200th race of hybrid-turbo era, F1's lesser known milestone - 2023 United States GP Preview

It's been 200 races since the start of the hybrid-turbo era of Formula 1.

Yes, believe it or not, about a fifth of all races in Formula 1 history have been powered by power units...and not engines. How was the hybrid-turbo era fared for Formula 1 and some of its most-important stakeholders?

Whilst discussing this milestone, @f1statsguru also hosts a mini-quiz on this episode of the Inside Line F1 Podcast. The quiz actually highlights how lacking Formula 1 has been in the hybrid-turbo era.

Beg to differ with our views? Let's know via our Instagram page.

And of course, this long episode of the Inside Line F1 Podcast also sees Soumil Arora, @f1statsguru and Kunal Shah preview the upcoming 2023 United States Grand Prix.

COTA marks the start of a triple header and will host a Sprint format weekend for the first time. Will Max Verstappen win his first race as a three times World Champion? OR will McLaren's surge at the front continue and will they finally conquer the Verstappen-Red Bull Racing barrier?

All eyes on Logan Sargeant and Haas F1 Team - the second of their three home Grands Prix this season. And of course, for Liberty Media, too. 

Tune in!

(Season 2023, Episode 55)

Follow our hosts on Twitter: Soumil Arora, @f1statsguru and Kunal Shah

Image courtesy: Red Bull Content Pool

**Navigating the Hybrid Turbo Era of Formula 1: A Comprehensive Overview**

* **A Milestone Reached:** Formula 1 has reached a significant milestone with the completion of 200 races in the hybrid turbo era, marking a decade of racing powered by power units rather than traditional engines.


* **Quiz Time:** The hosts engage in a mini-quiz to test their knowledge of the hybrid era, highlighting the lack of diversity in race winners and the dominance of the top three teams: Mercedes, Red Bull, and Ferrari.


* **Celebrating and Criticizing the Hybrid Era:** While the hybrid era has brought about technological advancements and sustainability efforts, it has also been marked by a decline in spectacle, competition, and unpredictability.


* **The Spectacle Factor:** The introduction of heavier and wider cars has affected the overall spectacle of Formula 1, with fans expressing concerns about the lack of agility and excitement compared to previous eras.


* **Competition and Dominance:** The hybrid era has been dominated by a handful of teams, leading to a lack of sustained competition throughout the seasons. The quiz results emphasize this dominance, with only four instances of teams outside the top three securing race wins.


* **Organizational Issues:** Despite improvements in financial management and sustainability, Formula 1 continues to face challenges in areas such as track limits, penalties, and stewarding consistency. The increased scrutiny brought about by social media has amplified these issues, highlighting the need for better policing and the use of technology to enhance consistency.


* **The Positive Side:** The hybrid era has also brought about positive changes, including advancements in broadcast technology, improved TV production, and a more globalized fan base. The introduction of new camera angles and features has enhanced the viewing experience, while Liberty Media's efforts to make Formula 1 a global television sport have been successful.


* **The Future of Formula 1:** As the hybrid era draws to a close, Formula 1 looks towards the future with the upcoming 2026 regulations. While the new rules will retain the turbo hybrid formula, there is hope that they will address some of the challenges faced during the current era, promoting closer competition and a more exciting spectacle for fans. # Inside Line F1 Podcast: Episode 55

## Overview:
This episode of the Inside Line F1 Podcast marks a milestone in Formula 1 history, as it celebrates the 200th race since the start of the hybrid-turbo era. The hosts discuss the impact of this era on the sport, its stakeholders, and the various controversies and insightful moments that have occurred during this time. They also preview the upcoming United States Grand Prix, which will feature a sprint format weekend for the first time.

## Key Points:
- The hybrid-turbo era has brought about significant changes in Formula 1, including the introduction of power units instead of engines, a focus on commercialization, and the emergence of new teams and drivers.
- Liberty Media's involvement has played a crucial role in the sport's growth and popularity, with increased social media presence, content creation, and accessibility to fans.
- The commercialization of Formula 1 has led to increased revenue and profitability for teams, raising questions about their continued motivation to perform well on track.
- The Americanization of Formula 1 has been a topic of debate, with some fans expressing concerns about the sport's focus on the United States market.
- The Haas F1 Team, as the only American team on the grid, has faced criticism for its lack of competitiveness and its reliance on the Ferrari partnership.
- The upcoming United States Grand Prix at the Circuit of the Americas (COTA) is expected to deliver exciting racing action, but track limits and policing of driver behavior remain concerns.
- McLaren's recent strong form has raised hopes that they can challenge for third place in the Constructors' Championship, potentially disrupting the dominance of Ferrari.
- Sergio Perez's performance in the remaining races will be crucial in determining his future with Red Bull Racing, as rumors of his potential retirement swirl.
- The dynamics between George Russell and Lewis Hamilton at Mercedes will be closely watched, particularly in light of recent incidents and the upcoming sprint races.

## Conclusion:
The Inside Line F1 Podcast provides an informative and engaging discussion of the 200th race in the hybrid-turbo era of Formula 1. The hosts offer insightful perspectives on the sport's evolution, the impact of commercialization, and the upcoming United States Grand Prix. Listeners can expect an entertaining and thought-provoking episode that delves into the key storylines and controversies shaping the world of Formula 1.

[00:00.000 -> 00:21.480] It's triple header time folks.
[00:21.480 -> 00:23.820] Formula 1 is back at last.
[00:23.820 -> 00:26.440] Back in the USA. back for three races and the
[00:26.440 -> 00:30.800] first one of them is at the circuit of the Americas this weekend and this weekend is
[00:30.800 -> 00:35.880] going to be phenomenal because now that F1 is back in America it clearly means more fanfare
[00:35.880 -> 00:42.200] more media attention more stupid driver intros more costly tickets more media hype and lots
[00:42.200 -> 00:49.200] of funny stories coming out on Twitter and best of all more celebrities on the grid as well which means more Martin Brundle
[00:49.200 -> 00:53.080] interacting with celebrities. It's going to be three weeks of absolute content
[00:53.080 -> 00:57.360] all the way through and let's talk about all of that and more on the InsideLine
[00:57.360 -> 01:02.800] F1 podcast. This folks is our US GP preview. My name is Somal Arora. I am the
[01:02.800 -> 01:05.280] host and the voice of MotoGP's Indian Grand Prix in
[01:05.280 -> 01:11.360] India. Joined as always by F1 stats guru Sundaram and Kunal Shah. Now you all know F1 stats guru
[01:11.360 -> 01:17.040] right? He is a part of the WTF1 pool of content creators and Kunal Shah an FIA accredited F1
[01:17.040 -> 01:22.720] journalist for the Viaplay network. But boys it's a it's Formula One back in the US again which means
[01:22.720 -> 01:29.120] that for now Sundaram I think we're going to get more stories of tickets being priced at roughly $300 and barely giving a
[01:29.120 -> 01:30.120] view.
[01:30.120 -> 01:31.120] Good times.
[01:31.120 -> 01:35.400] You know, before that, you know, you've spoken about a lot of reasons to celebrate this weekend's
[01:35.400 -> 01:36.400] Grand Prix.
[01:36.400 -> 01:39.040] I think everyone's missing out on one huge milestone.
[01:39.040 -> 01:43.520] And I don't see many of the teams or even Formula 1 talking about it.
[01:43.520 -> 01:45.360] And that big milestone is that it's
[01:45.360 -> 01:50.960] the 200th Grand Prix of the hybrid era, the 10th season, and we're reaching 200 races
[01:50.960 -> 01:56.480] this weekend in Austin. So we should definitely talk about that. You know, you know what, okay,
[01:56.480 -> 02:00.080] let's do one thing. Let's see how much do you remember about the hybrid era first.
[02:00.080 -> 02:06.400] One second, like, wait a minute, Kunal. 200 races, it's been 200 races since 2014?
[02:08.720 -> 02:15.600] Do we... Time flies. Oh my god, it almost feels like yesterday when we had Hamilton and Rosberg
[02:15.600 -> 02:20.800] debuting in a brand new silver car that are smoking away the field, right? 200 is... Hang on,
[02:20.800 -> 02:25.640] that means that Kevin Magnussen must have also done somewhat around 160 odd races
[02:25.640 -> 02:26.640] in F1.
[02:26.640 -> 02:27.960] He's been around forever.
[02:27.960 -> 02:33.920] Wow and I remember the thousandth race in Formula 1 was in 2019.
[02:33.920 -> 02:41.440] So we are probably at now 200 odd races more, a hundred races more, something like that.
[02:41.440 -> 02:44.800] My math is not the best, at least at this moment.
[02:44.800 -> 02:47.680] They're getting very close. They're getting very close to 1100 actually
[02:47.680 -> 02:53.400] that's happening at the season. 1100 races so basically almost more than one-fifth of those
[02:53.400 -> 02:59.960] f1 races have been run with these and I'm waiting for you know what adjective
[02:59.960 -> 03:05.720] to use with these wretched hybrid turbo units. Remember it's not called engines, it's called
[03:05.720 -> 03:09.480] power units since 2014.
[03:09.480 -> 03:14.120] That really really throws it down the drain. But let's talk about in a few minutes what
[03:14.120 -> 03:18.400] we think of the hybrid era. But wait, you said something about us remembering stuff
[03:18.400 -> 03:21.360] Sundaram. Are you going to put us to the test now on something?
[03:21.360 -> 03:29.720] This is something that I really doing, really like doing asking the questions and not really answering them. So I've compiled a couple
[03:29.720 -> 03:34.800] of questions which I'm going to ask you. Five questions with a bonus question.
[03:34.800 -> 03:39.320] Before you begin, just please have some mercy on us. I've seen your quizzes at the
[03:39.320 -> 03:51.320] Insideline F1 pit stop in person. You are ruthless, you don't give anyone a chance. Please spare the two mere mortals that Kunal and I are. Please. No, no, it's fairly simple if
[03:51.320 -> 03:55.080] you can kind of recollect what's really happened in the hybrid era
[03:55.080 -> 03:58.640] but these are largely answers that you pretty much know, you just have to kind of
[03:58.640 -> 04:02.040] figure your way through it. Cool, so I'll ask you five questions with one bonus
[04:02.040 -> 04:09.120] question at the very end and you can work together to try and give the answers.
[04:09.120 -> 04:10.120] Teamwork.
[04:10.120 -> 04:17.560] Okay, so the first one is, how many times have you seen a team apart from Mercedes,
[04:17.560 -> 04:21.000] Red Bull and Ferrari win a race in the hybrid era?
[04:21.000 -> 04:30.320] Oh, must be Ocon in Hungary 21, Gasly in Monza 20. Riccardo Monza and
[04:30.320 -> 04:38.400] and Racing Point, Sakhir four times. Four times. Yes. That's all? That's it four times.
[04:38.400 -> 04:47.640] Only four times. Only four times. Four times yes. So four times in 199 races so far we've had a team apart from
[04:47.640 -> 04:53.560] the big three winning a race. We got that good so that was fairly easy.
[04:53.560 -> 04:57.920] Here's a fun sport yeah but here's something fun right Ron Dennis has been
[04:57.920 -> 05:01.640] saying all along ever since there's these regulations for hybrid turbo
[05:01.640 -> 05:07.960] ERAVO written saying you need a works engine. And, you know, of course,
[05:07.960 -> 05:12.480] from these Alpine is the only works engine, everything else is a customer engine. So here's
[05:12.480 -> 05:18.220] some stat proving what Ron Dennis was saying, correct as well all along.
[05:18.220 -> 05:21.240] But was the Renault engine also a works engine?
[05:21.240 -> 05:25.880] It was working for a while until it didn't.
[05:28.880 -> 05:32.760] I honestly don't know why to call Renault a works team because it just rarely ever works.
[05:35.000 -> 05:37.620] Well, it, it works at least, you know,
[05:37.620 -> 05:42.040] once in a hundred races and that's their hundred race plan, but you know,
[05:42.320 -> 05:44.560] let's, let's move on. We got one right.
[05:44.560 -> 05:45.000] So mortality extended to second question. said 100 race plan but you know let's let's move on I'm we go one right so
[05:45.000 -> 05:52.480] mortality extended to second question okay this one's also fairly easy which
[05:52.480 -> 05:56.760] constructor has scored the most points in a single race weekend of the hybrid
[05:56.760 -> 06:01.120] era? Oh that must be Red Bull. No Kunal, must be Red Bull right? Sprint win.
[06:01.120 -> 06:07.440] The single sprint win yeah has to be Red Bull whatever some 54 points or whatever they're
[06:07.440 -> 06:09.960] at because 8 points for sprint.
[06:09.960 -> 06:14.000] It must be Mercedes at Silverstone 2021. It has to be. No? No?
[06:14.000 -> 06:17.000] Okay give me a final answer. I would go with Red Bull.
[06:17.000 -> 06:19.000] Terpil, Mercedes, something else what is it?
[06:19.000 -> 06:22.120] I would go with Red Bull. Recency bias.
[06:22.120 -> 06:25.480] I think I'm going Mercedes because no no no no no no the points for the sprint have been upgraded now so it has to be Red Bull. It has to be Red Bull, recency bias. I think I'm going Mercedes because no no no no no the points
[06:25.480 -> 06:27.920] for the sprint have been upgraded now so it has to be Red Bull it has to be Red Bull
[06:27.920 -> 06:34.880] yes recency bias of course it's the first season of the hybrid era 2014 and
[06:34.880 -> 06:39.920] we have double points remember oh my goodness oh 2014 Abu Dhabi that's not fair
[06:39.920 -> 06:46.000] you pulled a Bernie Eccleston on us. Do you remember the team? It can't be Mercedes.
[06:46.000 -> 06:48.000] Because Rosberg had a retirement then.
[06:48.000 -> 06:50.000] So it can't be Mercedes.
[06:50.000 -> 06:52.000] Exactly. So Lewis Hamilton won the race.
[06:52.000 -> 06:54.000] Lewis Hamilton won the race and
[06:54.000 -> 06:56.000] Rosberg had, oh he didn't retire from the race.
[06:56.000 -> 06:58.000] He actually finished the race.
[06:58.000 -> 07:00.000] He had a lot of electrical.
[07:00.000 -> 07:02.000] He had a lot of electrical problems.
[07:02.000 -> 07:04.000] Lewis Hamilton finished first.
[07:04.000 -> 07:08.600] So that's 25 points into 2. 50 points, but Williams finished second and third.
[07:09.000 -> 07:09.440] Yeah.
[07:09.480 -> 07:14.800] Felipe Massa and Valtteri Bottas, 18 plus 15 points, 33 into two,
[07:14.800 -> 07:17.440] 66 points in a single race weekend.
[07:17.440 -> 07:18.880] That's never been done.
[07:19.160 -> 07:20.160] It's never beaten me.
[07:20.160 -> 07:20.920] It's never been beaten.
[07:20.920 -> 07:22.440] No, it's quite obvious.
[07:25.000 -> 07:26.000] Wow, man.
[07:26.000 -> 07:27.000] You, yeah.
[07:27.000 -> 07:31.480] And it can't ever be beaten, you know.
[07:31.480 -> 07:32.480] Yeah.
[07:32.480 -> 07:33.960] Despite RB19 being as dominant.
[07:33.960 -> 07:34.960] It can't ever be beaten.
[07:34.960 -> 07:35.960] Yeah, exactly.
[07:35.960 -> 07:41.880] Unless, unless Liberty says we'll do two times or three times a race points just because
[07:41.880 -> 07:42.880] you want to make things up.
[07:42.880 -> 07:43.880] Yeah, double or nothing in Las Vegas.
[07:43.880 -> 07:44.880] I'm glad.
[07:44.880 -> 07:46.000] That's how things should be. double or nothing in Las Vegas. I'm glad.
[07:46.000 -> 07:48.000] That's how things should be. Double or nothing in Las Vegas.
[07:48.000 -> 07:50.000] Roll the dice and set the grid.
[07:50.000 -> 07:52.000] Crazy one.
[07:52.000 -> 07:54.000] But okay, that's question two.
[07:54.000 -> 07:56.000] Does it get harder from here on?
[07:56.000 -> 08:00.000] Slightly. So the next one is going to be slightly tricky.
[08:00.000 -> 08:02.000] So, similar to the first question
[08:02.000 -> 08:04.000] about how many teams apart from the Big 3 have won,
[08:04.000 -> 08:05.120] this time it's how many times apart from the Big Three have won,
[08:08.960 -> 08:12.720] this time it's how many times apart from the Big Three has a team taken pole position? Ah, this must be a total...
[08:12.720 -> 08:17.840] For all the Lance Stroll fans out there, I remember Lance Stroll in Turkey.
[08:18.960 -> 08:22.720] I think it was Ram who was really pulling our pants down on, you know,
[08:23.520 -> 08:25.520] whatever, in Lance Stroll. Lance Stroll,
[08:25.520 -> 08:32.240] I remember him for something good he did. I'm pretty sure. No Lance Stroll with which race?
[08:34.080 -> 08:40.560] Something in Turkey? Turkey 2020. So that's one. Must be Lando in Russia 2021 as well.
[08:41.120 -> 08:47.640] Must be Lando in Monza 21 as well. No no no no. Who's in pool? No no so
[08:47.640 -> 08:52.080] Lando is only one in Russia 2021. Think last think last season. Last season?
[08:52.080 -> 09:07.000] Last season did we have? No but no but when or how? What was last season? 2022? Think low down the grid. Think really low down the grid. Kevin Magnussen.
[09:07.000 -> 09:15.680] Really really low. Oh yes, so that's three. That's three. Exactly. Three drivers. So that's three. Williams have got a couple as well.
[09:15.680 -> 09:20.800] There's one more. Masa Austria 2014. Exactly. You're done. That's four. There we are. Exactly.
[09:21.920 -> 09:25.440] Four times a team apart from the big three has taken pole position four
[09:25.440 -> 09:30.280] times only. Come on man. I mean goes to say how much really Mercedes, Red Bull and
[09:30.280 -> 09:35.120] Ferrari have been really dominating qualifying as well as on race day. Not
[09:35.120 -> 09:40.000] fair. Not fair. So let's move to question number four. Yeah. Yes. Okay. Let's do that.
[09:40.000 -> 09:45.280] Question four. Okay. This this is my favorite one. This is my favorite one. Okay.
[09:46.080 -> 09:51.080] Who is the only driver to have entered every single Grand Prix weekend of the hybrid?
[09:51.080 -> 09:52.400] It was Hamilton. Clearly.
[09:52.400 -> 09:53.400] There's only one.
[09:53.400 -> 09:55.440] No, he had a, he had COVID-19.
[09:55.440 -> 09:56.080] No.
[09:56.080 -> 10:01.600] Oh, he, oh, oh, oh, oh, ah, right.
[10:02.440 -> 10:03.120] Hang on a moment.
[10:03.120 -> 10:05.000] Can't be Halkan, but Valtteri Bottas. It is Valtteri Bottas Halkanpur. Valtteri Bottas.
[10:05.000 -> 10:07.000] It is Valtteri Bottas.
[10:07.000 -> 10:08.000] No way.
[10:08.000 -> 10:09.000] It is Valtteri Bottas.
[10:09.000 -> 10:12.000] But the interesting thing is, the interesting thing is,
[10:12.000 -> 10:14.000] so he's not skipped a single race weekend.
[10:14.000 -> 10:16.000] He's not skipped a single race weekend.
[10:16.000 -> 10:21.000] But, 2015 Australia, he did take part in practice and qualifying.
[10:21.000 -> 10:24.000] But then he had to withdraw from the race due to a back injury
[10:24.000 -> 10:27.760] that he sustained during qualifying but otherwise he's traveled
[10:27.760 -> 10:31.760] to every single round and he's participated in every single race weekend
[10:31.760 -> 10:37.120] won DNS in 2015 Australia and that's it everyone else has either been replaced
[10:37.120 -> 10:42.400] or they've missed a couple of races and only three drivers have had full seasons
[10:42.400 -> 10:50.020] in the hybrid era so that's Valtteri Bottas, Lewis Hamilton and Sergio Perez. Daniel Ricciardo doesn't really count so that's
[10:50.020 -> 10:57.040] nine and a half seasons. My word. Okay do we just want to throw in
[10:57.040 -> 11:01.900] something really interesting about Valtteri Bottas' mom in here just because we started out on that subject.
[11:01.900 -> 11:06.300] Yeah. I think we'll keep it for another future episode.
[11:06.300 -> 11:09.600] But guys, there's some really interesting fact about Valtteri Bottas's mom.
[11:09.600 -> 11:12.000] It's not what you think it is, but we'll get to that later on.
[11:12.000 -> 11:15.600] But let's focus on the fifth and the sixth questions as well.
[11:15.600 -> 11:18.700] Because by the rate it's going at the moment.
[11:18.700 -> 11:22.200] Okay, this one's going to be pretty tricky.
[11:22.200 -> 11:28.640] So I don't probably expect you to answer, I I mean correctly but still let's see if you remember so how many times have we
[11:28.640 -> 11:35.360] not seen Mercedes, Red Bull or Ferrari I mean a Mercedes, Red Bull or a Ferrari
[11:35.360 -> 11:40.680] driver on the podium in the hybrid era? Wait what? Can you come again? How many
[11:40.680 -> 11:47.520] times have we not seen? Yes, how many times have we not seen a driver from the big three on the podium?
[11:47.520 -> 11:52.520] Like as in together together or like a podium without any of the big three?
[11:52.520 -> 11:56.320] Yes, so I'll give you a clue that's two, there's been two.
[11:56.320 -> 11:59.000] Was it Brazil at that time?
[11:59.000 -> 12:01.800] No, no, no, I know, I know, I know, I know.
[12:01.800 -> 12:03.120] When Pia Dusley pipped, yeah.
[12:03.120 -> 12:25.000] It must be, it must be Monza 2020 and it must be Sakhir 2020. I know, I know, I know, I know, I know, I know, I know, I know, I know, I know, I know, I know, I know, I know, I know, I know, I know, I know, I know, I know, I know, I know, I know, I know, I know, I know, I know, I know, I know, I know, I know, I know, I know, I know, I know, I know, I know, I know, I know, I know, I know, I know, I know, I know, I know, I know, I know, I know, I know, I know, I know, I know, I know, I know, I know, I know, I know, I know, I know, I know, I know, I know, I know, I know, I know, I know, I know, I know, I know, I know, I know, I know, I know, I know, I know, I know, I know, I know, I know, I know, I know, I know, I know, I know, I know, I know, I know, I know, I know, I know, I know, I know, I know, I know, I know, I know, I know, I know, I know, I know, I know, I know, I know, I know, I know, I know, I know, I know, I know, I know, I know, I know, I know, I know, I know, I know, I know, I know, I know, I know, I know, I know, I know, I know, I know, I know, I know, I know, I know, I know, I know, I know, I know, I know, I know, I know, I know, I know, I know, I know, I know, I know, I know, I know, I know, I know, I know, I know, He's not so bad after all. He's not so bad after all.
[12:25.000 -> 12:26.000] Give him a hand.
[12:26.000 -> 12:27.000] Give him a hand.
[12:27.000 -> 12:28.000] He probably needs two.
[12:28.000 -> 12:29.000] Oh God.
[12:29.000 -> 12:30.000] What can I say?
[12:30.000 -> 12:37.680] But okay, but there's a bonus one coming.
[12:37.680 -> 12:38.680] And this is the easiest one.
[12:38.680 -> 12:40.360] This is the easiest one.
[12:40.360 -> 12:43.480] So I probably might, I don't even have to get through the whole question and you could
[12:43.480 -> 12:47.200] probably give me the answer. Who has the most retirements in the hybrid era?
[12:47.200 -> 12:48.000] Fernando Alonso.
[12:48.000 -> 12:48.800] Come on.
[12:48.800 -> 12:49.600] Yes.
[12:49.600 -> 12:50.400] It has to be.
[12:50.400 -> 12:51.600] Wait, wait.
[12:51.600 -> 12:52.400] What do you...
[12:52.400 -> 12:54.200] Despite not being in two seasons.
[12:54.200 -> 12:56.000] Despite not being in two seasons.
[12:56.000 -> 12:56.800] What do you mean by retirements?
[12:56.800 -> 13:00.400] Do you mean retirements in terms of how many times he's gone away from F1 and come back?
[13:00.400 -> 13:03.400] Or do you mean how many times he's actually had his car stopped off?
[13:03.400 -> 13:09.800] Because I think in both cases Alonso is up there. Exactly, exactly. So he's had 40 DNFs
[13:09.800 -> 13:15.120] over how many ever seasons he's done in the hybrid era. Eight. Wow. With McLaren
[13:15.120 -> 13:25.880] between 2015 and 2018 he did 77 races. He started 77 races and he retired from 30 of them just roughly half of them. Already
[13:25.880 -> 13:34.000] Chesslers would be proud. He definitely would be. I actually remember the hybrid turbo era for
[13:34.000 -> 13:39.400] exactly what Fernando Alonso's comment in Spain or in sorry in Suzuka has been
[13:39.400 -> 13:46.320] GP2 engine because we can say that the hybrid turbo era cost Fernando Alonso his greatness
[13:46.320 -> 13:51.320] in Formula 1 because he sort of banked on Honda, went to McLaren, blah, blah, blah.
[13:51.320 -> 13:52.520] We know what happened to that.
[13:52.520 -> 13:54.160] Ferrari didn't deliver in 2014.
[13:54.160 -> 13:55.900] We know what happened there.
[13:55.900 -> 14:02.760] It also cost Sebastian Vettel more titles because he banked on Ferrari.
[14:02.760 -> 14:03.760] We saw what happened.
[14:03.760 -> 14:05.300] And then the 2019 out of court
[14:05.300 -> 14:11.320] settlement with Ferrari, etc. So it's cost two drivers their greatness. Also, it cost,
[14:11.320 -> 14:16.640] I think Lotus became Renault and you know, that umpteenth comeback to the sport and something,
[14:16.640 -> 14:19.080] some vivid memories of this era.
[14:19.080 -> 14:22.400] One second. I think from the way you've put it Kunal, it seems like the hybrid era is
[14:22.400 -> 14:31.840] less of a problem and Ferrari are more of a problem, if anything. I, you know, honestly, okay, now on a very serious note,
[14:31.840 -> 14:38.640] I don't care about thermal efficiency and stuff, which is great. The very fact that
[14:38.640 -> 14:45.600] people are able to do that and deliver such efficient power units is great. It's just the way ISRO is putting Chandrayaan
[14:45.600 -> 14:48.480] in orbit, landing on the lunar surface. One second.
[14:48.480 -> 14:52.480] It's great. Wait, wait, one second. No, no, I'm just trying to say these engineering feats are
[14:52.480 -> 14:57.040] great. I've studied engineering. But now when I look at Formula One, this hybrid turbo era
[14:57.600 -> 15:04.080] actually has cost us as a sport. And as you know, it's a sporting and a political
[15:08.160 -> 15:09.360] sport and it's a sporting and a political debacle for Formula One because over the years,
[15:14.800 -> 15:19.120] Ferrari and Mercedes actually controlled the sporting quotient of Formula One, the competitive quotient of Formula One by saying, Sundaram, I'll give you an engine but Samuel, you're too good,
[15:19.120 -> 15:27.760] I can't give you an engine. And of course, the costs were extremely high as well for all these power unit developments.
[15:27.760 -> 15:37.760] I mean, you know, 8 million euros is what things would normally cost. And it suddenly became two times that because the amount of research that went into building these engines, etc.
[15:37.760 -> 15:47.840] So I don't know if you're celebrating it really, but yes, we've reached a landmark 200 race. And 2026, right, is when this formula is going to be rewritten.
[15:47.960 -> 15:52.000] No. Yeah, but it's still going to be turbo hybrid only, unfortunately.
[15:52.000 -> 15:54.000] So, but wait, wait, wait.
[15:54.160 -> 15:58.720] Before we answer the question about how far has Formula One come since 2014,
[15:58.960 -> 16:01.720] which is the start of the hybrid era, let's just put it out there, right?
[16:01.720 -> 16:04.600] I don't want to have this line coming into dispute anytime soon,
[16:04.600 -> 16:07.720] but we all agree that the old era was better be it be
[16:07.720 -> 16:13.200] tense yes unanimously if anyone says no go away like we do well I yeah yeah
[16:13.200 -> 16:17.480] absolutely and I'll of course apart from the sound and the grunt and the
[16:17.480 -> 16:21.760] ferociousness of the engine I think one of the things the old era did is also
[16:21.760 -> 16:26.720] lowered the engineering bar for a lot of private engine manufacturers to enter.
[16:26.720 -> 16:30.640] We've had the Cosworths of the world come and say, hey, we've got an F1 engine.
[16:30.640 -> 16:33.320] Why don't we just stick it at the back of a car and see how well we go?
[16:33.560 -> 16:38.080] Right now, it's suddenly become extremely commercial, extremely political.
[16:38.280 -> 16:39.120] Look at Andretti.
[16:39.120 -> 16:46.200] I mean, Andretti is like he will be guaranteed an engine, but it'll still be within a pool of engines to pick from.
[16:46.200 -> 16:49.100] He can't go and select the best engine, even if he throws money at it.
[16:49.700 -> 16:51.100] Clearly, but no, okay.
[16:51.100 -> 16:52.300] We're all clear, right?
[16:52.300 -> 16:54.000] 100% Sundaram, I haven't heard from you.
[16:54.100 -> 16:56.300] We are clear that the V8 and V10 era was better.
[16:56.400 -> 16:56.900] Yes, no?
[16:56.900 -> 16:57.700] Absolutely.
[16:57.900 -> 16:58.800] Absolutely.
[16:59.000 -> 16:59.400] Good.
[16:59.400 -> 16:59.900] Great.
[16:59.900 -> 17:00.200] Great.
[17:00.200 -> 17:01.400] So let's put it out of the discussion.
[17:01.400 -> 17:08.800] It was a better spectacle, better to watch, better racing, better characters. Let's just put it out there over and done with. So let's not compare
[17:09.520 -> 17:14.080] this error to the past one. Let's talk about where Formula One has come in the last 10 years very
[17:14.080 -> 17:19.520] quickly before we get to the American GP in itself. Safety is a given. I won't even count that as a
[17:19.520 -> 17:23.680] factor because obviously the FIA have been tremendous in developing the cars and scenarios
[17:23.680 -> 17:28.600] like that. And what we saw, firstly with the introduction of the Halo, unfortunately after the passing
[17:28.600 -> 17:32.660] of Jules Bianchi and then of course the saving of Romain Grosjean with the fireproof suit
[17:32.660 -> 17:37.920] and also the monocoque structure, that's brilliant, beautiful. Formula One has been on par, in
[17:37.920 -> 17:43.040] fact more than ahead of par in terms of safety. So that's great, A1, great. But let's come
[17:43.040 -> 17:46.480] to other talking points. The spectacle. You very clearly
[17:46.480 -> 17:51.040] pointed out, Kunal, that Formula 1 no longer is the same. And I think, Sundaram, I don't think
[17:51.040 -> 17:57.440] you can ever quantify something like X-factor. I know ultimately even these cars sound brilliant.
[17:57.440 -> 18:01.440] And genuinely, folks, if you turn up the volume in qualifying and put the commentators away,
[18:01.440 -> 18:08.720] which you can do on F1 TV, the sound of the cars being on the edge is phenomenal. But clearly, the spectacle isn't quite the same,
[18:08.720 -> 18:11.440] right? They're not as zippy anymore. They don't move around as much because they're
[18:11.440 -> 18:15.880] heavier. So what do you think about the spectacle side? Has Formula One come further or back
[18:15.880 -> 18:21.880] according to you? In certain aspects, yes. And I think the most important aspect is the
[18:21.880 -> 18:26.240] racing. Because the hybrid era kind of started off with Mercedes
[18:26.240 -> 18:31.440] dominating the first several seasons, okay, with literally no competition and probably the only
[18:31.440 -> 18:36.560] sort of competition coming from within. So probably not the most... Several or the first seven?
[18:37.440 -> 18:43.280] No, I mean, I'm obviously counting Sebastian Vettel for 2017 and 2018. Ferrari, Ferrari,
[18:43.280 -> 18:46.560] I would say 2017 and 2018. But 2014 was a would say 2017 and 2018 but 2014 was a
[18:46.560 -> 18:49.880] season where everyone was literally stumped in several aspects that the car
[18:49.880 -> 18:53.760] was so dominant, Mercedes was so dominant and obviously even Bernie was stumped by
[18:53.760 -> 18:59.480] the fact that by the engine note of how these cars sounded so everyone
[18:59.480 -> 19:03.720] was literally stumped with how the whole hybrid era started but in the sense I
[19:03.720 -> 19:10.620] would say there's it's been restricted in so many ways, even in terms of how Pirelli's tires work,
[19:10.620 -> 19:15.380] even in terms of, obviously, there was no refueling as well. But now we have the
[19:15.380 -> 19:19.740] budget gap coming in as well. So it's kind of moved to a very restrictive kind
[19:19.740 -> 19:26.760] of operating. But there were a lot of things that were much, much better before that, preceding that.
[19:26.760 -> 19:31.560] Surely we were more accustomed to seeing the sort of competition that we saw in seasons
[19:31.560 -> 19:35.400] like 2010, 2012, 2008, 2007.
[19:35.400 -> 19:42.680] And we've really not seen a sustained level of competition in that sense through this
[19:42.680 -> 19:43.680] whole era.
[19:43.680 -> 19:45.000] And 2021 was
[19:45.000 -> 19:48.520] clearly an outlier and you put it out so well Kunal that the politics behind the
[19:48.520 -> 19:52.160] sport has suddenly become greater and even though it's a benefit that we no
[19:52.160 -> 19:56.040] longer using 100 engines per season only roughly six or seven because in the
[19:56.040 -> 19:59.200] past remember each and every team would have one engine for each qualifying and
[19:59.200 -> 20:02.560] that's like 22 cars on the grid so suddenly that's so many engines used up
[20:02.560 -> 20:09.120] that's great in one way but as you rightly mentioned the competition has gone down but for the spectacle I think Formula
[20:09.120 -> 20:13.920] One has really pulled something back after 2021 right with the new cars coming in even though
[20:13.920 -> 20:18.720] it's still turbo hybrid but do you think the spectacle has gotten better because in my mind
[20:18.720 -> 20:26.640] that period from 2014 to 2018, 17 firstly was drab horrible in terms of watching the cars. But after that the cars got
[20:26.640 -> 20:31.360] slightly better but uglier. Now we're in that sweet spot where they look good and they sound
[20:31.360 -> 20:36.080] good and they also drive fast and also change direction very quickly as well. So I think Formula
[20:36.080 -> 20:41.120] One is getting there finally in terms of the spectacle, no? You know I wonder if someone's
[20:41.120 -> 20:46.000] suddenly been paid some amount of money by a FOM to say something nice about.
[20:46.000 -> 20:51.000] No, but on a serious note, who remembers 2014 when the sound was suddenly bad?
[20:51.000 -> 20:55.000] There were two things that came out of it. I remember the Australian Grand Prix.
[20:55.000 -> 21:00.000] You could hear tires screeching while the session was on.
[21:00.000 -> 21:06.640] Something you normally don't get to do because the engine was just overpowering every sound that came. Then everybody complained, where's the
[21:06.640 -> 21:08.480] sound, where's the grunt, blah, blah, blah. And there
[21:08.480 -> 21:11.520] was this, uh, they were going to put a, a, a
[21:11.520 -> 21:16.560] megaphone on the exhaust pipes to make it sound
[21:16.560 -> 21:19.000] bigger. And then they were going to put ceramic
[21:19.000 -> 21:21.760] microphones to just capture the engine notes
[21:21.760 -> 21:24.480] better, which is what's also done in other sports.
[21:24.720 -> 21:27.920] And, and, and Somil, youil, you've commentated across several sports.
[21:27.920 -> 21:30.840] I mean, you know, on football fields, they have, you know,
[21:31.160 -> 21:33.480] microphones on the pitches, for example.
[21:33.480 -> 21:37.080] So why not on the cars? But anyway, my point is, I think.
[21:38.800 -> 21:40.160] It's a race car, shouldn't it?
[21:40.160 -> 21:40.440] Yeah.
[21:42.320 -> 21:52.000] Well, if it can have a GoPro fitted, why can't it have a microphone picking up some audio as well? Right. That's the long and short of it.
[21:52.000 -> 21:56.440] But no. OK, broadcast technology.
[21:56.440 -> 21:59.040] We agree to disagree on this one. But you were saying.
[21:59.040 -> 22:07.560] Look at it. Imagine this way, 350 kilometers per hour on the street and you're able to hear the engine not in real time.
[22:07.560 -> 22:09.200] That's broadcast technology for me.
[22:09.200 -> 22:10.960] Again, engineering feats that I spoke of.
[22:10.960 -> 22:14.680] But anyway, I think, I don't, again, you know,
[22:14.680 -> 22:17.840] the big challenge now, the spectacle is,
[22:17.840 -> 22:20.800] it's dependent a lot on tires, right?
[22:20.800 -> 22:22.960] These cars, big, heavy, wide,
[22:22.960 -> 22:28.840] are in fact even worse for the tires. Everyone's saying the cars are big, wide, and heavy, right? These cars big, heavy, wide are in fact even worse for the tires. Everyone's saying the cars are big, wide and heavy, right? And it's like,
[22:28.840 -> 22:48.000] Formula One is now 70, 75 years old, whatever number of years and you know, as you grow older, you just become fatter, if that's the word you cooling and the likes that it's just blown up everything out of proportion.
[22:48.000 -> 22:56.000] If anything, make the car smaller, more brittle, more nimble and make it more edgy, so to say.
[22:56.000 -> 23:02.000] And that's when racing spectacle will also improve like we've seen, for example, in the likes of Formula E as well.
[23:02.000 -> 23:25.920] But not that I want to go down the Formula E route in terms of conversation or specs, but just saying that the hybrid turbo era hasn't done as much for Formula 1 on the sporting side of things, I would say, as it probably has on the sustainability side, like you pointed out, or on the political or the backroom drama and stuff that's there. And on the sporting side, if anything,
[23:25.920 -> 23:28.120] I mean, they brought in the hybrid turbo era saying,
[23:28.120 -> 23:30.200] electrification is going to be the future.
[23:30.200 -> 23:31.840] New manufacturers will come in.
[23:31.840 -> 23:32.680] Guess what?
[23:32.680 -> 23:35.060] A new manufacturer is almost now coming in.
[23:35.060 -> 23:38.720] We've had Honda that joined midway through the turbo era.
[23:38.720 -> 23:41.840] Otherwise it was just largely the Ferrari,
[23:41.840 -> 23:45.200] Mercedes and Renault that used to always be around.
[23:45.200 -> 23:50.400] Yeah, we achieved a grand total of nothing because those four manufacturers were still
[23:50.400 -> 23:54.400] there anyway. I mean, Honda just came back in later on, but it's more or less the same.
[23:54.400 -> 23:59.120] So we're very clear that Formula One has come not very far in terms of spectacle,
[23:59.120 -> 24:03.120] not very far in terms of competition, as the numbers clearly proved on earlier in the episode.
[24:04.160 -> 24:06.920] Where have we come in terms of organization because in the last 10
[24:06.920 -> 24:12.040] years but guys I remember the two of us initially actually the three of us
[24:12.040 -> 24:16.460] initially talking about the number of track limit violations that we had in
[24:16.460 -> 24:19.800] Austria early on in the year and I remember 10 years ago was having the
[24:19.800 -> 24:23.340] same debate like all over again where are the track limits is gonna be white
[24:23.340 -> 24:27.040] lines is gonna be there is it gonna be X, Y or Z? We were having same discussions
[24:27.040 -> 24:32.080] and debates about 10 teams or 11. But if anything, I think in terms of organization, Formula
[24:32.080 -> 24:37.320] One is still in terms, still the same in terms of track limits, in terms of penalties and
[24:37.320 -> 24:42.400] inconsistency. They are better in terms of managing budgets and letting new teams enter
[24:42.400 -> 24:51.000] in sustainability from a financial standpoint, which is great. But isn't it amazing Sundaram that all these little nags and issues like
[24:51.000 -> 24:55.560] track limits, like penalties, like where, like how aggressive can you drive? What is
[24:55.560 -> 24:59.640] a fair move? What isn't an unfair move? All of that is still the same in the last 10 years.
[24:59.640 -> 25:03.040] So much has changed, but so much is still 100% the same as last time.
[25:03.040 -> 25:06.960] It's still the same. Actually, I'll agree. It's still the same, but the scrutiny is more.
[25:06.960 -> 25:09.240] And that's probably because of how
[25:09.240 -> 25:12.520] Liberty Media changed things with respect to social media.
[25:12.520 -> 25:16.360] A lot of details or data already available on the internet.
[25:16.360 -> 25:20.280] So while everyone might think that the FIA is so inconsistent,
[25:20.280 -> 25:22.600] it was pretty much the same story back then as well.
[25:22.600 -> 25:24.400] But then you didn't really know about it,
[25:24.400 -> 25:26.720] or you didn't have the sort of access to know about
[25:26.720 -> 25:30.480] that. So that's the thing all these factors have pretty much remained the
[25:30.480 -> 25:34.880] same. So that's the organization point very quickly let's get to the last
[25:34.880 -> 25:40.520] couple of bits because very clearly. I'm gonna add to organization
[25:40.520 -> 25:50.000] sorry. Go for it. I think the TV spectacle of Formula One has been phenomenal with the tech stuff that's there with Liberty Media, Bernie Eccleston.
[25:50.000 -> 25:56.000] You know, they've actually Bernie handed over the reins to Liberty Media through this series right through the hybrid turbo era.
[25:56.000 -> 26:07.560] But with the whole thing about making it a global television sport, some things just happen every race at the right time. This whole circus style management that we've,
[26:07.560 -> 26:09.880] you know, Formula One has been extremely famous for.
[26:09.880 -> 26:13.520] It's only been strengthened further as seasons have gone.
[26:13.520 -> 26:15.680] I mean, now recently we had that, you know,
[26:15.680 -> 26:18.560] image stabilization camera that was put on Lewis's car
[26:18.560 -> 26:21.320] and Suzuka that we all went gaga over as well.
[26:21.320 -> 26:24.480] So all in all, I would say organization-wise,
[26:24.480 -> 26:51.000] it's been great. A lot of policing that needs to happen properly on track, sometimes even off track, you know, you go touch somebody's DRS wing or you cross a track. And then suddenly you're, you know, not just pulled up for scrutiny once but two times in two weeks, if you're Lewis Hamilton. So that is always over the years been a challenge with Formula One, the whole consistency of stewarding, consistency of policing the sport as it comes and goes.
[26:51.000 -> 26:59.000] And hopefully there will be AI, there will be certain more tech used to make the organization a lot more easy.
[26:59.000 -> 27:08.160] And by easy, what do I mean? I mean, you don't want an Oscar Piastri being interviewed for P3 only to be told, hey, guess what? Thank you for your time, but you're now P6. Bye bye.
[27:08.160 -> 27:14.400] Actually I want that. I want more of that. That'll be more fun. But in terms of organization,
[27:14.400 -> 27:18.000] you get to see human characters, right? You get to see human emotions on display. I mean,
[27:18.000 -> 27:20.920] how many people would react the way Oscar would, which is by putting up a thumbs up
[27:20.920 -> 27:31.280] and saying, fair enough. That's lovely. That's where we get to know more about Oscar. But one last point in organization. I like that Formula One has remained consistent
[27:31.280 -> 27:34.880] in terms of bowing down to the Middle East. Because in the past as well, we used to go to
[27:34.880 -> 27:39.280] so many other Middle Eastern countries that have now become proper mainstays like Bahrain and the
[27:39.280 -> 27:44.160] UAE. Now we've gone one step further. We've just doubled down on that policy. Saudi Arabia, Qatar
[27:44.160 -> 27:47.840] as well. It's just like Formula One has remained consistent on that front,
[27:47.840 -> 27:52.400] which is great to see. But where they have really gone overboard, and this is the last
[27:52.400 -> 27:57.760] thing to discuss before we get to the American GP proper, is the commercialization of the sport.
[27:57.760 -> 28:03.680] Because I think there is no two ways about it, right? Formula One, we just wouldn't have as
[28:03.680 -> 28:08.780] much intrigue about it had we not had the change in the hybrid era and I don't know how much of it can
[28:08.780 -> 28:12.420] be accounted to the hybrid era Sundaram but God bless Liberty Media. I mean thank
[28:12.420 -> 28:15.820] goodness they're here because it feels like a different sport altogether. I
[28:15.820 -> 28:22.300] remember back in 2012-2013 where I think niche would also be a very massy word in
[28:22.300 -> 28:25.520] that regard it was just like a proper,
[28:30.160 -> 28:31.400] it's like something you do secretively alone in your garage and nobody in the world ever has to know what it is.
[28:31.400 -> 28:32.920] Frankly nobody in the world even cares about it,
[28:32.920 -> 28:34.640] but now touch wood it's so much different.
[28:34.680 -> 28:37.800] In fact hundreds of people tend to show up for our Insideland F1 pit stop.
[28:37.800 -> 28:40.680] So many of them in fact, who weren't even fans before 2020.
[28:40.720 -> 28:41.960] So that's phenomenal.
[28:42.160 -> 28:42.680] Well, exactly.
[28:42.680 -> 28:45.760] Very good point because I think it also kind of coincides
[28:45.760 -> 28:51.200] with the way how social media blew up in general around that period, mid 2010s and everyone.
[28:51.200 -> 28:57.280] And it looked like a phase where Bernie Eccleston's like, no, we're really not going down that route
[28:57.280 -> 29:03.120] where we open up the access or paddock access to more people than it really requires. And
[29:04.240 -> 29:05.340] that was at a time when the
[29:05.340 -> 29:09.540] sports interest was also declining a lot of tracks were also moving out it there
[29:09.540 -> 29:13.780] was a lot of debt also under Bernie but with Liberty Media coming in they really
[29:13.780 -> 29:18.780] opened a lot of doors and it kind of I mean the best way to kind of signify
[29:18.780 -> 29:23.300] this or to show this take a look at the team's Twitter accounts from back in
[29:23.300 -> 29:25.040] 2012 or 2013 around
[29:25.040 -> 29:30.040] that period yes and see how much of effort and time goes into producing
[29:30.040 -> 29:35.000] content even trendy content in these years and that kind of brings in more
[29:35.000 -> 29:39.640] fans the sort of behind the scenes information or the scenes videos that
[29:39.640 -> 29:44.560] you see apart from DTS obviously you get to see a lot more than Formula One than
[29:44.560 -> 29:49.360] what you see just on track that also also is of very much interest. You see content creators
[29:49.360 -> 29:53.860] at races, you see a lot of celebrities at races and that's very very, that's that's
[29:53.860 -> 29:57.800] at least I would say like you mentioned, God bless for Liberty Media for putting
[29:57.800 -> 30:01.920] at least that side of things in the forward direction. Oh yeah, I think
[30:01.920 -> 30:09.000] two areas where they've done extremely well is marketing the sport, Drive to Survive, content, social media, they've opened up access to the sport.
[30:09.000 -> 30:16.000] And I still remember back in time when I worked in Formula One, it was under the Bernie era.
[30:16.000 -> 30:25.520] And I put out my smartphone, I recorded a couple of pit stops and I put it up on my Instagram profile. And I still remember suddenly a couple of hours later,
[30:25.520 -> 30:27.880] I was like, will I be told to remove it?
[30:27.880 -> 30:29.480] Will I be blocked off from Instagram?
[30:29.480 -> 30:31.840] Will there be, because it was a personal video,
[30:31.840 -> 30:33.160] it was nothing, but it was just
[30:33.160 -> 30:34.480] to force the India team in action.
[30:34.480 -> 30:36.900] So I think Liberty Media has done great
[30:36.900 -> 30:39.720] in that sort of marketing and commercialization,
[30:40.800 -> 30:42.760] with regards to teams suddenly becoming
[30:42.760 -> 30:44.200] billion dollar enterprises.
[30:44.200 -> 30:48.320] I mean, Alpine was valued at some 900 million dollars for literally having,
[30:48.320 -> 30:51.560] we saw their stats in the hybrid turbo era,
[30:51.560 -> 30:56.360] literally nothing much out there to brag about, but still such a high valuation.
[30:56.360 -> 31:02.280] But the truth also is, and this is again the counterpoint to commercialization,
[31:02.280 -> 31:06.560] teams are now successful business entities, right?
[31:06.560 -> 31:08.000] In the previous era,
[31:08.000 -> 31:10.400] and this has got nothing to do with hybrid turbo.
[31:10.400 -> 31:13.240] Now we've sort of moved into the Liberty Media era
[31:13.240 -> 31:16.200] of Formula One, because it's also their home race this weekend,
[31:16.200 -> 31:18.520] how have they done, et cetera, et cetera, right?
[31:18.520 -> 31:23.520] And I think now that teams are, you know,
[31:24.760 -> 31:25.000] doing well as businesses,
[31:26.880 -> 31:29.660] will they, are they still driven as well
[31:29.660 -> 31:31.740] to continue to do well on track?
[31:31.740 -> 31:34.740] Because I'm still making a profit,
[31:34.740 -> 31:36.700] I'm still making a couple of million pounds
[31:36.700 -> 31:40.660] or more than that as profit every year on the balance sheet.
[31:40.660 -> 31:43.260] Does it really matter that I finished third, fourth, fifth
[31:43.260 -> 31:44.620] or won a couple of races or not?
[31:44.620 -> 31:48.000] Yes, of course it matters. There is a correlation. The more you win, the more you earn money.
[31:48.000 -> 31:56.000] But previously, they had to perform well on track to survive off it.
[31:56.000 -> 32:02.000] Now the survival is sort of guaranteed. So how much does it sort of make you slack away?
[32:02.000 -> 32:08.720] And that's human nature. It's got nothing to do with the teams I've named. But just saying, you know, the fact that you've got a couple of million pounds
[32:08.720 -> 32:12.800] that you're going to write as profit anyway, or shareholders, your investors, sponsors are happy,
[32:12.800 -> 32:17.520] everything is packed up for next year, you know, you will show up next year, even though you're
[32:17.520 -> 32:23.360] losing, you know, like Aston Martin, I mean, they're losing P2 to now P4, suddenly, you still
[32:23.360 -> 32:25.280] know you're going to show up on track even if it's a
[32:25.280 -> 32:29.920] land stroll in the car, you know. So there are lots of these guarantees which also work negatively,
[32:29.920 -> 32:34.720] but that's just my way of looking at things. I think you're right because the next stage of
[32:34.720 -> 32:39.760] the hybrid era is going to see how these teams sustain their competitiveness because as you
[32:39.760 -> 32:44.160] rightly mentioned we've never seen a time in Formula One where there's been a proper click
[32:44.160 -> 32:49.040] like this, click or cleat whatever that word might be. But in Formula One it's always been either Ferrari,
[32:49.040 -> 32:53.200] McLaren or a couple of these small garage-easter teams in the past that used to have a strong
[32:53.200 -> 32:57.920] foothold and then there were all these other minor minnow teams. But suddenly a team like
[32:57.920 -> 33:02.400] Haas is guaranteed a future in Formula One for the next 10 years because it's a profitable business
[33:02.400 -> 33:07.360] entity very clearly. And that is a bit of a weird scenario and you rightly put it that way. We've
[33:07.360 -> 33:12.080] never had that scenario where their survival is not guaranteed on how well
[33:12.080 -> 33:16.000] they do because they will show up the next year. So I want to see that dynamic
[33:16.000 -> 33:20.720] evolve. Let's see how they behave, how they invest into the team and do we end
[33:20.720 -> 33:26.800] up seeing more stability in that regard. Because when you compare what Sauber used to be to what they are today,
[33:26.800 -> 33:28.800] it might still seem like the same, right?
[33:28.800 -> 33:31.520] Back of the grid team, very stable in their operations,
[33:31.520 -> 33:33.680] got good budding engineers and good budding drivers
[33:33.680 -> 33:37.040] that then will make it into a big league later on in the future.
[33:37.040 -> 33:39.040] But I think it makes it a lot more impressive
[33:39.040 -> 33:41.520] that a team like Sauber was able to do it in the past,
[33:41.520 -> 33:43.360] when there was no budget cap era,
[33:43.360 -> 33:44.800] when development was unlimited,
[33:44.800 -> 33:45.160] when they really had to survive on their own merit, and they did for 30 years. was able to do it in the past when there was no budget cap era, when development was unlimited,
[33:45.160 -> 33:49.600] when you really had to survive on their own merit and they did for 30 years and now they
[33:49.600 -> 33:54.000] can just do the same thing without any competitive pressure and still churn out a profit.
[33:54.000 -> 33:59.280] That to me sounds, yeah, that to me sounds a little wrong Kunal in its nature.
[33:59.280 -> 34:02.200] Even though they've earned it, even though they've earned the buy-in period to be about
[34:02.200 -> 34:08.580] a Formula One when it's thriving, but something about it just feels morally wrong.
[34:08.580 -> 34:10.920] And, you know, again, going back to Haas,
[34:10.920 -> 34:13.680] their home race this weekend, blah, blah, blah,
[34:13.680 -> 34:15.020] and stuff, right?
[34:15.940 -> 34:18.800] The team that, the Asian team with a billion dollars
[34:18.800 -> 34:23.400] in backing that had a $600 million kept aside
[34:23.400 -> 34:25.000] as the anti-dilution fee.
[34:25.440 -> 34:27.140] Said, everybody said it's 200 million
[34:27.140 -> 34:28.480] and this team turned around and said,
[34:28.480 -> 34:30.100] guess what, we'll pay three times that money
[34:30.100 -> 34:32.480] and they issued a press release saying that, right?
[34:32.480 -> 34:35.200] They turned around and said, if Haas at this moment
[34:35.200 -> 34:38.600] went through the new cycle of getting approved
[34:38.600 -> 34:40.320] as a new team in Formula One,
[34:40.320 -> 34:42.120] they would have probably not made it this time.
[34:42.120 -> 34:44.280] So, the incumbent teams are just there
[34:44.280 -> 34:48.160] because they sort of withstood all the pressures
[34:48.160 -> 34:50.200] that Formula One as a sport and business
[34:50.200 -> 34:53.720] were going through during the whole transition era
[34:53.720 -> 34:55.520] and the dominant era of Mercedes
[34:55.520 -> 34:57.840] when pretty much nobody was watching Formula One
[34:57.840 -> 34:58.680] and the likes.
[34:58.680 -> 35:03.040] But maybe this is a cue 35 minutes into the episode
[35:03.040 -> 35:07.840] to say, why don't we look forward to Haas' home race this weekend?
[35:07.840 -> 35:08.840] One of three home races.
[35:08.840 -> 35:10.720] Logan Sargent's one of three home races.
[35:10.720 -> 35:13.480] Formula One, Liberty Media's home race as well.
[35:13.480 -> 35:15.520] And look out for what we have this weekend,
[35:15.520 -> 35:17.040] because for the first time, I think
[35:17.040 -> 35:19.880] we have two back-to-back sprint races,
[35:19.880 -> 35:23.840] and also the first time that we have a sprint race in the USA.
[35:23.840 -> 35:25.800] No, let's get to that in a second.
[35:25.800 -> 35:30.000] Let's talk about Haas very, very quickly, because I think when we talk about where Formula
[35:30.000 -> 35:33.000] One has come, commercialization clearly has been better.
[35:33.000 -> 35:38.560] America, sorry, when we talk about Formula One since 2014, we know that commercialization
[35:38.560 -> 35:41.160] has become a lot better since Liberty Media has come in.
[35:41.160 -> 35:48.760] But many people seem to have a problem with the Americanization of the sport. And what I really want to bring out with that is, what do we remember Haas
[35:48.760 -> 35:53.820] for? Do we remember Haas for being an American team? Or do we remember Haas for mediocrity
[35:53.820 -> 35:58.600] and just having notorious issues in the past? I mean, when you come to think about it, Formula
[35:58.600 -> 36:02.280] One really hasn't tapped upon that factor as much. They're trying to with Andretti,
[36:02.280 -> 36:07.680] but clearly the teams don't quite want it at the end of the day. But so many fans are complaining that it's too American
[36:07.680 -> 36:12.880] now. It's too focused on that one market. Well, to put it into context, America is huge,
[36:12.880 -> 36:17.360] folks. America is like massive. Two different coasts altogether, different time zones within
[36:17.360 -> 36:22.560] the country. And in Europe, we've got races that happen in, in fact, in Italy itself.
[36:22.560 -> 36:26.240] We at one point had Mugello, we had Imola and we had Monza.
[36:26.240 -> 36:30.000] If Italy can have three, I know Formula One doesn't quite have the same culture in the US
[36:30.000 -> 36:34.640] but if you look at it geographically, if Italy can have three races, Spain can have two at a
[36:34.640 -> 36:38.320] time as well in the past, France can have one, England can have one and then also we can go
[36:38.320 -> 36:42.080] ahead proceed to have one in Germany as well. I don't see a reason why we can't have three if not
[36:42.080 -> 36:46.640] five races in the US. Like the Americanization process is still happening.
[36:46.640 -> 36:48.640] And isn't that for the better?
[36:48.640 -> 36:51.520] Because the sport is now financially sustainable.
[36:51.520 -> 36:52.480] It's making money.
[36:52.480 -> 36:53.360] Fans are interested.
[36:53.360 -> 36:54.560] More teams want to come in.
[36:54.560 -> 36:58.720] It's not the reverse problem of the past where there used to be a kind of a situation where
[36:58.720 -> 37:00.240] do you want to get into Formula One?
[37:00.240 -> 37:02.000] And the answer was no for most people.
[37:02.000 -> 37:03.120] It's the reverse now.
[37:03.120 -> 37:05.280] So if anything, I'm a big fan of the
[37:05.280 -> 37:10.160] Americanization and that makes me even more disappointed in Haas because as I mentioned,
[37:10.160 -> 37:14.880] we don't remember them for anything right. It's like seriously what do we remember Haas for?
[37:15.680 -> 37:20.880] Do we even remember them to be an American team? I think I'm going to just take that
[37:20.880 -> 37:26.680] since I interrupted your flow of thought but I remember Haas for their opening debut race
[37:26.680 -> 37:28.000] when I think they finished sixth
[37:28.000 -> 37:29.080] and suddenly everybody is like,
[37:29.080 -> 37:32.080] look, here's the team and something's gonna come of it.
[37:32.080 -> 37:34.240] And then pretty much not much has come of it.
[37:34.240 -> 37:37.640] I remember Kevin Magnussen's pole position last year.
[37:37.640 -> 37:40.280] And somewhat, I remember, not somewhat,
[37:40.280 -> 37:43.560] I remember a lot actually of Romain Grosjean's crash
[37:43.560 -> 37:45.480] in Bahrain from a couple of years ago.
[37:45.480 -> 37:51.000] But apart from that, one of the things I really remember Haas for is this whole partnership
[37:51.000 -> 37:54.600] with Ferrari that they forged as a customer.
[37:54.600 -> 37:58.280] We will take everything we can, we will spend the least amount of money and we'll see where
[37:58.280 -> 38:01.720] we go or how far we go with this model.
[38:01.720 -> 38:07.200] Clearly they haven't come really so far as anyone would have imagined.
[38:07.200 -> 38:12.320] Or I mean, if they had come as far, would Formula One and the FIA turn around and said, you know what,
[38:12.320 -> 38:18.000] we need another team in America. Clearly, Haas hasn't done enough for Formula One
[38:18.000 -> 38:23.680] or themselves or the Americanization that you spoke of Samuel. But they're doing a fair bit.
[38:23.680 -> 38:27.980] And what that essentially, go ahead. But they're doing a fair bit... And what that essentially... Go ahead, go ahead. But they're doing a fair bit more
[38:27.980 -> 38:31.620] this time around because quite clearly in the last couple of weeks there's been
[38:31.620 -> 38:35.440] a lot of talk around Andretti. There's also been a certain focus on Logan
[38:35.440 -> 38:39.460] Sargent, especially that something that even we did. But the fact is that Haas is
[38:39.460 -> 38:42.980] entering this weekend with quite a bit of news around them. First of all, they
[38:42.980 -> 38:51.280] have a new livery change, a more Americanized livery that kind of reminds everyone that, hey, we are the American team on
[38:51.280 -> 38:57.040] the grid, so support us. But also, they're also coming in with a huge aerodynamic upgrade
[38:57.840 -> 39:03.680] that also potentially kind of defines how the direction goes for next year. And Gunter Steiner
[39:03.680 -> 39:08.560] is actually calling it the Red Bull concept. He's gone to the extent of saying that we are going down
[39:08.560 -> 39:12.800] the Red Bull way of how a car is going to be aerodynamically and
[39:12.800 -> 39:18.400] it's also probably going to be interesting to see how they kind of move
[39:18.400 -> 39:23.240] forward with this new concept. So definitely eyes on Haas this weekend
[39:23.240 -> 39:26.160] onwards to see if they can kind of ace that because they're also
[39:26.320 -> 39:29.960] in a place in the constructive standings where they're losing ground to the other teams
[39:29.960 -> 39:34.640] I think they've dropped down to P9 after Alfa Romeo got double points the last time out
[39:34.640 -> 39:39.840] So like quite clearly like Kunal mentioned the last time out the fight for P7 is not yet done
[39:39.840 -> 39:45.520] We have a couple of sprint races left. We have USA, we have Brazil as well. So,
[39:45.520 -> 39:50.240] a lot of points that can be up for grabs and maybe cause an upset somewhere lower down
[39:50.240 -> 39:54.080] the constructors standings as well. And Daniel Ricciardo could be one of those
[39:54.080 -> 40:00.080] people potentially vying for those upsets, Kunal. He's finally back in. So, we're in the first proper
[40:00.080 -> 40:04.160] American GP of the Liam Lawson era and mark that somewhere. I think really it's going to be an era
[40:04.160 -> 40:09.200] considering the way this guy's been driving. But Riccardo is back and the pressure is on Sergio
[40:09.200 -> 40:15.040] Perez because the rumors are now swirling around that he might just end up announcing his retirement.
[40:17.680 -> 40:22.000] Yeah, what do we think of that this weekend? Because the question that's swirling in my
[40:22.000 -> 40:26.000] mind now, Kunal, is what can Sergio Perez really do to turn it around?
[40:26.000 -> 40:29.280] Like, does his performances really matter anymore? Genuinely?
[40:29.280 -> 40:32.080] Has the decision already been made at Red Bull Racing?
[40:32.080 -> 40:38.000] I don't think a decision is made, but I think, okay, I'll put it this way.
[40:38.000 -> 40:44.000] I think a decision has been made for 2024 because it's a commercial decision, clearly, like I've been saying.
[40:44.000 -> 40:46.000] One second. Do you mean the first part of 2024?
[40:46.000 -> 40:49.000] I think they just, no, no, I mean the full season.
[40:49.000 -> 40:53.000] You know, dropping a driver like Perez mid-season cannot really happen
[40:53.000 -> 40:56.000] unless there's a massive lag of performance.
[40:56.000 -> 41:00.000] Let's remember first half of this season there wasn't really a massive lag.
[41:00.000 -> 41:04.000] He still performed certainly, his drop-off has happened in the second part of the season.
[41:04.000 -> 41:08.880] And like I said, they bought him off the market with a lot of Mexican sponsors.
[41:08.880 -> 41:13.440] So it's not that they can just tell him, there we go, bye bye and not pay him a bulk of money for it.
[41:13.440 -> 41:14.880] But that's just one point.
[41:14.880 -> 41:21.280] I think if Checo doesn't get B2 in the Drivers Championship this year, then he's really on thin ice.
[41:21.280 -> 41:25.040] Because Red Bull with all the dominance that they've had since last year
[41:25.040 -> 41:29.520] and this year, the only thing missing is a 1-2 in the Drivers' Championship in their
[41:29.520 -> 41:30.520] history.
[41:30.520 -> 41:35.360] They really want that and they want Checo to go get that, obviously, right?
[41:35.360 -> 41:39.880] And if he doesn't get that, then it's going to be really, really tricky grounds for Checo
[41:39.880 -> 41:40.880] Perez.
[41:40.880 -> 41:45.880] And, you know, we all scoffed when McLaren let go of Daniel Ricciardo, but look at the
[41:45.880 -> 41:51.560] way Oscar Piastri stepped up and scored probably more points than Daniel Ricciardo would have
[41:51.560 -> 41:52.560] managed again.
[41:52.560 -> 41:58.480] It's just conjecture that I'm saying it, but I think where the Perez situation falls and
[41:58.480 -> 42:06.280] even the rumors around Helmut Marko, you know, the whole, I think the battle in Red Bull is first external with
[42:06.280 -> 42:10.360] McLaren trying to catch up, everybody doing new cars for 24, etc.
[42:10.360 -> 42:16.280] But also internal, because who is actually driving the team forward with all the whole,
[42:16.280 -> 42:20.960] you know, with all the with all the number of architects with amount of dominance that's
[42:20.960 -> 42:26.320] happened will internally they manage to gel as well together in through
[42:26.320 -> 42:31.920] this period. We saw when Todd Schumacher-Bron split up, Ferrari stopped winning. And this whole
[42:31.920 -> 42:37.280] rumor that Luciano Berti has put out saying Christian Horner wants Helmut Marko out. We
[42:37.280 -> 42:42.000] don't know what the truth behind that is. I usually never fall for these things, because we know Marko
[42:42.000 -> 42:47.540] is actually, you know, he's the advisor to Red Bull and he's not really a part of Red Bull racing, so to say. But lots of
[42:47.540 -> 42:55.640] things there. And the interesting thing about Ricardo being back is, you know, last time when he told Liam Lawson that he was going to not race
[42:55.640 -> 43:05.760] and Liam would race, he made a FaceTime video call from an unknown number. This time, I want to know how did Liam Lawson get to know that he's not going to race? Did he get a
[43:05.760 -> 43:10.560] text, a cold text saying, thanks boy, see you next season, but the car's mine or something like that?
[43:12.400 -> 43:16.640] I wonder, I wonder how that must have happened, but great to see Ricardo on the grid. That's one
[43:16.640 -> 43:21.280] big story. But the final couple of things, as we all mentioned, Circuit of the Americas,
[43:21.280 -> 43:29.520] it's going to be a phenomenal one because this circuit as we all know always has great racing action. Qualifying here is going to be very very close, lots of undulation.
[43:29.920 -> 43:34.800] Qualifying is going to be so much fun to watch with other commentators just to watch how the cars tackle the circuit.
[43:35.040 -> 43:40.400] But that brings up another big problem Sundaram, which is track limits. Because if Austria was a problem,
[43:40.880 -> 43:44.420] watch out for the final sector at the USA circuit, at the Circuit of the Americas.
[43:44.640 -> 43:48.480] Because when IndyCar came here a few years ago, they were basically told,
[43:48.480 -> 43:52.880] whatever piece of tarmac you see, use it. So the white lines didn't count whatsoever.
[43:52.880 -> 43:56.480] Formula One has been more stringent than that. But I wonder if this time when we come to the
[43:56.480 -> 44:00.000] circuit of the Americas, will we find out that we have a sausage curve? Will we find out that
[44:00.000 -> 44:03.920] we have a pyramid curve at the last couple of corners? Something like that that could really
[44:03.920 -> 44:05.280] annoy the drivers.
[44:05.280 -> 44:08.720] And if there's nothing, how do the FIA police that place?
[44:08.720 -> 44:11.320] How do the FIA also police the end of the S's,
[44:11.320 -> 44:13.440] that final quick left-hand kink that we have
[44:13.440 -> 44:14.800] before we go to the left-handed hairpin
[44:14.800 -> 44:15.840] before the long straight?
[44:15.840 -> 44:17.440] How do we manage all that stuff?
[44:17.440 -> 44:21.440] So I get a feeling the FIA is genuinely going to have
[44:21.440 -> 44:23.160] an issue this time on track limits.
[44:23.160 -> 44:24.400] Oh, absolutely, absolutely.
[44:24.400 -> 44:27.680] And like you said, it kind of annoys the drivers and it also annoys
[44:27.680 -> 44:34.080] the audience. Because quite clearly, what we saw the last time out in Qatar was just not great to
[44:34.080 -> 44:40.000] watch as a spectator seeing so many track limits being violated, track limit violations. And let's
[44:40.000 -> 44:43.600] not even talk about curbs for the rest of the season. I think I'm really done with talking
[44:43.600 -> 44:46.640] about curbs and sausage curbs and pyramid curbs.
[44:46.640 -> 44:51.880] It kind of just ruins the way you kind of watch a race or you even experience a race.
[44:51.880 -> 44:58.560] And the FIA is definitely going to be under pressure to police this throughout the race
[44:58.560 -> 44:59.560] weekend.
[44:59.560 -> 45:04.340] But it's probably not going to be to the extent of how it was in Qatar or how it was in Austria.
[45:04.340 -> 45:08.360] But they really have to find a more long-term solution to this because they're
[45:08.360 -> 45:09.720] going to have Austria next year.
[45:09.960 -> 45:13.640] And even the FIA president has gone to the extent of saying this,
[45:13.640 -> 45:17.640] that if tracks don't find the answer to track limits,
[45:17.800 -> 45:19.520] then we're going to drop these circuits altogether,
[45:19.920 -> 45:21.560] which is a very bold statement.
[45:22.240 -> 45:25.520] Yeah, that's, that's quite something, right? And clearly.
[45:25.520 -> 45:31.200] And I'm going to add, sorry, track limits.
[45:31.200 -> 45:33.120] There's track limits with cars, and there's
[45:33.120 -> 45:34.400] a track limit with drivers.
[45:34.400 -> 45:36.440] And Lewis Hamilton is being investigated
[45:36.440 -> 45:40.300] if he was, I don't know, penalized enough the last time
[45:40.300 -> 45:41.780] for walking across a track.
[45:41.780 -> 45:51.440] I don't know, sometimes I just get this feeling Hamilton just becomes a poster boy and the FIA uses it to make him an even bigger poster boy and
[45:51.440 -> 45:54.800] I don't know. But anyway, there's a lot of stuff to look forward to. I mean, the other
[45:54.800 -> 46:02.320] thing is, of course, McLaren. Will their crazy form continue? I mean, the two drivers have
[46:02.320 -> 46:05.360] said 79 points to Ferrari in third place. Yeah, should be possible. I mean, the two drivers have said 79 points to Ferrari in third place. Yeah,
[46:05.360 -> 46:11.920] should be possible. I mean, that's mega, right? If McLaren would have had their recovery at the
[46:11.920 -> 46:19.200] start of the season, Red Bull would have not had it this easy. And this is why 2024 becomes even
[46:19.200 -> 46:26.000] more interesting without, I mean, we are probably 200 days away from 2024, but can you imagine what it could be if
[46:26.640 -> 46:33.920] McLaren remains as strong as they've been in the second half of this season or since Austria this
[46:35.120 -> 46:38.880] year? Let's wait and watch to see how things go about this weekend. But folks,
[46:38.880 -> 46:43.680] I hope you've enjoyed this episode of the Inside Line F1 podcast. It's a long one, yes,
[46:43.680 -> 46:45.280] but a big occasion to celebrate
[46:45.280 -> 46:50.560] with the 200th Grand Prix in the hybrid era. But let's very quickly go for predictions. And after
[46:50.560 -> 46:54.560] all the numbers that you've thrown me Sundaram, I very quickly am also going to be doing the
[46:54.560 -> 46:59.520] smart thing and betting on someone in the big three. For me, it has to be Carlos Sainz because
[46:59.520 -> 47:11.120] remember folks, he was the pole sitter last year here. Momentum also on his side so I'm going to go for him as always but very quickly where do you guys stand on that? Why don't you go first?
[47:11.120 -> 47:15.680] I have a very interesting stat to just kind of plug in right here. So Max Verstappen has won
[47:15.680 -> 47:21.280] the last 18 races held on consecutive, sorry clockwise configurations and the only races that
[47:21.280 -> 47:27.840] he's not won this year are anti-clockwise circuits. He has won in Miami, which was also an anti-clockwise track.
[47:27.840 -> 47:30.720] But the races that he's not won this year were an anti-clockwise track.
[47:30.720 -> 47:31.720] So where was it?
[47:31.720 -> 47:36.080] Saudi Arabia, Baku, which is the other one I can't seem to remember.
[47:36.080 -> 47:37.080] Singapore.
[47:37.080 -> 47:38.080] Yeah, Singapore.
[47:38.080 -> 47:41.640] So four of the next five races are on anti-clockwise circuits.
[47:41.640 -> 47:47.120] I don't mean to say that that really matters, but maybe we're going to have a different race
[47:47.120 -> 47:47.960] when this time is right.
[47:47.960 -> 47:48.800] Yeah.
[47:48.800 -> 47:51.520] What about you, Kunal?
[47:51.520 -> 47:52.720] Who's your money on?
[47:52.720 -> 47:55.000] I think I'm going to put my money on Max Verstappen.
[47:55.000 -> 48:00.000] He just is going to win it all, like I keep saying.
[48:00.160 -> 48:03.800] But I think at some point I'm going to get it wrong.
[48:03.800 -> 48:08.480] But at the moment there's a very high chance I'm going to get it right for several more races to come.
[48:08.480 -> 48:14.080] And, you know, we'll get to see if he sort of loosened off a little bit after winning the third title.
[48:14.080 -> 48:18.080] He didn't really loosen up in Qatar, as you'll call it.
[48:18.600 -> 48:20.320] But let's see.
[48:20.320 -> 48:21.760] I hope there is a challenge.
[48:21.760 -> 48:26.640] I hope McLaren is able to challenge him because they seem to be the closest.
[48:26.640 -> 48:29.560] And there's this whole talk of circuits
[48:29.560 -> 48:32.600] are gonna benefit Mercedes more
[48:32.600 -> 48:34.720] given the characteristics of those circuits,
[48:34.720 -> 48:36.600] so McLaren will drop back, et cetera.
[48:36.600 -> 48:39.120] But I would love to see if McLaren is able
[48:39.120 -> 48:41.000] to still keep tuning their car
[48:41.000 -> 48:43.040] into these different circuit requirements
[48:43.040 -> 48:44.380] and still be up there.
[48:44.380 -> 48:45.200] I mean, McLaren versus Ferrari requirements and still be up there. I mean,
[48:50.880 -> 48:55.520] McLaren versus Ferrari is what I grew up on and if that's the story for P3 or P whatever in the championship, I'm all in. Let's wait and see if we eventually end up getting more and more of the
[48:55.520 -> 49:01.040] same this weekend. Folks, but what do we have in mind? Sundaram, what do we have in mind? I'm going
[49:01.040 -> 49:05.760] to particularly really look at how the dynamics is really between George Russell
[49:05.760 -> 49:10.560] and Lewis Hamilton this particular weekend and onwards because it's happened in the last two
[49:10.560 -> 49:15.200] tracks, it's happened at the last two races so I'm particularly going to be looking at what happens
[49:15.200 -> 49:20.640] on track is are there going to be any team orders in play, any instructions especially during between
[49:20.640 -> 49:27.280] these drivers, we have a couple of sprints coming up as well. So I'm very, I want to keep a close eye on what happens in that, within that team.
[49:27.280 -> 49:32.080] More chaos, more drama, more qualifying issues, more crashes? Let's wait and see. Let's wait and
[49:32.080 -> 49:37.040] see. But now folks, it's time to end at last. Well, it was amazing. Thank you so much for
[49:37.040 -> None] listening to this episode. And we'll be back on Monday with the post race review. Stay tuned everyone, we'll be there. Goodbye. you