Latest / Early Edition with Ryan Bridge / James Allen: Motorsport Commentator previews the Melbourne Grand Prix

Transcript

James Allen: Motorsport Commentator previews the Melbourne Grand Prix · Early Edition with Ryan Bridge

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: It's the Formula One Grand Prix and Melbourne this weekend,
• 0:02
  Speaker 1: and our own Liam Lawson is on debut. It's his
• 0:04
  Speaker 1: first Grand Prix in the main seat instead of driving
• 0:07
  Speaker 1: in somebody else's car. He's driving for red Ball and
• 0:10
  Speaker 1: he's been on the telly this week.
• 0:12
  Speaker 2: It's more excitement than anything. More excited for this and
• 0:15
  Speaker 2: I've been really for anything. It's quite a hard track
• 0:17
  Speaker 2: this weekend. It's meant to be thirty eight degrees on Saturday,
• 0:20
  Speaker 2: which to start the year like that is quite tough.
• 0:23
  Speaker 2: Like normally we go to those races later in the
• 0:24
  Speaker 2: year and it's you're sort of a bit more race
• 0:27
  Speaker 2: fit for that because you've done a lot of Grand Prix.
• 0:29
  Speaker 2: But to start the year with a really high downforced track,
• 0:32
  Speaker 2: high G track, hot, it's going to be very, really tough.
• 0:35
  Speaker 1: So modice var commentator James Allen joins me out of
• 0:37
  Speaker 1: New York right now. Hella, James, Hey, how you doing this?
• 0:41
  Speaker 1: I'm doing great. This hype is huge. This events to
• 0:44
  Speaker 1: sell out and Liam seems to be the center of attention.
• 0:47
  Speaker 1: How are you expecting him to go?
• 0:50
  Speaker 3: It's a really good question. I mean, you know, there's
• 0:52
  Speaker 3: no question he's got the talent. He's definitely earned his opportunity.
• 0:55
  Speaker 3: He's been very, very patient over the last couple of years.
• 0:58
  Speaker 3: I was incredibly with him when he deputies for Daniel
• 1:02
  Speaker 3: Ricardo at the back end of twenty twenty three. He
• 1:05
  Speaker 3: put in some stunning performances, particularly remember one in Japan.
• 1:09
  Speaker 3: I think you and I spoke around that time actually
• 1:11
  Speaker 3: about it, and he showed he's got the minerals. As
• 1:14
  Speaker 3: Mark Webber would say, to cut it at the top
• 1:17
  Speaker 3: end of a Formula one, so as I say, he's
• 1:19
  Speaker 3: had to be very patient, and that doesn't mean just
• 1:22
  Speaker 3: doing nothing and kicking his heels. He's obviously been able
• 1:24
  Speaker 3: to get on the simulator a lot of these What
• 1:27
  Speaker 3: makes these young drivers ready and so prepared nowadays is
• 1:30
  Speaker 3: they have the time at the race track, at the
• 1:32
  Speaker 3: race factory, team factory to get on the simulators, which
• 1:36
  Speaker 3: are very very realistic, and really learn how everything works,
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  Speaker 3: how the controls work, and how to improve the car.
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  Speaker 3: Of course, it's not the real thing, it's not the
• 1:44
  Speaker 3: same as the real thing, but the best drivers are
• 1:46
  Speaker 3: able to narrow the gap between the virtual world and
• 1:49
  Speaker 3: the real world, and so a lot of Liam's preparation
• 1:52
  Speaker 3: is there and I'm sure he'll do fine this season.
• 1:56
  Speaker 3: I wouldn't judge him too much on how he performs
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  Speaker 3: his first time out in the big team, as you
• 2:00
  Speaker 3: put it, because Melbourne is a unique circuit, has very
• 2:04
  Speaker 3: very strange characteristics and it doesn't reflect anything really of
• 2:07
  Speaker 3: the season ahead. It's just a great place to start
• 2:09
  Speaker 3: the new Season's colorful, it's a huge crowd. The Aussies
• 2:13
  Speaker 3: love their and the Kiwis love their racing. But I
• 2:15
  Speaker 3: think you know, you judge him after three or four
• 2:17
  Speaker 3: races as to how he's getting on.
• 2:19
  Speaker 1: What I loved about the quote that I just played
• 2:21
  Speaker 1: is that he already knows exactly what's ahead of him.
• 2:24
  Speaker 1: He knows it's going to be hot, he knows there's
• 2:26
  Speaker 1: lots of heavy breaking in the whole thing. He knows
• 2:28
  Speaker 1: it's going to be very, very physical. So the question
• 2:31
  Speaker 1: is do you think he's fit and ready enough for it?
• 2:34
  Speaker 2: Oh?
• 2:35
  Speaker 3: Yeah, absolutely, These guys, like I said before, you know
• 2:37
  Speaker 3: he's one of I mean, I still think Liam's a rookie.
• 2:40
  Speaker 3: He's done twelve races, but he's not done a whole season,
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  Speaker 3: and in my book, that makes him still a rookie.
• 2:45
  Speaker 3: And you've got six rookies in the field this year.
• 2:48
  Speaker 3: It's unprecedented. Why is twenty twenty five the year that
• 2:51
  Speaker 3: Formula One trusts in rookies For the reasons I just
• 2:54
  Speaker 3: said that they are so well prepared now in the
• 2:56
  Speaker 3: virtual world and with testing the two year old cars
• 2:59
  Speaker 3: that they're come in. Oliver behn And jumped into the
• 3:01
  Speaker 3: Ferrari in Saudi Arabia last year with no practice and
• 3:04
  Speaker 3: finished seventh in the Grand Prix. That made everybody in
• 3:07
  Speaker 3: Formula One the team bosses look it again and say,
• 3:09
  Speaker 3: hang on a second, We've got this great talent in
• 3:12
  Speaker 3: are cheaper, you don't have to pay them as much money.
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  Speaker 3: And so you've seen people like Botas leaving the sport,
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  Speaker 3: the more experienced drivers who cost more and perhaps past
• 3:20
  Speaker 3: their peak, and they're bringing in these rookies who are faster, exciting,
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  Speaker 3: and Liam is right amongst them, and it's up to
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  Speaker 3: him now to show he's obviously got the most along
• 3:29
  Speaker 3: with Antonelli and the Mercedes. He's the rookie with the
• 3:32
  Speaker 3: most competitive car in the field, and I think you
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  Speaker 3: have to judge him as a rookie, not as someone
• 3:38
  Speaker 3: who's going to go toe to toe with probably the
• 3:40
  Speaker 3: best driver in the world right now. His teammate Max Forstappan.
• 3:43
  Speaker 3: If Liam's smart, he'll just focus on himself and not
• 3:45
  Speaker 3: worry about what Stappan's doing.
• 3:47
  Speaker 1: Great stuff and I thank you James James Ellen joining us.
• 3:50
  Speaker 1: I'm at a sport commentator. It appears as though New
• 3:52
  Speaker 1: Zealander's also in the headlines because McLaren at the moment
• 3:56
  Speaker 1: we know Bruce McLaren has a really good car and
• 3:59
  Speaker 1: Lenda Norris uars to be on fire. It's going to
• 4:01
  Speaker 1: be a great weekend. For more from Early Edition with
• 4:04
  Speaker 1: Ryan Bridge. Listen live to news Talks it'd be from
• 4:07
  Speaker 1: five am weekdays, or follow the podcast on iHeartRadio.