The “Macarena wing” is a nickname for a particular rear-wing aerodynamic concept used in F1 discussions, likely referring to a distinctive shape or movement/behavior that drew attention. The key point here is that the FIA is reportedly speaking to teams about whether it’s compliant and safe.
FIA is the organization that makes and enforces the rules for Formula 1. If there’s a rules question—like whether a car part is legal—the FIA is usually involved.
Red Bull is a Formula 1 racing team. Here, they’re being talked about because of a possible issue or investigation related to a car wing.
Topic
rear wing changes and reliability concerns
They talk about changing the car’s rear wing setup and whether it will make the car slower. They also mention why reliability matters—because a wing problem can be dangerous.
The rear wing is the big aero part on the back of an F1 car. If it fails, the car can lose grip and become harder to control, because that wing helps push the car down onto the track.
They’re talking about a rumor that Oscar Piastri and Max Verstappen could swap teams or roles. They also discuss how a single tweet can trigger a lot of speculation.
Mark Webber is a former Formula 1 driver who now works with teams/drivers behind the scenes. They mention him because he’s denying the rumor about a driver swap.
Refuelling means adding fuel to the car while the race is happening, usually during a pit stop. The hosts are talking about whether Formula 1 might allow it again in future rule changes.
Hybrid engines use both fuel and electricity to power the car. The hosts are saying that in Formula 1, hybrids have added weight, which changes how the car drives and how teams manage fuel.
A smaller fuel tank means the car starts with less fuel. The hosts are saying that helps keep the car lighter, especially when you can’t refuel during the race.
Pit stops are the times when a race car pulls into the pit lane to get serviced. The hosts are saying refuelling would make those stops more important for strategy.
“Schumacher” is Michael Schumacher, one of the most famous Formula 1 drivers ever. The hosts use him as an example of how refuelling made race strategy and fuel plans more complicated.
Person
Ross
The transcript mentions “Ross,” but it doesn’t include enough information to know which Ross the host means. So we can’t confidently identify the person from this snippet alone.
DRS is a Formula 1 system that briefly helps cars go faster by reducing air resistance. It’s mainly used to make it easier to pass other cars, especially on long straight sections.
V8 means an engine with eight cylinders arranged in a V shape. The host is basically saying they’d like Formula 1 to go back to simpler, more classic-sounding engines.
A minimum pit stop time is a rule that sets a lower limit on how fast teams can finish a pit stop. It would help prevent refuelling from becoming too dominant and would also add a safety buffer.
Bahrain is where one of the Formula 1 races is held. The host is talking about whether it might be scheduled again and whether it would be safe to race there.
Saudi Arabia is a country that has hosted Formula 1 races. The host is guessing it would be the one most willing to fight to keep or restore a race on the calendar.
The “season opener” is the very first race of the year. The idea here is that the first race is especially important, so it can come with bigger money and attention.
In Formula 1, the engine rules change over time. “V8 era” means the period when the cars are built around V8-style engine regulations, before the sport switches to a new rules package.
Promotional tires are special tire sets provided for a limited purpose—often for a track debut, media run, or early session—rather than the tires intended for the main race weekend. Because they can differ in compound and behavior, they can limit how much teams learn for race conditions.
FP0 is an extra practice session before the main practice sessions in an F1 weekend. Teams use it to collect data and get the car ready, sometimes on different tires than you’ll see later.
Limited mileage means teams can only run those special tires for a limited number of laps. So they don’t get as much real-world testing as they would in normal practice.
Track limits are the rules about where you’re allowed to drive on the track. The “lines” are the boundaries, and if you go past them, your lap can be penalized or disallowed.
The pit lane is the area where F1 cars pull in for service during the race. Starting from the pit lane usually means the driver has to begin the race from there because of a penalty or problem.
Pole position means the driver starts first at the front of the race. It’s earned by being fastest in qualifying, and it usually helps because you’re not stuck in traffic at the start.
Charles Leclerc is a Formula 1 driver who races for Ferrari. In this segment, they’re predicting he could get pole position, especially if the weather turns wet.
“Wet” refers to race conditions on a rain-soaked track, which dramatically changes grip and braking distances. In wet conditions, setup and tire choice matter more, and drivers can be more cautious or aggressive depending on how the car behaves.
“Straight modes” are different settings the team can use to change how the car delivers power on the long straight sections. The goal is to get the best speed without wasting performance too quickly.
George Russell is a Formula 1 race driver. Here, the hosts are talking about whether he can qualify on pole and perform well in Belgium, especially if it rains.
The safety car comes out when something is unsafe on the track. It slows everyone down, and that can completely change the race—especially when the race restarts.
In Formula 1, the podium is the top-three finish: first, second, and third. When the host predicts a driver will “get that podium,” they mean a top-three race result.
DNF means the driver didn’t finish the race. The hosts are wondering if Antonelli might have to retire, which would change who wins and how the points shake out.
“Regulations” are the rules that Formula 1 teams must follow for that season. They affect how the cars are designed and how races are run.
LIVE
Hello, everybody, and welcome back to the P1 podcast with Matt and Tommy. It's race week.
It's we're going into a new race weekend where the last winner was Schouler-Claire week.
And that that feels good. It's been I was going to say it's been a great the reigning
winner. Yeah, the reigning winner. That is a sentence
phrase we have never said before until now. But I think it needs to be coined. I think we need to
start using it, especially when it's our favorite drivers, although Max, of course, how many easy
one this year? Sorry. So look, actually, yeah, wow, I didn't even think about that until right on
the fly. That feels unbelievable. When you get some double double. No, no, no, you can't just
you just can't take one. Can you? That's crazy. No, no, you just can't take it apart from the
So hello, everybody. Welcome to all the things Belgian Grand Prix. It's going to be slightly
left field this podcast, because one, I've been so utterly unwell over the last three days. I am
still unwell, but we have to do predictions. So apologies for that. But it could also be just
so left field. So I'm ready for it. Tommy, there's actually been quite a bit of news,
quite a bit of things going on in the world of F1. Yeah, it's amazing what a little break for one
week does. And yeah, the I think last time we recorded predictions, we normally do the little
news section. And there was absolutely nothing. And now it's like, no, here's all the murmurings
and stuff. I think I think it's kind of that kind of era of the season where it's getting into the
kind of as we're about to approach silly season closer and closer. So so things start to pick up,
don't they? And the summer break news, there's this little kind of murmurings of things that are
going to happen. Indeed. So let's get into what we have learned or rumours that have been floating
around since Silverstone. So the first one is that the FIA is now speaking to Red Bull and Ferrari
about the Macarena wing. Oh, yeah, it's it's finally sort of rearing its ugly head potentially,
especially in the Red Bull camp, because of the fact Max has had two rear wing related incidents,
which have, of course, turned to massive crashes. So that is, as far as I'm aware, an ongoing
discussion. But that might well even mean that Red Bull, because of what's happened with Max,
moved to a more conventional wing for this upcoming Grand Prix weekend. How much time that
will lose them? Who knows? I'm sure there is, of course, some gain to be had if they're running
it in the first place. But yeah, I think that will give us a bit of an indication of where
those conversations are going. Should they revert back to a normal wing?
Yeah, I wouldn't be surprised if they do. Because Max was very cross after Silverstone,
wasn't he? There was, I think people got confused with potentially him leaving Red Bull, and more
just the fact that he was very annoyed about the situation. And people saw him kind of
storm off up in the motorhome, which is understandable if you had a huge crash, lost a
podium place, of course, as well. And for it to be the second time that it's happened,
you don't want to be going to a track like Spa, where it's a very dangerous circuit,
where you're worried about a rear wing failure again. So yeah, there's obviously teams will always
push for performance, but if they worry about it again, I think that they're going to need to
revert back to what they had before, because yeah, two failures in two very quick succession.
Indeed. So we will keep an eye on that one. Max for Stappen related stuff continues because,
of course, there was this, I don't know when exactly the whole room has started, but the
Oscar Piatri and Max for Stappen swap became quite the forefront in Formula One chatter.
And it turns out that Mark Webber, of course, Oscar Piatri's manager has said that essentially
the swap is complete fiction. So maybe a rumor that's gotten out of hand.
Fuel buyer Will Buxton tweet, I imagine as well.
Guys, yeah, don't get me started on that tweet. Absolutely. I mean, the entire Formula One community
was baited by one singular tweet, which turned out to be an IndyCar update, which
we both myself and you, Tommy, we chat, we've like, what could this possibly be? It's probably
IndyCar, but could it be F1 related? Turns out, of course, it was IndyCar. But for me on this
potential swap, I think as an actual thing that could become reality, I can see it potentially
happening at some point. Maybe if he wants to go down that route, of course, join Jampiero
Lambiassi, who's joining McLaren, don't forget, maybe 2028, maybe sooner, depending on his contract.
So there are small reasons as to why maybe this could happen. But as of right now,
it is probably more leaning towards not happening.
I can't see Max going to McLaren at this stage. I do think a lot of these rumors
were fueled by the fact that, yeah, Buxton put out that tweet that kind of made everyone
guessing, well, what could the big news be? And because the fact that Max's future has been
the biggest question mark this year, everyone kind of gravitated towards that. And I think
that's given this maybe more traction than- I don't think it was just that, though. Is that
Brown, I'm pretty sure, said that he wanted Max Verstappen in a different reality, of course.
It was like, there was rumors of this happening, but that added kind of more weight to it,
even if it was never- if no weight had been added. It was just because of that tweet. People were
looking to the latest big rumor and thinking, oh, it must be this Verstappen thing. So now it's like
taken on a whole new life of its own. And people are thinking Max is going to go to McLaren, which
at this stage, I think is a pretty insane swap, feels like a sideways step, McLaren.
But maybe, you know, they always know more about the future and maybe Max feels,
because I certainly do, that Red Bull maybe are on the- a slight downward slump with- they've
obviously hit the- Slice, mate. Have they got anyone still working for them?
Well, yeah, not even slight. But they're on the way down. They'll find their way back up,
but who knows when that is? These teams always like fluctuate, don't they?
And maybe McLaren seem a more, you know, a more likely source for a team that Max could potentially
grow and, you know, help him improve. But it's an insane one. Still can't get in my head.
Max has happened being at McLaren, but it seems to have some rumors to it. But I think it's squashed
for now. Indeed. I should say that, I guess that Brown put respect on Max Verstappen's name,
but also said that he's happy with Piastri and Norris, but-
He said the two drivers have got their names etched on the seat or something.
Yeah, but all of this sort of stuff, you know, I take with a pinch of salt because, you know,
they're always going to back their drivers until they're not their driver. That's basically it,
right? You know, we always think that-
Carlos Sainz at Ferrari, right?
Exactly. So, but as of right now, it seems as though, yeah, this swap won't be happening
anytime soon. Let's now talk about the FIA and potentially something more positive about the
FIA, which is always a rarity. But there's been further discussions around this V8 era,
2031, maybe 2030 if they get agreement, and essentially the idea of refuelling, bringing
that back as well, because they would want to keep the lighter Formula One car as a thing.
They want to make them lighter and lighter, of course, because we know we've gone in the
wrong direction with these hybrid engines and how heavy they are and how boat-like they were,
especially last year, where essentially the only way in which to keep that weight down,
to keep the car's nimble, would be to have a smaller fuel tank and therefore have refuelling
in races. So, that's something that, of course, was outlawed back in 2009 because of safety concerns
and things like that. But I also do have fond memories, not of, of course, the fires and
things that refuelling gave, but the sort of added level and layer of strategy that refuelling
always brought to races, the question marks we had after qualifying as well, how much fuel,
Schumacher holding, it turns out Schumacher was on pole and had a full fuel tank, that sort of
stuff. And yeah, I have fond memories of refuelling, but I also realised that it's not going... If it
was to come back, it wouldn't be in the same... There would be so many more levels of safety to
it, I believe, that perhaps it wouldn't be exactly the same as we once knew.
I would worry that bringing back refuelling would be too much, too much chaos with the fact that
I think refuelling worked in that era where it was so hard to overtake and a lot of the time,
it was the only way you could pass someone is by going on a different strategy. And I do agree that
there were some races, you know, the ones that spring to mind and Michael Schumacher and Ross
bought Brawn's like legendary strategies that they used to do where they do...
Manicor, Manicor, four-star.
Yeah, Manicor, I think there's Hungary as well, where they did like a four-star as well and Manicor
as well. And on the flip side of that, where Jono Trilly would qualify with two laps of fuel
on board just to... And just block everyone. Yeah, and then just block everyone and the races were
quite boring. And so the other side to that coin is that people would just... You just wait for
people to pit and all the overtaking would turn the pit lane, which is why they've brought a lot
of these things in. Recent years, obviously DRS now with the boost and stuff. I personally don't
want to see refuelling come back. The V8 thing? Yes, definitely. I would like to see that. I do
completely back the whole era of simpler engines. I think that's so important for Formula One.
These cars are far too complex and it's not making the sport any better for it. So
refuelling, I'm not wowed about personally. I'm not one of these people that really wants to see it
come back. I think they'd explore even to a level of like a minimum pit stop time if refuelling
was to come back. Things to actually add that level of safety, which again would then take away
from the drama of the refuelling element anyway. So we'll see, but it's a discussion that is being
had. Now, other discussions that are happening is that Bahrain is trying to get back onto the
Formula One calendar potentially in the first weekend of October. But as of recently with
everything going on in the world, I think that's highly unlikely now. But again, that seems to be
something that is being discussed at the moment. Of course Bahrain as a race is incredible, but
we can only ever go racing if it's safe to do so and it doesn't seem that that's going to happen in
my opinion. Bahrain is a strange one because I really thought if any of those two cancelled races
were going to come back, I feel like Saudi Arabia would be the place that would not take no for
an answer and throw money at it and say no, we absolutely have to a race because
you know, we missed our slot. I would be very surprised if we see those two races that were
kind of cancelled come back. I really can't see this happening personally. It feels like a bit
of a logistical nightmare. Indeed. And to your money comment, I really don't think this is a
thing about money for once. No, no, I meant more the fact that Saudi would be
more likely, I think, to make sure that they want the race back than Bahrain. That's just how I
felt with the situation. It's money versus money, right? Bahrain also throws an insane amount of
money because they are the season opener. So they both have significant cash, but I think it's
more about one finding a slot in the calendar, but two and more importantly, whether they can
actually go racing without any concern for safety. Another thing, this one kind of makes me think of
other teams that have promised very high and not delivered. Audi have said that their target
is to fight for the championship by 2030. Is that basically, come on, Carlos.
Yes, it might well be. That's basically a love letter to Carlos Sainz, basically.
Can we look back? What did William say that 2026 was going to bring for them?
Break everything we're going to be going for. I don't know if they weren't going to say championship,
but they obviously promised a lot. All these manufacturers do this. You can go back in history
and find Toyota. We're saying they're going to win the championship. Honda, we're going to win the
championship. All these teams set these really ambitious targets. Aston Martin, five-year plan.
Look where they are their last. I don't see Audi winning the championship. I think teams
should really understand how Formula One works and it takes a lot more. You have seen stories,
you know, McLaren last year was an amazing story because there were times where McLaren
looked like they weren't going to improve at all and they ended up winning the championship, but
Audi, no. I don't see it. It's too much too soon. I think race wins in 2030 is still ambitious,
but I think is a good bar. Also, that screams that if we're going to have a new
regulation in 2031, they'll be like, right, we're going to put all our eggs into this
basket and try and win the championship in the final year of these regulations while everyone
else moves on. Yeah. I mean, what we've just discussed as well about, oh, you know, if all the
teams agree, then they can bring this V8 era to 2030. And it's like Audi have said they're going
to try and fight for the championship by 2030. And I'm thinking, I don't think I'm going to agree
to this V8 era. They won't. They've only come into this sport, haven't they, due to the
regulations that have been put down for this year and beyond. So, yes, very interesting.
And I do love it when teams just shoot for the sky. But then we also come back in 2030 and go.
So you promised what? The final thing and the most important thing of all, because it's to do
with Ferrari, is that they have become the first Formula One team to drive around the new Madrid
circuit. Of course, the circuit in Madrid, it's clearly locked in. Good surprise for that weekend
will be Ferrari, because they've got the data. Of course, they will have promotional tires.
They've got an extra practice, the FP0 they've done. They've had FP0 on tires that, of course,
won't be the tires that they'll be running during that weekend. And it will be limited mileage,
it's promotional, whatever you want to call it. So, hopefully not that sandy as well.
Yeah, also covered in dust. You're not going to learn anything. That track will be the least
grippy thing since sliced bread. So. Oh, yeah. It would be like when, do you remember when they
went to like career and stuff and they were still building it as they arrived. And yeah,
we've had some others, haven't we, as well, like Baku and things where they're working right to the
very last minute to get it done. And because there'll be no play. Yeah, it will be done. It's just a
case of other circuits. You see lots of other support series and different things racing there.
The rubbers in the circuit and stuff, whereas, yeah, you're totally right. FP1, we're going to hear
every single non-stop team radio is going, I've got no grip. This circuit is crazy.
I think we should have started with a sprint just so that they don't have time to dial in
and just and just Ferrari win because they've had all the practice.
Yeah, then that would FP0 would have been a good thing to have. The thing that I'm wondering is,
of course, we played it on the F1 game not that long ago. And I'm wondering if the Ferrari guys
were able to take the same track limits lines as I saw. One of the chicanes in it is absolutely
insane. Just straight line it. So I wonder if they were doing similar lines. But yeah,
that's a few laps done for Ferrari around there. And now it's time to get into the most important
part of this podcast. It is time for predictions. I close the gap after the British Grand Prix
somehow once again, clawing my way back into this championship when people have written me off
several times now. It is 31, 27 to Tom Bellingham. Tom Bellingham, I believe it's your turn to go first.
It is this time to hit me with your good surprise.
My good surprise, I will hit you with it. I've gone for Olly Bearman.
How dare you utter my boy's name? How dare you? My second boy, of course, shall we?
Yeah, Olly Bearman, I just felt that it's been quite a long time since Olly Bearman has, I feel
like, has dropped off. I've not been in the points for a while, of course. Seems like racing balls,
are just the goats when it comes to locking in those kind of final positions in the points now.
And I feel like that run surely has to end at some point. And Olly, we know he's a great driver,
and if he just has a clean weekend, doesn't get yeeted by someone maybe at turn one, or
manages to do something better in qualifying, I do think this is going to be more of a kind of
great race from Olly, rather than Haas being particularly good around here.
But I've gone for Olly Bearman to get a point or something, and have a bit of a surprise.
Okay, you've reminded me to go and sort my F1 fantasy team for this weekend
with the mention of Olly Bearman. My good surprise, for the Belgian Grand Prix,
I've already changed it a couple of times, but I'm going to lock in Max Verstappen.
Everyone's writing him off.
So true, of course, win this Max Verstappen this year.
Look, there's been a lot of issues going on with that Red Bull, with the rear wing not closing
properly, and the FIA are looking into what's going on, and they may well even not run that
Macarena wing for this weekend. We'll have to wait and see. But for Max, look, he was doing an
incredible job around Silverstone in a car that the setup was not his liking. He wanted to start
from the pit lane. It was that bad. And I'm thinking if he manages to get his car into a good working
window, into a nice setup, and I've also done a bit of research, Tommy. Saturday looks like it's
going to be raining. So a little quality Max Verstappen special. That's what I've basically,
he's going to need a rear wing if it's raining. Yeah, it's not the case of whether or not
they're going to bring a rear wing. They will bring a rear wing. It just might not be the
Macarena one. But yeah, I've gone for Max because, yes, I looked at the weather and that solidified
why I would go for the wet weather goat. I nearly went for Max. Did you? Wow. And also,
another reason I nearly went for Max is because I nearly got grace to do my good surprise and
big flop. Wow. Four points clear and you're getting... Well, I thought it'd be fun because people like
it. I like it to be fair. I can play the video if you want to hear what she said. Let me find it
because she... Let's hear it because, I mean, so Franco Collapinta, good surprise.
Well, we'll see. We'll see. This is what she said. Okay. So I don't know who to pick for
a good surprise. So who do you think is going to do really well at the Belgian Grand Prix?
That's just happened. Why do you think Max has happened to me and do really
well? He's my favorite Formula One driver. Is your favorite Formula One driver? Yeah.
Even more than Pierre Gasly? They prefer. Okay. And who do you think is going to have a bad race?
No.
She thinks about this for a while.
I think... Any danger, Grace? It's Collapinta. Collapinta is going to have a bad race.
Yeah. I think he's going to crash into another one. He's going to crash into someone. Oh my
god. Imagine. Oh no. Okay. Thank you. Imagine if this comes true, by the way. It's funny because
I was like, okay, so me and Grace have gone for the same good surprise. I wonder if we go for
the same big flop. Then I looked at the driver that I have and I'm like, if she has this driver in
her vocabulary, she is a true Formula One fan. Yeah. Okay. Fair enough. Little spoiler,
little hint as to who I may have gone for. But okay. So Esteban Gutierrez joined the
group. I don't know. Wow. Where did he come from? I don't know. I just thought I was just thinking
of the most obscure driver I could think of. Yeah. That was very obscure. No, Felix Baumgartner.
There you go. Felix Baumgartner. He was the kind that jumped from Zolt Baumgartner.
Felix Baumgartner is the space guy. The Red Bull guy that jumped from space.
Yeah. He's not a Formula One driver, but I just remembered Baumgartner.
It's driven in F1 car, I think. Oh, really? Oh, there you go then. There's a bit of law
which nobody needed. But that's very interesting. Okay. So I really hope for Franco's sake that
that doesn't happen. Imagine if that happened. I had to play it because no one would believe
me if that happened. Oh, you've recorded it after it happened. Nope. There it is. Okay. Big flop.
My turn. I'm locking in Arvid Lindblad. It's been going far too well for Arvid of late.
And I was like, look, a little cheeky P14. Not a lot of pace. And I'm securing the points.
There's also, there's got to be on the horizon at some point, a Lawson Lindblad little ding-dong.
And one of them might come out not so, well, maybe unscathed in terms of their car. So
I've gone for Lindblad. No other reason than vibes. He hasn't given me any reason to think
he's going to flop. But I have to look at ones that could be easy to score points. And I think
Lindblad might be one of them. So there you go. Very interesting. I see the logic. Obviously,
racing balls have been on absolutely unbelievable run. He scored obviously a good amount of points.
And also, the reason why I thought Grace would not say that is if she dropped Arvid Lindblad
as her driver, then I'd be like, wow, Grace has been watching.
She has, she has. So my big flop I have gone for, Isaac Hadjar, and have basically gone for
just the fact that the Red Bull doesn't seem that reliable. Hadjar has been on a good run as well.
He's a very good run, actually. It surprised me when I looked back. You know, he's been the
Red Bull that's obviously finishing the races, not had any issues. And since the Miami crash
that he had, and we're going, oh, no, is it going to, it's going to be another situation where
the second Red Bull driver is cursed and it's going to go really wrong for him.
He's finished fifth, fourth, sixth, sixth, fifth. So very good run of form. And yeah, I just feel
like Red Bull, you just can't trust them with their car at the moment. They do seem very unreliable.
I love how you swung from going, good surprise, Max Verstappen, to now saying,
right, you can't trust Red Bull, I'm going to flop Hadjar. We're going to go for
Stappen surprise and Hadjar. I nearly went for the Stappen flop as well.
I just think, like, I feel like Max will do well if his rear wing doesn't,
or his car or his engine or something like that. But no, I'm going for Hadjar.
Interesting. Let's now go to pole position.
Pole position. I've gone for Charles Leclerc.
Yeah, I have. I've gone for Charles Leclerc for pole position.
My guy has not heard what I just said about the weather forecast. If Charles Leclerc gets
pole in the wet in a Ferrari, we're winning the championship.
I don't believe the weather forecast. I don't think it's on a Tuesday, no?
Wow, Tommy really has just opened the Metacolical Predictions door and said, come through, Matt.
Yeah, yeah. I've gone for Charles Leclerc. I was looking back at Spa and qualifying in particular.
He's had some really good results here, even when the Ferrari hasn't been particularly great last
year as well, of course. And yeah, I've gone for pole for Charles Leclerc. I think he'll continue
his good form. He'll be very confident, I think, going into this race based on what we saw.
Question mark over Ferrari, how good they're going to be at this track? I saw that they're
actually having five straight modes around this circuit, which is quite insane.
You saw the Ferrari, I think?
Yeah, I think so. Certainly better than it would have been at this track. So yeah, I'm going for Leclerc.
Fair enough, of course. This first ever win was at Belgium as well.
Yeah. Okay, intriguing. I don't need to change my pole position prediction. And now I have free
rain to go with. And I've changed it on the fly again, because I thought you were going to go
for this driver. But I am going to back the fact that it might rain
and go for, oh, God, no, just take the easy route, Matt. Why are you trying to be different?
Oh, I love how it's different. Okay, I'm going to lock in George Russell. George Russell pole
position. Oh, wow. Okay. Was that your different? Yes. Yeah, yeah. Oh, wow. Okay. Yeah, it was
between the two Mercedes drivers. It's between the two drivers. But it's like,
Kenny Ansonelli, championship leader has been quick throughout almost the entire season.
George Russell has had moments where he hasn't been on the pace. But I feel as though if we do
get a little slippery slidey, Belgium Grand Prix qualifying, maybe a little bit of rain in the air.
Let's not forget George Russell and what he managed to achieve in that Williams around here
to put it on the front row of the grid. Of course, we don't want to talk about the race,
because it never really actually did anything. But I almost as what phenomenal race from Matt
just happened to take the win behind the safety car. Yeah, perfect. The three laps, wasn't it?
I was actually contemplating good surprise in George Russell as well. I just feel in my
bones that Russell's going to bounce back this weekend and that he'll be on the pace of Antonelli.
And let's go for pole position. George, don't let me down, please. Yeah, please. I'm begging.
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Third place for the race. I am locking in Max Verstappen. He's going to get that podium that he
deserved at Silverstone. If we do get a wet qualifying, which I know I keep saying right
now, but it did say 50% chance. We know with Spa that rain can literally just spawn out of nowhere
and cause a little bit of chaos around a track that of course is seven kilometers long.
You can get parts of the track that's wet, parts of the track that are dry, and it makes for epic
watching, especially in qualifying. I think that Max could qualify really well and still finish on
the podium, so I've gone for P3. P3, I have gone for Lewis Hamilton. Ferrari on the podium again.
Hamilton, of course, really strong this year. I think Ferrari are going to
continue being that team that can challenge Mercedes and push them, so I'm going to go for
Hamilton P3. Wow. I have not mentioned a singular red car at any point, and I think that is
tactical for the sake of my own well-being more than anything else. I can't stop talking about
Ferrari. You can't stop talking about Max the Stappen. What's happened here?
I know. Well, look, we know what happened at Silverstone. I literally said that Leclerc would be
terrible, and it quite happened. So yeah, Leclerc is terrible this weekend. No, no, no, that's too
much. That's going too far because big flops can and most usually do come in for me, so we don't
want to touch that either. In second place, Tom Bellingham. P2, I've gone for Charles Lecler.
Sorry, maybe his poll to win ratio is taking a knock again, but yeah, I've gone for a P2.
I think he's going to continue his good form. Ferrari, strong again. Two Ferraris on the podium,
yet again, I'm going for in Spa. Wow. So that means that Mercedes is not in the top two for Tom
Bellingham's top three for his in mine. Second place is, God, that's English. That really was
English. I've been very unwell. Okay, leave me alone. In second place, I'm going for
George Russell. George Russell P2. My reasoning is that I think he's going to be strong,
but I changed it on the fly. And we are now here with a George Russell P2
because I thought that you would go for this driver in P1, so I decided to go for P1,
this driver. And then let's see if you do actually change it because in first place,
I'm going for Kimmy Antonelli. He's going to get that win similar to Max Verstam. He's going to get
the win that he definitely did deserve at the British Grand Prix. Let's not joke around here.
Let's not start flying around the Ferrari of the fastest car because it is not the case.
Kimmy was going to win the British Grand Prix by, I think, a good 10 seconds had he cleared
Charles Leclerc, which I think he was going to do very, very easily. And we spoke to him,
so, of course, he had a shock. Yeah, whereas we haven't spoken to him on the run up to the
Belgian Grand Prix. So therefore, Kimmy Antonelli first place. And yes, we had a hot lap with him.
Go and check out on social if you haven't seen it already. Thank you.
P1. I've gone for George Russell. Oh, damn, you actually didn't change it.
You didn't change it. Yeah, I haven't changed it. I've gone for George Russell. P1.
What's happening to Kimmy? I think he's going to have a problem again. I think his luck is out.
Wait, so you think DNF? Potentially, or just...
If it's a DNF and George wins, it's level on points in the judges.
Yeah, exactly. I could see it. it going to the summer break now, almost level.
I think Kimmy's luck is just... He's having a shocker,
likewise at the moment. It's flipped the other way. And yeah, I could see it continuing.
Of course, I hope that's not the case because Kimmy deserved the win.
You know, deserved a second place, of course, in Spain as well.
A lot more points would have been a comfortable championship lead going into the summer break.
And it's now crazy to think after Monaco, when we were pretty much saying is the title
over that we could get very easily get into the summer break and Russell be leading the
championship. It's not completely far-fetched. So yeah, I go for Russell to win. Of course,
I've backed for Paul and a couple of them on the podium. I think they'll push Mercedes,
but Mercedes are still the strongest package out there for sure.
There's no brainer that that's the case. And yeah, I could see him winning the race.
I do think actually, I mean, I think Antonelli is going to be the stronger driver again,
but that's not always meant that Antonelli wins the race.
It's very true. I will gladly lose this prediction championship by 50 points
if it means Ferrari do really well. So happy to keep giving up the points if Ferrari wins
the rest of the races from here to the end of the season.
Let's now go to P-Wat, P-Wahat, P-Wat, whatever you want to call it, where we randomly generate
a number and we have to guess on the fly who's going to finish there. Tommy, do you have your
random number generator ready? I don't know who's going first. Wait, it's me. Is it you going first?
Wait, hold on. Who went first for first place? I went first, Paul. No, I went first for first
and then so it's you for P-Wat. Okay. Yeah, me first for P-Wat. Okay. Here we go.
Randomly generating a number. I'm so nervous. Fourth, Max Verstappen.
Charlotte Clair. Okay. That makes me feel sick that I've even said him. We've both backed our
drivers for a P-4 off the podium. Okay. All right. That's locked in. I hope that it's not the case.
I hope Charlotte Clair wins and Max Verstappen finishes eighth so I still get the point. Okay,
lovely. Beautiful. That's great. Wow. One crazy prediction. It's time to lock in something that
we think could be a little bit silly. My one is neither racing ball, make it through to Q3.
I don't know when that last didn't happen. I think it might have happened in every single race
this year. So that's where I've thrown in. I've checked at least the last four and there's been
a racing ball. Okay, fair. Look at you. The way you sat up and started googling. No, there's a
reason why I sat up and you'll find out now. Oh, why are you saying that? My one crazy prediction.
Is it the same thing? Is. I thought it was going to be when you spoke. Racing balls not in the
points. Wow. Because you said that with the big flop. No, not big flop. What did you
mention? You definitely mentioned racing balls. You said Limblad and I said I was also
contemplating that the fact that the racing balls, surely they're kind of
luck will have to end at some point. It's not even luck. They're just amazing.
Certainly not luck. They're both doing an amazing job. I mean, it hasn't happened since Miami
that they haven't scored points. They It's only happened in one race.
We're both channeling our energy for a racing ball stinker. I mean, racing balls have been
unbelievable. The last four, like you say, six and seventh, eighth and ninth, ninth and tenth,
and sixth and seventh. So I'm praying for a last to first for racing balls. I don't care what happens
on Sunday for them. I hope they score a huge amount of points as long as they qualify 11th
and 12th. Thank you so much. That's all good for me. Patriot prediction. If you're part of the
one patron, you get ad-free listening, you get access to a Discord, early access to live show
tickets and so much more. And we have picked a couple of predictions from our Discord to feature
in this episode. It is you. I've lost track. It's me now. It's you. Tommy, sorry, still very much
clinging on for physical well-being. Over to you. Now, this one is bizarre that I can even
lock this one in and call it because the patron prediction has to be crazy. You can't just go
for like, Antony is going to win. Please don't be the one. But I have gone for R&B sheep. Okay,
a few. We're good. Mercedes 1-2. And that is crazy because it hasn't happened since the second
race of the season. And it is quite bonkers to think that, yeah, the last seven races,
this hasn't happened. It's Tom part of the bus, Bellingham again. It's absolutely ridiculous.
Because I've gone from Mercedes 1-2 in predictions and you've gone patron prediction.
I'm not being boring because you've literally just said it's crazy to go for a Mercedes 1-2.
And now you're saying I'm being boring. No, it's not crazy to go for Mercedes 1-2 because
they're the best car. But it counts as a crazy prediction, which is crazy in itself.
You're being a crazy girly, but I'm not because I've gone for a Mercedes 1-2.
I'm just making this clear right now. Well, it's still, you know. Yeah, you've gone for...
Hey, you've outed me as being boring when you've just given evidence to suggest that's not boring.
So anyway, it's fine. Don't worry about it. We need to shift our perception of a Mercedes
1-2 being locked in, as you've said, because they can't get to an end of a race by the looks of
things, at least both of their drivers. So wow, that's something. I hope you're happy with the
point. And if George wins and Kimmy finishes a second, you'll get a point and I'll get down
and I'll be even angry for you. As you know, you'd have two points.
We had discussions after China going, we might need to change the whole rules of predictions
because we're just going to basically alternate between the two Mercedes. And yeah,
they've not had a 1-2 since the 15th of March. That is mad. That really is. Okay, let's now head
to the championship that everybody cares about because the guy... You're not doing a crazy
prediction. That's so true. I mean, you can forfeit it if you want. That's so true. Look,
I am clinging on for dear life. And look, my Patreon prediction is from Jack. All drivers
from the top four teams finish the Grand Prix. We've just spoken about reliability. We've just
spoken about things being problematic. There we go. All four drivers finish... All four drivers,
all four teams in the top four finish the Grand Prix. And two races ago, of course.
No tricking. You can have it. Go on. Just don't make me go back into the predictions.
Okay, now it is time for the family top three. And as I said before, and I'll jokingly say it
again, it's the most important championship because Gallagher's are leading 8-7. I really hope
my mum is around because she said she might be and then she might not be. And I was going to
field my dad as a backup, but I can't do that because I had my dad last week or two weeks ago.
So this is like a rule that we've brought in which just only to benefit Tom Bellingham.
But we're now going over to my mother. Let's see. Come on, mum, please pick up.
Hello. Hi, mum. Welcome to the P1 podcast. It's the championship that everybody cares about,
the family predictions. How are we feeling? Well, I'm feeling... Good. Great.
I think that... You're not about to know where... Hold on. Let me tear it up. I was just
wanting your emotions. I wanted to know how you were. You were about to drop us the
third to second to first. Are you feeling confident? You've done your research?
I've done my research and I think if Kimmy's...
Oh, wait. Well, let's not do spoilers, mum. I'm about to go to third. I just wanted to
know how you were. I'm just so excited for your predictions.
You're in the woods. Okay, perfect. That's all we needed. No more spoilers, please.
In third place at the Belgian Grand Prix.
Charles. Okay. In second...
Sorry, there was a stinging nettle. In second place, stinging nettle.
Second place, George. George Russell gets P2. And in first place...
Kimmy. Okay, you've gone for a boring Mercedes-1 2, which is what Tommy is labelled in this podcast.
But then also, we've not had a Mercedes-1 2 since the 15th of March, mum. Thank you so much for
your input and hope you weren't stung by the stinging nettle. Thank you. Love you. Bye.
Oh, didn't love me then. Fair enough. No, you know what? No, that's crazy. That's crazy.
Wow. Okay, Tommy, over to you. Let's see how chaotic your phone call is. Who did you have
for Silverstone? I had my mum. You did? Yeah, because she didn't get Charlotte
Claire finally and then ended up winning the race. It's not a phone call. I've got Grace to record
her predictions. Now, this has to be ruled out. We need phone calls. We need Grace to have a
mobile phone and we do it live. Oh, she's at nursery at the moment. We will at some point.
This has to be minus three points. People love Grace. People keep asking me for Grace
to do a prediction. I don't think she's done it this year, maybe. But she's had a race under
a belt now. I specifically remember her doing a top three. Anyway, here's with it. She's got
a race, of course, under a belt now. She's watched one live. Here we go. In a swimming pool.
Who's going to finish third at the Belgian Grand Prix?
Oh, my God. She's added Antonelli to a vote.
Oh, we are so good.
Okay. And he's going to win.
She's learning. Oh, my God. We're in so much trouble.
No, Alpine. I was convinced that it's really Colopinto,
Ghazly, and then Verstappen. Oh, my God. Colopinto, Ghazly, Ghazly again.
What? No, no, no. This isn't... That's not allowed. You can't... What?
She can't know things now. No, no, no. How has she got Antonelli in her vocab?
I know. This is insane. Oh, my God. Grace is going to get a three-pointer. I can feel it.
She imagined. Oh, we're in serious trouble.
My mum's going to lose to a four-year-old. This is not good. Okay.
I mean, both the family ones, there's a good chance they could come in. I mean, Max...
Max win, maybe. It's a stretch. Yeah, I need a big, crazy one for there. But wow,
two Mercedes drivers she's dropping in now. I feel like you kind of read her a bedtime story,
and you're like, right, Grace, no, no. And then you just whisper in her ear,
as she falls asleep, Kimmy Antonelli, George Russell. Yeah.
Because you know... Yeah, yeah, yeah. I'm like, good night. Just remember,
Mercedes have the best car this season. We're going to be recording a video tomorrow, Grace.
I bet there's like 12 versions of that video, and every single time. No, Kimmy Antonelli.
15 versions of the video. Colopinto, Ghazly, Verstappen. Okay, do another one. Colopinto.
No, Antonelli. Do you want to go in the swimming pool again, Grace? Antonelli.
There you go. If you're wondering what the swimming pool references are, we were at the
pop-up hotel at Silverstone, and they had a mini swimming pool by the side of the racetrack.
Like, it was so funny. Like, seeing the cars go past, and then you just see Grace just with
her little armband, just like, oh, just having a great time. Not caring if Max Verstappen wins,
by the way. So she's a fake Max fan. Yeah, she is. I just want to out her for that.
Oh, she saw the like a race, and then was like, right, I've seen the mate of the day.
I've seen Alonso win. I'm out. Right, there we go. Thank you, everybody, for tuning in
to the predictions for the Belgian Grand Prix. We'll, of course, be live as always for Saturday
and Sunday across YouTube and Twitch. We look forward to seeing you there. Tommy, final thoughts.
Final thoughts. The big test. Can Spa deliver as a banger with these regulations? This is the big test.
Can Spa deliver super clipping? Let's see. I'm sure it can. With five straight
nodes. Yeah, they're doing it. That says it all, really. Yes, yes, they will need those straight
modes. They will certainly need them. Okay, we'll see you soon. Lots of love. Take care. Bye. Goodbye.
About this episode
The P1 crew run through their 2026 Belgian GP predictions, mixing race-weekend picks with F1 rumor watch. They start with FIA scrutiny around Red Bull’s “Macarena wing” and rear-wing reliability, then debate driver-swap chatter and why Max Verstappen to McLaren seems unlikely. Weather and wet aero take center stage at Spa, with rain-linked rear-wing expectations and pole picks for Leclerc or Russell. They also dig into refuelling debates, Audi’s 2030 ambitions, and what could make Spa a “banger.”
With just two races to go until the summer break, it's getting TENSE in the most important pair of championships in F1: our predictions and the Family Top Three. So let's unveil who we're going for this week - plus, F1 rumours galore!
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