This week we welcome the founder of Analog Shift, James Lamdin, to the podcast. We discuss the booming analog world, the current state of the collector and enthusiast space, and the automotive space for good measure. James is an avid collector with decades of experience around all manner of timepieces, but retains a deep love for a few niche areas that we get into in this chat. There’s good stuff at both ends of the spectrum here, and we find space for all types of enthusiasts, both new and old.
Show notes:
The Future Is Analog by David Sax
A Life of Speed: The Juan Manuel Fangio Story
Comments
2 responses to “The Deep Track Podcast: Ep. 32 – James Lamdin”
Just here for the F1 commentary because while I don’t think F1 is perfect, it’s far better than what JL describes.
Yes, the championship is boring with only one winner but guess what, that’s entirely the core of F1. Has been since the start and will always be that way going forward. When you have a sport that prioritizes innovation and technology above all else there is a large chance of one team pulling ahead. It’s like writing exams – very few score high marks and even then it’s not often you see a tie at the top.
Despite that, the majority of the races in Vettel/Hamilton/Max era have been fantastic. Sure the stats paint these eras as boring but there’s always been memorable moments throughout them all. Racing throughout the field has been incredible too. Of course, we can all agree that when the odd chance of an epic championship battle arises that there’s nothing better in the world of motorsport. (2012, 2016, 2021)
As for the cars themselves, I agree they’re not my favorite. I love the look of the early 90s cars but modern F1 is still better than what we got in 2009-2016. Obviously we can all wax lyrical about the screaming V10s but that was arguably the most boring era of F1 in terms of actual racing. Schumacher had every driver aid available to him, specific tires for his car only and a handful of other tricks to ensure his dominant era. Truthfully, the 2000s were the biggest low point of the sport despite some of the best cars. Complain about the hybrid system all you like but it gave us KERS (and eventually ERS/Overtake) which has been nothing but a positive. Having DRS removed in favor of active aero in 2026 will be a toss up but I’m optimistic.
All the other racing categories that JL listed are great but also share one thing in common: they’re designed to be ultra competitive through single spec cars or BoP. There’s nothing wrong with that and yes Le Mans is fantastic, but again, the philosophy here is different. It’s like being frustrated with Richard Mille’s watches because they’re not simple and dressy enough – it’s just not the point. TBH I don’t know why JL is still watching F1 if he dislikes it so much. Like he said, there’s plenty of other great motorsports out there and they all provide arguably better racing. With F1 you need to be into the technology and politics alongside the racing to get the full value. Is it a lot of complexity to take on? Sure, but then it wouldn’t be F1.
Great points! I’d recommend listing to Ep. 33 with Nick Engvall, or the last 15 minutes at least as we discuss the season in a bit more detail. I’m optimistic about the sport overall, and I still enjoy tuning in each week.