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Speaker 1: Mark Webber, Mate, this is unbelievable, great opportunity for me.
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Speaker 2: Welcome to straight Talk. Great to be here, mate.
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Speaker 1: I can't believe that I'm sitting in front of you, but anyway, or you're sitting in front of me, how do you want to put it?
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Speaker 2: Amazing? It's just amazing.
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Speaker 1: Well, I mean, we just we just had a little pre talk about a whole lot of stuff, and I wish we had to record it.
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Speaker 2: Don't worry, we'll cover it. We'll cover it.
00:00:22
Speaker 1: He didn't say anything that it didn't go off peast, but he will. You're I was just walking up here and I ran into a sporting journalist and he said to me. I told him that I was going to do an interview with you, and he said to me, oh, he was a ball boy for the Canberraders. And that's quite interesting, given how famous you are today and all the crazy stuff that you're noted for. If we go back to Mike Weber the ball boy for Canberraders. Can we go back to that in Queen Been, of course, because I think no one knows that stuff.
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Speaker 2: Not many. No. Look, you know, I know you're a big league I made and so am I watched it all still to this year's still Camberraders. Yeah, absolutely, yeah, you know, I watched Ricky's guys. But you know, I was very lucky. It was actually a bit of a fluke, probably from my old man like dad knew at the time a guy called Mick Doyle who was the coach of the under twenty one side then and said, oh, you know, maybe the loose weekend for Mark to come out and do a bit of ball boy and how old were you? Reckon? Oh, mate, I was actually interesting. I was actually old for a ball boy, which which was bloody important. And I'll get into that, but the I'm talking like thirteen twelve or thirteen.
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Speaker 1: Sob like mid eighties yeah, third, yeah.
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Speaker 2: Thirteen a bit old, a fourteen year probably because we did the Grand Final with the Tigers, you know, so, but I think so under twenty ones reserved ten bucks a match to the thirty bucks a weekend, which is buddy wicked. You know, so that was cool. They paid you. Yeah yeah, buddy, oth mate, I've got a little bit of money, I think. Yeah, so it's good bloody yeah exactly. Yeah. So but I think what and I look back on that when you say, looking back, mate, this actually was really good for me to see, you know, because when I was seeing Mal Lorry, you know, Ricky Clydie Lazo, you know, half the Australian team stacked side. Yeah, totally stacked mate, phenomenal. You know, Sheen's coach and you know take the sand out to mail every weekend, you know, because it was saying those days it wasn't it was on the tea take the sand out to mal and But what was funny one match we stopped a match once at Canberra there because what Chan's used to like us to do was when they kicked for touch. When Ricky would kick for touch, you know Steve Wallers obviously take the tap and then have someone you know on the run get the momentum. But our job was to put the ball at the touch judge's feet where Ricky would have kicked out.
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Speaker 1: So the ball goes out, touched the base up stands out, put it straight there.
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Speaker 2: Banging and the chicken fergs and we'll come pick it up or someone or Mullow's or you know, something like that. But we would do a monster forward pass directors to box head to Steve yeah, and to get the run on you know, and the touch just fume it. So you you were sort of that was a brief so don't put the ball of the touch that want to win that for straight to five seconds?
00:03:09
Speaker 1: Mate?
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Speaker 2: Bang and then a we were part of that was part of the strategy ursia just wow, nurse, don't changes like, don't you know if we can get it straight into onto the touch. Did you understand that the point of that at the time. Yeah, when you're care well, I was told, of course I'll shipped myself. Yeah, I'll do it. Yeah, I'll do it, mate, I'll do it. Could you reach him? Yeah?
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Speaker 1: And I was pretty not a little little pass on me mate. So you're pretty tall. I mean you're very tall for a race cardog. Yeah, but like were you tall then?
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Speaker 2: Yeah? No, I was pretty late actually growing up, like in terms of my spurt. But were you're playing footage? Yeah? I played everything, you know. I loved a bit of tennis. I love golf, I love AFL, I love by playing and rugby league. So I did. I was a jack of all trajan legend of absolutely none. I was, you know, I love having a go.
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Speaker 1: But that's the experience though, isn't it like like being competitive. We're naturally competitive.
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Speaker 2: Absolutely absolutely, And I was so lucky looking back to grow up in Queenban, you know, because it was a small country town, you know, and sports was big and our family was big into that. My mum and dad liked sports and having it go was was really important. So they encouraging you sure, sure, you know, mum take me to swimming club and really so those Wednesday night in queen you mass fresh mate, that'd be very cold, is it outdoors? Yeah? Wow? Yeah yeah, So but I think that that little athletics, like all that stuff, you know, because school for me was wasn't that easy. I was. I was a bit of a bit of a rogue and I enjoyed, you know, sport more than you know, and like the social scene of school as well. But I really enjoyed sport and that was my that was my passionately, mate.
00:04:42
Speaker 1: So when you when you're growing up, did you ever think yourself, I'm going to be a race car driving or did you ever watch it?
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Speaker 2: I mean, was that a thing? Of course? I think like my dad had a huge influence on me, no question about it. My ald loved sir Jack Bradmen. Wow, Sir Jack Bradman was Dad's here, It's gone back awhile exactly. So Sir Jack was racing at Warwick Farm and some of these tracks in it, like in youw South Wales. My dad would he choked from Queen min to go and watch him race against the likes of Sir Jackie Stewart and Jimmy Clark, like all these legends from Europe, all these Formula one guns. And that of course was blended into me over time as a young lad because I grew up riding motorbikes when I was young on the farm and like that was important for me to sort of have the bit of the speed component early, which I just enjoyed. There was no Dad wasn't forcing me to do it. I just enjoyed race, riding the bikes at speed. Sure, yeah, of course. And I think that with motorbikes that you have the accountability and consequences are quite you learn them quite quick, you know, because you've got the throttles, there's no training wheels. You off you go son and you know have a crack. So I think that was Dad had the motorbike shopping Queen Bin. So really petrol you know, being in motor racing sphere. Let's say it was sort of on my doorstep and away and gokut track was local, so that was go cut track that was so low not I didn't, but there was that was that was so lucky. I mean, I would never ever have been if dad didn't like to jack and there's no go cart track, it's not happening. So you know, there's those moments where and then once I got I had, Once we bought a go kart and I started enjoying racing the go kart, then all the other sports dropped away, and I think at that point I then got an absolute addiction. It was a total lie. So you were racing go karts, so it was a disease at that point, was a total disease. I was gone.
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Speaker 1: Did you just ignore school working stuff like that at that point?
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Speaker 2: Did you think stuff? So I rather had there my go cut of course practicing and I was designing helmets and drawing tracks and stuff like that in class and just stuff that I you know, so I just was transfixed on as in obsessed, totally obsessed, absolutely obsessed. It was all encompassing for me. So that was sixteen seventeen and then I went into car racing, so that's when I started to Karting was okay for me. I loved it, but I was a bit big. And also Dad was clever because he knew deploying. We didn't have infinite funds. He's like, you know, you need to pull a little bit back because it's a bloody expensive sport to give me a chance in car racing, which was more expensive, but that was and if you're not quick in cars, like there's there's no point being a freaking go car. So if you can't go up the staircase to go towards ultimately, which is which is Formula one, do you reckon?
00:07:22
Speaker 1: The old man actually thought to himself, I'm going to take him through each of the stages, like I've got him a go card obviously dos on licensed, but I'm now going to put him in a car because you can get you have to have a license to race a.
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Speaker 2: Car race cut yes, a go cart line, but yeah, so when you compete you need a license.
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Speaker 1: You need a license for go karte and obviously then when you race a car, therefore you might you also need a license as well, like a license to license to race or a license to drive on the road.
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Speaker 2: You can race before you can drive on the road, is that right? Yeah?
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Speaker 1: Yeah, so you were you racing before you could illegally drive on the race?
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Speaker 2: Yeah, seventeen or something like that. Yeah, so yeah, so yeah, and that that that does happen, and even I think it's even younger in New Zealand. So some of the kids are racing super like racing like on a racing track flat. So what was your first race car? What was the Toronto Forward? So single seed So I was always in a single seater car, so very rarely did I race what we would call it like a touring car or like a road relevant street car. So it was always racing bespoke single seater cars as a car with one seat, open wheels, so very yeah. Because my dad was always he loved single seater racing, so I was very much on that on that trainer thought that, you know, the best drivers are in single seater racing. It's more accurate. You've got to be very accurate and open wheel racing because it's the wheels are exposed and sort of the lines and everything is just a lot more precise. So anyway, that was what did you have someone to teach you that stuff?
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Speaker 1: I mean like, I mean, how do you become good at that? And we're earned, by the way, were you good at that?
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Speaker 2: Yeah? Yeah, that's an interesting one. I had you get some mentors along the way, you know, early door like popping your car, you know, the first time you do that, which is actually an Oron park which is now not there anymores for the houses. But that was the first time I drove a racing car, and I just was thrown into that. But there was a bit of a scout there, a guy that was and trying to validate with my My dad was trying to validate with him, is this is he going okay or is he a regaw because this is a big decision for my family and for me and like where we're going to go with this.
00:09:19
Speaker 1: But it was actually structured though, because Dad was actually thinking, like there's a process here.
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Speaker 2: It was a test drive. It was like just a little test dripe like baby steps, and it was like, Okay, that's a milestone, he's done well. There, he's doing well there, Maybe we can go into competition. And then obviously it just continued. So I was sort of going through these gateways of sort of dad accepting that this is something we can do, and of course the buy in from me. He's got to be big, like, of course I'm hungry for it. It's not his you know, it's it's it's a bit of an extension of his love, of course, but I have to be able to then show him how committed I am as well, because it's I have to be committed, you know. And that do you think it was strategic from your dad?
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Speaker 1: I mean when you think back at it, like that's pretty out there, like for a dad or marmle, both of them. Obviously mum was supporting on this, but like, yes, for someone to think about this in such a strategic way, you know. And here is a humble lerbike guy fixes stuff up like pretty humble living queen byand he's got his son young. Wheld you sit in the family like in terms of kids.
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Speaker 2: Yeah, I was. I got one sister, she's twoyears older than me. As a young boy.
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Speaker 1: There's the younger kid in the family, and he's thinking to himself, well, I'm going to take him through each of the stage. You probably didn't realize where he probably had a dream.
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Speaker 2: Of course not, you know, of course at that age or not. And even I look back now on and said, what were you thinking taking me to that track or doing that at that age? It was madness for the experience I had. But of course, you know, he was big on just keep putting in deeper water, you know, you know, and that's a little deeper, just a little bit, of course, because and you want, of course to be at that age. You want easier competition because you want you want the trophy, and you want to we want to win. But it's like sometimes you've got to be put into more difficult situations to to Did.
00:11:00
Speaker 1: You see that lay was late transaction? Not at the time I got to win this race?
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Speaker 2: Yeah, yeah, Well, of course when you're younger, you're you're you you You want to of course progress naturally, you can't just sit in with the competition's soft. You want to continue to test yourself. But obviously he knew more than I did. Because it was sixteen or seventeen. You don't know much, yeah you think, but yeah, yeah, you think you're an expert, but you haven't got much of an idea. So he was of course just strategizing very very you know, cleverly, you know, just to sort of work and not going too hard and of course getting advice on the way he needs to get advice. Did he get outside advice for it? Well, there's a great touring car driving astroke called Jimmy Richards. And once Malila, I was driving a car in South Australia and Jimmy went to see Dad on the bank. He was just watching me drive around and and my dad loved Jimmy Richards, as you know we all do. He's a bringing absolute legend of our sport. And really you know, just a just a great guy and like no agenda, just like straight up. And he just went to Dad and said you were generous with his rates. And he just said, Mark's wasting his time here in Australia. Really he's got to go to overseas well, what was the thing behind that? Just again go he's got to go and test himself against the best, like we can race here in Australia. But this category like Formula Forward and these these formative categories the hot bed all the big big guns are in Europe. So he said, I advised, I would advise you Alan to give that a goat.
00:12:34
Speaker 1: Because He must have recognized that there's a potential in you, and also must have recognized that your dad and you might have wanted to you'd have a career in this at this stage.
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Speaker 2: Yeah, of course. Now no, it's getting serious, yes, you know, like that sort of nineteen ninety five peer when you're racing in like at the sharp end in Formula forward racing, which is the first step out of go karts really, but it still they're pretty quick cars and it's getting serious, and it's like, but someone like that to give dad the validation and we're sort of when we're on the right track and too, you know, there's more to give him a chance, give him a chest to go overseas, which, of course in our little world you're like, maybe not sure, what's a big step? Yeah? Yeah, it was great, It was great. You did you yeah? Yeah, went yeah. So ninety six I went into ninety five, I went to Europe and and I had that worked? Have you never come back? Had that worked?
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Speaker 1: Like?
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Speaker 2: Uh, well, I went over there and did a test drive for the works team which was which was called Van Deemen at the time, and that went brilliantly. And then they said you can do a race, like it's a basically it's not an invitation race, but it's the biggest form of Ford race in the world, the form of Forward Festival. So did they give you a cart? So Yellow Pages in Australia sponsored me for that race. So Yellow Pages sponsored me all through my well my junior some of my junior stuff here in Australia and then they said we're happy to support you, which was five thousand pounds for the week. I had to get five thousand pounds in nineteen ninety in October ninety five the UK pounds, yes, which is there was thirty three p to the dollar. Then yeah, yeah, a lot I know you're numbers man, mate, and a lot of my Yeah, so it was it was yeah, it was you know, we you know, it was we had to do it. Yellow Pages were amazing, So we did that and then I got a really good result straight up, which was just what's that part of your top three in like there was one hundred and twenty in the field, right, So I finished in the top three first time the track, first time in that category. So that was and then the boss said you're coming back next year. This is the blog that owns the whole factory team and his name was Ralph Ferman. He said, you're coming back next year subsidized drive. It's eighty five thousand quid but we're paying half and you can bring the rest, which Yellow Pages did. Wow.
00:14:34
Speaker 1: So so just give me a bit of sense of this. So how were you like twenty?
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Speaker 2: Yeah? There, what do were twenty?
00:14:43
Speaker 1: So you're twenty, You arrive in nineteen nineteen and you arrive in Europe. Where about in Europe we're talking about?
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Speaker 2: So that was Norwich in UK? Yeah, East Anglia?
00:14:53
Speaker 1: Yeah, yeah, okay, so you're in the UK and you've never been on.
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Speaker 2: This track before? No? No, did you get do you walk a track? How do you do? How do you know? Where? How we go? It's a great question because now there's a lot of simulators, right, so all this offline virtual world we have now in racing that the guys use, but of course none of that then you know, So yeah, have a walk around, have a look at it, literally a walk. Yeah, you have a walk. But then you just got to get in the car and can you have a little test drive? No, no, because there's three or four five people in your team already. These are little baby cars nothing like F one, but obviously it's already you got a team. These cars need to be organized and prepped up and set up. And yeah they're pretty they're nice little bits of kit, the gorgeous, you know, a little bits of jewelry, and you've got to take them out there and get into them. So you can't go and get an old fit. And no, the track is it's pretty hard to sacristanct you, Yeah, pretty hard to get on it.
00:15:46
Speaker 1: So, yeah, any surprises, So when you can, you remember that day.
00:15:50
Speaker 2: A lot more intense, a lot more intense. So the racing was a lot more cutthroat, you know, it's just another like ruthless. The depth exactly, the depth ruthless all of a sudden, you know, on the with Colombians, Mexican, you know, Frenchies, German, like, there's just every nationality, you name it. They were on the grid and it was just and the precision, just how close they'd run you into the fence and how really so just a lot tighter putting pressure on you.
00:16:13
Speaker 1: Yeah, of course are they actually putting pressure? Are they just trying to get ahead of you and that creates pressure or they saying, let's stuff.
00:16:19
Speaker 2: This broke up intimidation as well. Really more and more more contacts, you know, they're actually touching. In Australia, there wasn't much of that. It was a bit more after you, sir, it's still still solid, but like over there, it was just different gravy straight away. We're going to win my face. But you know this is yeah, these guys are on and the depth is so you could have three or four sharp guys at the front here over there, twenty sharp, like really good operators, you know. So how I see you on that quick? Oh it's two twenty k you know like that. You know that's only sixteen hundred engine, but it you know, it gets along. But that was yeah, two twenties pretty quick.
00:16:54
Speaker 1: Yeah, I mean I have no stories in relations This was so because I mentioned.
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Speaker 2: A track day one, I have done it man, OK, So I have to.
00:17:02
Speaker 1: Be tell you what happened because you're going to laugh at me.
00:17:05
Speaker 2: Many many years ago.
00:17:06
Speaker 1: I was in two thousand and four, two thousand and five, my son I bought an Aston Martin dB nine because they just they just got released and I don't know why I did. I still got it actually, but I wish I hadn't have bought it, but anyway, don't matter. And I said, my dad, my oldest son. He said, let's go out to a track somewhere and Sitte I remember it was, and there's a whole lot of people going out there.
00:17:24
Speaker 2: And he said, let's go for a driving it.
00:17:25
Speaker 1: And I said, okay, cool, and so I didn't want to happen, and he said that'll let me take you and and he was driving Missubichhievo at the time, and he was racing it a bit.
00:17:34
Speaker 2: Oh my god, I.
00:17:36
Speaker 1: Was so scared and I started yelling and screaming at him. I said, mate, stop the fucking car and let me out now, and you're just laughing and just gone faster and faster.
00:17:44
Speaker 2: It terrified me.
00:17:45
Speaker 1: So I don't know where you get the no, no, it was testosterone or the adrenaline and my quarters.
00:17:51
Speaker 2: I was out of control.
00:17:53
Speaker 1: I don't understand mark, like, how you control your sense of fear or is it in your case there's no fear, it's just adrenaline.
00:18:02
Speaker 2: Well, you go on a journey of your skill set. I think when you get more and more experience, you get highly skilled. What about back then, when you're nineteen then yeah, you're you're raw, You're raw. It is definitely you know, of course you have this, you know, is it nature or nurture? You know, like how do you just get half good at something and it just apparently it turns out that something's come more natural to you than maybe others, and you just you just of course take that for granted, I suppose in some ways. So for me it was more it's not they think about racing robbers as adrenaline junkies. We're not really, because I wanted to know, we're not. We're not really. It's it's at least for me anyway, I don't feel I'm an adrenaline people would think, you know, if you do three hundred and seventy k and hour and a Formula one car, you you you're craving for the rush, Yeah, the Russian and the orphans and things. But I'm it's more of the accuracy and the precision and the testing self and you know, and applying all of your skills at the point in your career, of course, because the most experience you have made is the day you retire. That's when you've got the most experienced exactly, So you know, you're trying to obviously, you know, and and that's when you've got people helping you and guiding you along the way, because of course you're making so many errors when you're younger. But I think that the experience blended with your just that sheer enthusiasm and passion. You know, you've got that fluent flamboyancy. You know, you're so ignoratant bliss, isn't it. You're so confident. You're so confident, you know, and your bordeline reckless. You're making some mistakes here and there, but that comes and then the polish being polished comes, getting more you know, articule and their word can of course consistency. You know, you've got so many people in this podcast may to come in sport and that is that's that's, that's what they have to be able to do, right, Yeah, you got to be consistent, you know, if you ultimately delivering all the time to be a to defend your position, yeah, exactly, and also be you know, but eve Ben accurate with your lap time. You see someone like Rafa or Roger in our in our situation, that's that's repeating the same lap time all the time at a high level or a golfer drive down the middle or whatever. If you're like, that's in our in our in our game, it's doing the same laptome like very metronomically, and that's just becomes mathematic els elite sports people can do, I think, is that's what they're looking for, right, They want to have that, you know, the mistakes fact.
00:20:21
Speaker 1: So recklessness is out of the game. It's it's it's more about, like you're just saying, it's very mathematical and structured, and it's about accuracy and repeating that accuracy.
00:20:32
Speaker 2: Yes, but of course the journey you get better, of course as you get older, and then when you get to Formula one, of course that's another level again. But through the junior categories, of course there's lots of errors and rushes of blood and where you're just you know, you just you make some horrendous errors because you're you're learning, and that's natural. But of course if you just of course, if you are learning, that's the most important thing. If you continue to do the same as they over and over and over again, then of course people will know that and that's obviously not a good look.
00:20:59
Speaker 1: Did you have I have during these periods before formula one. But did you ever have during these periods that you can recall a moment where you thought, fuck, oh, that's so dumb what I did. Is there anything that stands out to you that you'll never forget during this period? Not formulae, but during this period.
00:21:18
Speaker 2: Yeah, mainly linked to crashes. I suppose in terms of just again a situation that the percentages were so low when pulling a passing move off or something that you thought was on and it wasn't on, and you you went for something that just was half baked and half cocked, and it did it didn't come off.
00:21:40
Speaker 1: So we talk about the decision making process. So when you let's see if you can recall maybe I got to get around him, I'm going to overtake. Is it like, is it a hairs breath between doing and not doing it? Or is it very strategic? You're looking for twenty different signatures that say now ago.
00:21:58
Speaker 2: No, A good point, mate, I mean, yeah, there's body language of the car in front. You know, how's he going, what's he doing? You explain what that is, why he's like, where his car positioning is? You know he is he is his car? Is he driving within the car. Is he on the limit of the car in front, and you're sort of you're seeing how he might be. This might be his limit, and you're saying, okay, well I can squeeze him into a mistake just by following him. He might make a small error and to make it easy for myself. Or in a situation where you've got someone that's over like what let's say, over defending, and see they're under pressure, they're happy to even give up a second or third or a fourth. We might be fighting for fourth and he's happy to let them go and just he's going to take the battle within ourselves as now a's a one on one, you know, between ourselves. And that's where there's been times where I'm like, I've got to take care of this and fix this up. And sometimes you might do it too hastily and there's contact and you've stuffed up and you know, so you you don't look at the big chess piece, the big you know, the chess player. I suppose holistically, at that age too early, you're just like, okay, when you get more experience, like, hey, pull yourself back out of this, let's look at this from outside and go, okay, I need to actually strip this down a bit, a bit nicer. But when you're nineteen, I mean, good luck with that. Like you are just wrat up a drain pipe. You know you want to be you want to be I'm going to do it. Yeah, I'm going to do it. And I make my presence felt and I make sure he knows I'm here.
00:23:15
Speaker 1: Do you sort of get into a zone because like a you're driving the cat, your foot here and their everything, and you're you're also surveying everything around you, and you're feeling what's behind you, and you're sort of feeling what's on your side, your brain, your eyes, all your senses observing a whole heap of stuff. Then at the same time you're strategizing, it's like nearly you can nearly forget to drive.
00:23:37
Speaker 2: You think about I got to do this, of course, mate, of course, And that again, like at the Formula one level, the mind management, you know, with the RAM. If the RAM is full, you know, then your situation of making the consistently the right decisions is going to struggle. If it's if you're yeah, if your brain is full of course, stuff going your ability to be able to and the eyes are critical, of course, and you make a good point about perofer vision. Perofyle vision is huge in sport and a huge in our sport as well, because your eyes are scanning the speed we're going. We need to be able to that all needs to become just if it's coming at you're super super slow, you know, in everything, even on a qualifying lap, which is us against the track. The ultimate test of speed is us in qualifying. So you go out and you have to be able to drive the car on the absolute limit, and that has to be coming at you. In my in the best days of my racing career, that is coming at you very slowly.
00:24:31
Speaker 1: Because really you can slow it down.
00:24:33
Speaker 2: Well, that's when it's when you're performing brilliantly. It's coming at you very very slowly, and you're ahead. You're just so far ahead of what's happening. And the same in racing scene, you know, so you're that flow. We talk about the flow or what you know, it's very hard you he have to think you talk about that, yes, of course, of course. So it's coming at you very and you're and you're so present, you're so present, there's no baggage from what's happened. There's no baggage your head. It's just slow. You're here, you're here, you are so with the car, and you're just you're present, and that's when it sounds like it's sort of floating in a meditative sense. That's the big secret source. If you can get that right obviously, if we can, yeah, of course I think that's and if you can bottle that every weekend, which unfortunately when for me when I had to come up against the Michael Schumachers and the Lewis Hamilton and those guys, that's a headache because those guys, well, you know they are arguably you know that they have been or they're both in the goat conversation. Yeah, yeah, yeah, So.
00:25:29
Speaker 1: But do you think that do you think that they are you saying to me now that that was not intimidating, but like a mountain have to climb because you thought they were very good at doing this, getting into this in that.
00:25:43
Speaker 2: More often than probably you know, the guys, you know, I still had some success, but obviously the absolute greats in any sport, I think they are in that window just a bit easier, and they seem like they've got more time than anybody else. Of course, look at Roger. Yeah you know he's in it inside down, I don't you know, Yeah, I know.
00:26:03
Speaker 1: The famous French soccer player, sure do. I'm watching him woke up fine, Yeah.
00:26:07
Speaker 2: It's an absolute joke watching him play. For I watch him play. I watched him play.
00:26:12
Speaker 1: I watched France win the World Cup in Paris, yeah, many years ago, and he was amazing slow motion.
00:26:17
Speaker 2: Yeah, it looks like the ball comes to it, like everything slows down when he's on it and people are moving around and he's just like so that that's a beautiful example of time in sport when people so obviously Evan's rushed, Andrew John's time. Yeah, time got time, mate, So they create time. And that's the thing where and I think it's massive on the on the peripheral stuff huge because that that that that ability to be able to stall your your gyro, you know, even your all, your all, your balance and everything is just so in sync and it's incredible. It's great to watch.
00:26:57
Speaker 1: It's interesting you should say that because some it's funny. I was still going to Dave Warner in the podcast actually, and Dave said to me that we're talking about bowlers and and or batsman, but they don't rely on peripheral vision as much as they rely on they have unbelievable closeness of their eyes together, and they can they can hit a ball because they can really zone in on the ball that's coming towards them, which is sort of send me the opposite to you. You've got to have view, You got to see what's happening around you everywhere a massive span.
00:27:31
Speaker 2: We're covering a football field every second. Wow, covering a football every second one two, three, four, five, six football fields in six seconds, you know. So when you're doing two and twenty do you mean literally there's probably been speed that's plus plus. There's probably studies on this. It's about that. We're in three hundred seventy k now, you know, so there's one hundred meters every second. Yeah, yeah, wow, it's quick. So that's I mean, of course you prefer peripheral visions because we're pricking up picking up braking boards, and that's if we're not driving breaking boards like our breaking markers. You know, with that speed, if we elect to break it one tenth of a second later or earlier, of course, that has a huge effect on our lap time and where we're breaking and also and that's if we're driving in beautiful conditions, thinking about driving in the rain when there's spray and you can't really see, so then you can't see probably not as much. Very limited vision, very very limited vision. And that's where another thing in our game, when you are under immense stress, whether it's communication or whether it's visually you compromised, you're hearing goes. You're hearing is another credible parameter on listening to the car in front. Where could he be listening to things like that? It's another queueing. Hearing is another massive tool for us in the car, which is phenomenal because one of the first things that go when you're under severe pressure. If the team are talking to you and you're in a situation of pressure, the brain will that's like it just I didn't hear that, or you know, because that happens.
00:29:04
Speaker 1: Would you know that they said? Some of you who don't know what they said.
00:29:06
Speaker 2: You could do, but you might you know it has happened at times where obviously you said, what the fuck you say? Might repeat it or like it just yeah, So that when there's a lot going on, it'll prioritize what we've got the task at hand, which has of course been present with the car and operating the machine the best you possibly can. And then you've got to be able to take construction. And sometimes that can be the brain might prioritize that in a way that you might not want it to prioritize, because you just got a task at hand. And that's again where the phenomenal guys, you know, and even guys that formul on one level. You know, there's a lot of people that could. I mean, mate, I didn't have the most skill. I worked really hard, but I did not have the most skill and talent, but I worked hard on you mean natural talent. That's right, absolutely not, and I'll race against a lot of guys in the junior case she's out of talent. But of course application and all these things.
00:29:55
Speaker 1: They just persistent and consiste attitude.
00:29:58
Speaker 2: Sir Alex Ferguson always say, but he'll take the work out over the.
00:30:03
Speaker 1: Every time, the same and everything I see in businesses exactly so I would.
00:30:09
Speaker 2: You know, it's a long way home from Europe with your tab between your legs, you know, and I never forgot that. Do you feel pressure then to say.
00:30:18
Speaker 1: I don't want to come mom with my between my legs. I've got to make this work. And was it and was it because I want mom and dad to be proud or is that just innate in you in Markweber.
00:30:29
Speaker 2: A lot of a lot of accountability for you know, making to go over there and not not not an embarrassment. But it's like I I, I I have to make this work. I don't want to come back to to to Australia. And that were like for me, it was nearly like a failure if I came back because I thought, I have to make this work in Europe. I want to get as far as I can over here, and I want to get to Formula one.
00:30:58
Speaker 1: So I can I just stop you there, marking, because this is that more about?
00:31:01
Speaker 2: Which one? Is it more about?
00:31:03
Speaker 1: Is it more about Mark Weber hated the thought of possible failure or is it could be both better? Is that Mark Weber is desperate to succeed. They're different things.
00:31:15
Speaker 2: I don't want to fail nothing, that's the latter. I must succeeded. Yeah, I want to succeed. You know. For example, I'll give you I turn pro I got picked up by Mercedes Bens in ninety end of ninety seven after this period this year, this is in ninety seven, and so I was getting going, but still financially like we had no real commercial firepower, like in terms of the sponsorship situation wasn't great, but Mercedes thankful. I was lucky to get picked up by them through some of my results and I won a training camp in Austria with all the European drivers. It was about ten of us, all the juniors that Mercedes picked us up. And I was the worst in fitness, worst fitness. What do you mean that altitude? Like doing the hikes and doing this in the gym work or traditional fitness. And I remember saying to myself back in my room that night, yet this will never ever happen again. Ever, he's not happening again. What do they get you? I just like my wake up in the morning, go and hike, you know, like the snow shoes on at altitude in Zerst, which is really nice to Austrian. Have you been a full listeners? You want to go to Zerst. It's a nice place to go to go skiing in Austria. But when you're a young little pup and you're getting belt by from Queenbian. Yeah, yeah, from Queen Bean in the snow. Of course, I was so out of my depth, literally physically out of my depth in terms of the snow so and of course doing three or four sessions a day, mate, I was absolutely getting smoked, and I just thought, this is this is I was delusional, absolutely delusional for what I thought I was doing was enough and I needed a serious uppercut, massive uppercut. And that was the uppercut, and give yourself an uppercut exactly. That was. So what do you do?
00:32:52
Speaker 1: You're laying in bedthing, I'm fucked him. I can't believe I'm coming last and everything.
00:32:57
Speaker 2: What did you do? What do you do? Like, oh, survive that week obviously, you know, get myself through that, and then you know, I know that on there it's going to be feedback, will be going back to the bosses about you know, they do a report on obviously the driver conditioning and all the youngsters and blah blah blah, and obviously you've got this Australian kid in the mountains is obviously nowhere and then but that was just what I needed, apparently exactly bang, because you know, you can have a few people blow and smoke up your ass, but when it comes to actually physically, when you can't when they're going away from you, and you know on the racetrack, I can smoke these guys. You know a lot of these skill ways. Yeah, I just yeah. But so anyway, so that's when I took, you know, the accountability for myself and say, you know, I have to No one can make me get up and do my runs, get good, you know, so that self. So that's where it's a massive team sport. But of course the ownership on yourself is an individual in the sport and consistently turning like the investment in yourself to some way. I have to own all of these things. I've got to own them because you know, you can action as you know, speak later on you have to action things. You can talk about getting fit, but then if I'm come back in next year, I want to be top everywhere.
00:34:04
Speaker 1: So you got through it, and you obviously I've got through it, did enough to get through it with Mercedes bands. But but you knowing that maybe I want to get invited back next year. So what what does make web we doing that? What did you do was to go and join a gym.
00:34:16
Speaker 2: What do you do? Get a trainer? I did still a lot myself did a lot. I did a lot myself because I knew sports wise, I was still coordinated. It wasn't like I was on. I was still I was still pretty handed lots of different sports. But I just thought I was just doing enough. Yeah, and there's a great line mate from the from the UK Special Forces guys. Average is easy. That's why it's popular, right, Yeah, it's easy to be average. There's a lot of average out there. Yeah, and we can do average. It's popular, and you'll be average. Let's let's fucking not be average. Yeah, totally, because if you do the same as what other people that you have to be prepared to do something that other people are not doing because you do the same as them, and you'll be the same as them, the same as So I'm like, okay, I need to be doing you know. So I came back here. I was in Queenan actually the end of the year. I went to thread Bow, took myself there for two weeks alone. Thread Bow. That's when they had a little like Olympic set up. I think there was some Olympics set up in the in thread bowl. At the time there there was swim two thousand. He's at here and ready for the Olympics. Yeah, stuff there. So I just plugged myself in up there and I just flogged myself. Just try loon alone running, just eat, sleep train, eat, sleep train, swim, run, mountain bike, repeat, blah blah blah. There's something scary about that. And I did all that. I did all that alone. Yeah. So and I like the element of surprise when I went back there, It's like, Okay, holy shit, he's now yeah, that's.
00:35:38
Speaker 1: Good digit you Okay, but did you kick something?
00:35:40
Speaker 2: Yeah? Great, Yeah I did well. Yeah, so it's good. So that side that was then that that was that was covered.
00:35:46
Speaker 1: You now know that if I do this work, I can be up there with the at the front of the team.
00:35:51
Speaker 2: Yeah. I mean, it's not always linked to the stop Watch, but it's a it's a it's a controllable that you can control about standards, about the people are investing you, the people that believe in you, because you've also got a showcase to them that you you know, I'm getting paid back then I was getting one hundred and forty thousand doutsch marks, which is you know, you know, better than nothing, because it was wasn't huge amount of money. But I'm getting Hay finally turned professionally. This is incredible, and I'm embarrassing myself in certain situations. So that was something I just couldn't accept so had to take care of it.
00:36:23
Speaker 1: So but that's a bit like I find it just a I don't find it. But it's a little bit scary that your mindset is that, okay stuff, this I'm going to have as a ski season. I'm going to go up to Threadbow in this late nineties, probably around two thousand period, and I'm going to start training myself and be that I'm going to go there by myself and I'm going to train the shit out of myself. It's like, I don't know some like sas type things. Do you ever think yourself? Was anyone that observed to.
00:36:53
Speaker 2: You about you that you're a bit of a lucky raised to some of those guys, which is not before then, you know. And I met actually a really inspirational guy and impactful guy in my career was a guy called Bernie Showsbury who I met. He was part of the SBS which is got the sas in the UK Hereford and you've got the SBS in Pool, right, And he was influential in my croup for like from ninety from nineteen ninety nine on was exactly on these things. But I had, thankfully before that, started to find out that yeah, because I've got you've got to you've got to own that. You know. I'd come back and Mum was stressed out. You know, I was full of coal sauce. When I'm stressed and run down, I get cole sorces. Yeah, And I came back and she saw that. Yeah, She's like, mate, what are you doing? I said, yeah, because of course I was so. And it was a lot of it was probably reckless. There was not a lot of method in the madness. Actually, you know, I know you've got another podcast on health and things like that, which is really good. I listened to that, and this would not have been if you did that sample of me going up there and flogging myself, it wouldn't have been you know, but I believed it was at the time the right things for me to believe in my own journey and my conditioning, and it was a way to build my confidence to actually and then blends into the cockpit for.
00:38:01
Speaker 1: My performance who each other?
00:38:03
Speaker 2: Formula One? How that happened? Oh so mate. So after ninety nine I was racing for Mercedes and we had some I had a very nasty accident in France in June. The cars were flying so aerodon amica, they were very unstable, and so we had two flips. Basically, which is just incredible, is because you're going so fast. Yeah, and aerodynamically the cars were not stable, so it's certain at a certain speed it took off. It took off, wow, which is not where you want to be when I can't imagine that.
00:38:33
Speaker 1: But when that happens, Yeah, what do you You feel like you have no control because you know, no wheels on the ground.
00:38:38
Speaker 2: Yeap? What's going through your head? Oh you think you're gonna die? You're cooked? Yeah, I thin you're gonna die. Spect Like the second there was two within it within a day and a half. So the car was just it was it was a ticking bomb unfortunately, and subsequently they pulled out of the race after the flips that we had and things like that. So but the car, it didn't have a lot of power. So when you got no how you've got to run the car very light on downforce, and when the car's got low downforce, it's very you know, suspect at high speed in terms of the car being unstable at high speed. And did you know that though before you get yeah, you are, you're on the limb. You're you're playing the risk game, of course, but not to that level. There should the car should never be taken off and they and they were so. But the fascinating thing with that mark is that when you when you are faced with that is a very very very horrible situation to be in, when you are that high up in the sky, you know, two un eighty k and you've got trees either side of the circuit, it's actually quite calm, there was I wasn't panics. I wasn't really panicking. I was more thinking about and my wife and my sister and my mom, all the three women. I hope they're not watching, which probably some of them were. But you're like, you just you think about and maybe this is it, Maybe this is really yeah, maybe this is it, you know, and you're not You're know. I wasn't panicking, but it was just and I just wanted over quick. I said, I don't want suffer. I don't want to know suffer. Just turn the lights off.
00:39:58
Speaker 1: When it comes down. Is it coming down front ways or is it coming back on?
00:40:02
Speaker 2: I don't have a choice in that, budd Yeah, so she came down. I was asked yeah on his ass, and then finished up on this roof. The second one was I was a bit trapped in there, so he flipped. Then you're worried about fuel and fire and stuff. So yeah. So anyway, so after that, I had a very difficult decision to make in my career, which was telling Mercedes I don't want to race sports cars anymore. Go back to no salary, zero income, go back to looking for sponsors again, and through from ninety nine June when the accidents were through to like October, phone was dead, no one was interested in me, and career was over pretty much. I was over there and we had and I had nothing really And Eddie Jordan was a famous F one team owner at the time based up a silver Zone and his pa. I'd ring Eddie. I was trying to get some work with this formula, even just some testing I can do, So can you show me? I want to I want to show case what I can do. And Eddie and his pa was just brilliant. She would never ever like, she'd always find a way not to get you know, I could never get through to him. I'm just this, that's it there for me. Yeah, exactly, the gatekeeper. So and that went on for a couple of weeks and I thought, stuff, is I'm going to drive to see him when he's leaving the factory. I'm going to stalk him, Yeah, basically to stalk him yet. So I'm going to drive. I had a Ford Layzer one point one lead to shipbox Ford Laser Ford Laser and because I had to give my company car back to Mercedes and a lot sort of stuff. So I'm like, okay, I want to get my form single seater career back on. And Mercedes said, okay that we want. Were happy to keep paying you and going some other categories for us and do some other things. And I know that's the easy option. I still want to try and get back on my Formula one dream. So that was a huge risk that we took there. And then I door stopped Eddie and Eddie Jordan said, mate, You've got to meet this guy Paul Stoddard, who's an Australian guy. He's got a Formula one team and let's go and meet him. So the day after pretty much back at the same venue silver Soon where all the testing happens. So I went to see Paul start Art, and Paul start Art pretty much gave me a chance in Formula one. But what commits to you record? I had a test drive with him in the curtain the category this blow f one called form of three thousand and then so I drove for him in two thousand in that and went well for him, and then after that I got the chance to move into Formula one in two thousand and two. So it was yeah, I mean, there was the worst team. It was the slowest team on the grid, you know, and there was I had a two race contract, two races be a contract for two races for basically footing days Melbourne Grand Prix and Malaysian Grand Prix, and my first event I managed to finish fifth in the first, my first Formula one race, and is that considered good? That was the biggest fluke ever? Biggest fluke ever? Why just because there was a lot of the big guys crashed out and our car should not have got to the finish. Grand Prix is three hundred kilometers flathhouse like doesn't see a long but three hundred cas actually flat out and our car, the previous distance that had done before them was around one hundred k's like in testing. So we never thought. And the team boys said to me on the grid and if you can bring this car home, just finishing just three case is such a highlight for me. And Madam towards the back of the grid race starts his huge crash and we're running and there's a bit of attrition, you know, like a couple of big boys pulling out and I'm like, looking, I'm p eleven, p ten, Shit, this is going right, and like I just wanted to be finishing and et cetera, et cetera, And I'm like, this is my first Grand pri made. I'm hardly fit in the car. I'm like, it's the team's based in Italy, you know, so the cars they used to design them around Italian drivers and all there's a little guy. It's a short guy. Yeah, he's his tall Australian terms. Oh, I made this thing. So so I'm finding out on my way that going this I've never driven in this position for that long in this car, and yeah, I was then running fifth and there was a driver called Mickasalo who was a finished driver in a huge very wel fun the team say throwing. The Toyota Works team was catching me, and Paul started to come on the radio and said, mate, under no circumstances should you let him? Pas, no circumstances, let him pass because they can see it, they're watching it. Yeah, but also because the points, so they award points for the top six and financially for him to get two points because it was one point for six, two points for five, and you work your way up to ten points for a win. So for him financially as a team owner, this was huge. Wow, you know, big numbers for him. So he knew. I mean, of course he didn't get in that position because he wasn't a gambling man, so he wanted to double down. So I don't want one point on two. I'm like, I'm in first race and I'll do what I can. So we got fifth, and how do you avoid it? How did you avoid this? Oh? Just like of course making it hard for him. You know, it was like we could have gone okay, we're happy with the point. We've got to get this car home. It was still there was a lot of reliability issues. Six would have been okay, but fifth, yeah, but like it's like and you know what, I was also calm when he arrived. I knew he was coming. He arrived and said, rot, I'm ready, let's go.
00:44:57
Speaker 1: Let's they telling you on the radio. Who's on his I can.
00:45:00
Speaker 2: See it on the sitboard. I can see it on the bit board. Yeah. And then of course at some point you got him in the mirrors, but I had you know, he was much quicker than me when you're right, but I'm just going to make it a bit deva faster. Yeah yeah, yeah, but you know, but I still had to get around me and I just tried to make it as you're allowed to do that they block him off. Yeah, yeah, sure, yeah, because as legal within limits, you can't obviously just you know, cream someone off the circuit. But you've got to make it. He's got you got to make him work for it. So anyway, it was that was extraordinary. And so he said, you've got to drive the rest of the year.
00:45:32
Speaker 1: Oh wow, See he had a concious So you've gone from two weeks, yeah.
00:45:34
Speaker 2: Two weeks to the whole year. Yeah, and then I was driving and then I got an off a middle of the season. I was in sort of testing or there's a beauty parade for me to drive some other teams in the middle of that year. So the year after I went to drive for Jaguar for a few years, and that was when it really started for me financially and also with proper big, a big team, a big team of people.
00:45:54
Speaker 1: They pay good money. I mean there's a good money in this once you can just get you.
00:45:58
Speaker 2: Yeah, yeah, yeah.
00:46:00
Speaker 1: The drivers are well looked after retirement level. Yeah, like if you say that long enough.
00:46:04
Speaker 2: Yeah, of course that's right, if you have a long career, Yeah, you looked after pretty well. And then yeah, and then I went through I think, like I was so lucky to race for red Bull. You know, red Bull was mister Mutershits was he was the probably the most inspirational guy I've ever met in my life really but just yeah, he just you know, had great vision and yeah, so what was that interaction, Like, oh my god, mate, you would have seen people, mate, you know, I know you've spent time with Kerry Packrond. People people are just a lot. It's likely been here before. Yeah, he just his conversion fad. Just getting decisions right was just ridiculous. Love spending time with him, and you know, he was the one that you know, you know, adrenaline sports, extreme sports, you know, with Red Bull, he was a big visionary on all that. And what do you learn that personal? Uh, well, he was a very straight guy, very very straight in terms of just so uncomple you know, he just made everything that should be could be complicated or people can make complicated uncomplicated. In other words, he's he's delivered. She was simple. You knew exactly what he was expectable or what he was thinking. Yeah, just just you know, this is my expectations of you. You know, do this, you know, do that, very very clear messages. It's an honor to have you with a team, et cetera. So and just the way he was so I didn't put any pressure on you. He he just had this great way. But you also you're honored to represent him and drive for him, you know, and you wanted to do good from my god, you want to do so well for me, even though I mean, of course he's an incredibly, incredibly successful man. But you are a small, small cold in the chain of his huge empire. But the way that he believed in us guys, and obviously myself and David Coulthard, we were sort of there when the team was not going, So it was the formative years of rebel racing and getting it. Now they've formed one team. It's one of the best teams and there is so isn't it funny though, back on the great members of that.
00:48:05
Speaker 1: Isn't it funny how athletes perform best when they want to play well for the let's call it the coach, you know, and you we just we just go back to the footing analogies. Some of the great coaches, the team want to play for that individual and they want to win for that coach, and it's it's it's same in business too, like there are some people who just want.
00:48:22
Speaker 2: To do it for them.
00:48:24
Speaker 1: You're you're just saying that was that that was the sort of sense that you've got for yourself.
00:48:29
Speaker 2: I want to do well with this, dude. Yeah, No, you're right, Mark. I think it's the pride as well. You want him to be proud of what you're bringing to the table. Yeah, you know, and that that's substance and being dependent on you working for him because you know, his names above the door. Yeah, end of the day, his name is above the door, and he's paying you to do a job. And of course I want to be you know, him to be proud of what you're doing. You're doing everything you can to deliver for for him. Of course he's got lots of you know, he's got a it's a huge business, but the racing armor was was one of the biggest business, one of the biggest parts of his his empire still is and still is to this day. I mean, Dietrich, you know, unfortunately he's not with us anymore. But but you're right. I think when you're when someone's got the name above the door, you know. I've been lucky enough to drive for Porsche too, Porsche phenomenal brand. I drove, I drove for the Mafter I finished with Red Bull and and Dietrich was kind enough to say, may I support that move. It's great. They're a great brand. And so that was again just the quality of how Dtree handled that transition was just incredible between the pair of us. But anyway, Porsche, mister Porsche Wolfgang Porsche in the garage. Serious, I hope you enjoy driving in serious wow? And you're like that's like if that doesn't give you goose bumps in terms of like you know, oh, here I am, you know, racing these gorgeous racing cars and mister Porsche's there and he's proud of you. Hope you enjoy racing our cars and doing it kind of like awso absolutely awesome. Do you still see it? Would you see that? Like?
00:49:55
Speaker 1: Because I consider myself sometimes when I was younger, but do you see that as that's a young that's still a young a kid. Mark Webber, the boy who wanted to do the right thing by sheens and instead of putting the ball next to the touch judges feet, he's taken Sheensy's instructions to help the team get keep momentum on the field, like you know, box head, make sure box had got the whole of the ball. And I'm serious. It's the same kid. But now you're you know, you're thirty or whatever age you are. It's the same kid being the same person wants to do the right thing or the best thing for the team. Yeah, I think I think, Yeah, it's not to say you didn't grow up. I just said no, of course, but I think that's always it's in your brain, of course, but it comes from the house I grew up in as well. And for your dad of course, that's the thing, you know, like it's just you know, Dad was like he was he still is to this day, a big practical joker.
00:50:49
Speaker 2: People know, my old man, like he's a lunatic. But you know, when it comes to you know, just the basics of you know, turning up on time, please and thank you his hands, like all those things in terms of actually been respected in those things, which I think and also for me, mate, I I was also representing I think Australia as well, you know, like it was a big gap. It was twenty five years I think between Alan Jones win winning at that level. There's only five Australians that one, mate and Formula one. Like it's actually it's not easy, yes, but you are of course. I look at Okay, there's a blend of being patriotic because you want to get that. When I hear that national anthem in the middle step, wow, it just blows me away loose bumps. Yeah, you know, I just to this day, Like, I just like, you know, to be able to do that, you know at that level was for me was especially on the Poe course, mate, incredible, like and also the people watching in a strub course and my family and the commitment my mechanics down like everyone you're like, shit, this is the this is the execution of actually all that work. And you're right, like it's not just about you know, oh, it's about everyone else, but it's it's you are the arrowhead. You're the one that's actually got the accountability and the standards which you've got to consistently try and bring to the table and keep improving yourself. I think the adapt we touch on that you have to be able to adapt all the time. Right If you're not adapting, mate, because you're not the same. It changes for different regulations. You know, look at tennis, Look at clay. Look if you want to win four Slams in a year, you know that's not easy. Clay class crass you know here in rod labor and then you've got flushy meta bang golf is difficult like whatever. So again the greats can feel like I could jag adapt a couple of surfaces, mate, I could do a couple of services, but I couldn't win it all four Yeah, like you know, so that's so I've got to jag a few wimblin or whatever the equivalent of in our sport. But in terms of like the but so I think that adaption thing is a real a key thing and using your resources the people around you, how you can get better with that.
00:52:39
Speaker 1: And I love that sense of nationalism or patriotism that you have, like like you want to do it for the country.
00:52:46
Speaker 2: Yeah, I think well, because also there was like I said, that gap was big and I was responsible for like in a way like it was you know, we've had obviously, Sir Jack was a three tome world champion in his own car. Will never be done again, never be done again, aj you know, one World championship eighty nine eighty and then he won races, and then it was myself, and then it was Daniel and then there was now there's Oscar. So to win at that level, I think it knows because commercially from Australia, we don't move the needle much in this sport. We're not you know, a small country, very small country, not just geog. We're big in Land masks. But geographically we're obviously you know, all the you know, all the big stuff in America and Europe and Northern Hemisphere, you know, the the commercial firepower. We don't bring much the table in that sense. You know, we bring our speed and our our you know, our I suppose the standards in what we can bring to the team.
00:53:46
Speaker 1: But when you says only five is actually you're right, it's only five and you just named them, but it's seventy five years. That's pretty crazy. But are we do we are we well represented relative to our side because Australians tend to always bat beyond there.
00:54:03
Speaker 2: Wait, yeah, I think pretty well, I think pretty well statistically the guys that have, yeah, the ones that have, I mean the British, you know, so many world champions because like all the eight of the Formula one teams or seven of the Formula one teams are based in the UK. Really you know, well they're all based there. You've got Ferrari obviously in Mariello, and another you know, audio based in Switzerland, but the rest are based in the UK. So it's it's a it's a very UK centric sport. But so for us to leave here and to go over there whatever age is, and to break in, break in you know, culture, all the rest of it, you know, And that's part of the test. The Monday to Friday is I think the hardest part of the test. What do you mean by that? No family around? Yep, you know, the devil finds you know, time for idle hands. Yeah, my mother used to exactly. You know, so when you're you're looking for short cuts and this, and they're like the excuses I can't maybe so when you haven't got your helmet on, But when you're not competing, there's opportunities to find some not great habits stray. Yeah, and that's you will. And there has people there, there has been situations you know that mote. There's people that have derailed their careers through exactly bad choices Monday to Friday. They had all the other things, the ingredients were there, but they screwed up on They had the talent, but they didn't have the mentals, they didn't have the people to all. They didn't they didn't convert into their heads that that that that advice at that right time, whatever sport that was right you know, in business, same business, I mean, I bring you guys, absolute geniuses who are stuffed it up.
00:55:42
Speaker 1: It's funny because I kept going back to how you were brought up by it and the influence your dad had, and no doubt your mother too. But your dad in relation to structure and process and steps and let's call it discipline, a discipline approach, those things stuck.
00:55:59
Speaker 2: With you and bode well for you. I think it seems like you're right, mate, But I think you know he wasn't a discipline area though. No mean yeah, we never really had a cross word. But I think again it was just the proud like you know, in essence, you just I mean, I was so lucky to spend time with you, with Nikki Lauder, sport Sir Jackie Stewart, you know some of these people that I you know, of course there are of them. Maybe what can I learn how how they roll? What can I do? Did you do that consciously? Yeah? Sure? And those relationships are ones that I treasured and I think they they're the people that actually and I did search for that because of course you want to try and you know, be the best example of yourselful on the way and of course Dad doesn't have all the answers but you're like, you know, and you're into you circle because of course there is a natural point and sometimes where people that are super close to you sometimes they won't give you the medicine you need. You know, they will, you know, you know, just you know, sugarcoat things and blow it to smoke up your ars. And they said, but at that level, you can't, you can't. You know. It's such a fine line, right to to be hanging in there and also you know, having the chance to execute week in week out. So I think that I was lucky enough to also have some nice relationships with those guys, which was really good for me, because yeah, they they've they've been there and seen them, you know. So Jackie Stewart, I think he went to twenty five or thirty funerals, you know, wow, you know in the seventies, you know, when they were losing so many men racing them. So this is a guy that's dealt with, you know. Niki Lauder went through so much in his life as well. So icons absolute icons of our sports. And I just sit down to mate, you know, Sir Alex Ferguson made the great Manchester United. You know, you've got one mouth and two ears. Use him in that order, you know, I like it. So what we're into f one in for one?
00:57:50
Speaker 1: What would be your what do you think was the greatest highlight of your of your career Monico?
00:57:56
Speaker 2: Winning in Monico twice was certainly very very special. That's I'll be our Wimbledon if you're likely. It's a very hard weekend to put together. It happen. It's a tough track. It's it's a street circuit. It's really not designed for the cars, so it's you against the track because it's such a it's a ribbon of ash felt with armco pinned up on either side of the track, and you've got to be The weekend is about, you know, the risk you're prepared to take and when you're prepared to put it all on the line, which is the last part of qualifying because that's when they set the grid for the race, so you cannot overstep that mark at any point. On the Friday Saturday and Practice've got two practice session on Friday, You've got one practice session Saturday morning and then Saturday afternoon is the moment of you've got like it's a seventy second lap plus and minus two seconds depending on the grip of the track, seventy seconds where you have to be seventy seconds, seventy seconds when that is the foundation of the weekend ban seventy seconds or sixty eight seconds, and you've got to execute.
00:58:58
Speaker 1: Because I've been I've been to two Grand Prixs there and and for those people don't know it, it's sort of a as a tunnel there, and it sort of looks to me as a street. It's sort of quite narrow and you can tight very tight.
00:59:13
Speaker 2: It's not really for the cars. Yeah, So and keep in mind our eyeline mark, like the eye line where like it's sort of knee height when you and I standing. Yeah, your eyeline is very low, so this sensation for speed is quite high. So you're the top rail of arm coat is well above your eye line. You're not looking over the bloody fence. Yeah, yeah, you're like, you know, you've got damco both sides. So they were big. They were huge highlights for me mate to to win there. And the British Grand Prix, which is another that's been on the calendar for it's always been on the calendar. That's a very very very famous Grand Prix. So I managed to win that twice, which was nice. So yeah, so how.
00:59:52
Speaker 1: Do you control your ego when you after you get off the podium, I mean, everybody's in a champagne thing whatever.
00:59:57
Speaker 2: And then there must be a party on after it. They how do you red Bull party? Good? Mate? The parties are good with red Bull, I think again, the podium ceremony is quite you know, you've got the you've got the you know, the dignitary side. You know, got people coming up and obviously handing the trophies out and things like that, and then obviously sprays champagne, which is which is a is a a celebration, it's a convention. That's yeah, you got to do it. The fate. There's a story about it was apparently the champagne bottles and Jackie Stuart, he thinks it was his accidentally come across it, but it was actually the champagneottle sitting there in a hot race all day and then he was trying to stop the champagne coming out. Being a good scotsman, you know, he's trying to save save money and save the champagne the bottle.
01:00:35
Speaker 1: But obviously there's bankers. If you're ever going to have a bank. You want them to be a tell us, Yeah, get a scot someone to do it. But anyway, yeah, he said, the more he pressed on the bottle the further when you know, so anyway, so and then you know it's been a tradition that the champagne spraying is after a Grand Prix.
01:00:52
Speaker 2: So and then you go back to it. You've got a lot of press. You do a lot of press every language. You know, I don't speak the languages, but obviously, but you've got to go around, you know, you've got to there's a process which is pretty repetitive because you pretty much want to get back to your team. Yeah, of course it's important. You've got to talk about your race and everything, but it does get you know, when you've done thirty or thirty five of the same interview, then you're back to your team. And then yeah, and then the pride, the pride is there. You think about your mechanics, mate, think about the guy the meticulous preparation. Yeah, they you know, I mean some of these mechanics we call them like your your main, your front end mechanic or your number one mechanic. You know, I'd have them beside my mummy hospital that's the trust. I have two or three of these guys and if you ring them and said, mate, I need whatever. So the trust when he looks at you and says the car is ready to go, he is responsible for that whole car going out, because keep in mind, made in five or six seconds. I've got the car on the limit. So we don't there's not much. There's a bit of a warm up, but there's not much. We're generally straight up it like we we are into it. So it's like a little mini airplane in many ways. So the preparation that he's got to do on it. So you want to see him. You want to see of course team bosses. You want to see the whole team because without the team, without all their mate catering staff, who's done all my meals all the way, all the chefs, who's the physio, you know, all the people have done your travel, you know everyone, you know how to get the hour and get home or mate, it's a big team.
01:02:23
Speaker 1: I'm meeting, where I'm staying all that, Well, where's your family?
01:02:27
Speaker 2: Then your wife? So where does that fit in the A few races, so she went to Yeah, she'd probably got every you know, third or fourth race because she was also pivotal in my career in terms of you know, logistics and managing staff and was like so that was that was important. So she was, you know, good also there for the bad days too, mate. We can talk about the cracking days, but also the ship ones too, which which which are rough. But and that comes with the territory. So yeah, she's there, you know, but she was tucked away a lot. She wasn't really you know, she wasn't big on the limelight and back then there's no so media make all that sort of stuff. So thank god. Yeah, it's a beautiful thing, isn't it.
01:03:05
Speaker 1: You can imagine they go, it's good for the podcast, it's good for the pod. Now we do love social meda our audness of social media. Well, let's just talk about Vettel. And I didn't mean I sort of realized, but when I started to really think about it, you're getting told by your team to do something, and you're and and what's the word what do they call it?
01:03:27
Speaker 2: A multi twenty one? Yeah?
01:03:30
Speaker 1: What the hell does multi twenty one mean?
01:03:33
Speaker 2: And explain that moment I was. I was in Malaysian Grand Prix two thousand and twelve, I believe No. Thirteen, Yeah, my last year with Red Bull. And basically if the team rings up and says this is the order we wanted to finish the racing, then then that's what.
01:03:51
Speaker 1: I understand that well, because because.
01:03:54
Speaker 2: Sometimes you you know you're you're up until a point, not from the start, but like the last part of the race, like if you've done like eighty five percent of the Grand Prix, they could ring up and say that this very rare, super rare circumstances, particularly in Red Bull, it was very very rare that that happened. Where we situated, I was leading the race, yep, yeah, and Sebastian was running second at the time, and he was striking a little bit in the first part of the Grand Prix, so he was under pressure for some basically around the pit stops where he was trying to he could have got out positioned by some people behind him. So you can, you can indure it. You can sort of help in a way by taking a suboptimal pit pits pits for myself, yourself, to help to help to help to help him clear those guys, and then we re reset things at the last pit stop, which was the case because all the chats before that we were not competitive. We were blown away that we were leading. We were one two in that race, so it was it was quite a surprise. And we had some reliability things in the background as well, so the cars were on the limit. We're taking some risks with certain things, and yeah, the call come that it was it was car to multi two one car two, which was me and car one. That's how we want to finish in that order in that audio you first, So yeah, yeah, yeah, so turn everything down, look after the cars engines, and like, let's just get the cars home because everything's you know, we've cleared Lewis, everything's enough, and and Seib said, obviously went went against at Satis, and yeah, can can be it was it was just there was a I mean that was just one cut where there was so much. We've been teammates for a long time, so there was many many things that went into that. And look, Sep and I get on well today, but we get on. No, no, not then, you know, and he he apologized of course after the raid, like it was a bit of a it was a bit of a bit of a ship show, to say the least. But the media would have loved that. Of course I would have done that. Yeah, but like I was already, I was ordered a given Porsche or handshake at the end of twelve to leave, So I respect, I was, you know, I was, I was going, and I did. In fourteen I went to Portion. All that was good. So I think that it was a bigger deal than then. It was probably made out, Yeah it was, but also for the team again the challenging for them because you know, you got the two drivers, you know, going rogue on each other.
01:06:22
Speaker 1: Well you but you didn't you adhere to the to the instruction.
01:06:26
Speaker 2: Yeah, yeah, I mean I left my engine. That's probably one of my regrets. I should have turned my engine back up, and I really had a bit a bit more of it, so I should have. I should have done that, but I didn't. But anyway, but do you regret anything about it? I probably should. Only that I should have I should have done that, was turned my engine back up and gave it everything. But I just yeah, I just didn't. I don't know why I didn't, but I didn't.
01:06:48
Speaker 1: But because because I know your Instagram handles Ousie grit. Yeah, yeah, what happened at that point? And what does that mean. I mean, did you feel like you let yourself down on the Aussie grip bit?
01:07:00
Speaker 2: Well, I fought as hard as I could on the day, Like I fought as hard as I could in that last part of the Grand Prix. And yeah, so it was sort of like and of course in your mind is like, well, what's your You're getting constantly communication that the race is off and the races on. So you saw like it's a there's a bizarre set of circumstances kicking off and if it.
01:07:22
Speaker 1: Hit him on the gym, I was his style. It's just from moment.
01:07:25
Speaker 2: Yeah, yeah, it was an interesting it's an interesting few weeks after that. But yeah, but that like there's always you know, but I think that the the fans want to see that too. Yeah, it's great for racing. The fans want to see that. Like also it's it's it's the two you know. And also by the way, Seb and I think we both said this to each other. I mean, Seb had my measure most of the time, but also we we pushed each other, yeah, to really good, good levels. You know that that was you know, that was important for us as a team. You know, you've got to push each other, you have to have the eternal you've got to have the internal rivalry for the whole team. Yet it's a competition. Yeah, it's a competition the end of the day. It is a competition. It's not like after you sir, you know, so you still got to have that that fight. But on that particular day, which was very rare, but on that particular the team thought it was right just to cool our jets, but it didn't end up like that. Yeah, was that your last formulae? That was my last year in F one. Yeah, so my last race was in Brazil. Yeah, finished on my terms, which was really made also, you know that's where the sport's been tremendous to me. Finished on my terms and yeah, finished on the podium in Brazil with Fernando and Sebastian, two great roles of mine, to phenomenal operators, and it was a good finish. So what is what is someone like?
01:08:47
Speaker 1: I mean, you know, you're on a young man and obviously you know obviously, but perhaps you're in a situation where you know, your money situation is pretty good.
01:08:55
Speaker 2: Like you you're you're.
01:08:59
Speaker 1: Comfortable and family is comfortable, but you only have plenty of energy.
01:09:04
Speaker 2: What do you do after this? Yeah, it's good, made good question because I think that that next phase again, I leant on the experience, guys, you know what does that next phase look like? Because at thirty eight thirty nine, when I stopped racing, I still I mean, I had a great and I squeezed a lemon, did what I could, and at that point I was starting to see more risks than ever, which is not a good place to be. You know, you're starting to see like that concrete wall has always been there my whole career, at this trailer, a random track has always been there. The fuck. I just noticed that I'm starting to see stuff that I don't want to be seen. So that's the first thing. It's like, shit, I need to be probably thinking about pulling pulling up stumps here. And then it's like I never The great bit of advice I got was that, because of course you're tired, end of your career, you think you want to have a break and people again, or Sir Jackie said, if you have two or three or four years off, you're going to be invisible. You know you need to, you know, go and work with which I did with Porsche in sports cars, which at the time i'm this is a bit tight or maybe gap and go back into competition, but he was right, you've got to go into straightaway. Yeah. And also and then negotiating that contract as a formuline driver compared to negotiating when your tool three years off and coming back in you're going to get a different number. Yeah, that's important. And you know, so you feel you need the break, but keep going, keep going. I did some media. I'm so lucky. Ma'm with Rolex, I'm with Porsche globally. Both those brands are incredible, great relationship with Red Bull. So those things for me, and I've been with them a long, long long time.
01:10:42
Speaker 1: You know.
01:10:43
Speaker 2: I like that loyalty component, you know, which I again, I you know, of course you get other little officers here and there, but I want to be true to the brands that have believed in me as well and my backstory and the rest of it. So I think that's but it happens fast, mate. I've been retired thirteen years. Wow. So you come up fifteen next Yeah, coming to fifteen next week, and may you're flying for seventy son, You're you're cruising. You know, it's incredible, And they said, okay, what are you gonna do for fifty oh, fiftieth It'll involve some red good steak, close friends and pretty simple motorbikes probably, Yeah, yeah, right now I think of you know, it's Experienceially, I think of every I'm sport's been so good to me. I've met so many incredible people, and I've you know, I've had some dodge and bullets along the way, and so fiftieth like it, it's a milestone. But I'm looking at every not every day that's you know, it's a bit you know, a bit tacky, so and every day's a freaking birthday. But I genuinely, you know, am stoked with you know that I can have these great opportunities to you know, look back. And that's gratitude. Like, I mean, how important is gratitude in your life? Very important? I think, yeah, because I think that, you know, I see again without being morbid. But of course I've lost a few mates that I've raced against, so you know, you think about yeah, you have to accept that, you know, you've been incredibly fortunate along the way and enjoyed good health and you know, I've had a couple of injurises here and there, but in terms of like and learning off other people on the way, watching other sports, watching people's transition and to like say, post career, all these things, it's fascinating the dynamics of how all that roles. And I've again just again been so lucky to take counsel off some great people around the world. And I think that gratitude always comes back to it. You know, it's that you know that. I think it's a great Serena Williams line with the discipline. You get choices, No disciplined choices are forced on you. You know. Wow, that's a good say. Yeah, so it'll catch up with you. No discipline will catch up with you. We know that.
01:12:49
Speaker 1: You know that, mate, Yeah, I have to stay otherwise, Captain Rats, I've got to stay on the long Is that straight? Now?
01:12:55
Speaker 2: So you've got your methods in madness And I think that that that discipline in all people that had some elenum of success. You know, it's it's it's the discipline. And then and turn it up, mate, You've got to turn up, you know, if you're not turning up your toast.
01:13:12
Speaker 1: But because someone's asked me what how I would describe success.
01:13:18
Speaker 2: How do you describe success for life sels longevity, you know, in your career in chosen field. I think if you're in there for a long time, I think that's that's success.
01:13:27
Speaker 1: Not just winning for me, but staying in the game of.
01:13:29
Speaker 2: Course, mate. Yeah, you know, like you the first two or three years in your career, that's the hardest, I think in most because that's the that's the If you can get through those first two or three years at that elite level, then you know, you're sort of like it's not getting easy, but you've sort of broken your way through and you're and then you have these you know, I always look at people that have a long career in anything, you know, that's speaks volumes to their to their standards and their and their discipline and the success of you know, I course, but yeah, you need to share that, you know, give back a bit, yeah, pay forward of course. You know. I had the Tasmania Challenge. I had an adventure race down there back into you know, so that was that was I enjoyed doing that for for kids with leakemia. So there's there's things where if you're in a position to give back a bit of course. That that makes you feel, makes you feel good to have much interaction with Piastri. Yeah, sure, yeah, of course.
01:14:22
Speaker 1: I mean he's the latest and the greatest right now, and.
01:14:25
Speaker 2: He's been so enjoyable to have him, you know, to help guide him. People guided you early of course, early in his career, you know, and I think that you know, it's hard to get that's that strategy piece right to, you know, to get it. So to help Oscar you know, in that in that in that early part of his career, and he's an immense talent. We know that. So it's been enjoyable to do that. But that's obviously my It's also because you know, whether it's again made happened about whether it's Alex Fergus or Marino or these great football managers or whatever, some of the.
01:14:59
Speaker 1: Best guys weren't guns in their career now.
01:15:04
Speaker 2: Yeah, you know, And I'm not saying that's me with Oskol, just saying, like, you know, I some of my biggest lessons of course was getting done by the Shumachol that you're seeing how you know, sav operator, or seeing how Lewis operated, or you know, I've done cycling with Lance Armstrong, I've done and hang with Maria Sharapova for nomenal a woman, she's what she's done. She's had her own controversies, but incredible how she goes about things into So this snapshot of all this and it's a melting pot of information is sort of a plain you know, these are the things which we can contribute towards and help you, and you know, sort of blend it all in because that's that's something that you hope you can be positive on someone's career.
01:15:42
Speaker 1: I think paying forward your luck to meet people and maybe it's not luck, it's probably meant to happen, but what they told you, and then being able to pay forward to some of lobosca is pretty important, especially at the young early parts of their career, because that's all that's when they need it, because you can say, here's a few guardrails for you, mate, but also there's going to be a few bumps you've got to get over, of course, and they probably don't need to pat him on the back that much.
01:16:08
Speaker 2: Yeah, And of course, like the last part of your career, I think you know you've got you've got your way right as you say that that the forks, the forks in the roads, I mean business or sport or whatever, or people turning up and the backslappers or people turning up, and you've got to be there's plenty of them. This is you know you've seen or you've seen that. You know, you know where.
01:16:30
Speaker 1: It'll be be magnified by one hundred times for you. Like I mean, like you know, you're on a global stage, You're on a you're in a global sport, truly a global sport. You're one of the most You're in one of the most glamorous sports there are. I mean, the money gets thrown around and the whole thing is very extraordinary.
01:16:47
Speaker 2: Glimbers.
01:16:48
Speaker 1: We're talking about mon Ago for a start, you know, Moning go Grand Prix and everybody wants to backslap you. I mean, how do you work out who's cool and who's not cool, like who's genuine?
01:16:58
Speaker 2: I mean, what's that process? Though?
01:17:00
Speaker 1: Yeah, you have to sort of hang on relax.
01:17:06
Speaker 2: Yeah, it takes you know, judge your character obviously is a skill that's required, right to work out who who's with you on the journey, who's not with you on the journey. I think that I've had the same PA for twenty five years. Mate, I've had the same people pretty much the same people from day I'm with my first bonsor the other pages boys are really catching up with them. So that's and I haven't answered your question, but that that that part of actually you sort of you stick to the people that you know, you just weeding out. I suppose the ones that you know come and go yea, and we all have the selection process to which is we're all different on that on that I think on that phase, but I think that the consistency of actually finding the people that genuinely have your back and are keen for you to do to do well all the time. They're the they're the gold blugger. They're the ones that because you could easily waste your time chase. Of course, it's like people are you know, or you know, wanting staff for you know, how where's the strategy piece or you know, like all that, and so I think that that's yeah, it's and you've got to be good, pretty good at saying no, yeah, that's an important piece. Yeah, saying no yeah, like no yeah not not not for us or not for me or not It's like you know.
01:18:25
Speaker 1: And I think that's a really important remark in a ploy way, because that's that's hard, Yeah, because a lot.
01:18:32
Speaker 2: Of you want to say yes to rollover, rollover, roll up, you know, like you know, especially like the Murk. This murk decision I made the merced is like that point, like it was an and I my wife and I say, you know, we can stay on the comfortable street or you know, sal but this is some f one's over. It's over, It's gone Kenny Rodger's song, mate, right and no one hold them and fold them. But yeah, great song. But I'm like, you know, let's let's no, we're going to go all let's just you know, and done in the right way with like still but I want to I want to get back off this comfortable ship. We're going to get back swimming again and go. So I think that, yeah, those those tough decisions are along the way as well with the right people, you know. And then yeah, they have a corner.
01:19:19
Speaker 1: How important is it to have a hand in your corner all this time?
01:19:23
Speaker 2: Incredible? Yeah, very special woman. Yeah she uh, what's krokys for nearly thirty years now, that's amazing. Yeah. So yeah, and I think that's what makes it work for that long. What's the elements I think that. I mean, obviously, the loyalty is through the roof. Obviously we're there for each other. I think that she it's down to chemistry. It's just chemistry, best friends, it's just yeah, of course, just chemistry. And I think that you know, and Dad like growing up as like I mean, drugs of an issue with his son, you know, lying to me and also if you makarim with the women when you deal with me problems, So that stuff was you know in else a gambling It wasn't, but they're sacris saying things. Yeah, you know, fun mate, totally. She will going some fun. We're gonna have some fun along the way. But there's some non negotiables. Yeah, there is some non negotiables and that is important to me, you know with Annie. So I think that you know, and and of course you know, we've been through, like any relationship, you go through some you know, like some some testing waters, but obviously the the spine and the riga that comes with you know, being a being a partnership is solid as a rock. So yeah, it's been great and we've been through a lot of course hard decisions and also blending that professional. I think it's very good that the professional boundaries to the person personal band. Of course, in our hobbies and I think that we like and I love nature, I love the outdoors. I love all the stuff, which she does as well. And you find those things which but she's driven, you know, she's driven. She's a driven woman. I'm really Yeah, she's driven. That's important. Yeah, of course, yeah, she has drive and all those things which you know, of course rubs off on me as well, so both of us in terms of you know, sort of trying to have that good teamwork of you know, because often you're there and you close the door and it is the pair of you going, okay, what are we doing now, like shure, we've got some decisions to make, or how are we going and what are we doing here? Or you know, and you sort of you pull the rein and off you go, and here we are thirty years later. Because you know, when I left to go over there, a lot of people said I'll be back in six months, you know, so and I'm still not back now, you know, which is not not saying that I won't be back, but in terms of like it's worked out okay, and you can't make here much about two and a half months a year, so mainly mom and dad. You know, I'm here an age now where I want to spend a bit more time with them, which I'm doing to enjoy. I mean again, I'm watching NROL made or watching you know, like whenever overseas. Of course I'm taking an interest in austraight and still will be. Of course, you're a great result this year, unbelievable. How good are the Queenslander Where are the Queenslanders? Of course they've disappeared?
01:22:03
Speaker 1: Yeah, yeah, and you disappointed your the Raiders aren't going to I don't think you're done.
01:22:09
Speaker 2: He cooked for the year, Yeah, I know, I think the first part of the year. I mean obviously, well just led a lot of points there Hutson Young recently, I think that it was tough losing losing him in the last few rounds. I know Ricky was pretty disappointed after the last match. Did you go to the matches? If you're here, would you go to a match? I'm very rarely here, I've never been the state of origin, but really just pisses me off.
01:22:35
Speaker 1: Yeah, we should give you to come back next year, and I'd love to because King. I know King quite well as your coach. He's our coach and if you want late, tell me and I'll sort of Banner.
01:22:46
Speaker 2: Might want to go to. No, he's not a league now.
01:22:49
Speaker 1: But he told me that he might become a Rooster's support.
01:22:51
Speaker 2: I asked him, well, because he said the same color as freaking Saint killed the Probably that's what.
01:22:55
Speaker 1: Yeah, I asked him, and he said maybe I could come with a Bruce's fan and he every band is going to become a Ruster supportive. I mean, they've got Russell Krautz House, but we will have Eric Banners.
01:23:05
Speaker 2: My good made, isn't it. Oh well that's the reason I'm wanting yeah for you today. Yeah, because you know, I said, because mate, I don't know. Sitting here talking about yourself, it's a bit it's a bit of the top in it. So well, people want to hear about you that mate. Yeah, I know, even it's trying to it's it is it is, it is that. But you've got hunting blowing smoke. It's just the style of an Eric. I said, did you enjoy because I really enjoyed it, you know, Eric, and I are really good mates and yeah but look mateb Yeah, well.
01:23:32
Speaker 1: If you everyone to go to if you ever want to go to Orange, may just reach out made on my I'm having that. I'll get some tickets for it and bring Banner along. We can actually teach him about rugby league.
01:23:41
Speaker 2: Yeah, because his AFL touch footy? Do you think it's touch footy? AFL touch footy?
01:23:46
Speaker 1: I can't watch it like no, I'm actually calling with supporter. I hate to say it, but I'm a collin with every normal athletes.
01:23:51
Speaker 2: I look both both codes. Yeah, the distance so run twenty a game, big engine, the fields such a big field isn't a run ins or so? Yeah but no, yep, I watched mate, so I'm of course, I'm so patriotic. Still love Australia and whenever I can get back here with a small window I get. I love coming back here and checking it out.
01:24:13
Speaker 1: Mate, mate, Mark where Australiers love you? Mate, You've been fantastic, Thanks very much everything.
01:24:17
Speaker 2: I
Speaker 1: Mark Webber, Mate, this is unbelievable, great opportunity for me.
00:00:04
Speaker 2: Welcome to straight Talk. Great to be here, mate.
00:00:06
Speaker 1: I can't believe that I'm sitting in front of you, but anyway, or you're sitting in front of me, how do you want to put it?
00:00:11
Speaker 2: Amazing? It's just amazing.
00:00:13
Speaker 1: Well, I mean, we just we just had a little pre talk about a whole lot of stuff, and I wish we had to record it.
00:00:20
Speaker 2: Don't worry, we'll cover it. We'll cover it.
00:00:22
Speaker 1: He didn't say anything that it didn't go off peast, but he will. You're I was just walking up here and I ran into a sporting journalist and he said to me. I told him that I was going to do an interview with you, and he said to me, oh, he was a ball boy for the Canberraders. And that's quite interesting, given how famous you are today and all the crazy stuff that you're noted for. If we go back to Mike Weber the ball boy for Canberraders. Can we go back to that in Queen Been, of course, because I think no one knows that stuff.
00:01:00
Speaker 2: Not many. No. Look, you know, I know you're a big league I made and so am I watched it all still to this year's still Camberraders. Yeah, absolutely, yeah, you know, I watched Ricky's guys. But you know, I was very lucky. It was actually a bit of a fluke, probably from my old man like dad knew at the time a guy called Mick Doyle who was the coach of the under twenty one side then and said, oh, you know, maybe the loose weekend for Mark to come out and do a bit of ball boy and how old were you? Reckon? Oh, mate, I was actually interesting. I was actually old for a ball boy, which which was bloody important. And I'll get into that, but the I'm talking like thirteen twelve or thirteen.
00:01:35
Speaker 1: Sob like mid eighties yeah, third, yeah.
00:01:37
Speaker 2: Thirteen a bit old, a fourteen year probably because we did the Grand Final with the Tigers, you know, so, but I think so under twenty ones reserved ten bucks a match to the thirty bucks a weekend, which is buddy wicked. You know, so that was cool. They paid you. Yeah yeah, buddy, oth mate, I've got a little bit of money, I think. Yeah, so it's good bloody yeah exactly. Yeah. So but I think what and I look back on that when you say, looking back, mate, this actually was really good for me to see, you know, because when I was seeing Mal Lorry, you know, Ricky Clydie Lazo, you know, half the Australian team stacked side. Yeah, totally stacked mate, phenomenal. You know, Sheen's coach and you know take the sand out to mail every weekend, you know, because it was saying those days it wasn't it was on the tea take the sand out to mal and But what was funny one match we stopped a match once at Canberra there because what Chan's used to like us to do was when they kicked for touch. When Ricky would kick for touch, you know Steve Wallers obviously take the tap and then have someone you know on the run get the momentum. But our job was to put the ball at the touch judge's feet where Ricky would have kicked out.
00:02:45
Speaker 1: So the ball goes out, touched the base up stands out, put it straight there.
00:02:50
Speaker 2: Banging and the chicken fergs and we'll come pick it up or someone or Mullow's or you know, something like that. But we would do a monster forward pass directors to box head to Steve yeah, and to get the run on you know, and the touch just fume it. So you you were sort of that was a brief so don't put the ball of the touch that want to win that for straight to five seconds?
00:03:09
Speaker 1: Mate?
00:03:09
Speaker 2: Bang and then a we were part of that was part of the strategy ursia just wow, nurse, don't changes like, don't you know if we can get it straight into onto the touch. Did you understand that the point of that at the time. Yeah, when you're care well, I was told, of course I'll shipped myself. Yeah, I'll do it. Yeah, I'll do it, mate, I'll do it. Could you reach him? Yeah?
00:03:25
Speaker 1: And I was pretty not a little little pass on me mate. So you're pretty tall. I mean you're very tall for a race cardog. Yeah, but like were you tall then?
00:03:33
Speaker 2: Yeah? No, I was pretty late actually growing up, like in terms of my spurt. But were you're playing footage? Yeah? I played everything, you know. I loved a bit of tennis. I love golf, I love AFL, I love by playing and rugby league. So I did. I was a jack of all trajan legend of absolutely none. I was, you know, I love having a go.
00:03:50
Speaker 1: But that's the experience though, isn't it like like being competitive. We're naturally competitive.
00:03:54
Speaker 2: Absolutely absolutely, And I was so lucky looking back to grow up in Queenban, you know, because it was a small country town, you know, and sports was big and our family was big into that. My mum and dad liked sports and having it go was was really important. So they encouraging you sure, sure, you know, mum take me to swimming club and really so those Wednesday night in queen you mass fresh mate, that'd be very cold, is it outdoors? Yeah? Wow? Yeah yeah, So but I think that that little athletics, like all that stuff, you know, because school for me was wasn't that easy. I was. I was a bit of a bit of a rogue and I enjoyed, you know, sport more than you know, and like the social scene of school as well. But I really enjoyed sport and that was my that was my passionately, mate.
00:04:42
Speaker 1: So when you when you're growing up, did you ever think yourself, I'm going to be a race car driving or did you ever watch it?
00:04:50
Speaker 2: I mean, was that a thing? Of course? I think like my dad had a huge influence on me, no question about it. My ald loved sir Jack Bradmen. Wow, Sir Jack Bradman was Dad's here, It's gone back awhile exactly. So Sir Jack was racing at Warwick Farm and some of these tracks in it, like in youw South Wales. My dad would he choked from Queen min to go and watch him race against the likes of Sir Jackie Stewart and Jimmy Clark, like all these legends from Europe, all these Formula one guns. And that of course was blended into me over time as a young lad because I grew up riding motorbikes when I was young on the farm and like that was important for me to sort of have the bit of the speed component early, which I just enjoyed. There was no Dad wasn't forcing me to do it. I just enjoyed race, riding the bikes at speed. Sure, yeah, of course. And I think that with motorbikes that you have the accountability and consequences are quite you learn them quite quick, you know, because you've got the throttles, there's no training wheels. You off you go son and you know have a crack. So I think that was Dad had the motorbike shopping Queen Bin. So really petrol you know, being in motor racing sphere. Let's say it was sort of on my doorstep and away and gokut track was local, so that was go cut track that was so low not I didn't, but there was that was that was so lucky. I mean, I would never ever have been if dad didn't like to jack and there's no go cart track, it's not happening. So you know, there's those moments where and then once I got I had, Once we bought a go kart and I started enjoying racing the go kart, then all the other sports dropped away, and I think at that point I then got an absolute addiction. It was a total lie. So you were racing go karts, so it was a disease at that point, was a total disease. I was gone.
00:06:33
Speaker 1: Did you just ignore school working stuff like that at that point?
00:06:35
Speaker 2: Did you think stuff? So I rather had there my go cut of course practicing and I was designing helmets and drawing tracks and stuff like that in class and just stuff that I you know, so I just was transfixed on as in obsessed, totally obsessed, absolutely obsessed. It was all encompassing for me. So that was sixteen seventeen and then I went into car racing, so that's when I started to Karting was okay for me. I loved it, but I was a bit big. And also Dad was clever because he knew deploying. We didn't have infinite funds. He's like, you know, you need to pull a little bit back because it's a bloody expensive sport to give me a chance in car racing, which was more expensive, but that was and if you're not quick in cars, like there's there's no point being a freaking go car. So if you can't go up the staircase to go towards ultimately, which is which is Formula one, do you reckon?
00:07:22
Speaker 1: The old man actually thought to himself, I'm going to take him through each of the stages, like I've got him a go card obviously dos on licensed, but I'm now going to put him in a car because you can get you have to have a license to race a.
00:07:31
Speaker 2: Car race cut yes, a go cart line, but yeah, so when you compete you need a license.
00:07:35
Speaker 1: You need a license for go karte and obviously then when you race a car, therefore you might you also need a license as well, like a license to license to race or a license to drive on the road.
00:07:46
Speaker 2: You can race before you can drive on the road, is that right? Yeah?
00:07:50
Speaker 1: Yeah, so you were you racing before you could illegally drive on the race?
00:07:54
Speaker 2: Yeah, seventeen or something like that. Yeah, so yeah, so yeah, and that that that does happen, and even I think it's even younger in New Zealand. So some of the kids are racing super like racing like on a racing track flat. So what was your first race car? What was the Toronto Forward? So single seed So I was always in a single seater car, so very rarely did I race what we would call it like a touring car or like a road relevant street car. So it was always racing bespoke single seater cars as a car with one seat, open wheels, so very yeah. Because my dad was always he loved single seater racing, so I was very much on that on that trainer thought that, you know, the best drivers are in single seater racing. It's more accurate. You've got to be very accurate and open wheel racing because it's the wheels are exposed and sort of the lines and everything is just a lot more precise. So anyway, that was what did you have someone to teach you that stuff?
00:08:44
Speaker 1: I mean like, I mean, how do you become good at that? And we're earned, by the way, were you good at that?
00:08:48
Speaker 2: Yeah? Yeah, that's an interesting one. I had you get some mentors along the way, you know, early door like popping your car, you know, the first time you do that, which is actually an Oron park which is now not there anymores for the houses. But that was the first time I drove a racing car, and I just was thrown into that. But there was a bit of a scout there, a guy that was and trying to validate with my My dad was trying to validate with him, is this is he going okay or is he a regaw because this is a big decision for my family and for me and like where we're going to go with this.
00:09:19
Speaker 1: But it was actually structured though, because Dad was actually thinking, like there's a process here.
00:09:25
Speaker 2: It was a test drive. It was like just a little test dripe like baby steps, and it was like, Okay, that's a milestone, he's done well. There, he's doing well there, Maybe we can go into competition. And then obviously it just continued. So I was sort of going through these gateways of sort of dad accepting that this is something we can do, and of course the buy in from me. He's got to be big, like, of course I'm hungry for it. It's not his you know, it's it's it's a bit of an extension of his love, of course, but I have to be able to then show him how committed I am as well, because it's I have to be committed, you know. And that do you think it was strategic from your dad?
00:09:55
Speaker 1: I mean when you think back at it, like that's pretty out there, like for a dad or marmle, both of them. Obviously mum was supporting on this, but like, yes, for someone to think about this in such a strategic way, you know. And here is a humble lerbike guy fixes stuff up like pretty humble living queen byand he's got his son young. Wheld you sit in the family like in terms of kids.
00:10:18
Speaker 2: Yeah, I was. I got one sister, she's twoyears older than me. As a young boy.
00:10:23
Speaker 1: There's the younger kid in the family, and he's thinking to himself, well, I'm going to take him through each of the stage. You probably didn't realize where he probably had a dream.
00:10:31
Speaker 2: Of course not, you know, of course at that age or not. And even I look back now on and said, what were you thinking taking me to that track or doing that at that age? It was madness for the experience I had. But of course, you know, he was big on just keep putting in deeper water, you know, you know, and that's a little deeper, just a little bit, of course, because and you want, of course to be at that age. You want easier competition because you want you want the trophy, and you want to we want to win. But it's like sometimes you've got to be put into more difficult situations to to Did.
00:11:00
Speaker 1: You see that lay was late transaction? Not at the time I got to win this race?
00:11:06
Speaker 2: Yeah, yeah, Well, of course when you're younger, you're you're you you You want to of course progress naturally, you can't just sit in with the competition's soft. You want to continue to test yourself. But obviously he knew more than I did. Because it was sixteen or seventeen. You don't know much, yeah you think, but yeah, yeah, you think you're an expert, but you haven't got much of an idea. So he was of course just strategizing very very you know, cleverly, you know, just to sort of work and not going too hard and of course getting advice on the way he needs to get advice. Did he get outside advice for it? Well, there's a great touring car driving astroke called Jimmy Richards. And once Malila, I was driving a car in South Australia and Jimmy went to see Dad on the bank. He was just watching me drive around and and my dad loved Jimmy Richards, as you know we all do. He's a bringing absolute legend of our sport. And really you know, just a just a great guy and like no agenda, just like straight up. And he just went to Dad and said you were generous with his rates. And he just said, Mark's wasting his time here in Australia. Really he's got to go to overseas well, what was the thing behind that? Just again go he's got to go and test himself against the best, like we can race here in Australia. But this category like Formula Forward and these these formative categories the hot bed all the big big guns are in Europe. So he said, I advised, I would advise you Alan to give that a goat.
00:12:34
Speaker 1: Because He must have recognized that there's a potential in you, and also must have recognized that your dad and you might have wanted to you'd have a career in this at this stage.
00:12:42
Speaker 2: Yeah, of course. Now no, it's getting serious, yes, you know, like that sort of nineteen ninety five peer when you're racing in like at the sharp end in Formula forward racing, which is the first step out of go karts really, but it still they're pretty quick cars and it's getting serious, and it's like, but someone like that to give dad the validation and we're sort of when we're on the right track and too, you know, there's more to give him a chance, give him a chest to go overseas, which, of course in our little world you're like, maybe not sure, what's a big step? Yeah? Yeah, it was great, It was great. You did you yeah? Yeah, went yeah. So ninety six I went into ninety five, I went to Europe and and I had that worked? Have you never come back? Had that worked?
00:13:19
Speaker 1: Like?
00:13:20
Speaker 2: Uh, well, I went over there and did a test drive for the works team which was which was called Van Deemen at the time, and that went brilliantly. And then they said you can do a race, like it's a basically it's not an invitation race, but it's the biggest form of Ford race in the world, the form of Forward Festival. So did they give you a cart? So Yellow Pages in Australia sponsored me for that race. So Yellow Pages sponsored me all through my well my junior some of my junior stuff here in Australia and then they said we're happy to support you, which was five thousand pounds for the week. I had to get five thousand pounds in nineteen ninety in October ninety five the UK pounds, yes, which is there was thirty three p to the dollar. Then yeah, yeah, a lot I know you're numbers man, mate, and a lot of my Yeah, so it was it was yeah, it was you know, we you know, it was we had to do it. Yellow Pages were amazing, So we did that and then I got a really good result straight up, which was just what's that part of your top three in like there was one hundred and twenty in the field, right, So I finished in the top three first time the track, first time in that category. So that was and then the boss said you're coming back next year. This is the blog that owns the whole factory team and his name was Ralph Ferman. He said, you're coming back next year subsidized drive. It's eighty five thousand quid but we're paying half and you can bring the rest, which Yellow Pages did. Wow.
00:14:34
Speaker 1: So so just give me a bit of sense of this. So how were you like twenty?
00:14:41
Speaker 2: Yeah? There, what do were twenty?
00:14:43
Speaker 1: So you're twenty, You arrive in nineteen nineteen and you arrive in Europe. Where about in Europe we're talking about?
00:14:50
Speaker 2: So that was Norwich in UK? Yeah, East Anglia?
00:14:53
Speaker 1: Yeah, yeah, okay, so you're in the UK and you've never been on.
00:14:56
Speaker 2: This track before? No? No, did you get do you walk a track? How do you do? How do you know? Where? How we go? It's a great question because now there's a lot of simulators, right, so all this offline virtual world we have now in racing that the guys use, but of course none of that then you know, So yeah, have a walk around, have a look at it, literally a walk. Yeah, you have a walk. But then you just got to get in the car and can you have a little test drive? No, no, because there's three or four five people in your team already. These are little baby cars nothing like F one, but obviously it's already you got a team. These cars need to be organized and prepped up and set up. And yeah they're pretty they're nice little bits of kit, the gorgeous, you know, a little bits of jewelry, and you've got to take them out there and get into them. So you can't go and get an old fit. And no, the track is it's pretty hard to sacristanct you, Yeah, pretty hard to get on it.
00:15:46
Speaker 1: So, yeah, any surprises, So when you can, you remember that day.
00:15:50
Speaker 2: A lot more intense, a lot more intense. So the racing was a lot more cutthroat, you know, it's just another like ruthless. The depth exactly, the depth ruthless all of a sudden, you know, on the with Colombians, Mexican, you know, Frenchies, German, like, there's just every nationality, you name it. They were on the grid and it was just and the precision, just how close they'd run you into the fence and how really so just a lot tighter putting pressure on you.
00:16:13
Speaker 1: Yeah, of course are they actually putting pressure? Are they just trying to get ahead of you and that creates pressure or they saying, let's stuff.
00:16:19
Speaker 2: This broke up intimidation as well. Really more and more more contacts, you know, they're actually touching. In Australia, there wasn't much of that. It was a bit more after you, sir, it's still still solid, but like over there, it was just different gravy straight away. We're going to win my face. But you know this is yeah, these guys are on and the depth is so you could have three or four sharp guys at the front here over there, twenty sharp, like really good operators, you know. So how I see you on that quick? Oh it's two twenty k you know like that. You know that's only sixteen hundred engine, but it you know, it gets along. But that was yeah, two twenties pretty quick.
00:16:54
Speaker 1: Yeah, I mean I have no stories in relations This was so because I mentioned.
00:16:59
Speaker 2: A track day one, I have done it man, OK, So I have to.
00:17:02
Speaker 1: Be tell you what happened because you're going to laugh at me.
00:17:05
Speaker 2: Many many years ago.
00:17:06
Speaker 1: I was in two thousand and four, two thousand and five, my son I bought an Aston Martin dB nine because they just they just got released and I don't know why I did. I still got it actually, but I wish I hadn't have bought it, but anyway, don't matter. And I said, my dad, my oldest son. He said, let's go out to a track somewhere and Sitte I remember it was, and there's a whole lot of people going out there.
00:17:24
Speaker 2: And he said, let's go for a driving it.
00:17:25
Speaker 1: And I said, okay, cool, and so I didn't want to happen, and he said that'll let me take you and and he was driving Missubichhievo at the time, and he was racing it a bit.
00:17:34
Speaker 2: Oh my god, I.
00:17:36
Speaker 1: Was so scared and I started yelling and screaming at him. I said, mate, stop the fucking car and let me out now, and you're just laughing and just gone faster and faster.
00:17:44
Speaker 2: It terrified me.
00:17:45
Speaker 1: So I don't know where you get the no, no, it was testosterone or the adrenaline and my quarters.
00:17:51
Speaker 2: I was out of control.
00:17:53
Speaker 1: I don't understand mark, like, how you control your sense of fear or is it in your case there's no fear, it's just adrenaline.
00:18:02
Speaker 2: Well, you go on a journey of your skill set. I think when you get more and more experience, you get highly skilled. What about back then, when you're nineteen then yeah, you're you're raw, You're raw. It is definitely you know, of course you have this, you know, is it nature or nurture? You know, like how do you just get half good at something and it just apparently it turns out that something's come more natural to you than maybe others, and you just you just of course take that for granted, I suppose in some ways. So for me it was more it's not they think about racing robbers as adrenaline junkies. We're not really, because I wanted to know, we're not. We're not really. It's it's at least for me anyway, I don't feel I'm an adrenaline people would think, you know, if you do three hundred and seventy k and hour and a Formula one car, you you you're craving for the rush, Yeah, the Russian and the orphans and things. But I'm it's more of the accuracy and the precision and the testing self and you know, and applying all of your skills at the point in your career, of course, because the most experience you have made is the day you retire. That's when you've got the most experienced exactly, So you know, you're trying to obviously, you know, and and that's when you've got people helping you and guiding you along the way, because of course you're making so many errors when you're younger. But I think that the experience blended with your just that sheer enthusiasm and passion. You know, you've got that fluent flamboyancy. You know, you're so ignoratant bliss, isn't it. You're so confident. You're so confident, you know, and your bordeline reckless. You're making some mistakes here and there, but that comes and then the polish being polished comes, getting more you know, articule and their word can of course consistency. You know, you've got so many people in this podcast may to come in sport and that is that's that's, that's what they have to be able to do, right, Yeah, you got to be consistent, you know, if you ultimately delivering all the time to be a to defend your position, yeah, exactly, and also be you know, but eve Ben accurate with your lap time. You see someone like Rafa or Roger in our in our situation, that's that's repeating the same lap time all the time at a high level or a golfer drive down the middle or whatever. If you're like, that's in our in our in our game, it's doing the same laptome like very metronomically, and that's just becomes mathematic els elite sports people can do, I think, is that's what they're looking for, right, They want to have that, you know, the mistakes fact.
00:20:21
Speaker 1: So recklessness is out of the game. It's it's it's more about, like you're just saying, it's very mathematical and structured, and it's about accuracy and repeating that accuracy.
00:20:32
Speaker 2: Yes, but of course the journey you get better, of course as you get older, and then when you get to Formula one, of course that's another level again. But through the junior categories, of course there's lots of errors and rushes of blood and where you're just you know, you just you make some horrendous errors because you're you're learning, and that's natural. But of course if you just of course, if you are learning, that's the most important thing. If you continue to do the same as they over and over and over again, then of course people will know that and that's obviously not a good look.
00:20:59
Speaker 1: Did you have I have during these periods before formula one. But did you ever have during these periods that you can recall a moment where you thought, fuck, oh, that's so dumb what I did. Is there anything that stands out to you that you'll never forget during this period? Not formulae, but during this period.
00:21:18
Speaker 2: Yeah, mainly linked to crashes. I suppose in terms of just again a situation that the percentages were so low when pulling a passing move off or something that you thought was on and it wasn't on, and you you went for something that just was half baked and half cocked, and it did it didn't come off.
00:21:40
Speaker 1: So we talk about the decision making process. So when you let's see if you can recall maybe I got to get around him, I'm going to overtake. Is it like, is it a hairs breath between doing and not doing it? Or is it very strategic? You're looking for twenty different signatures that say now ago.
00:21:58
Speaker 2: No, A good point, mate, I mean, yeah, there's body language of the car in front. You know, how's he going, what's he doing? You explain what that is, why he's like, where his car positioning is? You know he is he is his car? Is he driving within the car. Is he on the limit of the car in front, and you're sort of you're seeing how he might be. This might be his limit, and you're saying, okay, well I can squeeze him into a mistake just by following him. He might make a small error and to make it easy for myself. Or in a situation where you've got someone that's over like what let's say, over defending, and see they're under pressure, they're happy to even give up a second or third or a fourth. We might be fighting for fourth and he's happy to let them go and just he's going to take the battle within ourselves as now a's a one on one, you know, between ourselves. And that's where there's been times where I'm like, I've got to take care of this and fix this up. And sometimes you might do it too hastily and there's contact and you've stuffed up and you know, so you you don't look at the big chess piece, the big you know, the chess player. I suppose holistically, at that age too early, you're just like, okay, when you get more experience, like, hey, pull yourself back out of this, let's look at this from outside and go, okay, I need to actually strip this down a bit, a bit nicer. But when you're nineteen, I mean, good luck with that. Like you are just wrat up a drain pipe. You know you want to be you want to be I'm going to do it. Yeah, I'm going to do it. And I make my presence felt and I make sure he knows I'm here.
00:23:15
Speaker 1: Do you sort of get into a zone because like a you're driving the cat, your foot here and their everything, and you're you're also surveying everything around you, and you're feeling what's behind you, and you're sort of feeling what's on your side, your brain, your eyes, all your senses observing a whole heap of stuff. Then at the same time you're strategizing, it's like nearly you can nearly forget to drive.
00:23:37
Speaker 2: You think about I got to do this, of course, mate, of course, And that again, like at the Formula one level, the mind management, you know, with the RAM. If the RAM is full, you know, then your situation of making the consistently the right decisions is going to struggle. If it's if you're yeah, if your brain is full of course, stuff going your ability to be able to and the eyes are critical, of course, and you make a good point about perofer vision. Perofyle vision is huge in sport and a huge in our sport as well, because your eyes are scanning the speed we're going. We need to be able to that all needs to become just if it's coming at you're super super slow, you know, in everything, even on a qualifying lap, which is us against the track. The ultimate test of speed is us in qualifying. So you go out and you have to be able to drive the car on the absolute limit, and that has to be coming at you. In my in the best days of my racing career, that is coming at you very slowly.
00:24:31
Speaker 1: Because really you can slow it down.
00:24:33
Speaker 2: Well, that's when it's when you're performing brilliantly. It's coming at you very very slowly, and you're ahead. You're just so far ahead of what's happening. And the same in racing scene, you know, so you're that flow. We talk about the flow or what you know, it's very hard you he have to think you talk about that, yes, of course, of course. So it's coming at you very and you're and you're so present, you're so present, there's no baggage from what's happened. There's no baggage your head. It's just slow. You're here, you're here, you are so with the car, and you're just you're present, and that's when it sounds like it's sort of floating in a meditative sense. That's the big secret source. If you can get that right obviously, if we can, yeah, of course I think that's and if you can bottle that every weekend, which unfortunately when for me when I had to come up against the Michael Schumachers and the Lewis Hamilton and those guys, that's a headache because those guys, well, you know they are arguably you know that they have been or they're both in the goat conversation. Yeah, yeah, yeah, So.
00:25:29
Speaker 1: But do you think that do you think that they are you saying to me now that that was not intimidating, but like a mountain have to climb because you thought they were very good at doing this, getting into this in that.
00:25:43
Speaker 2: More often than probably you know, the guys, you know, I still had some success, but obviously the absolute greats in any sport, I think they are in that window just a bit easier, and they seem like they've got more time than anybody else. Of course, look at Roger. Yeah you know he's in it inside down, I don't you know, Yeah, I know.
00:26:03
Speaker 1: The famous French soccer player, sure do. I'm watching him woke up fine, Yeah.
00:26:07
Speaker 2: It's an absolute joke watching him play. For I watch him play. I watched him play.
00:26:12
Speaker 1: I watched France win the World Cup in Paris, yeah, many years ago, and he was amazing slow motion.
00:26:17
Speaker 2: Yeah, it looks like the ball comes to it, like everything slows down when he's on it and people are moving around and he's just like so that that's a beautiful example of time in sport when people so obviously Evan's rushed, Andrew John's time. Yeah, time got time, mate, So they create time. And that's the thing where and I think it's massive on the on the peripheral stuff huge because that that that that ability to be able to stall your your gyro, you know, even your all, your all, your balance and everything is just so in sync and it's incredible. It's great to watch.
00:26:57
Speaker 1: It's interesting you should say that because some it's funny. I was still going to Dave Warner in the podcast actually, and Dave said to me that we're talking about bowlers and and or batsman, but they don't rely on peripheral vision as much as they rely on they have unbelievable closeness of their eyes together, and they can they can hit a ball because they can really zone in on the ball that's coming towards them, which is sort of send me the opposite to you. You've got to have view, You got to see what's happening around you everywhere a massive span.
00:27:31
Speaker 2: We're covering a football field every second. Wow, covering a football every second one two, three, four, five, six football fields in six seconds, you know. So when you're doing two and twenty do you mean literally there's probably been speed that's plus plus. There's probably studies on this. It's about that. We're in three hundred seventy k now, you know, so there's one hundred meters every second. Yeah, yeah, wow, it's quick. So that's I mean, of course you prefer peripheral visions because we're pricking up picking up braking boards, and that's if we're not driving breaking boards like our breaking markers. You know, with that speed, if we elect to break it one tenth of a second later or earlier, of course, that has a huge effect on our lap time and where we're breaking and also and that's if we're driving in beautiful conditions, thinking about driving in the rain when there's spray and you can't really see, so then you can't see probably not as much. Very limited vision, very very limited vision. And that's where another thing in our game, when you are under immense stress, whether it's communication or whether it's visually you compromised, you're hearing goes. You're hearing is another credible parameter on listening to the car in front. Where could he be listening to things like that? It's another queueing. Hearing is another massive tool for us in the car, which is phenomenal because one of the first things that go when you're under severe pressure. If the team are talking to you and you're in a situation of pressure, the brain will that's like it just I didn't hear that, or you know, because that happens.
00:29:04
Speaker 1: Would you know that they said? Some of you who don't know what they said.
00:29:06
Speaker 2: You could do, but you might you know it has happened at times where obviously you said, what the fuck you say? Might repeat it or like it just yeah, So that when there's a lot going on, it'll prioritize what we've got the task at hand, which has of course been present with the car and operating the machine the best you possibly can. And then you've got to be able to take construction. And sometimes that can be the brain might prioritize that in a way that you might not want it to prioritize, because you just got a task at hand. And that's again where the phenomenal guys, you know, and even guys that formul on one level. You know, there's a lot of people that could. I mean, mate, I didn't have the most skill. I worked really hard, but I did not have the most skill and talent, but I worked hard on you mean natural talent. That's right, absolutely not, and I'll race against a lot of guys in the junior case she's out of talent. But of course application and all these things.
00:29:55
Speaker 1: They just persistent and consiste attitude.
00:29:58
Speaker 2: Sir Alex Ferguson always say, but he'll take the work out over the.
00:30:03
Speaker 1: Every time, the same and everything I see in businesses exactly so I would.
00:30:09
Speaker 2: You know, it's a long way home from Europe with your tab between your legs, you know, and I never forgot that. Do you feel pressure then to say.
00:30:18
Speaker 1: I don't want to come mom with my between my legs. I've got to make this work. And was it and was it because I want mom and dad to be proud or is that just innate in you in Markweber.
00:30:29
Speaker 2: A lot of a lot of accountability for you know, making to go over there and not not not an embarrassment. But it's like I I, I I have to make this work. I don't want to come back to to to Australia. And that were like for me, it was nearly like a failure if I came back because I thought, I have to make this work in Europe. I want to get as far as I can over here, and I want to get to Formula one.
00:30:58
Speaker 1: So I can I just stop you there, marking, because this is that more about?
00:31:01
Speaker 2: Which one? Is it more about?
00:31:03
Speaker 1: Is it more about Mark Weber hated the thought of possible failure or is it could be both better? Is that Mark Weber is desperate to succeed. They're different things.
00:31:15
Speaker 2: I don't want to fail nothing, that's the latter. I must succeeded. Yeah, I want to succeed. You know. For example, I'll give you I turn pro I got picked up by Mercedes Bens in ninety end of ninety seven after this period this year, this is in ninety seven, and so I was getting going, but still financially like we had no real commercial firepower, like in terms of the sponsorship situation wasn't great, but Mercedes thankful. I was lucky to get picked up by them through some of my results and I won a training camp in Austria with all the European drivers. It was about ten of us, all the juniors that Mercedes picked us up. And I was the worst in fitness, worst fitness. What do you mean that altitude? Like doing the hikes and doing this in the gym work or traditional fitness. And I remember saying to myself back in my room that night, yet this will never ever happen again. Ever, he's not happening again. What do they get you? I just like my wake up in the morning, go and hike, you know, like the snow shoes on at altitude in Zerst, which is really nice to Austrian. Have you been a full listeners? You want to go to Zerst. It's a nice place to go to go skiing in Austria. But when you're a young little pup and you're getting belt by from Queenbian. Yeah, yeah, from Queen Bean in the snow. Of course, I was so out of my depth, literally physically out of my depth in terms of the snow so and of course doing three or four sessions a day, mate, I was absolutely getting smoked, and I just thought, this is this is I was delusional, absolutely delusional for what I thought I was doing was enough and I needed a serious uppercut, massive uppercut. And that was the uppercut, and give yourself an uppercut exactly. That was. So what do you do?
00:32:52
Speaker 1: You're laying in bedthing, I'm fucked him. I can't believe I'm coming last and everything.
00:32:57
Speaker 2: What did you do? What do you do? Like, oh, survive that week obviously, you know, get myself through that, and then you know, I know that on there it's going to be feedback, will be going back to the bosses about you know, they do a report on obviously the driver conditioning and all the youngsters and blah blah blah, and obviously you've got this Australian kid in the mountains is obviously nowhere and then but that was just what I needed, apparently exactly bang, because you know, you can have a few people blow and smoke up your ass, but when it comes to actually physically, when you can't when they're going away from you, and you know on the racetrack, I can smoke these guys. You know a lot of these skill ways. Yeah, I just yeah. But so anyway, so that's when I took, you know, the accountability for myself and say, you know, I have to No one can make me get up and do my runs, get good, you know, so that self. So that's where it's a massive team sport. But of course the ownership on yourself is an individual in the sport and consistently turning like the investment in yourself to some way. I have to own all of these things. I've got to own them because you know, you can action as you know, speak later on you have to action things. You can talk about getting fit, but then if I'm come back in next year, I want to be top everywhere.
00:34:04
Speaker 1: So you got through it, and you obviously I've got through it, did enough to get through it with Mercedes bands. But but you knowing that maybe I want to get invited back next year. So what what does make web we doing that? What did you do was to go and join a gym.
00:34:16
Speaker 2: What do you do? Get a trainer? I did still a lot myself did a lot. I did a lot myself because I knew sports wise, I was still coordinated. It wasn't like I was on. I was still I was still pretty handed lots of different sports. But I just thought I was just doing enough. Yeah, and there's a great line mate from the from the UK Special Forces guys. Average is easy. That's why it's popular, right, Yeah, it's easy to be average. There's a lot of average out there. Yeah, and we can do average. It's popular, and you'll be average. Let's let's fucking not be average. Yeah, totally, because if you do the same as what other people that you have to be prepared to do something that other people are not doing because you do the same as them, and you'll be the same as them, the same as So I'm like, okay, I need to be doing you know. So I came back here. I was in Queenan actually the end of the year. I went to thread Bow, took myself there for two weeks alone. Thread Bow. That's when they had a little like Olympic set up. I think there was some Olympics set up in the in thread bowl. At the time there there was swim two thousand. He's at here and ready for the Olympics. Yeah, stuff there. So I just plugged myself in up there and I just flogged myself. Just try loon alone running, just eat, sleep train, eat, sleep train, swim, run, mountain bike, repeat, blah blah blah. There's something scary about that. And I did all that. I did all that alone. Yeah. So and I like the element of surprise when I went back there, It's like, Okay, holy shit, he's now yeah, that's.
00:35:38
Speaker 1: Good digit you Okay, but did you kick something?
00:35:40
Speaker 2: Yeah? Great, Yeah I did well. Yeah, so it's good. So that side that was then that that was that was covered.
00:35:46
Speaker 1: You now know that if I do this work, I can be up there with the at the front of the team.
00:35:51
Speaker 2: Yeah. I mean, it's not always linked to the stop Watch, but it's a it's a it's a controllable that you can control about standards, about the people are investing you, the people that believe in you, because you've also got a showcase to them that you you know, I'm getting paid back then I was getting one hundred and forty thousand doutsch marks, which is you know, you know, better than nothing, because it was wasn't huge amount of money. But I'm getting Hay finally turned professionally. This is incredible, and I'm embarrassing myself in certain situations. So that was something I just couldn't accept so had to take care of it.
00:36:23
Speaker 1: So but that's a bit like I find it just a I don't find it. But it's a little bit scary that your mindset is that, okay stuff, this I'm going to have as a ski season. I'm going to go up to Threadbow in this late nineties, probably around two thousand period, and I'm going to start training myself and be that I'm going to go there by myself and I'm going to train the shit out of myself. It's like, I don't know some like sas type things. Do you ever think yourself? Was anyone that observed to.
00:36:53
Speaker 2: You about you that you're a bit of a lucky raised to some of those guys, which is not before then, you know. And I met actually a really inspirational guy and impactful guy in my career was a guy called Bernie Showsbury who I met. He was part of the SBS which is got the sas in the UK Hereford and you've got the SBS in Pool, right, And he was influential in my croup for like from ninety from nineteen ninety nine on was exactly on these things. But I had, thankfully before that, started to find out that yeah, because I've got you've got to you've got to own that. You know. I'd come back and Mum was stressed out. You know, I was full of coal sauce. When I'm stressed and run down, I get cole sorces. Yeah, And I came back and she saw that. Yeah, She's like, mate, what are you doing? I said, yeah, because of course I was so. And it was a lot of it was probably reckless. There was not a lot of method in the madness. Actually, you know, I know you've got another podcast on health and things like that, which is really good. I listened to that, and this would not have been if you did that sample of me going up there and flogging myself, it wouldn't have been you know, but I believed it was at the time the right things for me to believe in my own journey and my conditioning, and it was a way to build my confidence to actually and then blends into the cockpit for.
00:38:01
Speaker 1: My performance who each other?
00:38:03
Speaker 2: Formula One? How that happened? Oh so mate. So after ninety nine I was racing for Mercedes and we had some I had a very nasty accident in France in June. The cars were flying so aerodon amica, they were very unstable, and so we had two flips. Basically, which is just incredible, is because you're going so fast. Yeah, and aerodynamically the cars were not stable, so it's certain at a certain speed it took off. It took off, wow, which is not where you want to be when I can't imagine that.
00:38:33
Speaker 1: But when that happens, Yeah, what do you You feel like you have no control because you know, no wheels on the ground.
00:38:38
Speaker 2: Yeap? What's going through your head? Oh you think you're gonna die? You're cooked? Yeah, I thin you're gonna die. Spect Like the second there was two within it within a day and a half. So the car was just it was it was a ticking bomb unfortunately, and subsequently they pulled out of the race after the flips that we had and things like that. So but the car, it didn't have a lot of power. So when you got no how you've got to run the car very light on downforce, and when the car's got low downforce, it's very you know, suspect at high speed in terms of the car being unstable at high speed. And did you know that though before you get yeah, you are, you're on the limb. You're you're playing the risk game, of course, but not to that level. There should the car should never be taken off and they and they were so. But the fascinating thing with that mark is that when you when you are faced with that is a very very very horrible situation to be in, when you are that high up in the sky, you know, two un eighty k and you've got trees either side of the circuit, it's actually quite calm, there was I wasn't panics. I wasn't really panicking. I was more thinking about and my wife and my sister and my mom, all the three women. I hope they're not watching, which probably some of them were. But you're like, you just you think about and maybe this is it, Maybe this is really yeah, maybe this is it, you know, and you're not You're know. I wasn't panicking, but it was just and I just wanted over quick. I said, I don't want suffer. I don't want to know suffer. Just turn the lights off.
00:39:58
Speaker 1: When it comes down. Is it coming down front ways or is it coming back on?
00:40:02
Speaker 2: I don't have a choice in that, budd Yeah, so she came down. I was asked yeah on his ass, and then finished up on this roof. The second one was I was a bit trapped in there, so he flipped. Then you're worried about fuel and fire and stuff. So yeah. So anyway, so after that, I had a very difficult decision to make in my career, which was telling Mercedes I don't want to race sports cars anymore. Go back to no salary, zero income, go back to looking for sponsors again, and through from ninety nine June when the accidents were through to like October, phone was dead, no one was interested in me, and career was over pretty much. I was over there and we had and I had nothing really And Eddie Jordan was a famous F one team owner at the time based up a silver Zone and his pa. I'd ring Eddie. I was trying to get some work with this formula, even just some testing I can do, So can you show me? I want to I want to show case what I can do. And Eddie and his pa was just brilliant. She would never ever like, she'd always find a way not to get you know, I could never get through to him. I'm just this, that's it there for me. Yeah, exactly, the gatekeeper. So and that went on for a couple of weeks and I thought, stuff, is I'm going to drive to see him when he's leaving the factory. I'm going to stalk him, Yeah, basically to stalk him yet. So I'm going to drive. I had a Ford Layzer one point one lead to shipbox Ford Laser Ford Laser and because I had to give my company car back to Mercedes and a lot sort of stuff. So I'm like, okay, I want to get my form single seater career back on. And Mercedes said, okay that we want. Were happy to keep paying you and going some other categories for us and do some other things. And I know that's the easy option. I still want to try and get back on my Formula one dream. So that was a huge risk that we took there. And then I door stopped Eddie and Eddie Jordan said, mate, You've got to meet this guy Paul Stoddard, who's an Australian guy. He's got a Formula one team and let's go and meet him. So the day after pretty much back at the same venue silver Soon where all the testing happens. So I went to see Paul start Art, and Paul start Art pretty much gave me a chance in Formula one. But what commits to you record? I had a test drive with him in the curtain the category this blow f one called form of three thousand and then so I drove for him in two thousand in that and went well for him, and then after that I got the chance to move into Formula one in two thousand and two. So it was yeah, I mean, there was the worst team. It was the slowest team on the grid, you know, and there was I had a two race contract, two races be a contract for two races for basically footing days Melbourne Grand Prix and Malaysian Grand Prix, and my first event I managed to finish fifth in the first, my first Formula one race, and is that considered good? That was the biggest fluke ever? Biggest fluke ever? Why just because there was a lot of the big guys crashed out and our car should not have got to the finish. Grand Prix is three hundred kilometers flathhouse like doesn't see a long but three hundred cas actually flat out and our car, the previous distance that had done before them was around one hundred k's like in testing. So we never thought. And the team boys said to me on the grid and if you can bring this car home, just finishing just three case is such a highlight for me. And Madam towards the back of the grid race starts his huge crash and we're running and there's a bit of attrition, you know, like a couple of big boys pulling out and I'm like, looking, I'm p eleven, p ten, Shit, this is going right, and like I just wanted to be finishing and et cetera, et cetera, And I'm like, this is my first Grand pri made. I'm hardly fit in the car. I'm like, it's the team's based in Italy, you know, so the cars they used to design them around Italian drivers and all there's a little guy. It's a short guy. Yeah, he's his tall Australian terms. Oh, I made this thing. So so I'm finding out on my way that going this I've never driven in this position for that long in this car, and yeah, I was then running fifth and there was a driver called Mickasalo who was a finished driver in a huge very wel fun the team say throwing. The Toyota Works team was catching me, and Paul started to come on the radio and said, mate, under no circumstances should you let him? Pas, no circumstances, let him pass because they can see it, they're watching it. Yeah, but also because the points, so they award points for the top six and financially for him to get two points because it was one point for six, two points for five, and you work your way up to ten points for a win. So for him financially as a team owner, this was huge. Wow, you know, big numbers for him. So he knew. I mean, of course he didn't get in that position because he wasn't a gambling man, so he wanted to double down. So I don't want one point on two. I'm like, I'm in first race and I'll do what I can. So we got fifth, and how do you avoid it? How did you avoid this? Oh? Just like of course making it hard for him. You know, it was like we could have gone okay, we're happy with the point. We've got to get this car home. It was still there was a lot of reliability issues. Six would have been okay, but fifth, yeah, but like it's like and you know what, I was also calm when he arrived. I knew he was coming. He arrived and said, rot, I'm ready, let's go.
00:44:57
Speaker 1: Let's they telling you on the radio. Who's on his I can.
00:45:00
Speaker 2: See it on the sitboard. I can see it on the bit board. Yeah. And then of course at some point you got him in the mirrors, but I had you know, he was much quicker than me when you're right, but I'm just going to make it a bit deva faster. Yeah yeah, yeah, but you know, but I still had to get around me and I just tried to make it as you're allowed to do that they block him off. Yeah, yeah, sure, yeah, because as legal within limits, you can't obviously just you know, cream someone off the circuit. But you've got to make it. He's got you got to make him work for it. So anyway, it was that was extraordinary. And so he said, you've got to drive the rest of the year.
00:45:32
Speaker 1: Oh wow, See he had a concious So you've gone from two weeks, yeah.
00:45:34
Speaker 2: Two weeks to the whole year. Yeah, and then I was driving and then I got an off a middle of the season. I was in sort of testing or there's a beauty parade for me to drive some other teams in the middle of that year. So the year after I went to drive for Jaguar for a few years, and that was when it really started for me financially and also with proper big, a big team, a big team of people.
00:45:54
Speaker 1: They pay good money. I mean there's a good money in this once you can just get you.
00:45:58
Speaker 2: Yeah, yeah, yeah.
00:46:00
Speaker 1: The drivers are well looked after retirement level. Yeah, like if you say that long enough.
00:46:04
Speaker 2: Yeah, of course that's right, if you have a long career, Yeah, you looked after pretty well. And then yeah, and then I went through I think, like I was so lucky to race for red Bull. You know, red Bull was mister Mutershits was he was the probably the most inspirational guy I've ever met in my life really but just yeah, he just you know, had great vision and yeah, so what was that interaction, Like, oh my god, mate, you would have seen people, mate, you know, I know you've spent time with Kerry Packrond. People people are just a lot. It's likely been here before. Yeah, he just his conversion fad. Just getting decisions right was just ridiculous. Love spending time with him, and you know, he was the one that you know, you know, adrenaline sports, extreme sports, you know, with Red Bull, he was a big visionary on all that. And what do you learn that personal? Uh, well, he was a very straight guy, very very straight in terms of just so uncomple you know, he just made everything that should be could be complicated or people can make complicated uncomplicated. In other words, he's he's delivered. She was simple. You knew exactly what he was expectable or what he was thinking. Yeah, just just you know, this is my expectations of you. You know, do this, you know, do that, very very clear messages. It's an honor to have you with a team, et cetera. So and just the way he was so I didn't put any pressure on you. He he just had this great way. But you also you're honored to represent him and drive for him, you know, and you wanted to do good from my god, you want to do so well for me, even though I mean, of course he's an incredibly, incredibly successful man. But you are a small, small cold in the chain of his huge empire. But the way that he believed in us guys, and obviously myself and David Coulthard, we were sort of there when the team was not going, So it was the formative years of rebel racing and getting it. Now they've formed one team. It's one of the best teams and there is so isn't it funny though, back on the great members of that.
00:48:05
Speaker 1: Isn't it funny how athletes perform best when they want to play well for the let's call it the coach, you know, and you we just we just go back to the footing analogies. Some of the great coaches, the team want to play for that individual and they want to win for that coach, and it's it's it's same in business too, like there are some people who just want.
00:48:22
Speaker 2: To do it for them.
00:48:24
Speaker 1: You're you're just saying that was that that was the sort of sense that you've got for yourself.
00:48:29
Speaker 2: I want to do well with this, dude. Yeah, No, you're right, Mark. I think it's the pride as well. You want him to be proud of what you're bringing to the table. Yeah, you know, and that that's substance and being dependent on you working for him because you know, his names above the door. Yeah, end of the day, his name is above the door, and he's paying you to do a job. And of course I want to be you know, him to be proud of what you're doing. You're doing everything you can to deliver for for him. Of course he's got lots of you know, he's got a it's a huge business, but the racing armor was was one of the biggest business, one of the biggest parts of his his empire still is and still is to this day. I mean, Dietrich, you know, unfortunately he's not with us anymore. But but you're right. I think when you're when someone's got the name above the door, you know. I've been lucky enough to drive for Porsche too, Porsche phenomenal brand. I drove, I drove for the Mafter I finished with Red Bull and and Dietrich was kind enough to say, may I support that move. It's great. They're a great brand. And so that was again just the quality of how Dtree handled that transition was just incredible between the pair of us. But anyway, Porsche, mister Porsche Wolfgang Porsche in the garage. Serious, I hope you enjoy driving in serious wow? And you're like that's like if that doesn't give you goose bumps in terms of like you know, oh, here I am, you know, racing these gorgeous racing cars and mister Porsche's there and he's proud of you. Hope you enjoy racing our cars and doing it kind of like awso absolutely awesome. Do you still see it? Would you see that? Like?
00:49:55
Speaker 1: Because I consider myself sometimes when I was younger, but do you see that as that's a young that's still a young a kid. Mark Webber, the boy who wanted to do the right thing by sheens and instead of putting the ball next to the touch judges feet, he's taken Sheensy's instructions to help the team get keep momentum on the field, like you know, box head, make sure box had got the whole of the ball. And I'm serious. It's the same kid. But now you're you know, you're thirty or whatever age you are. It's the same kid being the same person wants to do the right thing or the best thing for the team. Yeah, I think I think, Yeah, it's not to say you didn't grow up. I just said no, of course, but I think that's always it's in your brain, of course, but it comes from the house I grew up in as well. And for your dad of course, that's the thing, you know, like it's just you know, Dad was like he was he still is to this day, a big practical joker.
00:50:49
Speaker 2: People know, my old man, like he's a lunatic. But you know, when it comes to you know, just the basics of you know, turning up on time, please and thank you his hands, like all those things in terms of actually been respected in those things, which I think and also for me, mate, I I was also representing I think Australia as well, you know, like it was a big gap. It was twenty five years I think between Alan Jones win winning at that level. There's only five Australians that one, mate and Formula one. Like it's actually it's not easy, yes, but you are of course. I look at Okay, there's a blend of being patriotic because you want to get that. When I hear that national anthem in the middle step, wow, it just blows me away loose bumps. Yeah, you know, I just to this day, Like, I just like, you know, to be able to do that, you know at that level was for me was especially on the Poe course, mate, incredible, like and also the people watching in a strub course and my family and the commitment my mechanics down like everyone you're like, shit, this is the this is the execution of actually all that work. And you're right, like it's not just about you know, oh, it's about everyone else, but it's it's you are the arrowhead. You're the one that's actually got the accountability and the standards which you've got to consistently try and bring to the table and keep improving yourself. I think the adapt we touch on that you have to be able to adapt all the time. Right If you're not adapting, mate, because you're not the same. It changes for different regulations. You know, look at tennis, Look at clay. Look if you want to win four Slams in a year, you know that's not easy. Clay class crass you know here in rod labor and then you've got flushy meta bang golf is difficult like whatever. So again the greats can feel like I could jag adapt a couple of surfaces, mate, I could do a couple of services, but I couldn't win it all four Yeah, like you know, so that's so I've got to jag a few wimblin or whatever the equivalent of in our sport. But in terms of like the but so I think that adaption thing is a real a key thing and using your resources the people around you, how you can get better with that.
00:52:39
Speaker 1: And I love that sense of nationalism or patriotism that you have, like like you want to do it for the country.
00:52:46
Speaker 2: Yeah, I think well, because also there was like I said, that gap was big and I was responsible for like in a way like it was you know, we've had obviously, Sir Jack was a three tome world champion in his own car. Will never be done again, never be done again, aj you know, one World championship eighty nine eighty and then he won races, and then it was myself, and then it was Daniel and then there was now there's Oscar. So to win at that level, I think it knows because commercially from Australia, we don't move the needle much in this sport. We're not you know, a small country, very small country, not just geog. We're big in Land masks. But geographically we're obviously you know, all the you know, all the big stuff in America and Europe and Northern Hemisphere, you know, the the commercial firepower. We don't bring much the table in that sense. You know, we bring our speed and our our you know, our I suppose the standards in what we can bring to the team.
00:53:46
Speaker 1: But when you says only five is actually you're right, it's only five and you just named them, but it's seventy five years. That's pretty crazy. But are we do we are we well represented relative to our side because Australians tend to always bat beyond there.
00:54:03
Speaker 2: Wait, yeah, I think pretty well, I think pretty well statistically the guys that have, yeah, the ones that have, I mean the British, you know, so many world champions because like all the eight of the Formula one teams or seven of the Formula one teams are based in the UK. Really you know, well they're all based there. You've got Ferrari obviously in Mariello, and another you know, audio based in Switzerland, but the rest are based in the UK. So it's it's a it's a very UK centric sport. But so for us to leave here and to go over there whatever age is, and to break in, break in you know, culture, all the rest of it, you know, And that's part of the test. The Monday to Friday is I think the hardest part of the test. What do you mean by that? No family around? Yep, you know, the devil finds you know, time for idle hands. Yeah, my mother used to exactly. You know, so when you're you're looking for short cuts and this, and they're like the excuses I can't maybe so when you haven't got your helmet on, But when you're not competing, there's opportunities to find some not great habits stray. Yeah, and that's you will. And there has people there, there has been situations you know that mote. There's people that have derailed their careers through exactly bad choices Monday to Friday. They had all the other things, the ingredients were there, but they screwed up on They had the talent, but they didn't have the mentals, they didn't have the people to all. They didn't they didn't convert into their heads that that that that advice at that right time, whatever sport that was right you know, in business, same business, I mean, I bring you guys, absolute geniuses who are stuffed it up.
00:55:42
Speaker 1: It's funny because I kept going back to how you were brought up by it and the influence your dad had, and no doubt your mother too. But your dad in relation to structure and process and steps and let's call it discipline, a discipline approach, those things stuck.
00:55:59
Speaker 2: With you and bode well for you. I think it seems like you're right, mate, But I think you know he wasn't a discipline area though. No mean yeah, we never really had a cross word. But I think again it was just the proud like you know, in essence, you just I mean, I was so lucky to spend time with you, with Nikki Lauder, sport Sir Jackie Stewart, you know some of these people that I you know, of course there are of them. Maybe what can I learn how how they roll? What can I do? Did you do that consciously? Yeah? Sure? And those relationships are ones that I treasured and I think they they're the people that actually and I did search for that because of course you want to try and you know, be the best example of yourselful on the way and of course Dad doesn't have all the answers but you're like, you know, and you're into you circle because of course there is a natural point and sometimes where people that are super close to you sometimes they won't give you the medicine you need. You know, they will, you know, you know, just you know, sugarcoat things and blow it to smoke up your ars. And they said, but at that level, you can't, you can't. You know. It's such a fine line, right to to be hanging in there and also you know, having the chance to execute week in week out. So I think that I was lucky enough to also have some nice relationships with those guys, which was really good for me, because yeah, they they've they've been there and seen them, you know. So Jackie Stewart, I think he went to twenty five or thirty funerals, you know, wow, you know in the seventies, you know, when they were losing so many men racing them. So this is a guy that's dealt with, you know. Niki Lauder went through so much in his life as well. So icons absolute icons of our sports. And I just sit down to mate, you know, Sir Alex Ferguson made the great Manchester United. You know, you've got one mouth and two ears. Use him in that order, you know, I like it. So what we're into f one in for one?
00:57:50
Speaker 1: What would be your what do you think was the greatest highlight of your of your career Monico?
00:57:56
Speaker 2: Winning in Monico twice was certainly very very special. That's I'll be our Wimbledon if you're likely. It's a very hard weekend to put together. It happen. It's a tough track. It's it's a street circuit. It's really not designed for the cars, so it's you against the track because it's such a it's a ribbon of ash felt with armco pinned up on either side of the track, and you've got to be The weekend is about, you know, the risk you're prepared to take and when you're prepared to put it all on the line, which is the last part of qualifying because that's when they set the grid for the race, so you cannot overstep that mark at any point. On the Friday Saturday and Practice've got two practice session on Friday, You've got one practice session Saturday morning and then Saturday afternoon is the moment of you've got like it's a seventy second lap plus and minus two seconds depending on the grip of the track, seventy seconds where you have to be seventy seconds, seventy seconds when that is the foundation of the weekend ban seventy seconds or sixty eight seconds, and you've got to execute.
00:58:58
Speaker 1: Because I've been I've been to two Grand Prixs there and and for those people don't know it, it's sort of a as a tunnel there, and it sort of looks to me as a street. It's sort of quite narrow and you can tight very tight.
00:59:13
Speaker 2: It's not really for the cars. Yeah, So and keep in mind our eyeline mark, like the eye line where like it's sort of knee height when you and I standing. Yeah, your eyeline is very low, so this sensation for speed is quite high. So you're the top rail of arm coat is well above your eye line. You're not looking over the bloody fence. Yeah, yeah, you're like, you know, you've got damco both sides. So they were big. They were huge highlights for me mate to to win there. And the British Grand Prix, which is another that's been on the calendar for it's always been on the calendar. That's a very very very famous Grand Prix. So I managed to win that twice, which was nice. So yeah, so how.
00:59:52
Speaker 1: Do you control your ego when you after you get off the podium, I mean, everybody's in a champagne thing whatever.
00:59:57
Speaker 2: And then there must be a party on after it. They how do you red Bull party? Good? Mate? The parties are good with red Bull, I think again, the podium ceremony is quite you know, you've got the you've got the you know, the dignitary side. You know, got people coming up and obviously handing the trophies out and things like that, and then obviously sprays champagne, which is which is a is a a celebration, it's a convention. That's yeah, you got to do it. The fate. There's a story about it was apparently the champagne bottles and Jackie Stuart, he thinks it was his accidentally come across it, but it was actually the champagneottle sitting there in a hot race all day and then he was trying to stop the champagne coming out. Being a good scotsman, you know, he's trying to save save money and save the champagne the bottle.
01:00:35
Speaker 1: But obviously there's bankers. If you're ever going to have a bank. You want them to be a tell us, Yeah, get a scot someone to do it. But anyway, yeah, he said, the more he pressed on the bottle the further when you know, so anyway, so and then you know it's been a tradition that the champagne spraying is after a Grand Prix.
01:00:52
Speaker 2: So and then you go back to it. You've got a lot of press. You do a lot of press every language. You know, I don't speak the languages, but obviously, but you've got to go around, you know, you've got to there's a process which is pretty repetitive because you pretty much want to get back to your team. Yeah, of course it's important. You've got to talk about your race and everything, but it does get you know, when you've done thirty or thirty five of the same interview, then you're back to your team. And then yeah, and then the pride, the pride is there. You think about your mechanics, mate, think about the guy the meticulous preparation. Yeah, they you know, I mean some of these mechanics we call them like your your main, your front end mechanic or your number one mechanic. You know, I'd have them beside my mummy hospital that's the trust. I have two or three of these guys and if you ring them and said, mate, I need whatever. So the trust when he looks at you and says the car is ready to go, he is responsible for that whole car going out, because keep in mind, made in five or six seconds. I've got the car on the limit. So we don't there's not much. There's a bit of a warm up, but there's not much. We're generally straight up it like we we are into it. So it's like a little mini airplane in many ways. So the preparation that he's got to do on it. So you want to see him. You want to see of course team bosses. You want to see the whole team because without the team, without all their mate catering staff, who's done all my meals all the way, all the chefs, who's the physio, you know, all the people have done your travel, you know everyone, you know how to get the hour and get home or mate, it's a big team.
01:02:23
Speaker 1: I'm meeting, where I'm staying all that, Well, where's your family?
01:02:27
Speaker 2: Then your wife? So where does that fit in the A few races, so she went to Yeah, she'd probably got every you know, third or fourth race because she was also pivotal in my career in terms of you know, logistics and managing staff and was like so that was that was important. So she was, you know, good also there for the bad days too, mate. We can talk about the cracking days, but also the ship ones too, which which which are rough. But and that comes with the territory. So yeah, she's there, you know, but she was tucked away a lot. She wasn't really you know, she wasn't big on the limelight and back then there's no so media make all that sort of stuff. So thank god. Yeah, it's a beautiful thing, isn't it.
01:03:05
Speaker 1: You can imagine they go, it's good for the podcast, it's good for the pod. Now we do love social meda our audness of social media. Well, let's just talk about Vettel. And I didn't mean I sort of realized, but when I started to really think about it, you're getting told by your team to do something, and you're and and what's the word what do they call it?
01:03:27
Speaker 2: A multi twenty one? Yeah?
01:03:30
Speaker 1: What the hell does multi twenty one mean?
01:03:33
Speaker 2: And explain that moment I was. I was in Malaysian Grand Prix two thousand and twelve, I believe No. Thirteen, Yeah, my last year with Red Bull. And basically if the team rings up and says this is the order we wanted to finish the racing, then then that's what.
01:03:51
Speaker 1: I understand that well, because because.
01:03:54
Speaker 2: Sometimes you you know you're you're up until a point, not from the start, but like the last part of the race, like if you've done like eighty five percent of the Grand Prix, they could ring up and say that this very rare, super rare circumstances, particularly in Red Bull, it was very very rare that that happened. Where we situated, I was leading the race, yep, yeah, and Sebastian was running second at the time, and he was striking a little bit in the first part of the Grand Prix, so he was under pressure for some basically around the pit stops where he was trying to he could have got out positioned by some people behind him. So you can, you can indure it. You can sort of help in a way by taking a suboptimal pit pits pits for myself, yourself, to help to help to help to help him clear those guys, and then we re reset things at the last pit stop, which was the case because all the chats before that we were not competitive. We were blown away that we were leading. We were one two in that race, so it was it was quite a surprise. And we had some reliability things in the background as well, so the cars were on the limit. We're taking some risks with certain things, and yeah, the call come that it was it was car to multi two one car two, which was me and car one. That's how we want to finish in that order in that audio you first, So yeah, yeah, yeah, so turn everything down, look after the cars engines, and like, let's just get the cars home because everything's you know, we've cleared Lewis, everything's enough, and and Seib said, obviously went went against at Satis, and yeah, can can be it was it was just there was a I mean that was just one cut where there was so much. We've been teammates for a long time, so there was many many things that went into that. And look, Sep and I get on well today, but we get on. No, no, not then, you know, and he he apologized of course after the raid, like it was a bit of a it was a bit of a bit of a ship show, to say the least. But the media would have loved that. Of course I would have done that. Yeah, but like I was already, I was ordered a given Porsche or handshake at the end of twelve to leave, So I respect, I was, you know, I was, I was going, and I did. In fourteen I went to Portion. All that was good. So I think that it was a bigger deal than then. It was probably made out, Yeah it was, but also for the team again the challenging for them because you know, you got the two drivers, you know, going rogue on each other.
01:06:22
Speaker 1: Well you but you didn't you adhere to the to the instruction.
01:06:26
Speaker 2: Yeah, yeah, I mean I left my engine. That's probably one of my regrets. I should have turned my engine back up, and I really had a bit a bit more of it, so I should have. I should have done that, but I didn't. But anyway, but do you regret anything about it? I probably should. Only that I should have I should have done that, was turned my engine back up and gave it everything. But I just yeah, I just didn't. I don't know why I didn't, but I didn't.
01:06:48
Speaker 1: But because because I know your Instagram handles Ousie grit. Yeah, yeah, what happened at that point? And what does that mean. I mean, did you feel like you let yourself down on the Aussie grip bit?
01:07:00
Speaker 2: Well, I fought as hard as I could on the day, Like I fought as hard as I could in that last part of the Grand Prix. And yeah, so it was sort of like and of course in your mind is like, well, what's your You're getting constantly communication that the race is off and the races on. So you saw like it's a there's a bizarre set of circumstances kicking off and if it.
01:07:22
Speaker 1: Hit him on the gym, I was his style. It's just from moment.
01:07:25
Speaker 2: Yeah, yeah, it was an interesting it's an interesting few weeks after that. But yeah, but that like there's always you know, but I think that the the fans want to see that too. Yeah, it's great for racing. The fans want to see that. Like also it's it's it's the two you know. And also by the way, Seb and I think we both said this to each other. I mean, Seb had my measure most of the time, but also we we pushed each other, yeah, to really good, good levels. You know that that was you know, that was important for us as a team. You know, you've got to push each other, you have to have the eternal you've got to have the internal rivalry for the whole team. Yet it's a competition. Yeah, it's a competition the end of the day. It is a competition. It's not like after you sir, you know, so you still got to have that that fight. But on that particular day, which was very rare, but on that particular the team thought it was right just to cool our jets, but it didn't end up like that. Yeah, was that your last formulae? That was my last year in F one. Yeah, so my last race was in Brazil. Yeah, finished on my terms, which was really made also, you know that's where the sport's been tremendous to me. Finished on my terms and yeah, finished on the podium in Brazil with Fernando and Sebastian, two great roles of mine, to phenomenal operators, and it was a good finish. So what is what is someone like?
01:08:47
Speaker 1: I mean, you know, you're on a young man and obviously you know obviously, but perhaps you're in a situation where you know, your money situation is pretty good.
01:08:55
Speaker 2: Like you you're you're.
01:08:59
Speaker 1: Comfortable and family is comfortable, but you only have plenty of energy.
01:09:04
Speaker 2: What do you do after this? Yeah, it's good, made good question because I think that that next phase again, I leant on the experience, guys, you know what does that next phase look like? Because at thirty eight thirty nine, when I stopped racing, I still I mean, I had a great and I squeezed a lemon, did what I could, and at that point I was starting to see more risks than ever, which is not a good place to be. You know, you're starting to see like that concrete wall has always been there my whole career, at this trailer, a random track has always been there. The fuck. I just noticed that I'm starting to see stuff that I don't want to be seen. So that's the first thing. It's like, shit, I need to be probably thinking about pulling pulling up stumps here. And then it's like I never The great bit of advice I got was that, because of course you're tired, end of your career, you think you want to have a break and people again, or Sir Jackie said, if you have two or three or four years off, you're going to be invisible. You know you need to, you know, go and work with which I did with Porsche in sports cars, which at the time i'm this is a bit tight or maybe gap and go back into competition, but he was right, you've got to go into straightaway. Yeah. And also and then negotiating that contract as a formuline driver compared to negotiating when your tool three years off and coming back in you're going to get a different number. Yeah, that's important. And you know, so you feel you need the break, but keep going, keep going. I did some media. I'm so lucky. Ma'm with Rolex, I'm with Porsche globally. Both those brands are incredible, great relationship with Red Bull. So those things for me, and I've been with them a long, long long time.
01:10:42
Speaker 1: You know.
01:10:43
Speaker 2: I like that loyalty component, you know, which I again, I you know, of course you get other little officers here and there, but I want to be true to the brands that have believed in me as well and my backstory and the rest of it. So I think that's but it happens fast, mate. I've been retired thirteen years. Wow. So you come up fifteen next Yeah, coming to fifteen next week, and may you're flying for seventy son, You're you're cruising. You know, it's incredible, And they said, okay, what are you gonna do for fifty oh, fiftieth It'll involve some red good steak, close friends and pretty simple motorbikes probably, Yeah, yeah, right now I think of you know, it's Experienceially, I think of every I'm sport's been so good to me. I've met so many incredible people, and I've you know, I've had some dodge and bullets along the way, and so fiftieth like it, it's a milestone. But I'm looking at every not every day that's you know, it's a bit you know, a bit tacky, so and every day's a freaking birthday. But I genuinely, you know, am stoked with you know that I can have these great opportunities to you know, look back. And that's gratitude. Like, I mean, how important is gratitude in your life? Very important? I think, yeah, because I think that, you know, I see again without being morbid. But of course I've lost a few mates that I've raced against, so you know, you think about yeah, you have to accept that, you know, you've been incredibly fortunate along the way and enjoyed good health and you know, I've had a couple of injurises here and there, but in terms of like and learning off other people on the way, watching other sports, watching people's transition and to like say, post career, all these things, it's fascinating the dynamics of how all that roles. And I've again just again been so lucky to take counsel off some great people around the world. And I think that gratitude always comes back to it. You know, it's that you know that. I think it's a great Serena Williams line with the discipline. You get choices, No disciplined choices are forced on you. You know. Wow, that's a good say. Yeah, so it'll catch up with you. No discipline will catch up with you. We know that.
01:12:49
Speaker 1: You know that, mate, Yeah, I have to stay otherwise, Captain Rats, I've got to stay on the long Is that straight? Now?
01:12:55
Speaker 2: So you've got your methods in madness And I think that that that discipline in all people that had some elenum of success. You know, it's it's it's the discipline. And then and turn it up, mate, You've got to turn up, you know, if you're not turning up your toast.
01:13:12
Speaker 1: But because someone's asked me what how I would describe success.
01:13:18
Speaker 2: How do you describe success for life sels longevity, you know, in your career in chosen field. I think if you're in there for a long time, I think that's that's success.
01:13:27
Speaker 1: Not just winning for me, but staying in the game of.
01:13:29
Speaker 2: Course, mate. Yeah, you know, like you the first two or three years in your career, that's the hardest, I think in most because that's the that's the If you can get through those first two or three years at that elite level, then you know, you're sort of like it's not getting easy, but you've sort of broken your way through and you're and then you have these you know, I always look at people that have a long career in anything, you know, that's speaks volumes to their to their standards and their and their discipline and the success of you know, I course, but yeah, you need to share that, you know, give back a bit, yeah, pay forward of course. You know. I had the Tasmania Challenge. I had an adventure race down there back into you know, so that was that was I enjoyed doing that for for kids with leakemia. So there's there's things where if you're in a position to give back a bit of course. That that makes you feel, makes you feel good to have much interaction with Piastri. Yeah, sure, yeah, of course.
01:14:22
Speaker 1: I mean he's the latest and the greatest right now, and.
01:14:25
Speaker 2: He's been so enjoyable to have him, you know, to help guide him. People guided you early of course, early in his career, you know, and I think that you know, it's hard to get that's that strategy piece right to, you know, to get it. So to help Oscar you know, in that in that in that early part of his career, and he's an immense talent. We know that. So it's been enjoyable to do that. But that's obviously my It's also because you know, whether it's again made happened about whether it's Alex Fergus or Marino or these great football managers or whatever, some of the.
01:14:59
Speaker 1: Best guys weren't guns in their career now.
01:15:04
Speaker 2: Yeah, you know, And I'm not saying that's me with Oskol, just saying, like, you know, I some of my biggest lessons of course was getting done by the Shumachol that you're seeing how you know, sav operator, or seeing how Lewis operated, or you know, I've done cycling with Lance Armstrong, I've done and hang with Maria Sharapova for nomenal a woman, she's what she's done. She's had her own controversies, but incredible how she goes about things into So this snapshot of all this and it's a melting pot of information is sort of a plain you know, these are the things which we can contribute towards and help you, and you know, sort of blend it all in because that's that's something that you hope you can be positive on someone's career.
01:15:42
Speaker 1: I think paying forward your luck to meet people and maybe it's not luck, it's probably meant to happen, but what they told you, and then being able to pay forward to some of lobosca is pretty important, especially at the young early parts of their career, because that's all that's when they need it, because you can say, here's a few guardrails for you, mate, but also there's going to be a few bumps you've got to get over, of course, and they probably don't need to pat him on the back that much.
01:16:08
Speaker 2: Yeah, And of course, like the last part of your career, I think you know you've got you've got your way right as you say that that the forks, the forks in the roads, I mean business or sport or whatever, or people turning up and the backslappers or people turning up, and you've got to be there's plenty of them. This is you know you've seen or you've seen that. You know, you know where.
01:16:30
Speaker 1: It'll be be magnified by one hundred times for you. Like I mean, like you know, you're on a global stage, You're on a you're in a global sport, truly a global sport. You're one of the most You're in one of the most glamorous sports there are. I mean, the money gets thrown around and the whole thing is very extraordinary.
01:16:47
Speaker 2: Glimbers.
01:16:48
Speaker 1: We're talking about mon Ago for a start, you know, Moning go Grand Prix and everybody wants to backslap you. I mean, how do you work out who's cool and who's not cool, like who's genuine?
01:16:58
Speaker 2: I mean, what's that process? Though?
01:17:00
Speaker 1: Yeah, you have to sort of hang on relax.
01:17:06
Speaker 2: Yeah, it takes you know, judge your character obviously is a skill that's required, right to work out who who's with you on the journey, who's not with you on the journey. I think that I've had the same PA for twenty five years. Mate, I've had the same people pretty much the same people from day I'm with my first bonsor the other pages boys are really catching up with them. So that's and I haven't answered your question, but that that that part of actually you sort of you stick to the people that you know, you just weeding out. I suppose the ones that you know come and go yea, and we all have the selection process to which is we're all different on that on that I think on that phase, but I think that the consistency of actually finding the people that genuinely have your back and are keen for you to do to do well all the time. They're the they're the gold blugger. They're the ones that because you could easily waste your time chase. Of course, it's like people are you know, or you know, wanting staff for you know, how where's the strategy piece or you know, like all that, and so I think that that's yeah, it's and you've got to be good, pretty good at saying no, yeah, that's an important piece. Yeah, saying no yeah, like no yeah not not not for us or not for me or not It's like you know.
01:18:25
Speaker 1: And I think that's a really important remark in a ploy way, because that's that's hard, Yeah, because a lot.
01:18:32
Speaker 2: Of you want to say yes to rollover, rollover, roll up, you know, like you know, especially like the Murk. This murk decision I made the merced is like that point, like it was an and I my wife and I say, you know, we can stay on the comfortable street or you know, sal but this is some f one's over. It's over, It's gone Kenny Rodger's song, mate, right and no one hold them and fold them. But yeah, great song. But I'm like, you know, let's let's no, we're going to go all let's just you know, and done in the right way with like still but I want to I want to get back off this comfortable ship. We're going to get back swimming again and go. So I think that, yeah, those those tough decisions are along the way as well with the right people, you know. And then yeah, they have a corner.
01:19:19
Speaker 1: How important is it to have a hand in your corner all this time?
01:19:23
Speaker 2: Incredible? Yeah, very special woman. Yeah she uh, what's krokys for nearly thirty years now, that's amazing. Yeah. So yeah, and I think that's what makes it work for that long. What's the elements I think that. I mean, obviously, the loyalty is through the roof. Obviously we're there for each other. I think that she it's down to chemistry. It's just chemistry, best friends, it's just yeah, of course, just chemistry. And I think that you know, and Dad like growing up as like I mean, drugs of an issue with his son, you know, lying to me and also if you makarim with the women when you deal with me problems, So that stuff was you know in else a gambling It wasn't, but they're sacris saying things. Yeah, you know, fun mate, totally. She will going some fun. We're gonna have some fun along the way. But there's some non negotiables. Yeah, there is some non negotiables and that is important to me, you know with Annie. So I think that you know, and and of course you know, we've been through, like any relationship, you go through some you know, like some some testing waters, but obviously the the spine and the riga that comes with you know, being a being a partnership is solid as a rock. So yeah, it's been great and we've been through a lot of course hard decisions and also blending that professional. I think it's very good that the professional boundaries to the person personal band. Of course, in our hobbies and I think that we like and I love nature, I love the outdoors. I love all the stuff, which she does as well. And you find those things which but she's driven, you know, she's driven. She's a driven woman. I'm really Yeah, she's driven. That's important. Yeah, of course, yeah, she has drive and all those things which you know, of course rubs off on me as well, so both of us in terms of you know, sort of trying to have that good teamwork of you know, because often you're there and you close the door and it is the pair of you going, okay, what are we doing now, like shure, we've got some decisions to make, or how are we going and what are we doing here? Or you know, and you sort of you pull the rein and off you go, and here we are thirty years later. Because you know, when I left to go over there, a lot of people said I'll be back in six months, you know, so and I'm still not back now, you know, which is not not saying that I won't be back, but in terms of like it's worked out okay, and you can't make here much about two and a half months a year, so mainly mom and dad. You know, I'm here an age now where I want to spend a bit more time with them, which I'm doing to enjoy. I mean again, I'm watching NROL made or watching you know, like whenever overseas. Of course I'm taking an interest in austraight and still will be. Of course, you're a great result this year, unbelievable. How good are the Queenslander Where are the Queenslanders? Of course they've disappeared?
01:22:03
Speaker 1: Yeah, yeah, and you disappointed your the Raiders aren't going to I don't think you're done.
01:22:09
Speaker 2: He cooked for the year, Yeah, I know, I think the first part of the year. I mean obviously, well just led a lot of points there Hutson Young recently, I think that it was tough losing losing him in the last few rounds. I know Ricky was pretty disappointed after the last match. Did you go to the matches? If you're here, would you go to a match? I'm very rarely here, I've never been the state of origin, but really just pisses me off.
01:22:35
Speaker 1: Yeah, we should give you to come back next year, and I'd love to because King. I know King quite well as your coach. He's our coach and if you want late, tell me and I'll sort of Banner.
01:22:46
Speaker 2: Might want to go to. No, he's not a league now.
01:22:49
Speaker 1: But he told me that he might become a Rooster's support.
01:22:51
Speaker 2: I asked him, well, because he said the same color as freaking Saint killed the Probably that's what.
01:22:55
Speaker 1: Yeah, I asked him, and he said maybe I could come with a Bruce's fan and he every band is going to become a Ruster supportive. I mean, they've got Russell Krautz House, but we will have Eric Banners.
01:23:05
Speaker 2: My good made, isn't it. Oh well that's the reason I'm wanting yeah for you today. Yeah, because you know, I said, because mate, I don't know. Sitting here talking about yourself, it's a bit it's a bit of the top in it. So well, people want to hear about you that mate. Yeah, I know, even it's trying to it's it is it is, it is that. But you've got hunting blowing smoke. It's just the style of an Eric. I said, did you enjoy because I really enjoyed it, you know, Eric, and I are really good mates and yeah but look mateb Yeah, well.
01:23:32
Speaker 1: If you everyone to go to if you ever want to go to Orange, may just reach out made on my I'm having that. I'll get some tickets for it and bring Banner along. We can actually teach him about rugby league.
01:23:41
Speaker 2: Yeah, because his AFL touch footy? Do you think it's touch footy? AFL touch footy?
01:23:46
Speaker 1: I can't watch it like no, I'm actually calling with supporter. I hate to say it, but I'm a collin with every normal athletes.
01:23:51
Speaker 2: I look both both codes. Yeah, the distance so run twenty a game, big engine, the fields such a big field isn't a run ins or so? Yeah but no, yep, I watched mate, so I'm of course, I'm so patriotic. Still love Australia and whenever I can get back here with a small window I get. I love coming back here and checking it out.
01:24:13
Speaker 1: Mate, mate, Mark where Australiers love you? Mate, You've been fantastic, Thanks very much everything.
01:24:17
Speaker 2: I
