Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:06):
You're listening to the Weekend Sport podcast with Jason Vine
from News Talks EDB.
Speaker 2 (00:12):
Here, we've got your chance to win shortly with the
Sporting Chance with the tab one hundred and fifty dollars
Beck becoming your wave. We're going to our attention to
Formula One. Big weekend for Liam Lawson in the context
of his Formula one career and you go the Mexican
Grand Prix. How is that bag? Well, Chris Midland's going
to join us to explain because it's crunch time in
(00:33):
terms of making a decision as to whether Liam Lawson
is going to have a Formula One seat next year.
Chris Midland Formula one Genus with us on the program.
Chris howse Thing, thanks for joining us on News Talks MB.
Speaker 3 (00:46):
Yeah, not to be bad that you mate much.
Speaker 4 (00:47):
You joined in a very noisy Mexico city as one
of the most vibrant race weekends of the year gets underway.
Speaker 2 (00:52):
Well, fantastic time and it feels like a crunch weekend
for at least from a New Zealand perspective, where of
course following Liam Lawson very very closely, and it feels
like at least from our perspective. All eyes are on
this weekend because it feels like a decision is in
the with Liam Lawson's future next year, is it?
Speaker 4 (01:10):
It seems that way, not just about Liam no, but
about all the Red Bull drivers. Lian was asked about
it actually drawing the media sessions yesterday and said, I
know nothing at this point, and I feel like we
would know if something had happened, because you just get
word from within the team. Somebody would pass on the
information that a decision had been made. But Red Bull
don't have to rush anything they want to do with
their drivers. They have them all under contract. They can
(01:31):
wait as late as they want in the season. But
I think they're aware that for a few of them
it would really help give them some certainty. The problem
we've got with not just Liam, but his teammate Isaac
had Chat and with Uki Snoda in the Red Ball
alongside Maxistappen is that no one of them is performing
consistently at a high enough level to guarantee where they
will be. But also none of them are performing consistently
(01:52):
low that you think they're going to get replaced. So
I do think it's actually quite a tough decision for
red Bull and I wouldn't be surprised if they review
it after this race, but don't actually then make a
final call.
Speaker 2 (02:01):
How much will this week ends really influence it? Because
as you say, no one's putting the hit up in
going I am the definitive choice. So does it get
to the point where little margins can really count in
their favor like a good result this weekend?
Speaker 4 (02:14):
Absolutely, I mean every result matters, every session matters, and
just the way you go about your business at this
time when decisions being made, we'll really have.
Speaker 3 (02:21):
A bigger influence.
Speaker 4 (02:22):
You know, teams would love to say they don't, but
recently buyers always plays into it. And if you're seeing
signs of progress as well. For example, you know Liam
when he went back to ring balls earlier this year,
took him a little while to get that spring back
in his step and that confidence back up after the
hit of being dropped by red Bulls so quickly. But
the reason they put put him back in that car
is they believed in him and his talent that he
could still find his feet, and once he did, he's
(02:44):
performed very well in the second half of the year.
So if your form's improving, that bodes well looking forward,
and that might give you a better chance of a
team kind of either sticking with you or promoting you.
If your form is declining, then you can kind of
extrapolated that out and think maybe the long term because
the trend isn't so good. So it's a bit of
a tricky one for Red Bull to make, but it's
definitely imperative that the drivers that are performing well at
(03:06):
this moment. And I'd say the smart money had been
on Isaac Katcha.
Speaker 3 (03:09):
I've been to Red Ball.
Speaker 4 (03:11):
I'd say he's still the favorite to get that, but
he had a messy weekend last time out in Austin.
Speaker 3 (03:16):
A few more question.
Speaker 2 (03:17):
Marks, what are the scenarios it's effectively? Is it just
one seat that's up for Grebs. I know they haven't
announced the full lineup, but this feels like just a
one seat scenario preps a shootout with with Lawson and
day in Sonoda.
Speaker 4 (03:29):
Well, now I feel like it's more four drivers into
three seats, and it's not maxis Stappin involved in that.
Speaker 3 (03:34):
Maxis Stappan is locked in.
Speaker 4 (03:35):
He's definitely staying, but it's who drives alongside Max and
then who is the lineup at racing balls alongside him
and the four Driversanky Sonoda currently in the Red Bull,
who I personally think is most at risk of being replaced.
Then you've got Isaac and Liam in the racing balls.
It's which one of those would replace Uki if Youki's replaced,
And as I say, I think that is the way
it's headed, and.
Speaker 3 (03:55):
You'd probably start.
Speaker 4 (03:56):
Isaac was slightly ahead because of the way that Red
Bull went with Liam at started this year, and now
they're going to see if Isaac can handle it next
year as well, but it's not a guarantee. And then
alongside whoever stays at racing balls, it would be Arvid Lindblad,
the young drivers currently in F two stepping up to
that seat. He was actually running an FP one here
in Mexico earlier today, showing that they're trying to prepare
him for a potential step up.
Speaker 3 (04:17):
To F one.
Speaker 4 (04:17):
So Red Bull are looking at they want to get
Lindbladd into a race SEP when they can. So that's
why I feel like it's four into three around maxis
happened and the most at risk feels like a s
Yuki Sanoda.
Speaker 2 (04:27):
What's your read on how Lawson's adapted to this year
because it started obviously so strong in the red Ball seat.
Then he moved to racing balls. Has he taken it
in his stride.
Speaker 4 (04:35):
I'd say he has. By the middle of the season,
shall I say. For a lot of drivers, that could
really have broken them, and it could have been a
downward spiral having just two races in one seat and
then being moved, but Liam kind of took that on
the chin, went back to a team that he knows well,
he likes and a car that he's comfortable in and
enjoys driving, and thought, right, I can rebuild from here,
and we saw it. It took a little while because Hajjar
(04:55):
was performing well at the starts of the year. That
puts a bit of pressure on Lawson alongside him because
he's slightly more experienced than Hadjar is. But then once
Liam really did kind of give his confidence back, essentially
by the summer, we saw some really really strong results.
And I think that's impressed Red Ball because it surely
has that mental fortitude to kind of fight back from
a tough position earlier in the year. The thing they're
still always looking for, though, is raw speed and the
(05:18):
final end product, and that's something where no driver has
actually shown it all the way through the year yet.
So that's why I think it's a bit more of
a question mark over who might get the NOD to
replace Yuki, assuming Uky is replaced, and it just feels
like it's an Oda that's trending most likely to lose
their seat. But I think Liam has done enough to
warrant keeping his current racing balls at least.
Speaker 2 (05:36):
When do they need to make this decision? By I mean,
obviously they've got a bit of time, but it feels
like it's imminent. Could they kick it down the road
for a few more weeks yet?
Speaker 3 (05:45):
Oh?
Speaker 4 (05:45):
Absolutely, I mean if they really wanted to, they could
kick it down the road until the end of January
when we go testing to the start of twenty twenty six. Now,
I don't think they'll do that because you need to
have the seat fits done, you want to have the
drivers in the simulator, you want to have them preparing
with their engineers before the new season gets underway. And
it is earlier next year because of new regulations, so
normally testing would be mid to late February that it
starts next year, it starts in late Jais and then
(06:07):
had some more going on in February two before we
head to Melbourne for the first race, so I think
a call will be earlier than it usually would be.
As we saw last year, they made a change after
the final round in Abu Dhabi when they dropped Surgio
Peris and put Liam into that seat of Red Bulls.
So they have these drivers on the contract, it's up
to them where they want to place them between the teams.
Red bull could really wait as late as the Abbidabbi
Grand Prix in early December, but I do think they'll
(06:29):
probably have made a decision before then, or at least
be very clear in their minds what they're planning on
doing before then, so they can prepare.
Speaker 2 (06:35):
Chris Midland with us send the tims are the overall
race for the title. How much can the duo of
Pistrian Norrisfield mex A step and breathing down the nick
after the events of last week?
Speaker 4 (06:45):
Oh absolutely, I think they've been feeling that for a
number of race weekends actually, but certainly Austin is the
one that really brought it into sharp focus because it's
such a quick swing between Oscar and Max twenty three
points that Max took out of the Championship League, and
I Fay's only forty points back now, and that's in
the context of four races earlier, he was one hundred
and four points back. But forty points is still more
than a race victory. That's winning a race and finishing
(07:07):
third in a race with Oscar not scoring a tool.
Speaker 3 (07:11):
To raise that gap.
Speaker 4 (07:12):
And we've only got five rounds left, so Max needs
to keep the pressure on.
Speaker 3 (07:15):
He's going to stay attacking. He's going to stay aggressive.
Speaker 4 (07:17):
That's red bulls approach now and they've got nothing to
lose and it is putting pressure on McLaren.
Speaker 3 (07:22):
The problem McLaren have.
Speaker 4 (07:23):
Is the fact that it's both drivers fighting each other too,
and Oscar is in the best place because he has
the points on the board, but the GAP's been coming
down to Lando as well. That's down at fourteen points
and they're looking at each other as well as at Max,
and that adds a strange dynamic to it where they
can't really afford to get too caught up in certain
scenarios and open the door for the Stappen. I think
this is actually a crucial weekend. We saw something similar
(07:43):
last year in Brazil. We arrived there Land and I
have been chipping away quite consistently and we thought we
were going to get a type of fight potentially to
the end of the year against Max Verstappen went to
Brazil and after qualifying on a Sunday morning with dodgy weather,
you had Norris on pole for stapped and starting way
back in the field. Everyone's thinking, here we go, this
title fight has got to get blown wide open.
Speaker 3 (08:01):
But the race went totally differently.
Speaker 4 (08:03):
Max won with a brilliant drive comfortably outscored Norris and
that basically ended it there and then because there were
only three races to go after that point and that turnaround,
that swinging points was hugely damaging to Norris having any
chance of drawing it back again. So McClaren will know
one strong weekend is all they really need to really
hold that momentum. It could really hurt Max's ability to
get back into the title fight. So that's why the
(08:24):
Stappen has to say stay perfect, but it must be
said over the last four races that's exactly what he's done.
Speaker 2 (08:29):
Final question, Chris, do McLaren need to put the eggs
into one basket for the title race. Is it possible
or is that just a not you know, something they
can consider with those both those drivers right up there.
Speaker 4 (08:41):
Yeah, I don't think they can consider it now. It's
too tight. There's only fourteen points between them. You're really
robbing one of a chance to try and win the
title if you do that. But also you've given them
equal opportunities all season and they're still pretty closely matched.
Speaker 3 (08:53):
So you've got to see that through.
Speaker 4 (08:54):
And I dare say it, I think you slightly devalue
a championship if you do that from this position.
Speaker 3 (08:59):
I get it if that's been your approach.
Speaker 4 (09:00):
All the way through that you've had a clear number
one and number two, but you've let these two drivers
fight it out amongst each other, and then you've got
match tota happened in the frame two. I think it
means a heck of a lot more if you win
a driver's title against maxistappen in a straight fight. If,
for example, Landon Norris was asked to support Oscar Pastree,
then it feels like, you know, Zappa would have been
kind of.
Speaker 3 (09:18):
Doing on his own.
Speaker 4 (09:19):
He's not had the second car up there with him
throughout most of this season. And I think it's a
better way for the clarent and go about their racing.
It's just let them go for it themselves, try and
keep it clean between the two McLaren drivers, which is
the tricky part.
Speaker 3 (09:31):
But if you can do that, then whoever wins.
Speaker 4 (09:32):
It will be a really really deserving champion, certainly in
the face of that pressure from the stappened. But I
think it's just too late now with five races to go,
just fourteen points in it. It would take something dramatic,
like one driver failing to finish the next two races
that might open the door. If it really looked unrealistic
for one of them to win, then they might be
asked to support. But as it stands, I think we're
going to the end like this.
Speaker 2 (09:51):
Well, it's an endlessly fascinating weekend coming up. Enjoy it, Chrysler,
look forward to catching episode and thanks for your time.
Speaker 3 (09:57):
Will do Thanks very much.
Speaker 2 (09:58):
Chris Midland joining US Formula one journalist from Mexico's City
so pretty crunchy. Keen for Liam Lawson in the scheme
his Formula one career.
Speaker 1 (10:09):
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