Some F1 weekends have a “sprint,” which is a shorter race session before the main race. Because it changes the starting grid and gives teams extra data, teams can look different in sprint sessions versus the main qualifying/race.
In F1 qualifying, drivers have to be fast enough to move on to the next part. If they’re not, they get “knocked out,” meaning they can’t improve their starting position in the later rounds.
Concept
energy rich circuits
“Energy rich” is a way of saying a track feels exciting and eventful. The hosts mean circuits that keep drivers busy and create lots of chances for fast, dramatic moments.
Heavy braking zones are places where you have to slow down a lot, often from high speed. The car’s braking and grip matter a lot there because you’re trying to turn in while still slowing down hard.
Term
Q1
In F1 qualifying, Q1 is the first round. Everyone tries to set a fast lap, and the slowest cars get sent home while the quicker ones move on.
A power issue means the car isn’t delivering its full power. That can make the car slower on the lap, especially in qualifying where every tenth matters.
The McLaren 12C GT Sprint is a race car based on the McLaren 12C, made to compete in shorter, faster events. In racing, if the car has a power problem, it can lose speed right when it matters most—like during qualifying. That can decide whether the car advances to the next round.
A sprint race is a shorter race during the weekend. It helps determine where the cars start for the main race, so teams treat it like an important warm-up.
FP1 is the first practice session on race weekend. Teams use it to learn how the car and tires behave so they can adjust before qualifying and the race.
A boost issue means the car didn’t give the extra power it was supposed to. If that happens, the driver feels like the car is slower or doesn’t respond properly.
Deployment is when the driver activates an extra power mode the car can use. The team has to manage it carefully so it works when needed and stays within the rules.
Aston Martins means Aston Martin’s cars in Formula 1. The hosts are about to talk about how their two cars did, which is important because one problem can ruin a weekend.
A burnout is when the car spins its tires while the driver is basically not moving forward much. It can be used to show frustration or to heat up tires.
A downshift is when the car changes to a lower gear. It usually makes the engine rev higher, often used when slowing down or setting up for acceleration.
Term
kill the engine
“Kill the engine” means the engine stops running. In this context they’re joking about what happens in an F1 video game when you mess up.
Topic
Q3
Q3 is the last part of qualifying. The quickest drivers get to run in Q3, and their times decide the best starting spots.
A “midfield pack” means a group of cars that are all pretty evenly matched. They’re not battling for the win, but they’re close enough that positions can change quickly.
Alpine is a Formula 1 racing team. They make and race the cars in F1, and here the hosts are talking about how fast Alpine looked compared to other teams.
Brand
Hass
This is talking about Haas, an F1 team. They’re saying Haas didn’t look as quick as before during this Miami weekend.
Term
V-Carb
“V-Carb” is likely a shorthand for a specific F1 car/entry name used in the broadcast (e.g., a team’s car branding). The hosts use it as a reference to where Lawson’s car sits relative to Haas and Audi in qualifying pace.
They mean the car had serious problems—so bad that it couldn’t keep running. When that happens in qualifying, the team can’t get enough clean laps to set a good time.
Bearman refers to Oliver Bearman, a driver mentioned as having a strong start to the season. The hosts are discussing his qualifying result (13th) as part of the broader Haas/Williams comparison.
Ocon refers to Esteban Ocon, another driver mentioned alongside Bearman. The hosts cite his qualifying position (15th) to frame how the team’s weekend is going overall.
Williams is a Formula 1 team. The hosts predict a continuing midfield battle between Haas and Williams for the rest of the weekend, implying close competition for track position.
Verstappen refers to Max Verstappen, a top Formula 1 driver. He’s listed among the Q3 top 10, indicating he set a fast time and is likely starting near the front.
Gasly refers to Pierre Gasly, an F1 driver. He’s named in the Q3 top 10 list, indicating his qualifying lap was fast enough for a strong starting position.
Alonzo refers to Fernando Alonso, a long-time Formula One driver. The speaker mentions him as part of the “jumbled” grid at the back, contrasting with expectations of team dominance.
Brand
Stroll
Stroll refers to Lance Stroll, an F1 driver. The speaker groups him with Alonso to emphasize that even at the back of the grid, the usual teammate pairing expectations didn’t hold.
“Super clipping” is a fan/TV way of saying the car is getting pushed so hard that it starts to lose grip. When that happens, the driver has to react quickly to keep the car under control.
They’re talking about Japan as the location where the problem looked worse. That usually means a particular F1 track there made the cars behave differently.
A “high speed circuit” is a track where the cars go fast for longer stretches. That affects how drivers drive—more speed up front, and different braking and cornering demands.
FIA is the organization that runs and regulates Formula One. They help decide what happens with the race when conditions—like bad weather—might affect safety.
Rain makes the track slippery, so cars don’t grip the same way as on a dry day. Drivers often have to change how they brake, turn, and accelerate, and teams may change their plan for tires and pit stops.
Big storms can make racing unsafe, so officials may pause the session or delay the start. If conditions don’t improve, the race can be affected or not run as planned.
Brand
Hajar
“Hajar” is mentioned as having a strong qualifying result (“P3 in Australia”), but the transcript doesn’t provide enough context to confidently identify the exact driver. It’s treated as a competitor relative to Verstappen’s gap to the field.
“Lando” is a reference to Lando Norris, a leading Formula One driver. The hosts mention him in the context of Verstappen’s past championship battle, implying direct on-track competition between the two.
“Changeable conditions” refers to weather or track grip that varies during the race—like clouds, rain starting/stopping, or temperature shifts. In F1, that can drastically affect tire choice and lap times, making races more unpredictable.
Brand
Antony
“Antony” sounds like a driver name, but the transcript doesn’t make it clear who they mean. They’re basically debating whether that driver can hold off Verstappen depending on the weather.
In F1, “wet” refers to racing on a rain-affected track where grip is lower and cars behave differently than in dry conditions. The hosts are suggesting that in wet conditions, outcomes become less certain because driver skill and tire management matter more.
“Tyres” just means the race tires. In F1, the tires can feel grippy or slippery depending on the conditions, and that changes how fast the cars can go.
Car
Red Bull
Red Bull is the racing team behind Max Verstappen’s car. When they say Red Bull is “back,” they mean the team’s car is performing better again.
Upgrades are new parts the team installs to make the car faster or easier to drive. In F1, even small changes can help the car grip better and go quicker.
The “Macarena wing” is a nickname for a special rear wing design. A wing helps the car stick to the track by pushing it downward, and this one is being treated as a big performance change.
“Shaved some of the weight” refers to reducing the car’s mass within F1 regulations. Lower weight can improve acceleration, braking, and tyre wear, and it can make the car feel more responsive—especially when paired with aerodynamic upgrades.
“P2 on the grid” means he’ll start the race in second place. Starting near the front usually gives you a better chance to stay ahead and avoid traffic.
The “lead pack” is just the cars near the front of the race. If Max is fighting in that group, it means he’s running with the fastest cars instead of being stuck behind.
In F1, teams add or change wing and body parts to control how air flows around the car. That helps the car stick to the track and go faster, but it can also add resistance that slows it down.
Formula One is the highest level of racing with purpose-built cars and teams that constantly tweak the car. Qualifying is a big deal because it shows how fast the car is over one lap.
A “new regulation car” means the car was built to match new rules for that F1 season. When the rules change, teams and drivers usually need time to learn how to get the most speed out of the new design.
“Baseline” here means the car’s starting level of performance. They’re saying you don’t want a car that’s only good enough to finish in the points but not actually win.
A “level playing field” means the cars are similar enough that no one team has a huge advantage. The point here is that a team shouldn’t aim for “almost good” if it can build something that can win.
“Upgrading” means adding new improvements to the race car as the season goes on. The idea is that better upgrades can help the driver get the car working well enough to win.
The “front row of the grid” means the car starts right at the front of the race. Qualifying well there helps because you’re less stuck in traffic at the start.
“Race starts” means how the driver gets going right at the beginning of the race. If the tires don’t have enough grip, the car can bog down and lose time.
The grid is split into two sides. The “clean” side usually has more grip at the start, so cars can get traction and accelerate better when the race begins.
A “bad start” means the car doesn’t get going well right after the lights go out. That can drop the driver back before they even reach the first corners.
They’re saying the car didn’t deliver the usual push from the engine right at the start. In F1 terms, that “boost” is the extra engine power that should kick in quickly when you accelerate.
Low grip surface is when the road/track doesn’t “grab” the tires very well. That makes it easier to slide, so drivers have to be more careful with braking and steering.
Track surface is basically what the racing track is like to drive on—how rough or smooth it is and how much grip it gives. If the surface changes, the tires can act differently, so different drivers may feel more comfortable.
“Track roughness” is a measure of how uneven or textured the circuit surface is. Roughness affects tire wear, vibration, and how consistently the car can stay planted, so it can influence qualifying and race strategy.
Term
convert that
“Convert” here means “turn into results.” They’re saying he didn’t take a good starting spot and finish in a way that earned points.
Term
starting in a points-paying position
It means the driver started in a spot that usually leads to earning points. If you start there and still don’t score, it’s considered a missed opportunity.
Three wide means three cars are running side-by-side through the same section of track. It’s risky because there’s less room for each car, and any mistake can trigger contact or force drivers to lift and lose positions.
“Plank wear” is about wear on the car’s bottom skid surface. If it wears too much, the car’s height and grip can change, so teams have to manage it when they adjust for different conditions.
Ride height is how high the car sits off the ground. Lower or higher ride height can change how the car grips the road and how well the aero works, which matters a lot in wet weather.
In F1, wings are the aerodynamic parts on the front and back of the car. Changing them changes how much the car “sucks” to the track, which helps when it’s slippery.
A pit lane start means the car doesn’t go from the normal starting grid. Instead, it starts from the pit lane, usually to deal with a penalty or to make changes that would otherwise be costly.
Sprint qualifying is a shorter event that helps set up the starting order for the main race. Since it’s not the same as normal qualifying, the top positions can look different.
Wind matters in F1 because the car’s grip depends on airflow. Strong winds—especially near a particular corner—can make the car harder to control and lead to mistakes.
Car
Ferrari
Ferrari is one of the Formula 1 teams. The hosts are saying their car tends to struggle when the track is wet.
Brand
Charlotte Clair
This sounds like a name mix-up for Charles Leclerc, a Ferrari driver. The hosts are basically saying they’re not expecting him to do well if it rains.
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Hello, everybody, and welcome back to the Blue One Podcast with Matt and Tommy, another pod,
another competitive session, a sprint weekend.
They come thick and fast.
Do they not?
And we are here yet to talk about main qualifying and for sort of the criticism
that sprint weekends sometimes get and have done over the years.
Quite fairly is that we essentially have spoilers for the main event, not this weekend.
Everything changes apparently between sprint parts of the weekend and the main one.
Yeah, definitely.
It's been a surprise, maybe a bit of an indication of how we're still in a very early phase of
these new regulations and a lot of learnings to be had and people still trying to work out
what they're doing.
But yeah, crazy to think that you go into another qualifying session after the sprint
and you think, oh, McLaren have just walked this, they're going to be fine.
And you know, both of them nearly got knocked out a few times in that session.
It was a crazy turn up and very unexpected.
And that's what we want as Formula One fans at the end of the day is the unexpected.
Exactly.
I don't know if it's because it was close or because they've actually made improvements.
Whatever it might be, it felt like actual Formula One to a degree again.
So I'm happy with that.
And Miami of all places, energy rich.
And I will continue to say that for the rest of the weekend.
That's your favorite energy rich track.
Praise today.
Forget like, oh, you know, I love tracks that you can overtake.
I love tracks that are energy rich.
You know, I like it when they've got good amounts.
Would you like high speed corners?
Do you like heavy braking zones?
No, no, energy rich circuits.
I like it when they can gobble up their energy really, really well.
Anyway, let's get into Q1 where the bottom six were Lindblad, Alonso,
Stroll, Bottas, Perez and Portoletto.
The latter, the last name that I read there, of course, having lots of struggles.
And had it not been for Audi having problems again every single weekend,
it feels like they're having some kind of reliability issue.
Of course, Hülkenberg exploded on the way to the sprint grid.
If it wasn't for Portoletto's issue in qualifying, the big talking point
and a name I probably would have read out is Oscar Piatri's name.
He finished 16th in this session.
And I cannot believe how close it was
because Lindblad was in a car that could have easily made it through to Q2
because his teammate was four or five tenths up the road.
And of course, Portoletto with Hülkenberg up in, you know, probably 11th.
He's in 11th all the time, but he was very safely in as well.
So with the power issue that Piatri was having,
it could have easily gone from a McLaren 1-2 in the sprint to a knockout in Q1.
Definitely. I think Piatri's saving grace here was the fact that Q1,
even though we now have six going out, four of them are locked in,
the two Cadillacs and the two Aston Martins.
And then Portoletto and Lindblad have both had lots of issues
this this kind of weekend and particularly today.
So, yeah, Piatri was running a huge risk of going out.
McLaren, despite such a strong sprint race and how good they were and how fast,
it shows that that car is still very temperamental.
They both had issues again.
We've spoken so many times about Vando and Oscar both having consistent issues
this year and struggling to, you know, get a clean weekend.
But it shows when they, it all goes to get works together.
They're incredibly fast.
But again, having problems and Piatri almost ended up not even making it out
of Q1, which would have been a huge shock when they were the fastest team in the
sprint race, just literally hours before.
Yeah, the change up between the two, of course, they can make changes
between the sprint element of the weekend and the main race part and going into
qualifying because of the data that they've learned.
I think it's a very good rule to have rather than sort of, you know,
taking a gamble after FP1 and that being it.
And especially as well with these new regulations, these new cars,
there's a lot of time to be found.
And yeah, McLaren sort of went in the wrong direction, either that being
due to the car setup or reliability issues, because Landau also had concerns
about deployment, which turned out to be a boost issue, according to Zack Brown.
But we'll get on to that a little bit later on.
Piatri did make it through, though, which was which was good for him.
Portoletto, you know, big shame for him, of course, because Audi very fast,
probably what the sixth fastest team, but they just cannot get both cars
to have a clean weekend.
It's just impossible.
And then, as you mentioned, of course, the two Aston Martins, Alonso
ahead of Stroll, and most importantly, of this entire quality podcast,
Bottas out qualifying Perez, what a lap.
Valtteri Bottas saw none of it, as you can imagine.
And of course, Tommy, it's your responsibility to bring up when
Perez out qualifies Bottas and start gloating on his behalf.
It's my responsibility to do the opposite of that.
So well done to Bottas for qualifying Perez, because that's kind of what he
should be doing is the Saturday master qualifying person that he is.
I did just have one little thing to mention was the Alonso moment
where he showed a bit of what I thought was frustration of probably
just things not going his way and how much he doesn't like the car.
He's already spoken about, I heard him say that they're going to be fighting.
They reckon they could be fighting for Q2 by round 14, according to Fernando Alonso.
That's their target, which is insane.
And we saw Alonso doing like a huge burnout and then like locking up into the pits
and feeling like he was almost, you know, unlike an F1 game when you get frustrated
and you like do downshifts and just kill the engine and rage quit.
It kind of feels like that kind of vibe.
Yes, but in real life, so he couldn't do the breaking of the engine.
Probably would vibrate too much to be fair.
So, so, yeah, instead, he did a little burnout, didn't he?
And it was not happy at all.
And, you know, who can blame him?
He's at the end of his career and he's got a rubbish car.
Let's head to Q2 now, where the bottom six in this session were Hülkenberg,
Lawson, Bearman, Sines, Ocon and Albon.
Hülkenberg, P11, my guy absolutely loves a P11.
Audi love P11.
Will he start the race tomorrow?
That's a question that's up in the air.
Have to say Lawson, despite the livery of the V-Car being something
that you either like or don't like.
I don't know if it's as extreme as hate or love, but the yellow on it.
I like the team kit.
I think the team kit is cool, but the actual car livery itself
just looks like flovis in my eyes.
So I cannot see past that now in any form of my mind.
But Lawson, from a performance perspective, you look at Limblad,
who of course was taking some of the highlights right at the start of the season.
Lawson has bounced back and I say bounced back.
He's had a great start to the season, but he's also put a huge margin
on his teammate who wasn't able to make it out of Q1.
So Lawson in that kind of mix, it has to be said for tomorrow,
where could pick up another point and add to his pretty tasty, fruity tally
that he has already.
Yeah, definitely.
I think Lawson, what was interesting is the spy, I think Q3,
we mentioned about such an unpredictable qualifying, how it's all mixed up.
Widley Q2, you look at that and it's kind of very expected with the teams there.
We're very much seeing a midfield pack this weekend,
where Alpine seemed to have kind of escaped that midfield pack.
And one of the maybe disappointments based on what we saw at the start of the season
is Hass and how they were looking like they were challenging to be up with the Alpenes.
But this weekend, they look nowhere near that and they've found themselves
kind of behind Lawson in the V-Carb and also Audi,
when they can actually get some track running without the car exploding.
Exactly.
Yeah, I think Hass have been out upgraded going into Miami, it has to be said.
And this is a kind of running trend that I think Hass have had for years now,
is that they'll come out of the blocks pretty fast,
but not be able to keep up in the development race.
And this is something that they're going to have to keep on top of,
because, yeah, Bearman's had a phenomenal start to the season.
So still not an absolute disaster in 13th for Bearman, 15th for Ocon.
The battle is going to be Hass versus Williams and it's going to rage on for the rest of the weekend,
just like it did in the sprint where it was two by two
and they were fighting for what felt like the entirety of that sprint race.
So I'm looking forward to more tasseling going on between those two teams,
despite it not obviously being for any points.
Let's now head to the final part of qualifying Q3,
where the top 10 was Antonelli, Verstappen, Leclerc, Norris, Russell,
Hamilton, Piastri, Colopinto, Hajar and Gasly.
Question from Mr. Idiot, is qualifying fun again?
It certainly is when it's competitive and I think that is the key to everything,
despite all the talk of cars look a bit slow sometimes,
still super clipping, it's taking a bit of getting used to it,
but you're almost kind of already for races in, kind of getting used to it now.
And at the end of the day, I'm still convinced that so much of qualifying's
enjoyment and why we didn't have the enjoyment,
wasn't just for because of super clipping and because of all the issues of the new cars,
it was because you were going into every single race and it felt like 2014 again,
where Mercedes were just going to basically qualify first and second all the time.
And that is really disappointing.
And instead, we've gone into this weekend, as we mentioned at the start of the show,
where it's flipping between, it's completely flipped on its head
between two qualifying sessions.
And you look at that as well and you had lots of people fighting for pole position
that was unexpected, looking at that top 10.
So used to Formula One and something that we expected with the performance gaps of this year
that you'd potentially get like a Noah's Ark 2x2, like two Mercs,
and it's two Ferraris and two McLarens.
There's not a single teammate that's together on the grid with theirs,
I think, all the way down to Alonzo and Stroll, so at the back.
So it's a really jumbled up grid.
And this is what we want in Formula One and what we were kind of hoping for before testing,
that those top four teams are mixing it up at the front.
And yes, Antonelli in the end was quite comfortable.
But it's so much more fun and a much better watch when you don't know what's going to happen.
And there's more people in the mix and fighting for pole position.
Yeah, exactly. You know, we love competition.
I will say that, you know, I don't know if F1 are getting better at making us feel
like we're seeing what the cars are doing without actually seeing what the cars are doing.
But it hasn't felt like super clipping has been anywhere near as bad as what we've seen in Japan.
And to be fair, all three of the races that we've had.
It's not a high speed circuit though, is it?
Like where you haven't let I think that the biggest trigger of super clipping was that.
And this is for me, and I'm sure I speak for a lot of Formula One fans,
was the super clipping was happening during legendary corners and no offense to Miami,
but it's not a legendary circuit, you know, 130R we've watched for years.
It'd be an awesome challenge, same with the Chicaner Albert Park.
And that was why it was so disappointing to see that in a weird way.
Seeing him lose a bit of power at the end of the straight of Miami.
It's kind of like, I don't really like this track anyway.
So whatever.
It's so true.
Because it's exciting.
It's very true.
Yeah, the legendary corners losing that sparkle is definitely where it properly gets to us.
And as I said at the start, it is an energy rich track.
And I think that is obviously what you've kind of said there, Tommy,
with it not being a high speed circuit that allows for the drivers to harvest in more
or less noticeable areas.
Let's say that.
But generally, I would say it's felt more like Formula One.
And maybe there's an element of that, which is becoming desensitized to it already.
But let's see.
Like, I think it's we're not going to know exactly how these tweaks have worked
until we have a bit of a, you know, a bit of a test.
A big pool of races.
Yeah, exactly what's what's what's happened.
But I've enjoyed Miami so far, especially for the fact that it is Miami.
Let's remind ourselves this is voted one of the worst tracks on the calendar for many reasons.
So if we can get even a remotely interesting race, then sign me up.
Also, actually, speaking of the race right now, Tommy, I don't know if you've heard,
but I think maybe as of recording right now in an hour, they are Formula One
and the FIA are discussing whether to make the race earlier to miss the thunderstorms,
which will absolutely destroy us.
Glad we're in Australia.
Because it's a half five start for me as it is.
Australia, you are the goats.
Again, I'm just going to put it out there.
You are legendary.
I'll take that because I've got to fly afterwards.
So yeah, the paranoia will kick in if we're four hours into the race
and we've not started yet and I have how much of a window do you have?
I have quite a window like obviously we're early in the morning
and I'm not flying till about four o'clock in the afternoon.
So we're fine, but I'm close to the airport.
So yeah, we should be fine.
Tommy's basically flying with the pilot.
As long as you don't have a Canada.
Yeah, exactly.
You've just got the private jet.
Actually, yeah.
Amazing.
Yeah, let's not have a Canada even though you can't really have a Canada these days
with the time limits imposed.
So yes, we will see what happens with that.
But it'd be a shame, obviously, to not get any rain.
But then I would much rather see a race than not have a race
if there is a lot of thunderstorms in the air.
So can you imagine not having a race after this long break
and then three weeks after it?
One sprint.
That's it.
That's even three more weeks.
Let's go to another question from Iceman.
Is Max back?
I think Tommy might say something different.
Actually, no, he won't.
He's a pessimist.
Hard to say if Max is back.
I think that as much as we, of course, applaud Max Verstappen's abilities
and, you know, accept and admire that he is one of, if not the best driver on the grid.
I think there is an element that with any human kind of element
where if the car is competitive, you come alive.
And I think with Max Verstappen, that is even more so.
And you just look at the gap between him and Hajar.
And I think that is testament to almost like Verstappen just locking in.
Like it genuinely feels that way.
Not to say he wasn't trying in the first three, but to be a tenth and a half off pole
after having a car that was a complete dog in the first three races.
But you're barring Hajar, of course, putting a P3 in Australia in qualifying.
But generally speaking, the Red Bull's not been particularly quick
in comparison to the to the leaders.
To see this now, I mean, firstly, Formula One is so much better
when Max Verstappen is at the front.
It there's no denying it, right?
I'm I was, you know, a bit of jokingly a Max fan
to see him try and take on Lando for the World Championship last year.
But you have to say that it is exciting to have him at the front.
And secondly, if we're going to get a race that has changeable conditions,
having Max anywhere near the front gives him a phenomenal opportunity for tomorrow.
I don't care what you say, Tommy.
I don't care if you think Antony's going to run away.
If we get changeable conditions, Max has a chance dry.
I think he's cooked.
I think there's no chance he beats Antony.
But in the in the wet, you never know that it's an unknown, right?
We have no idea.
We have no data to know what the starts are going to be like,
how the drivers are going to be able to negotiate the the conditions,
what the tyres are going to be like. It's just, yeah, it's exciting.
I said in sprint qualifying that a P5 never felt so good for the Stappen
after the start he's had, a P2 feels like a miracle based on the start he's had.
And I think Red Bull, certainly in Max's hands, are back to a point
because Max has had a really tough start to the year.
He's still been, he's still managed to like drag his machinery
to like decent positions and finish best the rest.
But he's had, you know, reliability problems and things like that.
And it seems to have all gone wrong for him.
But now he's kind of had this break.
You can imagine Max being Max that he's worked tirelessly
to kind of sort these problems with Red Bull, work together.
They've obviously bought a lot of upgrades.
They've bought the incredible Macarena wing, which is insane looking.
How wide it opens is quite the kind of spectacle.
And we've found a situation where Red Bull are slightly competitive again.
They've shaved some of the weight off and Max is putting it P2 on the grid.
And I think just the fact that if they can be in the mix,
we will see Max just happen again, being able to over deliver what that car has
and be able to put in great performances here and there.
I'm not saying he's going to win the race and all that,
but just seeing him fight in that lead pack again is great for Formula One
and makes me very happy indeed.
Yeah, I'll take a Max win so we can just put your Max isn't going to win a race prediction to bed.
So would I. I want it gone.
Imagine, I know we had a big gap and, you know, there was a social clip
made of you kind of being like, well, you know, Max, I'm going to get a podium these days.
You know what I'm saying?
The cinema to come back from the break and Max wins would be amazing.
I love to see it.
Next question from annex underscore Max Tech, the first aerodynamic package
Red Bull bring and suddenly the second RB seat lost so much time to Max.
Why do they keep doing this?
They keep doing it because they have one of the greatest Formula One drivers of all time in their team.
And at the end of the day, well, you know, you can look at it and go,
oh, it's that they're backing the Stappen and all this side of it.
They'd be crazy not to and teams have done this throughout their whole side of it.
And had John knows what he's signing up for here,
that they're always going to back Max Stappen and give what he wants.
And it's up to that second Red Bull driver to be able to deliver in that car.
The way Max has happened likes it because the last even five years, you know,
he's won four championships.
He almost dragged that car to the World Championship last year
and showed that just backing Max Stappen all the way is the way to go for that team.
Because at the end of the day for Red Bull,
then being six and seventh or seventh and eighth,
it's better to have Max in second.
And yeah, even if had just like a ninth or whatever,
that's a better one result for the points and Max Verstappen,
you know, they want to challenge for the World Championship and wins and things.
So they're always going to back Max Verstappen.
Like that is just the way that that team is.
And it's tough for for Hadjar and whoever goes up against him.
But Verstappen's earned that credit as a multiple world champion
and one of the best drivers we've ever seen.
So of course, it's going to happen.
Exactly. And I, you know, we don't know.
We don't know exactly how this is going to go.
The Verstappen-Hadjar rivalry because Hadjar,
we have been celebrating how close he's been at times to Max.
This weekend, of course, it hasn't been the case.
If this now continues and Max is putting eight tenths on him, a second on him,
I don't really have too much sympathy for the second Red Bull driver, Hadjar, in this case,
because he's been in there from day one of this new regulation set.
Yes, he's still new to Red Bull and of course,
there's a lot of learning to be had.
But I don't think you really have much of an argument
from a Red Bull is favouring Max side of things.
When one, you know what you're signing up to in that second Red Bull seat,
you're going into Max Verstappen's backyard.
He's going to have priority on anything he wants.
But two, like, what is he asking for that is so mysterious and is so unique
with a brand new regulation car that a driver can't drive around?
Like, that for me is something I don't understand.
And yes, Max has a very unique driving style,
but it's not like he has his steering wheel upside down
and he's the only driver that's ever done it.
So I'm not jumping on the fact that Hadjar's lost it either.
Like, he can have a bad weekend at this stage of his Red Bull career.
But let's see, it's going to be fascinating to see if Max can,
one, be hauling that car close to the front,
but two, you know, putting a huge margin on Hadjar.
So yeah, I'm not going to start throwing slander at Red Bull
because I'm in complete agreement with you, Tommy, that if they have a driver
that can take them to victories and to championships, why would you not?
You don't want to have a level playing field baseline sort of V-Carb style car
where they can score points but never win.
You just wouldn't go down that route in terms of upgrading.
Exactly. And it shows that people will say that that team was built around Max
and they had Horner and they had Helmut Marco.
And, you know, it's a very different team at Red Bull,
but it's an insane decision not to give Max a slap
on everything he wants in that team because he is the proven,
you know, one of the best of all time.
So he's going to be able to deliver and that's exactly what he's done
immediately with a more competitive car.
You know, he's the one that's put it on the front row of the grid.
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Next question from MonkEU5.
Does it actually matter if Kimmy is starting on pole if he's always bogging down on his race starts?
So we discussed this a little bit after the sprint race.
If you haven't seen that podcast, go and check it out.
We did a double upload today.
Toto Wolf actually said after qualifying that that was not Kimmy's mistake,
whether that's him coping again and trying to save Kimmy's thing.
But it was a tire grip.
He said some fancy word.
But it was essentially that my understanding was that Mercedes told him there must be a
measurement of grip that they thought the grip box would have and that wasn't right.
So Toto essentially said it was nothing to do with him.
He was absolutely perfectly on the number.
But the number that we gave him was wrong.
So will Mercedes get the number right tomorrow?
We will see.
But I guess that's a little bit, if you're hoping for a Kimmy and Snelly win,
slightly more optimistic when you hear that kind of thing that perhaps it was a Mercedes error.
So we will see.
I mean, Kimmy's had more bad starts than he's had good starts this year.
So that's not the best track record.
And he's got a fast starting Ferrari literally right behind him in third
on the clean side of the grid as well.
So if I was a betting man, I'd probably put Charlotte head of Kimmy going into turn one.
But then again, if we have a wet start, who knows?
No one has any idea.
I think they're going to be so slow off the line.
Like it's going to be awesome to watch.
And you might even see Hamilton leading into turn one.
You basically, and if it's normal dry session,
you've arguably got two of the drivers that have had the worst starts this season on the front row.
Can they stay in the top 10 come the end of that one?
Yeah, genuinely, because Antonino's been bogged down loads.
So is Max.
Max had an issue in the sprint as well where it basically just had no kind of power and boost
at the start of the race, which is why he dropped back behind.
Hamilton and Hamilton just like flew by at the start.
So it's a fascinating situation where if it's dry, you've got two theoretically slow starting cars
based on what we've seen so far, and then two of the fastest behind behind.
So that's going to be exciting.
And then equally, if we get a wet race, who knows what's going to happen?
And it's a weird situation of I want to see like it pan out.
I think we've got like the best of both.
If it rains or not, because it's going to be fascinating either way.
Certainly is.
I'm really looking forward to tomorrow.
Next question from P1 Patreon member Zingy13.
Do you think that Kimmy's pace has taken George by surprise and is affecting how he is driving,
which is why he's off the pace?
Yeah, George doesn't seem to have an answer for Kimmy at the moment.
And it's surprising because, you know, four tenths is a big gap.
And we saw it in the sprint race.
Didn't.
Yeah, Antonino got his penalty, of course.
But yeah, the going into qualifying again, George just didn't look anywhere near challenging
for Paul and Kimmy looked so comfortable for Paul.
At least George is going to get like a P2 here.
But all the way down in fifth and way off his teammate was a big surprise again.
It was.
Now I found something quite intriguing that Toto Wolfe said after qualifying.
And that was that he firstly commended George for his bounce back.
I don't know if you felt like he had to say something about George that was good.
When, of course, the whole thing is that Kimmy is only being great.
But he was saying like, oh, you know, George driven around the
problems he'd been having and things like that.
But the problems he kind of suggested that George was having
was that he doesn't like smooth surface tracks and that he genuinely used the analogy of
tennis players and some being good on hard courts and some being good on clay.
And I'm there like, I actually recall something very similar
where Bottas was really good at low grip surface.
Yeah, yeah.
And so, of course, you know, drivers will have their preferences.
But I'm sat there going like, I mean, how many George Russell Stinker tracks are we talking here?
Because, you know, he's got to mount the championship challenge.
And I just found it a very bizarre interview because I would have expected
Toto to be more on the disappointed side rather than, well, you know what,
it's a clay court and George hates clay.
So that's the that is one of the most insane reasons I've ever seen for a driver's
pace.
Of course, there are always circuits that we mentioned about like Lewis Hamilton and
how he just is seemingly great around China and Leclerc doesn't like that track or whatever.
But I've never heard them talking about like the track surface and how it doesn't affect him.
And that just seems like the kind of thing that not, yeah, almost like is a bit like embarrassing
for George to kind of be mentioned of like, it almost feels like almost like a parody
racing driver excuse of like, oh, well, I don't like this, this kind of tarmac.
I prefer it when there's a bit more of this mixture in the tarmac, like very bizarre that.
Yeah, you don't hear it about, you know, the Max Verstappens and the Lewis Hamilton's of
this world of them saying like, I just don't get on with a certain sort of surface of track.
But hey, they're being honest, and I quite like the fact that we've kind of got a bit of an insight
into the tracks that George doesn't like. And now I will be looking up the roughness of each track
before I do the predictions for each race weekend for the rest of the season.
Let's now move slightly further down the field, but not too far down.
Question from P1Patreon member Dave Powell.
How impressive is Colin Pinto this weekend? He has been brilliant this weekend to not only
be matching Gasly, but to be beating him in qualifying and a Red Bull as well is brilliant
stuff like Alpine themselves have done a great job clearly of building a car that is,
they're not in Formula One, they're not in Formula 1.5, they're in Formula 1.3,
I reckon is probably a decent way of putting it. They are seeing a little bit of a gap to the
rest of the midfield, which is no easy feat, so well done to them. And then as for Colin Pinto,
he has been really good in terms of his pace and it's something that he'll be able to take for
the rest, or at least for the next run of races. What I will say on that is that he wasn't able
to capitalise on the sprint, despite the fact him starting in a points-paying position didn't
manage to convert that, and it was Gasly in fact that did. So for Colin Pinto, he has to walk away
with at least one point, like he has to. Alpine are the fifth fastest team, so it's fine if Hajar
beats him, it's fine if even Gasly maybe beats him, but that P10 has to be Colin Pinto's at the bare
minimum. To be fair, Colin Pinto doesn't like the track surface in sprint races, so that's
taking. But actually, I will say on Colin Pinto, in the sprint he did sort of get,
he found himself on the wrong end of the Verstappen and Hamilton incident going into that corner,
where they kind of went three wide, and he sensibly bailed on that one. But unfortunately,
it dropped him down the order because he had made quite a good start, but he absolutely needs to
capitalise on the race as well, because he needs to make sure that this isn't just a flash in the
pan, and also that he makes the most of the fact that he is competitive this weekend and scores
big points, because that's what Gasly has done, seemingly every race this year. He's the consistency
of Gasly that's been such a strong point for him. So Colin Pinto needs, at the very least,
to get a point in the race. And how quick Alpina, he should absolutely be doing that,
because they look comfortably clear of the midfield this weekend.
Yep, Formula 1.3, I'm back in it now. Next question, P1Patreon member, a good
Karen. Who do we think is running a wet setup in anticipation of the weather tomorrow?
Well, there's a new rule implemented, which means that the race has been declared a rain hazard,
which is funny that they implemented this rule, and if they'd already had an eye on the weather
in Miami, but implemented this rule and immediately it's come into play. And with the
race being declared a rain hazard, it now basically means that the teams can make changes
before the race, because they're worried about plank wear, if they don't, which means they can
adjust ride height. Is it an entire sort of opening of Park Fermi, or is it just like specific?
No, there's just a certain number of things they can change. It's the wings, the ride height,
so that it allows them small tweaks to basically set up for wet weather, whereas
in years gone by, if you wanted to do that, you would obviously have to have a pit lane start,
change the parts or equally sacrifice your whole qualifying and go all in. So I doubt with that
news being announced before qualifying, anyone would go too far down that route when you can
change bits and bobs anyway. So I think all the teams should be fine there.
Yeah, absolutely. And of course, we're still waiting to see if they'll move the race start
earlier, which it'd be silly, I think, for teams when it's a thunder risk, where I guess they would
be thinking maybe they'll change the race start. You don't want to be sacrificing pace and qualifying,
to be honest with you. So that and also the rule of being able to make some tweaks would make me
think that the difference, because I guess this is where the question is coming from,
is how different the sprint quali was to the main quali in terms of that top 10. But I genuinely
believe it's more just the improvements that some of the teams were able to make and others
weren't. And you also throw in the high 25 kilometer an hour winds around the turn 11,
and so on and so forth meant that there were mistakes out there as well. So there's plenty
of variables that I think may have sort of caused some of that change. And yeah, I don't think
there's any sort of crazy wet setup as much as I'd like to say Charlotte Clair's running a wet
setup. And that's why he wasn't on pole, but it doesn't matter. Lasting Friday does a wet race.
Yeah, it doesn't matter what setup Charlotte Clair and Ferrari run, because they are always
terrible in the wet. So looking forward to that one, immensely cannot wait. And I joke, I am very
much excited for the race, not excited for Charlotte Clair's prospects, if it does rain.
But there you go. That is us done and dusted for the main qualifying for Miami. Of course,
we'll be back tomorrow live on Twitch and YouTube. Don't you worry, come and join us wherever you
are in the world. We'll be starting our P1 live Australia tour on Tuesday is Tuesday. Yeah,
in Adelaide. And then we do Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, Perth. So get your tickets. There's
a few shows that have a few tickets left. We'd love to see you. Tommy, final thoughts, please.
Final thoughts. Bring it on. I can't wait for tomorrow. I think it's going to be
a fascinating race, whatever the weather. And yeah, I can't wait for it because
it's been so long since the Formula One race, and it is lined up beautifully as well. So can't wait.
Yeah. And you don't want to miss a watch along where we've had to get up two hours earlier than
the anticipated race start time. And it'd be 3am or something because of what they've had to do
to avoid the weather. If the step in speed to wide awake, it's fine. Yeah, yeah. Your poor daughter
is not getting any sleep tomorrow because she'll have to come and watch instead. So to be fair,
Gasly's doing well. So is Alpine Colopinto. Maybe she does want to watch. We found a little
Pierre Gasly Hot Wheels here in Australia, and she's absolutely buzzing that she found that.
Oh, bless her. Right. We'll see you very soon. Lots of love. Take care. Bye. Bye.
Do you like being educated on things to entertain but don't matter? Well,
then you need to be listening to the podcast with Nox and Jamie. Every Wednesday, we put together
an episode dedicated to delightful idiocy to give your brain a break from all the serious
and important stuff. Whether we're deep diving a classic movie dissecting the true meanings behind
the newest slang or dunking on our own listeners for their bad takes or cringey stories, we always
approach our topics with humor and just a little bit of side eye. And we end every episode with
recommendations on all the best new movies, books, TV shows or music. To find out more,
just search up the podcast with Nox and Jamie wherever you listen to podcasts and prepare
to make Wednesday your new favorite day of the week.
About this episode
Miami qualifying left the hosts buzzing because the order was far less predictable than usual, with sprint-weekend setup changes, wind, and a few surprise struggles reshuffling the field. McLaren’s session nearly unraveled in Q1, while Alpine and Colapinto looked unusually strong and Mercedes had fresh questions around Russell’s pace. The conversation also turns to Red Bull’s Verstappen-first approach and the possibility that a wet race could make the front end even more chaotic.
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