F1 75: The Good, The Bad, The Legendary!

[00:00:02] F1 75 has finally happened. Formula One has stepped into a new era, one full of music, one full of actors, one full of humour as well, with all the drivers getting a big roast on their big day, especially, especially Max Verstappen and George Russell.

[00:00:18] And Charlotte Clercq had Jack Whitehall chasing him for the entire night and that made it such a special evening, along with all the incredible launches we had and the music which some people clearly didn't like, but I think it was quite good. But let's get a consensus of what the entire mood of F1 75 was. And that's the agenda here today on the Inside Line F1 Podcast. Kunal, I'll start with you.

[00:00:41] I want to know particularly, right, and this is something I'm very curious about, which for you was the most forgettable launch over the entire period? Forgettable launch of last night, you mean? Yeah, yeah. Wow. I would say it's a tie between Red Bull Racing and Sauber. Mind you, I love the drums. I actually played similar drums when I was a part of the Naval Band.

[00:01:10] I loved the drum sequence, but the Sauber thing just didn't make too much sense to me. It was, again, one of those things that we just keep doing what we're doing till we become Audi. So it seems sad to me. But talking of Red Bull, again, it seemed like what, you know, Uttara from our social media team said, it seemed like a Ganpati with Sarjan happening again. You know, they didn't know what they were doing. So everyone was just, you know, randomly dancing and they realized that Max is anyway not going to appreciate whatever they do. So might as well do random things.

[00:01:42] And random dressing as well, Sundaram. Liam Lawson, he just came dressed up for the biggest occasion in all of Formula One's history in terms of an entertainment viewpoint in jeans and a normal sweatshirt. That's the way to go. I mean, that really caught my eye because on one side you have a Lewis Hamilton who's properly, properly decked up. Sure, he does that even on normal race weekends as well. But on the flip side, you have a Liam Lawson keeping it very, very casual.

[00:02:07] But the moment their intro music started, I kind of understood what kind of theme they're going ahead with. But I actually like the variety. Even in the sort of entries of every single team, there was something that was very different. So I kind of, even from clothing to everything else, it was super fun. Yeah, I think Kunal, we're stepping into the WrestleMania age of Formula One.

[00:02:30] Because genuinely, I cannot imagine any other company apart from WWE that's taken sports to such a grandiose level in the way Liberty Media is doing with Formula One. Like Louis Vuitton cases for the World Constructors Championship trophy. How incredible is that? And Gordon Ramsay attending the event along with so many other film stars. And them having a red carpet. And drivers being allowed to do donuts on the red carpet as well, which is what Yuki Tsunoda did.

[00:02:55] It's a proper star-studded affair full of music, full of entertainment, full of lights, sound, a live audience as well. It felt like a WrestleMania. And I think these are things that cricket can learn from, that football can learn from, or any other sport for that matter. Oh yeah, absolutely. And I liked that in the opening sequence, instead of talking of Lewis Hamilton being seen for the first time in red Ferrari colors, we've actually spoken of the Red Bull drivers. Max Verstappen, Liam Lawson, and Yuki Tsunoda.

[00:03:25] I think Yuki was just being, you know, badass about it. He said, you can't promote me, but I'm going to do everything I can and challenge you to demote me. Okay. With all those donuts seated, I absolutely loved the event. And I'll be honest, I didn't go in with too much expectation. I thought it's going to just be a duddish show just because F1 can command such an audience now. They're trying their luck out. But I absolutely loved the live roasting that happened.

[00:03:53] I'm surprised that Jack Whitehall did not roast Liam Lawson for that, you know, dress of his. I just think Liam forgot his formals back home in New Zealand. And he's like, ah, that's too long a trip to make to go and get my formals. But we should actually get into why this event happened, because to me, that's a very crucial thing. So I'm in what you're trying to say. Can cricket learn? Can football learn? Maybe even I know WrestleMania is the only one who can do such kind of entertainment, but I don't know if they will pull such crowds as well.

[00:04:23] I know you're a commentator for WWE in India. Maybe you'll say they'll pull two extra crowds. But my reading is that F1 after Drive to Survive, F1 after the kind of season we've had in 2024, wanted to make a statement. And they wanted to make a statement saying, we can show you entertainment. We can do showmanship even outside of the racetrack. We can fill up the stadium.

[00:04:47] We can get some of the best musicians to talk about Formula One, best celebrities that you otherwise follow, even though I didn't know any of the musicians that played on stage. But I clearly realized that the event that we saw was not necessarily targeted towards a fan like me, but to a lot more new age, excitable genre of fans. There you go. There you go. Samuel, you're punching the air. But yeah, I think it was a fabulous event.

[00:05:15] And F1 needs to have more such events where everyone comes together and crucially, events that are available to be seen free of cost on streams. I think that's another key part of F1 75 for me. Yeah. I mean, it's unbelievable. Sundaram, your first reaction still looking at everything, looking at the cars, the people, the humor, and also the behind the scenes moments.

[00:05:43] What really strikes you about this revolutionary event that Formula One has just done? No, I think when the event was first announced a couple of months ago, I think everyone unanimously said like, yeah, why do we want this? But I think that's kind of become the pattern right now. At any time F1 does something, there's initially a lot of resistance. It even started with their logo and a lot even with the halo. So there's initial resistance, but then people start accepting it.

[00:06:12] And once they see how much it offers, they start liking it a lot more. So similarly, in my mind, I was like, yeah, I'm not sure I'm going to like this. And like we discussed yesterday, I'm not, you're not going to watch this. You're going to sleep and then probably catch the highlights in the morning. But then I was awake at 1.30. And then I'm like, let me just watch the first five minutes and figure what to do. And the host had me in the first three minutes, I'll be very honest. The way he actually began in the first three minutes and he was so confident, so witty about it.

[00:06:40] I'm like, okay, I'm going to sit and watch and sit and watch the entire episode because this was so much fun. And that is something I did not expect. I did not expect humor in an F1 event because it's otherwise so serious. It's a black tie event of sorts and I really did not expect so much of roasting and humor there. And I absolutely loved it. So overall, I think the event was very well executed.

[00:07:04] I think they would have done a lot of rehearsals because they barely had any time to shift cars for each team. And it seemed like a well rehearsed, well executed event. And overall, I think I would give it a good seven or eight out of ten. You know, the seven or eight out of next. I have never understood these ratings. I always go all right with it. But the fact that it's never happened before and they could pull it off, Liberty Media pulled it off.

[00:07:34] I would actually say a ten on ten. Even though every team had those seven minutes to showcase themselves, they did it in their own ways, their own colors, their own stories. I loved how every team was different. And that's what Formula One is about, right? To have each team, each driver have their own identity. And in my mind, I would love to have more such events every year.

[00:08:00] I used to think about this when I was doing car launches at Force India, that why can't F1 just pull off an event together? And I love that the teams also put aside their own agendas and did this event. Even though the 2025 cars were not launched, it was only the 2025 livery. The teams will still do their car launches. Okay. Even though this was available free to air, live streaming pretty much every platform in the world, close to 5 million people that tuned in.

[00:08:29] Again, shows the power that if F1 was not behind the paywall, maybe there were more people who would be watching it. And all in all, I think full marks for execution, full marks for content. And going back to what I said, that live roasting. Truth be told, that's the live roasting we do on our podcast through banter.

[00:08:52] But for somebody to sit there and stand in front of Lewis Hamilton and Toto Wolff and talk of their divorce and reunion elsewhere and whatever, and then talk of Max Verstappen not loving such events and the beef with George Russell. And do it in a friendly way that even the drivers feel involved. I think I really loved that.

[00:09:13] I mean, I wish that, you know, even live roasting in itself becomes one of those events, even if there are no cars involved. Just get the drivers, get a host like Jack Whitehall or a comedian. And just get F1 to, you know, have their stars roasted. Who wouldn't like that? Or you can join us at any Inside Line F1 pitstop we do, because that's essentially the same thing.

[00:09:39] And we have lots of virtual guests coming in and sharing so many cool stories from the world of sport as well. It's amazing the kind of stuff we can do as well. And we'd love to have you for that. But fair play, Jack Whitehall. What a performance there. And what an event overall. This sort of spectacle is phenomenal. And I'd say it's a success because ultimately looking at an audience that I'm very familiar with, people of my age, right? I remember back in school, nobody used to watch Formula One. It was something that you'd see at the back of every sports magazine for a couple of pages.

[00:10:08] And that's about it. That's the only place it had. But now suddenly people are sharing these interactions, these launches, these deliveries, all on their stories. They're talking about this in groups. And suddenly the same people who would otherwise talk about a movie or any sort of show coming out are not talking about Formula One. And there's also hype around the next season of Drive to Survive 2. So it's all rolling in the right direction. And amazing to see the kind of collaborations too. Like Stefano Domenicali wearing a tag over watch, Louis Vuitton displaying their trophy cases,

[00:10:37] or the FIA finally getting to listen to the world and knowing what the world thinks about them. That to me is honestly, I think one of the greatest moments in all of Motorsport. Like seriously, that's because the FIA is normally the kind of, I wouldn't say dictatorial organization, but very, very autocratic in their ways. They don't tend to take back a lot of fan feedback. It's largely drivers, safety, all the procedural things.

[00:11:05] And Mohamed Bensalam doesn't like to hear a lot of other people. In fact, when someone disagrees with them, they kind of get away from the FIA, let's put it that way. They find new adventures to work on. So this for the FIA to hear the people and their reactions for the first time. I genuinely, Sundaram, want to be in the FIA's office as just a tiny little fly on the wall, just to see the reactions, because that must have been phenomenal.

[00:11:29] I think that was literally the talk of the whole event, people booing FIA and a couple of other people as well. But I have a fairly strong opinion about this and I would love to hear what you guys think about it. Do you think it was fair for people to boo the FIA? Because I'll give you a little bit more context in that regard. Do you think it was fair of them to do that? Go for it. Go ahead. Go ahead. I get a feeling it's not about whether it's fair or not.

[00:11:58] Firstly, anyone being booed anytime is not right, I would say, especially when you're not able to see both sides of the story, if that's the way one has to see it. But you've got to see it from the crowd's perspective. The crowd is going to go with what the crowd sentiment is. And currently, I'm yet to meet a fan or a driver or anyone who actually feels that what the FIA is doing with regards to certain rules and regulations is fair.

[00:12:27] And hence, unfortunately, they just get booed. You know, like I said, Mohammed Ben Sulaim can be remembered for having the 11th and maybe even the 12th team in Formula One. And that will be his legacy. He doesn't really want that. He wants his legacy to be telling drivers to not wear jewelry, telling drivers to not swear on the radio and whatever else. And unfortunately, that's become, you know, that that's become the hallmark of his tenure as the president. Should he be booed?

[00:12:53] No, I think there are better ways to express dissent like people anyway do on social media. But, you know, crowd sentiments, when you bring a crowd together, this is what you get. I'd say let's embrace the tribalism. Let's let's embrace this culture of showcasing what we truly feel about the sport. But ultimately, if you think of any global successful sport, think of football, think of what cricket has achieved in Southeast Asian nations.

[00:13:20] Think of wrestling, for instance, because I love it so much or as my bosses would like to call it sports entertainment. That's the kind of stuff I can't say there. But ultimately, these sports thrive on emotions, whether it's love or whether it's hatred. So for some, embracing the showmanship, embracing the tribalism might just be the best way to take the show forward. And what we've learned over the last half decade, I'd say, is that Formula One needs a lot more of it. Even though we look at it and say, ah, maybe not.

[00:13:50] Maybe we'd not like to attend. Just like Max, we get there and we see the kind of success it leads to, as Sundar mentioned earlier. It's amazing. Wow. But I think it's a good time now, guys. No, no. Wait, wait, wait. Wait, one second. My question was because the mention around FIA was not respect to FIA's involvement in Formula One in recent years. I don't think anyone actually got the rest of the sentence that Laura Winter mentioned.

[00:14:15] She said that FIA's continuous improvements in safety over the past several decades. And that safety bit got probably muffled out through all the boos that people were saying. And that's why my question comes around. Sure, there's a lot of recency bias about what one central figure has been doing around Formula One in recent years or one specific position. If you talk about stewards, they've not been taking a lot of right decisions in that regard. But I personally felt people reacted a bit too quickly.

[00:14:43] And sure, we allow people to react. But when it comes to FIA and safety and what they have done and what strides they've taken in the last several years, I think that specifically does not need to be booed. And that's what I was coming to. Sure. And I think what you're saying is right. The minute they said FIA, the booze started and whatever Laura Winter said after that, it just got drowned in. But that again goes to show, right, that yes, it's one person.

[00:15:10] But the way this person is ruining the legacy, if that's the word I can use publicly, it's just unfortunate. Can we do anything about it? Well, yes, he can. Is he wanting to do anything about it? No, he wants to go and make statements like, you know, it's not the British Grand Prix. It's the Qatar Airways British Grand Prix. Okay. And those kind of points that he makes. So anyway, I think it was a massive success with or without booing necessarily.

[00:15:40] Because, you know, the very fact that Formula One is reaching social conversations, you know, and I remember growing up, I used to be the Formula One nerd who was the only one talking Formula One. Right. And you would meet similar nerds, but now socially, wherever I go, whether it's work, in fact, even in the grocery stores here in Norway, sometimes people just come up to me and start talking Formula One.

[00:16:05] So I love that Formula One, like, I would say, like football has become a social conversation. Events like these take it furthermore. Like, you know, Toto Wolff said, we are a much bigger sport. We're doing this for the fans. As Lando Norris said, we're doing this for the fans. I think it was very well pulled off, very well orchestrated. And, you know, fantastic delivery.

[00:16:32] I'm yet to come across something that Formula One has done at such a grand scale where you would, you know, say where you think that they've cut corners or, you know, they've stretched our attention or, you know, misused the attention that it commands from fans like us. I think it was full marks to the team for doing this. And F1 is the leader in all sports yet again. Talk about the technology. Talk about the money. Talk about the broadcast. Talk about the scale of the event.

[00:17:02] Other sports need to follow. And it just proves Formula One is the pinnacle, not just of motorsports, but in many ways of all other sports as well. In so many different aspects at this point in time. It's mind blowing. Wow. That was quite something. I think we should, before our producer starts yelling in our ear, move on to talk about deliveries because he's worked very hard to sort of find the right pictures, attach the image credits as well. It's a very tough job and we don't want to let that go to waste.

[00:17:31] And we also want to see the cars. And we're also then going to rank our top three deliveries of all time and see if, let me say the name correctly, if the Visa Cash App Racing Bull's car actually finds its way there. It's a good chance. It might. It's time for Hot or Not. Okay, then. Let's go in the order in which the F175 event actually went with the last in the constructor standings first, which means we'd go to the drums of Sauber. Oh, no. About the event.

[00:18:00] Hot or Not, actually. That's a good place to begin. F175 then, guys. Hot or Not? I'm saying too hot. It's amazing. Love the music. Love the fanfare. Love the drama around it. Love the music and the whole atmosphere and the fans being given a voice. I think this is what Formula One needs. And this is a step into a new era. We're only going to go higher from here. In fact, I love... Yeah, go on. Go on. Samuel mentioned he loved the music twice.

[00:18:26] So, it just goes to show the sort of generation gap that I, for one, did not particularly enjoy the music. But you said it twice. You really enjoy the music. Not the final act. Yeah. No, from me as well. F175, hot. I would say very, very hot. I would love to see how they can, you know, continue with this, how they can better it.

[00:18:51] And I love that the teams literally and the drivers made time for it because preseason actually is a very, very busy time for them. So much that the Ferrari trio that attended flew to Italy literally hours after the event to do the F175 launch this afternoon at Fiorano as well. Lewis Hamilton's first laps in the 2025 Ferrari as well.

[00:19:13] So, the very fact that they made time for it also is a great indicator of the fact that everyone's coming together to grow Formula One as a sport first. And even then, Ferrari has the veto because most other teams spoke to the media before and after. I think after, I'm not sure, but before they definitely did. Ferrari, I don't remember them having a press conference. They had no media session after that. And they flew over, had their own media come to Fiorano and launched their car on their own.

[00:19:43] They're carrying on the legacy of Fiorano. Yeah, but that was actually planned because they had requested for this, from what I understand, that to keep their 2025 car launch actually, you know, more relevant. They wanted to do their media session since it was just the next day. Much like, you know, Max Verstappen, Liam Lawson and Christian Horner didn't do an interview session because that was also planned, you know,

[00:20:11] where each team was allowed to pick and choose what they wanted to do with their seven minutes out there. Much as what was also planned was that the English speaking team principals would just host their own session rather than have another host out there. So if you notice, James Wawels, Andy Cowell, Christian Horner were all hosting their own team sessions, whereas Mattia Binotto, Frederick Vassour, etc.

[00:20:39] And I think Todd of Wolfe as well had, you know, Formula One hosts help them co-host their session. But Oliver Oaks didn't get that chance. And I wonder why. Is that... Is it Zach Brown? Zach, yeah, Zach Brown also didn't. Yeah, that's a good point. So maybe the team made a choice, yeah. Maybe the team principal being Andrea Stella was probably the reason why Zach Brown didn't get a choice.

[00:21:05] But either way, what I mean is, you know, they picked and choose... They picked... The teams picked what they wanted to do. And that's why, you know, some teams had lots of music and some teams had interviews and some teams had team principals hosting their sessions and so on. You can tell, you can tell this is how they see themselves. And it's beautiful because Formula One teams otherwise didn't have such a grand way of presenting themselves ever.

[00:21:31] It was all the card, the website, the promotional material that goes out, the racing suits, the helmets. But this, like using sound visuals, holograms. I was amazed to see holograms all around. That was phenomenal to see the projections that were going on everywhere. It's unbelievable. Yeah. And it started out with the drums of Stake Sauber. And again, this is a very Ben 10 car, as a few people on Twitter pointed out. And it's true.

[00:22:00] I find it to be... Did the radium spill out of the test here or something? I don't know. What happened here, guys? Not one of my favorite liveries, I would say. Very easily at the very bottom for me. It feels very low effort, in my opinion. And I don't mean to offend the folks at stake. I'm sure they've put in a lot of effort. But if you look at last year's livery, there was a lot of black in between as well.

[00:22:29] And that created a very nice balance. Here, it just feels the front of the car has been sprayed with FlowViz. And the back part has been kept very carbon basic. So, they really have to choose a different color of... They really have to go with a different color for FlowViz in pre-season testing. But for me, not hot. It's difficult to actually disagree with Sundaram here. Because, again, even though a lot of people at Sauber are actually friends.

[00:22:59] And I'm sure they will tune in here. I like the color green. It's a great color. And you all will see why I'm actually saying that. And I just wish, you know, that stake... I think this is also the stake brand color. Which is primarily why it's been taken over the car. But like I said, you know, a lot of Sauber is probably just waiting to see what happens next year. And this is yet another year.

[00:23:24] Of the transition where we just have to bear with some of these car design, livery design choices. It's not for me as well. So, it's not hot at all. Yeah, I think it feels a lot like the car is transitioning into Hulk. Because Nico Halkenberg is also there. So, it's halfway there. It's not completely the Hulk's car. Maybe next season will be all green. I don't know. Maybe that's what Audi comes up with. But, yeah, it doesn't do it for me.

[00:23:52] I think there's a lot more that can be done with this color. But it's not the looks that ultimately matter. It's what they do on track. A beautiful car is a fast car, as they all say. So, we'll find out later on. Which is a very diplomatic way of saying, it's not hot. Let's move on to something else. Which would be... Oh, wait, Sindram, you have something. No, I think that's what... I think there's a certain reveal that has to happen over here. So, they've just painted the first half of the car. And if it is fast enough, it slowly starts flowing towards the back.

[00:24:22] And that reveals... Or it completes the transformation of the Hulk. That's possibly the case. If it's not fast, then it won't happen. So, you'll get an indication of that in Bahrain. I love that imagination. But I'm pretty sure that's not what's happening. Okay. Sauber, they get the triple note. I don't know what we're calling this. Yeah, three notes. Yeah, not hot. That's clearly not the case.

[00:24:48] But what was genuinely hot was Williams' presentation. Amazing choice of music from the Spider-Verse album. I love that. It's a beautiful way to announce your car. And also the small little tinges. We had the yellow circles with the names of the drivers, like Carlos and Alex, which were also visible on the ground. And it was amazing to see Williams giving time to their people. Because ultimately, the best thing about Williams right now

[00:25:17] is the drivers and the team principal. The three shining lights. And they were all glowing. They had energy. They projected the team to be in a very fine light. And that's something I love to see. The confidence from them. And it's high time to deliver. And delivery for me as well. Sorry, the Williams of Atlassian Williams Formula One team. I think it's hot. It's a good-looking car, this one. It's come out very well. Yeah, I would say it's a continuation of last year.

[00:25:47] The livery. There's, like Jack Whitehall said, we've got a livery launch event where all the liveries of last year are being carried forward into 2025. But we still have an event for them. I'm a bit so-so. I don't know if our software allows us to have half red and half green. But if I have to make a choice, well, it's a pretty-looking car. I love the Duracell integration that's happened on the airbox or the driver's cockpit head as well.

[00:26:15] So I would say it's a hot car. And I think more than the car, I think what you said, Samuel, the trio that's leading Williams forward is going to be what people will be looking out for in 2025. That's Carlos Sainz, Alex Albin, and James Wawls. Very great for Carlos today. It'll take me time to switch over to blue. Not as a United fan. This will take a bit. I think you'll like it, though. But I think you'll like it. But I like the transformation.

[00:26:44] Because if you go back to a couple of years ago, when you had the Schumachers and the Mazeprins driving for Haas, they were not very much of a likable team. But last year with Nico Hülkenberg and Magnussen, they became that likable team. And I think Williams was also in that little transition phase where you had a Sargent, you had a Latifi. Not really sure if you can back those drivers. But now this is a proper, proper team that I'm sure a lot of people will be rallying behind. So you have a Sainz, you have an Albon, you have a James Wawls.

[00:27:11] I love James Wawls' confidence and vision for that team. And I'm sure they're not missing any opportunity to announce or to call out their new title sponsor, Atlassian. Atlassian's logo is also very much similar to Williams' colors as well. So I feel that blend just goes in a lot. So I kind of like that blend of the blue and the Williams blue and then the Duracell. I love the Duracell colors. It's so perfectly placed right on top.

[00:27:40] And so overall for me, this is a hot livery. And incredible that Williams also finally have a new sponsor in Atlassian. In case you didn't know about this, a few years ago, Williams were organizing their parts on Excel. That's how far behind they were compared to their rivals. So it's incredible now that now they have people like Atlassian coming in. And instead of just giving them money to put their logo on the car,

[00:28:05] it's a deeper deal where they've got lots of their software components helping out with the back end of how Williams runs their Formula One team. It's beautiful. I think it's a new era. Let's say the first time we're seeing Williams have a proper driver lineup since 2016. Massa and Bottas. I don't remember that happening since then. In fact, even at that time, Massa was the Ferrari discard, so to say. And this time there's a Ferrari discard. Well, well.

[00:28:35] But I must say, you know, another perspective from my experience of selling sponsorships in Formula One, events like these actually help team land sponsor deals. So I'll give you an example. Williams would have gone or they would have been in conversation with the sponsor for about three, four months minimum, given that it's a title sponsorship, lots of documents, lots of valuations, lots of exposure values to be exchanged. And then Williams would have said, you know what?

[00:29:04] But on the 18th of February, we've got this big event. If you want to announce to the world you're a title sponsor, we need to announce it a week before. We need to get all the creatives in place. And then the deadline for making the decision is, say, 10th of December, because it takes six weeks, eight weeks to present, prepare all the creatives. And then these become moving deadlines for teams to actually or rather sponsors to actually hurry up decision making rather than, you know,

[00:29:31] just keep beating around the bush if they are ready, but they are just negotiating. And it's hot. It works well. It's so hot. But from a hot car, I think it's simply the hottest car you could possibly have in this gen of Formula One. That's going to come up next. It's time for, and say the name correctly with me, guys. I'm going to test you. Sundaram, you are on the card. You're next up. What's the name? Say it correctly.

[00:30:00] These are Cash App Racing Bulls. Hey, nicely done. Nicely done. And that's a memorable presentation because, A, they got us to remember the name properly. And that's great marketing, fair play. But, B, they've got a car that will stick in our memories for the next, I don't know, five, six, seven decades. And the reason why I love this livery in particular so much is because it reminds me of Honda.

[00:30:29] This is what Honda is all about. Think of their first forays into Formula One. I had a small die-cast car, a 1967 John Surtees Honda, white with the Honda red. And that then became their staple colors across so many motorsporting categories. And it's ultimately the foundation of their automotive racing division. And then Red Bull teased this a lot as well. Remember, 2008, David Coulthard's last race, Interlacos, where Felipe Massa was a champion for one second. That race, Coulthard had a white Red Bull racing car.

[00:30:59] Now, similar, teased for one race, never carried forward. Same for Turkey 2020, when Red Bull Racing went honoring their partnership with Honda. That was temporary. And we've always demanded, let's give us a white bull. We just need a white bull. And here it is in all its glory. And it makes the yellow and the red standard even more, Kunal. I think it's the hottest livery of this entire generation of cars, along with the Alfa Romeo of 2022. I think those two are evenly tied at the very top.

[00:31:30] This is absolutely hot for me. I have to say that up front. There comes a second green strike for me, the hot strike. And I think it's very cheeky as well. So what's been the big elephant in the room? The fact that Red Bull Racing and Racing Bulls are owned by the same owner, which is Red Bull Energy Drinks.

[00:31:52] McLaren is making a big deal out of it, much as a few others have, from sharing technology, which is officially allowed. Now they're also sharing liveries because Red Bull literally had a white Red Bull in 2021, if I remember. One of the races was a turkey or something. So this livery has been used before.

[00:32:15] So Racing Bulls is just proving that we will copy Red Bull in whatever we can, whatever we do, whether it's drivers, whether it's power units, whether it's liveries, whether it's technology that can be exchanged. But truth be told, this livery does look absolutely gorgeous. And I loved Isaac Harchar's facial expressions when he was removing the covers that were on the car.

[00:32:43] I think that pretty much mirrors all the expressions we all have as Formula One fans. Okay, so two points. Firstly, when the event started, the host mentioned straight away that all of the teams have gone back with the same sort of livery. That kind of lowered expectations from what people would see later on in the event. So in that regard, I think Racing Bulls really made an impact with a very strikingly different livery. So full points for that.

[00:33:11] But secondly, the thing is, the moment you look at this car, you don't think Alfa Tauri. You don't think Toro Rosso. You go back to that Turkey 2021 race. You go back to that livery that Red Bull once used. So from a marketing standpoint, I think this is brilliant. The livery, in my opinion, is hot, of course. But from a marketing standpoint, every time you look at this car, you think Red Bull, Red Bull, Red Bull. You're not thinking at any other brand. You're not thinking at any other sister team. You're always thinking Red Bull. So I think the implementation also was incredible.

[00:33:40] You're thinking Visa Cash App Racing Bull Sundaram. That's what you're thinking of. Oh, they've got us talking. Okay, that's VCarb. The next one, the All-American Livery was next up after VCarb. And man, they had quite a spectacular performance for it. It was Haas, or now I should say the Moneygram Haas Formula One team, supported by Toyota Gazoo Racing. They've got sponsors. They've got people working with them. It's phenomenal.

[00:34:10] And Haas had quite a presentation with Oliver Behrman and Esteban Ocon. And Ayoko Matsu also leading the team with Pride. A team that he's been at since the very, very beginning. So it's an amazing spectacle and a circle of life moment for him coming through to represent Haas at such a big level. The car wasn't very different. I still find it hot. It's still a very, very good-looking livery. And they've got very tall drivers as well, which is one observation I could make after yesterday's event.

[00:34:38] But they were just towering over everyone else, especially Ayahu. And it's phenomenal to see Haas being proud of their American heritage. Because for this year, at least, they're the only American Formula One team. And they've got to flex it. And by next year, they've got to become the original American Formula One team in Formula One. So there's a lot of marketing work to do for them. And this is a big year in terms of results and momentum and also the sentiment. So I like the livery that they had. It's hot for me.

[00:35:08] For me, I'm not really sure. This livery doesn't do it for me. I actually liked their livery last year. And what it just feels like, they've gone back to the drawing board. Or they've literally opened Photoshop. And they've taken their render from last year and hit reverse colors. And that's basically what's happened. The colors have flipped right from the Haas, the name, and the side parts. It just feels that they've reversed the colors. And for some reason, the balance doesn't fit for me. So for me, this is not a very hot livery.

[00:35:37] But I mean, I really don't care about liverys. I'm very much excited about Oliver Behrman. And Esteban Ocon. Along with what Ayao Komatsu is able to bring in from a technical standpoint. So very excited for Haas. Not very excited about the livery. Yeah, it's a knot for me as well. And for me, you know, what Haas is trying to do, especially what they did last year with, you know, punching way above their weight.

[00:36:05] I'm hoping that the efforts they've not put in car design or livery design has actually gone into car design. Having said that, I don't mind the black and white livery with tinges of red, etc. But just that several other teams have done just so much better with liveries out there. But I think Haas wouldn't mind that, given the fact that, you know, their on-track performance is going to count for more than the in-studio performance when it comes to livery design.

[00:36:35] Okay, that's Haas then. We should then move on to the next team. And they're going to arrive in a boat with James Bond music. And then step off in their beautiful looking tuxillos with their racing helmets on. It is time for Aston Martin. And weirdly quiet and weirdly cryptic Aston Martin. Let's put it that way. And we're not going to just say that it's the best livery of the night and move on, like Fernando Alonso would like us to say.

[00:37:05] I don't think that's that hot of a livery, given how much better their cars in the past were. So I'm saying not hot. But yeah, it is really cryptic, Sundaram. No chatting from the team principal that much. Alonso was also very muff about things. And Lance Stroll was Lance Stroll. So it felt weird. It felt odd. Tell me if I missed this. But there was no Lauren Stroll at the event, right? No, there was. Yeah, he was there. He was there at the red carpet. I heard him. I heard him. I don't know if he was there on stage.

[00:37:36] I kind of missed his presence maybe because, yeah, I've got kind of used to seeing him at all these events. But for me, it's the iconic British racing colors, the dark green. I genuinely like the colors. Not very sure about the sideboards and the integration of the black around it. But I can't. I'm going to be very biased in saying this, but I find this very hot. Again, you know, maybe our software needs an upgrade.

[00:38:06] I would have been like, so, so don't really care. But I'll tell you what. I know the design team that's there at Aston Martin. They used to design liveries for the Force India Formula One team. I think we did better liveries at Force India at that time with the same team and the studio. But I mean, you know, it's a British racing green. So which means you just slap over that color and then you mix and match it with whatever works with it. So there isn't much effort that's really gone into this yet.

[00:38:35] So for me also, it's a knot. But, you know, I think, again, the most exciting thing here is going to be how the whole transition happens with Adrian Newey at Aston Martin. So, again, they wouldn't care if the livery is not hot, but more so if their on-track pace is hot enough. So, yeah, mixed reviews. Only green coming from the only person in the room wearing green. Interesting.

[00:39:07] Okay, we then have to go to Alpine. I think we missed Alpine. I skipped a beat. I like how you conveniently skipped Alpine. I think it's fair as well. Yeah, which is strange given how much I love talking about them and how much I love to call out all the crazy stuff that happens in the background. Alpine are weird sometimes. They wanted to cut it short, clearly.

[00:39:35] Nobody was in the mood to talk a lot, especially the team principal, Oliver Oakes, who said that the only thing for Alpine to do this year is to rise higher, if you get that. I found it hilarious. I love the concept, though. Again, performance from Brian Tyler was great. And he's the man who made the Formula One theme. So, he knows what he's doing. It's a bit different in terms of music.

[00:39:56] But, lastly, the whole highlight of the show was, for me at least, well, Flavio sitting in the background, enjoying, looking at everything, completely surprised. Like, what on earth is going on? And then not being on the stage to talk about his own team. But, clearly, he's the one calling the shots. Because look at the sponsors on the car as well. E&I, the Italian petrolling company, is one that Flavio has had relationships with for such a long time. They're back on the car as well.

[00:40:24] It's unbelievable to see the control Flavio has. And I'd say it's a good-looking car. I love the concept. Nobody does it. So, it's hot. Hot for me. I think it's very hot, especially given the pink. You know, nobody else is using pink. I love the two-tone pink and blue color that's there. And we've seen pink, of course, before on several other teams where BWT has been a partner, which was a racing point. And before that, Force India as well.

[00:40:54] And to my mind, there was something very underwhelming about Alpine. Even though the car looked strikingly hot to me, you know. Whether it was the team principal, whether it was the drivers. I mean, there was so much chatter about Pierre Gasly and Jack Doohan's haircut. That, you know, you're like, are they not paying their drivers well enough? That they're trying to save 20 pounds or 30 euros or whatever the amount is in getting haircuts. Because in the pre-event media, they were talking of haircuts.

[00:41:22] During the media, they were talking of haircuts and having similar hairstyles and so on. And maybe if there was only one improvement that I would suggest for F175 overall is to help the team principals and drivers who are fan-facing give better answers. You know, work with them on, you could say this, you could say that, I can ask you this. And just get a more interesting answer, which is different. Because, you know, Mathias Binotto said something like rise higher.

[00:41:53] You know, Fredrik Pussuwer said we need to go faster. Then Oliver Oak said need to do better, rise higher. I mean, everyone wants to do better. Nobody's saying we want to go back to 2023 levels of racing. We want to have 2025 levels of racing built on 2024. So that's the only thing. But yeah, strikingly hot delivery. And I think more sponsors are only going to get added from Argentina as the season starts up. And I think hats off to Jack Doohan for how he's been handling all the Franco-Cola Pinto questions.

[00:42:25] Gosh, guys, I'm really surprised that you find this hot. I thought this was going to be a unanimous not hot. It just doesn't do it for me. I mean, take a look at the colors. It's pink and blue. They do not go well together. It feels like, if you remember a couple of years ago, they actually had this special livery that would turn up on the first three races that would be completely pink. And then they would go back to completely blue. They've just mixed both together. And it does not go well.

[00:42:54] Even if you look at the sideboards, the BWT in pink, for me, this is arguably, or not arguably, this is very easily the worst livery of the season for me. I do not like it at all. And I think overall, even in terms of the event yesterday, I think that was the most underwhelming segment for me. Like Kunal said, there was not many interesting answers from them and a lot of talking around the hairstyles in specific.

[00:43:20] But even in Jack Doohan's, I don't know, body language, I just felt that he was, he just didn't feel at ease about all these questions around Franco Colopinto. And he probably already understands what his fate is going to be in a couple of races time. They're signing a lot of sponsors from Argentina. And he probably knows, if there's a chance of me staying in this team, I really need to outrace and outscore Pierre, which is going to be very, very difficult for a rookie. So I think his fate's already sealed. And yeah.

[00:43:51] He should have started by out answering Pierre Gasly and Oliver Oaks yesterday. And you know, I'll tell you another thing. Flavio Briatore is actually at some of the most iconic car launches when he was head of Benetton back in the 90s and 2000s. Okay. He's done car launches in the center of cities and so on. So for him to have not been involved in this car launch and making it more grander. I actually want to even Google what car did Oliver Oaks,

[00:44:21] you know, Pierre Gasly and Jack Doohan come in. It was one of those miniature cars that they just drove in. Nothing grand from the stables of Alpine, given that Alpine is the racing brand in the Renault stables. So a lot of mismatches for me in this, but you know, that's just how it goes with Alpine. It's crazy because Yuki Tsunoda and Isaac Hachar came in a Honda S2000. I think Verstappen and Lawson came in a Honda NSX.

[00:44:49] Lewis Hamilton walked in in a Ferrari Pura Sangue. And the Alpine drivers, actually the McLaren drivers, I think had a 720 or something. I'm not too sure. But Alpine, what was that? Did you not read the memo? It's not, I mean, I think they forgot that F175 was not a grocery trip event. It's not like a normal, same as Liam Lawson. He didn't care too much about the car he was coming in. Whereas Mercedes, not the car, but the outfit he's coming in.

[00:45:17] But on the other hand, you see people like Mercedes hiring a chief fashion consultant or something like that. So why aren't Alpine thinking about the car that their drivers should be arriving in? It sets a statement or the vision or the way a team looks at itself. I don't know. I find that funny. It's very Alpine. It's very Alpine. Very Alpine indeed. Mercedes. Oh boy, do I have a lot to talk about them.

[00:45:48] Go for it. Who's going first? Are you yours? Okay, for me, for me, two points. First of all, a lot of teams took the opportunity to kind of rewind the clock and go back to history. Specific teams at least. Ferrari, Williams, McLaren and the likes. Mercedes also did that. And for me, there was a very striking omission. And for me, that was Lewis Hamilton. He was not there in that video montage. And for me, that did not feel right.

[00:46:17] Yes, they are competitors. But if there is any one person that's kind of made them the figure behind dominance in Formula One, I think they've had a more dominant run than even Red Bull, in my opinion. And the one person that's been front and center for that was Lewis Hamilton. He was there just for a fraction of a second, I believe. And not even the sort of, you know, footage that Schumacher or Rosberg or Bottas got. So that was something that was, that wasn't okay for me. And secondly,

[00:46:48] Mercedes, Mercedes actually missed the mark in that demo pit stop that they did. I mean, yeah, go on. In all of history, I'm not sure if a lot of people know this, Mercedes are not the quickest when it comes to pit stops. They, if you look at sub two second pit stops, they have never done a two second, sub two second pit stop in Formula One history. And at that opportunity where you have to do a demo pit stop, they kind of fumbled then and there and everyone kind of picked it up. So for me, I don't know, the Mercedes segment wasn't the greatest. The way it started at least

[00:47:17] and even delivery for me is a little underwhelming. I kind of liked their pure, pure silver and teal liveries that we've seen before. But ever since they've made the switch to black, there's a little bit of silver, a little bit of black. This one is a not for me. Not hot. You know, after seeing a black Mercedes, you know, the silver Mercedes never makes the cut for me. I understand why they don't want to continue with black fully.

[00:47:46] They made this sort of mid-livery transition last year. They need to move on from Lewis Hamilton and the entire diversity angle that he brought to the car. Even though as a team, they are still pursuing all the diversity objectives, right? So I just feel that this car, even though it's the original silver arrows, as we were to call it, right? It still doesn't look as gorgeous as some of the black livery Mercedes as we've seen before. But having said that,

[00:48:16] I still find the silver and teal colors very hot. And as a result, for me, this is one hot livery out there. And I'd love to see how they continue to pursue their diversity objectives on and off track, on the car, off the car, however, while still trying to create their own identity after Lewis Hamilton. I think it's a big challenge for a brand like Mercedes. I know one of the sponsor logos not being on the airbox has become a big, you know, point of discussion.

[00:48:46] But I would say a silver arrows is always striking for me. And that sponsor is Ineos, who have bought into Manchester United and are cutting jobs left, right and centre and are part of the decline of our club. So I'm glad not to see their logo on the Mercedes Formula One car. One less reason for me to worry about them. And generally also, but taking that logo away, taking the red away from it, it looks a little soulless.

[00:49:14] Even though I love the black and silver, I love the way the colors blend in and it's very Mercedes. It reminds me of the McLaren of old when Mika Hakkinen used to be the world champion. But this doesn't cut it. It has got the raw elements, but it just doesn't flow in well. And even the presentation, it all felt very... I love the sentiment of it because the one thing I do respect Mercedes a lot on is their commitment towards being the best team to support the dream, which is what they did over the last decade.

[00:49:44] But then the presentation of it, the way Toto just looked like Kimi's dad and he looked slightly scared about where to go and his feet were not too certain about should I go ahead or should I go back? Or what? Do I follow Toto? What do I do here? How do I manage such a big occasion? It felt a bit tentative and it felt like a team dynamic that's very different, very unlike what we have seen from Mercedes so far. So maybe it's an identity we'll have to adapt to. Maybe it's a successful one. But yeah, for me,

[00:50:12] it didn't make the cut for the day. And I think Mercedes' launch will be actually remembered for the omission or the glaring omission of Lewis Hamilton. And if I go back, even Haas didn't have much of Nico Hulkenberg. Okay. They had only Magnussen, Magnussen, and I understand why. But it's not a Hulkenberg-Haas relationship when you consider a Hamilton-Mercedes relationship, right? And I just get this feeling they could have graciously continued to pay tribute

[00:50:43] to Lewis Hamilton for what he's done. But I guess, you know, there's a good chance Toto Wolff would have just messaged Lewis anyway. I hope you understand, but I got to do this for myself. Maybe that's what's happened. That should then take us to Red Bull Racing. Guys, I remember last year when we were internally having a chat, all of us said, yeah, Red Bull, generally hot, but I don't like the change. So, meh.

[00:51:12] I think we've covered everyone's points. There's nothing to talk about. Let's move on to the next team because since Red Bull didn't want us to talk about it, we're not also going to talk about it as well. Simple, right? That's what Max wants. None of us to have any comments on deliveries or nothing special for the event. So, simple. We're not going to talk about it. Let's move on. What's next? So, like how Haas have done the revert colors, Red Bull has just done Control-C, Control-V, and they've been doing this for the last several, several years.

[00:51:41] And I kind of like it because on face level or on the base is very, very nice. I think the colors fit very well together. So, I think this is hot. It's still a lot hotter than a lot of other liveries that we saw. But, yeah, barely any. I think there was no interview of the drivers on stage, if I remember correctly. It was pre-planned, yes. They didn't want interviews with the drivers. Yeah, and I think people booing Max, people booing Christian,

[00:52:11] we'll not get into that. But I also kind of understand that where the event was being held is also a reason for that. And probably when they go to different other cities and other countries, the reception will be different. But for me, delivery is definitely hot. And I know they do all the experimentation of the sister team. All the liveries and the names and the identities have been changing at Racing Bulls. But I like how Red Bull keeps it consistent. Yeah, I concur. You know, I love the consistency in their livery. Even though,

[00:52:41] you know, it was hot five years ago. It was hot 10 years ago. Is it hot this year? Maybe not so much for me. I'd go 50-50. But that's what you get, you know, with Red Bull. I would agree it's hot. So, I agree that there is a green mark out there. I wish that they experiment even with the team like they've done with the camo bull liveries in testing and so on. And, you know, interestingly, just this morning, I was delivering a lecture on international marketing at the Norwegian Business School in Oslo.

[00:53:10] And one of the students there asked me the same question. Why does Red Bull not change their livery? And I think they've just realized that this livery looks so much like the hero of the Red Bull racing team. And mind you, the hero is not Max Verstappen, not Christian Horner. The hero is the Red Bull race, the Red Bull energy drinks can. Okay. So, they want all the colors of their brand, which is Red Bull energy drinks, to be showcased in the manner in which it does. And they're just, you know,

[00:53:39] building continuity with that. And why not? Because, you know, Ferrari can be red every year, every season that they've raced in. Pretty much all the races that they've raced in, apart from some of the blue and white liveries they used while racing in America. Why not with Red Bull? So, I love this. I agree. Because you don't need to, you don't need to fix what's not broken. And this car clearly is not broken from a looks point of view. It's a beautiful looking livery. And it's nailed

[00:54:09] very, very well. And the campaign was also interesting because I think the intention of it was quite nice. to celebrate car culture and just bring along so many different elements of it. Be it rally cars, be it race cars, be it supercross or motocross bikes, be it drift machines as well. It's something very similar to what's also going to happen in Chennai sometime down in a few months which we're also going to be a part of, the Red Bull Motor Jam. It should be amazing. And it's great to see that identity reflected there as well. But yeah, generally livery, it's hot.

[00:54:38] I actually loved the convoy and how it sort of got people together. They were using drift cars and the whole Red Bull culture as you'd see it. To me, what didn't make sense was suddenly in the end they realized we don't have anything to do. Let's just make people randomly dance like it's a Ganpati Viparjan or like a pandal. And then they were dancing and how, you know, the Ganpati and this is the elephant god in India for all our listeners outside of India, you know, which is celebrated once a year

[00:55:08] and there is a sort of a procession that goes and that just looked like the procession. You know, you could have very well put the Ganpati in the cockpit of the Red Bull car and it would have been one of those processions that people are dancing, creating music, randomly dancing and then just, you know, go on with it. But yeah, so hot for the livery, not hot for the way in which they unveiled the car. Wow, but that's Red Bull racing and after that we got down

[00:55:38] to, I'd say, the most underwhelming part of the entire event overall, like the last two teams because I expected so much more from Ferrari and McLaren. Given the fact that they're now back at the forefront of Formula 1, that they are fighting for championships, that there's lots of success and glamour following them with McLaren's title win and Lewis's move to Ferrari, I think the liveries just didn't match it. I really don't think so and the reason why

[00:56:07] I say that particularly for Ferrari and we've got to give it a red because it is Ferrari, of course, mind you, that's the only way to go, is because it felt like a gigantic hoarding. It was so full, like even a hoarding has space to breathe. You can see the colours, you can appreciate the design a little bit, you can appreciate the elements of it and the only time I got to do so was in that continuous carousel post that Ferrari put on Instagram highlighting the details of the car and that's the only time

[00:56:37] you could see the red but otherwise it felt like a giant pamphlet, so many logos everywhere and now, mind you, I'm someone who loves logos in Formula 1 because in that you should see when we get to the top three liveries that we're going to rank after this segment as well. I've picked lots of teams who've got lots of logos on their car but this has no space. I don't think the HP logo is that bad honestly, as it's made out to be on the internet but my God, Ferrari, let me see the red. It's a red for me. It's a red

[00:57:06] and for me, it's a little darker shade of red. Again, the testimony that they are paying to Lewis Hamilton racing for them with the whole diversity angle he brings in. To me, I've never seen a bad looking Ferrari. To me, this is absolutely hot. Okay. And the very fact that it's a Ferrari, I like that there was a red dot that came which is now going to turn into a green dot on the screen. I'm yet to come across a not hot looking Ferrari

[00:57:36] so this is a green dot from me. You know, I like the hue that they've used over there but the white and the HP logo really sticks out like a sore thumb for me and that's the only bit I really don't like but largely I do like the livery so it's hot for me but not very hot so you can still put a green strike over there but I'm really really missing the yellow. For some reason I don't see enough yellow or any yellow at all apart from the Shell

[00:58:05] logos and I really miss the Ferrari yellow on this livery but all of that really doesn't matter. I think the focal point this year is going to be Lewis Hamilton and what he's able to do with that car and I kind of leak out my bold prediction for this year I think Charles Leclerc is going to be world champion. That's my bold prediction for 2025. Wow. We missed you at the event where we all picked Lewis Hamilton

[00:58:34] as the world champion but No, no, I say that because everyone's talking about Max Verstappen Lando Norris and Hamilton in a Ferrari everyone's kind of forgetting that the person who was absolutely the best driver in the second half of last year in form and even in terms of points it was Charles Leclerc not even Lando Norris so he's slightly behind them I don't know if it's fair to call Charles Leclerc an underdog but if Charles Leclerc is able to do what Lewis Hamilton

[00:59:03] did to Fernando in 2007 not really be bogged down by the fact that there's a two-time world champion against you if he's able to do a Lewis I think Charles will be fine and I think if the car is quick enough he's going to be world champion this year. Incredible. We should move to the world champion team McLaren because I get a feeling if this car is quick again in 2025 which seems increasingly likely we're going to have Oscar Piastri

[00:59:32] as the world champion in 2025. That's my bold prediction like I think I've made even at our event a couple of weeks ago but this livery again to me is extremely hot I love the papaya colors and I think love the chrome integration that comes in as well the blacks the black sometimes gets a little too much I would say but I think they need to keep the black to make all the sponsor logos fit in and look visible

[01:00:01] so this is an absolutely hot livery from me especially with the chrome you know the chrome tire covers that we've got on the McLaren yeah hot for me too you don't fix what's not broken this car is beautiful and we were dying for orange for so long as McLaren fans now that it's here we should embrace every single livery that comes with it and every single time it's a different rendition it's I think somewhat similar to the

[01:00:30] Indy car McLaren livery that was also slightly diagonal in its nature I think the first couple of years the McLaren had orange on the nose and then a few black patches swooping around the halo and the cockpit as well but this is a good good variation of it I like that and even the Mastercard integration on the front wing is very creatively done so it's a good car overall good looking car no I like it as well I mean even in terms of consistency like you said if it's not broken don't fix it so I kind of liked

[01:01:00] the delivery last year as well and for me this is definitely hot and I like that they've kept the same livery as well so for me I don't think they really had to reinvent or try something different so I think it's perfect in that regard I also like the fact that since they're world champions they also had the opportunity to keep a lot of their previous era's cars as well that was very very nice in my opinion and I'm glad that they were able to bring out all of those cars there as well so I kind of liked McLaren's segment as well

[01:01:30] and just to add you know we've spoken of F175 this big car launch event the one team that's actually done one of the largest car launch events in history some of my favorites has been McLaren under Ron Dennis you know I remember there was or I remember two clear ones there was ones where they did the car launch and the Spice Girls came to perform and this included of course Christian Honor's wife Jerry Hallibur out there but my favorite

[01:02:00] was I think the one they did in Berlin in the center and in the center of Berlin they actually put the chassis and they brought they got about 200,000 fans on the streets and they got car parts from various lanes wheeled in on trolleys and they assembled the car in front of a live audience with all their mechanics so it's been done before you know on such a grand scale but can you imagine you would have had

[01:02:30] to be a Formula One nerd to appreciate and understand what was happening at that time when McLaren did that launch for yesterday's launch you could have just been somebody sitting on the fence and saying I'm actually going there to watch it and see what Formula One does to me so that's how different ways of launching cars and liveries actually appeals to different fan segments and it's wonderful because the way it's all happened I think Formula One has made it a grand success and it gets me so excited like

[01:03:00] and if you're getting a fan of my age to be interested and a lot of people are after yesterday they are sharing so many reels of Jack Whitehall's humour and of deliveries and the reactions and the drivers and the press conference it's creating buzz and buzz is what we like in the world of Formula One but okay we must now very quickly run you through our top three liveries of all time and remember at the start I said and if you've been watching since that long congratulations but at the start I said let's see if the

[01:03:30] Vcarp can break into any of our top three liveries of all time now is the moment to genuinely find that out so who's going first on this one why don't we decide which one of us is going to be you because your liveries will evoke a lot of nostalgia but it's actually funny

[01:04:01] because my livery hall of fame features largely cars of a very particular era and this one comes up in number three it's Ferrari from 2008 the season where we had Felipe Masa become the world champion for a couple of seconds but look at the way the red flows into this car I think this is

[01:04:42] but it's off the same year mind you it's the Toto Rosso from 2008 because that was the first time I ever saw a victorious Formula One car that was my first race Italy 2008 Sebastian Vettel won in this thing and look does it look like any Formula One car ever with delivery and the logo placements there's no corporate branding of multiple different sponsors to please it's one gigantic

[01:05:12] the winglets and the nose everything so sharp and angular which also works so well on my favourite livery of all time slightly biased it's all of the 2008 McLaren Formula One car the silver that I mentioned earlier screaming Mercedes and that's what it was all about but then also screaming of McLaren's most successful era after Senna and Prost they won so much around that time 2007 2008 last time they were fighting for championships properly 2010 doesn't really count

[01:05:42] but it's phenomenal and the angles the wings the red and the Lewis Hamilton yellow helmet which by the way was something he owned at that time was quite special and then he had to drop it because Rosberg and him had similar colours so it's such a blast from the past this has to be right up there for me when you talk about the livery hall of fame in my mind that's not a livery that you really have to describe if I say

[01:06:12] certain keywords it just you're able to visualise it straight away so if I have unfortunately come from tobacco companies because for some reason they just blend in so beautifully so

[01:06:42] I would say Ayrton Senna McLaren and I know what you're looking at you're looking at the white and the red of the McLaren 1980s I wouldn't say any specific livery maybe 1988 his first championship but that Marlboro white and red was so defining through that time and even today they're actually one of the reasons why the curbs look red and white but this is one of the all time liveries for me secondly if I

[01:07:12] say crown effect lotus Colin Chapman you're not thinking the iconic British green you're not thinking the yellow that goes with it you're thinking of the black and grедин and

[01:07:39] look at the car looks as well it's so beautifully sculpted if that's the word I want to use it's so beautifully sculpted and the colors just go so well with no unnecessary fade. The balance of the colors is so beautiful and it just registers in your head.

[01:08:08] So I think these are my three most iconic liveries of all time. You know, I could just play out Sundaram's segment and still be like, that's actually my segment as well. I have picked two out of the same three liveries that he's picked up. So the black and golden, absolutely iconic from the ages. In fact, so iconic that I'm surprised

[01:08:36] no team has actually started to reuse this. But maybe one of the reasons why they are not reusing it is because this is so much down to the Lotus team. And that's probably, you'll never be, you know, it's like if you paint a car red and go racing, it'll still be thought of as a Ferrari. It can never be thought of something else. So this black and golden, absolutely strikingly hot livery for me. The next one I would pick... Someone actually tried it.

[01:09:04] Someone actually tried recreating it. Oh, yes. Lotus themselves did it, right? They tried it. The people that tried it, they went stories up in the air and crashed down stories once their entire fortune was bust. Does that strike a bell? William Story, Rich Energy? Yeah, yeah, yeah, exactly. But even Lotus had it, right? Yeah, yeah. Yeah, yeah. You're right.

[01:09:32] They've tried it, but it did nothing as iconic. Yes. But the next one, thank you. The next one would be the same one, the seven-up one. Again, such a striking color and the way it blends in. So striking that when we've been discussing a refresh for the brand and, you know, I've been sharing some color palettes, I said, that's it. This is the car. The colors on this car is the colors that I would love to have for the Inside Line F1 podcast.

[01:10:01] So if you guys see these colors in the future, you know what the inspiration behind these colors have been. And then the next one, actually, is also another tobacco-inspired delivery, the Buzzing Hornet delivery. You know, the yellow is such a beautiful car. I would have never imagined a yellow racing car, but even a Ferrari, if not in red, looks gorgeous in a yellow. And Eddie Jordan pulling off two such striking liveries, including the Jordan 191,

[01:10:30] that was also an Eddie Jordan livery. This is also an Eddie Jordan livery. I love the way that, you know, the Hornets, Benson and Hedges would turn to Buzzing Hornets and they had this sort of, you know, Buzzing Hornets on the nose of the car. But I am being biased because the next one is a livery that actually I ended up designing at Force India. Okay. So all the Force India fans would remember we had the wavy color designs from 2009.

[01:10:58] And then I was tasked with, you know, having a designer, having a design which was similar, which was a saffron white and green of the Force India, of the Indian flag, but also having something which is new, which is more futuristic, and we designed this particular livery. And it was actually rated by the best livery for the season by the fans run by a media outlet at that time. So completely biased,

[01:11:27] but this stands out as a very striking livery for me. Didn't you have Shah Rukh Khan's face on the top of it? Yes. One of the races, the Indian Grand Prix, we had Shah Rukh Khan's face on the nose of the car. But yes, we've done these things before. The only human on the planet to actually have a face, a photo plastered on the nose of a Formula One car. Kunal, I can't really see the side ports,

[01:11:56] but does this one have side ports at all? Oh, there's a reason why I said that I'm asking that, because I was in a conversation with one of the co-owners. It'll be easy to guess who, and you know, the side ports of the car, when the brand logo is put, it's always in an angle because the side port is aerodynamic. And then the co-owner, in this case, Sahara, I'm going to name them, actually took a pencil on a 3D drawing.

[01:12:26] I was waiting to get it approved for the board and drew a rectangular side port, completely flat, a side port, completely flat, and said, that's the side port I want. Go and tell Andrew Green this, who was designing our cars. And he said, you know, my logo has to be straight. It cannot be on that curvature. And then I remember walking out of that meeting, knowing exactly how to fix it without actually fixing the side ports. What an icon this one was.

[01:12:54] And representing the Indian flag so, so proudly in the world of Formula 1. We miss that. Honestly, we do. But what a day it's been discussing liveries and F-175. And yeah, an incredible show all along. And it's given us so much to talk about at this stage of the season when otherwise we're just looking at side pods and suspensions and rear wings and going, hmm, has much changed? But we're going to do that in more depth as well once we get to pre-season testing. So watch out and subscribe to the Inside Line F1 podcast for that because a lot more

[01:13:25] fun content is going to be paired up with a lot more insightful content of what's going to happen on track during testing as well. So, it's going to be fun and we'd love to know what your questions are around these cars. What would you like to know more about the teams? Any design changes in particular that catch your eye out that we should expand on further? And also, generally, what are your sentiments on Formula 1 in the season ahead? Let's discuss all of that and more down in the comments and also on our social media pages. But, thanks for watching, guys.

[01:13:54] It's been phenomenal and if you're listening to us on the podcast, thank you for listening. We'll catch you in a bit with a few more special episodes before the season begins. Bye-bye.