Would You Rather with Zane Maloney

11 October 2023

Rodin Carlin’s Zane Maloney is the latest to take on some very important questions, from a Barbados Grand Prix to his favourite spots to eat at back home.

The Red Bull Junior Team driver dives into some tough thought-provoking choices, including best overtaking techniques and why podcasts are the way forward, not pre-race playlists.

WEIGHTS OR CARDIO?

“Weights. I don’t mind pushing my body. I actually love the feeling of sore muscles and pushing myself in terms of weights. But I hate being out of breath so I’m not the biggest fan of cardio stuff. I do it, but I’m not a big fan. My cousin was a runner so I should be good, I just hate cardio.”

HOME OR MONACO GRAND PRIX WIN?

“100% win the Barbados Grand Prix. Monaco is amazing, it’s very special, probably the most special race of the year but I can’t image having the Barbados crowd. I think they would get like the Dutch crowd so I would love to win that Grand Prix if it ever happens. We have Bushy Park right now and I think we could do an F3 race there, we just need to extend the track a bit, build a few more hotels and we’ll be good to go.”

UNDERSTEER OR OVERSTEER?

“Depends on the car to be honest, I’d say oversteer because you can, as a driver, really change the balance with your driving more when it’s oversteering. When it’s understeering, you can still make a difference, but it’s never going to be as fast as when it’s oversteering let’s say.”

GIVE UP YOUR FAVOURITE MEAL FOR A YEAR OR EAT IT EVERY DAY FOR ONE YEAR?

“I’d give up my favourite meal because I have quite a few favourite meals so I could give up one of them and still get on in life properly. I think if you have one thing for so long, you’re just going to get sick of it anyways, and then you have no other options. I’d like to get rid of my favourite meal.

“My favourite would probably be chicken sushi. It’s fake sushi but it’s from this place called Naru in Barbados. I don’t love sushi everywhere else, but when I go home to this place, I could eat it every day to be honest. I just love it.”

HANDS FOR FEET OR FEET FOR HANDS?

“I remember when Enzo was asked this, we were talking about it after. I think either of them and I wouldn’t be able to drive a race car, but I’d take feet for hands. I couldn’t imagine walking the other way around, I mean maybe, but neither of them is ideal.”

FIRST OR LAST TO ARRIVE?

“Of course, it depends on the situation but if I’m going to arrive for an important meeting, then I want to be the first to arrive but if you’re going to an event or something that’s going to be long, then you want to be the last one. So, I’d say the first one to arrive. I’m usually quite early, I’ve been brought up that way, so I’m not going to make my mum angry.”

TOO HOT OR TOO COLD?

“Definitely too hot. Being from Barbados, I can handle the heat, even when it’s 40°C. Everyone’s melting outside and I’m not too bad. So I’d rather be too hot. Whenever I’m cold, you get your hands burning, body’s shivering and freezing and I just hate that feeling, so definitely too hot any day.”

RACE SUIT THAT’S TOO TIGHT OR TOO BIG?

“I’d say too big, even though it’s a bit uncomfortable when it’s too big because you don’t fit in the seat perfectly, when it’s too tight, you’re definitely not having a good time, so definitely too big.”

ROCK OR HIP HOP?

“I don’t really listen to music that much to be honest. I’d say rock, but I’m not a big music person. I love a podcast or a YouTube video. I’d much rather fill my time and change my mindset with a podcast than with music.”

KARAOKE OR DANCE OFF?

“Karaoke. I feel like when you’re doing karaoke and you’re bad at it, it’s funny. When you’re doing a dance off and you’re bad at it, it’s just cringe. So, I’m definitely bad at both, but I’ll take karaoke. I’d go for Umbrella by Rihanna maybe.”

WIN THE INDY 500 OR 24 HOURS OF LE MANS?

“Indy 500. Of course, they’re two massive races, but I’ve just grown up watching F1 and IndyCar and I’ve not watched too much of Le Mans. So, I see in my personal view, the Indy 500 is a massive event compared to Le Mans so I would rather that be the dream win for sure. And I’d go with classic, full fat milk if I won.”

TELEPORTATION OR READ PEOPLE’S MINDS?

“Teleport. I don’t really want to read people’s minds to be honest. There are some crazy people out there thinking some crazy things. I’d rather teleport because I would be in Barbados for the next few weeks or hours then be able to come back for a race. That makes life a lot easier.”

OPTION PRIME OR PRIME OPTION?

“Of course, it depends where you’re starting, but if I’m on pole, then option prime just in general makes the race a bit more conventional and makes it more difficult to make mistakes in terms of strategy. Also, prime option, you stick the options on at the end of the race with low fuel and especially around old school circuits like Zandvoort, your arms will be weaker by then and begging for help.”

LATE BRAKING DIVE DOWN THE INSIDE OR SWEEP AROUND THE OUTSIDE?

“Around the outside is very risky but when it happens, it’s a lot more rewarding let’s say. So to go around the outside of anyone is a hard task and if you make it stick, you will remember it for longer than making a move down the inside, so I’d say around the outside.

“I usually go for the outside moves on someone that I know won’t be too aggressive but again, you’re not going to do it against someone that you know will put you off the track, so it depends. Drivers have caught on to all these things, so no one really goes on the outside very easily anymore.”

WIN FROM POLE OR WIN FROM LAST?

“I’d rather win from pole because that means that you qualified on pole, you’re the fastest driver that weekend and you’ve also won the race, so you’ve been the only one to do the job over the weekend. Of course, winning from last is amazing and I don’t think anyone does that really, but winning from pole just says that you were the best on each day in each session throughout the weekend,”