Box Box Box
Box Box Box breaks down the Formula 1 season with clear, focused analysis. Hosts Scott and Mohan cover each race weekend, unpacking strategies, standout performances, and the key stories shaping the grid.
Box Box Box
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The Belgian Grand Prix is here. We look at the biggest talking points, team expectations, and the drivers best placed to shine at Spa.
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Fucked up, fucked up, fucked, fucked, fucked.
SPEAKER_00So Hamilton was four point eight, four point eight. I think that's a podium, mate. I think that's a podium.
SPEAKER_01Welcome to Box Box Box, your friendly neighborhood Formula One podcast. Uh my name is Scott Mohan. We're back. We're back together somehow. Don't know how we did it. How are you?
SPEAKER_02Good, thank you. We got through it though. It's and and still still managed to get the content out and keep our listeners informed. So no good, but good to be chatting to you again.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, absolutely. How was it just doing a lot of it?
SPEAKER_02It was certainly different, I must admit. And I think sort of uh delivering it as a as a as a monologue, uh I I certainly enjoy the the back-to-forth banter that you and I actually have. I think uh listening to both formats competitive uh collectively, that's uh it's a it's far more far more rewarding, I guess, to have the conversation. But obviously in a pinch, if you need to do it, we've uh found a way to do it, I guess.
SPEAKER_01Yep, absolutely. I think you're being quite generous there. You're you're quite good at uh just speaking solo. But I think the the the main thing, I think, for me is that there's a lot of things that I'm not across in the Formula One world. So I can certainly take that that question spot for any individuals listening and you know pick your brain uh with everything that's going on. And good time for that, because I'm completely out of the loop with what's happened the last couple of weeks, uh just with everything I've had on. Uh so I'd love if you can just catch me up on what's been going on and and just just briefly, and then leading into Belgium. Uh I couldn't couldn't miss spa, right? So this is this is this is obviously the best track on the calendar, and you know, hopefully I don't get rid of it.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, so obviously the the the preceding races were if he uh I think the last two, certainly Silverstone and and Austria. And it's actually been a bit of a mixed bag in terms of uh of the of the results of actually coming through. So and even if you go back to Barcelona as well, so Lewis Hamilton had his uh had his first first podia, first uh win actually, uh, in Barcelona, which has been a long time coming and and his first win in the red. And uh for the not I think more than even Ferrari fans, I think Formula One fans in general were just so happy to see this and to see the fact that you know he'd managed to put what was a fairly disappointing year behind him to deliver this. And and I think that this the sport collectively cheered him on, regardless of who who which team or which driver you actually tend to support. And then we moved on to Austria, where uh George Russell actually was able to sort of arrest Kimi Antonelli's momentum that he's been carrying through up to that point and actually deliver a weak victory. And uh I think that race actually showed a little bit of perhaps Kimi's immaturity at times and certain situations that how he actually behaved. And then Ferrari actually came to the party well and truly in in at Silverstone. So with uh with Charles Leclerc, because I think uh coming into that race, we had been talking about the fact that uh Leclerc actually had a lot of disappointing races, and we were quite worried about even his mental state, I guess, coming into it. The fact that he seemed to be um quite down, uh down on himself and down on the on the season so far. Admittedly, there were some some instances in the in the Silverstone race which kind of kinda helped him out. Uh the safety car coming out at uh at an opportune time, Max Verstappen's withdrawal and Kimi's actually his issues as well, which uh because he was catching up to Charles quite a bit after that point. And all of that I think collectively served to to give Ferrari a one and a three. But at the end of the day, you still need to be up there fighting for it. Um and actually what it's what all those results have collectively done is the fact that it's it's brought particularly the driver standing stable a lot closer together. And uh Kimi is only currently 25 points, which is the difference between perhaps a Russell victory and a and a Antonelli DNF, basically. That's all it would take to wipe that out. But what is actually then what is what it has also then done is brought Hamilton into contention quite strongly. So he's only seven points adrift of George at the moment. Uh and the fact that now he keeps delivering not just that first victory, but also podiums consistently. Uh and so it's kind of from what looked like a two-way title fight is now looking like a three-way title fight. Uh, hoping that Ferrari can actually maintain that momentum. Keep delivering a car that is reliable uh and competitive. And quite interesting, actually, both Ferrari cars have had quite different setups across race weekends, and they've had differing results. So there is there doesn't seem to be a fixed formula of what works best. It just seems to be what works best for that particular driver at the time. And so uh each driver has taken their own view of how they want the car set up, and it's delivered them very mixed results in that sense. But the overall, the overall view is that uh we've got uh is it one more race? I think after you've got Belgium next and then Hungary. And then I think we go into into the mid-year break. So uh so uh so there's a lot at stake coming into that break, and it just brought, as I say, overall it just brought the the challenge a lot closer.
SPEAKER_01Firstly, completely agree on the Lewis Hamilton thing. I'm somebody who, other than the McLaren victory, could not stand his time at Mercedes. It was just way too easy for him. Incredible driver, but just you you you want him to face some sort of challenge and earn those titles. Uh so um those championships. So yeah, couldn't stand it, but could not be happier for him to uh to win it uh uh in Spain. And uh quite honestly, i if if he was to uh become champion this year, uh it would be a a cherry on top of an incredible career. So yeah, I think there's a lot of people like me that probably had the same thoughts about just not enjoying his his reign because it was just so dominant, largely because of the car itself and uh lack of quality teammate and now seeing him have to battle with a car that's not quite as good in a time of his life where he's not in his prime, it's it's fantastic to see. So the other thing I just wanted to ask you about um, you know, we've been banging on the entire time, the entire season about Kimmy running away with this pretty much, particularly against George. Uh so you know, whether Ferrari or McLaren we were even talking about, we would have a resurgence this year, that was always possible. But we very much thought George had tapped out of this. Where are we sitting with this now? Are we kind of eating our words on this one? Like is is it or is it just a bit of bad luck that's gonna Kimmy will start dominating again?
SPEAKER_02The two thugs, several things to look at. One is I think some of the results that uh Kimi has seen in the last few races, several factors have played into this. One is I think at po at times it was a bit of impatience on his part. It actually based sort of this view of I want to win the race from the first slap itself rather than building a race. But Mercedes, if you look at both cars across all of these weekends, have actually had quite a few reliability issues, and that is actually quite a concern for them. And whether that actually is potentially also allowing Ferrari to catch up to them because I think McLaren still quite a long way adrift. I understand that they are bringing some upgrades to Belgium as well, so that may make a difference. But in terms of it's not just in terms of the cars themselves, there seem to be a bit drift in terms of strategy as well. But the problem for me is not I think it's it's it's it's Mercedes' reliability, and I think the fact that Kimi had run away with it for a while because his car was behaving appropriately and George's wasn't, and and I we've seen the reverse happen actually, where Kimmy's is not behaving appropriately, and and George has been able to catch up in that sense. So Mercedes, I think, need to get their garage sorted in that sense, but also the issue that we talked about previously is as a team, they need to make a decision. I know they won't openly admit a one and two driver, but I think they need to make a decision of how they want to manage these two drivers. We saw the the negative side of that last year with McLaren, uh, and it almost turned into quite a mess actually between Piastri and Norris. And I think if Mercedes aren't careful of how they manage these two drivers, because they are fighting each other on track, and as a result of that, they're actually letting the competition catch up to them. Uh and and it is only a matter of time where they do take each other out in a race, and it's been they've had a few close shaves all along the way. So I think all of these factors collectively need to be considered. I think if I had to pick between Kimi and George, I think Kimmy is marginally ahead purely because I think his mentality and his head is in a much better space than George's is. Uh, because I think George can get down on himself very quickly, quite negative on him. Whereas Kimmy's like, yep, I made a mistake, I'll I'll while I'll pick it up and start again, even if it's in the same weekend or the following week, and I'm happy to reset. I'll learn from it, I'll apologize for it, and I'll move on. And I think that is the right mindset to be coming to it. So if it got down, say to the last two or three rounds and they were really challenging each other, I would actually back Kimmy over and above George because I think he's doing this with the right attitude.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, how things change probably would have put the house on George, uh, sorry, on uh Kimmy only a couple months ago. So uh but let's uh dive into some more formal questions, Mohan. Uh after Ferrari ended its own drought at Silverstone, uh, does Charles Leclerc arrive at Spa as a genuine title threat, or does championship leader Kimmy Antonelli remain the man to beat despite his advantage shrinking to 25 points?
SPEAKER_02So so Leclerc's actually, if you look at that overall point system, I think he's something like 71 points behind Antonelli, which is quite a long way away. So I think having said that though, I think this Silverstone was still a very important weekend for him. Uh particularly given that, you know, he qualified second. He was only uh 0.175 behind Antonelli's pole. Uh and then he made an absolutely brilliant start and managed to control the race from there onwards. And the final margins are probably not ideal to look at, only because the safety car actually compressed uh the field as such. What the bigger question actually here is whether Silverstone actually represented a genuine change in the Ferrari performance or whether it was only just one strong weekend as such. So uh given that Leclerc's two previous GPs were retirement in Barcelona and Austria, so and across those three races, he's only scored, I think, 29 points. So I think Ferrari have clearly improved as a team. Um and um, but I think Leclerc needs a few more uh consistent results to for this to be counted as a sustained run as such. Uh if he leaves Spa with another 20 or 25 points closer to the lead, then we can start talking about this seriously. Um but what Silverstone has done is it's kind of put him back into the conversation, um, but not quite in the championship fight as yet.
SPEAKER_01So tell me, with the spa Franco Schams, how did I do that? Not very good. With Spain, with Spa reverting to a standard weekend three practice session and a single qualifying hour rather than a sprint. How much extra will that count on the calendar's longest and most demanding lap?
SPEAKER_02Uh I think sort of reverting to a standard weekend, I think, will make a massive difference. And I think almost even probably more than any other circuit. One of the factors is it's uh it's the longest lap on the calendar, it's just over seven kilometers wrong, which obviously makes for a much shorter race as well in 44 laps. So that also means that you complete fewer laps during during each hour of practice, and so the teams are uh collecting less data as a as a result of it. Um and if someone, for instance, move loses 15 minutes due to a mechanical problem, a red flag or rain, that can actually cost them five or six laps in practice, which is quite a significant amount when you think about it. Um and the setup compromise for this track is quite huge as well. It's it's you're the kind of circuit where you initially need a bit of uh a certain amount of low drag, uh particularly through Aurouge and Radilion and all the way down to the strait, and then you need enough down force sort of to attack the middle sector. This is a kind of circuit, I think, that the new power units, again, it's a distinctly different circuit to what's been in the past with the other tracks. And I believe it'll be a circuit that actually demand uh puts a lot of demand on the electrical unit in within the car. So the teams actually will need to again work out differently where best to harvest that energy, where best to deploy it, and how to avoid running out of the electrical energy later in the lab. So that's that's that'll be quite a significant factor, I think, on the weekend. The weather can be quite unpredictable here, and I think that would definitely play a part in what the results and that come out of this weekend. Um currently there is a forecast, I think, for thunderstorms on the Friday and sort of cloudier conditions on the Saturday, uh, but somewhat dry on the Sunday. So uh this gives quite a mixed bag of setups, a mixed lot of data that the teams will actually have to collect to collect to work out how best to set up their cars for Sunday. Um so definitely the extra practice will help them, as I mentioned before, because actually with fewer lapsed. Uh but the nature of this circuit will definitely not make that easy. It um it sort of gives the teams, I guess, a slightly better chance of solving a problem uh that has a lot of variables uh compared to other weekends at other circuits.
SPEAKER_01I wonder what the longest uh, you know, you know, when the car loses a wheel uh or puncture or whatnot and ends up on three wheels effectively. I wonder what the longest crawl home is. Um, I wonder if there's ever been a a time at Spa where there's been a puncture, uh rises, the laps begun, and they've had to limp back to the pits or whatnot.
SPEAKER_02I think of any vision that I've seen in past races, I I I certainly don't I think it's you know, we're talking a matter of minutes, I suppose, and these cars are still, as much as we don't realize it, even at that that rate, are still moving at a decent pace, even on three wheels. So the the you know the drivers are gonna they're gonna push it as far as they can too.
SPEAKER_01Surely you just pull over though, right? If you you you lose a tire at the start of the spa lap, regardless of how far you're in the ground, but surely you just pull over. You wouldn't be bothered. There's just six feet.
SPEAKER_02I don't know, actually. I think there are there are a different breed the drivers, and I think they are basically off the view off no, let's get this car back, how quickly can you fix it and how quickly can you get me back out on the track again, basically? That's kind of where their mindset is.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, yeah. 20-ish of the most competitive individuals in the world. So that's true. Uh so tell me, Mohan, does Spa's high-speed power-sensitive layout play into Mercedes' hands again, or can Red Bull, Red Bull's straight line pace and max for sappen uh is affection for the circuit finally turn around two difficult weekends in a row?
SPEAKER_02Uh, based on the evidence so far, I I think Mercedes definitely have to start as favorites. I mean, they won seven of the first nine Grand Prix, uh, five of those through Antonier, two of those through Russell. And between them, uh, they have taken pole position at every Grand Prix. So I think those, you look at those results alone, I think they would definitely have to have to start as favourites here. I think this track will reward the strengths of the Mercedes car, uh, particularly the the strength of the power unit and the performance of that, how efficient the aerodynamics are of this car, and that it's it's a car that is generally pretty stable through the fast corners. The challenge that I mentioned before, not just for Mercedes but for other teams as well, will be how to how to actually manage the electrical deployment over a very long lap. And but Mercedes, I think overall appear to have the best package uh to balance all of that. If you look at other teams, I think someone like Red Bull is a lot harder to assess. The Austria results in Austria showed what that car is capable of is actually functioning properly. But they also in turn had a very difficult silver stone. So particularly with Verstappen finishing second, and then Max sort of crashing out on lap 48. The reason I would never decide. Sorry, sorry, could you could you say that again? Who finished second? Sorry, who said sorry, Verstappen finished qualifying seventh, sorry. Seventh, seventh, okay, yeah. And then and then uh and Hajjar qualifying fifth, I think. Uh, and then Max actually ended up crashing out uh during the race. This I think the the those the issues that they face uh through that crash as well would be a major concern, and hopefully they've had time to go away with the two weeks and actually sort some things out. However, I would never dismiss Max, and particularly given his record at this track. So, I mean he's won three consecutive races, I think, back in 21 to 23. And he's you know always in the mix if if he's got a car that's reliable and behaves well, and I think it certainly suits his driving style as well. So that will always be in the mix, but I think overall Mercedes have the better car for the tr over the in over the length of the entire lap. Um and I think I definitely they have to feature as favorites here.
SPEAKER_01I know you're big on the whole well, you're you're very aware of the whole rumor mill scene. Is there anything changed with the whole max contract situation? Uh nothing new that's actually come up.
SPEAKER_02It's the same things that have been uh, I think, rehashed. And the the biggest ones of those obviously is whether Max, well, there's only, I mean, it comes down to Max, there's only two teams that are really in the mix for him. He's not gonna go and race in a midfield team. He he wants to race for a team, and he said that he says, I want to race for a team that can win races, that can win championships. So as a result, count any midfield team out of that. Uh so the two that are really in the mix for him are I think Mercedes first and and McLaren. And McLaren, partly also because GP is gonna go ahead there, is going ahead there, and whether he's likely to talk uh Max to come across. But they obviously they have to make some serious moves. They're not gonna get rid of Lando. So Oscar's probably the likely one to be shoved aside. And the similar thing at Mercedes, I think they're not gonna move Antonelli along. If anyone gets moved along, it will be George. Um, but I think Toto has been courting Max for quite a long time, well before even this season. So um those those rumors still keep flying and I think keep moving around. Uh, what will be interesting to see is with these two races coming up is where Max actually sits in the drivers' championship and whether at the end of Hungary, whether he is in that position to exercise that exit clause. Uh, I think he has to be fourth or better, if I'm right, um, to uh to be able to exercise the clause and the way he's sitting at the moment, that is that is a very real possibility. But he has also said the fact that, you know, I mean, he likes challenge that Red Bull brings. I think he likes the management at Red Bull now, given all the personal changes that have happened. Uh, I think he's got a good relationship with Laura McKee's and and and McKiss himself seems to be doing a good lot of good things with that team. And the Red Bull garage, not just these two cars, but the Racing Bull's cars as well, have shown a lot of promise. So he would have that in the back of his mind as well. Um and so yeah, so it'll be it'd be interesting to see come, come August, where all of this sits. In terms of other rumors, I I think there's sort of been noises about Carlos Sainz being unhappy at Williams, and but where would he actually go? And I think the the cars at the back of the paddock, uh, there doesn't seem to be the Alpine house, and certainly kind of like an Aston Martin there, so it certainly doesn't seem to be any any movement. There was a rumour thrown around about Max going to Aston Martin, but I don't think that's that's gonna fly given the current state that they are in as well. But um yeah, it a few more weeks, all of this the crazy season as they see starts up.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, Carlos Sainz, uh um I probably could have envisioned him being unhappy at Williams when he went there. Uh but I think you're right. There's just there's not not there's no real seats for him around, is there? And he's he's such a such a quality performer. It's uh I imagine he'll bounce back somewhat, but it's all about that opportunity and when that seat opens up. So um we'll see what happens there. Tell me, Mohan Ferrari, can they build on Silverson's momentum? Uh and which of Charles Leclerc or Lewis Hamilton, a six-time Belgian Grand Prix winner, is better placed to lead the challenge into the Ardennes, Ardennes. I've I I need to brush up on my my uh my my my Belgian terms. Uh how do you say that? Arden. Arden? Arden, cool. Uh what language do they speak? There's like three different languages.
SPEAKER_02Uh Belgians speak uh French. They speak Dutch, they speak German. German German there as well, I think. Yeah, so a little bit of Hungarian throwing probably let it. But I think primarily French and uh obviously Belgian as well, sort of thing.
SPEAKER_01Right, it does it does sound French named. Uh uh anyway, uh yeah, tell me about Ferrari.
SPEAKER_02Uh I think having won the last two last two Grand Prix, they definitely I think can carry a certain amount of momentum into spa. I think Hamilton's previous record uh at this track would still present him as a serious threat. He knows how to judge uh the setup for this track, uh, he knows how to protect his tires over the long lap. And also sort of uh know how to manage any changing conditions, particularly weather-wise, that may actually be thrown at him. But LeClark himself also has quite a good uh record at this track. I think he I think he actually took his first Formula One victory here back in uh back in 2019 or thereabouts. And so he's obviously has got uh an affinity with this track. The recent sort of qualifying comparison for me slightly favors Charles and he particularly sort of know the the the performance that he showed in Austria. But I think overall between the two of them uh Hamilton is better placed, I think, uh to deliver a result uh uh on Sunday. And but definitely as a team, they bring a lot of momentum into this track. And the I mean, but but but whether if particularly if we end up the conditions end up being wet on the track uh and sort of somewhat messy, uh I think Hamilton would be the more dangerous driver to consider on the on the on Sunday.
SPEAKER_01Well, kicking on from that, of the closely matched title contenders, Antonelli Russell and Hamilton, uh who is the strongest blend of car form, recent momentum, and points position heading into the spa?
SPEAKER_02Uh based on particularly based on recent momentum and and all of those factors that you Mentioned, I think for me at this stage, I think George would actually sit marginally ahead. Even though Kimi is actually leading the championship at the moment, that that is no longer a comfortable lead. So and the fact that, you know, all all as you mentioned before, all it takes is uh one DNF and one victory either way, and and you're all on level pegging again. So uh given given Russell's results in the last three Grand Prix, uh, I think I would put him slight slightly ahead in that sense between the thing. He's also been very strong in in qualifying uh and uh with the previous races. And if you look at that sort of as uh like a body of work, I guess, amongst those amongst those three contenters, Antonelli, Russell, and Hamilton. George is in the last few races, you know, he's qualifying at the front, he's finishing races, he's taking advantage of the points that are available to him. Uh when he may not particularly have the fastest car coming out of the Mercedes-bench garage. So, and also strategically at Silverstone, they stayed out, he they sort of made him stay out longer, uh, particularly when the late safety car actually came out. And that actually delivered the result that they ended up with for him. So I think uh he of those two drivers, he would be ahead for me. Uh Hamilton probably presents the biggest immediate threat, and he given that he's only seven points behind Russell, and the fact that Ferrari, as I mentioned before, are bringing a lot of momentum on into this weekend. So and that and depending on how those results go, again, whether there's a reliability issue, whether there's a DNF, whether there's a car, a crash, a safety car, all of those factors into it together. It wouldn't be unreasonable to see Hamilton second at the end of this end of this weekend.
SPEAKER_01So tell me, how much could Spa's famously unpredictable Ardennes weather? Ardennes, I say that right, the forest forest hill region weather with a historical safety car rate of above 60% uh and the demands of the calendar's longest lap shake up both the race and the championship battle. Um, you did say that the weather is looking sketchy.
SPEAKER_02Yes, I think there's a there's a mixed bag actually, if you look at Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. This, I guess, definitely weather is not just a background detail like it is in some other tracks. It definitely can uh determine a race and and particularly because this is such a long, long circuit as well. And as a result of it, the conditions can actually be totally different at one end of the lab to the other. So it might be raining at one end, um, and you know, say down near Lacombs or Brooks Hells, I think it's called. It could be raining down there, and then you come around to the start-finish area and it's dry as a bone. So by the time the the driver reports rain and then gets back to the pits and changes ties, the situation may have already changed.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, I completely forgot about that. So the track's so long that you're actually getting like almost like different different weather patterns across different areas, right? I forgot all that.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, and it's actually interesting hearing the team radios often sort of predicting rain on the track and the fact that you think these cars get around this track even though it's 7Ks, they get around pretty quickly. But it's it's there's enough length there and distance enough for it to make a significant actually uh difference. And and and the strategy becomes very important actually if they do drivers push through in marginal wet conditions uh and risk it, or do they come in and change tires, uh, which could change on the next slag completely? So this is sort of factors that they would have to uh they would have to consider. Uh and I said if so the weather is looking like a mixed bag coming in the weekend, there's a possible thunderstorm on Friday, cool and cloudy on Saturday, Sunday looks drier, but that could be uh could be at risk as well. I think, and and as a result, historically, uh safety cars have actually played quite an important part at this uh at this race, actually, because of uh conditions that have that have um occurred during a race. And sort of the probability of a safety car coming out on on race days is pretty high at this track. So and I think we saw last year, I think where this where the start was uh delayed by an hour and a half because of uh rain and and poor visibility. Uh and the feed that only completed four laps before the safety car had to come out, basically. So if you end up with similar conditions, all of that collectively can play a huge part in the final result. Uh and that actually can have massive consequences to the championship itself. So given how close that those top three are now to each other, uh weather definitely would play a huge part here.
SPEAKER_01Alright, so who are your predictions, Mohan, for pole position, the podium, and the Belgium Grand Prix win?
SPEAKER_02Uh for pole position, I'm I'm actually going to go with uh the current moment and actually stick with George. I think they have Mercedes as a team, as we know, have taken every poll so far. And George has taken two of the last three, so I can't expect him to keep that going. And but but the timing itself, I think it depends on the weather conditions or whether it's dry or wet, or what actually presents itself. Uh for the race, I'm actually going to go slightly against the poll prediction. I'm actually going to choose Antonelli to win. Uh Louis II and George III, uh, and Charles fourth. I think that's that sort of uh looks it for me because I think Antonelli has learned now he has typically most races, he's actually not had the greatest of starts, and I but he has actually had the um the right mindset to to recover from it in most cases and build the race back up on the condition that b that the car is reliable. So I think for me, uh I I I he's in a good chance to to put it put in another victory, uh Louis II, George III, and Charles IV, which all that would serve to is actually is to uh narrow that that point points gap even more.
SPEAKER_01Uh this one's pretty simple for me, I think. Uh, but the but can you tell me who has a straight line speed, Mercedes or Ferrari?
SPEAKER_02Depends on on the on the on the nature of the race. I think I think Mercedes overall. If you're looking at the start itself, obviously Ferrari and the way they can actually capitalize, it's the problem is having those good starts, uh they do not have enough straight line speed to maintain that gap. Yes, uh and that's the that's where Mercedes benefits, I think, over there.
SPEAKER_01So that's the thing for me. I guess you've got some very long straights here. So I'm I for me it's Mercedes are gonna be one-two with Ferrari third. And I will I can never forget that incredible performance that George achieved at spa with a Williams. Uh we never had that race, it was just the qualifying and some oh I guess it was it was called a they called it like a partial race, didn't they? It was like a yeah, they did like a couple laps into the safety car. But but yeah, his his racecraft ability to be able to navigate spa and the weather at spa got him on the podium in the end in third. But uh more importantly, and I think merit-wise, he got he he got third position during qualifying with a car that had absolutely no rights to be up there. That car, uh that Williams car was barely even allowed on the grid, as far as I'm concerned, with that 110% rule. Is it one percent 110 or is it one three? I can't remember. Uh one three, I think. One three, yeah. Anyway, so so yeah, it's you so I think he's the guy for this. So uh George, uh George Pole, George win for me, uh Kimmy second, and Lewis third. Uh and we'll see how that plays out. Now, Mohan, uh anything else you want to add with our lead into spa here?
SPEAKER_02Uh no, I just said there's uh after this, there's one more one more race weekend in Hungary, and then we go into the break. So I think like you, I'm I'm I'm waiting to see what the what the driver saw for that. Inevitably it's gonna come in that break. Uh but also whether uh I know McLaren actually planning to bring some upgrades to this track. So uh we're interested to see whether that actually translates into some form for them and whether I I think they are at this stage out of the driver champ, I certainly out of the out of the championship fight as such. Uh I think they have they're too far behind to to catch up, even though even with the upgrades. And they're sort of one of two ways, either they're at the bottom at the of the leading field or they're at the top of the midfield, basically. It's kind of where they're gonna sit. So I think that's they'll be interested to see, but it'd be interesting to see what upgrades they actually bring to this track. The interesting other interesting part with them is they have not had, seem to have had the same reliability issues that Mercedes have had, even though they're technically the same engine. And um, there were other aerodynamic issues which they haven't been able to sort out and strategy issues which they haven't been able to quite sort out. But it's interesting that the the works Mercedes-Benz team seems to have had the most amount of reliability issues. Any any of the other teams that actually uh use the Mercedes-Benz unit have not had similar reliability issues. So it's very interesting how this is actually working out. So I don't know whether those teams have found a better way to exploit the Mercedes engine, but or whether being at the front of the pack, there is a lot more stress on the Mercedes-Works cars than than the midfield cars. Uh, but it's interesting actually how that's how that's working out at the moment.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, it could even be like a one-to-one correlation if Mercedes are, you know, overclocking their engine, uh, for lack of a better term, because they think that they understand the ins and outs of it. Whereas you have the the other teams that are just they're they're not quite pushing their those engine limits as far. But yeah, that's uh it's because yeah, you're right. The the team that's going the fastest has the reliability issues, and that that's usually uh Yeah, it's usually how it works, I suppose. So that's uh interesting. Yeah, very interesting. We'll keep an eye on that, because that's uh that's huge. Like these any DNFs are just a massive chunk of points. You know, you you're going out there expecting to pick up, you know, a baseline of ten points or say as something say on a bad race day when you're these top teams. So you yeah, you can't really you need to be on the you need to be in and around the podium. So DNFs are huge. All right, Mohan, uh you want to shout out our shout out our socials for the listeners?
SPEAKER_02Um just one more thing I actually wanted to cover quickly before before we wrap up. It's uh it's to do with the I think there's a bit of talk about the ADU or which is the additional uh development upgrade option which has been available to to teams. And this is this focuses entirely on the um ICE part of the engine, not the electrical part basically. And uh based on performance that is measured up to now, different teams have been given different uh options to upgrade. And the one that actually has got the least amount of options offered to them purely because they apparently have got the best engine, are Red Bull, which is, I must admit that Red Bull have actually taken this with mixed feelings. Uh, because they are said, yeah, actually basically said, well, look at the performance on the track, it's not us that's actually in the back, it's Mercedes-Benz. But how come they've got two upgrades and we've only got one? But because this actually looks at the internal combustion engine and not the electrical unit, the the positive way that Red Bull actually looking at this going, well, this is our first year actually working with Ford, and we are producing the best engine, that's fantastic for us. Um and if that if we can actually maintain that momentum going into future seasons, that's great for us as a as a as a developer, as an engine developer, basically. And so they have taken that, they've looked, they've taken the optimistic view, I guess, looking at it that way. But on the flip side of it, they're also a bit puzzled, going, well, look at the results. That doesn't really necessarily translate into results. And we're almost being penalized for being in the midfield when uh Mercedes and Ferrario are performing way better than us overall, are actually getting more upgrades.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, and that's and that's also the thing that like you want to be, you know, this these they're like there are development limits and ceilings, and if you're close to it, you want to be winning because everyone else is just gonna catch up. So yeah, disappointing for them. I'd I I didn't realize that was the case. And yeah, I'd be I'd be filthy, honestly. All right. Well, uh socials, Mohan?
SPEAKER_02Yeah, so our social handle is at boxboxboxoz. Uh we're on Instagram, Facebook, X, and and TikTok. Uh, our website is boxboxbox.net.au. Uh, you can also reach us uh via email at info at boxboxbox.net.au. Uh please like, subscribe, share, send us your feedback. Uh, we've also, uh, as of a couple of days ago, put out our next episode of F1 Decoded, which talks about uh barriers, runoffs, and how drivers, how this actually established and how drivers manage them, how they survive them, uh, the science that goes behind it. Um please check out that as well. And we look forward to bringing more content to you.
SPEAKER_01Yep. Uh any questions, feel free to send them through. I do imagine one day Mohan will get to a point where we're not asking for any questions because we'll be inundated. But uh until then, you let us know what you want to hear, uh what you want us to cover, and uh we can uh we can make that happen. So uh thank you, Mohan. Thank you for joining us, and we will see you next time uh after Spar or during Spa. What are we gonna do, Mohan?
SPEAKER_02Uh I will send through a qualifying uh practice and qualifying update on the Sunday. It's actually going to be a very busy Sunday night because uh I might be a bit bleary at work on the Monday because the Grand Prix at 11 p.m. Melbourne time, and I think the soccer world cup finally started early the following morning, basically. So gonna be staying up quite a bit.
SPEAKER_01Sounds like you'd be fundamentally unwell for Monday, so that's that might be the fix. Alright, Mohammed, thank you so much, and we'll see you all next time. Thank you.