The hosts dive into their updated F1 season predictions after testing, reflecting on Aston Martin's disappointing performance and the reshuffling of top contenders. They discuss George Russell's strong chances for the championship, Max Verstappen's skill and Red Bull's potential, and Charles Leclerc's promising Ferrari reliability. The conversation also touches on the impact of sprint races, driver mentalities, and personal biases influencing their picks. The banter includes lighthearted takes on Lando Norris's breakup and the stakes of their hot wing challenge, adding a fun, relatable layer to their F1 analysis.
"on in the F1 world this week, I think the most exciting or captivating news was that Lando Norris broke up with his girlfriend."
Formula 1 is a type of car racing where the fastest and most advanced cars race on tracks around the world. It's like the top league of car racing.
Formula 1 (F1) is the highest class of international single-seater auto racing sanctioned by the FIA. It features the fastest and most technologically advanced racing cars competing in a series of Grand Prix events worldwide.
"I feel like the sprints are... What do you even feel about the sprints? Do you feel like we should have them? I love them because any opportunity further to be more racing and chaos and a weekend, the better, but I know the drivers hate them because they have to be at level nine death mode twice. And I imagine that's pretty freaking taxing to the nervous system for one weekend. But they wanted to do it so the fans who have much money to travel to a track and to be there for three days get to see more than two hours worth of racing. Yeah. So I can see why they do it. I can enjoy it as a fan, but I know the drivers are probably like, shut up, Garrett. We don't want more. Yeah, no, that's fair."
Sprints are short races that happen before the main race to give fans more racing to watch. Drivers have to race really hard more than once, which can be tiring.
In motorsports, sprints are short races held in addition to the main event, designed to add more excitement and racing action during a race weekend. They often require drivers to push at maximum effort multiple times, which can be physically and mentally demanding.
"and that McLaren engine were all week. With Ferrari showing its cards, we just don't know if they showed all of them."
Ferrari is a famous car company from Italy that makes very fast and fancy cars and also races in Formula 1, which is a top car race.
Ferrari is an Italian luxury sports car manufacturer and a prominent Formula 1 racing team known for its racing heritage and high-performance vehicles.
"I think that you put a good enough driver in a car that will operate."
The driver is the person who drives the race car during the race. How good they are can change who wins.
In motorsports, the driver is the person who controls and races the car. The skill of the driver is crucial in determining race outcomes, especially in Formula 1 where car performance and driver ability both matter.
"...based off of what we've seen Red Bull, Ford have pulled through. They're quick."
Ford is a big car company that helps Red Bull Racing by making powerful engines for their race cars.
Ford is a major automotive manufacturer that supplies engines to Red Bull Racing in Formula 1. Their partnership provides high-performance power units for competitive racing.
"...he's got that cool 180 degree spinning wing. He's got, you know, a Ferrari that looked incredibly reliable."
This is a special wing on a race car that can turn halfway around to help the car go faster or stick to the track better depending on the situation.
The 180 degree spinning wing refers to a movable aerodynamic device on a Formula 1 car that can rotate to adjust downforce and drag, improving performance in different racing conditions.
"But one thing we can say is the power unit, you're right, has been reliable. It's been quick."
The power unit is the engine system in a Formula 1 car that makes it go. It uses both gas and electric power to be very fast.
In Formula 1, the power unit refers to the entire hybrid engine system that combines an internal combustion engine with electric motors and energy recovery systems to deliver power.
"And we're showing our bias because even though McLaren's probably the second fastest car on the grid,"
McLaren makes special race cars that compete in Formula 1, the highest level of car racing. These cars are very fast and designed to race on tracks.
McLaren's Formula 1 car is their racing vehicle used in the Formula 1 World Championship. These cars are highly specialized, built for speed, agility, and aerodynamics.
Concept
P7
"Well, tell me this, Garrett, if you think that he finishes P7 knowing Lewis Hamilton,"
P7 means coming in seventh place in a race, which is how they rank drivers in racing.
P7 refers to finishing in 7th position in a race or championship standings, a common way to denote race results in motorsports.
"P8 was Isaac. I just think that Red Bull is just going to edge out the Haas in other avenues."
Haas is a racing team in Formula 1, which is like a big car race with the fastest cars in the world.
Haas F1 Team is an American Formula 1 team competing in the world championship, known for being a newer and smaller team compared to established giants.
Term
P13
"It hurts me to put Fernando P13, but despite everything, I feel like this is still high up. ... he's at P13, to be quite honest with you."
P13 means the driver is in 13th place during a race or qualifying. It's a way to say where they are compared to other drivers.
P13 refers to the 13th position in a race or qualifying session in motorsport. It indicates the driver's current standing relative to others.
"Yeah, I was going to bring it. I honestly said this before, you have a lot of faith in Audi. A decent amount of faith in Audi."
Audi is a car company from Germany that makes fancy cars and also races in big car races like Formula 1.
Audi is a German automotive manufacturer known for its luxury vehicles and involvement in motorsports, including Formula 1 with a new power unit and team.
"... where Nico and Carlos are. I just put Carlos in P15 and you swapped the two. I did. I did swap the t..."
The Plymouth P15 is an old car made a long time ago, before World War II. People like to talk about it because it shows what cars looked like and how they worked back then. It might be mentioned because someone is fixing one up or sharing a story about it.
The Plymouth P15 is a classic car model produced by Plymouth in the late 1930s, known for its pre-war design and engineering. It holds significance as a representation of American automotive styling and technology before World War II, often discussed among vintage car enthusiasts. Its mention in a podcast likely relates to classic car restoration, historical interest, or a specific event involving the vehicle.
""And I think that takes a lot of... What's that term called? Just a race IQ, I would say. Just like, just acknowledging able to make such a decision on the fly is just brilliant.""
Race IQ means being really smart about how you drive in a race. It means knowing when to make moves, when to stop for tires, and how to stay ahead of other drivers by thinking fast.
Race IQ refers to a driver's ability to make smart decisions during a race, including strategy, car management, and reacting to changing conditions on the track. It encompasses understanding when to pit, how to manage tires and fuel, and how to adapt to competitors' actions.
"know what the breakdown was for testing who was kind of like on top of the other? No, I didn't look that low down the list very often. They were kind of keeping tabs on it. I believe Valtteri was a little bit quicker in the testing out of all the sessions."
Testing is when drivers try out their cars before or during the racing season to see how well they work and make them better.
Testing in motorsports refers to pre-season or in-season sessions where drivers and teams evaluate car performance, try new setups, and gather data to improve race performance.
"I don't know what to expect from Cadillac. I don't know what to expect from either of them."
Cadillac is a car company that makes fancy cars, and they also race in some big car races.
Cadillac is a luxury automotive brand from the United States, known for producing premium cars and recently entering motorsports including endurance racing.
"Listen, if, I'm going to say this out here, everybody, if Aston Martin is any of the drivers are in the top 10, I will eat that wing anyways to celebrate. Are you going to eat that wing on the race that it happens, if Fernando gets in the top 10, you're eating the wing?"
Finishing in the 'top 10' means coming in among the first ten cars in a race, which is considered a good result.
In racing, 'top 10' refers to finishing a race within the first ten positions. It is often a benchmark for a strong performance, especially for teams or drivers not usually competing for wins.
Select text to request an explanation
it. What is up to you? Welcome to the Cool Down Lab. It's been a long week indeed. We
just said it's a long week and I already messed it up. This is Episode 7 with your host,
Jogend.
And Garrett, let's go back at it for another episode this week. Without a whole lot going
on in the F1 world this week, I think the most exciting or captivating news was that
Lando Norris broke up with his girlfriend. But other than that, we've learned nothing
more about the season ahead, which means we have a chance to review and double down on
our wager to see who is going to be the more accurate reader of the crystal ball for the
season ahead.
We're going to figure that out right now. And honestly, you guys remember what's at
stake here? I think we should remind everyone, it's the hot wing. Which one was it again?
We're competing week after week, race after race, to see who has to sit down with the
last dab from first we feast. Which for someone with skin as white as mine and a palette as
uncultured as mine, I can't lose. This is going to be bad if I go down. So we're throwing
all the cards on the table to try and avoid that. It all costs us here.
How?
Deal, whatever you got to do.
How spicy was the food when you came over to my place that you had on a scale of 1 to 10?
Tolerable, but pretty spicy enough to make me worried when we're eating those the suspicious
peppers and have to make me worried with each bite.
Yeah, yeah. So we're going to have good fun. Hopefully, hopefully, you are not eating it,
but hopefully neither am I. So we're going to have to see how that goes. We're going to have
steel, bribe, Max for stopping himself to take people out in order to satisfy the picks that
I've put in place.
Let's see what happens. We're going to find out. Are you excited, man? It's so close now.
I keep thinking about it. I'm like, dude, it's like next week.
We're almost there, buddy. We're almost there. The eight at way too freaking early in the morning
can only come soon enough.
Yeah. This is a point where I get excited of all of the practice sessions that we have,
the sprint sessions, the races, but how do you feel about that? They keep adding more and more.
I feel like the sprints are... What do you even feel about the sprints? Do you feel like we should
have them?
I love them because any opportunity further to be more racing and chaos and a weekend,
the better, but I know the drivers hate them because they have to be at level nine death
mode twice. And I imagine that's pretty freaking taxing to the nervous system for one weekend.
But they wanted to do it so the fans who have much money to travel to a track and to be there
for three days get to see more than two hours worth of racing.
Yeah. So I can see why they do it. I can enjoy it as a fan, but I know the drivers are probably
like, shut up, Garrett. We don't want more.
Yeah, no, that's fair.
I think, yeah, I think it's cool that we have them, but it does get much sometimes because some of
the sprints, like I'm at work or you plan one day to watch a race and then you have two races to
watch and then your whole weekend's kind of like watching races, you know, which is, I don't mind
buying a lot of people like, dude, we don't have the things to do.
That's why I don't work weekends.
That is me too. Me too.
All right, let's get into the prediction. Should we just do it? Should we just do it and talk about it?
Let's do it. Let's compare what we thought prior to seeing any car move to what we think now.
So we have them both here, but let's go through our pre-testing predictions.
Garrett, you want to just walk us through your predictions or, yeah, let's just do that.
We walk us through your predictions and I'll walk us through mine and then let's just laugh
about it for a second because that's what they are. So pre-test predictions was completely
unfounded. No logical reason for picking these other than I like Max Verstappen for the win.
I thought George would be hunting him down in the Mercedes. I thought Oscar and Lando would be
close on their heels. Kimmy would be gaining some confidence and then I thought, hey, Fernando's got
a chance. That didn't go well. Charles and Carlos thought they'd be duking it out at the
upper end of the midfield followed by pretty well everyone else with Esteban Ocon and Arvin
and Franco Colopinso bringing up the rear. But a lot of that changed after we saw the Aston Martin
basically not run in testing and we got a better understanding of how heavy we think the sandbags
are on the side of that Mercedes and a whole lot of unknown about how turned down that Red Bull
and that McLaren engine were all week. With Ferrari showing its cards, we just don't know if
they showed all of them. So it's definitely been some shuffling. Unfortunately, Aston Martin
meteorically to the bottom of the list and a couple other teams rising slightly towards the top.
Yeah. No, I completely agree with the changes you made. And honestly, as an Aston Martin fan,
man, it's been it's been rough. It's been really, really depressing. I was I was talking to Gary
even before I'm like, I was excited. There was so much hope. There was so much excitement. There
was so much new. There was so much change. Like everything is like pointed towards
success. And man, how did they mess it up? Like, how did it happen?
You're just hoping that they're about to show the most successful and generational
demonstration of sandbagging that we'll ever see in F1.
I literally asked you. I'm like, do you care? Like, I'm delusional, man. Give me give me the
good news. Do you think that they're sandbagging and this is a big act and they're just like
they have something so special that they're just like, we're good. We got it.
Yeah, there's there's just no way. I actually asked a question on the P1 podcast with Matt
and Tommy. And my question is it comes with a lot of pain to ask such a question. But it was,
do you think that Aston stands any chance this season to be competitive or are they're
shifting their whole focus to 2027? What do you think, Aaron?
In 2020, we trust. In 2027, we trust. We're going back in time to 2020. 2027, we trust.
Yeah, I don't know, man. Like, I just think this is such a big setback where there's just no
bouncing back from this and they're just going to have to gather all the pieces up right now,
make it as competitive as they can this season, but really get everything together for 2027.
I just feel like there's there's no there's no really come back from this.
Nobody. Well, let's go through what you've decided to change here going into the post test
predictions. Yeah, let's let's go into it. So let's just drop top down. So first place,
I've got George Russell, which is again, he was at the top of my list. I had to stay loyal to my
boy Fernando. Unfortunately, I really don't want to eat the hot wing. I love Aston Martin, but
I can't make such a wild prediction based off of my personal bias. And I have to go with the
logical decision that the hot the hot name on everyone's tongue for winning the WDC, George
Russell. I think they have something special and they have it until August now, because that's
what the FIA let them, you know, approve that they can utilize their power unit until August,
which is well, like third of this the season that they get to use that. So how far how big of an
advantage they'll have at that point, we're going to see, but I think it's going to be big enough
that he's going to be far ahead to to kind of just clinch it. Yeah, man, they're going to have
quite the advantage. What I think was really funny was when we were making these predictions
before we go through all of them was we made these predictions without talking to each other about
them. I wrote mine down last week, Joe, you put his in before we jumped on today and sneak peek
the top, whatever, seven or eight are almost identical. And it doesn't stray very far from
that, which is kind of funny to see that I put George at the top too, because of everything
that jog you said. And then the list just was almost identical. Honestly, I wish we recorded
it because we were we were I was actually losing my shit. I'm like, Oh, God, like it's crazy how
close this list was shows that we listen to the same F1 propaganda. Oh, 100%. I mean, we send it
back and forth. Like, I have nobody else to talk to this about I just be sending you stuff you
be sending me stuff. And you know, our brain is washed the same way. Exactly. We're having the
same opium. 100%. Let's go on to number two. And I'll take I'll let you take the lead on this one.
I'll point out first that you spelled Max Verstappen's name wrong.
It was literally just there. But I threw Maxon because, you know, although the Red Bull might
not be the fastest car this year, I think it's pretty hard to put him down. And, you know, I
think that you put a good enough driver in a car that will operate. I think he's clinching number
two, if not challenging George for the win. I think he'll mount a maybe not a generational
comeback like last time. But I think it'll be him chasing George down to the finish.
For sure. I completely agree with you. Max is just the best driver on the grid. Like, you can
give him a good car and he'll make it great. You know, you give him a rocket ship and all
of a sudden, you get 2023, you know, so I think he has enough in the car based off of what we've
seen Red Bull, Ford have pulled through. They're quick. Are they the quickest? We don't know.
Obviously, there's a lot we don't know. That's what we loved about the testing.
But that being said, he just has the skill to be second and be on George's ass,
even though he's the one with the rocket ship. And we kind of know that.
Yeah. Then I threw Charles in underneath him.
We're having to hope him and he's got that cool 180 degree spinning wing. He's got,
you know, a Ferrari that looked incredibly reliable. And so I'm putting him up there.
Pretty close to the top. I don't have Lewis right behind him. So I think he's still fighting some
gremlins. But I think Charles is going to be up there battling for podiums all season.
I agree. All I got to say about Charles is he deserves, he deserves this the season. I root
for him as a driver. I don't root for Ferrari entirely. But what they're doing is pretty cool.
We have yet to see what they're going to bring to, you know, Australia. Like they could drop
that spinning wheel. We don't know what the testing results were. We don't know how effective it was.
The cars might look slight bit different. And we just got to see. But one thing we can say
is the power unit, you're right, has been reliable. It's been quick. And he's the one that set the
fastest lap in the testing. Not that that means anything, but it shows that they're quick, right?
So they're keeping up. They're not falling behind. And yeah, I just, I have a little bias for
Charles. He deserves better. And we're showing our bias because even though McLaren's probably
the second fastest car on the grid, neither of us thought that Oscar and Lando would be putting
it on the podium very often this year. And I think we both put Darth Piastri above Lando Norris
after he went through his breakup. I don't think he's going to he's going to have it unless this
is his revenge era for a whole different reason. Oh, honestly, I didn't even think about that.
He's kind of like a soft, whiny guy. Like I could imagine this impacting him quite a bit.
Like he's probably like crying in the shower every day or something.
I don't know. He's just whining in general. Like I just feel like this,
this might just push him over the edge a bit. Who knows?
Him and his PR team are going to come kick your ass.
Let's do it. But yeah, no, Oscar, I think Oscar is just he has it in him to be
at the top. And I think McLaren has been has some issues. I don't know if you heard,
but there was some sort of issue going on. I can't recall exactly what it was, but I remember them.
Some news articles coming up about that. So I don't know how far that's going to impact
McLaren because it seems like the other teams have been doing pretty good. They haven't really had
big issues. But I think out of the two, Lando might be just still riding the high of winning the
WDC. I think you need to have that hunger. He's a little bit softer that way. I don't think he
has that drive to do it back to back. I don't think he has it has it in him to do it back to back.
And he's definitely probably suffering a lot from emotionally from that breakup. So
and I think like above and beyond, you get a team who's trying to enforce papaya rules when
Oscar is not going to stand for that this year. And you're going to see them battling against
teams who are using teamwork to try to win it. No, man, you're going to see McLaren tear each other
apart. Papaya rules are going to stand, bro. Like first they gave Lando a priority. Now this year
they're going to give Oscar a priority, right? That's how it works, right? Yeah, exactly.
That's that's yeah. I mean, I'm also a little afraid that they do have that we kind of know
McLaren has a Lando bias. So if McLaren isn't doing as good as they expect it to be, are they
going to favor Oscar more knowing that they're not going to do all that great? And when they're
going to do great, they're going to favor Lando. You see what I'm trying to say? Time will tell.
Time will tell for sure. I wonder, I wonder how that's going to pan out. But let's go on to
P6. Kimmy Antonelli for the both of us. Yeah, we throw, you know, the other Mercedes up there.
Kimmy is still a rookie, but he's shown he's willing to push and throw his car around. So
I think he's coming in higher than even Lewis Hamilton on my list for this year.
It's a crazy statement. 19, 20 year old, you know, fairly fresh on top of this.
This crashed his new car. It's going to come in and do well this season.
You know, that car was one of a kind, apparently. Like it was like a one off car,
total golf for him. And, you know, these guys are so rich. I was like, how long is okay?
Okay, here's about the car. And I was like, damn.
May that car rest in peace.
May that car rest in peace. But it's really, it's really cool to see Kimmy's and
Toto's dynamic. I love, I love watching this. It's like, it's cute. It's cute.
Some father son kind of relationship there for sure.
100%. Let's go to P7 Lewis Hamilton.
Yeah, we finally got to Lewis.
I know, I know seven world championships. We're putting him in P7 this year.
Hey, the good, the good thing Garrett is, I think for you, P10, for me, P12,
he's moved up quite a bit. So moving up the list, he's moving up the list.
Again, he's not exactly where he should be or deserves to be knowing him. But I think
Ferrari is going to do better this year. I think they, they took a big hit and
Lewis just kind of has to pull through at this point. What is this last year of this contract?
It's either this or he retires. Am I am I wrong?
I can't remember how long his contract was, but it does feel like a pivotal year where
he's had a bit of a slippery slope and he probably needs to show that he's going to do something.
Well, tell me this, Garrett, if you think that he finishes P7 knowing Lewis Hamilton,
that's not good enough. Do you think he just retires? Is this not good enough for him to continue?
No, he stays on. He wants to be an ambassador for this board.
He's going to be there, right? I think so.
Do you think his relationship with Ferrari will get better this year?
Only if he maintains his relationship with Kim Kardashian.
That's a callback. No, I think it'll get better this year. He changed his engineer,
so he's not going to have anyone telling him it's the water. Hopefully he's,
you know, has a little bit smarter strategy department this year.
I hope for his sake that his relationship with Ferrari gets better this year.
Bro, you just nailed that statement. You just nailed it. Whoa, that's going to be clipped,
people. That'll be one of our reels for sure. That was sick. Oh, man.
This is where the list gets hairy. This is where there stands to be points,
to be made for both of us. Because up until this point, it's either we get all the points or we
get none of the points. We're tied. Now is where there's points to be won in the midfield.
Less predictable place. All right, Gary, kick it off.
I stuck with, first off, the Ferrari engine I put Ollie, then I jumped ship over to Red Bull
Powertrains with Isaac. Then it just becomes a bit of a smorgasbord at that point that I was
incredibly unsure about. 100%. I think I was very close with you with Isaac and Ollie. For me,
P8 was Isaac. I just think that Red Bull is just going to edge out the Haas in other avenues.
I think they might be competitive with the engine powering it wise, but I just have this gut feeling
that the Red Bull is going to edge him out. Ollie, P9 for him would be great. I think he
deserves it. He's a great driver. I think P9 in a Haas would be amazing, amazing feat for him.
He is going to fill in that seat for Ferrari one day. I think this is going to really solidify
that. I think he does deserve it. I think he's got all the talent to do it.
P10. Who'd you have down for P10, Garrett? We've got Esteban Ocon.
Estebesti. Esteban Ocon. I've got him just slightly edging out Liam Lawson in this competition,
but again, this is where it gets messy. I'm really not sure what to expect.
P10. You know, it's funny. I just have this personal bias. I just don't like Esteban for some
reason. I don't know what it is. He seems like a really nice guy. I just couldn't have it in me
to put him up any higher than I did. P10. That's okay. That's okay. This is where there's points
to be had. If Esteban's the reason I have to eat that wing, I'll eat it. Okay, good. I'll remind you
of that. Yeah, let's clip that. If I have to eat it, we'll replay it one more time. Yeah, for me,
I have, where are we at? P10, I have Pierre Gasly. Okay. The Alpine is looking strong. The Alpine
is looking solid. They got the Merck power unit. They have a lot to prove. They have a lot of pressure
from big man Flavio in the back. And Pierre has the driving skill, the talent to make something
happen at the car. And we saw it last year as well with an absolute garbage car. Pierre still
managed to get some points in. So I have solid expectations for Alpine this year.
You've got faith. I've got enough faith, but I put them a little bit lower down the packing order.
Again, this could be the reason I ate the hot wing. We'll see. I think it might be the reason I ate
the hot wing. We'll figure it out when it happens. I'm just going to be there recording you and I'm
going to be laughing real hard. So I'll enjoy it. Then P11, I threw in Liam Lawson, followed
shortly thereafter by Arvid Lindblad. You really did. I think Arvid for you is... Listen, I've
heard nothing but good things about Arvid. It's a wild take. It is, man. Rookie just tend to make
mistakes and we have such... Ruthless consistency in the test, good sir. He did. He did. There's no
doubt about that, but we're talking about... He's on top of guys on your list. I don't want to get
too deep into it, but everyone below him on your list is so much more experienced, like so much more.
That's why he's the odd man now. I'm taking a chance with him.
I don't want to obviously, for all the listeners, I don't want to give his list up
earlier, but we'll get into that. We will get into that. Then for myself, P11, I also have Liam
Lawson and P12, I have my not so much like Esteban O'Conn in the Haas. But who outranked
you boy, Fernando Alonzo, who you put in P13, which is where I finally slotted it in PR Gassley.
Just a big sign to the mic for you all, because that's how I feel about this. Yes, he...
You're out of number one on your pre-testing prediction. Garrett, man, I get it. Why are you
putting salt on the wounds, bro? They're wounds, bro. It's fresh. Psychological warfare, so you're
off your game for the rest of the season. You're a doctor. You're supposed to heal me. Not hurt me,
bro. All's fair in love and hot weighing competitions. Like I said, light sheets,
steel, emotional warfare. Here we go. Yo, honestly, I am not going to spend too much time on this,
because yeah, Garrett's hurt it enough. It hurts me to put Fernando P13, but despite
everything, I feel like this is still high up. It's unfortunate to say that.
And the only reason why I feel like it's high up is we pose this question already. Is it 27 for
Aston? Or are they going to do something 26? They have to do something 26. I just think midway
through, I hope, midway through the season, they get something together that is competitive. And
I've said this time and time again on this podcast, and I will never stop seeing it. You give
Fernando a garbage car. He'll do something with it. He'll do something with it. He's smart.
He's clever. He's got the experience. And just for that reason, just for Fernando,
he's at P13, to be quite honest with you. And it hurts me to put him behind Esteban, but I had to
do what I had to do to not eat that wing. And I'm just going to still do the best I can to Aston
to honor Fernando by putting him as high as I possibly can.
Fair enough. And then P14, I get to Nico Ulkenberg.
Yeah, I was going to bring it. I honestly said this before, you have a lot of faith in Audi.
A decent amount of faith in Audi.
I mean, P14 is a lot of faith.
Brand new power unit, brand new car, brand new company.
It's the best sound in power unit on the grid right now.
Sounds great, but the sound looks great. Real creative arrow.
Yeah. Does it translate to performance? We're going to find out. Nico, Nico is good.
I like Nico, but we're almost in agreement with where Nico and Carlos are.
I just put Carlos in P15 and you swapped the two.
I did. I did swap the two. Carlos is P14 for me. Again, I just think he's a great driver.
He's going to bring the best out of the car.
It's just unfortunate that Williams had such a setback early on, but I am going to own up to
the fact I did say that they may beat Ferrari this year and I do have to say that was a wild take.
A take that I strongly believed based off of how 2025 ended,
but how 2026 is starting and beginning is it's changed everything up quite a bit.
I personally love Carlos. It's my second favorite team. He's my second favorite driver
after Fernando. Again, hurts me that the two favorite teams I have
are the ones that kind of messed up. Right getting into the sport, I put all my money
into the stocks that just happened to plummet and I'm going to stick by it.
I'm going to wait it out. It's a long-term game, but we're going to see how it goes.
But yeah, P15, like Garrett said, I just had it flipped. I do have faith in Nico.
I have faith in the fact that he's going to make some money. Every point is going to be
a paycheck and that's going to drive the Audi. Not the engine, not the power unit,
not those side pods. It's going to be Nico making money. It's going to drive it.
Who you got in P16? P16, I have Franco Colapinto.
Not so much faith in Franco. Again, I'm new to the sport. I kind of came into the sport with
him shitting it, but I have faith in that. So we'll see how that goes. How about you?
I've got him throwing down with Gabby on the other side.
Gabby, yeah, honestly.
Throwing that faith.
Gabby's a good driver. Looking at your list, I kind of felt like I put him far too low.
I think he's a great driver. I just don't have as much faith in the Audi itself.
I'd say it's going to be 2020, big guy.
P17, we're in agreement. Alex Albon.
And I've said he's reliable, but their car is not there yet. So we shall see.
Can I ask one thing? Why did you put Carlos on top of Alex?
She's a smooth operator.
Yeah, fair.
He's a smooth operator. I think he's the better, cooler, more cerebral driver of the two.
Yeah. No, I completely agree with you. I think Carlos does have...
Everyone talks about Max having the extra capacity to drive the car and watch the race
and make strategy calls. And so does Carlos. I haven't seen that from Albon yet.
Yeah, I think... What was it last year, Azerbaijan, when he came P3? I think it was
one of his calls to stay out and just kind of like, he's like, I'll hold it down. I'll get it.
And he did. And I think that takes a lot of... What's that term called? Just a race IQ, I would
say. Just like, just acknowledging able to make such a decision on the fly is just brilliant.
And he's definitely got it. Who do we got next? We are Alex Albon, P17, P18. I have Arvid
Linblad. Finally. Finally. Yeah, I mean, bro, he's a rookie. What do you mean, finally?
Listen, I know you have a lot of faith in Red Bull. I do too. I think the Red Bull is gonna be quick.
I think Red Bull Power Unit was one of the fastest in the straight line.
But man, he's a rookie. He's gonna make mistakes. He's going up against the likes of freaking so
many experienced drivers. I forgot how many experienced drivers we have that are the same
drivers from 2016. I think it's like eight or nine on the grid now. So there's a ton of experience
on this grid. He's just going against some sharks and he's still gonna grow.
That's okay. I got him thrown down against a shark for P18. That's where I slotted in Mr. Sergio
Perez. We were talking about how undervalued he's been for years and now he gets to make his F1
return maybe in not the strongest car in the Cadillac, but it's a good looking car. And I've
got him holding down P18 on the grid right above Valtteri in P19. And for me, I got Valtteri in
P19 on top of Checo plot twists. I just feel like Valtteri just might just hold it down. Do you
know what the breakdown was for testing who was kind of like on top of the other? No, I didn't
look that low down the list very often. They were kind of keeping tabs on it. I believe Valtteri
was a little bit quicker in the testing out of all the sessions. Again, this is a coin toss. I
don't know what to expect from Cadillac. I don't know what to expect from either of them. I just
think they're close to one another. But this is another one of those things when right after you
and I had the conversation about how undervalued Checo was and I realized I had put them in that
order. I'm like, maybe I should have. I don't know. You got me really kind of second guessing
myself there, especially we were just talking about how he won with Monaco, a whole bunch of
other races. And we're just like, damn, like Checo's low key a goat. It's not to say Valtteri
hasn't done well as well. But Checo is throwing down a couple good ones for sure. Oh yeah, for
sure. And then for P20, finally, I can say finally for him, Gabriel Bortoletto. Honestly, I just
think that last year he had a few hiccups and those hiccups set him back. I think it was like a
pressure. Being a new car, I don't know how he's going to respond with that same kind of
mentality unless he's worked on it. I don't know. I think he's a great driver. I just think
how he handled pressure that one time kind of set this kind of prediction for me.
That's okay. I think he's going to be in Max's ear and grown quite a lot. That's why I put him
higher up the list. And that's why I put Franco Colopinto as P20.
Gabby and Max. Yeah. Yeah. They're homies. That's yeah. I forgot what podcast they were on that
or they were talking about how they were talking about tire strategy. And he's like, yeah, don't
do that. Do you remember that? Yeah, Max pulled him aside and was like, no, no, run it this way.
Yeah. Gabby went back into the garage. No, I know you guys have picked it up this way,
but we should run it differently. gaining a ton of positions in the race. I can't remember which
race that was, but yeah, we're having a good laugh about it. What a good friend. What a good friend.
What a friend to have. 100%. Who do you got? I hate to do it to you. Oh, I got Franco and P20.
I got Franco Colopinto. I'm like, yo, don't get there yet. I see it in front of my screen. I
don't get there yet. We're not there yet. Let's just save it for a second. Talk about Franco for a while.
He might be in a reasonably competitive car, but I've got him pretty low down on this list.
I've got less faith in Franco than I do. Anyone I put above him. I think it's his last year,
man. If he doesn't pull through, he's gone. Wouldn't shock me. No, no. All right, P21 for me. I'm
going to talk about me first. We're going to save it for a while. You don't want me to shoot your
boys first? Oh, man, please. Just let's save him for a second, man. I got P21, Sergio, Checo Perez.
I think the Cadillac is just not there with the pace so far. Again, just unpredictable.
I have more faith in the Audi than I do with Cadillac right now for some reason.
Just going with the gut feeling here. I would say, in my case, a little bit
hesitation having him reverse with Valtteri, but it is what it is. I'm owning my list now,
so that he's there. I'm owning the last two on my list, unfortunately,
Joggy Sporton. I'm putting Fernando in P21 because he's a great driver. He deserves better.
I'm putting our Canadian down last P22, that Aston Martin, unless it is about to be the
most amazing show of sandbagging we've ever seen, they don't have it this year.
Listen, if, I'm going to say this out here, everybody, if Aston Martin is any of the drivers
are in the top 10, I will eat that wing anyways to celebrate. I will eat that wing with you.
Are you going to eat that wing on the race that it happens, if Fernando gets in the top 10,
you're eating the wing? I will eat that wing. This is going to be a bold strategy from here.
Now I really hope Fernando is P10 in every single race. Listen, I love Aston Martin.
I love Fernando Alonso. If they are any good, I will just eat that wing.
Why am I doing this to myself? I don't know, but I will do it. I will do it, Garrett.
That's a thorough show of support. I'm on emotional wreck right now, man. I'll fucking do it.
Well, we'll get you the help you need after you spice yourself out. Thanks, Doc.
B22 for me is, and for both of us, is Lance Stroll.
Big, big, big nod from you, eh? Yeah. It's a tough, fascinating boy, but unless, hey,
hear me out. Hear me out. I'm going to close this because we've gone through the list now.
We can talk a little bit. Unless it rains every race, you might stand a chance.
Yeah, it'll rain in Abu Dhabi and Jeddah for sure. If it happens, bro, he's got it.
If this is the year of the monsoon, you'll be eating a lot of hot wings.
Yeah, dude. If it rains every race, we're fucked.
We'll be eating a lot of hot wings. Oh, my God. But yeah, man, I like those predictions.
I think those are great. Especially those first seven. First guys.
That was what's going to happen after. Oh, my God. If you guys are watching,
like, our reactions were underwhelming, but we were like losing our freaking marbles, dude.
It was crazy. We're like, oh, my God. We're like a bunch of girls screaming. I was screaming.
I'm like one after another. Same predictions almost the whole way through.
Yeah, it was good fun. We're going to do that more. We're going to just send the podcast and
just start recording and just see what we do, what we say. I might be messier,
but we might try that out once. We'll give it a shot. We'll give it a shot. We'll give it a shot,
for sure. What are we talking about next week, my big guy? Yeah, I was going to just say
next week is going to be our race predictions.
Because it's almost race week. It's almost Australia. It's almost time to get up way too early in
the morning and wake up our neighbors with car engine noises and yells of excitement.
Oh, my God. I cannot wait. We are 25th, tomorrow is 26th. One, two, three, four, five, six, seven,
eight, nine, 10, 11 more days to go. Tell race day and I cannot be more excited because I really
need this. I really need this in my life. I can't tell you how much I need this. Garrett, don't laugh,
man. Tell me F1's your personality without telling me F1's your personality.
I just really, really need this. It's almost here. It's almost here. It's so funny. Even today,
I'm just like, dude, I had a long day at work, but like Garrett, I'm so happy we're here talking
about F1 now. I knew he was going to cheer me up and here I am laughing about it with you
at the end of our podcast. I love it. Love to hear it. With that, we'll wrap it up. Make sure you
race. Make sure you like, subscribe, all those fun ways you can follow us on all the different
platforms that Joggy's going to mention because I can't remember them. No, you nailed it. That's
it. Amazon, Spotify, YouTube. I don't even know half them, but they're there. They're there.
All the access is there, but we're going to sign off. We'll see you guys next week.
Sign off.
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