472: Azerbaijan GP Qualifying - What Alex Saw Trackside

The latest Flat Chat podcast from GP Racing magazine weighs up Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc’s next move and delves into the chaos at the Alpine F1 team.   The squad formerly known as Toleman, Benetton, Renault, Lotus, Renault again and now Alpine has had many names above the door over the past 40 years. And, recently, plenty of leaders who have been shown the (revolving) door after failing to meet the aspirations of those who ultimately pay the bills.  Ahead of the Belgian Grand Prix team principal Otmar Szafnauer and sporting director Alan Permane became the latest casualties. At the same time it was revealed senior engineer Pat Fry was to become chief technical officer at Williams, amid strong suggestions that a toxic atmosphere created by former CEO Laurent Rossi was a reason for Fry choosing to leave.  GP Racing columnists Mark Gallagher and Matt Kew join editor Stuart Codling to analyse the implications of these latest moves. As Alpine embarks on an ambitious expansion of its road car line-up and accompanying sales, is this a sign Renault Group boss Luca de Meo wants the team to be competitive earlier than its previous 100-race target?  And have the latest departures had as big an impact on staff morale at Enstone as claimed?  The cover story of this month’s GP Racing focuses on Charles Leclerc’s next moves. While it’s unlikely he would move to either Red Bull or Mercedes in the short term, it’s clear the relationship with Ferrari is strained.  The Scuderia and its loyal tifosi like to draw parallels between Leclerc and Gilles Villeneuve. Both brave, both occasionally prone to messy mistakes while pushing too hard – and might Leclerc, like Villeneuve, be contemplating a future elsewhere?  This month’s GP Racing also celebrates Williams hitting its 800th grand prix with a package including an exclusive interview with team principal James Vowles. The former Mercedes engineer and chief strategist opens up about his fight to get into Formula 1 in the first place, early learnings at a struggling BAR-Honda, his role in changing the face of race strategy, and why the Williams team’s new owners aren’t looking to cash out any time soon.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

9 Aug 20231h 10min

Autosport's Stefan Mackley sits down with the newly crowned Formula E champion, Jake Dennis. They delve into the heart-pounding moments of the 2022-2023 Formula E season as Jake takes us on a thrilling journey from the opening round in Mexico City to the final moments at the London E-Prix, where he fulfilled his dream of becoming Britain's first Formula E champion. Throughout the episode, Dennis reflects on his motorsport career that led him to this high point. From an early career in karting to winning the Autosport BRDC Award in 2012 at the age of 17. With two wins in his rookie season, Dennis proved his prowess in the all-electric series, positioning himself as a formidable title contender. Although the championship eluded him he would continue to rack up wins and podiums, until he was finally able to clinch the title in 2022-23. The London E-Prix proved to be a momentous occasion as Dennis secured the championship in front of his home crowd. With the competition expected to intensify, Dennis reflects on the pressures of being the reigning champion and how he plans to maintain his edge in the field. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

4 Aug 202324min

Matt Kew and Filip Cleeren join us live in Belgium after watching the action trackside this weekend, alongside Jake Boxall-Legge talking to Martyn Lee about how the grand prix panned out at Spa-Francorchamps.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

30 Jul 20231h 1min

Autosport's Sam Hall takes us through the action on Saturday, which now starts with the Sprint Shootout and ends with the short-but-sweet Sprint race. He joins Martyn Lee to talk about the delayed start, tyres choices and a controversial incident.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

29 Jul 202331min

Max Verstappen secured pole position at the Belgian Grand Prix qualifying session, despite facing a five-place grid penalty for the GP due to the fitting of a fifth gearbox of the season. This penalty, however, does not affect his starting spot for Saturday’s sprint race.   Verstappen had a tense exchange with his engineer, Gianpiero Lambiase, over Red Bull's run plan, which saw him barely make it through in 10th in Q2 following the switch from wet to dry tyres in that session.   In the final runs of Q3, Charles Leclerc initially took the top spot with a time of 1m46.988s. However, Verstappen, running deep in the Q3 pack, secured the fastest time with a 1m46.168s, pushing Leclerc to second place before Verstappen's grid penalty was applied.   Alex Kalinauckas joins Martyn Lee to analyse all of today’s action. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

28 Jul 202324min

It was a record-breaking Hungarian GP for Red Bull with 12 consecutive wins beating McLaren’s previous achievement.   Chief Editor Kevin Turner is joined by Alex Kalinauckas and Matt Kew alongside your host Martyn Lee to look back at today’s action in Hungary. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

23 Jul 20231h 10min

No spoilers! Jake Boxall-Legge joins Martyn Lee to talk about a mixed up grid in Hungary, and a tantalising battle at the front. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

22 Jul 202322min

First Practice for the Hungarian Grand Prix was marked by rain and crashes, with George Russell of Mercedes emerging as the fastest driver in the highly disrupted session. The session was interrupted early on when Red Bull's Sergio Perez crashed on his first timed lap. Perez lost control of his RB19 after his left-rear wheel touched the grass on the outside of Turn 5, causing a 360-degree spin and collision with the wall. In the second practice session for the Hungarian Grand Prix, Ferrari's Charles Leclerc put in the fastest time just ahead of McLaren's Lando Norris, with Max Verstappen of Red Bull only managing 11th place. Editor of autosport.com, Haydn Cobb, joins Martyn Lee to work out how Friday's running will impact Qualifying and the Grand Prix. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

21 Jul 202321min