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

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Speaker 1: from News Talks EDB.

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Speaker 2: Here, we've got your chance to win shortly with the

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Speaker 2: Sporting Chance with the tab one hundred and fifty dollars

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Speaker 2: Beck becoming your wave. We're going to our attention to

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Speaker 2: Formula One. Big weekend for Liam Lawson in the context

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Speaker 2: of his Formula one career and you go the Mexican

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Speaker 2: Grand Prix. How is that bag? Well, Chris Midland's going

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Speaker 2: to join us to explain because it's crunch time in

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Speaker 2: terms of making a decision as to whether Liam Lawson

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Speaker 2: is going to have a Formula One seat next year.

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Speaker 2: Chris Midland Formula one Genus with us on the program.

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Speaker 2: Chris howse Thing, thanks for joining us on News Talks MB.

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Speaker 3: Yeah, not to be bad that you mate much.

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Speaker 4: You joined in a very noisy Mexico city as one

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Speaker 4: of the most vibrant race weekends of the year gets underway.

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Speaker 2: Well, fantastic time and it feels like a crunch weekend

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Speaker 2: for at least from a New Zealand perspective, where of

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Speaker 2: course following Liam Lawson very very closely, and it feels

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Speaker 2: like at least from our perspective. All eyes are on

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Speaker 2: this weekend because it feels like a decision is in

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Speaker 2: the with Liam Lawson's future next year, is it?

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Speaker 4: It seems that way, not just about Liam no, but

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Speaker 4: about all the Red Bull drivers. Lian was asked about

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Speaker 4: it actually drawing the media sessions yesterday and said, I

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Speaker 4: know nothing at this point, and I feel like we

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Speaker 4: would know if something had happened, because you just get

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Speaker 4: word from within the team. Somebody would pass on the

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Speaker 4: information that a decision had been made. But Red Bull

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Speaker 4: don't have to rush anything they want to do with

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Speaker 4: their drivers. They have them all under contract. They can

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Speaker 4: wait as late as they want in the season. But

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Speaker 4: I think they're aware that for a few of them

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Speaker 4: it would really help give them some certainty. The problem

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Speaker 4: we've got with not just Liam, but his teammate Isaac

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Speaker 4: had Chat and with Uki Snoda in the Red Ball

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Speaker 4: alongside Maxistappen is that no one of them is performing

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Speaker 4: consistently at a high enough level to guarantee where they

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Speaker 4: will be. But also none of them are performing consistently

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Speaker 4: low that you think they're going to get replaced. So

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Speaker 4: I do think it's actually quite a tough decision for

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Speaker 4: red Bull and I wouldn't be surprised if they review

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Speaker 4: it after this race, but don't actually then make a

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Speaker 4: final call.

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Speaker 2: How much will this week ends really influence it? Because

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Speaker 2: as you say, no one's putting the hit up in

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Speaker 2: going I am the definitive choice. So does it get

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Speaker 2: to the point where little margins can really count in

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Speaker 2: their favor like a good result this weekend?

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Speaker 4: Absolutely, I mean every result matters, every session matters, and

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Speaker 4: just the way you go about your business at this

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Speaker 4: time when decisions being made, we'll really have.

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Speaker 3: A bigger influence.

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Speaker 4: You know, teams would love to say they don't, but

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Speaker 4: recently buyers always plays into it. And if you're seeing

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Speaker 4: signs of progress as well. For example, you know Liam

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Speaker 4: when he went back to ring balls earlier this year,

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Speaker 4: took him a little while to get that spring back

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Speaker 4: in his step and that confidence back up after the

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Speaker 4: hit of being dropped by red Bulls so quickly. But

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Speaker 4: the reason they put put him back in that car

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Speaker 4: is they believed in him and his talent that he

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Speaker 4: could still find his feet, and once he did, he's

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Speaker 4: performed very well in the second half of the year.

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Speaker 4: So if your form's improving, that bodes well looking forward,

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Speaker 4: and that might give you a better chance of a

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Speaker 4: team kind of either sticking with you or promoting you.

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Speaker 4: If your form is declining, then you can kind of

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Speaker 4: extrapolated that out and think maybe the long term because

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Speaker 4: the trend isn't so good. So it's a bit of

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Speaker 4: a tricky one for Red Bull to make, but it's

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Speaker 4: definitely imperative that the drivers that are performing well at

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Speaker 4: this moment. And I'd say the smart money had been

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Speaker 4: on Isaac Katcha.

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Speaker 3: I've been to Red Ball.

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Speaker 4: I'd say he's still the favorite to get that, but

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Speaker 4: he had a messy weekend last time out in Austin.

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Speaker 3: A few more question.

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Speaker 2: Marks, what are the scenarios it's effectively? Is it just

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Speaker 2: one seat that's up for Grebs. I know they haven't

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Speaker 2: announced the full lineup, but this feels like just a

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Speaker 2: one seat scenario preps a shootout with with Lawson and

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Speaker 2: day in Sonoda.

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Speaker 4: Well, now I feel like it's more four drivers into

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Speaker 4: three seats, and it's not maxis Stappin involved in that.

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Speaker 3: Maxis Stappan is locked in.

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Speaker 4: He's definitely staying, but it's who drives alongside Max and

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Speaker 4: then who is the lineup at racing balls alongside him

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Speaker 4: and the four Driversanky Sonoda currently in the Red Bull,

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Speaker 4: who I personally think is most at risk of being replaced.

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Speaker 4: Then you've got Isaac and Liam in the racing balls.

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Speaker 4: It's which one of those would replace Uki if Youki's replaced,

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Speaker 4: And as I say, I think that is the way

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Speaker 4: it's headed, and.

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Speaker 3: You'd probably start.

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Speaker 4: Isaac was slightly ahead because of the way that Red

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Speaker 4: Bull went with Liam at started this year, and now

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Speaker 4: they're going to see if Isaac can handle it next

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Speaker 4: year as well, but it's not a guarantee. And then

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Speaker 4: alongside whoever stays at racing balls, it would be Arvid Lindblad,

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Speaker 4: the young drivers currently in F two stepping up to

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Speaker 4: that seat. He was actually running an FP one here

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Speaker 4: in Mexico earlier today, showing that they're trying to prepare

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Speaker 4: him for a potential step up.

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Speaker 3: To F one.

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Speaker 4: So Red Bull are looking at they want to get

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Speaker 4: Lindbladd into a race SEP when they can. So that's

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Speaker 4: why I feel like it's four into three around maxis

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Speaker 4: happened and the most at risk feels like a s

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Speaker 4: Yuki Sanoda.

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Speaker 2: What's your read on how Lawson's adapted to this year

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Speaker 2: because it started obviously so strong in the red Ball seat.

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Speaker 2: Then he moved to racing balls. Has he taken it

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Speaker 2: in his stride.

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Speaker 4: I'd say he has. By the middle of the season,

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Speaker 4: shall I say. For a lot of drivers, that could

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Speaker 4: really have broken them, and it could have been a

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Speaker 4: downward spiral having just two races in one seat and

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Speaker 4: then being moved, but Liam kind of took that on

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Speaker 4: the chin, went back to a team that he knows well,

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Speaker 4: he likes and a car that he's comfortable in and

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Speaker 4: enjoys driving, and thought, right, I can rebuild from here,

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Speaker 4: and we saw it. It took a little while because Hajjar

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Speaker 4: was performing well at the starts of the year. That

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Speaker 4: puts a bit of pressure on Lawson alongside him because

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Speaker 4: he's slightly more experienced than Hadjar is. But then once

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Speaker 4: Liam really did kind of give his confidence back, essentially

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Speaker 4: by the summer, we saw some really really strong results.

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Speaker 4: And I think that's impressed Red Ball because it surely

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Speaker 4: has that mental fortitude to kind of fight back from

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Speaker 4: a tough position earlier in the year. The thing they're

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Speaker 4: still always looking for, though, is raw speed and the

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Speaker 4: final end product, and that's something where no driver has

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Speaker 4: actually shown it all the way through the year yet.

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Speaker 4: So that's why I think it's a bit more of

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Speaker 4: a question mark over who might get the NOD to

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Speaker 4: replace Yuki, assuming Uky is replaced, and it just feels

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Speaker 4: like it's an Oda that's trending most likely to lose

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Speaker 4: their seat. But I think Liam has done enough to

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Speaker 4: warrant keeping his current racing balls at least.

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Speaker 2: When do they need to make this decision? By I mean,

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Speaker 2: obviously they've got a bit of time, but it feels

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Speaker 2: like it's imminent. Could they kick it down the road

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Speaker 2: for a few more weeks yet?

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Speaker 3: Oh?

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Speaker 4: Absolutely, I mean if they really wanted to, they could

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Speaker 4: kick it down the road until the end of January

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Speaker 4: when we go testing to the start of twenty twenty six. Now,

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Speaker 4: I don't think they'll do that because you need to

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Speaker 4: have the seat fits done, you want to have the

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Speaker 4: drivers in the simulator, you want to have them preparing

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Speaker 4: with their engineers before the new season gets underway. And

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Speaker 4: it is earlier next year because of new regulations, so

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Speaker 4: normally testing would be mid to late February that it

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Speaker 4: starts next year, it starts in late Jais and then

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Speaker 4: had some more going on in February two before we

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Speaker 4: head to Melbourne for the first race, so I think

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Speaker 4: a call will be earlier than it usually would be.

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Speaker 4: As we saw last year, they made a change after

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Speaker 4: the final round in Abu Dhabi when they dropped Surgio

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Speaker 4: Peris and put Liam into that seat of Red Bulls.

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Speaker 4: So they have these drivers on the contract, it's up

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Speaker 4: to them where they want to place them between the teams.

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Speaker 4: Red bull could really wait as late as the Abbidabbi

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Speaker 4: Grand Prix in early December, but I do think they'll

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Speaker 4: probably have made a decision before then, or at least

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Speaker 4: be very clear in their minds what they're planning on

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Speaker 4: doing before then, so they can prepare.

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Speaker 2: Chris Midland with us send the tims are the overall

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Speaker 2: race for the title. How much can the duo of

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Speaker 2: Pistrian Norrisfield mex A step and breathing down the nick

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Speaker 2: after the events of last week?

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Speaker 4: Oh absolutely, I think they've been feeling that for a

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Speaker 4: number of race weekends actually, but certainly Austin is the

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Speaker 4: one that really brought it into sharp focus because it's

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Speaker 4: such a quick swing between Oscar and Max twenty three

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Speaker 4: points that Max took out of the Championship League, and

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Speaker 4: I Fay's only forty points back now, and that's in

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Speaker 4: the context of four races earlier, he was one hundred

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Speaker 4: and four points back. But forty points is still more

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Speaker 4: than a race victory. That's winning a race and finishing

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Speaker 4: third in a race with Oscar not scoring a tool.

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Speaker 3: To raise that gap.

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Speaker 4: And we've only got five rounds left, so Max needs

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Speaker 4: to keep the pressure on.

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Speaker 3: He's going to stay attacking. He's going to stay aggressive.

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Speaker 4: That's red bulls approach now and they've got nothing to

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Speaker 4: lose and it is putting pressure on McLaren.

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Speaker 3: The problem McLaren have.

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Speaker 4: Is the fact that it's both drivers fighting each other too,

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Speaker 4: and Oscar is in the best place because he has

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Speaker 4: the points on the board, but the GAP's been coming

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Speaker 4: down to Lando as well. That's down at fourteen points

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Speaker 4: and they're looking at each other as well as at Max,

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Speaker 4: and that adds a strange dynamic to it where they

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Speaker 4: can't really afford to get too caught up in certain

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Speaker 4: scenarios and open the door for the Stappen. I think

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Speaker 4: this is actually a crucial weekend. We saw something similar

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Speaker 4: last year in Brazil. We arrived there Land and I

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Speaker 4: have been chipping away quite consistently and we thought we

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Speaker 4: were going to get a type of fight potentially to

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Speaker 4: the end of the year against Max Verstappen went to

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Speaker 4: Brazil and after qualifying on a Sunday morning with dodgy weather,

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Speaker 4: you had Norris on pole for stapped and starting way

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Speaker 4: back in the field. Everyone's thinking, here we go, this

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Speaker 4: title fight has got to get blown wide open.

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Speaker 3: But the race went totally differently.

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Speaker 4: Max won with a brilliant drive comfortably outscored Norris and

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Speaker 4: that basically ended it there and then because there were

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Speaker 4: only three races to go after that point and that turnaround,

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Speaker 4: that swinging points was hugely damaging to Norris having any

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Speaker 4: chance of drawing it back again. So McClaren will know

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Speaker 4: one strong weekend is all they really need to really

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Speaker 4: hold that momentum. It could really hurt Max's ability to

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Speaker 4: get back into the title fight. So that's why the

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Speaker 4: Stappen has to say stay perfect, but it must be

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Speaker 4: said over the last four races that's exactly what he's done.

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Speaker 2: Final question, Chris, do McLaren need to put the eggs

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Speaker 2: into one basket for the title race. Is it possible

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Speaker 2: or is that just a not you know, something they

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Speaker 2: can consider with those both those drivers right up there.

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Speaker 4: Yeah, I don't think they can consider it now. It's

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Speaker 4: too tight. There's only fourteen points between them. You're really

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Speaker 4: robbing one of a chance to try and win the

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Speaker 4: title if you do that. But also you've given them

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Speaker 4: equal opportunities all season and they're still pretty closely matched.

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Speaker 3: So you've got to see that through.

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Speaker 4: And I dare say it, I think you slightly devalue

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Speaker 4: a championship if you do that from this position.

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Speaker 3: I get it if that's been your approach.

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Speaker 4: All the way through that you've had a clear number

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Speaker 4: one and number two, but you've let these two drivers

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Speaker 4: fight it out amongst each other, and then you've got

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Speaker 4: match tota happened in the frame two. I think it

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Speaker 4: means a heck of a lot more if you win

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Speaker 4: a driver's title against maxistappen in a straight fight. If,

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Speaker 4: for example, Landon Norris was asked to support Oscar Pastree,

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Speaker 4: then it feels like, you know, Zappa would have been

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Speaker 4: kind of.

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Speaker 3: Doing on his own.

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Speaker 4: He's not had the second car up there with him

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Speaker 4: throughout most of this season. And I think it's a

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Speaker 4: better way for the clarent and go about their racing.

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Speaker 4: It's just let them go for it themselves, try and

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Speaker 4: keep it clean between the two McLaren drivers, which is

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Speaker 4: the tricky part.

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Speaker 3: But if you can do that, then whoever wins.

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Speaker 4: It will be a really really deserving champion, certainly in

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Speaker 4: the face of that pressure from the stappened. But I

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Speaker 4: think it's just too late now with five races to go,

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Speaker 4: just fourteen points in it. It would take something dramatic,

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Speaker 4: like one driver failing to finish the next two races

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Speaker 4: that might open the door. If it really looked unrealistic

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Speaker 4: for one of them to win, then they might be

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Speaker 4: asked to support. But as it stands, I think we're

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Speaker 4: going to the end like this.

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Speaker 2: Well, it's an endlessly fascinating weekend coming up. Enjoy it, Chrysler,

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Speaker 2: look forward to catching episode and thanks for your time.

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Speaker 3: Will do Thanks very much.

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Speaker 2: Chris Midland joining US Formula one journalist from Mexico's City

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Speaker 2: so pretty crunchy. Keen for Liam Lawson in the scheme

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Speaker 2: his Formula one career.

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Speaker 1: For more from Weekends Sport with Jason Fine. Listen live

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Speaker 1: to news talks at b weekends from midday, or follow

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Speaker 1: the podcast on iHeartRadio