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Speaker 1: Hello, and welcome to pitt Talk, brought to you by Shannon's.

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Speaker 1: On today's episode, Lando Norris heads into the mid season

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Speaker 1: break on a high after claiming a strategic victory over

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Speaker 1: Oscar Piastre in Hungary, and after slumping from pole position

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Speaker 1: to fourth. What does char Leclair's roller Coaster Race tell

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Speaker 1: us about Ferrari. My name is Michael Lamonado. It's great

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Speaker 1: to have your company and the company of my co host,

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Speaker 1: Toto Wolf was photographed leaving the Ferrari motor home at

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Speaker 1: the weekend, and in the absence of any information, I'm

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Speaker 1: going to speculate that he was talking about Matt Clayton.

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Speaker 2: Almost certainly, Michael, Toto and I we're in each other's

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Speaker 2: conversations quite a lot, if you believe what you read

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Speaker 2: on social media, which of course is complete garbage. But

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Speaker 2: I did enjoy your preamble before where you said made

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Speaker 2: it to the mid season break, and that's kind of

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Speaker 2: how you and I are making it to the mid

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Speaker 2: season break. I'm not sure we've made it there that well,

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Speaker 2: but it is funny when you get fourteen rounds into

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Speaker 2: a twenty four round season and you realize there's not

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Speaker 2: a race or a couple of weekends. There's the collective exhale,

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Speaker 2: which is when we all realize that we're about to

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Speaker 2: get sick and we're all going to button up and

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Speaker 2: get ready for the last ten rounds. I'm kind of

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Speaker 2: happy there's not a triple header, I will say that.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, so a realization of sickness came very early for me.

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Speaker 1: It didn't have me thinking this is fairly off topic.

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Speaker 1: In struct me during the week the end of every season,

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Speaker 1: or the last couple of seasons, anyway, we have had

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Speaker 1: the paddock wide illness. Oh yeah, strike really in those

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Speaker 1: last three races. What normally does it is the silly

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Speaker 1: time zones of Las Vegas, which is getting slightly less

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Speaker 1: silly this year, it's still pretty silly. And then that's

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Speaker 1: in a triple header with Katar and Abu Dhabi, and

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Speaker 1: that has affected personnel and even driver. I think George

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Speaker 1: Russell last year was quite sick. Perhaps was the year before.

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Speaker 1: I wonder if that'll play a role in this championship fight.

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Speaker 1: You know, if we're talking less than ten points, we're

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Speaker 1: talking less than a race win to second place in

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Speaker 1: the last race. Someone's got a bit of a sniffle

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Speaker 1: that could make the difference.

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Speaker 2: Well, and it's not even the fact that it's so

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Speaker 2: compact at the end of the year. It's where you're going.

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Speaker 2: I mean, Vegas is notoriously cold. You've got Qatar in

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Speaker 2: and around there, which is usually roasting even to that

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Speaker 2: time of year. And then Abu Dhabi is its own

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Speaker 2: bizarre sort of microclimate anyway, So it is it is

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Speaker 2: certainly a strange one. But maybe you just need to

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Speaker 2: sit out FP and then go well for the rest

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Speaker 2: of the weekend. It worked out for Fernando also, maybe

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Speaker 2: that's maybe that's the tactic, just don't practice.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, maybe that is it. Who knows. Everyone says it

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Speaker 1: lacks the testing in the middle of the year, maybe

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Speaker 1: it actually is even less and get her off. Landa

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Speaker 1: Norris completed the full complement of practice sessions and he

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Speaker 1: did win the Grand Prix, so he's got his own

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Speaker 1: theories on that one. And he won the Grand Prix

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Speaker 1: despite qualifying behind Oscar Piastre and being well behind him

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Speaker 1: early on in this race. This was a strategic victory,

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Speaker 1: a one stop versus a two stop in some senses.

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Speaker 1: The second chapter to Belgium, where he also had a

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Speaker 1: different strategy to Oscar Piastre. He had the one stop

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Speaker 1: a Piastre pulled off a one stop despite the tire

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Speaker 1: choice and managed to prevail. There. Here it went Norris's way.

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Speaker 1: A couple of things I want to unpack from this one.

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Speaker 1: I guess let's start with the big question. It's the

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Speaker 1: one everyone's asked in the aftermath from Sunday night till now,

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Speaker 1: which is do you think Oscar Piastre has a right

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Speaker 1: to feel a little bit aggrieved by this? There's no

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Speaker 1: team orders, no one speculating that it's old. This is

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Speaker 1: a sign that McLaren's obviously favoring Lando Norris, but he

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Speaker 1: had almost similar to Silverston, obviously very different circumstances. But

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Speaker 1: he had this race, at least from the Interra team

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Speaker 1: point of view, well covered very early in the Grand Prix,

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Speaker 1: and yet emerges second best again.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, I don't know about aggrieved. Annoyed, yes, Aggrieved maybe not

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Speaker 2: so much because it wasn't a race where he had

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Speaker 2: the high ground and then was stitched up by a

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Speaker 2: strategy that meant that he had absolutely no chance to

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Speaker 2: win the race. You could see the way those final

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Speaker 2: ten laps were playing out it was a matter of

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Speaker 2: when he was going to catch Norris, not if, and

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Speaker 2: with about five laps to go, I messaged you and

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Speaker 2: said last lap, first corner, because I figured that's probably

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Speaker 2: where it was going to be. I was a lap

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Speaker 2: too late at that point, but he put himself in

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Speaker 2: a legitimate position to win this Grand Prix. Now it

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Speaker 2: wasn't able to pull it off on the penultimate lap

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Speaker 2: going into the first corner. So I think you would

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Speaker 2: be more aggrieved if the contrast strategy which Norris was

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Speaker 2: rolled the dice on because he was fifth on lap

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Speaker 2: one and had absolutely nothing to lose at that point

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Speaker 2: where it had a pretty ordinary first quarter and got

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Speaker 2: shuffled behind Russell and shuffled behind Alonzo's Aston Martin. I

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Speaker 2: think Piastre will be more annoyed that he wasn't still

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Speaker 2: able to convert despite being on them or advantageous tire

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Speaker 2: and the last five laps, and aggrieved by it. I

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Speaker 2: don't think it was any sort of you know, sort

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Speaker 2: of cunning decision or something that was going to put

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Speaker 2: him on the back foot, but it does bring into

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Speaker 2: questions something that we spoke about a couple of episodes ago,

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Speaker 2: where it was at four one, two's McLaren in the

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Speaker 2: last five rounds. There's ten rounds to go. I will

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Speaker 2: be absolutely shocked if McLaren don't win nine of those

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Speaker 2: ten the way it's looking at the moment, particularly with

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Speaker 2: twenty twenty six and this rule change looming. You remember

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Speaker 2: earlier in the season they were very very open about saying, look,

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Speaker 2: these guys are going to be on the same strategies.

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Speaker 2: We're not going to try and play strategic games within

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Speaker 2: the team because we feel that's the fairest way to

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Speaker 2: go motor racing. And you mentioned it was an extension

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Speaker 2: of Belgium. Yes, it was a little bit in that

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Speaker 2: Norris made that decision in Belgium from a relative position

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Speaker 2: of strength and was it able to pull it off.

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Speaker 2: Piastre drove that last stint on them brutal tie really

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Speaker 2: well there here. The Norris strategy that he basically lucked

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Speaker 2: into was a product of him being so poor on

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Speaker 2: the first lap, and I think if he had held

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Speaker 2: grid position, if he'd been third on lap line, or

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Speaker 2: even if he'd been a little bit higher on that one,

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Speaker 2: that strategy doesn't come into play. So I'm not sure

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Speaker 2: aggrieved is quite the right word. But annoyed definitely, because

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Speaker 2: this is a day where Piastre was the better McLaren

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Speaker 2: driver for the vast majority of this weekend and yet

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Speaker 2: ended up seeding seven points to his teammate in the championship.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, I think that's a good way to sum it up.

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Speaker 1: I think what's an interesting element to all of this

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Speaker 1: is we've talked a lot this year about how, for

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Speaker 1: a long time this has clearly been a straight championship

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Speaker 1: fight between the two McLaren drivers, but that the field

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Speaker 1: is not so spread out. McLaren's advantage isn't so massive

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Speaker 1: that there can't be other winners and therefore other influencers

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Speaker 1: in how this championship has decided. And this it came

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Speaker 1: from an unusual place, came from Charla Clair in the

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Speaker 1: Ferrari that still surprises me was there. But this was

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Speaker 1: an example of that where like a god, a pole

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Speaker 1: position that was unexpected and then had enough pace in

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Speaker 1: the right well for the first two thirds of the

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Speaker 1: race anyway to lead the Grand Prix. That had a

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Speaker 1: direct impact on the strategic thinking of Oscar Piastro in

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Speaker 1: his side of the garage, and as a result of that,

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Speaker 1: Piastre lost the race, but to Lando Norris, because Norris

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Speaker 1: had no need to be thinking about who was ahead

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Speaker 1: of him, only that there were cars ahead and he

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Speaker 1: needed to pass them with a different strategy, to try

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Speaker 1: something different. And I think that's interesting because I don't

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Speaker 1: think that's the last time that's going to happen. I mean,

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Speaker 1: I think you're probably right to say McLaren is probably

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Speaker 1: going to win in the vicinity of nine more races.

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Speaker 1: I know this is the second biggest margin between McLaren

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Speaker 1: and the next big tea, the next team on the

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Speaker 1: road this season, after Miami being the biggest. So there's

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Speaker 1: that tells you that advantage is still as large as ever.

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Speaker 1: But you know, Ferrari was clearly within striking distance for

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Speaker 1: reasons we might get to a little bit later on.

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Speaker 1: There'll be some tracks where EDWULLD racing will be competitive

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Speaker 1: again with high speed corners maybe cut up. For example,

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Speaker 1: Mercedes might win in Las Vegas like they did last year.

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Speaker 1: How will that influence the points picture? I think that's

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Speaker 1: very interesting because that's the and it was summed up

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Speaker 1: by a radio message late in the race from Tom

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Speaker 1: stellar Oscopiastri's race engineer. I confused between them sometimes talking

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Speaker 1: about what was you like your last stop to be

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Speaker 1: directed at? Do you want to beat Lando Norris or

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Speaker 1: do you want to beat Charlotte Clair? And it seems

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Speaker 1: very obvious, it's not even retrospect coould to be obvious.

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Speaker 1: At the time. There's only one driver that he's racing

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Speaker 1: for the championship, that's Lando Norris. But that question becomes

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Speaker 1: very interesting now after him having lost this race, not

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Speaker 1: because he chose Charlot Clair, but it's just by then

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Speaker 1: it was too late to do anything other than try

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Speaker 1: and respond to Lando Norris. But if a similar situation

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Speaker 1: comes up where there's another team that's competitive, another driver

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Speaker 1: could be in contention for the race, do we actually

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Speaker 1: see McLaren for the first time in years or at

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Speaker 1: least eighteen months, not target victory but target intra team victory,

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Speaker 1: because that's a very different state of mind.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, I mean, it's interesting because the constructor's championship is

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Speaker 2: basically over and the driver's championship as far as it

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Speaker 2: going to another team, is clearly over as well at

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Speaker 2: this point, So it is an interesting one. You look

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Speaker 2: at the races left to come on the calendar where

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Speaker 2: someone through by a virtue of the way they set

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Speaker 2: the car up, or just the nature of the circuit,

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Speaker 2: or as you mentioned Katar, there was a good one

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Speaker 2: Vegas with it being called Singapore is one of those

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Speaker 2: ones that if someone like Leclaire, who is a magician

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Speaker 2: over one lap as we know, produce an absolutely unbelievably

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Speaker 2: good lap in Singapore and then have the track position

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Speaker 2: on a circuit where it's incredibly difficult to pass it.

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Speaker 2: There are some tracks for the rest of the calendar

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Speaker 2: where you could see similar races to Hungary playing out. Now,

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Speaker 2: not many of them, but there are some of them.

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Speaker 2: And given this is so finely poised, you do wonder

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Speaker 2: if that idea of intra teem fairness I'm using air

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Speaker 2: quotes here comes into play, but it is. This is

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Speaker 2: one of those situations. I always think that you can

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Speaker 2: tell McLaren hasn't won a driver's championship for a very

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Speaker 2: long time when we're debating things like this, because I

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Speaker 2: get the feeling other teams, you know, edies where they

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Speaker 2: were winning championships for fun or I mean, I was

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Speaker 2: going to say Red Bull, but they already have one driver.

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Speaker 1: Motion.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, anyway, but I think there's a little bit of

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Speaker 2: as much awkwardness because I think McClaren know they're going

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Speaker 2: to win both championships this year. It's just the identity

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Speaker 2: of the driver's championship is the one that's up in

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Speaker 2: the air. There's a little bit of almost ring rust

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Speaker 2: with all of this because they're not used to being

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Speaker 2: in this position, and there's a lot of I found

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Speaker 2: that Tom stale art message really odd, to be honest,

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Speaker 2: because is that even a question of course you're raising

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Speaker 2: the guy you're fighting for the championship with. He just

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Speaker 2: happens to be in the same car. The rest of

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Speaker 2: the drivers in terms of championship terms are kind of

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Speaker 2: irrelevant at this point. Nobody's in it, so I thought

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Speaker 2: it was really odd. But I'm super curious to see

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Speaker 2: we've now had two Grand Prix where Norris, by virtue

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Speaker 2: of being the second of the two McLaren's on the road,

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Speaker 2: has probably been overtly or inadvertently placed on the superior

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Speaker 2: of the two strategies. It's just that Piastre was good

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Speaker 2: enough to make what he had work in Belgium, and

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Speaker 2: then wasn't quite good enough in order to make what

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Speaker 2: he had to make work in hungary work. So there's

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Speaker 2: a couple of races in a row now where the

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Speaker 2: perception is well Norris, by being the second McLaren has

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Speaker 2: actually kind of lucked his weight in probably being in

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Speaker 2: the best situation. It's just that it's one all in

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Speaker 2: those two races. But given that we have ten rounds

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Speaker 2: to go, I'll be super curious to see how many

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Speaker 2: more times this comes up.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, I mean, you're right, and if we assume, and

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Speaker 1: like you said, I don't think every race is going

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Speaker 1: to be like this, but let's just assume for a

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Speaker 1: second that every race, after a few lapse it's clear

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Speaker 1: there are two McLaren's out front, no one else is

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Speaker 1: going to threaten. You can argue that it is a

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Speaker 1: real disadvantage being in the lead because whoever's second can

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Speaker 1: respond more easily. If McLaren's drivers are really allowed to

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Speaker 1: not pull any punches strategically or the way they want

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Speaker 1: to approach it, you can just simply respond to the

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Speaker 1: other time. You know. The most extreme visceral example of

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Speaker 1: this is, of course, oh dear, we mentioned this race

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Speaker 1: again twenty twenty one, and abo it was an advantage

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Speaker 1: to be second when that safety car came out because

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Speaker 1: you could do whatever was everything, get you ahead, or

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Speaker 1: give you the better tires for.

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Speaker 2: The restart, everything to gain, nothing to lose.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, exactly. So there's that, there's that that interesting element.

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Speaker 1: So I think that's what that's this this extra spice

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Speaker 1: to this championship of you like, is that we talk

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Speaker 1: about it being a straight fight, and in terms of

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Speaker 1: pace it will be, and there's so little between them.

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Speaker 1: But because there's so little between them, there's so much

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Speaker 1: go for circumstances to affect outcomes of each rays. Just

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Speaker 1: before we move on, I think it's probably worth reflecting

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Speaker 1: here as well that race by race, circuit by circuit

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Speaker 1: is going to be really affecting. I thought it was interesting.

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Speaker 1: You know, Oscar Piastri had a pretty good handle and

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Speaker 1: everything in Belgium. That's long been one of his favorite tracks.

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Speaker 1: He calls it one of his favorite tracks. But even

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Speaker 1: in terms of performance, every year has been in Formula One,

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Speaker 1: he's been the better perforre McLaren here. This was in

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Speaker 1: the Norris column. He's never been out qualified by a tear.

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Speaker 1: He had never been qualified by a teammate until this

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Speaker 1: weekend input a pest did emerge with the victory, though,

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Speaker 1: I think that kind of at least reflects again where

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Speaker 1: those tracks would have been in each column. But I

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Speaker 1: want to look briefly and we will do again when

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Speaker 1: the season resumes. But the next two races I think

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Speaker 1: is again one apiece. The Dutch Grand Prix is a

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Speaker 1: pretty good track for Norris, but Piastre, as he showed

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Speaker 1: last year, is very quick in Monds and I think

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Speaker 1: that's that additional way of looking at that last ten

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Speaker 1: race breakdown is actually it could just be the tracks

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Speaker 1: we're visiting.

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Speaker 2: Well, and it might come down to know what results

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Speaker 2: can you glean at tracks that are not necessarily on

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Speaker 2: the topic of your shopping list. It'll be, you know,

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Speaker 2: make it making the best of your worst days if

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Speaker 2: you like. It strikes me as being one of those

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Speaker 2: sorts of championships, and you look at where the gap

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Speaker 2: is between the two of them and the moment effectively,

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Speaker 2: they both had a dn F. I'm you know, Pastre's

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Speaker 2: Australian crand Prix was more or less a d an F.

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Speaker 2: Given the points that he was going to be scoring.

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Speaker 2: He ended up with two that day. It was too

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Speaker 2: wasn't it. Yes, it was two and Norris obviously had

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Speaker 2: the DNF in candidate. So it kind of feels that

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Speaker 2: this is because of how tight it is, and because

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Speaker 2: of how dominant, how good the car is, and because

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Speaker 2: it's so hard to really pick a favorite over the

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Speaker 2: other in terms of the ebbs and flow of this.

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Speaker 2: This is going to come down to what do you

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Speaker 2: do on those worst days that maybe some of your

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Speaker 2: not so great circuits? So do you need to have

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Speaker 2: an outlier result at a good track? Like you mentioned

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Speaker 2: good tracks? Qutars won for PSTRE. Isn't it that there's

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Speaker 2: certain circuits where you know that he's going to be strong.

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Speaker 2: I don't want to say this out loud, but I

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Speaker 2: just did think it, so I man as well. I

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Speaker 2: don't think ab aber Dave he's not a fantastic PSTRE track,

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Speaker 2: is it?

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Speaker 1: I don't think historically No, Well he was wiped out.

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Speaker 1: Was he second on the good last year? No? But

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Speaker 1: he was second on the grid. So I knows. We've

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Speaker 1: said it out there. Save it for the crystal ball. Yes,

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Speaker 1: let's move on now to Move of the Week, brought

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Speaker 1: to you by Shannons. This was, as we talked last week,

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Speaker 1: look hungry It ebbs and flows but it's usually a

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Speaker 1: pretty reliably interesting race these days, at a minimum, and

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Speaker 1: we did get that. Even though there's a long stretch

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Speaker 1: in the middle of the race, race thought, oh, my

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Speaker 1: race reports complete and I have nothing to do for

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Speaker 1: the next one five minutes famous last words. Yeah, absolutely.

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Speaker 1: I did end up being really quite an exciting climax

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Speaker 1: to the race, even though there was no overtake for

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Speaker 1: the lead. But what's your move of the week? Now?

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Speaker 2: I'm only going to mention this person and this team

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Speaker 2: because they're probably not going to get podcast otherwise, and

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Speaker 2: I would like to shoehorn them in there just for

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Speaker 2: the sake of it, and also because you know that

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Speaker 2: I like to go a little bit left of center

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Speaker 2: with move of the week. My move of the week

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Speaker 2: is Aston Martin being the worst team in Formula One,

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Speaker 2: and then seven days later you.

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Speaker 1: Are kidding.

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Speaker 2: Seven days later as amazing. We've not discussed this seven

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Speaker 2: days later finishing fifth with Fernando a lot So and

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Speaker 2: seventh with lad Stroll. And the reason I enjoyed this

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Speaker 2: so much is there's a there's a degree of mischief

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Speaker 2: that comes with Fernando a lot So being higher in

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Speaker 2: the top ten than he probably should and that I

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Speaker 2: literally had the giggles earlier on the race where you

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Speaker 2: could see that, you know, after Norris had retaken him

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Speaker 2: and he'd settle back into his natural position of fifth,

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Speaker 2: the way he was managing the pace of every single

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Speaker 2: driver behind him in the race, so there was this

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Speaker 2: absolutely enormous DRS trade going on, that he was backing

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Speaker 2: everybody up to best advantage his own position when he

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Speaker 2: wants it to go. And then there came a point

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Speaker 2: in that first stip where it's like, all right, now

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Speaker 2: I'm just going to start driving properly and started gapping

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Speaker 2: everything to preserve that league before he went into the pits.

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Speaker 2: It's just this, and it's what happens when you're forty

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Speaker 2: four years old. You've done the Hungarian Grand Prix twenty

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Speaker 2: times or have many times. A lot so has done it.

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Speaker 2: But I do love the sense of mischief that comes

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Speaker 2: with Fernando and the upper areas of the top ten,

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Speaker 2: where he hasn't spent too much time this year unfortunately.

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Speaker 2: But move of the week from the from the outhouse

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Speaker 2: to the penthouse, I was thinking of the polite way

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Speaker 2: to call that it deserves some consideration, but also move

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Speaker 2: of the week. I cannot believe of all the things

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Speaker 2: you could have come up with on your short list

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Speaker 2: to talk about, that is we are spending far too

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Speaker 2: much time together.

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Speaker 1: Remarkable, isn't it? But literally from the tenth order of

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Speaker 1: the fastest lap in qualifying the slowest car in Belgium

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Speaker 1: to the second fastest remarkable turn around, incredible, barely anything

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Speaker 1: off the fastest lap as well less than three tenths

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Speaker 1: the fastest McLaren lab just for no There there were

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Speaker 1: reasons this second was very beneficial to the car, and

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Speaker 1: there's clearly a configuration of the upgrades they've brought in

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Speaker 1: the last month or so work depending on the circuit.

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Speaker 1: But a really remarkable turnaround. But I'm still going to

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Speaker 1: I'll look, I'll give a different one, but I'm still

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Speaker 1: going to be Alonzo centered. I'm going to go for

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Speaker 1: a Lonzo's move off the line. That was also which

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Speaker 1: Tolonso saw an opportunity capitalized on a driver, in this

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Speaker 1: case Norris getting a good start but ensuring he was

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Speaker 1: boxed in and had to yield and had to lose places.

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Speaker 1: It's exactly what he did ground the outside to turn one,

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Speaker 1: then in the down the inside to turn two almost

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Speaker 1: got Russell exiting turn too as well and would have

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Speaker 1: been up to third place, which had been really remarkable.

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Speaker 1: Didn't hold him up for too long because he knew

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Speaker 1: his race wasn't holding up Norris, but in holding up

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Speaker 1: everybody else and good for him and got a really

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Speaker 1: great result out of it. Maximize his result, and it's

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Speaker 1: it's interesting. I was looking back at the season. I'm

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Speaker 1: putting together the driver ratings, which will be up on

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Speaker 1: the Fox Sports website sometime this week. How he had

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Speaker 1: a relatively quiet start to the year, but once the

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Speaker 1: car began to get a little bit more go about it,

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Speaker 1: suddenly his tails in the air and he's pulling off

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Speaker 1: some I don't want to say they're absolutely vintage Alonso

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Speaker 1: performances because they deserve pod and victories, not just fifth

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Speaker 1: places or points, but they are. They show you that

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Speaker 1: he's still got that or how much his experience counts for.

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Speaker 1: I think that's why he's so valuable to Aston Martin.

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Speaker 1: It's obviously that the prestige that he's fundamentally a very

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Speaker 1: good driver, but it's his experience that is delivering results

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Speaker 1: in this car. And this was just not a great

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Speaker 1: example of it.

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Speaker 2: And off the start. There's always been something magical about

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Speaker 2: him because I feel that he always sees opportunities that

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Speaker 2: split second before anybody else does, and he's so decisive.

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Speaker 2: You mentioned that move there where he basically gave not

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Speaker 2: us an impossible situation to have to resolve in real time,

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Speaker 2: and knowing that he could put him in that situation

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Speaker 2: before he did. But this is one of those conversations.

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Speaker 2: I remember having this chat with Daniel Ricardo Watson. We're

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Speaker 2: talking about starts to races, and he would always say,

404
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Speaker 2: know who's besides you know the row in front of you,

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Speaker 2: know the row behind you, and know where Fernando is.

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Speaker 2: And that was almost like one of his is because

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Speaker 2: he knew that, you know, that little gap appears down

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Speaker 2: the middle of two cars and a group, Fernando's probably

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Speaker 2: in it. You've seen over the years the amount of

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Speaker 2: brilliant starts where he's had two wheels on the grass

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Speaker 2: and done all sorts of absolutely miraculous things in cars

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Speaker 2: that shouldn't be up the front. That was a vintage start.

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Speaker 2: But I'm still shaking my head that we've got the

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Speaker 2: same entry to this category.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, I thought for sure that I was in the clear,

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Speaker 1: but I was like, I gets the first one, but

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Speaker 1: I've got it.

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Speaker 2: On this I think next week you just need to

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Speaker 2: take the first one and stop being such a gracious host.

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Speaker 1: Let's look to one other element of this Grand Prix now, Matt,

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Speaker 1: and that is Ferrari. Before we get to the results

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Speaker 1: on track, I think we should actually start with what

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Speaker 1: happened last week, which was that long last the team

424
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Speaker 1: announced that it had re signed team principal Frederick Masser.

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Speaker 1: The hyphen was there was nothing else and for other

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Speaker 1: it is the best kind of Formula One contract, a

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Speaker 1: multi year contract. Paddick ri is another three years, which

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Speaker 1: would take him to six years, which would make him

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Speaker 1: remarkably the equal longest serving Ferrari team principle since Stefana

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Speaker 1: Tamenicali back into the two thousands. I guess now runs

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Speaker 1: Formula One, so that's interesting in its own right. It

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Speaker 1: took a little bit of time to get there. It endured,

433
00:19:01,119 --> 00:19:04,000
Speaker 1: he had to endure some rumors that weren't fully swatted

434
00:19:04,040 --> 00:19:05,880
Speaker 1: away by the team. I think it's fair to say

435
00:19:05,880 --> 00:19:08,640
Speaker 1: a month or two ago, but they've stuck with him.

436
00:19:08,800 --> 00:19:10,960
Speaker 1: It would have always been a strange time to change

437
00:19:11,000 --> 00:19:13,000
Speaker 1: team boss they had of a big regulatory change, but

438
00:19:13,080 --> 00:19:16,680
Speaker 1: at least this gives the team a bit of medium

439
00:19:16,840 --> 00:19:19,000
Speaker 1: term stability to move forward.

440
00:19:19,080 --> 00:19:21,560
Speaker 2: Yeah, completely, And you know you mentioned the timing of

441
00:19:21,560 --> 00:19:24,240
Speaker 2: twenty six coming in and the effectively the hard reset

442
00:19:24,240 --> 00:19:27,480
Speaker 2: for next year. We don't need to add another element

443
00:19:27,560 --> 00:19:30,480
Speaker 2: of chaos here or you know, an unknown quantity into

444
00:19:30,480 --> 00:19:34,080
Speaker 2: a time of such change elsewhere. To my mind, there

445
00:19:34,119 --> 00:19:36,560
Speaker 2: was a lot of noise about a lot not much

446
00:19:36,600 --> 00:19:40,440
Speaker 2: with this situation here because I'm you always think, well, okay,

447
00:19:40,440 --> 00:19:42,080
Speaker 2: if that is not the guy in the job, then

448
00:19:42,560 --> 00:19:44,160
Speaker 2: someone else needs to be in the job, or someone

449
00:19:44,160 --> 00:19:45,960
Speaker 2: else should be in the job already. Are they going

450
00:19:45,960 --> 00:19:49,880
Speaker 2: to do anything better and or different? That was always

451
00:19:49,960 --> 00:19:53,000
Speaker 2: the that was always the thought for me in that

452
00:19:53,119 --> 00:19:56,040
Speaker 2: it just seemed, what are we doing a change for

453
00:19:56,119 --> 00:19:59,080
Speaker 2: change's sake here? Allah alping when things don't go well

454
00:20:00,320 --> 00:20:03,520
Speaker 2: or or is there actually something legitimate here? There's been

455
00:20:03,520 --> 00:20:04,720
Speaker 2: a lot of change behind the scenes there.

456
00:20:04,720 --> 00:20:05,120
Speaker 1: Obviously.

457
00:20:05,119 --> 00:20:09,760
Speaker 2: The Hamilton acquisition hasn't really been something that neither team

458
00:20:09,800 --> 00:20:12,159
Speaker 2: nor driver has been particularly happy about so far, and

459
00:20:12,160 --> 00:20:14,119
Speaker 2: I'll caveat that with so far because we do need

460
00:20:14,200 --> 00:20:17,000
Speaker 2: to play with a longer lens here. But to my mind,

461
00:20:17,040 --> 00:20:18,399
Speaker 2: I think it's the right move. I think it was

462
00:20:18,440 --> 00:20:20,800
Speaker 2: a sensible move. I was a little bit surprised to

463
00:20:20,920 --> 00:20:23,399
Speaker 2: some degree that it was such an issue in the

464
00:20:23,480 --> 00:20:25,600
Speaker 2: lead up to him being re signed include the hyphen

465
00:20:26,080 --> 00:20:27,600
Speaker 2: but then again, this is Ferrari, and this is the

466
00:20:27,640 --> 00:20:29,920
Speaker 2: Italian press, and we should know how this works by now.

467
00:20:29,960 --> 00:20:32,800
Speaker 2: But I don't know if you thought that it was

468
00:20:32,880 --> 00:20:36,199
Speaker 2: the correct or incorrect decision. But to my mind, it

469
00:20:36,280 --> 00:20:39,000
Speaker 2: seemed that having a pillar of stability, given there's going

470
00:20:39,040 --> 00:20:40,679
Speaker 2: to be so much change next year, seemed to be

471
00:20:40,680 --> 00:20:41,360
Speaker 2: the sensible move.

472
00:20:41,520 --> 00:20:43,600
Speaker 1: I think so. And it's the I think you summed

473
00:20:43,600 --> 00:20:45,719
Speaker 1: it up well as like, what is the purpose of

474
00:20:45,760 --> 00:20:47,800
Speaker 1: the change? If there's no purpose of it other than

475
00:20:47,840 --> 00:20:49,840
Speaker 1: what we're Ferrari, it seems like the thing he would do.

476
00:20:50,160 --> 00:20:52,520
Speaker 1: Then I think that that's a good summary, and I

477
00:20:52,520 --> 00:20:56,560
Speaker 1: think he was going to consider the building a successful formulae.

478
00:20:56,560 --> 00:20:59,359
Speaker 1: Team is a project, and the project here is that

479
00:20:59,359 --> 00:21:02,359
Speaker 1: You've got Charlot Claire probably entering his peak. You've got

480
00:21:02,440 --> 00:21:05,199
Speaker 1: Lewis Hamilton, maybe we'll talk about a second, might be

481
00:21:05,240 --> 00:21:08,600
Speaker 1: past his peak, but nonetheless brings extreme experience to the team,

482
00:21:08,680 --> 00:21:11,360
Speaker 1: like you have a lineup that is ready to win,

483
00:21:12,000 --> 00:21:14,879
Speaker 1: and you've got a technical team that's that's shown itself

484
00:21:14,880 --> 00:21:18,000
Speaker 1: capable of some innovative solutions to the regulations that got

485
00:21:18,080 --> 00:21:21,440
Speaker 1: very close to an Inconstructors Champion Championship last year, and

486
00:21:21,480 --> 00:21:24,159
Speaker 1: you've got this chance with new rules that you know

487
00:21:24,640 --> 00:21:26,560
Speaker 1: you could take that step that every team wants to

488
00:21:26,680 --> 00:21:29,359
Speaker 1: next year. It would be silly to disrupt that for

489
00:21:29,400 --> 00:21:31,280
Speaker 1: no reason. Do it next year if you like, if

490
00:21:31,280 --> 00:21:33,480
Speaker 1: the team is six in the championship with no hope,

491
00:21:33,480 --> 00:21:36,199
Speaker 1: then go for it. But it seems silly to do

492
00:21:36,240 --> 00:21:38,080
Speaker 1: it now and based on what and then who will

493
00:21:38,080 --> 00:21:40,800
Speaker 1: you get? You know, it's it would be nonsense. So

494
00:21:41,000 --> 00:21:43,240
Speaker 1: I think it's the right call. I think any Ferrari,

495
00:21:43,359 --> 00:21:46,600
Speaker 1: any Ferrari fan must surely be satisfied there's not just

496
00:21:46,680 --> 00:21:49,720
Speaker 1: more unnecessary bloodshed at that team, just as things might

497
00:21:49,840 --> 00:21:52,120
Speaker 1: be kind of getting good and for a time mat

498
00:21:52,119 --> 00:21:53,960
Speaker 1: it looked like actually there would be a little signature

499
00:21:54,000 --> 00:21:56,600
Speaker 1: bounce there with Charlote Clair getting pole position at the

500
00:21:56,640 --> 00:21:58,960
Speaker 1: Hungary and grown free most unexpectedly. He is in the

501
00:21:59,000 --> 00:22:02,080
Speaker 1: fourth fastest car, but the conditions were just so in

502
00:22:02,200 --> 00:22:04,480
Speaker 1: Q three that he was able to put together a

503
00:22:04,480 --> 00:22:07,199
Speaker 1: clean lap to get it done. A nice reminder, and

504
00:22:07,320 --> 00:22:08,800
Speaker 1: you know, I think it was after the British Grand Prix.

505
00:22:08,880 --> 00:22:10,680
Speaker 1: Wasn't more recently that he talked about how he felt

506
00:22:10,760 --> 00:22:14,040
Speaker 1: like he had lost his that little qualifying magic dust

507
00:22:14,080 --> 00:22:15,800
Speaker 1: that he seems to have had throughout his whole career.

508
00:22:15,840 --> 00:22:17,719
Speaker 1: He's just so superb over one lap that he couldn't

509
00:22:17,720 --> 00:22:20,000
Speaker 1: access it this year. But he got in a big

510
00:22:20,000 --> 00:22:22,840
Speaker 1: way in Hungary and then led the first two thirds

511
00:22:22,840 --> 00:22:25,000
Speaker 1: of the race with pace that certainly surprised me. I

512
00:22:25,040 --> 00:22:26,639
Speaker 1: didn't expect the Ferrari to be that competitive in the

513
00:22:26,680 --> 00:22:30,879
Speaker 1: Grand Prix, and then he finished fourth, forty two seconds

514
00:22:30,920 --> 00:22:34,400
Speaker 1: off the lead. Forty two seconds off the lead. I'm

515
00:22:34,520 --> 00:22:37,520
Speaker 1: quite frustrated as well. There have been a lot of

516
00:22:37,560 --> 00:22:40,320
Speaker 1: reasons Matt given as to why that might have happened,

517
00:22:40,359 --> 00:22:42,800
Speaker 1: but Ferrari, as is its way, hasn't really confirmed any

518
00:22:42,840 --> 00:22:45,440
Speaker 1: of them or said for sure what they are. What's

519
00:22:45,480 --> 00:22:48,440
Speaker 1: your take on this or is this just Ferrari being Ferrari?

520
00:22:48,920 --> 00:22:50,680
Speaker 2: A little bit of Colin Boe. I think when it

521
00:22:51,359 --> 00:22:55,399
Speaker 2: comes I like you, I thought amazing and got popposition fantastic.

522
00:22:56,160 --> 00:22:59,359
Speaker 2: You will be fifteen seconds behind both McLaren's body till

523
00:22:59,400 --> 00:23:00,959
Speaker 2: we get to the first and that was all very

524
00:23:01,040 --> 00:23:03,639
Speaker 2: nice on Saturday, but congratulations, you might be able to

525
00:23:03,640 --> 00:23:05,960
Speaker 2: get a podium. I think if you'd said coming into

526
00:23:05,960 --> 00:23:07,840
Speaker 2: the weekend, hey, charloa clare is going to finish fourth

527
00:23:07,840 --> 00:23:09,440
Speaker 2: in Hungary, you go geez, you said a good weekend,

528
00:23:09,480 --> 00:23:13,480
Speaker 2: doesn't he That's probably where overachieved. So it's all being

529
00:23:13,520 --> 00:23:16,040
Speaker 2: looked at through the lens of qualifying on pole and

530
00:23:16,119 --> 00:23:18,720
Speaker 2: leading for a good chunk of this race. But the

531
00:23:19,000 --> 00:23:23,240
Speaker 2: entire thing just completely unraveled after that second pit stop.

532
00:23:23,359 --> 00:23:25,840
Speaker 2: It's unbelievably slow. I mean you mentioned the forty two

533
00:23:25,840 --> 00:23:29,280
Speaker 2: second deficit to the winner. There's a five second penalty

534
00:23:29,320 --> 00:23:31,480
Speaker 2: there for driving erratically while he was trying to defend

535
00:23:31,520 --> 00:23:33,639
Speaker 2: third place against George Russell, so that factors into the

536
00:23:33,640 --> 00:23:36,879
Speaker 2: equation as well. But it all seems to come down

537
00:23:36,960 --> 00:23:40,040
Speaker 2: to how high or not they can run this car.

538
00:23:40,160 --> 00:23:42,600
Speaker 2: And you know we're talking about plank. Were as far

539
00:23:42,640 --> 00:23:46,120
Speaker 2: back as China, it was about two Still haven't really

540
00:23:46,400 --> 00:23:48,480
Speaker 2: got on top of that, and so much of the

541
00:23:48,480 --> 00:23:51,440
Speaker 2: way they're setting that car up is trying to keep

542
00:23:51,480 --> 00:23:54,240
Speaker 2: it in a decent performance window but also not fall

543
00:23:54,240 --> 00:23:57,240
Speaker 2: for out of these plankware regulations that they've skirted around

544
00:23:57,280 --> 00:23:59,040
Speaker 2: the edges of now for the best part of what

545
00:23:59,320 --> 00:24:02,480
Speaker 2: five months, So I don't necessarily think that's going to change.

546
00:24:02,560 --> 00:24:06,280
Speaker 2: But his lap times in that last twenty odd laps

547
00:24:06,320 --> 00:24:10,320
Speaker 2: were alarmingly bad, and I'm sure he wasn't driving any worse,

548
00:24:10,359 --> 00:24:13,320
Speaker 2: but yeah, he was, to use a David croftism, he

549
00:24:13,400 --> 00:24:14,720
Speaker 2: was very het up over.

550
00:24:14,560 --> 00:24:19,040
Speaker 1: The rate he was. And yes, there is the speculation

551
00:24:19,119 --> 00:24:23,000
Speaker 1: that it is all related that actually the upgrades that

552
00:24:23,040 --> 00:24:25,040
Speaker 1: the team had broad in the last couple of rounds,

553
00:24:25,280 --> 00:24:27,720
Speaker 1: or ending with that package, the suspension package brought at

554
00:24:27,760 --> 00:24:30,760
Speaker 1: the Belgian Grand Prix, which had appeared or had seemed

555
00:24:30,760 --> 00:24:32,760
Speaker 1: to have been targeted at being able to run the

556
00:24:32,800 --> 00:24:36,080
Speaker 1: car and its happy place more effectively, perhaps hasn't been.

557
00:24:36,080 --> 00:24:38,080
Speaker 1: The hung car ring has been resurfaced. It was partly

558
00:24:38,119 --> 00:24:40,600
Speaker 1: resurfaced as part of its reconstruction efforts since the last race,

559
00:24:40,640 --> 00:24:44,639
Speaker 1: but memory serves, was resurfaced entirely not that long ago either,

560
00:24:44,680 --> 00:24:46,919
Speaker 1: in the last few years. So was by no means

561
00:24:48,000 --> 00:24:52,679
Speaker 1: rough and tumble saved by a pre iron curtain circuit.

562
00:24:52,680 --> 00:24:55,520
Speaker 1: That yes, so this shouldn't have been a track while

563
00:24:55,560 --> 00:24:57,760
Speaker 1: it does undulate a little bit. That really made that

564
00:24:57,800 --> 00:25:00,600
Speaker 1: a massive risk. Perhaps it was a calculated risk whereby

565
00:25:00,640 --> 00:25:02,119
Speaker 1: they hope they'd be far and up ahead, they'd be

566
00:25:02,119 --> 00:25:04,800
Speaker 1: able to absorb some of the pain later on. But

567
00:25:04,800 --> 00:25:06,520
Speaker 1: now I know you're like a statistic and I've put

568
00:25:06,520 --> 00:25:09,080
Speaker 1: together some of these after Sunday. But Claire has twenty

569
00:25:09,080 --> 00:25:12,280
Speaker 1: seven pole positions. It was him eleventh eleventh on the

570
00:25:12,320 --> 00:25:15,120
Speaker 1: all time pole list. Only two menel fandre Quid equal

571
00:25:15,200 --> 00:25:18,120
Speaker 1: that later this year. Who knows only five of those

572
00:25:18,160 --> 00:25:23,000
Speaker 1: have ended with victories. From his last sixteen pole positions,

573
00:25:23,040 --> 00:25:26,640
Speaker 1: only one of them has ended in a win. That's remarkable.

574
00:25:26,840 --> 00:25:28,200
Speaker 1: That's very upsetting.

575
00:25:28,520 --> 00:25:30,720
Speaker 2: I mean, uncharitably, you could say, well, he should be

576
00:25:30,840 --> 00:25:33,120
Speaker 2: used to it, so I can't be that upset anymore

577
00:25:33,160 --> 00:25:36,320
Speaker 2: because this is just part of the course. He'd be

578
00:25:36,320 --> 00:25:39,800
Speaker 2: more like, oh, I won imagine that. But it's always

579
00:25:39,800 --> 00:25:42,119
Speaker 2: been the story of his career. And you mentioned it before.

580
00:25:42,359 --> 00:25:44,600
Speaker 2: He's one of the better, particularly where the cars a

581
00:25:44,640 --> 00:25:46,840
Speaker 2: little bit better than this year is, but maybe not

582
00:25:46,960 --> 00:25:49,439
Speaker 2: the absolute class of the field. He's one of the

583
00:25:49,480 --> 00:25:52,160
Speaker 2: best one lap drivers we've seen in a very very

584
00:25:52,160 --> 00:25:54,920
Speaker 2: long time. And there's certain Q three sessions that I

585
00:25:55,000 --> 00:25:57,520
Speaker 2: always look forward to each year if he is in

586
00:25:57,560 --> 00:25:59,400
Speaker 2: it in a car that's not the gold standard, because

587
00:25:59,440 --> 00:26:01,399
Speaker 2: you know that he's going to produce something special. The

588
00:26:01,480 --> 00:26:03,560
Speaker 2: one that I always think of is Asvajan. I love

589
00:26:03,600 --> 00:26:06,119
Speaker 2: watching him around there in that middle section where they

590
00:26:06,200 --> 00:26:08,120
Speaker 2: go past the castle and across the top of the city.

591
00:26:08,160 --> 00:26:12,280
Speaker 2: There he's absolutely electrifying through there, and he's just got

592
00:26:12,280 --> 00:26:15,199
Speaker 2: this ability to completely transcend his machinery. But then, of

593
00:26:15,240 --> 00:26:17,600
Speaker 2: course over the full race distance it reverts to the meme.

594
00:26:17,640 --> 00:26:22,160
Speaker 2: But what one of the last sixteen is And don't

595
00:26:22,200 --> 00:26:24,479
Speaker 2: think that he and the team and everyone doesn't know

596
00:26:24,560 --> 00:26:26,639
Speaker 2: that that's one of those that's not a you know,

597
00:26:26,680 --> 00:26:28,640
Speaker 2: that's not a monkey on your back, that's a gorilla

598
00:26:28,680 --> 00:26:29,480
Speaker 2: at this point, is it?

599
00:26:29,600 --> 00:26:31,359
Speaker 1: Yes, he has the worst I think I did the

600
00:26:31,400 --> 00:26:34,080
Speaker 1: statistics recently. I believe they still hold up the worst

601
00:26:34,200 --> 00:26:38,600
Speaker 1: poll to victory conversion rate, but five he's in the

602
00:26:38,600 --> 00:26:41,359
Speaker 1: bottom five. The only drivers with worst pole conversion rates

603
00:26:41,400 --> 00:26:46,080
Speaker 1: is renhe Hanu had two poles or two varies. David Coulthard,

604
00:26:46,520 --> 00:26:51,280
Speaker 1: Jean Pierre Jabouille and Ralph Schumacher the only ones. And

605
00:26:51,320 --> 00:26:53,159
Speaker 1: then it's char Leclair, so he's got a little bit

606
00:26:53,160 --> 00:26:55,719
Speaker 1: of work to do. But I think, as we've probably

607
00:26:55,720 --> 00:26:57,280
Speaker 1: said in the past, and as we've sort of summed

608
00:26:57,359 --> 00:27:00,600
Speaker 1: up here, it's not really on him failing to can victories.

609
00:27:00,600 --> 00:27:03,639
Speaker 1: It's normally on him qualifying higher by which I'm in

610
00:27:03,680 --> 00:27:06,320
Speaker 1: pole than that car belongs. And I think that was

611
00:27:06,400 --> 00:27:09,080
Speaker 1: very much the case this weekend. The fourth fastest car well,

612
00:27:09,080 --> 00:27:10,560
Speaker 1: I finished fourth on the roads there you go. In

613
00:27:10,560 --> 00:27:12,639
Speaker 1: fact finished it as the third best car ahead of

614
00:27:12,680 --> 00:27:15,359
Speaker 1: the red Wall racing cars. In some senses, he still overachieved,

615
00:27:15,359 --> 00:27:17,280
Speaker 1: although I'm sure that won't make him feel any better.

616
00:27:17,640 --> 00:27:19,320
Speaker 1: I want to talk about Lewis Hamilton before we wrap

617
00:27:19,359 --> 00:27:22,399
Speaker 1: this one up, though, because this was another disappointing weekend

618
00:27:22,400 --> 00:27:24,640
Speaker 1: for him. Is it related to me predicting he would

619
00:27:24,680 --> 00:27:29,800
Speaker 1: win again? Maybe? Maybe not, Let's say no. But he

620
00:27:29,880 --> 00:27:32,399
Speaker 1: qualified outside of the top ten, it was lockdown Q

621
00:27:32,440 --> 00:27:35,080
Speaker 1: two in twelfth and he finished twelfth. So unlike at

622
00:27:35,119 --> 00:27:37,560
Speaker 1: the Belgian Grand Prix, where at least in race trim

623
00:27:37,640 --> 00:27:39,760
Speaker 1: he was more competitive, particularly in the wet and I

624
00:27:39,840 --> 00:27:41,560
Speaker 1: was able to recover from pretty much the back of

625
00:27:41,560 --> 00:27:44,639
Speaker 1: the grid to score points, this weekend he went nowhere.

626
00:27:44,640 --> 00:27:46,600
Speaker 1: He was as we said last week where he still

627
00:27:46,680 --> 00:27:50,320
Speaker 1: is the most successful driver ever in Hungara Ring history.

628
00:27:50,320 --> 00:27:52,800
Speaker 1: He has pretty much every meaningful record at this circuit,

629
00:27:52,800 --> 00:27:55,040
Speaker 1: but could not score points this weekend. His worst ever

630
00:27:55,040 --> 00:27:57,879
Speaker 1: finish here and he's worst ever qualification here without a

631
00:27:57,920 --> 00:28:03,600
Speaker 1: technical problem, And he sounded pretty grim about everything at

632
00:28:03,640 --> 00:28:06,159
Speaker 1: all times. Man, I think they were say after qualifying,

633
00:28:06,600 --> 00:28:09,280
Speaker 1: after the race, not a lot of words from him,

634
00:28:09,320 --> 00:28:13,120
Speaker 1: but the few words he did give away sounded pretty despondent.

635
00:28:13,840 --> 00:28:15,520
Speaker 1: Is that I mean that's part of Hamilton, isn't that

636
00:28:15,760 --> 00:28:17,959
Speaker 1: he comes out of the car his heart's on his sleeve.

637
00:28:18,200 --> 00:28:20,800
Speaker 1: But do you feel like this is a new level

638
00:28:20,920 --> 00:28:23,720
Speaker 1: of disappointment from him? And is it because it's this

639
00:28:23,840 --> 00:28:25,480
Speaker 1: circuit and it's his teammate on Pole.

640
00:28:25,840 --> 00:28:28,200
Speaker 2: Yeah, there's a few factors coming into play there. I

641
00:28:28,200 --> 00:28:31,000
Speaker 2: think the only person that wants her mid season breaking

642
00:28:31,040 --> 00:28:32,960
Speaker 2: a few weeks off more than you is probably Lewis

643
00:28:32,960 --> 00:28:35,320
Speaker 2: Hamilton at this point, like he one hundred percent needs

644
00:28:35,359 --> 00:28:36,720
Speaker 2: to just get his head out.

645
00:28:36,640 --> 00:28:37,400
Speaker 1: Of it for a little bit.

646
00:28:37,880 --> 00:28:40,880
Speaker 2: It must be particularly galling when you know that you

647
00:28:40,920 --> 00:28:42,640
Speaker 2: have been very good on this circuit in the past,

648
00:28:42,640 --> 00:28:44,440
Speaker 2: when you've had the best car, and when you haven't

649
00:28:44,440 --> 00:28:47,720
Speaker 2: had the best car. You've been able to really create

650
00:28:47,840 --> 00:28:50,280
Speaker 2: some magic at this track. Then to see your teammate

651
00:28:50,320 --> 00:28:52,200
Speaker 2: pull a lap out of the bag to be on pole.

652
00:28:52,760 --> 00:28:55,240
Speaker 2: The gaps were so tight in qualifying that there wasn't

653
00:28:55,240 --> 00:28:57,960
Speaker 2: a lot between them when they were in Q two. Anyway,

654
00:28:58,040 --> 00:28:59,840
Speaker 2: Laclare was just on the right side of it, Hamilton

655
00:28:59,880 --> 00:29:01,480
Speaker 2: on the wrong side of it. We know that it's

656
00:29:01,480 --> 00:29:03,680
Speaker 2: a track position circuit and if you get stuck in

657
00:29:03,720 --> 00:29:05,680
Speaker 2: a DRS train, that's where you will stay. It's the

658
00:29:05,680 --> 00:29:10,600
Speaker 2: way it works out there, But he just seems the

659
00:29:10,640 --> 00:29:12,320
Speaker 2: wearing his heart on his sleeve is one of the

660
00:29:12,320 --> 00:29:14,160
Speaker 2: things that we've enjoyed about him, and he's been doing

661
00:29:14,160 --> 00:29:16,080
Speaker 2: this for a very, very long time. This was one

662
00:29:16,080 --> 00:29:17,440
Speaker 2: of the things he did, but he was a very

663
00:29:17,480 --> 00:29:19,360
Speaker 2: young driver where people thought, oh wow, that's a bit

664
00:29:19,400 --> 00:29:21,600
Speaker 2: confronting that he's prepared to be so blunt about his

665
00:29:21,640 --> 00:29:24,720
Speaker 2: own performances. Maybe he'll grow out of that, or as

666
00:29:24,720 --> 00:29:27,240
Speaker 2: he becomes older and wiser that will stop, and it hasn't. Really,

667
00:29:27,280 --> 00:29:29,760
Speaker 2: it's just the way that he tends to roll. He

668
00:29:30,240 --> 00:29:33,840
Speaker 2: rides the emotional highs better than anybody, so you'll guess

669
00:29:34,120 --> 00:29:35,600
Speaker 2: the contrast to that is that you're going to have

670
00:29:35,640 --> 00:29:38,000
Speaker 2: those lows as well. But I think it was a

671
00:29:38,000 --> 00:29:40,760
Speaker 2: combination of this circuit, his teammate doing an amazing lap

672
00:29:40,760 --> 00:29:43,080
Speaker 2: in the same car which is clearly not a fantastic

673
00:29:43,120 --> 00:29:46,120
Speaker 2: car right now, and coming off the back of Belgium,

674
00:29:46,120 --> 00:29:49,160
Speaker 2: and it's just been a bit of a blah start

675
00:29:49,200 --> 00:29:53,040
Speaker 2: to life at Ferrari really, And you know, there's a

676
00:29:53,080 --> 00:29:55,640
Speaker 2: lot of questions now. It's like, well, is he past

677
00:29:55,760 --> 00:29:57,880
Speaker 2: his best? Which you would expect a driver at his forties,

678
00:29:57,880 --> 00:29:59,680
Speaker 2: it's usually past his best, but also doesn't mean that

679
00:29:59,720 --> 00:30:02,000
Speaker 2: he'sh puts and he shouldn't be on the grid. But

680
00:30:02,040 --> 00:30:05,960
Speaker 2: you just wonder what is the ability like to be

681
00:30:06,080 --> 00:30:08,800
Speaker 2: able to dig in here when things are really getting bad?

682
00:30:09,360 --> 00:30:12,360
Speaker 2: And is it only going to be the potential of

683
00:30:12,400 --> 00:30:14,240
Speaker 2: a fresh start for twenty six and he's been through

684
00:30:14,240 --> 00:30:16,280
Speaker 2: so many rule changes that he knows that things can

685
00:30:16,360 --> 00:30:20,120
Speaker 2: flip very very quickly. Is it the at least potential

686
00:30:20,160 --> 00:30:22,760
Speaker 2: for things to change pretty rapidly next year? Is going

687
00:30:22,800 --> 00:30:24,600
Speaker 2: to be the thing that gets him through these remaining

688
00:30:24,600 --> 00:30:27,840
Speaker 2: ten races because twenty twenty five as it stands right

689
00:30:27,880 --> 00:30:29,600
Speaker 2: now is a bit of a write off. I can

690
00:30:29,640 --> 00:30:33,000
Speaker 2: only see it sort of flattening out and maybe neutralizing.

691
00:30:33,040 --> 00:30:34,720
Speaker 2: From here, I can't really see it getting a hell

692
00:30:34,760 --> 00:30:35,360
Speaker 2: of a lot better.

693
00:30:35,480 --> 00:30:37,280
Speaker 1: Yeah, it's a bit of a shame because it had

694
00:30:37,280 --> 00:30:40,280
Speaker 1: felt like in the races before Belgium that he'd started

695
00:30:40,280 --> 00:30:41,640
Speaker 1: to turn a bit of a corner there. You know,

696
00:30:41,720 --> 00:30:44,360
Speaker 1: our qualified Charlie Clair I think three times from the

697
00:30:44,400 --> 00:30:48,760
Speaker 1: previous four or five races, and in terms of the

698
00:30:48,800 --> 00:30:50,360
Speaker 1: pace difference that had come right down I think on

699
00:30:50,400 --> 00:30:52,560
Speaker 1: average in that run of races in Europe, let's say

700
00:30:52,600 --> 00:30:54,480
Speaker 1: to less than a tenth of a second, so perfectly

701
00:30:54,520 --> 00:30:57,120
Speaker 1: respectable for a driver's change teams in a regulatory year

702
00:30:57,160 --> 00:30:59,160
Speaker 1: that I think we can probably say doesn't really suit

703
00:30:59,200 --> 00:31:02,360
Speaker 1: Lewis Hamilton that well. And then these two really poor

704
00:31:02,400 --> 00:31:04,920
Speaker 1: at least qualifying. In Belgium again the race was okay,

705
00:31:04,960 --> 00:31:07,280
Speaker 1: but in Hungary the race was pretty ordinary as well.

706
00:31:08,080 --> 00:31:12,240
Speaker 1: Overtaking it is difficult, but whatever, it just felt just fields.

707
00:31:12,440 --> 00:31:14,400
Speaker 1: I mean, I probably underlines the problem this year, which

708
00:31:14,440 --> 00:31:16,600
Speaker 1: has just been inconsistency. It's not as if he's been

709
00:31:17,000 --> 00:31:18,880
Speaker 1: just bad in every session. He's been so up and

710
00:31:18,920 --> 00:31:21,440
Speaker 1: down that it's been hard to grab a handle on anything.

711
00:31:22,280 --> 00:31:23,680
Speaker 1: And I think he'll be very much looking forward to

712
00:31:23,720 --> 00:31:26,760
Speaker 1: next year. But you can't go into next year. It's

713
00:31:26,800 --> 00:31:29,040
Speaker 1: almost a likeness to be made here to the way

714
00:31:29,120 --> 00:31:31,080
Speaker 1: Sauber has approached this year. You can't go into your

715
00:31:31,320 --> 00:31:34,160
Speaker 1: your time is oudy. Having finished last with no points.

716
00:31:34,440 --> 00:31:36,880
Speaker 1: I don't feel like it'll be right for Lewis Hamilton

717
00:31:36,880 --> 00:31:38,680
Speaker 1: to go into next year, the year that his contract

718
00:31:38,720 --> 00:31:40,680
Speaker 1: was predicated on being successful, and it wasn't about this.

719
00:31:40,720 --> 00:31:42,440
Speaker 1: He was always going to be back next year. But

720
00:31:42,600 --> 00:31:45,920
Speaker 1: having been absolutely smacked by char Leclair in every session,

721
00:31:46,080 --> 00:31:49,000
Speaker 1: constantly in qualifying, finishing last one on the front run

722
00:31:49,080 --> 00:31:52,480
Speaker 1: was all that kind of thing. So his response next

723
00:31:52,560 --> 00:31:56,400
Speaker 1: year I think will be very interesting for him because

724
00:31:56,440 --> 00:31:58,880
Speaker 1: it's a you know, like I say, it's a big

725
00:31:58,920 --> 00:32:02,120
Speaker 1: one for him. Now let's wrap up that, but we

726
00:32:02,240 --> 00:32:05,400
Speaker 1: have to visit the crystal ball by complete home filtration.

727
00:32:05,560 --> 00:32:09,680
Speaker 1: For me, it's proved absolutely cursed. It's curse Lewis Hamilton's end.

728
00:32:09,840 --> 00:32:12,920
Speaker 1: Babs attended his career. Who knows, But why don't you

729
00:32:12,960 --> 00:32:15,200
Speaker 1: kick us off with your prediction for the next how

730
00:32:15,320 --> 00:32:15,680
Speaker 1: long you like?

731
00:32:15,920 --> 00:32:18,479
Speaker 2: Well, given what happened earlier in this episode, my crystal

732
00:32:18,520 --> 00:32:20,720
Speaker 2: ball is telling me that I actually need to give

733
00:32:20,720 --> 00:32:22,680
Speaker 2: you first crack at the crystal ball, and then I'll

734
00:32:22,680 --> 00:32:24,920
Speaker 2: come back behind mine. So my crystal ball is going

735
00:32:24,960 --> 00:32:26,360
Speaker 2: to be one hundred percent right on this because I

736
00:32:26,360 --> 00:32:27,959
Speaker 2: don't want to steal your answer this time. I think

737
00:32:27,960 --> 00:32:29,920
Speaker 2: that would be very uncharitable of me. So I'd like

738
00:32:29,960 --> 00:32:31,840
Speaker 2: you to come up with something, and I guarantee you,

739
00:32:31,920 --> 00:32:34,680
Speaker 2: I absolutely guarantee you that it's not going to be

740
00:32:34,720 --> 00:32:37,200
Speaker 2: when I come up with here, So crystal ball the way.

741
00:32:37,360 --> 00:32:40,320
Speaker 1: So all right, well, let's we're at the mid season break.

742
00:32:40,800 --> 00:32:43,760
Speaker 1: McLaren has a pretty comfortable lead in the Constructor's champion

743
00:32:43,760 --> 00:32:47,320
Speaker 1: It's two hundred and ninety nine points ahead of forer Ori,

744
00:32:47,440 --> 00:32:50,960
Speaker 1: more than double Ferrari's points. The average advantage over the

745
00:32:51,000 --> 00:32:53,240
Speaker 1: course of the first fourteen races. This statistic, I do

746
00:32:53,320 --> 00:32:57,080
Speaker 1: know is twenty one points per round. My crystal ball

747
00:32:57,360 --> 00:33:00,440
Speaker 1: tells me that trajectory continues and McLaren and win the

748
00:33:00,440 --> 00:33:04,640
Speaker 1: Constructors Championship in Azerbaijan, which would be just three races

749
00:33:04,640 --> 00:33:07,520
Speaker 1: from now, which will be seven rounds to spare, which

750
00:33:07,520 --> 00:33:09,560
Speaker 1: will be the earliest championship win in the history of

751
00:33:09,640 --> 00:33:12,880
Speaker 1: Formula One for a team. That's incredible. It struck me.

752
00:33:13,080 --> 00:33:14,560
Speaker 1: We talked about I don't think we mentioned today, but

753
00:33:14,600 --> 00:33:16,240
Speaker 1: it was talked about in the aftermath of the race.

754
00:33:16,640 --> 00:33:19,200
Speaker 1: This is the fourth consecutive one to finish for McLaren.

755
00:33:19,240 --> 00:33:23,320
Speaker 1: The last time they achieved that was in nineteen eighty eight.

756
00:33:23,880 --> 00:33:26,440
Speaker 1: Nineteen eighty eight was until Red Bull Racings run in

757
00:33:26,440 --> 00:33:28,600
Speaker 1: two and twenty three, the most dominant season in Formula

758
00:33:28,600 --> 00:33:30,480
Speaker 1: One history. I think by some metrics you can still

759
00:33:30,520 --> 00:33:33,320
Speaker 1: call it that, but by percentage Red Bull Racings every

760
00:33:33,360 --> 00:33:35,400
Speaker 1: win but one in a twenty four race season or whatever

761
00:33:35,360 --> 00:33:38,160
Speaker 1: it was, does surp it. But the idea that this

762
00:33:38,360 --> 00:33:40,760
Speaker 1: McLaren team is now starting to be mentioned in the

763
00:33:40,800 --> 00:33:43,320
Speaker 1: same breath as the nineteen eighty eight team on some

764
00:33:43,440 --> 00:33:46,920
Speaker 1: statistics and could in this particular category you surp it.

765
00:33:47,600 --> 00:33:49,760
Speaker 1: I think, is just a reminder of how remarkable a

766
00:33:49,840 --> 00:33:53,840
Speaker 1: year this is. And much like the Senna and Prost's rivalry,

767
00:33:54,360 --> 00:33:56,400
Speaker 1: we have two McLaren drivers that are probably going to

768
00:33:56,440 --> 00:34:01,320
Speaker 1: take this title down to the wire, hopefully with less aggression,

769
00:34:01,480 --> 00:34:04,640
Speaker 1: but you never know. But that's what why Crystal Ball

770
00:34:04,680 --> 00:34:06,480
Speaker 1: is telling me that in just three races time we'll

771
00:34:06,520 --> 00:34:08,080
Speaker 1: have a new Constructors champion.

772
00:34:07,960 --> 00:34:09,640
Speaker 2: And I think that one has stuck up on us

773
00:34:09,680 --> 00:34:11,239
Speaker 2: a little bit. It feels like a stat that we

774
00:34:11,560 --> 00:34:13,719
Speaker 2: knew the Red Bull dominance as it was happening, and

775
00:34:13,760 --> 00:34:16,399
Speaker 2: obviously anyone that was covering a sport back in eighty

776
00:34:16,400 --> 00:34:18,320
Speaker 2: eight I knew exactly what McLaren we're doing, given that

777
00:34:18,400 --> 00:34:20,359
Speaker 2: driver lineup and what that car looked like and how

778
00:34:20,360 --> 00:34:24,000
Speaker 2: good it was. But it feels that it's obvious but

779
00:34:24,080 --> 00:34:26,280
Speaker 2: surprising at the same time, and that we've been watching

780
00:34:26,280 --> 00:34:28,880
Speaker 2: these races and we've seen the McLaren dominance. Yet a

781
00:34:28,960 --> 00:34:32,000
Speaker 2: stat like that is still quite startling when you consider

782
00:34:32,160 --> 00:34:34,600
Speaker 2: seven races to go, they could have this completely wrapped up.

783
00:34:34,600 --> 00:34:37,480
Speaker 2: I think that's also a function of the entire year.

784
00:34:37,520 --> 00:34:39,439
Speaker 2: It's not actually been that obvious who the second best

785
00:34:39,440 --> 00:34:42,239
Speaker 2: team is because it's really waxed and weighing through three

786
00:34:42,400 --> 00:34:44,800
Speaker 2: different teams. When it started the year red Bull winning races,

787
00:34:44,800 --> 00:34:47,160
Speaker 2: they all looked fine and it was all going semi

788
00:34:47,200 --> 00:34:49,160
Speaker 2: okay at least with a Stappen, and then Ferrari had

789
00:34:49,200 --> 00:34:50,759
Speaker 2: a bit of a turn, and then Mercedes won with

790
00:34:50,800 --> 00:34:54,279
Speaker 2: George Russell, and so the identity of the challenger in

791
00:34:54,320 --> 00:34:56,839
Speaker 2: air quotes has changed quite a bit throughout the course

792
00:34:56,880 --> 00:35:00,000
Speaker 2: of the season, McLaren's just been there. It's been the constant,

793
00:35:00,280 --> 00:35:02,200
Speaker 2: so that probably explains it. But that has snuck up

794
00:35:02,200 --> 00:35:04,120
Speaker 2: on me a little bit. But you're not going to

795
00:35:04,120 --> 00:35:06,640
Speaker 2: believe this, But I had exactly that I didn't have.

796
00:35:08,440 --> 00:35:11,319
Speaker 2: I didn't have exactly the same thing. The reason I

797
00:35:11,360 --> 00:35:14,120
Speaker 2: mentioned before that there are ten races to go. I'm

798
00:35:14,160 --> 00:35:16,520
Speaker 2: not looking for ex for reasons here to try and

799
00:35:16,560 --> 00:35:19,120
Speaker 2: give race wins to anybody else over the remaining ten rounds.

800
00:35:19,120 --> 00:35:20,839
Speaker 2: But I'm going to put on record right now we're

801
00:35:20,840 --> 00:35:23,040
Speaker 2: ten rounds to go that there are going to be

802
00:35:23,080 --> 00:35:24,640
Speaker 2: two rounds that McLaren don't win.

803
00:35:24,719 --> 00:35:25,560
Speaker 1: Oh okay, there we go.

804
00:35:26,160 --> 00:35:27,520
Speaker 2: One of them is going to be Brazil because I

805
00:35:27,520 --> 00:35:29,040
Speaker 2: think Max Forstappan's going to win there because it's going

806
00:35:29,080 --> 00:35:30,680
Speaker 2: to rain. It's going to be my big prediction. And

807
00:35:30,880 --> 00:35:33,840
Speaker 2: there'll be another insert random one here at some point.

808
00:35:34,400 --> 00:35:37,120
Speaker 2: I wonder if at the end of the season, when

809
00:35:37,120 --> 00:35:38,759
Speaker 2: the crystal balls packed up and put in the box,

810
00:35:38,880 --> 00:35:41,240
Speaker 2: we'll look back at the couple of races that McLaren

811
00:35:41,239 --> 00:35:43,160
Speaker 2: don't win between now and the end of the year,

812
00:35:43,600 --> 00:35:45,799
Speaker 2: and given how tight this championship is, it might be

813
00:35:45,880 --> 00:35:48,279
Speaker 2: who does best out of Norris and Piastri on those

814
00:35:48,360 --> 00:35:52,040
Speaker 2: days that they can't win. That might determine which one

815
00:35:52,080 --> 00:35:53,960
Speaker 2: is center and which one is prossed at the end

816
00:35:53,960 --> 00:35:54,879
Speaker 2: of twenty twenty five.

817
00:35:55,520 --> 00:35:58,200
Speaker 1: Yes, and you know what, I think, we do want

818
00:35:58,239 --> 00:35:59,960
Speaker 1: to a couple of big this up. We do want

819
00:36:00,280 --> 00:36:02,520
Speaker 1: liken it to the nineteen eighty eight season. How close

820
00:36:02,560 --> 00:36:05,920
Speaker 1: this is Prost won that championship. I'm pretty sure no

821
00:36:06,040 --> 00:36:08,319
Speaker 1: Cena won that championship, but Prost had more points. But

822
00:36:08,360 --> 00:36:11,680
Speaker 1: it was the drop score rule, So that's how close

823
00:36:11,719 --> 00:36:13,560
Speaker 1: it was. That it was a funny rule change the

824
00:36:13,680 --> 00:36:15,600
Speaker 1: change that the winner of the championship, so it could

825
00:36:15,680 --> 00:36:19,520
Speaker 1: be so close that whoever finishes fifth instead of seventh

826
00:36:19,640 --> 00:36:22,600
Speaker 1: at a wet Brazilian Grand Prix later in the year

827
00:36:22,800 --> 00:36:24,919
Speaker 1: could design the championship.

828
00:36:24,320 --> 00:36:26,319
Speaker 2: Wins the title on countback. Wouldn't that be?

829
00:36:26,719 --> 00:36:30,200
Speaker 1: Wouldn't that be? Excited? I spreadsheet, It's gonna be working

830
00:36:30,320 --> 00:36:33,879
Speaker 1: very well for me, that's all very I like a long, good, long,

831
00:36:34,000 --> 00:36:37,000
Speaker 1: couple of long range predictions. Very good to send us

832
00:36:37,000 --> 00:36:38,920
Speaker 1: out from this part of the season. That's all the time.

833
00:36:38,920 --> 00:36:41,120
Speaker 1: We have a bittalk today, though you can subscribe to

834
00:36:41,120 --> 00:36:43,160
Speaker 1: bittalk wherever you get your favorite podcast and you can

835
00:36:43,239 --> 00:36:45,520
Speaker 1: leave us a rating and review as well. Formula One

836
00:36:45,560 --> 00:36:47,520
Speaker 1: is on it's mid season break, but this weekend is

837
00:36:47,520 --> 00:36:50,880
Speaker 1: the Supercars Ipswitch Super four forty, with two races on

838
00:36:51,000 --> 00:36:54,439
Speaker 1: Saturday afternoon and another on Sunday at quarter past three

839
00:36:54,520 --> 00:36:57,000
Speaker 1: that's Eastern Standard time. You can keep up to date

840
00:36:57,040 --> 00:36:59,400
Speaker 1: with the Lateste f one, Supercars and Botochipy news at

841
00:36:59,400 --> 00:37:01,920
Speaker 1: Fox Sports dot com dot Au from Matt Clayton and

842
00:37:02,080 --> 00:37:04,279
Speaker 1: me Michael Lomonado. Thanks very much for your company and

843
00:37:04,320 --> 00:37:05,280
Speaker 1: we'll catch you next week