December 6, 2025 • 13 mins
F1 Journalist Peter Windsor talks about the coming finish to the season, who's likely to see the podium, how competitive the final race will be, and what each team will be focusing on
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Speaker 1 (00:06):
You're listening to the Weekend Sport podcast with Jason Vine
from Newstalk ZB.
Speaker 2 (00:12):
In store at the season ending Formula One Grand Prix
and Abu Dhabi. After qualifying earlier today.
Speaker 3 (00:19):
Charlotte Clair gets the third Charlotte Clare moves to third position.
Huge pressure on these corners with the McLaren drivers over
the line for Pastre who finds himself with the fastest
final sector. He gets into second position with his best time.
Speaker 4 (00:33):
What can Lindo Norris do?
Speaker 3 (00:35):
Huge moments in the World Championship. Norris gets to second place,
he improves to the front row.
Speaker 4 (00:41):
Max for Stappen though on run.
Speaker 3 (00:43):
Number two, on fire again, on pole position again and
the McLarens can't deny him. But George Russell's nearly dropped
it out of the final corner.
Speaker 4 (00:53):
He's in fourth place.
Speaker 3 (00:54):
He gave it everything and our top three contenders for
the title are in the top three positions on the grid.
Max for Stappen with his eighth pole of the year.
Here is the driver the McLarens will go racing for
the win in Abu Dhabi.
Speaker 4 (01:11):
He's lit it up in Abu Dhabi.
Speaker 3 (01:14):
He's taken poll for the final Grand.
Speaker 4 (01:17):
Prix this season.
Speaker 2 (01:17):
There you go, Max for Stappen pole position. He's qualified
fastest ahead of title rival Lando Norris, his McLaren teammate
and fellow contender Oscar Pastre, third on the grid. Now
Norris leads for Stappen by twelve points going into the
final race of the season. Oscar Pastre is a further
four points behind. What that means, in very very simple terms,
(01:41):
is that Norris will be champion if he finishes on
the podium, regardless of what help happens elsewhere. So Lando
Norris just has to finish in the top three.
Speaker 4 (01:53):
Max.
Speaker 2 (01:54):
For Stappen would win what would be a fifth consecutive
driver's title if he wins the race and Lando Norris
is fourth or lower. Liam Lawson's qualified thirteenth teen, Isaac
Headghart finishing four spots ahead in ninth position. Let's bring
an award winning Formula One journalist, broadcaster and former general
(02:14):
manager with Williams and Ferrari Peter wins up. Peter, appreciate
your time and expertise this afternoon. Lando Norris, as to say,
only has to finish on the podium to claim his
first ever drivers championship. From second on the grid. How
likely is that, Well, it's pretty likely.
Speaker 5 (02:34):
But you know, I'm sure you follow a lot of sport.
We all watch.
Speaker 6 (02:37):
Sport, and it's not easy actually trying not to win
and instead just trying to finish third.
Speaker 5 (02:42):
That's not an easy thing to do.
Speaker 6 (02:44):
So and Lando's a relatively sensitive, emotional guy, and he
does get a bit flustered sometimes, and I suspect that's
going to be the weakest part of his day on Sunday,
is actually working out how to be a sure third
without actually blowing it, if you see what I mean.
You know, it's a bit like when you're in a
tennis match when one of the players goes off for
(03:06):
you know, an injury timeout and comes back with bandages
on every his leg. The other guy always thinks, oh yeah,
I got this match one, and inevitably they end up
losing the match. You know, It's Sport's a funny thing.
If you don't try and win all the time, it
bites you back sometimes. So you know, it only takes
Max to get the lead and then drive relatively slowly
in the front of the race, just enough to stay
(03:27):
in front bunch the field up to the point where
maybe oscars in front of Lando. At this point, maybe
the McLaren tires start to suffer because they're in traffic
and there's turbulence, and they.
Speaker 5 (03:37):
Maybe have to come into the pits a little bit.
Speaker 6 (03:39):
Earlier than they plan, and when they come out, they're
in a bit of traffic which holds them up.
Speaker 5 (03:43):
You know that.
Speaker 6 (03:44):
You know, you got a George Russell and there a
Charlotte Clerk. You've got a few other jokers in the pack,
so you know it's possible. But in theory it should
be an easy win for Lando.
Speaker 5 (03:54):
It could be in italics.
Speaker 2 (03:57):
Yeah, well what a great inside and the first answer.
But I'm interested about McLaren. Will Pearstrey and Norris be
told to work together to ensure Norris gets on the podium.
Speaker 5 (04:11):
Well that's a very good question, isn't it. I'm sure.
Speaker 6 (04:14):
I'm sure Oscar's still remembering what happened in the first
corner in Singapore when Lando came down inside him and
almost took him out, and things have not really been
the same since the year. They shake hands in front
of the cameras and they smile as they have to
because they're.
Speaker 5 (04:26):
Highly paid professionals, But at the end of the day.
Speaker 6 (04:29):
I don't think there's much love lost there in terms
of from Oscar's side of the garage, that's for sure.
Speaker 5 (04:33):
I think. Yeah.
Speaker 6 (04:34):
I mean, if it's Oscar, you've got no chance to
win the championship, this is your move to help Lando
secure it now, to stop red Bull move over?
Speaker 5 (04:42):
Please.
Speaker 6 (04:43):
Yeah, I can see that happening, but it's not going
to happen if Oscar's got any chance.
Speaker 5 (04:48):
Still of potentially winning the championship himself.
Speaker 6 (04:51):
I mean, imagine if Oscar's second behind Max and Lando's
say fifth, what would happen then when McClaren might say
to Oscar, Oscar, will you drop back to sixth place
to give P four to Lando? But Oscar's going to say, wow,
I'm not going to give up my chance of winning
because Max might run out of fuel on the last lap.
Speaker 5 (05:11):
Anything could happen. So you know, it's Macara and.
Speaker 6 (05:13):
Have got themselves in a difficult situation really all year
by running these two really quick guys and having a
great car and not really having any understanding of how
to keep the piece between them. And you can't blame
the drivers because they just want to be as quick
as they can and they want to win the championship
quite obviously, so it's not easy, you know. And McClaren, interestingly,
they've got two new sets of hard tires going into
(05:36):
the race, so the only team that's sort of focused
on having the hard tires ready or having two new sets,
which means that's where the focus is. But the hard
tire is not really a quick tire, and I think
they've done that because they just want to have a
really conservative approach to the race. In case, for example,
there's a safety car early on and on this occasion
the penny drops and they do actually come in and
(05:57):
change tires, and then they got a hard tire that
could take them through to the rest of the race
without a pit stop or something like that.
Speaker 5 (06:02):
But that's a very conservative way of.
Speaker 6 (06:04):
Going into a Grand Prix weekend, or indeed a Saturday
Sunday weekend. Everybody else has got two new sets of mediums,
which is the quicker tire. So already McLaren looking a
little bit over conservative. I think they've I don't think
Lando gave it one hundred percent today. I think he
was there just to make sure that he was in
the top three, and I think that's okay in qualifying
(06:26):
for one lap, but in the race, you know, it's
a different thing. So many other factors can come into play.
Speaker 2 (06:32):
You alluded to the tactics that Max the step and
might use earlier, bunching the field up, not necessarily just
shooting away and winning it from from you know, from
grid to check and flag. Can you just unpack for
a minute how he might do that, How he how
he can bunch the field behind him.
Speaker 5 (06:49):
Oh, it's not not difficult to go. I mean, Max
is the best guy in.
Speaker 6 (06:53):
The world at what we've can managing the tires and
still being very quick on the overall lap. And so
Max every race and even doing a lot of the
practice sessions, is not taking every income on the circuit flat.
He's not taking every quick corner flat. He's maybe backing
off a little bit just to look after the tires,
keep the tar temperatures down because the perellis are always
(07:15):
on the edge, and that's something he does incredibly well.
So in the race, if what he wants to do
is just drive as slowly as possible without anybody overtaking him,
he'll be that. He'll be quick in a straight line,
and the red Bull does have a slight speed advantage
in a straight line over the McLarens, and then he'll
start lifting the throttle on some of the corners where
it's impossible to overtake and just be in it. From
(07:37):
his perspective, he's looking after the tires, which is a
good thing. And from another perspective, he's keeping the you know,
the field bunched up behind him.
Speaker 5 (07:43):
It's not a difficult thing to do at all.
Speaker 2 (07:45):
Here's the second Red Bull driver. Even though he's departing.
Could Yuki Sonoda play a role here or see too
far back at tenth on the grid?
Speaker 5 (07:54):
Well he could.
Speaker 6 (07:56):
I mean Sergio Perez played a bit of a role
in twenty twenty one when he held up Lewis really comprehensively.
Speaker 5 (08:04):
In a pit stop situation.
Speaker 6 (08:06):
And so yeah, I mean, if Lando came out of
a pit stop behind and he was behind Yuki, he
has yet to stop in track position and get Yuki's tenth,
He's not you know, he's not fourteenth, He's tenth, which
is not bad. Then Yuki could potentially make it a
bit difficult. The rules now for impeding another driver really
really tough, but doesn't really matter. In the last race,
(08:28):
I mean they give Yuki a penalty. I mean that's him,
is it?
Speaker 4 (08:31):
No? No, you're right.
Speaker 2 (08:33):
How incredible, Peter, is it that we're even having this
conversation given how far behind Max the step and was
at one point in the season.
Speaker 6 (08:43):
Yeah, I think that's you know, that's one way of
looking at it, which is the half last fall way.
You know, this, this sort of comeback has never been achieved,
certainly in Formula one, not really in any form of motorsport,
and probably not in many other forms of sport at
all in general.
Speaker 5 (08:56):
I mean, where he was.
Speaker 6 (08:57):
And where he is now is just amazing. On the
other side of the coind, you could say, where have
Red Bull Bean all year? I mean, here they are
at the last race of the season, haven't made had
any changes to the car for the last three or
four races, and yet quite patently they have a very
very good racing car in Abadhabi. Not know, Okay, maybe
Lando wasn't one hundred percent flat out, but the Red
(09:19):
Bull's just there or thereabouts, and it makes you say, well,
where have they been them for half the year? I
mean there were some races where Max could barely get
out of Q two. That's the middle qualifying session and
yet here he is on the pole with two laps
that would have put him on the pole, and in
the middle session Q two he was right up there
on a US set of carers. I mean, unbelievably quick.
(09:41):
So you just have to say, what have a Red
Bull been doing really to let you know, to drop
the ball as much as they have this year. That's
the way I look at it, really. I mean if
they hadn't, Max would have been world champion easy in
a car as good as it is this weekend.
Speaker 2 (09:54):
Isaac Headjar, we'll move into the second red Ball seat
next year. I mean, Yuki Sonoda hasn't been able to
drive that car to anywhere close to what Red Bull
were after. What indication is there, Peter that Isaac Hadjar
will be able to.
Speaker 6 (10:09):
I think is zak is a is a much more
refined driver than Yuki Sonoda. Yuki's got only one way
of driving a car, which is really aggressive with the steering,
brakes and throttle, lots of car control.
Speaker 5 (10:21):
Very brave, and that's about it.
Speaker 6 (10:24):
You know, he doesn't really hasn't really got any better
over the last three or four years.
Speaker 5 (10:28):
It's quick when you know when he's got a good
set of tires and the car's balance.
Speaker 6 (10:31):
But when the car's not in that state, he's not
really quick. He can't get the best from it. It
makes too many mistakes. Zak is a very different sort
of driver. He's got a much better feel, better softer touch.
He's more supple with his inputs. He can create a
bigger sweet spot around which to operate the car, so
he's not susceptible to losing so much time when he
does enable to make the odd mistake. And he's got
(10:53):
a very good brain on his head, which head on
his shoulders rather which you know, which enables him to learn.
Speaker 5 (10:59):
He's not afraid to learn, and I think alongside Max
he'll learn a lot.
Speaker 6 (11:02):
And it will probably be in the area of being
less emotional and just sort of being a little bit
more straightforward in the way he lives his life and
just just becoming quieter and calmer. And he's very quick,
he's very very good. He's a driver of the Stapanilk.
I mean, whether he'll ever be as good as Max
is another question, but he's definitely on that side of
the globe at the moment.
Speaker 2 (11:24):
And just the word on Liam Lawson has said at
Racing Balls for next year, confirmed earlier this week, this
was widely expected. I think, what have you seen from
him in terms of his improvement this year? In what
would you like to see from Liam in twenty twenty six.
Speaker 6 (11:38):
Yeah, I think he's improved a lot in the second
half of the year in that he hasn't really changed
the way he drives. He drives he's a bit sort
of smoother, softer version of Yuki Sanoda, I think, and
he's never really gravitated towards the end of the spectrum
in which Max and Zak hadjar and Charlotte Clark's it.
But he's I think he's started to come to terms
(12:01):
with that and he's starting to get the best from
the way he does drive with just more road dust
on him, obviously with experience. And also you look at
Carlos Science drives in a very similar way to Liam Lawson,
and I guess he's probably looking at Carlos and seeing
how Carlos has managed to package that now.
Speaker 5 (12:17):
And make it work.
Speaker 6 (12:18):
And Yeah, he's making fewer mistakes, He's doing a better
job on a consistent basis. He's not as quick as
I zak Aja for the reasons I was just talking about.
And I think next year he will continue to improve
because being the senior driver, which he obviously will be
at racing balls, I think, well, that will have that
will have an effect on his approach to racing, and
(12:38):
he'll become more mature and he'll be more circumspect about
the way he goes about racing and driving and thinking.
And I think he'll I think he'll definitely improve next
year and he could end up, you know, in the
in the Carlos Science category. Quite Cabler winning Grand Prix
in a good team, in a good car, but not
ever able to take it to a Charlotte Clerk or
(12:59):
a Lewis Hamilton Lewis AT's peaked that is, or a
Max or possibly even an I zak Kjar.
Speaker 2 (13:07):
That's all to come. What we do have in the
next twenty four hours or stars are thrilling into this
year is Grand Prix Championship. Peter, You've given us incredible insight.
Thank you so much for joining us across New Zealand.
Speaker 5 (13:16):
Ah my pleasure.
Speaker 2 (13:17):
Thank you, Peter. Peter Windsor if one broadcaster and journalist.
Speaker 1 (13:23):
For more from Weekend Sport with Jason Fine, listen live
to News Talk set B weekends from midday, or follow
the podcast on iHeartRadio
You're listening to the Weekend Sport podcast with Jason Vine
from Newstalk ZB.
Speaker 2 (00:12):
In store at the season ending Formula One Grand Prix
and Abu Dhabi. After qualifying earlier today.
Speaker 3 (00:19):
Charlotte Clair gets the third Charlotte Clare moves to third position.
Huge pressure on these corners with the McLaren drivers over
the line for Pastre who finds himself with the fastest
final sector. He gets into second position with his best time.
Speaker 4 (00:33):
What can Lindo Norris do?
Speaker 3 (00:35):
Huge moments in the World Championship. Norris gets to second place,
he improves to the front row.
Speaker 4 (00:41):
Max for Stappen though on run.
Speaker 3 (00:43):
Number two, on fire again, on pole position again and
the McLarens can't deny him. But George Russell's nearly dropped
it out of the final corner.
Speaker 4 (00:53):
He's in fourth place.
Speaker 3 (00:54):
He gave it everything and our top three contenders for
the title are in the top three positions on the grid.
Max for Stappen with his eighth pole of the year.
Here is the driver the McLarens will go racing for
the win in Abu Dhabi.
Speaker 4 (01:11):
He's lit it up in Abu Dhabi.
Speaker 3 (01:14):
He's taken poll for the final Grand.
Speaker 4 (01:17):
Prix this season.
Speaker 2 (01:17):
There you go, Max for Stappen pole position. He's qualified
fastest ahead of title rival Lando Norris, his McLaren teammate
and fellow contender Oscar Pastre, third on the grid. Now
Norris leads for Stappen by twelve points going into the
final race of the season. Oscar Pastre is a further
four points behind. What that means, in very very simple terms,
(01:41):
is that Norris will be champion if he finishes on
the podium, regardless of what help happens elsewhere. So Lando
Norris just has to finish in the top three.
Speaker 4 (01:53):
Max.
Speaker 2 (01:54):
For Stappen would win what would be a fifth consecutive
driver's title if he wins the race and Lando Norris
is fourth or lower. Liam Lawson's qualified thirteenth teen, Isaac
Headghart finishing four spots ahead in ninth position. Let's bring
an award winning Formula One journalist, broadcaster and former general
(02:14):
manager with Williams and Ferrari Peter wins up. Peter, appreciate
your time and expertise this afternoon. Lando Norris, as to say,
only has to finish on the podium to claim his
first ever drivers championship. From second on the grid. How
likely is that, Well, it's pretty likely.
Speaker 5 (02:34):
But you know, I'm sure you follow a lot of sport.
We all watch.
Speaker 6 (02:37):
Sport, and it's not easy actually trying not to win
and instead just trying to finish third.
Speaker 5 (02:42):
That's not an easy thing to do.
Speaker 6 (02:44):
So and Lando's a relatively sensitive, emotional guy, and he
does get a bit flustered sometimes, and I suspect that's
going to be the weakest part of his day on Sunday,
is actually working out how to be a sure third
without actually blowing it, if you see what I mean.
You know, it's a bit like when you're in a
tennis match when one of the players goes off for
(03:06):
you know, an injury timeout and comes back with bandages
on every his leg. The other guy always thinks, oh yeah,
I got this match one, and inevitably they end up
losing the match. You know, It's Sport's a funny thing.
If you don't try and win all the time, it
bites you back sometimes. So you know, it only takes
Max to get the lead and then drive relatively slowly
in the front of the race, just enough to stay
(03:27):
in front bunch the field up to the point where
maybe oscars in front of Lando. At this point, maybe
the McLaren tires start to suffer because they're in traffic
and there's turbulence, and they.
Speaker 5 (03:37):
Maybe have to come into the pits a little bit.
Speaker 6 (03:39):
Earlier than they plan, and when they come out, they're
in a bit of traffic which holds them up.
Speaker 5 (03:43):
You know that.
Speaker 6 (03:44):
You know, you got a George Russell and there a
Charlotte Clerk. You've got a few other jokers in the pack,
so you know it's possible. But in theory it should
be an easy win for Lando.
Speaker 5 (03:54):
It could be in italics.
Speaker 2 (03:57):
Yeah, well what a great inside and the first answer.
But I'm interested about McLaren. Will Pearstrey and Norris be
told to work together to ensure Norris gets on the podium.
Speaker 5 (04:11):
Well that's a very good question, isn't it. I'm sure.
Speaker 6 (04:14):
I'm sure Oscar's still remembering what happened in the first
corner in Singapore when Lando came down inside him and
almost took him out, and things have not really been
the same since the year. They shake hands in front
of the cameras and they smile as they have to
because they're.
Speaker 5 (04:26):
Highly paid professionals, But at the end of the day.
Speaker 6 (04:29):
I don't think there's much love lost there in terms
of from Oscar's side of the garage, that's for sure.
Speaker 5 (04:33):
I think. Yeah.
Speaker 6 (04:34):
I mean, if it's Oscar, you've got no chance to
win the championship, this is your move to help Lando
secure it now, to stop red Bull move over?
Speaker 5 (04:42):
Please.
Speaker 6 (04:43):
Yeah, I can see that happening, but it's not going
to happen if Oscar's got any chance.
Speaker 5 (04:48):
Still of potentially winning the championship himself.
Speaker 6 (04:51):
I mean, imagine if Oscar's second behind Max and Lando's
say fifth, what would happen then when McClaren might say
to Oscar, Oscar, will you drop back to sixth place
to give P four to Lando? But Oscar's going to say, wow,
I'm not going to give up my chance of winning
because Max might run out of fuel on the last lap.
Speaker 5 (05:11):
Anything could happen. So you know, it's Macara and.
Speaker 6 (05:13):
Have got themselves in a difficult situation really all year
by running these two really quick guys and having a
great car and not really having any understanding of how
to keep the piece between them. And you can't blame
the drivers because they just want to be as quick
as they can and they want to win the championship
quite obviously, so it's not easy, you know. And McClaren, interestingly,
they've got two new sets of hard tires going into
(05:36):
the race, so the only team that's sort of focused
on having the hard tires ready or having two new sets,
which means that's where the focus is. But the hard
tire is not really a quick tire, and I think
they've done that because they just want to have a
really conservative approach to the race. In case, for example,
there's a safety car early on and on this occasion
the penny drops and they do actually come in and
(05:57):
change tires, and then they got a hard tire that
could take them through to the rest of the race
without a pit stop or something like that.
Speaker 5 (06:02):
But that's a very conservative way of.
Speaker 6 (06:04):
Going into a Grand Prix weekend, or indeed a Saturday
Sunday weekend. Everybody else has got two new sets of mediums,
which is the quicker tire. So already McLaren looking a
little bit over conservative. I think they've I don't think
Lando gave it one hundred percent today. I think he
was there just to make sure that he was in
the top three, and I think that's okay in qualifying
(06:26):
for one lap, but in the race, you know, it's
a different thing. So many other factors can come into play.
Speaker 2 (06:32):
You alluded to the tactics that Max the step and
might use earlier, bunching the field up, not necessarily just
shooting away and winning it from from you know, from
grid to check and flag. Can you just unpack for
a minute how he might do that, How he how
he can bunch the field behind him.
Speaker 5 (06:49):
Oh, it's not not difficult to go. I mean, Max
is the best guy in.
Speaker 6 (06:53):
The world at what we've can managing the tires and
still being very quick on the overall lap. And so
Max every race and even doing a lot of the
practice sessions, is not taking every income on the circuit flat.
He's not taking every quick corner flat. He's maybe backing
off a little bit just to look after the tires,
keep the tar temperatures down because the perellis are always
(07:15):
on the edge, and that's something he does incredibly well.
So in the race, if what he wants to do
is just drive as slowly as possible without anybody overtaking him,
he'll be that. He'll be quick in a straight line,
and the red Bull does have a slight speed advantage
in a straight line over the McLarens, and then he'll
start lifting the throttle on some of the corners where
it's impossible to overtake and just be in it. From
(07:37):
his perspective, he's looking after the tires, which is a
good thing. And from another perspective, he's keeping the you know,
the field bunched up behind him.
Speaker 5 (07:43):
It's not a difficult thing to do at all.
Speaker 2 (07:45):
Here's the second Red Bull driver. Even though he's departing.
Could Yuki Sonoda play a role here or see too
far back at tenth on the grid?
Speaker 5 (07:54):
Well he could.
Speaker 6 (07:56):
I mean Sergio Perez played a bit of a role
in twenty twenty one when he held up Lewis really comprehensively.
Speaker 5 (08:04):
In a pit stop situation.
Speaker 6 (08:06):
And so yeah, I mean, if Lando came out of
a pit stop behind and he was behind Yuki, he
has yet to stop in track position and get Yuki's tenth,
He's not you know, he's not fourteenth, He's tenth, which
is not bad. Then Yuki could potentially make it a
bit difficult. The rules now for impeding another driver really
really tough, but doesn't really matter. In the last race,
(08:28):
I mean they give Yuki a penalty. I mean that's him,
is it?
Speaker 4 (08:31):
No? No, you're right.
Speaker 2 (08:33):
How incredible, Peter, is it that we're even having this
conversation given how far behind Max the step and was
at one point in the season.
Speaker 6 (08:43):
Yeah, I think that's you know, that's one way of
looking at it, which is the half last fall way.
You know, this, this sort of comeback has never been achieved,
certainly in Formula one, not really in any form of motorsport,
and probably not in many other forms of sport at
all in general.
Speaker 5 (08:56):
I mean, where he was.
Speaker 6 (08:57):
And where he is now is just amazing. On the
other side of the coind, you could say, where have
Red Bull Bean all year? I mean, here they are
at the last race of the season, haven't made had
any changes to the car for the last three or
four races, and yet quite patently they have a very
very good racing car in Abadhabi. Not know, Okay, maybe
Lando wasn't one hundred percent flat out, but the Red
(09:19):
Bull's just there or thereabouts, and it makes you say, well,
where have they been them for half the year? I
mean there were some races where Max could barely get
out of Q two. That's the middle qualifying session and
yet here he is on the pole with two laps
that would have put him on the pole, and in
the middle session Q two he was right up there
on a US set of carers. I mean, unbelievably quick.
(09:41):
So you just have to say, what have a Red
Bull been doing really to let you know, to drop
the ball as much as they have this year. That's
the way I look at it, really. I mean if
they hadn't, Max would have been world champion easy in
a car as good as it is this weekend.
Speaker 2 (09:54):
Isaac Headjar, we'll move into the second red Ball seat
next year. I mean, Yuki Sonoda hasn't been able to
drive that car to anywhere close to what Red Bull
were after. What indication is there, Peter that Isaac Hadjar
will be able to.
Speaker 6 (10:09):
I think is zak is a is a much more
refined driver than Yuki Sonoda. Yuki's got only one way
of driving a car, which is really aggressive with the steering,
brakes and throttle, lots of car control.
Speaker 5 (10:21):
Very brave, and that's about it.
Speaker 6 (10:24):
You know, he doesn't really hasn't really got any better
over the last three or four years.
Speaker 5 (10:28):
It's quick when you know when he's got a good
set of tires and the car's balance.
Speaker 6 (10:31):
But when the car's not in that state, he's not
really quick. He can't get the best from it. It
makes too many mistakes. Zak is a very different sort
of driver. He's got a much better feel, better softer touch.
He's more supple with his inputs. He can create a
bigger sweet spot around which to operate the car, so
he's not susceptible to losing so much time when he
does enable to make the odd mistake. And he's got
(10:53):
a very good brain on his head, which head on
his shoulders rather which you know, which enables him to learn.
Speaker 5 (10:59):
He's not afraid to learn, and I think alongside Max
he'll learn a lot.
Speaker 6 (11:02):
And it will probably be in the area of being
less emotional and just sort of being a little bit
more straightforward in the way he lives his life and
just just becoming quieter and calmer. And he's very quick,
he's very very good. He's a driver of the Stapanilk.
I mean, whether he'll ever be as good as Max
is another question, but he's definitely on that side of
the globe at the moment.
Speaker 2 (11:24):
And just the word on Liam Lawson has said at
Racing Balls for next year, confirmed earlier this week, this
was widely expected. I think, what have you seen from
him in terms of his improvement this year? In what
would you like to see from Liam in twenty twenty six.
Speaker 6 (11:38):
Yeah, I think he's improved a lot in the second
half of the year in that he hasn't really changed
the way he drives. He drives he's a bit sort
of smoother, softer version of Yuki Sanoda, I think, and
he's never really gravitated towards the end of the spectrum
in which Max and Zak hadjar and Charlotte Clark's it.
But he's I think he's started to come to terms
(12:01):
with that and he's starting to get the best from
the way he does drive with just more road dust
on him, obviously with experience. And also you look at
Carlos Science drives in a very similar way to Liam Lawson,
and I guess he's probably looking at Carlos and seeing
how Carlos has managed to package that now.
Speaker 5 (12:17):
And make it work.
Speaker 6 (12:18):
And Yeah, he's making fewer mistakes, He's doing a better
job on a consistent basis. He's not as quick as
I zak Aja for the reasons I was just talking about.
And I think next year he will continue to improve
because being the senior driver, which he obviously will be
at racing balls, I think, well, that will have that
will have an effect on his approach to racing, and
(12:38):
he'll become more mature and he'll be more circumspect about
the way he goes about racing and driving and thinking.
And I think he'll I think he'll definitely improve next
year and he could end up, you know, in the
in the Carlos Science category. Quite Cabler winning Grand Prix
in a good team, in a good car, but not
ever able to take it to a Charlotte Clerk or
(12:59):
a Lewis Hamilton Lewis AT's peaked that is, or a
Max or possibly even an I zak Kjar.
Speaker 2 (13:07):
That's all to come. What we do have in the
next twenty four hours or stars are thrilling into this
year is Grand Prix Championship. Peter, You've given us incredible insight.
Thank you so much for joining us across New Zealand.
Speaker 5 (13:16):
Ah my pleasure.
Speaker 2 (13:17):
Thank you, Peter. Peter Windsor if one broadcaster and journalist.
Speaker 1 (13:23):
For more from Weekend Sport with Jason Fine, listen live
to News Talk set B weekends from midday, or follow
the podcast on iHeartRadio
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