F1 Spring Break report card and YOUR questions answered!
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Concept
Formula One
Formula One, or F1, is the highest level of race car competition in the world. Teams race on tracks around the globe and score points based on where they finish.
Concept
Fernando Alonso
Fernando Alonso is a very experienced F1 driver. The conversation is basically saying it’s disappointing for him if the team can’t get the car working well enough.
Concept
Adrian Newey
Adrian Newey is one of the most famous technical minds in Formula 1. The discussion suggests he’s helping the team solve problems, even if he’s not the team’s main manager.
Concept
points finishes
In F1, you only get championship points if you finish high enough. If a team is having a tough season, just getting into the points is a big step.
Concept
constructors championship
In F1, teams score points based on how their cars finish. The Constructors’ Championship is the team-by-team race for the season title.
Term
DNF
DNF means the driver didn’t finish the race. That usually means they get little to no points for that event.
Car
American Motors Corporation (Amc) Matador
The AMC Matador was a large car made in the United States by a company called American Motors Corporation. It’s from the 1970s and is known for having a strong, tough-sounding name. If it’s mentioned alongside racing, it’s usually because the name fits the idea of something “wild” or hard to control.
Concept
podium
A podium is the top three finish in a race. If a team isn’t getting on the podium, it usually means they’re not fast enough or the car isn’t working well.
Concept
best finish of seventh
This means the best result that team has managed in a race so far is 7th place. It’s a simple way to judge whether they’re near the front or not.
Brand
Red Bull
Red Bull is one of the Formula 1 teams. The speaker is saying their car setup and development style is more aggressive, which can make the car harder to drive but potentially faster.
Term
did not starts
A “did not start” is when a car is supposed to race but can’t even begin the race. That usually means something went wrong before the start and it costs the team points.
Concept
constructors world champions
In F1, teams earn points based on how both cars finish in every race. The “constructors” title goes to the team with the most total points over the season.
Term
fifth place finishes
Finishing fifth means you were close to the front, but not in the top three. The hosts are saying that’s not quite what you expect from a championship-winning team.
Concept
package
In racing talk, “package” means the whole car setup. It includes things like how the car is tuned and configured for each track. If the package improves, the driver can usually go faster more consistently.
Concept
C minus
They’re giving teams a school-style grade. “C minus” means “not great, but not a disaster,” and they’re saying there are signs the team could improve.
Concept
classified
“Classified” means the car is officially counted in the race results. If a car retires too early, it may not be classified.
Concept
back of the grid
“Back of the grid” just means the cars are near the end of the pack. They’re hoping Cadillac improves enough to move up toward the middle.
Brand
Liam Lawson
Liam Lawson is an F1 driver. The hosts are saying they’ve been impressed with his driving, and that it matters for how well the team is doing.
Concept
long-term contract
A long-term contract means a driver is committed to a team for multiple seasons. It can also signal that the team expects that driver to be part of their future success.
Company
Mercedes
Mercedes is another major Formula One team. Mentioning Mercedes here is about whether a driver could move to one of the very top teams.
Concept
hybrid engines
Hybrid engines in F1 refer to power units that combine an internal combustion engine with an energy-recovery system. The recovered energy is stored and deployed to improve performance and efficiency under F1 rules.
Concept
Daniel Ricciardo
Daniel Ricciardo is a famous Formula One driver. When someone compares a driver to Ricciardo, it’s usually about how competitive they were in the same car/season.
Concept
Silverstone
Silverstone is a well-known race track in the UK that hosts Formula One. It’s a big deal on the calendar, so it often creates memorable moments for fans who attend.
Concept
Lando Norris
Lando Norris is a Formula One driver. The moment described connects him to what happens inside the McLaren team area during a race weekend.
Concept
Max Verstappen in Japan
Max Verstappen is a top-tier Red Bull Racing driver, and his comments are treated as a strong signal of car performance. The hosts use his Japan remark to reinforce that Alpine’s car is genuinely fast, not just benefiting from luck.
Concept
pressure to a teammate
If one driver is doing much better than the other, the other driver can feel extra pressure to catch up. The hosts are describing that dynamic between Pierre and Franco.
Term
Grand Prixs
A Grand Prix is just an F1 race weekend. When they say “first two Grand Prixs,” they mean the first two races of the season.
LIVE
Hello and welcome to the Fast and the Curious, now with new episodes on Tuesdays.
Except everybody for when my internet breaks and a man has to come and fix it. I've had
a man up the pole at the back of my gardener. He was up the pole yesterday fixing the internet
cable. I've had a man up the pole of all the ways you could have put it. I've had a man
up the pole. Anyway, this is why we're recording the episode on Wednesday. That is why you're
listening to it probably Wednesday evening, Thursday morning, the rest of the week.
Thursday morning. Yeah, Thursday this will be out. Hi, everyone. Welcome to Thursday.
Hello. Welcome to Thursday. Anyway, this is the Formula One podcast that speaks to the
biggest names in the sport, reacts to all of the breaking news with me, Betty Glover,
and our resident Formula One geek, Christian Hugel, who is now going to break down all
of the racing that we've seen since our last episode, Christian. There hasn't been any.
Christian, thank you very much. Thank you. So instead, everybody, welcome to our war
in force spring bake, spring bake, spring break report card. It sounds very 2026 that
doesn't it? So over the next 45 minutes, we're going to dissect every team start to the season
and we're going to give them a grade. Now, RuPaul's Drag Race rules are once again in
force and for a full explanation on that, we're going to cross live again to our podcast
resident homosexual, Christian Hugel. Betty, once again, thank you. We'll be splitting
the teams into three categories as Mamma Ruda's on Drag Race. Our middle ranking teams are
safe. And then there are, of course, the tops and the bottoms. And also coming up, we will
answer your questions with a special Q&A. But Betty, let's start with the teams I'm
categorising as the bottom. So I put these into our three categories, but it's going
to be up to us together, Betty Glover, to come up with a fast and curious grade for each team.
So we're going to have to agree on these, OK? Yes, fine. Can I just admit something to you,
by the way, Christian? Yeah. I've never watched RuPaul's Drag Race. It's spectacular. I think
you'd love it. I genuinely think you'd love it. OK, interesting. Yeah. Well, there we go.
We've done it. You don't have to be homosexual to watch it. They don't check. Oh, do they not?
No. I just thought someone would come knocking around your door and be like,
prove it. No, they don't send a man around at the pole of anything. You could just do whatever
you like. OK, well, let's get on with it. Let's start with the bottoms then. You've put in here,
number one, Aston Martin, which will be no surprise to absolutely anybody.
Zero points, 11th in the constructors. It's been painful. It's been a painful start for Aston Martin,
hasn't it? A best finish of 18th place with Fernando Alonso in Japan. There's not loads we
can say on this that hasn't already been said. Our dear friend Andrew Benson's analysis suggested
that chassis-wise, if it was, the chassis itself is probably mid-pack, sort of where Haas and Alpine
are. So imagine they've got an engine that is standard issue. They'd probably be around where Haas
are, which, again, is not great for a project. I mean, we look at that now and think that would be
great. But actually, remember our emergency episode when Adrian Newey was announced? This is a team
that was scoring podiums only a few years ago. They wanted to be much higher than that. So
the chassis is not as good as they wanted it to be, but still is a solid mid-table chassis,
probably, according to some brilliant analysis from Andrew. And also, that sort of reflects what
we've heard in the Paddock a lot. But that engine is so poor from the Honda side of things, and
I'll obviously Honda have come into Aston Martin exclusively, so it's a problem for both of them.
And we're in a situation where, you know, we're not laughing at this because it's awful for all
the people working so hard on it, but it is one of the stories of the season so far. I've just
how bad it's gone. To be behind Audi, who are making an engine for the first time, and, you know,
Honda aren't even making an engine for the first time, to have had a Cadillac score
a higher place than you, and therefore, granted it's only three races, but to be 11th in the
standings, it is staggering how badly it's gone. It is wild, isn't it? Because if you look at it
on paper, they've got this historic big dog power unit supplier. You've got the greatest designer
of all time. They've got this brilliant that everyone says factory. You know, you've got the
likes of Fernando Alonso. Oh, just it's awful. It is awful. It's awful for Fernando because he's
obviously in a race against time because of his age. This can't be how it ends for him, Christian.
I hope not. I really hope not. And I think from, I bet you we spoke about this when we were in
Australia, a lot of people saying that maybe they had underestimated the size of the task in terms of
when Adrian came in, which didn't really start working until March last year, which is too late.
And also, did they keep a close enough eye on Honda's progress on the engine side of things?
That's something that's being doubted as well, and basically running really far behind before
they'd even got started on this 2026 era of car. So, you know, it's bad. It's going to take time to
fix. There's the skill set in Adrian there to fix it. We wait to see whether they'll have a new team
principal in place before the end of the season or whether they'll carry on with this sort of
acting team principal. And Adrian Newey, who doesn't really want to be the team principal,
he's only there because they haven't really got a team principal in place that they're confident
enough with. Jonathan Wheatley looks pretty set to join, but when is the answer? I back them to
fix it long term, but I think it's going to be a season of pain for Aston Martin. I think
points finishes are going to be the best they can hope for this season, and they'll hope to have caught
up to that level by mid-season, but it's going to take time. Okay, what grade? What are we grading
Aston Martin so far? We have to ask with our grading system that we're making up on the fly,
what's the lowest grade? I think in schools, it's probably F tends to be the lowest, so it's
an F, isn't it? F, yeah. Probably I'd go F. An F for Aston Martin. Is this so bad you don't even
get a grade? No, I think to do that, you'd have had to not have sat the exam. They've sat the
exam, they've turned up to the race, so I think we're grading them. Very true. But it's the lowest
grade you get. It has to be, which we take no pleasure in saying. And listen, we hope Aston
Martin can pull it back. We want to see them fighting at the front with Fernando, with Adrian.
We want them to pull it back, but it's an F. Okay. Okay, F done. Aston Martin, F. Let's move on,
Williams. They've done a little bit better than Aston Martin when it comes to points, two points.
Ninth in the constructors at the moment. I actually don't have many notes on Williams.
I've just put, we know that they're overweight. Yeah. That is the headline. I think there's still a,
you said this from when you were in testing and spoke to James. There's still a confidence that
the package has got something in it. They just need to shave the weight off the car.
You know, a lot of weight in Formula One comes from things like safety measures
and getting everything you need onto the car, but getting it light is such a careful balance.
And it's a balance Williams haven't found. This, we shouldn't forget, this is still a team
with far fewer resources than the majority, not all, but the majority of the teams
up and down the grid. They're on a similar level to a team like Haas who have just done a fundamentally
better job, but it's a particular blow for Williams considering we know how much ever
since James took over, he said, we're heading towards 2026. But the thing I've said on that
in the past is it is 2026 and beyond. I don't think anyone was expecting Williams to have,
you know, okay, bang, we run the podium places by the start of 2026, but of course they expected
them to be further up than they are. So it will be a case of trying to work out how aerodynamically
they can get everything on the car that they need, but also take the weight off. That is very,
very complicated. We could do a whole podcast on how you do that. It's going to be a process for
Williams. And hopefully it's not quite as long a fix as it is for Aston Martin, but I still think
it's going to be a particularly long first half of the season for Williams. To me, it sort of feels
like there's other issues that need resolving as well, not just the weight. I don't know what they
are, but it just seems like the drivers are so unhappy with the car and the way that it feels,
and it's just not anywhere near where they need to be. I think that's a really good point. And I
know Williams were unhappy with Alex for airing some of that in public in that I think it was in
qualifying in Japan where he turned around and said, he finished very close to Carlos' time.
They were almost identical and sort of said, oh yeah, but it was a problem with my driving style.
So clearly the handling of the car isn't where it needs to be either. Clearly one thing Alex
Halbon has always had a very good reputation for. For example, he worked really well with Sergio
Perez in his first year at Red Bull in helping to make that car more drivable. It's something that
Red Bull really praised him for his feedback. He's an intelligent racing driver. It's something he's
got a good reputation for in F1. So it's not good, I would suggest, when a driver like Alex
is struggling and it clearly is in a bit of a situation where it's like, why is this not working?
Because it's that strength of his to give feedback and to make the car better.
Let's not forget how much Williams have taken so many steps forward while he has led that team and
so much of that will be down to his feedback. So a lot of problems there, really disappointing for
their fans. James, I still applaud James for the way he has unashamedly come into the team
since he started and gone, we're looking to the long term. There are going to be bumps in the
road. They've had one. I would back him to turn it round. They've got two excellent, excellent
drivers. It's going to be a long way back, but I do back them to get back. I back them to get back.
Does that make sense? Yeah, it does. Best finished Carlos Sine's ninth in China. Not horrendous either.
No, they've picked up some points which just shows in an era where reliability is not as strong as it
was. If they execute their race as well as they can and benefit from a few people not finishing,
they will score some points. As I said, I think it's not as long a journey as it is for Aston
Martin. I would expect them to be knocking on the door with the points faster than Aston.
I think if you look at the number of retirements and problems in China, that will have certainly
helped. I don't think they think, oh, we got that on sheer pace. It just shows that it is possible
for them to pick up more points. They'll be very disappointed that they're sat here after three
races going, oh, it's possible for them to pick up points. If there were issues when they came
fifth in the constructors last year and were best to the rest outside the big teams, it's a big
disappointment for them. I do think it's within that team to turn it round. Okay. What are we
grading them? We gave Aston Martin F, Williams, better than Aston Martin. I think if they've
got those points, I'd probably go D. I would probably go E. Do we split the difference and go
D minus? Yes. Okay, let's do D minus. Okay, a D minus for William. You were a bit harsher than me
there. No, no, I'm a big fan of Williams. Oh, are we all? I had higher expectations coming into
this season and it doesn't look like it's overly enjoyable in that camp. It's very disappointing
as it stands. Yes, I would agree with you. Okay, an F for Aston Martin, a D for Williams. Let's
move on to Red Bull who have got 16 points. They're sixth in the constructors championship
and their best finish so far is a sixth for Max Verstappen in Australia. The thing I want to say
straight away when we're bearing in mind our grading for Red Bull is I think their drivers
have done very, very well. Max has dragged the car up to where it shouldn't really be as we've seen
from him so many years, but also he's had you in a difficult circumstances far closer to his
teammate. So I think we need to in our grading reflects that the drivers are doing a very solid
job. The engine is better than I think they were expecting considering Red Bull are new to making
engines of course fairly new. They've gone on their own after Honda left them a few years back
and then changed their mind but rejoined Formula One with Aston Martin. They've got the support of
Ford who are new to Formula One and we were there at the launch weren't we better at the start of
the season when they were managing expectations on the engine but the engine is okay. The engine's
been better than they expected. The big problem for Red Bull has been the car. Yeah, it seems like
it's got so many issues. I mean when you look at the sort of stats around Max Verstappen it really
doesn't make for good reading at all. He's ninth in the drivers. This is the four-time world champion
Max Verstappen. He DNF'd in China, eighth in Japan. This is the worst start that he's had to a season
as a Red Bull driver since 2022 and this is the first time since 2018 Christian that he hasn't
finished on the podium in one of the first three races. And not just not on the podium,
sixth there's a best place finish. He's not looked near a podium and I think we also know from recent
years that if anyone can tame a beast, tame a wild Matador in Formula One, tame a bull,
it's Max Verstappen. He will jump on top of that bull and calm it down. He hasn't been able to do
that. He's really struggling to control the car. If Max is struggling to control the car and this
has been a feature even though we're in a new ruleset, Diva cars, cars that are hard to control
has been a feature for Red Bull for many years now. But if Max is struggling to control it to the
point of not even getting on the podium, you know you've got problems because I think if they had
two other drivers, well, let's say that, you know, they've got Isaac Hadger who of course let's not
forget is not Max Verstappen. Obviously didn't finish on Australia then an eighth and a twelfth.
It shows you where they are. They are at the moment knocking on the door of points. Sixth in the
constructors. You expect so much better for a team of their standing. And we can't not address the
elephant in the room that, you know, their star man is, and this isn't just the car, this is the
formula, this is the rules, but he's so unhappy that he's talking about not being in the sport
anymore. So it ain't good. Do you know what? It must be really hard for Laurent Meckys to sort of
manage this whole team, to manage Max, to manage what they're saying, to manage the drivers that
are clearly really struggling. The car's just not responding to the drivers. And then you've also
got to deal with the team and, you know, the disappointment and try and keep everyone upbeat.
How on earth do you do that? If you're Laurent Meckys? Yeah, it's hard. And listen, I don't think we
can lay any blame at his door. He came into the team in a very turbulent position. He stabilized
that team last year and he actually got them on an upward trajectory. You know, Max spoke very
positively about how the car became more drivable as last season went on, to the extent that he
dragged himself into the title fight. They are nowhere near that right now. They will hope
that a similar thing can be achieved this year in the way they did make that car more
drivable as the season went on. It isn't good for Red Bull so far. I think for them to not even
be mixing it for podiums is way below their expectations. The one question that I do have is
why are Red Bulls struggling so much in comparison to racing Bulls when they've got the same power
unit? They've got very similar packages by the looks of it. If you look at racing Bulls,
who were also on 16 points, a best finish of seventh for Liam Lawson, they're not a million
miles off each other. Now, the simple answer to your question, Betty, is nobody other than
people in that team can answer that question fully. My best guess would be if you're Red Bull,
you are probably going for a more aggressive design strategy to push forward for wins and
championships, and that hasn't worked. What racing Bulls have done is not necessarily shop
for the stars, but have got a safer package that is easier to handle, that is easier to control,
that is easier to drive. Red Bull are aiming much higher than that and in trying to get a faster
machine, and I'm not saying racing Bulls aren't trying to get a faster machine, of course they're
there is rules on how these teams can operate together, in that they can't operate fully
together. There's strict rules on yes, they're owned by the same people, but it is two separate
teams and they can't share all information. So racing Bulls feels a lot better because they've
got a package that's easier to control with lower expectations, and as I said, a car that's
tamer, if you like, whereas Red Bull is clearly much more difficult to handle. Clearly overall,
they're not million miles off each other because they're so close in terms of points and finishes,
but everything feels happier at racing Bulls because they're not trying to win world championships,
and actually that car is probably more enjoyable to drive, if not massively overall quicker. Does
that make sense? Yeah, good point. Lower expectations almost, but maybe it shows that there's a bit
of potential for Red Bull. Maybe things are going to get better. Always, and I keep emphasising on
the podcast this season, I think things are going to look very different towards the end of the
season. Remember how crucial mid-season development has been in Formula 1 in recent years, and we're
emerging from a bit of a break. Our post-season podcast, sorry, post-race podcast in Miami,
Betty, is going to focus on where are the big differences in performance because this month,
back at the factory, does give you an opportunity to reset. So who's going to take advantage of that?
And the first three teams we've mentioned, and in fact the fourth we're going to mention in a minute,
are the four teams who I think are going to be hoping that that time away and going back to the
drawing board benefits them the chance to reset. The chances are some people will make a leap forward.
Red Bull could well do that. Okay, let's grade Red Bull. Well, remember what I said about the
drivers? The drivers, I think we've got to, both of them are doing well. So if the team's expectations,
if we've put the team maybe at D minus and the car and the package, but the drivers have pushed
them forward, do we give them a C minus? A C minus or a D? Probably a D, just because of the expectations
of Red Bull, where Red Bull should be. We're saying it would be lower, were it not for the
drivers, but it's a D. Okay, I think that's fair. Do you think that's fair, or would you rather go
C? No, I'm happy with that. I'm happy with that. I mean, if you're a Red Bull fan, you're not happy
right now, are you? No, it would have been a D minus, even an E if it wasn't for Isaac and Max
pushing them forward, because we'll put these on social media and people will argue, I'm sure,
but this is well done for listening to the podcast and watching the podcast and showing
we're showing our workings here. But also, if you disagree, guys, let us know in the comments.
Oh, absolutely, wherever they chat, you know, that's what it's all about. At Fast Curious Pod,
tell us we're talking rubbish. Right, our final team in Bottoms, you've put McLaren in here,
which I was a bit surprised about. Why have you put McLaren in the Bottoms?
Right, even before we started recording, you asked me about this, and I was like,
well, let's talk about it on the pod. My first draft of our Topps Bottoms and Safes had McLaren
safe. And then I looked back at the, I looked back at the positions to have three did not starts
out of six potential finishes. Yeah, about that. For the constructors world, the double constructors
world champions of the last two seasons, and the drivers championships of the last season.
And to have only got on the podium in the last race before that having two fifth place finishes,
the world champion hasn't managed to get back on the podium. I am putting them in the Bottoms
due to the sheer expectation that winning the championship gives you. If McLaren had come
third in the championship that last year or second, they'd be safe. But my argument is,
if you win the title, you are judged to a higher standard. And therefore,
Oscar Piastri's best place finish of seconds. Yeah, that's good. But three did not start,
not looking like race wins. I think if you're coming into the new season as champions,
you need to be, you are hoping for better. So I admit it's possibly controversially
put them in the bottom, but that's my line of thoughts, Betty. I don't actually think a lot
of people would disagree with you. I actually think probably the drivers themselves would agree
with you. My only thing was, obviously in Japan, Oscar Piastri had that stellar performance and
you sort of think actually what McLaren have got going on there, it clearly is good when they get
going, like Oscar said. And maybe if they find a little bit more pace, they could make life quite
hard for Mercedes. They've definitely unlocked performance in the engine in terms of utilising
it with their package. I think that was widely regarded from Japan. Oscar had an excellent
weekend in Japan after, you know, it was fine in the Sprints, but unfortunate in the race in
China and obviously his mistake in Australia. Lando has been fine across the board, fine,
not a lot to write home about. So maybe the green shoots of recovery take them. And I've said,
I think they'll win races. I think they'll get back to, I really do back them to have a better.
If we do this again mid-season, should we do this again mid-season, see who's compared?
Yeah, great. We've commissioned another episode. Sol, I don't think we'll be putting them in the
bottom mid-season. I think they know. So I backed them to come out of it. And for that reason,
due to the green shoots of recovery in Japan, should we go, I would go a C minus.
What did we give Rebel D? Yeah, C minus. Okay. I mean, I'd take that.
I still think the package is overall competitive. I think they showed
shoots of recovery in Japan, but I can't take away the first two races. I think they'll recover it,
which means we've gone Aston Martin, F, Williams D minus, Red Bull D, and McLaren C minus.
Lovely stuff. Yeah, happy. I think, well, let's lock them in. Let's lock them in. They're the
bottoms. After the break, we're going to go through our middle ranking safe teams and
we're going to dive into some of your questions. Don't go anywhere.
Welcome back, everybody. We are ranking the teams in this spring break because, let's be
honest, there is absolutely nothing else to do. Right, on to our middles then, Christian.
That's right as well. We may as well. Okay, so we've got Cadillac. You've shoved Cadillac in the
middle. They're the safe zone. I think very safe. For me, if you're a new team in Formula
1 in this day and age and you are not the worst at this point, you've done rather well and simply
due to the fact that they're not massively cut adrift at the back, that they're overall competitive.
Valtteri had a 13th in China, which, you know, another day they might have been appointed there.
The fact they're not cut adrift, I think it's been a very solid start to their Formula 1 career,
I am going safe and I'm happy with them. Yeah, yeah. And it sort of feels like they're making
that consistent progress, doesn't it? And they're struggling a little bit for that pace,
but they seem to be learning quickly. It's sort of the vibe that I get. I agree. And also, out of
six potential finishes, five race finishes, only Valtteri wasn't classified in Australia,
16th, 15th, 17th, the Czechos, that not classified 13th and 19th for Valtteri.
You know, they're getting the card classified. I'm just impressed at the not cut adrift at
the back. So I don't, I'm intrigued to see how they get on midseason and say, when we revisit
the midseason, I'd hope they're really pushing onto the back of the grid and not, you know,
maybe pushing onto the likes of Williams, I hope. But I'm happy with them. I think it's a very solid
start. I don't think there's much to, I don't think there's much to discuss with them. I think
maybe a middle solid C, do we think? C. Yeah. Yeah. I don't know if I'm being extra harsh,
but I sort of want to give them a C minus. No, because if you think we've given McLaren a C
minus, and we've said you've got way higher expectations on you because you're the champions,
I've almost got lower expectations on Cadillac because they're brand new. So I think C minus is,
if we're giving them the same grade as McLaren and we're saying McLaren are disappointing,
that's what for me takes them into a C plus. Even a C plus. When you're taking the expectations,
no one had any expectations, but there's still zero points, 10th in the constructors.
Yeah. Okay, fine. I'd have given them C plus. No, no. Let's give them C minus to split the
difference because you want to be. No, no, no. Let's splitting the difference would be C.
C. Okay, a C. Look, they've done well, but they're still where they are.
I don't know. Do we see them pushing on the rest of the season? I don't know if we do.
Well, I don't know. It's hard to, it's genuinely, I couldn't give you any analysis on that. I think
it's really hard to say, but I'm happy to give them a C. Let's hope they can push on. Maybe we'll
judge them a bit harsher mid-table, mid-season if they're still in the same place, but I think
it's a very solid start. Okay, C for Cadillac. Moving on to Audi, similar sort of position,
obviously, took over from Salba, but it's their debut as a works team, their first Formula One
power unit. I'd say they've exceeded expectations as well. I'm putting them safe and I did consider
putting them in the top actually because I'm just looking back on my notes as well because
actually they've had some impressive qualifying performances as well. They've shown sheer pace.
If you think back to Australia, Betty, when we were saying how impressed we were that
Bortoletto got into the top 10 and Holkenberg 11th, that was really impressive. Again, the
qualifying grid or the starting grid, I should say, for China, again, Nico up in 11th, I think
they're showing pace which I've been really impressed with. I think just for them to show
the sheer pace they have with it being a brand new engine supplier, I'm really impressed with that.
They haven't converted it into as many points as finishes as I think they'd have liked to have
done considering they've been knocking on the door of Q3, but still to have two points on the
board and to be knocking on the door of Q3 consistently as a new engine supplier in this
era of F1, I'm impressed with them. I think it's been a solid start. I think they've exceeded
even their own expectations, to be honest, a sharp end of the midfield.
And also, I just want to pick up on one of last year's rookie, Gabriel Bortoletto.
Somebody said in one of the comments, I think it was on Spotify that the way I describe drivers
as levelling up, I think it's like them getting a mushroom on Mario, which I love that analogy.
Gabriel Bortoletto was like, he's had a mushroom over the winter, hasn't he? He does look like he's
really like, Nicko Hulkenberg is such a good Formula One driver, such a solid performer.
And Nicko looks again, like right on, sorry, Gabby looks right on Nicko's level. It's been Gabby
who's got the points. So I've been really, Nicko's doing a solid job as ever. I think Gabby has
levelled up. So I'm impressed with the drivers, the power units, goods. What are we going? B minus?
B? B minus. B minus. I think that's fair. I think that's fair. B minus. They've also had to deal with
their team principle, possibly flirting with another team and whatever leaving. That's not
easy to deal with. So yeah, well done, Aldi. Solid effort, B minus. B minus. I'm happy with you there,
lad. Yeah. Okay, well done. I'm wondering if I've been too harsh on Cadillac and we should have gone
C plus, but no, they've got the C. Anyway. Oh, we've done it now. It's too late. It's locked in, I'm afraid.
Locked in. Right, this actually did surprise me a little bit. You've put Ferrari in the middle
as well. Why have you done that? Not top? You don't think Ferrari deserved to be in the top?
The podiums? I did this yesterday and now I think maybe they could have been in the tops. Yeah,
maybe they could have. I think, so my logic was you're still your Ferrari and you're still not
winning, looking like winning races. And I think we're used to this with Ferrari now, right?
We are, but that doesn't mean we should accept it. If a head teacher was disciplining a naughty
school child, just because they are used to the child being naughty doesn't mean they would just
go, oh yeah, little Timmy's kicked the teacher. That's fine. We're used to that. You'd still want
to tell Timmy off. That's a weird analogy, but here we are. It's strange. Anyway.
But I think you're still Ferrari. If they converted one of those into a win or even got a second,
I might put them in the top. But let's think it is harsh, but you've still not come second.
You've still not won a race, but you're better than last season. Last season they were in the
bottom. They were nowhere near where Ferrari should have been. This year so far, I think they're in
the middle. They're safe, but I'm expecting them to push forward and win races. And when they do so,
I'm not expecting a title challenge from them, but I'll put them, I'll promote them to the tops
when they win races. And the more I now sit and say this out loud, the more I think I think I'm
being fair here. This is Ferrari, if we're going to say, you know, come on, won the 178 Constructors
Championships. Come on, you should be, yeah, I'm happy with my grading here. I know. However,
they are looking really good. If it wasn't for Ferrari, you know, we would have, they gave us
that epic moment in China. The battling was awesome to watch. Lewis Hamilton has this new
lease of life. He's clearly really happy. He's hungry. He's able to go toe to toe with Charlotte
Clare. It's a decent car. He's able to go toe to toe with Toto's team as well. And Toto's team.
Toe to toe with Toto's team. Lewis Hamilton's finally got a podium for Ferrari.
Yeah, listen, listen, Lewis has looked better. So if we're talking about the driver performances,
Charles Solid as ever, we expect that from Charles. We know that from Charles.
They call the car. That helps. Yeah, Lewis is better. The car is better.
They've got good starts. The starts are very good. Yeah, listen, I might be being harsh. I'm
standing by my safe placement until they win races. I'm sticking by it, but you've, you have,
you have definitely persuaded me to give them maybe a more generous grade than I thought. The
question will be, can they turn it into race wins? I think they will. I have said, and listen,
title, tell if I'm wrong, there's been lots of people saying, oh, Mercedes will win every race.
It's a Mercedes championship. I still think Mercedes will win the championship, but I do
think you're going to see Ferrari and McLaren win races. I don't think we're getting a sort of white
wash season like Red Bull 2023. I think it'll be closer than people think. I think Ferrari will be up
there. Okay. So what, okay, go on then. What would you grade them?
Technically, you would put them as an A minus, wouldn't you? Because you'd put...
No, if you're going to age, you're winning races for me if you're Ferrari.
Okay, fine. I don't disagree with that. B plus then.
B plus I will, I'll meet you with. Yeah. Okay. B plus.
Yeah. Yeah.
What gets an A plus then?
I can't do this now, but I don't know.
I'm sorry. Okay.
That's probably what I'll give Mercedes.
That's the end of the people, but people will turn off now if we give it away.
I don't know.
That's what you see.
So Cadillac C, Audi B minus, which I think is quite, I think we've given them a lot there.
Well, we've done it now. We've done it now. That's probably two hours long if we keep
revisiting teams. Sorry. Ferrari B plus, right?
Yeah.
Okay, fine. Locked in. Next one, racing bulls. They've been really impressive, I think.
They've been very impressive. I've been doing a really solid job, but we've sort of already
taught them about them in the comparison of Red Bull. Very drivable package that the
drivers enjoy racing. A solid, raceable car, which is exactly what you want from racing bulls.
That we've seen times in their history where they've been knocking on the doors of podiums,
but they're not quite there, but they're doing a really good job.
And their drivers are doing very, very well. A really solid debut from Arvid Limblad.
Been very impressed with him. Not just in his sheer driving ability.
He's got the speed clearly, but Betty, we both said he was on one of our first episodes of
the year. So scroll back and have a watch or a listen if you've not seen that.
We were so impressed with the maturity, so impressed with the way he looks, so at ease
with the big, wide, mad world that is Formula One. He's got the speed, he's got the maturity,
very impressed with him.
The mentality.
Yeah, mentality. And Liam Lawson looks really solid as well. He's had a great start to the season.
Yeah, good points in the last two races, right? Going under the radar, a lot of people are
saying people think that everyone should be talking about Liam Lawson a little bit more.
Well, we're going to come back to that in a bit, actually. But yeah, I've been very,
very impressed with Liam Lawson. I've been very impressed with Arvid Limblad.
Only one point to finish so far, but more will come. Well, if we've given Ferrari B+,
I'll give Racing Bulls B+. If I was giving them an A, I'd want them to have finished maybe fifth
or sixth. Right, OK. So I'd give them a B+. Do you want to give them an A?
No, I don't think they deserve an A because you just said to get an A.
Yeah, when I said that, Betty looked at me like you're mad.
Yeah, but you said to get an A, you have to be winning races.
No, it's all comparative. If Racing Bulls had won a race, my goodness me, I'd be giving them
A+. A star?
Yeah. No, I think for migrating, if you're racing Bulls and you get an A,
I want you finishing fourth or fifth. I think B+, to be where they are, they've done a really
good job. But it's not also, you know, Liam's...
B, do we go B? They're seventh in the constructors. It's not like they're up, they're up there.
And they're not doing as well as Alpine, for example.
All right, B, yeah. Do we go B?
B, OK, great.
Look, we're not just handing these out, will we?
No, we're not. Listen, this is elite level sport.
Anyway, right, we're going to move on and reveal our tops of the season so far a little bit later.
We'll give our tops their grades. But first, we asked you to send in your questions at Fast Curious Pod.
Oh, and you really did send in your questions. So, Betty, we're going to do some of these fairly
quick fire. We're going to both try and answer them. Some quick fire, post bag of questions.
Betty, the first one is from Jordan.
OK, so Jordan says, do you feel that Pierre is one of the most underrated drivers on the grid?
What are your thoughts on that?
I've been following Formula One since 2016 and have been a long time fan of Pierre Gasly.
He seems very respectful. He's never at the centre of any conflicts.
That is true, actually, Jordan.
Really, I don't know. I think it's about an alcohol, a disagree, but fine.
Yeah, that is true, actually.
Rarely is involved in racing incidents and just seems to be an all-around good guy and driver.
He gets almost zero attention from any media. I know he's been racing for lackluster teams,
but it seems that he should get a little bit more attention from the media and other better teams.
Interesting. Yeah, you're right about Esteban Ocon and his relationship with him.
I do think Pierre does get into some scrapes sometimes, but listen, no worse than other
drivers. I don't think that's something that he's particularly bad for.
Jordan, it's a great question. I think Pierre has suffered from the fact that he's been in an
Alpine car that has been getting worse progressively over the last few years,
culminating in a dreadful year last year and in a car that was very difficult to drive.
It felt like he went missing at times, but that's not his fault.
I actually said on the debrief of the last episode, when Pierre is good, he is really,
really good. He's won a race before. He's got very impressive podiums before.
You know, you look at the way he outperformed people like Yuki Sonoda in the Red Bull B team.
When Pierre is on the top of his game, he is so hard to beat. I think as a Formula One driver,
you don't necessarily see those top of the game performances consistently. I think sometimes he
can go a little bit missing, but with a car that's more raceable and drivable to this season,
there's an opportunity for him to show people like me who go, I think you could have those
A-star performances a little bit more often. Go out and show that Pierre this season because
you've got the opportunity to do so. I think he's a very, very solid Formula One driver who,
on his day, is amazing. I think his day could come around a little bit more frequently. Betty?
Well, I mean, he's produced points each time of asking. Three Grand Prix and a sprint.
He's having a very good season.
Finished higher than a Red Bull in every Grand Prix so far this season,
which is pretty good, isn't it? It speaks of the job that he's doing.
He signed that long-term contract, didn't he, at Alpine,
which I guess sort of answers the question as to why he's not getting a lot of attention from
other teams? Potentially, yeah. He sort of brought into what Alpine are doing. I mean,
this season seems to be really good. Obviously, last season was absolutely terrible.
I don't know. Yeah, he probably does go under the radar a little bit, but maybe that's going
to change this season. I think it did last year because the car was rubbish,
but in a better car, he'll have the opportunity to shine more frequently.
And listen, maybe I also think he signed that long-term Alpine contract because I don't really
know where else he'd go. He's had his opportunity in Red Bull. Of course, anybody who's not maxing
that seat has been harshly treated, really. Do I see him being tapped up by McLaren or a Mercedes?
No, I don't. So an upper mid-table seat is probably the best he's going to hope for,
but listen, he's got a chance this season. Right, let's go on to the next question.
Thanks, Jordan. That's a good one. Lucy says, why didn't two bosses work at Audi
with Matteo Bernotto and Jonathan Weekley when McLaren has a similar and successful setup
with Zach Brown and Andrea Stella? Betty, do you have any thoughts on this?
It is a good question. It is a good question. I guess Zach Brown and Andrea Stella have their
roles laid out, whereas Bernotto was a team principal. So I don't know. It's a bit weird,
isn't it, when you look at it? You're exactly right in my view. Lucy,
if you look at the McLaren setup, it is actually very different, even though it looks similar
on the face of it. You've got a CEO in Zach Brown, who does a lot more of the media-focused stuff,
who makes more wider overarching decisions on staff recruitment. But in terms of running the
race team, and when you speak to Zach, he is so clear about this. When it is running that race
team on a race weekend, he leaves those decisions to his team principal, to Andrea Stella. So
exactly as Betty said, it is two different roles. The overall manager, the big boss at the top, and
the eye-run, the racing team man, and Zach backs his man to make those decisions. Where it got
a bit more murky at Audi was you had head of Formula One project and team principal. Now,
those roles are a little bit closer, and for a while it looked like they were working. Maybe
those roles were a little bit too similar. It's also not just roles, but it's people. Sometimes
people just work well with each other. One character type can work well with another.
Maybe Mateo and Jonathan, who might like and respect each other, maybe just have different
ways of working. So I think Betty summarised it perfectly. It's different roles, I think.
Ali says, will Derek be making any appearances at races? Please? That would be cool.
Listen, if a team wants to invite Derek, we'd definitely look at it. I feel like it might
be a lot for the little pup. But if, listen, if a Formula One team wants to invite Derek.
A bit overwhelming. Yeah. I tell you what I would say is maybe if we do an end-of-season
live show like we did last year, maybe there's an opportunity to bring Derek there. Perhaps do a
Derek meet and greet. That's possible. That's what I'd look at, Ali. Okay. Right, next one, Fiona.
Fiona says, hi team. I come armed with a question for your Q&A episode, if I'm not too late.
I'd love you to hop in a time machine for a moment. What is Formula One going to look like
by 2040? With a move towards hybrid engines, will it ever become fully electric? Is Formula
E going to get territorial? F1 drives so much innovation in the sector. I'm curious as to
whether fully electric is the future or if engines will continue to be hybrid. What's
Kimmy going to be driving in a decade and a half? I love the pod so much as a new-ish
fan of the sport keep up the great work. And that's Fiona. It's a really good question,
Betty. It's one I get asked a lot, actually. I mean, I don't have an answer for that. My
instinct is no, but what do you think? Formula One always reflects the way technology is going,
and turbo hybrid was a real focus. We discussed the rules on the last episode, Betty, and we were
very honest in the strengths and the weaknesses of the rules. But we were also balanced, and I
think there was a few people accusing us of reading from a pre-prepared script when I said, well,
I sort of get why they bought the rules in. And I do because at the time where the rules got
bought in, it's not me being a lap dog for the sport. It's me saying turbo hybrid engines was
where everybody was looking when these rules were designed. Now, the uptake us to electric cars
hasn't been as high as governments have hoped in the US and the UK. Infrastructure remains a problem.
There is already an established fully electric racing series in Formula E,
so I think combined with the real world factors and the sporting factors in that other series,
I don't see Formula One going down the oil electric route for decades, if ever at all.
It's starting to feel like the world is now more looking at fully sustainable fuels,
which Formula One is bringing in and using that rather than turbo hybrid, and it therefore
wouldn't surprise me if the next generation of car is slightly less battery dependent and more
fully green fuel dependent. So that's where I think we will potentially see the sport go
heading into the next decade and beyond. But the overall answer to the question is Formula One
always tries to reflect the real world. And in terms of 2040, it's at this point,
it's too difficult to say, and that's why we love the sport. It will continue to innovate,
it will continue to get better. But it's probably, I say, I think fully sustainable fuels and maybe
less battery power might be the next rule set, but in terms of 2040 and beyond, we'll have to
wait and see. 2040? Oh, guilt. We're going to be well old. Aren't we just? Might not even be here,
by then. Sarah says, is there a media bias against Liam Lawson? He's the most underrated
driver on the grid, Sarah. Sarah. I hear this a lot. No, I don't think there's a media bias
against Liam Lawson. There are a couple of drivers on the grid who do get their fans do like an
accusation of bias. I have said on the podcast before, I don't think nationality comes into
the discussion in media rooms in Formula One. Anyway, near as much as people watching from
the outside think it does. You look at talent, you look at skill. That said, I don't think it's a
media bias, but I think I think Liam, what I was going to say is considering he had the,
you know, he was so harshly treated at Red Bull, there's no way in a million years
he would have done worse than Yuki Senoda last season. Not in a million years. It was a ludicrous
decision. Absolutely ludicrous. There was a reason Yuki never got that seat in the first place,
and it sort of proved it realistically. Totally agree. He got treated terribly. Liam got treated
terribly, but he did a solid job when he got put back in that seat. He did a solid job stacked up
against Daniel Ricciardo and Yuki Senoda without blowing them out the water. He did a solid job,
and I think he's doing a very, very good job this season. And Ghazly Style, do I see Lawson
staying in F1 with an upper midfield team for many years to come? Yes, I do. Do I see him
knocking on the door of a top team? I need to see more from him to
believe he's capable of being, you know, demanding a seat as a very top team. I don't
think there's a bias. I do think he's been underrated this season.
Agreed. I agree with you. I think he is. I'm interested to see what he does the rest of the
season actually, whether he can build on this good start. Emily says, what has been your favourite
Formula One moment you've been able to witness in person? Going back to you go first. Hold on,
I need to think about it. You go first. Oh, I'll go first. I mean, I've only been to three. How
many Grand Prix have I been to? We've been to two. No. No, because you were only there on the first
season last season, so then there was the one you were in. You were doing the Euro season before,
so you've done three. I've done 2023 Silverstone. 2023 Silverstone was brilliant. I really liked
that. That was probably my favourite moment because we were in the McLaren garage,
watching Lando Norris's grandparents sort of go through that emotional turmoil. That was amazing.
I've been taking the lead. And for me, it's the year after which, Betty, unfortunately,
you missed because you were presented football in Australia. But watching Lewis take that win
in his final Silverstone for Mercedes, this sport doesn't make me cry very often. I think that's
one of two times the sport itself has ever made me cry, when Leicester won the Premier League,
and when – doesn't that feel a long time – and when Lewis won that.
Right. Yeah, what a moment. I've never been so sad to not be able to go to something, by the way.
I know. But you were doing amazing things, presenting live sport on the telly in Australia,
you know, such is life. Millie on Instagram asks,
what's your favourite non-casual fruit? An excellent question. Non-casual.
Yeah, so I think I would class that, you know, you're appled, your bananas are your casual fruit,
so I think we're talking left field fruit here. Oh, okay. Well, I've started putting
nectarine in my yogurt every morning. Nectarine is a lovely left field suggestion. Mine,
I thought you had to be over the age of 65 to have a nectarine.
No, but I must say they're not really in – it's not the best time of the year for them.
They're very hard. It's not actually very nice, but I'm pursuing it.
I didn't – is it nectarine not fundamentally in orange?
No, it's like a peach, isn't it? It's got a stone in the middle.
Oh, yes. My nan used to have nectarines. I didn't know anybody under the age of 65
had nectarines. I would go, I think, a criminally underrated fruit is a mango.
Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, solid. There's a lot of admin with them,
like a pineapple, but those mango parts you get, I do like an M&S mango part.
Yeah, I think mango. So, okay, mango and nectarine, we've nailed that.
Pomegranate seeds as well, solid.
Oh, good, very good, very good. I'm actually a very non-casual fruit eater.
I don't really tend to go for like a classic banana.
A classic casual fruit. No, I don't think I do.
Panos says, asking as a student, is it worth pursuing a career in journalism if I want a
stable job? How long do we have, Panos? No. No, Panos, it isn't.
Genuinely, I'm being in all seriousness, there are many advantages to a career in journalism.
If you want a stable job, it's the worst thing you could go into. No.
I wouldn't say it's that bad. The amount of redundancies, the amount of,
if you, a lot of people need to go freelance and the anxiety that brings with it.
Yeah, true. I love being a journalist. I would never go back on that, but it is,
if you want a stable job, I don't think journalism is for you.
However, it depends what you want from your life because it is exciting. You get to meet cool
people. You get to tell stories. You get to do cool things. No day is the same. I personally
could never do a Monday to Friday, nine to five. I've done it before. I really struggled.
So, I mean, swinging around abouts, isn't it? But in 15 years, I can, I, of working, I think
I've probably had two years where I felt like I'm in a solid stable job. And then, oh yeah.
And I ended up getting made redundant in that job eventually. So, I genuinely,
if you want a stable job, I don't think journalism is for you. And this, I think people have been
listening to this going, oh God, it sounds so negative. No, I love my job. I had no regrets
with my career at all, but it ain't stable. But then, I don't know what is stable nowadays,
without getting too dark. We're playing one again for it, do we guys? But come on, the world's,
the world is in a difficult place. We're sat here, we're sat here,
grinding people because of a war. What is stable? What is stable anymore? And finally,
JBuzz Media, dream guest for the podcast, Dead or Alive. I got asked this when I was interviewed
by someone else recently, and I'm going to stick with my answer, James Hunt. James Hunt was a
Formula One driver from years gone by, British champion, rock and roll lifestyle, known as was
in those days for being like a party guy and didn't conform to the rules. A proper legend of that
era of Formula One of the sort of 70s, 80s. James Hunt is an absolute legend. And I think we always
go for the personalities on this podcast, right? That's when we start with, we want the personalities.
James Hunt was that huge, massive personality that didn't play by the rules. And I just think he'd,
he'd have bought into the fast and the curious. He'd have been absolutely, he'd have loved having
a chat with us about all sorts of random stuff. So yeah, I'm, I'm, I'm going, I'm going James Hunt.
I would have just absolutely adored. He won the 1976 Formula One championship.
And yeah, and you didn't, you didn't actually make the eighties. He retired in 1979, but yeah,
a proper 70s icon of Formula One. James Hunt, everybody.
Mine's going to be pretty boring and nowhere near as interesting as that. But I'm going to say
Charlotte Clair because we've still not had a podcast Ferrari. Come on guys, I've given you a B plus.
Do you know what I mean? Come on, come on the podcast. We're going to keep trying. We're going to
keep trying. Great questions, gang. Fast, curious parts. Keep them coming in. We'll do that again
soon. I enjoyed that. And after the break, our tops of the season so far.
Woo, we're back. Right. Okay. Let's go on to the tops then. So starting off Alpine, fifth in the
constructors, 16 points. Gasly, best finish, sixth in China. Where are we ranking them?
Because we've said they've been very impressive. I think, remember what I said about McLaren?
If you win the championship, the expectations are higher. Well, if you've come bottom, the
expectations are lower. I said all throughout last season, this is a team with history and
Formula One. It's not the smallest team. You shouldn't be coming bottom. And they've rallied.
You know, they've answered my criticism. And this is the thing in Formula One. People like
Flavio Beattori are hugely competitive. They're not sat there hearing people like me be harsh on
them going, that's outrageous. They've said that. They're going, you're exactly right. We're nowhere
near where we need to be. They knew that. I don't think Flavio Beattori is listening to what you're
saying, pal. That was certainly not what I'm saying. But you know what I mean? More than noise
in general. They're not sat there listening to people slate them going, that's unfair. They're
going to give exactly right. And Flavio, listen, he's a controversial figure for so many reasons,
but he has got the team going in the right direction again. He has. You know, they've been
in freefall for years and he's turned them around. And actually to have had a sixth in China, which
as we keep saying on the pod better, you spoke to Pierre after that race. He wanted more from that.
He's been very good. They've been very good. 16 points. I believe, let me double check this.
I think they scored 22 in the entirety of last season. I'm going to double check. Just talk
among yourselves a minute. I'll just check that point. I'm pretty sure. So Alpine have scored
in their first three Grand Prix of a season for the first time, which is 22 points last season
all year. They've got 16 already. And as you say, Pierre's finished in points in every race,
10th, 6th and 7th. Franco got his first point. So the team loads better, much more drivable car,
big step forward. Brilliant. Well done Alpine. Even Max Verstappen in Japan said that car is fast.
Talking about Alpine. They're looking good. They've delivered the goods. Pierre Gasly
doing really well. Franco Cullopinto. I still need more from him. The thing, right, okay. So
I just want to really say to Pierre, as we've already discussed, so much better, really leading
that team, showing he's a team leader. Brilliant start. If he has a full season like he's started,
he's going to have an excellent season. And I think could end up on the podium.
Brilliant season. Franco has definitely looked better. And remember China was saying, okay,
great, but then Japan wasn't as good. The next two or three Grand Prix, I think are really crucial
for Franco Cullopinto because Pierre's proving you can score points in that car and not just
scrape 10th places, get good points. So if you're, you know, when Pierre's coming sixth and you're
only coming 10th, when Pierre's coming seventh and you're only coming 16th, granted the lot went
on in that race, that brings pressure to a teammate. And there are other options out there.
You know, there's plenty of other options. So I think Alpine will be putting pressure on Franco.
I think he needs to up his game a little bit. I think that's in terms of their overall grading.
I'm expecting a bit more from Franco still, even though it has been better than last season.
Pierre's done very well. The team's done very well. All very impressive.
Right. Okay. We gave Ferrari B plus. So it's at least B plus, isn't it?
It is at least B plus. The reason why I wouldn't want to go up to, I've got a team in my head,
and I'm sure everyone can work it out, that will be graded higher than Alpine.
So I wouldn't... Do you know what? If Franco was up there scoring, you know, if Franco was in seventh
when Pierre was in sixth, if Franco would score three points, three points finishes, I'd be saying,
no, we're going to give him an A minus, but they're not. So I think it's a B plus.
I agree. And also, moving on to Haas, I think they score higher than Alpine.
Fourth in constructors. I agree. 18 points. Oli Berman's best finish was fifth.
That was in China. It's just looked so reliable. Oli Berman's looked really good.
Okay. A few things here. Let me just talk about the team. If we talk about those teams with few
resources like Williams, well, Haas are in that camp, and look what they have done.
Ever since Iocamatsu took over that team, they have squeezed out every last drop of performance.
They are running an effective, small, brilliantly run Formula One team. I'm so impressed with them.
And Oli, as you say, has been sensational. He has looked so good this season. He didn't have
a good weekend in Japan. He obviously crashed out in very unfortunate circumstances. I'm not blaming
him for the crash, but overall, across the weekend, it was a tricky weekend for him.
But we're not taking away from the fact he's been absolutely outstanding in the first two
Grand Prixs. Well, he's got 17 of the 18 points that are on the board for Haas.
I think so. I mean, it just says it all, doesn't it? But Haas, so I think they've got the smallest
number of personnel, haven't they, in the team? It was definitely one of the smallest.
Yeah, I was certainly one of, but off the top of my head, I think you're right. Yes.
So when you sort of take that into account, they're doing so well. Fourth in the constructors.
I just think Oli Berman, the way he's been able to adapt to these regulations,
he's taken it so well. He looks so good. Esteban Okun has struggled to match that,
hasn't he? Let's be honest. Yeah, he has. And another one again, remember the mushroom analogy
from part one, the Mario Kart mushroom or the Mario. Actually, if we're being technical on
Nintendo, the growth for the mushroom would more be a sort of super intent. It would sort of be
Mario 64 sort of territory here, a 3D platformer. But yes, Mario mushroom, Oli's done that. He looks
brilliant so far this season. Esteban, he had a much better weekend in Japan, much better weekend.
I was a bit nervous about his first two, but let's hope he carries that on in Miami.
If Esteban had been up there all week, for all three of them, and Oli had been up there for
two out of the three, I'd maybe give him an A. But I'm going, I would go A minus. I'm so impressed
with Hass. Agreed. Yeah, well done Hass. Agreed. Really, really brilliant. And keep it up because
could, you know, we talked about best of the rest, which was Williams last year. Could they even
be in the market for fourth in the constructors? Long season. I'm getting excited. But this is
another team that I think, I wouldn't be surprised to see it was certainly Oli on the podium this
year. I think they have managed to capitalise on other teams not doing as well, haven't they?
But yes, potentially. And when people catch up, yes, that's a very, very good point,
particularly with, you know, the didn't starts from McLaren and all that. Yeah,
it's a really good point. I'm probably getting excited. But listen, yeah, that best of the
rest is a fight between Hass and Alpine at the moment in terms of the fifth place in the constructors
if we assume that Red Bull will march forward. So yeah, well done. Well done, Hass. Okay, Alpine
B plus has a minus. We've given an A out everybody. And that takes us nicely on to Mercedes first
in the constructors 135 points, five podiums, three wins. Kimmy Antonelli, the youngest ever
driver to lead a Formula One World Championship at 19 years old. He was born in 2006. Makes me
feel sick. You've already written a plus. We haven't even discussed it. I've just I've
I was just about to say this. I've just whacked in the running order a plus. It's got to be,
hasn't it? Like it's just they've got the best engine. They've got the best chassis.
They've won all three races. They're proving as well. Because we've said, you know,
George looks good. We've said all George looks ready to win a title. And then Kimmy's come on
and said, Well, actually, I'm in this title fight as well. So they're doing it with two cars. It's
you know, even when something's gone wrong, they've had the other driver come forward
and take the win with George only being able to get forth. I mean, yeah, if I'm being super harsh,
you could knock them down from an A to an A, an A plus to an A for not getting on the podium in
Japan with George, but I'm not going to be that harsh. I think they've just been outstanding.
You know, they're dominant. You couldn't ask for much more from them. They've come into this
rule set and bossed it both aerodynamically and engine wise. The drivers are performing at the
top of the game. What? Toto seems like he's out. I'm enjoying seeing Toto enjoy himself.
Yeah, it's nice to watch, isn't it? The little look to the camera when one of them got
Paul, I can't remember which it was. That was in China, Kimmy. Office style.
Yes, so good. We're so good. I'm just, yeah, there's so little you can say that we've not
already said they've done an outstanding job and they are overwhelming favorites for the title,
but which one will it be? Could be a lot of fun. And also, I think the fact that
Kimmy's winning in China had a lot of caveats around it, didn't it? But then Japan,
he just backed it up. So you can't have too many question marks around Kimmy. The only thing I
would say is, are Mercedes running up their full potential? Do you think there's still
more to come and therefore should we grade them slightly? This is the popular thing that, oh,
I don't think so personally. I'd be really surprised if they are. I just think that's
more difficult to do in practical terms than than people make out. I don't think so. I think
they're showing their pace. I think there are times this season where they'd have probably
gone further ahead if they'd have done that. So no, I don't think so. I think what we're
seeing from them is what they are. I think it's an A plus. Okay. Should we do A star?
What's the difference? I don't think there is. I think A star and A plus is the same personally.
Yeah, fine. So you agree. You don't want to knock them down. I think for me,
the only thing is whether we'd knock them down to an A, but unless you were going to get fussy
with the George podium, it's got to be, isn't it? Yeah, probably. Should they be doing better,
given what they've got in comparison to everybody else and by better the George podium situation
in Japan? Oh, come on. I think you've been very, very harsh. I'm very, very harsh. I'm only trying
to give us room for improvement. They've won all three races. Yeah, fine. Yeah, you're right. You're
mad that Kimmy's achieved back-to-back Grand Prix before George. Unbelievable. I hadn't thought of
that. Yeah. Well, this has been fun. I've enjoyed this. So yeah, Mercedes leading the way. I hope
everyone else has enjoyed it. I've had a really nice time doing this. It's been fun doing the
questions. Yeah, run us through what we're finishing with then. Aston Martin, F, Williams, D-minus,
Red Bull, D, McLaren, C-minus, Cadillac, C, Audi, B-minus, Ferrari B-plus, Racing Bulls, B, Alpine
B-plus, Haas A-minus, Mercedes A-plus. I'm happy with that. I'm happy with that. The only thing that
I'm like, oh, is Ferrari, but... Okay, well, listen. Let us know what you think at Fast Curious Pod.
Let us know what you think of our grades. What do you agree with? What do you disagree with? Let
us know what you think of our grading system and we'll do some more of those and we'll read some
of those messages out as to what you thought of our grades next time. Yeah, and also it keeps us
entertained during this period, you know what I mean? Yeah, that's it. I'll read it all, guys.
Yeah, I mean, I wouldn't say I'm that close to them anymore. Some of them are quite brutal, but, you
know... I like it. It keeps you grounded. We've had some good... Some of the ones you
had after being on F1 TV. Oh, God. And then I had... Betty's now being a global superstar
while Christian remains a Teamu Will Buxton. It's like, yeah, cheers. Thanks.
I mean, they're not wrong. That's the thing. They're not wrong. Oh, my God. Yeah, okay. That is very
fun. Yeah, it's good, innit? That was a YouTube one. Thanks, guys. And since then, I've just
sort of thought, you know what? I'll just... I'll read fewer of the comments, actually.
10 out of 10 for creativity, though. I can't argue it. That's the thing. Oh, God. Right. On that note.
On that note, we'll be back next week. Yeah, followers, subscribe at Fast Curious Pods,
and me and Betty will return very soon with another edition of The Fast and the Curious.
Bye for now. Bye, guys.
About this episode
Betty Glover and Christian Hugel hand out “spring break” report-card grades for every F1 team so far, then blitz through listener questions. Aston Martin earns an F after a disastrous Honda-powered start; Williams lands D-minus for weight/handling woes; Red Bull is graded D despite strong driver efforts, with Max Verstappen struggling to tame the car. McLaren gets C-minus, while Cadillac and Audi are safe mid-pack (C and B-minus). Tops go to Mercedes A-plus, with Haas A-minus and Alpine B-plus. Q&A covers underrated drivers, Audi’s leadership setup, F1’s 2040 tech outlook, and dream guests.
Original notes
Betty and Christian grade every team's start to the season with a little help from new favourite feature, the Drag Race style decision-making. Who will get a coveted A and be one of the tops? Who is in the bottoms? Has anybody failed? They also get stuck in with plenty of your listener questions, some F1 related, others, not so much…
Do you think their grades are right? What would you grade the teams so far this season? Let us know in the comments!
Make sure you follow us on all the socials and hit subscribe right here because we are covering the 2026 season from lights out to chequered flag!
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