The Late Braking F1 Podcast - Discussing Lewis Hamilton's influence on other F1 drivers | Episode 51

Episode Date: June 4, 2020

In this week's podcast the boys discuss Hamiton's influence over the other Formula 1 drivers on the grid, the proposed reverse grid qualifying races, and Chase Carey's comments on COVID-19.TIMESTAMPS:Lewis Hamilton discussion: (02:22)Reverse Grids chat: (10:50)Chase Carey COVID-19 comments: (23:00)Fill-In-The-Blank Game: (29:50)Make sure to SUBSCRIBE! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This podcast is part of the Sports Social Podcast Network. Thank you for listening to the Late Breaking F1 podcast. Make sure to look out for new episodes every Thursday and Grand Prix Sundays. Hello and a very warm welcome to the Late Breaking Formula One podcast. Thank you very much for joining us today. I mean, what a show we had last week. I just wanted to comment on that first of all, Karin Chandok on the show. So please, Gavin Chesson.

that one out, go back and do. But yeah, great to have Karun on the show. Guys, how are you doing? How did you think it went? I loved it, mate. That was obviously, what a moment to be sat there and when Karun Shandot turns around and agrees with the point you've made. Absolute thing. I'm a moron. So, proven otherwise. Proven otherwise by an actual source. So yes, unfortunately that that had to have. happen that someone agreed with Sam, but, you know, occasionally a squirrel finds a nut. Anyway. Anyway, we've got plenty to discuss tonight.

We're going to be looking at good old reverse grids for qualifying. It doesn't look like it's going to happen. Mercedes looked like they're going to stick their massive veto where it doesn't belong. But we're going to discuss it anyway. We're going to discuss it anyway. we're also going to be discussing whether the coronavirus and a positive case could have a negative impact on the sport. Seems as if, according to Chase Carey himself, that it would go ahead even if a driver contracted the virus. So we're going to be discussing whether we think that is a good approach.

But first of all, something that's very topical, something that's only really come up in the last week. And this is the first podcast that we've done since the death of George Floyd. and it's an incident that's obviously sparked massive protests across major cities in the United States. And I think I speak on behalf of all of us when I say we stand together against racism and this incident is just another start reminder that as a human race, we still have a long way to go in this fight. And as well as this is having a massive global impact and it's a massive global story, there is an F1 connection, of course.

Lewis Hamilton, the only black person in Formula One history, putting out an Instagram post the other day, basically questioning why other members, the F1 community had not got more involved and had not spoken out on this. And following this message, countless drivers came out with their various messages. Sam, what did you think about this?

I mean, Lewis Hamilton, the influence that he has was on full display. So I'm going to start this by saying that as three white individuals, we are just discussing an event that has occurred. We obviously have no say what goes on. We have no experience in the treatment that minorities in whatever country have experienced, and we can't ever adhere to that. But we are just going to try and talk about the events that have happened in the sport that we love.

And yeah, Lewis Hamilton, he stood up and stood proud, didn't he? He did himself, I think, completely proud. He did what he called his people proud. There is a horrid atrocity going on in the United States. And the world has joined with the black people of America to make sure that they know that they know what, in the eyes of a lot of bloody people in this planet, they are equal. They deserve every equal right. They deserve every equal opportunity. And every equal treatment should be given to them as an unfortunate amount of people in power in that country and our own and other countries that disagree with that.

statement. And in the world of Formula One, in the world of sporting, which is so significant across the entire globe, you know, Lewis Hamilton is a real minority in that. He is pretty much the only black F1 driver we've ever had, then alone, you know, in current motorsport now. He's really up there. And it's hilarious the way that he came out there and he took themselves proud of so many individuals in Formula One almost criticised him for not seeing their efforts. if you have made an effort, ladies and gentlemen, it would have been seen. I'm not going to name names, but there were a few people who are very high profile who immediately criticized Lewis Hamilton for going through something that they can literally never understand. They can never put into words.

They can never put into emotions. They will never deal with because they are white in a Western world which is white dominant. And I thought it was absolutely jaw-dropping the way that no one had said anything socially at all. It was almost shameful until Lewis Hamilton comes out and says, I see you, you're not good enough, I'm upset with you. And then it's almost a little bit guilt ridden, I don't know, but, you know, Charler-Claire comes out. And to fair, to Charlerclair, he gives a real honest explanation. You know, he said, I've come into Formula One, I'm young, I feel like I can't voice my opinions because I don't want to mess things up for myself. And that's wrong.

I shouldn't be doing that. So from now long, I'm going to say how I truly feel. And he went out there and he said it multiple times. Fair play to him. He's shared loads of stuff. He's written a lot of true comments and he's supporting people. And the same goes for the likes of Landon Norris as well. I've seen them go out and say stuff.

Teams have also come out and said things as well. And the impact that Hamilton, a six-time world champion and leading figure in the Western world of sport, has only made two social media posts. And this is the result. It shows how influential he really is. And I'm so glad we have him in the sport because it makes me proud. now to be part of this sport that someone of his stature is willing to stand up. You know what?

It's influences like this outside of Formula One and within Formula One that make him an all-time naked, an all-time great that you will never not remember. He's done exactly the right thing. He phrased things brilliantly. He stood tall when he needed to. He's done exactly what a world champion is doing. I am proud that he's a world champion. He's from the UK.

It's wonderful to see. And it's nice to see that our industry, which is predominantly white, is very wealthy. is maybe starting to do the right thing. So it's a horrible thing that's going on, but thank God Lewis Hamilton's in the sport because it's finally starting to look a little brighter in what is an awful, awful set of occasions. Yeah, Harry, what did you make of this?

Of course, Lewis Hamilton, the influence that he has, like I said earlier, it really was on full display and the impact of the amount of drivers that sort of took some form of action after that. I think it speaks volumes. yeah absolutely um i i can't remember which journalist said this it may have been Nate Saunders but apologies if it wasn't you Nate it was someone else um but uh he made the

he said that the goat debate over Hamilton in f1 will probably rage on for some time or perhaps even forever but his his legacy in f1 is going to it going to extend far beyond whether he's the greatest driver of all time. It's going to extend to leading real diversity change within F1 because I think that's the legacy he can leave within the sport because it's a sport dominated by white males predominantly, not to say that there aren't women and people are colour working within it, but for the most part, it's a white male sport.

Yeah, Hamilton is realizing increasingly, over the past few years, that his status as a six-time or multiple world champion and the platform he has to use can be used for a force for good. And to have that influence is so important within, within not just the world of sport, just the world in general. he's a global megastar so yeah it's it's it's what you you'd now expect of Hamilton and it's

really good to see and he he is like Vettel he's like going to be able to statesman of F1 he's not a young boy anymore so it's really great to see that he's he's come out and come out and said this and props to him because unlike some people I read a Luke Smith article from autosport and it said that people's telling F1 drivers that they should stick to racing are in missing the point entirely, which is absolutely right, because these drivers are really famous, and they have a voice within, as I said, within the world. So they should use it. Yeah, absolutely. And the stick to your sport or your profession argument is one that I'm personally very tired of, just in general. I think it's a lazy argument. And there's no reason

why you have to, quote, stay in your lane. You know, you can, you can, you can, you can voice out and have an impact on issues like this, just as Lewis Hamilton has done. And I agree with what you said, Sam, in that I am proud that Lewis Hamilton is part of the sport. And he's kind of leading the drivers in a way. And, you know, F1 has recently, very recently done a poll, and we discussed it a few weeks back on who the most influential person in Formula One history is. and in terms of the drivers in that bracket, it was Jackie Stewart who was the number one seat.

If you look at world championships, if you look at wins, if you look at things like that, Jackie Stewart doesn't rank first in any of them despite being an incredible driver. So why was he listed as the most influential driver by the people putting together the bracket? It's because of his influence beyond driving itself.

In his form, that's safety. And I think it's very much the same for Lewis Hamilton in that he will be remembered for a lot of accolades in Formula One. Rightly so, he'll be remembered for six or however many world championships he goes on to win. He'll be remembered for his incredible qualifying performances. But his influence will, I personally believe, I think his influence will go much further than that. And, yeah, I was very proud of what Lewis Hamilton was able to achieve and completely stand by him. So well done to him. Nice one.

So moving on from that, we're going to be talking now about reverse grids in qualifying at least. This idea has been floated around over the last week or two and it would take place in the 2020 season. It doesn't look like it's going to happen. It looks like Mercedes are not going to comply and potentially another team as well. and they would need 10 of 10 teams to say yes to this for it to go ahead. In terms of reverse grid qualifying, Sam, do you think it's a good idea? Do you think it should happen? It's a debate for the ages, isn't it?

The amount of times that we've seen this conversation possibly come up, I don't love the way that Formula One were trying to bring it in this time around. I absolutely love the format that Formula 2 have. I generally think that that is a really fun, interesting yet still rewarding format for the drivers and for the teams. You know, if you come first, you start eighth. If you finish eight, you start first. I really enjoy that format. Reverse grids. The way they've explained it seems confusing. They don't seem particularly clear themselves and how they portray it to the audience. A lot of people on social

media are getting a little bit confused as to how it would work. And let's just spell it out here, because I'm maybe getting it wrong. The short race, the sprint race, is then the qualifying the finish is then the qualifying in reverse for the main race? So it's the sprint qualifying race, isn't it? Where they start in reverse championship order and the result of that race decides the starting grid for the Sunday race. Yeah. So I can see issues, right?

Qualifying works. We've said this time and time again. Qualifying is exciting. And it's not Mercedes-Fault. It's not Res Bull's fault. It's not racing points fault that the cars aren't equal. that's how the regulations are made and that's the budgets at the moment

and we hopefully will see a shift of that in 2022 when the aerodynamics and drag change and the tyres come in that are different and the budget is brought down we should see a much closer grid hopefully but yeah I mean nine cars turned up realising that they can have a better chance of winning and they all brought a car to a car fight

and the same's brought a massive veto to their car fight and they kind of looked to everyone else in the eye went ha we've got your ear lads And honestly, that's the bit I'm more annoyed at. I am more annoyed that in a global sport, a team has such an ability to shift where the rules go to. I don't know if that is similar in a single sport around the world. If a governing body wants to change a rule, they get a vote within the governing body, and they change the rule.

You wouldn't ask Man United if they suddenly had to pay nine out of their 11 players, only 10 grand a week, and they had to choose which ones to keep above that, they go, no, thank you. And then that wouldn't happen. So why are they doing the same in Formula One? This needs to stop. This rule base needs to stop. And that's what I'm more frustrating about. If, you know, Liberty wanted to change the rules and have a different qualifying session for this odd season that we're going to have,

who am I to say no or yes? That should be their choice. And if it makes exciting racing, which I'm not yet to see. So I can't tell if it's exciting or not, let it happen. We have the stupid elimination qualification. fine. That was a much worse idea and that went ahead. So give it a crack for all I care. If it's fun,

then bloody brilliant. If it's not, never do it again. That's all I can say on the matter. I'm always up for experimentation if it works. If it doesn't. But then again, we're qualifying. Don't try to fix something that isn't broken. But elimination qualifying was

great. I will eliminate you from late breaking in a minute. I'm not quite sure. I love to see the drivers not. setting lap times. Even though they're on a lap already, but they haven't made it to the line on their current lap. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

That's what you, that is, look, it's all I want from my Formula One. It's all I want. I think we can all agree, whether we like this idea or not, it is not as bad as that. I mean, yeah, yeah, there are some really bad ideas and that's one of them.

well in terms of the idea we have on the tables harry what do you what do you think about it um i ben i know you're going to make this same point as well and sam's already alluded to it mercedes well no team no team should be able to veto i uh if i if i had it my way and i was running f1 you'd just tell the people these are the rules if you don't like it then go home this is f1 and this is a rule. But I mean, I understand it's not potentially viable. But even if teams have the vote, it shouldn't

even have to be unanimous. If one says no, you should still have nine teams that say yes, that should be enough to still do it. So it's completely barking mad. So that, yeah, that's just stupid. And this, I think it's a shame and I agree, qualifying isn't broken.

I like quality. There's nothing wrong with it. It's exciting. It builds up to the climax every time at the end of Q's three and it's edge of the seat stuff normally. So yeah, don't agree that it needs to be fixed because it's not broken. But in these very strange weird times we live in where the first race of 2020 hasn't happened yet and it's been over half a year since the last race, this was where we've got two races at the same place.

This was the perfect opportunity to try out. This was the time when we had back-to-back races at the same circuit. and I don't fault liberty for trying to bring this in because I think it was worth a punt absolutely and I think it could have made exciting races at least even if even if the result ended up the same and Hamilton still ended up on pole it would how exciting would that be to see him start from the back and race all the way to the front and and take the win or pole position on the final lap of the sprint race so I think it could they made some very interesting, a very interesting second GP of the week, but not to be, I'm

afraid. But yeah, for God's sake, change the veto rules because it's garbage. Yeah, I mean, I couldn't agree more on the veto rule. And I'll get onto that in a bit. Firstly, the actual idea of reverse grid qualifying. I completely agree that 2020 is the time where experimentation is needed. You know, F1 needs to keep evolving. It needs to be dynamic. It needs to lead motor sport. And, you know, it needs to change. I understand that.

F1 is not like other sports where you can keep the rules relatively same for about, you know, in 25, 30 years, you don't need to change much around. I understand that F1 evolves much quicker than that. And yes, I think 2020 is the time to experiment. So I won't have a massive problem if they do decide to, if it does end up happening. And for the record as well, a lot of people are against this because it's not in the DNA of Formula One, which is the single worst argument in F1 history. Oh, God, I hate it. It's so bad.

And, you know, I don't agree with that whatsoever. Having said all of that, I am not a fan of this. It's just that's not the reason why. And a lot of people will be saying, you know, give it a chance. The racing could be amazing. It could be. There's a very good chance it will be. I don't think I agree with the Mercedes coming from the back going on to win being exciting. I don't personally find Mercedes overtaking cars that are 100 times worse than it. All that exciting. I'm not saying it's completely dull, but I'm on the fence on whether it would create amazing racing or not. But to be honest, that superfluous, that doesn't matter because it could produce the most amazing. amazing racing we've ever seen and I will still be against this because I cannot get behind the principle. And it doesn't matter if the race is really exciting because it still goes

against that principle. And that is you can't reward poor performance. I just don't think it should happen. And if you perform not very well at a race and you get an advantage in a qualifying race. I can't get behind that idea. And there is such an advantage for the top few teams, such an advantage right now. And, you know, hopefully that will be sorted out at least somewhat by this cost cap. But this, and I think Lewis Hamilton has said something similar on this, actually. This is just dancing around the issue. This is dancing around the issue in F1, and that is the disparity between the top teams and the worst teams. It's like, it's, it's, comes from the DRS school of thinking of essentially being a bandage. It's just, well, we have a

problem. We're not actually going to solve it, but we'll work with the problem to make it slightly less of a problem. I don't think that's the way that it should be attacked. I understand the cost cap is a few years away, so I don't mind if this sort of qualifying or other qualifying formats are trialed over the next, well, in 2020. But once that cost cap comes in and the new regulations come in, I don't see any reason for this. It should just be 10 teams going at it, trying to get as many points as possible. And, you know, if you sink, you sink, and if you swim, you swim. That's how it should be.

Yeah, that's my views on it. In terms of the, in terms of the veto, I couldn't agree more as well. I think the majority rule should definitely be more preferable to the one team doesn't like it. It doesn't happen rule. and it has a real there's a real possibility this spirals out of control for Formula One at the moment

the Formula One teams have way too much power in that there's only 10 of them to start off with so they know that if one of those teams leaves the grid they're starting to get to a number where you don't want 18 drivers on the grid you don't want 16 drivers on the grid so they know they have power in that respect

and they know that the barriers of entry are pretty difficult to contend with. It's a lot of money to get into Formula One due to how the prize money works at the moment. You don't see a lot of return on investment early in terms of entering F1. So they know these F1 teams. They've got a fair amount of power. And what a surprise they end up using it like Mercedes are doing here. It's a vicious circle. If you give the power of rulemaking to these teams, they will make the rules to

benefit themselves and not the sport. And if you don't make rules that benefit the sport, teams aren't going to want to enter, giving more power to the teams that are already there, meaning they get even more rulemaking responsibility. And it just goes round and round and round, and it's not going to benefit them in the long term. So I'm completely against the veto. In terms of reverse grid, if it happens, so be it, but I'm not for it. I have one word.

Go on. Oh, no. Oh, that's the worst time. thing I've ever done. My computer locked. Anyway, let's try that again. I have one word. There you go. That joke landed so well. Seems the worst executing joke I'd ever heard. Well, you can get in the bintam.

If only we had a boudum-and-ch sound effect. Thank you. Oh, would you look at that. You are welcome. Here's one we prepared earlier. So, moving on to our next topic this evening. Of course, it's been confirmed. I can't believe it's taken us 23 minutes to actually say this,

but it's been confirmed that Formula One is back. I forget that the last podcast we did, we didn't have the news for it. So the first eight rounds of the championship are set in stone, two rounds in Austria, two rounds in Britain, and four rounds elsewhere in Europe. And as part of that, Chase Kerry has decided to come out and say,

that if one of the drivers contracts COVID-19, they would still continue on with a race weekend, which was a quote that kind of stood out to me. Sam, do you think this is a wise approach or do you think he needs to revise what he's saying here? It's an odd argument, isn't it? Because we didn't go ahead with Formula One due to the risk of people contracted COVID-19.

Now, just because that risk is less, why is that suddenly mean we're all okay to carry on with the events? If there's still a risk of anyone catching a proven lethal virus, regardless of who it is or where they could spread it to, why are we letting this happen? I mean, I was a bit up in arms because if a driver catches it, then they've caught it anyway. So why cancel the Grand Prix if one driver's where we go? But at the same time, you've got to think, well, you're putting them in that position when they could be in a country that has a high infection rate, which means they could bump into someone else, which is they could spray it again. So if there's ever a debate, I think in my mind, between risk of life, me seeing Formula One. I mean, it's been six months since I've seen a Formula One race.

That's really, really difficult to deal with. But I don't want anyone to die. So stop the event. Don't put people at risk. If you think there's even a 1% chance that a single person driver or not catches COVID-19 because of Formula One, you don't do it. It's as simple as that. That's where I stand on it.

It's not a hard argument. You don't put people at risk for the sake of some entertainment. Fair enough. Harry, do you agree with what Sam said? It's a very, very burny thing of good old chase to say. Maybe all leaders of F1

eventually become mad and senile. I don't know. Maybe it was Bernie with a mustache. That's all we're saying here. Confirmed. It's confirmed. Is that what you just said, Ben? I said unconfirmed.

I was confirmed anyone suiting. It's confirmed. It is Bernie with a mustache. It may not be Bernie with a mustache. It's about four foot shorter. Yeah, I'm not sure. I'm not sure Chase's chosen his words very wise to hear it. And I'm obviously on the, I agree with Sam completely.

I don't want to watch anyone get sick or even worse and dying from it. I didn't read the full interview or article or whatever it was. I just saw the quote, but I'm guessing that his views are back in Australia, everyone was still walking about like it was like it was 2019. Everything was normal. Whereas now, you know, there'll be no motorhomes at the circuit. Teams will be very secluded from one another.

They won't be mixing together. There'll be social distancing in place, protective equipment, etc. So I guess that was his thought process there that if one gets sick it's not less likely to spread throughout the paddock like wildfire.

But yeah, at the same time that was a dumb thing to say like we've just had the good news that everyone is coming bad. Don't go say things like that. That's just stupid, stupid thing to say. So yeah, and you know, if it really did get bad, they'd still have to cancel.

I don't care what they'd say. So yeah, I don't see why you needed to say that one. You silly, silly Bernie imposter. I think we saw us well with Melbourne. We can't forget, I mean, Melbourne was an embarrassment, really. I know the knowledge of COVID-19 was less back then. The fact that it nearly happened, it was an embarrassment for the sport. And you would hope that Chase Carey and people around him have learned,

and they wouldn't allow a similar situation to happen, which to be honest is why I was so surprised at this comment is that F1 was one of the closest sports to really being dangerous in that respect. And I think the point is as well that if one driver or just one person in the paddock did contract the virus, then who's to say that the same thing won't happen as happened in Melbourne, that the teams would band together. I mean, McLaren as soon as, you know, they as soon as possible said, you know,

we're not competing this weekend. It doesn't matter who else it is. Theoretically, I think the teams, even though they are at each other's froats 90% of the time, I think in these sorts of situations, as we have seen with Project Pit Lane, I think they would come together. And I think they would try to reach a reasonable conclusion

and ensure that everyone's health is the utmost priority and not plain entertainment, which as much as we'd all love to see Formula One. And trust me, we are all so excited for Formula One to return. We would absolutely not want that at the expense of anyone's health, no chance whatsoever. So, yeah, probably more than anything, it was a poor choice of words. But yeah, I just hope we don't get another situation. Melbourne, two events like that in one year, that's not a good look. No, we don't want that.

Thank you very much, Tiny Chase Kerry. Cheney Chase Kerry. I can't wait to start this rumor. But Bernie Kerry. Do you have evidence that Chase Kerry and Bernie Ecclestone are in fact the same person? Have you ever seen the next to each other? So I'm saying. think it's like Dr. Evil and Mini Me.

He's literally got a tiny version of himself sat next to him. So all this time he's just been operating Chase Keff. Yeah, I think so. He's a genius that man. Ah, genius. Yeah, I thought it was too good to be true when Bernie stepped away. Never. He never did. He never did.

Well, I mean, it doesn't get much more serious than this really real, that we're having right now. But we'll move on to our final topic of today, which is fill in the blank. I don't think we've actually got a theme song for this, have we? I can put something on. It may be a repeat, but...

Oh, this bloody bit of music, lads. It's a new game, everyone. That makes a new theme tune. F-1. F-ling the... Yeah. F-1. Fill in gap.

Get it? See what I'm doing? I'm leaving a gap with each time I sing it through. Well, you're leaving it blank. Yeah, and it's fill in the blank. Yeah, good. This is F1, fill in the So we've got We are morons, I'm sorry,

discuss. If you've made it to this point of the podcast, thank you. You deserve a medal, congratulations. I think anyone has? Fair play. Fair play if you have. Anyway, we're going to be looking at a few statements where one word is blanked out and we're going to be essentially putting our opinions as to what word goes in there. Expect Ricardo Rossett to appear at some point. Harry, I'll start with you on this one.

The best non-champ of the 21st century is blank. Ricardo Rosset. There we see Ricardo Rosset. even compete in this century. No, no, he didn't. He's not, yeah, but he's not dead. Correct. He still counts, doesn't he?

He absolutely still counts. Because he's been around in the 21st century. Yes, he lives. In that case, it's actually Sterling Moss then. Yeah, there you go. But he's not as good as, he's not as good as Ricardo Rosset. Can you give us? serious answer. That is my serious. Sorry, again, folks listening.

Okay. Best non-champure. I've not really decided mine yet. I was too focus on Ricardo Rossett. Go to Sam. Go to Sam. I'll get back to you. All right. Sam, have you actually got a name? I've actually taken some time to think about this. I know. It doesn't happen often, but I have. How are you? been so silly recently that I thought I might try to be a little more serious. Sure. So it was between two people for me. It was between current race driver and youngster Max Verstappen.

He's like a brilliant start to his career. He did well to get out of that junior area and he's dominated Red Bull realistically since he's got there. But those mistakes that he had for a couple of seasons have really cost him. And I don't think he's had the chance at a top shot yet to show that he could really be a world champ. So I think he will be eventually, who knows when, when if he ever gets the car, that's a debate for another day. But I have gone for none other than Huang Pablo Montoya. He was Mr. Chunky, but Mr. Exciting, right? There were so many comments about him not being fit enough to be a Formula One drive, which is hilarious. You cannot call him Mr. Chunky.

That was a well-documented game of the press, thank you. He's got... One Pablo, Mr. Chunky. Yeah, that's his name. He's got seven race wings to his name in 95. starts, I'd five races rather, 13 poles, 12 fastest laps, 307 career points. He had that season in, I think it was 2005 in McLaren where the car was a bit of a dog, the entire season for him.

He basically drags that team to get the car in the right place. Well, he did get that car in the right place. I think he won three races, got another two podiums and got like three pole positions, or something like that. The guy where he has the right car can really drive, he just came up against some incredible all the drivers. He was great. He was never the greatest. And that's the whole point of this question. One Pablo was always one of those games that stuck around in my mind from being a kid watching Formula One. He was always exciting to watch. He won in his first season with

BMW Williams. The guy's great. So yeah, for me, he was really up there with one of those great drivers that never really made that final step in the 20th century. Yeah, I think you thought you're going to say DC. That was my actual other choice. I've kept quiet there. Good old, good old DC. This is actually a really difficult one. Because I don't think there's one name that really sticks out as someone who absolutely should have won one and didn't. Or hasn't won one and hasn't. Yeah.

Apart from Yano truly, obviously. Sorry, Yano. I completely forgot that you existed for a moment. He is the greatest. I think Montaille is a good shout, actually. And interesting that the Mastappan is there. I know he's only had a few years. But I think it's warranted that he's there as well.

Kulthar didn't do I think Kulthar was slightly better Oh, maybe D.C. This is actually a really difficult one. I think I'm going to agree with you, Sam. I'm going to go with one Pablo Montoya. I don't

I don't think Juan Pablo Montoya was always brilliant. I think he lacked consistency somewhat. You know, Reikinen did a bit of a job on him at McLaren. Ralph Schumacher wasn't too far off at Williams, but on his day, Montoya was brilliant. And he could really compete with Michael Schumacher, and not many could. So, yeah, I'm going to agree with you on this one, Sam.

I'm going to pluck the Mr. Chunky JPM. Harry, have you come up with an answer? Yeah, and it's not Mr. Chunky. Oh, that's a real shame. I'm afraid to say. No, I've got a few on my list. DC's on there. I also would put Rubino.

I wouldn't. Well, if you put Mr. Chunky, so. I'll miss a cry, baby. I'd also put Felipe in the mix. And I've got a couple here that are people that could have done more had it not been for accident. So the first one is Felipe, brutally unlucky not to win in 08. and he was that first half of 2009 he was still on pretty good form

and I don't think he was ever the same driver again after his accident but my other one is Bobby Kay pre-accident Bobby Kay was was a man that Hamilton Alonzo were all feared and he could have I think he could have gone on and won that 08 title of BMW didn't stop developing the car and if events transpired he could had definitely been a, have a couple of world championships in his back pocket for sure.

So yeah, I'm going to, and the stats do not support that in the way that, you know, Montoya's do, or DCs or whoever, because, you know, Kibitzer only got one win. But that's what could have been, and I definitely think you've deserved a few titles, good old Bobby K. That is actually a really good shout, Harry. I feel that silliness. That's a very big argument. Thank you.

So, I mean, if Robert Kubits is in the argument, surely the person that beat him to see if their four seasons together. There we go. Quick Nick. Quick Nick. Got to love Quick Nick. Oh, I love Quick Nick.

Man who sits under a tree. He's bare consistent as well, was Quick Nick. He was so good. I reckon, for me, Quick Nick is probably actually second to one Pablo, Mr Chunky. Mr. Man who sits under a tree and Mr. Chunky are by far the best two drivers for the 21st century thing ever wanted

title. Yeah, interesting debate there and an interesting nickname that came out of that. I feel like Mr. Chunky might stick around for a while. Good Lord. Right. Next one. And out of fear that Harry doesn't know what's coming, I'm going to go to you, Sam, first. The best circuit people don't speak about is blank. So I have got an answer for off the current calendar and an answer for on the current calendar. I'll give more info for the one that's on the calendar. Off the current calendar is, I think it's something locally spoken about track now is Brands Hatch, really. I think people don't associate it with Formula One.

People don't give it the credit that it's a brilliant race track. Paddock Hill is an incredible corner. It has got some great overtaking areas, really tough corner to deal with. I, you know, I generally think it's a really great trekking. It does so well for so many other classifications of racing. But for the track that's on the calendar that I don't think it's spoken about as much as it deserves to, people often glaze over a little bit. bit when thinking of good circuits that always deliver.

Bahrain. I genuinely think Bahrain is one of the most interesting and eventful circuits we've hanging to the calendar in quite some time, you know, even as recent as having Vessel spin out, Lecler possibly go for the wing to his engine wing, Hamilton taking it, the jewel in the desert, you know, the time when Hamilton overtook three cars at once down the back straight. There have been some really, really exciting races at Bahrain. And people, when they're listing off those events that seasoning, season out, they've created a good

Grand Prix. Barang's never on that list. It's always just dismissed as one of those. It's on the calendar. It's all right. I generally think Bahrain produces a very solid race, seizing and it doesn't get spoken about as much as it should do. So, yeah, for me, Bahrain is that track. Fair enough. Harry,

what have you got for this one? What about Cadwell Park? Oh, I have a day off. Cabwell Park on project cars, too, can get in the bin. What about Sneperton? Johnny Herbert's favorite circuit Does everything?

Well then, do I need to say any more if it's Johnny Herbert's favorite circuit? No, I don't. Exactly. Panickel, Brian's Hatch is a great shout because it's a great circuit. Underrated circuit.

Is it underrated or does people forget about it? I guess it's the same thing, isn't it? Boring. is a cracking one from Sam. Monaco, I know Ben's going to scream, but I think Monaco gets, doesn't get enough stick. No.

Thank you very for agreeing with my viewpoint. Let me try that again. It doesn't get enough praise, I should say. And I know it doesn't always throw up the most exciting race in the world, but it's still a fantastic track to watch an airport and car go around. Canada, I think, is my main choice, though, because people, I don't feel, when people talk about great circuits, people don't say Canada.

But Canada is a great circuit and it's tricky. It's like a street circuit. I know there's a lot of chicanes, but it always throws up an interesting race. And I don't know. It just never seems to make it on the list of great tracks when people start naming, you know, the likes of spa, the Nureberg race. Lamont, Canada doesn't make it on there when it damn well should because it always entertains.

So, circuit to Jill, Jules Bielnev, you get a thundup for me. Yeah, great shout. I think it gets spoken about a bit more than Bahrain, but I do think it is a brilliant show. Yeah, I see your point, though.

I think people would immediately go to Silverstone, Spa, Suzuki, Monser, they would say circuit to Jill, Bielnev. So I completely. agree with you on that actually and I agree with Bahrain too I don't like all this agreeing anyway best circuit people don't speak about I've got two answers as well one on and one off the F1 calendar off the F1 calendar and I don't this well the actual venue gets spoken about a

lot but this circuit doesn't necessarily I love the indie GP race good I love the I think it's a really fun one. The IndyCar race that happened last year was really entertaining there. And obviously it's had some modifications since F1 race there, but I would love to see F1 back there if they ever wanted to. Yeah, I just, I really love that circuit. In terms of on the F1 calendar, as I said before, both of your suggestions are definitely valid.

I'm going to say the Shanghai International Circuit. It was my other my other guess that was my other name that I was to go for if someone who said Bahrain I think that's a great shout and it's somewhat influenced by race 1000 being hyped up to be you know obviously the 1000 Formula 1 race and it turned out to be a bit of a snooze fest but by and large the Chinese Grand Prix year on year is an entertaining one there are so many underated Chinese Grand Prix in history um I think it's a brilliant race. So I'm going to place for that.

This is a case in point because yesterday evening I sat down and watched the 2013 Chinese GP and I can remember anything about it. Absolute Belta. I had a great time. I didn't even remember anything that happened in it and I was like, this is great.

So yeah. Falls into the same vein as Malaysia, I often think, which people kind of go, well, that's some good races but what actually happened? And then you watch me, you're like, this is mental. Why is Malaysia got on the calendar anymore? Yeah, yeah.

I mean, I decided to go for that one. Obviously, Paul Ricard came close. Go away. Go away. You were speaking so much since. Big Paul, Richard. Paulie Dick. Okay.

All right. Last one on this, then. Fill in the blank. Sam, blank is going to be the next new champion. right so I'm going to begin this one with a bit of a prefix prefix prefix prefix preface preface no I think thank you a thing before what I'm going to say this depends on if Mercedes stay relevant and interested in Formula One so in the new regime of rules and whatnot they are still as invested in Formula One as they are now that's all this is depending on I think

George Russell I think he'll get the move to Mercedes very soon I think Hamilton once he hit seven may get to that point where he's like, right, good, yeah, I'm done. I'm ready to move on to something else. And Russell will pretty much be the leader of that team. And I think that he's got bags of talent. So I think that he really could do a fantastic job there and be the chad. If Mercedes decided to leave the sport sooner than we think, then I think with Red Bull development, and of course the man that's led them for quite a long time now, Max Verstappen has got that

raw talent and ability. And I think he's at that point in his career now where he's not making loads of mistakes that in a car as good as a Red Bull car can be, the staff for me is the next big shout if Mercedes do take that step back. I mean, not saying you're wrong and who can say whether you're right or wrong at this point, but it's a bold prediction to say that someone who is not in a race winning seat at the moment, sorry Williams, is going to be the next new champion when you've got Leclair and Vastappen, obviously like you've a reference with Vestappen, in sort of.

of their positions already. Yeah, not saying it's wrong. It's just it will, it's a bold one, I think. Yeah, I mean, that's partially what I'm here for, isn't it? Bold predictions. But at the same time, that tells you, one, how much I rate George Russell. And two, how much I rate Mercedes. And again, that's why I started that with.

If Mercedes are no longer as interested in Formula One as they are now, I don't think it will happen. He has to have the same quality of car that matches the Ferrari and the Red Bull. if it does, I think Russell, with his consistency and speed, comes out on top. All right. Harry, who have you got? I'm not going to be as bold as Sam, but I'm going to go for his second shout, which was maxi of a stamp because as much as I do believe in Mercedes and George

Russell, even if George gets the call up, and I think he's immensely talented, and he could be a future world champion, but I don't think he'd be able to do it straight away. I trust Red Bull and Honda's ability to build a good car and make good calls more than I trust Ferraris at the moment as much that I love Leclair I just think Vastappan it's like

it was written in the stars that that boy is going to have to win a championship sooner rather than later and like Sam said his consistency is there now which was the one thing he was lacking so yeah for me I would be really really surprised if it's not Verstappen, who's the next one to take a

championship. If that's away from Hamilton or not, I couldn't say, but who knows. Yeah. So, first of all, with the Mercedes discussion, I think Bottas is at least worth a mention here,

and I think it would, for me at least, if Hamilton were to walk away from the sport and it was a botas plus George Russell line up, I would back Botas at the moment. However, I'm going to go with Max Verstappen as well. And I can't remember when I first made this prediction. It was a few years back.

So I'm kind of bound by it and I'm forced to stick by it. I still think that Red Bull, when the cost cap comes in, I know the cost cap and regulations are happening in different years now, so it might happen a year later. But I think that when everything is settled down in 2022, Red Bull will be the leading car, regardless of whether Mercedes are in the sport or not. I'm not saying it's going to be a comfortable lead, but I think they will be the best team at that point. In which case, I think Max Verstappen, who is, as we know, a brilliant driver.

I think he claims it. So, yeah, I'm going to go Max. Well, that was actually a really good debate. But it's really interested to know what everyone thinks, who isn't one of us three morons. Let us know everyone wrong at Elbreaking at Twitter. And you've got to use the hashtag Mr Chunky. I want to see it, Phil the trending bar. That's the rule.

As ever, I can't think of a better way to end the show on than Mr. Chunky. So, Sam, you can get us out of here. Well, folks, if you have enjoyed the Mr Chunky podcast, so make sure you subscribe, make sure you download it, share it, let everyone know that we are representatives for the MISC Chunky team. and we cannot wait to be back once again next week we're discussing more Formula One. We're getting closer to racing, folks, in the meantime.

I've been Samuel C. I've been Ben Hocking, and I'd be Eddie Jeeva. I'll remember. We're a raking lake. Past is part of the Sports Social Podcast Network.