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Predicting the 2027 F1 Driver Lineups!
Predicting the 2027 F1 Driver Lineups!
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About this episode
With a month-long F1 break, the Late Braking crew runs through predictions for the 2027 driver lineups across all 11 teams, focusing on which contracts are likely to hold and where big-name moves could happen. The biggest debate: whether Max Verstappen jumps to Mercedes (and how fast Mercedes would need to act), plus who replaces Lewis Hamilton at Ferrari—Oscar Piastri vs Liam Lawson vs Hamilton staying. They also map Haas, Alpine, Red Bull, and the midfield, then finish with a trivia game on Norris/Russell/Leclerc stats.
Topics:
2027 driver lineup predictions
max verstappen to mercedes debate
mercedes second seat choices
ferrari: lewis hamilton vs oscar piastri
haas: bearman, kamara, ocon, yuki tsunoda
alpine: gasly vs colapinto vs liam lawson
red bull: isacadja and verstappen future
racing bulls: limblat and solov
audi: nico hulkenberg and oliver bearman
williams: albon and ocon vs sainz rumors
The LB boys are predicting the entire 2027 F1 grid! Who stays, who makes a move, and which new talents make their debut? Plus, which current drivers could be out of the sport for good? Tune in to hear our predictions.
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Hello and a very warm welcome to the late-breaking F1 podcast presented by Harry Yeats, Sam Sage,
and me, Ben Hawking, in this agonizing one-month break in between races, but that agony has
subsided at least for a day because I get to see both of your beautiful faces.
Oh, gosh, isn't that delightful? Is he so sweet to us, Harry?
Yeah, he's just the off-camera.
The funny thing is, I was told by the nice podcast person to not look to my left to talk to Harry.
No, she's never giving that instruction. As an autistic man, I have to follow the rules immediately.
Sam, we've just fallen out for today. Sam's not looking at me. You're not here. You know Dwight
when he shuns Andy. Unshun. Unshun. Yeah, podcast stuff, Formula 1 stuff.
Yeah, podcast stuff.
We're not going to be the one on podcasting today. We won't talk about Formula 1. Got enough time to fill.
Well, we've decided with this one-month gap that we've got an opportunity to talk through a few
different things whilst there's no racing to chat through. And one of them is the 2027
driver lineup, our predictions for what the grid is going to look like next year. Good time to do it
because there aren't actually that many contracts confirmed yet for 2027. There are some, and we
know that even with contracts in place sometimes, shenanigans in the transfer window can go a bit
crazy. So we're going to go through all 11 teams, see where we're similar, see where we're different.
If you are listening along at home and you've got a piece of paper nearby, maybe
jot down the teams, jot down the drivers, see who you're closest to in terms of your predictions
compared to the three of us. We're going to go in championship order as they are right now,
which means we start with the championship leaders, that being Mercedes. Very good start to 2026.
And I'm sure there are a number of drivers that would like to be in that Mercedes seat for next
year. Kimmy Antonelli has a contract up until the end of 2026. George Russell, unsure. There are
some people who seem to think he has a contract until the end of this year. Some who indicate he
might have an option for next year as well. Harry, just the two names to start with, and then we'll
get into discussion once we've revealed all three of our two drivers.
Hello, boring, but Russell and Antonelli. Boo Warrens.
Kimmy Antonelli and Max Verstappen. Okay. Less Boo Warrens. Less Boo Warrens. More Ooh
worms. Yes. I'm going with Kimmy Antonelli and George Russell. So I'm with Harry. Yeah. I just
boo. Simpsons heavy episode already. It is. Might as well start with the biggest talking point from
that reveal is that Max Verstappen is going to Mercedes. Yeah. I think there are two options
with Max Verstappen at the moment. I think he's either done with the sport and you can understand
why it's just not what he's enjoying doing. It's not his style of racing. And the other option is
that I think he goes to a championship opportunity and in his endurance racing, his GT3 racing,
he's currently racing in Mercedes. I think these go a relationship there already.
We heard about the poaching rumours, of course, from last season where Toto Wolf wanted Max in
the car. And we spoke about this in length about how he'll probably give it a year in the new
regulations before understanding where Red Bull sit, where Mercedes sit after last year. We saw
that Mercedes were well off the pace. Red Bull regularly contenders, if not winning championships.
And Max is a winner. He's done his time in the midfield. He did his time in the likes of Tora
or so and moved up through the ranks. We want to see Max at the front. And if Mercedes have got
that head start in this new regulations, it makes sense that you put the four-time champ in with
this team that wins so many championships. And unfortunately for George Russell, I do think
whilst he is absolutely brilliant behind the wheel of a car, he's already been proven to be
matched by Kimmy Antingelli. And so because the talent is there from Kimmy, they don't need
to worry about this second seat. They can now go out and get someone else who's going to spend
the money on them and go, right, we got to pick up someone who's a real championship contender
and win us everything. Kim is already beating him. Free race is in. He's already
beating George Russell. So they're close enough that I think that they can work out
if they want to take that risk. And I think they will.
What do you think the timeline looks like from Toto Wolff's perspective,
if we know that that interest has already been there in the last couple of years?
Is he already looking at that situation now and trying to open those discussions from the
Stappen side? Is he already looking at Mercedes as the option? Is it happening now or is it going
to happen later in the year? I actually think that Toto Pring is to strike while the iron is hot.
If Red Bull get better, then I think the interest from Max and Max Verstappen's camp
will wane slightly because if the gap shrinks drastically, why would they go through the
entire process of re-homing, so to speak, moving to a new team, adjusting, new culture,
new personnel. Max has been with Red Bull his entire driving career. It's going to be a big
move for him. So you need to make sure that he doesn't settle into this team again and become
more comfortable in the new era. And I think Mercedes, if they want him, they've got to get
it done pretty much before this compression ratio changes in June, July, strike while the iron is
hot. Get it done before the summer break. And we know from Verstappen's perspective that he's,
to put it mildly, not very happy with the current regulations. Going into next year,
would it be a case of him trying to see if I'm at the front and I am winning races again,
potentially fighting for a championship? If I'm still not enjoying it at that point,
is that then his cue to go? It's a logical choice, isn't it, to sit there and think,
if I hate it and it's worse, that's fair enough, understandable. If you still hate it and it's
best and you are winning Grand Prix, then maybe the sport just isn't for you. Now, there's already
plenty of rumours coming around about the changes in energy, the reduction in battery usage, more
emphasis on the combustion engine rather than the battery. So, we're probably set to see some
rule changes pretty immediately anyway, and that might adjust his viewpoint moving forward.
But it does make sense to see if you hate something when you are the absolute best at it.
Now, you're going with George Russell staying at the team. The one and only Damon Hill,
quite recently, had some comments about a big fan of the podcast is Damon Hill.
And he had some comments about George Russell and feeling temporary within him feeling temporary
within Mercedes, but you've decided that he is going to stay for another year.
He is going to stay and I think it's more to do with Max Verstappen not wanting to be an F1
anymore, not to spoil my later woman Red Bull, but I don't think a winning car is going to persuade
Verstappen to come over. I think he just hates the current racing. He just hates racing.
But I think he just does not like, I even think if he was right now winning, I still think he'd
have negative things to say about this because he's been saying it before we even got into this
year. So and if touch Wolf can't get Max Verstappen, I think he will very happily stick with George
Russell and Kimmy Antonelli because that's a good that's a good second option is it?
No, that Antonelli has proved himself only in year two. No matter, you know, which way around
they are in terms of who's the fastest, they're still pretty close and that's a good solid pairing.
So why would why would he do it? Why would he chase Verstappen?
Why would he chase Verstappen if Verstappen hates it here so much? I just don't think he,
I think Total Wolf, I think he'll give it a go again, but I think he won't get very far
and will quickly just settle for, I mean settle, but settle for what he's got now. I just, I think
Russell is a top class driver. So why would you not be unhappy with that?
To be fair on that point, it's a lot of money and a lot of commitment if the guys get the
turnaround in a year and go, God, I don't want to do this anymore. Imagine he gets Max Verstappen
and then he's like, I still hate it. Bye-bye. Thanks for 12 months on off. Bye.
That's got to be a risk. Maybe wasn't there in the previous era of F1 and that's one of the
reasons why I've gone with George Russell to stay at Mercedes as well and Verstappen not to make the
move over. Because whilst I think a year ago, I would have said if Verstappen is interested,
Toto Wolf makes it happen by any means. But now it feels like they do have a good thing going
with the two drivers. Some very positive comments from Toto Wolf recently about the driver lineup
and the difference in experience, difference in age, but both still very quick. And also,
and I'm sure Verstappen would be able to make a difference if he were to be in a race winning car.
And at least at the moment, the ability of the driver does feel to be somewhat diminished versus
maybe last year. Like a driver can still make an impact, don't get me wrong, but it's not
the same. It doesn't feel the same right now. So I think Toto Wolf might stick with what he's got.
Couldn't get past the big Pierre Gasly, could he? I mean, what more do you want in a driver?
So we're saying Pierre Gasly to Mercedes. Piggy tips. Like it, bro.
That's the famous saying. It's the evolution of let him cook.
We should mention Antonelli as well before we move on. There's not as much to say here,
because we've all said that he'll stay with the team. His contract is technically up at the
end of this year, but I don't think there's any doubt right now that he'll be there again.
What would be the gain in getting rid of him? Why commit to this risk of having this young
succumbing or replace the Lewis Hamilton when you're thinking of possibly getting rid of him
at the first time of asking? Now, he's proving himself immediately. We saw actually the perfect
kind of embedding into Formula 1 last year when they were in a car that wasn't going to go anywhere,
wasn't going to win too many races. And so he turns around, he develops over the year,
he starts to match Russell towards the end of the year. New Era comes along,
first three races come by and he's beating him. So perfect start. I don't know why you
want to get rid of him. If he's this good at 19 years old, they've already spent this much time
and effort in his development, it would feel kind of backwards to get rid of him when he's
just getting into his peak, right? Yeah, I'm going to say these don't do that,
Tosh Wolfe doesn't do that. Look at Bottas, Russell himself,
ochon to a lesser extent. But they spend a lot of time developing these drivers,
investing these drivers. Why would they? Why do you get rid of them? Especially as he said,
Antonely is now delivering. So yeah, it would be madness to get rid of them.
What about Ferrari? Charles Leclerc has the longest contract in F1 at the moment until the
end of 2029. eternity. Lewis Hamilton, though, his contract is believed to be up at the end of
this year. He signed on a multi-year deal. So maybe it's not, but I think it's more than likely
his deal is up at the end of this year. Line up is going to be
Charles Leclerc and Ollie Berman. Harry. The same. I'm going Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton.
So you think Berman makes the move up from Hassan? Yeah, I think this might end up being more a
Lewis Hamilton decision rather than a Ferrari decision. Really? I do. I think. Replace me please.
Please let me go. He's walked himself into prison and decided he doesn't want to be here anymore.
Set me free. I think he was really overjoyed at the start of this year, where he had suddenly
beaten Charles Leclerc at some point and had done better in qualifying. I am slightly apprehensive
for Lewis that the moment McLaren come back to form, if Red Bull adjusts and come back to form,
we could see a shift back to what we saw last season, where it was Charles Leclerc regularly
fighting for third, fourth, maybe fifth at worst. But Hamilton is at the back of this queue,
maybe fighting with Hadja for seventh and eighth place. And I think his mood will very quickly
deteriorate when he's had the chance to build a car that he feels comfortable in. He feels like
he's got an opportunity to wing something and something that is all snatched away because
again, he is further behind. And Lewis Hamilton is questionably the greatest person we've ever
seen in a Formula One car. But I just think it's okay to accept that someone has moved away from
the peak of their powers. And it's okay to walk away. And it doesn't suit you anymore. And I do
think that he's at that point now, where maybe it's time to move on. If the season goes the
direction I think it might. It might not. It might go the opposite direction. He might absolutely
thrive and prosper the further into this year we get. And he might absolutely love it. And I
could be so wrong. I've gone out on a limb here to say that it'll be Bearman, not Hamilton. But I
do think that this season will start to go a little bit downhill for him.
And Bearman feels like the natural success.
He's already impressed so much. You know, I think if you're going to have a young driver
such as Bearman with so much talent, it will be silly to, if you lose Hamilton, to go out and
spend a lot of money replacing Hamilton with someone else across the grid realistically,
and not pick up the guy that you've essentially given Formula One experience to in this hard
team. I think Leclerc is comfortable in going to lead that team. There's no problem there. He's
got the experience. Bearman's your up and coming talent. Give him a couple of years to bed in.
I think that's a really great team.
And you've gone with the same, Harry?
Yeah, I think the same reason. I don't think Hamilton's going to have another 2025.
And I think he could still have a fairly decent year. But if I think fairly decent isn't what
he's after here. And if, yeah, like I say, if he's started to be beaten by Leclerc regularly,
and if McLaren and Red will get involved, I just think he might, we said this, he's been quite
complimentary of the regs at the start of the season when he's been fighting for a podium.
If that goes away, I think his enjoyment goes away of this. And at the moment,
the only person he's ever had massive battles with is his teammate.
Which, yeah, seems to be going all right for the most part.
But I just wonder if he's, yeah, like I said, he starts to get mired in
traffic further back, potentially.
We saw it in Japan.
How many times can he be told before he decides to walk that to go quicker,
he needs to activate less throttle through a corner?
Yeah, but that's so wrong with F1.
Was it like 15% less throttle, Lewis, and you'll go quicker?
So how does that work for me? How do I go faster by doing less?
Yeah, it's frustrating.
So yeah, I don't think it's going to be terrible here. I just think he might get to the end of
this and go, you know what? It hasn't worked for me.
It hasn't quite worked out. I've had a better year. Let's walk away soon.
Yeah, it'll be a Hamilton retirement and a Berman to step up.
I'm going with Hamilton doing another year, maybe not more than another year,
but I think he might do one more at Ferrari.
At the moment, at least, and this could change, as you've both said,
I don't get the impression that he wants to go.
I think he's still pretty motivated.
And whilst Japan was more worrying, I think overall,
it looks more competitive in the early goings between him and Charles Leclerc.
And of course, Ferrari, at least right now, more competitive.
I'm sure he would like more opportunities for wins rather than just...
There's rumours they're bringing a whole new car to Miami.
So that will be 12th and 13th, I'm sure.
Oh, guaranteed. That's about where they were in Miami last year.
But yeah, and I don't think with Hamilton,
there's going to be any motivation for him to go anywhere else
or motivation for anyone else to pick him up,
at least not outside of maybe the midfield.
I don't think Hamilton's going to go...
Try for Haas. Try for Alpine.
It's not going to happen.
Hamilton, Alpine, man, that'd be funny.
I actually think the bigger question is whether Ferrari will want to keep him or not
with Berman and what he's showing at Haas.
If Hamilton's form does deviate back to what we saw in 2025,
at that point, maybe Ferrari are the ones who look to make that change.
But it's tough to ditch Lewis Hamilton.
That is not just the driving.
It's the marketing value.
It's being able to say Lewis Hamilton is on your team.
So overall, I'm going boring and I'm staying with the two drivers
that are there at the moment.
Got two exactly the same at the moment.
Yeah, is your entire list just this year?
Yeah, yeah, yeah. The same beloved teams, yeah. No change.
It might be because we're moving on to McLaren next.
It's quite easy though.
Norris and Piastri.
You know what?
This is the first time that I'm not deviating.
It'll be Norris and Piastri.
Yes, Norris and Piastri.
I'd be shocked if this changed.
It's a great line up.
They're both young enough.
They've got years to go.
They clearly work well enough together that they can get through.
They went through a championship gesider
and they've been able to come back and sort it out.
And Piastri seems happy and that was the question.
They'll be fine.
Yeah, it'll be right.
They'll be right.
Yeah, I think that might be...
If you're Zach Brown, you're not getting rid of that line up.
For who would you do that for?
For who?
Yeah, that's it.
Pierre Gasly.
Apart from Pierre Gasly, if he becomes available.
He deserves the world.
Yeah.
So, and yeah, for the two drivers,
realistically, unless it's jumping into a Mercedes,
why are you leaving that car?
So, it works for everyone involved.
By the way, I don't think this,
but I'm going to ask the question anyway.
We've spoken a lot about Verstappen's
love or lack of love for the regulations
and whether he'd go as a result of that.
And maybe Fernando Alonso,
we've spoken about him and his situation
and he's sending towards the end of his career.
Lando Norris is very quietly been one of the biggest...
He has not been a supporter of these regs.
He was for like one day in Bahrain
and then decided he wasn't anymore.
Yeah, I don't know what he was doing on that day,
but yeah, he loved it.
People aren't talking about his future in F1.
Lando Norris feels like a man
that still has much more to achieve.
I agree, yeah.
You know, Verstappen's a multi-time world champion.
Lando's just come off the back of his first.
Alonso has been around since the dawn of mankind.
I think Easter at holiday is about Fernando Alonso
being a resurrectionist.
The resurrection of Fernando.
I think so, yeah.
He comes out of the cave,
he gets straight into a model Formula One car.
He's offensive to that.
He's gone, so who cares?
And then, you know, Lewis Hamilton again,
the most successful driver we've ever seen.
Makes sense for him to step away.
I think Lando's got a lot more to do.
Sure, he's not in the position he was in maybe last year
or even the year before right now,
but you know, Japan indicated
there's still something there in that McLaren.
Yeah.
It could well get better throughout the year.
He's been fairly motivated.
Even in the early part of this year
where he's having this did not start in China, for example,
he seems to think that McLaren
has the potential to win races later in this year.
And regardless of whether he's wrong or right about that,
that shows that he's still got a lot of faith
within that McLaren team.
So I'm pretty confident on that.
And then I guess with Piastri,
it seems likely he'll be staying as well.
I think all of the bad feelings from last year
have subsided enough
that it's probably not going to be in question.
No, I don't think so.
And they obviously have sat him down over the winter
and, well, I say that.
Zach Brown's probably sat him down over the winter
and they've hashed it out.
And obviously he will be hoping,
well, they're not in a championship fight at the moment,
but if it came to again,
he'd obviously be hoping things went differently.
So I don't think it's any...
Like I said, there'll be no...
There's no good enough reason for him to go anywhere,
unless it was for a weird open spot of Mercedes potentially.
But even so, we get into 2027,
McLaren could well be in the fight properly by then.
So why would you leave?
Why would you leave a team that's proven
they can win championships now?
He is my outside bet for the Ferrari slash Red Bull seat, though.
Okay.
He is like my second or third down the list
if they don't go for that young, junior, obvious switch.
Not Ferrari, please. Oscar.
Oscar and the Clare just cry together.
Yeah, the options for Piastri are Ferrari
or the team that cursed Mark Webber.
Like, it's...
Yeah, yeah, good trajectory either way, I think.
Well, that's three teams done and dusted.
We've got eight more after this.
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Welcome back, everyone.
Currently, fourth place in the championship is Haas.
Obviously, line up at the moment of Oli Behrman and Esteban Ocon.
Now, we already know that with both of your Haas predictions,
it's not going to be exactly the same
because you've got Oli Behrman going to Ferrari.
But what have you got exactly, Sam?
So, I have to check my notes to make sure I was still correct on this.
For Haas, next season,
I've got Yuki Sengoda in the seat and Raphael Kamara.
Oh, a double switch.
Double switcheroo.
Haas loved to do that.
They love it.
They do love to do that.
It's a good point.
They build up a good foundation.
You know what?
Scrap it.
Tear it out.
Okay, so Sengoda and Kamara.
Harry.
Esteban Ocon and Yuki Sengoda.
Okay.
And I've gone with Oli Behrman and Raphael Kamara.
Okay, we've got three separate lineups here.
Interesting.
I guess maybe we'll start, Sam,
you're going with Sengoda to move into the team.
And Kamara as well.
And Ocon to leave.
Now, we won't spoil what you've got for Ocon.
Just going to leave him off the grid line.
To be continued.
Where's Goddiffy's and Alpey?
Brio Torre will have forgotten.
Where's get a new driver?
We saved this guy, didn't we?
No, no, no, no.
Ocon's great.
Get him in.
Gas is like, why is he back?
What's he doing there?
Yeah.
About a double change.
Yeah.
I mean, Sengoda improved himself, I think, over the last few years.
He had some ups and downs.
And he had some difficulties, of course, in Red Bull, understandably.
But he's a really solid driver.
And I think he's matured and he's not as risky as he once was
when it came to crashing the car, for example.
I think the Toyota connection.
Whilst he is obviously famously partnered with Honda
throughout his junior career, there is that Japanese connection.
And those manufacturers are very proud to represent drivers
from their market, from the Japanese market.
And I think that's wonderful.
And I do think that if Yuki moves away from the Red Bull family,
which, of course, is no longer associated with Honda anymore,
if he doesn't go to Aston Martin,
Toyota feels like a really natural connection for him to get picked up by.
I think he's got enough experience on his hands
to be a bit of a team leader there.
He'll have the chance to develop further.
Also, I think there is that natural synergy between
what I think would become a wider partnership.
I think Toyota and GR Racing will cement themselves further
in this harsh partnership.
So that's why I've gone to Sengoda.
And in terms of Kamara, so I've got him as well, obviously.
The thing that gives me hesitancy on my selection
is I've obviously got Bearman as well.
So it would be almost two Ferrari options,
which I'm not sure Hass would absolutely love.
But I can, they're going to have Bearman for a couple of years.
They can't take both of them at the same time.
So I feel like they've got at least one of those two options
longer term than just next year.
Kamara F3 champion last year,
Formula Regional champion the year before.
Very much in contention for the Formula 2 championship
we think this year.
He's got almost the same trajectory as Borsaletto
and Fornaroli before in that he won F3 with Trident,
moves up to F2 with Invicta.
Both of them sort of followed that to a tee,
and it looks like Kamara could well do the same thing.
I think the last person to win Formula Regional F3 and F2
was called something slightly different
at that point in Formula Regional,
but it was Oscar Piastri.
So it shows it's a great trajectory to be on.
I don't think that Hass will want to Ferrari academy drivers
in their team.
Hence why I think Bearman moves on,
but they want to replace him.
And it's been proven to be a great proven ground for them.
Bearman has developed really nicely.
It feels like Kamatsu, he cooks, isn't he?
He's in the kitchen.
And he's a little sous chef,
a little Ferrari branding sous chef.
So that'll get him in there.
And I think that it will allow him to have at least two or three years
because in theory, both Bearman and Leclerc will be at Ferrari
in my predictions.
This is for at least two, three years together.
So that gives him time to really develop
before they work out what they want to do with him.
And then alongside Sengoda,
you've got your slightly more experienced older pair of hands.
It feels weird saying Sengoda is the older,
more experienced driver because he's just a little baby.
He's a wise old campaigner.
One-year-old campaigner, Yuki Sengoda.
You can't call Yuki Sengoda Yoda.
Yuki Sengoda.
Yuki Sengoda.
Yeah, yeah.
Sioda.
He's 800 years old as well.
It gets carried around on a backpack.
And he speaks like him backwards.
Driving the house, I will.
It's a great Sengoda, that.
You're very good.
I haven't done a Yoda impression before.
And I've obviously got Bearman staying at Haas.
For me, it was either he moves up to Ferrari
or he stays at Haas.
If he does stay at Haas,
I think he just needs to be patient
because there's not much point in him being impatient.
Like George Russell and Williams
is probably a good comparison here
where he probably felt like he was in that seat for a year,
maybe two years longer than he ideally would have wanted to be.
But there wasn't much point getting impatient
and looking for something elsewhere.
Like it has worked out in the end for him.
I think Bearman, if he weren't to get the promotion up
for 2027, it should be the same sort of logic.
But and you've got Esteban Ocon.
Yeah, I think they, well,
contrary to what Haas normally do,
if Bearman is off to Ferrari, as I think he might be,
they'll want to keep some continuity.
So they'll keep Ocon for at least another year to allow that.
And then, yeah, I mean, the Sonoda switch,
the Sonoda switch.
Switch with a TS.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
Sending a Yoda voice though.
Yes, no, I'm not doing it.
But yeah, I think that's all down to the Toyota connection.
I think they'll want to,
more and more that the influence of them
is sort of spreading over that car.
So here for it as well, by the way.
Hell yeah.
So here for it.
And I think they, I thought about this,
they didn't do it at all when they were there as an F1 team.
They never put a Japanese driver in,
whereas Honda obviously did.
So I think, yeah, they might want to take this chance to do it.
Shall we move on to Alpine,
who are currently back to where they deserve to be,
fifth place in the championship.
Pierre Gasly as a contract until 2028.
Franco Colopinto believed to be until the end of this year.
It's Flavia Breatori, somewhat at the helm.
Who knows what's going to happen here?
Harry?
I have got in Alpine,
Franco Colopinto and Paul Aaron.
Oh, but by Gasly.
Oh no, hope he comes back later.
Is he coming back?
He deserves the world.
Okay, Colopinto and Paul Aaron.
Yeah.
No disrespect to either of them.
Kind of disrespect to either of them though.
Sam?
I've got Pierre Gasly
and Taylor Porsche.
No, don't do this to me, man.
It's not happening.
Stop giving me hope.
Sorry, buggy.
I don't know who.
You'll see him.
It would make sense as well.
I suppose it's not going to happen.
I'm going with Pierre Gasly and Liam Lawson.
Okay, again, three separate options here.
A real separate option to talk about.
Colopinto and Paul Aaron.
Yeah, I think they'll stick with Colopinto.
He's shown a bit of improvement already this year.
I think that'll carry on as long as
Flavia doesn't keep shouting at him.
And Pierre Gasly's departing from the team
and so they've replaced him with Paul Aaron,
mainly because they don't really have much else.
He'd better be going to some kind of super team
that's been created.
Oh, don't know.
Retirement back.
He went at that as well.
Okay, Colopinto and Paul Aaron for Harry.
And then you've got Pierre Gasly staying there.
Yeah, I think realistically, he went through the bad
and it'll be really silly now to see the outping.
I may be starting to see the light in the end of the tunnel.
Mercedes power units is very good for them.
If the team is sold,
his rumours are speculating around, you know,
a Christian Horner supergroup or a Toto Wolf purchase as well.
It looks like investment could be going the right way.
We might see some rebranding.
I don't know.
But Gasly's worked his way through the difficulties.
He's already proven this season that he's maybe the most
underrated driver on the grid.
And I do think it'll be silly for him to not be
leading whatever the next step is at outping
because I don't think it will stay like this for too long.
And it will be silly to give that away to someone else
after going through a really difficult time.
I've got, yeah, I've got Gasly staying as well.
It is a vast improvement on last year's situation,
which, fair enough, it would be difficult not to be a vast
improvement on 2025.
But I think with Breatory and the situation there,
like he will desperately want Gasly to stay
because there has been such not insecurity,
but just not a lot from the second seat in recent times.
Obviously with Jack doing in the first instance,
and now Colopinto, it does currently feel like
maybe Gasly versus Colopinto is the most one-sided
on pure pace driver lineup on the grid right now.
So, Gasly, I don't think he's in a bad spot.
Alpine could keep getting better with that Mercedes power unit.
They'll settle into their new way of working with,
we've obviously not producing their own engines anymore.
And I think Gasly could be a good fallback for a top team
if an opportunity arises.
Not a fallback, mate.
Sorry, it's going to be another one option.
It's incredibly unattainable.
So, you know, they're all fighting over him.
You've paired Gasly with Toad Porsche.
We have, I'm assuming the Mercedes connection here
is playing into this.
The Mercedes connection is playing into this, I think.
I think Toad Toad Wolf will want to make sure
he gets a driver on the grid again.
And they've got, again, the Mercedes engine plays a big part.
So, where it used to be the likes of Ocon before that,
it was Verline going back a long way.
And then it was Russell, of course, with Williams.
There's always been a young Mercedes attributed driver
somewhere on the grid.
And usually it's at a family team to use the word.
A customer team of Mercedes.
I think Colla Pinto is, she's my words carefully here.
Otherwise, I might have a whole nation come after me.
Not delivering as expected for someone who came into the sport
and was so fast but silly when he was with Williams.
And there's been complaints that maybe he's not
getting the same car parts as Gasly.
Alpine have come out and had to announce a statement
that actually is pretty much bang on exactly the same.
And if it carries on this way, I would expect there to be
some changes, especially with how we saw doing out
Colla Pinto in last season.
I don't think it's that bad, but I do think, you know,
by the end of the season, they'll make a choice.
Currently, I would air that they'll move away from him.
Paul Scheer seems like the obvious option.
I wonder if there's a deal there to be done with the Engings.
And he's an F2 champ.
It makes sense for him to actually have it going from and on.
It's so logical.
That's why it won't happen.
And that's why it won't happen.
It won't happen, especially because I've said it.
I've gone with Liam Lawson here.
You have. This is interesting.
It is interesting.
I just think Paul Aaron is an option.
Maybe Paul Scheer is an option.
Gabrielle Mini potentially could be an option as well.
He's too small.
Alex Dunn could be an option too.
I just think, and I've maybe said this last year as well,
but I actually think it might be reinforced by what's
happening with Colla Pinto here.
I don't think Breatory wants another rookie.
I think he wants someone with at least a bit of F1 experience.
And Liam Lawson, whilst he hasn't set the world alight at Racing Bulls,
he has been pretty solid.
And I think he's going to get better throughout the course of this year.
There are some concerns about his race craft,
but if you can tidy that up, I think the pace is pretty much...
The pace is there, or at least it's getting there
to the point where I think Alpine could be interested.
He'll need to get away from the Red Bull family.
I think we've never seen a double promotion.
Chances are he's going to be stuck at that Racing Bulls team,
make sense to go and find his feet elsewhere.
Him and Gazzley can draw my share as well.
They can.
True.
They can.
People are like, you never met Marco?
He's like, yes, I did.
Oh, I met him.
Oh, I met him.
It feels weird we're getting all the way down to Red Bull at P6 in the championship,
but that's where they currently sit.
Max Verstappen, of course, a lot of speculation about what his future
might hold, whether it will be at Red Bull, not in F1,
or as Sam has already predicted, at Mercedes,
Isacadja in his first year at the team.
Harry, who's driving for Red Bull next year?
I've got Isacadja and Pierre Gazzley.
Oh, he's back.
He's not retired.
Yes!
He didn't go for long.
Five minutes for me.
Oh, gosh, a lot of people will ask Pierre Gazzley
what he would do if he lost.
Guess where we're going?
Isacadja?
I'm sick with Isacadja.
Yeah, he's already proven that he is the best of the not-so-best
in that second suit so far.
And there's a lot more to come from him.
I've been really thrilled with what he's done.
Alongside him, I have gone with George Russell.
Oof, yeah.
Man, three different options here, because I've gone with Isacadja.
And Max Verstappen.
Oh, blue ones.
Blue ones.
Yeah.
Isacadja, I think, is actually in a pretty good spot right now.
Like, he is just taking advantage of the, I don't know,
the not knowing what's going to happen with Verstappen's future.
Yeah.
He's out of an OK start anyway,
but he might be able to take advantage of that.
We spoke about this recently.
His qualifying is one of his biggest attributes,
and the fact that so regularly this second seat struggled
with qualifying.
If he can continue the qualifying pace as the car does get better
and it will get better, it will progress.
I think that will set him in good stead.
If he's securing his seat as well,
while there is speculation around Max Verstappen,
they'll want to just lock that down
and make sure they're not having to juggle
two open seats at the same time
and a new era of Formula One.
So I think actually a lot of cars have gone his way.
It's the other seat.
Of course, I said that Verstappen will go to him,
saying I think this is a straight swap.
I think it's a great pickup for Red Bull to get someone like Russell,
very talented, very quick.
You could build a team around him.
There's a lot to do there.
Harry.
Had just days for all the above reasons.
And yeah, Max Verstappen's going to retire.
He's leaving.
He's done.
He'd done.
He Romeo'd done.
I actually don't think he retired.
I think Pierre Gasly muscled him out.
Yeah, just forced him out of the team.
Yeah, he went, I am better than you now.
He's becoming like Chuck Norris in this.
Yeah, yeah, you don't offer a seat to Gasly.
Gasly takes the seat from you.
Yeah, I think he goes off and he's not retiring from racing,
but he doesn't want to do F1 anymore.
I just think he really hates it.
Do you think he completely shuts off the possibility of coming back along Zoesk?
No, I don't think so.
I think he might come back.
If things changed, he'd come back, I think.
But as we have seen with his GT3 exploits, he just likes to go racing.
And I'm not sure he's feeling like that's what he's doing at the moment
with all the sort of management you have to do it during an F1 race.
So I think he's out of here in Red Bull.
It's a very different team than it was in 2019.
No one is there that used to be there in 2019.
No Horner, no Marco.
John Thawin is gone.
Obviously Rob Marshall isn't there anymore.
And don't they know it?
And don't they know it?
Huge gap missing.
Well, literally.
But I think they, yeah, with that, that's quite a big seat to fill.
Literally, I don't remember Rob Marshall's.
But yeah, and who do they look to?
P.I. Gasly is perhaps in the form of his life at the moment
or has been for the past few years.
Maybe it's time to welcome him back.
And I think he would go because, like I said,
no one is there that was there the first time.
And I think they are, it's a different culture,
or at least I think Lauren Meckies is trying to make it a different culture there.
So, yeah.
Do you work with Meckies?
When he, no, Meckies came in after racing balls,
and he was doing Alphatauri where Gasly was.
I mean, Meckies has been everywhere, mate.
She's probably worked with them at some point.
Oh, that's true.
He was at the FIA, was Meckies.
Do you think Gasly walks into the Red Bull Factory?
You know, like when you bring a cat home for the first time
and they open the door and they do that thing with their foot,
where they're like, is this safe?
Am I all right?
Looking around the walls, like is it okay?
I'm like sitting in the corner for a few days
and make sure there's no threats going on
for Helmut Marco to walk past and scare him.
The other thing I was going to say as well,
on Alpine, and I'm not saying, you know,
Gasly's just going to leave for the sake of it.
He'd go for an actual good seat.
But if Christian Horner gets involved in Alpine,
I don't think he likes Pierre Gasly.
That was the rumour, at least, from 2019.
So what then happened?
Run away!
Interesting, yes.
I can consider that.
Yeah, I've got Mike Spistappen staying.
With Isacadja.
I think with Spistappen either.
I think he gives next year ago,
in terms of any big regulation, not big, maybe
sizeable regulation change that will happen
between now and next year.
I think he wants to give them a go
and then he makes a call as to whether he wants to stay long-term
or if it doesn't work, I could see him leaving
like mid-season next year.
I think he'll want to give that a go.
And that's why I've kind of got him staying at Red Bull
and not going to Mercedes at least straight away,
is that if he's not convinced that he's staying in the sport,
I don't know if he'll put effort into getting away from Red Bull.
So my prediction is he tries it for the first few months of next season.
If he likes it, he stays long-term in the sport.
Maybe he goes to Mercedes and then if he doesn't like it,
Red Bull might have to scramble as Verstappen
bails out by Miami of next year.
Nice.
And what about the sister team of Red Bull racing balls?
Obviously, Limblad hasn't come up yet for anyone.
Lawson's only come up for me, Sam.
Limblad stays.
Solov joins him.
I've got the same.
I've got Limblad and Solov.
I've got the same as this year, Limblad and Lawson.
Do you think, I mean, with Limblad, I guess,
having a second year at racing balls given his age
wouldn't be the worst thing in the world.
And with Lawson, is it just a case of status quo
isn't a bad thing for them right now?
I think so.
I think, well, with Limblad, like I said,
I think Red Bull are trying to avoid getting into the situation.
They found themselves in for multiple years now.
Well, they've had to promote a rookie.
So if in my scenario where Verstappen leaves,
I don't think they're going to push Limblad straight up
after one year.
I know they did it for Hadjab.
I think they're trying to get away from that.
So they keep Limblad there.
And then for Lawson, I think it's like Sonoda.
It was one more year.
Not necessarily see if he is good enough
to then go back to Red Bull,
but I just think give him one more year
and he might do us Sonoda or do a Gasly in that sense
and go to another team.
So I think Lawson ending up at somewhere like Alpine could happen,
but just not next year.
And we've both got Nicola Solov making the jump up.
Limblad and Solov actually teammates very briefly in F2
at the end of last year, albeit for,
I think it was maybe two rounds and four races,
but Solov was already on the pace of Limblad.
He was.
And Solov obviously starting his F2 journey much later,
joining, I think it was Lissail when his first Grand Prix was,
but he was runner up in Formula 3 for 2025.
So we thought it's full first campaign in Formula 2 this season
and very exciting to see how he goes.
I think Lawson has probably had his time,
unfortunately, as much as I think he's been much better this season
and he has really cemented himself as someone who can race very quickly.
There's a lot of PR damage that comes along with this Red Bull reputation
and I think you've got to be able to jump ship in the right way
and Sykes did it, Gasly did it.
I think the seats, despite having more on the grid,
are starting to look a little difficult.
So unfortunately, I don't think Lawson is going to be able to kind of
get on a life raft and go off somewhere else.
But I think Solov will be a good option for a good few years for them.
Yeah, Solov, he took a little bit of a while to get going in F3,
but he did come into F3 very young.
But he showed a lot of potential in the last two years in particular,
especially with the runner up in F3 last year.
Good start to his F2.
It's very early on in the F2 season,
but he did win the feature race Australia, which,
yeah, he's a pretty good start to his F2 career.
And I could see him versus Limbler being a good test for both of them
to see whether they have potential to move up to Red Bull.
Good start for Limbler, obviously, at racing balls.
I just think, unlike Hajar, who I'm not even sure moving up after one year
was brilliant for him, but Hajar did have a lot more experience in junior formally
versus Limbler.
Limbler is still very young, very inexperienced.
I think two years minimum at racing balls is what he requires.
So I can see that being quite a good line up for racing balls
to get an idea on both of them.
The Bulgarian Lion, as they call him.
The first what? Bulgarian F1 driver?
I'm pretty certain he would be, yeah.
Pretty certain.
Pick up Bulgaria.
Sure.
Pick up Bulgaria is a good way to head to our next break.
We've still got a few more teams to work out on the other side.
We'll be doing it from Bulgaria.
We will.
Let's go.
Toyota, find yours at Toyota.com.
Toyota, let's go places.
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Welcome back, everyone.
We've got four more teams to run through.
We're starting to figure out maybe what the options are, at least,
for the three of us, given who we've already picked for some of the teams.
But we'll go to Audi, because Holkenberg and Portoletto,
neither of them have been predicted anywhere else thus far from the three of us.
So are they staying with Holkenberg and Portoletto?
They are. No change for me.
Any change for you?
No change.
And no change for me, either.
Who earns?
Holkenberg turns 39 in August.
Spring chicken.
I was going to ask, though.
He does still seem to be very on it.
Yeah.
No, not like Metal-A.
He's still on it.
Yeah, the last of his novels, yeah, there you go.
He is, for some reason, always portrayed as older than Hamilton and Alonso,
but it gives the vibe of the old man of the grid.
But like, he's not even 40 yet.
He's still got loads of time.
He's got at least a couple of years before it starts to be a question.
And for the models.
For the models who actually go.
Now, he's still doing a great job.
He's still actually bought Aletto quite comfortably.
He scores points where the opportunity is there.
Doesn't really make mistakes for a team like Audi who are still building,
and they've just lost their team principal.
You need someone to steady the ship.
And I think Holkenberg is a good option.
And that's why he got brought into that role so early on.
So when the transition to Audi happened,
he was the right person for the job.
I think he's done well.
I was thinking about this earlier.
Like, it says a lot about Holkenberg's consistency
and how he's still on top of his game.
That if you look at, I know he's turning 39 in August, he'll turn 40 next year.
But like, you look at any driver who's gone past 40 in F1,
really in the last 30 years or so, you've got Hamilton, you've got Alonso,
you've got Schumacher, Prost and Mansell went into their 40s.
They're all world champions.
And Holkenberg.
And Holkenberg.
But there aren't many instances where a driver of his age
who hasn't won titles or even races in Holkenberg's instance,
still going.
But I think that says more about the job these Audi, at least thinks,
he can do in the midfield.
How old was Barrichello when he retired?
Good question.
I feel like he must have been in his 40s.
I think he must have been around 40.
So maybe that's the last time we saw someone who was gone world champion.
But even he was multiple time race winner.
He was, yeah.
Holkenberg has had one podium.
Yeah.
Holkenberg just feels like he is inevitable.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah, he's had two attempts at getting back into F1.
So he had his first year, got booted out after being at Williams,
made it back into 4C India.
There's basically been an every midfield to him since then.
Kind of a sorry for him a little bit.
Yeah.
But obviously he got lost the drive at Renault and then came back again.
But yeah, just, and he's still delivering.
That's the thing.
But it's always been the case with Holkenberg, I think, where,
I mean, some of it has been his own doing,
but he's just never had the opportunity to show, apart from Brazil 2012, to show.
And look what he showed there.
Yeah.
Failure.
Well, okay.
Whoa.
That's harsh.
Am I wrong?
Very, very harsh.
But I just don't think he's ever consistently had the opportunity to show what he can do.
And I think that's why he's still there and why he's lasted so long.
Because he's still, I think, out of his game, or at least near to it.
I put just has never had, never had the success to go with it.
And as you mentioned, only one podium that came just last year.
So 11th place is his forever.
Yeah.
Yes, it is.
I just think with both of these drivers,
neither of them signed up to this for one year of Audi.
And I don't think Audi signed over them for one year of Audi.
I just don't think timeline wise, moving on from either of them,
or either of them wanting to move on, makes any sense.
No, I agree.
I think Gaby's the one they've got to be careful with.
I think if he continues to progress as we expect him to,
and he has had a very good year and a bit in Formula One, really impressive,
if they don't grow as a team, I do think there's a risk that a bigger team could come
skiffing around and pick him up.
Well, Portoletto, if this sort of unfolds the way that both of you have predicted,
he will be in a position where Bearman has gone to Ferrari,
Hadjar has gone to Red Bull, Antonelli is already winning races at Mercedes,
and he's going to be there having beaten them all in F2 at Audi that maybe hasn't
reached its potential yet.
That will be a tough situation to contend with.
Who knows?
Do you think Portoletto is OK with no longer being Fernando Alonso's son?
I think he's always Fernando Alonso's son.
OK, fine.
Aren't we all? Fernando Alonso's son?
I understand, like, who's his new son?
Who on the grid is his new son?
Fernando Alonso.
Yes, Fernando Alonso Jr.
Fernando the son and the Holy Spirit.
Williams, should we move on to them?
Alex Almon and Carlos signs obviously at the team right now, not the start to these
regulations that Williams or either of these two drivers would have been hoping for.
Two drivers racing for them next year?
The same again.
Signs and Albon.
The same again.
Signs and Albon.
I'll provide a bit of a difference in Albon and signs.
Alex Albon and Esteban Ocon.
What's happened?
Carlos?
Carlos!
He's racing with Pierre Gasly away from F1.
I understand.
Leave Pierre alone.
I think, well, Alex Albon, whilst he has had a lot of patience with Williams to get to this
point and will probably need a little bit more, I just don't see there being another option for
him on the grid.
No, he feels very much like he's wed to Williams a little bit now.
He was the first.
I brought up these drivers that managed to get on a life raft and get away from the Red Bull family.
Carlos signs, of course, Pierre Gasly did it.
He's the other one in the fact that he, of course, moved away as well from that Red Bull family.
He's done well to sit with Williams when they have been really down and out.
They currently aren't down and out.
He put a lot of faith in the fact that the car would be much more competitive than it is.
In theory, they shed that weight on that car, which I saw with what,
29 kilograms over or something like that, which is crazy.
They might be competitive.
You might be able to score regular points.
podiums might be on the cards.
It makes sense for him to stay.
I've got Esteban Ocon joining Alex Albon at Williams.
They're kind of like the same person.
Yeah, kind of.
They're like, yeah, like they're different versions of the same.
It's like bold and metallic at the same font.
As much as I'd like to say otherwise, I do think Ocon is now in the
position of a top team isn't going to go for him and I think a midfield.
But he is a very reliable midfield driver.
I think he's the next Nico Hulkenberg.
That's what I'll say.
He is the evolution of Nico Hulkenberg.
And that's why I think James Vowles would,
and I won't reveal what's happening to Carlos signs yet,
he isn't dead or anything.
Like it's fine.
Who thought that?
Everyone was like, no.
Has it got a Williams drive?
Must be dead.
Must be dead.
They are the two options.
Famous.
The three of us are dead.
I don't think as well when it comes to rookie drivers in the Williams
Driver Academy, there's anyone ready to step up.
You do have Browning in Super Formula who ironically this morning,
I don't know if you've seen, I don't know which circuit they were racing at,
but there was torrential rain and he's crashed behind ex-Williams junior driver,
Zach O'Sullivan.
Check out that clip.
It's terrifying.
I'll watch that once we finish the show.
Yeah, basically it's so rainy that he can't see that the safety car has been deployed.
Like can't see that the safety car light is there and it's just gone into the,
they're all fine, but like he's gone into the back of his head.
What Grand Prix are they at?
Atlantic Ocean GP?
Get the zing at that.
Hold him.
Hard to get.
Obviously, I'm not sure the ocean's going to recover.
Ocean's like, damn, sounds good.
Damn, might have to evaporate.
Do you think Carlos signs there's a bit of a risk that
another bigger team might want to come calling for him again and he looks at this Williams
project and says this isn't what it was all cracked up to be?
I think there's too much competition and I think unfortunately for Carlos Sainz,
he made the move or he was forced to make the move, shall I say, at the wrong time.
He now can't prove himself up against other top tier midfield teams.
It's not like he's going up against Portoletto and Gasly and those people are beating them
regularly at the moment.
The car's too slow.
He can't be seen in that same limelight.
So I do think you'll have to have someone who's quite savvy with data and a bit of faith,
a bit of trust in him to go, you know what?
You didn't beat the Clare properly over the three years at Ferrari.
You were all right at Renault.
You're pretty good at McLaren.
You bring every other team in Formula One will give you a chance in our team.
Who else does he go to as a top team now that he hasn't had a relationship with before?
Yeah, he's running out with this point.
Starting a run out.
He's on what, Team Six, if he moves?
Yeah, Cadillac.
Apart from McLaren, the only team on the grid that have two drivers that are contracted until
at least the end of 2027.
Do they stick with Bottas and Perez?
They do.
They do.
They do.
I know that there's the Colton Hurter discussion that's ongoing.
I feel like that's more of a 2028 option.
Give that amount of time to settling, have a couple of years of F2, let them embed and also
let Cadillac develop.
They need these two experienced drivers to essentially run test laps for them and to get
data and feedback properly.
That's what these guys are for.
That's what you brought them in for.
Can you see any other team trying to prize away one of these drivers?
No, I don't think so.
And I don't think either of them would leave that project anyway.
And I know that it was a gateway back into F1 for both of them.
But Cadillac are putting some serious money behind this, some serious investment.
Why would they leave unless Mercedes came knocking or they've been there, done that.
So I just don't know who would be worth leaving that project for, to be honest.
And I don't think anyone's going to come.
No offense to either Perez or Bottas.
I just don't think any of the top teams are going to come knocking for them.
What I love is that Perez and Bottas are simultaneously the same person and also the
complete opposite person in that their F1 careers are almost identical, you feel.
But when you look at their approach to Cadillac so far this year, you've got Perez who's like
this isn't the formula one I was used to.
What's happened to this sport?
And you've got Bottas like, we're going to challenge Mercedes soon.
They mean the same thing, but they've said it in completely different ways.
I saw an interview with Perez post-Japan in the media pen and he was saying about,
you know, it was a bit more encouraging that he said about the upgrades in my army.
And he said, you know, for a bit we could, I could see the, you know, the Alpine and
who else, the Haas or something.
He's like, but then they just, they just kept getting quicker and quicker as the race went on
and we need to work on that.
I was like, yeah, yeah.
That's something you really need to work on.
Good one, Sergio.
Solid analytics.
Of the two, Perez is the one I can see giving up on the project.
Yeah.
Yeah, yeah, I agree with that.
I'm not saying he will because others are going predicted to still be there next year,
but of the two, he's the one where I could see him going.
What am I doing this for?
He's calling him flaky.
Not even flaky.
Just like, I'm not enjoying this.
Like, why, why am I going back?
He'd be called flaky anyway.
Okay.
Like Sergio.
Oh, I see.
Yeah.
Come on, keep up.
The thing is the name.
Honestly, because it's called me KFC.
Because it's the thing about, I'm throwing one out there.
It's really great when you explain this.
My favorite comedy is explained.
I think Bottas comes across as more grateful for the project than Perez does.
Interesting.
Yeah.
And we've said this before as well with these two drivers, like there might be a
situation in the next couple of years where there's only room for one of them.
And that will probably be the point where Cadillac actually starts to deliver something.
And the next season, I think, is probably when they match the rest of the midfield.
Let's round out with, I can't believe I was saying,
can you imagine saying this a year ago that we were going to do this
on reverse, on championship order?
And lastly, we get to Aston Martin.
Of course, current lineup, new dad, Fernando Alonso, and GT3 driver, Lance Schroll.
Is Lance going off to do GT3?
Is he leaving the team?
Who knows?
Who knows?
If it goes well, then poor Accardi, maybe he will.
He's like, I'm going to have Max Verstappen.
Yeah, it's him and Roberto Merri, isn't it?
The best lineup.
Crikey.
And Marry Boyer as well, but like, he's just so rude.
Not Merri.
Yeah, I go for Stroll and I'm going for Fernando Alonso.
The man just hates his life.
I think he enjoys it at this point.
I think if it went too well for him, I don't know if he would go what to do with himself.
What is success?
What is one?
Success.
I only go 21.
Success never heard of it.
Yeah, well, it's not how the joke works.
I'm going for exactly the same.
I'm going with Lance Stroll and Carlos Sainz.
They've gone.
We need a younger Spanish man.
We can only replace him with another Spanish man.
Also, I'm trying to find teams that Carlos Sainz hasn't raced before.
Yeah, this will be what, seven?
I think Fernando Alonso calls it a day at the end of this year.
You might have a nerves left to make the choice.
Yeah, yeah, it's not actually on him.
Yeah.
I don't know.
I can see it going either way, whether he stays for another year or not.
I think he does because it's so crap now.
I think he's like, okay, okay, one more year.
I'll do one more to see if he gets any better.
You've just died on the last level.
You're sat with your mate.
One more game.
One more game before we go to bed.
Then we must go to bed.
We've got to be up early.
One more game.
But if he gets to 27 and the cart's still garbage,
I don't think he finishes the year.
I don't know what he wants.
They're so far away from the top.
I think he just does it for the love of the game.
I just...
Man just loves racing a car.
But he hates the game as well.
He also hates the game.
And he is the game.
I just don't know what he's going to get out of it.
They're not going to win anything.
They're not going to win anything anytime soon, I don't think.
So, it's rubbish.
Sucks.
Yeah, that's kind of why I've got him going.
I just don't know.
If he retires, what is he going to do something else?
Retires from F1.
He's still doing something else.
My man is going straight to Windy Curve.
I don't know.
Yeah, I don't know what exactly and how full time it would be.
Him being a new dad, I think factors into this as well.
I think it's not Max Verstappen.
No, but Verstappen is in his mid 40s.
There might actually be some point
that Alonso scales it back at least.
Yeah, maybe.
I'm not convinced either, but...
Is he Camara's agent, manager?
I don't know, but that sounds like...
Is he the Him or Solov?
He's the manager of.
I don't think it'd be Solov.
No, so I think it's Camara.
Yeah, maybe it's Camara.
Yeah, we'll see.
If he's got a chance of a race winning next year,
maybe with the progress that they make throughout the year,
then I could see him staying.
But if it ends the year similar to how it started, I don't know.
This is where he just promotes himself to Team Principal.
Yeah, look at me, I am the Team Principal now.
Oh, that's the other thing about my Alonso prediction
is that he will continue to be associated
with Aston Martin after he's done driving for them.
I think he will manage a lot of the grid to come.
There's going to be about 10 drivers on the grid
that are managed by Fernando Alonso.
He actually replaces Ben Silliam.
With himself.
Yep.
Yep.
Could see that happening, actually.
Maybe he buys out Aston Martin, like takes over from Laurence Droll.
I don't think he has that money.
I bet he's not far off.
It's a lot of money.
And we've all got Lanchdoll saying,
I'm bored of predicting.
I'll just talk about it.
Yeah, don't care.
Yeah, cool.
Unless he really loves GT3.
He's just like, I'm…
Why would I be doing this in these years?
It's way more fun.
And there's Aircon.
Bet Lanchdoll loves Aircon.
It's going to be fair, mate.
I agree.
I like Aircon.
We make a common commodity.
It's like I like fresh running water.
Yeah, I do.
Yeah, but it makes a common commodity as well.
The whole shower.
Yeah, go on.
Bet Sampson loves our shower.
Yeah, you're a little weirdo.
Yeah, you've got me.
Go on, burn.
That's the 22 drivers
and how they're going to line up next year
across the 11 teams.
Those last four were exhilarating.
We are going to review these at some point.
When 2027 is known
and see how wrong and how wrong we were.
Nothing will change.
Yeah, nothing.
It does actually feel like going into next year,
there is a real chance
that either nothing will change
or a lot will change.
And there's nothing in the middle.
I agree.
And we will be here for it.
We will.
We're going to take a quick break.
On the other side, we've got a game to play.
Mysterious, no-name game.
Just called it Game on the schedule.
Dear crew, it's Toyota.
With an adult-sized third row,
everyone's welcome in the Grand Highlander.
From sports fans to eco buffs and movie fans.
Seen back in the Sienna
with an available rear seat entertainment system.
Slip into the RAV4
with available all-wheel drive.
And let's go.
Toyota, find yours at Toyota.com.
Toyota, let's go places.
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MUSIC
Welcome back, everyone.
You can see there's a small change to the studio
because both Sam and Harry for this game that we're playing
have got cutouts of Lando Norris,
Charlotte Clair, and George Russell.
For our newest game, Lando Norris,
George Russell, or Charlotte Clair.
That's got the game.
That is catchy.
Comment a new name, please, immediately.
That's terrible.
That's terrible.
Someone's going to comment and just make them
in a different order.
And I will appreciate that.
You're doing literally what we're not supposed to do.
I haven't talked yet.
The game is this.
There are eight questions.
It's very simple.
I'm going to read out the question
and you have to hold up the driver you think is the answer.
OK.
So, first question.
Who was oldest when they took their first win?
When do we hold up?
Now.
Hold them up.
Oh, God.
I've dropped Charlotte.
We've already got a difference of opinion.
I love that.
Charlotte Clair's on the floor.
So, Sam, you've gone with George Russell
and Harry, you've gone with Lando Norris.
And with good reason because this is very close
between the two.
The answer is not Charlotte Clair.
He won his first race at the age of 21.
Both Russell and Norris won their first race
at the age of 24, but slightly older was George Russell.
It's one again.
George wins.
OK.
So, Sam, you take a 1-0 lead into question number two.
Who has converted the most polls into wins?
I'm going to put Charlotte back on the floor.
Well, the most polls into wins is very different
to the best ratio of polls to win.
It's not the ratio.
Just the most polls into wins.
I mean, OK.
Yeah.
OK.
I'm ready to go.
You good?
Yeah.
Who you got?
Go, Michelle.
And you're just going to keep picking Norris
until it's right, aren't you?
Yes.
Where's the good strategy?
It's Lando Norris.
Nice one.
Norris has converted eight polls into wins.
Le Clair five.
George Russell was last on four.
She puts us at one.
It's OK, shell.
You'll get a poll to a ratio soon.
Stroking his face, man.
What else am I going to do with it?
As many people would say.
Question number three.
Who has the most points per race in their career?
I don't understand the question.
If I enter one race and I win it, I have 25 points per race.
So, an average.
OK, sorry.
The word average was not used.
Yes, this man.
You've both gone, Michelle Le Clair on this occasion
and you are both correct.
Well done.
Well done, shell.
Le Clair 9.89 points per race.
But Norris, not that far back.
9.45.
Russell 7.07.
The both thing at average a fifth place.
Pretty much, yes.
Question number four.
Who has competed in the most races with the same teammate?
Ooh.
Ooh.
That silence is really sound.
I don't think I'm spoiling anything here
by saying that you probably need to think of Lewis Hamilton
for George Russell.
You need to think of Oscar Piastri for Lando Norris
and you need to think of Carlos Sines for Charlotte Clair.
Ready?
Ready.
OK, who have you got, Sam?
Sam has got Norris.
Harry's got Le Clair.
The correct answer is Charlotte Clair.
With Carlos Sines, 89 grand prix together.
Norris and Piastri, by the end of this year,
will probably be in the lead, but right now is 73.
Russell with Hamilton, 68.
Oh, why did they get that number?
Well, just the awkward number.
Just annoying, mate.
What?
Excuse me?
Sam Siri decided to join in.
I would pick Charlotte Clair.
You are a moron.
I'm just back-chatting.
Shut up, Siri.
OK, question number five.
Who has the longest streak of consecutive race finishes?
I'm ready.
OK, ready?
Go.
Sorry, mate.
I was clashing you there.
Charlotte Clair for Sam.
George Russell for Harry.
Backwards.
Backwards, George Russell.
He looks weird that way around.
The Amity Russell.
Roche Castle.
No.
Well done.
George Russell is the correct answer.
37 races in a row, which is actually a current streak as well,
that he's finished.
Norris, 22, and Leclerc, 16.
How is he not done more than 20 races in a row?
It's Ferrari.
It is Ferrari.
Oh, God's sake.
I'm rubbish at this.
I'm rubbish at all these games.
Question number six.
Who finished highest in their first race?
Oh, Lord.
OK, I think I'm ready.
I've got them all wrong anyway, so.
OK.
OK.
Here we go.
You've both gone with Lando Norris.
Shut up!
What are you talking about?
You've never done this before!
So good.
That was a great pick.
So good, yeah.
You're rigged.
Really, he's punctured you.
Siri, shut up.
Shut up!
If Siri was saying you are right, she was right,
because Lando Norris is correct.
It's close, though.
None of them scored points on their debut,
but Norris finished 12th, Leclerc finished 13th,
and Russell finished 16th.
Scrub.
He was an old Williams.
Don't care.
Scrub.
Question number seven.
Who is the only one to have been outqualified
by a teammate over the course of a season?
Who is the only one to lose the season-long
quality head-to-head?
You've both gone with Lando Norris.
Again, different versions of Lando Norris.
So there we go.
Start why you doing this?
It's not.
The correct answer is George Russell.
He was outqualified by Hamilton in 2022.
Gosh, interesting.
Gosh darn.
Thought it was going to be Kubitsa.
Well, I was thinking about that, yeah.
But the other two, at least at this point in their careers,
have not been outqualified by a teammate
over the course of a full season.
Wow, good job, guys.
And lastly, question number eight.
Who has the most points at the Monaco Grand Prix?
Oh, man.
OK.
OK.
So we've got Charles Leclerc from Sam,
Alando Norris from Harry.
Charles Leclerc typically has a bit of a Monaco curse,
but he is the correct answer here.
Look, his mother was a hairdresser,
and he's a cut above the rest when it comes to that track.
Or more accurately, a point above the rest.
63 points for Leclerc so far at the Monaco GP, Norris 62.
Damn.
So it couldn't really be closer.
Ironically, George Russell's gummer.
Yeah.
Ironically.
Harry, you take the win.
Well done, mate.
I'm so pleased for the one Lando Norris, George Russell or Charles Leclerc.
The inaugural.
And maybe only round, I'm thinking.
Maybe we should do new drivers and give it a new name.
Yeah, get produced against the off to Rhymens again.
If you can make more lollipops, please.
Yes, please.
That's going to do it for this episode.
I have a feeling, Sam, that in some way, shape or form,
these three might show up during beer with breaking
that we're about to record now.
I'm actually going to be all three of them during beer with breaking.
You have to hold one in front of your face.
The entire time.
Shall we sign them and give them away?
Sure.
Would people like that?
I don't think so.
Thanks for listening, folks.
We're actually about to record beer with breaking,
which is part of our Patreon.
If you want to join Patreon, the link's in the description below.
And it massively supports the show.
Thank you to everyone that's picked it up so far this season.
Thank you to people that gave it as a gift to someone else.
And thank you to everyone who's been around for so long on Patreon.
It really does make a difference.
Beer with breaking is where we sit around.
We have a few beers and we answer some of your questions
and just chat a little rubbish.
And it's maybe the most silly you'll ever see the three of us.
Last time we showed almost the back catalogue
of what we did before the podcast,
our first ever videos on the Internet as a trio.
The most embarrassing hour of our entire lives, quite potentially.
People loved it because of how embarrassing.
And it's on there now.
So if you want to go and watch it, the back catalogue's there.
You can go and watch all of it.
Check it out.
There's other benefits as well, including historic race reviews,
extra episodes, everything's in video.
There's no adverts or anything on there as well.
And of course, top tier gets a birthday shout out
from the Father Christmas of birthdays.
So it's worth checking out.
And we really do appreciate the support.
Go to Discord, join that as well.
Chat to everyone who loves Formula One,
follow us on social media, Late Breaking F1.
Subscribe on YouTube, Late Breaking F1 as well.
And you can join our fancies as well.
That's still open with so many of you joining, which is wonderful.
We're going to see you in the midweek
for another non-race-related episode,
unfortunately, but plenty more news to talk about.
In the meantime, I've been Samuel Sage.
I've been Ben Hawking.
And I've been Harry Eat.
And remember, keep breaking late.
Wait, goodbye, Shull.
Bye.
It is head.
I haven't got someone to play.
We actually...
And let's go.
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