The 305 Showdown! What to Watch For in the Miami Heat | #F1 2025 Miami GP Preview

[00:00:00] We're searching for which WhatsApp group we're going to be chatting on. Systems are not 100% perfect here. It's a lot like Ferrari, Sundaram, where at the start of the race, we're just figuring out when to make our pit stops or which pit guns to use or who's going to be at the front right corner or what. We're getting used to this. Yeah, we are. And it's like in Formula 1. Some teams get there quicker. Some teams don't get there as quick. And quite clearly, we are in the latter.

[00:00:28] No, wait. So genuinely, what WhatsApp group are we using? Because I can't seem to... I think we'll figure it out. Don't worry. We'll figure it out. Oh, perfect. Perfect. It's a group which for some reason for all of you, I don't know if you guys would love to have this information or not. It says you can't send messages to this group because you're no longer a member. So I've been kicked out from the GPDA. What's happened here? I don't even know. I am in?

[00:00:59] You're in. You're in. Okay. I can't seem to... Okay. But the first thing I do see on this group, and for all of you wondering, this is the kind of crazy stuff we talk about. It's a picture that Kunal has sent. Unfortunately, he's not with us for this episode. It's a picture that Kunal has sent of Visa Cash App Racing Bulls and their tires. And it's got a Red Bull can integration on it. It's perfect. This is Miami. This is like... Have you seen the kind of crazy stuff that we're doing so far?

[00:01:26] Yeah. And it's actually taken 20 years for them to actually do this integration, to have the Red Bull can surface on the wheel rim. And it's a great way of integrating their whole product, their whole brand within the car and its livery. And I think that's very smart usage of that little space. We've seen McLaren go and use the Google Chrome design over there. And I think we've seen a couple of other teams do some very interesting stuff. But this definitely is right up there.

[00:01:56] Yeah. So Duracell can have their battery. Google Chrome can have their Chrome logo. Red Bull can have the can. I'm just waiting for other companies. Like, this will be... What's it going to be for HP then? Because whatever they're doing seems to be disappointing with Ferrari. Like, what is that red livery, Sundaram? I... Have you gotten down to the bottom of it? Because I can't digest it.

[00:02:20] I mean, I really don't know what to say. I'm sure there are some creative restrictions that they have from Ferrari's side and even from probably HP's side that there are some things that we just cannot do. Probably Ferrari would have thought that we are definitely not letting go of the Italian red. And we're definitely not going with a completely white and blue car, which they've done in the past. But those are not for sponsorship reasons. Those were for very entirely different reasons.

[00:02:47] But I'm sure there are some restrictions around that. And in that, they've done what they possibly can do. What could have been done? My only point is that it doesn't integrate well enough. If these are the only colors that you have, if this is all the space that you can play with, maybe something that's a little bit more seamless. Right now, it just really sticks out like a sore thumb and it's not great visually. But we're talking about it. And maybe that's a marketing strategy in itself.

[00:03:15] I don't know. I'm getting to see a lot of bad marketing ads, especially during the IPL. Some of them are downright annoying. And that gets people to talk about it, have conversations around it. It's probably not the best way to talk about HP or speak about the product. But we are talking about it at this point. Yeah. I mean, Dream 11 has 35 crore patis this week. It's a terrible ad, but we're still talking about it.

[00:03:42] Or my 11th circle with 1 crore, 2 crore, 3 crore. I don't even know what it is. But our producer Sarang says that it's a printer malfunction for Ferrari. Fair enough. I mean, I don't even know what they're doing. But if you've got to take notes, take notes from what VKAB are doing. That pink livery is phenomenal. It's like, it's something we've been dying for for years. Because even when we had Force India, they were like pinkish but blue and a little bit here and there.

[00:04:13] Didn't quite get the feel from it. But like this, pink and white, it's perfect. And they launched it by the beach. So it's like proper Miami flavor now. And I think the fun thing is also the fact that it's not a livery that's being done for a title sponsor or a major partner of the team. So Ferrari has had to do that with HP. We've seen Williams doing it for Gulf. And the good thing about that is they were really committed to that integration or that activation that they went completely.

[00:04:42] Like I said, Ferrari is probably having restrictions around their livery. But for Racing Bulls, there is no title sponsor. There's nothing of that sort. So they can go completely all in and completely overhaul the livery. They did it last year and it was a very good livery. And they've done it once again, completely committing to what the theme of Miami is, the pink, the summer tropical theme. And they've completely let go of the blue for this weekend.

[00:05:12] You're wearing Miami colors too. Yes, coincidentally. You are. To some extent. Hey, it's Man United. We're playing a semifinal tonight against Athletic Bilbao. And by the time this video will be out, there's a very good chance that this night ends in disappointment for us. So just got to... What did we say? What did we say? Hey, well, speaking of disappointment, we have Abhishek who's come up with a comment. By the way, congratulations, Abhishek. We just heard the news of you getting your first...

[00:05:41] I'm not sure if it's the first gig in motorsport or not. But congratulations on getting the NASCAR job. And Abhishek has said, and the Ferrari livery is their answer to being offended by pineapple on their beloved pizza. Miami is the place that does that. So, hmm. I don't even know what to say. But it's classic Miami Sundaram. We're talking about all the flashy stuff. About jerseys, about liveries, about new apparel and all that other stuff. More than we're talking about the racing.

[00:06:11] Which I find crazy. Because we're actually coming to a state with so much racing legacy. The Daytona Speedway, that's in Miami. Sebring, one of the best ever endurance racetracks in the world. That's in Miami. St. Petersburg's street circuit for IndyCar. That's in Miami. That's in Florida, I'm sorry. And yeah, this one. The Miami Grand Prix circuit. Which I think is definitely lower than Sebring, Daytona and St. Petersburg. But from a Formula 1 standpoint, it's got all you need from a race circuit.

[00:06:39] Not just the race circuit, but also the fact that USA is steeped in Formula 1 history. And this Miami Grand Prix makes it the 80th championship round that's going to be held in the United States. And that makes it the second most frequented country in all of Formula 1 after Italy. So, United States and Formula 1 go a long way back. And I've had people texting me or tweeting on X or posting on X like you reminded me the last time.

[00:07:06] That although F1 is still trying to really back the American races or really go big with the American races, it seems fairly relevant or fairly recent to people. But it goes back a long way. The first US Grand Prix was back in 1959. And we've had the Indy 500s since the 1950s. But the fact is that, yes, you're right.

[00:07:30] Once we move to the US races, there's a lot more of the who's who of showbiz is there. It's a lot more fun. It's a little bit more casual that way. But it actually shows a lot of the glitz and glamour that we tend to see. Something I would associate with the Monaco or somewhere else. But Las Vegas, Miami is where everyone comes with all the special liveries and all these entertainment that happens alongside the racing. And I think that's a nice little touch as well. Slightly different from other races.

[00:08:00] And it's the first time we ever saw... I mean, this circuit is the first place we ever saw driver announcements. And the whole Bruce Puffer style of stuff. And I remember Logan Sargent walked out and told the world, Miami, make some noise. And they pretended to greet him with a lot of white noise. Let's put it that way. So that sort of stuff can happen too. But celebrities expected, of course, a lot of stars will be there. Don Toliver will be there, which gets me so excited.

[00:08:28] But Doja Cat, Ed Sheeran, so many other people who are working on the Formula One movie. So many film stars as well. It's a 305. It's the home of so many crazy artists like Pitbull, like DJ Khaled. Like Rick Ross is also from here. Apart from many other people who call this place home. So proper showbiz race. But in all of this Sundaram, we can't forget. But it's also the same weekend where we lost Art and Senna all those years ago, back in 1994. The racing better live up to it.

[00:08:56] Because the kind of legacy that that man carries forward, it would be a shame if we didn't have a race of Senna-esque proportions this time out. Absolutely. And I really hope we get to see that sort of racing on track that he symbolized or what he stood for. And this season probably has really not been that sort of a way. We have not really seen the leaders fight it out. But we've seen some very Senna-esque sort of pole positions from Max Verstappen and the likes.

[00:09:25] But 1st May and even 30th of April are two very distinct dates in all of Formula One history. And that weekend in specific, if you're someone who doesn't really know, that was a very somber weekend in itself. If Rubens Barrichello had a crash on Friday and that weekend in itself, Senna was not himself. He was someone who was a lot more affected by what was happening that weekend.

[00:09:53] First with Barrichello's accident, then what happened to Roland Ratzenberger. Senna didn't feel like himself. He wanted to step away from the sport. He really felt that this is not what I want to do. But he still did what he did on Sunday. And unfortunately, it led to a tragic death, which if you go back and read all the memories, if you read all the stories, it's really heartbreaking. So Senna was an icon, was a pioneer of the sport. And everyone remembers him on this day.

[00:10:23] And I hope we get to see something that defines him this weekend as a tribute of some sort. I think we're getting the opposite because as authentic and as real Senna is, the Miami Marina is just as fake. Because it's been three years. I still will not get over it. Fake Marina. We're going to have that this weekend. We definitely are going to have drivers being ferried around in a limousine to the podium

[00:10:50] where they're going to have special Miami-based caps that Pirelli are going to bring in. Is there a limousine there in Miami as well? Or is that... I think that's only Vegas. What did they have last time in Miami? It was some big open vehicle or something. It was... I really don't remember. And didn't they have like the quarterback helmets? The football helmets? I think that was the first race, if I'm not wrong. I think it was 2022 or 2023. Insane.

[00:11:18] And apart from that, Miami also has the coolest paddock in the entire world. Now, I know we should talk about what the track actually is like. And a lot more about what to expect from the races. Because as Abhishek and I have spoken on our comments, there is so much to talk about deliveries. But there's also so much to talk about the paddock itself. Because this time, Sundaram, we are literally setting everything up. I say we. I wish we were there. We're still going to be working on this race. But of course, virtually.

[00:11:45] We're going to have a paddock inside the Hard Rock Stadium. Including the hospitality units. And everything that the teams have. It's unbelievable. I mean, when we go back and think of the best paddocks out there. There's Japan. Because just how... There's China. There's China for the whole... The lake that they have inside. And the bamboo-based bridges and buildings that they have inside. It's phenomenal. We have... What else?

[00:12:12] I don't think anyone stands out as much as this place does. I think the Middle Eastern paddocks are incredible. And they're very beautifully constructed. But apart from the Middle East ones, China, like I said, is right up there. And probably Miami is one of the most unique paddocks that you can possibly have. On a football field and all the... I don't know if it's still called a motorhome around here. But it's very different from what you would see at other tracks. And of course, Monaco.

[00:12:42] Because you have so much of space constraints that you don't have a paddock as such. But yeah, very, very unique that you get to see. And something that's only around Miami. Miami. It's incredible. The whole weekend is phenomenal. When we had Bob Varsha, the voice of the American Grand Prix. And the Miami GP as well. Who was doing track commentary. A legend of American broadcasting in the world of racing. He said that the buzz that you feel around this place is quite something. But the drivers don't really have the best things to say about the circuits in them.

[00:13:12] Initially, when they came here, they said it was boring. A little bit bland. But say what you want. We've gotten good races here. And the fact is, if you have a motor racing circuit with two long straights. Three DRS zones. A mix of fast and some really terrible slow speed corners. It is going to create entertainment. And that's what we've gotten here for so long. Yeah, we've had a fair bit of entertainment. We've had last year's race. It was very exciting. Especially because the safety car came in.

[00:13:39] And Lando Norris had the chance to win a Formula 1 race for the very first time. But the fact is that the circuit doesn't really have a very striking. You go to Suzuka. You talk about the SS. You go to Interlagos. You talk about other corners or other sections of the track. But when you come to Miami, there is not really one section. Not really one set of corners that really strikes you as something special. It's a mix of everything. In my opinion.

[00:14:07] What about the terrible car park section? Under the flyover? The one that everyone clips their car on. Yeah, but still, it's not something very special in my opinion. You have the first sector is a little bit more flowy. The second sector is more rear limited. That's the slower section. You have two very long straights along with the short one on the main straight. But then, in my opinion, it's nothing very special. And that's probably also why a lot of people don't tend to like it.

[00:14:36] The entertainment is there. The showbiz is there and all of that. But in terms of racing, it gives us a decent race. But the track layout is nothing special in my opinion. Yeah, it's all right. But it has a few passing zones here and there. There are some really interesting places. Turn number one. We saw Sergio Perez nearly clobbered into the back of Max Verstappen there. Last year? Last year? Some. It's a blur. 2022 to the mid part of 2024. That's all a blur.

[00:15:05] After Lando won, we remembered everything. Before we won, let's not go down that route. But that's a key point. Turn 11 is actually quite big too. When you have that long straight and then that Mickey Mouse section of sorts. Where you have that left-hander followed by the slow right-hand section. Where a lot of moves can be made. And drivers can defy the other drivers by pushing them out wide. Or sometimes even taking the inside line. Lots of fighting also happens around the final couple of corners. Where we saw Carlos Sainz pass Oscar Piastri.

[00:15:33] And get his position back last year so very well. There's the cheesy fake water marina as well. Giving us the Monaco vibes that I was just pointed out. So true. But this circuit overall. I think it's going to be very interesting to watch tire management, Sundaram. In terms of track characteristics. It's got a mix of everything. And temperatures are super hot. Track temperatures could go as high up as 55 degrees. That's almost Bahrain levels. So clearly two things are going to be very key. Managing degradation because of all the heat.

[00:16:03] And also managing graining. Because sometimes the surface temps might be so hot that they have a sort of difference in temperatures. Between the core of the tire and the surface. Which means that the rubber may not adjust to it very well. It may burst off. It may give you less grip. And the drivers are eventually running on one less layer of tread. Or one less layer of rubble. That I feel is going to be huge. And that's why Pirelli has gotten an extra softer set of compounds. This year we're going to C3, C4 and C5.

[00:16:32] Yeah, that's what Pirelli has been wanting to do as well. Because the first couple of races we didn't really see that sort of wheel-to-wheel action that everyone expected to see. That's why they're really trying to see if teams are forced into making two-stop strategies. They tried it out in Jeddah in Saudi Arabia the last time. But tire dig was much, much lesser during the race. And eventually it was largely one-stop. And they're hoping for the same thing this time out as well. By going one compound softer.

[00:17:01] And coupled with the fact that track temperatures are going to be that high, 50-50+. They're really hoping that teams are forced to make a two-stop strategy. It'll be very interesting. Like you said, track temperatures are very hot. But the fact that it's a non-permanent circuit, it's a temporary circuit. So there's going to be a lot of track evolution. We do have the support series as well. So from the very first session up until the very end, the track will definitely ramp up in terms of grip.

[00:17:29] And very interestingly, it's a sprint weekend. So in terms of challenge, there is also the fact that you have only one free practice session to really get up to speed and find the right set of right balance. These are all the keywords that we've been hearing from different teams. Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari, Williams, Red Bull, very interestingly. So it's going to be just a one-hour burst to figure out which direction to go. And then they'll get all the learnings from the sprint.

[00:17:57] Because then you get to do a little bit more tweaks before the race as well. Dude, this weekend, I genuinely get a feeling your favorite drivers might not be where you honestly expect them to be. Because you're so right, Sundaram. Like one free practice session, that's it. And then you have sprint qualifying. Then you have the sprint race, the learnings from which can be taken and translated onto qualifying. And one big factor for qualifying here, guys, is track evolution. It's a semi-permanent circuit.

[00:18:28] The rubber will not be laid down as well. Which means that as more laps go in, we'll have more grip and more rubber, more performance that can be unlocked. And to answer Ivo's question, how many of the rookies have driven here before? I don't think a lot. I don't think Lawson's driven here. I don't think Portoleto has had a chance because Formula 2 never raced here. Same must be the case with Hajar, Behrman and Antonelli. Correct. Aren't we? Yeah, I don't think so.

[00:18:58] The rookies have driven here. And interestingly, the rookies are the only ones who have not scored points around Miami. Every single other driver on the grid has scored at this track. But unfortunately for the driver who eventually goes to win, it's not very straightforward because whoever has put the car on pole position has never won the race. Anyone who's come from off the front row or behind the front row has gone on to win the race. So Max Verstappen P3 in 2022,

[00:19:28] P9 in 2023, and Landon Norris starting from P5 has gone to win the race. The pole sitter has always finished second. The driver starting second has always finished third. So I don't want to recommend if pole position is going to be the ideal or non-ideal place. Of course, these sort of streaks do come to an end at some point. But that's what the trend at Miami has been. And it's insane. And this weekend, pole is going to be super important here.

[00:19:58] And particularly for Landon Norris. I said qualifying is going to be tough because of track evolution. It then comes down to that one final flying lap. Can you get the maximum pace from that last Q3 run? Because the track will keep on improving and the other drivers will keep on making better lap times. Can you be the one who delivers the best lap at the perfect time while also optimizing your warm-up? Because it's a hot, hot circuit.

[00:20:25] It's going to be really tough for the tyres. If you can get them in the right operating window, there's a lot for you to win. But if you can't, there's a chance that your tyres might just end up giving up towards the end. Which was what we saw in Australia. Where a lot of teams actually had the edge over McLaren over certain corners. But where they were great was the final couple of corners because that's where their tyres were able to hold on over the entire lap. They had more grip remaining at the end because they were able to pace it out and manage their temperature as well. Which is where Sundaram?

[00:20:55] Lando Norris. I think this is going to be a super important weekend. He had this amazing interview with the race and he gave a bit of insight around what actually is going on. He's saying that as soon as you have to think about the car, you're losing hundreds of a second, thousands of a second and that's just enough to make me happy and not happy. So the harder it gets, the more precision you need. The more precision you need, the more feel and on top of the car you've got to be. And that's an area I felt like I was very good at the end of last season. But this year,

[00:21:24] I haven't been able to be on it as I was last year. And that's why I've paid the price with a few big mistakes and a few lockups. It's tight at the top. And that one qualifying lap, I'm just thinking, does he have the composure to get it done? That's the only worry for me as a Lando Norris fan. And that's going to be the test of him through this season. And the fact that we often say that it's tight this season, but what we also need to understand,

[00:21:51] it's tighter than in the previous seasons. Because the performance gap between teams and drivers was so vast before the budget gap actually came in, that even if you kind of go off a little bit here or there, lose a tenth here or there, it was still fine. But the fact that in the budget gap era, with teams really bunched up together, a tenth or even a thousandth of a second as we saw in Jeddah the last time out, can be the differentiating factor. And when you know that

[00:22:20] is when you tend sometimes can put more pressure on yourself, which from what we've seen in the interviews is what Lando Norris is doing to himself. He's probably thinking a little bit too much in that situation. And that's what's causing all of these mistakes and whatnot. But it's going to be a big weekend for him. It's after a two-week break and it's very important to see if he's refreshed, if he's had a reset of sorts and if he's looking forward to what McLaren can do. Because hot temperatures is what something

[00:22:49] really McLaren prefers. They've done well in these sort of conditions. On the flip side, we have to see if Mercedes could struggle like what happened in Jeddah as well. They had way too much tire degradation. So you have to keep an eye out on McLaren for doing well around these conditions. On the flip side, Mercedes not so much. Which is why they have to resort to things like special race suits and special jerseys to grab attention. Because there's a very good chance that in the race, you probably might not even see him.

[00:23:20] It's a possibility because it's evident that McLaren are on a certain pedestal. They're better than the others and their dominance was evident in Jeddah and particularly Bahrain. Like just the advantage they had over everyone else in Bahrain. Mind-blowing. And I was pointed out that the media are all saying Landu will win because he got lucky last year. It's, I mean, it's a valid thing, right? Miami is a place where safety cars can indeed come in. That is where we saw the birth of the modern McLaren the way we know it

[00:23:49] with Landu being a certified race winner with the team having the confidence that they can win consistently. It all started at this very place last year. But times have changed and Oscar Piastri now, he could well be winning his third race of the end. Is it third race of the season already or has he won three? He could be on for the fourth. He's already won three. On for his fourth. Fourth of the season. Three on the trot. And that's a solid chance because we don't know where Red Bull are going to be. I'm sure they don't know as well

[00:24:19] because of how chaotic the circumstances have been. Yeah, I mean, I think Miami might still be a track where they can perform decently well as compared to maybe the next couple of races which is Imola and Monaco much slower circuits than what Miami is. There are some sections that really kind of favor Red Bull. Some sections which don't really favor Red Bull. The latter half, the middle sector especially. Where are they going to be? Especially in a sprint weekend, we don't really know.

[00:24:49] But that's going to be very interesting to find out. But Oscar does have momentum and that really, really matters in Formula 1. So he's going to be very positive. He's going to bring in a lot of confidence and he's going to be right up there. So, yeah. I love the way Oscar Piastro is going about his business. He's getting praise from Max Verstappen who, by the way, congratulations if you're listening, Max. I know we have lots of Dutch listeners and lots of people

[00:25:17] who are close to Max like Franz Tost who was on the podcast very recently and gave us such great insights about how good Max Verstappen is. Well, he's now a dad and that is phenomenal news. So congratulations to Max Verstappen and he's missing media duties as a result but hell, I'd say miss an entire season if you have to. These are the kind of moments you cherish. So congratulations to him. This is going to be worth more than any world championship. So it's phenomenal. But Max is going to be one to watch for because as Abhishek mentions, the rundown from Bolin to turn number one

[00:25:47] is just 170 meters. So chances of maybe a Jedi-like jump from P2, especially since P2 is on the cleaner side, these are all possibilities. These are genuine possibilities. If I had to make a wish list of things I'd love to see from the Miami GB, this would be probably around number two or number three because we have seen drivers get very close at the start and we have seen some great overtakes made at turn number one as well. Lots of crashes there too. I remember Mick Schumacher and Sebastian Vettel in the first ever Miami Grand Prix. But a move

[00:26:17] at turn number one on lap number one, that for me, Sundaram, is wishless stuff, especially if it involves both the McLaren drivers. Oh, absolutely. And for me, what my number one on the wish list is going to be the fact that I want to see a proper wheel-to-wheel battle for the lead. We've really not seen that. And I was actually trying to figure out when was the last time or when did we actually see driver passing for the lead? And I think it happened only in China.

[00:26:45] I think Max passed Alex or was it someone else? I can't really recollect who it was, but we've really not seen a lot of battles for the lead and I want to see that in Miami. It's probably going to be a little difficult knowing how the track conditions are, the weather conditions are. There's also supposedly a little bit of rain on the horizon, 40% rain possibility on Sunday. But that's number one for me. Number two, of course, is seeing Fernando Alonso finally getting some points. There's been five races out of the points.

[00:27:15] It's not a great area to be in. I definitely want to see him scoring points. Yeah. It's going to be interesting to see how that plays out. In my wish list, I'm just genuinely thinking, yeah, points for Aston Martin. That's going to be one because of how bad things have been. And Adrian Newey coming in and just denouncing the entire car at a circuit where they have never really done well, Aston Martin. I remember. I was just watching all the highlights of all the Miami GP races to see if they've had any luck here.

[00:27:45] They haven't ever done well. They've had a P3. Fernando's had a P3. Oh, that was year one, wasn't it? In 23, yeah. 23. 23. 23, not year two. Oh, yeah. Year two. I watched 22 and 24 and both of those times it was like, oh, what's going on here? Yeah, 23 was a better one. Exactly. That's one big thing on the wish list. But also, other stuff as well. Wait, you don't have Carlos on your wish list? I was getting there.

[00:28:15] I was literally getting there. Because now Miami is going to pose a really interesting challenge in the midfield. It's a tale of opposites. As a midfield team, when you know that you've got to take risks to score points, it'll be interesting to see what direction all the other teams go in. Because Haas, we all know, are not the best qualifiers, but in terms of managing tyre degradation, especially at hotter races, trust me, they're good. Bahrain, they were incredible. Last year, they scored a decent haul of points in Miami as well.

[00:28:45] And were very competitive all throughout the race. So, watch out for them. On the other hand, Williams are genuinely good across most circuits. And they have probably the best midfield driver pairing. But as Carlos Sainz has now revealed in an amazing interview with F1.com, car characteristics are difficult to understand. And especially when you have lots of these fast-flowing corners that flow one into the other, you need the car to rotate a lot more very quickly. So like a mix of braking and turning, which is not 100% perfect on the Williams. Because remember, it's not got as much

[00:29:15] downforce and not got as much mechanical grip as a Ferrari would have, which is something that Carlos is getting used to. So that's a caveat. We Carb have looked incredible in qualifying base, and I would trust someone like Isaac Hadjar to put in some really great laps. But can they manage their strategy in the race? It's so chaotic. So many things in the wishlist. I'm saying Carlos for points. Hispanic bias, and also because Williams and Carlos. What can I say? But yeah, I mean, that midfield battle is in my wishlist.

[00:29:43] I just want to see all the Haas drivers behave like Haas drivers. Elbow everyone, push them off the track, give them a couple of middle fingers, freedom. Hell yeah. No, but midfield battle is something that people often tend to overlook just because we're really looking only at the front running teams. But like you just highlighted, every single team has different strengths and different weaknesses, and that kind of changes from circuit to circuit, from race to race. And it's very, very close there as well.

[00:30:13] I think after Bahre and I think Haas was in fifth, but after Saudi Arabia now Williams is in fifth. And like science indicated, not every track is for them. There are some tracks that will favor them and they will collect points and there are some where they won't do as well. So that's something that we really have to keep an eye on. And Sauber also has a very interesting livery. I actually just remember that I actually love their current livery, their special livery than their actual livery. But even they've

[00:30:42] kind of shown glimpses of pace on and off. They also manage to score points as well. So you really can't rule out anyone and you really have to, on a sprint weekend, can't rule out anyone. Yeah, especially with no practice. Sometimes you just end up getting the right setup and it just works for you. And this is also going to be a race where drivers work a lot with their teams. This is a race where you're going to see the best partnerships actually come to the fore because of the understanding

[00:31:12] between the engineers and the drivers and how they're able to work with each other over the weekend and extract pace from the car which might not be existent at the start but then you build towards it at the end. That's what Max did in Japan. That's why he won. Cadillac. They are also in the mix. Do we get to them for a second or do we speak to Ivo because he's got a lovely comment saying, will Gasly keep challenging his inner center and drag the pink tractor into the points? It's a possibility, you know, because Alpine, the way they performed at Bahrain,

[00:31:41] I still don't know how that happened but they were good. They were damn good. Yeah, and we actually saw that in Las Vegas as well. So, there are these few tracks where a couple of these cars will come alive and that really gives you a great indicator of how well the driver is doing. So, Pierre Gasly, I think he managed to put it into the top five and then Jack Doohan was in P11. So, that gives you a really interesting read on how well Gasly himself has been doing. I think Gasly has been terrific since the second half

[00:32:11] of last year. So, he's really putting in all that he needs to do to ensure that he gets, I mean, he gets in all the right results for Alpine in general but also it's great for his CV that he's a solid midfield driver. If there's a seat that comes that's available after 2026, he's doing all the right things to make himself available. So, yes, I'm all for the hype around Pierre Gasly because it genuinely seems to be real. I'm going for a bold prediction.

[00:32:41] I'm saying Gasly is going to be in the points. My bold prediction, not sure if it's very bold but I'm saying that whoever the pole sitter is for McLaren because it's going to be McLaren, I believe, is probably not going to end up winning this race. Safety car, it could have a bit of an impact and being Miami, being hot temperatures, I wouldn't be surprised if the overcut ends up working a little bit well. So, we'll find out. Those are my bold predictions. What are you going for? So, you're saying McLaren's not going

[00:33:11] to be winning the race? The lead McLaren driver at the start, the pole sitter, is not going to be winning. Essentially, McLaren's not going to be winning at the same, isn't it? No, one of the, I mean, I'm assuming. Oh, okay. The lead McLaren driver. The lead McLaren driver. Okay. I get a feeling this is one place where swap arounds can happen. Lots of open spaces, lots of passing and time management is key. And if one of the two drivers has more struggles than the other ones, which we have heard, some of them do, could be interesting.

[00:33:42] I think McLaren's going to be winning this race. I think it's going to be Oscar Piastri, but I think, like I said earlier, Mercedes might be struggling this weekend. I think we might see a Shah Leclerc on the podium once again. Maybe not Lewis Hamilton, but maybe a Piastri will step in Leclerc podium once again. I wouldn't be surprised, by the way. Ferrari, I mean, they look good in Bahrain. I was impressed.

[00:34:12] That's producers actually coming in and saying that that's not bold. That's me being very balanced and logical about it. Bold would be me saying Lance Stroll is going to be in the point. So yeah, maybe that's bold. Or bold would be Ivo saying that Yuki Sunoda is actually going to complete a hat-trick of taking out drivers. Sainz Mbari, Gasly and Saudi. Who is the next victim? Ah, interesting. That depends on where Yuki Sunoda qualifies.

[00:34:42] And if he's in the top 10, I would pay. I would pay to see a repeat of what we almost saw with Sergio Perez and Max Verstappen last year, a couple of years ago. I don't know. I want more drama, man. I want more drama between teammates. That'll be good. I think we all want that. I think we all want that. And I was actually doing a little bit of research trying to see this very point. The fact that Red Bull, Max Verstappen and his teammate, they really don't qualify within two positions of each other.

[00:35:12] And in what have actually pulled out from 2022 till date, only 30% of the races is when they have been within two positions of each other. So that just goes to show that Max Verstappen never really has the cushion that he needs with respect to strategy. They can't really work together. It's going to be an important weekend for Yuki Sunoda as well now that he mentions it. We really need to see him getting up to speed and not having sort of bad luck or ill luck that he's had in the races. Yuki also needs

[00:35:40] a race that he can speak about. Last thing we need to speak about though, it's not Yuki. It's not the last team on the grid as well. It's going to be a team that could well be the last team next year because Cadillac are teasing something. They're teasing something. I don't know. Maybe they're a part of the F1 movie. Maybe they have something interesting coming up. Maybe they have a Kit Kat sponsorship and they just all want us to take a small break and have a bit of a Kit Kat. That's what the rumor is.

[00:36:10] But maybe Sundaram, there could be a driver they sign. If you were Cadillac, who would you sign today setting up a Formula 1 team? I think it's a no-brainer going behind Sergio Perez for two reasons. One is the fact he's a solid driver. I know a lot of people are going to come back and say he didn't have the best of performances in Red Bull. But the fact is that he's someone who has a proper CV of driving in Formula 1 for 15 years. He's taken quite a few podiums in the sport even

[00:36:39] before his Red Bull days. So in terms of a team that is wanting to build up from ground zero, Sergio Perez is a solid driver in terms of the experience that he brings. And secondly, also the fact that the backing that he brings in terms of all the sponsors that he can gather from Mexico and Latin America. So I think he's the number one driver. I would have considered Valtteri Bottas as well, but just the sort of power, the pulling power that Sergio has makes it a no-brainer.

[00:37:09] I don't know if they're announcing Sergio this Saturday. Sergio is supposedly going to be there this weekend, but I don't think so they're announcing a driver. Doesn't feel like it. It'll be interesting, but they are making noise, which is very, very interesting. And they are properly stamping, properly making a show out of their arrival, which is a great thing to see. Last thing to talk about, Abhishek's comment, given qualifying has generally given better action than the races, maybe it's a good thing

[00:37:39] that we'll have two sessions of it this weekend. Yes, yes, two qualifiers. I'm glad you said it because sometimes we tend to miss the obvious, two qualifying, Sundaram. Oh, that'll be unbelievable. Yeah, and the fact that, like we said, we have only one practice session before the first qualifying, but then we have a sprint race and then teams go once again into qualifying after making all those little tweaks and changes to the car. So maybe it's a good thing that we have a sprint race in Miami

[00:38:08] because otherwise the racing might not be as exciting, but then we have two qualifiers, a sprint race in between. So it adds a greater or higher possibility that there'll be some fun or some excitement to watch throughout the race weekend. There'll be a lot of fun to watch for, but that is all from us. We have to take a break, just like Kunal and Max Verstappen have taken breaks for parenting duties. Sundaram and I are a bit younger than that. We aren't quite at that stage of life yet, but we do still have to

[00:38:38] take a break for sleep because it is late in the night and you guys have stayed up with us for this long of a time. So I'd like to thank you for all of that. Thank you for watching this live stream across multiple pages, the inside line YouTube, F1 Stats Guru's Twitter, Kunal's Twitter. Still miss Kunal. Don't like the fact that we couldn't have him for this episode, but time zones are a hard thing to catch up to. But all of you guys were here and you guys interacted, which for us is the best thing. What's the fun of talking about Formula One all by ourselves? So thank you for

[00:39:08] showing up and we'll be back with live streams, hopefully after every session as well, to analyze all that went on. By every session, I meant every consequential session. So the sprint may be qualifying and of course, the main race as well. But thank you for watching everyone. Please don't forget to like, share and subscribe to the Inside Line F1 podcast. We will see you very shortly. Bye-bye.