The Late Braking F1 Podcast - Could Red Bull win EVERY RACE in 2023?!

Episode Date: June 21, 2023

After winning the first 8 races of the 2023 season, Red Bull are now 15 away from completing a full season of victories. As a trio, Ben, Sam and Harry are on hand to debate how likely this is and what (or who) is most likely to stop them achieving it. Also on today's episode, reaction to Sergio Perez's comments regarding his Canadian Grand Prix, W Series going into administration, and a good ol game of Back and Forth! SUPPORT our Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/latebraking JOIN our Discord: https://discord.gg/dQJdu2SbAm JOIN our F1 Fantasy League: https://fantasy.formula1.com/en/leagues/join/C3CCEW8P704 TWEET us @LBraking BUY our merch: https://late-braking-f1-podcast.creator-spring.com/ EMAIL us at [e-mail] SUBSCRIBE to our podcast! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This podcast is part of the Sports Social Podcast Network. Thank you for listening to the Late Breaking F1 podcast. Make sure to check out new episodes every Wednesday and every Sunday. A very warm welcome to the late breaking F1 podcast presented by Harry Ead, Sam Sage, and me, Ben Hocking. We'll get into our usual stuff in just a moment. But firstly, Sam, got some news. Have we? is it quite spicy, who's?

It is a little bit spicy. It is a little bit spicy. I'll stop keeping everyone on the age. We might have been invited to a certain event from a certain official Formula One team. Which one, Sam? It's Williams Formula One team, folks. You know, one of the most prestigious,

long-running Formula One teams of all time. They've invited us down to their pop-up store in Piccadilly on the 5th of July. and you, listeners, lovely people out there, can come and see us. You can come down all day, meet and greet, have a chat. We're doing a show down there, not a proper live one, but you can watch us to do the recording. You can.

And you're going to do some video stuff, so you might be on the video if you come down and see us. Come have a chat. Yes. Good. This is flabbergasting to me. Yes. I don't know about you two.

Also, to be fair, folks, they're doing it all week, aren't they? We're already there on the Wednesday, but they're doing it all week. and they've got, you know, a bit of a guest coming down, I think at least for a few of the days. I know that James Vowels will be there at some point, Logan's Sargant will be there at some point, Alex Albon will be there at some point.

That's all we're going to say about that. Is that embargoed information? Who cares? We're going to cut this if it doesn't go out. So, you know, go down and see it anyway because Williams is doing a really cool thing right at the Strait of London. It's at Piccadilly Circus.

It's next to the boots, if you're interested. Next to the boots. If you're interested in the boots. Get yourself for a meal deal, the worst meal deal on the high street. Yeah, don't do that. Yeah, so in the lead up to British GP weekend, so our British GP preview episode will be from the Williams fanzoh.

From Piccadilly Circus. Yeah. Yeah. So that works. Very normal. Very normal. Very normal indeed. So if you are in the area,

or indeed, if you're not in the area and you'd like to come and see us, you can do so. Again, that is Wednesday, July the 5th. Please come and see us. Plus.

If no one turns up, I'm going to be a bit sad. I might cry. A little bit. Just a little bit. Sam, you must be very excited because you get to spend the next like three hours with the two of us. We're actually double recording tonight. Yeah, I mean, you know, you're my two best friends.

It's a great life. That was, that was enthusiastic. I mean, we're all quite happy to be on our own time, people, aren't we really? We all enjoy our own. You're yourself, mate. I'm giving Harry the look because he's a liar. I am buzz for the double record. actually am buzzed with a double record. I love a double record. I'm spending as much time as

possible with you both. My only quibble, quibble. Quibble. Moly quibble. I'm a bit of a quibble. I'm a bit of a quibble. Who work, folks? Quibble. Is how bloody hot it is today? Oh yeah. I've got the fan here. Hang on. Oh, this is going to be great for the listeners. Can you hear that anyone? Lovely. That's solved. Oh, that's solved all my problems. He's nearly hit himself on there with a fan. Is this better for you? I mean, it is, but you cannot do this for three hours. It's just going to be warm. We just go off to endure it. Okay, put it down. Put it on my knee.

Put it on the mic now. It's horrible. Sorry, to it away from you. That's how annoying, how it is. But yeah, we're here for a while. Ben, what are we discussing over the next period of time? Because we don't know. I do.

Well, you should know because I've sent you the schedule like I do every bloody week. Anyway, yes, we've got a double record. So anyone who's complaining that there might only be two, of us on some of the recent episodes. Firstly, appreciate what you're saying. Oh, wait. Sorry.

Secondly, shut up. Yeah, we're proper committed this week to get all three of us on this. It's the only day we could all do. So at least on this episode, we will be playing F1 back and forth a little bit later on. McLaren, a bit of a discussion there in terms of power units into the new era of Formula One in a couple of years' time. W series going into administration, our takes on that. Sergio Perez, his thoughts on the safety car, ruining his race at the Canadian Grand Prix.

But we're going to start with Red Bull. Eight out of eight race wins to this point, which means they are now over a third of the way there in terms of the championship and keeping an unblemished record. Max Rastappen has won six of those eight races. He's been in the top two in every single race this year. And he has enough points by himself to be leading the Constructors Championship. Not too bad. So I've seen quite a few people start to ask this question, Sam. They've done eight out of eight.

Can they do the full 23 out of 23? How likely do you think it is that they win every single race this year? I mean, it's becoming more and more likely, isn't it? With each race that we do, the odds are diminishing there. Statistically, that is how it works. You know, and even fair play, if they get to the halfway point, they've won every single race, and that's all they get. You know, it shows you,

We kind of spoke at the start of the season, you know, oh, this can't be the most dominant F1 car for a while, you know, it's going to take some changes and whatever. But, you know, if they do win every single race this season, it will be by far the most dominant Grand Prix car we have ever come across in Formula One. And, you know, they're not really showing any signs of a weakness at the moment, other than Sergio Perez, who, to be fair to him,

when Max Verstappen hasn't actually been on the top spot, he has managed to fill in for him. So it's not like he hasn't done the job when Verstappen wasn't able to. What concerns me the most for everyone else, not Red Bull, is, you know, take the Canadian Grand Prix, for example, for Staffing won the race with a bird in his break. I did see that today. He had a bird in his break. I think that actually increased his speed. Have you seen birds?

They're quite quick. Birds give you wings. As do, Red Bulls. He's got so many. He's flying high. My point here is, it just feels like the car's a little bit indestructible at the moment. It's just strong everywhere. it is, it's giving bigger vibes than what Masega's doing in 2014

in terms of that was dominant, but this feels like at the moment it's on a whole other level. And Vestappen, I think at this point in his career, in comparison to maybe what Hamilton and Rosberg were in 2014, at their points in their career, I think the Staping is better than what Hamilton and Rosberg were in 2014, if you know what I mean. Do you think Hamilton was before his prime in 14?

Yes, I do. I think Hamilton reached his prime after, ironically, after he got beaten by Nico Rosberg. I think, you know, the 17 through to kind of 20 was Hamilton's ultimate prime, whereas I think Max Verstappen has just, like, in kind of the last six to 12 months, hit his peak performance,

and he is now in his golden era, whereas I don't think Hamilton and Rosberg were there yet. So not only have Red Bull created this absolute monster, sorry for using an alternate energy drink in that reference, but Max Verstappeneng is on a, whole other level. You know, he is really separating himself from the rest of the pack and it's it's not just him and his teammate now.

You know, his teammates has been left in the dust with the rest. It is a perfect combination. It's working in pure harmony. I am wowed by what they're doing every week. And I do think that, you know, unless reliability strikes them in a horrible way, it feels very unlikely. I also think they've gone past the races that are likely

to hurt them the most. We've discussed it before. Monaco felt like the really the biggest threat that they could have been hit at. All the other races really kind of suit the car in one way or another, or it isn't affecting their weaknesses enough that it's going to really trouble them, I feel. So I don't really see where it's going to come from other than I'm really unlucky reliability problem. I've got to say the Hamilton and Vastappen prime debate might be an interesting one for the future because I'm not sure whether it's right or wrong, but certainly

if you look at where Vastappen is now, he's 25 years old. If you are saying Hamilton entered his prime in 2017 and I might agree with you he would have been 32 in 2017 yeah so it would be very interesting if can you imagine if Fustappen has another gear is basically what I'm saying and this isn't even his prime pretty terrifying Harry what do you think is this is this on the cards 23 out of 23 I think it's highly highly possible based on those odds that you sorry chase him based on those odds as Sam was mentioning earlier but nah not gonna happen

there's a lot that goes on in there yeah it's F1 come on also that definitely means they're doing it yeah sorry sorry everyone no I just think the odds of more odds of probability mean that it might only be one might be two

three if we're lucky but I think I think there'll be a couple that they don't win that being said the Sam's point about the Merck 2014 dominance that was only ended

by, not ended, sorry, that was only, they only didn't win races, either they, they broke down, I'm trying to think which ones they broke down at, Canada, 2014, where Ricardo won, or they ran into each other, Spa 2014, where Ricardo won, and then what was the other one, Hungary? Spain, 16. Spain, 16, and they ran into each other.

So that's less of, both of those things, I'm not really an issue at the moment for Red Bull, because Sergio Perez isn't really near Verstappen. You have got to be on the same bit of racetrack to hit your team in the same way, at least as consistently as Rosberg and Hamilton were. They don't hate each other like Hamilton, Rosberg did. That's true.

And also the Red Bull, name me a time the Red Bull's been unreliable recently. Yeah, there were a few, I mean, Cassie Mindsbag, there were a few questions about Red Bull's reliability at the very beginning of the season, if you think. And 2021. start the season again. They had three or four races, right?

Yeah, I mean, you think, you know, Saudi be qualifying and there were a couple of other incidents, right? But, yeah, last five races? Yeah. Nothing. Neither. So those, that, that worries me a little bit. It's sad, but, as I say, it's Formula One,

as the lovely great Murray Walker said, anything can happen in F1. And usually it does. Oh, I miss him. Cheers, my son. I ever call him that again. Muddy talker. I didn't coin that, by the way.

There's someone else's. It's horrible. What a mudley talker? Yeah. I'm on the same wavelength of you, Harry, to be honest, in terms of this. I still think it's unlikely just based on it only takes one thing to go wrong. I think perhaps one of the reasons is that Sergio Perez, whilst you're right, Sam, that the two races, Vestappen hasn't won,

Perez has won. But in both of those instances, Vostappan would have won if Perez wasn't there. But if we were to reverse that, let's say something happens to Vostappan in Monaco or in Canada,

or in Spain, or in Australia. So four out of the eight races we've had so far this season, if Fostappan doesn't win, Red Bull don't win. The other four, Perez was either winning

or he was in second directly behind Fustap, and in which case they still take the race win. You're right? someone is making a lot of noise. What was that? A lot of banging. Sorry, I think that's when my next door neighbors are doing, my downstairs,

neighbors are doing a workout outside. I think they might be throwing a, yeah, I think they might be throwing a medicine ball. Shall we join them and see how the podcast? Yeah. Good. Or should we get them on? Both. Stay tuned for the next segment.

Cut him off. Yeah, I still think it's fairly unlikely just because, again, it just needs one thing to go wrong for Vestappen. Perez isn't there 50% of the time, Red Bull, I'm going to win. 50% of the time. It works every time. Cheers, my.

At the moment, it feels like things like slow pit stops and having to cover off undercuts. They're just not even factors for Red Bull at the moment because they're so far dominant. Although having said that, Canada, I think was actually the first time this season

that that's even slightly, like, as a preliminary, entered the discussion. There were a few questions when Hamilton pit for the second time. There were a few rumblings of, does Vastappen have to cover off Hamilton, or does he continue racing Alonzo? I know those questions were pre-early stage, but at least they were being asked at Canada when they weren't being asked whatsoever in the other races. Nine and a half seconds was the advantage that Vastappen had over Alonzo

at the end of the Canadian Grand Prix, with the exception of Australia that ended under safety car, that is the closest that anyone's got to Vostappan and Red Bull to winning a race this year. So if that trend continues, there may be some of those discussions of Perez not being there as a rear gunner and the threat of undercuts. Maybe that starts to become a factor again because they're not at the moment. So I do think something will, at least in one race, go wrong for Red Bull this year.

It will just take Saudi Arabia qualifying. Let's say that happens at a slightly more difficult circuits to overtake. Maybe that is the reason. Or I don't know. You've already described what's happened with Merck over the years. I think it just takes one small, small thing. Imagine Australia. Hamilton got an epic start on the last lap and he wins that race instead of Maxvastap.

And all it takes is one of those really small things. just to change a race, and I think it will at least on one occasion. Not to be malicious, but I do hope something bad happens to Red Bull just one race, just to spice it up. Flip, flip that. You hope something good happens for another team. That is the right way to look at life. I'd rather a, I'd rather a challenger.

Yeah, correct. I would rather something happen where a challenger can emerge. Separate to the Red Bull winning every race discussion. Sam can Vastap and get a podium at every race. Well, now this one feels even more likely. You know, the fact that he's finishing the top two every single race. I think there was some bizarre stat the other day

that he's kind of been, either he's won or been on the podium and something like 26 of the last 28 Grand Prix or something like that, which is an immense statistic. I don't, that is not a guaranteeing accurate stat, but it's something very much like that. And even close to that is bizarre.

Possible stat, man. Possible. Stack, man? When was the last time he was off the poet? Is it Singapore? Yes. Yeah, I think so. Wow.

Yeah, so that makes... Considering that that was one of the last, like, 28, he wasn't on it or something like that, it's, you know, kind of crazy how consistent he is. When was the last time that his car just stopped working going around the crack? When was the last completely outright reliability issue that Max de Staffen had that caused him to DNF the car? I cannot remember one off the top of my head. Australia 2022, I think.

Right. So, well over a season ago now. Yeah. That is literally 30 races ago. Do you think part of it is that when he has such a massive lead out front, he doesn't need to push the car apart from when he goes for a fastest lap and gives his team a heart attack? Oh, yeah.

Of course it is. And Mercedes always had the same solution as well. Once in Hamilton was maybe 10 seconds out front, you regularly heard them say, saying it all down, when you can change engine modes, it was drop the engine mode, you know, run at your half pace, you're fine. We heard from stopping in Canada fly over that sausage curb, and he was like, oh, I nearly get my race.

What great banter. The fact that it's that casual up front when I get to crash out and burn the car to the ground is, you know, hilariously scary. It's just that easy for him at the moment. I generally do think he could pick up a podium in every single race and you know what? I wouldn't stop at this season. If the car can keep going and not break down,

he could comfortably keep knocking out top threes. I reckon for at least another season and a half without fault. It's unlikely going to be on pace, right? Yeah. It will probably need to be first lap incident, qualifying incident where he has to start 20th and only recovers to P4 or something ridiculous like that. or, yeah, reliability is probably,

it's not going to be, oh, Vastappen wasn't quick enough today, just P7 for the guy. Yeah. Doesn't seem very likely, is it? What do you think, Harry? Vastappen on the podium, every single race.

Yeah, I think this one could, realistically happen. That ever happened? Schumacher did it, I think. I was about to quote that. O2? Yeah. Got an echo, in it? Echo.

That was less races that we have now. but arguably I don't think I mean it was a dominant car very dominant car but I don't think this is dominant as the one that the Stappan's got underneath him so yeah it's highly

plausible I guess again on the odds of probability the more races you have there's more chances for that not to happen so you know it could be but as you say Ben the last time he wasn't on the podium because of pace would probably be Singapore last year right

he just wasn't, he didn't have any real issues. He, I mean, he fell off the road a bit, but... Yeah, the conditions play apart, but, you know, everyone else managed, well, not everyone else, but other people managed to control them. I don't know the last time in pure dry conditions that he was slow. Yeah.

Oh. Toro Rosso. 20, 2015. He's been around for too long. Yeah. It's 10. Guys got 85 podiums. Yeah.

He's 25 years. old. That's a lot in it. It's disgusting. I actually think the thing, this is going off top now. The thing that will stop Max for Stappan is he's just going to get bored. I said that exactly the point I was going to make. He's already made the point of, I don't need that anymore world titles. He just going to, like, round seven and it's one every single one after his sixth world title and go,

I can't be bothered with this anymore. Get the impression. And I think Hamilton is the same, but maybe less so. Winning championships, well, obviously, they want to win championships. But for for this happen, he's less, it's just like, I like race in people. people. Yeah. He's very Kimmy Riking in that respect.

He just likes racing people. If I went some championships along the way, that's pretty good. But he's done that now, aren't he? He's done it. He was always adamant he just wanted one. One, yeah. So that's my point. I think if it keeps going like this,

it might just be like, oh, bad enough of us. I'll come back in 20206. Hicks four would be like the most successful Red Bull driver ever in terms of championships to go, okay, that's it. Sebastian Vettel fans rejoice around the world. I mean, you alluded to this in the first thing he said,

Sam, but in terms of stacking this car up against other greats, is it on course to be one of the very best or the very best of all time? If they manage you get every single wing over a 23 race season or Vastappen picks up a podium in every single race, I think it goes ahead of the Hague of the MP4-4, I think it goes ahead and anything that Ferrari ever creating in the early Nauties or Schemacher, and I think it beats the Mercedes early dominance over a one season point of view. And you all remember that also is in line with what the opponents are able to produce. I'm not saying if you pull it on track against the most dominant Mercedes

or whatever, it will win. But I do think that in comparison to its opponents over a one season lifespan, it is going to be the most dominant car of all time. I think even if they miss out on a couple, I think even if they get 21 out of 23, it's still got a very good case to be up there with the MP 4-4, 2014. 2016 Merck, it's already there or thereabouts if it gets 20, 21 race wins this year. What do you think, Aaron?

Yeah, it's... A fair play to them. Quite a good car. Yeah. I don't even make real cars. No, and that's, that is very impressive. I think if you look where Red Bull are, sorry, Red Bull were, I don't know, Circa, I don't know, end of the Renault relationship.

they lost Daniel Ricardo, fine. They also are losing their Renault engines. There's a risk that they could have been absolutely nowhere. And four years later, barely, it's one of the most dominant cars in F1 ever. So it's quite a remarkable feat.

What baffles me is around the same time that Red Bull came into existence, Ferrari pretty much picked up the last time they ever won a championship. They're very similar time frames. Yeah, well, oh, fine. A year out, yeah. It's a year between it.

Two years between it. And they've won seven drivers, six constructors in the time that Ferrari have won one drivers. Yeah. Six drivers, I guess. Yeah. But that's still more than Ferrari.

Don't make more cars. Ferrari do. Yeah. Damn. Well, in conclusion, Red Bull good. That'll do it for the first segment of this podcast. We'll be about discussing

Sergio Perez after this. Okay, we're back. I hope everyone enjoyed their sandwiches, of course. stacking up. We're going to be talking Sergio. It's like a Homer. Has Sergio Perez been eating his sandwiches? We'll soon find out.

He had some comments after the Canadian Grand Prix, a Grand Prix in which he finished sixth place with the fastest lap for a total of nine points. He said, I think we got massively with the safety car. It came in at the wrong moment for us. Luck is not with us at the moment. Sam, your thoughts on his comments.

I feel like he's trying to find a scapegoat. I'm not going to lie to him. Burt My lander. Yeah. He's trying to, I hate Burk, My Lander, says Sergei Perez. Every single race, I'm at his helmet for anger, fueling pace. Because also a lot of the race for most people became a two-stop, the opportunity was there to change your strategy to adapt it.

He could have easily gone from that hard to run a double medium strategy of some variation. he didn't. Alex Albaugh made it work with the one stop. You know, Sergey Perez didn't. He also benefited from that that Russell put it in the wall. And I don't think he would have beaten Russell had the race run green flag the entire time anyway. So he's actually gained a place, I think, out of this. And I get that maybe he lost out a little bit to where the Ferrari's ending up sitting. But it's not like the race was kind of, you know, it was game over the moment the safety car emerged. It's not like, you know, oh, I've got 10 laps ago and all I've got left to severely worn hard tires.

There was plenty of time left in that race and your car was clearly capable of putting in the laps to turn that around for yourself. I really do think he's clinging on to, you know, anything. He's really grasping some straws here and that straw is painted the same as the Mesegi's safety car

in the hopes that someone will go, oh, that's all right, Sergio. It's okay, really? It's not. You just weren't good. It's okay to have a bad day. He was having a few of them. Quite a few.

Harry, what do you think? He's chatting rubbish. What are you talking about, Sergio? Yeah. If it ruined your day, how come Ferrari speak you? Because they were on the same, they're the same issue.

The safety car came out. And they didn't pity either. And Checoeco started on the hard tyres, right? So theoretically, and fries on mediums, theoretically he should actually have benefited him more than it did. He went on to the same strategy that ending up being what,

basically what Ham were taking along. So he could have run a two medium sting after that point. But he didn't, he just stopped. Well, I know he stopped twice because he went for the softs, but then he just stopped once technically for mediums. So why didn't you, why, you know, why didn't you beat there? It's working for a long-soe. It's working for Hamilton.

Why did you not adapt strategy? It just feels like they have, surgery press fell into the Ferrari hole of not being decisive enough and commanding enough. And he's maybe take a leaf out of Alonso or Russell's book of going, what's going on here. Let's, how can we improve the situation? But, and yes, I agree.

I thought he was on the optimal strategy. Well, it felt like it. his race. Exactly. And that's my point. Compared to the Ferraris, which I know we're on similar strategies in terms of the

amount of the stops they were going to do, but he was on the better version of that because he was on the hards which should go longer and then finish on the medium. So yeah,

I'm not buying that, Sergio. You were just slow, son. Slow, Sergio. Do not understand this at all. I've been trying to, to your point, I don't get it. He hasn't lost out,

surely. No. He's not racing any of the drivers eat food for behind him, like, and he beat them all anyway, but he wasn't, he wasn't racing those guys. And he seems to think that P5 was on the table if the safety car didn't come out. But as you've already said, his strategy was not changed by the appearance of that safety car, but presumably

that's exactly the same for the Ferraris. Their strategy was not impacted at all by the appearance of the safety car. Yeah, maybe they ran two laps longer than they would have done because of saving tyres under the safety car, sure. But outside of that, they did exactly the same thing they would have done anyway. So surely the results of pretty much, if anything, there were drivers

that, okay, Perez probably would have overtaken them, but there were drivers who pit in front of Perez to get out of his way at the safety car point, in which case he can just overcut them. So he was actually benefited in that regard, rather than hindered. He got track position, which I think if you saw on Sunday,

the DRS trains, I think that was a better call. Exactly. I don't really understand where he thinks he could have got that extra position from. And to be honest, it doesn't really matter anyway. Because he's saying here, I think I could have finished fifth without the safety car. Okay, the fifth place gets you 10 points. He had the gap to get the fastest lap, which he wouldn't have done if he finished the fifth. So he ended up with nine points.

So he's saying, I could have, if luck had gone my way, scored one more, point. Shering's second, mate. That's the, that's the thing of it, is the car is good enough. And that track is more than capable of producing overtakes. As we saw, you should have been fighting for Annalon and Lewis Hamilton for playing your positions. There's no doubt in my mind that he, he is quick enough, the car is quick enough, his

strategy was good enough. He should have been in that gap between at least Hamilton and Alonso, if not beating alongso. The car is more than good enough. And this seemed to be more than anything, a qualifying issue, right? because he starts near the front. He doesn't have to go through all of this. Sam, are you concerned qualifying ways for Perez?

He's never been good at qualifying, has it? I'm not saying he's bad. It's not his strength. It's not his strong point. And this is almost the same argument that we saw when Red Bull were churning through their rookie drivers. You know, where you had Albin there, where you had Gassi there,

their race pace itself was all right. You know, they regularly came back through the field. The issue is they had to come back through the field. They were regularly qualifying. you know, being knocked out in Q2 or they qualify right down the end of, you know, the top 10, so they're being maybe P8, P7, whereas their teammate would be starting regularly in P4, P3.

You've got to remember when those guys were in the car, it wasn't even the best car, it's considered the third best car. Ferrari and Mercedes were better than that Red Bull most of the time when those two guys had to take on that car. Sergei Perez has, we just argued, one of the most, if not the most dominant Formula 1 car of all time over the course of one season,

he needs to be performing, he needs to be better than this. in Q2, four out of eight races is, in my opinion, a fireable offence. You are hanging on, in my opinion. It's only because there's no one to step right into that seat. I don't think they want to, you know, tip the boat with Ricardo halfway through. They're leading both championships, so why bother really picking up an issue? But if they're in a title fight, like they were with Masegas in 2021, he would be, he would be really hanging onto a job. I think he'd be panicking big time. And to be honest, it wouldn't be shocked if he goes at the end of the season, if it keeps up like this. It is gone,

sour very quickly for Sergio Perez. What do you make of Perez's qualifying performance is this season, Harry? It's slow, isn't he? I agree with Sam. He's never been a qualifier, but you don't know. Well, I'm sure he'd love to beat Maxis'est happen

every time, but I guess people aren't necessarily expecting him to do that. What they are expecting him is to not be knocked out in Q1 or Q2 in the car that, as we've just mentioned, is probably one of the most, if not the most dominant F-1 cars in history. Yeah, it's just not not good enough.

Not ideal. Not ideal. I wouldn't fire him quite as quickly as Sam did. I think if Sam, this is probably a compliment, if Sam was a team owner, it'd be Eddie Jordan. I'd take that very personally and I enjoy it. Yeah. Who would you be? Me.

Yeah. That is an insult. I think not me. It's a big insult. Vimba. Fimba. Oh, yeah, yeah. A one-time Fimba. Who's very interesting. Indecisive.

Who is indecisive? Mateo. I was going to say, Mattel. Just put some of those glasses on me. Yeah, spike your air off a bit to make it curlier.

And I'd look exactly like him. It's a me. Matea. Good. I can't remember the end of my point now. That wasn't going anywhere. But it, yeah, it's not good enough. You wouldn't fire him as quickly as Sam.

Oh, yeah. But you agree that. he should probably do a bit better. I think probably step it up a little bit. Probably, the F1 World thinks that. Well, you're right, and you're right in that it's a,

his main issue on Sunday was it was a qualifying issue, wasn't he? Because he wouldn't have had to try and try and do an alternate strat and start on the hards and all that nonsense. All that business. And he would have been up there in the fight at the front end of the field.

So, Sergio, go quickly. That's it. Good. The thing is, we know, I completely understand and agree with your point that he's not a qualifier first. Like his expertise comes on race day in terms of tire wear, absolutely. And he's not a qualifier first. But having said that, he can still deliver a solid enough performance, as we've seen, like Saudi Arabia and Azerbaijan and Bahrain. You know, he isn't qualifying maximum out-qualifying maxfuss happened a lot of times, but he doesn't need to. The point is,

he doesn't need to be a good qualifier. He needs to be an okay qualifier. Because if he's an okay qualifier and he's half a second behind Max Verstappen, that will invariably be good enough for top four every single race. Okay, and you might still argue at that point, that's still not good enough, but it's still a lot better than what he's doing right now. He's got to get out of Q1 and Q2, as you say. He's got to get out of Q2 because that's where all the troubles start from.

And he doesn't need to be that much. He can afford to be quite a few tempers slower than Vostappan and still make it to Q3. He'll probably be hoping for some more standard sessions coming up. We've had Monaco, we've had rain in Canada. It's not an excuse in any way. But I think he'll just be hoping that there are a few dry, normal qualifying sessions where he can just get it into Q3

with no problem, put it somewhere P2, P3, and then just start to build the confidence back up. Like I say, he can, when he puts it all together, he can deliver a good qualifying performance, but it's starting to become a bit of a streak now. Good. To your points, Sam. I know you said 50% of the eight races he hasn't made Q3.

There's only seven drivers on the grid that he, that have made Q3 fewer times than Perez this year. That's a fantastic, but completely damning statistic. damn stack man both Williams both alpha Taurys both alpha Rameos Kevin Magnuson

that's it they're not the drivers you want to be kind of associating with on this 2023 grid and you know no slander to them their cars can't do it

both McLaren's both Alpines Holcomburg they have all made Q3 at least the same number of times as Perez if not more oh so

and the worst part is for Sergio you've got an eight time race winner sat next to you the whole time going, I'll have the seat. Please, give me the seat. It's like excited puppy.

He's not much of a personality though, so it's... Oh, yeah, no one sees him on social media or anything all of the time. Doing his own commentary. Watch along. Such a handsome, nice man. Oh, dear. Damn it. Well, we'll keep being annoyed at Daniel Ricardo for being handsome and good looking.

Whilst we do that, we'll take a short break. We will be discussing W series right after this. Time for the break. Okay. So we'll move on to W series. Going into administration, it was confirmed about a week ago. So after season three last year came to a rather abrupt end, there were questions just to whether it would return at all for a season four.

At least initially, there was optimism that it would happen, but we've seen F1 Academy, so it would take on a very similar role in the F1 world, in the motorsport world. And obviously at this point, it is not going to happen. So Sam, what's your reaction to the news? Are you surprised at all?

I'm not surprised. When we saw the news that happened towards the end of last season, when it kind of went into this administration process initially, it couldn't field the calendar. It was looking to field and they hadn't picked up the backing that they needed to run. I was very disappointed because W-Series felt like

a really good early stepping stone for young women drivers, which is, you know, considering that we're trying to balance the playing field to provide opportunities, is a fantastic thing that they've created. The one positive that I think came out of W series, I say one, I'm going to go two.

Two positive that came out of W series. One, it has initially done a great job at lifting a lot of women in Formula One. I'm not just talking about the drivers that have gone to pick up driver roles, you know, inging around, not just Formula One, but other sporting areas as well. But it's also lifting up a lot of the members of staff who were very integral to, you know, the teams in W series or the production of W series, which is great. it did a good job there.

Secondly, I think W series walked so F1 Academy could start to run. Now, I say start to run because I really don't think that F1 Academy has hit its marks. I really don't... Stream it, lads. Yeah, because...

Where is it? Can I see it? Anywhere? Hello? It's over there. It's not a map. Let me get my telescope out. Oh, wait. I can't see it anywhere because it doesn't exist. To literally everyone. Stupid organisation. You can tell I'm bitter about that.

My point is here. at least it forced Formula One's hand as a company to set up a young women-centric racing series that allows them to gain funding, allows them to gain sponsorship, it allows them to gain interest and, you know, contact building to the real normal world that is open-wheel racing, because before that, it was so hard for women to get into any kind of open-racing due to lack of funding, due to lack of exposure and contacts. So this is great. It is opening those doors, because I'm sure people in the industry, are aware.

But those of us who are fans, those of us who are outside, those of us who don't get the access, still don't have a clue what's going on. There's still so much more that needs to be done. But at least we've taken a step. Many more steps need to be taken, but I do think W-Series at least open the door.

So, you know, I doff my cap to W-Series for that much at least. But it is a shame that they had to disappear, really, for this to happen. Harry, what are your thoughts? Were you surprised when you heard the news? No, I, I'm not surprised given the swift exit of it from the calendar at the end of last year.

And, yeah, there was that brief optimism, but we've not heard anything from them for a long time. So it's, well, echoing what Sam said, it's a massive shame. And I think the biggest compliment that I can give W series is that without F1 backing, they were doing a way better job than the F1 backed series is doing. It's a fair point. And yeah, I guess paved the way. And we've spoken about W Series before and F1 Academy and that it's not perfect,

but it was a start. I think that's probably the most important thing. And I guess that's its legacy in a way. They were the first to do it and do it well. And I'm talking about the way that the whole package came together and including watching it for watching it, watching it's a start right you can see it happen when they first came in because it was initially a DTM series a support race and the races were like on channel four live free to air

this is in the UK sorry but free to air and that was an important thing for that exposure so yeah it's it's a shame um I'm glad that at least something has replaced it I'll albeit not as not as good at the moment in terms of the overall package but um yeah a shame a shame for it to go and for the people that worked on it. Yeah, a sad day for them, but hopefully they realise that they've done a good thing. It is a memory they should take away as a real achievement. Yeah, they should absolutely take away as an achievement

because there were a lot of hardworking people to get that series up and running and continue to run and they should be proud of their efforts despite the fact that it's ended this way. They should absolutely be proud of their efforts. And, yeah, to your point now, I'm sure many of them have already gone on to other opportunities within the motorsport world. And those who haven't yet, I'm hopeful, will do as well. So, yeah, they should absolutely take credit from that.

I wasn't surprised at all by this news. It was one of those where I think the writing was on the wall when we first discussed that season three wasn't going to end up coming to a conclusion that it was supposed to. So there wasn't really any surprise here. I never fully agreed or fundamentally I just never quite got the W series concept. I don't think it was the best way to spend the money that they did. I always think that grassroots is a better way to go. Now I was always thankful for its existence because them trying this series was better than no one doing anything because we had and still have a fundamental issue in motorsport when

it comes to diversity. So the fact that someone was trying something was always a good thing. I just always felt that it was never the right way to go. I don't think you answer segregation by more segregation. And I appreciate the supposed benefit of increased exposure. But in all honesty, when you've got your champion coming back three years in a row, it's something's not working. Because if the whole point of the series is that it's a feeder series and it is meant to progress the careers of people who deserve it, it just wasn't achieving that.

So I'm kind of glad that F1 Academy, despite many of his current issues, are I think tackling that a little bit better. I think they are looking towards grassroots a little bit more. So I have more hope for the series long term. You're absolutely right, Sam, that there are things that this year they have not done right. I think when it becomes a bit more part of the F1 calendar next year, I believe it's going to be, it's going to have a much more resurgent second year.

But that remains to be seen. So yeah, I just want to say, I admire the efforts of everyone who got this series off the ground. And I think I somewhat agree with you both in that, yes, I don't think the legacy of W series will necessarily be the racing or the one success story of this W series racer ended up being here. I don't think that's going to be the legacy of W series. I think the legacy of it will be that it was a stepping stone and it was the starting point of really needed discussion. And if, yeah, I think you probably put it best, actually. in the W series did walk so F1 Academy can run. And I think if we look back, hopefully, fingers crossed on this.

If we look back in 10 years, 20 years, 50 years from now, and we can say that motorsport as a whole is a much more balanced industry. I'm hoping we can point to this and say, yeah, this was a really integral step to achieving that. On a completely and utterly separate note, then brought this to my attention to this thing. how do you feel about naming seasons like season 1, 2, 3, etc?

Hate it. Oh, good. Yeah, I don't like it. I think it's, I think some series use it to offer the protection of whether if they go over the, like, winter break, I know formula E.

Yeah. It's formula, isn't it? It's just formula. We all know it's formulary. We're like it you, problem child. I hate it. It's not a Netflix series. Yeah, no, I just,

yeah, I see your point, Ben, but just keep. Just call it the, the, the, the, that it starts in. Oh, I hate it as much as you too. Yeah, I don't like it.

Sorry, that was so irrelevant, but I just had to get it off my chest. Cool. Very good. Should we move on to McLaren? Yes. Because they are loving life right now, not scoring many points.

But we're looking a bit further into the future when it comes to this discussion. Andrea Stella said that he's wary of entering 2026 with an immature power unit. I know a lot about that. I was about to say, Sam, you're the expert in immature. Hello. Sinex and immature P-U every bloody week.

Owee. Proper unit. Yeah. Primature unit. Wow. P-U. Do you say premature unit? Yeah.

Sorry, Ben. What's the question? I don't know. I know what the question was, really. Yeah, what do you make of this quote? Do you think that this points to the fact that they are happy to be sticking with Mercedes or indeed maybe going to a Red Bull power unit rather than trying anything a bit left to field. I mean, it's a safe option. It makes total sense.

Mercedes had been secure for them for a while now, ever since they kind of had their escapade with Hondas and Renault and didn't know what they were doing with themselves for what felt like a whole decade. And then they just decided, oh, we'll just go back to Mercedes again because that was all right the last time we were there. We won with them, didn't we? We actually did all right with them. You might be Lewis Hamilton back for that as well. My point being is, we'll just go back to the same. My point being is, is it's a safety net, it's secure. You know, Mosegis aren't necessarily going anywhere.

They are winners, baby. You know, they've been on the top spot pretty recently, unlike the likes of Ferrari in terms of world championships. Even Red Bull had picked up, as we've already mentioned, many more titles since things, so they would be a fair shout. But with the transition into more Ford regulatory ownership of how things are being constructed

and where parts are being made, how safe is that, how secure is it? I feel like Ferrari, who I don't think they'll ever have a relationship with, because Ferrari and McLaren's rivalry goes back a very long way. And I feel like Masegas is the only one that is consistently going to still be there. It's not a new one.

It's not, you know, got things that are changing internally. It's being built in the same place. Nothing is changing. And you can rely on Mosegis. You know they're always going to be pretty prominent. So it makes sense. My issue with this statement is that you've got to take a risk, McLaren.

You've got to do something different. You've gone out there and be bold because otherwise you are going, unlike Red Bull, who have been able to be able to, you know, take ownership of their own power unit program. They are leading the way. They're, again, like we said already, not a car creator, unlike McLaren, who make their own supercars for the road. What are McLaren doing? They should be beating Red Bull. Their legacy is

far bigger. Their, you know, automotive industry is far larger. Their history and their, their intelligence around the topic, in theory, should be applied way more. They don't want to take risks. They're not doing anything differently. I would go out there and find myself a specific owned power unit that you could build a relationship with is and have so much development ownership over that you get a saying what happens because, you know, whilst the Mercedes engine is a good choice, it's not the powerhouse it was, you know, 2014, 2015, 2016, it's not the fastest engine on the grid anymore. And what's to say that in 2026, Mercedes don't absolutely bulls it up anyway and get it wrong. It can happen. We've seen it happen where things have had to be

changed. We saw what happened with Ferrari, right? They fell behind very rapidly and had to kind of get themselves back up there quite quickly. So whilst I understand the safety yet, I do think McLaren are taking it a little bit too easy. And I think maybe now is the time to go, let's take a risk, but a calculated one, and we've got three years to make sure we're getting things in the right place. I'm just, it's a bit boring and they're already losing and losing badly. Maybe you need to shake things up a bit. Do you think that with Astor Martin, I appreciate obviously Red Bull are walking away with the championship, but Red Bull with the Mercedes power unit are essentially on level terms with Mercedes with their own power unit.

Do you think this is McLaren backing themselves in terms of their actually getting the car up to the level of Aston Martin and Mercedes and saying we don't need the power unit and actually the on us to just develop the car instead? Oh yeah, the car sucks if I'm going to be like not technical and brutally honest. And you know, we are lucky enough in Formula One at the moment that you can almost compare four variations of the same unit, right? You've got the Mercedes. is factory-owned car, you've got Askin Martin, you've got McLaren, and you've got Williams, and you saw how they all performed differently just throughout Canada alone. Alex Album, seventh place, absolute straight-line powerhouse, because that car is terrible

through most corners, but they've managed to streamline their car enough that actually, well, it's just down a pure straight-line power, and the car working in cohesion with that, it performs brilliantly, and McLaren are so the other way. The car has got so much drag, it does not work, you know, with pushing air around, it and it doesn't allow the engine to flourish and to give it the horsepower it needs. So don't be wrong, they are not making the most out of the engine they have. They do need to alter the way that the car's performance itself works alongside the engine. But I do feel like if they went away like Astor Martin are doing, they're not resting on their laurels.

They're going away and picking up Honda. And I think if they're the sole owners of a Honda engine, they could do something special with it. McLaren could do the same thing if they could sort that car out. I think they've been a customer team for a bit too long. I think they need to go away and do something a bit different. What do you think, Harry? This came from Andrea Steller, right? Correct.

This is a man who was persuaded by his friend, Fernando Alonzo, to join McLaren Honda in 2015 and now has PTSD. You think so? It's a fair point. I would have PTSD. Yeah. He knows. Oh, he knows.

He knows. So, yeah, I can see what he's saying here. And to your point as well, yes, they can, that car has got a lot more. Well, I don't say potential, but it can be better, can't it, that car? So even without changing the power unit. But just lacks ambition from McLaren. I don't know. I was just trying to think then.

The last customer, a team with a customer engine whereby they weren't like the sole provider was Red Bull, right? Rebel Renae? Yeah. 2013, that is. So the last time we had before the V6 era. So was, yeah. I guess, was 2013,

were they still the primary users of? But the Lotus had it, didn't they had a Renault engine? Oh, true, yeah. I was just thinking about Renault. And that's what I was staring out of the way of trying to think of.

So it, but my point, being is that it's not been possible since we've changed this hybrid era. Even, you know, it's not quite as, the cars and performance isn't quite as dependent on engine, engines now as it was when we first started in 2014. But, you know, the facts are the facts. No one's one of a world championship that hasn't been either a dedicated, has a dedicated engine. So I can see why Austin had done it.

And yeah, for me, I see Andrea Staders point. And he does, you know, he must be shamed. in the corner, rocking. Don't shake the stellar. Fizz everywhere. We will. Drink it. Yeah, so I can see his point, but yeah, for me, just a bit like...

Oh, okay. Right, McLarence, you just want to be what? Boring. Third. Yeah, at most. At the best. Yeah. I think I half agree in that I actually think right now with where Formula One is,

you can win a championship without being a factory team. I appreciate it hasn't happened at a long time. And I think there was no chance that it would ever have happened 10 years ago. But I do, example, Astor Marston, who obviously aren't the primary runners of the Mercedes power unit, I don't think they're not winning the championship because of their power unit. I think they could be winning the championship with their power unit combination. It's just that the car is not quite good enough. So I think it's actually doable in F1 right now.

the problem is there's no way to know whether it will be doable in 2026. And if the same thing happens that we had in 2014, yes, you will need to be the factory team. You won't be able to be a customer team and win. So I understand his point of view, but I tend to agree that there is a lack of ambition there. Overall, when is a good time to go and get a new Pout unit? You could argue there isn't one in that you might always have a little bit of hurt at the beginning of the relationship. But surely the first year of the power unit cycle is the year to do it, if any year.

We saw it, so I know Mercedes was still in F1 before 2014, but you've got time to prepare for the new regulations and then really hit the ground running. We've seen with, well, Andrea Stella's seen, with McLaren Honda, when if you're behind the project, if you're behind by a couple of years, it's really difficult to catch up. How many years did it take Honda to catch up?

Five, six? It wasn't really until 2020, 2020, 2021, that Honda was working as good as everyone else. So, realistically, what, you're going to get a new power unit in 28? You might be stuck in the same position then for the next five years. is. So I, if there isn't a partner out there that is a good partner, a reliable partner to go with,

fine. Stick with Mercedes if that's your only option. And I appreciate going back to Honda was probably not an option either. Again, that's not a brand new power unit, technically is a brand new power unit provider in F1. Very technically speaking. But yeah, if the right partner isn't out there, so be it. But yeah, I'd like to see where you have Aston Martin making strides and you have Ferrari and Alpi and you've got all of these cars with their own power it is you'd like to see something a bit different from McLaren. I think that's why it's so brilliant from Ashton Martin is that they went out and got Honda,

but Honda were out of the game for what? Three days? I've not been out until. That's the point. They're not out, are they? They're still essentially aiding Red Bull with their engine and had been up until you know, the end of the season. So they're still making top-end Formula One engines. Asking Martin is going to go, you go a Ford, we'll have that now.

It's why it's so surprising that, well, I find it surprising that no one else, none of the other teams tried to snap Honda up before this. Yeah. I guess the Ford thing was only announced in February, but that was because Honda were leaving. So, um... Ashton Martin must have had that in the work since that,

pretty much that moment. They must have gotten the phone and gone. Well, I bet that maybe even before that because Honda were going so maybe Lawrence is on the phone going I have extra zeros on the end of this cheque put another zero on the end. It's yours.

And I'm surprised that there weren't other teams maybe they were but even McLaren because yes there's a lot of pride to swallow there but having, but they're not in the same position that as in Honda this is Honda are not in the same position

that they were when McLaren's lying the first time they've been making. And I also was a lot of the problem and they've openly said, well, my work in Fernando, he's great. Yeah, but my point is, it's not like Honda where they were starting from scratch in the 2015 engine and they were miles

behind. They've been doing this now since 2015. So, yes, it's different engines slightly, but it's not like they're starting from zero. Even in the instance of Salba, soon to be Audi, I appreciate that might be a bit different because it's a full takeover rather than just a power

unit. But that's been in the works for a number of years and will be in the works for a couple more years until it's actually active. It might fall on it. I mean, we discussed this a few weeks back, it might completely fail. It might fall flat on his face. But at least they're trying something that is out of the box

and they are trying something that is different. You would have thought that McLaren might have probably two years ago or at least one year ago been thinking about doing something like the same, but instead status quo. I'll tell you who they should go and get. Cadillac Can't come with Angretti they're already racing Indycar

is there anything there that could be forms as a partnership and you could be the sole runner of a Kagalike engine that is currently being built for Formula One. What engine to McLaren Arrow using their Honda aren't they? Are they Honda? They are. Happy to use Honda over there.

Or no. Already had a relationship. Didn't want to bother using it. Or dead. It's just not working, is it? McLean, just a mess. I think what they're trying to do is they've got this plan of the new leadership structure and everything that Zach Brown is almost using as a,

this is our next three or four years, see if this will work. And they just don't want, rightly or wrongly, they don't want the disruption of anything else to go wrong to see if this plan is going to work or not. I think that's the logic at least, whether you agree with it or not. That's another question. Just take a bloody risk. Speaking of taking risks,

we're going to be playing F1 back and forth after this. Here we go. Here we bloody go. Honestly, folks, we're doing two episodes this evening. I've got quizzes somewhere in it. There's like six pages of notes

that are all over the place. The factory's steaming. Yes. It needs its lunch break. Should we play the jingle? You ready? We are ready for F1 back and forth. F1.

back and forth it's f1 back and forth it goes backwards then goes forth it's f one back and forth F1 heard they're playing that in Gloucester this weekend I've been called up Sam just turns up with his phone

and plugs it into the system It's the orcs Out of time of this guys F1 Left side Back When I say F1, you say back and forth. Okay, F1 back and forth.

Really simple concept, if you haven't heard one of these before. I'm sure many of you would have. But F1 back and forth, Harry versus Sam, they'll take it in turns to give answers to a question. There are a certain number today, 20, correct answers to a question. They'll keep going until they can't think of one or they get it wrong. Or they get it wrong. I'm going to get it wrong.

I always get it wrong Oh Can't wait for Glasgow Do you want to find out What are you going to get wrong this week? Yeah What's the topic? The topic today is anyone

Who's won a Formula One Grand Prix Stop From the Americas So all the way From Canada Down to the tip of Chile Tip of Chile Okay

Just to clarify North America South America at both okay. So they're 20. Great. Sam, do you want to go first? Yeah, I'll put him out with misery.

Jacques Villeneuve. Thank God for that. Oh, wow. We've started with Jack Villeneuve. 11 race wins that Harry remembers incredibly fondly. Every single one. Harry. Jill Villeneuve.

I'm massively shocked. Of course, Jill Villeneuve wasn't bad, not quite as good as Jack. Five fewer race wins. That's why he's trying to bait people there That's why Charles Ranagh Jacques Vuon of a helmet this weekend

Obviously Let's move on So Don't cry for me Rubens Bannekello He's not from Argentina He cries all the time He's also from South America

It's as close as I can get I'm aware he's presuming There are Argentinian drivers on this list Yeah but it doesn't work Because he cries Fair enough Good Rubens Marakello.

11 race wins as well. Same as Jacques-Fielneth. Can we go? I don't know how high I could fly. Mario Andretti. Mario Andretti absolutely put everyone else in his dust that's already been on this list.

He's got 12. Speaking of dust. High and fat, love in fact. Dust. It's a little Britain reference. I'm going to go with Fangio. It was pretty good. actually. He was all right.

Point on the board for Marjorie Dawes there. That's great. 24 race wins for one man well found Joe. Harry. That racist man. I'm going to assume you mean Nelson Pek. Oh, yeah, that's him. In which case, you're right. He had 23 race wins.

Sam. Sergio Perez. Sergio Perez is on the list with six. Hurry. Go rogue. Oh, I've got a good rogue one. Yeah?

Ayrton Senna. Oh, that is rogue. Yeah, so Ayrton Senna, funnily enough, won 41 Gronbury and is the top of this list. That's the same as Macphazepham. It is. Very similar drivers.

But I can't wait until Vastappan wins number 42 and he's therefore better than Ayrton Sen. Immediately in number two of the greatest four-time list. Oh, man. Diego Felipe, baby. Yep. He won the same number of races as Barrakello. I don't remember on the list.

He won the same number of races there in Senna if he'd won 30 more. That is great banter. It really is. It really is. I'm all you're wrung out of games. Oh, God, me too. Graham's long-lost brother, Phil.

Phil Hill. is a correct answer. He won just three races. And of course, was a world champion. He might well have the fewest race wins of a world champion, but I'm not 100% on that. I've got big Zonks his name in my head and I can't get it out.

I would probably get his name. I know. That's a problem. I know. It's not good enough. The thing is, I've got names in my head. I just don't actually know if they're South American or not. And I know that they'd be South American. It's just whether they're South American

or they are from a European country that once declared warring areas of South America. Okay. You see one point? Yeah, yeah, yeah. So I'm going to put myself out of this competition now. Are there any really, really obvious ones left? There must be, obviously.

Um, I would say there are a couple that you would expect to get, I think. I don't like that he says expect to get. Yeah, that is annoying. Don't expect anything from us. No, I'm a moron. Carlos Reuterman. Carlos Reuteman is a correct answer. Yes.

Can't work out if I was Italian. Race wins. Is it done? Harry, pressure's back on you. I don't think I've got any left here. Um, is there another Andretti? Sadly not.

Race winners, mate. Oh, yeah, just race winners. Sorry to the other Angretti's. We all taking cart race winners, I'm afraid. That's Scott Speed. Scott Speed. Yeah, no. Okay.

I'm trying to think, oh dear. There's a siren. It's Michael Andretti come after you. Give me about my race wing. Oh, man. What countries are left, Ben? Oh, come on. I won't answer that unless Sam gives his blessing.

It's fine. You can give it, I'll give you the blessing. Wait, it's my turn. Right. Sure. It actually won't help me either. I will be quite vague on this. A lot of them.

There is a Mexican driver that Sergio Perez beat the record of his name I can't remember. Exactly. I don't, I can't literally can't remember his name. Is it something Rodrigues? Roderigres.

That was like me saying Djiboui. It was almost as bad. Redugger? Because that's what the tracks named after and I know there were some brothers. Amanus Rodriguez. Yes. Is he,

He's just called Hermanus Rodriguez? That means brother. He's not called Brother Rodriguez. Is he called Joe Rodriguez? Brother. Can I have Rodriguez? No. I don't think you can because there's multiple of them and only one of them's a right answer.

Oh. Go with a traditional Spanish first name. Bob. Yeah. Bob Rodriguez. Bob Grez, they call him. They go. I think Brother Rodriguez might have been a better guess.

Unfortunately, he wasn't called Bob Rogers. Do you have any other names left? I don't think he is, but is Heinz Harold Frankson? How can I lose to you? I thought not. Good. I'm going to ask, you know what I said I had two. That was the other one.

Yee-ha. The German Hineser Harold Fredson. I love being a winger, baby. J.J.F. I love that. heavily heavily foreign. What was the Regree? What was the name that I couldn't get?

Pedro. Pedro. Pedro. Very close to Bob, actually. His brother, Ricardo, also briefly raised in F-1. Also very close to Bob. Yeah.

The other names that you didn't get, there will be one or two. Denny Holm. No, New Zealand. One side of the Pacific, other Russian. So a couple of, Richie Ginther, that was a tough one.

Parche, who the interligal circuit is named after. I'm Parche at the moment. Peter Revson, Pastor Maldonado. Oh, yeah, sure you got that one. Oh. Oh, Mr. Chunky. One Pablo Montoya. I'm actually annoyed us for that one.

Lardiel. Gonzales, who was Argentinian, Dan Gurney, and Emerson Fitzapaldi. Oh, no. Oh, no. Got M.O. Yeah. Sorry, Emo. That's embarrassing.

He's not coming up. despite the fact that Heinz Harold Frensen was nearly given as an answer. It was giving us an answer. That won, though, I'm taking that. Haines Harold first place for this guy. Sure. We ever got a question of the week?

Well, because we've done this so early. Ah. Yeah. Sorry about it, guys. We're going to take a break from questioning of the week. Yeah, it'll be about with a good one next week, promise. Probably. Okay.

Anyway, thanks for listening, folks. Sorry that, you know, if anything pops up in the news over this week that we won't be able to react to it, but me and Harry are at Glastonbury, and we're trying very hard to get some commenting out for you. Lewis Hamilton's going to sign this week, isn't he? I swear to God, man. Okay, let's get our reactions in now for if he does sign. Oh, I can't believe it. Lewis Hamilton signed. Yep, that's more Mercedes driving for him.

He will continue to race some cars. Great. Now, let's also go for he hasn't signed. I'm really shocked that he hasn't put pen to paper yet I thought it was a deal done. Me too. Can't believe he's retired. Yeah. I didn't expect him to move to Ferrari, but here we are.

We've covered all of the bases. Perfect. There you go, folks. Just replay one of those lines depending on what situation happens. Thanks for listening. Discord is available. We will be messaging through there, of course, throughout the week. And we'll be back next week.

We've got the Sunday episodes which we're about to record. Back on Sunday. Then back afterwards for the Austria pre-exam. review. So, Joe Vigisca, we're all in there, 19-hungering of us,

which is lovely. YouTube is popping. Getting close about 10K. I mean... Bobby Wobby to the Yobit. Yes, I'll be Wobby. Please actually...

Look, the 10k might be slightly unrealistic. We'll take four. Exactly. We're about to hit four. We're about to hit four. Please get us to 4K. Well, get us to 10, obviously.

I'm not going to lie, because we're about 10 people away from 4. So get us to 5. Get us to... Hey. They will take 10 people. You'll never be disappointed. I've done that all my life.

I've been friends with you too. Anyway, please guys subscribe to the YouTube. If you want us to be able to do this full-time, make more and more content. We need to make a little bit more money. And a lot of that comes from YouTube. So, you know, we need the subbies. Also, wrong social media, late-breaking F-1. It's everywhere.

Every single one. That is Twitter. Ding! Instagram. Ding! TikTok, down on the kicks. Ding! All the careers.

And Patreon. You know, you get it. You pay for it. You get good. stuff. You get the extras. You get viewer breaking. You get discount on your merch. Try to do a Free LeCler t-shirts. Okay, folks, got told off by the company we used to make merch. Because they said, we were defaming him. They said, I was defaming Charles LeCler. So if you are a merch maker, we only put him in prison.

And you're willing to make Free LeClemer merch where he's in a prison cell. We didn't put him in prison. Ferrari did. Let us go. And we'll make the t-shirts with your company. Good. In the meantime, I've been Sammy the Sage. I've been Van Hocking. I mean Bob Broderichis. Remember. Keep breaking late.

Bob? Really? Heinzheimer, Francis. Bob Rod. This podcast is part of the Sports Social Podcast Network.