Episode 21 - George Russell, Lewis Hamilton

Show Notes

Chuck Hayes and David Gould cover George Russell, Lewis Hamilton, Kimi Antonelli, Lando Norris, and Red Bull Racing on this episode of The Chequered Flag Report.

• George Russell
• Lewis Hamilton
• Kimi Antonelli
• Lando Norris
• Red Bull Racing
• Max Verstappen
• Mercedes
• McLaren

What is Chequered Flag Report?

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: 6543bc00-c342-452a-bef3-d9e64c20b539
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. David, great to be with you. We have just come through the Baku City Circuit, but, uh, don't fear, we've got another race this weekend. We're going to Malaysia for round 16 of the Grand Prix of Bahrain. So David, we got a lot on the table, a lot of speed. Speed is the story.
[0:23] David Gould: Yeah, temporarily, um, Malaysia is a, uh, is an Arab country just for the, just for the weekend. But hey, do we have some racing this weekend? Was there a race going on?
[0:35] Chuck Hayes: We had more than racing, David. We had what is what I call the best of the best. And we want to thank our presenting sponsor, Chavez Realty Development Apartments, Business Affairs, Real Estate Assessment at 626-440-1545. That's Chavez Realty Development Apartments, Business Affairs, 626-440-1545. Now, David, You know, when we do radio like this and we're always on a schedule.
[1:01] David Gould: Yeah.
[1:01] Chuck Hayes: Timing is everything.
[1:03] David Gould: Yeah.
[1:03] Chuck Hayes: And, you know, there's a thing in regards to track and field, whether it's electronically timed or handheld time. We know in Formula One they have the greatest metrics in regards to timing.
[1:16] David Gould: I have a feeling you're going to make a point here.
[1:18] Chuck Hayes: I think I'm working towards that. Now, give me a little second or two to do it, just to prove the point that George Russell Won over Max Verstappen 0.196 seconds. And for those people— and I had to look it up to really understand what that meant in Formula 1—
[1:35] David Gould: Kissing your tailpipe.
[1:36] Chuck Hayes: It is truly a blink of the eye. 57 feet differential, 19 yards at 198 miles an hour. And I think the way they break that down, and they know— and just wonder And you wonder how that race went, and we'll talk a little bit about teammates and how it works. What would have happened had it been Isaac Hadjar? Yeah, because guess what? Well, I'm going to get into it during the course of that race, and I know you'll get into it.
[2:06] David Gould: Yep, man.
[2:07] Chuck Hayes: There were some interesting conversations on the Red Bull radio.
[2:10] David Gould: Oh yeah, and and I will get into the next segment. But my hat's off to Isaac Hadjar because that guy handled himself like a pro. pro, like a, like a team member. And, um, I'm not saying he doesn't have the killer instinct, but that was, that was impressive.
[2:28] Chuck Hayes: Well, one thing we know, that Isaac Hadjar knows his role and is mature in a competitive environment. That is the most difficult thing, because when you're racing and you're having a discussion about how your racing is going, and the guy you're talking about is your teammate and probably in a time and place right now, I would say, in F1 that Red Bull has a lot more pressure on it week in and week out than maybe McLaren and maybe Mercedes. Part of it is because their superstar has not been producing.
[2:59] David Gould: Yeah. And well, let's face it, McLaren did not look too, uh, too solid in this last race. You know, I was not impressed.
[3:07] Chuck Hayes: Chuck Hayes with David Gold. We're talking Formula 1. And for those people who don't know, George Russell won the Baku City, uh, Circuit Grand Prix with a 1.9 seconds— 0.19 seconds over Max Verstappen. Max was second. Isaac Hadjar, coming off a wrist injury, who was out for a couple races, uh, driving for Red Bull, he's on the podium, uh, 10 seconds, 0.704 off the pace. And when you start looking at the rest of the, uh, the top 10, Charles Leclerc 14 seconds behind, Kimi Antonelli, and that's a whole story in itself on Kimi's fight to get up to 5th, 14.512 seconds off. Sir Lewis Hamilton, 22.382 seconds off at 6th. Arvid Lindblad in the other Red Bull, uh, Racing Bull rather, 31.139 seconds off. Esteban Ocon in the Haas, 31.189.
[4:05] David Gould: Yeah.
[4:06] Chuck Hayes: And then his teammate Ollie Bearman, 31.929. So Uh, in that Haas. And then Carlos Sainz, probably one of the best runs that he's had all year, 32.416 seconds off into Williams. So David, look at that middle group: Arvind Limbad, Esteban Ocon, Ollie Bearman, and Carlos Sainz. Have we seen that? Not very often in the course of this, uh, season's racing. Yeah, we talked about what that middle group—
[4:34] David Gould: Mid-pack.
[4:35] Chuck Hayes: And how competitive that mid-pack is.
[4:37] David Gould: Yeah, and To make a point here, this track is especially difficult. I'm going to use that word carefully because a lot of people don't like it. I'm not crazy about it because it does not allow for passing. There's a lot— you're going— it's a, it's a city, it's a city track, and you're going through a lot of areas, uh, where there's castles and all this stuff, and basically it's basically walled in. So passing is extremely difficult on this, uh, on this track. And, you know, As part of a positives, I gotta, I gotta give a tip of the hat to arguably, I would say arguably one of the best, if not the best performance from Kimi Antonelli, who started 16th, did not do well in qualif— in quali, and, um, managed to finish 5th. And boy, he fought his tail off to get there.
[5:27] Chuck Hayes: Chuck Hayes with David Gould. We want to have you follow us @LVCheckerFlag on X, @LVCheckerFlag. And David, what do you say?
[5:35] David Gould: Give us some love. Give us, uh, give us a like and, uh, retweet for us. And by all means, leave a comment.
[5:41] Chuck Hayes: All right, so we go into this next race and Franco Colapinto, who for whatever reason decided that he could bring it 3 wide, and that did not work for him. He picked up a 5th place penalty, which will be a 5th place penalty, which will be enforced when they go to Malaysia. That was on lap 36. Uh, he took out Pierre Gasly, Lando Norris, and himself. Uh, Alexander Albon had gone out at 29, uh, on 29th lap. And then we have our friends from Aston Martin, and I walk into this with a lot of respect and concern because there was talk that their team speed for both cars was not even where it was at in regards to Formula 2, right, that was going on. So right there, that's the issue during the course of the deal. And then you get the 2 DNFs, one on lap 7, Lance Stroll, one on lap 14 with Fernando Alonso. And then what happens today, David? I send you a text from F1 saying, hey, guess who's back? Yeah, in the year 2027.
[6:54] David Gould: Let's re-sign.
[6:54] Chuck Hayes: No changes. We're going to leave it like there is now either they are having the greatest research year in the history of mankind, and they're going to come back and Aston Martin is going to be the story in 2027.
[7:10] David Gould: Weren't they supposed to have one this year, though?
[7:12] Chuck Hayes: Well, there were some upgrades that we saw, but David, the year is not over. So let's not close the garage door on them. Let's just hope that they can continue because the only people that's making happy is the people from Cadillac. And Sergio Perez finishing 14th and Valtteri Bottas finishing 16th was probably the best news that we've seen in a while for Cadillac as we continue to see them make progress in this initial year of their racing.
[7:43] David Gould: Yeah, well, believe it or not, this race was progress for them, although Bottas did, did not finish the race. It, uh, it's, it's going at least in some direction. It's— I mean, they can't go any lower than where they were. They were just— it just, it was just awful. And they're still, uh, riding with no points and no podiums. So, uh, it'd be nice to see, and especially since Mexico City will be coming up, and it would be nice to see Checo do something, uh, in that race.
[8:14] Chuck Hayes: And for those people who are wondering, Nico Hülkenberg was 11th for Audi. Uh, Liam Lawson in Racing Bulls was 12th. Oscar Piastri, a disappointing weekend for McLaren. He finished 13th. Perez mentioned 14th in the Caddy. Gabriel Bortoletto 15th in the Audi. And then we have Bottas at 16, Colapinto, Gasly, Lando Norris, Alexander Albon, Alonso, and Lance Stroll. This is Chuck Hayes with David Gold. We're talking Formula 1. So as you predicted and as we've seen, there is a continual battle, and it's that battle for the mid-place of the, uh, 22-team ranking.
[8:59] David Gould: Yeah.
[8:59] Chuck Hayes: And every point or every, uh, improvement, uh, and again, we, we talked about Carlos Sainz finishing 10th, a tremendous opportunity for Williams showing something.
[9:11] David Gould: Yes.
[9:11] Chuck Hayes: It's not been an easy year for them. And as we go back, after we come back from our our break, we go inside Dave's brain. We'll talk more about, about scoring. But the fact that the Williams team, uh, with the 10th and then also with the, uh, opportunity to continue to improve will be a storyline that we'll look at. That's going to be something that at least they can build upon.
[9:36] David Gould: Yes, uh, it's going to be very interesting. And again, that mid-pack is showing, uh, it's probably got more, I would say, more, some more interesting stuff going on, a little less predictable, I would say. Same guys in it, but the fact that they're all in there and competing and jockeying and getting points is important.
[9:56] Chuck Hayes: Welcome back. Segment 2, Checkered Flag Report. This is Chuck Hayes with David Gould. We're talking Formula 1. We had a great weekend. Baku City and that city circuit just never disappoints. The beauty of the F1 cars with the old style of the city and then along the sea, just a really, really great place. And the fans were out and having a good time. And we want to thank our presenting sponsor, Chavez Realty Development. That's apartments, business affairs, real estate assessment, 626-440-1545, 626-440-1545. It is now time to go inside Dave's brain.
[10:36] David Gould: Yeah. Well, um, You said it, it was an exciting race. It's a very historic and picturesque location. And in the plus column, I will say that it was great to see George Russell go from wire to wire, from pole position to the win. The track kind of lends itself to that because, as I said before, it's walled in. There's not a lot of space to do passing. And, you know, the fact that Kimi came from 16th to 5th was just absolutely amazing. The guy is terrific. But George had a dogfight going on in his hands in the latter part of the race with Max. And Max was right on his tail, and Hadjar was right on Max's tail. And the interesting thing going on was many things, but one of them was the conversation that was going on between the pit and Hadjar, because Hadjar's basically saying, listen, if he's having problems with his tires, I'm ready to go. I'm right here. I got the pace. I'm right. I'm just right in there. And he was very calm, very controlled, and very obedient to what the, what the, what the, the pit was saying. And I think Max was having problems with the tires. I think he was on some mediums and Hadjar was on softs, which was very strange that the softs were really outlasting him. But the interesting thing was that Max was not going to let it happen. Max was not going to let Hadjar, who had the pace, who had the better tires, pass him because I think he was waiting for some kind of a safety car, which he felt was— which in my— if I was in his brain, I'd be thinking, okay, that's inevitable on this circuit, on this track, because it's so volatile, because it's so walled in. There's so little room to pass. It's there's bound to be some sort of a safety, safety car. And sure enough, there was. And both of them came in, got fresh Pirellis, and it was, it was game on. And from that point on, Max was right on, uh, right on George's tail, um, threatening. But again, George held out, uh, defended, defended well, and was able to maintain position and win the race. It was quite— it was really very exciting, arguably the most exciting race of the year. Uh, with that kind of a finish.
[13:00] Chuck Hayes: You know, that was a 16-lap dance when they got that, uh, safety car, right? Uh, Colapinto with the incident with Gasly and Norris. So you take a, you know, 3.6-mile, uh, 3.06-mile, uh, track and you put in 15 laps and you say, okay, have at it, almost like a sprint. And again, you wonder Uh, again, that the restarts are really funky because that lead driver, right, can really control how he wants to, to get off and how you deal with that and how close you get to him. And again, what's going on in his mind. And we don't hear the conversations, uh, all the time from, from pit lane to the driver in regards to that safety car when they leave and who has control. It's just one of those things that really When you study it, it's just one of those where you come off the line, you're going to make a decision and how clean your tires are and how much grip you got and where you get to go. And George Russell was really outstanding in regards to that because—
[14:09] David Gould: Absolutely.
[14:09] Chuck Hayes: Holding off Max and seeing him in the, you know, whether is he looking at him in the rearview mirrors or is he just looking right out? Because when he sees that Red Bull coming his way, oh yeah, it's coming larger and looming larger. And I wonder if it had been reversed and Hadjar, after having 2 races off, did that make him a little fresher? I wonder in his competition or how hungry he was. I don't, I don't know that. Remember those races that last couple of weeks have been really telling in regards to how much it takes out of you physically. Now, Hadjar, you know, coming back from that wrist injury.
[14:49] David Gould: Mm-hmm.
[14:50] Chuck Hayes: We don't know what his regimen was, whether or not he was in the sim that much and Maybe that doesn't matter so much, but he really kept his poise because of the fact that had it not been Max Verstappen in front of him, had it been Charles Leclerc or Kimi or Lewis Hamilton, would he have raced it differently? Would he have tried and taken a little more risk?
[15:13] David Gould: What if—
[15:14] Chuck Hayes: who knows what would have happened?
[15:15] David Gould: What if the positions were reversed and Max was the one who was behind Hadjar?
[15:20] Chuck Hayes: Would it look like Franco Colapinto going in the corner? That's what I wonder about. Would he do that to a teammate?
[15:25] David Gould: We'll get to that in a second. But, but the, you know, Max is the kind of guy that at all expense, I'm going to win at all expense. And that's not what Hadjar— that's not the game Hadjar was playing. And, and I don't think there's anything wrong with either one of them, but I have nothing but admiration for Hadjar and how he handled it. Because he still got the podium. He still got points for the team. You know, Red Bull's doubled, you know, picked up quite a few points for that, for constructors and also for the drivers. Yeah, Colapinto is— he kind of was like, hey, do you understand that you cannot fit a size 12 foot in a size 9 shoe? Okay. It just doesn't— it's not going to work. It's like he didn't understand the laws of physics and he knocked 3 other people out, I think, with him. And it was a— it was a— oh God, what a mess. But he did come over and he was very apologetic and did apologize to the other drivers. And I think that that was okay. I mean, he, you know, people lose themselves sometimes. And they were talking about how this track in particular might give you a little bit of tunnel vision. In other words, because those walls are there and because you're just— it's almost like you're in a slot rather than on a track. And, you know, you kind of lose yourself.
[16:55] Chuck Hayes: So this is Chuck Hayes with David Gould. We're talking Formula 1. Follow us on X @LVCheckerFlag, @LVCheckerFlag. And what do you say, David?
[17:04] David Gould: Give us some love, please. Give us some love. Give us a like. Give us a retweet and a comment.
[17:09] Chuck Hayes: When we look at, uh, where we're at in regards to, uh, team standings, and you've got other notes that go along with that, David, in regards to, uh, how that looks, or are you comfortable with the fact that, that, uh, Hadjar is going to be someone they're, they're going to have to deal with for the, for the next remaining, uh, 10 races?
[17:28] David Gould: No, I think Hadjar is, uh, very much the real deal. I think that he is a young, highly qualified guy. I think it was a great move by Red Bull to pick him up. And, but, you know, there's other problems going on out there. Norris locked his tires up twice, obviously has had a lot of problems navigating the corners. And, you know, people, there's a, there's a love-hate relationship with this track because it's so difficult to pass. Austin Martin retires both cars. Of course, Colapinto can't figure out how to take a corner without taking everybody out. But, you know, there's— it's crazy. I mean, we did read that Ocon is now— says he's a free agent and he wants— I think that he's not happy with the team and he wants out for '27.
[18:24] Chuck Hayes: Chuck Hayes with David Gould. Yeah, right now with that Haas team, Came off a pretty good weekend, though. That's one thing that you have to look at, that they've got a little momentum and how it goes. And when you look at team standings, Mercedes running away with it, 538, thanks to George Russell's win and Kimi having a top opportunity to, to be recovering the points needed. He picked up 10 good points. So there you go. That was 35 big ones for Mercedes. Ferrari second with 578. Still looking to see who all is the lead guy in regards to that right now. Lewis Hamilton with 199 points and Leclerc with 179. Then you go to McLaren, 306. Not the kind of weekend they look for. Red Bull Racing with 263, thanks to Max and, and Isaac. Racing Bulls with 83, Alpine with 68, Haas with 27, Audi with 17, Williams with 12. Aston Martin with 3, Cadillac 0.0. So as we continue in this study, David, yeah, and you see what's going on in regards to the battle between Racing Bulls and Alpine and then Haas and Audi and Williams, what do we see more of? We see more of Haas maintaining or do we see Williams with the arrow going up? If it was Carlos Sainz doing what he's supposed to do, then I would say the arrow is up on, on Williams. And I just don't know, in regards to everything that has been going on, that when you see, you know, that Williams and Albon retired at lap 29, obviously mechanical issues bothering him.
[20:16] David Gould: Yep.
[20:16] Chuck Hayes: But his teammate finishing 10th. So you take the, the good with the bad in regards to that. And, and again, it's just good to be able to see and talk about another team improving. And we would not say it from a rooting standpoint, right? We're saying from a competition standpoint.
[20:36] David Gould: Yes.
[20:36] Chuck Hayes: This is what we need. We need a Williams in the top 10. We need a Haas in the top 10.
[20:41] David Gould: Absolutely.
[20:42] Chuck Hayes: We need an Audi in the top 10. The Racing Bulls are getting it done. And that cut from the top 4 from the bottom, the bottom 6 really is a differential. And right now we can't say that Cadillac has any kind of competitiveness because of the fact that there was fallout because of that accident.
[21:05] David Gould: Well, there definitely has to be some meetings and figure out what the— what's going wrong, because they're, they're just—
[21:11] Chuck Hayes: it's—
[21:11] David Gould: they're stinking the place up. There's no other way to say it. It's kind of a mixed bag. You know, Carlos did come in 10th, so he's in the points. That is positive for Williams, and they want to see that. But then you got Esteban Ocon coming in 8th in the points for Haas, and at the same time making it very clear that he's a free agent and will be accepting all offers for the '27 season, which at this point in the season To say that shows a lot of discontent with the team. And, and I don't know what— I don't know what else.
[21:47] Chuck Hayes: Well, I think maybe could be a negotiation in, in regards to how he feels. And, you know, Ollie Biermann has been, you know, very competitive and he's been a guy that, that everybody points to. There's a lot of evenness here. Chuck Hayes with David Gould. We're going to box for 4 fresh Pirellis. We'll be back. We'll talk more about Sepang. Welcome back. Checkered Flag Report. Chuck Hayes with David Gould. We're talking Formula 1, and we want to thank our presenting sponsor Chavez Realty Development Apartments, Business Affairs, Real Estate Assessment at 626-440-1545. That's 626-440-1545. And Coach Harvey Hyde, Football Promotions of Nevada, for powering the fastest hour in radio. Okay, so, David, we're going to a track That replaces the Bahrain Grand Prix that was canceled earlier in the year. They were supposed to race that in round 4, April 10th to 12th, but because of the Middle Eastern issue, they decided to postpone it until the people in Malaysia got together with the governments and put it together. But the funny part is that F1 has not been there since the year 2017.
[23:02] David Gould: Hmm.
[23:02] Chuck Hayes: And that's a long time. I mean, we're looking at 9 years to not run a track.
[23:06] David Gould: Yeah.
[23:06] Chuck Hayes: So I mean, when it came on board, uh, the sim and all that went on, they gotta really work at it. And that first race was run there in 1999. And, uh, the track is 3.44 miles. It's 56 laps, which is 192.872 miles. And to show you how far it goes back, Eddie Irvine was driving a Ferrari in 1999. That's really throwing it back. And then if you look at more of a contemporary timing, in 2012 Alonso won in Ferrari.
[23:40] David Gould: Wow.
[23:41] Chuck Hayes: So that's a while back. Lewis won in '14 in a Mercedes, and then in 2017 Max won in a Red Bull. They've had 8 races and Ferrari has won 7 times. So it's If you're Ferrari, you're like, hey guys, yeah, this is for us.
[24:00] David Gould: We got this.
[24:00] Chuck Hayes: We know this. And Lewis, you won it in '14. Go into the closet, go into the Malaysia room.
[24:09] David Gould: Yeah.
[24:09] Chuck Hayes: And find that trophy because we're going to find another one for you. It's not going to say Malaysia on it. It's going to say Bahrain. But it's okay. We'll work with it. You know, we've got some artists that can work on that. But I think that's an interesting take on how the evolution of Formula 1 has gone. And then you wonder about McLaren, like you don't see them. And I'm not saying that they're not competitive in this. Yeah, but we don't know yet. And this is going to be the fun part of this Grand Prix.
[24:36] David Gould: Well, I think that they've been spotty all year, sometimes hot, sometimes not. So McLaren, it depends on who shows up, the solid team with a solid driver or not. I don't know if that's going to be— it should be of some advantage that these these particular drivers have been on this track before and have won here before, although for other teams, uh, they do know the track. And you would think that that would be to some advantage.
[25:05] Chuck Hayes: Back in the day, it would be you go walk the track or you ride your motorbike to find out what's going on. But now, because of technology, it's already in the sim.
[25:15] David Gould: Yep.
[25:16] Chuck Hayes: You know, when they came back from Baku, you know, they hit the reset button and put their quarters in and that track came up and they're like, oh, well, let's get a chance to look around this and see how it goes.
[25:27] David Gould: Yeah.
[25:28] Chuck Hayes: Because it's got some interesting straights in regards to cornering. And I guess that would be probably the biggest challenge. And if you're Fernando Alonso or Lewis Hamilton or Max, is going back in time to when you won there and you're on the podium and what that felt like and really what you know on why you were successful there.
[25:50] David Gould: And it's before we had this show, so we don't— or I'll speak for myself. I don't particularly know this track very well, and I'm not sure if this is the kind of track where that will allow passing.
[26:05] Chuck Hayes: Well, there's a long straightaway. David, I'm disappointed that you weren't in the sim right up to showtime. Normally you are dedicated, and I have to say, okay, I have to knock on the door 3 times. No, the secret knock. It's time. It's time to get you out of that sim.
[26:22] David Gould: Right.
[26:22] Chuck Hayes: You know, I'll go back in time. My favorite episode of a TV show called The Avengers was when they had a murder mystery going on and the millionaire or billionaire in England that lived on this— in this castle had really a racing sim back in the day with a Lotus race car.
[26:43] David Gould: Yeah.
[26:43] Chuck Hayes: And basically it was a film that they would show on the screen But when you got outside the corners, electrical shocks hit your body when you were racing the car. And, uh, his buddies would come and race, and they would have dinner, and then they'd have the cigars and the brandy, and then they'd have the racing.
[27:04] David Gould: Yeah.
[27:05] Chuck Hayes: And, uh, somebody would not turn up the next day. And that was what, uh, uh, the people from The Avengers went to check out why. And so, of course, they were in the simulator and fighting through all the things. So this is Chuck Hayes with David Gould, and this is how far back my F1 obsession goes.
[27:24] David Gould: Yeah.
[27:25] Chuck Hayes: And so I'm kidding David Gould about his sim, but, you know, Lotus was in it. With what goes on technology-wise, we're not that far away from it.
[27:33] David Gould: No, it's— but it'll be interesting because if there's room to pass, we're going to see a very, very competitive race. And but if there's not room to pass, if it's going to be a tight track like the one we just came from, then we're going to be seeing, um, people who come out of quali, uh, not, uh, with, with a distinct advantage, um, over the, over the crowd.
[27:56] Chuck Hayes: And also know what the tire wear is like. I mean, I think this is part of the, of the deal. Uh, imagine you're Pirelli, right? And, uh, you know, compound-specific, they know every track that they race at and they they had to go back in their, their records and when was the repave done, right, uh, in, in Malaysia for this race, and, uh, what was the, the specs that they lived with. This is Chuck Hayes with David Gould. Follow us on X @LVCheckerFlag, @LVCheckerFlag, and you can get to know David Gould personally if, uh, you follow us @LVCheckerFlag.
[28:30] David Gould: Yeah, follow us, give us a like, uh, give us a retweet, a comment, and don't forget that if you miss this show for any reason, that you can catch us on all the podcast platforms. We're on all of them.
[28:42] Chuck Hayes: And remember, for those folks out there, the reason that we are excited about this, we're bringing the message of F1 to the people. And there's 11 teams, there's 22 drivers. We want you, if you're a new fan, to find a reason to follow F1, whether you like Mercedes, Ferrari, McLaren, Red Bull Racing Bulls, Alpine, Haas, Audi, Williams, Aston Martin, Cadillac. You like the colors?
[29:12] David Gould: Yep.
[29:13] Chuck Hayes: You like the numbers? Vegas is a city of numbers.
[29:16] David Gould: Yes.
[29:16] Chuck Hayes: So pick a lucky number and go with it and follow this. Why? Because ultimately we're trying to get to Vegas road tripping up 15 for this race, November 19th to 21st. Of course, A Saturday night event like no other.
[29:31] David Gould: Yes.
[29:31] Chuck Hayes: And, uh, on this journey, David, as we continue to look at things, um, we're seeing that right now Kimi, because of the fact that his teammate George Russell won, he still has a, a large lead.
[29:47] David Gould: Healthy lead.
[29:47] Chuck Hayes: 78 points or so. Uh, we're looking at 76 points. Uh, Kimi Räikkönen with 302 to 2:36. The adversity that you were speaking of about young Mr. Antonelli.
[30:00] David Gould: Yes.
[30:01] Chuck Hayes: He fought through it this past weekend in Baku. Your feelings when you see that and you see that he was able to make his way?
[30:09] David Gould: That's a real driver. That is a real driver. And he didn't make excuses. He didn't cry about any— whine about any problems or any of this other stuff. He just said that, you know, things happen. I— quality did not go well. Uh, I started 16th and, um, and made it all the way to 5th. But again, this track does not lend itself to passing. So the fact that he was able to get from 16th to 5th is nothing short of a miracle. Uh, I'm very, very, uh, high on, uh, Kimi Antonelli.
[30:43] Chuck Hayes: All right, so who do you think raced better? The fact that Russell qualified and went wire to wire Yes. Or Kimi, uh, not having the best quali, fighting up to 5th, uh, 5th. Who do you think drove— you know how they always have that little category driver of the race?
[31:00] David Gould: Yes. Well, let me, let me—
[31:01] Chuck Hayes: your standpoint, talk to me about that.
[31:03] David Gould: Well, let me tell you this. The fact that, you know, George did well in quali and he got in front, but because this track is so difficult to make moves on, The fact that he was able to maintain it all the way to the end was was you know was admirable. But Kimi, man, he came up eleven eleven spots, eleven spots, including there's a lot of traffic with with Colapinto and these accidents and all this crazy stuff going on. There was a virtual safety. There was a safety car, and then I think there were a couple safety cars, and then a And correct me if I'm wrong, Chuck, was there a virtual safety car on the last lap? I think that there was. And what— and because I couldn't figure out why, why, uh, Russell and, and, uh, Max were still racing with the virtual safety car. And the only thing I could think of is that they were past that point of the safety of the accident and could finish the race without actually conflicting with the crash, right?
[32:09] Chuck Hayes: They were green flag on. And just remember, on lap 49, George Russell had the fastest lap in the race. He turned a 1:44.916 on lap 49. That was 205.981 kilometers.
[32:25] David Gould: Yeah, he was—
[32:26] Chuck Hayes: so he was really letting it rip.
[32:28] David Gould: So he had clean air.
[32:29] Chuck Hayes: Yes, that, that way. Um, and again, Max must have been right behind him. I mean, there was just no doubt that, that, that average and, and where he was at, because Max's, uh, fastest lap was a 1:44.993 on lap 48.
[32:47] David Gould: Yes, that's right.
[32:48] Chuck Hayes: So those guys were wailing. And, uh, Hadjar's fastest lap was 1:45.518 on lap, uh, 49. And, uh, Mr. Antonelli, his fastest lap of the day, 1:45.413 on lap 50. Yeah, so he was— I mean, they were, they were coming on.
[33:07] David Gould: They were pushing.
[33:08] Chuck Hayes: Leclerc, Kimi, Lewis, um, Arvid was the second group. But you look at that, that whole little piece of where Leclerc was, was being pushed by Kimi.
[33:21] David Gould: Yep.
[33:22] Chuck Hayes: And when you have Leclerc's fastest lap was, uh, 1:45.784 on lap 44. He was failing a little bit.
[33:29] David Gould: Yeah.
[33:29] Chuck Hayes: I mean, if that was that, you know, that lap, he was really under the, under the gun. So Chuck Hayes with David Gould, we're gonna pick up 4 fresh Pirellis. We come back in segment 4, we're gonna go over that schedule again because why? We're always trying to get to Vegas. David's got his bags packed, uh, he has his trailer towing his mobile simulator, which is, uh, really one of the great things in life. We'll talk more Formula 1. Thank you for staying tuned. Chuck Chuck Hayes with David Gould. Follow us on X @LVCheckerFlag, @LVCheckerFlag, and we will continue to bring you updates as we make our way up 15 to Las Vegas. Welcome back, segment 4, Checkered Flag Report. Chuck Hayes with David Gould. We want to thank our presenting sponsor, Chavez Realty Development Apartments, Business Affairs, Real Estate Assessment, 626-440-1545. That's 626-440-1545.
[34:23] David Gould: 440-1545.
[34:25] Chuck Hayes: Okay, David, we're looking at this situation and where we're at in regards to this driver standings. The manufacturer, this, the, the constructors, this is going to belong to Mercedes. They're not going to fail in regards to this. They're too strong. They're just coming off another win, another victory. Kimi Antonelli in the lead with 302. George Russell at 236, Lewis Hamilton 199, Lando Norris, the defending world champion, 186, Charles Leclerc at 179 in 5th. And then we got Max Verstappen at 163, Lando's teammate Oscar Piastri at 120. Then it drops to Hadjar at 86, Liam Lawson at 59. Pierre Gasly, who's 10th at 41. Arvid Lindblad, Racing Bulls, at 37. Colapinto, who's going to be penalized 5 spots, he's number 12 at 27. Ollie Bearman, 13 with 20. Gabriel Bartoletto is 14 with 10 points. Nico Hülkenberg with Audi with 7. Ocon with Haas with 7. And then you got Carlos Sainz in his situation. and then his teammate Alexander Albon with Williams. So when you look at this from your standpoint, the battle with the Ferrari team— Hamilton with 199, Leclerc at 179— do you believe that Charles Leclerc can make up the difference and get into that 3rd spot behind Antonelli and George Russell?
[36:07] David Gould: I don't think he's got the momentum. To be honest with you, I think he's as good a driver as Lewis, but Lewis, Lewis has the championships, man. I mean, the guy's a 7-time world champion. I think— I don't think he's going to just give that up unless there's some car problems.
[36:22] Chuck Hayes: All right. So now we've got Lewis Hamilton, 199, and Lando Norris at 186, the defending champion on the next run. Can Norris be that guy to say, you know what, I'm the defending champ. I'm not happy with the way things are right now. I'm never happy unless I'm on the podium at the top shelf. I'm not that guy to say, okay, this is fine.
[36:47] David Gould: Yeah.
[36:47] Chuck Hayes: Can Lando Norris be the guy to go to 3rd?
[36:49] David Gould: I think it's possible. But again, they've been— McLaren has been very spotty. They're on or they're off. And I think that if the car's running well, I think he's got a very, very good shot. of taking it. The points are close enough that one good podium or a win could— he could overtake Lewis. And also, and also just understand that, you know, you're talking about Mercedes. Mercedes cannot mathematically wrap it up in the next race. However, in Singapore, the following race, I think it's October 11th, they can take it.
[37:25] Chuck Hayes: All right. When we got one more topic on the table there, can Max Verstappen Who is literally 0.196 seconds away from winning that race? Can Max go on a run and go from 163 up to over 200 and surpass Lewis Hamilton? Do you think that's his goal? Do you think he looks at and goes, "I'm not going to race this. I'm going to get into the third position because we're dynam, we're dynamic, and we're on a roll, and I feel good about what happened." Can he be that guy week in and week out now that is going to challenge Antonelli and Russell?
[38:04] David Gould: I believe that that's possible because of who Max is. And I don't think Max is aiming for Lewis. I think Max is aiming for the whole ball of wax. That's the kind of— he's got blinders on. Okay. This is the good way the guy races and why I've always called him the assassin is he really, he goes for everything. He's just— it's get out, everybody, everybody get out of my way. I'm coming through. So is it possible? Yeah, I think it's definitely possible for him to overtake and get into the top 3.
[38:35] Chuck Hayes: Can you believe, David, we're 8 races left in this endeavor? We've had a tremendous season.
[38:41] David Gould: Wow.
[38:41] Chuck Hayes: And Antonelli's storyline has really surpassed everybody. But it's kind of like the opening up the doors of the closet and saying, okay, there's some storylines here. They're going to evolve and continue to battle, and we're going to get a chance to watch it play out right in front of us.
[38:58] David Gould: And to that story, the fact that Antonelli started 16th and made it all the way to 5th on this last track is a credibility thing. Yeah, he didn't, you know, he didn't get the points he really wanted, or, or, uh, it hasn't been, uh, you know, the, the same guy who's won 8 races this particular year, and, and George has won 8 races his entire career. I think this is his eighth win. So I think that the fact that he did that is a credibility thing for for Kimi. I think that he just shows that he is he's not to be he's he's the real deal.
[39:32] Chuck Hayes: Just a reminder, watch Apple TV and you'll be able to get all that great coverage as you get up to speed literally on round sixteen, the Bahrain Grand Prix being held in Malaysia. This has been Chuck Hayes with David Gould. Follow us at every checker flag at every checker flag. Give us a retweet. Get to know inside Dave's brain. We love talking with you. We love following all the great content from Las Vegas F1, from the world's F1, and all the people that are covering. Join us next week. We'll give you the results of round 16 Bahrain. Chuck Hayes for David Gold. Drive safely.
[40:06] David Gould: Adios.