Matt and Tommy dive into their predictions for the 2026 F1 Drivers' World Championship, ranking drivers from 10th to 1st. They discuss key midfield battles, the potential of rookies and experienced drivers, and the impact of team performance and car development. Highlights include debates over Carlos Sainz's recovery at Williams, Pierre Gasly's resurgence at Alpine, Isaac Haja's challenge at Red Bull, and the uncertain form of Lewis Hamilton at Ferrari. The hosts balance optimism and realism, reflecting on testing insights and last season's performances to forecast a chaotic and exciting championship.
Join us for the second half of our F1 Championship predictions, as we try to separate the amazing drivers jostling at the front of the grid from one another... Let the arguments ensue!
Sign up to our Patreon! You'll get access to every P1 episode ad-free, extended versions of every 2026 race review, early access to tickets & merch, and access to our Discord server where you can chat with us and other F1 fans! Click here to sign up now: http://patreon.com/mattp1tommy
This episode is sponsored by The AA, the UK’s No.1 breakdown provider. It’s OK with the AA, they’re the fastest major breakdown provider with more patrols up and down the country, 24/7, 365 days a year. So, if you want that peace of mind and be back on the road in no time - Join today at www.theaa.com/P1 T&Cs apply. Verify claims at theaa.com/best
"But this is the state of Formula One. As of right now, not knowing the pecking order is the most exciting until Mercedes are five seconds clear at the end of one."
Formula One is a type of car racing where the fastest cars in the world race against each other on different tracks around the globe to see who is the best driver.
Formula One is the highest class of international single-seater auto racing sanctioned by the FIA, featuring the fastest and most technologically advanced racing cars competing in a world championship.
"not knowing the pecking order is the most exciting until Mercedes are five seconds clear at the end of one. No, I'm kidding."
Mercedes is a famous car company from Germany that makes luxury cars and also builds race cars that compete in Formula One.
Mercedes-Benz is a German automotive brand known for its luxury vehicles and dominant presence in Formula One racing, often fielding highly competitive cars.
Concept
P10
"Right, Tommy, let's get in to P10. My P10 is Carlos Sainz. Daddy Valls is going to cook. He's going to cook-ish. I mean, P10 is not exactly maybe where they wanted to be from finishing fifth in the constructors last year,"
P10 means being in 10th place among all the teams in a racing series called Formula 1. It's like being ranked 10th out of all the teams.
P10 refers to the 10th position in the Formula 1 Constructors' Championship standings, indicating a team's rank among all competing teams.
"where we missed the shakedown. I say we like I'm part of the Williams team. They missed the Spain shakedown. And to bounce back, I think Carlos Sainz,"
A shakedown is like a practice drive to make sure the race car works well before the real race.
A shakedown is a preliminary test run of a race car to check its systems and performance before official events or races.
Concept
P9
"P9 battle will be won by Pierre Gasly, in my opinion. Okie dokie. P9 is one of the top four."
P9 means being in ninth place in a race or qualifying session.
In Formula 1, 'P9' refers to the ninth position on the starting grid or finishing order in a race.
Concept
P7
""What has Tommy gone for in P7? Oh my God, can I just say P7, this was so difficult.""
P7 means being in the seventh spot in a race or competition. It's like being number seven in line.
P7 refers to the seventh position on a starting grid or in a race classification, commonly used in motorsports to indicate a driver's or car's rank.
""Okay, P7 I've gone for Lewis Hamilton, which based on last year's form, you might think is a fair enough prediction,""
Lewis Hamilton is a very famous race car driver who has won many championships in Formula 1, which is the top level of car racing.
Lewis Hamilton is a British Formula 1 racing driver, widely regarded as one of the greatest in the sport's history, known for multiple World Championships.
"It's so difficult to tell, and of course, Hamilton had a really tough season."
Formula 1 is a top-level car racing competition where the fastest and most advanced race cars compete around the world.
Formula 1 is the highest class of international single-seater auto racing sanctioned by the FIA, featuring the fastest and most technologically advanced race cars.
"I went back and looked at all the things people were saying even after testing last year about Ferrari and it was like, they're winning the constructors, they're going to be great,"
In Formula 1 racing, the constructors are the teams that build the cars, and they compete for a championship based on how well their cars do during the season.
In Formula 1, the 'constructors' championship is awarded to the team that accumulates the most points over a season, based on the combined results of its drivers.
""then fourth in the championship is a disaster. It's mad that how the sort of expectation can change quite drastically""
A championship is like a big contest that lasts all season, where drivers earn points in each race to see who is the best overall.
In motorsports, a championship is a season-long competition where drivers and teams accumulate points based on race results to determine the overall winner.
"Max Verstappen's got the fourth best car. And we both predicted to win the championship. And he almost did it."
Max Verstappen is a famous race car driver who competes in the highest level of car racing called Formula 1. He's known for being very good and consistent.
Max Verstappen is a professional Formula 1 racing driver known for his skill and consistency, often competing for the World Championship.
"My driver's world champion for 2026, is Max Verstappen."
The driver's world champion is the best race car driver in the world for that year, who wins the most races or points.
The driver's world champion is the title given to the Formula 1 driver who scores the most points over a season, recognized as the best driver that year.
"I think we are going to have a generational, much wished for, Russell versus Verstappen title fight."
A title fight means two drivers, George Russell and Max Verstappen, will compete closely to see who wins the championship.
A title fight between George Russell and Max Verstappen refers to a competitive season where both drivers contend closely for the Formula 1 world championship.
Select text to request an explanation
Hello, everybody, and welcome back to the People on Podcast with Matt and Tommy.
Oh, you have all been waiting for this one. 10th to 1st in the World Championship for
the drivers. Will myself and Tommy go for the same thing? Will we not?
I hope not.
I hope not as well. I'll be really upset if we've teased this up so beautifully of,
oh my God, it's going to be so much chaos. I think looking at my predictions, I feel
like surely there's going to be some disagreements in there. But this is the
state of Formula One. As of right now, not knowing the pecking order is the most
exciting until Mercedes are five seconds clear at the end of one. No, I'm kidding.
I'm kidding. And also spoilers or not. Who knows? You have to have to wait and see.
Right, Tommy, let's get in to P10. My P10 is Carlos Sainz. Daddy Valls is going to cook.
He's going to cook-ish. I mean, P10 is not exactly maybe where they wanted to be from
finishing fifth in the constructors last year, but it's going to be cooking compared to where we
were, where we missed the shakedown. I say we like I'm part of the Williams team. They missed
the Spain shakedown. And to bounce back, I think Carlos Sainz, he's getting his footing in Williams,
in my opinion. And how can we not put Carlos in the top 10? He belongs there. Last year,
it was a phenomenal season. And if Williams can turn around potential weight issues,
unlocking the performance, I think Carlos will cook just like he did last year.
P10, I have gone for Oli Berman. I think he's going to have another brilliant season,
house looking, great after testing. And Oli Berman really, really, really impressive towards the
end of last year. That run that he had of just points finishes and of course the fourth place
in Mexico. And this was, of course, his rookie season, like a full rookie season from the start
as well, which is so impressive. If he can do that already, I think he's going to have a great
year in the house. And yeah, who knows? If he manages to impress, I do genuinely think that
there'll be serious questions asked about when's the time for him to potentially make the step
up to a bigger team. Because people are not going to let him just sit in a house for years and years.
So yeah, it's an exciting season. I think he's going to do really, really well.
Okie dokie, P9, Tommy, who is the top of the midfield?
So just before we get into P9, a little bonus prediction, but based on what we've done so far,
I think this might be the moment where we agree if I've done my predictions correctly.
Oh yeah, you've not said the same person I've not said.
And we're talking about the top eight.
Ok, so P9, I've gone for Pierre Gasly. And I would be surprised if Matt also hasn't gone
for Pierre Gasly because I think he's going to have a great season. Of course, it was a big,
big, big struggle for Alpine last year, but they weren't really about that season. It was all the
focus. It was going into the new one. They looked great in testing. Gasly's got the experience
to deliver. Even last year, you know, Colopinto couldn't score a point, Duane couldn't score a
point. Gasly got 22 of them, which is very impressive for a car that probably, you know,
a best should have maybe scored five or six for a lot of the time. And yeah, I think Gasly's going
to have a great season and be the dizzying heights of P9 for the best of the rest. And the fight for
P9 battle will be won by Pierre Gasly, in my opinion. Okie dokie. P9 is one of the top four.
Now I'm kidding. It's Pierre Gasly. We finally agreed, you know, delete the whole podcast,
start again. That is upsetting. I'm more angry at that than I am if I got everything wrong.
But yeah, Pierre Gasly for me, as I mentioned earlier on when I was speaking about Alpine with
Colopinto, I think that Gasly will have a brilliant season and he will flourish in having a better
car again. I feel like the motivation will be sky high after last year where he was saying he
doesn't want to ever see the car ever again. So we're now at a stage that I think Alpine should,
in theory, they've got, you know, we questioned, didn't we? Why have they been off their engine
program and gone with Mercedes? Well, that's not looking too bad now, is it? And you're then
questioning why didn't Aston Martin do the same? But instead they went for Honda and Alpine,
they rolled the dice and I think that they may well have something pretty good this year. So
Pierre Gasly is my P9. Ok, I'm nervous. Because I'm now looking at this top eight, Tommy,
and I feel like I'm disrespecting half of them. But the thing is they all have to finish
somewhere in the top eight with the top four teams that we don't know the pecking order.
All right, here we go. P8. And my driver's world championship prediction is Isaac Haja.
Sorry, I'm sorry, Haja. I did say that you might win a race in a previous prediction,
but I'm also, there's part of me after seeing everything that is required from this car,
seeing the driving style of his teammate and everything else. I feel like Max,
we'll see where I put him, but he can make the difference. I don't know whether Haja can.
I've not seen anything to suggest that he is going to be right on the level with Max. I know
it's only testing and times don't matter, but this is all I am basing it on. So eighth wouldn't
be bad though, in an insane sort of weird reality that we're in with the Red Bull second seat.
Eighth, I think, anybody going into that second seat would take considering what we saw last year,
what we've seen for the last few. Haja, P8, and I'm going to stop talking before I change it.
Go, go, Tommy.
Amazing that P8 is slanderous. Yeah, the second Red Bull driver finished 17th last year.
And I've also gone for Isaac Haja, P8.
We're going to agree so much now.
Dear me, I will be Frank. I don't...
Oh, Frank.
I will be Frank.
Frank.
Woof.
That was a horrific bad joke.
Oh my gosh, are those of you that don't know Tommy had a dog called Frank?
Yeah, new listeners are going to be like, why are we just woofing?
Oh dear.
Anyway, Isaac Haja, yes, eighth. I will be honest, I don't think he's going to do that great.
However, there's going to be such a chasm between the kind of eighth to ninth,
that I actually think will be in that situation almost like, you know where Perez,
you didn't really know how good he was, and then when Red Bull were really strong,
you were saying, well, he could have a bad race and he'd still finished fourth or fifth,
so he looked quite good in comparison.
Yeah, I mean, he could literally finish 50 seconds behind Max and still be on the podium.
Exactly, this is exactly what I was about to say, that 30, 40, 50 seconds off Max
could very easily still be P8, if not higher.
So I think that Haja will struggle alongside Max.
I can't see it being any better for the second driver in terms of being comparable to Max.
Dare I say, no, I don't think he's going to beat Max once or year,
in terms of like in qualifying or anything like that.
But this is the beauty of having the top teams be so far clear by the look of it.
All the talk we're hearing from testing is there could be at least a second gap between them,
if not more, and that means that he's got a lot to play with, basically.
So that's why, no surprise, that I've also gone for P8 for Haja.
Yeah, it's a very fair point about the chasm.
It does give him that safety buffer.
If he doesn't finish eighth, big trouble, because you can't be being beaten by teams
that genuinely look a second slower, if not more than the top four.
So yeah, good luck to Haja in his first season at Red Bull.
P7, Tommy, this is where it gets a bit spicier.
Okay, come on, I'm locking it.
I'm putting my seatbelt on right now.
What has Tommy gone for in P7?
Oh my God, can I just say P7, this was so difficult.
And anyone...
I swear to God, if we've gone for the same person, by the way, I will start throwing things.
Okay, P7 I've gone for Lewis Hamilton,
which based on last year's form, you might think is a fair enough prediction,
based on his Instagram post basically saying, we're so back baby.
You might think that I'm being crazy to put him that low.
I just don't know how much I believe of the Ferrari hype.
It's so difficult to tell, and of course, Hamilton had a really tough season.
I do think he'll be better and more potentially more comparable to his teammate,
and surely it can't be worse than last year, because some racers were really, really poor.
Don't see him going out famous last words in Q1 and things like that.
However, don't clip it.
But no, I just can't see past it, and this is the problem.
I had to put someone in seventh, I look at all the other drivers,
and he was the least wrong putting a driver in P7, if that makes sense.
It does make sense.
In my head, of course.
Yeah, it does make sense, because you're basing off of a bit of form as well,
and Hamilton, out of these top seven drivers, has had the worst form last year compared to the others.
That's absolutely fair enough.
In P7, I have gone for Oscar Piatri.
I'm really sorry, Oscar.
I'm really sorry.
This is not a reflection on you.
However, we have seen him complaining, of course, about all of the different stuff you
have to do in the car, and I am not convinced that McLaren are going to be the quickest.
I think that that is reserved for some other teams, and if I was to place the top four,
I think McLaren might well be fourth fastest.
You look around of what some journalists are saying and things like that.
They are placing McLaren fourth, so someone has to finish seventh.
And if I think it's shaken up from last year, which I do, then McLaren, they may well finish,
sorry, Oscar Piatri may well finish seventh in the standings.
That doesn't mean he might not get a win.
It doesn't mean he might not get podiums.
It depends on how close these cars are.
So I'm already in defensive mode, and I'm kind of almost like trying to tell myself,
because there's part of me that's angry that I've put Piatri seventh,
but there's part of me that's going, yeah, but if you think McLaren are going to be
the fourth fastest car, then obviously they're going to finish around that area.
So I'm sorry, Oscar.
You had a great season last year, of course, narrowly missing out on the championship.
I hope I'm wrong, but then in some ways my Ferrari brain says I hope I'm not wrong.
So Oscar Piatri, P7, lots of love.
I'm really sorry.
In sixth place, I have gone for Lewis Hamilton, which makes me feel physically sick,
because I'm talking about Ferrari here and the potential pace of the car.
Lewis Hamilton, yes, he's had a reset mindset, everything, and we know what Lewis Hamilton
is capable of, but he needs a car that he likes and that he enjoys.
And I don't know whether this is going to be it.
You look at the comments that he's made about the car.
He said then Bahrain has never felt less grip than this year.
Will these cars suit him?
It's a complete unknown.
And I'm basing my sixth place prediction also on the fact of form from last year as well,
like we've spoken about.
And he's come off one of the worst, if not, yeah, the worst season of his entire Formula
1 career last year.
Can he really bounce back at his age as well?
You have to throw in the age comment as well.
Yes, there is science behind it.
I hope Hamilton wins races.
I want to see him win races.
I want to see him win in Ferrari that isn't a sprint race.
But I'm just not convinced right now.
So that's why I've gone for sixth.
Did you read his Instagram post?
Did you see it?
Okay.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Yeah, crazy, because I'm reading it now and it's like we've gone for sixth and seventh.
And yeah.
But I feel as though, and I might be wrong here, but I feel as though he has said
previously when he said poor seasons, I'm so back with a reset now.
So much you believe in, isn't it?
And things like that.
It's like, I need to see it.
Yeah, so for anyone that didn't see it, I'm going to read it out for you.
So it's, I'm reset and refreshed.
I'm not going anywhere.
So stick with me for a moment.
I forgot who I was, but thanks to you and your support when we're not going to see
that mindset again.
I know what needs to be done.
This is going to be one hell of a season.
I've given everything to be here.
Let's go team.
So, yeah, very different to-
All right, P1 loses, I'll change my mind.
Very different to, this is the worst grip I've ever had in a race car and looking
quite miserable that the flip flop of Ferrari kind of happiness is-
Mate, when we see this and then we go to Australia where Ferrari have been knocked
out in Q2, let's just see what his mindset is.
Because if he's saying, I'm, you know, like we've seen in the last few years,
which has been quite not nice to see of him questioning his ability and things like that.
I hope for his sake, he doesn't get down in the dumps immediately if Ferrari don't deliver.
So, who have you got for P6, Tommy?
I'm waiting with baited breath.
P6 I've gone for.
Charlotte Clair.
And people may-
People may think that's bait.
It's not.
Yeah, people say sacrilege.
You are horrible. I've never felt more disdain towards you until right now.
How dare you?
Let me explain.
No, I don't want to hear.
Okay, I will explain.
What a stupid explanation you're about to say.
Okay, first is, I'm not on the Ferrari hype train after.
I extensively looked, I'll be honest, I did have him.
I've literally put him like in so many different places on my list and it keeps flip-flopping.
It's so hard to judge.
I think a lot of people will say that Ferrari, you know, about an amazing test.
This is Charles Yeah, potentially going to win the championship.
You know, people, a lot of people are saying it's going to be, you know, him, maybe George
going for the championship, but that's the seems like the popular opinion.
I went back and looked at all the things people were saying even after testing last year about
Ferrari and it was like, they're winning the constructors, they're going to be great,
all this kind of stuff.
And I have a different opinion to you about McLaren being fourth fastest.
I think that there will be a lot better than I think that the people expect.
And I had to put someone down there and I just, I'm just not buying the Ferrari hype train.
I think he's a fantastic driver, I believe in his ability.
But if I look at a season where if the rumors are true that all these cars are very, very close,
the team I trust the least to develop and improve throughout the season is Ferrari.
Which is why someone's got to be down there and it's Charles Leclerc.
Cool. No one asked.
I knew you were going to say that.
I'm literally going to scared.
Yeah, no one asked.
I mean, I did just ask about two minutes ago, but now I take that back.
What a stupid opinion.
God, you watch Formula One and you think you know things and then you come out with stuff like that.
Look, fine. You are allowed your own opinion.
That's great.
Editor, can we make sure we mute Tommy's P6?
That would be great.
But there we go.
All right.
Good age badly.
Yeah, I hope the age is so badly.
I will knee slide across my room with a Tommy is wrong t-shirt on if that is the case.
Okay.
Hopefully, no, it's carpets that really hurt.
All right, let's go to P5, shall we?
P5, I've gone for Landon Orris.
Another driver who's quite far down the order, but I have had him as high as second.
Looked like Charles Leclerc.
It's so difficult to pick.
I have changed between the two McLaren drivers a lot.
I've put Landon a lot higher.
I think he's massively been underrated this season.
And then, yeah, I just keep changing my mind.
It is so difficult to predict these.
I think as I look at it, fifth, yeah, for Landon, it feels far too low.
But the others, I've got reasons for why I've put them higher.
And I do think McLaren are being slept on a little bit and will be strong.
But it's just so close.
And that's why it's so great that it does feel like it's incredibly close
between all the top four and could be anyone's.
OK, so you've put Oscar ahead of Landon as well.
My P5 is Landon Orris as well, unsurprisingly, because I mean,
it shouldn't come as any surprise.
I don't know why, Tommy, you've just looked like you've just been in a car crash there,
my guy, because I put McLaren fourth fastest.
So just to put him fifth is sort of a compliment, if anything, because, yeah,
if he's got a car underneath him that isn't quite the pace of the top three,
then then he's going to have his work cut out.
Now, I know people are going to be joined.
What do you mean?
He's the world champions.
Yes, but it's Formula One and they are restricted by their car performance.
And I feel as though as much as Landon will be lighter,
he'll I think he'll have more confidence.
He's won the world championship now.
He can kind of enjoy it a bit more.
I just, yeah, I'm not convinced that McLaren will have the fastest car.
So that's why I've gone for P5 Landon Orris.
Fourth position I am locking in, Kimmy Antonelli.
Kimmy Antonelli, again, you could roll a dice and the dice has to have seven numbers on it
and he could be any one of those seven because we don't have a clue.
Come on, like we don't have a scooby.
But what I do have a scooby of is that I think George Russell will beat Kimmy Antonelli
over the course of a season once again.
But fourth in the championship will be, I think, something decent,
unless Mercedes are a second clear and they turn up their engine,
then fourth in the championship is a disaster.
It's mad that how the sort of expectation can change quite drastically
as soon as we see them come out in Australia.
But Antonelli, he just needs a better season the last year,
where he doesn't just disappear for eight races and we start questioning,
oh my God, is Toto going to start wondering if he's made the right decision with Antonelli?
Then, of course, the end of the year with Brazil and moments like that
and the Miami moment in qualifying, sprint qualifying, wasn't it?
There are moments where we know his potential is really high.
He just needs to unlock it.
So P4.
P4, I've gone for Oscar Piestri.
I've had him higher than Landon Orris,
but again, I've swapped between the two of them a lot.
I think it would be exceptionally close between them again.
I think it maybe even come down to a few points like it did last year,
you know, a position swap here and there between the two.
I think they are the closely matched teammates,
probably across the whole grid, both exceptionally talented.
And it's so hard to pick who's going to finish higher,
but I have gone for Piestri just because of the kind of growth that he's had
and how much he's improving year on year.
That being said, I feel like it's maybe being overplayed how much people are like...
I've seen a lot of people go like,
oh yeah, Piestri is definitely going to beat Norris by leads this year.
I don't think that's going to be the case.
I think they'll be very close.
And yeah, it's hard to pick between the two.
I actually think McLaren may well have the second best car.
You say the fourth best.
I'd actually maybe say second best car is what I would predict.
And that's why I've gone for Oscar up in P4.
Wow, second best car, but only fourth and fifth in the championship.
The absolute slander from Tommy there.
Okie dokie.
P3.
P3, yeah.
I've gone for...
Can't not say it.
P3, I've gone for Kimmy Antonelli.
He is, yeah, quite high up, maybe for some people,
but I think Mercedes, you know, said the best car will be Mercedes.
Second best car I think will be McLaren this year.
And I back Kimmy to have a much better season
than I think people think.
And I do agree with you to the point where
it is Roll the dice, Kimmy Antonelli.
He might be second, he might be seventh.
And it all just depends what...
Oh, is there any second there, mate?
After saying Kimmy Antonelli, world champion for testing?
Well, well, that was a reason for that, wasn't there?
And look, I think you look at Kimmy's form, it's inconsistent,
and that's going to be the big question mark
going into this season.
Towards the end of the season, he was a match for George,
and sometimes he had races in like Brazil,
where he was just comfortably better,
like Vegas, he looked really quick, amazing in Sao Paulo as well.
But he needs to have those moments all the time
to be in with a shot of the championship.
And I think that's where he will struggle,
but I do think Mercedes is going to be exceptionally strong,
which is why he's third.
In third place for me in the Drivers World Championship is...
Charles Leclerc.
What?
Wow, you've disrespected more than I have.
I don't want to talk about it.
Okay, wow.
I just don't want to talk about it, Tommy.
Like, stop asking.
I know we have a podcast about Formula One,
and we have to talk about things,
but I don't want to talk about it.
Now, I have looked at that woman at 31.9 every single night
before I go to bed.
But I don't, I just...
I think Ferrari are doing it again to me.
I think they might be doing it, I think they're doing it again.
Why would they?
Why would they go and do half an hour of quality sim runs
right at the end of Bahrain testing?
When no one else was.
That's my logic.
My logic is kicking in right now.
Doesn't happen often.
Of, yes, we have not seen the same runs from any other team,
especially the amount of runs that Ferrari did.
And again, I look at respective journalists and things around the paddock.
Nobody has put Ferrari fastest.
Now, are we moving in silence?
Or have they all been paid?
Ferrari like, right, every journalist, look,
don't one of you put us fastest because we move in silence?
If that's the case, I respect it.
They win the World Championship.
I'm happy to be wrong here.
I want to be wrong more than anything in my entire life
than third Charlotte Clair in the championship.
And I think third Charlotte Clair in the championship
is going to be a phenomenal season for him.
That's the sad point.
I think that Ferrari could well be third fastest,
which makes me feel sick and really unwell.
But I have to, with this one, the one before, that was pre-testing.
I've got to believe.
And I do in some weird, it's like Matt having split personalities right now.
If a different day Matt came in,
I'm putting Charlotte Clair P1 every day of the week, let's go, baby.
But this is, there's competition here as well.
I need to beat Tommy in this.
And third Charlotte Clair.
He's fallen a lot lower since your pre-season before, hasn't he?
What do you mean?
As in, you go from, you normally go for him first
in the pre-season predictions, and then I think maybe last year.
And I always wake up.
And then you always, but what I'm saying is,
and then you're normally like, I think he's going to be sixth or fifth or fourth,
whereas it is higher.
That's true.
I don't know if that means anything in the world.
But third for Charlotte Clair, God, I hope I'm wrong.
That's all I'll say on that one.
All right, Tommy, I think because we've only got two left,
we have to now go for world champion,
because it's a bit more hype, isn't it?
Than saying, in second place, come on, let's mix it up.
Oh, okay.
Should we say world champion?
And then talk about the other one afterwards.
Yeah, yeah.
Because otherwise, we all know who we've gone for world champion,
but boring, you know?
So Tommy, who have you gone for?
For world champion.
Yeah, that would technically have been you.
We've just mixed it up, but I guess it should have been me.
No, no, no, go on, I'll go, I'll go.
You want to go?
All right, Tommy, who have you gone for world champion?
I have gone for George Russell.
I have sticking with George Russell.
As you'll see, it's Max and George left.
And my word, if that was a title battle,
sign me up every day of the week, because it'd be incredible.
But I think Mercedes are going to be too strong.
I have more faith than I did before the start of the season,
that we're not going to have a 2014 season from Mercedes,
and they're going to be light years clear.
I really hope not.
But I do still think they're going to be incredibly strong
and clear of the pack.
I think that it will be a fight between the others
to pick up the pieces when Mercedes aren't maximizing their result.
I do think maybe Mercedes have a couple of tenths on the field
and will be the quickest.
And George, we saw amazing consistency from him last year.
I don't for a second, I don't know how anyone could not think
that a driver like George, given the right car, could do it.
Because we've seen a lot of drivers up and down the grid.
You could, driver performance can only do so much as well.
But he's a fantastic driver.
You know, look what he managed to do in Williams.
He got the promotion.
He's beaten Lewis Hamilton at Mercedes.
And you deliver him a championship-winning car,
I think he will deliver.
Now, I'll talk about second place, which was Max Verstappen.
I had Max in about fifth at one point, and I slowly moved him.
You said that Max was not going to win a race this year.
Exactly.
So what's changed about Max Verstappen, I will say,
is that they are there.
I really thought this season that it would be such a struggle,
that we might see such a performance gap.
But they are in that pack, in my opinion, between Ferrari
and McLaren.
Like, I think they're kind of, it's close between those guys.
And if that is the case, Max will deliver.
And, you know, he's got the consistency.
We saw last year even, we went into last year saying,
Max Verstappen's got the fourth best car.
And we both predicted to win the championship.
And he almost did it.
He almost did the impossible.
And the other thing that's changed as well,
is looking at the kind of gizmos and all this kind of stuff.
Even though he's there slandering the car, saying he hates it,
and it's the least enjoyable car he's ever driven.
He was the one that rolled out the pit lane
and created this driving style that everyone started copying.
So he's a phenomenal driver.
He can push that car more than what it's going to be,
if they can do indeed what they're kind of talking about,
of harvesting the energy better,
and all that kind of stuff that Max will just get so ingrained
and just make happen.
I think he'll do amazing things in that car.
But not enough to win the world championship alongside
a very, very quick Mercedes and George Russell.
So as you might have guessed,
I also have Max and George left in my top two.
My driver's world champion for 2026,
is Max Verstappen.
I think we are going to have a generational,
much wished for, Russell versus Verstappen title fight.
Wow.
Which I think will feed not one singular generation,
multiple generations.
Please.
I think Red Bull are right in with this.
We're talking about the energy efficiency stuff
is going to get very dull and boring,
when we're talking about it constantly.
But the fact that that was the thing
that they'd noticed the most about the Red Bull,
I think suggests that they will come alive in the races
if they don't potentially over one lap.
I think we've, yeah, we've got a Max Verstappen
that will be able to challenge.
He's already, as you said, developing driving styles
to figure out this car.
He's going to be one of, if not the first driver,
to be on top of this and be getting the maximum out of it.
I have no doubt in my mind,
whether Red Bull, yeah, are a 10th or two behind Mercedes per lap,
I think Max can make that up.
This is turning into me being a proper Max laser right now.
But...
I did it last year, didn't I, I guess.
You said it, you just said like,
we thought last year Max was going with the fourth fastest car,
we put it in world champion.
I think he might be coming with the second fastest car.
How can I not put him down as world champion?
It's going to be close.
I think if Mercedes have a bigger advantage
than what I expect, then George Russell will be world champion.
But I think it's going to be closer than we anticipate.
And I'm looking forward to it.
I think a Max versus George.
Oh, God, it would be so good.
It would be so much fire.
And the interviews would pop off.
George would be preparing another script
about how much Max is a bully.
And oh, it's going to feed a lot.
There'd be a war of words.
Well, probably a one-sided war of words.
Yeah, yeah, maybe.
To be fair, Max likes the occasional jab, doesn't he?
Yeah, he does occasionally.
So it would be good.
I mean, as much as I put in six, you put in third,
I do hope Charles is in there as well.
It would be, we're getting ahead of ourselves
if we had potentially them going for the championship, all of them.
It's so hard to know.
And one thing I would say is that my first prediction
I've kind of stuck with George Russell the whole time.
I know I said Antonelli,
but it was kind of more that I didn't want to be boring
and kind of just go for Russell.
Because weirdly, he was like so favored to be champion.
And I think most people are putting George first.
However, like, it's so much closer than I anticipated.
And I think that's a really exciting thing for Formula One.
The amount of time that's-
Oh, God, please.
Seven tenths clear, George Russell on pole.
Yeah, but genuinely, I had, when I did this top,
particularly like my top seven,
because no disrespect, I was kind of confident
in how George are finishing eighth.
I backed George and thinking that he's going to be first.
I genuinely had Leclerc in second at one point.
Then I had Antonelli second.
Then I had Piastri, then I had Lando.
It's just changing all the time.
It's the beauty of doing these predictions into a new reg set.
I just want to say that I think I am allowed to have
a small sort of get out of jail free card here,
where if Charle Leclerc goes from fourth to first
by the first corner in Australia,
change it all, Charle Leclerc World Champion.
All right, that's what I'm going to say.
If Ferrari have that insane launch stuff that we've been hyping up,
and it actually comes into fruition.
And if it is 2014 and Mercedes-Claire changed,
can we Antonelli to second?
Yeah, exactly.
Right, there you go.
That is our predictions that I'm sure we will regret
at least a thousand times once this goes live.
But let us know your thoughts in the comments as always.
Tommy, what are your final thoughts?
My final thoughts are I'd love to read what people think.
I appreciate doing all 22 is a lot.
So even if you don't have time, just do the top five,
because I think we're going to see such a mix.
Like get in the comments right as what you're top five,
and I'd be really interested to read them.
Come on, top 22, let's go.
At least top 10.
If you want to do.
If you want to do.
Do as many as you want.
But top 10, yeah, or something.
Because yeah, it'd be really fascinating to read,
because I think the exciting thing going to season
is it is all so different.
And the fact that there will be lots of people,
almost everyone watching this going,
no, I don't agree with that is a great thing,
because we've had seasons gone by,
where it's just like, yeah,
Max is winning the title, obviously,
like it's for one collision,
Paris is finishing second,
because then the other Red Bull.
This is a great thing to be so unsure
about what's going to happen.
I love it.
Make sure you subscribe to the YouTube channel
and anywhere else, our socials, our podcasts,
make sure you're following that,
because we are in for a very crazy season.
I'm sure lots of questions will be brought up over the year
and make sure you're part of the P1 fan
across the entire season,
because we'd love to have you.
Right, that is it.
We'll see you soon.
Lots of love.
Take care.
Bye.
Bye.
Request an explanation for:
Request an Explanation
Heard something you'd like explained? We'll add it to this episode.
Sign in to request explanations for terms you heard.
Want to learn more?
Browse our glossary for plain-English explanations of automotive terms, jargon, and concepts.
See something that's not quite right? Our annotations are AI-generated and can sometimes miss the mark.
Click the flag icon on any annotation to suggest a correction.
