Lewis Hamilton and FIA Controversy

Welcome back, everyone to the best F one podcast on the planet. Yes, I said it and I mean it we are the best F one podcast on the planet. Welcome along to Box Box powered by Box Bx Club, do check them out. The link is in the description. down below we do also have an exclusive een percent off any items you want to purchase from the store, store. So check that out as well. But do check us out on social media. We upload exclusive content and this week, I was reporting live from Silverstone. So do go check that out It is Boxbox pod on both TikTok and Instagram. The links will be in the description for you to check out. Whver you're listening to us, watching us, give us a five star rate and that really makes a difference. Any comments or good reviews you can leave on the podcast really help us out. I can't stress that enough. So yeah, it's great to have you guys along and it's been really, really good engaging with you more and more online. We love it. You know, we've been doing this for five years now. this is our fifth season And we really feel like we're getting somewhere and it's honestly, we can't thank you enough for all the support that we get but you know, that it is reciprocated. We We really love engaging with you. If you're watching us on YouTube Do click that subscribe button. And put your notifications on because then when we post at five PM Every Monday You'll be the first person watching it, so do drop a like. rating as well. And if you want to comment because you Disagree with what we say, agree with what we say, Have an opinion Get involved in the conversation. because that is what this podcast is all about. I think that is pretty much everything. My God, we have a lot to dive into this week. so I'm not gonna hold you for any longer We are going to crack on Allright guys, welcome along to a brand new episode. And look, this last week has been pretty pretty epic. So before we even get into talking about Silverstone, should we quickly touch on what happened we went to an event last week. Luke and I and we went to London We're invited along to Oakley, you know, in partnership with Aston Martin and I have to say I thoroughly enjoyed it. You will see some of the social media out there. Luke went on the S and I have to say, He smashed it. You're still in that leaderboard It's impressive. Yeah U but I, on the other hand I'm not that leaderboard anymore. Eyball was wiped off wiped off Yeah, but you know I'm a I'm a veteran. You know, back back in the day. when we used to absolutely hammer F one I'd like to think I got pretty good I'm you know, far off where I was and all the assists were on But u Yeah, no, it was a great day out. But look, no one wants to hear about the escapes that we've been on. We know why people are here You want to hear about Ething we have to say about this week's Silverstone Grand Prix, which was action packed. I mean, I'm talking unpredictable. I'm talking predictable from the FIA. reliability issues crashes. I mean what a weekend? Where are we starting? Can I just say, right? You say that nobody wants to hear But you've just had an epic weekend And I'm sure we'll touch on this throughout the episode. Like, come on, who did you meet? Okay, Wh did you meet yesterday Guys, I will I'll tell you all about my weekend, rightight. So I was I'll come back I'll come back in about what ten fifteen Yeah, yeah, yeah. I've been leaving people like twenty minute voice notes, just being like, It's the best week of my life. I went to Silverstone this weekend with a Audi and Revolute which was unbelievable And I had fifteen minutes in the paddock. I got fifteen minutes in the paddock. I met Jensen Button and shook his hand. I shit the bed. I genuinely said, Jensen Button, it's an honor to meet you. That words just came out of me. I just didn't even have time to think what to say There was Jeremy Clarkson There was Leo Leclerc. yeep, I've got footage of Leo Lecer. I was walking next to him. He was basically my dog. and Christian Horner, I was on Sky News kyports News. You saw me, you sent the clip U And then on our way out of the paddock Okay we're walking back. Th these paddock passes were on rotation. Louis Hamilton. Sir Louis Hamilton Mike, I chased that man down. I chased him down shamelessly. Lewis Can I have a photo please? He airpods in. He blocked everyone out. And I don't blame him. Look Right. These guys are not circus animals. They are you know, elite sportsmen locking in a race. And yeah, I still shamelessly chased him with my friend and some of the other guys that were with us. And I got this close, if you're listening You know, he was as close to me as my microphone. It's maybe not that close, I'll be a little bit weird, but not much further. And yeah, got it all on camera and I shouted some words of encouragement to him which didnn't quite work out the way I'd hoped But you had the clip you had the clip, right? Let's just be honest, you had it in your mind how that video was going to go, didn't you That was going to be your motivational, you know speech. Go on, Lewis. do you know, go out there and do a great job and then he gets P one And you had it in lighted, didn't you? You had that video already in your head I was like, can I just look, let me attend every race because I've just motivated this man to go and win. Okay, That's what I was going to say. And obviously in my head when I was chasing after him in the video You know In my head, he turned around and gave me a big thumbs up, you know, a little nice smile, but he was locked in, it's fine, it's fine But yeah, then Back to the hotel, go for dinner Who's sitting at the table next to us Oscar Piastri. Who might I say? exactly how you expect Oscar Piastry to be He is super chilled out. He was really nice to me and my friend Weir we had to take a picture with someone who was at his table, like a very pleasant young man who asked me and Joe for a photo. find in the podcast, my other podcast And then yeah, I had a chat with Oscar. The weird thing is right last week you spoke about because you were in a Austria last week And you said, you know, it's quite strange. You go to a race And when you're there, you actually know less of what's going on than if you're watching on TV, you get so much information when you're watching TV, which is Sorry good as F one fans, right And when you're, you're What's happened? Obviously like I saw Oscar come into the pits after lap one and I'm like What's happened to Oscar? I didn't see anything. I had no idea what had happened So do you know how I found out what happened to Oscar Pastreet? You asked him. Oscar Piastri told me what happened to Oscar Piastri. I said, What happened on Lap one? Why did you have to come into the pits And he explained that he got sandwiched by the racing bulls and that was it. and H a good j. I told him I was rooting for him last season, which, you know, was truthful. Wh whoa whoa, I mean, well, I'm not having that Yeah, I mean, it took you a while to get on the piastri bandwagon I mean, if anything I think I was rooting for him way more than you I was on the Piastry bandwagon in that I wanted him to win. Yeah. Initially I thought Lando was going to win and then I did changange that to like Oscar's gonna win now. But you're just like Jay from is friends. Oh yeah, you're my friend at I love you so. Well we are friends, probably. L I'm sure he remembers who I am exactly. but Yeah, honestly, such a surreal day, a very surreal experience. Oscar Piastri was yeah likeike say, exactly as you'd imagine. I could not believe that I was chatting to an F one driver about a race that you just raced in, you know, like, oh, mate what like what happened there? just I walked away and I was like, hang on, what the hell has just happened here? But Unbelievable day n, but made even better by the race, in my opinion and we'll talk about the shambolic ending at some point. so stick around for that. So if you're new here and it's the first time you've listened to us, what we do after a race, we go team by team and give our view on their weekends. So Let's start off with Aston Martin and I have to say Fernando Alonso The streak is over. He has won a race this weekend. Aston Martin are race winners. However They're in Lego cars, but they did win a race. So congratulations to Aston Martin. Adrianne Newy is ecstatic It was it was a An tough weekend for the Astid Martin boys. Yeah, I don't know, I don't know what the rules are on YouTube. Can we pull up the clip U There's a clip It's the onboard of Aernando Alonso with Lance Stroll in front of him Honestly, It's like It's almost like a scene out of Bambi. Imagine you've got two Youthful. D is what is Bambi? Bambi is a deer, isn't he? Yeah Yeah, yeah. You've got two youthful deers who are just starting to understand how their legs work And the cars honestly reminded me of that. They look horrific. So Really, really feelld for Fernando Lon and Lance Stroll at this point genuinely, you know, everyone has their opinion on Lance Stroll fair enough whether you think he should be in the sport or not and Either way, no one deserves to go through this. It is truly shocking. Hopefully I'm able to overlay this. I'll research the rules. if not, just message us and we'll drop you the link to this because the onboard is terrifying. It'sadline dangerous. and last week you mentioned Just how incredible it is watching those Aston Martins in real life in comparison to the other cars They are So much slower. And obviously I found that quite a difficult to comprehend because I've not seen it myself. You see it on TV, you don't get a real gauge of the speed Me and Joe were borderline laughing every time they drove fast. Be it feels like they've picked up an F two car or an F three car and there's no disrespect to F two or F three and put it into F one. That's what it feels like because They're well off the pace. Granted, both of them finished yesterday. That is a positive to take from this weekend. bothoth cars finished But they are so, so behind. Yeah, they really are, but there are You know, Aston Martin might be about to be saved. We don't know. There are you know, they're meant to be bringing a B spec car, I think to Hungary the the room is. And that's the interesting because Adrian knew we was spoken to this weekend. they had a really good chat and look One thing I give full respect to Adrian Newie, you know, it's a tough time for him. He's a team principal, he's come in, he's got a lot of this pressure on his shoulders They took time to really delve in and say, look, We know where we're at. We're in a situation where We've kind of just had to stop, take stock of where we're at, accept where we're at and move forward. So they've got their first big part of their upgrade coming in Hungary And then the second part will be more in sand fors after the summer break. But also with that, Honda have also have got some upgrades they're bringing as well. So He's expecting them to start actually challenging for points. later on in the season. Which I think for us as Aston, well we know, we're not Aston Martin fans, but we know that list is a very historical team. And actually we want themans of the project as well though I think most people are a fan of the Aston Martin project And I don't know if you saw yesterday and it was really interesting when I was in Austria. When you look outside the Ferrari, Mercedes, McLaren Red Bull merch The next big one, which you really see around the grandstands and Haddocks is Aston Martin Yeah, there's a lot of Aston Mart Martin fans around. Obviously, especially at Silverstone, you know that that's where they are actually based. But I saw past. I saw it in Austria. a lot of Aston Martin, a lot of Aston Martin merch in Austria But that's my point. Everyone is a fan of the Aston Martin project. You know, absolutely, I like to think no F one fan wants to see any team fail. you know, There's no F one fan sitting there looking at Cadillac being like, I'm so glad it's going like this for them or. You know, I'm so glad Has aren't able to spend up to the cost capital that Aston Martin have provided them with like a road car instead of a Formula one car. But I agree. Adrian knew he has been very honest about the assessment, like of the situation. He did come out and speak about the the car this week saying that On the chassis side, they're quite a long way overweight Some of that comes with integrating the power unit and dealing with vibration issues that they've had to work through with Honda. Obviously, you know, Alonso has been complaining about that for most of the season and ultimately admitted that they just didn't do a good enough job as they should have. And I think that's what it takes from a leader. and obviously he admitted they took a bold direction with the aerodynamics of the car Um which he took full responsibility for and You know Its They got it wrong But he's admitted that can't expect any more of your leader than to take it on the chin takeake the weight of that on his shoulders. and just accept that they're going to have to work overtime to fix the problems. but it's a huge setback in the whole project because I think this was their era that they were hoping for. and to come out of the blocks like this is and a really It's not even a horrible weekend for them anymore. it's just their weekend. It was just an Aston Martin weekend. It's a norm now. And one thing that is also becoming the norm is Williams, Carla signigns P seventeen, Alex Albon, DNF. I mean, look We spoke last week about Carlos signins. Cl of scientist has come out and said that actually he's still patient with Williams. He still believes in the project But I'm not being funny. How long do you believe in this project for? Because it is not going well. We speak every week about the fact that Williams have under deelivered. They promised they promised us the world. they promised Carlos signs the world and they've under deellivered massively. And this was another race weekend where They just weren't at the races Yeah look, it's tough to see because Williams have done everything right. Did you know how difficult it must have been to get a driver partnership like Alex Albon and Carlos Syimes into Williams after the period that they've had in F one, you know, a really Terrible, terrible spell in F one. You know, it probably since the MasA days you'd argue U And even then, Williams were not where people expect Williams to be too get everything in place like that and have two drivers that are exceptional. You know, Carlos Scis in particular, we've established is he's a world class driver. You need to deliver them the car because you can talk about Carl of Sciins having patience with Williams all you like He's not going to stick around forever because there will be an opportunity that comes up for Carlos signs And it wouldn't surprise me if Alex Albn got offered opportunities as well They might not be at the top teams, but At this point, you kind of take There are far better options out there. than Williams at this point. But I want them to turn it around Williams are an iconic team With loads of history and They you They need to turn it around. Do you believe in James Vows? Yes, I do believe in James Vows. However, I think he's got a lot of pressure on his shoulders. As we said before, all he had to do was just go under the radar. He didn't have to promise this whole magnificent We're going to be, you know, fighting up the top in twenty twenty six. he just had to go under the radar under the radar. and I feel like he he set himself up to fail Um, Interestingly, and I showed you the video last week After Austria, he did a debrief and his positives that he could come up with were that the team did a good pit stop You're clutching a straws there. Do know you're literally trying to find You know, the catering team, you know, delivered a great lunch. You know, you're literally clutching at straw. on what you can show to Williams fans and as F one fans, you know, we were all on the we were all on on the bus. We were believing in James Vales. We believed that they were going to go in and start fighting the T boys, but Yeah, I feel like He's trying to clutch the straws to find positive things, but it's difficult for him, it's difficult for him Yeah, I mean I still believe in Janes' Fes. I'll be honest. and I do You know I've had a lot of delusional beliefs on this podcast. if you're a long term listener, like you'll know I do firmly believe James Vowes will get them where he says ll he'll get them Uh It's obviously not going to happen in the time frrame that he perhaps alluded to in previous seasons, gassing everyone up like that. but I do believe they've got a great leader at the top of that That pyramid and You know, Williams are a team that aren't as blessed as Mercedes or Ferrari or Red Bull where they've got the funds to have such huge infrastructure and You know Mercedes have over a thousand members of staff and You know, that's not the same for Williams, but I think you're right. You hit the nail on the head Don't prromise the world we wouldn't be having these conversations to this extent, you know, we'd still be saying Williams are having a bad season because they are they're They're not idiots. But perhaps the expectation would have been lower U like Cadillac P sixteen for Valteri Botas Perez P fourteen again They finished a race, more learning for the team I struggled to work out what we say about Cadillac each week in all honesty. I feel like we just come here and go If you finished the race, I mean, considering Austria, thousand complete and utter mess, you know, the fact that they came to Silverstone finished a race They'll take positives from that, a lot of learning, a lot of data, and they move forward to SPA Yeah, you know, Cadillac are another one of these, u proroject teamert I'd love to get some sort of like inside knowledge on Cadillac. I'd love to know where they are with their performance as in where they sit with it becausecause I never really know where to stand on Are we super harsh on Cadillak when we say They're having a terrible season And actually the guys at Cadillac alite. No, this is exactly where we expected to be. This is good. or in fact, maybe we're ahead of where we expected to be because You know, their introduction into the sport was No Late You know, it's not like twenty twenty four it was announced Cadillaker coming in and was it was a real short turnaround That being said, I know there would have been work happening behind the scenes before that, but You'd probably limit that. You're not going to dump hundreds of millions into F one and then The FIA would potentially be like nope That's not happening But I'd love to know if Cadillac orare Cadillac thought they were going to be if they're happy with where they're going to be. No one thought they were going to come into the sport. and compete with McLaren and Mercedes and whoever, all those top boys But did they think they were going to come in and be like, right, well, you know, we're going to be fighting for best of the rest because we've We've had this timeline that we've worked to and we should have done very well So if anyone works at Cadlock and wants to let us know That would be great. But where do you think Cadillac or in this It's an interesting point because like you say, what is what is Cadillac's goal? Is their goal to actually be you know world Champions one day? I'm assuming anyone comes into F one and that's what you' wanting to achieve. but Looking from the outside You would say they're massively behind where they need to be in all honesty, you know, Austria was complete and utter mess. They brought new upgrades, they didn't work, but then you come into this weekend They finished the race, they granted, you know, P, fourteen and sixteen, but It's a tough one. I don't think there I don't think they had massive amount of expectations this year. I think their expectations was to learn their way into F one, learn, you know the regulations properly, really delve in and what works, what doesn't. And you have to give them credit. Look, I know we joke about it, you know how poor they are, but When steake came in, I mean, they were in a far worse place than what Cadillac are. You know, they were doing like forty forty second, a minute and a half pit stops You know So there is some positives for Cadillac, you know, they've come in and they've got, you know, fundamentals right. The issue is that pace just isn't there in the car and there's a lot of learning for that I still go back to the fact that I don't believe that they have the right dririvever pairing in that team. But L, that's a different that's a different day discussion. But I think for them their expectations is finish the actual F one calendar season, learn a lot from it, work out what went well, what didn't, look at you know potential upgrades for next year, what is working. because we know with these regulations, they're constantly changing. There's a lot of changes coming in twenty twenty seven. So I think for Cadillac I generally think they' actually probably be quite happy where they are whichich is mad to say. I see it Yeah, I mean, I think and we're probably guil of this as well to be totally honest with you. I think there is a lot of aastrophization about the project like The Aston Martin project at the moment is a catastrophe. I don't think the Cadillac one is. I I there's a team I really, really want to speak about right now. Are Red Bull about to lose Max Verstappen Because thus That's what is looking like might happen I don't know if you send everything that's going on, obviously You know, we'll touch on what happened yesterday in more detail, but obviously His rear wing did not close again and He was in a w. Um That's not right. This's happened twice now U two weekends in a row to be precise He was evidently, absolutely furious in the post race interviews understandably. you know, this this car is like a death trap E pre race, even pre race. Look, Max Verstappen has always been very focal. If something's not right or you know, he's not happy, he's very focal with it. This weekend seemed a bit different This weekend was Max erstappen who was kind of like I do not trust this team I have no trust in this team whatsoever. The pre race interview was very much that look, I wanted to start from the pit lane, I wanted to make these changes. They didn't listen to me So we're starting here, this is what we're doing. At the end of it You know, he he's very fundamentally and you can see it in his face he's fed up. He's had enough. And if you're Red Bull, if you're Laura Mchis here It is worrying because your top driver, the only driver on there He should never have been in P three yesterday. He pushed that car. He took that car to to that level If you your Laura Mech is here, you are concerned, you are at a real risk of losing your top driver. It's impossible to replace Max with Stamment. you can't replace him. It's impossible. if Red Bull losose Max Verstappen That's an absolute disaster. I genuinely don't know where they go from there because You know, Isaac Kadjar is looking Great. you know, in comparison we've had a lot of difficulty with Red Bull second drivers over time. He's You know, he's he's not lighting the world on fire. He's not picking up podiums. He's not where Max erahen is. Nor do people expect him to be, right? He's still very young. He's got a long career And Max Verstappen is is of a different category, right But what the hell do they do if they lose him? Because You know This this is really bad what's going on. Max Verstaen his right to be angry. I obviously saw the stuff about him being human about not getting. He wanted a new power unit for St the race. That's why we wanted to start from the pit But then Yeahes, somehow You know, he's able to BMP three, you know, he's He's taking the fight to George Russell. He's battling him on these older tyres George Russellin, the Mercedes, you know, the fastest car. That's Max Verstappen making the difference there And I don't know where Red Bull go Without him. I mean It's come to light allegedly, again, I don't know how true the rumors are there Max Verstappen's exit clause is understood to be in play due to his position in the championship. We know that Max is Not on a great deal of points. I can tell you exactly how many points Max Verstaffman is on. It is seventy six C compare that to Kimy Antonelli's one hundred and seventy nine. you know there really unusual place to see Max Verstappen in at this stage of his career, but The big question for Max Verstappen is if you do leave Redbull Where do you go? Because I think you and I are of the same opinion like But who doesn't take max a step and surely you walk into any team, but Toto Wolfers come out and said, No, I'm sticking with my two drivers. And I actually read a rumoreor that U Max was turned down by Mercedes Uh Toto has refused to make any changes. He has also publicly stated that Even though Max was allegedly willing to lower his salary to just fifty million euros a year I how would you cope on that M, I don't know how he's how, you know, he's not even going to be able to afford the basics. How's he going to get milk? B He's a hero kid. The fact you're telling me Max Verstappen would drop his salad to just fifty million What a guy? He's just that what he he's he's humble. He doesn't he's just that kind of guy. He doesn't need theoney. He, you know, He's like I don't care about that. Just give me fifty million a year You know, Don't worry about it. we won't even talk about it. and And apparently he demanded a three year contract U apparently didn't even make it onto the negotiated Asian table. So Well, you know what Mercedes are like with long term contracts Yeah, you know, I'm not being funny Imagine if they had Kimi An Nneellian and Lewis Hamilton in those Mercedes I mean That would be that would be raz For me, but we'll get onto Mercedes. For me if Max in a bit. If Max is to leave Red Balls the most logical place for him is McLaren withith GP go in there And granted, then your question is who do you get rid of? Piastri or Norris? Well Norris really isn't going anywhere is he? I still think that actually Piastri will be the one who ends up at Red Ball, but I think for Max Verstappen You're in this position now where You don't trust your team You have no faith in your team and Red Boy have lost their identity, you know, The powerhouse figures have gone over the last couple of years with Horner, you know and you're in this position where Okay, well If I stay Red Bull, I'm not winning Do I go to another team Be if there's one team on that grid outside the Mercedes and Ferrari, the only one who's really actually got real promise to go on and turn that car around and start winning races again is McLaren You know how good they are at turning their seasons round. They can turn up turn up in Bahrain have an awful start and by the end of it theyre, you know, they're leading a championship Okay, hear me out. There's a lot of question marks over George Russell at the moment, right You talk about Oscar Piastri essentially making the straight swap with Red Bulls. If Max Veraffen goes to McLaren. Do Mercedes take a look at Oscar Piastri In your opinion Oscar Piastri is in that Mercedes this season How is the championship looking? In all honesty, I think it Kimmy would still be leading it IT I think Kimy's just in a different different different class. but I do think I don't think there'd be much difference in all honesty. Look, George has had some unlucky races, you know, he's had some DNFs,, you know, yesterday again, finishing P two, but he had a rear puncher, you know he's had a bit of bad luck. It's a tough one. It is a tough one I don't think it would change in the sense that Kimy would still be walking Kimy would still be leading the championship I think Oscar Piastri would have picked up a few more wins than George Russell Yeah, I genuinely believe that. I I we will talk on Mercedes properly, but I kind of am not really understanding Georgia's season at all at the moment. and I think Okay, if Max Verstappen ends up at McLaren. It's a shame. Oscar Piastri would be the driver to go. I think you and I have also both said we would keep him and sw Olando But it's very difficult landos are a world champion, but do Mercedes, look at Piastry then. But then it's like if you are going to replace George Russell, you would get Max D Staten Unless you don't wan to stifle Kimmy Aonlli. Oh my God, this is so hard This is too much to think about. I never ever wanna be a team principal. Thats it I just worked it out Oy Nasty crash from Akiststappen yesterday, as as we said furious afterwards, really unhappy, rightly so it's a safety issue for him and actually has two race weekends in a row. He's been in the either gravel or the wall. So I can understand why he's frustrated because he's concerned. This is a guy who wants to push the car to the max and actually realalistically There's that question mark at Is it safe And that is obviously his worry However Yoss Vistppen Beef with Martin Brundle And I don't know if you've seen this Luke But u yeah haven, interesteresting. So speaking on the Sky F one show ahead of the British Grand Prix, Martin Brundle said, My goodness, they wanted to torpedo the management of Red Bull, didn't they? Team Verstappen did that very well indeed To start with, Christian Horner and it just carried on from there. Adrian Newy, Helmet Marco, Jonathan Wheatley. Now we know Paul Monahan is leaving I think they did a bit too good of a job of wanting to move some people out of the way at Red Bull teeamer Stappen. Well as you can imagine Joser Stappen didn't take that very well. He came back and said, Another idiot who thinks he knows what it's like Can I just say can Yes, can I just say never speak about? A legend like Martin Bundle again like that You can't come out and come outart and Brando an idiot. it's just does not work. That is not going to wash well with the fans and Look, we don't know the ins and outs of that situation, but there's no smoke without fire in my opinion the Verstappens probably did push out It may have even just been one person It may have just been Christian Horner There's a lot of debate about where the Horner went because the damage the allegations had done to himself, the brand and whatever, but working their way into that team so much so that they were like the epicenter of it I think has probably shifted a few more men than they had perhaps expected I question whether the Verstappens would have ever wanted Adrian Newy to leave the team you know, what was the knock on effect of that sort of power struggle Did that cause then Jonathan Wheatley to leave? and then once that starts spiraling out of control You know, all of a sudden, it's not like, oh, we're leaving because the Vestappens It would be like, oh, well this team's not the same anymore, therefore GP wants to look for different adventure because he feels like his reedbll time has come to an end and he's experienced the best years and That probably all stems from the top of that hierarchy collapsing So I think perhaps They have paid the price for being a little bit too intertwined in what is going on in that team. But like I say, I don't know. I have no inside information. and maybe Yos Verstappen if one day he's listening to that podcast will call me an idiot as well But we're just speculating. I'm sure Martin Brundle actually has a lot more information than us Well, as you saw after the race, Max Verstappen's management, Yos Verstappen was in a meeting with Laura Meis There's a lot of tension there at the moment and As we know, Max Verstappen being a full time world champion has a lot of weight in that team and in old honesty As I said earlier, if you' Lura Mckis You should be concerned because Max Verstappen will not wait around if it continues like this And then they're in big trouble. Yeah. Right, let's go to Alpine, shall we? So Franco Colalapinto P nine, Per Gastly P ten. a good weekend look offsea Max went out Kim me dropped out with a point But still coming away this weekend with three extra points in the championship is a good weekend for Alping You know my thoughts on circumstantial Um, you know, positions I think you've got to be there in order to get them and Alpen have had I think Alpine would be really happy with how this season's going. I think they'd love to just shhot that gap to the racing bulls And ideally you know, overtake them. But they'll be looking at this season, very impressed. I think they'll be so happy. they'll be delighted that Franco Colapinto is finally delivering. Id say finally L he has been this season, but he had a tough season last season. There's no denying that and I've had loads of scraps with Colopinto fans because they think I'm a hater and I dislike him, which I literally don't even know him that I'm so happy to see Calapinto You know churning out the performances this season and Gazly again is having another good season. So I think Alpine have got this team locked in. you know, go back to all the controversy that happened when essentially set Jack doing up to just fail fair enough layers. through all it sport, that's life But then when it wasn't kind of working with C a Pinter, you're like, Oh God, all this for that I know You know It turns out they do know better than us, which is fine. I can accept that we were wrong And it's working. It's great And it's good to see. you know, Alpine and another I know they're not technically an English team, but they're based in England and and I think they've got a great driver line upp. I think Gazley and Colopinto two very, very liable drivers. Exe Yeah, you know, doing doing very well this season for their circumstances. Talking of RB's, Limam Lawson, Lim Blood What a team. What a team. fourourteen points from yesterday's race Liam Lawson P six, Limblack P seven Ler. Honestly, We've always had a bit of a soft spot with RBs over the years because we've always liked when Pierre Gazli was there in Alphaaui, Sonoda You know, but They just get it right. They really get it right. and actually if you read Bull St looking at how they do things at RBs because do they do it good team morale there and Lim Lawson performed another great performance from him yesterday and it's impressive and Limblad, he's not that far behind But I'll be honest, like I die on this hill, Rby genuinely strike me as like the nicest team to be at. From everything I see online, the way they communicate over the radio, like D I don't know just when you see the interactions between everyone on TV and stuff like Arby look like the nicest team. th paying dividends through Liam Lawson and Arvid Limblad, you know, we seen so many rooies come into the sport. who have very good backgrounds, you know, as good. someome will even have better, you know, racing backgrounds than Avid Limblad who don't perform anywhere near the level that Arvid Limblad is performing at And Liam Lawson You know Oh, my light has just turned out. I'm sorry. let me just I'll carry on but hopefully that's fixed a little and He's had He had to be absolutely picked out of the mud Lilliam Naws and ve they've done that. They've managed to absolutely rescue him and get him back to where he needed to be to find his form and the driver that people thought Liam Lawson was going to be. you know, I think he is guy now It's great it's honestly great to see. McLaren, Landonoris P four. Oscar Piastri, obviously your mate. Oscar Piastri had a difficult day yesterday finished P eleven. But I think obiously, circumstantial, but regardless of anyway, yeah. I actually I'm sorry, I know this is going back because I have a stat about u Lilliam Nawson. Yeah Are you ready for this? Liam Lawson now has more points in nine races than Nuki Senoda managed in any season of his F one career. And let's not forget Yuki Sonoda was racing at Red Bull racing. last season grranted, he missed two races, but Iressive as hell note Forry Very. So I mean What a turnaround for him they Water turnaround? Liam Lawson, I'm going to put it out there posossibly best comeback since Jesus. It's entirely possible. He's done good. He's done very good. and I think he'll be very proud of what he's managed to turn that around. He's got a good team around him We've obviously seen some someome behind scene stuff. he seems to really gailed himself with the right people. The team RBs, as I said earlier, a very good team at nurturing and you know, progressing drivers. I think it's great. I really do think it's great. and actually that driver line upp at this moment in time you'd be silly to change it Absolutely, you know, they're just They're logged in. they're in a good place. Let's go back to McLaren. Lando Norris. I think we'll be very happy with P four in the N yesday offse We know Max went out Antonelly, but It was tough weekend for the McLarens. They didn't really have the pace. as we know, they've got upgrades coming soon But they are just just that one step behind, aren't they They are. The McLarens kind of confused the hell out of me. I'm not gonna lie. They might be the most confusing car on the grid. sometimes they look lightning you know, in certain sessions and then It just vanishes and But then even like Llando was well off it all weekend And then he picks up P four and sa you Well even in the sprint E in a sprint startarted P six, end up finishing P three No I didn't. Thies You know, I think Landa will be coming away from this weekend like, how the hell have I done that? He's had a class weekend, you know, Oscars not as good, especially in the race yesterday getting tagged by the racing ball Yeah, McLaren I just well, like Lando said, apparently they're three months behind in development That is unfortunately a huge deficit to try and claw back throughout the season. But we s in with teams this season, McLaren in the past, it only takes one right upgrade package to bring you bring you right there because They've got the power unit We know that Can I just say, you know, we spoke last year about the Llando stand. It looked glass this weekend. It honestly looked class and I was quite skeptical about it at the begin, I was thinking, why does he need to stand all of this stuff It's impressive Very, very impressive Yeah. Very bright. Yeah. It's incredibly yellow or green, I don't know what colour you want to call it. It's kind of a combination of both with some like nuclear liquid in. It's They definitely stand out the Lando fans and they are there in their in their numbers. That's sixteen thousand mean this He's a very liked guy. Like people love Landao and you see that especially at the British Grand Prix. there' so many people going around, not just in the Lando stand but people walking around in you know, his tops and there's a lot of McLaren tops that you see as well. but I hope they can pick it up. I really do because they should be there. They've had a really good couple of seasons and It's a shame they haven't been able to carry on the way they were in the previous set of regulations But we know that they have it in them I doing I do think We'll see more from McLaren this season. I'm really not worried about McLaren I honestly think McLaren will turn it around very, very quickly. They'll have good races and'll have bad races, but I honestly think they're one of the best teams on the grid at actually adapting to change so well compared to other teams on that grid and obviously it the first season of being new regulations. I think they will learn a lot I'm really really not concerned about McLaren. And I think they're definitely going in the right direction. I do think that I agree. I think they just need to find out exactly what it is of that It's just a little bit of pace that they're missing. It's not a lot. but once they tap into that and they they sort of mine it out of the the development of the car there They'll be there Yeah. and The more the merrier, you know, this championship battle is heating up I don't care if more drivers are added to that and we see a big turnaround. I just want this action to continue Bers I sort of going in between teams here. I don't know if you saw there was a lot of negativity around this week's Silverstone Grand Prix before we turned up to it Did you see that online? A lot of Ah, like The Silver stone is not a track that's made for battery deployment. This is going to be a fast of a weekend, not for the reasons it actually turned out to be you know, this is going to be embarrassing for racing. And I saw a tweet in particular that I did save just because I thought I just want to see What happens this weekend before because There's been a lot of shit talk about these regulations consistently. and I think We'll go back to that Srint race that we had this weekend That was incredible The first ten eleven laps of the Sprint race. Well, like I was on the edge of my seat. I was like, I can't have this for not even The next like seven laps will have many are left because I was like, I can't take it. You know, there's too much going on And it was a A tweet I won't say who it was, but like you'll probably see him if you're in the FO mode It was you're about to see Silverstone comprehensively destroyed as a racing circuit. Ctesy The twenty twenty six PU regulations slab Very here High energy starvation and classic high kinetic energy corners nurtured New said need it By harvesting to compensate for the lack of available brake in recovery, buckle up, it's likely going to be laughable, with little resemblance to F one racing and they'll mask it on broadcast and replays, but a glance at onboards and teelemetory will reveal o. I saw a lot of this kind of negativity going around before the race. I get it because I think It's really difficult because you come out and you say, well, I think it's great racing, but it's not pure racing F one I get it Do you have any complaints about the race this weekend? No. Not in the slightest. and I've seen a lot of comments afterwards about, you know they overtaken Kimmy on Lewis in the sppring race I think what it comes down to and yeah, okay, people don it's not the purest of racing However This is nothing new because everyone goes, Oh he just flew by Lewis. but that's no differentnce from the likes of KS or DRS It's always been there. it's in different formats. You know, how many times do we watch over the seasons when we had DRS, cars just used to fly by others, didn't they? You know, it's no differentnce But now we actually get for me, we're getting closer racing. As I said, that'srint or as you said, thats sprint race was Fascinating. The first like ten labs, constant back and forth Give me that all day long all day long and that doesn't make me any less of an F one fan. It just makes me go actuallyually, I enjoy this type of racing. How many years have we had racing where there's no overtake? someomebody just goes off has thirty second leads or there's nothing or DRS trains We spoke about DRS trains for the last four years Like for me We still had battles throughout that race even yesterday and Sunday. So I'm not opposed to it at all Yeah, I'm with you like how how many times have we sat here and been like But another boring weekend like not a lot happened and that's That's not new You know That's something that's always happened in F one. You go back as many years as you like, it's not been very different. And if that's what you want to watch, I'd still watch it. You know, I've watched it, I've watched the entire twenty twenty three season When it's absolutely inevitable the Max Verstappemen was going to win and not much else was going to happen in the race. after race two sit there. Yeah still sat there and enjoyed the whole thing But this season whether I agree with the cars, you know, do I like the fact that the cars are coming to the end of straights And you know, the revs are going down. the top speed is going down. No Like I just think we've got a great foundation I think these regulations allow the cars to follow each other much closer They allow cars to overtake They they enable battles and they are great. starting point Find a sweet spot Because if you can talk about racing purity you like. I mean, we've been sevenenty thirty for the last ten years or whatever it is, thirteen years So You know It's not like battery powerers just cropped up out of nowhere There'll be a middle ground somewhere. They're not perfect But I think there's a lot of unnecessary kind of shitting on them that happens. And we know there's going to be changes next year, which is great. But going back to the overtakes yesterday, some of those overtakes down the hanger straight, you know what I mean? there were so many good overtakes yesterday. and You wouldn't have got those in last year, George Russell and Louis Hamilton Going wheel to whe through muggets and beckets Like, sorry, what? Like I don't remember the last time I saw that for a proper battle. The whole Max Lewis George thing was Unbelievable yesterday and I just think It's so easy to like be skeptical about things and you know, going into Silstone like, oh, this is going to be terrible Well Barcelona wasn't. so You know, that's got That's got a nice, long, straight. I've got two nice long straight. I'm like I'd rather just see them unfold now than be like You know, until we get to like Singapore, and I'll be like, yeah, it's probably going to be a boring race but it's always a great spepect to go because it's a lovely track All I'd say is don't lose hope. You know we know this year is a lot about learning, developing. There's already changes made for twenty twenty seven Don't lose hope with it because I think they can actually do some really good things with these generations of cars Um I'm enjoying I'm enjoying the unpredictability. Look. Who would have thought Ferrari had been there? You know, we've had Mercedes, we've had Ferrari winning, you know, we've had cars who ike I said, Lando Norris in the spring race, finishing P three, whereere'd that come from You know, it was so unpredictable and I'm all for it. How many times have we turned up at a race weekend and gone? I guarantee you Max is going to win this one M A McLaren's going to win this one orr Louis is going to win this one, you know, like you had for years or go back even further while Michael's going to win this one, you know too often and The worst part about that was, okay, well You know, that so and so is going to win the race. And then no one else is going to be able to race each other because we're not going to get much action on track But I'm even now it's different. I'm even watching it now go in, okay this fifteen laps left In my mind, I'm not going this is over. I'm going Who knows what's going to happen? You know the reliability in these cars is so unpredictable and we saw it again yesterday with Kimmy Anntonneelli chasing down Charles Leclerc. So It already gives you more entertainment, more Unpredictability and I'm all for it in all honesty And it doesn't mean that you guys have to, you know give me stick because you don't agree with me or whatever. It's just my opinion and this is a great thing about his podcast. Luke and I like these these era of cars. We think they're actually really interesting. we think there's a lot of scope to progress these these new era It doesn't mean you have to agree with it. It doesn't mean that actually we're right and you know or we're wrong. It just means that we like them I think it's as simple as that and if you're Like if you're so stubborn as a racing purist to accept that We are getting better racing, whether you like it or not because more is happening And you know, that's in my opinion, that's just your loss. I think there's a lot to enjoy about this season. I'm not sitting here saying it's perfect I'm just saying A least's getting you on the edge of your seat. Right, let's move on. Audi bought a letto P eight four points for him yesday. there you go. he was all happy. Holkenberg unfortunately did DNF I' But they'll be delighted. They only started this weekend, I think with one point. So the fact that they're coming away with four points from Silverstone they'll be happy with them. Yeah, I' just like to mention here that prior to the race Gabrielle Bortleto came to our room that we were in Oh and Did a little chat And on his way out, I gave him a little spud and I said, good luck today. And I think I think that might have impacted his result because He picked up four points. So that's a pretty impressive result. for Audi Um They've got a bit of work to do Audi, that's that's undeniable. but I think Cing into the sport Develop your own engine You know into a completely new era of cars How do they have done an unbelievable good job? And we've praised the Audi proroject the whole season anyyway Holkenberg is probably getting a little bit frustrated at this point. You know, he's not picked up a point this season Um, which is mental consider. this time last year he was on the podium Absolutely insane. You know, it's This It's crazy, but he knew the change was coming and it was never going to be smooth I'd say As projects have gone, You know, the Audi is probably going the smoothest. You'd rather be an Audi than Cadillac and and the The fact they've got Gabrielle Bortleto, who is just getting better and better You know I spoke highly of him at the beginning of last season of his F two season, which was unbelievable And he's really we praised his consistency last season for just turning up and just doing the right thing. He wasn't binning it justust doing lap by lap and just improving slightly every time But this season he's come out and he's he's having a great season. Yeah. he's really takaking this Hulkenberg. and I think they've got a great balance of that experienced driver Roie kind of rookie. I know it's his second season. young upcoming driver u I think Audi will look at this week and be like, yeah, great, we've got four points, but we need to start getting both boys in there consistently. There's a bit of work to be done. Definitely. Right before we get ono Ferrari Mercedes, Has, Ollli Beerman P twelve Ocom P thirteen, If you were watching on TV, I don't think you obviously saw this Luke But Oddie Bhrman drove Senner's nineteeny nineteen eighty five car I about on Silverstone earlier this year It was a great piece. If you haven't seen it, go onto YouTube, cheheck it out He was crying at the end of it, you know We gott to protect this guy at all costs. Ollie Behermman is is class and he needs to be protected at all costs. he's brilliant. Ollie Bermman is not only just a top bloke. hit like He's a very good race driver He's got he's got a long successful career ahead of it. Yeah Iree Just talking quickly before we get into the Ferrari and Mercedes as this weekend, so we've had five years now of sprint races which is mad when you think about it. I want to ask the question I want you guys to come in at home Have they improved The race weekends I I'm going to be a scrooge. I personally just prefer the traditional weekend. I think For me But there's arguably just a bit too much going on You know, I actually really enjoy practice. I enjoy sitting down watching them figure out what's going on with the cars I also enjoyed the mystery that that provides? I feel like Having a spring quie I never Brint race It becomes very revealing as to what is going to happen in the race a lot of the time U that, you know, I'm not going to be a pure like Bar them Ihing that crap I just, if I had my choice I would not have them in the sport. Do they provide more entertainment for fans across the weekend? Eespecially like you know, a more casual fan you're way more likely to sit down and watch a spprint qualifying or a sprint race because it's more entertaining than free practice I just like the practice sessions. I just for me, it's just It's like, I like The calm before the storm, which is qualifying and then it's race dayay They're probably doing wonders for the brand and I don't think they'll stop anytime soon And hey, if they're all like the Srint race that we had this weekend Who am I to complain I agree. I agree. Do that s know, do drop a comment. Right Who should we go to? Let's go to Mercedes, shall we George George Russell P two Kimmy Antonelly, he was on for the race win yesterday and You know, unfortunately he had an issue. George Russell also had an issue within the race. his heet a a re puncher But if they're coming away, George Russell will be delighted. He's now taken forty three points off Kimy Aonlli over last. Is it four races, I think it is? George Russell will not be delighted I'm not having that. George Russell will not be delighted with this weekend It is another weekend And don't comment me like George hate George. like I'm F if I do I've rooted for George since he was in Williams. So I'm not shitting on him, I'm not slating him at all But it was another weekend where his teammate was consistently quicker than him. and not by a small, you know, it was another weekend where The Ferraris were in a different category to him. It was another weekend where actually Max Verstappen was quickering in a red bull George Russell will not be leaving this weekend Happy and I what people were calling you the celebration please last week Celebrate because you've got the points and a lot can happen in this season But he's not going to be delighted with how this weekend has turned out. In my opinion. and I agree. Look, George Russell has gained forty six points on Kim Aonelli in the last three races. but it's never been quicker And this is a really interesting stat, okay, because Barcelona Kimy Aonnevi overtook George on track Unfortunately DNF Austria, Yes, George won. But realistically, If it wasn't for Kimy Antonlly making mistakes on turnerm one and everything and having a scruffy few laps in Austria He was still quicker than George This weekend If it wasn't for his, you know, failure He was still quicker. He would have won that race He was still leaps and bounds above George Russell. So yeah, if you are George Russell And I did a video yesterday saying this that actually if you leaveving Silverstone G G got pe to your first podium in Silverstone, fantastic But you're not going to be happy. You're still going to be concerned that Kimy Antonelli is in a far better place than you are Yeah, because They both they've both got reliability issues, right. It's not Just When George is dropping pos, Kimmy is likely going to win the race, right att this point in time when Kimmy's dropping points, we know that Kimmy has probably been ahead of George for the majority of the weekend. So It's not going to be an easy weekend to take for George Russell. Yeahet, it's look it's incredible for his points h and he is making that comeback, but it's It's not going to feel right You know, I'm not taking anything away from George. I'm not saying he can't celebrate just saying that You know, what you say is absolutely true. It is another weekend where Kimmy Antinelli It's quicker than him, but I think he'll be even more concerned Lewis Hamilton was quicker than him You know Charles De Clare Charles Leclair is on fire this week, by the way. We'll talk about that man Max Verstappen, if Max didn't crash, right? And I know I earlier in the podcast I said about circumstantial Victory is like you need to be though, whatever picking up points But let's just look at it from like George's point of view of being real about the situation Max would have finished ahead of him. Charles would have finished ahead of him, Kimmy would have finished ahead of him, Louis would have finished ahead of him And he picked up the points. that's great. I'm just talking about how George looks for the rest of the season. That's going to be something that worries him a lot. because He's in the same car as Cimillanonnelli Kimmy Aonlli was on for the win yesterday with that the offset the tire offset He was closing down on shelves And we don't know what would have happened at the end I would have been you know, rooting for Charles to get across the line and pick up his first victory of the season. but You don't know George Russell was nowhere near than. and I'm so confused because I've always Go back, there's receipts. I've always said George Russell is a future world champion I just don't know where his pace has gone. Kimy Anntonelli, I think Kimmy Anthonney won't be leaving Silverstone disappointed. You'll be disappointed in the actual failure, but if you're king aneti, you're going away going There wass a bit a rubbish weekend. Sprint race was really good. really in control, gotot a good battle with Lewis Hamilton. I was on course to go on overtake Charles Lecler You know, they kept me out longer, My pace was good It was there He was there. There was you know There's sometimes drivers come away from race weekends where they've had a DNF, but actually they didn't perform as well. He still performed consistently well all weekend and actually if you're Toto Wolf, you're Bono, you're Kimi Ainelli, you're going away from Silverstone going I have no concern You know, because he's doing it in all these difficult tracks week in week out and he's just growing with confidence. I have no doubt he If they can get the reliability sorted He will walk away over the championship. I do believe that Yeah He just he just looks too quick. He does. mental like You know, it took him one season findind his feet But now he's got a car that's capable of winning a championship. Yeah, he he's winning a championship Let's be real here, you know Unless those Mercedes, unless those Ferraris can tight in that gap a little bit Then it might become a different story, but He, you know, you At this point You know, here's a question for you. Let me pose a question for you. If you had to put money on who's going to finish ahead in the championship Charanceles Leclc or Georgeussell Who do you think finishes higher in the championship this season U I'd still put my money on George Russell in all honesty because I still think he'll pick up those points and I still think he's quicker than Charles Delair. Obviously it didn't happen in Silverstone, but overall, I think the deficit that Charles Ceclair has already If that makes sense from the beginning of the seasons, from his difficult start. will play a part in that. So for me, I think George Russell would finish ahead of Charlesalare But you had to at least sit there and think about it,t you? I did, yeah. And after yesterday's performance from Charles It did make me question it. It did make me have a real think or kind of Yeah, okay. I just still think that Mercedes is a quicker car in all honesty Either way, Mercedes, need to sort their reliability issues out. I know it's Kimy going over a curb, but I'm not entirely sure that should be happening car but I's talk about the main man. C Can I just talk about something? Can I just say something quickly Um Kimy Antonlli, right It's it's a win win. if he loses the championship, for example this year to Lewis Hamilton, It'll be gutted, but still He's got he's it's a win win for Kimy Aonedi simply because He's got a great car is's leading the world Championship He's fighting against the likes of his idol, Lewis Hamilton, week in, week out This guy is living the dream, nineteen years old And he's got it all there, hasn't he? He's driving for Mercedes. he's got a quick car. He knows he's good. He's fighting against Louewis Hamilton. he's just living he's honestly just living the dream R He After a really tough season last season coming into the sport as an eighteen year old, whatever the hell he was. crazy that he's been able to come out and do this this season. He's on top of the world You know, I'd be Never write off Lewis Hamilton. I've already said Don't write off Charles Lecler Um, This is Kimmy's for the taking. You know? The car needs to be able to finish a race That man is he's got a very long very successful career ahead of him because he is He's just getting stired He's already lightenning quick One more question Yeah George Russell was asked to pit and retire the car like Kimy Antonlli was yesterday. Do you think he would have just retired the car Or do you think he would have done what Kimy Aonelli did and went, No, I'm going to stay out. I want to finish. I want to go for that point For me, that was championship mentality I think George would have. I think George has that mentality. I genuinely do U I don't think George hasn't got the mentality of a champion. I think he's a he he he strikes me as a world champion. I don't know, disagree with me, agree with me, but it doesn't bother me. That's my thought I just think that He is in a bad place. But I I know what you say about Kimmy. like the fact that Kimmy was like, I need this point. Let me get this point. And then he got absolutely, hang on. canan we talk about how Kimy Antonelli got absolutely shafted by one of the most bullshit. Penalties I think I've seen in a long time You know, this this was very different to the Charles Leclerc penalty that you got in Miami where That car was completely out of control No Kimy Antonlli got track limits but because he had you know, a damaged car that wasn't like out of control like Charles was. In my opinion, I just think the situations are different and you know, ultimately it did cost him a point in the end. I'm sure he's not going to lose sleep over it, but it seemed extremely harsh, did it not? No I thought it was harsh You know, he was very vocal over the radio. But yeah, I do think I do think his heart. It wasn't deliberate. He was just trying to keep the car on track And I know some people will go, well, if you're trying to keep the car on track, you should just retire the car. But I respected it from Kimmy. I respected his passion, his desire to keep the car out there, go for that point But yeah, the penalty for me was harsh that was some Bll shit, but should we talk about Let's save Lewis to a last and everything that went on with the safety car Let's talk about Charles Lecler getting back on the toall step because welcome back.. Yeah I I said I said last week, don't write Charles Lecler off. He will win a race this season. You did? I didn't expect him to go and do it in the next race. I'll be totally honest. I didn't expect a Ferrari to win here Especially, I mean, if you had asked me on Saturday I would have said, Well, if a Ferrari is going to win, it's going to be Lewis Charles Leclerf found his mojo, Where the hell did that come from He was electric. He was In a different Patory, you know, Even for a lot of the race, He was maintaining that gap to Kimmy beautifully. It's only because the tre offset eventually that Kimmy was then able to gain back on him, but you know, problems occurred Charles McClair was in the zone You look good, very good Very good. And you know, he was quick He was quick and qualifying and that start from him, that launch was brilliant Yeah, it's just like old Charles Seclair really was and likeis like Lewis said to win as Silverstone is special and Charles Leclair has now got to witness that. So yeah, fair play, fair play I would love to see Where are all the Charles Leclerc haters now? Because I can't hear them. I see I did see some comments yesterday. when I posted about Charles Lecler and I were like, oh you're being nice about him now. You were, you know, being mean about him six videos ago. I wasn't mean about Charlesecler. G back and watch the videos. We were not. We were talking about how Charles was having a difficult time, but everyone is being absolutely mental by saying that he's a terrible driver. We had people saying that like he's Not even as good as Isaac Hajar. No disrespect to Isaac Hajar. He's going to have a great career, but Come on, we were out there defending Charles a the time. We've been real about the situation in that he was having a pretty horrible patch and also that we thought You know Pful fans underestimated how good Lewis Hamilton was That maybe gave Charles a bit too much credit last season, but That There was so much hate towards Charles. We were not a part of that I think he's a very ted strike. We've said that obvious wement where they are now. We've commented We've commented on things in the past where we've said that actually, you know when people are saying Charles C Clair is on the same level as Max Verstappen, he's just not. That bit is fine. That's not critical. that's just state and the truth But yeah, Charles Clire hat us, where are you now? Do drop a comment, do let us know. We want to hear from you guys. so B on Charles fantastic result.. It look he looked like he he looked like old Charles ecler and it was honestly great to see He looked like in in the post rase interview, he looked like a weight had been lifted off his shoulder So And we needed him child. We needed him, you know headading into this weekend, Mercedes were one hundred points clear in the constructors. We need Charles. we need Lewis fighting to get those points. So yeah, fantastic weekend for Charles. Let's get on to Lewis shall we and Mixed emotions this weekend for him because fantastic sprint Po. and qualifying, brilliant there Qualifying was a bit difficult. The race the sprint race was a bit difficult finishing P two about Kimmi just had him on toaster. But the race, he was just now whereere was he? He was well off, Charles declared and came Ant to Nelly this weekend. I mean, not this weekend I mean the Sunday. Okay, sorry, this Sunday Yeah. I mean, the The paste is vanished. I mean, Lewis Lewis seemed obviously dn beatious I'll tell you what though Who would have thought A last season that we'd be seeing Lewis Hamilton in the media pen looking downbeat about getting a podium I mean, what a turnaround Ferrari of hadaden They've had a lot of criticism even this season Tr You know, the man sitting opposite me right now. as Don't even go there. I'm not having that I' notgh at that And When really Ferrari are in a very exceptional position and they've got both their drivers Now it seems firing on all cylinders No Charles Lecl off the back of a victory. Lewouis Hamilton has already got his victory this season. Lewis' is right up there with George and Kimmy And Chles Charles can make his way back there I never expected to see Lewis Hamilton downbeat about getting a podium how the British grow free but He's right to be. He knew that he could have should have D done better this weekend, but He didn't do a bad job, did he? Let's be real, but he'll be concerned about how far he was off Charles and He knows he spoke about it afterwards that there was a few things with the I think he wass talking about his from Wing and you just couldn't get to grip the balance of the car. But come on, Louis, you got a podium. at your home grand Prix in a Ferrari It's a good weekend. I know he'll just be sitting there thinking couldould have got more out this weekend what's interesting is I like this tweet, okay. I said, Okaykay, let's submit it Lewis Hamilton has been carrying F one this season like literally every exciting wheel to wheel overtake. He's involved at forty one years old I actually back that If you think of all the exciting battles that have happened this season Lewis has pretty much been a part of all of them His W's whel racing has been exceptional this season, by the way, and I don't know if you listen to any of the F one commentary specifically. David Clard came over and said I want whatever anti aging pills he's taken because Lewis Hamilton at forty one years old is looking like he's going backwards in age You know, and this was when he was willed to wh with George Russell. It's been exceptional. you know, we've seen some unbelievable battles with Charles, Kimmy, Max, you know, Lewis and Max is always my favorite. I love seeing those two come together. But then Yeah, you know, we've had multip one Lewis Hamilton has been in the mixer this season and it's honestly just good to see him back where he belongs, you know, fighting for wins. podiums, pe, you know, that's where That's where Lewis belongs. and I'm not writing him off for the season. I know we talk about Kimy as the favorite. you'd be stupid to to say anything otherwise. Lewis Hamilton. is there. That is if he can overcome his common enemy who seems to be following him around throughout his whole career att every single race, And that's a little institution that we like to call the FIA who apparently despise Lewis Hamilton and No matter what he does. I'm not even sure they review his incidents. I'm pretty sure I. This is how it goes. I'm sitting in the FA office, whatever it iss called You know, I'm getting all the pings, right Cumes up Louis Hamilton I see that n That's it. That's how the process goes. It's not like, oh, should we look into that? That just is penalty. Is that Lewis Ham? Yeah fiveive seconds. Now give him ten actually You know, that's It's so bad that jump start I can't remember the example. I swear Did Lando not jump start last season and not get anything for it? George Russell did as well last year? Was it George Russell? No, George and Lando did last year. Louis Hamilton Tiny little jump forward I'm pretty sure he doesn't come off his yellow line stops before the lights go out and then goes. You can't even cl you can't even class that as a jumpstar That was like a little It was like his car coughed. yeah You can't class that as a jump star. Uutterly ridiculous. utterly ridiculous. That's why they gave them the five seconds instead of the ten second because there was actually no gain at all Yeah, so they were sitting there Thinking like Ohh shit, they're all say ten seconds He's not actually broken those No no question in five seconds, just give it to him Well, actually we will question it Because then what happens at the end of the race Okay, there's a chance there's a chance here. Lewis has lost a position on track because dived into the pits to grab an extra set of softs Gor Russell still out there on the used mediums You know Okay, this is going to be tasty, right? Final lap. We're going to get one lap of racing George Russell, Charles Lecler, Louis Hamilton anythingthing can happen on this final lap. You know don't forget there's races going on behind us as well. There's going to be Liam Lawson fans watching. There's going to be Pier Gasley fans watching What do we do We absolutely butcher the spectacle for the fans by keeping the safety car out. Despite the fact that they said it was coming in, I know what's happened, right? They followed the rules to the absolute tea Great could have done that in twenty twenty one, decided not to. fuckking. it fucked Lewis Hamilton. That's why we'll do it. What did it do today? Oh, actually this time we'll follow the rules because it fucks Lewis Hamilton. So Make your mind up, Do you know what I mean? Like att least just either don't stick to the rules or do stick to the rules, but do you know what they also could have just done Why don't we look at okay, there's not a lot of time Why don' we just knock the cars unlap themselves Then maybe we will get, you know, maybe two laps of racing even. I don't understand the thought processes here. I really don't This tweet makes this comment makes me laugh, funny how the safety car rules suddenly becomes set in stone when Lewis has fresh softs behind a car on worn mediums. Abu Dhabi twenty one showed us they can be very creative when they want to be. And look Toto Wolf has come out and said I actually think what they did, they followed the rules, fair enough, they accept it Oviously he's going to say that becausecause George Russell got P two. But he did say it's a shame they didn't do that in Abu Dhabi twenty one. I don't have an issue with the FIA being setting certain rules if they're following the rule book, but at least be consistent Why is it now they can make those rules? And actually as fans Okay, that the whole thing had been cleared That whole instant Max's car had been moved, they were ready to go racing Everyone was so excited when that said saafety carar ending And we we're on the edge of our seat going, okay this is going to be epic And then all of a sudden it's like noah, actually, you're not doing that. It's just it just ruined it for fans And you can sit there and go, well, actually what do you want to do? Do you want them to follow the rules, or do you want it to be a show I want him to follow the rules But what is the reason there? They the cars have been unlapped They weren't in the mix. they had already lapped Why are we waiting for? it doesn't make any sense to me. Let them rest Surely you could just have a big enough gap. Like if that like they are the rules, I guess But like P un necessary, especially when you've got an Aston Martin that is in like a different category to all the other c. Obviously it's going to take them like five laps to catch up to the back of the page. He could have won, right? He could have won Wh what? Lance Stro, yeep. he was in the mix. I just think the whole thing It just stinks to me. it just stinks. it doesn'. and I don't even let take away the Lewis you know, tinted glasses I've clearly got on. from a Fan spectacle, you know, There was a record attendance. at Silverstone this weekend, across the weekend, five hundred sixty five thousand attendees On the race dayate, I think you had one hundred seventy two thousand it was. one hundred and seventy two thousand fans there That could have been treated to A last lastap bonanzer and orr will it could have taken was a little bit of common sense to where we could have just said We could just not let any of the cars unlap themselves And you know We're going to get a good few final lus. It's not cororrect me if I'm wrong it's mandatory to have the cars unlap themselves. I think it was, wasn't it? Becauseuse it came from twenty twenty one. That was one of the issues. I only let five cars onself. I thought it was all or none. None of them could unlap themselves But I don't think you have to let the cars unl themselves I have no issue if they I'm wrong if you're listening. But why' do you have to wait a whole lap for them to get round Yeah, yeah, but I'm saying if that is the rule where that you know, they have to they have to wait a whole lot for them Just don't let them do it You know, they don't have to They can just peel off to the side. As everyone goes race, you know, I just I just think the whole thing is crazy. and it ruined it You know, it' such a A good race He kill them peopleople genuinely I was At the race, as They like changed it to announce that the safety car wasn't coming in Genuinely, floods of people started leaving. There was booze as well, wasn't there? all over the place? Yeah A like, are you surprised? No What about this one, Luke So Now you're upset that they didn't restart the race. In twenty twenty one, you were upset that they did these these these two this this these two aren't the same comparison here. Okaykay They're not. They're just not in the same comparison We We shouldn't do you know what? You should have to pass a test be able to use the internet, you would fail it a hundred percent because What is that comment? They In twenty twenty one, the rules were completely broken. No they weren't broken. They were manipulated for entertainment purpose Yeah, they didn't they didn't follow the rules. That was They didn't they manipulated the race result into a favor that you know, favor them. but Great that we did follow the rules, but then also can we look at the fact that the rules might be stupid Again From an F one farA perspective get about the Lewis situation. Okay, we're sitting here complaining that it could have benefited Lewis. would have benefited Lewis, you know Yeah he obviously would have got his P two back But he might have even been able to raise Charles But from an F one f point of view, we could have had a battle for P one on the last lap You know, we George Russell might have been in the mix. You never know that Mercedes power deployment and the power unit is insane We We just got Robbed that's. I do think as F one fans we should be a little bit. pissed off about that because What happened? You know, like why was that not foreseen And they're very different in the sense of twenty twenty one. that was manipulated to crrowned champion. This is for a P two P three, this was actually they're completely different and they're not in the same category here. So let us know, drop a comment, let us know what your thoughts are on that. but It was a very disappointing way to end the Silverstone Grand Prix, especially as there was so much entertainment throughout that race U But I think that is the end of the podcast. It's a long one. so hopefully you've enjoyed it. If you have, do drop a comment, do let us know. Obviously, Luke has got to go in a minute because he's got a Faceetime call with his best mate, Oscar Piastry, so enjoy that one, Luke.. But we'll be back next week, previewing Sa That's our last race, I believe before the summer break Am I correct? or am I wrong? No, I'm not. hungry. We we got hungry. We got hungry before that. Yeah. But yeah Hope you've enjoyed it and we'll be back next week with a brand new episode, byye bye