Our 2026 Australian GP predictions
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Concept
Drive to Survive
Drive to Survive is a TV show that shows what happens in Formula 1 racing, including the drivers and teams, so you can learn more about the sport.
Concept
Race week
Race week is the time when the cars and drivers get ready and then compete in a race.
Concept
Formula One
Formula One is a top-level car racing competition where the fastest cars race on tracks around the world to see who is the best driver and team.
Term
regulation sets
Regulation sets are the rules that decide how the race cars have to be made and what they can and cannot do during races.
Term
pecking order
Pecking order means who is winning and who is behind in the race or championship standings.
Concept
F1
F1 is a type of car race where the fastest and most advanced cars compete on tracks all over the world. It's like the top level of car racing.
Concept
F1 Fantasy League
An F1 Fantasy League is like a game where you pick your favorite Formula 1 drivers and get points when they do well in races. It makes watching races more fun because you can compete with friends.
Brand
Ferrari
Ferrari is a car company from Italy that makes very fast and fancy sports cars. They also race these cars in big competitions like Formula 1.
Brand
Red Bull
Red Bull Racing is a team that races cars in Formula 1, which is a very fast and famous car race. The team is owned by the Red Bull energy drink company.
Brand
Mercedes
Mercedes is a famous car company from Germany that makes luxury cars and also races in big competitions like Formula 1.
Term
overtake
To overtake means one car goes past another car during a race to move ahead. It's like passing someone on the road but in a race.
Concept
Formula 1
Formula 1 is a type of car racing where the fastest and most advanced cars race on tracks all over the world to see who is the best driver and team.
Term
podium
Getting on the podium means finishing a race in first, second, or third place, which is a big achievement in racing.
Concept
Australian Grand Prix curse
It's a saying that Australian Formula 1 drivers usually don't do well when racing in Australia, which is their home race. People hope this will change soon.
Concept
F1 fantasy team
It's like a game where you pick your favorite Formula 1 drivers and teams, and you get points when they do well in races.
Concept
sandbagging
Sandbagging means a racing team is pretending to be slower than they really are during practice so other teams don't know how fast they can go.
Car
Dodge Charger
The Dodge Charger from 1973 is an old, strong car that was built to be fast and look cool. People really like it because it’s a classic car from a time when cars were made to be powerful. If you find one that’s been kept safe and dry, it might still be in good shape even though it’s very old.
Brand
Pierre Gasly
Pierre Gasly is a driver who races in Formula 1, which is a top-level car racing competition.
Concept
loopholes
Loopholes are like finding clever tricks in the rules that let a team do something others can't, helping them go faster or win more.
Brand
Cadillac
Cadillac is a company from America that makes nice and comfortable cars, often with lots of features.
Brand
Aston Martin
Aston Martin is a company that makes fancy and fast cars from Britain, often seen in spy movies.
Concept
mechanical failures
Mechanical failures happen when parts of the car stop working properly, which can make the car crash or stop racing.
Car
McLaren P1
The McLaren P1 is a very fast and special car that uses both a gas engine and an electric motor to go really fast. It's made in small numbers and is very unique.
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Hello everybody and welcome back. No come back today, a big back. A back
to the people on podcast with Matt and Tommy. Oh yeah, the season has arrived. How?
Feels like four days ago that Abby Dabby happened and I have a big old smile on my face.
One of my favorite series is back, us throwing predictions into the atmosphere and hoping they
come in and what a hopefully incredible season we have on in the midst, very close. Only what?
As of recording, we're recording this to be fair at the start of the week.
So we've got a little few more days. But Tommy, how would you summarize the thoughts and feelings
of drive to survive sensation, Tom Bellingham? I'm so hyped for this new season.
There's so much expectation going in. There's been a lot of negativity about the new rules,
but going into a new season where it's so unexpected, I just can't help but be
absolutely loving life and can't wait for it, predictions even more fun when you have no
idea what's going on. So there could be some pretty wild ones I think in this coming up.
Exactly. And for the first time this year, we can officially say it's race week.
Oh my Lord. The sound of that just feels incredible. So yeah, I'm also
insanely excited that we have, as you say, been critical. We've been critical. We've been concerned
about the upcoming season for quite a few very viable reasons. Massive changes in the sport
and we're hoping that Formula One does it justice. But that being said, the unknown,
the unpredictability is what gets us up in the morning and it's what excites us about new
regulation sets. Then we see the pecking order and then we'll revisit the excitement.
But right now, 22 drivers are on equal points and that's all we can ask for.
Alex Albon is leading the championship right now. Alonzo is the highest he'll ever be in
the championship based on that Aston Martin. I know. We'll take it.
Well, you never know. Let's see who we go for good surprise shortly. So of course I did touch upon
the fact that you are a drive to survive sensation. We did kind of touch upon it a little bit
in the review that we did. Go and check that out if you haven't and you have seen the series.
Because I realised we did post it obviously before anyone had seen it.
More specifically, Tommy, you were impressioned by none other than Connor Moore,
the absolute goat F1 impressionist. When I tell you, I screamed. I actually howled when I saw
you in your little setup. I'd done your hair and the shake of the head, everything was just,
you could tell that man had analysed your character to the absolute T and I loved it.
Yeah, I was going to say, Connor clearly knows you better than my whole family,
the amount he's researched into everything. I'm glad I watched it and didn't pick up on anything
where I'm like, Oh God, do I do that? Thankfully, it was just a little fun thing where I got the
head shake and in my room with the glasses on, it was perfect. So if you haven't seen that,
go check out Connor Moore's video because that was more of a shock than the drive to survive thing
because I did not see that coming at all. It's so funny and the amount of people Connor messaged me
before, the amount of people. I think it caught everyone off guard. I think that's what it was.
It really did. He's under so much pressure. I love how he did your voice. It's so brilliant
and now the most concerning part is that he has said there is one of me in the works.
Oh, I can't wait for that. I am sort of equal parts excited and terrified for
because as you say, you watch someone do an impression of you and you're like,
wait, hold on. Is that what I do? Do I do that? Do I do that? Oh my goodness gracious.
And now another thing just before we dive into all of our predictions.
Make sure you join our F1 Fantasy League. I'm not sure if we mentioned it on the actual podcast,
but if we have it, we have whatever doesn't matter. We've got a league on the proper
F1.com Fantasy League website and we are one of a few featured leagues and we are the biggest.
Let's make sure we continue to be the biggest. F1 Nation is beating us, but look, that's cheating.
They've got the front and centre bit of promo there. We're a little bit further down,
but we've still got over 20,000 of you joining with a team. Of course, it's free to join,
so come and join us. I have been asking for the graphic to be slightly moved, but it still hasn't.
It just says, can you beat? And then me and Tommy's smiling face. It's supposed to say,
can you beat Matt and Tommy? And that's the question. Can you beat Matt and Tommy?
Go and join our league and we're doing a lot more with F1 Fantasy stuff this year,
which I'm very, very excited about. It's going to be good. The competition is going to be
strong because we all know from predictions how competitive you are. So I feel like something
needs to be put on the line. I feel like something between you and I needs to think about like a
forfeit for the end of the year. There's something that people can get invested in.
So we'll have a think about that. Actually, let us know in the comments,
you know, either on audio or YouTube. Let us know what you think a good forfeit would be
for the person that does not win out of me or Tommy. Okay, it is time to talk predictions.
It is nil nil. The reigning champion goes first. Oh, wow. You've got the number one on your t-shirt.
On my beanie hat. I actually do. You do actually do. Yeah. Perfect. All right. Here we go then.
My good surprise. My first prediction of the 2026 season goes to
Charlotte Clair. God's say we're so back. My good surprise is Charlotte Clair for many reasons.
And I think this is a logical one, genuinely, because as much as there has been, you know,
simmering hope and delusion for Ferrari, every single actual major motorsport platform has
put Ferrari third or slower. Second, I'd say. No. What are you looking at?
Autosport. They've all said Ferrari's third. They said Mercedes is fastest and then Red Bull.
I've not seen Red Bull. I've seen Red Bull fourth everywhere.
Okay. Well, look, whatever. You've been looking at soy motor, haven't you, again?
But yeah, there you go. That's paid promoters. Yeah, either or, Ferrari are not the fastest car.
No. However, I think that there's something on the horizon that might well just explode my
heart by the end of the year. And that is a really strong Ferrari start. And that concerns
me and excites me equally. If Ferrari have, look, there's kind of two parts to this, because
I'm excited about the fact that they may well have a reasonably fast car and an incredibly fast
starting car. And then I'm also concerned, but it will benefit Ferrari if no one can overtake.
So say Charles Leclerc goes from third to first at the start and then holds on to win.
I'm obviously going to be buzzing, but for the future of Formula One, we could well be very
concerned and be having a 40-minute rant on the main race podcast. But either or,
Charles Leclerc is locked in as my good surprise. I think it's actually worse that you're so hyped
now that you've almost got, because of the start thing, you've got a backup of you're not even
going to be upset if they are third or fourth in the race. If they lose a place at the start,
we're seeing a generational meltdown on the watch along. Yeah, I will disintegrate. If we have
somehow managed to have bad starts between the far-right testing, oh my God, Tommy, why have
you even that thought? You have to even thought about that. No, no, no, they just stay in the
same position. Because they're so generationally far ahead at the moment with starts, only Ferrari
could go backwards from here. Okay, so good surprise, my good surprise. I've gone for
Franco Colopinto. He is, of course, the driver that scored no points last year. I think he's
been memed as maybe the worst driver in F1 and a bit of almost like a Latifi character,
which I think is unfair. The Alpine was awful last season. And I think in theory, if the Alpine is
better this year and is more competitive, which I believe so, and many people believe so, we'll
see a side of Colopinto where, you know, he's a lot more competitive and can deliver like we saw
at the very start of his William stint. So that's what I've gone for for Colopinto. I think I know
it was a bold call when I put him 11th in the championship standings. A lot of people in the
comments were like, whoa, what on earth are you talking about? And a lot of people when we did
our who's going to be last, we're still like, oh, Colopinto be last, but I'm going for a Colopinto
surprise. Colopinto is not going to be last in the championship. I'd be amazed, surely not.
All right, let's head to a big flop. Tommy, who's receiving your flop, the first flop that
I've ever seen. Unfortunately, my big flop is Oscar Piestri. And this is not for his ability,
but due to something which many people will be aware of, called the Australian Grand Prix curse.
And I have seen everything go wrong for Australian drivers. Every time I watch the Australian Grand Prix,
you had Mark Webber somehow never scoring a podium, despite driving the championship winning
Red Bull for four years in a row. Daniel Ricciardo got disqualified, and he never managed a podium
in that Red Bull the whole time. And then Oscar Piestri last year, you think, oh, surely he's going
to be on the podium, he's driving the best car on the grid, he was hunting down Lando for the win,
and he goes off. And I just think that I hope this is me breaking that curse. And we can see
Oscar Piestri on the podium in his home Grand Prix, because it'd be amazing to see.
But they just don't have a good time, Australian drivers at the Australian Grand Prix. So it's
just based on a vibe and a curse. That's why I've gone for Oscar Piestri. That's wrong.
Yeah. And if it is wrong, that's what the headlines will be, is that Netflix star
Tom Bellingham managed to break the Australian Grand Prix curse by putting Oscar Piestri as big
flop. Well, as Conor Moore once said, there's so much pressure on him.
That's a great impression of yourself. I'll be right. Oh, thanks for working on it.
My big flop goes to... It's a team. I'm starting with the team straight away, Haas.
One of the main reasons for this, right, is that whenever I've done
an F1 fantasy team before, it's usually pretty badly. And I have gone all in on them.
You picked everything, didn't you? You picked both.
So yeah, I picked them as my constructor and both the drivers because they were cheap.
But I just feel as though... I never load up my team and go, wow, I've scored loads of points.
So that's my main thinking here, is that it's probably going to happen because Haas,
maybe sixth fastest car, perhaps even fifth fastest car.
But Haas have had their own, let's say, bits of luck in Australia themselves,
wheels falling off and so forth. So maybe there's a Haas curse as well.
I don't know. They're absolute full rundown of results in Australia.
Well, last year, they were like an F2 car for some reason. They were just nowhere,
weren't they? And they're being laughed at and stuff.
Makes sense to me. It's a Haas. I'm really sorry.
Right. Now we get into the juicy stuff. Pole position.
And remember, everybody, if you are new to predictions, we probably should have said
the terms and conditions are that you can't go for the same driver.
So if I lock in a driver first, Tommy has to change on the fly.
And I feel like you might have to change on the fly.
Oh, no. My pole position is George Russell.
George Russell's getting pole position by half a second.
Oh, no.
The entire Formula One community melts. That's my thought.
Of course, Charlotte Clair will take the lead from seventh on the grid.
But George Russell pole position as Tommy's brain starts wearing because he wanted to
go for George and hoped that I may have just gone for Charlotte Clair,
coping the entire way through.
Wow.
Okay. So yes, no surprise I had gone for George Russell.
You won't be surprised based on the fact that I've been on the
Russell is winning it all from day one, really, since this new regulation set came in.
But we will find out. So I instead will go for
Oscar Piaz Tri. Let's go Oscar Piaz Tri.
And look, we're not, big flop happens in the race.
So I'm going Oscar Piaz Tri.
I do think McCombe will be competitive. I think they are being
slept on. I've heard as well that they weren't running the real Mercedes engine during testing
either, which could be significant, although there's talks of how reliable that is, of course.
Ferrari didn't run their barbecue wing. So, you know, rather than the testing.
Barbecue wing.
That's, you know, no one said they're the Macarena wing.
I'll go for the Piaz Tri. I think, yeah, I was, I'm going to go for Antonelli,
but we'll go for Oscar Piaz Tri.
I'm surprised because I was about to try and mouth you saying Kimmy Antonelli for Oscar Piaz Tri,
which was a curveball. The first curveball of the year, it has to be said in predictions.
So I thought you regretting that one.
Who is going to finish in P3 in the Grand Prix, Tommy?
I have gone for, that drive we just mentioned, Kimmy Antonelli, a podium for the first race
of the season for Antonelli. I think he will, I think it's a difficult track for someone that's
still quite inexperienced, but I do think he's going to do well this season, as I mentioned.
And I've got Kimmy Antonelli on the podium in what, no surprise from my pole position
prediction that got taken away from me, a very quick Mercedes that I believe.
In third position, my driver is Max Verstappen. Let's not sleep on the guy. Come on, you know,
Red Bull, Max Verstappen. P3 will be all right, yeah, but...
Can't not say P3, yeah.
I actually had it in my brain. I was like, oh, I forgot to say P3, yeah.
And then instead of put P3, then some more words, then said, yeah.
So people that don't know the meme, that probably sounded very strange.
But Max Verstappen, third place, I think he's going to be fast enough to be challenging for
podiums. So I found this very hard, incredibly hard, especially because we don't know the form
book. This is probably the hardest predictions to do the entire year, because we've not seen
any competitive running. But I'm going to put Max Verstappen, I feel very comfortable about that.
Second position, just missing out on the win is George Russell.
George Russell is going to finish in second place.
I could have gone for a very easy George Poland and win, but I'm not going to be boring,
even though we've not even seen it before.
Boring guy just never won the world title. And we're like, it's so boring to think.
George Russell is Max Verstappen this year. It could well be.
It's mad, isn't it? How?
It's mad, yeah, it's mad to think.
In our heads, though. It's weird, it's in our heads that it's happening.
But I'm not rolling fully with the Merck hype train, and he's going to finish in second place.
I have no other reasoning or logic other than the fact that I don't want to put him first for
this one. So there you go, P2. P2, I have gone for Landon Orris, a driver that has not been
mentioned this whole time as the reigning world champion. And as I've kind of said with Oscar
Piastri, I do think McLaren are slightly under-hyped going into the season.
And I think they're going to be very strong. I think Landon in particular
not really had a lot of chatter about him. And yeah, I think he's going to start the season strong.
Can't what? A vibrant selection of drivers we've had so far.
I like it.
Who have you got down as the winner of the Australian Grand Prix, Tommy?
P1. I've gone for George Russell.
What a shocker. I'm sticking with it.
Boring.
Why? It's so funny. If Mercedes aren't good, what on earth has just happened?
I know.
Yeah, gone for Russell. Until we see that first race, I cannot see the flashbacks of
pure 2014 scariness. I don't think they're going to be that strong, famous last words.
But I do think that Mercedes have been sandbagging like crazy and left a lot on the table
in testing. And that's why I've gone for George Russell.
Okay. Scary times. In first position.
Charlotte Clair.
It's happening. The scenario that I put out to you is happening. Formula one could well be
in serious trouble. Nobody can overtake, but as long as Charlotte Clair can launch off the grid
to take P1 by turn one, that's it. Good luck. It's a motorway from there on in, but no motorway passes
just following. And I will be tuning into that. Oh, what a great Grand Prix that will be.
But look, Charlotte Clair, do I actually genuinely believe that this could happen? There is about
27% of my brain thinks that this could actually happen. And that's enough for me to believe in
the dream. And I've been here before. 2022 is exactly what happened here with Charlotte Clair
dominating Australia. And then it went terrible from there on in.
I think he's going to be quicker now. He's a married man.
Sorry to bring that up.
Well, thanks for bringing that up. Didn't want to bring that. Talk about it really in the podcast.
But congratulations, of course, to the wonderfully happy couple. But I can always say that he called
me babe. So that will be something that lives with me until I perish.
My favorite meme from his marriage was someone had, you know, where he was driving through
Monaco in that classic Ferrari. Someone had photoshopped the HP logos onto the side.
Of course they had it.
I was like, that is good. That is good.
That's very good. Yeah. But yeah, I'm going to go for Charlotte Clair now because if I,
this is the only time I can probably do it until we see the true form of the Mercedes.
So why not? Let's throw it in there.
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Well, one crazy prediction.
We have a new segment in the predictions and it's called P-WAT.
Essentially P-WAT is going to be where we select a random finishing position between
4th and 22nd.
And we both have to guess who will finish there.
It'll be one point for who is closest and two points if we get it absolutely bang on.
Tommy, are you going to be doing the round selection?
Yeah.
So for context as well, I'm randomly generating the number right now.
So this is even more fun because we have to predict it completely on the fly.
With no time to think about it for too long.
So I'm going to generate the number now.
So 4 and 22.
Here we go.
It's P-9.
Pierre Gasly.
I've locked it in straight away.
There you go.
Pierre Gasly, P-9.
Thank you very much.
The reason for that is that I believe Pierre Gasly.
I'm literally just like P-9.
Who did I go for P-9 in the World Championship?
Ah, Pierre Gasly.
So yes, look, that was quick.
It was quick fire, but it was actually, it's not like who can say it first.
It was my turn.
Yeah, it was your turn.
So I've got for Pierre Gasly, which I'm reasonably confident about.
But at the same time, Australia could well see mechanical failures
and drivers that are ninth fastest could end up finishing seventh or sixth,
or we could see wings flying around and all sorts.
So yeah, let's just stick.
We're just going to stick with it.
Pierre Gasly.
I will go for...
Hmm, I'm going to go for Ollie Berman.
So another driver as well.
I just wanted to say, before you go into your reason for Ollie Berman,
you could, because obviously it's one point for who's closest.
And if it's a P-9, you could go for someone in the top eight teams
that you think's going to be towards the bottom,
rather than a midfielder that would have to have a blinder to get the closest...
Oh, the loopholes are already coming out here.
Do you love how I just already loopholes?
Yeah, sorry, carry on.
Ollie Berman.
Ollie Berman.
Again, it's one of those teams that you think are going to be on the fringes of the points.
And yeah, I think based on testing, we don't know.
But obviously Alpine and Hass are looking like those kind of teams
that could be best for the rest.
But I do...
What was difficult is a P-9 is a difficult one,
because I do think there could be the odd retirement as well
with these new regulations.
Although we said that about testing,
they're more breaking down and they're a bit more reliable than we thought.
Absolutely.
Okay.
And clearly Bro didn't check who I went for big flop.
Because I thought that was something you always used to avoid.
But of course, let's see if the big flop powers are in full flow in 2026.
I've run my own race.
As well.
You are until you realise the big flop's straight.
And we're cooking with that one.
Right, one crazy prediction, Tommy.
This one is crazy.
I'm going big for the first one.
It's either Aston Martin or Cadillac score a point.
This will be so much funnier once you've heard mine as well.
Oh, okay.
But go into your region.
So the reason for it is because I am an old Formula One fan
and have watched Formula One for years.
And every time there's a new regulation set,
particularly when the season starts in Australia,
I think about those races like 2008 and 2009 and things where people were just crashing
and there were mechanical failures all the time and just absolute chaos.
And weird things can happen.
And this obviously would rely based on the pace of it being
a lot of cars having mechanical trouble and problems or whatever.
So I wanted to go for something absolutely crazy to start the season.
So this is what I went for.
You did.
I just went to check the weather.
No rain currently predicted for the weekend.
So there's not that element that you can rely on.
Okay, interesting.
Now, my one crazy prediction is that Aston Martin...
Does that look like we've both gone for the same thing?
Oh, no.
Aston Martin do not start the Australian Grand Prix.
So a classified DNS.
They don't start.
They don't even put their cars on the grid maybe.
Let's not wait.
Let's not put the T's and C's.
Oh, it's got to be a DNS thing if they didn't start.
I think that this is a genuine possibility if their struggles are as big as we continue to
believe they are.
They could well run on Friday, conk out on Friday, do a bit of quality before seconds
off the pace and then go, is it worth?
Should we really...
Lawrence Stroll goes, actually Lance, we're playing tennis.
Off you go.
Could well be.
We've had enough.
But of course, this is crazy because I think Aston Martin need data more than anything in the world.
But at the same time, it's too soon after testing, I think, to really turn things around.
But that's just my opinion.
So if they score, one of us is going to look really silly.
I love it.
We're always...
Our biggest problem with these predictions is we always go for the same thing.
And one of us has gone, Aston Martin kept pointing at the other's gun.
They're not even turning up, mate.
Which is crazy, but we love to see it.
It definitely fits the prediction.
Right, let's get into our Patreon prediction.
Now, if you're new to this series, it's where if you join the P1 Patreon, you'll get lots of
added benefits, including ad-free listening, access to our Discord and so on and so forth.
And one of the things is that you can input, let us know, a prediction of your own coming
into a Grand Prix weekend.
And then we select one of you to potentially score us a point and to help us on our way.
Who I have gone for is RnB Sheep.
Three different constructors on the podium.
Well, I've gone for because it matches exactly the podium that I went for with Ferrari Red
Born Mercedes.
So I thought I would lock in, double down on the fact that we're in for an exciting,
interesting season.
And I look forward to scoring no points when it's a Mercedes 1-2.
I nearly went for that one.
Did you?
I was very close going for that one.
Even though it didn't match my, yeah.
But I am continuing on the hedging of bets and gone for Ashes BS prediction.
And I've gone for Linblad points on debut.
So Linblad scoring points, Oli Berman scoring points,
Colopinto scoring points, according to my predictions.
Aston Martin, Cadillac points for everyone.
Apart from the top four points.
Winfrey Meme, where she's like, you get a point.
You get a point.
Yeah, that's me right now.
All right.
Oscar Piazza is flopping, but also getting pole.
Really?
It's all over the place.
Can you tell it's the first race of the season and we don't have a clue?
Now, this is what you're doing.
It's a very interesting strategy from you, Tommy, the one that says he's not competitive,
to spread your predictions so far and wide that you think,
if you come out of Australia with two points or something,
you're going to be vibing.
Whereas I have gone for either eight or zero.
That's my strategy.
And maybe yours was better.
But either or it doesn't matter.
Now, we are bringing back a fan favourite, the family top three.
Can't remember who won last year.
It says the boring Bellingham's higher landslide.
But this year is different.
Maybe we will see.
Right.
I'm feeling my father who was concerned that I was fielding him
because he says I have no idea.
Oh, I love that.
So, let's see.
I said that's the beauty of it, right?
Yeah, yeah.
That was the absolute beauty.
Here we go.
Come on, Dad.
Do something decent.
To be honest, I don't mind if you were completely different to me.
Sorry, completely different to you.
No.
Hello, Dad.
You weren't supposed to hear that, but anyway.
Welcome to the new season.
How are you feeling about predicting?
Oh, it's so tricky.
Yeah, I thought so.
It could do this to me last year.
Probably.
But this year is different and more difficult.
So, good luck.
Right.
OK, Dad.
Third position please for the Australian Grand Prix.
Right, I'm going for Charles and Bird.
Who's Charles?
Charles and Bird.
OK, Charles Leclerc and P3.
All right, all right, all right.
That's fine.
Dad is crazy.
That's what I call Tommy.
In P2.
God, Lando.
Lando P2.
OK, OK.
And in P1.
Max for Stefan.
Oh, wow.
Yeah, you've got full Max in.
OK.
So, you think they've been sandbagging a bit and testing,
huh?
I think so, yeah.
You can never doubt Max for Stefan.
All right.
Thank you so much, Dad.
I appreciate it.
Lots of love.
Thanks for that, Matty.
Take care.
Bye.
OK, so my mum and dad are on holiday,
so I'm going to have to call my wife Katie.
And much like your dad for saying, oh, no,
hers was an oh, no, because she had to do it,
not because of that, but also because of the new rules as well.
So this could be interesting.
I'm liking the difference, so between them all,
hoping for some rogue predictions.
We know how much Katie loves doing this as well.
I know, exactly.
Hello.
Hello, are you OK?
You excited to be here?
At least pretend.
I can't believe you're making me do the first one of the season.
I know.
But you've got a free pass, so it's fine.
So we'll go for P3 first.
I'm Kimmy.
Oh, Antonelli, OK.
P2.
Char.
OK, I'm P1.
I'm George, obviously.
George, obviously.
Oh, obviously.
Wow, you can tell he's on the George Russell.
We've been brainwashed.
We have been brainwashed by 2014.
All right, thank you.
OK, bye.
Bye.
OK, so she's gone.
She's gone for...
Transactional thank you from there.
No love you, no anything.
That's crazy.
Well, she's in the next room, I'll tell her I love her in a sec.
I literally did rather grab the phone, so it's fine.
So first, she's gone for first and third, the same as me,
so this whole spreading my eggs has not worked.
It's the Tom Bellingham household.
It's just, you know, you clearly got a little George Russell
shrine out, maybe Mercedes shrine, and then Charles second.
I've got to respect that one, so hopefully that comes in.
Actually, no, P1 would be better.
OK, well, there you go, locked in.
Yeah, I didn't even put any McLaren in my top three,
which feels wrong, and also I could well be very wrong with this,
but you try and put a top three together
that you're confident about.
That's what I would say to anybody questioning
any of our predictions for this one.
No, Lewis Hamilton mentioned either from anyone, I believe.
No mention at all of Lewis as well.
So yeah, some big names not mentioned.
Yeah, it's going to be...
I love the fact that we're going into the season not knowing.
That is the best thing, the fact that even if one team is
sandbagging, at least they soundbagged, so we don't know
and it's fun to guess first.
Absolutely. Well, there you go.
That is our predictions locked in.
We are so excited for the start of the season.
Remember, we will be live streaming.
So, come and join us, as always, across wonderful, wonderful platforms.
Tommy, I'm so excited.
I cannot basically contain myself right now.
How would you sum up your final thoughts?
Final thoughts, just make sure you join us this weekend
for the coverage, because yeah, we'll be doing our usual watch-alongs.
And as we said, if Ferrari don't make up six places at the start,
you're going to want to be on...
Streams going off on that one.
Yeah, the stream's going to be incredible, so make sure you watch.
George Russell is a second and a half clear after that one.
Please sum up.
Okay, that is it. Thank you, everybody.
We'll see you soon. Lots of love. Take care.
Bubble of Ones, back. Bye.
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About this episode
Matt and Tommy dive into their 2026 Australian Grand Prix predictions with enthusiasm and humor. They discuss the excitement around new regulations and the unpredictability of the season, highlighting drivers like Charles Leclerc as a potential surprise and Franco Colapinto's expected improvement. They also touch on the so-called Australian GP curse affecting local drivers like Oscar Piestri. The hosts share their competitive spirit through their F1 Fantasy League and tease upcoming content, including impressions and personal challenges, making it a lively and engaging preview for fans.
Original notes
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