It’s a proposed balance of where the car’s power comes from. “60/40” means the plan would make the combustion engine do about 60% of the work and the electric system about 40%.
“Battery output” is how much electrical energy the car’s battery system can deliver to the electric motor. In hybrid F1 power units, changing battery output directly affects acceleration, energy management, and how much teams can lean on electric power during a stint.
Audi is the car company mentioned here. The point is that they’ve already spent a lot getting ready for the current rules, so big rule changes would be expensive and disruptive.
A “development bill” just means the money a team expects to have to spend to update the car for new rules. Big rule changes often mean lots of engineering work and testing.
The FIA is the organization that writes and enforces the rules in motorsport. In F1, they’re the regulator deciding how the rules work and whether changes are implemented properly.
Regulations are the rules that tell teams what they can and can’t do in their cars. If the rules change sooner than expected, teams may have to redo parts of their car plans.
Engine development is the work teams do to make the engine faster and more efficient. It takes a lot of time and money, so if the rules change suddenly, teams may have to redo plans they already spent years building.
A V6 hybrid is an engine that uses a V6 gas engine plus an electric system. The electric part helps the car by storing and reusing energy, so it’s not just a normal gas engine.
In F1, the power unit is the whole energy system that powers the car. It includes the gas engine and the electric/hybrid parts that work together to make the car go fast.
Cost caps are rules that limit how much money F1 teams are allowed to spend. Teams have to budget their upgrades carefully, so unexpected extra costs can be a big problem.
Renegotiation here means the teams would likely revisit the financial terms around engine supply and development. If development time and spending change, the payments between teams and manufacturers can need to be updated.
It’s a set of F1 rules designed to help the slower teams improve. Instead of everyone developing at the same pace, the rules give teams that are behind extra chances to develop so the racing stays closer.
ADUO is a nickname for F1 rules that let certain teams do more development work than others. The goal is to help them catch up faster when they’re behind.
Ferrari is the team at the center of the argument here. They’re worried that if the engine rules change in 2027, the “extra development help” rules might need to change too—because they want a fair chance to catch up.
Fuel flow means how quickly the engine gets fuel. If the rules allow more fuel flow, the engine can potentially make more power, so teams have to rethink their setup.
Here, “scrapped” means they might cancel the current plan. The worry is that if the rules change for 2027, the old development help might no longer be fair.
Term
competitive consequence
It means how serious the impact is on who ends up doing well in the race results. If the system changes, it could affect how far up a team finishes.
Compression ratio is how much the engine squeezes the air/fuel mixture inside the cylinder. If the rules change what compression ratio teams can use, it can change how strong and efficient the engine is.
“Handouts” means giving teams an advantage that feels unfair—like they didn’t have to work for it. The hosts say F1 usually rewards teams that figure things out themselves, so some people think this new approach is close to that idea.
The “20-27 changes” are the big rule updates F1 is planning from the 2020s through 2027. The discussion is about whether those rules will make racing tighter and less dominated by one team.
Lewis Hamilton is one of the most famous and successful F1 drivers ever. The hosts mention him because he’s part of the rivalry Verstappen was having while making these comments.
A GT3 car is a type of race car used in GT racing events. Verstappen is comparing F1 to GT3 to say that the driving/racing experience might not feel as “pure” if the rules change.
“Rule changes” means new regulations that would change how F1 cars are built and how they race. The hosts are saying Verstappen thinks the new rules could be so different that he might decide to leave if they don’t match what he wants.
Red Bull is the F1 team Verstappen drives for. The discussion is basically: other teams can’t just rely on removing a driver—they still need a fast enough car to win.
The Canadian GP weekend is the whole race event in Canada—everything from the media sessions to qualifying and the race itself. The hosts are saying Hamilton was asked about his plans during the press conference before it.
Fernando Alonso is a long-time F1 driver who’s kept racing at a high level for many years. They bring him up as an example of a driver who keeps going, which may hint at Hamilton’s mindset.
Bearman is a young F1 driver who’s expected to move up to a top seat. The hosts are saying Ferrari likely has a strong claim on him, and that other teams probably won’t steal him.
Charles Leclerc is a Formula 1 driver for Ferrari. The hosts are praising him for being really good at qualifying, which is the fast timed session that sets where you start the race.
Sebastian Vettel is a very successful Formula 1 driver who won the world championship four times. In this segment, they’re using him as a benchmark for how hard it was for Leclerc to beat a top teammate in qualifying.
Qualifying is the part of an F1 weekend where drivers try to set the fastest lap times. Your qualifying result determines your starting position for the race.
“Midfield” means the middle of the pack in F1—teams that aren’t usually competing for wins or podiums. The point here is that even if a driver isn’t at the front right now, they could still get a Ferrari opportunity.
“Canada” refers to the Canadian Grand Prix, typically raced at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in Montreal. It’s known for long straights and heavy braking zones, so engine performance and overall power delivery can play a bigger role than at very slow, corner-dominated tracks.
Power rankings are a way of ranking drivers by how strong they seem right now. Here, they score drivers from 1 to 10 and use that to guide their discussion of each team and driver.
Romain Grosjean is a Formula 1 race driver. Here, they’re mentioning him as part of an earlier Haas driver lineup that caused a lot of drama and headlines.
Guenther Steiner is a Formula 1 team boss. In this context, they’re using his name to point to a past Haas period where the team’s drivers were causing a lot of trouble.
Kevin Magnussen is a Formula 1 driver. They’re bringing him up because, in an earlier Haas period, the team’s driver lineup led to a lot of public drama.
Nikita Mazepin is a former Formula 1 driver. They’re mentioning him because his time at Haas was associated with a lot of controversy and poor results.
Esteban Ocon is an experienced Formula 1 driver. They’re saying he’s not in immediate danger of losing his seat, but he needs to beat his teammate more consistently.
Alpine is the racing team brand in Formula 1. They’re the team being discussed here, especially their drivers and how the team feels about them.
Person
Flavio Breatori
Flavio Briatore is a famous person in Formula 1 who has been involved in team leadership. In this bit, he’s mentioned because the hosts are talking about Alpine’s driver lineup.
“Gassley” is a driver being talked about in terms of their contract and motivation. The hosts are basically saying the situation is more stable now than it was earlier in the year.
Person
Colopinto
“Colopinto” is a driver the hosts are discussing. They’re saying people doubted him at the start of the year, but his recent races have gone really well.
Formula Two is a stepping-stone series for drivers trying to reach Formula 1. The point here is that Alpine has a junior driver doing well in F2, which could help them later.
Person
Gabrielle Mini
“Gabrielle Mini” is a young driver in Alpine’s development program. The hosts say they’re doing great in Formula Two, which could help Alpine in the future.
“Double points finishes” means certain races are worth more points than normal. So a good (or bad) result in those races can swing the championship more than usual.
McLaren is another F1 team. The host is saying McLaren had a rough race recently and would need to improve in areas other than the engine to beat Mercedes.
Antonelli is an F1 driver being used as an example. The hosts say he was able to do something that suggests the tyres weren’t wearing down the way they should. They’re using that to argue about how tyre rules affect racing.
In F1, “tyres” means the tires. Their grip and how quickly they wear down strongly affect how fast the cars can run and when they have to pit. If the tyres don’t wear in a realistic way, the race can become less interesting or even feel unfair.
Tyre wear means the tires getting “used up” during the race. As they wear, they usually grip less, so the car gets slower unless you change tyres. The hosts are saying the current setup doesn’t make that wear happen in a way that creates great racing.
A fastest lap is the quickest one-lap time anyone achieves in the race. It can show whether the car and tyres still have strong grip late in a stint. The point here is that the tyres seemed too good for too long, so the result felt unrealistic.
F1 cars can store extra energy in a battery and then use it for a short boost. When the host says “battery is deployed,” they mean the driver is using that boost to go faster.
“Tyre whisper” is a nickname for a driver who seems to “talk to” the tires—meaning they keep them working well for longer. That usually helps them stay fast even as the race goes on.
George Russell is another driver in the championship fight. The hosts are saying he might catch up if things go his way, but it’s hard to see him overtaking purely without major setbacks for Antonelli.
The European Grand Prix is a set of races in Europe. The host is basically saying: we’ll see if the driver stays fast in those European races, not just in the earlier ones.
Bookmakers are the people or companies that offer betting odds. If someone is “the favorite with bookmakers,” it means the betting odds currently favor that driver to win.
“Bold predictions” are strong guesses about what will happen in a race. The hosts are saying they made a confident call about Ferrari winning Monaco.
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Thank you for listening to the Late Breaking F1 podcast.
Make sure to check out new episodes every Wednesday and every Sunday.
Hello everyone, welcome to the Late Breaking F1 podcast presented by Sam Sage and me, Ben Hocking,
here for another midweek episode in this little mini-gap, or at least it feels like a mini-gap
between Canada and Monaco. It's very weird just having one week between races, Sam. I'm used to
three months. Yeah, it does feel like we have to wait until the next millennia before Formula
1 is allowed to roll back onto the telly. The only time I happily take a triple header,
just throw it at me, drench me in Formula 1 action. Drench me in F1 action, what a quote that is.
Hey, soon enough, they'll be hitting us, especially if they decided to tinker with
the calendar later in the year in October, November. We won't sleep in those two months,
I don't think. No, no, no, no, no. Let us sleep. No, no, no, F1 for you.
You asked for it and you're going to take it and you'll like it. Goodness me, moving on.
Coming up on today's episode, we're going to be playing F1 fill-in-the-blank
people on the streets. Sam, I've been like, bring back fill-in-the-blank. It's my favourite game.
I've heard this. I actually hear people having conversations and they'll leave out pivotal
words of normal chats and then, mate, we'll have to guess what the word was because I'm so desperate
for it. Just playing it on the streets. Yeah, F1 fill-in-the-blank coming up later on. We've
probably overhyped that. Some fiery comments this weekend at the Canadian GP from both Estaban
Ocon and Aiyu Kamatsu about a rumour that they aren't getting along. Needless to say, they
disagree with that. Lewis Hamilton, his future was discussed as part of the Canadian GP press
conference as well. And after a very good weekend from Hamilton, we'll be discussing his future a
little bit more. But we're going to be starting with the 2027 changes that have been touted.
And we've already spoken about this a little bit because following a meeting between F1,
the FIA, teams and manufacturers after Miami, there was an agreement in principle to move away
from the current 5050 electrical and combustion power split for 2027. The proposal as a reminder
would shift the balance closer to 6040 in favour of the combustion engine by increasing ICE power
and reducing battery output. However, some teams and manufacturers remain unconvinced,
as is being reported by the race. Audi is understood to be among those hesitant,
having already invested heavily in the current regulations and facing a potential $10 million
plus development bill to make the changes in time for 2027. While Audi has not opposed changes
entirely, sources suggest it would favour smaller tweaks rather than a full move to the proposed
6040 split so soon. Now, there's actually another team and another way of thinking that is against
this as well. But we're going to leave that for now and just focus on what maybe Audi are talking
about here. What are your thoughts on their perspective? Is it a fair one?
I mean, firstly, from the F1 FIA's point of view, they've royally screwed the pooch on this one.
They've come out with promises galore for the viewer of how to make things better. That was
subtle, Ben. I was like, oh, no. I was going to advertise what I'm drinking, but then realised
they weren't paying us, so that's probably not good idea. No, put it down. We actually have
eggs now. Put it down. I hope you enjoyed that and gone, the script, fruity drink.
Or unspecified carbonated drink. This is going to take you away from my whole statement.
I mean, it's terrible for the viewer because we've essentially been sold something that hasn't
actually been delivered behind the scenes. It's like saying, oh, we're going to have a roast
dinner on Sunday. Yeah, we'll do a roast dinner on Sunday. You get to Sunday and no one's gone out
and bought the chicken. That's a disgrace. That is an absolute disgrace. Obviously,
the worst thing that can happen to anyone in this world. No hyperbole here. That's all. I'm
definitely serious. You know what I mean? It's the kind of case of, yeah, tell the kids they can have
a roast on Sunday. No problem. Get to Sunday. No one has actually bought the ingredients for a roast
at the shops or shop. And they're going, well, you need to discuss it with us first. It'll be
nice to know you want to buy the ingredients for a roast dinner. The same thing is happening here
with these regulations in the sense that they've come out and said, we're making changes. It's
going to be way better next year. What do you mean you don't like that? You can't do the changes.
What do you mean it costs you much money? What do you mean you've got the time or the planning
or the ability to do such a thing? And we may be showing a conversation first and Audi have every
right to stand there and go. We've just spent so much money going to this sport. We've developed
our own engine. We've come into the sport year one with our power unit. They could have bought
off another supplier and waited some years to kind of really get it right and they haven't.
They've come in fully committed and I applaud them for it. I love what Audi have done on this
sport. They've really come in with an innovative design. They're experimental. They're trying
something new. They want to be very competitive. You can't just turn around and go five races in.
Yeah, how you lost your team principal? I know you're brand new. But you might develop in that
whole new engine again just because we don't like it after five races. It is a fast and it is comedic
and I'm not shocked that Audi have gone probably not going to do that actually after everything
we've just been through. Do you think this might be a way in which F1 and the FIA are putting pressure
on Audi to almost announce these changes that have got, I'd like to say, not maybe universal
approval, but quite a large approval from most F1 fans and gone, okay, here you go. And now Audi,
if they are publicly against this, they're not going to have a strong of a bargaining position
because they're going against something that people already think they're getting.
I see the point you're making, but the people will get a say. So I think Audi have been quite
clever here and they know that within the industry, there will be other teams who are going,
I don't like this. I'm not sure about this. And now someone has stood up and said,
we don't want to do this. We can't afford it. Within the cost cap, we can't deal with those
changes. We've got the time. We've put a lot of time into what we've got already. I actually think
encouraged other manufacturers to come out and go, actually, we would then.
What they're saying is fair. We disagree with it.
It's only Mercedes and Red Bull that we kind of know are in favour of this. And I use Audi
as an example here as it seems to be the most vocal. Yeah, it seems to be the example to cite
and is the most accurate one. But you're right. There are many others out there that might well
take up the same position as them. Yeah. And I think they'd be very fair to do so because five
races into a new set of regulations which are meant to last us for at least four years,
most likely five or six. You can't just throw this at these poor people who have spent hundreds of
millions of dollars on engine development over years. So they say, scrap that, change it again,
10 to 20 million quid within six months, I've got that ready. It is a ridiculous turnaround.
Yeah, I completely get where they're coming from because they are in a tougher spot than most of
the other teams that they're fighting with. Especially if you look like Mercedes, they have
been making V6 hybrid engines since 2014 or just before 2014 when these regulations came into effect.
I know that there have been changes and tweaks to the regulations since then,
but as a fundamental power unit, it has been that way for quite a long time. Ferrari's in
exactly the same position. Honda, sure it's been slightly disrupted, but they have experienced
going back over a decade and even Red Bull, Honda announced that they were leaving quite a few
years ago. So whilst Red Bull can say, and rightly so, that their power unit right now is brand new
and they've still had more time and maybe have more expertise than what Audi do. So
they are in a tough spot. They've committed a lot of time and resource to this power unit already
after maybe starting later than nearly everyone else on the grid.
They have so much to still learn about these engines and the cars and you can say, well,
if it's going to cost 10 million, these cost caps are 215 million or whatever it is right now,
find space in there and sure you can, but 10 million is not an insignificant amount.
Like all of these teams will already have like a very clear development strategy,
like their upgrade plan. They will have that for the whole year already.
And they'll be looking to spend as many cents and dimes and dollars as they can of that plan.
We've got 20 million spare, maybe we'll buy a new canteen for the staff. No, that's spent,
it's allocated, it's ready to go and you spoke about the experience of the other teams developing
these engines. They developed those first engines outside of the cost cap, where they could spend
as much money as they want on making it as good as they can and now it's an evolution. How do you
get that privilege? They can absolutely argue that it is wasteful and they would be correct in that.
And even if you want to look at some of the other midfield teams they're currently scrapping with,
so let's say Haas, Williams, Alpine and Racing Bulls, for example, it's not those four teams,
whilst it's sort of their problem, it's not really their problem in that neither of those
four teams are the ones developing their power units. That's all for the factory teams to work
out and for them to implement, it's sure. It's still something they have to take into account.
Audi can turn around and say, well, that's 10 million that we have to spend on the engine
that they don't have to think about. Yeah, equally, someone like Mercedes,
in turn, had to go, we'll go up the cost of how much your engines are going to be.
Because there's a whole changing engine, I imagine there'll be a renegotiation
in how much it's cost because of development time and money spent. So someone like Mercedes
would go, well, actually, can I make a profit off of it? And it might have a different kickback
to other teams. It really is a bit of a nightmare to turn this around so, so quickly,
which is a shame because from an entertainment point of view, if I can snap my fingers,
I'm here for it. I like the changes, but it's not really realistic.
And I think it's worth saying as well, because there will be some out there maybe saying that
this is, we're in what, end of May now, we're looking at March when these engines would need
to properly go into effect in a competitive scenario. That's a lot of time. It isn't.
For these F1 teams and the way in which they work in these regulation cycles that go on
multiple years, that is not a lot of time. So a team like Audi can very rightly come out and say that
this isn't quite right. I do, at least to an extent, understand the argument of,
if you're a factory team like Audi are, you get benefits and drawbacks with that.
And this is one of those drawbacks that you are just going to have to suck it up.
Pretty unprecedented drawback, though. It comes up every set of regulations.
The first time we've seen a regulation five races in go, we're going to change a fundamentally
core element and the most expensive part of the whole set of regulations.
It's not just Audi that seem to be against these changes coming in for 2027.
Another sticking point is F1's catch up mechanism, which is the additional development and upgrade
opportunities. ADUO, as we have called it a lot on this podcast. It's got a lot of airtime over
the last month or so. Pick up Ted Duo. Yeah. Ferrari, in particular, is believed to be
particularly concerned because if the power unit rules are changed for 2027 to allow increased
fuel flow, some will argue that the current plans, the ADUO plans, would need to be scrapped to avoid
giving certain manufacturers an unfair advantage with extra spending and development freedom.
Ferrari, in particular, sees ADUO as a bit of an opportunity to catch up to Mercedes.
We'll see how that goes after the review should be ongoing very shortly.
They could lose out in terms of major competitive consequence. Can you understand Ferrari's point
of view? 100%. There's a system in place to balance the books, essentially, to make sure
that we as viewers get a genuinely competitive, interesting formula where a team doesn't fall
too far back and they're able to catch back up. Of course, Ferrari, who have gone,
our chassis is really good. Our drivers are certainly doing quite well. One thing's missing.
Our power unit isn't as good. Remember, this ADUO system isn't a, yeah, we're giving you a
handout. You'll suddenly be equal. It's giving you the opportunity to find a way to become
equal. You might flush that whatever million quid, 10 million quid or so down the toilet,
and never gain a tenth. You might get completely wrong. You might go backwards. It's feasible.
The point of the system is, it opens the door for these sewer engines to catch back up if they
can make it work. Ferrari here are going, well, we've done everything else right. We need to
catch up now. We're going to spend the money trying to get it right. Of course, they like to
Mercedes and Red Bull, who are about to go under possibly new changes. They're about to see changes
to the existing power unit. They're going, well, we'll accept the new regulations, actually. Don't
give Ferrari the chance to catch back up this year. We'll just all focus on the new year,
because it stops further competition. I totally get why Ferrari are quite frustrated that they
have a golden opportunity to make themselves a level playing field, and it could be taking
away from them at the last moment. Every team is doing the same thing. Whilst they might be
making different decisions, they are all doing the same thing, which is looking out for themselves.
They are all looking to, if the show improves as a result of the changes as well, that's an added
bonus, but they are all looking to competitively gain an advantage on their rivals. There is no
difference across the board in that regard. If you think Mercedes, for example, are in favour
of these changes because they just want the sport to be that little bit better, I have many things
I'd like to sell you because that is not the case. If Mercedes are in favour of this, it's because
there is something competitively that is going to help them out. It's exactly the same with Ferrari.
Ferrari being against these changes doesn't mean they blanket, do not care about the sport and
want to see it struggle for the next five years. That's not the case, either. They are just looking
at this as an opportunity for Mercedes to get even further in front, and they don't want that.
It's both teams. They might be coming to completely different conclusions,
but they are both thinking the same thing of how we can get ahead.
This is 101. I think of me and only me, and how can I get ahead? This is taking that away from
Ferrari on the flip side. Mercedes and Red Bull are going, hey, this gives us another step forward.
They can't get ahead. You understand the arguments from both sides. It must be very frustrating when
you're one of these teams that is trying to play the rules, essentially. They haven't been caught
out with this compression ratio that's going to be changed or anything like that. Secondly,
it's almost a bit of a saving grace for those two teams that might have to change their engines
anyway over the next month or so. I feel like with ADUO as well, it's a bit of a gift to those who
will benefit from it. It is something that hasn't been available in previous eras. I think there
are positives and negatives for it. The positive is that it doesn't, as you say, doesn't necessarily
mean you catch up. It just gives you the opportunity to. There is the possibility that
we will get closer racing action and less dominance from one team and more entertaining
races as a result of this being in place. I don't mind it being here as a result of that.
Equally, I won't have a lot of sympathy if it goes because as much as Ferrari wants to catch up now,
they had the same resources Mercedes is going into this season and Mercedes did more with what
they had available to them than what Ferrari did. Now, the logic, at least part of me thinks,
should be, well, now you have the same resource to catch back up. Let's see if you can do basically
what Mercedes did pre-season during the season. That should be the challenge. I do understand
that sort of way of thinking. The one thing I'm not clear on, though, is why this wouldn't even
necessarily need to go because it's still the same logic of Ferrari starting from a sort of.
It is going towards next season and they get an advantage in that regard, it's kind of why the
system is in place. It's just you're not looking at this season, you're looking at two seasons
instead. Yeah, I agree. I do think they're being a little bit finicky with their wording to try and
prove a point. The only thing I will agree with, which I think you just brought up there, is this
is new for Formula One. We're very much from the sport of smartest person comes up with smartest
idea and you are rewarded by having smartest idea by winning races and winning championships and
it's up to everyone else to work out something different to catch back up. We don't tend to do
handouts really in Formula One. You tend to have to make your own way. Whilst I don't think this is
the definition of a handout, it might be the next closest thing. I can see why there are some
complaints on the likes of social media from a lot of spectators that they don't love this and
they wouldn't be bothered if it got scrapped and all teams focused on the new regulations anyway.
So that's what a couple of teams are thinking about these 20-27 changes. We're going to take a
quick break and on the other side, we'll get into what one particular driver Max Verstappen thinks of this.
Big thanks to our sponsor, BetterHelp, for partnering with us for this important conversation
about mental health. This is Steve Smith here, former NFL Y receiver and host of the 89 show on
YouTube. So having a counselor and working with BetterHelp, that gives you an opportunity to really
start to unpack but people don't understand when you unpack things. You also open up a box that
you're not always sure what's inside. So I think that's why seeing a professional is extremely
important. If you need someone to open up to, visit BetterHelp. That's BetterHELP.com
slash 89 to get started.
Welcome back everyone. As tease before the break, Max Verstappen has said he'll not be staying in F1
if the rule changes proposed for 20-27 are blocked. So we've heard on the other side of the break
some of the potential arguments from the likes of Audi and Ferrari as to maybe why they wouldn't go
through in 20-27. Here's Verstappen saying if it doesn't go through, I'm not sticking around. Do you
believe him? Yeah, I believe him. He's not a man that minces his words. He typically says what he
thinks and he's typically very open and honest about what he is thinking. It's not someone that
you often hear will come out with a statement and then a week later, two weeks later, you see a
social media post or something where he goes, it's like someone in the moment, regret that.
There's a couple of those where he might have said something that's gone a little bit too far,
but realistically, well, he's got an opinion on something about the racing, about an overtake,
about a ruleset. He's been very much heartless leave. He's thought it through and he's just
come out with his opinion. He stands by that opinion and with the likes of Juan Pablo Montoya's
recently, the criticised Max Verstappen for his approach to the problems around the regulations.
Max has come out and said, I see people in a good way or a bad way. I very quickly recognise if they
are around me for good intentions and they look to benefit me with them. If they don't, if they're
trying to be negative, I have no time for them and I will cut them out of my life very quickly.
I think he's willing to do that with Formula One. I think if it doesn't complement him anymore,
I think if he isn't happy and enjoying himself, well, that's when he raises sort of striving
the cars, I think he's very happy to turn around and go, all right, I've had my fun.
Don't need it anymore. I'll go do something else that's more fun. I really don't think he's going
to muck around with this. I agree. I tend to believe Verstappen when he says this because,
and one of the main reasons why, because he had comments about sort of the current racing and
also what the racing could look like next year, all throughout the Canadian GP weekend,
and he had some comments after, I think it was, it was main qualifying,
where he was a little bit negative. He was asked about, would he ever take a sabbatical
from F1? It was quite a direct, no, I wouldn't. There's a lot of fun things, a lot of fun things
to do out there. I'm not going to do something like that. And you think, well, he's just come
off the back of a tricky qualifying session. He wasn't very happy with the car all throughout
that day. Maybe there's something in that. Where that falls down is a lot of the comments he made
were after the race on Sunday, where he has picked up his best result of the season so far.
He has been, at least from a viewer's perspective, in an entertaining battle with one of his rivals,
Lewis Hamilton. And yet after that, and it's not like he was going full negative, but he was still
saying at that point, things like, we can put on a show, it's the best drivers in the world,
but it's not as pure as a GT3 car. I think he said, it's difficult to race a GT3 car and then
come back to this. And it takes away from just the, he's had a bad day, he's saying that. It's
very consistent. The messaging that's coming from Verstappen makes me think that, yeah,
very simply put, if these rule changes go through, he'll be here. And if they don't,
he won't be here. The other thing he's been quite clear on as well is this is the minimum
threshold required for him to stick around. So if, as maybe Audi was suggesting, they want things,
maybe not fully to 60, 40 and want it like 55, 45 or 57, 43, whatever that ratio looks like,
that's worse than the minimum of what Verstappen was accepting. So it might be, if these terms,
as they are right now, don't go through, that is Verstappen out of there.
Do you think there's a little part of some rival teams that will maybe look to delay the
regulations coming in to remove Max Verstappen from the equation? Do you think, I think it's
an interesting point of view. I would be surprised, but equally, someone like Ferrari,
if they go, well, we get with a Max Verstappen out of the picture,
Red Bull are a much easier team to beat. I'm going to go with no on that, just because
I think team performance, Trump's driver performance, regardless of who that driver is. So
Verstappen, I think both of us agree, is the best driver in the sport. And right now, I don't think
it's particularly close. I would have him as the best driver in F1. But even with that being the
case, he hasn't won any Grand Prix this year or been in contention for any wins this year,
because that car is quite simply not good enough to fight for wins. So I don't think a team like
Ferrari would think about doing something that wasn't 100% in their favor to do something that
was against Red Bull just for the sake of getting a driver out of there. Because if they still don't
have a competitive car because of that decision, they're still screwed. So I don't think it will
be a factor. It might be if you're, I don't know, Mercedes or McLaren or someone, a nice benefit
possibly. But I don't think it's deciding things for them. No, I agree. I would err on no as well.
I also think that you get some soft benefits from the likes of Max Verstappen being in the sport.
So the advertising rights will be higher, right? The viewership is higher,
having someone of his capability. So you do gain, even if it's a loss, maybe sometimes on the
track. Financially, a lot of the time, you will gain out of that. And that soft marketing benefit
that you've just mentioned as well. The only way is up in that regard because Alonso and Hamilton,
we don't know how many years they're going to remain in the sport, particularly Alonso.
If they do both leave the sport, and that's kind of the next topic that we'll be going on to in
terms of Lewis Hamilton, Verstappen, he becomes a bigger piece of the pie in terms of that marketability,
that reputation, that recognition for more casual fans.
Well, let's move on to Lewis Hamilton because there were quite a few comments about his future
towards going into the Canadian GP weekend. He was asked about it in the press conference
on Thursday. This is what he said. He said, I will be here for quite some time, so get used to it.
There's a lot of people that are trying to retire me, and that's not even in my thoughts.
I'm already thinking of what will be next and planning for the next five years,
but I still plan to be here for some time. Do you think this is Lewis Hamilton's soft
launching that he'd like an extension at the Dane? There were a lot of comments on social media
over the last couple of weeks that Lewis Hamilton was going to be announcing his retirement come
probably the summer break, a surprising amount actually. And it's one of those rumors that
suddenly gained a lot of traction on social without any real basis to it, any real concrete
evidence. And more of that coming up later in the show. I understand why he's come out and
basically said, I'm not going anywhere. This is just crap online. This is rubbish. What I
actually appreciate from Lewis Hamilton, which is the opposite of what I think we've seen in the
past, and very different actually to how we just spoke about him with Max Verstappen, is if he had
said these comments after the Canadian Grand Prix, after he finished second, after he just beat Max
Verstappen to the line, I would put it down to him going, he's got his best result. The car felt
good. He's riding on a positive. We know that Lewis speaks with a heart on his sleeve and he
really likes to just say how he's feeling. Sometimes it's good feeling to overwhelm him a
little bit, I think, and maybe he comes out a little too positively. And this is the kind of
contract talk that I think would go through Lewis Hamilton's head after having a really good result.
But he said it before the Canadian GP, and that tells me that he is still focused on the sport.
He is still in it for the long call, and his performance against
Charlotte Clair of the last couple of races before that were pretty poor, arguably his
worst two so far this season in Miami and in Japan. So the fact that he's still so dedicated to at
least another two or three years, I wouldn't be shocked if he's pushing for at least a one-year
extension on the deal. I agree with that. As much as I would love to see Lewis Hamilton in an alpine,
because the mean potential is off the charts. I can't see him leaving Ferrari for a different
team in F1. I think he's committed to Ferrari rather than just the sport, in which case I do
think this is him maybe starting to publicly indicate he would like an extension on his current
deal. Hamilton and Ferrari, they've worked together now obviously for not far off 18 months.
They have worked very, very hard to get to where they are right now. It's not an end product. It's
still very much a work in progress from both sides, but they have gone through engineer change in
terms of Lewis Hamilton working for a team outside of the UK for the first time in his career. There's
been a lot of adjustment from both sides to try and get this to work. It would be a bit insane
if Hamilton was to at least try to take advantage of all of the changes that have been made in the
hope that everyone around him, including himself, is going to benefit from those changes. We're only
starting to get into the theoretical time space where you would be able to take advantage of that.
It's almost like laying the groundwork to then go, I'm off, bye-bye. It wouldn't make a lot of
sense. I do see Hamilton trying to get an extension here. It is interesting that he
mentions the next five years. It could be a bit of a line that he's just thrown out there,
could speak to his mindset and maybe looking at his old friend Fernando Alonso and seeing
what he's continuing to do, albeit in a terrible car, an F1. It could just be a message to Ferrari.
It's almost a bit of a public way in which you can say,
I'm committed to this. the cause. Are you?
Yeah, it would be interesting because they've got other interests going on in the world have
a Ferrari. With Bearman waiting in the wings, of course, I think they're fortunate that Bearman
isn't going to be going anywhere. I think Bearman has very much got his sights set on a Ferrari seat
and whether he has to wait 12 months, 24 months, five years, it will frustrate him.
But I can't see a Mercedes or a Red Bull or someone like that going and taking Bearman away
and not allowing Ferrari to have him wherever he is ready to move up.
I think they are fortunate in the sense that Bearman is probably a loyal servant,
the one that's going to be around for a while. I think if it was a bit more such a go,
they might look to make a more rash and urgent decision.
Well, where does that leave Ferrari then? Because you say it doesn't necessarily require a rash
decision, but are they internally, Fred, are they starting to consider this? Are they just
sort of sitting on their hands for now? Where are they at in this process?
If I was Ferrari, I would at least give it to the summer break to see how Lewis fully adapts
to this new car. If we get more races that are like Canada, then we don't. You know,
you're in a good spot. If Lewis is able to keep putting in great podium performances,
he's able to regularly beat Charles Leclerc. If that's a 50-50 split by the time we get to
Zangville, for example, you go, we've got two great drivers that are both performing well
and the car again needs to move the thing that steps up. So why won't you move it,
especially with the marketing ability that Lewis Hamilton gives you, the social interest,
the stocks and shares that go up around him, it doesn't make sense to move him along.
If we see the flip of that, and we actually see Charles Leclerc regularly between, I don't know,
first and fourth on every race basis, and Hamilton is back to being in that sixth to
eighth window and miles off the pace, it might be a question of Lewis, maybe we're going to run
down that contract now. Bearman's been doing a great job and Haas will step forward. I do not
think they need to make a call in the next two or three Grand Prix. I think time is on their side.
I agree with that. I think they are right now likely in the position of starting to consider it.
Doesn't mean it's going to go one way or the other, but they're at least considering it right
now, because I think with the exception of F1's worst three teams, which at the moment are Audi,
Cadillac and Aston Martin, the closest teammate battle right now is the Ferrari one,
in that Charles Leclerc is leading the way in terms of points by three whole points, 75-72
in Leclerc's favour, qualifying much more encouraging, again, Lewis Hamilton versus
Charles Leclerc than it has been in the past. That's no mean feat, because whilst we look
at Lewis Hamilton and say he's one of the greatest qualifiers of all time, he definitely is,
Charles Leclerc in a more modern sense has been a wonderful qualifier who is really difficult to
beat over one lap. I'd like to go back to 2019, his first year at Ferrari when he went up against
Sebastian Vettel, four-time champion who had somewhat been in contention for the driver's
title in the last two years. Leclerc outqualified him in that debut year for Ferrari 12-9.
That is the worst year Leclerc has ever had versus a teammate in qualifying.
Yeah, that's mad, isn't it? He's so good. The fact that Hamilton is making progress
in that specific department is pretty encouraging. Of course, the second place finish that he had
at the Canadian GP at the weekend, it's only, and this maybe speaks more to Ferrari than it does
to Lewis Hamilton, but it's only Ferrari's third second place finish since the start of last year.
That's so poor, but it's so poor. I agree with the point that you made as well,
I think Ferrari are in a pretty privileged position, not only with Bearman, but maybe
the wider grid as well, because these drivers, including the two that they've got racing for
them right now, are just desperate to race for the Scuderia. They're desperate to race for,
it sounds so basic, the red car. It's nostalgic. It hits something in the heart.
And because of that, this isn't a situation like, I don't know, like a haste, for example, where
you maybe want to make this decision quite early in the year to ensure the drivers you want aren't
snapped up. If a driver wants to race for Ferrari and then they're in the midfield right now,
they'll find a way to race for Ferrari. They'll make it happen.
Yeah, you get a call in December from Ferrari and they go, go on, we've got a seat for you,
go, I'll see you later, tear that contract up. Yeah, imagine Kovacic just being like,
nah, you're right, actually. Yeah, I don't want it.
Sorry, Ollie, you're not racing for Ferrari next year. Back in the sim, lad.
But Lewis saying he doesn't use the sim anymore.
Get back in the sim, Ollie. Yeah, I'd like to see that happen. So yeah, right now I wouldn't make a
call. I think consistency is the key word for Hamilton going forward. Like if he can show,
because he was very good at China, he was very good, obviously in Canada, and then the two in
between, he was very comfortably the second best Ferrari, even if the result didn't look that way
in Miami. If he can repeat Canada five times, four or five times, I think that's probably enough.
I agree. I agree. Like I said, I think 50-50, I think that's actually a really good situation.
If Leclerc is 60 and he's 40% of those results, I still think it's very solid for Ferrari.
And I agree with what you said as well about sort of the marketing effect as well of Lewis
Hamilton and how much he means to the wider business. It does mean that Ferrari are almost
looking for reasons to keep him rather than looking for reasons to get rid of him.
Like there are certain situations where a driver under pressure, it's almost like
they have to prove why they need to stick around because the team is looking for the
excuse to go in a different direction. Ferrari will, if they need to, really find a reason to
keep Hamilton. It's not in their interest to get rid of him, and that does help Hamilton's position
right now. I do wonder as well whether... Do you remember when Perez won Monaco a few years back
and he used that to get his contract extension? Oh yeah, QQBagger, really tied them up quick,
didn't he? I wonder if Hamilton might go, now's a good time to start properly talking about this.
Sit down, let's just hash some things out, guys. Just lastly on the Hamilton chat, what did you make
of... I know a lot was made of Lewis Hamilton not using the simulator between Miami and Canada,
and I'm not sure what percentage of his good performance at Canada can be attributed to that.
Do you think this is something that will continue just based on that result?
It's really hard to make a decision off of one use case, one moment, but if it is genuinely
true that he using the simulator has caused him to go the wrong way with the setup and lose feel
in the car, it makes me wonder how many other parts of Ferrari's setup, Ferrari's development,
are based on that simulator work and is just wrong, and it wouldn't shock me if their simulator just
sucks and they haven't realised it, and actually every upgrade that's come through,
every engine development, Leclerc, they're all using this sim and actually it's just
holding them back. If Hamilton goes into Monaco, for example, a place where actually he's got
had buckets of success in comparison to some, Canada that we just went to, but some of the other
racetracks, things won there twice in his whole career. If he goes there now and he's again better
than Leclerc, if he's fighting maybe for a race win, because obviously the engine isn't as crucial
there, and he's gone no sim again, I've just got in the car, you do have to start to look at the
facility and go, I've got to look at something else, because that's quite worrying for Ferrari.
If I was Hamilton, I would just keep an open mind, because it might be the case that him
avoiding the simulator for now is a good thing. In theory, the more these teams and these drivers
learn about the tracks and learn about these regulations, the sim should get better,
in which case maybe you don't want to completely avoid this for the rest of the year. I think it's
something that he should keep in mind possibly, but for now, go with what works, I guess.
Before we go to our second break, just to note, Patreon is available. If you aren't already subscribed
on there, three different tiers available with varying sort of benefits, depending on what tier
you're on. I mentioned this, I mean, we mentioned it enough anyway, but one reason to mention it now,
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get into an extended period of double headers, maybe some triple headers coming up as well,
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We did a fake Royal Rumble episode where we just came up with characters from the real world of
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We have classic races on there as well that we do every single month, and this month
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Thank you very much indeed. Thank you for keeping the lights on. Yes.
Let's take our next break. On the other side, we've got comments from Esteban Ocon and his team
boss, Io Kamatsu. This will be good. Welcome back, everyone. Following rumors midweek around a
souring relationship between Hass Boss, Io Kamatsu and Hash Driver, Esteban Ocon,
both had similarly punchy answers ahead of the Canadian GP refuting these claims. Ocon was
first up calling the rumour. I should probably have this ready to go because it's explicit heavy.
Ocon was first up calling the rumour complete bull. To be honest, it's unbelievable. This is
complete nonsense. I came to this team for the reason that I know Io since so long. I've got a
great relationship with him. That's always been the case, and there's nothing like what people
have been saying going on. It's completely not true. I'm fully focused on what I have to do,
the job I have to do with the team. I'm fully on board with the team for the whole year.
Kamatsu went with even more expletives in his response, many of which I have cut out,
but the sentiment was the same. He called it just bull gossip and asking, how is that journalism?
Wow. Wow. At least they've come at it from the same side.
Oh, yes. It's a united front. No doubt.
It would have been really awkward if they were like, yeah, no, we have not been getting along.
What are you all about? Ocon's like, that's nonsense. I was like, hold on a second.
I do hate the guy. He makes a few valid points.
Who was that journalist, by the way? This must have come from some weird leak or something
like that within the team. Yeah, I believe and it's some weird chain to get there, but I think
it was a Brazilian journalist that has poorly translated a Japanese article and it's just
gone from there. Well, there you go. I've looked at the cookbook, mate, and Brazil
into Japanese is a recipe for disaster. You just don't want it. Kamatsu has got cooking from that
one. Yeah, this is a little bit embarrassing for a start, but actually, I suppose for Ocon's point
of view, quite comforting. He's not had a great start to the season. He's picked up one point
in total, which was at the Japanese Grand Prix. Bearman, his teammate on 18 points right now,
after scoring multiple times throughout the season. I think it's like a fifth place as well,
which really cemented him having a really good start to this year. Picked up again
another point in Canada, of course. Ocon could have come out looking really bad here and Kamatsu
almost will have had a leg to stand on to go. No, we're not fooling out or anything like that,
but there are various conversations about the fact that he's not performing to their level
expecting. We need him to pick it up. Kamatsu has come out guns blazing, fully defending him,
and I really actually respect that from Kamatsu. I think Ocon has done well to have such a big
ally within the team. It shows that they have a great relationship. It could have gone quite bad
before him and it hasn't. No ambiguity whatsoever from either team principal or driver. I think
both were quite hurt by this and slightly bewildered by it as well. Ocon and Kamatsu were talking about
how they got to the track on the Thursday and they met and they had the same reaction of
what on earth is this? What is going on? When they were both asked about this in the press
conference, they gave very similar answers. I think this is proof of how powerful the media
can be and why it is important for the media to routinely check itself and ensure that it is,
I know in today's society, facts are somewhat optional and I'll leave them a commentary there,
but you know what? They're really important in journalism and when they're not there,
it can lead to situations like this. Whilst I think both have kind of, I don't want to say
they've shrugged it off because they were quite, again, punchy in their responses,
it could have been worse. Ocon said as part of his response, it's not far off bullying.
There are things to consider when it comes to the accuracy of reports and
it's something that I feel very passionately about and I think we as a podcast do as well
and it sort of extends onto what we choose to discuss on this show. There are times where
I've had comments before about the topics we choose to discuss from people who say like,
this is out there, why wasn't that on the show? And three days later, it will come out,
it was complete nonsense. It's really important that, I don't think I'd ever call us the media
because that sounds weird, but when you have something of a voice in the, I don't know, in
the space, it's important you use it wisely and I'm glad that both Kamatsu and Ocon have gone
and really, they've really gone out this report that they haven't held back whatsoever
in their annoyance at this. Yeah, I think Craigability is incredibly important when it
comes to reporting and we might not take ourselves seriously all the time and what
using this is an option to put ourselves on the back, which is easy to talk about ourselves
in this scenario. You never know who's listening, you never know who's reading your pieces,
you never know who subscribes to what you're putting out there and you could so easily
mislead something and create a chain of events that has a drastic event or repercussion on
someone that is suddenly blindsided by what you're reporting. This happens in sport,
happens in media entertainment all the time where someone will say something nasty or unprovoked
or downright wrong, just a lie and you don't know that that person is sat there at home and thinking,
oh, how's that happened? That's rubbish. I feel absolutely terrible for that and you don't know
what could go on from that point onwards. So there's a reason why places like the BBC have a two
source rule, right? They won't break a story unless they've had two confirmed sources about an option
that comes out there and the same should be almost a guarantee across the industry that
if you're hearing that Okon and Kamatsu are falling out and they don't get along very well,
check who you've heard it from first and then go out there and try and find your own source to
make sure that actually that makes sense and being like you, I'd rather be late to a bit of news
and actually report on it factually than ensure that we are not just spouting absolute crap.
Yeah, I would say in terms of the responses of the two, Okon was maybe the marginally least
annoyed about this. I think because of their position, they have to be. Well, that's what I
think is true as well because, you know, Kamatsu, he really went at this and I understand why because
Hass can't really afford drama in their position. We talk about, I always liken Hass to maybe a
slightly more modern version of what Force India used to be where they are trying to
deploy a limited budget and beat teams that have a marginally bigger budget than what they have.
But when you're running with that kind of model, you have to be incredibly
careful about what you are spending time on and what you're not spending time on.
And here you have, and we know with Hass as well and Kamatsu has been at Hass for a long time,
the driver lineup has in the past somewhat hurt them in that you remember the Grosjean and
Magnussen and Guntersteiner era where plenty of memes came out of that, but it wasn't massively
productive a lot of the time because they were too busy taking each other out and it was a bit of a
what is going to be shown on Netflix Drive to survive next season. And then they had a lineup
of Mazepin and McShumacher, which two rookies in the car, appreciate the car was terrible that
year as well, even outside of the drama surrounding Mazepin seat. Again, it was the lineup that was
kind of holding them back. And they've got themselves in a more fortunate position here
where Kamatsu has been able to take a very highly rated young Ferrari driver in Oli Berman.
They've taken a very experienced driver who has multiple years in the sport in Esteban Ocon.
And I think Kamatsu is probably coming at this like, I don't want the driver lineup to be something
that holds us back or becomes a big thing in the media here. I've got too much to work on outside
of that. Let's just knit this in the bud and just stop things here because it doesn't make sense for
these rumors to carry on. I'm all for it. I think, yeah, there are a few expletives, but hey,
I think you're handing it the right way. Blunt to the point, cleared it up, total clarity.
There's no room for a conversation in this side. Just in terms of Esteban Ocon, because I think
these comments very directly answer the question about whether his seat is in immediate jeopardy,
the answer to that is no. But as you say, he is still trailing Oli Berman quite significantly
in points at the moment. Berman seems to be the more comfortable of the two early in the season.
What does Ocon need to do throughout the rest of the year?
I mean, beat Berman more regularly will be a start. But if he can't beat Berman,
it's okay to finish runner up, but he just needs to be a close runner up. And we've had this conversation
with many different teams. Red Bull Included, Hajar, for example, has come into this team.
After teammate, after teammate can not finish remote close to Max Verstappen. And yet,
he actually did that. He was one of his worst performances we've seen for a while.
And yet that's what Red Bull need. Haas require the same thing. If Berman is going to be 9th place,
Ocon needs to be fighting for 10th. It really needs to be that simple. And I think
the Haas performance is tricky because it's not guaranteed that a race day they will be fighting
for points. On the day that the car is good enough that they might actually be fighting for points,
it cannot just be Berman who is the one in those points-paying positions. Ocon has to be there
with him. He needs to total step up at the moment. I do think he's dropped off so far this season.
I would agree with that. I think what helps Ocon right now, and maybe what has slightly
contributed to the annoyance from both of them here, from Kamatsu at least, is that
Berman's future is uncertain whilst Hamilton's future is uncertain at Ferrari. And I think
keeping Ocon on side as much as possible is in Haas' best interest right now. I don't think
they want to go through a double line-up change again. They've done that a few times in the past.
It's very rarely been effective. So I think keeping an eye on what Lewis Hamilton does
might be in Haas' best interest right now. Ocon is definitely struggling to start this year.
I know in Canada he didn't have the same upgrade package that the Berman had, which could at least
partly explain the gap in performance between the two of them. But the gap was still very,
very large between the two of them. And I appreciate there were strategic differences
at play as well. But maybe more worrying for Ocon, and maybe there's a way
that Haas are planning to deal with this with upgrades later in the year,
is why Berman got the upgrade first overall. Obviously, Ocon is the far more experienced
driver, probably came into the team not with a written contract, but maybe in his mind,
like, I'm going to be the senior number one driver here. And now it's his younger team
picking up the upgrade first. Like I say, it might just be that the next upgrade package
it's Ocon that will get it first instead. But yeah, 18-1 down in points right now,
4-1 in qualifying. He needs to figure out what's missing because whilst it was close last year,
there wasn't much in it. It started to stretch though, isn't it? But that's my point. It was
close enough last year. Can Ocon get back to that? That's got to be his first step.
And as you mentioned with the upgrades, hopefully they do come in and they are
effective. But we've seen time and time again that Haas is best opportunity for points scoring
is the first five to seven Grand Prix of the season. And that may have already come and gone.
He does love Monaco though, that's about Ocon. He does. He does very well at Ocon. He does very
well at Monaco. He might score one point. Oh, come on. I'm also excluding the one year where
him and Gasly made contact on the first lap, of course, but he typically does go very well
around here. I still maybe haven't been as excited as that time he nearly got pole
position in an LP. Yeah, oh, West Sabang. Do that again. That was good. 2023 with a minute
to go in the session, Ocon, a pole. Anyway, plenty more Monaco chats to come over the next week,
of course. But before we get there, F1 Fantasy, our first F1 Fantasy update in a little while,
let's start not with us. Let's start with the big guns, the top three in the league.
It's currently leading the way, the first to 1700 points, 1,720 points, never Lewis Faith.
Good weekend for it as well, I guess. Well, the Hamilton's done well. Do you see that
Nicholas got a win as well? He did. Everyone was crying. Very lovely video. Go check it out.
Love that. Second place at the moment in the league is Feisty Pancake.
And third place is Lumley Speed Syndicate. So that's the top three in the league for the season
so far, but we do have a winner for Canada itself. A tough weekend because usually it's anyone using
the limitless chip that will find their way to the top on any given weekend because you've got,
you can basically use anyone you want. You can go full all out on Mercedes,
all out on McLaren, whatever. But of course, we know that there was a DNF for Russell,
so that will hurt both Russell as the driver and Mercedes as the constructor. We know that both
McLarens struggled in the race, so it's not actually someone who used limitless who leads
the way. It's someone who used the three times boost instead. And it's Ferrari.
I'm not sure if I love it or if I absolutely despise it.
Scoring 369 points. Congratulations to you.
How many did I score? I didn't look at how much I actually scored, that's where I am.
Less than that. Yep. I can help you out on that, my God.
What about us, though? So she started with Kirstie because Kirstie was on a very nice
round 1000th last time out and she decided that that's too easy of a number for the guys to read
out. So she's actually decided to improve and she's gone up by 225 places. Does it 775th in the
league? I've got a good number for her as well. 775 is nice. Still pretty round. We like that.
Sam, you were leading the way after Miami. I was. How did you do in Canada? I improved.
I'm about 80 places higher than I was. I'm up to 486 now. Okay. So you've improved.
I've improved as well. So how close have you got to me, Ben? I don't like this.
Getting there, I moved up 161 places, meaning I'm now 579th.
All right. You can stay there. Yeah, I'm happy with that. Park the car, mate.
Did you make any changes for this week? No, absolutely not. I actually forgot.
That's all right. I'll give you an extra transfer to use for Monaco. You'll get
three free transfers now rather than two. Right.
I, again, I've struggled to start the year. So I'm trying to salvage the season somewhat by just
building budget as much as I could. So I actually made a move to get racing bulls as one of my
teams in. That kind of worked a little bit. The Limblard DNF obviously hurt me a lot.
By the same issue. But anyone who's had Mercedes, of course, also had a DNF. So it was
maybe not as impactful as it could have been. I also transferred in Alex Alban.
That's got a bad shout until it was. Until it didn't go very well at all.
So yeah, if you haven't already joined the league, make sure you do. Over 3,400 teams
in the league right now. And you've got a couple of weeks before you need to make some decisions
for Monaco. I really wanted to go sing the Will Young song by claiming the lyrics to
You think you better join the league right now before it gets any further. Terrible.
No, no, anything from Will Young cannot be terrible. That's true. I love that man.
Let's take our final break on this episode on the other side to fill in the blank.
Welcome back, everyone, to close out the show. We're going to be playing fill in the blank.
I forget that I said that every time. Every time I forget that crappy end is on it.
It is the worst jingle ever. It might be the worst jingle ever. But the people love it.
I'm saying people, there's might be two of them out there. Fill in the blank.
So quick game to end this one. I'll say a sentence that will have a blank somewhere in
that sentence. We'll need to fill that out to complete the sentence with our opinions. So
the first one, fill in the blank. Flavio Breatori and Alpine will be feeling blank
about their lineup at the moment. Encouraged is what I work for. I think it's definitely
a better saying than it was at the start of the year. I went with motivated, which might be
another way to say encouraged. It's a change we're in the thesaurus.
Similar sentiment. Because there were questions about this lineup going into the year in that
I know Gassley's got a bit of a longer term extension, but we still haven't seen Gassley maybe
in a great, not that Alpine have one yet, but we haven't seen Gassley in a great cast since
it didn't go very well for him back in 2019. And of course, Colopinto, there were probably more
questions about him at the beginning of the year than any other driver, despite his miraculous
winter that he had, which I've actually started to believe might have actually happened now.
But yeah, you look at it like Gassley, he's he's locked in. He's got a better car than what he's
had. He's going to be more motivated than he was. Colopinto's had two excellent races back to back.
And his his points tally is looking pretty respectable now. The other thing that I guess
we could talk about here as well is that Gabrielle Mini, who is an Alpine junior driver, is leading
the way in Formula Two. So maybe they've got a bit of an insurance policy there as well.
They're doing better than they have done in the past, that's for sure. And fair play to
Colopinto for finding whatever it was throughout the winter that has allowed him to turn into
this super soldier because he's certainly driving brilliantly. If they could keep this up for the
rest of the season, ranking the double points finishes, maybe they sell the team properly this
time. Who knows? Maybe they do it properly. Next one, fill in the blank. Outside of Mercedes,
the happiest team on the grid right now should be blank. I struggled with this one. I did as well.
Really struggled because I think there's a real case for everything else. But actually,
I'm going to say Alpine should be the happiest on the grid. I think the rise they've had and the
jump that they've taken, I didn't pick them to be the leaguers of the midfield. They're comfortably
so only after five races. I struggled with this one as well, which, to be fair, I just punched
myself in the face here because I was the one who sent it over. Well done, me, for giving myself a
headache. And I've probably come with a terrible answer. Outside of Mercedes, the happiest team
on the grid right now should be Ferrari. So I struggled to give it to a midfield team,
just because of how bad the midfield is versus the front cars at the moment. I feel like all of
them, even Alpine to an extent, will be disappointed that they have got seconds to find before they
can even think about competing with Red Bull and McLaren or Ferrari, let alone Mercedes. So I looked
into the other top teams outside of Mercedes. I've gone with Ferrari partly because they are
right now best positioned as second in the championship. And after the tough result for
McLaren at Canada, they are now 41 points clear of them. I just think that I know we've referenced
this before Ferrari might have an easier path to victory than McLaren or Red Bull do in that
McLaren are going to have to find something over Mercedes that isn't power unit related. They are
going to have to find something within the car to get that advantage. And I think that will be tough.
If Ferrari can prove that they are slower in terms of their power unit,
they might be able to catch up faster and actually compete for victories at some point
in the not too distant future. And again, they've got two close drivers in the championship. There's
only a few points separating the two drivers. No, I think it's fair. a little bit
more of a one you've got to dig into, but I can see why you picked them. Yeah. I think honestly,
the correct answer is no one can be massively happy other than Mercedes. Cadillac, maybe?
I think they can be content. Cadillac, yes. I think they could be happy that they've had a
semi-alright start and that they're finishing races. Okay, next up, fill in the blank.
The one thing F1 has yet to find a solution for is blank.
Inorganic racing. Okay. You know, if I'm going to be a lot more granular, I suppose,
I think it is creating a formula that is actually constantly competitive up and down the grid.
We regularly have these extremes and we have done every single era of Formula One. There is a team
that does seem to be well ahead and there's a group that trail behind. We don't ever get a formula
where suddenly it'll be half one year and then it'll be argue the next year and then it'll be
Mercedes and then it doesn't happen. It doesn't happen. The theory I'm starting to develop for
F1 at the moment is when it's good, it's really good and when it's bad, it's really bad. I don't
think we've had a lot of okay in that when you have Antonelli versus Russell and you've got two
teammates fighting away and they're reversing position. It can be really good. The problem is,
as soon as something like that ends and you are looking up and down the timing tower to see
15 seconds, 25 seconds, 6 seconds, 12 seconds and there's just nothing else close on track,
there can be spells of races that are really bad. I understand where you're coming from there.
For me, the one thing F1 is yet to find a solution for is tyres.
The issue is, I think there is the solution. I accept that they'll take it.
Yeah, it may be reframing it ever so slightly. There are some who will argue like the first
third of the Canadian GP that was in sprawling, we don't need tyres to be this variable.
It doesn't matter. I still think it does. I think strategy can create really exciting racing,
particularly when it comes to tyre wear and at the moment, we just don't really have it.
Again, Antonelli being able to set the fastest lap after doing 35, 40 laps on a set of medium tyres,
it shouldn't be allowed. It can just shouldn't happen and yet it does.
It shouldn't be feasible. Yeah, right. Yeah.
Competitive, it's wrong. That's the case. Yeah. I also think it's a skill for the drivers as well.
That's maybe one of my issues with F1 at the moment is it still feels like as long as you can
hold onto the driver in front via the way in which battery is deployed, you can get away with it.
I do want to see these drivers separated by skill and tyre wear is one way you get that.
It's a reason why you get tyre whisper and nicknames going around for a certain set of drivers.
Indeed. I'm fascinated by this last one. Okay.
Fill in the blank. Antonelli's chances of winning the championship are blank percent.
75%. Okay. So you think there's a three and four chance that Antonelli wins the title from here?
Yeah. I think if he is even nine tenths as good as what he is being in the first five Grand Prix
for the rest of the season, I think he wins. comfortably wins. I think luck will
swing George Russell's way at some point in the season, but is it enough luck to take it away
from the raw capability of what Antonelli has achieved? I don't think so now. So yeah,
I think it's very much in his court. It's really interesting. I know we will have more sprint
races as well, but if George Russell wins the next six races in a row and Antonelli
finishes second in all of those races, Antonelli still has the championship lead.
Right. When you break it down like that, it is quite difficult to see how Russell might overcome
this. Well, it's going to need errors, retirements, bad luck or something to hit Antonelli. No
doubts about that. I've gone with Antonelli's chances of winning the championship. I've gone
for 45 percent. Do you still think it's what Russell's caught predominantly or something else?
Well, I think if Antonelli is making up, say, 45 percent at the moment and then maybe Russell's
making up, I think, 35 percent and then something weird like Ferrari or Red Bull massively improving,
that's maybe 20 percent. Of course, the Stappen's completely out of the championship right now.
Right. We thought the same thing last year. You just never know. I still think he is the
favorite right now, just based on the lead he's gotten, how quick he's already shown himself
to be. I still want to see a bit of that pace in some of these European Grand Prix where he
didn't show pace last year, of course. I am going with overall just about more unlikely than likely,
but if we're talking just individual drivers, I do have him as the favorite.
Speaking of the favorite, just something else I wanted to throw in here.
Antonelli or Russell, who do you think is the favorite to win the Monaco GP with bookmakers
right now? Russell. It was a cruel question. The answer is neither of them. Oh, come on.
You can't give me a trick. Right now, Charle Leclerc is the favorite to win the Monaco GP.
I'll let you in here. I've been already thinking about bold predictions.
One of them was that there will be a Ferrari victory at Monaco.
At the moment, and obviously we've got a bit of time to go, but makers are suggesting
Leclerc is the favorite to win in Monaco and Hamilton and Antonelli are tied for second.
I think the Ferrari car could be quite brilliant at Monaco.
There is a part of me that thinks put your money on it, folks. Don't come back to me if you lose.
That was not a tip. We don't do bad tips here, fortunately.
Yeah, I just thought I'd give that a look earlier on today. I kind of felt that maybe
Ferrari would be on a similar-ish level to Mercedes, but I didn't know if they'd have
them outright as the favorite. Clearly, someone knows something and thinks that chassis might
well see them to victory. That is fascinating. Yes. It's been a while since Ferrari took a race
victory. We'll see in about 10 days time. 10 days? 10 days? We'll see in about 10 days time,
as to whether that happens or not. We've got another episode before we preview that, though.
We've got Sunday's episode, Sam. If you wouldn't mind getting us out of here until then.
I've got a much more respectful, would you rather? Oh, thank goodness. Okay.
It's not toilet humor, folks. If you haven't seen it, check the Discord if you want to see
what actually went on before it was egetting out. Right. Would you rather be able to pause time
for 30 seconds once a day, or would you rather be able to rewind time by 30 seconds once a day?
Tough one. Let me know in the comments in the Discord. I'm curious to know what your thoughts
are, because we've all had a conversation and you think, why did I say that? Say something
different. What are you going to get done when you pause for 30 seconds? Unless you have a
robber bank in 30 seconds. I'd like to know what you're getting done. But maybe you could
come up with things I haven't thought of, but I'd be fascinated to know.
Like, great. I can pause everything. I mean, I can sprint from here to out of my house,
but what have I gained? What if you're about to miss your train or something?
If you're missing a train, you're very rarely missing it by 30 seconds.
That's happened to me. I mean, it does happen, but you might miss a train by five minutes,
in which case, you can't do anything. No, that's true. I would take rewind.
Okay. Let's go, folks. Is it unanimously rewind? Be interested in your thoughts. Thank you for
listening so much. Make sure you do give Patreon a try. Again, if you don't like it,
you can always bring it off again. For awesome social media, like Breaking F1. Subscribe on
YouTube, like Breaking F1. So close to that 10K now, which is amazing to see. And also that 15K
on Instagram. So thank you so much. It's really great to see such support from so many of you
just outside of the show as well. We've got birthday shoutouts coming up very soon as well,
which, of course, hugely exciting when the Father Christmas of Birthday arrives.
And we'll be back for one more non-F1-related F1. Well, we're saying non-race-related F1.
We ain't talking F1, folks. We're just going to talk about Wukie Roberts for one hour straight.
See you there, folks. In the meantime, I've been Samuel Sage.
And I've been Ben Hawking. And remember, keep breaking late.
About this episode
Talk turns to whether F1’s proposed 2027 power-unit changes are under threat, starting with an “agreement in principle” to move away from the “5050 electrical and combustion power split.” The hosts weigh the likely 60/40 direction, cost-cap pressure, and why teams like Audi (and others) may struggle to adapt in time. They also connect the debate to fairness mechanisms like ADUO and to Max Verstappen’s conditional stance on staying in F1. Later, they pivot to tyre issues, Monaco odds, and driver-contract chatter.
Ben and Sam explore the pushback from select teams against F1's proposed 2027 engine rules, and whether the teams leading the resistance could ultimately shape Verstappen's future in the sport. They also cover Hamilton insisting he's "here to stay", the Ocon-Haas exit rumours, and wrap up with some Fill in the Blank.
