WEBVTT - AlphaTauri - Sugar-Free 0:00:00.800 --> 0:00:09.200 That's right, but Dory, I'm hot, are rolling? Okay? Alright, Michael, Hi, 0:00:09.680 --> 0:00:13.000 I have another little goody for you today. My gosh, 0:00:13.320 --> 0:00:15.319 you always do such a good job with this, Lily. 0:00:15.400 --> 0:00:18.080 Thank you. It is my pleasure. So do you want 0:00:18.079 --> 0:00:20.639 to tell everyone what I have gotten here? So you 0:00:20.680 --> 0:00:23.239 tell them what I did. So in my hand is 0:00:23.320 --> 0:00:29.000 a nice cold, sugar free red Bull. This is actually 0:00:29.080 --> 0:00:32.920 my preferred red Bull. There we go, so maybe team 0:00:33.360 --> 0:00:36.760 or your preferred red Bull adjacent team, so we'll find 0:00:36.760 --> 0:00:40.160 out true. Okay, I'm gonna crank this open. Let's see here. 0:00:41.640 --> 0:00:43.800 It sounds sugar free, sounds sugar I would have been 0:00:43.840 --> 0:00:47.520 able to tell that with sugar free. So today, as 0:00:47.520 --> 0:00:51.080 we established with Alpine, we are we are comfortably in 0:00:51.080 --> 0:00:53.840 the midfield at this point, we're in the middle of 0:00:53.880 --> 0:00:57.000 our season. We're in the middle of the grid. That 0:00:57.080 --> 0:01:01.200 does not mean, though, that these teams are boring or 0:01:01.280 --> 0:01:03.760 that they've got nothing going on. So today's team middle 0:01:03.760 --> 0:01:07.160 of the pack. I would say, Alpha Towery has got 0:01:07.240 --> 0:01:11.080 real younger sibling who's got everything to prove and nothing 0:01:11.120 --> 0:01:14.760 to lose energy. Well, are you a tennis fan, Lily, Yes, 0:01:14.840 --> 0:01:17.400 for the sake of yes, anybody else a tennis fit. 0:01:17.560 --> 0:01:22.080 Can I call this the Patrick McEnroe of the UH 0:01:22.840 --> 0:01:27.759 Formula one? You know, John McEnroe, Grand Slam champion, super loud, boisterous, 0:01:28.240 --> 0:01:31.880 got all the attention. Meanwhile, Patrick was pretty solid tennis 0:01:31.880 --> 0:01:33.640 player as well. I had no idea there was a 0:01:33.640 --> 0:01:42.640 Patrick adds color boom hit the theme from I Heart 0:01:42.720 --> 0:01:57.920 Radio and Sports Illustrated Studios. This is choosing sides? Yes one? Wow? Okay, 0:01:58.000 --> 0:02:01.720 so alpha towery. As we previously mentioned in our Red 0:02:01.760 --> 0:02:04.200 Bull episode, they are the sister team to Red Bull. 0:02:04.640 --> 0:02:07.320 The team nowadays is very very careful to call it 0:02:07.360 --> 0:02:10.360 a sister team and no longer a junior team, so 0:02:10.400 --> 0:02:12.919 they do not want to be seen as lesser than 0:02:13.080 --> 0:02:17.280 at least in terms of public persona. But let's let's 0:02:17.280 --> 0:02:19.360 back up a little bit back in the mid two thousands. 0:02:19.440 --> 0:02:22.400 As we know, billionaires get bored, and when they do that, 0:02:22.440 --> 0:02:26.040 they buy sports teams. So our friend Dietrich Mata, ships 0:02:26.080 --> 0:02:29.920 founder of Red Bull, buys n F one team, names 0:02:29.960 --> 0:02:32.320 it after Red Bull, and then, since he seemed to 0:02:32.320 --> 0:02:34.679 have nothing else to do, he said to himself, what 0:02:34.680 --> 0:02:37.440 what could I possibly want? Within a year of purchasing 0:02:37.440 --> 0:02:39.920 this team, another one? Yes, so a year later or 0:02:39.919 --> 0:02:43.720 within about a year, Dietrich purchases a Formula One team 0:02:43.760 --> 0:02:47.760 called Minardi have stored on the grid. The two cars 0:02:48.320 --> 0:02:50.400 are being pushed off the grid, so they got about 0:02:50.400 --> 0:02:53.560 as far as the start finished line, which despite being 0:02:53.639 --> 0:02:56.240 one of the not greatest teams on the grid, had 0:02:56.240 --> 0:02:59.440 a humongous and very passionate fan base. He renames it 0:02:59.680 --> 0:03:04.519 to a Rosso, which is the Italian phrase for Red Bull. Creative, 0:03:04.639 --> 0:03:07.440 very clever. The original idea though, was that this Toro 0:03:07.520 --> 0:03:10.560 Rosso team would be like a junior team to Red Bull. 0:03:10.680 --> 0:03:13.040 So they were thinking, Okay, this can be a great 0:03:13.040 --> 0:03:16.079 training ground for up and coming drivers. They can give 0:03:16.200 --> 0:03:17.560 you know them a little bit of an area to 0:03:17.639 --> 0:03:20.520 prove themselves. We can also kind of test people against 0:03:20.520 --> 0:03:22.840 each other. And it's just great to have, you know, 0:03:23.040 --> 0:03:26.120 four seats on the grid instead of two seats. So 0:03:26.160 --> 0:03:29.960 currently with ten teams on the grid, Red Bull basically 0:03:29.960 --> 0:03:33.080 controls the seats. It just feels to me like, if 0:03:33.080 --> 0:03:35.960 you're gonna be in Formula One, you gotta be trying 0:03:35.960 --> 0:03:39.160 to win. It's an interesting question with them of is 0:03:39.160 --> 0:03:41.480 there a ceiling to how well Alpha TOWR is allowed 0:03:41.520 --> 0:03:44.760 to do exactly because what would happen if Alpha TOWERI 0:03:45.000 --> 0:03:47.760 consistently had drivers who beat Red Bull drivers and you 0:03:47.760 --> 0:03:50.680 can be certain if you're on Alpha Tari you're like, 0:03:50.800 --> 0:03:52.800 let's really throw a wrench in this ship and be 0:03:52.840 --> 0:03:56.880 better than them. Exactly. Yeah, okay, So Toro Rosso is 0:03:56.920 --> 0:03:59.720 the name of this team until two years ago or 0:03:59.720 --> 0:04:02.160 to see sasons ago. So it's had a lot of 0:04:02.320 --> 0:04:04.960 really iconic drivers who got their start through Red Bulls 0:04:05.040 --> 0:04:07.520 Junior program and then we're funneled into Toro Rosso. So 0:04:07.600 --> 0:04:09.480 even just speaking to some of them who were on 0:04:09.520 --> 0:04:13.760 the current grid, we've got Sebastian Battles gets its moment 0:04:13.840 --> 0:04:17.200 in the Sun. Sebastian facts all he's a crow Prix 0:04:17.279 --> 0:04:20.400 winner for the first time. He's the youngest ever and 0:04:20.440 --> 0:04:22.960 that's one of the greatest things I've ever seen in 0:04:22.960 --> 0:04:25.800 crowl Prix racing. Current world champion Max for stepping please 0:04:26.240 --> 0:04:29.680 welcome the rookie of the Year, the flying dutch Man 0:04:29.800 --> 0:04:33.880 Jenna Ricardo from McLaren from Perth, Australia and I'm twenty 0:04:33.960 --> 0:04:36.520 two years old. And then also Carlos Science. I think 0:04:36.520 --> 0:04:39.880 it's my only chance of getting to Formula one seat. 0:04:40.120 --> 0:04:42.599 So the interesting thing is that It doesn't mean that 0:04:42.680 --> 0:04:45.240 when these drivers were on tour a Rosso that the 0:04:45.320 --> 0:04:49.440 team necessarily did super well. They've often been somewhere in 0:04:49.480 --> 0:04:52.440 the midfield, right, so whether that was a little bit higher, 0:04:52.720 --> 0:04:56.080 like a sixth versus a seventh or eighth in the 0:04:56.160 --> 0:04:59.680 championship standings. So why did they switch it to Alpha Tarot? 0:04:59.760 --> 0:05:03.400 What is Alfa Tower? Yeah, so two seasons ago they 0:05:03.440 --> 0:05:05.880 made a change. They got rid of the Toro Rosso 0:05:06.000 --> 0:05:08.640 name that had been around for about fifteen years. And 0:05:08.760 --> 0:05:12.880 the reason is very simple. Red Bull fun Fact has 0:05:12.920 --> 0:05:17.280 a clothing line. It is called Alpha TOWERI and they 0:05:17.320 --> 0:05:21.480 decided to use what's basically free advertising space to rename 0:05:21.520 --> 0:05:24.440 the team, kind of like Alpine is a Renault brand. 0:05:25.120 --> 0:05:27.320 Reno said, let's you have a better use for the 0:05:27.400 --> 0:05:29.680 name of this team. And also it sounds cleaner and fresher. 0:05:29.680 --> 0:05:33.359 Alpha Towery also, you know, has a little bit of 0:05:33.520 --> 0:05:36.400 a different flavor than Toro Rosso. I mean in America, 0:05:36.520 --> 0:05:40.240 being an Alpha is just it's not as appreciated like 0:05:40.279 --> 0:05:42.200 it used to be. Sure that's has nothing to do 0:05:42.279 --> 0:05:44.720 with their clothing line. I looked at the clothing line. Yes, 0:05:44.720 --> 0:05:47.440 I have some photos for you. So what's really funny 0:05:47.440 --> 0:05:49.920 about Alpha Tower is they do have professional models that 0:05:50.200 --> 0:05:52.360 model out of the clothes, but then they'll randomly put 0:05:52.400 --> 0:05:55.320 in various Red Bull and Alpha TOWERI drivers and team 0:05:55.360 --> 0:05:58.760 members to model the clothing. And it's kind of funny 0:05:58.760 --> 0:06:01.800 to watch these drivers, some of whom couldn't care less about. 0:06:02.480 --> 0:06:04.440 They probably have to do this, yeah, exactly, it's like 0:06:04.440 --> 0:06:07.240 contractually obligated. So here, so I have I have the 0:06:07.279 --> 0:06:10.760 current as two Red Bull drivers Alpha Towery drivers, and 0:06:10.760 --> 0:06:14.320 then a special appearance by a certain team principle. Well 0:06:14.360 --> 0:06:18.200 I know who the team principle is. Christian Harner looks 0:06:18.279 --> 0:06:20.720 like he's trying to be he's doing a Zoolander face. 0:06:21.080 --> 0:06:24.360 Zoo Lander. Now the ones that are the models, I'm 0:06:24.360 --> 0:06:29.400 gonna say, are down below. Oh all of them are drivers. Okay, 0:06:29.440 --> 0:06:32.960 so we've got okay, sorry, tell me who we got here. 0:06:33.000 --> 0:06:35.640 So up in the purple in the upper left corners 0:06:35.720 --> 0:06:39.279 pere Ghastly, who I think works at the most like 0:06:39.360 --> 0:06:42.280 he's really trying to to like the Tyra Banks smiles 0:06:42.320 --> 0:06:46.279 it up. You're right then below him, you have Max 0:06:46.320 --> 0:06:49.520 for stepping Poor Max, who you know does not want 0:06:49.520 --> 0:06:53.400 to be there. He looks like he's looking for the exit. Exactly. Yeah, 0:06:53.440 --> 0:06:55.160 like he's where is the exit out of this shoot 0:06:55.279 --> 0:07:00.800 right now? Uh? Then you have Noda never quite know 0:07:00.880 --> 0:07:03.200 what to do with Yuki because he's five two and 0:07:03.240 --> 0:07:06.159 really tiny. For a while, they kept dressing him in beige, 0:07:06.680 --> 0:07:09.320 like fully beige outfits, which doesn't look good on pretty 0:07:09.360 --> 0:07:12.200 much anyone. To begin with. What is his nationality? He 0:07:12.480 --> 0:07:16.840 is Japanese Japanese. It does seem like they don't know 0:07:16.960 --> 0:07:19.320 what to do with him. Yes, and then his hair 0:07:19.320 --> 0:07:21.920 cut is kind of flat, it's weird. I don't mind 0:07:21.960 --> 0:07:25.840 the clothes, you know, clean. I think the lines they're 0:07:25.880 --> 0:07:29.720 so expensive like these are it's unicloe but like three more? Yeah, 0:07:29.800 --> 0:07:33.080 and what's fashion anyways? What's what's a three shirt a 0:07:33.120 --> 0:07:34.520 fifty dollar shirt? I don't know. I think it's just 0:07:34.600 --> 0:07:38.200 also like I don't know anyone who necessarily would be 0:07:38.240 --> 0:07:40.160 like a, I need new clothing and I have seven 0:07:40.240 --> 0:07:42.120 hundred dollars to spend, let me go to the Red 0:07:42.200 --> 0:07:46.240 Bull fashion collection. It's similar to how Ferrari has an 0:07:46.280 --> 0:07:51.240 atrociously ugly fashion slection. Again, this is my opinion. Now, okay, 0:07:51.240 --> 0:07:53.600 al right, guys, I just wanted to remind you quickly 0:07:53.640 --> 0:07:57.480 that this is an f one podcast whatever. Yeah, suck 0:07:57.600 --> 0:08:02.440 my balls mate, slowly turning into part in the interruption. Yeah. 0:08:02.880 --> 0:08:06.760 So so basically they in the early twenties switch over 0:08:06.800 --> 0:08:09.120 to Alpha Towery and with this, yeah, they really start 0:08:09.160 --> 0:08:10.920 to hammer home this whole idea of this is a 0:08:10.920 --> 0:08:14.520 sister team. It's a separate entity. It's factories in Italy. 0:08:15.120 --> 0:08:16.560 So yeah, So anyway back to a little bit of 0:08:16.560 --> 0:08:18.840 their history. So when they were still tour rosso yeah, 0:08:18.880 --> 0:08:22.280 they were, but until probably there were a bunch of 0:08:22.280 --> 0:08:25.560 different like reliability issues at times. They had some really 0:08:25.640 --> 0:08:27.600 rough years where you had drivers, you know, having to 0:08:27.640 --> 0:08:30.920 retire the car in two thirds of races in some cases, Yeah, 0:08:31.040 --> 0:08:32.760 due to issues with with the car and not with 0:08:32.920 --> 0:08:38.280 necessarily the driver all the time. However, then it wasn't 0:08:38.360 --> 0:08:40.960 until nineteen they actually start to move up the ranks 0:08:40.960 --> 0:08:43.160 a little bit. They ended up finishing Pie six that year. 0:08:43.679 --> 0:08:45.800 They then had another Piece six finished last season in 0:08:46.559 --> 0:08:49.640 one and now generally, especially because there are some teams 0:08:49.679 --> 0:08:52.200 that have have really had some some bad times, they've 0:08:52.240 --> 0:08:55.400 kind of moved into being a comfortable midfield team nowadays, 0:08:55.679 --> 0:08:57.840 or at least that's kind of what they're thought of. 0:08:58.720 --> 0:09:01.720 The Other thing that I think Alpha Towery has tried 0:09:01.760 --> 0:09:05.080 to beef up, especially since their rebrand and how they're 0:09:05.080 --> 0:09:07.320 trying to both distinguish themselves from Red Bull while still 0:09:07.320 --> 0:09:09.680 not pretending that they don't have a connection to Red Bull. 0:09:09.840 --> 0:09:12.719 They actually have a really really fun digital presence. They 0:09:12.800 --> 0:09:16.200 use the drivers really effectively. For example, on top of 0:09:16.200 --> 0:09:18.520 the fact that they obviously use them in their marketing campaigns, 0:09:18.920 --> 0:09:21.320 Pierre and Yuki, the two drivers do wear Alpha Towery 0:09:21.360 --> 0:09:23.280 close to the track. They also make them do a 0:09:23.280 --> 0:09:25.880 lot of like video challenges with the Red Bull drivers 0:09:26.120 --> 0:09:31.200 five o'clock begun to meet here in the morning, of 0:09:31.240 --> 0:09:33.520 course not. And then they also make them do challenges, 0:09:33.640 --> 0:09:35.640 like they had them do a chopstick challenge I think 0:09:35.640 --> 0:09:40.760 with like coffee beans or something. What are you doing? 0:09:41.240 --> 0:09:44.400 Get out on my room now? Okay, close the door, 0:09:46.520 --> 0:09:48.920 Alfa Tori, I think is trying to mimic the social 0:09:48.960 --> 0:09:52.839 media um success of McLaren that was Ashley Khalita, an 0:09:52.880 --> 0:09:54.840 f one Twitch streamer, And they do a really good 0:09:54.920 --> 0:10:00.040 job posting the teammates Pierre Gasoline interacting and such, and 0:10:00.080 --> 0:10:02.760 they definitely have chemistry and they definitely care about each 0:10:02.800 --> 0:10:06.520 other and want to succeed in Formula One and do 0:10:06.600 --> 0:10:09.679 well both of them, and they definitely cheer each other on, 0:10:09.760 --> 0:10:14.200 so I think they definitely bring that relatability side. Maybe 0:10:14.240 --> 0:10:16.880 it's not as strongly pushed on social media like McLaren 0:10:16.920 --> 0:10:19.040 does with their team, but I really think pure Ghastly 0:10:19.080 --> 0:10:28.480 and Yuki are onto something. My initial thought would be 0:10:28.480 --> 0:10:31.520 that Alpha Towery is going for a younger market, but 0:10:31.679 --> 0:10:36.560 Red Bull is already pretty young and Alpha Towery clothing 0:10:37.040 --> 0:10:40.920 is too expensive, so I don't disagree with you. In 0:10:41.000 --> 0:10:45.240 terms of Alpha Tauri this season, things are going not great. 0:10:46.160 --> 0:10:49.800 They have had reliability issues with the car, as have 0:10:49.840 --> 0:10:51.560 a lot of other teams on the grid. With the 0:10:51.559 --> 0:10:56.120 new regulations. They currently as of the summer break, which 0:10:56.120 --> 0:10:57.959 we're in right now, there's no races coming up for 0:10:58.000 --> 0:11:00.719 a few weeks. They are currently in P eight. To 0:11:01.040 --> 0:11:03.559 again contrast that they were in Peace six last year 0:11:03.960 --> 0:11:07.520 when they finished the championship. So obviously, for a team 0:11:07.559 --> 0:11:09.800 like Alpha Tawari that's spent a lot of time bouncing 0:11:09.800 --> 0:11:12.400 around the midfield, they were hoping to maybe spend this 0:11:12.440 --> 0:11:15.280 time moving up to best of the rest of us, 0:11:15.640 --> 0:11:17.880 or at least really get in there, and instead they 0:11:17.960 --> 0:11:21.880 unfortunately are almost relegating themselves to rest of the rest, 0:11:22.280 --> 0:11:24.680 or or the worst of the rest. They're not quite 0:11:24.679 --> 0:11:28.480 there yet, luckily, but it's not what they want. It's 0:11:28.520 --> 0:11:31.400 that looking good. It's not the best yea. So who's 0:11:31.400 --> 0:11:35.360 in charge of Alpha? Yeah, so they have this team principle. 0:11:35.520 --> 0:11:38.319 He's been part of the Alpha Tari tour Rosso brand 0:11:38.320 --> 0:11:41.480 for a very long times. Frands Tossed or Toast depending 0:11:41.520 --> 0:11:45.000 on who you ask, Uh, he's he definitely has a 0:11:45.000 --> 0:11:48.360 bit of a personality, but he's not always the central focus, 0:11:48.480 --> 0:11:50.719 like someone like Christian Horn. Right, you're telling me his 0:11:50.800 --> 0:11:54.280 name is French Toast, Yes, keep that in, please high 0:11:54.559 --> 0:12:00.280 promise me that you'll keep it in. Or guy French Toast, Uh, 0:12:00.880 --> 0:12:03.360 despite the name, does not have as much of a 0:12:03.440 --> 0:12:06.679 presence to the extent. But I think it's because Christian 0:12:06.679 --> 0:12:08.480 Horn or Helmet Marco from Red Bull or such big 0:12:08.480 --> 0:12:10.959 personalities that's kind of hard to compete with them. And 0:12:11.000 --> 0:12:12.960 then you have people like Total Wolf at Mercedes who's 0:12:12.960 --> 0:12:16.160 also a presence. So there's a lot of midfield teams 0:12:16.200 --> 0:12:19.240 where their actual team principles or head haunchos are not 0:12:19.400 --> 0:12:21.400 as I don't know, they don't have as much of 0:12:21.440 --> 0:12:23.400 a kind of following just because they're they're hanging out 0:12:23.480 --> 0:12:26.840 or chilling or or whatever. I will say one of 0:12:27.240 --> 0:12:29.200 one of the most interesting things about friends is back 0:12:29.280 --> 0:12:31.679 in our French if we want to call him, that is, 0:12:31.760 --> 0:12:34.760 back in two thousand seven. Uh, there was an American 0:12:34.800 --> 0:12:37.240 F one driver at the time with the greatest race 0:12:37.280 --> 0:12:40.000 car driver name of all time. It was Hi, guys, 0:12:40.000 --> 0:12:42.880 I'm Scott Speed. Scott Speed. That's a great name. It 0:12:42.920 --> 0:12:46.880 sounds fake, right, It's Scott Speed. And Scott Speed alleged 0:12:46.960 --> 0:12:50.000 fifteen years ago that France had assaulted him over an 0:12:50.040 --> 0:12:54.280 incident on the track. Speed claimed in an interview that 0:12:54.440 --> 0:12:58.000 tossed grabbed him right below the neck on his fireproof 0:12:58.040 --> 0:13:00.079 shirt and jerked him back and forth, let go and 0:13:00.120 --> 0:13:03.440 then pushed him into a wall. So, of course Frances 0:13:03.440 --> 0:13:07.080 Toast completely denies this whole story. And regardless of Scott 0:13:07.160 --> 0:13:10.560 Speeds not having a correct time in their car in 0:13:10.640 --> 0:13:13.520 the Tora Basso car, not driving fast, and so soon 0:13:13.640 --> 0:13:17.240 after the incident, he is fired for low performance. And 0:13:17.320 --> 0:13:20.679 of course his whole spin on this is that, you know, 0:13:20.960 --> 0:13:24.959 almost conspiratorial idea that he hates them, it's terrible working 0:13:24.960 --> 0:13:27.160 with them. He never wants to work with France toast again. 0:13:27.720 --> 0:13:30.000 So with Scott he left the sport quickly. One could 0:13:30.000 --> 0:13:33.320 say it was a speedy exit for that was what 0:13:33.360 --> 0:13:42.080 we need, that was what we needed. But I will 0:13:42.120 --> 0:13:44.240 say the overall I think good thing about alf A 0:13:44.320 --> 0:13:46.280 towery is you know there are a team that's sort 0:13:46.280 --> 0:13:48.760 of known to help funnel in champions right because we 0:13:48.840 --> 0:13:50.839 have a Sebastian battle, you have a max for staff. 0:13:51.040 --> 0:13:53.960 These other other guys going further back who are are 0:13:54.040 --> 0:13:55.400 kind of in that similar boat. So I think if 0:13:55.400 --> 0:13:57.079 you're if you're someone who wants to root for people 0:13:57.160 --> 0:14:00.160 who could potentially do a lot in the future, they 0:14:00.160 --> 0:14:02.280 can be sort of a great a great pick. And 0:14:02.320 --> 0:14:04.640 also certain people, yeah, like to root for midfield teams 0:14:04.640 --> 0:14:07.040 and don't want to give all that credit to the 0:14:07.080 --> 0:14:10.200 guys at the top. Yeah. So, and it takes a 0:14:10.200 --> 0:14:15.240 while to become comfortable racing at this level. I'm sure 0:14:15.440 --> 0:14:17.760 Red Bulls sees Alpha Tower is a way to give 0:14:17.920 --> 0:14:22.240 championship drivers who are very young experience exactly, and also 0:14:22.400 --> 0:14:24.440 a good time to kind of see, okay, can you 0:14:24.480 --> 0:14:28.720 handle any form of pressure of one without necessarily which 0:14:28.800 --> 0:14:30.880 unfortunately have Red bull has been handing over the car 0:14:30.960 --> 0:14:33.960 too early to someone unproven in there. They're kind of 0:14:34.000 --> 0:14:37.120 mainstable drivers. So who are the drivers. We got French 0:14:37.200 --> 0:14:40.680 Toast as the team principal. Who's driving the cars. We 0:14:40.760 --> 0:14:45.080 have French Fry. We see number one um and we 0:14:45.120 --> 0:14:47.520 have scar Go in the other seat. So yeah, we're 0:14:47.560 --> 0:14:50.520 all good. We'll get into the Alpha TOWERI drivers right 0:14:50.560 --> 0:14:55.200 after this short break. All right, we're back from our 0:14:55.240 --> 0:14:58.200 break and we are diving right into the two drivers 0:14:58.200 --> 0:15:01.000 at Alfa Towery. We have Per Ghastly and then we 0:15:01.040 --> 0:15:04.680 have Yuki Sonoda, two very different drivers. They do get 0:15:04.680 --> 0:15:08.160 along very well. So let's start with Pierre Ghastly. As 0:15:08.160 --> 0:15:10.680 you can probably tell from a name like Pierre, he 0:15:10.840 --> 0:15:14.760 is French, Verry French. So Pierre comes from a family 0:15:14.800 --> 0:15:18.080 that has been in motor sports in somewhere or another, 0:15:18.200 --> 0:15:21.240 not f one level, but his grandfather competed in carding. 0:15:21.400 --> 0:15:26.359 His grandmother was actually a carding champion. Grandmother act feminism, 0:15:26.480 --> 0:15:29.640 love to see it. His father dabbled in a number 0:15:29.640 --> 0:15:32.400 of different motor sports, so we did like carding, rallying 0:15:32.400 --> 0:15:35.400 and Durrance racing. So he's kind of jumped around. Pierre's 0:15:35.440 --> 0:15:37.840 also the youngest he has I think four or five 0:15:37.880 --> 0:15:39.800 half siblings who are older than him, so he's kind 0:15:39.840 --> 0:15:43.720 of the the youngest of of the bunch. Basically, he 0:15:44.000 --> 0:15:49.000 takes up carding, is successful, moves on to the junior formulas. 0:15:49.120 --> 0:15:51.360 He ends up winning, so he's you know, he's well 0:15:51.360 --> 0:15:55.240 on his way. He's also competing against drivers like Charlotte 0:15:55.240 --> 0:15:57.680 Claire who is er Monico but obviously races a lot 0:15:57.760 --> 0:16:00.480 in France, as well as estemont Ocon. They grew up 0:16:00.480 --> 0:16:02.320 forty five minutes from each other growing up, They've they've 0:16:02.360 --> 0:16:04.320 spent their their lives compete against each other just because 0:16:04.320 --> 0:16:08.400 they're literally from the same area of France. So Pierre 0:16:08.520 --> 0:16:12.320 makes his Formula One debut back in for Toro Rosso 0:16:12.680 --> 0:16:15.280 what it was called then, and it ends up racing 0:16:15.360 --> 0:16:19.680 full time for the team through He's looking good, he's 0:16:19.680 --> 0:16:21.960 looking promising, you know, getting his his sea legs, so 0:16:22.040 --> 0:16:25.160 to speak. He had a couple of very impressive qualifyings 0:16:25.200 --> 0:16:27.960 in his first full season. He had a P four 0:16:28.000 --> 0:16:30.360 and there, a piece six, a piece seven, So in 0:16:30.400 --> 0:16:33.640 some cases he is out qualifying the machinery that he's 0:16:33.680 --> 0:16:39.960 been given. Pierre ghastly, the young French, absolutely unbelievable. Fourth 0:16:39.960 --> 0:16:50.560 position Now, granted, he would often lose places in the 0:16:50.560 --> 0:16:53.200 actual race, you know, because the car just can't keep 0:16:53.280 --> 0:16:55.280 that pace over an extended period of time. But the 0:16:55.280 --> 0:16:57.560 fact that he everyone agreed he was way over qualifying 0:16:57.600 --> 0:16:59.080 the car like what it should have been, which only 0:16:59.120 --> 0:17:02.480 speaks to his talent. But as we know, for Red Bull, 0:17:02.520 --> 0:17:05.520 this cataclysmic thing happens where Dania Ricardo surprises them by 0:17:05.560 --> 0:17:09.480 not re signing, and as we know from that episode 0:17:09.520 --> 0:17:13.040 as well, Dana ricardo leaving creates another sort of domino 0:17:13.080 --> 0:17:15.040 effect of other things that end up happening, one of 0:17:15.040 --> 0:17:17.320 which is that Red Bull didn't really have a successor 0:17:17.320 --> 0:17:19.880 to Danna Ricardo at this point, but had also made 0:17:19.880 --> 0:17:21.840 it very clear to everyone that Max were Stapping was 0:17:21.880 --> 0:17:25.600 their guy, So it led to this this bizarre void 0:17:25.680 --> 0:17:28.520 to be filled by his by his labsence. Also, Dania 0:17:28.560 --> 0:17:31.040 Ricardo was a huge personality, as we've discussed, so they're 0:17:31.080 --> 0:17:33.159 kind of trying to figure out what to do. This was, 0:17:33.200 --> 0:17:35.160 you know, several years ago, Piers in his early twenties, 0:17:35.240 --> 0:17:37.720 so they end up saying, hey, let's let's call him up, 0:17:37.760 --> 0:17:40.080 despite the fact that you know, he'd only competed in 0:17:40.119 --> 0:17:43.920 his second season of the sport, and unfortunately he ends 0:17:43.960 --> 0:17:47.359 up crashing and burning spectacularly. You've got to say, only 0:17:47.440 --> 0:17:50.800 one side of that garage is consistently delivering. At the moment, 0:17:51.240 --> 0:17:55.159 Pierre Ghastly qualified six cents off his teammate, Ghastly finished 0:17:55.200 --> 0:17:57.800 p eleven. There were a lot of races where Max 0:17:57.840 --> 0:18:02.400 was lapping him. He just got absolutely walloped by Max. 0:18:02.400 --> 0:18:04.520 And the standings, yeah, it was. It was bad. He's 0:18:04.720 --> 0:18:08.119 gone to unlock that part of him that we know 0:18:08.440 --> 0:18:12.160 is capable of bringing home better results. He ends up 0:18:12.520 --> 0:18:15.400 only completing twelve races before Red Bull yanks him from 0:18:15.400 --> 0:18:18.480 the seat and demotes him back down to the then 0:18:18.520 --> 0:18:22.280 Toro Rosso team. That's humiliating, Yeah, really harsh. And on 0:18:22.400 --> 0:18:24.640 top of that, a big issue that's come up since 0:18:24.680 --> 0:18:27.760 then in retrospect is people feel like the car was 0:18:27.840 --> 0:18:31.399 much more tailored to Max's strengths than Pierre's. So if 0:18:31.400 --> 0:18:33.160 you're Pierre, you're a very talented driver, you just don't 0:18:33.200 --> 0:18:35.119 drive like Max. So if you're in a car that 0:18:35.359 --> 0:18:36.800 is not made for it is very much made for 0:18:36.840 --> 0:18:40.080 your your biggest competitor, you know your teammate, you're really 0:18:40.080 --> 0:18:44.840 setting someone up to fail Max is uh, you know, 0:18:44.920 --> 0:18:48.320 he's a rocket ship and his whatever they call the 0:18:49.240 --> 0:18:51.640 like all the fire and all the smoke that comes 0:18:51.640 --> 0:18:53.280 out of the back of the rocket. It's too big. 0:18:53.880 --> 0:18:57.359 Whatever's around just gonna get sucked up into Max, you know. 0:18:58.200 --> 0:19:00.639 So I wouldn't want to drive under Max. So Pierre 0:19:00.800 --> 0:19:03.680 is in this tough position. Obviously, it's devastating and humiliating 0:19:03.760 --> 0:19:06.960 to be demoted, not just demoted in general, but halfway 0:19:06.960 --> 0:19:09.919 through a season that's pretty pretty bad. And then to 0:19:10.040 --> 0:19:14.919 make matters worse, he's back at Toro Rosso and his 0:19:15.040 --> 0:19:18.720 best friend Antoine who Bear was a very promising driver 0:19:18.960 --> 0:19:23.320 in Formula two. Antoine who Bear dies in a race 0:19:23.600 --> 0:19:26.399 in Belgium. This is during also an F one race weekend, 0:19:26.480 --> 0:19:30.439 so Pierre is there at the track. It's incredibly sad. 0:19:30.680 --> 0:19:34.520 This is this is bottom. I mean, there's career abouttom 0:19:34.560 --> 0:19:36.919 and then there's death. That's that's this is This is 0:19:36.920 --> 0:19:40.200 a new level entangling personal and professional tragedy. In the 0:19:40.240 --> 0:19:42.040 span of a few weeks, we lived in the same 0:19:42.040 --> 0:19:45.000 flat full five years. We went to same school where 0:19:45.080 --> 0:19:48.400 in the same classroom. Um, I've just known these guys 0:19:48.440 --> 0:19:51.720 in so long. We've shared so many moments on track 0:19:51.800 --> 0:19:55.600 and off track, especially um that yeah, honestly, I still 0:19:55.600 --> 0:19:59.000 have believe it. He actually a really extensive personal essay 0:19:59.040 --> 0:20:01.719 on the Internet and about the experience, but basically one 0:20:01.760 --> 0:20:04.120 of the last conversations he had with Antoine was about 0:20:04.119 --> 0:20:06.320 his emotion, and Antoine kind of told me, you'll keep going. 0:20:06.400 --> 0:20:09.600 You're prove them wrong, like you've got this. So obviously 0:20:09.600 --> 0:20:11.879 he's devastated that his friend has died, but also feels 0:20:11.920 --> 0:20:16.479 really motivated. Interestingly, we actually talked to another driver for 0:20:16.520 --> 0:20:20.640 this podcast, taughtinga Calderone. So she was Antoine's teammate when 0:20:20.680 --> 0:20:23.520 this accident happened, and she said something very similar to 0:20:23.600 --> 0:20:25.680 pire because I I sort of pose the question of well, 0:20:25.880 --> 0:20:29.400 did did watching your teammate die make you fear racing 0:20:29.440 --> 0:20:32.520 more or whatever? And her and here actually very similar 0:20:32.560 --> 0:20:35.520 in terms of saying For me, it opened as well 0:20:35.560 --> 0:20:40.439 in my mind, I respect what I do much more now, Um, 0:20:40.680 --> 0:20:43.919 I don't. I'm not afraid of it. I think you 0:20:43.960 --> 0:20:47.880 know that I was maybe not enjoying it as as 0:20:47.960 --> 0:20:51.520 much as I should because because of the pressure that 0:20:51.560 --> 0:20:56.280 I was putting myself. That reminded me that what the 0:20:56.359 --> 0:21:01.439 most important thing is if unfortunately I and up dying 0:21:01.520 --> 0:21:05.119 in an accident or whatever. I know that I'm doing 0:21:05.240 --> 0:21:07.800 what I love most. You you have to be able 0:21:07.880 --> 0:21:11.280 to to do what you love most to be happy, 0:21:11.400 --> 0:21:15.280 and we'll see how much we we get to stay 0:21:15.320 --> 0:21:20.200 in this world doing that. That's a beautiful delusional mind 0:21:20.240 --> 0:21:23.680 that you need to be a world class driver. Driver. Yeah, 0:21:23.760 --> 0:21:26.159 oh yeah, big time. So anyway, after this happens, he 0:21:26.200 --> 0:21:29.760 does start to improve back at at then you know, 0:21:30.280 --> 0:21:35.040 at Torboso Afatari uh and eventually actually in it's really 0:21:35.040 --> 0:21:39.040 exciting Castle is in France for the Alpha Tsari. He 0:21:39.160 --> 0:21:44.520 ends up winning his first ever Grand Prix. Is Alpha 0:21:44.560 --> 0:21:50.040 Tari Pia Castle when is the Italian Grand Prix? Oh my, 0:21:50.160 --> 0:21:53.480 oh my. Alpha Tari had a couple of podiums and 0:21:53.520 --> 0:21:55.400 obviously points to their name, but this was their first win. 0:21:55.520 --> 0:21:59.399 So this was a very big deal multiple front. It 0:21:59.440 --> 0:22:01.040 wasn't an extra big because it was in Italy and 0:22:01.040 --> 0:22:03.080 it was in their home Grand Prix, so it's just yeah, 0:22:03.119 --> 0:22:05.880