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Speaker 1: It's the Formula One Grand Prix and Melbourne this weekend,

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Speaker 1: and our own Liam Lawson is on debut. It's his

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Speaker 1: first Grand Prix in the main seat instead of driving

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Speaker 1: in somebody else's car. He's driving for red Ball and

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Speaker 1: he's been on the telly this week.

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Speaker 2: It's more excitement than anything. More excited for this and

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Speaker 2: I've been really for anything. It's quite a hard track

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Speaker 2: this weekend. It's meant to be thirty eight degrees on Saturday,

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Speaker 2: which to start the year like that is quite tough.

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Speaker 2: Like normally we go to those races later in the

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Speaker 2: year and it's you're sort of a bit more race

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Speaker 2: fit for that because you've done a lot of Grand Prix.

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Speaker 2: But to start the year with a really high downforced track,

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Speaker 2: high G track, hot, it's going to be very, really tough.

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Speaker 1: So modice var commentator James Allen joins me out of

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Speaker 1: New York right now. Hella, James, Hey, how you doing this?

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Speaker 1: I'm doing great. This hype is huge. This events to

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Speaker 1: sell out and Liam seems to be the center of attention.

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Speaker 1: How are you expecting him to go?

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Speaker 3: It's a really good question. I mean, you know, there's

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Speaker 3: no question he's got the talent. He's definitely earned his opportunity.

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Speaker 3: He's been very, very patient over the last couple of years.

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Speaker 3: I was incredibly with him when he deputies for Daniel

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Speaker 3: Ricardo at the back end of twenty twenty three. He

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Speaker 3: put in some stunning performances, particularly remember one in Japan.

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Speaker 3: I think you and I spoke around that time actually

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Speaker 3: about it, and he showed he's got the minerals. As

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Speaker 3: Mark Webber would say, to cut it at the top

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Speaker 3: end of a Formula one, so as I say, he's

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Speaker 3: had to be very patient, and that doesn't mean just

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Speaker 3: doing nothing and kicking his heels. He's obviously been able

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Speaker 3: to get on the simulator a lot of these What

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Speaker 3: makes these young drivers ready and so prepared nowadays is

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Speaker 3: they have the time at the race track, at the

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Speaker 3: race factory, team factory to get on the simulators, which

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Speaker 3: are very very realistic, and really learn how everything works,

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Speaker 3: how the controls work, and how to improve the car.

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Speaker 3: Of course, it's not the real thing, it's not the

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Speaker 3: same as the real thing, but the best drivers are

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Speaker 3: able to narrow the gap between the virtual world and

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Speaker 3: the real world, and so a lot of Liam's preparation

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Speaker 3: is there and I'm sure he'll do fine this season.

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Speaker 3: I wouldn't judge him too much on how he performs

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Speaker 3: his first time out in the big team, as you

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Speaker 3: put it, because Melbourne is a unique circuit, has very

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Speaker 3: very strange characteristics and it doesn't reflect anything really of

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Speaker 3: the season ahead. It's just a great place to start

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Speaker 3: the new Season's colorful, it's a huge crowd. The Aussies

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Speaker 3: love their and the Kiwis love their racing. But I

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Speaker 3: think you know, you judge him after three or four

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Speaker 3: races as to how he's getting on.

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Speaker 1: What I loved about the quote that I just played

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Speaker 1: is that he already knows exactly what's ahead of him.

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Speaker 1: He knows it's going to be hot, he knows there's

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Speaker 1: lots of heavy breaking in the whole thing. He knows

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Speaker 1: it's going to be very, very physical. So the question

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Speaker 1: is do you think he's fit and ready enough for it?

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Speaker 2: Oh?

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Speaker 3: Yeah, absolutely, These guys, like I said before, you know

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Speaker 3: he's one of I mean, I still think Liam's a rookie.

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Speaker 3: He's done twelve races, but he's not done a whole season,

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Speaker 3: and in my book, that makes him still a rookie.

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Speaker 3: And you've got six rookies in the field this year.

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Speaker 3: It's unprecedented. Why is twenty twenty five the year that

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Speaker 3: Formula One trusts in rookies For the reasons I just

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Speaker 3: said that they are so well prepared now in the

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Speaker 3: virtual world and with testing the two year old cars

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Speaker 3: that they're come in. Oliver behn And jumped into the

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Speaker 3: Ferrari in Saudi Arabia last year with no practice and

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Speaker 3: finished seventh in the Grand Prix. That made everybody in

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Speaker 3: Formula One the team bosses look it again and say,

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Speaker 3: hang on a second, We've got this great talent in

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Speaker 3: are cheaper, you don't have to pay them as much money.

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Speaker 3: And so you've seen people like Botas leaving the sport,

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Speaker 3: the more experienced drivers who cost more and perhaps past

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Speaker 3: their peak, and they're bringing in these rookies who are faster, exciting,

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Speaker 3: and Liam is right amongst them, and it's up to

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Speaker 3: him now to show he's obviously got the most along

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Speaker 3: with Antonelli and the Mercedes. He's the rookie with the

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Speaker 3: most competitive car in the field, and I think you

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Speaker 3: have to judge him as a rookie, not as someone

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Speaker 3: who's going to go toe to toe with probably the

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Speaker 3: best driver in the world right now. His teammate Max Forstappan.

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Speaker 3: If Liam's smart, he'll just focus on himself and not

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Speaker 3: worry about what Stappan's doing.

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Speaker 1: Great stuff and I thank you James James Ellen joining us.

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Speaker 1: I'm at a sport commentator. It appears as though New

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Speaker 1: Zealander's also in the headlines because McLaren at the moment

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Speaker 1: we know Bruce McLaren has a really good car and

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Speaker 1: Lenda Norris uars to be on fire. It's going to

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Speaker 1: be a great weekend. For more from Early Edition with

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Speaker 1: Ryan Bridge. Listen live to news Talks it'd be from

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Speaker 1: five am weekdays, or follow the podcast on iHeartRadio.