Inside Line F1 Podcast

Is Ferrari really on the mend? They only scored a 3-4 finish in the 2024 Japanese Grand Prix BUT that finish came at the back of very good tyre degradation...and race strategy.  Now whether you've been following Formula 1 recently or for the past many years, you would know that these are two factors that have usually held Ferrari back on the Sundays. Helmets off to Frederic Vasseur and all of Ferrari for having turned these variables around in their favour. You know what made Ferrari's race strategy and tyre degradation even more impressive? The track was at its hottest on Sunday - and that impacts tyre wear and usage directly. Elsewhere, Max Verstappen won his 57th race in Formula 1; after scoring his 36th career pole on Saturday. Verstappen has been unbeaten in Qualifying in the first 4 races of the season. Is this a new streak building up? Sergio Perez is doing what's expected of him, but how has he turned things around? Who has picked up the pieces in the top-10 each time they were available? Also, why did Lewis Hamilton ask to swap position with George Russell? Why was McLaren unable to challenge Ferrari at Suzuka.  Lots of race discussions...insights, stats and banter with Soumil Arora, @f1statsguru and Kunal Shah in this episode of the Inside Line F1 Podcast. Tune in! (Season 2024, Episode 15) Follow our hosts on Twitter: Soumil Arora, @f1statsguru and Kunal Shah Image courtesy: Ferrari Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What a Formula 1 debut weekend for Oliver Bearman! For starters, he didn't crash - and mind you, he had two FPs less than the other 19 races at the world's fastest street circuit. He almost knocked Lewis Hamilton out of Q3, pulled off overtakes in the Grand Prix to score his first points for Ferrari in Formula 1.  And yes, he's scored more points in Formula 1 in 2024...than in Formula 2. Heck, he also won the "Driver of the Day" in Saudi Arabia. Thanks to Bearman, Ferrari now has three drivers in the top-10 of the Drivers' Championship! The 2024 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix was the best advertisement for Bearman's candidature for  a Formula 1 seat in 2025. Also in this episode of the Inside Line F1 Podcast, Soumil Arora and Kunal Shah look back at the 2024 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix. Just how far up the road is Max Verstappen and Red Bull Racing? Will Verstappen be challenged at all on-track in 2024? Will he score another "10 wins on the trot" record OR will he add more to it? Has Sergio Perez accepted that he's only ever going to be the "second-best" driver in the world? Is Mercedes the second-fastest team in 2024 or have they fallen back? Why were McLaren and Mercedes unable to overtake each other? Will the two Red Bull Racing and Ferrari drivers continue to occupy the podium for the races to come? Did Fernando Alonso quality and finish the race out-of-place for Aston Martin? Does Lance Stroll need "how not to crash" lessons still? "Can you bring it back, Lance?" is the most-epic radio message of the season! Why did the FIA not penalise Lando Norris for his apparent jump start? Why did Kevin Magnussen get 2 x 10 second time penalties? Also, Magnussen's heroics helped Haas F1 Team and Nico Hulkenberg score their first point for the 2024 Formula 1 season. In fact, Haas is only the sixth team to score points this season. Alpine's struggles, Daniel Ricciardo's spin and Racing Bulls-Yuki Tsunoda's annoyance with Magnussen's heroics. We've got a lot packed in this review episode of the Inside Line F1 Podcast. Tune in! (Season 2024, Episode 11) Follow our hosts on Twitter: Soumil Arora and Kunal Shah Image courtesy: Ferrari Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Mohammed Ben Sulayem was jealous of the attention Christian Horner was getting with his scandal. So MBS decided to a scandal or three, for that matter, of his. Yes, it's the 2024 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, but we expect MBS and the ongoing Red Bull Racing power struggles to take centre stage. Will the Red Bull Racing team agree to internal compromises OR will they implode and fall apart? Let's hope the end to their dominance isn't as rubbish as it seems from the outside. In this episode of the Inside Line F1 Podcast, Soumil Arora and Kunal Shah dissect the MBS and Red Bull-gate - what exactly is happening, and why? Also, we talk about the teams/drivers that need to do well in Qualifying and in the Race. Yes, 2024 is a 24 race long calendar but it is the early season performances that will give drivers without a contract from next year much leverage. The track itself is gorgeous under the lights, fast...and dizzy-inducing? The teams will bring low downforce configurations and that should change the pecking order in the race. In fact, after Bahrain, one hopes that the chasing pack behind Red Bull is able to chase without many errors. Tune in! (Season 2024, Episode 10) Follow our hosts on Twitter: Soumil Arora and Kunal Shah Image courtesy: Mercedes Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Will Red Bull Racing reveal their decision from the investigation into Christian Horner's alleged misdemeanours at Formula 1's opening race in Bahrain? What's your take, will Horner continue in his role at the World Champion team or will he be asked to go? Of course, any off-track story of such a nature will take attention from Red Bull Racing's RB20, if it continues to dominate Formula 1. But can it, will it? The narratives at the start of the season could well be different from the middle and the end of the long Formula 1 season. In fact, the pecking order itself might be different in Bahrain given the extensive mileage all teams have had in the last week or so. The other key question is about Alpine. Are they really as messed up and slow as the experts are predicting? Will McLaren start the season strong? And what about Mercedes and Ferrari? The 2024 Formula 1 season is finally upon us...and remember, the Bahrain Grand Prix is on a Saturday! Tune in to this episode of the Inside Line F1 Podcast as Soumil Arora and Kunal Shah look forward to the key stories, talking points and predictions for the upcoming 2024 Bahrain Grand Prix. (Season 2024, Episode 08) Follow our hosts on Twitter: Soumil Arora and Kunal Shah Image courtesy: Formula 1 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The 2024 Formula 1 season is upon us...almost! Here are our early and bold predictions for the upcoming season. In this episode of the Inside Line F1 Podcast, Soumil Arora, @f1statsguru and Kunal Shah lay down their predictions for the 10 Formula 1 teams, the FIA and of course, FOM aka Liberty Media. Will Red Bull Racing continue to dominate on-track? Will they continue to have "driver problems"? Will Lewis Hamilton's last season with Mercedes be a drab or will he actually win/outscore George Russell? Is Ferrari no longer a sloppy team under the leadership of Frederic Vasseur? But wait, we talk of the mid-field and the minnows, too. Will Stake-Kick's investment into Sauber go waste by 2026? Haas' biggest publicity will be on Williams' sidepod, is it? Will Alexander Albon leave Williams to race at Red Bull Racing OR Mercedes? His Thai roots should come handy, we guess. And where does this leave Carlos Sainz Jr.? Also, let's leave Andrea "Kimi" Antonelli alone. (Season 2024, Episode 07) Follow our hosts on Twitter: Soumil Arora, @f1statsguru and Kunal Shah Image courtesy: Ferrari  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

How does one get hired as a Team Principal? Is Otmar Szafnauer in touch with Andretti to lead their Formula 1 team? What was the Pink Mercedes saga all about and how painful was it to lose 3rd place in the World Constructors' Championship in 2020?  In our part 2 of the Otmar Szafnauer interview episode, the former Alpine, Aston Martin and Force India / Racing Point chief talks to Soumil Arora and Kunal Shah about several interesting topics on the Inside Line F1 Podcast.  How many teams are sufficient for Formula 1? Sergio Perez and Esteban Ocon - two solid midfield drivers that Otmar worked with, how was it with those two? Alpine's lack of a customer team, is that a competitive limitation in Formula 1? And of course, the many heads to Alpine - did that complicate decision making? After a blockbuster Part 1, we're back with Part 2 of the Otmar Szafnauer interview. For those who missed Part 1, hear the episode "Otmar Szafnauer on Lawrence Stroll, Vijay Mallya, Force India, Alpine and more". (Season 2024, Episode 06) Follow our hosts: Soumil Arora, Kunal Shah and Otmar Szafnauer Image courtesy: Formula 1 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Here's our much-awaited Otmar Szafnauer interview. The entire interview is so good that we decided to split it into two parts. In part 1 and on the Inside Line F1 Podcast, Otmar talks to Soumil Arora and Kunal Shah about his journey into Formula 1, how he was interviewed and hired at Force India. At Force India, Otmar worked his magic - the team was called "pound for pound" World Champion and he proudly explains exactly why. Also known as "best of the rest" for finishing just behind the top-3 teams, Otmar explains the exact budget gap that existed between Force India and the top teams. In fact, Otmar is of the strong opinion that Force India would've been World Champions in Formula 1 had all teams operated on the same budget. In this episode, he also explains why he decided to move on from Force India / Racing Point & Aston Martin despite saving the team from shutting down only a few years ago. Otmar has worked with three billionaires - Lawrence Stroll, Subrata Roy and Vijay Mallya. He explains the difference in working styles between Stroll-Mallya and offers a comment on Stroll Sr.'s view that his son Lance is a future World Champion. If there's one episode that's a must-listen in this off-season, it's this! P.S.: Part 2 will release on 5th February, 2024. (Season 2024, Episode 04) Follow our hosts: Soumil Arora, Kunal Shah and Otmar Szafnauer Image courtesy: Wikipedia Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Indian Bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan aka King Khan is world famous. But did you know, he's the ONLY actor in the world to have his face on a Formula 1 car? Yes, here's one of our Force India Formula 1 Team specials. Back in the day, SRK, as he's fondly known, starred in Ra.One. As a part of his film's promotions, SRK's photo was plastered on the nose of the Force India Formula 1 car that raced in the  inaugural 2011 Indian Grand Prix. In this episode of the Inside Line F1 Podcast, Soumil Arora chats with Ravikant Sabnavis and Kunal Shah about Force India's maverick marketing activities around the world, their association with Sachin "#MasterBlaster" Tendulkar (yes, we LOVE it when Cricket meets F1), the team's junior driver program, The "One from a Billion Hunt", building Motorsport-themed games for kids at KidZania and exploring a Formula 1-themed rollercoaster ride among others.  Tune in! (Season 2024, Episode 03) Follow our hosts: Soumil Arora, Kunal Shah and Ravikant Sabnavis Image courtesy: Force India F1 Team Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

How will one remember the 2023 Formula 1 season? We suspect that it will be more about the stats than the competition itself - that's for Formula 1, the category that Max Verstappen competed in. EXCLUSIVE NordVPN Deal ➼ https://nordvpn.com/insideline Try it risk-free now with a 30-day money-back guarantee! If you're the type who participates in Formula 1 quizzes, the stats from the 2023 Formula 1 season could either be very easy (which driver won most races?) or very weird (which driver has led more laps in Abu Dhabi than Fernando Alonso and Charles Leclerc combined?).  This is why Soumil Arora, @f1statsguru and Kunal Shah recorded the best and weird stats from the 2023 Formula 1 season for the Inside Line F1 Podcast. It's off-season for Formula 1 but we've got tons of content lined up, including an interview with Otmar Szafnauer. Look out for our specials, subscribe, tune in and of course, review and recommend us. (Season 2023, Episode 65) Follow our hosts on Twitter: Soumil Arora, @f1statsguru and Kunal Shah Image courtesy: Mercedes Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

F1 in Schools, have you heard of F1's efforts to promote STEM among school students? Yes, it is like F1 Academy but for engineers, project managers, marketing and sponsorship managers and so on. It is a unique global platform for the promotion of Formula 1 and partners to a youth market. F1 in Schools is not-for-profit and the only global multi-disciplinary challenge in which teams of students deploy CAD/CAM software to collaborate, design, analyse, manufacture, test, and then race miniature compressed air powered cars made from F1 model block.   EXCLUSIVE NordVPN Deal ➼ https://nordvpn.com/insideline.Try it risk-free now with a 30-day money-back guarantee! In the first off-season episode of the Inside Line F1 Podcast, Soumil Arora speaks to Andrew Denford, the Founder and Chairman of F1 in Schools about the program that has been operational for over 20 years.  F1 in Schools is present in over 60 countries and sees over 20,000 schools participating. The engineering challenge, which schools students from age 6 to 19 can participate, involves designing and building a model race car that is made from a block of wood and propelled by compressed air.  The challenge inspires students to use IT to learn about physics, aerodynamics, design, manufacture, branding, graphics, sponsorship, marketing, leadership/teamwork, media skills and financial strategy, and apply them in a practical, imaginative, competitive and exciting way.  Teams must raise sponsorship and manage budgets to fund research, travel and accommodation. This episode will shed light on how youngster can pursue a career in Formula 1...outside of the cockpit. Tune in! (Season 2023, Episode 64) Follow our host on Twitter: Soumil Arora Image courtesy: F1 in Schools Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices