[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] But then if I ask somebody else or if I ask my friends, if they thought I was famous, they'd say, they'd probably say yes. It's unique and it's different being, you know, recognized on the street and people stopping at restaurants and especially around F1 weekends. It's incredible to see the support. Um, but it's, you know, I'm 24 years old.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I try and live as normal of a life as I can, uhm, relatively speaking, bearing in mind the sport I do is incredible. I feel so grateful and privileged to be in this position. You're flying around the world driving a Formula One car in front of hundreds of thousands of fans.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I guess it's pretty, pretty spectacular. Do you get lots of letters? Any mad gifts? Offers of marriage? Offers of marriage?


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] It's great and I really appreciate it to be honest. I had a book sent to me recently from loads of fans. I had loads of notes and letters in there. And uhm, and to be honest I go through all of it because


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] That's when the really mad stuff arrives, isn't it? Yeah, it is. Japan is crazy. They are, they're just mental for Formula One and it's great. And one of the best things about Formula One, I think, is that we get to visit so many different cultures. We go from the UK to Australia to Japan to China to Mexico to the States.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And the way of living is just so different. Everywhere you go, the food they eat, their lifestyles, everything, and uh, the people, how they are.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Diversity is so important because if you're all


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] From the same cloth, you're all gonna be having the same mentality and going about your thing in the same way as whereas when we go to a place like Japan or China or Mexico.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] The, the, the spirit at Williams was immense. Everybody there worked so hard. They were so passionate. They loved Williams. But throughout my time, it was, you know, going through a difficult period, 2019.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] It was not a year of performance, it was a year of survival. 2020, when the pandemic hit, the team had to do everything it could to survive and just to stay afloat and not go bankrupt.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] It takes time to refine everything. Whereas at a team like Mercedes, they've had so much success. Toto's been at the helm for so long and the culture is sort of ingrained within everybody here. And it's like a well oiled machine, just working on all cylinders always. And.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I knew how excellent this team was, I knew how talented everybody was, but...


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] It's been quite a reminder since joining the team, the level at which they operate and it's been truly sort of inspiring for me to see there's 2,000 people given everything they can to make two fast race cars and their priorities are, you know, racing, racing, racing and


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] It's definitely different. Uhm, I would say it's... It feels very much like, uhm, a family team here, but...


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Everybody I met had been there 15, 20, 25, 30 years and that seemed to be the case throughout the whole factory. Whereas there's a lot of core people here, especially the race team have been here since the Honda days and through the success of Braun.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] But still there's lots of fresh and new energy coming in and bringing great things to the team. And in terms of workload, how much of a step up?


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Uh, it's fair to say it's been a bit of a step up. Uhm, mainly from the marketing side, from the on track side and my preparations for a race weekend and everything performance driven, there's been no change because for me I was doing absolutely everything I could at Williams to achieve the maximum.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And that's absolutely what I'm doing again here at Mercedes. And that's what mental and physical preparation for a race. Yeaah, physical and mental is one thing, but the workload with the team, with the simulator, doing the debriefs after races, preparing for the events.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Doing whatever is necessary, whatever we believe is necessary, sorry, to bring the maximum performance to the track. But at Mercedes, you know, this is a global mega-brand that we have.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Yeah, I'd say to put it into perspective, I've probably done more marketing events and activities in my first month at Mercedes compared to three years at Williams. So, it's uhm.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I'd say enjoy is a strong word, but it's something I recognise that has to be done because they're the ones supporting us and you can't just be take, take, take. And uhm, this truly is a team effort and it goes from every single department. I was going to say it also goes to show the struggles that Williams went through because the team couldn't find sponsorship and you're either on this


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Upward spiral, downward spiral and unfortunately at Williams the results weren't good, sponsors pulled out, you don't have the money to reinvest into the team, performance gets worse, sponsors are even less interested and you're just on this downward slope and it's so difficult to recover from that.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Yeah, I mean I was, that was, it was kind of like a life lesson for me that everything's relative because I went and scored my best ever result for Williams of 7th in the Hungarian Grand Prix.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And you know, I was breaking down in tears of emotion because of everything we'd been through and finishing anywhere inside the top 12 for us was a mega result. And I went to Sakir and I qualified second and I was disappointed.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] So, because I knew what was possible. I knew pole position was possible. It just sort of taught me, you know, everything is relative and doesn't matter what position you're in. You just need to maximise it.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I think it was, well it was midnight of Tuesday. Tuesday midnight. So that's not much prep time.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] So it was, yea, a very last minute scenario, and I sort of went in with no expectations. I just saw it as an opportunity, because...


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] If I didn't perform well, then well, nobody really expected me to on such late notice, on a circuit that nobody had raced at before, in such a short lap, it's easy, you know, one small mistake would make a huge difference.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I thought, you know, this is my chance to sort of prove why I feel like I need to be in this race seat. And uhm, it went fine.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Does that make a difference when you're in the car? How are you spoken to? I guess so. Subconsciously, if somebody's, if you can hear your engine is a bit erratic and stressed.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] No, Bono was great and that whole team was great, but because I'd known the team so well for so long, I kind of just got straight in, in terms of building those personal relationships. They were already built. So it was just sort of learning what to do with the car.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And instead of trying to learn a million and one things, I just sort of said to Bono,


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] No, it was, it was definitely a good weekend and obviously it was a shame not to win. How gutted were you? I think, uhm, everything works out for a reason and...


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I wouldn't be that happy and proud about my achievements, but if I was totally out performing the car and on the podium every single weekend and winning a couple of races here and there,


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Maybe if you've won one race or two races, you feel more satisfied and pleased and proud of the job you have achieved as such. So as I said, I was disappointed with second there, but when I qualified fourth in Barcelona, I was ecstatic. It is all relative. It will work out, I'm sure.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Yeah, the one where I had the overtake on, on Valtteri, I thought that was one of the best corners I'd ever driven. It was uphill, you had a bit of compression, a little bit cambered through the left, and then you went over a crest into the right. And that was just really, it was quite bumpy on the way into that corner as well.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And now I enjoyed it. I don't think you'd want a track like that every week, but it makes things up a bit. It does, doesn't it?


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I'm a, I'm in a Williams, we've not scored a point in however many races and years. And that one overtake can be the difference between 10th and 9th in the constructors, which would be millions and millions of pounds worth of.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] of prize money for the team, which can totally transform a team. And you know, whenever I had half an opportunity to score points for Williams, I was 120% going to go for it. Everything on the table.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And that's just what you had to do. Now in hindsight, seeing that it was Valtteri, seeing that it was a Mercedes, taking all of the conditions into account and the fact that he had a far superior car to me and probably would have just overtaken me four laps later.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] It was a bit of an audacious overtake attempt, but when you have a crash at over 200 miles an hour, you know, I think it was 330k when I spun down the straight, crash into the side of him, carbon flying everywhere, going sideways down the straight, not knowing if someone's going to crash into me, if I'm going to hit the wall.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] You know, your heart is pumping and I felt at the time, rightly or wrongly that he could have left me a bit more room and he probably would have left me a bit more room knowing the closing speed and the conditions and everything had it been anywhere, anywhere else. Now, whether that's right or wrong, who knows, but they were the thoughts that went through my mind during the time and


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] He said, uhm, if that happened again, go for it. And wouldn't change anything. Yoss was one who was, I wouldn't say do or die, but in the position we were in at Williams, it was kind of do or die because


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] We didn't have a car that was capable of points, so we had to throw absolutely everything on the table, and uhm,


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Yeah, that's definitely, yeah, that's all things considered. It definitely, it definitely was, you know, that was uhm,


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Off everybody within that team and they felt like, you know, we can do this.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And I have been part of this family for so long. Since Formula 2, the sort of plan was three years at Williams.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And then jump in a Mercedes. And Toto always said to me, just keep doing your job on track. Just keep doing what you're doing.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I think when we signed with Williams back in 2018.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] This was a team bearing in mind that had just spent three years scoring podiums, finishing P3, P3, P5 in the constructors, and then they had a very bad year in 2018 where they finished last. But we thought this was a team at the time that can bounce back from this, and they'll be back in the P5 to P3 region of competitiveness.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] You know, a good period, you'd be fighting for points, maybe for podiums, or whatever. In hindsight.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Uhm, three years driving around on my own at the back of a grid was, was too long. And uhm,


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Unfortunately Claire did quite a good job at the contract negotiations and there was sort of no, no way out. But when I look at this with the benefit of hindsight, I think joining Mercedes last year


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Or even in 2020 would have been incredibly tough because


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] You know, going up against Lewis when that car has been evolved to suit his style of driving, uhm, over so many years, you know, that was his baby as such. Whereas now it's, you know, fresh sheet of paper for everybody. Everybody's starting from scratch. And this was, I'd say,


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Yeah, I don't really have an answer to that. I think everybody on that grid, uhm, or the far majority of the drivers on this grid,


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] All capable of winning races, all capable of winning championships, and they've all shown, you know, their moments of greatness, but...


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] To do that consistently over a season, there's a lot more to it than just jumping in and just driving fast and psychologically you need to be in the right space, you need to be on the right foot with the car and the setup and if you find yourself in a bit of a


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Yeah, it was definitely a huge moment, no doubt, but I like to look at things a bit more.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Objectively and things can change very quickly in Formula One and sign in a piece of paper. To join, you know, the greatest team of this era without doubt is obviously a huge moment, but if I don't perform


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And I go and get my arse kicked by the greatest driver of all time.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] What does it mean? Because in a year's time I'll probably be out the door. So, that was a huge moment. It was a huge step on my ladder. But, it's sort of like the, ehm,


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] The image of the guy climbing the mountain, he thinks he's at the top and he looks up and the peaks.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I'd be able to get to a great potential once I got a few races under my belt and understood the car and being able to maximise that. So I kind of accepted prior to the season, if I'm two times behind, the greatest driver of all time in the open a few races.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] It's no big deal. If I'm the same pace, it's no big deal. And if I'm ahead, it's no big deal because I'm just going to focus on myself and try and get the most out of that. Yeah, I think it's been a relatively good start to the season.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Yeah, I guess so. Obviously it is that my confidence...


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] More good than if I started on the back foot and if I was behind and I think it's been clear over the past few years it's not easy changing teams and going somewhere new when there's already a established driver in the other, other side of garage.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And at the end of the day, this is, you know, Lewis' territory. He's been here for 10 years. He's won however many championships with the team. And they've had some success together, so...


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I never thought it was going to be easy. There are some traits that he definitely carries that are really intriguing for me and I'm not going to share those now because


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I'm the only driver on this grid who has the luxury of being teammates with the greatest driver of all time and prior to this season I uhm, I was just thinking about tennis and watching


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Nadal win the Australian Open and just seeing how he plays and then thinking about Federer and then thinking about Djokovic. You've got three incredibly


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Great, probably the three greatest tennis players of all time, with three totally different approaches to their game. And I think to be the best, or to at least be the best version of yourself, you shouldn't go out there and copy


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Well, you just need to do what's right for you as those three greats in tennis have done.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] He was, he said he was so impressed at how our group works together and the amount of detail and data we go through and you know, the size of our team. And for a athlete like himself, you know, his team is built solely around him and he


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] The athlete, the leader, the boss, the everything of that. Whereas obviously for us, there's so many different factors that come together to build that sort of great man and machine as such. Because it is, once you're out on track, it's driver and car, but you need everything working on, on four cylinders.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I actually felt like it would be quite good for a racing drive because you've got the reaction time of the shuttle sort of every single hit was so quick, you're on your toes, you're moving around quite a lot. More than squash?


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] When I was a junior driver, I used to go for dinner every single race weekend with Ricky and the other engineering gang or the marketing department, so... Knowing that you were joining the team, or was this even before? No, this was before, back in... This was just hanging out? This was when I was a junior driver and reserve driver, so back in 2017, 18, uhm, I'd be going to all of the events with Mercedes.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] As backup, and on the evenings I'd be hanging out with the team, traveling with them in the cars in the morning.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I think that made things so much easier when I joined this team because I already felt part of the family but Ricky's such a great engineer, he's got so much motivation and hunger to push us to the top of our game and get absolutely everything out of our car so it's great to work with.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] It hasn't changed a huge amount. It's been really intriguing for me to see how Toto is involved on the technical front because uhm, firstly I never quite knew how good his technical knowledge was but, you know, he is


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Who is not only as uhm, inspiring as he is and motivating and, you know, everybody is clear what a,


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] It goes a long way. What about his driving? Have you raced him yet? He thinks he's a bit of a driver type. I actually have to be honest. We did an ice driving event at the start of this year in Austria. Uh, we were, we have a load of sponsors and the day finished at six.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And Toto and I stayed until nine. Uh, it was pitch black, but we had lights on this, uhm.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] He probably went off a few more times than I did, but the pace was pretty strong, so yeaah, learning new stuff about him.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Please tell me that you were faster than him. Yeah, I was faster than him, but he, he claims that I did track limits on, uh, cut the inside of a couple of corners, so he will probably claim that he was faster than me, but. Whatever it takes, Totem. Absolutely.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] He's not one to praise 24-7, he's not always going to be bigging you up always, and he'd always make a couple of jokes like,


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I remember, uhm, when I qualified second at Spa for Williams, he'd actually just told me that I got the drive.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Three days before, uhm, we'd had a few chats, and then he called me on a Saturday night, and he said, that was alright, but I thought he was gonna be on poll.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] What did he say after that? Yeaah, he was glad I did it. He said, I'd like to see a bold decision. And uhm...


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] We need sometimes big moments to show that we are here to fight. We're not here just to settle and take the easy route, the easy decision. And I think as an organisation, as a team at the moment, you know, we're kind of going through a similar thing that


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] We're clearly not where we want to be, but we're doing everything we can to...


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] To bring this performance back and we're not just going to accept.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Our fate as such. We're gonna sort of trust in ourselves, trust in the process.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Yeah, I think it will be more Barcelona than Baku, but I don't think there's any guarantees. You know, we've had some very good conversations.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Even this morning and we feel like we've learnt a lot of things from Montreal that's going to point us in the right direction. I don't think, uhm, on sort of true pace.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] We're going to turn things around straight away, but I do think Silverstone will suit our car more than the previous three races. I think there's a lot of similarities between Monaco, Montreal and Baku. They're all very slow speed circuits. They're all pretty bumpy.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] The uhm, sort of robustness of the car is...


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I mean obviously I had the luxury of driving all of the previous iterations of Mercedes on test days and I did the race in Bahrain which, you know, that car was a breeze in comparison but there are clearly strengths within our car. We're clearly good.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] In our race pace, relatively speaking, I think we're the only team to close the gap to the front runners on a Sunday rather than the gap expanding. And when it's in the right window, the actual balance through the corners is pretty nice to drive. But when you're going down the straights and your teeth are rattling out and you're feeling every single


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Tiny stone on the track and it rattles through your body.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Uhm, yeaah, I think, I think we're not the worst. Uhm, I'd say maybe we're equal worst, but there are definitely drivers and teams who are suffering a lot. And uhm,


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] You can visibly see that when we watch onboards and, and what not. But anyway, to put it into context, I recently rode around Hyde Park on a city bike that you pay a couple of pounds to rent for however long you need it.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] There's zero suspension, pretty rigid, and I rode over a sort of cobblestone tarmac.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Yeah, it does. It, it really does because, uhm, our vision is being compromised every time you're, you're bouncing around down this straight. In Baku, I couldn't even see the, my pit board. I could see it, but the, the words were blurry. The braking zones were blurry. And it's just uncomfortable. If you're,


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] The, the victory, great. I feel great about myself and that was a great weekend. The team's celebrating and taking photos with champagne bottles and whatnot, but going to the race in, the races and


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] The results aren't where you expected and the car is truly underperforming and all of us having to really dig deep to understand what this is.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Ah great, and I think it will make the success even sweeter when we achieve it.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I think you need to give the car more respect than you had to last year because you can't just rattle over these curbs every single bump you feel so if it's a bit of a bumpy circuit through corners in Miami it was very bumpy. You can't get on the power as aggressively as you'd want to.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] These regulations came into place with sort of the stiffness of the cars and some of the changes they made to simplify the cars.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] For the time being, not to be friendly with one another. You know, we are rivals on track, but the things that cause these greater rivalries are, generally speaking, on track incidents.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And for whatever reason, none of us have had any disagreements or on-track incidents over, over the years. I know Charles and Max maybe had a few in carting when they were battling. But, you know, there's only 20 of us in Formula One.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I think we will have a sort of mutual respect for one another because only, only we understand what the others are going through. And because we've sort of come through the ranks together.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Over so many years, yeah, it feels like you're kind of like schoolmates as such. I wouldn't say it affects how you race them, but there's definitely trends, I would say, from all these drivers and, you know, how they go about their race weekends. It has been quite a...


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I don't know where they get all the time from. I think their teams are being too easy on them with the amount of time they get off. It looks like sunshine and glory for them, so uhm. Full time golfer, part time Formula One driver. Yeaah, I know, I know. No, it's uhm.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] For me it was just a lot of hard work, a huge amount of, uh, sacrifice.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] He won four world titles, 53 races and millions of fans. Under the lights in Abu Dhabi, on the track where he achieved his dream of becoming Formula One world champion, Sebastian Vettel will race the final laps of his dazzling career.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Since his debut in 2007, we've known Vettel the Wunderkind, the Victor, the Vanquished and the Veteran. There's so much for him to look back on and to look forward to.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I'm Tom Clarkson and welcome to a very special F1 Beyond the Grid with Sebastian Vettel.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] In a final, in-depth conversation before his last Grand Prix, Sebastian talks about the wins and losses that shaped him, his heroes and rivals who are now his friends, his family, his fans, his future, and much, much more. I hope you enjoy it.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] How has your attitude to Formula One changed since the announcement? Have you been even more trying to extract the maximum from each moment?


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] F1 people become institutionalised because the sport engulfs us, doesn't give us any time to think outside. How scary is the prospect of life without Formula One?


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] So do you think you can be as good at something else in life as good as you were at being a racing driver?


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] You want to see the kids grow? Do you want to see them race?


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Let's look at the stats. You're the third most successful driver in the history of Formula One, behind Lewis Hamilton and Michael Schumacher.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Those four world titles, 53 wins, 57 poles, are those numbers a fair reflection of your talent, your speed, your commitment?


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And you talked about the anger, the frustration when you didn't win. How did that manifest itself?


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Now, a lot of your success was front-loaded. All four titles, 39 of the 53 wins, coming in the first six years in Formula One. Did that create an unrealistic level of expectation in your mind?


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] 2014 aside, those Red Bull years were so good, so much success, you were just riding this wave. Do you perhaps now appreciate what you had at Red Bull more than you did at the time?


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] During his F1 career, we've heard Seb celebrate winning for Ferrari in Italian, complain about his teammates in German, and in this interview he's opening up in English. If listening to him is making you think, I wish I was that eloquent in a second, third or even fourth language. Why not start with Babbel?


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] If you've been looking for a way to learn a new language where you can learn at your own pace and on your own schedule, Babbel is on hand to help.


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[Assistant] With Babbel you can learn a new language with their addictively fun 15 minute lessons. Forget what you know about traditional learning techniques because there's no need to set foot near a classroom to do it. It's available as an app or you can get access to it online so you can log in and take a lesson whenever and wherever you like.


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[Assistant] There are 14 different languages to choose from including French, Spanish, Italian and German. And what I love about it is their interactive lessons are created by more than 150 language experts and voiced by native speakers.


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[Assistant] Using a modern conversation based method, focusing on useful vocabulary and real world conversations so it doesn't take long before you'll be speaking confidently about real life topics in another language.


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[Assistant] And it's filled with great tools like their speech recognition technology, which can help you improve your confidence when it comes to accent and pronunciation. In addition to lessons, you can also access podcasts, games, videos and even join live classes with a language teacher.


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[Assistant] Right now Babbel is offering our listeners six months free with a purchase of a six month subscription with the promo code GRID. So go to babbel.com slash play and use the promo code GRID for an extra six months free. That's B-A-B-B-E-L dot com forward slash play promo code GRID. Babbel, language learning that works.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] At Toro Rosso, at Red Bull, at Ferrari, or Aston Martin.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] It's interesting though that you say professional happiness isn't directly linked to success on track.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Is it those low moments where she helps build you back up or?


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] How much did those five years take out of you emotionally?


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[Assistant] If there's one thing you could change about your time at Ferrari, what would that be?


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[Assistant] I wasn't actually referring to specific incidents, it was going to be more, you talk about the pressure that you put on yourself, perhaps not doing that, being a little bit more chilled about it, would that have made any difference?


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[Assistant] And that final year was so difficult. Was that the moment when you first started thinking about stuff outside of being a race driver?


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[Assistant] Now at this point, you've driven for two of the three biggest teams of the era, Red Bull and Ferrari. Was there ever the opportunity to race for Mercedes?


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[Assistant] Can I ask you about some of the other champions that you've raced? Michael Schumacher


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[Assistant] Would you have even embarked on a racing career if it wasn't for him?


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[Assistant] And those three years where you shared the same race track in Formula One, does, even now does it feel surreal?


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[Assistant] Can you elaborate on that? What impressed you?


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[Assistant] His work ethic was legendary, as is yours. Did you learn that off him?


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[Assistant] What's happening with the notebooks, by the way? Your legendary notebook.


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[Assistant] So we've discussed Michael Schumacher, we've discussed, uh, Lewis Hamilton. I did also want to ask you about Fernando Alonso, because, uh, when you were winning everything, of course, so many of your battles were with him when he was at Ferrari. How do you reflect on that rivalry, I suppose is the right word?


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[Assistant] How interesting, because I thought he might be trying to download you about everything Aston Martin. But no, there's been not even that.


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[Assistant] Just, you mentioned Brazil 2012. How were you feeling after lap one, when you and Bruno Senna had had that, that little contretemps?


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[Assistant] If you've got a burning business idea or side hustle that you want to take to the next level, Shopify can help you get there.


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[Assistant] Shopify is the secret to becoming a business champion by making it simple for anyone to sell their products anywhere, by taking the guesswork out of selling and simplifying commerce for millions of businesses worldwide. It's the all-on-one commerce platform to start, run and grow your business.


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[Assistant] Shopify will help you field all the sales channels you need to grow a winning business, from an in-person POS system to an all-in-one e-commerce platform, even across social media platforms like TikTok, Facebook and Instagram.


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[Assistant] Helping you find new customers and build relationships with your fans while keeping brand authenticity at the heart of everything you do by allowing you to easily customise your online store to suit your unique style.


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[Assistant] That's how every minute new sellers around the world score their first sale with Shopify. And you can too. With the help of Shopify's single dashboard, you can manage orders, shipping and payments from anywhere in the world. And thanks to 24-7 support and free on-demand business courses, Shopify is in your corner every step of the way.


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[Assistant] So when you're ready to take your dream business out into the world, team up with Shopify, the commerce platform powering millions of businesses down the street and around the globe.


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[Assistant] What about Mark Webber? I always felt that was quite a spiky relationship. And the first thing that comes to mind is Multi 21 Seb in 2013 in Malaysia.


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[Assistant] We've talked about best wins and you picked win number one, Monza 2008, but I want to ask you about China 2009. In terms of a weekend performance by Sebastian Vettel, you had an issue in qualifying, had just the one lap to get it done.


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[Assistant] I know you say you don't know what you're gonna do next, but when I think of you in Formula One, I think of you in Red Bull.


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[Assistant] That's what stands out, that's where the titles were, that's where the wins were. Helmut Markow turns 80 next year. Could you ever envisage a day where you...


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[Assistant] Become their motorsport director, if that's the right word. Would you like to sort of give something back to Red Bull in that way?


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[Assistant] Ah, so you might not hang up your helmet. You're just saying goodbye to Formula One.


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[Assistant] So Abu Dhabi is not a sad occasion for you, it's an exciting occasion.


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[Assistant] You just know that there's going to be plenty around the next corner for Sebastian.


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[Assistant] He's a very special, very talented man, and the world is quite literally his oyster. Like many of you, I'm intrigued to see what he does next. And as for the conversation you've just listened to,


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[Assistant] I enjoyed every second of it. I felt the mask that all drivers have to varying degrees slip down a little and he said many things that I'd never heard him say before, especially about his wife, which I found to be incredibly moving.


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[Assistant] Sebastian, thank you for your time and not just for this interview, but over the past 17 years. The sport is going to miss you a lot and good luck with whatever comes next.


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[Assistant] Now it's over to you at home. Please send in your thoughts and stories about Sebastian and I'll read out some of them at the end of next week's show. I'm intrigued to know what it is about Seb that caught your attention the most.


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[Assistant] Send your messages to me at Tom Clarkson F1 on Twitter or use the hashtag F1 Beyond The Grid. Which of course brings me onto what you sent in about Danica Patrick after last week's show. What an inspirational woman she is. Let's start with this from Janelle Adamite.


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[Assistant] I'm a fellow Beloit native and I met Danica at the Rockford Speedway during her karting days when I was close to five years old.


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[Assistant] I've looked up to her ever since for being a force within a primarily male environment.


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[Assistant] And I got into watching motorsports because of her. Well what an incredible story, Janelle. Influences start young, don't they? And Danica is certainly a force. Next let's go to Chris LLB. Danica is actually my racing hero.


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[Assistant] She took on the very best and beat a lot of them most of the time. Truly iconic. Would have loved to hear her talk about her drama with the Petty family though. Chris, maybe her take on the Pettys is one for part two. I love the fact that she's your racing hero and you are not alone in thinking that.


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[Assistant] She was my inspiration when I was karting and continues to inspire me every day in my own career as a woman in motorsports.


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[Assistant] Kenna, I love that story and thank you for sending in the pics as well and good luck with life at Ganassi. Finally, let's hear this from KJS.


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[Assistant] Her Sky commentary work is very enjoyable and I hope she's in Melbourne in 2023. Well good to hear from you, KJS. And I'm glad you enjoyed hearing from Danica. Almost as much as I did. She was great, wasn't she?


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[Assistant] Well thanks to everyone who wrote in and I'm sorry if I haven't had time to read out your messages here. And please remember to get in touch with your thoughts about Sebastian in time for next week's show.


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[Assistant] Now, if you're new to F1 Beyond the Grid, please scroll through the back catalogue for in-depth interviews with drivers, champions, technical geniuses, engineering legends and team bosses from every era of the sport.


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[Assistant] There are some more great interviews lined up between now and the end of 2022, so please hit the follow button so you don't miss them. And if you'd like to leave us a rating or a review, I'd be very grateful.


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[Assistant] Thanks for listening. F1 Beyond the Grid is produced by F1 and Audiaboom Studios. Until next time, keep it flat out.


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[Assistant] 2019, 2020, like I would read something and I'd be like, why has this person said this or done that? Like, uhm, I almost cared too much about what people think. And I got to a point now where I really enjoy seeing what people write about me. I love it. I love reading all the bad things. I've just learned to laugh and make fun of the bad things because I ignore the impact or the effect that it has on me.


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[Assistant] I mean, it's just the amount that you're smiling. You know, uh, even if you have like a bad race, whatever, it's just the amount I smile just because of how many people are there shouting your name or cheering for you. And you see the amount of people wearing your hats or tops or clothes, whatever it is, it just makes me smile. It just makes me happy to see that there are people there who


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[Assistant] You know, I want to spend that weekend supporting me and cheering me on and shouting my name and stuff. You know, it's, it's just weird because I never ever imagined I'd be in that position or be one of those people. It's hard to imagine that when you're a kid. I still find it a bit surreal, a bit odd in a way, but, um, yeah, it just makes me smile and makes me happy. And, um, that's the best thing you can have.


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[Assistant] They look up into the crowd while driving and, uh, yeaah, people are cheering you on or whatever it is. Like, like, even when I'm driving around, I've got my helmet on and it's hard to smile when you've got the helmet on because it's pushing against your cheeks so much.


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[Assistant] I always try to look in the crowd and just, uh, especially when you've done like a little overtake or something and you see them standing up and cheering and shouting and throwing stuff, whatever. It definitely makes a bit of a difference. The exact number is, uh.


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[Assistant] I don't think anyone will ever know, but I think it definitely helps. It just gives you that extra little motivation.


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[Assistant] It's your, your job to kind of actually go out there and perform for them, you know, is to deliver for them. And, um, and therefore you just, the thousands of a second, the little, little things, you just try and add all of that together more than you, you almost ever do before.


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[Assistant] My first visit, 2017 was, I think just when I joined McLaren. That was my first ever time as a, at the race weekend itself, like watching Formula One in Silverstone. So that was pretty insane. But my first ever time was probably like 2010, 2011.


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[Assistant] And I only went on a, on a Friday. I barely even managed to see any of the driving, but I just went with a couple, uh, a couple of friends. I went to see someone and it was just cool being, I was in GP3, GP2 at the time. So I just went to see one of the guys that was performing in that and, um, like that was cool. Cause I was just.


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[Assistant] I was like, I was a kid there, so it was just anything that I saw that was a car or related to Formula One was just blowing my mind. I was just like a kid in a candy store, you know, it's like a...


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[Assistant] Just smiling at everything and just being in the coolest place on earth, but I didn't even get to see the Formula One stuff, so that had to literally wait until 2017 and that was my first experience of being at a Formula One


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[Assistant] Well, I have like a few media days before. Probably speaking to you or something.


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[Assistant] I'm looking forward to that. Yeah. Uh, so I have, yeah, just cause it's, you know, it's the, it's the, it's like also busiest race of the season for me, a hundred percent. Like you're pretty knackered off. You're not cause of the driving, but your jaw hurts cause you're smiling so much. And it's just a lot of interviews and a lot of traction and so on. And that's, that's like a, an amazing thing to have.


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[Assistant] But, uh, I think I'm pretty sure I'm staying at the Hilton, at the circuit.


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[Assistant] I don't know, it's just one thing that you love, you know, especially in certain places, like Japan is crazy for it.


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[Assistant] You always get gifts of, of certain things and the memorable things, you know, things you can use in everyday life, like for me the bracelets, when fans give me bracelets.


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[Assistant] There's, there's so many gifts that you get from, I guess, all, all, a massive range of people. You have supporters who are, I don't know.


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[Assistant] Probably can't even speak because they're one year old or something, but they have like a little cute LN McLaren top on or something and you have, uh, guys who are way, way older, you know, 50, 60, 70 and so on. So you just get everything, you get everything there, all the good stuff. So.


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[Assistant] Yeah, it just makes it very, very memorable. And even, even now, like being on the fan stage and they're like chanting Lando or they kind of do the chants where, you know, put your name into a song. And, uh, it's just, yeah, it's just such a insane feeling. For me, everything's about memories. It's about remembering that like the good things and.


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[Assistant] That's even why I did that JPEG page, my photographs, and all of it is just so I can look back on it and remember the good times. Because again, that makes me smile, that puts a smile on my face. And uhm, that makes me enjoy the life that I live.


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[Assistant] Yeah, you got Brad Pitt and you got the stars who are, who are in it. Just, I guess it's just very cool to be, to be part of that, especially if you were to rewatch it, you know, in 20, 30, 40, 50 years. Just like now, I guess you, you rewatch certain movies, which are like, wow, that was cool back in that time.


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[Assistant] It feels weird that you could ever say that in 50 years that we might be in like an old time, but, uh, you can show your kids, look, that's me. Oh no. Yeah. Um, yeah, it's just, it's just an odd thing, but to be part of something like that, it's always, it's always cool and special.


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[Assistant] A little bit, I think so much of it is to do with timing, especially, you know, you've got Maggots and Beckets, the ones that everyone, everyone likes to talk about. But for a good reason, because it is, especially in a Formula One car, you know, you're, you're flat in 8th gear all the way until Beckets. Where does it go, Maggots, Beckets, uh, Chapel?


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[Assistant] You can, you can include cobs, cobs is uh, thing is now the cars are so quick, cobs is very close, I think, I'm presuming this year is going to be flat, but it depends enough on wind, if you have a headwind it's flat quite easily, if you have a tailwind.


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[Assistant] It depends what the, what the bet's on with your teammate. And there's little things, you know, like who does the tunnel in Monaco flat first and who does this and that. So I feel like, uh, yeah, who does cops first is one of them too.


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[Assistant] I mean, it's so quick, you almost have to commit and then find out what happens rather than the opposite. You try to anticipate things when you're going at those speeds. Being able to react in the time is so difficult because it's what, 290, 300 probably as you enter it.


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[Assistant] Uhm, 8th gear, but I feel like the best description of it is you see the consequence of when Max and Lewis came together and how big of a crash that was for Max.


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[Assistant] And that's, you know, after a slide and then you go through the gravel a bit and then you hit the barrier, but you would say like one of the biggest impacts you've seen in Formula One for a very long time. So that's when you see like what it is doing, you know, and, and.


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[Assistant] Every now and then, but at the same time, I think when you get back in the car, you just get so back into the zone. The thing I always use is, would someone else lift less than me? I always feel like I have to say yes.


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[Assistant] Or would someone else brake later than me here? And I feel like, out of the 20 drivers on the grid, someone's probably gonna push it that little bit more. And I'll be thinking of this like, you know, 100 meters before the corner.


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[Assistant] But that would be my little thought, uh, just not be a wimp and, uh, and back off more than I should or break too early is, do I think someone else might be better? You know, do you think, uh, Max should break that a little bit later or lift less? And I kind of forced the answer to be a yes.


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[Assistant] And then that's the little, the little kick that I need to make sure I try to not lift more than I should. But it goes through your head, all these little things, even if people say it doesn't.


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[Assistant] It's more uhm, as annoying as it is, it's the slow speed. Uhm, like even when you feel like nah, no one's done Magus Beckett's Chapel Stow quicker than that.


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[Assistant] It's rare that you ever gain more than half a tenth to a tenth on people, you know. Uhm, if you do, then it's quite a big, big change. The high speed is, yeaah, where you gain a lot less lap time than you do in the slow speed. Simple as that. So then you always kind of have to focus a bit on it.


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[Assistant] You know that's where there can be much bigger consequences if things go wrong, so you still need...


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[Assistant] The confidence in the car, you need the consistency. And especially because Silverstone can be pretty windy too. It's quite an open track.


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[Assistant] Yeah, you have it, but slow speed generally is where you kind of put a bit more focus, but you then have the challenge of do you go high down, high down force, lower down force, you go low down force again in all the strays, but you make the life in Maggots Becketts, Chapels Doe, a lot more nerve wracking, all these kinds of question marks you have to put together.


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[Assistant] That was our first, say, decent upgrade on the car. With more coming this weekend. With more coming this weekend. So if there's any time when people should be a bit more excited about things, uh, it's come at the right time. You know, in my opinion, I would love to be able to take that next step and, um, show what the car can do a bit more and, and have a good, better result.


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[Assistant] Where are we, where are we, where can we finish? I have no idea. I'm not very, I'm never very good at this. I'm always wrong. But yeah, if there's any time when we can maybe expect a bit more from us as a team and from me as a driver, I guess as my home race, uh, is here in Silverstone.


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[Assistant] Absolutely. At times we've been close to being one of the best cars in high speed corners. I guess sometimes it's for different reasons, but it's always been a very good strength for us. So I'm, I want to take from what we've, what we've learned in Austria, where I'm sure we were one of the best in high speed.


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[Assistant] Sixth gear, end of a straight, a very small brake. It feels like one of the most challenging corners. So I want to be confident that the car is going to be good in these places and therefore we can hopefully translate it into a good result too.


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[Assistant] So the smaller things, which maybe didn't matter quite as much in previous years, you pay the price for now more than ever. And there's no, let's say struggling or bad team in Formula One, like there maybe has been a bit more of over the last three, four years. Now, if you're a couple of tenths off, you can genuinely be in last place. If you put a lap together.


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[Assistant] It's, it's more that everyone else is doing extremely well. No one's doing badly. So when you just turn off a car, which is put together, that's quite right. You then have to say it's a car that didn't perform as well and is the least competitive. So I would agree with it. And it's been definitely the hardest, toughest start to a Formula One season that I've had.


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[Assistant] I think what's made it worse is the fact that we were kind of on the up, you know, I had what, four or five podiums and things were looking like they were heading all in the right direction, then it took a decent hit last year. Everything you feel like you were getting close to, then just, you kind of lost it again. So that success, the smiles, the champagne.


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[Assistant] All of that, like everyone loves it. That's what we kind of live for every weekend. And when it's like not even.


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[Assistant] Close, it's, it's so far away. It is tough, like just mentally, uh, you put so much effort into it every weekend. But everyone, it's not just me, it's every engineer, every mechanic, everyone back in the factory puts so much effort in, and just when things aren't going right.


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[Assistant] You just don't feel like you get rewarded for the time and effort that goes into everything. So rewards and feeling like you've achieved something makes a massive difference and when you don't, you just feel like so much goes in and very little ever comes out.


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[Assistant] But you just kind of have to use that to keep pushing through things and just know and have the faith and belief that, uh, things will turn around at some point.


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[Assistant] Yeah, confidently I can say yes, as much as it hurts me to say it, but.


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[Assistant] That car that season was, you know, we were seven hundredths of pole or even less back in Austria. That was my first podium that year.


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[Assistant] We were close to pole, or we got pole in Russia, close to winning my first race in Russia. Imola was almost a front road start, uhm, and then got deleted for track limits, so.


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[Assistant] We were close very often to these kind of success stories and now we struggle to get in the top 10 half the time. It's the first time I've been out of.


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[Assistant] Q1, like, just on general performances, and I think I've been out, what, three, four times or something now, so, yes, by quite a long way, and it is a long, long way from where we were, and, uh, having any chance of being on the podium.


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[Assistant] Uhm, I would say yes. Formula 1 just isn't as simple as what everyone wishes it is or thinks it is at times. And you can be lucky, you know, Lewis came into McLaren when they were winning races, winning championships. So for someone to say, are you trying to emulate Lewis Hamilton?


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[Assistant] I mean, I wish I could say yes, but at the same time, either thought I'm the best driver in the world, or even if you put the best driver in the world in the car, you do, I have now.


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[Assistant] Not going to have won races and not going to have achieved a lot more, I feel, than what I have. You have to be lucky. You have to have things go your way. Fernando's, you know, one of the best drivers ever in Formula One.


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[Assistant] And everyone's said, whether it's his fault or not, that he's made wrong decisions with teams that he's joined and so on and he's kind of, should have scored five World Championships and he's only got two. He's got two.


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[Assistant] It's, uh, it's just complicated, but at the same time, you just have to learn that like being patient, learn to be patient is a part of.


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[Assistant] What do you got to do when you enter Formula One? Every other category, before that, you kind of, if you're not winning, it's maybe a little bit because of the car, but also because of you. Whereas Formula One, you can be the best driver in the world, and if you don't have the car behind you, you're not going to win one race. The life of teams and cars is unfair in Formula One, but


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[Assistant] It also is what makes it special, it's what makes it so difficult and one of the most difficult sports to enter and be a part of in the world.


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[Assistant] I was very happy for him. I love George as much as I do want to beat him and compete against him and so on. I'm just a driver that has a lot of respect for those kind of people, you know.


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[Assistant] I have a lot of respect for the people I've grown up with. The people that I know are there because of their, their talent, their work ethic. Uhm, and George is one of them. So as much as at times, yeaah, I'm sure I wished, uh, everyone probably wishes that they could win a race. There's always a little bit of like that, that envy that's like, I feel like I also could have won if I was in this position.


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[Assistant] At the same time, I just tried to not think of it at all. I don't want to think about it because I just want to do the best job I can with what I got. Um, and the end of the day, I was very happy for him. He's showing what he can do.


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[Assistant] I'm a tough loser, but I'm a, I'm not a sore loser. So, uh, I just have respect. I have respect for the people I work with and the people who achieve things, uh, because they deserve to have achieved those things.


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[Assistant] I mean, whether I'm happy or not, my contract's in 25, so uhm, I'm part of McLaren, I'm in Papaya until the end of 25. I mean, I really look forward to those times, but there's plenty of things that we can be and are doing better now without these people. Uh, we cannot blame.


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[Assistant] Our performance because we don't have this person or that person. There's all the things that we just should have done better for many years in the first place. So always additions and great minds and telling people like this are going to have you.


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[Assistant] Then, uh, then you have to go in and think about it. But in a time when I'm in a team that I want to be part of, I want to win with, I don't get too caught up with what's happened and what is going to happen. I'm very much a guy that just lives in the now.


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[Assistant] Yeah, whether that's sad or not or good or not, I don't know. Uhm, that's just the way I live my life. But of course I get excited by it. And you know, I look forward to those times. It gives me a good boost. It gives everyone in the whole team a good boost. It gives me more reasons to want to continue into the future. But there's always a time when it comes to a decision that has to be made, but nothing needs to happen now. So I'm happy.


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[Assistant] Yeah, I think that's a much better way of putting it. Just simply more experienced, senior driver, guy who's been in Formula One for longer, guy who's been part of the McLaren team for much longer. But that's it. The rest is, you know, of course the team rely on me. Do you enjoy that responsibility?


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[Assistant] I guess it adds that responsibility to me, and I do feel like, uh, I've had to step up and pay more attention to more things, but I wouldn't say it's too different this year to what I had last year.


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[Assistant] Or even the year prior to that. I feel like already then, I was a guy who maybe wasn't the more experienced guy in Formula 1.


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[Assistant] But was the guy who was more experienced with the team, I felt, you know, in a, in a comfortable position with the team for the last two years. Um, and I felt like I was already in a bit of that, that space of trying to guide the team back then.


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[Assistant] It's just that now I'm the older driver. That's the only thing in my head that really has changed that much. The rest of it is just things that people want to make up and talk about. The responsibilities is simply the biggest word and the most accurate word is responsibility.


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[Assistant] And, uh, I've had to just step up a little bit into that role, but not a lot more than I was last year and back in, uh, 21-2. Do you feel there's more pressure on you now?


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[Assistant] I think that it's inevitable because I'm the older driver and there's a younger driver next to me. I'd be lying if you said, uh, there wasn't, but I would say there's more pressure, but does it affect me? No. I think yeah, you'd be lying if you said there wasn't any more pressure on it, but it's just, um,


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[Assistant] Does it affect you? Does it make you feel a different way? Then, uhm, I would just say not. Like, uh, if anything it motivates you more to...


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] That extra little thing in there or work on that little thing or question it or just get every little thing out of the car that you can. It's more of a motivation, kicking the backside kind of thing rather than, uh, uh, are you worried because of this or because of that?


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Not your force to live, but what comes just with the job of being a Formula One driver, kind of then the life you live and the eyes that are on you, the cameras, all of this stuff and just being what 20 drivers in the world, plenty more that want to be in that seat and we'll do everything in the world to be in that seat.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] There's always the pressure that lives with you every single day, but, um, it's kind of learning how to, how to use it or how to deal with it and how to forget about it. People deal with it better than others, but, uh, I feel like I'm in a point now where I'm, I don't kind of don't think about it too much, or really at all in a way. I'm just happy. The pressure you don't think about. How are you coping with fame? Depends how you look at it.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Yeah, I wanna take pictures or, I dunno, for the support side of it.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I think it's an amazing thing that people are there for you. But I'm, I've always been like a quite an introverted kind of guy, not the best with crowds and people.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Uhm, as much as, uh, sounds like probably the opposite of how you have to be in Formula 1. I've never been that much of that kind of guy. I've learned to deal better with it.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I want to be the best in the world. I want to prove to people, but I've never had the mentality or the, I don't know, the confidence to have to say that or feel like I need to do anything more than normal to show it to people. Like I know what I think and what I want to achieve in the back of my mind. And so do I guess to the people that I work with and the team that I work with and the people have around me.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] But do I have to do anything to go over the top and show that and prove it? I don't think so. You know, you can have a lot of old drivers like, uhm, not old drivers, but people who are just like,


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] But I just don't think it's true at all. I think uhm, you just gotta get in the car and do the best you can. I wanna beat everyone. As much as I have respect for people outside of the track and I get along with Carlos and George and Alex and Lewis and whatever, doesn't change how I wanna, how much I wanna beat them on track. If anything, I wanna beat them even more.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] So I, yeah, I've just never been that kind of person. If people say I don't look like I have the right mentality or I don't look aggressive enough, blah, blah. Like, that's just their opinion at the end of the day.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Yeah, I feel like I've, I've used it for times in COVID and whether it's charity things or mental health side of things. I feel like I've used it to help these things or to portray things or give my views. I don't feel like I have to use it or that I necessarily want to use it.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] As much as so it's kind of, it is a little bit part of what you kind of got to do in, in formal one and it adds to your brand and all of this and so forth.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] So I think I, I think I do. I think I realize. But like if someone calls me famous, or a celebrity, I hate when people say, oh you're a celeb, or uhm, you're so famous, like uhm, I dunno.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I just try to be as normal as possible. I don't want to stand out too much as much as I at times like it. And people are like, Oh, can we get a picture and things? Then you're like, Oh, you appreciate it. But, um, I wouldn't say like, uh, I love it and I want it, if that makes sense. For all the positives.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] No, I do, I love it. I love it. I love reading all the bad things.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I guess 2019, 2020, like I would read something and I'd be like, why is this person that said this or done that? Like, um, I almost cared too much about what people think and be careful how I say it cause people are gonna headline it and go, oh, London doesn't care about it, but you have to learn to, uh,


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] The one life that they live, why people like even want to spend time doing these things, you know, writing bad stuff and trying to find bad things and make bad situations. Like people actually choosing to spend their life, their one life on earth doing such things, which makes absolutely no sense to me. So.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I got to a point now where I really enjoy seeing what people...


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Right about me. Uhm, of course I love the good things and I, uh, it's great to read at times. You just have to, like, I've just learned to laugh and, and, and make fun of the bad things cause I just feel sorry for the person who's actually had to come up with that stuff in the first place. That that's brought amusement to them and they think that's like a,


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I mainly try to ignore it. Like I, I guess I read it so I don't completely ignore it but I ignore the impact or the effect that it has on me. But I am, I really am a person who cares a lot about what people think and I never want to look bad or say the wrong thing and I feel like I'm always very honest with things and therefore some, sometimes I say things that


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Not that I shouldn't, but things that are just true and genuine. Uh, but we just, we live in a world now more and more where I know you just have to say things that everyone agrees with.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I mean, I love kids. My brother's just had a second baby. Um, and they're the cutest things on earth. So I'm a, I think I'm a great uncle as much as babies always cry when they see me.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Uh, I feel like uhm, I'm good with them. Uhm, I like even, you know, my manager, I grew up with my manager for the last what, 10?


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Even longer, uh, almost 11 years or something and he's had three kids since. So yeah, like just kind of growing up them a little bit, even when I was a kid, I don't feel like I was much older than what they were, but growing up with them and just, uh, look forward to that part of my life in a way as much as I'm young, 23 and.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I don't want to think of it. Yeah, I look forward to it. Like I do think like, uh, you know, I see Max and his father or people whose fathers were in Formula One and, you know, when it was like, uh, Schumacher too, like, uh, I'm curious to think of like what it's like in the future.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I'm gonna be a strict dad. I'll tell you that. I feel like I have good opinions on things. My parents brought me up, I think, very well. I get that my dad was successful and things like that and people always try to turn that into a bad thing about the person.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] But uhm, I think I have, like, respect. I think I have, uh, good manners. I think I've, uhm, yeaah, I do everything that I, that I need and I don't get into people's faces too much and blah, blah, blah. Uhm, I keep to myself all the time. So uhm, I just take what my parents.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] He taught me simply and, uh, did the best thing, best job I can to, uh, ingrain that to the kids I have in the future.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I mean, a lot of it comes to them at the time and I feel like, what, it's, I dunno, it's gonna be 10 years, 20 years or whatever. As it is quite difficult to see the landscape. Yeah, I dunno, I dunno what it's gonna be like then. If you think to 10, 15 years ago from now.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Just a guy who's in Formula One. Just a guy who loves to drive cars.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Guys that have a lot of respect, both guys you can enjoy spending time with and enjoy both here at the track and also back home, uhm, or away wherever you are.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I feel like the way that people portray their relationship is different.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I'm sure like when you think Dan Daniels, what, 30, 31, 32, then there was 21, 22. Yeah, I dunno. I feel like when you're way older, then there's almost more pressure on the older person than ever on the younger person. And I guess there's a little bit, like we just spoke about, there's a little bit of that now.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] No, uh, I think you might have just got a sim. Um, no, I mean, I generally have not been into doing that as much actually. I'm just spending a bit more time out with my friends and traveling, going to see my family a bit more. I just haven't, I haven't spent as much time on


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Computers, electronics. I kind of drifted away a little bit from that. I'm more a golf family friends. For me, that's the, not in that order, but, uh, family friends is, is for me the most important thing. So spending more time with them, uh, as a person than, um, yeah, staying at home playing computer games.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I'd say yeaah, I'm more determined, I have better knowledge now of how to achieve them, when, what, all of it. I feel like I'm in a much...


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Maybe not more competitive position, but uh, personally in a much better position than I ever have been. And the knowledge of how to achieve them, I feel like I have a much better understanding of. So uhm, being a world champion, winning for my team that I drive for, simply those are the two goals I have at the minute.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Multiple World Champion would be nice, but I'll start off with one. Best of luck with that, and enjoy Silverstone. I shall do. Thank you so much everyone.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] What makes them champions is their instinctive desire to fight. When the visor is down, they just turn into like beasts. So you wanna keep that. You don't wanna curb that.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] So I told him, I said, I'll let you race as long as you behave like adults. I'll treat you like adults. If one of you is in the ditch and we don't finish and have as many points as we could have because the car has the potential.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And then that means you behave like kids or I'll treat you like kids. And I will basically ground one of you or the both of you and I will do it and you can sue my back if you will. I will do it.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] A relationship, not a friendship necessarily, but a relationship, and that's nice.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I don't. But thank you for noticing. I don't, but I'm trying to balance the two activities a bit more, especially since the arrival of Otmar last year.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] R-road cars, as well as being, uh, uh, an executive of the Renault Group, because this is also a duty of mine.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] But I had to do it for Formula 1's sake because I needed to figure out things and decide for myself what type of organization I wanted to put in place and which areas I needed to reinforce. Which I did. And I think now it's gone the other way around. More like...


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I tried and contained Formula 1 to the weekend of Formula 1, uh, and I'm trying to not do all of them, uh, even though it's very hard.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Uhm, which, which is a bit better. So basically during the week I have the road car job, during the weekend I have the Formula 1.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Well, we were very lucky that we inherited a brand that's born from racing. So the founder, Jean Radellet, uh, back in 55, 1955,


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And so our true DNA is racing. And as a matter of fact, after Luca D'Amelio decided to regroup all the sports activities, the motorsports activities of Renault under one banner, the Alpine one.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] We have now, uhm, kind of like gone back to our roots with racing being at the center of everything. Alpine means racing. This is what we are.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Yeaah, big influence. The Tour de France was obviously the big event of the year for everyone and especially for myself. My father being a mechanic, sometimes racing, sometimes helping racers himself because he could fix cars and all. Now, I was


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Kind of like, uh, lucky enough that in my family, it's hardworking people, uh, no diploma already. So they basically worked from 16 year old and never stopped.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] So they basically forced me into considering studies, which I did. So it was not an option to become a racer or anything like that. It could be a hobby like my father did, but I needed a real job per their own words. And I have to say it's probably for the better because


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I love what I'm doing. I love the strategic part and execution part of the job. Uh, I love being also involved in sports, uh, activity. So in fact, I have the best of both worlds today.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Absolutely. Uh, I think, I mean, up until the day I started this job in Formula One, I was always using, and I'm still using that even more so now, sports, uh, metaphors, analogies. For me, sports is basically the essence of effort.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] You know, commitment to a result and excellence.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] So it was always for me something that I would bring into my world, whichever world I was in, uh, whichever career I was following.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And now it's almost just natural because it's part of it every day and you have to admit those champions as well as those engineers committed to that work, uh, uh, engineers, mechanics, everyone.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I play uhm, let's say two times a week when I can. So because squash is kind of easy, right? You just need to find a partner in 45 minutes. So chances are at 9 PM after a long day of work, you can always find someone. Uhm, so I try and do that. And then over the weekend,


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] All these teams have taken like a good three, four years, five years for some Ferrari even longer to get back to the podiums. And so we are on this path, hopefully.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Uhm, the first two years of that kind of four, five year plan are going well. They, they delivered according to our expectations. We finished fifth in 21, fourth in 22. So it's only natural now we're looking.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Everyone has that as a stretch target, a moonshot, I would say. But the minimum is to finish fourth and start like bridging that gap to third.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Climbing a mountain, uh, every time you go higher, every amount of effort to get the same point is a bit more difficult to the, to the organism. Like right to your, you, you breathe a bit more difficult, like in a difficult way to get there. So I guess we there now, uh, and we need to stay there and continue.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Yeah, that's right. Uhm, we're not there yet, obviously. It's gonna take a bit of time because...


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Of course, the cost cap is the best thing that's happened to us because it's leveling up the playing field. But at the same time, the advantage required over 20 years of over-investing compared to others.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] You're not going to catch up like that, but we are. We are trying. So we're basically investing heavily, massively in all of those, uh, facilities, equipment, resources.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And not just physical resources, people resources as well. So we're trying to, we're not trying, we are on our path to getting closer and closer to a top team structure, which we didn't have before.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Bad rolling bench in very where you can try the chassis and the engine together.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] So it's basically kind of like now allowing you to oversee 70% of the problems you would see while driving on track.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Which gets you in a place where, well, usually every year it was always impressive to see the top three teams arriving for the first day of Barcelona, Bahrain and just like boom, get, get onto it like with 40 laps and everyone, every other team was like trying to fix the little


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Was that a big investment? It is a big investment, yeaah. You have to transform an entire, uh,


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Like engine, uh, test bed, if you will, uh, expand the room. It's, it's a big investment. It's like in terms of capex, capital expenditure, it's, it's.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And every time I'm saying we're trying, we're not trying, we're doing it. We have a program that we devised after a year of analysis, the first year when I arrived, which is called the mountain climber, which is the gap, bridge the gap to,


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Benchmark and or best in class because to win you basically need to be at the very least at benchmark in all areas and


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I am not sure they underestimated it. Uhm, I just simply think that the magnitude of investment made by others was not in the realm of capabilities that we had as a, as a,


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] An automotive group back then. I was not there, so I couldn't say. But I have to say, knowing well the intricacies of a, of a...


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] A group like Renault, uhm, I can imagine that we're talking about like 7, 8, 900 million, perhaps a billion every now and then of investment by those top teams, even by Toyota back then when they tried to succeed in Formula 1 per year.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] This is like three times, four times the other magnitude of what you usually spend, especially now under cost cap, it's easy to, we have the numbers.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] We couldn't afford that. Like a group like Renault who has the responsibility of


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Of course we still need to catch up on those things but we can do it gradually.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Yes I do, I do. Uhm, it was already true back then when you had V10, V12 and you would sell that to your customer of a 4 inline engine. Because it was selling your expertise, it was selling your capability to develop high-end, uh,


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Now the rule of the game is to optimize the use of the battery everywhere, whether you have a fully electric car or an hybrid like an F1. It's the same exact principle. As a matter of fact, there is even an acronym for that, which is a battery management system. And we have the same acronym in Formula One and in the rest of the industry, which is how much


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Uh, except one car is delivering a thousand, uh, horsepower, the other one is covering a billion kilometer. So it's a bit of a different story, but at the end of the day, it's the same problem. So the convergence becomes quite interesting because if you win on Sunday, you can pretty much use that


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Uh, experience and know-how on Monday and put it into the car that people will want to buy.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Well, I wouldn't speak for others, but I'm assuming, yes, there is something there, because if F1 was irrelevant to them, they would not invest, since F1 becomes something that you can leverage for the sake of commercial purposes. Yes, it is interesting.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] F1 was pretty much uh, threatened two years ago or three years ago because the results were not coming.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] The DNA of Renault is motorsport. So for us, irrespective of that convergence, it's also a statement. We are.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Very much into competition, very much into sports, motorsports.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Whether you're going to find that in your car or not, it doesn't matter. It's kind of like, you want your brand, the group brand as well as the IPM brand, to also mean something to people. Not necessarily provide you a product. Sometimes you just want to identify to a brand that says something to you.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I love it. I think it's the best job I've ever had. Not a day without being grateful to look at the Mio for the opportunity to be honest. It's like, it can be a beast because essentially I work from Monday to Sunday night, no weekend, no nothing. I would not change for anything in the world, never.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Brand valuation, if you will. Uh, how much is the Alpine brand worth if it were, uh, independent, for instance. If you could assess the brand.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And I have clear objectives, which I will not mention here, uh, and we're trending towards that and it's the most exciting job because those objectives actually work by developing both Formula One and motorsports in general.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Because we're not just Formula 1, obviously it's the central totem, like the most visible one and a great one, but the rest as well in motorsport is quite important. And the road car activities. I cannot get to the objectives, uh, with a sign for Alpine by simply focusing on one or the other.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Yes, yes, we're basically in a three phase plan, uhm, the first phase is most over, which was basically maximizing the output of, uh, uh, our, our road car, uh, only road car, the A110.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] While making the brand known through Formula 1, uh, using one to reinforce the other, obviously, uh, and it's successful with triple the...


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] The sales over two years, the value of the brand as well as has been multiplied by three. So it's working out well. The next phase is going to be to expand, uhm, our lineup while also maximizing the potential of the brand in the European territory and a couple of key markets like Japan, which are


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] None at all, which is the big surprise everyone gets all the time. If Pierre had been from Bangladesh, I would have taken Pierre nevertheless. It's a nice opportunity. We can leverage the French team, even though to be honest, I'm very mindful of the fact that we are


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] So it's a French brand with a British outfit if you will. So we have those two cultures, two nationalities and I'm proud of it. So it's not just French.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Uhm, it helps us in a way to convey a bit of the Alpine legacy which is nice because Alpine is a brand from Normandy so that is pretty cool actually because we want to keep the past


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I don't know, we certainly don't have them against us, for sure. I've noticed a change of mood at the very beginning, everyone was skeptical because


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And I'm assuming there is something happening now and we're getting more and more of the, of the support of the crowd. I mean, the sales are through the roof and people are constantly telling us that they love the brand. So I guess something is happening here.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Yeah, yeah, absolutely. It's the funny thing is I drive my Alpine every day, obviously in Paris. I still get like thumbs up all the time, uh, everywhere, which is very funny because the car has been around for eight years now. It's not like it's brand new and people are like discovering it. This, this, this brand has a,


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Kind of an amount of sympathy it conveys, uh, and we're happy with that. We want to keep that like this.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Well, uhm, there's no mystery about the fight that I've very quickly, uh,


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Because Esteban, what was remarkable about this boy is that he's never had an easy linear path. Every single year or most he was told, that's it, that's over, that's the end of the road with us and you need to find another gig next year.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Which is super difficult, especially in a career like that, you need a bit of a runway, right? You need to feel comfortable about the fact that you're going to drive for a while and you actually can make this job your job for real, not just a hobby, like I was mentioning about myself earlier on.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Irrespective of that, I also knew that this boy has been successful in all categories, has been racing against Max, Charles.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Everyone that is top driver today and like, he's beat them over time in the past. So I'm like, he has some potential.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] There's no 1 and 2 at Ferrari, but I'm pretty sure a lot of people think there's a 2. Uh, there's no 1 and 2 at Mercedes, and that's hard to figure out who's the 2 there, to be honest. And I think Esteban would be one of those 2.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Perhaps without knowing, with that fear that he had to potentially lose his will to sit on that race. So basically it was different. And I told him now the thing is you need to grow.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Exhibit the qualities that might make you one day a world champion, which is...


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Something different than just racing fast. All of the drivers on the grid are racing super fast. No doubt. They could beat one another on one lap. No doubt. Like even the last on the grid could beat the first on one lap. I'm pretty sure. And they would admit it.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] But on a long term, building a team, rallying the people around you, extracting the maximum, uh, performance out of your car, but not just the car, out of the factory, out of, out of like the 1200 people supporting you, that's a different ballgame. And that's what we, uh, I told him to do. I gave him those three years in exchange of take the team higher up with you.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Well, uh, not really because, uh, it was a bit of a, it happened earlier than what we imagined, to be honest. It's not like we had planned to win that year. As a matter of fact, we didn't win last year. But it showed a lot of things. It exhibited a lot of strength and qualities.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Both in Esteban and the team, like because we basically were in the lead very early in the race and we had to keep that lead, which is super difficult, especially when you don't have like the fastest car.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] He showed a lot of resilience, race craft and the team as well, which was actually super encouraging.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] That's right. He made a lot of progress there. He used to be potentially a little bit more of a feisty driver. He's still feisty and I hope they keep that feistiness. I mean, like people always ask me about the fact that drivers can...


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Uh, fight with another. It's normal. They would lose the sense of competition otherwise. Uh, it's only normal they do that. But now he does it with the conscience that he's serving a team and not himself.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] He realizes that it's a great opportunity. Uhm, and to be honest, it is potentially a critical point in his career. I told them both at your age.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Given the fact that when you be done with your contract, we both be very close to 30.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] It would be very dangerous for you to be, uh, let go because you didn't exhibit the maturity and, and the...


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] The train might not stop again, right? Uh, and he's on the train now and he's very motivated. I mean, I don't know if you've seen him.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Now he was, he was thrilled, uh, he loves champions, uh, and for a good reason, because he was thrilled because he was looking forward to getting the insights from a former world champion himself.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I'm pretty sure, I'm pretty sure there is uhm, in the lives of all those, those like athletes, elite athletes, there's always doubts, there's always like ups and downs and you need to manage that. There's also how you manage your time, how you manage your leisure, how you manage your entourage.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Uh, I manage your career, uh, and then Zidane has done that individually and as a manager of talents.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Because as the head coach of Rare Madrid he had plenty of Zidane's, or actually not necessarily at his level, but like, very worthy players.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] So I think someone like that, uh, is extremely, uh, precious. And those are the things that actually Zidane won't even pass on to us than to him. He will pass it directly to Pierre.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And maybe in like two conversations of five minutes or ten minutes and that's large enough because champions, they recognize each other, uh, they, they speak the same language.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] They're very aware that they're into something special, like into this like one percent, top one percent or zero zero one percent of the, of the performance.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Is ready to develop the, the, the team as well as himself, which is important for me, for Esteban, but also for Pierre. Because we're in the middle of, uh, the river if you will, right? And, and we left the bank, we want to get to the other bank.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And we need everyone's effort, everyone's participation. We don't need selfish behaviors. We don't need a driver that would just like get into the car, drive fast and be like, this is it, I've done my job.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Pierre arrived, uh, was extremely motivated in trying to figure out who's who, who's working, uh, like what's the working ways of every single one of the people he's gonna work with. And that was from day one, like in Abu Dhabi, uh, the test.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] He really made a conscious effort of really getting to know every member of the team.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And that's what I expect. He's taking the whole team behind him. They're following him.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Which is quite impressive, like, and everyone is already quite happy with him. It seems like he's been with us since five years now, which is pretty impressive.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Something between two people and I don't think there is a problem, to be honest. Why I'm saying that is because those two guys know each other since they're six. Why? Because they were from the same, uh, area, uh, by area I mean like small district in France, not like larger district, like very, very, very small district doing the same thing.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Go karting. So there's not like 25,000 people doing that in France, let alone in the same district. They had to know each other. They were 6 years old.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] You cannot force a friendship if there is not necessarily a strong basis for a friendship. How many people do you still know, do you still call friends that you knew when you were six? I don't know you. I only know like three of them.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I always say that. And they live in an island. They get stuck there. My island, Corsica. If it was not for that, we might have been scattered and don't talk to each other anymore since then because that's walks of life. I mean, there's so many people that have been in my life and disappeared and same for everyone. I don't have that many friends that I know.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Guess what, it was probably not a friendship, it was just not, just like the colleagues in a way, like we are, we're not all friends in our jobs, right, but we just work with each other. So to me it's just that, and I don't expect them to be friends, I don't need them to go on vacation, I don't think a lot of drivers go on vacation together all the time, I just need them to be


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Adult and professional, that's it. The rest, it's their problem. If they want to go barbecue, play whatever, they can do it. If they don't, not my problem. I'm not their father, they have one. Uh, I have a fatherly attention to things, but it's not me who's gonna decide whether or not they have a relationship.