2021 Spanish GP Race Review | WTF1 Podcast

Did Perez cost Verstappen victory? Was Red Bull's strategy really that bad? Should Bottas have made it easier for Hamilton? We discuss all this and more in the latest WTF1 Podcast.
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00:00 Intro
03:25 Hurry up Perez
17:41 Classic title fight
23:45 Don't underestimate Ferrari
30:00 Bottas team orders
35:14 FIA Team graphic
38:55 ABCDEF1
59:24 Predictions
1:04:38 Monaco is great Tommy was right all along
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[@AngryKirbyHatesYou]

At the end of last year: "if perez struggles in the same car as Gasly and Albon we have to start blaming Red Bull because the problem is with the 2nd car" 4 races into 2021: "lol Perez bad" 🤨🙄

[@jumoreno43]

Lmao

[@jessereimer302]

But this car is more drivable

[@AngryKirbyHatesYou]

@@jessereimer302 this is an evolution of last year's slag heap. More drivable ≠ a good car. And again. It's been 4 races.

[@jessereimer302]

@@AngryKirbyHatesYou The rear grip is exponentially better. The testing and data confirms this.

[@sandman1347]

It's a great car but you have to cut Perez some slack. It's not just him. Daniel, Fernando, Sebastian and pretty much ever driver who switched teams this year is struggling a bit. The shortened pre-season has taken a toll. If he's not up to speed by mid-season, I would be concerned but you need to give him some time to adapt.

[@Charliechorizo]

Redbull's third second driver being chastised for their performance proves Daniel Ricciardo was on point in his decision to leave to avoid another Mark Webber treatment by the team regarding toxic preferential treatment.

[@Mike23443]

Cause Mercedes isn't toxic. They're just lucky bottas is a nice boy who knows his place. If Mercedes wasn't at the top, bottas wouldn't have put up with it. Worse yet, I doubt anybody would even offer him a seat if he did leave Mercedes.

[@platylobiumobtuseangulum1607]

Truth. Spot on!

[@damianlanigan]

Tommy: here's my smart jumper and I've also tidied my room. Katy: see how neatly I've organised my cushions. Matt: SHIRTRACK

[@sylviaotte5519]

I have a feeling that Hamilton is more motivated to race, because he isn’t driving alone at the front anymore

[@adamtravers856]

Before the first round of pit stops, they way they moved away proved that

[@peachulemon]

That’s whole team has been itching for real competition,

[@fazilmuhammed5410]

He is enjoying more than ever

[@Malte1860]

to be fair, as long as he wins he enjoys it :D As a Lewis Fan tho i hope he stays beyond 2021

[@scottreynolds9961]

2:30

[@lv15ballistol]

RedBull need a double podium in Monaco if they wanna still be in it for the WC. Merc's pace is too strong on many regular circuits

[@muralikrishnanms1992]

1 and 2 - how good it would be?

[@Real28]

I just remember 2-3 races ago "MeRc Is So FaR BeHiNd ReD BuLl" Meanwhile I'm like "LOL ooook keep thinking that."

[@zooski1516]

Definitely dont need but would be nice. Recency bias is the new woke. Relax people it’s a long season ahead. Don’t need any grandiose statements.

[@swapnajeetpandey4821]

@@muralikrishnanms1992 impossible...checo will finish P4 at best...no further than that ..he simply doesn't has the pace for ending on the podium...

[@ogreman2229]

@@Real28 The number of people who buy into Mercedes sandbagging every year is mind blowing.

[@gentnextdoor]

You guys told us Ferrari would be behind AMR, Alpine & McLaren... hats off to Katy for the humility to admit it.

[@kumaflamewar6524]

When you're wrong you're wrong /shrug

[@TheStargov]

Everyone was expecting the reg changes to hurt high rake cars like Red Bull more than the others. Reg changes aren't always predictable.

[@roozz33]

I really enjoy the podcast, but a small point of feedback: the highly structured format (Matt makes his point for about 2 minutes, then Tommy fills in the blanks for a minute and Katy gets to say she agrees and give some nice stats or quote) means Katy is less able to state her point, and I'd love to hear it a bit more! The constant obvious order of speaking is a tiny bit distracting, and causes Matt to have the most speaking time (which is not a bad thing!) to maybe the detriment of the other two. Just a bit of feedback :) Keep up the good work!

@peter pan can’t tell if thats a compliment or an insult 😂

[@oliverhowe1584]

Totally agree!

[@deathbower]

Matt pre season: If Perez doesn't perform in the second Red Bull, there's something wrong with Red Bull Matt now: Perez not performing in the second Red Bull is Perez being too slow to get used to the car

[@mickeynig1]

Exactly! I don't understand the anger at Perez. It seems to me that the car is designed fundamentally to Max's style and other drivers don't drive that way. So don't blame the second driver blame the team.

[@justinvarela4409]

Wasn’t he the one saying that we should give the new drivers 6 races?

[@10sukhwinder]

Charles is not making any Lap 1 lunges since he knows SF21 can have good race pace so they are consistently getting good results.

[@selder_7]

No way Mazepin makes it around a full race at Monaco. I’d plan for a safety car

[@TheStevieb1983]

lol

[@Charliechorizo]

Disagree. His consistency at finishing in last place in both qualifying and the race has been even odds at every race.

[@ryan_aex]

@@Charliechorizo but we’ve been at tracks with large run off areas...Monaco is not that

[@georgythomas8451]

Mazepin binning it should be made a part of the strategy 🤣. A "Plan M" maybe?

[@mpainter22]

When are people going to talk about the elephant in the room and that's the management at Red Bull

[@allthegoodonesweregone]

It's so true. I understand Dr Marko and Horner have won several championships but it's been a decade now and they've not competed at all during the hybrid era.

[@DwarfLivingInTheMines]

Thank you! I feel like everyone is missing the biggest talking point here. I'm a manager and work doing finance for a Fortune 150 company, so it's my job to lead teams and spot key value creators and destroyers. Let me tell you - if you ask any experienced manager to pinpoint the key issue where a particular role in a team continuously just cannot perform and has high turnover, they will all tell you it's the management. 100%. By virtue of being hired into an all-star team alone, you've already proven you're in the top percentile of people with your skill set, even if you have an truly alien, all-star teammate (e.g. Max), it means nothing about YOUR ability to perform in that team. The same applies to drivers in F1 on average, except even more so since it's an extreme version where on average the drivers are all the top percentile of the bell curve and are so closely matched, performance differentials aren't tremendous here between even the worst and best driver on the grid at any point in time (we're talking within 1 standard deviation at MOST). Therefore, to be consistently under-performing by such a massive margin even with heavy turnover of talent, your problem is that your managers are not properly creating a system that works. They are managing a system that is somehow inherently flawed and it's their job to manage it and change it.

[@goduxunike]

When Perez fails to deliver, probably? Gasly and Albon were basically rookies.

[@mpainter22]

@@lostalone9320 since Danny Ricc left Red Bull have been unable to get the second car to be competitive, if it had just been Gasly or Albon I'd have said yeah the driver wasn't good enough, but we've now got pundits (WTF1 in this case) questioning Perez,, then there is what happened with Webber and Vettel, there Is (in my opinion) a fundamental problem at Red Bull that is similar to Ferrari in the early 90's they can't run two competitive cars, when multiple drivers have struggled it's about the team not the driver

[@mpainter22]

@@lostalone9320 and they sacked Cyril,

[@kenneth5769]

I give Lewis an A* simply for calling that front wing adjustment mid race. Simply shows the level of understanding he has on the car.

[@kumaflamewar6524]

Yeah that stood out to me, he was imperious in pace and still feeling gains in the car

[@yenneferofgyanvapi3965]

@@kumaflamewar6524 @Richard Umlas where was it?

[@kenneth5769]

@@yenneferofgyanvapi3965 He called it before his first pit stop

[@yenneferofgyanvapi3965]

@@kenneth5769 Oh, there is no video or snippet of that. Thanks, I will upload if I find any.

[@kenneth5769]

@@yenneferofgyanvapi3965 It was on Sky Sports F1. Lewis called in the radio to adjust his front wing for his first stop. Then Brundle or Croft said something about it.

[@paulthorn6437]

When do we start to recognize that you just can't become Max Verstappen level with car after 4-5 races, and that pressure and impatience is why RB continues to struggle with their 2nd seat.

[@pr-tj5by]

Paul Thorn, The car is built around him after all

[@ravinc1568]

@Paul Thom Even if we all recognise and acknowledge it; Helmut and Horner will not, RBR will not.

[@Seantf12345]

Katy deserves points for her prediction!

[@wdavis4797]

You’re having a laugh if you think Riccardo is fully settled into that Mclaren car

[@crazyworld1993]

I agree

[@jespervesterberg6085]

He's showing experience, but not speed. We'll compared to norris :p but I think he'll get there

[@IrrIdk]

@@jespervesterberg6085 no more like he is showing speed just not consistency because he out qualified lando 3:1. Because in the race he was never able to good lap after good lap. And that consistency will come with time as he gets used to the car

[@chasebest7135]

Havin a laugh m8

[@wo1463]

@@IrrIdk Technically yes but it doesnt tell the whole story of how much faster Lando has been

[@timothyheimbach3260]

I feel like Schumacher is in the same position as Russell was; where you just can't tell if he's doing well or not because the car and his teammate don't give much comparison.

[@9adriano21]

Checo already showed more than Albon in Qualy, beating him once and finishing .144 behind in another, people said anything under .3 behind Max was impossible. He has already match Max in pace during races, something Albon never did. Yes RedBull need the results, but Checo did ask for 5 races, he just need to build that confidence in the car, but the performance (pace) is already there

[@jpcarriedo5983]

Exactly, he has shown glimpses of performance in every weekend it will only improve.

[@cgstever91]

That may be true but through his first 4 finishes he has scored less than albon in his first four races 36-32 he needs to have been closer to 40-50 where botas is for red Bull to have a chance not in the midfield where he is.

[@jpcarriedo5983]

@@cgstever91 yeah but Albon has 6 days of testing and 1hr of free practice more, also checo has had bad luck with the races. Feeling unwell and a rain race

[@andredeketeleastutecomplex]

Checo did just fine so far, he'll get there.

[@joyco6693]

@@jpcarriedo5983 you have to consider how much more experience checo has tho he's been in F1 a long time whereas Albion only had half a season before he was moved to red bull, checo was okay in Bahrain he was poor in imola and arguably him being well of the pace in Barcelona left the door open for merc and hamilton to do that extra stop. I'm confident that he will pick up his results and get better as the season goes on but it needs to be sooner rather then later if red bull want to win the championship

[@swetankawasthi7088]

Max has driven it for 5 yrs...you can't expect perez to come and just match the pace.

[@Septimus_ii]

I don't think it's just that though. I think the car has been specialised around the exact quirks of Max's driving, and it's allowed him to be close to Lewis for the last 2 seasons. But for another driver with a different style and slightly less talent than Max to try and drive the same car is a very tough proposition. Hopefully Perez's talent and experience will be enough that he can come close enough

[@davidorama6690]

Perez has raced in F1 for a decade, you can’t expect Albon to have averaged more points v Verstappen per race than Perez, but he did... Perez was worth a punt, demoting Albon to AlphaTauri, but to rest Albon denying him race development was a little short sighted...

[@aKellyBrand]

I haven’t listen to the podcast yet and don’t know if they mentioned this but, How can George Russell come in in almost wanna race in the Mercedes?? It's the car man. I do think Checo can tame it.

[@jumoreno43]

@Wilco unlogical? Lol you’re telling me max hasn’t had any influence over the development of that car? In the last 5 years he’s just been adapting to it every week? Okay m8

[@ajinkyadhumane3853]

last year George almost won the race in mercedes it is not just the car you need skill. Max doesnt drive in reverse to make him soo good and if his driving style is soo good then perez should try to adapt it he can race better. The excuse that car is built around Max is childish. every top team does that and second driver has to adapt.

[@DaylightDigital]

I don't have any reason to doubt the word of Checo about his condition, despite Matt's clear annoyance

[@scrubchuck4487]

Because he was nowhere in practice also and he said it was only quali

[@jasongates2300]

You can’t judge based on practise. Could have been running different programmes. He did a good job in the race given the issues with track and overtaking. People are quick to judge and hate. It’s only because Max is getting outraced and out witted by Lewis and everyone wants Max to win.

[@mariasalas7550]

Matt has been unnecessarily harsh on Perez from the start. Max being behind on the championship is bc of his own mistakes. I also don’t recall this treatment with Albon although his results from the first 4 races were worst. 🙄

[@bizarrebunny5579]

@@mariasalas7550 oh I really recall the Albon slander, way much more than Perez. In Albons first races tho remember it was when there was the three team hierarchy so anywhere in the top 6 was great kinda regardless, now it’s just two teams well clear of the rest you HAVE to be comfortably 4th bc there’s no third team for excuses

[@mariasalas7550]

@@bizarrebunny5579 yeah I remember Ferrari being in the mix haha but I doubt Albon would be delivering better results. I think Perez is getting there and of course there is so much pressure bc there are only two teams now, still I think some people’s criticism is going beyond that, doubting his character when no other second driver at RB has had the team mentality and maturity Checo is showing. Idk, the car is hard, we are only 4 races in

[@chunheiso5806]

I mean Bottas could be just like the kids thinking :' well I was about to do it but now that you told me, I ain't gonna do it'

[@selder_7]

Not having winter testing there and a new turn 10 probably helped this GP a lot

[@damyancook1644]

Maybe rotating test sites would be a good idea? Using a grade 1 track that isn’t on the schedule for that year.

[@1AngryPanda]

@@damyancook1644 Barcelona is simply the best track for testing. You have all types of corners and tyrewear is also critical. For racing maybe not so. But like Matt says in the podcast we will see how it plays out with the new rules next year. GPDA is also on putting pressure on the FIA to get rid of the final chicane. Hope this will happen.

[@realamerican5016]

After Monaco price is going to go on a chair I don't understand how you guys don't get it he didn't have enough time in the car yet he will get it. Every person that changed teams this year has struggle signs is doing the best but everyone else is struggling so I think it has to do more with black diamond car then it has to do with check out not having enough

[@realamerican5016]

The only thing unenjoyable about this season is all the excuses people are making for red ball specially Red Bull. Everyone said when Max's car was as close to Lewis's he would win it sounded like a foregone conclusion but I guess everybody underestimated the goat.

[@selder_7]

Was very impressed to see Schumacher in front of Russell on merit at the start

[@PlayTrickBLOGSPOT]

To be honest, Russell is absolutely rubbish on race starts since he joined f1. He is often losing even to Latifi and Kubica in 2019 on first laps. But he has good qualy and race pace, so overall it's ok.

[@mattdsoares]

Mick is an accomplished young driver, he's not there just because of his name. Just a shame he's stuck with such a joke of a team and car.

[@alarastaff]

I think perez was talking about 5 races to feel comfortable in the car, its been 4, he has the front runners race pace, but had problems in imola and had problems with qualy as well

[@brunoalves5339]

Yeah, big problems at Imola, like spinning on his own and overtaking under safety car

[@Sourav-shortss]

@@brunoalves5339 I think he should retire and join....a team that needs twodrivers

[@goduxunike]

I started to doubt it when he said that what he usually does in races doesn't work with the RB car, after Portimão. Sounds too me that he is farther from being comfortable to what he expected at the start.

[@greatsageclok-roo9013]

I don't think there's any doubt he has the race pace. (Bahrain is proof enough.) Qualifying is definitely his weak spot.

[@brunoalves5339]

@@greatsageclok-roo9013 Getting stuck behind slower cars like he did in Portimão and Catalunya doesn't help his race pace

[@bobdole959]

Katy, whatever you had for breakfast, please eat it befor every podcast. Really great and fun to watch! : ) Definetly best podcast this season.

[@zachstrub8467]

It’s still incredible that Katy got the top five correct

[@idi8822]

He’s shown that hes got it! This is the thing that gets me… Bahrain was such a great effort, quali at imola was and amazing achievement! Such a shame… i believe in you checo!!

[@jpcarriedo5983]

Perez said 5 races, and he’s done great races for now. In Spain he mad 3 overtakes, in Bahrein he went from 11 to 5th or 4th. He has even outqualify Max. All drivers that changed teams have had a hard time, there was limited testing, and reduce free practice time. Let’s give him the benefit of the doubt and wait for the 6th race when the 5 race margin has already happen.

[@GuillaumeRenaud51]

In Barhain he actually went from Last to P5 which is great! Imagine if started 11!! (he had a problem before the start had to go in the pits)

[@raelized]

@@GuillaumeRenaud51 eh, nuthin special. Albon was able to do those back in 2019 as a rookie.

[@jpcarriedo5983]

@@GuillaumeRenaud51 oh yeah, that’s truth he started from pit lane.... I think that’s a great drive there

[@chriscollins550]

Video just come up on KZbin, max saying I'm alone

[@daguzify]

@@raelized Albon started P17 and Norris, Verstapen were out of the race in 2019. Try to be honest

[@SandroDoulis]

Perez after 4 races in: Portimão: 4th Barcelona: 5th Albon after a whole season: Portimão: 12th Barcelona: 8th

[@sparkypvp2167]

It an improvement, but not enough to challenge mercedes.

[@askeeter84]

Perez had been on the game for awhile though. But still he needs more races to get used to the car just like anyone else

[@jamesswinbanks]

“I know he says his shoulder isn’t well but… you still have to do your job” - dangerously close to suggesting that Checo isn’t trying 😑

[@kut52]

dangerously close to channeling inner Roy Keane

[@Forzan96]

Checo has atleast finished in the top 5 3/4 races now

[@TheStargov]

But Merc has had double podiums in 3/4 races. If Red Bull want to win the WCC, Perez needs to up his game.

[@Forzan96]

@@TheStargov still has a better record than Albon and Gasly did at the start of the season

[@jessereimer302]

@@Forzan96 But in a better car

[@goduxunike]

@@Forzan96 he should no, he has been in F1 for ten years!

[@jessereimer302]

Weird how they did not mention how Charles was aided by Bottas having to react to Lewis being pushed out. Bottas lost speed and Charles took advantage.

[@PlayTrickBLOGSPOT]

Absolutely. That was the first thing that came to my kind when I saw how much bottas had to slow down when Lewis joined the track right in front of him. I instantly thought he's gonna lose 1 or 2 places because of thath

[@mpolinsk22]

Yup, good call.

[@airdoty9273]

#KatyDeservesPoints

[@salty3958]

So Perez is struggling to get to grips with the car, just like the 2 previous drivers, and no we're discrediting his ability completely? People were saying last season he was a bench mark to see if there is an issue with that second seat at RBR. He's a proven race winner and has the talent to be at the front of the grid. Its seeming more likely to me now that there is a major issue with the management and treatment of the second driver at RBR, if they want a chance at competing with Mercedes they really need to address this

[@jasongates2300]

100% this. It’s clear it’s a team philosophy issue, not a driver talent issue. In any case, Perez has managed it better than the previous two and he’s not been a part of the Red Bull family, let alone driven Red Bull family car.

[@liynne]

the thing is those rb cars are so hard to get a grip oin is bc theyre more.. how to say this? violent? temperamental, and a lot of em are designed for verstappen's racing style. hence why it takes so long for new drivers to get used to them.

[@raelized]

@@jasongates2300 u do know he has more than half a decade of experience as compared to the other two right? he ought to be doing better

[@F1ll1nTh3Blanks]

Still it's best to give it a few more races to see.

[@samuelperez5559]

@@raelized and He's doing better than them precisely due to said experience, but still the car is not a Merc to be driven so easily. And even tho Albon had to deal with Ferrari up there, now the midfield is much closer than last year too, so he could potentially fall behind even more. So there's that. But let's wait and see, perhaps he'll perform super good and you'll look like a clown or he fails like Albon and then you'll be absolutely right and the ones waiting for him to perform will be the clowns. I do believe we have to wait.

[@jasongates2300]

Perez needs to improve? How about Red Bull needs to improve? They need to improve that car because it’s clear it only suits one driver and you need both drivers comfortable with the car to win a constructors title. Mercedes has a car that can be driven easily. Look at Russell when he jumped in last year. Straight away he was on it. The Red Bull is clearly a tricky car to drive and it’s been tailored to only one driver for the last 3-4 years. Stop bashing the driver and start bashing the team. Red Bull is ruining for themselves and the fans, not Perez.

[@ziggythetortoise4237]

Realistically it’s probably just Perez getting to grips with the car there’s nothing wrong with it it’s just different to what he’s used to, Albon just wasn’t good enough and gasly cracked under the pressure, to argue that it’s the cars fault when gasly & albon came through alphatauri anyway which is basically a toned down version of the red bull anyway is ridiculous

[@suckieduckie]

I really don't think it's tailored to Max. Every driver wants a car with a grippy front end and a stable rear end. Do you really think that Alonso asked for a tricky Renault that only goes fast if you oversteer on the corner entry? Or perhaps that that was the only way for the car to go fast. It really isn't obvious that RB have tailored the car to suit some sort of really weird Verstappen unique driving style, or that they simply try to build the fastest possible car and Max is able to adapt. In interviews it becomes quite clear. Max basically only opposed one update: one where he couldn't look into the corner as much because he had less room for his head. Any other update he goes: if I don't like it but it's faster I'll adapt.

[@mclark23]

The Merc also seems to do better with the tires.

[@janfranszuidema8512]

Max was the second Red Bull driver in 2016 and 2017. He managed to get 23 top 5 finishes, 11 podiums and 3 wins in 37 races (9 dnf's) in a car that was not suited for him.

[@philipsimpson1160]

How can Lewis not get an A * for that drive

[@OliveTree487]

It's a great drive from Lewis but would you really call it an A*? Struggled to get an attack together on Max following the first pit stop, struggled to pass his teammate following the second stop. Having said that, his pace following the second pit stop was phenomenal. He had a great strategy handed to him and was super consistent to make it work but he didn't have as much to do as he had in some of his greatest drives. Great drive not exceptional, A not A*

[@turbo2.5gaming20]

@@OliveTree487 idk mate, Barcelona is a horrendously difficult track to overtake on, the commentators said you need ~ 1.8 seconds pace advantage to do so. Can't fault Hamilton for the track being terrible.

[@OliveTree487]

@@turbo2.5gaming20 That's fair, the track is absolutely shite so maybe I'm being over critical

[@philipsimpson1160]

@@OliveTree487 struggled to pass his teammate, took him 6 or 7 corners to pass realistically, he pushed max all the way, was about to take the lead when max pitted in the first round of stops as he was 4 tenths behind in the horrible last chicane, he then did the same thing before he dove into the pits and then blasted a beautiful final stint to then catch and pass Max round the outside. He also took a great pole on the Saturday to make history as the first driver to take 100 poles in the sport, so yeah i would say if max gets an A lewis deserves an A*

[@OliveTree487]

@@philipsimpson1160 Struggled to get past his teammate was tongue in cheek. When max dove to the pits you're dead right, Hamilton was on him. But I think when Hamilton dove in he a was bit too far behind, they wouldn't have pitted him otherwise. If he could've taken max on track he wouldn't have had any problem running to the end as max did. Why would the team pit him and go to a riskier strategy if he was gonna breeze by max at the end of the straight? His quali was good but he only just squeaked by max, wasn't a Hamilton wonderlap. I don't care if it's your first or your hundredth, you're grading the weekend not the driver's history. If there was a high and low A I'd give him high A and max a normal A. Hamilton was better. But I don't think it was an exceptional weekend. Qualified well, lost out at the start, drove consistently and caught up, got caught with the undercut, and then hunted down red bull on ancient tyres with a fresh set

[@teestabhattacharya3129]

I’m watching this at 1am cause i don’t wanna sleep and this is more important than me waking up tomorrow

[@AbandonedRaven]

How can Hamilton not be an A star, qualified pole and won. Made up a lot of time, and was a great drive. What else is there to do?

[@Boerkreeelis]

Well, he has the quickest car and a teammate. He had a great drive but wouldn't have needed it if he stayed in front. 90% of Spain's races are won from pole, so it makes sense he should win. I thought it was a great drive but it would have been better if he stayed in front and controlled from there. But it depends on perspective I guess

[@kityhawk2000]

@@Boerkreeelis I think we are forgetting that Max had a lot of rubber down on his side of the grid and the Redbull has been seen to have switch it's tyres on very quickly both of which would have helped Max get a better start. Winning Spain after losing out in the first corner is also pretty unusual and if Hamilton is getting an A* for Portugal I don't see this as a poorer performance.

[@Boerkreeelis]

@@kityhawk2000 Then again, he had a teammate and a faster car, so it was kind of expected he would win anyway. I'm not against Hamilton getting A*, I just don't fully understand this emphasis on what the 'result' of the strategy was. If we can give someone getting close to P10 an A* because it was the best weekend he could have, I don't see why Verstappen wouldn't also get an A*. I saw the RB-strategy unfold and prior to him not making it, I thought this gave Verstappen a decent chance of winning, given the circumstances. He didn't, but he drove very well for it. I see the Merc-strategy also as a good strategy, except that Merc had the car and teammate to make a strategy successful in this particular occasion. But that's not fully on Hamilton, more on the strength of Mercedes. If Lewis got unlucky with Bottas racing him more, or a safety car, or whatever, the strategy would not have been different, just the 'result', and it would still be a great drive from Lewis too.

[@iisquared77]

can we stop hating on the second driver at red bull? "he cant escape the criticism that gasly and albon got" ah yes, the man who got half a season, the other man who got 1 and a half seasons in car that is entirely designed around max, after he has been there for 5 years. max has 100 races, perez has 4. perez span in quali, and the track changed for whatever reason on the second run in q3, hes not immune to the track

[@SoudipanMaity]

Just when I was about to take a nap and thought of checking my notifications one last time!

[@BadTanLines]

Can we take a moment to notice Katy Fairman's expertly coordinated couch and pillow colors to match the gray background and four orange corners of the WTF1 Podcast graphics?! Brilliant!

[@TheStevieb1983]

you better give Katy her point. or else I am flying over to England

[@Charliechorizo]

Hace you had your depopulation vaccine?

[@BoxFoxGames]

@@Charliechorizo Hope u r joking...

[@TheLibermania]

@@BoxFoxGames why would he? It would be fitting to the first comment.

[@brettmiller1953]

You always answer the questions in order: Matt > Tommy > Katy. Can you change this once in a while, so Katy can have her say first instead of giving the impression that she is repeating Matt and Tommy every question? Thank you.

[@raahull04]

With all the predictions, Danny Ric's definitely jinxed now! 😂

[@vgrin7307]

29:19 Seb didn't say that Leclerc was one of the most difficult teammates but one of the most talented drivers he had ever seen I think.

[@Saitamabaldopm]

Imply the same thing though really.

[@turbo_brian]

Wait wtf, carlos is the only driver who's really on top of things. Ricciardo recently got knocked out in q1 and after this race said he's still not there yet. Vettel isn't doing better than sergio and fernando hasn't beat ocon once this season.

[@Retrogirlgamer]

Carlos is doing good but he is still behind leclerc

[@anthonywallis2058]

Checo has done nothing wrong, he still came a solid 5th in the race

[@jessereimer302]

I do think that is where he finishes.

[@micodyerski1621]

Enjoy your podcast and aways watch it when I can. All 3 of you are great. Very much like the grade segment. Thanks for a full race run down and the full driver run down. I always want to hear what you folks have to say.

[@subsecondf1968]

In the last 6 years Nico Rosberg has the Same number of wins (9) for @MercedesAMGF1 as Valtteri Bottas (9). Rosberg Retired 5 years ago

[@filipeferreira2281]

I understand why people are being harsh on Checo, high expectations, he has experience, everyone was aiming high. But I don't agree when people say, "We cannot give half a season to Checo". IMO it is the other way around. Redbull needs to give half a season, a season to the second driver W/E who he is. Redbull doesn't have a stable lineup since Dany Ric and Verstappen. Will they suffer on the beginning? Yes, but long term it is the best solution. RedBull can't just keep switching and expect the second driver to have a stable performance. Also, Mercedes suffers sometimes for having Bottas... he was nowhere near Max, Max could do the last stop for softs... Redbull just needs stability on the second driver.

[@SWatchik]

Redbull simply need a better car. Russell jumped in for a weekend and almost got a pole and a win. The Merc baseline is lightyears ahead of RB, and if they just developed a more driveable car it would probably help Verstappen too. 3 great drivers who "underperformed" is more pointing to the issue that the car is the fault tbh.

[@pollyannasouza8434]

Checo's difficulty in getting along with the car, is more of a reflection of how that RB car reflects Max's input and it's built for him to succeed than, than about Checo's ability himself...

[@pr-tj5by]

Agreed 100%

[@fallenshallrise]

He drove the lowest drag lowest rake car for years and is now in the highest rake most twitchy car. Went from a Merc power unit to a Honda. I'd say 4th is decent.

[@joyco6693]

been waiting for this since the end of the race

[@mysticwarren]

You guys are super entertaining 🤣😂 keep it up!

[@hugodiazgarcia1266]

i recommend you to be more patient about Checo since he is still adapting to Red Bull´s carr, just like the other new pilot are doing in the other cars (like Sainz, Ricciardo, Vettel, Alonso and Tsunoda). Give them some more chance, 5-7 more races, until they come back from Turkey to European circuits at the end of June!!

[@goduxunike]

He doesn't seem as confident anymore. At the start he claimed that he needed 5 races to adapt but after Portimão he said that what he usually does in races don't work with the Redbull car. Sounds like it will take him longer than he expected.

[@benardo01]

"Maybe next time bottas" 4 words that sum up the last couple of years

[@zooski1516]

Although not the most technical podcast, sure is one of my favourites after my race weekend :) such positive vibes as always.

[@lake4ishikawa]

I have to say, this is by FAR the best f1 season start that I've seen in 30 years, and races like this one, where Hamilton is right on the back of Verstappen but can't quite pass, then they just come up with a masterclass strategy that enables him to unleash the potential of his car and climatically overtake with 6 laps to finish... and this should be a "decent" race? You will only understand how unbelievable this all is when F1 will be boring again. We are truly blessed to be able to witness a season like the current one, and we owe it to these two guys that are just miles ahead of anybody and put up this incredible show. Nobody wants to see 10 mediocre drivers fighting for the title. This is what we all want to see.

[@fabriziomendelzon8673]

Race pace wise he’s been very good, When he gets clean air in the race he shows great pace very similar to max

[@suckieduckie]

Isn't that the same for Bottas though? In clear air it's fine but in traffic they both take ages to get past someone compared to Max or Lewis.

[@pr-tj5by]

@@suckieduckie Yeah they both suffer in traffic Buddy

[@ciacastellanos]

I love you guys, never disappoint to make me laugh and feel like we are friends 🤍🤍 keep it up!

[@Sheamu5]

38:58 hearing Katy calling out Tommy through the jingle cracked me up 😂

[@marek7641]

Perez from the start is 0.2 behind Max and is able to be in front of him, Alex that you try to promote was loosing much more after whole season.

[@ThePankreas99]

Everyone is getting antsy because Mercedes are up. I think that Red Bull are perfectly content with where they are right now. They have complete faith in Max and Checo, and they know it's only a matter of time before Checo unlocks it. I think Red Bull are still the favorites too, largely because I think we will see Checo overtake Bottas in the next 3 to 5 races and give Red Bull the upper hand. We know that the Red Bull is an edgy car, but Checo has been closer than anyone outside of Daniel. I think soon enough we will see Red Bull go on a streak of strategic masterpieces like Mercedes did this weekend. We also haven't got in to the warmest part of the year yet, and Mercedes' car has had issues in the past with the heat. All in all, this is the best start of a championship we have seen in a LONG time. Max and Red Bull are there for the fight, and Monaco will hopefully give everyone some hope again.

[@jakedavison6142]

Referring to a post by u/TheF1Creator on r/Formula1, in 2019 Danny Ric in the Renault had already driven 3563km after the Bahrain Test after the 2nd GP. This season after 4 GP he’s only done 3813km in the McLaren. You could argue maybe the 4 GP’s is better practice but they haven’t really done a lot of kms yet, so it shouldn’t be surprising that the drivers might not be 100% there yet.

[@Neil3D]

I don't know if you'll end up discussing this, but maybe it's time to start discussing if the problem with the 2nd Red Bull car isn't with the driver... Gasly... Albon... Perez... all able to punch up top in other cars, put them in that 2nd Red Bull car and they can't do it. Maybe it's time to start pointing the finger elsewhere, the problem being you don't have the info or the data for it. But if this was a girlfriend/boyfriend thing and it wasn't working out person after person, at some point you'd start looking at yourself

[@diamondback6653]

Yes. Points for Katy, Out with the rulebook!

[@LtNduati]

God Tier - Almost Always a Banger: Brazil Suzuka Monza Good: Canada Singapore Baku Bahrain Austria Silverstone Turkey* Meh Tracks - Depends on the year & weather, usually strategy dependent: Spain Monaco Melbourne Nurburgring* Imola* Hockenheim China Austin Hungary Spa (sometimes) Literal Dog 💩: France (Paul Ricard) Sochi Abu Dhabi * denotes when held

[@LtNduati]

I didn't rate Portugal because F1 has only raced there twice unlike the other special occasion covid-filler tracks

[@dannyocean9673]

Where’s Mexico ese

[@andrealascala9617]

Spa in Meh tracks? Are you crazy?

[@somerandom2343]

Perez felt dizzy but remember when Mark Webber in Melbourne, was actually physically sick in his helmet and still finished the race on the podium?

[@SKLIFEstyle]

Yea he needs more consistency but the Bulls also the only team which NEEDS such a demand. Perez probably best of the "old driver to new team" guys this season so far. But it's not enough so that's why it's a issue. I am giving him a little more time. Seems a great fit for the team, lot of experience and finishing decent points consistently just need even more.

[@jpcarriedo5983]

All top 5 and its one of the drivers with most overtakes this season....

[@prinsmetbroek]

@@jpcarriedo5983 Isn’t that because he drives a top 4 car?

[@suckieduckie]

@@jpcarriedo5983 He has the 2nd best car on the grid. He should be P4 every race given Max is consistently beating atleast 1 of the 2 Mercedes.

[@jpcarriedo5983]

@@prinsmetbroek yup mostly, but why do you think he is in there, and both albon and gasly where in a top4 car

[@jpcarriedo5983]

@@suckieduckie yeah definitely his performance isn’t where it should be for the rest of the season, but as a start I don’t see it that bad, and he will keep un learning and I really think and hope he’ll be fighting we’re he is supposed to

[@GregAllenF1]

We need to chill with these types of videos. Everyone is releasing “Perez needs to be better” videos today. He will be fine, but the media ramping up the pressure isn’t helping. See Toronto Maple Leafs for toxic media and fan pressure to perform; great way to be sure it never happens.

[@jessereimer302]

As a Bottas fan I get that

[@Jonah-Hosein]

Tbh perez in qualifying so far has been fine, he's been the closest out of everyone recently replaced thats gone up against max, up until spain he was fine specially from imola forward, But this weekend he did report that he wasn't feeling well health wise and also had an issue with his shoulder... So with that in mind i think he did quite well tbf

[@Alexander27463]

Did Lando get asked to let Daniel pass? It looked like it the way the chanced position Honestly the way that went actually is great respect for eachother and knowing when one is faster

[@SorenBoddy]

I think they did ask, cuz I remember on the team radio at the end Lando's engineers said something about "thanks for ... with Daniel" something along those lines

[@ccramit]

He owed Daniel one for Imola anyway. I'm glad there isn't drama between those two. They really seem like team players.

[@purpledahlia1969]

@@ccramit Good to see McLaren carrying on the same philosophy as the last two years when Lando and Carlos also operated the same strategy.

[@ghettosmurfph]

I listened to Lando's radio throughout the race, he asked his engineer if he was racing Dan and he replied no. Likewise on Dan's radio his engineer asked Dan to try and keep Lando close so he can get DRS to defend against Sainz

[@ravinc1568]

I watched the entire race and if I remember correctly, team orders were to let Daniel pass and Lando obliged immediately.

[@splitzkee_]

sending good vibes to Danny Ric

[@fabriziomendelzon8673]

Pérez should improve especially in Qualy, but I think that Albon honestly would be qualyfying like 12th with the closer grid

[@krishanramburn8979]

I think people forget hamilton vs vettel, and when the Ferrari was faster in a lot of the tracks

[@theemaxwilson]

Really like Katy and her contributions to the podcast!

[@zerokool327]

Whoa this came out so fast

[@GARBO96]

So basically what Matt is saying is because Perez couldn't perform at his 100% we should have put somebody in the car who has never driven the car because Perez can't drive at 100%... That's definitely going to have a better outcome Matt Great idea

[@raelized]

Albon is their reserve driver and also their test driver. So yes, there's someone who knows the car enough to drive it.

[@GARBO96]

@@raelized he knows last year's car enough to drive it there's a different aero package and engine

[@Retrogirlgamer]

Yeah they gave gasly i think 10 races, albon year and a half.. Checo 4 races... And they want checo already to perform same level as max 😂

[@Alex_Martin_]

After 3 drivers in a row, at what point does RBR look at themselves and decide catering the car to one driver and their number 2 just needs to figure it out or be fired isn't a good strategy?

[@_qwe_fk_1700]

They don't build a car for 1 person only

[@isabellasneves]

i love tommy's laugh lol

[@lyleclarke619]

24:20 "I'll speak on behalf of myself" was like Murray Walker's "Excuse me while I interrupt myself" haha.

[@zerokool327]

To be fair, all off them are struggling. (Perez, ricciardo, seb, Alonso) however Perez does have the better car out of all of them so in theory he should be a lot closer. I guess it shows how difficult that car is to drive. I think Danny ric deserves a bit more credit for driving that car.

[@raelized]

they should've kept Albon. if the RB16B was as easy to drive as RB15, there's no reason he shouldn't be able to do better

[@Retrogirlgamer]

Well albon and ricciardo came from red bull i believe.. Or at least albon did..

[@Retrogirlgamer]

@@raelized because he had year and al half to prove himself and he couldn't...

[@RushikeshWare]

It is evident now that RB has made the car so tailored suit for Max, that the 2nd driver is pretty much useless.

[@GregAllenF1]

I agree, but it is still too early to count out Checo. It’s been 4 races. We need to relax expectations to a reasonable level. 10 races in, sure; 4 in, come on...

[@RushikeshWare]

@@GregAllenF1 Not doubting Checo's skills at all.

[@TjopStick]

Maybe we have to accept that Verstappen is just an outstanding driver. In his F3 time he was fighting for the championship drove in "equal" cars in a "midfield" team in his first year open wheels. On the Norisring he drove 2.5 sec faster than any other driver on the grid. In his first ever F1 test FP1 in Japan he was only 0.5 sec slower that the other Red Bull. I think he is just like Hamilton far better than everybody thinks.

[@michaelwill3327]

wounderful podcast, very insighful too, am Kenyan just got into F! recently you guys are very helpful,

[@MeRacko]

every win is a new record every pole is a new record for Lewis

[@leonardocardenas8407]

Usually the thumbnails are savage (for a thumbnail), no exceptions this time as well.

[@mariangelapintopazos]

Thanks guys and lady for answering my question again ✌✌✌ Is weird listening my nickname with Matt'voice

[@desertornado]

I know it's a long shot but I love watching your podcast so I watch it on big screen :D the problem is that 1080p is a bit pixelated. Any chance to get 4K podcasts? 😅😁

[@benardo01]

Hamilton has proven time and time again he is the master of these current generation of cars. In Bahrain max struggled to follow lewis for more than a couple laps, but in spain Lewis followed max for like 20 laps within 2 seconds and then went on for another 5 laps after max pitted

[@mwal853]

that's more on the car than the driver

[@TheBrass18]

am dumbfounded how Lewis is the only driver can follow other cars so closely and still check his tyres in good condition. He is truely deserve how those championships, and how difficult it to beat him.

[@benardo01]

@@mwal853 bottas can't do it

[@benardo01]

@@TheBrass18 on these current generation of cars I believe he's unbeatable. Ever since he lost to nico I think he's had a different mindset to winning championships and how to beat anyone out there

[@flowmeful]

Helps if your car is faster ;)

[@crisleo469]

Checo is clearly improving stop hating on the man. He already beat Max on qualy which nobody did since ricciardo was on Red Bull.

[@cathfinney8098]

LOVE these podcasts! I agree with Katy- points should be awarded for top 5 predictions for the race😂

[@fallenshallrise]

DRS still sucks. No matter how much you say that Max pulling over and Ham sweeping around the outside was exciting. Pre-DRS that would have been an amazing multi-corner battle with Hamilton on new tires and Max on old and no guaranteed DRS pass. Max just pulled over to so that he didn't lose a bunch of time VS Bottas fighting when he new the DRS was going to guarantee the pass.

[@AliAdam80]

Justice for Katy, GET HER, HER POINTS!!!!!!!

[@devashishrakshit1]

Wow you guys are early today! Monday made! (I'm just happy I get to see Katy xD)

[@StephenMorganCanada]

Hamilton was an A+. For the first time we could directly compare Hamilton and Verstappen and you could clearly see Hamilton breaks later, and turns in quicker. You could literally see his tire management. Verstappen seemed to have a higher corner exit speed.

[@pr-tj5by]

Stephen Morgan, Totally Agreed!

[@davewarren4807]

The blame cannot be put solely on Perez not being there if Red Bull pit Max the lap after Lewis, even if Max didn’t win, they would have given him a fighting chance, but to leave him out on already aged tyres, just made it so that he was a sitting duck at the end of the race. Yes Perez does need to step up, but so does Red Bull’s strategists and management. If you don’t take risks you don’t get no reward. You do point out the flip side on why staying out was an option but given Lewis was on much newer tyres he was always going to be making up seconds a lap. What would you rather do as a team, give yourself a fighting chance or leave your driver out on already shot tyres?

[@prachuryyabaruah6551]

Perez's strategy mess got totally ignored. RedBull were too busy with Max and they could have easily undercut Ricciardo like Valtteri did with Charles before. Anyway he's already doing better than Gasly or Albon, he'll be there. Sadly you guys act like such hypocrites, last year you were crying give more time to Albon when lad had his entire F2 career making setups for RB and then got a season and half then Perez got there like 4 races and improving each race.

[@raelized]

eh, Perez has a decade of F1 races. He is no rookie like Albon was. and yes, strats with Albon were shit too many times. So nope, Checo not gonna get a free pass.

[@Krovven]

Perez...performing the best of all drivers that changed teams this season...has 6 more points than Albon did after 4 races last year...WTF1 still ragging on the Red Bull 2nd driver position.

[@pr-tj5by]

Krov ven, What....Sainz is doing better than him and Ricciardo just beat Norris lol

[@Krovven]

@@pr-tj5by how do you figure? Points say otherwise.

[@pr-tj5by]

@@Krovven We disagree but Checo is at a disadvantage like the other drivers cos the car is built around Max

[@Krovven]

@@pr-tj5by 3 weeks later Checo has continued to do well and now has won a race and pulled ahead in points. Suck it.

[@pr-tj5by]

@@Krovven No, Checo has done great today and fair play to him

[@joshuagiuliani3619]

I’m liking the battle between Max and Lewis also BUT chalk Lewis up to 8 driver championships - let’s be honest with ourselves here.

[@taulantasllani6703]

People really underestimate how hard it is to switch teams. And this year was probably the most difficult of any bcs of the limited testing. There is also a reason why all the new drivers and all the drivers that switched teams are struggling; Alonso, Ricciardo, Tsunoda, Vettel,... Perez will come good as long as RB support him.

[@TheStevieb1983]

someone that is good at editing, needs to edit Toto on radio to Massi, but play it over Bottas holding up Lewis. hahahah

[@hansthecreator7172]

Also put there clip "BRAINLESS" and "I didn't think this could happen in modern Formula 1"

[@parthkelkar2894]

don't worry Netflix will take care of that

[@jessereimer302]

That is a "Drive to Survive" take