Formula 1: Drive to Survive (2019) s03e02 Episode Script
Back On Track
1
I don't think anybody could have predicted
the speed and the damage that this virus
you know, could and has done.
There's no plan for the race team, no plan for the race cars, but also no plan for ourselves.
It's terrifying.
Each and every day, it's terrifying.
We've got to get back so that all ten teams have a chance, not a guarantee, but a chance of survival.
Just a heads up, Mr.
Zak Brown is on-site.
Only the second time I've been in my office since the race getting canceled in Australia.
Feels like a sci-fi movie.
Very bizarre.
Level plus one.
It's no secret we had our financial challenges through COVID.
It's devastated businesses.
It brought us to a standstill.
That means job redundancies and pay cuts.
Just impossible to know, uh, what the future has in front of us, and I think all we can do now is hope for the best.
Hey, how are you? Yeah, good.
Just at the office.
Yeah.
Quiet.
Do you think there's a scenario where you could even just get 15 races in? So what does that then look like? Two Austria, then Hungary.
Europe, Middle East, global.
Sounds like everything is under control.
All right.
Good stuff.
There is good news coming out of Formula 1 as racers dust off their cars and get underway with the Austrian Grand Prix.
The British Formula 1 Grand Prix will go ahead in July.
Ah, morning, Netflix.
Back for more.
Two meters this year though.
You gotta keep your distance.
The person you are calling is unable to take your call.
Please leave your message after the tone.
Drivers.
It's a problem.
It's probably too early in the morning.
I'm just grateful that we're we're racing.
I think, to get the series up and running, it's been a phenomenal effort.
You know, I've had ten weeks sitting at home, not doing anything.
Teams are gonna be race-rusty on the strategy, on the pit stops.
And I think that this year will create some different scenarios.
But it feels like Mercedes could be vulnerable this year.
I think this work from home thing's been taken to an extreme in marketing.
"Work from home.
" We never saw 'em again.
The way this is structured is everybody gets a section of questions.
They will direct a question to you when they want you to answer.
- It's not interactive between me and Toto? - It doesn't appear to be.
So I can't take the piss out of this haircut.
It doesn't appear to be.
Ask Susie, "Have you been cutting Toto's hair?" Right, Christian, if you want to grab a seat in the hot seat.
Hey, Susie, how are you? - Good, Christian.
How are you? - Good.
You got Toto doing the housework? No.
No chance on that one.
I'm in my kitchen.
It's a nice kitchen.
That's a great kitchen.
Toto's gonna be really looking forward to getting back to racing.
Personally, I'm looking forward to seeing Toto again and hopefully giving him a harder time this year.
Absolutely.
We are fierce competitors, but I, personally, actually look forward to the racing itself.
Forget all the rest around it, um, let's just race.
How long do you think it'll be until the glovesjust come off? I reckon about two o'clock Sunday.
Sunday afternoon in Austria.
Good morning, everybody, from the Styrian Hills.
We're in Austria.
This is the first race in the 2020 Formula 1 season.
The arena is open for business.
The 20 gladiators return.
Bonjour! Perfect.
That's deep.
Sorry, you will have to wait.
You're way too hot.
That's just the way I am.
Would you like to say hello to the fans? - We've actually got fans here? - Yeah.
Check this out.
Hiya.
How are you doing? - Morning, Lance.
- Morning.
Hello.
I'm really impressed by this.
This is awesome.
I think you're on mute.
- Wait for it.
- Can you hear me? Yep.
What's going on? You can ask me a question, or I can just stand here and dance or something.
I don't know.
As you will.
I want to see you dance, please.
Aaah! I shouldn't have said that! I shouldn't have said that.
The Austrian Grand Prix is an absolute marker in the ground that, you know, Formula 1 is open for business again.
After lockdown, we are finally able to take the covers back off the race cars and have a Grand Prix.
Getting into the paddock, seeing the people again, knowing that you can get back soon racing, the feeling is fantastic.
- Morning.
- I won't shake your hand.
I'm very much looking forward to going racing again.
As an Austrian, I enjoy being in Austria.
As a racing team, it's back to what we love in the sport, and that is the stopwatch.
Hey.
I don't know what to do.
Do I touch you? Do I I don't think we can hug.
- Good.
You been okay? - Yeah.
Christian, to give him credit, he came into the sport very young.
He was put in charge of the Red Bull Formula 1 team and won four championships.
Red Bull ruled the roost for four years and then along came Toto and Mercedes and stole their ball.
And Christian wants it back.
It's incredibly hard to keep that level of winning consistency, and all credit to Mercedes.
We managed it for four years.
They've managed it for six.
But inevitably, at some point, that comes to an end.
Christian.
Are we allowed to - Are we allowed to shake or not? - Probably not.
- No, what about this? - We do a little toe hug.
- It's all right.
- Good.
Have you been OK? It's good to be back after such a long break.
- It's crazy, isn't it? - Yeah.
Stronger and fitter than ever.
That's good.
But we also have more time, so you would expect that.
Max is, arguably, the hottest property in Formula 1 at the moment.
The thing about Max is he's got this magic dust about him.
The dream is to win a fifth world championship, to make Max the youngest Drivers' World Champion ever.
Three, two, one.
Alex is Max's teammate.
He had a really solid, you know, nine races for us, and put in a very strong performance.
Yes.
Come on! He could be the surprise of this season.
- Yes! - Come on! Excellent work, Alex.
Thumbs up, mate.
With Max, with Alex, we've got two cars in the fight with Mercedes.
This is our best shot to win this championship, you know, since 2013.
Hello? Hello? Where's our entrance? - Our entrance is that one.
- That one? - There other one.
- Oh, here we go.
It's too long since I've been at the track.
It's gonna be really interesting to see where the drivers all lie after lockdown.
I feel excited about getting back in the car.
It's been such a long time.
You know, you get itchy, uh, itchy feet and hands, getting back in the car.
I'm ready to get back into it.
We've got an acronym, "FSU.
" "Fuck shit up.
" That's what I'm hoping to do.
It's such a good racetrack, so I cannot wait to get on track, be fast.
Don't forget the boots, mate.
Everyone will be a bit rusty, but you get back in the swing of things.
And radio check.
It is time for the cars to take to the track.
You're free.
Go push.
Max said he doesn't need to do any practice.
He just needs two laps, he'll be switched on.
And that's what These guys, they're the pinnacle, aren't they? They should just be able to flip a switch and they're back onto it.
Fuck.
Sorry, guys.
Our goal is to get closer to third, but thecompetition's tough.
You have Racing Point.
Sergio Perez, fastest for Racing Point.
And then Renault.
Extremely strong.
Daniel Ricciardo, fifth fastest.
It's gonna be a big fight.
Let's maximize our time on the track.
It's the longest I've been out of a race car in Well, since I started go-karts back in 2007.
Things were pretty much just playing games and streaming on Twitch.
And that was pretty much my life.
Now there's just so much excitement.
Just being able to do what I love, driving a Formula 1 car.
Just going to take a few laps to get back into it.
In Austria, you've got a massive long straight as you come out the pits, and you put your throttle down.
Your head gets put back against the headrest.
Your body gets compressed.
Then you hit the brakes for the first time.
My head just fell forward and it just felt like I was, I'd never driven a car before.
It just feels a bit alien really.
But within a couple of laps, it just felt like I was back home again.
Uh, Max, can I have engine five, position two, please.
Looking a very strong lap by Verstappen.
- Yeah.
- Personal best.
We've had a habit of coming out the blocks a little slowly the last few years.
We need to address that.
We have to believe in ourselves.
We have to beat Mercedes.
- You're back up to speed quick.
- Yeah.
That's always the goal.
- Did it feel quick? - No, it was all right.
It's fast, don't get me wrong, but, like, it feels all right.
OK, Lewis, so circuit's all clear.
All clear.
Give yourself a bit of room so you are safe.
Lewis Hamilton on track at the moment.
There's a lot of intrigue around the Mercedes.
There's something very interesting going on in the cockpit.
Yeah.
There we go.
That's the DAS.
The steering, moving about.
Interesting.
Not seen that before.
Um Yeah.
As he hits the anchors, the steering wheel is moving forward.
Yeah, very interesting.
The reason that DAS is so clever, but also so controversial, is that Mercedes have been able to create a system that not only steers the car, but also, when you pull that wheel out and push it back in again, it changes the positioning of the tires to improve grip, which should give extra speed through the corners.
We're giving six tenths, seven tenths to Hamilton on the straights.
We've got seven to eight tenths in qualifying.
It depends how much they've got.
If they've got that much, then we're fucked.
What is he doing with it though? Does it try and heat tires up or That's what it looks like.
It's not really a steering system.
Right.
Is there gonna be a protest? It's the only way to clear it up.
- Hello.
- Hi.
How you doing? Monty looks so different with his hair cut.
- Talk to Daddy.
- How was swimming, Mont? - He's getting really good.
- Yeah.
How did P3 go? Okay.
They were third and sixth.
Who was one and two, Mercedes? Ah, yeah, I'm gonna say they look very strong here, so let's see.
Um okay.
It's all quite tight, apart from Hamilton.
I'm gonna have to go.
- Okay.
Bye.
Bye.
Bye.
- Bye.
- Love you.
Bye.
- Bye.
Bye.
Hi, hi, hi.
The DAS system that they're running on their car, the steering system, falls into a very gray zone.
So you've got your DAS on the car.
We've got the DAS.
I know.
Well, don't take it personally.
No, I won't.
But we'll protest it today.
And then it's down to the FIA.
They're either happy or they're not.
As an innovation, isn't it great? It's clever.
Hats off, full respect.
It adds a new dimension to it.
I think I'd shit myself if I pulled a steering wheel and it went like that.
Christian is a good operator.
He likes to have these little war games between us.
But the rivalry is big.
It's time for qualifying and the serious business of forming a grid ahead of the Austrian Grand Prix.
It's the season opener and it's been a long time since the Formula 1 season began in Europe.
There's Mr.
Todt.
I'll say hello to him.
- How are you? - Fine.
You? Yeah, okay.
Are you quick or not? I hope so.
We'll see today.
Mercedes is bloody quick.
We tried to slow them down with the DAS, but no luck.
The FIA have judged DAS to be legal, which means Mercedes can use it on their car until the end of the season.
Under control.
You do the foot one.
Is that how you do it? What was the response to the protest stuff? I think, from a fan perspective, people are just saying, "Red Bull are just responding to getting whipped on the track.
" - Yeah.
- 'Cause that's what they see.
- So - We'll see.
So far, this weekend has been absolutely perfect for Mercedes.
Lewis Hamilton, heading every single session.
Mercedes, the favorites for pole today.
- They're bloody quick.
- They're strong.
- Even stronger than we expected.
- Unbelievable.
But what have Red Bull, with Alex Albon and Max Verstappen, got up their sleeves? - Let's see what happens in this session.
- It's gonna be tough for Alex.
If he can get in the top six, that'll be okay.
Alex had a really good second part to the season last year, and now he comes into the races this year ready to score big points.
Ready to help Red Bull in their fight against Mercedes.
- Okay, Alex.
- Yep? - You can fire up.
- Copy.
Alex has ticked all the boxes with how he races.
I think it's only a matter of time before he achieves that first podium.
He did have a chance last year in Brazil, but it all went a bit wrong.
Alex Albon should have this wrapped up.
Hamilton now is gonna try and take second place.
Alex, hold Hamilton up.
Keep your position.
Albon locks up.
Hamilton inexplicably turned him round.
Fuck! - Albon's been hit! - Fuck! The chance of his first podium, gone.
It was painful.
Frustrating.
But if I did it again, I would've been more aggressive.
I know what I need to do, and now it's more about just getting them results in.
Okay, Alex.
You'll get one timed lap.
Yep, copy.
The moment of reckoning.
No lift off Turn 1.
This car still feels very nervous.
Work the brakes.
Okay, copy.
Alex, come on! - Go on, boy! - Come on! Albon goes fourth fastest.
But Norris is on a flyer just behind.
We're now onboard with Lando Norris on a flying lap.
Lando, you're 0.
4 seconds quicker than Albon.
Keep this up.
Fucking hell! Push now, please.
Push now.
100% pace.
Give it everything.
Is Lando Norris quicker than Alex Albon? Oh, he's quicker.
Norris steals fourth from Albon.
What a lap.
Yeah! Lando, P4, mate.
 Amazing job.
P4.
Lewis Hamilton on his final flying lap.
DRS, wide open then for Lewis Hamilton.
Oh, and someone's had a problem.
And it's Valtteri Bottas going off into the gravel.
Yellow flag out there.
Does that mean Hamilton has to back off? If Lewis Hamilton drove through a yellow-flag zone without slowing down, it will be considered to be dangerous and the penalty will be severe.
Did they show a yellow flag? I couldn't see with the dust.
Hamilton rounds the final corner.
So it looks like Lewis's time stands.
He takes second place, behind Bottas on pole, and Mercedes qualify one-two for the race.
- Well done.
Ish.
- Yeah.
A yellow flag is that you have to show caution and slow down.
The drivers know.
They've grown up with that since their first races in karting.
Looking at his lap time, I'm pretty sure he didn't lift.
He should get a fucking penalty.
Against a Mercedes team that is so strong, so dominant, you have to exploit every opportunity that you possibly can.
It's here.
Round 1 of the 2020 season.
We're in Austria around the Red Bull Ring.
Christian Horner aims to disrupt Mercedes in any way that he can.
So, yeah, you'll protest DAS.
Yeah, you'll protest that qualifying lap.
You're not gonna win championships by just sitting back and accepting everything.
So we've got to push.
He's like a dog with a bone.
He won't let go.
We found some more footage the FIA didn't have, which is crazy, from his camera in his car.
And you can clearly see a yellow flag.
The stewards hadn't looked at that footage.
Good luck today.
You put us back three spots now? Or what happened? I don't know.
We're trying.
Something's gotta slow you down.
- I'm starting P3! - Are you? - Yeah! - How come? Where's Hamilton, P10? I don't know.
I don't care.
- Maybe thanks to Horner.
- Oh yeah.
Three-place penalty confirmed for Lewis.
Surely the decision was made before 14:20 on race day? The timing of it was brilliant.
Because Mercedes had already made their way to the grid and were setting up Lewis Hamilton's grid spot from his original place.
If you're gonna pull the rug from under your biggest rival, you wait till the last minute.
I love the idea of keeping pressure on 'em.
Best time to do it.
That'll really ruffle him now.
Anyway, good job.
Christian likes to rumble around a little bit.
But I think we're doing it a bit different.
We concentrate on ourselves.
We don't look too much left and right.
We do the talking on the track.
217 days without a race, the longest period in Formula 1 history, and finally we can go racing.
Seems like a long time since we've been here.
After Red Bull's protest, it's Verstappen up to second, Lando Norris's best ever start in third place, Alex Albon in fourth, and Hamilton, well, he's been bumped back down to fifth.
That's a big blow for Toto Wolff and for Mercedes.
I'm always excited, but I'm always nervous.
You'd like to cruise to victory anytime you're on a race track, but you know it's never gonna quite be that easy.
- At least you have a fast car.
- Yeah.
We needed that.
Especially after everything we've had in the last two, three months.
The one thing that we've talked to Lando about is just maybe being a little bit more aggressive.
We've all got one chance in this championship, so it's all about making sure you're always focused on what you need to do to extract the best performance.
Have a good one.
I think we're well-equipped.
The drivers are up for it.
Max is in the best shape he's been in.
It'll be down to who makes the least mistakes, gets the most out of these early races, and particularly this weekend.
Ten seconds.
And it's lights out, and away we go! Verstappen alongside Lando Norris.
No! So far, so good.
No contact.
Lando, urgent.
Albon's behind.
Alex Albon passes Lando Norris, goes into third place.
Behind is Hamilton.
Confirm.
Overtake available.
Lewis Hamilton now ahead of Lando Norris.
Alex Albon might be a touch worried, Lewis Hamilton's getting within DRS range.
- They're so fast on the straights.
- Understood.
You're doing great.
The last time Hamilton tried to overtake Alex Albon, he missed out on a podium in Brazil and Hamilton got a penalty.
Come on, Alex! Come on! So it's Mercedes, Red Bull, Mercedes, Red Bull.
The one, two, three, four, with Lando Norris dropping back.
Max, Hamilton is now the car behind.
Engine nine, position four.
What's happened to Max Verstappen? I've just stalled.
Tell me something.
Stand by.
Verstappen, desperately trying to get power back into that Red Bull.
It's going backwards.
This fucking setting! Engine nine, position two.
Engine nine, position two.
It keeps saying the fucking I can't change it.
- How can this happen? - Okay, Max, box, please.
Box.
Just gutting.
He is our championship hopeful.
We're in a great position in the opening race, in our home Grand Prix.
- Switch off.
- Fuck this.
And he's out.
It was just a punch in the guts for the whole team.
But then, you know, we've still got a car in the race.
Great job, mate.
It looks like a solid P3 for Alex.
Which Okay, we've lost Max, but we should get a podium.
The fact that Albon is fighting for podiums and a potential victory shows that he's delivering on the promise that we believe in him.
That first podium, that first victory, it removes the pressure.
There's a big difference between thinking you can do it and knowing you can do it.
Box, Alex, box.
Box, box.
We put him onto a new set of tires for the last stint.
Which, amazingly, Mercedes didn't cover.
That gave him a significant tire advantage for what would almost certainly be his first Grand Prix victory.
This has worked out brilliantly for Red Bull.
Albon has a chance at the win.
Albon's got a slipstream on Lewis Hamilton.
- Come on.
- Come on! Great exit from Alexander Albon! - Come on, Alex.
- That's it.
Come on.
Go on! Come on! He's lost out once more, as it was in Brazil! Oh fuck! Again! This guy is such a sore loser.
- What a load of bollocks.
- Fucking, fucking fuck! He was about to take his first Formula 1 podium and now he's tumbling down to last place.
Ugh! Lewis Hamilton is given a five-second penalty for causing a collision with Alex Albon.
Hard luck.
Hamilton, for what it's worth, got a five-second penalty.
Copy.
Remember, Hamilton has a five-second penalty.
McLaren need to be telling Lando Norris.
Hamilton is 6.
5 ahead.
He has a five-second penalty.
Norris has a chance of a podium.
Come on, Lando! Oh my God.
I had one and a half laps to try and somehow gain this 1.
5 seconds I needed for my first podium in Formula 1.
Go flat out to the end.
Give it everything.
I never really thought, "I can do this," because it was Lewis Hamilton in a Mercedes, who are a lot quicker.
Normally.
It was, "Forget about everything and just drive.
" Please, mate, come on.
We're on the final lap.
Can Norris find the lap of his life to get within five seconds of Lewis Hamilton? Look, how sweaty my hands I could really push the car to the limit, 100%.
Come on.
It was incredible, and insane.
All of a sudden, I go over the line.
Lando Norris with the fastest lap of the race.
Did he do it or not? Lando, the gap to Hamilton was 4.
8.
That's a podium.
Yeah! Fuck yeah, boy! Yes! It was incredible.
Something I'll remember for the rest of my career in Formula 1.
Yeah! Whoo! I'm glad I was able to share Lando's podium at the start of the season.
That was an awesome reward for everyone's hard work and dedication and, um, it was exactly what we needed.
Hard luck, mate.
Fuck! He doesn't like you, does he? It'll come.
It'll come.
You did nothing wrong today.
- Oh man, that race! - Amazing! - Chin up.
It's gonna come.
- See you.
It'll just make you enjoy it even more when it does.
Yeah.
I mean, I would have enjoyed it a lot now.
I know.
I think we all would.
Cheers.
Fucking hell.
People say Valtteri is your number two driver.
- Is that fair? - Fuck you.
- I hate to be second.
- He was a sensational wingman.
Well, first of all, "wingman" hurts.
Everyone's expecting Lewis to win, but everyone cracks.
Action.
The pressure is gonna be on Alex.
He needs a bit more of that "fuck you" attitude.
Oh my goodness, it's a slow stop! The competitiveness is not where we want it.
Fuck! We can try again next week, huh?
There's no plan for the race team, no plan for the race cars, but also no plan for ourselves.
It's terrifying.
Each and every day, it's terrifying.
We've got to get back so that all ten teams have a chance, not a guarantee, but a chance of survival.
Just a heads up, Mr.
Zak Brown is on-site.
Only the second time I've been in my office since the race getting canceled in Australia.
Feels like a sci-fi movie.
Very bizarre.
Level plus one.
It's no secret we had our financial challenges through COVID.
It's devastated businesses.
It brought us to a standstill.
That means job redundancies and pay cuts.
Just impossible to know, uh, what the future has in front of us, and I think all we can do now is hope for the best.
Hey, how are you? Yeah, good.
Just at the office.
Yeah.
Quiet.
Do you think there's a scenario where you could even just get 15 races in? So what does that then look like? Two Austria, then Hungary.
Europe, Middle East, global.
Sounds like everything is under control.
All right.
Good stuff.
There is good news coming out of Formula 1 as racers dust off their cars and get underway with the Austrian Grand Prix.
The British Formula 1 Grand Prix will go ahead in July.
Ah, morning, Netflix.
Back for more.
Two meters this year though.
You gotta keep your distance.
The person you are calling is unable to take your call.
Please leave your message after the tone.
Drivers.
It's a problem.
It's probably too early in the morning.
I'm just grateful that we're we're racing.
I think, to get the series up and running, it's been a phenomenal effort.
You know, I've had ten weeks sitting at home, not doing anything.
Teams are gonna be race-rusty on the strategy, on the pit stops.
And I think that this year will create some different scenarios.
But it feels like Mercedes could be vulnerable this year.
I think this work from home thing's been taken to an extreme in marketing.
"Work from home.
" We never saw 'em again.
The way this is structured is everybody gets a section of questions.
They will direct a question to you when they want you to answer.
- It's not interactive between me and Toto? - It doesn't appear to be.
So I can't take the piss out of this haircut.
It doesn't appear to be.
Ask Susie, "Have you been cutting Toto's hair?" Right, Christian, if you want to grab a seat in the hot seat.
Hey, Susie, how are you? - Good, Christian.
How are you? - Good.
You got Toto doing the housework? No.
No chance on that one.
I'm in my kitchen.
It's a nice kitchen.
That's a great kitchen.
Toto's gonna be really looking forward to getting back to racing.
Personally, I'm looking forward to seeing Toto again and hopefully giving him a harder time this year.
Absolutely.
We are fierce competitors, but I, personally, actually look forward to the racing itself.
Forget all the rest around it, um, let's just race.
How long do you think it'll be until the glovesjust come off? I reckon about two o'clock Sunday.
Sunday afternoon in Austria.
Good morning, everybody, from the Styrian Hills.
We're in Austria.
This is the first race in the 2020 Formula 1 season.
The arena is open for business.
The 20 gladiators return.
Bonjour! Perfect.
That's deep.
Sorry, you will have to wait.
You're way too hot.
That's just the way I am.
Would you like to say hello to the fans? - We've actually got fans here? - Yeah.
Check this out.
Hiya.
How are you doing? - Morning, Lance.
- Morning.
Hello.
I'm really impressed by this.
This is awesome.
I think you're on mute.
- Wait for it.
- Can you hear me? Yep.
What's going on? You can ask me a question, or I can just stand here and dance or something.
I don't know.
As you will.
I want to see you dance, please.
Aaah! I shouldn't have said that! I shouldn't have said that.
The Austrian Grand Prix is an absolute marker in the ground that, you know, Formula 1 is open for business again.
After lockdown, we are finally able to take the covers back off the race cars and have a Grand Prix.
Getting into the paddock, seeing the people again, knowing that you can get back soon racing, the feeling is fantastic.
- Morning.
- I won't shake your hand.
I'm very much looking forward to going racing again.
As an Austrian, I enjoy being in Austria.
As a racing team, it's back to what we love in the sport, and that is the stopwatch.
Hey.
I don't know what to do.
Do I touch you? Do I I don't think we can hug.
- Good.
You been okay? - Yeah.
Christian, to give him credit, he came into the sport very young.
He was put in charge of the Red Bull Formula 1 team and won four championships.
Red Bull ruled the roost for four years and then along came Toto and Mercedes and stole their ball.
And Christian wants it back.
It's incredibly hard to keep that level of winning consistency, and all credit to Mercedes.
We managed it for four years.
They've managed it for six.
But inevitably, at some point, that comes to an end.
Christian.
Are we allowed to - Are we allowed to shake or not? - Probably not.
- No, what about this? - We do a little toe hug.
- It's all right.
- Good.
Have you been OK? It's good to be back after such a long break.
- It's crazy, isn't it? - Yeah.
Stronger and fitter than ever.
That's good.
But we also have more time, so you would expect that.
Max is, arguably, the hottest property in Formula 1 at the moment.
The thing about Max is he's got this magic dust about him.
The dream is to win a fifth world championship, to make Max the youngest Drivers' World Champion ever.
Three, two, one.
Alex is Max's teammate.
He had a really solid, you know, nine races for us, and put in a very strong performance.
Yes.
Come on! He could be the surprise of this season.
- Yes! - Come on! Excellent work, Alex.
Thumbs up, mate.
With Max, with Alex, we've got two cars in the fight with Mercedes.
This is our best shot to win this championship, you know, since 2013.
Hello? Hello? Where's our entrance? - Our entrance is that one.
- That one? - There other one.
- Oh, here we go.
It's too long since I've been at the track.
It's gonna be really interesting to see where the drivers all lie after lockdown.
I feel excited about getting back in the car.
It's been such a long time.
You know, you get itchy, uh, itchy feet and hands, getting back in the car.
I'm ready to get back into it.
We've got an acronym, "FSU.
" "Fuck shit up.
" That's what I'm hoping to do.
It's such a good racetrack, so I cannot wait to get on track, be fast.
Don't forget the boots, mate.
Everyone will be a bit rusty, but you get back in the swing of things.
And radio check.
It is time for the cars to take to the track.
You're free.
Go push.
Max said he doesn't need to do any practice.
He just needs two laps, he'll be switched on.
And that's what These guys, they're the pinnacle, aren't they? They should just be able to flip a switch and they're back onto it.
Fuck.
Sorry, guys.
Our goal is to get closer to third, but thecompetition's tough.
You have Racing Point.
Sergio Perez, fastest for Racing Point.
And then Renault.
Extremely strong.
Daniel Ricciardo, fifth fastest.
It's gonna be a big fight.
Let's maximize our time on the track.
It's the longest I've been out of a race car in Well, since I started go-karts back in 2007.
Things were pretty much just playing games and streaming on Twitch.
And that was pretty much my life.
Now there's just so much excitement.
Just being able to do what I love, driving a Formula 1 car.
Just going to take a few laps to get back into it.
In Austria, you've got a massive long straight as you come out the pits, and you put your throttle down.
Your head gets put back against the headrest.
Your body gets compressed.
Then you hit the brakes for the first time.
My head just fell forward and it just felt like I was, I'd never driven a car before.
It just feels a bit alien really.
But within a couple of laps, it just felt like I was back home again.
Uh, Max, can I have engine five, position two, please.
Looking a very strong lap by Verstappen.
- Yeah.
- Personal best.
We've had a habit of coming out the blocks a little slowly the last few years.
We need to address that.
We have to believe in ourselves.
We have to beat Mercedes.
- You're back up to speed quick.
- Yeah.
That's always the goal.
- Did it feel quick? - No, it was all right.
It's fast, don't get me wrong, but, like, it feels all right.
OK, Lewis, so circuit's all clear.
All clear.
Give yourself a bit of room so you are safe.
Lewis Hamilton on track at the moment.
There's a lot of intrigue around the Mercedes.
There's something very interesting going on in the cockpit.
Yeah.
There we go.
That's the DAS.
The steering, moving about.
Interesting.
Not seen that before.
Um Yeah.
As he hits the anchors, the steering wheel is moving forward.
Yeah, very interesting.
The reason that DAS is so clever, but also so controversial, is that Mercedes have been able to create a system that not only steers the car, but also, when you pull that wheel out and push it back in again, it changes the positioning of the tires to improve grip, which should give extra speed through the corners.
We're giving six tenths, seven tenths to Hamilton on the straights.
We've got seven to eight tenths in qualifying.
It depends how much they've got.
If they've got that much, then we're fucked.
What is he doing with it though? Does it try and heat tires up or That's what it looks like.
It's not really a steering system.
Right.
Is there gonna be a protest? It's the only way to clear it up.
- Hello.
- Hi.
How you doing? Monty looks so different with his hair cut.
- Talk to Daddy.
- How was swimming, Mont? - He's getting really good.
- Yeah.
How did P3 go? Okay.
They were third and sixth.
Who was one and two, Mercedes? Ah, yeah, I'm gonna say they look very strong here, so let's see.
Um okay.
It's all quite tight, apart from Hamilton.
I'm gonna have to go.
- Okay.
Bye.
Bye.
Bye.
- Bye.
- Love you.
Bye.
- Bye.
Bye.
Hi, hi, hi.
The DAS system that they're running on their car, the steering system, falls into a very gray zone.
So you've got your DAS on the car.
We've got the DAS.
I know.
Well, don't take it personally.
No, I won't.
But we'll protest it today.
And then it's down to the FIA.
They're either happy or they're not.
As an innovation, isn't it great? It's clever.
Hats off, full respect.
It adds a new dimension to it.
I think I'd shit myself if I pulled a steering wheel and it went like that.
Christian is a good operator.
He likes to have these little war games between us.
But the rivalry is big.
It's time for qualifying and the serious business of forming a grid ahead of the Austrian Grand Prix.
It's the season opener and it's been a long time since the Formula 1 season began in Europe.
There's Mr.
Todt.
I'll say hello to him.
- How are you? - Fine.
You? Yeah, okay.
Are you quick or not? I hope so.
We'll see today.
Mercedes is bloody quick.
We tried to slow them down with the DAS, but no luck.
The FIA have judged DAS to be legal, which means Mercedes can use it on their car until the end of the season.
Under control.
You do the foot one.
Is that how you do it? What was the response to the protest stuff? I think, from a fan perspective, people are just saying, "Red Bull are just responding to getting whipped on the track.
" - Yeah.
- 'Cause that's what they see.
- So - We'll see.
So far, this weekend has been absolutely perfect for Mercedes.
Lewis Hamilton, heading every single session.
Mercedes, the favorites for pole today.
- They're bloody quick.
- They're strong.
- Even stronger than we expected.
- Unbelievable.
But what have Red Bull, with Alex Albon and Max Verstappen, got up their sleeves? - Let's see what happens in this session.
- It's gonna be tough for Alex.
If he can get in the top six, that'll be okay.
Alex had a really good second part to the season last year, and now he comes into the races this year ready to score big points.
Ready to help Red Bull in their fight against Mercedes.
- Okay, Alex.
- Yep? - You can fire up.
- Copy.
Alex has ticked all the boxes with how he races.
I think it's only a matter of time before he achieves that first podium.
He did have a chance last year in Brazil, but it all went a bit wrong.
Alex Albon should have this wrapped up.
Hamilton now is gonna try and take second place.
Alex, hold Hamilton up.
Keep your position.
Albon locks up.
Hamilton inexplicably turned him round.
Fuck! - Albon's been hit! - Fuck! The chance of his first podium, gone.
It was painful.
Frustrating.
But if I did it again, I would've been more aggressive.
I know what I need to do, and now it's more about just getting them results in.
Okay, Alex.
You'll get one timed lap.
Yep, copy.
The moment of reckoning.
No lift off Turn 1.
This car still feels very nervous.
Work the brakes.
Okay, copy.
Alex, come on! - Go on, boy! - Come on! Albon goes fourth fastest.
But Norris is on a flyer just behind.
We're now onboard with Lando Norris on a flying lap.
Lando, you're 0.
4 seconds quicker than Albon.
Keep this up.
Fucking hell! Push now, please.
Push now.
100% pace.
Give it everything.
Is Lando Norris quicker than Alex Albon? Oh, he's quicker.
Norris steals fourth from Albon.
What a lap.
Yeah! Lando, P4, mate.
 Amazing job.
P4.
Lewis Hamilton on his final flying lap.
DRS, wide open then for Lewis Hamilton.
Oh, and someone's had a problem.
And it's Valtteri Bottas going off into the gravel.
Yellow flag out there.
Does that mean Hamilton has to back off? If Lewis Hamilton drove through a yellow-flag zone without slowing down, it will be considered to be dangerous and the penalty will be severe.
Did they show a yellow flag? I couldn't see with the dust.
Hamilton rounds the final corner.
So it looks like Lewis's time stands.
He takes second place, behind Bottas on pole, and Mercedes qualify one-two for the race.
- Well done.
Ish.
- Yeah.
A yellow flag is that you have to show caution and slow down.
The drivers know.
They've grown up with that since their first races in karting.
Looking at his lap time, I'm pretty sure he didn't lift.
He should get a fucking penalty.
Against a Mercedes team that is so strong, so dominant, you have to exploit every opportunity that you possibly can.
It's here.
Round 1 of the 2020 season.
We're in Austria around the Red Bull Ring.
Christian Horner aims to disrupt Mercedes in any way that he can.
So, yeah, you'll protest DAS.
Yeah, you'll protest that qualifying lap.
You're not gonna win championships by just sitting back and accepting everything.
So we've got to push.
He's like a dog with a bone.
He won't let go.
We found some more footage the FIA didn't have, which is crazy, from his camera in his car.
And you can clearly see a yellow flag.
The stewards hadn't looked at that footage.
Good luck today.
You put us back three spots now? Or what happened? I don't know.
We're trying.
Something's gotta slow you down.
- I'm starting P3! - Are you? - Yeah! - How come? Where's Hamilton, P10? I don't know.
I don't care.
- Maybe thanks to Horner.
- Oh yeah.
Three-place penalty confirmed for Lewis.
Surely the decision was made before 14:20 on race day? The timing of it was brilliant.
Because Mercedes had already made their way to the grid and were setting up Lewis Hamilton's grid spot from his original place.
If you're gonna pull the rug from under your biggest rival, you wait till the last minute.
I love the idea of keeping pressure on 'em.
Best time to do it.
That'll really ruffle him now.
Anyway, good job.
Christian likes to rumble around a little bit.
But I think we're doing it a bit different.
We concentrate on ourselves.
We don't look too much left and right.
We do the talking on the track.
217 days without a race, the longest period in Formula 1 history, and finally we can go racing.
Seems like a long time since we've been here.
After Red Bull's protest, it's Verstappen up to second, Lando Norris's best ever start in third place, Alex Albon in fourth, and Hamilton, well, he's been bumped back down to fifth.
That's a big blow for Toto Wolff and for Mercedes.
I'm always excited, but I'm always nervous.
You'd like to cruise to victory anytime you're on a race track, but you know it's never gonna quite be that easy.
- At least you have a fast car.
- Yeah.
We needed that.
Especially after everything we've had in the last two, three months.
The one thing that we've talked to Lando about is just maybe being a little bit more aggressive.
We've all got one chance in this championship, so it's all about making sure you're always focused on what you need to do to extract the best performance.
Have a good one.
I think we're well-equipped.
The drivers are up for it.
Max is in the best shape he's been in.
It'll be down to who makes the least mistakes, gets the most out of these early races, and particularly this weekend.
Ten seconds.
And it's lights out, and away we go! Verstappen alongside Lando Norris.
No! So far, so good.
No contact.
Lando, urgent.
Albon's behind.
Alex Albon passes Lando Norris, goes into third place.
Behind is Hamilton.
Confirm.
Overtake available.
Lewis Hamilton now ahead of Lando Norris.
Alex Albon might be a touch worried, Lewis Hamilton's getting within DRS range.
- They're so fast on the straights.
- Understood.
You're doing great.
The last time Hamilton tried to overtake Alex Albon, he missed out on a podium in Brazil and Hamilton got a penalty.
Come on, Alex! Come on! So it's Mercedes, Red Bull, Mercedes, Red Bull.
The one, two, three, four, with Lando Norris dropping back.
Max, Hamilton is now the car behind.
Engine nine, position four.
What's happened to Max Verstappen? I've just stalled.
Tell me something.
Stand by.
Verstappen, desperately trying to get power back into that Red Bull.
It's going backwards.
This fucking setting! Engine nine, position two.
Engine nine, position two.
It keeps saying the fucking I can't change it.
- How can this happen? - Okay, Max, box, please.
Box.
Just gutting.
He is our championship hopeful.
We're in a great position in the opening race, in our home Grand Prix.
- Switch off.
- Fuck this.
And he's out.
It was just a punch in the guts for the whole team.
But then, you know, we've still got a car in the race.
Great job, mate.
It looks like a solid P3 for Alex.
Which Okay, we've lost Max, but we should get a podium.
The fact that Albon is fighting for podiums and a potential victory shows that he's delivering on the promise that we believe in him.
That first podium, that first victory, it removes the pressure.
There's a big difference between thinking you can do it and knowing you can do it.
Box, Alex, box.
Box, box.
We put him onto a new set of tires for the last stint.
Which, amazingly, Mercedes didn't cover.
That gave him a significant tire advantage for what would almost certainly be his first Grand Prix victory.
This has worked out brilliantly for Red Bull.
Albon has a chance at the win.
Albon's got a slipstream on Lewis Hamilton.
- Come on.
- Come on! Great exit from Alexander Albon! - Come on, Alex.
- That's it.
Come on.
Go on! Come on! He's lost out once more, as it was in Brazil! Oh fuck! Again! This guy is such a sore loser.
- What a load of bollocks.
- Fucking, fucking fuck! He was about to take his first Formula 1 podium and now he's tumbling down to last place.
Ugh! Lewis Hamilton is given a five-second penalty for causing a collision with Alex Albon.
Hard luck.
Hamilton, for what it's worth, got a five-second penalty.
Copy.
Remember, Hamilton has a five-second penalty.
McLaren need to be telling Lando Norris.
Hamilton is 6.
5 ahead.
He has a five-second penalty.
Norris has a chance of a podium.
Come on, Lando! Oh my God.
I had one and a half laps to try and somehow gain this 1.
5 seconds I needed for my first podium in Formula 1.
Go flat out to the end.
Give it everything.
I never really thought, "I can do this," because it was Lewis Hamilton in a Mercedes, who are a lot quicker.
Normally.
It was, "Forget about everything and just drive.
" Please, mate, come on.
We're on the final lap.
Can Norris find the lap of his life to get within five seconds of Lewis Hamilton? Look, how sweaty my hands I could really push the car to the limit, 100%.
Come on.
It was incredible, and insane.
All of a sudden, I go over the line.
Lando Norris with the fastest lap of the race.
Did he do it or not? Lando, the gap to Hamilton was 4.
8.
That's a podium.
Yeah! Fuck yeah, boy! Yes! It was incredible.
Something I'll remember for the rest of my career in Formula 1.
Yeah! Whoo! I'm glad I was able to share Lando's podium at the start of the season.
That was an awesome reward for everyone's hard work and dedication and, um, it was exactly what we needed.
Hard luck, mate.
Fuck! He doesn't like you, does he? It'll come.
It'll come.
You did nothing wrong today.
- Oh man, that race! - Amazing! - Chin up.
It's gonna come.
- See you.
It'll just make you enjoy it even more when it does.
Yeah.
I mean, I would have enjoyed it a lot now.
I know.
I think we all would.
Cheers.
Fucking hell.
People say Valtteri is your number two driver.
- Is that fair? - Fuck you.
- I hate to be second.
- He was a sensational wingman.
Well, first of all, "wingman" hurts.
Everyone's expecting Lewis to win, but everyone cracks.
Action.
The pressure is gonna be on Alex.
He needs a bit more of that "fuck you" attitude.
Oh my goodness, it's a slow stop! The competitiveness is not where we want it.
Fuck! We can try again next week, huh?