Episode Three of the Nu Silver Arrows Radio Show brings together Deputy Team Principal Bradley Lord, Trackside Engineering Director Andrew Shovlin and Head of Trackside Electronics and Controls Evan Short to talk all things Canadian GP and beyond.
Bittersweet Canadian GP
A bittersweet weekend for the team was encapsulated by George’s superb Sprint pole, Sprint win and Grand Prix pole contrasted with his desperately unfortunate engine issue that caused his DNF in the feature race.
Bradley says: “It’s always a funny feeling when one car has won the race and the other one’s retired through no fault of the driver because it’s very very hard to feel truly jubilant when you’ve seen a one-two go begging. Absolutely no fault of George’s – he drove brilliantly all weekend, and I think he would have been a very worthy winner of the Grand Prix as well.”
Analysing the Car Data
Sadly for George, his feature race was cut abruptly short with the engine issue and speaking on what the engineers see versus the fans in the grandstands and watching on TV, there is very little time between the data and the car stopping.
Evan details what the car stoppage looked like in real time on the data and what the team is doing to understand the causes of the failure.
‘It wasn’t comfortable, but it was brilliant’
While the weekend wasn’t perfect and there are plenty of learnings for the team to take into the upcoming race and beyond, what stood out was the exciting, exhilarating race between George and Kimi – something the media and fans were quick to highlight in the moments after the race in Montreal.
It too shows the level of trust the team puts in George and Kimi to race hard, to race fair and everyone at Lauda and Morgan Drive understand how big this is for our duo as they battle at the top of the Championship.
“It’s anxious moments but also a huge privilege to be in the middle of that anxiety and watching your drivers fight for a win,” Bradley adds.
Meeting the First Canadian in Space
For Canadian Evan, the home race holds a place dear in his heart and no moment was more special than when he represented the team on podium at the 2016 running of the race.
Aside from being up there with Lewis, Valtteri, and Seb Vettel, Evan was most excited to meet Marc Garneau, the first Canadian to go to space. Evan even received the Constructors’ trophy from Mr Garneau, truly a special and proud moment, one Evan regales brilliantly in the show.
Mr Lazer Eyes – the Worrying Call From Toto
Pranks are not uncommon in the team – and quite often Evan is at the centre of them (shh, don’t tell him we said that).
In the show he tells just one of his many stories of the mischief he gets up to and the slightly panic he felt one day when he got a call from Toto about one…
Now, attention turns to what comes next – six races in eight weeks! It’s an intense period but after a stop-start season so far, the team are excited do what we’re here to do and go racing. Listen to the full Nu Silver Arrows Radio Show and stay tuned for more throughout the year.