Episode 18 - Italian Grand Prix, Lewis Hamilton

Show Notes

Chuck Hayes and David Gould cover Italian Grand Prix, Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari, George Russell, and Kimi Antonelli on this episode of The Chequered Flag Report.

• Italian Grand Prix
• Lewis Hamilton
• Ferrari
• George Russell
• Kimi Antonelli
• Racing Bulls
• Oscar Piastri
• Belgian Grand Prix

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The Chequered Flag Report is the fastest hour in Formula 1 — a weekly podcast and radio show built for fans who want more than the highlight reel.

Co-hosts David Gould and Chuck "Iron Man" Hayes break down every Grand Prix the way it's talked about in the paddock: race previews and predictions, post-race analysis, driver market rumors, betting lines, sponsorship and the business of the sport, and the storylines the mainstream coverage doesn't get to. Bahrain to Abu Dhabi, Monaco to Vegas — wherever the lights go out, the Chequered Flag Report is calling the race.

David brings 30+ years across business, radio, and the worlds of luxury and sponsorship — the voice behind the business of Formula 1. Chuck brings three decades in Las Vegas media, a CBS Sports Radio chair, and a deep motorsport pedigree from a family that co-owned race teams alongside legends like Dale Earnhardt and Mark Martin.

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The Chequered Flag Report Transcript
AssemblyAI transcript ID: 48a341b8-3172-4688-886b-8669ce9e2c5c
Status: completed
Duration: 2406 seconds
Speaker mapping: A = Chuck Hayes, B = David Gould

[0:00] Chuck Hayes: Welcome to the Checkered Flag Report. This is Chuck Hayes with David Gould, and we're here talking Formula One. And David, great to be with you, and I hope you got your beauty rest. I would hope that after this early, early morning call for Monza, yeah, that you are back at it because, you know, we're working here. We're going to Madrid this coming weekend, so there has been a little time for everyone to get their beauty sleep.
[0:29] David Gould: Yep.
[0:30] Chuck Hayes: I know you got yours, but first things I want to do is I want to thank our presenting sponsor of the Check or Fly Report. That's Chavez Realty Development Apartments, Business Affairs, Real Estate Assessment at 626-440-1545. That's 626-440-1545. Okay, David. Well, if I was writing the headline for every major newspaper outlet around the world. Yeah, there would be 3 names with exclamation point: Kimi, Kimi, Kimi! All in the biggest, like, man walks on the moon headline. You know, because she is spectacular.
[1:13] David Gould: What makes you think that there aren't those headlines? I'm telling you, man, this guy is, uh, this kid— kid, he's 20 now—
[1:20] Chuck Hayes: Hey, happy birthday, Kimi.
[1:21] David Gould: Happy birthday, Kimi, is, uh, is incredible. I mean, I think that's only been done— if I was listening to— listening correctly, that's only been in once in history where somebody has started from the very, very back and come all the way over to, uh, to win the race. And, um, he was put in the back because, uh, Mercedes had an engine change, and that's part of the the Formula One regulations that if you change, modify the car within the standards, of course, that you have to start from the very back. And he did. And boy, en fuego, baby. That guy was on fire.
[2:02] Chuck Hayes: And so, you know, he made up 18 positions on Sunday and was in the top 5 by lap 10, which I think is kind of, you know, for the Temple of Speed and Fernando Alonso, Yeah, had a really snarky, uh, remark about, uh, Monza, that no longer was it the Temple of Speed. And I thought that was— wow, you talk about timing and shots across the bow.
[2:29] David Gould: Yeah.
[2:29] Chuck Hayes: As he's leaving Monza.
[2:32] David Gould: Yeah.
[2:32] Chuck Hayes: Maybe never to be seen again. I don't know if he'll be back next year, but saying that no more was Monza the Temple of Speed when Kimi Antonelli did what he did and did it and made it look seamless. I mean, just how smooth he was.
[2:49] David Gould: I must say that given the new regulations for these cars, that this race was probably the most entertaining, uh, and most race-like, uh, I have seen this season. Uh, didn't see a lot of stuff. Uh, it was crazy to see Charles Leclerc Charles Leclerc, I should say, lose it and crash into the barriers. Thank God he's okay, because that was kind of a nasty little, little, little sideswipe there. But, and we're going to get, you know, we're going to get into this in the next segment because there's something going on. I think as a group, there's almost like a, a blanket of anxiety over these drivers. And Kimi's part of it, a component with it, because he's like, Who is this guy? How can he come in? I think this is his third. Is this this third, second or third? Second season and be dominating like this when they've got you've got seasoned drivers Hamilton, you've got Verstappen, you've got all these guys that have been around and really done it all, and they're struggling in many respects. But anyway, we'll get to that.
[4:01] Chuck Hayes: We want to ask everyone to follow us on X at LV Checker Flag at LV Checker Flag.
[4:07] David Gould: Give us the.
[4:08] Chuck Hayes: What does David say?
[4:08] David Gould: Give us the. love, man. We want a like and we want a retweet. Please do.
[4:12] Chuck Hayes: And the thing that was interesting about Antonelli, you know, and this being an Italian coming home who wasn't driving a Ferrari, that this is the first Italian driver to win his home Grand Prix since Ludovico Scarfiatti in 1966.
[4:28] David Gould: That's right.
[4:29] Chuck Hayes: So that is Kimi. Not only, uh, has he got 7 this year, and that's China, Suzuka, Miami, Montreal, Monaco, Spa, and Monza.
[4:40] David Gould: I hope he's getting a black book. I hope the kid is actually getting some numbers, 'cause holy cow, that guy has gotta be a god in Italy.
[4:47] Chuck Hayes: And the question is, uh, when he decides to move out of his, uh, casa or his villa, will he, uh, with the architects—
[4:56] David Gould: His parents' house.
[4:57] Chuck Hayes: Create a trophy room or rooms. Yes, because right now he's got a great room. Uh, I don't know if it's the same room that has a poster of Farrah Fawcett on the wall. Maybe not. Sophia Loren, I would think.
[5:12] David Gould: Well, you know, after a while you got to put away the Little League, uh, trophies, the soccer, the soccer trophies. Those things have to go in the closet, and then you have to start putting out the real hardware.
[5:21] Chuck Hayes: And that is some real hardware.
[5:22] David Gould: Oh man.
[5:23] Chuck Hayes: And I would, I would have like, uh, like you do in your, in your palatial studio where you have track lighting with spotlights on certain ones, and maybe they glow. And, you know, Monaco— I would think I would, I would have Monaco in the center.
[5:38] David Gould: I have no velvet posters. Nothing glows, okay?
[5:42] Chuck Hayes: I would have, I would have Monaco in the center, and everything else would play off of it. I would have a map of like a 1950 map of the Formula 1 race, you know, Monza. Yeah, you know, something very Very stimulating. But again, we, we laugh because we can, David, because it is so absurd.
[6:01] David Gould: Yeah.
[6:01] Chuck Hayes: Because right now, every one of those people that are in that garage not named Toto Wolff or Kimi Räikkönen are saying, what is going on here?
[6:11] David Gould: Oh yeah.
[6:11] Chuck Hayes: And that includes George Russell.
[6:13] David Gould: Oh, I know.
[6:14] Chuck Hayes: At the top of the list. And he, you know, George made a big point about he was okay with— I guess—
[6:20] David Gould: Oh, he wasn't okay.
[6:21] Chuck Hayes: You know, they booed him.
[6:23] David Gould: Yep.
[6:23] Chuck Hayes: And he, uh, he said, oh, okay, that's just the way it goes.
[6:26] David Gould: Well, it is. And I'm looking at, uh, when, when they got out of the cars at the end of the race and George's second and, and especially the way he, he lost it in like the last 2 laps. I mean, it was just like, oh my God. It's like, is he gonna make it? Just, and those tires just weren't gonna last. But, uh, uh, when his, when I was looking at his posture, when they're standing at these things that are kind of like wiping off their stuff, He was like, would not even look in Kimi's direction. I mean, he was just looking straight ahead, taking a thing of water, man. He's upset. I wouldn't— I don't blame him. I don't blame him for being upset. However, you know, man, this is racing and it's not about being fair.
[7:11] Chuck Hayes: Well, you know, ultimately we talked about that, about the photo shoot preseason for Adidas last week. And what you're saying has now come full circle.
[7:21] David Gould: Yeah.
[7:22] Chuck Hayes: Kimi beat George by 3.857 seconds. He beat Max Verstappen by, drum roll, 14.71 seconds. The defending world champion, Lando Norris, 19 seconds. And then Oscar Piastri, and those guys had a little bit of interesting run at the end, 19.5 seconds. We'll get into that. So Lewis Hamilton, because of first lap activity with Charles Leclerc, he finished 6th, 24 seconds off the pace. And then how about Pierre Gasly? David, what a story that was, huh?
[7:55] David Gould: Yeah.
[7:55] Chuck Hayes: The guy was on the pole and, uh, man, there was celebratory, uh, all around the, uh, the, um, garage with him being there. +27. Uh, Lindblad Racing Bulls, 45 seconds. Colapinto in the other Alpine, 47 seconds. Yuki Tsunoda in the Racing Bulls, 58 seconds. Gabriel Bortoletto, 65 seconds. Nico Hulkenberg, 66 seconds. Carlos Sainz, hey, good run for him, 13th at 74 seconds. Liam Lawson, a little bit disappointing at 14, in the car for Isack Hadjar, and he will be in the car again in Spain replacing Isack. Are you sure? Yeah, they made that announcement today.
[8:41] David Gould: I thought it was Yuki was going to replace him.
[8:43] Chuck Hayes: No, they're staying where they are. Okay, staying where they are. All right, Ollie Bearman from Haas, 78 seconds. Then Ocon, a lap down. Albon, a lap down. Perez in a Cadillac, 18th, a lap down. Bottas in a Cadillac, 2 laps down. And then our friends from Aston Martin, Lance Stroll did not finish because they had a mechanical issue with the, um, hydraulics on the Aston Martin. Bring it into the garage, it's the hydraulics.
[9:14] David Gould: Oh, God.
[9:14] Chuck Hayes: And then of course Alonso Because he had an issue with hitting the curb and they said, we're going to park it. So that's where that's at. So David, we're going to take a short timeout. We're going to get 4 fresh Pirellis and then we're going to step inside Dave's brain because man, I was thinking about it when I woke up race morning. I said, did David stay up or did he get up? And that would be the question as we will now venture into that territory to find out what it takes to be a West Coast F1 fan and see Kimi Antonelli dominate at the Temple of Speed. Chuck Hayes with David Gould. Short timeout. We'll be back with you. Welcome back. Checkered Flag Report. Chuck Hayes with David Gould. And we're talking Formula 1. Why? Because this past weekend, history was made. 20-year-old Kimi Antonelli. He was the winner, 1 hour, 51 seconds, 15 minutes. Beat his teammate George Russell by 3 seconds, beat Max Verstappen by 14. But David, he just didn't do it in front of his home country. He did it in front of you while you were watching F1 live on Apple TV in IMAX.
[10:32] David Gould: Yep.
[10:32] Chuck Hayes: And, uh, like I said, I did not get up to go and, and make that trek. But you did. And, uh, they have been a great sponsor of ours and they'll be returning for Formula 1 at Circuit of the Americas. So we'll talk more about them down the line. But David, what did you do? Did you go to bed early? Did you stay up? Did you get up early? Tell me about the process because you were able to experience it the way I experienced it for Miami. in really what is the most intriguing and powerful endeavors that multimedia experience has provided.
[11:12] David Gould: Well, the way you describe it sounds like, you know, Saturday night, Sunday morning. So Saturday night, I'm in my pajamas with the feet on and I'm getting in my bed, which is shaped like an F1 car. And, you know, pulling the covers up at 8:00 and having a nice glass of warm milk. And the reality is I'm dealing with my kids. It gets late. I'm running around town trying to pick up. I'm doing the taxi service. And then I have to manage to get my butt out of bed at 5 o'clock in the morning. And just Italian style, I got to get a couple of double espressos shot into me so I can get to the, the IMAX theater by 6, by starting time. And we did. And we had great seats. Me and my buddy. And I'll tell you, if you have not seen it in IMAX, go see it in IMAX because you don't— a regular television does not show you. You don't feel the same speed. But when you get those cameras on either the helmet cam or the car cam, uh, when they're coming out, it, it is absolutely mind-blowing how fast these guys are going, uh, down those straights, going 180 miles an hour and making decisions. you know, minor adjustments and turns. It's just wild. And in fact, they had— they were showing scenes of the Charles Leclerc accident, and it's just wild how fast it happened and just how minor the touch was. And those things broke free. So yeah, it was quite an experience.
[12:47] Chuck Hayes: So David, you're telling me when you were sitting there and the cars were staged the first time, Yeah, the first time. The first time.
[12:56] David Gould: Thank you, Yuki.
[12:56] Chuck Hayes: And when you hear that beep, beep, beep, beep, when the lights go out, the initial reaction when that start happened on that drag race down to the first corner, and Charles and Lewis were having their little tango, what did that look like in regards to it being so big and so prominent And the sound that comes out of those speakers.
[13:26] David Gould: Yeah, it is.
[13:28] Chuck Hayes: It's wild.
[13:28] David Gould: It's definitely, it's definitely immersive. Uh, I will say that you, you, you know, being, being at the race and having that visceral feeling of the vibration from the engines and, and this is the closest thing to actually being at the race. And in many ways, I won't say it's better than the race, but you see angles that you would, you can't see. During the race. Um, and, and it's, it's just, it's, it's, it's quite a wonderful, uh, experience to go see it at IMAX. Uh, however, you know, with the time changes and all that stuff, you're going to be up early, um, in most cases, and they only do this for so many things. That being said, as I want— you brought up the subject of, of, uh, Charles and, and Hamilton, uh, going at it. Um, it looked like, you know, at least, uh, Lewis was complaining that That Charles pushed him off into the grass or pushed him off the— out of track bounds, um, uh, rather, you know, and it wasn't, it wasn't very cool. And I think that there, maybe the gods were listening to Lewis because it wasn't shortly, maybe another lap after that, that, uh, that the back end of Charles' car broke free and he ended up in the sidewall in the barrier. And then it caused, uh, that caused a, uh, uh, a safety car and delayed the race for like another 20 minutes. Um, so I, I think that what I'm, what I'm getting at, and I'm taking the long route to do it, is I think that there is this overarching anxiety now with all the drivers because we're getting to that stage in the season where every single point counts. that with every single lap, perhaps, you're seeing the Drivers' Championship and the mathematical possibility of that slipping away.
[15:20] Chuck Hayes: Let's come back to Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton's relationship.
[15:24] David Gould: Yes.
[15:24] Chuck Hayes: We've been doing this for 4 seasons now.
[15:26] David Gould: Correct.
[15:27] Chuck Hayes: And, uh, one of the things that we've always addressed is who is the domo in the relationships in Formula 1?
[15:35] David Gould: Yes.
[15:36] Chuck Hayes: We know that Max is the king. at Red Bull.
[15:39] David Gould: Yes.
[15:41] Chuck Hayes: Before this season, George Russell was the guy at Mercedes. Right. Last year, McLaren battled it out and our guy got to be the world champion.
[15:57] David Gould: Yes.
[15:57] Chuck Hayes: And Oscar Piastri basically had to take the second parking spot.
[16:00] David Gould: Right.
[16:01] Chuck Hayes: And when Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz were at Ferrari, they were pretty equal. There was, you know, there was a lot there. They were both winners. Yeah, but there wasn't the dominant guy.
[16:13] David Gould: Well, neither one of them had this pedigree.
[16:15] Chuck Hayes: All of a sudden, Lewis Hamilton, 7-time winner, comes in from Mercedes where he was the show before Russell, you know, as his teammate. So there was that pecking order.
[16:27] David Gould: Yeah.
[16:28] Chuck Hayes: This is a quote from Lewis Hamilton. This cracks me up. I think it comes down to rules of engagement. Speaking about his relationship with Leclerc in the first corner activity.
[16:39] David Gould: Right.
[16:40] Chuck Hayes: When I was at Mercedes— say what? We had written rules of engagement. Here, there are no rules. We need to address that. Oh, I'm sorry, Lewis, your valet spot is no longer yours, which it was at Mercedes. and at Ferrari because they let you get dressed up and go out on the track with your brand new Ferrari or your old school Ferrari or whatever, any Ferrari, right, or whatever. And now you're going, we need rules of engagement? Uh, I think that is hilarious. I really— of all the things I've heard him say, it seems like maybe, just maybe, he's just noticing this now. Is this something that— He got distracted, did have someone blow in his ear and go, oh, Lewis, he shouldn't have pushed you out there like that. Well, Chris, this is the way it works.
[17:36] David Gould: Right.
[17:36] Chuck Hayes: And I'm talking about Chris Jenner.
[17:38] David Gould: Yeah. It's, it's racing, man.
[17:40] Chuck Hayes: A little different than, you know, being in my spotlight. You know, we always talk about that. If you're a star, you have a certain spotlight on you because that's how they light you because you're a superstar.
[17:51] David Gould: Yes.
[17:51] Chuck Hayes: It's kind of interesting for him to say that. So, um—
[17:54] David Gould: But see, that goes to what I was saying before, that this overarching anxiety because Kimi, this 20-year-old kid who's 2 years on the circuit, that is really, uh, as far as having a history and a pedigree, is a nobody. And he's just tearing it up. And now everybody is watching this world championship just slip away. And everybody has a beef. Everybody is getting upset with every little thing, which, which Quite frankly, sorry, Lewis. That's racing, man. That's racing. I mean, it's it's it's it's Gladiator, man. I mean, you guys are in there and it's it's battle royale.
[18:31] Chuck Hayes: Did he forget what color car he was driving in Italy? That like Charles Leclerc had won there before, right? And he knows what it feels like. You, sir, are expecting Ferrari to just roll over so you can be out there and battling Pierre Gasly, right? I'm surprised you didn't yell at Pierre for. For being in front of you when you walk to the front of the grid. Like, oh no, no, you're over here. The Alpine's on the pole.
[18:56] David Gould: Believe me, I thought Gasly was probably confused going, why is there nobody in front of me?
[19:02] Chuck Hayes: That's exactly the point. They made that point. David Coulthard said he's never been this close to the lights and he's never seen anybody not in front of him. I thought that was hilarious. Chuck Hayes with David Gould, follow us. @LVCheckeredFlag, @LVCheckeredFlag.
[19:19] David Gould: And as David says, uh, yeah, give us some love, give us a like, and please retweet.
[19:24] Chuck Hayes: And we're inside Dave's brain. So this is something that for me is, is intriguing because of all the people that we talk about, and as this progresses, when you're watching this in IMAX, David, uh, the people that are there There's clapping, I believe, when there's a nice pass.
[19:45] David Gould: Right.
[19:45] Chuck Hayes: Right. A little bit of like a soccer crowd, if you will, where some nice thing has been addressed.
[19:52] David Gould: And oh, this— there's no golf clapping in that crowd. Are you kidding? Those people go—
[19:55] Chuck Hayes: Well, you were in Burbank, California watching the race.
[19:59] David Gould: And they were, they were, they were applauding in the theater. The place was going nuts.
[20:03] Chuck Hayes: Well, I was at Universal Studios when I saw my first IMAX. F1, uh, live on Apple TV and IMAX. And it was a little more polite, maybe because it was the first time and it was a Miami, uh, deal. But the jerseys, the kits, the hats—
[20:22] David Gould: It's all there.
[20:22] Chuck Hayes: It was all there. Like, you were sitting in the stands, like you saw the people in the stands in Monza, was— could have been just teleported from there to here, right? Isn't that what you got?
[20:34] David Gould: Yeah, it was a very interesting experience because I'm walking in at 5:30 in the morning thinking, yeah, this place is going to be empty. No problem finding a parking spot. Oh no, that place, that auditorium was damn near filled. It was pretty impressive how many people got up at that hour to go see it in IMAX.
[20:54] Chuck Hayes: Chuck Hayes with David Gould. We're talking Formula 1. This is the kind of stuff I love, David.
[20:58] David Gould: Yeah.
[20:58] Chuck Hayes: Because as you who have experienced a lot of things in life, including hanging out with the Blue Man Group in Vegas, as, you know, people thinking that you were part of the Blue Man Group when you walked in.
[21:10] David Gould: Are you making a bald— is this a bald joke?
[21:13] Chuck Hayes: No, I'm just giving you, you know, association. And then Elvis impersonators that are there, right? You know, all the things that go on. And then of course we're in the paddock area.
[21:23] David Gould: Yeah.
[21:23] Chuck Hayes: And it's all happening there, as in the words of, uh, Fast Times at Ridgemont High. It's all happening.
[21:30] David Gould: Yeah.
[21:30] Chuck Hayes: And also now you're transported across the continent from Italy to Burbank, and yet you feel like you're trackside. And what was the feeling as we come into this, this next break quickly of the people when Leclerc stuffed it in the, in the fence?
[21:48] David Gould: Oh, there was a big gasp, huge gasp, like, oh. That's— and I was like, wow, these people are really immersed, man. They're really in it.
[21:56] Chuck Hayes: Chuck Hayes with David Gould for Fresh Pirellis. Follow us @LVCheckeredFlag, @LVCheckeredFlag. We'll be back for the next break. Welcome back, segment 3, Checkered Flag Report. This is Chuck Hayes with David Gould, and we're talking Formula 1. And we love this because why? Mazza was phenomenal. Kimi Antonelli is phenomenal. 7 race wins. And let's look at the standings, David. Right now where we have Kimi at the top of the heap, 267 points. His teammate George Russell, 201, in the second position. Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari, 191. Lando Norris, the defending world champion, he's fourth with 171. Charles Leclerc is fifth, 155, picked up 0.0, uh, after crashing in Monza. Then Max Verstappen, 127 and 6th. Oscar Piastri, 7th, McLaren, 116. Isaac Hadjar, Red Bull, 71, did not race, will not be in the car this week in Spain. Liam Lawson, 9th with 51. Pierre Gasly, he of the pole position for Alpine, 41 points after a 7th place finish in Monza.
[23:10] David Gould: Arvid Lindblad, 29.
[23:13] Chuck Hayes: Colapinto, Alpine, 21. So Alpine guys are making some money. Then we go to 13th, Ollie Bearman with Haas with 18. Gabriel Bortoletto, 14th with Audi, at 10. Nico Hülkenberg at 15 with 6. Carlos Sainz getting even with the Audi team, driving for Williams, with 16 at 6 points. Then Albon from Williams with 5. Esteban Ocon, 18th with 3. He's tied with Fernando Alonso with 3. Yuki Tsunoda picks up a point. He's 20th. And then you have the 0.0 crowd. Lance Stroll, Aston Martin. Valtteri Bottas, Cadillac. Sergio Perez, 0 points. Let's go to manufacturers, David. You have that in front of you. You want to take it down the, the grid as I give it to you because you know who's on top.
[24:03] David Gould: Sure. Mercedes is on top with 468 points. Looks like they're going to wrap that up. Probably if they keep up at this rate and Kimi keeps doing what he does, they'll probably wrap it up in a race or two, a couple of races. Ferrari is second with 346 points. McLaren is third with 287. Red Bull is fourth with 204. Racing Bulls, 75 points. And I got to give my hats off to those guys. For the second team, for a second team, they're doing quite well. Alpine, 62 points. Hats off to those guys too. Haas with 21, Audi with 16, Williams with 11, Austin with 3 points, and lowly Cadillac with nothing to show for the Americans.
[24:51] Chuck Hayes: It was interesting that Fernando Alonso talked about up to that point, I was fighting with Cadillac and trying to get the maximum out of the car. Now we're looking to Spain next week, a new circuit for us all. Um, again, though, they both started, you know, on pit lane.
[25:11] David Gould: Yeah.
[25:11] Chuck Hayes: Uh, him and Lance. And it's just—
[25:13] David Gould: Why was that? Remind me why.
[25:15] Chuck Hayes: There was some sort of mechanical change.
[25:18] David Gould: Yeah.
[25:19] Chuck Hayes: Uh, an issue curtailed Q1, and then again they had some sort of upgrade. And, you know, there was hope springs eternal, uh, after the 9th place finish at the Dutch Grand Prix. But Monza just was difficult for them. So, all right, as we talk about this and we look at where we're at right now, let's go back to where you were talking about everybody being ill at ease around everything that's going on.
[25:46] David Gould: Right.
[25:47] Chuck Hayes: McLaren, there's a fight. Oscar Piastri is not having a year that he would like. Lando's the defending champion. He looks himself in the mirror every day and says, I'm the defending world champion. And I drive like it. And they're having issues. There's obviously— it happened in Monza.
[26:05] David Gould: Yep.
[26:05] Chuck Hayes: We know about Kimi and George now with it so dominant and they having the agenda. They want to win the Constructors' World Championship and they want Kimi to be the guy. What do you think they're telling George in these meetings now that it's so well-defined now? You're not going to be able to get, get to him. You better cover him. Much like the meetings were when Max was with Sergio Perez at Red Bull.
[26:35] David Gould: Yes.
[26:36] Chuck Hayes: And then Sergio went like, I'm not doing that because the car's screwed up. I'm not going to put my neck out there just so you can make Max look like a superstar.
[26:45] David Gould: Right.
[26:45] Chuck Hayes: And I don't feel I have the need to have to do that. And they went, well, we're going to talk about it with you and we're going to let you hang out to dry during the summer break, not knowing, years ago, not knowing.
[26:58] David Gould: Yeah.
[26:58] Chuck Hayes: And then ultimately dropping the dime on him, bringing, uh, Liam Lawson in, moving him out after one race, and then replacing him with Isaac Hadjar. And now Isaac, unfortunately, and we still don't know, it has been reported how he hurt his wrist.
[27:13] David Gould: Yeah.
[27:14] Chuck Hayes: For him to be out of the car where now Liam is back in, and Yuki, who was the 3rd driver, is racing for the Racing Bulls. who's having a good year.
[27:22] David Gould: Yeah, except he doesn't know where to line up his car.
[27:25] Chuck Hayes: Well, that was— how pronounced was that on the IMAX big screen?
[27:29] David Gould: Very pronounced. Because I'm looking going, you got— I just leaned over to my buddy and go, and I'm sorry, with all due respect, I'm not a big Yuki Tsunoda fan. Okay, well, valet services, he needs a driver? And I basically said, I'm not a big fan. I think he's kind of a reckless guy, blah, blah, blah. And 10 seconds later, as they're lining up after the outlap, after that first formation lap, boom, he doesn't line up correctly. Another, another go around the—
[27:58] Chuck Hayes: And they had to do it again.
[27:59] David Gould: And they had to do it again. And I'm like, it's like, see, there it is. It was almost like somebody was listening to me. Now, there is something deeply psychological going on with the drivers. And to your point, This is where things get tricky because the team principals are the ones that have to determine there, because everything lands in their lap going, look, we're here to win, period. Who wins is important, but it's almost secondary to winning. It's like, what are they— what does George expect Toto Wolff to do? When they've got this kid who is just fully— I mean, what he pulled off in this last race was nothing short of a miracle. This was, this was absolutely spectacular, spectacular driving, all this stuff.
[28:54] Chuck Hayes: What—
[28:54] David Gould: there's nothing you can do. It's like, George, sorry, this is, this is not fair. This is not fair. And quite frankly, with the money that you guys get paid, sorry, you're going to be just fine. Even though you didn't, you didn't win the championship.
[29:09] Chuck Hayes: Reminder, our presenting sponsor Chavez Realty Development Apartments, Business Affairs, Real Estate Assessment, 626-440-1545. We want to thank Coach Harvey Hyde, Football Promotions of Nevada for powering the fastest hour on radio. All right. So as this continues onward and probably the only seat that I could see opening up is probably the Aston Martin situation with Fernando Alonso. I just think that with what he's been going through, his comments about getting home to be able to watch the World Cup before a race, um, talking about, uh, the car in regards to Monza and how poorly it was and going out early because I guess it wasn't built well enough when he hit a curb. That they were going to total the whole car if he didn't pull it in on lap 23. That, that can't be happy times over at Aston Martin, even though they did upgrade and he was able to get there. So I guess what we're looking at is there someone else that is having great success right now in one of the B-level teams that maybe would say, man, I'd like to be that guy. and be the number 1 guy at Aston Martin, or is it so toxic at Aston Martin that everyone says, you know what, we're going to hold Surf where we are right now? And I'm talking about Liam, we're talking about Yuki, we're talking about Isaac, those 3 guys, because they're all first-seat capable guys.
[30:45] David Gould: Yeah.
[30:46] Chuck Hayes: And Racing Bulls, they don't care. I don't think they have a 1 and a 1A there. They just have Racing Bulls. And they're going to change the parts however they want to do.
[30:55] David Gould: Well, yeah, they're a mid-pack team, so they don't seem to have a lot of the same troubles that these leaders have where there's a lot of—
[31:03] Chuck Hayes: Well, there's a lot more money and personality in that upper crust group. These guys are young guys who are on the charge.
[31:09] David Gould: Right. There's— they're a little bit more blue collar, if you will.
[31:12] Chuck Hayes: That's a pretty nice blue collar. That's the Monaco blue collar.
[31:19] David Gould: Yeah, that's— well, you know, it's just, it's just the way it is and the way the cars the way these new cars are racing and the way they're moving, there is definitely a clump in the center, uh, what I would refer to as the conga line, where there's not as much passing, or if the passing does take place, it's not, uh, there's so much traffic that, um, it's not, it's not quite as, uh, uh, important, uh, in the long run. Now granted, if you're trying to make it in the top 10, get a point, yeah, that's That, that makes sense.
[31:53] Chuck Hayes: Well, what we're going to be watching and what you're talking about is Racing Bulls at 75, Alpine at 62, and then it drops to Haas at 21, Audi at 16, Williams at 11, and then the battle between Aston Martin and Caddy, uh, 3 points and 0 points. So really those segments and how hard they push, and I would say right now the pressure is on Carlos Sainz. Yes, they got to do better at Williams because if they're not in front of Haas at the end of the year— and I don't know if they'll get there, I'm not putting Haas down by any means, I, I look at these as equal groups— yeah, Racing Bulls and Alpine is going to be a great battle for the rest of the year. Yes, especially with what Pierre Gasly did.
[32:40] David Gould: Yes.
[32:41] Chuck Hayes: And got pole, that they're going to look at that and go, you know what, We could do this every week now. If we could do it at Monza, we could do it wherever we go, because trust me, things are going to start happening.
[32:52] David Gould: Yeah.
[32:53] Chuck Hayes: As they say, to coin a term from a movie, Fast and Furious, as you know from seeing it in IMAX.
[32:59] David Gould: Yes.
[32:59] Chuck Hayes: Is going to be that way as these races continue to expand.
[33:04] David Gould: Yes, it's, it's going to be interesting. You got your top 4, which are all vying for A podium, if you will. They'd— it'd be nice to— everyone wants the championship, but it's going to be tough, uh, to beat either Ferrari or Mercedes, uh, in that endeavor, I think, at this, at this point. Um, then the mid-pack stuff is really where everything's interesting. Williams, Martin, uh, Williams, Aston Martin, and Cadillac, I think, are just completely out of the, out of the picture. And maybe Haas too. But you're right, Alpine and Racing Bulls seem to be that mid-pack battle that would be nice to see. And it's, you know what, it's great to see Alpine actually getting, you know, no pun intended, getting traction and actually scoring some points and looking good. And this last thing with qualifying, you know, if they did it with qualifying, then let's— well, we got to get 4 fresh ones. So let's take it out.
[34:01] Chuck Hayes: No doubt. Chuck Hayes, David Gould at LV Checker Flag. At LV Checker Flag. We come back, we talk remaining schedule.
[34:07] David Gould: Thank you.
[34:08] Chuck Hayes: Welcome back, Checkered Flag Report. This is Chuck Hayes with David Gould. We're talking Formula 1 and we're in segment number 4 where we're talking about the future and what's going on. Why? Because ultimately we want to get to Vegas and that's going to be, um, November 19th to 21st, a phenomenal, phenomenal weekend in Las Vegas. And we want to thank our presenting sponsor, Chavez Realty Development Apartments, Business Affairs, Real Estate Assessment, 626-440-1545. And remind everybody, this show is powered by Coach Harvey Hyde and Football Promotions of Nevada. Okay, David, this is going to be wild. We just left all the drama, all the great, uh, action at Monza, and now we're going to what is called the Madring.
[34:54] David Gould: M-A-D-R-I-N-G.
[34:56] Chuck Hayes: And this is a track in Spain, in Madrid, that is one of the most interesting layouts. First time anyone is going to race there. All 3 levels of F1 are going to be there. No sprint race for F1, but there's other activities going on.
[35:16] David Gould: Yeah.
[35:16] Chuck Hayes: It has 22 corners. And then they have this area that has been inspired, I think, by Mexico. Maybe they will acknowledge that. Maybe they won't acknowledge it. It's called La Monumentale. And what happens is you come into this corner and it's supremely banked and it's in front of 45,000 people the way it's constructed. Now, this is a very narrow course where you start out with, uh, an average speed on the, uh, main drag. 198.84 miles an hour. That's like 320 kilometers.
[35:59] David Gould: Yep.
[36:00] Chuck Hayes: You slow down the first corner to 100 kilometers, which is 62 miles an hour. And the front stretch from where the start is to the corner is 200 meters, which is 218 yards. So you're going to come off the gas and you're going to go through your little circuit now. And it reminds me of a game I used to love to play when I was in school. I'd take a break, uh, in the lobby library at the University of Southern California, where I would go to do my homework. They had a video game called Grand Prix.
[36:32] David Gould: Yeah.
[36:33] Chuck Hayes: And you could pick the tracks, and you pump your quarters in, and you could just go flat out and go through it. When everyone sees this and sees how you have to drive this, a place that nobody really has a book on, right, that you're going to be playing in the, in the sim.
[36:52] David Gould: Yeah.
[36:53] Chuck Hayes: And after a while, you're gonna go— you're just gonna stack the quarters up because it's gonna beep, beep, beep, restart, restart, restart. And hopefully that's not going to be the case come race day. We know, we know we're going to see it in practice.
[37:09] David Gould: Yeah.
[37:10] Chuck Hayes: If we saw it in the gravel pits— there are no gravel pits here.
[37:14] David Gould: Right.
[37:14] Chuck Hayes: It's just walls.
[37:15] David Gould: Barriers. Yeah.
[37:16] Chuck Hayes: And they're unforgiving.
[37:17] David Gould: Yeah.
[37:18] Chuck Hayes: And then when you go through this banked area, you're going to look at it and you're going to say, it reminds me a little bit— they went through the old track at Monza last week where there's that big curve. La Monumental feels like that.
[37:32] David Gould: Yeah. And what you're describing is very interesting because what that, what that translates to me is there's not going to be a lot of passing.
[37:39] Chuck Hayes: Conflict. A lot of conflict.
[37:41] David Gould: And if there is, well, actually, If there is passing attempts, well, there will be conflict. And so quality is even that much more important because chances are the position you start in is, you know, provided you don't crash, will be the position you end in.
[37:58] Chuck Hayes: The way you say it is so final, David. The way you end in.
[38:03] David Gould: Well, whatever.
[38:03] Chuck Hayes: It really— I'm telling you, when we look at this and we're doing the preview right now, When you see this track, you're going to say, who, who signed off on that in F1? Because that's what every one of those drivers is going to say.
[38:18] David Gould: Well, if they're banking, you kind of think of NASCAR. I mean, you think of that kind of thing where they're going these speeds that are well over 200 miles an hour. And if you don't bank it, these guys are going to fly right off the track.
[38:30] Chuck Hayes: Chuck Hayes with David Gould. Reminder, we're going to Spain this weekend, round 14. And then we have Baku the following week, which is another great place to have people exactly not in the gravel pits.
[38:42] David Gould: Right.
[38:43] Chuck Hayes: And then Bahrain, which is being held in Malaysia the week of October 4th. Then you have Singapore October 11th, COTA Circuit of the Americas October 26th. And again, we want to remind everyone for that COTA race, F1 on Apple TV Live and IMAX will be the race promotion for that activity in Austin, Texas. It's going to be phenomenal. David, I'm so happy that you've gotten your rest. You saw Kimi Räikkönen up close and personal. Does he look even younger on IMAX than he does on TV?
[39:22] David Gould: I just can't get over how ridiculous it is that when he takes that helmet off, you're going, my God, that's just a kid.
[39:29] Chuck Hayes: 20 years young, 7 wins on the year. And David, we want to thank everyone out there. We want to thank Chavez Realty Development. We want to thank Coach Harvey Hyde. Follow us @LVCheckeredFlag. This is going to be a phenomenal story all the way to the end of the year.
[39:46] David Gould: Yep.
[39:47] Chuck Hayes: Can Kimi get to, to double digits?
[39:50] David Gould: And this anxiety I'm talking about is going to do nothing but increase if this kid keeps winning.
[39:55] Chuck Hayes: We appreciate you following us @LVCheckerFlag. Stay tuned. We'll be back next week and talk more about Madrid. Thanks for joining us. Chuck Hayes for David Gold.