Inside Line F1 Podcast

It's time for the business end of the 2021 Bahrain Grand Prix - the qualifying hour followed by the race on Sunday. In this week's Pits to Podium segment of the Inside Line F1 Podcast, Soumil and Kunal tell you the '5 things to watch for' this weekend. 

Here are a few hints - driver battles, overtakes, race strategy and sand. The sand could well be from the sandbags Mercedes are supposedly carrying or from Mother Nature herself. 

(Season 2021, Episode 18)

Next episode: 29th March, 2021 (post-race, 2021 Bahrain Grand Prix)

Follow our hosts on Twitter: Soumil Arora and Kunal Shah

Music courtesy: Lucien Byfieldt

Image courtesy: BIC / Twitter

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If you're a Formula 1 fan, you already know the numbers. Seven out of ten teams have new driver line-ups for the 2021 Formula 1 season. This means that new driver rivalries will headline this season. Who'd have thunk that Formula 1 might actually give us a Sergio Perez vs. Lewis Hamilton battle. 

But of course, Hamilton vs. Max Verstappen will be the blockbuster rivalry to follow. However, we're eager to see how the mid-field goes. There's Fernando Alonso, Sebastian Vettel, Daniel Ricciardo & the Ferrari duo. At the back of the grid, could a Mick Schumacher vs. George Russell be the one to follow? Or will it be a Schumacher vs. Kimi Raikkonen? And don't leave out Lando Norris in all of this. 

As you can see, there are several possibilities and we discuss them in this week's Pits to Podium segment of the Inside Line F1 Podcast. Our guest in this episode is Bharat Sharma, Chief Sports Correspondent of the Press Trust of India. 

Tune in!

(Season 2021, Episode 17) 

Follow our hosts on Twitter: Soumil Arora and Kunal Shah
Music courtesy: Lucien Byfieldt
Image courtesy: Formula 1 / Twitter

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Red Bull Racing is the next team in focus for our 'If F1 Teams Were A Stock' series. 

For those tuning in to this series for the first time: In this series, we discuss if one should 'buy, sell or hold' the stock of a Formula 1 team for the upcoming season.

Before dishing out 'investment advice', we take into account factors that strengthen the team's championship challenge in 2021 and the factors that are weak links.

Of course, there are no real shares to trade - but could this finally be the season in which Red Bull Racing & Max Verstappen challenge the might of Mercedes & Lewis Hamilton? If pre-season testing is anything to by (and it usually isn't!), we might just have a championship challenge to entertain us through the 23 races. We're not into choosing sides, so may the best driver win! 

The Sergio Perez to Red Bull Racing story is stuff that dreams are made of and we are excited to see how it turns out in reality. A Verstappen-Perez partnership and rivalry will be fun to follow - as will be Horner-Marko's quotes around Perez's performances. In all, Red Bull Racing seem more solid this season than they've done so for all the other seasons in this hybrid-turbo era. But again, it's only pre-season testing form we've based our current opinion on. 

This is a Pits to Podium exclusive on the Inside Line F1 Podcast with Soumil and Kunal being your hosts for the entire series. Expect a new episode of this series to be released every alternate day (minus weekends!) in the build-up to the 2021 Formula 1 season.

If you missed the earlier teams we spoke about, go ahead and look up the previous episodes on our channel. Tune in!

(Season 2021, Episode, 16)

Follow our hosts on Twitter: Soumil Arora and Kunal Shah
Music courtesy: Lucien Byfieldt
Image courtesy: Red Bull Content Pool

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Ferrari is the next team in focus for our 'If F1 Teams Were A Stock' series. 

For those tuning in to this series for the first time: In this series, we discuss if one should 'buy, sell or hold' the stock of a Formula 1 team for the upcoming season.

Before dishing out 'investment advice', we take into account factors that strengthen the team's championship challenge in 2021 and the factors that are weak links.

Of course, there are no real shares to trade - but could the Ferrari stock go any lower than it did in 2020? Will #Charlos (yes, we could call them that) help resurrect the Scuderia's fortunes or will it be their new technical structure that will come to their rescue? And of course, that's only one of the many things that will be 'new' for Ferrari in 2021. 

This is a Pits to Podium exclusive on the Inside Line F1 Podcast with Soumil and Kunal being your hosts for the entire series. Expect a new episode of this series to be released every alternate day (minus weekends!) in the build-up to the 2021 Formula 1 season.

If you missed the earlier teams we spoke about, go ahead and look up the previous episodes on our channel. Tune in!

(Season 2021, Episode, 15)

Follow our hosts on Twitter: Soumil Arora and Kunal Shah
Music courtesy: Lucien Byfieldt
Image courtesy: Ferrari

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In continuation of our series 'If F1 Teams Were A Stock', the next team in focus is Alpine F1 Team. 

For those tuning in to this series for the first time: In this series, we discuss if one should 'buy, sell or hold' the stock of a Formula 1 team for the upcoming season.

Before dishing out 'investment advice', we take into account factors that strengthen the team's championship challenge in 2021 and the factors that are weak links.

Of course, there are no real shares to trade - but who wouldn't want to invest in a racing team that has Fernando Alonso as its star driver! The 'young' Spaniard is making a comeback to the sport with the rebranded Alpine F1 Team (formerly Renault). Apart from the rebranding, the team has also undergone a restructure (bye, Cyril!).

Will losing a competitive benchmark in Mclaren hamper Alpine's progress on-track? Is their power unit the slowest among the four manufacturers in Formula 1? Will Esteban Ocon be able to tackle the might of Alonso - on and off track? There's positive momentum since their multiple podiums in 2020, but will that optimism mean that Alpine is a good investment for 2021? 

This is a Pits to Podium exclusive on the Inside Line F1 Podcast with Soumil and Kunal being your hosts for the entire series. Expect a new episode of this series to be released every alternate day (minus weekends!) in the build-up to the 2021 Formula 1 season.

If you missed the earlier teams we spoke about, go ahead and look up the previous episodes on our channel. Tune in!

(Season 2021, Episode, 14)

Follow our hosts on Twitter: Soumil Arora and Kunal Shah
Music courtesy: Lucien Byfieldt
Image courtesy: Red Bull Content Pool 

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In continuation of our series 'If F1 Teams Were A Stock', the next team in focus is Scuderia Alpha Tauri. 

For those tuning in to this series for the first time: In this series, we discuss if one should 'buy, sell or hold' the stock of a Formula 1 team for the upcoming season.

Before dishing out 'investment advice', we take into account factors that strengthen the team's championship challenge in 2021 and the factors that are weak links.

Of course, there are no real shares to trade and we doubt Dietrich is selling any. But word on the street is that Japanese Formula 1 fans are eager to buy-in to celebrate Yuki's debut. In fact, we're certain that Alpha Tauri's stock price will rise through the season due to these two factors. Btw, Tsunoda's DRS-trickery in pre-season testing was cheeky but fun!

This is a Pits to Podium exclusive on the Inside Line F1 Podcast with Soumil and Kunal being your hosts for the entire series. Expect a new episode of this series to be released every alternate day (minus weekends!) in the build-up to the 2021 Formula 1 season.

If you missed the earlier teams we spoke about, go ahead and look up the previous episodes on our channel. Tune in!

(Season 2021, Episode, 13)

Follow our hosts on Twitter: Soumil Arora and Kunal Shah
Music courtesy: Lucien Byfieldt
Image courtesy: Red Bull Content Pool 

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In continuation of our series 'If F1 Teams Were A Stock', the next team in focus is Alfa Romeo Racing. 

For those tuning in to this series for the first time: In this series, we discuss if one should 'buy, sell or hold' the stock of a Formula 1 team for the upcoming season.

Before dishing out 'investment advice', we take into account factors that strengthen the team's championship challenge in 2021 and the factors that are weak links.

Of course, there are no real shares to trade but who wouldn't want to own a team that the Iceman Kimi Raikkonen races for!? In fact, could this be Mick Schumacher's next team in Formula 1? For 2021, Alfa Romeo's biggest improvement is expected to come from Ferrari's new power unit and if testing times are anything to go by, the Sauber-run team had a solid pre-season test. 

This is a Pits to Podium exclusive on the Inside Line F1 Podcast with Soumil and Kunal being your hosts for the entire series. Expect a new episode of this series to be released every alternate day (minus weekends!) in the build-up to the 2021 Formula 1 season.

If you missed the earlier teams we spoke about, here are the links:

• Mercedes: Buy...At A Premium!
• Williams Racing: Let Nostalgia Play Its Part
• Mclaren Racing: BUY!
• Haas F1 Team: Maybe Even Gene Wants To Sell?

Tune in!

(Season 2021, Episode, 12)

Follow our hosts on Twitter: Soumil Arora and Kunal Shah
Music courtesy: Lucien Byfieldt
Image courtesy: Alfa Romeo Racing

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In continuation of our series 'If F1 Teams Were A Stock', the next team in focus is Aston Martin F1 Team

For those tuning in to this series for the first time: In this series, we discuss if one should 'buy, sell or hold' the stock of a Formula 1 team for the upcoming season.

Before dishing out 'investment advice', we take into account factors that strengthen the team's championship challenge in 2021 and the factors that are weak links.

Of course, there are no real shares to trade - but we understand the desire to be co-investors with the Strolls & Toto! But in the case of Aston Martin, we think that the price value is a fair bit inflated. Yes, the manufacturer is returning to Formula 1 after a long gap, but will we see more noise than action from the team? The team failed to impress in pre-season testing whatsoever. 

This is a Pits to Podium exclusive on the Inside Line F1 Podcast with Soumil and Kunal being your hosts for the entire series. Expect a new episode of this series to be released every alternate day (minus weekends!) in the build-up to the 2021 Formula 1 season.

If you missed the earlier teams we spoke about, here are the links:

• Mercedes: Buy...At A Premium!
• Williams Racing: Let Nostalgia Play Its Part
• Mclaren Racing: BUY!
• Haas F1 Team: Maybe Even Gene Wants To Sell?

Tune in!

(Season 2021, Episode, 11)

Follow our hosts on Twitter: Soumil Arora and Kunal Shah
Music courtesy: Lucien Byfieldt
Image courtesy: Aston Martin F1 Team

Yes, Formula 1 is back! In no time, it'll be time for pre-season testing and in this Pits to PodiumInside Line F1 Podcast exclusive, Soumil and Kunal tell you exactly why it's gonna be fun! /

Of course, you know the obvious - ten teams, three days and one circuit (Bahrain and not Barcelona, mind you!). But there's more - it's the new team-driver pairings, the debutants and the new liveried cars modified to fit the 2021 regulations. And then there's Mclaren-Mercedes.

Finally, what about the performance parameters? Here's what we suggest - through pre-season testing, track lap times between the 2020 Bahrain Grand Prix and the F1 2021 pre-season test. We might get a few hints there (mainly, the lap time lost due to change in aero regulations).

By the time we conclude the first Grand Prix of F1 2021 (also in Bahrain), we will have a lot of comparative data to make fairly accurate assumptions about the difference in car performances for all teams between this year and the last.

Also, which team do you think will go for a 'PR lap'? Write to us via our Facebook page.

(Season 2021, Episode, 10)

Follow our hosts on Twitter: Soumil Aroraand Kunal Shah

Lucien ByfieldtMusic courtesy: 

Image courtesy: Mercedes AMG Petronas

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