Zandvoort debrief: It's McLaren's title to lose now

hello and welcome back to the fast new curious the gang is back together for the Big D brief after the Dutch grandprix you can hear the sound they're cheering us yeah they're cheering us they're so excited but we are sat here we're ready to do the big debrief we're going to talk about the big story find out what you guys think about it and we're going to get into Christian's big old brain just to sort of see if we've missed anything just just discuss that race but Christian you are the there you're in xanor hence why we can hear the cheering what's happening in front of you in front of me I can see a grand stand and people standing up and cheering the podium and to be fair do you know what's been lovely can hear the national anthem can hear the national anthem can hear the national anthem what's been lovely is that obviously the big story here is that Lando Norris has won the Grand Prix but a very nice sportsmanlike reaction from the Dutch fans some real warm Applause it was picked up by commentary that it was a sort of like fair play that was a big win and don't get me wrong the Dutch fans here will be gutted because it is Max for stappen Central but that nobody can take away this what I can hear in the background this statement phenomenal Lando Norris win because it wasn't just a win it was a demolition of the field it was Sensational he wasn't driving a car he was driving a rocket ET ship that thing was so fast wasn't it it's the biggest winning margin of the Year correct 22 SEC 22.8 something seconds by a country mile not just did he won the race by 22.8 seconds but he got the bonus point for fastest lap and my goodness me are we in territory now where every Point could be massive but his fastest lap of the race a 1138 Max for stens fastest lap of the race a 1158 two seconds two of our Dutch seconds slower than Lando Norris that's mad two seconds why yeah what why has this happened Christian how well the simple reason as to why it's happened is because McLaren aced ever since Miami that race that I was also lucky enough to be at where I got on the ground in Miami and all the Whispers that you hear around the padic were like I think McLaren are looking pretty good and they were ever since then their upgrades that they've been bringing have just worked you know you simulate upgrades in the simulator you stick them on the car you hope they're going to work and they have worked and they have every single upgrade they've bought they've moved forward and forward and forward whereas Red Bulls this year crucially they've almost made the car worse to the extent that this weekend you've heard Red Bull people saying we've actually been stripping newer bits off the car to try and get it back to where it was at the start of the Season where it was quicker um and it hasn't worked I said before the the break what Lando's got to do is come out on Max's home soil and pull out a win to make a statement for his intentions for the rest of the season but never in my wildest dreams did I think he'd be able to do it by 22 seconds okay two things that I'd like to just roll out there firstly I can't believe how much I've missed watching fast cars owned by billionaires driven by million there very fast round the track I can't believe how much I missed that first of all so it's nice to have a race back lovely to all be back together and welcome if you're a new listener to the faster than cous we'll do a race debrief after every race like this as Christian cracks open a can of Coke Zero in the background sorry I'm drying up and I've run out of water so I haven't really got a choice you've earned that my friend but secondly what this means surely not only is the constructor's championship wide open but the driver's Championship is wide open this could be a McLaren an a Lando one to win it right okay let me be honest let's not get carried away if if Lando had just no I want to get carried away Christian no we're getting carried away someone Carry Me Away come on we're get carried betting and I being Carry Me Away bye I mean right so what I'd be saying if if if land would won by five seconds is I still don't think the championship's on because the Gap even with this result the Gap is still 70 points Lando is on 225 Max is on 295 that's a big old Gap but what's it's the margin of victory that makes me think actually even though that's a big old Gap it's possible because basically if Lando wins mathematically speaking if Lando wins every single race of the Season between now and Abu Dhabi in December he will win the championship so it's in his hands but he needs to be so so consistent but we we will get on to the butt in this in a second because there is one no there is one oh there is one but um this is a statement this is a statement for McLaren this is a statement for Lando Norris the driver's Championship is still unlikely if we're being honest but a possibility the constructors I firmly believe this is the first time I'll stick my flag in this particular bit of dirt and say here this is my view McLaren are the favorites for the constructors title now they are just the favorites I think I think this is McLaren's Constructor Championship to lose despite the fact that as we record this podcast after the Dutch Grand Prix Red Bull is still in the lead is that simply because McLaren looked like they've got the fastest car now by far it's because McLaren looked like they could take a wheel off that car and still be in a pretty good position to win the race it looks really ridiculous it's like comparing a Ferrari to scoda Fabia scoda Fabia yeah it looks insane and also not the not the f froma one C though obviously no although sh didn't do bad today but the the other thing I think is actually a better weekend for Sergio Perez not spectacular but better but also they've got a driver in oscap piastri who noticed during that race they ran Oscar piastri long as an alternative strategy they put him out long longer all right it didn't work but look what happened in Belgium when George Russell tried something different it did work he won the race granted he later got disqualified so he didn't get the points but still because McClaren have got two drivers consistently up there you can try these different things so they've got two drivers right in the mix they've got a rocket ship Beast of a machine I think they're right in with a Chance a lot of a lot of fans on social media were saying that piastri had a bad performance for not getting on the podium a car that was that fast do you not think that was the case then no I I do think it was the case I don't think it was a spectacular Oscar piastri um performance this weekend I actually saw Oscar um in The Paddock Club formula 1's Paddock Club where the the vi sort of the Posh seats basically and he came to do a little interview with one of the hosts in the padder club before the race and he turned around and was like no you know I'm I want to go and win this race so the fact that he couldn't get ahead at the start like we've seen him do in the past the fact that he not only wasn't in contention for the win but also not in contention for the podium that will disappoint him a rare off day for Oscar piastri but it's worth saying we record these deep briefs straight after the Grand Prix as you can hear in the background of me in this occasion so it might well um it might well become a little bit clearer as time moves on why Oscar wasn't quite up to his same high standards but a little bit of an off weekend for Oscar piastre I would say but still fourth whereas an off weekend for Sergio Perez is off and out side the top 10 or night 10 Lando Norris though must be so full of confidence now because not only is he has he won this Grand Pre B he did it from Pole Position which he hasn't done before and he ended quoting Max at the end saying that that really cheeky simply lovely sort of thing at the end which I just absolutely love very nice this how how important do you think this win is going to be for for Lando as a driver massive because he's lacked this ability to convert Pole Position into a race win he's looked on it since free practice one here when people have been coming up to me and saying what did practice look like McLaren look quick so that that ability that a driver's got to come to the weekend going to fp1 dominate go into qualifying go it on poll and turn that weekend into a win that complete performance we haven't seen him been able to do there is a but so it'll give him all big confidence there is a but he once again lost ground at the start he lost the lead to Max now granted that McLaren is so quick he was able to sweep back past him but that's going to be the [ __ ] in the Armament if you're a driver around Lando Norris you're thinking he's bad off the start that's where we'll get him and I think when L goes to sleep tonight he'll think great my second Grand Prix win oh my word we won by 20 seconds good day but I have got to sort these starts out and you know Oscar doesn't seem to struggle at the start in the McLaren granted he did lose a place this weekend but starts are still a big issue for Lando has he always had this problem or is it a thing that's developed over the last few races no he's not always had this problem he's not always had this problem I think the really interesting thing about Formula One starts is you can sort of break them up into two phases he the immediate reaction off the line and the car going from stationary to moving and today Betty said to me in a text is his reaction time you saw it on a graphic on the screen wasn't any longer than Max so he got off line he reacted well he wasn't slow in getting off the line but he then even though it's a very short run down to the first Corner in zamour he seemed to struggle getting the car up to the second phase and that's where you're going from moving to racing speed was it mechanical it seems to be happening too frequently for it to be mechanical and and McLaren aren't coming out and saying yeah we we've got a problem with our STS it seems to be driver to me so it seems to be that second phase of moving from sort of 50 kilm an hour to 100 to 150 where is he bogging down is he bringing in too much acceleration and the tires are spinning too much I don't know I'm speculating but that is the point where if you're going to challenge for a world championship you can't be that weak off the start this consistently because yes he was able to overtake in this race that won't always be the case one of our listeners Chris said I wouldn't want to be stuck behind Lando at the traffic lights and Rush nightmare it's it's is Harsh I mean maybe they should start doing that thing you know particularly in in London and big cities when people are a little bit more aggro and a bit more rushed as soon as it goes Amber or if you're if you're a little bit St people start beeping behind you maybe we need maybe they need to put horns on some of the cars to be like granny it's green it all the all the lights are out Dear go maybe we need maybe we need a bit of that sure land will be delighted to be hearing himself called Granny on The Fast of the Curious having won the race by 20 seconds grand grand grandon Norris so that so that's that's one thing but I guess winning a race gives you Supreme confidence anyway you are you know for today he is the fastest driver on the planet and hopefully some of those things will help with the rest of it you know that that conf confidence you can you can carry through and you go you know what I've just got to relax I can do this I've just got maybe psychologically will help him and also this race he was so dominant as well if you remember in Miami the last gr Prix he had to have the safety car so I just think this this time he can step away from this and be like other than the start yeah I'm hot at the moment great point it's not just the race win because he got the race win in Miami it's the manner of the race win and actually to an extent the fact he have to Sweet pass match will help in a way because he can show you recovering from adversity didn't get in his own head he kept calm he recovered he got the job done brilliant so that you know some positives to be taken there as well but I just want to see him nail these starts because don't forget if he's going to win this world championship with a 70 point gap despite having won today's race he is going to need to be imperious he's going to need to be Perfection personified between now and the end of the season I want to dig into some of this fan reaction so I know you very graciously said the Dutch fans were applauding Grand and saying that's brilliant well done but they will be gutted that their boy has been schooled you know in his own playground and Alina a Dutch Max fappen fan has messaged the podcast during the race she sneaked out of a wedding and said I watched a bit realized the car is trash and stop stopped watching I feel Max should go to Mercedes ASAP LOL the car has not been developed since April so th this is uh this feels very this is very fickle isn't it this is a man who has delivered some unbelievable drivve some unbelievable wins two World Championships and then suddenly uh the chips are down and the fans are going boring yeah the first time that Max has been this comprehensively outpaced for a couple of years and Red Bull fans are turning it off oh for you the heart bleeds for you do you not remember last year when we all had to put up with Max winning by an hour and a half Max getting out in the middle of the Grand Prix stopping to have a a sandwich meal deal at the services getting back in and still winning the race so one bloody Grand Pre where he's been that comprehensively and we're already thinking he needs to leave he needs to burn down the factory God all right you know couldn't talk about an overreaction so that's quite interesting we'll we'll keep an eye on on on that but clearly Max for fans and the Dutch fans and the Red Bull fans see something going arai here and there is clearly something going AR right at Red Bull what is it well whatever's going AR right it's not going AR as much as it is at Betty Glover's house where mcin the dog seems to be very animated is he a Red Bull fan Betty is he this mcin made many an appearance on this podcast yeah massive Red Bull fan massive Max for fan he cannot quite believe what is happening right now just can't get his head around here to shut up get over it mcin you've had your moment we need some other drivers to win but it it needs to be more interesting literally we need we we need a more interesting season and we're getting that I mean we should have started this podcast this year we started it in the most boring season ever so it's an absolute miracle that we're still going the most one of wor the worst year start F1 podcast and we managed it well well done M okay now yeah all good fine okay I I think in terms of what's gone wrong with Red Bull um both Christian herner the team principal and helmet Marco who sort of the big Overlord in terms of picking their drivers have both said this year that the the the upgrades have made the car even more difficult to drive now historically speaking Red Bull's car hasn't been easy to drive and that's why Max V stappen who is a extraordinary Talent has been able to get the best out of it whereas Sergio Perez and other previous Red Bull teammates haven't but it's like it's gone one step further and the key to that today was when Max just went he had he had a bit of an off in the middle sector not an off but he went offline and he went on team radio we heard it on the coverage and he went this is all I can do guys this car isn't responding anymore and you know as a racing driver when you're pushing the car and you know if you push anymore you're going to go beyond its limits and if you go beyond its limits on this track what happens to you is what happened to Logan sergeant in free practice you're in the wall sort of Max is going this is all we've got so that car is too difficult to drive fundamentally and these upgrades are not helping they're almost hindering and McLaren are doing the better job of making the car more drivable more responsive for the drivers more easy to drive less of a diva it's so confusing though isn't it because it wasn't long ago that Red Bull were at like the most dominant car going they were just smashing it left right and center and now we're watching Max vapen try and drive this car that he just can't turn like he just he was like it just won't turn like how I just can't comprehend how this has happened so quickly well it's it yeah it has happened relatively quickly in ter terms of the dominance of last year but I did say the on the podcast at the back end of last season for those people whove been with us that long that history shows us these spells of that level of dominance don't tend to last if you look back at f1's history that's the way it's gone that is exactly what we've seen this year I actually thought in bar it was like oh no it can't happen again can it I said it couldn't happen again and it hasn't so it's the nature of this sport that these people who aren't winning Ferrari McLaren Mercedes they're not deed eventually they'll crack it and eventually when a team is dominating someone does crack it someone does get um their act together and think actually this is the way forward and that's what we've seen with McLaren they've done an amazing amazing job and the confidence this will not just give Lando but also the team is Sensational and shouldn't be underestimated is Adrian Nei the fact that he's left do you think that that is a factor I think if if you got Adrien neie on your side at Red Bull to try and fix it that would help but no I don't think Adrian's impact in terms of leaving Red Bull will be being felt this quickly um who knows if Adrian was still on the team maybe they might have been able to fix the problem but I don't think it's like there's a subtle difference between this hasn't been caused by Adrian leaving but maybe if Adrian was still handson in the team yeah maybe he'd be able to find the fix but I don't think it's a cut Jo think so as soon as newi he goes that's it I think that's a bit of coincidence I was going to say they mentioned this in commentary actually and I thought it's bang on that Red Bull are so lucky that they've got a driver like Max fappen because he's so good that he's keeping them in in the race but imagine if they didn't have Max for sapping right now someone compared the car to a shopping trolley just like you know when you're going around tesos and you just can't turn the bloody trolley and the the wheels are getting stuck it's sort of like that it's just imagine if they didn't have Max also it shows the advantage remember when we are moving into season and we're doing a preseason preview let's remember this conversation because um the advantage of getting out the blocks quickly so in 2009 uh Jensen button and his Brawn team roared out the blocks won the hand the opening goodness those how many races but then Red Bull quickly realized what braw was doing copied it and were able to claw back that Gap and for the rest of the season it was like well can uh Red Bull with Sebastian Beckle at the time Jensen Buton we're seeing a very similar thing here Red Bull came out the blocks Betty as you said max did a phenomenal job in grabbing the points where he could and holding them and now thank goodness he did because if they if he' had made a couple of mistakes in the early round of the Season that Gap wouldn't be there that now is going to be chipped away at a little bit it's this has got almost quite 2009 s in some ways this season we're all hanging out next week together in the studio where we can talk a little bit about some of our other favorite drivers I want to talk about Williams's slightly rubbish weekend and then Logan and all the rest of that but before you go cuz I know you got to get your shuttle bus to got to get your shuttle to skip all haven't you dear so can we Del delve into Christian Hill's mind and find a thing that we might have missed from this race please this is a new part of the show which we're going to call Christian's cubby hole in Christian cball for things you might have missed I want to talk a little bit about niiko hulkenberg he's my left field driver of the day he came 11th he didn't get a point for hats but in trying a different strategy he was running in the points for the vast majority of the race and he always looking for drivers who in that back of the pack are doing everything they can to drag their car forward with the pace of Aston Mercedes Red Bull Ferrari McLaren getting points is so hard to come by if one of those drivers had had a problem today Nik would would have got that point and it shows what a valuable addition he could be to the saber team next year who are transitioning into Ali because I think this season in the bottom half of the paddock no one's doing a better job than niiko hulkenberg of dragging the car up so I was really impressed with niik again today and in terms of things you might have missed guys can I talk to you a little bit about zanor and and being here I've never been here before this place is awesome I love zambor the track is ridiculous and you don't get to see how ridiculous it is until you stand on it I was like on my phone being like I want to take pictures and show people how stupid this track is you can't just doesn't reflect well on a camera it's like you know how a roller coaster goes like that and then it goes up and down it moves left and right then it goes up and down this tracks like a roller coaster and the banked final Corner that on the telly looks like a slight bit of a bank up a slight bit of R like you I've ran the track the other night you can't run it it's too steep for your ankles you have to go on the grass so it's a mad Motor Racing circuit that's like been you think oh you need a bit of flat land for a motation circuit not here it is absolutely M I love it here the Apple the Apple the Apple the Apple the Apple the Apple so what Greg's referring to is is I to try and demonstrate just how steep it was I was like okay the camera lens isn't doing it so I went to the top and this is on my Tik Tok and insta and I I put an Apple at the top and let it roll down this is technical analysis here let it roll down the bank and the speed the Apple got and the satisfying it made as it hit the Armco barrier I did dispose of the Apple in a food recycling bin I'd like to make clear but yeah this track is is mads the fans are lovely the people are lovely um zanor is the most beautiful pretty place and the coffee is excellent that's something that I've really enjoyed this weekend really good coffee and I've been really happy about that well if you want to find out more about zanville as a track Leah block actually explained it all to me in an episode you can go back you can listen to it she said it is mad she said it's like a Nazar track but like just so wild and really exciting to drive as a driver and also we saw we we saw what happens when you make a mistake in the Logan's car you know it's it's hard on the drivers so yeah hey um a great place and actually if you're going to go and if you're thinking of a race to go to next year that you want a bit left field you get the train um into Amsterdam you can stay in Amsterdam and get the trains in the trains have run really fantastically Zan is a place like one minute you're on the beach the next minute you're in the forest be prepared for weather my goodness me we've had all sorts of weather um we've there was a ridiculous storm last night but it's a cool place I've really been impressed with zamort as a place to come to a Grand Prix maybe we try and do zamort for the Fast and the curious that could be fun couldn't it that sounds like a like a fun a fun one to do oh that'd be very fun when we're talking about previous episodes the the Le block one is fantastic but also if you are interested in the design of race circuits then during the summer break we had a really lovely chat with karun chandu who obviously formula a former Formula 1 driver and now pundit but also in his spare time he designs race circuits and he was talking all about making sure they're interesting to what for the for the for the viewer but also for the driver and how difficult it is actually to do banked Corners if you haven't got that land because it's really expensive to move land and stuff so it's really interesting Insight from him so if you are interested in all that kind of slightly more nerdy uh tarmac based chat then make sure you have listened to the kar chanic episode it's just Dawn it's just dawn on me so I'm doing this little episode in the little Porter cabin office thing I've been working out of this weekend and then you look straight ahead and you've got a grand standand behind the grandstand you've got like the um the big where I can see all the fans walking out behind that huge hill and a caravan Park yeah and you think this is you wouldn't build a RAC track here if he looks at this patch of land You' think Hill Caravan Park you wouldn't build a RAC trck here it's too uneven and up and down they've gone at some point I mean it's an old Motor Racing circuit it was on the F1 calendar in the 770s and 80s it's an old circuit then it went away again for years they only bought it back you know because of the popularity of Max it wouldn't be racing here if it wasn't for Max because it's proper old school but it's great it's great that we can I the shiny new ones are fantastic like Abu Dhabi and the new big events like Miami but this is proper old school Motor Racing CC I've loved it I I it's a really great place to come and watch a race and the people are so nice it's just been lovely it's been great I've had a had a nice weekend guys I'm glad you I'm glad you've had a nice time I'm I'm very glad you've had a nice weekend had a lovely weekend well look let's wrap up because you got to get your skip all shuttle so um let's just say thanks very much Betty thank you Christian and we'll be back with another race debrief after the next race which is Monza Monza yeah Monza next weekend so we'll be back after that one but we're also going to do an episode next week as well so make sure you're following the feed and come back for more and before you go I just want to remind everybody that our Pals at nordvpn are an absolute must for any sports fans following their favorite sport U might happen to be F1 particularly if you're traveling around the world Christian you know doubts have been changing your location uh while you've been in xan vort to the UK so you can catch up with all your UK based things I I'm in a position and I'm delighted to confirm that we are recording this podcast via my laptop which has got nordvpn running right now with my virtual location change right now to the UK yeah right now right here right now I've been doing it all weekend and so I can watch UK based stuff uh yes it's been enormously helpful love that my nord's my Nord is always on on my phone on my laptop just keep it on because it's good safe safety safety first it protects your data when you're using public Wi-Fi as well wherever you are in the world to get the best discount off your nordvpn plan go to nordvpn.com tfat that is short for the Fast and the Curious tfat our link will also give you four extra months on the 2-year plan and there is no risk with no 30-day money back guarantee the link is in the description of this episode we'll be back before the Monza Grand Prix to pick a part of the world of Formula One as always send any questions or comments ahead of the race to at fast curious pod thanks for listening if you're a new be and you've just discovered us because you wanted to hear all about the Lando sorry Grand Norris win then make sure you follow us and come back for more because we're going to give you all the best names from inside the sport and a regular race debrief as well Christian thank you enjoy your bus enjoy your plane Betty I'll see you on Wednesday can't wait to see you all see you Wednesday I'm going to get the bus goodbye everybody byebye dear bye guys