Luck of the DEVIL for Kimi | Norris was ROBBED | Drivers & Fans DISAPPOINTED with MADRING | 2026 Spanish GP

[00:00:02] The Madring was a very special race for both of us on the Inside Line F1 Podcast because it was the second time that Kunal and I were together on the Formula 1 broadcast, just the two of us. We normally have Chetan Narula, which is also an incredible broadcaster and it's a really fun pair between the three of us. But this time Kunal, just the two of us. And we can say we enjoyed the Spanish Grand Prix because we were having fun using hashtag F1 Hindi to speak to everyone, get their opinions, get their questions.

[00:00:29] But if we zoom out, was the Madring race or the Spanish Grand Prix fun for you? Because a lot of people are very unhappy with it. I would add myself to that list of being people, fans, broadcasters, being unhappy with it. I would say it's a race of two halves. You know, the first part where everyone was chasing and something was going to happen, which always happens. Doesn't matter wherever we race. The opening lap plus a couple of laps later. Always a lot of fun.

[00:00:57] Until that Landstroll VSC that came out. So that part was a little more exciting. What's going to happen? Different tires, different strategies. But then what the VSC did is it gave a lot of free stops or cheap stops to alternate strategy, you know, drivers. And it also messed up those who are going to go on the hards like the Leclercs and the Russells of the world. So in a way, maybe without a VSC, we could have maybe had a better race. You never know. A different winner. You never know.

[00:01:25] Actually, pretty sure a different winner as well. So we are asking for a lot of changes. Fans, drivers, everyone is saying we need changes. Well, I think it's probably not going to happen just after one race. Let's be patient. But yeah, I mean... Let's be patient. You were patient for two hours, Kunal. Not much happened. There was some lack of soul, if I may put it as that. Hmm. Yeah, and there needs to be changes.

[00:01:51] Again, I've always been critical about this new generation of circuits that are just trying to basically be speed racer tracks. And they're all very similar. Like Jedha and Madring, honestly, if you remove that back straight from Jedha and add a few more wriggly bits, what's the difference? Honestly, what's the difference between the two Kunal? Could you even tell? Well, because they're both just like left, right, left, right, left, right, left, right. Ooh, back corner, left, right, left, right. What's going on here? And you know, I'll be honest.

[00:02:20] I tried learning the circuit as all of us do before broadcasts. And in general, as fans, I've always tried to learn circuits. But after 16th, 18th corner, I'm like, enough. I'll figure it out. If it enters a couple of corners, which I don't know, I know it's those corners. But I just, I think 22 corners in itself, it's like, just like, no, no, no, we have to get the most corners. We've got to get the fastest street circuit.

[00:02:45] And also, for some reason, there's a lot of these advertising runner boards, which you don't see in Monaco as much. Okay, you see it in certain vantage points, but you're going through and there is an Amex and a Salesforce runner board. And you're just like, this is all too stimulating. I mean, I just want to see the track. I want to see the car. I want to see where the driver's braking, where they're turning, how's the grip level and, you know, how the car's behaving mid-corner. But there is just so much else that's there.

[00:03:12] And I think these newer circuits have to follow these branding guidelines, whereas Monaco with all the history and the legacy can just get away with it. Yeah, and I'm not able to see the craft as much. Like qualifying was when we saw it to a degree. But during the race, you barely can. As a place to see fast Formula One cars, sure, it's nice.

[00:03:38] I think a lot of people who are on ground also said that the TV cameras don't do justice to just how fast the place is, which is another thing. And overtaking-wise, most of what we saw was people trying to overtake but heading into the runoff, which is precisely what we expected, Kunal. Can you imagine there were, you know, there was just one driver who actually used the runoff? No, well, three, right? Because there was Hamilton who had brake issues.

[00:04:02] Much like Baku, suddenly you just go and you do a try and do the turn that Mahvi Ragunathan, you know, struggled to do. And he's explained on our podcast why. And then there was Lance Stroll. And then there was your favorite driver, Carlos Sainz. But pretty much everyone else ran a clean lap. Sawmill Aurora, you made a pre-race prediction. You're going to get a lot of red flags. It was Arvid Lindblad who gave us a red flag in one of the free practice sessions. There was Lewis Hamilton who gave us a red flag in FP3.

[00:04:33] But then there was nothing. That's the grade and the quality of the Formula 1 drivers. It was a clean race. Very Baku 2016-esque, which is what we discussed during the live broadcast as well. That drivers end up being cautious when they know that the track can be risky. A lot of people have recommended changes to the circuit. They're saying that after La Monumentale, you should have a little bit of a straight and a curved hairpin so that people can carry that momentum and maybe do an overtake over there.

[00:05:02] Or just less corners in general in that second sector. But that's besides the point. I think it's going to be tough for the circuit to be able to make any changes whatsoever. So what could have been our hope, Kunal? Our hope could have been Verstappen and Antonelli trying to challenge Lando Norris on pace, which would have been a good battle. But that didn't happen. Lando Norris got super unlucky. But I feel that Verstappen and Antonelli were in a losing race until that point because you needed apparently a 2.4 second delta to pass anyone.

[00:05:31] That's true. You needed a really large delta. And the top four teams were within a tenth of each other. McLaren clearly being the fastest in race trim as we saw. And I'm telling you, Samuel, the one thing we didn't need was that virtual safety car interruption. That virtual safety car came out at a time which helped the medium and the soft starters like the Antonelli's and the Max Verstappen's of the world.

[00:05:56] Including, you know, Lando Norris who just found himself out of position when the world virtual safety car came in. But also, it took away from the hard starters like George Russell. And that's why, why did George Russell even make a stop to change the under the medium? Just to try what happens. He wanted to do something different to Charles Leclerc just to beat him. Otherwise, he would have still finished where he would have finished. So, maybe the race would have been different.

[00:06:20] But we must say, I was touched by Antonelli and Max Verstappen immediately getting out of the car. And first thing saying, Lando Norris was a deserving winner. He was super quick today. Luck played a massive factor in him not winning today. And Antonelli again, Samuel, I can't count the number of times that he has benefited from a virtual safety car or a safety car. To suddenly, you know, have his race strategy flip on its head.

[00:06:50] And then find himself in a great position. It's happened at least three or four races that the race winner eventually has been the driver who's pitted under a safety car or a virtual safety car to get ahead of his rivals. You've put yourself in a bit of a trap now. We have to now try to remember. Man, I, because I can't. I'll go first. Yeah. Madrid, you go second. I have no idea.

[00:07:15] The amount of championships I'm covering this year, I'm forgetting the specifics of whether the VSC made a difference or not. Can you, I remember Madrid, sorry, Barcelona, he had an engine issue. Canada, he won on merit. No, did he win Canada? I think he won Canada, didn't he? Yeah, because George Russell had, yeah. Yeah, Russell had the issue. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Oh, man. Yeah, we'll figure it out. It's just, there's so much happening.

[00:07:43] I'm not going to run Google or AI searches while we record this episode. But anyway, that's the point. But do you really think the VSC rules should be changed or at least be discussed with what Lando Norris is saying? Because the VSC came out a few seconds after Lando Norris crossed the pit entry. And it stopped a few seconds before. Like, literally, we've seen those onboards, as you remember, Samuel.

[00:08:11] And I even dissected this on the Wireplay studio. When he's taking the last corner, you're seeing the VSC panel on the left. The minute he turns in and he comes out, it's green. It was that touch and go for him. So should this be discussed? Should there be a change in the VSC rules? No. Why? So the discussion is that when you give the VSC rule,

[00:08:37] you keep it open for at least every driver to cross the pit entry once so that they can make a job. Yeah, even I... Because I agree. Why? I mean, I understand why. I understand Lando's lost one yesterday. But as he himself said, I'm pretty sure I've won some in the past because I put it under the VSC. And the minute you try and control all these parameters, then you say, oh, let's also change the safety car that way.

[00:09:05] Let's also change this red flag that way. And I think it's okay the way it is. Sometimes, like we say, you just make your own luck. And you see where the luck takes you. And like Ahlad is here, he's saying this race could have been an email. Yeah, it could have. It really could have, man. Not much happened. I like the Liam Lawson subplot that was going on in the side as he tried to keep fighting people.

[00:09:29] The Oscar Piastri subplot was very interesting too as he kept losing a lot of pace, firstly down to his lack of confidence and then also the damaged front wing, which is not damaged enough for him to come to the pit lane. So that was another story. But the Ferrari is going on. I think that to me was the most entertaining part of the entire race weekend. Because Lando, yes, McLaren with a rare slow pit stop, that is big. It barely ever happens. Plus seven seconds on top of that. That is a big, big one.

[00:09:59] And then Lando being super aware. But then I'm just wondering, could Lewis have been in the mix too, perhaps? Like, could he have something to do in this whole battle? Because the brake issue cost him as well, big time. The brake issue cost him. And you know, when a brake issue appears so early on in a session, you just wonder if it's operational. And as we were asked on the broadcast, why is he still continuing? The team still could try and troubleshoot some of the parameters from the pit wall, ask the drivers to make setting changes. Because these brakes are also regenerative brakes.

[00:10:28] They gain a lot of energy under braking. So could there be something under brake by via settings that they could change? And I think if Lewis would have been there, Lando would have probably not been on the podium. Lewis would have been in third place. Assuming Ferrari would have called strategy right as well. And if Lewis would have just retired earlier now, I'm doing this, could have, would have, should have. Maybe Max Verstappen could have won the race.

[00:10:54] Because Max, in needing to give position back to Lewis, also had to let Kimi Antonelli go. So the picture of the race could have been so much more different. But I still agree that this race could have been an email. And please do not change the VSC rules, as Samuel and I have just explained. Yeah, there's no point. There's not even a discussion to be had about that. It's just unfortunate for Lando. But I think the team hit themselves in their own head by doing a seven-second pit stop.

[00:11:24] Genuinely, Lando's pace was amazing, Kunal. On the hard compound tires, there was points where he was, I think, six-tenths of a second faster than other drivers. And then being able to go back to that, let's say, 136, 137s. Basically, the 0.7 lap time, which everyone was on. Lando was able to fluctuate back to that after dropping 36.1 lap times, which is awesome. Which means he has a lot of control over his hard compound tires. So maybe if that seven-second stop was a, I don't know, two-second stop,

[00:11:52] different result altogether because he got really close at the end. He did. And, you know, I would still say that the only mistake Lando did, which was also not a mistake, was that he carried a bottle of Coke or a can of Coke in the cool-down room. I loved how that whole interaction happened. Remember, the cool-down room can actually, not can, the cool-down room actually is deferred life.

[00:12:18] So in case they need to make quick cuts that shouldn't go on air because the drivers have said something they shouldn't, then they're able to do that. But that conversation still went on air. So Lando Norris sat with a can of Coke in the cool-down room. Somebody from FOM who handles the cool-down room and the podium celebration said, you cannot have that there. And Lando said, but I just finished the race and I can have what I want. And I love the whole world champion confidence that we only usually see Hamilton, Alonso and Norris have.

[00:12:47] Not Hamilton, Alonso and Wischtappen have. And for some reason, on track and even off track, Norris is elevated saying, I'm a world champion. I know what I need to do. And there were lots of questions. So what, you know, Coke is a sponsor of McLaren. And so what's wrong if Lando Norris has a Coke? Well, the truth is Formula One pre-sells sponsorships based on these exposure values.

[00:13:13] And the cool-down room exposure is supposed to have one drink only, which is Moe and Shandon. Okay. So suddenly there's another drink that appears there. And it is not even the other global sponsor of Formula One, which is Pepsi. Pepsi. So lots of, I would say, lots of entertainment even after the race that happened in the cool-down room. And what do we make of that, Kunal? Does Lando have that choice by himself? I think he does. He's entitled to do whatever he wants.

[00:13:43] Yes. And he's also got that long-term contract with McLaren now. So he's realizing he's not insecure within himself, within his position as a world champion. Whether he wins it or not, he's showing he's driving as a world champion. He's got a car. He's beating his teammate, who a lot of people thought were deserving a world champion as him last season. So I love to see this side, this personality, this confidence in Lando Norris.

[00:14:10] Because remember, 12 months ago, it was the complete opposite. He was somebody who could just keep pointing out his mistakes, talk about it in public, because that's what gave him a lot of confidence. And so on. So, well done, Lando Norris. You should have won this race. Kimi Antonelli had the luck of the devil. Continues to have the luck of the devil, as we would say. And George Russell actually said post-race, I'm no longer in a championship race. I'm going to focus race by race. Yes.

[00:14:38] Because he's 81 points down now, isn't he? Yeah. And for five consecutive race weekends, now Antonelli has added to his championship challenge against Russell, against Hamilton, and against Lando Norris. And I think the last time Russell actually scored points on Antonelli was back in July at Silverstone. That is unbelievable. Antonelli is on a roll. Also, very humble of Antonelli to say that Lando deserved the win.

[00:15:09] I was really impressed by that. This guy is still supernatural in who he really is. And I really like that fact. But you can't deny it. Pace was really good. He was only like 0.01 seconds away in qualifying, which is awesome. He put himself in the right position to win. So you can't deny that. And now, Kunal, nine more races until we end the season. Antonelli has a clear run now towards the world championship.

[00:15:33] By what race this season do you think Andrea Kimi Antonelli will be crowned Formula One world champion? Good question. I hope it's not Abu Dhabi because I get a feeling I'll have to miss it and so will you. Because we could have a street race somewhere around in India. So, good question. Let me pull up the calendar. Not Bahrain for sure. Mexico, yeah. Yeah, Mexico, Sao Paulo types. Brazil, Mexico-ish. Yeah.

[00:16:01] Yeah, that's what I'd put my money on. I don't normally do. Yeah. Yeah, you put all your unpaid money. We were discussing how Samuel Arora needs to be paid more. I need to be paid. Yes. For sure. Yeah, you need to be paid before you need to be paid more. Right? That's what we were talking about. That's true. That's true. If you know, you know, guys. Please pay up. But yeah, I think that's around the time where I imagine Antonelli would seal it. But I wonder if there's a twist to the tale. Do you want to talk about Piastri in the meantime, Kunal?

[00:16:31] Yeah, sure. Let's go. What just happened? I don't know, man. I think I know that there is this inability to adjust to these regulations. And we're seeing that a little more this year because of these whole unnatural ways of driving. And lots of interesting driver comments have come through where Max has said, it's easy to adjust to these cars. And we saw that with Sunoda. We saw that with Liam Lawson.

[00:16:57] And Liam said, it's actually also because I'm working hard to get what I want from these cars. And so is, you know, somebody like Lando Norris saying that I am working hard to make sure I adapt to these cars. They need a particular way of driving. And now that I know that these cars are going to be around, I'm adapting that way. So is Oscar Piastri adapting slow? Is he refusing to adapt?

[00:17:20] And one of the different metrics that I was trying to, you know, read about is how much percentage power are you using to extract that same lap time? Okay. Which is a very electric car way of driving. I drive that every day, all the time. Okay.

[00:17:40] And Antonelli and Norris seem to just have, you know, this natural way or this adapted way of driving where they are using lesser power to extract the same lap time. And that's probably what's catching out Oscar Piastri. And I still hold ground saying what happened in Monza last year with Papaya Rules where Piastri had to give up a race win because Lando Norris at a slow pit stop has just messed with his head. And it has to be fixed very quickly for McLaren.

[00:18:09] They say they're working one at Kunal, but it's just not evidently making a difference. And I wonder if this carries on whether McLaren and similarly with Mercedes as well, they might be forced to make a change. Mercedes less so because they're in a very dominant position and there's limited expectations from their number two driver, who is George, by the way. But for McLaren, if they have any aspirations of winning the Constructors World Championship in 27, this is a major hindrance. And the Constructors World title is where the money comes from. It does.

[00:18:39] And, you know, I think Baku or just after Baku will again see a bit change in form. Right now, I think McLaren is the fastest car in the last several races if you take an aggregate position. But Mercedes has not brought upgrades for four months and they are looking to get upgrades after Baku or at Baku. At least the chassis updates and aero updates would come there and then engine upgrade after that. So that's where it'll be. But I believe in general, the strategy played out as it did in the top six.

[00:19:08] There were drivers starting on the medium, on the soft, on the hard. And pretty much everyone made choices based on where they were starting at a track where overtaking would be known to be difficult. We saw that. And I think we should just take this last comment, which is this track needs a redesign. Way too many corners. And I know you and I discussed this on the official commentary feed for Formula One yesterday, Samuel. But I am in agreement. Yes, I always prefer, you know, lesser corners.

[00:19:36] But I also want corners where it's you're breaking in a straight line and you're turning. You're not breaking and turning at the same time. Yeah. So that allows drivers to come up close, take some risks and try and engineer or try and force themselves through some overtakes. Absolutely. And Madrid lacked that big time. We just need a little bit more. I think all new designers need to get their head out of this Jeddah archetype.

[00:20:06] I know Vegas, for that matter, I like a little bit more because Vegas has at least some breaking zones and a lot of character in the sense that it's cold, the surface is really slippery, and that there are places where curbs are super high and you can actually pass each other. So I think there will be reflections from this for sure. But as an event, Kunal, I think Madrid delivered in terms of fans. I think in terms of just generally the spectacle and the paddock and everything, solid top marks.

[00:20:32] And on top of that, we also had some exciting pre and post event activities as well, but so many celebrities attending. So from a commercial standpoint, solid event, I'd say. Solid event. And Allah is saying the last time there was a street race in Spain, it was Valencia. And I remember how boring it was. And I would say this was just about as boring as that or not.

[00:20:55] I mean, various outside of the track factors, like Somal mentioned, lots of Real Madrid stars were there and whatever made it all fun to watch. But the track itself was not the best. La Monumentale was overhyped. We need to also remember the other 21 corners still need to deliver more. But yeah, now on to Baku, right? That's what's coming next. Yes, now on to Baku, which is in a couple of weeks time. And for that, we shall be back on the Inside Line F1 podcast for a preview of that as well.

[00:21:25] In the meantime, I'm going to be commentating on Max vs. 100 in the Hindi feed for Red Bull Motorsport in a couple of days. So make sure you folks are watching that. Should be fun. And Kunal and I will be back on the Indian Racing Festival, Indian Formula 4 broadcast on Hotstar this Saturday and this Sunday as well. So tune in to that in the meantime. But for now, we've got to excuse us because we have to end the stream. Thank you so much, everyone, for watching. Thank you for listening.

[00:21:51] Subscribe to the Inside Line F1 podcast and to Kunal Ayesha and myself, Somal Arora. We will catch you in a bit. Bye-bye.