can't see it though, I mean
[12:19.000 -> 12:23.120] you know we're talking about him winning by margins of 30 seconds plus. This is a
[12:23.120 -> 12:28.140] guy in the form of his life, in the car of his life, in the car of a generation,
[12:28.140 -> 12:32.620] and yeah, he's surely going to storm to victory
[12:32.620 -> 12:35.120] at the soonest possible opportunity.
[12:35.120 -> 12:37.780] The engines have been spectacular, and it doesn't matter.
[12:37.780 -> 12:40.040] They can take engine penalties at every event
[12:40.040 -> 12:41.980] if they wanted to fit new from here on out
[12:41.980 -> 12:43.380] and still do reasonably well.
[12:43.380 -> 12:45.680] I don't see anything putting him off.
[12:45.680 -> 12:50.000] Like Natalie said, it's seriously impressive to watch
[12:50.000 -> 12:54.160] with that combination of car and driver and confidence level
[12:54.160 -> 12:56.200] you'd have to have some pretty messed up stuff happen
[12:56.200 -> 12:57.960] to derail that train.
[12:57.960 -> 12:59.840] I think there's a slim chance you could get bored
[12:59.840 -> 13:02.160] because listening to some of his comments about Formula 1
[13:02.160 -> 13:08.080] is he seems quite negative about having to do any extra work or the amount of flying and stuff
[13:08.080 -> 13:11.320] he has to do so you never know you might just go I can't be bothered with this
[13:11.320 -> 13:15.560] anymore and go off and play his computer games in Monaco right that's but that's
[13:15.560 -> 13:19.720] a very very slim chance of that happening so yeah there's nothing to
[13:19.720 -> 13:24.120] stop him is there really. Blake tell me do you miss him do you miss it and do
[13:24.120 -> 13:26.160] you miss him? I'll be it and do you miss him?
[13:26.160 -> 13:28.320] I'll be honest, working with him was probably
[13:28.320 -> 13:30.320] one of the easiest drivers I had to work with.
[13:30.320 -> 13:32.680] The communication loop was super tight.
[13:32.680 -> 13:33.800] A lot of it was nonverbal.
[13:33.800 -> 13:35.640] I'd look through the data at night,
[13:35.640 -> 13:37.920] have a chat with him before he left Friday night.
[13:37.920 -> 13:38.880] What do you think about this?
[13:38.880 -> 13:42.320] The tools, talk with GP about the setup, and that was it.
[13:42.320 -> 13:44.680] Do I miss, I don't miss the traveling.
[13:44.680 -> 13:48.060] That's why I quit traveling at the end of 17.
[13:48.060 -> 13:51.580] The 19 races, looking at 24 races was a lot.
[13:51.580 -> 13:53.520] And it's a bit different story between Max
[13:53.520 -> 13:55.700] and Max is sitting here winning world championships
[13:55.700 -> 13:57.840] and I was at the time performance engineering
[13:57.840 -> 14:00.080] a second, third place team.
[14:02.400 -> 14:08.000] And he's like driving effectively on easy mode, not much challenge, and all
[14:08.000 -> 14:13.640] the races and travel, I get it, but even me, like, I didn't have any aspirations to be
[14:13.640 -> 14:16.040] like, oh, I have to be a world championship winning engineer.
[14:16.040 -> 14:19.740] I was like, I do this because it's challenging and interesting, and when it became too rinse
[14:19.740 -> 14:23.960] repeat, I was like, I'd like another challenge, and that's when I decided to go back to the
[14:23.960 -> 14:26.160] factory to focus on development rather than
[14:26.600 -> 14:31.160] Operation I think it is stressful, isn't it for people working and doing all the races?
[14:31.800 -> 14:35.160] Yeah, I mean it I think a lot of people say, you know
[14:35.160 -> 14:39.240] You guys are in a position of privilege and that's that is fair. Like there's not that many
[14:39.840 -> 14:47.180] opportunities for presenters broadcasters engineers and drivers, but at the same time, yes, it is a choice,
[14:47.180 -> 14:49.500] but it's a very demanding schedule,
[14:49.500 -> 14:53.920] and there's no, doesn't look like it's going to ease up
[14:53.920 -> 14:56.280] anytime soon, like people are willing to accept
[14:56.280 -> 14:58.620] more and more content and more races,
[14:58.620 -> 15:02.400] and yeah, we see teams swapping out engineers,
[15:02.400 -> 15:04.620] having rotations, mechanics as well,
[15:04.620 -> 15:05.900] but there's a lot of people,
[15:05.900 -> 15:09.080] like I think race engineers, team principals,
[15:09.080 -> 15:12.280] a lot of your broadcast staff and hospitality staff,
[15:12.280 -> 15:15.900] you can't really afford to have lots of people rotating out.
[15:15.900 -> 15:19.840] So I understand what Max is saying and it does make sense.
[15:19.840 -> 15:21.280] You can't rotate the drivers, can you?
[15:21.280 -> 15:23.480] They've got to stick around for the whole season.
[15:23.480 -> 15:25.200] That was my question, actually.
[15:25.200 -> 15:26.720] Will it take its toll on Max?
[15:26.720 -> 15:30.200] Will that ultimately be what calls it into his career?
[15:30.200 -> 15:33.160] Because he just sort of has enough of the repetition
[15:33.160 -> 15:36.000] and the constant flying and being away from home.
[15:36.000 -> 15:37.960] How old is he, 25?
[15:37.960 -> 15:39.080] What is he, 20?
[15:39.080 -> 15:39.920] Yeah.
[15:39.920 -> 15:44.040] I mean, we're talking very early burnout, aren't we?
[15:44.040 -> 15:44.880] If that's the case.
[15:44.880 -> 15:47.880] I mean, you look at Fernando,
[15:47.880 -> 15:48.960] who's had an incredibly long career.
[15:48.960 -> 15:52.960] He had a bit of time out, as did Kimi.
[15:52.960 -> 15:55.000] You do wonder whether sometimes these drivers
[15:55.000 -> 15:57.640] need a kind of reset year, where they kind of go,
[15:57.640 -> 16:00.160] okay, I want to do all these other things
[16:00.160 -> 16:02.640] I don't have time for when I'm a Formula One driver.
[16:02.640 -> 16:05.360] And, well, okay, go and do it.
[16:05.360 -> 16:07.620] And then you'll realize that actually,
[16:07.620 -> 16:12.320] you really are much more interested in winning Grand Prixs
[16:12.320 -> 16:13.560] and being in Formula One.
[16:13.560 -> 16:16.000] And the guys who've come back have really kind of,
[16:16.000 -> 16:19.600] I think they've hit the ground with more enthusiasm
[16:19.600 -> 16:21.880] than they had before they were doing it.
[16:21.880 -> 16:25.600] So I'm not sure about all his talk of getting exhausted
[16:25.600 -> 16:27.160] and there's too many races.
[16:27.160 -> 16:30.080] I think that it looks great on the outside
[16:30.080 -> 16:32.520] if you want a break and you want to go on your boat
[16:32.520 -> 16:34.940] and lounge around in Ibiza or whatever it is.
[16:36.720 -> 16:38.640] But until you do it, you know,
[16:38.640 -> 16:40.520] and then you realize you got itchy,
[16:40.520 -> 16:43.080] you got ants in your pants and you want to go again.
[16:43.080 -> 16:47.900] ♪♪ you got ants in your pants and you want to go again.
[16:50.460 -> 16:52.720] I would argue that maybe, you know, when you're, let's say Max is perceiving this
[16:52.720 -> 16:54.060] to be on easy mode right now,
[16:54.060 -> 16:56.740] it's like he's got a lot of performance in his pocket,
[16:56.740 -> 16:58.340] what else is there to strive for
[16:58.340 -> 17:00.100] other than absolute perfection,
[17:00.100 -> 17:01.500] you know, 10 out of 10 every weekend,
[17:01.500 -> 17:04.720] whereas let's say you're driving a Mercedes right now,
[17:04.720 -> 17:06.140] the car's not great, you know, it's still 10 every weekend. Whereas, let's say you're driving a Mercedes right now, the car's not great, you know,
[17:06.140 -> 17:08.460] it's still a ways off the championship.
[17:08.460 -> 17:13.120] Which one of those has more hooks to keep you invested?
[17:14.540 -> 17:17.420] Like Alex Albon's season this year in the Williams,
[17:17.420 -> 17:19.720] you know, like that's gotta be super motivating,
[17:19.720 -> 17:21.620] but it's like, it doesn't look successful,
[17:21.620 -> 17:24.340] but at the same time, it's like, I can see the progress,
[17:24.340 -> 17:25.960] I can see the trajectory,
[17:25.960 -> 17:27.280] and I can achieve something.
[17:27.280 -> 17:32.280] So maybe a couple years in a slower car
[17:32.360 -> 17:35.720] and lots of challenges would actually reignite some of that.
[17:35.720 -> 17:39.160] Blake, your job is a performance engineer, right?
[17:39.160 -> 17:42.400] So, but did it ever go into the realm of
[17:42.400 -> 17:44.560] how do we get the driver to think
[17:44.560 -> 17:45.440] in terms of giving
[17:45.440 -> 17:48.680] more performance or is it not psychology wasn't your thing?
[17:48.680 -> 17:53.880] Because you just touched on something for me it's quite interesting.
[17:53.880 -> 17:59.560] Where do you get this concentration or this extra input that some drivers seem to just
[17:59.560 -> 18:01.000] give day in day out?
[18:01.000 -> 18:05.920] I mean Schumacher, Alononso Senna but these guys just
[18:06.000 -> 18:12.680] Endlessly wanted to win the whole time are these things learned or innate because I'm not like for example
[18:12.680 -> 18:14.200] I'm not a performance psychologist
[18:14.200 -> 18:18.440] We didn't work with people that came in and out of the teams to talk to the drivers
[18:18.560 -> 18:22.240] But you don't usually bring somebody like that in when the driver is doing well
[18:22.240 -> 18:30.080] You bring a guy like a person in like that when the driver is struggling with performance consistency and you say right let's
[18:30.080 -> 18:34.160] let's look under the under the bonnet and see what's going on up here. Whereas when you're
[18:34.160 -> 18:39.360] winning and you're like I'm a little bit bored of winning it's like you're suffering from being too
[18:39.360 -> 18:45.000] good right now. Yes I think it's I think it's you've you touched on the point I was trying to get to.
[18:45.000 -> 18:49.200] I think it can become, say me, even for the guy who's winning,
[18:49.400 -> 18:51.320] and they want a challenge and they want to race.
[18:51.320 -> 18:56.600] They want, they need, I think Senna was interesting when he Prost retired
[18:56.600 -> 18:59.840] and he hadn't, and Senna was in his last year of racing actually,
[18:59.840 -> 19:04.440] he looked back wistfully at the times when he was,
[19:04.480 -> 19:06.720] when he had someone to compete and aim at, which
[19:06.720 -> 19:07.720] was Prost.
[19:07.720 -> 19:09.200] And he'd lost his foil.
[19:09.200 -> 19:12.440] He didn't want to race against the new guys who were coming up.
[19:12.440 -> 19:16.280] They didn't really know them, didn't have this kind of motivation to compete against
[19:16.280 -> 19:17.280] them.
[19:17.280 -> 19:21.400] And he needed that foil, that sparring partner.
[19:21.400 -> 19:26.100] So yeah, maybe it's all just a bit too,
[19:27.640 -> 19:31.440] it's not all about winning, is it? Self-improvement, I think, is a big piece of motivation
[19:31.440 -> 19:34.440] for a lot of people, is if you don't have a,
[19:34.440 -> 19:36.960] I mean, the only thing now that I can tell is
[19:36.960 -> 19:41.000] Max's goal is to pull fastest lap, race win,
[19:41.000 -> 19:43.180] lead as many laps as possible.
[19:43.180 -> 19:45.400] But when that becomes relatively,
[19:49.080 -> 19:50.920] very likely that it's going to happen,
[19:51.880 -> 19:52.700] what do you have to do?
[19:52.700 -> 19:54.400] It's like, do I want to put five tenths,
[19:54.400 -> 19:57.440] six tenths, seven tenths on my teammate in qualifying?
[19:57.440 -> 19:58.600] It's also so interesting,
[19:58.600 -> 20:00.560] because it feels like a bit of a game to him,
[20:00.560 -> 20:02.060] because you remember the time when he came in
[20:02.060 -> 20:04.580] for that late pit stop, and he risked it
[20:04.580 -> 20:07.920] for the sake of the fastest lap. It was almost like him saying, no, no, no, I'm not
[20:07.920 -> 20:13.080] going to let anyone else have this, certainly not my teammates, Sergio Perez. And he kind
[20:13.080 -> 20:19.960] of was toying a bit like a cat with a mouse and saying, no, I have to extract fun somehow,
[20:19.960 -> 20:22.160] even if it is risking, risking.
[20:22.160 -> 20:26.120] And just get the heart rate up a little bit. It's like, is this pit stop going to go all right?
[20:26.120 -> 20:27.560] Yeah, yeah, yeah, exactly.
[20:27.560 -> 20:28.680] Okay, it's good, let's go.
[20:28.680 -> 20:29.520] Exactly.
[20:29.520 -> 20:30.480] It's obviously clear he's going to win
[20:30.480 -> 20:31.320] the World Championship this year.
[20:31.320 -> 20:32.560] I think that's an interesting conversation
[20:32.560 -> 20:36.880] about the future and perhaps the 2024, 2025, 2026
[20:36.880 -> 20:40.000] and thereafter as to whether or not
[20:40.000 -> 20:41.880] he's going to have that same appetite, isn't he,
[20:41.880 -> 20:43.960] to win the World Championship.
[20:43.960 -> 20:46.200] Let's move on to another prediction. Runner-up in the to win the World Championship. Let's move on to another prediction.
[20:46.200 -> 20:48.200] Runner-up in the Drivers' World Championship.
[20:48.200 -> 20:49.800] This is probably a little bit closer.
[20:49.800 -> 20:52.480] There's a few disagreements already that I can see,
[20:52.480 -> 20:54.520] and Damon, I'm sure you're going to tell me
[20:54.520 -> 20:55.560] what you've picked as well.
[20:55.560 -> 20:59.900] But, Nat, go on, who have you picked for the runner-up?
[20:59.900 -> 21:01.440] It's controversial, but I'm going to say
[21:01.440 -> 21:03.280] that Lewis Hamilton will finish runner-up.
[21:03.280 -> 21:13.760] And the reason I say that is because I fear Mae'n ddifrifol, ond dwi'n mynd i ddweud bod Lewis Hamilton yn ddiweddaru'r rhenwyr. A'r rhesym rydw i'n ei ddweud yw oherwydd rwy'n gobeithio y bydd y rhenwyr deallus ym Martin Aston yn ddiweddar.
[21:13.760 -> 21:18.000] Rwy'n meddwl, os yw'n ymwneud â'r ychydig o fflexi'r ffynion yn cael eu llwyddo,
[21:18.000 -> 21:21.760] neu os ydyn nhw wedi mynd i lawr, ychydig o'r ffynion o'r ffynion o ddatblygu,
[21:21.760 -> 21:26.160] ac mae wedi cael eu hymdrechio gan y ffaith bod rhai eraill wedi mynd yn dda. bit of a cul-de-sac in terms of development and it's been exaggerated by the fact that others have gone well.
[21:26.160 -> 21:32.560] I don't think Lewis can get Checo. I'd be amazed if he could overturn his performance.
[21:32.560 -> 21:37.840] But you know, we don't want Checo to have another nightmare middle part of the season
[21:37.840 -> 21:43.360] like he's had. And I think he's turned a corner a bit. So I think, yeah, I think he'll do
[21:43.360 -> 21:45.680] it. And is that a first for Red Bull? They never had a 1-2 in a championship, So I think, yeah, I think he'll, he'll do it. And I was that, is that a first for
[21:45.680 -> 21:51.160] Red Bull? They never had a one, two in a championship, but I think so. But you know, winner takes
[21:51.160 -> 21:58.200] all it'd be great to see. I mean, I think this is, you know, it's leading up to them
[21:58.200 -> 22:03.200] ticking all the boxes, breaking all the records. And I kind of would like to see that happen,
[22:03.200 -> 22:06.160] honestly, because then it's an historic season and you were there to witness it and they're recordio a byddwn i'n hoffi gweld hynny ddigwydd, yn awyddus, oherwydd yw'n sefyllfa hanesol ac rydych chi
[22:06.160 -> 22:12.480] yno i'w gweld ac maen nhw'n brifio'r recordio pan fyddant yn mynd ac rydyn ni'n mynd i'r
[22:12.480 -> 22:16.640] ddiddorol, rwy'n golygu, gallwch chi gwyn o bob rhes fel tîm yn y championsiyrch?
[22:16.640 -> 22:21.600] A oes gennych chi'n cofio'r rhes diwedd y flwyddyn ddiwedd, pan oedd y rhes arall rhwng Charles a Checo ar gyfer y llwyr
[22:21.600 -> 22:30.800] lle? Roeddent yn mynd i'r rhes honno a'n ddiweddol oedd Charles sy'n rhannu'r reddballion yno and Checo for the second place and they were going into that race and ultimately it was Charles who split the Red Bulls there. He finished on 3.08 and
[22:30.800 -> 22:36.400] Perez on 3.05 so it was very close indeed but you're right that was their
[22:36.400 -> 22:40.400] first time going for a 1-2 and surely, surely it will happen this year.
[22:40.400 -> 22:45.800] I remember Christian's reaction after that, that was, he sort of had to be
[22:45.800 -> 22:50.040] grateful for what he had in a way, he would have liked to have got the full sweep but
[22:50.040 -> 22:56.480] anyway, he's come back for another go so maybe this year they'll do it. Yeah, mixed emotions
[22:56.480 -> 23:01.120] wasn't it for the team? I think I believed a lot of the PR hype from the end of Spa and
[23:01.120 -> 23:06.080] I've gone with Alonso because it sounded like Aston were getting slightly on
[23:06.080 -> 23:11.200] top of the reason for their dip in form and I was believing the PR basically. I was thinking,
[23:11.200 -> 23:16.480] yep, do you know what, if it's true, if they have understood what's been going on with that car and
[23:16.480 -> 23:21.360] the reasons for the downtime in form, maybe second half of the season they can push further forward.
[23:21.360 -> 23:25.720] I think individually as well, Alonso is, you know, obviously, I think when we come on
[23:25.720 -> 23:27.520] to talk about the constructors, you know,
[23:27.520 -> 23:29.880] it's not, Stroll and Alonso are not
[23:29.880 -> 23:31.780] on the same playing field, are they really?
[23:31.780 -> 23:33.300] I think Stroll has not performed at the level
[23:33.300 -> 23:34.520] that Alonso has this year.
[23:34.520 -> 23:37.200] But, think about how well Alonso was driving
[23:37.200 -> 23:38.040] earlier in the year.
[23:38.040 -> 23:40.960] Monaco, you know, that quali lap in Monaco
[23:40.960 -> 23:42.640] was absolutely sensational.
[23:42.640 -> 23:46.880] I would, yeah, I would really like to see Alonso
[23:46.880 -> 23:48.760] fighting up there at least.
[23:48.760 -> 23:49.760] I'd be great, wouldn't it?
[23:49.760 -> 23:52.880] He's got the appetite, the hunger's there, isn't it?
[23:52.880 -> 23:54.520] We want to see a fight.
[23:54.520 -> 23:56.400] If there's a fight for something, it'd be great.
[23:56.400 -> 23:57.720] You know, that's.
[23:57.720 -> 24:00.960] But I guess also to the point, like, Nat,
[24:00.960 -> 24:03.080] I didn't even remember that Leclerc
[24:03.080 -> 24:04.600] split the Red Bulls last season.
[24:04.600 -> 24:05.000] Like, that's one of the things that's like, I feel't even remember that Leclerc split the Red Bulls last season.
[24:05.000 -> 24:09.800] That's one of the things, I feel like in seasons like this we need to be even more deliberate
[24:09.800 -> 24:15.360] about focusing on the fights rather than the outright victories because I didn't remember
[24:15.360 -> 24:16.360] that was a thing at all.
[24:16.360 -> 24:19.880] But that's because you can search it up, so you chose not to remember it.
[24:19.880 -> 24:28.000] I know, but it's one of the things that didn't even stand out to me. Once's like it was just like once the conclusion was done it was max and Red Bull and
[24:28.420 -> 24:35.200] That was it what Blake does is I and I have actually watched your stuff without knowing it was you so I didn't
[24:35.200 -> 24:40.140] it was character so I've watched us and but your analysis of spa and what and what
[24:41.140 -> 24:47.240] Red Bull were up to there in the race, you know, so you'll met So your focus is maybe not on the race results,
[24:47.240 -> 24:49.500] it's definitely on the technical side
[24:49.500 -> 24:51.220] of what people are up to.
[24:51.220 -> 24:54.260] See, I bet you've got incredible recollection
[24:54.260 -> 24:57.260] to do with strategies or various things like that,
[24:57.260 -> 24:58.100] haven't you?
[24:58.100 -> 25:01.160] It's what you remember is what you're interested in.
[25:01.160 -> 25:03.220] And so whether people finish in the championship
[25:03.220 -> 25:06.360] is not perhaps your main focus, is it?
[25:06.360 -> 25:10.640] No, but that reminds me, like, my first year trackside
[25:10.640 -> 25:13.720] was with Paul at Force India in 2012.
[25:15.040 -> 25:17.920] I don't remember who won any of those races at all.
[25:17.920 -> 25:21.280] I don't remember, you know, my focus was
[25:21.280 -> 25:23.120] make sure the brakes don't catch on fire,
[25:23.120 -> 25:24.800] don't run the car out of fuel,
[25:24.800 -> 25:26.880] and then try to optimize and find performance.
[25:26.880 -> 25:29.760] And at that point, I was still super, super steep
[25:29.760 -> 25:30.600] on the learning curve.
[25:30.600 -> 25:34.440] So it was learning Paul and GP's conversation,
[25:34.440 -> 25:36.100] learning the lingo,
[25:37.300 -> 25:39.040] learning the language of the sport.
[25:39.040 -> 25:41.280] And it was like, I don't have time to focus
[25:41.280 -> 25:42.640] on who's going to win this race.
[25:42.640 -> 25:45.600] I don't remember, the only thing I remember was.
[25:46.120 -> 25:48.160] Yeah, Maldonado winning Spain that year
[25:48.880 -> 25:50.480] and then the garage burning down.
[25:50.480 -> 25:52.560] Yeah, that's the only thing I remember from 2012.
[25:53.560 -> 25:57.240] It was similar when I started with Sky, because these guys, Natalie
[25:57.240 -> 26:00.240] and Matt and all the crew and everyone at Sky,
[26:00.520 -> 26:03.480] the most amazing thing is they know everything about everyone.
[26:03.880 -> 26:05.080] And I when I was racing,
[26:05.080 -> 26:11.040] I didn't give a damn about anyone else. I just did. Where is Haas going to finish? I
[26:11.040 -> 26:14.760] don't care. They didn't exist then, but it doesn't matter. I was not interested in the
[26:14.760 -> 26:18.800] races. I just want to know where I finished, and where my team finished, and where my rival
[26:18.800 -> 26:21.640] finished. That was it. I didn't care about anything else.
[26:21.640 -> 26:22.640] Exactly.
[26:22.640 -> 26:26.760] Anyway, moving on. Matt, I know I know what I saw. Take over your bat
[26:26.760 -> 26:30.680] sheets before it leads us on to the constructors championship. Who's gonna who's gonna win
[26:30.680 -> 26:34.520] constructors championship again, I think we're all gonna go Red Bull Blake you went Red Bull
[26:34.520 -> 26:38.280] their max as we as we alluded to earlier, which I think is quite funny. Natalie stole
[26:38.280 -> 26:47.520] that one championship. By by by himself. Have we had a driver win the Constructors' Championship outright before?
[26:47.520 -> 26:51.040] But if there's been a driver that has qualified to win the Constructors' before?
[26:52.320 -> 26:52.960] On their own?
[26:52.960 -> 26:58.320] Yeah, or is this going to be the most points scored relative to the driver?
[26:58.320 -> 27:02.880] You know, is Max going to be the most in the lead of a championship ever?
[27:02.880 -> 27:04.880] As Blake was saying, we have more races than before,
[27:04.880 -> 27:05.040] so the points thing is a little bit, you have to kind of average it out, the most in the lead of a championship ever. As Blake was saying, we haven't had more races than before.
[27:05.040 -> 27:06.320] So the points thing is a little bit,
[27:06.320 -> 27:07.920] you have to kind of average it out,
[27:07.920 -> 27:09.240] compare it to a season,
[27:09.240 -> 27:12.320] a percentage of a season points available.
[27:12.320 -> 27:16.700] But I was thinking back to the dawn of Formula One,
[27:16.700 -> 27:19.560] and some drivers would have won
[27:19.560 -> 27:20.520] the constructors on their own,
[27:20.520 -> 27:22.160] because there wasn't a constructors championship
[27:22.160 -> 27:24.440] until 1958.
[27:24.440 -> 27:27.000] So they brought the constructors in later.
[27:27.000 -> 27:32.000] Originally it was purely a drivers championship and a driver could go from one team to another
[27:32.000 -> 27:34.000] and take the points with him.
[27:34.000 -> 27:37.000] So that's tricky.
[27:37.000 -> 27:40.000] I would much prefer it to go back to that old system
[27:40.000 -> 27:42.000] because I think that would make it really interesting.
[27:42.000 -> 27:44.000] Can you imagine?
[27:44.000 -> 27:45.920] I'm going
[27:45.920 -> 27:51.080] to drive for Red Bull now, you know, shopping about during the season, that would be brilliant.
[27:51.080 -> 27:56.400] Once Max locks up the driver's championship, he goes and drives the Torosso and they give
[27:56.400 -> 28:00.880] Yuki a couple races in the Red Bull machinery. Okay, so all agree that Red Bull are going
[28:00.880 -> 28:04.520] to win the constructors' championship. Let's move on to talk about the runner-up in the
[28:04.520 -> 28:08.800] constructors' championship. Now,, Nat, you've got Mercedes.
[28:08.800 -> 28:14.160] Natalie- They've got a decent stretch. There's still 256 behind Red Bull, which is astonishing,
[28:14.160 -> 28:27.500] isn't it? Their gap to Red Bull is greater than the total amount of points that they have, which is 247. But I don't know, I just feel like things,
[28:28.800 -> 28:30.000] there's been a few false dawns,
[28:30.000 -> 28:32.280] but I feel like things are starting to click at Mercedes.
[28:32.280 -> 28:35.720] And just to go along with my Lewis theory
[28:35.720 -> 28:36.820] about being runner-up,
[28:36.820 -> 28:38.720] I've got to therefore go with Mercedes.
[28:40.080 -> 28:44.120] And who also hasn't signed his contract as far as we know.
[28:44.120 -> 28:48.760] We always had a joke, like whenever there was a driver signing or contract or something
[28:49.000 -> 28:52.400] that happened within the teams I was working at, the first place you hear
[28:52.920 -> 28:55.880] is on the TV or on Twitter or on autosport.
[28:55.920 -> 28:58.640] You never hear like an internal publication or anything.
[28:58.640 -> 29:00.480] It's like, nope, not autosport.
[29:00.480 -> 29:01.600] It's that it must be true.
[29:01.600 -> 29:04.960] So Tannoy in the factory going, we've just like to announce
[29:01.680 -> 29:03.400] Autosport have said it, it must be true. So Tannoy in the factory going,
[29:03.400 -> 29:05.000] we've just like to announce
[29:06.760 -> 29:09.560] that your current driver will no longer be with you.
[29:09.560 -> 29:10.400] Say goodbye.
[29:11.920 -> 29:14.160] They're leaky, their factories are very leaky, aren't they?
[29:14.160 -> 29:15.000] Yeah, let's be honest.
[29:15.000 -> 29:16.280] But yeah, people talk.
[29:16.280 -> 29:18.520] You engineers, you all chat amongst yourselves.
[29:18.520 -> 29:19.960] I know, and across teams,
[29:19.960 -> 29:23.040] it's like, hey, you heard so-and-so's leaving.
[29:23.040 -> 29:24.560] Shame for that, oh well.
[29:24.560 -> 29:25.600] That's how we find out.
[29:33.000 -> 29:36.400] Blake, tell me why you've put Mercedes as a run-up in the Constructors.
[29:36.400 -> 29:39.800] You can't see the likes of Aston, Ferrari,
[29:39.800 -> 29:44.800] I mean even McLaren if they had a stellar, pardon the pun,
[29:44.800 -> 29:46.840] brilliant final 10 races,
[29:46.840 -> 29:47.960] you can't see them getting there.
[29:47.960 -> 29:51.000] So looking at, and we'll come back to most improved
[29:51.000 -> 29:53.640] and stuff, but I think it looks like McLaren
[29:53.640 -> 29:54.960] have definitely turned a corner,
[29:54.960 -> 29:57.280] whether or not they can sustain that and develop it,
[29:57.280 -> 29:58.840] because one of the biggest things we look at
[29:58.840 -> 30:01.240] is we kind of look at the performance of the season,
[30:01.240 -> 30:03.680] like everybody's, the fastest car is stationary,
[30:03.680 -> 30:09.040] but realistically, everybody's developing the entire time, And at some point, the aero testing restriction
[30:10.320 -> 30:14.320] will clip into Red Bull's development and they'll shift focus the next year's car. But
[30:15.040 -> 30:19.600] I think Mercedes have been extremely consistent and on the development curve, but they haven't
[30:19.600 -> 30:25.280] found any outright huge chunks like Aston found over last season to this season or
[30:25.280 -> 30:31.340] like McLaren have found since Austria like that is a genuinely huge
[30:31.340 -> 30:34.940] improvement in performance and if I look at teams that have found the most
[30:34.940 -> 30:41.420] performance from start up to Spain and then after Spain Red Bull actually made
[30:41.420 -> 30:45.640] some reasonable gains in low speed performance and then
[30:45.640 -> 30:49.840] it's been McLaren that have found the most performance. Mercedes have been very
[30:49.840 -> 30:54.660] consistent keeping up with you know the average pace and development so I don't
[30:54.660 -> 30:58.720] see them slipping there they know what they're doing they're just trying to
[30:58.720 -> 31:03.240] develop out of a hole from a bad philosophy and that just takes time but
[31:03.240 -> 31:05.240] I think if there's a team that's gonna do it,
[31:05.240 -> 31:06.360] it is Mercedes.
[31:06.360 -> 31:08.120] Damon, what do you make of the fact that,
[31:08.120 -> 31:09.920] you know, I think when I look at Mercedes,
[31:09.920 -> 31:12.840] they've got two drivers who are both capable
[31:12.840 -> 31:15.440] of scoring really good points week on week.
[31:15.440 -> 31:17.200] And I'm not sure you can say that
[31:17.200 -> 31:18.180] of some of the other teams.
[31:18.180 -> 31:21.040] It seems like when you've got George and Lewis
[31:21.040 -> 31:23.880] in a team together, those are probably the pairing
[31:23.880 -> 31:25.040] that you'd pick
[31:25.040 -> 31:27.800] to go forward and score you points consistently.
[31:27.800 -> 31:28.640] Is that fair?
[31:28.640 -> 31:33.520] Yeah, and you see them quite often in a race.
[31:33.520 -> 31:35.400] They might be separated a little bit in qualifying,
[31:35.400 -> 31:37.440] whatever, but one point or other will be
[31:39.080 -> 31:40.000] catching the other.
[31:40.000 -> 31:44.160] I mean, I think Lewis has kind of stretched
[31:44.160 -> 31:45.000] the elastic band
[31:45.280 -> 31:48.500] between him and George a little bit recently,
[31:48.500 -> 31:52.920] but two very capable drivers,
[31:52.920 -> 31:55.480] one with huge potential yet to be realized,
[31:55.480 -> 31:58.620] the other one is, there's no doubt about his abilities,
[31:58.620 -> 31:59.880] and he can still deliver.
[31:59.880 -> 32:01.700] So yeah, very strong pairing.
[32:03.040 -> 32:06.040] But we're talking about the most improved driver.
[32:06.040 -> 32:07.120] Are we onto that or not?
[32:07.120 -> 32:07.600] Yeah.
[32:07.600 -> 32:08.080] We can.
[32:08.080 -> 32:09.080] We can move on to that.
[32:09.080 -> 32:10.040] Yes.
[32:10.040 -> 32:11.440] Yes, please do.
[32:11.440 -> 32:12.040] Go on, Damon.
[32:12.040 -> 32:14.920] Who would you pick as your most improved driver
[32:14.920 -> 32:15.800] for the rest of 2023?
[32:15.800 -> 32:18.880] Just don't nick mine.
[32:18.880 -> 32:20.240] I'm not going to nick any ones, but I'm
[32:20.240 -> 32:21.640] going to mention more than one.
[32:21.640 -> 32:25.020] And I'm going to mention a way of a way of a way of
[32:25.760 -> 32:28.560] Measuring them. Let's say because okay. I
[32:29.340 -> 32:31.860] Mean, let's say for example at the start of the season
[32:32.580 -> 32:38.480] Max didn't look like he could be Sergio a couple of times. I mean, so he's improved enormously
[32:42.380 -> 32:51.280] You got I mean also the obvious candidate is Oscar piastri who's who's a rookie really but Oscar Piastri yw'r candidat ar gyfer yr awdurdod, ac mae'n gwneud hynny'n dda iawn.
[32:51.280 -> 32:54.560] Ond gallai un fel Yuki Zenoda.
[32:54.560 -> 33:00.800] Rwy'n credu ei fod yn cael ei fwyno'n fwy.
[33:00.800 -> 33:05.000] Mae cymaint o welliantau gwella wedi digwydd o ddrifoedd.
[33:05.000 -> 33:12.000] Yn ystod y brif test ar ymweld â Daniel,
[33:12.000 -> 33:15.000] ac yn dod yn ôl,
[33:15.000 -> 33:19.000] yw'n debyg bod Yuki yn cael y brif presiwn.
[33:19.000 -> 33:23.000] Yn fy nghyfnod, mae'n ymdrech i'w gynhyrchu'n dda.
[33:23.000 -> 33:26.520] Pan ddewis Nick de Fries yn y tîm yn y debyg o'r blwyddyn,
[33:26.520 -> 33:28.480] fe wnaeth hi gael ei gynnal fel drifwr nîm,
[33:28.480 -> 33:30.600] er mwyn sicrhau nad oedd Nick wedi cydnabod yn y tîm.
[33:30.600 -> 33:33.040] Nick ymdrechodd yn y ffynon.
[33:33.040 -> 33:34.880] Roeddent wedi cael ymwneud â'r dyddiau oedd wedi'u cyflawni.
[33:34.880 -> 33:37.080] Os na allwch chi ymdrechu,
[33:37.080 -> 33:38.320] ychydig yn ymdrechu,
[33:38.320 -> 33:40.080] ar y brifysgol ymhellach,
[33:40.080 -> 33:41.480] gallai'n cael ei wneud ar gyfer chi.
[33:41.480 -> 33:45.240] Ac ymdrechodd Nick Juki yn wych i hynny.
[33:45.240 -> 33:49.480] Ac, eto, bydd hwn yn digwydd ymlaen ymlaen gyda Daniel, yn amlwg,
[33:49.480 -> 33:54.880] gan ddifrifoeddwyr y gwreiddiad. A byddai'n ddiddorol gweld sut ymdrechondd Juki.
[33:54.880 -> 33:58.240] Rwy'n teimlo ei fod yn dod i'w hun. Roedd yna amser
[33:58.240 -> 34:01.320] pan oeddech chi'n meddwl y byddai'n allan ar ôl yr oedran ei hyfforddi.
[34:01.320 -> 34:05.280] Ac os oedd unrhyw ddangos o roi mwy o amser i'r hyfforddiwr year and if there was ever an example of giving a rookie a bit more time
[34:05.280 -> 34:11.440] to really establish themselves Yuki's it because they gave him more time and he
[34:11.440 -> 34:16.200] rewarded them he's repaid that faith. But that wasn't who you picked. It wasn't
[34:16.200 -> 34:21.840] who I picked. Who did you pick? I went with Alex Albon because I just think again
[34:21.840 -> 34:25.840] another example and I wanted to get your take on this Damon about ebbs and flows oherwydd dw i'n meddwl, eto, arall cyfansodd, ac roeddwn i eisiau cael eich cyfathrebu ar y ddiamon hon
[34:25.840 -> 34:31.280] am ebs a ffloes o ran eich gyrfa a pha mor hyder yw'r rhan yn hynny, oherwydd
[34:31.840 -> 34:38.880] o'n i'n mynd i'r Red Bull oedd yn cysylltu arno iddo. A gallai chi ddweud y gallai e wedi
[34:39.680 -> 34:52.000] mynd allan ac y gallai ei gyrfa wedi bod yn ddiweddar,'i gyrfa, ond mae'n teimlo fel bod yn dod i Williams yn 2022, yn dominio Mick Latifi,
[34:52.000 -> 34:58.000] ac ar hyn o bryd, yn gwblhau'n ffyrddo i'r rôl drifo cyntaf, ac yn bod yn rôl tîm.
[34:58.000 -> 35:03.000] Dwi'n golygu, a gafodd James Vowles ei drifo i Ganada fel drifo cymhwyster.
[35:03.000 -> 35:06.480] Roedd hynny'n brifysgol. I roi Williams yn sefydliad cyntaf, ym mhob le Canada, roedd hyn o'i ddod yn Canada, yn y drif, roedd yn ddiddorol i roi Williams yn sefydliad
[35:06.480 -> 35:07.520] yn Canada,
[35:07.520 -> 35:08.320] roedd yn anhygoel.
[35:08.320 -> 35:10.320] Ac rwy'n credu
[35:10.320 -> 35:12.320] ei fod wedi'i siarad am
[35:12.320 -> 35:13.920] ar gyfer pethau
[35:13.920 -> 35:15.200] o gwahanol ystafellau yn 2025,
[35:15.200 -> 35:17.120] yn dda i'w PR hefyd.
[35:17.120 -> 35:18.320] Mae'r ffaith bod pawb yn dweud,
[35:18.320 -> 35:19.440] ie, ie, ie,
[35:19.440 -> 35:21.520] Alex yw'r enw ar bobl.
[35:21.520 -> 35:22.480] Mae'n ddiddorol,
[35:22.480 -> 35:24.000] ond mae'n ffwrddus.
[35:24.000 -> 35:24.560] I mi,
[35:24.560 -> 35:26.920] mae'n bwysig iawn gyda'i gyrfa hefyd. Wel, mae'n ddiddorol the name on people's lips. He's a lovely bloke, but he's a tenacious fighter. For me, a big turning point with his career as well.
[35:26.920 -> 35:30.320] Well, certainly a big marker for the tenacity
[35:30.320 -> 35:32.520] and commitment and drive of the guy
[35:32.520 -> 35:35.680] was when he came back from that operation
[35:35.680 -> 35:37.640] and got back in the car for Singapore.
[35:37.640 -> 35:40.200] It told you everything you needed to know about the guy.
[35:40.200 -> 35:42.280] And I just think he's been brilliant this year.
[35:42.280 -> 35:43.280] Yeah, he really has.
[35:43.280 -> 35:44.480] Blake, you also picked Alex.
[35:44.480 -> 35:45.420] Anything you want to add?
[35:45.420 -> 35:47.600] No, I picked Alex as well for the same reasons
[35:47.600 -> 35:48.900] that Natalie picked him as well,
[35:48.900 -> 35:53.000] because I remember when he was demoted from his seat
[35:53.000 -> 35:55.940] when I was at Red Bull, he was in the simulator,
[35:55.940 -> 35:57.900] and you never saw his,
[35:58.920 -> 36:00.240] because he was like, right, we're not driving,
[36:00.240 -> 36:01.720] but you're going to do simulator work,
[36:01.720 -> 36:05.040] and it was never like he had a chip on his shoulder.
[36:05.040 -> 36:07.080] He came in, he worked super hard.
[36:07.080 -> 36:10.920] He had a great attitude and was really focused on helping.
[36:10.920 -> 36:14.640] And he knows that the game is a long game.
[36:14.640 -> 36:17.720] And his performance is not only good results in the race
[36:17.720 -> 36:19.720] in a car that's not particularly quick and race pace,
[36:19.720 -> 36:22.920] but some of his qualifying performances have been,
[36:22.920 -> 36:26.060] you know, you've got those mixed wet dry conditions
[36:26.060 -> 36:28.520] where there's one lap and you get one opportunity.
[36:28.520 -> 36:30.520] It's effectively a one lap shootout
[36:30.520 -> 36:32.220] in these kind of conditions when the track
[36:32.220 -> 36:34.960] is at that perfect condition for one lap
[36:34.960 -> 36:36.680] and he usually puts it together.
[36:36.680 -> 36:39.740] And I was like, that dude is extremely impressive
[36:39.740 -> 36:41.520] and honestly one of the nicest dudes
[36:41.520 -> 36:43.840] I've met in the paddock, genuinely.
[36:43.840 -> 36:49.900] And Blake, actually to your point, the fact that his ego didn't prevent him from just
[36:49.900 -> 36:55.960] jumping in the sim and accepting this demotion as such, was also proven by the fact he's
[36:55.960 -> 37:00.120] remained so close to the team. I mean, he's still very tight with Christian Horner, he
[37:00.120 -> 37:04.120] hasn't blamed anyone but himself for that demotion, he's taken it on the chin, he's
[37:04.120 -> 37:05.080] come back stronger.
[37:05.080 -> 37:08.280] And that's the sign of a truly great sportsman.
[37:08.280 -> 37:10.120] Yeah, he's an awesome dude
[37:10.120 -> 37:14.080] and I hope he gets even more opportunities down the road.
[37:14.080 -> 37:15.720] He's got a lot left to be written.
[37:15.720 -> 37:17.240] Definitely one of the most chilled guys
[37:17.240 -> 37:18.080] walking through the paddock, isn't he?
[37:18.080 -> 37:20.280] Yeah, but you know what, not when the visor's down.
[37:20.280 -> 37:21.120] And I think that's the key.
[37:21.120 -> 37:21.960] Absolutely not, no, no, no.
[37:21.960 -> 37:24.440] And the same can be said for Daniel Ricciardo.
[37:24.440 -> 37:28.400] Lovely guys out of the car, but in it, they're ruthless.
[37:28.400 -> 37:33.800] I've gone for Oscar Piastri as my most improved driver for the rest of 2023,
[37:33.800 -> 37:37.200] and I've picked him purely from a stats point of view.
[37:37.200 -> 37:40.800] And if you look at the head-to-head between him and Lando Norris,
[37:40.800 -> 37:46.160] qualifying record, he's 10-2 down against Lando, and the race record, not much better, 10 to down against Lando and the race record not much
[37:46.160 -> 37:51.120] better 93 to Lando. I think in the second half of the season with the way McLaren has
[37:51.120 -> 37:54.200] been developed, I think that is going to completely change. I think that's probably going to be
[37:54.200 -> 37:59.240] a lot more even, which you know, I think Lando just had a much better hold of that car. Also,
[37:59.240 -> 38:03.840] the fact that Oscar hadn't been racing in 2022, he's now had six, well, it's had eight
[38:03.840 -> 38:05.280] months now, hasn't he?
[38:05.280 -> 38:09.420] To get to grips with driving again. And yeah, I think that McLaren team are going to be
[38:09.420 -> 38:15.920] ones to watch for the rest of 2023, which I guess leads us nicely into most improved
[38:15.920 -> 38:21.400] team. And Damon, come on, let's interview you. Who have you picked?
[38:21.400 -> 38:26.380] No, I think you've got it on the money on the money. They're completely I think McLaren is the most improved team
[38:26.380 -> 38:33.020] I mean they they look they've looked like they were going to do things and then it sort of withered away and they ended up with
[38:33.260 -> 38:36.380] You know most qualifying in the back row of the grid for some of the races this year
[38:36.380 -> 38:38.840] And then now they are able to get on the front row
[38:39.180 -> 38:43.980] So and with two and you know fantastic drivers who we've just talked about it
[38:43.980 -> 38:46.560] I mean, it's easy to get carried away with Oscar.
[38:46.560 -> 38:50.760] Lando is still, he hasn't lost any of his talent
[38:50.760 -> 38:55.760] and he's still the guy to beat, I think, in that team.
[38:56.520 -> 39:01.520] So they've got a lot of good future ahead of them, I think.
[39:01.560 -> 39:03.060] Blake, who did you pick?
[39:03.060 -> 39:05.580] I picked, so from last season to this season,
[39:05.580 -> 39:07.040] Aston Martin was the clear one,
[39:07.040 -> 39:09.580] but they seem to have fizzled out a little bit
[39:09.580 -> 39:13.920] and maybe they've had some changes to either flexi-wing
[39:13.920 -> 39:16.420] or getting lost in some philosophy changes,
[39:16.420 -> 39:18.140] but I think it's McLaren by far.
[39:18.140 -> 39:20.440] Like the performance improvements are,
[39:21.340 -> 39:22.780] any way you slice that,
[39:22.780 -> 39:24.960] it's very clear how much they've improved
[39:24.960 -> 39:25.040] and looking, even digging deeper into the numbers and the data behind it, are, any way you slice that, it's very clear how much they've improved.
[39:25.040 -> 39:29.560] And looking even digging deeper into the numbers and the data behind it, a lot of teams have
[39:29.560 -> 39:33.280] struggled to keep up with the development rate of the frontrunners.
[39:33.280 -> 39:40.280] AlphaTauri, Alpha Romeo, even Williams, despite having some good results, like nobody's keeping
[39:40.280 -> 39:45.120] up with the Red Bull, Ferrari, and Mercedes are kind of like the teams that are
[39:49.600 -> 39:54.960] setting the par for development and Aston Martin have fallen away in the second half, but McLaren's performance change is huge, especially with that driver pairing, which seems to be
[39:55.840 -> 40:02.000] extremely strong. Yeah, that's that's a really good improvement, I think. And I think that's
[40:02.000 -> 40:10.480] the story of the season or the midseason, at least. Yeah, agreed. And I think and I think that's the story of the season or the midseason at least. Yeah agreed and I think actually the season has been very well managed outside the car for McLaren.
[40:10.480 -> 40:16.080] They spoke from the off about how they hadn't hit their winter targets so they were able to
[40:16.080 -> 40:21.440] manage both the fans and the drivers expectations as to what was going to be possible and then just
[40:22.560 -> 40:30.480] to come back the way they did. I mean to bydd Lando yn meddwl bod gen i tri P17 yn ystod y sefydliad hwn, ac nawr mae'n
[40:30.480 -> 40:34.560] ymddygiadu os nad ydw i ar y pwd. Rwy'n meddwl, dyma ddewis cymaint o
[40:34.560 -> 40:39.600] gyrraedd. Nid yw'n ddifrifol, ond rwy'n meddwl yw'n ddifrifol yn yr era hybryd.
[40:39.600 -> 40:48.800] Rwy'n meddwl y gallwch edrych yn ôl ar y llyfrau of 2003, 2006, 2009 in terms of great comebacks from
[40:48.800 -> 40:55.840] McLaren themselves, Williams and Honda, but actually in the hybrid era has there ever been
[40:55.840 -> 41:01.840] such a great comeback? There was the Racing Point brought their B-Spec, I can't remember what year
[41:01.840 -> 41:05.400] that was, it must have been, yeah, the 2019.
[41:05.400 -> 41:09.000] They brought the B-spec midseason, which was a big step,
[41:09.000 -> 41:13.800] but I don't recall what that jump in performance looked like
[41:13.800 -> 41:17.200] because McLaren's, yeah, like you said, I did this.
[41:17.200 -> 41:21.600] So Daniel had a terrible season last year in the McLaren, for sure.
[41:21.600 -> 41:23.800] But this year, in the first half of the season,
[41:23.800 -> 41:28.200] Lando's average finishing position was actually worse than that
[41:28.200 -> 41:29.800] or very close to it.
[41:29.800 -> 41:32.600] So it's like, it's gone from bad to worse.
[41:32.600 -> 41:33.800] But I think like you said,
[41:33.800 -> 41:37.400] it was good that they managed expectations by saying,
[41:37.400 -> 41:40.200] you know, technically, we've missed our targets
[41:40.200 -> 41:41.800] and here's what we're doing to improvement.
[41:41.800 -> 41:44.000] And I think that was good.
[41:44.000 -> 41:45.760] Where some teams are like,
[41:45.760 -> 41:47.360] ah, we don't know what's happening.
[41:47.360 -> 41:49.120] Yeah, it was clever.
[41:49.120 -> 41:52.160] Matt, I'm gonna throw something in here.
[41:52.160 -> 41:55.240] I hear what you're saying about Aston Martin,
[41:55.240 -> 41:57.040] but they haven't improved during the season.
[41:57.040 -> 41:59.400] They improved over the winter.
[41:59.400 -> 42:00.560] That's the difference.
[42:00.560 -> 42:04.320] And very difficult to turn a team around during the season,
[42:04.320 -> 42:07.000] and that's what Mercedes have done. I'm sorry mae McLaren wedi'i wneud.
[42:07.000 -> 42:13.000] Mae Mercedes ddim wedi'i wneud, ond maen nhw wedi gwneud ychydig o bethau, ond nid yn ennill.
[42:13.000 -> 42:16.000] Efallai y caniatáu yw'n ddifrif iawn i Mercedes.
[42:16.000 -> 42:25.760] Y peth anodd, Damon, yw cyflawni'r cynyddu yn ymwneud â phobl eraill. relative to others. So you might get a boost. There may be teams that think
[42:25.760 -> 42:28.480] that they're making real strides,
[42:28.480 -> 42:30.360] but because others are doing more,
[42:30.360 -> 42:34.880] it kind of negates at least what the fans see.
[42:34.880 -> 42:35.840] I mean, it must be frustrating.
[42:35.840 -> 42:37.440] And I think that's to your point, isn't it?
[42:37.440 -> 42:39.760] How difficult it is to do it in season
[42:39.760 -> 42:44.080] when races are coming in thick and fast week after week.
[42:44.080 -> 42:46.960] Yeah, a 23 race calendar with very little breaks.
[42:46.960 -> 42:48.560] It's like, don't, we can't even do that.
[42:48.560 -> 42:51.440] Like, and there's suggestions that McLaren didn't even have
[42:51.440 -> 42:54.480] a low downforce rear wing to even look at in spot.
[42:54.480 -> 42:55.700] I don't know if that's true or not,
[42:55.700 -> 42:57.660] but people saying they opted for the wet setup.
[42:57.660 -> 43:00.080] It's like, no, we've actually chosen not to do
[43:00.080 -> 43:00.920] what you typically do.
[43:00.920 -> 43:02.740] You do high, medium and low downforce wings.
[43:02.740 -> 43:05.360] They're like, no, we've just gone for high and medium.
[43:05.360 -> 43:07.920] We didn't have the low one, potentially.
[43:07.920 -> 43:12.520] It's like, that's something about cost cap plus 24 races.
[43:12.520 -> 43:14.200] You don't have time to do that stuff.
[43:14.200 -> 43:18.120] So it wasn't specific to them thinking
[43:18.120 -> 43:19.400] it was gonna be wet?
[43:19.400 -> 43:22.080] There were some suggestions in looking at the rear wings
[43:22.080 -> 43:25.360] across the season that there potentially wasn't a lower
[43:25.360 -> 43:30.000] downforce configuration to run and that's consistent with what I've seen early in the
[43:30.000 -> 43:35.360] season as well because they got they got destroyed in the race because you get overtaken on the
[43:35.360 -> 43:39.280] straights by cars that are several tenths slower than you and then you play sitting duck through
[43:39.280 -> 43:43.760] sector two and you can't really come back if you don't have any top speed to fight them with
[43:43.760 -> 43:45.960] needed to rain all weekend, didn't it?
[43:45.960 -> 43:46.800] Yeah, it did.
[43:46.800 -> 43:48.000] I would have enjoyed that.
[43:48.000 -> 43:50.160] Damon, I definitely would not have enjoyed that.
[43:50.160 -> 43:51.800] Sorry, I know, I did feel sorry.
[43:51.800 -> 43:54.360] Still drying out.
[43:54.360 -> 43:55.920] It could be wet in Zandvoort, by the way.
[43:55.920 -> 43:58.040] I'm bringing my raincoat.
[43:58.040 -> 43:59.960] Yeah, calmer, calmer.
[43:59.960 -> 44:03.200] Right, final few categories we've still got left.
[44:03.200 -> 44:05.940] First winner that's not Max Verstappen,
[44:05.940 -> 44:08.920] so if we assume that Max doesn't win
[44:08.920 -> 44:10.640] every single race this year,
[44:10.640 -> 44:14.220] who will be hot on his tails, ready to win?
[44:14.220 -> 44:15.060] Damon.
[44:15.060 -> 44:15.880] That's a great question.
[44:15.880 -> 44:18.360] I have to say, I mean, someone should be taking bets
[44:18.360 -> 44:20.360] on this one because we don't,
[44:20.360 -> 44:22.200] it could be a number of people, couldn't it?
[44:22.200 -> 44:23.560] It could be Max Verstappen, couldn't it?
[44:23.560 -> 44:25.000] Oh, you mean, you mean, well, Sergio. Excluding Sergio or what? No, no, including Sergio. It could be a number of people, couldn't it? It could be Max Verstappen, couldn't it? You mean...
[44:25.000 -> 44:28.000] Sergio, excluding Sergio or what?
[44:28.000 -> 44:29.000] No, no, including Sergio.
[44:29.000 -> 44:31.000] Including Checa, well, it's going to be Checa then.
[44:31.000 -> 44:32.000] Okay.
[44:33.000 -> 44:35.000] Oh dear, how disappointing.
[44:38.000 -> 44:41.000] I know you were hoping someone other than a Red Bull driver.
[44:41.000 -> 44:42.000] Yeah, go on.
[44:42.000 -> 44:43.000] Well, yeah.
[44:43.000 -> 44:45.000] Well, no, you've gone with someone other than a Red Bull driver. Okay, let's say excluding a Red Bull driver. You've go on. Well, yeah. Well, Nat, you've gone somewhere other than
[44:45.000 -> 44:50.480] a Red Bull driver. Okay, let's say excluding a Red Bull. You've gone with Lewis. Oh, okay.
[44:50.480 -> 44:54.960] I have to be consistent with my theories, don't I? Yeah, you are very consistent. I
[44:54.960 -> 44:59.300] mean, he's got to win something in order to fight his way up the championship, in order
[44:59.300 -> 45:05.920] for Mercedes to stay second. So if I, my theories don't make any sense if I split them. No, that's fair enough.
[45:05.920 -> 45:08.800] Yeah, Lewis, obviously would be a very, very popular winner.
[45:08.800 -> 45:10.760] Blake, what about you?
[45:10.760 -> 45:13.700] You know, I think there could be probably four drivers
[45:13.700 -> 45:17.560] that could do it in the cars, in the pace and situations,
[45:17.560 -> 45:18.880] but like we said before,
[45:18.880 -> 45:21.840] Max is going to have to suffer a misfortune
[45:21.840 -> 45:24.280] for anybody to win it outright, fine,
[45:24.280 -> 45:26.720] but I think I'm going with Checo as that but
[45:26.720 -> 45:31.840] honestly looking at recent events before the break you would have said Alonso possibly
[45:31.840 -> 45:39.360] Lewis certainly one of the McLarens uh oh that's impressive or one of the Mercedes drivers but I'm
[45:39.360 -> 45:43.680] gonna go with Checo. That's the point isn't it Blake that we have got that to be excited about
[45:43.680 -> 45:45.200] we just don't know we can't call it. Yeah exactly. There's always a race isn't it Blake that we have got that to be excited about we just know we can't call it
[45:45.880 -> 45:51.980] Exactly. There's always a race isn't there? There's always a race in a season where I mean, you remember our calm did which one?
[45:51.980 -> 45:55.040] Did he hungry was he? Yeah, I mean, so there's always a race somewhere
[45:55.680 -> 46:00.380] Where somebody completely out of the blue wins a race and this season has been really wet
[46:00.380 -> 46:03.860] Like we've had those seasons where we don't get a single wet session or sweat race
[46:03.860 -> 46:08.280] And it's like what is this and we've had so seasons where we don't get a single wet session or wet race, and it's like, what is this? And we've had so many, my favorite, mixed wet qualifying.
[46:08.280 -> 46:09.780] As an engineer, I hated it.
[46:09.780 -> 46:12.240] As a spectator, I absolutely love it,
[46:12.240 -> 46:14.080] because you, it's chaos.
[46:14.080 -> 46:18.760] You have all the teams and drivers and engineers
[46:18.760 -> 46:22.360] in this state of, they're good because they can predict it
[46:22.360 -> 46:24.500] and they know exactly what's going to happen.
[46:24.500 -> 46:26.400] You hit it every time just like that
[46:26.400 -> 46:29.240] But when you have the rain coming in sessions drying
[46:29.240 -> 46:34.040] You don't know which tires to be in then you have chaos and I like that and I hope we get more of that Zandvort
[46:34.560 -> 46:40.040] Please give us some chaos. But at the same time going back to your point earlier, I would like to see Red Bull
[46:40.680 -> 46:51.120] Destroy the record books so we can look back on this and be like we were there for that season that was wild. Honestly, Zanvort, A Wash With Orange, those fans I
[46:51.120 -> 46:56.360] mean there is nowhere like it. It is phenomenal because obviously I'm British
[46:56.360 -> 47:00.280] I love going to Silverstone I love that atmosphere but there's something about
[47:00.280 -> 47:06.000] the intensity and the closeness to the track it feels small and compact and Mae'n rhaid i ni ddweud rhywbeth am y gysylltiad a'r cyfnod ymlaen i'r trac. Mae'n teimlo'n fach a'n cymhleth, ar y ffyrdd.
[47:06.000 -> 47:09.000] Mae'n teimlo'n ffyrdd o fardd.
[47:09.000 -> 47:12.000] Rwy'n credu rydw i wedi dweud i chi, Matt,
[47:12.000 -> 47:15.000] y byddai Crofty a fi wedi gwneud y trac yn yr hyn sydd wedi ei gilio'r blynyddoedd diwethaf,
[47:15.000 -> 47:18.000] ar y Prydain,
[47:18.000 -> 47:21.000] ac roedd y cydweithredwyr wedi'u paith,
[47:21.000 -> 47:24.000] ac roeddent wedi bwydo o'r Prydain i'r Dydd Iawn.
[47:24.000 -> 47:26.540] Roeddent ddim wedi bwydo. from Thursday through to Sunday night. They didn't stop bouncing. Even on Thursday, yeah. I promise you, the grandstands were packed.
[47:26.540 -> 47:27.880] I hope they've checked the grandstands
[47:27.880 -> 47:31.260] because it was some guy who had a rave,
[47:31.260 -> 47:33.860] some rapper type person, he was in Italy.
[47:33.860 -> 47:36.780] They told him to stop encouraging the fans
[47:36.780 -> 47:39.520] to jump up and down because he had it in Circus Maximus
[47:39.520 -> 47:40.480] and they think he's destroying
[47:40.480 -> 47:42.600] this 2,000 year old amphitheater.
[47:42.600 -> 47:45.240] So I think jumping up and down is...
[47:45.240 -> 47:47.280] It would be like, what was it, Taylor Swift?
[47:47.280 -> 47:49.000] Taylor Swift, during one of her songs,
[47:49.000 -> 47:51.840] created something on the Richter scale
[47:51.840 -> 47:53.320] at one of her recent concerts.
[47:53.320 -> 47:54.160] Anyone read that?
[47:54.160 -> 47:56.200] Yeah, I can read that.
[47:56.200 -> 47:59.200] When I saw Beyonce at Tottenham with my daughters,
[47:59.200 -> 48:02.560] and I have to say, the whole stadium was vibrating.
[48:02.560 -> 48:03.400] They had some massively powerful...
[48:03.400 -> 48:04.240] How cool is that stadium?
[48:04.240 -> 48:05.640] Yeah. It's amazing. That stadium is just off the charts. I might go massively powerful. Yeah, it's amazing.
[48:05.640 -> 48:07.680] But that stadium is, I might go to see football.
[48:07.680 -> 48:08.680] They're not not.
[48:08.680 -> 48:09.000] Yeah.
[48:11.040 -> 48:12.840] Anyway, a bit of Beyonce.
[48:12.840 -> 48:13.400] There you go.
[48:13.400 -> 48:14.680] Damon Hill, Beyonce fan.
[48:14.680 -> 48:15.520] No, no, no, I'm not.
[48:15.520 -> 48:15.920] I'm not.
[48:15.920 -> 48:18.840] I went purely because of my my wife and my daughters.
[48:18.840 -> 48:21.000] Once I was a bit shocked.
[48:21.000 -> 48:22.200] I'm a bit easily shocked.
[48:22.200 -> 48:22.480] And
[48:27.000 -> 48:31.720] very good. Very good. Right, final one, I just kind of put this in as something at the end, just a random
[48:31.720 -> 48:33.960] prediction for the rest of the season.
[48:33.960 -> 48:36.360] So anyone want to anyone take the floor?
[48:36.360 -> 48:38.440] Blake, go on, start with you.
[48:38.440 -> 48:39.520] What was your random prediction?
[48:39.520 -> 48:40.520] I'll send it first.
[48:40.520 -> 48:43.360] I think McLaren are going to overtake Ferrari and the Constructors.
[48:43.360 -> 48:44.360] Hmm.
[48:44.360 -> 48:48.600] That's good. I mean, between what's between Ferrari and McLaren right now
[48:49.480 -> 48:56.040] Points. Yeah, it's not that farm. That would be a shocker. Wouldn't it Ferrari? Oh, they'd all go into a complete meltdown
[48:56.080 -> 48:59.920] I'm gonna say Alex Albin and Williams is gonna win a race. I
[49:01.340 -> 49:07.000] Would love to see that so much. Yeah, I would that would bring me the most joy of anything that could happen this season.
[49:07.000 -> 49:10.000] You see, I'm the bringer of joy.
[49:10.000 -> 49:11.000] Which race?
[49:11.000 -> 49:12.000] Go on.
[49:12.000 -> 49:16.000] If we had Mystic Damon, which race would it be?
[49:16.000 -> 49:18.000] I'm going to say Monza because they need a fast track.
[49:18.000 -> 49:20.000] They need a slippery track.
[49:20.000 -> 49:25.200] And actually, he was so gutted to miss out on Monza, that's when Nick jumped in for him.
[49:25.200 -> 49:28.200] Of course! What a story it would be!
[49:28.200 -> 49:33.200] Wasn't it? And he knew, he knew the Williams would go well there.
[49:33.200 -> 49:37.000] And he had to miss the race and then that's why he was so determined to come back for Singapore.
[49:37.000 -> 49:42.400] I'm going to say McLaren's going to get a handful of podiums in the...
[49:42.400 -> 49:46.320] I don't think that's even that bold a statement prediction
[49:46.320 -> 49:50.940] But I think they will I think Oscar and Lando will be on the podium before the season's out
[49:50.980 -> 49:56.740] It's a completely left field thing. Is it Matt anything out? Let's say it can be an Lewis decides to retire
[49:58.120 -> 50:00.120] That would be a shock
[50:01.120 -> 50:06.120] Who who takes the second seat if Lewis steps out at the end of the season?
[50:06.120 -> 50:07.360] Who's racing alongside George?
[50:07.360 -> 50:08.200] Great question.
[50:09.840 -> 50:11.320] Great question.
[50:11.320 -> 50:12.520] Watch that space.
[50:12.520 -> 50:13.360] Yeah.
[50:13.360 -> 50:14.720] Thank you very much, everyone.
[50:14.720 -> 50:15.840] Really appreciate your company.
[50:15.840 -> 50:16.720] That was very, very good.
[50:16.720 -> 50:18.640] I think some interesting predictions.
[50:18.640 -> 50:19.880] We will probably look back on them
[50:19.880 -> 50:21.200] as we do with all predictions and go,
[50:21.200 -> 50:22.720] what a load of rubbish.
[50:22.720 -> 50:23.760] Can't believe we thought that.
[50:23.760 -> 50:24.960] That was so silly.
[50:24.960 -> 50:25.040] But that's why it's good fun to do, isn't it? Yeah, I speak for myself, exactly. as we do with all predictions and go, what a load of rubbish. Can't believe we thought that, that was so silly.
[50:25.040 -> 50:27.000] But that's why it's good fun to do, isn't it?
[50:27.000 -> 50:29.040] Yeah, I speak for myself, exactly.
[50:29.040 -> 50:30.440] But yeah, so thank you very much for your company,
[50:30.440 -> 50:31.280] really appreciate it.
[50:31.280 -> 50:34.040] And yeah, not long to go until we see F1 cars
[50:34.040 -> 50:35.800] back on track in Holland.
[50:35.800 -> 50:36.640] We can't wait.
[50:36.640 -> 50:38.880] I hope you can join us across all of Sky Sports F1
[50:38.880 -> 50:41.080] this weekend over at the Dutch Grand Prix.
[50:41.080 -> 50:43.160] Until next Tuesday when we're back for the podcast,
[50:43.160 -> 50:44.000] it's bye for now.
[50:43.530 -> 50:44.570] at the Dutch Grand Prix.
[50:44.570 -> 50:46.650] Until next Tuesday when we're back for the podcast,
[50:46.650 -> 50:47.490] it's bye for now.