The Late Braking F1 Podcast - Will Norris Clinch the Championship in Lusail? | 2025 Qatar GP Preview

Episode Date: November 26, 2025

The boys are back with all things Qatar GP, asking whether Lusail is tailor-made for a McLaren charge and Norris title clincher, or if Verstappen’s past magic here makes him a threat. They also discuss the breaking news of Adrian Newey becoming Aston Martin team principal, and round off with some Back and Forth... Want more Late Braking? Support the show on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Patreon⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and get: Ad-free listening Full-length bonus episodes Power Rankings after every race Historical race reviews & more exclusive extras! Give the 'gift' of Late Braking this holiday period with a Patreon gift subscription,⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and your favourite F1 fan can enjoy anywhere from 1 month up to a full year of top-notch F1 content! ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.patreon.com/latebrakingf1/gift⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Connect with Late Braking: You can find us on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠X (Twitter)⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠TikTok⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Come hang out with us and thousands of fellow F1 fans in our ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Discord⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ server and get involved in lively everyday & race weekend chats! Think you can beat us? Join our ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠F1 Fantasy League⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and prove it! Get in touch any time at [e-mail] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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Gofundme.com. Thank you for listening to the late-breaking F1 podcast. Make sure to check out new episodes every Wednesday and every Sunday. Hello and a very warm welcome to the late breaking F1 podcast presented by Harry Ead, Sam Sage, and me, Ben Hawking. Here we go. Two races to go in this F1 season. Oh boy, Sam, things are getting exciting. Yeah, I mean, the hobbies are we are well and truly cooking up a big of a

storm for the end of this F1 season. Yeah, proper gas on, got some eggs in there, a bit of sausage, bit of bacon. Absolutely everything's in there, full English, and we're having a great time. That's what it feels like, because everything's cooking. Yeah, the stabbing has closed the gap to 24 points to Norris. We're at a place where he has done quite well before.

It's a spring weekend where he's one more than anyone else that could all happen. Harry is excited, my friend. I know you love Qatar. Hi. Well, Qatar is right out there with Saudi Arabia on my list of Harry's favourite tracks in the world. After the race review podcast, I went back to bed. Did I miss anything?

Anything happen? Funnily enough, that's where I wanted to start, Harry, because that news notably didn't have you on it. Yeah, as I just said, I was asleep and I woke up the most confused man in the world to just the graphic of McLaren both disqualified. and I was like, oh, sure, sure. And then obviously, like, I had 37 messages from the late breaking off on podcast group chat. And I was like, oh, damn, I think I missed something here.

Yeah, well, that's gone well, hasn't it? It's gone well for McLaren. I feel like we did a lot of singing, Orlando Norris's praises for pretty solid race, you know, just, just eking in this championship into touch almost. And McLaren were like, nah, son. it's it makes a lot more sense now he looked quite miserable after the race as well given he just finished second and had you know had a pretty good day um and the fact that they were asking to lift and co or he was being asked to lift and coast so much uh also makes

a lot more sense so yeah an intriguing one from McLaren's side not sure i can ever recall a team making this much of a hash of the uh the third to last race of the season before when both in the Challenger fight. That's a new one. So congratulations on that, I guess, Andrea Stella and Zach Brown. Yes, a good result for the neutral, you could say, as we go towards

this penultimate round of the 2025 season. That is the Qatar Grand Prix. Also the last sprint race of the season. It means 33 points up for grabs, very valuable points to be had for those three drivers in particular. Qatar GP was first held in 2021, and after a one-year absence due to the World Cup

has been hosted every year since 20. 23. The Lusail International Circuit, 5.4 kilometers long, 16 corners, a very twisting, flowing track. Overtaking opportunities, not plenty. Turn 1 really is the best and maybe only opportunity for the drivers. That follows the one only DRS zone on the track. Weather or I guess heat, you could say, has been a bit of a discussion point at the track before, particularly going back to 2023 when drivers suffered from extreme heat. But since then, because guitar has moved back in the calendar by about seven weeks to mitigate that. Tires will be a big talking point that we'll get into, I'm sure.

Pirelli bringing the C1, C2 and C3 compounds, but the FIA is mandating a limit of 25 laps per stint, meaning there will be at least two pit stops for every driver. Now, following that shocking double disqualification, McLaren suffered after Vegas. Lando Norris's championship advantage has dropped to 24 points with Vastapen and Piastri tied. It means Norris must be both of them by two points this weekend. And if he does that, he wins the championship this weekend. So Sam, let's start off with the question. Can McLaren bounce back after Vegas? Yeah, I mean, it was a crazy scenario what we saw in Vegas last weekend. There was that stat that went round that had Norris not DNF to example. He would have won the

championship in Vegas only to have been disqualified and had the championship taking away from him in Vegas. Let's all just say we're actually quite happy that. didn't happen because that was going to be a catastrophe thing of the content thing of the content be real funny god's please bestow us you have blessed us um but now we're back in katar and the gap at the top is definitely smaller than it was but can mclaren bounce back yeah well the door is hijar for um for isaac for for for stopping and piastri it's definitely not slam shut but And Landon Norris has 100% the opportunity to slam it shut. And I do think it's far easier here than it is at Vegas for them.

The streets of Vegas are way more turbulent. They're far more bouncy, less smooth than Qatar, which is, you'll remember most of the time it's created to be a motorcycle circuit. And the way that motorbikes go racing is very different to the way that a Formula One car goes racing. They need the smoothest of racetracks to make sure that they're tying little contact patches on the road, doesn't throw them off into gravel at 180 miles an hour, Because remember, they come off the bike and they fall off, that hurts.

So they try and stay on that. And Qatar is built for motorbikes where the corg is a very much big swervy cork. It's very open. You follow through a big swerving pattern. That doesn't create great F1 racing. But it does mean that these kind of tracks have a lot less porpoising, a lot less bouncing around their race tracks. So you'll remember that with this plankware, it was so small and it's millimeters thing it was worn through.

But actually, I do think that we won't see. see the same issue for McLaren again. I think their right height will be fine. I don't think they'll be at risk of being disqualified again. I do think that that means that Mandon-oris just has to have a simply calm, normal racing weekend. I do think it would be a championship all wrapped up? What do you think, Harry?

Do you think McLaren can bounce back this weekend? And if so, how do they? I think they can certainly. And Qatar, if they wanted any sort of racetrack following what was a disastrous result in Vegas. This is the, this is, this is, this is prime McLaren territory, I think, fast and flowing, smooth as you've already said, Sam. So yeah, I think this is, this is sort of the perfect recipe for them. I don't think performance wise, it's going to, you know, going to be an issue. I just, I, they're just slightly wrong footed now on the back foot in terms of

they're going to, they will, there's, I know they'll come out and say, you know, it was a one time mistake, but they will be doubting themselves about the right height of that car. I guarantee they'll be running it higher than they need to this weekend because you've run it too low and get disqualified again and the entire fan community of McLaren fans are going to come after, going to come after Zach Brown. So they can't run that race. So they've got to almost do Ferrari in that sense and probably run it a bit higher. You've got you've got Max Verstapp in this championship battle now who, yes, he's, you know, totally

24 points behind, but he's still got the attitude of, I've got nothing to lose here. And if you're landing north, you can't afford a DNF anymore or a non-point score. So there's these little things which will work against them this weekend. I still think, I still think they're going to be strong. Still think they're going to be the team to beat over the weekend. Obviously, we've got a sprint as well. But there's just a few, there'll be a few things at the back of their mind, which I don't think we should be counting here.

Yeah, I agree with that. I mean, they certainly can bounce back and the evidence is 14 wins and 31 podiums this year. There's a very good chance they bounce back, but they do need to reset

after the Vegas GP. The good news is there's no time to dwell on what happened at Vegas. You are at the other side of the world within seven days going racing again. Well done, F1 calendar. Good job.

But that might actually be good news for McLaren. And to your point, about Vegas and Qatar in terms of track characteristics, they could hardly be more different. You've got street circuit versus purpose-built track. You've got high-speed versus tight and twisting. There's not a lot that Vegas and Qatar have in common, which is probably good news for McLaren. From Norris's perspective, I think he should be in a good position going into this weekend mentally. He knows that the P2 that he had in Vegas was there on merits.

And whilst the disqualification was obviously correct, the FIA confirmed, as I think we all knew, the disqualification didn't materially benefit either him or Piastri. It's not like they gained a second a lap because they were running that car as low as they did. They left it pretty close. The disqualification was right. But Norris can still have the confidence he deserved to be in P2. And indeed, if you look at the last,

five races, a couple of wins at Mexico and Brazil, podiums at Singapore and Austin as well. So Norris is still in a very good run of form. And even, you know, before the disqualification, he had the opportunity to win this championship in Qatar. He's still got that opportunity. So I don't think a lot changes from his side. Piastri needs to frame it in the right way as well because he has had some things go against him this year. I think back to the Hungary strategy and Silverstone safety car, Imola strategy as well. And this is another one. This is one that kind of goes the other way. It's in his

favour. Sure, Max Verstappen is closer to Piastri, but ultimately Norris is the guy they're catching. So this is a net win for Piastri as he goes into this one. But I would finish by saying, Harry, I think you had a valid point about the right height. McCarron are going to be second-guessing themselves here, even if it's not as much of an issue here as it would have been in Vegas. In Vegas, they obviously ran the car far too low. They went to aggressive, they got disqualified. Earlier in the year, a race we were at, Austin, they went the other way. They were far too conservative at that race. And as a result, you could argue that's what gave Verstappen the pace advantage to win that Grand Prix. They're going to have to find a middle

ground. But the problem is, much like Vegas, where they were saying a lack of practice time, hurts us to find what works and what doesn't work for ride height, you aren't going to get practice time here. You've just got FP1 and then you are straight into competitive action. So if they get it wrong, the Stappen is there. I think championship-wise, he's closer now than he has been since Imola possibly. So, yeah, not a position I'd like to be in. We heard Harry say that he thinks that Qatar will suit McLaren. Do you think the same, Sam? Well, in theory, yes, it should. You look at tracks like Brazil, which Landon and Norris was fantastic at, and I argue that they are quite similar, whilst Brazil is the far greater, more superior

older brother of Qatar, there are still some, you know, shared genetics between those racetracks, long sweeping corners, one major start, finish straight, where you could get overtakes down into the first corner. There are some similarities. You saw just how well Landon Norris went around there. It would make sense if a similar replication were to take place. But I do think Landon Norris has a little cause for concern, because in previous years, this has a biggest strongest race track. You know, Piastri picked up the sprint wing. I get that it was given back to him by Norris at that point

due to the, again, the politics that took place in a previous situation. But for Stapner's won this Grand Prix twice. Norris wasn't even on the podium where it came to the race this time last year. I think he was in 10th place. So he has not had a lot of success at this racetrack previously. And at a time where he needs calmness, he needs consistency. see, he needs guaranteed easy results. We're going to a track

whilst it might suit the McLaren. Oscar Piastri has been far more successful here and Max Verstappen outclasses them both on a regular basis. So if they can get the car working in one session, sure, he might feel like with previous results this season, he can cover a track he's struggled with before.

But, form at this race track has been shaky at best and so he's going to have to come over what ever has been causing in problems in the previous couple of years. In theory, I mean, track might have been built for McLaren if you look at that all of those medium speed corners, those extended corners, that's where McLaren have been strong all year. So, yeah, on paper, in theory, this should be a good weekend for them. But F1 famously, it's not

raced on paper or in theory. So, and you're right, like, in terms of Max Verstappen, like he won this race last year at a time where he wasn't winning a lot of races. I appreciate he won the championship last year, but so many of those wins came in the first half of the season. He won Brazil, which was a weird one. This was maybe the only one in sort of the last second half of the season, really, but he won legitimately on pace, which should worry McLaren a little bit. Harry, who does the two-stop mandatory rule benefit? Does it benefit for Stappan or does it benefit the McLaren's?

I think it benefits for Stappan more than the McLaren's. McLaren, you know, one of their strengths in the race this year has been its ability to the car's ability to look after its tires so well. They have, in races where others have struggled, in warmer conditions especially, the McLaren has been able to push on and look after the tires, but also have great pace. They can't utilise that so much here because they've got to change them.

So there's no sort of that advantage for them has gone. So I'm not saying it necessarily makes, it gives Red Bull and Vestappen advantage, but I think it more takes away the the advantages that the McLaren have on that one so yeah I'd I'd say it brings him more on an even keel there's more pit stops for all the crews to do which is you know always a risk McLaren have had a few dodgy ones this year so you know watch out for that it may affect one of their drivers may affect both of them we don't know so there's at least

four stops they're going to do so yeah I I don't think it necessarily bathe as one or what gives one an advantage. I think it just, it sort of just brings things a bit more equal than it necessarily would be on your standard one-stop strategy. I think it helps for Stappen. I think this would have been leaning towards a one-stop race if not for this mandatory rule.

And I feel like that's where McLaren would have been able to exploit their superior tire wear. Because I know I've made this point quite a few times over the last few months, but Max Verstappen has held an advantage at races where tire wear is low or lower than expected. Like Japan, he won, easy one stop. Imola, he won.

We thought that day was going to be a two-stop race. Ended up being a one-stop race. It wasn't as bad as expected. Monza, easy one-stop. Baku, easy one-stop. Austin, easy one-stop. And, you know, Vegas, look at what Antinelli did on the hard ties. There was a lot of tire wear questions going into that weekend.

So where tie wear has become a bit more of an issue, that's where McLaren have claimed the advantage. So having that mandatory 25-lap maximum stint could help the Stappen, I think. What do you think, Sam? One point that I don't think has been brought up so far is all season long, we've been bleating on about how Red Bull are paying the price for not having two drivers at the front of this racetrack. I think here it suddenly becomes a benefit.

They have one car to focus on, unlike McLaren, who usually race pretty close together, one of those cars is going to have to be off-canter. They're going to have to be off strategy. They will not be pitting on the favoured lap and that means you've got two McLarens who are not only going wheel to wheel in the championship sense but are literally going wheel to wheel

to make sure they get pit stop priority because otherwise they might end up having to go a lap early which means if you've got this 25 lap maximum it might throw off the rest of your strategy having to go a lap early or a lap late and you get that 25 lap maximum what happens I don't know what the rule set is at the moment you're getting disqualified, you're getting a penalty

for staying up for 26 laps it just means that the staffing hasn't got anything else to worry about Paul Zing, pit stop done, off he goes. If they muck up every single of pit stop so far on the whole weekend, who cares? Honestly, who cares? They just have to get the stappers right. With McLaren, twice as many pit stops, so close together,

two strategies to think about, both drivers going for a championship. It's just going to throw another spanger in the works. And we've seen how well Red Bull deal with having to kind of take something on board and deal with it very, very quickly. I don't think McLaren have got that ability right. I just think on their feet and execute something outside of the box if they need to. with that in mind and you're talking about this more from the the racist perspective to sort of bring it back earlier in the weekend

in terms of like practice and setup if you're Red Bull and it's brutal for Sonoda because he's fighting for his career here if you're Red Bull you should be trying something different on Sonoda's car in free practice just in case like they've got there's no point in them doing the same set up like you've got an advantage there as you say like to use Sonoda is a bit of a test, he's a pure testing mule at this point, right? And it's brutal, but if you're Red Bull, you've kind of got to exploit that, I think.

Well, I'm not sure how could your data's going to be coming from Sagoda at the moment. Maybe so. I feel like as well with this being a spring weekend, you do need to put more emphasis on, if you are going to take risks as Max Verstappen risking earlier in the weekend rather than later in the weekend. Of course, we know what happened at Brazil with having to change that set. up after main qualifying going into the race. And just to illustrate, like, if you were to get eighth place in the sprint because you've not done a great job on setup, but then you rectify it for the race and you get

first, that's 26 points. If you're first in the sprint and then second in the race, that's also 26 points. So, you know, the sprint race that goes eight points down to one point, it's not all that important versus getting it right on race day. So that could be interesting to look out for how risky the Stappen goes compared to what we've seen in sprints so far this year. I'm going to ask a question that I shouldn't know the answer to. Maybe you guys listen and don't go either. How many lapses the sprint race?

Too many. Just because obviously with this mandatory stop, if it's over 25, they're going to have to break that into two. It won't be over 25. No, I think it'll be below that. Okay. 11 laps. 19 laps, yeah. Yeah.

Yeah, that sounds right. So, Harry, do you think, what do you think Vestappen's going to look to do this weekend now that he's, you know, within 24 points? Does he still go a bit riskier, a bit all out with sets up with strategy? I think so because, you know, even with like I said earlier, even with a much smaller gap. And as you said, Ben, it's the smallest gap he's had to the leader since Imola, which is a long old time ago now. he's still he's still fighting what is has been the best car overall this year in the McLaren's and at a circuit where we think they're going to be strong um i think he i'm not saying he's going to take unnecessary risk but i think he has to throw everything at this so if a

if a slightly the slightly sketchier setup gives him a bit more speed you know i'm thinking like Monza for example where he really ran a low downfall setting and it helped him get the win in the end but if it if it means he can extract more speed then he will extract more he will go for that because I just think he needs to

he's got no other choice than beating the McLarency he can't just he's not like a Norris where he can afford to finish behind so yeah I think he will be I don't think he's going to

he's going to be conservative at all obviously we saw in Brazil that it harmed him with the riskier setup and they sometimes get it wrong. I think Lauren Meckes at the time was pretty open about the fact that, you know, it happens when you take risk. They got it right sometimes, and Brazil wasn't, was the time when they didn't.

More so than not, Rebel, have got it right, and Vastappan can extract the speed. So I expect the same approach here. Now, we're going to do bold predictions and poll one, two, three on the other side, but I want to ask you both a question. I don't want any reasoning or explanation. I just want the answer to this question. How many drivers are in the championship fight going into Abu Dhabi? Is it three, two, or none because the title's already won?

Sam. Two. Harry? Two. I'll go none. Oh. Imagine if, as just being Harry have said two and Gores wasn't either of them. Like, mathematically got possible, we can start.

No, it's not yet. All right. Well, maybe that's a slight spoiler for our predictions that we'll. be coming up after the break. We're also going to be talking about Aston Martin and the departure of Andy Cald. Welcome back everyone to the second part of today's episode. We have some, can we call it breaking news here on the late Breaking F1 podcast, Adrian Nui is going to become the team principal of Aston Martin from 26 onwards in conjunction with his role as a technical partner. How about that, Sam?

How about that? Yes, Adrian Nui enters his final form. We've seen the evolution of Adrian Nui from man who works on cars to man who leads teams that works on cars to man, that leads all things Formula One. Yeah, I think this is really surprising. an interesting decision made by Lawrence Stroller by Aston Martin. And yet there are a lot of things that do make sense in this situation. Adrian Uwis cites that he wants to be a key part in the development between Honda, Valvalene and Aston Martin. And I suppose when Red Bull ran Honda Engines for so long,

it makes sense for him to have some part in the intrication of how the Honda engine will fit into the Aston Martin chassis, how aerodynamically it makes sense. And he could put his expertise into full manufacturing capabilities without anyone's standing in his path. Ben, what your thoughts? My thoughts are, why has Harry left when we've got to this breaking news? He's just completely dipped out of here. Yeah, if you couldn't tell folks, we are recording this a little bit after we recorded the initial podcast. And Aston Martin, you are very much on our bad books. Don't be expecting a visit from the Father Christmas of birthdays anytime soon

because, yeah, you've really ruined us here. But we are in a spot to talk about Adrian Nui and that I'm shocked as you, Sam. Like, I can't believe that as talented as he is. I don't think we've ever had any indication that team principal leading has been on his radar. He was at Red Bull for so long that at any opportunity, he could have turned around and said, I want a bit more. I know Christian Horner had a bit of a stranglehold on the position of team principal,

but certainly if he wanted to lead the aerodynamic conversational, if he wanted to lead that team, if he wanted to go off into other Red Bull Motorsport pursuits and lead a bit more there. He could have done. And I just don't think we ever got that indication. And here we are with Aston Martin in this new program. And he's doubling up his efforts.

It's not like he's moving away from his current role. He's just going to do this on top of that. I'm worried. A little bit worried. Yeah. In his interview, he did call this additional responsibility. Now, I'm not sure. I've ever heard someone describe running an entire sports company as just additional

responsibility. But this might only take up 3% of his brain. For me, I think about eight other brains to actually make this work. But he is that smart that maybe it really is just like breathing, just comes so naturally to him. He's being around in Formula One since, what, the mid-1980s? So he's 40 years into his Formula One career. And not once has it ever felt even close that he was going to become a team principal of a company so much to the point that When we got to the latest set of regulations, ones we're currently finishing, it felt as though Adrian Nui was willing to step back. It felt like he was having more of a consultancy role. He wasn't as active in the day-to-day runging of Red Bulls development. And when he made this

switch to Ashton Martin, even then we were surprised, we all thought he might retire at that point. So now less than 12 months later to see him leading not only a full department, but the entirety of Aston Martin racing, I'm quite shocked and surprised at just how much he's developed his responsibilities inside of Ashton Martin. Yeah, likewise. And I'm just not sure, it seems very late on. This is actually part of the discussion that we would have had on the show when we were just speculating about Andy Cowell moving positions and who might go on to replace him.

And it's something you said as part of that conversation, Sam, that this is so late on for a team that has aspirations for 2026. Like we've seen Audi, for example, and there were a couple of hours. names past and present that were linked to the role that Adrian Newe will be taking on. But look at what they did when they replaced Andrea Seidel with Mattia Bonotto and then later Jonathan Wheatley. This was over a year ago now that they organized this primarily because they wanted that run-up to these new regulations. They wanted everything organizationally like structurally sorted before we get into this melee of who's got, who's managed to nail the

regulations, who hasn't. And whilst we can be confident that Adrian Newey's probably got something cooked up, it is a little bit worrying for Aston Martin that this is happening so late on. Yeah, I mean, we know that technically Adrian Newee is a wizard. That man knows how I develop a car in so many different regulations. But I do think there's going to be a lot of scenarios that Adrian Newee maybe isn't used to dealing with being the team principal. He'll have heard bits, he'll have been involved in conversations, but I'm not sure he's ever been the guy calling the shots across every single level.

You know, people like Tota Wolf, Christian Horner, Fred Berser, they've done this for a long time. And I bet you there's a lot of things that they encounter which someone who's in a technical role maybe isn't always privy to or isn't needed to be privy to. And when you're coming to new regulations with so many important stakeholders, with some change going on, I just hope it allows him to carry on maximizing what he really and truly is good at and not getting bogged down or convoluted by now having to juggle too many responsibilities. It feels like there's only so many hours in a day for someone as brilliant as Adrian Newey to apply himself. And if he's juggling the responsibilities of a technical person

and of a team principal who's running the track side of things, it just feels like you're not getting the best to be the world there. Do you feel like the way in which communication might now work now that Adrian Newe doesn't have to answer to someone else, he can kind of go about his business, I know that workload-wise, it's maybe a bit of a concern. Are they making this move with the idea that communication channels might just be a lot easier to manage? Quite possibly. It feels as though there's a real risk here that they're really over-complicating their internal system. They've created this new role for Andy Cowell, Adrian New Year's now running at least two full departments. I also think there's a big of a risk that he doesn't communicate to anyone because by the feeling

I'm getting. Adrian Uri believes that he's the best man for the job, the way he's come out and complained a little bit about how Cow was running things. He's taking on both sides of the responsibility. I'm a little bit nervous for Askin Martin that he's going to go Hegg's strung into one direction and no one's going to be there to check him up on if something doesn't seem quite right or how it's supposed to be. It might work brilliantly. There also might be a complete shutting down of how the team works internally. What about the Andy Cowell of all this? Because he's not moving away from Aston Martin. He is staying on with the team as part of a new role. He's the chief strategy officer going forward. So I think that will entail a lot of working

with Honda. Of course, that's a new relationship that we're yet to see how that's going to work. Do you think that that might be better suited to Andy Cowell's talents? I'm quite surprised that Andy Cowell has been not only kicked out of the role he was seeing in such short time anyway, but the role that he's been moved into, considering his history and his success in Formula One, it's an odd one. It makes sense that he's working closely with an engine suppliers. That's what he did so successfully at the Mercedes. He, of course, was heck of the kind of the engine development of the power train. But the way it's a strategic position, maybe the title is slightly misleading. He will be very much orientating about how the power unit works and the bills

behind that. But it feels as though they're trying to just create roles to keep successful people on site, rather than actually maximizing their talent in a really convoluted team that has got a lot of big-brained individuals walking around it. I think it is right to have someone dedicated more towards that Honda partnership because I know Honda have kind of been in F1, kind of not been in F1 for a few years now, but a lot of their success is going to be dependent on how that relationship goes. Regardless of what Adrian Newey does or doesn't do in his role as Team Prince, principle and of course very much leading the aerodynamic side of things too. The power unit is going

to be important with all of the changes to, you know, electrical energy and the percentage that that is worth in terms of the total ICEs output. That's going to be really important. And if they get it wrong, and if Honda get it wrong, they're going to be the only team that struggles as a result of that. It's a bit high risk, high reward with what they're doing here, moving away from Mercedes. if with Mercedes at the moment they get it wrong, it's Mercedes that takes the hit as well. It's Williams that take the hit as well. With Honda, if it works for them,

no one else will feel the benefit of it. If it doesn't work out, they will be the only ones to suffer. Having someone very close in on that relationship does make sense. Whether it's Andy Cowell or someone else, that's a separate debate. But I am interested to see what he can do in that role. And I am equally intrigued as to how he's staying put,

even with these notable disagreements with Adrian Newey, who you would assume he's still going to have to work fairly closely with. I would assume that professionally they have these disagreements, but personally they probably get along quite well. They're cut from the same cloth. They're both very technical and aerodynamically minded people. They both speak of science that Formula One operates in behind the scene. So I'm sure this isn't a personal indifference between the two of them,

maybe just a difference in their direction of how they wanted to take the team. And I guess because Adrian Nui has shares within Askin Martin, he's got a wider role as a stakeholder, him and Lawrence Stroller probably thinking about things from a wider business point of view. That's why we've had this ascendancy of Adrian Nui. But Andy Cow is a very, very talented man, and it would be silly to lose his talents. I'm just a little worried he's going to end up sitting around in some kind of, it's going to be like a pen out of the back with all these talented individuals just going to stand about because no one else can have them, but we want to keep them. That's kind of the attitude I'm feeling. Well, as part of the initial report that came out at the weekend, again, in the midst of the McLaren disqualification, so very well timed, you know, we were, the initial reports were looking at who might be that replacement for Andy Cowell. Christian Horner's name was mentioned as part of those reports. So was Andrea Seidel, so was Matea Bonotto, and even Martin Whitmash, or Martin Whitmash, as he's sometimes known, was mentioned. Of course, he was formerly in the position, not the that long ago, now that Adrian Newe is taking on this role, does that shut the door for

even more external talent? Would that add to the problem that you're outlying here that they might have talented people all about, but not necessarily the roles that they need to be in? Well, the number of titles you can create, like a TV is infinite, really. You can call people whatever they want, you know, but I think that the name's mentioned, you know, your sidels, your bongotos, your whitmash. It just feels like that they were all put into the media simply to distract,

disguise, the conversations, the negotiations that were going on. The Christian Horner name that came up, though, genuinely felt valid. It felt like there was a real opportunity for Christian Horner to step into a project that was going to really bear fruit. There's comments about how he was giving a tour of the Aston Martin garage

under the cover of darkness. And that maybe makes you think, well, why would he be walking around the Aston Martin garage so close to a team principal shift, but then it isn't him being made team principle. It's a really odd series of situations that have gone on there. But maybe Adrian Nui is looking for advice, a little bit of feedback, someone to bounce ideas off of. He's a very experienced man, as we know, and they work so closely together for so long,

that if anyone's going to give him advice of how a rugged team, Christian Hall and Adrian Newey are probably a great pairing to discuss that. Yeah, very interesting move from Aston Martin. All of those names mentioned could have done a job. for Aston Martin in that role, I'm very sure. A very bold move indeed. Okay, let's move on to bold predictions. Gather around little children and listen to my song.

My F1 bold predictions and all they'll all be wrong. No preamble this week. We're going three for three. Sam, what have you got? Landon Norris for got finishing the top five. I need to spring or main race. Jesus. Oh.

Goodness, me. No top five. I know top five with either race. Yeah, two-parter. Damn. Harry, what have you got? And Aston Martin will finish in the top five in either the sprint or the main race. Replacing Landon Norris there, apparently.

Well. Let's do it. My bold prediction is that Olly Behrman will be in the top seven in both races. I have enjoyed this series of bold predictions. Yeah. I'm not sure that we're going to get any right. I will. The abacus will move.

Yep, three out of three. I can feel it. Of course, it's a sprint weekend, so we are asking the question of sprint, pole, sprint win, poll one, two, three. Sam, if you can remember that order, please go ahead. Sprint pole, Verstappen, spring wing for Stappen, pole for Stappen, wing, piastri, second place for Stappen, third place, Russell. Oh boy, Harry. Sprint pole, Norris, sprint win, piastri, normal pole, Lano Norris, spring, sorry, race win for Stappen, second will be Norris and third will be Piastri. And I've got sprint, pole, Lando Norris, sprint win, Max Verstappen,

pole Max Verstappen, the win, Lando Norris, second place, Max Verstappen, third place, Oscar Piastri. It's going to be a fun one, folks. It's going to be a fun one. We're going to take our second... Why is it got to be at Qatar? Why can't it just be at Brazil again? Money can be exchanged for good and sense.

Thank you, Homer Simpson. Let's go on the break. On the other side, we're doing Under Pressure. Welcome back, everyone to pressure. of course, discord submissions in a moment. But Harry, who or what is under pressure this weekend at Qatar? Probably quite obvious, but I'm going for McLaren

and to not be disqualified this weekend. As I already said, I think there'll just be lying in the back of their head, just an overarching thought in all of them this weekend when they're setting up that car because they can't afford to be making a mistake as big as the one they did in Las Vegas. So, yeah, the McLaren team as a whole under pressure as we head into Qatar. Yeah, I'm going to piggy back on your one. We had a complete match last week with Under Pressure.

We've almost got the same thing again here, but I have honed in on the McLaren pit crew for the reasons that you gave earlier, that we know that there will be at least four pit stops if both of these drivers finish the Grand Prix, which gives more opportunity to be brilliant, as McLaren often are at pit stops, gives them a lot of opportunity to mess up. as they do a little bit more than these other top teams.

It does feel very much like it's either 1.9 seconds or they mess it up. And I went back like Singapore, they had a five second pit stop for Piastri. Baku, it was over four seconds for Norris. Monza was nearly six seconds for Norris. Zamvort was nearly five seconds for Norris. So we've had four instances there were over four seconds in a pit stop. And I didn't have to go back very far for that either.

So the pressure is very much on. Sam I've gone for Formula One's TV direction this race this weekend and then in theory Abu Dhabi has potential to be as spicy you know for the first time since maybe 2021 the other years

whilst good wrapped it up pretty soon we couldn't know where it was going in theory this could go a very exciting direction and we need to be like to see it with what's going on and fans going on need to understand where the action is happening and the storyline that is unfolding.

No more just following cars around who aren't fighting with anyone. We need to see the core moments happen live. So you're going to deliver. I could be wrong on this, but we're in a position here first time in 15 years that three drivers have been in contention

for the championship with two races to go. You have to go back a fair way. This doesn't happen all that often, so I agree. Pressures on F1 to capture every moment, capture the drama. What about submissions? from our Discord, Mr. Harry Ead.

Yes, thank you, everyone. Plenty of you submitting your under pressures for this weekend. And first up, we've got LJ. Under pressure for me is probably Ferrari because they've been beaten at their own game and getting disqualified by McLaren. So, you know, do better or works. Just make it entertaining.

Cheers. They can't even claim that. They can't even claim being disqualified twice. yeah sorry sorry about that for me we'll get into Ferrari's potential competitiveness or lack of competitiveness in a little bit but I think you're right on the entertainment point no matter what they do whether it's good or bad people are watching next step we have F5 driver hi this is F5 driver my Qatar under pressure submission are McClare's planks that is all well plank is so funny I don't think

I've ever said the word plank as many times in the last fortnight. The problem is if that plank is under pressure, that means they're running it too low to the ground. That's not good. They're going to turn up like one of their monkska trucks where the wheels are on the ground, but the car is so high above the floor. Thank you for that, F5 driver.

Next up is Jessica G. Hey y'all. McLare and Mamasita here, coming to you live from the dreary city of Chicago that has not seen sun in days. First time dropping a line, I got to put my boy Lando under pressure. Can't wait to see him be the champ, but he's got some work to do with that disqualification. Max is coming up way too close for comfort. You know what? What's up, Mama Sita? First time dropping a line is a sensational way to say first time, long time. I've got a lot of

time for it. I misheard something that she said because she said that Chicago hasn't seen sun in days. I thought she said that she hadn't seen sun and days. We haven't seen days here. It's just been darkness. I was going to say they've not seen the sun for days. We've not seen it since like August in the UK. So you've got lucky in Chicago. I don't know what it is. Thank you for that. Next time we have Nando's Big Green Tractor. Hey y'all. It's Rosie. And my under pressure submission for Qatar is the Qatar Grand Prix itself, in that race day is my birthday. We have a thrilling championship battle going on right now, and I am desperately hoping that the Qatar Grand Prix is not the usual

snooze fest that it historically has been. It's a very, very good point. I would say happy birthday, but hold your horses, sir. You're spoiling it. I've heard the little jingle on the roof. He might be arriving. Birthdays are covered. Birth days are covered. Put me on the front of a green birthday truck. Yeah, please don't let it. We can't have a championship decided, and it's a dud. Like, please no. Sprint race, we're going to come.

Yes, it's definitely going to happen in the spring race, yeah. Next up is English duck. Quite quietly breaking English duck here. Do, do, do my under pressure, do, do our theme songs, do, do. I told you he was coming, do, do. And now he has arrived. Do do do do do do do do do. Max first off been.

Good, good, good, good. Last but not least, we have Ben from Idaho. What's up, Blade Breakers? My under pressure submission is the FIA stewards and race direction. With the championship heated up, We can't stand to have what we had in Vegas Dishing out penalties from the start on lap 21 out of 50

and watching debris on the track for two laps before VSA's are called. Come on. Hey, yeah, big shout for me. No more stewards on the racetrack when there are cars goodbye. I'd like that to not happen again for a third time this season. Marshals. Yeah, you maybe put the stewards on the trap.

Maybe they might learn something. Johnny Herbert just at the side of the track. Definitely isn't Johnny Herbert, hang about? He wishes. Yeah. Yeah. Him runging at the funk. I leave.

That was that the last one, Harry? That was. Thank you, everyone, for that we'll be back on Sunday with Moment of the Race. We sure will. And your last opportunity to get underprivile. pressure submissions in a week's time for that Abu Dhabi GP. Let's move on to, let's move on to Mercedes and Ferrari because that battle for P2 in the Constructors Championship currently looks like this. Mercedes have the advantage on 431 points. That's 40 clear of Red Bull on

391. Ferrari, a difficult spell for them, even by their standards, have dropped to fourth place. They're 13 points back from Red Bull, so 53 back from Mercedes. Sam, we've seen Mercedes recently have been a rather consistent force to be reckoned with when it comes to podium finishes. Can you see them in the midst again? The thing is with this second place battle, due to the lead that they've managed to pick up over both Red Bull and Ferrari,

they don't even need to be consistently sitting on the podium now. If they can finish fourth and fifth, that basically mitigates Max Verstappan winning. And I say Max Verstappan winning because Ferrari won't be doing the winning. So the most points scored by any one driver will be Vastappen at 25 for a standard, Grand Prix.

You know, if Mercedes are finishing fourth and fifth, that's 22 points. They're losing three points overall to Red Bull, who are their closest competitor. They don't really need to try any harder than just turn up, do a solid job, go home, don't crash into anything on the way. And they will take home second place in this championship because unlike Red Bull, they've got two drivers now that are fully firing, able to score points whenever. Unlike Ferrari, they've got a car that works. So, you know, sorry, young Elking, I know that's tough to hear.

But it does mean that they can actually get across the line of score. solid points. It's a super easy job for them. They just don't need to crash. What do you think, Harry, can Mercedes threaten the podium here? I think, I think so, yes. They look to have become a little bit more consistent as of late. There's still a bit of doubt on my mind, does they don't really know when and where they will be competitive every time they're heading to a race weekend. Qatar's hot normally, so apparently based on this year, that's actually good for Mercedes. but who knows

I'm thinking back to 2023 here they were pretty competitive until they both wiped each other hour and turn one but they they could have been Yeah they looked really good in this one So

I think there's some solid hope for Mercedes there and like I said I think the car has generally been improving again unlike Ferrari have been sorry John Elkin but yeah so I think Mercedes will be they'll be in the mix I sense they may have sort of similar they have they'll have a similar sort of situation as I did in Vegas so I know

obviously Russell was on the podium anyway before the disqualifications but um if both McLauras are properly in the mix I think they might be challenging but maybe just off off the podium but like said I'll preface this with I don't think even Mercedes know when they get to a race now when going to, if they're going to be good or not. Yeah, first two words I've written down are who knows, because that is the answer to every single weekend when it comes to Mercedes. And the answer to who knows is no one, including Mercedes. You're right, they have been more consistent as of late. They've had podiums in four of the last six races. That's their best run since the first six races of this season. So that's, that's a sign that they are going in the right direction. But we

expected them to be very strong in Vegas and instead they were strong but not brilliant and then there was no expectation for them to be good in Singapore for example and they were there's no expectation for them to be good in Canada and they were I think in theory this might not be their best track just looking at okay where have they won so far this year Canada and Singapore yes they were both hot races but Canada is all about chicanes it's all about breaks you know there's heavy breaking zones. Singapore was actually quite similar to that nowadays. You wouldn't have said that, I think, before the track was changed a couple of years ago, but now you do get a lot of 90-degree corners, a lot of stop-start. Here, you're not going to get any of that. It's how

hooked up your car is through those medium-speed corners. So I'm not certain they'll be massively competitive, but I'm not really certain about anything when it comes to them. The good news for them, and I do want to shout him out, is Kimmy Antonelli, because he has really emerged and he is the difference right now between them being a comfortable second and still firmly in that fight with Red Bull and Ferrari. And going into the Mexican GP, he was averaging just under five points per weekend. But I mean, look at what he's done in the last three races. I was having a look at the championship points. Last three races, Max Verstappen, 60 points. Lando Norris 58. Antonelli is then third with 48 points. He's P3 in the last three races, which is a

a pretty remarkable recovery from where he was. So Mercedes will absolutely love the progress he's making and shout out to him because he's really stepped up when they've needed him to. Do you think Ferrari and L locked into P4, Sam? I mean, it feels that way. And they haven't had a particularly good record. My record, I mean, their drivers coming to Qatar.

LeClau's like a podium here. But Lewis Hamilton isn't ever finished above fifth place. I think his best result came in 2020. in the sprint where he had a P5 is also being outside the points a couple of times the Clare has also been outside the points here before as well. So whilst of course the car is changing all the time,

the drivers here have never been massively successful. Russell has had podiums here before. Antigone, of course, has never been here before, so I'm interested to see how he fares. I think with the staff and firing and all ceiling is maybe winning a championship as well, it just feels like they are the worst in every scenario.

Their drivers aren't as fired up. The car isn't as good. And unless they bring of course their illegal Abu Dhabi package. I can't see them going away. No, no. That's Abu Dhabi time. We're not using that up for guitar. Yeah, I just can't see them toppling.

Mercedes who are comfy and Max Verstappen be a Max Verstappen. And do you think the ceiling is maybe third place, Harry? If Vastappan and Red Bullen on it, then maybe they could do something there. But is it Mercedes just too far in the distance now? I think so, yeah. And like you said, with Antonelli seemingly beginning to come on strong in this sort of last third of the season, I think Russell and Antony are quite, going to be quite hard to catch. So, yeah, third's probably, as you say, the ceiling. But, I mean, given recent form, it's going to be tough there.

Like we said, LeCler dragged that car to a result in Vegas. Obviously, Hamilton had to fight back from the terrible corner. off I only had. But overall, the pace wasn't brilliant. I know it's a completely different type of circuit, but I just, yeah, the car itself, for the entirety of the year has, again, contrary to popular belief, the car hasn't been that good, especially with these ride high issues. Now, maybe they're actually working their favour here because it's slightly smooth

the track and they can run it a bit lower. But even so they're always on the back foot in that sense because they can't fully ride at the optimum window. I am looking forward to Abu Dhabi there when they bring two of the F-2004s along

because that's got to be the package. Otherwise, what's the point? Low key, just like fantasy world. Could you imagine that? I'll be so good.

I just hear that scream. Just a scream. Please. Oh, please. Speaking of Fantasyland, it's time for the F-1 fantasy update for this one. week. Very interesting

race in Las Vegas with that double disqualification, wreaking havoc with the results. So let's start with the winner in Vegas. It's simply lovely. And it was for Max Verstappen, but also for this team, 378 points.

Well done to you. Top three in the league, there has been a real shift because the winner of, or at least the leader, going into this race, UH-1999, is now outside of the top three, awful weekend. So 44th gear now leads the way on 5,291 points, which fair play to 44th gear, to whoever you are,

managed to avoid McLaren completely and has really benefited from that. Now 28th in the world and 6th in the UK. And that person's in our league representing. I don't know how I'm a mixture hour over it. How am I making to go up against that? It's like me trying a ball against Lee and El Messi. I'm like this fat slob is losing his hair, and that's Lee and El Messi.

How's that fair? I'd back you, mate. I'd back you. Back to the top three. Reiklin's Yacht Monaco, 2006 is now in second place, and new in third place, see me strolling, they hate him. That's a great name. Yes, great name. I'll allow it.

Now, how are we doing? very very interesting this week so i've gone up six spots i'm now 22nd overall i don't i don't know i'd like a top 20 finish should be neat but i'm running out of time i think to catch some of these people you're letting us down if you don't do it really i'm sorry mate i'll do my best i promise please if you could um i mean it's a great week for late breaking to be fair i'm up six spots kirstie is up another 45 spots, 284th inside the top 300 now. But, oh boy, I'm not the main event this week.

And neither is Kirstie. Harry 8 has gone up 459 spots to 7602nd. I see you there with your no negative chips, very well played. And I don't know if you're aware of this, Harry, but I had a look. You were 23rd for the week. Whoa. Come on. I am the

Michael Jordan I used to pray for time. Was it Michael Jordan I used to pray for times like these? This is me right now. Sam, you were on the back of Harry going into this race,

but even though you have improved yourself up 34 spots to 1,2008th, it might be set, man. It might be done and dusted. It feels good being the Ferrari. of the group, you know. It feels correct. Well, we've still got two races for things to change.

Any chips left, guys? Only the ones in the oven. Only my final fix left, but quite frankly, I will probably forget to use that. Sam's got birds eye, great. Who has birds on chips? I don't know. It's the first one that came to mind.

The kings or something, man. Oh yeah, that would have been a better example Yeah, I've still got that three times DRS to use So maybe sprint weekend Might give that one a little bit of whirl this week Go, Gagham's son Are you a winning son? Let's take our final break on this episode

On the other side, we are playing back and four Welcome back to the final part of today's episode. It's time for back and forth. F1. Back and forth, it's F1. Back and forth, it goes backwards, then goes forth, it's F1. Back and forth, F1.

Sensational. As always, sensational. F1 back and four of Harry versus Sam, they'll keep going with correct answers to a question until one of them can't think of an answer or gives an incorrect answer. I'm going to give you two strikes each today for this question, and the question is this.

I want you to name the 17 drivers that have got at least 20 points in their debut season since 2000. So we're only counting drivers since 2000. They need to have scored at least 20 points in their debut season. A few things to note here, 2025 does count. So if they've already got 20 points this year, that is counting them. And the debut season is when they first appeared in a race. So if they've competed in one race in a season, but they weren't there full time,

that still counts as their debut season for this game. I hope that makes sense, but you've got two strikes each on this one. Sam, do you want to start? I shall start and I shall say Kimmy and Sengeli. That is a good answer because he leads this list, 137 points he's currently on with a couple of races to go. Harry. Lando Norris.

Lando Norris is a correct answer, scored 49 points in his debut season. Sam. Olly Behrman. Olly Behrman is not the correct answer. He had one race. Honestly, Ben, piss off with that. He outlined it. That's not a debut season.

That's a stand-in performance. He also did stand it twice. I didn't explain it for this very reason. Well, I've decided to quit. we've got three answers in Sam's rage cool at the game I'm so bored to be crap at everything on this show I'm logged off

I'm bored of it the Xbox is off Harry back to you Max Verstappan Max for Stappan is a correct answer I didn't realise this until I looked up the answer to the game but he scored 49 as well so the same as Lando Norris

which I guess makes sense that it'd be about the same but yeah some um sorry I was making sure he hasn't taken part

in a 100 metre sprinkling was five before I can't be eye at the answer you say bold uh Hajjar Hajjar is a correct answer 51 at the moment

but again could well rise in the next couple of weeks. Harry. Carlos Sines, Jr. Carlos Sines is not a correct answer. He had 18 points. Just missed out. Washed.

Washed signs. Back to your son. Piaastri. Piastri is a correct answer. 97 points in his debut season, puts him third on this list. Harry Lewis Hamilton and that's who is second on this list

109 points of course did hold the record until Kimmy Antonelli came along and of course we must mention as well the points difference in terms of how the systems worked when he was a rookie versus Antonelli now so 109 points for Hamilton is on this list Sam how funny to not explain that I'd be like yeah he nearly won the world championship

on less points than Kimmy Antigelli's got my point. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Top five. Albon. Albon is a correct answer, yeah. So 92 points he scored, moving to Red Bull in the second half of the season definitely helped him out there.

But yes, 92 points. Harry. Kimmy Reikinen. Kimmy Reikinen is not a correct answer. Oh my God. Nine points in his debut season. Is that it? I thought he had an absolute bangor of a season.

No, no, he... No, he didn't. His first season at the Baron was a bang, well, yeah. No, he didn't. Sound back to you. Hmm. Right. Ewe.

Sonoda? Sonoda is a correct. answer yes 32 points he scored in his debut year harry back to you uh jensen button jensen button jensen button not a correct answer 12 points in that debut season so sam does take the victory with that being strike number three but there are a few answers left out there if you want to give any of these a try there are another nine answers out there Chelle Leclair. Lecler is a correct answer.

39 he scored for Salba back in 2018. What year are we going back to? 2000 is the earliest you can go back to. 2000. Okay. Nikolkenberg. Just about 22 points. So he's the last name on this list, actually.

Ricardo? Stroll. Stroll is a correct answer with 40 points. Ricardo is not a correct answer because of his HRT half the season. My replacement therapy. Yes. That's the TB raced for.

Most of these are towards the bottom end of the list, but there is someone who is fifth on the list with 55 points. Did race very recently, but not racing at the moment, NF1 at least. KMAG? KMAG, yeah, 55 points he scored in his debut year for McLaren. Of course. You've got a salber driver from around the same point.

Massa? Close. NASA? NASA, yes. Felipe Naser had 27 in his debut year. There's a devil on the list. Oh, no. Petrov?

Petrov, yeah, 27. A Force India driver? Is it Paul? It is Paul. Paul de Rester also at 27. Renault driver, going back a little bit further now. Baby face. Baby face.

He could cover Leinen. And then the last name, you might have to go furthest back on this list to get to him, was Inna Williams. Oh, Mr. Chunky. JPM on Pablo Montoya, 31 points in his debut. year. And those are the 17 drivers that scored at least 20 points in their debut season since 2000, but I think it's time to step it up a notch because that was a good segment,

but we don't just settle for good here on the late breaking podcast because we love what I am going to call actually. I'm just going to come out and say it. It is the greatest segment in all of podcasting. It is the LB Question of the Week. week. Good. And there it is.

So going into the Qatar race, obviously McLaren will be looking not to repeat what happened in Vegas with their double disqualification. But good news, they've got a foolproof plan to make sure that doesn't happen again. What is it? One that really stood out to me, which I thought was very funny. which came from James Burke who said just disqualify Oscar twice Shane

Schittles on Instagram said a double DNS because you can't be disqualified if you just don't race it's just big brain strap that's Ferrari logic right there absolutely love it an answer from Derek

who said obviously Otmar's nine kids will just carry them around the track four and a half on each car four and a half an ot market ox and mar would the kid be split like top to bottom or like down the middle

yeah down the middle okay right yeah good man oh good I was giggling at that for a couple of minutes that was really funny um Hillary on Instagram said by staging an elaborate musical number

while a group of nuns sabotage the other team's car or feedershade Mercedes I'm finishing good one Liam for some reason I don't know why this works but get Lionel Hutz on it Oh

He'll resolve anything Michael has said By showing up with the Terry Cruz Lego car That won't be disqualified Yeah that's a lot of ground clearance I can't just qualify Terry Cruz Well yes it's true

You can't justify him Just dance in front of you and you'll forget what's going on with the regulations, I'm sure. This one came from Brant. Let's just say that MBS is going to get a very special Christmas gift, and he's replied to himself in brackets. It's Shrek 2. No.

My regular weekly nomination for the person who just states the obvious string-based theory this time said, by not breaking the rules. Yeah, always love the answer that is actually the answer. next I'll go with Coleslaw Mimar which is a great name they're going to have a team meeting and give the planks

super secret repercussions until they learn to get along Luke on Instagram says spaghetti underneath the floor so obviously getting spaghetti down a lady involved on that on it's good that she's getting the employment you know

one from Danny, which is by running an Alpine-inspired livery so that their car is never on TV and nobody will even notice anything they do. Great. I like this one very simple from Rob, who just said, teamwork. Yes, I just saw that one. I love you, Rob. Last one from me is from Dakota who said, quit dropping F-bombs. So Mohammed Ben's silly man, won't investigate them post-race. I love how seemingly his game fits into silly man. It's great.

Yeah. Last one for me, and it's not really a comment on the actual question, but C&C Machinist, I believe, is now only on three-digit numbers. We're going to die very soon. We're going to die very soon. Oh, are we, though? How are we? Yes, we definitely haven't worked that out.

And that is true because we definitely didn't. I am so excited to see what happens when it hits Sierra. This is where we still don't. Anti-climax. I just want to say like my collective disappointment across Instagram and Twitter because whilst there were a number of brilliant answers, I was expecting at least one answer that featured Plank from Ed and Eddie, so disappointing.

It's the most niche callback of all time. Big up, Plank. Was it a bit of wood with a face drawing? Yeah, yeah, that was it. Yeah. God. I'm not a fan myself of Edd-Edding, Eddie. No. Well, Ed and Eddie makes a surprise appearance in Beaver Breaking that is coming out very shortly.

That's true. If that's not a reason to subscribe to Patreon, I don't know what is. Another thing you get as part of your Patreon benefits, if you are on the top tier, is you get a visit from the Father Christmas of birthdays. Yes, it's birthday time. Oh, many a good little boy and girl for their birthday. This one, oh, oh, so it's November 18, happy, happy birthday.

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Rosie, you spoke us to us earlier. Nando's Big Green Tractor in Discord. November 30th, happy Qatar racing birthday. Brad 17 November, Happy birthday. And finally, Dustin Riley, November 6th. Oh, oh, oh, happy birthday. Oh, I've got a store stroke. Well, we still have December, of course, for birthday.

shout-out. So if you haven't got your birthday over to us yet and you are on our top tier on Patreon, make sure you send us a message in Patreon. That's the easiest way to contact us and we'll make sure you are on the list when we do this in about a month's time. Sam, if you wouldn't mind

getting us out of here, but we have got three very important episodes coming up this weekend. December's actually the one month that the Father Christmas of birthday sits out. He's got a hand over to his brother. Father Christmas. You know, so, tough key. 11 years, 11 years and months of the year

His brother gets all the glory in the 12th Thanks for Liscoe folks The end of this episode really has being a bizarre moment in podcasting But thanks for speaking with us And it's only going to get better As the Championship comes to a close We have a spring qualifying review

A spring and qualifying review A race review and power rankings All coming to you this weekend And then we're straight back into the action afterwards For the Abbey-Dabby preview Qualifying review and race review And that's the Championship We'll be over and done with for 2025, but we aren't going anywhere

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Thanks for the sport. We'll see you at the weekend. In the meantime, I'm the same message. I've been Ben Hocking, and I've been some current. And remember, keep breaking late. No context with that, isn't Kevin? Thank you.