P1 with Matt and Tommy - Our 2023 Australian GP Predictions

Episode Date: March 29, 2023

It's time for another round of predictions! Who'll take P1 this week? Who'll be the biggest surprise? And what about our bold prediction for the race weekend?!There are fewer than 50 tickets left for our first London live show, at Leicester Square Theatre on 6th April! Get your tickets before the sell out!Follow us on socials! You can find us on Twitter, Instagram, Twitch, YouTube and TikTok.***Please take the time to rate and review us on Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your pods. It means a great deal to the show and will make it easier for other potential listeners to find us. Thanks!*** Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hello everybody and welcome back to the P. One podcast. I'm going high, but not loud, because my voice is on the ropes today, Tommy. I don't know why. I think I've got a bit of a sore throat. Hopefully I'm not going to get ill before the Australian Grand Prix. We thought it was a good idea to record this now in case my voice just disappears. And I can't say all of my terrible predictions.

Oh, no. Don't tell me you're going to be out of action for all the Twitch streams. I'm going to have to carry it on my own. P1 with Tommy at 5.30 in the morning. Let's go. Now, before we dive into our predictions, we'll do our usual part of the podcast, which is reading out one of your wonderful five-star reviews. This one comes in from Nevashni from South Africa. You put the South Africa there, Tommy. Are you trying to bait me? Can you tell that I replaced the Netherlands and didn't change the... Right. Nevashtny comes in with... Listen to you guys from Richards Bay in South Africa. I'm a Max fan and listen while I'm driving to and from work. Makes my commute in peak hour traffic bearable.

You guys are amazing. Keep up the great work. Thank you, Navasci. I hope you haven't got too much traffic now that you're listening to the podcast once again. And hope you get home safe. Okay. Should we get into our predictions, Tommy? Let's do it.

Let's do it. Let's see if my voice survives the entire video slash podcast. Let's start with biggest good surprise. No, we're just going to mix it up. Tommy, you're going to go first. You didn't even know what's happening. You're going to go first, yeah. Okay, my biggest good surprise is McLaren.

Big, big surprise. Probably the biggest surprise is me saying McLaren is a good surprise because I've had my criticisms of them, but I feel like this track may suit things a little better. And yeah, we'll see. Hopefully this is a good omen for McLaren, on a good circuit for them. They did well there last year. So I feel like they might turn it around.

Lando Norris, I think is going to be well suited to this track, his kind of track. So we shall see. I'm sure many McLaren fans are praying that I'm right because they still don't have any points. I feel like if you are a fan of this prediction series, you could take a shot every time we say we shall see. And I'm pretty sure you'd be pretty blasted by the end of every episode. But no, that's a fair point. It's almost like we're making it up. I'm guessing. That's what predictions are.

It hasn't happened yet. That's an interesting good surprise, Tommy, because I feel as though, right, McLaren could finish 11th and 12th, and you would be claiming that's a biggest good surprise because it wasn't as bad as Saudi. I'm being very unspecific this week to get some points. Yes, it's very clever of you.

You've learned from your previous mistakes. I will be arguing against it if neither of them score points, though, for a biggest good surprise. My guk. My guk. My biggest good surprise is Nico Holcomberg. I feel as though Haas haven't got off to the best of starts. They've shown some moments of potential in qualifying,

but they haven't really delivered. And I think Nico Hulkenberg hasn't really delivered to the level that you certainly thought, Tommy, before the start of the season, but also me. He's a brilliant driver as much as everyone decides to throw shade because he hasn't scored a podium. He's still a very consistent, decent driver.

He hasn't shown his potential yet. So I think Australia has are well known for being really quick and then losing their wheels there. Let's hope the second one doesn't happen. Let's hope the first one does, for my biggest good surprise sake, and Hulk gets in the points. Well, knowing Holcombberg, his tower will probably fall off as soon as he gets into third place.

So actually, I'm going to speak to Nico and say, fourth only, no higher. We need to secure that bag, okay? To be fair, even if he got into third and his wheel fell off, it would still be a biggest good surprise if he was up there. So, yeah, Hockenberg hasn't actually delivered all too much this season. He's not been that safe pair of hands that we expected so far, but it is early days.

It is early days. We're getting ahead of ourselves, but hey, this is part and parcel of Formula One. And also, I don't feel like we've got any momentum for this season right now. So we're dwelling on performances rather than maybe a doubleheader, then a two weeks break, No, it's race, two weeks, race, two weeks, and then four weeks after the Australian Grand Prix, what is going on? And then we've got craziness, which I'll accept. But it's been a weird slow start, hasn't it?

It's a very weird season, very weird season. Just looking at our kind of content calendar that we've got, and I looked through it to see what we've got coming up. And yeah, it is so weird that kind of got these week breaks, then a month which Australia, all I'm saying is please be good, because we've got a month to fill after your race. So please be a good race. And then it's like triple headers galore after that. So we'll be fine then. But fingers crossed for that Holcomberg podium or something to talk about for a month.

Oh, goodness me. That would be quite something, wouldn't it? And I would take the point for biggest good surprise. Okay, we now move to biggest flop. My one. It's Sergio Perez. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. Mexican fans. I'm sorry Sergio Perez fans. But, look, there's no hate here. This is just predictions. Okay. We're like, who can have a bad weekend? I feel as though Perez, after his performance in Saudi, has been put on a bit of a pedestal now.

Like, oh, he can take the fight to Max. There's big storylines around it. I feel like it will go back to how it was in Bahrain, where Max is clear. you'll drive off into the distance and in fact we'll get on to the rest of my reasons why as we go to the other predictions, other sides of the predictions. But I, yeah, I just don't think he's going to have as good a weekend. As much as Australia is seen kind of as a street track,

which I do not see it as a street track. It doesn't look like a street track. The walls aren't close enough for it to be a street track, but apparently it's a street track. Yeah, biggest flop for a Red Bull has to be kind of not first or second then, basically. That's crazy. I have gone for biggest flop as Carlos Sainz.

Now, he's not exactly been on Charlotte Clare's pace anyway. So for it to be a flop, it is going to have to be a bit of a mare. But he did have a mare last year, found a lot of gravel traps. And I do hope Sines does pick up the pace because I think it could get really spicy if we do have a nice battle between the Ferrari drivers. I do really want to see it. But, you know, the end of the day, got that good. gut feeling and I think Carlos is going to be the one to fall victim.

I say victim. I never get any points. So he's going to win the race. Well done, Carlos. Yeah, he had a stinker last year, didn't he? What happened to him in qualifying again? Because I feel like he was out of position. Yeah, he started down in ninth because he didn't set a lap or something.

And then, yes, everyone thought he was going to come through the field. That's when the Ferrari was really good, really, really good. and I thought he was going to come through the field should have been patient and spun off. Yeah, I think he started on the hard tires, didn't he? And then ended up in the gravel. Okay, I can see that. Signs, I mean, hasn't had a great start of the season anyway, in my opinion,

in terms of his pace to his teammate and whatnot. So it would have to be a bit of a stinker in order for this to be biggest flop. But we shall see. Okay. Now we go to poll position. All right, hear me out. Here we go.

Are you ready for this? I am ready to put this into existence. Poll position for the Australian Grand Prix, 2023. Fernando Alonzo. Yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, come in, come in, come in everybody, let's get that.

I hope you're right. Let's get the ritual going. Okay, my reasonings for this. Fernando Alonzo is a god, number one. He's proved that in the first two races. Number two, he almost stuck it on the front row last year. Had it not been for that mechanical issue, everyone thinks that yes, he could have stuck at P2 on the grid,

which is absolutely insane in what was the Alpine. And most worse car than he's got now. Exactly. Aston Martin, I just feel like they might be a little bit groovy this weekend, get a bit closer to the Red Bull. The Red Bulls aren't absolutely in the distance, good night, sweetheart kind of area in qualifying. Yes, they are in the race, but they can get close enough.

Now, Max might have to have a problem in order Fernando to get pole, but I just feel it. I feel like Fernando's got something. He's got something to prove Australia. He wants revenge after last year's mishap. God, what incredible redemption that would be for that lap that we thought, we would have loved to have seen what he could have done.

And then who would have said, particularly as Aston Martin last year, were absolutely awful. I think this was their worst race, wasn't it? Because you had Seb on a scooter, Lance binned it with Latifi, Vettel binned it and spun off loads of times.

And now, yeah, I agree that they're going to be, I think they should be good around here. But I have gone boring and I have gone for pole position. Max for Stappen because I want some points. It is still 5'3, isn't it? Because neither of us scored any points out to the second round. Well, I said this last time. And to be fair, every time I do pick for Stappen, he doesn't win. So maybe I am jinxing that making a close championship fight for you all.

hopefully an Alonzo poll. Thank you so much, Tommy. You're such a man of the people, aren't you? I am. I'm here for you all. Until there's any moment of Max might not win this. And then you whip out the onesie, you whip out everything else.

And the season's ruined. And then the season is absolutely ruined. Okay, we now go to my top three. In third position, Sergio Perez. Oh. Which will tie in with his biggest flop. Yes, the car is so good that not finishing in the top two is a flop. Exactly.

Fair plain. For third place, I have gone for Fernando Alonso. Back to back to back podiums. The three pete, but for podiums. Okay, I can see that. In second place, Fernando Alonzo. After a Titanic battle with Max Verstappen for all of one lap after him being on will he end up beating Paris.

That is a very good question, which I hope he does. I hope they just bring like a ridiculously crazy invention for the Aston Martin that has like almost like old age pensioner kind of wing mirrors so that he can see kind of where to put the car. I feel like that could be quite beneficial for him. It's one of those tracks, though, where I think overtaking could be extremely difficult. I don't think they've announced the DRS zones, but I know last year we had four. they made no yeah and they made they have announced it oh sorry it would be three so it was going to be four

they took one out and it was three and I'm pretty sure this week this weekend is four again I'm not surprised because uh yeah it's not been hugely big on overtaking this circuit in the past and it maybe feels a little bit more difficult than last year which is a shame so yeah maybe Fernando gets in the lead sorry gets ahead of Perez and it's just impossible to overtake um so second place for me is Sergio Perez. I've gone for an extremely bold prediction, as you can see. Tommy, you have to keep things interesting, otherwise people will turn off.

No, I'm just jinxing. I just, like, I never get any points. So I'm just hoping that this doesn't happen. And then... Okay, but the thing is right, you'll say your top three in this, and then we'll do quali in race predictions for the actual thing. Because no points are on the line,

you'll be like, oh, yeah, so Logan Sargent, will win. Then we got Alex Albin P2. Yeah, absolutely. Yeah, it's disgraceful. As soon as you put points on the line, you get, you get boring. Because deep down, I'm not thinking Fernando Williams is getting poll, but I hope, and you just know it's going to be a social clip if it does come true.

So yeah, okay, fair enough. My poll position, no, top three, my winner of the Australian Grand Prix is Max Verstappen. Congratulations, Max. You've raced me for a boring prediction. Sorry, at least I've mixed up a little bit and not had a Red Bull 1-2 again. I've gone hugely bold and swapped two and three round of every other round of this season.

That's massively bold when the Red Bulls are a second clear of everyone else on race pace. It is, to be fair. So yeah, my winner, I have gone for Max Stauffin as well. I promise later down the season I will mix it up. But I'm trying to beg some early points. And maybe, maybe I'll jinx it. But it's really hard to bet against

Vastapen Peres. Lonzo, that just seems to be the order at the moment. So it is the new Hamburg Verveau. But these things don't always go as expected. And goodness me, is the Australian Grand Prix duer banger because it's been far too long. So please provide one. When was the last banger? Oh, it must have been like a wet race in like 2010 or something, I think.

That's the first one that comes to mind is 2010. when it was a wet race and kind of got a lot of overtaking and stuff. Maybe 2012 when Maldonado dined it, Chasing Alonzo at the end. But it's never been that great. It feels like one of those, obviously I'm a proper boomer,

I've been watching ages, but it feels like one of those races that was good in the early 2000s, but now just not seen a good race in there for a long time. And I think as well that Melbourne at Australian Grand Prix has just got a free pass usually because they were the first race of the season. And I feel like they avoided a lot of criticism because everyone was so hyped for the racing to start that they're like, oh, well, you know, it's only the first race of the season.

You know, Michael Schumacher won by four laps and that's fine, don't worry about it. We'll move on. And then, you know, criticism rolls in a little bit later into the season. Yeah, and it's a country that just is one of those countries that, like, Formula One is a huge part of and there's, you know, historic Australian world champions. and it's just been on the calendar for a very long time and the Australian fans are, you know, amazing and very dedicated to watch Formula One when they're not, don't have the best time zone to watch it.

And it seems like that race is always very good vibes. But let's hope the action matches the vibes. Yeah, I just want to say, if you are an Australian listener or watcher, you are a legend. Like the fact that you watch Formula One and get up at ridiculous times or even stay up to ridiculous times to watch this sport and be a fan, I commend you. You are legends.

Okay, now we move to our one crazy prediction, whilst Tommy is looking for either Frank or a drink. What were you doing there? You're looking for Frank. Okay, cool. My one crazy prediction, are you ready? Go on. Everyone will line up on the grid properly.

Is that a prediction? Yes, I'm sorry. We're two from Gets. two, someone not lining up in the grid probably. That means it's zero percent happens so far. You found a loophole. That is a beautiful loophole. It's not happened this season yet.

We're into round three. You can't. Oh, Max, then Sergio, then Fernando. This is my time to try and get a point. And you watch four drivers be out of position come Sunday. Yeah. Oh, God. Yeah, imagine.

Imagine if it does happen again. If it happens again, I wonder what, like there must be some weird I think they do an old school at Monster if it happens again where they have to get out of the car run to the car and then they can start from there really so at least they'll know if they're in the grid box or not.

That'd be something to behold. My one crazy prediction and kind of could argue that maybe kind of leads into yours a little bit and some of the things that you've gone for because I'm going to say that a Red Bull is beaten in qualifying and I obviously think that is Sergio Perez

and I think you might get beaten by Alonzo or LeClaire but I've learnt from my mistakes and I'm just going to say a Red Bull is beaten in qualifying and not go into specifics. Is that crazy? Yes, when everyone's moaning at the most dominant car they've been miles ahead of everyone else and I think it'll take a big...

Yeah, true. So, look, we need some points. You're going for the full house I can see it. You've really tried with this one. But fair enough, Tommy. Look, I'll have to do it for the next 20-odd races. And, you know, this whole prediction series will go down the toilet

because it's the same predictions every week. No, I'm kidding. But that was, okay, fair enough. Let's see how many points we score this week. 5-3 to me currently. And that was all scored in Bahrain. Hopefully we don't end 5-3 at the end of the Australian Grand Prix. Although, actually, I hope we do.

If we keep predicting Vestappen, Perez and Alonzo every week, then I do hope we're wrong for the rest of the year. Yeah. And that's coming from me. Can you imagine? Can you imagine? Because you've said Max Poll. Max win.

Yeah, okay. I'll take no points actually. And it's an absolute stone cold banger. Charlotte Claire back to the front of the field. Here we go. Okay, there you go. Tommy. What is your final thoughts?

My final thoughts are about you actually, Matt. Oh, God. Is it a PG? When we did our, Hamilton podcast and I said I think it was about Simon Laysenby predicting that Hamilton will go to Ferrari and it launched all these Ferrari rooms and I said one day we'd love it if we could just be like saying saying something like oh I reckon this will happen and then it will appear in articles that blah blah blah from the P1 podcast thinks this and that has actually happened with

you saying that Charlotte you think Charlotte Claire won't win a championship with Ferrari and it's been clipped. It's been put on as a quote graphic. It's been put on an article. So yeah, you are, you are an expert now. I'm absolutely not. I think I got imposter syndrome when I saw that. I was like, why have they, why have they clipped this up? And fair enough, some people have questioned. Why are we clipping up Matt Gallagher? And I was like, I have exactly the same question. But I'll take it. Apparently, apparently people want to hear my opinion. So that was a really weird moment to see a graphic with my quoting and then Sky Sports F1 tweeting it, I was like, this is not real. That can't, that can't be real.

Do you find it weird that this is one thing I always find weird. And I even find this weird for you, when it says like Gallagher, when you're referred to as a surname, I always find that really bizarre. Yeah, I know. It sounds like more professional, doesn't it? Like a Formula One driver. Yeah. Belling him up the inside of gut.

That sounds weird. But yes, it was very strange. Hopefully you've got to listen to the Sky Sports F1 podcast. That's where I featured on, and that's where the quote came from. I am regretting saying that Charlotte-Clau'll never win a world title with Ferrari. I didn't mean it. It was like a, you know, well, I did mean it, but it was more of a, unless they buck their ideas up.

And I think that's a fair statement as well, you know. And hopefully, Charles didn't see it out of context and will never speak to me ever again. The love is still there. Frank is tearing around the room by the sounds of it. And that is the end of this podcast. Just want to say, big love, Charlotte Claire. You know what a driver, you know, you know what it's like for a driver now.

I know. When you kind of say one little thing and then they cut up a very small part of it. And then it's like, oh, come. Like, Matt, slandering Charlerclair. What's this? I know. They even made an article out of it. I'm like, why are you making an article out of what I've said?

I'm so washed. Like, it's unbelievable. Because it's like, Matt Gallagher thinks that Charlotte Claire will not win a world title with Ferrari. And I was like, yeah, but I kind of went. it's really difficult and unless they change no sort of thing but anyway I digress I need to see that side by side with your prediction from from our charlaclair will be world champion I've already seen someone on Twitter later I've already seen someone on Twitter going this you and it's like charlerclair will be world champion in 2023 it's like come on I'm clear I was clearly

you were high on copium yeah exactly copiuming if that's a word anyway this podcast has rabbited on We will see you very soon for another podcast or video. And racing. Yeah, on Friday. Yes, tomorrow. Racing, yay. Bye. Bye.

Charlotte Claire, I still love you. Sorry. P1 is a Stack production and part of the Acast's creator network.