Formula 1: Drive to Survive (2019) s01e04 Episode Script

The Art of War

1 [Buxton.]
Formula One has been called the "Piranha Club" because of the amount of sniping and biting.
It's much worse than swimming with sharks.
[Horner.]
There's so much money involved in the sport.
It is not just about what you see at a Grand Prix track.
It's what goes on behind the scenes.
Absolutely cutthroat.
If you want to be strong on the track, you also need to be strong off track.
[Haas.]
Success in racing comes down to just being stubborn.
A lot of your competitors will fall apart before you will.
[Brown.]
Politics are a big part of the sport.
It can get pretty nasty.
[Horner.]
There's a lot of posturing, positioning, total paranoia.
[Abiteboul.]
You always want to destabilize your competitors.
If you can't take the heat, stay out of the kitchen.
[pneumatic tools whirring.]
[engine roars.]
This is, albeit a short one, the history of the team, the championship years.
Winning four championships.
Max's first victory.
Daniel's first victory.
What we've actually done in the last 15 years is pretty significant.
You know, this was our first winner.
This was the first Driver's Championship car.
It was the first Constructor's Championship car.
Great job, Sebastian.
Proud of you.
Great job.
To take on all the great teams at that time, you know, really, the start of a totally dominant period for Red Bull Racing.
We're an energy drinks manufacturer.
We're the maverick in Formula One.
We've won eight World Championships.
But in the last few years, we've lagged behind.
We need to challenge the big teams.
Our Achilles' heel has been the engine.
[Croft.]
And it is absolute double disaster for Red Bull.
[Brundle.]
Both have just plain broken down.
[Horner.]
And that's been immensely frustrating for us.
We have to raise our game.
You know that the good thing about Renault in Formula One I think that, obviously, the only possibility to live in Paris and work in Formula One, which is not that bad.
[Abiteboul.]
We are French.
We are passionate.
[indistinct chatter.]
Renault is a partly state-owned company, so it really belongs to the French people.
This position in which I am currently, it's a huge privilege.
Come in.
Go on, go on, go on.
Lunch is part of life, so It's a very important part of life.
Thank you.
We are a French team.
We have the best table in the paddock.
And it has to be the same at the factory.
[engine revs.]
Renault is one of the few teams that make a Formula One engine.
We also happen to supply those engines to other teams.
Getting a Formula One engine right is very complicated, because we are talking about many components.
Engine technology is very complex.
We also happen to supply those engines to Red Bull.
It's a customer, but at the same time, they're our competitors.
[Horner.]
We at Red Bull, we don't make road cars.
We're not an engine manufacturer.
We've bought our engines from Renault for the past twelve seasons.
We pay for the service that Renault provide but we're not consulted on any decisions that are made regarding the layout, the cooling, the exhaust, the integration of the engine into the chassis.
We have to accept whatever Renault want to do.
And that is a big, big issue.
Starting to have very strong comments from Christian regarding performance.
[Abiteboul.]
It is very clear that the relationship with Red Bull is going to a crunch time.
But the engine is progressing.
It's capable of winning races.
Every single race win that Red Bull had was with Renault.
We've had a love-hate relationship with Renault for the last twelve years.
You know, Renault have fallen behind their rivals in Ferrari and Mercedes, and, you know, that's caused frustration, friction in the relationship, tension.
[Abiteboul.]
He's clearly someone who wants to control every single element of this car.
But unfortunately, he has to accept that there is one element they're not controlling.
[Horner.]
With that engine supply, we've been paying to fly in first class, but ended up with an economy ticket.
Bang-for-buck value for money is crucial to us.
And it's a very, very important year for the team, so we need to make a decision.
Happy birthday Happy birthday   Happy birthday to you  Happy birthday to you Happy birthday to you   Happy birthday Happy birthday   Happy birthday to you  [cheering.]
[Grace.]
Daniel, happy birthday.
Yeah, I just got a warm welcome.
I got, um, a birthday a birthday massacre.
[chuckles.]
[Grace.]
Aw.
Have a great race, okay? Love you, B.
-Yeah.
All right.
Gangster.
-Love you.
I just wanna tickle my scrotum And touch my nutsack   People would argue That they're the same thing   Maybe they are But scrotum is ticklish  Ticklish it is   [laughs.]
-I don't even-- It was a very good one.
-That was good, huh? That shit's ad hoc.
I woke up early 'cause it's my birthday.
I was so excited.
[woman laughs.]
[cheering.]
[Daniel.]
I've been with Red Bull since 2008.
Now that contract is coming to an end this year, and when it comes to looking ahead, you've kind of gotta see who's doing what.
You gotta try and figure out who's gonna dominate for the next, you know, one to three years.
[cheering.]
[emcee.]
Welcome, Daniel Ricciardo and Max Verstappen! [cheering.]
A nice birthday present.
Shoe size, 58.
[Daniel.]
The main thing for me is to put myself in the best car with a chance to win to try and see if I'm the best in the world and show what I believe I've got.
Where I am in my career-- I'm 29 now.
If I'm ever, ever gonna be world champion, making this decision is massive.
[emcee.]
One more time, Daniel Ricciardo and Max Verstappen.
[cheering.]
-[Horner.]
Anything I need to be aware of? -[crew.]
Um Daniel was positive? -He said discussions had moved on.
-Yeah.
-The next couple of weeks -Yeah.
he would hope to be giving an answer.
-Basically, before the summer break.
-Okay, good.
Super.
[crew.]
Yeah.
Let's go here.
You couldn't see any reason why Daniel wouldn't re-sign with you guys? That you were confident that he would.
Feeling more confident this week? We're very happy with Daniel.
We hope that we retain him in the team.
He's in a great car.
He's a championship contender this year.
I can't imagine him anywhere else.
[Abiteboul in French.]
Hello.
Hi, how are you? Hello.
[Abiteboul in Enlgish.]
We are currently fourth in championship, and Red Bull are third.
Red Bull is obviously a great brand uh, but to drink.
Renault is one of the largest car makers in the world.
We are here for building the reputation of our brand.
It's all about playing catch up against Red Bull.
[Horner.]
We have impatient shareholders, impatient sponsors, impatient drivers.
The Renault team cannot outperform us.
[Daniel.]
Teammates we've been super competitive.
Naturally, with that, there becomes a competition, a rivalry a lot of friction, tension.
[Verstappen.]
My teammate, but also my biggest rival.
I need to be the faster driver of the two.
I hate to lose.
[Daniel.]
All this contract talk, it does put more pressure on me.
When it comes to these negotiations, to strengthen your position, winning is important.
-Have a good one.
-Thanks.
Get your head down.
[cheering.]
[Buxton.]
Now only moments away from the start of the Austrian Grand Prix.
-[Rennie.]
Radio check, please.
-[Daniel.]
Yep, Rennie, that's good.
-Things should happen today.
-[engine revs.]
[Buxton.]
Ricciardo needs his third win of the season here to stay in contention for the championship.
[engine revs.]
[Croft.]
Verstappen has started well! Daniel Ricciardo is trying to get past Grosjean.
And he's up into fifth! Renault also battling through the pack.
Carlos Sainz, oh, bit of a collision there.
Oh, now his teammate Nico Hülkenberg has a major problem.
[Hülkenberg.]
Loss of power.
I've lost power.
[Joyce.]
Stop the car, please, Nicky.
You've got fire at the back of the car.
And that's game over.
[Buxton.]
Appears to be an engine issue for Renault.
[announcer 2.]
Ricciardo, closing up on Kimi RäikkÃnen.
[Rennie.]
Good move, mate.
Nice job.
[Croft.]
And up into third place now.
[Daniel.]
Okay, so, Hamilton is only 18 seconds ahead.
[Daniel.]
Okay.
[Buxton.]
Into the pit lane, Lewis Hamilton for Mercedes, currently in the lead, but now he's in for his tire change.
[Rennie.]
Hamilton is in the pit lane.
So, push now.
Push on if you can.
[Croft.]
Now will Ricciardo be able to overtake Hamilton as he comes from the pit lane? -[Rennie.]
Gonna be close.
Gonna be close.
-[Daniel.]
Okay.
[Rennie.]
Hamilton one second behind you.
[Croft.]
Red Bull suddenly smell a victory here today.
[all.]
Oh! [Croft.]
What was that coming out of the back of the Red Bull? [Daniel.]
Losing gear sync.
[Rennie.]
Fail.
Two fail, Daniel.
We have got an issue.
[Daniel.]
It's the rear.
It's getting really bad now.
[Rennie.]
Okay.
Fail.
Two fail.
We're gonna have to retire, Daniel.
Retire.
[Croft.]
Oh, he's got a problem.
He's stopping! Daniel Ricciardo is out of the race.
[Rennie.]
If you can, pull over at turn one, please.
Pull over at turn one.
I'll tell you later, but we've got some issues at the rear end of the car.
Sorry about that, mate.
[Croft.]
Red Bull will not enjoy the sights of a mechanical problem.
He is out of the Austrian Grand Prix.
Oh, dear.
What a shame for Daniel Ricciardo.
[announcer.]
That's blown the candles out on the birthday cake.
[Buxton.]
It's been a bad day for Renault.
Their sole remaining car finishes in twelfth place with no points.
[Daniel.]
I know what I'm capable of, but things seem to keep happening out of my control.
It's frustrating.
Happy birthday Happy birthday to you [Horner.]
Do you know what day Max is in this week? 'Cause I wouldn't mind finding half an hour with him just in the afternoon.
Cool.
All right.
-[woman.]
Okay.
-Okay.
Speak to you later.
-Speak to you later.
-Thanks.
Bye-bye.
[Horner.]
Daniel's contract talks and discussions have made progress.
The only question that Daniel has, quite openly is, is the power unit going to be able to compete with Mercedes and Ferrari next year? That is his only question, in terms of the team's capabilities.
The only question over our package for next year is the engine.
I have complete confidence that we can become the best on the engine side.
Red Bull criticizing its supplier is absolutely nothing new.
In a few weeks, we will not be in a position to guarantee supply to Red Bull anymore.
We need to order parts from the suppliers to build the engine for next year.
I can't postpone forever-- forever the deadline.
So, if Red Bull Racing wants to be supplied by Renault, they need to let us know as quickly as possible.
[Horner.]
What is the best route to competitiveness? Is it to stay with Renault? Or is it to move to another manufacturer? One that would allow us to have an input into the design of the engine to create true harmony between engine and chassis.
It's so crucial we make the right decision.
[Horner.]
At eight a.
m.
tomorrow morning, we'll be announcing we will not be continuing our relationship with Renault.
[reporter.]
We have got a breaking new story Christian Horner is dumping Renault next season.
[reporter 2.]
Renault would stop supplying Red Bull from 2019 That's millions of dollars Renault will no longer be receiving next year.
A blow to the Renault brand, as one less team has a Renault engine next year.
[reporter.]
I'm in a bit of disbelief, to be honest.
He lost faith.
[indistinct chatter.]
[man.]
Yeah [Horner.]
Who else is in the conference? -They've got Cyril -[Horner.]
Great.
[indistinct chatter.]
-How are you? -Yeah, could be better.
-Are all your bigwigs here this weekend? -A few of them, yeah.
-I'm sure.
-[laughs.]
[cameras clicking.]
You know, we've decided to take a different path for next year.
We've been following the progress of Honda's development very closely.
And the decision we've made is that Honda is absolutely the right route for Red Bull.
We're all selfish in this business.
Renault's priorities are-- obviously are their own team.
From 2019, we won't be paying the amounts we've been paying to Renault.
It's exciting news for us.
2019, we're looking forward to it.
Cyril, can we get Renault's feelings on the news from this week? Yeah, well, the implication of, uh, the termination of the deal on our budget is really marginal.
Uh yes, there was a substantial revenue associated to that supply, but there were also substantial costs associated.
And clearly marginal in comparison to a view of our budget of our organization, as we speak.
-[man.]
Thank you, bye-bye.
-[Horner.]
That was juicy, wasn't it? [Buxton.]
Now, you guys and Red Bull shall we say it's not been the happiest of marriages for the last few years? Sort of a marriage where you're hanging around for the sake of the children, rather than because you're in love with each other.
The Honda route is the best route forward for us for the future.
Personally, I'm a bit sad, because it's been twelve years or so of my life, dealing with Christian No, Renault was very keen to have us.
They were desperate even till last week.
We feel now that we don't need Red Bull anymore.
We're still relying on Renault in our current season.
How can you promise them that the performance level will be as high as possible? And how has this news been received by Daniel Ricciardo? I think he sees the logic, the data that we're looking at.
It's a no-brainer.
So, it boosts your chances of retaining him.
I would think so, absolutely.
-[Abiteboul.]
There you go.
-[reporter.]
Thank you very much.
-Thank you.
-Thank you.
I think that was all right.
Very entertaining.
[Daniel.]
I need another excuse for a tattoo, so I really wanna win a championship soon so I can get something to represent that.
[laughs.]
All this contract talk, it's-- Winning is still the main thing for me.
At least top of my list, it's be somewhere where I can win.
But I-- Maybe it comes with age, but it needs to be a happy environment to be able to win.
So, um stay, change, stick with what we know, it's all that sort of concoction of emotions, isn't it? -It's a big decision.
-Yeah.
I turn thirty next year.
I'm getting old, so [Beavis.]
We're in the privileged position of having more than one option.
Having interest from other really good teams.
Yeah, it's just about making the correct overall choice.
[Beavis.]
We were both personally surprised when Max announced that he'd extended.
Their focus looked like Max, and he should be the youngest ever world champion.
Those things aren't lost on us.
[Buxton.]
Welcome to the last Grand Prix before a three-week summer break.
The drivers and their teams are getting ready at the Hungaroring.
[Horner.]
The relationship with Cyril's been difficult.
He's an emotional guy.
You never know what you're gonna get.
Comments involving the engine has been a step too far from Red Bull.
The red line crossed.
[Croft.]
We are racing in Budapest.
Verstappen immediately from seventh up to fifth.
Oh! Ricciardo! [all.]
Oh! [Croft.]
Ericsson just careered into the side of Ricciardo there.
-[Rennie.]
Daniel -[Ricciardo.]
I dunno if there's damage.
-[Rennie.]
Stay out for now.
Stay out.
-Okay.
[Croft.]
Sergio Perez going past as well.
[Daniel.]
Fucking Force India passed me.
There's no way he keeps that spot.
[Rennie.]
Okay, get focused.
[Rennie.]
Daniel, let's get going.
We are staying out.
 Stay out.
Let's go.
-Understood.
-[Rennie.]
You know what to do.
[Daniel.]
Okay.
[Croft.]
Daniel Ricciardo, with a little bit of damage from the start, now down in sixteenth.
It's very difficult to overtake on the Hungaroring.
Ricciardo is making a move and he's got past Perez.
Next up is Vandoorne.
Past Vandoorne.
Ricciardo ducking and weaving.
And he breezes past Fernando Alonso.
Ricciardo really is one of the best overtakers in the business.
-[Rennie.]
Next one ahead Hülkenberg.
-[Daniel.]
Okay.
[Croft.]
Ricciardo now has two Renaults to overtake.
The first is Nico Hülkenberg.
Oh, and that is spectacular stuff.
Super late on the brakes! Next one, Carlos Sainz.
And Sainz becomes yet another victim of Ricciardo in the first corner.
Ricciardo now up to seventh.
Phenomenal.
Oh, there's a problem! [crew groans.]
-[Lambiase.]
Mate, no power, no power.
-[Verstappen.]
Yep.
Mode one.
[Croft.]
Max Verstappen in a nightmare weekend.
[Rennie.]
Stop the car, please, on track, Max.
[Verstappen.]
I don't fucking care if this blows up.
-[Rennie.]
Okay.
-[Verstappen.]
Fuck it! [Rennie.]
Stop the car, please.
[Croft.]
Another power-issue-related problem for Red Bull.
Piece of shit! [Verstappen.]
Fuck! What a fucking joke all the fucking time with this shit, honestly.
[Verstappen groans.]
[Rennie.]
Okay, Daniel, that last lap, you were the quickest on track.
[Daniel.]
Yes.
[Croft.]
Ricciardo is flying.
All over the back of Kevin Magnussen in the Haas.
Ricciardo's trying to go the long way round.
And he's pulled it off! Another great move! Here's another place for Ricciardo.
He's fought back from sixteenth up to fifth, very impressive.
Valtteri Bottas now ahead of him.
Bottas covers the inside.
Ricciardo has to go the long way around.
Oh! And they touch! Contact between Bottas and Ricciardo.
Bottas just careered into the side of the Australian.
There's massive damage on the side of that Red Bull.
[Rennie.]
Bottas just locked up and went into you.
-[Daniel.]
Yes.
-You are now starting the last lap.
-[Daniel.]
Okay.
-[Rennie.]
You can still get him.
[Croft.]
Ricciardo goes for it again.
And he overtakes Bottas.
[camera clicking.]
[Croft.]
With all that chaos behind, it's been an easy race for Lewis Hamilton.
A commanding victory for Hamilton and Mercedes, winning the Hungarian Grand Prix.
Ricciardo recovers to fourth place.
[cheering.]
[Rennie.]
Well done, Daniel.
Very strong drive.
-Some fantastic passing moves there.
-[Daniel.]
Cheers, guys.
[Daniel.]
It's just a good feeling when you've done your best, knowing that I've still got it and proving it to people.
[Buxton.]
Renault disappointing in ninth and twelfth.
And now over a hundred points behind Red Bull in the championship.
[Abiteboul.]
We know that the second part of the season's going to be extremely intense Very tight against cars around us, which right now are more competitive and we need to change the way that we are doing things if we want to have any chance to fight against them.
We had a good meeting last week, and I'm pleased to announce to you that we will have an increase in the financial support from next year that we materialize in an extra budget.
[Abiteboul.]
We have a strategy.
We have a plan.
We need to see that people respect us.
We are not going to be intimidated, full stop.
[Daniel.]
I've been on holiday for two weeks.
So, I've been training the last few days, getting back into it.
I just thought about a lot of things this year and contract talks.
What am I gonna do next? Red Bull's confident that next year it's gonna be great.
But Honda, they haven't yet proven themselves.
I don't know.
It's busy.
It's been busy for several months.
[Beavis.]
Without Red Bull, Daniel would not be in the position he is now.
There is a significant amount of loyalty there.
You have to be respectful of that.
[gunshots.]
[laughing.]
-How's the season? -Good.
-Yeah? -Good, yeah.
-Bits we could have been better, but -Yeah.
Yeah, we're nine races in.
We've won three of them.
[Horner.]
This is the best driver pairing that we've had in our history.
Daniel's contract's been talked about since preseason.
And I'm confident that we'll manage to get things resolved.
[Horner.]
I've thoroughly enjoyed watching his development the last ten years.
He's come through the ranks, as a member of the junior program.
As soon as he got into a Red Bull car, he never stopped overtaking people.
[cheering.]
[Horner.]
Seven Grand Prix victories and over twenty podiums, all achieved in Red Bull racing cars.
Personally, I view him as a good friend.
[Daniel.]
I'm trying to negotiate terms with Red Bull.
I feel I've been loyal up until now.
A deal with Red Bull, it's all in front of me now, like, this is it.
All I've gotta do is sign the piece of paper.
Okay.
Hmm.
What if I just break free and-- and make a statement? Red Bull, I've been there since I was 18, I think.
Now I have a chance to be an adult and walk into a team as an adult.
My heart's going.
[heartbeat.]
[Daniel.]
I've decided to leave Red Bull and I'll be joining Renault for 2019.
At times, I've found myself frustrated.
[laughing.]
I just felt I needed something different.
I like new challenges and kind of having a fresh start.
[reporter.]
Hang on a minute, Daniel Ricciardo is not re-signing for Red Bull.
He's going to Renault.
Were they expecting it? No, it definitely caught them out.
Nice morning.
-Maybe we will go the normal way.
-Yeah, do you wanna-- I was gonna say.
You can sneak, but we'll go Otherwise you sneak through the paddock-- -Yeah.
Nah, I will.
-That's maybe not-- -Let's take it all on the chin.
-Yeah.
[indistinct chatter.]
All right.
 Where is the conference? The top end.
[cameras clicking.]
Oh, it's not that crazy.
[cameras clicking.]
[Horner.]
Cyril.
He needs a driver and an engine.
[laughs.]
Yeah.
So have you got money to spend on your engine, -now you've spent it all on your driver? -We've got plenty of money.
It's kind of weird.
Like, super weird.
Yeah.
There's a bit of an-- Is it-- What's the-- Airy? -Eerie.
Eerie.
-Eerie? Eerie atmosphere? [laughs.]
Did something else happen this morning that I don't know about? Well It's gonna be weird, but somewhat exciting.
I think it's a good move.
I'm leaving sufficient space for Max.
[cameras clicking.]
[reporter.]
A question for Christian.
Given the loss of Daniel, it's obviously very significant.
Is there any added frustration in losing him to an organization of which you've been very publicly critical? Um Of course it was a surprise.
Having had everything in front of him, that he wanted and had required, financially, uh, et cetera, et cetera.
Well, I suppose the whole process with Daniel, so long as he's comfortable looking at himself in the mirror with the choices that he's made, you have to respect that.
We've had random discussion, jokes with Daniel since a while.
Uh, it would be hard to put an exact date on the first joke about this this type of switch.
Renault can afford pretty much anything.
Renault is the largest car maker in Formula One, full stop.
He bought into the project and made his decision.
[reporter.]
Thank you.
[Buxton.]
And the knock-on effects of Ricciardo moving to Renault means Carlos Sainz will lose his seat.
[man.]
Press conference.
We know what they're talking about.
Mmm [man.]
Um you know what's gonna be asked, so it's all straightforward.
Is there anything in particular you guys don't want or want to say? This year, I wanna do the best on track.
My focus is Spa this weekend.
Next weekend, my focus is Monza.
[woman.]
I want you to cry.
I want you to be really sad.
Kind of just say you're gonna miss us so much.
[Sainz.]
Okay, I'll try.
[chuckles.]
[Sainz in Spanish.]
Thank you.
-[man.]
See you.
Bye! -[woman.]
Bye! [Sainz in Spanish.]
Later.
[Daniel.]
Now, with Red Bull, it'll be awkward.
I'll expect to be isolated.
[Beavis.]
People are shocked in some quarters by the decision.
But I think it comes down to where you feel wanted.
We had a private meeting with Renault, and they walked us through what was coming.
It really showed you the might of a manufacturer.
Their ultimate goal, to be a world-championship-winning team again, and they have the pedigree for that.
[Horner.]
Is he making the right career choice? In the end, my assumption is he was running from a fight.
That's the way it feels to me.
[Horner.]
Always look ahead.
Focus on going forwards, not backwards.
Our goal is not just to beat Renault.
Our goal is to try and be world champions.
[LeClerc.]
It's a very dangerous sport, and it will always be.
[Ericsson.]
Confidence level goes down when you have a crash like that.
Jules Bianchi has died [reporter.]
This year, his godson, Charles Leclerc, made his Formula One debut.
[Horner.]
The bigger teams are now putting their faith in younger drivers.
[Croft.]
Wow, look at that.
-LeClerc round the outside! -[LeClerc.]
Yes! [Vasseur.]
For Marcus, it's a little hard to take.
[Croft.]
LeClerc is right on his tail now.
I've always dreamed to be part of Ferrari.
[Vasseur.]
Charles has a mission to do what Jules should have done.

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