They’re talking about the Miami Formula 1 race coming up. The goal is to guess how it will play out and whether the teams will be closer to the leaders.
They’re saying Miami feels like a fresh start. After time off, teams regroup, look at what they learned so far, and come back with new plans and updates.
Istanbul Park is a specific F1 venue known for its challenging layout and intensity, and the hosts call it a “modern day classic.” The track’s characteristics can strongly influence car setup and tire behavior, which is why it’s discussed as a notable return.
Teams collect lots of information from races and testing. Then they use it to make changes—like new parts or settings—so the car is faster at the next race.
They’re talking about trying to get closer to the fastest team. If Mercedes has been ahead, the other teams need upgrades and better performance to close that gap.
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competitive orders
Teams sometimes tell drivers how to race based on strategy. “Competitive orders” are basically instructions about what the team wants each driver to do during the race.
The simulator is like a high-end racing video game that’s tied to real car behavior. After upgrades or rule changes, drivers use it to get comfortable with how the car will feel before they hit the track.
Sometimes F1 changes the rules or race format, and everyone has to adapt. These particular changes are meant to make qualifying more exciting and to reduce big differences in speed between cars during the race.
A sprint weekend is a special F1 format where there’s an extra, shorter race before the main race. It’s used to set the starting order, so teams and drivers have to get everything right sooner than usual.
They’re talking about how the Miami track is laid out and why it matters. Miami has long straight sections and fast corners, so teams that make strong top speed and stay stable at high speed usually do better.
DRS zones are specific parts of the track where drivers can temporarily reduce drag to go faster. On tracks with long straight sections, having DRS available can make overtaking and qualifying performance much easier.
A street circuit is a race track made from regular city roads. Because there’s less space to make up for mistakes, drivers have to be more precise—hitting the wall is easier than on a normal track.
Closing rate is basically “how fast you’re catching up.” If you’re gaining on someone quickly and you can’t see them well in a corner, it’s easier to misjudge and cause an incident.
The Volkswagen Jetta is a regular passenger car (a small sedan) made for everyday commuting. It’s not a race car, but it can be used as an example when talking about what it feels like to drive on roads or tracks with limited visibility. The point is usually to help you imagine how hard or easy it is to see around corners.
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maximum
“Winding it up for the maximum” means going as fast as the car can for a lap, usually in qualifying. When you push that hard, small mistakes matter more.
Curbs are the raised edges at the side of the track. Drivers sometimes ride over them to go faster, but if you hit them wrong you can lose control or upset the car.
Lap one incidents are crashes or close calls right at the beginning of the race. Early on, everyone is bunched up and trying to gain spots, so mistakes can turn into contact quickly—especially on a tight track.
A temporary circuit is basically a race track built for the weekend, often using parts of a city. Since it’s not used all year, the surface can be dirtier and less grippy, especially away from the main racing line.
Your “braking point” is where you decide to start slowing for the turn. If the track grip changes or someone disrupts you, starting to brake at the wrong spot can cause crashes.
F2 is a stepping-stone series for drivers aiming to reach F1. When it races on the same track, it can also make the surface better by adding more tire rubber before the F1 session.
The racing line is the route drivers tend to follow because it’s usually the grippiest and fastest. Off the racing line, the surface can be dirtier and less predictable.
“Pirelli rubber” just means the tires Pirelli brings to the track. If another series runs there too, those tires can leave rubber behind that makes the racing line grippier for the next session.
An F1 feeder series is where drivers race to build skills before moving up to F1. Here, it also helps the track because more cars running can make the racing line cleaner and grippier.
A “completely new car” means the team isn’t just tweaking the old one—they’ve built a big step forward. That can change how the car drives and how fast it is.
Sometimes there’s a break and everyone gets a chance to catch up. After that, the next race can look like a fresh start because teams bring new updates.
Teams don’t just upgrade randomly—they pick certain races to bring new stuff. If the track suits the changes, the new parts can show up fast in performance.
Teams don’t just improve the car overnight—they plan new parts in advance. The “upgrade pipeline” is basically the schedule of those improvements arriving race by race.
An “asterisk” is a way of saying, “yes, that result happened, but there were special circumstances.” In F1, it usually means something like a safety car or a qualifying problem affected how the race played out.
Pole is when you qualify fastest and start the race at the very front. It’s a big advantage, but you can still lose the race due to strategy, safety cars, or race pace.
Qualifying is the session where drivers set their best lap to decide where they start the race. If you qualify poorly, you usually have to fight through traffic on race day.
A safety car is used when the track isn’t safe for racing. When it comes out, everyone slows down and follows it, and that can shuffle who wins even if someone was faster earlier.
China is referenced as a circuit where the driver nearly crashed out during the sprint. It’s used as part of the episode’s narrative about momentum and how small errors can swing results.
Melbourne is mentioned in connection with qualifying, where a driver nearly failed to get in. The hosts use it to illustrate how “fine details” can shape a season’s trajectory.
This is about how the car behaves when it hits the track’s bumps. If the suspension and balance get thrown off by the curb, the car can feel twitchy, and the driver won’t want to push as hard.
They’re comparing two drivers’ attitudes. The idea is that if a driver doesn’t feel comfortable with the car, it can create extra pressure and affect how they drive.
The Constructors’ Championship ranks teams by adding up the points scored by both of their cars across the season. It’s separate from the Drivers’ Championship and often reflects the overall package—car performance, reliability, and strategy—rather than just one standout driver.
They’re talking about Ferrari’s season so far and what new parts/upgrades could help them get closer to winning in Miami. The big idea is that the car is already strong, but it may need more speed and grip.
They mention Monza because it’s a track where teams can test upgrades under real race-like conditions. The goal is to see how the car behaves at speed before bringing changes to the next races.
Aerodynamics is how the car’s shape interacts with the air. In F1, better aerodynamics can make the car stick to the track more (grip) and go faster, but it can also affect how much air resistance it has.
They’re pointing to a previous race in Japan as a clue about what might happen in Miami. If Ferrari had trouble on long straight parts there, Miami could be similar.
They think Canada could be where the team has its best shot at winning. Part of that belief comes from how well certain drivers have historically done at that track.
They’re asking how much of the result comes from the drivers themselves. Even if the car isn’t perfect, a great driver can sometimes make it work better depending on the track.
“Jelling” means the driver and team are working well together and the driver feels comfortable with the car. When that happens, performance can improve even if the car is still developing.
F1 cars can store extra energy in a battery. They refill that battery mainly when slowing down, so tracks with lots of braking let teams recharge more easily.
Monaco is a very twisty, narrow track with lots of slow corners. Because of that, the car’s balance and how well it sticks to the road matter more than raw speed.
“Power sensitive” means the car’s performance depends strongly on engine power delivery and traction under acceleration. Tracks that demand frequent strong acceleration (or punish power shortfalls) tend to highlight differences between teams’ power units and overall efficiency.
They’re talking about big rule changes coming in 2026. When the rules change, teams have to redesign their cars, so current performances can be influenced by what the new rules will reward.
“Balance” is how the car feels when you turn and how it behaves as you push it. If upgrades change that feel, one driver might like it more than the other.
Teams in F1 keep improving the car with new parts. An “upgrade package” is basically the set of improvements they bring, and the big question is whether it makes them faster than the other teams’ updates.
Haas is an F1 team currently doing well in the team standings. The hosts are talking about whether they can keep that position and how they plan to improve the car.
“Front loading” means a team tries to use a lot of its improvements early in the year. The idea is to score points sooner, but it can backfire if the car needs more changes later.
It means the team brings its biggest improvements early, instead of later. That can help them score more points right away, but it can also be risky if the gains don’t last or if the next upgrades aren’t as effective.
Qualifying is split into parts (Q1, Q2, Q3). A “Q1 exit” means the driver didn’t make it past the first part, so they usually start the race farther back.
It means the driver starts near the last cars on the grid. That usually makes the race harder because you have more cars to pass and less track position.
A clean weekend means everything goes smoothly—no big crashes, no mechanical problems, and no major mistakes. When that happens, teams usually score more points.
The “sweet spot” is the best setup and conditions where the car feels right and goes fastest. If the team can’t find it, the car won’t perform as well as it should.
Car
Alpine
Alpine is the name of an F1 team. They’re saying Alpine has planned major updates at certain races, and Miami is expected to be one of those times.
New parts are upgrades to the car that are meant to make it faster or more reliable. Teams choose when to bring them so they can get the biggest benefit during the races.
They’re talking about people leaving an F1 team and how that can shake up the team’s ability to improve the car. If the team is losing experienced staff, it can slow development and make results harder to predict.
“Set intervals” describes a planned schedule for when upgrades arrive during the season. This matters because teams must balance development time, testing, and logistics to ensure new parts are ready when they can deliver performance gains.
They’re talking about the Miami Grand Prix and expecting a car update there. In F1, teams often bring new parts to certain races where they think it will help most.
Upgrading the car means making improvements over the season, like adding better parts or changing the setup. If you’re not upgrading, the car can fall behind and it becomes harder to score points.
“Damage limitation” is a strategy mindset used when a team expects limited performance—aiming to minimize losses rather than chase the best possible result. In F1 terms, it often means focusing on points, avoiding mistakes, and extracting whatever pace is available.
The Australian Grand Prix is an F1 race used here as the example of where the driver learned and executed an overtake. It helps listeners place the discussion in a real race context.
Overtake is the act of passing another car. In F1 it’s tricky because you can lose grip and visibility when you’re close to someone, so the timing has to be just right.
This is about the mental side of racing after an accident. Sometimes you’re physically okay, but you still have to get your confidence back before you push hard again.
Speed delta just means “how much quicker one car is than another.” If the gap is too big, racing can get less exciting, so changes are sometimes made to bring cars closer together.
A show car run is when the car is driven for promotion and fan events, not racing for points. It can still help the driver feel energized and connected to the crowd.
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next coming event
They’re basically saying people are expecting him to be a big deal. It’s about hype and expectations, not a technical racing detail.
“Racing Bulls” refers to Red Bull’s sister team in Formula 1 (formerly AlphaTauri). The hosts discuss its results, upgrades for Miami, and how it stacks up against teams like Haas and Alpine.
In F1, an upgrade means the team brings new parts to make the car faster. They’re saying Racing Bulls has updates planned for Miami and wondering if it will move them up the order.
The powertrain is basically the car’s engine and energy system working together. The hosts are saying Red Bull’s engine/energy setup has been performing better than expected.
In F1, teams keep improving their cars all season. The hosts are saying Racing Bulls needs to keep up with that improvement pace, or they might fall behind.
Pit strategy is the plan for when to come in for tires during the race. The goal is to spend the least time in the pits while still having fast tires at the right moments.
A sprint race is a shorter race before the main Grand Prix. It helps decide where cars start for the big race, so teams treat it like a mini-race with its own strategy.
F1 tires come in different “softness.” The hard tire usually lasts longer, but it may not grip as strongly as the softer tires. Teams pick it depending on whether they want durability or maximum speed.
Pit stops are when the car comes in to swap tires (and sometimes do other work). In F1, how fast and when you do it can make a big difference to where you end up on track.
Reliability means the car keeps working properly through the race. If something breaks or the car has problems, it can stop you from finishing well even if you’re driving fast.
A spin is when the car rotates and you lose control for a moment. It usually costs time and can make the driver less confident until they find the right grip and balance.
In F1, you earn points for finishing positions. “Points on the board” just means they already scored points earlier in the season, so they’re not starting from zero.
A short test period in a new car is used to quickly learn the car’s behavior, refine setup, and build driver confidence. The transcript contrasts the overwhelming first day with the “second nature” feeling after time to absorb changes.
“Muscle memory” refers to repeated physical actions becoming automatic—like braking points, steering inputs, and throttle modulation. In racing, that automation can improve consistency and reduce mental load after a break or new learning cycle.
The power unit is the car’s main engine-and-hybrid system. In F1 it sits in the back, and that layout affects how the car feels when you turn and brake.
Downforce is what makes the car feel “stuck” to the road. More downforce usually means better cornering grip, while less downforce makes the car feel loose or slippery in turns.
Cadillac is described as being behind right now, but also as a team that’s learning quickly because it’s early in their program. The idea is that once they understand what the car needs, they can improve fast.
Audi is discussed as a team/program that’s working on both power unit development and chassis upgrades, while also dealing with internal “turmoil” due to management changes. In this context, Audi’s progress is framed as uncertain but potentially improved by technical updates.
The chassis is basically the car’s frame and how the suspension is attached. Changing it can make the car handle better—more stable in corners and easier to drive fast.
They’re saying Aston Martin’s results are hard to forecast. The car might be about the same, a little better, or much better depending on how well their changes work.
The pre-season test is when teams do their first big practice runs before the season starts. If they miss it, they have less time to learn how the car behaves and to fix problems.
MG UK is part of the hybrid system in an F1 car. It can store energy and then add extra power when the driver needs it—like getting the car moving at the start.
Car
Aston Martin
Aston Martin is being talked about as an F1 team. The hosts think the team can make the car handle better through upgrades, but they’re still struggling with the engine side and reliability. That’s why they expect progress but not an instant leap to the very front.
Adrian Newey is a legendary F1 technical designer known for designing championship-winning cars across multiple eras. The transcript frames his arrival/role as a major reason Aston Martin can catch up on chassis development. It also notes that even with his talent, the power unit reliability problem is still the bigger obstacle.
Alan McNish is a well-known motorsport figure who has held senior roles in racing and also competed at the highest levels. The segment frames his move into Audi as a leadership change aimed at improving trackside execution and driver development.
The World Endurance Championship is endurance racing—long races where teams have to manage the car and strategy carefully. Winning it shows you can do more than just go fast; you can run a race well from start to finish.
Formula E is a racing series where the cars are fully electric. The podcast brings it up to show McNish has run a major team before, not just worked in one type of racing.
A driver development program is how a racing team helps drivers improve over time. It’s not just racing them—it’s coaching and preparing them so they can perform at the next level.
“Trackside” means what happens at the race track during the weekend. It’s where the team makes real-time calls and coordinates the car’s setup and strategy.
The cockpit is the driver’s seat area where you control the car. The point here is that a real driver knows what the car feels like from inside, so they can explain problems and needs better than someone who hasn’t driven.
In Formula 1, the team principal is basically the team’s boss. They make big calls about how the team runs and how it’s set up to win. Some are former drivers, but more of them now come from engineering backgrounds.
“Pressure” means how stressful the whole race weekend feels for a driver. It’s not just driving fast—it’s also dealing with people, expectations, and constant demands. The idea is that someone who’s been there can communicate and support the driver better.
In racing, logistics means the planning that keeps everything running on time. It’s about getting the right equipment and people in the right place at the right moment. The hosts are saying experienced people can help make that easier for the driver.
Formula One is the highest level of open-wheel racing. Race weekends involve more than just driving fast—they also involve setup work, communication, and managing a lot of moving parts. The hosts are saying that even though the sport changes, the weekend pressure and logistics are still huge.
Le Mans is one of the biggest endurance races in the world—cars race for a very long time. It rewards strategy, consistency, and smart decisions. The hosts are saying McNish’s success there shows he thinks well about racing, not just driving fast.
GP2 is a junior racing series that many drivers use to build experience before moving up to F1. The guest is using his GP2 experience at the track to describe how hard it is.
Undulation means the track rises and falls as you drive. That can make the car feel different corner to corner, because the tires don’t always stay loaded the same way.
A blind apex is a corner where you can’t really see the exact point where you should turn in. Drivers have to be more careful and rely on memory and accuracy to get the corner right.
“Monsoon wet” means it was raining extremely hard. When the track is that wet, the tires grip much less, so drivers have to slow down and be gentler with steering and braking.
An “outlier” here means a track that doesn’t usually follow the normal pattern of who’s fastest. Sometimes the track layout or conditions make different teams do better than expected.
“Roulette wheel” means the outcome can feel unpredictable. In F1, that usually happens when the track and conditions make it easier for strategy and small mistakes to change who wins.
A chicane is a zig-zag section of track that makes cars slow down and turn more than usual. It’s often hard to overtake there because you have to brake and line up carefully.
“Trade paint” means the cars get so close that they actually touch and leave marks on each other. It usually happens when drivers are fighting hard for position.
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Pirelli hot laps
“Hot laps” are quick demonstration laps around the track. Mentioning Pirelli means they’re talking about the tires and how they perform in real driving.
A “street circuit connoisseur” is someone (or a team/driver style) that’s particularly good at street tracks. Street circuits have narrow racing lines, concrete walls, and less margin for error, so qualifying and early positioning often matter more.
“Get off the line” means how well the car launches when the race starts. If you accelerate quickly and cleanly, you can get good position before traffic and corners become a problem.
In racing, “technical troubles” means the car has a problem—something mechanical or electronic. That can make the car slower or stop it from finishing.
The “garage” is where an F1 team works between sessions—handling car setup changes, repairs, and strategy preparation. Explaining what happens there helps listeners understand how teamwork, engineering, and rapid problem-solving influence race outcomes.
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happening now.
This could represent certainly the best chance of the season that McLaren's had.
It's almost like a restart to the season.
I think we'll see this weekend if they can fight for the title.
Even if Miami goes in Kimmy's way, I don't think it should be panic in the Russell camp.
I think they just needed more than anything is stay cool, stay calm.
Miami we did see last year Kimmy was really quick. I'd expect him to be really quick again.
Kimmy's got a lot more to prove just yet.
Formula one is going back to Turkey. Istanbul Park is a brilliant racetrack, a modern day classic.
It is such a cool circuit. It's super intense. I'm pleased to see it back.
F1 is back and everything could be different. McLaren, Ferrari, Red Bull and the rest have
had a month to study data and develop upgrades in the hope of catching Mercedes.
The silver arrows, of course, will have been working hard to stay ahead.
So what are we going to see in Miami? That's what we're here to try and predict.
I'm Tom Clarkson and welcome to F1 Nation where I'm joined by former F1 driver Jolien
Palmer and IndyCar race winner James Hinchcliffe. Guys, after five weeks away from racing,
almost feels like the start of the season again. Is that how it feels for you?
We're previewing a Grand Prix, TC, which is a nice change, isn't it? We're getting
back going again, thinking about competitive orders, trying to rejig our brains on what's
happened so far. Those three races feel like so long ago, don't they? It's nice to be winding up
for Miami. Hinch, how do you think the drivers will have been using this five-week break?
If you think about it, they had one of the shortest R seasons they've ever had.
So I'm sure in a lot of cases, especially after the stress of the start of the season,
so much information, so much different, so much learning, I'm sure a lot of them took the first
part to really just rest, reset, recoup, give the brain a bit of a break, but then certainly as the
engineers and everybody back at the factories have had a chance to really deep dive into the data,
which is hard to do when you have those back-to-back or close races early on.
A lot will have changed. They'll be back in the simulator preparing. A lot of upgrades coming,
you know, as we know. So I imagine the first half was a nice and much-needed break,
and the second half of this unofficial spring break has been absolutely flat out as everybody
prepares for Miami. Well, you mentioned upgrades, but let's start with a quick summary of what else
has changed for Miami, because the FIA, F1 and the teams have agreed changes which should see
the drivers going flat out in qualifying. Other changes are aimed at avoiding big speed differences
between cars at the start and during the race, and being an F1 sprint weekend, it's been decided to
make the first and only practice session of the weekend half an hour longer to help the teams
and drivers get used to the changes before they go into sprint qualifying. So with all that in
place, we're going to find out which team has done the best work over the break. Could we see a
change in the pecking order? Why don't we start, guys, by then looking at the track? How different
are the characteristics of the Miami International Autodrome to anything we've dealt with so far
this year? I'd say there's probably another step into difference, really. I mean, you've got Japan,
which is probably the biggest outlier. Melbourne's a real outlier as well in terms of the amount of
recharge opportunities and all of those long flat-out sections, but Miami's got some really
long straights. So they would have had three DRS zones of old, which sort of tells you kind of
how important those long straights are, and they're really beltingly long. Full throttle out of the
last turn as well, down towards where you go flat out through the final right-hand swerve
before you hit the brakes for the first corner. So there is a lot of flat-out sections, a lot of
straight-line speed, therefore you're going to need to recover still plenty of energy. In between,
it has big stamps on the brakes though. It's not like a Japan in that way so much. China, you've
always got one massive stop, but then the few of them in between are not so much. So I would say
Miami's probably, although it's kind of a street circuit style, it feels like it's actually fairly
regular compared to what we get now in the bulk of the season, I'd say, Inch.
Yeah, I do think that highlighting the street circuit part of it is important though. I mean,
I know that Melbourne's sort of a temporary track, but there is grass, there are some run-offs.
Miami, there is not. It's walls. It's going to be punishing drivers that have mistakes.
And in that section, those s's sort of in that first sector there, there are some kind of blindish
corners, which we've talked a lot about some of the closing rates, and this is going to be one
of the first tests I think of, is anybody going to get caught out by that when you have a little
bit more of a race track with some blind corners? Not as bad as Jetta, but yeah, first time we're
surrounded by concrete, it's going to be interesting. And every time we come to Miami,
that first sector, we're always like holding our breath, probably through qualifying when
they're winding it up for the maximum. And you can abuse so much of the curbs through sort of
turns three, and then you get into six, seven, and eight, the triple left, and you can hurtle
so much speed on the way in there. And I still think we're going to see that with this generation
of car, obviously less downforce, they're a little bit more lively, but you can still find a lot of
time on the way in and then just be patient for that throttle because the corner exits around
this circuit are kind of even more critical than we've seen so far. I always look at turn one in
Miami. Pretty much every race we've had there, there's been some kind of drama with the five-week
break preceding this race. Do you think that's an invitation for, I don't want to use the word
carnage, but for incidents at least on lap one. I like the idea of carnage, to be honest, TC. I
think you've got this kind of a short run, but then we have seen so many interesting starts,
anyway, to say the least, with someone having a shot down the inside, which could be really dirty
because it's a temporary circuit. You don't often rubber in that inside line. And it's not,
obviously, used the rest of the year around. So it gets really dusty offline. You then start
braking from the inside. You're trying to go for a move. You snatch a front tire and then
you're pinballing in towards someone else. And it's kind of getting your braking point for that
first turn is going to be really difficult. And when you consider the first corners that we've
just come from, Japan, China, they're very, very different. They're not big stamps on the brakes.
They're not about judging your brake. It's about judging your confidence and your throttle lift off.
Here, if you're missing a little bit of brake pressure, if you're missing five meters on the
brakes, it's going to be an incident. So it's a different challenge.
And I think the other thing to consider, right, is we've seen very different launch speeds from
cars. So you're going to have, I think, a little bit more of a differential in speed before you
even get to that brake zone, which is then obviously a bit more substantial than what we've seen. So
yeah, as you say, carnage could be on the menu. They're tricky when you've got some people sort
of looking in the mirrors all the way into the first corner. You've got other people just
charging forwards, looking for more and more places. When everyone's uniform at a start,
and you're a sort of row four, and you think you're going to be seventh and eighth, if it's
great, you go sixth. That's sort of one thing. You've got to judge one or two cars. But with the
starts that we've seen so far this year, you've got cars that are gaining three, four positions,
even more from further back. And so you have got space of the track where there might be no one,
and then a space of the track where you might be four wide into that first corner.
Do you expect grip levels to be different now that we've got F2 this year for the first time?
Probably help a little bit. It's another single-seater series with Pirelli rubber as well that
will help to clean up the racing line. It's always better to have your F1 feeder series there. It's
also less local traffic that's going to be out there dropping anything on the racing line,
dropping oil or anything else. So it'd be better, maybe marginally.
All right. Let's look at the pecking order then. Let's start by looking at McLaren versus
Mercedes, all right? McLaren have won in Miami for the past two years, and their technical
director of performance, Mark Temple, told us on this show he thinks Mercedes are beatable.
McLaren team principal, Andrea Stella, says the team is bringing a completely new car to Miami.
So is this the race where McLaren get their first win of the year? Do you rate their chances?
I mean, it's almost like a restart to the season. As you mentioned earlier, with this amount of
time off, the information, all the data that the teams have from the first three rounds,
we know that everybody is bringing a lot of upgrades. It's yes. I mean, yes, the short answer
is yes. I think they have as good a shot as anyone in the top three teams. We have to remember that
Mercedes has been very quick here as well the last few years, especially, you know,
Kimmy Antonelli's performance here last year was incredibly impressive. But this could represent
certainly the best chance of the season that McLaren's had just because it is a little bit
of a reset. And, you know, historically, they have run well here. They feel confident heading
to this race. All the talk is new car. They've preset Miami as an upgrade chance anyway,
which they did a couple of years ago when Norris got his first win with a massively upgraded car.
And they've done a similar thing this year. I think they knew they were on the back foot,
on the back of last season, pushing so hard for the title. So they sort of were getting through
those first races and then Miami was going to be a target. Now, it's obviously better for them that
the two Middle Eastern races didn't happen because they've got that deficit. I don't know if they'll
win. I don't know if they'll be able to fight, but they have got the Mercedes power unit that
they're getting closer and more on top of. And that extra 30 minutes of free practice, I think,
could be so important for them with the amount of upgrades we're expecting on the car.
I think we'll see this weekend if they can fight for the title. I think we'll see really
if they're going to be close enough, because if they don't make enough strides here,
then I don't think they'll catch up over the year.
That's really interesting. So you think the pecking order that we see in Miami will set
the form book for the rest of the year? It will set the form book for the next chapter of the year,
which is you've got Miami, then you go straight to Montreal, another sprint weekend,
different circuit, but again, there's not going to be, I don't think,
another big raft of upgrades coming. There'll be small tweaks probably in this couple of week gap.
Monaco then, again, massively different circuit, but not one that you're going to bring big upgrades
to. And then you get back towards the European calendar and the conventional racetracks.
This is the month where if you've been having issues and you've got the chance to get on top
of them, which a few teams have had these developments in the pipeline and now they
can unleash them, I just feel like if they're still chasing it by a considerable, you know,
a quantifiable margin, I feel like they're going to be, they're already with 100 points nearly
deficit to Mercedes. The drivers are sort of 50 points away from the lead. If they're taking
more deficit in the next couple of races, I don't think they'll make it up.
Does that apply to George Russell as well? Let's look at that intra-team battle at Mercedes now.
The deficit between George and Kimmy Antonelli leading is nine points. Kimmy's won the last
two races. Of course, George is going to pull the line. It's a long season. We've got a long way
to go. But does he need to stop the rot? Is that how he's going to approach this? It's a crucial
race, particularly as Antonelli, as Hinch was just saying, was so quick here last year. He's
got to turn the tide, right? He does, but I don't think it's quite as pressing time wise as people
are making it think. You know, we're around four. There's a lot of racing to go. Just look back last
year. After the summer break, you had a 34-point deficit between Piastri and Norris. By Mexico,
Norris had taken the championship lead back. A nine-point gap in Miami, I don't think should
stress anybody out. Yes, you don't want Kimmy getting too much confidence. You don't want him
winning in every type of circuit and getting on too much of a roll. Even if, sort of like,
Piastri had that string of tracks that didn't suit him particularly well in the latter part of
last year, and it sort of added to the drop in performance right as Norris was peaking,
if Kimmy is particularly good at Miami, fine. Is he going to be good at Montreal? We don't know.
He did okay there last year, but so did George. He did better. So again, even if Miami goes in
Kimmy's way, I don't think it should be panic in the Russell camp. I think they just need to,
more than anything, is stay cool, stay calm, do what he does. He's been driving so, so well.
The tail end of last year, really all last year, started this year. Everything Kimmy's done well.
He has done very well, but there have been little asterisks beside both China and Japan.
So if I'm Russell, I'm trying really hard not to panic because he and the team are doing great.
They just need to focus and not let the success Kimmy's having get to them.
What was the asterisk next to Antonelli's win in Japan? I understand the China one in that
George had problems in qualifying and Kimmy got the pole and then took the win, but what was it in
Japan? Because Kimmy was quicker than George pretty much all weekend as far as I could make out.
Right, but the safety car?
Oh, well, sure. But I think as much as the result, it was the speed of Antonelli that will have
worried George, right?
Yeah, for sure. I mean, he definitely had pace and once he got to the front,
it's not like anybody was going to touch him. But George was dealt a bad hand in the race.
Even the speed throughout the weekend is almost irrelevant. The race is what matters.
And in the race, he was ahead before that all happened. So I do think there is still a little
bit of a footnote on that one as well.
But also, guys, you were sort of saying stop the rot for George Russell.
He's had what a second in China with a big asterisk or double asterisk,
and then a fourth. Okay, not the best race in Japan. And the pace there was definitely towards
Kimmy. But before that, he's been cleaning up everything. He's been winning everything.
He won the sprint. You know, Kimmy very nearly crashed out of the sprint in China.
He very nearly didn't even get into qualifying in Melbourne. So it's been fine details that
generally have gone Kimmy's way so far. But I don't think George is thinking that he needs to
stop the rot or anything as dramatic as that. I kind of think if I'm George, you've got to stay
so calm. Miami, we did see last year, Kimmy was really quick. I'd expect him to be really quick
again. Sometimes as a driver, you just gel with a certain track. You know, going back to somewhere
where you had a sprint pole last year as a rookie, you're going to have confidence. You know exactly
where you could throw all of those curbs I was talking about in the first sector. A lot of them
about attitude of the car as you go over the curb, making sure you're not unsettling it,
making sure you're taking exactly the right point to the inch. Otherwise you can have these
big snaps that then take away the confidence. But if you start with a lot of that confidence,
you can chip away, particularly on a sprint weekend. And George has got to think,
maybe the guy is going to be quicker again here, but do the best I can. And then there will be
certain tracks coming up that if he can't win in Miami, which he might do, I think he'll get
back into his stride again. Kimmy's got a lot more to prove just yet. He's gaining confidence,
but I think there's so much more for him to prove.
And you think George has the patience and the maturity now to think like that?
I feel like he does at the moment. I feel like there's a difference when I look at George compared
to Lando last year, where I think Lando felt like there was more pressure on his shoulders
with just the way that he was speaking, the way that he was saying he's not comfortable with
the car. He arrived in China having won in Melbourne, but he was still saying,
not feeling the love from the car. George is shoulders back. He is waltzing down the paddock.
He is still the confident air in him. And I think every time he turns up at the moment,
he thinks he's going to win. It didn't happen in Japan, but I don't see yet him
having any sort of pressure on his shoulders. Of course it must be there, but I don't see that
coming just after one weekend where he's been categorically outpaced. Maybe he'll come in a
bit.
Shall we move it on to the red team, to Ferrari, second in the Constructors' Championship after
these opening three races? Rumours of big upgrades being shaken down during a filming day at Monza.
I mean, they've been quick. Both drivers have finished on the podium,
but they felt quite a long way off a win, in my opinion. Guys, do you think this five-week break
has given them enough opportunity to really challenge in Miami?
I don't know. I think Miami's not going to be one that they're going to be expecting
to fight for the win just yet. I know there's a big load of upgrades coming for them. That's
exciting. I also that they've had this confidence through the start of the season that they know
something good is coming on the car. This is probably going to be the arrival of it in Miami.
The thing that I see with Ferrari is that they've already got a really good car. The chassis side,
that's where the upgrades are going to be coming, more aerodynamics,
more downforce, hopefully more performance. What they really need is a bit more grunt
for Miami. Again, I talk about those long straights. I just think a little bit like they
struggled in Japan on the three long straight sections there. I don't know if they'll be able
to add enough downforce. It was already a really good car with everyone else. McLaren bringing
upgrades. I'm sure Mercedes will be moving forward as well. I don't know if they'll be able to completely
overcome Mercedes at Miami. Maybe they will. We will find out. We're all just punting.
I do think Canada and more particularly Monaco are going to be their big chances to get into
to race winning frame. How much is that down to drivers in Canada and Monaco? I just look at
Canada and look at Hamilton's record there and of course, Leclerc's record at Monaco. Do you
think are those tracks inch coming up where the guys in the cockpit can actually overcome some of
the deficiencies in the car? Yeah, I think that can make a difference. In the same way that we
talk about Kimmy potentially being really good at Miami and drivers just jelling with certain race
tracks. For sure, Canada is a special one for Hamilton for a lot of different reasons. Always
run very competitively there. The man for Monaco, nobody is quicker around the streets of the
Principality than Leclerc. I actually quite agree. Coming into Miami for whatever reason,
even with a strong start to the season as they've had, we started with McLaren and Mercedes. That
still to me seems like the battle that we're going to be seeing there, but come the following
two rounds, absolutely. I think Ferrari can be up there and with both drivers as well.
So the big thing for the next two is that recharging the batteries is going to be basically
for free. Montreal, you've got some short straights, some punchy little straights, but you've got so
many big braking events. It's always the sort of circuit where you're on the limit of cooking the
brakes. Okay, into the final chicane, that's going to be a little bit of derating into there, but
basically you're going to be able to recharge the battery really easily. They're not going to be
taking the loss that they've got on the straights too much. They'll have to swallow a little bit
into the final corner, and that'll be basically it. For Monaco, there'll be nothing. It'll just be
pure chassis performance. What have you got in terms of downforce and compliance? And right now,
they look like they could be the class of the field there. So that's why I'm so excited for them
in the next races. But for Miami, I think it'll be kind of proof of concept, get it working,
sprint weekend. Again, use that extra 30 minutes, dial in. Still hope that they can get these great
starts and hope that they can challenge because they're not miles away, but it feels like it's
more akin to the last few circuits in terms of how sort of power sensitive it is.
And what about the intra-team battle between the two drivers then? I mean,
Hamilton seems so much happier with this regulation, this type of car than he was
at any of the previous four years. Do you think he can hold a candle to Leclerc,
or do you think the edge is still with Shell like it was last year?
I think these next two to three races are really going to be the tell-tale side,
right? Because with everything changing for 2026, yes, he definitely says he feels better in the
car. It physically visually looks better when he's driving, when you're watching the onboarders
or watching, I know Julian mentioned, a trackside in testing. But we do know even last year,
the Shanghai was a great race for him, right? So he's had some success at those races,
and it's kind of repeated. I feel like last year, this is the point of the season where the gap
really started to grow between him and Charles. And so if over these next two, three events,
at a place like Montreal, we expect him to be very quick. If he can stay ahead and stay in the
fight, then I think it kind of gives you the confidence that, okay, I can do this all year
long if you're Hamilton. If he starts falling back, if for some reason some of these changes,
some of these upgrades make the car a bit more on the nose, and it sort of goes more towards
a balance that suits Charles' style, we could see a gap within the team start to grow. I'm not
saying I think that's going to happen. I'm starting not saying I hope that happens, but I think it's
a little too early still to know exactly where that battle between the two of them is going to be.
Okay, but we're confident that Ferrari will be what? The third fastest team this coming
weekend. Minimum. Minimum third. The gap behind is just too big at the moment. And I guess the
question is how good is McLaren's upgrade package versus Ferraris? Because they're basically just
in an upgrade off heading to Miami. And remember, Ferrari's been in the team that's kind of had
some of the cooler innovations so far, you know, heading into the preseason throughout the first
few races. Maybe we're all kind of sleeping on them as a team that could bring out actually the
biggest and most impressive upgrades because they have sort of had that trend so far this year.
Right. What about the battle behind the top three? Haas currently fourth, Alpine fifth in the
constructors championship. Both of those teams ahead of Red Bull, would you believe it? Now,
can they stay there? Can they continue to beat the Milton Keynes team? What do you think, guys?
Let's start with Haas. They've said, you know, that they are really trying to front load their
upgrades. So they're trying to blow as much of their development budget as they can as early in
the season as they can. They know there's some low hanging fruit there. They want to get that
performance right away and then begin to understand, you know, where the performance is. That might
give them the edge now, but who knows how that plays out down the line and whether that, you know,
kind of penalizes them and holds them back later in the season. It's tough to tell. It is shocking
to think that the smallest team on the grid could potentially out develop Red Bull over this, you
know, with Haas. They're ahead now. Can they stay ahead? If they are putting a lot of effort and,
like I said, in front loading the upgrades, you would expect almost them to stay there,
at least in the short term, but with the pure size, the resource, the experience of Red Bull,
I mean, you'd be shocked if it stayed that consistent pecking order and Red Bull stayed the fifth,
sixth fastest team as the season progresses. I think it's been an incredible performance from Haas
up to this point. I just don't know if it's sustainable. They're not staying ahead of Red Bull.
They just can't. They just can't. There's been a lot that's gone wrong as well for Red Bull so far.
A lot more has gone wrong for Red Bull than it's gone wrong for Haas. Haas have had a really clean
run so far through the first races. Obviously, Bearman's big crash, but he was already coming
from a Q1 exit in Japan. When you look at Red Bull's season so far, they lost a load of points
with Hajar in Melbourne. Verstappen had to start from the back of the field. They lost more points
with Max in China and Hajar had a spin. Then Japan, they were still struggling for a little bit
of pace and trying to get on top of things. They haven't had a clean weekend, as in when they
obviously need to find a bit of performance, which they kind of had in Melbourne. I believe
they've got way more in their locker than they showed in China and Japan. They just got nowhere
near the sweet spot of that car. Probably they'll be bringing a ton of upgrades as well for the
next race. They've obviously already bought a few to Japan, which didn't really look like they've
paid off. But all they need is a clean weekend. I think we'll start to see both. Hajar's done
a really good job. He's been close to Max. He'll be getting a good chunk of points. Verstappen will
start to be a menace, I think, for the teams further ahead again. I just can't see as great
as Haas have been, as good as Ghazli's been in Alpine. It would be a shock if they could really
take a fight to Red Bull so far. The Red Bull power unit is good. You really feel that Haas and Alpine
could have done with those two middle eastern races before Red Bull hit their stride. They needed
the points from those two races, didn't they? With the resource that Red Bull have got, you don't
want to give them a month to pour through data, work on the car, bring new parts. I know they've
had a lot of people leave and we did the whole podcast special about GP and the Exodus. They've
feel like that has to come out on top when it starts ticking over Haas and over Alpine. Alpine
said at the start of the year they're going to bring big upgrades at set intervals. I believe one
is Miami as well. Not quite as front loaded as Haas maybe, but they're playing the long game this
year. Maybe they can keep fighting Red Bull for the moment, but you just feel that as soon as
Red Bull figure it out, they've got the baseline to be much quicker than they've shown.
And looking at the driver performances, are Bearman and Ghazly stand out performers for you
guys this year? I think Ghazly for sure. I mean, Bearman as well. I mean, they've both done an
incredible job. You look at Haas's combined position to the points total. It's all but one
point has been Bearman. Ghazly has obviously done a great job as well. But for me, I mean, he's the
one that I've kind of looked at more just because through the second half, well through really all
of last year, but certainly in the latter half of the season. I mean, it was just so it was so
painful to show up every weekend for him knowing that we hadn't been upgrading the car and it was
just going to be, what's the damage limitation? And he's really taken this opportunity and run
with it. Some very strong drives, some very strong performances both on Saturdays and Sundays.
So he's been a delight to watch. Bearman, you almost expected it just because of how strongly
he ended last season. But I think both of those guys have done a phenomenal job.
And they both seem so happy and at ease with life this year as well. Even speaking to them right
at the start of the season, I spoke to Pierre in pre-season and he was so laid back and happy with,
obviously knows that suddenly he's going to be fighting for points. But he's not a guy that's
scratching his head about what on earth is going on. Of course, everyone's trying to learn. All the
drivers are still like the engineers and everyone at the teams trying to work out how these things
properly work. But he was just taking it all in super chill and Bearman the same,
figuring out things on the fly in the Australian Grand Prix, working out how Overtake works to
make his pass on Limblad. And it took him, I don't know, 15 laps, which was more than he hoped.
But he was also relaxed about it. And I do think that those two are their
the leading stars for their team at the moment. Obviously, Bearman missed out in Japan, but
generally their standout performances have carried their teams up the order.
And do you think Bearman will be suffering any side effects of his crash in Japan? He's
said physically he's fine. But do you carry that mental baggage with you going to the next race?
Hinch is better to answer this one than me, that's for sure.
Well, Hinch, yeah, sure. Indianapolis. How were you the next time you went there?
Yes, I've definitely hit some walls in my day, JP. Thanks for that. But no, look, drivers were nuts.
He won't carry any of that. The younger you are, the nuttier you are. And anybody still
will end this trap into a form where the one car and go racing is missing a little bit.
So no, it won't affect him at all. If anything, it'll make him a little bit smarter and a little
bit more heads up on some of those potential situations, maybe parts on that racetrack that
will potentially create those situations. Obviously, they've made some changes to try to
mitigate the speed deltas that we've been seeing. But no, he's shaken that off the
knees heel. The bruise is gone. He's ready to go. And Collopinto is going to turn up in Miami,
full of emotion and adrenaline after his show car run in Argentina over the weekend.
He's an emotional guy, a passionate guy. Do you think that will help him reach new heights?
Imagine he'll walk into Miami feeling like he is the next coming event in the center suddenly
with one Manuel Fangio, let's say. The support he has from his local crowd is incredible.
And that's when you're not in Argentina. So taking that show run in Buenos Aires must have
been pretty spectacular for him. Yeah, I mean, he'll have a bit of confidence, but in the end,
there's been quite a big gap between himself and MPR so far. So he'll turn up confident.
But if you can't put it on paper, let's say even on the first run or two of free practice,
you fall back into that rock. So he has to use that and thrive off that Argentinian energy
straight away. We've discussed Red Bull Racing already, but can we talk about racing bulls who
just two points behind the big team. Execution wise, they've been exemplary so far this year.
They're bringing an upgrade to Miami. Just how much do you think they can achieve?
Yeah, I mean, again, there's so many unknowns heading into Miami. Like you say, I think from
an execution standpoint, they've done very, very well, especially with two young drivers.
You've got loss in with some experience, but certainly not much. If that's the veteran in
your team, you know, that's saying something and Lynn Blatt as a rookie, I think the two of them
have done a really good job dealing with all the changes, dealing with everything that's been new.
And then the team, again, like you say, has executed with the package they've got. I do not
think it's as strong a package as a lot of the cars in front. The Red Bull powertrain, as Joel
was mentioning earlier, seems to have actually been a kind of pleasant surprise for that team and
the sister team. But it'll be interesting to see kind of where they stack up. Because again,
a team without the resource of the big four, certainly, not making the noise about the upgrades
that they're bringing that, say, a Haas is. So I'm curious kind of where they stack up. It could
be a weekend where they might actually fall down a little bit if they haven't kept up on that
development side, or they've planned their developments a little bit more spread out over
the next five-six races. I think also they're a team that have probably come close to maximising
their potential in those first races, at least with one car each time. When you look through
their results, eight seventh and ninth for racing bulls, when you think of the top guys being too
far away, we're already speaking about Haas and Alpine being very strong, but racing bulls have
always been there with at least a couple of points out from each Grand Prix. You had Lynn Blatt
absolutely flying at the start of Melbourne, really put it all together. Lawson has been
really solid the last couple of races as well. I think the strategy has fallen quite nicely for
him so far as well in those whether it's the sprint race and he's on the hard tire,
pitting under safety cars in China and Japan, getting himself up the order when he hasn't
really qualified in the top 10 there. Ironically did in Melbourne, but got a bad start.
So I feel like they've maximised it. And if everyone else starts to get closer to their real
potential, then they might find it a little bit harder to land back in the points. But
we'll see. They've proven that they can have a good car that's giving the drivers confidence
again and they can develop it as well. So maybe they'll be ready to surprise again.
And what about Lynn Blatt then? Stunning debut, as you say, in Melbourne. Is it useful to be
able to press pause after three races, give you an opportunity just to reflect what you've done,
look at what you've got coming up, get yourself back into a proper sleep pattern,
stay in the same bed for consecutive nights. And do you think this has come at a good time for
him this gap? I think so. I'd have taken it, definitely. Because you hit the ground running
and you're just like a sponge absorbing everything possible in Melbourne. What is Formula 1 even going
to feel like, be like, race like? What's it like working with a full crew for the first time,
doing pit stops, longer races, all of this stuff. And he's so young. And he did it so well. So you
nail it. Then you turn up to China and you think, okay, I'm a legend. I'm one of these guys. And
just a few things went wrong for him. He was still look quick, still look sharp, had poor reliability
in a couple of spins. But I actually, I had a decent debut in Melbourne and I know exactly
this feeling. You turn up to the next race and you think, I am one of the best. And then you're
like, oh, okay, maybe I need to keep working at this because they are actually moving on the whole
time. And then in Japan, he was actually really solid again and did a great job in qualifying
and missed out a bit in the race. But I think the reset, just to think, okay, and breathe,
because it comes at you so quickly. All of this Formula 1 life is so busy when you're into the
run of it. We should have had five Grand Prix by now. And it goes by in an absolute flash. So just
having a chance to absorb everything that you've learned and kind of like restart from scratch.
You've still got the points on the board from Melbourne, but he just can have a chance to
compute what went right, what went wrong. How do you tidy up those rough edges on the other Grand
Prix? I think it's perfect for a rookie this. It's a bit like, you know, JP, you can relate to this,
I'm sure. When you do a two day test in a new car, right? So the first day, it's all very overwhelming.
You're sort of just trying to keep your head above water. You feel like you're drinking from a fire
hose trying to take everything in. You go to bed, you sleep on it, you wake up, you come to the track
the next day. When you get in the car, it all feels like second nature. Everything you've done
just sort of happens automatically. This is like an exaggerated version of that. You know, those
first three races happened in pretty quick succession. So much is happening. So much is being
learned. Now you've had a chance to sit back, let it all digest, let it really ingrain into your
brain, that muscle memory stuff. When they get back in the cars in Miami, I think a lot of that
stuff will feel a lot more second nature, especially to a driver like Lindblad, who doesn't have to
unlearn habits and procedural things from an old car and is, again, what you say, just young and
learning this formula one way. So yeah, I think you're right. I think it's been probably a very
welcome break for him. And he is a sponge. He's actually my guest on this week's F1 Beyond the
Grid out on Wednesday. And I was really impressed by him. He's confident without being arrogant
and he wants to learn. He's a bright cookie. Tick, tick, tick, tick, tick. All of that is the best
thing you could ever an 18 year old. Well, what about the bottom four? Audi, Williams, Cadillac
and Aston Martin have had the most to gain during the break since Japan. How much progress are they
going to make? Do you expect the pecking order among them to change? What are you expecting, guys,
from the bottom four? Okay, of that group, you'd hope that Williams makes the biggest jump, right?
It sounds like a lot of their issues come from a heavy car and time helps solve that, right? That
will give them all the engineers back at the factory a chance to shave some weight off it. And
hopefully that's just instant pace. They've got the power unit in the back of that thing. It just
needs some help in the weight. The drivers were saying, yes, the balance isn't great either and
is probably missing a bit of downforce. But again, with the structure that James Valos has built
there, you'd like to think that of those four teams, they're probably going to make the most jump.
Next, you'd hope that Cadillac, just being kind of as far down as they were, knowing immediately
where the weaknesses are, it's pure downforce for them. First time they'd run a car, first time
they'd raced a car, lots learned. Hopefully again, some low hanging fruit there that they can improve
on. Audi, it's tough to know because again, they're probably trying to continue to improve the power
unit. They're going to obviously push for upgrades on the chassis. They've had a little bit of
turmoil. I don't know if that's an unfair term at the team. It's become destabilized a little bit
with the change in management, with Jonathan Wheatley walking out. So that kind of makes you
worry about where their progress is going and how much they can make. And then obviously Aston,
who knows? I mean, they could be exactly where they were. They could be mildly better. They could be
two seconds faster because they were so far off to begin with. That one, I think, is the biggest
question mark and hardest one to predict. Yeah. I agree, Williams, I think, that they didn't really
have excuses at the start of the year, but they certainly don't have excuses not to actually
just correct their sort of wrong turn that they've taken at some point with this. And it's been,
what, nine weeks since the last pre-season test? So they, at the very least, they obviously missed
the Barcelona running, but at the very least, they would have realized exactly where they're at
when the car hit the ground. And you think there's got to be something coming in all of this time,
plus the month off, to put on the car, to shed weight, to find downforce. They've got a load
of issues all up and down the car, but they have to be a team that can move forward. They're the
closest probably to do that other than Audi, who have their inherent issue with the starts. And
I don't know if that'll be fixed, although the slight tweak of the rules might fix a little bit
of their start issues as well with the use of the MG UK if you don't get off the line at all well.
So we'll see how that pans out for Audi. That might salvage a place or two for them,
because their starts have been hideous so far. Cadillac must be able to add downforce.
You know, they have a Ferrari power unit. That's a great baseline. It's not the best power unit.
It's very competitive at the front. It's leading every race. So that's one part that's the complex
part of this year. The next part is just adding downforce. Now, I'm not a car designer.
I have no qualifications in this at all, but they have a lot that they can find.
They have people that are very well equipped with great qualifications to do the job.
They have Pat Simmons. They have Nick Chesty. These are brilliant designers
of race winning, championship winning acclaim. So they have to be able to add some downforce.
I'm not expecting them to get with the pack, but I am expecting them to make a leap in Miami.
Finally, Aston Martin. Who knows? Well said.
So the lead time on the power unit is obviously longer than the five-week gap,
but you talk about Cadillac having good people to put development on the chassis. Well,
you have to say that Aston have that as well. So I would expect the chassis to have improved
since Japan at Aston Martin at the very least. 100%. They have Adrian Newey there.
He was late to the project. That's part of the long unfurling of their excuses is
Adrian was late, but you have to believe that because the guy has got an amazing CV.
He's one of the geniuses of the sport all time. So they will catch up on the chassis,
but the problem is the power unit is just such a big issue where they have to run it even detuned
to get any level of reliability out of it. And they're still trying to figure out,
or they were still trying to figure out exactly what was going on as Japan.
And I don't know how they could have done that without putting the car back on the track in
the meantime. So Adrian can work his magic, but it's going to need a lot more than that
to get the car into any level of competitive order. That's the problem.
Now, Hinch, you talked about the management changes at Audi and Jonathan Wheatley
team principal leaving after the Chinese Grand Prix. That all happened, but actually news at
the end of last week is that Alan McNish is coming into Audi to stabilize the camp. He's
now their racing director. He's got great Audi heritage. He's raced for them for 25 years. He's
been the team principal of their Formula E team. He won the World Endurance Championship for Audi
back in 2013. He's in charge of their driver development program. So he's been embedded
inside that team since the start of the Audi project, quite frankly. And he's now being
recognized as the guy leading the team track side, which is very much what Jonathan Wheatley was doing
when he was there. So I feel things are starting maybe to settle down actually at Audi. And we
might start to see them make a little bit of progress with McNish there. I worked with him in
the past at the BBC. He's got a great racing brain. There's nothing he doesn't know about
the sport, let alone Formula One. So I'm really pleased for Alan first, but also I think he's
a great appointment. I think he's an Audi man. He's got Audi DNA in him, if you understand what
I mean by that. But he thinks like the management at Audi, or perhaps the management are thinking
like him more to the point. Yeah. I mean, this appointment is great. I completely agree. He
checks all the boxes. He has all the experience because he hadn't been as forward facing on the
Audi program. I almost feel like his appointment here was sort of like his F1 driving career,
was maybe a bit later than it could have been and sort of a little bit out of nowhere. But again,
but well deserved in both cases. And I'm super excited for him. And I'm super excited for the
team and the direction that he can take them. Because as you say, he's got all the qualifications,
bleeds the brand. And that's absolutely, I think the right call. But as we know,
somebody stepping into that role, that's not something that you see changes instantly. That's
still a lot to learn for that specific role. And he still has to start feeling out where they're at,
feeling out where he thinks he can make a difference and what changes he wants to see. So
I think in the short term, there'll be a little bit of growing pains just as that dynamic comes
together, how he and Bonotto work together. But ultimately, I think long term, it's a brilliant
play from Audi. Just as drivers, did you prefer reporting to an ex driver yourself? Did you feel
they understood your needs better than someone who hasn't actually been in the cockpit?
It helps. I always did. I liked driving for former drivers, for sure. I've raced for Michael
Andretti for a long time. That was always a good boss to have in that sense, because you speak the
same language. They've had that experience. So I've always kind of liked having that dynamic.
I don't know about you, JP. Never had it. Never had it. Yeah, always had, well,
Fred Versailles, Cyril Aboutable. Yeah, always had non drivers. I would have liked to report to a
driver, because the language is just slightly different, isn't it? When you report back to a
driver and they get what you're saying in fewer words, I feel like you could just do a little
hand motion and then understand what the car's doing. For my money, there's not enough former
drivers that are team principals. Used to be a bit more of a thing, didn't it, back in the day?
You had Jackie Stewart taking over, Stuart Grand Prix, you had Alan Prost taking over a team,
Nicky Lauder, of course. It's been a long time. All the TPs are moving to engineering backgrounds,
which we certainly do now. But guys, I'm not even talking about, from an engineering
point of view, from what the car's doing. It's more outside of the garage in a way. It's kind
of like, guys, here we are. How are you dealing with the pressure? I know what you're feeling.
Can we sort out the logistics better for you? Do they understand that bit?
Oh, 100% TC, because they've done it. And McNish has been there. He's raced in Formula One. He knows
it was 25 years ago now that he raced in Formula One. But the sport has changed in many ways,
but the logistics side of it, dealing at the high level when you rock up to a race weekend,
all of the things that you have to deal with, all the pressures, all of this stuff, the media,
the sponsors and partners. And he knows what it's like. And he, again, just understands
what a driver's feeling, which if you haven't raced in Formula One, I think it's difficult to
fully grasp it. And he's a smart guy as well, Alan McNish. I think he's a great hire,
because he's been around, as you say, he's been around motorsport for such a long time.
Anyone who's had his success at Le Mans is a thinking driver. He's a smart, intelligent guy
that can work out things on the fly and adapt. And I think he's the obvious hire. He's a great
hire. Now, one final bit of news before we go to Miami is that Formula One is going back to Turkey
next year. And if you've only just started watching Formula One, Istanbul Park in Turkey
is a brilliant racetrack, a modern-day classic. It was on and off the calendar between 2005
and 2021. And the nine races we've had there previously have always been exciting.
It's going to be back on the schedule from 2027 to 2031, five years of racing back at
Istanbul Park. JP, you raced there in GP2. Talk us round the track. I mean, I immediately think
of Turn 8, but there's a lot more to it as well, right? Yeah, it is such a cool circuit. It's one
of the old times for me. It's like undulation that you don't really get from the TV, but it's
everywhere in the whole first half of the lap, blind apexes, little crests, and then you drop
down super fast approaches. You've then got Turn 8 in the middle of it. But even into Turn 8,
you're coming quite steeply up a hill on the exit of what I think is actually technically to turn
six. And then the long drag as well down to the final corner, downhill slightly, and then a really
tricky braking zone. It's super intense. I think the drivers are going to have to up their training
even more because of those fast corners, especially Turn 8 is brutal. I did my first ever GP2
main series race in Turkey. I'd never driven it before. I turned up 30 minutes of practice.
It was wet, like monsoon wet. Bone drive for qualifying. So I'm like, okay, it's all these
veterans. What the heck is this place all about? Went out completely wide-eyed. Of course, I've
done a few laps on the sim, but these are like 2011 GP2 sims. They're not exactly state-of-the-art.
And it was a roller coaster ride, just braving it basically through all these turns.
It's a serious circuit. I'm pleased to see it back.
On pole? Can you finish that story for us?
Pole by three-tenths.
Ah, there it is.
No, no, no, no. I think I was top half, which I'll take for my debut. I think I was like 12.
But it's interesting. It's thrown up just lots of interesting races. There's been controversy.
You talked about the braking points into that last section, I think, of Vettel and Weber
making contact in 2010. Of course, it's where Hamilton sealed his seventh world title back in
2020. That race, Lance Stroll, was on pole position for it in the wet. So it's a crazy
race track for throwing up odd results in many ways.
And you love that. I mean, you love having that kind of track. And I feel like we've seen that at
sometimes that's Hangar Ring, sometimes that's Monza. You've seen some impressive performances
at some of those places. But it's always good to have one that's a little bit of an outlier,
a little bit of a roulette wheel, because people love seeing a shock result.
The racing there as well is fantastic. So you've got that really long run. You've got out of turn
eight, then you've got a left-right chicane, difficult to pass. But then there's the long run
to the final three corners, big braking zone. But the amount of times you can swap places,
trade paint a little bit through there. And then you get another chance to do something into turn
one, and then you're whipping up the hill towards turn three. It's like this switchback heaven
at Istanbul. So it's a driver's favorite simply to go around. I think this was one of Herman
Tilka's best circuits that he made. It's really very good.
Can we have one little F1 nation request to Stefano Domenicali? Can we not go there in November?
Do you remember in COVID, the races were in November, and it was really cold?
Can we just go to TC? Can we make it a summer race?
It was a good race. I thought you were going to say,
can we have one F1 nation request? Can we do some laps in the car? Let's all go around and
recall one of these around the circuit. Now you're darkened.
Some Pirelli hot laps with you two, please. I'm right in there.
Look, let's break it down finally, guys. So I want you for the main Grand Prix.
We do the Sprint as well, actually. Sprint and for the main Grand Prix on Sunday,
back in Miami now. Give us your podium. Sprint, first of all.
All right. So I'll do Sprint first. You can do Grand Prix first then.
I still think Mercedes come with the slight advantage. So even with all the upgrades,
you've got to figure them out first. So their baseline is the best. So let's say for Sprint,
it's still a Mercedes 1-2, and we'll throw Lando in there for P3 because he's been quick
in Miami in the past. I'll go with that for the Sprint. I think I can see
Georgia or Kimmy take your pick. I can see George coming out of the blocks quite quickly and taking
the Sprint, but then throw it forward to the race. And I'm just going to go curveball. I'm going to
say McLaren get on top of this. You had Oscar second in Japan, and I'm going to say Lando
gets a clean run through Miami. He's had the win there in the past. New car, punchy McLaren,
and they show us what they're capable of. So Norris takes a bit of a surprise win ahead of
the two Mercedes. I was just thinking, are we underplaying this whole Ferrari start advantage
in a Sprint race? Because if you can get out front and there's no real strategy,
and you can just stay out there, maybe a Ferrari wins the Sprint. And which one, Hinge?
I'd say Leclerc. Street circuit connoisseur, so to speak. But I don't hate your Grand Prix
prediction. It's just it's so hard because even when other teams have had good starts or good races
going, you know, Mercedes have always still kind of found the way, haven't they? So I'm almost more
inclined to kind of revert to more of the outlier results in the Sprint with maybe a Ferrari victory.
And maybe it's a Mercedes, McLaren, Mercedes in the Grand Prix. Mercedes have got to see if they
can get off the line still. Because if they can get off the line, then they will be obviously
still difficult to beat. But if they can't, and you've got these upgrades coming on Ferrari and on
the McLaren, they kind of came through with a bit of difficulty in Japan. Obviously,
needed the safety car for Kimi. But you know, they have to learn to get these cars off the line.
What are you going for, TC? I'm on the JP McLaren bandwagon. But I think
Piastri, I've been really impressed with him this year. You know, okay, he's only started one race.
But oh, it was a good one. In his own words, when we actually start these things, we're pretty good
at it. But every time he's been on track, he's been really impressive. I feel he's had the edge
over Lando. I know Lando's had lots of technical troubles, but I like the cut of the Piastri
jib. So I think if the McLaren is there or thereabouts, he won a Piastri one in Miami,
of course, last year. So he's my bet. Well, guys, as ever, thank you very much for your time,
JP and Hinch. Great to talk it all through and we can go racing again at last.
Thanks so much, Piastri. Always a pleasure. And yeah, I cannot wait. Can not wait. Happy to
be there too. It's going to be fun. Yeah, looking forward to it. I'll see you guys out there.
All right, we'll see you there. And you can catch JP and Hinch on F1 TV and the F1 YouTube channel
for all the latest from Miami. And as I said earlier, my guest on F1 Beyond the Grid this
week is Racing Bulls, Arvid Lindblad. And the latest F1 Explains is all about what happens
inside a garage during a Grand Prix. That's right below this episode on the F1 Nation feed.
Now, we'll be back. F1 Nation will be back next Monday with our review of the Miami Grand Prix.
But for now, thank you very much for listening. F1 Nation is produced by F1 and AudioBoom Studio.
About this episode
Miami GP feels like a season reset after five weeks off, with teams using the break for deep data work and upgrades. The FIA/F1 changes aim to make qualifying more intense and reduce start speed gaps, plus a longer first practice to adapt before sprint qualifying. Miami’s long straights, heavy braking, and concrete walls (no run-off) should punish mistakes—especially at lap-one. McLaren is viewed as having its best title shot yet, while Russell shouldn’t panic if Antonelli is quick again. Ferrari’s upgrades may help, but power/straight-line grunt is the question; Haas/Alpine look strong, Red Bull’s pace is the wildcard, and the bottom teams hope for meaningful jumps.
Can a 'completely new' McLaren take victory in Miami? Tom Clarkson, James Hinchcliffe and Jolyon Palmer think it's the papaya team's best chance of the season so far. F1 is back after a break from racing, and everything could be different!
Tom, Jolyon and Hinch debate which team will make the biggest leap forward in Miami, and how the second F1 Sprint weekend of the year puts pressure on drivers to get back up to speed quickly. Can McLaren get ahead of Mercedes? Have Ferrari got special upgrades? Will Red Bull rise back to the front?
Plus, the team celebrate the news that F1 is returning to Istanbul Park - a 'modern classic' which always produces exciting racing. We're already looking forward to the 2027 Turkish Grand Prix...
