The Late Braking F1 Podcast - Is it time to worry about Hamilton at Ferrari?

Episode Date: August 6, 2025

In a summer break special, the LB boys unpack Hamilton’s 'useless' self-assessment and question whether he can turn things around at Ferrari. Ben then chats with BBC Studio's The Inside Track host and journalist Matt Majendie, who shares behind-the-scenes insights on Red Bull, and gives his take on the WDC battle. The boys then wrap up with a round of Back and Forth... Note: Sorry - you may notice some brief background noise in Segments 2 and 3 due to the remote recording setup. Thanks for sticking with us! >>> Don't miss out - limited tickets left for our 2025 LIVE SHOW in Austin TX! ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠CLICK HERE⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ to grab yours or for more info!

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. Welcome to the late breaking F1 podcast presented by Harry Ead, Sam Sage, and me, Ben Hocking on this midweek episode. We're back as a trio once again, Sam. We don't have any F1 for a few weeks, but there's enough excitement about the three of us all being together,

that doesn't matter for a little while. That's right. That will carry us. through. We're going to talk about the three of us being best friends for one hour straight and no, no, I'm joking. I'm joking. We have got some good stuff. Harry is here. Harry, are you well, bonjour. Yes, I'm well. French, Harry. Continental. Harry will be the start of this summer break. I'm pleased to know. I am well. Pleased to be here. It's great once again to be back to three. This, yeah, I know we did on Sunday, but consecutive episodes as a three has been

rare of late. So very happy to be here. and a bit of a special episode today because we have a guest coming on a little bit later on so I had the opportunity to talk to a very special guest they'll keep it under wraps until we get there in the middle of this episode oh who can it be

but it's a lovely chap and I hope you enjoy it bag french guest spot well we're going to kick off today's episode with some comments from Lewis Hamilton after this weekend's Hungarian Grand Prix had a bit of a tough one, didn't he?

And he called himself useless and said Ferrari probably need to change driver after failing to reach Q3 while teammate Charles LeCler, of course, took pole position. It followed another pool weekend in Belgium where Hamilton was knocked out early in both sprint and full qualifying,

and LeCleur now leads their one lap, head to head 12-5 this season. After his exit at a track where he holds a record nine polls, Hamilton said on Team Radio, every time, every time. When asked about the mess, he told Sky Sports.

It's me every time. I'm useless, absolutely useless. The team have no problem. You've seen the cars on pole, so they probably need to change driver. Sam, are you concerned about these comments, or are they more frustration in the moment? I'm concerned.

I'm concerned for him. Lewis Hamilton wears his heart on his sleeve. We've said this before. He's a very open person when he's discussing how he feels about things. He takes things very two hearts. Quite a sensitive chap. I quite admire about him,

the world of Formula One. It's very different to what we're used to when Formula One drivers, all athletes, tend to bottle things up. So I think it's good that he's willing to speak so candidly and so openly to the press and the public. What I'm concerned about is he seems to not be able to see the light at the end of the tunnel in this situation. He's built up this move to Ferrari for obviously over a year where he got that exchange

when moving from Mercedes to Ferrari. They declared it before the start of the 2024 season. We finally get that move at the start of the current season. And we're all filled with optimism. Obviously, he picked up that sprint pole and wing in China. And that you think, right, this is a good start. The car's not there. But, you know, this is a good start.

Hamilton is competitive. And it's really being a lack of both quality and overall results for Lewis Hamilton. I think Hamilton before could have had one of his worst Grand Prix. And he might have still ending up in the top three or four. And it really would have been a bit of a bad day, but a bad day for Hamilton is third. You know, whereas now a bad day for Hamilton is out in, SQ1 and then Q1 and you make a good strategy call

and it gets him into seventh place in the race you know that's uh it's not ideal so I'm concerned for Lewis Hamilton's mindset and I really do hope that someone puts an arm round him just because he's the seventh sign world champ just because he's got over 100 victories over 100 pole positions I just think that someone needs to put their arm around him

and go look you don't jail with this car you don't work with these current regulations but so much is going to change and you are a fundamental part of that development going into the new regulations, that it can get better. He's so he's still got such good raw ability. Well, he does get into those windows

that it seems to work for him. He's electric. He's amazing to watch drive. So whilst I don't know if he's ever going to win another title or multiple races in the season, he's still got the talent to be a great driver for a team like Ferrari at the end of his career. You mentioned, I think, very rightly,

he almost, he needs someone to, he needs someone to talk to him to remind him of everything he's done. Is there a problem that that person might not exist at Ferrari? Is that person Fred Vassar? Or is that person who might have done that job of Mercedes not there at Ferrari? I don't know. It's really hard.

Obviously, he brought Angela back who he worked with so closely at Mercedes. And you can see her regularly following him around the paddock. And I think part of why he rehired her was to have that familial link between, you know, the previous home and the current home. Fred Fassar, I think, has a lot of love for Lewis Hamilton. They're very open relationship. They're very caring of how that works with Ferrari. I think the Clare is the same.

I think they're kind of like a weird, almost little family between the three of them, but the two young men that grew up in racing under Fred Bouser. I think that's lovely. I think that's great. I think Fred would happily take Lewis to one side and say, look, we trust you, we care about you, we think you're fantastic. You've got what it takes, have a bit of self-belief. What is worrying me is the relationship.

that Hamilton has with his race engineer. Ricky Adami is a very talented individual. He really is. But unlike what we saw with Bono and Lewis Hamilton, and the way that Bongo now talks to Kimi Antigeli, he has previous of causing a lack of communication, the famous science radio of, hello, Ricky.

That's the same guy. We're talking about the same guy here. You know, this guy's got to that point. He's a lead race engineer for Ferrari for a reason. He's very smart, very talented. But I do wonder if while science was maybe quite willing to be adaptive and push through some frustrations because of where science was in his career, Hamilton doesn't need that and doesn't want that.

I think Hamilton maybe needs a big of a change of scenery, which will allow him to be more understood, expressive, have someone that understands the way he speaks and the information he needs, because we've seen so much friction already. It's not like it's gotten better. We're still seeing frustrations, between those two. And I wonder if that is now emerging in Lewis Hamilton's thoughts of, I don't want to be the guy that blames the team. And I do wonder if that's something that's

giggling a little bit that could ease the relationship and make it feel a bit better. If he had someone like he had with Bono, but he can, you know, bit of brotherly love, kind of take your side and go, come on, mate, we're a team. We've got this. I don't think Adami has that with him. I think it maybe is letting Lewis's side down a little bit. It's funny you mentioned Carlos signs. And I saw this a few weeks ago. So apologies. I can't give credit to whoever did this analysis, but they were looking at all of the drivers and how much time, on average, per race, they are either on team radio talking or on team radio listening. Carlos Sines is number one by an absolute mile at Williams this year. And it might be a contrast to what he had last

year with Ricky. But I also noticed there was something from the Hungarian weekend where he asked what his pace was, like relative to the cars in front silence. Yeah. And he has to push for an answer. Must be very frustrating. Harry, any concern about the comments that he made after qualifying. It is concerning. I'm not because I don't believe Lewis Hamilton is still not one of the most

talented F1 drivers in the world. But it's concerning about his motivation and his confidence in his ability which has seen him to such great success so far

in his career. And I think all F1 drive, I mean, look at Fernando Alonzo. as a prime example, the self-belief he has, even if it's sometimes it could be misplaced, but it would never be, he would never cover you.

Alonso coming out and going, yeah, I'm useless. It just wouldn't happen, would it? No, it wouldn't happen. Pigs would fly before that would happen. So it's world opposite day. Yeah, psych. But that, but that's one of the, I think that's, for me, that's the most concerning thing.

I know Lewis Hampton wears his heart on his sleeve always has done in his career, but I don't think I've ever seen him that down after a competitive F-1 session, whether it was the qualifying on the Saturday or the race. And that and thinking itself, it should be a concern. I've got no doubt he's going to go away and have a reset over the summer break

and come back more positive. But if you're having those thoughts and you're airing those thoughts publicly, what is he not airing publicly? What is he how, you know, what are those sorts like when, you know, the,

the, the doors are shut behind him. I think that and it's almost more concerning. I'm with you. I believe he, you know, he's still capable of winning GPs. It's only a year ago he was winning GPs.

He won the British GP. Obviously, he won Belgium on the technicality, but was obviously there on pacewise anyway. It's not that long ago. It's even sooner that he got the, the pole and sprint win in a sprint ball

sprint win in China like that was a few months ago and that was like classic that was like watching classic Louis Hamilton he was on such form so if the car's there I still believe he he could make it perform

but I think he I think he's finding the Charle dechler challenge more challenging than perhaps he expected I always thought it might be especially on a Saturday but the problem is this year

especially Saturdays been so important that he can't really afford to not be good on a Saturday. And versus Leclair, as he referenced, it's been a, it's now 12.5 in the head to heads. Hampton's just not had the pace to keep up with him. So, yeah, I think that, I think that must be damaging his self-confidence somewhat. Because whereas with Russell, yes, Russell will sometimes beat him. I don't think it was quite this one-sided potentially. But yeah, like I said, I think the real concern is his, his motivation, his self-belief.

and I guess that was always a risk in this stage of this career to make such a move. This is such a culture change for him. And having been at Mercedes for, he's always been part of the Mercedes family up until this year, whether it was at McLaren or even in his junior career. And that, you know, that's easy to get institutionalized. But in a good way for Hamilton, because he's so part of that culture, that moving to Ferrari, where the culture is so different.

you're learning, there's new languages to be learned, there's new people to work with. I think this was perhaps always a rescue, maybe he just hadn't had maybe thought would be as challenging as it has been. So yeah, for me, that's the real concern, but relationships can be built. And as we talked about previously, he's got a long list of things he's been giving to Ferrari.

So maybe one of them is, change my race engine, I don't know. But, yeah, I'm not sure. whether there's a big enough change for him to help. It remains to be seen. But yeah, that's probably the most concerning thing for me now. I just really hope because we don't want to see Hamilton. I'm not suggesting he's going to retire,

but I don't want to see Lewis Hamilton sort of go into some decline or slump into nothingness and then leave the sport because that would just be depressing. And I don't think that will happen, but I want him to regain his mojo before he does. leave us, leave the sport. Oh God. Thank you for clarifying. Yikes, got dark real quickly. Going back to one thing you said, Harry,

one thing that all racing drivers need is an unwavering self-belief. Like, they need that. And all the drivers have it. We often talk about it when it comes to Bastapen and Eton and Senner and Michael Schumacher and how, they can get involved in incidents

and it looks plain as they like, okay, that's on them. And they will still think it's not on them because they just have this self-belief that they are in the right. And it works on a racing track. All the drivers have had it. Like you look at even,

I remember a few years ago, Kevin Magnuson, he did an interview and he was asked about his goals in F1 and he was at Hasse at the time. And he was asked about his goals and he said, I'm going to be world champion. I want to be world champion.

And everyone last, after him. But you have to have that. You have to have it. Even if you think from the outside, there's no chance it's going to happen. You yourself need to think that's going to happen. Sergio Perez, whenever he was asked about his chances versus Vastappen, was always very bullish about what he could do. I mean, it very rarely came to fruition, but that's not the point. You need that belief. So there is a bit of concern about these comments. And I think at least some of it is not just in the moment frustration. I think it has built up a bit over time. You're right to say in terms of qualifying, there's a lot of frustration there, perhaps more so

because that was for so many years his forte. Like, it was very difficult to stop Lewis Hamilton on a Saturday. He's still got far more polls than anyone else in F1 history. But so far this year, Charles Lecler has had five top three starts. Lewis Hamilton hasn't had any. Charlotte, Clair has only had one Q2 knockout. Lewis Hamilton's had four. And it's difficult to come to terms with that.

As you said earlier, Sam, because of the success that Lewis Hamilton has had previously in his career, it's very difficult to go down from that to settle for something like a P5 and a Grand Prix, because that compared to what you used to achieve is basically last place. But that's the situation he finds himself in right now. It is difficult to hear, just from I think an overall fan's perspective on it, it is difficult to hear these words because he entered this, year with such motivation. Like Lewis Hamilton is probably the only F1 driver that could leave the sport and probably

earn similar amounts of money doing something else. If he wanted to commit himself to fashion, to music, all of these other side interests he has on top of F1, he would nail it. I am convinced. But he chose not to do that. He chose not to retire after leaving Mercedes. He actively wanted to go to Ferrari. And he has been very motivated to make it work, which makes it work.

Is it even more difficult when you commit yourself so much to something? And it doesn't work, as has been the case so far this year. Sam, can he turn it around in 2025, or are we specifically looking to next year now? I think 25 is done. The car isn't changing, the upgrades that they're pretty much packing those in at this point. And I almost want him to just take the time to accept it's not going to be good and work on how to make it good for 26. identify the areas that don't work for him.

Is it the feel of the car? If so, is it because it's a ground effect car? Or is it because of the way that Ferrari have set up the car? Of course, I've got a new brake structure that they brought in for this year that was very new maybe isn't work for him. Is it the way the Ferrari engine handles? Is it the fact that actually it might be a cultural thing? As you mentioned earlier, is his relationship with Adami

causing him to not have the confidence in the information he needs to react fast enough that means that he can't be more proactive in a Grand Prix? Is it the Italian culture? Is he missing something from home? is he going through what I can only label as like talented child syndrome where you're the really talented kid and then you get to normal adult life and you're like I was just really hyped up as a kid

and now I'm like a really normal person and that's like is Lewis Hamilton at that point in his career where he was really the talented kid for like his whole career and he's peak so he's at Ferrari and actually maybe he's not as good as he once was and that's okay because Lewis Hamilton not as good as he once was is still bigger than most. So can he work on being more consistent

rather than being outright and raw pace better than everyone else? I do think that use the last 10 races to learn. Don't get annoyed, don't get frustrated, don't get upset, learn what is wrong with the situation and try your absolute best

to create a solution, a workaround, another option that allow you to at least be, if Ferrari have a compressive car next year, to at least be good enough that if a clara is winning that title, he's second or third, and he's there supporting the team,

and he brings home a Constructors title for Ferrari, for example, because I think, whilst I think he'd be gutting not to win a driver's, if it was on the cards, he could at least walk away from the sport knowing that he brought Ferrari a constructors. I'm sure a little part of him would be very proud of that. So, yeah, I think he needs to not give up,

wait until 2026, and there is a part of me that thinks these new cars might be a little bit closer to the roots that Hamilton really enjoys driving. Harry, ahead of the shift into the new era of F1 next year, even if we're considering 2025 a bit of a dead year for him and for Ferrari, does he need a result? Like a one big result for the rest of this season

just to prove to himself he can still do it. I think at this point, yes, I think he does need, even if it's not a race where it's outright pace, it's, you know, mixed conditions. like a Silverstone last year, for example. I think I mean, it sounds ridiculous, doesn't it?

Because he's Lewis Hamilton. He's the most successful driver that we've ever had. But I think just to help that confidence, that self-belief, boost it again, having a result with this new team, which quite frankly,

I thought the sprint in China would deliver. Not that he was struggling before that point, really, but I just thought, I thought, oh, we're like not we're not when we're back back but I was like we're kind of back here with Hamilton I just the way he drove that that that race that uh that qualifying lap I thought hello we could be on for a good year here with Lewis Hamilton at Ferrari and it's not materializing it just seemed to slip downhill uh increasingly since then so I think it doesn't even have to be

a win but I think a good result where he's still not out of podium at is he this year which is ridiculous. Weirdly, is that two sprint podiums, one of which is a win and no main race podium? I think a main race podium. I think a top three would really help him. So, and obviously a win even more so. So I think it, I don't know.

It's going to be difficult because who knows with that Ferrari, but, you know, Leclair's briefed that it's almost possible and it is possible. So yeah, I think something like that he needs to have just for himself more than anything. I don't think he needs to prove it to anyone. I think he just needs a boost, a boost as he goes into the second half of the year. Yeah, I think there could be a good result somewhere in this second half of the year for Lewis Hamilton. Just based on how Ferrari have looked a little bit better in the dry recently, at least versus Mercedes and Vastappan. Certainly Vastappan and Red Bulls pace seems to be a bit hit and miss, but more missing than hitting at the moment.

Antonelli's struggling and Mercedes I think are a little bit worse off than where they were at the beginning of the season. So if they can get to a situation like Austria where they were quite clearly the second best team behind McLaren, suddenly you've got sort of four cars there, one of which being Hamilton. You imagine a podium is going to come about sooner rather than later

if he can keep finding himself in that sort of spot. And who knows, if something goes wrong for the McLaren duo, maybe he can take a win. Looking at the 10 races left, I'm not sure where his best opportunity. will be. LeCleur's going to win Cota, obviously, because we're there and that's the rule. The Clare's going to win that one.

Yeah. Yeah. But the other nine, they all seem up for grabs. So we'll see. It's so weird that Ferrari car, isn't it? Like, it's come out that Lecler's thing at Hungary, where it's got progressively slower. The tire wear wore down. It meant the pressure's got lower.

It meant the car got lower to the floor. It affected the bumps further. The plank was wearing further. The car is just undrivable. The moment it gets into a lower range of tire wear. and we've got a bumpy track and that just makes any race track so hard to predict for them

if they're actually going to be successful and that so makes it even harder for Lewis Hamilton who needs almost the ultimate weekend to come together for him must be so frustrating right now at Ferrari as we often say there's something in that car

it just has the operating window of a paper clip like it's just you can't get there with it put Clippy in the car put Clippy in the bin having to do my best not to swear at Clippy

I'm not going to do it. I feel like this is the second time Clippy's come up on the podcast. Yes, it's not the first time. No. You youngsters that don't know Clippy, do some homework. Should you do our F-1 Fantasy Update? Congratulations to Ferrario and Luigi,

who has won this week with 341 points. Congratulations to you or to both of you if it is two players play. Maybe it is Ferrario and Luigi. Top three in the league, Warning door Hajjar continues to lead after a very good week and is over over 50 points clear of Stoneworkspaving.cai in second, breakdown under racing is in third.

And then us four, I use my limitless chip and that's helped me out a little bit. I've gained 20 spots. I was hoping for it to be a little bit better, but I'll take the game, 20 positions up to 37th. You don't well that, mate. Gains all round, though, because, Kirstie, up 42 spots, 724th. Harry, up 57 spots to 1,164th.

Mate, there's still something just over your shoulder. That's awful. I'm coming. Sam, you have improved the most of anyone this week. Up 72 spots, 1,236. So under 100 away from Harry, getting in there. It's how I like it. Just close enough to see him walk away.

Good stuff. I keep waiting for a better segue into the break, and I don't think I'm going to get one. So we are going to have our first break at this point. On the other side, I'm joined by a very special guest. Welcome back, everyone. As promised before the break, we have a very special guest here joining us.

It's a highly unusual turn of events because we actually have someone on the show who knows what they're talking about. And that person is journalist and co-host of the BBC Studios, The Inside Track podcast. It's Matt Magandie. How are you? Yeah, very well. You've big me up there,

so I'll have to not let myself down with the knowledge. Yeah, exactly. I apologise for that. I've put you on a pedestal from the off. Thank you for coming on the show. How are you, first of all? Yeah, well, actually. Yeah, I'm happy that a little summer break

It's been quite a lengthy season while fun. It's been, yeah, it's relentless, isn't it, the calendar now? We're only 14 races in still tend to go. I'm not quite sure how the teams do it. Yeah, we were discussing the other day on our podcast that, you know, go back just over 20 years and 14 races would have meant two left or so. And now we've still got double digits still to go, 10 still to go. So, yeah, it is a bit frantic.

How have you found the 2025 season so far? I've really enjoyed it. It's not entirely as I expected. I think maybe naively or maybe I'm overly optimistic as a person, I thought there would be more battles, more team battling at the front. And obviously we're now seeing it's taken shape into a McLaren head-to-head between their two drivers. But then at the same time, that's just brilliant.

Like the last race we saw was magnificent, you know, going hammer and tongs for that win at the end. and Oscar the breaking and nearly sort of going into Lando so close. Everyone loves that. The gap's so close between those two. And it's a really nice way to go, you know, the really nice way they went into the summer with that so evenly balanced. And I think the reality is no one knows which way that championship battle is going to go.

Yeah, which bodes very well for the last 10 races. In the absence of a Constructors' Championship battle, it's good to see that there's going to be some entertainment in the driver's championship. And you're right, a little bit unexpected, I think. last year of a set of regulations often, you know, brings the field together. But the opposites happen this year. But still plenty of excitement so far in this year. And we're going to talk about Piastrian Norris a little bit later on in the show.

But we thought it'd be most natural to start with Red Bull because in 2025, you've been getting under the hood of Red Bull racing. You've, you know, been with them, races on the pit wall, HQ, sort of learning a bit more about the team. Firstly, you seem to have picked a very good season for it with the amount of entertainment that seems to be happening at Red Bull. But what inspired the decision to do that? And did you have any expectations going into it?

Yes, I was working as a sports journalist for the evening standard, the London paper covering the F1, among other things. And I did a feature with the team with Red Bull, essentially labelled inside the winning machine. And it was really good. They opened all doors, got to talk to Christian Horner, Adrian Newey drivers, you know, and it was a really interesting insight. But I left it thinking, there's more there.

Like, this would be fascinating. I just feel like I'm on the periphery. So I suggested the idea to them and a few twists and turns to get to that point, but they went with it. And I guess the expectation, I mean, you saw in the winter that McLaren did look the best, but then Red Bull started slightly undulating, but they have some brilliant results, you know, a Suzuki or Imola from Max.

And I think I expected maybe a little bit more. of that and maybe not quite so much drama, but there's always quite a bit of drama with Red Bull. It's the way it goes both on and off the track. And so, you know, when there's not something happening on the track, there's something off it. And it's been fascinating to see that and just sort of into understand how fully how a Formula One ticks, kind of Formula One team ticks, but in every facet. Yeah, I mean, absolutely. I mean, if we're referring to that drama, you can almost hit it chronologically because there's been quite a few episodes throughout this year. And if we're looking to do that, it feels like an age.

go, but we go all the way back to the Chinese Grand Prix, Liam Lawson's second and ultimately final race at Red Bull, at least for now. We know that Red Bull have historically not been afraid to be cut-throats, but two races at the team before a switch to Yuki Sonoda may have surprised even experienced F-1 heads. How did you respond to the decision at the time? Were you expecting it? No, I realize, you know, his results weren't as, as they'd hoped. And there was pressure on him to turn it round. I thought he'd get a few more races.

You know, getting the chop at a Formula One team and at Red Bull is, you know, not uncommon, let's say, but to get it that early into a season, definitely caught me by surprise. And I get the sense, probably caught Liam Lawson by surprise. You know, it felt brutal, but fair play to him. he's rebuilt himself after a tough time when he moved across. He was struggling alongside Isaac Hajar, but actually he's been doing sort of very well. I kind of think from that Monaco moment

where he backed the field behind to play beautiful tactics, it seemed to do something to him and lift him. And I've been impressed by how he's quietly gone about his business. Yeah, I agree. Certainly a very impressive turnaround for what was a difficult start to the season. I remember at the time I was surprised. I have to admit I was against the decision to begin with in that if they were going to give it to one of the junior drivers, I think it made sense to give it to Yuki Sonoda as next person up.

But two races, and I don't even think that provides enough context in that it was one washout of a debut race at the Australian GP and a Chinese Grand Prix weekend that was a sprint race and contains one practice session. It's not even two standard races, I think, that Liam Lawson got at the beginning of the weekend. that year? I think though it was more they were talking about, he was sort of a bit of fish out of water. It was sort of how he was in testing. It was how they saw him in the factory. They just suddenly thought this actually was too much too soon, still saying you're a good driver so you can get a seat in the sister team. But alas, not good enough for us at this point or not experienced enough at this point. I mean, it did seem brutal, but there were sort of indicators, they argue there were indicator is kind of behind the scenes that added to it just not just those two race weekend.

Yeah, it will be interesting to see if there is a route back to the senior team for him at some point in the future. I mean, we're focusing on Red Bull here, but I just want to bring up Sergio Perez, who obviously was in position to race for the team this year until December of 2024. It's very rare, but it feels like it might be one of those seasons where Perez is stock in F1 might actually have risen as a result of not being in the sport this year. Yes, it's bizarre because it clearly, like his time was done at the team, that relationship felt like it frayed a little and he wasn't being competitive next to Max. But then suddenly two other drivers come in and they're sort of equally or even less competitive compared to Max. And you're a bit like, oh, wait a second, maybe Cheka wasn't doing such a terrible job.

So he's just sitting at home back in Mexico twiddling his thumbs as his stocks rising and people are linking him to Cadillac and wherever else is a return through having done nothing, which is, which is. is sort of the fast-call nature of Formula One, isn't it? It is indeed. Speaking of Sonoda, how do you think he's fed so far? We've got 12 races under his belt at this point. So my co-host on our podcast, Rick Edwards, accuses me of being a UKI apologist. So I'm always making excuses for him. But like the raw pace is there.

And at times he looks like he's matched it to max. But Q3 seems to be either a horror for him or in a possibility to get into. And similarly, racist things seem to just go awry. I do think the speed is there. The team believe Lauren Mechiaz, when I spoke to him at the last race, believes the speed is there. But the reality is it's not being good enough, has it? He was brought in to consistently score points for the team.

It doesn't matter if there were lower points to help them in the Constructed Championship. And that hasn't happened at all. And you sense him and his team of feeling the pressure. I know he was in the Sim in the factory. He flew straight there Monday after Hungara Ring and was working there. So he's kind of hammering away at that before he, After spa, he worked relentlessly, or was it prior to spa?

Went to New York and did a big training session there. So he's doing everything in his power to do it. But when you have that pressure on you, it seems to mount and mount and get heavier on his shoulders. I just hope he can have a raceway delivers. It'd be great. He comes back in Zandvort and finally does. I don't know what you've made of him. Perhaps he's not done as well as I think I expected.

Yeah, I have to admit, I was expecting a little bit more from him. We're getting to the time period as well where I know we're going back a few years, but he's had about the same number of races as say GASley did back at the beginning of 2019 before he got the cut sort of midway through the season. I think maybe what's playing in Sonoda's hands right now is that Red Bull, I think, are finally running out of options in that they could promote Isaacajar at some point. Lawson's already had an opportunity. So maybe with the amount of turmoil at the team,

they're more inclined to give him a little bit more time than is compared to normal. But it is so difficult for Red Bull to know because of the, the contrast between Vastappen and Sonoda's performances, where that car actually is. Like, it sounds, maybe it's a simple task and it's too simplified, but if you were to have two Yuki Sunoda's in the car scoring the same number of points so far this season, they would be last, they would be below Alpine. And you've got Vastappan on the other hand, who is the next best driver after the McLaren duo. That's a pretty big range of where the car is.

It must be difficult for the team. It's bonkers, isn't it? It's literally sort of night and day moment. I mean, I believe that Sunoda will stay till the end of the season. There's the Honda tie-in. I think that's, you know, there's no other sensible option. But what do you do? Do you bring in Isaac Hadjar and try another young driver and see how he goes?

Or will he struggle? Or do you bring someone in more experience? Someone who gets, you know, has been on the grid for a longer period of time. I might have to come to grips with it better. I don't know. but it is a lot of head scratching for what to work out with car number two. And I guess a little bit in Yuki's defense, though he hasn't had the upgrades that Max has had. That flaw he finally got in Spa was a Mechia's decision, but it was a long time in coming.

And the difficulties if you don't have those upgrades, obviously the disparity, your teammate gets greater. And particularly when we talk about this being the end of the regulations, the grid is tighter than ever. I think that top 10 qualifying was the tightest ever, perhaps, at the last race. you know, if you don't have that stuff and you're a tenth or two tenths away from your teammates, you hit the difference, but it's the difference between the front of the grid and the very back of the grid. So that's my Yuki Apologist moment over again. No, I understand I've been accused of similar recently because I have also defended him on a few points, particularly in Hungary where, you know, he had two runs in Q1, one of which he was

two tenths away from Vastappen, the second of which he was, I think, a tenth and a half away from Vastappen. You go back two years to 2023. if he's that gap behind Max Verstappen, he's second every race. But because the Red Bull disadvantage has completely disappeared, you know, two or three temps, that can be the difference between being knocked out in Q1, as Sonoda was in Hungary, and making it through to Q3 as Vastappen did.

Like, it's, it might not be the biggest gap in the world, but when the grid is as tight as it is, that can be the difference. It just looks awful, doesn't it? Yes. It just looks positionally bad. You know, if you look at the Times, and it's actually relatively okay, but positionally, it's just not a good look for him,

and I know he senses there. Yes, and some people on the internet don't agree with that analysis. We've probably both learned. Elsewhere at the team, Max Verstappen, there was some discussion as to whether 2026 was going to happen or not for him at the team. It seems almost definite now that he will be around for 2026.

Despite all of the chatter, did you think there was any realistic chance that he wouldn't be at the team? for the first year of the new regs? Yeah, personally, I mean, I said it from the outset on our pod that I thought he'd stay put. That's not to say conversations weren't happening with Mercedes. There were clearly negotiations between the Vastappen Camp and Toto

about his future, but just all sensibilities, and I'm not saying that's not always how things working for me, and obviously sensibilities often go out of the window. But you've got a new set of regulations. You don't know. He doesn't know who's going to be the best. It could be Red Bull surprise and have an absolute flyer. The suggestion is Mercedes power unit seems to be the best,

but how much sort of actual fact is there? We don't know. So the sensibility thing was always to sit tight in 2026, see what his options are. But you know that if Red Buller bad four or five races into next season and that conversation or stuff, where is he going to now? You know, that's in Neversby going to kick off again. So I think Max has put that to bed for the time being

with how he spoke on the Thursday in Hungary, but it could come back quite quickly. puts the pressure on Red Bull to deliver something next year because, you know, we've already spoken about the second seat and what they do about that. Replacing two drivers, that might be an even bigger task for the team. But yeah, I was more inclined to think that Vastappen would stick around. I think for a team that has won that he has been able to win four consecutive driver's championships, two of which were constructors championships as well, I think he would be doing himself a disservice not to at least see it out for the first year and work out whether. this new era was going to suit them as well as the current era has, at least up until sort of the last year and a bit.

Christian Horner might as well talk about him because 20 years as a team principal at Red Bull ever since their inception. And he was dismissed a little after the British GP, so not that long ago. I feel like it was a massive surprise to the extended F1 world, F1 community. Was it as much of a surprise for you? Yeah, it's a total surprise for me and also, I guess more pertinately for the team, but also for Christian Horner. You know, on the Saturday night of the British Grand Prix, he was hosting his two drivers, Uki and Max and their kind of extended circle at his house for dinner. You know, seemingly all is well with the world.

Obviously, they weren't in a perfect position, but it was business as usual. There was definitely unease there and it makes a bit more sense now looking back, been in Austria and Silverstone both of those weekends, but Austria I felt in particular there was a sense of unease. Both the team owners were there. I had a point where I was chatting to Christian after the race, and that was sort of ended as he was called upstairs to go and see the head honchos.

And you sort of think that's a bit weird at the time. And then suddenly you sort of connect the dots and was that the moment, but he wasn't, you know, apparently told then. He wasn't told until the day before he announced it to all of the Red Bull staff at the factory. But it was, it's not often we get those humdinger surprises in Formula One. And I would say that caught absolutely everybody unaware.

Yeah, I mean, you only have to look at the current set of team principles on the grid to know that 20 years in that role is a massive rarity. I haven't got the stats in front of me, but we're getting to a point where the likes of Fred Vassar and Stella are like the most experienced team principles on the grid outside of Toto Wolf with their current teams, which is insane given they've only, it seems like they're only coming into the role yesterday. So 20 years at the role for Christian Horner, I think it was always going to send shocks down the spines of F1. He's becoming a bit more like F1 managers, isn't it?

They don't, sorry, football Premier League managers. They don't last anywhere near as long as they used to. Yeah, it is a bit insane. I appreciate we've only had two races of Lauren Mecky's sort of coming into the role coming across from racing bulls. So we've had a limited time to see what he's going to do in the role. I know we've already discussed what he did for Sonoda's upgrade in Belgium. Any early indications from you as to what he's looking to do in this role? Is it going to be a continuation following the template of what Christian Horn has set?

Or is he going to take the opportunity to go evolve a bit? So he's talked to me and sort of publicly when he's been put on the spot about, you know, what is that ethos? And he doesn't want to stamp his identity or so he says on the team, It's about getting these great people who've done great things in the past and present as well to be able to do that to the best of their ability. He's like Mr. People person. He's affable, approachable.

If you talk to anyone on the team, that's exactly how they found him. He's charming. He's always got a smile on his face, always quick to say hello. So he wants to be that people person that everyone can approach. The bit, well, there's different aspects. The way he works is obviously different to Horner. I saw it particularly at the last race. I mean, I rock up to the circuit pretty early and he was missed him early as well.

Him and Helmut Marco were coming together. They'd start the day sitting down for breakfast and a coffee and chat through everything. And then from that point onwards, he was like someone on fast forward. He was everywhere, just racing all over the place. You know, see him in the energy station, then in engineering, then in the garage. It just seemed. And Marco talked about how he's doing sort of 14-hour days at the factory. Like this guy, and has a big job to do.

So he probably needs to put those hours in. So we talk about that approachability. I think Horner had that too. What Mechies has that's different is that technical background. He's a trained engineer, and that's what he's done in the past roles at Racing Bulls. And it's under other names at the FIA. And then he brought that technical expertise to Ferrari and now into the team. So that's going to be more, you'll see more of that.

And I think one, I spoke before how I didn't think we'd see changes immediately from him. but one thing that was a big change in Spa, for example, Yuki got given the new floor, and I don't think that was Christian's plan under his leadership. One thing I did like, I chatted to Paul Pedals Monaghan, and he's the chief engineer there, and he said, you know, Mechia goes so fast, he said literally physically cannot keep up with him.

He's just this ball of energy. So I like that because you need to bring something. You know, while he says he doesn't want to stamp his identity, you need to bring something different. And this energy is actually quite infectious when you see it. Yeah, I think people, will forget about Mecky's this like pre-Racing Ball's career, like how much he's actually done in this sport. Like you mentioned Ferrari, the FIA. This guy, he's experienced in this sport,

and it'll be really interesting to see what he brings to the team. I'm not sure if you, I haven't decided whether I'm reading anything into this or not, but we had at the Hungarian GP, Max Verstappen, stuck behind Liam Lawson in the closing stages of the Grand Prix. It's not unusual for racing balls drivers to, let's say, jump how. the way or not fight too hard from Max Verstappen behind whenever that's cropped up. Do you think it's just a case of the championship at the moment is not in the question, therefore it wasn't worth any kind of a call to the sister team? Or do you think that there's actually something more to it than that?

No, I think it's twofold. It's one, what you say about the championship. The other thing, I think, is there's sort of some stories doing the rounds about maybe talk about clamping down a little bit on sister teams with Mechia's being able to make that move across. and so perhaps there's a few more eyes, a bit more scrutiny on them, so whether that played a part. But I think essentially your first argument is probably the stronger point in there. Fair enough. Let's head to a quick break. On the other side, we're going to get into the Piastri and Norris debate.

Welcome back, everyone. Matt is still joining me here for Piastri versus Lando Norris. That's going to be a key discussion point as we go throughout this last 10 races of the season. We've got a few weeks now as the summer break, a good time to look back at the 14th. 14 races we've had so far in this battle and what's yet to come. Let's start with Oscar Piastri, holds the championship lead at the moment, albeit a slender lead, back down to single digits after Lando Norris's win in Hungary, indeed Norris winning three of the last four races before the summer break. But from Piastri's perspective, what do you think has, what's impressed you the most about Piastri so far this year? Any particular standout moments?

I know others have said it, but he is like the coolest customer in the world. He's just so unflappable. And I think as a championship ramps up and gets more tense and the pressure builds, that's going to come so important. You know, if he's going head to head with his teammate, that would be crucial. He had a, you know, not great starts of the season at his home race. Poor chap, things didn't go. We went awry.

Lando wins and I'm thinking, okay, this is Lando season. He jumped to these conclusions too quickly. But it was very impressive how he sort of turned that. around, I think, sort of Bahrain, Saudi, Miami, that, that period of dominance where he just, I don't remember him doing anything wrong. Do you know what I mean? I know Lando had his problems, but it was like he didn't put a foot wrong and that was incredibly impressive to watch. So that, that bit has really stood out for me, that little section. I'm not saying that he's fallen away since that point, but that was hugely impressive. Yeah, that was the same stretch of

races for me that alerted me to that this could happen for him this season because it's not like in 2024, we didn't see the pace from him, but it was maybe once every three races or so versus his teammate, which is not the case this year. He had highlights of Baku last year was great. He had a very good performance in Monaco as well, even if that didn't result in the race win. But as soon as he strung together some good results, you know, Bahrain, that might be his best race of the season. He absolutely crushed that one. Saudi Arabia was a bit more of a waiting game with Verstappen's penalty, just waiting for that one to take effect. And then Miami, able to overtake the Stappan with a little bit more clinically than Lando Norris was able to, and got very

unlucky, I think, in the sprint race there where Lando Norris benefited from a safety car. Otherwise, that probably would have been a full clean sweep, three races and one sprint race. From Lando Norris's perspective, what stood out for you about him? One of the things actually is the way he talks, you know, the honesty. had about, you know, he looked down in the dumps. He was like, you know, I'm not doing this right. I'm struggling with the car, honest about his sort of physical and mental frailties. And I thought, oh, that's a really bad thing on the first, you know, is that sign of weakness to Verstappen, to a piastri or what, but actually somehow, I feel that's made him

stronger because he's been honest and, you know, this is what you see is what you get, this is me, the true meaning he's being true to himself. And he's been able to turn it around. And a bit like the passage that we talked about with Piaspary. He's had his own good role. I guess stopping the rot in Imola, was it? Would have been a key moment. But he has been the better driving the last few race in terms of points, but then has he been a bit fortunate as well,

whether it be a strategy or what have you. I don't know, but I've been super impressed by him, his sort of mental resilience to bounce back when the pressure was really, really high on him. I don't know. How have you found? Have you been equally impressed with the two of them? I will admit I've been more impressed by Piastri so far this year,

not by a huge amount, but of the two. Obviously, he's the one leading the championship by a slim margin. I do kind of feel like even though he's leading, he has been on the worst end of some of the luck, particularly you reference similar. He was certainly in position there. The turn one or turn two, I guess, overtake from Max Verstappen, that was on him, but Norris essentially went to the right strategy that day.

Piastri didn't. Look at the most recent Grand Prix at Hungary, you could argue the same thing. Silverstone wasn't a lack of pace. That was, again, it's on Piastri, sure, but it's not, he didn't lose that race because Norris was outright quicker than him. That was an error he made. What I like about it is that Norris, so Piazari probably has seemed marginally the better, yet Norris is that close and he's got the momentum going into the summer break because

what just has had. happened at the last race. And I think that'll be, that'll be huge. And it's so, so exciting to see them come back and racing. And you know they're going to be the two that's fine for the wins pretty much for the rest of the season, you know, to see what we, what we can see in Zandvoort, and Monzaa and beyond. Yeah, I'm really looking forward to seeing who comes out on top. I was, I was quite worried after Canada, because I think at that point, it was already a pretty much foregone conclusion that McLaren were going to, we're going to coast to this one. At that point, you're thinking, right, we need a driver's championship battle to give us something towards the end of this year.

And Piastri did have a bit of momentum. I think across that Canadian Grand Prix weekend, Norris was the faster of the two drivers, but didn't nail qualifying, had to go to an alternate strategy, come back through the field to the point where he's directly behind Piastri. There's obviously the incident between the two of them that sees Norris retire and Piastri pick up 12 points. I was worried at that point that that could be the turning point in the season. It's not like this McLaren is struggling with reliability in the slightest. A non-score is pretty bad for either of them at any stage this season. And the fact that he bounced back, back-to-back weekends, Austria, he had to, he had the test of Piastri directly behind him.

At one point, directly side by side with him. And he stood up to that test. And then a home win, a British GP win, that's almost like the perfect. recovery you can possibly have from maybe the worst result of McLaren's season. So that's maybe where I've been most impressed with Norris so far. But it's amazing. You talk about Canada, that's the one coming together and straight up, Norris hands up, I messed up, sorry guys, which I thought was actually amazing because it just sort of shifted it quite quickly. And, you know, there was nothing more to discuss for the team's perspective. But the law of averages

will say they're going to come together. Like you can't not, you know, they're fighting fair and whatever else. But as the championship hots up, they inevitably begin to clash. I'm fascinated to see kind of how that plays out, the fallout from that potentially. Yeah, you would think we're with 10 races still to go, a few sprint races still to go. Surely at some point there is going to be a coming together. They're too close, pace-wise, not to. In terms of the relationship between them, I think we're two and a half seasons into their

partnership. They seem to have gotten along quite well. overall, not really any bustups within the team. With that championship getting closer and closer for both of them, is that really going to be put to the test? I mean, we've seen other very close relationships sell. I mean, Hamilton and Rosberg were virtually lifelong friends, weren't they going through the ranks?

And that got quite frosty. So, you know, you've got two incredibly competitive animals and both going for a first ever world title. I mean, how can that not blow up? How can there not be friction? It is credit to, you know, Stella and Brown and Co. McClaren that they've kept that also sealed

and to both drivers, that they're just so level-headed about it and the fairness. But anything, fairness will go out of the window when it's coming to the last few races and they're both still going for it? Yeah, I don't know. And the thing is, and it leads on to my next question

about how McLaren themselves will approach it, but from Norris and Piastri's perspective, if they've locked up the Constructors' Championship mathematically by Singapore, maybe something like that, there's less incentive to play the team game. It's not like, if they were in a close Constructors' Championship battle, perhaps the team have a bit more sway on the way in which they go racing. But if team-wise, they don't have to think too much about points for the constructors,

are Zach Brown and Andrea Stella, are they going to let them go for it? I think they'll be very clear sticking to their rules. You win on track, but you play fair. And if you go wrong of that, I mean, especially in the era of cost cap, you write off two cars. That's an expensive business, you know, so that that's not going to win them too many favors with the financiers of the team and with the mechanics. So I don't think that philosophy will change for the team and the messaging to those drivers. But in the heads of the drivers, they may go for things they wouldn't go for. You know, you're going to push on you.

These are competitive beasts that want to win the world title. So I think it'll come from the message you won't change, but how it's delivered on track by those two may change. Yeah, I think you're right. In terms of these last few races, Norris was, I'm not going to say he was in a championship fight last year. He was on the fringe of a championship fight, it felt like for the second half of the season

with a bit more pressure on him. Does that help him in any way? It's a good question. I guess you just get more experience from it. Yeah, it must help him. You would think he's got a bit. better understanding, I don't know, he seems like a bit of a sponge of information, all of that stuff helps him. But the one bit is, it feels like it's a bit now or never with him, because

you're talking about Norris, you know, helped from that experience, but Piastri clearly been helped from last year and he's got better. And you would think there's a little bit more for Piastri to go than maybe Norris, I don't know in terms of experience. So it feels like Lando kind of needs to do it this season or not. And I don't know whether he'll feel that internal pressure, whether he'll know that going in, and that might be a different interesting facet in the latter races as well. Yeah. And I guess for both of them as well, there's just no guarantee what the competitiveness of that car is going to be next year. I appreciate there's never any complete guarantee, but if we were heading into the last year of the regulations next year, they would both go into

this season. I'm not saying that they would change their approach, but there might just be something in the back of their mind to say, if it doesn't happen this year, there's a reasonable chance it can still happen next year, which might be the case for 2026, but might not. Yeah, but they don't know that now. You're quite right. I think that does make a difference. They literally don't know. In theory, they should be competitive. We think next year and they should have a quick engine, etc. But yeah, they don't know. And so it feels a bit all or nothing at the moment for them. Yeah, fascinated to see how that plays out. I have to ask you this question and I am going to hold you to this answer for the rest of the year and make sure I remember

it. Who is the favorite of the two of them? Who's going to do it? Well, with the bookies, I was looking at this and it changes, but Piastri is the marginal favourite, and I guess that's just simple mathematics. I don't know. Am I thinking with my head on my heart here? I'm going to go with Norris just because I can't help myself. He's British, my kids like him, that'll do. But I'm not sure if I was thinking sensibly, maybe I'd say different answers. What about you? Where are you? You're leaning more towards Piestri? I'm in a bit of a bind at the moment because at the beginning of the season, myself, the two co-hosts, do our sort of predictions. We say who's going to win the championship, who's going to win

each intra-team battle as well. And I was the only one who said Norris. The other two both said Piastri. And the problem is, in my head, I think Piastri is the favourite. But I feel like I should be like with my chest, like I'm sticking by my prediction at the beginning of the season to be right. So I'm in a real binder, real dilemma. Well, let's both go for Norris and we can be wrong together. You know what? That sounds like a great idea. I do also have to ask one final question as well that we put the pressure on. Can we now call you a friend of the podcast? Oh, always.

I was a friend before, but a closer friend now. That is a great answer. And we like to say it on air as well, so we give the guest absolutely nowhere to run. Who's going to say no to that question? So, you know. Imagine if someone did on a recording, that would be an awkward end to it. It would, yeah. It's a high risk strategy from me.

But thank you very much. Really appreciate you coming on the show, giving all your insights on Red Bull. and McLaren and we'll catch up, we'll catch up later in the season. Brilliant. Well, thanks for having us on. It's been, it's been fun. Brilliant. Thank you so much, Matt. On the other side, we've got the final part of today's episode. Welcome back, everyone. A big thank you to Matt for our chat just then. Really great insights from him. And we'll proceed with the show with some less great insights as we get into F1, back and forth. Oh, crap. I'm not ready.

Back and forth. It's F1. Back and forth, it goes backwards, then goes forth, it's F1, back and forth, F1. It's been a while, hasn't it, since we've played F1 back and forth? But here we are again, a number of correct answers to this question. Harry and Sam will go back and forth until they can't think of an answer or give an incorrect answer. And today I'm going to give you two strikes each. But today's question, I want you to name the 18 drivers, who have had a podium in 10 different seasons or more.

So not necessarily consecutive, but just 10 seasons of F1 where they have had a podium. A couple of points here. No sprint, we're not talking spring races here. So if they've had a podium and a sprint, that doesn't count. And it does include 2025. So if they've done it in this season that we're in right now,

that counts to this tally. And we'll start with Harry. Louis Hamilton. You know what? Louis Hamilton is a correct answer and he's number one on the list. 18 seasons with a podium all the way from 2007

until 2024. Of course, referring to our chat earlier, none in 2025 in a main race yet so we'll see if that street continues or not. 18 seasons with a podium, that is ridiculous. Could you imagine if this is the year he doesn't get one? Oh, no.

Oh, no. It is Ferrari. seems possible. Yeah, they just crush everyone's dreams. They do. Lewis Hamilton is a correct answer. Sam. Fernando Alonso.

Fernando Alonzo is a correct answer. 14 seasons where he's had a podium. So every year from 2003 until 2014. And then 2021 with Alpine and 23 with Aston Martin. Harry. Michael Schumacher. Michael Schumacher is second on the list, 16 seasons. every year from 1992 until 2006,

and then one more in 2012 in his last season in the sport. Sam? Vettel. Vettel, much like Alonzo, 14, every single year from 2008 until 2021. Harry? Max Verstappen. Max Verstappen has 10 exactly thanks to a podium this season,

so every single year from 2016 until the current season. That's mad by the way. Sam, he's only been here since 2015. Oh, yeah. Stupid. Weirdly, are they actually only 18? So, like, you haven't like,

that makes a lot of sense that they're only 18. No, there's actually 20, mate. He's just messing with us. We just cut them off for fun. Just fooling with you. Cool, blarmy, governor. Well, but it can be right in?

It comes the noises. Sam loves the nice. number 14 because you've picked out all three drivers that have 14 seasons with a podium. So Kimmy Reichen in every year from 02 to 09, 2012, 2013, and then every season from 15 to 18. Getty. Harry, back to you. Alam Prost. Alam Prost is a correct answer with 12.

He had a podium in every single season of his career apart from his debut year. So 1981 until 1991, you took a year off in 1992 and then got podium as well as the championship in 1993. Sam's counting on his fingers. Sam is counting. Senga? Sena is a correct answer with 10 exactly. I counted correctly. Every year from 84 until 93.

The only season he competed in where he didn't was the ill-fated 1994 season, of course. Harry? DC, David Cawthard. David Coulthard, much to my annoyance, is on this list. He had a podium in every year from 1994 until 2003. And then he also had podiums for Red Bull in 2006 and 2008. Honestly, just does it for fun, didn't he? Make something.

Could have done it more for fun. Would I want a championship. If you do something too much, it spoils it. So, yeah. Winning is the worst not to win a time. You want you to savor that one. Yeah, yeah. Saver in the podium.

Save with those 13 wins, DC. You can't always spoil your appetite. Nikki Louder? Nikki Louder is not a correct answer. Nicky! I will say there were a lot of near misses here on 9 and 8. I didn't write them down, but I suspect he's one of those. We'll never go.

we could know if we looked it up but more we'll never know Harry back to you how many we got left nine oh god Jackie Stewart Jackie Stewart is not a correct

answer I think his career was about nine years long maybe so I was thinking I thought he might have won every year but even if he did that's still wrong never mind. Yeah, so I imagine again, another near miss. So a strike each for Sam and Harry.

We're back to Sam. Mansell? Mansell is a correct answer, the only one on 13. So he had a podium in every year from 81 until 1992, and then also in 94 when he returned for Williams. Harry. Gerhard Berger. Gerhard Berger's a correct answer.

12 consecutive seasons from 1986. until 1997. Well, play Gerhard. Go on, Gerhard. Go on Gerhardt. Yeah. Respect, Gerhardt. Put some respect on Gerhard's name.

Valtteri Bottas. Valtry Bottas is a... Oh, man, I was convinced this was a correct answer. Oh, you've absolutely made you. I genuinely haven't intentionally baited you there. I really thought there was a correct answer. Hang on believe you've done that to me.

That is unintentionally cruel. I'm sorry, Sam. No. I've got to look it out. Fair enough. I can't believe I've been absolutely baited like that. 20. I reckon he's on about nine, maybe.

Yeah, I think Mike just has crept under there. He's on eight. Oh, that, damn. Two strikes for me. Two strikes Sam. That's what they call you. I don't know. Sounds like a you problem that.

Barichello. Barrequello is a correct answer. 12 seasons dotted around a bit. So 94, 95, 97, every year from 99 until 2005, 2008, and then 2009. Sam, back to you. Nico Rosberg. Nico Rosberg is not a correct answer. And I even knew it wasn't a correct answer this time.

we're improving. But yes, didn't get to 10, which means, Harry, you take the win. Any other names floating about? Not particularly. Massa? Massa's not a correct answer. Are there any more?

What eras are we talking here? We've got one very recent, as in they've had a podium, not this year, but last year. Had a podium? last year? Mm-hmm. Sergio Perez.

Sergio Perez, 10 years with a podium. So 2012, 2014 through to 2016 with Force India, 2018, and then every year from 2020 until 2024. So 10.

I'll give you the years for a couple of these. Another one with 10, 1997 until 2006, every single year. Happening? No. 97 until 2006.

I was shot. This name was here, but... Jacques Villeneuve? No. Yarno Trilly? No. Fizzichella? No.

Ralph Schumacher. Ralph Schumacher. Every year from 97 until 2006, Ralph Schumacher had a podium. Not Jean-Pier-Jabwee, but his best friend. Boots and Cats? Nah, the other one. Jacques Lafitte. Jacques Lafitte.

Yeah, every year from 75 until 82 and then also 85 and 86. The Constructors' Championship Leader at the moment? Bruce. Big Bruce McLaren, yeah. Two more. I'm not going to give any clues for this one for reasons that will become evident, but he got a lot of them in the 1980s. P.K.

Nelson P.K. Oh, yeah. And same era, but starting with a P as well. Petrazy. Petrazy, there you go. He had 12. Nearly saying something else. But Petrazi was in F1 for like 40 years, so he was always going to get there eventually.

Still going, again? Yes. And that's going to do it for back and forth. But I think we've got time for one little extra segment on this episode. I might go as far to say, it is the greatest. segment in all of podcasting. It is the Elby question of the week.

And that was a vast improvement from last week where we just didn't know what to sing and who to sing it. So good stuff. We're back to normal. Our question of the week was centered around Charlerler after it is disappointment, easy for me to say, at the Hungarian GP. What's he doing over the summer break to, you know,

pick himself back up? And there were a lot of great answers. As usual, some answers that are not going to be read for obvious reasons, but a lot of great answers. A lot of people saying lobotomy. Yeah, I've seen the word lobotomy more than I expected. More than I've seen it for a long time, probably. Yeah. Or ever.

Oh, Atari, that's just not getting on. Moving on from that one. You can see what I mean. You lot are wrongans. I feel like every time we say there's people challenge, to be more wrong. Stephen, that's not getting on, mate. Should we run for any that we'll get on?

Yeah, yeah, this one from Liam. This one from Liam's good. A paid trip to Clax and Pier. Oh, there we go. Yeah. That settles any qualms in life. A good answer here from Jacob. Look forward to the game-changing upgrade coming in Dubai,

which I'm almost certain will actually happen. Aaron Man 33 says five on five basketball games with him and Otmer's nine kids and I've checked out the math on that. That stacks up. That works. You've checked out the maths of nine plus one. Nine plus one.

You're like a laugh. You're bloody genius. I know. I know. I did math. I did mass at school. Jay Hammer says you should freeze himself in a cryogenic chamber. That's good.

Why not? James has gone with restoring the Austrian Empire. No more Hungary. No more Hungarian GP. and I can't fault that logic. Ostrohungry reference. Oh, wow. Bring back the Archduke.

Come on. Big up, Franz Ferdinand. Take me out. Ironically, they did. That's not getting on, mate. Bryce, that's really... It's too soon. It's not getting on.

Sorry, Frank. Give it some time. Got me having that. Got a more years at least. Got to let it rest in peace, poor France. Come on. Let my man fracked on a break. He's barely in the grave.

Come on. Come on. Come on. Goodness me. But were you about to say Mike Stevens one about a chubble a bubble bath? No,

I'm glad you raised it. So I thought that's what you were going for there. The word chubble. Chubble. Right. Terminal Vibosity. Go to the Winchester and wait for this altar blow up.

Oh, good reference. These reference. I like it. There's a lot of men in black references. It's part to say a lot of gifts of Will Smith here. Babysitting Otmar's nine children and the little rascals are a great stress reliever. Thanks Lewis.

Laura says, film a buddy movie with tired degradation cliff. It's a very new show. It's so much. Last one from me, from Nicholas going to hang out with Latifie and reminisce. I love how close they were. They're doing your fore.

And that photo of them two posing is great. The last one from me is from Lydia. Listening to the LB podcast, obviously. That's the correct answer, so well done. Well done. Well done. Any last ones from you, Harry? Final from me, Luke Thomas says he's going to watch the Shrekn trilogy,

which is a good plan, to be honest. No. No. Mercifully, I think that's the end of the episode. Sam, if you wouldn't mind gracing us with one of your excellent outros. Don't big up too much, mate. Thanks for listening, folks. We appreciate all the love of support.

Check out Patreon. We're in this summer break. You're lacking a little bit of content. Patreon is down in the link below. It's incredibly affordable over there. The rent is cheap and the entertainment is high. You get loads of extra episodes every single month. A double extra.

No ads on anything. Videos get included. Power rankings is there. You get birthday shoutouts on the top tier. A classic history grand prix. Begavely decided what that's going to be this month? No, but the poll is out there. Good stuff. That's how we do things here at Late Breaking.

Join the Discord where Dude Rainbow will greet you with open arms and we'll also be there to talk to you, I suppose. And follow us on social media, late breaking F1 everywhere. Thanks for Leskin. We'll see ya. Sunday for more F1 goodness. In the meantime, I've been Samuel Sage. I've been Ben Hocking and I've been Chubble La Bovell. Remember, keep breaking late. Mr. Charba Chauber.

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