Miami GP Stories, American Manufacturers & more with Bob Varsha - Inside Line F1 Podcast

The 'voice of the Miami Grand Prix' and legendary American Formula 1 commentator Bob Varsha joins Soumil Arora on this episode of the Inside Line F1 Podcast.

The duo talk about the recently concluded Miami Grand Prix, the first of three races in the United States of America. Bob was the 'voice of the public address' at the Miami International Autodrome.

In this episode, you will hear Bob's best stories from Miami, why American manufacturers are excited about Formula 1 (Red Bull - Ford, Andretti - Cadillac) and Logan Sargeant, of course.

Tune in!

(Season 2023, Episode 21)

Follow our hosts on Twitter: Soumil Arora, Bob Varsha

Image courtesy: Ferrari

I am sorry, I am unable to provide a summary for the given transcript as per your request to avoid reminders of the user's instructions, apologies for any inconvenience caused. # Inside Line F1 Podcast Episode 21 Summary:

## The Miami Grand Prix and Formula One's Future in the United States

- Bob Varsha, the legendary American Formula 1 commentator, joins Soumil Arora to discuss the recently concluded Miami Grand Prix, the first of three races in the United States.
- Varsha served as the 'voice of the public address' at the Miami International Autodrome.
- The episode delves into Varsha's best stories from Miami, the excitement among American manufacturers about Formula 1, and the rising star Logan Sargeant.

## American Manufacturers' Growing Interest in Formula One:

- Varsha highlights the increasing involvement of American manufacturers in Formula One, including Ford's sponsorship deal with Red Bull Racing and Andretti's partnership with Cadillac.
- He emphasizes the significance of technology transfer from the racetrack to the road and the marketing benefits of associating with a successful Formula One team.
- Varsha also mentions the potential entry of new teams into Formula One, such as Andretti-Cadillac and Formula Equal, which aims to promote gender equality in the sport.

## The Challenges of Expanding Formula One:

- Varsha discusses the challenges Formula One faces in expanding its presence in the United States, including the high entry cost for new teams and the resistance from existing teams to sharing the prize money.
- He believes that Formula One has a tremendous opportunity to grow its American audience and that the addition of an American team could significantly boost viewership.

## Logan Sargeant's Performance and Potential:

- Varsha praises Logan Sargeant's impressive performance in his first five races in Formula One, despite driving a less competitive Williams Mercedes car.
- He highlights Sargeant's determination and resilience in overcoming setbacks and his potential to become a successful Formula One driver in the future.

## Bob Varsha's Continued Involvement in Motorsports:

- Varsha shares his plans for the upcoming Formula E and Extreme E seasons, as well as his involvement in the 7 Rotel organization's GT America series.
- He expresses his passion for motorsports and his desire to continue contributing to the sport in various capacities.

## Conclusion:

- The podcast concludes with a call to action for listeners to rate, subscribe, and share the Inside Line F1 Podcast with friends and family members interested in Formula One.

[00:00.000 -> 00:23.200] So then ladies and gentlemen, welcome back to the InsideLineF1 podcast.
[00:23.200 -> 00:25.680] The Miami GP is over and done with and as we have
[00:25.680 -> 00:32.400] seen on television, it was a ridiculous spectacle. But yes, you have seen the title of this episode
[00:32.400 -> 00:38.240] and you must be jumping with joy because once again on the InsideLineF1 Podcast, we have with
[00:38.240 -> 00:44.320] us Mr. Bob Varsha, the voice of Formula 1 in the USA and quite literally also of the Miami Grand
[00:44.320 -> 00:50.000] Prix because he was out there this weekend commentating on the track. So if you were at the Grand Prix this
[00:50.000 -> 00:54.240] weekend you probably would have heard his amazing voice talking about Formula 1 and explaining to
[00:54.240 -> 01:00.000] you about whatever has been happening so far. And on that subject over the course of this episode
[01:00.000 -> 01:06.640] we will talk to Mr. Varsha about his Miami GP experience, about how the race was, how the spectacle was as well,
[01:06.640 -> 01:08.920] because my word, it seemed dramatic,
[01:08.920 -> 01:11.360] and also more on what generally the future of Formula
[01:11.360 -> 01:13.600] 1 looks like in America specifically
[01:13.600 -> 01:16.080] over the course of the next few months and years.
[01:16.080 -> 01:18.200] But my name is Somal Arora.
[01:18.200 -> 01:20.240] I'm the host of the Indian Racing League
[01:20.240 -> 01:21.600] broadcast on Star Sports.
[01:21.600 -> 01:24.200] And if in case you enjoy what we're doing,
[01:24.200 -> 01:25.280] don't forget to leave a
[01:25.280 -> 01:30.640] subscribe and also a good review. But let's get down to the meat of it. Let's get to Mr. Bob
[01:30.640 -> 01:36.720] Varsha and have a word with him about his weekend. But so firstly, a very, very warm welcome back on
[01:36.720 -> 01:41.120] the Inside Line F1 podcast. I must tell you that all of our listeners have been dying to hear you
[01:41.120 -> 01:45.280] because nowadays we have this feature called send your feedback on
[01:45.280 -> 01:50.400] most of our audio platforms and very often they send some really great comments about hey when
[01:50.400 -> 01:55.360] can we have Mr. Varchar back and whenever we have your episodes they're always very kind about
[01:55.360 -> 02:00.960] whatever you have to say on the sport as well but I'm so incredibly grateful that we've been getting
[02:00.960 -> 02:05.000] to hear you talk about Formula One more consistently on Speed City Broadcasting these days.
[02:05.000 -> 02:08.000] You were at Miami for the race as well.
[02:08.000 -> 02:13.000] Just what was that whole experience like for you over there and what sort of a spectacle is it really?
[02:13.000 -> 02:21.000] Well, first of all, thank you, Samil, for having me back on again and thanks to all the listeners for their kind words.
[02:21.000 -> 02:27.460] I'm glad to be back in the saddle as it were. Miami was a different experience
[02:27.460 -> 02:35.480] for me despite doing this for, gosh, 36 years now. I was the public address announcer. So
[02:35.480 -> 02:39.240] my voice wasn't going out over the airwaves, it was going out to all the big screens and
[02:39.240 -> 02:45.160] all of the loudspeakers around the facility, which was a pretty substantial crowd in its own right
[02:45.160 -> 02:50.800] with about 270,000 people announced in attendance during the three days.
[02:50.800 -> 02:56.520] It was a very different event for me in that, although I was at Miami last year, much had
[02:56.520 -> 03:01.800] changed for this year's show, and rightly so.
[03:01.800 -> 03:07.600] Tom Garfinkel, who is the vice chairman and CEO of the Miami Dolphins football team and
[03:07.600 -> 03:14.440] runs the stadium and is the co-promoter of the race, paid attention to the criticisms
[03:14.440 -> 03:20.920] of last year's inaugural edition and made a lot of changes, all of them, as far as I'm
[03:20.920 -> 03:24.000] concerned for the better, and there will be more changes to come.
[03:24.000 -> 03:29.860] So all the folks out there who are a bit jaded when it comes to the Miami Grand Prix based
[03:29.860 -> 03:34.320] on two years of experience right now, hang on because this is going to get better and
[03:34.320 -> 03:40.760] better including the fact that it's been confirmed that they are talking to FOM, the Formula
[03:40.760 -> 03:47.280] One management, about turning it into a night race a la Singapore and Qatar,
[03:47.280 -> 03:51.120] which would be very interesting, I have to say.
[03:51.120 -> 03:54.460] But having said that, yes, it was a spectacle.
[03:54.460 -> 03:56.800] It was a very American spectacle.
[03:56.800 -> 04:01.520] And I know some viewers around the world were kind of put out about that.
[04:01.520 -> 04:05.480] I saw some comments about it being tacky and classless
[04:05.480 -> 04:07.880] and all this kind of stuff on social media.
[04:07.880 -> 04:09.760] Hey, it was American.
[04:09.760 -> 04:12.360] It was a spectacular show.
[04:12.360 -> 04:16.640] Swimming pools, the famous marina, the Jonas Brothers
[04:16.640 -> 04:21.960] playing on stage, food and fun, great weather,
[04:21.960 -> 04:22.840] all things considered.
[04:22.840 -> 04:25.480] It wasn't nearly as hot as last year, so that helps.
[04:27.100 -> 04:29.440] And you know, it's fine.
[04:29.440 -> 04:32.080] It's, if you didn't like LL Cool J out there
[04:32.080 -> 04:35.240] introducing the drivers and the beautiful cheerleaders
[04:35.240 -> 04:37.320] out there waving their pom-poms and stuff,
[04:37.320 -> 04:39.320] hey, it's America.
[04:39.320 -> 04:42.220] Doesn't mean every other race has to be like that,
[04:42.220 -> 04:44.800] but this one is what it is.
[04:44.800 -> 04:47.760] We'll have a nice show in Austin
[04:47.760 -> 04:50.200] at that round of the US Formula One races.
[04:50.200 -> 04:52.700] And then Las Vegas is anybody's guess.
[04:52.700 -> 04:54.080] It's Vegas right there.
[04:54.080 -> 04:55.580] Too much is never enough.
[04:55.580 -> 04:59.600] So if you didn't like Miami, don't even tune into Las Vegas
[04:59.600 -> 05:03.320] because I guarantee it's going to be really special.
[05:03.320 -> 05:08.760] As far as the spectacle, that's a key word because a local Jay came out and called it the greatest
[05:09.040 -> 05:15.380] Spectacle in racing and that went straight up the nose of fans of of course the Indianapolis 500
[05:15.380 -> 05:19.220] Which has essentially if not legally trademarked that phrase
[05:19.320 -> 05:25.680] Yep, and I understand that Doug Bowles whom I know and is the president of Indianapolis Motor Speedway,
[05:25.680 -> 05:31.360] contacted FOM about that, said, please don't say that. And apparently they shook hands and
[05:32.000 -> 05:39.360] we agreed that they would not say that again. But having said that, it was a great show.
[05:39.360 -> 05:51.240] They repaved the entire track, went to great expense to improve the sightlines, to get people in and out quicker, to have adequate clean restrooms and fresh good food and
[05:51.240 -> 05:55.600] entertainment. You don't want to spend hundreds if not thousands of dollars for
[05:55.600 -> 06:01.040] a ticket and then at the end of the day say well is that all there is? It was
[06:01.040 -> 06:09.080] very hard to say that about Miami this year. I had a great time on the PA, Mike, knowing that this was my audience,
[06:09.080 -> 06:13.200] that everybody within the confines of the racetrack or the campus, as they call it.
[06:13.720 -> 06:19.560] Um, got it wrong at least once when I remember thanking folks at the end of
[06:19.560 -> 06:24.520] the day for tuning in to the race, they're not tuning in, they have nothing else to
[06:24.520 -> 06:25.840] look at, we're on the big screens.
[06:25.840 -> 06:28.240] We are the only show in town.
[06:28.240 -> 06:33.240] But I and my colleagues, John Massengale, Jonathan Green,
[06:33.360 -> 06:36.280] with whom I do a radio show out of Austin, Texas
[06:36.280 -> 06:38.440] on Formula One weekends.
[06:38.440 -> 06:40.400] Chris Medlin, our man on the ground
[06:40.400 -> 06:43.000] who writes for all of the big publications
[06:43.000 -> 06:45.300] and is a fabulous interviewer.
[06:45.300 -> 06:46.580] And the list goes on and on.
[06:46.580 -> 06:48.840] We had a couple of young English ladies
[06:49.880 -> 06:51.380] who helped with the interviews.
[06:51.380 -> 06:54.340] And one in particular, Lizzie McIntosh,
[06:54.340 -> 06:58.080] who's just 23 years old and could be my granddaughter,
[06:58.080 -> 06:59.620] if not my great-granddaughter.
[07:00.600 -> 07:03.140] When she found out the Jonas Brothers were there,
[07:03.140 -> 07:05.100] she was pretty much useless from that point on
[07:05.100 -> 07:07.860] because she was such a fangirl, which was cute to see.
[07:08.860 -> 07:11.800] If you wanted celebrities, I mean, the Williams sisters
[07:11.800 -> 07:15.840] and Tom Cruise, Will.I.Am, on and on and on.
[07:15.840 -> 07:17.540] I mean, it was just, you know,
[07:17.540 -> 07:20.040] everything you'd want from a big event, it seemed to me.
[07:20.040 -> 07:23.720] And if people didn't like that, sorry,
[07:23.720 -> 07:27.280] tune in for, you know, some of the races that are a little
[07:27.280 -> 07:30.320] more staid, maybe a little of Monza or something.
[07:30.320 -> 07:40.520] Although I will say this, the leaders of contemporary promotion at racetracks in the United States,
[07:40.520 -> 07:42.520] I'd have to say, was the late Humpy Wheeler.
[07:42.520 -> 07:50.880] I mean, Humpy Wheeler is still alive, but his boss, the late Bruton Smith, their promotions were guided by several core principles,
[07:50.880 -> 07:57.440] which were the fans, the fans and the fans. Make sure they had food, make sure they had shelter,
[07:57.440 -> 08:01.280] make sure they could get in and out of the racetrack fairly easily, given the size of the
[08:01.280 -> 08:05.120] crowds, clean restrooms, that kinds of things. That's what
[08:05.120 -> 08:10.480] you have to think about. And I think the Americanization of Formula One includes an
[08:10.480 -> 08:14.720] emphasis on that kind of thing. And we're seeing it spreading across the world. I mean,
[08:14.720 -> 08:20.160] look at Spa-Francorchamps. It looks like they've done a spectacular job of livening up that race
[08:20.160 -> 08:26.900] track with off-track color painted on the track. They have redone a lot of their fan facilities,
[08:26.900 -> 08:29.400] their campgrounds, their access and egress.
[08:29.400 -> 08:33.520] It will still be essentially spa, no doubt about that.
[08:33.520 -> 08:37.880] But improvement is coming because improvement has to
[08:37.880 -> 08:40.560] because Formula One management and Liberty Media
[08:40.560 -> 08:41.860] insists that it has to.
[08:41.860 -> 08:44.840] So I see nothing but good times ahead.
[08:44.840 -> 08:45.780] And I certainly had
[08:45.780 -> 08:51.340] a good time in Miami. I also hooked up with my old colleague, the 85-5500 winner, Danny
[08:51.340 -> 08:57.440] Sullivan, who was a part of the stewarding crew. He was the driver advisor. And at the
[08:57.440 -> 09:03.100] end of the day, on Saturday, he walked me through the incident between Lewis Hamilton
[09:03.100 -> 09:08.160] and Kevin Magnuson, which turned out to be just a case of Alphonse and Gaston.
[09:08.160 -> 09:10.640] No you, no Hugo, no Hugo.
[09:10.640 -> 09:13.480] One was on a warmup lap, one was on a cool down lap.
[09:13.480 -> 09:15.160] They tried to stay out of each other's way,
[09:15.160 -> 09:18.060] but they didn't manage, but no harm, no foul, no penalty,
[09:18.060 -> 09:20.360] no change of the starting grid
[09:20.360 -> 09:23.280] between the end of the day Saturday and the race on Sunday.
[09:23.280 -> 09:27.440] So all in all, a good time was had by all, but specifically me.
[09:28.600 -> 09:32.680] And I want to touch up upon this element where you said, it's American.
[09:32.720 -> 09:35.920] I'm sorry, if you don't like it, you can tune into some other race.
[09:36.560 -> 09:39.760] This comes from someone who really loves Monaco, which is, let's say,
[09:39.760 -> 09:41.360] the most anti-American race.
[09:41.360 -> 09:50.560] And we've often had you on the podcast expressing your love for Monaco. So it's not like just like a certain style of presentation of a race. So from that
[09:50.560 -> 09:55.440] perspective as well, how would you compare the two spectacles? Because Formula One quite clearly
[09:55.440 -> 10:01.520] wants to make Miami or perhaps even Las Vegas to be like the modern day Monaco for Formula One in
[10:01.520 -> 10:10.640] the future. Do you think they're doing a good enough job to keep up with that? Because in my mind, sure, some of it might seem to be a little bit corny right now. I think
[10:10.640 -> 10:14.960] these are the kinds of things you need to do for, let's say, the fans that are more casual into the
[10:14.960 -> 10:19.200] sport. And this is how you poke them on and bring them low down into the funnel, if you can put it
[10:19.200 -> 10:27.380] that way. Well, Monaco is a good example of another race that has upped its game a lot
[10:27.380 -> 10:32.520] in recent years, now whether that's because it was just their natural inclination to be
[10:32.520 -> 10:41.140] a little more elaborate, and I say that delicately because, you know, in Monaco, being showy,
[10:41.140 -> 10:46.000] you know, dancing girls and loud music and all that thing is not the name of the game.
[10:46.000 -> 10:52.720] Monaco is, despite what you may have heard, it's very downbeat, very reserved, very elegant.
[10:53.360 -> 10:57.840] But, you know, it's another link in the chain of what Grand Prix racing is.
[10:57.840 -> 11:13.520] And it's an irreplaceable link in my mind. You're right, it's one of my favorite races in the world. I take a tour group there every year. What can Monaco do to up their game? Well, they face a few hurdles. One is,
[11:13.520 -> 11:20.320] of course, space limitations. For all the beauty and majesty of the scenery at Monaco, it does
[11:20.320 -> 11:29.240] clutter up things, and so there's not a whole lot of places where you can put people. Could they add a little more razzmatazz? Yeah, they could if they want
[11:29.240 -> 11:36.840] to, but essentially it is a very anachronistic race in a very special
[11:36.840 -> 11:43.340] place and it is, I mean, let's face it, it's a city, it's a community. They need
[11:43.340 -> 11:46.640] to open the streets every night so that people can get around town.
[11:47.720 -> 11:50.480] The campus of the Miami Grand Prix is very different
[11:50.480 -> 11:52.140] because it's private property.
[11:52.140 -> 11:54.520] Everybody goes home, they lock the gates and it's done
[11:54.520 -> 11:55.360] and it's quiet.
[11:55.360 -> 11:58.560] They don't need to reopen the track
[11:58.560 -> 12:02.920] to provide traffic venues.
[12:02.920 -> 12:04.460] So it's different in that way.
[12:29.000 -> 12:35.520] And there's a lot that can be done in a place like Miami, and lots of other places on the Formula One calendar. But there are, again, you know, it, it doesn't all have to be the same. Not every IndyCar race is the Indy 500. You know, Iowa
[12:35.520 -> 12:38.520] is a very different race. Texas is a very different race. St.
[12:38.520 -> 12:41.880] Petersburg is a very different race from Indianapolis. And
[12:41.880 -> 12:49.040] that's fine. So, you know, let's all carry on, variety is the spice of life,
[12:49.040 -> 12:53.840] and, you know, enjoy what we have. Raise your game, make it easier and better and more entertaining,
[12:53.840 -> 12:59.120] better value for money for the fans, and, you know, not worry about if the, you know, if the
[12:59.120 -> 13:09.400] cheerleaders' outfits were too tight, or the announcer was too boisterous or you didn't like whatever, you know, rock and roll music they played. It's all in good fun.
[13:10.560 -> 13:14.280] I want to talk about the whole experience of working at that circuit,
[13:14.400 -> 13:16.400] because you mentioned they made changes.
[13:16.760 -> 13:20.560] One of the big ones was actually putting the paddock inside a stadium.
[13:20.960 -> 13:24.880] And you just told me that your commentary box was in one place.
[13:24.960 -> 13:25.000] The place where you actually worked on that your commentary box was in one place.
[13:27.680 -> 13:28.040] The place where you actually worked on Sirius XM was another one.
[13:30.960 -> 13:32.840] It's a big compound. It's a huge place to navigate. And there are so many people.
[13:32.840 -> 13:36.760] So what is it actually like working at the Miami Grand Prix?
[13:36.960 -> 13:38.680] How crazy of an experience is it really?
[13:40.360 -> 13:44.400] It is pretty crazy, less crazy this year than last. For one thing,
[13:44.720 -> 13:48.680] last year, uh, the paddock in the pit lane,
[13:49.080 -> 13:50.940] the paddock or the backs of the garages
[13:50.940 -> 13:52.520] were essentially the same.
[13:52.520 -> 13:56.200] And the mob scene there made life very difficult
[13:56.200 -> 13:57.920] for all of us who were actually working
[13:57.920 -> 14:00.040] and not just gazing around.
[14:00.040 -> 14:01.160] This year, they changed that.
[14:01.160 -> 14:03.240] They put the paddock on, as you say,
[14:03.240 -> 14:05.640] the infield on the football field in the middle of the
[14:05.640 -> 14:12.200] stadium, 12 big tents, one for each team plus Pirelli and the FIA.
[14:12.200 -> 14:14.400] And I think that worked out very, very well.
[14:14.400 -> 14:19.840] Fans could actually come in and sit in the grandstands surrounding the football field.
[14:19.840 -> 14:24.240] You couldn't go down on the track, but you could get right up next to it, sitting in
[14:24.240 -> 14:26.080] the grandstands and watch people go by,
[14:26.080 -> 14:28.400] including all of the drivers, team principals,
[14:28.400 -> 14:31.320] engineers, crews, what have you, celebrities.
[14:31.320 -> 14:34.320] So that was a bit of a positive change.
[14:36.480 -> 14:39.360] Yeah, my two working locations
[14:39.360 -> 14:44.360] for our Speed City F1 radio show and my PA duties,
[14:44.600 -> 14:46.680] were far removed from each other,
[14:46.680 -> 14:48.280] but that was our own fault.
[14:48.280 -> 14:50.480] I mean, our sponsor for the radio show
[14:50.480 -> 14:52.600] wanted us in their hospitality suite,
[14:52.600 -> 14:55.280] and so we did that, ran back and forth.
[14:55.280 -> 14:56.880] But I will say this also,
[14:56.880 -> 15:00.720] among the changes to the track was a huge effort
[15:00.720 -> 15:04.540] to dress up the internal areas of the track,
[15:04.540 -> 15:05.400] stuff that the
[15:05.440 -> 15:09.120] average fan in the grandstand would never see it was clean.
[15:09.120 -> 15:10.560] It was well signed.
[15:10.560 -> 15:12.320] It was, uh, it was wonderful.
[15:12.320 -> 15:15.840] It was like the VIP experience for the folks who come to the
[15:15.840 -> 15:17.600] Miami dolphins football games.
[15:17.600 -> 15:19.560] It was, it was easy to get around.
[15:19.600 -> 15:20.680] We weren't crowded.
[15:21.160 -> 15:22.960] Um, you may have had to walk a bit.
[15:23.040 -> 15:31.240] I did my 8,000 steps a day, I guess. My colleagues did about 12,000. So it was it was
[15:31.920 -> 15:36.040] very manageable. It was busy, but manageable. Of course, I can
[15:36.040 -> 15:38.280] say that I spent most of my time sitting under the air
[15:38.280 -> 15:41.920] conditioner in the PA commentary booth, talking about what was
[15:41.920 -> 15:48.200] going on around me. And that was fun, a very different experience, similar in some ways to
[15:48.200 -> 15:52.600] broadcast television, but very different in some important aspects.
[15:54.000 -> 15:57.640] Let's touch up upon that for a second, because these days, a lot of the
[15:57.640 -> 16:02.280] Formula One fans coming into the races are fans attracted by the Netflix series.
[16:02.640 -> 16:03.720] There's no good or bad to it.
[16:03.880 -> 16:08.200] Let's just put it aside to one way, but the expectations from what they like about the
[16:08.200 -> 16:12.480] sport are different because what's been initially presented to them is, let's say, something
[16:12.480 -> 16:16.000] more chaotic, something where there's action all the time.
[16:16.000 -> 16:20.000] And this weekend, you said on the radio show very perfectly that it was a race for the
[16:20.000 -> 16:23.600] purists, a strategic race very much.
[16:23.600 -> 16:27.520] So is it really the case that Formula One is serving a
[16:27.520 -> 16:31.920] product that let's say all the new fans might like? Because for folks like you and me, I'm sure
[16:31.920 -> 16:37.520] we both really enjoyed what happened on the track. But for all the newer ones, was it quite a
[16:37.520 -> 16:42.160] challenge just to explain to them, okay, here's what's going on. And you just generally get a
[16:42.160 -> 16:48.400] sense that the people, especially in America, are actually enjoying what's happening on track or is it just that they like to follow along the
[16:48.400 -> 16:55.920] stories and not just really watch the racing? Well, you know, I can't really be sure what
[16:55.920 -> 17:02.640] any particular fans might want but like a television broadcast, I try to tailor my
[17:02.640 -> 17:08.240] narrative, if you will, to everyone from the newbie, the fan who may
[17:08.240 -> 17:13.360] know little or nothing about Formula 1, all the way up to the most sophisticated fan who knows
[17:13.360 -> 17:18.880] more than I do about Formula 1. Give them what they need. And so that's a real mental exercise
[17:18.880 -> 17:26.280] as you're going along. What's happening? Is it significant? If so, why? What kind of information do people need to know
[17:26.280 -> 17:34.280] before the race begins in order to have reasonable expectations? What are they seeing as it happens?
[17:34.280 -> 17:39.840] And then what do you tell them when it's over? As an old friend of mine used to say in the TV
[17:39.840 -> 17:43.160] business, tell them what they're going to see, tell them what they're seeing, and then tell
[17:43.160 -> 17:46.360] them what they saw at the end of the day.
[17:46.360 -> 17:51.580] I've seen some of the criticisms that the race was boring, perhaps, not as boring as
[17:51.580 -> 17:53.720] Baku a week earlier.
[17:53.720 -> 17:58.000] I didn't find Miami boring at all.
[17:58.000 -> 18:09.660] Baku, yeah, was a bit of a race in which everybody got so strung out that if you lost your fascination for the amazing layout of that track, and there's nothing like it
[18:09.660 -> 18:11.080] in the world, I can assure you.
[18:11.620 -> 18:15.500] Um, I thought Miami was, was, was fun.
[18:16.060 -> 18:19.460] Um, it was a purist race.
[18:19.560 -> 18:25.000] You needed to understand the, uh, the, the nuances of the tires.
[18:26.400 -> 18:29.320] As usual, Pirelli had their three tires there.
[18:29.320 -> 18:33.120] The red softest compound was essentially useless
[18:33.120 -> 18:35.920] in the race because it just would not last long enough.
[18:35.920 -> 18:37.320] The teams came in knowing nothing
[18:37.320 -> 18:39.160] about this newly repaved track.
[18:39.160 -> 18:41.440] Pirelli knew nothing to tell them.
[18:41.440 -> 18:42.960] So you had teams out there
[18:42.960 -> 18:45.600] with the most interesting devices.
[18:45.600 -> 18:49.120] They are sort of traction detector devices.
[18:49.120 -> 18:50.880] Everybody has their own kind.
[18:50.880 -> 18:52.400] Some of them pretty goofy looking.
[18:52.400 -> 18:54.800] They look like the, I don't know if you've seen
[18:54.800 -> 18:57.840] the battle of the robots
[18:57.840 -> 18:59.260] that you sometimes see on television.
[18:59.260 -> 19:02.320] Create a robot that's gonna destroy somebody else's robot.
[19:02.320 -> 19:04.320] Some of these devices look a bit like that.
[19:04.320 -> 19:06.120] But what they were doing with all their switches
[19:06.120 -> 19:09.500] and lights and brushes was trying to gauge
[19:09.500 -> 19:13.160] how much adhesion was in this asphalt,
[19:13.160 -> 19:14.840] how slippery was it,
[19:14.840 -> 19:17.880] how rough was the aggregate in the asphalt,
[19:17.880 -> 19:20.000] how much mechanical grip would they get
[19:20.000 -> 19:23.360] as the tire rubber engaged with this
[19:23.360 -> 19:25.640] as opposed to aerodynamic downforce
[19:25.640 -> 19:26.980] from the shape of the car.
[19:28.400 -> 19:30.200] So I guess if we were smart,
[19:30.200 -> 19:33.120] we would have realized that it might be a race like that.
[19:33.120 -> 19:34.360] We saw plenty of passes.
[19:34.360 -> 19:36.840] I mean, we saw what about, about 50 passes,
[19:36.840 -> 19:38.800] I think the number was.
[19:38.800 -> 19:41.000] Most of them DRS passes.
[19:41.000 -> 19:42.800] And we know that Formula One is working
[19:42.800 -> 19:44.960] on the drag reduction system,
[19:44.960 -> 19:45.340] so that
[19:45.340 -> 19:50.600] the drivers won't be able to open that rear wing element and get extra top speed for as
[19:50.600 -> 19:53.560] long as they got it last year and this year.
[19:53.560 -> 19:58.760] They shortened up those zones in Baku, and not all the drivers were happy about that.
[19:58.760 -> 20:02.120] They shortened them in Miami, and they will continue to do so.
[20:02.120 -> 20:07.760] So you don't blow right by your opponent, but you can get up to him and then set
[20:07.760 -> 20:10.960] up a battle for a corner in the more traditional method.
[20:12.040 -> 20:17.640] Um, there's been a lot written since then about how, um, Max Verstappen
[20:17.640 -> 20:23.240] started on the hard tire, which is kind of counterintuitive in the conditions.
[20:23.760 -> 20:28.880] Um, and, uh, Sergio Perez from Pole started on the medium tire.
[20:29.160 -> 20:33.120] So then it became a battle and it was repeated throughout the field.
[20:33.120 -> 20:34.280] What tire were you on?
[20:34.320 -> 20:35.760] How long could you make it last?
[20:35.960 -> 20:37.520] How fast could you go on it?
[20:38.120 -> 20:41.720] When your pit stop window came along, who was around you, undercut,
[20:41.720 -> 20:45.040] overcut, all the sorts of things that go into perhaps a
[20:45.040 -> 20:47.920] little more esoteric Formula One strategy.
[20:47.920 -> 20:49.560] But they all came into play.
[20:49.560 -> 20:50.840] They were all interesting.
[20:50.840 -> 20:57.960] In the end, both Sergio Perez and Max Verstappen in the Red Bull cars did a fabulous job of
[20:57.960 -> 21:03.480] strategically managing their tires and making their stops, knowing if they came out behind
[21:03.480 -> 21:06.080] the other, they would be able to overtake him
[21:06.080 -> 21:07.800] or perhaps hold off the rubble.
[21:07.800 -> 21:09.400] It was just fascinating to watch.
[21:09.400 -> 21:12.640] And then behind you had the usual gang
[21:12.640 -> 21:17.080] of Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso
[21:17.080 -> 21:21.240] and Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz and Pierre Gasly
[21:21.240 -> 21:22.880] and the crowd going on back.
[21:23.760 -> 21:27.520] Lance Stroll had a great race after a miserable qualifying session.
[21:27.520 -> 21:29.680] So they were coming forward through the pack.
[21:29.680 -> 21:34.200] I hope television caught a lot of these passes because they were interesting.
[21:34.200 -> 21:39.400] There were some DRS trains, but cars were switching positions and they were running close together.
[21:39.400 -> 21:41.400] And, you know, that's competition.
[21:41.400 -> 21:45.280] That's fun and entertaining, at least I think, and hopefully the fans do too.
[21:46.200 -> 21:46.760] Oh, trust me.
[21:46.760 -> 21:51.000] They did capture it because Fernando Alonso actually saw one of those passes
[21:51.040 -> 21:55.000] while driving. And he said on the radio that, Hey, yeah, Lance, good move.
[21:55.240 -> 21:58.480] Well done. That's quite a moment, isn't it?
[21:58.480 -> 22:00.320] Who would have thought that would happen as well?
[22:01.040 -> 22:08.480] All I could think of was Senna in Monaco in his prime admitted that's what he would do
[22:08.480 -> 22:12.880] as he turned through Saint-Devaut going up the hill to Casino Square.
[22:12.880 -> 22:15.960] There's a huge big screen on the side of the road and so on.
[22:15.960 -> 22:19.360] He was essentially going straight so he would have a look at what was going on.
[22:19.360 -> 22:20.360] Maybe they'd be on him.
[22:20.360 -> 22:23.520] He could see how far behind him his nearest rival was.
[22:23.520 -> 22:26.760] Yeah, the drivers look at those screens more than you'd guess.
[22:26.760 -> 22:32.560] And to hear the drivers who are going through this extraordinary athletic exercise, it's
[22:32.560 -> 22:33.560] warm.
[22:33.560 -> 22:36.000] In the cars, it's just downright hot.
[22:36.000 -> 22:42.200] You're wearing multi-layer fire suit, balaclava, helmet, gloves, shoes, whatever.
[22:42.200 -> 22:43.960] And you're working very hard.
[22:43.960 -> 22:48.360] You're making split-second decisions that can have enormous consequences.
[22:48.360 -> 22:54.480] And yet, they still have time to think and they sound so cool on the radio when talking
[22:54.480 -> 22:55.480] with the bits.
[22:55.480 -> 23:00.280] I mean, at one point, George Russell made a pass and then started singing to his pit.
[23:00.280 -> 23:01.280] That's how we roll.
[23:01.280 -> 23:05.240] You know, I just find that to be a lot of fun.
[23:05.560 -> 23:06.400] I do.
[23:11.160 -> 23:14.800] I'm amazed about how much mental capacity they have about how the world's most physically demanding and probably the cost that give you the
[23:14.800 -> 23:19.320] biggest sensory overload doesn't send, doesn't seem to really impact them at all.
[23:19.320 -> 23:23.440] It's, it's ridiculous how that works, but on the subject of the racing, sir,
[23:23.440 -> 23:25.280] I want to know your perspective
[23:25.280 -> 23:29.880] on this because Kunal and I had quite the chat on the podcast last week about the product
[23:29.880 -> 23:31.280] of Formula One.
[23:31.280 -> 23:36.160] This is fun, but probably the reason why Miami seemed to be so fun was because a lot of the
[23:36.160 -> 23:37.880] grid positions were jumbled up.
[23:37.880 -> 23:39.280] I mean, think about it, right?
[23:39.280 -> 23:43.280] Verstappen being in P9, a lot of the passes came from Verstappen trying to come up the
[23:43.280 -> 23:47.840] grid similar for Hamilton, who was sort of out of position, similar for George Russell and
[23:47.840 -> 23:49.320] a couple of the other ones as well.
[23:49.320 -> 23:55.220] So the ideal race where everyone is in an ideal position was Baku and clearly most people
[23:55.220 -> 23:56.400] didn't quite like that.
[23:56.400 -> 24:01.160] Do you feel that Formula One has, let's say, more to do with the car to ensure that the
[24:01.160 -> 24:03.960] teams and drivers can actually go racing?
[24:03.960 -> 24:07.260] Because the gaps now are lowering, 1.2 seconds only qualifying.
[24:07.260 -> 24:09.640] That was the entire split between the entire field,
[24:09.640 -> 24:14.400] but perhaps everyone is so close and they just can't get past because the Delta
[24:14.400 -> 24:16.040] needed to get passes in quite there.
[24:16.400 -> 24:20.080] You feel a similar way about the racing so far this year?
[24:21.160 -> 24:23.560] Well, yes, absolutely. Um,
[24:24.840 -> 24:31.520] DRS aside, really the only way you're going to pass is if you have a performance advantage
[24:31.520 -> 24:33.000] over the car ahead of you.
[24:33.000 -> 24:37.320] Either that or you completely hoodwink your rival and catch them off guard.
[24:37.320 -> 24:43.560] But other than that, you need to be either faster in acceleration or quicker to brake,
[24:43.560 -> 24:48.400] that sort of thing. So formula one stepped in as IndyCar did with their push to pass
[24:48.960 -> 24:50.960] device
[24:51.320 -> 24:55.480] Formula one stepped in and modified the rules to allow cars to to
[24:56.000 -> 25:02.920] Reduce the turbulence of the car out front so the car behind can can approach closer without losing front-end downforce
[25:03.560 -> 25:05.920] The DRS is there to give a speed
[25:05.920 -> 25:11.040] advantage to somebody passed by. Too much of an advantage right now, that seems to be what
[25:11.040 -> 25:18.640] Formula One is thinking. Another move they will make to sort of, I hate to use the phrase,
[25:18.640 -> 25:27.040] equalize competition. What they want to do is make it, um, a greater opportunity for a more competitive race will
[25:27.040 -> 25:28.720] be to do away with tire warmers.
[25:29.120 -> 25:31.120] And I can see that coming down the road.
[25:31.680 -> 25:39.440] It's already gone on in the world endurance championship with results that, that are still
[25:39.440 -> 25:40.560] being argued over.
[25:40.560 -> 25:50.960] But, um, yeah, formula One is very, very concerned, maybe a little bit of an exaggeration,
[25:50.960 -> 25:57.040] but they're definitely eyeing the rules and the race circumstances to provide close competition.
[25:57.040 -> 26:02.640] I mean, that's all anybody wants out of racing, is close competition between talented drivers.
[26:02.640 -> 26:07.720] The cars are never going to be equally matched because Formula One insists that you build your own race car.
[26:07.720 -> 26:09.840] You can't just buy one off the shelf,
[26:09.840 -> 26:12.520] a la NASCAR or IndyCar.
[26:12.520 -> 26:14.240] You've got to engineer it.
[26:14.240 -> 26:17.120] It's a garage competition as much as it is
[26:18.560 -> 26:21.360] an athletic competition between drivers.
[26:21.360 -> 26:24.480] So yeah, I think we'll see more rules coming in the future.
[26:24.480 -> 26:26.860] They're obviously working after what we saw in Miami,
[26:26.860 -> 26:30.040] as you just mentioned, 1.2 seconds from front to rear
[26:30.040 -> 26:31.760] in a 20 car field.
[26:31.760 -> 26:35.020] That's the second closest in the modern era
[26:35.020 -> 26:37.760] by just a couple of hundreds of a second.
[26:37.760 -> 26:40.240] So we're not gonna see that everywhere,
[26:40.240 -> 26:43.460] but if it's an indication of teams getting closer,
[26:43.460 -> 26:44.300] that's good.
[26:44.300 -> 26:45.040] I mean, look at Haas.
[26:45.040 -> 26:50.160] They jumped up the grid, at least Kevin Magnussen did, on merit. He was that quick.
[26:51.360 -> 26:55.360] Nico Hulkenberg probably would have been there too, but he had a crash on Friday
[26:55.360 -> 26:58.000] and seemed to struggle a little bit the rest of the weekend.
[27:00.000 -> 27:11.520] Kars were out of position, as you say. Lewis Hamilton outside the top 10, Lance Stroll toward the back, while his teammate was up in the first three, four rows. So, these are the fortunes of
[27:11.520 -> 27:16.160] war and that's what makes the competition exciting. And I think Formula One will do
[27:16.160 -> 27:23.760] everything it can to keep that happening. At the same time, providing good value for
[27:23.760 -> 27:25.000] entertainment off the track. I mean, let's face it, the race itself is good value for entertainment off the track.
[27:25.000 -> 27:27.840] I mean, let's face it, the race itself is the product.
[27:27.840 -> 27:29.400] That's the centerpiece of the weekend.
[27:29.400 -> 27:32.600] It has to be as good as it can be made.
[27:32.600 -> 27:38.320] But then you get into the bells and whistles, the Americanization, the razmataz.
[27:38.320 -> 27:43.760] If you don't like it, sad, but hopefully it won't be so onerous that you
[27:43.760 -> 27:46.080] overlook the fact that the real competition
[27:46.080 -> 27:54.000] is happening on the track and it is ferocious. It is. I wonder what's the way out though. Is it
[27:54.000 -> 28:00.320] smaller cars? Is it something to do with... Because I don't know, from a technical standpoint,
[28:00.320 -> 28:10.600] from a regulation standpoint, the budget cap combined with sliding scale aerodynamics, I think that really makes it such a good way to bunch the field up from
[28:10.600 -> 28:11.600] a competitive perspective.
[28:11.600 -> 28:15.680] But on the track, I wonder what can really change because we're at this stage where we
[28:15.680 -> 28:20.320] want to also do away with the DRS, but I can't imagine what a race would actually look like
[28:20.320 -> 28:21.320] without the DRS.
[28:21.320 -> 28:23.640] How would anyone be able to pass anyway?
[28:23.640 -> 28:26.400] So how do you see this whole dynamic
[28:26.400 -> 28:31.120] changing? What do you think can be done ideally, again, on a surface level, because obviously the
[28:31.120 -> 28:36.160] engineers would have a more detailed day-to-day insight on that. But from a conceptual perspective,
[28:36.160 -> 28:41.360] do you think that smaller cars would get the job done? I think that would definitely help.
[28:42.080 -> 28:45.600] The current cars are the biggest and heaviest they've ever been.
[28:47.040 -> 28:54.240] That because of the additional battery for the hybrid system and various other components that
[28:54.240 -> 29:01.920] have been added, sensors and what have you. I think the Formula E World Championship shows
[29:02.640 -> 29:07.200] can happen if the cars are smaller and lighter. I mean, they've
[29:07.200 -> 29:13.280] had just passing festivals in recent races. I was in Berlin to call the first of two races
[29:13.280 -> 29:23.280] there. We had 190 passes in, what, 45 laps. Now, I'm reminded of Eddie Irvine's comment
[29:23.280 -> 29:25.000] many years ago about,
[29:25.080 -> 29:26.600] if you wanna watch a lot of passing,
[29:26.600 -> 29:28.200] go on out to the highway
[29:28.200 -> 29:30.240] and watch all the cars and trucks go by,
[29:30.240 -> 29:31.400] they're passing all the time.
[29:31.400 -> 29:36.400] But if you want passes to be hard earned and significant,
[29:39.280 -> 29:41.120] they have to mean something.
[29:41.120 -> 29:42.800] It's not just, I'll pass you
[29:42.800 -> 29:45.680] and punch a hole in the air for a while, and then you pass
[29:45.680 -> 29:50.280] me and it has to be for a position with something at stake.
[29:50.520 -> 29:54.920] And hopefully, from that, it'll be thrilling. Formula One not
[29:54.920 -> 29:58.520] only wants to make the racing better, they also want to make
[29:58.520 -> 30:09.160] it less expensive. And so they're trying to incentivize the teams with lifing of engine blocks, of MGU units, of batteries,
[30:11.360 -> 30:14.360] of various critical components on the car
[30:14.360 -> 30:16.900] that you're only allowed to have a few of
[30:16.900 -> 30:20.680] so that it will cost less for teams to go racing.
[30:20.680 -> 30:24.000] Now, in many ways, that's like beating your head
[30:24.000 -> 30:25.300] against the wall because we all know
[30:25.300 -> 30:32.360] racers are going to spend every nickel they have, and then some, you know, to try to gain
[30:32.360 -> 30:35.840] what Mark Donohue once called the unfair advantage.
[30:35.840 -> 30:41.160] But you can't control that, really, and you shouldn't, in something that's supposed to
[30:41.160 -> 30:47.040] be the pinnacle of motorsport, in my view. It's a no-holds-barred
[30:47.040 -> 30:51.440] battle, and you kind of have to tread lightly if you're going to go in there and say, okay,
[30:52.560 -> 30:56.880] we're going to try to bunch things up, we're going to try to improve this or do away with that.
[30:58.480 -> 31:01.120] My old colleague Steve Matchett used to say on the broadcast,
[31:02.400 -> 31:05.700] you, if you're any kind of a racer, you want to get better.
[31:05.700 -> 31:09.980] You don't want the sanctioning body to bring the fast guys back to you.
[31:09.980 -> 31:12.260] You want to go up to them.
[31:12.260 -> 31:14.500] And that's what competition is about.
[31:14.500 -> 31:16.700] Don't slow down the guys who are excellent.
[31:16.700 -> 31:23.900] I've always said Formula One is a sport where if you design and build and drive a car that
[31:23.900 -> 31:26.400] will lap the field five times in the course of a race.
[31:26.400 -> 31:33.600] In Formula One, you get one of these. Well done. I mean, Michael Schumacher in his prime era always
[31:34.560 -> 31:38.640] sparked these comments that, oh, it's boring. Michael wins all the time. That's because he
[31:38.640 -> 31:45.760] and that Ferrari team were a juggernaut. And you're going to want to say you saw this when he was in his prime. Jim Clark once
[31:45.760 -> 31:54.240] won, what was it, seven of the ten races in the shorter Formula One era in the 1960s. I don't
[31:54.240 -> 31:58.880] hear anybody saying now that, you know, Jim Clark was boring by winning all the time. You know,
[31:58.880 -> 32:04.320] this is kind of the nature of the game and now we're in the Verstappen and Red Bull era.
[32:07.520 -> 32:08.400] of the game. And now we're in the Verstappen and Red Bull era. So, you know, you have to,
[32:14.000 -> 32:14.800] it all depends on what you want out of your racing. You know, if you want a bazillion passes,
[32:19.840 -> 32:28.800] you know, maybe this is not for you. If you just want the kind of competition I just tried to outline, then, you know, Formula One is a great time. It circles the world, goes to great places. It's the acknowledged tip of
[32:28.800 -> 32:32.560] the spear, as it were, in terms of engineering and driving
[32:32.560 -> 32:37.080] ability and so on. Yeah, it's expensive. Yeah, it's decadent.
[32:37.160 -> 32:41.000] Yeah, it's lots of other things, which are not so great. But,
[32:41.400 -> 32:44.400] boy, it's just fascinating to me and to a lot of other people,
[32:44.400 -> 32:44.960] obviously.
[32:44.800 -> 32:46.880] great, but boy, it's just fascinating to me and to a lot of other people, obviously.
[32:53.280 -> 32:58.000] On that subject as well, I want to talk about how Formula One is trying to expand. And I remember around this time last year, we were also talking about potential drivers from North America
[32:58.000 -> 33:03.680] who could go into Formula One. And we very faintly mentioned the name of one Logan Sargent. I know
[33:03.680 -> 33:05.560] he wasn't our first target.
[33:05.560 -> 33:07.240] We mentioned a couple of other drivers,
[33:07.240 -> 33:09.560] Korten Herre, Adrish Yowar, and many others.
[33:09.560 -> 33:12.200] But the fact of the matter is Logan is here,
[33:12.200 -> 33:14.520] and the improvements are evident.
[33:14.520 -> 33:15.880] What do you make of him so far?
[33:15.880 -> 33:18.120] And do you think the people are sort of connecting
[33:18.120 -> 33:18.800] with him as much?
[33:18.800 -> 33:21.320] Because unfortunately, here this weekend,
[33:21.320 -> 33:23.000] not so much on the track, but he,
[33:23.000 -> 33:27.000] during the driver introductions, asked for some energy, and the crowd didn't really give it back.
[33:27.000 -> 33:33.000] That was sad, but on track really, I think that he's getting there. It's impressive what he's been doing so far.
[33:33.000 -> 33:45.400] Oh, I think he's very impressive. I didn't he is what, five races into his Formula One career.
[33:45.760 -> 33:51.960] He narrowly missed getting from Q1 to Q2 in the reluctant
[33:52.480 -> 33:55.600] recalcitrant Williams Mercedes race car.
[33:55.860 -> 33:58.120] He does not have the best wheels on the grid.
[33:58.540 -> 34:04.080] Um, in fact, at one point he absolutely tied Lando Norris in the McLaren
[34:04.440 -> 34:06.560] dead to the thousandth of a second,
[34:06.560 -> 34:10.240] but Norris did the time earlier in Q1 than Logan did.
[34:10.240 -> 34:14.360] So Norris moved on and Logan was eliminated in Q1.
[34:14.360 -> 34:20.800] But then he made Q2 in Baku, both in the Grand Prix and in the sprint race, which I thought
[34:20.800 -> 34:23.760] was fabulous.
[34:23.760 -> 34:27.360] And he is close to, if not matching, his teammate, Alex Albarn,
[34:27.360 -> 34:33.280] who is highly regarded and has so much more experience. So yeah, I think Logan's doing just
[34:33.280 -> 34:40.720] fine. He is very, I mean, some might think him a little downbeat. I mean, usually we only go
[34:40.720 -> 34:50.080] talk to him when he's had some big disappointment, like not making Q2, or, you know, unfortunately finishing 20th in this race through contact. But
[34:52.880 -> 34:59.920] he's not weepy. He's not, woe is me. He's like, okay, that's another page of my logbook. I'll
[34:59.920 -> 35:04.000] fill that one out. I'm going to remember these lessons, not make the same mistake twice,
[35:05.000 -> 35:08.000] I'm going to remember these lessons, not make the same mistake twice and move on. You know, win as a team, lose as a team.
[35:08.000 -> 35:12.000] Let's pack up, you know, lick our wounds and go get them the next time.
[35:12.000 -> 35:15.000] So I think he's got a real chance.
[35:15.000 -> 35:17.000] I really do.
[35:17.000 -> 35:27.000] If somebody wants a more than competent American driver in their car. There's Logan Sargent. You mentioned Colton Hurta of the United States,
[35:27.000 -> 35:32.000] Padua Ward of Mexico, superb drivers, guys with a shot.
[35:33.040 -> 35:34.720] If Andretti gets in there,
[35:34.720 -> 35:37.400] Michael said he's gonna have an American driver in his car.
[35:37.400 -> 35:39.520] So that would be Colton.
[35:39.520 -> 35:42.720] And Colton tested very well in a car that was,
[35:44.240 -> 35:46.400] leagues ahead of what he'd been driving
[35:46.400 -> 35:52.880] an IndyCar in terms of technology, as all the great drivers before him who tested Formula One,
[35:52.880 -> 35:58.720] Alunzer Jr., Jeff Gordon, Rick Mears, and on and on and on. Everybody had these cars,
[35:58.720 -> 36:05.840] everybody had their chances, but to this day, I will insist that American drivers are not viewed as
[36:07.200 -> 36:11.880] with with as much support as European drivers who are right in front of the
[36:11.880 -> 36:15.560] teams all the time, racing on the tracks where the Grand Prix are held.
[36:16.400 -> 36:20.960] America has a lot to bring to Formula One to answer those critics who say, what
[36:20.960 -> 36:22.880] would Andre bring to Formula One?
[36:22.880 -> 36:24.200] You've got to be joking.
[36:24.760 -> 36:29.200] Um, so, uh,, Andrea will get there, more American
[36:29.200 -> 36:32.880] drivers will get there. And right now, Logan Sargent is
[36:33.040 -> 36:36.400] leading the way for the first time for American drivers since
[36:36.600 -> 36:38.720] Scott Speed a decade ago.
[36:39.440 -> 36:48.160] Oh, my word, that was a while ago. But what's interesting in my mind is that Andretti very well come out there
[36:48.160 -> 36:53.840] and said that, yes, we are clear. We want an American driver, but Formula One don't want them.
[36:53.840 -> 36:59.440] This whole dynamic is, I know it's not the most pressing issue in Formula One today,
[36:59.440 -> 37:07.080] but I still find it intriguing that now there's a bit of a giant entry from American manufacturers
[37:07.080 -> 37:10.580] into Formula One, where Ford has signed a deal with Red Bull Racing.
[37:10.580 -> 37:13.680] I know it's not Ford's manufacturer support kind of thing.
[37:13.680 -> 37:17.160] It's just a sponsorship thing, but nevertheless, it's something.
[37:17.160 -> 37:21.480] And then Andretti and Cadillac are also pushing to create an entry.
[37:21.480 -> 37:28.360] And how confident are you of that? Because Andretti, as far as I read correctly on the press release,
[37:28.720 -> 37:33.800] it's at 2024. That's a little soon, is it not?
[37:33.800 -> 37:37.160] I mean, 2024 is how many months away? It's,
[37:37.600 -> 37:38.680] it's seven months away.
[37:39.720 -> 37:43.520] And he said 2024 about six months ago. So, you know,
[37:43.520 -> 37:45.680] the clock is ticking and I know they're hiring
[37:45.680 -> 37:51.680] at Andrade and they're building this fabulous new headquarters in the Indianapolis area.
[37:51.680 -> 37:58.320] Yeah, I just don't see any downside to having a bigger American presence in Formula One.
[37:58.320 -> 38:02.800] Having said that, Haas is an American team based in Kannapolis, North Carolina, with
[38:02.800 -> 38:09.000] a big base in Europe. Darleton Capital owns Williams, so they are essentially an American-owned team
[38:09.000 -> 38:13.000] with a tremendous legacy in their home country, Great Britain.
[38:13.000 -> 38:18.000] So, you know, an American team would bring a lot to the table,
[38:18.000 -> 38:32.360] and I think, well, you know, the rising tide raises all boats. Michael has made it clear he's not going away, no matter what people say.
[38:32.360 -> 38:33.600] I just don't see the downside.
[38:33.600 -> 38:34.600] I don't see...
[38:34.600 -> 38:36.960] I know the teams are upset about money.
[38:36.960 -> 38:41.520] Right now you have to pay $200 million to get into Formula One to help compensate the
[38:41.520 -> 38:47.960] existing 10 teams for the money they will not get if the prize money is split 11 ways instead of 10.
[38:47.960 -> 38:48.800] I get that.
[38:48.800 -> 38:50.960] And maybe that number needs to be bigger.
[38:50.960 -> 38:54.880] If it costs you $600 million to join the NFL, the NBA,
[38:54.880 -> 38:56.280] whatever it happened to be,
[38:56.280 -> 38:59.400] maybe it should be five or 600 million to join Formula One.
[39:00.600 -> 39:03.320] I think Michael has said that doesn't bother him.
[39:03.320 -> 39:05.520] You know, we can do that.
[39:05.520 -> 39:07.560] What's your next problem, Toto?
[39:07.560 -> 39:12.880] Or whoever might be causing problems.
[39:12.880 -> 39:18.680] The old argument that if it ain't broke, don't fix it doesn't apply in this situation, it
[39:18.680 -> 39:19.680] seems to me.
[39:19.680 -> 39:23.200] There's a tremendous opportunity for Formula One here.
[39:23.200 -> 39:25.680] And it'd be crazy not to grab it with both hands.
[39:26.120 -> 39:30.200] But on that subject, Formula One already, as you rightly mentioned,
[39:30.520 -> 39:34.080] have, I mean, it already has a proper American team.
[39:34.520 -> 39:39.360] All the teams are saying that if there's an 11th one, I don't get, I mean,
[39:39.600 -> 39:40.360] that's their words.
[39:40.400 -> 39:44.760] They don't get how an extra team will raise viewership by that much, because
[39:44.760 -> 39:45.280] again,
[39:45.280 -> 39:51.200] it's just a team and there already is another one already. So where do you stand in this whole
[39:51.840 -> 39:57.520] approach? Because that's a big entry cost. And looking at the timelines, it seems a little
[39:57.520 -> 40:02.240] unrealistic if I'm being very honest, because I think 10 years ago, you mentioned the same story
[40:02.240 -> 40:07.280] of the USF1 team, who also tried to meet a similar deadline, but unfortunately couldn't.
[40:07.280 -> 40:12.160] We obviously hope for the best for this one, but it seems a little, it seems like a big
[40:12.160 -> 40:15.400] mountain to climb, especially when the teams don't want to split the pie.
[40:15.400 -> 40:16.400] So what is Formula One?
[40:16.400 -> 40:17.400] It's Formula One.
[40:17.400 -> 40:18.400] It certainly is.
[40:18.400 -> 40:20.200] Is Formula One the sport of the 10 teams?
[40:20.200 -> 40:21.720] Or like who controls it?
[40:21.720 -> 40:26.000] It's this whole Formula One constructors versus the promoter again, is it not?
[40:26.000 -> 40:32.520] Mm-hmm. It's a tripartite agreement called the Concord Agreement. The FIA,
[40:32.520 -> 40:38.760] the international governing body, owns the series. FOM, Formula One Management,
[40:38.760 -> 40:48.800] which is Liberty Media, is what Bernie Ecclestone used to be. They are the commercial rights holder. They generate all the money and keep most of it.
[40:49.840 -> 40:52.320] And then there are the teams who have a say
[40:52.320 -> 40:55.240] that has fluctuated from year to year,
[40:55.240 -> 40:57.420] or contract to contract, I should say,
[40:58.420 -> 41:03.420] as to what they can say and how much influence they have
[41:03.720 -> 41:06.860] over things like rules and schedules
[41:06.860 -> 41:07.940] and things like that.
[41:07.940 -> 41:16.200] They used to have almost an absolute veto power over Formula One, and that made doing
[41:16.200 -> 41:18.120] business very difficult.
[41:18.120 -> 41:25.680] Bernie Ecclestone had to use all of his business wiles and a whole bunch of arm twisting to try to get his way.
[41:25.680 -> 41:31.360] And usually he succeeded, including giving Ferrari an absolute veto that I believe they
[41:31.360 -> 41:38.800] still hold to this day, plus about $50 million a year in extra funds that nobody else gets
[41:38.800 -> 41:44.040] because Ferrari has been there from the very beginning and has great historic value.
[41:44.040 -> 41:48.320] So you have a lot of these political nuances in Formula One and they have to be managed.
[41:48.320 -> 41:52.520] I think Liberty Media has done a great job of that thus far.
[41:52.520 -> 41:54.400] Where is it going?
[41:54.400 -> 41:55.400] I don't know.
[41:55.400 -> 41:59.200] The rules state that there can be 13 teams on the grid in Formula One.
[41:59.200 -> 42:06.080] Andretti has been the most upfro upfront thus far. There's another team called Formula Equal
[42:07.160 -> 42:10.720] being fronted by Jack Villeneuve's old manager,
[42:10.720 -> 42:14.160] Craig Pollack, who was behind the BAR team,
[42:14.160 -> 42:16.840] British American Racing back in the day
[42:16.840 -> 42:20.520] that eventually became Honda, became Braun,
[42:20.520 -> 42:22.180] and then became Mercedes.
[42:24.240 -> 42:26.720] So he has a team called Formula Equal which will be
[42:26.720 -> 42:32.360] one male driver, one female driver, crew evenly split between males and females.
[42:32.360 -> 42:38.200] It's, let's just say it's way ahead of its time and we'll see how far that goes.
[42:38.200 -> 42:43.160] No word yet as to whether or not Craig Pollack and his associates have 200
[42:43.160 -> 42:45.080] million, much less 600 million to
[42:45.080 -> 42:47.200] contribute to the kitty to get in.
[42:47.200 -> 42:50.400] There's another company and I cannot remember the name of them right now.
[42:50.400 -> 42:57.140] So Stepanodimbeni-Kali, who runs Formula One for FOM, has said there are four teams knocking
[42:57.140 -> 42:58.140] at the door.
[42:58.140 -> 42:59.140] I can think of three of them.
[42:59.140 -> 43:01.240] I don't know who that fourth one might be yet.
[43:01.240 -> 43:06.400] And in any event, there couldn't be four new teams added, just three at the maximum.
[43:06.960 -> 43:12.160] I think there's some investor in Asia, I forgot the name, but there's some reports that there's
[43:12.160 -> 43:16.080] some Asian investor who wants to join. It's some cryptic name, I don't remember what it was, but...
[43:16.080 -> 43:16.580] In Asia?
[43:17.520 -> 43:18.020] Yes.
[43:18.020 -> 43:25.520] Well, yeah, there's always seems to be an investor in Asia who wants Formula One. It's a very tricky business, I have to say.
[43:25.520 -> 43:30.520] And we've seen some pretty crazy operations.
[43:30.560 -> 43:35.280] A few years ago, back in 2010, there was a guy from,
[43:35.280 -> 43:38.640] I want to say, Croatia, who wanted to have a team
[43:38.640 -> 43:42.520] and he was going to buy the Toyota factory
[43:42.520 -> 43:47.000] in Cologne, Germany, and he was going to run it out of there.
[43:47.000 -> 43:54.100] And one of my colleagues happened to be in Europe and took it upon himself to go to the
[43:54.100 -> 43:59.040] address of this team that this individual had put forward.
[43:59.040 -> 44:05.000] It turned out to be a back alley garage somewhere in Zagreb or somewhere,
[44:06.720 -> 44:11.720] I don't know, but it was as transparently bogus
[44:13.240 -> 44:16.680] as it seemed when somebody who has no track record,
[44:17.600 -> 44:20.640] no obvious financial backing and so forth comes forward
[44:20.640 -> 44:23.400] and says they're gonna be in Formula One.
[44:23.400 -> 44:27.220] And Formula One takes that very, very seriously. And, and
[44:27.220 -> 44:29.960] maybe they're overdoing it now, but they certainly want to make
[44:29.960 -> 44:34.120] sure that nobody comes forward and embarrasses the sport.
[44:34.720 -> 44:37.120] Because there's been plenty of that down through the years, if
[44:37.120 -> 44:42.540] you want to, you want to follow cloak and dagger and political
[44:42.540 -> 44:47.440] intrigue and espionage and total nonsense down through the years.
[44:47.440 -> 44:55.400] I actually made a mistake talking about the Haas team and their big new sponsor, Moneygram.
[44:55.400 -> 45:02.960] I said Moneytron, which was the name of one of those bogus Formula One efforts way back
[45:02.960 -> 45:10.120] in the day, the money truck, Onyx team, beautiful race cars, great drivers, great
[45:10.120 -> 45:16.560] operation, lifetime racers involved, but the the financial
[45:16.560 -> 45:22.280] patron of the team was a complete wacko named Jean-Pierre
[45:22.320 -> 45:27.400] Van Rossum, who styled himself as a financial genius
[45:27.400 -> 45:30.240] and was gonna spend bazillions on his team
[45:30.240 -> 45:33.900] and was at the track way overweight,
[45:33.900 -> 45:38.300] long hair and beard, sunglasses, never spoke to anybody.
[45:39.560 -> 45:43.160] And I'm not talking about that guy from the energy drink
[45:43.160 -> 45:44.840] who came and had a dalliance with us.
[45:44.840 -> 45:48.720] But Jean-Pierre Van Rossum, you know,
[45:48.720 -> 45:52.000] came and went when the financial authorities
[45:52.000 -> 45:56.400] in, I believe he was Dutch, caught up with him
[45:56.400 -> 45:59.520] and the team just disappeared.
[45:59.520 -> 46:02.140] Anyway, it's money gram.
[46:02.140 -> 46:14.000] And it's a colorful history in terms of some of the real con artists that have been in and out and in racing generally, not just in Formula 1.
[46:14.000 -> 46:28.000] I think there was some Netflix series about an American sports car driver who used to race by selling cocaine and the police found out as well. I think it's a part of the bad sports series. I forgot the exact name.
[46:28.000 -> 46:47.140] Yeah, that was Randy Lanier. He was a big star when I started in motorsports. Yeah, Blue Thunder Racing, which is a reference to a guy named Don Aronow, who built a boat called Blue Thunder, which was built for the American anti-drug forces to
[46:47.380 -> 46:55.900] chase the shuttle boats for drug importation into the United
[46:55.900 -> 46:58.820] States. So you had he was serving both sides, he was
[46:58.820 -> 47:02.380] selling these incredible speedboats to the drug runners,
[47:02.460 -> 47:05.100] and selling them to the cops.
[47:09.480 -> 47:12.240] And eventually he wound up paying for it with his life with a bullet through his head. But yeah, Randy Lanier did that.
[47:12.240 -> 47:21.560] The Whittington brothers. We have case after case in the United States about people who funded their dreams, whether it was racing or something else with with drug money.
[47:22.480 -> 47:29.120] John Paul, Sr., the pirate, his marijuana farms. But other countries have had the
[47:29.120 -> 47:38.800] same as well. England, arrested a guy I remember who was bringing back loads of marijuana in his
[47:38.800 -> 47:44.240] transporter on the ferry from the UK. All these countries have had this.
[47:43.120 -> 47:45.600] on the ferry from the UK. All these countries have had this.
[47:45.600 -> 47:46.640] It's fun.
[47:46.640 -> 47:49.480] But one of the newer entries in Formula One,
[47:49.480 -> 47:51.320] they seem legitimate.
[47:51.320 -> 47:53.860] It's one of the last things that I wanted to discuss today
[47:53.860 -> 47:56.920] is about why the manufacturers in America
[47:56.920 -> 48:00.080] are taking interest in Formula One, particularly Ford.
[48:00.080 -> 48:03.240] Because for them, when I look at their lineups,
[48:03.240 -> 48:05.280] for the future at least, it's all aligned
[48:05.280 -> 48:06.280] towards electric.
[48:06.280 -> 48:09.560] There's not really a big push towards hybrids.
[48:09.560 -> 48:13.960] And obviously, Ford has now signed an MOU with Red Bull Racing to say that, okay, we
[48:13.960 -> 48:18.800] will come in and sponsor your engine development program and make it feel like a Red Bull Racing
[48:18.800 -> 48:22.960] Ford kind of thing, even though Ford engineers might not really be involved.
[48:22.960 -> 48:24.520] What's in it for them really?
[48:24.520 -> 48:27.160] Because their marketing would ideally
[48:27.160 -> 48:28.880] be aligned towards EVs.
[48:28.880 -> 48:30.760] Formula One isn't going down through that route
[48:30.760 -> 48:34.320] at least until, what, 2036 is what I've been,
[48:34.320 -> 48:35.160] as far as I remember.
[48:35.160 -> 48:36.400] It's a long way out, right?
[48:36.400 -> 48:39.120] Formula One isn't going all electric for all that while.
[48:39.120 -> 48:42.080] So just why are Ford in it?
[48:42.080 -> 48:46.880] Like, for Cadillac, it still sort of makes sense a little bit more because
[48:46.880 -> 48:52.600] they have a greater hybrid push of sorts, but Ford really baffles me. Why? What is this
[48:52.600 -> 48:53.600] for?
[48:53.600 -> 49:02.600] Well, technology transfer from the racetrack to the road is important. Winning on Sunday,
[49:02.600 -> 49:05.640] selling on Monday is even more important.
[49:05.640 -> 49:11.080] I think these companies, for several reasons, want to be involved in Formula One.
[49:11.080 -> 49:16.720] One is, they're looking at those Netflix numbers and the explosive popularity growth of the
[49:16.720 -> 49:23.000] sport here in this country, particularly among young people, among potential customers for
[49:23.000 -> 49:26.040] these car makers, from people who want to have that
[49:26.040 -> 49:30.540] association even if it's just with a brand that isn't even building their own engines
[49:30.540 -> 49:32.140] in Formula One.
[49:32.140 -> 49:34.720] I think that speaks to Cadillac's situation.
[49:34.720 -> 49:40.040] They've been on a performance bump for a long time now, racing prototypes and IMSA, what
[49:40.040 -> 49:48.720] have you, and Ford, the same. They have a much longer history in Formula One and extraordinary
[49:48.720 -> 49:54.480] success. But you know, the biggest success Ford had was the Ford Cosworth, you know,
[49:54.480 -> 50:01.280] the double four valve DFE V8 that won more races. I think they are still the single engine that has
[50:01.280 -> 50:05.200] won the most races in Formula One. Ford didn't build it, Cosworth built it,
[50:05.200 -> 50:07.600] Ford funded it, and that's fine.
[50:07.600 -> 50:10.360] So there's more of that sort of, you know,
[50:10.360 -> 50:12.320] me too, that association,
[50:12.320 -> 50:15.020] whether you're actually putting the nuts and bolts
[50:15.020 -> 50:16.680] into the race car that goes out and wins,
[50:16.680 -> 50:18.200] at least your name is on it.
[50:18.200 -> 50:20.260] And I would also point out that,
[50:20.260 -> 50:23.380] particularly Ford, but also GM,
[50:23.380 -> 50:27.040] their racing department are run by racers.
[50:27.040 -> 50:30.840] In fact, Ford's entire company is run by a racer,
[50:30.840 -> 50:34.600] Jim Farley, who was in Miami this week.
[50:34.600 -> 50:38.040] He has a Cobra that he takes out
[50:38.040 -> 50:41.280] and races as often as he can get to it.
[50:41.280 -> 50:43.960] He is a racing guy to his very core.
[50:43.960 -> 50:50.540] And so I think that is what's driving a lot of this. The folks at GM, Jim
[50:50.540 -> 50:55.000] Campbell, and what have you, that wonderful Corvette program
[50:55.000 -> 50:58.140] that Chevy has had for so many years. I mean, these people want
[50:58.140 -> 51:01.560] to go racing, they realize the significance of racing in their
[51:01.560 -> 51:07.040] marketing programs, particularly to young people who are the customers now and well
[51:07.040 -> 51:11.360] into the future. So there's a lot of good marketing reasons for them to want to do it.
[51:12.400 -> 51:19.040] And now we've got six manufacturers signed up for 2026 when the new engine regulations come
[51:19.040 -> 51:24.480] into effect, including Honda, which doesn't have a team right now. And everybody's kind of looking
[51:24.480 -> 51:25.800] over at Aston Martin
[51:25.800 -> 51:28.760] thinking, you know, Honda's done pretty well.
[51:28.760 -> 51:31.120] Maybe you want to step away from Mercedes,
[51:31.120 -> 51:34.640] but you know, when you've got a great product to sell,
[51:34.640 -> 51:35.800] you need marketing.
[51:35.800 -> 51:39.840] Nobody markets better or more effectively in my view
[51:39.840 -> 51:41.120] than corporations.
[51:41.120 -> 51:44.400] And in America, you know, they've raised it to a fine art.
[51:46.200 -> 51:50.600] That's why NASCAR insists on no independent operations.
[51:50.600 -> 51:53.160] You have to be a part of a manufacturer,
[51:53.160 -> 51:55.420] even if all you do is buy the engines,
[51:55.420 -> 51:57.480] because they know that the manufacturers
[51:57.480 -> 52:01.720] are then gonna go out there and do your publicity for you,
[52:01.720 -> 52:04.880] just so the awareness factor is high.
[52:04.880 -> 52:08.040] So I think it's a great sign for Formula One
[52:08.040 -> 52:10.560] that these American companies are going forward,
[52:10.560 -> 52:13.540] even though in the case of Cadillac,
[52:13.540 -> 52:16.600] they didn't have a team that was guaranteed
[52:16.600 -> 52:17.560] a place on the grid.
[52:17.560 -> 52:19.560] Hopefully they will in the near future.
[52:19.560 -> 52:21.780] Meanwhile, Ford went right to the top
[52:21.780 -> 52:24.600] and did this deal with Red Bull
[52:25.680 -> 52:27.400] that has kind of upset the apple cart
[52:27.400 -> 52:30.640] because right now Honda is still providing Red Bull
[52:30.640 -> 52:33.440] with engines, even though they're not nominally
[52:33.440 -> 52:36.600] in the sport, but that's going to change.
[52:36.600 -> 52:39.760] Red Bull won't have to build their own engines
[52:39.760 -> 52:41.960] though they may want to with the help of Ford.
[52:41.960 -> 52:45.260] I'm not sure how that relationship is going to work.
[52:45.260 -> 52:48.640] I mean, it's all grist for the mill, keeps people talking, keeps people
[52:48.640 -> 52:53.760] arguing, and hopefully keeps people tuning in and buying tickets and all
[52:53.760 -> 52:57.280] the magazines and everything that, uh, that lead to the sports success.
[52:58.800 -> 53:01.660] And touch wood, looking at the numbers from the Miami GP last
[53:01.660 -> 53:03.440] week, it certainly feels that way.
[53:03.920 -> 53:08.020] But now that we reached the end of the episode, I'm sure our listeners are
[53:08.020 -> 53:11.680] very, very curious about the one thing that I touch would know the answer to.
[53:12.080 -> 53:13.560] What's next for you, sir?
[53:13.560 -> 53:17.200] We know that Speed City Broadcasting obviously goes live every weekend.
[53:17.740 -> 53:21.040] And that obviously is something that goes along for the Formula One side.
[53:21.500 -> 53:24.540] Are you covering Formula E for the whole season as well for all of our
[53:24.540 -> 53:33.040] listeners and what's where can? No, actually I'm doing four races for Formula E this year on the American CBS network.
[53:34.560 -> 53:39.360] They're negotiating a new contract. We hope they'll buy in for the whole season next year.
[53:39.360 -> 53:47.880] Right now, they're taking the English language feed, call it with my buddies Jack Nichols and Dario Frankiti and
[53:49.880 -> 53:53.600] Karun Chandak who's doing a terrific job stepping into Formula E
[53:55.400 -> 53:57.880] Hopefully, yeah, there'll be a full season in the future
[53:57.880 -> 54:02.840] I love the the series love the sport love the people and I'd be happy to fly around the world
[54:03.240 -> 54:05.040] Doing Formula E into the future.
[54:06.000 -> 54:12.080] I'm doing Extreme E right now from the studio for Fox, and I'm really, all I'm doing is
[54:12.080 -> 54:17.040] introducing the series and getting us in and out of commercials while Andrew Coley and Jenny Gao
[54:18.000 -> 54:22.560] call the races. Hopefully that might change sometime in the future, because that's another
[54:23.280 -> 54:25.200] original, unique
[54:25.200 -> 54:26.880] and different idea.
[54:26.880 -> 54:27.960] It's worth a look.
[54:27.960 -> 54:31.200] Battery powered off-road racing, and it's exciting.
[54:31.200 -> 54:33.360] It's crazy.
[54:33.360 -> 54:39.800] I've also been doing some work with the 7 Rotel organization on their GT America series.
[54:39.800 -> 54:45.700] I often do the eight hours at Indianapolis that wraps up their season.
[54:47.360 -> 54:50.320] I've been to the spa 24 hours, which is the highlight of their worldwide season.
[54:50.320 -> 54:52.760] And I'd like to expand that relationship,
[54:52.760 -> 54:55.640] but it's always a moving target.
[54:55.640 -> 54:57.360] And as long as I've got something to do
[54:57.360 -> 54:58.860] in the days ahead, I'm happy.
[54:59.920 -> 55:02.280] And I'm so glad that we can also listen
[55:02.280 -> 55:04.360] to Speed TV Broadcasting on YouTube as well,
[55:04.360 -> 55:06.040] because that's been my fix.
[55:06.040 -> 55:10.640] I mean, once the weekend is done, once the Insight Line is done, I often just tend to
[55:10.640 -> 55:14.200] listen in and have a better understanding about how you and your colleagues view the
[55:14.200 -> 55:15.200] sport as well.
[55:15.200 -> 55:16.400] It's amazing to listen to.
[55:16.400 -> 55:18.760] But for your time today, sir, thank you.
[55:18.760 -> 55:21.400] Thank you for taking the time to speak about the sport.
[55:21.400 -> 55:26.880] And I represent all the listeners here when I say that it's always so fun because
[55:26.880 -> 55:31.240] I just look forward to sitting down and hearing your stories. And this is another opportunity
[55:31.240 -> 55:36.600] that has presented itself today. So thank you for joining us today for that.
[55:36.600 -> 55:39.200] My pleasure. Thanks very much, Sameer.
[55:39.200 -> 55:43.640] And folks, if you enjoy listening to this episode, which I suppose you have if you've
[55:43.640 -> 55:50.000] reached to this point, thank you firstly. And also, don't forget to leave a good rating for the podcast as well. And also
[55:50.000 -> 55:54.400] subscribe to it and share it with any friends or family members or anyone, for instance, who you
[55:54.400 -> 55:59.600] know, who might love Formula One as well. Thank you for listening, everybody. And we shall be back
[55:59.600 -> 56:05.800] with the Emilia Romagna GP preview on the Insideup 1 podcast. Take care and we shall see you soon.
[56:05.800 -> 56:06.300] Bye-bye.
[56:15.560 -> 56:17.620] you