The Late Braking F1 Podcast - Which teammates will come out on top in 2021? | Episode 104

Episode Date: February 24, 2021

Queue the Star Wars theme, it's Teammate Wars! This week the boys give their opinions on who will win each teammate battle in 2021...Make sure to SUBSCRIBE! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This podcast is part of the Sports Social Podcast Network. Thank you for listening to the Late Breaking F1 podcast. Make sure to look out for new episodes every Thursday and Grand Prix Sundays. Hello, and a very warm welcome. I'm going with Very Warm. It's part of the show. I know we discussed last time me throwing in a different word for the welcome, but I'm a traditionalist, okay?

People will get their warm welcome. This is the late breaking F1 podcast, and we are actually going to discuss more things than the welcome. It's Teammate Wars Week. Sam Sage, Harry Eid, joining me, Ben Hocking today. This is what we live for, isn't it? This is the bread of butter. In LB, the B stands for butter and bread,

and this is that reason for it. L, bread and butter, teammate wars. I don't really know what I've said there. LBB, we are now known. Sorry for everyone who's been misled by our branding. We're actually LBD. It's bread. It's bread and butter.

Oh, that's a good start. Jesus is going to be a lot. We've got teammate wars today. So this is the fifth year that we've done this, as we alluded to last time. So Sam is going for the elusive hat trick. He's won the last two years, looking for three years in a row.

I'm looking to reclaim the crown after the first two years. Good evening to you, Harry. Very nice to see you. Sorry, I couldn't resist. So we will go through the 10 different teams, and we'll be asking which of the two drivers will score more points, and at the end of the season, we'll count up how many we've got right,

and surprisingly, whoever gets the most ends up with the victory. So we will go in the order that they finished in the Constructors Championship in 2020, which means we will start at the top with Mercedes, Lewis Hamilton and Valtrey Bottas, teammates for, the fifth year now. Five years, that seems crazy. So Hamilton's been fairly successful, should we say thus far

in this rivalry. Harry, any reason to believe that Botas is going to turn it around? Not at all, I don't think. Sorry, Walter. Yeah, I think Valtrey only had a chance of winning this year if he was against

George Russell, and even then. So, no, it's it's easily Hamilton, isn't it? I think he's got a fairly decent shout at his eighth title this year. Bottas will likely, unless, you know, Red Bull pulled something out of the hat, but Bottas will likely be his nearest rival being in the same car, but it won't be enough.

I'm sure porridge, it will have versioned up eating all the porridge, but it still won't be quite be enough. I'm sorry, sorry, Valtrey. Bottas version 18.6. Do you reckon the porridge master's got it? Sam. There is a small part of me, the balding part of me, the part of me that is losing my hair. You can see, look how big that foregays, folks, really reflects that sunlight. There is a part of me that wants to give Bottas a go, that really wants to get behind you and be like,

come on Walter! I haven't lost the plot completely, though. Although people on YouTube, and on the podcast, if you're listening, I'd love to go what breakfast-type Lewis Hamilton would be. You know, what the porridge man? What could Hamilton be? Let's go and in the comics. Interesting to go. Lewis Hamilton's girl wing it, though, so we'll move on for that one swiftly. He'll be a brunch bar, I think.

You think so. I'm sorry. This guy has won seven world championships, and he's a brunch bar. This is why you've never won anything, Harry. That's a brunch bar. Absolute goat tear of a snap. What are you calling a brunch bar?

Goat tier. Absolutely. Different video. Different video. I will move on from that as much as I've really wanted to debate this. It will be, it will come as absolutely no surprise that this is a clean sweep for Lewis Hamilton. I'm going for Hamilton as well.

I've never, I've never seen anything from Valtrey Botas to make me believe that he's got what it takes to beat Lewis Hamilton across a full season. And we know that after two years of Rosberg and Hamilton being teammates that Rosberg did get the better of Lewis Hamilton. So we know it's doable from a teammates' perspective against, Lewis, the problem is there were signs that it was possible for Nico Rosberg. He did take it to the last race in 2014, albeit it was double points. Oh, the good old days in Abu Dhabi.

But, you know, he was much more competitive and he was able to string together results against Lewis Hamilton to the degree that Valtrey Bottas never has. We know that every single qualifying session that comes around, Valtrey Bottas has every chance of beating Lewis Hamilton. And he quite often does. And even when he doesn't, he's generally within that one or two temps gap. But he's never been able to put results together. He's never been able to win two or three races back to back.

If he had done, then maybe there's reason to believe he'll beat Lewis Hamilton, but I cannot see this happening in a million years. How many races is he ever won in a row? I don't believe he has ever won two races in a row. Could be wrong. Stan to be corrected, but I don't believe he's ever won two races in a row. So, Stan, man. Hamilton's all round.

I'm not surprised by this result at all. Red Bull. So Max Verstappen's got a brand new teammate. His name is Sergio Perez. Sam, do you think that Sergio Perez can cause the upset here, or are you going Max Verstappen? There is a tiny part of me that thinks that Sergio Perez can cause the upset here. The cars have become less downforce focus.

They're not going to be as fast in the corners. That racing point, of course, was not as elegant through the corners as what the Red Bull was last year. So I think that maybe the devolution of the cars might suit Sergio Perez. Nonetheless, the team culture, the team building, the team focus, the team momentum is all behind Max. And I understand why it's behind Max.

He is the future of the team. I'd love to see Perez give him a run for money. And I think Perez would be the first person since Ricardo to give Max a run for his money. But I am going to have to go for Max Verstappen. Max Verstappen is the prodigy child. And he is going to continue that run of great performances. So Max will take the W.

out of interest sam um 30 points away 50 points away what what are you looking at in terms of a points margin then i reckon there will be between 25 and 30 points away yeah at the end of the season so about a race win which i think is fairly respectable from from both camps to be honest but harry what do you reckon do you think Perez can spring the surprise um i definitely think he can get under his skin and i absolutely agree with the statement that from sam that it's uh he'll be the first teammate to Max since Riccardo that could could theoretically beat him. I still think Matt, I'm still going to go for Max. I think Max will come out on top.

But I think I'd hedge my bets to disclose. I think Perez has done a lot of time since his bad year at McLaren, which, you know, was a top team then. I think he's learned a lot. So I don't think he'll be spooked this time. But yeah, I think there'll be some weekends when, you know, even if it's not over one, lap but during a race, Perez would just beat be Max and, you know, I'm sure Max will get frustrated by that. So, you know, there is that kind of risk for Vastappen, but I think he's

also mature enough now and not to let that get him too much. But yeah, I'm with Sam. I'd say that same kind of points difference, maybe a win, maybe a tiny bit more than that, but yeah, I think it's going to be close, but Max. Yeah, I think Perez has one route to victory here, because if you're asking me between those two drivers who is the quicker and better driver. I'm going for Max Verstappen, not really any question about it. And that's not an insult, Sergio Perez.

He's a very good driver, someone I've been very high on for years. But I think Max Verstappen is amongst that elite group in F1, which is two people, him and Lewis Hamilton, quite frankly. So it's no disrespect to Perez that I don't think in terms of pace he can hang with him. But then again, it isn't all necessarily down to pace. There are other factors to consider. and I would say that, you know, in terms of a route to victory, there is one available to Sergio Perez, even with that pace deficit,

and Harry you alluded to it, is being able to get under Vastappan skin. Can he do it? And arguably, it's not in Perez's long-term career at Red Bull. It's not in that best interest. I don't know if it's in the best interest of the Constructors Championship, but it would, I think, be in the best interest of him personally against Max Verstappen. Max Verstappen, as a result of his own brilliance, and the shortcomings of his last two teammates

has had everything his own way over the last two years and he's had everything, you know, he's had an easy life as a result of that. If Perez can come in and get under his skin, start chipping away at him, start taking some results, then maybe it all crumbles down from there. I feel like that's the only way he can potentially win. I actually think Vestappen in 2021 is a much more mature

and more polished product than he was a few years ago. if this was a couple of years ago when Perez was coming in, I'd be much more inclined to say that that's a possibility and Perez might just come in and upset things. I think Vastappen is mature enough now to deal with this and I've got Vastappan taking the win by a similar margin to what Harry said.

I mean, if Perez turned up in my team garage and got under my skin with a tuna and chip pizza I just left it there, I'd be begging. Please take the wing, obviously, you're like, just get rid of that pizza, Leave me alone, please, Sergio. So the secret to success is to get that pizza, just leave it in, like in his, must happen to cockpit every time he comes into the garage.

Just when he takes his helmet off and he pops it on the side. Just wear him down. And just put the pizza on the helmet on the pizza. So it smells of tullery chip. Tudery chip is the worst phrase I've ever heard in my life. One hundred percentie. There's only one thing I could think of that's worse than tunery chip. it's a brunch bar.

Rumsampton is a brunch bar. Brunch bars are amazing. They're fine. I can't get it. Amazing. Moving on. We've gone for two clean sweeps for the first two. Not a massive surprise.

All three of us have gone for Hamilton to beat Bottas. All three of us have gone for Vastappan to beat Perez at Red Bull. We now go to McLaren. So Lando Norris in his third year at the team is partnered by, a brand new driver coming in, Daniel Ricardo. Of course, he's been in the sport for about 10 years, but it will be his first year with the Woking Outfits. So, Sam, do you think that Norris or Ricardo will be on top here?

So there's a little bit of a trend appearing with the drivers that came into the sport a couple of years ago. And I'm going to include Max for staffing in this. He is still one of the younger generation, as much as he's been here a ridiculous amount of time for how young he actually is. They seem to hit a wall, and they have to get past that wall. Norris hasn't hit that wall yet

and I think coming up against Ricardo in this new fun cultured up-beat area that is McLaren I don't think Norris is going to be comfortable now with someone else

walking into the whole thing and possibly being more comfortable than he's. Sites hit that wall when he went to Renault. LeCler hit that wall last season at Ferrari and we hope he gets over it

he's got some great performances in him but Lecler was not as great as we've seen him be the Staffan obviously hit that wall a couple of seasons ago at Red Bull he was making so many mistakes. It happens a lot for these younger drivers. I wouldn't be surprised if Norris here,

who's, I think, got a little bit big for his boots at the start of this season. He said that Ricardo's the same ability as Sainz. He could now beat Sikes. He can now beat Ricardo. He's the team leaguer at McLaren. You know, Hamilton winning the most races in the world is not a big achievement for him. I think that Norris has said a few things and has got a little bit, you know, well, hey, look at me. And I think he's going to be set back down to Earth a little bit this season. I don't think it's going to be a whitewash. I don't think it's going to be demolishing. But I think Ricardo, who is going to be a little bit like, let's just settle in, you know, let's just have a good time. As Ricardo does, we all know he does, is got enough in the locker.

And I think he's going to beat Norris. What do you say, Harry, do you agree with Sam's assessment, or are you going for Norris? I think looking back at how Ricardo performed at Renault in 2019, if he repeats that kind of form again then there could be an issue for him and I think certainly for the first half of 2021 I would place my money on Norris being the cooker driver overall however

I have an issue that I don't ever vote against Daniel Ricardo in these things so I've always voted for him and it's always won just about so I am going to go for Danny Rick and to be fair I think even if he has a slow start, which is entirely possible because it happens when drivers go to a new team. I think he will

still overcome it. I think it will be close. I think it could be even closer than the Perez for Stapp and Gap. But that is going to be such an interesting fight this year, I think. But for me, it's going to be Ricardo, but I think it's, yeah, they're going to be pretty neck and neck for the majority of the season. For me, this is one of the more fascinating ones out of the lot. I think this one's really, really interesting because you do have this battle between a driver who has much

more experience, both from a race winning perspective and just being in Formula One perspective in Daniel Ricardo, 10 years in F1, versus a much younger, much less experienced driver, but someone who has been not only in the McLaren team for three, this will be his third season, but he was also a part of the McLaren junior program before that. So he's well embedded within that team. So you've kind of got those two variables going up against each other here. And you're writing what you say about Daniel Ricardo, not necessarily struggling in 2019, but at least comparatively to what we know he's capable of and what we saw in 2020. Yeah, he wasn't quite there. And the first half of that season, you could argue Holcomburg had a minor advantage.

By the end of the season, Ricardo just about did enough to see him off. But 2020 was a different different ballgame entirely. So there is the prospect that Ricardo will have a very similar 2021 here. Ricardo was very impressive last season. For my money, it was only Perez for Stappan and Hamilton who were better than Ricardo last year. He was really good. And Norris is going to have to step it up if he wants to beat him. I think he does step it up. And I'm going for Lando Norris here. I think this is probably possibly the boldest one I'm going for here. But it's I think the smart money is on Ricardo, but I think Norris makes that jump this year. I think Norris from year one to year two did make an improvement.

You know, year one, he was fairly outclassed by Carlos Sines, not to an embarrassing degree, but Carlos Sines was comfortably the better driver in 2019. 2020, I don't really think there was much in it at all. I think Lando Norris had a minor edge in the first half of the year. I think Sines reversed it in the second half of the year. The points tally was almost exactly the same between those two drivers last year. I still don't think we've seen the best of Norris. I really think he has a lot of potential and he has a lot to give F1.

I'm banking on this happening this year. I think he makes a giant step forward. I think by the end of the year, Ricardo and Norris, I think Ricardo might even have a minor edge by the end of the year. But I think that first half of the year, when Ricardo is still adjusting, I think Norris can get enough of a lead on him to eventually win this. But I think it's going to be close. Either way, but I'm going to go Norris.

It's lucky we've got 97 Grand Prix for Ricardo to turn it, around really, isn't it? You know, this. He has got a literally a marathon of races to get himself sorted. This is true. I was absolutely shocked, Ben, when you said Ricardo's been there for 10 years. That is ridiculous. I swear to God he's been there for two minutes.

That's frightening. He looks younger than I do, and he's at least five, six years older than me, which really, really upsets me. HRT stands, where are you at? Let's be having you. His royal thoughtness. Oh man. All right, so we have our first difference in opinion. I've gone for Lando Norris.

It proved a good strategy last year when I went for Lando Norris because he lost. So can't see it going wrong this year. We're going to go on to team number four. So, of course, Racing Point finished fourth last year. We're now talking about Aston Martin, though. Landstrol stays with the team. This year, he is supported by four-time champion Sebastian Vettel. So Vettel versus Stroll. Who's your money on Sam? This might be, I can't believe I'm saying this actually. Sorry, Sebastian. This might be the hardest one on the entire grid, actually, to put a call on for.

A legitimate, accurate call, without being silly. Seb had his worst year in Formula One last season. Let's be real about it. It was terrible. He was ruined by Charlotte Clerk. He couldn't get to grips with the car. His morale was on over the place. The guy couldn't get a string of poor.

performances together to save his life. Apart from Turkey, we're doing a very good job. It could go one or two ways, right? He could turn up to Aston Martin and be so reinvigorated. He can have all that history about the racing that he loves. Ashton Martin is such an iconic team. Very much like Ferrari, okay, there are differences. But in racing and automotive adventures,

they are up there with two of the most iconic groups ever. And I think he loves that. And I think that he's going to feel a lot more Lucy Goosey. He's going to have a good time. so because of the raw talent that we've seen from Semi Vett, I am going to say that Semi Vett egg is it, but Lank Stroll's familiarity, the team is now effectively his.

Daddy owns it, of course. He's been there a long time, he's had the training of Perez. We did see an improvement in performance last season from him. Stroh's good now. It's not great, but he's good. Is he good enough to beat a downbeat Sebastian Vettel? I don't know.

I hope that Vettel has that resurgence, and we see him turn it around. That's why I'm putting my money on, because I want Vettles to come back strong. So for me, Vettel takes it. What do you reckon, Harry? Do you think the Vettel slump continues enough to give Stroll a chance here?

I think I'm banking on Seb being reinvigorated this year. Yeah, this is tricky. I think it will be apparent, even after one or two races where it's going to go for those two. But I think if it's a re-invigorated Seb and he's back on form, then I think, you know, it's Sebastian Vettel, four-time world champion Sebastian

and Vettel, he'll take it. I agree with what Sam said, though. I think Straw has come on strong in the last year or so. And if he does continue that form, then, yeah, I think they'll find themselves sharing the same bit of racetrack

potentially quite often this year. So, yeah, that's going to be an interesting one. And, yeah, like I said, I think it really depends on, really depends on Seb's form. But I'm, you know, I'm not confident, but I'm, you know, fairly short. being out of Ferrari will make the world a difference just as psyche.

So I'm going to go with Vettel. But yeah, that's another interesting one, like the Maca one. And not saying it's me as close as that, but I think definitely, definitely we want to watch this year. Yeah, I was thinking about this one earlier. And I think regardless of what side you're on here, whether you think that Vettel is going to be reinvigorated, whether you think he won't be, but it will be enough to take the win, whether you think Stroll takes the win.

The fact that this is a debate is the most crazy thing about this. Could you imagine, let's transport back eight years to the end of 2013, Vettel becomes champion for the fourth time, youngest four-time champion ever, only I think the third driver at that point who have won four championships in a row.

He's seemingly, you know, he's in his mid-20s, he's already got four championships under his belt. he's seen off some of the best in Formula One. Could you imagine at that point saying that in a few years, we're going to be debating whether he can beat maybe the 15th best driver or so in Formula One? Could you imagine having that discussion? You'd be called out for your lunacy and rightfully so.

But we're having a very realistic debate about it now that there is a chance that he could lose to someone. And I mean, 15th is very rough, but I would say he is in the, he's definitely in the bottom half of, drivers on the F1 grid. Could you imagine saying in 2013, I don't know, next season if he goes up against Adrian Sutil, I think Soutil might have it.

It sounds ridiculous. Don't put that down on Soutil's game. It sounds ridiculous, but we're having essentially the same debate here. And I'm going for Vettel as well, because even if he's not fully back to that form, even if he only gets 20% of the way there, I think that's a nice. to beat Landstrol. You know, Lance Strohl's a solid driver. I think he's decent enough.

And he hasn't been embarrassed by a couple of solid teams. You know, Felipe Massa, Sergio Perez. He wasn't embarrassed by either of those, I'd say. So Stroll has the potential to beat Vettel if he continues his slump. I think he will recover somewhat, and I think it will be enough. But the fact that it's a debate, that's the most interesting thing for me. I can't believe we're almost halfway through this. And there's been one difference in a problem.

opinion. This is ridiculous from us. I'm feeling a bit queasy. We're all agreeing with each other and it's gross. After five years, we've all grown up a little bit. No, we haven't. No, that's a bit less of that. Sam, you literally started this podcast video by saying we were called late bread and butter,

so I think that proves we've not grown up at all. No, I stand by the fact that we are still called late bread and butter, actually. I'm fair it. All right. Team number five. So we're looking at Renault have of course become Alpine for this year. This is another one where we've got someone staying within the team, in this case Esteban Ocon, and a big name coming into the team. In this case, Fernando Alonzo, I guess the difference here is that rather than someone switching teams,

we've got someone coming back to Formula One after a couple of years out. So Fernando Alonzo, not exactly the ideal preparations ahead of the season, but can he do enough to beat Esteban Ocon, Harry? Yeah, I mean, I... Yes. I think he's going to be fine. For Ocon, I'll start with Ocon. For people not watching the video version of this,

Fernando Olaz had just entered the room and did his little dance, i.e. Sam, Sage. Good stuff. Yeah, I think for O'Con, he had... Okay, yeah. I mean, Ricardo, wiped the floor with him. But I think towards the end of the year, there were signs of some good performances from him.

I still don't think, even though he's been there for a year, I still think Fernand is going to have the edge coming in. It's just even from a psychological standpoint, that's not a good place for Ocon to be in. I think it continues to improve this year, Estaband. But, you know, like I said, I know that Alonza's not had the best preparation, but he could, you know,

you could take a couple of arms away from him and he'd still be pretty, pretty decent so um i think alonzo will be fine this year um yeah yeah and you know is it a pivotal year for ocon ocon's career i don't know is he going to stick around i mean you know could could he be in the running for a mercedes scene 22 you know so um sorry whoa i apologize the headphone users yeah i'm sorry that i only said could i didn't say he is going to be i said i was posing the question that was one of you You're going to be fuming in 2022 when Hamilton retires and is Ockon and Bottles in the team.

It's your dream line-up, isn't it, Sam? We are a comedy-focused channel, and I'm glad we're keeping it rolling all the way through the video. Anyway, in conclusion, gummy Alonzo. He's got no teeth. We don't know that, we just not seen him smile, and you wouldn't if you'd sell off your bike. I wish you'd smile. I'm glad he's all right. I'm really glad he's all right.

Yes, of course. And I mean, to Harry's point, if Harry thinks you can take limbs away from Alonzo, and he'll still win, I think he can do with Artive, so he should be all right. That was obviously an exaggeration, people. No, I think it's fair.

All right, fine. The funny thing about Fernando Alonso is, so I marvel at Lewis Hamilton's talent, his consistency, his ability. I am in awe at how good Max Verstaffergues, especially with how young he is. Fernando Alonkso is the only driver that I can think of, maybe in the last two decades, apart from maybe Schumacher, that scares me with how determined and how willing and how ruthless

that man is willing to be to claw himself to the top. Fernando Alonkso will push you to the absolute 99.9th percent before crossing the line to make sure he gets in front of you, he gets a wing, he gets the better strategy, He gets the better call. Alonso will do anything in his power to succeed. Ocon is a good driver. He is a good driver. And I like O'Conn, but I think he's only a good driver.

I think his future lies at Renaud for a little bit longer. I think him and Gazzley will probably become an all-French team at Renaud. Gassie will be that team leader. And that'll be a good partnership. I can't see him beating Fernando. So he's got so much he wants to prove, that man. He's got so much he wants to get. And I think Okon has hasn't got the drive that, well, ironically,

I've got the same drive, but the same mental drive that Okon has. So Alonso is too formidable. Alonso has definitely got this in the bag, I think, regardless of how long he's out. Aaloxo can come back in 15 years, I still think he'd have a chance. I think here it's natural to make the comparisons to the Michael Schumacher come back in 2010. Because in that situation, Michael Schumacher left the sport for three years. and came back at the age of 41, I think he was.

Here, Alonzo has left a sport for two years and it's coming back at the age of 40. So, you know, there are parallels. And not to say that Schumacher was poor in his return, but he also wasn't the Michael Schumacher, we know. You know, he wasn't the Michael Schumacher that won five championships in a row and decimated teammates and rivals.

What we got was a driver that lost three years in a row to Nico Rosberg. So there is at least the distimated. possibility that we're not going to get the Alonzo that we saw. There is the possibility that we'll get a downgraded version of the Alonzo that we've seen, whether that's a slightly downgraded or a seriously downgraded. That's up for discussion. We might get the same Alonzo. It's all up for grabs, really.

But, I mean, there's one thing that I do. There's one thing I don't do. And that's go against Fernando Alonzo. Like, you don't go against Fonando. he will just, he will prove you wrong. Defy Fernando Alonzo at your peril. Like you say, Sam, he's a scary man. He's determined.

Yeah, he, you just don't want to go against the character like that because you know that Alonzo will do anything he can to win. And again, Ocon, good driver. This is a make-up, this is a really important year for Ocon. You've got to feel sorry for him somewhat. He goes from the challenge of Daniel Ricardo. who's settled in at Renault to the challenge of a guy who actually won a few championships a while back if you remember.

Yeah, it's a really tough, tall order for Esteban Ocon. And I think he will actually put up a decent fight here. I don't think that Alonzo is going to crush him. I think Ocon will be competitive, but I, like I say, I do not, I do not bet against Fernando Alonzo. And it's been a tactic that's served me pretty well throughout. you know, his career. So, yeah.

Clean sweep for Alonso. I can't wait. For those of you that aren't in the UK, we've just had news that the lockdown will be fully lifted on June 21st. Nightclubs will possibly be back open. I cannot wait to jump into the club on June 21st and bust out this on the dance floor.

I'm sorry, Alonso's back. Look at me go, ladies. Two-time Bogshamp. I am fully expecting that I will walk into a club on that date and go, Oh, that man sends things through so many joyous emotions. I'm just going to walk in and then grab the microphone off to DJ and just say, Karama, and walk out. Let's drop it.

Yeah. I love it. I love it. I love so the King of the Rave. I'm trying to think of a segue here. From King of the Rave to King of the Jungle possibly, Sam, you have a Manscape mention to get out of the way here. So if you wouldn't mind. King of the Rave, the King of the Jungle.

There weren't many avenues for a segue, but go on. That was fantastic. Driving for Alpine, speaking of your Pene. Oh, God. You've got to trim it. You've got to look after it. You've got to keep him happy down there. And Manscaped, have very kindly sponsored us for some stupid, ridiculous reason.

And if you want to get 20% off, yeah, I mean, you can do, which is incredible. late 20 over on Manscaped for any purchase. And it helps us out massively. We really appreciate it. And it's because of you that they've decided to ask us anyway. So even if it becomes of nothing and none of you go shopping, thanks for sitting around and giving the big company a chance to go. We like these boys.

They're a bit silly. So thank you. Give it a go. Have a look. If you like something, buy it. If not, come watch a video again. Thank you for that, Sam. So five of the 10 teams are out the way.

And going into the second half, the first half was good. But, I mean, there's far too much agreement going on here. So we'll see what the second half brings. We're going to go on to Ferrari next because Ferrari are a bottom half team now. Ha ha. Ha ha. ha ha. Charles Leclair. Sorry, Ferrari.

I've got nothing against you really. Like one too many haze on that, Ben. It got a bit too sinister. Ha ha. I'm kidding. I'm kidding. Jesus never prosper. I'm kidding.

Oh. Stick the guy big further. I've got nothing against Ferrari. You know, it wouldn't hurt them to actually, you know, compete against Mercedes for once. Oh, we won't get to the predictions. No, we're not. It's just going to be a full-on bashing session.

Next half hour, it's just burning Ferrari. Big Harry is a walkout. Right. LaClair got a new teammate. His name is Carlos Sines. Sam, who are you going for? Well, he's got a good teammate, and all the signs point to a Charlotte Clair victory.

He's settled in. They love him. He's the golden boy. Sikes is very good. I've got a lot of time for Carlos Sites, but he's not going to beat Charlotte Clair in his first year in a team that are so biased to one driver. And all his have been so biased towards one driver. Historically, they focus around one individual,

When it was Vetterreich and they focused around Vettel. Like it was Schumacher and Barrakello, they focused around Schumacher. Well, it was a longser, and massa they focused around a longso. And now it's going to be LeClerler and they're going to focus on LeCler. He's their future. They love him. Sites is incredibly good. I don't think the tide is going the right way for science to overturn this in the first year. There might be a chance later on in their careers together.

Don't get me wrong. If you could stick around for a few years before old Mickey Schumacher decides to ascend to the top. Or should I say the migway now, where Ferrari. But I do generally feel that, like, Lecler is cutting into his own a little bit. We saw it the last two seasons, and I backed him the last two seasons. And I've won because of it, and I'm backing him again. So Charlotte Clare is going to beat Carlos Sines. I mean, I completely disagree with your point that, you know, Schumacher was the number one driver to Barrakello.

I think Schumacher did a great job winning those championships as the number two there. Very clear and obvious to me. But Charles Leclair or Carlos Sines, Harry, are you going for? I think it's going to have to be. God LeClair, isn't it? I think signs will give him a run for his money on some occasions and give him a bit

of a headache, but I think over the course of their first season together, I think LeClaire will have the edge. Side note, as long as he stops running into people and trying to win races on like the first corner, but hopefully the Ferrari is in a better position this year where

he won't have to do that anyway. So, yeah, LeCler for me, but that is going to be another interesting battle, I think. And like Sam says, if he sticks around for another year or two, I think it could be even more interesting. But for this year, I'm going to stick with Chuck. I mean, Carlos Seines is a very good driver

and very good drivers beat good drivers, very good drivers beat OK drivers, and very good drivers beat bad drivers, and very good drivers beat bad drivers. But there's one thing very good drivers don't beat and that's gods and Charles Leclair is one of those.

So this one is going in the direction of Charles Leclair. I don't think this is going to be that close to be perfectly honest with you. I think just Shaul Clair is that well embedded in the team that, yeah, I think he'll win this fairly comfortably.

I think Carlos Sines has potential to be slightly more than a stopgap which some people seem to think he is between whether that's, you know, Schwarzener or Schumack or whoever they've got looking at for their next driver. So people seem to think that Carlos Sines might be just a bit of a break and they need someone for a couple of years. I don't necessarily subscribe to that.

And I think he could be a good medium-term solution for Ferrari, but as a second driver, not as a first driver. I think Shao LeClaire is at that next level. and he's got the potential to be even better still. Sam, you alluded to earlier that Charles LeClerc did still make a few errors in the 2020 season. And my takeaway from that is that he was that good, even with those errors. You know, if he stamps some of those out, he doesn't even need to stamp all of them out.

We see even, you know, Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen make errors from time to time. So he doesn't even necessarily need to remove all of them. but if he can just remove a few of them to give some slightly more consistent results, and I think it is really nitpicking, then I think at that point someone like Carlos Seines isn't going to beat him. So, Joel O'Clair for me, and that makes another clean sweep. Have we just become the same person? There is only one disagreement in this entire thing so far.

I mean, the video is almost pointless. If you make it to the 36 minute, then thanks for sticking around. Pointless. Pointless as usual. Alpha Tauri. Another team where one driver is staying and another driver is coming into the team. So Pierre Gasly had a very impressive 2020 season, saw off the challenge of Danny Kviyat fairly comfortably. This year he has got the arrival of an exciting rookie in Yuki Sonoda, who did a good job in Formula 2 last year. Sorry, can we just stop a minute?

Someone born in the year 2000 is in Formula. 1. Yeah, I know. At least he looks. He looks like he's brought in the year 2000. He looks like a child. Bless him. Poor, poor,

did you see that his response to Formula 1's tweet and how he wants to grow this year? That was quite funny. I admire the comedy already. I like, Yuki. But anyway, actual predictions as to who's going to win between the two of them. Ghazly or Sonoda.

Harry, who've you got? I think it's going to be Ghazly. I think Sonoda was deeply impressive last year and actually flew under the radar slightly in F2 because of, you know, Schumacher, I lot,

Schwartzman, etc. Be had a very impressive year. It's first year, I think. So, yeah, but I'm going to have to go to Gisley because I think he has been on mega form ever since he got done not quite ever since, but, you know, his first four years after being dumped from Red Bull,

and, you know, he wins a race, and he's just been on top form ever since. So as long as he carries that on, I think, yeah, Gazdi's going to easily win this. But, you know, not to say that Sonoda should be, you know, be expected to win it anyway. I think if he gets him within a reasonable gap of Ghazli, then I think that's a good solid first season for young Yuki. So, yeah, it's guys deep for me, but, you know, it's not a bad thing. Senado's lose, I don't think. What do you reckon, Sam?

You're going bold here? There's a number of reasons that I want to go bold. I mean, Japan have produced some iconic and brilliant race drivers in the past. Japan is home to some iconic and brilliant race teams, and, of course, one of the best racetracks we've ever seen. And also, you can sing Yuki Sanoda. to Hakuna Matata and it fits him perfectly, which is another checkpoint that Pierre Gazley doesn't have.

The issue is Pierre Gazley is currently Pierre Gazley, and Pierre Gasley is on an absolute flyer. He was one of my drivers of the season, last season. He was so, so good. And Harry's right when he said that Yuki flew under the radar. Yuki was not spoken about as much. He wasn't that involved in the title fight. It was his first season in F2.

And he did brilliantly. He deserved to beat it. and I think he will hold himself to a very high standard. And he will perform. But I think he does need that season to establish himself. It's up against a good teammate in a team that allows drivers to develop. Look at the drivers that have come through technically that B team now. The calibre is very high.

There's a few exceptions. But the calibre is very high, generally. And I think Yuki will become a very, very, very strong driver. But Pierre Gassley has found himself on a whole new level. I think he's really reinvigorating himself. I think he's reimagined him. I think Gazley takes the wing here. And I hope we see Ghazli from last season.

Because I think Ghazli, if that Alpha Tower is good enough, could be such a potent force in that kind of upper midfield area. Oh, before giving me a prediction on this one, I will say this. I actually think Yuki Sonoda's maximum potential in Formula One, his ceiling, is marginally higher than that of Gazleys. I think Sonoda has, at least has the potential to have a better career than Ghazly, only marginally. But for the same reasons, year one,

Gazley's coming off. People say Gazley's coming off a very good year, which is true. He's coming off a very good 18 months. He was very good at the second half of 2019 as well. You know, as soon as he was dropped by Red Bull, he did a great job against Kaviat in that half season as well. So he has definitely got a lot of form. And it's easy to focus last year on the win

because it was a brilliant win at Monza. take that win out of it and it's still a great year. That's the most important thing for me taking away from that season. Fluke wins, I don't want to call it a fluke. A win due to unexpected circumstances is great and Ghazly fully deserved what he was able to achieve. But I'm much more convinced that Ghazley is a good driver based on other results where it does go a bit more to the norm,

such as, you know, take Brazil the year before as an example. even if all of the front runners stay in that race, he still finishes, I think, sixth place overall and he dominates the midfield in that Grand Prix. That gives me a lot of optimism for Gadsley's career. As does, he had a great race at Belgium last year as well that people forget. For my money, that was actually better than his win the week after.

So, you know, he had some great results in 2020. I think it's enough to beat Yuki Sonoda. I mean, this is closer than people think it will be, but I'm going to go with Gazzley. bold prediction here Yuki Sanoa will be a world champion in Formula 1 right

there we go come back to it come back to it whenever it happens but it's going to happen is that before or after Charles LeCler wins the 2019 championship oh do I say that

I meant 2029 that's what I meant It was close. Sir, you can have your Would you like your receipt, sir? No, I think I'll just accept my loss of, my loss, walk away with my head held high. Fair enough, fair enough.

We head to the last three teams now, so we're getting into the basement tier here. You know, Alpha Romeo and Hasse struggled a lot in 2020 because of the Ferrari Power Unit, of course. Williams struggle because, well, they're Williams. we've got those three teams in that position again this year. It does mean for these three teams, as we found over the last couple of years, because the points are so marginal,

it can mean that there are some shock results at the bottom of the table. So it could open itself up to some bolder predictions, we'll see. Alpha Romeo, Reikinen and Jovanazzi finished with exactly the same number of points last year. Reikinen did win it on a technicality, but that does prove it might be close this year. So, Harry, which of those are you going for? It's actually the second most experienced lineup in Formula One now, just as a tidbit. No, it's not. It is.

It's only Hamilton and Botas. It's striking has got 400 years and Gio's got three. I mean, like, they've had the most seasons as teammates now. Oh. Oh, okay. Absolutely. Yes, yeah, seriously. Yeah, anyway.

Who's going to win, Harry? I've got to go for Kimmy. I think Javan actually had a strong year last year, although I don't necessarily think he'd serve another year in F1. But obviously they don't want to upset the state of growth for some reason. Yeah, I'll go for Kimmy. It probably could be close again, depending on how good that car is. They're probably scraping for a point or two.

But I'll give it to the world champion in that team. I sometimes forget the Reichen as a world champion. He's just kind of there. And then you're like, oh, yeah, he used to be at the top really quick. all the time. Now he's just kind of hanging about, driving a car, post on Instagram, go home.

Anyway, Kimmy for me. There are times where I'll watch a race from, say, 2005 as an example, and just be like, and no disrespect to the current Kimmy Rykenen and just think, wow, he was that. Like, honestly, 2005

Kimmy Rykenen prime. That is prime. Sam. Ryken and or Javanazzi Oh folks 2021 Comeeth the resurrection of Jesus Christ

Giovanni The man will rise again Kimmy Reichen has had his last hurrah Pulling off an almighty switchback On Carlos Sainz In the tracks of Portugal Was a wonderful

And beautiful moment Which I will cherish I will cherish deeply But Kimi Reichen for me Has He's done He's done This is his last season

I don't think he should have this season, but this is his last season, and I think that he should move on, and I think he will just be doing what he needs to do. And I think Jivanaxies now got a point to prove. Jivaxi, I think, knows that if it doesn't go well this season, Kimmy's on the brink of just, you know, being out of it due to age. Gio could get replaced.

There's a lot of young drivers looking for seats, especially in that Ferrari lineup, that if he doesn't turn up now, Gio's career in Formula One is done, I think, after this season, if he does not perform. So for me, Gio's going to be. bring it. I don't think, you know, as we said, the points are very, very small. So I think the margins in terms of points in the season are going to look small, but I think she always can be out right,

the better performer for the team. All right. First disagreement between Harry and Sam. So, as you might remember, if you watched last year's teammate wars, I went for Antonio Giovanni and they ended up level on points and Reichen and won on a technicality. But it was a close run thing. I was laughed out of the building for picking Jovenazi. And it was so nearly, so, I mean, it was so nearly came true. Not quite, but so nearly. Theoretically, as long as Reikinen and Jovanazzi are teammates, year after year, at some point, Jovanazzi's got to win, because Reikinen will die in the next five years. You know, he can't get my shoulder.

You know, I'm kidding. You killed Sam. I finished Sam. I finished Sam off. I'm sorry. I had to get the big. I said Kimmy, I meant to say Sam that's dead. Oh, that is happening.

That might be an exaggeration. At some point, Kimmy Rykenon, whether it's in his mid-40s or his mid-70s, has got to lose. to Jovanazzi at some point is got to happen. So when is it going to happen? I thought it was going to happen last year and that's when we'd get the crossover but apparently not.

So theoretically if I go with logic here it should be this year. It very nearly happened last year and now this year it should happen. All logic points to me going for Jovanazzi. Of course that means I'm going for Kimmy Reiknan. So I actually think

Kimmy Reichenen last year was the most underrated driver on the grid. I think he really put together a good season. I think it was his best season since 2017. I think he had some good results. I think Belgium was a good result. He'd be both the Ferraris there, had a great job, did a great job at Portugal. And generally speaking, even though those six drivers at the back were generally, you know, always there, he more often than not was actually leading that group.

So I'm going to go of Reikinen to have a good year. I think it will be maybe a bit of a swan song in terms of beating a teammate. Maybe it will be his last year in Formula One. Who am I kidding? Of course it won't be. But I'm going to go Reiknan here. All right. Two teams to go. Let's go to Hasse. Schumacher Mazepin. It's a rookie lineup.

Who are you going for, Harry? Mick Schumacher because he is the F2 champion and he's got a teammate who's a lout. That's it. Surprisingly kind. Surprisingly kind. Sam. Mick Schumacher has greatness running through his veins, and he is driving up against a slab of Mazepang.

So I can't see how Mazepang from your local supermarket shop is going to be Mick Schumacher. Mick Schumacher will win that rivalry. I would not be entirely surprised if this is a nil-0 draw, because based on everything we're seeing, reading, Hasse are fully committed to 2022 and they're not really even bothering with this year. And rightfully so, I fully support that strategy. And it does mean the pressure is off for both of these rookies and it gives them a year to hone their skills essentially.

You could go back to Schumacher and say that, you know, in junior categories, he struggled in the first year. You know, European Formula 3, he struggled in the first year before becoming much better in the second year. same with F2 didn't do very well in the first year but did much better in the second year. The only thing is that kind of becomes invalid because the same thing happened with Mazepin in Formula 2 as well. He was much better in his second year compared to his first year. Now the difference is Schumacher didn't change teams between the two years and Mazpin did.

So you could make the argument that the team switch was responsible rather than his improvement. I'm not going to lean more towards that. I really think this could go either way. I would prefer to put more confidence in the guy that won the championship though so I'm going to go with McSumacher. I also would like to see the moment where Akita Slam of Mazepan tries to force Fernando Alonso off the road. That is something I'm looking forward to watching this season.

Karma. Gip two. To be honest, I think he would shove him off the track so far that he would go back to GB2. Yeah. I think a lot. So would stand there and laugh. Get out of the car and he'd be going on. To clarify as well, he would hit him back to GP2.

And I don't just mean that he would hit him back to the second formula. He would hit him back in time to when GP2 existed. That's how much he would yeat him off the track. All right. Last one, we go to Williams. So George Russell versus Nicolese. Latifi. Technically speaking, George Russell won this last year, but only because of the points he accumulated at Mercedes. If it weren't for that race, Latifie would have beat George Russell

a year after Robert Kubitsa beat George Russell. So clearly, there is much of a future for this Georgie boy. Harry, are you going with Russell or Latifie here? Look, I was actually quite pleasantly surprised by Latifie last year. I thought he did a solid job. However, we, you know, I think we already knew how good George was before his Mercedes outing. The Mercedes outing showed that he has got a lot of potential. So, yeah, and he's had some, he has some stunning quality performances last year. And it seems to be ringing the neck or that Williams whenever it will be, whenever it will be

allowed. You know, one blot in his copybook, I guess, was the Imala incident when he was on for points in a Williams rather than the inner Mercedes. but, you know, I think he proved, like I said, he proved it in Bahrain that he's got, he's got the talent. So, yeah, this is another Russell, not another Russell here, but I'm going to go for Russell this year. Not another one. You're joking. But yeah, I think, you know, I think there's a solid job.

And, yeah, he's doing a solid job. And, you know, I don't know, it's a bit of a weird one for George, because I think he's just got to keep doing what he's doing this year to line himself up for that. that Mercedes for when it comes if that's next year, who knows. But it could well be. We've seen how quickly it changes an F1. He drove a Mercedes last year and there was all that coming. So, yeah, but it's

George for me. Good old George. George. Russell, Latifie, Sam. Where's a revis, George? Thank you, Lenny. As you said, sorry. Sorry.

year 10 GCS English came back there Latifi surprised me last season Latifi came out a lot better than I was expecting him to He held his own I really enjoy Latifi being on the grid I was actually a bit harsh on him I think When he was joining Formula One And he deserves his spot

The difference here for me is that I think This is the best that Latifie could drive What team he's in I think the talent that he is shown Is as good as it will get And that is good talent I do not think he's the worst driver on the grid by any means. He is a good driver.

The difference is I think George Russell has got a long way to go in terms of development, and they were still neck and neck for the majority of the season. And if George had bloody bing it in the wall in him like a moron, then he would have outright beaten Latifi. So for me, I think George takes another step up. I think George is motivated by that Mercedes seat. George's got something to play for Latifi doesn't. So for me, George does take this one.

Yeah, I mean, just because of the circumstances with the team, this wouldn't surprise me if Latifi beats Russell, thanks to a 10th place finish where he can get one and Russell, for whatever reason, can't get one. With Williams and a few of these back market teams, it is often a case of not asking which driver is going to be better. It's a question of which driver is going to be in the position to get points when there are a lot of retirements in a random race.

And, you know, I think it is part luck, part skill. but I just have more faith in George Russell being in that position than Latifi being in that position because, you know, he qualifies ahead. He's generally ahead in the races. He just needs it to happen in a race that benefits it. He just needs a race where there are seven retirements or whatever it happens to be. I agree with what you said actually in terms of, I think Latifie, because of the amount of time he spent in Formula 2,

he actually entered Formula 1 fairly close to what his peak is anyway, whereas Russell, I still think there is more to come from him and he's already at a pretty good level. So, yeah, this could be a 1-0, it could be a 2-1, you know, it could easily be a score line like that. I'll go with George Russell. I've got more confidence in him being in that sport.

I mean, Robert Kubitsa will beat the both, though. Yeah. I mean, we're going to be wrong on nearly all of these, of course. I mean, you know, Alonzo's going to realize that the Alpine isn't very good and he's going to go after three races. and he's going to be replaced by Kimmy Reichen and then the Alpha Romeo prediction goes completely out of whack and, you know, Sir Rock. Because Robert Kubitsa replaces him.

Yeah. No, no, no. Kubits is in the Mercedes when Hamilton retires mid-season because he doesn't want an eighth title. I think it becomes a giga Mercedes. Gig of Mercedes. That's what's happening in 2020. 2021, sorry.

Oh, this video is descending to Magnus when they get this long. I mean, descend into madness is quite nice. That implies that it wasn't madness at the beginning. That's very true. It's been pretty hectic from day one. So essentially, what we're saying here is, I need Norris to beat Ricardo, Sam needs Jovanazzi to beat Reichen,

and Harry needs for neither of those things to happen. And that will determine the winner. I love that. There wasn't one moment where Harry disagreed with both me and Ben. well that's going to be really interesting because well harry's going to be wrong but we're going to be wrong with him so who's going to win oh no one can harry technically win this because he hasn't technically he's been able to win every year but he hasn't just like nicholas latin's me i'm kidding this is this is harry's year this is that we've deviated from the norm here sam so i think harry's got the consensus pick

Great. I love it. Can't wait for Harry to lose. We're getting down right somehow. Yep. You'll have to tune in to our video that we will do in December when the season comes to a close. We'll review the results and see who wins Teammate Wars 5. Until then, Sam, if you wouldn't mind, getting us out of here. If you stuck around for 57 minutes and 30 seconds, then I, you know, you deserve something. And thank you. Maybe you should be on the show as our fourth member, because, You must be our best mate that we don't know yet.

Let's know your predictions. Get in the comments. Go over to Twitter. Talk to us. Give us all your 1 to 10. Who's going to be your winning driver? We want to hear it. Do you agree with us?

I'm completely wrong, probably. Please stick around for the whole year. Come on. Can I do the winners at the end of the year as well in December? There's also constructions coming up and pit by F1, where we look at the F1 liverys come up very soon as well. And of course, much more Formula One content. In the meantime, I've been Samuel Sage.

I've been Ben Hocking. I've been out of sync. And remember, keep breaking late. Bye! Part of the Sports Social Podcast Network.