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Hello everybody and welcome back to the Beyond Podcast
with Matt and Tommy.
Azerbaijan has arrived.
I have arrived in my Ferrari top.
Tommy, you have arrived in your Red Bull Leads.
Is that a Leads team thing?
No, it's just Red Bull.
I was getting confused with your football jerseys
and your actual Red Bull stuff, but here we are.
It's practice, it's done and dusted.
And we've got a few things.
It was actually quite a chaotic Friday practice.
Yeah, there's a lot of incidents,
lots of going down run-off areas and things,
bit of track damage and all sorts
and some more papaya incidents,
but not actually that controversial.
But still, not a good day for McLaren, which is unusual.
Not controversial, but meme-worthy, that is for sure.
Right, let's get straight into free practice one,
where the top three were Norris Piatri and Leclerc.
So the big talking point, at least for 25 or so minutes
during free practice one, was that there was a damaged curb,
which caused a pretty long delay,
shock, Baku having problems with their circuit,
not the first nor last time, we will probably ever see that.
But it was a weird one, wasn't it?
Because you had a few cars, I think signs was the last one
that we saw go over it.
And it was this kind of rubbery strip thing
that a marshal tried to pull out of the ground
and really, really, really, really, really, really, really,
and realized that that probably isn't the bodge job
that we need to be doing in Formula One
if a curb is literally coming out from its seams.
Yeah, exactly.
This is why, as well, that I clarified
when we were talking about my red flag prediction,
I even clarified, I was like, it has to be caused by a crash
because Baku love like a,
Baku, they love like a truck crashing into a bridge
or like the advertising barrier falling down
or something like that.
And this is exactly what caused the delay,
but it actually worked quite well in Oscar Piastri's favor
because otherwise, he'd have lost quite a lot of track time.
Yes, so he had a pretty big issue, actually,
Ted Kravitz was saying in the pit lane,
he's done and dusted, he's not gonna get any track time.
Thankfully for Oscar's sake, he was able to get out
pretty much at the time when they all got back out again.
Yeah, so Oscar really didn't lose much time,
which was good for him.
But yeah, just a lot of mistakes out there,
a lot of brushings of the wall.
We spoke about your red flag prediction.
I can't believe we have not locked in zero points for you
after these two practice sessions that we've seen
because there were so many glances of the wall.
There was even one where one of the McLean's
will get into it, was crabbing.
So you are lucky, sir, but I don't think it's over.
I really don't, we've still got Saturday and Sunday.
Yeah, definitely.
Yeah, it shows that this is a circuit that punishes.
We've seen that in the past and there's a reason
why it was a crazy prediction in the first place
is because we do see a lot of people making mistakes here.
It's very rare that we see the Baku,
even the practice sessions without incident
because there's nowhere to go that once you go off,
you're either going into the wall
or bailing into the runoff,
which we saw a lot of people make
that kind of judgment where they decide
right at the last minute,
and actually if I take this corner,
I'm going to go into the wall,
so I'll just bail down the runoff
for quite a few drivers did that, didn't it?
Your goat did as well, that's at one point, didn't it?
Indeed, yeah.
Probably worth mentioning as well
before we get into more practice shenanigans
that the C6 tie is here, Pirelli have brought,
the softest of soft tires for this weekend,
which combined with I think the track
just generally being grippier as well,
we're seeing a lot faster lap times
than what we saw if you compare it to last year
at this point in the weekend.
I think it's three seconds quicker than what we had seen.
So there's going to be a lot of chats in there
about this new soft tire once again around a circuit
that I don't think it's the highest of degradation
of tracks, but with that step softer,
I'm hoping that there will be maybe slightly
more variation in the strategy,
perhaps a two stop, ooh, maybe.
But then again, we've got rain in the air as well
potentially for tomorrow.
It looks like there's more chance on Saturday than Sunday
that we could get a little bit of a sprinkling
for qualifying, but yeah, it's interesting to see
just how much faster they're going at the moment.
Let's head to free practice two.
Ferrari one two.
What is, what?
Okay, I'll take it all back with me.
You're like rain off Saturday and Sunday now.
Take the FP2 result.
Absolutely, I think I saw about 30% chance of rain.
Red flag conditions now, that's what we need.
Free practice two to be the result,
but it's Hamilton, Leclerc and Russell, the top three.
A very crazy session, it has to be said.
You had Lando Norris going in the wall first and foremost,
probably the biggest point of conversation here
is that yep, just lost the back end slightly,
slapped the wall with his left rear and that was it.
So sort of suspension has collapsed slightly
and he's crabbing along the,
well, crabbing across literally the entire rest of the lap.
So not the best for Lando, he said after practice
that it would have been nice to get
some high fuel running in.
And of course, you need that data, need that knowledge,
not the end of the world for him,
but if you compare say, most drivers getting
in the low 20 laps completed and Lando only did seven.
Well yeah, what a change of fortune
five minutes into FP1, we were discussing,
oh, this is bad for Piastri,
he's not gonna have much running compared to his teammate.
And actually, he's ended up with more,
fair bit more than Lando in the end,
because of course Lando only managing seven laps,
Oscar managing 22 in that session.
And of course, Oscar getting the kind of good fortune
for him in terms of being able
to not miss too much time in FP1.
So yeah, it's not our deal for Lando,
I'd be amazed if they are 10th and 12th,
I'll be amazed if they're even 3rd and 4th, 4th or 5th.
But it gives the others a chance
and it certainly keeps people guessing into qualifying,
which is what we wanna see more of, isn't it?
Yeah, I think collectively,
just McLaren in general lacking obviously
a little bit of data, Piastri was slightly
on the back foot as we mentioned in FP1,
and he missed out on maybe three or four laps
compared to the rest of the competition.
And then Lando missing, let's say 15 or so laps
compared to again the drivers around him.
That's just data generally that McLaren will be missing
compared to the other teams.
I will say that when we look at that order,
you've got Hamilton, Leclerc, Russell, Antonelli, and Bearman,
I would love to get just completely into delusional land
that Ferrari are gonna challenge for pole
and win on Sunday.
But I really don't think this is at all representative
of what we're gonna see tomorrow and Sunday.
Russell had to bail out of a lap.
You've obviously got Norris who had,
he made that mistake, don't get me wrong,
but he was looking lightning quick up until that point,
at least in FP1, he was looking very good.
And then Oscar, can you really think
that he's a second off what Hamilton's put down?
So I genuinely, I'd love to get flag around me.
I'm trying desperately to-
You put the brochure on, but not the flag yet.
Yeah, I'm actually switching my brain on for once,
rather than just getting carried away.
Then the flag will be on, if they top FP3 as well.
Oh yeah, if we top FP3, then it's game over.
That's pole secured.
But it just, it's hard to believe just yet.
And mainly as well, because I know
that I've predicted Charle-Claire to be big flop.
So I know something's gonna go wrong at some point.
So that's, again, another reason
to just hold fire ever so slightly.
Question, Dr382.
Did McLaren tell Oscar to hit the wall in free practice too?
No, they didn't. Obviously a nod to the meme.
Yes, of course.
Obviously not, but of course, everyone was gonna jump on that.
As soon as that happened, the timing was hilarious,
has to be said.
The fact that it was immediate
as soon as Lando had his incident,
Oscar straight out on his lap.
The fact that he was the first driver
to then hit the wall after Lando
just bought all the kind of memes back from Monza going,
oh, let's keep it fair.
Oscar, you have to crash now as well.
But thankfully for Oscar, didn't cause anything too much.
But yeah, difficult day for McLaren still.
Even though they are gonna be up there
no doubt fighting for pole position
and it's not complete curtains for them.
I don't think it's a situation like a,
do I say Montreal where they were really struggling
and they obviously weren't even on the podium there.
I'd be amazed if that happened again.
But yeah, still difficult for McLaren.
And I mean, I'd personally take that order
from FB2 into qualifying.
I'd love to see that, like what a grid that would be.
That would be sensational, wouldn't it?
Hamilton versus Leclerc for the win
to get Ferrari's first win of the season.
And Hamilton trying to literally get his first podium
of the season and potentially right at the front.
No, stop it, Tommy.
How dare you?
Why would you even start making me believe and dream?
Also, another thing to mention as we've been saying
McLaren struggling and having a lot of problems.
Another one being that as of recording right now
Piastri has been summoned to the stewards
for a yellow flag infringement.
Tommy, do you have more on the ground?
No, because they've not really talked about it.
And I do wonder-
I don't even see it.
Did you see it?
No, they didn't show it, they didn't show it.
Which makes me think it's a nothing incident.
I mean, this is gonna age badly when he gets,
you know, he has to start from the back of the grid
by the time this podcast goes out.
But normally with these things, you know,
they don't tend to do too much.
If it's a red flag, absolutely.
We've seen that.
Ollie Berman, of course, fell foul to that
where he had that red flag incident in Monaco
and it still meant that he had a grid drop.
And yeah, if it's a yellow flag infringement,
unless it's something horrendously dangerous,
I'd be amazed if he had any kind of like penalty
or anything, mainly just because I feel like
if it had been something like really major,
of course, he is, you know, the championship leader
that this would be being posted all over socials
and everything, and oh my God, like this is crucial,
like this could be a big, big moment.
But as, yeah, as of recording,
we've not really seen anything from that.
It was just a kind of throwaway comment in practice.
Yes, I am just having a quick scour through
to make sure that he hasn't just got a 10 place penalty
for the race, but now I'm not seeing anything just yet.
Question from P1Patreon member Breeze3.
How much is Matt regretting
and or celebrating flopping Leclerc?
It's Friday, says the man who's also been excited
by Friday's many, many occasions.
I, as I said, I don't think it's representative.
I don't think we can get too excited right now.
Ferrari, yes, they've topped free practice too, one too.
That's all they can sort of be asked to do,
but they're not one and a half seconds down the road
when I can genuinely feel confident that they will,
you know, they've got a step on the opposition.
They brought a small upgrade this weekend,
but nothing to write home about.
So now, I still think McLaren are fastest.
Tommy, I do, I'm sorry.
I know everyone wants me to get excited
just to be let down when they watch the watch along.
Oh, let's tune him to Matt, he's crying now.
So I'm trying to main,
just trying to sort of balance out that mental health.
Yes, I don't think for a second
that Ferrari gonna be half second clear of the field,
but you do think this kind of circuit would suit Ferrari.
It's interesting what Hamilton said about,
you know, going into the end of the session,
he was kind of saying that they tried something
a little bit unusual and it works.
So maybe for the first time in what feels like forever,
Lewis Hamilton kind of got a setup
that he felt happy with and comfortable with
knowing Ferrari, they'll probably change the entire thing
for qualifying and he'll be, you know, struggling
and they'll question why they changed it.
But yeah, so far, they do look confident.
We know how good Charles is around here.
He can definitely challenge for pole position,
but I mean, if he does get pole,
if he does get pole,
you will not be regretting it one bit.
In fact, you'll probably be going here.
I already said, I don't care if the flop point goes,
if it means that Charles Leclerc win,
not a pole position.
Yeah, you don't want poles anymore, you just,
I want to win, thank you.
Another question about Ferrari, of course, slosh 4,000.
Do you think Ferrari will keep this momentum?
I think, again, you said about Hamilton as well.
That's an important thing to bring into this.
That's the one learning I'd say from this
is that Hamilton has looked on the pace of Leclerc,
which is something we've not seen that much this season.
Sorry, I'm just,
I'm actually just reading something
about the Piastri instance.
I've seen some more.
So no, so there's no,
so he has gone to the stewards as of recording.
So I've now seen what the incident actually is.
So basically, Gazzly had gone off at turn one.
If you've watched the F2 crash,
you'll have seen the crazy rejoin that happened there
where, you know, the driver goes off at turn one.
They obviously yellow flagged it.
And yeah, Piastri basically continues
with quite a lot of speed through the yellow flag.
So maybe this isn't over.
Tommy, I need to see that.
You can't say maybe this isn't over
after saying categorically
that there will be no penalty from practice.
Where are you seeing this?
I need to do a live reaction right now.
I'll send you.
I can't find a video.
I've just got screenshots.
He's got pictures.
Okay.
That's really useful isn't it?
Let me send you.
As you said, the championship leader
and we haven't got a replay of it.
What are we doing?
What is going on?
Let me see if we can find a...
We're probably looking at some parents
in the pick garage instead.
Okay, so yeah, Gazzli's there and he's gone through.
Okay, all right.
So has he set a green sector or something?
Is that what the issue is?
I guess the issue is that he's not slowed down.
Yeah, so Gazzli, yeah, is coming back.
So he's, yeah, Piastri has a responsibility
to slow down for sure.
It just depends on how much he slowed down.
Because drivers can get away with marginal
sort of slowing downs.
Yeah, exactly.
I mean, as I mentioned about normally,
it's the red flag is the worst one.
But of course, you know, Lewis Hamilton,
even though that was a quite unique incident
at Zandvoort got his kind of grid dropped, didn't he?
And that was yellow flags,
although that was a very unusual situation.
The fact that it was kind of waved yellows
around the final corner.
Yeah, and double waved yellows, was it single wet?
We don't know.
I'm sure they'll absolutely not
be any kind of cause for British bias
when Oscar Piastri gets a 10 second penalty for it.
10 second penalty, that's impressive,
because you haven't qualified yet, Tommy.
In the race.
There we go.
We love Tommy and his confusion
when it comes to seconds and penalties and things like that.
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Worth mentioning Antonelli and Bearman.
I know we said about Bearman being in P5,
but both of our good surprises,
fourth and fifth, looking pretty strong.
I'd say Bearman, of course, more so
because he's in a hash.
Antonelli, yes, he was 900s or so off Russell,
but Russell I think was gonna get right up
in sort of the Lewis Hamilton times,
if not faster.
So yeah, Bearman looking good.
Bearman is looking good,
although this is the situation that we've got here.
Yeah, as long as he doesn't crash,
he'll have any kind of incident
because of course the penalty points.
He, of course, on the medium tyre,
which we're in a very unusual situation again
where it's looking like the medium,
maybe quicker again than the soft tyre,
which we've had this before,
haven't we over Pirelli's new soft tyre
that ends up being no quicker
and actually worse?
So whether we end up with another situation,
was it Imola where they were running the mediums
in basically the final shootout of qualifying
to try and gain some lap time?
Who knows, but Bearman, yeah, doing a very impressive lap,
but I also think that shows that the medium tyre
is gonna be a very quick tyre
that we may even see during qualifying.
I think so.
And the question people on Patreon member BadgerSprite,
what's going on with the C6 tyres?
Now, I guess the issue that,
I mean, Pirelli have many issues
when it comes to trying to make the perfect tyre
for Formula One,
but of course they've taken a step softer,
which is something we both celebrated,
try something different,
going for something that might force a two stop.
But the problem is the step
between the C6 and the C5 is so marginal,
that's why we are seeing
the mediums potentially used over the softs
in qualifying as well,
because the softs just can't hang on for an entire lap
without there being a little bit of performance loss,
and then that's where the mediums come in
as a more sort of well-rounded tyre
that they can rely on and to push on.
So again, I know how difficult a job Pirelli have
to make this work,
but it does feel like it's too small of a gap
that it doesn't really,
it almost sort of whittles you down
to just two compounds of the medium and the hard
when we then go to racing on Sunday.
Which is exactly why I will keep harping on
about this rule that they need
where they have to use all three compounds,
because then it completely eradicates that,
because if they're going,
if their whole kind of thing
to make things more entertaining
is to bring a new tyre into the mix
and then the teams aren't even going to bother using it,
and it's just basically pointless.
There's no point in them even doing it,
it's just a complete waste,
whereas if they had to use it,
even if it would be a little bit almost comical and silly
and they might have to,
some people may go for,
I'm thinking Haas because they've loved that this year,
Pitt literally do one lap on it,
Pitt get the mediums on and go long,
and then you go for the hards later.
You know, that would be an interesting thing to see
and it creates new strategies and things,
but alas, you know,
if we have this set rule
where they can just bin off
a complete compound of tyres realistically,
then it doesn't really matter what Pirelli bring
and they can make all this effort going,
oh yeah, we're going to get softer tyres,
it's going to be really exciting.
We might get a two-stop
because the teams will just go,
well, actually no thanks, we're not going to use them.
Hmm, let's see how that one unfolds.
Fingers crossed we get a two-stop.
Who knows?
Every time we get predicted a two-stop strategy,
somehow they will leak out a one, as we all know.
P1 Patriot member Captain Ofs3420,
is it an inevitability that at least one person's final
quality run will get compromised by a yellow flag?
Not necessarily.
I mean, they normally do go a bit more extreme,
don't they, in the practice sessions
because they know that they can push it
maybe a little harder,
but it does show that you're going to have to,
I don't think you can kind of rest on your laurels
like in other circuits where you maybe go
right at the end of the session
and you could risk doing maybe potentially one lap.
We saw Lando last year get caught out
with something like that, didn't we,
where he got caught out by a yellow flag,
missed the cut in practice,
that's right, in qualifying,
and he didn't end up going through, so.
He missed the cut in practice, that's crazy.
How do you manage that?
Is the 107% rule in qualifying, what I say in fact?
Yeah, maybe, but yeah, this is the thing with this
is that drivers are going to have to make sure
they do get bankers in and things
because so it can easily happen.
You're not going to want to go into the final run
with not having a lap time set
because it could be absolute curtains
if we get a yellow or a red flag
because then you've basically not going to set a lap time
at all and it could cost you big,
which we've seen in the past year.
Yeah, I don't think it necessarily is just Q3
where we're obviously thinking that poll will be set,
but I think Q1 will be full of probably mistakes
going down the runoff and things like that
because at the end of the day,
quality is when the drivers will risk the most.
This is obviously where as well,
they won't potentially turn out of some corners
where they've had a minor lock up
in order to try and set a lap time.
So that's where we'll see potentially more yellow flags.
That's the beauty of Baku.
It's great to watch in qualifying.
You have to risk it to gain lap time at certain places
where it's rising over a little hill
or if it's into the castle section,
it's do you have the minerals
that there are so many places where things can go wrong
that maybe not necessarily is the final quality run
but I just think it's going to be something
that will keep us on our toes throughout Saturday.
And that is it.
Teed up beautifully.
Ready for the weekend ahead of us
for the Azerbaijan Grand Prix.
We'll be live on Twitch and YouTube.
As always, we'd love to see you there.
Tommy, what are your final thoughts?
Final thoughts, I was really hoping
that we'd get our lovely live reaction to some news
because Oscar Piester will be speaking
to the stewards right this second
because he is literally in there
but alas, we don't know at the moment.
So will it be crucial for the championship
we're about to find out?
We are about to if we continue the podcast
for another 15 minutes, but no, we will react.
Of course, we may even make a social video
if things do change, but until then, we'll see you very soon.
I'll still have to take care.
Adios.
Goodbye.
Goodbye.
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About this episode
Matt and Tommy dive into the chaotic practice sessions at the Azerbaijan GP, highlighting track damage, multiple driver incidents, and McLaren's struggles despite Oscar Piastri's decent running time. They discuss the impact of Pirelli's softest C6 tires and the surprising pace of Ferrari and Mercedes in FP2. The hosts debate the potential for strategy variations and penalties, including Piastri's yellow flag infringement under investigation. They also touch on the unpredictability of qualifying at Baku, where mistakes and yellow flags could shake up the grid. The episode blends technical insights with humor and fan questions, setting the stage for an exciting race weekend.
Crashes! Live reaction to a driver being summoned to the stewards! Super soft tyres!
Join us after some surprisingly interesting practice sessions that one of us wants to trust with 100% certainty...
The Delusion Tour is just around the corner! We're heading to North America in a few weeks and there are still a few tickets available - click here to grab yours: tix.to/p1live
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