Inside Line F1 Podcast

Why did Lando Norris claim that he should have won the 2024 Spanish Grand Prix? In fact, why did Norris run a different race strategy vs. Max Verstappen, and why was he not too concerned about the Mercedes drivers?Why did George Russell's race attack wear off mid-race? And of course, how did Max Verstappen end up winning a race despite the McLaren being the quicker car yet again? Why has Ferrari lost ground for the second race in succession, and why was Carlos Sainz involved in Turn 1 incidents with Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton? Did Mercedes sabotage Russell's race (sarcasm alert!) by putting him on the hard in his final stint while Lewis Hamilton chose the soft? Why was Sergio Perez's 8th place finish lauded by Christian Horner.Fun fact: Perez was the only three-stopping driver who finished in the pointsWhat happened to Aston Martin? Fernando Alonso was 17 seconds off Nico Hulkenberg for P11 (lap 58/66), and of course, how did Alpine change their fortunes? Is it the "Flavio Briatore effect" felt at Enstone already? In this episode of the Inside Line F1 Podcast, Soumil Arora and Kunal Shah dissect the 2024 Spanish Grand Prix by answering a lot of race-related questions, discussing stats-facts and more. Tune in!(Season 2024, Episode 29)Follow our hosts on Twitter: Soumil Arora and Kunal ShahImage courtesy: McLaren Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In the end, Max Verstappen won the 2024 Canadian Grand Prix, also his 60th win in Formula 1. However, there were two other drivers who could've equally won the race - Mercedes' George Russell and McLaren's Lando Norris. The race, that saw several interruptions thanks to the rain and Safety Car, eventually rewarded "track position" given that the pace between the protagonists was very similar. In fact, Mercedes' pit stops at the restart for fresh tyres was a masterstroke. It gave them significant tyre delta to pull off overtakes and score their first podium of the season. Of course, this was after George Russell scored the team's first pole position of the season on Saturday. The other two key strategy moments were - Haas' "wet" tyre start of the race. Kevin Magnussen & Nico Hulkenberg were flying in the first tenth of the race! They pulled off overtakes at will. The other moment was when Yuki Tsunoda and Esteban Ocon chose to not pit under the Safety Car and pile 44 laps on the inters. This gave them track position in the top-10! The 2024 Canadian Grand Prix was chaotic, but fun. It offered us a good mix of on-track action, mixed weather, a multi-team battle and Alpine's first double points finish of the 2024 Formula 1 season. Tune in! (Season 2024, Episode 27) Follow our hosts on Twitter: Soumil Arora and Kunal Shah Image courtesy: Red Bull Content Pool Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The "kerbs" at the Gilles Villeneuve Circuit in Montreal, that's where everyone's eyes could be in the build-up to this weekend's 2024 Canadian Grand Prix. Will Red Bull Racing's RB20 continue to struggle over the kerbs, and if so, could this give us another non-Red Bull Racing win in 2024? From the Ferrari and McLaren drivers, Oscar Piastri is the only driver yet to score a win. In Monaco, Piastri could've scored pole and then won the race had he strung all his sectors together in Qualifying. Could he be the one challenging for win in Canada this weekend? Btw, 3 x DRS zones means Red Bull Racing will have that much more tarmac to unleash their efficient DRS wing on! All eyes also on the wind and the temperature - could the wind catch Ferrari out and could cooler temperatures bring Mercedes into play? Is there a Sergio Perez-Red Bull Racing announcement expected pre-Canada? Btw, the Lance Stroll Grandstand has been sold out for this weekend. It's his home race. Can he do something special...for once? Lots to look forward to on and off the track...and in this 40+ mins long episode. Tune in! (Season 2024, Episode 26) Follow our hosts on Twitter: Soumil Arora and Kunal Shah Image courtesy: Google Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Everything about Monaco is different. Yes, it is. It's not just the race distance or the circuit length, but even the podium ceremony. Did you know that in Monaco the trophies are handed out before the national anthem? At the other circuits, it is the other way around. Yes, keep an eye out for this one. For the teams and drivers, the challenge of Monaco is what excites them. Qualifying is key and "track position" is everything around the streets of Monaco. In the race, it is more about not ceding track position to your rival than finishing the race in the shortest possible race time. For the teams, Monaco is logistical challenge given the smaller confines to work within. Upgrades are the name of the game, but the "confidence" in the cockpit is what the teams will help their drivers chase in Monaco. The talk about Monaco is usually about "leaving lap time" on the table, since the time comes when you go up close to the walls and barriers! It's more about margins to the walls than margins between teams when Formula 1 is racing in Monaco. Join @f1statsguru and Kunal Shah in this episode of the Inside Line F1 Podcast as they preview the upcoming 2024 Monaco Grand Prix. (Season 2024, Episode 24) Follow our hosts on Twitter: @f1statsguru and Kunal Shah Image courtesy: Red Bull Content Pool Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Max Verstappen & Lando Norris have finished in the top-2 positions in the last 3 races of the 2024 Formula 1 season. The question on everyone's mind is - will the Verstappen-Norris battle continue through the season? If the 2023 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix is anything to go by, it does seem so. If Miami was won by Norris-McLaren thanks to the Safety Car, Norris' late-race charge in Imola confirmed McLaren's turn of pace thanks to their steady upgrade plans...a plan that started in Austria last year. Since their win in Miami, McLaren's communication has changed - from claiming that they could challenge Red Bull Racing, they're now saying than can. For Formula 1's sake, one can only hope so. But how could Lando Norris launch such a late-race charge on Max Verstappen? How did Verstappen-Red Bull recover after a messy start to the weekend? Could Norris have attacked Verstappen earlier, and if the race was a lap longer, could Norris have actually one?  In this episode of the Inside Line F1 Podcast, Kunal Shah and @f1statsguru review the 2024 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix, Soumil Arora, who is on holiday in the north-eastern part of India, was sorely missed! Is Mercedes now the 'best of the rest'? Why have Yuki Tsunoda and Nico Hulkenberg impressed everyone in 2024? Did Hulkenberg's tow cost McLaren a 1-2 in Qualifying on Saturday? Sergio Perez is now third in the Drivers' Championship behind Charles Leclerc - could this hamper his contract extension talks? And of course, did Ferrari's upgrades work?  Lots of narratives, explainers and facts-stats packed in this 50+ mins long episode. Tune in! (Season 2024, Episode 23) Follow our hosts on Twitter: @f1statsguru and Kunal Shah Image courtesy: Red Bull Content Pool Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Could a new pecking order emerge at the 2024 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix? It's the first European race of the season and we expect teams to bring a plethora of upgrades to this race. Can the upgrades really make things tighter between Red Bull Racing, McLaren and Ferrari? It's not the top-3, but all teams that could see their fortunes change this weekend onward. McLaren and Ferrari were in the battle for 2nd place, but is it actually for 1st place with Red Bull Racing? OR will Max Verstappen return with vengeance at Imola, as he usually does so after losing a race? Lots of exciting stories to look forward to for this weekend's race. Nico Hulkenberg, the Formula 1 veteran, has never raced at Imola! He's also the first driver to join another team...after racing for Haas. Btw, Kevin Magnussen is 2 points away from a race ban, will he clean up his racing act? Or will Oliver Bearman end up racing for two teams in 2024? In this episode of the Inside Line F1 Podcast, Soumil Arora, @f1statsguru and Kunal Shah preview the 2024 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix. Imola, the historic venue that will host this weekend's race, is often remembered for the deaths of Ayrton Senna and Roland Ratzenberger. It has been 30 years since their passing at the 1994 Imola Grand Prix, of course, at Imola.  Lots in store in this near hour long chat, tune in! (Season 2024, Episode 22) Follow our hosts on Twitter: Soumil Arora, @f1statsguru and Kunal Shah Image courtesy: McLaren Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Adrian Newey bombshell has finally dropped...on Red Bull Racing and all of Formula 1. But what Newey does next is more of interest, of course. F1 TV's lead voice and commentator Alex Jacques is our special guest on this episode of the Inside Line F1 Podcast. "What a problem to have for someone who has won 200 Grands Prix," said Alex Jacques, the guest on this episode of the Inside Line F1 Podcast. Soumil Arora and Jacques discussed with a lot of confidence that Maranello is where Newey will be headed to next...to work for Ferrari. "A great addition to his already fabled CV!" concluded Jacques. In this "voices of F1" episode series, which is also a bonus episode before the 2024 Miami Grand Prix, Soumil and Alex spoke about Carlos Sainz's options, including Audi, Kimi Antonelli to Mercedes, Wolff-Hamilton and lots more. Tune in! (Season 2024, Episode 19) Follow our hosts on Twitter: Soumil Arora and Alex Jacques Image courtesy: Red Bull Content Pool Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Could Fernando Alonso get a penalty yet again? He's had 2 in the first 5 races of the 2024 Formula 1 season...for "racing" his rivals on-track. This race, last year - was when Max Verstappen engaged "God" mode. He's never had pole position in Miami, but has won both the races held here. The weather is expected to be hot and humid - could Verstappen score yet another pole position, race win, fastest lap...and also, the fastest pit stop of the race? Red Bull Racing is operating on a different level than the others. We expect Red Bull Racing's "politics" to also hit a new peak this weekend. After much silence in the Austral-Asian rounds, Adrian Newey reportedly wants to leave Red Bull Racing for "personal" races / moral grounds in the aftermath of the Christian Horner misconduct saga. Will Newey actually GO or is he doing what Helmut Marko did a few races ago - report an exit via the media only to then have the owners of Red Bull stage a public "comeback" confirmation? Already, the three pillars of Red Bull Racing - Christian Horner, Helmut Marko and Adrian Newey, have all had their own stories of leaving/staying with the World Champion team in only the first 5 races of the season. Audi's first-ever signing in Formula 1 is Nico Hulkenberg. Who will their second driver be? And is signing Nico the best step forward for Audi? We expect the "driver silly season" to be another key talking point this weekend, which btw, also happens to be a back-to-back "F1 Sprint" race weekend. In this episode of the Inside Line F1 Podcast, Soumil Arora and Kunal Shah look forward to the F1 Sprint and Grand Prix in Miami. They discuss stats, facts and fun trends that have emerged from the first 5 races of the season.  Tune in! (Season 2024, Episode 18) Follow our hosts on Twitter: Soumil Arora and Kunal Shah Image courtesy: Red Bull Content Pool Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Ferrari challenge faded in China. McLaren and Lando Norris were a distant second best. Truth be told, Max Verstappen-Red Bull Racing went unchallenged in the 2024 Chinese Grand Prix. In this episode of the Inside Line F1 Podcast, Soumil Arora, @f1statsguru and Kunal Shah re-live the most memorable moments from Formula 1's return to China. The F1 Sprint, qualifying, Sprint Shoot-out and the Grand Prix - Fernando Alonso stood out through ALL those sessions! Carlos Sainz's spin and crash, Lewis Hamilton's setup change that he will never repeat in life, Lando Norris' pole lap for the Sprint, Lance Stroll's lack of focus at the restart, Ricciardo's post-race anger and more.  Tune in! (Season 2024, Episode 17) Follow our hosts on Twitter: Soumil Arora, @f1statsguru and Kunal Shah Image courtesy: Red Bull Content Pool   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

5 years and 105 races later, the Chinese Grand Prix is back to host Formula 1. The BIGGEST talking point of the weekend will be the Sprint format - and the sole 60 mins-long practice session for the team-drivers to dial their setup in.  A lot has changed in Formula 1 since the sport last raced in China. For starters, Mercedes aren't dominating, Max Verstappen is now a World Champion along with Red Bull Racing, Fernando Alonso is back...and Ferrari, well, they're still Ferrari - happy to be in the / lead the chasing pack instead of being chased themselves. Tyres will be another key talking point at the Shanghai International Circuit. The last time Formula 1 raced in China, it wasn't just the tyres that were different, but the wheel rims, too. Yes, Formula 1 raced the 13" rims back then (and currently use the 18" ones). The SIC is expected to be front-limited and heavy on tyre wear - will that bring Ferrari closer to Red Bull Racing? If the conditions are cooler, it will aid Mercedes and McLaren. A lot of stats and facts are packed in this episode, happy listening! Tune in! (Season 2024, Episode 16) Follow our hosts on Twitter: Soumil Arora and Kunal Shah Image courtesy: Red Bull Content Pool   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices