Driver Rankings: Who was the most impressive driver in Austria?
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What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
The Athletic. The race is on, and George Russell and Max Verstappen return to the front in Austria. But will either of them claim the coveted top step of the podium in my driver rankings, or will it go to someone else entirely? I'm Ed Stewart, and joining me to discuss how I rank the driver's performance at the Red Bull Ring is Matt Beer. Hello, Matt. Welcome.
Hello, Ed. This is a really weird experience for me because you've ranked the F1 drivers this weekend. And because you borrowed my usual MotoGP partner, Val Harunchin, took him to Austria, I've ranked the MotoGP riders. So after doing this podcast with you talking about ranking F1 drivers, I'm going to have to go and defend my own MotoGP rider rankings to another part of the audience somewhere else entirely. So
i think i've got a little bit of insight into what you put yourself through every every race in terms of making these harsh 22nd to first judgments and i'm ready for the challenge of taking you on excellent so after you've uh you've tackled my perfect ratings you can defend the indefensible with yours uh yours of course are terrible all wrong i'd have done completely differently i haven't seen them as yet to be quite honest and uh I wouldn't have a very strong opinion if I did because I've seen none of MotoGP from the weekend. But yeah, it's a fun process and it gives you, as we always have on this relatively new podcast, a different perspective. And that's why we have the rotating cast of co-hosts.
So looking forward to this one. Shall we give the people what they want and tell them all about the rankings for the Austrian Grand Prix? So here is the rundown. 22nd, Franco Colapinto. 21st, Lance Stroll. 20th, Alex Albon. 19th, Esteban Ocon. 18th, Valtteri Bottas. 17th, Sergio Perez. 16th, Arvid Lindblad. 15th, Nico Hülkenberg. 14th, Fernando Alonso. 13th, Isaac Hadjar. 12th, Charles Leclerc. 11th, Lando Norris. 10th, Pierre Gasly. Ninth, Kimi Antonelli. Eighth, Carlos Sainz. Seventh, Oli Behrmann. Sixth, Lewis Hamilton. Fifth, Oscar Piastri. Fourth, Liam Lawson. Third, Gabriel Bortoletto. Second, Max Verstappen. First, George Russell. So Matt, what leapt out of you there? What do you want to tackle first?
Well, obviously I am interrogating you on behalf of not just my own opinions about your dastardly rankings, but the Race Members Club's views. If you're not yet in the Race Members Club and want to be part of this process after every Grand Prix, look for the link on the website and in the episode description here. Go and join the Race Members Club on Patreon and you can be part of haranguing Ed in a polite way, mostly, about where he's placed everybody in his 22nd to 1st ranking after every Grand Prix. I'd like to start with a point about the championship leader, Kimi Antonelli, who only managed ninth in your rankings, even though you admit he looked faster than the teammate who won the race, George Russell, who's gone first in your rankings.
We'll get to him in a minute. I've got strong opinions about what you've done with George Russell after this race. But Stuart Coulter in the Members Club, his description of Kimi Antonelli's weekend in your ranking is, his weekend was only undone by a mistake, and that's a mistake in inverted commas, in qualifying, which wasn't as bad a mistake as throwing the car off the road on a fast lap, for example. So Stuart feels, Ed, and I'm with him on this, that you've maybe dragged Kimi Anthony down a bit too much here for the crime of actually thinking it was a double yellow rather than a single yellow and lifting off in a responsible way and blowing a shot at pole.
Yeah, it was two things, really. I think the verdict mentioned the yellow flag thing, which I do think was a mistake. We always give credit to drivers for doing things right, for being in control, for being sharp. And Antonelli wasn't, and he admitted that was his mistake. But it was also the early laps. By his own admission, he was overexcited. I know the team felt that as well. And that made life for him more difficult.
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Chapters
5 chapters
1
What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
0:02–7:34
2
Who are the drivers ranked 22 to 1 for the Austrian Grand Prix?
7:34–13:01
3
Why was Kimi Antonelli placed ninth despite strong pace?
13:01–22:20
4
How does Ed weigh recovery drives versus clean execution when ranking drivers?
22:20–32:01
5
Why was Oscar Piastri ranked fifth instead of higher after Austria?
32:01–40:49
Speakers
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