Lando Norris Trumps them all - 2024 Miami GP Review

[00:00:02] Before we begin, I wanted to give a huge shout out to the folks at Amazon Music for partnering with us on this episode of the Inside Line F1 Podcast.

[00:00:10] But more on this later, right then, let's get right into today's episode.

[00:00:35] Please don't it ladies and gentlemen, Lando Loris is a race winner at last.

[00:00:42] And you can tell by the happiness in all of our voices that this is something we've been waiting for for such a long time.

[00:00:48] It's it's such a moment that we knew would be coming in and I will admit on the Inside Line F1 podcast,

[00:00:55] we did call him to be somewhat of a driver who doesn't quite does the best of his abilities in the key moments.

[00:01:02] I raised my hand and said I was the one who doubted the most among all three of us, but he's proven me wrong.

[00:01:07] And I'm so glad he has, which is where it's also confusing, Kunal, because when you see a driver finally reach that glorious moment of winning a Grand Prix for the first time.

[00:01:18] And by the way, this is something we've been waiting for so desperately since Sochi 21.

[00:01:22] It's sort of confusing that the narrative around it for so many people is not that, hey, our favorite driver is one.

[00:01:29] Partially in India, it's also that, hey, why did he win on the day I slept?

[00:01:32] But the other thing is, is he just lucky to win?

[00:01:36] And that question confuses me, baffles me, annoys me slightly.

[00:01:41] What do you make of that question completely?

[00:01:44] Well, I think he was lucky to win, but he had devastating pace to make the most of that luck.

[00:01:55] That's the main part, right?

[00:01:57] It's like this, if he didn't have the pace, he would have still, you know, the way the cards played out of the safety card,

[00:02:04] he would have still come out ahead of Max Verstappen.

[00:02:07] But the fact that he could keep Max Verstappen at bay right from maybe half a lap after the restart,

[00:02:14] was purely down to the pace of that McLaren and the pace of that McLaren on the soft,

[00:02:21] no, no, not on the soft because on the soft is where they were completely all over the place, right?

[00:02:25] On the medium and the hard was what was so interesting this weekend in Miami.

[00:02:31] And they brought, you know, a fresh set of upgrades, Nautice had the full upgrades,

[00:02:35] Piastri had only half of them.

[00:02:38] But interestingly, if you remember just the last race in China, so well,

[00:02:42] the McLaren's were going quicker when it was cooler in China.

[00:02:46] In Miami, it was actually really, really hot and they were still quick.

[00:02:51] I really hope this is giving us a lot of hope as the season progresses.

[00:02:56] We still have for 18 odd grand prix and four sprints remaining or three sprints remaining.

[00:03:02] I don't know something.

[00:03:02] Hey, you're counting them now, which is which is an improvement earlier.

[00:03:06] You didn't even used to count them.

[00:03:07] So are we seeing a bit of a move towards the pro Sprint side canal?

[00:03:12] Come on.

[00:03:12] I mean, all the last few good races that we've had be China, be this one, be it.

[00:03:19] Oh, well, what other sprint races we have?

[00:03:21] We've had goodness, but we've had two this year, I guess, didn't we?

[00:03:24] China, but both of them were quite good.

[00:03:26] Yeah.

[00:03:27] Yeah.

[00:03:28] I mean, and both of those times we saw Max making a driver error,

[00:03:31] which is something we rarely ever do in a non sprint weekend.

[00:03:34] I mean, come to think about it.

[00:03:36] What was the last max error in a non sprint weekend where he just didn't have

[00:03:41] enough time to understand the car?

[00:03:43] I can't think of one.

[00:03:44] I just know his spin in Hungary in 22, where he was leading.

[00:03:49] He spun data 368 checked everyone around still resumed as the leader

[00:03:53] and still went on to win the race.

[00:03:54] Right.

[00:03:55] That's all I remember.

[00:03:56] But yeah, the sprint weekend was not too bad.

[00:03:58] It's a lot of lot of data.

[00:04:00] I mean, imagine this.

[00:04:01] I mean, we record a preview and then we wait till all the sessions are done

[00:04:05] to do a review and then suddenly you write down all the points.

[00:04:08] You're like, wow, this is what happened on Friday.

[00:04:09] This is what happened on Saturday.

[00:04:11] This is what happened on Sunday because everything is absolutely still

[00:04:14] valid right?

[00:04:15] The whole weekend is what we try and capture in the post race

[00:04:20] review episode right?

[00:04:21] So the sprint is good.

[00:04:22] I mean, I also probably feel very relaxed on the Monday after the race,

[00:04:26] which is why I'm feeling that it's good.

[00:04:28] Had you asked me yesterday, my notes and my placards.

[00:04:31] When I was in the wire place studio or so many because that's just so

[00:04:35] many data points, so many stories, so many narratives to track

[00:04:38] through the weekend.

[00:04:39] Seriously and okay, wait.

[00:04:42] I am normally at this junction inclined towards talking about

[00:04:47] the race winner, which we should do in good depth because it's

[00:04:50] such an important moment given the context of it all.

[00:04:53] But at last, I'm so glad Kunal.

[00:04:55] We got to see.

[00:04:57] Haas making it a proper home race.

[00:04:59] I mean, all of their drivers that has to be the battle of the weekend

[00:05:04] for me like just Haas versus the boundaries of what sportsman

[00:05:08] like or what's unsportsman like so many penalties to Kevin

[00:05:11] Magnuson.

[00:05:12] I believe it's somewhat on the bottom line of being unsportsman

[00:05:16] like I feel that's pushing the line a bit too far and just

[00:05:20] basically leaving everyone else with no choice.

[00:05:22] But you have a different opinion on that.

[00:05:24] Firstly, we have to go back and talk about Landon Norris because

[00:05:27] that win deserves much talk, right?

[00:05:30] Typically it's Max winning.

[00:05:31] Sure.

[00:05:31] We're doing what Byrne Mylander did, you know, he just thought

[00:05:34] Max is a race leader.

[00:05:36] Let me just go catch him and you know, we're like, yeah,

[00:05:39] it's again another race at Max's one.

[00:05:41] Let's not talk about the race winner.

[00:05:42] No guys and girls.

[00:05:43] We will talk of Landon Norris winning.

[00:05:46] And another interesting Max wish tap and winning thing.

[00:05:49] Yeah, shop here, Lambies or GPS, we know Max is race engineer

[00:05:54] after the race ended had to remind him Max.

[00:05:57] It's not the central board, which means it's not the P1

[00:06:00] board you're going to go stop at right.

[00:06:03] However, going back to your question, which was about Haas

[00:06:08] Haas is, you know, two very interesting points here.

[00:06:11] Firstly, Haas was battling Mercedes and Lewis Hamilton

[00:06:17] at their home race.

[00:06:18] If I was the sponsorship director of Haas, which I could have

[00:06:21] probably had the opportunity to be had I applied, I guess,

[00:06:24] I would have gone on the Monday and said, guess what?

[00:06:27] We are battling former world champions, Mercedes and Lewis

[00:06:30] Hamilton because Kevin Magnussen versus Lewis Hamilton

[00:06:34] in the sprint was incredible.

[00:06:36] Okay.

[00:06:37] As was Nico Hulkenberg versus Lewis Hamilton.

[00:06:41] Another very incredible battle.

[00:06:44] And you know, as for Magnussen unsportsman like I believe,

[00:06:49] you know, firstly, we make it very difficult for drivers to

[00:06:52] overtake on track.

[00:06:54] Right.

[00:06:54] We make it very difficult.

[00:06:55] What do we do?

[00:06:56] Give them tires, which overheat cars, which don't behave well

[00:06:59] into a tier, you know, tracks, which are just have one or

[00:07:02] two overtaking spots, so to say.

[00:07:04] And then you have this wretched DRS, which means it's

[00:07:07] pretty much the right of the drivers following you to

[00:07:10] overtake you.

[00:07:10] It's like, yeah, you're entitled.

[00:07:11] You're within one second.

[00:07:12] You can just flick this wing and you'll go through.

[00:07:14] Right.

[00:07:15] And then teams of course want their drivers to hold position.

[00:07:18] So it's I'm in the space where we make it so tough.

[00:07:22] And by the way, I shouldn't forget fans want the

[00:07:24] overtaking as well.

[00:07:25] So everybody wants overtaking, but the driver who is being

[00:07:29] overtaken obviously, right?

[00:07:31] And I think Kevin Magnussen did what we would have

[00:07:34] loved to see in the 70s and 80s and even the 90s absolute

[00:07:38] wheel-to-wheel battles.

[00:07:40] Yeah.

[00:07:40] Well, that one, you know, error where not error, but you

[00:07:42] know, actually, why don't we just call it a driving

[00:07:45] error, right?

[00:07:45] One error on the inside.

[00:07:47] He break laid ran out of grave ran out of road ran

[00:07:50] off track did that same thing to Lewis Hamilton.

[00:07:53] But hey, that's what he did.

[00:07:56] He wanted to keep track position.

[00:07:57] I don't think it was unsportsman like and I'll

[00:07:59] put it this way.

[00:08:00] We had Carlos Sainz versus Oscar Piazri in the

[00:08:04] Grand Prix.

[00:08:05] I bet you Andrea Stella, right?

[00:08:08] Who actually called Kevin Magnussen unsportsman

[00:08:12] like he would have hoped that Oscar Piazri could have

[00:08:16] done what Kevin Magnussen had done just to keep

[00:08:20] drivers at bay sportsman or unsportsman like doesn't

[00:08:23] matter.

[00:08:23] Just keep that position.

[00:08:26] So you say Mikey we went motor racing or Toyota we

[00:08:29] went motor racing?

[00:08:31] Yeah, I mean, okay.

[00:08:32] So if you're going back to Abu Dhabi 2021, definitely

[00:08:35] that was the wrong call.

[00:08:36] That was me that that way.

[00:08:38] But just the line the line that Toyota we went motor racing

[00:08:41] unsportsman like I would say so.

[00:08:44] I would say so and I'll actually I'll actually add context.

[00:08:46] Okay, anyone thinking I'm crazy and you know, I'm talking

[00:08:49] bullshit.

[00:08:51] An answer which wasn't aired but is actually on the

[00:08:54] FIA website in text.

[00:08:57] Max was snapper and was asked after the sprint race.

[00:08:59] Very, you know, very simple question.

[00:09:01] Max, what's it with the tires that you're unable

[00:09:04] to overtake or able to push etc.

[00:09:06] And Max literally looked and actually it's not just

[00:09:11] the tires.

[00:09:11] It's everything.

[00:09:12] It's a circuit.

[00:09:12] It's it's the cars.

[00:09:14] It's the tires.

[00:09:15] It's everything that come even of course blamed the

[00:09:18] temperature, but you know, you can't do anything

[00:09:19] with the temperature right?

[00:09:20] But he went on to some of the actually he actually

[00:09:23] blamed every formula or formula one where racing

[00:09:28] is becoming so difficult racing against each other

[00:09:31] is becoming so difficult, which is where in some

[00:09:35] part you can look at Landon Norris's performance and

[00:09:38] be like, okay, it was greatly assisted by the

[00:09:42] temperatures not being ideal by the track being basically

[00:09:46] a lot like the 2020 Ferrari where nobody could

[00:09:49] understand the conditions and the tires were enough.

[00:09:51] And as a result, it was easier to have track

[00:09:55] position but regardless, lucky or not lucky, whatever

[00:09:58] it might be.

[00:09:59] I mean, let's look at this way.

[00:10:01] A lot of people before Alfred Newton had apples fall

[00:10:05] on their head.

[00:10:06] It's just that he made the most of it and invented

[00:10:08] a law result of which is the fact that we end up going

[00:10:12] racing these days physics.

[00:10:13] It's incredible, but that's the whole scenario.

[00:10:16] We know Norris can't be blamed for being the one who

[00:10:19] was handed that position at last.

[00:10:21] In fact, we've seen him grab the opportunity in

[00:10:24] this case and make the most of it.

[00:10:26] And I know that I have often criticized his inability

[00:10:31] to do so in scenarios like a key qualifying session

[00:10:34] like Qatar comes to mind that qualifying and that sprint

[00:10:36] like Brazil last year as well.

[00:10:38] China was a bit of a bummer with the race start

[00:10:40] and the qualifying and the lap almost being deleted.

[00:10:43] But nonetheless, do you feel he's got it?

[00:10:46] Landon Norris.

[00:10:47] He's most definitely got it just the way I never

[00:10:50] imagined you'd use Isaac Newton Newton and the

[00:10:53] falling I said, I said Alfred Newton.

[00:10:56] Who is Alfred Newton?

[00:10:57] Look at me being the stupid one here.

[00:11:02] You need to sleep.

[00:11:03] Goodness.

[00:11:03] You are up till the V hours for the Miami Grand Prix.

[00:11:06] You need to get some sleep after this.

[00:11:08] No, Isaac, sir Isaac Newton if you were to stick

[00:11:12] to the normal apple falling gravity was discovered

[00:11:16] at that time, right?

[00:11:17] But to put it this way, of course, Landon Norris

[00:11:21] has it.

[00:11:22] There is no doubt which is why McLaren has been backing

[00:11:24] him, which is why Red Bull wanted him, which is why

[00:11:28] McLaren has pinned him down for the long term as well.

[00:11:32] We have to remember these drivers eventually need

[00:11:36] the machinery to make sure that they get all the

[00:11:40] results that they talk of and forget you if it was

[00:11:42] Landon Norris yesterday who actually accepted all

[00:11:46] the mistakes he's made in the last five years

[00:11:49] till he got to his Grand Prix win.

[00:11:52] And you know, everyone's talking about the 110 races

[00:11:54] he's taken to win.

[00:11:55] His father said that he's been to almost 900 races

[00:12:01] with Lando to see him finally win a Formula One

[00:12:05] Grand Prix.

[00:12:06] That's a lot.

[00:12:07] That's seriously some commitment financially,

[00:12:10] mentally, emotionally.

[00:12:12] Wow, that's something.

[00:12:13] He even said 350 race weekends.

[00:12:18] Can you imagine?

[00:12:20] Wow.

[00:12:21] All of that for this.

[00:12:23] Can you imagine how sweet it must feel?

[00:12:27] But when it creates a question in my head, it's

[00:12:29] something that I can't answer myself, which is why

[00:12:33] I put it to you.

[00:12:34] But do you think Lando needed this more or did

[00:12:37] McLaren need this more?

[00:12:38] Is it a vindication for the team more than it

[00:12:41] is for the driver?

[00:12:42] I would say I would say was needed equally by

[00:12:45] the post. It was McLaren's second win in 12 years.

[00:12:49] Right?

[00:12:51] The last win which was with Daniel Ricciardo also

[00:12:53] happened when Max and Lewis were out of the race.

[00:12:56] Right?

[00:12:56] This win was an absolute merit.

[00:12:59] Okay, they've been working towards this.

[00:13:01] In fact, Somil leading up to Miami, McLaren

[00:13:05] said we're bringing these upgrades.

[00:13:06] We're chipping away at it.

[00:13:08] We should be able to challenge Red Bull in 12

[00:13:11] months.

[00:13:12] They actually quantified it as 12 months.

[00:13:15] And guess what?

[00:13:16] They did it literally a few days later.

[00:13:18] Right?

[00:13:19] And the Red Bull is still the stronger car, I would

[00:13:22] say because if we were to look at it this way with

[00:13:27] DRS, the McLaren, so even with all the upgrades,

[00:13:30] there's weakness is still the DRS.

[00:13:32] Right?

[00:13:33] With the DRS on, the McLaren was just about

[00:13:35] reaching the same top line speeds as Red Bull

[00:13:39] was doing without it.

[00:13:41] Right?

[00:13:42] And to me, to me the best stat of the weekend,

[00:13:44] Somil is that McLaren, a customer of the Mercedes,

[00:13:49] you know, Formula One team, a customer power unit,

[00:13:52] a customer of the power units made by Mercedes

[00:13:55] has won a race in 2024 before Mercedes themselves.

[00:14:00] That's a dagger to their hurt, huh?

[00:14:02] You're making them, you're making them pay for all of this.

[00:14:07] Come on, let's not take them down as much on a weekend

[00:14:09] where they've already had that terrible of a showing

[00:14:12] and it's, it just gets worse because you realize after

[00:14:16] a point that they were not just used up by McLaren,

[00:14:19] but also Daniel Ricardo in P4 in qualifying

[00:14:22] and the sprint.

[00:14:23] So it's now they're getting beaten by people who are

[00:14:26] not even in the same category as them, believe it or not.

[00:14:29] I mean, that for me has to be one of the most entertaining

[00:14:33] stories of the entire weekend and that is quite something.

[00:14:36] Right?

[00:14:36] See Daniel Ricardo come back and I know at the end of it,

[00:14:39] it won't sound as sweet as Landon Norris because obviously

[00:14:43] Landon's gotten his first big win and it's the main event.

[00:14:46] Right?

[00:14:47] So that's what gets most attention.

[00:14:49] But had it not been for just a weird qualifying session,

[00:14:52] which happened to most drivers this weekend, at least one

[00:14:55] of their qualifying sessions went a little bit haywire.

[00:14:57] Ricardo could have been one of the biggest stories

[00:14:59] and we shouldn't let it slide out underneath that he

[00:15:02] actually did a very, very good job as just as a

[00:15:06] teammate in fact.

[00:15:06] He did and you know, double points for Yuki Sunoda,

[00:15:11] lots of points even for Alfa Tauri or Racing Bulls as

[00:15:15] they're called.

[00:15:15] They have now overtaken Haas for I think sixth place

[00:15:20] in the drivers in the Constructors Championship,

[00:15:22] which I think is pretty phenomenal as well.

[00:15:25] Right?

[00:15:25] In the case of Ricardo, yes, the sprint is great.

[00:15:28] The whole consistency or inconsistency is what people

[00:15:33] are of course going to keep pointing out at each time.

[00:15:35] You know, Yuki's consistently bringing him on the points

[00:15:39] whereas Ricardo is getting one of those spikes and then

[00:15:42] plateauing in the spikes and plateau and for a midfield

[00:15:45] driver and this is something actually said on Viapley

[00:15:47] yesterday for a midfield driver, you want the consistency

[00:15:50] and it's a consistency why Nico Hulkenberg has been

[00:15:54] delivering for Haas and is Audi's choice from next year

[00:15:59] itself.

[00:16:00] Right?

[00:16:00] But this is not about Nico talking still about Racing

[00:16:04] Bulls.

[00:16:04] I think, you know, incredible stuff by Yuki Sonoda.

[00:16:08] He said Honda is supporting him to get a seat in 2026,

[00:16:12] but that means there has to be an opening at Aston Martin

[00:16:16] and Honda of course has said that there could be a chance

[00:16:19] and at Aston Martin in 26, which makes me wonder

[00:16:23] do they know something about Lance Troll that we all

[00:16:26] don't know?

[00:16:27] No, I know it very, very clearly now Aston Martin

[00:16:31] have a reason to sack Fernando Alonso because Lance Troll

[00:16:34] has finally beaten the world champion in qualifying.

[00:16:38] Hey, can you imagine?

[00:16:39] No, nobody.

[00:16:41] No applause, but back.

[00:16:42] But I'll tell you one applause worthy statement or

[00:16:47] fact here Lance was on older tires in qualifying than

[00:16:52] Fernando Alonso.

[00:16:53] Fernando Alonso bolted a fresh set.

[00:16:55] I think it is a fresh set of softs or mediums.

[00:16:57] I can't remember, but Lance Troll was on an older set

[00:17:01] and he still managed to out qualify Fernando Alonso.

[00:17:05] So applause, applause for Lance Troll.

[00:17:08] No fair play, genuinely fair play.

[00:17:10] I mean, I know a lot of it has to do more with the fact

[00:17:14] that Fernando Alonso had a poor qualifying than Lance Troll

[00:17:17] having an incredible one because let's not forget

[00:17:19] the Aston Martin didn't make it to Q3, which is

[00:17:22] ultimately what their benchmark is.

[00:17:24] But again, he's got the number.

[00:17:27] He's got the record in the history books will always

[00:17:29] say that he did out qualify Fernando Alonso once.

[00:17:32] So that is quite something, but it makes me now think

[00:17:35] about this whole big question.

[00:17:36] And I spent a lot of time this Monday just wondering

[00:17:40] what was the best battle of the weekend because for

[00:17:43] me, I'm mentally confused between three of them.

[00:17:47] Firstly, it was as I mentioned earlier, Haas versus

[00:17:50] the borderline of what sports will like versus what's

[00:17:52] not sports will like.

[00:17:53] The second one being the F1 admin versus Landon Orrises

[00:17:56] privacy because they literally recorded him speaking

[00:17:59] to his family.

[00:18:00] I mean, come on, let the man speak to his family.

[00:18:02] Beasts don't record that stuff.

[00:18:04] Or the third one is Alonso versus Ben Zelliam.

[00:18:09] And I am confused because according to the order

[00:18:11] of the weekend that happened earliest, which is

[00:18:14] why it's not getting as much traction, but that

[00:18:16] in itself is such a statement that he didn't get

[00:18:19] a penalty because another loose Hamilton didn't

[00:18:22] get a penalty because he is in Spanish and to double

[00:18:25] down upon that Sergio Perez also didn't get a penalty,

[00:18:28] which is basically I'm assuming the FIs retort

[00:18:31] saying that it's not just the Brits.

[00:18:33] Even the Mexicans are a part of that same whole bias.

[00:18:36] No, but I mean, we're seeing the FIA get there.

[00:18:38] Let me add to it because Carlos signs got a penalty

[00:18:41] for that wheel to wheel battle against Oscar Piaz III.

[00:18:44] Right?

[00:18:44] Well, but but I have to I have to put it here.

[00:18:48] And Carlos signs being Spanish, of course, but

[00:18:50] Lewis Hamilton not picking up a penalty for that opening lap.

[00:18:55] You know, mishap or whatever you call it is a bit strange

[00:18:57] because he took out Landon Orris.

[00:19:00] He took out Landstroll and Aston Martin.

[00:19:04] I mean literally damaged their races and they just treated

[00:19:07] it as a test session much like Fernando would keep joking

[00:19:10] all the time.

[00:19:11] Checo Perez not picking up a penalty is fine because

[00:19:14] he actually didn't hit anyone or damage anyone's race prospects

[00:19:18] per se. He just found he literally found a gap and went

[00:19:21] for it and everybody else avoided him.

[00:19:23] Yes, he messed up the race order a bit, but that's okay.

[00:19:26] He didn't really mess up somebody's car.

[00:19:29] Didn't damage anyone's car.

[00:19:31] And as was Carlos signs again, you know, the cars are so

[00:19:34] difficult to overtake that somebody has to elbow out

[00:19:38] and not someone and you know, triple somebody's toes or get

[00:19:41] somebody to triple your toes.

[00:19:43] That's what happened then I somewhat think Carlos'

[00:19:46] penalty still makes sense because Oscar's car was absolutely

[00:19:49] demolished.

[00:19:50] You know, they had to go.

[00:19:52] He was overtaking about three cars in a span of one lap

[00:19:55] or something.

[00:19:56] But you know, some of the race in Miami was actually a race

[00:19:59] of two halves because the race was literally split by

[00:20:02] the safety car before the safety car.

[00:20:03] Max Verstappen would have won comfortably and Oscar Piazri

[00:20:07] would have finished second I believe because Oscar was

[00:20:10] you know also really quick upfront after he overtook

[00:20:14] I think Charlotte Clara at the first start, right?

[00:20:17] And the second half is what of course where what mattered

[00:20:21] because that's the half that has the checkered flag and

[00:20:23] that's where I think Landon Norris was clearly the best

[00:20:26] of anybody out there.

[00:20:29] And when was Max's mistake though because he hit

[00:20:32] that bullard which in the you know, which nicely

[00:20:36] showed us the way air flows over an Adrian Newie

[00:20:39] designed car, right?

[00:20:41] And Max's mistake since we already spoke of it was

[00:20:45] actually because I think Leclerc was quicker and Max had

[00:20:49] the threat of the undercut looming over him.

[00:20:52] So Max went in too hot.

[00:20:54] Anyway, these guys don't like the slow speed section

[00:20:57] and then boom went the bullard.

[00:20:58] Yeah.

[00:20:59] Strange really strange.

[00:21:02] I think we've broken a streak here with this.

[00:21:04] We've broken a streak of max making a driving

[00:21:07] error in the race.

[00:21:08] We've broken Max's incredible race winning streak.

[00:21:11] I've lost out about how many races it's been.

[00:21:13] We've broken a streak of Landon Norris being the driver

[00:21:15] with the most podiums without a win check out,

[00:21:18] Stroll out qualifying Alonso and also beer,

[00:21:22] Gasly out qualifying Esteban Ocon which happened

[00:21:25] indeed in the race this time out.

[00:21:26] But of course the biggest streak that's being created

[00:21:28] nowadays is Magnus and building a streak of getting

[00:21:31] penalty points is on the cusp of it all 11.

[00:21:34] Is it not?

[00:21:35] Is it 8 or is it 11?

[00:21:36] I can't remember but yeah, he's the closest to far too many.

[00:21:40] Yeah, he took check up it as too seriously while coming

[00:21:43] into the race weekend because the F1 drivers were asked

[00:21:45] in the official press conference saying how's

[00:21:49] the penalty point system and do we need to revisit it

[00:21:51] and check out laughed and say I think I'm leading

[00:21:53] the penalty points championship or something right

[00:21:56] and guess what it's Kevin McNeeson who's leading

[00:21:59] the championship in with regards to penalty points

[00:22:01] I believe but close fighting.

[00:22:03] You know house is probably realized if any way

[00:22:05] we're going to get rid of Kevin let him just pick

[00:22:08] up all the penalty points while he helps Nico

[00:22:11] pick up all the championship points you know probably

[00:22:14] because that's what he did in Jedi as well.

[00:22:16] Yeah, yeah exactly ditto but we need to talk about

[00:22:21] Alpine as well.

[00:22:21] No, can I yes because we've slandered them a lot

[00:22:26] not that we still understand everything we do because

[00:22:28] they have now hired an executive technical director

[00:22:31] which means they have four technical directors now

[00:22:35] if I'm not mistaken executive technical director

[00:22:37] and three technical directors for three different

[00:22:39] components of the car which means essentially

[00:22:43] it's just ahead of a particular department.

[00:22:46] Why do you call it a technical director but the point

[00:22:48] being whatever it is it's helping because the more

[00:22:50] people they're adding to their management group

[00:22:52] the more weight they're shedding down from their car

[00:22:54] and it's working these upgrades have eventually

[00:22:57] produced quite something and I know David Coulthard

[00:23:00] was very aggressive about his comments about Alpine

[00:23:03] which I find quite funny on the entire weekend but this

[00:23:07] was good.

[00:23:08] I mean good to see them rubbing shoulders and wheels

[00:23:10] with us in Martin and in the race space as well being

[00:23:13] out there keeping up in that in that upper midfield

[00:23:16] it's genuine progress.

[00:23:17] Yeah, I mean they got both the cars into Q2

[00:23:20] which also has progressed they scored a point

[00:23:23] which I think is really fantastic again on merit

[00:23:26] with everything that they had eighth team to score

[00:23:29] points in the season already within just the first six

[00:23:33] races so Williams and Sauber are the two ones that

[00:23:36] haven't scored a point and their upgrades were largely

[00:23:39] so they had upgrades on both the cars this race weekend

[00:23:42] which I think is also good because it gave them

[00:23:44] more time to sort of understand and extract

[00:23:47] performance but their upgrades were largely towards

[00:23:49] saving weight and getting them closer to the weight

[00:23:52] limit of these really heavy cars right and that's

[00:23:55] what sort of brought them lap time because you're

[00:23:57] just carrying around less weight of on a car

[00:24:00] which they already know is got an engine deficit.

[00:24:03] Wait, but my question here is how can a Formula One

[00:24:07] car be overweight within a year when obviously

[00:24:11] teams are trying their best to shed it?

[00:24:13] Is it just that the bar for being overweight has

[00:24:17] gone down and to the point that the teams

[00:24:19] are saying I have cut down on so much weight in

[00:24:20] the last couple of years that what was acceptable

[00:24:23] in 2023 is not acceptable 2024.

[00:24:25] So one of the reasons why they end up being overweight

[00:24:28] is the composites that they use.

[00:24:29] You just have heavier ones that have been used could

[00:24:34] be cost reasons could be manufacturing sourcing

[00:24:37] reasons as well right and then it just helps you

[00:24:41] just design the same part with a lighter stronger

[00:24:45] rigid component which of course clears all the

[00:24:47] FIA tests so then you just end up saving weight

[00:24:50] and being at the weight limit or lower helps

[00:24:52] because then you can adjust your ballast in the car

[00:24:56] to help get more driving characteristics out for yourself.

[00:25:00] So you could put it at the front if you want more

[00:25:01] front end etc.

[00:25:02] So I'm not going to get too technical because that's

[00:25:04] also not I mean I've driven and I've understand

[00:25:07] how these things work but I'm unable to explain

[00:25:11] with explain it with as much technical clarity as

[00:25:14] some of the other technical people can I would say

[00:25:17] and we bring them on.

[00:25:18] We bring them on the show to talk more about it.

[00:25:20] We definitely will.

[00:25:21] We've been trying to get so many incredible guests

[00:25:24] guests like Alex shakes the voice of F1 TV who had

[00:25:27] such a brilliant commentary call by the way for

[00:25:29] Landon Norris winning it was amazing and if you

[00:25:32] want to hear more of his stories and his take

[00:25:34] on Formula One you can definitely check out our Alex

[00:25:37] Jake special which was the last one coming

[00:25:39] before this episode and also Christian Dana one

[00:25:42] of the most legendary F1 commentators from Germany

[00:25:45] who also is a driver who has done everything in

[00:25:48] the world of racing including Formula One and TDM

[00:25:51] and sports cars and the likes his episode is also

[00:25:53] going to be coming out very very shortly.

[00:25:55] One thing before we end though the unlucky

[00:25:58] as driver of the weekend you know I'll be talking

[00:26:01] about him Carlos Sainz and his his interview after

[00:26:06] the race is what I find particularly interesting

[00:26:08] because normally most people were complaining

[00:26:10] about the tires or the grip or the safety

[00:26:13] card on helping them out.

[00:26:14] Carlos Sainz said had the safety car come in

[00:26:17] a couple of laps ago I would have been the

[00:26:19] race winner do you buy that statement because

[00:26:22] I do his pace was looking faster than that of

[00:26:25] Piastri and Leclerc ahead of him.

[00:26:27] His composure at the start was amazing.

[00:26:30] He's always been a driver who's managed to

[00:26:32] hold on to pressure quite well and had it been

[00:26:34] a couple of laps earlier Sainz would have

[00:26:36] been the one cycling out first.

[00:26:39] I really do feel they've just lost one

[00:26:41] minorly.

[00:26:43] I would say he would have probably definitely

[00:26:46] been on the podium for sure given how the safety

[00:26:49] card literally swung the fortunes around for some

[00:26:52] and then swung it back for the others and so on

[00:26:54] right but I don't believe the Ferrari had the

[00:26:58] pace to win.

[00:26:59] I think McLaren just had the pace to you know

[00:27:03] extract all the performance they could have

[00:27:05] noticed was of course nice in his composure to

[00:27:09] say he would have had to overtake both the

[00:27:10] Ferrari's and the max to claim the race when

[00:27:13] had he not had the safety car etc right but

[00:27:16] I still think that Norris's pace was very

[00:27:19] devastating to not keep him as a serious contender

[00:27:23] and a lot of people were wondering if McLaren

[00:27:26] made a mistake by not bringing him in at

[00:27:28] the safety car on the first instance itself

[00:27:31] right from what I've understood is the safety

[00:27:33] car literally came out a few seconds after he

[00:27:35] crossed the pit entry line.

[00:27:37] At least that's what our analysis on Vioplace

[00:27:39] said yesterday but it also

[00:27:43] so one of the things that I answered on

[00:27:45] television was a team will never pit preempting

[00:27:48] a safety car it's either a safety car or not

[00:27:51] when you enter the pit lane you cannot enter

[00:27:53] the pit lane thinking that a safety car would

[00:27:56] come out later because you saw what happened

[00:27:58] with Magnuson and Magnuson and Sergeant a few

[00:28:01] seconds later Magnuson was actually reversing

[00:28:03] and leaving would Sergeant have done the same

[00:28:05] thing and had he done that would it have

[00:28:07] been a safety car or a virtual safety car

[00:28:09] so you don't ever preempt one right that's

[00:28:11] that's a good part about strategy and

[00:28:14] the second was Lando's pace on the medium

[00:28:18] tyre was so good that they were just not

[00:28:21] dropping off so he said you know Lando

[00:28:23] didn't want to pit actually so yeah when

[00:28:25] you when you consider all of these things

[00:28:28] you probably think Lando was just

[00:28:29] destined to win yesterday which is why

[00:28:32] he made the most of his luck but he

[00:28:34] had the pace to make the most of that

[00:28:35] luck.

[00:28:36] Yeah exactly well nobody could out trump

[00:28:40] him that weekend.

[00:28:41] I know I know what you did there.

[00:28:45] Yes I'm glad I'm glad people are disappointed

[00:28:48] on the internet they should be about the

[00:28:50] joke I mean I'm not talking about the

[00:28:53] guest being there I don't get the

[00:28:54] outrage we had Yuvarat Singh at the

[00:28:56] Miami Grand Prix which for all of you

[00:28:58] folks who aren't quite aware it's

[00:29:00] one of the most legendary cricketers

[00:29:03] out there kind of think of him as a

[00:29:07] Robert Lewandowski of his age if you

[00:29:09] follow football like the most

[00:29:11] incisive player of his time who

[00:29:13] actually scored six sixes in six balls

[00:29:16] which is the equivalent of scoring six

[00:29:17] goals in six minutes anyway if you have

[00:29:19] to think about it he was there and I

[00:29:21] know we are the country that has the

[00:29:23] most people on earth and a lot of people

[00:29:26] out of those 1.3 billion know you

[00:29:28] Raj but the biggest sensation on the

[00:29:29] internet was Donald Trump.

[00:29:31] Yeah I think you know we've seen

[00:29:35] Vladimir Putin attend races before

[00:29:38] right? So you know if the heads or

[00:29:40] former heads of states show up it's no

[00:29:42] big deal I don't see an outrage if

[00:29:44] Donald Trump is a fan great I hope he

[00:29:46] paid for his ticket which I'm pretty

[00:29:48] sure he didn't right but he chose

[00:29:51] the McLaren garage to visit out of

[00:29:54] all the garages in the in the

[00:29:57] paddock which and McLaren actually

[00:29:59] put out a statement saying we're

[00:30:00] actually a non-political

[00:30:02] organization you know we are glad

[00:30:04] that you know the former president

[00:30:06] of the United States chose to visit

[00:30:07] us we're happy to have him he's a great

[00:30:09] fan of f1 blah blah blah but yeah it's

[00:30:12] just you've not seen and then Donald

[00:30:15] Trump and lots of other celebrities

[00:30:17] my goodness right there was Ibrahim

[00:30:19] Ali Khan for all the even if you're

[00:30:23] Indian and you've never heard of him

[00:30:25] please that's fine his father is an

[00:30:28] actor who acted as a racing car

[00:30:30] driver in a movie called Tara Rampam

[00:30:33] which I have never seen I don't

[00:30:35] intend to see and I'm pretty sure was a

[00:30:36] flop it's a good movie it's a cultural

[00:30:40] icon I grew up on that movie come on

[00:30:42] are you trying to say driven was also

[00:30:45] then a good movie or silver still

[00:30:46] on it was I mean didn't you see that

[00:30:49] scene where they were actually taking

[00:30:51] off a nickel of the apex of a corner

[00:30:53] that is like yes that's how you do

[00:30:55] racing and they're race Indy cars on

[00:30:58] the street which by the way I'm not

[00:31:00] saying that's too far from reality

[00:31:02] because that's literally what we did

[00:31:03] yesterday but well we actually

[00:31:07] raised in a car park yesterday right

[00:31:10] such a sophisticated car park I think

[00:31:13] pretty pretty fantastic the Miami

[00:31:15] Grand Prix was pretty good I would say

[00:31:17] we had a few good really good races

[00:31:19] even though Max has been winning

[00:31:21] most of it all of it will continue

[00:31:23] to do so but I'm intrigued by what

[00:31:25] McLaren can pull out after this

[00:31:27] you know they their confidence

[00:31:29] would have you know would have

[00:31:31] been posted even more so saying

[00:31:33] that's it Red Bull is you know

[00:31:34] somebody we can catch we did catch

[00:31:37] can we continue down this trajectory

[00:31:41] for the rest of 2024 that we shall see

[00:31:44] and how do we end the episode

[00:31:47] when we're talking about a Landon

[00:31:49] orace race when an Ibrahim Ali Khan

[00:31:50] in the same podcast we just say wow

[00:31:54] all the Indian fans will know

[00:31:55] what I'm talking about

[00:31:56] if I did a terrible impression

[00:31:58] I know I did

[00:31:59] safe is safe that's what it is

[00:32:01] folks thank you so much for listening

[00:32:03] to this episode of the inside line

[00:32:05] f1 podcast please please please

[00:32:07] subscribe to us if in case you

[00:32:08] haven't and if in case you do enjoy

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[00:32:13] tell us why and we'd love to make

[00:32:15] any improvements possible

[00:32:16] that makes sense to make this

[00:32:17] episode better but folks

[00:32:19] thank you for watching

[00:32:20] thank you for listening

[00:32:21] and we'll be back with more

[00:32:23] very soon. Bye bye

[00:32:45] Thank you so much for tuning

[00:32:46] into this episode of the

[00:32:48] inside line f1 podcast

[00:32:50] before we ended

[00:32:51] I just wanted to say a huge

[00:32:52] thank you to Amazon Music

[00:32:53] once again for partnering with us

[00:32:55] on this episode of the podcast.