Sky Sports F1 Podcast: Ted’s Podbook | Verstappen on the brink of third world title

Hello everybody and welcome back to the Sky Sports F1 podcast feed and to Ted's

podbook from Doha Katar. Yes we have left behind the delights of Far East Asia

and Singapore and Japan and we have come back to the Gulf area to Katar. For the

second time we've had the Katar Grand Prix here after a year away after they

hosted the World Cup here in 2022 but we are back and happy to be back and

it's championship weekend now to paint the scene of where we are we're actually

driving back from the circuit. Karun Chandok is driving back say hello Karun.

Hello Ted, thank you all listeners. And I'm in the back with Simon, Simon

Lazenby, who's also back after a break away from Japan. We missed you Simon San

in Japan. Thank you. That's the honorific, Simon San. I didn't think

I was worthy but I'm very glad to be back. And on championship weekend and I

will just throw some names at you everybody and Simon as well. Brabham,

Stewart, PK, Lauda, Senna, complete the sequence. For Stappen. Yes, yes, yes because

surely it will happen this weekend. Although I mean you know stranger things

have happened and Max will not finish either races and or Mark rather not

score the three points he needs to complete the third world championship

but that will be a thing won't it? That will be a thing. He will join those names

to be a three-time world champion in Formula One. I wonder if that's slightly

sort of crossing a Rubicon if you like, crossing a gate, going through a path,

making one of you one of the greats. That's certainly what Lewis Halton had to say,

very generous in his praise of Max Stappen's achievements this year. It was

saying that you know it does make you winning three championships especially

in a row makes you one of the greats and that was one that he felt in relation to

his adoration for air and Senna. Do you remember at the time when he won, feel

free to chip in Karoon from the front seat, when he won his third. I think he

didn't see it as kind of you know an amazing achievement in itself but he

particularly as a fan of Senna was keen to equal that and felt quite emotional

about it at the time. Yeah I always go back to Simon Taylor's commentary on the

season review of 91. He says Ayrton Senna's third world championship means

that he has now joined the all-time greats and I think that is still true

and yeah maybe Lewis saw that same season review. Two is not enough eh? Well not

if you're Fernando Alonso who's still chasing a third but anyway I'll tell you

about Fernando Alonso in a second but yeah it sort of seems to be a moment

all about Max and I wonder if they're Craig Slater actually spoke to Max

because he's here for Sky Sports News and he said you know there are pros and

cons about winning it on a Saturday. Maybe it means that you can't go out and

celebrate in you know a big party way because you've got a Grand Prix on

Sunday but you know the the pros of settling it on a Saturday is that you

can turn up the day after still have a Grand Prix put your shoulders back and

hold your head high and say hello I'm a three-time world champion rather than

have to wait another two weeks to get to Austin and do it. Yeah the shackles have

come off I mean not that he's seems to be driving with any form of pressure at

the moment anyway but he will have more freedom to romp away to another win on

Sunday. Doesn't think about this sort of stuff though does he? I don't think. No

Vicky I think he just does it. I think he does in terms of because when Craig said

to him and I've stolen the line of Craig Brabham Stuart Piquet Lauda Senna

Verstappen I think he he was struck actually by the significance of that

and his I'm not going to pretend that he was welling up but you know he did say

well it's not it's not bad group is it and I never thought I'd get one well

maybe he did but you know it's a pretty good group to be in. Here's a

question how much do you think he is motivated by stats like do you think he

sees you know seven as a target like does he care about stats? No I think he just

wants to keep winning and but he also wants to achieve what he's going to

achieve in Formula 1 before going off and doing something else. Le Mans, Dakar,

Rally, whatever else he wants to do sports cars anything before he's too old

that's what he's told us before. Before his dad's too old because I imagine he wants to do Le Mans with his dad.

Okay yeah yeah yeah not bad maybe he could do it win the in the Aston Martin

Valkyrie Le Mans hypercar which has been launched and which to say you back to

to Fernando Alonso did you know that Fernando Alonso has a Aston Martin

Valkyrie and that he drives down to the local shops and restaurants in it?

I was converting with what? Yeah neither did I and apparently he does and I said

would you you know do you not what basically I said what he said he said

yeah I go down to the shops in my Valkyrie does he have a 3.5 million

pound Valkyrie? I mean he might have put it in his contract but I mean where would you put the shopping?

And I said surely you'd want to go on the racetrack with that he says oh no we

do the the DB7 on the racetrack is it was that a joke that I wasn't getting in

that Aston Martin have come out and said that Alonso will not be doing Le Mans

2026 is it 25 or 26 25 with the Aston Martin and is he coming is he sort of

is that him saying to me is Alonso trolling me and basically say they're

not allowing me to drive the Valkyrie on a racetrack I hope so I mean any trolling

is doing the viewers you know well it's worth it isn't it but but also that was

in relation something Adrian Newey said last week when Newey said yes 12

constructors championships is good and everything thank you very much but it's

a bit of a shame I never got to work with Fernando Alonso amongst other drivers

yeah I think he said Lewis Hamilton as well so Fernando Alonso do you say Michael

should say Michael's from America there are a couple other things that he mentioned I

can't remember off my head Lewis never drove a Newey car Alonso didn't and

Michael Michael didn't and maybe that was that anyway listen they've won the

constructors and now they're going to win the drivers championship as well

Mercedes saying they're not if we're talking about Lewis Hamilton I kind of

said look you know you spent the you spent the last week in the UK at the

factory did you see at the factory a car designed for next year that looks like a

red bull I wanted to say that because that would have been a good question

Simon I didn't I said have you seen anything spicy that looks like it's

going to be competitive I should have said what are they building next year

and does it look like a red bull you carry on talking to yourself me and

crew to try to navigate okay all right sorry sorry okay you're lost all right

well that's fine lost in the streets of Doha anyway so so Lewis said you know

I've seen some seen some good plans and I'm inspired said Hamilton about what

the aerodynamics is telling me for next year's car George Russell saying we

don't expect to be particularly strong here and conversely Land O' Norris and

Oscar Piazzari of course second and third in Japan were saying that they

actually expect this circuit to suit them very much and there's only one slow

corner so the speed kind of a low speed corner around here and Landis said

once we get that out the way I think we can have a very strong weekend do you

do you agree expert driver I think we could once again see them right up the

front I think it'll be hard for Oscar this weekend because there's only one

practice session and he's not been here before and it's it's a really tough

track I was quite thankful to our friend Anthony Davidson who did give me a

heads up and say it's probably worth you doing some laps on the sim to learn it

because it's it is and I'd never been here I've never raced here so we both

actually spent a bit of time on our sims this week to learn the track and it is

really tricky Land O also said Simon that he in was inspired by the way that

the Ryder Cup Europe team got off the blocks in such a commanding way and

really one did Europe win the Ryder Cup on day one oh yeah oh yeah they nailed

them in a session and whilst I was tuning into that but also obviously

practice from Japan I yeah they did you they forzip them so he's take always

take an inspiration from yes he has great well that's good isn't it he's

they're lucky charm apparently Land O but he said he had a great he had a great

time who else Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly hoping for a slightly better weekend

Williams hoping for a better weekend this weekend after a double DNF last time

out in Japan as well Valtteri Bottas talking about his ice bath he really

has to set up his ice bath and was looking forward to that saying it's very

very hot need some fans feeling the heat but paying tribute to Valtteri Bottas to

Max Verstappen saying that he's out he's taken his pure speed and he's added

experience and maturity and what he's doing is extremely impressive Lance

Stroll also asked of Martin saying it's strange that you had the rear wing failure

they don't have that very much you don't see rear wing failure is very much in

formula one anymore and that's something that they are investigating and what

they want to get on top of the thing sure they can and have Kevin Magnussen and

Nick Alkenberg saying they're just doing this one last race with the old car

before they get their B car the new car with the upgrades in Austin so this one's

just sort of you know get on with it and finally who else have we missed Ferrari

yes I knew there was one Charles Leclerc Carlos Sainz optimistic but not

thinking that they are McLaren beaters and that tells you everything doesn't it

on this championship weekend we're looking at Max Verstappen but we're also

looking at McLaren's the fight between McLaren Ferrari and Mercedes will be as

tight as ever and I will leave you dear podcast listeners with the news from the

paddock barbecue the welcome barbecue where the meat dish on offer obviously

Qatar you know they don't serve suckling pig or anything like that there was some

chicken shawarma around but the main meat on offer well do you want to tell

them Simon or shall I I didn't see it I only saw the shawarma my eyes only for

shawarma we've left the coffee behind haven't we at the barbecue as obvious

well I don't think he was eating this because it was camel yeah yeah camel was

being served the mighty camel the mighty camel the ship of the desert was being

served and I don't really know a how I feel about it or be whether it's a

Qatari delicacy maybe but if any Qatari listeners could text me or tell me

whether camel is a Qatari delicacy I would very much like to know right that

is it thank you very much for listening and look forward to having your company

on this sprint weekend as Karun Simon can out of the car I must stop over the

weekend it's a sprint weekend remember so on Friday it's free practice one and

then qualifying for the Grand Prix Saturday it is sprint qualifying and

then the sprint race and Sunday at the Grand Prix thanks for listening see you

throughout the weekend

Machine-generated transcript that may contain inaccuracies.