Time for the first Ferrari win of the year? | Leclerc or Hamilton? 2026 Monaco GP Preview

[00:00:00] We're all a little worried for Charles Leclerc. What is he getting into? Why has he signed with Ferrari again after all the pain that this team has inflicted on him? Why? What's the reason? Why would you stay on with someone who has tormented you so much? Is it a case of Stockholm Syndrome?

[00:00:19] We delve into all of this and more on this episode of the Inside Line F1 Podcast. Welcome along, folks. Soumil Arora here. I commentate on the official F1 broadcast in Hindi, just like Kunal Shah does as well. We are the Inside Line F1 Podcast, and it's been a fun decade of talking about the sport, and this podcast has been for a long, long time. Kunal has been carrying the flag around.

[00:00:41] He used to work with Force India as well, the team that is now Aston Martin. But Aston Martin or Force India, Kunal never had this sort of relationship, the way Charles Leclerc has with Ferrari, where it seems to be hopes and dreams and expectations, but on paper, a failure. Why would he renew, according to you? One sec, one sec. Why would you deem it a failure?

[00:01:04] Not me. Words of the community. They think winning the championship, or do I think it's not a failure? Guys, straight up, straight off the bat, if you're getting paid great money, if you're getting the brand recognition of Ferrari, if you're a global icon, if people want to adore you because you're a Ferrari driver, and then you also get a pretty good car, let's not kid ourselves. It's still a front runner. Why would you not sign?

[00:01:33] Like, would you jeopardize the relationship to go somewhere else just because we'll see how it works out? So my perspective on that, very interesting, is, remember, Ferrari already treats Charles Leclerc as though he's a world champion, but he clearly is not. Along with all the money and the fame, could that potentially be the reason as well why Leclerc is like, they could get somebody like a Lewis Hamilton, but I am still treated as the blue-eyed boy.

[00:02:00] And remember, he is managed by the ever-powerful Nicolas Stott, and they know what's happening. They know what contracts are being spoken, what options are being given. They would have checked everything that's available in the market for Leclerc. And truthfully, let's discuss what could he have done. Could he have swapped with Behrman and gone to Haas? Clearly not, of course, right? And if we look at the top four teams, Samil, Red Bull was the only big question.

[00:02:28] If Max chooses to retire, would Leclerc have been better off being a Red Bull driver, being that star in Red Bull? And would Red Bull even want him? Let's also put the question out there. Red Bull didn't want Fernando Alonso in his prime. There's conflicting stories there. There were times when he wanted them. They didn't want him. Anyway, it was one of those... It didn't work out because ultimately, I mean, they could have pulled the trigger, but the young drivers promoting everyone from the system, that takes precedence.

[00:02:57] And Leclerc is clearly not one of their people. That takes precedence while you have Max Verstappen. If you don't have Max Verstappen, who's the other star they could hire? No, truthfully, if Leclerc... Now, Red Bull's missed the bus on Leclerc. But maybe this is a hint that Verstappen is staying. He would not put Red Bull in jeopardy and go off like that. That's also my feeling. So maybe this is also a hint that the 60-40 split that Max is politically pushing for is happening. But let's not make this about Max because that's what Leclerc's career has been.

[00:03:25] He's gone to the sea only to be like, hey, Max is here dominating all the time. So back to Leclerc. Let's look at it this way. So Verstappen was one where if Verstappen quits, maybe Red Bull could have been the place. Maybe Aston Martin could have been that other place. Why would you? That's the thing. If everything's working so well. It's like saying, I've got a beautiful house and a very, very happy family and a dog and a lawn and a garden.

[00:03:55] But I'm going to sell it off in the hopes and dreams that I get something equally better somewhere else. Carry on, man. Maybe use the value of compounding and hope for the best. Yes, and clearly, we all tend to hate on Ferrari a lot for their mistakes. But in your career, you're always looking for a certain platform or a certain base for you to grow. And Ferrari is a pretty solid base. I don't know if Leclerc goes to even Mercedes, if that is even on the table, which clearly we've discussed is not. If it even works out.

[00:04:26] It's quite as well as they put if all the pegs are filled. The power of compounding. I love. I know what book Samuel Arora is reading because some of those books I may have probably given him. But no, I think it's a great decision. Let's remember that. Because at this state where Aston Martin is, nobody in their true mind would want to sign with them. Okay. So Aston Martin lost whatever hope and chance they had, you know, to sign a great talent like Leclerc. And then if you look at Mercedes, Mercedes is committed to Antonelli.

[00:04:56] Even the likes of George Russell has realized that. So where else could have Charles Leclerc gone? And remember, he's buying all these expensive yachts. He's gotten married. Job security has come his way. Loyalty. He's got his own ice cream. So all in all, I think Leclerc has played his cards right. So why are we actually questioning Leclerc's decision? Let's get to that. Because I made some notes out here. Okay. Charles Leclerc has driven 150 races plus for Ferrari.

[00:05:25] In the history of Formula 1, that makes him the only driver to make 150 plus starts with a team, but not win a world championship with them. Isn't that it? One single team, 150 plus starts, but not win. Not even Barrichello. Barrichello didn't do 100. No, Barrichello mustn't have done 100. 150. Yeah. With Ferrari, no. So only driver in F1 history with more than 20 poles, but not become a world champion. Not even Massa? Not even Massa with 150 starts with Ferrari?

[00:05:54] Let's get to that. If Leclerc doesn't win the world championship in 2026, he will join Felipe Massa as the only Ferrari driver to compete eight seasons with the Ferrari Scuderia, but not win a title. And this stat is courtesy of F1 guy Dan on Twitter. Great stats, by the way. So Leclerc's legacy is all these great stats. So he's already making history for all the wrong reasons. And should he stay on?

[00:06:23] And he already had a contract until 2029. So what was the urgency to already extend into something? Maybe this was their way of blocking off any moves from, you know, Max Verstappen coming or because that could have potentially been the only other threat. Or maybe it's a sign that Ferrari don't think that Lewis is all that. Maybe they don't think that Lewis is the guy to build the future around. And this is what they've really strongly indicated. Does that mean that Lewis leaves tomorrow? No.

[00:06:51] But who's the guy that Ferrari are going to turn to for the next five years is probably the question on the table. And I'm going to go for Leclerc. If I was Fred Visser, if I was the Agnelli family, I would go for Leclerc. And even if he wins all world titles, what are we talking of? 26, 27, 28, 29, 30. Listen, you're now sounding like Binotto. If we're like in 2022, he was like, I see no reason why we can't win the next 10 races.

[00:07:17] My point is even if you win everything, it's still not going to be the legacy that Michael Schumacher has had with the team or the legacy that Lewis Hamilton has had. So there's a lot of hopium. They're trading in hopium. And this is more hopium that's come our way after today's contract extension. No, it's just good, good financial planning for Charlotte. Leclerc. He can buy more yachts. He can launch more ice cream flavors. He can buy a bigger piano or maybe do family planning.

[00:07:47] I mean, they're getting married now. The life coach for Charlotte. It's a good stage of life for these guys, right? Getting married and stuff. New contract. I don't know what's next. Maybe venture capital investment. Maybe that's what Leclerc does next. Or maybe he's saving money to launch a new racing team. You never know. But this is, you know, this is a beautiful example of the French media and the Italian media not being so bothered by Formula One.

[00:08:14] Because if this was the British media, there would have been rumors three days ago. We would have done a reaction piece to it. And then it would have been announced today. And this has hit us out of the blue with literally no murmurs of conversations going on even in the paddock. Isn't that beautiful? Which is strange. Because I think maybe the Italian media have moved to MotoGP because there's some Italian journalists actually leaked that Peko Banyai is going to be a father. And Banyai, of course, two-time MotoGP world champion.

[00:08:43] I don't know, maybe their attention is somewhere else. No, one sec. The Italian media's attention is Andrea Kimi Antonelli Samuel. Not those two-wheeler riders you go worshipping on your MotoGP pre-show. An Italian team and an Italian rider is leading MotoGP. And they are beating Ducati. And there's three Italians playing in the quarterfinals of Roland Garros. Their attention is... It's a good year to be Italy. It's a really good year to be Italy. Well, they have a World Cup coming up.

[00:09:16] But man, what a time do we look like? Couple of comments. Praveen is saying, I feel Sean Leclerc is a Ferrari lifer. He lives and breathes Ferrari. Well, he keeps saying so. He keeps saying that he still believes the dream. And I'll put it this way. What happens if your dream comes true? You look at another dream. So maybe this is also his way of making sure he gets the same dream every night, which is winning a World Championship with Ferrari. Yeah. I read a tweet somewhere and someone put out a really interesting perspective on that.

[00:09:45] I apologize for not remembering the name of the person who did so. But really interesting take. So someone said, Leclerc values winning a championship with Ferrari more than winning a championship. Why not? I think that is the most legendary... It's a perspective. I probably don't agree with it. But it's a perspective. It's a perspective. It is a perspective. And Mr. Oliver Behrman, you'll have to just wait till Leclerc and Hamilton figure out what they want to do before you throw your hat into the ring to get hired as a Ferrari driver.

[00:10:15] This clearly means the ball is now in Lewis Hamilton's court, right? Like Ferrari have basically turned to Lewis and said, Lewis, this is our guy. Now you have to figure it out. And you have to prove if you're good enough to get that contract again. Because we've got options. We've got Oliver Behrman. We could pull him up at any moment we like. Now it's up to you. And it's not in a bad way. It's not like Ferrari pointing the finger at Lewis and going, Lewis, you need to do better. It's just more of a soft nudge that, all right, one seat is stable. The other one is perhaps where we may think about changing for the future.

[00:10:46] Isaac Lewis, very, very timely. Very timely. Since at the time of recording, Ferrari are favorites to win in Monaco. But on Leclerc, we shall be back with more. The sequel and the conversation around him and Ferrari shall continue. But on Monaco, this time out, we're all thinking that Ferrari are the favorites to win the Monaco Grand Prix.

[00:11:12] And I'm just going to take this dream of ours and add another layer of thinking. I don't even want to question Ferrari being the favorites to win at Monaco because I've already accepted this dream in my heart. And I don't want anyone to poke at it and make me consider if this can actually turn out to be reality or not. So no, we're not doing that. But if Ferrari, actually, no, now that Ferrari are the favorites, Leclerc or Hamilton, who wins? Well, one sec, one sec. Ferrari have already won in Monaco.

[00:11:41] They won the race in pretty much no one else participated in, which is to get Charles Leclerc's contract extension. So they've already started Monaco on a winning note. But very interesting question. Will it be Leclerc? Will it be Hamilton on the top step? And, you know, this is what I love about Lewis Hamilton. One great race in Canada and one slightly struggling race for Leclerc in Canada. And everyone's like, you know what?

[00:12:10] The great Hamilton is back. This is the team he always wanted. This is the car he always wanted. And he's going to be the one winning. And I have just two questions which I will shoot to Lewis Hamilton. Not that I expected answer. But the first is, were you or were you not in the simulator before Monaco? Because we've seen clearly that that's a factor in him having good performances. And the second, which we will all get a visual confirmation of, is your mom attending the Grand Prix?

[00:12:37] Because two times that's happened, China and Canada, both these things came true. Lewis was not in the sim and his mom was attending the Grand Prix. Listen, when mom comes home, you've got to be on your best behavior, right? You've got to keep the house clean. You've got to be a goody two shoes. I'm sure. I'm sure. I hope. I hope. I hope Mama Lewis Hamilton, I forgot her name, unfortunately.

[00:13:03] But I hope she's going to be attending because we all want that form to continue. But a question in my head, from what you said, Kunal, is this just another case of hopium? Are we looking at Hamilton's Montreal result and filling ourselves with hopium all over again? Because that was just one racetrack, one condition with particularly low grip and a circuit where Hamilton has always done well.

[00:13:32] And the simulator was a thing. It's more of a mental element. But with these top athletes, I know they tend to talk about this side of it quite a lot and their processes and how they do things having an impact on performance. But in reality, it is one of a hundred different factors involved. And this factor, the mind factor, the non-simulated driving factor for Lewis Hamilton, got a lot of the attention.

[00:14:00] But let's not forget the track, the conditions, the lack of grip and everything not suiting Charles was a big factor in why Lewis Hamilton did well. And also... This is where the ham forsy comes out for you. Are you trying to say it was not Lewis's greatness that made him actually drive better than Leclerc? I mean, by that logic, Sergio Perez's greatness was on display too, just for a different team. Let's see if he can continue on. Let's see if he can carry on with it.

[00:14:29] Like, it's Lewis Hamilton we're talking about. It's not an Arvid Lindblad, with all due respect for Arvid, where we see one performance and we're like, Kai's got potential. But it's Lewis. We know he's got potential. We know he can do this. Can you do this more often? Can you do this more often? Again, thanks to F1 guy Dan, this is another interesting stat. And we'll do some numerology even later on when we talk of George Russell.

[00:14:53] But the last time a race was held on 7th of June, Lewis Hamilton won in 2015. The Monaco Grand Prix is being held on 7th of June. So I haven't checked the numerology that works for Leclerc. But at least that's what we've got. And I mean, I honestly get this feeling. Leclerc at home, for being the Monaco specialist that he is, will have the upper hand when it comes to qualifying. And when you qualify better, you just tend to have a better race in Monaco.

[00:15:22] But Leclerc's biggest challenge in my mind, Sommel, may not come from Lewis Hamilton. And sorry for all the Lewis Hamilton fans. I believe it is going to come from McLaren. So these cars are narrower and shorter. And shorter wheelbase cars actually do well. And guess which wheelbase is actually the shortest amongst them all? It's McLaren. They are 10 centimeters shorter than the rest of them. Will this give them any sort of an advantage?

[00:15:50] So I am already throwing it away from a Lewis versus Hamilton. Sorry, Lewis versus Schaal to Schaal versus McLaren. That's what's going to happen when it comes our way. And on top of that, the McLarens have been excellent at mid-corner grip. They have been so good at how stable they've been. Like, just a recap of Canada or any other circuit will show you how planted that McLaren has been. Whereas the Mercedes has been very aggressive.

[00:16:21] Like, it's a live wire. At least in Canada, it certainly seemed more like it. But in general, that McLaren has been showcasing more mechanical grip than that Mercedes, which is insanely fast. Like, don't get me wrong. The drivers have to drive it very aggressively. But even the eye test, even the data that we see from the qualifying laps, everything points to us in McLaren's doing better at these places where you want more mechanical grip. And speaking of aero, sure, you need downforce in Monaco.

[00:16:50] You need all that you can get. But if you don't have a solid and stable enough mechanical platform, and that means your suspension, your tires, the way your power is delivered. If it's not stable and secure enough to give your driver the right feeling, no matter how much aero you get, it's always going to have its dead zones. Let's put it this way. Like, areas where you can't really feel the car because there's just not enough feedback for the driver. And then if it works, it works.

[00:17:19] If it doesn't, it doesn't. It's not very consistent. And that's been McLaren's strength, Kunal. Like, being very consistent in terms of managing all the surfaces, all the temperatures, has been something that they've done really well across the last few generations of cars. And that all points towards Monaco. And Monaco is a place where that really excels. My fear... Sorry, go ahead. No, no, no. Go for it. Your fear? My fear is, can they manage strategy well?

[00:17:47] Because Monaco is... Are you talking about McLaren or Ferrari? Oh. Because the reason why I interrupted you was to say that McLaren's strength could be that Ferrari might just start inventing something new on the racetrack in Monaco. Because strategy is important. Around the streets of Monaco, we'll get to strategy. But that's always the case. You will get good qualifying positions. But how do you manage strategy on that Sunday?

[00:18:16] So will Ferrari and McLaren have a flat-on? Who has the lesser or the worst strategies? You never know. But there's only one strategy at Monaco. The one-stopper. Like, it's all about the undercut. It's... 2016 comes to mind. Was it 2022 or 3? Where Leclerc was on course to have a pretty good result. Then Ferrari called him in for a set of inters and then gave him a set of slicks.

[00:18:45] But I'm messing the order around. But he had a dummy pit stop for no reason whatsoever. And he lost a ton of positions. Like, it's... It's all the timing. Like, can you time that stop perfectly? And McLaren's been very... Can we call them conservative, Kunal? In terms of their strategy? How would going on inters on a drying track be conservative? I think that was extremely aggressive. Or perhaps... What's the right... Very...

[00:19:15] Oh man, how do you describe McLaren's strategy approach? Come on, let's play this game. What's the word we're using? No, no. I'll put down all the strategy implications we might see on Sunday. Because I can't think of McLaren's strategy. So what... You said undercut. I also think the overcut could be powerful. Because what typically could happen is if... And we've seen this before. We've seen it with the Mercedes cars in the... I think it was 2012 when I was in Monaco. And I called it... It's not the silver arrows. It's the silver buses in action. Because it just slowed the pace down.

[00:19:44] So what typically happens is a slower car just gets out of position. And controls the pace of the driving. So we could see trains open up. We could see drivers just driving several seconds off the pace. Just trying to bunch people up. So their rivals can't really make a pit stop and get the overcut jump on them. Okay. And should you find a gap in the trains and in the traffic? You know, a driver stuck behind someone could actually pit.

[00:20:11] Put out faster laps and get the overcut to work as well. So we could see the undercut as well as the overcut. Depending on what the gaps in traffic are in Monaco. And this is actually that one circuit where the overcut is easier to explain to people. Because it is fairly evident. We saw, I think, it was Perez who did it once. It was Fettel who had done it as well. So lots of strategy implications. Now you can think of what McLaren's strategy is like. Is it aggressive? Is it conservative? Is it confusing? You could use that word.

[00:20:41] It's very committee oriented. It's very, we will evaluate all parameters and look at what the most logical solution is. Which does not sound wrong. Like when you're trying to describe it, it does not sound wrong. Like what McLaren are doing is not wrong. It's, it's... You know, this is what, this is what you call Gen Z's talk of situationship. This is like, you know, like just make it happen.

[00:21:08] Find a, find a, you know, like they say sometimes just put your hand outside of the pit. Wall gantry and just see what the weather gods are doing. Because it could rain in Monaco. Could we see the first wet race of the season at one of the most dangerous circuits in the world? In Monaco around the barriers. And I think that's, that's something that could be happening this weekend. Even if not on Sunday, but at least in the buildup. Will we finally see a wet weather race?

[00:21:35] Wet sessions, wet competitive sessions in Monaco. And I hope it's not FP1 or FP2. I hope it's more qualifying for the race itself. Because if it's FP1, FP2 drivers could still sit it out and say, you know what? I know it's not raining on Sunday, so I'm not going to go out on the Friday. So that's possibly what could happen. But you mentioned something I love the most. We shall come to that in a second. Time to take a few comments in the meantime.

[00:22:03] Praveen says, if Hamilton does fairly well and stays at Ferrari for the next couple of years, they would be in danger of losing Oliver Behrman. And, well, we'll see. We'll see how good Behrman can be. He's already smacking Ocon around. It might just be a George Russell case where he's got to wait for a few years until the opportunity comes up. So let's see. Let's see what the road looks like. But that's a possibility. Uttara has asked. I said that in the 2025 Monaco GP episode, good memory, by the way, Uttara,

[00:22:33] that Lewis said Ferrari was a collection of what-ifs because he hadn't had enough time as a Ferrari driver. Now that we've had 20 plus races since then, has he had enough time? Oh my word. That is a banger question. Oh. And Monaco is definitely not the place to test that question then, I would say. Yeah. Yeah.

[00:22:56] Well, it's like you're evaluating a student who was told to learn French in the first year and Spanish in the other. And you're like, is this person a good language learner? And tough to tell, tough to tell. Both languages have their own things. And I mean, I don't know. What if that person is a natural Swedish speaker? Like it's, you never know where the inclinations are. It's, I think you need a period of two full years.

[00:23:26] This is when we find out, don't we? Like now, like, and with Europe coming in with now six races in the next, what, eight weeks? This is where we really find out. I feel. And what do you feel, Gunnar? I mean, yeah. I mean, you know, I'm excited. I'm very excited to see Hamilton in Monaco after what we saw in Canada. For the only reason that if he's finally found that comfort in the car, can he deliver those special results as we've seen?

[00:23:52] And again, the benchmark shouldn't just be qualifying because Charles Leclerc in qualifying in Monaco are like superlatives, all of that. The benchmark should be how he progresses through the weekend where he is amongst the competition. So even if he's beaten by Charles, but he's there in or thereabouts, a couple of tents here and there, I would still say that's a great weekend. You know, Monaco is an outlier. Toto Wolff just said a couple of hours ago that if you have a car which is competitive elsewhere, that doesn't automatically mean you're going to be competitive in Monaco.

[00:24:22] Maybe this is already his hint of saying this is where the first non-Mercedes win of the season may well come because we're not focusing on Monaco. We are building a car that's quick everywhere else while some of our rivals are probably going to focus on getting that win in Monaco. Yeah, exactly. And how that translates over the whole year is going to be the fun story. That's what I'm excited about.

[00:24:44] I like how you put, you know, this is the toughest litmus test for these cars because we've almost had no overtaking in Monaco. I think all of five overtakes in the last two years and last year's overtake was courtesy of Lance Stroll pretty much on the last lap of the Grand Prix. With these cars that are overtaking on steroids, call it what you may, will we still find overtakes? Will there be overtakes? Different parts of the circuit. That's what I'm looking out for.

[00:25:12] Will there be an overtake? The classic good old way on the outside or the hairpin? I would love to see that. I want to see Formula One go full Formula E. I don't regret what I said. I want that to happen. I want people to pass people around the outside of Borevaj or around the hairpin, as Kunal said. I want drivers to tussle heading into the Nouvelle chicane. Like I want them to fight. If they crash, sure, cars are as safe as they've ever been. Hopefully the marshals will be okay.

[00:25:42] Safety barriers are around. It's not going to be like in the 1950s, where if you crash, you go straight into the ocean and someone has to dive down to rescue you. Although the divers will be there. It's not going to be that bad, guys. Like it's not going to be like Iron Man 2, where if you crash, there's going to be parts in the stands. And then an evil villain will come in and destroy the whole circuit. It's not going to be that bad. So just go for it, man. Just give it a try. Like I want to see that. And just to add.

[00:26:10] The onus is on you, Cadillac. Do something fun. Find a way. This is your big moment. Make a mark. But is this the first time in 2026 we will actually see a Formula 1 class Grand Prix? It's a circuit. No aero movement. One second. That's a big statement. Yeah, because there are no aero movements.

[00:26:38] So no flappy wings that we call it that's going to happen. So for the first time since 2011, we're going to go to Monaco where no movable aero is there. No DRS, no overtake, sorry, no straight line mode. And then it's one of those energy dense circuits. So drivers are not going to run out of power by the end of the lap. That's the hope. The FIA has kept power unit recovery as normal as expected.

[00:27:06] This is the original Formula 1 setting that everyone hoped would work everywhere. Will it work in Monaco? Should it work in Monaco? It's the first time we're going to see Formula 1 racing in 2026. And to me, I want to see how these cars do around a dense circuit. I want to see how the drivers go. See, we've still got very close qualifying sessions. And yes, in the last two or three races, we've also seen qualifying, you know, teammates stacking up next to each other. Now, is this case of drivers just knowing how much they need to do to be next to their teammate?

[00:27:36] Or can the drivers actually for once make a difference if you're not going to drive in a way where you're saving energy? So that's another thing to look out for. So we've spoken of overtaking and the qualifying as well. And also, Monaco will, on top of finding the best driver, will also create a situation where we find the best chassis. Because what else is there to do? Like, what else is there to do? Aero? It's not as important as other places.

[00:28:07] Power? Not as important as other places. Active Aero? Gone. Gone. What do you do then? It's all mechanical grip and chassis. And I get a feeling Williams and Red Bull are going to be paying badly for all the errors that they made in the development phase. They are going to get hurt at this circuit and it's going to be exaggerated. And Verstappen, I hope that's not the case, but would be more happy to be on the yacht than in the car.

[00:28:36] Because they were also facing setup issues in Canada, where their mechanical grip was all over the place. I just fear this might probably end up being Verstappen's worst Monaco Grand Prix. I mean, can it even get worse? Because he's at three podiums in 10 races at Monaco. He's had no podium since 2023. 2024 was 6th. 2025 was 4th. And he's had one top three qualifying in the last four years when he had pole in 2023.

[00:29:06] So, there is a lot that's at stake, even from a numerical point of view, from a stats point of view, for the likes of Max Verstappen. But if we just move focus on Monaco again, is this still really the most sought-after race to win across the 24 races that we've got? It is. It is. It is. Tell me why. It is. It is. It is. It is. There is no question. There is no question. Sorry. I know a lot of people. Tell me why. Tell me three reasons why.

[00:29:36] Listen, it's Monaco. It's Monaco. It's, guys, it's the crown jewel. It's, it's what you dream about as a kid. That's why you do this. If I remove the FIFA World Cup from the world of football, would you still play it? Like, sure, you would still play it. Like, you'd have a lot of fun winning the UEFA Champions League. Or, like, if, if you end up removing, like, Wimbledon from tennis.

[00:30:05] Sure, you'd still enjoy winning the Australian Open and the US Open. But if you remove Wimbledon from tennis, would you still enjoy playing tennis as much? Like, the, the all whites, the grass, the smell of it, the strawberry and cream. It's why you go, it's why you play the sport. It's why you go racing. Come on, nothing can top Monaco. Like, it's... And the history and the legacy. Yes. Formula One is trying to create 24 Super Bowls. The Las Vegas Grand Prix is touted to be like Monaco, the next Monaco.

[00:30:35] But it is still not Monaco. You know, I remember the Eminem lyrics where there's a million out there just like me trying to walk, talk and act like me. Just might be the next best thing, but not quite me. And that's what is Monaco. By the way, cheers to that. I did not know, Kunal, you were into hip-hop. Salute. Salute. That is... Where there's philosophy, I'm always there.

[00:31:00] You know, the fun story around this is in our, what, 10 odd years, knowing each other, like, personally, like, even a relationship longer than that. I have never had a conversation with Kunal on music. This is the first time I've actually caught a lyric, which is insane. And that too, that too, when we're talking about... What were we talking about? I forgot. The lyric became more important. But it's... Amazing. Moment of the day.

[00:31:30] But should we, should we, should we then move on to the big question? Is it Antonelli's title to lose? And this is where it's not Antonelli versus Russell that's coming up in my mind. It's Antonelli versus Europe. Now, last year... Antonelli versus Europe? Antonelli versus Europe. Is Antonelli leaving Europe just like the UK did? Antonelli links it? Oh, it's a...

[00:32:01] Sorry, that was a silly one, but we had to. So, let's remember, here's some fun stats. He has a race win streak of four races. And that's already longer than Ferrari's race winning streak since 2009. So, give me Antonelli is doing something really magical. Now you know why the Italian media is busy covering Antonelli and not Leclerc versus... And they're also busy covering him because sinner is injured. What do they do? Oh, yeah.

[00:32:30] And the Pope's also American. So, they've got less to talk about. But on Antonelli, there's this thing going around in the media. I'm just going to put it up on the screen. It's about countries that allow titanium dioxide as a food additive. And if you see, it's banned in Europe. And is this the reason? What words? Did you say titanium dioxide? Yes. Titanium dioxide. Correct.

[00:33:04] So, Europe, pretty much all the European races, I'm going to read them out. Italy, Monaco, Spain, Austria, Belgium, Hungary, Netherlands. Again, Italy, because last year there were two Italy races, right? There was Imola and Monza. But all European races do not have titanium dioxide allowed as a food additive. Could this be, you know, the superpower that Kimi Antonelli relies on? Because it's no longer just Antonelli versus Russell.

[00:33:33] I believe it is Antonelli versus Europe. Because he struggled in these races last year. And let's remember, he's not the same driver as he was last year. It's also not the same car. But just lovely to bring this up. You know, Kimi Antonelli versus titanium dioxide to be more precise. Yes, shit man. That's what I meant. Sorry, that's just the username. But I want to see how he does in Europe.

[00:34:00] He's proved everyone wrong since the start of the season. Here's one more shot. Titanium dioxide, man. I mean, I've heard stories of Diego Maradona not doing as well due to some other substances. But titanium oxide is the first time I'm ever hearing having any role in any athlete's performance. I'm curious now. I'm curious now. This is going to be interesting.

[00:34:29] But is this his championship to lose? It is, isn't it? He's the favorite. Who else are we calling the favorite now apart from Kimi Antonelli? Even if George Russell's come out and said that the title is his to lose. Well, it clearly is Antonelli's title to lose now. And it could get bigger.

[00:34:52] I'm going to hype it even further because I love it when there's something momentous for us to aim towards. And Kimi Antonelli, he's already joined Senna, Schumacher, Hamilton and all the other greats and all the records that he's set. Youngest pole sitter. Youngest driver to win multiple races as well. Youngest to win four consecutive races after his first win. It's all phenomenal. He's already joined the legends in what he's done.

[00:35:20] But Monaco, Monaco is different. You could be having your face and your name written on the same winners list as Hamilton, as Rosberg, as Vettel, Schumacher, Senna, Lauda, Stewart, Fangio. You could go on and on and on and on. And that, like I know all of your panics are also on this list. And so is Yano Truni.

[00:35:49] But that is an incredible list to be on, isn't it, Kunal? It is. And, you know, I'm, for Antonelli's sake, I'm eager to see how he tames Monaco. Because if he drives in Monaco the way he's driven in the last five races of the season, first five races of the season, I actually don't think he's going to finish the race, truthfully. Because of the way he was driving in Canada, he was using runoff areas. And, you know, he's been very carefree. I wouldn't use the word careless. Monaco will not reward you if you're carefree.

[00:36:18] You still have to be within the barriers. Even a nudge is all you need for everything to just fall apart. So I'm going to tell you why else, you know. So in 2016, Rosberg had exactly a 43-point lead over Lewis after five rounds. And he went on to win the championship, right? So Somers' video is frozen. He's had some issues. That's what's coming up. And the most consecutive races, Lewis has ever won is five. Kimmy's at four.

[00:36:45] Yes, we know that as well. But I think there's a lot of internet issues. People don't want us to talk about some of the drivers. But Antonelli is the latest driver. Okay, someone's still here. Okay, I can't see you. Wait, wait, wait. Antonelli has won four out of the five races of a season. The first four out of the five, right? Every time a driver's done that, he's gone on to win the Drivers' World Championship. Every time.

[00:37:19] So it's supposed to come, but it's a damn long season ahead, Somers. Yeah. And well, there's still the places where titanium dioxide is not permitted. So we'll find out. We'll find out. And also, he's got to qualify at Monaco. And listen, Monaco takes no prisoners. Monaco will really, really annoy the life out of you.

[00:37:50] Leclerc had to wait for so long. He came in Formula One in 2018. He had to wait till 2024 to win his first race here. Verstappen. I remember, like for two consecutive years, Verstappen was frustrated by virtual safety cars or like rather yellow flags in qualifying because he was on a brilliant lap two times. And then someone or the other crashed and they had to abandon it. And that's just been that.

[00:38:15] It's someone or the other included Checo Perez and Max got his revenge later on in the year in Brazil. In fact, could the Antonelli-Russell rivalry lead to some antics like these where either one of the drivers just. Does it to get ahead of the other? Because on track, there's nothing to separate them. And when there's nothing to separate two drivers on track, they resort to off-track gimmicks or gimmicks on track as well. I'm not trying to say that we'll have a lot of scars or what Rosberg did or what Perez did.

[00:38:45] All of that could happen or none of that could happen because Kimi or George just put two tents on their teammate and is clear because Mercedes' last pole and win was 2019. And a Mercedes driver on pole has converted three out of five victories. So they just need to get pole position and that their chances are higher. But in the case of Russell, he's at two podiums this season. There's numerology, like I said. So he's at two podiums this season, just as many as Leclerc, Piastri and Hamilton.

[00:39:15] And in Monaco, he's finished fifth as his best result three times. 22, 23 and 24. Okay, so there's a lot going against George and he's also never started in the top four. So George Russell needs to elevate his performance in Monaco should he want to eat into that 43 point gap before it becomes a 63 point gap at some point.

[00:39:42] And it could go wrong at any given moment because it's Monaco. And we've also seen that Russell gets frustrated very quickly. Rather, let's just say he expresses his frustration more publicly than some other drivers do. And it's also picked up by the F1 media quite often because they're always looking for some sort of color to be able to add to our stories. But we've seen Russell be annoyed with how slow traffic has been like any other driver.

[00:40:12] I just hope he's able to hold his cool and we're able to see the George Russell we know and the George Russell we all were in awe of from last year. It's Mr. Consistent and I really want to see that big qualifying lap. And I'm so excited for qualifying, Kunal. I think even before we go to the special liveries and everything around that, we should talk about our predictions for qualifying because at Monaco, the qualifying more often than not is the race.

[00:40:43] It is. It is. And let's move to liveries because there's a while we do that, there's a question. The only track we could have random things happen with or without rain is Monaco. Then why do we not have anything crazy since 1996? And what is the probability of a crazy race happening? The probability is always high. But there is one more factor this year which could come to it. For the first time in over a decade, Monaco is not going to be about 20 cars, but 22 cars.

[00:41:12] So we have two more cars cramped up on the narrow circuit and everything else is the same as it's always been in Monaco. But what is the probability? I think the probability is always high. But when you have 22 of the best drivers or 21 of the best drivers around the world now racing, I think they also know what it takes to entertain without causing chaos.

[00:41:35] Well, actually, very interesting point you made there because the last time we had over 20 must have been 20... The HRTs of the world were around. ...15, I would assume so, right? 2015 was manners last year. Yeah. No, 2016. Because I remember Ocon came in 2016. So 2016. Since 2017, the cars got bigger and wider. We went back down to 20.

[00:42:04] And everything just became like just all about the start and the pit stop. So now that we have two more cars, now that we have cars that are, let's say, better at racing because of the electric bits, I'm very curious. I'm really, really, really very curious. Like it should be fun. But special liveries. Are you a fan of what McLaren have done for their 1000th Grand Prix?

[00:42:32] Because I'm struggling to understand what's special about it. What's special about it is the fact that they would have had to wait to know actually which race is going to be our 1000th Grand Prix. Because we had two races cancelled in the season. So technically, this race, 1000th Grand Prix livery should have come earlier. Then there was China where there were two DNSs. So technically, they're still on 999. But I don't care about livery. All that matters to me is how well they entertain on track.

[00:43:02] Matters a little bit, Kunal. Matters a little bit. Does it not? I mean, like Alpine next year rocking up in full Gucci colors. That'll make a difference, won't it? I mean, yes, to the team. I'd love for the marketing team and the livery design team that gets involved. Maybe I've done that and that's why I don't feel to be any more special. Although I must say, Aston Martin's livery, where they say the livery will change colors depending on the light and when you see it. I'm curious to know how that feels. And this is an interesting point. It feels rusted. It feels like a rusted livery.

[00:43:31] It's like a car part that's been rusted from one side. So it's all perfect in all the other parts. But then there's some areas that are like gritty and like brown. What is this? At least in the photos I see. I must highlight one point here. Yes, the engineering team is lacking on speed, is lacking on results. But that doesn't stop the commercial team and the marketing teams from delivering what their commercial and marketing and sponsorship objectives are.

[00:43:58] This livery would have been committed to the title, to the sponsor several races ago. So it doesn't matter if you're three seconds off the pace, but we will still give you what's needed. And having said that, on a circuit where power is not that important, can Fernando Alonso put in that special lap to get out of Q1? Yes. Because that's something I'd love to see. Which then tells me, are we going to predictions? Yes, we should. Or does drive a silly season?

[00:44:28] Before we get to predictions. Already! Because we spoke of Alonso. Alexander Albin, AA, is rumored to be moving either to Audi with A or Aston Martin with A in place of driver Alonso with A. Or with Alpine, also with A. What is with, on one hand, numerology and on the second hand, whatever the word-ology or whatever the word for this is. Man! Okay.

[00:44:58] This is interesting. Let's see. If it's, it's, it's, it's such a silly, silly, silly, silly, silly season rumor because... And we shouldn't even react to it. Yeah. Like, sure. Like, okay. Like, yeah, of course he could go to any of these teams. Like, sure. It's... I don't know what to say. Like, when there's something concrete, we'll figure it out. But it's, it's a...

[00:45:27] Actually, this, you guys might be wondering, okay, why, why do these guys not care? Like, what's happening? But I think it's also a case of, you know, we having seen so many of these rumors having come and gone. And if there's nothing concrete and if there's no news about any conversations with the right set of people or no contract on the table or no inclination towards what the driver wants in the future, be it security or a fast car or a certain type of relationship with someone. I don't care. Like, it's...

[00:45:56] You might as well be saying something like, Nick Tiffreese is planning to come back to Formula 1. Yes, of course he is planning to come back to Formula 1. But who's there to give him the seat? It's... It's... It's that kind of situation. But, yeah. Okay. Prediction before... You're still stuck. So don't do anything with it. Let's just do predictions. You're still stuck. But, yeah. Who do you think is taking pole position?

[00:46:23] Oh, man. Who is going to be the bravest and the most precise at Monaco? Who is going to be the bravest and most precise at Monaco? Is the question you're asking me. For that one final lap. Oh, man. This is a tough spot. You're getting dramatic. Oh, man.

[00:46:52] So Lando Norris or Charles Leclerc is what I'm narrowing it down to. I'm going with Charles Leclerc. Oh, man. Oh, man. Oh, man. Shitman has come in and said, Gassley for the podium. Well, could well be. You never know. Oh, man. Amal, as you're saying, I really don't like it as a Ferrari fan that the pressure is on us to win. So you've got either a McLaren or a Ferrari on pole. I've taken a Ferrari on pole.

[00:47:22] Who do you think is winning? Can't tell. I can't tell. Monaco is the one race that I can't tell. I think it's going to be Oscar Piastri winning. Two consecutive podiums that he's had in Monaco. He's on a 14-race streak of no wins. This is a title contender from last year. 14 races. Almost a year that it could be till he wins.

[00:47:51] And in the last three races, Piastri has outscored everyone except Antonelli. And this is despite not scoring in two out of, or rather three out of the five races because he had two did not starts and one, we won. I still can't tell. I still can't tell. Because I'm thinking, who's going to take pole? And just in my head are flashing images

[00:48:20] of that last gasp qualifying lap. And with these cars, with the new variable, and these conditions where we don't know whose chassis is exactly the best and how each car performs without having active aero. And what would the impact of having smaller straits and barely any area to deploy all that battery have on these race cars? How much of a limiting, Somal?

[00:48:51] No, I'm going to qualifying with a blank slate. I am just also, I love all the commentators around the world. And I quite often alternate between Alex Jakes and his team and F1 TV and Crofty and his team at Sky Sports. Because on Saturdays, we don't commentate, right? On fan quotes. We only come on on the Sundays. So I know where I'm going to be watching on Sundays. But on the Saturdays, I love these guys. But I am going to have to turn the commentary off because all I care about is to see how these cars take on Monaco

[00:49:20] and how these drivers attack it. Have you, by the way, picked a winner? No, I have not. Okay, I'll make it easier for you. Okay. Your favorite driver, Carlos Sainz. Yeah. He's had most of his podiums in Monaco. He has the same number of podiums at Max Verstappen, which is three. He has a 100% scoring record in Monaco with 10 starts. So you can bet on him for at least scoring points. And this year,

[00:49:50] again, numerology at play, every time Carlos Sainz is finished in the points, he's finished in ninth place. This was in China, Miami, and then Canada. Interesting. But, you know, with this, I'm going to sort of, sorry, I'm still stuck on the prediction part. I'm going to make it a rule now on the Inside Line of the Podcast. We're going to look forward to Barcelona already. No, but, you know, for the big three,

[00:50:20] for Indy, for Monaco, and for Le Mans, just don't put your predictions. Just don't. It's pointless. The race finds its winner. Motorsport Romantic at this point. But that, that was that. That's all we have for Monaco. It's a lot of fun to be able to talk to you guys and get your opinions and your predictions as well. And Kunal will be live on the Hindi Formula 1 broadcast this Sunday

[00:50:49] on FanCode. So make sure you're watching him. And, yeah, it's going to be a really, really exciting weekend. I'm going to be doing MotoGP this weekend, although I'm going to be watching Monaco. So make sure you're watching MotoGP on Eurosport in India 45 minutes before the race. That's when I go live if you're a fan of two-wheel racing. And you should be because Kimi Antonelli is also a fan. So, yeah, that's going to happen as well. But for now, thanks for watching, guys. Make sure you're subscribing to the Inside Line F1 podcast on Instagram and YouTube because Uttara's doing some

[00:51:18] really fun work bringing all the short clips to you. And we really want to make sure that we're able to increase our audience base through that. So if you enjoy the shorter clips more than the longer ones, we've got you covered. But we will see you after the race on Sunday. Catch you, guys. Thanks. Thank you.