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Speaker 1: You're listening to the Weekend Sport Podcast with Jason Vine

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Speaker 1: from Newstalk z'b Guy, Sport.

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Speaker 2: One and Freedom Wear on Sky Open from just before

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Speaker 2: five o'clock tomorrow. One of our motorsport greats, Greg Murphy,

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Speaker 2: is with us. Greg I said before, when I was

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Speaker 2: talking to Bob McMurray, I remember hearing you say last

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Speaker 2: year that Liam rising to the heights he has wasn't

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Speaker 2: a surprise to you. You always thought he was capable

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Speaker 2: of this. In fact, you were on record as saying

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Speaker 2: he could reach Formula one four or five years ago.

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Speaker 2: I remember you saying it. What were the qualities you

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Speaker 2: observed in Liam all the way back then that formed

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Speaker 2: that view that made you think he could get to

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Speaker 2: where he's got to.

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Speaker 3: It's just his ability to do things in a race

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Speaker 3: car that were, you know, much a lot higher above

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Speaker 3: average than most people. You know, every time he drove

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Speaker 3: a car, no matter what it was, he would excel

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Speaker 3: and maximize those opportunities. And that's that's, you know, something

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Speaker 3: that not everyone has the ability to do. So he

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Speaker 3: used to stand out. He used to make, you know,

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Speaker 3: make statements every time he drove a car, and you know,

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Speaker 3: and no matter what it was. I mean, he's got

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Speaker 3: this inate ability to win on debut and new formulas,

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Speaker 3: and again that's just is something that highlights the X

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Speaker 3: factor that the young man has. So you know, based

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Speaker 3: on the last two seasons, you know, filling in for

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Speaker 3: Daniel Riccardo or replacing him last year and filling in

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Speaker 3: for him the year before twenty twenty three proved he

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Speaker 3: was ready for Formula one and twenty twenty three and

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Speaker 3: it's taken un till now for him to get that

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Speaker 3: full time seat. So you know, he's one of these

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Speaker 3: standout young men, young drivers that have that little bit

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Speaker 3: special extra that sit them apart from the rest.

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Speaker 2: Before we look ahead to the weekend and in fact

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Speaker 2: to the year ahead. Can you put into context for

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Speaker 2: us the significance of having a keyway and a full

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Speaker 2: on this one seat.

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Speaker 3: Yeah, it's difficult. I mean, I just don't think it's

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Speaker 3: recognized enough by those that don't fool noticeable on what

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Speaker 3: kind of achievement this is. And I've been harping on

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Speaker 3: about this for a long time, the achievements of Chemi

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Speaker 3: drivers on the international stage at the highest highest level.

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Speaker 3: And I suppose you know, if one is the pinnacle

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Speaker 3: form of the sport, absolute pinnacourts, whatever every young aspiring

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Speaker 3: driver dreams to be. And if one driver, this is

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Speaker 3: a world championship, twenty four races around the world. If

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Speaker 3: one World Championship has been going for decades and decades

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Speaker 3: and decades, and we've had people like you know, Denny

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Speaker 3: Holm and Chris Aymon and Bruce McLaren and Moore, Brendan

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Speaker 3: Hartley the latest who have actually been in a full

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Speaker 3: time seat in Formula One. You know, we've had had

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Speaker 3: drivers do it in the past, but this is you know,

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Speaker 3: a new era, a very different era, and a very difficult,

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Speaker 3: challenging era. The money that has spent to get into

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Speaker 3: Formula One, the competition that US as a tiny little

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Speaker 3: nation are up against to get someone in there, you know,

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Speaker 3: against against these European countries with just just endless, endless

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Speaker 3: amounts of money to actually be able to put you know,

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Speaker 3: behind people to to get to the top. Chelan and

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Speaker 3: so you know, Liam's had some mating support to get there,

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Speaker 3: but he has delivered and repaid all that support and

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Speaker 3: you know, massively, and now he's now he's there at

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Speaker 3: the top. So you know, we need to really recognize

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Speaker 3: the significance of this, the sporting achievement, even if you're

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Speaker 3: a Formula one fan or not.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, very well put, very well put. All right, So

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Speaker 2: what would a successful opening we can first of all

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Speaker 2: look like for Liam?

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Speaker 3: Oh, that's that's not actually an easy question to answer.

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Speaker 3: I mean, finishing, it's going to be a good one.

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Speaker 3: And I would say wherever Max for Stefan is being

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Speaker 3: being right on the heels of Max for Stefan, and

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Speaker 3: I think that's all that. I don't think he wants

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Speaker 3: anything less than that, you know, it's it's it's about basic.

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Speaker 3: He's in this role, his job is to win, right

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Speaker 3: and regardless of where Red Bull see that, which is

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Speaker 3: you know, they will be seeing him supporting Max probably,

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Speaker 3: but they will also be giving him everything he possibly

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Speaker 3: can to perform it his best. So for Liam, success

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Speaker 3: would be winning, uh, you know, at the end of

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Speaker 3: the day. But you know, at the end of the

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Speaker 3: weekend when we look back on it and we will

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Speaker 3: talk about it, you know, next week in detail, you know,

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Speaker 3: then we'll decide if it's you know, what he has

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Speaker 3: done is successful or not. But it's it's such a

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Speaker 3: challenging game I mean Red Bull are talking down their

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Speaker 3: car a little bit at the moment. I was watching

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Speaker 3: the TV last night, the preview that Sky Sports were doing,

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Speaker 3: and you know they're talking down the Red Bull a

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Speaker 3: little bit. They're talking about McLaren being the you know,

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Speaker 3: the fastest car out there. You know, Red Bull's going

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Speaker 3: to be there or thereabouts, but where exactly, we won't

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Speaker 3: know until Saturday qualifying on where they all stack up.

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Speaker 3: But you know his goal will be to be right

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Speaker 3: up the front. He wants to be right there with Max,

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Speaker 3: if not ahead of him. So it's a little bit

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Speaker 3: challenging at the moment to give that answer, but you know,

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Speaker 3: finishing is going to be good. A podium would be.

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Speaker 3: It's incredible and I think it's achievable. I really do so.

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Speaker 2: I've seen it reported Greg, and I'm sure you've seen

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Speaker 2: these reports as well. Red Bull want Liam to stay

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Speaker 2: within three tenths of a second of Max for staffing.

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Speaker 2: But from what you're saying there, you think that's uughly achievable.

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Speaker 2: Is that realistic?

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Speaker 3: Absolutely? Absolutely, I think that's very achievable. That that's the

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Speaker 3: quality of this young man and his work your section,

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Speaker 3: and that's why they've given him the shot, so you

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Speaker 3: know they're saying that, so that for them would be success.

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Speaker 3: I probably definitely him, you know, wanted to obviously, you know,

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Speaker 3: try and look at it from a broader in rather

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Speaker 3: than just his absolute dead set passion and desire for

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Speaker 3: what he wants to achieve. That would probably be a

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Speaker 3: successful weekend. But I just think he's capable of being

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Speaker 3: close the man. And you know, yeah, at the end

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Speaker 3: of the day, the competition is is bigger, faster, stronger

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Speaker 3: than then. We've hadn't it in quite a while. So

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Speaker 3: you know, he's picked a very tough time to come

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Speaker 3: into it, but that that's what he's all about. He

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Speaker 3: wants challenges. He doesn't want it easy. He wants to

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Speaker 3: wants to fight for it and prove that he's better

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Speaker 3: than everybody else.

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Speaker 2: How much will team orders affect the way that Liam drives,

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Speaker 2: is able to drive. How much will he have to

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Speaker 2: follow rebel instructions and realize he's number two to the

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Speaker 2: step him?

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Speaker 3: Well, that will come. I don't think that's on the

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Speaker 3: table anyway at the moment. You know, there's it's very

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Speaker 3: early as twenty four races this year, and they'll they'll

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Speaker 3: they'll likely hope, hope that comes a time because if

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Speaker 3: if that's if that's coming into effect, well that means

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Speaker 3: that he's doing his job so and doing it very

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Speaker 3: very well. So it's right now at the moment, I mean,

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Speaker 3: if if Liam qualified third tomorrow and Max qualified ten,

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Speaker 3: here's not going to be any team orders in play.

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Speaker 3: You know, that will come much much later in the season.

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Speaker 2: How do you assess Leam's ability to adjust to what

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Speaker 2: will be a hugely increased spotlight because he's now part

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Speaker 2: of what is a massive, massive Formula One road show.

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Speaker 3: He's been dealing with it now for a couple of seasons.

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Speaker 3: I mean, Netflix has been hounding him. He's been he's

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Speaker 3: been right in the thick of it with the whole

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Speaker 3: Daniel Ricardo situation. So the spotlight has been on him.

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Speaker 3: You know, he is now a star, He's a superstar,

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Speaker 3: and he really what he really was starting to grow

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Speaker 3: into that space, you know a couple of years ago,

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Speaker 3: you know, with with all the talk and the chat

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Speaker 3: around what he was, you know, what he was touted

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Speaker 3: for and the conversations around and replacing Chico last year,

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Speaker 3: Assujio Carez last year. You know, and then and then

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Speaker 3: he was thrust into it with a quite badly handled

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Speaker 3: situation with Red Bull last year when the chat around

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Speaker 3: Daniel Riccardo started to come that he was going to

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Speaker 3: get replaced, and then when it did happen was announced

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Speaker 3: at Singapore, it was it was hand very very badly.

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Speaker 3: And you know, he was attacked a little bit from

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Speaker 3: what I gather by all the keyboard warriors, and so

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Speaker 3: you've got to handle all that stuff and manage it.

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Speaker 3: And I think he does that, you know, very very well.

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Speaker 3: And that's part of why he is what he is

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Speaker 3: and why he is so successful so far, and because

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Speaker 3: he manages the mental side of it and is able

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Speaker 3: to compartmentalize those things and put them to one side.

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Speaker 3: And you've got to have that mental strength in this game.

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Speaker 3: So you don't have the mental strengths, you are going

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Speaker 3: to struggle.

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Speaker 2: Just to finish. Can you somehow put us in that

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Speaker 2: driver's seat on the starting grid on Sunday as he

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Speaker 2: gets ready to go. I know he's done it before, Greg,

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Speaker 2: but this is different. Isn't it a full time drive?

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Speaker 2: Race one of twenty twenty five? Do you think he'll

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Speaker 2: be nervous? Excited? What will the emotions, the overriding ones

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Speaker 2: be probably all of those things.

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Speaker 3: I would say, I meant I can't put you in

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Speaker 3: that seat, because I mean the level that I've competed

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Speaker 3: at in the past, it doesn't come close. Really. I

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Speaker 3: don't think it's all relative, of course, but this is

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Speaker 3: the the highest actional on the pinnacle of motorsport. The

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Speaker 3: eyes that will be watching will be enormous. The judgments

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Speaker 3: from from those that deserve to have that option to judge,

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Speaker 3: and certainly most of the people that don't. You know,

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Speaker 3: it's putting all that aside and actually and actually celebrating

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Speaker 3: you know, this as well for him, So hopefully he

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Speaker 3: can enjoy it and actually take the moment in and

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Speaker 3: and and use that as well as as a bit

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Speaker 3: of a force. But yeah, listen, you everyone's got to

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Speaker 3: be a little anxious, you know. But it's also about

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Speaker 3: the opportunity of the excitement of of of what it

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Speaker 3: all means. So you know, he's ready for it. He's absolute,

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Speaker 3: one hundred percent ready for The performances that we've seen

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Speaker 3: him in the the B car over the last two

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Speaker 3: seasons are just you know, phenomenal, and he's he doesn't

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Speaker 3: care about who he's racing against. He doesn't care about

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Speaker 3: Lewis Hamilton, Maxis Staff and all those guys and what

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Speaker 3: they've done and their achievements and who they are, but

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Speaker 3: just race card drivers to him, and that's the way

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Speaker 3: you've got to look at it.

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Speaker 2: What an exciting week hand ahead of us. Thanks so

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Speaker 2: much for joining us, Greg and the lead up. We

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Speaker 2: look forward to seeing how it plays out in Melbourne

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Speaker 2: and across twenty twenty five as well. Thanks for your time, mate,

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Speaker 2: brilliant Thanks mate, no, thank you, Greg. Greg Murphy. There

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Speaker 2: part of Sky's coverage of the Australian Formula One Grand

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Speaker 2: Prix and in fact the entire Formula One season.

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Speaker 1: For more from Weekend Sport with Jason Fine, listen live

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Speaker 1: to News Talk st B weekends from midday, or follow

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