Fireside Chat w/ Sneha Sharma

Join us as we welcome our very special guest, Sneha Sharma! Sneha is an Indian racing driver who competes in F4 National Racing Championship, while kicking ass on the track she is also a Pilot with IndiGo Airlines!

Without disclosing much about our very special guest, listen to the episode to learn about Sneha's journey into racing and her unique experience of being a racing driver and a pilot!

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Intro: Howling (Sting) - Gunnar Olsen

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Email : racer.captsneha@gmail.com 

**Navigating the World of Racing: A Conversation with Sneha Sharma, India's Trailblazing Racing Driver and Pilot**

**Introduction:**

In this captivating podcast episode, we welcome Sneha Sharma, an extraordinary Indian racing driver and pilot. Sneha's journey is nothing short of inspiring, as she has broken barriers and achieved remarkable feats in both the racing and aviation industries. Today, we delve into her incredible story, exploring her passion for speed, her experiences as a female racer, and the unique challenges she has faced along the way.

**Sneha Sharma's Journey:**

1. **Early Passion for Speed:**

- Sneha's love for speed began at a young age, starting with a sports cycle.
- She defied societal expectations by pursuing her passion, even when it meant breaking stereotypes.

2. **Karting and Early Racing Career:**

- Sneha's journey into racing began with karting, where she quickly showcased her talent.
- She faced challenges as the only girl competing against boys, but her determination pushed her forward.
- Sneha's success in karting led to her participation in national racing competitions.

3. **Transition to Formula Racing:**

- Sneha's ambition to race in Formula cars was fueled by her passion for the sport.
- Despite financial constraints, she persevered and secured sponsorships to support her racing career.
- Sneha's dedication and hard work resulted in her becoming the first Indian woman to win a national racing championship in the F4 category.

4. **International Racing and the W Series:**

- Sneha's success in India opened doors for international opportunities.
- She competed in the Malaysian MSF series and the F4 championship, representing India on the global stage.
- Sneha was selected as a regional ambassador for the W Series, a prestigious all-female racing championship.

5. **Balancing Racing and Flying:**

- Sneha's unique career path includes both racing and flying as a pilot with IndiGo Airlines.
- She skillfully manages her time between these demanding professions, often juggling training, competitions, and flight schedules.
- Sneha's experience as a pilot enhances her racing skills, as both disciplines require precision, focus, and quick decision-making.

**Challenges and Inspirations:**

1. **Breaking Barriers as a Female Racer:**

- Sneha acknowledges the challenges faced by women in motorsports, especially in India.
- She emphasizes the need for more female role models and equal opportunities in the sport.
- Sneha's achievements serve as an inspiration to aspiring female racers, demonstrating that determination and passion can overcome obstacles.

2. **Financial and Sponsorship Challenges:**

- Securing sponsorships and funding is a significant hurdle for many aspiring racers, including Sneha.
- She highlights the importance of finding sponsors who believe in the potential of female racers and are willing to invest in their careers.
- Sneha's success in attracting sponsors showcases her ability to captivate audiences and demonstrate her racing prowess.

3. **Importance of Fitness and Training:**

- Sneha emphasizes the crucial role of fitness and training in racing.
- She incorporates rigorous physical training and mental exercises to enhance her performance on the track.
- Sneha believes that a healthy lifestyle and a strong mindset are essential for success in racing.


**Racing and Flying: A Thrilling Combination:**

Sneha Sharma's passion for speed and adventure knows no bounds. As a racing driver, she has competed in various championships, including the F4 National Racing Championship, showcasing her exceptional skills and determination behind the wheel. Concurrently, Sneha's role as a pilot with IndiGo Airlines allows her to navigate the skies with expertise and grace.

**The Challenges of Motorsport:**

Sneha candidly discusses the inherent risks and challenges associated with motorsport. She emphasizes the importance of safety gear and proper training to mitigate the dangers involved in racing. Sneha shares her personal experiences with injuries sustained during races and workouts, highlighting the physical demands and sacrifices required to succeed in this demanding sport.

**The Art of Braking:**

In a lighter moment, Sneha reveals the intricacies of braking in a racing car. She explains the significance of strong glutes and precise footwork to effectively control the powerful brakes, emphasizing the need for moderation to avoid damaging the tires. Sneha's record-breaking brake pressure in the 2019 championship stands as a testament to her exceptional skills.

**Navigating G-Forces:**

As a racing driver and a pilot, Sneha experiences both lateral and vertical G-forces. She describes the sensation of being pushed into the seat during vertical G-forces and the intense weight transfer during high-speed turns, requiring quick reflexes and core strength to maintain control of the vehicle.

**Advice for Aspiring Racers:**

For adults interested in supporting young talent in motorsport, Sneha advises exploring the FMSCI website and encouraging education alongside racing. She stresses the importance of financial stability, sponsorships, and branding, as well as the need for road safety awareness.

**Guidance for Future Racing Drivers:**

To aspiring racing drivers, Sneha imparts valuable advice, urging them to stay focused, work hard, and embrace challenges. She emphasizes the significance of self-reliance, perseverance, and utilizing available resources to achieve their dreams.

**Conclusion:**

Sneha Sharma's remarkable journey as a racing driver and a pilot serves as an inspiration to all. Her dedication, resilience, and passion for both professions are truly commendable. This episode offers a glimpse into the world of motorsport and aviation, shedding light on the challenges, rewards, and unique experiences that come with these exhilarating pursuits.

[00:00.000 -> 00:05.000] I also competed against an Indian lady racer there and I happened to be faster.
[00:05.000 -> 00:14.000] And what I noticed in general about drivers, I won't say ladies because like I always say, once the helmet is on, I'm not a man or a woman, I'm only a racing driver.
[00:19.000 -> 00:25.360] Hello folks and welcome back to yet another lounge session with F1 fanfiction. This is
[00:25.360 -> 00:30.560] another episode of the fire chat series and today we have a very special guest.
[00:30.560 -> 00:35.200] This guest needs very little to no introduction obviously she is a
[00:35.200 -> 00:39.920] wonderful human being to begin with. She's very modest, down-to-earth and
[00:39.920 -> 00:46.560] inspiration for everyone. You know what let's hear it from the guest. Hey guest, can you
[00:46.560 -> 00:52.880] introduce yourself? Hi everyone, hi I'm Sneha Sharma. I race cars internationally and I fly
[00:52.880 -> 00:58.240] planes as well. I recently became the first Indian woman to win a national racing championship in
[00:58.240 -> 01:06.720] ladies, the F4 and I also tried the Airbus 320 with Indigo as captain commander. And yeah, speed is my passion.
[01:07.040 -> 01:10.520] That's why I took up racing about 15 years back, drove the national
[01:10.520 -> 01:15.480] party, national racing, then moved to international racing and
[01:15.800 -> 01:17.280] been doing well since then.
[01:17.320 -> 01:19.880] And yeah, I'm quite excited about this podcast.
[01:22.640 -> 01:24.080] Thank you for being on the show.
[01:24.080 -> 01:24.480] Yeah.
[01:24.480 -> 01:25.800] Thanks for joining us. We are your hosts. I am Akash. And I'm Saran. Yeah, thanks for joining us.
[01:25.800 -> 01:26.800] We are your hosts.
[01:26.800 -> 01:30.800] I am Akash and I'm Saran and let's get into it.
[01:30.800 -> 01:34.520] So Sneha, first of all, I would like to thank you again, you know, just for joining us for
[01:34.520 -> 01:35.740] today's episode.
[01:35.740 -> 01:40.560] And so let's get started with, you know, a little bit about your journey and racing in
[01:40.560 -> 01:41.560] general.
[01:41.560 -> 01:45.840] And kind of the first question I wanted to ask you about like you know you
[01:45.840 -> 01:51.920] basically kind of started your career in the mecca of racing in Mumbai that's the Powai
[01:51.920 -> 01:59.600] go-karting track and so we just kind of wanted to get a sense of at like what age did you you
[01:59.600 -> 02:08.600] know start racing and you know what sparked your interest and interest and after getting into karting, how did you get into the higher series from there?
[02:08.840 -> 02:10.600] That takes me back many, many years.
[02:10.600 -> 02:15.120] And I always like sharing this journey because it was quite unconventional.
[02:15.480 -> 02:19.320] Since I was young, I love speed and I had a sports cycle to start with.
[02:19.320 -> 02:20.200] I was the younger kid.
[02:20.200 -> 02:23.320] So I had those scooters where you have to like kick with one foot.
[02:23.680 -> 02:25.040] And then so I would follow
[02:25.040 -> 02:31.520] all the older kids with it. It was tough but later I pushed my parents to get me a sport cycle. So
[02:31.520 -> 02:38.080] it was the one with the gears not quite the lady bird with the hanging by the sides how
[02:38.640 -> 02:47.120] people picture women riding bicycles and I would ride it on the streets and ride it really fast and
[02:47.120 -> 02:51.120] of course safely but then I was young. Quite often in traffic motorbike guys
[02:51.120 -> 02:54.720] would try to race with me and I don't know why they do it but I didn't know
[02:54.720 -> 03:00.740] like I have to win so I would dodge and turn and I would actually beat them even though they
[03:00.740 -> 03:10.160] had engines and sometimes they would diss me, other times they would say like hey girl nice ride, so like you know I have something inside of me and I want to do it
[03:10.880 -> 03:17.280] so I did have Barbie dolls but they rarely had clothes on and like I wasn't very good at it
[03:17.840 -> 03:24.080] yeah so it's still funny and I tried go-karting and I just felt one with the kart and the adrenaline
[03:24.080 -> 03:25.600] rush was like never before, I ended up clocking the fastest lap time ofarting and I just felt one with the kart and the adrenaline rush was like never before.
[03:25.600 -> 03:30.720] I ended up clocking the fastest lap time of the day and I was like I want to do this. Nice. So I
[03:30.720 -> 03:35.280] was around 14 and I would spend all my off days, pocket money, lunch money on the racetrack to do
[03:35.280 -> 03:40.800] those four laps and one day I saw these really fast drivers and they were driving in sync,
[03:40.800 -> 03:45.040] it was really look professional. So I asked the mechanics, who are they?
[03:45.040 -> 03:47.280] So they said they are national drivers.
[03:47.280 -> 03:48.680] So I was like, wow, I want to learn.
[03:49.120 -> 03:50.120] There was no training.
[03:50.160 -> 03:52.880] Plus I was doing my 10th and then I said, let's wait.
[03:53.280 -> 03:57.240] Right after my 10th, I asked the mechanics to train me with whatever bit they knew.
[03:57.240 -> 04:00.680] And I learned just braking, cornering, accelerating, and just
[04:00.680 -> 04:01.920] to try to get good lap times.
[04:02.440 -> 04:08.000] With this knowledge, like you said, Powai track used to have a lot of races by companies, colleges.
[04:08.000 -> 04:13.000] So I used to participate in them. I used to do reasonably well in quite a few races.
[04:13.000 -> 04:18.000] And there was one huge race by Times of India where I did well. I was on the podium.
[04:18.000 -> 04:22.000] So I got picked up by a national team. By now I was in my 11th and science.
[04:22.000 -> 04:25.400] I had already started pursuing my flying studies, ground studies.
[04:26.480 -> 04:28.280] And it was a tough call. My family was against sports.
[04:28.320 -> 04:35.400] They thought it is a dangerous sport and it can cause increased
[04:35.400 -> 04:36.640] distraction to my studies.
[04:36.760 -> 04:37.720] But I was an admin.
[04:38.000 -> 04:41.480] I would hide my helmet outside the house, jump a wall, go race.
[04:41.880 -> 04:47.040] But I would carry my books and make sure I fulfilled my commitment, show up in my pilot's uniform
[04:47.040 -> 04:47.540] there.
[04:47.540 -> 04:50.400] So yeah, it was a little funny.
[04:50.400 -> 04:53.080] But I did the nationals.
[04:53.080 -> 04:55.120] I traveled through the nation.
[04:55.120 -> 04:59.520] I was the only girl to ever qualify for the KCT category,
[04:59.520 -> 05:00.920] a top 10 in India.
[05:00.920 -> 05:04.960] And then I also won the ladies' championship.
[05:04.960 -> 05:07.360] Quite often, I wouldn't be allowed to participate
[05:07.360 -> 05:14.160] in the ladies championship because I was competing with the guys. So, some drivers would rebel
[05:14.160 -> 05:18.040] against that she cannot compete with us, she would win. So, it was a tough. I had the choice
[05:18.040 -> 05:24.440] to compete in the women and have a competitive win or compete with the guys or the open category
[05:24.440 -> 05:26.480] and maybe have a decent finish.
[05:26.480 -> 05:31.520] So I went for the open category always. My mentor at the time was good. So it was tough. I was
[05:31.520 -> 05:38.400] peaking in my career. I had to go to USA to do my flying studies, California, San Francisco. I believe
[05:38.400 -> 05:49.520] you're based in West Coast, right? Yeah. So I'm at Seattle and Seattle and he was in California earlier. Oh no, yeah that's right Boeing
[05:49.520 -> 05:55.120] factory yes exactly. So yeah I went to I went there it was tough I just went once for a go
[05:55.120 -> 06:00.720] karting thing it was fun and I came back I was the first pilot to get my solo in the badge
[06:00.720 -> 06:05.560] came back I still wanted to get back in racing I had we had loans on us and I didn't have a lot of money.
[06:05.920 -> 06:08.480] So I got back in the most cheapest affordable category, which is
[06:08.480 -> 06:09.880] the four-stroke karting category.
[06:10.320 -> 06:14.120] And at the same time, I started working with the team part-time as a trainer,
[06:14.120 -> 06:19.720] tuner, mechanic, even loading trucks and trunks at the end of the day to support my racing.
[06:20.200 -> 06:23.600] It was really tough to stay up all night and then go race the next day
[06:23.600 -> 06:30.160] because it's a demanding sport. And, but I would I somehow made it. That aggression would really make me push harder because that's how
[06:30.160 -> 06:37.520] tough it was to reach there. So it went well, I was the only girl to win the championship. I finished
[06:37.520 -> 06:45.600] 2019 and then I qualified for Volkswagen Polo, the maiden season, Polo Cup India and I did well there.
[06:46.320 -> 06:51.040] At 20, I got through Indigo. Again, I had to take a break. I went to Kuala Lumpur for my Airbus
[06:51.040 -> 06:57.040] training. Came back, got to the Toyota E-TOS Motor Racing. Then, Top 5 in the Mercedes Youngster
[06:57.040 -> 07:01.760] Driver Programme, where we drove at a top speed of 270 kmph at the both international circuits.
[07:02.400 -> 07:07.120] And then, that's awesome. But I always thanked to drive formula cars, but I didn't have the funding.
[07:07.120 -> 07:08.480] My sponsors were for saloon cars.
[07:09.040 -> 07:11.840] So I, with my salary, I started funding my formula racing.
[07:12.160 -> 07:15.400] I was racing with another tire brand, but then JK tires was kind enough to
[07:15.400 -> 07:16.760] approach me and said, drive with us.
[07:16.760 -> 07:18.360] So I got sponsored by JK since then.
[07:18.360 -> 07:18.960] I was with them.
[07:19.480 -> 07:23.680] Then I, uh, uh, yeah, I've been driving the F4 nationals.
[07:23.720 -> 07:26.280] Then I drove the Malaysian MSF series.
[07:26.720 -> 07:28.320] I won there.
[07:28.320 -> 07:30.920] I was the only Indian girl there.
[07:31.440 -> 07:33.640] And then I drove the F4 championship.
[07:33.920 -> 07:36.080] I went for the W Series to Europe.
[07:36.240 -> 07:39.360] I am representing them as GHC ambassador currently.
[07:39.800 -> 07:41.680] I've driven the F3 simulator.
[07:41.720 -> 07:43.920] I had my sponsors in place, but COVID happened.
[07:43.920 -> 07:46.000] So hoping for the borders to open once again.
[07:46.000 -> 07:49.000] So this has been my journey.
[07:49.000 -> 07:58.000] That's just inspiring. I mean I love the passion that you have for the sport comes out when you talk about your entire journey.
[07:58.000 -> 08:06.960] And I really love to just bask in it. Hey, I wanted to ask you this, I read somewhere about REO racing.
[08:06.960 -> 08:11.880] So when did REO racing happen and what is REO racing for our audience here?
[08:11.880 -> 08:15.280] And then, you know, how has REO racing been part of your journey?
[08:15.280 -> 08:17.280] I started karting with REO race.
[08:17.280 -> 08:19.280] I started my karting on my own.
[08:19.280 -> 08:29.360] Then in the nationals, I was driving with Rio Racing and then later on I moved to other teams such as Avalanche
[08:29.360 -> 08:33.840] and I was supposed to drive with Meco but then I injured my knee which is M Sport and
[08:33.840 -> 08:37.120] then I drove with Dark Torn Racing.
[08:37.120 -> 08:39.520] So initially I started off with Rio Racing.
[08:39.520 -> 08:43.960] I see and did you approach them or like was this with a mentor?
[08:43.960 -> 08:48.000] Remember I told you that I was approached by a national team when I won the Times of India race?
[08:48.000 -> 08:50.000] That was real racing, that approach.
[08:50.000 -> 08:52.000] Oh, that was real racing. Okay, makes sense.
[08:52.000 -> 09:03.000] So, the other thing is right, like the stereotypes aside, and again we might be very uneducated here or please help us educate.
[09:03.000 -> 09:08.840] So, what I know is there is essentially obviously you in other sort of racing forms there is Alisha
[09:08.840 -> 09:13.840] Abdullah who's super bike racing, Bani Yadav I think she is cross-country
[09:13.840 -> 09:21.600] rally and then this is the the upcoming Meera Erda but beyond this at least our
[09:21.600 -> 09:27.560] knowledge is very limited. So how is women in, in racing as a genre in India?
[09:28.120 -> 09:28.360] Yeah.
[09:28.360 -> 09:31.960] I mean, since I started racing, but most often when I started off, there
[09:31.960 -> 09:33.800] were girls in Mumbai, et cetera.
[09:33.800 -> 09:35.680] Then in the nationals also there were girls.
[09:35.680 -> 09:39.920] I was just recently reading one article where there were eight of us and I was
[09:39.920 -> 09:42.680] the only one who qualified for the KCT, luckily.
[09:43.200 -> 09:46.080] And I've seen a lot of women come and go out of the sport
[09:46.080 -> 09:52.080] because it's not easy for a woman or a man to survive especially a woman. It's tough and you
[09:52.080 -> 09:57.680] need backing and a lot of people come a lot of people in motorsport like Mira, Alisha are in it
[09:57.680 -> 10:03.120] since their families went to the sport. For a you know somebody with no background to come in
[10:03.120 -> 10:06.160] and to really make a place matters but I think that's what has really helped me.
[10:06.160 -> 10:10.960] And there are a couple of other drivers with no background like Advik Deodar, who's doing really well.
[10:10.960 -> 10:13.360] And Akhil Rabindra in Europe, etc.
[10:13.360 -> 10:15.760] So yeah, there are a few people who I can relate to.
[10:16.280 -> 10:21.880] But women are there in sport, but to really like in Formula Racing and to really do the international.
[10:22.240 -> 10:28.000] I obviously won the International Ladies Championship, but I'm the first one to even do a championship abroad.
[10:28.000 -> 10:39.000] It was a bit tough along with my first year as captain in Indigo and there were a lot of international ladies racing in the championship from South Africa, Kazakhstan, Europe, things like that.
[10:39.000 -> 10:46.080] So it's really competitive out there. I think that's that's I think especially in India I can understand you know it
[10:46.080 -> 10:51.600] must be a little tougher for girls to get into racing and as such racing
[10:51.600 -> 10:54.440] itself is not that popular in India in the first place so I can totally
[10:54.440 -> 10:58.600] understand like getting funding and sponsors and everything must be a very
[10:58.600 -> 11:03.640] uphill battle. Just wanted to you know ask a kind of a follow-up question as
[11:03.640 -> 11:07.160] you said that when you were there for the international ladies championship,
[11:07.160 -> 11:13.280] like what contrast did you probably notice between racers, like female
[11:13.280 -> 11:17.720] racers in India versus female racers outside globally that you saw?
[11:18.600 -> 11:20.760] Yeah, I was racing amongst boys also.
[11:20.760 -> 11:24.720] So I did earn a super license point for which you require for Formula
[11:24.720 -> 11:26.280] One and championships
[11:26.280 -> 11:27.280] such as that.
[11:27.280 -> 11:28.480] So this is an FIA Formula 4.
[11:28.480 -> 11:35.200] I also competed against an Indian lady racer there and I happened to be faster.
[11:35.200 -> 11:39.000] And what I noticed in general about drivers, I won't say ladies because like I always say
[11:39.000 -> 11:42.800] once the helmet is on, I'm not a man or a woman, I'm only a racing driver.
[11:42.800 -> 11:47.280] So they have a lot of exposure and they have better
[11:47.280 -> 11:52.560] infrastructure abroad. Of course, India is improving and we have great brands like JK Tires, especially
[11:52.560 -> 11:58.800] who's also my sponsor, supporting the sport, even Indigo is my sponsor. So there are people trying to
[11:58.800 -> 12:02.800] do it but things like a Formula One team for two seasons as I have to go because of certain
[12:02.800 -> 12:05.200] political situations in our country.
[12:05.200 -> 12:06.200] So it's tough.
[12:06.200 -> 12:10.600] Having said that, they are professional, they are very fit.
[12:10.600 -> 12:13.600] They have schools which have motorsport considered as a sport.
[12:13.600 -> 12:17.200] I was driving from, there were many times, there was only Indian on the grid.
[12:17.200 -> 12:22.200] Drivers from Finland, from Ukraine, Russia, Australia.
[12:22.200 -> 12:24.600] So they were doing really, really well.
[12:24.600 -> 12:25.800] And I got to learn, plus our engineers were from Spain and they knew. So they were doing really really well and I got to
[12:25.800 -> 12:30.720] learn plus our engineers were from Spain and they knew the cart in and out and we
[12:30.720 -> 12:36.440] would do data analysis. So yeah it was a really great experience in the Southeast Asia.
[12:36.440 -> 12:45.240] That's great. I think what we want to know is like, yes, you've participated in F4 and, you know,
[12:46.320 -> 12:49.320] won a title there. What is F4?
[12:49.320 -> 12:54.480] So can we educate what F4 is and then sort of what the tree going up and how do you
[12:54.480 -> 12:58.360] even get to F4? So what's the hierarchy of motor racing there?
[12:59.280 -> 13:04.800] Yeah, so for a young person to get into motorsports, say karting, four-stroke karting
[13:06.000 -> 13:10.000] would be the first step. Then two-stroke karting, road-tac, which is quite expensive and physical to drive.
[13:10.000 -> 13:17.000] The 2-stroke karting, then you get into say, formula cars or saloon cars, racing, nationals.
[13:17.000 -> 13:23.000] And then you do, I would do saloon and then formula cars because saloon cars, little like road cars.
[13:23.000 -> 13:25.200] And then you go to formula
[13:25.200 -> 13:30.480] racing which are rear wheel driven cars. Then you go to if you're international wherever you want
[13:30.480 -> 13:38.480] to start. So in India we have F4LGB but it's not an F4, F5, F4. So I also went to Austria, I took a
[13:38.480 -> 13:45.280] four-day training at the Waha ring at Melt. That's also where the WCG selection happens. I went there the second
[13:45.280 -> 13:50.620] time to get trained at a circuit which is irrigated and there's a skid pad and a
[13:50.620 -> 13:56.640] kick pad so I'll get to that later. So basically the hierarchy is such. For a person of an average age to get
[13:56.640 -> 14:00.840] into motorsport, time-speed distance rallies are a really good way, entry point
[14:00.840 -> 14:05.160] as well. You drive on the street with a navigator and you get introduced to
[14:05.160 -> 14:11.120] motorsports. So I give a briefing and flag off for the time speed distance rally also.
[14:11.120 -> 14:21.160] So these are few ways. F4 is the entry level motorsport category for aspiring Formula drivers.
[14:21.160 -> 14:25.680] There are only few championships around 8 championships across the world which are FIA
[14:25.680 -> 14:26.680] obligated.
[14:26.680 -> 14:27.680] The cars are of specifications.
[14:27.680 -> 14:33.960] The chassis, the engines, the BH3 and the CC etc. is limited or specified.
[14:33.960 -> 14:39.040] And then you go there, you ride the championship, you gain super license points, you move to
[14:39.040 -> 14:40.960] F3, then you move to S2.
[14:40.960 -> 14:43.640] And of course, you try to drive as much as you can in other championships to get track
[14:43.640 -> 14:44.640] time.
[14:44.640 -> 14:50.240] And then you hope to get picked up by a driver scholarship program for F1. On that I think like
[14:50.240 -> 14:56.640] I think Force India had one right and I could be wrong here but like I think Jehan started off his
[14:56.640 -> 15:03.120] his schooling as part of the Force India Young Driver Academy right? He was starting before that
[15:03.120 -> 15:06.480] in fact we were both atu Racing and I was there
[15:06.480 -> 15:11.720] when he came the first day, he was really young and I was helping train him because I used to work with the team.
[15:11.720 -> 15:16.400] And he was quick of course and he did get to post India but I'm not sure what the
[15:16.400 -> 15:21.160] equation is now. So I think he's signed up by Reggie. Yeah, Karlin. I think Reggie.
[15:21.160 -> 15:29.760] He's doing quite well. He's another Bombay guy. For the longest time, South India which is a great place but has dominated the motorsport arena but it's nice to see Mumbai people doing well.
[15:29.760 -> 15:33.760] Totally, totally. Both of us are Mumbai represent. That's right.
[15:36.720 -> 15:43.120] Nice. I wanted to ask you this is from a driver's perspective right. So and like as a content
[15:43.120 -> 15:45.820] creators and Sarang and I were also talking about this.
[15:45.820 -> 15:51.860] Sometimes what happens is, you know, I'm seeing a movie or listening to music and I'll be like,
[15:51.860 -> 15:59.120] oh wow, this is a good editing piece. This is, you know, there's a good subtle sound playing behind which
[15:59.120 -> 16:02.920] if I'm not lost into the art, I'm noticing these things.
[16:02.920 -> 16:09.060] So then as a driver, are you seeing other races and then what's going through your mind when you're
[16:09.060 -> 16:11.500] seeing those races? Are you actually just seeing it for fun?
[16:11.520 -> 16:13.640] Or sometimes you're seeing it, Oh, he braked here.
[16:13.880 -> 16:15.680] Oh, the driver did this sort of thing.
[16:16.760 -> 16:20.400] Oh yeah. It's all educational. Of course we enjoy watching.
[16:20.680 -> 16:26.000] So the other day we were racing with the son of a Formula One driver in our
[16:26.000 -> 16:28.960] championship and we were once watching a Formula One race with a Formula One
[16:28.960 -> 16:29.240] driver.
[16:29.240 -> 16:30.760] So it was really, really fun.
[16:30.920 -> 16:33.000] I think it's educational and it is fun.
[16:33.040 -> 16:36.920] And in all sports, I think a lot of study goes into it.
[16:36.920 -> 16:39.800] So I have friends who play cricket and they watch cricket all the time.
[16:40.120 -> 16:43.720] So we have our own videos, the cameras and they're linked to the data.
[16:43.880 -> 16:47.640] They have RPM, gauges, all of that, the gear shifts.
[16:48.160 -> 16:49.720] So we watch our own videos.
[16:49.800 -> 16:57.080] We watch races on the television and on the internet to study race
[16:57.080 -> 17:01.520] graph, breaking points, and a lot of moves, etc.
[17:02.280 -> 17:06.940] So another question kind of I've I have heard that you prefer
[17:06.940 -> 17:12.500] wet conditions over dry conditions during races or whatever but at least
[17:12.500 -> 17:21.140] free practices. Yeah it's kind of unintuitive to me to you know hear that
[17:21.140 -> 17:26.880] somebody prefers wet conditions so you know I just want to get some insight from you. Like it's easier to breathe in the wet.
[17:31.200 -> 17:34.800] But you sweat more because there's so much concentration and precise movement.
[17:35.160 -> 17:39.960] So once I just got out of the race car and he was on the podium, but he couldn't lift his
[17:39.960 -> 17:40.480] toe here.
[17:40.600 -> 17:41.880] And that was after a wet race.
[17:42.480 -> 17:44.840] So I love learning in the wet, no doubt.
[17:45.320 -> 17:48.560] And, but of course I like, I like night races a lot.
[17:48.560 -> 17:53.120] I've driven night wet race, my first international race was a wet race at
[17:53.120 -> 17:53.800] Nayarit, Karnataka.
[17:53.960 -> 17:54.760] Oh, that's great.
[17:54.920 -> 17:56.120] You couldn't see anything.
[17:56.560 -> 17:57.040] Yeah.
[17:57.080 -> 17:58.240] You just break by instinct.
[17:58.240 -> 18:01.640] Once we had a race in a karting race and few drivers refused to drive.
[18:01.640 -> 18:03.520] I'm not, they're like, I'm not going to drive.
[18:03.680 -> 18:04.760] You can't see that corner.
[18:06.200 -> 18:06.280] But I'd driven it in the day.
[18:07.880 -> 18:08.480] And I was like, I can break my instinct.
[18:12.040 -> 18:13.560] When you're driving in wet and there's huge spray on you, you can't see anything. I have an image which I'll share later.
[18:13.880 -> 18:16.520] You just have to break my instinct and pray it stops.
[18:17.080 -> 18:17.280] Yeah.
[18:17.280 -> 18:21.160] I've always wondered because like whenever, even like when I watch F1 or anything,
[18:21.160 -> 18:25.520] like and they show some, you know, uh some you know driver cams and it's
[18:25.520 -> 18:30.080] raining I literally can't see anything I've always wondered how I mean it just
[18:30.080 -> 18:34.680] feels like a miracle to me that anybody is able to drive in those conditions so
[18:34.680 -> 18:40.400] yeah that's just awesome. Yeah it's like how you land or take off also we have
[18:40.400 -> 18:44.400] minimum visibility to take off and land but the other day I was taking off and
[18:44.400 -> 18:49.200] it was light rain as we took off it was heavy but I couldn't see the centerline of the runway.
[18:49.200 -> 18:55.920] So I was just maintaining the centerline and Newton's second law, in motion will stay in motion.
[18:55.920 -> 19:01.360] I was like let's get to my rotation speed and get airborne. So that's what we did. But yeah,
[19:01.360 -> 19:07.980] you can't see anything. How much of correlation is there between let's say landing for example right because you're come let's say
[19:07.980 -> 19:13.560] landing into Bombay there's an extensive cloud cover you are maybe just
[19:13.560 -> 19:18.300] guided by your navigations on your front panel that hey the runways here may be
[19:18.300 -> 19:24.060] doing one of those software assisted landings but then at the end of the day
[19:24.060 -> 19:25.000] you are still in the
[19:25.000 -> 19:29.240] cockpit with the controls in your hand but you can't see the runway similar to
[19:29.240 -> 19:32.560] you you know how you can't see the driving and you're doing everything
[19:32.560 -> 19:37.520] intuitive. So what's sort of like the comparison as a flight landing when you
[19:37.520 -> 19:41.080] can't see anything and you're driving on a very night rainy track as you
[19:41.080 -> 19:45.160] mentioned. To start with, very few runways in the world you
[19:45.160 -> 19:48.760] can do an auto land. So in Mumbai you cannot do it for it like this generally
[19:48.760 -> 19:52.000] speaking and a lot of critical runways you can't do an auto land. So there is a
[19:52.000 -> 19:55.040] certain height you come with automation and then you just spot the runway or
[19:55.040 -> 19:58.840] sometimes you just see the lights and then you have to land the aircraft. So
[19:58.840 -> 20:02.600] depth perception really matters. So when I'm sitting in the cockpit of a race car
[20:02.600 -> 20:09.160] I'm like two inches off the ground and I am very close and when I'm sitting in the cockpit of a race car, I'm like two inches off the ground and I am very close. And when I'm sitting in the cockpit, I'm quite high
[20:09.240 -> 20:13.240] and it changes. So when I go from a race to the cockpit, I have to really adjust myself
[20:13.240 -> 20:19.920] to like flare like while landing, things like that. That's one and the similarities, yeah,
[20:19.920 -> 20:24.440] in the wet, there's rubber deposits on the runway, rubber deposits on the racetrack. So
[20:24.440 -> 20:27.400] on the racetrack, you have to get off the racing line and brake.
[20:27.400 -> 20:30.760] If you brake on the racing line where there's a lot of rubber deposits, you slip off.
[20:30.760 -> 20:36.760] On the runway, you can't get off the center line, but they keep removing the rubber deposits
[20:36.760 -> 20:39.000] from the runway, the airport authorities.
[20:39.000 -> 20:43.360] So these are, and then again, I always say, in racing, you're pushing the machine to and
[20:43.360 -> 20:44.360] beyond its limits sometimes.
[20:44.360 -> 20:49.440] But in flying, the machine is extremely powerful. so I have to keep it within its limits. So these
[20:49.440 -> 20:56.960] are two contrasting topics. But quick reflexes, decision making and being synced with the machine
[20:56.960 -> 21:02.720] become one with it is common in both sports. Nice, that's good to know. I was just going to
[21:02.720 -> 21:07.340] ask you about what do you think helps you better?
[21:07.340 -> 21:11.640] Does being a pilot make you a better racer or being a racer make you a better pilot?
[21:11.640 -> 21:17.400] See, racing did come first and they definitely helped me because, I mean not to brag, but
[21:17.400 -> 21:20.880] as I said, I was the first pilot to get a solo in a batch, which means you're allowed
[21:20.880 -> 21:22.880] to fly the aircraft alone as a student pilot.
[21:22.880 -> 21:26.000] Then I did reasonably well in my Airbus career.
[21:26.320 -> 21:30.500] But even flying helped me a lot with racing because in flying, we study a lot
[21:30.500 -> 21:33.880] before we touch the machine and knowledge really is power.
[21:34.240 -> 21:37.880] And even in racing, I studied the engines, I studied the car and stayed
[21:37.880 -> 21:39.080] with the engineers for long hours.
[21:39.520 -> 21:42.260] And if you've seen the movie Rush about Nikhil Aura and James
[21:42.260 -> 21:45.840] Hart, in the end Nikhil Aura goes to fly an airplane and he says
[21:45.840 -> 21:50.480] the discipline of this will help me race so I think it's quite similar with me and it helps.
[21:51.120 -> 21:57.760] That's great, nice. So one from what I know most racers don't really get a lot of track time in
[21:57.760 -> 22:02.800] general like you don't actually get to drive on those tracks a lot it's mostly just the free
[22:02.800 -> 22:05.120] practice sessions that you get and if any
[22:05.120 -> 22:11.120] other race, if you're participating in any other racing category, you probably might race there.
[22:11.760 -> 22:17.840] Overall, the free practice sessions are pretty much what you get to drive on this track. So
[22:17.840 -> 22:25.280] one question I had for you was, first of all, with such limited practice time that you get on a track, how do you, you know,
[22:25.360 -> 22:30.520] tune yourself to a new track or what's the preparation that's kind of required
[22:30.560 -> 22:32.880] to, you know, even go into a race.
[22:33.880 -> 22:34.160] Right.
[22:34.440 -> 22:35.200] That is true.
[22:35.480 -> 22:37.360] Those many drivers get testing.
[22:37.360 -> 22:40.120] They do personal testing and who have the budget, who have the time, but
[22:40.120 -> 22:51.360] because of racing and flying, I've always had to somehow show up just on race day even and you know, miss a lot of practice and just go directly into a pre-practice qualifying.
[22:51.360 -> 22:55.440] And it is tough, but I think you just rise to the occasion.
[22:55.440 -> 22:59.280] I had to do it and I was thankful I was competitive most times.
[22:59.280 -> 23:04.440] So we make, I make notes, books, we, and note all our breaking points.
[23:04.440 -> 23:07.240] So I try to do that, but the car, the track conditions change often.
[23:07.720 -> 23:11.220] So yeah, you need to, you need budget, not just for racing, for track time, for
[23:11.220 -> 23:14.960] tires, most of the races in the Air Force, I was driving on old tires.
[23:19.140 -> 23:21.920] So you're obviously losing two seconds with that.
[23:22.380 -> 23:29.640] But I just learned from the beginning, you know, if you can drive a car drive a car which doesn't handle well when you're given a car which handles well
[23:29.640 -> 23:32.880] you'll be really flying so that's my endeavor most of the time.
[23:32.880 -> 23:39.240] Then like fitness and things like that. There's this notion of sim racing as well
[23:39.240 -> 23:43.960] right like it's huge so how much is it prevalent to the level that you've
[23:43.960 -> 23:45.200] gotten to and then you know how much is it prevalent to the level that you've gotten to?
[23:50.000 -> 23:51.200] And then, you know, how much have you used it yourself up until the F4 level?
[23:54.440 -> 23:58.040] Yeah, so I did purchase a simulator, which was a home simulator with some feedback on the wheels and the pedals, but I could never get the time to install
[23:58.040 -> 24:00.200] it because I fly so much, say four sectors a day.
[24:00.560 -> 24:04.280] And then, then I prefer spending time in the gym than doing the simulator.
[24:04.600 -> 24:07.320] But, and in India, we don't have a lot of full motion simulators.
[24:07.680 -> 24:12.040] They're starting to install some in Coimbatore now, but I did try the F3
[24:12.040 -> 24:16.040] simulator when I went to Sepang because I was planning to drive the F3
[24:16.040 -> 24:17.120] Winter Series last year.
[24:17.760 -> 24:19.560] And they're quite fast.
[24:19.600 -> 24:23.320] You can feel the tiredness in our simulator as well.
[24:23.680 -> 24:24.440] They're helpful.
[24:24.720 -> 24:25.680] It's really prevalent in
[24:25.680 -> 24:30.400] Europe and I think all drivers should have a sim at home. So the feedback is not
[24:30.400 -> 24:36.560] not at all like a car but it gives you racing lines etc.
[24:36.560 -> 24:41.880] Makes sense and how have you seen like in general I think simulators at least
[24:41.880 -> 24:45.000] you know have grown in popularity more in the recent years.
[24:45.000 -> 24:50.120] So probably like when you started your racing career, they were not as prevalent,
[24:50.120 -> 24:51.840] but I think these days they have.
[24:51.840 -> 24:54.720] Visualization helps.
[24:54.760 -> 24:57.360] We used to visualize the sports psychology.
[24:57.760 -> 25:01.000] This all I could afford much later in life, but initially it was all just
[25:01.600 -> 25:02.160] swinging it.
[25:02.520 -> 25:04.120] So just visualization helps.
[25:06.000 -> 25:14.000] Yeah, I think, even in Rush, I think I had seen where this guy, James Hantu, mentions the same thing of visualization.
[25:14.000 -> 25:19.000] Yeah, right. Like I think they do the track walks, at least what they show pre-race.
[25:19.000 -> 25:24.000] The track walks are also them having this muscle memory of, you know, where they are going to break,
[25:24.000 -> 25:28.960] where they are going to downshift, upshift upshift and on the track it's just seeing the
[25:28.960 -> 25:32.960] next corner while they are on this first one so I think it's all muscle memory
[25:32.960 -> 25:37.320] and then obviously the the vision of the track that they already have in their mind.
[25:37.320 -> 25:41.800] And some racing magic. True, true that.
[25:41.800 -> 25:45.760] So in karting we used to do a lot of track walks but as the racetrack gets bigger it
[25:45.760 -> 25:50.000] becomes difficult to do them and you've got track authorities for there's so many
[25:50.000 -> 25:52.080] championship running side by side.
[25:57.040 -> 26:02.000] Sometimes we take a track drive which is not but yeah it's always a good thing to walk the track
[26:02.000 -> 26:08.000] you know the elevation and sometimes in the car you think there's only so much place to brake but when you walk you see there is a lot.
[26:08.000 -> 26:26.840] Interesting. Okay that's a good perspective. I did not know that, that walking also had so much that you can learn before the practice session. That's nice. I think you've recently been our ambassador to the W Series which is
[26:26.840 -> 26:33.840] which is I think or the 2019 formulated consortium. So can you tell what the W
[26:33.840 -> 26:38.720] Series is, you know how did you get about getting into it and you know what's the
[26:38.720 -> 26:43.840] experience been like? Yeah it was a great experience, they were looking for
[26:43.840 -> 26:45.000] drivers across the world so they approached us, me on Twitter. Yeah it was a great experience. They were looking for drivers across the world.
[26:45.000 -> 26:47.000] So they approached me on Twitter.
[26:47.000 -> 26:48.000] Yeah, it was really a tough time.
[26:48.000 -> 26:50.000] I just recovered from a knee injury.
[26:50.000 -> 26:53.000] I had just lost my mother and just become captain.
[26:53.000 -> 26:58.000] And yeah, it was really stressful, but I had to really, I wanted to go.
[26:58.000 -> 27:01.000] So it was in Austria, the selection.
[27:01.000 -> 27:03.000] And it was a championship of Formula 3 cars.
[27:03.000 -> 27:05.360] The selection were on Porsche and Ford
[27:05.360 -> 27:09.120] on the track which has skid pad, kick pad and the first time I had to drive in ice and snow
[27:09.120 -> 27:13.840] conditions which is a real disadvantage for Indians because we don't have those conditions
[27:13.840 -> 27:18.320] at a racetrack but whatever it was fun. We had fitness sessions, we were trained by Formula 1
[27:18.320 -> 27:28.240] driver, fitness coaches, psychology tests, teamwork, a lot of stuff, print tests, you know stuff but I enjoyed it and then they
[27:28.240 -> 27:32.040] selected me as a regional ambassador for promoting the show. Congratulations.
[27:32.040 -> 27:37.040] Hope to go for one of the races. Well thanks, hope to drive the car too. Looking forward to it.
[27:37.040 -> 27:46.880] But then there were only about 18 seats. Thank you. So yes, that along with, they are driving along Formula 1 this year, two races.
[27:46.880 -> 27:51.840] It's an all-women's championship of F3, which is encouraging women in motorsport. It's fully
[27:51.840 -> 27:57.120] sponsored, which is great. And they have drivers from many countries. That's nice. That's really
[27:57.120 -> 28:08.700] nice. And you said it was all more than wet, so obviously like icy conditions. So, can you tell us how does the pre-race or the pre-drive briefing
[28:08.700 -> 28:13.700] and actually driving experience compare to, let's say, you driving in Sepang?
[28:14.700 -> 28:19.400] Sepang rains a lot too or it gets very hot, but it was ice and snow.
[28:19.400 -> 28:22.600] They didn't brief us much, it was a selection program.
[28:22.600 -> 28:25.440] We basically avoid the curbs, we do not go on the
[28:26.400 -> 28:34.480] exit curb and just do not crash. There were people who crashed and there were a lot of driving in
[28:34.480 -> 28:39.360] high gears, but they want to see how smooth you are. You drive in a fourth gear throughout the track
[28:39.360 -> 28:47.000] and there are really slow corners without stalling the car. Then they put your car on a shopping cart
[28:47.000 -> 28:53.000] wheels. You will only have front wheels, the rear tyres will be lifted on these strollers
[28:53.000 -> 28:59.000] and there will be so many cones to navigate. So I did that reasonably well at a slower
[28:59.000 -> 29:15.000] pace. I didn't want to crash. It was a slow exercise. But there were a lot of interesting things and you had to do a continuous skid, a 360 skid, bad slippery, there were water fountains and you have really heavy rear wheel driven cars which oversteer.
[29:15.000 -> 29:21.000] So you have to make sure you keep a continuous skid in 4 sections, come out, drive in a very narrow section fast.
[29:21.000 -> 29:26.000] The driving fast part I got right, there was snow and ice, yeah, but maybe a little more track.
[29:26.000 -> 29:28.000] That must be an experience
[29:28.000 -> 29:30.000] and a challenge at the same time, I guess.
[29:31.000 -> 29:32.000] Yeah, so I think
[29:32.000 -> 29:35.000] one other thing I wanted to ask about was
[29:35.000 -> 29:36.000] I think recently
[29:36.000 -> 29:39.000] during Monaco GP
[29:39.000 -> 29:40.000] there was this incident
[29:40.000 -> 29:42.000] which had become quite popular
[29:42.000 -> 29:44.000] where Nikita Mazepin, his engineer,
[29:44.000 -> 29:45.160] was asking him
[29:45.160 -> 29:50.760] for really complicated things on the steering wheel to change some settings and he was basically
[29:50.760 -> 29:55.520] saying that I can't do it at all, given that this is Monaco.
[29:55.520 -> 30:01.680] So I wanted to get your perspective as to what all other things that you need to manage
[30:01.680 -> 30:04.280] while you're racing.
[30:04.280 -> 30:05.600] Obviously trying to just go as
[30:05.600 -> 30:10.320] fast as you can is one part of the thing but I'm pretty sure you're doing a million things while
[30:10.320 -> 30:17.120] actually you know racing so just wanted to get some insight from you about it. Yeah so basically
[30:17.120 -> 30:22.000] a lot of people think racing is an individual sport but no doubt there's not a football team
[30:22.000 -> 30:25.400] and you know it's one against one but it's actually a very heavy team sport.
[30:25.400 -> 30:30.320] There are at least like 15 people behind one car and that's counting on the lower side.
[30:30.360 -> 30:35.120] So having a good driver-engineer sync is really important. It really decides how
[30:35.520 -> 30:40.220] well you perform. When you come and give feedback to the driver, he has to be able to communicate.
[30:40.220 -> 30:41.240] That's the driver's job.
[30:41.240 -> 30:45.680] The engineer has to be able to understand what is in the car that he has to change and
[30:45.680 -> 30:46.680] things like that.
[30:46.680 -> 30:48.440] Either one cannot be very pushy.
[30:48.440 -> 30:49.800] Some engineers can get very stiff.
[30:49.800 -> 30:51.960] No, this is how I want to drive.
[30:51.960 -> 30:56.160] And some drivers may not give proper feedback and a big cry baby.
[30:56.160 -> 31:00.160] So it's like that.
[31:00.160 -> 31:02.800] But I'm sure that is a tough track.
[31:02.800 -> 31:10.760] There's very few overtaking opportunities. And I think, again, Hamilton had a huge issue with his engineers and he kind of spoke about it publicly.
[31:11.120 -> 31:12.520] So, yeah, it's tough.
[31:13.560 -> 31:15.760] But yeah, you need to have a good sync with the engineers.
[31:15.880 -> 31:26.480] One follow up there I want to know is like, you know, they call the F1, at least the racing car as a cockpit when the driver is in there.
[31:26.480 -> 31:32.360] And similar to, you know, the million things that go on in the driver's mind, I'm pretty
[31:32.360 -> 31:37.120] sure there are millions of things going on in your mind as a pilot as well with so many
[31:37.120 -> 31:38.120] buttons.
[31:38.120 -> 31:41.160] You're continuously talking to the air traffic controller.
[31:41.160 -> 31:44.240] You're trying to keep everyone safe behind you and all of those things.
[31:44.240 -> 31:47.600] So how does that cockpit compare to the other cockpit in terms of, you are trying to keep everyone safe behind you and all of those things. So how does that cockpit compare to the other cockpit
[31:47.600 -> 31:51.920] in terms of you know the millions of things that you have to navigate?
[31:51.920 -> 31:56.160] So in racing, in flying, you are thought to be ahead of the aircraft.
[31:56.160 -> 32:00.160] You are always planning ahead. Only the critical phases like take-off, landing and certain
[32:00.160 -> 32:03.360] manoeuvres, you have to be right quick quick quick. So otherwise you're flying
[32:03.360 -> 32:11.280] ahead of the aircraft. In racing, also you have to be right quick quick quick so otherwise you're flunked ahead of the aircraft and racing also you have to do that but things are much faster. So no doubt the mind is overloaded
[32:11.280 -> 32:18.000] and you have to be able to handle that you can't snap or blank out like in the mind and in the cockpit
[32:18.000 -> 32:22.320] you have one another person of course officer which you are the captain of the crew. Here in the cockpit
[32:22.320 -> 32:30.960] you're pretty much alone you have radios but sometimes the radios are more distracting than helping so that also matters. So it's similar but there are
[32:30.960 -> 32:35.440] a lot of buttons you need to and especially in Formula One you have the RS and all these other
[32:35.440 -> 32:42.080] things so yes it is distracting on the mind of the driver and more than that you just want to drive.
[32:42.080 -> 32:48.240] For a driver the car is like a go-kart, You want to just drive, feel the tires, feel the wheel, the grip and all of that.
[32:48.240 -> 32:53.440] And then you have all these controls and people telling you what to do. So it gets stressful.
[32:53.440 -> 32:59.680] We've seen that you had mentioned that you are not afraid of losing or even
[32:59.680 -> 33:05.960] dying to that matter but what you are afraid of is a DNF, did not finish. Now what I want
[33:05.960 -> 33:09.720] to know is from a very glamour point of view and someone who's not you know
[33:09.720 -> 33:15.400] known to the sport, it's more so glamour that if you're on the podium or
[33:15.400 -> 33:18.040] if you're in the top five and then no one sort of cares what's happening
[33:18.040 -> 33:22.680] behind. But for a driver who's even getting lapped twice, there is just that
[33:22.680 -> 33:28.640] push and adrenaline rush and you know that energy that they want to finish as you've also said. So I want to
[33:28.640 -> 33:33.360] sort of get this comparison between you know how a layman thinks what glamorous
[33:33.360 -> 33:37.160] is and then versus what goes in your mind even if you're getting lapped twice
[33:37.160 -> 33:46.800] for example. Yeah that is true, thankfully I have not been lapped twice. I hope it never happens. Exactly.
[33:53.600 -> 33:58.400] But it is because like my mechanics told me the once that I had just gotten out of dengue, out of the hospital and I'd gone into the race car so I was struggling a bit but I had good
[33:58.400 -> 34:03.680] racing in the mid pack so I was like yeah the race wasn't great. They said you know what you
[34:03.680 -> 34:06.080] think the racing is only the top three drivers,
[34:06.080 -> 34:08.960] but for us, racing is wherever we see two cars fighting with each
[34:08.960 -> 34:10.120] other and trying to clear ahead.
[34:10.480 -> 34:12.120] That's what real racing is all about.
[34:12.520 -> 34:16.720] And, and it really matters to the driver and to the spectators also
[34:16.720 -> 34:18.800] to really see some real racing.
[34:18.800 -> 34:21.040] Otherwise it's just qualifying laps that we're driving.
[34:21.400 -> 34:23.480] Which you know, Hamilton was doing until last year.
[34:23.880 -> 34:24.380] Exactly.
[34:23.760 -> 34:25.760] last year's title, which Lewis Hamilton was doing until last year. Exactly.
[34:28.560 -> 34:32.800] Yeah and it is really, I want to finish a race because
[34:32.800 -> 34:36.000] you want to get the points, you want to get the experience and it's the
[34:36.000 -> 34:40.000] satisfaction that you receive and like someone wise told me that to win a race
[34:40.000 -> 34:43.600] you have to first finish a race. So that's my goal always.
[34:43.600 -> 34:45.680] Fair enough, that's very wise advice.
[34:47.760 -> 34:56.000] And on that as a follow-up too, what would be your sort of two-word sentence to
[34:56.000 -> 35:01.840] a newbie who's listening and trying to get into the sport but is still in that mindset that hey,
[35:02.720 -> 35:09.600] you know as a kid because I say this because I remember as a kid Naren Karthikeyan used to run with JWT or someone who was a
[35:09.600 -> 35:15.240] backmarker and people around me used to be like yeah yeah like Naren Karthikeyan
[35:15.240 -> 35:19.840] used to drive for a backmarker and people used to say that hey look at an
[35:19.840 -> 35:24.760] Indian he's never winning podiums and and my thought would be like he's got it there.
[35:24.760 -> 35:28.800] So he's for the things set by an Indian only. Exactly.
[35:28.800 -> 35:32.800] I love my country but a lot of knowledge goes into the sport. Exactly.
[35:32.800 -> 35:36.800] Yeah, that's where the awareness comes in, right? Like I think it's just that awareness that
[35:36.800 -> 35:40.800] needs to rise so that people realize that every position
[35:40.800 -> 35:44.800] and every level, not just F1, is equally important.
[35:44.800 -> 35:47.580] For me, racing is like
[35:47.580 -> 35:52.240] a job so for me to have a job is like have a seat in the office, a table in the office
[35:52.240 -> 36:07.840] for me to have a seat to drive, that's my job. So that's how I think Formula One also is and that's your career and as you go higher it's so much more about the team, the car, the money which goes into the score.
[36:07.840 -> 36:09.240] So it's not a one-make series.
[36:09.240 -> 36:09.740] That's right.
[36:09.740 -> 36:13.740] And even in a one-make series where all the cars are equal, they have one team owner,
[36:13.740 -> 36:16.240] it's still there are some differences in the car.
[36:16.240 -> 36:22.240] So yes, I think he's done a great job for the country and I'm hoping to drive with him soon.
[36:22.240 -> 36:23.240] We're in talks.
[36:23.240 -> 36:27.000] Oh, we look forward to that. Definitely look forward to it.
[36:27.000 -> 36:30.000] Drive in his team, under his leadership.
[36:30.000 -> 36:32.000] Nice, nice, nice.
[36:32.000 -> 36:34.000] That's pretty awesome.
[36:34.000 -> 36:37.000] It's an achievement nonetheless, yes.
[36:37.000 -> 36:40.000] Switching gears a little bit from here.
[36:40.000 -> 36:45.500] One thing I wanted to kind of ask you about was injuries in general and like
[36:45.500 -> 36:51.520] you know motorsports. I mean motorsports probably is the most or one of the most
[36:51.520 -> 36:58.080] dangerous sports out there and you know like certain sports have certain you
[36:58.080 -> 37:03.000] know typical injuries that happen but I wanted to get some perspective about how
[37:03.000 -> 37:07.100] much injuries do affect you overall and what
[37:07.100 -> 37:09.800] kind of injuries are more common among motorsports.
[37:09.800 -> 37:13.400] Yeah, so motorsport is a dangerous sport, we all know that.
[37:13.400 -> 37:17.880] It's a non-contact sport, no contact sport but there is contact or cars flip and a lot
[37:17.880 -> 37:18.880] of things happen.
[37:18.880 -> 37:22.840] So good thing about it is you have a lot of safety gear, the cars are designed in a very
[37:22.840 -> 37:26.240] safe manner but the difficult
[37:26.240 -> 37:32.560] part is we've seen a lot of deaths we've seen people who develop disabilities and a lot of
[37:32.560 -> 37:39.360] burns etc. I myself had a share of them because I've had rib fractures hairline also because I
[37:39.360 -> 37:44.400] couldn't afford a rib protector which you need to wear in carting so I've had that I've had petrol
[37:44.400 -> 37:45.280] burns where the
[37:45.280 -> 37:50.960] petrol was leaking out of the tank. I was doing a 24-hour endurance run and then I just got burnt
[37:50.960 -> 37:54.800] because I drove the maximum in my team nine and a half hours but I was supposed to drive for just
[37:54.800 -> 37:59.920] four hours. So that happened then I've had a headline fracture in the spine, a really bad crash
[37:59.920 -> 38:04.160] because of another driver just coming in the way. If you lose control you wait till people pass you
[38:04.160 -> 38:09.040] but some people just come in too quick. That's one. Then I had both my knees injured. It happened
[38:09.040 -> 38:14.080] off track but it was a workout injury. My health crashed between racing and flying because in
[38:14.080 -> 38:20.000] flying also we have pressurization changes. Our lungs, all our organs go through about four
[38:20.000 -> 38:25.240] pressurization cycles and then you work out you do not recover as another
[38:25.240 -> 38:28.860] athlete would but the trainer doesn't know that you can't work on your
[38:28.860 -> 38:36.140] nutrition. I've injured my knees and neck spasms and a lot of I get like these
[38:36.140 -> 38:45.700] bolts in my hand because I'm blistered. Yeah so those things It's a part of it. If you're lucky, you'll survive.
[38:45.700 -> 38:49.900] And if not, you'll be doing what you love.
[38:49.900 -> 38:54.500] Oh yeah, that's the good part.
[38:54.500 -> 38:58.700] The positive part is, hopefully, this never happens to anyone in the sport.
[38:58.700 -> 39:01.400] But you went doing what you were loving.
[39:01.400 -> 39:07.120] On a lighter note, I've heard that the the brakes are way
[39:07.120 -> 39:12.200] too tight and it takes real practice to hit those brakes even at like 50%
[39:12.200 -> 39:18.440] capacity or 70% capacity to in a real racing car, is that true? Yeah, it's really
[39:18.440 -> 39:23.280] hard, you need to have strong glutes and the travel of the brakes is really less, so you need to jump on it.
[39:23.280 -> 39:25.560] Matter of fact, I have the record brake pressure
[39:25.560 -> 39:27.600] in the 2019 championship.
[39:27.600 -> 39:29.320] I was braking the hardest.
[39:29.320 -> 39:33.080] So they were like, oh, how heavy is your foot?
[39:33.080 -> 39:37.120] But whatever, that worked out for me.
[39:37.120 -> 39:39.480] But then again, you have to brake hard, but brake also
[39:39.480 -> 39:41.880] in a moderating manner, or else you just
[39:41.880 -> 39:43.800] ruin your tires very fast.
[39:43.800 -> 39:44.360] So it depends.
[39:44.360 -> 39:46.400] There's trail braking and this and that.
[39:46.400 -> 39:51.600] So yeah, you have to brake very hard and you need to have a lot of core neck. Sometimes your neck is just
[39:52.160 -> 39:57.200] shaking and sometimes cutting my neck would hang on the side where I can see the corner and drive.
[39:57.200 -> 40:02.320] So it was a little funny and embarrassing but now I feel I'm much stronger because I went to the
[40:02.320 -> 40:08.360] special gym in Chennai which trains motorsport drivers. So they push you to the point where you puke sometimes.
[40:09.040 -> 40:11.280] So yeah, really your metabolism goes that high.
[40:12.240 -> 40:17.680] It's interesting because you say neck spasm and that made me think about G's.
[40:17.960 -> 40:21.080] So technically you are experiencing all G's, right?
[40:21.080 -> 40:25.400] Like both longitudinal and latitudinal G's because as a racer you
[40:25.400 -> 40:29.680] are experiencing latitudinal G's but as a pilot your experience is vertical G's
[40:29.680 -> 40:35.080] right? Yeah thankfully I'm not doing fighter flying but we experience lateral G's while
[40:35.080 -> 40:38.840] turning also in the aircraft but yeah we have heavy lateral G's which are more difficult.
[40:38.840 -> 40:43.400] Vertical G's are more like you are being pushed into your seat which is fine but
[40:43.400 -> 40:48.680] here you are it's like in Sepang's a very interesting fast left and right. So the weight transfer
[40:48.680 -> 40:53.560] is really big in the car and if you don't use the right, you are flying off. So yeah,
[40:53.560 -> 40:58.400] you need to be able to handle that and do it quick to understand the weight. You can't
[40:58.400 -> 41:04.400] do this because now the car is just jerking. It has to squat and then you go back. So yeah,
[41:04.400 -> 41:05.000] like that.
[41:05.000 -> 41:06.000] Fair enough.
[41:06.000 -> 41:07.000] That's great.
[41:07.000 -> 41:14.000] As a parting few questions, I think one thing that we wanted to bring up is,
[41:14.000 -> 41:22.000] what advice would you want to give to adults who are, you know, looking to back young talent
[41:22.000 -> 41:25.960] but have no knowledge about what's happening in this
[41:25.960 -> 41:33.000] area of sport. I would just say to understand to explore the internet. There's an FMSCI website,
[41:33.000 -> 41:40.120] which is a national sporting authority and along with that to also keep your studies going on the
[41:40.120 -> 41:49.280] side because not only is it an expensive sport, it's very difficult to get paid in motorsport. Even in Formula 1, a lot of drivers are doing paid rides. They're paying for the seat,
[41:49.280 -> 41:53.840] of course, I respect that and they love what they're doing but you need to keep your education
[41:53.840 -> 41:59.440] on the side. You need to work on sponsors, on branding and fitness. It's not glamour and
[41:59.440 -> 42:03.360] just because you're driving fast on the racetrack doesn't mean you can do the same on the road.
[42:03.360 -> 42:07.240] I do a lot of road safety campaigns for the so many road accidents and
[42:07.240 -> 42:14.240] things like that. So that's not an environment which is designed to drive fast in the pedestrian.
[42:14.240 -> 42:21.560] Okay, all fair, good advice. I think one more thing there is then also for the
[42:21.560 -> 42:25.600] other side too, right. Like if I am say 10 years old
[42:25.600 -> 42:32.200] today and I'm just too fascinated seeing Sneha Sharma driving on that track and I
[42:32.200 -> 42:38.600] want to be like her, what's advice to me on how I should
[42:38.600 -> 42:49.400] approach my career so that when I am 25, I'm driving internationally. Advice, I would say that keep your head down and drive, drive whatever car you
[42:49.400 -> 42:54.520] get, make sure like I earned the right to follow my passion because I fulfilled
[42:54.520 -> 42:55.440] my responsibilities.
[42:55.760 -> 42:57.840] That's how I was able to do it.
[42:58.240 -> 43:03.760] So that's what I would tell them, you have to work hard, success will happen
[43:03.760 -> 43:04.880] outside your comfort zone.
[43:04.880 -> 43:09.520] So keep at it, do not get disheartened, do not expect your parents to do all the work for you.
[43:09.840 -> 43:14.400] Because I've seen a lot of talent, a lot of people who work quick and you know, they would
[43:14.400 -> 43:18.400] have the parents bringing them to the racetrack and things like that.
[43:18.400 -> 43:20.480] And now I don't see them on the racetrack anymore.
[43:20.880 -> 43:23.360] So you have to be self-made.
[43:23.360 -> 43:26.000] I think that's a way to really go up in life.
[43:26.000 -> 43:28.000] And also use all available resources.
[43:28.000 -> 43:30.000] Alright, alright.
[43:30.000 -> 43:32.000] That's great advice.
[43:32.000 -> 43:38.000] Well, I'm glad that you spent some time with us, just chatting with us today.
[43:38.000 -> 43:40.000] We enjoyed talking to you.
[43:40.000 -> 43:50.240] I mean, the insight that you provided about things, how a thinks you know that that was really good to hear from you so yeah I'm
[43:50.240 -> 43:57.520] quite glad that we had this chat. Likewise, likewise. We look forward to many more.
[43:57.520 -> 44:03.040] Thank you and bye bye. Best of luck for your future career. Thank you.
[44:03.040 -> 44:08.720] Alright folks that was a very spectacular episode, at least for me,
[44:08.720 -> 44:10.240] talking to Sneha Sharma.
[44:10.600 -> 44:15.760] If you still haven't synced with my first sentence that she's a gem of a person
[44:15.760 -> 44:17.440] down to earth and very modest.
[44:18.400 -> 44:23.120] Well, I don't know what I can do to change your mind because she's convinced me
[44:23.120 -> 44:24.280] double than what I was.
[44:23.720 -> 44:30.720] what I can do to change your mind because she's convinced me double than what I was. With that said, we'll see you in the next episode on our launch session
[44:30.720 -> 44:36.280] with F1 fanfiction fireside chats. Until then, these are your hosts signing off.
[44:36.280 -> 44:44.280] Bye-bye.
[44:37.800 -> 44:39.800] you