[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And he was racing with them and he did really well in a lot of the races and I was always a lot further back. But he was, my brother's quite tall. Six foot something.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And that is a disadvantage in, in karting. But whenever it was wet, and it's an advantage, fact, it's an advantage. Because I was terrible in the wet and I was small. So it was a disadvantage for me. Uhm.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] He didn't, he doesn't, he didn't enjoy, he liked the social side and the, uhm,


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And it's a lot of time with a lot of friends, a lot of competitors, but you knew a lot of people.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] When you get to car racing, it's a lot more serious, costs a lot more money.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] He just didn't enjoy that as much. He loved the karting and didn't enjoy the car racing as much.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I mean, by the time we stopped, I was 14, I had a bit more of an idea of what was going on, things I wanted to do. This was the year of doing Janetta.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] But then as we kind of took a few steps up and he was racing abroad and then I started racing abroad. Another Brit.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Then you start to get to know him a bit more, and you speak, and uhm... Is he your best mate on the grid now? George, yeah. Well, him, Alex, and... The Brit pack. Him and Alex, we just know well, we get along really well.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Because of racing last year and kind of going up in karting a little bit together.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Uhm, but then on the side obviously, Carlos, uhm, and Max. Those are the group of guys that I speak to mostly. Max, because of doing all the sim racing. But you raced against Max in karting as well? Never.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Yeah, it's not, uhm, it is. Everything we do is, none of it's acting, none of it's something we're not. We're both just enjoying being where we are, working with each other, and with McLaren, that we-


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] We're free to just be who we want to be. We don't need to hide or be someone we're not. Like, I think you do see in other teams.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Because you've always got another driver that's there somewhere. Uhm, yeah. I mean, you know the story of how...


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Well, from our paddock, which is like a mile away from where the track is.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] All the way to in the paddock for F1. Freaking awesome. No like, hardly ever been in there. Onto the Red Bull barge. And, uh.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Yeah, I walked in, met him, had a little conversation. I still remember pretty much everything he said.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Yes, uhm, I just wanted to kind of know a little bit about me, I guess, and...


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] You know, asking me a few questions, how much does a Formula Renault car weigh? I've got no idea.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Yeaah. I was speechless. And, uh, yeaah. And that was about that. That's what I said. No offer.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] No offer, no. Uhm, I was in a good position with what I was doing.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And, uh, my manager as well looked after a lot of the conversations and stuff like that. And for the best, I think, uh, there might have been something, but I ended up not, obviously not joining Red Bull. And, uhm,


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Continuing in the run and the situation I was in at the time, which was just doing well in Formula Renault, ended up winning that.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Uhm, because I still had the possibility to go through to F3 and F2 and do that before having to or choosing to join an F1 team.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Uhm, he's 50-50. He lives in Spain, he still goes and lives with his family a lot of the time. But he's, I would say he's there a good two, three days a week. Always there, obviously to be at McLaren. So when he's there, he's mostly at McLaren.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Uhm, normally for the weekends he flies back, and then for the week after he'll come back. Uhm, so, when he is there, you know, play on the sim, or, uhm, go play top golf.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I know at some point in the future, uhm, and this year, it's gonna get more tense and more...


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Iffy. And we're gonna probably fall out a few times in terms of getting frustrated with one another or, you know.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] He holds me up or something or I hold him up or something. Not, not on purpose. I don't think I'll ever go that far, but, um.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] You know, you lose out on a position or something because you're racing or you're side by side and you squeeze him and he has to run off or I have to run off the track. You're gonna have something like that and, uh,


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Someone's going to be annoyed about it and be, one of the, one of us is going to be unhappy. So, uh, yes, I think that is going to happen, but, um, I dunno, I don't know.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Our best interests for each other, uhm, and ourselves, but also the team, and what we want to achieve with the team.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And obviously hoping to be with McLaren in the future years.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] So I can probably say, it's better if I say about last year, that


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Without working how we did last year and having our own principles and respect for one another and trying to help each other and be a team, we would not have finished fourth in the constructors last year. Uhm, a lot of good results from him.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Well, let's see, help was by me and a lot of my results, which were good, were help was by him. So...


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] We've, we've worked really well together and I think that's been very beneficial for us. Uhm, and of course, that's more what I meant by if we can stay with McLaren, that's our goal is we want to be winning races. We don't want to just be.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] You know, P8, P9, like we were last year. We want to be winning and doing even better. So for each other and coming into this year, I think we did the best job we could to work together.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Uhm, that's a, I dunno. It's a difficult question because, uhm.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I just need to just do what I did last year pretty much. I think that was a good start. There's things I need to work on for them to be very confident, but they give me confidence and


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] They're honest and they say what I'm good and what I need to do better on. Uhm, which is very good and that gives me the ability to work on those things and be a more complete and better driver. And as long as I work on that, uhm, I think I've proven a lot of reasons why I should be able to stay.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And given, you know, that little bit more time to work on these small things, but at the same time, uhm, that I've done a good enough job last season already.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Uhm, knowing that I'll probably only improve to stay with the team.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Uhm, it ends up coming down to who spends the most time on the simulator.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And we're both very committed to spending a lot of time on the simulator. Testing and putting in laps. He's the same as me I think in terms of when he wants to do something well he spends a lot of time trying to be perfect at it.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Uhm, when, especially when he comes down to the, to the driving and to racing, so. How's work? I don't know about that.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] A glorious life for Monaco. Uhm, I'm not too sure, but.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] We, we both like push each other and we're both very competitive when it comes to driving on the simulator. We both want to beat each other just as much as normal and as, as driving an F1 car. Uhm, so, yeah, it's, it's good. It's just competition. But, uh, again, we've not raced each other on the actual track yet. So.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And how Louis can grow one very well. And I said, uhm, yeaah, I've been growing one for, what, 19 years. Still not, not growing so strong. And uhm, then Daniel peered over to his left. And was, uhm, like, uh, have you even got pubes yet?


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And like nothing happened for a few seconds and you know when you're in school and you got your mates that kind of made you laugh but you're trying to concentrate and then you look up but you just see him giggling and then you can't help but help yourself but just laugh. It was that situation and uh, he's talking about it and Danny's just a, he's a funny guy and um,


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Well, I mean, I'm nervous. I need to answer the questions right. I can't just say whatever. I still need to be a little bit...


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Sponsors and team and what our goals are and everything like that. You still need to talk a little bit about.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] You have to still be a team player kind of thing and say what you should say and not say what you shouldn't say but...


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Still trying to be normal and just you, and then him making you laugh is still just, that's what happens. And if you weren't in that situation.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Uhm, I think what you see on Twitch is just me. I mean, it's just me with a camera in front of me. Why'd you do that? It's just good fun.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I normally play with some friends or I'm, you know, playing with some other drivers or, yeah, playing with some people I know.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Uhm, but at the same time, if no one else is on or wants to play, then I stream and you can just interact with your viewers, you know, my, well not viewers, my fans and people that want to see a normal


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Like something that they could dream of doing. I still just sit at home and play on my computer. So...


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] You have people saying stuff and just, I mean, I'm chatting with people online. We're just answering questions. They create challenges. You can make people's day by, uhm,


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] You can do giveaways, you can do whatever. That's where I started my merch, actually. That's where I started all of it. Uhm.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I guess you do a little bit. I mean, you do. A lot of me, like, I don't care about and I'm not that fussed about what people say.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Uhm, it's just a lot of stuff like, anyways, it doesn't even have to be


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] No, like that I don't care at all about what those people would say. I mean, that's just their own opinion about the team and that's fine. If it's more personal stuff, you know, you just got people that talk about, say, my family or my dad or things that they literally don't have a clue about and they think that they have an idea and they're saying stuff, you know, yeah, more a lot of it's personal about my family or something. Then that's what gets to me a bit more.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I mean, a lot of the time I just laugh and I love seeing what people can come up with and where they get these ideas from.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] So I don't see that sometimes, but there's still some things, and it's more than about how people, what people see as in me.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] So the thing I said I was gonna change in social media was I make these jokes and I post them online and


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I have fun and I don't just post about Formula 1 cars, like, you get a lot of drivers, not obviously a lot of drivers, like some of the drivers do.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] But I post a lot about fun and what I do at home and stuff like that. Which...


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Again, they're not all my fans want to see. A lot of them just want to see McLaren and me winning and stuff like that. Which, which I'm still fine with. But uhm.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] You see that and they think the reason I would have made that mistake is because...


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] You know, they've not seen any other driver post a joke or something funny on social media. And I'm the only, like one of the only ones or I think I was one of very few or the only one. I think everyone's changed a bit now. Um, that did something like that and post a joke and so on.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] They use that as the excuse for why I would have made that mistake in qualifying or why I made a mistake in the race. Like, you know, you're not concentrating enough, you're not focusing on the right thing, maybe you should stop making all these jokes and stuff like that.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Which again, I'm completely fine with. I don't get stressed about that or worry about it. But it's just... I'd rather not see it.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And without having to change who I am, because I'm not going to do anything like that, uhm, it's just...


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Choose a bit more specifically when I post jokes and stuff like that and memes and post more relaxing stuff and post a bit more about me working with my engineers and going for a run and being in the gym just so that I still show them a little bit more that I'm hardworking and that


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I do my best I can in Formula One. And it's not all just fun and jokes and stuff like that.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] It's, it's something so small, I think. Like, uh, I'm not changing anything who I am. I'm just posting, like, what times and how often I post about something funny, which...


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] It's like, so easy to do. It's not like I have to go and spend so much time thinking I can't do this now.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I have to not be me. It's just, I don't post until after the weekend. Simple as that. Uhm, or something like that. It's just something small.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Which, uh, I don't think it's that sad, because it's so small, but if it gets to the point where I'm like,


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I just can't be me and so on. Then uhm.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Then that's the sad point, but I'm not anything like that. I find the humor in a lot of the hate that I get.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I would sum up a successful season by, well, as a team, as a team I'd say successful is by simply doing a better job than we did last season.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Making the most of more opportunities and mistakes by the top three teams. Being there more when it counts. Less problems with reliability, which is within our hands. As a team, I think that's our goal. It's just to take another step forward.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Gather even more understanding for next year, but at the same time, still try and get even better results throughout the year. Uhm, you know, get more of those P4s or P5s even, and if you can, get the podium.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] But, with the podiums, I think we'll need a bit of luck. From my side is to...


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Such as the race. In a simple term, the race. But on top of, you know, the communication, the tyre saving, fuel saving strategy.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Being proactive in, in thinking right, actually I want to stay out, I want, I don't want to do a two stop, I want to do a one stop or guys I think we need to change to the two stop and coming up with my own ideas a bit more.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] In a few of those areas, uhm, which has already made me more confident and happier.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I want to get a P4 this season or anything. I'd love to get a podium. That would be nice, but for myself is to work on my weaknesses. I just do what I did last season, which was my best. I know.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Welcome everybody to Beyond the Grid with me, Tom Clarkson. It's great to have you with us in what is a very special week for Formula One.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And we're finally getting underway this weekend in Austria at the Red Bull Ring, albeit behind closed doors and with stringent social distancing measures in place. It's at that I've started the show talking about the Austrian Grand Prix.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Because it was at this race in 1999 that the career of this week's guest, Mikasalo, ramped up another level.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] If you're asking why, let me remind you. Michael Schumacher had broken his leg at Silverstone two weeks earlier. And Mika was the man who got the nod from then Ferrari boss Jean Todd to replace Schumi in the Maranello team. It was the opportunity of Mika's life.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Yet he took it all firmly in his stride. I remember walking down the pit lane that weekend and watching him get strapped into his Ferrari F399 ahead of the first practice session. There was a huge throng of TV cameras and photographers at the front of the Ferrari pit.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Mika qualified seventh and finished ninth that weekend after getting caught up in a second corner melee. But he was to travel teammate Eddie Irvine much more seriously in Germany at the next race.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Where he led until forced to let Irvine into the lead in order to help his title chances against Mika Hakkinen. It was as selfless an act as you're likely to find in Formula One, and it was typical Salo.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] In all, Mika contested more than a hundred Grand Prix's over eight years. Starting with a chance out of nothing at Lotus at the end of 94, before stints at Sauber, Tyrrell, BAR, Arrows, and the mega team that never took off, Toyota. He was always approachable, and he understood the game as well as anyone.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] He knew the politics, and he knew the games that other drivers would play.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And remember, Salo raced and often beat countryman Mika Hakunen in the junior formulas. He was bloody quick.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Nowadays, he's still a paddock regular in his capacity as a driver steward. And that makes his take on Formula One, both in his day and nowadays, extremely relevant and interesting.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] We caught up a few months back and we've been waiting until the Austrian Grand Prix to run the interview because it was at the Red Bull Ring that he'd donned the red overalls for the first time.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] There are some great stories in here. I hope you enjoy our conversation.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] 99, a sort of pivotal season for you. Now, at the start of the year, you were actually without a drive. That's the sort of irony of it all, isn't it? And did you think it was the end of the line?


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] How does a professional racing driver feel at that moment? Were you feeling very down? Was it a difficult moment or were you just confident you'd just have to wait 12 months and be back in the car?


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Zonta injures himself, Ricardo Zonta in the BL. Just talk us through how that opportunity came about and how exciting it was.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] That was difficult. But what about just the team in general? Because this was their first season in Formula One, wasn't it? What did you find when you went through the doors in Brexit?


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Out of my few races, so you must be pissed off about that. You do those three races and...


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Then your Santa's back in the car. There were rumours mid season. You say, you said a little earlier that, you know, you were sort of next in line. I remember in the lead up to the British Grand Prix, there was rumours of Damon Hill going to pack it in. Were you in discussion with Jordan? I was, yes. What was on the card?


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] There aren't many drivers in the world who have had that call. How did it feel?


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And can you describe that first visit to Maranello in terms of emotion?


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] What kind of, I mean, I've asked you what kind of BAR team you walked into. What kind of Ferrari team did you walk into? Because of course everything was centered around Michael. He.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I mean, I suppose being blunt, did you sense that they really wanted Eddie Irvine to win that one?


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] You'd had fun in Japan, but I mean, the stakes are higher in Formula One, aren't they? Was there a sort of more of a sort of seriousness about the relationship?


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And how much better was that car than anything you'd driven before?


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] What about Austria then? So you go there, you've done a couple of laps of Fiorano. I think you're qualified seven?


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And then in the race got involved in that Hacken and Coulthard melee. I lost my front wing in the second corner. But I mean, did you feel more pressure as you lined up on the grid or collie?


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Why did he want you there? Why couldn't you be in Helsinki? Why couldn't you be...


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Well look, let's fast forward to your second race as a Ferrari driver, right? It's Hockenheim. You've discussed this certainly at the time, at length, but you know, you qualify fourth ahead of Irvine.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] So you qualify forth, you're head of Irvine, prior to the race, were team orders mentioned?


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] You then take the lead, you've got Irvine behind you and you're just waiting for


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] So he explains what it's not, there's no sort of code like Fernando is faster than you.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] You go on and you finish second in that race, your best result. And then you go on, also you get a podium for Ferrari at Monza, that amazing podium.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] An entire Formula One World Championship packed into half a year. This season is going to be like no other. So if you're looking to upgrade your race weekend experience, you can now get F1 TV for a whopping 25% off with our back on track offer.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] With F1 TV Pro you can watch every race live or on demand and with full control. With exclusive features such as the pit lane channel and onboard cameras, it really is the best view for fans.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And with F1 TV Access, you get real-time telemetry hot off the racetrack. Live leaderboard, live tracker map, live analysis, and the best of Team Radio.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Now it's important that I mention that F1 can't bring F1 TV to all of you fans out there, as different countries have different media arrangements, which means that F1 TV Pro isn't available worldwide. But if you are able to access it, then that means with F1 TV Pro,


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] You'll be able to live stream every session from FP1 to the race, wherever, whenever and on whatever device you want. Plus there's exclusive access to the 20 drivers onboard cameras and just imagine what you'll hear on the unedited team radio alone.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Everything from heat of the moment rants to reflection from all of your favourite drivers. Can you imagine, for example, what some of the team radio was like at Hockenheim last year? That crazy wet race won by Max Verstappen. It was radio gold.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And with F1 TV Access, the extra features you'll get will make you feel like you've got your very own pit wall. You'll get live trackside data, which will allow you to compare drivers lap times, which will come in very handy indeed. You'll probably be more informed than half of the people on the pit wall. Okay, now I'm only joking, but it really is brilliant.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] So get ready for the season restart with F1 TV. Simply visit f1tv.com to claim your 25% off back on track offer with the code BACK25.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] It's quite funny, but I just thought to explain that we're chatting in Singapore. Your son is currently racing in Finland in Formula Four.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Mika's performances in 1999 helped Ferrari return to the top of the sport, winning their first Constructors Championship since 1983. But with Michael Schumacher coming back from injury for 2000, Mika had to find a new team.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] After his performances for Ferrari, he had several offers and he decided to join Sauber.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] What did you step into there? Because they had a massive budget.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] But it sounds like you learned nothing because the car was so unrealistic in a way compared to what you're going to be racing the following year.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] So you do the test year with Alan McNish, the car, as you say, isn't much good.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] But it seems to me you were more than just a driver there. You were the only guy, particularly in the test year, who had Formula One experience and were you sort of thinking about recruitment, those aspects of Formula One, not only driving?


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Uhm, well at what period of your Formula One career, Mecca, were you, were you happiest?


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] What about those years with Tyrell where you were always punching above your weight? You got a handful of really, really decent results.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Just tell me about the genius of Harvey Postle Swate. What was he like to work with?


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Were you in Barcelona when you heard the terrible news about Harvey?


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Yes. Brilliant Formula One road, just thinking of Max Salo actually, isn't it? In terms of everything, it seems to me, everything he learns in his career from all the mistakes he made, he's passed onto his son. Don't do that. Learn. Would you agree? And so as a result, Max is brilliant.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] If you were giving me your top three on the grid, now, current formula


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] As you may know, I'm currently in Austria in the lead up to the first race of the 2020 F1 season.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And I have to say, it feels quite surreal to be out here in the idyllic Styrian mountains. And if you've found yourself dreaming of far away places lately, mentally planning your next getaway to another country, but you don't want to feel like an outsider because you don't know the language, well, Babbel can help.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And the lessons are created by more than a hundred language experts. And what's great is that it teaches real life conversations. You learn through interactive dialogue that you might encounter out in the real world. So you can feel confident you're not going to be saying something embarrassing when the time comes for you to put your learning into practice.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Babbel is available as an app or online, so no matter where or when you log on to a lesson, your progress will be synced across all devices as you learn at your own pace.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Right now Babbel is offering our listeners six months free with a purchase of a six month subscription with the promo code GRID. Go to babbel.co.uk and use the promo code GRID, that's G-R-I-D, on your six month subscription.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] So, Babbel, B-A-B-B-E-L.co.uk slash play promo code grid. Right, let's get back to the final part of our chat with Mika.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Most influential person on your career


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] That Japanese Grand Prix in 94. The weather.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Was appalling. It was horrible, yes. What a place to meet. The scariest track in Formula One in the wet.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] You were going at it hammer and tongs. It went right down to the wire. You were the only two drivers worth talking about that year. You both won a load of races. One of you went on to win two world championships for McLaren. One of you didn't. How does that make you feel?


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] You, you came out with off long after retirement about carbon dust and that your doctor had said, Crikey, you've got a lot of dust in your lungs and, and you were saying, this ain't any good. We need to look after ourselves here. First of all, from a health point of view, has that all gone now? Yeah.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] That's extraordinary. Just while we're talking about Japan, you spend a lot of time out there after British Formula 3, but how did you find Japan? It was good racing. We were there. Because you were in a one car team.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] That'll, so a pole for the 3000 race would have got you onto the F1 grid? Oh yes, obviously, yeaah. And what was the camaraderie like among the European drivers over there? Did you all get up to no good?


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] In terms of the driver's steward, do you wish there'd been a driver's steward in your day?


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I loved Mika's insights. His description of Jean Todd's house in Maranello, of it having no furniture except for a few bits of car bodywork, was gold.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] As were his thoughts on BAR and Ferrari, the former set up around Jacques Villeneuve with his tiny amount of throttle travel, and the latter built around Irvine, at least while Mika was there. And his magnanimity at Hockenheim in 99, where he gave up the win, was extraordinary.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] As soon as Irvine passed Frentzen for second place, Micka knew the call would come, and he knew he'd have to give way. That was the deal. There was no question in his mind of behaving any differently, and that sums up the quality of the man.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Mika, thanks for your time. It was great to catch up and I look forward to seeing you again soon at a racetrack.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Well that's almost it for this week, but before we go, let's have a little sift through the virtual mailbag, and we've had lots of feedback about last week's show with Stefan Johansson. Many of you seem to love those 80s drivers.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Thomas Harrison Lord said this. Wonderful listen, Tom. Stefan was very humble about his time in Formula One. And who knew he was such a talented artist? Absolutely right, Thomas. And for those of you who haven't checked out Stefan's art, head to his website now. StefanJohansson.art. It's fantastic.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And Ranjan sent us this. The next time I think I'm having a tough week, I'll just remember Stefan Johansson's week from hell and we'll keep motoring on. Well, yes, Stefan's description of Austria 87 really was something, wasn't it? From run-ins with the local wildlife to botched pit stops and being told he'd lost his drive, you couldn't make it up.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And finally, I enjoyed this message from Glamorous Triathlete, great name, who said, listening to Tom's interview with Stefan Johansson, who was commenting on not understanding why he was so popular in Japan. Curious, I googled him and I can tell you exactly why he was popular in Japan. He's hot.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Well, Glamorous Triathlete, I've emailed your tweet to Stefan just to make sure he sees it.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I'm sorry that I don't have time to read out all of your messages, but please keep them coming because we read them all and we love them. And if you want to drop me a message, I'm at Tom Clarkson F1 on Twitter and you can use the hashtag F1 Beyond The Grid.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Thanks for listening. Back next week, same time, same place. Beyond the Grid is produced by F1 in association with Audio Boom. Until next time, keep it flat out.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] We, uh, stayed in France, me and my girlfriend. So, uh, came here yesterday, had a few days to relax in the south of France, which was good.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Double the, the people there by 10 or something on, on this week. So it's not a, not a great place to be unless you're in the festival. Have you been? Yeah, many times. You know, growing up, my parents always went there and it's kind of a, yeah, I've been probably 10 or 15 times.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] They've had big ones. I mean, uhm, recently, a few years ago, Metallica came there, and you know, these new ones, Rihanna and, uh, I think, Drake. Yeah, so they've had many. Say again? Good fun. Yeah, good fun. Good fun.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I think it depends a lot on what kind of weekend you've had.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Last weekend in France wasn't, wasn't a good weekend and then it takes you a bit longer to kind of forget about it and eh.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] You know, it's in your body. The disappointment is in your body for a while.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] But then it's good, you know, on those types of weekends, it's good to go away and do something.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Uhm, positive and, and, uh, fun. Cause you know, especially on, on a back to back weekend. Cause you don't have a lot of time to build up again and get ready.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] No, again, it depends a lot. I find sometimes if I've had a day where I feel like I've messed up. Like say in Canada, I crashed in Q2.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And it's really hard to stop it. So it, you really can, you have to put your mind to something different.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Then you know, it's just one big disappointment and you just need to get the depression out of your body and move on.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Yeah, it's really funny, like when it goes well, everything is just easy and you know, you sleep well and you're already, you're straight away, you look forward to the next race and yeah, when it goes well, it's all easy.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I'm really excited about these new regulations for 2021.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Because I think that's when we, you know, a team like us may have a chance of fighting the big ones. Because the big ones are gonna get smaller, effectively, hopefully.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] If they go through with what they're saying on cost caps and all that. So I think that's really exciting. You know, if Formula One just would continue as it is right now, then probably we wouldn't have a chance with the way we, we


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Kind of, eh, set up as a team. It wouldn't, it wouldn't ever work, I think, so.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] It's good that we have these new regulations and I think, you know, uhm, that's what probably Gunze and Jean has been


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Fighting for. Yeah, and fighting for I guess as well. So, yeah, it will be interesting. I think already we're...


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] We're fighting the big boys sometimes, you know, it's not, we, we, uh, we beat a Red Bull in, in Monaco and somewhere else as well. I think Bahrain.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] In Bahrain, we almost beat both of them. I think we were like a hundredth of Verstappen and beat Gasly. So sometimes we can take on those big teams and that's pretty incredible if you actually


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] You know, for people outside who don't know so much about it, maybe it looks easy, but...


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] You know, when we do that, it's kind of like, you know, we shouldn't do that with the way we, uh, we are as a team, how small we are and the resource we have.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I think there's different ways of looking at it because I think if you just went for what


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Fast cars of course, and, and you know, I think if all drivers would say that they, they want cars that are...


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] More challenging in that aspect so that, you know, in fast corners you're still sliding the rears on exit.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Tarmac areas at either side of the track, so there's no risk at all.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] No, my mom is not a racing fan at all, or at least she wasn't when


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] You know, when she met my dad at a very young age, they were like 15 or something, 14. And uhm...


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] My mom and dad were 17 and 18 when I was born, so really young. And my dad was still in carding.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] When my mom got pregnant. So, you know, it was all very new to her. And then I was born about a year after and then I started


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Cutting pretty much straight away when I was like two years old or something. So, you know, it's for my mom. It's, it's, um, it's obviously been a huge part of her life because she had my dad.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] She watches everything and, you know, she knows everything about it and follows everything.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] But you know, that's how moms should be. And I think she's been great in just supporting me and letting me do.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] You know, letting me pursue my dream and uhm, not kind of...


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] In a way, she took a risk, I guess, with me because she's never pushed me.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Uhm, in any other direction, you know, I think she saw that this was really what I truly wanted to do and she felt that I should pursue that and not worry about school and other things.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I don't think that's what, that's the message I got. I don't think she said, don't worry about school. She didn't definitely, but she, um, she didn't kind of.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] She didn't try to stop it and she supported me to push through my dreams.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Is that when he was in Formula 3 with Jackie Stewart? Yea, in Formula 3 and then he went to DTM and then Formula 1.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I pretty much didn't see him in the first two or three years. You know, maybe a couple of times a year we went to England to see.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] To see him, but, uh, but you know, you have to remember he was a Formula 3 driver when I was, uh.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Yeah, I remember, I don't remember any of the stuff with McLaren. I remember going to Spa, uh, when he was at Stewart and watching on the old pit lane.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I don't know, it just always, always been completely natural for me to...


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] You know, I've always known that this was what I was going to do and in a really naive way and childish way, I guess, because I've never doubted it as a kid.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] You know, I only started kind of realizing how difficult and unrealistic it was when I grew up and reached the, you know, adulthood, you know, because all my childhood and all my teenage years, I just completely.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] For him, it came from his, ehm, his brother as well. They, them, them two together. You know, they, so my, my uncle.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Is older than my dad. He's about eight years older than my dad and, uh, and he,


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] He was a motocross rider as a kid and as a teenager, but quickly, uh,


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Realized he wasn't gonna make it, and, and he, he, uh, he...


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And I think my dad didn't like it at all when he was, uh, when he began, but, um, so then they stopped for a while and then.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Not very often, no. He watches it from home, yes.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I don't, I don't know. I mean, it's not like I would get mobbed. It's uhm, I think in Denmark pretty much everyone


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Knows that there is a Danish Formula One driver. Called Kevin.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] But I don't know what they, how they feel about that, you know. I feel like, yeaah, when I walk around in Roskilde, a lot of people look at me and,


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] But uhm, no, it's, it's okay. I mean, I don't think about it too much. It's uhm...


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Yeah, everything with engines on and yeah, I was, I was very focused on that and it was all, my whole, my whole world evolved around.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Karting and motorsport. So I never paid any attention to anything else. It was pretty...


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] To take another direction and to learn other things, I guess, because I hadn't, I didn't pay any attention to school and obviously I learned to read and, and, and the basics, but uhm. Your English is pretty darn good.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] That's only because I traveled a lot and, you know.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Been with foreign teams and that's how I learned English. I don't know what I would have done if I hadn't made it as a racing driver.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Yeah, everywhere I've been with German teams, French teams, Italian, eh, American.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I would say he was not a very good carding dad.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I guess he just wanted me to succeed. Obviously he didn't mean it in a bad way, but it didn't work. I didn't need my dad to tell me anything because there's just some kind of...


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] But I think he realized that I felt like that and that it didn't work. And then he stayed, he just, I think he took a decision and just stayed away. Not, he didn't stay away, but stayed out of it.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And, and didn't try and get involved, so he just came as, as support and, um, ever since I, uh, stopped carding, he...


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Uh, find excuses and put wrong things in, in the, in, in the heads of the kids and, and I think.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] It's been really good to have a dad that didn't do that and so that I could, you know, create my own.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Uh, views and make my own experience in, uh, in motorsport.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] He comes to a few, not many, obviously he's still very busy with his own program. He's a professional racing driver, drives with COVID in America.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] So he's, he's pretty busy himself and doesn't have a lot of time to come to races.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] It was very cool for him, I think, to ehm, to relive it all again.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Through me, because it was, uh, it was very similar to how he got there, you know, a lot of, uh,


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Memories for him, especially as it was all with McLaren as well. You know, he got through all these junior stuff with, with, as a young driver for McLaren.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And I got to Formula One and did his first race in Formula One with McLaren and for me to do exactly the same.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Get to Formula One with McLaren and the first race there with them and all that. To live it all through again was pretty cool for him, I think.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] The whole thing with McLaren came about because my dad had raised there.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I remember, you know, Martin Whitmarsh saying stuff like, you know, that they had unfinished business with Magnussons and stuff like that. So it all came about because


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Uhm, but then it was also pretty difficult because of all these, you know, they had a lot of, uhm,


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] You know, all the things that my dad did wrong, they were like looking at me and really...


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Yeaah, that test was a bit of a breakthrough, I think, because uhm...


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I got that young driver test and I was, you know, I was really excited about that.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Yeah, I could, I just could not sleep.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] You know, I started pushing from the first lap, you know, exiting the pit lane. I just kind of, I felt at home immediately. And then.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] You know, just push as hard as you could from the first run. Didn't need any laps to get used to it. And I think McClown were...


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Yeaah, thank you very much. And also, uhm...


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Also the year after, I think from that test they, they looked at me and you know, and thought he's a good one. And then


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] For the following year, 2013, I was kind of their, their lead young driver.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] That was the criteria. You have to win, otherwise forget it. And then I won the championship, and obviously they then gave me the seat for the following year.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] No, it didn't come soon after. It was a bit of a process. I thought I was gonna go to Force India actually.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And uhm, I didn't have a contract, but I had a, you know, a firm handshake that I was going to raise for Force India.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And McLaren were gonna supply them with stuff and it was gonna be like a deal.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] The following year, Force India ended up with three or four podiums and we only had one.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] No, he wasn't the one. Uh, he came in and then he made WipMash tell me, uh, that, you know, it was already, WipMash left the team or got sacked or whatever happened.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I think Martin knew me quite well and I had a really good relationship with Martin. And I think he was right that it would have been good for me to


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Get to a smaller Formula 1 team and kind of get used to Formula 1 in a smaller team.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] You know, a good one to kind of be able to see how I evolved and developed in a smaller team so they didn't have to take the chance.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Yes, yes, I slept very well. No, it was, it was just incredible.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] You know, that, that day or that weekend, because I also qualified really well. The qualifying was, was wet in, in Australia.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And anyone who's raced in Australia in the wet knows that it's a tricky place to drive in the wet.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Your first weekend in 401, your first race weekend in 401 is incredible. Even if you get to the podium or not, it's incredible. Just getting on the track.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Yeah, it's very, very cool already. And then to finish on the podium was just, uh, you know, almost too much.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] He said something like he would bolt my shoes to the floor.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] That debut like that, your expectations are then next race I'm gonna win. You know, I finished third or second in the first race and


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] So, you know, it's gotta be a, it's gotta be a win next. And it really wasn't. It was very difficult after that because


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] It was tough and I think that that first race getting on the podium made the rest of the season tougher because I felt, I felt disappointed no matter what, you know, if I qualified fourth.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Too aggressive, and one, expecting too much, and uhm.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And therefore I didn't get the best out of it because I, I...


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I had been on the podium and top five wasn't in my mind, you know, nowadays.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Yeah, it's actually been a bit of a challenge to overcome that and change those expectations after that.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Jensen is a very nice guy and a very funny and, you know, just a charismatic guy. You know, I guess you all know that, but he's also a fierce competitor and he's very intelligent. So he's really not a very easy.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] He would just outsmart me the whole time, every time. So, uh, I think.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] It is. But he used that experience very well. You know, you see some drivers that have experience and they don't make the best of it. And you know, I learned a lot from Jensen. And after,


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] The first few races, I started just copying him and looking at him a lot more because I think I came in.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] It was, it was a real shock for me because uhm,


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Eric Poulier and the rest of the management there had made me feel so secure.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] About my situation. I knew halfway through, about around SPA, I knew that they'd signed Alonso.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And that was way before it got announced. So, uh, we, we knew both me and Jensen that, uh, that they'd signed Alonso and that one of us would go. And I think, um, then we started.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Fighting really hard, me and Jensen and the pressure got really high because obviously knowing that one of us is gonna go, that's a tough situation. But uhm, it ended up...


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] So that I could feel that Jensen wanted to retire and also because I think the team were actually


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] By the end of it, I had no doubt in my mind that I was going to continue.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] So we didn't even talk to any other teams or had any plan B because we were like, nah, we don't, we don't need that. And, and, and, you know, we're going to stay. So.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] So, and up until that point, I didn't have any doubt, you know, but they had a meeting.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I started getting nervous because, you know, we were obviously, we needed like, ehm,


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I think they just wanted to, to screw run over and whatever run wanted, they were going to go against that. But also Jensen again.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] He was very close to those people, both Mancer and the Berenis, and I think he did a good job to get in with the right people, but, uh.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] He did, and he did what he had to, and, and, you know, uhm, again, uh, lesson, lesson learned, I guess.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] No, I mean, it wouldn't have been a great race anyway, but it was just like, yeah.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Yeah, depressing. Can you learn anything from a year like that? Yeah, you can. You learn a lot. Uh, at the time it didn't feel like there was going to be any positives out of, out of that. But, um.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] No, I wouldn't say so because I was so depressed and frustrated that I didn't even try to make the best of it. You know, I just hated every minute of it and I felt like


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Not being in the paddock and, uh, you know, I wanted to race. At the end of the day, I'm just a racer and I wanna, I've been racing since I was two years old.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] So my whole life and, and I've never had a time not, not racing. So, so suddenly not be racing and not have any.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Any next race to look forward to and not be in that rhythm and that lifestyle and...


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] You know, I had some opportunities because the McLaren and Honda, I could have been in Japan in super formula or in super GT.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Just to keep me going and keep me entertained and, uh...


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And obviously I, you know, I needed their support because with Honda and all that, I think Honda won it. They were supportive. But didn't you go to London?


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Great opportunity and, and we, we want to try and do it, but also I want to do it in, in a, in the right way. And you know, eh, it also has.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Yeah, I want to, I want to win it and, and we can, we can win at least the GT class with


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] No, not really. I think, I don't know, I think my dad thinks that I'm faster than him.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] We haven't properly tried yet. We had one, uh,


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I went on track and started betting in the breaks, but then we ended up at the same place on track and he started pushing and then I went after him.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] We were doing like 10 or 15 laps in the cars, chasing each other and swapping positions and stuff. And we came in and I had the faster lap time.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And after that, I think he's, he's, he's been a bit, uh, I think he thinks that I'm faster than him, but that's fair enough. I'm not going to say it's going to be easy to, to beat him in, in, in a COVID. I think that would be pretty difficult.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Uhm, I don't think it was between me and Esteban, I think it was more between me and Romain.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Uhm, for that first year. And they went with, with Romain. You know, I tried to get in, you know, I was very keen to, to get in. Uhm, luckily it, you know, the opportunity with Renault came about, but uhm,


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And it wasn't a good car for the following year.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] It gave me a bit more experience and also it gave me the opportunity to go to house the following year.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Yeaah, two years out it would have probably been difficult for Gunther and Jane to go for me, but uhm.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] You know, the circumstances around me getting that Renault drive was pretty spectacular also with everything that happened with Renault buying


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I think the first time I got the nod was like October.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Messy and complicated, but I ended up getting it, so it was all good.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I wouldn't say all the way, but uhm, I can't remember where it was.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] At some race towards the end of the season, not just after the middle, I think it was actually Brazil or something, Malaysia.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Uhm, Gunther texted me and said, what are you going to do for next year? And that was the first kind of, uhm, thing I heard from him.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Yeah, yeah. You know, immediately I thought, yes, you know, let's, let's go for that. Um, I had an opportunity to go with, with Renault again.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Look for other things and I was really happy when Gunther got in touch.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Yes. He's very straight forward and you know, I like that about him. There's no...


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And uhm, he's not a politician, he's, he's a, he's a racer and a, and a fair bloke, you know. He has a, uh, he's an emotional guy and he, uh,


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Yeah, he, he, he gets really happy when, when we do well and really disappointed when we don't and that, that's, you know, that's good to see. It's not, he's not here because, uh,


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Yeah, I think in those points, yes, I think we're very similar. But then obviously we come from very different cultures and we're very different and, but also similar in many ways. I think we, you know, he's definitely


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] A hundred times easier to work with than any of the other team bosses I've had.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Yeah, racing wise, I don't care. You know, it's my job and it's a, it's a, it's sport, so I don't...


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I'd feel weird if everyone was saying I was a nice guy. I'd feel much worse about that.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Do you feel that you've cultivated this bad boy image or not?


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] No, but I mean, he, he interrupted an interview and it was, ehm, pretty disrespectful and just I didn't...


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I didn't think about what I was gonna say, but you know, I just wanted him to bugger off and that was, that was what came to mind, so.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] After this whole thing in that interview and that comment,


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] There's been, I think Nico took it really personally.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] He still doesn't ever talk to me and I think he really holds a grudge after that. But really it's like...


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Don't think so. No, I don't treat anyone differently. Obviously, you know.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] We'll give everything and I'm not worried about anything. Driving. I just.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] At Aaruj actually, do you remember? Yea, in Aaruj, in Spa. I had a big crash and crashing is not scary.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] It's exciting and really disappointing at the same time. You know, because you're obviously disappointed.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] with crashing out of the race. And then on the other hand, it's also a bit cool and exciting.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] You know, you have this element in racing and I don't think you can deny it. The danger part and the crashing part is also exciting. And being able to crash into a wall at


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] 250 or 300 kph and survive it with not a scratch is pretty cool.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And I think last year was, it was like a good and consistent year.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] The car was good a lot of the time, but the thing about phone one is you're only as good as your car. You know, if you don't have the car, then...


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] You know, I feel like this year I'm also driving well and I feel like, you know, I'm still on that same...


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] You gain experience and you become more comfortable.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] In the sport and, you know, you, you, you feel like...


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I can feel that I'm using my experience now and...


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And uhm, just I feel more comfortable and relaxed and I'm able to extract the best out of myself more often than I was maybe a few years ago.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] No, I wouldn't say, oh, the politics, I mean...


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I don't really think about those things. I don't feel like I'm in a place in the sport where politics is important. So no, I wouldn't say I've become a better politician. If anything, I care about it less and you know, I've kind of, I've had


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Going towards that, you know, being able to position myself better and not only drive well, but also get myself in the right setup and the right strategy and be in the right place at the right time more often.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] For, for us, consistently in, in all, however long I'm going to be with, with the team, just consistently.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] But I've realised that that mission may take longer than I expected it to and I've kind of found a place where I can, where I feel like I can develop.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] In Australia, finishing sixth and you know, we've had some good times and I'm, I'm, I'm in a car that where I can show what I can do.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] To, to become world champion, I've just gotta do that consistently and continue.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Hi everyone, Tom Clarkson here, welcoming you to another edition of Beyond the Grid, presented by Bose QuietComfort 35.2 wireless headphones. Now the upcoming Chinese Grand Prix is the 1000th race in the history of Formula One. So how best for Beyond the Grid to reflect all of that history and passion? Well, there's only one man for the job.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] The iconic tones of Murray Walker, my guest this week.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] For several generations of fans, he remains the voice of Formula One. His commentaries for the BBC and ITV were broadcast across the English-speaking world, and he became more famous than many of the drivers on the grid.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Murray did countless F1 commentaries during the 50s and 60s, but it was only in 1978 that the BBC committed to Formula One.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And with that, the popularity of the sport and of Murray himself grew exponentially. There was a genuine sadness from every corner of the sport when he retired after the US Grand Prix in 2001. But his legend endures. In fact, you can hear many of his greatest commentaries in full via F1 TV.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Murray is now 95 and he's less mobile than he used to be, but as you're about to find out, his brain is still hin sharp. I went to his home in the New Forest after the Bahrain Grand Prix for a catch up. I hope you enjoy our conversation.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Well Murray, welcome to Beyond the Grid. It's such a pleasure to have you on the show. Uhm, first of all, how are you?


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Well Murray, you look great and it's such a pleasure to come here to your home to have a chat and now listen, are you a podcast fan?


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] That's exactly what we're embarking on right here. Now Murray, uhm, how up to speed are you with modern day, current 2019 Formula 1?


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Did you know that Leclerc's mother is David Coulthard's hairdresser?


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Monaco, yes. Next time you see David on the telly and you think his hair's looking great, you know where it came from. Now Murray, let's talk a little bit about you and your career, first of all. Was F1 a hobby or a job for you?


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I want to come on to your ad career, but, but did you miss the bikes when you stopped? Did you miss the adrenaline, the competitive side of it?


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Did you worry about the dangers of bike racing?


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] So then the ad world beckons, uhm, a lot of people listening to this, I think, think that commentating was your job, but actually,


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] So when did the, uhm, I mean, you've said already that, you know. When did I switch to cars? Yes, 1949 Silverstone.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And now excuse me while I interrupt myself, more of the unique memories of Murray Walker in just a minute. First of all, I wanted to say it's been great to see that so many of you have been taking my advice and snapping up a Harry's razor.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Our listeners must have faces as smooth as a Formula One slick tyre. And if you haven't, then here's a little reminder. Harry's have a special offer for beyond the grid listeners, offering a trial set for just £3.95. All you have to do is go to harrys.com forward slash F1 podcast. These trial sets are fantastic.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Harry's are also going to throw in a foaming shave gel which feels really good on your skin and a handy little travel blade cover to protect your kit that just slots straight on.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] All that for just £3.95. High quality blades for half the price of other brands out there.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Get started shaving with Harry's today by claiming your trial set for just £3.95. Support our podcast and you get a trial set delivered to you including a razor handle, five blade cartridge, foaming shave gel,


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And travel blade cover by going to harrys.com forward slash F1 podcast. That's harrys.com forward slash F1 podcast.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] You had lots of people in the commentary box with you, but there were two legendary partnerships, weren't there? There was James Hunt and Martin Brundle. Let's talk about James first.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] You know, tell us about why that worked and what it was like to work with James.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] That sounds very true to form from what I've heard about him. Would you say you were friends by the end?


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] He does. And the grid walk, of course, was something that he started, wasn't it?


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Martin revived it. Martin, if you're listening, it was, you learn everything from Murray. Now, Murray, believe it or not, China is the 1000th race in Formula One history. So I thought it was perhaps a good, um,


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Perhaps a rigorous thing to do would be just to ask you, uhm, for a few of your favourites. So, if I was to say, during those 1000 races that go back to the first ever Grand Prix, 13th of May 1950, Silverstone World Championship Grand Prix,


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] In that time, favourite driver? Fangio. I knew you were going to say that. Why Fangio ahead of a Senna or a Schumacher or a Jim Clark?


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Let's talk about your personal relationships with drivers.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I'm thinking Mansell, uh, I'm thinking Senna, I mean, can you just tell us-


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] No, you are. You are, because you're just explaining that perhaps you weren't as close to these drivers as the people perceived you to be.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Was Nigel a generous man? Because some of the people he's worked with say that he was very hard work. I'm talking team people. Your experiences of him, was he, was he a charming man over a dinner table? Or how did you find him on a personal one-to-one basis?


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] They're under so much pressure, these guys, aren't they? But I mean, let's talk about Damon because of course I've got to stop because I've got a lump in my throat. It's one of the sort of iconic lines of Murray Walker as he won the championship in Japan.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] We'll get back to Murray in a moment, but before we go any further, I wanted to say a huge thank you from all of us at F1, Bose and the Beyond the Grid team. Your support and messages since we launched the podcast have been fantastic.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And we've had a record start to our second series. It's humbling to hear how much you're all enjoying these interviews all around the world. So keep on sharing your thoughts with us using the F1 Beyond The Grid hashtag.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Noise off, focus on continues to be our motto for Series 2, and that's why, as we celebrate F1's 1000th race, we have a special treat in store.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Ten, yes, ten lucky listeners are going to be the recipients of their very own pair of Bose QC35II wireless headphones.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] If you get your name called out, then rest in the knowledge that soon you'll be receiving a special package which will allow you to experience the superb 20 hours battery life that these headphones can provide.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] You can lose yourself in the capabilities of the world class noise reduction technology that Bose is renowned for. And you can test out the Amazon Alexa and Google assistant functions all for yourself. I'll be announcing five listeners names now and the final five at the end of my chat with Murray. So here we go.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Thank you to Nick Walker, who said Carlos Science was a phenomenal interview, and that the humility and professionalism of Carlos is just what McLaren needs for the long term. Awesome guy, despite his indifference to Milton Keynes. Heh, well, Nick, yeah, indeed.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Now, number two, Grokel on Twitter, who shared that he was listening to the Luca de Montezemolo episode while driving to work and was constantly checking his mirrors for honking cars. Well, we'll keep the honks to a minimum in future, Grokel.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Sarah Jones, sorry to hear that you've been hobbling around after your biking accident, but I'm glad you enjoyed the chat with Gunter Steiner and I hope it helped distract you from some of your pain. Get better soon.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And Daniel Johnson loved listening to the Iceman Kimi Raikkonen and said that he's a breath of fresh air. Well, I can confirm, Daniel, that the interview was as much fun as it sounded. And finally, a huge thank you to Michael Gould, who set up a Twitter account to say the following.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] What an epic two episodes of Beyond the Grid, serious insights from Luca and DC. Series two is a step above series one, keep it up Tom. Well, we will as long as you keep listening.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] More details on the QC35-2s can be found at Bose.com. But first, let's get back to more incredible insights from the great Murray Walker.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] For all, of course Daemon is intrinsically linked to Senna, Ayrton Senna, and


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Murray, one thing that always struck me is when circumstances got very difficult, a driver was killed, for example, you always said...


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] That was the second, no, first race was Interlagos, I think. Sorry, first race was Interlagos. Home race for Senna, yea.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Is that when Senna said, he called him, didn't call him Jackie, he said, Stuart, Stuart, if you don't go for a gap, you are no longer a racing driver. Is that, is that, that's the interview with Jackie?


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Let's, uhm, let's move on to some other topics now, I think. Uhm, favourite race over these, your career? Oh, Stryla!


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Would you consider yourself to be a tech savvy person? I'm not particularly and luckily we've got a great team of people at F1 that do amazing work on our website and that's the topic that I want to talk to you about now. If you're looking to create a professional website by yourself


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Perhaps for your own business or perhaps you want to breathe new life into your existing website, then look no further than Wix. Wix is the most technologically advanced website building platform available.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Allowing you the option to either start your website from scratch or choose from over 500 stunning templates.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] So you have the freedom of complete creative control over your own website. 140 million people use Wix for their websites. So if you're looking to branch out or build your brand online, then it's a good place to start.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] All sites include built-in SEO tools so you can boost visibility of your website and get found online in search engines like Google and Bing. And if you need a little help on that front, then you can use Wix's SEO Wiz for a personalised plan.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And you can get started now by going to wix.com. That's wix.com forward slash podcast to get 10% off. Write it down wix.com forward slash podcast to get 10% off. Got that? Right. Let's get back to Murray.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And as you said earlier Murray, it seems that 76 was so integral in persuading the BBC to take the sport.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I'm interested that when I posed that question, you immediately came back and said 82. Of course, KK Rawlsberg's championship, but tragedy as well with Gilles Villeneuve's death and Didier Peroni as well having a bad accident in the Ferrari. What was it about 82 that stood out?


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] It was extraordinary. Definitely. Now, favourite race you said was Adelaide, but what about a favourite circuit?


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And you like that, how funny that it was a motorcycle as well, your first passion as well. Keeps coming back to that, doesn't it? Um, final thoughts just on sort of the big picture of Formula One. Is there a favourite team that you've enjoyed watching, fraternising with?


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Well Murray, what a fascinating chat. Thank you very much. What a, what an eclectic and amazing life you've lived.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Murray, that's very kind. My typing is really not that good. It was good enough. Murray, we've had a lot of fun over the years. Now, I thought, just as an out, for the young'uns listening to this,


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] They have missed out by not listening to you. Call the start of a race. Is there any chance, just as we leave this podcast, you could say, and it's over to you, Murray.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Unless I'm very much mistaken, that was the legend that is Murray Walker. It was such a privilege to spend time with him and to see him looking so well.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] After we'd finished the recording, we went to the pub for lunch, and he regaled me with more stories from his long and very full life. And that voice, I don't know about you, but I got goosebumps as he launched into commentary mode at the end.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Murray, thanks for your time and I hope we'll see you at a racetrack again soon.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And finally, here's the moment you've been waiting for. The final five. The lucky listeners who will be receiving a shiny pair of Bose QC35II wireless headphones. Thanks to Noshi who said, if F1 runs in your blood, you should be listening to F1 Beyond the Grid.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] This podcast keeps on giving. Thanks Noshi. Andrew Morris was kind enough to say thanks for another excellent podcast. I've spent the last month listening to all the F1 Beyond the Grids while travelling to work.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Loving the insight into Formula One history and the environment, especially the episode with DC.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Gary Honey messaged us wondering what content has been edited due to time constraints. Well, that will have to be our little secret, I'm afraid, Gary. And thank you to Gino Lupini for allowing us to keep you company on the train to work. And for your note, I've just finished the F1 Beyond the Grid back catalogue. He says,


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Finishing with the amazing life of Luca de Montezemolo. What a passionate and emotional man. A true hot-blooded Italian. Yes indeed, Gino. And finally, Hannah Collins, who wrote in saying, I'm not a Schumacher fan, and then Team Villeneuve in brackets in 97.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] But it was a fascinating insight into a clearly private man. I love this podcast. Tom Clarkson F1 does a great job. That's very kind of you, Hannah. Very kind indeed.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Keep talking to us using the F1 Beyond the Grid hashtag or tweet me at Tom Clarkson F1. Thanks again to each and every one of you for your support so far.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Well that's it for now. All that remains is for me to say if you haven't already subscribed to Beyond The Grid, why not do so now so you never miss an episode? We're on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and tons of other podcast platforms.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] See you next week for another chat with a big name from the world of F1. Beyond the Grid is produced by F1 in association with AudioBoom. Until next time, keep it flat out.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Nothing. Nothing. And, you know, even if you think that they're having struggles, you'd never think that they're just going to pull the plug completely.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] It'd be over time, you know what I mean? But it was, bang, done. We're pulling out, we have to, uhm.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] But it was a real big shock. I had been away training in Lanzarote, that lovely training camp that I used to do every year for one to two weeks in Lanzarote, Club La Santa.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Uh, and I just got back, felt fitter than ever, um, with Mikey at Gatwick airport of all airports, um, in the baggage carousel, uh, waiting for our luggage and bikes. And that's when I got a text from Richard saying, yeah, it's, it's, you, you have to call me immediately. And he did and said, Hey, how's it going, buddy? He's got some bad news. You know, the Honda are pulling out. I was like, what? That's it, game over. And he said, yeah, that's it. The team is done.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Honda had still been putting a lot of money into the new car. A lot of money.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And, you know, you walk around the factory and spending time with everyone in the wind tunnel and they're like, this is going to be a great car. You know, we don't know how good because it's a complete regulation change. Uhm, we don't know what other people are going to build, but we think we've done pretty well with the regulations. You know, initially we thought we'd be two seconds slower.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] We're the new regulations, but we're basically as quick as we were at the end of the year now.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Uhm, with next year's car. With regulations that should be two seconds slower. Whether that means that we had a really bad car in 08 or a great car in 09, we didn't know at that point in time.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] So no, there was a really good feel about 2009 season. Uhm, and I think that's why everyone pushed so hard to keep the team going. One, because there were a few hundred jobs that were on the line. But two, because we knew the car was, uh, was looking good.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] You did? Well, we found a couple of, um, potential buyers for the team. So uhm,


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Yeah, we went out, Richard and myself to find them and we did, uhm, we gave them to the team and.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Well, I'd love to have been involved because obviously they made a lot of money out of it in the future, but uhm, no, it went quiet. You know, we had buyers, we had people that were interested to put in the money to fund the team.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] But uhm, everything went quiet and that's when Nick Fire and Ross were trying to do the takeover themselves. We didn't realize that that was an option. You know, we thought we had to try and find someone to fund the team and to run the team.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] No, the only thing I knew is that we didn't have any issues, which is great. You know, when you drive a car out for the first time, you normally have some issues, reliability issues, spent a lot of time in the garage. We had nothing, so it all went smoothly, even though the power unit wasn't the power unit that was meant for that car and it didn't fit quite correctly. It had a spacer. So no, it was a good day.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I can't, it's Silverstone Stowe Circuit, it wasn't even the National Circuit. It was the fun, the, the, the school circuit.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And everyone loved the color scheme and all the big teams were like, ah, it's so great that you, you guys made it happen. Lovely to have you here at the test. And we'd missed all the previous tests. We turned up for the last test in Barcelona and, uh,


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Jumped in the car, went out, so excited to be in a fun car, you know, to have a job. Uhm, did a couple of laps.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Couple of lap times came in, I came in and said, Shove, I'm not very happy with the balance, you know, I feel that we, we need to help the car at the, you know, the rear end in high speed and front end low speed and,


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] He looked at me and just had a smile on his face. I was like, why are you smiling? He said, we're fastest.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] So what do you mean by fastest? I said, probably people have just done install apps. They haven't done any lap times yet. And he said, none of that everyone has. And you're, it's something like four or five tenths quicker than everyone.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Wow, okay. And then we did some set at work, went back out, and I think we ended up just under a second quicker than anyone.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Well my relationship with most drivers was pretty vague. I never really used to socialise with any of them and never, I mean apart from sort of getting on the odd bus to go somewhere with all the other drivers.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Or maybe if you were staying at a hotel on a test day, like a non-racing weekend, where you might bump into them at breakfast or something. Would you sit with them? Uh, no, preferably not.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I just wanted to do my own thing. You know, I didn't want to let my guard down in any way. Uhm, and I used to... Do you regret that in hindsight? No, not at all. Uhm, I actually, I'd had breakfast with Jodie. I got on okay with Jodie.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Ronnie was a lovely bloke, I got on alright with him, but the rest of them, really, I couldn't give two shits about, to be honest with you. Because they were enemies, effectively. Well, they were just, they were just things that had to be passed. Uhm, and that was it. Things.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And I just took the personality out of it completely. I didn't say, oh here comes such and such, I've got to get past him. It was just a thing that was on the circuit that had to be passed at all costs.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Well, when you quit your job, what'd you think the focus was gonna be? Like, where were you gonna get income?


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] That's so awesome though to have a woman that believes in what you're doing more than you.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] So, I've been to it, through it two or three times. You know, this last time it was, it was interesting because it was...


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I had the, like with Q, the most to lose, cause I had more resources than I'd ever had.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] You know, I was going to have to invest more and so it's a bigger fall. Like if I failed and lost everything.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] But I also got to a point in my life where, you know, I'd had some money and I'd had freedom in these things and it was like,


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Let's talk about earlier. What's the worst can happen? Like I just got to start over. I'm not going to start to death. Like it's not.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Yeah, the worst thing is really not that bad. So why not take the chance on doing something else?


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] There, there was a couple factors. My parents were getting older and it was enough money to ensure that, you know, I could take care of them forever. Uhm, I had young children and it was enough money to ensure that if one of them ever got leukemia or something terrible happened, I would have enough money to take care of them. Uhm, that was one portion of it and another big part to me was


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] You know, as it progressed, like when I sold to Roomington, let's see, that was 09. So, you know, I'd had the company for like 15 years and.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] You know, I was starting to get real engineers, like Ethan Lessard, and, you know, I wanted to do more and more. I didn't want to just do silencers. I wanted to do guns. Well, that requires more capital. That requires, you know, more resources in every regard.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And I wanted to do more and I felt like we could make... I wanted to do guns and...


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Bigger stuff, and I wanted to make Remington like an American gun company, like the greatest gun company in the world. And I was fully committed, like when I sold that.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] To me, I didn't have hopes of like becoming the CEO of Remington or making a billion dollars. Like I had enough money for the rest of my life and I wanted to not have to worry about that.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And I thought a mainstream gun company as conservative as Remington buying a silencer company and helping me to push silencers, they would become very prolific.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] You know, they were very close with the NRA. We could get support from the NRA because NRA fucking hated silencers back then.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I mean, it was just kind of a real outcast thing and so it really fit.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] You know, when I was still young, when I sold the company, I was 34 or 35.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And I want to do these things. And of course, you know, things were great for a year and then the next year was shit. And you know, I mean, most people that will listen to this will know what happened.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Well, I actually wasn't surprised. I talked to a guy who was kind of a mentor to me who was about 15, 16 years old or was successful. So uhm, and he had a really large company and


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] He had purchased, like he, um, ended up selling his company to Tootsie Roll, that family. So he owned Double Bubble, the candy company.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Yeah, yeah, I like it too. And uhm, but he had done acquisitions and he had sold, and some advice he had to me, it was good, he says,


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And so I wasn't blind going into this. I was just, I'm always going to be, and I'm not going to let anything in my life, I think at this point, stop me from this romantic idea of yeah, things are probably going to go to shit, but I'm going to put in my effort and try and, and hopefully it works out the way I want. But if not, I take those lessons and I just move on. Um, but what he said to me was,


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Be happy, don't sell the company unless you're happy with the money you get.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] At the front end, because they're going to fuck you out, uh, of whatever other money. He says, most likely that's going to happen. And he's like, and the more successful you are, he says, that's the thing with a big company too. You have all these other executives.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Where if you end up being very successful,


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Uhm, they're gonna hate you and sabotage you. Cause you make them look bad. Like he knew all this stuff ahead of time and he told me so, it's in the back of my mind. But I was, you know, but I was gonna put forth the effort. Like to me, I was a company man. So anyway, then when that happens, I go through that lawsuit.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Yeah. I mean, I think at this point, I understand I'm not going to go work for anyone else, but.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I was committed to it and I was committed to it with SIG. I mean I did tons of recruitment for SIG that's paid huge dividends for them right now. You think about their ammo, their military programs, that's all people I recruited.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] No, I think I hired John, probably. Oh really? Once I was there.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Uhm, you know, I was committed and I believed in what we wanted to do, but...


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] You know, it's always a thing. When I went there, I'm very transparent in that regard and upfront about these are the things that I'll do. And you know, Ron Cohen said the same thing.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] You know, uh, the guys, George Kalatides and why McClellan, the guys that kind of were in charge of Remington at the time said the same things to me and I met mine. They met half of theirs.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] You know, and Ron, he meant what he promised me until it was uncomfortable. And then it's, you know, Ron Cohen, that was an easy to just go back on his word. You know, and it's, I think it's people in general that can use the excuse of, oh, the economy, oh, the ownership, oh, this or that.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Um, so I've tried twice, like gave it real efforts and it's the same thing from both of them. And I don't need to do that again.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] H&K is really where I wanted to go and that's where I was intending on going and you might not know this, but so it was a British guy and a German guy that really owned H&K at the time. And this would have been like 2012, 13, 14 in that time period. And uhm,


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] So I was going to go there, but then it was just, and it was pretty cool. Like I loved H and K and their guns and live in London and then fly for basically two and a half days a week in their private plane.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And uhm, there's an American school there and so they live in this big old like castle thing and a bunch of land.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And so the guest house, which I think had an indoor pool and stuff and it was like 5,800 square feet or something. And it was a little guest house next door. So me and my family, we're going to live in that and the kids would go to the American school there that was down the road. But with the plane, so it was in Heathrow airspace. So.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] You take off and you couldn't go above 1500 feet. And so you'd fly all the way across like Southern England, like all these beautiful estates.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And then across there at Dover, you know, basically the channel.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] They were just servicing a lot of debt. They had made some bad decisions with the company and I was just afraid there wouldn't be longevity there. I felt like they were going to lose the company at the time.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And so I didn't want to take my kids over there. You know, like I really wanted to take them in to London.