March 4, 2024 • 38 mins
This week, joined once again by Amesh (V1,) we digest the initial weekend of racing for the 2024 F1 season, at sun-parched Bahrain. In this episode, packed with detours and tangents, Amesh and I discuss the probability of the wildest driver rumours. Is Max off to Mercedes? Could Piastri take his place? On the racing front, we deliberate over the dismal Alpine decline and the 'contract termination effect' (the best form of CTE) on Sainz's performance. All this and more in a controversial (?) and conclusive episode of F1 Isn't Real.
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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 Webell, a strongbeliever that twenty two seconds is in fact
a long time and this week I'mjoined once again by my good compatriot Amish
to break down the first round ofthe twenty twenty four Formula one World Championship
(00:38):
in Bahrain. V one good weekendof F one. Yeah, Ben,
thank you for having me again.I think everyone was excited for this weekend.
Ninety eight days with that F onecan be quite painful for a lot
of people, especially in both meand you. I was excited for it,
and I think following the race,I gotta say it could have been
(01:02):
have been a bit better for asa season opener. We have had better
ones in the past, but Ithink there's still a lot to learn from
this first first season opener. Iagree with you. I think there is
an awful lot to learn, certainlyon the track. But I think first
it would be remiss of us notto touch on the elephant in the paddock
(01:26):
this weekend. As you know,although this is a racing podcast, the
off the track elements of Formula onecan still be detrimental to the synergy of
every single team. So with thatis certainly not my pleasure to talk about
the Christian Horner sort of incidents whichhave taken a turn again for the worst
(01:52):
this weekend, with there being somehuge leaks of text allegedly sent by Horner
to known member of the team thatwere leaked to basically everybody to do with
f one, so all of themedia, the FIA, and obviously all
of the representatives of Red Bull,including Yos and Max of Stephen. I
(02:15):
think there were some pretty unsubstantiated rumorsthat Yos had in fact leaked these hects,
which I mean, he's a pettyguy for sure, but this would
be a step beyond. But certainlythere is somebody in the Red Bull family
(02:35):
that is essentially out to get Ithink Christian Horner. I think there's definitely
a some form of some kind ofresentment towards Horner that's within this Red Bull
family. And I think that likedivide was really clear from the fact that
(02:58):
you did these family who sorry,the you Divya Ya Divya family who own
the fifty one percent of Red BullRacing, were present in the paddock inba
Rain alongside Christian Horner for the vastmajority of the weekend, and so it's
clear from that that their allegiance lieswith Christian. But as we know,
(03:19):
on the flip side of things,there's been some rumors about long term division
between Horner and Helmut Marco, who'smore associated with the forty nine percent owners
in Austria. This is all areal jumble of politics and f one colliding
(03:42):
and we've seen you know, Josephstapp And be extremely critical of Christian's actions.
So my question is how much ofan effect will this barrage of information,
all of these different aspects which arejust pommeling this Redbell team which really
should be in the best position cominginto this year but are now a massive
(04:04):
political disadvantage. How is this informationgoing to affect the team dynamic? And
how do you think Maximstappens specifically,who absolutely dominated in you know, which
is pretty I think it shows fromphenomenal resolve in light of all of this,
how do you think he's going tobe feeling with his sort of key,
(04:29):
his key group of influencers all sortof falling apart at the moment.
Well, I think the last coupleof weeks have definitely been quite heavy on
the Red Ball team. They've hadall of the spotlight in F one news,
and I think the one thing thatthey did not let affect them was
during the race. I think duringthe race weekend on the track, Maxi
(04:57):
Stapam was still getting in those lapsand impact the sessions, and even though
he wasn't first at the beginning,he took it home to win a Grand
Slam, and I think that justgoes to show the strength of Stapan as
a driver and Red Bull as ateam as well as as well as undergoing
so much pressure at the moment.But the question is how long can can
(05:23):
this last? And what else mighthappen in the future, because none of
us expected any of this to happen. And I don't know whether you're right
about someone's that had to get ChristianHorner, but whatever happens, I think
max Is is pretty locked in atthe moment, but I'm not quite sure
(05:44):
how how long this will last.I did read some stuff about Joseph Stappin
talking to Toto Wolf at the inthe paddock, and I'm not sure whether
it's a rumor or not, butthere was discussion about Max leaving Red Bull
and to join Mercedes in the twentytwenty five season. That is a big
(06:09):
shock, actually, I think becausewell, Max and Red Bull have won
the last you know, the lastfew years, and they're not just one
they've dominated and going to a teamwhich hasn't won, it's a surprise.
Which what this means to me issomething definitely is going down within the Red
(06:30):
Bull team. I don't know aboutthe validity of those rumors. I mean
I can imagine the sort of Toto. He's losing this asset in Lewis Hamilton,
this figure who transcends Formula One andwho's i would say, at this
point more than more than a driverin rather a cultural icon. So I
(06:54):
think sort of Toto's business strategy forthe last you know decade with the team
has been you know, Lewis isour front and center, and I think
that's now being parallel paralleled by Rebelwho are using Maximstappen as essentially this cash
(07:16):
cow who is not only raking inthe world championships but is also raking in
huge sponsorships, and he too,like Lewis, is sort of transcending into
this figure of sort of dominance.My theory with the Stappen for the past
few years. I have no sortof evidence about this, but I think
there's going to be a point atwhich he just gets bored of the lack
(07:41):
of challenge that is posed upon himby the sort of rebel car which he
is so well adapted to. Ithink just the tone of his voice over
the past few years, so he'sin my opinion, I think he's matured
hugely as an individual. I certainhad quite a lot of resentment for him
when he was you know, whenhe won for the first time in twenty
(08:05):
twenty one, because I felt thathis attitude was incredibly arrogant. But I
feel like he's really developed into anincredibly mature driver and very mature young man
as well. But I just thinkthe tone in his voice, it's almost
as if he's lost the lust forvictory. Even when winning championships. The
(08:26):
ease with which it happens means thathe for the past. For even the
last two years, it sounded ohsorry for even sorry last year, it
sounded like it was almost sort ofa rite of passage for him to take
victory, and it wasn't this incrediblefeat which many drivers drive their entire lives
(08:46):
to achieve. So I think,to be honest with you, if if
Max is going to move anywhere,I would have thought it would be out
of F one and towards a differentform of sport. I think he's signed
this massive contract with Red Bull acouple of years ago, which I think
takes him up to twenty is ittwenty eight twenty eight? Yeah, yeah,
(09:09):
So if anywhere, I think Maxwill probably in my opinion, I
think Ma's going to run out theend of his contract. I don't think
he cares about records in the sameway that Lewis Hamilton clearly does, and
I think he's going to run outthe end of his contract, and I
think after that point he's going tomove away from F one, maybe turns
something like WEK or like I don'tknow, some other form of multi sport,
(09:33):
just where he can gain his regainhis sort of love for the sport,
because I think it's really waning atthe moment, and I think for
such a generational talent who is makingso many strides in machinery that so many
other amazing drivers like Gasley and Albumand Harold's a completely flummspy, I think
(09:56):
it's Yeah, I think he needsto go somewhere where he's enjoying himself,
and I don't know if F oneis going to provide that for him.
What do you think do you thinkthat these Mercedes roomors hold anyway? I
totally agree with you. I thinkthat Max might has a high chance of
(10:16):
leaving F one in the future.I don't think he would be in the
near future, because obviously he hasto fulfill his contract, but I think
at the at the momentum he's going, he will be winning, and there
will that there will be a possibilitythat Max can get bored of winning,
(10:41):
and it seems unreal to think aboutit. How can you be bored of
winning in Formula one, the pinnaclemost sport. But while someone's doing it
and it's going to be Max,I'm not quite sure where he would go.
Your well, enjoying this championship seemsseems like an interesting place to be
at the moment, seems like it'sevolving. Maybe maybe that or a different
(11:05):
type of motorsport. But I'm moreconcerned about the near future and the possibility
of having another team rise up andchallenge red Bord and Max, because I
think that would push him even moreas a driver. I think Max is
the type of driver who definitely needscompetition to definitely stay in the sport.
(11:28):
I particularly enjoyed the beginning of thetwenty twenty two season. That was my
fate. That was when I likedto Max the most, because he just
won his first championship and he wasready to fight again. And I think
now he might he might feel asense of boredom when yeah, while driving
one in gold. You know,I think he's just his interest is flatlining
(11:52):
at the moment, So I think, yeah, it's really important. I
think hopefully in this twenty twenty sixchain, which will see I believe power
unit changes, in aerodynamic regulation shifts, that there is some kind of challenge
from another team, because I thinkif not, then Max is seriously,
(12:13):
you know, we seriously run therisk of losing him. And obviously,
you know, some would argue thatif Max decided to hang up his racing
gloves tomorrow, that would be agood thing for the sport. But I
think that, you know, Max, we should in Formula one have the
(12:33):
best drivers in the world, andMax is, in my opinion, without
a doubt, the best driver inthe world at the moment, and so
yeah, I think it would beunnatural for the Stapping to leave, but
I think he would have every rightto do so. But this is not
the Max Verstappen's Future podcast. I'msure there are many other individuals who will
(12:56):
be taking up that mantle. Let'sfocus, refocus, shift back to the
racing. And do you think thatmany drivers have seen this twenty two second
gap and thought, you know,what, championship is over before it's even
begun. Well, twenty two secondsis definitely a long time from first to
(13:20):
second then, But I think whatwe have to take into consideration here is
that is the question will this beevery race? Because even though this is
the first race, there will stillbe twenty three other weekends that we have
to go through. And if you'renot of a stepend fan, then you
(13:41):
can consider it hope that it isn't. If you are, then you can
sit back and relax. But whatI like to talk about is a few
other dominant moments with other drivers.Lewis Hamilton two thousand and eight Silverstone he
won by a very long time.And twenty thirteen Singapore, I think Sebastinian
(14:01):
Bettel won by thirty five seconds andthat's a crazy amount of time, both
times more than the twenty two secondsthat we experienced this weekend. But I
like to touch on the fact thateven though those races existed, it doesn't
mean it will happen every time.I believe Lewis victory was in wet conditions
as well, was it. That'strue? Okay, that can that can
(14:24):
create and that's a different factor.But I'm saying despite battles nine wins in
a row, there was there's alwaysgoing to be a sense of randomness to
it. I think you can't alwaysexpect a Max win with just the beginning
of the season because we don't knowwhat's the what's going to happen. I
(14:48):
wish I could I wish I couldsay that I think that anyone's going to
pose a serious threat to Max thisseason, but in my hard parts,
I know that it's going to bein almost insurmountable task. But I think,
you know this postest person who composedthat threat is, of course his
teammate Sergio Periz. But he wastwenty two seconds off the lead, and
(15:13):
not only that, but he wasalso facing pressure from Carlos Sienes. Not
pressure, but he was you know, he had he was sweating a touch
under that under the under the helmet, and so do you think that the
car is just at this point beingdesigned around Max's strengths and that sort of
Checko, who is in the samemachinery as Max, it's struggling because of
(15:37):
a disadvantage that's been sort of artificiallycreated within the team. Or do you
think that Checko is just sort ofhe's aging a little bit as a driver,
maybe his skill level is decreasing atouch. I most definitely agree that
the car is tuned towards MACS Japan'sdriving style. I've watched I heard a
(16:00):
podcast with Alex Album and he wasreflecting his time as teammate to maxi Stappen,
and he was explaining how difficult itis because the car is definitely built
around him. And I think thetype of driving that Max does is it's
quite sharp and oversteery and on point, and I think that's very difficult to
(16:22):
master, which is probably why we'regetting a twenty two second gap in the
first race. And I think toget if you can master that sort of
driving style, it definitely pays off. Given these results, I think with
Checker Periz, there is definitely stilltalent within him. I think his first
(16:42):
season in F one was definitely acrucial one because it helped deliver Max's first
championship. But I still think thereis hope for him. But I'd also
like to ask you something, Ben, what do you think of Carlos science
because I think after his after LewisHamilton's announcement joining Ferrari, where would he
(17:03):
where would Carlo Fines be ending up? And I think really reminded me exactly
as soon as Botas's contract was announcedthat it was sort of coming to an
end and that they were going totake on George Russell, he was going
to move to Alfa Romeo. ThenAlfa Romeo. He went off like a
(17:26):
rocket, and I think he wona couple of races, certainly got a
couple of polls. I can't rememberthe exact stats, but he was really
that the end of that season,which I think was the end of the
twenty one season, Yeah, thatwas sort of a massive uptick in Botas's
(17:47):
performance, and also the start ofthe twenty twenty two season, where Botas
scored I believe points in something likeseven of the first eight races. He
was on a tear at Alfaro Mayoat the start of that season. I
think this is just like you know, you're you're you're really driving to survive
(18:08):
in this You know, the drivermarket next year is going to be one
of the most saturated in F onehistory, and Science has got to prove
himself. He's got to make teamsbelieve in him, and he's got to
ensure that he has a seat ina super competitive car next season, be
that in Mercedes, be that inpossibly the second Rebels seat. If if
(18:33):
check Operroz is forced to see thateither way, he's going to want to
make stake his claim somewhere. Andyeah, his performance this weekend really impressed
me. But I think it hasto be mentioned that charl Leclair suffered from
huge technical gremlins this race, withI think break balance issues leading him to
(18:59):
lock up on multiple occasions. AndI think that if it hadn't been for
those issues, then Leclaire may havebeen able to close the gap somewhat more
he ended up and fourth, hemight have been able to challenge Science or
third, And I thought it wasI thought it was very impressive that with
all these issues issues, he managedto fight with Science at the in about
(19:22):
I think it was around lap fifteenwhen the pits, when divers began to
go to the pits, Leclair's performance. Sciences performance definitely impressed me, but
I thought Leclaire showed a level ofmaturity, not getting too frustrated and still
coming away with that pe for whichI think, yeah, I think certainly
really important for Constructors Championships points.But yeah, when Leclair isn't given that
(19:48):
sort of handicapped, do you thinkthat he's going to be able to pose
more of a threat to Science andpossibly Checko. I think Charla Claire's the
most talented drivers on the grid,and I think if he has given the
right car in the right conditions,he can challenge Max for staff and for
(20:08):
the wins and definitely be fighting forthe podiums in the in the season.
But I think after watching this race, I think you can still see how
Ferrari favoring Charles even though he wasin the slower car because there were no
(20:29):
there were no team orders or anythingto help help Carlos, and I think
Science could definitely have closed the gapto Perez maybe to fight for second if
Charles didn't fighte him at the earlystages. Of the race and let him
through. I'm not saying that wasthe right that's the right call, but
I'm saying that that could could havebeen opportunity which could have given Signs more
(20:52):
laps and more time to get toclose the gap second place. But I
think Charles definitely did drive, diddrive a very great race with damage invitation.
Yeah, and I think I'm excitedto I'm excited to see him drive
the rest of the season with abetter car. I think to be fair
to Ferrari, I think, tobe fair to Ferrari Leclaire, you know,
(21:18):
they didn't have the foresight that theymight have needed to predict where every
everybody was going to lie when whenthe pit stops concluded. But yes,
I think that Carlos Science starting inthe position that he did, could have
certainly benefited from some Ferrari team orders. But I think, you know,
when when last year they appointed fredSta, I thought that these sort of
(21:41):
issues with strategy, with team management, with I guess almost managing the personalities
of these two you know, hugeracing drivers was going to improve, and
I think last year is certainly lessof a prevalent issue. But yeah,
they've got to minimize these sort offlashpoint which could eventually spill over into conflict.
(22:03):
But as I say, Carlos Scienceis not driving with charl Leclair on
his mind whatsoever. He is drivingwith his own. He's driving entirely out
of his own motivation in order toget the best race he can next year.
But bringing it back to Checko,do you think that he is the
(22:25):
right man for the job for RedBull in twenty twenty five and you know,
if not, who can Who isyou know close enough to Max to
Hey for it to be a vibleoption. This is an interesting question.
I think Checko is a very greatdriver in Formula One, but I think
(22:49):
he's he might have had his timebecause drivers are only getting younger now.
The average agent, the driver onthe grid is a lot now and I
think it might be time for anewer driver to come into a position of
teammates and maxist happen. I thinkas to who it might be, I'd
(23:15):
like to see Carlos signs back atthe red Bull family, the Red Bull
team, because I think Max andCarlos definitely made a great team together when
back in twenty fifteen, and Ithink it would give Carlos signs more of
an opportunity to show his talent.I think at Ferrari he's been quite restricted,
(23:38):
as he's been seen as the shadowedto Charles the player, and I'd
like to see him in a morecompetitive and more consistent car with more competition
for the future seasons, especially whilehe can for it's too late for him.
I'm not quite sure who else wouldbe able to take the seat at
(24:02):
Red Bull. I think if Imy number one would definitely Belos. I
think if I always have any prediction, then it would be I think,
you know, because you know,Helma Marco is infamously an impatient Matt,
and so I think that they're youknow, Checko's results are obviously nothing.
(24:26):
You know, They're not They're notthe best, certainly compared to Max.
But I think that with continual constructorsand with continual drivers championships, I don't
know how much of an issue thatsecond Red Bull seat actually is at the
moment, because frankly, if they'rewinning, then who cares about the second
(24:48):
seat? And if they have theCarter win then it's sort of the second
driver is almost an all void.But I think with the arrival of the
technical sort of overhol in twenty twentysix and then twenty twenty eight. I
think Red Bull is going didn't needto bring in some new blood because the
field's all going to bunch up alittle bit, in my opinion, and
I think if anybody's going to bethe heir to the you know, if
(25:12):
Max Stappen leaves, if anyone's goingto be air to the first Rebels seat,
and if Checo leaves, then thesecond Rebel seat, I think it's
Oscar Piastro. I think he isobviously has this connection, well, he
has connection to half the grid.At this point he had he had a
connection to Alpine, but now hehad a connection to Mercedes through the Mercedes
(25:33):
engine which is in the back ofthe McLaren car. But I think that
Oscar Piastree, off of what heshowed last year, I think he may
be a future world champion, andI think all that he needs in order
to achieve that in the future obviouslyhe needs to develop, he needs to
develop his racecraft. But he hasthe emotional integrity now of a champion because
(26:03):
it's like he's been there before,and I think that he could be a
really great fit of Red Bull inin you know, half a decade,
you know, three four, fiveyears time. Okay, do you think
Oscars is a long shot? Ithink is definitely a talented driver. I
(26:25):
think he's one of the drivers whohave just come straight into F one and
put the results on the table.I think he's in his rookie season.
He's definitely lived up to the standardsthat mclarn has set him. He hasn't
been too far behind Landon Norris.There have been some races where the result
(26:48):
wasn't one optimal, but that's that'sinevitable given he's a rookie and a podium
in the first season is always agreat start to a career, and I
think it's a matter of time beforeother teams start picking up on his talents,
especially especially him and Landon Norris.I think both of them could be
(27:15):
contenders to to the second Red Bullseat for the future. I agree.
I think this was sort of theperception of I think, you know,
a couple of years ago, youhad this dynamic of sort of Yuki.
You know, you would have thoughtthat you had Sergio maybe retiring in the
(27:36):
future, and then Yuki developed,you know, develops into this driver who
can take on the responsibility of thesecond Red Bull seat. But to be
honest with you, like he's enteringhis fourth season in force, and you
know the RB the racing balls obviouslyDaniel Ricardo with his with his great lap
(27:59):
in be FB three. I thinkit was yes three. Well, anyway,
even repractice you talk one of thethree practices, and you know,
I thought that they had a lotof potential this weekend and I think they
slightly didn't live up to that potential. But that's you know, that's something
that can be ironed out. They'restill not at the back, which is
(28:22):
certainly where they were for many manyraces last year. But my concern is
just the maturity of UK scenario.As I say, fourth season, in
the fourth season in the sport nowand he is still complaining on the radio
about teammate preference. He is stillyou know, he committing committed quite a
rash accident action at the end ofthe of the race, almost driving into
(28:47):
his teammate Daniel Ricardo. And Idon't think that he has the poise to
take up the second Rebels Sea becausewe've seen these, you know, big
egos like Pierre Gasley could never havecut it at Red Bull because he wanted
too bad to be the number onedriver, and you know, you know
(29:07):
that Max forstappened, it was alwaysgoing to be in that position. And
so I think that someone you know, Helmer Marco, is now on the
lookout for a driver who is completelycentered and that's why I thinks could be
at Streets in their bracket. Butback onto the Arby's, do you think
that Ricardo is sort of how doyou think Ricardo is going to react to
(29:32):
this, because obviously, you knowwe've seen in the past sometimes team rivalry
with him can really spill over intothe Grand Prix. How do you think
he's going to sort of react tothe conflict, the early conflicts this time
around. Well, I think withRicardo's experience, he should be quite cool
and collected, as opposed to theYuki has been. And I think it
(29:56):
really depends on how the rest ofthe season goes. Because when with Daniel
Ricardo, that is because when hewas at McLaren, I thought he would
be seen as the first driver helpingout in Lando Norris because Landon Norris was
only in his third year at thetime, and but what really happened was
(30:18):
Daniel Ricardo was behind Lando and wasn'tputting in the results, and I think
that did affect his not ego.But the way the way the dynamic works,
I think if Yuki steps it upand manages to outperform Ricardo, it's
very dangerous for his career because he'smeant to be a more experienced first driver
(30:41):
and he's lacking again in another team. So I think there's a lot of
pressure on Daniel Roccardo at the momentto outperform and lead lead Yuki and the
Racing Bulls team. Yeah, speakingof pressure, I completely agree with you
on Daniel Riccardo I think needs tobe this leader, leading figure. But
(31:02):
you know, speaking of pressure,I feel like, you know, Lewis
Hamilton has made this decision at Mercedesto leave because he doesn't feel that he
can achieve an eighth world title atMercedes. And now the sort of the
pressure I think from the paddock hasshifted to Mercedes. You know that people
(31:23):
are thinking, now, how areyou going to respond? You know,
Lewis Hamilton, the greatest driver ofall time, is essentially rejecting you and
you know, perceiving you to beunable to win a championship because that is
his goal, and he wouldn't havemade the decision to switch to Ferrari if
he didn't think that he could havean outside chance of winning with them.
(31:45):
Do you think, like, inmy opinion, I don't think that they
can afford to be telling their driversto lifting coast in the first weekend of
the season having power unit issues rightoff the bat. What do you think
that? Do you think? Whatdo you think Mercedes need to do in
order to sort of change their fortunesearly on and make a big statement.
(32:09):
Oh, I think I expected Mercedesto be fighting up there at the beginning
of the season. It feels likethey've put on a lot of research and
development into this car, and Ithink it's a very rare occasion to get
it to get the car one hundredpercent right for the first race, and
(32:31):
it seems like only red Bull isdoing that at the moment. And I
think over time and as we goto different tracks, the Mercedes car will
be more suited to different environments.I remember back in their dominant days,
they were very fast in a straightline and it was red Bull who was
(32:51):
very fast around the corners. That'swhy Daniel Ricardo was able to put poll
in twenties sixteen and twenty eighteen andbring it home in twenty eighteen. So
I think for Mercedes this year theywill be experiencing a different type of advantage
and or I hope at least thatthey do in different tracks. I think
(33:13):
it will take time and define theirstrengths. And yeah, I think I'm
not too concerned about the lift andcoast on the Mercedes car at the moment
because it might have just been aset up, a set up issue.
If this is a reoccurring situation,it might be a different story. I
(33:34):
think then Mercedes will Mercedes will definitelyhave a lot more pressure on them,
but as it goes, I stillhave a lot of hope for the team.
Yeah, as do I I thinkthey can certainly challenge or at least
try to challenge Ferrari for that PEtwo position. A mush who disappointed you
most this weekend? Disappointed? Well, well, I'd like to see more
(34:04):
from more from the back markers,but the disappointment I'm going to go be
harsh and go with the alpine teamin general. I think I'm sure you
can agree the alping team has notbeen up to par because they're coming from
(34:25):
being a decent midfield team, consistentlyscoring points in the midfield, and now
their results have been have been notso great. And I said, with
Mercedes, you know, it canbe the first race whatever, but with
Alpine, their results have been significantlytoo low, so that is causal concern
(34:52):
for them. I think obviously it'sstill the first race and they can still
improve, but I think even forthe first race, they're still behind competition
and they won't be able to inthe near future at least I doubt they'll
be able to compete for the Pfour or the P five and the constructors.
(35:15):
Yeah, I think they've been ina real downward spiral since Danny Rick
left at the end of twenty twenty. You know, that was a season
obviously cut short by by COVID,but you know, they showed their strength
there with a podium from Ricardo Ithink it was Nerveburgen, Yeah, the
(35:37):
Iffl grond three, Yeah, theEiffel Ground Free Strange times ESPN as well,
was that the pre was that thefollowing year that was yeah, So
yeah, had two podiums, twopodiums in twenty twenty and then Okan had
his first win in twenty twenty one. Yeah, got another Monaco. Where
(36:02):
was it, No, it wasit was it was checkocon Stroll. Oh
yeah, that was still twenty twenty, Yeah, twenty. But since then
it's been a real downward spiral forfor the team, and I think we've
got to really sort things out becausethey have the backing of the entire Like
you know, we saw the FrenchGP taking off the calendar a couple of
(36:24):
years ago. Yeah, a coupleof years ago, and you know,
France really is losing its strangleholding thesport that it once had. Okay,
finishing up here, Ash, whowill take the victory next time out in
Saudi Arabia, I'm gonna have togo maxro staff And again, I think,
(36:45):
but the way things are going andthe momentum Max Staffan has, I
think there's nothing really stopping him.There's always always always going to be something
that probability that can stop any driverfrom winning. But I think the chances
(37:06):
that have happening just getting slimmer becausemaxist happened is just getting stronger and I
think there's not much in his partat the moment. So definitely it's going
to have to go to him.I agree, but we've seen Max.
You know, I'm not a manof superstition, but we've seen him,
you know, get into some incidents, get in some tricky, tricky incidents
at Saudi Arabia in the past.Of course, the Claire at the start
(37:29):
of the twenty twenty two season withthat whole sort of DRS like switching fiasco,
Hamilton with their sort of collision theyear before that, and him obviously
beening it in the wall in thequalifying of that that same year. So
you know, although I think andChecko obviously taking the win there last year,
didn't he Yeah he did. Yeah, So you know, you could
(37:53):
definitely say Max should win, butwill we I'm not sure. I'm still
gonna say Max Max winds it,but I think it might be a closer
battle than we would initially expect,just based off previous performances. But with
that, we have concluded this week'spodcast. Thank you very much for listening
(38:15):
to F one every week. Thankyou amuch for joining me once again.
Thanks you for having me again.No worries, No worries It till tune
in next week for a review ofthe Possibly Possibly Sans Maxim Stuff and Wins
twenty twenty four Saudi Arabia and CrownPrix
Hello, and welcome back to Fone. Isn't real? I am your
host, Ben Webell, a strongbeliever that twenty two seconds is in fact
a long time and this week I'mjoined once again by my good compatriot Amish
to break down the first round ofthe twenty twenty four Formula one World Championship
(00:38):
in Bahrain. V one good weekendof F one. Yeah, Ben,
thank you for having me again.I think everyone was excited for this weekend.
Ninety eight days with that F onecan be quite painful for a lot
of people, especially in both meand you. I was excited for it,
and I think following the race,I gotta say it could have been
(01:02):
have been a bit better for asa season opener. We have had better
ones in the past, but Ithink there's still a lot to learn from
this first first season opener. Iagree with you. I think there is
an awful lot to learn, certainlyon the track. But I think first
it would be remiss of us notto touch on the elephant in the paddock
(01:26):
this weekend. As you know,although this is a racing podcast, the
off the track elements of Formula onecan still be detrimental to the synergy of
every single team. So with thatis certainly not my pleasure to talk about
the Christian Horner sort of incidents whichhave taken a turn again for the worst
(01:52):
this weekend, with there being somehuge leaks of text allegedly sent by Horner
to known member of the team thatwere leaked to basically everybody to do with
f one, so all of themedia, the FIA, and obviously all
of the representatives of Red Bull,including Yos and Max of Stephen. I
(02:15):
think there were some pretty unsubstantiated rumorsthat Yos had in fact leaked these hects,
which I mean, he's a pettyguy for sure, but this would
be a step beyond. But certainlythere is somebody in the Red Bull family
(02:35):
that is essentially out to get Ithink Christian Horner. I think there's definitely
a some form of some kind ofresentment towards Horner that's within this Red Bull
family. And I think that likedivide was really clear from the fact that
(02:58):
you did these family who sorry,the you Divya Ya Divya family who own
the fifty one percent of Red BullRacing, were present in the paddock inba
Rain alongside Christian Horner for the vastmajority of the weekend, and so it's
clear from that that their allegiance lieswith Christian. But as we know,
(03:19):
on the flip side of things,there's been some rumors about long term division
between Horner and Helmut Marco, who'smore associated with the forty nine percent owners
in Austria. This is all areal jumble of politics and f one colliding
(03:42):
and we've seen you know, Josephstapp And be extremely critical of Christian's actions.
So my question is how much ofan effect will this barrage of information,
all of these different aspects which arejust pommeling this Redbell team which really
should be in the best position cominginto this year but are now a massive
(04:04):
political disadvantage. How is this informationgoing to affect the team dynamic? And
how do you think Maximstappens specifically,who absolutely dominated in you know, which
is pretty I think it shows fromphenomenal resolve in light of all of this,
how do you think he's going tobe feeling with his sort of key,
(04:29):
his key group of influencers all sortof falling apart at the moment.
Well, I think the last coupleof weeks have definitely been quite heavy on
the Red Ball team. They've hadall of the spotlight in F one news,
and I think the one thing thatthey did not let affect them was
during the race. I think duringthe race weekend on the track, Maxi
(04:57):
Stapam was still getting in those lapsand impact the sessions, and even though
he wasn't first at the beginning,he took it home to win a Grand
Slam, and I think that justgoes to show the strength of Stapan as
a driver and Red Bull as ateam as well as as well as undergoing
so much pressure at the moment.But the question is how long can can
(05:23):
this last? And what else mighthappen in the future, because none of
us expected any of this to happen. And I don't know whether you're right
about someone's that had to get ChristianHorner, but whatever happens, I think
max Is is pretty locked in atthe moment, but I'm not quite sure
(05:44):
how how long this will last.I did read some stuff about Joseph Stappin
talking to Toto Wolf at the inthe paddock, and I'm not sure whether
it's a rumor or not, butthere was discussion about Max leaving Red Bull
and to join Mercedes in the twentytwenty five season. That is a big
(06:09):
shock, actually, I think becausewell, Max and Red Bull have won
the last you know, the lastfew years, and they're not just one
they've dominated and going to a teamwhich hasn't won, it's a surprise.
Which what this means to me issomething definitely is going down within the Red
(06:30):
Bull team. I don't know aboutthe validity of those rumors. I mean
I can imagine the sort of Toto. He's losing this asset in Lewis Hamilton,
this figure who transcends Formula One andwho's i would say, at this
point more than more than a driverin rather a cultural icon. So I
(06:54):
think sort of Toto's business strategy forthe last you know decade with the team
has been you know, Lewis isour front and center, and I think
that's now being parallel paralleled by Rebelwho are using Maximstappen as essentially this cash
(07:16):
cow who is not only raking inthe world championships but is also raking in
huge sponsorships, and he too,like Lewis, is sort of transcending into
this figure of sort of dominance.My theory with the Stappen for the past
few years. I have no sortof evidence about this, but I think
there's going to be a point atwhich he just gets bored of the lack
(07:41):
of challenge that is posed upon himby the sort of rebel car which he
is so well adapted to. Ithink just the tone of his voice over
the past few years, so he'sin my opinion, I think he's matured
hugely as an individual. I certainhad quite a lot of resentment for him
when he was you know, whenhe won for the first time in twenty
(08:05):
twenty one, because I felt thathis attitude was incredibly arrogant. But I
feel like he's really developed into anincredibly mature driver and very mature young man
as well. But I just thinkthe tone in his voice, it's almost
as if he's lost the lust forvictory. Even when winning championships. The
(08:26):
ease with which it happens means thathe for the past. For even the
last two years, it sounded ohsorry for even sorry last year, it
sounded like it was almost sort ofa rite of passage for him to take
victory, and it wasn't this incrediblefeat which many drivers drive their entire lives
(08:46):
to achieve. So I think,to be honest with you, if if
Max is going to move anywhere,I would have thought it would be out
of F one and towards a differentform of sport. I think he's signed
this massive contract with Red Bull acouple of years ago, which I think
takes him up to twenty is ittwenty eight twenty eight? Yeah, yeah,
(09:09):
So if anywhere, I think Maxwill probably in my opinion, I
think Ma's going to run out theend of his contract. I don't think
he cares about records in the sameway that Lewis Hamilton clearly does, and
I think he's going to run outthe end of his contract, and I
think after that point he's going tomove away from F one, maybe turns
something like WEK or like I don'tknow, some other form of multi sport,
(09:33):
just where he can gain his regainhis sort of love for the sport,
because I think it's really waning atthe moment, and I think for
such a generational talent who is makingso many strides in machinery that so many
other amazing drivers like Gasley and Albumand Harold's a completely flummspy, I think
(09:56):
it's Yeah, I think he needsto go somewhere where he's enjoying himself,
and I don't know if F oneis going to provide that for him.
What do you think do you thinkthat these Mercedes roomors hold anyway? I
totally agree with you. I thinkthat Max might has a high chance of
(10:16):
leaving F one in the future.I don't think he would be in the
near future, because obviously he hasto fulfill his contract, but I think
at the at the momentum he's going, he will be winning, and there
will that there will be a possibilitythat Max can get bored of winning,
(10:41):
and it seems unreal to think aboutit. How can you be bored of
winning in Formula one, the pinnaclemost sport. But while someone's doing it
and it's going to be Max,I'm not quite sure where he would go.
Your well, enjoying this championship seemsseems like an interesting place to be
at the moment, seems like it'sevolving. Maybe maybe that or a different
(11:05):
type of motorsport. But I'm moreconcerned about the near future and the possibility
of having another team rise up andchallenge red Bord and Max, because I
think that would push him even moreas a driver. I think Max is
the type of driver who definitely needscompetition to definitely stay in the sport.
(11:28):
I particularly enjoyed the beginning of thetwenty twenty two season. That was my
fate. That was when I likedto Max the most, because he just
won his first championship and he wasready to fight again. And I think
now he might he might feel asense of boredom when yeah, while driving
one in gold. You know,I think he's just his interest is flatlining
(11:52):
at the moment, So I think, yeah, it's really important. I
think hopefully in this twenty twenty sixchain, which will see I believe power
unit changes, in aerodynamic regulation shifts, that there is some kind of challenge
from another team, because I thinkif not, then Max is seriously,
(12:13):
you know, we seriously run therisk of losing him. And obviously,
you know, some would argue thatif Max decided to hang up his racing
gloves tomorrow, that would be agood thing for the sport. But I
think that, you know, Max, we should in Formula one have the
(12:33):
best drivers in the world, andMax is, in my opinion, without
a doubt, the best driver inthe world at the moment, and so
yeah, I think it would beunnatural for the Stapping to leave, but
I think he would have every rightto do so. But this is not
the Max Verstappen's Future podcast. I'msure there are many other individuals who will
(12:56):
be taking up that mantle. Let'sfocus, refocus, shift back to the
racing. And do you think thatmany drivers have seen this twenty two second
gap and thought, you know,what, championship is over before it's even
begun. Well, twenty two secondsis definitely a long time from first to
(13:20):
second then, But I think whatwe have to take into consideration here is
that is the question will this beevery race? Because even though this is
the first race, there will stillbe twenty three other weekends that we have
to go through. And if you'renot of a stepend fan, then you
(13:41):
can consider it hope that it isn't. If you are, then you can
sit back and relax. But whatI like to talk about is a few
other dominant moments with other drivers.Lewis Hamilton two thousand and eight Silverstone he
won by a very long time.And twenty thirteen Singapore, I think Sebastinian
(14:01):
Bettel won by thirty five seconds andthat's a crazy amount of time, both
times more than the twenty two secondsthat we experienced this weekend. But I
like to touch on the fact thateven though those races existed, it doesn't
mean it will happen every time.I believe Lewis victory was in wet conditions
as well, was it. That'strue? Okay, that can that can
(14:24):
create and that's a different factor.But I'm saying despite battles nine wins in
a row, there was there's alwaysgoing to be a sense of randomness to
it. I think you can't alwaysexpect a Max win with just the beginning
of the season because we don't knowwhat's the what's going to happen. I
(14:48):
wish I could I wish I couldsay that I think that anyone's going to
pose a serious threat to Max thisseason, but in my hard parts,
I know that it's going to bein almost insurmountable task. But I think,
you know this postest person who composedthat threat is, of course his
teammate Sergio Periz. But he wastwenty two seconds off the lead, and
(15:13):
not only that, but he wasalso facing pressure from Carlos Sienes. Not
pressure, but he was you know, he had he was sweating a touch
under that under the under the helmet, and so do you think that the
car is just at this point beingdesigned around Max's strengths and that sort of
Checko, who is in the samemachinery as Max, it's struggling because of
(15:37):
a disadvantage that's been sort of artificiallycreated within the team. Or do you
think that Checko is just sort ofhe's aging a little bit as a driver,
maybe his skill level is decreasing atouch. I most definitely agree that
the car is tuned towards MACS Japan'sdriving style. I've watched I heard a
(16:00):
podcast with Alex Album and he wasreflecting his time as teammate to maxi Stappen,
and he was explaining how difficult itis because the car is definitely built
around him. And I think thetype of driving that Max does is it's
quite sharp and oversteery and on point, and I think that's very difficult to
(16:22):
master, which is probably why we'regetting a twenty two second gap in the
first race. And I think toget if you can master that sort of
driving style, it definitely pays off. Given these results, I think with
Checker Periz, there is definitely stilltalent within him. I think his first
(16:42):
season in F one was definitely acrucial one because it helped deliver Max's first
championship. But I still think thereis hope for him. But I'd also
like to ask you something, Ben, what do you think of Carlos science
because I think after his after LewisHamilton's announcement joining Ferrari, where would he
(17:03):
where would Carlo Fines be ending up? And I think really reminded me exactly
as soon as Botas's contract was announcedthat it was sort of coming to an
end and that they were going totake on George Russell, he was going
to move to Alfa Romeo. ThenAlfa Romeo. He went off like a
(17:26):
rocket, and I think he wona couple of races, certainly got a
couple of polls. I can't rememberthe exact stats, but he was really
that the end of that season,which I think was the end of the
twenty one season, Yeah, thatwas sort of a massive uptick in Botas's
(17:47):
performance, and also the start ofthe twenty twenty two season, where Botas
scored I believe points in something likeseven of the first eight races. He
was on a tear at Alfaro Mayoat the start of that season. I
think this is just like you know, you're you're you're really driving to survive
(18:08):
in this You know, the drivermarket next year is going to be one
of the most saturated in F onehistory, and Science has got to prove
himself. He's got to make teamsbelieve in him, and he's got to
ensure that he has a seat ina super competitive car next season, be
that in Mercedes, be that inpossibly the second Rebels seat. If if
(18:33):
check Operroz is forced to see thateither way, he's going to want to
make stake his claim somewhere. Andyeah, his performance this weekend really impressed
me. But I think it hasto be mentioned that charl Leclair suffered from
huge technical gremlins this race, withI think break balance issues leading him to
(18:59):
lock up on multiple occasions. AndI think that if it hadn't been for
those issues, then Leclaire may havebeen able to close the gap somewhat more
he ended up and fourth, hemight have been able to challenge Science or
third, And I thought it wasI thought it was very impressive that with
all these issues issues, he managedto fight with Science at the in about
(19:22):
I think it was around lap fifteenwhen the pits, when divers began to
go to the pits, Leclair's performance. Sciences performance definitely impressed me, but
I thought Leclaire showed a level ofmaturity, not getting too frustrated and still
coming away with that pe for whichI think, yeah, I think certainly
really important for Constructors Championships points.But yeah, when Leclair isn't given that
(19:48):
sort of handicapped, do you thinkthat he's going to be able to pose
more of a threat to Science andpossibly Checko. I think Charla Claire's the
most talented drivers on the grid,and I think if he has given the
right car in the right conditions,he can challenge Max for staff and for
(20:08):
the wins and definitely be fighting forthe podiums in the in the season.
But I think after watching this race, I think you can still see how
Ferrari favoring Charles even though he wasin the slower car because there were no
(20:29):
there were no team orders or anythingto help help Carlos, and I think
Science could definitely have closed the gapto Perez maybe to fight for second if
Charles didn't fighte him at the earlystages. Of the race and let him
through. I'm not saying that wasthe right that's the right call, but
I'm saying that that could could havebeen opportunity which could have given Signs more
(20:52):
laps and more time to get toclose the gap second place. But I
think Charles definitely did drive, diddrive a very great race with damage invitation.
Yeah, and I think I'm excitedto I'm excited to see him drive
the rest of the season with abetter car. I think to be fair
to Ferrari, I think, tobe fair to Ferrari Leclaire, you know,
(21:18):
they didn't have the foresight that theymight have needed to predict where every
everybody was going to lie when whenthe pit stops concluded. But yes,
I think that Carlos Science starting inthe position that he did, could have
certainly benefited from some Ferrari team orders. But I think, you know,
when when last year they appointed fredSta, I thought that these sort of
(21:41):
issues with strategy, with team management, with I guess almost managing the personalities
of these two you know, hugeracing drivers was going to improve, and
I think last year is certainly lessof a prevalent issue. But yeah,
they've got to minimize these sort offlashpoint which could eventually spill over into conflict.
(22:03):
But as I say, Carlos Scienceis not driving with charl Leclair on
his mind whatsoever. He is drivingwith his own. He's driving entirely out
of his own motivation in order toget the best race he can next year.
But bringing it back to Checko,do you think that he is the
(22:25):
right man for the job for RedBull in twenty twenty five and you know,
if not, who can Who isyou know close enough to Max to
Hey for it to be a vibleoption. This is an interesting question.
I think Checko is a very greatdriver in Formula One, but I think
(22:49):
he's he might have had his timebecause drivers are only getting younger now.
The average agent, the driver onthe grid is a lot now and I
think it might be time for anewer driver to come into a position of
teammates and maxist happen. I thinkas to who it might be, I'd
(23:15):
like to see Carlos signs back atthe red Bull family, the Red Bull
team, because I think Max andCarlos definitely made a great team together when
back in twenty fifteen, and Ithink it would give Carlos signs more of
an opportunity to show his talent.I think at Ferrari he's been quite restricted,
(23:38):
as he's been seen as the shadowedto Charles the player, and I'd
like to see him in a morecompetitive and more consistent car with more competition
for the future seasons, especially whilehe can for it's too late for him.
I'm not quite sure who else wouldbe able to take the seat at
(24:02):
Red Bull. I think if Imy number one would definitely Belos. I
think if I always have any prediction, then it would be I think,
you know, because you know,Helma Marco is infamously an impatient Matt,
and so I think that they're youknow, Checko's results are obviously nothing.
(24:26):
You know, They're not They're notthe best, certainly compared to Max.
But I think that with continual constructorsand with continual drivers championships, I don't
know how much of an issue thatsecond Red Bull seat actually is at the
moment, because frankly, if they'rewinning, then who cares about the second
(24:48):
seat? And if they have theCarter win then it's sort of the second
driver is almost an all void.But I think with the arrival of the
technical sort of overhol in twenty twentysix and then twenty twenty eight. I
think Red Bull is going didn't needto bring in some new blood because the
field's all going to bunch up alittle bit, in my opinion, and
I think if anybody's going to bethe heir to the you know, if
(25:12):
Max Stappen leaves, if anyone's goingto be air to the first Rebels seat,
and if Checo leaves, then thesecond Rebel seat, I think it's
Oscar Piastro. I think he isobviously has this connection, well, he
has connection to half the grid.At this point he had he had a
connection to Alpine, but now hehad a connection to Mercedes through the Mercedes
(25:33):
engine which is in the back ofthe McLaren car. But I think that
Oscar Piastree, off of what heshowed last year, I think he may
be a future world champion, andI think all that he needs in order
to achieve that in the future obviouslyhe needs to develop, he needs to
develop his racecraft. But he hasthe emotional integrity now of a champion because
(26:03):
it's like he's been there before,and I think that he could be a
really great fit of Red Bull inin you know, half a decade,
you know, three four, fiveyears time. Okay, do you think
Oscars is a long shot? Ithink is definitely a talented driver. I
(26:25):
think he's one of the drivers whohave just come straight into F one and
put the results on the table.I think he's in his rookie season.
He's definitely lived up to the standardsthat mclarn has set him. He hasn't
been too far behind Landon Norris.There have been some races where the result
(26:48):
wasn't one optimal, but that's that'sinevitable given he's a rookie and a podium
in the first season is always agreat start to a career, and I
think it's a matter of time beforeother teams start picking up on his talents,
especially especially him and Landon Norris.I think both of them could be
(27:15):
contenders to to the second Red Bullseat for the future. I agree.
I think this was sort of theperception of I think, you know,
a couple of years ago, youhad this dynamic of sort of Yuki.
You know, you would have thoughtthat you had Sergio maybe retiring in the
(27:36):
future, and then Yuki developed,you know, develops into this driver who
can take on the responsibility of thesecond Red Bull seat. But to be
honest with you, like he's enteringhis fourth season in force, and you
know the RB the racing balls obviouslyDaniel Ricardo with his with his great lap
(27:59):
in be FB three. I thinkit was yes three. Well, anyway,
even repractice you talk one of thethree practices, and you know,
I thought that they had a lotof potential this weekend and I think they
slightly didn't live up to that potential. But that's you know, that's something
that can be ironed out. They'restill not at the back, which is
(28:22):
certainly where they were for many manyraces last year. But my concern is
just the maturity of UK scenario.As I say, fourth season, in
the fourth season in the sport nowand he is still complaining on the radio
about teammate preference. He is stillyou know, he committing committed quite a
rash accident action at the end ofthe of the race, almost driving into
(28:47):
his teammate Daniel Ricardo. And Idon't think that he has the poise to
take up the second Rebels Sea becausewe've seen these, you know, big
egos like Pierre Gasley could never havecut it at Red Bull because he wanted
too bad to be the number onedriver, and you know, you know
(29:07):
that Max forstappened, it was alwaysgoing to be in that position. And
so I think that someone you know, Helmer Marco, is now on the
lookout for a driver who is completelycentered and that's why I thinks could be
at Streets in their bracket. Butback onto the Arby's, do you think
that Ricardo is sort of how doyou think Ricardo is going to react to
(29:32):
this, because obviously, you knowwe've seen in the past sometimes team rivalry
with him can really spill over intothe Grand Prix. How do you think
he's going to sort of react tothe conflict, the early conflicts this time
around. Well, I think withRicardo's experience, he should be quite cool
and collected, as opposed to theYuki has been. And I think it
(29:56):
really depends on how the rest ofthe season goes. Because when with Daniel
Ricardo, that is because when hewas at McLaren, I thought he would
be seen as the first driver helpingout in Lando Norris because Landon Norris was
only in his third year at thetime, and but what really happened was
(30:18):
Daniel Ricardo was behind Lando and wasn'tputting in the results, and I think
that did affect his not ego.But the way the way the dynamic works,
I think if Yuki steps it upand manages to outperform Ricardo, it's
very dangerous for his career because he'smeant to be a more experienced first driver
(30:41):
and he's lacking again in another team. So I think there's a lot of
pressure on Daniel Roccardo at the momentto outperform and lead lead Yuki and the
Racing Bulls team. Yeah, speakingof pressure, I completely agree with you
on Daniel Riccardo I think needs tobe this leader, leading figure. But
(31:02):
you know, speaking of pressure,I feel like, you know, Lewis
Hamilton has made this decision at Mercedesto leave because he doesn't feel that he
can achieve an eighth world title atMercedes. And now the sort of the
pressure I think from the paddock hasshifted to Mercedes. You know that people
(31:23):
are thinking, now, how areyou going to respond? You know,
Lewis Hamilton, the greatest driver ofall time, is essentially rejecting you and
you know, perceiving you to beunable to win a championship because that is
his goal, and he wouldn't havemade the decision to switch to Ferrari if
he didn't think that he could havean outside chance of winning with them.
(31:45):
Do you think, like, inmy opinion, I don't think that they
can afford to be telling their driversto lifting coast in the first weekend of
the season having power unit issues rightoff the bat. What do you think
that? Do you think? Whatdo you think Mercedes need to do in
order to sort of change their fortunesearly on and make a big statement.
(32:09):
Oh, I think I expected Mercedesto be fighting up there at the beginning
of the season. It feels likethey've put on a lot of research and
development into this car, and Ithink it's a very rare occasion to get
it to get the car one hundredpercent right for the first race, and
(32:31):
it seems like only red Bull isdoing that at the moment. And I
think over time and as we goto different tracks, the Mercedes car will
be more suited to different environments.I remember back in their dominant days,
they were very fast in a straightline and it was red Bull who was
(32:51):
very fast around the corners. That'swhy Daniel Ricardo was able to put poll
in twenties sixteen and twenty eighteen andbring it home in twenty eighteen. So
I think for Mercedes this year theywill be experiencing a different type of advantage
and or I hope at least thatthey do in different tracks. I think
(33:13):
it will take time and define theirstrengths. And yeah, I think I'm
not too concerned about the lift andcoast on the Mercedes car at the moment
because it might have just been aset up, a set up issue.
If this is a reoccurring situation,it might be a different story. I
(33:34):
think then Mercedes will Mercedes will definitelyhave a lot more pressure on them,
but as it goes, I stillhave a lot of hope for the team.
Yeah, as do I I thinkthey can certainly challenge or at least
try to challenge Ferrari for that PEtwo position. A mush who disappointed you
most this weekend? Disappointed? Well, well, I'd like to see more
(34:04):
from more from the back markers,but the disappointment I'm going to go be
harsh and go with the alpine teamin general. I think I'm sure you
can agree the alping team has notbeen up to par because they're coming from
(34:25):
being a decent midfield team, consistentlyscoring points in the midfield, and now
their results have been have been notso great. And I said, with
Mercedes, you know, it canbe the first race whatever, but with
Alpine, their results have been significantlytoo low, so that is causal concern
(34:52):
for them. I think obviously it'sstill the first race and they can still
improve, but I think even forthe first race, they're still behind competition
and they won't be able to inthe near future at least I doubt they'll
be able to compete for the Pfour or the P five and the constructors.
(35:15):
Yeah, I think they've been ina real downward spiral since Danny Rick
left at the end of twenty twenty. You know, that was a season
obviously cut short by by COVID,but you know, they showed their strength
there with a podium from Ricardo Ithink it was Nerveburgen, Yeah, the
(35:37):
Iffl grond three, Yeah, theEiffel Ground Free Strange times ESPN as well,
was that the pre was that thefollowing year that was yeah, So
yeah, had two podiums, twopodiums in twenty twenty and then Okan had
his first win in twenty twenty one. Yeah, got another Monaco. Where
(36:02):
was it, No, it wasit was it was checkocon Stroll. Oh
yeah, that was still twenty twenty, Yeah, twenty. But since then
it's been a real downward spiral forfor the team, and I think we've
got to really sort things out becausethey have the backing of the entire Like
you know, we saw the FrenchGP taking off the calendar a couple of
(36:24):
years ago. Yeah, a coupleof years ago, and you know,
France really is losing its strangleholding thesport that it once had. Okay,
finishing up here, Ash, whowill take the victory next time out in
Saudi Arabia, I'm gonna have togo maxro staff And again, I think,
(36:45):
but the way things are going andthe momentum Max Staffan has, I
think there's nothing really stopping him.There's always always always going to be something
that probability that can stop any driverfrom winning. But I think the chances
(37:06):
that have happening just getting slimmer becausemaxist happened is just getting stronger and I
think there's not much in his partat the moment. So definitely it's going
to have to go to him.I agree, but we've seen Max.
You know, I'm not a manof superstition, but we've seen him,
you know, get into some incidents, get in some tricky, tricky incidents
at Saudi Arabia in the past.Of course, the Claire at the start
(37:29):
of the twenty twenty two season withthat whole sort of DRS like switching fiasco,
Hamilton with their sort of collision theyear before that, and him obviously
beening it in the wall in thequalifying of that that same year. So
you know, although I think andChecko obviously taking the win there last year,
didn't he Yeah he did. Yeah, So you know, you could
(37:53):
definitely say Max should win, butwill we I'm not sure. I'm still
gonna say Max Max winds it,but I think it might be a closer
battle than we would initially expect,just based off previous performances. But with
that, we have concluded this week'spodcast. Thank you very much for listening
(38:15):
to F one every week. Thankyou amuch for joining me once again.
Thanks you for having me again.No worries, No worries It till tune
in next week for a review ofthe Possibly Possibly Sans Maxim Stuff and Wins
twenty twenty four Saudi Arabia and CrownPrix
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