Into The Chicane Podcast
Into The Chicane Podcast is the premier Formula 1 destination for fans who live life in the fast lane.
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Into The Chicane Podcast
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Join Tashia and Alisha as they cover the recent F1 race at Madrid, analyzing the race dynamics, team strategies, driver performances, and the future outlook of the championship. We delve into the potential improvements for circuits, team developments, and the rising stars of F1.
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Welcome back to the 11th episode of the Into the Chicane podcast. We are your hosts. I'm Tasha. I'm Alicia. And we just wrapped up the Madrid Grand Prix today. Um It was an interesting race. I think expectations maybe I don't know if expectations were high for this one, looking at, you know, what the circuit was going to be. But I think, safe to say, Alicia, I don't know how you feel about it. I think I was pretty disappointed with this race.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, I think I'm in a similar boat to you. I think there was a lot of potential for this race to be very exciting. The track looked really intense. We had heard about all of the chaos of F3 at this circuit. And I'm to be clear, like I'm I'm glad that everyone stayed safe. And that's definitely not the type of chaos I wanted. Uh, but I was expecting maybe some more overtake opportunities, some more like key moments or exciting highlights. And yeah, I don't really think we got that. It was really difficult to overtake on track. And the only thing that really moved drivers around was pit stop strategy. And otherwise, everything just kind of carried out as it was meant to be. So I don't know. I think it did fall a little flat for me, but I think this uh circuit still has a lot of potential and and there's still ways to make it exciting in the future, hopefully.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, I I agree. Like there, I think there's the potential because it's a non-permanent track. So there's like potentials to make changes to the track itself and I don't know, maybe adding some more straights or something like that, longer straights that allow drivers to pass each other because there just were no opportunities, right? You saw drivers like stuck behind one another with like under a second gap, just unable to pass, right? We saw that happen with Russell and LeClaire. We saw that happen with Lando and Max, right? Like I I will we'll get into all the standings and stuff, but I I think McLaren had the faster car this weekend. And the fact that Lando just could not get past Max with such a short gap for like like 20 laps or something, like something like that. Like it was ridiculous. I think it there's just a problem with the track, right? I think there needs to be adjustments to it. It felt, it felt very Monaco-esque, right? Of just like watching these guys go around. And yeah, the the pit strategy is kind of what changed things up. We had one virtual safety car which shook up how things happened, but overall, a bit of a snooze fest, in my opinion.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, I agree. I think there there were some some moments that I thought would have had more payoff in terms of excitement. And then, like you said, we just never got there because nobody could pass each other. Um, but yeah, let's get into all of the nitty-gritty. So the podium ended up being, uh, you guessed it, Kimmy Antonelli taking home the win, shocker, uh, followed by Max Verstoppen in P2 and not Hamilton, but Norris in P3.
SPEAKER_00Yeah. It was honestly pretty heartbreaking to see Hamilton go out. Uh, I think it was like lap five or six, with a brake failure. So him having to DNF this race. It's uh it's funny because up until this race, Hamilton was the only driver in F1 who had completed every lap of of a race and of a sprint out of the entire grid. And he also finished in the points in every race. So it was a little heartbreaking to see him go and see him go and like with brake failure.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, I was honestly quite surprised to hear that on the broadcast. I don't know that if I I hadn't heard that, I don't think I would have put that together, honestly, that it's been such a better season for Lewis because I think we're still a bit traumatized from last season. But I think like that made me realize I do have to give him a bit more credit. Like, yes, there's been some rough moments this year still, but he has really bounced back from last season. Like, there's no way, you know, we would have been getting results like this last season. There was a DNF almost every other race. He was, you know, it was like a coin toss whether he was even gonna finish in the points. So he's been on a really good run. And yeah, it was super disappointing to see it end this way, especially due to no fault of his own. So really unfortunate. But I also think, you know, credit to Lewis and the performance that he's put together this season. He's really shown his consistency and just how much skill he still has.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, absolutely. I agree. I think uh it's easy to overlook that because Lewis hasn't had as many podiums, as many like wins this year. But he's been performing pretty consistently for Ferrari, which Ferrari really needs. And it's really sad that it was like a problem with the car that took him out, particularly with you know, where Lewis stands in the drivers' championships and the fact that you now have McLaren creeping up on Ferrari for the constructors. Like you Ferrari really needs to make sure both cars are finishing in the points now every race, because moments like this are what's going to screw them over.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, absolutely. And we alluded to it a bit earlier too, but I think that McLaren is improving at a faster rate right now than Ferrari is. And so that should make Ferrari pretty nervous. Like they don't have much advantage really left other than being able to execute on track. And we know that that's a sore spot for them. Granted, it can be for McLaren as well, but like they don't have the the points to play with. So they really need to be capitalizing every single race. Otherwise, I feel like it's a foregone conclusion that McLaren will pass them at some point because I mean, they've just been ripping it down the track. Like, had things gone a little bit more Norris's way, we could have had a very different podium. 100%.
SPEAKER_00I think uh well, let's chat about that. Let's chat about what happened to to Lando. Unreal quality lap by Lando. I was shy. I think that was the most exciting part of this entire weekend was watching that happen in uh in quality, and that lap was outstanding. So Lando qualified in poll, and honestly, I felt like was running away with it for the the first bit of the race there. Like it was like an over five-second gap. Like, I think we were getting close to a six-second gap between him and uh Kimmy and P2 there. And he, yeah, it was it it was Lando's race to lose at that point, right? The car looked good, he looked good, it was all in good form. We had Lance Stroll, of course it was Lance. You know what? I'm surprised he didn't end up in a wall, so I'll give that to him. True. He spun out and I guess couldn't quite get the car to turn around or something like that. So there was a VSC. And with Lando's luck, Lando passed the uh entrance to the pit right before the VSC came out. I think they were saying it was like five, it was five seconds he had passed it, and then five seconds later, the VSC comes out. And everybody obviously takes that window to go and pit behind him, except for Char. Char didn't at that point because he was on hards. So Lando keeps going, is coming back around to the pit entry, gets told to pit, VSC ends. And that was that was that. And then they had a disastrous pit stop. It was like a seven-second pit for McLaren there. So I I think it was just a day of bad luck for Lando. Like I I I felt for him because he I think he should have won this race.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, I completely agree with you. I think his on-track performance was incredible. I thought he was the driver of the day personally, in terms of what he was able to put together. And it just, yeah, it just didn't go his way. The VSC pit window was super unfortunate. I will say I was kind of surprised that they still chose to pit him then. I thought maybe like, okay, let's just gather ourselves and and see if we can find a more opportune time. It was still pretty early on, I want to say. I don't think he was running too long on his tires. But yeah, and then, you know, to add insult to injury, the seven-second pit stop, which McLaren seems to have these long pit stops at the worst possible times. It's just a McLaren characteristic at this point. But yeah, obviously that didn't help. And given how things were playing out on track and how difficult it was to pass anyone, there was very little chance of him getting back into P1 after that. So it's kind of a wasted opportunity after such a strong weekend for him up until that point.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, I I agreed. Like I I guess I can see where McLaren were kind of where their heads were kind of at, of like it may take a little bit longer to get Lance's car out. I think there was a little, at least I think from the angle that I saw it on the broadcast, it was hard to tell if Lance's car was in the barrier or not. And it it turned it wasn't, which is I think why they got the car out pretty quickly and didn't have to do any sort of repair there. But if there was some confusion on whether the car is in the barrier or not, that VSC would have probably been out for another lap, maybe two. So from that lens, I can kind of see McLaren being like, we think we have another lap of this, so let's get Lando in and change the tires now. But yeah, it didn't. Cards didn't really fall that way for them.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, I guess, yeah, that is fair. That's fair perspective. And also, this is the first ever F1 race on this track, so maybe that played into things as well. And I do suppose, like sometimes, you know, you have to go for it if you want to be aggressive and really capitalize. And they tried to do that, ultimately it just it just didn't work. So, you know, you you either play it safe and you and you stay out, or you know, you try to have the VSC work for you and you know, they just missed their window. But yeah, he was very frustrated after that. Like you could just tell after the race, he was not happy, just really felt like a blown opportunity. And they really would have loved those extra few points, I'm sure. And especially for Lando, I think coming off of such a dominant year last year, I think there is always a little bit of an odd adjustment period after, you know, coming off of an amazing year, and then you get back to the next season and you realize that I'm not the best driver on the circuit this year. I'm not in the fastest car and I'm gonna have to get used to, you know, falling further behind in the order than I was the previous season. So I'm sure that doesn't feel good, but I think a lot of things are going right for McLaren. And so if they just keep at it, keep going the way that they're going, I really do think that they have a good shot at catching Ferrari, especially the way that Ferrari's races have been going and the amount of points they've been able to score every weekend.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, I completely agree with you. And I also want to give a a bit of a shout out here to Oscar Piastri. You know, he ended P8, which not great for him, but he had like front and wig damage from like lap one. I think him and like Russell had something happen there. Like there was contact. I don't think it was Oscar's fault. I don't really think it was George's fault. It was just there, and it was contact twice, and he had a damaged front wing, and he raced the entire race with a damaged front wing. So to end P8, I think is pretty commendable in a situation like that. And I agree with you that I I think McLaren, McLaren's definitely on the right track. It's gonna be interesting to see what happens at the next race to see if they can maintain that that dominance that we're starting to see from them. And Ferrari really need to get their act together because they're gonna lose out on P2 of the constructors if they don't start showing any consistency here.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, totally agreed. And like we said last week, if Ferrari finishes any lower than P2 in constructors, that's a huge loss for them. Like that is very disappointing. So yeah, they need to figure it out and very quickly. And speaking of Ferrari, um, we already talked about Hamilton's unfortunate race. Let's chat a little bit about LeClaire. Um, I will say, as somebody who tends to be pretty harsh on Ferrari, I could see what they were trying to do with the one-stop strategy. And I think it was just a case of it just didn't go their way that this race. Um, but I think it was nice to see them commit to a strategy that had more potential for payoff because a lot of the times I feel like they're very waffly when it comes to their strategy and their execution of it. So, you know, ultimately they were waiting for that window to pit to make it a one-stop race. We didn't get another safety car. And so Leclerc ended up pitting and, you know, taking a full length pit stop. So it just didn't work out, but I did appreciate that they tried. So I'll give them that.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, absolutely. I I agree with you. It was a gamble and it didn't necessarily pay off for them, right? They they weren't able to get another safety car, virtual safety car, anything like that. But I I will say they they did pit Char at a good time because they saw that window to Russell starting to close down a bit, and they were like, screw it, we're not taking any more chances. Let's just pit him because that window is still there. And I think had they waited another lap, maybe two, I I don't I think George would have ended up in P4 versus Char. So I I will say for once, Ferrari's strategy. I I saw what they were trying to do. It it I thought was a good strategy-ish. But uh ultimately the, you know, the track was the track, and it we really did not have we didn't have any crashes, which was kind of surprising, I thought. Nobody ended up at any walls or anything like that, which is what everyone thought was going to happen. So I can see why they made the decision they did. And I also saw that with Alpine, right? They kept Gasly out until like right at the end because they had to do one pit. And had they gotten a safety car or something like that, and gas I think we you would have had both Alpines at the points there. So it was a gamble. It didn't pay off for either team, but but I the gamble I probably would have taken as well, honestly.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, most definitely. I think especially just given the unpredictable nature of this circuit. You know, we were expecting some chaos. We don't have a lot of data from the circuit. So I think that was the right choice to make for both teams. And I was glad to see that type of like more aggressive strategy from Alpine as well, because Gasly is a driver that is capable of executing if you know the cards line up correctly for him. And I think that could have gone really well for him again had circumstances been different. So I like to see that energy. And, you know, maybe we'll see that type of like strategy from them in the future pay off. But yeah, that is that is what I like to see teams thinking about, especially those midfield teams. Like those are the moments that you need to move up and like make big gains. So that was really fun to see.
SPEAKER_00Absolutely. Speaking of people who did a great job today, Max Rerstappen. I thought that was a really good race by Max. I pretty he won driver of the day, if I'm not mistaken. And I think that was pretty well deserved for Max. To I the McLaren was the faster car, without a doubt, right? And the fact that, yes, there weren't many overtake opportunities, but Max ran a very clean race the second half of it and kept Norris behind him. There, I think there was a little bit of confusion near the beginning there when he went off track and had to give back the place to Lewis, which meant he had to give back a place to Antonelli as well. And that the timing of that sucked because he gave that place back and like Lewis had no brakes at that point. So it was like, what what was the point of that, even? I think it would have been really interesting to see, you know, had that not happened, had Max given that place back earlier, whatever that was, what would have happened between him and Antonelli? But Max ran a really, really good race today.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, it felt like just normal Max for Stoffin, you know, just calm, cool, and collected on the track, very confident in what he can put together in terms of performance. I think he even said post-race, he felt like they got everything they could have out of that race. So, I mean, that's what we like to hear. There's definitely been some moments where either Red Bull has been, you know, lacking in terms of execution or, you know, situations have not played out in their favor. And he's voiced his disappointment with that, certainly. So it's nice to see them get it right. And I mean, it it ended up being an amazing race for him. And this is the Max we're used to seeing. So I was glad to see that happen for him today.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, absolutely. It was it was fun to watch Max being Max. And yeah, it was a it was a stellar drive by him. Kimmy Antonelli. Just what are they even saying about this kid? I know. There's nothing left to say. There's nothing left to say. I just, yeah, I'm truly like, I shouldn't be surprised that he won the race, but like, I am. I'm I'm so surprised that like he just keeps impressing me, impressing me day after day, right? Like he's so, again, like the calm, cool, collected. Like, nothing seems to rattle this kid at all. And I don't, my brain cannot comprehend how that keeps happening. Yeah. You know, like it's it's yeah, outstanding. Like it's unreal to watch him. Like, you're seeing seasoned drivers, like his teammate, George, right? Getting like rattled and shaken up and like can't put get the performance in and all that kind of stuff. But Kimi's just he's just going and he's running away with this championship. It's I, you know, during the race today, and we talked about it a little bit on the last podcast of like, you know, like watching him, you like see glimpses of Max. And like while I was watching him drive today, I was like, he's almost like if like Max and Lewis had like a baby, is what Kimmy is, right? Like he has this like finesse in his driving that Lewis does, but he has the the aggression that Max does. And like he's somehow the best of both worlds when you watch him drive. And it's again, it's crazy to me to be thinking that this child, and I'm using him in the same sentence as Max and and Lewis. But I, you know, I was we were chatting during the race today, and like if he wins the championship this year, which is looking very likely, he'll win it at 20 years old. Lewis is driving in his like, he's in his 40s. He potentially has 20 years of racing ahead of him. Like, what what what is this guy gonna do? Is he gonna outdo Lewis and and and Schumacher and stuff like that with the amount of championships he has? Like that potential is there, and the fact that like my brain is even going there right now with his like second season and racing in F1 is wild.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, and I mean F1 is such a difficult sport to have any sort of longevity in. But we're talking about him in that way because it seems like he can't do anything wrong right now. Even if he starts off not in the best position, it just seems like he's always there to execute and carry it through to the finish. Like he just finds a way. Last race, too, not uh the Spanish Grand Prix, but in Monza, he just found a way from the very back of the grit. Today, he was not in like an amazing spot, but then ended up just finding a way to carry it through. Like you can never count this kid out. He's always gonna be there to try to give you a run for your money. And it seems like nine times out of 10, he's gonna take it. And it doesn't matter who gets a poll, it doesn't matter how the race start goes, it doesn't matter who pits when and whatever. Like, he's just gonna be there at the end. So I yeah, like I'm out of superlatives for Kimmy. He just impresses me so much. He's so composed. And I mean, like, we're witnessing history. Every single time he wins one of these races, we're witnessing history. So it's also just very lucky that we're in this time and getting to watch all this happen in real time because these like elite drivers, you don't get to see their come up all that often. So, I mean, it's a huge privilege for us to be witnessing his greatness, truthfully.
SPEAKER_00100%. And, you know, we again talked about it in the last podcast. But at that point, Kimmy and Kimmy had seven wins this season in F1, and George had seven throughout his career. Again, I'm gonna like, you know, George hasn't always had the best car, all of those things, but in his entire career, he's had the same amount of wins as Kimmy had, as of Monza. Kimmy now has more wins than George does, which is crazy. Kimmy has more wins than Lando did last year. Um the the year that he won the driver's championship, he won seven last year. And Kimmy's at eight wins this year. And we're the year's not done. Yeah, the year's actually far from over. Yeah, and it's not like we're in like a 2023 or something like that, where like Red Bull was like the dominant. Car by far and Max won like 19 of the 22 races or something like that, right? I can't remember it was 18 or 19, whatever that was, that Max broke the record. But it was like Red Bull were so far ahead of any of like no other car could even compete at that point, right? That's not what this year looks like. You have cars that have pace, right? You have the Ferraris, you have the McLaren's coming up. You you have cars that are showing pace and showing the possibility of catching the red of catching the Mercedes, and they have a few times, right? But yet Kimmy still just finds another year. And it's like, it's yeah, you're right. Like I'm also out of superlit. Like I just, I don't know how to express how impressed I am by this kid.
SPEAKER_01Yeah. I think you bring up a really interesting point too when it comes to the dominance of Red Bull and how much more ahead they were of all other teams when Max was on his tear in 2023. Because even last year, when McLaren was running away with it, there weren't too many races where I felt that other teams were close to them or really like competing. I remember, I think it was Silver Stone last year where Lando won, Oscar came in P2. They were, you know, within, you know, a more reasonable distance. And then a whole minute went by before Nico came in. So like it just goes to show how talented Kimi is because yeah, there's been a fair bit of competition for Mercedes. They started off very much in control, but the other teams, you know, namely Ferrari and now McLaren, they haven't really let Mercedes rest much, right? They're always there, like waiting for Mercedes to slip up. And Kimmy just keeps shutting the door. So that takes quite a lot of skill. I think he is very much aware that they're hot on Mercedes's heels as well, and he knows it's not a guaranteed win. And yet he's winning them all. So just huge, huge kudos to him. And he it it takes a lot of just like skill and mental preparation and all of these things to be able to keep doing this every single week. And I mean, he's showing no signs of slowing down either, right? Like he's so capable every single time. So I mean, I wouldn't be surprised if this just keeps on happening up until the very last race of the season.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, and I I can't it was a while now that we talked about this in a podcast, but I'm so curious as to what happens to George Russell here. And like I I had made the comparison, I think like a little bit cheeky comparison of comparing potentially George to Daniel Ricardo. But every week, as each race is going by, and I'm seeing Kimmy substantially outperform George, I feel like potentially we may not be super off base here with that comparison. And I don't know, again, I mean the r the season's still going on, we still have more races and stuff, but it really looks like at this point Kimmy's running away with this thing. That gap is getting larger and larger between him and George. And I think, you know, last week we talked about picking driver number one. At this point, I don't know how Kimmy is not your driver number one. He has to be, he has to be getting preferred strategy and stuff. But how do you like, how do how do you handle this as George Russell? How what's gonna happen next year and the year after that, right? When Mercedes are gonna put all their resources behind Kimmy because Kimmy is the one who's winning and it's a cutthroat sport, like you've mentioned a few times. So what happens to him? Like, does does he does he leave? Does he hang out and just be driver number two? I I don't know.
SPEAKER_01You know, I think if I'm George, the window of opportunity at Mercedes is closing, especially after this season. I think it would take a little bit of a miracle for him to win the driver's championship at this point. So I feel pretty confident in saying that's extremely unlikely to happen. And after that, if things go the way they've been going, Kimmy is their star. And there's no room for two stars on the team. So he's either gonna have to be okay with being second fiddle to Kimmy, which I don't think he will be, and he's probably too talented for that as well. Like, I still think that George is a great driver, but also you have to have a top team that has an opening and wants to sign you. Otherwise, it's very difficult to stay relevant, right? Like he might be able to stick around in the sport, but he might be going from like tractor to tractor over here. Like, we don't have a lot of teams, I think, that have openings anymore, especially because you know, Max has been locked up at Red Bull now until 2030. We know that Hamilton and LeClaire are sticking around at Ferrari. McLaren, unsure what's happening with Piastri unless I miss something. So, like, where else does he go? It's gonna have to be a midfield team, or you stick around at Mercedes and you're second fiddle to a 20-year-old for a few more years or you know, a 20-something.
SPEAKER_00Yeah so it's not looking good. No, it's yeah, you're right. Like, where does he even go? Right. And and w what teams are gonna be willing to to make that change, right? Even at McLaren, like things are a question mark with Oscar, and we know we've heard the rumblings, Oscar's not happy and stuff, but like then you're gonna go and be second fiddle to Norris because Norris has a drivers' championship, right? Where are you gonna is there a top team? I don't think there's gonna be any top team that's you're gonna be number one at, right? Red Bull has Max. Max is going to be number one driver. That's like not even a question, right? Ferrari, I mean, they're not getting rid of Char or Lewis. Like they're they're there. And I guess that's the one team where it's like who is the number one driver? I don't know, but you have a seven-time world championship driver, so just you know, yeah. Everyone knows what Tosh's opinion is here. Yeah.
SPEAKER_01If you don't already have teams on the listen to more episodes.
SPEAKER_00But but regardless, right? You have Ferrari where you have two great drivers, and I don't think either one of them are leaving. Like the potential could be at Red Bull because we don't really know what's happening with their second seat and at McLaren. But regardless, you're gonna be second fiddle to Lando or to Max. So in that situation, are you just better off sticking it out at Mercedes and being second fiddle there? But that's gotta take a hit to your ego.
SPEAKER_01Yeah. Like either he has to be okay with that and, you know, see if there's a window of opportunity that opens back up at Mercedes, you know, if Kimmy has a down year in the future, who knows? Or you have to swallow your pride in a different way and go to a team that's not nearly as competitive and be okay with like getting P8, P9 in every race and never contending for a driver's championship, or, you know, having that be extremely unlikely for the rest of your career because we haven't really seen a lot of drivers come back out of the midfield after going from a top team to the midfield. I think it's a lot harder for them to come back. You can get promoted if you're young and you have shown that maybe you're exceeding the performance that your team is capable of providing you, but we don't really see that yo-yoing happen ever.
SPEAKER_00No, we I mean, we've seen what's happened to Carlos. Yeah. Right. And I mean, I there we definitely saw the potential in Williams last year. This year, they're nowhere near where I think anybody was hoping they would be, where they thought they would be. And you went from, you know, Carlos being at Ferrari, getting podiums performing pretty well in a okay car at Ferrari to now barely fighting to get a point, right? And that's gotta be like mentally, that's gotta be really hard. And I I just I don't know. I think you're right. Like, I don't I don't know what George does here. And like maybe you just sit there and stick it out. Either way, you're gonna take a hit to your ego, but what would you prefer to be somewhere where you're at least getting podiums or going somewhere where you're fighting for a point, right? And and maybe you, I don't know, you get in with a team that's gonna build a car around you and all of that kind of stuff. But we saw that happen with with again, I'm gonna make the same coercion of Daniel Ricardo, right? When he left Red Bull and went to Reno. That was the the promise, right? And they were pay they I think his contract was like 40 million or something. Like they were paying us him a stupid amount of money. There was all this like hype around this move and it was gonna be great, all of that. And it was a disaster. And it was, you know, the downfall of his career. And I understand why he made the decision he made because he didn't want to be second fiddle, but that was that was the end of his racing career, basically, right?
SPEAKER_01And I mean, look what happened to him. He spent the rest of his career trying to get back to Red Bull ultimately. Yeah. So I think he would say himself, it was not a great move in hindsight. And I think for George, you know, we we talk about things like money. Obviously, that's a motivator. I think, you know, from what we've seen of him and Drive to Survive, like he's a pretty, you know, as far as like the ultra-rich goes, he's a pretty economic guy, right? I don't think he's that money motivated, to be honest with you. I think he's much more motivated by the potential that he could have driving for a top team, the possibility of winning a driver's championship. That's what keeps him excited. And I think that's what would really drive any sort of team move, a team move that is of his own accord, obviously. But yeah, I find it really unlikely that he would choose to chase the cash as his first choice. I think he would much rather stick with a situation or find a situation where he can be really competitive and contend for a championship. And like we said, I don't know how much longer he's gonna have that opportunity. So it's just a question of which pill is easier to swallow.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, every week that gap is getting larger and larger. And I mean, George has to start winning if he wants to close that gap, right? Like finishing in the points, finishing on the podium is not enough when you have Kimmy winning every race. So I don't know what George Russell does. I think again, he he just has to get to that point mentally of like stop being afraid and particularly stop being afraid of losing, but he's not, and that's not helping him. And I think week after week, especially when you see him talk and you see like the driver interviews and stuff like that, you just kind of see the the sadness in his eyes, right? There's he started this season off so excited, and like there was that spark there, and you're just seeing that spark go because he cannot keep up with Kimmy.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, it seems like he's just over it already, and I don't blame him. You know, it's been a bit of a grind and it hasn't gone great, but it's a pretty difficult job to have if you're not having any fun doing it. So yeah, I don't really know where this leaves him, but I hope, I hope we we get to see George get another chance at a title here. I don't know how possible that is.
SPEAKER_00I'm crossing my fingers for him a little bit. Fingers crossed. A funny moment after the race today, which I thought was hilarious, was in the uh in the cooldown room. And like I feel like they keep the mics on for a little bit and then cut the mics afterwards so you don't really hear everything that's going on. But right after the race, you saw Lando like go over and grab like I I couldn't see exactly what he had, but he like sat down and and Kimmy came and sat next to him, and Lando was like, I feel like I'm gonna get in trouble for this. But he just like cracks open a can of of Coke and starts drinking it, and all of a sudden, like you just you see him turn over and he's like, I just finished a race, so I'm gonna drink whatever I want. Thank you though, and like continues to drink his like can of Coke. So I'm like quite convinced it was somebody from the McLaren team trying to swap it out for a uh a monster energy drink. But Coca-Cola. I think you found a solid commercial for yourself. And uh and I feel like Lando may appreciate a sponsorship from you guys if that's possible, because clearly that's his his post uh post-race drink of choice. Yeah, clearly it is.
SPEAKER_01I also thought that was hilarious uh because Lando could not care less about making the sponsors happy in that moment, especially after a race like that. But yeah, just a classic, like awkward McLaren moment. They've had so many of those last year, which was one of the nicer things about the McLaren dominance we saw was getting all those funny moments out of them. So I I agree. I found that really hilarious. And yeah, Lando, maybe he gets his own flavor of Coke. I'd be down to try it. Somebody call me.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, I think uh Kimmy and Max are a little too well PR trained. Uh you know what? I'm sure McLaren has tried with Lando, but I just don't think Lando cares enough to be as PR trained as uh as McLaren would probably like him to be. Yeah, certainly, certainly no interest in that on a down day either. You gotta catch him when he's in a good mood, at least, guys. 100%. Actually, even after the uh the quality, they were like doing the little, like the again, the little interviews with the the three drivers. And uh they like it was like F1, whatever, doing this uh interview with him. And they were like asking him about the the whatever, and he was like, Yeah, like I did that lap, and he's I can't remember exactly what it was, but he was like, and even I was like, Holy shit, that was great. Or he said something along those lines, and it's like as soon as he's done talking, like the the the guy who was interviewing them was just like we're gonna apologize for the swearing from that. I missed that.
SPEAKER_01Lando. I mean, some people love him, some people hate him. You can't deny he can be super entertaining. I'm glad.
SPEAKER_00So I thought that was funny. It was a fun little glimpse of personality come out there, and and it was it was hilarious.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, love that. So we talked a little bit at the top of the episode about this, but we didn't really have that exciting of a race. And I think maybe we had higher expectations, especially after all the hype around the circuit. F1 was really pushing it as this new exciting temporary circuit. Now we're gonna be here for the next 10 years. So, what can we do to make mod drain a little bit more eventful? You know, we could do changes in layout. Obviously, that takes a lot of work and time. Are there other rules that can be implemented to get some more excitement out of this circuit? What do we think?
SPEAKER_00Yeah, you know, it's really frustrating to see races like Spago to have Madring around. And I understand, I guess, to a degree of like why F1's doing what they're doing and like having these like street-style circuits because they're in large cities, you know, bigger tourism, all of that kind of stuff. Like we had, I don't know how many, I think it was like 90,000 people or something like that at the at the race this weekend, right? So the opportunity to sell tickets, make money. I get all of that, right? From a finance lens, I I understand why F1's doing what they're doing. But this was like a brutal race to watch. It just like the drivers weren't happy, the audience wasn't happy. I heard there was a lot of protests in Madrid happening or all around this. Like, nobody is happy. So what how do we make this better, right? I I was telling my husband, it was really and I was really interested to see if this would be a possibility, but it clearly wasn't, and I wonder if at some point they can do something. But around La Monumental, which is like the the big elevation change you have in in the race, and it's that like basically what the the trophy was was the the the massive like turn that you have, you have the elevation change, and so it would have been really, really cool to see like drivers being able to use that as a possibility to pass and you having like you know, like up that kind of elevation. You see that in NASCAR a lot. So in NASCAR, when you have like the the circles, a lot of drivers go up and can pass through that. And so I was like, that would be really cool if the F1 cars have the capability of doing that. But clearly they they weren't able to do that around the Monument Hall. But like, how do you do things to make this circuit just more interesting? Like there's there's 22 turns. Was that necessary? Could we not have had a few more straights that allow drivers to pass? Like, why are they so narrow, such tight curves? Like the chances of hitting the walls are so high. Like, we had so many warnings for track limits, right? Like, just I like as a viewer, I'm just like, can we just stop? And can we just make this a little bit more simple, a little bit more traditional of a circuit where like it's fun racing and it's less like driver technique and you know, going through the turns and not hitting walls and stuff, but just like allowing them to race each other because that's what this is. This isn't supposed to be an obstacle course for drivers, it's a race.
SPEAKER_01So, can we make it a little bit exactly exactly what you said? It's not supposed to be an obstacle course. I think even Max said it, right? Like this is some Mickey Mouse circuit. Um they're not happy. And I don't remember the last time I saw a boring race at spa, to be honest with you. I'm I don't think I've ever seen a boring race at spa. So we got to fix, I think, this approach of like new circuits. They almost all have this same type of approach where they all have like a million turns, they're just really slow, everyone's just in line with each other, the whole race. And we have enough of that on the calendar. I don't think we need more tracks like that. So I agree. 22 turns, that seems a little ridiculous. Certainly, we could have cut that down by a few. It would have been really nice to have that banked part of the track be an opportunity to pass. And that's a cool looking part of the track, too. Even though I wasn't, you know, necessarily all that entertained, every time they would show La Monumental, I was like, oh, that looks kind of sick. So just imagine how nice it would have been if that was a passing opportunity. And like, I do agree with you. I see the business reasoning for, you know, building these, you know, new circuits in like high-density areas where people can come watch and you can have a big audience, but I almost feel like it's just as damaging to have them all come out and have it be like a boring race. I think fans will come out regardless because there's so many fans of F1. There's more and more fans every single year because the F1 team overall is doing a great job at growing the sport. So I don't think they necessarily have to be all that stressed about fan engagement. I think the fans will come, even if you have them, you know, far away from cities and densely populated areas, because they want to see exciting racing. So as long as there's an opportunity for excitement, the fans will come and they will attend and you will be able to sell your tickets. Yeah.
SPEAKER_00I I agree with that. I we'll see what they do for next year, right? If they make any changes to the the the circuit. It's funny, I was listening to I think it was Toto Wolf, and he was talking, I don't know where this was, but he was talking a little bit about the the circuit, and this was before the race. Um, or even before, like, I think it was even before free practices. And he was like, Yeah, like it's gonna be an interesting one. Like, we don't really again, a lot of turns, whatever. And uh jokingly, he was like, I don't know, maybe next year they like changed the direction. We're going the other way around. And he's like, just kidding, like don't actually do that. But like it's it's just a weird, it's just a weird circuit. And you have like, even the the uh the pit lane is huge, right? It's like one of it's like one of the largest, it is the longest pit lane that you have on the grid. I think it was when Char was going in that I realized they were like, yeah, like Char is gonna come out, but he'll come out at like turn three, so he'll at least he'll miss like two of the turns. I'm like, I didn't even realize it's so long that you like don't even go through a couple of the turns, right? Like it it just seems silly, and I don't know, I don't necessarily know how they fix it. Again, like you it's not permanent, you can make changes to it, so hopefully they make changes to it next year. But with this direction that that F1's taking, I don't really know if that's a thing. And I, you know, we've seen it with like Vegas, with Majoring now and stuff, of just like all they seem to care about is is the money. And on that note of the money, I I don't know if you saw, but earlier this week they announced that uh George Russell was gonna have a grandstand at Silverstone. That's like the George Russell grandstand. And that was a really interesting choice, in my opinion. Because like even this year, when they had the Lando one, I was like, that's a little weird, but okay, sure, he I guess he has a driver, like he's he's a world drivers championship. Like he sure, I guess. I still feel like you need to do more than. Just have one to get a grandstand. And then they say that George is gonna have one next year. And I was like, what why? Like, what has George done that allows him to have his own grandstand? This it just doesn't make any sense to me personally. And it just feels like another one of these like money grabs, in my opinion.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, definitely a money grab. I do like though that they're calling it the grandstand, like GR grandstand. I thought that was funny. The Lando stand, though, I know they they did have one in 2025 as well, which I also found weird because that was one of the first F1 races I watched in real time after getting into F1. I was like, oh, maybe they do this every race, like if it's your home race. But no, they don't. No. I I think maybe Lando, I think he's a bit more marketable than George. So, or just then honestly, a lot of drivers. He has a lot of young fans that are very, you know, like bring a lot of enthusiasm to the sport. So I can see it from that perspective. I agree that not everyone needs a grandstand, to be honest with you. Like, yeah, those fans are gonna come out and watch the race. Like they don't need to sit in the George Russell grandstand or the Lando stand. And I don't think they're really getting anything out of it other than those drivers are making a lot of money, which, like, sure, great for them. But I mean, we know that like every other driver has a home race. They don't get a special grandstand. Yeah, it's it's just odd. I agree that it's odd and it's a it's a weird trend that is happening.
SPEAKER_00Yeah. And like, look, I get it. If like you're a Lewis, you're a Max, you're like, you know, somebody who deserves to have a grandstand. Like it's I get it, right? I'll even go with like Lando this past year, right? Like, sure. But George, like, I'm sorry, but like you, you you're not fighting truly, you're not fighting to become the the champion this year. Like you haven't really done anything remarkable. I'm sorry to like that sounds really harsh, but like you haven't done anything remarkable in your career. You're not the only British driver. Like, it just it doesn't make any sense to me as to why they're doing this. And it just again, yeah, in my my head, I'm like, this just feels like a cash grab. Like a lot of with the direction I'm seeing F1 going in. Yeah. Especially at a track like Silverstone, right? Like it's like it's like one of the most high-profile tracks you have, right? It's like there's history behind that track. Like that is like one of the races of the year, right? And to it almost just feels disrespectful, in my opinion.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, I agree. It kind of cheapens it a little bit to me. And, you know, we've made this complaint too about why there's so many sprint races this season. And I think you're right, it all comes down to money. That's another race where you can sell more tickets and have people go. Yes, it also gives the drivers more opportunity to get points and stuff. But like all of the sprints, or most of them at least, this year have been so boring. And all of these new circuits we're getting, none of them are that exciting. Vegas as a newish circuit has been a nightmare for everyone who lives there. Um, it's been a nightmare to maintain. We're seeing the same trend now with Madring, possibly. We're seeing some locals upset about it. And I think that's important to not discount that these are real people's lives that are being disrupted by all of these street circuits, too. So at some point, like, let's preserve the integrity of the sport and understand that not everything has to be a cash opportunity.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, I agree. But I sadly I think the way that F1 and the FIA and the leadership are taking this sport, I just I don't really see that changing.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, I agree with you. And I think also the more the sport grows, the more we're going to see this as well. Like every year it's something. I think this year, too, is also the first year that every single team on the grid has some sort of corporate sponsor in their name because McLaren is now partnered with MasterCard, is it? So it's just like it's just infiltrating every aspect of the sport. And it does get a bit irritating when you take a step back and look at that from a larger lens, just how much of the sport now is all about making money. And like, I just want to see some good racing. That's really all I care about here.
SPEAKER_00A hundred percent. And it's it's just it's really interesting with like Mohammed Ben Sulayam and like how he's kind of taken being the president of the FIA. And I don't think he's going anywhere anytime soon. I think he's made that pretty clear. Good luck trying to get rid of him. But it was also really interesting, kind of on this note and and thinking about the way they're taking F1. His comments about Alonzo. So there was like a lot of questions around is Alonzo going to retire this year? And they've asked him that, and he's like, no. And they, I don't know, Mohammed Vensiliam came out with like a like a statement or comment or something, talking about how like, I don't know if it was an interview where he just released the statement, but he was talking about how like they can't let Alonzo retire in a bad car. So I was like, I like what's happening here. Like, I'm sorry, are you gonna try and give more like are you gonna give money to Aston Martin to make a better car? Like, I I'm so confused by that statement. And it I'm just I yeah, I don't understand the direction that we're going with with a lot of these decisions. One where like we're we're chasing a lot of money. I'm I am happy with, you know, the the popularity that F1's gaining because I think it's it's cool, right? It's cool to be able to do this podcast and to have people listening and to be able to talk about it with friends and stuff, which that didn't really exist if prior to Drive to Survive. But like it it's starting to feel a little icky, you know?
SPEAKER_01Yeah. I completely agree. Also, yeah, those comments about Alonzo, super weird. I don't know if it's just because he's a weird guy or there's something else going on, but yeah, unsure what's going on there. But yeah, I think, you know, I feel two ways about it because if not for the, you know, if not for Drive to Survive and the F1 movie, I probably wouldn't have been tuned into F1. So in some ways I'm very thankful for it. And in other ways, I feel like it's getting in the way of the essence of the sport. So I think it's important that we find a balance. But I agree with you, it's pretty unlikely that that's going to happen, especially given the current state of the FIA and just everything we know that they've been prioritizing. And I mean, it's unfortunate because ultimately it's the fans that end up, you know, in like the worst spot because you've taken a good thing and you've made it not that exciting and really commercialized and just super average. So I don't know what we're gonna do about that, but I mean this is where we're at right now.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, it is what it is, and not much we can not much we can do to change it except uh complain a little bit here and there. Yes.
SPEAKER_01Well, sorry about that little tangent. Uh had to get some things off our chests, clearly. But I did want to talk a little bit about the McLaren versus Ferrari topic. We've alluded to it a little bit, but if you had to, you know, make a prediction for second place in constructors, are you sticking with Ferrari at this point? Or is McLaren gonna take it from them?
SPEAKER_00I I it would kill me to say that McLaren is gonna take it from Ferrari. So like I just I don't think I'm ready to accept that yet, but I'm starting to get worried about it. It would be heartbreaking to see that happen to Ferrari because they actually have a good car. And, you know, outside of like today, where you know, Lewis's brakes crapped out on him, outside of like these one-off random moments, like these both of these cars should be in the points every weekend because they're good cars and they're fast cars and the potential is there. And whether, like, you know, we've seen a lot of like stupid strategy calls, driver error, stuff like that, that's what's kind of put them in this position. And McLaren's creeping up there, so I'm I'm starting to get worried.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, I also don't love the thought of McLaren overtaking Ferrari. I think at this point, I would still somehow say advantage Ferrari, but I don't know if I'm gonna feel the same way next race because McLaren is just looking so good. I think they also do have a bit of an a problem when it comes to getting both drivers in the points. That seems to be just the consistent problem across lots of the teams this year. Um, but oftentimes it's Lando we see out front. There's oh there's always something happening to Piastri. So I do feel a little bit bad for him. It has been a pretty unlucky season for him. But, you know, I don't know. Lando is really looking so strong in that McLaren. Like this weekend, too. It looked like it was his to lose. Ultimately, it didn't go his way. But he is clearly capable of putting together a good performance in that car. You know, they're getting pole position. Um, I think that was his third poll of the year, too, which is kind of like a sneaky stat. I didn't know that it was so many polls that he had gotten, but I don't know if Ferrari is going to hang on. And if they don't, I think it's going to be very much them doing it to themselves. Because I think even if you put the cars up against each other, it's probably pretty close. And I don't know how many more upgrades McLaren can bring. I think a lot of the improvements will just be, you know, to their existing package in terms of like what's our approach, things like that. So yeah, I I would be pretty sad. Um, but there is definitely a non-zero chance of McLaren overtaking them.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, I agree. And again, it'll break my heart if that happens, but the possibility is definitely there.
SPEAKER_01Yeah. I'm still gonna stick with Ferrari though, so I don't know, don't make me regret it, guys. Get it together, please. So we do have next weekend off. Um, there is no race. After that, we have Azerbaijan coming up, September 24th to 26th, which is you guessed it, another street circuit. So we'll just have to get through another one of those, but I'm hoping for a bit more of an exciting race. Let's see if that's what we get. Um, probably some more Kimi Antonelli dominance. I feel safe saying that, that he's gonna put together a good performance. And until then, don't forget to rate and review us on the podcast listening platform of your choice. And we will back be back soon with another episode. Thank you so much for listening. Bye.