The Late Braking F1 Podcast - Has McLaren Finally Solved Its Vegas Weakness? | 2025 Las Vegas GP Preview

Episode Date: November 19, 2025

We’re off to Sin City, where the lights are bright but McLaren’s fortunes usually aren’t. The LB boys break down the unique challenge of this desert street track, asking whether McLaren have finally shaken off their Vegas curse or if this is the one circuit that plays perfectly into a rival’s hands. They close out with a bit of Higher or Lower... Want more Late Braking? Support the show on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Patreon⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and get: Ad-free listening Full-length bonus episodes Power Rankings after every race Historical race reviews & more exclusive extras! Give the 'gift' of Late Braking this holiday period with a Patreon gift subscription,⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and your favourite F1 fan can enjoy anywhere from 1 month up to a full year of top-notch F1 content! ⁠⁠⁠https://www.patreon.com/latebrakingf1/gift⁠⁠⁠ Connect with Late Braking: You can find us on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠X (Twitter)⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠TikTok⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Come hang out with us and thousands of fellow F1 fans in our ⁠⁠⁠⁠Discord⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ server and get involved in lively everyday & race weekend chats! Think you can beat us? Join our ⁠⁠⁠F1 Fantasy League⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and prove it! Get in touch any time at [e-mail] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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That's gofundme.com. Gofundme.com. for listening to the late-breaking F-1 podcast. Make sure to check out new episodes every Wednesday and every Sunday. Hello and a very warm welcome to the late-breaking F-1 podcast presented by Harry Ead, Sam Sage, and me, Ben Hocking. We're back for one. final stretch in this

2025 season. Three rounds to go, starting off with Las Vegas. Sam, you got your puns at the ready? I'm sure there's going to be quite a few this weekend. No, this is going to be a pun-free podcast. It's what the people want, it's what the people need, and I will have zero

humour throughout the whole hour. I think we should apologise on behalf of Sam for his potential mood for the rest of this podcast because we've had a slow start to this recording and we've been sat here for half an hour so folks it's good to be here i promise you it'll be good fun i promise i feel like there's some sort of inspirational quote about you never go wrong you just learn lessons like there's

something out there right love that yeah that yeah Nelson pk junior said it in 2008 i don't remember anything happening with him in 2008 or indeed reno or indeed fabio briotori um anyway uh we're not talking about him today we're talking about last Vegas because it is round 22 of 24 in this 2025 F1 Championship. Third Las Vegas Grand Prix following the circuit's debut in 2023. 3.85 mile circuit that the drivers

will tackle 50 times in the race. 17 corners, many of which are in the tight and twist the middle sector before drivers reach a 1.2 mile back straight where cars can go north of 220 miles an hour. At the end of that straight, turn 14,

likely the best chance for overtakes. Temperature is often a, you unique challenge going into Las Vegas, of course, nighttime in the desert can cause some of the lowest temperatures we see all year. Current forecast is looking at about 12 degrees Celsius. That's 53 for our American friends in Fahrenheit. Two years of racing here so far. One win for Vastappan and Red Bull. One win for Russell and Mercedes. But of course, absent from that list is McLaren. Two years so far, McLaren have had a double Q1 knockout, which led to 10. 10th and a DNF in the race,

and then a 6th and 8th last year on the grid led to 6th, 7th in the race. So no top 5 finishes across qualifying all main Grand Prix in two years, and Norris has said in the buildup, he fears they'll struggle again. Sam, are they vulnerable? Well, you just stole all my stats from my point,

so yes, they're vulnerable. That's good. That's all written out, lined up, ready and go. Just pretend I didn't say. I've had it off of this podcast six of death six to the back teeth of YouTube you're always vulnerable you

yeah they should feel vulnerable I really think so especially the fact that this has come at the opportune time where their pace overall as a team doesn't seem to be as strong as it was in the first half of this season whilst we've seen really good performances

from Landon Norris in the last few Grand Prix Mexico really stands out as the prime example but obviously had a great weekend in Brazil as well it feels like the car has not got the stretch over the rest of the field that it once had. Oscar Piastri struggling to get past

the likes of the Mercedes when we're in Brazil, got beaten by Max Verstappen, of course, who started from the pit lane, finishing P3, cannot get through the field, of course, in Mexico either,

stuck behind the likes of Ali Behrman. It just shows you that whilst they were such a strong package and they are currently are constructors champions, they maybe don't have the overriding pace that they had previously before the summer break

really kicked in. So we pair that with the fact that arguably, Last Vegas is their least successful circuit since it came to the calendar in the last two years. And last year in 2024, it was their third worst points all across the entire season, only behind Japan and Bahrain, which were their worst two finishes across the whole season. It tells you that their car really doesn't function well here, whilst they thrive on longevity with their tire wear,

their car not being able to overheat when they're right up behind other cars tucked in close. Actually, because of the cold temperatures are already run in Vegas, it feels like that advantage that they have is neutralised. It's almost balanced to the rest of the field and the advantages that they have swing the other way and it means that those other cars

where they have other advantages that maybe can't be displayed normally can come to fruition. They can come to the forefront because they have got to worry about the level of tyreware, the overheating of tires, overheating of their engines

because Vegas isn't a problem. A bit like Mexico and Singapore, they seem to throw a bit of a spower in the works. Vegas is kind of like the thurg of that trifector of bizarre racetracks that are throwing up really weird race results. So whilst I don't think they're going to end up being outside the points,

I don't think it'll be a walk in the park for McLaren. We speak of their struggles here last year as well. And I feel like the sixth, seventh that they had in the main race. Like that is maybe slightly, I don't say it's misleading, but it doesn't even tell the full extent of the story, because Norris is like 40 seconds behind the race leader Russell last year, Piastri, 50 seconds back. That's a second per lap. And I know we've had a full year since then, but that's a lot of time to find. But that's not going to be easy. No, and you pair that with the fact that obviously last year, the Mercedes was far stronger. They won races last year on a regular basis. And they only got two here so far this season. And when they actually came to Vegas, which is one of the

races that they won last year, they dominated. They were fast eating every single session. They were won two in the Grand Prix. And they led every single lap of the race in a one-two formation. which made that not even got close. I don't think the gap's going to be big enough this year that they'll be able to replicate that. I don't think that the team is strong enough. Of course, Kimmy Antingelli is now the partner of George Russell and not Lewis Hamilton. So the experience is slightly less as well.

There's the little walls in Las Vegas. But I do think that McLaren will still have a tricky time mounting a dominant offensive. Harry, do you think as we head to this final part of the season, Norris has a right to feel like McLaren are a bit vulnerable here versus some of the circuits that we've previously gone to and the two that we've still got left to go? I think so, yeah. I don't know if you know this,

but in 20-303, they had a 10th and a D&F and then last year was 6th and 7th, so they've struggled here in the past. So, wild stuff like that way. Thank you. Thank you. I, yeah, I think that Norris has a very good reason to be worried going into this one, especially versus the other two that we've got.

up remaining. Obviously, the previous form suggested that they're not that good around here. But even if you look at this year where we've been, I'm thinking Baku, I'm thinking Monza, high-speed circuits. And I think with that massive straight, you know, the massive drag down the strip here in Vegas, they may well be worried because in those two races where we had, you know, big long strengths in Baku and in Monza, they've not been the strongest. So I think Norris has reason to be concerned.

The other the other strength of the McLaren they've had this year is their ability to keep their tires alive in hot racing conditions. And as you've already mentioned, Ben, it's quite cold in the desert in, you know, in the nighttime when they're racing. So, yeah, we're going to see some pretty chilly temperatures and that may well, not only think it will harm them, but I think that advantage that, you know, they've had especially during long runs will disappear somewhat. So I think Norris has reason to be worried. This year overall has been, you know, way, way stronger than the previous two, certainly more stronger than 2023 and, for the most part, stronger than 2024. So that should give him some optimism going into this one. You know, Vegas could also throw up some real surprises, as Sam said.

It's like Singapore. It has some anonymous anomaly results thrown into the mix. So, yeah, who knows what could happen. But I definitely understand Norris's concern going into this one. I will say with Vegas and what it's brought to F1 in the will be three years that we've gone there. I'm not like fully positive or fully negative about what Vegas has done so far. But I will say I love it when there is something of a unique challenge on the F1 calendar because I feel like they are few and far between nowadays.

Now we've got 24 races. We're going all over the globe, different times of day, different conditions. This still feels like we're going into a weekend without really any idea what's going to happen based on this challenge of those cool temperatures. And I love that as a starting point, regardless of whether the answer to this question ends up being yes or no. I think they have a right to be worried based on what happened in the last couple of years. If it was one race or one qualifying session, I feel like you could say it was a weird one-off. That's a trend, I think, four consecutive competitive sessions where they've really struggled to get in the mix.

I won't repeat what you said on the managing hot temperatures, not being a factor here, but it's absolutely a valid point. And the tyres that Pirelli are bringing this year are the same tires that they brought last year. So if they struggled here in 2024, there's reason to believe they might struggle again in 2025. And if anything, McClara might be happy that Pirelli backed out of the potential decision to bring. the C6 compound that we spoke about on Sunday how much Piastri didn't enjoy that tire when we were at Baku a couple of months ago. So they're probably quite happy

that that's not making an appearance this weekend. But even so, same tires that they struggled on last year. And I'm not sure a direct comparison can be made between Vegas and another track, but I did look back at all of the races that we've had so far this year. And I tried to pick out what have been the coolest track temperature.

that we've had across those first 21 races and five of them stood out three of them were spa Melbourne and Silverstone which you would expect because they were all wet weather races and that's not completely out of the question this weekend by the way but that is a unique challenge driving in the wet so I'm going to put those three to one side the other two that remain Suzuki and what connects those two races max restap and won them and McLaren didn't Suzuki, you could at least say they were competitive, which is fair enough. And, you know, Vestappen was able to manage the pace out front, but Macarron could have won that race on another day.

But Baku, closer to Suzuki, in terms of like Vegas and track characteristics, it's power sensitive, closer in terms of the tire compounds we're using. And we talk about Piastri's disaster weekend in Baku. Norris had his worst weekend that hasn't resulted in a DNF so far this year. So if it's anything like Baku, maybe McLaren do have a little reason to be worried. Let's move on to looking at Oscar Piastri Sam because we focused on him quite a lot in Sunday's show.

Of course, time is maybe running out a little bit for him. He has that deficit to Lando Norris and the championship just three rounds to do something about it. Is he at a point now where he needs to try and at least consider doing things differently to Norris, whether that's in terms of setup, in terms of strategy? or does he keep going with what he believes in and if that ends up being the same as Norris, so be it.

If he keeps doing what he believes in, which is the same as he's done for the last five Grand Prix, stop that immediately because it hasn't been working. You need to go back to the Oscar from the start of the season, the one that wasn't phased by problems, the one that would just shut the car around the racetrack and you felt happy with it. I know that sounds like a far simplified version

driving a Formula One car at Fugat around a racetrack such as Vegas actually is. It's far harder than that. But he needs to unlock that again. He needs to get back to that state of mind. And they've won the constructors at this point, have McLaren and his only rivals in the race is Max Verstapp and Alando Norris. And he sits

in between them both. He needs to make sure that he puts himself in a spot where he can always be advantaged by anything they might do, whether it be Max going for a risky move or make that risky move that Max has to make on Lando, not an Oscar. You know, that by doing that you go out qualified perhaps or you've got to be over a different tire strategy so

maybe you're running long on the hard tire you might end up trying to stop under safety car is Vegas there's a high chance we get a safety car here especially if it does start to rain so I do think he's going to have to think differently I also think he now needs to become quite vocal in the sense that he will not align himself with the overall team goals here it's no more fairness it's no more I'll take a back seat if it goes badly in Vegas you would argue that basically it's title done here it has to be an absolute absolute disaster for Langdonorris at Qatar or even in the final race, Abu Dhabi, for any chance from getting this back. So he's going to be Ignoress here. He's going to

take control of the situation here, arguably the last chance he's going to get to make sure he is controlling this title fight. Harry, we've seen throughout most of this year that the McLaren drivers have been essentially identical in terms of strategy, in terms of the tires that they're starting on. Does Piastri look to change that up now? I think, he has to not that it's out of desperation at this point but I think he needs to be doing things to the

go against the norm and the norm being what Norris is doing. Norris isn't going to, you know, throw any risky strategies into the mix now as we get into these last three races. He has, A, he has no need to. And B, there's, there's, you know, there's the risk that he could

he could suffer for, you know, a bad pit stop or it puts him back into the pack. There's too many risks involved for Norris. Those are risks that Nora, that Piastri has to fight against, basically. If it doesn't work out, then, you know, I don't think we can blame him for not trying something different here. And I'm not suggesting he, you know,

he starts doing bansai moves and dive bombs that might result in retirements, but I think there's going to have to be some riskier elements to his driving throughout the next three, next real weekend. So, yeah, whether that's on set up, whether that, I think it's less on set up. I think it is more on how he's executing the races.

We saw, I think we saw the start, an element of it in, in Brazil with that move on, Antonelli and LeClaire, which again, I don't blame him for whatsoever. So I think there's probably going to be a bit more of that, a bit more of a differing strategy from Piastri. And he's got to do it because without some divine intervention where Landon Norris doesn't finish.

a race, I don't think there's much more Piastri can do than trying something else. Yeah, I was just thinking with Lano Norris, and you mentioned how he's not going to be in a position now to take a lot of risks. Like, what position would he take blindly going into this week? I'm thinking, if you just offered him P3 at Vegas, not knowing where Vastapid or Pashri were going to finish, would he take that? Oh, yeah, I think Norris takes P3 at heartbeat. You go, I don't think he takes P3. No. I think he. It's close to where Vastappan is, like, desperately wanting that win now. Yeah, yeah, exactly.

Yeah, I think Piastri, just based on where like the sprint calendar lines up as well, might be looking at this weekend to try something different too because you do have a bit more opportunity to walk it back if it does go a bit wrong after P1, P2. Like, we've obviously come off the back of two of the last three have been sprints, and we know Qatar is up next and that will be a sprint too. Yeah, I mean, Vastappen found out firsthand what can go horribly wrong. if you do go the wrong way on set up on a sprint weekend.

And it took such a miraculous effort from him to get back to where he probably would have wanted to be anyway. So Piastri can't really afford that. I think Vegas maybe makes a bit more sense to try something. See where you're at after FP1. Be quite flexible about it. Don't commit yourself to anything. And then go from there.

Because the last thing I'd want if I was Piastri was to end this season, similar to what you were saying, Sam, You don't want to get to the end of this season and say, could I have tried something a bit different the last couple of races just to see if that works? Like you'd rather it end horribly wrong, but you've given it a go, than to not try something at least. So I'll be interested to see what he does. If you look back at historically when drivers who are in the commanding position of a championship,

but they start to go a bit more conservative and safer, there's an opportunity for that to go wrong. as well. So if Piastri is going, I'm thinking 2010, I know it's the last race, but 2010 where Weber and Alonzo do what is considered the safe option, pit early, and then all get stuck behind Vitali Petrov for the remainder of the race, and Vettel nicks it by going more aggressive and not doing that. So there's a positive negative to both, but I think for Piastri, he has to bear that

in mind. It's not always, it generally is the riskier option to be more aggressive, but it isn't always. weighs the riskier option, if that makes sense? Yes, I know what you mean. Yeah, a very valid point. I mean, when we look at Vastappen as well, obviously, the third person in this mix. He's 49 behind Lando Norris.

I believe if that number is more than 58 after Las Vegas, it is mathematically championship over for him. So if Norris were to say win this Grand Prix and Vastappen finished P4, that would be done and dusted with a couple of races to go. sounds like an obvious one Sam but I feel like we're at must win now for Vastappan I'd almost say it's must win

for Vastappan here with no McLaren on the podium with him if you also play himself into a spot where he can actually contending it isn't this conversation of oh we need a bit of a miracle he needs a bit of a DNFing you know something to go his way

and it's like on the usual he needs a wing it needs McLaren's not finished and probably the top five both McLaren's and you're going to hang a top five thing as you mentioned actually they've been so low in points scoring but Lance Stroll has outscored them in terms of the last two years

he has 10 points here Landon Norris has 9, Oscar Piazsche has 8 points here in the last two years so that is how bad they've been so if Max Verstappen walks to get a week in a go his way where they can't seem to get the car working in the right manner this could be the spot to do it's only him and Lecler that are finishing the top five both years here I feel like Landstrol is inadvertently going to like

decide play a part something's going to have like a team for you back in the day. Mark Stroll is going to play a party. He'll like turn into, it'll rain this weekend, he'll turn into Prime Center, and that will mess up the championship order somehow. Harry, is this like,

it must win for Vestappen? Is it almost freeing that he can kind of just go for it and doesn't really need to think about much outside of winning now? It's kind of scary to think about, quite frankly, the idea that Vestappen has nothing to lose. I think we saw an element of that in Brazil with his strategy.

there, but yeah, for, for, he has, he has absolutely nothing to lose everything to game by being typically Max Verstappen-esque aggressive. So, um, I think, I think he's going to go all out here. He, he's, he goes pretty well around, around Vegas, as we've seen. So, um, and as I, as I said just now, there's an element of those drivers who might be playing it safer, Norris in this, this instance, where if there's a 50-50 between Vostappen and Norris, and dare I say even Piastri, less so, but Piastri as well, I think they're jumping out the way if Vastappen is coming through. So in that regard, I think that that works in his favour, especially around a track like Vegas where the chance of hitting a wall if it goes wrong is pretty high.

Well, we've discussed the chances of McLaren, we've discussed the chances of Max Verstappen, but what about last year's race winner? We're going to take a short break and right after this, Mercedes and George Russell. 19 plus to wager, Ontario only. Please play responsibly. If you have questions or concerns about your gambling or someone close to you, please contact Connects Ontario at 1866-531-2,600,

to speak to an advisor free of charge. BetMGEM operates pursuant to an operating agreement with Eye Gaming Ontario. Welcome back, everyone. In the last 68 races, Mercedes, have had one, one to finish. And that came in Las Vegas 12 months ago. George Russell pole position, Lewis Hamilton in 10th, but Lewis Hamilton recovers to P2 in the race.

A very comfortable win from George Russell in the end. Does that make him the favourite here, Sam? I'm so annoyed at that qualifying. Lewis Hamilton, what a bottle job that was last year, by the way. Fleming led so many sessions and then you put it in, oh, what a little rascal you were. Does it make him the favourite? No, I don't think so.

I think with the form of these cars throughout the season, Mercedes still can't consider themselves to be outright favorite, but it does feel like they're beginning to get a little bit of a hold on the way this car is working for them. Entirely at the wrong point in this current section of development here, three races to go in this whole development cycle. Versus Ferrari Abu Dhabi is going to be great. Woo, the fight of your life for nothing.

Yeah, I mean, it's good to see they're feeling more confident and they are getting through the problems. And hopefully it should mean that we get a spicy race regardless. But I do think that for Stappan, a track where he feels confident where the car actually works, plus the McLaren, which has been dominant all season, still gives them the upper hand over the likes of George Russell and Mercedes. But as we saw last season, with what I said earlier, where they absolutely dominated, Russell specifically, really dominated.

They've surely got to come into with some real hopes on their kind of side. But Ben apparently Toto Wolf thinks it's unlikely. I've not heard him say something like this before. He's never been such a negative man. If this were a Patreon episode, I probably would have just sworn. But I don't care what you say, Toto. I don't believe a word of it. He may be the biggest liar in Formula One

when it comes to Mercedes form because that man likes to doom and gloom. Doom and gloom. I think they can count themselves one in the mix this weekend. Again, not favourites, but I think with Russell on the form he's on, he showed how strong and Antigelli coming into form in Mexico and in Brazil, how strong a pair and they can. could really be. This track suits their car. It's cold enough. It matches everything made due

welling, even with the wet or a cooler condition. I think this is going to be a real scrap between two or three teams at least for the wing. What do you think, Harry, is there any chance that Russell and Mercedes are the favourites here? I wouldn't go as far as to say favourites, but I think they'll be in the mix this weekend. The only thing that makes me doubt that is that Mercedes, where they've won this year, where George Russell has won, have been really hot races, which goes against everything that we know about Mercedes. Do you know what the hottest track temperature has been this year, based on what I was looking at earlier with the coldest?

No, but please enlighten. Canada. Sure. No, Canada was the hottest race. Right. Where? Jordan has still won. So where it used to be the fact that the Mercedes could only be really good in cold conditions,

it's almost like it's gone the other way. that being said i think i think that sounds right in the i think the Mercedes has found some improvements as of late um but i'm yeah i'm i'm with i'm with what you said i'm i think there could be several cars and drivers in the mix this weekend which is excellent um so and a Mercedes and george rossel being wrong them i just wouldn't call them outright favorites the thing is i don't think it's any point this year i think i've gone definitely a russ on a mercedes this weekend this weekend And so it's so hard to know where their form lies. But, yeah, they've been in their mix for the most part of the year.

So I would expect him to be there. Yeah, according to the bookmakers, Max Verstappen is a marginal favourite this weekend, followed by Lando Norris. And then there's a bit of a gap back to George Russell, who's third favourite, and then Oscar Piastri, which I'll let you folks at home make your own conclusions about that. but yeah, George Russell is considered the third favourite

from bookmakers this weekend. I think he could be the favourite. I mean, it was a very comfortable win for him last year and what you said earlier, Sam was right, about how Hamilton really should have been there with him, if not beating him, who knows. But even if he did, Russell was 11 seconds back to Carlos Sines in third. It was the nearest non-Messides.

So this was a great performance from the team overall. Everyone else did seem to really struggle to warm up the tires and Mercedes didn't have that problem back then. We'll see if they had that problem this year or not. And this year has been really weird for Mercedes. Like, they haven't been on the ball so often. And then whenever they have been on the ball, they've been really good.

Like Canada and Singapore were not only wins for George Russell. They were relatively comfortable wins. When they've got everything together, it has worked out quite well. Also, both of them are streets, sir. So, or Canada's maybe 50-50, but, you know, there's street circuit elements to both of them, which, of course, is the same here for Las Vegas. And it goes a bit further than that, like Australia early this year, Russell was P3, Miami, he was P3 as well, Baku, he was P2.

So this Mercedes seems to go all right around street circuits. And I do, I do agree with what you said earlier that they seem a bit faster now than they were in the middle of this season. They really struggled during the European leg. side note it was funny for a little bit can we stop with the whole Antonelli only perform as well

when there's something in what was it again like is it Mercury or something and now people are trying to do the same thing for like Olly Behrman it's saying it was funny at the time let's just leave it now the weird part is with the way

the internet is these days someone will genuinely believe that this is real oh yeah yeah like someone is praying that they have whatever chemical it is they wrong about in their food so yeah if you're looking to see

if Mercedes will be any good this weekend maybe look to the periodic table or something. Well, Esther Pastery is amazing when Mercury is in retrograde, so I can tell you. Thank you, Sam. I appreciate a roving reporter on the ground, letting us know. More on nine. Harry, is it Ferrari's best chance to avoid going winless this year? Yes, quite frankly.

I think the potential for chaos will help them. Leclair Lecler has gone really well here for the past couple of years as you said Sam Hamilton could well have won it last year had he not been a fool in qualifying so as a duo

I think they've got good form around here as ever the whole not being able to have the ride out of the car you know at this optimal place is going to be an issue might be less so because it is a street circuit so all cars are probably going to be running

slightly higher than normally would so that's probably going to help Ferrari um but yeah i i just think that the slightly not that we're going into an unknown now but it is as we said earlier on a bit of an anomaly racetrack um with the tempter it's a it's a street circuit etc i think uh again not saying they're the favorites or anything but i think out of the last three races we've got there this could well be the the uh the best chance for ferrari i mean Qatar forget it i only hesitate somewhat because the abadabia upgrades are probably coming. So who knows? Just you wait. John Elkin commissioned especially upgrades. So yeah, who knows? But I think, yeah, realistically, Vegas is going to be the best

chance just with the potential for carnage. I've just got news. The Abu Dhabi upgrade is going to be late. It's going to only be available for the post-Abubi test. Devast. Devast. State and news. Rookie test topped by Ferrari. Yes. Joy El King wins again. Sam, the Tofosi are crying out. Can we please have a win?

Can it come here? No. Sorry, Ferrari fans. I don't see how this track suits your car at all. Your brakes don't work, but you've got to use them a lot. There's a lot of heavy braking of Vegas. And you need to lower your car's ride height, which makes a lot of. it illegal and you have to like her. So that has to happen a lot here. So unless quite literally

the whole field drives into each other and somehow you managed to get around them or which Nicola didn't do that last time despite driving all the way around the Amazon rainforests to get past Antigelli, I don't think they're going to be in the next. I think they're going to be struggling. I think they had a better chance the year before and the year before that with both Carlos Sykeshael Leclair doing well. And again, they did well the year before. I just can't see it happening. I think that Mercedes will be too strong. I think Max Verstappen will really suit this racetrack. And I think, again, Norris and Panasra will be there.

So whilst they might be closer to the packer in front, even if it is a good weekend for them, they just have too many obstacles. It's again, another case of there's too many other people in the way of them being successful. So for me, I'm sorry Ferrari fans. I'm sorry to all of us that want us to Fossey win this season. I think the odds are against us. The odds are always against Ferrari.

Nothing's changed on that. I don't know. Maybe. They just need to, their plan, and it's a dismal plan, just has to be, we need to be there if everything else goes wrong for everyone else. But it always goes wrong for them first. That's the problem. Well, yeah, that is true.

I mean, like, McLaren, if they struggle as much as last year, if Vastappan and Piastri get a bit desperate, if Mercedes decide this isn't one of the races they can do this year, if all of that comes together, Ferrari just need to be the ones that are just there somewhere to see if they can capitalize on it. They were okay here last year, but they're tired. They died pretty quickly those tires. So I don't know whether they're, I'm not putting them as the favorites, put it that way. But who knows, Lecler, if it weren't for being knocked out in Brazil, might have had three straight podiums in the last three races, which he hasn't done at all this year and still hasn't done. but I think maybe he could have done it

if he was in the mix, we'll never know. Yeah, I'm not keeping my money firmly in my pocket. I'm not going to put all my money on red. Oh, there we go. Sam, I've got to ask you, multiple different special liveries in the midfield. We've got Williams, we've got Salber, we've got racing balls,

all offering up something a bit different for Vegas. It's a say your thoughts on those three. I love it. Lever and chat all day long in. This is great. Salbert, you put a check of flag on your car and I think it's time to wave the check and flag to that car.

They don't have to see it, so. I know, it's true, right at the back. Maybe they had to make it brighter with all the black ones of the night race. You know, you're going outages apart from the Daily Globe ring. No, I don't like that. Not a fan. I think it looks a bit tacky, bit trashy.

But like a PS2 graphic that you might put on your car to change it up when you were doing a career mode and you don't unlock to anything else. We thought, oh, I've got the check of flag graphic. I'll put that on the car for one race. It does not look good. It looks absolutely pan.

So hopefully both the cars will be lucky to see the real check of flag. When it comes to Williams and R.B., Williams, saucy. I absolutely love it. And these two liveries, almost like the inverting versions

of themselves, Williams have gone ultra-dark mode. It's got a little spruce of almost like a purpley blue down the side. I think it's really classy, really cool. I think it's great.

They've called it night mode, I think. I think it suits Vegas, brilliantly. I absolutely love it. Williams, whoever's designed on them liveries this season,

you're having a blinder. Absolutely. blind the kug shop can't wait for next year when we have this whole design change with the car and they'll be just they just don't miss they just don't miss they're like blimming alan shea in the premier league during the early 2000s just scoring gold after goal after goal one hand in the air come on top scorer honestly every time it hits i absolutely love to see it they brought another cracker i think it's called the hologram never yes uh salbert stop wasting my time stupid Williams, three special liveries in four races is disgusting.

It looks fine. I don't mind it, but just, goodness me, stop that. Yeah, V-Cab looks pretty good. They're like the one team that I'll allow more than one special livery per season if they can produce like two, and they're both bangers. And, you know, they're at three, though, as well this year. You know what? No, V-Cab, stop it.

You get one special livery per year. How are you looking for all, right? I mean, noted down, Tuesday, 18th to November, as we record this, special livery fatigue has set in because I couldn't care less about any of them right now. So the Salver one, the Salver one sucks. The Williams one, I disagree, is boring. Vicar, you're allowed because it looks pretty good, but quite frankly, I don't care. That's weird because Dangley Bowles called me up the other day and he went, yeah,

out of the three hosts on late breaking. Yeah, he's boring. Oh, my kneecaps. The kneecaps are gone. Oh, that's his shame. No, Daddy, no. That fry turned up with his saucepan and went in some frying eggs, so there's a bit of Ariety in there knocking up a little breakfast here.

Ben just said no, Daddy, no. Can we not? Straight over my head. Yeah. I'm just looking to increase the out of context. There will be possibilities for the future, you know. There's so many. That'll be needed at some point.

It's the whole show now. We're just trying to fit as many out of context. sex moments. Pretty much. Should we do some bold predictions? Yeah, we can. Oh, crap. Gather around little children and listen to my song.

Am I have one bold predictions and not they'll all be wrong. Now there are 20 drivers, 10 teams, multiple sessions qualifying the race. safety cars, so many different ways we could go with these bold predictions. And I've got no idea which way Sam is going with his. Somewhat, Sam, enlighten me, what could your bold prediction possibly be? It's not been mentioned before. It's not been discussed. So, I don't want to spoil it before we going on here.

That would be the worst end to a plot. But you know that that kick in Mianzegali drives him to Mercedes, right? You know what I'm going to? No, I think he might wing, wing, being Vegas. I didn't see that coming. That, honestly, the double bluff, didn't even change it. I stand.

I don't know what to go from her. Kimmy Antonelli to win. It's bold. I like it. Harry, your bold prediction? Not to be boring, but Control C and Control V what I said in Sunday's episode, Ferrari win. I'm going for it here.

I know I said that was my one for the rest of the year, but I'm as used to putting it all on, Raj in Vegas. And I'm believing that the win is coming for, one of their poor, poor, tortured drivers. I cannot wait to review that on Sunday. The thing is, if they do wing, John Elking would say, I had to go see, I told you. Oh, that's such a good point.

Oh, no. You'll claim it as his own. So what we need is both Ferrari drivers to be as a talkative as they have been all year in the buildup and he can't say it. If they win, one of them needs to come over the radio and say, suck it, John Elkin, and then they can carry it at the tap. My bold prediction is that the top four in the race

will be from four different teams. Like that. Like that a lot. Nice. Poll 1, 2, 3, Sam. Pole Max Verstappan, the wing, Kimi Ann Sangelli. Second place I've gone with George Russell, and third, I've gone with Max Verstappen. I've gone with pole position Max Verstappen

The win Max Verstappen Second George Russell Third, Shal Lecler Oh Harry Paul Oscar Piastri The win Charles Leclair Second Max Verstappan and third

Oscar Pistri Oh for a minute I thought we were going to predict a no McLarenponium then Wow Are they going to use this as his fuel Like after they finish one two we're going to be on their social channels, aren't we?

Just like... You telling us! Yeah. Denied. We'll take the engagement, it's fine. Wait a mind. Oh, yeah, just tack us, whatever you do. Right.

Let's take our second break on this episode, on the other side, under pressure. At Fandall Casino, you get even more ways to play. Dive into new and exciting games. and all of your favorite casino classics, like slots, table games, and arcade games. Get more on Fandual Casino. Download the app today.

Please play responsibly, 19 plus, and physically located in Ontario. If you have questions or concerned about your gambling or the gambling of someone close to you, please contact Connects Ontario at 1866-531-2,600 to speak to an advisor free of charge. Hello, and welcome back to the third part of today's episode. It's time for Under Pressure.

Before we get to Discord submissions, though, Sam, kick us off who or what is under pressure. Us for hoping to not make it to another Reddit page. Because for the first time ever, late breaking was featured on a normal Reddit page due to us saying the phrase, send us for a bag of chips. So we started a national discussion on what that means. It got a lot of attention. But thanks for, thanks for discussing us. It was a fun little chick chat. And I want to shout out Fish Follow the 74 for bring this up.

Over 200 comments discussing a bag of chips in terms of a phrase. It's good thing. So are we under pressure to not say something like that again or to keep saying something like that again? I think we double down. I think we double down. More Reddit pages. All right. So Sam's gone with us.

Harry, who have you gone with? I've gone for the entirety of the Las Vegas GP. And this is a positive. I know famously, I'm not a bigger sign of this phrase. But the past two, I will happily admit we're actually very good. They're under pressure to make it three out of three. There's a risk it could not be. But yeah, under pressure to be.

Could, is the Las Vegas GP. Good. How can you not like this race, but say that the last two, which are the only two, are big, good races? The race, the actual race itself, the racing, has been excellent. I hate the race. The Grand Prix itself, go away. But the actual...

Man hates Vegas, last the racing. Correct. I don't know, mate. I love Proust buffer shouting in Sergio Perez's face. Weirdly. my under pressure is the Las Vegas Grand Prix as well I don't usually do this for spice it up a bit I'm going to give it to the Grand Prix itself

and yeah not a lot of spice in the end because I think you're right I think the first couple of years have been I'm going to say pretty good I think the first year was better than the second year but pretty good overall there were teething issues should we call them in the first year

remember the first practice session that we had but I think for the most part year two is kind of recovered from that and attendance is fairly good. We've had just over 300,000 weekend attendance for both races so far. But the fact that they are introducing flexible payment plans this year, lower prices, more ticket options, all good things, by the way. I'm not saying they're bad things.

But just note, they're not doing that out of the goodness of their heart. They're doing that for attendance reasons, okay, people. So we know that they're already slightly at war with the city itself and some of its residents. So it feels like it might be always a little bit under pressure with that in mind. But I agree that three good races out of three will start to quiet some at least. But what do our Discord submits have to say, Mr. Harry Ead? First up, we have Motion Light. Hi, hi.

Manor pressure is definitely grofty because he's going to say something grungy for Las Vegas and then Ferrari because how can I screw up it this week the rules on those ours. God, it's like a bakery in there.

A lot of ours. Crofty's got something lined up, honey. Of course he has. He always knows. He's always been high the last few races. He has really gone to town on the cringe. So Vegas is king of the cringe.

Yeah. He's got something cooking, I know. Who's next? I wouldn't say cooking. Yeah, I don't think Crofty ever cooks. Be like those rate my plate sort of like a chicken. That's what he's cooking. Next time we got solemn.

Happy lunchtime. Happy race week. It's the Las Vegas Grand Prix. Given that we're going back to another street circuit, also known as a car park under pressure this week. It's got to be Bristol Liam's mom. Keep breaking late. Oh, I get it.

Oh, wow. Niche. That is a multi-laying joke. What a callback. I'm so sorry for anyone who's tuning it for the first time. And it's just like trying to understand why is there someone from Bristol called Liam? Who is their mom? And why is that relevant?

Obviously, like a trifle, that multiple layers. Did I ever say, did he start that with happy lunchtime? They did. Don't love that. You probably have a trifle. It's not when you hear a lot, is it? Happy lunchtime. I might start using it now.

Lunchtime's are always happy. How can you not have a happy lunchtime? You're having your lunchtime? Might be the best part of my day. If you can record yourself telling a colleague, happy lunchtime and they're walking out, I would love it so much. See what I can do.

Oh, God. Next up, we have Papa Rhinebolt now. of Vegas going to sit. Oh, hey there, Lay Bakers. The King Elvis Preser here, baby. Bond of pressure submission for this week, Oscar Pastry. I know you've had it hard since Baku and you've been all shook up,

but a solid performance here in Vegas will change all that for you. Anyways, thank you. Thank you very much. I'll met Elvis Presby. Oh, God. Mastah. Mastopi.

Yeah, thank you, Elvis. I didn't expect to hear from Mr. Presley on this episode, on account of him being dead, but I appreciate him. Next time we have quackers and cheese. Hey, everyone, it's quackers and cheese. My under pressure this week for Vegas is Max for Staffen, especially during qualifying. Hopefully, he doesn't have to start from the pit lane again.

Anyways, can't wait. Quack, quack, quack, quack, quack. Is that extra quack? So many quacks. It's because it's Vegas, big weekend. Deserts more quacks. Put it all on quack. No.

Move it all. Next time we got boogie, boogity, boogity, boogity, boogity. Boogity, boogity, let's go racing in last Vegas, late breakers. Under pressure this week is Esteban, Steve O'Con. He's under pressure this week because in the last four races, his rookie teammate has 24 points. But Esteban, in that same time,

he has two. If he had had half as many his rookie teammate, they'd be only two points behind Asa Martin for six. Keep breaking late. So I actually quite confused of the Steve comment. I don't get that. Secondly, I thought he said rookie. He said Ricky.

And I was like, why are we calling Okonabem and Steve and Ricky? What have I missed on the Instagram? If producer Kirsty was literally mouthing something, then she knew what the reference was. But it's Spanish name like Steve. We've had this convoy before. I'm sorry, producer. disgusting.

I still, obviously, get me a map because I'm so lost. Anyway, yeah, I thought in terms of like, if Ockon had been

close to Behrman recently, that battle between them and racing balls would be far close. And Astermine, of course, be far closer. So,

yeah, under pressure to pull your way, Esteban. Come on, man. Yeah, come on, Steve. Last, but not least,

and buckle up, everyone, Viva, Las Vegas. Watch is that played Breakers. It's me, King Flavia, reporting from the Las Vegas strip. Underpress this week are the boys in red Ferrari. The chips are down. The stakes are high.

And it's time for Uncle Fred to shut you two up so you can drive and prove that you can actually do something this season. Okay, I'm going to go play craps with Maurice now. Bye. Prime opportunity to say, oh, who is making that noise? And as John Elkin. It's the Ferrari boys again. Missed opportunity.

Can't lie. But the accent got better that time, King Flavio. It's because he said Maurice. You have to see. It gets you into the accent, I'm pretty sure. Every accent has a tell. Come on. Every impression is a tell word.

I can't believe in one Discord submission Wednesday. We've managed to run through Happy Lunchtime, Elvis Presley and King Flavio. Like, that's summon. It's a normal Wednesday for us. Yeah. You know that's a normal Wednesday because we haven't even mentioned the duck. Like there's a duck quacking at the end of a submission. It doesn't make the top three highlights. That was the last one, Harry?

That was, yes, Ben. Well, good news for you all. The next opportunity isn't too far away to get your submissions in on Discord. We'll be looking for a moment of the race submissions right after the Las Vegas GP. I'm proud of us, actually. We've gotten like 50 minutes into this episode. We still haven't mentioned the time at which Vegas is happening. this weekend. We're not moving about it, obviously. I prefer to accept but it doesn't exist. Okay.

And I will just somehow absorb the information through osmosis. Yeah, proud of us. Good job. Good job, Elby. Shall we move on to Audi Formula One chief, Matea Bonotto, who thinks that drivers are now starting to enjoy 2026's regulations change and believes the new cars will be able to deliver a good show. He said it's the biggest change in 30 years at least. It's a big change. Honestly, I believe it's a great challenge. I think all technicians at the moment are enjoying a change of regulations.

I think even drivers, initially we may have heard some criticism, but overall, what I can see from drivers' comments, they are starting to enjoy the new cars. Interesting comments, Harry. Do you think that these are encouraging coming from someone like Bonotto who's, he's been around in this sport? He has been around. Not that I'm going to read into that,

but I would imagine drivers. would enjoy the 2026 regulations if their car's really good and I don't know whether that's a hint or not that the Aldi's good next year but no one knows look it's going to be we've seen quite a few drivers

and even teams not complaining but worried about what might happen next year I yes there might be some genuine concerns but F1 has the habit of getting over those very quickly I think we saw at the start of the even these current regs like you watch if you watch testing they were so slow they were going

so slowly in that first test so I think whatever issues though they will have which will be inevitable will be overcome and I think these regulations haven't been designed to make F1 worse that would be stupid and I don't think F1 is that stupid so I don't know I don't know there is a purpose to these. And I think, you know, 10, 15 years ago, you might be, I'd be more concerned. But I think there's a genuinely good formula in what we're going to get next year. We may not see it straight away. But as you said, it's a huge technical challenge. It's something very different for the drivers to get used to as well. I always enjoy before we get to new regulation changes that someone says it's the biggest regulation change we've had in 30 years. But that's always the case.

like you say the same thing every time you have a regulation change. So it will always be the case that it's something new. But that is the point of Formula One. It's for, you know, the best engineers in the world to get their heads around these new rules. So I think if the racing's good, the drivers are going to enjoy it. And I think that is the end of it. If the racing's not good or the racing is boring or worse, then obviously that's a different case. But yeah, I'd be encouraged by what Mateaub and Otta said for all.

of his faults as a team principal he had at Ferrari, he was really good as an engineer and and still is. So I'd listen to him. I'd listen to him. I know he's got, he's got funny hair and, you know, small glasses, but he's got a serious brain behind him. So I wouldn't, I wouldn't mock what he's saying at all. I like how if you see those two characteristics on someone, you immediately don't think they're worth talking to or listening to. I do. All the time. So, with these encouraging comments, we've had some skepticism recently in F1 about these new regulations.

So is it good for someone like Bonotto to come out and say, you know what, I think we're going to be all right? Formula One fangs, Formula One drivers. Apparently, Harry Ead, often likes to judge a book by its cover and make assumptions based on how things look. And I do think you hear a little winging from

Oh, old school things. James Anglin drive that car back, why, don't you? Well, I don't touch it a 10-foot barge pole. And then, you know, drivers like to think, oh, you know, it's not going to be as good. Oh, it's going to be difficult. Blah, blah, blah, blah. And then if the racing's good, the racing's good.

And I think we are in a position in Harry, you make a really good point. But 10, 15 years ago, maybe under Bernie, we might have seen a change for some kind of sponsorship reasons or profit-driven or it might have been laid where money might have been more appealing for him. But I think with the way that Liberty are running Formula One, they need to protect their product. They need to protect the growth that they've seen over the last four or five years now.

And there's so many new fans involved and we're in an ear and now where we just need to have constant entertainment. They cannot afford a total dud of a season. I don't think it will go well for them. So they need to know that the people that have engineered these cars will produce equal, if not better racing from season one. So in theory, the drivers should have a good time driving these cars. We should see a bit more wheel to wheel. It should be very interesting to learn about the engineering side of these cars and how they operate. I don't think it's worth the risk if they weren't going to get it right.

So yeah, I'm not surprised that opinions are changing. And I'm really glad to see that someone like Bogoso, who is a very trusted individual in the F1 world, has back to this change. I'm encouraged by this as well. There are certain individuals in F1 that I would take their opinion with. a grain of salt, and there are some that I would take with a plate of salt, but Bonotto's not one of them. I can look past the glasses and the hair, and I think I trust the guy. He's been around for many regulation cycles, and I tend to trust what he says. Rightly or wrongly, I tend to trust what he says. New regulations are always going to be a bit weird, and I'm pretty convinced,

like he says, that they won't be perfect to begin with. And there'll be smaller issues that need to be ironed out. And I kind of trust F1 that they will do that. But the overall concept, that's what we're most concerned with right now. Have we got the overall concept right? Because that is far more difficult to change if there's something more fundamental about these cars that don't end up working the way that we want them to. So I'm glad about this. You know, we've, James Vowles, I think quite recently said something similar. He said that I think the drivers within the first sim that they had, there were quite a few things that they didn't like. Second time around, it was a bit better by the fourth time they'd got in the

sim with these new cars. It felt pretty natural to both of them. So I think that's going to be the case across the grid, to be honest. These are clever drivers. They're very talented drivers. They'll get to grips with this, with all the testing we've got early next year. Shall we take our final break on this episode on the other side? We're playing F1 higher and lower. Welcome back, everyone, to the final part of today's episode, previewing the Las Vegas Grand Prix. for a game of higher and lower.

It's F1 higher, is F1 lower, is sad faster, is Harry slower, F1 higher, F1 lower, F1. I will put that on par with

Devo went down to Georgia and Dolly Parton, Joling, in terms of country song, brilliant. I would put it ahead, just because on higher and lower, we've got the F1 at the end, and I don't think those two songs do have that. Platinum level, that is. Yeah.

Well, F1 higher and lower, Sam and Harry will go up against each other, six questions in front of me. They'll take it in turns. Each question has a numeric answer. They have to have a guess in the first instance. If they get it right, they get two points. But if they don't get it right, the other person has the opportunity to say higher or lower. If that person then gets it right, they get a point.

If they get it wrong, the person who guessed first gets the point, you'll understand very quickly, folks, don't you worry? Harry, what number would you like? I'll go for number one, please, then. The original, the OG. I appreciate that. Question number one, how many laps, sorry, how many sprint laps has Max Verstappen led? It's might surprise you.

It's not 189. As a shock. It's tough guess. But Sam, do you want to go higher or lower than that? Higher. It's a little bit higher. 189 is not a bad shout, but 234 is the correct answer. So Sam, you take the early lead, and it's your question.

Oh, number two. Oh, in order. Okay, we're going 2025 with this question. How many podiums have McLaren got in 2025, and we're not including sprints here, just main races? Okay. A lot? Yeah. That's always good.

31. Got it. Yeah, boy. 31. Where's Burkow's bang up, but this version? Yeah, it's just. On higher and lower sped-up. Can we play like a cock-crow?

I don't even know what to say. It's very rare that we get an absolutely bang-on guess, but 31 is absolutely right. Harry, you've been shook off by the first two questions. How are you going to recover? Number three? That's a great start. It's in order, yeah.

How many wins did Ayrton Senna have at McLaren? Aye, aye, aye. It's, uh, 47. Not 47. Sam, higher or lower? Lower. A little bit lower. 35 is the correct answer this time around.

Sam. I've had a four, please, Ben. All right, mate. That's absolutely fine. I wouldn't you just give me the oldest average podium age of all time. So the race, the oldest podium of all time, what was the average age of the three people on it? Okay.

I'm going to say, how specific am I going? In days or? No, no, just years. Just years. Okay. 46. That's that right again? So I've started a prime setter.

Yeah, boy! Hang on, let me just check. The camera isn't like Pandat. No, you can't say... Yeah, 46. Nino Farina was the youngest on that podium at the age of 43. Louis Rozier was 44. And then Luigi Fajoli was 51, leading to an average age of 46.

It was the 1950 Swiss Grand Prix for anyone interested. 6-0. I don't think anyone's ever going. Number six in higher or lower. Harry is, back to you. Number six, please, Ben. Oh, that's it. I'm having it off.

You know what? I really appreciate that. I forfeit the game. How many Brazilian Grand Prix DNFs did Rubens Barakello have? Stab to the heart. Nine. Not nine.

Higher or lower, Sam. lower it's not lower it's higher he had 11 brazilian uc retirements uh and i've actually read so 1993 he retired he then finished the race in 1994 he then retired in 1995 95 96 97 98 99 2000 2001 2002 and 2003 and he also retired 2007 as well but that was a streak of nine in a row at his home race. It's savage. That is savage. I knew it was bad.

They didn't think it would be that bad. I mean, four of them were Ferrari as well. Like 2000-2003, we're all at Ferrari. That leaves us with, Sam. Number five. It does leave us with number five. How many points did Fernando Alonzo win his two titles buy? So if you were to add them together.

Combined, okay. 27. I can actually say this truthfully. Unbelievably, you're not right. Very good. Lower. It's higher. 34 points was the gap across those two seasons.

7-1. Solid that. I can just tell in your eyes, though, like, you're ready for the next one. Like, you can't wait to get back at Sam. Once a season, he drops a clangor, it's fine. The next game or the next higher and lower? Next game. Next higher and lower might be a couple months away.

You don't want to stew over that for that long. Yeah, I'll stew. I'll be simmering away. Oh, Bobble and like I'm broth. I don't want. Well, Good news is, Harry, you don't need to bubble away like a proffer very long because it's time for what I can only describe

as the greatest segment in all of podcasting. It is the... I'll be question of the week. Man, it's got a scratch his eye. I've got someone in my eye, guys, and it's not my eyeball. That's clarified. save the dad joke there, wasn't it? You can't skip the dad joke.

Question of the week. We decided to make it Vegas themed with ticket sales potentially struggling. They're still very much pushing this event, RF1. What last resort tactic

RF1 and Las Vegas going to go to to try and increase those ticket sales? I have to say, people, you've outdone yourself this week. This was a great question of the week, week. Yeah, absolutely bang-out. We've had some sensational answers.

You know what? I'm going to Twitter to start with. Johnny Overeer said by giving away a free lap dance from a Vegas stripper with every pair of tickets sold. And the best part is fantasy entertainment private Las Vegas strippers have liked the response. I bet they did, yeah. That is an endorsement of that offer, I believe. Yeah, we're also not endorsing that offer, but...

Harry's being sent out. What a weekend. Hey, goodness me. Aaron Dixon on Instagram says, free parking, which is a great idea. I've not heard that one before. Free parking. Free parking.

First, in a number of great answers, I've gone with Frank, cut the amount of laps so young people have the attention span to watch. Good idea, actually. That's fair. Yeah. Six or seven laps at this point. Yeah.

That'll do. This one from Rosie, who says they will hire the premier chef spaghetti dinner lady to cook meals for guests over the race weekend. Honestly, missionist staff food brings everyone in. So that, the world. I've got an answer here, but I want to probably hand it over to Harry because he's the one that spotted this one first, and it's from Robert. Do you want to take this one?

Just says free beer. Hell yeah. Yeah, it does. That doesn't quite tell the whole story. enlighting us, please. Why does it not tell the whole story, Ben? I'm not on that one. I'm catching him with what I've said.

Because the guy who answered it is 14 years old. Oh, yes. Big Rob. I was going to say you're four years too. You're in America, seven years too young. You're not even close. We do not endorse underage drinking on this podcast. He knows what sells, though, and it's free beer.

There's one here from Ali, don't really understand, but it says something about the Bill Clinton treatment. I'm unsure what that's referring to, but apparently that would get ticket sales up. Bill Clinton, the old B-C-P. It's new on me, I don't know. Yeah. Well, give it a go, mate.

Let's see if you like it. Let's go and report back. Are you just so moving up to move your camera? Like a dog. Come on, Bill. Jordan has come out with this one. Valdry Bottas, calendar shots on the sphere. Yeah, that'll bring in a lot of people. Barry said just place the track in between two lakes.

Weird response. Yeah, but if they did that, what would they call the racetrack? I feel like they'd call it between the lakes, but there's a lot of Spanish-speaking people in Las Vegas. So maybe they'd make it Spanish. I don't know. They'd find a name, I reckon. They're clubbed people.

Josh Davy says Sam rewrites and sings the intro music What's a Vegas? I think they mean to F1 but sure He was a Las Vegas Remastered By me on the show This man called Chicking of the Sea

Bazaar name said Sam in the wind tunnel But then Dave replied and said And in the wind tunnel room It's the banker And on the phone in the wind tunnel room Is birthday father Christmas sure

I have two answers here and they're related to each other Shane has said Shrek 2 on the sphere during the race and then Clayton has said mongo on the sphere The game mongo

is always so funny Mongo Mungo Maddie on Instagram has said by selling alfafa falafels which I just wanted to say frankly if not be else

Alfa falafels feels great oh my god Danny Seaman saying they hire 400 Michael Kane impersonators to walk around the grandstand yes

so many marks so many kids I get the call you'd be 4001 you'd be the first reserve but must and white close. Oh, no.

Last one, from Ben, not from me, from a different Ben. Buying a ticket means you've claimed the corner, which that's all we need to do these days in F-1 is claim the corner.

Any corner. Claim the corner. I can't remember who sent this in. I can't find the comment anymore, but it may be really laugh yesterday. And it comes from the, the school of just stating the obvious, but someone just said by making them more affordable.

That's like, obvious, perfect. But, yeah, more affordable ticket prices might work. Yeah, they might. I've also lost it, but the last one from me, and I've got the literal one, quite literally, is stop treating the locals like crap. That might help.

I think we'll just consider it, maybe. Yeah. Wait, free hot crossbunk with every purchase. Hell yes. I'm there. Okay. It's Harry Eid comment that. Hold on.

Oh, yeah, it was in. Are we good? A lot of answers, it's about a lot of very funny answers, deserving airtime. So are we all good on those? Yeah, if anyone wants to send me a t-shirt that simply says, Mungo on the sphere, I'll take it.

When you want the T-shirt to just be Mungo on the sphere? No. You want the words Mungo on the sphere. It'll get a lot more questions. I think. Yeah, you're right on that. Well, we've got a couple of episodes coming at this weekend, Sam, with a qualifying review and a race review.

We're looking forward to it, aren't we? We are looking forward to it. And we are delighted to be rising and shining so very early in the morning here. So, you know, that means you'll get your content even earlier, I suppose. So enjoy it because we definitely will, I promise you. On the Monday, we'll come power rankings, which is great fun for all those lovely people in Patreon City. If you'd like to join, we're still on the hunt for a bin man or bin woman because the garbage is piling high.

So checking out, you'll get a lot of content, many, many years of content, all available to you. And thank you, everyone who supports us there. Follow us on social media, late breaking F1, the context popping. Have you seen the quality of the camera we put out there in the most recent video? Shees, it's like you're in the room with us. It's that good. Anyway, that's it from us.

In the meantime, I'm your sage. I've been Ben Hocking. I've been Mongol in the sphere. And remember, keep breaking late. Bego.