Pole position means the driver qualified fastest and starts the race from the very front. In Monaco, that front spot can be a big advantage because it’s hard to pass later.
Front left suspension is the suspension system on the front driver’s-side wheel (in F1 terms, the left side of the car). If it breaks, the car can lose control, damage the tire, and often forces the driver to stop or take a big hit to lap time.
Topic
Q2
Q2 is the next step after Q1 in qualifying. Drivers who qualify from Q1 get another chance to set a fast lap and move closer to the pole position fight.
Person
Holkenberg
Holkenberg is the name of the Formula 1 driver they’re talking about. They say he ended up 13th in qualifying.
A chicane is a section of the track where you have to turn left-right (or right-left) to slow down. Monaco’s chicane is especially tricky because it’s so close to the barriers.
McLaren-Honda means McLaren’s Formula 1 team using Honda engines. The point they’re making is that engine blame alone didn’t fix their problems—there were also issues with the overall car.
Renault engines means the team changed to a different engine supplier in Formula 1. They’re saying that even after the switch, the results didn’t improve much.
Here, “power” means how strong the engine is. They’re saying that on this track, having more engine power doesn’t help as much as other things the car does well.
The chassis is basically the car’s main structure. If the chassis isn’t right, the car feels unstable or doesn’t grip well, so even a good driver can’t go fast.
It’s a way of saying the engine is still working well enough to run, not totally broken. But even with that, the car still isn’t fast enough to qualify up front.
Mercedes is being mentioned as the alternative engine supplier. The discussion is basically: would a different engine make the car instantly better, or are there bigger issues?
If the brakes catch fire, something is going badly—usually the brakes are overheating or there’s a problem with the brake system. It’s a major safety and performance issue, especially because front brakes are crucial for stopping.
Audi is a car brand. In this segment, the hosts are talking about how Audi’s race pace changed from Friday to Saturday and how that impacted their results.
Ferrari is a famous racing car brand. The hosts are saying Ferrari seemed to take a step the wrong way from Friday to Saturday, which affected how well they did later.
Term
FB3
“FB3” is a timing/benchmark session from the race weekend schedule. The idea is that it gives a good clue about how fast the cars really are when teams are trying hard.
Liam Lawson is a Formula 1 race driver. In this segment, the hosts are talking about how well he did in Monaco and how he improved after a tough race weekend in Canada.
Term
P10
“P10” means 10th place. In F1, qualifying results are commonly talked about as positions like P1, P10, etc.
Lindblad is a newer driver, and the hosts are talking about how Monaco is especially tricky for first-timers. They think his lack of experience may be affecting how well he can get the most out of the car.
Qualifying is when drivers try to set their best lap time to decide where they start the race. A “qualifying lap” is that fast lap they’re chasing to get a better starting spot.
Person
Charlotte Clair
They’re name-checking a driver as an example of someone who could make a pole position not go to plan. The main idea is that at Monaco, pole usually stays valuable.
“Grunt down the straight” is a casual way of saying the car is really strong when it’s accelerating on the straightaway. It usually means good power and speed before the next braking zone.
“Outperformed the car” means the driver got more speed out of the car than you’d expect from its raw performance. It’s usually about how well they drive and manage grip.
Charles Leclerc is a Formula 1 race driver. In this segment, the hosts are saying he made mistakes in Monaco qualifying and that it hurt his chances to win pole position.
“Overdrove the car” means the driver pushed the vehicle beyond the grip or control available at that moment. In qualifying, that often shows up as losing traction, locking up, or forcing the car to slide when it should be stable.
“Bottling it” is racing slang for failing to deliver when the pressure is highest—typically when a driver is expected to convert a strong qualifying position into pole or a win. The hosts contrast that label with their view that Leclerc’s issue was more about overdriving than nerves.
Term
P2
P2 is shorthand for second place. If a driver can’t get the top spot, they might aim for second instead.
Term
P3
P3 means third place. It’s a “good enough” target when going for pole would be too risky.
Overtaking means passing another car while you’re driving. Monaco is famous for being tough to pass in, so the start and qualifying position matter a lot.
Lewis Hamilton is a top Formula 1 driver and a multiple-time world champion. Here, the hosts are talking about how his speed and pressure in Monaco might have influenced another driver’s mistakes.
Verstappen is a top Formula 1 driver, and they’re saying he also set an excellent qualifying lap. Qualifying results can be crucial when it’s hard to pass during the race.
To “overtake” means to pass another car while you’re driving. The point here is that the track makes passing really hard, so starting position matters a lot.
The Monaco Grand Prix is a Formula 1 race on a twisty street track in Monaco. It’s famous for being hard to pass, so qualifying and the start can make or break your race.
In F1, the pits are where the car stops to get serviced—most commonly for tire changes. If you can’t pit when you want, you may have to keep going on tires that aren’t working as well.
“Allocation” means you’re limited by the race rules—like how many tire sets you’re allowed to use. If you’ve already used your allowed amount, you can’t just change tires whenever you want.
In Formula 1, “soft tires” are a softer rubber compound designed for maximum grip, especially over short stints. They typically wear faster than harder compounds, so if you’re forced to use them when they’re not in their best window, your lap times can suffer.
Turn one is the very first corner right after the race starts. It’s where cars are closest together, so if someone slows or gets stuck, it can cause a big pile-up—especially at Monaco.
“Bogged down” describes a poor start where a car loses momentum—often from wheelspin, traction issues, or not getting the engine and clutch/launch timing right. In Monaco’s first-corner chaos, a bogged-down car can become an obstacle that triggers contact behind it.
Kimi Antonelli is an F1 driver. In this discussion, they’re saying his start could be huge at Monaco because the first corner is where things can get decided quickly.
Red Bull is another Formula 1 racing team. The discussion is basically saying Red Bull might only get a win if Mercedes isn’t able to control everything this time.
An “undercut” is when a driver pits earlier than another driver to come out ahead. The goal is to get better track position so you can control the race.
“Put a nose in” means getting your car’s front end into the space beside the other car. It’s a way of saying he’ll try to make the pass if there’s any opening.
DNF means the driver didn’t finish the race. It usually happens because of a problem or an incident, and the hosts are saying their point isn’t just about that one retirement.
“Pace is lacking” is F1 shorthand for the car/driver not being fast enough over a lap or stint compared to rivals. In qualifying reactions, it typically points to insufficient speed from the car’s setup, tires, or overall performance rather than a single obvious mistake.
They’re talking about Kimi Antonelli, a Mercedes driver. The hosts are saying Antonelli has been performing better and is quicker than George Russell this season.
Qualifying is when drivers race against the clock to decide where they start on the grid for the race. If the times are close, the starting positions can change a lot.
“P2” and “P3” mean finishing second and third in qualifying, which correspond to starting positions on the grid. The hosts say the driver can’t “slot into” those positions, implying he needs a better qualifying result immediately.
In racing, “driving style” means how a driver brakes, turns in, and applies the gas. If the car behaves differently, the driver may need to change how they drive.
“New cars” means the latest F1 cars with updated design. If they handle differently, drivers have to adjust how they drive to get the best performance.
Regulations are the rules that determine how the cars are built and run. If the rules change, the cars can drive differently, so drivers and teams have to adjust.
They’re talking about what it feels like to be at the race in person compared to watching on TV. It’s about the crowd atmosphere more than the car itself.
A “purple sector” is when a driver is the fastest in one part of the track during qualifying. It’s basically a sign that their lap is going really well, even if the whole lap isn’t the fastest yet.
“Provisional pole” means the driver is currently fastest and in first place, but it’s not final yet. Other drivers can still improve and take that top spot before qualifying is over.
Lando Norris is a Formula 1 race driver. The hosts are saying he seems relaxed lately, but that his qualifying result depends a lot on whether his car behaves properly during the weekend.
“Qualifying P8” means the driver placed 8th in the qualifying session. That determines where they start the race, and starting position matters a lot in F1.
Term
P9
P9 just means 9th place. In F1, where you finish matters because higher places can earn points for the driver and team.
“Max” here is Max Verstappen. They’re saying he’s the kind of driver who goes for it, so the start could be really exciting.
LIVE
Hello, everybody, and welcome back to the P1 Podcast with Matt and Tommy.
We're here in Monaco. As you will know, probably, there's a car behind us.
We're still in the same place we were in practice,
but if you didn't watch the practice review and you're here for the qualifying review,
we are on a super yacht.
Yes, still doesn't feel real to set up and do our podcast here with an Audi car behind us.
Big shout out to Libertex.
They've given us this incredible opportunity to be here in Monaco
and to live this most ridiculous life that we do not belong to,
but we are enjoying the taste of it.
What a place to watch a very disastrous quali, which we'll get on to very shortly.
Weird conflicting emotions right now.
Not for me. I've been having a wonderful time and two absolutely legends on the front row.
Watching it from an amazing location, witnessing the crowd cheering and everything,
it's always really cool to be here.
I think we first need to cover that from what we saw anyway,
and hopefully it's not just the fact that we're caught up in here,
Monaco did deliver in terms of qualifying and the excitement of quali,
which we've been hoping for for a long time.
We've not had a session like that really all year.
The big criticism of these new regulations has been qualifying
and we said hopefully we'll get to Monaco and it's still good,
and it was very, very, very, very good. Really exciting.
Yes, it was just, you just didn't know what was going to happen.
From Friday we thought, well, I definitely thought,
I think we both thought that Ferrari had an excellent shot of getting pole position.
Neither of them are on the front row. We'll get on to that shortly.
But yes, just the question marks, not knowing who was going to be fastest,
was excellent to watch and it was constantly changing.
I thought McLaren might have had a shout at one point,
so we'll get on to all of that.
I also want to say as well, for those of you that commented on the Friday podcast,
neither of us were drunk.
I need to just say that we were stone cold sober at the time of recording.
We were slightly hungover, but we were not drunk.
We're just very much enjoying our time here in Monaco in the very beautiful weather.
And can you blame us?
Yeah, can you blame us? You certainly can't.
So let's get into Q1, where the bottom six were Ocon,
Perez, Bearman, Bottas, Alonso and Stroll.
And of course the big talking point, not that I've read his name out,
but that Gambriel Bortoletto.
Of course, we have an Audi car behind us.
I'm really sorry about the P1 curse.
Really, really, really, really, really sorry.
We're speaking to him in literally speaking.
Yeah, we joked about the P1 curse literally yesterday
and then Bortoletto decided to break his front left suspension.
So we'll get on to that actually now, because of course it happened in Q1,
but he made Q2 because of the lap time that he did.
Audi were looking so, so good, so quick.
And where did Holkenberg end up?
He ended up P13 in the end.
So I think that is 100% P1 curse in the flesh.
So I really want to apologize to Audi for that,
because on the run up to qualifying,
we thought fifth best team,
really great opportunity of scoring points this weekend.
And for Bortoletto, you know, it was over before it really began.
Yeah, gutting for him, he looked very quick,
particularly in Q1, but it's the fine lines of Monaco.
We've been watching, we've watched Formula One for so long now.
You've seen on-boards in so many generations of cars.
I still win every time I watch an on-board around Monaco,
particularly some of the certain corners,
you know, the swimming pool, how close they get to that wall,
going into the kind of chicane after the tunnel.
It is insane still how close the fine margins,
and you literally go from looking like a genius
to ripping your tire off.
And that's exactly what happened with Bortoletto.
Absolutely gutting for him, because of course he made it through,
but once his suspension was absolutely ruined,
he was never going to make it out for Q2 and recover.
So gutted for him.
Gutted indeed.
Hopefully he will be reasonably okay and happy to speak to us later.
We won't inform him of the P1 curse.
No, let's not do that.
I don't think that's something we will do.
Other things to mention, of course,
the two Cadillacs out as normal,
the two Aston Martins.
Now there's a question about this,
that I have a feeling Tommy has been saving this exact moment
to pop off on the Super Yachts.
So get ready for this one.
But there's a question from Walens the First.
Can we now say the Aston Martins' issues
are more Newie and Aston Martin related,
rather than Honda related?
Such a poor showing on the least power-sensitive track on the calendar.
Yes.
It's an absolutely embarrassment, to be honest.
I've just checked that there's no Aston Martin people around.
But it is.
It is embarrassing.
Matt, what do you mean?
You're not going to say that they did a great performance if you saw them?
No.
Come on, Tommy.
No, definitely not.
But look, it's so embarrassing,
how bad Aston Martin can't be said enough
what a flop they have been this season.
We both were not on the Aston Martin hype train, let's be honest.
I think you were talking about that they wouldn't improve.
But we didn't think they were going to be this bad.
This was, of course, before testing.
And they've gone into this season even worse.
They were at the back.
But I remember having the conversation about McLaren-Honda.
And McLaren-Honda were in a very similar situation
where they completely threw Honda under the bus.
And yet they changed to Renault engines.
They were no better.
So a lot of it was to do with their car as well.
And it feels like the same narrative has been absolutely pushed on.
It's all Honda's fault.
The Honda's not there.
We've got no power.
We're kind of rubbish.
This is all Honda.
And look, on a track where this question is exactly right,
power doesn't matter so much.
And they're absolutely terrible.
Of course, they're still like the deployment and stuff coming out of the corners.
But there's no doubt that that chassis is absolutely not up to scratch either.
And we were promised, I think Adrian said at the start of the season,
that they were sort of fifth best in the chassis department.
I think that has well and truly been rumbled.
Because, yeah, to be literally last,
they are 21st and 22nd on the grid around Monaco,
with Fernando Alonso, who, you know,
one of the best drivers we've ever seen,
not enough championships to his name,
and still firing on reasonable cylinders.
It has to be said at his tender age.
Great around Monaco, almost won it a few years ago.
Yeah, exactly. He knows his way around here.
But he could not do any better than 21st on the grid.
Behind Cadillac, with the facilities that they have,
with the money that they have thrown into this team,
it is exactly as you say, Tommy, an embarrassment.
I thought we would see some glimmers of hope, potentially, by now.
And maybe we did.
Canada, for example, Alonso getting up in the race and things like that.
But it's nowhere near that.
It's not like it was a, ah,
that was the thing that was wrong with the vibrations or whatever.
It wasn't like it was one thing, they fixed that,
and then they're challenging for the bottom end of the points.
They're nowhere near.
So, of course, Monaco is a unique circuit,
and we'll speak about this with some other drivers later on.
But they've been awful at every circuit we've seen so far this year.
There is no saving grace for Aston Martin.
So, look, I wouldn't blame Alonso if he just retired at the end of the year.
Because where else is he going to really go through the pain again
of another team struggling so insanely badly with Honda?
Of course, Honda has a part to play in this,
but it's just the whole package.
It doesn't even feel like it's, ah, if we just rip out the Honda engine
and put a Mercedes in there, that they would be much better.
I mean, do you, you had the prediction,
a kind of differed opinion, but I wonder if yours has potentially changed now
of like, can they turn it around?
Because, you know, there was still this talk of the, ah, well, you know,
they're going to have teething problems, but surely Aston Martin
are going to be this bad through the whole season.
I know we're early days, particularly because of the cancelled races
that were still quite early into the season.
But Alonso himself, you know, even said,
I think it said something like, by round 14 we might make Q2 or something.
I mean, we're not looking at points or anything anytime soon.
And, yeah, surely like, Fernando's, you know, if he was there or thereabouts
or maybe there was some level of hope, but it's been a complete disaster, hasn't it?
Absolutely. Some strange people making some very weird noises.
I'm sure that's probably being picked up on the microphone, but either or.
You know, this is, we are literally in the heart of what's going on in Monaco
and people shouting things.
But yes, faster Martin, there needs to be huge steps of improvement.
I have less confidence, I think, after not seeing any kind of, you know,
great performance around Monaco for Aston Martin.
You know, this was a track where you would think coming into it,
they might have been able to sneak a Q2 or something.
But in fact, it was Perez that was looking like he might have had a chance.
Quick shout out for Sergio Perez, of course, we're still talking about Q1
and the fact that he had problems, he had brake problems,
and he had fire on his front left and front right brakes
at different points during today.
So...
Still thrashed Bottas as well.
Yeah, thrashed Bottas.
Not by as big a margin as we've seen so far this year,
I think it's like half a second, it's still big.
Yeah, it's crazy the last time I've had that.
But yeah, Perez had a sniff of Q2,
but unfortunately for him, wasn't able to make it through.
Let's head to Q2 then, shall we, where the bottom six in this session
were Albon, Sines, Hülkenberg, Kolopinto, Lindblad and Bortoletto.
Of course, we mentioned Gabriel Bortoletto
after the damage wasn't able to continue into Q2.
Of course, Williams, very close to making it through to Q3,
but 11th and 12th for them.
Hülkenberg is one of the big disappointments, it has to be said,
just purely from the potential that we mentioned
and where he was actually able to deliver.
It's...
As much as I said, and I said this, I don't know if you posted the story, Tommy,
of us coming in on a tender to the boat,
but I was saying, like, the conditions, the weather,
is pretty consistent throughout the whole weekend.
Surely there's not going to be much of a massive swing in performance,
but it feels like for Ferrari and maybe even for Audi,
they went in the wrong direction when we went from Friday to Saturday.
Which is crazy because Audi looked competitive in Q1,
obviously, before Bortoletto's issues.
They were looking fast, so they kind of continued that.
They were looking great in FB3, again, which is obviously
the most representative where they're pushing for quality,
but they just didn't deliver the hype,
and unfortunately for Audi,
they've just been kind of weirdly consistent
in their kind of finishing position,
where if you got points to, you know, 12th, 13th,
they'd be scoring points all the time and looking great,
but the problem is, it's points to 10,
and while other midfielders have good times, bad times,
Audi have kind of consistent but not quite got there,
and I think it's another missed opportunity for them, unfortunately.
I was convinced.
I was absolutely convinced they were going to score points this weekend
after what we saw on Friday, but...
You never know.
Yeah, I mean, it's going to require a pretty crazy race.
Is that Carlos Sainz Sr. just coming off that yaw?
It is, well.
That is quite something.
Standard stuff, right?
We were just recording and we were just seeing people left, right and centre.
I also want to do a quick chat,
and it's not a good one if you're an Arvid Lindblad fan,
but to his qualifying performance,
now I just want to say we may not have caught absolutely everything
in terms of difficulties that certain drivers have had,
but the marked difference between Lindblad
and Lawson's performance this weekend is one of notes.
Lindblad down in 15th, again,
not really delivering on the early hype of the season,
whereas Lawson, putting it P10,
perhaps could have beaten Gasly in the end.
He was no way going to be beating the top four teams,
but Lawson showing again, you know,
with the fact he had a difficult weekend last time out in Canada
with just not having any running,
to then being able to deliver on the RB's potential is really impressive,
but for Lindblad, yeah, another sort of head scratcher
and maybe, you know, the rookiness of him,
you know, coming around Monaco for the first time in a Formula One car,
may well be playing a little bit on those
when you compare it to the early performances
where he was able to extract a lot in Australia, for example.
Yeah, for sure.
It's hard to know how much of it is obviously the fact
that he's a rookie or how well Liam Lawson's doing
because I think Lawson's had a really good season so far.
He's looked so much more confident in the car
and even when he's had problems, like particularly in Canada,
he came through the field and still managed to pick up points.
So kind of similar in that case to a few other drivers
who have said this about this year,
but when the car is working and everything runs smoothly,
Lawson's kind of delivered and done a really good job
and he did that again today, looked very good
when I don't think by any stretch,
I know we're kind of jumping to Q3,
but he got into Q3 obviously in this session
and I don't think by any stretch racing bulls
were anything special this weekend
compared to what we've maybe seen in previous tracks
and Lawson managing to get through.
Absolutely.
So, let's head to Q3.
The big session where the top ten,
Antonelli, Verstappen, Hamilton, Leclerc,
Hajar, Russell, Shutup, Piastri, Norris, Gasly and Lawson.
Let's get into a question from people on Patreon remember,
Antonelli on top.
Is there any stopping Kimmy at this point?
Well, I thought this would be the race that did stop Kimmy.
I really did.
I was on your kind of thick wavelength
of the whole Mercedes flopping around here.
One of them did. We'll talk about him later.
But Antonelli is just absolutely locked in.
This season he is driving with so much confidence
if there was ever going to be a race
where it all kind of went undone for him
or even just having a quiet race
compared to how well he's done.
This was the one. We've seen, you know, the pressure,
the fine margins. You're still only in the second season.
And yet he's delivered an unbelievable qualifying lap.
Mercedes sure found something.
But that's not all just the fact
that Mercedes is the best car this year.
Kimmy has absolutely stepped up.
He's wiped the floor with his teammate again.
And Kimmy has been absolutely sensational
and put it on pole position on a track
where we didn't think there'd be that good,
particularly when Russell's further back.
We were talking yesterday about,
Antonelli, it doesn't matter too much
because even if he loses a couple of points
to George when they're fourth and fifth,
he's on pole and George is sixth.
Crazy.
Yeah. Antonelli, once again,
sensational, like, you know, four wins on the drop,
potentially a fifth on the horizon
because whenever you're on pole at Monaco,
it's very difficult to lose it from there
unless you name Charlotte Clair,
in which case you have the curse of Monaco.
But I can't believe what I'm watching,
to be honest with you. I really can't.
I mean, who saw this, really?
I know you predicted Kimmy World Champion, Tommy,
and that was mainly because you didn't want to go for George Russell
because it was, in quotation marks, boring,
not to discredit your wonderful prediction.
No, but I can't be too smug because obviously, like,
I did think Kimmy would do a lot better
than people gave him credit for.
But no one saw this.
But I can't say here, even after we saw, obviously, like,
the testing and stuff,
I still went for Russell when we did our entire prediction table
and things like that.
So, like, there was still the element of, like,
George is the more experienced driver
and Kimmy is just wiping the floor with him at the moment.
Yeah, because the question marks was always, like,
how will he deal with world championship pressure
if he does have a car that can deliver wins on a consistent basis?
But he looks absolutely unfazed.
It is scary to watch.
I'm like, my God, are we going to have another
Max Verstappen 2023 campaign going on here?
Because right now, Antonelli looks unstoppable
around a track that I think is absolutely fair enough
for Mercedes not to be on pole position.
I don't think they're the fastest car around here.
I genuinely don't.
Like, when we saw the side-by-side comparison
between Antonelli and Verstappen's lap,
I think Mercedes do have more grunt down the straight.
So, that's clear to see.
I think Verstappen is slightly more confident in the corners.
But, you know, I'm still absolutely baffled
that Ferrari on the front row
and that Mercedes have been able to deliver
in the hands of Antonelli a sensational lap.
But similar to Max at Red Bull,
this is a Kimi performance over a Mercedes performance.
And hats off, not that I'm wearing one,
but hats off to Antonelli and Verstappen
for what they've done today,
because I think they both outperformed the car
and showed their talents, respectively.
Yeah, completely agree.
So, let's go to a question from P1Patreon member Nasta.
Is the swimming pool filled with Matt's tears?
There is a lot of water down here.
There's a lot of water. There's a lot of fish as well.
I keep getting distracted.
Literally, the water is right behind where the camera is.
Let's talk about Charles Leclerc's qualifying then, shall we?
If we have to.
I know that a lot of you want to hear my thoughts about it.
I don't think I've fully sort of processed what I've watched
because you would have seen me yesterday.
Obviously, very happy to be here,
so a lot of that joy just comes from being in Monaco,
but there was, of course, the added joy,
hope, delusion that it was going to be a Ferrari lockout.
That did not happen.
Instead, Charles Leclerc lines up fourth.
He had mistakes in him today.
Clearly, and from what Hamilton said as well after qualifying,
Ferrari lost something today, which I cannot believe has happened.
I was looking at the weather forecast and I'm like,
there's nothing changing.
We're not getting insane like cold conditions today
rather than yesterday.
It felt very similar, and yet teams made a step forward.
Red Bull clearly made a step forward.
So did Mercedes, and Ferrari didn't.
Then Charles Leclerc made mistakes.
He overdrove the car.
He tried to put it on pole position at Monaco.
He knows that this is his only opportunity.
Of course, I'm a fanboy.
I'm going to defend him to the help,
but he got outqualified by Hamilton.
There was clearly more on the table for Charles Leclerc,
and he wasn't able to deliver.
He's not a bottle job like some people like to say about Charles.
I really can't label him that,
but it wasn't a Saturday around Monaco
that we have seen so many times before
from Charles Leclerc around here.
It was lacking.
I think in terms of Charles Leclerc and them saying about,
like, you know, he's bottling it and stuff,
it didn't...
To me, it screams over-driving.
Like, it's the most...
But some people might attribute to bottling, right?
Of course, yeah, yeah.
Because people were expecting Charles.
I think the way Charles drives,
and maybe it is the pressure of Monaco,
and he's done this before,
is that he puts everything on the line.
It's his home race.
He wants to win it.
He knows being on pole is the only way to win it.
And when the likes of Verstappen and Antonelli
are challenging for pole position,
he knows he has to throw it into every corner
and find those hints.
And while he does that at other circuits,
and yes, it has been before in things like Miami,
and he's made these two mistakes in his career,
when you get it wrong at Monaco,
there's no room for error,
so you smash into the wall.
And the way Charles drives in qualifying,
and this is something that's just continued
pretty much his whole career here,
is he is willing to just put it on the line
of win or win.
And maybe that's, you know,
if he was challenging for the world championship
and right in that world championship fight,
maybe he's thinking more about just locking in a P2
or a P3 and just going for something a bit more sensible.
But it's quite clear that he just wants to absolutely go for it.
I mean, the way he sent it into tobacco,
which obviously he crashed at,
was just desperate.
It was basically, I need to find something.
I want to be on pole, and if I crash, so be it.
But he has to be incredibly careful,
because let's not forget we had that whole situation
where he crashed before 21, I believe it was,
where he was going to start on pole position
and he had a gearbox issue.
He risked it all.
He didn't want to, you know, get a grid drop.
And he just thought, let's try it.
Came out the pits for the formation lap,
and obviously it broke down.
So he puts everything on the line here,
and it certainly did not work.
It didn't work.
He was never on for pole position.
He was trying to extract something out the car
that wasn't possible, and we could see that.
There was the mistake immediately into that fast left,
as you say, and it was curtains for Charles Leclerc's qualify.
Of course, P4 is not a disaster, but around here,
good luck overtaking.
You might be able to get Hamilton at the start,
but that's about it.
And, you know, just a quick word on Hamilton.
I think he's looked excellent this weekend,
and that's what's caused Charles Leclerc,
perhaps, to even make these mistakes.
It's the fact that, yeah,
Hamilton has looked like he was going to be the one
to challenge Charles Leclerc for pole position.
Neither of them on the front row, which I'm devastated about.
But Lewis is providing that pressure,
which I think for Charles, when he had Carlos before,
I think it was a good thing for him,
and I think it is still a good thing for him,
but maybe that additional pressure of,
yeah, my teammates right on my pace around my home track
didn't help.
No, certainly not.
Hamilton's definitely stepped up this weekend.
I try it like Monaco, that he's not always done the best.
Of course, he's won here, which is insane to say,
but Hamilton's won everywhere.
You know, he's won so many races that it's...
You kind of can say that some tracks aren't his favourite,
or his speciality, even when he's won that,
because he's just won so many times
in almost every circuit on the calendar.
And that's why he's such a great driver.
But he's delivered again, you know, done a great job.
But Ferrari would be disappointed, you know,
the question that keeps coming back to my mind,
and we said, clip it,
of like, even Ferrari can't mess this up.
Is it a mess up, or was it just that I think...
I think part of it as well,
I don't personally believe that it was never on for Ferrari.
I think how they put out...
There was still a potential to pull out a really special lap,
but I think it was a case of the fact that
Antonelli is just on unbelievable form
and pulled out a really special lap, and so did Verstappen.
And unfortunately for Ferrari,
that means their third and fourth track
that you just can't really overtake,
and their best bet is just the top two colliding.
Yeah, which, you know, Antonelli and Verstappen could happen.
I don't think it will.
I think that's a strange dreamland
for some Ferrari fans, maybe.
But I don't see those two coming together in turn one,
but we'll see.
Like, Antonelli's had poor starts this year.
Of course, he had a decent one last time out,
but overall, on average, he's had poor starts.
So I'm sure that will be playing on his mind
at the start of the Monaco Grand Prix.
But yeah, it's going to be a tough one,
a tough build to swallow for a lot of Ferrari fans today,
me included, because even the fact that,
of course, we mentioned about the big Charles Leclerc era,
the one on his first lap where Oli Berman crashed,
kind of put him on the back foot, right?
He didn't really have time to come into the pits,
change tires, or maybe he didn't have the allocation.
So he had to commit to that set of tires,
then went again, wasn't good enough,
then he cooled down and went for one more lap.
So at that point, you know, the soft tires are nowhere near
the best of their condition.
And so it was kind of writing on the wall
after that first mistake.
So yeah, really tough.
And yes, to answer your question,
the swimming pool is indeed filled with my tears.
I genuinely was like having water in my eyes,
but I'm pretty sure it was the sun cream.
Okay, so just relax.
Next question.
People on Patreon remember HDHP.
Will there be carnage in turn one,
based on the Antonelli and Verstappen
are not the best starters this year,
but the Ferraris are.
I don't think it's anything to do with Ferrari personally.
I don't think, correct me if I'm wrong,
Monaco is so difficult that I think you're...
It would have to be an absolutely insane start
for them to be...
Or dreadful for the first two.
Or dreadful for the first two that they completely bogged down.
For me, the carnage is coming from the fact
that Kimi Antonelli knows that if he gets into turn one first,
he's probably won the race.
It's just Monaco.
And two, Max Verstappen,
who all he needs to do is get alongside Kimi,
and he's not backing out.
Max, we said yesterday about when it looking like
maybe it was the two Ferraris and maybe Max going for third,
that he would put pressure on the two Ferraris.
Well, he's now on the front row
and knows that kind of what we've said before
about certain other people like Ferrari and whatever,
that if Mercedes are dominating here,
this could be the only chance for Red Bull to win a race this year.
And Max knows a bit like everyone here,
that if he gets into the first corner first,
he will probably win the race,
even if Red Bull and nowhere near Mercedes pays.
As long as he doesn't get undercut,
he's probably going to win.
And Antonelli also has to think about the championship.
Now, Antonelli, could that be where we see
the little bit of inexperience from him?
Or is he knowing that five wins in a row
doesn't matter as much,
and you're not racing Verstappen for the championship?
But I think Kimi Antonelli has a mind like Max Verstappen,
where he doesn't think about these things
and he just wants to win all the time.
He's cut from the same cloth as Verstappen, in my opinion.
And even though Verstappen,
people will say that outside the car,
he loves Kimi, they get on really well,
he seems genuinely happy for him.
Once the helmet is on, Max Verstappen has no friends,
and he will absolutely send it at turn one
if there's even the slightest opportunity he's going for it.
Yeah, he'll put a nose in if there is an opportunity,
and I agree that Kimi will also not go,
oh, well, actually, you know, Max, you can win Monaco,
and I'll just settle for P2 with George down in P6.
It's just not his mentality, that's not how I see Kimi either,
which will be amazing in some situations,
but also will be a hindrance in future ones as well.
But right now, it's working a treat for him,
he's 43 points in the lead,
and if things were to stay as they are,
it's a 25-point score for Antonelli,
and with George down in P6, which is 8,
that's a 60-point lead coming out of Monaco if it stays that way,
which, you know, that will be almost unassailable at that point.
So, I don't think we'll be saying it's championship over,
because things can happen,
but that's two and a bit wins in the pocket,
should it stay the way it does,
and I don't think that's an insane thing to suggest,
considering we have Monaco,
and the race tomorrow where it's very difficult to overtake.
But, yeah, once again, Antonelli phenomenal.
I am interested to see if they are side-by-side
into turn one, what happens,
especially if the two Ferraris can somewhat gain from that.
But, yeah, that's the best part to watch,
is lap one of Monaco,
and then when the pit stops happen.
And that's from a hardcore Formula One fan that will watch every lap,
but those are the two big highlights for me.
OK, next question.
Dipit Sharma 0-3.
Can George really come back into the championship race?
Landed it last year,
but what are the chances Kimmy's performance dips,
like Oscar's, last season?
Now, I know I just came up with the hypothetical scenario
of qualifying staying the same way,
and Kimmy having a 60-point lead.
But it is not over by any stretch,
just purely because we have a lot of races left.
I think, well, after this, it'll be round six done and dusted,
then 15 more races.
That's a lot of points,
and a lot of opportunity for George to turn it around.
It's not like we haven't seen pace from George.
We saw it in Montreal and in DNF.
We also saw it in Australia, where he was phenomenal.
But he does look very just mystified as to what's going on.
And, again, similar to how Kimmy's done another phenomenal performance,
I cannot believe this is the George we're seeing so far this year,
who was reasonably bulletproof over the last three years at Mercedes,
especially when he was teammates with Hamilton.
He looked like someone that could win a world championship
if the offer presented itself.
But we're not seeing that from him at the moment.
The pace is lacking.
It's not like he's making fundamentally wrong decisions.
It's just that he's not fast.
No, he's not.
This was an insane surprise.
We thought that the Mercedes might be a little further back,
but maybe they'd slot in together.
George has had obviously difficult season with the issues that he's had.
I'm not talking about the DNF here,
but other slight issues that he's had.
But it has to be said, like Kimmy Antonelli,
even if you buy the fact that George has been unlucky,
which I think he has to an extent,
but it still doesn't hide the fact that I think Antonelli
has just simply been better this season.
And I think going into this race,
George's kind of saving grace has been the fact that
we just were at Canada and had his car not conked out.
Probably could have well won the race.
He obviously won the sprint,
and he was there or thereabouts with Kimmy,
even though Kimmy did look faster.
Kimmy was like making mistakes trying to pass him and stuff.
So George had the pace to win.
So to come to this race where the narrative was kind of like,
oh, can Kimmy Antonelli win again?
Most people kind of saying probably not,
because it's Monaco and Mercedes aren't going to be that great around here.
And he's put five positions between him and his teammate.
It's absolutely insane.
And George yet, that's the crazy thing to me,
is has no answer for it.
He looked completely mystified,
and he's there, of course,
he's been quite downbeat and there's been a lot of...
He's been very chatty about kind of like,
I've got really bad luck and the gods don't want me to win
and all this kind of stuff.
But this was a fair fight today,
and he was absolutely nowhere near his teammate.
Exactly.
And also, we're looking at these qualifying sessions,
and it's quite close, right?
He doesn't have the luxury around here, at least,
to be able to slot into P2 or P3.
He was half a second, I think, off Kimmy Antonelli,
and that's put him down P6 on the grid.
It would have been much further down maybe even last year.
So, for George, he has to turn it around really quickly now,
as much as we're saying,
it's early in the season, yada, yada, yada.
A lot of things are going to have to go wrong for Kimmy Antonelli
in the future from here on for George to win the world title.
If we leave here and he's 60 points clear,
that is a lot of one twos that George Russell has to head.
Maybe, like, seven or so, even eight, actually,
to be back in the lead.
Because I don't see any sort of...
We haven't seen a chink in Kimmy Antonelli's armour
in terms of his pace yet this season.
We've seen mistakes, but he's been able to turn it around,
and that's the most sensational thing.
He's lost so many positions as Kimmy Antonelli off the line,
but he's always had the composure
to be able to extract the pace that he's had in the car
and win races.
And I think what's really interesting is that
a lot of the chatter at the start of the year,
and I guess even still now, where Kimmy's been going of,
like, can as a really inexperienced driver,
can he handle the pressure of the world championship?
But at the moment, the pressure is all on George
and the whole kind of talk.
Kimmy looks cool as a cucumber at the moment.
Obviously, that could change completely.
Again, this question kind of alluded to it.
It's something we said about Piastri last year,
and it could all change.
But at the moment, all the pressure seems to be on George.
The questions, what's happening?
What's going on?
Why are you so much slower than your teammate?
And that pressure is building up.
George doesn't have an answer for it.
There's now a paddock rumour going around
in kind of Dutch media
that if Antonelli stays ahead of Russell
in the championship, that an exit clause could happen.
And even if there's no truth to that
and Toto doesn't think that he wants to get rid of George
and he's happy with his driver lineup,
it's still pressure on George
that he has to be hearing about, I might lose my seat.
It's just another thing to add on to the fact
that he's probably gone into this season,
especially after Australia thinking,
well, thank you very much.
This is going to be my title now,
even though you'd never say that openly.
But he must have thought very confidently,
like, I have a very good chance to win the world title
here after that first race.
Now, it wouldn't have been news to him
that there's an exit clause this contract,
if it is or isn't true.
He would have known that from round one.
So the added media pressure
would absolutely be an annoyance to him.
Of course, it's something that people are talking about.
But it's not like he's finding out right now
that, oh, God, if Antonelli beats me.
So for George, he's got more to worry about
than his Mercedes contract right now.
And that's this championship.
And it might be one of his only opportunities,
should things change and Max goes to Mercedes or whatever.
I found it interesting that George said after qualifying
that it's kind of a bit driving style.
That's the issue right now.
And he said he might even have to try
and adapt it to these new cars.
And this is why you thought Antonelli would be so good
into this year's because it's less to adapt to
when you're so early on in your career.
And I think we're seeing that.
Whereas George, it's been around for a while now.
He's not an old dog, but he's had different regulations
to adapt to.
So yeah, it's going to be fascinating to see
if George can figure out these cars
and get back on Kimmy's pace.
Let's now head to another question from P1P.
Remember, Justin, how does the energy feel
being there in person compared to watching at home?
I mean, my driver's in P2, so I'm obviously very happy
compared to my...
The energy of the crowd, Tommy, not us.
Sorry, yeah, of course.
I think Matt might be the only person
that's upset on a Super Yacht, of course,
for the moment in qualifying.
Yeah, I'm going to be releasing a song on Spotify
called Crying on a Super Yacht.
A little Charlotte Clair on piano.
Yeah.
But it's amazing to be here,
and you can feel the...
One thing I notice is...
I think I said this before when we kind of came here last time
and surprised me, that even though
Monaco's a very different place
to anywhere else in the world,
and Charlotte Clair,
you could be excused for thinking
that at a place like Monaco,
where the rich and famous are here,
there's a lot of drivers from overseas
that come and live here and stuff,
that maybe it doesn't hit the same
as like a Hamilton at Silverstone,
or Verstappen at Zandvoort.
But all the crowd are behind the Clair.
Every time he's on the screen,
everyone's cheering,
all the posters are Charlotte Clair.
You walk around the streets and you see
Go Charlotte, he's one of their own.
And even at a track like Monaco,
that you think maybe there's not that same home crowd,
it is that pressure and that's something
that you kind of felt in qualifying
of like the excitement of the fans,
when Charlotte Clair did put it, you know,
did a purple sector and things like that,
or you know, put it provisional pole.
And these are the kind of moments
that were incredible to watch.
And yeah, even at a track like Monaco,
where maybe the perception is,
oh, it's just the rich and famous or whatever,
like chumps like us on a Super Y.
But like, it's...
The fandom here is incredible
and everyone in the stands, you know,
you're like hearing the buzz
and the atmosphere is incredible.
It was so good.
It really is.
You know, we're not just saying that
because we have insane access
and something we still can't really believe,
but if you've never come to Monaco
and seen the cars go around here,
that is a spectacle in itself.
The television will never,
never, ever do it justice.
So I think I can hear Kim Ilman
doing a reel above us
and throwing me off slightly.
But I think for the Monaco experience,
yeah, just seeing these cars around here,
there's a part where we walk
between this, well, where we are,
and basically sort of paddock area.
There's a walkway where you can see them
go through the swimming pool chicane,
the fast left-right where they have been sideways
so many places this weekend.
You can't stop there.
You're not technically allowed to stop.
You can just time it and be like,
oh, I need to go the other way.
I need to go the other way.
So you can do a slow walk or whatever.
And seeing the cars go through there,
I mean, it is like,
no doubt that the changing direction...
I don't think there's anything better
to see a change of direction
of a Formula One car.
Around there, around the streets of Monaco
is ridiculous to watch.
So I would say if you've never been to Monaco,
it's definitely a thing to tick off the bucket list
because as much as tomorrow's race
may well be very, very boring to watch at home,
just seeing the cars go around here
is something that as a Formula One fan,
I think you can only really fully be able
to appreciate when you're up close.
Definitely, because, you know,
I think looking at some of the other circuits,
you know, the things that come to mind,
you know, watching them like through beckets,
unfortunately, I've never been lucky enough
to go to Melbourne and see them through the quick chicane.
There, but, you know,
there's certain places on the calendar
where you can watch that change of direction.
But here, because you are so close to the track
and you're so close to the walls,
it's like nothing else.
Like in qualifying spec,
they look so, so fast
and even faster because the walls are so tight.
And, yeah, I, you know,
obviously, we know, we are, you know,
the fans and know that, you know,
it's not everyone is unfortunately able to go,
but if you can and you're able to go to a race
and you can get here,
but if you're lucky enough to do it,
it is definitely like bucket list worthy
and don't be put off by the fact that the race is a bit dull
because the experience of being here
and watching Formula One cars,
I think is actually the best of any track
just because you are watching Formula One cars
do something insane and you see no better driver skill,
I think.
It's unfathomable.
It's absolutely unfathomable to see them go around here.
Another thing to mention that I think is very exciting.
Obviously, we had a very quick but lovely catch up
with Lando in the paddock.
We were sort of lingering around trying to see a driver or two
because we're Formula One fans
and we don't usually get paddock passes
and we were like, we're going to stand around
and see if we can say hello to one or two drivers
and we saw hardly anybody,
but then Lando came down
and had to shout Bob at him
and then he turned round and came
and had a nice chat with him,
but yeah, it's always nice to do that
because you don't see them that often, do we?
And for Lando in particular, obviously,
you know, know him reasonably well
and he seems so calm
and just comfortable in his own skin nowadays.
I think the pressure of winning that world championship
and we've said this about his driving.
Whenever he's had a reliable weekend
where his car hasn't conked out
in a practice session or whatever,
he's been really, really quick
and of course, qualifying P8 today is not ideal
and didn't go his way.
I think he messed up his final lap,
but just the sort of comfortable nature that he was,
it was half an hour away from qualifying
and it felt like he was completely unfazed by it
and just having a normal matter.
Well, yeah, he was chatting about his golf
and all sorts and stuff, but yeah,
it was great to chat to him.
We've not, unfortunately,
been able to catch up with him
since he won the world championship,
so that was really cool to see him have a chat,
you know, still the same Lando
and yeah, I completely agree that, you know,
even though he's a Formula One driver
at the end of the day,
he always wants to be competitive
and probably the season
isn't the way he's going.
Of course, he would have loved to have defended his crown.
That's absolutely what he's here for,
but to have the number one on your car,
it's still an incredibly special thing
and it was really cool to, you know,
catch up with him, have a chat.
A lot of you tagged us in some pictures and stuff
because I think we appeared on the broadcast.
Yeah, we were on the broadcast.
Chatting to him, which was really, really cool.
As we were doing that, by the way,
Kim Kardashian walks,
as we were waiting for, like, drivers and things,
I have never seen so much security
and people running,
crowding around someone.
It was insane, you know.
Monaco, I think,
I joked that it's probably the only
place that you come to a circuit
and the drivers are the most famous people here.
Yeah, it goes Tom Bellingham,
Kim Kardashian and then the drivers.
Yeah, well, I won't be anymore
because I put Charlotte Clarke on my fancy team
and he screwed me.
This is why I'll never forgive him
and thank Charlotte.
Oh, dear.
Right, quick shout-out
for Lawson, to be fair,
I did mention him earlier for a fantastic qualifying
and also Pierre Gasly as well,
managing to get into P9,
I think it was.
Good opportunity for him to score some points for Alpine
and that is it.
That was a big old natter. Hope you enjoyed it.
We certainly did.
Probably you can feel the slight disappointment
all over my body, but that is me right now.
I'm still protesting not being
anywhere near pole position, but that's fine.
We'll be back tomorrow.
We'll have our usual recap and
that is it.
Tommy, final thoughts?
Final thoughts are
just can't wait for the race.
I know it's obviously not the most interesting one on the calendar
and it gets a lot of bad rep,
but I think the start is going to be
absolutely epic to watch.
I think it's such an interesting narrative
that you've got Antonelli who
is a, you know,
a driver that loves to go for it as well as Max,
probably two of the drivers
that love to go for it the most
and a similar kind of driving style,
but Antonelli has to think about the title.
Max will go for it knowing he's the only win
and for I there to pick up the pieces, so
absolutely cannot wait.
Alright, now I'm sold. Leclerc P4 to P1 at Monaco
turn one.
Who's jumping into the harbour?
Is it either of us because we're either depressed or happy?
No, the amount of fish there in there,
there's not a chance.
I don't know if they're going to nibble me.
Okay, anyway, that's a strange comment.
To leave the podcast, I'd rather Tommy nibble me,
but anyway, thank you so much everybody for tuning in.
We'll see you tomorrow for a Leclerc victory around Monaco.
Take care. Goodbye.
Lots of love.
Bye-bye.
About this episode
Monaco qualifying sparks plenty of debate on P1 with Matt and Tommy, from how new regulations changed the excitement to why the margins are so brutal on the street circuit. They break down Q1 incidents like Bortoletto’s suspension damage and Perez’s brake fires, then zoom out to team form swings, especially Aston Martin’s “flop” and Mercedes’ late qualifying lift. Pole talk, overdriving, and Monaco’s near-impossible overtakes shape their race-start hype and title-pressure chatter.
Day two in Monaco and one of us is still loving life on the superyacht, while the other has filled the swimming pool with tears. You'll never guess who...
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