Podcast: Inside Line F1
Published Date:
Mon, 08 May 2023 12:07:49 +0000
Duration:
2402
Explicit:
False
Guests:
MP3 Audio:
Please note that the summary is generated based on the transcript and may not capture all the nuances or details discussed in the podcast episode.
First things first, thank you, Charles Leclerc.
But, why?
The 2023 Miami Grand Prix saw on-track excitement due to two key reasons. First, drivers being out of place (thanks to Charles Leclerc's crash and subsequent Red Flag in Q3 of Qualifying). Second, the different tyre strategies that the out-of-place drivers had to use in the race.
Could it have been a snooze fest had it not been for LEC's Q3 crash?
In this episode of the Inside Line F1 Podcast, Soumil Arora and Kunal Shah review the 2023 Miami Grand Prix - the overtakes, the tyre strategies, and of course, the driver presentations. @f1statsguru aka Sundaram shares his stats review from the race.
(Season 2023, Episode 20)
Follow our hosts on Twitter: Soumil Arora, @f1statsguru and Kunal Shah
Image courtesy: Ferrari
# Inside Line F1 Podcast - Episode 20: The Miami Grand Prix Review
## Episode Summary:
- The Miami Grand Prix was a spectacle, with over-the-top driver introductions, a conductor, and personalized jerseys for the top three finishers.
- The race had plenty of overtaking, thanks to the mixed-up grid caused by Charles Leclerc's crash in qualifying.
- The hard-medium tire strategy was the correct one, with drivers who started on the hard gaining the most positions.
- Max Verstappen had a dominant performance, winning by 33 seconds and overtaking multiple cars with ease.
- George Russell had a strong race, finishing fourth and overtaking Pierre Gasly after being instructed to do so by his race engineer.
- Mercedes is claiming that the Imola upgrade will fix the "poisonous" W14, which has been hindering Lewis Hamilton's performance.
## Key Points:
- The Miami GP was a spectacle, with over-the-top driver introductions, a conductor, and personalized jerseys for the top three finishers.
- The race had plenty of overtaking, thanks to the mixed-up grid caused by Charles Leclerc's crash in qualifying.
- The hard-medium tire strategy was the correct one, with drivers who started on the hard gaining the most positions.
- Max Verstappen had a dominant performance, winning by 33 seconds and overtaking multiple cars with ease.
- George Russell had a strong race, finishing fourth and overtaking Pierre Gasly after being instructed to do so by his race engineer.
- Mercedes is claiming that the Imola upgrade will fix the "poisonous" W14, which has been hindering Lewis Hamilton's performance.
## Additional Notes:
- The podcast hosts, Soumil Arora and Kunal Shah, discuss the race in detail, providing insights and analysis.
- They also discuss the upcoming Imola Grand Prix and the potential impact of the Mercedes upgrade.
- The podcast is informative and engaging, providing a comprehensive review of the Miami Grand Prix. # Inside Line F1 Podcast Episode 20: Review of the 2023 Miami Grand Prix
---
## Key Points:
- Charles Leclerc's qualifying crash and subsequent red flag, along with varying tire strategies, contributed to the excitement of the 2023 Miami Grand Prix.
- Despite the on-track drama, some believe the race could have been dull without Leclerc's Q3 incident.
- F1 Stats Guru provides insightful statistics from the race, including Max Verstappen's entry into an exclusive club of drivers who have won from P9 and Red Bull's potential to secure both titles this season.
- Fernando Alonso's podium finish marks the first time a team other than Red Bull, Mercedes, or Ferrari has achieved this feat in the United States.
- Pierre Gasly's eighth-place finish after starting fourth earns him points on US soil for the first time after five attempts.
- Fernando Alonso's impressive mental capabilities and ability to multitask while driving are highlighted, with examples from his commentary on Lance Stroll's moves during the race.
- Aston Martin's strategic error in not providing Lance Stroll with fresh tires for Q1 led to his elimination, despite Alonso's success with the same strategy.
- The battle for P2 intensifies with Aston Martin closing the gap to Mercedes, creating a three-way fight for the position.
- McLaren's struggles continue with both drivers failing to score points in Miami, despite an upcoming upgrade.
- Ferrari's tire degradation issues hinder their performance in the race, despite strong qualifying results.
- Bob Varsha, the voice of Formula 1 in America, will be a guest on the next episode to share his experiences and insights from the Miami GP.
---
## Overall Message:
The 2023 Miami Grand Prix featured exciting moments due to unexpected circumstances, but the overall racing action may have lacked without them. Statistical analysis reveals interesting trends and records achieved during the race. Fernando Alonso's exceptional skills and Aston Martin's strategic error are discussed, along with the tightening battle for P2 and McLaren's ongoing challenges. Ferrari's tire degradation issues are noted, and the upcoming appearance of Bob Varsha on the podcast is teased.
[00:00.000 -> 00:22.440] The way Formula 1 imagined it was this.
[00:22.440 -> 00:25.840] On a Sunday, after a year of intense planning and trying
[00:25.840 -> 00:30.960] to fill out the stands, hundreds and thousands of people showed up for the Miami GP.
[00:30.960 -> 00:36.120] The excitement was at a fever pitch, everyone couldn't wait for the race to begin.
[00:36.120 -> 00:42.240] We had musicians, we had celebrities and all of them were jointly united in their effort
[00:42.240 -> 00:46.640] to present the heroes of the sport, the Formula One drivers.
[00:46.640 -> 00:53.440] And then, when they announced the names of all their heroes, the crowd went mild.
[00:54.320 -> 00:59.520] What just happened at the Miami GP? Yes, Max Verstappen won a race, that tends to happen.
[00:59.520 -> 01:07.320] Yes, Kevin Magnussen eventually lost to Charles Leclerc, which is a little bit painful in my eyes, but the crowd went mild Kunal.
[01:07.320 -> 01:09.040] There was no reaction whatsoever.
[01:09.040 -> 01:13.120] The dream race, was it as dreamy as they thought it would be?
[01:13.120 -> 01:14.200] It depends who you ask,
[01:14.200 -> 01:18.260] because the Miami GP promoters actually stepped back
[01:18.260 -> 01:21.140] and said, wow, we are experiencing great interest
[01:21.140 -> 01:23.600] and maybe we should turn it into a night race
[01:23.600 -> 01:25.260] and conversations are going. And I'm like, we should turn it into a night race and conversations are going.
[01:25.260 -> 01:27.780] And I'm like, we are soon going to have a day
[01:27.780 -> 01:30.820] when a promoter says we are not a street race
[01:30.820 -> 01:33.420] and we're not going to run it right at night.
[01:33.420 -> 01:36.100] And then having a day race in a traditional circuit
[01:36.100 -> 01:36.920] will be news.
[01:36.920 -> 01:39.180] That's the future of where it's going to go.
[01:39.180 -> 01:41.740] But I have to ask,
[01:41.740 -> 01:44.820] you said the crowds were there in hundreds and thousands.
[01:44.820 -> 01:46.440] You know, usually that is an official report.
[01:46.440 -> 01:48.680] I'm sure there will come, there will be one from Miami as well.
[01:48.680 -> 01:56.000] But I'd love to know if the crowd actually built up after the 40% discounts that came up, Somil.
[01:58.000 -> 02:00.960] Who knows, but well, there's one thing that was for sure.
[02:00.960 -> 02:03.160] We saw so much of chaos in the race.
[02:03.440 -> 02:08.440] And the one big question on everyone's mind is, was it really a good race?
[02:08.440 -> 02:12.680] Now that answer depends from person to person, we can also then talk about was it a good
[02:12.680 -> 02:13.680] spectacle.
[02:13.680 -> 02:17.760] There's this to talk about, there's so much on the strategy, so much on overtaking, so
[02:17.760 -> 02:22.180] much on Lewis Hamilton and all the other stuff from the Miami GP as well.
[02:22.180 -> 02:25.840] But this ladies and gentlemen is the Inside Line F1 podcast.
[02:25.840 -> 02:31.120] My name is Somal Arora. I am the host of the Indian Racing League broadcasts on Star Sports
[02:31.120 -> 02:36.480] and joining me as always is Kunal Shah, the former marketing head of the Sahara Force India Formula
[02:36.480 -> 02:42.560] One team, who is now an FIA accredited Formula One journalist for the Viaplay network. And now
[02:42.560 -> 02:46.120] Kunal, we're going to have Bob Varsha on the podcast next week to
[02:46.120 -> 02:48.760] discuss the stories of Miami on the ground.
[02:49.080 -> 02:53.560] But from what we looked at from behind, what a crazy race, huh?
[02:53.800 -> 02:55.480] We saw so many overtakes.
[02:55.520 -> 03:00.000] We saw a snap and win from P9, but arguably the most interesting part of the
[03:00.000 -> 03:06.240] entire race was Jackie Stewart not being allowed to meet Roger Federer because the security didn't
[03:06.240 -> 03:13.600] really know who he was. Jackie Stewart! I loved how he just barged his way through. It you know
[03:13.600 -> 03:18.720] it's like how racing car drivers are. You don't give them room, they will create room for
[03:18.720 -> 03:26.040] themselves and that's what Sir Jackie Stewart did. And in the preview episode, we actually
[03:26.040 -> 03:29.920] spoke of look out for Martin Brundle's grid walk.
[03:29.920 -> 03:31.820] And that's what we are now discussing,
[03:31.820 -> 03:34.640] looking out for Martin Brundle's grid walk, right?
[03:34.640 -> 03:36.640] So it was pretty epic.
[03:36.640 -> 03:40.440] I mean, Roger Federer, he said on the grid
[03:40.440 -> 03:42.480] itself that he's a big fan of Formula One.
[03:42.480 -> 03:44.120] He was supporting Mercedes because he's
[03:44.120 -> 03:51.400] an ambassador of Mercedes, blah, etc. But it was actually nice to see so many celebrities
[03:51.400 -> 03:58.280] come out and say they are fans, support the sport etc. etc. And I normally love this spillover
[03:58.280 -> 04:05.720] of entertainment, music, art, sports, everybody etc. coming to Formula One. Two of the richest individuals in the world,
[04:05.720 -> 04:09.160] Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos were there.
[04:09.160 -> 04:11.720] Expectedly, Elon quickly took to Twitter,
[04:11.720 -> 04:14.160] said, great conversations around battery and aero,
[04:14.160 -> 04:16.160] and I would love to see a pure EV
[04:16.160 -> 04:20.000] versus a hybrid car race at some point.
[04:20.000 -> 04:22.720] And promptly, Formula E jumped in and said,
[04:22.720 -> 04:24.220] hey guys, don't forget we are here.
[04:24.220 -> 04:31.360] But, you know, promptly Formula E jumped in and said, hey guys, don't forget we are here. But, but let's get to, you know, the Miami Grand Prix, Samil.
[04:31.360 -> 04:32.760] Was it a good race?
[04:32.760 -> 04:34.360] Was it a good spectacle?
[04:34.360 -> 04:35.600] Was it a bit of both?
[04:35.640 -> 04:37.240] I'd love to know your take.
[04:37.400 -> 04:40.640] What I really love the most is the spectacle part.
[04:40.640 -> 04:41.400] Let's start over there.
[04:41.400 -> 04:49.000] We will get to the racing and trust me, there's so much of technical fun stuff to talk about. But I want to start out with the whole idea that's been sold around
[04:49.000 -> 04:54.160] the Miami GP, right? We often expect that when people show up to an event, they will
[04:54.160 -> 04:59.240] make noise. And that didn't really work out. So I'm just baffled, right? I love the idea
[04:59.240 -> 05:02.800] of Formula One going silly with the driver introductions. They must. That's how you sell
[05:02.800 -> 05:05.120] a sport. But the wrong choice
[05:05.120 -> 05:08.880] of, I don't know why I'm going so critical into this, but just the wrong choice of music really
[05:08.880 -> 05:13.600] flattened everything. And so Kunal, the only time that they actually made noise was for Lewis
[05:13.600 -> 05:18.080] Hamilton. But that's the truth. Formula One would like you to believe that they made noise otherwise
[05:18.080 -> 05:22.960] as well. But it looked like they were actually piping in fake crowd noise. Because who on earth
[05:22.960 -> 05:26.640] cheers for Nico Hulkenberg? And they had noise for Nico Hulkenberg and they had noise when Nico
[05:26.640 -> 05:32.400] Hulkenberg walked in. I cheer for Nico Hulkenberg, let me remind you. All the way from Austin to
[05:32.400 -> 05:37.680] Miami, I don't think that noise came in that loud, it was ridiculously loud. I was like what Hulkenberg,
[05:37.680 -> 05:47.560] why? You know maybe the local flavor, he's got the name Hulk going, etc, etc. Could be any of that. But, you know, I personally loved the driver
[05:47.640 -> 05:49.360] introductions that they did.
[05:49.360 -> 05:54.680] You're right. They should do it for every race, even though most
[05:54.680 -> 05:57.640] drivers turned around and said, please do not do it for every race.
[05:57.640 -> 06:00.960] But, you know, Fernando Alonso actually made a very interesting point.
[06:00.960 -> 06:10.160] He said, I want them to do it for every race because the fans in Miami are no different or no more or less special than the fans in Japan or Imola or
[06:10.160 -> 06:13.200] Spain and the likes. And I completely agree with that.
[06:13.200 -> 06:14.200] Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait,
[06:14.200 -> 06:15.200] wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait,
[06:15.200 -> 06:16.200] wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait,
[06:16.200 -> 06:17.200] wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait,
[06:17.200 -> 06:18.200] wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait,
[06:18.200 -> 06:19.200] wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait,
[06:19.200 -> 06:20.200] wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait,
[06:20.200 -> 06:21.200] wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait,
[06:21.200 -> 06:22.200] wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait,
[06:22.200 -> 06:23.200] wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait,
[06:23.200 -> 06:25.560] wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, fans in Miami are no different. They're the best fans. What do you mean? Jesus of the races.
[06:25.560 -> 06:27.720] Nobody else does.
[06:27.720 -> 06:30.040] Just the way the fans of Japan are the best fans
[06:30.040 -> 06:34.040] and the fans in Sanfut are the best fans.
[06:34.040 -> 06:38.440] And depends which fans actually paid for 40% off or not,
[06:38.440 -> 06:41.040] because that's usually the best fan segregation.
[06:41.040 -> 06:43.880] That's the marketer in me talking, right?
[06:43.880 -> 06:48.800] But I like the music, I like the way
[06:48.800 -> 06:54.240] the drivers were introduced and Mithila and I were watching it together and she actually
[06:54.240 -> 07:01.040] made a good point that for a lot of these new fans who are coming, who are experiencing, who are on
[07:01.040 -> 07:09.920] the periphery, on the fence, going there because friends are going, family is going. It's a great way and a short intro, you know, to offer a short introduction
[07:09.920 -> 07:15.200] to all the drivers you'll sort of see out because when you see the drivers on track in the car they
[07:15.200 -> 07:20.720] are with a helmet so you don't really see them you see their helmet right and there are ever-changing
[07:20.720 -> 07:27.160] helmet designs so after a point I'm literally guessing which driver is which because everybody's got new helmets, right?
[07:27.160 -> 07:30.200] But more to the point, it was like drive
[07:30.200 -> 07:33.560] to survive kind of presentations in real life.
[07:33.560 -> 07:35.320] And I don't mind that.
[07:35.320 -> 07:37.720] I mean, if the sport has embraced drive
[07:37.720 -> 07:41.400] to survive in the way it has, why not do it on track as well?
[07:41.400 -> 07:43.320] That was where I was coming from.
[07:43.320 -> 07:43.920] Exactly.
[07:43.920 -> 07:45.520] And what I loved the
[07:45.520 -> 07:50.960] most about it apart from the fact that they chose probably the lowest and most mellow music to
[07:50.960 -> 07:56.960] introduce the most exciting drivers they had a conductor and the conductor Kunal was conducting
[07:56.960 -> 08:03.680] the grand total of nothing that was amazing he was just waving his hands over there everyone had
[08:03.680 -> 08:08.160] their iPads everyone had their musical notes lined, everyone was playing what they had to play. The conductor
[08:08.160 -> 08:12.560] over there was in this really weird jacket that had a Mercedes logo, a time logo. It's like,
[08:13.120 -> 08:17.920] what on earth are you trying to be my friend? Why are you here? What are you doing? But I guess so,
[08:18.480 -> 08:24.320] because why not? And that added to the entire spectacle of it. I love how over the top it is.
[08:24.320 -> 08:25.760] I'm not saying this because I have to say this.
[08:25.760 -> 08:28.320] It's just genuinely amazing that Formula 1
[08:28.320 -> 08:30.000] for once makes an effort.
[08:30.000 -> 08:30.960] And that is interesting.
[08:30.960 -> 08:32.880] But on that effort front as well, Kunal,
[08:32.880 -> 08:36.000] when we saw the drivers heading into the cool down room,
[08:36.000 -> 08:40.000] they had a big jersey with the name of all the three drivers
[08:40.000 -> 08:42.400] and their exact positions printed out in the back.
[08:42.400 -> 08:45.840] So now I'm wondering, how many jerseys has Formula
[08:45.840 -> 08:51.120] One actually made that way? Have they made three jerseys for Max? So Verstappen P1, P2, P3.
[08:51.120 -> 08:55.360] Have they made a jersey for Logan Sargent as well? Like in case Logan Sargent randomly comes up on
[08:55.360 -> 09:01.360] the podium? So how many jerseys have Formula One invested their money into? That's just interesting.
[09:01.360 -> 09:06.040] I'm not going to run the calculations in in this you know given
[09:06.040 -> 09:12.280] given how it is actually possible to to do that math but no I get a feeling and
[09:12.280 -> 09:15.500] I hope they didn't really run so many jerseys because it is possible to do
[09:15.500 -> 09:19.100] that as well given the whole sustainability net zero carbon thing
[09:19.100 -> 09:46.160] etc but maybe it was one of those you you know, stickers that you get, you can just iron over and then it looks, it was done. And just so that everybody knows, this wasn't fixed, because that's something that a lot of people could have also imagined. Hmm, did they know beforehand, this is what the finishing positions are going to be. But all 20 drivers finished the race, even though I think it was a good spectacle and
[09:46.160 -> 09:48.800] a good race, Somil, and we'll sort of get to that.
[09:48.800 -> 09:55.760] There was no safety car or virtual safety car for the first time at a race in 2023.
[09:55.760 -> 10:02.340] I think the biggest spectacle actually was also that the marina did not have water this
[10:02.340 -> 10:05.080] year as well, despite the organizers claiming otherwise,
[10:05.080 -> 10:07.980] but thank you for saving all that water.
[10:09.940 -> 10:13.200] You know, it's only after F1 went to Miami,
[10:13.200 -> 10:16.340] did we know of more details around Brad Pitt's movie
[10:16.340 -> 10:18.160] as well, you know, the fact that he's done
[10:18.160 -> 10:20.980] thousand odd kilometers in an F2 car
[10:20.980 -> 10:23.240] and Mercedes is involved in,
[10:23.240 -> 10:27.680] or has been involved in helping him cloak an F2 car
[10:27.680 -> 10:32.360] with F1 bodywork. So it looks like that. I don't know why, but I love Colton Hurta saying,
[10:32.360 -> 10:35.840] Oh my God, so Brad Pitt got a super license before I did.
[10:35.840 -> 10:42.080] It's kind of silly, but it's, I think it's good. We need that to happen. And when ESP
[10:42.080 -> 10:46.480] and Formula One broke the headline that Brad Pitt will be driving alongside
[10:46.480 -> 10:50.560] all the Formula One drivers of the British GP, I honestly felt like punching them in the face
[10:50.560 -> 10:55.200] really. I mean let's just say it as it is, how stupid can you be to publish that headline? Come
[10:55.200 -> 11:01.440] on man that's fat check really just just for this and they said it was an error, it wasn't an error
[11:01.440 -> 11:06.880] Kunal, really it clearly wasn't an error was it?. Really, it clearly wasn't an error, was it? You know, social media,
[11:06.880 -> 11:11.520] we all do this for clicks, that's the essential metric, you know, how much reach, how many clicks,
[11:11.520 -> 11:16.960] how many likes, you know, will people follow us, blah blah blah, but I'm excited to see
[11:18.160 -> 11:23.840] what and how they portray Formula One in that movie and it's Brad Pitt, Lewis Hamilton is the F1
[11:23.840 -> 11:25.700] consultant to the movie, etc. But enough of that, there was a spectacle in Miami, and it's Brad Pitt. Lewis Hamilton is the F1 consultant to the movie, et cetera.
[11:25.700 -> 11:29.080] But enough of that, there was a spectacle in Miami.
[11:29.080 -> 11:30.360] Let's go to that.
[11:30.360 -> 11:32.960] We will discuss Apex, I'm told is gonna be the name
[11:32.960 -> 11:35.440] of the movie if it comes, when it comes.
[11:35.440 -> 11:37.740] So is he gonna miss the Apex or not?
[11:37.740 -> 11:39.120] Because that's another podcast
[11:39.120 -> 11:40.600] that people can listen to, right?
[11:40.600 -> 11:46.800] But there was actually, there were two FI errorsI errors by the way before we sort of go there
[11:46.800 -> 11:52.000] when Lando Norris entered the pit there was a there was a person just crossing the fast lane
[11:52.000 -> 11:57.040] it was caught on his on-board camera so that was one and I say this because we saw what happened
[11:57.040 -> 12:03.200] in Azerbaijan as well with Esteban Ocon right and and there was one more incidence yes so
[12:04.400 -> 12:06.560] Charles Leclerc when he crashed an FP2 and his
[12:06.560 -> 12:12.480] car was being towed back on the tow truck or the pickup truck, the truck was on track while the
[12:12.480 -> 12:18.320] Porsche cars were doing, I believe, reconnaissance laps. I hope it was a reconnaissance lap and not
[12:18.320 -> 12:29.480] the race in itself. But again, just one of those things, I believe, that there was in terms of FIA's misses.
[12:29.920 -> 12:33.440] I think they took the street race element of it very, very seriously with that.
[12:33.800 -> 12:36.040] It's been picked up by a truck.
[12:36.040 -> 12:38.480] There's other Porsche cars that are racing alongside.
[12:38.480 -> 12:39.400] It's totally normal.
[12:39.400 -> 12:40.000] Everything is cool.
[12:40.000 -> 12:40.440] Street race.
[12:40.440 -> 12:41.440] No, you wanted a street race.
[12:41.600 -> 12:42.120] Here you are.
[12:42.160 -> 12:43.440] Totally get that on the track.
[12:43.680 -> 12:46.880] But speaking of the race, Kunal, the most important part
[12:46.880 -> 12:48.760] about the entire weekend, I think
[12:48.760 -> 12:50.480] it's time we finally get to that.
[12:50.480 -> 12:53.600] Charles Leclerc has passed Kevin Magnussen.
[12:53.600 -> 12:55.120] He finished ahead.
[12:55.120 -> 12:56.720] What an amazing battle.
[12:56.720 -> 12:59.800] And that loops me on to the entire discussion
[12:59.800 -> 13:00.800] about overtakes.
[13:00.800 -> 13:04.320] Because for once, we saw many overtakes,
[13:04.320 -> 13:06.640] but it seems that people online aren't very happy
[13:06.640 -> 13:12.080] with the race. Did you like it? Because I really enjoyed the show. I think not every lap has to be
[13:12.880 -> 13:16.480] a cowabunga kind of thing where you need some sort of action or some sort of red flag all the way
[13:16.480 -> 13:21.840] through because the grid positions were very mixed up and they were not orthodox in that nature. We
[13:21.840 -> 13:25.280] saw lots of strategic changes because some teams had to do things like,
[13:25.280 -> 13:28.960] must happen starting on the hard side, just add some degree of variation to it.
[13:28.960 -> 13:32.560] But the fact was that they were able to overtake in Miami,
[13:32.560 -> 13:35.840] and that is unlike Baku where we were just stuck up to dry.
[13:35.840 -> 13:38.800] So even with the overtaking first, did you like the show?
[13:38.800 -> 13:42.640] And B, just why were they able to overtake so much better when the cars are the same,
[13:42.640 -> 13:50.320] the drivers are the same, the drivers are the same and net-net circuit characteristics in terms of just track design on a 2D point of view are similar.
[13:50.320 -> 13:56.720] You know it's a very interesting point, we all in Formula 1 have Charles Leclerc to thank
[13:57.440 -> 14:02.240] because he had two crashes in two days, FP2 and then the more important one in qualifying
[14:02.800 -> 14:05.840] and then it sort of bunched up the entire grid.
[14:05.840 -> 14:07.440] Everybody was out of place.
[14:07.440 -> 14:08.360] Lewis was out of place.
[14:08.360 -> 14:10.880] Max was out of place, et cetera, et cetera.
[14:10.880 -> 14:15.200] And then what forced people on the Sunday during the race
[14:15.200 -> 14:17.000] is to try different strategies.
[14:17.000 -> 14:19.680] So the overtaking was of course courtesy Max Verstappen.
[14:19.680 -> 14:22.680] He was driving past people as though they didn't exist.
[14:23.600 -> 14:27.680] I think he was already in the podium positions by lap 14.
[14:27.680 -> 14:29.960] Isn't that what he said in the cool down room?
[14:29.960 -> 14:32.860] He told Fernando Alonso, who's driver number 14 on the car,
[14:32.860 -> 14:35.780] that he overtook him on lap number 14, right?
[14:35.780 -> 14:38.980] So 14 is a number that sticks around with Fernando.
[14:38.980 -> 14:41.180] So I think first was of course Max,
[14:41.180 -> 14:46.840] and then the second reason why things actually happened on track was
[14:46.840 -> 14:51.600] tyre strategy. People were out of place, so they were forced to think differently with
[14:51.600 -> 14:57.360] tyre strategy and tyre strategy gave drivers a different advantage or different delta at
[14:57.360 -> 15:07.240] different points of time in the race, so they could end up making an overtake. and for once there isn't a post race discussion on shorter DRS
[15:07.240 -> 15:13.400] straights because F1 has a problem if the
[15:13.400 -> 15:19.880] conversation before and after most races is going to be is the DRS zone long
[15:19.880 -> 15:26.080] enough for overtaking or not because imagine this there's a six kilometer long circuit and then all
[15:26.080 -> 15:32.000] that people are talking of is that hundred or seventy five meters that is shortened. I mean
[15:32.000 -> 15:38.320] how important is that small really small piece of tarmac when you compare it to a six kilometer
[15:38.320 -> 15:46.720] long circuit but my belief in in general Samuel is that overtaking is a challenge in Formula 1.
[15:46.720 -> 15:53.640] And if I can maybe just backtrack a little bit, you know, 2022, the new rules were brought in to bunch up the field, right?
[15:53.640 -> 15:56.240] And to make following easier and the likes.
[15:56.920 -> 16:05.260] It did bunch up the field, as you could see, you know, in qualifying, P1 to P20 was just 1.2 seconds, which I think is fantastic.
[16:05.260 -> 16:11.360] And, you know, P20 was Logan Sargent, who's driving for the first time in Miami, etc.
[16:11.360 -> 16:21.200] I'm not taking anything away from his talent, just trying to say that, you know, the gap from P1 to P20 being 1.2 seconds is very impressive.
[16:21.200 -> 16:26.000] Right. So barring Red Bull Racing in the race space, everybody is so well
[16:26.000 -> 16:32.240] bunched up that there were times when Yuki Tsunoda was running in the points, when Kevin
[16:32.240 -> 16:40.880] McNewson and the horses were running in the points and the likes, right? So just the matter of fact
[16:40.880 -> 16:47.840] that different drivers are able to run because the field is bunched up.
[16:47.840 -> 16:53.640] But that is what is creating the problem when it comes to overtakes. The delta you need
[16:53.640 -> 16:58.560] to overtake doesn't exist anymore because everybody's so bunched up. And if you go back
[16:58.560 -> 17:04.040] and listen to the episodes from the last two or three races, especially when you say Ferrari,
[17:04.040 -> 17:05.600] Mercedes, and Aston Martin.
[17:05.600 -> 17:07.840] They have been finishing in positions.
[17:07.840 -> 17:12.000] They have started in or settled in after a pit stop.
[17:12.000 -> 17:14.680] That's why track position, qualifying position,
[17:14.680 -> 17:18.040] is so vital in such a tight field.
[17:18.040 -> 17:18.560] It is.
[17:18.560 -> 17:21.840] And that is what made Miami such an interesting race.
[17:21.840 -> 17:29.280] Because let's be honest, who were the primary pride pros? Sorry, who was, blah blah blah, what's happening here? The P alliteration has really
[17:29.280 -> 17:33.120] gotten to me this time, it's funny. Something or the other does, this time it's the P. Let's
[17:33.120 -> 17:39.200] get back in. The primary protagonists, I've done it, for this race in terms of the action
[17:39.200 -> 17:44.000] were Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc and Kevin Magnussen. Now Magnussen and Leclerc
[17:44.000 -> 17:45.320] obviously had their own battle.
[17:45.320 -> 17:46.320] That was amazing to watch.
[17:46.320 -> 17:50.000] Verstappen, let's keep him aside because again, that was inevitable because he was starting
[17:50.000 -> 17:51.000] in P9.
[17:51.000 -> 17:52.820] But I want to touch upon Lewis Hamilton.
[17:52.820 -> 17:58.000] He genuinely had a car that was capable of let's say P4, P5 on merit had he qualified
[17:58.000 -> 17:59.080] a little up ahead.
[17:59.080 -> 18:02.160] Now we all know what happened on Saturday, but if a technical issue on that front, they
[18:02.160 -> 18:03.280] weren't able to get the right lap in.
[18:03.280 -> 18:08.640] And so he was stuck in P13, which made the fact that he had to overtake a new reality
[18:08.640 -> 18:09.640] for him.
[18:09.640 -> 18:13.100] And so that added some layer of fun into it, that Lewis Hamilton was constantly trying
[18:13.100 -> 18:16.100] to get past all the other drivers, but initially couldn't.
[18:16.100 -> 18:18.900] And then in the second stint of the race, he was actually able to do that.
[18:18.900 -> 18:24.180] So if you account for, I mean, if you had like a virtual drama index, and if you see
[18:24.180 -> 18:25.180] who all contributed
[18:25.180 -> 18:28.120] to it, it's mostly drivers who are out of position.
[18:28.120 -> 18:31.860] You're Leclerc's, you're Magnussen's, you're Verstappen's, you're Hamilton.
[18:31.860 -> 18:38.340] And so, I mean, hypothetically, if you take away Leclerc's crash in Q3, it obviously wouldn't
[18:38.340 -> 18:42.060] be as exciting of a race because people would be in their normal orders and they would have
[18:42.060 -> 18:43.900] their normal routine strategy to follow.
[18:43.900 -> 18:48.320] But I think for once, it's great because we got a good show out of it.
[18:48.320 -> 18:52.160] But it doesn't change the fact that in the long run, Kunal, as you rightly mentioned,
[18:52.160 -> 18:58.240] we do have a problem. And even if they can overtake, that's not really the point, right?
[18:58.240 -> 19:02.320] Because not all overtakes are fun. Like look at Max Verstappen getting past the field,
[19:02.320 -> 19:08.000] especially that move on Pierre Gasly. Nothing to worry about, nothing to do. I don't think that's entertaining enough
[19:08.000 -> 19:12.280] in my mind. But again, the way things worked out, I think there's not that not much that
[19:12.280 -> 19:14.880] we can complain about from Miami in that perspective, right?
[19:14.880 -> 19:15.880] Absolutely.
[19:15.880 -> 19:19.640] We got a battle for the win. We saw some amazing battles in the midfield, some proper wheel
[19:19.640 -> 19:24.700] to wheel racing as well. And we also saw double overtake from Max Verstappen too. So that
[19:24.700 -> 19:28.360] checks everyone's boxes. So I kind of don't get why people are unhappy on the
[19:28.360 -> 19:33.520] internet really. I think if it's not people on the internet always unhappy I
[19:33.520 -> 19:37.560] think that's just general theme as well. Or let's just get them to watch the
[19:37.560 -> 19:42.400] Monaco E-Prix where there were 116 overtakes on Saturday in Monaco right
[19:42.400 -> 19:45.160] but anyway we'll talk about the E-Pre later.
[19:45.160 -> 19:47.920] You mentioned a few very important points.
[19:47.920 -> 19:52.000] You know, it wasn't fun to watch Max Verstappen overtake, was it?
[19:52.000 -> 19:56.080] Because he had so much of an advantage.
[19:56.080 -> 20:00.560] No one wanted to fight Max Verstappen.
[20:00.560 -> 20:04.440] No one is able to fight Max Verstappen or Red Bull in this case.
[20:04.440 -> 20:12.840] And I think both scenarios are actually a fail for Formula 1 because essentially you want people to be going wheel to wheel and the likes.
[20:12.840 -> 20:22.360] But, you know, so in one case, if it was just Max overtaking, I can understand people were bored because he just drove past, you know, but there were overtakes otherwise.
[20:22.360 -> 20:26.780] I mean, Kevin Magnussen and Charles Leclerc, two drivers who otherwise wouldn't get to battle,
[20:26.780 -> 20:28.960] you know, Magnussen would let Leclerc through
[20:28.960 -> 20:31.040] and then be able to overtake him the next corner.
[20:31.040 -> 20:34.080] And those battles along with Mercedes as well
[20:34.080 -> 20:35.520] were pretty fantastic.
[20:35.520 -> 20:38.120] And let me also, you know,
[20:38.120 -> 20:41.480] I found some information about tire strategy.
[20:41.480 -> 20:42.320] Okay.
[20:43.240 -> 20:47.520] The drivers who made the biggest gains in the race, right, and I'm going
[20:47.520 -> 20:52.880] to name them, there was eight places gained by Max Verstappen, seven places gained by Lewis
[20:52.880 -> 21:01.040] Hamilton, six places gained by Yuki Sonoda and Lance Stroll. All these drivers started on the
[21:01.040 -> 21:06.680] hard tyre and then switched to the medium. OK, so that's point number one.
[21:06.680 -> 21:09.720] Now, this is where it gets even more interesting.
[21:09.720 -> 21:13.920] Of all the drivers who started on the medium tire, which
[21:13.920 -> 21:16.920] was basically what most drivers did,
[21:16.920 -> 21:20.560] George Russell was the only driver who actually
[21:20.560 -> 21:25.120] gained two places, which actually is a good indication
[21:25.120 -> 21:27.540] that the Mercedes came alive in the race.
[21:27.540 -> 21:29.180] And it could have been that it was helped
[21:29.180 -> 21:31.920] by the overnight rain that sort of brought
[21:31.920 -> 21:33.720] the circuit temperatures a little lower.
[21:33.720 -> 21:36.320] So that probably worked in Mercedes' favor.
[21:36.320 -> 21:39.560] The other driver who actually started on the medium
[21:39.560 -> 21:43.480] but did not gain or lose a place was Charles Leclerc.
[21:43.480 -> 21:47.040] Some of every other driver who started on the medium
[21:47.040 -> 21:50.040] lost position. And I'm going to read out some names.
[21:50.040 -> 21:52.040] Perez lost a position, Alonso lost a position,
[21:52.040 -> 21:55.040] Sainz was two positions down, Gassly was three,
[21:55.040 -> 21:58.040] Bottas, Alban, Hulkenberg, three positions down,
[21:58.040 -> 22:00.040] Nick de Vries, three positions down.
[22:00.040 -> 22:07.680] So, what in effect is that the hard medium strategy was the correct strategy and that's why
[22:08.640 -> 22:14.320] you know it also became so much easier for Max Verstappen because when Perez had the medium it
[22:14.320 -> 22:19.440] was a greener track it was higher fuel load he was saying his mediums were splitting apart etc
[22:19.440 -> 22:25.520] etc. So you know tire strategy worked which I think was very good but it was you know, tire strategy worked, which I think was very good.
[22:29.120 -> 22:31.760] But it was, you know, could there be more variation? That's probably what people are maybe questioning.
[22:32.080 -> 22:36.760] Wait, correct me if I'm wrong here, but Lewis Hamilton went on a medium hard,
[22:36.760 -> 22:38.160] didn't he, eventually?
[22:38.160 -> 22:41.560] No, Hamilton started on the hard tire first.
[22:41.680 -> 22:49.120] He was on the hard and then closer to lap 37-38 he went onto the medium tyre.
[22:49.920 -> 22:54.640] Yeah it's interesting how it's worked out in that sense where I didn't initially expect the hard to
[22:54.640 -> 22:59.280] be the right tyre to start on. I thought they'd also be going on the mediums initially and then
[22:59.280 -> 23:04.480] later on just like Baku going for the hards but that's what the change in grid conditions does
[23:04.480 -> 23:06.840] to you where you have to take unconventional
[23:06.840 -> 23:09.800] measures and that really worked out well in Max's favor.
[23:09.800 -> 23:14.440] And I think now that we're at that stage, let's also dedicate a minute to the winner.
[23:14.440 -> 23:17.400] I know we don't like to talk about Max a lot.
[23:17.400 -> 23:18.400] For a reason.
[23:18.400 -> 23:19.400] I love to talk about him.
[23:19.400 -> 23:23.520] I mean, it's, I mean, we all know that he's so great, right?
[23:23.520 -> 23:25.840] So great to the point that you don't really have to speak about it.
[23:25.880 -> 23:30.800] It's like a universal truth now that Max Verstappen is the top level Formula
[23:30.800 -> 23:35.560] One driver and that stint on the hearts Kunal was just beyond me, how he was
[23:35.560 -> 23:40.200] able to get past so many people and at the same time, not lose any time at all.
[23:40.240 -> 23:45.880] In fact, end up gaining quite a fair bit on Checo, who in fact was also in clear air and
[23:45.880 -> 23:50.780] had the softer tires and he also has so-called a knack to manage tires better.
[23:50.780 -> 23:55.040] So that in my head was like, wow, that was a stint Max.
[23:55.040 -> 23:58.520] And the way he was just able to cruise past later on just shows that he had so much more
[23:58.520 -> 24:00.000] pace remaining in the bank.
[24:00.000 -> 24:02.600] So it's just beyond me what Max can do.
[24:02.600 -> 24:07.120] And I just keep on getting pleasantly surprised about how good the guy is.
[24:07.120 -> 24:10.840] You know, Max is on the, well, maybe off track as well.
[24:10.840 -> 24:15.720] I love the fact that he doesn't expose his life so much like so many other drivers, right?
[24:15.720 -> 24:16.720] Okay.
[24:16.720 -> 24:20.540] But I think Max made just one wrong move all weekend.
[24:20.540 -> 24:24.760] And that was in qualifying when he couldn't put a banker lap in, you know, when he ran
[24:24.760 -> 24:27.360] by through turns 5, 6, 7 in Q3.
[24:27.360 -> 24:29.360] That was his only wrong move.
[24:29.360 -> 24:32.960] You know, driver number 33, which is his original number,
[24:32.960 -> 24:36.800] finished 33 seconds ahead of George Russell in fourth place.
[24:36.800 -> 24:41.600] And since I keep quoting numbers, I said I should sort of quote that.
[24:41.600 -> 24:43.920] And George Russell, let's also, let's, you know,
[24:43.920 -> 24:45.240] I mentioned that he was the only
[24:45.240 -> 24:48.760] medium runner to finish higher than where he started.
[24:48.760 -> 24:50.800] I love two things that, you know, that he did.
[24:50.800 -> 24:55.240] First was when he got and he overtook Pierre Gasly,
[24:55.240 -> 24:57.800] just when Max Verstappen overtook him as well.
[24:57.800 -> 24:59.840] And Mercedes, you know, his race engineer,
[24:59.840 -> 25:01.800] George Russell's race engineer,
[25:01.800 -> 25:03.320] actually told him to do that.
[25:03.320 -> 25:05.360] He said, let's follow Max through, let's go
[25:05.360 -> 25:11.200] and get Pierre Gasly and you know when I heard it I was laughing, I'm saying that's very
[25:11.200 -> 25:16.080] you know bold and George actually said you're making it sound simpler than it actually is but
[25:16.080 -> 25:20.720] George Russell actually delivered on that and that's why there was a radio exchange on the
[25:20.720 -> 25:30.000] broadcast where George said I should listen to my engineer more often that's the that's the joke behind the scenes right and then of course we had Russell and Hamilton swapping
[25:30.000 -> 25:34.480] Hamilton doing a lot of positioning saying I'm not going to let him buy he can go by if he wants
[25:34.480 -> 25:40.880] etc we didn't hear what Mercedes said in response because a few moments later we actually saw that
[25:40.880 -> 25:47.560] Lewis Hamilton let George Russell buy which actually helped George climb up to fourth place because they were on
[25:47.560 -> 25:49.120] different strategies.
[25:49.480 -> 25:51.560] And it was a great race from George Russell.
[25:51.680 -> 25:55.240] And apparently things are only going to get better from here.
[25:55.280 -> 25:57.680] If you are to believe what Mercedes are saying,
[25:57.680 -> 26:01.600] because they're saying that the Imola upgrade will prove why this Mercedes is so
[26:01.600 -> 26:05.040] poisonous and we're going to fix it. They used the exact
[26:05.040 -> 26:11.200] word, they said this Mercedes is poisonous. Not bad, not bad. It's been slowly sucking the life
[26:11.200 -> 26:15.680] out of Lewis Hamilton but it didn't quite seem like it because again, one point that really
[26:15.680 -> 26:21.040] intrigued me was that if Mercedes had so much pace, were they just genuinely that good or were
[26:21.040 -> 26:25.280] they actually just poorly positioned and qualifying for Lewis especially because for me
[26:25.280 -> 26:30.640] I felt that okay they could be there abouts where George was but it was just artificially made more
[26:30.640 -> 26:34.320] exciting and artificially made to look better because Lewis was lower down so it felt like hey
[26:34.320 -> 26:39.760] he's got a lot more pace whereas they just did what they have been doing so far. Mercedes have
[26:39.760 -> 26:46.000] you know historically struggled in Miami they had a similar situation last year, only one car into Q3, et cetera.
[26:46.000 -> 26:49.160] So by the way, their porpoising was back,
[26:49.160 -> 26:51.160] which is why they had to raise the car
[26:51.160 -> 26:53.240] and lose more performance, et cetera, et cetera.
[26:53.240 -> 26:56.880] And very interestingly, Mercedes has just said,
[26:56.880 -> 27:01.880] like you said, that the W14 is poisonous.
[27:03.040 -> 27:07.520] The corporate PR will come for their necks, I believe, if they were to say this Mercedes is poisonous. The corporate PR will come for their necks I believe if they were
[27:07.520 -> 27:12.360] to say this Mercedes is poisonous. So very interesting how they do not say
[27:12.360 -> 27:18.760] the name of the car but say the chassis name number whatever you call it.
[27:18.760 -> 27:23.960] Interesting. Now folks it's time to get a lowdown on the numbers behind the
[27:23.960 -> 27:25.120] Mayavi GP and for that we've got F1 stats guru right here. Now ladies and Now folks, it's time to get a lowdown on the numbers behind the Miami GP.
[27:25.120 -> 27:28.840] And for that, we've got F1 Stats Guru right here.
[27:28.840 -> 27:32.440] Now ladies and gentlemen, let's listen in to the stats review by F1 Stats Guru.
[27:32.440 -> 27:35.680] Hey folks, it's time to do the stats review of the Miami Grand Prix.
[27:35.680 -> 27:39.120] My name is Sundaram, also known as the F1 Stats Guru on the internet.
[27:39.120 -> 27:43.200] A masterclass of a race where Max was tapping yet again, and it always threw us up some
[27:43.200 -> 27:45.040] very interesting stats and facts.
[27:45.040 -> 27:48.080] So why don't we just dig in straight into the numbers.
[27:48.080 -> 27:51.680] Now the one thing that you've probably already heard of is that Max Verstappen is now part of
[27:51.680 -> 27:57.200] a small club of drivers who won from P9. It's not always easy to win from P9 but the way Max
[27:57.200 -> 28:02.160] Verstappen has been going, it all seems a little too easy. The last driver to win from P9 was
[28:02.160 -> 28:06.240] actually Niki Lauda in 1984, almost 4 decades and only 5
[28:06.240 -> 28:11.760] drivers overall have done this in the history of the sport. And with that, Verstappen has now
[28:11.760 -> 28:17.440] equalled Sebastian Vettel as the joint most successful driver for the Red Bull team. Vettel
[28:17.440 -> 28:22.560] took 38 wins during his time with this team and surely Verstappen is going to be going a lot more
[28:22.560 -> 28:27.040] higher than that considering his contract ends in only 2028.
[28:27.040 -> 28:31.860] That also means that Red Bull have now won the first 5 races of the season.
[28:31.860 -> 28:36.600] The interesting thing is, whenever a team has won the first 5 races of a season, they
[28:36.600 -> 28:40.440] have always, always won both titles later that year.
[28:40.440 -> 28:42.500] It's happened 6 times until now.
[28:42.500 -> 28:51.120] The most recent team to do it was actually Mercedes in 2014 and 2019. The big question is, when is Red Bull going to take those championships
[28:51.120 -> 28:54.640] this year? It's going to be an interesting prediction to make. But another driver that
[28:54.640 -> 28:58.880] was in the mix, obviously not for the race win, but for the podium was Fernando Alonso.
[28:58.880 -> 29:04.240] He's now taken 4 podiums in the first 5 races of the season, definitely enjoying himself
[29:04.240 -> 29:08.760] in that Aston Martin. But it also means that this is the first time that a team apart from Red Bull,
[29:08.760 -> 29:13.700] Mercedes or Ferrari has made it to the podium in the United States. It was always a country
[29:13.700 -> 29:17.780] that was being dominated by the big three in the last several years, but now we have
[29:17.780 -> 29:19.980] a fourth team to that as well.
[29:19.980 -> 29:23.720] And the last start of today is about Pierre Gasly. He started from 4th and eventually
[29:23.720 -> 29:29.760] finished 8th, but he is going to be a delighted driver because after 5 attempts he has finally scored
[29:29.760 -> 29:33.360] on US soil. He finally gets 4 points and I am sure he is going to be very pleased with
[29:33.360 -> 29:37.880] that now that the team also has a double points finish after a few difficult races.
[29:37.880 -> 29:42.040] Well that was the stats review. I hope you folks enjoyed that. For more such interesting
[29:42.040 -> 29:48.320] stats and facts don't forget to follow me on my twitter and instagram under the name f1statsguru. I'll see you folks in a couple of weeks.
[29:48.320 -> 29:52.640] Welcome back into the inside line f1 podcast ladies and gentlemen and we were on the subject
[29:52.640 -> 29:58.960] of discussing the Miami GP and there's one very important aspect that we can't quite miss out on.
[29:58.960 -> 30:04.320] Fernando Alonso Tucanal just like us was enjoying the show. He actually watched Lance,
[30:04.320 -> 30:08.120] uh what I was about to say Lance Verstappen for some weird reason.
[30:08.120 -> 30:12.600] But he was actually watching Lance Troll make a move on other drivers while driving in the
[30:12.600 -> 30:13.600] car.
[30:13.600 -> 30:16.600] So that just makes me wonder, where was he watching from?
[30:16.600 -> 30:20.320] Did he actually look from the corner of his eye and maybe look at a TV screen or did he
[30:20.320 -> 30:21.320] just see it in front?
[30:21.320 -> 30:26.240] Because as far as I know, I don't think Fernando was even in the same sector as Lance Stroll.
[30:26.240 -> 30:28.640] So the fact that he can actually look at the TV,
[30:28.640 -> 30:31.120] watch, and then make a comment on that as well,
[30:31.120 -> 30:34.400] this is incredible to me about the kind of mental capabilities
[30:34.400 -> 30:35.640] that Fernando has.
[30:35.640 -> 30:38.520] So it just makes me think, what car actually
[30:38.520 -> 30:40.440] takes the 100% from Fernando?
[30:40.440 -> 30:42.880] Or can it ever even happen?
[30:42.880 -> 30:46.000] Can he be 100% involved in it, or will he always have some spare capacity?
[30:46.000 -> 30:50.000] I know it's a trade of the best, like Michael Schumacher always used to have it as well.
[30:50.000 -> 30:54.000] But how? How do you have so much mental capability?
[30:54.000 -> 30:58.000] This reminds me of Lewis Hamilton's incident in qualifying.
[30:58.000 -> 31:00.000] I think it was behind Kevin McNussett.
[31:00.000 -> 31:04.000] Lewis was probably looking at his dash or adjusting something
[31:04.000 -> 31:07.000] and he almost didn't see that McNewson
[31:07.000 -> 31:08.040] had come to a standstill
[31:08.040 -> 31:09.920] because a car ahead of him had come standstill,
[31:09.920 -> 31:11.760] and then he had to sort of go on the curb
[31:11.760 -> 31:13.680] between McNewson and the wall
[31:13.680 -> 31:16.360] and clip his wing and whatever, right?
[31:16.360 -> 31:20.280] Just remember that these drivers are able to do so much more
[31:20.280 -> 31:23.080] while driving the car at those speeds,
[31:23.080 -> 31:24.280] Fernando Alonso included.
[31:24.280 -> 31:28.240] Of course, Fernando did say that in the slow-speed sections
[31:28.240 -> 31:30.240] of the Miami GP circuit,
[31:31.200 -> 31:33.560] there are TV screens that he could see things
[31:33.560 -> 31:36.000] and that's how he sort of saw Lance Stroll.
[31:36.000 -> 31:39.000] For once, I almost thought that maybe,
[31:39.000 -> 31:41.880] you know, Aston Martin has given him a,
[31:41.880 -> 31:44.640] you know, a stroll camera on his dashboard
[31:44.640 -> 31:45.000] where he's able to, you know, sort of look at stroll. And like, you know, Max Verstappen said, Martin has given him a stroll camera on his dashboard
[31:45.000 -> 31:47.600] where he's able to sort of look at stroll.
[31:47.600 -> 31:49.400] And like Max Verstappen said,
[31:49.400 -> 31:53.280] you're like Lance Stroll's life coach,
[31:53.280 -> 31:55.840] because last race it was try my brake bias.
[31:55.840 -> 31:57.360] Now it's like, hey, good move, good move.
[31:57.360 -> 31:58.520] What position is he in?
[31:58.520 -> 31:59.360] And whatever.
[32:01.200 -> 32:04.000] I was glad that Fernando Alonso was so chirpy
[32:04.000 -> 32:09.360] and enjoying the entertainment because we didn't see Taylor Swift.
[32:09.360 -> 32:14.000] I mean, if there was one race, she's got one out of three chances to make it to an American Grand Prix.
[32:14.000 -> 32:16.000] She's sort of let go of the first one.
[32:16.000 -> 32:19.640] So, you know, that was, that was, I was hoping to see Taylor Swift there.
[32:19.640 -> 32:26.400] And if she would probably be on the grid along with Martin Brundle or not or what. But yeah, that was that was one of those things.
[32:27.680 -> 32:31.640] You know, Fernando Alonso has scored 15 points in every race this season.
[32:31.640 -> 32:33.240] That's one of the things I wrote down.
[32:33.240 -> 32:35.920] It was his fourth P3 finish.
[32:36.360 -> 32:43.120] And while we are talking of Fernando, let's also discuss how Lance Stroll's
[32:43.760 -> 32:47.840] weaknesses were exposed by a circuit like Miami. Low grip,
[32:47.840 -> 32:53.920] maybe different tarmac that he doesn't like, something because in Q1 he was out and then
[32:53.920 -> 32:59.440] yes he was battling in the race but he never sort of was able to make up positions in the race
[33:00.000 -> 33:04.640] despite being the one who actually you know started on the hot tire. He made up six positions
[33:04.640 -> 33:05.040] like I
[33:05.040 -> 33:10.080] said but hey he didn't get into the points and the interesting part behind why he couldn't quite
[33:10.080 -> 33:15.360] make up positions and actually why he started there in the first place was that Aston Martin
[33:15.360 -> 33:21.440] didn't really put him on a fresh set of tires in Q1 and the reason behind that Kunal is because
[33:21.440 -> 33:29.000] they thought that they were good enough to make sure that they could get ahead into Q2 on the old set as well and for the first time ever
[33:29.000 -> 33:32.920] I think we've seen a degree of overconfidence with Aston Martin and
[33:32.920 -> 33:37.760] it's funny how expectations can change just out of five good races. Well this is
[33:37.760 -> 33:41.680] where it gets interesting Mike Crack in his post qualifying press
[33:41.680 -> 33:48.400] release says we didn't get the right strategy. But the strangest part, Somin, is Fernando Alonso was on the same strategy.
[33:48.400 -> 33:51.520] Single set of tires from Q1, he made it to Q2.
[33:51.520 -> 33:54.480] The gap between Alonso and Stroll was two-tenths only.
[33:54.480 -> 33:57.720] So that was not like Stroll had a really bad lap.
[33:57.720 -> 33:58.960] But guess what?
[33:58.960 -> 34:02.840] When the field is so bunched up, two-tenths is a massive gap.
[34:02.840 -> 34:05.440] It's a difference between going into Q2
[34:05.440 -> 34:07.360] and then getting eliminated in Q1.
[34:07.360 -> 34:11.480] So technically, Aston Martin had the right strategy.
[34:11.480 -> 34:14.940] They just didn't have both their drivers deliver,
[34:14.940 -> 34:17.560] or, you know, I don't know if I'm gonna be too critical
[34:17.560 -> 34:19.520] of Lance Stroll, but let's leave it at that.
[34:19.520 -> 34:21.600] No, wait, but isn't that the wrong strategy?
[34:21.600 -> 34:23.920] Because the strategy should, in fact,
[34:23.920 -> 34:26.880] be aligned towards a certain driver and their capabilities.
[34:26.880 -> 34:28.880] So if you know by a general metric
[34:28.880 -> 34:31.680] that Lance Stroll is at least a 10th and a half slower
[34:31.680 -> 34:34.800] than Fernando Alonso, probably you should account for it.
[34:34.800 -> 34:36.600] But again, I'm the couch warrior over here.
[34:36.600 -> 34:38.320] So it's probably easy for me to say that.
[34:38.320 -> 34:41.280] But crazy how just one minor error in qualifying
[34:41.280 -> 34:43.960] can have such a huge impact on the overall race.
[34:43.960 -> 34:49.440] And so Aston Martin have been, uh, I've seen their gap to Mercedes been
[34:49.440 -> 34:51.600] shortened because Mercedes have added to it.
[34:51.600 -> 34:52.080] Or five points or something.
[34:52.080 -> 34:52.400] Yeah.
[34:52.400 -> 34:52.720] Yeah.
[34:52.720 -> 34:55.520] And that's fun now, Kunal, because we have a three-way fight for P2.
[34:55.520 -> 34:58.240] So I wouldn't say Formula One is just becoming boring.
[34:58.240 -> 35:03.040] It's just that the action on track isn't quite complimenting the amazing battles of it.
[35:03.040 -> 35:05.200] And I think heading into the next couple of races,
[35:05.200 -> 35:09.600] it should be very, very fun to watch how this very special battle plays out.
[35:09.600 -> 35:12.600] And also, how Sergio Perez can actually fight back.
[35:12.600 -> 35:15.400] Because F1 Stats Guru, again, uncovered an amazing stat
[35:15.400 -> 35:19.600] that it's just been Verstappen, Perez, Verstappen, Perez, Verstappen, Perez
[35:19.600 -> 35:21.000] in terms of race wins all along.
[35:21.000 -> 35:23.800] So, could we be seeing a Sergio Perez win in the next one?
[35:23.800 -> 35:25.420] I mean, your guess is as good as mine,
[35:25.420 -> 35:27.880] but I find it funny how something or the other
[35:27.880 -> 35:30.120] has been going wrong for Max every weekend in terms
[35:30.120 -> 35:31.280] of qualifying for the race.
[35:31.280 -> 35:33.400] So fun times, I'd say.
[35:33.400 -> 35:36.840] Yeah, and the gap between Aston Martin and Mercedes
[35:36.840 -> 35:38.520] is just six points.
[35:38.520 -> 35:40.680] Aston Martin has seen Fernando Alonso
[35:40.680 -> 35:44.120] do most of the heavy lifting.
[35:44.120 -> 35:50.000] Fernando Alonso has actually, if we were to look at it, he scored 75 of the
[35:50.000 -> 35:51.600] team's 102 points.
[35:51.600 -> 35:55.720] OK, but that's, again, something you would expect.
[35:55.720 -> 36:00.660] Lance Stroll had one race where he did not finish because of reliability reasons.
[36:00.660 -> 36:03.120] And then yesterday he finished, but didn't score points.
[36:03.120 -> 36:12.720] It was actually the first race where Aston Martin had both cars finish but scored points with just one of them. And I think the
[36:12.720 -> 36:17.120] only other team I believe I want to still talk about and just going to quickly run through them
[36:17.120 -> 36:26.760] is McLaren. You know, double Q1 elimination, no points scored at all. They're lying fifth in the Constructors' Championship,
[36:26.760 -> 36:28.800] you know, on equal points with Alpine.
[36:28.800 -> 36:32.280] And they have actually scored points in just three,
[36:32.280 -> 36:34.600] or rather two, out of the five races
[36:34.600 -> 36:36.320] that have happened till date.
[36:36.320 -> 36:39.480] But Oscar Piastri, he had a long brake pedal.
[36:39.480 -> 36:42.280] He had brake issues, which then compounded to other issues,
[36:42.280 -> 36:44.920] including a lot of fuel saving.
[36:44.920 -> 36:49.040] Interestingly for Lando Norris, you know, they had swapped on track because
[36:49.060 -> 36:53.040] Norris didn't have as many issues that say Piastri did.
[36:53.520 -> 36:56.560] Lando Norris has scored in just two out of the five races.
[36:56.960 -> 37:01.680] Interestingly, even then he's ninth in the Drivers' Championship.
[37:01.700 -> 37:06.240] That's how closely fought the battle is between the top four teams.
[37:06.240 -> 37:13.200] Okay. And Nautis has scored in two out of the five races and in the other three races, he's finished
[37:13.920 -> 37:22.480] 17th somehow. That's how much the gap can be. Ridiculous, frankly. Seriously, it's amazing how
[37:22.480 -> 37:26.320] close the field is bunched up that even a minor off day
[37:26.320 -> 37:31.280] can really get to you and that is what really excites me, excites me, yes, that excites me
[37:31.280 -> 37:35.440] quite a fair bit, that's a new word that I've invented today on the InsideLine F1 podcast but
[37:35.440 -> 37:40.400] that is what really excites me all the way through Kunal that McLaren are seeing an upturn in pace,
[37:40.400 -> 37:45.040] they are seeing a new upgrade coming that's affecting their car but the fact that all the
[37:45.040 -> 37:48.880] upgrades and all the cars performance is so track specific as well makes it such an interesting
[37:48.880 -> 37:54.320] pre-season to follow and all of that more shall be discussed in future episodes but yeah I think
[37:54.320 -> 37:58.560] I think we're now heading into a good direction in terms of the racing with Formula One just that
[37:58.560 -> 38:03.360] the on-track action should follow soon. Yeah and you know what in all of this we forgot to
[38:03.360 -> 38:08.640] speak about Ferrari, I'm sure they are not pleased about that because they use Formula One to market their road
[38:08.640 -> 38:09.640] cars.
[38:09.640 -> 38:16.800] Literally speaking, I mean, we spoke of Leclerc, Ferrari were done in by their tire degradation,
[38:16.800 -> 38:19.640] if one may put it as that.
[38:19.640 -> 38:22.240] And that was the long and short of what it was.
[38:22.240 -> 38:25.280] So like Frederic Vossoeur said, you know, they were up there
[38:25.280 -> 38:30.160] and qualifying, they should have been up there, but then in the race pace, they just chew up their
[38:30.160 -> 38:36.000] tires more than pretty much everyone else. And in the first five races, there have been only four
[38:36.000 -> 38:45.920] drivers to have scored points in all of them. The two Red Bull drivers, clearly, because they've had four 1-2 finishes, right?
[38:45.920 -> 38:48.840] And Alonso and Hamilton.
[38:48.840 -> 38:49.800] Interesting.
[38:49.800 -> 38:52.040] Crazy how it's going on eventually.
[38:52.040 -> 38:54.680] And it's just dominance all the way through
[38:54.680 -> 38:55.920] from Red Bull's point of view.
[38:55.920 -> 38:57.040] But will it be retained?
[38:57.040 -> 38:59.640] Will we ever see Aston Martin come to that stage?
[38:59.640 -> 39:00.400] We'll wait and see.
[39:00.400 -> 39:03.240] But what's next on the Inside Line F1 podcast
[39:03.240 -> 39:05.000] is something very, very exciting for us.
[39:05.000 -> 39:10.000] Because coming on to the show next week is going to be the voice of Formula 1 in America,
[39:10.000 -> 39:13.000] Bob Varsha, who was on ground for the Miami GP.
[39:13.000 -> 39:17.000] And he comes on the show to share his stories about the entire weekend,
[39:17.000 -> 39:22.000] how he saw the racing action over there, and also more on the spectacle of the Miami GP
[39:22.000 -> 39:28.720] and what it feels like to be there from a media capacity on ground as well. All of that and more is going to be a part
[39:28.720 -> 39:33.300] of the Inside Line F1 podcast. So if you like what we are serving over here, feel
[39:33.300 -> 39:36.000] free to subscribe to the podcast and share it with all your friends and
[39:36.000 -> 39:40.440] family members and also be back for the next ones. Thank you so much for
[39:40.440 -> None] listening everyone and we shall be back. Take care. you