February 26, 2024 • 36 mins
This week, I am joined on the pod by my good friend Amesh, McLaren superfan and Physics psychic. Together, we unpack all of the major 2024 Testing plot points. Are Red Bull unstoppable? Are McLaren holding their cards close to the vest? Why are the new team names so weird? All that and more on this week's blockbuster pod to start the new season.
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Episode Transcript
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(00:13):
Hello, and welcome back to Fone. Isn't Real? I am your
host, Ben Wevell, and afterthree days of testing, all I'm left
with is a list of questions anda fluorescent green livery induced gambling addiction.
I'm joined today by physics Officionado McClaren, Diehard, computer Shop employee of the
(00:34):
Month, and a man who spenthis life savings on I racing, my
friend Angish v One. How's itgoing, Hi, Ben, thank you
for having me on the show.I'm good, I'm good. How are
you doing. I'm doing very realwell. Thank you very much better.
Considering the fact that we're going tobe getting into an F one season this
Thursday, Actually, what do youthink about these Saturday races? I think
(00:58):
it's I think it's a good opportunityfor F one change it up a little
bit. As much as it's goodto keep traditions going with a traditional race
on Sunday, I think it's quitenice to have a bit of difference.
You know how we had a sprintraces introduced in twenty twenty one. Now
we're getting races on Saturday, andI think it's time for a change.
(01:21):
Yeah, speaking of things that maybe good or bad for F one's image.
Have you watched any of the newDrive to Survive season? I have,
Actually, I've watched a couple ofthe episodes of drives Vive. Obviously
started with the episode about Landon Norris, my favorite driver. I think I
watched it because I'd like to seea different perspective of Formula one. I
(01:44):
came into F one not having watchedDTS. It hadn't actually come up before
I'd start watching it, and Ithink it's a very different take of the
sport Netflix. They sort of takedifferent viewpoints and create some interesting interesting things
(02:06):
about F one, which some peoplesee and some people don't. But is
everyone's opinion about what they think thatI think. I prefer to get all
the details for myself by watching theracers live and hearing the radios lives as
well. I personally agree I thinkDrivers Survive. I think it's a useful
tool, but I think at theend of the year it gives a skewed
(02:29):
and dramatized idea of what Formula oneis, and to be honest, nowadays
with Max so dominant at the front, I think would sort of nullify the
impact to Drive to Survive because it'ssort of like all focusing on the midfield
to battle battle. But speaking ofMax, let's get down to business.
(02:50):
Testing has come and gone. Weread people absolutely tearing up the field on
the first day. We saw theirpartner team Racing Balls looking strong, and
we saw kick Steak. I don'tknow what the fuck their name is,
but on the predictable glory run onthe final day, which team's performance did
(03:10):
you think was most representative of thatsame team's true pace this season. I
think it's hard to say, becausetesting it's always it's always going to be
something different that happens in the season. When Mercedes were dominating, they weren't
consistent. They were they weren't alwaysdominating the preseason testing, and they won
(03:32):
what was the eight championships. SoI think as much as it's very probable
that Red Bull be dominating this season, I think there are a few other
other teams out there which can becompeting this year with the likes of Ferrari,
Mercedes McLaren. For example, lastyear we didn't expect Aston Martin to
be so strong at the beginning ofthe season. Maybe another team this year
(03:53):
could take that spot. But thewhole what I saw from the assen and
phenomenon at the start of the seasonwas you went into testing thinking they weren't
going to do well, you cameout of testing thinking that they were going
to be a contender. So Ifeel like if we're looking at just last
year as a sample size, thenyou know, testing could be maybe in
(04:15):
this new generation of Formula one,could be a decent indicator of where people
are at. But yeah, toan extent, I agree with you.
You've got to account for the factthat certain teams might be sandbagging. For
example, you know, red Bullthemselves, even though they were going,
you know, absolutely crazy with someof their runs, both on race pace
and on quality pace, they werereally I think it seemed to individuals that
(04:42):
were there that they were sandbanging significantly. As well. They were adding lots,
you know, very varying fuel loads, and so I think Red Bull
probably may be one of the mostunpredictable teams going into this season. And
that's not where are they that's howfar are they ahead of every everybody else?
But speaking of red Bull, theywent in a really different direction this
(05:05):
season with the car looking a littlebit like last year's Mercedes, but as
I say they were extremely quick ontrack with that day one lap that just
put him one point put Max onepoint one seconds ahead of the field,
despite the fact that he completed themost laps on that day as well with
one hundred and forty three. Andyou know, people have been throwing around
(05:28):
all of these different sort of numbersabout where the RB twenty is compared to
the rest. A couple of simswere saying five tenths, the race predicted
four tenths Helmut Marco with a predictablysort of conservative three tenths gap. So
whereabouts do you think Red Bull willbe compared to the rest of the field,
and also why do you think theysidestepped with their design this year?
(05:54):
Well, I think Redbel will definitelybe dominating in the earlier stages of the
season. I think last year theydefinitely got there. They play their cards
right with their penalty with the windtunnel. I think they just they just
made a really good design. Ithink this year they might be they may
have found something which no one elsehas, which is allowing their car to
(06:15):
be stronger compared to other cars.Also, I think with their own Red
Bull Powertrains engine, I think thatreally suits the style of car that Adrian
new Is designed. I've read I'veread his book How to Build a Car,
and it really seems like the caritself has to work with each other,
(06:38):
so the engine has to work withthe rest of the aerodynamics, the
gearbox and the shapes of everything.I think Red Bull definitely found something which
every part of the car completely workstogether like a team, and I think
they might they might have something whichno other team does at this point in
(06:58):
the season, and I think itmight take a bit of time for some
other teams to catch up on that. We saw that with McLaren last year
around the summertime they exponentially increased theirpoints with consecutive podiums. And I think
it's all to play for this yearreally because we're a couple of seasons in
(07:19):
to the new regulations. So Ithink as long as it already depends on
who can find what the fastest,I really agree with you. I think
Red Bull have found an advantage andthey've they've got into a vein of form
that I don't think has been seenpreviously in F one because even if we're
(07:42):
looking back to the sort of dominantages of old like you know, Michael
Schumacher in the sort of early twothousands with his phenomenal run with the Ferrari
team and obviously the Mercedes run ofthe mid twenty tens, those teams were
being at least consistently challenged by obviouslyfor example, of looking at like Hamilton
(08:03):
twenty twenty, that was just youknow, he was unmatched. But there
were points in that reign in whichyou know, you saw chinks in the
armor. So like Ferrari with sebVettel was you know, had he not
made the mistakes that he did,could have posed a real threat to Lewis.
And obviously with Michael Schumacher, hewas battling out against the McLaren's Kimmy
(08:24):
Reichenan. Obviously even he was battlingwith mka Hackenen and mcackennan went out in
that case in the late nineties andearly noughties. But with Rebell, what
we're seeing is domination to a differentextent, to a different level than we've
ever seen before. They've won innumerableraces over the past seasons, and they
(08:46):
just the fact that they look tobe continuing their momentum is what's really frightening
and do you think that the FIAare going to step in us? Do
you think there's a point at whichthe FIA is going to look at this
and say, this is damaging ourbrand. You know, we have to
make a change really quickly otherwise aswe get out of control and it will
be a red Bull controlled And evenwith like the racing balls just looking so
(09:07):
strong and testing like Rebell, they'rereally taking over f one. Do you
think there's going to be some kindof intervention. Well, I think there's
two different questions here, whether theycan do something and whether they should do
something. I think the last seasona lot of people might have found sort
(09:28):
of boring because of Maxi's winning allthe time. And I think it will
take a bit of time if forthe FIA to be able to do something,
because they can't do a direct interventionwithoutout losing out or without putting a
bad name on them. They haveto do it in a way which is
(09:48):
so indirect it doesn't put at themat a disadvantage if you get omean.
So I think that the only wayI could think of which would be able
to do that is a new regulationwhich would which only gives an opportunity for
Red Bull to make a mistake becausethey could still get right in the next
time. We saw this in twentyfourteen with the turbo hybrid era. You
(10:13):
said said Bettel was winning all theraces in twenty thirteen, and then the
hybrid engines came along in twenty fourteenand it looked like Mercedes and Hamilton they
just mastered it, which is brilliantfor them. And in twenty twenty two
we had the new wing regulations withthe arrow and didn't really seem to change
(10:35):
that much with Max winning because hewon the drivers in twenty twenty one.
But I think it will will probablyhave to wait a bit for a new
major leg change to occur for anythingto change, or there could just be
some uprise with another team. I'mnot quite sure. I don't think the
(10:58):
FI should intervene because I think itmakes the sport more natural and it would
be better if another team could comecome to the top in a more natural,
less saturated way. I would liketo agree with you, but I
feel like I feel like the twentytwenty six sort of minor regulation changes which
(11:18):
are going to be happening, they'vegot to make They've I feel like it
is sort of make or break forthe FIA, because this is the point
that I made a while ago,in a point back a few months ago.
You know, for example, they'retrying to corner the American market right
now, and the American market hasbeen continually exposed to sports where different people
(11:41):
win every year. So MLB,for example, you've had nine different teams
winning in the past eleven years.NBA it's something like eight in the past
ten, similar numbers with the NFL. I don't think that F one can
sort of sustain its captivaty, youknow, I don't think it can continue
to captivate the American audience without somelevel of I guess NW once at front.
(12:07):
And so although I would like tothink that it's out of the question
and that there can be a naturalrising of a team, I feel like
either everyone's going to make that sacrificeor they're going to make a significant change.
But you read that Adrian Newie book, So we've got some regulations coming
within the next sort of half decade, there's going to be a major regulations
(12:30):
change. From what you've read.How dynamic is he as an engineer,
Well, I think Asian Nu definitelyhas the experience. He's been in the
field for thirty years now, andI think when he gets it right,
as you can see, it reallypays off. After looking at some of
(12:54):
the sketches he's done and reading abouthow he's done, how he's done,
what he's don I think it allcomes down to just how well the team
can put put the car together aswell, because you can think of an
idea, but you definitely need theparts and the team to put it together.
(13:16):
And I think that's what Christian Hornerhas done. He's got the team
together and built a car around Max, especially in the last in the last
five years with Red Bull, Ithink the car has definitely built been built
around Max being the first driver,and after hearing the opinions of previous Rebel
drivers with the likes of Alex Albornand Pierre Gasi, I think it's definitely
(13:39):
been tuned and been worked on forthem for numerous years. I think that's
where the perfections come with come fromthe number of the number of years has
been in progress for I think that'swhere the great success has come come from
in the Red Bull team. You'retalking about Christie and Horner there, I
think he is one of the cornerstonesof the franchise. He has been with
(14:05):
Red Bull from the jump. Essentially, we have this very difficult situation in
Formula one at the moment where wehave one of the most high profile non
members of the paddock who's not adriver, currently in the middle of this
extremely tense and divisive investigation into hischaracter. What is it like a team
(14:33):
to have that This is a teamwho's dominated for the past three seasons.
How difficult is it to sort ofremember do you think that you're in this
position despite having this hanging over yourhead. I'm not really sure how to
answer that question, but I thinka team a team is definitely something where
(15:01):
enough one, at least the Fone teams have to have every sector very
strong and there can't be a singleliability. I think when looking at past
successes, every aspect of the teamhas been has been at its game at
the top, and I think that'srequired to be the best because of how
(15:24):
competitive it is. And I thinkone one sort of sector or item in
the team, if that is notworking at its full capacity, then it
could the consequence could be the failureor the downfall of the team as whole.
(15:45):
There's a load of moving cogs andthey've all got to work together.
I agree exactly. But moving backto the testing aspect of things, obviously
Rebel clearly ahead, but Ferrari respondedquite quick at least signs eclipsing Max's time
in the n by over two seconds. So could the Scuderia sort of pose
(16:07):
the most threat to Rebel and whereabouts? Do you think they're going to be
in the sort of upper midfield pack? Yeah, I mean Ferrari have this
is their second year with Fred vessilas there as a team principal. I
think it might have taken a bitof time for them to get used to
the new environment, especially coming fromAlfa Romeo. I think this year could
(16:33):
be a competitive year for them,and I think under new management they should
have some some confidence going into thisseason. They definitely have the driver lineup.
However, there's pressure on fred Vistiato manage his drivers because Carla fines
this is his last year with Ferrariand having to go through the whole season
(16:57):
knowing you're not going to be racingwith the Scolia and the next is a
pretty difficult thing. And I thinkthere has to be some sort of composure
maintained this for this season for varito have some sort of success. I
think drivers with the commitment of thelikes of Science and the likes of Hamilton.
(17:18):
I think that rather than sort of, you know, maybe a more
inexperienced or a driver or a driverwith less passion for the sport would look
at this situation and think, listen, I'm in my last season. Nothing
that happens, you know, nothingthat I do matters, and then they
take their foot off the gas.But I really think that for people like
(17:41):
Hamilton and for people like Science,this is going to be the opportunity to
put their foot down now because theyhave a year to show. Any prospective
teams look at what I you know, I'm in the situation where I'm not
even going to be driving with thisteam next year, and look what I'm
achieving. I think it's the sortof mindset thing. And I think Science
in Hamilton, if I had anypredictions for this year, I think they're
(18:03):
going to do standing well. NotStandley well, but I think they're going
to do very well, certainly comparedto maybe where their form was last year.
They're just going to have this isa reality check for them. You
know, they're moving, they're movingon to new things they want to go
out with, you know, ingood form. So, like I think
about Valtari Botas when it was announcedthat he would be replaced by Russell,
(18:25):
he really upped his game for thesecond half of that was at the twenty
twenty one, so he really gameto that point. And I think,
you know, now these two drivershave a whole year to make the most
of their final season with their teams. But you know, Science is an
interesting one. He's only had,you know, a couple of seasons to
(18:45):
really bed himself in at Ferrari Andso where do you think he's Where do
you think he's going to move tonext? And how do you think he's
going to cope with this sort ofnew pressure of having to perform. Yeah,
I mean I agree with what yousay about Signs being a committed driver,
and I don't I don't necessarily thinkit will affect his performance. I
(19:06):
think it would give him motivation towork harder and racist as hard to prove
to other teams that he would thathe's the right match for them. About
where he's going to go, Ithink I'm not sure where because of his
relationships with them, With all ofthe other teams, I think I doubt
(19:29):
he could go back to McLaren seeingas they have such a strong lineup at
the moment with Oscopyastrian, London,Norris. But I think the cards will
change in twenty twenty six when Audicome in, and I think that will
be a significant time. But andI think by then Carlos should still be
(19:52):
in his sort of prime prime moments, prime era, and I think maybe
that would be a good play forhim. You've got for the short term,
I'm not quite sure. You've gottwelve I think twelve thirteen drivers out
of contract at the end of theseason sight to be at the top of
everybody's lips to something. Yeah,that's that's true as well. I think,
(20:14):
yeah, he would be going.He would definitely be going to another
top field, top team or midfieldteam. He wouldn't go back, he
wouldn't go to a back market team. I don't think I think the I'm
not sure where he'd go, ActuallyI haven't. That's what I was thinking.
Think red Bull Region reads he hashe has had a relationship with the
(20:38):
red Bull family in the past.It could be it could be them because
Alpine is looking you know, Ithought, you know, I thought McLaren
fixed Ferrari, obviously fixed Mercedes,maybe red Bull sort of that's a difficult
one. Alpine looking like a sinkingship at the moment actually on Alpine.
(21:02):
So they I think they're really disappointedin this test. You know, they
were saying they had this whole plan, what was it massin Bodkowski a couple
of years ago. You know,in one hundred and fifty races will be
up there. You know. What'shappened to that mentality? Yeah, I
mean going into the twenty twenty threeseason, Alpine was looking really strong.
(21:22):
They both had Ocon and Ghastly,which seemed like a very strong driver lineup,
but it didn't really seem that strongwhen it came to the when it
came to results. I think itwas a pretty disappointing season, and it
doesn't seem like the team has takenmuch away from it going into this testing.
(21:44):
Perhaps they could be soundbagging and theycould show some really good results,
or they're still just still just takesa long time for them to get that
research and development in getting those newparts and finding something which is worthwhile in
their design and just then they're teamin general. I was actually watching Drive
Survive the new season and I sawa clip from Claire Williams and she said
(22:07):
that it doesn't it's impossible to changea team around within a season. It
takes time. And I completely agreewith her, seeing as she is a
previous team principal herself of Williams,and she's speaking from experience. It might
just take a bit of time forHelping to get back on their feet,
but everyone else is sort of goingup while they're sort of staying still.
(22:33):
I think the real struggle that I'vehad with helping over the path for years,
that I don't actually think gets enoughattention, was the fact that the
leadership difficulties have been huge. Soyou had Fred Vesser, and then you
had Serrial Obatable, and then youhad I think there was a guy in
between. Was his name, Ican't remember, but then there was more
(22:55):
of Berkowski and now, jeez,yeah, I forgot about that. You've
had, so you've had this revolvingdoor of alpine leadership. Alan Prost as
well leaving as advisor a couple ofyears ago. Like, I feel like
that is one of the most oneof the most devastating aspects because you're having
(23:18):
these new team principles coming in sayingwe're gonna make this change, We're gonna
make that change, and then youknow, twelve months later they're at the
door, and I think that canreally hurt team. But you were talking
about samdbagging earlier. Do you thinkthat McClaren are soundbanging because they were keeping
their you know, they're being allsecretive about their launch, keeping everything under
(23:41):
wraps, and then they came intoBahrain and in terms of the expectation,
I think they were slightly below standards, but in terms of McLaren testing,
they did pretty well. So wheredo you think McLaren are at because I'm
having a difficult time sort of understandingwhere they are in terms of the field
right now. Well, I mean, if you're looking from the second half
(24:06):
of the twenty twenty three season,McClaren really stepped it up, and I
think if they continue that momentum intothe twenty twenty four season, I think
they have a fighting chance. Thelast two seasons with McLaren, the start
hasn't been too strong. I thinkthe last season that was pretty strong was
the twenty twenty one season, andI think it's very it's not very consistent.
(24:27):
That's the only issue I have withMcLaren. But I do have confidence
in them that they will pick thingsup quite early at the beginning of the
season if it doesn't go so well. But I'm not necessarily saying they're sandbagging.
I think they've just got a lotmore to show, which hopefully will
come quickly in the early stages ofthe twenty twenty four season. I think
(24:49):
my consume with McLaren is rather thantheir car performance, which I think is
actually looking pretty I think is goingto be I think they're car's going to
be pretty solid this season. Ithink think there's a real rift in attitude.
So you've got Lando Norris, who'smeant to be this established driver,
this mature driver who's been in theyou know, who's been in F one
(25:11):
for years. But last season justin terms of the way they were talking
to the media, in terms ofthe way they were talking to the team,
in terms of the way that youknow, so Norris was always he
always seems very spiteful, and healways seems like, you know, like
he's trying to make a point thathe's you know, frustrated, and I
(25:32):
feel like, you know, you'veyou've got two drivers who are sort of
acting the opposite way around, youknow, I feel like Piastre is meant
to be acting in the way thatNorris is right now. Do you think
that Norris is mature enough to leada team? I mean it's a difficult
question because Landon Norris is still veryyoung and although he's seen as the more
(25:52):
experienced driver, which he is,it's there's still a lot to learn.
I think how I think he needsto be in that high precious situation of
being in the contention for winning orpodiums. I think that's what makes him
break the driver. I think whatyou were saying about the media, I
(26:15):
think that is very much on itas a as a character thing. I
think it's very it's that's just partof Landon Norris's character. Really. I
think he's very hard on himself andhe does do the work behind the cameras.
You can see that for his recentresults. I think Oscar Piastri,
(26:37):
on the other hand, I thinkhe's a he's a good example. He's
just gotten straight into the team andgot on with the job. And I
don't think London Norris is whatever hesays on on camera, I don't think
that's a hindrance to the team's performance. I think that's just him being really
hard on himself and he just wantsto improve the team. Worried me about
(27:00):
Lando and what made me, youknow, because I always sort of considered
Lando as you know, I thoughthe was a nice kid, right,
but you know the other year twentytwenty two when sort of Ricardo was on
the out, I think the waythat Norris deal with that situation where he
(27:22):
was sort of talking to media quiteconsistently bemoaning Daniel's results, really disappointed me.
And I feel like if Oscar's giventhe preference this season, because you
know, he's he's got a racewin. Obviously not a real race win,
but he's got a race win,and you know, as a rookie
he had an absolute stellar performance,I feel like it's gonna really push Norris
(27:45):
to his breaking point and he's goingto you know, he might say something
that he doesn't mean, and thatcould have some knock on consequences for the
image of the team, for thevibe of the team. And although it's
right to say what happened is ontrack is the most important part. I
think that there's certainly, you know, some effects of that. You know,
we've seen it countless times with youknow, the way people talk to
(28:07):
the media and the way people,you know, the way people like you
know, just Vettel and Webber conductthemselves on track. That really has an
effect on how the team. Youknow, it can have an effect on
how the team performs if they're constantlygetting into tussles you know, check check
O and Okwon for example, aswell with that, and it can have
an effect on the sort of generalattitude of the team if they're constantly at
(28:30):
odds with each other. But speakingof drivers who seem to never be at
odds with each other. Album andSergeant with the Williams, Now, the
Williams last season look really strong,but I feel like this season, you
know, just three days of testing, you can't make many assumptions, but
it looks like they've taken a littlebit of a step back. And you
(28:53):
know, Alex, I think isclearly F one caliber, but Sergeant has
just not been on his level.He's already made a mistake this season spinning
on day one. Do you thinkthat he'll last the whole of the twenty
twenty four season. I think thetwenty twenty three season for Sergeant wasn't strong
(29:14):
compared to Alex I think he didn't. I didn't. He scored a couple
points, and I think that isn'ta lot compared to his teammate. And
if you're comparing it to the team'shistory with George Russell in twenty nineteen,
his rookie season, he didn't scorea point, but they still had faith
within him moving to Mercedes. ButI think now with the twenty twenty three
(29:38):
season, what's different is that theother car was able to score some points,
and I think that puts a lotmore pressure on Logan Sargent this year
compared to when compared to how itdid for George Russell in the twenty twenty
season as his second season in Fone. So I think in twenty nineteen
and twenty twenty you had these undrivableWilliams cars. Yeah, exactly, that's
(30:03):
what my point is going to savetheir life, but album instantly score points.
He's exactly kindly propelled Williams. TheyWilliams, right, I think.
So yeah, Now that's tens ofmillions of dollars going Williams's way that wouldn't
have otherwise. Where do you havealbum? Yeah? Yeah, why do
(30:26):
you think they've made this sort ofslight maybe you know regression. I think
I think it all comes down toI think Album is doing a good job
of leading the team. I thinkit's a very Williams seems like a driver,
a driver led team, but youdon't really see much involved with their
(30:51):
team heads compared to Total Wolf orChristian Horner. And I think Alex Alban
is doing a very good job ofleading the team in terms of scoring points.
Obviously, I think it might betime for some other teams to might
pick up on his talents. Ithink that's what he deserves, seeing as
(31:15):
you know, he's putting in thehard work and getting the results in for
a back market team. So Ithink it might. And also it's just
putting a lot more pressure on LoganSergent for the twenty twenty four season.
So I think Williams they're in amixed position at the moment, but I
think I'm sure they'll get through itthis year. Yeah, I agree.
(31:36):
I think Williams, you know,with Album, with the leadership of our
Album can certainly go into score afew more points, maybe not on the
same level as last season, wherehe was sort of, you know,
you felt like every other week hewas, you know, wanging in the
points. But I think consistency iskey with al one and he did a
great job last year, But consistencyhas really been key in the test for
(31:59):
the new Hast team principal Io Commercu. You know, good To Steiner,
you know, for all that welove him, he was a meme.
You know, he was a walkingmeme. And this attitude change, I
think is, you know, it'slong overdue. What do you think that
this shift in management will mean forHats this season. Well, I don't
(32:25):
particularly know much about the new teamprincipal, and I think good to Steiner,
I think he was he was doinga lot himself, and I think
he didn't really have enough faith inhis team. That's the impression I was
getting from Drive to Fine. Actually, it feels like good To Steiner wants
(32:46):
to do a lot himself and hecan't really accept his own responsibility as well.
I think that's that's a big liabilityin the team. But I think
it's best to keep an open mindof the twenty twenty four season with has
they have had some ups which arerelative to their own own history. But
(33:07):
I think maybe this new management wouldbe a good idea for the team.
I think it could bring some newnew prospects, but we don't know yet.
I agree, I think they're consistently. Just their consistency. This testing
was really important. They banged inthe laps, you know, they got
the long race, they got exactlyrace trim and they you know, I
(33:29):
think that's a clear attitude shift immediately. So it's come down to this,
who is winning the twenty twenty fourFormula World World Championship and hit me with
it? Oh, constructors and drugs, I'm going to say, I'm going
(33:52):
to say Max and Red Bull again. I think this year I don't see
enough change for there to be tobe a strong tides of fight. I
think the most will get is somethingclose to the twenty twenty two season with
Charles and Max, But we don'tknow. Yeah, I think it's not
(34:14):
going to be as dominant as lastyear. I don't think Max will equal
or break any of the rest thatyou know, he said that two years
ago. You know, we saidat the end of the twenty twenty two
season, you know twenty twenty threeis going to be close up, but
it wasn't. It was. That'strue. Yeah, so I feel like
I don't know. I feel likeI should never again doubt maxis Stappen because
(34:37):
I think he's just, you know, people aren't talking about this enough.
He's going to be a four timeworld champion this season if he pulls out
of the bag, which I havein all my face I believe you will.
That is just it's just ridiculous.Four years you know said Vettel did
(34:57):
it, But I honestly see Max. I can see him going for six
like it's just we've never seen itin Formula one before. It's really it
is astounding. It's astounding what RedBull are doing. And I think they're
I think they're here for the long, long run. Unfortunately, unfortunately for
your McLaren and my Ferrari, mydear Charlotte Clair, who I don't think
will be making a single impact onMax's performance this season behave We can only
(35:22):
hope. So amesh. That's awrap. Great to have you on the
podcast and hopefully you'll be back withus soon. Tune in next week for
my review of the first week ofthe twenty twenty four F one season the
bar Rain GP. I'm excited forit. Come out
Hello, and welcome back to Fone. Isn't Real? I am your
host, Ben Wevell, and afterthree days of testing, all I'm left
with is a list of questions anda fluorescent green livery induced gambling addiction.
I'm joined today by physics Officionado McClaren, Diehard, computer Shop employee of the
(00:34):
Month, and a man who spenthis life savings on I racing, my
friend Angish v One. How's itgoing, Hi, Ben, thank you
for having me on the show.I'm good, I'm good. How are
you doing. I'm doing very realwell. Thank you very much better.
Considering the fact that we're going tobe getting into an F one season this
Thursday, Actually, what do youthink about these Saturday races? I think
(00:58):
it's I think it's a good opportunityfor F one change it up a little
bit. As much as it's goodto keep traditions going with a traditional race
on Sunday, I think it's quitenice to have a bit of difference.
You know how we had a sprintraces introduced in twenty twenty one. Now
we're getting races on Saturday, andI think it's time for a change.
(01:21):
Yeah, speaking of things that maybe good or bad for F one's image.
Have you watched any of the newDrive to Survive season? I have,
Actually, I've watched a couple ofthe episodes of drives Vive. Obviously
started with the episode about Landon Norris, my favorite driver. I think I
watched it because I'd like to seea different perspective of Formula one. I
(01:44):
came into F one not having watchedDTS. It hadn't actually come up before
I'd start watching it, and Ithink it's a very different take of the
sport Netflix. They sort of takedifferent viewpoints and create some interesting interesting things
(02:06):
about F one, which some peoplesee and some people don't. But is
everyone's opinion about what they think thatI think. I prefer to get all
the details for myself by watching theracers live and hearing the radios lives as
well. I personally agree I thinkDrivers Survive. I think it's a useful
tool, but I think at theend of the year it gives a skewed
(02:29):
and dramatized idea of what Formula oneis, and to be honest, nowadays
with Max so dominant at the front, I think would sort of nullify the
impact to Drive to Survive because it'ssort of like all focusing on the midfield
to battle battle. But speaking ofMax, let's get down to business.
(02:50):
Testing has come and gone. Weread people absolutely tearing up the field on
the first day. We saw theirpartner team Racing Balls looking strong, and
we saw kick Steak. I don'tknow what the fuck their name is,
but on the predictable glory run onthe final day, which team's performance did
(03:10):
you think was most representative of thatsame team's true pace this season. I
think it's hard to say, becausetesting it's always it's always going to be
something different that happens in the season. When Mercedes were dominating, they weren't
consistent. They were they weren't alwaysdominating the preseason testing, and they won
(03:32):
what was the eight championships. SoI think as much as it's very probable
that Red Bull be dominating this season, I think there are a few other
other teams out there which can becompeting this year with the likes of Ferrari,
Mercedes McLaren. For example, lastyear we didn't expect Aston Martin to
be so strong at the beginning ofthe season. Maybe another team this year
(03:53):
could take that spot. But thewhole what I saw from the assen and
phenomenon at the start of the seasonwas you went into testing thinking they weren't
going to do well, you cameout of testing thinking that they were going
to be a contender. So Ifeel like if we're looking at just last
year as a sample size, thenyou know, testing could be maybe in
(04:15):
this new generation of Formula one,could be a decent indicator of where people
are at. But yeah, toan extent, I agree with you.
You've got to account for the factthat certain teams might be sandbagging. For
example, you know, red Bullthemselves, even though they were going,
you know, absolutely crazy with someof their runs, both on race pace
and on quality pace, they werereally I think it seemed to individuals that
(04:42):
were there that they were sandbanging significantly. As well. They were adding lots,
you know, very varying fuel loads, and so I think Red Bull
probably may be one of the mostunpredictable teams going into this season. And
that's not where are they that's howfar are they ahead of every everybody else?
But speaking of red Bull, theywent in a really different direction this
(05:05):
season with the car looking a littlebit like last year's Mercedes, but as
I say they were extremely quick ontrack with that day one lap that just
put him one point put Max onepoint one seconds ahead of the field,
despite the fact that he completed themost laps on that day as well with
one hundred and forty three. Andyou know, people have been throwing around
(05:28):
all of these different sort of numbersabout where the RB twenty is compared to
the rest. A couple of simswere saying five tenths, the race predicted
four tenths Helmut Marco with a predictablysort of conservative three tenths gap. So
whereabouts do you think Red Bull willbe compared to the rest of the field,
and also why do you think theysidestepped with their design this year?
(05:54):
Well, I think Redbel will definitelybe dominating in the earlier stages of the
season. I think last year theydefinitely got there. They play their cards
right with their penalty with the windtunnel. I think they just they just
made a really good design. Ithink this year they might be they may
have found something which no one elsehas, which is allowing their car to
(06:15):
be stronger compared to other cars.Also, I think with their own Red
Bull Powertrains engine, I think thatreally suits the style of car that Adrian
new Is designed. I've read I'veread his book How to Build a Car,
and it really seems like the caritself has to work with each other,
(06:38):
so the engine has to work withthe rest of the aerodynamics, the
gearbox and the shapes of everything.I think Red Bull definitely found something which
every part of the car completely workstogether like a team, and I think
they might they might have something whichno other team does at this point in
(06:58):
the season, and I think itmight take a bit of time for some
other teams to catch up on that. We saw that with McLaren last year
around the summertime they exponentially increased theirpoints with consecutive podiums. And I think
it's all to play for this yearreally because we're a couple of seasons in
(07:19):
to the new regulations. So Ithink as long as it already depends on
who can find what the fastest,I really agree with you. I think
Red Bull have found an advantage andthey've they've got into a vein of form
that I don't think has been seenpreviously in F one because even if we're
(07:42):
looking back to the sort of dominantages of old like you know, Michael
Schumacher in the sort of early twothousands with his phenomenal run with the Ferrari
team and obviously the Mercedes run ofthe mid twenty tens, those teams were
being at least consistently challenged by obviouslyfor example, of looking at like Hamilton
(08:03):
twenty twenty, that was just youknow, he was unmatched. But there
were points in that reign in whichyou know, you saw chinks in the
armor. So like Ferrari with sebVettel was you know, had he not
made the mistakes that he did,could have posed a real threat to Lewis.
And obviously with Michael Schumacher, hewas battling out against the McLaren's Kimmy
(08:24):
Reichenan. Obviously even he was battlingwith mka Hackenen and mcackennan went out in
that case in the late nineties andearly noughties. But with Rebell, what
we're seeing is domination to a differentextent, to a different level than we've
ever seen before. They've won innumerableraces over the past seasons, and they
(08:46):
just the fact that they look tobe continuing their momentum is what's really frightening
and do you think that the FIAare going to step in us? Do
you think there's a point at whichthe FIA is going to look at this
and say, this is damaging ourbrand. You know, we have to
make a change really quickly otherwise aswe get out of control and it will
be a red Bull controlled And evenwith like the racing balls just looking so
(09:07):
strong and testing like Rebell, they'rereally taking over f one. Do you
think there's going to be some kindof intervention. Well, I think there's
two different questions here, whether theycan do something and whether they should do
something. I think the last seasona lot of people might have found sort
(09:28):
of boring because of Maxi's winning allthe time. And I think it will
take a bit of time if forthe FIA to be able to do something,
because they can't do a direct interventionwithoutout losing out or without putting a
bad name on them. They haveto do it in a way which is
(09:48):
so indirect it doesn't put at themat a disadvantage if you get omean.
So I think that the only wayI could think of which would be able
to do that is a new regulationwhich would which only gives an opportunity for
Red Bull to make a mistake becausethey could still get right in the next
time. We saw this in twentyfourteen with the turbo hybrid era. You
(10:13):
said said Bettel was winning all theraces in twenty thirteen, and then the
hybrid engines came along in twenty fourteenand it looked like Mercedes and Hamilton they
just mastered it, which is brilliantfor them. And in twenty twenty two
we had the new wing regulations withthe arrow and didn't really seem to change
(10:35):
that much with Max winning because hewon the drivers in twenty twenty one.
But I think it will will probablyhave to wait a bit for a new
major leg change to occur for anythingto change, or there could just be
some uprise with another team. I'mnot quite sure. I don't think the
(10:58):
FI should intervene because I think itmakes the sport more natural and it would
be better if another team could comecome to the top in a more natural,
less saturated way. I would liketo agree with you, but I
feel like I feel like the twentytwenty six sort of minor regulation changes which
(11:18):
are going to be happening, they'vegot to make They've I feel like it
is sort of make or break forthe FIA, because this is the point
that I made a while ago,in a point back a few months ago.
You know, for example, they'retrying to corner the American market right
now, and the American market hasbeen continually exposed to sports where different people
(11:41):
win every year. So MLB,for example, you've had nine different teams
winning in the past eleven years.NBA it's something like eight in the past
ten, similar numbers with the NFL. I don't think that F one can
sort of sustain its captivaty, youknow, I don't think it can continue
to captivate the American audience without somelevel of I guess NW once at front.
(12:07):
And so although I would like tothink that it's out of the question
and that there can be a naturalrising of a team, I feel like
either everyone's going to make that sacrificeor they're going to make a significant change.
But you read that Adrian Newie book, So we've got some regulations coming
within the next sort of half decade, there's going to be a major regulations
(12:30):
change. From what you've read.How dynamic is he as an engineer,
Well, I think Asian Nu definitelyhas the experience. He's been in the
field for thirty years now, andI think when he gets it right,
as you can see, it reallypays off. After looking at some of
(12:54):
the sketches he's done and reading abouthow he's done, how he's done,
what he's don I think it allcomes down to just how well the team
can put put the car together aswell, because you can think of an
idea, but you definitely need theparts and the team to put it together.
(13:16):
And I think that's what Christian Hornerhas done. He's got the team
together and built a car around Max, especially in the last in the last
five years with Red Bull, Ithink the car has definitely built been built
around Max being the first driver,and after hearing the opinions of previous Rebel
drivers with the likes of Alex Albornand Pierre Gasi, I think it's definitely
(13:39):
been tuned and been worked on forthem for numerous years. I think that's
where the perfections come with come fromthe number of the number of years has
been in progress for I think that'swhere the great success has come come from
in the Red Bull team. You'retalking about Christie and Horner there, I
think he is one of the cornerstonesof the franchise. He has been with
(14:05):
Red Bull from the jump. Essentially, we have this very difficult situation in
Formula one at the moment where wehave one of the most high profile non
members of the paddock who's not adriver, currently in the middle of this
extremely tense and divisive investigation into hischaracter. What is it like a team
(14:33):
to have that This is a teamwho's dominated for the past three seasons.
How difficult is it to sort ofremember do you think that you're in this
position despite having this hanging over yourhead. I'm not really sure how to
answer that question, but I thinka team a team is definitely something where
(15:01):
enough one, at least the Fone teams have to have every sector very
strong and there can't be a singleliability. I think when looking at past
successes, every aspect of the teamhas been has been at its game at
the top, and I think that'srequired to be the best because of how
(15:24):
competitive it is. And I thinkone one sort of sector or item in
the team, if that is notworking at its full capacity, then it
could the consequence could be the failureor the downfall of the team as whole.
(15:45):
There's a load of moving cogs andthey've all got to work together.
I agree exactly. But moving backto the testing aspect of things, obviously
Rebel clearly ahead, but Ferrari respondedquite quick at least signs eclipsing Max's time
in the n by over two seconds. So could the Scuderia sort of pose
(16:07):
the most threat to Rebel and whereabouts? Do you think they're going to be
in the sort of upper midfield pack? Yeah, I mean Ferrari have this
is their second year with Fred vessilas there as a team principal. I
think it might have taken a bitof time for them to get used to
the new environment, especially coming fromAlfa Romeo. I think this year could
(16:33):
be a competitive year for them,and I think under new management they should
have some some confidence going into thisseason. They definitely have the driver lineup.
However, there's pressure on fred Vistiato manage his drivers because Carla fines
this is his last year with Ferrariand having to go through the whole season
(16:57):
knowing you're not going to be racingwith the Scolia and the next is a
pretty difficult thing. And I thinkthere has to be some sort of composure
maintained this for this season for varito have some sort of success. I
think drivers with the commitment of thelikes of Science and the likes of Hamilton.
(17:18):
I think that rather than sort of, you know, maybe a more
inexperienced or a driver or a driverwith less passion for the sport would look
at this situation and think, listen, I'm in my last season. Nothing
that happens, you know, nothingthat I do matters, and then they
take their foot off the gas.But I really think that for people like
(17:41):
Hamilton and for people like Science,this is going to be the opportunity to
put their foot down now because theyhave a year to show. Any prospective
teams look at what I you know, I'm in the situation where I'm not
even going to be driving with thisteam next year, and look what I'm
achieving. I think it's the sortof mindset thing. And I think Science
in Hamilton, if I had anypredictions for this year, I think they're
(18:03):
going to do standing well. NotStandley well, but I think they're going
to do very well, certainly comparedto maybe where their form was last year.
They're just going to have this isa reality check for them. You
know, they're moving, they're movingon to new things they want to go
out with, you know, ingood form. So, like I think
about Valtari Botas when it was announcedthat he would be replaced by Russell,
(18:25):
he really upped his game for thesecond half of that was at the twenty
twenty one, so he really gameto that point. And I think,
you know, now these two drivershave a whole year to make the most
of their final season with their teams. But you know, Science is an
interesting one. He's only had,you know, a couple of seasons to
(18:45):
really bed himself in at Ferrari Andso where do you think he's Where do
you think he's going to move tonext? And how do you think he's
going to cope with this sort ofnew pressure of having to perform. Yeah,
I mean I agree with what yousay about Signs being a committed driver,
and I don't I don't necessarily thinkit will affect his performance. I
(19:06):
think it would give him motivation towork harder and racist as hard to prove
to other teams that he would thathe's the right match for them. About
where he's going to go, Ithink I'm not sure where because of his
relationships with them, With all ofthe other teams, I think I doubt
(19:29):
he could go back to McLaren seeingas they have such a strong lineup at
the moment with Oscopyastrian, London,Norris. But I think the cards will
change in twenty twenty six when Audicome in, and I think that will
be a significant time. But andI think by then Carlos should still be
(19:52):
in his sort of prime prime moments, prime era, and I think maybe
that would be a good play forhim. You've got for the short term,
I'm not quite sure. You've gottwelve I think twelve thirteen drivers out
of contract at the end of theseason sight to be at the top of
everybody's lips to something. Yeah,that's that's true as well. I think,
(20:14):
yeah, he would be going.He would definitely be going to another
top field, top team or midfieldteam. He wouldn't go back, he
wouldn't go to a back market team. I don't think I think the I'm
not sure where he'd go, ActuallyI haven't. That's what I was thinking.
Think red Bull Region reads he hashe has had a relationship with the
(20:38):
red Bull family in the past.It could be it could be them because
Alpine is looking you know, Ithought, you know, I thought McLaren
fixed Ferrari, obviously fixed Mercedes,maybe red Bull sort of that's a difficult
one. Alpine looking like a sinkingship at the moment actually on Alpine.
(21:02):
So they I think they're really disappointedin this test. You know, they
were saying they had this whole plan, what was it massin Bodkowski a couple
of years ago. You know,in one hundred and fifty races will be
up there. You know. What'shappened to that mentality? Yeah, I
mean going into the twenty twenty threeseason, Alpine was looking really strong.
(21:22):
They both had Ocon and Ghastly,which seemed like a very strong driver lineup,
but it didn't really seem that strongwhen it came to the when it
came to results. I think itwas a pretty disappointing season, and it
doesn't seem like the team has takenmuch away from it going into this testing.
(21:44):
Perhaps they could be soundbagging and theycould show some really good results,
or they're still just still just takesa long time for them to get that
research and development in getting those newparts and finding something which is worthwhile in
their design and just then they're teamin general. I was actually watching Drive
Survive the new season and I sawa clip from Claire Williams and she said
(22:07):
that it doesn't it's impossible to changea team around within a season. It
takes time. And I completely agreewith her, seeing as she is a
previous team principal herself of Williams,and she's speaking from experience. It might
just take a bit of time forHelping to get back on their feet,
but everyone else is sort of goingup while they're sort of staying still.
(22:33):
I think the real struggle that I'vehad with helping over the path for years,
that I don't actually think gets enoughattention, was the fact that the
leadership difficulties have been huge. Soyou had Fred Vesser, and then you
had Serrial Obatable, and then youhad I think there was a guy in
between. Was his name, Ican't remember, but then there was more
(22:55):
of Berkowski and now, jeez,yeah, I forgot about that. You've
had, so you've had this revolvingdoor of alpine leadership. Alan Prost as
well leaving as advisor a couple ofyears ago. Like, I feel like
that is one of the most oneof the most devastating aspects because you're having
(23:18):
these new team principles coming in sayingwe're gonna make this change, We're gonna
make that change, and then youknow, twelve months later they're at the
door, and I think that canreally hurt team. But you were talking
about samdbagging earlier. Do you thinkthat McClaren are soundbanging because they were keeping
their you know, they're being allsecretive about their launch, keeping everything under
(23:41):
wraps, and then they came intoBahrain and in terms of the expectation,
I think they were slightly below standards, but in terms of McLaren testing,
they did pretty well. So wheredo you think McLaren are at because I'm
having a difficult time sort of understandingwhere they are in terms of the field
right now. Well, I mean, if you're looking from the second half
(24:06):
of the twenty twenty three season,McClaren really stepped it up, and I
think if they continue that momentum intothe twenty twenty four season, I think
they have a fighting chance. Thelast two seasons with McLaren, the start
hasn't been too strong. I thinkthe last season that was pretty strong was
the twenty twenty one season, andI think it's very it's not very consistent.
(24:27):
That's the only issue I have withMcLaren. But I do have confidence
in them that they will pick thingsup quite early at the beginning of the
season if it doesn't go so well. But I'm not necessarily saying they're sandbagging.
I think they've just got a lotmore to show, which hopefully will
come quickly in the early stages ofthe twenty twenty four season. I think
(24:49):
my consume with McLaren is rather thantheir car performance, which I think is
actually looking pretty I think is goingto be I think they're car's going to
be pretty solid this season. Ithink think there's a real rift in attitude.
So you've got Lando Norris, who'smeant to be this established driver,
this mature driver who's been in theyou know, who's been in F one
(25:11):
for years. But last season justin terms of the way they were talking
to the media, in terms ofthe way they were talking to the team,
in terms of the way that youknow, so Norris was always he
always seems very spiteful, and healways seems like, you know, like
he's trying to make a point thathe's you know, frustrated, and I
(25:32):
feel like, you know, you'veyou've got two drivers who are sort of
acting the opposite way around, youknow, I feel like Piastre is meant
to be acting in the way thatNorris is right now. Do you think
that Norris is mature enough to leada team? I mean it's a difficult
question because Landon Norris is still veryyoung and although he's seen as the more
(25:52):
experienced driver, which he is,it's there's still a lot to learn.
I think how I think he needsto be in that high precious situation of
being in the contention for winning orpodiums. I think that's what makes him
break the driver. I think whatyou were saying about the media, I
(26:15):
think that is very much on itas a as a character thing. I
think it's very it's that's just partof Landon Norris's character. Really. I
think he's very hard on himself andhe does do the work behind the cameras.
You can see that for his recentresults. I think Oscar Piastri,
(26:37):
on the other hand, I thinkhe's a he's a good example. He's
just gotten straight into the team andgot on with the job. And I
don't think London Norris is whatever hesays on on camera, I don't think
that's a hindrance to the team's performance. I think that's just him being really
hard on himself and he just wantsto improve the team. Worried me about
(27:00):
Lando and what made me, youknow, because I always sort of considered
Lando as you know, I thoughthe was a nice kid, right,
but you know the other year twentytwenty two when sort of Ricardo was on
the out, I think the waythat Norris deal with that situation where he
(27:22):
was sort of talking to media quiteconsistently bemoaning Daniel's results, really disappointed me.
And I feel like if Oscar's giventhe preference this season, because you
know, he's he's got a racewin. Obviously not a real race win,
but he's got a race win,and you know, as a rookie
he had an absolute stellar performance,I feel like it's gonna really push Norris
(27:45):
to his breaking point and he's goingto you know, he might say something
that he doesn't mean, and thatcould have some knock on consequences for the
image of the team, for thevibe of the team. And although it's
right to say what happened is ontrack is the most important part. I
think that there's certainly, you know, some effects of that. You know,
we've seen it countless times with youknow, the way people talk to
(28:07):
the media and the way people,you know, the way people like you
know, just Vettel and Webber conductthemselves on track. That really has an
effect on how the team. Youknow, it can have an effect on
how the team performs if they're constantlygetting into tussles you know, check check
O and Okwon for example, aswell with that, and it can have
an effect on the sort of generalattitude of the team if they're constantly at
(28:30):
odds with each other. But speakingof drivers who seem to never be at
odds with each other. Album andSergeant with the Williams, Now, the
Williams last season look really strong,but I feel like this season, you
know, just three days of testing, you can't make many assumptions, but
it looks like they've taken a littlebit of a step back. And you
(28:53):
know, Alex, I think isclearly F one caliber, but Sergeant has
just not been on his level.He's already made a mistake this season spinning
on day one. Do you thinkthat he'll last the whole of the twenty
twenty four season. I think thetwenty twenty three season for Sergeant wasn't strong
(29:14):
compared to Alex I think he didn't. I didn't. He scored a couple
points, and I think that isn'ta lot compared to his teammate. And
if you're comparing it to the team'shistory with George Russell in twenty nineteen,
his rookie season, he didn't scorea point, but they still had faith
within him moving to Mercedes. ButI think now with the twenty twenty three
(29:38):
season, what's different is that theother car was able to score some points,
and I think that puts a lotmore pressure on Logan Sargent this year
compared to when compared to how itdid for George Russell in the twenty twenty
season as his second season in Fone. So I think in twenty nineteen
and twenty twenty you had these undrivableWilliams cars. Yeah, exactly, that's
(30:03):
what my point is going to savetheir life, but album instantly score points.
He's exactly kindly propelled Williams. TheyWilliams, right, I think.
So yeah, Now that's tens ofmillions of dollars going Williams's way that wouldn't
have otherwise. Where do you havealbum? Yeah? Yeah, why do
(30:26):
you think they've made this sort ofslight maybe you know regression. I think
I think it all comes down toI think Album is doing a good job
of leading the team. I thinkit's a very Williams seems like a driver,
a driver led team, but youdon't really see much involved with their
(30:51):
team heads compared to Total Wolf orChristian Horner. And I think Alex Alban
is doing a very good job ofleading the team in terms of scoring points.
Obviously, I think it might betime for some other teams to might
pick up on his talents. Ithink that's what he deserves, seeing as
(31:15):
you know, he's putting in thehard work and getting the results in for
a back market team. So Ithink it might. And also it's just
putting a lot more pressure on LoganSergent for the twenty twenty four season.
So I think Williams they're in amixed position at the moment, but I
think I'm sure they'll get through itthis year. Yeah, I agree.
(31:36):
I think Williams, you know,with Album, with the leadership of our
Album can certainly go into score afew more points, maybe not on the
same level as last season, wherehe was sort of, you know,
you felt like every other week hewas, you know, wanging in the
points. But I think consistency iskey with al one and he did a
great job last year, But consistencyhas really been key in the test for
(31:59):
the new Hast team principal Io Commercu. You know, good To Steiner,
you know, for all that welove him, he was a meme.
You know, he was a walkingmeme. And this attitude change, I
think is, you know, it'slong overdue. What do you think that
this shift in management will mean forHats this season. Well, I don't
(32:25):
particularly know much about the new teamprincipal, and I think good to Steiner,
I think he was he was doinga lot himself, and I think
he didn't really have enough faith inhis team. That's the impression I was
getting from Drive to Fine. Actually, it feels like good To Steiner wants
(32:46):
to do a lot himself and hecan't really accept his own responsibility as well.
I think that's that's a big liabilityin the team. But I think
it's best to keep an open mindof the twenty twenty four season with has
they have had some ups which arerelative to their own own history. But
(33:07):
I think maybe this new management wouldbe a good idea for the team.
I think it could bring some newnew prospects, but we don't know yet.
I agree, I think they're consistently. Just their consistency. This testing
was really important. They banged inthe laps, you know, they got
the long race, they got exactlyrace trim and they you know, I
(33:29):
think that's a clear attitude shift immediately. So it's come down to this,
who is winning the twenty twenty fourFormula World World Championship and hit me with
it? Oh, constructors and drugs, I'm going to say, I'm going
(33:52):
to say Max and Red Bull again. I think this year I don't see
enough change for there to be tobe a strong tides of fight. I
think the most will get is somethingclose to the twenty twenty two season with
Charles and Max, But we don'tknow. Yeah, I think it's not
(34:14):
going to be as dominant as lastyear. I don't think Max will equal
or break any of the rest thatyou know, he said that two years
ago. You know, we saidat the end of the twenty twenty two
season, you know twenty twenty threeis going to be close up, but
it wasn't. It was. That'strue. Yeah, so I feel like
I don't know. I feel likeI should never again doubt maxis Stappen because
(34:37):
I think he's just, you know, people aren't talking about this enough.
He's going to be a four timeworld champion this season if he pulls out
of the bag, which I havein all my face I believe you will.
That is just it's just ridiculous.Four years you know said Vettel did
(34:57):
it, But I honestly see Max. I can see him going for six
like it's just we've never seen itin Formula one before. It's really it
is astounding. It's astounding what RedBull are doing. And I think they're
I think they're here for the long, long run. Unfortunately, unfortunately for
your McLaren and my Ferrari, mydear Charlotte Clair, who I don't think
will be making a single impact onMax's performance this season behave We can only
(35:22):
hope. So amesh. That's awrap. Great to have you on the
podcast and hopefully you'll be back withus soon. Tune in next week for
my review of the first week ofthe twenty twenty four F one season the
bar Rain GP. I'm excited forit. Come out
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