Episode 23 - United States Grand Prix, Max Verstappen

Show Notes

Chuck Hayes and David Gould cover United States Grand Prix, Max Verstappen, Lando Norris, Lewis Hamilton, and Red Bull Racing on this episode of The Chequered Flag Report.

• United States Grand Prix
• Max Verstappen
• Lando Norris
• Lewis Hamilton
• Red Bull Racing
• George Russell
• McLaren
• Ferrari

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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.

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The Chequered Flag Report Transcript
AssemblyAI transcript ID: 1161f3d2-cf0e-436e-a96c-38a10a01a2cd
Status: completed
Duration: 2408 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 1. And David, what a great weekend it was in Singapore. So much great action. We're going to cover it all today. But first, it's great to see you.
[0:13] David Gould: Yeah, it's great to see you too. And they got to be living large and celebrating in the Verstappen household.
[0:19] Chuck Hayes: And we want to thank our presenting sponsor, F1 on Apple TV Live and IMAX, for all the great coverage which is going to come up in Austin, Texas. But David, I wanted to first get your thoughts Because if anyone is on a unique journey, it is the guy that is currently in the 2nd position in the championship. And that's one George Russell.
[0:42] David Gould: Yeah.
[0:43] Chuck Hayes: If there wasn't a storyline of George's perseverance and competitiveness and then actually weird things that happened to him, that is, I think, overlooked with Kimi running away with what he's been doing and the storylines of Ferrari and McLaren. George Russell, week in and week out, He's Mr. Excitement.
[1:03] David Gould: Yeah. And, uh, you know, George's style of racing is— it's pretty clean. He's, he's more, uh, methodical and machine-like than Kimi, who, uh, is constantly going, okay, Kimi, you got 3, uh, out of bounds. You better, uh, you better, uh, reel it back in, buddy. We don't want a penalty. And he was— Kimi's thinking in his mind, okay, how far, how far away is so-and-so? And how far is, uh, away is the guy behind me? Because he's already calculating, okay, if I go over, then how much cushion do I have, uh, second-wise? Because it'll be a 5-second penalty if he exceeded the bounds. And, um, and you know, how, um, can I, can I get away with it? Basically, can I keep, can I keep pushing it? So anyway, there you go.
[1:51] Chuck Hayes: And then weather playing a factor in the sprint race, and then George getting out there And, you know, when you're in front of the whole field,
[1:59] David Gould: yes,
[2:00] Chuck Hayes: and you have a mishap, boy, it was close. I mean, they went sailing by every which way, and, uh, it was weird to watch that car come back.
[2:10] David Gould: Yes,
[2:10] Chuck Hayes: in one of those situations, because most time you go offline, you collect the wall, you stay there. But it came all the way back in the middle of the, of the track, and he was very fortunate.
[2:19] David Gould: Yeah, as were the people who were going around him, that it wasn't, uh, it wasn't worse. But You know, George, uh, George ran a very respectable race, I thought. Um, and, uh, the— God, the, uh, the sprint race was just— I mean, that thing between Lando and, and, and Oscar was just like, what is going on? And then Lando was kind of a— you know, I have to watch my language.
[2:46] Chuck Hayes: He's the world champion. Put that in front of his name, baby. Make sure you do that.
[2:50] David Gould: Yeah, well, at this point, he's, uh— that wasn't racing like a world champion. He made a very, very unwise move. unwise dive. There was no racing room, and he ended up knocking both he and Oscar out into the, uh, out into the outskirts there. It was a mess. And his attitude was kind of, um, he was a little bit snarky about it, you know. He was kind of like, yeah, man, this is racing. That's what racing is, man. It's the word. What word is that? Tell me. Tell me. He's talking.
[3:18] Chuck Hayes: Isn't that better though than what we've been getting, you know, in regards to really what I would call it the automatic response that every PR person and every team owner wants? He He kind of came up there with some swagger. Okay. Like, hey, just remember I won that world championship. That's what I was reading.
[3:35] David Gould: To your point, to your point. Okay, that's fine. You know, maybe it's ego, maybe it's swagger, maybe it's the kind of thing that a racer has to have, that kind of attitude. But somebody, the principal or somebody in the front office in the C-suite, got a hold of him and he was on the radio going, hey, Oscar, can I, can I get you something to eat while we're racing? You need a cool drink or something? Is there any way I can help the team? You know, he was very, very humble. Somebody, somebody chewed him out, that's for sure.
[4:03] Chuck Hayes: And we want to remind everyone as we get ready for COTA, Circuit of the Americas, the next stop on the F1 journey, that F1 on Apple TV Live in IMAX, the United States Grand Prix in IMAX. Everything's bigger in Texas, David, including Formula 1. On October 25th, experience the thrill of the US Grand Prix in IMAX live from Austin's legendary Circuit of the Americas. Feel every heart-pounding turn, every high-speed straightaway, and every wheel-to-wheel battle like never before. This isn't just watching the race; it's being on the grid with larger-than-life images and earth-shaking sound. IMAX puts you right in the driver's seat. Big speed, big thrills—one massive IMAX experience. F1 on Apple TV Live and IMAX October 25th. Get your tickets now at IMAX.com. And we want to thank our presenting sponsor F1 on Apple TV Live and IMAX for that. So. David, well, you've been there, you've seen it, you can endorse that.
[5:02] David Gould: And I must say, for those of our listeners, if you have not seen a race in IMAX, it is really special because there's nothing like sitting in that theater, especially get a good seat, nice and centered. You really feel the speed that these guys are going. You just can't— it doesn't translate as well on television. Television is great, the coverage is phenomenal, but when you go to see it in IMAX, Special. Very special.
[5:28] Chuck Hayes: And then remind everyone out there that the more things change— Singapore Marina Bay, Max Verstappen, first time in race 250. Max Verstappen has raced 250 times, got his first win in Singapore. So that trophy room at the Verstappen residence now has a special—
[5:49] David Gould: And sprint race
[5:50] Chuck Hayes: element, right? And then you had Charles Leclerc. Despite all that was going on with him finishing 2nd and then Kimi Antonelli on the pole— excuse me, at 3rd. And now the question mark. And I said pole is because there's a chance that he could be clinching it
[6:06] David Gould: next week
[6:07] Chuck Hayes: against, against the field in Austin.
[6:10] David Gould: Next race, I should say. Yeah. It's— I like how when he was asked the question, he said, really, can I? Like he's not calculating this thing. I'd be like, Wait a minute, I can, you know, I'd be doing the math every second. But, uh, yeah, it was a great race. And, uh, to Kimi's credit, he did come, he did pull it off, came way back, came from way back and, uh, came in 3rd, got the podium. Good on him.
[6:36] Chuck Hayes: And want to remind everybody that Lando Norris was 4th, 40 seconds behind. Oscar Piastri, 49.6 seconds in 5th. Lewis Hamilton, 53 seconds at 6th. You have, uh, Liam Lawson in the Racing Bull, 7th, 81 seconds behind. Nico Hulkenberg, 8th, 83 seconds behind. George Russell, 9th, 84 seconds behind. Isaac Hadjar, top 10, 90 seconds behind, basically a minute and a half. Pierre Gasly and Oliver Bearman, both one lap down. So when you look at this, David, and you see Max back in uh, really where he belongs. I mean, it just feels like it was when we started doing this 4 years ago, and his ability to completely dominate when he's on, it's like watching, you know, the absolute master.
[7:28] David Gould: Yeah. And, uh, he is the master. And, um, you know, as you were going through this thing, it just occurred to me again, uh, something we've been talking about regularly, and that's mid-pack stuff. And, you know, my hat's off to Isaac Hadjar for just, you know, squeaking in there and getting into 10th toward the latter part of the race to, to get a point. I really see a bright future with him. And yes, Max is— Max is just— he's the— he's, he's just such a fun driver to watch because he's not— he really has a way of disconnecting himself from the drama. And being very businesslike. And that's, that's really impressive to see in a driver who has that kind of control.
[8:15] Chuck Hayes: Well, you know, again, his feedback and what he's about and when he starts getting together and I, you know, looking at the, at the standings and we don't want to look too far down the road, but Max is 4th with 221. Certainly Lewis Hamilton is in his sights with 229.
[8:33] David Gould: Yep.
[8:33] Chuck Hayes: And then George at 238. Now, you know, Kimi, uh, probably going to run away and hide with the rest of it. But there's a situation where, again, the unpredictability of George Russell and Mercedes, that Max could really maybe get up there into the 2nd spot. And I think maybe he's racing like that. You know, remember it was, uh, last year that he did not have that opportunity. It came right at the end. where he could have been that guy, but Lando ended up winning the entire deal.
[9:03] David Gould: Yeah, but Max came from way back. I think he was over 100 points behind and made up all those points. And when you see what's possible and you see where he sits right now, my God, man, this guy, you know, you just don't know. I'm not saying he's going to take it because it looks like Kimi's going to take it, if not the next— this race, then the next, uh, if he keeps racing well. Then, you know, anything's possible for those other 2 spots. I
[9:29] Chuck Hayes: want to remind everybody to follow us on X @LVCheckeredFlag, @LVCheckeredFlag. And David, what do you say?
[9:35] David Gould: Yeah, give us some love. Give us a like, give us a comment. And don't forget that we are also on all the platforms, all the podcast platforms.
[9:44] Chuck Hayes: And we want to thank our presenting sponsor, F1 on Apple TV Live in IMAX, the F1 United States Grand Prix in IMAX coming up on October 25th. We're going to box, box, box for 4 fresh Pirellis. We come back. We'll go inside Dave's brain. Welcome back, Checkered Flag Report. This is Chuck Hayes with David Gould. We want to thank our presenting sponsor, F1 on Apple TV Live in IMAX. The F1 United States Grand Prix in IMAX coming up October 25th, October 25th from Circuit of the Americas in Austin. Let's go now inside Dave's brain.
[10:19] David Gould: Yeah, um, hats off to, uh, Max Verstappen again. Uh, sorry to be redundant here, but, uh, the man went wire to wire, won the sprint race, um, took pole position for the race and gave it— never gave it up. I mean, he had a little bit of trouble in the very— at the start, but never, never gave up the lead and took it, you know, took it all the way. And that was to show you what, what, uh, first of all, this is why I call him the Assassin Chuck, because once this guy gets his teeth in you, man, once he It's, it's over. It's game over. I mean, he is just that good. And to demonstrate on just how— what a well-oiled machine Red Bull Racing is, they had a radio problem and it was kind of— it wasn't comical, but it was just, you know, trying to listen to Max communicate with the pit wall was not— was, was, was kind of crazy. And they finally said, okay, Max, I'm going to say something. And if you agree with the strategy, then you, uh, just key your mic, just key your mic once. If not, then don't key it at all. And it worked. They, they were able to communicate and that's all he needed. Um, he went a long distance on the softs and it's amazing to me that the softs lasted as long as they did in this heat, because that heat is absolutely oppressive. Um, A little tip of the cap to F1 because I feel that they have started to iron out a lot of the problems that were— that we saw with this 50/50 car in the, uh, in the beginning. I think that they've— I think they've— what they've done is they've dialed back a lot of the electricity deployment and, um, and kind of smoothed it out a little bit. So these guys, uh, uh, aren't, aren't getting excessive speed where they can't control the car, the back end is sliding out or something like that. So I really feel that they're— they've regained my, my confidence, my trust in them to, to sort these things out. You got to work. You got an idea on that?
[12:26] Chuck Hayes: Yeah. Well, the first thing I want to do is I want to thank the coverage from Apple TV and F1. I'm not sure if you saw during qualifying they had a ghost car. So that you could see Verstappen going against the competitor.
[12:43] David Gould: Yes.
[12:43] Chuck Hayes: And watch him carve it in the corners and then just accelerate and get off out of the, out of the corner into the straight. And, and you see the, you know, the, the speeds that, that they run on, on that course. And boy, you have to have just a world of supreme confidence.
[13:00] David Gould: Yeah.
[13:01] Chuck Hayes: To be able to throw it in and then bring it out and then get on it and You know, it's milliseconds like we talked about, a blink of an eye in regards to how it goes. Chuck Hayes with David Gould. We want to remind everybody, F1 on Apple TV Live in IMAX, the United States Grand Prix in IMAX. Everything's bigger in Texas, including Formula 1. On October 25th, experience the thrill of the United States Grand Prix in IMAX live from Austin's legendary Circuit of the Americas. Feel every heart-pounding turn, every high-speed straightaway, and every wheel-to-wheel battle Like never before. This isn't just watching the race. It's being on the grid with larger-than-life images and earth-shaking sound. IMAX puts you right in the driver's seat. Big speed, big thrills. One massive IMAX experience. F1 on Apple TV Live in IMAX, October 25th. Get your tickets now at IMAX.com. So from that standpoint, David, what you're talking about— and I'm just saying, do you think that Max is the kind of guy that looks at the points situation that he's in now, or is he just going to go out and go, you know, singular attitude, I'm going to win everything that's in front of me?
[14:12] David Gould: Well, if I, um, if I was to guess, I would say it would be the latter. I think that Max is the kind of guy that, uh, is, is very, uh, singular focused. I mean, he's, he's just— and because you cannot race the way he races, uh, with these other things in your mind, and especially under those conditions, you know, It was made— a big point was made on the coverage about how much water loss that these drivers get, that these drivers have just because of the heat generated by the cars. And then, then, and somebody described it very perfectly when they said, imagine putting on a fire suit and then putting on your racing suit and then putting on a helmet and then going in a sauna and then trying to function in a sauna for the, you know, an hour, an hour and a half, whatever it is. By the time, by the time, you know, 3 quarters of the race is up, these— they're so depleted from, from water loss that it can affect your judgment. So anybody who says that these guys aren't well-tuned athletes has no clue what they're talking about. These guys are in supreme shape. And, and to be able to withstand that stuff, I think, is as tough as any sport I know.
[15:24] Chuck Hayes: You know, one of the things that I get excited about is when I know there's a sprint race with the, uh, primary race on Sunday. It really fires me up to see how competitive other people can be, and I think it adds and makes for better racing. Now, there's a lot more strategy that goes on with that, uh, once you're in the sprint situation. If you're gonna fall out, if there's some sort of technical thing, or you get up to 15th, and no one's pressing you, you're going to pull off the track and end up 15th. I saw that in regards to the sprint. Right. But when it came to the real deal, uh, unfortunately it was Gabriel Bartoletto with a DNF after lap 7. Then it was, uh, Franco Colapinto in the Alpine. He was a DNF at lap 29. Lance Stroll, who's got the worst luck if I've ever seen it, I mean Just watching him try to get back on the track.
[16:20] David Gould: On the track. Yeah.
[16:21] Chuck Hayes: It was just one of those that you knew the stewards were holding their breath going, don't do it, Lance. And he put it in reverse. And he did everything you could possibly not want to do.
[16:31] David Gould: Right. They usually spin.
[16:32] Chuck Hayes: Hit somebody.
[16:33] David Gould: They usually spin.
[16:34] Chuck Hayes: He didn't do it, but he went out on lap 36. So that meant that Valtteri Bottas was the 19th place finisher. Alexander Albon, 18th. Sergio Perez, 17th. Fernando Alonso, 16th. Arvid Lindblad 15, Carlos Sainz 14, Esteban Ocon 13, Oliver Bearman 12, Pierre Gasly 11. And of course, we gave you the top 10 with Isaac Hadjar in the number 10 spot. So I guess if it's time and money, David, I would raise my hand to say give me a sprint race every week.
[17:12] David Gould: Yeah.
[17:12] Chuck Hayes: That F1 is racing, because I just think it adds to the drama and shows the competitiveness. And I want more, not of incidents like Lando and Oscar. We saw it with, uh, with Kimi and George.
[17:27] David Gould: Yep.
[17:28] Chuck Hayes: And it's just amazing to see that. And then we also saw it, uh, uh, basically I think it was at Baku where you had a situation where, uh, Isaac Hadjar coming off of the wrist injury was pressing Verstappen and felt he could go by him.
[17:47] David Gould: Right.
[17:48] Chuck Hayes: And I'm wondering if that continues. The more laps you get in at this time of the year, are those team relationships pushing back and forth where you can make a difference in a sprint race and it's not the whole marbles that maybe you could be a lot more competitive with your teammate?
[18:05] David Gould: Well, I think it'd be very interesting to do, and it really makes me wonder what What are the— what's the criteria for F1? Money. Money. No, no, no.
[18:15] Chuck Hayes: But because look at— they added Monaco next year if we're ever doing this.
[18:19] David Gould: Well, I'm just talking about some races have it and some races don't. What is the criteria for those who have it and why can't we get a sprint race with every race?
[18:28] Chuck Hayes: Because they scratched the check out for more money to have that. That's the deal. Remember, that's why the Zandvoort Grand Prix went away. They gave them that little bonus. They go, we're not coming back, but if you give us this much money, we'll run a sprint race with this to make it worth your while to say goodbye. So that's part of it, is that you just have to pay more to be able to get more because there's obviously more cost, there's more everything that goes along with that. But I think, again, probably on a lot of these tracks, there's not the undercard of racing that you have. I mean, some of them they are.
[19:04] David Gould: Yes.
[19:04] Chuck Hayes: I mean, it's important you get to race the weekend that F1's in town.
[19:08] David Gould: Well, don't they? Don't they have— I think they have like classic races, all kinds of other stuff that goes on.
[19:13] Chuck Hayes: And I don't even want to get into what happened in Vegas last year in the rain. We're not going to revisit that because that was basically a parade and it wasn't down Las Vegas Boulevard. So Chuck Hayes with David Gould, and we want to remind everybody to follow us on X @LVCheckerFlag, @LVCheckerFlag. And David says what?
[19:31] David Gould: Give us some love. Give us a like. Give us a comment, please. And don't forget that we're on all the other platforms. If you miss the show for some reason, you can always hear us on our— on the podcast platforms. We're on all of them.
[19:44] Chuck Hayes: And then I want to remind everybody that this show is powered by Coach Harvey Hyde and Football Promotions of Nevada. So we thank Coach Hyde for all that he does and his passion for motorsports.
[19:54] David Gould: Yeah, it's— thank you, Coach. We love you, man.
[19:57] Chuck Hayes: All right. So we're at a scenario right now, David, where Mercedes is the constructors lead. 578. Ferrari second with 444. McLaren is third with 339. Red Bull is fourth with 332. Racing Bulls are fifth with 100. Alpine is sixth with 68. Haas is seventh with 30. Eighth is Audi with 23. Williams is ninth with 12. Aston Martin tenth with 7. And in the 11th slot 0.0, our great friends at Cadillac. All right. So as we discuss this,
[20:36] David Gould: yeah,
[20:37] Chuck Hayes: are we seeing Red Bull going to overtake McLaren? Are the guys in the papaya a little bit concerned because Isaac Hadjar and Max Verstappen seemingly have their act together a little bit more than maybe Lando and Oscar do at this point in the year?
[20:55] David Gould: Well, they did. I did see that when they were unloading the gear, there was a A crate of Tums for Zach Brown, especially after that sprint incident. He was he took the whole bottle and turned it upside down. If they they did break to him, and the guy was out of his mind. He just like you got to be kidding me. This isn't happening. But anyway, I think it's a very interesting thing. Mercedes seemingly is running away from it, running away with it. Ferrari looks like they've locked up second, or it's it's it's. you know, that they're— it's going to be— they're going to be hard to beat. But you're right, McLaren and Red Bull do have— are neck and neck there. And Verstappen and, um, and, um, well, that's not McLaren. Wait a minute, a second. Yes, Verstappen and Lando Norris. Lando Norris is coming up. Oh no, no, no, I'm all wrong. Forgive me.
[21:49] Chuck Hayes: We were talking constructors. We'll come back. You know what, you need 4 fresh Pirellis.
[21:53] David Gould: I need—
[21:54] Chuck Hayes: and we come back from that. We want to thank our presenting sponsor, F1 on Apple TV Live and IMAX. We come back, we'll sort that out— constructors standings and all that goes on. Welcome back, Checkered Flag Report. Chuck Hayes with David Gould. We want to thank our presenting sponsor, F1 on Apple TV Live and IMAX, the F1 United States Grand Prix in IMAX. We're so excited about that and the opportunity to be with our great friends. David, as we were talking about this, you were giving a point of whether or not Verstappen could be that guy that could take Red Bull past McLaren along with Isaac Hadjar. Right. Red Bull with 332 points, McLaren at 339. Yes, a long way away from Ferrari's 444. And of course, a massive distance behind Mercedes with 578. And what they do in Constructors', they combine the totals of the 2 drivers that are racing for the team. There's 11 teams. 2 drivers, 22 combatants, and that's where we're at right now.
[22:53] David Gould: So I was, um, I was getting my, uh, getting, uh, the drivers and the constructors mixed up. So forgive me, everybody, I, um, need to, need to relax a little bit.
[23:04] Chuck Hayes: Well, David, you just, uh, bypassed that pit board sign that said pit now, pit now for 4 fresh ones. Well, we got you back dialed in because you're fast.
[23:13] David Gould: Yes.
[23:14] Chuck Hayes: And you're furious. And, and we're, we're talking about this, so All right. From that standpoint, as we go into Circuit of the Americas, not this weekend, but the week after, you know, COTA started in 2012. They raced for 7 years and then there was a break because of the pandemic from 2021 to 2025. Again, we talk about the trophy room. Lewis Hamilton has 5 of them at COTA. Yep. 2012, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017. Max Verstappen, 2021, 2022, 2023, and 2025. It's a 3.42-mile track with 20 corners, 56 laps. So with that said, let's look at the motivation for Max Verstappen. Yeah, that's what we were just addressing.
[24:07] David Gould: Yes,
[24:07] Chuck Hayes: he knows that Lewis Hamilton's won 5. When they go there, everyone knows the publicity. They sit in the press conferences, and especially him coming off of a win, he's got to feel really good about coming to Texas.
[24:21] David Gould: Yep.
[24:22] Chuck Hayes: Uh, in America, Red Bull has a high profile like they do worldwide. And then, but Lewis is always the story no matter where he goes. And we've talked about all the good, bad, and indifferent that comes with that. Now Lewis comes to America Man, it's gonna be crazy in regards to the social media aspect of this. But Max is laser-focused. Why? If he's competitive and he knows he can't win the world championship this year, he can just probably get to second. He knows that if he picks up another trophy, he'll be equal with Lewis Hamilton. Mm-hmm. And I think that's not saying that he races Lewis head up, but when you're In race number 251 of your career, and you're a considerable younger man than Lewis Hamilton is.
[25:11] David Gould: Yes.
[25:12] Chuck Hayes: This is going to be a great opportunity for Max to continue and say, okay, I'm the, I'm the leader of this parade. Sure, Kimi's going to be the champion, but I'm not going to let anyone forget that I am so competitive and I haven't even turned 30 yet.
[25:29] David Gould: Right. And, you know, and as I pointed out, I think it was last week, you know, Kimi's got a long way to go before he is going to be sitting on that, on the Mount Rushmore of drivers. You know, he's, he's, he's a great driver. I'm not knocking him at all, but he's young and he's got to, he's got to go through a few things before he's going to get to that level where he's amongst Lewis and Max and, uh, others. So, uh, to your point— anyway, I lost my train of thought.
[26:06] Chuck Hayes: Well, I think what you're saying is that Verstappen is still the guy, Kimi's the story this year.
[26:12] David Gould: Yeah.
[26:12] Chuck Hayes: And Lando Norris is the defending champion. So you have this interesting triad, and that's not even talking about Leclerc and Hamilton from Ferrari and what their little internal battle is. Yeah. You know, there's— it's just It's a very territorial type scenario. Yeah, because they're pushing. And again, we didn't even mention George Russell in that group, and he's 2nd in the whole shooting match.
[26:34] David Gould: Yeah, and that's my point. I guess that's the point I was trying to make, that even though Kimi is leading and running and seemingly running away with the, uh, Drivers' Championship, for whatever reason, it's not at this point— just at this point, it's not carrying the same weight as Lewis and Max coming to town. And George's little story where he's had some bad, bad luck, but is still in second place. For whatever reason, that seems to be carrying more weight with me than Kimmy running off with the championship. And it's nothing against Kimmy, but I just feel like there's more of a story. There's more drama. There's something more attractive about that little internal battle. Rather than Kimi running away with it.
[27:19] Chuck Hayes: F1 on Apple TV Live in IMAX. The F1 United States Grand Prix in IMAX. Everything's bigger in Texas, including Formula 1. On October 25th, experience the thrill of the United States Grand Prix in IMAX live from Austin's legendary Circuit of the Americas. Feel every heart-pounding turn, every high-speed straightaway, and every wheel-to-wheel battle like never before. This isn't just watching the race, it's being on the grid. With larger-than-life images and earth-shaking sound, IMAX puts you right in the driver's seat. Big speed, big thrills. One massive IMAX experience. F1 on Apple TV Live in IMAX, October 25th. Get your tickets now at IMAX.com. All right. So we go to Texas. Does it matter, David, that we do not have an American driver that we're gushing about or wondering about? We had a guy that loved coming to Texas named Daniel Ricciardo.
[28:15] David Gould: Yes.
[28:15] Chuck Hayes: Would wear the cowboy hat and he'd do everything. He'd ride a bull or something. He would do anything and everything.
[28:21] David Gould: Yeah.
[28:22] Chuck Hayes: I'm not seeing this. And again, there's going to be some turnover in seats in F1, but nowhere do we see anyone stepping in. And yet you have a kid that just turned 20 who wasn't even in Formula 2.
[28:39] David Gould: Yeah,
[28:39] Chuck Hayes: who's tearing it up in the course of F1 for this year. So if you're a United States racing fan and you look in where are the American drivers and where are they coming from, is that driver now in go-karts 12 years old, David? Is it going to take 5 to 7 years of development to be able to get United States labeled, you know, All-American person, if you will. And I'm not saying that that's necessary.
[29:13] David Gould: No.
[29:13] Chuck Hayes: But would that add to all that's going on when you see them come to Miami, to COTA, and to Las Vegas, that that's lacking in the sport?
[29:24] David Gould: Yeah, it's, uh, we are definitely, uh, sorely underrepresented, I believe, in F1 racing. And it does To your point, do these— is it, is it like a farm system type of thing where these— where we have— where we haven't had karting, we haven't had kids in karting long enough as the Europeans have done it for generations and have a whole slew of potential drivers in the pipeline. And do we have— do we have that sort of thing? Is that going on right now? It's a great question.
[29:57] Chuck Hayes: It's a matter of economics. And I can remember NASCAR's great Denny Hamlin, who's probably in the last couple of years of his NASCAR career, started out in Europe in go-karts. So he did do that. His family sacrificed and went to Europe and he raced in that series.
[30:15] David Gould: But that's anecdotal. See, again, I'm talking about a system.
[30:18] Chuck Hayes: Again, that's a period of time, though, where Hamlin went as a, you know, not even, I guess, a preteen
[30:26] David Gould: Yeah.
[30:26] Chuck Hayes: And then got back and came to America and got into stock cars. I think of a guy who had the greatest name in racing. Scott Speed is almost like a comic strip character, you know?
[30:39] David Gould: Yeah.
[30:40] Chuck Hayes: He raced for Red Bull all over the world and Red Bull called him up and he got a ride in F1. And then when that ended for him, he came back and drove for Red Bull in NASCAR. And then some things happened that went away. But there's a lot of stories Like that, where we remember the great Mario Andretti and what he did. And then, of course, his son Michael Andretti went to Europe in F1. And again, it was a lot— I would call it clubbier during that time. And there was a lot, you know, that people would take credit. Mario had the great fortune of being born in Italy.
[31:19] David Gould: Yes.
[31:20] Chuck Hayes: coming to Nazareth, Pennsylvania, and making his way and could drive everything— stock cars, open wheel, didn't matter. And he paid his dues in America and, you know, was a successful driver and then went back to Formula 1. And, you know, he went through different equipment and he ended up winning a world championship, which was just phenomenal. So Michael did not have that same— I'm not saying it's a lot harder, uh, to be a legend's son, I think, in sport. We've seen it on multiple levels. We think of Dale Jr., Little Al. They have great success, but they never really superseded what their dads did because at the time it was a lot more romanticized.
[32:02] David Gould: Right.
[32:03] Chuck Hayes: I don't think that, you know, it's a numbers or a money thing. They probably made more money or did what they did, but the old-school brand of that. So I guess when we look at this and it's been tapped down a little bit, We may be the only people talking about it coming into COTA.
[32:17] David Gould: Yes.
[32:18] Chuck Hayes: It's not been a storyline in the American media. Maybe when they come in, somebody will write that story and see where Colton Herta and his development with Cadillac and what that means and what Cadillac is going to do with Bottas and Sergio Perez. We know that when they go to Mexico, it's going to be the biggest storyline going.
[32:38] David Gould: Yes.
[32:38] Chuck Hayes: Compare and contrast that of an American driver in F1 and a Mexican driver in F1.
[32:44] David Gould: Yeah, it's, it's a, it's an unusual situation. And it, it does beg the question, is there a, is there a bias? Because, you know, American racing and American style of racing is so much different than European style of racing. I'm sure that they would consider themselves, if you think of Enzo Ferrari and the the back and forth with Ford at Le Mans. Is there a bias against Americans because of our style, because we're not considered refined in their eyes? I don't know. I mean, it's an interesting question because with so much money here in racing and so many different styles of racing, you would think that there would be some— there would be more representation, but there isn't.
[33:37] Chuck Hayes: Well, David, I'm going to give you some homework before coda. You're going to go back and watch F1 the movie again. It's been a while.
[33:43] David Gould: Yes.
[33:44] Chuck Hayes: To really kind of glean what you were talking about in regards to Sonny Hayes, my long-lost cousin. But we want to remind everybody that the Checkered Flag Report, our presenting sponsor is F1 on Apple TV Live in IMAX. F1 United States Grand Prix in IMAX coming up October 25th. 4 fresh Pirellis. We're going to box, box, box. We come back for segment 4. Welcome back. Final segment, Checkered Flag Report. Our presenting sponsor, F1 on Apple TV Live and IMAX. The F1 United States Grand Prix. Everything's bigger in Texas, including Formula 1. On October 25th, experience the thrill of the United States Grand Prix in IMAX live from Austin's legendary Circuit of the Americas. Feel every heart-pounding turn, every high-speed straightaway, and every wheel-to-wheel battle like never before. This isn't just watching the race. It's being on the grid with larger than life images and earth shaking sound. IMAX puts you right in the driver's seat. Big speed, big thrills. One massive IMAX experience. F1 on Apple TV live in IMAX October 25th. Get your tickets now at IMAX.com. All right. So Dave, we're coming up at this point in the season where we have just cleared Singapore. We're on track for. COTA, which is the weekend of October 25th, then down to Mexico for November 1st, then to Brazil November 8th, and then to Vegas November 21st. What a great segment of tracks and storylines. And again, not to take anything away from these great European races and the Far East races, but this is a very interesting time. I think the only thing that could be better is that if they compartmentalized it with Miami and Montreal, yes, I think F1 would just be hammering it in, you know, the— our part of the world. Nothing that they won't follow in other places because they follow it regardless.
[35:44] David Gould: Yes.
[35:45] Chuck Hayes: But it's almost like when you hear of a great soccer team coming over from Europe for a friendly, that if you were to put that row of races together I would think that you could really raise the interest in North America.
[36:00] David Gould: Well, geographically, if you think about it, you're on the same continent and you can go from place to place, probably a heck of a lot easier, direct flights and follow. If you really wanted to be a fan and make it logistically convenient, it would work. So yeah,
[36:22] Chuck Hayes: could you handle the party, David? I mean, that's one thing. You know what they say, it's not whether you win or lose, it's if you win the party, right?
[36:28] David Gould: That's a lot of coffee,
[36:30] Chuck Hayes: man. A lot of great coffee from different places, right?
[36:32] David Gould: That's true.
[36:33] Chuck Hayes: You could do a whole coffee segment on Inside Dave's Brain on these places, right?
[36:38] David Gould: Right, I definitely could.
[36:40] Chuck Hayes: This is Chuck Hayes with David Gould. We want to thank Coach Harvey Hyde, Football Promotions of Nevada for powering the fastest hour in radio. And David, Again, all the great content. And this is where we get a lot of this from, on, on @LVCheckeredFlag. Follow us, uh, there. Give us a like, give us a retweet. And David, you might even, uh, see a picture or two that you like of a vintage car or something that is F1 related.
[37:06] David Gould: Yeah, by all means, post something for us. Uh, give us a like and give us some love, a comment, and post some pictures. Let us know what you're thinking. We'd like to, we'd like to hear your comments out there. And don't forget to catch us on all the, all the radio, all the podcast platforms.
[37:22] Chuck Hayes: It's an amazing time to be an F1 fan. And remember, and I'm going to stand up for, for Lando Norris, he's still the defending world champion. When you call Lando Norris Enterprises, they answer the phone. Welcome to the world champion, Lando Norris. How can I help you?
[37:37] David Gould: Oscar, can I get you a cold drink? Would you like something to eat? Are you— are you— do you want to take a little break? Anything I can do for you? Anything I can do for the team?
[37:47] Chuck Hayes: I just wondered if they're flying on the same jet.
[37:49] David Gould: It's just amazing.
[37:51] Chuck Hayes: You know, again, I don't know if I could— I could really want to be— again, let's just take you and I, David. You know, if we're going into that first corner, are you gonna outbrake me? Are you gonna go for that territory? And of course, I love the— I love the feedback off the start. some of the comments that come out when they're going 160 miles an hour.
[38:11] David Gould: Yeah.
[38:11] Chuck Hayes: About what, what was he thinking about?
[38:14] David Gould: Yeah.
[38:14] Chuck Hayes: Are you kidding me? He took my line away. Would you look at— I mean, it's just instantaneous.
[38:19] David Gould: I'd love to be, uh, Lando's optometrist. And, and why, how, where was the gap that you saw? Didn't you see a gap? Oh yeah, I saw a gap, so I thought I'd dive. Like, uh, I didn't see, uh, I didn't see a gap there, Lando. Um, I don't know what you're talking about.
[38:35] Chuck Hayes: Now, in your mind, David, they say race drivers never forget.
[38:38] David Gould: Yeah.
[38:39] Chuck Hayes: Is that going to be a situation now for the rest of the year where Oscar's going to look at Lando now and go, buddy, I'm not— mate, I'm not giving it to you there. Yeah, you're not going to— you're going to respect me now.
[38:48] David Gould: I don't know. This is such a big business now. And you got to wonder if these, if these team principals have these guys kind of neutralized in a sense, because Lando's reversal was so 180 degrees. It's just like somebody got a hold of him and shook him and said, hey, dude, you screwed up. Stop it. You know, that kind of thing. It was really— the humble pie was falling out of the car.
[39:17] Chuck Hayes: Well, it's great to be able to talk about this. And we want to thank our presenting sponsor, F1 on Apple TV Live and IMAX, for being back with us. It's great to have them back on board. Go see it, man.
[39:28] David Gould: It's so much fun.
[39:28] Chuck Hayes: Radio Rock and David, of course, week in and week out, we're doing this as we bring everybody. If you're a Formula 1 fan and you're in Vegas and you've never experienced it, but you hear everything about it, you want to follow your team, you follow your driver, you love the special car. We're on our way to 15, man. We're starting to get it all filled up and ready to go. And I want to thank everyone out there for, for staying tuned. And again, we have an off week in regards to no racing this week. A lot of storylines as they come to Texas. Chuck Hayes with David Gould. Dave, thanks so much.
[39:59] David Gould: Hey, thank you, Chuck. It's been great. And, uh, we will see you. We will talk to you next week. You take care out there. Bye-bye.