F1 Car Launch Midterms | Ford in F1 Reactions | Grid Walk Feb 9, 2023

Another week, another Thursday, another new episode of Grid Walk! This week Nicole and Briana share their reactions to the latest car launches: MoneyGram Haas F1 Team, Oracle Red Bull Racing, Williams Racing, and Alfa Romeo F1 Team Stake. Which F1 driver did we think were PR rockstars? Briana and Nicole also share their wishlist for the upcoming Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 Team launch!

FIA President Mohammed Ben Sulayem will be stepping back from overseeing the day to day operations of Formula 1. Briana and Nicole speculate what this announcement really means and what effect Mohammed Ben Sulayem’s change of responsibilities will have on Andretti Autosport | Cadillac/General Motors’ F1 bid.

It was a surprise to almost no one - Ford Motor Company announced their return to Formula 1 as a strategic partner to Oracle Red Bull Racing starting in the 2026 season. Will Ford Motor Company and Oracle Red Bull Racing make a good pair?

Everyone is excited for the 2023 Formula 1 Las Vegas Grand Prix. Local Las Vegas lawmakers of Clark County have already approved the return of the Formula 1 Las Vegas Grand Prix until 2032! What does this say about America’s presence in F1? Will what happens in Vegas really stay in Vegas?

The former CEO of the Formula One Group, Chase Carey, had previously discussed the goal of having every F1 race weekend feel like a Super Bowl weekend. In the spirit of this weekend’s big game, Briana and Nicole talk about what F1 is doing to achieve this SUPER feeling and everything they could do to get closer.

Grid Walk is a weekly Formula 1 show that releases every Thursday. For daily F1 content follow @gridwalkshow on all social media platforms.

**Car Launches:**

* The Formula One car launch season is in full swing, with teams unveiling their new liveries and providing insights into their upcoming campaigns.

* Some key highlights include:

* Williams' concise and professional launch, focusing on their new Gulf Oil partnership and featuring an interview with Jamie Chadwick.

* Red Bull's entertaining launch, which included appearances by Daniel Ricciardo and Alex Albon, as well as pyrotechnics and a focus on their expanded involvement in extreme sports.

* Alfa Romeo's launch, which generated mixed reactions due to its morning talk show format and failure to meet expectations.

* Overall, there have been differing opinions among fans regarding the car launches, with some appreciating the entertainment value and others expressing disappointment at the lack of technical details.

**Communication and Expectations:**

* The varying reactions to the car launches have prompted discussions about the importance of clear communication from teams regarding their launch goals and content.

* Some fans feel misled when they expect to see the actual car but are presented with a livery launch instead.

* Teams need to manage expectations by accurately conveying what to expect from their launches to avoid disappointing fans.

* The launches are often used to showcase sponsorships and partnerships, which can lead to varying levels of fan engagement depending on their interests.

**Upcoming Launches:**

* Several car launches are still to come, including AlphaTauri in New York City, Aston Martin and McLaren sharing a day, Ferrari, Mercedes, and Alpine.

* Fans are eagerly anticipating the Mercedes launch, particularly the possibility of a black livery, which would symbolize confidence in the car's performance.

**FIA President's Step Back:**

* Mohammed bin Sulayem, the FIA President, has announced that he will step back from his day-to-day duties in Formula One.

* This move is widely seen as a result of pressure from Formula One, which was unhappy with bin Sulayem's public comments and actions.

* The announcement states that bin Sulayem will still be involved in major decision-making, but many believe that his influence will be diminished.

**Impact on Andretti and GM's F1 Entry:**

* The change in bin Sulayem's role may negatively affect Andretti and GM's efforts to enter Formula One.

* Andretti had hoped to gain support from the FIA in their bid to join the grid, but bin Sulayem's diminished influence could weaken their chances.

* The situation remains uncertain, and it is unclear how this development will impact Andretti and GM's F1 aspirations.

The podcast episode delves into Formula One's quest to make every race feel like the Super Bowl, as envisioned by former F1 CEO Chase Carey. The discussion centers around three key aspects that contribute to the Super Bowl's unique status:

1. **High Stakes:** The Super Bowl represents the championship game, where teams compete for the ultimate prize. In F1, this translates to the championship battle, where drivers and teams strive for the World Championship titles.

2. **Extensive Media Coverage:** The Super Bowl attracts media attention from various outlets, including traditional sports media and non-sports platforms. F1 aims to replicate this by expanding its media reach beyond traditional motorsports outlets to capture a broader audience.

3. **City Involvement:** The Super Bowl transforms the host city into a hub of activities and activations, creating a festive atmosphere. F1 seeks to engage cities hosting races by organizing events and activations that immerse fans in the racing experience.

The hosts, Briana L. Klein and Nicole Katz, analyze F1's progress in achieving these goals. They acknowledge that while some races, like the Miami Grand Prix, have successfully captured the Super Bowl spirit, others still have room for improvement. They emphasize the importance of local city involvement and engaging non-traditional media outlets to enhance the overall fan experience.

The episode also covers various news and updates from the F1 world, including Ford's partnership with Red Bull Powertrains, the extension of the Las Vegas Grand Prix contract until 2032, and the upcoming car launches and testing sessions.

Overall, the podcast provides an insightful analysis of F1's efforts to elevate its races to the level of the Super Bowl, highlighting both the successes and areas for further development.

[00:00.000 -> 00:04.720] Now we're here. It's beginning of February and it's finally happened.
[00:05.680 -> 00:06.800] Are you excited?
[00:06.800 -> 00:08.640] I'm very excited.
[00:17.320 -> 00:19.800] I feel really fancy with my background lighting.
[00:19.800 -> 00:23.120] It's not picking it up as well because my production quality is not as high as
[00:23.120 -> 00:25.560] Williams, but I am trying to go with an orange
[00:25.560 -> 00:28.520] and blue lighting on the floor.
[00:28.520 -> 00:31.160] But yeah, we got some high production value.
[00:31.160 -> 00:34.880] And you look like you're at a birthday party.
[00:34.880 -> 00:39.880] So do you mind explaining your wonderful setup
[00:39.960 -> 00:41.500] and for any particular reason
[00:41.500 -> 00:45.600] as to why you are surrounded by balloons?
[00:50.240 -> 00:55.920] Yeah, so if you're listening to us, just know you can go to our YouTube channel because we now have a visual component to this and you can watch us break down in laughter
[00:55.920 -> 00:59.600] or if you ever wondered when Brianna goes on a rant about something,
[00:59.600 -> 01:05.680] like what does Nicole's face look like or or vice versa, but now you can.
[01:05.680 -> 01:08.700] A mental picture for anyone listening to this on audio,
[01:08.700 -> 01:11.200] I am currently sitting in like a, I don't know,
[01:11.200 -> 01:14.880] like a loveseat cushion with my Eagles pillow,
[01:14.880 -> 01:17.740] my Philadelphia Eagles blanket,
[01:17.740 -> 01:22.200] and three massive helium balloons shaped like footballs
[01:22.200 -> 01:25.960] that say the Eagles on them because it's Super
[01:25.960 -> 01:32.820] Bowl week and the Eagles are gonna be in the Super Bowl! Eagles are gonna be in the Super Bowl!
[01:32.820 -> 01:37.720] So I'd be lying if I said that most of this is because of the Super Bowl like
[01:37.720 -> 01:43.920] all most of this will actually be here next week as well win or lose but the
[01:43.920 -> 01:46.720] balloons are because of the Super Bowl.
[01:46.720 -> 01:52.080] I live in Southern California and I walked into my grocery store,
[01:52.080 -> 01:57.200] completely unsuspecting, and I live about a half a mile from my grocery store so I
[01:57.200 -> 02:00.720] walk there every day. I needed to pick up some cupcakes for my mom's birthday
[02:00.720 -> 02:05.920] last night, walked into Gelson's, and the Gelson's grocery store was
[02:05.920 -> 02:14.360] just full of these Philadelphia Eagles football balloons. And that is nowhere near Southern
[02:14.360 -> 02:21.340] California. I flipped out. And then I, so I bought balloons for my home just to have
[02:21.340 -> 02:25.700] this them being in the podcast shot is an added perk. I just wanted to
[02:25.700 -> 02:30.020] have the balloons and then I walked them the half a mile home on a hiking trail.
[02:30.020 -> 02:35.020] So that's how my week's going. I'm a little excited. I have two questions. Okay,
[02:35.020 -> 02:39.980] I have one question and then one prediction. Okay. First question, did they
[02:39.980 -> 02:48.080] have Kansas City Chief balloons in Gelson's? Or did you just black out and only see Eagles?
[02:49.520 -> 02:55.920] Well, they did have Kansas City Chief balloons. They didn't have as many, and of course I was
[02:55.920 -> 03:01.520] talking to the very nice woman who was checking me out as I was purchasing said balloons,
[03:01.520 -> 03:05.400] and she said they just got in there that day and that they just
[03:05.400 -> 03:08.720] ordered more Eagles balloons so that's why there weren't a lot of Chiefs
[03:08.720 -> 03:14.120] balloons but there were a ton of Eagles balloons. Because they know that's your
[03:14.120 -> 03:19.320] Jelzons. Right, they were like there's this one particular woman who comes in
[03:19.320 -> 03:25.720] here every week and buys like two things and leaves and she's always wearing Eagle shirts, so
[03:27.720 -> 03:30.880] But did I black out and really only see the Eagle stuff
[03:30.880 -> 03:36.400] I would say 90% true until I started checking out and having a conversation with someone about them
[03:36.600 -> 03:39.200] So then my prediction is that?
[03:40.140 -> 03:42.720] Because unfortunately helium balloons can't last forever
[03:43.360 -> 03:45.220] if the Eagles win,
[03:47.440 -> 03:48.880] I feel like you're gonna go buy more balloons
[03:48.880 -> 03:52.240] and next week your setup is gonna look exactly like this.
[03:54.160 -> 03:58.480] Yes, I already have a plan to buy more Sunday morning
[03:58.480 -> 04:00.440] because I'm going over to my parents' house
[04:00.440 -> 04:01.820] to watch the game.
[04:01.820 -> 04:06.540] And I haven't told my dad or brother that these the
[04:06.540 -> 04:09.840] balloons are at the grocery store and I know they have no plans to go to the
[04:09.840 -> 04:13.480] grocery store between now and the Super Bowl so I'm going to show up to the
[04:13.480 -> 04:18.480] Super Bowl with like a giant bouquet of football-shaped Eagles balloons like
[04:18.480 -> 04:19.820] let's do this!
[04:19.820 -> 04:25.880] So we are in the thick of car launch season. I feel like we've been talking
[04:25.880 -> 04:28.720] about it's gonna be a car launch season, it's gonna be a car launch season.
[04:28.720 -> 04:34.680] Building up to the Haas announcement, which we discussed a little bit, then we
[04:34.680 -> 04:41.480] got Red Bull, and then we got Williams, and then we had Alfa Romeo. So they've
[04:41.480 -> 04:48.500] all been very different. We can definitely go through what we've loved, what we didn't love,
[04:48.500 -> 04:50.500] what we're expecting, what we're excited for,
[04:50.500 -> 04:55.000] but we just got to talk about car launches because we're just way too excited about them.
[04:55.000 -> 04:59.500] So what has particularly stood out to you as a highlight so far?
[04:59.500 -> 05:02.500] Can be any of the launches, it could just be overall.
[05:02.500 -> 05:05.040] What's your vibe so far? What's been the favorite
[05:05.040 -> 05:16.240] point? So I think my favorite moments have been the incredibly memable moments. So Marty during
[05:16.240 -> 05:30.800] the Red Bull launch calling for the president CEO of F1 and him not coming out. And it's probably tied with, I did really love Alfa Romeo leaking
[05:30.800 -> 05:36.400] their own livery before they launched. I just love a little bit of chaos. I think launches
[05:36.400 -> 05:45.520] need a little bit of chaos. The Alfa Romeo quote-unquote leak, I immediately when I saw it what was happening when I was
[05:45.520 -> 05:51.360] watching I was just imagining the production team fire backstage of just
[05:51.360 -> 05:56.760] well it's out there well it can't literally do anything now in two minutes
[05:56.760 -> 06:09.400] we'll reveal it but we did so we're just gonna ignore that it happened but we all saw it. Someone should have fed into Tom
[06:09.400 -> 06:15.280] Clarkson's earpiece to not say like, and I don't remember his exact quote, but like
[06:15.280 -> 06:18.640] he basically was like, and for the first time here's the livery and then they
[06:18.640 -> 06:24.360] went to like a really cool video but like it wasn't a short blunder it wasn't
[06:24.360 -> 06:26.440] like someone accidentally put the
[06:26.440 -> 06:31.540] photo up on the screen behind their talk show host table. They went through
[06:31.540 -> 06:39.080] multiple photos. It was a solid 60 to 90 seconds behind them talking about technical
[06:39.080 -> 06:42.720] updates and this interview that's happening of, oh yep that is definitely
[06:42.720 -> 06:46.120] not last year's livery. Okay. That has a lot of black in it and that's happening of, oh, yep, that is definitely not last year's livery, okay. That has a lot of black in it,
[06:46.120 -> 06:48.200] and that's different than things
[06:48.200 -> 06:49.320] we've seen before.
[06:49.320 -> 06:52.280] What about you?
[06:52.280 -> 06:53.200] What has been your
[06:53.200 -> 06:54.280] highlights and moments?
[06:54.280 -> 06:55.720] God, I'm so torn.
[06:55.720 -> 06:57.200] I just, again, first off,
[06:57.200 -> 06:59.640] because it's me and I am who I am,
[06:59.640 -> 07:01.640] and I will never apologize for it.
[07:01.640 -> 07:03.160] Red Bull's use of Danny Ricardo
[07:03.160 -> 07:05.960] the entire time was perfection.
[07:05.960 -> 07:06.680] It was beautiful.
[07:06.680 -> 07:07.880] They knew what they were doing.
[07:07.880 -> 07:10.120] They're like, look, welcome home.
[07:10.120 -> 07:13.560] We're gonna just have all these clips of him and him interviewing and
[07:13.560 -> 07:14.680] just everything that he said.
[07:14.680 -> 07:17.520] And he was just so happy and just, okay.
[07:17.520 -> 07:21.440] So now that I'm off my Daniel Ricardo soapbox, I tried to keep it short.
[07:21.440 -> 07:22.720] I loved Williams.
[07:22.720 -> 07:24.960] It was very professional and polished, whatever.
[07:24.960 -> 07:26.840] But finally getting the golf announcement,
[07:26.840 -> 07:28.280] I think it's gonna be really cool
[07:28.280 -> 07:30.720] having golf with a new team this year.
[07:30.720 -> 07:32.760] They both seem to have the intention
[07:32.760 -> 07:34.840] of doing larger fan activations
[07:34.840 -> 07:37.560] and marketing campaigns and things with each other
[07:37.560 -> 07:39.960] and spicing things up for races.
[07:39.960 -> 07:43.120] So I'm always up for when teams wanna do something fun,
[07:43.120 -> 07:44.920] especially with the golf livery
[07:44.920 -> 07:47.160] that's something so historically iconic.
[07:47.160 -> 07:49.400] So that was a huge win for me.
[07:51.120 -> 07:52.240] I agree.
[07:52.240 -> 07:55.840] I think overall, the Williams launch
[07:55.840 -> 07:59.800] was the least divisive launch in any way,
[07:59.800 -> 08:01.760] where it was, they said they were going
[08:01.760 -> 08:04.280] to launch the livery, they launched the livery,
[08:04.280 -> 08:08.020] they led with the news everyone wanted really quick up front,
[08:08.020 -> 08:10.000] they didn't spend too long,
[08:10.000 -> 08:12.000] they highlighted women in motorsport
[08:12.000 -> 08:14.920] by using that as a platform to interview Jamie.
[08:14.920 -> 08:17.920] Like there was very little to complain about
[08:17.920 -> 08:19.000] with the Williams launch.
[08:19.000 -> 08:22.400] It was just short to the point, great, that was a fun time.
[08:22.400 -> 08:24.920] And under 20 minutes, I respect that,
[08:24.920 -> 08:27.040] I love the efficiency.
[08:27.040 -> 08:28.920] I, again, was on the side of,
[08:28.920 -> 08:30.920] I loved every bit of Red Bulls,
[08:30.920 -> 08:33.820] but I'm a marketing head and I think that Red Bull
[08:33.820 -> 08:35.540] just does things incredibly well,
[08:35.540 -> 08:37.680] and their entire video editing team
[08:37.680 -> 08:40.000] for all of the content that they have put together,
[08:40.000 -> 08:42.240] a really fantastic show.
[08:42.240 -> 08:44.040] I think they're doing a lot of,
[08:44.040 -> 08:46.960] there's been a lot of really interesting
[08:46.960 -> 08:49.400] announcements about fan interaction this year.
[08:49.400 -> 08:51.140] So I'm excited to see more of those,
[08:51.140 -> 08:55.840] but like Red Bull's campaign to have a fan design
[08:55.840 -> 08:57.880] their livery for the three US races.
[08:57.880 -> 09:00.520] So, like so excited about it, super hyped.
[09:01.880 -> 09:09.000] Red Bull is so far the only team to do pyrotechnics though, and I just need more pyrotechnics.
[09:09.000 -> 09:13.000] I need more sparklers, fireworks, whatever it is, shoot some flame in the air.
[09:13.000 -> 09:16.000] Like, to me, F1 is...
[09:16.000 -> 09:21.000] Like, the personalities of F1, the nature of F1, it is dramatic.
[09:21.000 -> 09:26.480] Like, bring the dramatic and the spice to the season launch. Give me pyrotechnics.
[09:26.480 -> 09:30.880] Give me, like, Williams did the dramatic lighting with all their things. And, like, that's what
[09:30.880 -> 09:35.720] was, like, the number one thing that missed the mark for me is that Alvaro Mayo took itself
[09:35.720 -> 09:41.400] way too seriously. It had a morning talk show vibe, and I'm like, there are no pyrotechnics,
[09:41.400 -> 09:45.800] there's no fancy lighting, these questions are stiff with prepared answers.
[09:45.800 -> 09:47.960] No, I want you to be dramatic.
[09:47.960 -> 09:50.120] Like I know you are in your heart, F1.
[09:50.120 -> 09:53.400] All the teams should be that dramatic in my opinion.
[09:53.400 -> 09:56.200] You didn't have to just like that weird white table.
[09:56.200 -> 09:58.760] The whole set just felt too clean
[09:58.760 -> 10:00.920] and just something like really strange
[10:00.920 -> 10:02.760] and like futuristic about it.
[10:02.760 -> 10:07.660] It just all felt like too white everywhere.
[10:07.660 -> 10:09.880] And why were they all standing around this like
[10:09.880 -> 10:12.680] cocktail hour table that everyone just looks
[10:12.680 -> 10:14.040] really uncomfortable with?
[10:14.040 -> 10:16.140] It definitely looked like morning news segment.
[10:16.140 -> 10:20.120] But it was again, very memeable, very funny,
[10:20.120 -> 10:22.320] but definitely a little bit too polished for me.
[10:22.320 -> 10:24.240] I would also love some more pyrotechnics.
[10:24.240 -> 10:30.560] Maybe even if Alfa Romeo had the exact same launch but just added fireworks, would have a different
[10:30.560 -> 10:38.800] viewpoint. Alex Albon is unbelievably charismatic. He is the king of this and it's hysterical because
[10:38.800 -> 10:46.320] his whole bit in content is how much he hates media duties, but he knows when to smile, he knows when to go off
[10:46.320 -> 10:51.440] script and make a funny joke, when to laugh to ease the tension, when to engage and interact
[10:51.440 -> 10:56.000] with the people around him. I understand that of all of them his was pre-recorded,
[10:56.560 -> 11:01.600] so of the ones we've watched so far, so he does have a leg up in that way, but they clearly didn't
[11:01.600 -> 11:05.440] redo that interview. He was still being like, had to be on set with
[11:05.440 -> 11:11.760] Will Buxton and they were doing a stage show, just to not to a huge audience. 10 out of 10 no notes.
[11:11.760 -> 11:19.200] Please put Alex in everything always. I really felt bad for Logan when he messed up the days of
[11:19.200 -> 11:26.000] qualifying, which again was like wonderful, ended up being a ha ha great moment. But I'm sure in the moment he was like,
[11:26.000 -> 11:31.000] Oh, I'm a rookie and I should just know what day qualifying is.
[11:31.000 -> 11:33.000] And like, you know, like I had like that.
[11:33.000 -> 11:35.000] I felt like I was watching an episode of Disney Channel
[11:35.000 -> 11:37.000] when you got like that secondhand embarrassment
[11:37.000 -> 11:39.000] when your favorite character did something like,
[11:39.000 -> 11:42.000] Oh no, like don't do that. You're the new kid.
[11:43.000 -> 11:45.620] Yeah, Joe also did a great job. I was going to say
[11:45.620 -> 11:46.580] they the two of them
[11:46.580 -> 11:48.420] were MVPs knocked out of the park.
[11:48.420 -> 11:51.180] Could obviously were very charismatic
[11:51.180 -> 11:52.300] and could tell they were
[11:52.300 -> 11:54.340] so excited about the season.
[11:54.960 -> 11:56.140] Listening to what they were doing
[11:56.140 -> 11:57.060] during their breaks,
[11:57.060 -> 11:58.480] like Joe talking about being able
[11:58.480 -> 11:59.800] to go home for the holidays
[11:59.800 -> 12:00.940] and Bats were talking about
[12:00.940 -> 12:01.820] all of the miles
[12:01.820 -> 12:03.020] that he put it on his bike,
[12:03.020 -> 12:04.720] which is more miles than
[12:04.720 -> 12:08.020] I think I could ever put on a bike in my lifetime.
[12:08.020 -> 12:09.020] That was really fun.
[12:09.020 -> 12:12.400] I wish they did play more into like their personalities of things, but they both did
[12:12.400 -> 12:13.400] a great job.
[12:13.400 -> 12:17.440] They were a lot of fun to watch and I can, I want to see more of them, the two of them
[12:17.440 -> 12:18.440] doing things.
[12:18.440 -> 12:32.560] So I'll for me, I'll get on that content. So this week's been interesting to me because if you can't tell from the cult conversation
[12:32.560 -> 12:39.160] we had, I think overall we've liked every launch to at least a little bit.
[12:39.160 -> 12:43.880] I mean I think Alfa Romeo was both of our least favorites and Haas doesn't really count,
[12:43.880 -> 12:45.280] but we both really enjoyed
[12:45.280 -> 12:53.280] Williams and Red Bull like overall high scores from us and I felt like every opinion I had about
[12:53.280 -> 12:58.400] a launch this week I would go to my social media feed and just felt like I was the opposite of
[12:58.400 -> 13:07.200] everything going on there and I think some of that is just because there's a lot of different kinds of F1 fans,
[13:07.200 -> 13:16.560] and everyone had- has very different wants, needs, and expectations around the car launches.
[13:17.520 -> 13:21.200] So I thought it would be an interesting discussion to have, like, big picture,
[13:22.000 -> 13:30.820] why is this happening? And I have a thesis to run by you Like why is everyone seem to be upset about these right now besides just the natural like yes, everyone on the internet is always upset
[13:31.540 -> 13:33.540] tangent and
[13:34.140 -> 13:35.660] What can
[13:35.660 -> 13:42.220] Like the teams and f1 be doing better. So not everyone's upset about them. But then also like how can
[13:42.940 -> 13:45.880] Maybe we all look at this differently? So that was a long intro.
[13:45.880 -> 13:47.440] But let me get into my theory.
[13:47.440 -> 13:54.320] So I think two things are going on, which is why if you are on F1 Twitter and F9 OnSpace,
[13:54.320 -> 13:59.760] online space, you're probably seeing a large amount of negative reactions to a lot of these
[13:59.760 -> 14:00.760] launches.
[14:00.760 -> 14:05.780] I think part of that is that the teams are not doing a good PR job of communicating what
[14:05.780 -> 14:10.440] their launch is going to be, who it's for, and what to expect.
[14:10.440 -> 14:17.400] So if you are on, like, what you love about F1 is tech, let's say, and you are going into
[14:17.400 -> 14:28.480] a launch expecting to see the real 2023 car, you probably were not going to like what Williams described as a livery launch.
[14:29.040 -> 14:35.600] And I think that Williams is getting the most praise overall for their, uh, most universal
[14:35.600 -> 14:40.080] praise because they were very clear, hey, we're just launching our livery, and then guess what
[14:40.080 -> 14:46.880] we got? We got their livery. Um, But then conversely, I think you and I like a
[14:46.880 -> 14:50.960] little bit of dramatic, a little showmanship. We really liked the Red Bull launch, but there's
[14:50.960 -> 14:54.800] definitely fans that just don't want to watch an hour-long thing that ends with a...
[14:54.800 -> 15:00.800] And especially with Red Bull really not changing their livery at all. And again, I think we
[15:00.800 -> 15:03.640] both fall on the sides of there's nothing wrong with it, so there's no need to change
[15:03.640 -> 15:08.240] it. Not that you need... There's nothing wrong to change it, but I was not expecting them
[15:08.800 -> 15:13.040] to change it at all. So that wasn't heartbreaking for me.
[15:15.760 -> 15:21.760] Right. But I can also see how maybe Red Bull didn't do the best job communicating
[15:21.760 -> 15:25.920] what their launch was going to be. To me, that felt like a season launch.
[15:25.920 -> 15:29.040] Red Bull was promoting their overall involvement
[15:29.040 -> 15:31.160] in extreme sports.
[15:31.160 -> 15:34.040] They launched their big Ford news.
[15:34.040 -> 15:37.640] They talked about how excited they are to be in America.
[15:37.640 -> 15:39.560] And then again, I'm going to hammer this home,
[15:39.560 -> 15:43.140] there were pyrotechnics, which is exciting.
[15:45.320 -> 15:47.760] So I think part of this is the teams aren't doing the best job
[15:47.760 -> 15:50.320] of communicating what their launch is going to be,
[15:50.320 -> 15:52.280] or at least clearly communicating it.
[15:52.280 -> 15:54.320] They might say it once, and then they're not realizing
[15:54.320 -> 15:56.200] they need to say it over and over and over again
[15:56.200 -> 15:57.840] because the average person needs to hear things
[15:57.840 -> 15:59.880] multiple times for it to sink in,
[15:59.880 -> 16:02.400] hey, we're not actually going to see the car.
[16:02.400 -> 16:04.520] I think, conversely, part of the reason
[16:04.520 -> 16:08.640] why I was disappointed about the Alfa Romeo launch is because they were really promoting that they
[16:08.640 -> 16:15.760] were doing it on this like trendy Drake affiliated streaming platform and then
[16:15.760 -> 16:19.760] they gave me a morning talk show. So that's not meeting expectations.
[16:21.200 -> 16:25.520] But then before I throw this back to you, Nicole, I think the other side of this is
[16:25.520 -> 16:32.280] that there are so many F1 fails that not everything is going to be for everyone.
[16:32.280 -> 16:35.820] And I am a big advocate for that is okay.
[16:35.820 -> 16:40.820] When you have to make something universal for everyone, it becomes boring.
[16:40.820 -> 16:44.940] Because it just needs to be so blammed for everyone to like it.
[16:44.940 -> 16:51.440] So I was completely okay that the El the outdoor male launch was not for me. The Red Bull launch was for me.
[16:53.080 -> 16:55.080] I just want them to communicate that better to us.
[16:56.140 -> 16:59.160] We gotta, we gotta reset some expectations here.
[16:59.160 -> 17:04.040] Or why are you mad at Red Bull for making a big deal out of their athletes?
[17:04.040 -> 17:08.120] I saw a lot of that where it's like, well, why are they interviewing these athletes?
[17:08.120 -> 17:11.720] I don't know because they're really cool and Red Bull is a big brand and they're on the big stage.
[17:11.720 -> 17:13.840] It's not like they were athletes for
[17:14.720 -> 17:22.560] like boring things. Red Bull, when they have, Red Bull athletes are associated with like really incredible sports.
[17:23.040 -> 17:27.440] Like it's not like they were knitting, you know?
[17:27.440 -> 17:29.360] Like, which is not a sport,
[17:29.360 -> 17:31.620] oh my God, I'm gonna offend people in the world.
[17:31.620 -> 17:34.280] Not that like, it's just that these people
[17:34.280 -> 17:38.720] are incredible athletes in like really unbelievable sports.
[17:38.720 -> 17:40.840] So I think it was just a really great time to showcase.
[17:40.840 -> 17:44.180] And again, it is a Red Bull season launch.
[17:44.180 -> 17:45.760] Red Bull can do whatever they want with it,
[17:45.760 -> 17:47.600] with their budget, they're a big brand,
[17:47.600 -> 17:51.680] and a lot of this will be showcasing the other brands
[17:51.680 -> 17:52.760] within these brands.
[17:52.760 -> 17:54.640] It's all a big sponsorship fest,
[17:54.640 -> 17:58.040] because it's, surprise, not about the car.
[17:58.040 -> 18:00.640] It's about the sponsorships on the car,
[18:00.640 -> 18:02.640] and what it's gonna look like this year.
[18:04.640 -> 18:05.800] Moving billboards. Moving billboards.
[18:05.800 -> 18:08.000] Moving billboards.
[18:08.000 -> 18:12.000] Okay, now we have to go down this rabbit hole
[18:12.000 -> 18:13.920] of if knitting was a sport,
[18:13.920 -> 18:16.680] how do you make knitting into a sport?
[18:16.680 -> 18:18.880] Yeah, it's gotta be like speed, length.
[18:18.880 -> 18:23.320] But then there's gotta be like a quality of the stitching.
[18:23.320 -> 18:25.860] So it has to be some kind of combination
[18:25.860 -> 18:29.800] of like a scoring system form and also in time.
[18:32.940 -> 18:35.600] I'm thinking that it's like a multi-leg thing.
[18:35.600 -> 18:38.100] Like you have challenge number one,
[18:38.100 -> 18:40.920] like how long can you knit in five minutes?
[18:40.920 -> 18:42.880] And it doesn't matter the quality.
[18:42.880 -> 18:44.540] As long as it, yeah, it's like,
[18:44.540 -> 18:46.760] you need to like knit a scarf
[18:46.760 -> 18:50.280] that is, you know, six inches in width and like get it
[18:50.280 -> 18:53.220] as long as you can, you can use whatever stitch you want.
[18:53.220 -> 18:56.720] But then like, number two is like quality and showmanship.
[18:56.720 -> 18:59.340] And it's like, you know, you're given 30 minutes
[18:59.340 -> 19:01.360] and you can like use whatever stitch you want.
[19:01.360 -> 19:02.200] And there's a panel of judges.
[19:02.200 -> 19:06.480] I'm imagining like just a room of grandmas
[19:06.480 -> 19:14.160] just furiously knitting in silence and it being incredibly serious. Like the hand workouts they
[19:14.160 -> 19:22.240] have to do probably. You do like lifting for thumbs and fingers. Like the neck exercises
[19:22.240 -> 19:27.480] F1 drivers do except I can just imagine them like lifting up weights
[19:27.480 -> 19:29.040] on their fingertips.
[19:30.520 -> 19:32.380] And again, for those of you who are only on audio,
[19:32.380 -> 19:33.660] you should definitely go over to video
[19:33.660 -> 19:35.000] to see the fun exercises.
[19:35.000 -> 19:35.840] Nicole and I are doing the part of the video.
[19:35.840 -> 19:36.680] Will this help you knit?
[19:36.680 -> 19:37.500] I don't know.
[19:37.500 -> 19:38.460] I mean, I kind of know how to knit.
[19:38.460 -> 19:43.400] I can knit like a square shape.
[19:43.400 -> 19:47.560] Like I can't make a, I can't make, so scarves, blankets.
[19:47.560 -> 19:48.560] I can go back and forth.
[19:48.560 -> 19:49.760] I can't do anything else.
[19:51.720 -> 19:53.200] Okay, we talked a lot about the launches
[19:53.200 -> 19:54.200] that have already happened.
[19:54.200 -> 19:57.440] We are smack dab in the middle of launch season right now.
[19:57.440 -> 19:59.120] We have upcoming launches.
[19:59.120 -> 20:00.680] So this releases on Thursday,
[20:00.680 -> 20:04.000] but then Saturday is AlphaTauri from New York City,
[20:04.000 -> 20:06.000] New York Fashion Week.
[20:06.000 -> 20:11.840] Then Monday we have Aston Martin and McLaren sharing a day. Tuesday is Ferrari, Wednesday,
[20:11.840 -> 20:17.540] but really Tuesday evening, again, if you live in my time zone, it's Mercedes. And then
[20:17.540 -> 20:22.780] Thursday is Alpine, which will coincide with the next launch. But that's the end of launch
[20:22.780 -> 20:26.480] season. We'll basically be done by the next time we record.
[20:27.280 -> 20:32.880] So what is on your wish list to happen for any of these upcoming launches?
[20:32.880 -> 20:34.320] Which are you the most excited for?
[20:35.920 -> 20:36.640] Three words.
[20:38.000 -> 20:38.800] Mercedes.
[20:39.600 -> 20:40.000] Black.
[20:40.800 -> 20:41.280] Livery.
[20:42.400 -> 20:42.960] Four words.
[20:43.600 -> 20:44.000] Please.
[20:53.960 -> 21:00.520] livery. Four words, please. At this point if it's not black I will riot along with the rest of the Lewis Hamilton tribe on Twitter because they've been teasing it
[21:00.520 -> 21:09.360] so heavily that if I can't look at the livery and at least say, oh yeah, that's predominantly black,
[21:09.360 -> 21:10.800] I'm just gonna feel cheated.
[21:10.800 -> 21:13.480] Don't tease it this much if it's not gonna be black.
[21:13.480 -> 21:14.320] And also-
[21:14.320 -> 21:15.140] But I'm nervous.
[21:15.140 -> 21:19.440] It'll send a signal if they reveal that livery
[21:19.440 -> 21:22.280] and it is mostly black and black there.
[21:22.280 -> 21:24.920] Look at it, look at it, look at it, it's so beautiful.
[21:24.920 -> 21:25.840] Oh wow, if you're only listening, look at it. So beautiful. Oh, wow.
[21:25.840 -> 21:28.640] If you're only listening, go to our YouTube channel.
[21:28.640 -> 21:29.680] First, subscribe.
[21:29.680 -> 21:31.380] Then you can fast forward.
[21:31.380 -> 21:32.680] Nope. Watch the whole thing
[21:32.680 -> 21:35.520] to this part of the podcast where Brianna has
[21:36.980 -> 21:39.980] a W12 mini rendering
[21:40.620 -> 21:42.260] and it's beautiful and it's stunning.
[21:42.260 -> 21:45.900] So basically what I was going to say is if we get to see the W14
[21:46.200 -> 21:50.380] and it is mostly black, all black, that is going to send
[21:50.400 -> 21:52.700] fire to my brain that this thing flies.
[21:52.700 -> 21:57.180] It's fast because you can't taint the black livery with a
[21:57.200 -> 21:58.000] tractor.
[21:58.800 -> 21:59.400] You can't.
[22:00.000 -> 22:00.800] Keep it silver.
[22:01.200 -> 22:02.100] They better not.
[22:02.900 -> 22:05.680] I saw a Twitter post that was like,
[22:05.680 -> 22:07.860] okay, we're all stressed about the black livery thing
[22:07.860 -> 22:09.920] for all the reasons you just outlined.
[22:09.920 -> 22:14.920] So if we should just take it to testing with no livery,
[22:15.740 -> 22:18.600] if it's fast, you put the black livery,
[22:18.600 -> 22:21.180] if it's slow, it's a silver livery,
[22:21.180 -> 22:24.480] and if we're unsure, then it's a half and half livery.
[22:24.480 -> 22:29.360] And I thought that was a great compromise for my personal stress. But a lot of people
[22:29.360 -> 22:34.000] have pointed out, and I tend to agree with this assessment, that if the car is
[22:34.000 -> 22:38.840] a black livery, it at the very least means Toto is very confident in the car,
[22:38.840 -> 22:44.120] because that man understands the power of this this little car that I'm holding
[22:44.120 -> 22:46.240] in my hands that I love so much.
[22:46.240 -> 22:51.680] And I don't think he would do it if he thought this car wasn't going to be competitive.
[22:51.680 -> 22:54.440] I'll take mine. I have mine too. Under... oh, there he is.
[22:54.440 -> 22:57.800] Mine's in the box. Under a Midnight's box.
[22:57.800 -> 22:59.920] But I'll take mine out of the box if it's black.
[22:59.920 -> 23:02.920] I'll show it off. I'll have it out. I don't know.
[23:02.920 -> 23:06.260] Please, Mercedes, please, Please. I'm begging you
[23:07.800 -> 23:10.960] But I just want to see the car. I'm so excited to see the car
[23:11.760 -> 23:18.820] And it's not it's likely to not be a show car because they're taking it to Silverstone for a filming day right after that
[23:18.880 -> 23:22.460] So even if we don't see the car at the launch
[23:22.460 -> 23:25.080] We will see it immediately afterwards, and we're gonna
[23:25.080 -> 23:28.520] see the fact that there's probably going to be no side pods, or there will be side pods,
[23:28.520 -> 23:34.400] and that everyone will melt down. Imagine a black car with no side pods and the chaos
[23:34.400 -> 23:40.800] that will ensue. Just crazy. It would be an explosion. We got a big announcement today
[23:40.800 -> 23:48.120] that the president of the FIA, Mohammed bin Salaim, is going to take a step back from day-to-day duties with F1.
[23:49.280 -> 23:53.180] Also in the PR statement, they said that this was going to happen anyway,
[23:53.180 -> 24:01.000] and yes, you can hear the sarcasm in my voice because I'm sure this was gonna happen anyway. Okay, wink wink, gotcha.
[24:01.660 -> 24:06.880] And that someone else in the FIA is gonna run the day-to-day operations, be the point of
[24:06.880 -> 24:13.360] contact for the teams, but don't worry, Muhammad is still going to be very involved with all big
[24:13.360 -> 24:19.600] picture decisions. And if you can't tell by the tone of my voice, I don't believe him for one
[24:19.600 -> 24:28.640] second. And this whole thing reads to me that the F1 put their weight into the situation and said,
[24:28.640 -> 24:32.960] Great, if you want to keep your job, you're going to go over there and be quiet.
[24:32.960 -> 24:37.840] And if you are unable to go over there and be quiet and not be involved in our affairs,
[24:37.840 -> 24:40.000] then we will replace you.
[24:40.000 -> 24:49.000] Because Mohammed bin Salim does not strike me personally as someone who is willing to take a forward-facing backseat to things.
[24:50.000 -> 24:55.000] So, Nicole, how'd you take this news today?
[24:56.000 -> 25:07.300] So I first read it, I was like, HA! But then it like processed. I'm like, okay, it doesn't really change anything. Yeah, he's still there. It was obviously a, here's a type of statement
[25:07.300 -> 25:10.040] for the public so that people who are yelling at us
[25:10.040 -> 25:12.280] can stop yelling at us.
[25:12.280 -> 25:15.060] But like, yeah, like you said, he's still there,
[25:15.060 -> 25:17.780] still involved in major decision-making.
[25:18.940 -> 25:22.980] So it just felt like a, not even a band-aid fix,
[25:22.980 -> 25:27.680] but like a don't look behind the mirrors and a very much FIA
[25:27.680 -> 25:33.160] F1 way of making an announcement and saying a bunch of words that like don't really mean
[25:33.160 -> 25:39.200] a lot besides, you know, trying to like divert your attention somewhere else. Like look over
[25:39.200 -> 25:46.480] there! Like he's not here! So. It's a Rosetta Jones fix. That's what it is. We should coin that. It's like,
[25:46.480 -> 25:51.160] yeah, yeah, there's the man behind the curtain, but look over here at the new man who's in
[25:51.160 -> 25:56.440] charge of making decisions in your point of contact. Don't look at the man controlling
[25:56.440 -> 26:03.240] the strings. Don't look at the Alfa Romeo launch before we launch it right behind us.
[26:03.240 -> 26:06.240] Like, yeah, it definitely just doesn't feel
[26:06.240 -> 26:08.640] like it was of any big change.
[26:08.640 -> 26:10.940] The way that it was announced and the fact that
[26:10.940 -> 26:11.780] if you're making an announcement
[26:11.780 -> 26:12.880] that someone's being replaced,
[26:12.880 -> 26:14.200] but then saying that they're still gonna be
[26:14.200 -> 26:16.960] heavily involved in duties, XYZ type things.
[26:16.960 -> 26:20.560] I'm just like, what's different?
[26:20.560 -> 26:24.200] If his key card swipe access did not change, then.
[26:25.520 -> 26:33.760] Well, what's different is it's very clear that, like, taking away my sarcasm and my joking about all of this,
[26:33.760 -> 26:36.880] it's very clear that F1 went in there and said,
[26:36.880 -> 26:41.360] we need you to stop making headlines. It's not gonna go well for you.
[26:41.840 -> 26:46.920] And I think this is a final straw kind of situation, like
[26:46.920 -> 26:52.440] you want to keep your job? Great! Go put yourself in the background and don't
[26:52.440 -> 26:57.000] make noise. And if you stop creating problems for us, we will let you keep
[26:57.000 -> 27:07.920] your job. And it's a reminder that while the FIA is in charge of lots of motorsports, like the cash cow is Formula One, their most
[27:07.920 -> 27:16.480] important quotes, quote, for that reason is Formula One. And that also means that the CEO
[27:16.480 -> 27:23.280] and Liberty Media of Formula One do have a lot of power. And it didn't really feel like a,
[27:24.320 -> 27:26.480] it feels like the FIA president got himself in
[27:26.480 -> 27:32.760] a fight that he had no chance of winning. For what reason? I don't, the power struggle
[27:32.760 -> 27:39.180] never felt like a power struggle to me. It just felt like the FIA president was really
[27:39.180 -> 27:50.320] insecure and needed to tweet things. I don't like, did you take it any other way? The only way that I can, I don't, and this is even my way of relating, I felt too extreme,
[27:50.880 -> 27:54.640] but because I only think of things, I take everything in my brain and process it through,
[27:54.640 -> 27:59.840] like, pop culture examples. Surprise, if you're new here, it's my thing. So I'm just like,
[27:59.840 -> 28:05.200] yeah, he got, like, very King Joffrey happy of of just like, this is my position, so I'm gonna tweet this,
[28:05.200 -> 28:06.660] then da da da da da.
[28:06.660 -> 28:09.920] Again, King Joffrey, very insane, crazy example,
[28:09.920 -> 28:11.660] but you know, there's some alignment there.
[28:11.660 -> 28:14.480] But yeah, it felt like it was just,
[28:14.480 -> 28:18.540] well, I can do this because of my business card title
[28:18.540 -> 28:20.000] or the name that's on the door,
[28:20.000 -> 28:22.100] and I'm not gonna get in trouble for this.
[28:23.700 -> 28:26.900] And he didn't really, I guess,
[28:26.900 -> 28:29.320] I mean, if you ask him, probably he'll say,
[28:29.320 -> 28:32.800] yeah, of course, I learned my lesson, whatever.
[28:32.800 -> 28:36.240] He hasn't tweeted about it, that's all I'll say.
[28:36.240 -> 28:39.000] Yeah, I really do,
[28:39.000 -> 28:41.840] since I said that I felt like this was the last straw,
[28:41.840 -> 28:44.740] like this is your last chance kind of situation,
[28:45.720 -> 28:53.200] I felt like this was the last straw, like this is your last chance kind of situation. I don't predict him being able to contain himself if this offseason proves anything
[28:53.200 -> 28:54.200] in my mind.
[28:54.200 -> 28:58.320] It proves that he got very happy with being in the headlines, and when you're very happy
[28:58.320 -> 29:01.560] with being in the headlines, I don't predict that he's going to be very happy not being
[29:01.560 -> 29:07.840] in the headlines, or if something goes well, guess he's not gonna get credit for it anymore because he's not in charge of the day-to-day
[29:07.840 -> 29:14.800] operations of Formula One and I still see this as a tedious, teetering situation.
[29:15.520 -> 29:26.560] With now this change in Muhammad's title or responsibilities or everything, this step back that he's being forced to take, taking, whatever.
[29:27.120 -> 29:34.800] Do you think this is affecting the Andretti and GM and getting into F1?
[29:34.800 -> 29:38.080] I know that now it's of course like circling back to this news again,
[29:38.080 -> 29:46.320] but you know, one of the tweets that we talked about, or you know know it's all about new entries into F1 so is this
[29:46.320 -> 29:51.200] can't help the Andretti GM situation or maybe it has no effect what do you think
[29:51.200 -> 30:03.280] I think that this weirdly puts a little bit of a decent nail in the coffin of
[30:03.280 -> 30:06.400] maybe any new team that thought they were gonna
[30:06.400 -> 30:11.520] get on the grid by wooing the president of the FIA. Because we've been tracking
[30:11.520 -> 30:20.920] that it seems like the FIA wants new teams and F1, FOM, and the teams don't
[30:20.920 -> 30:27.760] want new teams. And if you're on Dred, it seems like the route Andretti has decided to go,
[30:27.760 -> 30:30.120] they thought their best chance of getting on the grid
[30:30.120 -> 30:32.560] was having an ally in the FIA.
[30:32.560 -> 30:35.760] And that doesn't seem like a very positive ally right now.
[30:37.080 -> 30:40.580] So I do think, I 100% think that it's,
[30:40.580 -> 30:43.960] it is hurting their chances of getting on the grid
[30:43.960 -> 30:46.280] as a new team and I hope
[30:46.280 -> 30:51.560] as someone who thinks it would be really fun to have Andretti on the grid I I
[30:51.560 -> 30:56.080] hope they now start to go about this another way just today we got rumors
[30:56.080 -> 31:01.480] that it's my favorite kind of rumor because it's not a rumor about what
[31:01.480 -> 31:10.000] Andretti is doing it's a rumor about them saying, the other party saying that they don't want that, but we haven't heard Andretti want that.
[31:10.000 -> 31:26.040] Let me explain. So the rumor is that Red Bull doesn't want to sell Alfritari to Andretti, but we haven't even heard the rumor that Andretti wants to buy Alfritari. I'm sorry. I was gonna say, I had not heard that at all.
[31:26.040 -> 31:27.800] So when you're explaining this, I was like,
[31:27.800 -> 31:29.600] wait a second, I have no,
[31:29.600 -> 31:31.960] I did not even hear this speculation at all,
[31:31.960 -> 31:36.440] but that is, that's such token like race interviewing
[31:36.440 -> 31:37.920] when they're just like, oh no,
[31:37.920 -> 31:40.480] I didn't do X, Y, Z because of this.
[31:40.480 -> 31:43.560] And it's like, no one asked you that you were doing this,
[31:43.560 -> 31:45.200] but thanks for letting us know
[31:45.200 -> 31:51.760] that seems like such a thing in racing. I've been a big advocate for wanting Andretti to buy an
[31:51.760 -> 31:57.040] existing team to come on the grid just because we don't need more backmarkers and starting from
[31:57.040 -> 32:03.040] scratch sounds like another backmarker like maybe don't start from scratch that sounds great but of
[32:03.040 -> 32:06.980] course that that means someone needs to be willing to sell and if Red Bull truly doesn't want to sell off Atari
[32:07.320 -> 32:10.440] Or I would argue that Red Bull just doesn't want to sell off Atari for whatever
[32:11.080 -> 32:15.840] Purchase price they've seen so far because I think everyone has a price but
[32:18.120 -> 32:19.920] Tangent aside
[32:19.920 -> 32:28.400] 100% this if you are a huge advocate for winning Andretti and GM on the grid, this is a rough blow to that.
[32:28.400 -> 32:30.440] And I think it was a long time of good conversations
[32:30.440 -> 32:34.480] of like, come in, buy Williams, and do kind of what Audi's
[32:34.480 -> 32:36.480] doing.
[32:36.480 -> 32:39.280] Talking about GM and Andretti gives us a really fun
[32:39.280 -> 32:42.520] transition to what probably was the biggest news of the week,
[32:42.520 -> 32:46.120] but it happened a decent amount of time
[32:46.120 -> 32:49.680] in the news cycle ago, now Ford's here.
[32:49.680 -> 32:52.100] It was the worst kept secret in all of F1.
[32:52.920 -> 32:55.860] I almost feel like golfing Williams
[32:55.860 -> 32:58.720] was the worst best kept secret.
[32:58.720 -> 33:01.640] And then Ford, I don't know.
[33:01.640 -> 33:03.320] The leaking of the page on the website,
[33:03.320 -> 33:04.580] I can't get over with Williams.
[33:04.580 -> 33:05.500] I really can't.
[33:05.500 -> 33:06.820] I mean for they didn't.
[33:06.820 -> 33:08.720] There was a lot literally like right
[33:08.720 -> 33:10.480] before and especially when F1 is
[33:10.480 -> 33:12.080] just like Ford's joining Ford's
[33:12.080 -> 33:13.740] joining Ford is joining but like
[33:13.740 -> 33:15.340] didn't say with who but everyone
[33:15.340 -> 33:17.040] had already it was the next launch.
[33:17.040 -> 33:18.040] It all just made sense.
[33:18.040 -> 33:20.580] The spec it's written on the wall,
[33:20.580 -> 33:23.860] but we yeah I look back at our text
[33:23.860 -> 33:27.880] messages and. At Christmas you and I were
[33:27.880 -> 33:33.320] chatting about an Autosport article that was written that said Ford is likely
[33:33.320 -> 33:39.640] entering F1 by sponsoring Red Bull power trains and it is February 8th now and at
[33:39.640 -> 33:46.800] that point the speculation got to the point where Autosport just said it in an article. So we've probably been speculating since
[33:46.800 -> 33:52.200] Abu Dhabi. And then now we're here. It's beginning of
[33:52.200 -> 33:56.520] February. And it's finally happened. Are you excited?
[33:56.520 -> 34:01.000] I'm very excited. Particularly right now, I think it's going to
[34:01.000 -> 34:05.080] be really great. They're going to be making incredible content.
[34:05.080 -> 34:10.800] I mean, between Red Bull and Ford, you have two major brands
[34:11.040 -> 34:15.300] that really know the message that they're trying to send to their individual customers.
[34:15.300 -> 34:17.560] I think it's an incredible pairing together.
[34:17.560 -> 34:21.060] We started talking earlier about Red Bull's launch and their, you know,
[34:21.320 -> 34:25.040] fan interaction and particularly doing special things for
[34:25.040 -> 34:26.480] the U S races.
[34:26.720 -> 34:33.600] And I think making the, having their launch in the U S in New York city, it
[34:33.760 -> 34:37.160] sending a very clear message about their dedication to the American fan base and
[34:37.160 -> 34:39.040] expansion of the F1 into the U S.
[34:39.320 -> 34:47.200] So what better, you know, car company can you pick to partner up with than Ford?
[34:47.200 -> 34:49.000] I mean, it's like Backbones of America right now.
[34:49.000 -> 34:55.300] Daniel Riccardo is in Detroit with the Ford team and filming a bunch of content
[34:55.300 -> 34:56.000] for Red Bull.
[34:56.200 -> 34:59.200] And today they someone posted a picture of him in the full race suit with the
[34:59.200 -> 35:03.100] big Ford logo like right here and it's just it's it's great.
[35:03.100 -> 35:07.400] It's a perfect pairing down to the colors, it's a great pairing.
[35:07.400 -> 35:09.480] Could be a good note to GM of like,
[35:09.480 -> 35:14.160] hey, maybe you should go into a really nice
[35:14.160 -> 35:15.840] financial partnership with a team
[35:15.840 -> 35:17.280] that's already on the grid,
[35:17.280 -> 35:19.600] because Ford's already ahead of you.
[35:19.600 -> 35:21.680] It was a matter of time when there was gonna be
[35:21.680 -> 35:24.200] an American car manufacturer that gets into F1,
[35:24.200 -> 35:28.160] the first one to do it will be the one that I think profits the most from it.
[35:28.160 -> 35:33.280] And God, when you have Red Bull as your pick, I think it's perfect.
[35:35.280 -> 35:41.280] And for those of you who are not American, Ford and GM are massive competitors. Like,
[35:41.280 -> 35:45.840] these are not friendly relationships. They're the two biggest car
[35:45.840 -> 35:50.860] manufacturers in America and they do not like each other. So I know that GM is
[35:50.860 -> 35:57.680] over there, to some extent, frustrated that right now Ford is in the headlines.
[35:57.680 -> 36:01.560] Now, whether that means GM does something different or pushes more heavily for the
[36:01.560 -> 36:06.160] Andretti bid, like, all of these are financial decisions made in boardrooms
[36:06.160 -> 36:13.040] and not always very clear. But I know that they're not happy. That I would bet on.
[36:14.320 -> 36:22.480] Quick history on Ford and F1. Just so everyone's on the same page. Ford has a really rich history
[36:22.480 -> 36:26.400] in F1, but it's actually as primarily a financial sponsor.
[36:26.500 -> 36:32.940] The joke really is the less Ford is involved in their F1 project, the more successful it is.
[36:33.900 -> 36:42.940] But technically Ford engines are the third most race-winning engines in the history of Formula One, just behind Ferrari and Mercedes.
[36:44.180 -> 36:48.320] They were the main sponsor of Cosworth engines
[36:48.320 -> 36:56.240] and if you have looked into the history of F1 it is just littered with Cosworth everywhere.
[36:57.600 -> 37:03.600] Ford's involvement with Cosworth, they owned enough of a financial stake in it that they
[37:03.600 -> 37:09.160] wanted their name on the engines but it really wasn't independent operations. The same way that the
[37:09.160 -> 37:14.760] Mercedes F1 team is a hundred percent a works team, but the corporate arm of the
[37:14.760 -> 37:18.840] Mercedes car manufacturing kind of just lets the race team run independently as
[37:18.840 -> 37:23.120] long as things are going well. So it's a very similar situation. Ford owns
[37:23.120 -> 37:30.840] Cosworth, they just said, great, you do whatever you want. On the contrast to that, they bought
[37:30.840 -> 37:36.380] Stewart Racing, turned it into Jaguar from 2000 to 2004, and it was one of the
[37:36.380 -> 37:43.640] biggest fails in F1 history. Shocker, it cost a lot of money, and they didn't get
[37:43.640 -> 37:46.640] a lot of results, and they didn't know what they were doing, but they thought they knew what they were
[37:46.640 -> 37:51.440] doing. They flamed out and then interestingly they sold Jaguar to Red
[37:51.440 -> 37:59.320] Bull. And now they're back with Red Bull. So both of those histories are very
[37:59.320 -> 38:10.480] intertwined. So, Ford, interesting F1 history. I do, I'm equally as excited as you for this
[38:10.480 -> 38:15.440] partnering because of how little Ford seems to be involved. It is mostly a
[38:15.440 -> 38:20.600] badging exercise for the engines and that to me feels like a win-win. Red Bull
[38:20.600 -> 38:28.000] gets an injection of financial capital, Ford gets their name everywhere, the good press.
[38:28.000 -> 38:33.000] I don't see how this is a negative relationship on either side.
[38:33.000 -> 38:36.000] And Ford is really going to have to win me back
[38:36.000 -> 38:41.000] into believing that they could actually be actively involved and successful in an F1 project.
[38:41.000 -> 38:46.800] So this feels like a good baby step for both the fans and for Ford. Nice little dip our toes into F1 project. So this feels like a good baby step for both the fans and for Ford. Nice little dip
[38:46.800 -> 38:52.880] dip our toes into F1. And of all the years I mean there's probably like a lot like there's always
[38:52.880 -> 38:58.000] years in F1 where there's particularly certain teams dominating but god I don't think I would
[38:58.000 -> 39:07.260] want to be any team on the grid in 2000 and 2004 if I'm not Ferrari. So definitely the world, the cards weren't in their favor to begin with,
[39:07.260 -> 39:08.100] but I agree.
[39:08.100 -> 39:10.840] I think it's, they know their lane,
[39:10.840 -> 39:13.040] at least this time, it's like we can throw a sticker
[39:13.040 -> 39:15.760] on a very successful team that's liked by people
[39:15.760 -> 39:20.000] and it's right place, right time, paying the right amount.
[39:20.000 -> 39:26.600] And I think they'll definitely get their return back on this. I think it'll be very, very profitable
[39:26.600 -> 39:27.840] for both teams right now.
[39:27.840 -> 39:30.960] Or it can just, you know, totally burst into flames,
[39:30.960 -> 39:31.800] but I don't think so.
[39:31.800 -> 39:34.880] I think it's, especially since it's not on a manufacturing
[39:34.880 -> 39:36.240] or any sort of technical level
[39:36.240 -> 39:39.360] and just a pretty beautiful partnership
[39:39.360 -> 39:41.520] that two companies that are great
[39:41.520 -> 39:44.840] at being in the public eye can handle.
[39:44.840 -> 39:46.000] I'm excited to see what comes out of it.
[39:46.000 -> 39:53.000] I'll throw away, so we're both decently excited about it, but I will throw away a spanner in the works
[39:53.000 -> 39:58.000] and point out that Ford is joining for the 2026 engine regulations.
[39:58.000 -> 40:09.040] Red Bull is opening up an engine division for the first time with Red Bull Power Chains. And as much as I think overall we all believe that Red Bull could do almost anything they
[40:09.040 -> 40:12.160] set their mind to at this point, they are an energy drink company that's one of the
[40:12.160 -> 40:15.680] most successful teams in F1 history.
[40:15.680 -> 40:18.240] But there is no guarantee that they get this engine right in 2026.
[40:18.240 -> 40:23.720] There is no guarantee anyone gets this engine right in 2026.
[40:23.720 -> 40:25.320] We're likely going to have a situation like
[40:25.320 -> 40:29.880] 2014 where there's going to be one team that gets it right the same way that
[40:29.880 -> 40:35.480] Mercedes got it right when they updated it to the hybrid turbo hybrid engine
[40:35.480 -> 40:39.560] that we have now. So it's gonna be really interesting everyone's really excited
[40:39.560 -> 40:45.800] right now but we're still a ways away from 2026 and seeing if does that's gonna be the
[40:45.800 -> 40:51.100] first time that Ford's badge is on the grid is 2026 and if it's with a losing
[40:51.100 -> 40:57.320] engine they might not think it's so successful then so just throwing it out
[40:57.320 -> 41:02.820] there that so much can change in three years it's been a big week in American
[41:02.820 -> 41:05.280] f1 so one other random news story to
[41:05.280 -> 41:11.680] throw in here with the Ford stuff is that before we've even gotten the first Las Vegas Grand Prix,
[41:11.680 -> 41:19.200] they got a whole extension until 2032. Really just solidifying that F1 is putting down its
[41:19.200 -> 41:26.960] American roots in Vegas. We already knew that they're building a huge U.S. base of operations and office
[41:27.520 -> 41:32.480] in this Vegas space that they bought. So this isn't shocking, but exciting and fun.
[41:33.440 -> 41:36.880] I'm really excited about it. As soon as you were just recapping that now,
[41:36.880 -> 41:42.720] I'm trying to remember. Either Miami was extended right before the race or it must have been right
[41:42.720 -> 41:47.560] after, but I remember really close to it. I can't remember if it was just before or right
[41:47.560 -> 41:51.720] after announcing like the extension of it already so it was definitely decided
[41:51.720 -> 41:57.400] before the race I'll have to fact-check it later but I feel like it was you know
[41:57.400 -> 42:02.000] again really agreeing with you really reinforcing f1's intention of you know
[42:02.000 -> 42:05.340] expansion to the u.s. I just, I can't wait for Vegas.
[42:05.340 -> 42:08.580] I think it's going to be such a sick race to watch.
[42:08.580 -> 42:14.480] I really think, I mean, whoever's unfamiliar with Vegas, the Strip, there's just going
[42:14.480 -> 42:18.640] to be so many straights on this track.
[42:18.640 -> 42:22.360] It's going to be a wild, really, really fun race to watch.
[42:22.360 -> 42:28.480] So I'm very excited just as an F1 fan, removing where I'm living and it being in my country
[42:28.480 -> 42:33.160] and at a normal hour for me to watch on a Saturday evening,
[42:33.160 -> 42:35.120] which is going to also be very strange.
[42:36.320 -> 42:38.840] Isn't it at like 11 PM Pacific time?
[42:38.840 -> 42:40.800] Okay, yeah, so I guess it's kind of like that I'm,
[42:40.800 -> 42:44.560] it's like Japan, but I still feel like, you know,
[42:44.560 -> 42:47.380] maybe I'll be on the West coast and we can watch it
[42:47.380 -> 42:52.760] together. Maybe be there manifesting. But if anything,
[42:53.260 -> 42:55.960] watching a night race, I love night races. I think they're so
[42:55.960 -> 42:59.860] cool. And it's in America and the strip. I think it's going to
[42:59.860 -> 43:07.200] look so cool. The PR, all of the shots, all of the promo for this all season is gonna
[43:07.200 -> 43:11.520] be insane. So I'm really glad to see that Vegas is not going anywhere because
[43:11.520 -> 43:20.560] again there's probably few cities in the world that align as much with F1 like
[43:20.560 -> 43:26.480] Vegas does. In certain aspects. In a lot of them. But yeah.
[43:26.480 -> 43:32.840] In a lot of aspects. No, Vegas and F1, two peas in a pod, that makes complete sense to me.
[43:32.840 -> 43:38.480] I also, originally I thought this was really weird that they were extending it now,
[43:38.480 -> 43:44.080] but then I remembered that normally the barrier to a race getting extended
[43:44.080 -> 43:46.160] actually has to do with all the operations
[43:46.160 -> 43:53.040] things and the promoters and being able to work with city officials. So what this really says
[43:53.040 -> 43:58.160] to me is that F1 is enjoying working with the Las Vegas city officials and they have a good
[43:58.160 -> 44:03.360] business relationship going that they wanted to extend. We've seen how the French Grand Prix,
[44:03.360 -> 44:07.580] for example, has fallen apart and I don't think that's because no one wants a French Grand Prix. It's that the
[44:07.580 -> 44:14.980] promoters at Paul Ricard were like working with F1 or giving F1 enough money for F1 to
[44:14.980 -> 44:21.000] want to keep that relationship going. So it really is just all a relationship... stitch.
[44:21.000 -> 44:22.860] With all of you.
[44:22.860 -> 44:26.080] So besides my nerves being at an all-time high, I did a lot of thinking
[44:26.080 -> 44:30.720] about how can I possibly connect being able to talk more about the Eagles being
[44:30.720 -> 44:37.240] in the Super Bowl to our F1 podcast. And I remembered that former F1 CEO Chase
[44:37.240 -> 44:49.600] Carey, who has the most amazing mustache, you should all go look at it. He was the first CEO put in charge when Liberty Media bought F1 and he said
[44:49.600 -> 44:56.080] that he wanted every single race to feel like the Super Bowl. So I thought I would go through, in my
[44:56.080 -> 45:01.840] opinion, what makes the Super Bowl a Super Bowl and then get your thoughts on whether or not F1
[45:01.840 -> 45:06.540] has achieved this goal of, or where they are in achieving the goal
[45:06.540 -> 45:09.020] of making every race feel like the Super Bowl.
[45:09.020 -> 45:11.500] So to me, the Super Bowl is special
[45:11.500 -> 45:12.700] because of three things.
[45:12.700 -> 45:16.700] Number one, the on-the-field stakes are as high as possible.
[45:16.700 -> 45:18.540] There's no such thing as,
[45:18.540 -> 45:20.380] oh, I don't care about the Super Bowl.
[45:20.380 -> 45:23.980] Both teams know they have one game to win the Super Bowl,
[45:23.980 -> 45:26.080] which is the championship of American football
[45:26.080 -> 45:28.540] if there's anyone not from America listening.
[45:29.480 -> 45:34.740] But I don't know, it's a Super Bowl. Like, the name says Super. Okay.
[45:36.520 -> 45:40.320] The second thing is the media and press coverage
[45:40.920 -> 45:43.540] goes beyond normal sports media.
[45:43.960 -> 45:47.040] So they even have something called Media Night,
[45:47.040 -> 45:52.080] where they stick all the players in a giant conference center, and every single press
[45:52.080 -> 45:57.760] officer from every area that they want to can come and ask the players questions, and they get asked
[45:57.760 -> 46:05.280] everything from, what is your favorite movie? To what song did you last listen to, to the more serious on the field things.
[46:05.280 -> 46:11.480] And the press comes from Nickelodeon, CNN, there's also international press that comes
[46:11.480 -> 46:14.880] for it, even though the NFL is an American sport.
[46:14.880 -> 46:18.600] So you get far beyond the traditional ESPNs of things.
[46:18.600 -> 46:20.320] Everyone is covering the Super Bowl.
[46:20.320 -> 46:25.200] And then the third thing that makes the Super Bowl special is it takes over the entire city.
[46:25.200 -> 46:29.200] So even if you're not attending the Super Bowl, even if you're not a huge Super Bowl fan,
[46:29.840 -> 46:34.880] if you're living in the city where the Super Bowl is, it is Super Bowl time. And you'll feel it in
[46:34.880 -> 46:39.760] things like traffic, but also the Super Bowl this year is in Phoenix, Arizona. There are giant
[46:39.760 -> 46:48.260] photos of Jalen Hurts's face all over Phoenix, Arizona. And so there's activations, there's things going on.
[46:48.260 -> 46:51.940] I'll throw in as an honorable mention to my three criteria
[46:51.940 -> 46:54.500] is that even if you don't like sports,
[46:54.500 -> 46:55.680] you're gonna watch the Super Bowl
[46:55.680 -> 46:57.540] because they really designed an event
[46:57.540 -> 47:00.180] around there being something for everyone.
[47:00.180 -> 47:02.500] So the Super Bowl is also known for its halftime show
[47:02.500 -> 47:03.540] where this year it's Rihanna.
[47:03.540 -> 47:04.940] So even if you don't like sports,
[47:04.940 -> 47:06.720] you're probably gonna go to a Super Bowl party and show, where this year it's Rihanna. So even if you don't like sports, you're probably going to go to a Super Bowl party
[47:06.720 -> 47:09.200] and you'll at least be excited about Rihanna.
[47:09.200 -> 47:12.560] There's also the whole culture around ads during the Super Bowl,
[47:12.560 -> 47:15.760] because companies go all out for their ads.
[47:15.760 -> 47:20.400] I really just say, as someone who is an NFL fan, a music fan,
[47:20.400 -> 47:26.960] particularly a Rihanna fan, and a marketing marketing nerd I don't go up and best
[47:26.960 -> 47:33.880] day ever best day ever so I'm gonna be so anxious this year though go birds go
[47:33.880 -> 47:40.880] birds go birds go birds these balloons are incredible so they really were the
[47:40.880 -> 47:45.000] best purchase I've made oh I'm really proud of them.
[47:45.000 -> 47:48.000] And they were surprisingly not super expensive.
[47:50.000 -> 47:55.000] So, Nicole, for starters, do you agree with this criteria?
[47:55.000 -> 48:02.000] And if so, how do you feel F1 is doing with this quest to make all their races feel like the Super Bowl?
[48:02.000 -> 48:05.680] I think it's a spot on criteria.
[48:09.600 -> 48:11.560] I love that that was kind of at some point, even if it's not now, but at some point
[48:11.560 -> 48:14.740] that was kind of the vision for an F1 race.
[48:14.740 -> 48:19.680] So speaking as someone that within the last three years,
[48:19.680 -> 48:22.160] this is crazy, I can't even believe I'm able to say this.
[48:22.160 -> 48:24.280] Within the last three years, lives in a city
[48:24.280 -> 48:28.320] that experienced the Super Bowl and experienced
[48:28.320 -> 48:29.320] a Grand Prix.
[48:29.320 -> 48:31.540] I live in Miami, by the way.
[48:31.540 -> 48:37.880] Really wild to kind of see the comparison that directly.
[48:37.880 -> 48:41.900] And also when we were in Austin, kind of giving that viewpoint too.
[48:41.900 -> 48:47.800] So it was a very special situation, in that case, it being the first Miami Grand Prix.
[48:47.800 -> 48:50.920] They definitely did a lot of poppin' circumstance.
[48:50.920 -> 48:52.300] There was a lot of things around the city,
[48:52.300 -> 48:54.380] lots of different pop-ups.
[48:54.380 -> 48:56.680] Of course, as no surprise,
[48:56.680 -> 48:59.760] it was definitely more established for the Super Bowl,
[48:59.760 -> 49:02.640] and you got a lot more coverage of it for the Super Bowl.
[49:02.640 -> 49:04.520] So I think there's places where everyone's
[49:04.520 -> 49:05.440] obviously still making the attempt, but the Super of it for the Super Bowl. So I think there's places where everyone's obviously still making
[49:05.440 -> 49:06.700] the attempt, but the Super Bowl's
[49:06.700 -> 49:07.540] still the Super Bowl, so
[49:07.540 -> 49:08.840] they just don't have all of those
[49:08.840 -> 49:09.900] eyes on them just yet.
[49:11.160 -> 49:14.460] And we talk about a lot, we,
[49:14.460 -> 49:17.180] we talk a lot about,
[49:17.180 -> 49:19.460] talk a lot about brands getting
[49:19.460 -> 49:21.580] involved in F1, we just had a whole
[49:21.580 -> 49:23.020] conversation about Ford getting
[49:23.020 -> 49:24.320] involved in F1,
[49:24.320 -> 49:27.000] golf getting involved in F1, getting involved with a whole conversation about Ford getting involved in F1, Golf getting involved with Williams,
[49:27.000 -> 49:28.680] everything like that.
[49:28.680 -> 49:30.520] People throw money at the Super Bowl
[49:30.520 -> 49:32.360] like it's their job.
[49:32.360 -> 49:33.440] And people spend a lot of money
[49:33.440 -> 49:34.860] to be involved in F1,
[49:34.860 -> 49:37.800] but a lot of brands and a lot of people
[49:37.800 -> 49:39.300] spend a lot of money to be involved
[49:39.300 -> 49:42.400] in the Super Bowl in a whole different capacity.
[49:42.400 -> 49:45.320] They're willing to spend so much money
[49:45.320 -> 49:48.360] for a 30 second commercial, that's like crazy.
[49:48.360 -> 49:51.400] So we're not seeing that kind of value
[49:51.400 -> 49:54.820] on the eyes of people watching just yet,
[49:54.820 -> 49:57.140] because they don't have, that fan base is growing,
[49:57.140 -> 49:58.540] but obviously it's not the size
[49:58.540 -> 50:00.680] of everyone's watching the Super Bowl.
[50:01.880 -> 50:04.560] So it feels like it's on a smaller scale.
[50:04.560 -> 50:06.360] I feel like it's a really good way to pursue
[50:06.360 -> 50:07.880] and to continue to keep growing.
[50:07.880 -> 50:11.120] I think it would be a great idea in their best interest
[50:11.120 -> 50:14.560] to be getting the cities that are involved in races
[50:14.560 -> 50:16.000] a lot more involved.
[50:16.000 -> 50:17.840] And that's also, they can't do that everywhere
[50:17.840 -> 50:19.400] because you can't,
[50:20.320 -> 50:22.800] what are you gonna cover the city of London for Silverstone
[50:22.800 -> 50:26.180] but you're not necessarily right there at the track
[50:26.300 -> 50:27.960] because it's a little bit farther away.
[50:27.960 -> 50:30.560] So it becomes very difficult.
[50:30.800 -> 50:34.800] And Miami is also very similar where like the track and the game
[50:34.940 -> 50:37.780] 45 minutes from South Beach, 45 minutes from downtown.
[50:37.940 -> 50:40.780] But it still felt like they were able to do really interesting
[50:40.780 -> 50:46.640] activations downtown for F1 and for the Super Bowl.
[50:46.640 -> 50:52.320] So I feel like there's ways that they can still do it in whatever the major city that's
[50:52.320 -> 50:53.320] there.
[50:53.320 -> 50:57.240] So that people who are also not maybe attending race day, but are F1 fans in the city can
[50:57.240 -> 51:00.780] still be involved in the race activities.
[51:00.780 -> 51:06.220] That's kind of how you start getting people to think of an event like the Super Bowl,
[51:06.220 -> 51:12.340] is that you can be involved without actually having to go.
[51:12.340 -> 51:18.500] That and you can be involved and have an interest without actually being super involved in the
[51:18.500 -> 51:19.500] sport.
[51:19.500 -> 51:25.720] Everyone in America knows about the Super Bowl and would have some passing interest
[51:25.720 -> 51:27.600] in some part of it.
[51:27.600 -> 51:33.640] And F1 in America, and probably in a lot of the world, still has that hurdle of it needs
[51:33.640 -> 51:38.600] to feel like an event that you should care about even if you don't watch every race day.
[51:38.600 -> 51:44.920] That oh, F1 is in my city, I'm not a big F1 fan or a big motorsports fan, but I care because
[51:44.920 -> 51:45.280] F1's or a big motorsports fan but I care because F1's
[51:45.280 -> 51:52.080] in my city I don't think they've crushed that hurdle yet in a lot of locations
[51:52.080 -> 51:57.360] but to your point about how like Silverstone like they can't achieve my
[51:57.360 -> 52:00.960] three goals of a Super Bowl in Silverstone and I think that's okay I
[52:00.960 -> 52:06.040] don't this quote that is from 2017, I thought it's
[52:06.040 -> 52:11.800] interesting to look at, but I... I think there are some races that should feel
[52:11.800 -> 52:15.840] like the Super Bowl, and some that should feel like they're happening in the
[52:15.840 -> 52:23.280] middle of nowhere, England. And I think that's cool, too. But the biggest hurdle...
[52:23.280 -> 52:26.280] like, I think no matter where they go, they could probably
[52:26.280 -> 52:29.760] achieve activating some local area.
[52:29.760 -> 52:36.260] They could probably, like, a big thing is open up your press access to your races to
[52:36.260 -> 52:40.960] more non-traditional sports outlets, because that's a big hurdle in being relevant in pop
[52:40.960 -> 52:45.760] culture, is let Vanity Fair come whenever they want or let a
[52:45.760 -> 52:49.880] content creator come whenever they want and create content around it like to be
[52:49.880 -> 52:56.040] relevant in the pop culture conversation. The biggest hurdle is that when the
[52:56.040 -> 53:02.320] championship is won before the season is over it is really hard for Mexico to
[53:02.320 -> 53:05.420] feel like the biggest deal and the highest stakes when Max and
[53:05.420 -> 53:07.140] Red Bull already won.
[53:07.140 -> 53:12.060] And that's okay, I'm not arguing that every season needs to go down to the last
[53:12.060 -> 53:16.020] second, but in order for it to be and feel like the Super Bowl,
[53:16.020 -> 53:20.900] I think F1's general media core needs to do a better job at explaining to
[53:20.900 -> 53:24.520] the average fan what's still exciting on the track,
[53:24.520 -> 53:26.160] even if the championship is wrapped up, and get them invested in that. core needs to do a better job at explaining to the average fan what's still exciting on the track,
[53:26.160 -> 53:31.520] even if the championship is wrapped up, and get them invested in that. Because in Abu Dhabi,
[53:31.520 -> 53:38.560] for example, it came down to the absolute last second that Alfa Romeo beat Aston Martin for the
[53:38.560 -> 53:43.520] Constructors' Championship. And that was so exciting, knowing that, but that wasn't on my
[53:43.520 -> 53:48.080] broadcast. And for context, I watch F1 TV, so they could have been talking about it more on Sky Sports
[53:48.080 -> 53:53.520] or on other language broadcasts, but on F1 TV, they really weren't hammering that home to me.
[53:53.520 -> 54:00.800] I just knew about it. And I think there's a little bit of a hurdle and a learning curve right now,
[54:00.800 -> 54:06.320] where broadcasters in F1 are learning that they're really gonna have to spoon feed
[54:06.320 -> 54:07.400] the average audience.
[54:07.400 -> 54:09.640] You need to create hype yourself
[54:09.640 -> 54:13.880] because is there a really well-educated F1 fan base
[54:13.880 -> 54:15.240] that's gonna know that?
[54:15.240 -> 54:18.800] Yes, but that isn't mass popularity.
[54:18.800 -> 54:21.240] And the Super Bowl is all about mass popularity
[54:21.240 -> 54:23.200] and it's about my birds winning.
[54:27.920 -> 54:31.120] That's the most important thing. My brain, I'm really impressed that I've been able to do this podcast with you today because I don't think you
[54:31.120 -> 54:35.200] understand that my brain is like 90% go birds go birds go birds that you will learn the super bowl
[54:35.200 -> 54:42.240] you will learn the super bowl go birds. Welcome to Yellow Sector Notes. It's not the fastest walk
[54:42.240 -> 54:50.580] around F1 but we will complete a full lap around the paddock hitting every single garage. F1 Ellie got Max to
[54:50.580 -> 54:56.080] participate in a TikTok trend this week. Charles drove a Schumacher Ferrari in
[54:56.080 -> 55:01.920] Abu Dhabi. George did not do a good job of hiding the color of the Mercedes race
[55:01.920 -> 55:05.680] suit for this year in this little teaser Instagram story he posted.
[55:05.680 -> 55:11.920] It will be black, thank goodness. Esteban and Pierre went driving in the snow. Lando dropped
[55:11.920 -> 55:16.560] some merch, which confused me because I was convinced that Lando has had merch he's been
[55:16.560 -> 55:22.000] promoting for the last year, and it's a new merch store, not a line. Someone explain it to me,
[55:22.000 -> 55:28.400] please. Joe discovered that he has a ship name with Valtteri and they both have been loving using it particularly Joe who's
[55:28.400 -> 55:32.920] commented on many social media posts using it now. Aston Martin announced
[55:32.920 -> 55:37.560] Citibank as a sponsor. The real Haas car will be on track at Silverstone on
[55:37.560 -> 55:41.760] Saturday the 11th. Red Bull is insisting they have no interest in selling Al
[55:41.760 -> 55:46.200] Fatari. Sure. The real Williams car will be on track
[55:46.200 -> 55:48.960] as Silverstone on Monday, the 13th.
[55:48.960 -> 55:51.720] That is the group walk for February 9th completed.
[55:51.720 -> 55:53.880] How was my sector time today, Nicole?
[55:53.880 -> 55:56.960] You flew faster than Charles in that Ferrari this week.
[55:58.320 -> 56:03.320] So we want to give a huge thank you to Voice Over Man,
[56:03.520 -> 56:09.600] the Celsius Jitters, and our four-legged executive producers.
[56:09.600 -> 56:11.820] Make sure you turn on auto-downloads.
[56:11.820 -> 56:13.320] Please rate and review the pod.
[56:13.320 -> 56:15.160] It really, really helps us out.
[56:15.160 -> 56:18.500] Particular shout-out to everyone listening on Apple Podcasts.
[56:18.500 -> 56:20.280] Please leave us a review.
[56:20.280 -> 56:22.480] Don't just rate five stars, give us a little bit of a review.
[56:22.480 -> 56:25.220] We're hoping to have five reviews before it lights out in Bahrain.
[56:25.220 -> 56:26.760] Pretty, pretty please.
[56:26.760 -> 56:30.720] Let us know what you're liking about the pod so we can continue to improve our show.
[56:30.980 -> 56:34.680] Make sure you are following us on all of these social media platforms
[56:34.680 -> 56:38.600] or whichever ones you prefer at Gridwalk Show for your daily gridwalks.
[56:38.980 -> 56:41.900] We'll be back every Thursday and we'll hope you join us.
[56:43.400 -> 56:47.040] Today was a grid stroll and not a grid walk.
[56:47.040 -> 56:52.040] ♪♪♪
[56:56.180 -> 56:58.240] you