The Late Braking F1 Podcast - Will Miami be the start of a "new F1 championship"?

Episode Date: April 8, 2026

With Leclerc hinting at “huge gains,” the LB boys ask: can Ferrari really close the gap to Mercedes, and could Miami mark the start of a new championship? They also tackle the Verstappen press conference controversy and Alpine's response to sabotage claims and online abuse. Plus, F1 watch recommendations for this break, and some Higher or Lower... Get involved in F1 Fantasy this season! ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Join the Late Braking league⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and see if you can beat us... LEAGUE CODE: C6Y6R4ZUY02 Want more Late Braking? Support the show on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Patreon⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and get:Ad-free listeningFull-length bonus episodesPower Rankings after every raceHistorical race reviews& more exclusive extras!Don't forget! You can also gift a Late Braking Patreon subscription—perfect for loved ones or your own wish list. Choose anything from 1 month up to a full year of top-notch F1 content: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.patreon.com/latebrakingf1/gift⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Connect with Late Braking:You can find us on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠X (Twitter)⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠TikTok⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Come hang out with us and thousands of fellow F1 fans in our ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Discord⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ server and get involved in lively everyday & race weekend chats!Join our ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠F1 Fantasy League⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and see if you can beat us!Get in touch any time at [e-mail]  Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Thank you for listening to the Late Breaking F1 podcast. Make sure to check out new episodes every Wednesday and every Sunday. I want a very warm welcome to the late breaking F1 podcast presented by Harry Eid, Sam Sage, and me, Ben Hocking, here with this midweek episode in the, I've forgotten how many years it is until the Miami GP now. It keeps going up, but I've forgotten what the last number was. But in this April break, we've got another episode for you. Sam, we've just had Easter.

Did you have a good one? Yeah, mate, I did, thank you. Thanks for asking. A lovely roast dinner. That was nice. Got a few Easter eggs. I'm only eating it for the chocolate. What Easter eggs did you get, mate?

I got a link bunny one. It was nice. Boogey, actually. I have some cream eggs. Always cream eggs forever. I have yours as well because I know you don't like them. And then I got a terry's chocolate orange egg because I like orange egg because I like. Oh, I respect that.

And it has the segments in the middle. and they're popping candy segments. Honestly. Game changer. Different ball game. What a day you've had. Well, the weekend itself was fantastic. Great news.

I got fruit pastels chocolate egg. I made a comment in the supermarket. I went, this must be a tough day for sweets. No one's buying the sweet ones. You are. Well, it's just you get a chocolate Easter egg and a packet of fruit pastles, but I'm not complaining about. Fair.

All right. You have the fruit pastel? I got a question. How much of chocolate Easter egg chat has actually made this its way into the show? All of it. Every single single. No, it's disgusting. Sheaking her head. We're going to cut in now. We've actually got more to chat about than just Easter egg, surprisingly. We're playing F1 higher or lower later on. We've got a discussion on Alpine's open letter that they did last week. We've got a chat about Max Verstappen and a run-in that he had recently with a journalist from the UK.

but we're going to start with Charles LeClaire and Ferrari, because Charles LeCler has said Ferrari can make huge gains across every area of its 2026F1 car, including the engine, chassis, aerodynamics, and tire management. Mate, that's pretty much everything, Scholl.

Ferrari has been Mercedes closest rival this season, but hasn't stopped them winning the first three races. The team has acknowledged it is currently down on engine performance, at least partly due to the Mercedes interpretation of compression race. ratio rules, a loophole set to close after round five in Canada. Still, Ferrari needs some power train upgrades, which the ADUO or additional development and upgrade opportunities mechanism might provide

opportunities for, with manufacturers between 2 and 4% down on the best engines power allowed an additional upgrade, while those who are more than 4% down will get 2. The process theoretically occurs after the 6th, 12th and 18th rounds of the season. However, LeClaire has to stressed Ferrari must not focus just on the engine alone, highlighting some of those other things that they need to improve on as well. But if we're going to start Sam with the power units and ADUO, which a duo, a duo, I'd like a duo. I'd like a duo. I'd like a duo from the start of that bit because that was, that was terrible. We've established at Miami is so far away, we might need to cryogenically freeze ourselves to make it there in one piece because we genuinely

might not make it. It would be so Ferrari to only focus on the power unit and go, you know what, we've got a month. We can't do anything with a power unit because a duo or whatever we're calling it, hasn't kicked in yet. So we've got allowed to do any work. That will be so Ferrari. But genuinely, if it's going to help anyone this gap, it's Ferrari that it will help as a contender at the top.

I do think that Mercedes will be putting a lot of their efforts into trying to try. to make an engine that works without the compression ratio involved. They obviously got the news at the start of the season. It's a huge change. They got to deliver it to customer teams as well. It is a big difference in how their cars are going to be tested. So a lot of focus, I think, will be on that. And they obviously don't have to wait until the sixth Grand Prix of the season to do any adjustments.

They have to make it fair, wouldn't the regulations before that point? Ferrari, on the other hand, there's a few things already that we've seen Ferrari tinkering with. They brought the world's tiniest windscreen that appeared on one of their cars. for a brief moment. Of course, we've seen the Macarena wing turn up. That's quite funky and interesting too. And we've seen lots of teams developed really strange and wonderful and innovative side pods and ways of getting the airflow around the cast be more effective. And I think this is where Ferrari are going to be looking for further games. We saw that the Seis are comfortable on their tyres. We saw that they've got bigger pace throughout a lot of the midspeed corners as well.

And actually, they were matching Ferrari despite having bigger engine power in a lot of the cornering sections as well that we've seen in the last three Grand Prix. especially Suzuki, where Kimi Antigali went on to win that Grand Prix by a very long distance. So Ferrari doing to make sure that whilst they don't lose track of where the car has been good so far, and it's definitely the most competitive Ferrari would have seen for a while, the DNA is clearly there. They do need to make sure that they are expanding and developing that car rapidly. If they want to make sure they can take advantage of essentially what's going to be a negative car dealt to Mercedes

with the change of these regulations when it comes to the engine, they will be heavily affected, Ferrari to capitalize. Harry, could you see a duo being used to get closer to Mercedes? I mean, it's what it's there for, isn't it, this year? So it'll be interesting to see whether this helps bring together the competition. Obviously, as he said, it's supposed to come in at round six, which was Miami. But it's now Monaco, TBC, or whether, when that actually comes in. But yeah, it's what it's there for.

So it would be interesting to see. and I'm hopeful that it does allow, well, does allow Ferrari to catch up to the top, but other teams as well. The percentages you mentioned, what are they giving Honda? Right, that's like double figures, isn't it? 85%. Okay, fine.

But yeah, so hopefully, hopefully it does make a difference. The comments from McClure do give me the same vibes as the Carlos Signed, Charlotte Clear, 7-10s upgrade, Imala upgrade they they touted a couple of years ago which obviously they're still not at seven times now I was still working on that upgrade but they are much closer than they were at that point so

I'm obviously teasing there so yeah whilst they can't focus all on engine power I think it will be a big thing for Ferrari to look at here because whilst Mercedes I think are probably stronger in all at all most areas versus the Ferrari car engine pace is going to be the one that they're focused on the most. So yeah, I'm hopeful it does allow them to catch up

because whilst Japan wasn't as good for them as a first year races, Ferrari are within touching distance and whilst, you know, McLaren haven't always been there throughout this year and save for Red Bull, this a duo may allow them to catch up. So they'll be hoping that with the advantage that they've had, if they can make some games, it will allow them

to get the mix with Mercedes a bit more. Yeah, I feel like this plus the compression ratio loophole that we've discussed a couple of times this year, that being closed, those two things collectively, it's quite an effective one-two punch, or at least it has the potential to be quite an effective one-two punch on Mercedes. And Ferrari is, as you already say, Sam,

are very well positioned to take advantage of that, if that's the case. You know, ADUO, like you can say it's pretty similar to, and it's not the same. Otherwise, people will shout at me. It's a bit similar to balance of performance when it comes to the World Endurance Championship. But where it differs is, if you think of balanced performance in WEC, you're more looking at bringing the leaders back to the pack, whereas this is kind of attacking it from the other way, which is bringing those at the back forward to where, or giving the opportunity to come forward to where the leaders are. That's the other good thing about

this, I think, is it's not guaranteed you are now going to be on the pace of, let's say, Mercedes, who have the best power unit, it's the opportunity to catch up. We know that these upgrades, there is no guarantee that it's going to work for all teams. We've seen that particularly in the last couple of years that these upgrades can fail. We had not an engine upgrade necessarily, but Vastappen had an upgrade package at Suzuki. And I think the only reason we know that is because we were told about it. There wasn't much indication to show Red Bull were particularly fast there versus what they could have been. And as you've kind of outlined Harry with the timeline of all of this,

in theory, this compression ratio loophole is going to be closed after Canada, which is now round five. And if they're sticking with round six is the time in which their first reviewing performance for ADUO, that's essentially back-to-back rounds. That could hit Mercedes quite hard, like one after the other. It is going to be, I think, much tougher. And this isn't just about Mercedes, but this is going to be, it's going to be tougher in this era for an engine manufacturer to dominate in the same way that

Mercedes did back in 2014. Like when Mercedes came out the blocks beginning of the hybrid era, that advantage essentially stayed with them for like four years. I don't think it's going to be as easy to do that here with this mechanism in place. But it is important for Ferrari in particular to use this opportunity to catch up, especially with the likes of, I mean, think about Austria and Silverstone. Think about Monza. All of these tracks are upcoming. They are very power sensitive tracks, more so than Suzuki than we've just gone to and Melbourne's kick off the year. It's very important that Ferrari get this right sooner rather than later. I think for Mercedes, though, with the compression ratio, they have to take that as a bit of a loss, not only because

they'll be losing a competitive advantage, but also, I guess, Sam, because they've lost Bahrain and Saudi Arabia two rounds in which they could have used it before it was taken away. Instead, they've kind of just got the five rounds to use it rather than seven. Yeah, that loss of those two Grand Prix, you mentioned the ones who punch of the changing compression ratio and the ADUO going to possibly Ferrari and other manufacturers, of course. This is also a loss for them, like a third strike, essentially, where they've got less time to take advantage of this, is now what's going to be deemed a legal style of engine, which has to be tested, because they were both power tracks. Having a strong engine at both those tracks was a huge commodity that you could take

advantage of, and they've lost that immediately. It's a real big hit for the same thing that I'll take a advantage of it. It's a real win for the likes of Ferrari, for Red Bull. For those of cars that are not essentially using a Mercedes power train to go, great. We've got development time, so I can understand what went wrong. We can pick up this ADUO and start forecasting how we maybe want to use it after whatever round it actually does come into. as well, and that's two less races from Mercedes and its potential customers to score points.

You know, I can't know on saying this, but teams like Alpine were a real threat with Pierre Gasly in that kind of midfield of the points section. And I bet Max Verstappen is, you know, walking down the street, kicking his feet on the floor, oh, go, I get rid of Pierre Gasly. He's so good. Well, now there's a chance at the end you could be even better for you, sir, that you could be on equal playing fields and no longer be haunting to the Cassio triangle of Suzuki, will Max Verstaffir by Pierre So it does feel like Mercedes are really on the back foot. It's going to be really interesting to see how they take on a lot of challenges at once, combined with the fact that both their drivers are still vying, of course,

to leading a world championship, which could be the first of both of them. I don't think this is much of a radical statement, Harry, but particularly when it comes to Charles LeCler, if Ferrari can deliver a power unit that is able to compete with Mercedes, you know, fanciest chances against Santone and Russell, Not to say that both of them are solid drivers and done a good job so far this year. They're not unbeatable, especially for someone like LeCler. No, not at all.

And I think we've seen already this year that both, whilst they have dominated the wins we've had, both of them have had issues or errors along the way that, or, you know, performances have not been quite up standard. So I'd argue that Leclair has operated. already this year at a higher level than both Russell and Antonelli. And that isn't, I'm not being harsh on those two. But if there's a car, then get him into the fight, then yeah, I absolutely think LeClau. But this is Charles LeClaire who was taking on Max Verstappenny in, well, he stood at

his prime, but at his prime in like, you know, 2022 era. If he can do that, he can take the fight to Russell and Antonelli for sure. In terms of what else they need to improve on Sam, I know Charles has essentially listed everything. Is there a bit of anything that you've spotted so far this year, if we're going outside of the power unit that you think that's something they need to get better at? I feel like tireware has actually cost them a little more than we've been expecting. When you're in a season in an era that tireway doesn't seem to be a massive factor, unlike the last few years where you have seen tires drop off a bit more or overheating has been an issue.

sorry. Both Hamilton and a Claire have had instances where they've been unable to catch or match the cars around them because they've been affected by the tyres dropping off over heating slightly further. We saw it with Lewis Hamilton specifically where in the sprint race, he absolutely tore through his tyres much faster than everyone expecting him to. And he came out in the interview afterwards and said, I've really learned something there that I, you know, the tires aren't as true as I thought. I was too aggressive on my attack. The Ferrari ripped through his tires faster than we've seen with a lot of the other top cars going around it as well. So if they can mitigate this and create a big of an impenetrable force like McCarindig last year, where it could run super close to the cars around it, i.e. its teammates. It could sit behind in the heat and not overheat whilst keeping the downforce applied. And the tyres aren't going to go off. That gives them a real chance to take the fight to Mercedes if the rest of the upgrades provide them with a level playing field.

I think overall they've got something to work with in that it seems like a really responsive car, A car that at low speed is pretty handy, good on acceleration. They've got the building blocks there for a good car. The thing I pointed out was I don't think they're yet on top of qualifying. I think they can get a little bit more out of those qualifying sessions. Maybe not to touch Mercedes quite yet, but I don't think they're getting 100%. Some of that might be down to driving style, some of that might be down to. Again, the tires could be the warm-up of the tires for those qualifying laps.

I think it is important they sort it out though because at the moment it's not really hurting them that much in that they're so good at race starts that they can afford to qualify a position or too lower than maybe they could do. But that advantage isn't necessarily going to hold. Like Mercedes might well get better at those starts as the year progresses.

And we saw in Suzuki, Piastri was there leading from the... It isn't impacting McLaren in the same way that it's impacting Mercedes. So if McLaren are starting to get more involved, in these battles for podiums, then suddenly Ferrari might have to start out qualifying them a lot more consistently. Harry, Fred Vassura said before that Miami could be the start of a new championship,

which I appreciate is not just about his team and more about the sport as a whole. But could you see that being the case? Could you see the order being shaken up significantly there? I think, I mean, significantly I would be surprised, but I think it's not a bold statement to say this given we've got you know 330 days until the next race in Miami. It's not it's not beyond the runs possibility that yeah things could change quite significantly both in the developments that the teams can make if indeed they

are allowed to do it from that race onwards but also the sports a whole you were saying about qualifying then with Ferrari if for a If there's, if something, you know, the FI, if I make some changes in this, in this sort of false break we've got, and qualifying allows drivers to push 100%. Expect to see Hamilton and LeCler, especially LeClaire,

back on top qualifying form. And then if they're qualifying, you know, even third and fourth, that's, that's an easy lead by whatever turn one they're going into from, from there on in, maybe with Monaco's the exception. But even then, who knows. so yeah I think there's a combination of things that could really

I don't think shake it up and you know Alpin aren't going to start winning suddenly but it certainly could help close the gaps yeah that would be a shake-up Lecler is definitely going to try and squeeze it down the middle into turn one of Monaco isn't it if he if he qualifies for it's he's absolutely sending it into Sanford all the heroics into Sanct them all please yeah he will prove that he's a cut above the rest oh just like his mother a great hair dresser Thank you for the context right at the end there.

That is appreciated. Sounds just a massive Charlotte-Cla, mother fan. Fair. I'm not a clear. Fair play to you. You've raised a beauty. We're cutting this off. One final thing I want to say on Ferrari as well. I was thinking about their weaknesses from last year. I think their number one weakness last year was high-speed corners.

Great work on the regulations. They don't exist anymore. So Ferrari's weakness just got eliminated for 2026. Good, good work. Playing 3D chess out there. If only. Goodness, Mr. President Steele over the start procedure changes. Imagine how big their start work I'm being if they haven't changed anything.

That's a big point. Let's take our first break on this episode. On the other side, we're chatting Vastappen. Welcome back, everyone. Max Wastappen, a bit of recent news from him, because he refused to begin his Japanese GP press conference until Guardian journalist Giles Richards left the room, saying, I'm not speaking before he's leaving,

before telling him, very bluntly, to get out. The tension stems from a question Richard's asked after last season's Abu Dhabi finale, where he questioned whether Vestappan's clash with George Russell may have cost him the title. Of course, that crash coming at the Spanish GP earlier in the year. Vestappen took issue not just with the question, but how it was asked.

Once Richards exited, Vastappan began the session in Japan as normal. Richards later said he was deeply disappointed, adding that difficult questions are a part of a journalist's role and expressing hope for a better relationship with him going forward. Harry, this at the time got quite a lot of intrigue on the likes of social media. What were your thoughts on it? Not on from Max Verstappen this. I've tried to be as balanced as possible here because I,

Vastappen, I mean, a lot of these drivers do, but the likes of Vastappen, Hamilton, Alonzo. I mean, Alonzo thinks that it's just all on him. But those drivers receive perhaps more criticism, not just in the press, but on social media, etc. More so than others necessarily do. And so I can see how things like questions that he was asked by, by Charles Richards at the end of last year,

have riled Max up. But even so, it is the duty and the responsibility of journalists to ask these tough questions, as he rightly said. And it's not up to Max Fassapen to decide whether what questions he would like to be asked. And it's a dangerous precedent to set that, you know, not just F1 drivers, but any sports star can just demand which journalists, which media outlets allow them to question them because they don't want to answer certain questions. Max is probably more blunt than the most.

especially around the media has always been, suspect he always will be. It's part of his character, it's part of what people love about it, and that he's sort of no nonsense, no nonsense in that respect. But yeah, this isn't on. You can't be chucking out journalists in your press conferences. And I hope that by the time we get to the Miami GP and beyond that there's, you know, a bit of water onto bridge, they come to a fresh illusion between the two them and that he sees that, you know, this is, this can't, this can't be the way forward for

him because it shouldn't be, and also given his status within the sport, it sets a bad precedent for anyone who's, you know, any new drivers that are coming up and think that they can do the same. So, um, not on disagree with Max on this one, heavily. What was your take on it, Sam? I was quite disappointed when it came out. I want to caveat my response with the fact that I really like Max Verstapp and I've got a lot of respect for. him. And to be fair, here's every right to be annoyed, a question. Here's every right to not like someone. You could do all those things. You know, if you want to take an answer and give the most

blunt response possible, that's your prerogative. You could do that exactly how you like. One one-run responses are entirely up to you if that's how you see fit. I do not understand where the entitlement comes from where you think you can tell someone to stop doing their job when they haven't done anything wrong. It's not like he asked him a fainting question. He didn't say something that was rude. It was a critical question. It, you know, posed for thought and I can

understand why Max might have been a bit frustrated at the subject being raised again that he had that incident with George Russell in Spain. And look, it came from a British press member and we know that there's been some critique of the British press when it comes to questioning the Formula One drivers about an incident with a British driver

which Max has had problems with previously. But the entire I think that there was to say to someone, I'm not going to do anything until this person leaves the room. I thought was outrageous. And I can't believe that no one stepped in from a like an FIA point of view, an official's point of view, stepped in or other journalists at that point, or drivers who are revolved in the room, didn't say, come on, really? Like, is that really on? Is that okay that you think you could just do that to someone? I know that people probably felt a bit awkward and they didn't want to cause a bit of an uproar. But it must have been really difficult for

this accredited journalist who spent many years trying to be the best in their field and, you know, they're pretty pursuing a subject that they are very passionate about to be ousted, to be removed from the one area that they think they have earned their right to being as well as those drivers because he asks a critical question. So this isn't something I ever want to see again. I really don't think it's on. I hope that someone has tried to explain this to Max in a, you know, a friendly nice way where he can see both sides, I hope. And I do hope much like you, Harry, that they can pack things up to at least a point where they could be in the same room together, even if he secretly ever asked Max for staff on a question again.

I just don't want to see this kind of behaviour between the press who try their best to bring stories to us, which we use on this show on a regular basis, and the drivers who are there to both entertain us and feel comfortable themselves. So, yeah, it was really disappointed. I hope we don't see something like it again. I was really quite shocked at it. Yeah, my view was very similar. I thought it was quite poor of Vastappen, at least the way he handled it. I've seen a lot of, you know, which side are you on with this? Are you on the side of the journalist or your side of Vastappan? It's not really the way I'm viewing this. The way I view it is pretty similar to how you started your answer, which is that Richard is entitled and he is allowed to ask the question. Vestappen is entitled and has a right to answer however he wants to in that moment.

Richards has a right to be in the press conference and I appreciate by the way this was a Red Bull specific press gathering rather than the official FIA press conference I believe but I think the same rule applies. He has the right to be there. But Vestappen does not have the right to say you shouldn't be here. That's where it crosses over, I think. I thought the Abu Dhabi question was a valid one.

It's a tough question to ask, no doubt, but that's what journalists are there for. you are at least with a championship that went down to the wire and was as close as what it was, I understand how that question for Verstappen would have been tough to deal with. He has just come out of a championship fight and come up narrowly short.

But the reality is they are going to pick out those pivotal moments and if he had won by a couple of points, they would have done the same thing with one of his wins or one of his comeback drives or whatever it might be. They would have asked the question, It was this race in particular something you see as the crucial moment that turned the championship around? The fact that he came up a couple of points short is just you're going to get questions on the other side of it. I just, one of Max Verstappen's issues was how often as well he was asked this question.

And I understand that point of what he's saying. Like, it was natural for him to be asked about this incident straight after it happened in Spain. and I also think it was perfectly valid to ask him this question after Abu Dhabi as well, given what we know happened. If he's being asked constantly in September and October about this, and it must get very boring and repetitive to answer the same question again, I think he is very entitled to say, like, why are you asking me about this? This happened months ago, the championship battle is ongoing.

We've had many more races since then. Don't ask me about it. Why are you asking me about this? but as soon as the Abu Dhabi result is confirmed, I think it does become relevant again. But even though I thought it was a valid question, it's kind of pointless. It doesn't matter whether I think it's a good question or a bad question.

He's entitled to ask it, and you are entitled to answer it. If Fasappan had sat there and gone, I think that is an atrocious question to ask, here's why. Whether I agree or disagree with that, I don't care. Like, he has just been his unfiltered self in that moment and given an accurate answer to how he's feeling. That's what I want to see from him and all the other drivers.

And honestly, we get more of that from Vestappen than we do most other drivers. I often come away from like an official press conference and think, well, we haven't really learned anything here because they've given the most cookie cutter answers. And a lot of the time, Vestappen is the one that kind of breaks that mould. I don't care what you have to say as long as it's truthful to who you are. But where it crosses over is just flat out refusing to have someone's presence in a press conference. I just think it's a bad look for Vastappen. And I know the other thing he said about this is how, and I'm paraphrasing because I can remember the word he used exactly, he felt that the question was

asked in a bit of a sneering sort of way in Abu Dhabi. Vestappen has that point of view. Others in the room have said the opposite. So it's probably pointless to get into which one's right and which one's wrong because it is just two different versions of events. But if they're is any instances of a journalist asking that question in a very sneering way, F1 at that point does need to play a role in ensuring that their drivers are not being blatantly disrespected in their press conferences, no doubt about that. But equally, Max Verstappen would be allowed to turn around to say, I don't like the tone you've used when you're asking that question. Therefore, my answer is going to be, if you

want an answer from me, don't use that tone. It's perfectly okay for him to say that. But like you said, to remove someone from their work is just so disrespectful. I know, again, this wasn't the official press conference from the FIA, but is, and maybe this is a one and done situation and things will be resolved. But Sam, we go back to the word precedent. And what is to stop someone coming to the next Grand Prix in Miami and saying, well, there's two journalists I don't really like. I don't want either of them.

Like, is we down a slippery slope with this? Yeah, it's got a bit of. be, to use a very British phrase, it's got to be nipped in the bud very, very soon. You've got to make sure that this does not happen again. And I don't, and because there hasn't been a rule set, I don't think you should go and, you know, start a witch hunt on Max for staffing here and say, oh, we shouldn't have done this, you know, we should impede him, whatever it might be, there should be a fine for this. None of that, it's happened. We have to learn from it. We shouldn't do it. This is almost come out from a statement now from the FIA and say,

in any form of official press conference that involves Formula One where there are drivers present unless someone is genuinely offended I guess that wording there could be a little loose here so you know might be more specific you shouldn't be seeking the removal of official personnel or something like that but I do think that

even if the statement is kind of kept relatively internal and sent just to teams maybe to save embarrassment and that's okay I do think they're putting needs to be a word sent round where people are kind of made clear as to what is and isn't accepted by the FIA when it comes to discussing their sport in official grounds. Yeah, I just think overall, like having a free press is so vital that is not afraid of intimidation or censorship.

And, I mean, that sentence doesn't even include the words F1 in it. So it's probably not just limited to here, folks. But, yeah, it's important that we keep that within the sport. and I guess, Harry, because I know there will be some comments saying that this is the person rather than the rule, we had this with Lewis Hamilton about 10 years ago, and I felt the same thing there. Ironically, that happened at Suzuki as well. Yeah, it's cropped up every now and then these sorts of incidents. The one I was also thinking of was not quite the same, but Fernando Donzo and Johnny Herbert, for example.

I think as a rule maybe. drivers should be allowed to go rinse the journalist on television instead. If it's Johnny Herbert. I was like, only this is funny other than that. YouTube, Alonso, Johnny Herbert, if you don't know what to talk about. Yeah, it comes up every now and then.

There was also another one, I think, with, I think it was how, I don't know if they say one, but is Hamilton and a Dutch journalist and he was sort of provoking an answer of Hamilton and Sebastian Bettle jumps in. To defend Hamilton, that is, there's incidences that have occurred, over the years between Fon drivers and journalists

and it will probably happen more and more as the sport, you know, with the popularity of the sport and how accessible it has become versus what it used to be. These things may come up more and more, but even so, even if there are disagreements, you shouldn't, drivers shouldn't have the right, unless it's something that you said,

unless it's something genuinely offensive that's been said, which this was not, that they shouldn't have the right to kick out journalists. from press conferences, etc. So it's part and parcel of it. It will happen from time to time, but even so drivers shouldn't have the power to be able to do this.

Before we go to our second break, Formula One at the moment is being compared quite a lot to Mario Cut. We've had a couple of those comments about how it feels like you're given a mushroom or there's a blue shell comment that's been made by Vastappen. But I have to say,

my favourite power-up used in the Mario game is the star. The problem... Oh, God, I wonder where this was going. The problem I knew exactly where that was going as soon as we started. I started to panic. I thought, I haven't prepared for this topic. Marriott. That was on the schedule. I've got played a lot.

I'm not ready for this. The problem is I've got five stars, and I don't know what to do with five. Mate, well, with such a big gap in between F1 races, there's so many stars to give. And what you should do, folks, is give them to us because we love stars. Yeah, thumbs up for everyone on YouTube. Especially with Artemis.

They could go see our stars. With Artemis reference, yes. God, I didn't know what you said. You're culturally relevant. Sure. Yeah, please, folks, if you have enjoyed the chat so far and indeed any other podcasts you've listened to, it would mean the word to us if you left us a five-star review

wherever you listen to your podcasts. alongside that you can write whatever you want as per usual this week this month for this plug you can write Artemis get that word trend going come on let's get involved in the SEO of Artemis yeah that is love that big brain strap okay yeah

SEO thinking yeah we'll also accept Dark Side of the Moon Earth World War 3 no wait no no Wireless Festival? Wireless. Oh, oh, oh, ah. Mm.

Does anyone know his headlined in that? No one. Because it's cancelled. It's invisible. John Singer. I'd go to a festival where John Sina was headlining. You might have already been there. You don't know.

Yeah, well, you're a festival, it's like the in-between sets. He's on. John Sina, you just don't know. It's just nude. Anyway, five stars, please. Kelski hates this segment. She didn't immediately shake her head.

That's a yes, she loved it. So we can move on. We can move on into a break. On the other side, we're going to be chatting Alpine. Welcome back, everyone. Picking up on a bit of news from Alpine, because in a statement recently, they dismissed claims that Franco Colopinto's car

has been sabotaged or compromised with. In that same statement, the team also criticized hateful posts targeting Colopinto over his role. in Olli Beerman's high-speed crash in last Sunday's Japanese GP. The team endeavours to put the two fastest cars on track and provide equal opportunity, Alpine said. They want both drivers to be competitive and score important points for the team in the championship. In some instances, given the need to fast track parts and carefully manage

the manufacturing process, the team is only able to bring select parts or upgrades to some events. However, that is never the intended or desired approach, as if the part is a performance upgrade as we hope and intend, then we want it available on both cars immediately. Any questions about sabotage or not giving Franco the same car are completely unfounded, which is why the team felt the need to speak out. And then elsewhere in the statement, Alpine spoke about abuse towards drivers saying the team condemns the hateful messages aimed towards Franco after last weekend's race in Japan, the same way it condemns the abuse and threats that were aimed towards Esteban-Ocon following a collision between the two cars at the Chinese GP. So a statement

kind of covers off two separate issues, Sam. Let's start with the sabotage comments on Franco Colopinto. Your thoughts about, I guess, the accusation itself and the fact that Alpina felt the need to come out with a statement against it. I think the accusation itself is, questions can be asked, right? If you're maybe new to Formula One, if you're very passionate about a certain driver, you think, oh, are they getting a bit of a dud deal here? Why are, why would they seem to be struggling against their teammate? Well, I've heard, you know, that maybe they have got the same parts on the car is perfectly fair to ask that question because it's very normal across formula one teams we've seen in multiple instances where only a set amount of parts have brought to a race where only a certain amount are actually capable of being produced cost cap we've got time limits that need to be mentioned we spoke about actually with williams ironically where you know the car has been crashed last year

and it's carlice and alex alban that are affected and only one car could go racing because of the problems that have been done i get that right was it those two a sergeant yeah thank you It was sacking. I have a feeling it wasn't most of it. Yes, but the same thing applies there, but they didn't bring enough parts to the racetrack. And only one car manager should go racing because they didn't have enough at the track

to repair the car due to the collision that was made. The same will be here at Alpin. They'll be trying to make sure that they don't spend too much money going down a certain pathway with the development of their car, finding out it doesn't work. They brought two parts of that, put it on both cars. Both cars have struggled with that difference. They have to take them off both cars

and try something completely new. You go to remember that a lot of these teams will be using the races also as tests. And so I understand the maybe lack of understanding or the confusion in how this part situation works. But who does it benefit by genuinely sabotaging a driver? Who gets a good result out of this? Can the Alping are like, yes, another one car point scoring result for us. To be fair, it's Alpy. They might be celebrating that.

I'll be fair. Maybe they will. but it's not because they've sabotaged the other drivers, just because they were so bloody awful last year. But, you know, it's an improvement. But of course they were both their drivers in the points. They don't want to be behind the likes of Haas. They don't want to be struggling with cars that can barely make it into terms. So new teams like Audi who took over, of course,

or maybe the likes of Williams, who have managed to score points on one occasion as well. They want to be getting away from the rest of the midfield, cementing themselves as the best of the rest. And sabotaging one of your drivers is just, a bit dumbfounding. It's just a bit stupid as a concept, unless for some reason the entire team have all got in on it together and gone around the garage and the paddock and whatnot and gone, we ate him. No parts for you, Franco, because we all hate you. It doesn't happen. It's not happening.

That's just not how it works. So again, you are right to ask questions. And I actually, I really encourage that curiosity, if you don't understand why something is happening, totally fine. You just don't need to doing a really horrible and slightly abusive manor on social media. It's quite sad that they felt the need to make this statement. I kind of understand why, but most of the time, whenever any accusation like this comes by, like most teams will just not acknowledging it, not acknowledge it. Like, they don't want to validate it in any way, so they just will not even pretend it's a thing.

Whereas Alpine have chosen to address this. And at least part of me thinks that, like, if you believe that sabotage is going on and Alpine come out and say, there is no sabotage going on, I feel like those people are probably just going to go, that's what someone who had sabotage would say, that we're not doing it. I don't actually think this is going to appease a lot of people, but it's, I mean, I'm not a spokesperson for Alpine as much as we joke that I am. There's no truth in this. As they say, there are times where there will be slight differences between the spec of each car,

because you've only got the capacity to bring one upgrade at a time. But apart from that, to your question, Sam, who does it serve to sabotage one of your cars? Now, I don't think I can make a claim for any team to go ahead with this. But let's say in some weird, wacky world, there was a team that really wanted a driver out of their seat and wanted to sabotage that car enough so that they could then make the car. decision to get rid of them and then bring in someone else. It's a bit ridiculous, but okay, let's go with that. The problem is it makes even less sense at Alpine, because it's Flavio Prietori at the helm. If he doesn't like you and he doesn't want you there, he will just get rid of you.

He's not, of all the team principles, he's not there with his pen and paper going, we just need enough hard evidence, just we need enough proof to fire this guy and then we can make the, he's just going to go get out. Like, that's the way Briotori operates. So it doesn't make any sense that they would be, any F1 team would be purposefully sabotaging their own car. I think it's a bit ridiculous. Harry, where are you on this?

Yeah, anyone suggesting it needs to give the head of wobble. It's not, it's not in the nature of F1 teams. As we've already said to do this, they are there first and foremost as a team to score as many points and win as many races as possible, they don't care who wins them, quite frankly, because as long as they win them, that gets them the money. So, yeah, it's, as you say, Sam, obviously, if you don't understand and ask the questions about why, you know, upgrades arrive at one car before another,

very valid question. It's happened for years in F1, but suggestions of sabotage are just plain stupid. And they wouldn't do that. So it's a shame that Alpine have had to put this statement out. I think obviously the second part of it has influenced that as well. They felt the need to say something because obviously the comments and the abuse that have come through on social media have become too much, I guess, for them to ignore. So which in itself is completely sad. So for anyone who has suggested sabotage, stop it.

Oh, Harry Ead, stop it. Harry, you'd stop it's come out. Yeah, all right, so they will now. Oh, he's done playing. That's like when you were a little kid and your parents go, go in your room. Yeah. Okay. Consider this Italian off.

Oh. You've been told. You're not mad. You're just disappointed, aren't you? Yeah, exactly. I am. I'm not raising my voice. That's true.

And that's scarier. That's scarier. Sam, is there any concern at all at the moment? Or is it too early in the season to say when it comes to Colopinto's relative pace versus Gazley? We know that Gazley's 15-1 ahead in terms of points, but that is maybe slightly misleading based on the loss points that Colopinto had at China. So is it still too early to say this is a worry? No, I'm not going to jump to conclusions. We've spoken so adamantly about drivers who get dropped from teams too quickly or judge too quickly. We're not a brand new era. It's going

to take drivers a bigger time to fully adjust in this. You've seen mistakes from the very best. Max Verstappen, you know, three out of four race starts we've had. It's been an absolute dud. And the guy is one of the greatest we've ever seen in Formula One. It takes different drivers, different times to acclimatize and adjust. Equally, you mention the fact that he's had the lost points when it came to China. He didn't do anything wrong in that instance. Esplan Ockon was at fault, puts his hands up and says, really sorry, but the damage has already been done. He doesn't score points on that day properly because of this. And I think you probably would have picked up maybe four points on that race day,

which, look, it doesn't drastically change what goes on there. But maybe it brings that gap down to, what, 155 did you say was the current gap, but 51. Well, he was 151, but yeah, if he was going to make it 155. So, you know, I, this is what I expect. Gassily is a heavily experienced race driver now. He's been in the sport a long time. And I've mentioned this time after time.

He is maybe the most underrated driver currently in Formula One. Colopinto is still finding his feet. The guy has not completed one full season yet. He's being in two separate teams. He's never done a full season. He's only just ticking over to, in theory, have 24 races in a row at any point as well. I'm more than happy to give Franco the rest of the year

to adapt, to learn, to change. There's going to be a pace difference between these two. Unless Colopinto is the prime time Sanger coming in that quickly, he's going to need time to get up to speed properly. They're getting someone who's good as Gasly. So, you know, I'm not worried, and I do think that fangs need to take a deep breath. And you know what? Just stop being horrible online, because I think it's quite sad the fact that you feel

they need to say such horrible things to people on the Internet. I think it's too early to make any rash judgments here. But, like, my prediction at the beginning of the year, when I said Colopinto is going to be way closer to Gasly this year, it's a little bit shaken. But it is early. I think the thing that he needs to address more than anything right now is qualifying because Gassley has essentially made it through to Q3 or SQ3, this was the case in China. He's done that three out of four times.

Colopinto has made Q2 every time, but then hasn't been able to get through to Q3 in any occasion so far this year. The average pace deficit in qualifying between the two at the moment, if we use all eight sessions where they've been against each other, four and a half temps in the first. favor of GASley, which is pretty sizable if you look at some of the other gaps on the grid. But again, the bigger issue is it's not too bad in Q1s. But when you get through to Q2, GASley's just able to find a little bit more than Colopinto. If you look at the four instances they've been together in Q2 or SQ2, Gasly was quicker than Colopinto by 0.769 in Australia, 0.922 in the Chinese sprint,

0.354 in the main qualifying at China, which is actually the climate. closest they've been, and then it was back out to three and a quarter tense again, or 0.750 again at Japan. So it's whether he can just find more in Q2 and improve at the same rate as Gazzley. I feel like that's where he needs to spend his focus over the next few races. The other part, Harry, of this statement was about some of the hateful messages that not only Colapinto has received, but Ocon received as a result of his crash with Colopinto in China. What are your thoughts on this?

I mean, it's unacceptable. Probably an unsurprising response, but it's unacceptable. We love that there are so many fans of F1 now and that there are so many passionate F1 fans, particularly for certain drivers. But if your driver and another driver, the driver you support and another driver have a collision,

no matter whose fault it was, even if it's an obvious one that one was at fault, there's just no, there's no reality where throwing abuse at a driver on social media is acceptable because they're, they're real people. I know that F1 in particular has, you know, quite a knack to seem, not of this, not real, that's not the right word,

but that it's like it's such a heightened sport, isn't it? You know, the glam of F1. Put them on a pedestal sort of thing, right? Exactly. And, you know, the likelihood is that most people watching F I will never meet these people. So it's almost like they're removed. But they are, but at the end of the day, they are, there are human beings and they don't deserve any of the abuse. And it goes beyond that.

It's obviously the drivers, which for the most part, you know, they're not looking at everything that comes in. But I'm sure they do look at some stuff. But then you've got the teams, then the people that work on the teams, you know, social media managers, etc., that are having to look at these comments on a daily basis. it's just unacceptable. And I really, you know, it's happened before. And we've had teams in F1, you know, put out statements, etc. But it does feel like at some point maybe something needs to be done.

And I did think if, and I'm not entirely blaming F1 here, because they can't control every comment that appears on social media, but if they put in as much effort into hiding replies to how bad people filled F1 is at the moment, into doing that for discriminatory comments. Maybe that would be a better use there time. So you've got to wobble your head, you've got to stop it, and now you've had that zinger.

That's a turkey, there, three for three. That is a turkey, yeah. Flames, my boy. Flames. Yeah, it's completely unacceptable for obvious reasons. There's clearly no malice in Colopinto's actions in Japan, but he doesn't receive a penalty for what happened. in any way. And as we and sort of others have discussed all throughout this year, this was a

crash waiting to happen. And it's pretty, it just so happens that it was Behrman and Collar Pinter. It could have easily been to other drivers that were involved in this sort of an incident where those closing speeds are vastly different. We had in practice for the Japanese GP, for an example, we had Piastri and Holcomberg a near incident into 130R because Piastri, who was sort of deemed that fault for the incident but wasn't given a penalty, he was like, Holkenberg caught me three times quicker than I thought he was going to. We're just seeing these cars are so unpredictable

with energy management that you are going to have some of these incidences, as the rules are right now. There was nothing that Colopinto did that even gives you the idea that he was intending for this sort of the thing to happen. And unfortunately, there has been a massive rise in hateful messages. towards not just F1, but just sports stars a bit more generally.

And I think some of the reasons you said, Harry, is spot on. Certainly anonymity on the internet is something that really, really hurts this because it allows for hostility in comments and messages without consequence. And you have these stars feeling much more accessible now because of the rise of social media. And there is a certain power dynamic thing, I think, to this as well. So a lot of the time people think it's okay to hurl abuse at someone because they deem that person to be in a higher class or of a different status to what they are. They'll look at how rich these F1 drivers are, how famous they are and say because of that, I can say whatever I want about them. And it doesn't work that way.

And yet, sadly, it does. You don't even have to look outside of Alpine for this. Just look at what happened to Jack doing this time last year. he received death threats and he's spoken about this on Drive to Survive and indeed other interviews as well. And he said, like, I've had messages saying if I'm still in the car by Miami, all of my limbs are going to be cut off. Like, he had to deal with that message being sent to him. He's had to have his own personal escort, like police escort at times as well. Like, it's brutal. But it exists. And like you say, Harry, you want F1 and the FIA to,

step in. I trust most of these teams are probably doing a good job already, but they need to invest as much as they can to make these drivers feel supported and protected as much as they can, because this is just not on in any way. Sam, your thoughts on this? I mean, while you were going through the examples that you spoke about there, the thought across my mind was, what do you get out of this? Someone who does this, someone who sits there and does this, what do you get out of it? must be a really sad, self-conscious person to sit there at home and go, oh, Mr. Bangal Khan and Franco Conn-Pinto had a crash on a racetrack doing the thing. They're paying millions of pounds to do.

And he said, sorry immediately. And they both walked away, happy as Larry, without any issue between them. But you know what? I'm going to send Esmego on a death threat because of it. How disgusting are you as a person that that's your first instinct, your first thought to do that? there should be less animity when it comes to these things. You should be held accountable for what you do. If you say it in the street, you'd be held accountable for what you are,

whether that be by phoning in the authorities, would that be throwing out of establishment, or, you know, depending on where you are, you're getting a right hook to the face, if you say it to the wrong person, because that's how people deal with stuff. But because you're sat behind the keyboard, it's disgusting.

It's disgusting behaviour. And I do believe that teams, that drivers themselves, that the FIA Formula One, I think they take this very seriously. But it's one of the few things I think they are genuinely powerless to do anything about. They have no control over social media. They can't pay Instagram or meta, whatever it might be, to stop the comments. They will keep coming.

It's genuinely the people who see these stars as non-human, non-accessible, non-available, that they could just say whatever they want to, whenever they want to. And it is horrible. And then it makes you think how do they treat someone they do know or somewhere else that they see online who isn't as strong or surrounded by support as a Formula One driver who has got endless resource that some people don't have.

It's not okay for them, but it's especially not okay when it comes to someone who maybe doesn't have any support around them. So as Harry mentioned earlier, give your head a wobble, stop being a vile little human being and put your energy into something that's genuinely far more useful with life.

Also, at the end of the day, it's just a sport. It's not that important. what literally is it going to change your life. Nah. And I think we'll leave that discussion there. One thing I wanted to chat about on today's episode, given the, I know we've joked excessively about the gap that we've got between races at the moment.

So it's a good opportunity for those both new and old to the sport to brush up on films, documentaries, books, whatever it might be, podcasts maybe. I mean, it's a good start, people, if you're listening to this. but I thought we'd run through some of our favourites of those that I mentioned. Harry, what would you recommend the lovely people that are listening to listen to to watch? Gosh, there are many things. I mean, film-wise, obvious early contender is Rush, if you've not seen that.

The first thing I would immediately recommend. Yeah, that's the number one. The soundtrack alone is breathtaking. Yeah, so the fictionalised. a portrayal of the 1976 championship. 50 year anniversary of that. Oh.

Just the first, I've been made of the film. I was like, it's been about that long. It looks so good. They made it immediately after the season ended. So that one, another film, but which is also a documentary,

but the center documentary, which is very, very good, very poignant, but very good. They've been by early to, early to mention in terms of like long form, long form stuff.

so many documentaries, series, etc. that have got it. I mean, like quite an easy one. If you're not, if you don't have F1 TV, get F1 TV and just go into the archive and watch the more races like we do on Patreon. Very good point, Harry.

Very good point. Well made. Yeah, I mean, Rush would be at the top of my list. Again, soundtrack's phenomenal. And Daniel Brul who plays Nicky Loud. He does a great job. really great job and yeah that the final scene is just beautiful with the music that they do there but

the whole film is fantastic and likewise sena was also on my list I don't think I've ever been able to watch that without like that last scene getting me in in Sena like just the way they do it it's brilliant um what's on your list some um obviously you've already ticked off a couple so I'll try and give something different. Griven with Sylvester's guy. I can't say it. I can't. Go on,

go on, do it. Commit to the vet. I mean, if you want to watch something, and I mean something. If you want to watch someone. And Kriven with Sylvester Stallone,

who, you know, sensational. Would you like to see 30 backflips into the lake? The Canadian GP. Look, if you want something entertaining, this ain't it.

You know, maybe try something else. I actually think, Lucky, which is an eight-part series that talks about Bernie Eccleston, it's a little bit bias in kind of how he came to success. Produced by Bernie.

Written by. Starring. Music by. Imagine. But it's really interesting. If you want to get context for kind of how he was involved in Formula One, he was a huge part of Formula One for so long.

But do go and watch some of the race reviews that are featured around that time as well, because it does give you more of a general context. There's really interestingly, there's one called the Silver War on, I think you can find it on YouTube, which is a retelling of the 2016 season between Hamilton and Rosberg. And that's very fascinating to hear lots of interviews about how that went down. I've also got Brabham that came out in 2020, which talks about kind of back dynasty and what went on with kind of the creation of both when the driver was on his own, became the team.

That's really fascinating. And the last one I want to call out was the obvious one, I think, which is pre-on-le-on-this as well, but the Keanu Reeves documentary about Braw in Ombuds. 9, it's sensational. You learn a lot about Frecker and what goes on with kind of the differences in the teams and the way that politically they're aligned as well. It's not just the action that happened on the racetrack as well. It's a real eye-opener of a season. And the way Formula One was back then in that kind of that day and age,

and Keiaga Reeves tells it fantastically well. It's really compelling. So give it a watch. It's highly worth it as well for the fact that Luca de Montez's Emelo still ain't over it. He's feeling. He is not over it, man. He's so angry. Almost 20 years ago, Luca, come on.

The last one I was going to shout out as well is the film, the movie Grand Prix, which is from the mid-60s. Now, as a storyline plot, hash, absolute, like, nonsense. But you just forget about it because it's, they shot it at actual, similarly to the actual therefore movie, but better. They shot it at actual race weekends in the, in the 60s. And you've got, you've got the likes of Graham Hill and Jack Stewart trying to do some of the best acting impressions. speaking of Hill is fantastic. Another great one as well, yeah.

That's on Sky, isn't it? But yeah, I would recommend just for some excellent nostalgic 1960s F1 shots. As I said, just let the nice pictures take over. Don't think about what's actually. The only other things I would, I'd mention before wrapping this up is on F1 TV specifically. I just love the 1970 season reviews on there. Of course I do.

but like, they're just, they're quite funny in the way they're narrated as well. And it just gives you a sense of what, similar to Grand Prix, I guess, but what F1 was like then, you will see some things and you're like,

how was that even remotely allowed? And yet it was. The other thing I was going to shout out, I watched this, I think very, I think when it came out, which was maybe about a year ago, which is on Netflix,

and it was Mercedes documentary about Kimmy, Antonelli, which was called The Seat. It was talking about Antonelli and how he was chosen for the team. It's something I might go back and watch, because at the time, I thought it was pretty good, if you can get past it being a very obvious WhatsApp advertisement. But it was actually a very good documentary. But it would be interesting to watch it back now, I think, given the success he's had early this year, and they've almost been vindicated in what they did. But it was a good one at the time when I watched it. So it might be interesting to look at it for a slightly different lens.

Now he's had at least a little bit of success. The last one for me, which was, I've just looked it up. It's on BBC 4 at the moment. So use a VPN if you're not from the UK or if you are, watch it there. It's called Jim Clark, the Quiet Champion. And it talks about his life and the way he went from being like a sheep farmer through to being the greatest race driver to tragically passing. And it's a really well-told story of an F-1 champion's life that we don't, obviously,

we can't understand. We can't get involved with you. We can't hear the stories anymore. So it's really well told. So if you've got some time, give it a watch. Jim Clark is so cool, man. It's just a cool, dude. I'm a farmer.

Now I'm a race driver, and I'm beating all of you every single week. Like, just, that's cool. Back to my sheep. Yeah. Respect to the guy. Right, let's take a final break on this episode. On the other side, F1 higher or lower. Welcome back, everyone.

It's time for F1 higher or lower. Is F1 higher? Is F1 lower? Is sad faster? Is Harry slower? F1 higher. F1 lower. F1.

Okay, F1 higher or lower. Six questions in front of me. Sam and Harry will take it in turns to have a guess. They all have numeric answers. If they get it spot on, they get two points. But if they don't get it right, the other person has the opportunity to say higher. or lower, and then if they get that right, they get a point. But if the person, if they get it wrong,

the person who guessed first gets the point. Sam, we'll start with you today. What number would you like? Number five, please, Ben. Number five. Okay, this one's a bit of an interesting question. How many drivers would it take you to cover the entire history of F1? What is the smallest number of drivers that could cover 1950 to 2026. I don't understand the question. So if like, if you had an F1 driver that theoretically raced from 1950 to 1990, and you had another one that race from 1991 until now, the correct answer would be two. You could...

They're tedious link. They're like how they, how they've been on the track at the same time, essentially? Basically, yeah, you've got the 77 seasons now of F1. How many drivers would it take to? cover all of it and the smallest possible number. Okay. I now understand what's being said. So, for example, Fangio did four seasons, so I need to find someone to interact with him to then carry on. I'm going to go with 19. Not 19. Harry, higher or lower? Lower? It is lower. And I have manually calculated this. So if someone wants to tell me I'm wrong, go ahead. You only need five drivers

to cover the entire history of F1. What? Come on, who are they? So you can have, and there might be other ways to do this, but the way I worked out was this, you've got Morris Trintignant, everyone's favourite French driver. Oh, no, well.

So 1950 until 1964. You've then got Chris Eamon, who did 1963 to 1976. You've then got Petraise, who did 77 all the way to 1993. You've then got Barakello, who did 93. until 2011 and you've got let's say Hamilton who did 2007 to now so that's just five drivers

to cover the entire history of F1 right there you go folks if someone out there can think of a way to do it in four I'll be impressed but I don't think you can it's like the word of of F1 drivers yeah there you go um Harry what number would you like uh number six please number six how many sprints have been won by a driver not named Max Verstappen? Oh. Four. Not four. Higher or lower than that, Sam?

Oh, he's pretty close regardless. I'm going to go higher? It is higher. It's 12. Mid Sam were nowhere near that. I'm sure like six. Yeah. So there have been 25 sprints so far.

The Stappan has won 13 of them. Everyone who's not Vastapen is 112. Great. Who are they? I didn't write them down. Good. Sam back to you. Number one, please, Ben.

Number one. In all time points, where does Oscar Piestri rank? Right. Brilliant. So not how many points he got, but in a list of all drivers. Where does he rank? I'm going to say he is four. 43rd.

It's not 43rd. Harry, higher or lower than that? As in... Closer to one or... Higher but less. So closer to one. Closer to one. Higher or less for closing a one.

It is closer to one, yes. It's terrified. He's already 18th. All time. Oh, my lord. He's higher than some of the grid already. Yeah, I mean, especially those that have been around. But he's got so many points already and with the system as well.

It has to be said that 25 for a win now, whereas a lot of these drivers only operated when... That's why I thought his third was a fair show. So I think I'm comparing it to him during the 50s. He's beat someone else regardless. Cricing. Terrifying. Harry, back to you. Number two, please.

Number two. How many retirements does Fernando Alonzo have? The correct answer is not one. Two? No. 43. Not a gang. It wasn't the first time. It's not 43.

Sam, higher or lower? Lower. It's higher than 43. Fernando Alonzo has 84 retirements, which, for, in percentage, 19.63. So basically one in every five races Alonzo has entered in his career he's retired from. He must have one of the... I mean, obviously, if you ignore the drivers

who have gone like four races in their career and they've retired from two, he must have one of the highest percentages of retirements. Yeah, I would think so. It's not... I wonder how many of them are from being in a car that has a Honda engine as well. Don't tell...

In fact, don't tell him that. I think he might pop... Don't tell him that he already knows. He listens to this show every week. I bet he's just turned off at that. Him and Leonard. Him and Lenny. Big up Lenny.

Lenny old falfer. Sam, back to you. Three. There it is. For how many races has Lewis Hamilton led the World Championship for? Oh, I would say quite a few, my bub.

It's not a bad show, that. Is that correct? It's correct, but it's not what I'm looking for. Ah. I will go with 141. Well, at least it wasn't 43. No, that's not the correct answer.

Harry, higher or lower than 141? Higher? It's not higher. It's a pretty good guess so much, you're in the ballpark. Which leaves us at Harry 3-2 up. So if you can get this right, Harry, you win the game. First, what number would you like?

Number four, please. He's so good these days. You really come along. How many Grand Prix have been held over 50 times? And I'm not looking for circuits. I'm looking for the actual Grand Prix races. Ten. Not ten.

Sam, for the draw, higher or lower? Nothing's ever felt more important than this question right now. It's true. But nothing. And it comes down for a 51 years. Hey, don't docks me. This is number one. You've said 10.

Sorry, by the Grand Prix, do you mean like the British Grand Prix? Yes. So it doesn't matter where they've been held, but it's the name of the race. Okay. Sorry, folks, you're thinking. I'm going to say higher. It is lower. The correct answer is eight.

Italy, Britain, Monaco, Belgium, Germany, Germany, France, Spain. and Canada. The one very unfortunate omission, which I hated doing, but I have to do it, is the Brazilian GP, which I think was held 47 times, but the Sao Paulo Grand Prix has been held like six times. Oh, no, no, which winds me up, mate. I can't get that in my head, that as well. I don't like it either.

Don't like that. You say Japan? Is Japan got in there? No, Japan has probably done. It's probably not far off, but, yeah, it only started in 87. Zandolese. Well, a two in the 17th. Put a Belgian together. Which means, Harry,

you win four two. Well done, sir. Thank you so much. No problem at all. As we skip merrily on to what can only be described. All right, Grant-all reference there.

That was a bit of conversation street. It's time for the greatest segment in all of podcasting. It is time for the LB Question of the week. Be real, folks. Not much to ask about at the moment, but thank you very much,

Lance Drol, who has decided to do some GT3 racing. We've asked what the actual reason is he's doing that. I'll go first, Gem, not Jeff, on Instagram with, he wants vibes, not vibrations. So good. He's on the rung for Fernando Alonso,

who has tried to force him to take his game to Faganda Alonso. That came from winning. That was a good one. One. Leg eight. One from Dude Reimbalt, which is because the trade federation is blockading the peaceful planet of Nabu over political disputes and trade routes. I actually watched that film the other day.

Was it as good as you remember? It wasn't good. The first time I watched it, but it's just... Is that the second? Is that the second? That's the first one. It's the one with Subalba in it, yeah. Unfortunately, it's also the one with Jarja Banks in it.

No, Mr. Jaja! No. You don't do the Jaja Binks impression there, no. Come on, son. He's the best. He's not the best. Of course, I'm the one person that likes You're in big do-do now, Judgeah.

Shut up. I love that little underwater city. It's cool. That's cool. Yeah. People in it, no. Leave them alone. Laura said,

look, buddy, those cars aren't going to beach themselves in the gravel traps on their own. There's no gravel traps at poor Ricard. Yeah, he's safe at Paul Ricard. That's true. David on Instagram just said it's just to feel something. That's literally it.

A fellow Ben has asked, he thinks that the higher the number in the category, the faster the cars, which in the case of the Aston is true. That's so good. Kay Gates has said, he finally gets a shot of a stab and equal machinery brackets. He will still get that.

A few here just saying he's bored, which is probably, not far from accurate, if we're being honest. Just bored of what you're going to do at the moment. The classic countdown is re-emerged. CECMackenic said 290. And what I admire is, Duke Rainbow every single time will reply with something.

And this time he has replied, thy number is here. Amaze, amaze, amaze, amaze. I appreciate the dedication, dude, Rainbow. Yeah. Last one from me, which is relevant to what we've just been. Speaking about to get his ultimate revenge on, Seboba!

How was this become a phantom menace podcast, man? Phantom breaking. The final one from me is from Render Bear. Fernando needs the second car to train his son for the 27 championship. Fernando and Leonard. He would if he could. And I'll round things out with one from Abbott. which is this is all a distraction

so no one notices he's about to drop a shock Monaco podium out of nowhere. I don't know how. Would he just get Alonso to hold everyone up for so long that he would lap everyone? I don't even know if Lonsor's got the motivation for that this year. Just going to park it sideways on the racetrack and get out. Oh, bless him.

Well, Monaco will happen at some point and we'll see how that goes. Thank you very much to everyone who submitted an answer on both Instagram and on Twitter, much appreciated. We'll be back with another question of the week if someone gives us something to use on it next week. Sam, if you wouldn't mind, getting us out of here.

Folks, maybe the question of the week should be, what should the question of the week be? But you know, you can discuss that in the Discord where there's over 4,000 of you merrily chatting away having a lovely little time. Ben, I hear you might be doing April quiz in the Discord. There is a quiz, and I should have wrote down the date before we start. did.

The 18th of April. Thank you. That works better than it's not this Saturday. It's next Saturday. Yeah, 9pm British Time, so you can work out what that equates to wherever you are in the world. But yes, about an hour of multiple choice, quizzing, fun. And if you don't have fun, then don't. That's not our problem, to be honest.

We don't claim that you will have fun. James Hunt probably loves British time. I bet he absolutely loves it. And he loves the quiz in the late break in Discord. He does. He does. Thanks for listening, folks. Follow us on social media, late breaking F1. Subscribe on YouTube and maybe your number will come down on social media as well. That's late breaking F1 as well. And we'll see you, I don't know, I guess for another episode that isn't about Formula One race once again very soon. In the meantime, I've been Sangha Sage. I've been Ben Hawking and I'm in Jar Jarvinx.

And remember, keep breaking late. Annie? It is Annie. Please.