WEBVTT
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This is, is off track.
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We'll say this officially on air.
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Uh, this is a very loose format, as you could probably tell
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by the fact our producer is in a robe, uh, while we're on
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Air and drinking wine.
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Evidently, that's, um, God,
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I wish I was drinking wine. You and
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Me both. Yeah.
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Us. I'm in. We're in vastly different time zones.
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We are .
We are, we're we're about as far
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as you can get before you start going back the other
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Way.
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We are, in fact, yes. , we are 12 hours apart.
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Um, yes, it is off track with h or Rossie today.
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It's off track with James and Alex. Uh, if that helps.
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But in, in lieu of, uh, Alex Rossi being present, Alex Jakes
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of F1 TV fame joins us on the show.
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What's happening, pal? Thank
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You very much for having me.
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We've finally managed to do this
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after you tried to recruit me after Austin,
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and I was like, ah, I'm on a plane home, .
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Which, which was like, and I also just don't wanna do it.
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So, and I get it. I get that . It's totally fine.
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Totally fair. I, uh, I always wonder
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because you are a, uh, a, a new father.
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Congratulations. Um, thank you.
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This is the one part of the conversation
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that Tim will be able to inject any, uh, experience in.
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So I figure we'll get it outta the way early so
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that way we don't have to hear from him anymore.
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Um, but smart, smart.
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I always, I always wonder, you know, when you have a,
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when you have a young child, I, I talk to a lot
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of people in the business, you know, in racing
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that have kids, and they can't wait to go to a race
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because it's just like an opportunity to sleep
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and catch up on sleep.
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Not to say that you're excited to be away from your family,
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but have you been able to get a little bit more sleep now
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that you've been on the road for a little bit?
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Thank you for this hospital pass of a question
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to open the show, .
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Uh,
That is, that is glorious.
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Um, and let's try and answer this answer
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and still have a marriage by the end of it. .
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Um, sleep is incredibly important
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and I value it even more highly
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than I did at the start of the year.
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Yeah, look, I mean, look, look, exhibit A, exhibit B,
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I've got massive bags under my eyes.
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It has been the most ridiculous year of trying to like,
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be helpful when I'm at home
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and still be, uh, you know,
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something other than a zombie on air.
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It, it's, it's, it's, I, to be honest,
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I wouldn't change its thing, but yeah, it is helpful
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to have a job where you can, uh,
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get more than four hours sleep in a row.
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Um, and that has been helpful.
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But then of course, you go through the door
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and you're immediately handed your child Mm.
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And you're like, oh, I was, I was
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quite looking forward to a knack.
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Yeah. . And yet my wife has been dealing with, uh,
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my crying daughter for the last five days, so, no such luck.
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Yeah. Yeah. It's, uh, it,
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it makes a mad job more mad, let's put it that
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way.
.
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Yeah. Fresh, fresh off the red eye,
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and then just getting handed
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the kid, you're like, oh, right.
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That's how that works now.
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Yeah.
, it gets easier.
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I, I'm told, uh, it hasn't yet for me,
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and I'm almost 12 years in ,
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but like I'm told they move out eventually. , like,
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Yeah, I'm thinking just, I don't know,
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10 or 12 more years, pal.
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You'll be, you'll be good to go. Yeah. You'll be good to go.
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Cool. Cool.
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11 and a half years
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to go. Great. Yeah. Yeah. You'll be great.
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Cheers. No, no, sorry, I was saying,
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I was saying 12 more years to Tim.
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You, you, you're in, you're,
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you've got a couple decades pal.
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Yeah, that's, I didn't wanna undersell that one to you.
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I wanna make sure this is realistic . Uh, okay.
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So for anybody that doesn't know, um, first of all,
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you're watching Formula One incorrectly, uh,
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but Alex obviously is the voice, the lead commentator
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of Formula One on F1 tv.
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So if you have been watching just in any other way,
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stop doing that and,
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and subscribe to F1 TV and listen to that.
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But Alex, how, how long have you actually worked in Formula
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One in any capacity? So I've
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Been attending, uh, grand Prix for, uh, 11 seasons now.
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I started off as the commentator for what is now Formula Two
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and Formula Three, but what is then, uh,
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GP two and GP three?
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Uh, yeah, our old friend Will Buxton used to do that job,
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gave it up and, uh, yeah, I, uh,
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I was the beneficiary of Mr.
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Buxton, uh, deciding to focus on Formula One broadcasting.
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Um, and yeah, started with the junior, uh, championships
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and then, uh, combination
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of ways like 2018 Formula One were like,
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we wanna develop our own channel.
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So, um, we're gonna do this sort
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of side project called the Pit Lane Channel
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that got bigger in, uh, 2019 and 2020.
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And then I moved to, uh, in the UK Channel four Network, um,
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in 2021 for a nice calm season , um, which, uh,
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created no, no controversy at all.
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And then I was there in 2022 as well.
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And then there was a sort of commentary box.
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Merge is potentially the easiest way, um, to put it.
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And, uh, our commentary on F1 TV also goes out
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on, on channel four.
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I do a slightly different version for Channel four,
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and we do, uh, little bits at the start and the end.
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Um, but yeah, uh, it's been 11 seasons
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of attending Grand Prix weekends,
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and I've been doing F1 since 2018, so yeah,
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not bad, not bad.
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And a pretty good job of avoiding a proper
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job.
,
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What do you change up when you're,
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when you're doing it slightly
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different for one or the other?
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Um, so I will do a, I will do an intro.
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I will, I will script an intro just like I would
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for the start of, uh, F1 tv,
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and I'll deliver that literally three
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minutes before we go on air.
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Um, so Channel four has a different intro,
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it has a different results read, it has a different,
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I'll pick up to the presenter.
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Um, and that was all off the back of, that was,
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that was my distinct, like, I want to keep
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that, I want to keep the link.
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I don't want it to feel like they're getting,
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I'm really against anyone getting like,
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uh, a secondhand product.
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I don't like that. I think that's, you know,
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absolutely insane in 2025
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to give someone someone else's broadcast.
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I like if you consider that you've got a tailored feed
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that you are desk scrolling through, the idea
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of someone listening to another channel on a
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channel doesn't really work .
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So yeah, different intros, different outros, and,
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and so Channel four feels like Channel four
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and F1 TV is just all live.
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So you get the, you get the, you get the reaction.
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Do you ever like, do one for Channel four
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and you feel like you kind of mess up,
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but you're like, it's all right, I'll fix it for the F1 tv
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or vice versa, where you're
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like,
, I get another
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Show of this. Let's go.
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Yeah, that's the, that's the fun thing.
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The problem is, because I do it in advance
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and Channel four is a,
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is a feature length highlights program that runs, uh,
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three hours afterwards in the uk.
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I will sometimes just happen upon what happens.
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So I will just go, Hey,
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it's Orlando Norris versus Max Steppen down to turn one.
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Anything could happen and if they hit each other
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or make contact, or, it's a really controversial moment.
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It sounds like I've done it afterwards,
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but I, I just haven't, it's just a pure fluke.
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So sometimes it sounds like you've gone all like, ooh,
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you know, there used to be a thing in the UK where they used
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to record, uh,
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the football commentary on the highlights afterwards,
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and you would get some commentators tried
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to go all like Mystic Meg
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and be like, can he beat five players to score?
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He's passed one knowing full well
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that he just scored this wonder goal
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that's gone past five players.
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So you try not to do that.
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You try to do it all as live in sequence.
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Well, that's because you're a,
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a professional and have integrity.
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I have to admit, um, there was a time when I was doing,
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I was asked to do some commentary for
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what was then called like the Star Mazda Championship.
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It's one of the rungs on the road to Indy Ladder,
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and they had a TV deal,
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but it was all, it was all recorded, uh, in post, right?
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So it was, maybe if there was 10 races in the championship,
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I probably flew out to a studio three times
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and we would do, you know, three
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or four races in one go races.
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That had already happened.
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That, look, I wasn't religiously following Star Mazdas at
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the time, but I maybe had heard or been at the track
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and noticed who won.
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And I'm gonna be totally, I'm gonna be
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totally upfront here, Alex.
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There was more than one occasion where I called a shot
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that I knew a hundred percent was happening , just
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for the sake of sounding like
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I knew what I was talking about.
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So you are a bigger and better man. I'm
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Not mad at you.
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I'm just disappointed. Yeah,
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I know, dad.
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I know, I get that. I get that a lot. And it is tough.
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It is tough here.
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Hearing Alex say that,
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because I have so much respect for this man in,
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in the TV world, and he's just like, well,
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what you never wanna do is exactly what you did.
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You piece of, you know, because
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Your behavior was a disgrace then.
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It's a disgrace now. And I'm judging you,
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Mate.
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Totally fair. He said it, it,
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There was so much gravitas in the way that
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He said it.
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Everything he said,
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it just has this incredible weight behind it.
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I just love it. Yeah, just it's like, man, you really did
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Let a lot of people down.
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Yeah. No, a whole 14 family members of the drivers
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that watched that, uh, that broadcast were very upset, .
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But it's, it's funny. We were having a conversation at
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dinner the other night because this is, this is where we go,
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uh, post work, uh, in Qatar.
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We were, we, we we got into death in eulogies.
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I won't go completely into the context,
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but a hundred percent.
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I want Alex to give my eulogy like that there,
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at least I want some, some, some tribute.
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If there's gonna be a, a video montage tribute,
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it's gotta be voiced over by aj.
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It's gotta be, I'm
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Not, I'm not coming to your funeral.
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I was there when you died the first time.
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I'm not gonna be there for the second
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Rude .
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Rude, uh, yeah. Alex
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Jokes only close, close mates can make.
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Yeah, he jokes. Any close
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Facebook
?
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No. Weird. A lot of people say that to me.
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Is that not normal? I don't know.
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00:09:38.975 --> 00:09:40.205
, we're not coming to your funeral. I,
255
00:09:40.275 --> 00:09:41.275
I'll tell you what, what's not normal?
256
00:09:41.315 --> 00:09:42.485
That conversation that we were
257
00:09:42.485 --> 00:09:43.565
having over dinner wasn't normal.
258
00:09:43.625 --> 00:09:44.925
No, but that's the risk of gonna dinner
259
00:09:44.925 --> 00:09:46.085
with Jolene Palmer, isn't it?
260
00:09:46.155 --> 00:09:48.165
Like he, that's what happens.
261
00:09:48.465 --> 00:09:51.365
He is full of great conversation starters, I gotta say.
262
00:09:51.425 --> 00:09:54.685
Or he's full of conversation starters, uh, varying degrees
263
00:09:54.865 --> 00:09:57.365
of, uh, of greatness. But yeah,
264
00:09:57.365 --> 00:09:58.765
What worries me about that is
265
00:09:58.765 --> 00:10:00.685
that he's constantly carrying them around in his head,
266
00:10:00.685 --> 00:10:03.525
though, , like, it's, it's, it's not inspiration.
267
00:10:03.635 --> 00:10:05.365
He's got like too many ready to go. Yes.
268
00:10:05.365 --> 00:10:07.685
He like, would you like to hear your own eulogy? Right.
269
00:10:09.175 --> 00:10:11.765
Again, it comes off the back of a great episode of, uh,
270
00:10:11.865 --> 00:10:13.165
of Curb Your Enthusiasm,
271
00:10:13.225 --> 00:10:16.565
but regardless, , um, a Alex, did you,
272
00:10:16.785 --> 00:10:17.965
did you grow up a race fan?
273
00:10:17.965 --> 00:10:19.845
Were you a, were you a motor sports guy?
274
00:10:19.845 --> 00:10:21.125
Were you an F1 guy? Yeah.
275
00:10:21.275 --> 00:10:24.005
Yeah. I loved it from, from when I was nine years old.
276
00:10:24.545 --> 00:10:27.925
Um, and just as soon as I found it,
277
00:10:27.925 --> 00:10:29.445
and I found it by accident, scanning
278
00:10:29.445 --> 00:10:31.125
through the channels on a Sunday afternoon.
279
00:10:31.995 --> 00:10:34.445
It's a Belgian Grand Prix in 1998. Oh, wow.
280
00:10:34.465 --> 00:10:35.845
It had
The big crash. Yeah. Yeah.
281
00:10:36.065 --> 00:10:38.605
Um, it's obviously one of the all time great Grand Prix,
282
00:10:38.605 --> 00:10:39.965
so it's a good one to start on.
283
00:10:40.425 --> 00:10:44.765
Uh, but no, I I, I basically saw it, found it,
284
00:10:44.765 --> 00:10:47.365
loved it was obsessive about it, always wanted to,
285
00:10:47.585 --> 00:10:49.005
always wanted to work in it.
286
00:10:49.305 --> 00:10:51.845
It was, Ave was aware very, very early on
287
00:10:51.845 --> 00:10:53.365
that I didn't have the talent having been
288
00:10:53.365 --> 00:10:54.605
to my local go-kart track.
289
00:10:54.605 --> 00:10:56.925
So I was like, right, I'm gonna have to talk about it
290
00:10:56.925 --> 00:10:58.565
or write about it, and I'm better at talking
291
00:10:58.565 --> 00:11:00.565
about it than writing about it. So here we are.
292
00:11:00.705 --> 00:11:02.885
So it wasn't, uh, it wasn't like a family thing.
293
00:11:03.865 --> 00:11:05.205
Dad wasn't into it. He didn't take you
294
00:11:05.205 --> 00:11:06.765
to your first race, you just found it on your own.
295
00:11:07.065 --> 00:11:09.285
No, he, he, he likes all sport
296
00:11:09.705 --> 00:11:13.285
and he was, he, you know, there were, I think he'd cheer
297
00:11:13.285 --> 00:11:14.765
for the British drivers, uh,
298
00:11:14.765 --> 00:11:16.805
like we found some old VHSs in the garage
299
00:11:16.865 --> 00:11:20.325
of like Nigel Mansells, uh, season contending
300
00:11:20.325 --> 00:11:21.325
for the title in 96.
301
00:11:21.325 --> 00:11:22.565
Yeah. And winning it in 92.
302
00:11:22.985 --> 00:11:25.885
So I think he was just a general sports fan,
303
00:11:25.905 --> 00:11:29.205
but no, he wasn't a, um, he wasn't a motor sport obsessive,
304
00:11:29.205 --> 00:11:30.925
and, and no one in the family really was.
305
00:11:30.985 --> 00:11:33.205
But I just, it's one of those, it's one
306
00:11:33.205 --> 00:11:35.885
of those pure fluke things that I, I scanned
307
00:11:35.885 --> 00:11:37.085
through and, and found it.
308
00:11:37.085 --> 00:11:38.805
And I have sometimes thought, uh,
309
00:11:38.825 --> 00:11:41.365
at a young age if I'd found boxing instead,
310
00:11:41.465 --> 00:11:44.085
or, you know, I liked that it was slightly different.
311
00:11:44.565 --> 00:11:46.885
Everyone in, everyone in the UK loves football, right?
312
00:11:47.325 --> 00:11:49.485
Everyone's just obsessed and that, and that's your mainstay.
313
00:11:49.485 --> 00:11:51.405
And I do as well, and I, I love most sports,
314
00:11:51.545 --> 00:11:54.285
but, um, there was just something about Formula One
315
00:11:54.285 --> 00:11:56.925
that just felt elevated compared to everything else.
316
00:11:57.065 --> 00:11:58.645
And that, yeah, that's always been,
317
00:11:58.645 --> 00:11:59.965
that's always been my favorite thing.
318
00:12:00.025 --> 00:12:02.645
So to get to work in it, it's a, it's a happy fluke.
319
00:12:02.945 --> 00:12:06.685
It sure is. So it, 98, I, I assume
320
00:12:06.715 --> 00:12:10.565
that you defaulted to, you know, cheering for the Brits,
321
00:12:11.055 --> 00:12:14.245
which means, I mean, I'm trying to put this together now,
322
00:12:14.245 --> 00:12:15.285
which is a little bizarre.
323
00:12:15.595 --> 00:12:17.365
Like, did you grow up a David Cotard family?
324
00:12:17.365 --> 00:12:19.165
Like who was your guy in 98 when
325
00:12:19.165 --> 00:12:20.285
you first kind of fell in love with
326
00:12:20.285 --> 00:12:21.285
It?
327
00:12:21.285 --> 00:12:23.045
Well, I, I, glory hunted, so it was Mika Hackerman. Ah,
328
00:12:23.195 --> 00:12:23.925
Okay. All right. But
329
00:12:23.925 --> 00:12:26.165
Band, but then obviously, obviously you did you, you know,
330
00:12:26.385 --> 00:12:28.645
DC was contending, which does make it weird.
331
00:12:28.845 --> 00:12:29.845
'cause obviously I'm standing next
332
00:12:29.845 --> 00:12:31.205
to him in the, that's in the commentary box.
333
00:12:31.305 --> 00:12:33.405
Yes. Um, it's very, very odd.
334
00:12:33.465 --> 00:12:36.285
And yeah, you'd, you'd cheer for DC was a contender
335
00:12:36.285 --> 00:12:40.325
of the title, uh, in, in 19 nine, 2000, 2001.
336
00:12:40.325 --> 00:12:43.165
He was runner up. So yeah, it's really, really odd.
337
00:12:43.185 --> 00:12:45.885
Uh, remember sitting in the grandstand cheering for DC
338
00:12:46.225 --> 00:12:48.045
and my first Grand Prix in 2002.
339
00:12:48.305 --> 00:12:51.205
So Yeah, it is, it is very weird when your childhood and,
340
00:12:51.225 --> 00:12:56.005
and, and your and your job emerge into one sort of bizarre,
341
00:12:56.755 --> 00:12:59.085
like, you know, and when he is having a coughing fit
342
00:12:59.085 --> 00:13:00.125
and rolling on the floor,
343
00:13:00.385 --> 00:13:02.245
and like, you've had to take him off air, you're like,
344
00:13:02.325 --> 00:13:03.925
I used to cheer from you from a grandstand.
345
00:13:03.955 --> 00:13:05.365
Strange, strange.
346
00:13:05.905 --> 00:13:08.125
So yeah, it is a, it's a, it's a very,
347
00:13:08.125 --> 00:13:09.685
very odd one. It's an odd one.
348
00:13:10.085 --> 00:13:11.405
I completely relate to that
349
00:13:11.405 --> 00:13:14.925
because I kind of found Formula One in the mid nineties.
350
00:13:15.145 --> 00:13:18.405
I'm Canadian, so Yeah. Who was my guy? Yeah.
351
00:13:19.475 --> 00:13:22.045
Yeah. Jay Vov on the show a lot, and now
352
00:13:22.045 --> 00:13:23.045
He's on the show a lot.
353
00:13:23.145 --> 00:13:25.245
And it's so funny, like every once in a while you're just
354
00:13:25.245 --> 00:13:26.845
kind of standing there and like, I'll look over
355
00:13:26.845 --> 00:13:29.085
and be like, I used to pay 20 bucks a month to be part
356
00:13:29.085 --> 00:13:32.245
of your fan club, to get some envelope from Switzerland
357
00:13:32.395 --> 00:13:34.325
with a newsletter and some stickers.
358
00:13:34.585 --> 00:13:36.485
And I've never told him that, I don't think,
359
00:13:36.485 --> 00:13:38.445
because it seems mildly embarrassing
360
00:13:38.445 --> 00:13:40.445
now, , but it is, it is funny. I
361
00:13:40.445 --> 00:13:42.605
Feel like it should come up if, if you ever go out
362
00:13:42.605 --> 00:13:45.085
for dinner, it's like, well, I would pick up, but
363
00:13:46.245 --> 00:13:49.565
I sent you about, I did fund, you know,
364
00:13:50.145 --> 00:13:52.965
at least one nice dinner for you over the course of,
365
00:13:53.065 --> 00:13:54.125
of my fandom.
366
00:13:54.705 --> 00:13:59.285
But so I, I always found that the kind of previous, uh,
367
00:13:59.485 --> 00:14:01.205
I don't know, there's no way to say this without it kind
368
00:14:01.205 --> 00:14:02.645
of being the, the annoying
369
00:14:02.905 --> 00:14:05.885
and sometimes controversial break in F1 fandom,
370
00:14:05.885 --> 00:14:08.285
but like the free and post drive to survive.
371
00:14:08.285 --> 00:14:12.205
Right. I always, I always felt like free drive to survive
372
00:14:12.805 --> 00:14:15.325
F1 fans were a lot more,
373
00:14:15.385 --> 00:14:18.205
at least a higher percentage were, were team based.
374
00:14:18.275 --> 00:14:20.765
Like they would cheered for Ferrari, they cheered
375
00:14:20.765 --> 00:14:22.605
for McLaren, they cheered for Williams.
376
00:14:22.635 --> 00:14:23.725
Yeah. And less driver base.
377
00:14:23.865 --> 00:14:26.725
Now it seems a lot more fans hook onto a driver
378
00:14:26.785 --> 00:14:28.165
and they'll follow that driver around.
379
00:14:28.545 --> 00:14:32.365
But it sounds like you weren't as much of a, of a team guy.
380
00:14:32.465 --> 00:14:33.565
You kind of picked your drivers.
381
00:14:34.225 --> 00:14:36.805
No, I kind of liked that it was, uh, less partisan
382
00:14:37.435 --> 00:14:39.325
than the other sports.
383
00:14:39.375 --> 00:14:41.365
Right, right. Uh, that I was used to.
384
00:14:41.605 --> 00:14:43.645
I, I like the fact that you could get variation,
385
00:14:43.645 --> 00:14:44.965
different people winning every week,
386
00:14:45.345 --> 00:14:46.845
and that it wasn't always, you know,
387
00:14:46.915 --> 00:14:48.885
growing up it was always our or Man United,
388
00:14:49.145 --> 00:14:50.565
and then it was Chelsea and Man United
389
00:14:50.705 --> 00:14:53.485
and I, I, I like the fact it was a greater variation.
390
00:14:53.485 --> 00:14:56.205
You'd have drivers come and go's switch.
391
00:14:56.505 --> 00:14:59.205
It used to be No, no, it Switch town.
392
00:14:59.505 --> 00:15:02.605
My, my beloved team, you know, uh,
393
00:15:02.785 --> 00:15:04.325
two Good seasons every 20 years. .
394
00:15:04.725 --> 00:15:06.125
It's all right lads. You,
395
00:15:06.305 --> 00:15:07.565
you get it together in the second
396
00:15:07.565 --> 00:15:08.725
half of the year, it'll be fine.
397
00:15:08.855 --> 00:15:12.845
It'll be fine. Um, yeah, the, I like
398
00:15:12.845 --> 00:15:14.005
that it wasn't as part of that.
399
00:15:14.005 --> 00:15:16.205
And then ob obviously the more popular a sport gets
400
00:15:16.865 --> 00:15:19.805
and the broader the fan base gets, as you saw in 2021,
401
00:15:19.865 --> 00:15:22.525
it can suddenly get very, very partisan very, very quickly.
402
00:15:23.025 --> 00:15:26.245
Um, which is, which is fun. The intensity of it is fun.
403
00:15:26.385 --> 00:15:30.405
But I did like that it was slightly, uh, less amplified
404
00:15:30.785 --> 00:15:32.405
and, you know, you didn't get all
405
00:15:32.405 --> 00:15:33.445
the baggage that came with it.
406
00:15:33.725 --> 00:15:35.245
I mean, I'm not gonna do the math
407
00:15:35.245 --> 00:15:37.565
and I'm not gonna ask you to do the math, uh, on
408
00:15:37.565 --> 00:15:38.845
how many grown three you've called.
409
00:15:38.985 --> 00:15:42.245
But is there, is there one, is there one
410
00:15:42.555 --> 00:15:44.805
that kind of stands out as your favorite? Yeah,
411
00:15:45.155 --> 00:15:46.725
Silverstone 2021.
412
00:15:46.985 --> 00:15:50.085
And not because of what happened between Hamilton
413
00:15:50.085 --> 00:15:52.245
and Tappin, but I'd always wanted to call
414
00:15:52.945 --> 00:15:54.845
the British Grand Prix on network television.
415
00:15:54.845 --> 00:15:55.965
That was what I wanted to do.
416
00:15:55.965 --> 00:15:57.605
That's what I wanted to do professionally.
417
00:15:58.445 --> 00:15:59.815
It's a sport I love as a kid.
418
00:16:00.395 --> 00:16:04.535
Um, that race, it just felt like the most intense experience
419
00:16:04.535 --> 00:16:06.695
that I've, I've had as a broadcaster.
420
00:16:07.275 --> 00:16:09.535
Um, yeah, we'd had COVID
421
00:16:09.995 --> 00:16:12.975
and fans hadn't been back in the numbers that,
422
00:16:13.085 --> 00:16:14.135
that were there that day.
423
00:16:14.135 --> 00:16:16.535
Silverstone is always one of the greatest atmospheres
424
00:16:16.535 --> 00:16:17.975
of any sporting event on the planet.
425
00:16:18.595 --> 00:16:20.295
Um, and then for the Staffan
426
00:16:20.295 --> 00:16:22.415
and Hamilton to put on that opening minute of the race,
427
00:16:22.785 --> 00:16:26.455
which was so aggressive, two of the best
428
00:16:26.455 --> 00:16:28.775
to ever do it brawling.
429
00:16:28.805 --> 00:16:31.455
They weren't just racing cars. They're fighting with cars.
430
00:16:31.915 --> 00:16:35.455
And I wish that they got through Cops Corner.
431
00:16:35.695 --> 00:16:37.695
I wish that they'd just carried on, um,
432
00:16:37.695 --> 00:16:39.855
because it was, it was just a battle for the ages.
433
00:16:39.875 --> 00:16:42.295
But no, the crowd noise, if you want
434
00:16:42.295 --> 00:16:44.255
to do a race your entire life and you get to do it,
435
00:16:44.255 --> 00:16:45.775
and you've told everyone from when you were 10,
436
00:16:45.775 --> 00:16:48.935
you wanna be a four one commentator and you get to do it.
437
00:16:48.995 --> 00:16:50.335
And that's your opening lap.
438
00:16:50.975 --> 00:16:52.735
I mean, my heart rate must have just been,
439
00:16:52.915 --> 00:16:54.495
my heart rate must have been two 50.
440
00:16:54.885 --> 00:16:56.495
I've, I've never known anything like it.
441
00:16:56.555 --> 00:16:58.615
It, it, it was, it was so intense.
442
00:16:58.615 --> 00:16:59.855
And then obviously the rest of the race
443
00:16:59.955 --> 00:17:01.575
was, was unbelievable.
444
00:17:02.655 --> 00:17:05.455
Hamilton comes back through, I've got Mark Weber
445
00:17:05.455 --> 00:17:06.935
and David Hor next to me saying he
446
00:17:06.935 --> 00:17:08.015
should have had a stop go penalty.
447
00:17:08.195 --> 00:17:09.255
He gets the time penalty
448
00:17:09.475 --> 00:17:12.575
and just the heightened experience of wanting to do
449
00:17:12.575 --> 00:17:14.575
that forever and then getting a race of that intensity
450
00:17:14.675 --> 00:17:17.895
and quality is, is it's, it's top by a mile.
451
00:17:18.275 --> 00:17:21.175
And, uh, yeah, I, uh, it was a great day.
452
00:17:21.635 --> 00:17:24.135
Is there, is there a different answer for just race
453
00:17:24.135 --> 00:17:27.015
that you've seen and, you know, whether as a fan
454
00:17:27.015 --> 00:17:29.455
or working in some other capacity, you know, is there,
455
00:17:29.515 --> 00:17:31.215
is there any other Grand Prix that tops that
456
00:17:31.575 --> 00:17:34.015
I can, I can tell you my favorite, my favorite finish
457
00:17:34.035 --> 00:17:35.335
of any motor race ever.
458
00:17:35.395 --> 00:17:38.695
The most I've ever lost it watching any motor racing in my
459
00:17:38.695 --> 00:17:40.015
life is the Indie 500.
460
00:17:40.345 --> 00:17:41.455
Where JR Hil,
461
00:17:41.495 --> 00:17:43.655
a brand crash at the final corner, and Dan Weldon won.
462
00:17:43.655 --> 00:17:46.695
Yeah, I think I nearly went through, I nearly went
463
00:17:46.695 --> 00:17:47.695
through the patio doors.
464
00:17:48.495 --> 00:17:52.645
I, uh, it, I've never seen anything like that in my life.
465
00:17:52.645 --> 00:17:55.285
That it is a foregone conclusion that it's a victory lap,
466
00:17:55.425 --> 00:17:58.765
and then the idea that you can lose it inside of the flag,
467
00:17:58.865 --> 00:18:00.685
that's the most exciting finish
468
00:18:00.705 --> 00:18:02.645
of any sporting event I've ever seen.
469
00:18:02.985 --> 00:18:05.645
Um, and genuinely, like I've always loved the 500
470
00:18:05.785 --> 00:18:09.805
and to see that happen and, and that was just unbelievable.
471
00:18:09.825 --> 00:18:11.525
It remains unbelievable to this day.
472
00:18:11.705 --> 00:18:14.525
And that one, I, I remember that one so well
473
00:18:14.525 --> 00:18:16.325
because I had already crashed outta that race,
474
00:18:16.665 --> 00:18:20.845
and I was, uh, very begrudgingly forced to go up
475
00:18:20.845 --> 00:18:22.645
to my sponsor's suite at the time.
476
00:18:23.505 --> 00:18:26.765
And I was, I was in a, I was in a very intense battle
477
00:18:26.795 --> 00:18:29.125
with Hildebrand for Rookie of the Year honors,
478
00:18:29.225 --> 00:18:32.245
and he's about to come second in the race that I crashed out
479
00:18:32.245 --> 00:18:33.765
of, or sorry, he is about to win the race
480
00:18:34.035 --> 00:18:35.125
that I crashed out of.
481
00:18:35.145 --> 00:18:38.805
And I remember being pressed up against the glass of the,
482
00:18:38.865 --> 00:18:42.805
the, the pit row suites looking down at the, at turn four
483
00:18:42.805 --> 00:18:44.165
to watch him come off the last corner.
484
00:18:44.785 --> 00:18:46.205
And then, you know, you know, when you're looking
485
00:18:46.205 --> 00:18:48.085
through glass, but like at that angle,
486
00:18:48.085 --> 00:18:49.805
everything you can't quite see clearly.
487
00:18:49.805 --> 00:18:51.765
Yeah. I just see this puff of smoke
488
00:18:52.465 --> 00:18:54.365
and like, you know, this mini explosion.
489
00:18:54.365 --> 00:18:56.725
I was like, wait, what was that ? And it all sort of came
490
00:18:56.725 --> 00:18:59.005
to be my favorite part about that whole thing though is
491
00:18:59.005 --> 00:19:00.685
that Hildebrand just kept his foot planted
492
00:19:00.715 --> 00:19:03.645
with two wheels missing and still scrape.
493
00:19:03.885 --> 00:19:05.685
I mean, yeah, the stern finish line is a,
494
00:19:05.755 --> 00:19:08.205
it's a long way down that straight that's five eighths
495
00:19:08.205 --> 00:19:09.685
of a mile of a straight, and it's
496
00:19:09.685 --> 00:19:10.805
three quarters of the way down there.
497
00:19:10.825 --> 00:19:12.525
And he just kept his foot pinned
498
00:19:12.705 --> 00:19:14.765
and somehow the thing was still unbelievable.
499
00:19:15.405 --> 00:19:18.165
Unbelievable. But yeah, that was, that was as wild
500
00:19:18.185 --> 00:19:20.165
as it gets, I think from the end of his sporting event.
501
00:19:23.955 --> 00:19:28.645
That said, wild Finishes, uh, are,
502
00:19:28.645 --> 00:19:31.525
are kind of what we're set up for nicely, uh, this weekend
503
00:19:32.105 --> 00:19:36.085
in, in Abu Dhabi three three in the fight, which,
504
00:19:37.045 --> 00:19:40.365
I mean, did you have three drivers in contention
505
00:19:40.665 --> 00:19:42.925
for the championship coming into the finale at,
506
00:19:43.015 --> 00:19:44.485
let's say midway through this
507
00:19:44.485 --> 00:19:45.485
season?
?
508
00:19:45.865 --> 00:19:49.205
No, I had a McLaren driver winning with about four to go.
509
00:19:49.985 --> 00:19:53.485
And then, you know, I was, I was, you know, there was talk
510
00:19:53.485 --> 00:19:55.765
of, there was talk of paddle matches, there was,
511
00:19:55.765 --> 00:19:58.485
there was talk of trips out to the sand dunes
512
00:19:58.785 --> 00:20:01.565
and it was like, all right, well, you know, that won't have,
513
00:20:01.595 --> 00:20:02.845
that won't happen for Qatar.
514
00:20:02.845 --> 00:20:04.045
It might happen for Abu Dhabi.
515
00:20:04.045 --> 00:20:05.445
That won't happen for Abu Dhabi.
516
00:20:05.475 --> 00:20:07.565
Okay, we've got a, we've got an Epic championship.
517
00:20:07.675 --> 00:20:09.285
This doesn't happen very often. Mm.
518
00:20:09.705 --> 00:20:12.645
And for it to happen in a 24 race season just feels
519
00:20:12.645 --> 00:20:13.725
even more impossible.
520
00:20:13.785 --> 00:20:16.165
But it, I've been saying all year, to be honest,
521
00:20:16.345 --> 00:20:18.125
the very start of the year, what I thought would happen
522
00:20:18.125 --> 00:20:19.485
before we saw the pace of the cars,
523
00:20:20.805 --> 00:20:22.885
I thought McLaren would split the difference
524
00:20:22.985 --> 00:20:24.445
and Max Steppen would win the title.
525
00:20:24.715 --> 00:20:26.285
That was my season prediction.
526
00:20:26.525 --> 00:20:28.805
I thought, I thought they'd take wins off each other
527
00:20:28.945 --> 00:20:30.205
and for Steppen win the title
528
00:20:30.515 --> 00:20:33.165
that obviously should not have come to pass.
529
00:20:33.165 --> 00:20:36.125
They've had enough pace to seal the deal, sort this out,
530
00:20:36.125 --> 00:20:37.845
and yet we come here with, uh,
531
00:20:37.945 --> 00:20:40.605
the score 7, 7, 7 in terms of wins.
532
00:20:41.545 --> 00:20:42.805
But no, I didn't think we'd be anywhere
533
00:20:42.805 --> 00:20:43.885
near a title decider.
534
00:20:43.885 --> 00:20:46.085
Neither did Max. Neither did Max.
535
00:20:46.225 --> 00:20:47.485
You see him talking about it
536
00:20:47.485 --> 00:20:49.565
and he is like, yeah, well I'm here.
537
00:20:49.665 --> 00:20:52.285
He, he's almost, he's almost not apologetic,
538
00:20:52.505 --> 00:20:54.845
but the fact that he was able to give that answer last week
539
00:20:54.845 --> 00:20:55.845
where he is like, well, I'm here
540
00:20:55.845 --> 00:20:57.845
because of their errors, not because of, not
541
00:20:57.845 --> 00:20:59.125
because we have done the best job
542
00:20:59.125 --> 00:21:01.285
or we have the best car, like we've maximized
543
00:21:01.285 --> 00:21:03.685
what we've got, but there's a, there's a,
544
00:21:03.685 --> 00:21:06.885
there's a strange air and spent last week
545
00:21:07.295 --> 00:21:10.365
after the result, they're just a bewildered air in the
546
00:21:10.365 --> 00:21:11.725
paddock wasn't there because it was like,
547
00:21:12.265 --> 00:21:14.245
how have we got a title decider when,
548
00:21:14.275 --> 00:21:16.805
when they've had this advantage at the start of the year.
549
00:21:16.825 --> 00:21:20.005
But I'll take it, it's what all broadcasters wanna do is a,
550
00:21:20.145 --> 00:21:22.765
is a winner, takes all type of situation. It's
551
00:21:22.765 --> 00:21:24.845
One of those things where, you know,
552
00:21:24.845 --> 00:21:27.125
let's say post summer break or post sandor, right?
553
00:21:27.425 --> 00:21:29.445
If you were to, if you were to say to someone, okay,
554
00:21:29.445 --> 00:21:31.605
hey look, I know Oscar's, you know,
555
00:21:31.605 --> 00:21:36.125
got 34 over Orlando 104 over max, I need you
556
00:21:36.125 --> 00:21:39.485
to script out a scenario that sees all three of these guys
557
00:21:40.145 --> 00:21:42.205
in the, in the running in the last race.
558
00:21:42.415 --> 00:21:43.765
You'd be like, no, I can't.
559
00:21:43.765 --> 00:21:45.445
There's literally nothing that I could write
560
00:21:45.445 --> 00:21:48.605
that would be even mildly plausible on, on
561
00:21:48.625 --> 00:21:49.645
how this could happen.
562
00:21:49.645 --> 00:21:50.805
Yeah. Like, it's, it's, it's
563
00:21:50.805 --> 00:21:52.485
One of, and you wouldn't, you wouldn't do,
564
00:21:52.825 --> 00:21:55.085
you wouldn't do technical disqualification No.
565
00:21:55.425 --> 00:21:59.485
And, and bizarro strategy, would you, you'd do, uh,
566
00:22:00.095 --> 00:22:02.765
you'd do them crashing into each other a
567
00:22:02.765 --> 00:22:03.805
couple of times. Maybe
568
00:22:03.805 --> 00:22:05.045
A wet weather racing Brazil,
569
00:22:05.045 --> 00:22:07.725
and they've avoided that, you know, whatever they've avoided
570
00:22:07.725 --> 00:22:10.285
Crashing into each other or every time apart
571
00:22:10.285 --> 00:22:11.525
from twice all season.
572
00:22:11.625 --> 00:22:13.285
The Austin one I think was just unlucky.
573
00:22:13.365 --> 00:22:15.285
I didn't get that narrative that Oscar was at fault there.
574
00:22:15.585 --> 00:22:17.765
Um, and the Canada one, it happens.
575
00:22:17.825 --> 00:22:20.125
You're gonna hit each other if you've got a competitive car
576
00:22:20.125 --> 00:22:23.445
for an entire, uh, we got 30 races this year, six Sprint
577
00:22:23.465 --> 00:22:24.845
and, and 24 Grand Prix.
578
00:22:24.845 --> 00:22:26.165
So that's gonna happen at some point.
579
00:22:26.425 --> 00:22:27.965
But they've managed to avoid all of that,
580
00:22:28.105 --> 00:22:30.805
and still Forin has, has caught them.
581
00:22:30.945 --> 00:22:33.605
So, uh, unbel literally unbelievable.
582
00:22:33.985 --> 00:22:36.045
Do you, do you have a sense, uh,
583
00:22:36.105 --> 00:22:38.205
and this is such a stupid question, I apologize,
584
00:22:38.425 --> 00:22:41.605
I'm even asking again, but just based on that comment,
585
00:22:41.665 --> 00:22:44.485
it made me wanna ask the question, do you have a a,
586
00:22:44.685 --> 00:22:47.365
a deep feeling of who you think is the most deserving
587
00:22:47.365 --> 00:22:48.445
driver at this point?
588
00:22:48.625 --> 00:22:49.805
No, I think they're all deserving.
589
00:22:49.805 --> 00:22:51.805
And I think this will be a narrative, especially if,
590
00:22:51.825 --> 00:22:54.125
if you get, and I really don't like this,
591
00:22:54.125 --> 00:22:56.445
if you win the title and you do the best job, uh,
592
00:22:56.445 --> 00:22:58.085
like it doesn't matter if you win by a hundred points
593
00:22:58.145 --> 00:23:00.925
or one point, like if you're champion,
594
00:23:00.925 --> 00:23:03.885
you're a champion if you got the job done over
595
00:23:04.185 --> 00:23:05.485
and every, I do think
596
00:23:05.485 --> 00:23:07.645
what has been underpriced in the narrative of this is
597
00:23:07.645 --> 00:23:08.645
that Oscar Pry
598
00:23:08.645 --> 00:23:10.365
and Lando Norris are trying to win their first title.
599
00:23:10.585 --> 00:23:12.285
Max Affan has been there and done that,
600
00:23:12.745 --> 00:23:16.965
and he was, he was shaky on the grid in Abu Dhabi 2021
601
00:23:17.705 --> 00:23:20.005
and, and got the, got the poor start.
602
00:23:20.665 --> 00:23:22.925
Uh, it's a very short rundown to the first turn.
603
00:23:23.235 --> 00:23:24.365
They're human beings.
604
00:23:24.365 --> 00:23:26.285
They've poured their entire life into this.
605
00:23:26.835 --> 00:23:28.845
Literally their entire lives have been built
606
00:23:28.845 --> 00:23:30.085
around the moment that they're now facing.
607
00:23:30.385 --> 00:23:32.685
Of course it's going to be Shakier, Philando
608
00:23:32.685 --> 00:23:34.925
and Oscar trying to claim that first one.
609
00:23:35.305 --> 00:23:38.045
So I think whoever gets it, it is as simple as that.
610
00:23:38.045 --> 00:23:40.405
Whoever gets it, everyone signs up to motor racing
611
00:23:40.945 --> 00:23:42.925
in Formula One, someone's gonna have a quicker car.
612
00:23:43.195 --> 00:23:44.285
Alright. You know,
613
00:23:44.285 --> 00:23:46.285
there's gonna be an unfair advantage baked in
614
00:23:46.625 --> 00:23:47.765
if the stamping gets it.
615
00:23:47.765 --> 00:23:49.845
It's one of the all time great Formula one titles.
616
00:23:50.385 --> 00:23:52.725
Um, it's, it's right up there.
617
00:23:52.925 --> 00:23:55.365
I mean, it's right up there with the, the audacity
618
00:23:55.365 --> 00:23:58.685
of winning that one, um, from as far back as he has done.
619
00:23:58.745 --> 00:24:02.245
But in terms of, in terms of deserving, no,
620
00:24:02.335 --> 00:24:04.765
Lando would deserve to have taken the hits early on,
621
00:24:05.195 --> 00:24:08.525
come back, weathered the storm, figured out the car,
622
00:24:09.505 --> 00:24:11.365
sorted out the field behind the wheel, and done it.
623
00:24:11.495 --> 00:24:15.725
Oscar, to go in there to steal Orlando's star to, uh,
624
00:24:15.915 --> 00:24:19.485
winning your third season in a team that was geared
625
00:24:19.505 --> 00:24:21.565
for Orlando Norris championship would be
626
00:24:22.185 --> 00:24:23.565
be an unbelievable achievement.
627
00:24:23.625 --> 00:24:27.205
So yeah, there is, for me, there's no most deserving
628
00:24:27.205 --> 00:24:30.005
or least deserving, but yeah, all, all three
629
00:24:30.005 --> 00:24:31.405
of them have done well to get to this point,
630
00:24:31.425 --> 00:24:33.485
but the fact that Max is still in the conversation is,
631
00:24:33.585 --> 00:24:35.205
is genuinely bonkers. And,
632
00:24:35.205 --> 00:24:36.605
And I think this is actually another thing
633
00:24:36.605 --> 00:24:38.165
that's been a little bit undersold, right?
634
00:24:38.165 --> 00:24:41.765
Because we're talking about the, the comeback, right?
635
00:24:42.025 --> 00:24:44.485
If he were to complete it, it would be the greatest comeback
636
00:24:44.485 --> 00:24:45.925
in terms of the, the biggest margin.
637
00:24:46.425 --> 00:24:48.765
And I mean, just objectively the greatest comeback.
638
00:24:49.385 --> 00:24:50.965
And, and people are focusing on that
639
00:24:51.105 --> 00:24:54.005
and almost ignoring the historical element
640
00:24:54.305 --> 00:24:57.285
of the only driver in history to win five in a row. Yeah,
641
00:24:57.915 --> 00:24:59.125
Well, you've got, you Michael,
642
00:24:59.195 --> 00:25:01.645
Michael Schumacher was able to do that with Ferrari.
643
00:25:01.745 --> 00:25:04.085
Oh, sorry. That's, and then that's, then you've got, you've,
644
00:25:04.085 --> 00:25:05.125
you've got, so,
645
00:25:05.425 --> 00:25:08.365
but then you are thinking that's, that's Dynasty stuff.
646
00:25:08.365 --> 00:25:11.165
That's, that's it. It's just total domination.
647
00:25:11.355 --> 00:25:13.045
It's just total domination.
648
00:25:13.225 --> 00:25:17.285
But with a car that in the last two seasons has not been
649
00:25:17.825 --> 00:25:19.005
the front runner every week.
650
00:25:19.055 --> 00:25:24.005
Right. Chuma Schumacher won his first title in 2000,
651
00:25:24.105 --> 00:25:27.005
in a very close battle with M Hackerman
652
00:25:27.345 --> 00:25:31.245
and then 2001, he got it done very early 2002.
653
00:25:31.245 --> 00:25:32.765
He basically won it by the middle of the year.
654
00:25:32.845 --> 00:25:34.085
I think he won the title in July.
655
00:25:34.105 --> 00:25:36.165
So that's how competitive that's season was,
656
00:25:36.985 --> 00:25:39.285
2003, very, very tight.
657
00:25:39.705 --> 00:25:42.885
But he got the job done effectively with two races to go,
658
00:25:42.885 --> 00:25:44.045
only needed a point at the end.
659
00:25:44.265 --> 00:25:47.645
2004 won it, won it in sparse. That's the August time.
660
00:25:48.105 --> 00:25:51.765
Um, so the dominance there was ridiculous.
661
00:25:51.765 --> 00:25:54.925
And there were two close championships for Stepin had, uh,
662
00:25:55.485 --> 00:25:58.885
a car that really wasn't capable of winning a, a large part
663
00:25:58.985 --> 00:26:00.565
of the back end of last year,
664
00:26:01.265 --> 00:26:03.885
and a team in turmoil, which was contributing to it.
665
00:26:04.465 --> 00:26:07.565
And then the first half of this year, same nonsense.
666
00:26:07.565 --> 00:26:08.885
They just couldn't figure out how
667
00:26:08.885 --> 00:26:10.045
to get a tune out of that car.
668
00:26:10.065 --> 00:26:11.285
So to win,
669
00:26:12.065 --> 00:26:15.245
to win two titles potentially when the car,
670
00:26:15.345 --> 00:26:17.845
it wasn't even the Top Red Bull driver in Budapest,
671
00:26:18.515 --> 00:26:20.925
that would be downright sensational to do it.
672
00:26:21.105 --> 00:26:23.765
And, uh, I would say for my money,
673
00:26:23.765 --> 00:26:26.285
even more impressive than Schumacher's five in a row. Yeah,
674
00:26:26.385 --> 00:26:27.725
No, I think that's, I think that's accurate.
675
00:26:27.865 --> 00:26:31.085
You, you said earlier, you know, you kind of mentioned
676
00:26:31.085 --> 00:26:34.285
that it's, it's tough to, it's even more surprising
677
00:26:34.285 --> 00:26:36.285
to have this scenario in a 24 race season, right?
678
00:26:36.305 --> 00:26:38.605
The longer the season, the higher the odds
679
00:26:38.605 --> 00:26:40.045
that it gets wrapped up before the last race.
680
00:26:40.155 --> 00:26:43.285
Yeah. Are we, do we have too many races, in your opinion,
681
00:26:43.665 --> 00:26:46.605
for that, for that exact reason, you know,
682
00:26:46.785 --> 00:26:47.805
if for nothing else.
683
00:26:47.995 --> 00:26:49.525
Yeah. And, and I know there's,
684
00:26:49.525 --> 00:26:51.565
there's sometimes we even talk about adding even more, but,
685
00:26:51.585 --> 00:26:53.165
and more sprint races, which again,
686
00:26:53.165 --> 00:26:54.605
is just putting more points on the board,
687
00:26:54.605 --> 00:26:56.165
which makes it that much more likely.
688
00:26:56.165 --> 00:26:57.605
It gets locked up earlier. Is
689
00:26:57.605 --> 00:27:00.925
that potentially directionally incorrect for
690
00:27:01.585 --> 00:27:02.645
the sport? I
691
00:27:02.645 --> 00:27:04.965
Think the thing is, it's incredibly popular, right?
692
00:27:04.965 --> 00:27:07.165
So everyone wants to watch it as much as possible.
693
00:27:07.225 --> 00:27:10.245
And no one wants to go, no one wants to wander in
694
00:27:10.245 --> 00:27:11.485
and go, actually, I've decided
695
00:27:11.485 --> 00:27:13.725
that we're gonna make less money this year.
696
00:27:13.725 --> 00:27:17.645
Right? Chaps, . Um, so as a tough sell, isn't it,
697
00:27:17.645 --> 00:27:20.765
when the sport's in a boom time to, to, to restrict it?
698
00:27:21.005 --> 00:27:24.885
I do think it's, it's running roughly close to capacity, uh,
699
00:27:24.885 --> 00:27:26.765
especially if you consider the off season.
700
00:27:27.305 --> 00:27:31.205
If you consider that, uh, you've got three tests next year,
701
00:27:31.515 --> 00:27:35.965
plus 24 grand Prix plus six races, that is, that is a lot
702
00:27:35.965 --> 00:27:39.325
of the year, uh, and a lot of travel for everyone.
703
00:27:39.865 --> 00:27:44.445
So it's a, it's a unbelievable championship to be a part of
704
00:27:44.545 --> 00:27:45.765
and to be able to work on,
705
00:27:45.825 --> 00:27:47.765
but it's, it's approaching the ceiling.
706
00:27:47.985 --> 00:27:49.485
And to be fair, I think they've understood
707
00:27:49.485 --> 00:27:51.285
that if you were drawing it up from scratch,
708
00:27:51.295 --> 00:27:53.085
maybe you'd go in a slightly different direction.
709
00:27:53.105 --> 00:27:57.525
But, uh, I think, I think it's, I think it's just about
710
00:27:57.935 --> 00:27:59.085
where it should be at the moment.
711
00:27:59.475 --> 00:28:03.245
When you have a season like this, in comparison to, say,
712
00:28:03.285 --> 00:28:06.965
a season like 2023 where one team dominated everything,
713
00:28:07.105 --> 00:28:09.725
one driver won 80 something percent of the races,
714
00:28:09.925 --> 00:28:12.085
whatever it was, how, how good is it for the, for the,
715
00:28:12.305 --> 00:28:14.405
the sport to have these years?
716
00:28:14.905 --> 00:28:16.885
And kind of on the, on the flip side,
717
00:28:17.585 --> 00:28:20.085
is it detrimental when you have a year
718
00:28:20.345 --> 00:28:23.725
or a couple of years of just unbridled dominance?
719
00:28:24.005 --> 00:28:27.045
I, I think, I think some dominance can be quite good.
720
00:28:27.405 --> 00:28:30.645
I mean, history shows us when you see all the,
721
00:28:30.665 --> 00:28:33.565
all the red merchandise in the grandstand that people,
722
00:28:33.665 --> 00:28:36.205
people love Ferrari 'cause they're the most successful team.
723
00:28:36.385 --> 00:28:37.925
It doesn't matter where we go, it doesn't matter
724
00:28:37.925 --> 00:28:38.925
what race we go to,
725
00:28:38.945 --> 00:28:40.805
you're always seeing red in the grandstands.
726
00:28:41.425 --> 00:28:44.045
So people love a, a, a victory story,
727
00:28:44.145 --> 00:28:47.165
but 2023, that's, that's too extreme.
728
00:28:47.425 --> 00:28:50.325
You can't, you can't have a sporting competition
729
00:28:50.615 --> 00:28:52.845
where you know the winner before you start.
730
00:28:53.585 --> 00:28:56.605
Um, and the joy of the last couple of years has been, uh,
731
00:28:57.185 --> 00:29:01.365
the outright best driver has been in a car where he is,
732
00:29:01.695 --> 00:29:03.245
where, which hasn't been the best car.
733
00:29:03.625 --> 00:29:05.965
And, and Formula One is at it's absolute best,
734
00:29:05.965 --> 00:29:08.165
where you put the leading driver at the time in a car
735
00:29:08.165 --> 00:29:10.565
that is not quite as competitive as the others.
736
00:29:11.225 --> 00:29:14.245
You know, Schumacher versus the Williams guys in the,
737
00:29:14.305 --> 00:29:16.565
in the nineties is, is peak Formula one.
738
00:29:16.565 --> 00:29:18.325
It's, it's just utterly joyous
739
00:29:18.665 --> 00:29:20.365
to see can he scrap his way there?
740
00:29:20.465 --> 00:29:22.085
And, and the title finales
741
00:29:22.085 --> 00:29:24.725
that we had in in those years were, were unbelievable.
742
00:29:25.025 --> 00:29:27.805
Um, uh, formula has never been as competitive,
743
00:29:28.185 --> 00:29:30.845
but they're almost too close now, aren't they, in
744
00:29:30.845 --> 00:29:32.765
that no one can get past anyone, right?
745
00:29:32.795 --> 00:29:35.765
Like the drivers almost resigned in, in Qatar
746
00:29:35.765 --> 00:29:36.965
to not being able to overtake.
747
00:29:37.145 --> 00:29:39.765
So, uh, you definitely want a mixture of the two.
748
00:29:40.185 --> 00:29:41.645
If you line 'em up, up how they qualify,
749
00:29:42.675 --> 00:29:45.125
some years you're just gonna get a dominant champion.
750
00:29:45.345 --> 00:29:47.725
That's just the nature of motor racing and always will be.
751
00:29:48.145 --> 00:29:51.165
Um, but it, you know, the, the years like we've had
752
00:29:51.165 --> 00:29:52.205
where it's ultra competitive,
753
00:29:52.205 --> 00:29:54.565
if you've got three drivers in the mix, yeah, it's,
754
00:29:54.565 --> 00:29:58.285
it's such a, and unexpectedly this could have been,
755
00:29:59.515 --> 00:30:01.855
and if a McLaren driver does not win the title,
756
00:30:01.925 --> 00:30:04.255
they will ru this, this could have been a
757
00:30:05.295 --> 00:30:09.575
14, 15, 16 race winning season for, for one of them.
758
00:30:09.995 --> 00:30:12.655
And to have that machinery available to you and,
759
00:30:12.795 --> 00:30:16.095
and to be stuck in a three-way title fight is a,
760
00:30:16.095 --> 00:30:17.295
is a, is a really tough one.
761
00:30:17.395 --> 00:30:18.615
So, uh,
762
00:30:18.915 --> 00:30:21.175
but for us, brilliant, we're, there's always,
763
00:30:21.175 --> 00:30:22.975
always chat about bias broadcasting.
764
00:30:22.975 --> 00:30:24.295
I'll tell you what we're biased towards,
765
00:30:24.295 --> 00:30:26.055
biased towards it being exciting and good.
766
00:30:26.055 --> 00:30:30.535
Yeah. . Amen. Amen. Two quick things to finish off.
767
00:30:30.835 --> 00:30:34.255
If, if Max does win it, is it gonna be remembered
768
00:30:34.255 --> 00:30:36.535
as the greatest comeback in F1,
769
00:30:36.755 --> 00:30:37.895
or is it gonna be remembered
770
00:30:37.895 --> 00:30:40.335
as the greatest fumble from McLaren?
771
00:30:40.675 --> 00:30:43.935
Uh, a combination of the two has to be, absolutely, has
772
00:30:43.935 --> 00:30:45.135
to be a combination of the two.
773
00:30:45.395 --> 00:30:48.135
Um, it would be the greatest comeback, uh,
774
00:30:48.235 --> 00:30:50.775
of any point system in Formula One history.
775
00:30:51.115 --> 00:30:54.175
It would also just be the a the audacity of it would be
776
00:30:55.615 --> 00:30:56.815
unbelievable to,
777
00:30:56.835 --> 00:31:00.615
to come from 104 points back when McLaren have been
778
00:31:00.615 --> 00:31:02.535
competitive virtually everywhere.
779
00:31:03.205 --> 00:31:04.775
Yeah. That would be, that would be,
780
00:31:04.805 --> 00:31:06.255
we'd be talking about that forever.
781
00:31:06.485 --> 00:31:10.815
That would be the definition of a, of a, yeah, that would,
782
00:31:10.825 --> 00:31:14.695
doing of sapin would be a by word in, in sports journalism
783
00:31:14.835 --> 00:31:16.815
for coming from miles back.
784
00:31:17.195 --> 00:31:18.895
Um, so yeah. But, but
785
00:31:18.895 --> 00:31:20.295
Equally would it be, would be a special thing
786
00:31:20.295 --> 00:31:23.615
to see would be, would doing a McLaren be, you know, drop,
787
00:31:23.675 --> 00:31:26.055
you know, a a massive fumble? A massive drop?
788
00:31:26.285 --> 00:31:27.655
Yeah. I mean, I, I used
789
00:31:27.655 --> 00:31:29.815
to love great sports writing growing up and,
790
00:31:29.835 --> 00:31:33.575
and great, uh, you know, I, I'd love reading the, the,
791
00:31:33.595 --> 00:31:36.535
the great sports journalists, uh, in the, in the UK papers.
792
00:31:36.875 --> 00:31:38.135
And I love doing that.
793
00:31:38.315 --> 00:31:41.775
And as a result of doing that, as, uh, as, as a kid
794
00:31:41.775 --> 00:31:45.775
and then into, into my, uh, university, uh, era,
795
00:31:45.965 --> 00:31:49.255
there's a reference in sport to a horse
796
00:31:49.255 --> 00:31:53.215
that fell in the grand national horse race in sight
797
00:31:53.215 --> 00:31:54.775
of winning the grand national horse race.
798
00:31:54.915 --> 00:31:58.095
And the by word for throwing it away when it seemed
799
00:31:58.095 --> 00:32:00.695
to be impossible to lose is Devon Locke.
800
00:32:00.955 --> 00:32:04.375
That's the name of the horse that was on the brink
801
00:32:04.435 --> 00:32:05.655
of winning the Grand National
802
00:32:05.675 --> 00:32:07.095
and then just slipped and fell.
803
00:32:07.155 --> 00:32:08.455
And a lot of people lost a lot of money,
804
00:32:08.455 --> 00:32:10.255
which is why I imagine it's still in the,
805
00:32:10.715 --> 00:32:13.055
that's the territory they would find themselves in, right?
806
00:32:13.055 --> 00:32:15.495
Right. If they win, you can chuck the
807
00:32:15.595 --> 00:32:16.775
Oh, they don't deserve it.
808
00:32:16.775 --> 00:32:18.055
They nearly threw it away. Yeah.
809
00:32:18.055 --> 00:32:20.535
Chuck that narrative in, in the bin, if you win the title,
810
00:32:20.635 --> 00:32:22.695
you win the title doesn't matter if you win by one point
811
00:32:22.695 --> 00:32:24.975
or a hundred points, their methodology,
812
00:32:24.995 --> 00:32:27.575
how they've gone racing is validated
813
00:32:28.275 --> 00:32:31.975
or questioned by delivering the championship.
814
00:32:32.355 --> 00:32:34.695
And if they get it done, who cares how they got there.
815
00:32:34.695 --> 00:32:36.015
Right? They got it done right.
816
00:32:36.235 --> 00:32:39.485
But if they fumble it as you know, that, that will be a,
817
00:32:39.905 --> 00:32:42.805
it again, it will be a byword, it will be a byword for,
818
00:32:43.425 --> 00:32:44.485
for throwing it away.
819
00:32:44.745 --> 00:32:46.925
Um, so the stakes are quite high, mate,
820
00:32:47.285 --> 00:32:50.045
higher than I'd want them to be if I was a McLaren driver.
821
00:32:50.475 --> 00:32:52.645
It's, it's, it's why we love it,
822
00:32:52.645 --> 00:32:54.005
but, uh, I, everyone in
823
00:32:54.005 --> 00:32:55.485
that team must be feeding it in the,
824
00:32:55.485 --> 00:32:56.605
in the last week. Yeah,
825
00:32:56.665 --> 00:32:57.665
No doubt.
826
00:32:57.755 --> 00:32:59.525
Okay, final thing, you know,
827
00:32:59.525 --> 00:33:01.605
this is a different scenario than, you know,
828
00:33:01.665 --> 00:33:03.685
max wrapping it up in spa in August,
829
00:33:03.865 --> 00:33:06.605
or you know, in Austin with four to go, five to go,
830
00:33:06.845 --> 00:33:09.245
whatever, you've got three guys that can win it.
831
00:33:09.515 --> 00:33:12.845
It's gonna be an exciting finish no matter what you have,
832
00:33:13.225 --> 00:33:17.245
you have this unbelievable, uh, well-earned reputation
833
00:33:17.385 --> 00:33:19.685
for your last lap calls in significant moments, ,
834
00:33:20.945 --> 00:33:22.085
how much thought
835
00:33:22.745 --> 00:33:26.885
and kind of prep goes into having something
836
00:33:27.455 --> 00:33:29.365
meaningful and impactful
837
00:33:29.585 --> 00:33:33.805
to say in those final few corners of whichever
838
00:33:33.825 --> 00:33:35.805
of the three drivers is gonna be taking
839
00:33:35.825 --> 00:33:36.925
the championship on Sunday.
840
00:33:37.245 --> 00:33:39.885
A a a bit goes in for a last race decider.
841
00:33:39.965 --> 00:33:42.965
A bit of thought goes in to what element
842
00:33:43.105 --> 00:33:44.645
of their story do you want to tell?
843
00:33:45.345 --> 00:33:48.925
And then you just have bullet points, uh,
844
00:33:48.925 --> 00:33:50.405
in your notes like you would do normally.
845
00:33:50.865 --> 00:33:52.725
Um, and so there'll be like three
846
00:33:52.785 --> 00:33:55.285
or four bullet points of, you know,
847
00:33:55.285 --> 00:33:57.845
what number World Champion they would be,
848
00:33:58.045 --> 00:33:59.245
I think it's 35 mm-hmm .
849
00:33:59.325 --> 00:34:02.645
If we get a new one, um, the 104 points, yeah,
850
00:34:02.645 --> 00:34:04.965
we can remember 104 points if we're just yaking
851
00:34:05.265 --> 00:34:06.325
on a, on a Wednesday.
852
00:34:06.705 --> 00:34:08.245
But when, you know, if some,
853
00:34:08.245 --> 00:34:11.165
if the world championship order has changed with a lap to go
854
00:34:11.505 --> 00:34:14.925
and everyone has been shouting out of excitement,
855
00:34:14.985 --> 00:34:16.725
and you can hear the crowd outta the window
856
00:34:16.825 --> 00:34:18.645
and you've got your producer talking to you,
857
00:34:18.955 --> 00:34:21.365
it's very important to have 104 points written down
858
00:34:21.435 --> 00:34:22.925
because things can fall out
859
00:34:22.925 --> 00:34:24.565
of your head in those key moments.
860
00:34:24.865 --> 00:34:27.685
So usually a lot of the things it would be,
861
00:34:28.225 --> 00:34:31.005
it would be like a, it would just be a theme.
862
00:34:31.385 --> 00:34:35.205
It would be a, uh, uh, one word mention this second word,
863
00:34:35.205 --> 00:34:37.045
mention this, and then the numbers, the numbers.
864
00:34:37.205 --> 00:34:41.045
I always write down the numbers so you don't get, uh, uh,
865
00:34:41.385 --> 00:34:43.725
so you're not thinking, was it 103, 104?
866
00:34:43.905 --> 00:34:45.805
So yeah, or I always write down the numbers
867
00:34:45.835 --> 00:34:47.365
that I might have to use.
868
00:34:47.985 --> 00:34:51.605
Um, so Lando Norris will be the 11th British World Champion,
869
00:34:52.265 --> 00:34:53.445
uh, pry,
870
00:34:53.445 --> 00:34:54.725
Lando Norris will be the 35th
871
00:34:54.725 --> 00:34:56.205
world champion in sports history.
872
00:34:56.465 --> 00:34:57.645
So that'll be on the page
873
00:34:58.025 --> 00:35:00.285
and then it's gotta fit the moment, right?
874
00:35:00.905 --> 00:35:04.445
So there were lots of things that I wanted
875
00:35:04.445 --> 00:35:07.405
to say in 2021 about Lewis Hamilton
876
00:35:07.625 --> 00:35:09.605
or I had thought about, maybe I'll hit that
877
00:35:09.605 --> 00:35:10.725
or maybe I'll hit that element.
878
00:35:11.345 --> 00:35:14.085
All goes out the window if it doesn't fit the moment right.
879
00:35:14.305 --> 00:35:15.565
You can't use the bullet points.
880
00:35:15.565 --> 00:35:18.125
You've just gotta, you've gotta commentate on
881
00:35:18.275 --> 00:35:19.685
what is happening in front of you.
882
00:35:19.915 --> 00:35:22.925
Because if you are trying to shoehorn in elements
883
00:35:22.925 --> 00:35:26.925
of someone's career, instead of reflecting the moment,
884
00:35:27.545 --> 00:35:30.485
and I think I blurted out, you'll never hear the end
885
00:35:30.485 --> 00:35:33.165
of this, which turned out to be fairly accurate, .
886
00:35:33.785 --> 00:35:36.925
So, whereas if you are trying to, whereas you are trying to,
887
00:35:36.980 --> 00:35:39.965
to do something about Max Tappin's entire life story
888
00:35:39.995 --> 00:35:43.605
that was, that did not fit what we had seen in front of us.
889
00:35:43.825 --> 00:35:46.205
So it's just about being prepared in the same way
890
00:35:46.205 --> 00:35:47.765
that you would normally do your notes for the race.
891
00:35:48.275 --> 00:35:49.365
It's about being prepared.
892
00:35:49.665 --> 00:35:51.765
And I always think that those last laps,
893
00:35:52.195 --> 00:35:53.325
obviously the example
894
00:35:53.325 --> 00:35:56.005
that gets brought up all the time is the Charlotte Last lap.
895
00:35:56.265 --> 00:36:00.525
The reason that I did that story on the last lap, the,
896
00:36:00.525 --> 00:36:04.085
but the rea, the reason that I did it is that, uh, we go out
897
00:36:04.085 --> 00:36:05.485
to a hugely broad audience
898
00:36:06.185 --> 00:36:09.045
and we have fans who know the story inside out,
899
00:36:09.185 --> 00:36:11.725
but we also have fans that have found us
900
00:36:11.725 --> 00:36:12.805
through Drive to Survive.
901
00:36:12.825 --> 00:36:15.165
Or maybe they've left Channel four on after another program
902
00:36:15.385 --> 00:36:17.805
and they're, they're excited to watch the Monaco Grand Prix.
903
00:36:18.345 --> 00:36:19.445
And I didn't want anyone
904
00:36:19.445 --> 00:36:22.485
to think Rich Kid from Monaco wins the Monaco Grand Prix.
905
00:36:22.545 --> 00:36:25.245
Who cares? Right? And so the reason, reason behind
906
00:36:25.245 --> 00:36:27.445
that is like, oh, you actually should care about this
907
00:36:27.445 --> 00:36:29.565
because this guy's been through a lot
908
00:36:29.985 --> 00:36:32.645
and this is why he's gonna lose his mind
909
00:36:32.725 --> 00:36:33.765
when he crosses the line.
910
00:36:34.185 --> 00:36:36.685
So there, there, there's always the reasons behind if you,
911
00:36:36.705 --> 00:36:39.245
if you maybe tell a slightly longer story compared
912
00:36:39.245 --> 00:36:42.725
to a shorter story that's done with the, the audience
913
00:36:42.825 --> 00:36:44.685
and making a point in mind.
914
00:36:44.825 --> 00:36:48.965
But no, I, I'm sure yesterday on the production call,
915
00:36:49.385 --> 00:36:50.925
you said something along the lines of,
916
00:36:51.025 --> 00:36:52.605
and I won't mention the exact scenario,
917
00:36:52.985 --> 00:36:55.165
but we were talking about scenarios of what could happen.
918
00:36:55.225 --> 00:36:57.165
You can go, well, if that happens, that will be,
919
00:36:57.315 --> 00:36:58.405
that will be the last lap.
920
00:36:58.825 --> 00:37:00.365
And I nearly put my head on the desk
921
00:37:00.365 --> 00:37:02.645
and I was like, not the la not the last lap
922
00:37:03.345 --> 00:37:04.845
not the last lap in Abu Dhabi.
923
00:37:05.065 --> 00:37:08.045
We can't go back. We can't go back there.
924
00:37:08.345 --> 00:37:10.285
I'm not sure I can physically do it.
925
00:37:10.825 --> 00:37:13.445
So yeah, as long as the drama happens, you
926
00:37:13.445 --> 00:37:14.445
Ready?
927
00:37:14.445 --> 00:37:15.485
Three quarters of the way through ?
928
00:37:16.665 --> 00:37:18.085
I'm, I'm fully on board.
929
00:37:19.555 --> 00:37:20.645
amazing. Amazing.
930
00:37:20.645 --> 00:37:22.885
Well, mate, look, I really appreciate you coming on.
931
00:37:23.125 --> 00:37:25.845
I, uh, I, I so thrilled I get to work alongside.
932
00:37:25.845 --> 00:37:28.405
You've got so much respect for how you approach what you do.
933
00:37:28.485 --> 00:37:30.005
I love, I love watching you work.
934
00:37:30.085 --> 00:37:31.125
I love listening to your work
935
00:37:31.145 --> 00:37:33.605
and I'm excited for you to get the chance to call this one
936
00:37:33.905 --> 00:37:35.565
and, uh, and can't wait to hear it.
937
00:37:35.705 --> 00:37:38.685
So thanks for coming on. Have a great time this weekend.
938
00:37:39.005 --> 00:37:41.045
I will, uh, I will see what the track, looking
939
00:37:41.045 --> 00:37:42.045
Forward to it.
940
00:37:42.045 --> 00:37:42.485
Thanks for having me.
941
00:37:43.395 --> 00:37:44.885
This has been off track with Hinch
942
00:37:44.885 --> 00:37:46.525
and Rossi Off Track is part
943
00:37:46.605 --> 00:37:48.885
of the SiriusXM Sports Podcast network.
944
00:37:49.305 --> 00:37:50.445
If you enjoyed this episode
945
00:37:50.445 --> 00:37:52.685
and want to hear more, please give a five star
946
00:37:52.685 --> 00:37:53.725
rating and leave a review.
947
00:37:54.325 --> 00:37:56.525
Subscribe today, wherever you stream your podcasts.
948
00:37:56.705 --> 00:37:59.485
We are at Ask Off Track on Twitter and Instagram.
949
00:37:59.625 --> 00:38:02.165
And if you wanna follow us on Twitter, we're at Hinch Town
950
00:38:02.165 --> 00:38:03.645
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951
00:38:03.865 --> 00:38:05.285
If you wanna follow them though,
952
00:38:05.485 --> 00:38:07.125
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953
00:38:07.555 --> 00:38:09.845
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954
00:38:10.395 --> 00:38:12.365
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955
00:38:12.425 --> 00:38:13.605
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956
00:38:14.105 --> 00:38:17.125
Off Track is produced by Tim Durham, and by that we mean fi.