Brad enters the Pitt-lane - 2023 British GP Preview

Even if Max Verstappen-Red Bull Racing dominate yet another race this season, the 2023 British Grand Prix will be remembered for when a movie was shot during a real Grand Prix weekend. Yes, Brad Pitt's Formula 1 movie will be shot in between all the official racing sessions at Silverstone. But you probably already know this...!

We love when other forms of entertainment embrace Formula 1 to narrate a story or two. Lewis Hamilton's involvement in Brad Pitt's under-production movie (rumoured to be called Apex) could make this the most-realistic Formula 1 movie ever?

We're hosting a live race screening for Formula 1 fans in Mumbai for the 2023 British Grand Prix.

Where: Khar SOCIAL

When: 9th July, 6.30 pm onward (IST)

Soumil Arora will host a pre/post race interaction & F1 quiz for all attendees.

Get your tickets on Paytm Insider.

In this episode of the Inside Line F1 Podcast, Soumil Arora, @f1statsguru aka Sundaram and Kunal Shah preview the upcoming 2023 British Grand Prix. Apart from the 11th team on the grid, modified liveries and helmet designs, modified cars via upgrades will be the key talking points this weekend.

This race is the home race for at least 8 teams on the grid (Haas and AlphaTauri have remote operations in the UK, too), so we expect everyone to pile on as many upgrades to their cars as possible. And of course, a 'normal' Grand Prix weekend format means that teams will have three Free Practice sessions to test their upgrades, too.

Will Fernando Alonso-Aston Martin return to their podium-scoring ways? Can Ferrari continue to marginally outscore Mercedes and Aston Martin for 2nd place in the Constructors' Championship? Can Sergio Perez get it right in Qualifying? Can Lewis Hamilton and Nico Hulkenberg continue their scoring ways at Silverstone? And what about the new Pirelli compound, could it stop Red Bull Racing in any way?

Lots of stories and narratives to look forward for the 2023 British Grand Prix, tune in!

(Season 2023, Episode 34)

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

Image courtesy: Twitter, Formula 1

**Episode Overview:**

- The upcoming British Grand Prix weekend at Silverstone will witness a unique event: the filming of a Formula One movie starring Brad Pitt. This marks a significant moment where entertainment and Formula One collide, potentially creating the most realistic Formula One movie ever.

- The Inside Line F1 Podcast team, consisting of Soumil Arora, Sundaram, and Kunal Shah, preview the British Grand Prix, discussing various aspects such as team upgrades, driver performances, and potential storylines.

- The race is a home event for at least eight teams on the grid, leading to expectations of numerous upgrades and modifications to cars.

- Key questions surround the return of Fernando Alonso and Aston Martin to podium contention, Ferrari's ability to maintain its advantage over Mercedes and Aston Martin in the Constructors' Championship, Sergio Perez's qualifying performance, and the potential impact of a new Pirelli tire compound on Red Bull Racing's dominance.

- The episode highlights the excitement surrounding the introduction of two new American drivers, Brad Pitt and Joshua Pearce, as well as the addition of an 11th team, Apex Racing, to the Formula One grid.

- The hosts engage in light-hearted banter and trivia, discussing the teams that do not have their bases in the United Kingdom.

- Upgrades and modifications to cars are expected across the grid, with teams aiming to maximize their performance at their home race.

- The British Grand Prix is known for its thrilling first-lap action and close battles, making it an exciting spectacle for fans.

- The episode acknowledges Max Verstappen's dominance and the possibility of him extending his winning streak. However, the hosts express hope for a different race winner, citing the law of averages and the potential for an upset.

- The unique characteristics of the Silverstone circuit are discussed, including the absence of DRS on the main straight due to the lack of a braking point at Turn 1.

- The episode touches upon the challenges faced by Sergio Perez in qualifying and the need for him to perform well in the upcoming race weekend.

- The hosts discuss the recently announced Formula One calendar for 2023, which features 24 races and includes changes such as Japan being moved to April. They express concerns about the length of the calendar and the potential impact on teams and drivers.

- The episode concludes with a focus on Ferrari's recent performance and its ability to outscore Mercedes and Aston Martin since the Azerbaijan Grand Prix. The hosts speculate on whether this trend will continue and which driver will challenge Carlos Sainz at the British Grand Prix. # Inside Line F1 Podcast - British Grand Prix 2023 Preview

## Introduction:

- The upcoming British Grand Prix at Silverstone will be a unique event as Brad Pitt's Formula 1 movie, rumored to be titled "Apex," will be filmed during the race weekend.
- Lewis Hamilton's involvement in the movie could potentially make it the most realistic Formula 1 movie ever.

## Race Preview:

- The British Grand Prix is a home race for eight teams, and upgrades will be a key factor in determining performance.
- Fernando Alonso and Aston Martin will aim to return to the podium, while Ferrari will look to maintain its advantage over Mercedes and Aston Martin in the Constructors' Championship.
- Sergio Perez will hope to improve his qualifying performance, and Lewis Hamilton and Nico Hulkenberg will look to continue their points-scoring streak at Silverstone.
- The new Pirelli compound could potentially hinder Red Bull Racing's dominance.

## Midfield Battle:

- The midfield is expected to be highly competitive, with McLaren, Alpine, AlphaTauri, and Williams bringing upgrades to their cars.
- Nico Hulkenberg is a strong contender for a good result at Silverstone, having scored in his last eight races at the track.
- Yuki Tsunoda has emerged as the lead driver at AlphaTauri and will be aiming to continue his improved form.
- Logan Sargent will be looking to build on his recent points-scoring finish in Austria.

## Track Characteristics:

- The track characteristics at Silverstone, such as high-speed corners and long straights, will play a role in determining the performance of different teams.
- The weather and track conditions can also impact the outcome of the race, leading to fluctuations in performance and results.

## Conclusion:

- The British Grand Prix promises to be an exciting event with close battles throughout the field.
- The mix of upgrades, weather, and track characteristics will create unpredictable and entertaining racing.
- Fans are encouraged to join the Inside Line F1 Podcast team in Mumbai for a live race screening and interactive discussion.

[00:00.000 -> 00:21.440] Guys, it's happening.
[00:21.440 -> 00:26.880] Sunny Hayes is making his Formula One debut. I know, I know, it's a little bit silly. You
[00:26.880 -> 00:30.640] might be thinking, who in the world is this? What is happening at the moment?
[00:30.640 -> 00:35.520] And what do you mean by Sunny Hayes? Is this some sort of code word? But no, it's not just Sunny
[00:35.520 -> 00:40.320] Hayes. Joshua Pearce is also going to be on the Formula One grid. And I'm thinking this time,
[00:40.320 -> 00:46.240] Kunal, if there is one way for a driver on debut to make an impact it's to take Max Verstappen
[00:46.240 -> 00:51.920] out. Come on Sunny Hayes, be a legend, take him out and you will forever be remembered as the man
[00:51.920 -> 00:57.200] who destroyed a legacy of dominance. Gonna be a fun weekend this time out, two new drivers.
[00:57.200 -> 01:03.600] My goodness, you have just polarized the fan base in the opening one minute of the episode,
[01:04.400 -> 01:06.880] just so that everybody knows for those who didn't get it,
[01:06.880 -> 01:10.480] Somil was being sarcastic, right? I'm guessing you were.
[01:12.480 -> 01:14.160] There is going to be an 11th team in Formula One.
[01:14.200 -> 01:18.520] I can at least try to copy the report and be partially true. No.
[01:18.960 -> 01:22.160] And okay. Okay. 11th team in Formula One.
[01:22.160 -> 01:30.400] And everybody thinks of Andretti and this is probably a good time to bring time to bring in the fact that the FIA is processed, the formal process. And now I'm serious.
[01:30.400 -> 01:38.880] So formal process ended on 30th of June. So when next will the FIA actually say if a team has made it through to the next round or not?
[01:38.880 -> 01:46.160] And rumors say that two teams actually haven't, two teams are going through the next phase, which is what we don't know what is,
[01:46.160 -> 01:47.520] but that's just the most serious thing
[01:47.520 -> 01:49.040] I'm gonna say in the opening few minutes.
[01:49.040 -> 01:50.680] Yes, quite clearly, quite clearly.
[01:50.680 -> 01:53.000] Let's get back to the banter because folks,
[01:53.000 -> 01:56.240] now it's not just Kunal and myself for the last few months,
[01:56.240 -> 01:57.080] like it has been.
[01:57.080 -> 01:59.520] We also, thankfully, after so many months,
[01:59.520 -> 02:01.480] have F1 stats grew back again.
[02:01.480 -> 02:03.960] Sundaram, so awesome to firstly see you
[02:03.960 -> 02:05.440] because I haven't quite for
[02:09.440 -> 02:15.040] a month as well because Mumbai rains they're a little bit of a ridiculous thing but what an occasion to be recording this again because we have a brand new Formula One team and after years
[02:15.040 -> 02:20.800] of planning it's not the American team called Andretti or Cadillac or something else it's the
[02:20.800 -> 02:25.000] Apex Racing team that's backing Strange.
[02:25.000 -> 02:27.320] Yeah, we have 11th team on the grid finally
[02:27.320 -> 02:28.560] after a very long time.
[02:28.560 -> 02:30.880] And what I'm most excited to see is that
[02:30.880 -> 02:33.600] we finally have two American drivers on the grid.
[02:33.600 -> 02:35.940] And one of them is not Colton Herta,
[02:35.940 -> 02:37.000] but actually Brad Pitt.
[02:37.000 -> 02:39.740] And I think that's the first time we've had
[02:39.740 -> 02:42.360] two Americans on the grid in 40 years.
[02:42.360 -> 02:44.120] I think it goes back to 1983.
[02:44.120 -> 02:48.400] We had Danny Sullivan and Eddie Cheever in the 1983 season.
[02:48.400 -> 02:50.600] So I think Colton Hurta wouldn't be nice.
[02:50.600 -> 02:52.200] Wouldn't be, I think he's already not,
[02:52.200 -> 02:53.960] he's not pleased with seeing that
[02:53.960 -> 02:56.520] he didn't get a super license before him,
[02:56.520 -> 02:58.000] but that's how it is.
[02:58.840 -> 03:02.240] You mean that Logan Sargent won't be
[03:02.240 -> 03:06.320] the most popular American driver on the grid this weekend.
[03:06.320 -> 03:12.320] He's second in a one horse race.
[03:12.320 -> 03:19.480] But I'll tell you what, and this is the marketer in me, Brad Pitt is really missing a point.
[03:19.480 -> 03:24.600] Instead of using his name as Sonny Hayes, and the last three letters would be H-A-Y,
[03:24.600 -> 03:25.840] he should have just used Brad Pitt.
[03:25.840 -> 03:28.280] He would have been P-I-T on the timing board, right?
[03:29.120 -> 03:32.320] Joshua Pierce will be P. I mean, okay, fine.
[03:32.440 -> 03:35.840] But I think everybody's interested in what Brad Pitt and P-I-T.
[03:35.840 -> 03:37.160] And I think they had done a band.
[03:37.240 -> 03:41.880] They had run some social media posts on this in Miami or whichever race he
[03:41.880 -> 03:45.360] visited last year, but he has 11th team. I wish somebody, I mean,
[03:45.360 -> 03:51.040] I wonder, will the team principal of this team appear in the team principals conference? And
[03:51.040 -> 03:58.400] will Tom Clarkson ask what his dilution fee was? You know, was it 200 million? Or was it 500 million
[03:58.400 -> 04:03.840] or whatever? I wonder if Sonny Hayes and Joshua Pierce will appear in the driver's press
[04:03.840 -> 04:05.920] conferences and so on. So many
[04:05.920 -> 04:10.240] questions and we'll see if we get answers. Yeah, quite a lot of fun. It's going to be amazing.
[04:10.240 -> 04:16.320] 11 team racing this time out, but it kind of feels a lot like Fernando Alonso, a middle-aged driver
[04:16.320 -> 04:22.480] who's had a very interesting story, randomly being put into a car that's just not very fast.
[04:22.480 -> 04:25.080] Have I seen the story before, Sundaram? Ever?
[04:27.200 -> 04:27.720] That's exactly what I thought as well while reading
[04:31.480 -> 04:34.920] the whatever that was revealed of the storyline that an F1 veteran comes back to the sport and he's mentoring a rookie driver.
[04:35.200 -> 04:36.920] So I don't know who are they referring to here.
[04:36.920 -> 04:39.160] Is that Nick DeVries? Is it Logan Sargent?
[04:39.720 -> 04:41.440] Or I have no clue.
[04:41.440 -> 04:45.000] But then that's the first thought that came across at my mind when they said F1 veterans.
[04:45.000 -> 04:48.000] It's just driven Kunal. It's just the movie driven.
[04:48.000 -> 04:51.000] But, but wait, we don't know the plot.
[04:51.000 -> 04:56.000] Does Joshua Pierce's father own Apex Grand Prix?
[04:56.000 -> 04:59.000] That's the, that's the mood question. Remember?
[04:59.000 -> 05:02.000] That's the mood question.
[05:02.000 -> 05:08.500] And anyway, but the truth is they're going to be racing modified Formula 2 cars that look like Formula 1.
[05:08.500 -> 05:09.500] Mercedes has helped them.
[05:09.500 -> 05:13.500] Lewis Hamilton is involved in the project as a consultant.
[05:13.500 -> 05:16.500] There are already garages made and so on.
[05:16.500 -> 05:23.000] So, I mean, frankly, I love the fact that Formula 1 is embracing this side of bringing in new fans.
[05:23.000 -> 05:24.000] I think it's great.
[05:24.000 -> 05:26.480] Drive to survive, Apex and for
[05:26.480 -> 05:33.920] long I've said movies like Rush actually did fantastic to bring new bases to Formula One and
[05:35.280 -> 05:40.880] you know, so I'd love to see how this whole thing comes up but I definitely see Brad Pitt
[05:40.880 -> 05:51.600] stealing the headlines this weekend. Yeah, just not Brad Pitt. There's also going to be so much more on Lewis Hamilton as well. So much more on who wins the F1.5 battle. But let's just
[05:51.600 -> 05:57.280] get to a really interesting trivia question before that we need to tell you who we are,
[05:57.280 -> 06:02.000] because you might be thinking, who are these random three people talking about Brad Pitt and
[06:02.000 -> 06:10.080] Joshua Pierce and whoever that might be. Well, this folks, in case you haven't quite figured out is the Inside Line F1 podcast. Normally, we tend to just
[06:10.080 -> 06:14.480] casually banter on for a couple of minutes, but this time off, it feels like a celebration. It
[06:14.480 -> 06:19.520] feels like a party and why shouldn't it be? And of course, my name is Somal Lalora. I'm the host
[06:19.520 -> 06:24.240] of the Indian Racing League on Star Sports. Joining me is Kunal Shah, the former marketing
[06:24.240 -> 06:28.040] head of the Force India F1 team, the proper old 11 team
[06:28.040 -> 06:29.000] on the Formula One grid.
[06:29.000 -> 06:31.320] But there were never 11 when Force India was around.
[06:31.320 -> 06:34.960] It was always either 13 or 10 or whatever it might be.
[06:34.960 -> 06:36.480] But the point is, he was that.
[06:36.480 -> 06:39.280] And he's also an FIA-accredited F1 journalist.
[06:39.280 -> 06:41.880] And we also have F1 stats guru back on,
[06:41.880 -> 06:43.240] as I mentioned earlier on.
[06:43.240 -> 06:50.100] Fresh from, of course, now also being nominated in the WTF1 talent list. I can see the smile over there Sundaram. Yes
[06:50.100 -> 06:54.300] yeah thanks for the introduction. You can puff your chest a little bit more now come
[06:54.300 -> 06:59.140] on. Yeah I think I heard that from the last episode as well. I'm like okay he's mentioned
[06:59.140 -> 07:10.400] this one but interesting. Okay let's move to the course. But we are so proud that you've made it on that talent roster list with all those amazing stats and and graphics that you make.
[07:10.400 -> 07:13.040] So congratulations on being added there.
[07:13.680 -> 07:15.400] Thank you. Thank you for the promotion.
[07:17.520 -> 07:18.920] I will never get used to this.
[07:18.920 -> 07:23.200] I will never get used to this in person and even on podcast episodes.
[07:23.200 -> 07:24.040] I would never get used to it.
[07:24.040 -> 07:24.920] Oh, you have no idea.
[07:24.920 -> 07:28.000] Guys, we are recording this online. And online and then you know in the in the summer
[07:28.000 -> 07:31.960] break we will record this in the studio and we will totally banter the hell out
[07:31.960 -> 07:37.000] of this. Yes. And Mr. Edvon Stadsguru. But for real before we move on to the
[07:37.000 -> 07:40.800] really fun trivia question that you had in mind Sundaram, we actually in all of
[07:40.800 -> 07:44.120] our events so far as well right because I know you haven't been able to make it
[07:44.120 -> 07:46.340] because the rains and everything we can't quite do that but
[07:46.340 -> 07:51.460] every single time there have been people asking where have you been so that's one
[07:51.460 -> 07:55.300] thing as well and by the way folks if you are also listening in and are from
[07:55.300 -> 08:00.180] Mumbai we are having another event at Car Social this Sunday and we'd love for
[08:00.180 -> 08:03.540] you to join in what happens over there well quite simply we just get together
[08:03.540 -> 08:08.000] as a community and watch Formula One and also there's a really fun pre-race and post-race
[08:08.000 -> 08:13.300] show along with a quiz that F1 statsker himself will also be preparing. It'll be a lot of
[08:13.300 -> 08:18.080] fun. Come join us, come meet us, let's watch the race together. And let's also watch Lewis
[08:18.080 -> 08:22.800] Hamilton also do well because that for some reason always happens. But that's not the
[08:22.800 -> 08:28.560] point that we're going to be making right now, Sundaram. What we have to get to is a really fun question that you've been making us wait for
[08:28.560 -> 08:33.760] a while. Now I can't wait. Tell me, what's it about? It's a very simple trivia question. Don't
[08:33.760 -> 08:39.360] overhype it. The fact is that Silverstone or the British Grand Prix is the home race for a lot of
[08:39.360 -> 08:48.760] drivers and a lot of teams as well. So you have 10 seconds to answer, which are the four teams on the grid that don't have their bases in the United
[08:48.760 -> 08:52.320] Kingdom and where are the bases situated? Time starts now.
[08:53.000 -> 08:56.080] Hinwil Sauber, Ferrari Maranello, Tinker Null,
[08:56.920 -> 08:58.880] Toro Rosso, same thing.
[08:59.600 -> 09:02.960] Same thing. Haas. No, Haas has a base in Banbury.
[09:04.040 -> 09:06.960] No, but Haas's headquarters is in the US.
[09:07.640 -> 09:10.400] Also, Alpha Tauri has a base in Bicester.
[09:10.400 -> 09:12.000] Yeah, I think that's the pronoun.
[09:12.000 -> 09:14.000] But yeah, yeah, I get it.
[09:14.000 -> 09:18.120] It's like a remote setup, you know, just because you have one employee
[09:18.120 -> 09:21.560] sitting somewhere remotely doesn't mean you have an office there.
[09:21.560 -> 09:23.000] But I get what you mean. Yeah.
[09:23.000 -> 09:25.120] Yeah, we get all of them?
[09:28.920 -> 09:30.280] No, but unfortunately I have to disqualify you because Samuel said Sauber and Sauber is not on the grid this year.
[09:30.600 -> 09:33.720] Oh, wait a minute.
[09:36.200 -> 09:40.200] I think it's 50% Sauber from this year or 20 or 25.
[09:40.440 -> 09:43.120] I'm going by the title name. So that is fair enough.
[09:46.000 -> 09:50.000] No, but it's true though. And it feels like home for so many of these teams,
[09:50.000 -> 09:53.000] which is why we're also having so many upgrades come up as well.
[09:53.000 -> 09:58.000] And none more significant, obviously the people are talking about then McLaren,
[09:58.000 -> 10:00.000] strangely Sundaram, because now it's like,
[10:00.000 -> 10:02.000] they've come up with a special looking car as well.
[10:02.000 -> 10:05.840] Let's also talk about that for a second. But in Austria,
[10:06.120 -> 10:10.240] it seemed like they cleared the cash out of their Chrome and suddenly the car is
[10:10.260 -> 10:12.960] going faster. Did that land?
[10:14.000 -> 10:15.480] That took me a little.
[10:15.480 -> 10:17.280] It landed better when we were prepping actually.
[10:17.280 -> 10:18.120] Yeah.
[10:19.440 -> 10:22.920] Is that really a Chrome livery though? Like 10% Chrome on the car.
[10:22.920 -> 10:23.760] Does that count?
[10:24.480 -> 10:27.880] I think they were faster in Austria because probably they did clear the cash, but let's
[10:27.880 -> 10:34.440] see how they perform at Sylvester because what I feel is that it could perhaps be maybe
[10:34.440 -> 10:35.440] a one-off.
[10:35.440 -> 10:39.480] Now see, McLaren is coming up with upgrades, so they have a three race plan.
[10:39.480 -> 10:45.560] They're going to be bringing upgrades across the next two races as well. But the other thing is that McLaren
[10:45.560 -> 10:52.720] and Landon Norris, they really do well in Austria anyway. And I think it kind of coincided
[10:52.720 -> 10:57.840] with Aston Martin and Mercedes not having a fast enough car. So that's also probably
[10:57.840 -> 11:01.880] why McLaren did much better than the others. And it's going to be very interesting to see
[11:01.880 -> 11:09.040] if their upgrades also suit this particular track, how well Lando Norris goes over here.
[11:09.040 -> 11:12.040] And now Kunal, Oscar Piastri has the upgraded car as well.
[11:12.040 -> 11:14.200] They do, but you know what?
[11:14.200 -> 11:18.320] McLaren cannot score more than 12 points at a Grand Prix weekend because they've had two
[11:18.320 -> 11:19.320] big spikes.
[11:19.320 -> 11:24.640] You know, they've scored in total, they have 29 points out of which 24 points have come
[11:24.640 -> 11:25.720] over two races.
[11:26.400 -> 11:30.920] Austria and Australia, again, similar sounding countries, although diametrically
[11:30.920 -> 11:36.240] opposite in everything and distance and so on, which means if they have to maximize
[11:36.240 -> 11:38.680] the score, they're still going to just peak out at 12 points.
[11:38.680 -> 11:41.960] But yeah, it's their home race, three race plan, et cetera, et cetera.
[11:42.000 -> 11:49.200] He has three, you know, last weekend, everybody was like, Oh God, he's as slow or even slower than Ricardo. But the truth is, he didn't have those upgrades.
[11:49.200 -> 11:54.860] So what can he do with those upgrades? But either way, even with those upgrades, I'd
[11:54.860 -> 12:00.240] love to see if McLaren are able to do anything because they're just about almost half the
[12:00.240 -> 12:06.240] points of Alpine in fifth place. So let's see how that goes. But you know, it's a home race for
[12:06.240 -> 12:12.080] a lot of teams, a lot of drivers. We are going to see, like you said, you know, McLaren has,
[12:12.080 -> 12:16.800] you know, the chrome livery. Williams, as we know, will have a modified livery for their 800th
[12:16.800 -> 12:21.840] Grand Prix. Aston Martin is doing something. I'm pretty sure Norris, Hamilton, Russell,
[12:21.840 -> 12:25.920] they will have modified helmet designs. Everything suddenly just
[12:25.920 -> 12:30.320] becomes more special. They believe in that a modification. I don't come from that school of
[12:30.320 -> 12:36.720] thought. But we will have, you know, modified cars with everybody expected to bring upgrades
[12:36.720 -> 12:41.360] this weekend. Yeah, that's the interesting thing. And I, what I've noticed is that every team that's
[12:41.360 -> 12:51.000] brought upgrades, they've initially at least they've done well. So the likes of Ferrari, McLaren, and even Mercedes, but then Mercedes in Austria, they
[12:51.000 -> 12:56.480] didn't really have the best of races and a lot of focus is also going to be put on them.
[12:56.480 -> 13:00.640] And also probably even Ferrari to see if those upgrades do well even across these type of
[13:00.640 -> 13:09.520] circuits. So I think you're going to be looking at many teams who've brought in upgrades and to see if that really works for different types of circuits. And the best part
[13:09.520 -> 13:15.440] of it all is we can properly test out the upgrades because we now for good have three practice
[13:15.440 -> 13:20.560] sessions which is great in the first place and it helps out with more of the simulation stuff but
[13:20.560 -> 13:25.120] also as a track as well right every single time we've been to Silverstone, we
[13:25.120 -> 13:28.540] get to see some great racing, especially on the first lap.
[13:28.540 -> 13:30.920] It's a track that allows drivers to attack.
[13:30.920 -> 13:35.260] And that for me is brilliant because nowadays, especially in the last couple of rounds, we
[13:35.260 -> 13:39.280] are seeing the gap in the field being cut down massively.
[13:39.280 -> 13:41.900] Qualifying times have obviously been coming down bit by bit.
[13:41.900 -> 13:44.920] Last time in Austria, it was just what, the whole field covered by eight tenths.
[13:44.920 -> 13:47.400] Obviously, it'll be more in Silverstone because we have more
[13:47.400 -> 13:52.200] corners but nevertheless, the gaps have been shrinking, teams have been able to follow
[13:52.200 -> 13:56.360] and at a circuit like Silverstone, if there is a car placed slightly on the wrong side
[13:56.360 -> 14:01.680] in terms of the qualifying order, the racing will be fantastic. I mean, just remember,
[14:01.680 -> 14:05.720] a year ago, Carlos Sainz won, which I will flex till death because
[14:05.720 -> 14:07.400] nobody remembers it.
[14:07.400 -> 14:11.040] But apart from that as well, we saw Lewis Hamilton make double overtakes.
[14:11.040 -> 14:15.080] We saw battles for not the race win, but at least for podium places properly.
[14:15.080 -> 14:20.040] And so this fight for P1 in F1.5 will be fantastic.
[14:20.040 -> 14:21.600] Let's not care about the race win.
[14:21.600 -> 14:22.600] Nobody matters.
[14:22.600 -> 14:24.840] We'll get to the important milestones and numbers.
[14:24.840 -> 14:25.160] But the interesting point is, Sundaram, we'll get to the important milestones and numbers.
[14:25.160 -> 14:29.600] But the interesting point is Sundaram, there is genuine uncertainty because Ferrari have
[14:29.600 -> 14:33.760] not picked up the pace in seemingly qualifying, Mercedes have new upgrades.
[14:33.760 -> 14:37.760] This theoretically should be a good Aston Martin circuit and there's obviously the new
[14:37.760 -> 14:40.720] livery curse of Ben Boon as well.
[14:40.720 -> 14:43.960] Like every time a team brings a new special livery, they just have some extra performance.
[14:43.960 -> 14:48.880] So all the sensible points in one banter point aside, this will turn out to be a really great
[14:48.880 -> 14:50.080] fight for P1.
[14:50.080 -> 14:53.840] I genuinely think this is going to be an exciting race on that front.
[14:53.840 -> 14:55.600] So first of all, let's talk about Carlos Sainz.
[14:55.600 -> 14:58.080] You mentioned Carlos Sainz flexing.
[14:58.080 -> 15:02.880] I really don't think he would want to flex his results after last year's win in Britain.
[15:02.880 -> 15:06.640] Because since his last win, he's taken only three podiums
[15:06.640 -> 15:12.480] Alonzo's taken six and Licklerk's taken nine so although he's been very consistent in terms of
[15:12.480 -> 15:18.400] results he unfortunately has not been there up in the top three but here's I'm just gonna give out
[15:18.400 -> 15:23.920] my prediction for this week already I think we're gonna see a different race winner this time out
[15:23.920 -> 15:26.680] because I'm someone who believes in the law of averages
[15:26.680 -> 15:32.200] Although Verstappen is is incredibly dominant at this point of time. He's on his longest win streak
[15:32.200 -> 15:34.000] He's never won six races in a row
[15:34.000 -> 15:41.280] He's currently on five Red Bulls on their longest win streak, which is currently ten and they've not had so I hope I mean
[15:41.280 -> 15:43.040] Our listeners don't hate me for this
[15:43.040 -> 15:45.280] But at some point there's going to be something
[15:45.280 -> 15:46.240] that goes wrong.
[15:46.240 -> 15:49.520] And I feel it could be this particular race.
[15:49.520 -> 15:50.340] Let's see.
[15:50.340 -> 15:51.180] Let's see.
[15:51.180 -> 15:53.720] That's, you know, it was like the third stop
[15:53.720 -> 15:54.840] that was happened to me.
[15:54.840 -> 15:56.800] Red Bull were a little nervous.
[15:56.800 -> 15:58.440] Adrian Newey came around and said, you know,
[15:58.440 -> 16:00.160] that these things are always on the edge.
[16:00.160 -> 16:03.500] I get a feeling it's going to be Max dominant again,
[16:03.500 -> 16:05.280] like Samuel said, Formula One, just forget it.
[16:06.080 -> 16:10.640] Max is leading the Constructors' Championship, less than halfway through the season,
[16:10.640 -> 16:16.400] he's leading the Constructors' Championship. In fact, why don't I break down his numbers before
[16:16.400 -> 16:27.200] I go back to talking about the circuit. Max has 229 points from how many of our races we've done. I think 10 races, but for some 11 race,
[16:27.200 -> 16:30.200] 11th race officially, but Imola was canceled.
[16:30.200 -> 16:31.960] I don't know why they just don't remove it and say.
[16:31.960 -> 16:33.000] Nine races so far.
[16:33.000 -> 16:33.840] Nine races, sorry.
[16:33.840 -> 16:34.660] Nine races so far.
[16:34.660 -> 16:35.960] Nine races so far.
[16:35.960 -> 16:36.800] There we go.
[16:36.800 -> 16:37.620] So some math.
[16:37.620 -> 16:41.640] Okay. Max has 229 points.
[16:41.640 -> 16:48.500] Mercedes P2 in the constructors championship is only 178 points. Now this is something we all know.
[16:48.500 -> 17:10.800] Drivers from P8 to P20 which is George Russell to Nick DeVries are only at 221 points. So even if all of them gang up and you know form like a coalition party and say let's go try and beat Max. They can't because Max is already ahead of them. Okay. Teams from P5 to P10, that's Alpine to Alpha Tauri. Again, if they gang up,
[17:10.800 -> 17:18.320] it's still just 105 points. Okay. So Max with Stapen. I mean, this is that season,
[17:18.880 -> 17:23.680] Lewis had that one season or two seasons, maybe now, you know, this is where the orange army
[17:23.680 -> 17:25.840] that listens and will say, no, Lewis had those seven seasons
[17:25.840 -> 17:27.300] where he just kept making records.
[17:27.300 -> 17:28.920] And this is one of those maxis seasons
[17:28.920 -> 17:30.140] to sort of make records.
[17:30.140 -> 17:34.480] But I'll tell you, just going back to the circuit,
[17:34.480 -> 17:36.400] Samuel, you spoke of the opening lap.
[17:36.400 -> 17:39.440] What I love about the opening lap here is,
[17:39.440 -> 17:44.440] when you start, the first breaking for a corner
[17:44.940 -> 17:47.840] is actually on turn three which is village.
[17:47.840 -> 17:53.520] Okay and I absolutely love that. I mean this is a legendary circuit layout doesn't matter where you
[17:53.520 -> 17:59.360] start from you know given that there are different places they've started from. You know the front
[17:59.360 -> 18:05.680] left always keeps being loaded I think turns one 1, 8, 9, whatever, 10, 11, 12, all of them keep
[18:05.680 -> 18:10.760] going. But the interesting thing after Monaco, this is the only circuit where you don't take
[18:10.760 -> 18:15.680] turn numbers, but actually call them by names. And I absolutely just love that.
[18:15.680 -> 18:23.680] Yes. Yes. I love it so much. Maggots, Becketts, Chapel, Copse, Stowe, the Sir Lewis Hamilton
[18:23.680 -> 18:25.160] straight as well well Sundaram.
[18:25.160 -> 18:29.640] The other interesting point, Kunal mentioned that the first breaking point is only around
[18:29.640 -> 18:33.640] turn 3 and that's exactly why we don't have DRS on the main straight, on the Hamilton
[18:33.640 -> 18:39.040] straight just because there is no breaking point around turn 1 and cars do need that
[18:39.040 -> 18:46.820] downforce so their DRS flaps have to be closed around turn 1 and that's why there is no DRS zone along
[18:46.820 -> 18:47.820] the main straight.
[18:47.820 -> 18:51.360] But yeah, it's going to be a very interesting race also in other aspects.
[18:51.360 -> 18:56.060] It's going to be a high degradation race, probably two stops or even more.
[18:56.060 -> 18:59.700] And we have a new construction of tires from Pirelli this weekend.
[18:59.700 -> 19:04.180] So that could probably mean drivers are able to push a lot more, the hardest compounds
[19:04.180 -> 19:05.240] coming into this race.
[19:05.240 -> 19:07.040] So in that sense as well,
[19:07.040 -> 19:08.720] I think it's going to be very exciting.
[19:08.720 -> 19:10.320] And you know, I love the fact,
[19:10.320 -> 19:12.000] like one of the teams actually said that
[19:12.000 -> 19:13.760] the overtaking difficulty,
[19:13.760 -> 19:15.000] I think this was Aston Martin,
[19:15.000 -> 19:17.200] they said the overtaking difficulty at Silverstone
[19:17.200 -> 19:18.600] is close to average.
[19:19.520 -> 19:21.800] And I actually like that because
[19:21.800 -> 19:23.920] when I think back of Silverstone,
[19:23.920 -> 19:25.680] I actually don't remember a lot of overtakes
[19:25.680 -> 19:28.700] But I remember a lot of battles and I don't know who won the battle
[19:28.700 -> 19:35.680] But I know that there was a battle and that's what I think Silverstone will bring us a lot of those kind of battles
[19:35.920 -> 19:37.920] Which is what I would love for the new
[19:38.320 -> 19:44.280] Formula one fans to enjoy not just you know, see flick of a button wing opens and boom you just go down
[19:44.840 -> 19:46.200] But a lot of overtakes.
[19:46.200 -> 19:48.640] And one of the other things about the whole circuit,
[19:48.640 -> 19:50.320] yes, wind will be a big factor.
[19:50.320 -> 19:51.520] It's an open field.
[19:52.400 -> 19:57.400] Also, Silverstone is where teams don't really have to focus
[19:57.400 -> 19:59.920] on cooling because it's an open air sort of circuit,
[19:59.920 -> 20:02.280] but they can focus on aero efficiency,
[20:02.280 -> 20:05.360] which is sort of cars just sort of being tuned in
[20:05.360 -> 20:11.120] to drive to their actual performance rather than giving some compromises to help the package
[20:11.120 -> 20:12.120] is cool and so on.
[20:12.120 -> 20:17.120] So I'm pretty sure it's going to be a very, very exciting race weekend.
[20:17.120 -> 20:21.720] 11th team upgrades, whatever you call it or not.
[20:21.720 -> 20:23.360] And Sundaram's already given his prediction.
[20:23.360 -> 20:26.080] I get a feeling we will see Fernando Alonso back
[20:26.080 -> 20:30.560] in P2, even though I voted for it last time. You know, it's again, the law of averages. I'm going
[20:30.560 -> 20:35.280] to say 20 times and he'll probably get it 15 times in the year. He'll probably be back at P2.
[20:35.280 -> 20:40.480] But I don't know where Checo Perez is necessarily going to finish. But I'm also going to quote what
[20:40.480 -> 20:44.880] Juan Pablo Montoya said. He said, Max should just win all the races and shut everybody up.
[20:45.920 -> 20:49.920] Yeah, nothing left to say anymore. Seriously, nothing left to say anymore in that regard as
[20:49.920 -> 20:55.760] well. But there is something left to say about Sergio Perez, because now we only have one
[20:55.760 -> 21:00.400] opportunity for Sergio Perez to nail qualifying, which is hard to do guys.
[21:02.160 -> 21:05.840] It should be a challenging one. I hope he has a good race weekend this time
[21:05.840 -> 21:10.040] or you can probably forgive him a little last time for not being completely a
[21:10.040 -> 21:14.320] hundred percent but you really can't have four consecutive weekends in that
[21:14.320 -> 21:18.280] fast car and not make it to q3 so obviously there's going to be a lot of
[21:18.280 -> 21:24.080] pressure on him in qualifying especially to kind of show that yeah I can keep it
[21:24.080 -> 21:26.640] together and not get past track limits.
[21:26.640 -> 21:29.360] Oh, is that going to be a talking point this weekend as well?
[21:29.360 -> 21:33.360] I think it will. I think it'll be so. Yeah, I'll tell you why.
[21:33.360 -> 21:36.640] I don't think it's going to be only about Silverstone.
[21:36.640 -> 21:41.360] I get a feeling it's also still going to continue to be about Austria.
[21:41.360 -> 21:49.600] Because let's put it this way. Firstly, we know of the delays. Secondly, we know that there were more than 1200 violations,
[21:50.440 -> 21:54.000] but only 83 lap times were deleted.
[21:54.000 -> 21:57.200] And then finally, only some eight or 10 or 12 odd drivers
[21:57.200 -> 21:59.840] had some penalties and so on.
[21:59.840 -> 22:01.360] Somebody has to sit and do the math
[22:01.360 -> 22:04.000] that if there were 1200 notifications
[22:04.000 -> 22:06.720] and after every fourth notification
[22:06.720 -> 22:12.400] you got a five time five second penalty and then a 10 second on the fifth one and a reset and so on
[22:13.120 -> 22:18.000] you know how is it that just 83 lap times were deleted but anyway i'm just saying that track
[22:18.000 -> 22:25.760] limits will be on focus because the fia i hope somebody at least goes and asks them for more clarity saying guys
[22:26.640 -> 22:32.560] what actually how did you all actually do this in Austria. And then again as I mentioned in the last
[22:32.560 -> 22:38.720] episode maybe we will have a big 24-page report that says a grand total of nothing but I hope
[22:38.720 -> 22:46.680] we find a solution to this eventually and I think it'll be fun to, at some point, get into that serious chat of why a gravel
[22:46.680 -> 22:50.520] trap won't really solve everything and not every circuit can have it.
[22:50.520 -> 22:54.040] But maybe not for this time on, because we know that Silverstone, things are fine the
[22:54.040 -> 22:55.040] way they are over there.
[22:55.040 -> 23:00.480] But I really want to now chat about the calendar, because guys, Formula One has apparently made
[23:00.480 -> 23:04.440] a big move to try and be more regionalized.
[23:04.440 -> 23:07.600] And so they've gone for 24 races. They've gone for
[23:07.600 -> 23:13.200] Bahrain and Saudi Arabia to have races on Saturday, to of course respect the festival of Ramadan
[23:13.200 -> 23:18.880] because they have some significant day on Sunday. So they can't quite do it there for both of those
[23:18.880 -> 23:27.240] races. But that's still fine. I think that's still okay. The worst part, Japan is being moved to April Kunal.
[23:28.120 -> 23:30.120] April, that's criminally early.
[23:32.120 -> 23:35.760] I mean, I think it's great. No, it's just wrong.
[23:35.760 -> 23:40.000] I mean it's colder and wetter in Japan and why not?
[23:40.000 -> 23:47.640] I mean, I'd love to see how that goes, which technically means that the Japs will, you know, between October and April.
[23:47.640 -> 23:54.320] So in about six, eight months, six months, they will have two Grands Prix, which means they have more tickets to sell.
[23:54.320 -> 23:56.800] But Japan is always an easy sell.
[23:56.800 -> 24:02.560] But I think it's a March to December calendar, again, extremely long, but that's just how it goes.
[24:02.920 -> 24:05.400] We've got 24 races packed in.
[24:05.400 -> 24:07.000] Let's see if it still remains 24.
[24:07.000 -> 24:11.200] China still pays to remain on the calendar, even if they don't pay to actually host the race.
[24:11.900 -> 24:13.400] I'm assuming they pay.
[24:13.700 -> 24:17.600] And the most interesting part of all of this was the way in which was announced.
[24:17.600 -> 24:28.680] Up until now, there was always Formula One announcing years of provisional calendar subject to approval by the World Motorsport Council, which would typically meet end of August or September and announce.
[24:28.680 -> 24:36.880] But guess what? Now it's just a formal announcement that, hey, everything, I don't know if the WMSC has still signed off or no, but there is no mention of that.
[24:36.880 -> 24:45.200] So maybe something's I know it's not changed in terms of approval process, but they probably just got the WMSC to sort of meet earlier and announce the calendar.
[24:45.200 -> 24:51.680] So ticket sales can start earlier. I mean a cousin of mine was looking for race tickets for Canada
[24:51.680 -> 24:58.080] next year and one of the grandstands is sold out already. Already? Is it the launch to a grandstand?
[24:58.080 -> 24:59.920] Because it's been brought out by the team.
[25:03.600 -> 25:07.640] Sorry I'll never stop. I'll never stop on the Lance 12 Grandstand. But is there anything
[25:07.640 -> 25:13.000] that you like or dislike about the calendar Sundaram? Because Japan in April just doesn't
[25:13.000 -> 25:16.320] fit right. No.
[25:16.320 -> 25:21.380] I think, I mean, like Kunal mentioned, it also caught me by surprise because I was mentally
[25:21.380 -> 25:25.360] preparing myself to plan for a race visit next year,
[25:25.360 -> 25:29.600] somewhere around August or September and then it just they just dropped it today and I was like
[25:29.600 -> 25:35.680] whoa that's that's quick. But I think the claim by Formula One calling it a big step towards
[25:35.680 -> 25:40.880] regionalization, I think it's a little misleading because although we have swapped Japan and
[25:40.880 -> 25:50.080] Azerbaijan, I don't think so there's been much regionalization apart from that you still have to come to the United States at in three different
[25:50.080 -> 25:53.740] months I don't know if you can optimize it how much more can you optimize it
[25:53.740 -> 25:57.040] beyond this because obviously you need to have a little bit of a gap between
[25:57.040 -> 26:01.800] races in the same country it's the same between the Imola race and the Monza
[26:01.800 -> 26:06.040] race so there's a couple of months in between them. How much more can they really optimize it?
[26:06.320 -> 26:10.000] And the one thing that really worries me is the length of the calendar.
[26:10.200 -> 26:11.520] It's 24 right now.
[26:11.560 -> 26:14.080] Probably it might reduce if China gets dropped.
[26:14.440 -> 26:17.720] But then F1 is targeting 25 races at some point of time.
[26:18.280 -> 26:21.280] And I had all the tests in between here and there.
[26:21.680 -> 26:23.400] It seems really, really hectic.
[26:23.960 -> 26:25.760] Yeah, get a break, guys.
[26:25.760 -> 26:30.640] I think Less Is More, I get why Formula One is doing
[26:30.640 -> 26:32.720] what they're doing, but at some point,
[26:32.720 -> 26:35.400] you've got to miss the sport as well, right, Kundan?
[26:35.400 -> 26:36.440] Exactly, exactly.
[26:36.440 -> 26:39.920] I mean, Less Is More comes from a podcast that
[26:39.920 -> 26:41.960] releases 60 episodes a year.
[26:41.960 -> 26:45.720] So I'm not sure we are are following. Less is more.
[26:45.720 -> 26:50.320] Less is more comes from somebody who has 60 tweets a week
[26:50.320 -> 26:50.840] or whatever.
[26:50.840 -> 26:51.420] I don't know.
[26:51.420 -> 26:52.280] 60 is just a number.
[26:52.280 -> 26:54.800] But yeah.
[26:54.800 -> 26:57.560] But less is never more when it comes to modified liveries
[26:57.560 -> 26:58.400] and helmet design.
[26:58.400 -> 27:00.240] I still can never get over it.
[27:00.240 -> 27:03.640] But anyway, less is more when it comes
[27:03.640 -> 27:06.240] to Ferrari not making mistakes.
[27:06.240 -> 27:10.040] They got two races in a row, right, which I think is fantastic.
[27:10.040 -> 27:13.120] But a very interesting trend that I've noticed,
[27:13.120 -> 27:16.720] Ferrari scored zero points in Australia, as we know.
[27:16.720 -> 27:18.800] In Azerbaijan, they scored a podium.
[27:18.800 -> 27:23.600] Since Azerbaijan, they have actually outscored Mercedes and Aston Martin.
[27:23.600 -> 27:29.220] And the point score since Azerbaijan is Ferrari is 128 points, Mercedes is 122 points, Aston
[27:29.220 -> 27:31.420] Martin is 110 points.
[27:31.420 -> 27:33.000] So will they continue this trend?
[27:33.000 -> 27:34.000] I'd love to see that.
[27:34.000 -> 27:38.640] But the main question in my head, and you're not going to like this, Somil, is which driver
[27:38.640 -> 27:44.280] will actually intimidate Carlos Sainz this weekend at Silverstone?
[27:44.280 -> 27:47.760] I think it's not a driver. I think it's, I think how many
[27:47.760 -> 27:52.960] is it now? Haas tried three but six people sitting behind a wall, I think they are going to be the
[27:52.960 -> 27:58.880] most intimidating people of them all because no matter what happens, strategy eventually becomes
[27:58.880 -> 28:06.680] a problem for them, always. They've been doing well though Kunal, I mean lately they've been making mistakes and
[28:06.680 -> 28:13.160] still somehow things have been working fine. And we'll still have that you know it's that
[28:13.160 -> 28:18.200] every race Carlos Sainz has to give a disappointed radio message on the radio
[28:18.200 -> 28:23.000] but I love how he is still so secure about his seat and it should be so I mean
[28:23.000 -> 28:27.720] it's a high performance sport just because he's critical and playing driver and race
[28:27.720 -> 28:30.920] engineer and race strategist doesn't mean that Ferrari
[28:30.920 -> 28:32.440] don't basically.
[28:32.440 -> 28:34.040] I think in his next renewal, he should
[28:34.040 -> 28:35.920] ask for 3x the money because he's currently
[28:35.920 -> 28:36.880] being paid for one role.
[28:36.880 -> 28:38.380] But he's doing three times the role,
[28:38.380 -> 28:40.760] much like everyone's jobs we know.
[28:40.760 -> 28:43.360] So he should probably just ask for 3x the money.
[28:43.360 -> 28:48.760] But there are also, talking of three, there are three drivers who scored at every Grand
[28:48.760 -> 28:51.120] Prix weekend this year.
[28:51.120 -> 28:53.720] That's the three world champions, Max, Fernando and Lewis.
[28:53.720 -> 28:57.480] And I really hope that continues as well.
[28:57.480 -> 29:01.640] And interestingly, and this is where F1 stats guru, I'm sure has something to say.
[29:01.640 -> 29:11.840] And I hate this fact that, you know, there was that one one year in 2020 where Silverstone had two races by two different names but in the last 12 years,
[29:11.840 -> 29:17.340] Pole has won just four times but the driver starting from P2 has won six times.
[29:17.340 -> 29:22.700] So if Perez actually manages to be half a second off but still in P2, you know statistically
[29:22.700 -> 29:25.440] he might have a higher probability of winning the race this Sunday.
[29:25.800 -> 29:27.520] If Perez reaches P2, you mean?
[29:27.680 -> 29:30.960] Oh, good point.
[29:31.640 -> 29:35.960] This is where all our listeners in Mexico are going to get really annoyed.
[29:35.960 -> 29:40.280] But no, but it's an interesting point because, um,
[29:40.320 -> 29:43.200] the Red Bull would want both the drivers to do particularly well. I mean,
[29:43.400 -> 29:47.520] Sergio Perez, obviously, because he's not had the best of results off lately.
[29:47.520 -> 29:53.680] But if both of the drivers get on the podium this weekend, it will be Red Bull's 250th
[29:53.680 -> 29:54.680] podium in Formula One.
[29:54.680 -> 29:57.760] And actually, the 200th podium was not a long time ago.
[29:57.760 -> 30:00.760] It was in USA 2021.
[30:00.760 -> 30:10.280] So just a year and a half later, this could be the 250th. And the other important milestone from the Red Bull camp is that this is Max Verstappen's
[30:10.280 -> 30:13.320] 150th race start with the Red Bull team.
[30:13.320 -> 30:16.160] Sheesh, 150 is a lot, dude.
[30:16.160 -> 30:18.200] I think he just started out.
[30:18.200 -> 30:19.200] It feels...
[30:19.200 -> 30:20.200] And he still has five years on his contract.
[30:20.200 -> 30:22.560] He still has five years on his contract.
[30:22.560 -> 30:26.520] I wonder if he'll stick around though, because when Helmut Marko came on the show a couple
[30:26.520 -> 30:30.640] of, well, it's been a couple of weeks actually, but when he came on a couple of weeks ago,
[30:30.640 -> 30:34.760] he quite clearly said, well, we're still planning for Max Cohen because we know that it's a
[30:34.760 -> 30:37.560] possibility that could happen at any given moment in time.
[30:37.560 -> 30:39.480] Let's just hope he informs us.
[30:39.480 -> 30:42.640] But let's also now move, talk about...
[30:42.640 -> 30:44.040] Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait.
[30:44.040 -> 30:45.880] You can't move on from Helmut Marko by just leaving him like that because, you know, uh, move, talk about, uh, the, you can't move on from Albert Marco by just
[30:45.880 -> 30:51.080] leaving him like that because you know, we have to keep flexing that we had
[30:51.080 -> 30:55.200] Helmut Marco, we'll continue to do that for a long, long time people.
[30:55.880 -> 31:00.120] Uh, but yeah, that's, that's me just taking a pause to say, yes, we'll keep
[31:00.120 -> 31:07.840] flexing it just as I think I know where you're going because there is a post race test at
[31:07.840 -> 31:15.120] Salvation. It's a tire test. I think everybody's excited about the tire test because everyone wants
[31:15.120 -> 31:20.960] to know or at least I am not really eager what tires they test with blankets without blankets.
[31:20.960 -> 31:27.240] I don't care but it seems that everyone's eyes are going to be on Daniel Ricardo driving that Red Bull.
[31:27.240 -> 31:29.360] And, you know, there's been a lot of positive noise.
[31:29.360 -> 31:36.480] He's back to the fierceness, feisty self that he was, you know, in the simulator.
[31:36.480 -> 31:38.800] That's what Horner's just said a couple of days ago.
[31:38.800 -> 31:41.120] Will Daniel be the Daniel of the old, et cetera?
[31:41.120 -> 31:44.000] That's what Red Bull is going to evaluate.
[31:44.000 -> 31:45.120] I wonder if he's going to have the
[31:45.120 -> 31:52.640] helmet lap in real life as we know. But yeah, there we go. That's the post British Grand Prix
[31:52.640 -> 31:57.680] test which we won't have coverage of but I'm sure everybody's going to keep tracking lap times.
[31:57.680 -> 32:01.760] I think we're all going to do that. We're all going to do that. But yeah, you're right. That's
[32:01.760 -> 32:09.200] going to be so interesting. How much pace does Daniel Ricardo have eventually? But also one last thing before we wrap up this episode as well.
[32:09.200 -> 32:13.920] Sundaram, the midfield is going to be crazy this time because we're having two new liveries in
[32:13.920 -> 32:18.800] the midfield anyway. Of course, we mentioned McLaren in the chrome, but there is Williams
[32:18.800 -> 32:23.360] who's come up with a downgrade of their original car, 800GP for them next week.
[32:23.360 -> 32:25.040] So they're celebrating it this week,
[32:25.040 -> 32:30.880] strange. But there's also going to be Aston Martin with a special new livery. But the liveries aside,
[32:30.880 -> 32:35.200] firstly, I want to know what you think of them. But also, in this whole midfield kerfuffle, right?
[32:35.200 -> 32:39.040] Who do you think is going to be a standout? Because after last week, a lot of people have
[32:39.040 -> 32:44.720] their numbers on all their money on Hulkenberg. But that is not probably the best idea in the
[32:44.720 -> 32:45.440] world, it seems. Yeah, there's lots of interesting candidates in thekenberg. But that is not probably the best idea in the world, it
[32:45.440 -> 32:46.440] seems.
[32:46.440 -> 32:49.640] Yeah, there's lots of interesting candidates in the midfield. But you're talking about
[32:49.640 -> 32:55.280] liveries first. Straight up, I don't like the McLaren one, Aston Martin is alright,
[32:55.280 -> 33:00.760] I can live with it. The Williams one is also so-so, but probably not something very, it's
[33:00.760 -> 33:04.400] okay. But yeah, coming to the midfield, I think there's quite a few interesting candidates
[33:04.400 -> 33:05.520] in terms of updates as well. I mean, McLaren is doingfield, I think there's quite a few interesting candidates in terms of
[33:07.780 -> 33:11.720] Updates as well. I mean McLaren's doing well I really don't know where Alpine have been in terms of pace in the last couple of races
[33:12.060 -> 33:13.980] They did very well in Monaco and Canada
[33:13.980 -> 33:18.840] But I would kind of hedge my bets on Hulkenberg because he does pretty well around this track
[33:18.840 -> 33:26.080] He's scored in the last eight races at Silverstone whenever he started. So that goes back to 2013.
[33:26.080 -> 33:29.080] He's in a rich way and a form, Hulkenberg,
[33:29.080 -> 33:32.200] and he's even overshadowing Magnussen at this point of time.
[33:32.200 -> 33:34.600] A string of Q3 appearances.
[33:34.600 -> 33:36.600] So he's doing quite well over there.
[33:36.600 -> 33:40.120] I am pretty interested to see how even Sunoda fares
[33:40.120 -> 33:41.560] over the next couple of races,
[33:41.560 -> 33:46.240] because he is the lead driver at Alpha Tauri this season.
[33:46.240 -> 33:50.800] I mean, I know we've discussed that. We've discussed that extensively at the start of
[33:50.800 -> 33:54.080] the season. Who's going to be the lead driver? Is it going to be De Vries? Is it going to be Sunoda?
[33:54.080 -> 34:00.720] And quite clearly, it is Sunoda. But yeah. Yeah, we do know now. But yeah, he's actually doing a
[34:00.720 -> 34:08.120] better job now, Kunal. And in the midfield, that also means we get another opportunity to watch Magnussen versus De Vries, Chapter 3.
[34:08.120 -> 34:15.160] You know, Magnussen is probably one more incident away from coming to the press and having one
[34:15.160 -> 34:22.200] of his one-liners, which then we will remember him for, like we remember him for when Nico
[34:22.200 -> 34:32.480] Hulkenberg and Magnussen are mentioned in the same voice. But Logan Sargent fans, for the first time in a race in 2023, and now I'm talking of the last race in Austria,
[34:33.120 -> 34:37.120] Logan finished in an odd numbered position, which was position 13.
[34:37.120 -> 34:42.160] He was always managing to finish in an even numbered position most of the times.
[34:42.160 -> 34:47.400] But the midfield, most of it, I just feel Formula 1.5
[34:47.440 -> 34:50.280] is all of midfield because everyone is bringing upgrades
[34:50.280 -> 34:54.920] and the fluctuation, you nicely pointed out Q1
[34:54.920 -> 34:57.560] was just eight and a half tens.
[34:57.560 -> 35:01.960] I love the fact that despite having such a close field,
[35:01.960 -> 35:04.720] Red Bull is still able to dominate, which is one thing.
[35:04.720 -> 35:11.840] And I think in this whole midfield section, the upgrades, the weather, and then the track
[35:11.840 -> 35:18.240] characteristics, these are typically the three variables that are causing fluctuations in
[35:18.240 -> 35:20.960] performance and results, I would say.
[35:20.960 -> 35:29.760] And then we just get to see so many interesting battles within that because overall, you know, Williams might be P7 one day and then they might have an absolute stinker.
[35:29.760 -> 35:34.240] And this, well, could be one of those ones because it's just isn't the track theoretically
[35:34.240 -> 35:39.360] that should suit them. But that's the interesting part, right? Everything is certain at the top of
[35:39.360 -> 35:43.600] the field, but everything apart from that, my word, Formula One is having a great show. And
[35:43.600 -> 35:48.560] yeah, we're also going to watch, what's the name again what's the name Sunny Sunny Hayes Sunny
[35:48.560 -> 35:51.600] Hayes he's gonna be back as well this weekend so let's wait and watch more of
[35:51.600 -> 35:56.440] that but in case you are in Mumbai folks don't forget to register for our Sunday
[35:56.440 -> 36:00.960] event at Car Social we would love to have you there interacting and talking
[36:00.960 -> 36:10.480] about Formula One with us in person and bantering about it quite a fair bit as well. So join us by registering by clicking on the link in the description of this episode
[36:10.480 -> 36:15.280] and for all you folks who aren't quite in Mumbai but still enjoyed listening to this episode,
[36:15.280 -> 36:20.320] don't forget to follow us on all of our social media platforms and also to share the Insideline
[36:20.320 -> 36:27.600] F1 podcast and to subscribe to it as well. See you for the Porsche race review where we will also be talking just a little bit
[36:27.600 -> 36:29.240] about the tyre test as well.
[36:29.240 -> 36:30.440] See you folks, take care.
[36:44.750 -> 36:46.750] you