Lewis Hamilton wins by DSQ and Numerology - 2024 Belgian GP Review

[00:00:02] Before we begin, I wanted to give a huge shout out to the folks at Amazon Music for partnering with us on this episode of the Inside Line F1 Podcast. But more on this later right then let's get right into today's episode.

[00:00:35] The guy with the fastest lap in qualifying didn't start on pole and the guy who won the race on track didn't win the race eventually. Ladies and gentlemen, this is the 2024 Belgian Grand Prix. Madness, chaos, anarchy in some way, we've got it all.

[00:00:54] And let's add another thing to the mix. Oscar Piazzetri lost the race on track by 1.1 seconds. Had he not braked 10 meters too late, maybe a couple of meters too late in the pit lane during his pit stop on lap 31, he would have saved a couple of seconds.

[00:01:12] He lost the race on track by 1.1 seconds. Just to put it out there, we could have had anyone winning and we're not even talking about the man who started on pole Kunal.

[00:01:23] This is what Formula One should be all about and at the Inside Line F1 pit stop in Mumbai, we had 140 people experiencing the race live at social together. I can't begin to tell you what the vibe was like.

[00:01:38] What was it like in the Viya Play Studio when you were doing your TV work over there this weekend? The vibe was that for once, we were really scratching our heads so hard to understand what's happening with strategy.

[00:01:52] It almost seemed like a formula e-race to me, you know, that there was a point of time when there were five or six drivers all in it to win.

[00:02:02] Okay, there was Wish Tappan, there was Norris, there was PS3, there was Leclerc, there was Hamilton, suddenly came Russell out of nowhere. And you were like, you couldn't really predict who actually could have won because all of them had the pace to win.

[00:02:18] I also kept waiting through the race. When is it that the Ferrari will fall back in its actual position? Guess what they didn't?

[00:02:29] I was then waiting when is it the Mercedes is going to fall back, you know, and the fall back would have meant that McLaren would have left them and then pulled a gap and then Max would have eventually caught them and pulled a gap and then chased them.

[00:02:40] Nothing of it happened. And my goodness, I mean, I don't want a four week gap to the next race. I want the next race to come literally the next weekend because if this is what the 2024 Formula One season is going to be,

[00:02:57] then I want 52 races, a race every weekend. Yes, yes, I remember this time last year, Belgian GP, I remember being very tired one o'clock in the night in India time. All first were recording the review is a particularly average race and I was particularly discussing the point.

[00:03:15] Do we need 24 race weekends? Do we need time to miss Formula One? I raised up my hands and say I was wrong. We don't need time to miss Formula One. We just need competition.

[00:03:26] If this is the blueprint of what Formula One should be like in the Liberty Media era, I'm here for it because what we saw at the end was drama, not just for the Formula One broadcast but for Drive to survive too.

[00:03:41] Imagine losing out on your best ever race without any doubt that is one of the best Formula One drives in the modern era. But now there is a caveat to it. 1.5 seconds, 1.5 kilograms, that every lap canal has to account for a tenth, tenth and a half somewhere

[00:04:00] and in a race where he just won by half a tenth, I don't know what to feel anymore. But here I mean George Vassilov. Yes, yes, yes, and there is of course a weight penalty that one either has or doesn't have in the case of George.

[00:04:17] The minute you are lighter car, it's of course faster. Around Spa maybe it's a little more, the weight penalty is a little more because it's that longer lap so to say and it's so many undulations and so on.

[00:04:33] And firstly I have to say this, it's a Mercedes operational era. I know thanks to David Frost and even more, Sir Bernie Collins, the former head of strategy at Aston Martin, she gave a great insight.

[00:04:47] Something Sundaram spoke about in the pre-ratio as well, there isn't a cool down lap so they couldn't do the rubber pickup in Spa which probably was one of the factors that George Russell firstly wore his tires down too much by extending his stint as long as he did.

[00:05:04] Right? But my point is, my point is, Fernando Alonso who finished P9 and now is 8th also did a one stopper. Right? So it's not also did a one stopper, let me finish, also did not have the cool down lap to pick up rubber

[00:05:23] but wasn't under weight, the scrutineering sheet after the race says that. I know why. It's because Aston Martin cannot drop the one thing that Mercedes have dropped this weekend, the sandbags. Ha ha ha, the word is back.

[00:05:38] We have used it for the first time since Bahrain 2021 and I feel incredible. The sandbags are really off. Let's put it in context, how many laps he did? He pitted on lap 10 didn't he which means 34 laps on the hard compound tires

[00:05:56] and by the end I remember him losing around a second to lose Hamilton per lap on an average given to sometimes 1.2, sometimes 0.6, sometimes 0.8, thereabouts within that range but that much but to still win on merit when the team has said

[00:06:11] go ahead and fight in cars that are now theoretically closer to racing. That clearly means that Mercedes is not just there on luck, it really is there with a combination of two things a car that can genuinely withstand pace and clean air which Lewis Hamilton consistently showed

[00:06:28] by being roughly 8 tenths faster than Oscar Piatri on average in the middle sector. Yes McLaren were running a low downforce setup but 8 tenths faster per lap on an average, it's no joke that car is fast and that's on the old floor, the new floor was used

[00:06:45] because Mercedes didn't feel comfortable going to a new setup in tricky conditions. It could well make the car faster the next time we go to Netherlands. So we have legitimately three big teams fighting for race wins every weekend

[00:07:00] and to hammer that stat in even further, three out of the last four races have been won by Mercedes. It's, would have imagined not me, not me. I mean when they won in Austria we were like yeah the top two protagonists crashed out which they did

[00:07:22] when they won in Silverstone we were like yeah it was too colder condition Lewis Hamilton in those conditions and mixed weather always great and they won. George Russell here pulled a strategic masterclass what a call to sort of extend the tire as he did

[00:07:39] and to pull off that win nobody expected it not even Mercedes and to me some of there are two things that stand out firstly of course you had a lighter car like you mentioned maybe a tenths if even if that's a benefit

[00:07:52] you got to accept that the second is the track actually got quicker as the race went on and that was an inside George Russell shared post racing the track went quicker which meant that even though he was running out of tire life so to say

[00:08:10] he's still in a track that was getting quicker and the evolution was higher because they all started on a green track and the third but the most critical thing is why could Lewis Hamilton with DRS not overtake George Russell it was not down to a lighter car

[00:08:24] it was down to set up choices George Russell had a slightly lower downforce setting that he opted for all through qualifying and the race and guess what that was one of the reasons Lewis Hamilton couldn't catch him

[00:08:39] so the reasons why people have one or not one a race this weekend engine penalties choosing a different setup between high-level downforce messing up a pit stop not having a car within the legal weight limit and having a slightly messed up start

[00:08:58] I still count that Landon or is this should have been and could have been your win the Astree was good you are better as it stands right now this could have been yours

[00:09:07] so five key reasons why people didn't win that truly defines what Formula One is all about and to talk about all of this we have the inside line F1 podcast we are India's best sports podcast as awarded by Hindustan Times

[00:09:21] and the top 1.5% of all podcasts listen across the globe across all podcasting platforms my name is Somal Arora I'm the voice of the MotoGP Indian Grand Prix the Indian Racing League the Indian Formula 4 Championship the Indian Supercross Racing League

[00:09:37] and also the Carlos Sainz Fan Podcast which today is on a bit of a holiday but as always Kunal Shah is here with me the former marketing head of the 4Cindia Formula 1 team

[00:09:47] which has had a bit of a reincarnation and has scored points in its new avatar today we will talk about that in a bit and he's also in fact he was rather also in fact working

[00:09:57] on the live TV broadcast of the Formula 1 races in Norway for the ViyaPlay Network if you were in Norway you would have seen his face on TV one talking point Kunal that we need to understand in all of this

[00:10:11] is that as much as it is a win taken away from Russell it is a win that has been claimed by Lewis Hamilton his start was impeccable his runs in clear air were honestly champion like and his composure all across when having so many different cars behind him

[00:10:29] on different strategies was a master class this is very much a Lewis Hamilton win and again a driver of the day performance had it not been topped by Russell and his incredible performance I think we are seeing a rejuvenated Lewis Hamilton

[00:10:45] initially when the season started he was cryptic something is not clicking my side of the car congrats to George for doing this but suddenly when the Mercedes has brought these upgrades made it easier for them to drive the car to extract more lap time in an easier way

[00:11:02] Lewis is there he's the one who's now taken two wins of course he inherited the win today but there's also this question you know Mercedes did not sabotage Lewis Hamilton by any chance in the race today

[00:11:14] because he was like you said in free air running up ahead leading the race controlling the race and what just happened is drivers around him who he was competing with ended up pitting and Mercedes decided to not have him being undercut by those drivers

[00:11:31] so they said let's pit him in the meanwhile George Russell said can we try going for a one stopper and Mercedes was like yeah why not because George was way back and you know was nowhere messing with the front runners at that time

[00:11:44] and suddenly it seemed like it was working the tyre was not giving away and then you're like I have tracked position the one stopper seems to work something that no pre event simulation actually said could happen

[00:11:57] so let's just make it work which is why Lewis was so upset post race because A he of course lost out to a one stopping George Russell who was not as quick as him this race weekend

[00:12:09] point number one point number two it was a different strategy which probably Mercedes didn't inform him about as early as they did could he have extracted more pace could you have done something different to go and win

[00:12:22] so that's why Lewis actually said it on the post race press conference and then in the cool down room saying I had more tyres each time they asked me to pit right but each time Mercedes asked him to pit was just to make sure he doesn't get undercut

[00:12:38] but I still believe there was something left on the table had he been told slightly earlier I had a bit of an idea again I don't think maybe if Mercedes told him earlier he would have been able to extract more from the tyres but the point is

[00:12:53] didn't Mercedes know earlier as well I don't think they did because as you mentioned earlier it's a very good point canal it was a green track when the simulations happened in FP2-1 and FP2

[00:13:04] and by green track a big part of it is not having enough rubber laid down Spa has just been resurfaced and Formula 1 cars are running here on the new surface for the first time and when it gets rubbered in and has more grip on it

[00:13:16] eventually it becomes easier to drive faster and less harsh on the tyres which is a big part of what happened today and we were all confused we were all shocked Pirelli told us that the ideal limits for the hard compound tyres would be 18 laps

[00:13:31] Fair which is close to what most teams adhered to but Russell did 34 on them and yes he was losing time but eventually he had track position which we all thought would be practically useless at Spa because of how long the straights are here

[00:13:44] it's like going out of the chess board to kill another piece you didn't know that could happen until it actually happened it's phenomenal you make your own rules on the way and Fair played him a series they did that

[00:13:58] and the only question in my head right now is what would you have done if you were total wolf because at our inside line F1 pit stop in Mumbai where we had so many people joining us and sharing their opinions on the race as it happened

[00:14:12] and also after it a lot of people and I agree with them said that yes total did the right thing he did the right thing by making sure that they didn't race do you feel in the same boat Kunal somewhere or should they have priority as jews

[00:14:27] no why should a team prioritize a driver it's a one to it's like what McLaren did last year last race weekend they just wanted a one to they wanted to secure their one to that's what Mercedes were doing they secured their one to they just told them

[00:14:40] you're free to race but leave each other space which is actually better than being told hold position something some of the other top teams end up doing as well the other point to remember is when we look back in hindsight

[00:14:52] it seems like George Russell had a brilliant strategy call which he did but imagine if his tires blew up when I say blew up I don't mean physically I mean you know they gave up five or seven laps before the end it has happened you know

[00:15:08] Kimmy Reikkonen yeah in 2005 in fact you could Lewis Hamilton wasn't at the 70th anniversary Grand Prix finished on three wheels in in Silverstone I think that was a bit of an accident rather than them extending

[00:15:21] but yes that can indeed happen yeah okay yeah anyway so what if George's tires would have given up on him then Lewis would have anywhere taken the win right so what Mercedes was doing was they were just going for an absolute gamble

[00:15:34] with George because let's also remember he started eighth the last of all the top drivers exactly right and suddenly out of nowhere he's got track position and then he's like I can extend I can extend and they decided let's go and extend

[00:15:47] so of course Lewis has said you know he leans on a strategist he trusts him just that they didn't tell him beforehand but like we're asking maybe Mercedes didn't know beforehand this was gonna work out they were taking it a lap at a time

[00:16:01] saying oh comparative times let's continue comparative times let's continue and maybe that's just what happened but you know what I've learned from this I've learned that even though Lewis Hamilton might be leaving the team Mercedes will not lack in a leader and this is phenomenal

[00:16:17] what do you want your lead driver to do in a race you want them to qualify well you want them to sustain pressure you want them to pass decisively when the need for that arises and you want them to be excellent at tire management

[00:16:31] four qualities that George Russell in this season has exhibited very very well and also picking up the pieces which is also something he did very well a few races ago I don't think Mercedes will ever feel the void of a lead driver per se

[00:16:46] they will feel the void of Lewis and the feedback he brings in and the environment he creates and the kind of advice that he can give to people around and help build the team around but the lack of a number one driver per se won't be felt

[00:17:00] and in my eyes today marks the day when Toto's George Russell project is complete he has what he wants that's a very very good way to put it Toto's George Russell project but then it felt like a new one yeah true Toto Kimi project

[00:17:19] who also got an amazing move on the inside at Oroosh crazy blows my mind but you were right and they felt shot by 1.5 kilos on this whole project we should actually explain what happens because yes we know what happens post race

[00:17:35] the fuel is drained out, the car is expected to be at the minimum weight level car plus driver and that's supposed to be 798 kilos like FIE has explained and then George Russell ended up at 796.5 so that's what happened and when you're underweight it's a straight out disqualification

[00:17:58] there is no protest, there is no argument, there's no debate that's what it is and the FIE calibrated their scales in case the reading was different on the two scales but the scales turned out to be well calibrated as well so George Russell incredible race, incredible strategy

[00:18:18] and an incredible way to get disqualified unfortunately and he falls back to 8th place, he had overtaken Checco Perez for 7th but now he falls back to 8th place and Lewis Hamilton now wins exactly 11 years since he scored his first race win from Mercedes I think yes

[00:18:39] and he scored 84 wins here even if you were to take that George Russell and Lewis scored 1-2 or at least crossed the line 1-2 it's the first time since I think 50 or 60 years saw Mill

[00:18:52] maybe more actually that there are four teams that have scored a 1-2 finish in the same season are you kidding me Ferrari 2.0 and then of course yeah Ferrari had 1-2 finish Australia was it not? yeah yeah yeah exactly yeah

[00:19:09] oh my word what a season we are having wow wow and it's the 6th race in a row where pole hasn't converted to a race win Formula 1 ladies and gentlemen and you thought the sport wasn't coming back oh my word is back in how

[00:19:30] so good so good so good but also interestingly the 44 coincidence is real someone on Twitter and I know I should do my due diligence better by checking out the source

[00:19:42] but wherever it is you've done an excellent job I will get back to you and I will re-tweet that one but someone on Twitter found something very interesting that I have to read out now the 44 coincidence behind this race it was at 50 bucks BT number 44 Lewis Hamilton

[00:19:59] 44 laps in the Belgian Grand Prix 4.4 seconds so those two we can confirm those two we can confirm yes the third thing we can also do which is 4.4 seconds Oscar Piazzetri's missed pit stop which I mentioned in the top

[00:20:12] which had he nailed it would have been potentially a Piazzetri win and also document which also we can confirm which also we can confirm that exactly yes and document number 44 was the document issued by the FIA which read out that George Russell has been disqualifying

[00:20:30] you believe in humanology canal and you bring up some very interesting stuff this is it which also I can confirm it was document number 44 so document 44 infringement car 63 technical non-compliance wait published 28 07 2024 1853 Central European time which you can find on the FIA website

[00:20:54] we're not kidding it's actually document number 44 so there we go, numeralogy and then of course 11 years since the first race win that he's had with Mercedes so many beautiful stats and facts and coincidences have popped out that maybe now it's time to move on to something else

[00:21:16] because we've of course had several conversations about Mercedes, Lewis, Russell who do you want to pick next? Oscar Piazzetri, Oscar Piazzetri man, I'm gutted and I mentioned at the top that pit stop I mentioned it a second ago it's a driver error, it's a clear cut driver error

[00:21:37] Piazzetri break too late in the pit lane nothing that Jackman can do about it even if he's a huge Jackman but yes the point is you Jackman was on the Alpine that's the problem oh he was you're right Deadpool vs Wolverine nicely done well done

[00:21:53] that's the kind of stuff you do before you're about to sell a formula one theme but the point being it's a driver error clear as day and Piazzetri gained 14 seconds in the last 13 laps even though he was running on a slightly low downforce setup

[00:22:09] and had he closed up he would have had theoretically a bit of an advantage over Lewis who was running a slightly higher downforce setup and George who was on very old tires this should, could and would have been his race win had it not been for that

[00:22:24] but the thing is you've got to look at it as you've got to put it in context of things completely Oscar Piazzetri is still only in his second formula one season he's only born in 2001 so for him it's quite a big learning today

[00:22:40] about how to adapt to these things and the fact that he passed the clerk with such composure was incredible and I think it's good that he's learning on the brightest stage and under the biggest lights because that's where you mature a little bit more

[00:22:54] and today time management which was traditionally his problem didn't turn out to be that way so I'm glad to see improvements Yes, you mean there's yet another race which McLaren can add to the Kudai one in 2024 box because it's just something that Oscar will learn

[00:23:19] I'm glad the front jackman was checked but not hurt and that caused a 4.4 second he just had to play to the whole numerology card out there but Oscar Piazzetri was quick and you know as Zack Brown said that if the race was a couple of laps longer

[00:23:36] you could have probably won but the truth is it had to end on the 44th lap because of numerology reasons so it is what it is when it comes to Oscar Piazzetri but I think incredible, I think McLaren was just not there

[00:23:50] in the mixed weather qualifying or the wet qualifying because they had set up the car for the race day and the fact that both McLaren were just less than half a tenth away from each other shows that that was the pace of the car

[00:24:03] and both drivers actually drove to the pace of the car But Lando, what do you make of his abilities and his racecraft lately? I know that the start is just one moment out of an hour and a half race

[00:24:20] but the weightage attached to it is disproportionate by some margin and today he didn't have the best of starts again unforced error out into the gravel that's where he went from P4 to P7 by the way at the start

[00:24:36] and the moment you lose three positions at the start it is near impossible to get them back even though you might have the fastest car because everyone was so similarly matched I feel it's a big miss

[00:24:48] I think yes, the start sort of has a higher weightage on a lot of things but that's because these cars are difficult to pass also track position is vital especially when the cars are so evenly matched and another thing, Somel which we actually almost discussed in the preview

[00:25:07] but didn't really say it upfront was that, you know, the DRS train was making it difficult first Louis Hamilton was leading a DRS train for the top 10 and then Fernando Alonso from 9th or 10th place was really leading a DRS train for several laps

[00:25:25] so, you know, it was just down to that and Lando eventually just lost it at the start lost three of four positions when he did and that was it and everyone saying Lando and his drivers championship and so on even on a bad day

[00:25:40] Max Verstappen is still finishing fifth whereas Lando Norris Lando Norris got outscored by Max Verstappen so let alone the points that he lost in Hungary he just lost more points in Spa Oh yeah, even on a bad day Verstappen has actually extended his championship lead by two points

[00:25:59] that is the Max Verstappen effect that is an end match sorry, going back starting seven places behind yes and Max Verstappen has now finished fifth in three of the last four races exactly the races that Mercedes has won and his previous fifth, three fifth place finishes

[00:26:21] was spread across like five seasons okay, so that's how it's been for Max Verstappen that's just how it rolls and you know Red Bull I would say could have had more but they just chose to bank on the wrong tyre because they had the medium medium hard

[00:26:37] for Verstappen and Perez so they were very pleased with how fast they still managed the race with Max they said they optimized it but when it came to Perez and I know it's easy to just point at him but he's run a large

[00:26:55] he ran half his race on the wrong tyre and that just sort of did him in yeah, completely but is that the best he could have done? Czecho Perez, I believe so but you know, he was just being overtaken

[00:27:09] when he was on the medium, everyone else was pulling out all on tops and I don't think there was a single driver in the top eight who did not overtake him okay, and again out here I strongly believe Samuel that track position and even more so clean air

[00:27:26] was vital we saw the minute Oscar got clean air he said clean air is king out here and you said very well yourself how George Russell and Lewis Hamilton made the most of clean air right, I don't believe the Red Bull cars

[00:27:38] had too much of clean air, even more so Czecho Perez so it was all in all just down to circumstances and the very fact that Max has been pointing out we just don't have the quickest car anymore and not only has McLaren caught up

[00:27:52] but here Ferrari and Mercedes were not that far behind for Red Bull to just overtake and drive past them yeah and again this is a very funny circumstance now, where Red Bull need a second driver more than they ever have and this is where we are hearing reports

[00:28:12] that there was going to be a meeting between helmet marker and Christian Honour and the other decision makers at Red Bull Racing about what to do with Sergio Perez and yes that qualifying would have helped out but what we saw in the race today probably didn't

[00:28:26] and Red Bull didn't do any favors by putting Perez on that strategy but I want to bring back the years a little bit to your time at Force India Kunal when you were also in that team I just want to understand the psychology of the break

[00:28:42] because I hear the MotoGP world feed commentators say it quite a lot and I've seen that also happen with some racing drivers close to me on a national level scale but if you have a terrible race or an extremely good race right before a break

[00:28:58] it tends to impact your psychology as an athlete, it's had an impact the way the team views the driver as well because the driver of course will have that impact but does that play on the team's mind broadly and their decision making or their perception of the driver

[00:29:14] Of course it does after a point everybody is in the sport to win, nobody participates because hey I want to finish fifth place and be happy with it so every single factor contributes to performance whether it's an upgrade you're bringing, whether it's a sponsor

[00:29:32] whether it's a press release you're sending or whether it's a driver you're hiring whether it's a number one, number two or even the simulator and the reserve drivers you want to take these decisions keeping in mind that everything is going to make the car

[00:29:46] go quicker because that's what this business is all about just like they say right the empty mine is the home of the devil in Hindi in a way but does that mean if you have a longer break which means more time to think

[00:30:02] that a negative performance has a greater impact on the perception because if there's a race the next week and you probably brush it off and be like ask we've got to focus on something else anyway there are two parts to this

[00:30:14] first is you're only as good as your last race weekend we know that even though you and I are now 40 episodes in by the way happy birthday to F1 stats guru he's not here because he's somewhere what's his birthday? oh my oh wait

[00:30:28] you wish him a happy birthday congrats on points congrats on Fernando for scoring a point but yeah back to what I was saying you're only as good as your last race weekend much as we are only as good as our last

[00:30:42] interview that we do with one of the paddock personalities or the last episode we've released last insight we've cracked last interview we had etc so that's one thing but having said that the teams sift through a lot of data a lot of situations

[00:31:00] that they know they could have controlled couldn't have controlled before they make a driver decision they won't base a driver decision just based on one or two results they will see trends they will see succession plans and how does a particular driver fit in now versus fit in

[00:31:18] three years from now and we all know helmet Marco has said in fact that they will sit on the Monday after the race and in general discuss about the future racing car drivers who will race for the Red Bull brands so is Chaco Perez under discussion

[00:31:34] even though he has a contract I would like to believe he absolutely is just given the vast gap he has had to Max Verstappen in 2024 hmm so that's Perez we had a few other notable things in the race as well if one starts to lose

[00:31:52] but they made Fernando Alonso P8 for Aston Martin that's good Esteban O'Conn Alonso is best friend in the points as well P9 and is that hang on a second Ricardo scoring P10 yes yes that's also a story too yeah yeah so some sort of chaos

[00:32:10] in the midfield as well so it's been a fun race everywhere in a way it is and I believe you know this is I think how many teams scored points and the top four teams seven teams scored points because well not really six teams scored points because O'Conn

[00:32:28] and Ricardo are there but great great performance by O'Conn you know he announced he's going to Haas everyone questions always every time he says Esteban O'Conn he just has that perception in the wet he put it in Q3 he's made use of that position

[00:32:44] to deliver points when Alpine announced that there's going to be yet another change in their management yeah exactly and I finally feel that Haas has a settled driver lineup interestingly in their nine year formula one history Haas has had two experienced drivers in their lineup

[00:33:02] for eight seasons in the one season where they didn't we got to witness the magic of Nikita Mazepin and the struggles of Mikshu Maka wonderful pure vibes peak memories I love it but now for the first time Haas are in a situation where they have an aggressive experienced

[00:33:20] statesman of sorts and Esteban O'Conn which is important by the way because they need someone to fight for the points with their elbows out because they barely are ever in there so when you are in there you need someone who's going to put their life on their

[00:33:32] line for it Esteban O'Conn will do that and they have a youngster who has a very high potential to go up ahead so for once I feel Haas are moving in the right direction with their drivers and with that happening with Mercedes winning races with Ferrari

[00:33:46] getting pole position with Red Bull now slipping up and Verstappen still doing a great job and McLaren dropping the ball once again and there's chaos everywhere it's like formula one is back what a way what a way to spend a weekend yes and since you mentioned

[00:34:02] Esteban O'Conn he has jumped Alexander Albin for 17th place in the drivers championship he's got five points Daniel Ricciardo after a very tough start to the season is actually just ten points away from Yuki Sunoda who by the way is on equal points with Nico Halkenberg

[00:34:24] since Halkenberg hasn't scored in two races himself and Halkenberg and Sunoda are just two points away from Lance Troll for 10th place in the drivers championship since the drivers championship is always what we enjoy the most but when it comes to the constructors championship Mercedes

[00:34:42] have pulled a mammoth number of points on pretty much the top three teams I would say in the last five or six races so in the last six, seven weeks Mercedes has gone incredibly charging ahead and if this is the trajectory somal could Mercedes even target Ferrari's third

[00:35:02] place in the constructors championship at the moment it's about an 80 point gap but if they continue the way they do and the way they've been outscoring Ferrari you never know if that's something that could go their way as well and knowing Ferrari they wouldn't even

[00:35:20] know what hit him that's just the way things go for them oh man Carlos Sainz since you're of course disappointed with him he said some he said two really funny things of course the first one was not funny after qualifying the reason

[00:35:36] why he was so off the clairs because his tires started to overheat and he didn't really have them in the right window which is fine understandable the second reason why he what he said was funny was post race even the chief strategy officer of Ferrari who is Carlos

[00:35:54] Sainz was puzzled at Russell's one stop strategy and of course he immediately jumped on to say maybe we should have tried the same strategy why because there was a point of time when Carlos Sainz was running in the top three before he had to pit because he started

[00:36:08] on the hard tire if you remember and they were contemplating a one stop you know and of Sundaram and I watching at the event were baffled thinking ah should we consider that as something should we track that and we very conveniently said nah let it be there probably

[00:36:24] gonna box him anyway and they did but we should have tried that because that you never know sometimes these nuggets end up slipping away until everyone collectively realizes oh it is second and that moment of oh wait a second

[00:36:36] I know I'm going on and on about it again but man I wish you guys were here with us for our event in Mumbai because you can collectively see head stern he will be like ooh something's happening here something's interesting until they started hearing

[00:36:50] the radio message and they were very clearly aware that Russell was about to win what man this is this is great fun it absolutely is great fun I can't wait for the summer break because I know we always have specials planned you me and Sundaram so

[00:37:06] we've had 14 races that's more than 28 episodes that we've done we've had our staff now or we've had several other guests who come and gone who you know Ravi Shastri of course so we've had a fantastic first half of the season including all these events that

[00:37:22] social organizers and invites us to host them 140 people is absolutely you know more than 100% capacity at social but that's what people like to do they love to watch races with us and and that's also why one of the reasons we are awarded India's best sports podcast and India's

[00:37:44] best sports podcast will be on a small break for a few days we need to calm our minds down but again as is the tradition there will be an episode every single week and the content never stops even in the summer break a mid-season review will be here

[00:38:02] a list of things very interesting things that you must have missed in the season but we spotted will also be here and we're trying to get a few interesting guests on the podcast too as we always are so there is no reason to tune away

[00:38:16] from us the world of formula one might be sleeping but we never are which is by the fact that it's 1.52 in the night and I should probably go to sleep which is my ladies and gentlemen thank you for watching thank you for listening and

[00:38:30] this has been the inside line of our podcast please wish a very happy birthday to everyone stats guru Sundaram and we will see you in a week's time take care everyone bye bye and oh by the way make sure you are not underweight is that the right thing

[00:38:46] is that a thing there is absolutely the way you can be overweight and obese in real life you got to make sure you are not underweight either absolutely lesson learned lesson learned take care everyone bye bye