[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Yeah, firstly, just a mentality that's been built over 20, 23 years of doing the sport with him and his dad and being around this sort of level. And then secondly, you know, taking each one as it comes, setting the expectations.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Uhm, they're a very open and honest group as well. Uhm, and that suited the way that I like to work as well. So, you know, if someone's not happy about something, nothing, nothing ever goes unsaid. Uhm, you sort it out there and then.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] You know, if you, if you make a mistake, you come in and say, look, sorry mate, I made a mistake and, uh, uh, you know, chat it out if it needs to be chatted out. Or we just say, yeah, that's fine. And, and, and move on from there. So clarity of vision, communication and, and open and, and honesty. And for me, it was, it was beautiful because.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I really, I really was part of the family, uhm, you know, they, they would invite me to, to kind of birthdays and stuff while I was in Monaco, I'd be around his and, uhm, or I'd go out for dinner with his manager or a beer with his dad, uhm, you know, with, without him as well and, uhm, so, uhm, so yeaah, it was,


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] We'll go out for dinner and it'll be that sort of, um, that sort of close knit group. So, um, yeah, it really works. And I think it's been a big part of, uh, you know, the success that we've had and he'll continue to have.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] So uhm, I guess the closest I came was in gymnastics, working with individual gymnasts, but they were still part of team GB. So you're still working with four or five at a, at a time. Uhm, and then to kind of purely focus on, on one person and


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] You know, the rest of it, you know, what's the point? What are we doing it for? So as long as you hit your targets, you achieve what you need to achieve.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Uhm, scope for, you know, enjoying some time as well. I think, uhm, you know, Red Bull's all about high performance at the end of the day. So yes, they do.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] You know, they do enjoy themselves, uhm, but it's on the backdrop of high performance and achieving


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] On such a level of performance that they weren't going to put a step wrong and they didn't want to be the person to put a step wrong.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I think as, as you rightly said there, as a performance coach within Formula One where


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] You are, you're often in the grey area of where loyalties lie. And not loyalties as such, but where you need to kind of work within everyone because


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] If, if you're doing your job well, you don't need to change because you're doing this week in week out. Um, and certainly the way that we approached every race.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Is exactly like that. So we approached the races in the same way that year as we did last year. We want to win every, every race. Yes, we had to obviously look at certain tracks where we were going to struggle and say, I'll win this week is second place.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Race strategy and, and, and that sort of thing, but uhm, nah, little things like that kinda just, they just seem to come and...


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Those little things, they, they do come, you think back to, again, football analogies, because I'm a football fan, but think of the, the big years when, uh, Man United and Arsenal were, were going at it or Mourinho in round Madrid and Barcelona and the, the comments in the media and the mind games and the touchline sort of stuff. So similar, similar bits to that.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] So yeaah, we, we still approached every race in the same way. We kept our habits, kept our routine. I think that's so important because as soon as you start changing things, you start to change the dynamic of the thought processes and the kind of performance KPIs. Uhm, I think the only thing we, we changed towards the end was uhm,


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] We changed kind of the travel and logistics a little bit. So rather than heading home and changing time zones and having multiple flights, we ended up staying out and you know, taking some time, taking some days off to completely remove ourselves from


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] What F1 was, what travel was, uhm, just to, just to rest and, because it was tense, it was super, super tense, uh, you could, you could feel it in the paddock, you could feel it everywhere, uhm, and, and it was almost like a hatred just building between Red Bull and Mercedes, you know, you'd walk past them in the paddock and it was like, rrrrr.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Kind of, quite considerable deficit in car, you know, that Mercedes in 2020 was, was far superior to our Red Bull and, you know, Max would often split the two Mercedes drivers in a, in a less than, you know, good car. Uhm, I think what 2021 bought was a maturity to,


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Seventh, uh, actually I think we came eighth in the, uh, ninth in the end. So, that ninth place was fine because that's one point.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] During a race, it was the ability to see the bigger picture and to go from someone that can win races to someone that can, can win championships. And, uh, and you see that even more now, you know, it's grown even more in terms of.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Uhm, for sure, he, he has so much other stuff going on now, so much other stuff that he enjoys as well with his, uhm, uh, with his, uh, Team Redline, with his, you know, his virtual racing, other series that he wants to do with his, with his dad and, and, and other races as well. So, uhm, yeah, he's, uhm, he, he's, uh,


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] He, he's a guy that likes to be home, likes to be with his friends, likes to be with his family, uhm.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] To do these sort of events and these meet and greets and this filming stuff is getting more and more and more, uhm, and, you know, adding the amount of races that we're doing, we will start to see sort of burnout and things like that. It's a lot of time, time commitments and a lot of effort to do those things.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Uhm, but you can have your best engineers at every race. If you're, if you're really pushing the limit of, of more races, you're going to have your best mechanics at the, the race or, you know, if you're rotating through, uh, pit stop teams, you know, it might be nice to see a 10 second pit stop every now and again, but.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] You know, it's not, it's not going to keep the kind of quality, uh, quality there. Uhm, and yeah, having an oversight now, I mean, it was a big thing as to, as to why.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] You know, I needed to step away. Uhm, I would have, you know, loved to stay in this ball, but for me it wasn't sustainable with, you know, young family and, uh, and a few other projects that I've got on.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Boxing these content together means staff are away for longer periods of time and have less ability to pop back home and stuff as well, so that'll take its toll also.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] We wouldn't be talking about potential burnout. Uhm, you could bring races in and out potentially, you know, to, to create different seasons each, each year. Uhm, so yeaah, I think, you know, you are gonna look at burnout, you're definitely gonna look at reducing the quality of, of what we see. Uhm, so yeaah, I think, I think it does need to be looked at, for sure.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Missing it per se, you know, I'm not missing the travel. I'm not missing being a track. I'm not missing, you know, doing the day to day bits of it.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I definitely miss the people I worked with, you know, working with Max, working with the team around him, for sure.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Uh, four or five drivers, uhm, with a colleague of mine, uhm, so we're, we're providing race support and then, uh, remote training and physio from that side. So, uhm, I will be at some races this year, uh, World Endurance Championships and some,


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Uh, from, from clinic in, in London, um, just from a physio, physio point of view and making sure they're fit, uh, to go and win world championships as well. Uh, managed to pick up a, a triathlon one, uh, in the interim. So still, still winning, still competing.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Yeah, no, it completely varies, and it also com- varies on the time of, you know, year that we're in, whether we're in season, whether we're in pre-season, so, uhm, F1's...


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] So pre-season, uhm, we would train 6-8 times a week, uhm, 4 double day sessions and then one single with a couple of rest days.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And there would be probably around 90 minutes.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Two hours each, each time. So you're looking kind of four hours of training a day during pre-season. And then in season, it's a lot less. Uhm, you're grabbing time when you can, maximizing recovery. Uhm, there'll be shorter sessions, try and keep the intensity there. Uhm, with F1, so, or with motor sports in general, you could be super, super fit, but not gain more lap time from that.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] But there's like a limit. So if you don't reach the limit of what you need to be to drive an F1 car, you can lose lap time. So as soon as you kind of hit that limit, you don't have to be super super fit afterwards. So then it comes down to, you know, do you enjoy training? So Max never did.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] So we made sure that we kind of minimally dosed, so minimal effective dosage to make sure that we were fit enough to drive an F1 car and have no drop off in cognitive capacity, physical capacity.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Did we then need to add more on top of that? No, because he's not going to enjoy that and that's going to disrupt his, his lifestyle.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Part of their, you know, uh, mental decompression from a race weekend might be to go into the gym, spend two hours lifting weights and so on and so forth. So that's very much a variable level. So you just have to do enough to kind of reach your, um, KPIs for what it is to be a Formula One driver.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Yeah, so in, in the off season, uhm, you know, I kind of let it be, uhm, it's important that these guys, you know, we go for nine, 10 months. We actually, the drivers, cause we start first, second week in January, they're only getting four or five weeks off really a year. Cause summer break, you have to be careful cause there's only


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] So during a race weekend, you know, you're focusing on high protein for recovery. You also need high carbs because they're burning for a lot of energy.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Uhm, and yeah, you know, that's, that's kind of where I'll be. So it's quite simple, you know, simple kind of fueling strategies. It's nowhere near like competing for a marathon or anything like that where you're really having to, to think about things.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] You might utilize kind of shakes in between sessions, high protein, high carbs for recovery, and there'll be, uhm, all drivers have a drink in the car for race day, uhm, and that'll be a mixture of electrolytes and high carb mix, uhm, again to sustain a bit of energy and also, uhm, replenish kind of fluids lost.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Again, it actually depends on the setup of the car and the setup of the track. So sometimes the engineers will come to me and say, you know, bro, can we just get like half a litre in there? Uhm, that would depend on.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Varied. So it's a really hard offset because you're balancing what Max would need, what the engineers would need and what the conditions kind of give to you. So take Miami, for example, where we've got 30 degree heat, 70% humidity. You need the maximum amount of drink you can get in the car because


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Max is probably going to lose about three and a half litres of, of sweat. Now we can't get more than say 1.8 litres in the car, so you're only replenishing half anyway. But we need to put as much in there as we can, whereas if you're racing in Spa or in the rain,


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] You're probably not going to need as much. You might be able to allow the engineers to just have a half a litre or a litre in there. So it becomes a bit of a communication, bit of a back and forth, but you know, when it's, when it's safety of a driver, you know, they're, they're good as gold.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Exhausted, dizzy, the whole lot of it, so uhm, we, we lost in Miami the first year, because Miami court was by surprise that first year in 22, uhm, we didn't expect the humility that, that we had.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And uhm, we lost over 5% of body mass, uhm, in, during that Grand Prix, uhm, which when you start losing over 5% of body mass, your cognitive function can be impacted by up to 30%. So you imagine, you know, decision making under pressure, overtakes.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] From that's from NHS clinics to private practice to performance centres in London, professional football, team GB basketball, team GB gymnastics. So I was kind of in the kind of professional sports circle.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Uhm, the key for making the transition from physio to performance coach is actually becoming dual qualified, so I'm also a qualified strength and conditioning coach, and I've got a sports science degree as well.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Uhm, so it's having those, those options of being able to train an individual, but also look after the health and wellbeing of that individual or, you know, someone might be a stroke and conditioning coach and a nutritionist or, you know, but often because you were kind of that one man band, you're traveling around with them.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Uhm, you're their go-to for everything. You, you often need to be dual qualified with, within something. Uhm, and then yeah, the, the.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I, I actually met someone who was doing a similar role in the NBA for, uhm, Luel Deng who was, uhm,


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Uh, playing basketball for team GB at the time. Uhm, who I did a bit of work with and I kind of looked at that and thought, you know what, I'd love to just work with, with one athlete and kind of see what that was all about. And then, uhm, started investigating a little bit more and motor sports was a, uhm, an area kind of where.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] With one player, because they do so many days on the road, uhm, you need someone to come in and be able to train you, but then also look after you from an injury and pain and ache perspective as well. So uhm, that's the kind of build out of that.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Get down time and spend some time with his friends because they're all on there as well and you know, I can't go unnoticed because we're away. You know, we're in a hotel room and in the last two years, Max doesn't really be able to go out, you know, even go out for dinner and stuff because


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Communicate with your friends and have that downtime and think about something else. Uhm, again probably can't go unnoticed in terms of


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Hello and welcome to this week's episode of the Sky Sports F1 podcast. We've got a real treat for you because in a season that's seen records tumble, a sixth constructor's title for Red Bull Racing and a one-two in the championship for the team, it's all gone rather well for their team principal, Christian Horner, who joins us on the podcast. Christian, how are you? Very good.


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[Assistant] Very good. How, what does the end of the season look like for you? What have you been up to since Abu Dhabi?


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] So we're not going to see a repeat of Japan on the karaoke.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I have one other thing to ask you as well, because I saw a photo of you on a beach with Daniel Ricciardo, almost days after Abu Dhabi. Was that planned? Was that something that you intended? Did you go on holiday with your driver?


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I know that when, when Max was interviewed after the race in Abu Dhabi, he said he got surprisingly emotional on the inlet. And I wonder when you look at the car, the RB19, what are your emotions? What do you feel?


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Throughout the year, it's almost been a running, and you alluded to a couple of records that you've broken there. It's been a running joke on our podcast. Every week it was like, oh, there's a new record gone. Okay, what's it been this week? You know, most wins in a single season, 19 for Max, first driver to lead a thousand laps, uh, in a Formula One season.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] But I want to know your relationship with stats because near the end of the season you came on the radio to Max almost taking Crofty's job away from him and feeding the stats to him down the radio. So that to me tells me that they are really important to you as a team and I know Max has sometimes said in the press conferences that


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] He's not that bothered by statistics, but what does it mean for you and the team to be breaking all these records?


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Do you think though next year, well, I mean, I know obviously Hannah is one of the best strategists in the, in the, in the paddock. Do you, will that be something you'll look to do next year is, is if the success continues is to put more of your female members of staff on the podium.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Yeah, and of course it's so important, isn't it? If you can't see it, you can't be it. So yeah, that's, that's good to hear. Uhm, you're a football fan, aren't you? Coventry City.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Okay, fine. I wanted to ask you if you're a football fan, but I want to talk about another city, Manchester City.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Because, and I hate drawing comparisons between football, I think it's a bit crass, but I think in the context of this it's quite interesting. Manchester City right now are experiencing a moment of huge domination and success in football. Red Bull are experiencing a huge amount of success and domination in Formula One.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] At the weekend there was discussion on Sky with Michael Richards saying something's not right at Manchester City. They don't quite look at the same level they were last year. Gary Neville said that he may be sensing a bit of boredom or complacency within the team and I wonder as a leader of a sporting organisation like Red Bull.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] After the success you've had, how do you ensure next year you don't have a complacent workforce?


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Is it important then to have people who were there for the years where you weren't winning all the time and do they remember that feeling and that's what you get motivation from? Maybe in the words of Sebastian Vettel, you know, you have to remember these days, they're not going to last forever. Well look, everybody plays a key role.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] When you look across the paddock to Mercedes and what Toto is experiencing at the moment, I don't expect necessarily you to have sympathy with Mercedes. It's a cutthroat business, Formula One. I wouldn't expect you to say that. But do you empathise with the challenge that he's got? Because obviously when


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] When Mercedes were winning 8 Constructors titles in a row, you were fighting and trying to get up there. So he's now got that challenge. What do you make of that challenge that he's got?


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] When you, when you look back at the last couple of years, since the regulations changed and obviously you've interpreted them better than anywhere, anyone else.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Are you surprised that other teams haven't been at your level?


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Is that, is that, would you rather have just one? No. No, you don't care as long as you're winning.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Yeah. Uh, there's a photo from Abu Dhabi of you and Toto Wolf. Do you know what I'm talking about?


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Yeah, I think it was, I think it certainly on social media, people actually really enjoyed it. I think it was nice to see at the end of a long hard season, that sort of level of respect. I mean, what is your relationship like with Toto? How would you describe it at the moment?


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Okay, well I thought we could maybe make some news resolutions, but for your drivers. This is kind of an interesting one because I don't know who's going to be easier or harder, so I'm intrigued to get your thoughts on this.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Let's start with Max, the man who has won 19 4x1 races this year. How could he do better in 2024?


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] You know, the season that he's had. Is the New Year's resolution keep up the consistency in the level?


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Keep doing what you're doing. Which might be very hard. I mean, on the subject of Max, I think this year has been interesting because we've heard him talk more than ever about life after Formula One. He said things like it's a lot of traveling and he questioned whether being an F1 driver was actually a good life. What do you, Stan, when you hear that as his boss,


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And you've known him for a long time. I was, I was hearing that you raced karts with his mom. So you've known of Max Verstappen pretty much his whole life.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] How has he changed? I appreciate he's changed probably an awful lot since, uh, since he was very young, but in the last sort of, since these last three years have, have, have come and the success has come, how has he changed?


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Let's move on to Chacko. What are his New Year's resolutions for 2024?


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I want to move on and talk about Alpha Tauri and the relationship that Red Bull and Alpha Tauri have. Firstly, is there any news on a new name?


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[Assistant] We'll call them AlphaTowery as we know them at the moment. Uhm, what is the relationship between AlphaTowery and Red Bull Racing? And I ask that because historically they've been a junior team, but if you look at the lineups now you've got...


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] But will it look or be similar to this year's Red Bull? Is there any?


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Yeah. Let's talk about Daniel Ricciardo. I mean, how impressed have you been this year with his return to Formula One? And how excited are you by the fact that he's now got a pre-season ahead of him with AlphaTauri and he can hopefully properly hit the ground running?


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] What lessons have you learnt from that second Red Bull seat?


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Over the course of the lifespan of Red Bull Racing, it's had a kind of quite a colourful history. So as you sit here almost 20 years into Red Bull Racing, what are the lessons you've learned?


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] It is. I mean, could you ever see a situation where you put a junior driver in there to kind of learn from Max? Because as Max gets older, do you think he'll soften perhaps? Do you think he'll be more willing to share expertise and knowledge in that team?


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Moving on, speaking about F1 more broadly, as I mentioned, I mean, you've been in Formula 1 coming up to 20 years with Red Bull.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] In this period right now, perhaps since the pandemic, we've seen sprint races, three races in the States, there's rumours of a street track in Madrid coming at the expense of Barcelona, 24 races next year. Is this a period of immense change within Formula One, the most that you've seen? Yeah, massive.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] What do you make of that change in fans and that demographic? It really has shifted, hasn't it? What changes have you seen tangibly at the tracks?


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Does that, do you ever consult your family like that? Do you ever kind of run things past them or ask their opinion?


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And as one of the stars of Drive to Survive, has your, do you find yourself being recognised in very strange, odd places in a way that maybe didn't happen at the start of your career?


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Final, final thought, uhm, we've spoken about Max leaving Formula One, and I wonder what your plans are long term. Do you ever think about


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] We don't want to see you go, of course, but I mean, do you ever think long-term in terms of what your ambitions are, perhaps in a career outside of Formula One, is that something that's on the cards? Well, long-term in Formula One is about two weeks.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Hello everyone, welcome to the Sky Sports F1 podcast with me, Matt Baker. We've had all the car launches now, uh, Bahrain testing is just a few days away so we thought we'd chew the fat of the winter break and I'm joined by Simon Lazenby, Martin Brundle and Rachel Brooks to help me do that. This has been a pretty busy off season, hasn't it? One of the busiest you can remember, Martin?


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[Assistant] The reaction show to the big news of Lewis. Um, I'll tell you what I'll do, just, you'll lead us to a couple of events there Martin. I thought I'd just go through some, all the things that have happened across the off season and then we'll go in and talk about a few of those, those key moments. So we had obviously Lewis leaving Mercedes to go to Ferrari at the end of the season. We've got Andretti.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Having their bid to join F1 rejected. Gunter Steiner has gone from Haas.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Sauber are called Stake F1 Team Kick Sauber, but not


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] At every race, certain races they're not due to gambling laws. We've got the Madrid Grand Prix in 2026. Silverstone is going to stay on the calendar until 2034. The sprint weekend format has changed. Lando Norris and Charles Leclerc have extended their contracts. And finally, Christian Horner we know is under investigation at Red Bull.


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[Assistant] Fighting for his job and because that's an ongoing investigation, we're not going to go.


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[Assistant] The dust has settled a little bit. We've heard from Lewis at the car launches now already. He said that uhm, it's going to be emotional preparing for his final year at Team Mercedes. Do you think the reality is setting in for him?


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I got thinking about contracts, and Martin, imagine in your time in Formula One, I don't know, how much value are contracts really worth? Lewis and George signed for two years in August of last year. Before the season's even started, Lewis has ended his two-year contract early.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] There's going to be a lot of merchandise sold for Ferrari, that's for sure. On the point about George Russell and the job he's got to do, Rachel, I don't know if you see it as a really critical beginning of the year for George. Martin, you said you've got no doubt he will and can be the number one driver of that team, but he's got to hit the ground running, hasn't he?


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Quash those rumours and start, just start controlling the narrative of how he's gonna finish.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Other jobs, right? So if, er, if you-


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[Assistant] Essentially, Lewis Hamilton has given a year's notice and I think a year is a really long time in anyone's working life. You can do all sorts of things in a year.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] How is he mentally going to navigate that? I know even the people around him, I'm thinking maybe he's late. I don't know what Lewis's timekeeping is like. Maybe he's late by an hour. Is everyone around him going to start going, oh, it's because he, you know, he's going to Ferrari, his head's already in Ferrari. Does it create


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] By releasing the news in January, does it not create a bit of a problem later down the line?


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I have a question, just a very simple question on what, what kind of things can Lewis take from Mercedes to Ferrari? Just give us an example of some of the types of data or information. Processes.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Very good, so, very good. And yeah, look, one of the great stories in, in, well, where does that wrap? That is one of the most brilliant stories we've had in Formula One for many years. And as you said, Martin, it just elevates the next couple of years, doesn't it? It just makes them so much more interesting than they were already due to be. Right.


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[Assistant] I think that's it for Lewis and moving to Ferrari. One of the other big stories that emerged, and this was actually just before the Lewis Hamilton story broke, and that was Andretti having their bid rejected into moving into Formula 1. It was approved by the FIA, but the entry for 25 and 26 F1 felt would not add value.


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[Assistant] Andretti's reaction was that they strongly disagree and thought that an 11th team would add value and they were devastated by the decision.


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[Assistant] So Martin, where does this leave Andretti and their quest to join Formula One, do you think?


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[Assistant] Are we, are we in a trade-off, Rachel, between people prove it, like, Andretti proving they can add value to Formula One, and Formula One saying, no, we're going to add value to you. It doesn't seem a very equitable, I dunno, it seems strange.


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[Assistant] How can they prove that they can add value? Is it data? I dunno.


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[Assistant] And Simon, from a fan perspective, we did a poll, I can't for the life of me remember which race we did the poll at about Andretti, but fans want another team, fans want more drivers like you said Martin, want more team principles to get to know. It seems like maybe they're not being, fans aren't being listened to in that sense, but possibly.


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[Assistant] The F2 paddock would like another few more teams, wouldn't they? Well, we have five drivers, you should really potentially have had F1 seats this year, weren't able to get seats. You know? That's the other thing you


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[Assistant] And ultimately there is going to be talent not getting F1 suits over the next couple of years. Okay, that was Andratty. Amongst the other changes that we saw or news over the winter break, sprint weekends are going to change. So this is how...


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[Assistant] Let me, let me just briefly explain how they've changed. So Fridays, we'll now have FP1 as a mornings.


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[Assistant] Uh, the first session, then the second session will be the sprint shootout.


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[Assistant] Good, good, good for broadcasters, good for fans, I think, and maybe good for drivers as well, helps them.


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[Assistant] They should know. They should know. Um, that, that, that, that makes sense. And the other thing that was also agreed at that meeting that, that we're going to increase power units from four to five for the 24 and 25 seasons.


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[Assistant] I guess we all agree that that's a smart move. Going to 24 races this year just seems to make sense, don't you think?


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[Assistant] There were cases, weren't there, a couple of years ago, where we almost had the whole grid moving, moving back and it felt like you'd been over-penalised at that point. Yea, exactly. We don't want to penalise anyone else in that field.


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[Assistant] Let's move on, uhm, to a look ahead to testing. We've just got a bit of time just to preview that. And look, testing is eight hours a day for three days. It's a lot of time on track. I'm sure we'll all be glued to all eight hours each day. Oh, you'll be there. Very good. It's very exciting.


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[Assistant] It's a long day for all involved. Drivers, broadcasters, fans. But look, who are we most excited about learning more about at testing? Go on, Simon, start with you. Who's on your radar for testing?


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[Assistant] Just to clarify, teams are going to have teams of people looking at everyone else's car, aren't they? Across testing. Trying to investigate what everyone is doing.


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[Assistant] Very good. Alright, well look, all three days of testing are going to be live on Sky Sports F1 next Wednesday.


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[Assistant] Thank you, Simon. Thank you, Martin. Thank you, Rachel. The next time we see you, uh, we'll have seen Carlson track.


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[Assistant] Happy days. Happy days. Happy days. Thanks everyone. Bye for now.


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[Assistant] Hello everyone, welcome to this bonus episode of the Sky Sports F1 podcast. And to help fill the void left by no Formula One during its off-season, we thought we'd have a bit of fun and rank the drivers from 2023 in order


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[Assistant] Of how well we thought they did. To help me do that I'm joined by Corinne Chandock and Tomo. Hello to both of you. We're going to have some fun I think here. We'll try and keep it civil, keep it clean. Can we promise that?


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[Assistant] Uhm, Thomas, you had a simpler time. You were in Maranello, weren't you, the last few days? How was that? Yeah, I mean, again,


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[Assistant] All good stuff, all good stuff, can't complain. Good to hear. Lovely. Right, let's crack on then and have a look at our top tens. You've given me your top tens, which I have printed out in front of me.


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[Assistant] And I think we'll just go through them bit by bit, driver by driver, and interest by interest as it were. So, before we start, let's read out our top tens and the order that we've done them in. So, Karoon, I will start with you. Yep. Give us your order of who you've put.


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[Assistant] And I'm intrigued to know, Karim, why you've put a driver, one of only two drivers that was not a Red Bull driver this year, who won a race, I know it was a sprint race, but he did win a race, why you've put Oscar Piastri as low as eighth?


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[Assistant] And Karun, what about the fact that he hadn't seen a lot of the tracks this year? He also had a year out essentially from racing. So do you also think perhaps that the...


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[Assistant] The, the start that McLaren made, the, the poor start that McLaren made actually maybe helped Oscar because it allowed him to not have the pressure. If he went straight into a Red Bull, he'd be expected to be at the front every week in week out, but there was almost the, because even Lando, we know how talented Lando is, couldn't get


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[Assistant] A lot out of that car in those opening six, seven races before Austria, before the upgrade, he was able just to kind of sit there, get used to the team, and then when it mattered, perhaps he was able to make it count.


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[Assistant] Let's move on to his teammate, Lando Norris. Uh, we, we put him, we were more even for him. You put him third, Karun. Tomo, you put him third as well. I put him fourth.


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[Assistant] I think after, after the, after the season, as we've already discussed with, with Oscar, it was a tough, tough season for McLaren.


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[Assistant] But, Lando's performance, I mean, I've got the stats here because he got, uh, seven of McLaren's nine podiums this year and six second places, which obviously is, is an incredible achievement. But, uh, I mean, for you Karun, is he the, is he the best driver now on the grid?


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[Assistant] Third best, Tommy. Third best, but you've got him behind obviously Verstappen and Alonso for, for, for Lando. It's high praise.


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[Assistant] Box office, yeaah, yeaah. Absolutely. Fingers crossed we get a bit more of it, uh, uh, next year. Okay, good. So look, Lando, both McLaren drivers ticked off. Very good. I think we can both agree that they had good seasons. Uh, let's move on to his old teammate and the Ferraris, Carlos Sainz. We've all, we've all, we've all put him in quite different places. So Karun, you put him in sixth.


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[Assistant] Tomo, you put him in 8th, and I put him in 5th. And the reason why I put him in 5th is because he won, he was the only, apart from Oscar in the sprint race, he won a race this year. He beat the Red Bulls in Singapore.


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[Assistant] You got this. Karim, was this the year though that he established himself as a level?


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[Assistant] Maybe with, with, with Shull, because he only finished six points behind Shull over the course of a season. You're nodding your head so, sorry, you're shaking your head so much. Uh, Kareem, do you, I mean, what do you, what do you think though? I mean, on paper, they're pretty evenly matched.


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[Assistant] Let's talk about his teammate. You spoke about Charles there. Those pole positions, I mean, he had five pole positions, didn't he, over the course of the season, which is obviously second best to Max. Is he, here's a question, is he the new Mr. Saturday?


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[Assistant] Uhm, a brilliant season obviously for Fernando Alonso and possibly the feel-good story. Oh, it's only the first half of the year was how well Fernando was performing. Uh, what did he get in terms of his podiums? He was, it was six podiums in the first eight races, wasn't it? Which was, which was incredible. Finished the championship in fourth place.


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[Assistant] Best season in Formula One for Fernando? I know not a championship winning season, but one of his best seasons, isn't it?


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[Assistant] As our ninth best driver for 2023, uhm, a really interesting season for, for George, wasn't it? Compare it with 2022, which was a brilliant season for him, beat Lewis. This year, not quite the same. Karun, why would you...


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[Assistant] You'd rank him 9th across the year of course, but I mean, in terms of his season and comparing it to 2022, was it a step backwards for George?


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[Assistant] Tomo, is anyone looking forward to next year more than George Russell?


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[Assistant] And my justification, my justification for that is the very high standards that Lewis Hamilton has set as a seven-time world champion. And I don't think he would put himself that high on this, on this league table. I don't know. Maybe we'll get...


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[Assistant] Yeah, don't we all, don't we all. Uhm, we will see what they're cooking, uh, at Mercedes HQ. Uh, let's, let's move on. We've got a few more, a few more to get through. Uhm, Alex Albon.


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[Assistant] Yeah, so look, great, great season for Alex, and I think he's, he's bought that team, and if, and like you were saying, by the criteria, you know, outperforming the car, bringing that team forward, certainly from where they were in, before in 2022, Williams are, you know, and it's going to be, his future is now interesting, isn't it, because if,


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[Assistant] We will move on to our first place driver. I wonder if you can guess who we've all picked as our driver of the year. Uh, but let's, let's, let's go into tenth place first. Uhm, we've all picked someone different.


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[Assistant] A whole load of races, but clearly impressed you enough to make it into your top 10.


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[Assistant] His, his value definitely went up, didn't it? From, I mean, you spoke about the challenges of being a reserved driver and going into the car, because I guess at that point you are basically


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[Assistant] Isn't it? It's not in many ways, but it's not just throwing yourself in for one race. You do get a chance, especially because we had some breaks in between, so would have been on the sim, wouldn't he? Would have had a chance to improve and get better. So yeaah, I definitely think his value went up.


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[Assistant] Look, obviously a very disappointing season for Sergio Perez, but let's not forget he did win two races this year. I know if we forget about the middle part of the season, the large middle part of the season, then he did have a decent year and he still finished second in the championship and I think


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[Assistant] You know, giving Red Bull a 1-2 in a season where, well, in a, in, they've never had a 1-2, so to give them a 1-2 I think was, was impressive and, you know.


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[Assistant] No, that's completely fair enough. We'll see what happens with the rest of those investors. Let's move on to talk about our final driver and it's the one driver we haven't really mentioned.


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[Assistant] Obviously we have all put Max Verstappen as our number one driver for the 2023 season. A record breaking year for him. 19 wins, a superb season. So I thought what we'd do is we'd all pick a moment from Max Verstappen's season that will


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[Assistant] Allow us to sort of celebrate him and all that he's achieved this year.


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[Assistant] Tomo, you go first. What was your standout, uh, Max Verstappen moment?


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[Assistant] Yeah, that's really interesting because I think my one is similar. They all seem to point to examples of when it looks like there's an opportunity for someone else and then bam, he just slams the door and he's just so good. My one is the, the, the quali lap in Monaco when Alonso had, had provisional poll and then


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[Assistant] So, I think Verstappen put in one of the most mad, brilliant final sectors. And I know we've already spoken on this podcast previously about how maybe it was a mistake from Fernando in that final sector that allowed Verstappen to get one up on him there. But I still think it's, it's that mark of a champion, isn't it? Someone who is so good and able just to go, the minute someone gets an inch, go no,


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[Assistant] Fair enough, fair enough. Um, Tomo, Karun, thank you for your time, really appreciate it. Uh, we'll be back, uh, next week with the Team Principle Top 10 with, uh, Ted and Crofty. They're going to join me for that one. Should be good. I hope you can join us then. Bye for now.


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[Assistant] I'm pretty sure, I remember last season was a bit of a stinker. Uh, actually, you know what? By the standards, we actually got a sprint race again really, didn't we? Uhm, it was almost like three in a row with that split down the middle. Uhm, so yeaah, two races for three weekends in a row. Six races in the last three weekends, so.


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[Assistant] I dunno, maybe it was just literally like bang in the middle, wasn't it? We got two races, uhm, which may have spoiled some stories, but maybe create some others.


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[Assistant] That was it, yeaah, and, and, and took the leads. Look, he went for it, it was a move that,


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[Assistant] You can understand the context of he's in this Red Bull car, this car that can fight for wins. I mean, his long run pace in practice was, was pretty good. He was, yes, qualified by Ricciardo, but only a tenth and a half off of Max.


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[Assistant] So this felt like a track that was going to play to his strengths. He smelt that opportunity. He went for it. He misjudged it. I mean, you look at the still, it's very similar. Lewis said it as well in the cool down room, didn't he? That he kind of did what he did in Qatar and just pulled in that little bit too early. It's a, it's a sport of fine margins and,


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[Assistant] Yeah, guided for him, because, I mean, the, the support for Checo, I mean,


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[Assistant] I would love to attend that Grand Prix and just take it in because you know, I went to Austria earlier this year and Max Verstappen has a


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[Assistant] Huge, like the Orange Army is a very serious thing to behold in real life, right? It's super impressive. But the adoration, the work Checo does, uh, in his community as well, you know, the foundation, he's got, he's such a role model in Mexico. He's so well received.


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[Assistant] When you consider all of that, it's not just a home Grand Prix, it's, it feels like so much more to a driver like Checo and for it to end on the first corner with all this speculation around his future as well at Red Bull and maybe in the sport, who knows? Uhm, yeah, tough one to accept that.


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[Assistant] It's just given the, given the red flag, given, you know, the whole, what, you can't win a race at turn one, but you can lose a race at turn one, which is exactly what happened. Like, like given all of that context that played out.


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[Assistant] There was a chance, even if he'd come out of that corner, you know, third behind Sharl even, there was a chance, there was a chance.


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[Assistant] The way it looks bad for me is that yeaah, again, you look at Vettel, Weber, there was a clear second quickest car and...


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[Assistant] It's a big kick in the teeth for Red Bull, considering it, you know, how we've talked all year about how dominant this car is in the hands of Max in particular, but Chekhov's got the same car and he's a very talented, capable driver. We've seen this for many years, seven years of, you know, overperforming in that racing point, Force India. Um, in this context, it's, that's where it's really


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[Assistant] Tough, I think, from a Red Bull point of view. I mean, from Lewis's point of view, you know, it's going to be a little bit of extra motivation, uhm, that they are going in the right direction and Lewis is showing that, you know, he's


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[Assistant] In a car that he's really struggling with and not happy with, he's still able to drag out these performance, but without that disqualification, they would be level one points.


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[Assistant] I wonder how much the teams actually care about these things because points are, you know, we've decided to give 25 points to winners, 18 to second, 15, blah, blah, blah. In IndyCar they give points to...


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[Assistant] Everyone, you know, like that can dictate whether, I mean, again, you know, Sergio was only three points short of Charles last season, so.


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[Assistant] You know, it's, points are a good kind of base look at things, but they do not tell anywhere near the full story and the teams have, they need to be making decisions based on the full story, not just on points.


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[Assistant] That can make the difference in a pit stop. That can make the difference over a race distance. It's fractions of a percentage. We're talking about, you know, you see a 10 second win, um, or 12 seconds. I think Max was, was clear in the end of Lewis, but over the course of a 71 lap race around, that's a fraction of a percent, but that's the difference.


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[Assistant] You look at Mercedes trajectory over the last, you know, well almost two seasons now and considering where they were last year and how well George was performing relative to Lewis and who knows like the full context behind that.


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[Assistant] At the end of the day, it's very simple. Lewis is in the car because he wants an eighth world title. Mercedes feel like they owe it to give Lewis the opportunity above all else.


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[Assistant] And actually this gap growing between George and Lewis, I think is actually kind of a good thing because it's maybe saving Mercedes a bit of a headache if Lewis can really show his star quality, which he's not really been able to show in this car.


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[Assistant] Uhm, and put himself as, and almost make Georgia default number two. That's essentially what Toto will want. If you want a title fight in 24, you can't have them tripping over each other like Lewis and Fernando did in 2007 and then Kimi Raikkonen comes through and, oh, I'll take that. Uhm, that, that's not what you, so I think,


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[Assistant] The pieces are in place, you know, Alisson's back in the team as well working on the car and we know him and Yui are the two.


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[Assistant] Look, I think it's going in the right direction, but that's why Lewis is motivated by an 8th world title. Everything else is just noise. He's one, he's more decorated than anyone. I think he's going to be less sensitive to all the noise and speculation than anyone else on the grid in my opinion. Cause that's, that's the reason he's here. That's the same reason Fernando Alonso's here, but I'm sure we'll get onto him in a minute.


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[Assistant] And again, like you look at McLaren, how quickly they turned that around, Seidel and Key out the door, Stella's in as team principal, who'd never done that job before, but a man steeped in experience both at Ferrari and then at McLaren, and they've turned it around completely. So a lot can be done with the right difficult decisions at the right time.


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[Assistant] I saw a comfort in Ricardo's drive in that we only saw in moments. We did see in moments at McLaren. Ricardo last season in Mexico.


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[Assistant] Very, very good drive, uhm, in that McLaren, Australia, obviously Monza when he got the win. There were examples dotted around, similarly to Perez actually, certain tracks would, you know, Checo can get close to Max and certain tracks, Ricardo could get close if not beat Norris.


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[Assistant] Uhm, it's that level of consistency Ricardo was never able to achieve at McLaren because he was always having to...


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[Assistant] Ricardo and Perez have very learned styles, I imagine, right, that they've cultivated over time. Again, Checo was at the same team for seven years, so they knew how to set up a car that he could drive quickly. And yeah, look, it's, it's one race.


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[Assistant] It's a shame with the injury that we've not got to see a bit more of Daniel because


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[Assistant] Is there enough of a sample here for Red Bull to make a well informed decision that they're not just gonna


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[Assistant] What do they want? They don't want someone to challenge Max, but they don't want someone to be so far off Max that they can't support him and the team in a title fight. There is that.


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[Assistant] You know, sweet spot, you know, maybe two, maybe three tenths behind in qualifying pace. If that can.


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[Assistant] And that's a very hard thing to come across. And Rebel have to assume that the rest are going to be closer this season, the next season, sorry. They have to assume that. It might not happen, but they have to assume that. And well, if everyone else is closing up more, if, if Cecho doesn't start improving, well, he's already,


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[Assistant] Qualifying, you know, down the field. If everyone else gets quicker, surely he's only going to go more backwards if everyone gets quicker relative.


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[Assistant] So Red Bull, it wasn't that it was a, well obviously the race wasn't great for Checo.


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[Assistant] It wasn't the qualifier, it was the fact that Daniel did so well, uhm, in qualifying. He was, he out-qualified Sergio in Q1, Q2 and Q3. Daniel did.


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[Assistant] And bear in mind, Yuki was flying as well.


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[Assistant] Czechos finished second four times this year, Llandos finished second five times this year. Uhm, it's...


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[Assistant] You know, that has to be the minimum ask. You know, no one's asking Checo to beat Max because that is clearly, in the same car, an incredibly difficult challenge. Pierre Gasdy couldn't pass the challenge, Alex Albon couldn't.


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[Assistant] Checko has given a lot of service to this team. This will be his third season. It's mad how time flies. I can't believe this will be the end of his third season at that team. But yeaah, it has to be podiums and qualifying does seem to be the bigger issue.


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[Assistant] Uhm, but at least put yourself in the top 5. Get to Q3, you know, it's been far too often that's not been the case.


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[Assistant] Interlagos, is that a track that would work? You know, Vegas is obviously a lot of unknowns and then Abu Dhabi, I mean, that probably plays a bit more to his strengths, a lot of 90 degree corners at Abu Dhabi that he seems to thrive at.


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[Assistant] It's gotta be podiums, given this car. It's got to be podiums.


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[Assistant] I was just going to say, because it's street tracks because of the nature of the types of corners you get at street tracks, which are typically 90 degrees. That's why he excels at street tracks. It's not because it's in a city and he's like, ooh, ooh, skyscrapers. Yeah, go on. Go for dinner tonight. Yeah.


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[Assistant] And all that playing into that. It was, uh, it would be very Fernando to play that, play that card. And to be fair, I mean, for him, you know, a second reb, second seat reb ball is a better opportunity.


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[Assistant] Compared to Aston Martin, how they're looking right now. So, um, yeah, I mean, it's, it's, it's probably almost certainly nonsense, but it's good fun.


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[Assistant] Lawrence isn't good to sell just because Lance has been, you know, has been struggling a bit. And look, maybe in the future there is a way for Lance Stroll to, if things don't improve, because he's still young, but he's been in the sport for a very long time, so it's 2017, maybe there is a, uhm,


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[Assistant] A painless way of kind of giving Lance an opportunity to try something else in World Endurance. We saw, you know, Antonio Giovinazzi has gone over there and won with Ferrari. He's had a Ferrari livery dedicated to him, which is pretty crazy to think about. You've had Christian Eriksen.


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[Assistant] I think it would be a bit short-sighted to assume that this is the peak, right? Yes, it's been.


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[Assistant] One of the more, uhm, you know, we go into most race weekends and it's a given who's going to be competitive at the front and who's probably going to win. And that's how F1 has been through significant portions of its, of its history, right? And almost you kind of,


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[Assistant] I would also argue sometimes you need these periods of, uh, you know, if, if you're getting it good all the time, if every season is incredibly entertaining as 2021. Well, no, you kind of don't...


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[Assistant] In the same reason that if everyone's competitive, if all 10 cars can win all the time, what happens to, there's no giant killing stories, there's no Kever Magnusson getting polled in Brazil, there's no Pierre Gasly winning in an Alfa-Tauri or Sebastian Vettel winning in a Toro Rosso around Monza. So I think the value of the asset, you know, it depends on the


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[Assistant] You know boom during lockdown in terms of investor money rolling in and now loads of big e-sports organisations they've realised oh actually there's not the audience and all of a sudden those assets are plummeting. I think this sport


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[Assistant] Ultimately, yes, this is, this domination has perhaps stifled its growth somewhat, but


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[Assistant] That sport sometimes, and the nature of Formula 1, when Formula 1 is being dominated, we have 20, what, 2 races this year, 22 events, 22 opportunities to be entertained. Unlike, you know, football, Premier League has 800 games a season, NBA has over 1000 games per regular season, uhm,


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[Assistant] That's where the value of the asset, you can look at it and be like, oh, everyone's struggling now, maybe we should cash out. I think that...


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[Assistant] So the way I sit on this, yea, if, if it was my ideal world and I'm only thinking of me and my enjoyment of what I want, it would be a nay, but.


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[Assistant] That money talks, the situa- right, the tracks want these sprint races, you're getting more people watching on TV on a Friday, you're getting more bang for your buck when you go to a race, cause you're getting competitive running on Friday, Saturday, Sunday.


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[Assistant] For me, I've just come to think, they're not going anywhere. They are going to stay.


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[Assistant] The productive conversation for me is how do we make the best of it? And the format for me is nowhere near, uh, distinct enough.


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[Assistant] Uhm, to, to make a difference. Yeah, I don't know about you boys, but like, I get to, to a Sunday and like, who's on pole? And I'm like, uh, it's just like the two qualifying sessions have just kind of blended in my head.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And then, uhm, so, so I think that needs to be different. They need to make the event feel more distinct. Because fundamentally, I don't have an issue with it. I think it just needs to feel more special, more different. I also don't wanna overly react.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Uhm, making changes to the rules based on a season where we do have a really dominant, you know,


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Car in Max Verstappen, driver in Max Verstappen at the front. Like...


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I don't want, in the same, with these, with the skid blocks, with the disqualifications, for example, you know, over...


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] There's a degree of like, do you, is it wrong to overreact because we haven't had anyone disqualified for skid block infringement since like the 90s, I think? Uhm, so it's, you know, it's not something that's happened for years and years and years.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Because the season as a whole has been quite boring in quotation marks, or is it because there's a fundamental issue with the sprint?


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] That's, that's my first one I think. Change that to one shot. Just give it a go. I know we tried it back in the mid 2000s I think and it wasn't great, but the amount of cameras we have, the graphics, the way you can build up each driver.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Send them out in, I guess, I don't know, reverse championship order, so you've got that crescendo. Yes, you can argue, oh, it's unfair because of, um,


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I suggested it as well, so I know I'm not crazy, because he knows what he's talking about.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I mean, in, in the wrong circumstances, a sprint can be just a spoiler and just, uh, you know, you've made, you've made the race 30% longer and just put a red flag and then restarted it the next day. In other, in other instances, Austria, it rained. Um, I was there, I was sat up at, um, turn three where,


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] You know, obviously after Cheko squeezed Max, then Max returned the favor into turn three and squeezed him super wide. It was great. That was a great sprint race. I didn't mind getting a bit wet. It was brilliant. Um, but you know, and I think it, that context makes a big difference, right? And I think.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Again, for me, it's just making it feel more distinct and special, almost, you know, we can't, we can try and compare to other sports, but F1 is so different, uhm, to the likes, you know, football, you can have cup competitions, right? But also, again,


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] It's, it's around the world, it's global, it's at these specific, like to make the most, to squeeze all the entertainment we can out of that product, I think is a smart move because that's what's going to keep people watching. Uhm, but I just hope that decisions around which tracks we go to for sprints is a sporting decision and not a commercial one. I, I, I imagine it's probably the latter though.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I think that Lando's form right now is incredible. He's very well.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Yeah, he's driving the skin off that McLaren for sure. Uhm, I see Lando as more, you know, if Max really does retire in 2028 when his contract comes to an end, I see him more as a Max replacement, not a Max, you know, alongside Max because if he can deliver these levels of performances in a red ball, then that


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] You know, that's why Red Bull are in the sport, right? And Lando would be a massive coup for Red Bull, but I don't see that getting green lit.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] You know, unless Red Bull really are worried about losing Max Verstappen, I think that's the only way that materializes.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And look, Lando scored 12 points in the first eight races. He's now just 14 points off of P4. That McLaren turnaround has got to give him some belief in it.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Going into the weekend knowing that you had a strong possibility you were going to win a world title sort of brings a certain energy anyway, but uhm, on a whole that's sort of the energy we've been carrying.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] All season, you know, I think once we realised we were sort of in a position where we were going to at least challenge and then obviously later on we realised we were going to go on to have a really great season.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] So it's just been, it's been high energy is all year. It's been like a real buzz in the garage.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Uhm, obviously to, to win it is now a little bit of, a little bit of relief.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] In that, you know, you know that the job you set out to do is done, but uhm, the season itself is obviously not done, so we're still...


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Fully focused, everyone's like really, really focused and really, really sort of intent on just making sure we finish the season as strong as we started it.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Yeah, I mean, look, look, Max, he goes out there every week and he delivers, you know? And then obviously that puts the pressure on everyone else, like, you know, us at the circuit, all of the people working back in Milton Keynes to make sure that we deliver for him.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] You know, he will, he will deliver on whatever we give him. So if we give him the right product, we know we're in a good place. Uhm, it's, it's, for me, it's always been like an amazing thing to sort of be this tiny little part


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] of what turns out to be this great achievement, you know, and just sort of knowing that you played a little role of the jobs that you do throughout the year.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I've sort of played a little part of making the success happen. So it's quite nice. It makes me extremely proud.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Uhm, you know, in some ways it's quite humbling when you sort of realise the scale of what you achieve every year, you know, the thousands of people working towards a goal. Uhm, it's sort of quite nice to sort of just see yourself as this tiny little cog in it.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] You know, like the hole is greater than the sum of its parts, you know, like all of the little jobs that they all have to be done at the same time, everybody has to sort of commit to it. And obviously it's most visible in the pit lane, you know, when you think of a pit stop in that sort of.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] That sort of way you understand that it takes all of those 16, 20 people to all do their job perfectly all at the same time. And it sort of really gives you an idea of what it is as a team sport.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] But you know, as a business as a whole, the sport has grown so much, even over the last 10 years, that I, you know, when I talk to young people about careers in the industry, I tell them, look, these teams now, there's a job for everyone here.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] You know, like it's not just engineers and designers, you know, you've got your strategists, you've got mechanics and technicians, but then also, you know, we branched out, we've got so much social media, so much marketing, hospitality, you know, from accounts and HR and all of these other sort of areas where


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I say to young people, there is a skill that you have where there can be the perfect job for you here.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] It was, it was, it was a little bit muted last week, just because of the way, the schedule for the race weekend. Obviously we, Saturday night we had a bit of work on, we had a car we had to repair, so we was probably there quite late. And then Sunday, just because of the nature of it, obviously, was it an 8pm start of race for us, local time?


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And then by the time that's done, and then obviously we have to pack up. We've got to pack up all the garage, all the air freight, strip the cars, do all of that stuff. So I don't think we left the garage until about 4am. Really? Early morning. And then we had, we literally had like an hour or two hours in the hotel before we left for the airport.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] So I think it's probably a celebration that's just had to be like a bit of a rain check on that one and we'll find it throughout the rest of the year at some point. So you didn't get to sleep, essentially you just got straight on the plane? No, no, I didn't. I didn't get to sleep Sunday night. I had a shower, packed the rest of my case and then it was off to the airport.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] It tends to sort of be an ethos of work hard, play hard. You know, which is what we do. We push the limits at work. We do everything we can. And then yeah, we're, you know, we're lucky. You know, as an employer, Red Bull are brilliant at sort of knowing how to celebrate. And at some point, yeah, we will have a, we will have a celebration and we do throughout the year.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] We do, okay, we get a bonus from the Constructors Championship.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And then obviously there are various little bonus schemes for like race victories and things like that.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I mean, look, I mean, anyone's gonna sit here and say, oh, it's not nice to get a bonus. Yeah, yeah, yeah. No, of course it is. Yeah.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Yeah, I don't, I don't think it motivates you anymore purely because you're motivated to win. You know, I've always said that, you know, people who work in the sport, they're there because they love racing.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] So you know, regardless of, of that, I feel like the people who have chosen to be here anyway, they're already motivated.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Well, I mean, look, it seems to be his nature that he will just chase every last bit, he'll leave nothing on the table. Uhm, and like I said, it's great to have.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] You know, like it puts the pressure on us to make sure that we deliver, which is great. You know, like we have, and the nature of the people in the garage, you know, we, we thrive on that pressure. Um, it's what drives us. You know, we want to be the best every single week.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] But yeaah, watching what Max has done, you know, week in week out, and having the sort of knowledge that, you know, every week I know that as long as we do our job and the car is reliable and it does what he needs it to do, I know he's gonna deliver.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Uhm, so it's, it's just one of those things, you go into a race weekend and it's nice because, and I've always said this, it doesn't matter where you are in the pit lane, it doesn't matter what garage you are, you are doing the same hours.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Everybody's working such long hours, you know, like you're even like, you know, Saturday or Sunday can be 16 hour day, easily.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] So it's nice to know that you've got everything in place, that you've put yourself in the best position to get a result from that work.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And what's Max like to work with? Million dollar question, I'm sure you get asked it a lot, but what's he like? I, do you know what, I've always thought that it's odd to me that people can't see sometimes how brilliant he is.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Like, and like for me, like, as, when he's in the garage, when he's not in a race car, he's, he's...


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] He's one of us. You know, like he, and he really is like, you know, he engages with us just as you'd want any of your other colleagues to engage with you. He's, he's, you know, he's kind, he cares about the people around him.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Uhm, and it's brilliant, and I like the fact that he can get into the car and close his lid, and then he should be ruthless. You know, you're a sports person, we're here to win, he's here to win.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And I think it's great that he's able to switch between the both, and he really does.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Different to most of the others is that Max, over the years, has managed to encompass


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] So many of the great attributes of the drivers that we've seen before him. Like Max, when he arrived in F1, it was clear that he had this raw, unbridled talent. You know, like this raw speed. And then over the years, he's just grown and grown and he's added everything to his, to his arsenal.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] You know, like his race management, his way of seeing the holistic picture, like his determination, you know, like all of these things, you know, are what's put him in the position.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] That he's in now, you know, it's a way that he's been able to encompass so many things that so many great drivers have had and bring them all together to make them work. Like when you see an athlete in their prime, in their absolute prime,


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] You know, you look at them and you say, that's a package that right now no one can beat.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] You know, and it's, and that's what it is, you know, so many drivers, they saw their prime. And I think when you're an athlete in that position, it's your job to try and stretch that out for as long as you can and stay in that, that zone, that little window of perfection. And that's what Max is able to do right now. He's just be able, he's just able to just extract everything from himself.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Uhm, and it's, it's amazing to see up close. It really is.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] You know what, it wasn't, I remember looking at the beginning of the season, the first time we fully assembled the car.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Uhm, getting it ready for one of our like film, filming days before we went off to testing. And I looked at it and I thought,


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] That looks racy. It looks fast, but you just never know and then you sort of go through testing and obviously teams are never going to show their true pace through testing. You know, everyone's running through their own programs, but as far as we were aware from


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] From what we knew about our car, we were looking alright and everything was as expected and...


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And then it, you know, Bahrain, you get to the Bahrain race and you come home with a 1-2 and you're like, this is great, this is a good, this is a perfect start. But then it probably would have been maybe two or three more races before you really thought, wow, you know, we've, we've really made something. We've really, really built something here that's going to be, you know, able to challenge for wins all year.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And at first it was, you know, for us, we always see it as, it's a challenge.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] You know, I don't know, you know, maybe from a fan perspective, you look and you think, oh well, Red Bull gonna win. Like, it's never that view.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Going into a race weekend, it's always like, right, this is the challenge this week.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] We have to be on top of our game because the moment you're not, somebody's gonna snatch that from you.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Uhm, so yeaah, that's why I don't like talking about Singapore. It, like, you know, for me, it doesn't detract from what we've done this year, but, you know, I went into, by the time we were mid-season,


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] That sort of knowledge that the car was going to be that good didn't come until later on. Uhm, but yeaah, once, once you realize it was


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And, uh, then you talk to our own designers and engineers and they're like, no, no, we're, we're happy. We're happy where we are. And they sort of put your mind at ease a little bit, but obviously until, until the times start coming in and the race results and you know, you, you're never sure. Um, and then the beginning of this year, it was sort of.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I guess a little bit of relief that you'd seen that a lot of the teams had sort of started to follow the path that we were already following. And that sort of gives you a bit more confidence to say, okay, we were on the right path. We're fine. We can keep building from here and keep building.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Uhm, I, during testing you sort of, you do look at other teams but you, you take it all with a bit of a pinch of salt because you know that nobody's, nobody's gonna be out there showing their true face. Obviously if teams have a really bad testing with reliability and things like that.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Then obviously you pay attention to that because reliability is reliability. You can either run the car or you can't. But in terms of outright pace, I don't think you look at other competitors in, in testing and say, oh, this is worrying me or whatever. I think you have to wait until you get into that first, you know, race weekend and when everyone's cards are actually on the table.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Be like Jürgen Klopp when he watches the other team warm up. People did it to us for so long, like, you know, for, for years, you know, there'd be team bosses from other teams, you know, McLaren, whatever, they'd come down the pit lane, they'd look at us and they'd watch our practice.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And I think on the one hand obviously they might have been trying to learn and improve their own, but also on the other hand there's definitely that little bit of I'm just gonna go and stand right there and watch them and see if I can distract them.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I'm not annoyed at McLaren at all. They have done a fantastic job. You know, like that's the thing about the sport. It doesn't matter where you're at. There's always someone chasing you. You know, those guys have worked super hard on their pit stops. They've put in the hours, watched you. Well, I'd like to say we've been spotted.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] But that's it, they've, they've, you know, they've done an amazing bit of work, so not annoyed at McLaren at all. Uhm, on the other hand, I would very much like it back.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I, I think that I imagine that all of my colleagues feel the same way. Uhm, so now it's just a case of, you know, get your head down, get practising and let's see if we can get it, get it back to where we believe it belongs. 1.7. This is it. It's just insane. That's what we need.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Crazy. It was, it's, you know what, and you know what, it's an impressive feat from them because obviously the wheels are heavier.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] You know, the wheels are heavier there. There are, there have been changes to the way that you can do a pit stop.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Uhm, we know we're ca- I know, I know that we are capable of beating that, and it's just about, like I said, with a pit stop, you've got 16, whatever, 20 people that all have to do their job perfectly within that two second window. You know, it's so many things that are needed to come together, so it'll just be a case now of getting your head down,


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Keep practicing. We know we can achieve it and it would just be a case of putting it all into practice and hoping that everything comes through.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Like, don't get me wrong, 2021 was amazing. You know, first, first, just the whole season was, and I've said this before, it was, it was my toughest year for sure. It was, it was stressful. It was, it was such hard work.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And it was great to get a reward at the end of it, uhm, but if I'm honest with you,


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I know that I'm still gonna do the same hours and be just as focused and it'd be just nice to not have that.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] It was, yeaah, it was immense. I can't imagine what it was like for the drivers and some of the engineers. I can't imagine what it was like for them. Because us in the garage, you know.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Turning spanners was stressful enough, you know, every time you went out into the pit lane, you knew that the consequences would be so severe if you, if you messed one up. It's nice to be able to operate with a little


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Whenever we step out in the pit lane, we recognize, you know, the importance of what we're about to do. You can't let that pressure hamper you. You know, you have to just say to yourself, right, I know the skill.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] You know, I've got the muscle memory, I've done this hundreds and hundreds of times.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] So, really in your mind it's just about being able to put the, the, the circumstances out of your head because ultimately the circumstances don't matter. Performing the skill is what matters and if you do what you practice it's gonna be fine.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] You know, if you let things like the circumstances get into your head, it only makes the job harder. You know, if I'm thinking about the fact that another team is boxing next door to me, and that we're gonna have a race down the pit lane, if I'm worried about that race,


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] The chances are I haven't got my full focus on hitting that wheel nut.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] So, so, when I actually step out into the pit lane, my focus becomes very narrow.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] But yes, there is obviously always an awareness in that sort of situation that if you do have a shocker, as we call it, you know, well, you know, that's, if you do have a shocker, then, you know, the chances are that you, you know, the repercussions are going to be quite severe.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And no one wants to be the person that sort of be seen to-


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] So like I'd never, the first Grand Prix that I went to was like Silverstone in 2009.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And I was doing the pit lane walk beforehand and I saw mechanics setting up the garages and doing pit stop practice.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And that was probably one of the first goals that I set myself when I embarked on a career, was that I said I want to be on a pit crew.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Probably was it first season was probably 2011 when I was in Marussia.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Um, and then once I achieve that, the goal changes and then it's like, well, I want to be on a good pit crew. And then, you know, when I joined Red Bull, I was like, right now I've got an opportunity to be on the best pit crew. And then, you know, once you start, those times started tumbling down, then you're.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Your goals just change. Your goals get bigger and bigger and bigger and you say, well, we beat the world record last year. I want to beat it again this week and this week and this week. And that's what it's all about. It's just about the goal setting.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] He always, after each race, he does a debrief in the factory for all of our factory staff, because obviously they're not all at the circuit. Uhm, in terms of us...


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] To be fair, he's, he's great at just walking around the garage and just, how are you? How's things going? You know, uhm, how we're looking today, you know, like things like that, you know, so far so good, we're really lucky in terms of, it's quite an open sort of relationship. Christian just comes and he'll have a chat with you.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Uhm, yeaah, I think there's obviously lots of, we use our internal comms to congratulate everybody else and yeaah, it's a very open sort of relationship.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] But when he's in the garage, it's quite funny, like when you're in the garage and you're working and you're busy, you can get quite annoyed if people are like in your way. Uhm, certainly like any guests or other people that are sort of non-operational that happen to be in the garage, you can get, you can get, it can get quite annoying when people are in your way while you're working. And when it's Adrian,


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] You know, you know what he's doing. You know he's there and he's there working and you know he's there and the chances are he's gonna find a way to improve the car. So you're always like, it's fine Adrian. And he'll, and he's really, he's always, you know, he'll be there sketching away and you'll be trying to get work done. Really? So he's sketching in the garage? Constantly. Really? He's constantly writing notes, making sketches, thinking of things. That's what he does all day long.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And then you, you're constantly, like, you'll be there and you'll be trying to get something done and Adrian might be in your way and you're trying to work around him and eventually he'll be, oh, sorry. Sorry, Callum. And you're like, no, no, you carry on. You carry on. You're going to have a bigger impact on making this car win than I am.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] To be honest, we're quite lucky, like everyone in the garage, you know, like we're all sort of, regardless of sort of what area you're working in, we all end up spending a lot of time together. We try and do like loads of team events throughout the year, like we...


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] To have barbecues in places where we can and things like that and nights out and...


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] So it's sort of very much a, I'll spend time with pretty much anyone kind of thing. It's not, we're not sort of walled off from one another. Uhm, yeaah, it's quite lucky like, you know.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] It's very much a place of everybody has to fit in the team.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] So like everybody sort of has their role, you know, we have the people that are serious and


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Making sure no one's doing anything stupid, then also we have the people in the garage who's sort of just general being can lift everyone's mood. You know, there's some really tough days, there's some long days and we're lucky we've got people in the garage who can just make you smile.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] You know, when you, when you, when you're having a bad day, they can lift the mood of everyone around them and all of these sort of things are really important.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Literally, and it's not just, but it's not just your role in the garage. It's not just your role in your job. It is just about the way you are.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] You know, like, we're quite lucky in that we sort of have a culture where everyone can just be them.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] You know, everyone can just be them and contribute what they contribute and their sort of soft skills, if you like, you know, like their way with people, their humor, their ability to keep everybody unified.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] They're all skills that are just so valuable over the course of a long year. You know, like, especially when you're away for like 180 days of the year, I think it is this year. Something like that.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Some of those weeks can be tough, you know, like you think of even, you spend enough time with even your best friends, you know, and if you're under pressure and you're working long days, it could be quite easy to get sick of everyone.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] You know, so it's really important to have these characters in the garage that can just sort of maybe change your perspective about something if you're having a bad day or just, you know, even when things are bad, just make you smile. There are days where if you don't laugh, you'll cry. So it's important to have people that make you laugh.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Weak in, weak out, and especially if you're having a bad day, like if you're having a good day, you can ignore it, you know, everything's going fine, you can get along with it, but if things ain't going right, or you're really, really busy, that constant ch ch ch, oh my god. Oh my god, honestly, like there are times, there are days in the garage where I just put my headphones in.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Take care of our race and test PUs. So all of like the ancillary systems, so your cooling systems and all your pipe work, exhaust systems and all the parts that help integrate that power unit into our chassis.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Uhm, so I sort of look after the build and the service of those bits, planning for future events, making sure that we've got engines, that we've got parts, we can build them on time.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Uhm, make sure they're all built to the right specification, make sure they're ready to go in the car as and when they're needed, uhm, getting bits back and forth to the factory for service as and when they're required, uhm, and just generally overseeing and making sure that what we've got in terms of our power unit installation is correct and as we want it.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] The race is obviously when you're going forwards in time, you might have to travel a day earlier or whatever. But let's say we fly out on a Tuesday, which is most, most races will end up flying on a Tuesday.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Uhm, Wednesday is your sort of first day in the garage to build the cars.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And you, sorry to interrupt, are you building the garage from scratch? Right, so we, we have, I think all teams now, you have a set up crew. Yeah. So there are people that might have flown out on a Sunday.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And there'll be some sea freight that'll already be there at the circuit with them to build the main parts of the garage. And then the air freight will arrive probably on the Monday and whatever. Our first day in the garage is on a Wednesday. And when we arrive in the garage, for the most part, the garage setup is done. We do have garage technicians who'll be looking after the bits that need to be set up from that point onwards.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Um, but for us building the car, yeah, Wednesday's our first day where we're, we're just building the car. We're getting it.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Getting it ready for the weekend. So it's, it's, it's installing the engine, installing the gearbox, doing all your pre-flight checks if you like.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And then into Thursday, Thursday is the first day you're allowed to fire the car up.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] So obviously all the PUs, they're sealed by the FIA at the end of an event.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And on Thursday though, or Wednesday, they normally come round and unseal them, and then we get a time on a Thursday where you're first allowed to fire your car up. So Thursday is all of that stuff, so firing it up.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Um, and then there's getting all the bodywork on and then getting the car on the setup patch, making sure it's all set up to the setup sheet that the engineers will have sent out to us. Which is different every race. It will be, it will be circuit specific. So obviously there's constantly simulations going on back, back at home. The drivers will spend time in the sim and then engineers will look at their, their start setup sheet.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And they'll give you the sheet where they want the car to be for the, the start of the first practice session. So Thursday is spent doing that. And then the last thing we tend to do on a Thursday is pit stop practice, which is like our longest pit stop practice of the week. We'll run through all the set pieces. So you run through nose changes or, you know, and you have a puncture stop and we run through all of these things.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Uhm, so Thursday's your first chance to sort of get your eye in the pit lane and be ready for play.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Yeah, you're, I mean, you're at the mercy of the timetable then, you know. Um, obviously your practice sessions are as scheduled.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Uhm, you do any changes that you have to do in session and then in between sessions you basically


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Any schedule changes, so anything that you've got that was already planned, maybe you had test items or things like that that you need to swap for P2.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Uhm, and then, yeaah, it's sort of from that point on, you're just sort of nursing the car. Yeah. You just sort of hope that what you've built is right and you just keep checking it every time you get the bodywork off or the floor off, you're just making sure that everything looks like it's as it's supposed to be. Uhm, you'll have any issues or potential issues reported to you, so then you'd be investigating any of those.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Uhm, and then it's just a case of yeaah, all the way up until sort of the lights go out on Sunday, you're just sort of managing that, keeping the car, you know, we often describe it as on life support.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] More pit stop practice throughout the week in between sessions and before sessions in the morning. And then yeaah, up until lights out, that's pretty much it.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] So, given the choice, I'll always take a smooth weekend. With that said, some of the, the, the, the weekends we've had where things haven't gotten to plan.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Uhm, you know, I think the, the crew that repaired Max's car in Hungary. Yes. When, you know, that year, those are some of also like our best days. Yeah. You know, that's where mechanics technicians get their chance to really shine. Like I think everybody looks back at that race and what I wasn't on that crew at the time, but what that crew achieved.