In short
Up to Speed reacts to the Belgian Grand Prix at Spa Francorchamps, focusing on Kimi Antonelli’s sixth straight win and George Russell’s first-lap heartbreak.
Guests
Naomi (host) and DC (David Coulthard), both former F1 drivers/commentators; they discuss penalties, energy-harvesting rules, and pit-lane incidents.
Key claims
the Lewis Hamilton vs Russell contact penalty was harsh on Hamilton because DC argues Russell wasn’t at fault and Hamilton had visibility; stewards showed inconsistent penalty decisions (citing Piastri vs Leclerc as a “why no penalty?” example). Russell’s race was also hurt by alleged Mercedes power-unit/harvesting sensitivity and unclear team messaging.
Notable examples
Hamilton running over a late-arriving mechanic during a pit stop; team received a €30,000 fine with €10,000 suspended. Also covered: Hadjar’s multi-stop strategy and Norris’s comeback, plus Red Bull’s strong weekend and Racing Bulls’ points.
Written by AI. May contain mistakes. Listen to the episode to check what was said.
Chapters
Tap a time to open that second in VORecap of Spa and Kimi's Performance
0:46 to 2:55
Discussion about Kimi Antonelli's win and the overall race experience.
“How was your experience and what did you make of another great win from the young man?”
George Russell's Disappointment
2:56 to 4:44
Analyzing George Russell's struggles during the race and the penalties involved.
“The Ferrari is getting a small advantage from the virtual safety car pit stop.”
Debating the Penalty Decisions
4:45 to 6:39
A detailed discussion on the penalties given during the race and their justification.
“I love that in your interview that you said you're beside two half Belgians.”
George's Technical Issues Explained
6:40 to 10:15
Exploring the potential technical issues affecting George Russell's performance.
“the driver in front is closing down the apex, then it has to be, the proportion of the blame has to lie with the car behind that has clear sight of the car in front.”
Complexity in Modern Formula One
10:16 to 12:52
Discussion about the complexity of current F1 regulations and their impact on drivers.
“But if you listen to other Mercedes power unit drivers like Carlos Sainz, even Colopinto throughout the weekend, they all were saying kind of similar things.”
George's Race and Future Outlook
12:53 to 14:00
Reflection on George Russell's race experience and its emotional toll.
“But right now it's making it quite a complex formula where we're seeing massive offsets and speed depending on things like did you get the harvesting you expected on the first lab?”
Understanding George Russell's Struggles
14:00 to 15:00
Discussion on George Russell's performance challenges and frustrations.
“And you could really tell that they're actually, even though it may have been triggered by his driving, that, yeah, there is clearly an issue that he's not able to to get his head around.”
The Paddock's Support for George
15:00 to 16:10
Exploring the support systems in place for drivers like George Russell.
“I think motor racing in many ways is a reflection of life.”
Analysis of Spa Race Dynamics
16:10 to 17:21
Breakdown of the race dynamics and performance of top drivers at Spa.
“Red Bull took a step back in technology in terms of going away from the Macarena wing or whatever you want to call it, flip-flop wing.”
Stewarding and Penalties in Racing
17:21 to 19:01
Discussion on the consistency of stewarding and application of penalties in racing.
“But everyone's got the same set of regulations that they need to work to.”
Show all 19 chapters
Lewis Hamilton's Pit Lane Incident
19:01 to 20:45
Examining the incident involving Lewis Hamilton and his mechanic during the pit stop.
“And I'm not sure that every crime deserves the same punishment.”
Driver Focus and Pit Stop Procedures
20:45 to 22:48
Insight into driver focus and the procedures during pit stops.
“Obviously, it seems from the outside like there was potentially a miscommunication between the team, the mechanic who was going to make amendments to Lewis's front wing.”
Team Consequences of Pit Lane Errors
22:48 to 24:34
Discussing the ramifications of pit lane errors on team performance and penalties.
“where you've had an accident with a pit stop mechanic?”
Closing Thoughts on Pit Stop Incidents
24:34 to 26:24
Wrapping up the discussion on the pit stop incident and its implications.
“So we thought that potentially there might be a penalty for Lewis.”
Highlighting Impressive Performances
26:24 to 28:01
Highlights of impressive performances from Hadjar and Norris during the race.
“their comeback and resurgence through the race.”
Race Strategy Insights
28:01 to 29:17
Explore strategic decisions and pit stops during the race.
“On Hajar, very smart of them, obviously, during that safety car in that first lap, he didn't only pit once.”
Driver Performance and Team Dynamics
29:18 to 30:50
Discussion on driver performances and their impact on teams.
“But as I said, Hadjar was the one that was actually putting him under pressure because he'd had all his pit stops.”
Red Bull's Strong Showing
30:51 to 32:45
Analysis of Red Bull's performance and driver developments.
“You know, he was requested to give the slipstream.”
Lewis Hamilton's Heartwarming Encounter
32:46 to 34:31
A touching story about Lewis Hamilton meeting a young fan.
“It will potentially lead to a problem, of course, because you've got Solov in Formula 2 doing a brilliant job leading that championship, looking like he absolutely deserves a shot at Formula 1.”
Transcript
Automatic transcript. May contain errors.0:02This is a global production. I know there was quite a bit of debate. Was the penalty justified or not? Why no penalty there? Someone has to be responsible for the contact. I can just see like his childhood dream vanishing before his eyes. And I'm not sure that every crime deserves the same punishment.
0:24Up to speed.
0:29Lewis Hamilton:It's Naomi. Hey, it's David. Welcome to Up to Speed. So we're fresh off the back of Spa Francochamps, the Belgian Grand Prix, and Kimi Antonelli is back to his winning ways, his sixth consecutive career victory. DC, you were there over the weekend, so was I. How was your experience and what did you make of another great win from the young man?
0:51Naomi:Yeah, I had a thoroughly good time in Spa. Nice weather, beautiful Ardennes forest, 400 ,000 spectators had made their way there to see what was some pretty good racing across the board. And certainly it wasn't a runaway victory for Antonelli, he had to work for it. And there'll be some drivers, of course, that come out of it thinking, hmm, that was good. And there'll be some like George Russell who'll be thinking, I am not enjoying this very much at all.
1:15Lewis Hamilton:Yeah, well, we have tons to get through because it looked like Kimi Antonelli was going to be in a league of his own. But actually, the Ferraris were able to mount a serious challenge to them.
1:23DC:And then, as you say, real heartbreak disappointment for George. And then penalties that we've got to discuss across the board that, you know, kind of will get each other's opinions on what we thought on those penalties.
1:34Lewis Hamilton:But first and foremost, fantastic. And again, for Kimi, I mean, obviously, he's had a couple of misfortune, like misfortunes over the last couple of races, some technical problems, stealing the glory away from him. But I think I've been just so impressed at how he is really proving to be an all-rounder racing driver. I mean, he is delivering week in and week out. And the gap that he had to his teammate and to the others from FP2 onwards was just brilliant, wasn't it?
2:02Naomi:Yeah, look, I think we can both remember the days when we were in a zone. And no matter what we did, the lap time was there. and we can both remember days where no matter what you're trying to do on track, you just, you know, you lock a wheel or you run wide and it's just not happening. So if we put ourselves in the mindset of when we were, you know, delivering at the highest level, that's what he's doing week in, week out. He's just driving instinctively, driving naturally. He's got all of that youthful excitement that he, again, we've mentioned this before, He doesn't know what he doesn't know because he hasn't really had to deal with much adversity.
2:42Naomi:You could say that a couple of bad races might have given him some frustration, but he was still leading the World Championship. And then into the weekend, again, an incredibly strong performance, even when he was slightly on the back foot. The Ferrari is getting a small advantage from the virtual safety car pit stop. But right now, yeah, he's flawless, defying his 19 years of age. But then I was reflecting last night when I was watching the World Cup final, you know, Jamal, 19 years old as well. So it's a reminder. And I've said this before. If you're good enough in sport, you're old enough. And if you're good enough, you're not too old.
3:21And so either end of the spectrum, you've got Kimi and you've got Fernando, who was sort of playing around after the chequered flag, wasn't he? Sort of drifting and weaving around as if he was like, I haven't used these tyres enough by going quickly. So I'm going to leave leave black marks on the tarmac as I head in. But yeah, you've got to see, like if you put yourself in the cockpit, when you're just connected with your car, it's very difficult to make a mistake.
3:49DC:No, yeah, that's that's completely true. He's obviously in the groove.
3:52Lewis Hamilton:He's understanding that car very well. And the two of them are meshing together. But at the same time, I think back 12 months ago when we were at Spa, he looked like a man that was lost. I say a man, a young man that was lost. Completely different picture. I mean, we remember him in the media pen on the verge of tears, potentially even with tears in his eyes. And just 12 months on, here he is leading the championship. He's just extended his lead to 50 points from his teammate George Russell. Obviously, we've now got Lewis in second place, 45 points behind him. And you just wonder, like, how has he made this transformation to the driver that he is?
4:27DC:Not just from a speed perspective, because we always knew that he had that raw speed, but just the fact that he's able to deliver week in and week out, like really very consistent performances. So great for him.
4:37Lewis Hamilton:It was his dad's birthday over the weekend. So a nice little gift from him. And he stole the glory from the honorary Belgians, let's say. I noticed. I love that in your interview that you said you're beside two half Belgians. Should have said three really, shouldn't I?
4:53DC:Yeah, but with yourself. I didn't want to make it about myself. Well, there you go. You're too modest. But yeah, I thought that was a nice little moment and shout out an acknowledgement actually from both Max and Lando that, yeah, they have Belgian mothers and have got that in their blood, as does my son Dayton, who was born in Brussels to a Belgian
5:13Naomi:mother. But yeah, Kimi is just, I think what we saw last year was the learning year where he had that pole in Miami, a bit of a lean middle of the year, but then came back stronger. But I think that what we have to acknowledge the championship this year with this set of regulations some drivers are more comfortable than others with the way you have to drive these cars um lewis coming back to form has to be linked to the different driving style that's required in this sort of energy starved formula one that we have today um if we look at you know comparisons with you know hadger to max i wouldn't take anything away from isak in terms of his driving ability but he does seem to have, in general, been a little bit closer than maybe some others have.
6:03So this big regulation change has been to the benefit of Kimi and has brought him on. And it's obviously been massively frustrating for George. So maybe we should start with the frustrations of that first lap for George. We know that he has declared that he arrived at the top of Eau Rouge, hadn't harvested the energy expected into term one, and that left him very vulnerable on the run up to the end of the top straight. Coming together with Lewis, I know there was quite a bit of debate, was the penalty justified or not? The reality is someone has to be responsible for the contact. And unless the driver in front is closing down the apex, then it has to be, the proportion of the blame has to lie with the car behind that has clear sight of the car in front.
6:51So I definitely don't think George is to blame for that. I have to say that Lewis, it was a racing incident stroke. He had visibility of George. And Lewis has had an amazing career of not running into people on the first laps. I know somebody posted some pictures of lots of incidents that he's had at that particular set of corners, but it was more sort of clumsy than anything else. And then we get into the whole conversation is five seconds correct. Well, George is out as a result of that contact. So how do we work out what is the right penalty for causing a collision? Now, the stewards obviously felt Lewis was the main person that caused that collision.
7:35Therefore, they've applied a penalty. Five seconds has affected his race. But again, George was very clear that for him it was a racing incident. And as I say, I think these things can happen at the beginning of the race. But I do think there's a wider discussion that can be had about the rights and wrongs of penalties. So are all the penalties fit for what the consequence was for the other person? So what's your view on that? And were you ever at the end, the receiving end of somebody spinning you out and then they didn't get a penalty? Or did you spin anyone out, Naomi, and not get a penalty?
8:13DC:Yeah, probably a lot of memories like that that I've chosen to keep out of my mind and forgotten about happily. But no, of course, so often you either feel hard done by whether it's that the other person doesn't get a penalty or you you're in a moment like that, like Lewis, where there's no ill will, ill intention. and actually you're trying everything you can in that moment to avoid the person next to you. But there's other sets of circumstances around you that make it very difficult for you to avoid them. So then it also feels harsh when you receive a penalty. I don't know what I thought about that particular one.
8:46Lewis Hamilton:I mean, I think George himself said he thought it was a racing incident.
8:50DC:I think, obviously, as you say, the consequence of the impact is often taken into consideration. And so given that put George out of the race, I think that that weighed heavily in the decision. but when I look at the contact between Piastri and Leclerc, then I wonder, oh, okay, why no penalty there? And yes, of course he continued on and the consequence wasn't as bad as it was for George, but you still think, oh, did he leave him enough room on the outside there? Not sure. So I don't know. Sometimes I feel like there's a slight lack of consistency in some of these decisions, but yeah, I felt it was harsh on Lewis and lenient on Charles, if I put it that way.
9:29DC:But just to bring it back to George, I have to say throughout the weekend, I was really trying to do some digging to understand what was really going on there. Because George was obviously saying there's a problem with his engine or his power unit, I should say. And the team were very clearly saying, well, it's very much dependent on what the driver's doing throughout the corner, how they're harvesting. And that has a direct impact on the deployment and on the top speed at the end of the straight. But throughout the weekend, that messaging felt like it was going back and forth and back and forth.
10:02DC:And I was like, so which one is it, right? Because Kimmy's obviously driving with the same power unit and not having these problems. George is pretty clearly saying my power unit has an issue that Kimmy's power unit doesn't have. and then I think when I came to the conclusion of it all it sounds like there's some sort of sensitivity to this Mercedes power unit that means that if you don't do the procedure throughout the corner for harvesting absolutely correctly then that has quite a detrimental impact but they haven't figured it out it sounds like they haven't really figured it out they can't put their finger on it and that's why Mercedes are maybe hesitant to say there is a problem on George's side of the garage versus saying, well, maybe there's something he can do in his driving to change it.
10:46DC:But if you listen to other Mercedes power unit drivers like Carlos Sainz, even Colopinto throughout the weekend, they all were saying kind of similar things. And so, yeah, I just wish we could get to the bottom of it. But there's so many small details and minutiae in the way that these drivers have to now drive these cars that isn't like what we've seen in the past. So it's very difficult to decipher from the outside isn't it dc yeah i think that there's no question some drivers are just more comfortable with the concept of how you lift and coast through corners that historically you would be hard on the throttle then hard on the brake and then trying to get back to full power as quickly as you could than than others and i think that once you start overthinking the process it doesn't flow and it's not as natural and you're always going to lose a tiny little bit of time versus the driver that's just absolutely at one um yeah it's i think what we have definitely we've entered as an era of formula one where the software the harvesting the deployment is so complex and we know from mclaren who are a customer team to mercedes who very quickly at the beginning of the year were basically calling out for mercedes for not giving them the the information as quickly as possible which you would understand if you're mercedes why would you give information that you don't need to until the very last moment to a competitor especially one that beat you in the world championship the year before i think there's an element of that as well for teams like williams and i'm sure alpine where they're trying to run simulations ahead of the grand prix but if they don't have the latest or the last operation software, then they're using what they previously had and they're trying to figure it out themselves.
12:32So I think there is an element of frustration
12:34Naomi:there. And I spoke to a senior team principal at the weekend, whose name I will keep to myself, who basically said, look, we're in an era where we had to go too far as Formula One to understand we've crossed the limit of complexity and we've got it wrong, effectively. We are where we are. It will do wonderful things for storing energy, harvesting energy, all of that sort of good stuff, which will find its way into the automotive industry in the future. But right now it's making it quite a complex formula where we're seeing massive offsets and speed depending on things like did you get the harvesting you expected on the first lab?
13:12Because of a software glitch, it just hasn't quite happened. So massively complex set of scenarios, which touch wood, we haven't seen any really bad incidents come out of it, but possibly we could have. But we're going to some circuits now which are going to be easier for the drivers to harvest energy. So it should be less of an issue.
13:35DC:Yeah, I was just about to say, obviously, all these sort of issues and challenges are always going to be exacerbated around Spa because it is a circuit that's energy starved because of its high speed nature. But yeah, just if I can go back for a second to that out lap, not that out lap, sorry, the first lap for George. Just you could see he got a pretty good start. And then coming out of La Source, it was like there was no acceleration. And all of a sudden he was, you know, swarmed by all the cars around him. And you could really tell that they're actually, even though it may have been triggered by his driving, that, yeah, there is clearly an issue that he's not able to to get his head around.
14:08DC:Or there's actually a more fundamental underlying problem there. So got to be so frustrating, though, no? I mean, I know we've said whatever tools you're given as a driver, you've got to get on top of them and be quick when like the opportunity presents itself. But you've still got to feel for George, right? I don't know how you feel about it, DC. But if he's thinking that his teammates got an engine that's not got an issue and his has got an issue, you know, he's obviously put in a lot of hard work at that team. He's probably been a fundamental element for the team in terms of getting the car to where it's at this year to be competitive.
14:42DC:and then he's come into the season and it's just really not going his way. So, yeah, I mean, I do understand, as I said, that you've got to just do the job. But at the same time, I could just see, like, his childhood dream vanishing before his eyes. And from a human side, I feel for him.
14:58Naomi:Yeah, 100%. I feel for George. I think he is a quality human being. I think motor racing in many ways is a reflection of life. Life isn't fair. and in motor racing, drivers don't always get the opportunity. There's been some great drivers never make it to Formula One and there's been some great drivers get to Formula One and never get a car that gives them an opportunity to shine. So there you go. That's the journey that these guys have to deal with. But what George absolutely has is the support of the paddock. I'm sure he has the support of Mercedes as they try and work through understanding how to support him.
15:37It's in their interest to have their drivers finishing one, two. It does not help them to have, you know, young Kimi winning Grands Prix and George saying there's an issue with my car. You know, that just sends out a message of unreliability, which, you know, if you're a Mercedes-Benz, you want to be, you know, you're German engineering, although the engines are built in Britain. But you know what I mean? It's all about that performance and reliability that the drivers can use to the best of their talents. So George is just going to have to dig deep and bounce back. And I believe that he can do that.
16:15Other drivers that are showing that that is possible is Max Verstappen, a podium result off the back of a big frustration in Silverstone, where he was very vocal about, you know, just unacceptable to have the reattachments issues. Red Bull took a step back in technology in terms of going away from the Macarena wing or whatever you want to call it, flip-flop wing.
16:38Lewis Hamilton:Which ultimately didn't seem like much of a step back this weekend. No, not at all. Both him and Hadjah performed, I think, very well during the Grand Prix. And that's the thing I'm taking away from Spa, actually,
16:50Naomi:although Kimi's won it again. And yes, as we mentioned, there was a benefit for Ferrari with the virtual safety car pit stop. But it was actually relatively close. the distance between the winner and then Charles in second and Max in third and then the comeback brace for both Lando and Hadjer shows that the overtaking and pure performance was there. Again, it highlights the sort of golf and performance between the top teams and the middle, let's say, to back teams. But everyone's got the same set of regulations that they need to work to.
17:27Lewis Hamilton:Yeah, 100%. And as you say, it's taken some time for some of the drivers to get up to speed with it. One of the drivers who obviously seemed to have an aha moment in Silverstone was Leclerc. And yet again, even though throughout all the sessions, Hamilton was quicker, obviously, until he had his big incident in FP3.
17:45DC:It seems like that may have changed the balance of the car qualifying and onwards.
17:49Lewis Hamilton:But Charles, yet again, shows up on race day, which is not typically his thing, right? He's typically quick in quali and then, you know, dips back a little bit in race day. But Silverstone, he did the same thing. And here we are again. He was out clear in the front. Of course, as we mentioned, he had a little benefit to the VSC. I think that accounts for up to 10 seconds you gain by pitting under the VSC. So, yes, of course, he got that advantage. But once he was out in front on pretty much equal rubber to Kimi, he wasn't reeling him in very easily. And then once he did get past, Charles kept him honest.
18:22Lewis Hamilton:I mean, he kept the pressure going, didn't he? Yeah.
Read the full transcript
18:24Naomi:Very strong performance. To see Charles' handsome face being interviewed in the top three is always a pleasure. I think the top three all seemed pretty satisfied with their day, which is a reflection of the performances they have from their cars and the development their teams have been able to bring. Mercedes started very strong in Melbourne, and it was like, OK, are we in for another dominant year from them? But Ferrari, Red Bull, McLaren have all managed to unlock performance and there will be ebb and flow in their performances as we move forward. So I think there's definitely positives to take out of the weekend.
19:04Naomi:The negatives we've touched on is the consistency of, I don't want to say stewarding because that would suggest the individuals, but just as they're working to what's happened previously, they kind of just look up the book and say, this is what happened last time, that's what we'll do this time. And I'm not sure that every crime deserves the same punishment. I think there should be a little bit more work that can be done on that. And maybe, maybe it's even bringing in, here's something that just come to me that would never work, but would be interesting, would be every Grand Prix, one team principal has a vote in whether a penalty is applied with the exception, okay, maybe you need two team principals, or maybe you need three, because I'm trying to think where you couldn't have them having to vote on their driver or their car.
19:57Or their competitors.
19:58Naomi:Yeah, where it kind of averages out over the course of the year that there has to be an honesty to how certain penalties are applied.
20:12DC:Maybe a member of the GPDA, which is the Grand Prix Drivers Association. I mean, I think maybe that would make sense. Slightly biased, but could be an option.
20:20Naomi:Yeah, well, there was a driver, I think it was Pedro Lamy at the weekend, who was there. The problem with the only members of the GPD that aren't actually on track would be someone like Alex, Alexander Works. All the rest are pretty much out on track. So I guess that brings us to the other incident during the Grand Prix, which was a little bit unusual, was Lewis Hamilton. Partially ran over one of his mechanics.
20:44Lewis Hamilton:Yeah, what happened there? Obviously, it seems from the outside like there was potentially a miscommunication between the team, the mechanic who was going to make amendments to Lewis's front wing. But ultimately, the driver gets a green light in the cockpit and they just go, right? That's all they focus on when they're in the cockpit. So DC, talk to me about when you're in that car. I mean, I know it's a claustrophobic environment. You have very little peripheral visibility. What do you see? What can you see? What can you avoid? And what are you focused on? Well, certainly from my point of view, I would focus coming into the pit stop.
21:18So someone like Spa, you're coming in with the team and the garage on the right hand side. So the front right mechanic would hold his hand above the centre of the wheel and I would aim for stopping underneath his hand. So that hand dictated because I can't see the white lines that define where the box is. So I would stop under that. As soon as I've stopped, I then am looking at the lollipop or the light as it is nowadays in front of me. I'm not looking at any of the mechanics. I'm not looking at anything else because the only piece of information I need next is when can I leave my box? And when that light goes green or that lollipop's lifted, that's when you go.
21:57So that's exactly what's happened for Lewis. and the mechanic has come in late to do the front wing adjustment that we know affected Lewis in the latter stages of the Grand Prix. Now, whether that was because the mechanic was given the information late
22:10Naomi:or whether he was given it at the right time but was simply just not able to get onto that front wing and make the adjustment until quite late. So Lewis wouldn't have realised that he was going to run over his mechanic until he feels it because drivers are hypersensitive to anything they feel through the seat of their pants or the steering. He will then brake immediately, realize the mechanic, then see the mechanic's out of the way, and he'll continue on his way and then ask the question, is he okay? So just a set of human errors that led to the mistake.
22:43DC:You've got to probably feel so guilty if that happens. I've been lucky enough that that's never happened to me. DC, did you ever have any moments like that where you've had an accident with a pit stop mechanic? Yeah, I've come into a wet pit box and gone long. I can already imagine what's gone there. Yeah, and then you hit the front jackman. And unbelievably, he just held on to the jack. It kind of had a long piece of metal that went underneath his stomach. He rode it out, bounced back, reselected the front of the car, and then lifted the car. And of course, all the mechanics then have to move, which made it a slower stop than would be the case.
23:21Naomi:other than that i don't remember ever really running anyone down but we've had cars spinning the pit lane uh cars hit each other in the pit lane it is a it is a sort of volatile environment but it's part of what makes formula one stand out because the human performance in this digital world the most analog of moments is the pit stop and then you have what 20 people descending on the car changing the wheels in just over two seconds whenever you show that video around the world at a conference or you talk about it to people it just blows their mind what what human endeavor can achieve if you really put everyone and you're focused on delivering that sort of human performance
24:02DC:you've got to say to your front jack man i mean commitment to the job to not let go although it's probably better for him not to let go but you do honestly with those front jacks you do i mean And obviously now they kind of go to the side of the car. But in the past, yeah, you're right. Like they are just hanging on to that thing no matter what. But yeah, I mean, look, unfortunate for Lewis what happened there, unfortunate for the team and certainly unfortunate for the mechanic who probably is feeling quite sore today. But that incident was obviously under investigation for an unsafe release.
24:31Lewis Hamilton:It was always going to be investigated after the race. So we thought that potentially there might be a penalty for Lewis. But in the end, it was a€30 ,000 fine for the team.
24:41DC:And€10 ,000 of that has been suspended for 12 months. So no impact on Lewis' result. He remains fourth. But of course, he was carrying front wing damage from that opening lap that they hoped, you know, they could somewhat amend during the pit stop. And they weren't able to do that. So he carried that sort of front wing issue. And he was saying he was struggling to turn in and stuff like that. So not the most fun race for Lewis from that perspective. No, tough weekend for him. Actually, one thing that I didn't clarify there, Naomi, which may be for any of our new listeners, there is a procedure that as the wheel nut comes off and the wheel nut goes back on, when the wheel nut is torqued on all four wheels correctly, then the chief mechanic or whatever official title the person's given will see four green lights, four confirmations that the wheels are torqued correctly.
25:32that individual then has a line of sight in the pit lane to make sure there's no car coming in the pit lane and they have marker boards that give them an indication as an average speed of 80 kilometers an hour if the car is not at that marker board they could release their own car into the pit lane and he also of course or she depending on on the team has the opportunity to look and make sure that all the mechanics are clear so that person has clearly not seen the mechanic come in to make the front wing adjustment late, released the button that enables the green light to be enabled, which enables Lewis to go back into the race.
26:11So it's a sequence of events which ultimately come down to human error, which, hey, ho, we are human and we all make mistakes.
26:18DC:So to round that up, a couple of people feeling guilty today and a couple of people are feeling sore. Now stick around because in a little bit, we're going to talk about Hajar and Norris and
26:28Lewis Hamilton:their comeback and resurgence through the race. If you're not following us on social media yet, it's at UpToSpeedShow. And if you're not subscribed to us on YouTube, please go ahead and hit that red button now.
26:43Naomi:All right, so let's get into the other impressive performances that came out of the Grand Prix. Hadjar, who had enough penalties to put him in Liège, but there's only 22 cars on the grid. He started on the back row and Lando Norris had that 10-place grid penalty for power unit changes. I still think we should have a bit of a review of all of those penalties. I think it's gone back, it's going to a bygone era where they were trying to encourage teams to be reliable, where quite clearly it's in everyone's interest to be reliable. But that said, we're not going to change it on this podcast, but it did give the opportunity for Hadjer went with the early stop to hard.
27:25and drove brilliantly thereafter and used the pace of his car to come and finish sixth. Landa Norris could arguably have stopped under the virtual safety car, didn't, but nonetheless managed to pick up seventh place.
27:39Naomi:So two strong races from those guys. And Naomi, I think you'll agree, when you're having a bit of a comeback race and your car's working, it's pretty straightforward to overtake people, but it still feels fun, doesn't it?
27:51DC:Yeah, I mean, I think I've always had the most fun in those comeback races because you just end up overtaking more cars, more wheel to wheel racing. And you're right, like it just is so much more fun, especially on a circuit like Spa. I mean, that's a circuit that allows you to overtake, which is the reason that a lot of teams plan to have their sort of penalties taken there or, you know, make their engine changes there because, you know, they know that they have an opportunity to make that place or make those places back.
28:17Lewis Hamilton:On Hajar, very smart of them, obviously, during that safety car in that first lap, he didn't only pit once. he pitted twice so he went on the medium came back in and went back on the hard so actually in the race he had three pit stops because later during the vsc he pitted yet again
28:32DC:so when i was looking at the timing board i was going how is he that far up and he's had three
28:38Lewis Hamilton:pit stops but they timed it to perfection and actually they were the ones who put norris under pressure because as you say norris started on a different strategy he started on the hards
28:48DC:was planning to go along and that VSC probably came a little too early for when they had you know imagined they would first have their first pit stop because ultimately they were going to end on the medium and maybe it was too early for them to pit on the medium. Having said that though Ferrari were reporting that degradation was lower than they had anticipated
29:08Lewis Hamilton:and I think maybe upon review they might think that they should have pitted under the VSC because as I mentioned, you gain 10 seconds by doing that. I'm not sure that he made up those 10 seconds on
29:19DC:track. But as I said, Hadjar was the one that was actually putting him under pressure because he'd had all his pit stops. He was going to ultimately be on a fresher set of hards to go to the end. And I think that they were trying to clear him off. So great season so far as Max's teammate. I think he's doing a fantastic job. And what a wonderful teammate to have also, because who else are you going to learn more for than from then Max Verstappen to be able to compare direct data, the way that Max operates with the team. I mean, I think most drivers would love to be, you know, in that position to be able to pick up a trick or two.
29:53DC:But even from Norris's
29:54Lewis Hamilton:perspective, throughout the weekend, I was very impressed with their pace. He was pretty much always best of the rest. He was mostly P2 in most of the sessions and quite close to Antonelli. So looks like things are on the up for Mercedes. They had that updated Mercedes power unit in Spa. So maybe this is the beginning of more pressure from McLaren to Mercedes this season. Yeah, I think just also a shout out to Hadjah on the amazing slipstream that he gave Max in qualifying. And it makes complete sense that you're going to the back of the grid. So that would have been a very straightforward conversation.
30:31We've seen it in Spa in the past. We sometimes see it in Monza, which Monza will be a very energy-limited race by the time we get there as well. So expect to see drivers and teammates trying to tow each other around. So it really, really, I love the line. I think it was Hadjar that said that he was like Deliveroo. You know, he was requested to give the slipstream. And it looked like it was all coming to be a bit too close at Blanchiment. But in the end, it worked absolutely perfectly.
31:02Naomi:And it's amazing when you get a slipstream from a long distance off, it just gives you a couple of tens. So Max was very appreciative of that. And it was a strong weekend for Red Bull, I would say, overall. Which when you, just a reminder, how quickly things change in Formula One. It's Silverstone, the media were all over the fact that Max was throwing his steering wheel and a lot of speculation as to what his future would be. A lot of rumours about McLaren and all these other things that we've discussed in previous podcasts. But in the end, it was a pretty solid weekend from Red Bull. Certainly great strategic plays in quality and in the race.
31:40And generally, they'll come away from that feeling pretty positive ahead of going into Budapest.
31:44DC:I've got to say Isaac Hadjar is hilarious I mean he gives us a lot of meme worthy content and you're right he was asked in the media pen you know how do you come to an agreement on where you're gonna you know give your teammate a toe or who's gonna give the toe and when and whatever and he just said well he just asked me to deliver it then I deliver it and basically I'm just like delivery that was the line i mean what a funny guy another special mention from this weekend
32:14Lewis Hamilton:has to go to the racing bulls obviously it was only um arvid linblad in the end who was having his fifth consecutive points finish but i mean just as a whole racing bulls are are the ones to contend with between them and alpine it's been so tight but it feels like
32:28DC:they're now starting to have a little bit of an edge over over the alpines yeah very strong
32:32Naomi:performance uh good battling wheel to wheel between the two teammates and maybe got a bit tense between them at a certain moment. But their job within RB is to shine, to shine bright, because RB, I think, are doing a great job, certainly exactly the sort of job that would be expected of them by the parent company, and that they are independently fast, and they're developing their young drivers to put them in that sort of spotlight of we could be in the main team in the future. It will potentially lead to a problem, of course, because you've got Solov in Formula 2 doing a brilliant job leading that championship, looking like he absolutely deserves a shot at Formula 1.
33:20And I've got a soft spot for just his approach to racing. He's just so raw and having a go and all of the things you like to see in a young racer. So there might be incoming issue for RB or certainly for Red Bull as a whole. And how do you get five drivers into four seats? But it's a good problem to have.
33:43DC:Yeah, it felt like there was almost like a bit of a patch there for a while where the Red Bull junior program wasn't really bringing much in. Or, you know, at least we saw the troubles that teammates in the cockpit next door to Max were having. It was like they had to keep pumping people in there. And we thought, what's going to happen? They're going to run out of drivers. But all of a sudden, Isaac's delivering, Arvid's delivering. Even Liam has really had a massive turnaround this season and he feels like a new man. So yeah, they have an oversupply of good drivers at the moment. So that's a good place to be in.
34:19Lewis Hamilton:Well, regardless of the results in Spa, I think two Spaniards will be very happy this morning after that World Cup final. Sadly, Colopinto, I think, won't be feeling quite as happy, but he'll be looking forward to this race weekend, I'm sure of that. Now, don't go anywhere because in a moment, I would like to tell you a little nice story about Lewis.
34:42Naomi:Right, you've teased me on this cute story about Lewis Hamilton. I don't often think of Lewis as being cute, but I believe that he got to meet face-to-face with young Rafi, your son.
34:56DC:He did, he did. So actually, I'll just caveat this with DC, do not fear. you are the first racing driver my son ever met so you do hold that honor but well it doesn't matter I mean once a racing driver always a racing driver I think um but yes about a year ago in Silverstone I mean there was obviously this picture that went slightly viral people had lots of opinions about it um of Lewis touching my belly he wanted
35:21Lewis Hamilton:to know if the baby was moving um and so I thought it'd be kind of cute a year later seeing as my son was at the race for the pair of them to meet and I had promised my son that when he comes to the racetrack he will see a goat and so he did see a goat he did see a goat and they have had a lovely
35:40DC:little interaction and yeah it was a very special moment obviously with you know my history in motorsports and how I looked up to Lewis it was just a special kind of full circle moment so yeah Yeah, really lovely. Yeah, and someone like Lewis, as all the drivers, they'll never pass by a small child or even a baby. And of course, you've got your relationship with Lewis anyway. But that's the thing I always love, you know,
36:04Naomi:when they're busy and they're moving through the paddock. Lots of people are wanting pictures and autographs, but they have to keep moving mostly. But if you see any kids, they normally take time out, don't they?
36:15Lewis Hamilton:They do. And everyone's been comparing it to a messy La Minha Mal sort of moment,
36:21DC:which I don't know if you're familiar with the picture DC but there's a picture of Messi bathing La Minya Mal which anyway lots of question marks there but they say that he passed on his greatness to some extent and as much as I'd love to believe that I would also be very happy for my son to not raise so let's wait to see let's wait to see I know there were pictures also there was a very cute picture of Lewis and Kimmy when they had their first podium together they showed a picture of Kimmy when he was very little with Lewis. And so in the back of my head, I thought, actually, there's also a picture of Kimmy holding Raffi, which is also sweet.
36:55DC:One day, maybe Kimmy and Raffi will be on the podium together and we'll show this picture. But anyway, I promised myself I don't want him to raise. And all of a sudden, these thoughts just kept coming up. From an age point of view, that can happen because there's, what, 18 years difference in their age. And the difference between Lewis and Kimmy is 20 odd years. So it's possible. let's watch the space hopefully i'm still around um now anyway that's all we have time for we will
37:25Lewis Hamilton:have another episode of course coming out on thursday ahead of the grand prix in budapest so make sure you tune in for that if you want to send us an email it's uptospeedatglobal.com and if you want to follow us on social media it's at up to speed show of course as i mentioned new episodes mondays and thursdays so please make sure to subscribe and leave a review We will see you very soon.
From the publisher
DC and Naomi react to a dramatic Belgian Grand Prix with George Russell crashing out first lap, controversial penalty decisions for Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc, and Kimi Antonelli winning for the sixth time this season.
Was it unfair to give Hamilton a penalty for crashing into Russell? How did Leclerc get away with that move on Oscar Piastri? Does Russell need to accept some blame for his car issues? And how did Kimi bounce back from three races without a win?
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