Monaco GP: Kimi Antonelli STRIKES again but HEARTBREAK for Verstappen & Leclerc

This is a Global Player original podcast. What we saw today was a generational drive by a generational talent. Flawless, absolutely flawless. Chapeau, chapeau, chapeau. It was chaos. Oh gosh, not again Charles, not again, not again. It's a joy to be able to see Lewis back up there and fighting. We just got an insight to what Formula One might look like if Max Verstappen isn't on grid. That's how it's done ladies and gentlemen. This is a 19 year old, barely passed his driving test and is about well on his way to being a world champion. It's Will. It's Naomi. It's David. Welcome to Up To Speed and it's a pretty hasty episode of Up To Speed recorded. DC, you've literally just got off air and we can see you are still, not just in the principality, but what looks like meters from the paddock. We are indeed, yeah. Up To Speed studio here, just beside the paddock. You can see the back of the Mercedes truck. Beyond that, the mountains that sit and often have a cloud hanging over them, don't they? Many are Grand Prix, but being a slightly later date in the year, then we've had incredible sunshine all weekend and we had some incredible performances from Kimi Antonelli. Yeah, I have to say DC, the FOMO has already been real. I mean, the fact that I wasn't able to come to the Monaco Grand Prix this weekend for various reasons, health reasons, I couldn't make it. That race massively delivered. Not that it always does. This weekend it did. And now you're teasing us by putting the paddock in your backdrop. Come on. Well, look, you were missed, but you will be back, I'm sure, pretty soon at a Grand Prix. Will's busy, of course, in America. You've got a night race coming up. So as we get ready to start our evening here and the after party, you're getting ready to go to work. So I feel for Will. Yes, a bit. Well, we got up early to watch the race. Got to be honest, almost fell asleep again during the first 50 laps. But thank God for Lance Stroll for giving us the end. Rare will say that. For giving us the ending to the Grand Prix that we did because it was it was chaos. And of course, so much of that also created by pit lane speeding penalties. And then Charles obviously hitting the hitting the barrier on the restart. What we like to say over here in the States, yellows breed yellows. And it really did in that case. But look, before we get on to all of that, Kimi Antonelli, five in a row, youngest ever winner at Monaco, the pole lap. I mean, where do we start for this win? Because we always talk that qualifying is so important to your weekend in Monaco. And for Kimi to pull out that lap, it was so sublime, so phenomenal. And then to just control the field the way he did to standing starts, never looked in any trouble, lapped his teammate, lapped his teammate like that is that is a dominant performance. Yeah, look, I'm always lost for words because to do four in a row and then he came here and I'm like, well, it's Monaco. There's a difference. Flawless, absolutely flawless. That battle for pole position. I loved Saturday. It was just amazing the fact we had three teams all in the hunt. And then in the Grand Prix, it's a long way to bring home a Grand Prix in Monte Carlo. But he bolted at the beginning of the race. Really impressive. Not getting flustered by the fact they had to do a grid restart as well, because we've got used to in the first few Grand Prix's, Ferrari being fast starters. Well, that seems to have been neutralized a little bit as we went into this race. But the guy, if that was Ayrton Senna or Michael Schumacher or Lewis Hamilton, when he had the winning car, we would be going, that's how it's done, ladies and gentlemen. This is a 19 year old, barely passed his driving test, not long left home. And it's about well on his way to being a world champion. So it's the yin and the yang, isn't it? You've got an amazing performance from him. And then on the other side, you've got George Russell, 60 odd points away, just having to suck it up and go, well, look, you know, we're in a principality where the casino is. And I've been dealt no cards. I've got to say, when I was sitting there watching it the whole time I was going, I mean, chapeau, chapeau, chapeau. Because as you say, for all the reasons you've stated, he didn't put a foot wrong all weekend long around the circuit that bites so hard when you make a mistake. And then to put it on pole position, as you say, you had Max in the fight for it. You had Charles, although he did end up in the wall. He was having purple sectors and putting constant pressure. They didn't ever seem at any point through this weekend, like they were going to be the ones to be going for that pole position. For him to put that lap together, but then survive everything that today's race put him through. I mean, you could have said with over half a half a minute lead to the others to then have that chopped down for the first safety car, then another safety car, then the red flag and then another grid start. I mean, well done to him. He did not crack under any of that pressure. And I mean, it's a real star. It's a real star, not even in the making anymore. The star is here. The star is born. And we're going to have a very exciting season watching him go racing the way he does. Just a very quick one, actually. And Will, you know, you're looking from stateside. We just got an insight to what Formula One might look like if Max Verstappen isn't on grid next year, because he did the start and then it was all over. It was a very different race, wasn't it? It was. And it's fascinating to think what might have been had Max actually been able to take the start and either be chasing Kimi or get ahead of Kimi at the start. And then you've got a completely different Grand Prix on your hands. But to use your analogy, DC, of the casino, you've got to play the hand you're dealt. And Kimi played it absolutely magnificently. And I think there's two things that we spoke about in the lead up to this race. One of them was, is this going to be George's weekend? Is Kimi going to be a little bit too loose? Could he be a little bit too wild? You know, the excesses of youth that sometimes come out. Or does it play into Kimi's hand because he's driving with such ease and you need that confidence and that flow to really pull the most out at Monaco. And when you saw that qualifying lap from him, there is a driver who is so high on confidence right now, who is driving so far within himself to be able to have that joy and pull out the best of himself. And then in the Grand Prix today, you can look at it one of two ways. One, he's got the best car, there's zero pressure. He's flying out ahead and he pulls out this, you know, as you say, half a minute lead over the rest of the field. But we've seen the greats make mistakes, you know, in positions like that. We've even seen, you know, Ayrton Senna was so far ahead, he didn't even need to think about it, stopped thinking about it and crashed at Portier. You know, where is the greatest pressure? Is it when you are actually being pressured from behind at Monaco, knowing that the guy can't get past you? Or is it when you have such a massive lead that actually your mind can wander and those momentary lapses, those minimal mistakes, and you're in the barrier and it's job done. To do what Kimi did this weekend, I think, both in that qualifying lap and then to control the Grand Prix and to have the gap that he did and the manner in which he raced. DC, as you said, if it was a Lewis or a Max or a Michael Schumacher or an Ayrton Senna that pulls out a result like today, you go, of course, it's, you know, it's one of them. What we saw today was a generational drive by a generational talent. It was every bit the kind of drive that you would associate with one of the all-time greats. I think it was just, honestly, I've rarely seen such a perfect, perfect drive at Monaco than the one Kimi put in. Here's a question for both of you, because I'm questioning in my own mind, what is his driving style? Who does he remind us of? Because it's not, it was so silky smooth, his qualifying lap. It's not the sort of Alonso when he was a kid, you know, very aggressive, you know, working the front tyre. Who is he? Is he just really unique? I think he's just Kimi, you know, like Max was Max and like Lewis is Lewis and you get those greats and they're kind of, they're incomparable with anybody who's come before. You know, Lewis was the youngest driver to ever win Monaco before. And what was he, 23? Kimi's just broken that record, smashed it at 19. It's, um, and you think this is a kid, this is, this is, he's still a kid. You know, we're not even scratching the surface of what he might be, what he might do, where he might end up. It's genuinely astonishing. And there was a real ease about the way that he, he went racing today. It didn't ever feel at any point like he was over the limit or trying too hard or overdriving or anything of that sort. I mean, in the first stint, I think everybody kind of expected him to do what most leaders around the Monaco Grand Prix do, which is kind of just hold the pack up a little bit, keep everyone bunched up so that gaps don't start to open up. But he just kind of went out and did his own thing. And even the team, even though they came on the radio a couple of times and said, look, listen, we don't need to be putting in, you know, quickest laps. We don't need to be doing that. At some point they just let him do his thing because they didn't want to break that rhythm that he was, he was under. I mean, he, he clearly had the race under control. And, and, and when you are so close to the barriers at all times, it's, you don't want to break that rhythm. Because if you do, that's when it often does go wrong. But DC, you're obviously getting used to seeing Kimi under the podium just before he goes up every time he gets out the car. How did he feel today? Was it any different? I mean, obviously the Monaco Grand Prix is one that every driver wants to win. So did it feel like a little different today? Was there a little bit more of a sparkle in his eye? You could see the sense of achievement unquestionably, but actually worryingly for George and worryingly for his competitors, I didn't look like there was any surprise in those eyes. You know, it's not, if you remember back to when Jenson Button won his first Grand Prix in Budapest, there was a picture where someone photographed his eyes are like this because he's delighted, he's surprised and everything. Kimi, he's now, this, this is his normality. You know, he's won more Grand Prixs and won five in a row than some people ever win in their career. And to win five in one season has won world championships and many a Grand Prix championship. Some guys have won one race in a season and won the world championship. So yeah, this is just another day in the office for him. Incredible, incredible, incredible, incredible. And also, as you said, the gap is now over 60 points. On the flip side of the garage, George is obviously not having any sort of momentum at the moment. It feels like there's a lot of bad luck going his way and there's a lot of conversation we need to get into about today's race with regards to penalties because that feels like it dictated a lot of the result that we saw today. Whether those penalties were deserved or not is another thing. Like, why were we seeing so many pit lane speeding infringements? I mean, those are so, it's so odd to see that. If it does ever happen, it's one driver in a race. I mean, it's, it's a flick of a button, right? It shouldn't really go wrong. But we saw that time and time again, multiple drivers. We saw Pierre Gasly being really devastated at the end of the race. That could have been his podium. But at the end, it was Isaac Hadjar third on the podium, who still is under investigation at the time of recording. No, he's got it. It's literally just come through on my phone. The red flag investigation. Bear with me. Let me get the correct word. He's been cleared. Cleared of the red flag infringement. Hadjar keeps P3. Which with a car that was basically broken from 10, 15 laps into the race. Isaac's always been incredible at Monaco, even from junior Formula days all the way through. I thought he drove. I thought he drove brilliantly today, considering that that car under any normal circumstances and at any other race, he'd probably park it up and say, job done. But given Monaco's Monaco, keep the thing, you know, keep the thing in the race and see what comes out of it. And he got a podium. So really happy for him. Happy for Red Bull. Gutted for Pierre because he drove a beautiful race. But DC, I was obviously, I was watching on, you know, on F1 TV and Apple and listening to your commentary. And you sounded as confused as I think we all were about how many speeding penalties came through. Because to Naomi's point, you're used to seeing one or two, but then it seemed that almost everybody coming through pit lane was getting one. Alpine say that they are going to initiate a right of review. Yeah, over that. But I don't know what, what are they going to hope to get out of it? Because if you rescind one, you have to rescind all. So what are you going to do? You're going to rescind Lewis's five seconds. You're going to rescind George's five seconds and then his drive. Surely you can't rescind those results once they've gone through. And once they've, once they've taken them, then once the chequered flag is done and the result is set, like. Yeah, you think not. But that said, if there has been a flaw in the system, then you have no choice but to do that. And it would just be unfortunate for George. But let's be honest, he's getting used to having bad luck. And here's the theory. There's a point where the pit lane average speed is done over a distance. So it's distance mapping. And the drivers were able to, just as they leave past Cadillac, they were able to drive a slightly shorter route. So the feeling is that just because someone's painted a pretty white line suggesting the drivers follow that, it's unlike the pit lane exit line, which you will get a penalty if you cross. There's nothing actually to say as you go down the pit lane that you kind of do a bit of this if you want. It'd make it slower and make it longer. But, you know, Will, if you can just put your mind in, do you know where the ACM hospitality unit is, the scrutineering, just beside the swimming pool? It's just as you pass Cadillac as the 11th team in the paddock. Instead of them sort of going like that, they've gone, I'll just take the path of least resistance. The part that I don't understand is, I mean, and yes, okay, it is based on speed, but the speed is monitored apparently by race control based on distance, right? So almost a little bit like an average speed control would be on the highway. They've got points in the pit lane where they probably, it would have pinged them for probably being quicker in a section of the pit lane based on distance. So this is probably likely what you're saying, DC, that they were cutting that entry to the pit lane potentially more than usual. But the thing is, I mean, they practice this all weekend long, right? Every single practice session, they practice this and they make sure that they've got this pit lane limiters set correctly so that this doesn't go wrong. So this is the part that I don't understand, but ultimately this is one of the great injustices of motorsport is like when the stewards get it wrong, they don't pay a penalty, do they? It just, you know, for every little milli thing that you do as a driver or a team that you either get paid, you have to pay a massive fine or you get a five or a 10 or a drive-through or whatever second penalty. The stewards very rarely do get, you know, much of a slap on the wrist for getting it wrong on their end. And I don't know how they do backtrack this because if they were to like revoke those time penalties, it doesn't really take away the knock-on effect that those decisions would have had in the moments they did, right? George double stacked it. You know, there were all these things, not just George, but even Charles would have double stacked it. Where would he have been if that didn't happen? Would he then not have hit the wall? I mean, all these things have a knock-on effect, right? So you can't ultimately change the other little bits that would have had that sort of impact from those decisions. So where do they begin with rescinding those decisions? Well, I don't think they can, and I don't think they will for a number of reasons. Number one, the stewards very rarely admit fault with these kinds of things. Ought to be perfect. Number two, did they change the manner in which they were detecting pit lane speed between Saturday and Sunday or between any other part of the weekend and Sunday? Because if they didn't, pit lane speed has been adjudged using exactly the same parameters for the entire weekend. Did every single driver get pinged? No, if every single driver got pinged, then you would say, well, we've got an issue here because this is crazy. So if the permutations by which the penalties are applied remain the same for everybody and only certain drivers contravened them, then you can't really be in a situation where you say it's not fair because we got pinged. Well, the rules were the same for everybody, but you fell foul of them, therefore, suck it up, deal with it. The penalty stands. I can't see them. And once the checkered flag goes, what do you do? It's easier in the case of someone like Gasly who had them applied after the race than for a Hamilton or a Russell who either served that penalty or in George's case, didn't serve the penalty and then got a drive-through. I don't think anything will change. They rarely ever do on the right to reviews. But who knows? We'll see. There's an interesting one as well that's still to come through, which is Sergio Perez, who obviously got penalized at the start of the race because he moved into the grid box that he shouldn't have done, that should have been left free. And then on the restart was too far forward in his box. And if, honestly, if he loses out, Cadillac's first point. I know. I hope I'm not wearing this hoodie for no reason. Oh, hold on. We're just coming. Okay, it's just come through. Oh, yeah, he's lost it. Unreal. Apparently, he was having brake issues all the way through the weekend. Everybody else was like, surely you employ an experienced driver to not make those kind of mistakes when you're a rookie team. That would have been... Oh, my God. You cannot put Perez in the box. That's galling. I really feel for them. Well, listen, I was really excited because this had been laying in my closet for a couple of rounds now. You can probably see on my hoodie, it says Miami. So just let's ignore that for now. But I was like, when am I going to get to wear this Cadillac merch? And I got so excited because today would have been the day that they scored. Well, race day would have been the day that they scored their first ever points for a brand new team in Formula One. What an achievement. So devastating news for them. And I guess I'll pack the hoodie away again. Yeah, but come on, that is frustrating because you've got to take those opportunities. And I was maybe a bit harsh on Checo coming into the year, he's been away, he's been on the beach, Valtteri's been there at Mercedes, he's been on the sim, he's been at all the races. You know, Checo's going to take a while to get up to speed. No, he's been on it and he's been delivering. Is this the first and hopefully the last sign that the sort of race rust has meant that he's made two of the same mistakes essentially, which have cost them a point when they may never get that chance again this year? I hope they do. I think it's super impressive what they've done, but that's going to hurt. Man, to have scored their first points in Monaco, you know, with everything surrounding the team and all the fanfare and, you know, the investment and all of that, they had so many guests there this weekend, it would have been huge for them. And you don't expect it from, as I was saying, from an experienced driver like Checo, you don't expect those kind of mistakes. But they happened and, man, that's galling. That's absolutely galling. I mean, Alonso scores a point. Alonso gets the last point, I guess. Oh my goodness. Who saw that one coming? I think that's how we feel about this whole race day, isn't it? Who saw that coming? I mean, the tarmac fell apart. Who saw that coming? I will say one thing for Cadillac this weekend, which is with all the furore around Kim Kardashian showing up on Saturday and Sunday, I think Cassidy Tauris takes best dressed for the weekend over Kim Kardashian. The fits were outstanding. And I believe they were filming an episode of Emily in Paris down in pit lane this weekend as well. Well, that's a lie because we're in Monaco. How can they film Emily in Paris? I don't know. I've only seen like two episodes of it. We're talking to Jolie in the week. Apparently, Jolie has never seen Emily in Paris. And I have. So I know, right? What's going on? Listen, I don't say it very out loud in Paris that I watch Emily in Paris because the Parisians aren't a big fan of the show. I love it personally. I would have been walking past that shot like a desperate background dancer. I'll tell you one person who doesn't care about any of that is Max Verstappen. All he cares about is an opportunity to take a launch off the line. It immediately went into some kind of anti-stall, I assume. And then he was able to re-engage the gear. But whatever the issue was, meant they retired the car. That's galling, isn't it? For him as well. And we talk about Kimi's qualifying lap, which was sensational. But Max as well to pull that out. Because everyone was talking Ferrari, right? Coming into the weekend. It was Ferrari, Ferrari. And they looked so good through practice. And then suddenly you've got a front row that's Antonelli and Verstappen. And again, like both those laps were just... They were bang on the money. And Max just, you know, he always does around this place. Finds something that's special. So gutted. What could have been? Fight between those two for the win. You know, you can never count Max out, particularly around a circuit like Monaco. That's such a driver's circuit where you've got to have so much confidence. And Max really doesn't lack any of that. But yeah, it was over for him before it even started. And it seemed like he'd had sort of issues on the formation lap already. That he then, obviously, they carried over. And they weren't able to sort. Because, you know, between him and Hajar. I mean, I don't think we've gone into Hajar enough. But I mean, if you just compile all of his radio messages from today's race, they had a lot of issues in that Red Bull. And I mean, obviously, Max, we didn't get to see how the race would have played out for him. But if it would have been anything like Hajar's, it feels like there's a lot that they need to work on there on the Red Bull powertrain side. Even though Lewis gave us a bit of a nugget in the pen after the race, saying that the Red Bull powertrain, apparently, according to the ADUO findings, is the quickest of them all. Which, of course, if you don't know, is the additional development and upgrade opportunities this season. Followed by Mercedes. And then Ferrari apparently are down. So they will get some, what he referred to, I think, as coupons to make some upgrades. So they are quick, but they are obviously suffering with a lot of issues, both from a drivability perspective, from the power unit side of things. There's a lot for those drivers to have to deal with in the car. So for him to even have put it on the front row, I think is already just another sign of what a driver he is. I think it shows just how complex hybrid is. And Formula One is brilliant at finding solutions to technical problems. And this will just advance so quickly. But it is obviously frustrating for those that have these technical problems. And you can hear it in the driver's voices. And, you know, when I interviewed Lewis after the Grand Prix, when he sort of, when I said, where's the main issue? And he sort of gestured over to the car. And I'm thinking, oh my goodness, you know, how do you criticise a Ferrari? When Alain Prost, a four-time world champion, criticised his Ferrari, he got fired. He did. Yes, he did. But I think they're more criticising the regs than their individual cars, you know. And once again, we had Fernando over the course of the weekend saying that these types of cars had no place even racing. And yeah, it's a shame. It's a shame. And, you know, and let's look at Lando, you know, world champion, and he's kind of coming into every weekend a bit browbeaten, not expecting much out of it. Again, tough day for him. Power unit, what was it? Was it the battery? Was it the engine? That gave out on him during the race. You know, at one point, it completely gave out and he was like, well, it's game over and we're going to have to play rear gunner here. Then it came back and he was back up and fighting again. And then it just went, poof, in the tunnel. And that's a shame. And you're always going to have reliability issues in the sport, but when they're ultimately, seemingly all coming down to the same thing and different issues with the same thing, it's, yeah. Yeah, so Zach was saying during the race that it seemed like it was definitely a power unit issue. So that'll be a HPP, which is a Mercedes high performance powertrain who deals with those engines, but they didn't understand what exactly was causing the issue. So I think there was still a bit of digging for them to do to figure out what the issue is. But yeah, not great for them to have to. I mean, at some point he was, as you say, backing the pack up for Oscar to be able to do a pit stop and all the sort of games that we love to see around Monaco, but a sad way for it to end for them. But just to go back to Lewis and him pointing out the car, things look like they're going pretty well for him at the moment. I mean, he's been very happy. We've barely mentioned him. He's been very, very happy in that Ferrari. I mean, that's now two podiums in a row, two second places on the podium. I mean, I'm starting to get very used to seeing him and Kimi. I mean, Kimi basically always sat on his lap in the cool down room. But Lewis seems to be much happier in that car. So maybe there are still some niggles, but it seems to be suiting him and his driving style for now, at least. Let's see what happens in Barcelona. Yeah, and up to second in the championship as well. Yes, exactly. Yeah. And Monaco acts like a magnifying glass, doesn't it? For issues that you have with a car. If you're unhappy with your car, if you don't feel at one with your car, nowhere is that on display more than at Monaco. So for Lewis to be qualifying as well as he did to be racing as well as he did, I think it shows, as you said, Naomi, just that level of ease, of comfort that he finally has at Ferrari. To be able to throw that thing around and get the times out of it. And it's a joy. It's a joy to be able to see Lewis back up there and fighting. But, and we've used this phrase before, game recognises game, you know? And Lewis almost doffing his hat to Kimi and recognising here is the next generation. The torch has already been passed to Max, but is the torch being passed on again to the newer generation, the even younger generation of Kimi Antonelli? It's astonishing to think that Hadjar and Antonelli's ages combined are still less than Lewis. 19 plus 21 is 40 and Lewis is 41. I love that. Shame, let's not keep reminding him of that. How old are you, Will? 45. Yeah. I don't even ask. Right, so what do we, other than Kimi being brilliant, Lewis being back, frustrations at Red Bull, what else did we take away from this weekend that we can really get into? George, I guess. I was trying not to talk about him, but let's be honest, it's difficult. We've got to talk about him. I mean, he entered the season as the championship favourite for good reason. Mercedes had the best car, but after that first weekend in Australia, where's he been? Yeah, do you know what? I think that I was somewhat disappointed a little bit with George this weekend because things could have looked very, very different for him in Canada, obviously. Like that was his race. He should have won if things didn't go the way they did with the engine issues that he had. But to come to Monaco and not only just not be right there with his teammate, but to be quite far down, I feel a sense of concern for him because it is going to continue to knock at his confidence. And, you know, the excuse in Miami was that, you know, there was that sort of clay court versus, you know, normal tennis court analogy or whatever they were using or bogey circuits. Then we got to Canada, things were a lot better. Obviously here it is a different beast in its own, but again, it's a track that the driver needs to feel at one with the car in order to be able to push it to its limits. Something that Kimi was so clearly able to do, and he kept saying today how wonderful the car was, how great it felt, how he was just able to do his thing. And so why is George not able to do that? I don't understand what he's not getting back from the car in terms of a response or a feeling that's getting him in a position where he's able to extract everything from it. And it concerns me for him a little bit. I don't feel any sympathy. And I don't think that we can look at Canada and say that that should have been his race because Kimi was taking the race because Kimi was taking the race to him and they were having a great fight. And up until the point, there was not a done deal. It was not 100% his. The reason I say I don't have any sympathy is because George isn't a rookie. He's not in his second year of Formula One. He is coming into this year, he is and he was the team leader. He was the one expected to step up and take this brilliant car that Mercedes have produced and put in a world championship winning performance. And we've said from when Kimi had won his first race, then his second race, then his third race, it's how George responds that will be the measure of the man and will be the ultimate determination as to whether he is a world champion in the making or not. And I've not yet seen the reaction from George to pull this result back, to pull the team back to him, to pull the results back to him, to mount a challenge to a kid who is in his second year in the sport. And as you guys were saying, he's only just passed his driving test, only just moved out with his mum, you know, the youngest driver in history to win the Monaco Grand Prix. George should be given his experience, given his knowledge, given everything that he knows about the sport and given the expectations placed upon him, he should be able to be fighting this world championship. And at the moment his guard is down and he is being knocked out. Like he has to get up off the mat and start swinging. Otherwise this thing is done. Barcelona for me, I know we're talking about Monaco as they strip down the barriers behind us. Interestingly, for those who might want to know, it takes three months to build the Monaco circuit and it only takes one month to take it down. But as they're already taking the circuit down, he needs, he needs to show he can take a pole in Barcelona and assuming the car's quick enough, of course, he just needs to be beating Kimi. Let's be honest, if he doesn't beat Kimi, it's over, no world championship. But we said, listen, we said that in Canada. We said that for Monaco and now we're saying that for Barcelona. When did George Russell make his F1 debut? How many years ago is it now? Well, I think there's probably a good comparison there between DC saying how long it takes to build the Monaco circuit up and how long it takes to tear it down. George Russell has had the years of building up his career, but how many years of being Kimi Antonelli's teammate is it going to take to tear down that reputation? Because I think we're already seeing the signs of it right now. You can say as much as you want. You can say for as long as you want. All I need is the car. All I need is the opportunity. Well, guess what? You've got the car. You've got the opportunity. And you're having your arse handed to you. Well, when he started in Formula 1, then Kimi was 12. It was 2019 that George started in Formula 1. Fine, so seven years. I mean, look, this is why I was saying, I was saying I'm a little bit disappointed because I thought that he would at least come back swinging. After there was a lot of criticism, it would have been good for him to just, as you say, get back up and start swinging. But that hasn't been the case. However, I don't know if sympathy is the right thing, but I do feel a little bit for him because, as you say, it's been a long time coming. He has paid his dues. He's paid his wages. He's done his thing. He's sweat, blood, tears, all of that. He's given everything to it. And he's always been a great driver. He's always been a great member of the team in the sense that he works very hard. He helps them bring that car forward. So he's a great soldier to have in your team. And now, unfortunately, Kimi's come. He's had a tough first season and he's just come out the gates swinging in year two and left George sort of stranded. And yeah, I feel disappointed for him because I want him, firstly, to give us the battle that we all want to see. But secondly, I mean, George, we know that you... Come on, we know that George is a great driver, right? Look what he did in the junior formula. He won everything year in, year out. And then he sat in a Williams. He paid his dues. He came into the Mercedes team when they were absolutely not what the Mercedes team were used to being. And now they've got the car and he's not delivering. And I feel for him, I do. I don't... The concept of paying your dues, I don't think it's a real thing. You take your opportunity when it's presented to you or you don't. This is the time. Boris Becker at 17 winning Wimbledon. You know, you just take it. You get the chance. Bam. This is the moment. So why is he not doing it then? That's the million dollar question. What's going wrong? Why is he not gelling with that car? God knows. Well, I guess you're the best until someone better turns up, I guess. Well, you've summed it up beautifully. Well, listen, we're going to take a little break. So in the meantime, why don't you head over to your social media platforms and follow us? It's at Up To Speed Show. If you're not already subscribed to us on YouTube, please make sure you hit that red button. But make sure you stay with us because in a little bit, we're going to be discussing how things didn't go according to plan for local hero, Charles Leclerc. Shall we talk about Charles? I mean, when we saw him go into the wall and it happened in QALY as well, but in the race, I kind of almost immediately went, oh gosh, not again, Charles. Not again, not again. Because I feel like there's this saying in German, which is like Pokal oder Hospital, which translates to trophy or hospital. And that's really the way I feel. Yeah, you know how Charles often, you know, I feel like he's got almost so little fear for the limits that he's either like right on them and going so quickly or he's in the wall. But then obviously we found out a little bit more and it looks like it was, he's adamant that it was the brakes, but we obviously saw things transpire, which led to the red flag, was the peeling of the tarmac. So what do you guys think? What did you make of it all? I, look, it's a restart, isn't it? And you're trying to get a bit of an advantage, but for Charles to make that mistake there, that's not a Charles Leclerc style mistake at that point of a race. And I know it's been two weekends now on the bounce that he's been complaining about the brakes. And again, we talk about the confidence you need in your car at Monaco. So look, I just, I feel for him in that moment. Was it going to be the win? No, but it's his frustration, I think is genuine and legitimate. And when he comes over the radio in that moment and his first reaction isn't to go, oh guys, I'm sorry, I've screwed up. But to go, you know, I'm not taking the blame for this. It's the brakes. And I've been telling you guys, it's the brakes. That felt like a very honest reaction. Yeah, I think I would agree with that. He didn't look sort of head in hands, how, you know, I'm such an idiot. Do you remember when he crashed in Azerbaijan in qualifying and he's like, I'm such an idiot. There was none of that. It's like, look, anyone in that car would have had that situation. So there's a lot of complexity with these cars. And if they have got issues with the brakes on top of trying to get everything else to work and, you know, where's the state of charge and restarts and all of that sort of thing. Yeah, he's committed going forward to that team until well into 2030 something. So I think he can be open and honest. And therefore I agree with you. I don't think an outright driver mistake. I think it was just a combination of the tools that they have in their toolbox were unfortunately not in the right drawers. I have to say, you know, Charles, obviously, as we've mentioned, doesn't always get it right. But Ferrari also on very many occasions doesn't get it right. And I think that I've seen a difference in Charles this year in the way that he handles situations, the way that he communicates what he needs and wants from the team. Sometimes over the radio this year, I think has been a lot more sort of demanding. You know, he's not any more like almost feels like he owes something to the team. He's like, okay, right. If we want to start winning championships, this is what I need from you. Give me this, don't give me this. And he's being a lot more sort of instructive with the way that he's dealing with the team. How much of that do you think will help DC? Your time in F1 dealing with teams, how did you have to manage those kinds of relationships? But at the same time, without being soft and the nice guy, like you still need to get what you need from them, right? Yeah, honesty. That's how you deal with it. The only place I've been able to be fully honest in the workplace is within a Formula One team, because there's no woke sort of sugarcoating. Somebody's either delivering or they're not. Somebody's either got an answer or they haven't. If they're responsible for breaks, if they can't answer the question, find me someone who can. And if you've crashed the car, you don't try and blame someone else. You go, I crashed the car and this is why I think I crashed the car. So that's how you deal with it. Yeah, well, it seems like he was very adamant even after having seen, obviously, that the race was red flagged and seen the footage being played in the background about all that sort of what looked like rubber on the side of the track was apparently parts and bits of the tarmac. He was still adamant that it was the brakes and he'd seen something in the data. Having come back into the pits, he'd seen something in the data that alluded to that it was actually that. So yeah, maybe it was a combination of the two things of him already being wired and then the brakes not working probably to slow him down and get him through the corner. But there is obviously an issue there that he's dealing with and he's adamant that that's what it was. So I think you just got to go with his reaction, really, on that. But let's be honest, we were expecting this to be a Ferrari weekend. It was not. It never looked like it was going to be their weekend after qualifying despite looking so brilliant during practice. So back to the drawing board, bit of a head scratcher for them on a weekend that everybody expected to suit them after practice. And yeah, but great for Lewis. Brilliant for Isaac to get on the podium battling that very injured car, proper battling drive from him. Really feel bad for Pierre because he drove beautifully. And congratulations to Kimi Antonelli. The run continues. What are you doing now, DC? Are you heading off to party with Kim and Lewis or is it a cup of soup and bed? Well, actually, when I was on the grid and doing my television work and a gridwalk, I went up to Lando and you could tell he was a bit sort of, you know, we're on the fourth row, it's going to be difficult, all that sort of thing. So he was not down, but you could tell he wasn't like tingling with excitement for about what's to come. So I said to him, look, just remember you're a world champion and you're a handsome boy. And as I was about to walk away with the microphone, he went, yeah, just like you. And then he went, no, but he went apart from the world championship. No, but I loved it because it showed that, you know, in that moment, it was just someone that I know and I know well, and he's, you know, here in Monaco. So I caught up with him after the race and, you know, I was like, look, sorry for the outcome. And yeah, look, we're going to work and try and figure it all out. And I said, on the upside, you've got a hell of a lot of energy in your body to go party. So, you know, I might need to go and check out exactly where he's heading. Are you going to go dry his tears then? Yeah, his tears are gone. He's focused. I can genuinely, he has a world championship and he is a good looking boy. And you can only drive the car that you've got. So they'll bounce back, but it's looking like it's a one season championship based on the performance from Kimi Antonelli at the moment. You didn't answer the question, DC. Are you, is DC partying? You didn't answer the question. I'm very sad not to be there. Tell us what's on the party menu tonight. What are you doing? Come on, just give it to us. We're not there. We want to know. We want to feel like we're there. We want to make us jealous, DC. Well, hey kids, here's the thing. I am being sensible tonight as I have been the last several Sunday nights of the Grand Prix because normally I was watching the Indy 500 because Monday is my, don't bother trying to call me. I ain't picking up because I'm at a beach party close to Monaco and that has been frequented by a few drivers in the past. But I know one thing, I'll be there at midday. I'll be the welcoming party for those that come. And probably by about six o'clock, you'll see me on one of the tabloid... Yeah, back on the sun again. I was going to say, I thought you were going to tell us you were all partied out after your stag do. But I mean, DC being all partied out, I think that's never going to happen. I know exactly where you're headed on Monday, DC. Have a wonderful time. Thank you. Brilliant stuff. Okay, well, whilst you go get ready for some beauty sleep ahead of your party tomorrow, DC. Will, good luck with your day of work. That's all we have time for, unfortunately, today. For those of you at home watching or listening, please head over to your socials and follow us. It's at up to speed show, or if you want to send us an email, it's up to speed at global.com. We've got episodes coming out as usual every Monday and every Thursday and catch us on Thursday for our episode ahead of the Barcelona Grand Prix. See you then. This has been a Global Player original production.