The Late Braking F1 Podcast - Is Piastri now the 2025 title favourite?

Episode Date: April 23, 2025

The LB trio question whether Piastri is now the front-runner for the Drivers' Championship over Norris and Verstappen. They also break down Verstappen’s comments on his silence around his Jeddah penalty, react to Toto Wolff calling the 2026 engine proposals a “joke,” and unpack the latest resignation at the FIA. To wrap things up, it's time for another round of Back and Forth... FOLLOW us on socials! You can find us on YouTube, Instagram, X (Twitter) and TikTok SUPPORT our Patreon for bonus episodes JOIN our Discord community JOIN our F1 Fantasy League EMAIL us at [e-mail]   & SUBSCRIBE to our podcast! TIDE: Save more, earn more—up to 4.48% AER (variable). Interest rates are tiered, with the top rate for balances over £1M. Each tiered rate applies to the portion within that range. New Tide members get these rates free for 6 months; after that, your Tide plan’s rates apply. For full offer T&Cs visit tide.co/savings. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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We'd love to talk, business. Thank you for listening to the late-breaking F-1 podcast. Make sure to check out new episodes every Wednesday and every Sunday. Welcome to the late-breaking F-1 podcast presented by Harry Ead, Sam Sage, and me, Ben Hocking. We're here on a Wednesday and we're not previewing a race. What's going on? This doesn't feel right. I'll just best mates to talk about F-1. It always feels right.

Always feels good to be here. Harry E's back from Gay-O-Pourri! I'd you call me again? Oh, that joke has already happened. You don't even get the best retelling of it. No. Hello, folks. Hello, yes, I'm back.

It's good to be back. You see the Eiffel Tower? I did see the Eiffel Tower. I saw it from multiple angles, actually. Wow. Did you eat a baguette? I didn't eat a baguette, actually. Do you eat a hot cross bun?

Yeah. I had a French hot cross bun. What's that? A croissant? No, it's just French hot crossbun. Is that more insulting to the hot crossbun or the quoscent? Did you have a odd cuspun? This doesn't buy well, does it? No.

No, not cool. Harry, I'll be honest. I'm surprised you're back based on the F1 fantasy update that we'll be giving a little bit later on, but I'm very glad to have you here. Sacrableau. Coming up on today's episode, back and forth a little bit later on.

A few comments from Toto Wolf on the 2026 engine regulations. Max Verstappen and the way that he conducted himself after Saudi Arabia, we'll be talking about that a little bit later on. But let's start with the fight for the driver's championship. Obviously, early doors, we've only had five Grand Prix and a sprint at this point, but just 12 points separate the top three drivers in the championship. Oscar Piastri for the first time in his career leads the way on 19. points. There's 10 points clear of Lando Norris and 12 points clear of Max Verstappen.

And Oscar Piastri is now the bookmaker's favourites to win the driver's championship. So starting with the question, Sam, is he the favourite? I've worked out how to be a bookmaker. Not that kind of bookmaker. I meant more like a bookie. Whoever's already leading, you just make the favourites. That's how they've done it. They're not going to make Charlotte Clare are they? no fair point i've cracked it gambling one oh one i'm betting at your your shop man i'm gonna have i'm gonna make a lot of money two for a penny mate you come on in um is oscar piascri the favorite it's close it's very close it's you know with five races in it's pretty darn early to start shouting about who might actually

win a title or not and whilst that mcclaren is fast it is also rather silly and it can't seem to be good when it should be. We've seen it not be dominant. The fact that we've had five Grand Prix, we've had three different winners. They've not had a full lockout more than once of that front row. It's not being a consistent time

from McLaren at the very front. Max Verstappen has tormented them. George Russell has been right there. Charlotte Clare is beating one of them. It really isn't all been playing sailing. So it's quite early to start saying that someone is a definite favourite for the championship. But I do believe that Oscar Piaastro,

has the right mindset. We keep hearing Landon Norris go, oh, you know, I'm going to a championship fight, yeah, I'm not thinking about the championship, yeah, blah, blah, blah, blah. Wrong. That is not how you think about these things. You know, you're in it to win it, mate. You've got to play the game.

You've got to play the long game. You've got to earn the points. Be consistent. And Oscar Piastri is doing just that. I say it after Jedder, that they're having a 33-point swing between Race 1 and Race 5 for Piastri to Norris, where he had two points after Australia and Lando had 25,

And I always 10 points clear of him after Jeddah. That is the mindset. That is the motivation. And that is the method of a possible champion on how to claw that gap back. He's got a brilliant job. We're going to this mini two-week gap. He's going to be super motivated, feeling really overjoyed with the performances that he's put in. And the worst part, Philando Norris is, it's not just Norris versus Piastri.

Bloody four-time champ Max Verstappen was quite good at the Formula One also exists and is there. So while I think Piastri Pregust has the egg, she said that he is the currently, perfect combination of driver on form, great mentality, car works very, very well. Landler and Norris could have resurgence quite easily, and Max Verstappen is, as I just mentioned, Max Verstappen. So, yeah, it's not all playing sailing as your favourite, have fun. By to put you on the spot right now, who do you think is the favourite? It's definitely a case for it. Do you think it is? I will still go, nose ahead, Piascri.

Harry, is he the favourite? I am going to go with yes there's something about Oscar Piastri and his mentality which we've seen already in previous years but you know now that he is in a card that he's capable of winning all the time it's something about that he's so calm nothing phases that man that I just think he's got he's got

the right mindset and obviously all the other qualities that go alongside it to be a world champion. But I think that mindset is really serving him well. And especially when, you know, he's got Landon Norris who is certainly having an up and down time at the moment. And Vestappan who, yeah, I think the Red Bulls in the mix when they get it tuned in. But it's still a difficult job for him. And as we saw on, you know, in Saudi Arabia, he had, he, he, you know, not that he lost his temper, but it was a, it was a,

it was a slightly rash, rash move into turn one from, for Verstappen and that cost him. So, um, I honestly think unless, unless Mercedes and Ferrari suddenly turn it around and find that a little bit more extra pace, I'd say, I'd say Piastri is the favourite because I think he can, if he has the car, that, that same car underneath him for the rest of the year, I think it's going to be difficult to stop him. And that's not to say he's going to go off now

and win every single race for the remainder of the season. I don't think that's the case as all. But even in the races where he's not winning, I think he'll still pick up valuable points and be consistent. So honestly right now, going by his current form, I'd go with yes,

because I just think the momentum is behind Piastri in a way that it hasn't been behind anyone else so far this year. he obviously had Norris after round one who won the race in Australia didn't translate into the next one. Stappan who won the race in Japan, which was obviously brilliant, but it didn't translate into the next race, whereas Piastri just is picking up these wins and the momentum's going with him.

So I'm going to go with yes. 100% there is definitely a case to say that Piastri is the favourite right now, based on what we've seen over the first five races of this season. And at this point, I think Piastri is, just doing all of this to defy all of my expectations that I seem to put on him every season because I say he'll be this level. And then every single year he's like, no, I'll be better than that, actually, and making me look like a fool, which I can respect a lot.

But I identified two reasons as to why I was hesitant to make him a favourite for the championship before the season and two things he needed to improve on. And he has improved on both of them. Firstly, I said he can't be anti-Sanoda, which to give a bit more context as to what that means. Yuki-Sanoda, we regularly make jokes, can only do the start and the end of the season. And what we saw from Piastri last year was he was pretty good at the middle part of the season, but didn't start particularly well, even versus Lando Norris when the McLaren wasn't at its best. And he didn't end the season particularly well either.

Well, he's kind of dispelled that with these first five races, because after five races last year, year, he was on 38 points and Lando Norris was on 58, and Lando Norris had beaten Oscar Piastri in five of the six sessions that they'd raced in. This year, he's obviously 10 points ahead is Piastri, and he's beaten Lando Norris in four out of the six competitive sessions that we've had so far. So that box can be well and truly ticked. The other one that I was a bit hesitant on was his qualifying form, because last year, he was outqualified by Oscar Piatry, 21, 3. after five races, he's already on three. Like, he is far and above what he was last year.

Great start. Yeah. So he's got the same number of out-qualifyings of Lando Norris as he did all of 2024. He's put one foot wrong in five races. And I mean, yes, he's got a great car, but he is, other than that one error in Australia, he's put one foot wrong all season.

And that bodes well for the rest of the year. Would I put him as favourite? I'd still lean max for stepping. You're a fool. He's 12 points back. He is 12 points back in a time where that car is not on the level of McLaren. And if you're asking me now, is there a chance that the gap widens or narrows between McLaren or Red Bull? I think it's more likely to narrow than it is widen.

I'm not, who knows what happens for the rest of this season. and we don't know what the technical directive is going to be in Spain, how that's going to shake up the order. But even if the competitiveness of both cars remains about the same, based on these five races, Vastafan's going to be there or thereabouts. So I'm still hesitant to go away from him just yet. I think what's crazy about the Stappan is when you look at his season so far,

the only negative he's had is Bahrain where he's finishing six. Was it six? I think it was. Yes. Yes. And the car was so horrendous, so out of tune that if he were to finish even in his normal position of the podium, he would be, what, five points away from Oscar Piastri? That is quite scary.

Yeah, he's just finding a way to still be competitive, which is why I will leave it a few races yet until I fully move away from my Vestappen Drivers' Championship prediction. Looking at all three drivers, Sam, in this championship fight as it is at the moment, How will each be feeling before we go to Miami? I think Piastri, we've always spoken about how strong mentally he is, but I think he'll use this just to continue that. I'm sure Mark Weaver and Zach Brown will be very much,

kind of like, you know, more of the same, keeping his spirits high, you're doing a great job. And if it is more of the same, if he repeats these results in the next five races, he'll be 20 points clear. And if he has it again, the other five races, 30 points clear. It's good this, isn't it? This is good maths.

Really solid. So it's, you know, the formula is working. This is the formula. And he needs to keep applying it. He will keep being successful. So more of the same from Piastri. Max and Lando will be in a very different world, I think. The difference between them is Max Verstappen has got experience in these situations to fall back on.

He has had to go into championship fights where he's not been leading. He has had to be in a car, which he is one races in that isn't the most powerful or the most dominant car. he has been up against some of the greatest drivers in the world, i.e. Lewis Hamilton, and he's had to overcome that. Landon Norris has had half a title fight last year in the first time around, and he was up against Max Verstappen at the peak of his powers. It didn't quite work out. This is the first time ever that Landon Norris goes into a season with the favorite car,

arguably was the favorite driver at the start of the season, and his results are first, second, second, third, fourth. They're tumbling the wrong way. So he will be feeling quite low. I'm sure that he'll be looking at trying to alter his mindset in this mini break and come back in Miami feeling much more confident, much more jeed up, and ready to take it to Max and Oscar. I think when it comes to Piastri, I was going to say he'll be overjoyed,

but I'm not sure that's an emotion he does, but he'll be as happy as Piastries can get. He has, as mentioned, made the biggest error out of the top three drivers so far this season. and yet he's still the one that's leading the championship. If you were to eliminate the worst result for each of the top three drivers, Piastri would be leading this championship by 18 points to Vestappan and 20 points to Lano Norris. So he is in a great spot. I think the next sort of five or six races are going to answer some more questions

about Biashtri's chances across this full year. Because if we look at the same five or six races last year, we had Miami, where of course Lando Norris won, Piastri had good pay. but didn't get a good finish there. Imola, Lando Norris is one second off victory. Piastri is 14 seconds back. Spain, Norris is second, two seconds off the win.

Piastri is 7th. He's 33 seconds back. Canada, again, Norris is second. Piastri's fifth. And then Austria, Lando Norris was fighting for the win. Piastri inherited second place, but I think we all came out of that Grand Prix saying the same thing,

which is Piastri should have been the one to really win that Grand Prix after the Vostappan and Norris crush happened. if he can improve on his results year to year, just as he's done in the first five races, he's in a great spot because after that we get into some races that he was good at last year. We get into Monza and Baku,

races where not only was he level with Norris, and some of these he was better than him. So he's got to be in a good spot if he gets through the next five or six races unscathed. Norris, he'll be frustrated, but same for Vastappen, really. They're both within 12 points of the championship lead. there are 19 races to go in this season and five sprints.

There's a lot of points still to play for. None of them needs to be catastrophizing what's happening right now. Harry, your thoughts on where maybe Norris and Vastapenar as they head into this next set of races. Yeah, I mean, like I said, neither of them need to be catastrophic. How can I even say it? Panicking. Panicking, we'll go for.

About their. situation right now because yeah like you said there's so many points left on the board and despite the fact that overall mcclaren have had the quickest car it has been by no means a dominant a dominant thing for them barrain being the most dominant so far it's still been super close in qualifying and even in races i mean look how far behind this was at the end of soudi so i think this we're still in for a super super close championship. Don't fancy one an exciting championship.

Don't also you panic yet that we've had two Piastri wins on the bounce. I think we've still got a long way to go here. And yeah, I think Norris and Vestappen will have the same attitude. Vestappen especially. He's been in this position before. You know, he's done this a few times now.

Norris less so. But again, Norris just sometimes needs a little bit more self-belief, I think. And he'll just, not that he should be panicking or putting pressure on himself, but I think he just needs a clean weekend just to just to reset himself. And I think, yeah, like you said, this break now will be,

will be good for him just to take a step away and reset somewhat and be ready for Miami. And Miami being a good place to come back and do this, given that he won his first ever race there just last year. So it's a nice place for him to come back to. This is a complete side note, but someone made this point on Twitter the other day. that we're sort of witnessing like a proxy war of Mark Weber versus Sebastian Vettel again through Norris and Norris and Piastri, which I quite enjoyed.

Obviously Piastri's manager is Weber and there's a few comments made by Lano Norris about how much him and Sebastian Vettel texts, which I quite enjoyed. What does that make Max Westappen? Your mum. Oh, good one. So I guess. Added to the Damon Goaway zingers. Yeah, I see so.

I might retire. I can't get up. Son, my knees. My kneecaps are gone. I reckon David Go away is the best thing I've ever said. He retired after that. Yeah. Fair.

Do you want to know who my mum's favourite driver is? I'd love to. Oscar Biosk a bit. Okay, she doesn't watch any races at all. Her favorite driver is Isaac Hadjar. Woo! Because she lost the brislet. No, her favorite driver is Isaac Hadjar

because she saw the clip of her. Cajar crying after Australia. And now every single race, after every race we can, she'll be, how did my boy do? Is he crying again? So I think she might have adopted him. Oh, I think are you brothers with Isaac Hager? I am now.

Her and Anthony Hamilton have just, yeah, fostered him. This is our child now. That is how related to both Isaac Hajar and Lewis Hamilton. That's all, mate. Good job. You've had a good week, then. You know what? I've had worse weeks.

I feel like that's a very natural segue into this first break. On the other side, we're going to be chatting about Max for Stappen. Max Papapa. Maxpah. But, but... Bapababab. Bha. Grazie, Rackackackack.

Welcome back, everyone. Understandably, as part of our Saudi Arabian Grand Prix review, we spoke about the first corner incident that happened between Oscar Piaastri and Max Verstappen. What happened, mate? In what was the first, everyone agreed. Absolutely everyone agreed with the outcome. come. We had Vastappen get a five-second penalty, which certainly played into the end result of the race. But today we were going to talk about his reaction afterwards, because he cut his media interview as being part of the podium quite short with old D.C., David Cuth. And he was asked in the

FIA press conference why he did not give the place back to Piastri a little bit later on. Vastappen replied, I think it's better not to talk about it. Anything I say or tried to say about it might get me in trouble. Verstappen also said he's being more cautious with his words as he doesn't want his comments twisted. He said it has to do a social media in general and how the world is. I prefer not to talk a lot because sometimes your words can be twisted or people interpret it in a different way.

It's honestly better not to say too much. So that's what I'm trying to do. It's just the world we live in. You can't share your opinion because it's not appreciated apparently or people can't handle the full truth. You can't handle the truth. Some interesting comments there. Harry, what do you make of them?

There's lots of things to unpick here. Firstly, I agree. I think Vestappen has a general mistrust of social media. I was to say the media then. I don't blame actual journalists here because I just report on what he says. It is the good people or just the people of social media. Definitely just the people. Just the people.

Are we the bad people? So I understand, I think he's less, when he says about getting to trouble, I think he's less worried about the whole swearing thing, to be honest, because I don't think he cares about that. I think this is more just about the fact

that a lot of times his comments are often taken maybe out of context. He often does say things in the heat of the moment, but these are all the things we like about Maxfuss-Tappen as a driver, I think. I enjoyed as well the cool down room for what feels like the first time in a long time. It wasn't all happy smiles.

Oh, ha ha ha ha ha. That was great. Yes, come on. Come on. Crazy each other. Have some beef. I won Fernando Alonzo Felipe Massa European GP 2007 every time.

But yeah, I liked that. It's a bit of theatre to it. And this is, again, Verstappen is, you know, a pure racer and, and he is annoyed about the fact that he's lost out, maybe it feels it was unjust,

but lost out on a race win. And I think, you know, a lot of the time it might come across as, I don't know, spoiled or, um, quite cold.

But then people said a lot of the same about Michael Schumacher and they probably don't anymore. So I, I don't have. too many issues with that. The thing that does maybe surprise me is, I guess, is his, and maybe now he's, you know, he's had a few days to cool down off the back of it. But Vestappen has been gaming this system, i.e.

the first to the apex system for a while now. And for the most part, let's call it 90% of the time. He's done all right out of it, I think. He's done okay. There's bound to be some times where this happens. now the whole the whole notion of this as a rule is a complete different issue but in terms of in terms of what this happened is doing um what he did he's just he was just trying to play the system and it and it backfired this time it hasn't worked so i don't think and again i feel like he won't be now but i don't think he can actually be too annoyed and i was maybe

slightly surprised he was that annoyed afterwards but again like i said it's all heat at the moment stuff and and that's what we want from our F1 drivers. I mean, we've already said Piastri is the calmest man in the world and I can't imagine it being like that. But that's why we like F1. It's all these different characters that play out.

You have the cool calm collected, Oscar Piastri, the furious Max Vastappen and just Charlotte Claire drinking his water looking handsome. That's why we watched the sport. So, yeah, I don't have too much against this for Vestappen.

I understand why he said these things about not saying too much. He's had past, experience of or bad past experience of his words being twisted. It's worth noticing as well within the press conference. Like he was very complimentary of Oscar Piastri in the race that he drove. So whilst there was obvious frustration that didn't stop him from, you know, giving props to the driver that beat him on the day, Sam, your initial thoughts on his comments

and the way he conducted himself after the race. I have to agree with Harry. Firstly, I'm going to thought watching someone drink water can make me so thirsty, but gets me every single race. Have you seen the video of the, someone's taking the video of the cameraman, how close he is to LeCleur's face. I would be like, go away.

Bro, I'm just for a glass of water. Anyway, sorry, enough about sexy LeCleur and more about... Stupid sexy LeCleur. Stupid sexy LeCleur. Nothing at all. Max Verstappen is... He's a really...

It's really hard to describe him in a way that I think encapsulates him properly. He's a very black and white man. He sees the rule book. He absorbs Formula One in his basic, almost like ones and zeros. He looks at it as a system to crack as a way to beat it. And I quite admire that because it's kind of, you know,

I'll understand the rule set down to the full stops and where they are on the page. And I'll use that to my advantage. We've heard him come out over the radio numerous times of, this code doesn't work like this. They've broken this rule. I've done this and it's completely compliant. with the rules set.

And rules have they had to be changed after Max Verstappen has done something because he is rightfully gone. No, no, you'll see that I followed the rule. You may not like it, but you wrote the rule and I've done it that way. So the fact that it's flipped it on its head a bit and he feels like he's been bitten

by a rule that I think he now doesn't agree with because of what's happened previously must be very frustrating. And I can see why he's gotten frustrating over it and that's the way he is. I also think Max Verstappen is very admirable in the way that you just brought up, Ben, how, well, he actually speaks about his competitors and the people he's on track with. He could not be more fair, more complimentary. He

will only really have beef with you about what's going on on the racetrack. He tends to let it live, move on with himself after a Grand Prix. And I have to put some blame on the FIA for being so overly clamped down on what can or can't be said or how it should be said or what should be approached or what isn't isn't deemed acceptable or rude or appropriate to talk about. These are just people. They're just normal people. And it's not fair that we... I know it.

I know what you're going for. Why are you laughing? Come on. Speak it out. Just normal men. Citizen men. Just normal men. And we shouldn't necessarily put these individuals up on a pedestal just because

they're sports people, right? They didn't go into Formula One to be role models and inspiration. They got into Formula One because I'm like racing cars fast and they won or win their title. You don't have to be a generation's hero of how to be a role model. And I think Max Stafford does a very good job at being fair and understanding the letter of the law. And I think he's rightfully very frustrated that this organisation that he once loved and wanted to be a huge part of has always turned us back on him a little bit. and the regulations have changed so much, it's shut him down.

So whilst I personally wouldn't act this way and go cold and quiet like this, I don't blame him for being like this either. I think it makes sense. I hope he comes back out of his shell. I hope we hear more from him because we love him. But, yeah, big of a shame that it has caused this reaction. Yeah, I think it's a shame because I always want to hear what any driver or team boss or anyone within the sport has to say about an incident.

or about a race. And whenever we don't get that, I feel we lose something collectively. And regardless of whether you agree with Max Verstappen or disagree with him or think he's a hypocrite, unfortunately, again, from Saudi Arabia, everyone agreed with the first corner. So there wasn't that this weekend.

No controversy whatsoever. I don't think it really matters what your personal opinion of it is. You want to hear the insight from the driver because then, you know, you can gain the driver. driver's opinion, gain the team boss's opinion, form your own opinion, and that we can discuss. And that's what this sport's all about. And we don't get that here. And I do think that it's twofold. I think part of the reason why Vastappen is hesitant to talk in situations like this is number one, fear of penalty from the FIA, and number two, fear of his words being twisted on social media.

In terms of fear of penalty, whilst the swearing thing is quite cut and dry in that if you don't swear, you're not going to get penalized for that specifically. But this is the problem with the FIA's new misconduct rules that they brought in at the beginning of this year when they said, and I'm quoting this, any words that have caused moral injury or loss to the FIA can be penalized. Well, what on earth constitutes moral injury or loss? The FIA can probably claim any number of things have done that. And as a result, it just makes sense for someone like Vestappen to say nothing.

And it's sad that that is the safest thing for someone like the Stappen to do. I'd like 20 drivers who aren't afraid to be themselves, who aren't like cardboard cutouts and saying the same thing. I want drivers to be authentic to who they are. And anything that stops that, I'm going to be against. And from a social media perspective, and I think there's part of part of his comments are related to that. I understand the frustration.

And it's why we are quite careful with the topics that we pick and trying to make sure that the quotes that we get in at the beginning of a segment include all of the necessary sentences, everything to give it a fair chance. And sometimes it's not 100% easy to do. And there are plenty who are guilty of not doing this. I've seen so much after this weekend, as an exam, for example, relating to Lando Norris, Piastri's asked in his press conference,

oh, Lando Norris has said that Red Bull have the fastest car. What do you think? Those words never left his mouth. Yes, he said that Vastappen was the fastest on the day. Yes, he said that the gap is not as exaggerated as some people make it out to be. And he says that Red Bull and Ferrari are in the mix. But at no point does he say, Red Bull have the fastest car. And yet Oscar Piesti is here in a press conference asked about a quote that never happened. So I understand whether Stappan's frustration is coming in here.

Absolutely. Shall we move on to an F1 fantasy update? Let's go. Harry? Sure. Oh, Harry, you seem, yeah, less happy. I'm always happy. We'll see about that.

Before we get into how we've done, congratulations to no fewer than seven. drivers, seven drivers, seven participants in our F-1 Fantasy League, who shared the top score from Saudi Arabia. They are, Toykoshma, still-eye-rise blessed, Scuderia Barnacut, which I really hope is a play on Malcolm Barnacut, and if it's not, it's really disappointing. The Pasca King. Make Ginger Great Again, LVZ Indy, it makes signs, and Charles Le Kerr.

Well done to all seven of you. in terms of the season rankings ter dynamo has gone back to the top on 1,233 50 shades of papaya is now second and McDreams is third and the four of us I improve just by a whole eight positions to 148th

Cheers Pierre Gassley not helping me out there but I've gone up by eight positions Harry Yeah You're not going the right way I just want to make sure that the reason you're going the wrong way is not because you think that's what you need to do

Oh Just go up Yeah yeah That's ironic for the team that's called The Only Way is Up Yeah because they've gone down By 352 positions this week To 1,486

It's not a deal It's not I blame Pierre Gasti. Still second, mate. You are still set. Top half. I'm not sure if that might be the last time we're able to say that, so enjoy it. I'll take it.

Five races in. It's been good. It's been real. Sam, the comeback is real. You're up 196 positions to 1,704th. Let's go. You're on your way. I'm on my way.

From misery to happiness today. I'm on my way. There you go. Thank you to the proclaim. It's a shame actually They're not part of this league Either as two teams or one I like to think they were co-managed

You think they would one one team? I think they would work on it together One we do constructors One we do drivers Just the proclamer They have a flight solo They're always plural One's called pro

And the other one's called claimer Yeah sure And Kirsty you're still last But you are closer to Harry So up 72 positions positions, 1,877th. Distancing yourself from the ranks of the 2000s as well. The fodder.

You were both part of two weeks ago. Hey, we've moved up. We've got Harry right where we won him. Yeah, maybe you do. Yeah, it's getting very close there. And I'm just like scampering away hoping that I'll continue. Yeah, all right. Why'd you get in, mate?

Why'd you neckin? Yeah, I'm just, let's keep going. Let's keep going. We've got just over 2,500 people in the Fantasy League. So thank you to everyone who's already joined. And it's not too late if you want to be a part of this. The link, all the information is in the description. So come along and see if you can beat all four of us.

We're going to take our second break at this point. On the other side, we've got some comments from Toto Wolf about the 2026 engine regulations. Welcome back, everyone. Mercedes has slammed proposed changes to F1's 2026. engine rules as a joke. Ahead of the Saudi GP, it was reported that F1 bosses will meet with teams to address concerns over cars potentially running out of energy under the upcoming hybrid rules. The issue centers around the planned 50-50 power split between the internal combustion

engine and the battery, and critics fear this setup could leave cars underperformed on long straits at high-speed tracks, such as Monza. Whilst some manufacturers think the current rules are sufficient, there are others that disagree. and the FIA is now reviewing the situation, and a major regulation change will be discussed at next week's F1 Commission meeting. Toto Wolf commented on this, saying, reading the agenda of the F1 Commission

is almost as hilarious as reading some of the comments that I see on Twitter about American politics. I really want to protect ourselves and make no comment, but it's a joke. So, do you agree with Toto Wolf here, or is he just protecting Mercedes interests? What do you think? It's been quite expressive, hasn't he, old Toto?

He's come out the gates flying on this one. I can see both sides of the argument here. I think if there is a genuine either safety concern or an overriding entertainment concern from Formula One and the FIA, where they think either racing would be significantly worse because of this effect that's going to happen where cars will essentially run out of power as they get to the end of straits. Or some cars will run out of power

and some won't, or we might see too high closing speeds, and that might be a difference because of the lack of power being generated by the battery, and that's a safety issue, then yeah, that should be changed. Anything that's going to cause poor safety for the driver should be changed. On the other side, Mr. Cototow Wolf, you make quite good engines, don't you? You generate quite a lot of power from those engines.

And if there's a place where your competitors might suddenly struggle at the very top end of speeds, I fear you may like to have an advantage once again. Because last time you had an engine advantage going into a new set of regulations, you think you might have won a couple of races, if my memory served me correct. So I could definitely see why you'd like to get ahead in the new regulations. There is also a cost to this. You know, there's going to be a lot of developmental stuff that's going into these current engines

and it's going to have to be changed quite rapidly with the new, what month we're at the moment? April. Right. So for another eight months, that's real. That's got to be made. That's got to be put into production. There's a lot of changes that might need to take place with R&D. Cost cap might possibly need to come into this, of course.

So that's frustrating for them. I understand that. But for the most part, I think Toto is quite happy with his engine. And I don't think he wants it disrupted. Harry, are you looking forward to cars shifting down to seventh gear, halfway down the straight of Monza? See, it's the only thing I've ever wanted from F1, actually. Yeah.

Yeah. Look, Toto may seem like a charitable fellow. He may seem like he has the sports interest at heart. Oh, no, wait. He's got a share of Mercedes. Oh, he owns a third of it. Sorry, I forgot that part. Yeah, look.

There's big hands, they're misleading. Big hands. Holds a lot of stocks and shares in them. Yeah. Look, I don't believe, for a word, for a minute this is this is a or Toto just trying to protect the interest of Formula One or the show or even a safety I think this is purely purely in Mercedes interests and

don't blame him because that's literally his job so um yeah I'm I'm undecided whether he's he's he's saying this because he's worried because they've they've got the issue or they don't want any changes because it's a well we've got it right and no one else has so um i'm undecided on that one so far i think look there are general concerns murmurings of concerns up and down up and down the pit lane i read i saw something this week that you know it may be that they they reduced the actually the amount of electrical energy these uh these engines will use to to try and avoid this problem but as he says sam 2026 i mean i know we're only in april but in f1 r and d terms that ain't

far away. That's tomorrow, mate. Basically tomorrow. So that decision needs to come sooner rather than later for sure. But yes, I don't believe for a second. This is Toto trying to protect Formula One. This is him protecting his, his, I don't say his bank balance. That's unfair.

But he's a competitor. He wants to go, he wants to win. And given where Mercedes have been over the past few years, I can understand why he wants to ensure that he and the team have a big advantage once again going into this new regulation. I can't believe we're doubting noble Toto warfare. Noble Toto. Shame on both of you.

Oh, he's just looking out for the sport. He doesn't care about his own competitiveness. On the surface, this definitely sounds like Mercedes might have an advantage in this department and don't want to lose it. I can't see this being like a, it's not going to be a budgetary annoyance, is it? It's not going to be, we've spent all this money doing this and now we have to But it's not going to be that. It's going to be they have an advantage where others apparently don't.

What doesn't 100% add up is that Andrea Stella was also asked about this, of course, part of McLaren who have Mercedes Power Units and will continue to have Mercedes Power Units into next year. He was a lot more measured and he was a lot more, he wasn't necessarily advocating for a change, but he said we have to think about the sport first and saying all of the lines that we were just laughing at Toto for not saying. And of course, you'd think if Toto Wolf and Mercedes have an advantage, McLaren might want to stay silent and take a part of that because it will only be them and Williams that can take advantage of it outside of the factory Mercedes team. So that one brought a couple of questions. But yeah, my instinct here is still that Toto Wolf is trying to

protect Mercedes interest. It is a bit of a dilemma because the sport needs to come first. Absolutely. And if a change is needed, whether that's temporary or permanent, then you are going to need to make that change sooner rather than later. As you said, 2026 in regulation terms is tomorrow. In fact, some will probably argue, including Toto Wolf, it was yesterday and it's too late already. And I don't know whether anything will happen from this, but am I about to trust the FIA? Oh, God. Oh, God. Oh, God.

I was just going to say that surely the FIA and F1 collectively wouldn't have put everything together in terms of the regulations to this point to now find out about a potential issue of cars not being able to go full pale down a straight at Monza. Like, would they not have strongly detected that sooner? You would hope and think. But the more I say it, the more I'm doubting myself. So, yeah, we'll see what happens here. but Toto Wolf doesn't sound very happy, does he?

Question. Do McLaren and Williams also take the battery from Mercedes? Oh, good question. Yeah, I would assume so, but it's a powered train, right? Yeah. Okay. Because obviously, if Stella is quite happy to debate it and Toto is quite passionately against it,

I wonder if there was some difference in technologies rather than being straight from the engine. Yeah, I think it's all one and the same and you get down to gearboxes where some decide to make their own or take the other teams. But yeah, I'm pretty sure everything's all clumped into,

as Harry says, one power tree. Let's move on. And I appreciate this news that we're about to talk about is like three weeks old, but there was no way we weren't going to get this on an episode somehow. We've been busy with previews and reviews,

but we have to discuss the news that Robert Reid, the FIA's deputy president has resigned. Oh, Robert. Yeah. Right, breaking. Late breaking. Really late, late and bold. Do you know how late breaking we are?

They've announced the replacement. Anyway, Robert Reid has resigned. In his statement, announcing his resignation, Reid made it clear his decision to resign was a matter of principle. He said, I took on this role to help deliver greater transparency, stronger governance and more collaborative leadership. Over time, those principles have been increasingly set up. aside and I can no longer in good faith remain part of a system that no longer reflects them.

Stepping away was not easy. However, staying would have meant compromising what I believe in. This is about principles, not politics. Motorsport deserves leadership rooted in integrity, accountability and respect for process. That's the minimum standard we should all expect and demand. The FIA acknowledged Reid's departure, saying it is grateful for Robert Reid's contribution to the FIA and to motorsport more widely. They also said the FIA has exceptionally robust corporate governance policies

which guide our operations and ensure our rules, practices and processes are adhered to. Harry, your reaction to the news? Ooh. It's quite a savage old resignation letter that one, isn't it? Damning, I think. He didn't just say, I'm leaving. He could have, but he didn't. yeah look that's that's that's that's that's as damning as it gets really for for the fia or or our

favorite ben in the world after ben hooking yeah i i know they've announced the replacement and good luck to malcolm wilson just i mean a great name to have as uh to be fair to me he's had a lot of success over in rally as as a big malc um but yeah that seems like a bit of a bit of a cursed curse role to go into. Yeah, it's fairly damning. And this, you know, this is only a few weeks after we had Dave Richards come in with his refusal to sign the NDA. Which Robert Reed also refused to sign.

There you go. So it's another, it's another bad luck for the FAA and Mohamed Ben Silliam, you know, especially about collaborative leadership and transparency. see. It's not where you want. It's making him sound like a dictator actually. Oh, he's right at the D word. Oh, yeah.

It's not a good look in the world. But yeah, look, it's just, you know, I'm sure they'll try and brush it off as a bad egg, as bad leaders often do. But I suspect this probably won't be the last person who writes this sort of resignation letter. And yeah, just it doesn't look good. and as I say, best of luck to Malcolm Wilson,

but I fear that bigger change needs to happen. Well, we've been said it for a while, but bigger change needs to happen within the FIA and not just replace that person with someone else you like because I fear other people will go the same way and maybe this will be a domino effect that will happen. This might mean nothing as well, but Malcolm Wilson getting the role,

obviously quite prominent in British motorsports, which I thought was interesting given David Richards' opposition again another big name in British motorsport. Sam, your thoughts on the news? To echo a good friend of mine. Yes, not ideal if you're Mohammed Bengh Suleim. And look, you can't spell dictator without

Tater Tatar. Tatar. Oh, wow. Exactly. And that is exactly what Mohamed Beng Silliam is. He's cooked like a Tater Tartre Tart. right now. It's such a top.

It's such a top. And look, he's not going the way he wants it to go. He's like a lot of senior figures who are very well trusted across motorsport. Come out against him.

Reed is just another one in the more recent years that he's been at the president of the FIA. And we're going down quite a dangerous path where a lot of people who have Formula One and wider motorsport

in its best interests are either being removed or removing themselves from the FIA. And it's going to start leaving a pool of individuals who work there. who are quite happy to be submissive under Ben Silliam

and just accept that I'm in a kushky job role with a cushy title, I get a nice old paycheck, and Ben Silliam likes me, and things end up running the wrong way, and we continue to then get ruling such as, don't swear, don't say anything meaning against the FIA, if you have a different opinion. And that's worrying,

because you need people to stand up and speak out and make sure that the greater interest from spectators, from drivers, from teams, from all angles are being catered for. And this isn't just one man's belief system in how he thinks motorsports should be run, being carried out without any opposition. So I'm actually quite gutted that Reid's left. I think that he was a great servant to the FIA. He regularly had Formula One to address at his heart.

I do think that this is going to be an overall real negative. And it's going to be very interesting to see where the FIA goes from here. or everything. It's kind of six months to a year if anything changes. We're here in a bloody election. Getting him out. That's it. Turfed outside. Just to add my thoughts in here as well. Yeah, this is a shambles, isn't it?

To be clear, Mr. Reid is not an insignificant figure. We're talking about not only a resignation from the FIA. we're talking about someone who not only backed Muhammad Ben Sulean at the last election, he was on the ticket with him. Again, he was the deputy president, like, similar to the vice president in the United States. Like, he is there as the right-hand guy. This isn't some random lackey, like residing. Like, this is a serious resignation.

And I don't know whether he was sold a pack of lies from Muhammad bin Sulean about what he would do, and then it just hasn't happened, or whether he is maybe quite cleverly seeing where everything is heading in an election year and realizing, well, I should probably change up this gravy train right about now. I'll pick another one.

Change up the gravy train. I love that. I don't know where it is on that scale, but it's going to be something like that. And he's a big time ally. And I do think this domino effect that we've spoken about will continue to happen. As soon as David Richards voiced his disapproval,

maybe this gave him the confidence to go ahead and do this. Maybe it prompts other big prominent bodies who will have a vote in the election later in the year not to vote for Mohammed bin Suleim. Who knows? It's pretty damaging for him. And again, we are in an election year. It's just, again, it's not only a resignation.

It's the scathing words that he's used as part of this. the most professional scathing way of going about it as well. Like nothing absolutely directly, Mohammed Ben Sulean was a problem, but everything around that that anyone could make the connection very, very easily. So, yeah, it is pretty damaging and House of Cards might be falling very soon.

Great reference. What do we do if you wings again? Pray. Okay. All right. Ben, good. I think you have an answer for me, Ben. That's worrying.

That was the answer. Good. I mean, we could consider reinvesting. Good idea, actually. Good idea. Could we consider running? Not physically. I mean, literally for president.

Okay, so you need the backing of a lot of countries' motorsport bodies. We've got that already. Okay, well, you're further ahead in the process than I thought we were. We're working on it for at least two years. What countries are you got? I was to say, go on. France. they love me.

Oh, bonjour. Based on the start of this episode, that's gone now. Yeah, next. Australia, big friends. Did I? Hey, they're like 10% of our audience. Right. America.

No, Australia we can't have because we complain about the timings too much. No, they, they, they, they, they, they, they're kind of, turn them around of you. We've time, I've boomerang them. Right. I've changed the clocks in Australia. They're wrong else like that. European time, always. I love it now.

Every race 1pm. Let's go. France and maybe, you've got Australia, America. We're basically ambassadors. How old you go? Yeah. Yep. We know it like the back of our hands, yeah.

So there you go. That's like half the world, so it's. I hate to be the person to break the news to you. But regardless of the size of the country, everyone gets one vote. Oh, that's how it works. So you're going to have to do a lot more campus. Right. Back to the drawing board.

I'll see you. See you later on. Big campaigning around Australia and America going. I'm going to secure all these votes. Let me have 100 votes, ink. I'm just randomly in Bolivia or something. Hello, running for FIA present. Just a little, little badge on, door to door.

Yeah, I'm running. Got my wrung and shoes on. I can only do it about 10K before I go very tired. That's the next question of the week sorted. Ah, yeah, we are also. Let's take our final break on this episode. On the other side, we're playing back and forth. Back, everyone.

It's time for back and forth. And forth, it's F1. Back and forth, it goes backwards. Then goes forth, it's F1. Back and forth. F1. I did say that we're playing back and forth, but I neglected to say the little twist,

because whilst there is a back and forth happening, I ain't running it. I guess what I'm running? God, love. by a president. Yeah, that's the first back. Folks, sorry for Eiffel back and forth

and I'm hosting it. I want to get a better chance to play the game and it'll be interesting to see how it goes. Effort back and forth, if you're new to the show, it's the game where we pose a question. There are many answers and the boys go back and forth

until they either get an answer wrong or they get all the answers right. It has happened, although it is rare. The question today is, can you name all of the drivers in the 1980s? End of question. No, who have two or more victories in that decade. I will give you each one strike.

Oh, so about immediately out. How many answers are there? There are 19. Harry, I'm going to start with you. Ayrton Senner. Ayrton Senner is second on the list. He has 20 victories in the day. decade of the 80s.

I'm not going to give him the same nickname that you do, Sam, but Alan Prost. Oh, that is another great answer. He's number one on the list with 37 victories in the 80s. Harry, back to you. Nigel Mansell. Oh, it's a good shout. Big Gai. Shotson Gai, who's fourth on the list with 15 victories in the 80s. Ben.

I'm going to go with a guy, I presume, is third. Nelson P.K. Correct. the racist is... Oh, sorry, junior. You're wrong, you're out. No, that's... Yes.

He is joint with Ayrton Sena on 20 victories throughout the 80s. That's the top four done. Nice work. Harry, back to you. Gerhard Berger. Gerhard Berger is a correct answer. He's ninth on the list with five victories.

Ben. Nicky Lauda. Nicky Lauda. Nicky Lauda. He's correct. He's sixth on the list. He has eight victories in the 80s. Harry.

Oh. Ah. Oh. Oh. Oh. Um. Keke Rosberg. Oh, Keke Rosberg is on the list.

He's eighth on the list with five victories. the same as Gerhard Berger. So, nice one. Ben, back to you. Eleo DiAngeles. Oh, it's a great shout. 18th on the list with two victories. Right at the bottom of the requirements.

I thought you are really close there to missing out. Yeah, two victories for Eleo DiAngulus. Yeah, only one lower than him shares the same amount if you'd like that clue. Harry, back to you. Oh, oh. Oh, ah. You want a little song. René Arnou

René Arnou is on the list He is seventh place With six victories across the 80s Ben, back to you Well done, René How's Hartberg I've heard Alan Jones Alan Jones

Is the gap that we've had in the top nine He's fifth on the list With nine victories Well done Harry Um Ricardo Petrazi let me scan my list

yes Riccara Mertrazzi also has two he is 16th on the list well done God 16th has only got two yes just for a clue there are three more drivers with two victories Ben back to you Carlos Reuteman

Carlos Reuteman is on the list he has three victories in the 80s he's 13th on the list hurried no strike so far either good job team Jill Vilnius? Jill Vilniu joins the two brigade.

He is 15th on the list. Well done. We have currently got, or left to get, 10th, 11th, 12th, 14th, 17th, 17th and 19th. Thanks. Didier Peroni.

Didi A Peroni is correct. He has three victories in the 80s and sits 12th on the list. Harry? I think I've run out of 80s drivers, which isn't ideal for this game. For this category, that sucks, man. I've got 70s and 90s for you.

No, as someone who can see the list, I know you know them. Yeah, I know. There's definitely ones I will know. Cricy. I don't know, Jeff. Well, I'm called Sam, so speak to someone else, make your problem. I actually genuinely can't think of anyone else.

You've got a strike, remember? Yeah, I know, but I can't think of anyone. No drivers. Yeah, but not the ones are in the 80s. Okay. Yeah, like people like Martin Brundel. Well, that's just stupid. But I'm going to tell you now.

That's a stupid one. That's a stupid. You know, I can't think of anyone. Have you said Elio D'Angeloz? Yes, he did say Eleo de Agnes. It's a real shame. I don't know. I'd take a strike, but I will just come back to the

same thing again, so I'm going to call, I'm going to call quits while I'm not ahead. Gareth over here. Christian. Bail, very well, I guess. I can't explain it. What you mean? Gareth call quits is called. Oh, Christian, I'm done.

Yeah, yeah. Or as we like to call her in my family, Jesus haste. Oh, good. Great. Ben, should I give a crack at the rest of the list? I've got some guesses. Mikele Alberto. Correct his 10th on the list with five.

John Watson. John Watson. He's 11th on the list before. How many are left? You've got 14th, 17th and 19th. I've got like... You've got a strike in there if you want to give it a go? Tieri Bootson.

Tieri Bootson. and cats, he's 19th on the list with two wings. Hmm. I don't love all of the answers of what left now. Okay, well you've got two spots to go. Patrick Tambay.

Patrick Tambay is on 17th on the list with two wings. You've got one left again, number 14 on the list. Does that mean he has three? The left driver left has three wings. Jacques Lafitte. Jacques Lafitte.

is correct. Well done. You smashed it. Also, you were close to, well, you didn't get any of the near misses. There are only two drivers in the 80s that had one wing and only one win

across the whole decade. That was Anasandro Nannini and Jean-Pierre Jabui. Yeah, I had him written down. I wasn't, yeah, I was a bit unsure on that one. Well done. Ben takes his one and only victory of the year because I probably won't write another one of those

until next time. Yeah, I'm retiring. I've survived Fraud Watch. So the love. man that takes count of who wings the games. Ben's point goes to me. I was in by proxy. Well, Sam, I really enjoyed that.

That was a wonderful quiz that you put together. Which is why, for the first time ever, I'm going to say that the next segment is not better than that. But it is the second best segment in all of podcasting. It is the... I'll be question of the week. God, the dead air. that happens on this show.

You are welcome. You know what they say? Podcasting is made on dead air. For all the experts say, the look at your silent, the more your viewers and listeners love you. We've nailed this. Question of the week on Instagram and Twitter,

we put out the question. What was Max Verstappen saying to Muhammad Ben Suleim after the Saudi Arabian GP? They were having a conversation. It did look 100% civil at times. and everyone answered with Saudi Arabia's reinvesting. Yeah, there's a lot of those. Well, done.

I'll go straight in my favour, which I think got the most amount of likes, which was from Gettle on Instagram. Shrek 2 takes the original and improves upon it in every conceivable way. No. I haven't been this disappointed in Shrek 2. Martin Brando hates this podcast.

His most controversial take ever. No. Shout out to Konger. CMB on Instagram. I've come to talk you about your car's extending warranty. I mean, CNC machinist has written another number, 2014, but I appreciate the fact he's put it, or they've put it, sorry, in, uh,

in quotation marks. Just to commit to the point. I'm a bit silly, like, what? Yeah. What is the thing? What is I mean? Um, he's attracted a fan group now as C-C machineist. All hail C-C machineist.

We are one week closer to the age of late breaking Enlightenment. Who knows what's going to happen? Dude, Reynbolt, stop following this man. I've got an answer here from Michael, which is Susie Wolfe would do your job so much better. That's savage. I've got one that's very culturally relevant, which I've really enjoyed, actually,

from the Gomatic Hopper, which is just, yala, Habibi, which I absolutely love. It's maxed staffing saying that. The idea cracks me up. Oh no. Oh, dear. Like making your exes. Well, I've got an answer here from Joe,

which is never going to give you up, never going to let you down. Never going to run around and desert you. never going to make you cry never going to say goodbye never going to tell a lie and hurt you it's very nice that's lovely

yeah oh sounds like a sunlight I know once this one sounds uh it's odd feels like a lie actually from Ian can you believe

Harry only turns up for the patron exclusive episodes I don't even do that he's here I don't even do that self-burt yeah the rare

on that same topic Kay Gates, Houston says, do you think Harry will make it to the Miami Post race episode? Well, Max, mate, if that is what he said, confirmed, I will be there. I love that.

Which I'm sure he'll be delighted about. The final one from me to go is from Danny Seaman. And he said, can you believe it? You can say anything you want. As long as you leave them, five stars.

That is one from, very good. It's from Kyle. I'm out next season. and Bristol Liam's mum will be driving for a real. That was going to be my one. She'll be like a park at the number one spot, I'm sure. Excellent.

Big up Bristol Liam's mum and her parking. She fits into any space. It's not okay. Do you want to get us out of it? Thanks so much for listening. If you guys show up a Patreon on the links in the description, I'm sure you'll want way more of that kind of content. we're recording

we're breaking next weekend this weekend in like two days time yes I'm gonna have to refund the train tickets we're gonna be

together in person where we have a couple little beers and we have a little gnatter about all things and you can ask questions we do a historic race review every single month

and you get to vote on the racetrack and the race itself actually punging off you get your birthday shoutouts you get two extra episodes you get loads of

and everything is ag-free. It massively supports the show. It helps us do lots of wonderful things. So thanks to those that do. Discord, the links in the description. Follow us on social media, late-breaking F-1. Go and subscribe on YouTube because we may not be nearly at 10,

but we are nearly at 8K. Hey, chipping away. That is progress. A few more ad campaigns. We're going to be there. You know, you the real ones that are already on there. You're the real ones. Thanks for everyone that supports.

Sorry for the absolute mess. that this episode is big and in the meantime, I've been Samuel Sage. I've been Ben Hocking. I've been big hands Toto. Keep breaking light. Yala, Habibi.

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