Ferrari out-qualified by Williams, Racing Bulls & Mercedes - Qualifying Reactions from 2025 Australian GP

[00:00:00] In qualifying session, my word, Formula 1 is well and truly back. In qualifying one we saw P1 to P14 separated by just 5 tenths of a second and that to me Kunal is just brilliant. Like do you remember the dark days when the difference between P1 and P2 often used to be 3 tenths and then there was another 4 or 5 tenths between P3 and P4 and then everything was just a mess and we used to wonder man is it going to be this boring during the race?

[00:00:27] And here we are today with this close of a grid and when the sandbags actually were dropped McLaren ended up being the fastest ones. Those sandbags must have been heavy, why don't we just decode it all in our reactions after qualifying in the next live stream because we know this system is also working so yet another upgrade for 2025 that's fired for the Inside Line F1 team as well.

[00:00:53] We didn't have this for Bahrain but we have this for Australia so quite like Sauber and what they've done because even their upgrade has led to a big upgrade in results. Let's put it that way. Gabriel Portoletto! One second, I think a bigger story than Lando Norris taking pole and Oscar second and Max third and Ferrari 7 and 8.

[00:01:11] It's that a B tier rookie Kunal has taken Sauber to Q3, has beaten a teammate who's been in Formula 1 for over 10 years and has made a crazy save in a Q2 lap all while being a B rate rookie. What does a B rate rookie even mean anymore? I want to be a B rate rookie if that means being that good in a Formula 1 car for the first time.

[00:01:31] Well, you're clearly an A grade podcaster and broadcaster now given that you're going to be the voice of the Hindi broadcast tomorrow on Fancore. But I'm actually waiting to hear if this is now the live stream, live stream or is this the test live stream before the live stream? Oh, it is live stream. We are live, we are live. No, no, we are indeed live folks.

[00:01:51] And if you are just joining us, welcome to our qualifying review on the Inside Line F1 podcast. We're missing F1 Stats Guru, he's out for a bit, but we'll get him tomorrow for the post ratio as well. We are properly live. And yes, we're still sort of making our last minute tweaks and adjustments quite like Haas. But we're not like Haas. We're faster than Haas.

[00:02:12] And we can actually have two hosts present and actually going into the second part of this live stream, not just languishing at the very bottom like them. I think I'd catch that. But either way, the good thing about qualifying was that it proves that 2025 is for real. You know, the whole jitters that is it going to be 2024 continuation or is one team going to run away with it, etc.

[00:02:40] Seems like McLaren have run away with it in qualifying. But we need a few races to know if it was track dependent, temperature dependent, a mix of all of that. Because yes, when they did take the sandbags off, that three tenth of a gap was incredible to watch. Yeah, I mean, Landon Horace pulled it out. And you know, the fascinating thing about that is that McLaren were the only one of the top teams not to have a banker lap. Like both of them had a really terrible one.

[00:03:09] And I at the moment was just thinking, well, that's going to put them under pressure. Like Lando Norris, a driver who we know has been called out for not being the toughest in these pressure moments, actually came up with a stunner of a lap and the way he delivered that. And by the way, that means that Lando Norris now is the new qualifying track. Wait, let me articulate this correctly. He's now the fastest man in Melbourne because he's just gone out there and smashed the track lap record. Not the race lap record, that's a different thing.

[00:03:38] But the track lap record now belongs to Lando Norris, a 1 minute 15 flat. Last year, Max Verstappen did that and it was a 1 minute 15.9. So the Formula One cars have actually gotten nine tenths faster. And yes, I know a lot of it is down to weather conditions and tires and also the track temperature and how much rubber has been put down. So many variables, but still, nine tenths faster than last year. And Lando delivered on the one lap that he had in Q3. I think he's ready, Kunal. I think this is a different version of Lando that we're seeing here.

[00:04:08] And if this is the version of Lando we see tomorrow, that's going to be the main thing. But he clinched pole position when it mattered three tenths ahead, narrowly just ahead of Oscar Piastri. I think for McLaren, 1-2 with the drivers that they had, with the gaps that they had to the field and the gaps between the drivers, pretty fantastic. But my mind is actually going back to the early minutes of Q3. What happens when a season is just this so close? And we saw what happens.

[00:04:35] Both the McLaren drivers really needing to push, making mistakes, having track limits, having all those issues. And they just couldn't nail the lap time. They couldn't put a banker lap as we call it. We saw George Russell quickest. Before that, we saw Charles Leclerc quickest. Then we saw Max Verstappen go quickest. So clearly, at least three or four teams that we were hoping in the fight were in the fight. Yeah, they were in the fight. They were properly in the fight. And that was amazing.

[00:05:05] Verstappen also getting so close on multiple occasions. Unfortunately, the last lap just didn't quite do it for him. And I think that's a very good segue to get into Ferrari, isn't it Kunal? Not yet. No, not yet. We have to remember Oscar Piastri's home race, the cheers that he got every time he started or ended a lap. I mean, yes, Fung Willowen has put microphones in the stands for a long time. We remember that guy screaming, when the Austin race used to happen.

[00:05:35] But he was getting those cheers. And Oscar Piastri now has, I think, seven front row starts without actually having a pole position. Okay. And I love the fact that Piastri was just so calm, even in the post-race press conference. You know, both the drivers are being asked, is it time for papaya rules and so on? And they said, we just have to keep it clean. We both want to win individually, but we need to win for the team as well.

[00:06:01] But they did confirm one of the most critical things that we hope is true for the entire season is that they will be allowed to race Somal. Because to me, that is very crucial. If McLaren keep having this sort of a gap, we don't want them to run away with it. Just, you know, minding manners on track. We want the elbows out right from the start, from the opening lap itself. We do. We do. And that has finally been confirmed by McLaren, which is a great thing.

[00:06:29] And I think tomorrow will be such an important day. Just not just for the season, but also for the direction of McLaren and how they go. Because tomorrow, Oscar and Lando have a chance to draw first blood. As of right now, there's no number one. Last year, Lando was ahead in terms of the point standings. Of course, there was a contribution from Oscar towards that. But there is no definitive number one driver yet.

[00:06:54] And a win tomorrow will really go a long way in cementing your status as the number one in your team. Because ultimately McLaren would like to would like to have us believe that both of them are equal. There's no difference between them. They're on the same contract. They're on the same terms, whatever it might be. But there is always a number one, right? And that opportunity to get first blood is so important. Because we've seen this, right? When we come to race five, race six, race seven, by that time, the team will favor the driver who's ahead in the championship.

[00:07:24] Although McLaren would like us to believe that they are equal, they will have to pick either one of the two. And if Oscar Piastro or Lando Norris is 20, 30 points or even hell, I'd say 15 points ahead of the other one, we know which direction they have to go towards. So it's a big, big day. It's a big, big day. From day one, there cannot be any bit of slacking for either of these drivers. So I think tomorrow is going to be kick-ass. I just wonder how aggressively they'll fight each other, Kunal. Very aggressive. Just for exactly what you said, they want supremacy.

[00:07:54] They will want to show to the team that they both have the same pace in qualifying. Norris continues to edge PS3 by half a tenth, one tenth here and there. And mind you, that's a beautiful gap to have because it's just about how much risk you take in your final laps in Q3. That's what it's all about. And both the drivers in McLaren clearly took a lot more risk as we remember in the first runs of Q3.

[00:08:20] But tomorrow is also mostly going to be a wet day in Melbourne. For the first time since 2010, there could be a wet race. It's a semi-permanent street circuit. Let's remember for the first time since 2012, a McLaren is on pole for the first time also since 2012. I'll be hoping that a McLaren is on the top step of the podium. I'm happy to not choose which McLaren it will be.

[00:08:44] But one of the things that, you know, both the McLaren drivers said, which I think echoes or echoes a lot of fan sentiment post-qualifying, was that they expected the Ferraris to be quicker. They expected Ferraris to be a bigger challenge. That's what Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris said. And I guess pretty much every fan that was hoping to see Ferrari there would have felt the same way. I was noting some post-qualifying reactions.

[00:09:12] Charles Leclerc said that they were hoping for more after they saw the pace on Friday, which was yesterday. And he just said that there was no pace in the car, which is why his second run in Q3, he was pushing too much. The lap got messy and he had to abort. So, of course, Leclerc is not pleased with where he landed up. But Lewis Hamilton on the other side was extremely pleased because if you remember in the preview episode,

[00:09:37] we said he needs to be just there in or thereabouts from Charles Leclerc's position, guess where Lewis Hamilton is? Lewis Hamilton is two tenths of Leclerc, which is damn good for his first qualifying session in the Ferrari. And he actually said that, you know, he said it was cool. I was, you know, I had a little spin. I was enjoying the curbs, throwing the car there. I did not expect us to be as far off.

[00:10:03] But I was that close to Charles in my first qualifying session. And he actually emphasized that he's still learning this car. It doesn't feel natural to him. So I think to be two tenths off, Samuel, what are your takes? Yeah, I think it's good. I think we said in the preview that he needs to be somewhere between three to four tenths for this to be counted as a success. Anything lower than that and suddenly the alarm bells are ringing. So two tenths is good. And especially when you consider the differences in their driving style.

[00:10:33] Again, F1 TV did a lovely piece this morning analyzing the fastest laps of Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton in FP3. And they noticed something very interesting. Hamilton, being the late breaker that he is, is braking slightly later than Leclerc. And as a result, the car is sort of dipping lower on the nose because, of course, the car rolls over the chassis. Less than the road car. Of course, it's a Formula One car, but still it marginally does. And the steering correct corrections that Lewis Hamilton has to make as a result of that are very smooth,

[00:11:02] but still rough enough for him to lose roughly a tenth or half a tenth or something around those lines at every single corner. So, unlike last year when the telemetry was showing that George Russell was beating Lewis at certain corners, and that's how he was able to get an edge up on Lewis. Here it seems to be a more smooth trend with Lewis just marginally slower everywhere, which means he just needs to get comfortable. And that's a good thing, right Kunal?

[00:11:27] Because once he gets used to that style and once he's able to sort of get the most out of that Ferrari, we know for a fact that he's Lewis Hamilton and he has, let's say, he's the only driver who can get a 1-0-1 card if a Formula One card game ever was invented. So, I wouldn't shy away from putting him right up there in terms of getting a race win by race 4 or race 5. But this qualifying gap is insane. Like, just put it into context.

[00:11:55] Ferrari are nine tenths of a second away from McLaren in qualifying. And sure, they might be amazing in terms of race space. Hell, they might be faster. But how many cars are between Ferrari and the McLarens? It's unbelievable. And they've also got slower machines, I mean, theoretically slower machines, like Alex Albon in the Williams or a phenomenal performance from UK Tsunoda in the Visa Cash App Racing Bulls car. And they're not pushovers. You have to pass them to get towards the podium.

[00:12:25] So, it's a tough, tough place to be for Ferrari. I think it's a tough place from a race point of view, from a strategy point of view, from overtaking as well. But if there's any silver lining in the dark cloud that came up, even just at the start of Q3, but figuratively for Ferrari, I think it was Lewis Hamilton's performance. You know, he didn't get knocked out in any of the earlier qualifying sessions, which is possible.

[00:12:55] I think Ferrari, they would be chuffed by Hamilton's performance. That gap could be down to just the car not having pace, which is possible. Another pre-season testing myth, you know, that will Ferrari, the mystique, the, oh, is Ferrari finally there? For them to be a second off, I really hope it's just track characteristics or, you know, that's also not true.

[00:13:24] Because this track is traditionally suited Ferrari as well. So, unless it was just the temperature, because they did struggle from a lot of tire overheating, especially what was evident through the qualifying session as well. But yes, L. Vlad is saying those McLarens looking scary again this year. Yes, let's see how they go. So, I must say, Max Verstappen pulling that lap again is that joker that Helmut Marko was talking of.

[00:13:50] Max Verstappen, he's off the front row in Melbourne for the first time since 2019. He's only P3, but him being there will still keep McLaren on their toes. I think that's pretty fantastic. But we have to, quick word to Liam Lawson, you know, he was, I think he had one Q1 knockout last year in six races with racing bulls. Okay. But he's in the Perez car.

[00:14:19] Perez had six Q1 knockouts last year. And Liam has already had his first strike. And I think more than anything, he would just be bummed that he didn't have a clean run in Q1. Because that's what he went through was not representative of his time or the time that he could put in that car. But just having a clean run would have been so good. But Liam out, Kimi Antonelli out as well. Mercedes was quick to say there was bib damage on Antonelli's car.

[00:14:48] That's what cost him performance. That's what cost him pace. It was so quick in putting that statement out. Exactly. It was so quick. Like, I think immediately after that lap ended, I saw that Mercedes were just sort of trying to defend Kimi Antonelli. And it felt like a, how do I put it? It felt like they were trying to protect him a bit too much. Like, wait for it. Wait for the media sessions. Wait for him to come out and say that I had bib damage.

[00:15:17] Wait for the session to get over, for the dust to settle down. People look at the timing and go like, ah, Kimi's out there. Oh, interesting. What just happened there? It's like they're trying to wrap a blanket over him very, very aggressively. I don't know. It, it almost feels like propaganda Kunal. Like, it's... Although Kimi, Kimi Antonelli was honest in his post-race session.

[00:15:42] He said the medium to soft switch is what sort of caught him out, so to say, because the Mercedes cars did run medium as well in Q1. He's done different tire strategies from most of the top four teams. But it could have been that as well, that he's just needing more time to prepare. It just goes to show you can have 15,000 plus kilometers of testing in TPCs and private testing and whatever.

[00:16:06] But when it comes to race time, when it comes to qualifying time, you need to know how to deal with the other 19 drivers on track as well. But El Vlad, one more question. What do we think of the Williams dynamic for the rest of the season? Alexander Albin, an applause for him. Yeah. He, he did two things. First is he nailed it when it mattered. Okay. And I think that is always the most important thing.

[00:16:31] Then the second, which is that he out-qualified Carlos Sainz. Yeah. Okay. Which is fantastic. Albin, I'm just reading the gaps here, was six hundredths of Yuki Tsunoda, another mega qualifying performance. But sticking to Albin, I think him putting Williams there. Williams has definitely made that step that we were all wondering, will they be where Alpine is? Will they be where, you know, where Aston Martin is?

[00:16:58] I think pretty much the fourth fastest car on the grid, right? Williams. And Carlos Sainz again was very honest. I haven't done qualifying sessions in this car. I didn't know how to extract more pace. I'm still learning on the soft tire in this car. And he said, I'm hoping. I just need more qualifying sessions. Lost tire on the soft tire to find time. That's what Carlos Sainz said. Samuel, what are your thoughts with Carlos Sainz's performance? He put it in Q3.

[00:17:25] Williams were, I think, one out of three teams that put both cars in Q3. I think that's fantastic. Oh yeah. Only one out of three. Yeah. Not bad. That's a fun way to look at it. Because McLaren was the other. Ferrari was the other. Yeah. Correct. Red Bull didn't. Alfa Tauri. Toro Rosso. Call it what you want. Yeah. We carved it. And yeah, neither did the others. But yeah. Yeah.

[00:17:53] And still on Williams, I think this is their best start since 2016. And for the first time in 20 years that both Williams cars were in Q3 in Melbourne. Yeah. And first time since Baku 2024 also that they got both their cars into Q3. And this just goes to show the importance of having good drivers because that Williams

[00:18:19] car as a car might be equal to the Alpine or might be equal to, let's say, the other cars in that group like the Visa Cash App Racing Worlds. But importantly, they have two incredible drivers who are able to get the most out of it. And looking at the grid, looking at how close Formula One is this year, I think that is the most important thing. Because if in Q1 we're having P1 to P14 separated by five tenths, where are those five tenths coming from?

[00:18:46] I mean, a lot of it is down to the driver and what they're able to extract from it, which is something we've been dying for for years. Because I remember the dark ages, 2017, 2018, 2019, those terrible years. When the gap between the midfield teams itself was a couple of tenths in terms of the car. And then even more so between the drivers. And then you were just like, dude, is there going to be ever any change in this whole pack? Now it's this much better. And the scrutiny on each driver is going to be much, much higher.

[00:19:15] Sanjay, is that my dad sending a... No, that's not my dad. But yeah, he's got a question. That's a very common name from India. But even I first thought, is that your dad? But great question. Who do you think had a worse weekend? Behrman's mechanics, Antonelli's confidence or Liam Lawson's will to live? Wow. If there's any Formula One team I want to crash a car with multiple times through a race weekend, it would first be Haas because they know how to build a car after Mazepin Schumacher.

[00:19:44] They know how to rebuild it really quickly. And then the second would be Williams. But then I wouldn't know if I would have the spares each race weekend to have multiple rebuilds. But Behrman, very surprising. I actually thought he would be the strongest of all the rookies. But to crash in FP sessions and then have gearbox issues and qualifying, he's going to start last. Well, I think I mean, you deserve what you do.

[00:20:11] I mean, you deserve every bit of what you get from that, right? Because he made those errors. And again, I'm not a racing driver. I don't think you're as good as a racing driver as well, Kunal, in comparison to all the Formula One drivers, but we can still make an observation. We won't know till you put me in a car, Samuel. We won't know till you put me in a car and you give me 15,000 kilometers of private testing. Fair, fair. We should get an Indian team back on the grid to do that.

[00:20:37] No, I don't care about the nationality of the team or the engine or who's designed it. I'll just sit and drive it. But to that point, right, it seemed a little naive for him to push that hard that quickly. Like the FP3 crash, that came in, I think, five minutes into the first session. That's when most people are doing their installation laps. And so to bin it and to ruin all of your Saturday because of that, I think it's a little... What's the right word to say here?

[00:21:06] It's a little bit of the rookie effect. Let's put it that way. I think that will come with time. And as for Liam Lawson, I mean, let the guy breathe, isn't it, Kunal? Because he missed FP3 through no fault of his own. He's the only driver not to have raced in Melbourne. And I don't think Red Bull did a lot of quali sims in Bahrain also. So for Liam Lawson to get P18, given how close the grid was, let me just pull up the numbers. I don't think he was that bad.

[00:21:35] He had a one minute 17.094. Again, not a very good lap at the end, but that's just because things were just not ready with that machine. I don't think he had enough time. Yeah. And he said he made silly mistakes trying to extract performance. And he actually said, I need rain to move forward. Because, you know, the racing bulls, you know, Feanchu has nicely pointed out, Isaac Harchar, P11, pretty impressive. Absolutely.

[00:22:03] For him to be there, not have those radio antics. Not that I think there were some issues with broadcasts where radios were not broadcast as much. But Isaac Harchar. No, I would have loved to see it. Although, you know, it's no fun watching Formula One without all the radios from 20 drivers actually throwing themselves in. But Isaac Harchar, very good. George Russell as well. Nobody would have felt that the Mercedes would have been, you know, only six hundredths off Max Verstappen.

[00:22:33] Which I think, again, was pretty fantastic. Because Mercedes being there, Russell versus Verstappen, we know what happens when we see that. At least there's a fight in the media pen, if not on the racetrack. And Pierre Gasly, you know, he was seven thousandths off the Ferrari. So I get a feeling Ferrari was just out of place. Just as Antonelli and Kimi Antonelli and Liam Lawson were out of place. So technically there were four spots up for Q4.

[00:23:02] And I see Albon made it. Sunoda made it. Gasly made it. Sainz made it. Pretty much all the usual suspects. I would have hoped to see Hulkenberg make it. But clearly not in that Sauber. But Samuel, I think we're being disrespectful not hyping up Gabriel Bortoletto again and even more. Because we've spoken about every other rookie but Bortoletto.

[00:23:27] For him to pull that lap on Nico Hulkenberg was pretty encouraging. Nico actually said in his final lap, you know, he was still settling in. He didn't find the sweet spot. And he explained it so well that on my final lap, I had traffic in sector one. And that just put him off for the entire lap. But guess what? That's just how it goes.

[00:23:51] History will remember that Gabriel Bortoletto outqualified the single lap specialist Nico Hulkenberg, put it in Q2 in a Sauber. Yeah. And that's the performance of a B-rate rookie. And I'm going to say this again. If a B-rate rookie means that you out-qualify a teammate who's been in Formula One for over a decade,

[00:24:16] and get a Sauber, yes, a Sauber up into Q2, then I want to be a B-rate rookie too. It's perfect. I would love to be a B-rate rookie. Maybe B stands for the boss. I don't know. Maybe that's what Helmut Marko was referring to. We will see. But more comments coming in. Firstly, thank you, Max. It's very kind of you to say that in the comments that we should hit the like button. You should hit the like button, folks, if you enjoyed this. And please share it with more of your friends and family members or colleagues or whatever,

[00:24:43] or any sort of people who would love to talk about Formula One after an incredible qualifying session. And Max is also pointing out something very interesting that yeah, Doohan did very good too. You know, let's take a second to talk about Jack Doohan. And again, we're not going in any order. We can still jump back and forth on drivers. So your wish is our command. Whatever you want us to talk about is what we will talk about because we are live. But Jack Doohan Kunal, in the first qualifying session, let me just pull up my notes.

[00:25:11] I think he was just a couple of hundreds. I think one and a half hundredth away from Pierre Gasly in Q1. And then in second qualifying got him beaded by a yellow flag, which came out when Lewis Hamilton actually spun out. Otherwise, I'm not sure where he would have been, but there's a decent chance he would have been closer to Pierre Gasly. And Alpine are a team with four reserve drivers, yet they have full confidence in Jack Doohan. And I think that pressure of having four other people waiting in line for your seat

[00:25:39] has really pushed him to do well because if that's the first qualifying session that you have, after all the noise about you losing your seat, fair play Jack Doohan. You are one tough man, sir. Yeah. And I think Jack Doohan mainly got caught out by that spin. Otherwise, I would have loved to see how much closer and, you know, he would have been towards the top 10 or even if P11.

[00:26:06] Like we said, P11 is also very, very prestigious because when I read the gaps, Isak Hadjar, 6 hundredths of P10. Alonso, 2 tenths of Hadjar. Landstroll, 3 hundredths of Fernando Alonso. That's pretty good by

[00:26:41] to the top 10. We won't know. But I think all in all, pretty good debut for Jack Doohan as well. And then Sanjay says, rain will create more chaos at the front or will it just allow Max to do Verstappen things? We'd love to see that. You know, the rain master, Max Verstappen pulling it out in the front. But I fear for the guys at the back because, you know, Melbourne is again a narrow

[00:27:09] circuit. As we know, Nico Hulkenberg said, if it is rain, visibility is going to be one of those challenges that they will face. But I guess the ones racing at the back, which is what Nico Hulkenberg's done actually for a lot of seasons, I'm going to be used to it. Or at least with the rookies, we'll see where they go. But yeah, interesting, interesting questions and conversations. Yeah. And on that, you know, Melbourne is a street circuit. Like these roads are literally being used

[00:27:38] to drive normal cars every other day. Sure, they clean them up properly. And yes, the surface is very much built for Formula One, but it gets very dirty and very greasy, very fast. Like in Formula Two today, we had a couple of drivers at the S section after the lakeside drive, just actually bin it because they put their foot down on the dirty part of the track. That's how greasy it was over there. Two drivers losing it. Sure, they must be teenagers, they must be in their first ever F2 races,

[00:28:06] whatever. But still, it's a possibility. Let's not forget we have five and a half rookies racing tomorrow. And if it is indeed wet, and if we are racing at a street circuit, which will get dirty and greasy, I'm not too optimistic about us having a clean race completely. I do think that we will need to prepare for a red flag, which is why my commentary notes are going to get suddenly 10 times thicker, because we need to read more about the regulations, we need to read more about

[00:28:34] the past records, the age drivers, history in the wet, and who's good and who's not, the iconic races and everything like that. I think I'm lining up a very fun evening of research. And I'd love to share all of that with you. And in terms of that as well, Kunal, I think it's going to be fun for all of us, because every single time Formula One races in the wet, we see the grid order get mixed up completely. And it all then comes down to the driver who has the

[00:28:59] best possible day. And on that day in Brazil in 2024, Alpine, who was second last, ended up jumping from P9 to P6. So for all you know, Liam Lawson could well come back from P18 and get back towards a decent point scoring position. We just don't know how good he is in the wet. Oh, actually, isn't he very good in the wet? Sanford 2023, when Riccardo injured his hand, I think he delivered a very good race over there, the last I remember.

[00:29:24] That's true. And you know, Liam himself said, I need a bit of rain to move forward. Frankly, rain is always a great equalizer. And it's anyway, a fairly equal grid that we've got. So to have it equalized that much more with the rain, these cars and haven't, you know, even though they are the iterations of last year's cars haven't been driven on, you know, wet weather circuits or wet conditions. So that's going to be a learning for the teams as well.

[00:29:52] And as Lando Norris put it, you know, that the rules are converging, performance is converging, everyone's literally hitting performance limits, the ceiling of the performance limits as well. So rain putting things, putting a spanner in all of all of those plans will be pretty fantastic. And it's going to be a very early morning for me in Oslo, but all up for it, Samuel. How old are you? I don't even remember.

[00:30:18] Yeah, I think 6am, no, 5am start. And then there's Formula 2 before that. So I'm pretty much pulling off an all-nighter. But you need some Red Bull. You surely need some Red Bull. I can't remember the last time I had a Red Bull, but okay. It's weird. No, we need to support Red Bull a little bit more. They've been very kind with us, Red Bull India, that is, in terms of all the fun stuff that we're doing.

[00:30:43] And that does not mean that we are Red Bull racing fans. We just have a soft corner for the brand in our heart. Are you not a Red Bull racing fan for all the awesome work they do in Formula 1, in promotions with Max Verstappen, junior drivers, and all the... They have won across three different rule sets, which is more than what Ferrari has managed, more than what Mercedes has managed in the last 20 years.

[00:31:13] They won with Fettl in the exhaust-blown diffuser V10 era that we had. They won in 2021, which was the previous rule set just before this. They won in 2022, 3 and 4. I think they're doing fantastic stuff. And one last comment, which has come from Uttara. I hope Lando does not do his rain dance, Sochi 2021. My feeling is that he's learned his lesson and several more since that day.

[00:31:42] But that's actually a great point because McLaren's biggest challenge has been on the pit wall, as we remember. How will that pit wall react when it comes to strategy, not just with playing up two drivers against... Because there's two drivers in McLaren versus one in Red Bull, which is Verstappen, versus one in George Russell, which is Mercedes. Then there comes Yuki Tsunoda. So Max's wingman, whether Red Bull like it or not,

[00:32:11] could well be Yuki Tsunoda for tomorrow's race. And then, you know, it's far back. The Ferrari is the other team with two drivers in the top 10. The reason why I'm saying this is McLaren will be challenged either way. It's two drivers. You handle their emotions and their aspirations versus the other rivals. And then if there are mixed conditions, they will be challenged that much more. But I'd love to see how Oscar Piastri handles his ambitions, winning at home.

[00:32:42] It's been a long time since an Australian driver's done that. Long time since an Australian driver's even been on the podium at Melbourne. So lots to look forward to in the race tomorrow, starting also with your Hindi commentary on fan code, Samuel. Yes, indeed. That's going to happen at 10.30 in the morning India time. So get fan code. You'll be able to hear myself and Chetan Narula live in Hindi for the first time. Not for the first time, but for the first time for a full season. So it'll be phenomenal.

[00:33:11] And the prep is ongoing. I do want to take a couple of more questions though, because you guys have been so energetic and it's lovely to be chatting Formula One with you. Normally, we're just recording on our own. Kunal, F1 Stats Guru and myself. We're just chatting, discussing our thoughts, opinions. And it's amazing to have your thoughts and your comments in the middle of it as well. So we should do this more often. Max is saying that it's weird to watch Formula One in the daylight. I see you're from New Zealand, mate. You have it easy for one race.

[00:33:38] And then the torture begins for you later on. But I still respect for watching Formula One so consistently after that. El Vlad has come up with a comment. And will McLaren winning this race be the end of a potential title fight for the rest of the season? I think this is the note we need to end on, because we also need to get back to other stuff. And we will be back with more tomorrow. But I don't think it's going to be the end. Is it Kunal? 24 races is a long time.

[00:34:06] And Melbourne is just one type of a circuit. We're yet to go to Monaco, which is the exact opposite. We're yet to go to Mexico City, which is a different challenge in itself. We're yet to go to Interlagos, which is so different. And we're also yet to go to other places like the Red Bull Ring, which is a completely different ballgame. So I think we're just beginning. There are places where I feel other teams will be better. And yes, mid-season upgrades will come. But I think it's too early, no?

[00:34:35] Oh, yeah, yeah. 24 race season is way too early. If anything, all the McLaren fans would remember that. Because it was after they brought that upgrade in Miami last year, five or six races in, that they actually had a competitive season as well. So all in all, I would say it's too early to call anything in Spain. Not in Spain. Sorry, that's a comment from Max. All in all, too early to call anything in for 2025.

[00:35:03] If anything, we should just hope that we're going to have more live streams where nobody has a clue. You know, Oscar Piastri said, we guys don't have a clue what happened to Ferrari. So I don't imagine any of you guys have a clue as well. But I would just say that to write off any team or driver so early in the season, not the best thing to do. There are lots of changes that could happen, that will happen as the season goes.

[00:35:30] To average out, I would say, the first three or four, or in fact, even five races would give a better general sense of the pecking order because each circuit is different, different conditions. And then that tells you, okay, this is an all-round package versus this is a circuit-specific, front-limited, rear-limited, whatever those technical terms come. And like Max is saying, who's been very active on track and in the comments as well,

[00:35:59] flexi-wings also will come into effect from the Spanish country as well. So lots of reasons why 2025 should be all the way down to Abu Dhabi, the interest levels and the viewership as well. Exactly. Okay. One last question to each of us to end. What's the one thing you're looking forward to the most from tomorrow's race? How the McLarens are going to battle up front? Because if they are saying they are allowed to race,

[00:36:27] they have limitations in their package, much as everyone else does as well. But they also know that winning the first race of the season is actually the best way to announce yourself to the world and more importantly, your team. For me, that one thing is going to be Ferrari and to see just how good they are going to be in the long runs. That's if the race is dry. If the race is wet, I'm actually more keen to see the rookies

[00:36:57] and just how good they are. Because I've been hearing lots of good things about Kimi Antonelli and him having so much control over a race car. Again, in the wet, we'll find out. I've been hearing great things about a lot of rookies. We'll see if Isaac Hajar is actually that temperamental as the world makes him out to be. We'll see if Yuki Sonoda has actually gained that extra bit of control that you need to have to be the second driver at Red Bull. We'll find out if Liam Lawson is as mentally tough as Helmut Marko makes him to be.

[00:37:23] There's lots of interesting stories to watch for in the Australian GP. And just quickly, strategic point of view, mostly two-stopper if it's dry, unless something crazy happens. Or if it's the wet, forget about it. Just enjoy the race for what it is because it's going to be crazy. If it's wet, my money is on Max Verstappen. Same, same, same, same. You can't even bet against him. I would have said Lewis otherwise also, but then again, he's not that comfy with the car. It's his first time in Ferrari.

[00:37:53] Track position is a thing. It's going to be interesting. Let us know who you think is going to win down in the comments. Next time, we definitely will take out more time to react. But today, I think I need to go have lunch. You need to go have breakfast, Kunal. And then after that, we need to prepare for our individual broadcasts and see all the crazy things that are going to happen. But thank you for watching and thank you for joining us on this journey. Three hours after the race tomorrow, we will be back with an episode. We're just yet to decide if we go live or if we are recording something.

[00:38:22] But we do want to go and have a fun post-race debrief with all of you folks. So subscribe to the Inside Line F1 podcast. Stay tuned. If we won't go live, at least we come out with some really fun content. And make sure you are also interacting with us on social media. Uttara is doing a lovely job managing it. And she will be receiving all of your questions, which we should then answer on the main show as well. So stay tuned, folks. We'll be back. Bye-bye.

[00:38:56] Fuck, what an engaged audience, yaar.