Latest / The Apex / 2026 COTA GP Review
Transcript
- Josh: What's up everyone? Welcome back. I know I'm glad to be here. I hope you are too. We've Paulie :D: Thank Josh: got a bunch of talk about silly season is heating up, Formula One is winding down, and we've got a bunch of great news, especially from the great state of Tennessee in the world of motorsports. What's up? This is the Apex Formula One podcast. I'm Josh. I'm joined here with my two great friends, one of which hopefully is going to tell us about the best weekend of the year. And the other is too busy on Amazon to hang out with us. So Meredith: Yeah. Josh: I'm gonna go to Meredith First. Meredith, how are you? And just Paulie :D: you Josh: give me a little bit of how you feel after that great weekend. Paulie :D: Thank Meredith: I am excellent. This was probably one of my favorite years at Coda. I mean, know there's a lot of discourse on the internet about how packed it was, sold out, busiest year yet. but I Paulie :D: It was a record crowd. Meredith: yeah, it was a record crowd. But honestly, I just feel like every year just gets more and more exciting out there with the activations they have, with all the fan engagement. Not to mention it was about 10 degrees cooler than it usually is. So I felt bad. I was like seeing all these people who it was their first time at Coda, and they're like, I'm dying. It's so hot. I'm miserable. And everybody's just destroying them in the comments. Like, this is like winter compared to the last few years. And so I had a fantastic time. The crew was great. I got to meet up with a ton of people from Space City Racing Club, which made it that much more fun because over the last like four months, I've done so much watching racing with them that I was kind of gonna be bummed to not do that. But we got to meet up at the track every day. So yeah. Incredible, incredible weekend at Coda. I felt like it was a really exciting race. So I'm excited to talk about it with y'all. And obviously be repping my new Coda hat, little track with my initials. Growing up in Texas, I've never owned a cowboy hat other than wearing one of my grandpa's old ones, which were way too big. So very excited to have my own. Paulie :D: She got that from the kids section, everybody. Meredith: It is the kids section because I have a very tiny head. And I gotta give a shout out. Lone Star Hats is the company they used. And the team in there was so energetic, so fun, like giving ideas for what branding people could do, helping people with hat sizes. And they were just a really cool crew. So shout out to Lone Star Hats. They were phenomenal. Paulie :D: they molded Josh: Nice. Paulie :D: right in front of you did you pick that style? I like it. Meredith: Mm-hmm. Yeah. Yeah. So it's like, and like they had, you know, all of them come pre-branded with the coda. So like even if you don't want to pay the extra, you know, 20, 25 bucks to get it branded with stuff on the sides, it comes with the coda thing on the back. So if you just wanted a plain hat with coda, they already had them ready to go. They just helped you find the right sizing. The kids one just has a plain black band, which I don't mind at all. That's perfect. But the adult size one had a brown leather braided belt around, which was really nice. So yeah, they did, they were awesome, super affordable. I was in and out in five minutes. The lines were not insane. So huge fan. Tip go to the one at the ranch, not the one Paulie :D: you can't give them that tip. Meredith: in the center, like by the bridge that goes over to the turn three bridge, the sky bridge. Paulie :D: You can't give people that tip. That's our spot. Meredith: Well, I here's the thing. I'm not gonna be standing in a hat line again next year. So, sharing the good word. There were no lines at the ranch for anything. So yeah, I waited till Sunday to get mine. And I wish I would have gone on Friday. So yeah, I could have wrapped it all weekend. Josh: Yeah, the ranch was a great spot. We really enjoyed that last year. It is a little hidden gem, so we'll we'll try to we'll we're not gonna gatekeep it, but it's a hidden gem. Meredith: Yeah. Yeah, I'm not I'm I'm done gatekeeping the ranch. It is a blast. And the band that they had come this year, I loved them so much. I bought both of their vinyls. Like they were incredible. They had like a blues rock sound to them. And they were just so cool. And I was like, I have to buy these albums. And I went up to buy them. And then they came over and gave me some of the stickers. And there was one of them I wanted to buy, but I was like, I'm already buying two albums. And the sticker on the top, it has their logo on the top, it says, quit fucking around. And on the bottom it says, come find out. And I like, Josh: Nice. Meredith: best Sunday ranch experience at Coda yet. Paulie :D: I can't speak for Josh, but I major, major FOMO. Meredith: It was a great year. It was a great year. Paulie :D: Yeah. Josh: All right, well Paul, tell us how you're doing, man. Paulie :D: I'm doing good. Just hanging out, got major FOMO. I wish I had a cowboy hat on my head right now. I'm totally buying one next year. Meredith: Yeah, for sure. It's a quintessential outfit staple. I'm like already planning how I'm gonna wear it more often. Josh: Well, you gotta make get your money's worth out of that kid's hat. Meredith: No doubt. Paulie :D: you can easily wear it with a dress or anything. Meredith: Yeah, for rodeo in the spring when Houston Lifestock Show and Rodeo comes. it's a month-song event. I'll definitely Josh: Mm-hmm. Meredith: get my for $65. I'm thrilled. Paulie :D: Take it, you can even take that thing golfing. Meredith: Absolutely not. Paulie :D: Yeah, 100%, get the sun out of your face a little bit. Meredith: I don't know what golfing you've done, Paul. You don't wear a cowboy hat golfing, I know just screw with my swing. Paulie :D: It's called putt-putt golf. I'm the best at it. Josh: Yeah. All right, well let's get into Coda. The racing was pretty good. What'd we think of the race itself? Paulie :D: it was exciting, but I think it lacked a little bit. I watched the 30 minute one this morning and I feel like it was lacking in something. Josh: So I I'll just gonna give you my quick thoughts. turn or lap one was fantastic, right? a lot of great little real close, close wheel-to-wheel battles. Ferraris pushing against each other, overtaking Max. it just great fireworks off the jump, which is exactly what you want at Code, especially with the the hype of turn one and the new grandstand. that had to have been a perfect view of everything since it it pretty much all happened in turns one and two. I I will say it seemed like and What I've said a million times, there was just a lack of tire strategies because the soft and the medium was damn near identical. And there was really no no separation between the two strategies. And I think that really just hampered any potential that we had for for some extra excitement that we missed out on. So they gotta do something. I saw in the news, you know, we'll get into some more news stuff later, but I saw that Bridgestone is looking to make a comeback into Formula Meredith: Ooh. Josh: One. apparently that's pretty highly touted. They've been at the last two races, doing a lot of Paulie :D: But doesn't Pirelli have the contract to 2030 something? Josh: you know how this game is. Money talks, bud. So, if Meredith: Yeah. Josh: Brid if Bridgetone wants to show up and and you know, put the money where the mouth is and they can offer a better product or Meredith: Let me see how long does Perelli have the contract? Paulie :D: It ends at the end of 2028. Meredith: There you go. Well that's not that far away. You start making your play now. Yeah. Josh: Well, there you go. That's about that time. That's Paulie :D: No, yeah, it was a lot sooner than I thought. Josh: about that time. Paulie :D: For some reason, I thought it was longer. Josh: I would love to see Meredith: Yeah I Josh: it. I would love to see a two a two manufacturer tire make it back into Formula One where you've got the choice between the two and let it get an add another element that we're we are currently really missing because it seems like just tire strategy isn't even worth talking about anymore since it's pretty much soft, medium, or hard, and the differences are min negligible. So I really thought that took away from the race. but I mean Kimmy Antonelli is just absolutely dominant. He looked that I think that was his most dominant drive of his young career. I mean, Meredith: Agreed. Josh: just right out of the gates. he he was never under pressure since Max was too busy worried with the two scarlet red Ferraris behind him. and Kimmy just took the advantage and took off. Gone. Never to be seen again. Meredith: Yeah, I did y'all see Leah's video that she posted of the the lap one reaction. It is, y'all know me, I always say like I am not an aesthetic fan. I am not the one who's gonna be like, yay, not like I'm screaming, I lost my voice. And in Leah's lap one reaction video, you just hear me being like, Go, K, go. Yeah, I'm like with my whole chest. I just I love watching him to continue to just get better and better for somebody who's already a phenomenal driver. I was absolutely thrilled with Lap One, his start. I mean, but he just he just does not know what plateauing is. He just continues to improve, and that is just so fun to watch. But I also think the way that he was able to gain the lead with such a strong start, manage the tires, keep the pace. And I will tell you that coming down that back straight. watching that gap, you see the intervals on the TV. And we were under the shade in the ranch. So we were watching from the TV. And then when the cars would get close, we'd come out. But, you know, plenty of shade. And going out to the track and actually seeing how far that lead is for Kimmy was just mind-boggling. I I mean, they're they're going so fast that on the TV screen, you know, a three-second lead, four-second lead doesn't seem like a lot until you see it pass you on the track. And it was just A very impressive drive by him. I thought it was a very unfortunate tire management situation with both Leando and Max. It they just there was nothing they could do there at the end. But I thought Charles honorable mention. We know Charles loves Coda, but I was incredibly impressed with Charles's driving. It's like he always wants to show up in Texas, and I think it's for and I love it. Paulie :D: Also, the composure. We forget this kid, he's a kid. He is 20 years old and to have that composure and to drive with grown men alongside of him and just be able to not be faith by it is incredible. I can't speak for the two of you, but at 20, there is no way I had that level of composure and maturity. Hell, I don't even think I have it now. Meredith: I'm not gonna disagree with you on that, Paul, but you said it first, not me. Paulie :D: Wait, what the fuck? Anybody's looking to start a podcast, just give me a call. Meredith: there it is. Always pimping himself out. Did Josh: There it is. Meredith: y'all see the video of Kimmy at one of the activations backing the Mercedes into the fence? Paulie :D: He packed it into the wall. He just got his license like two weeks ago. Meredith: And George's reaction was the best. George was just like, put it in drive. But I forget, like, he's just like, he's not great at driving road cars. He's already wrecked that other one. So it was kind of funny. Yeah. Yeah, Paulie :D: And he just got his license last year. So it's like. Meredith: but let's give him a hundred eighty thousand dollar car and have him back it into a fence. But he can drive a multi-million dollar Formula One car. So that's all I care about. I'd let him drive my car. Josh: That's right. The return of the Yeah, the return on investments there. Do you think Mercedes cares about him putting a scratch on that hundred and eighty thousand dollar piece of crap? No. Yeah, they ain't worried about it. They're worried Meredith: N no. No. Josh: about that yeah, like you said, billion dollar car with development and everything that they've got sitting over in the paddock, so Meredith: Yeah. One thing I will say that was my first time at Coda, it in all the years I've gone, I've never done any of the pop-up activation stuff in town. I'm a person that I like to spend all day at the track, eat dinner, shower, and go to bed because it is such an exhausting experience out there. but this year, I gotta do my traditional roaring fork dinner. So when we went, we made our reservation a little bit later because the Williams pop-up was right across the street, the Mercedes pop-up was right down the street. So we went and saw those. And you know, being 10 feet away from a Formula One car is really cool. It was just awesome to see. So that's the first time that I've taken advantage of that. And like I know a lot of people who took off all of last week to go do that. But it did make me decide that next year I will be taking Paulie :D: Thank Meredith: Thursday and Friday off. And I will be going to Austin early to do more of those fanzone pop ups because it is so cool. The limited edition merch is there. Yeah, I just, it just made me want to go do that more because even though I'm a tracky and love it out there, it was it was just really, really cool and cool to see other fans be so excited and see that stuff up close. So I think the pop ups were very, very well done this year. I don't have a benchmark to compare it to though. Paulie :D: Did you see there was a vintage motorsport clothing pop-up that happened? Yeah. Meredith: No, I would have take all my money. I would have been screwed. Y'all know how I love to spend money. Paulie :D: It came It came up on my Instagram. It's like just nothing but vintage Motorsports stuff shirts t-shirts everything and they just had a pop-up event. I thought that was pretty cool Meredith: That's awesome. There's one one of the content creators I follow. His name is Formula One Dad. His name's Tony. My his outfits all weekend were incredible, but my favorite one was a vintage Tommy Hill figure color block Bennetton racing shirt. And now that is my sole purpose in thrifting is to find that Tommy Hill figure Benetton color block shirt. I was like, Tony, 10 out of 10 on the code of fits. You nailed it. And his style is like Josh: Nice. Meredith: very classic vintage. So it's a I would have loved to know that there was a vintage racing pop-up. Paulie :D: you you need to go to North Carolina and go drifting out there Because I'm sure there's a ton of NASCAR vintage stuff at some of those good wheels out in North Carolina Meredith: Yeah, I I am going to Lexington, Kentucky next week for work. And I I mean, like y'all know me, I'm a horse girl. I love horses and I've got horses all over my house. And I am thrilled to go thrifting after our meetings end next week. I'm like, I already have my spots I'm going to. Last year, I I just I happened to just go to a goodwill store and an antique store that were like on the same street. And I ended up with so much stuff. Like I found Joe a vintage martini shaker. That was a Gotinger silver martini shaker with a leather surrounding that looks like a golf bag. And all the olive Paulie :D: That's cool. Meredith: picks are golf clubs. Like three dollars. So I'm, you know me, I love to thrift. So you're right. I should totally hit up some of the ones in North Carolina where there's more racing stuff. Josh: All right, well I'm gonna ask the question we've all been waiting for. Meredith, did you eat any of the chicken tenders? Meredith: Okay. No. Because Josh: Thank God. All right. Meredith: they looked like shit again. But do you want to know what hit every time? Those Paulie :D: Tell me. Meredith: quesadillas. I I've never loved a quesadilla as much as I love these Kensession quesadillas. I mean like pure excellence. That's the only way I know how to describe it. Because Aaron got his chicken tendies and I was like, Okay, so I took a picture. They did look better than last year. Okay, here are the Coda chicken tendies from this year. Different battering. They look better. Aaron Aaron was thrilled. Aaron Paulie :D: Thank Meredith: Aaron said that they were wonderful and chicken tendies are his thing. But look at that little thicky thick. Josh: Mm. Meredith: It was it was, I'm not kidding when I Paulie :D: That is a big case idea. Josh: That's good. Meredith: tell you, it was at least three quarters of an inch thick, loaded full of chicken. The cheese pool, there was so much cheese oozing out of it that I literally had to like stretch a full wingspan and end up having to split the cheese. The pico de guayo was extremely fresh, good sour cream. The salsa they served with it was so hot and perfect. So we like both at the cantina, which is over by the S's and the ranch, 10 out of 10 on the C Citidias, they did phenomenal. Josh: Nice. Alright, well I'm glad to see that you had something edible. what about the water situation? Meredith: They did have condiment stands this year though. So that was a new thing. They yeah, so even though they had the food trucks, they had condiment stands. So you could go get all your condiments. And even on day one on Friday, we got right in the fan zone where it's like chaos. The prices were actually pretty reasonable this year compared to years Paulie :D: you Meredith: past. On Friday, Joe and I for 40 bucks got a giant brisket sandwich with fries and a large jalapeno cheddar sausage with fries and two large water bottles for forty two bucks. So for Coda for event pricing, I felt like it was really, really fair. Paulie :D: Yeah, you can't. That's Josh: Mm. Paulie :D: a pretty decent price. Meredith: And that twenty dollar quesadilla fed both Joe and I. I I couldn't even finish my second piece, and Joe just housed the rest. So I feel like, yeah, twenty dollars for a quesadilla sounds like a lot. But when you're talking about event pricing and that being enough to feed two people, pretty solid. Plus, you Josh: Not bad. Meredith: know, I took uncrustables in my bag. Paulie :D: Were you able to find the Patron thing again? Meredith: No, it wasn't there this year. That was what I was bummed about. I was Josh: No. Meredith: like, no. But my friend Faith was working the coda bar right next to the tower. So that was our starting point every single day. We would go over and see my friend Faith. She was serving up the best cocktails. like she, God, she made this one margarita for us on Sunday. And I was like, Can you just make one margarita and split it in two? And Joe and I'll take it as a shot. And she goes, I can't serve shots. I said, But can you serve a margarita and split it in two? She was like, Yes. But Yeah, the Coda Tower drink prices were were really great. Other than that, Meo's Hammer and Ranch Waters. And they did add sun cruisers this year, which surfsides are my favorite because they are not seltzered, but they're those tea ones. And so they had sun cruisers everywhere too. And the bar at the ranch this year had all like upscale liquors. And my favorite they had my favorite gin, and they had one that was It was Empress Gin, which is my favorite. It's an elder flowered butterfly pea flower gin. And then they had it with what is the brand of those sparkling Waterloos? They had it with Blackberry Lemonade Waterloo and then fresh lemon juice in it. So, you know, overall, I was bummed to not have my Patron margarita station with the cool drinks and the lanyards. But I feel like they really leveled up their food and beverage game this year. So overall, highly thrilled. Josh: Nice. All Paulie :D: That's awesome. Josh: right. Well, you got anything else to add from your your weekend in Coda? Is there any other honorable mentions before we move on? Meredith: Yeah, honorable mention. this year, because Formula One Academy was racing and then I like I love the Porsche Cup racing too. and they had a Moto GP exhibit, which was probably one of my favorites because I've never seen Moto GP on track. And so they had a couple of Moto GP drivers and they were like, I don't know, four to six of them on the track. That was incredible to watch. It definitely made me want to go to the Moto GP race at Coda. So number one, checking that off the list, absolutely have to go to that. number two, They opened up the Porsche and Formula One Academy paddocks when it was after events. And we were just so tired from walking all over that we didn't go. And I was so bummed. When we got there on Sunday, you know, we we wait for the early race crew to go out and then we go out around 10:30, 11. Missed all the traffic, got there in like 25 minutes. It was fantastic. We walk in, we go see face at Faith at the bar, and I see this guy in a Ferrari shirt carrying Paulie :D: Thank you. Meredith: a tire. And I was like, dude, where'd you get that? And he goes, they're just giving out the used tires in the support paddocks. So I was like, Okay, well, that's a really cool thing. And then all the people all over TikTok and Instagram are sharing that they also got tires. Paulie :D: you Meredith: Our Space City Racing Club chat, a ton of people got tires and are gonna turn them into coffee tables like they have on F1 Authentics, where they're five grand. Now, granted, they're not Pirelli tires, but they're cool used racing tires. Josh: Yeah. Meredith: So I I thought that was really cool. And I hope they do that again next year. And if so, My ass is going to carry a tire around all day. I'll sit in that like I'm floating a river. No shame. Yeah. I think those are my only other updates this year. I will say there Josh: Nice. All right. Meredith: was less water this year though. So I was like, screw it. Josh: less. Meredith: Yeah, less water, which was shocking. I think all in all, the entire weekend, I think I maybe saw three water stations. So I was like, you know what that means? Paulie :D: damn. Meredith: I'll have more ranch waters. Josh: Hmm. Yeah, that's tough. That's a tough look, 'cause that's something Paulie :D: It's got water in the name, so. Josh: we specifically talked about that last year. Or Meredith: Yeah, we yeah, we ended up just buying big waters when we first got there or when we were eating lunch. and then, you know, the rest of it was ranch water days. But yeah, I think those are my only updates or new things from this year. Paulie :D: Josh, what did you think about the race? Josh: I I enjoyed the beginning of it. I enjoyed obviously lap one and some of the there was a couple of close battles. I mean, I thought Coda was gonna be a great circuit for these cars, and it did turn out to be so. I thought that the the we didn't see a whole lot of issues with the cars themselves. They all seemed to handle the circuit a little better, you know, the lot of places to recharge, a lot of places for battery deployment. you know, you had your typical everyone wants to use their deployment in turn one. You know. We saw that one coming from a mile away, right? but yeah, I was disappointed by a tire strategy and seems like the lack of degradation and the co in the tires is just it it creates a very lackluster parade, basically where everybody's on the same tire strategy, whether they started on it or not. So it is what it is. it seems just to be a characteristic of of these parley tires right now. And it's a frustrating part, but it is what it is. all right, so before we move on from Coda and Formula One. I think Meredith has some very good news for us and less and good news for Paul. We've got our prediction update and this the scoreboard Paulie :D: No, I think I did pretty well. Josh: the scoreboard is good Meredith: Well, Paul Josh: for me and Meredith. Meredith: because remember last week I was like, crap, we haven't done a recap in several races. So we Paulie :D: Yeah, yeah, yeah. Meredith: had not done point total recaps on our predictions since Baku. Baku. So Paulie :D: that's right. That's Meredith: we've got a bit to go back to. So I will do a quick recap of that. Okay. So Baku predictions. we shit the bed on the podium. Y'all both had Kimmy George Lando. I had Kimmy George Max. We didn't get any points there. But Josh predicted more than five DNFs, and there were more than five DNFs. So he got a pill, he got to pick up a point, got to pick up a point on shocker. You had Lance DNF, which is not a shocker, but you picked up a point there. I shit the bed the whole week and in Baku, no points. Okay. So after Baku, that that brought Paulie :D: Thank Meredith: Josh to 13, you to two, and me still sitting at 10. And then we had Malaysia, where Josh didn't do predictions, so lucky for us. or for me, I should say. you predicted Max Isaac Kimmy, two cars, DNSing or DNFing and signs of the points. and so you picked up a point for max winning. Okay, so you got a point for max winning. Let me see, that was what week? What was that? Malaysia. Okay, so you got a point for max. So that brought you to three points. Josh still at 13. I had a clean sweep. I predicted Max, Kimmy, Lewis, and Aston Martin scoring points. Clean sweep across the board plus four points for me. So that brought me to 14, taking the lead after Malaysia. Singapore was nuts, nuts, nuts. And so we none of us did Singapore predictions. But for Coda predictions, Josh had, let's see, where are we? Okay, for Coda predictions, Josh had Kimmy, Max, Charles, and a teammate collision. You had Max, Kimmy, Charles, and you had quite an amalgamation of a shocker prediction, and none of yours came true. So you you shit the bed at Coda. Kimmy, Lando, George was mine. So Josh and I both picked up points for Kimmy. my shocker prediction was terrible. So that means our new grand total is Josh 14, Paul 2, Meredith 15. Paulie :D: At least I'm not in negative numbers. Meredith: And I do not get my plus ten kicker because Joe went rogue and had fresh fits for coda this year. Friday started off strong, Saturday started off strong, and then Sunday he pulls out his Pac Sun Formula One Coda tee. And I'm like, Where is your Lewis Hamilton shirt? But I'm in the lead now. Josh: Paul, I I don't know what to tell you, pal. Two points is a rough look. Paulie :D: This game is rigged. Meredith: How about this, Paul? How Paulie :D: This game is rigged. Meredith: about this, Paul? If you clean sweep your predictions this week, I think we should give you plus ten. Paulie :D: God. Okay. All right. Meredith: How do you feel about that, Josh? To get him back in the game. If he can clean sweep a week in in Mexico, Josh: Sure. He if he if he can Paulie :D: You Meredith: and if anywhere for you, Mexico City feels right. Paulie :D: Alright, I will do it. Listen, you need to throw me a bone and this is exactly what it is. Josh: You can't softball your shocker though. You can't Lance Stroll Paulie :D: Mm-hmm. Meredith: You're won't stole dearness. Josh: is gonna DNF. Paulie :D: I okay fair Diddy Josh: Although he di he beat his teammate. Lance Stroll beat his teammate this week. Yes. Where have you been? Paulie :D: clearly not paying attention. Meredith: Okay, before we close out, Coda, I do have one more thing that I that I saw. Paulie :D: No, Did you talk about our predictions for Dakota? Did I get a point for that one? No! Meredith: No, you shit the bat at Koda. You got nothing. Paulie :D: I thought, what were my predictions for coda? Meredith: Y Max, Kimmy, Charles. Paulie :D: What was my shocker? Meredith: You had Alpine double points, okay? And then you had something else d with a d I don't even know what that says, something else double finish. And Alpine did not get double points, honey. So no, you shit the bet across the board. Paulie :D: I did Alpine double points. I thought I just picked. So I picked both Cadillacs to finish and that. Meredith: Cadillac double finish and Alpine double points. No. I was like, what is this? Paulie :D: All right, all right, that's fair. Meredith: I was like, C O D. I was like Call of Duty Cadillac. Josh: Yeah. Paulie :D: All right, I'm gonna, while you guys keep talking, I'm gonna write my predictions. Meredith: Well let's talk some let's talk Mexico City. Paulie :D: Wait, had one Josh: Mexico City. Paulie :D: more thing you were gonna add. Meredith: yeah, yeah. One more thing. Sorry. there was a lot of discourse after Esteban Ocon did not get re-signed with Haas about nobody reaching out to him. And I and I think that like I was a little disappointed in that. And then after the race weekend, I saw all the coverage about Lewis coming up to Esteban and talking to him and just like, you know, just connecting with him about that. And I just, Lewis Hamilton is an incredible guy. I think everybody knows that. But I do think any F1 driver losing their seat on the grid sucks. And any one of those drivers could put themselves in his shoes. And even if they are not SD besties, I do think that it speaks volumes for the people who do connect with SD Besti. Like Lance Stroll reached out to and he said Lance was the only one who picked up the phone and called me, you know? And then for Lewis to come up to him and talk to him face to face at a race and like have a moment with him. I think that is special. I'm not the hugest Esteban Ocon fan, but I thought it was really cool that Lewis took time out of a weekend to talk with him about that. And I hope the other drivers just show show some respect to the man. Like, even if you don't like Esteban Ocon and you're excited for Rafa to get a seat and try, I just think like anyone should be able to put themselves in his shoes and talk to him and be like, hey man, I'm really sorry. I can't imagine what you're going through. Like that would suck. So I don't know. I thought it was great that Lewis did something. And I hope the other drivers, just have a little bit more empathy for the situation of what he's going through because now he has to finish a season with a team that does not want him anymore, did not re sign him. I know he's going to wek and that'll be great. But I I really hope some of the other drivers step up and be a freaking human and have some empathy. So that was my last thing on Coda. My little rant. Paulie :D: Also, can we, I think Josh might be able to answer this one. Who is this Rafa kid? I've never heard of the name. Josh: He's just your one in I don't remember if he's been a junior driver anywhere for a while, but he's just d one of those up and coming names. It's run through the formula ranks. Yeah. Meredith: Yeah. He's in F two right now. Yeah. And he's delivering in F two. Paulie :D: If he ain't F2 right now. Josh: Yeah. He's having a good year. And I think he had a really good season in F three. And I I don't think he's got a lot of testing time. So it was a name that I was kind of surprised by, but then when you think of Haas, it's not like they've got a a large driver pool in the juniors to pull from. Usually they they tend to pull from Ferrari as far as being a junior development program, hence why Ollie Behrman is there and he's also being touted as the next Ferrari man. so I need I don't know if he's part of the Ferrari juniors. Meredith: I don't know. I was still shocked that it wasn't Jack Doohan. I think Paul and I talked about it on an episode where it was on a week where you were out on vacation and couldn't record. Paulie :D: Thank Meredith: And Haas had just posted a photo shoot with Jack Doohan. And I was like, well, I mean, that's basically them breaking the news. Like, I get it. He's a reserve driver, but like, I mean, they're doing a whole photo shoot with him, you know, as these rumors are going around. So I was led astray. I for sure thought Jack was getting the seat. So then when I Rafa, I was like, Okay. Paulie :D: Yeah, that one came out of one came out of left field completely. Josh: Okay, so here you go. So he is a member of the Ferrari Driver Academy, has been, for his career. won Formula Regional Europe, one F three, is currently winning F two. So that's why the the kid's just a stud. And he's got and there's your your touch with the Ferrari seat. Meredith: Well, I think that's incredible. And I'm super excited to see some fresh blood always. I'm super excited to see people get chances. I also I'm super glad that it's someone getting a chance at like Haas, not like at Alpine, where they just love to cut people left and right. So I I I hope he does well. Like how cool would it be to see him and Ollie just do awesome being from the same driving academy and like building that. I would love that. Paulie :D: Yeah, hopefully he does well. mean, if this last batch of rookies have anything to say, I think he's going to do fairly well. Josh: Yeah, and and I think we saw some comments this week, and I don't remember who said them. I will look it up as I say it. But what the comment was made by one of the pundits that Formula One drivers are are existing into the sport entirely too long. That there's always been a culture of hey, you you can either make it or you don't, and it's either a couple years or a couple races even and you're cut short. And that was always the The tradition of Formula One, right? you make it or you don't. Well, these guys are driving fairly unsuccessfully for years, right? Years. And the the comment was made that what's the point of driver academies? What's the point of lower formulas if you're basically aging out of those programs with no hope for a seat? I mean, I think we've got several examples right here that we can all kind of think of in the modern era. I mean, Drogovic, Jack Dewan was an in and out. there's several guys that you would have thought would have had chances at seats, but because of the lack of turnover, they're never getting the opportunities. and that goes for pretty much every team on the grid. I mean, you've got guys driving into their forties, right? Not to say anything negative about Lewis or Fernando, but that's unheard of. Right? That's gets entirely unheard of. And and so I think the the argument should be made that maybe teams are a little hesitant to cut drivers off because of their social interaction, their social media followings, their sponsorships, whatever Meredith: Sponsorships. Josh: whatever the the money they bring to the table, whatever it may be, why am I dropping the thirty year old with ten, twenty years of sponsorships that have been following him for a career, and to go for an eighteen year old with maybe one or two sponsors. So I I get it, but it does kind of take away from maybe the evolution of the sport. What do you think? Paulie :D: No, I don't think anyone can disagree with that. Meredith: Agreed and I think we're potentially going to see it play out in Cadillac. Josh: Yeah. We can get into the silly season stuff while we got a second. So I mean we've saw seen some rumors coming through, you know, it's the beginning of the silly season. It was Ralph Schumacher. That's who I thought I was, but I wasn't a hundred percent and I didn't want to say that wrong. Which Ralph is is good to he loves Meredith: Ruff Ralph loves to make comments. Josh: he loves to kind of just you know, make some dry anyway. Paulie :D: Start the pot. Josh: He does it he's a pot stir, which is fine. That's his job. That's what makes money. Mm mm. Paulie :D: But I don't think he's wrong. mean, look at look at Esteban, look at Lance, look at Hokenberg. they're all aside from Lance, they're all good drivers who have done a little bit in the sport, but I think they've been there far too long. Josh: Well, hell, Lance himself battled Max for an F three championship. they were neck and neck for the entire season until so I it's not to say that he was not successful in the lower formulas, So the quote it's Meredith: Right. I they're just like in a car. like not it's not apples to apples, but hell, if Fernando Alonso cannot deliver results in this Aston Martin, why would we expect Lance could either? Like, let's be honest about that. I know I know we love to hate on Lance and it but the reality is is like you've got one of the greater drivers of all time in Fernando Alonso in your team and you're not delivering results. Why is the shade so much more directed at Lance when the reality is that the car is shit? The car is shit. And yeah, put them in equal equipment of performing cars that are delivering results. let's put let's put Fernando and Lance in the mercs for a weekend. And then we can talk some shit, But I just think it's like the cars are not delivering. And at what point do teams start look at rotates rotating drivers of like You how long how much longer can you all stay in the sport? I love Fernando Alonso, but how much longer can you stay in the sport in the sport when you're still not delivering results? It's not your fault, it's the car. But like maybe it's time to usher in some newer drivers and like you said, like take the chance on getting some newer drivers into Formula One. I don't know, it's it's a lose lose situation, in my opinion. Paulie :D: hell, Josh: Mm-hmm. Paulie :D: look at it. What if it three years ago when that Aston Martin was really good, both Lance and Fernando were competing for Q3 every weekend. So when put in a decent car, Lance has somewhat been able to compete with it, maybe not get the results that a Fernando does, but Lance was Q3 most weekends when that car was good until everybody caught up and we saw that Aston Martin dwindle down in the order. Meredith: Yeah, I think I I've I think I've and I've realized that hating Paulie :D: you Meredith: Lance Stroll is like hating Nickelback. You just say it because everybody else does. Paulie :D: It's cool to hate him because everyone does, but secretly you root for him. Secretly you listen to Nickelback in your car on the way to work. Meredith: I'm not secret about it. I love Nickelback. I'm not saying I love Lance Stroll, but I'm just saying, maybe it's more nuanced than I want it to be. it's it's easy to hate on Lance, but Fernando's not delivering results either. he may not be crashing out as much, but he's not delivering results either. So I don't know. I do think that like with Cadillac specifically, you know, Paul told us right before we started recording that Chucko got a contract extension with Cadillac, and I'm super excited for him. I think they I think we always thought that they were going to use this season to decide who was going to be the veteran person that they keep in the seat and then decide who they were going to usher in for the future. And like we always knew it was going to be maybe Botas, maybe, maybe Checo, depending on who could deliver better leadership and performance this year. And so I'm excited they re-signed him, excited for some continuity. But now there's kind of like the rumors swirling is is it going to be Yuki Sunoda? We know that his team reached out to Cadillac. Or is it gonna be Colton Herta who is not delivering results in Formula Two? Yuki had some time back on track this season, delivered well, performed well. So I think it'll be just a decision of like, is Andretti gonna really push his boy Colton Herta, who has not delivered well in Formula Two to get that seat? Or are they gonna give it to Yuki to try to get, you know, two experienced drivers, someone who's still on the younger side of the experienced in there? And maybe they would like level step it. Maybe they'd keep Jekyll a few years and keep Yuki. And then when Chico's ready to retire, have Yuki and then another, I don't know. What are y'all thinking? Josh: I I'm hesitant to say that it will be a driver of I don't think it'll be an American driver. Meredith: So you think Colton Hurt is Josh: I do I think Cold Horse out almost for because of his own mindset. he has no interest in continu like he's he's almost checked out. And so why why would I even consider promoting him in, Meredith: Yeah. Yeah, he's very displeased. Yeah. Josh: right? There's plenty of junior talent that I can go find and poach versus taking a a guy that doesn't even really care to be there, So I'm trying to look up my outside for this one. So being it being a f a Ferrari powered team for the next little while, I could potentially see a Ferrari influenced driver Coming into that s into that position. Meredith: Interesting. Josh: so I'm trying to see like who else would be in the pipeline after Rafa, 'cause th that seems to be their number one, right? Paulie :D: you Josh: but I just don't see that Andretti would have somebody in their back pocket to pull up, because I think if they did, they would have put him in F two, right? if they were gonna s you know, fund and sponsor that seat to begin with. They picked Colta for Colton her for a reason. so I don't think they've got an ace in their sleeve to just pull up to replace. So it could be a driver that's in a reserve status now. Maybe Yuki's a great option. You know, he's had experience. I here's kind of my thoughts with the Ferrari deal, right? I I would not be surprised if it was like a Zhou Guan Yu situation. Put Meredith: Yeah. Josh: put him back in the mix. he's got experience now with again as a Ferrari reserve Paulie :D: you Josh: driver. He's got a lot of experience with the power unit now. He's you know, been experienced with the computer system. So that would be an outside easy pick to throw in the Meredith: Yeah. Josh: in the hat there. I don't see him getting a a seat and anywhere else. And he comes with a lot of money and backing. Meredith: Wow, I had I had total feel bad saying I'd forgotten about him, but that is yeah, I d I'dn't even thought of that. Josh: trick is do you and this gets into politics, but do you need do you want a Chinese driver driving an American branded car? You know, that's kind of into the trade the trade war kind of stuff, but Meredith: the c same same thing could be said about Yuki, who has a lot of ties to Japanese sponsorships. Josh: Right. Exactly. So I mean Meredith: Yeah, it's gonna be interesting. But I would feel like they're probably gonna make that choice pretty soon. If they're already announcing and confirming Checo, then you would think Josh: Mm-hmm. Meredith: that they would want to confirm their other driver for next year relatively quickly. Josh: Yeah, you would think so. But I I think you also wait. Paulie :D: Money aside, money aside and I know Checo brings in a lot of sponsorship money. How do you properly grade the two in a car that suck in a year that they've done nothing? So how can you say Checo deserves that seat over over ball tree? Money aside. Josh: Because we see an hour and a half on a Sunday every week and they see a lot of what goes on behind the scenes, right? Attitude, teamwork, willingness to be there, change things. You know, if if they're seeing something obviously that we're not, the decisions made on the back end, it it's Meredith: And I think that the if they were going to if it was going to be Botas staying in the seat, they would have announced that they re signed both of them at the same time. It doesn't make sense that they would announce Checo now and wait to announce Botas later unless Paulie :D: and Meredith: they have someone else in mind. Paulie :D: It'll definitely be interesting to see what they do with that seat. Meredith: No doubt. But how cool for Checo to get the announcement and Mexico City Grand Prix that he just got re-signed and extended. I think I think that's really cool timing on that. I love it. Josh: It's almost like they planned it. Paulie :D: And especially this is, was it Coder or was it going to be Mexico? His 300th race. I think it's Mexico's 300th race. Josh: Is it? Well, Meredith: Not up on my Checo Josh: it could be. Meredith: stats. Well, do we have any other silly season stuff to talk about or should we get into Mexico City? Josh: We get in Mexico City. I think that's it. That's that's the Paulie :D: No, can, let's get into. Josh: rumors I've got. Paulie :D: Yeah, yeah, absolutely. Let's get into some Mexico nerd talk. Meredith: I am super excited for this race. This is I would put Mexico City in like my top three bucket list races that are next in line for me. I'm like I I really wanna I I love Mexico City and I love this track and I would I would absolutely love to go. Paulie :D: So according to Twitter, Colton Herda is going to partake in FP1. The objective, securing his 40th super license point so he can be eligible for the 27th seat. Meredith: We'll see. Josh: If they put if Paulie :D: That's just Twitter. Josh: they put him in the Formula One seat for twenty seven, that would be insane to me. I I don't I would not understand that from a business perspective or a professional development perspective. There are so many more qualified. Yeah. If you're 'cause you've got all Paulie :D: professional. Josh: these younger drivers that you've sponsored, why would you pick a guy that's raced one year pretty poorly in Formula Two and now you've promoted him to the pinnacle of motorsport? That doesn't make any sense to me. How are you going to expect him to do anything else? Paulie :D: Professionally, completely agree with you. No, I can't argue against it. Business-wise, an American driver in an American car, that's how they're seeing it. Meredith: Yeah, especially with Mario at the helm. Josh: Yeah, and Americans love Americans love when their American driver is horrible. We watched that play out first hand a year ago. So it wasn't like Meredith: why couldn't we throw a Jack Crawford in the mix, y'all? Josh: He probably is in the mix, to be honest. That's probably not a Meredith: Could be. Josh: bad that's probably not a bad shop. Paulie :D: At this point, if we want an American driver that can actually maybe do something, let's get Logan Sargent back. I'm sure he can Josh: No. Paulie :D: do better than Cohn Herta. Meredith: That was my eagle screeching. Josh: No we're Paulie :D: But if we're gonna compare the two between Sergeant Josh: Mm. Paulie :D: and Herta, I think Sergeant would do a better job. Josh: I think that we could find another American between the two Yeah. I Meredith: I think that ship has sailed. Paulie :D: 100 % Meredith: I think that ship has Paulie :D: 100 % Meredith: sailed. I don't know. Okay, let's focus on Mexico Paulie :D: But let's get into Nerd Talk. Meredith: City. Give us our nerd talk, Josh. Josh: All right, so I think the biggest thing about Mexico City is its elevation above sea level, right? That is usually the biggest talking point 'cause it changes a lot of the aerodynamics of the car. they typically bring some track specific upgrades to this one to combat against that. we love to see it in the end of that first turn because we'll get into so the first turn, right, is the very end of a very, very long straight. The longest starting straight. In Formula One, right? It's the longest run down turn one. So great spot for everybody to lock up because they expect their car to be a touch heavier and have a lot more drag. And so a lot of people will lock up, could see some contact there. It's always an exciting spot to get into there. And with these cars being a little more, you know, they're actually more, they're much less reliant on the aerodynamics for their performance. It may be a little more interesting than it has been in years past there. it's a fun track. It's very technical, a lot of slow speed corners, especially through that first sector. But their love that little fast sector coming into the stadium where we saw, I guess, Alex Albon. Meredith: My favorite spot. Josh: Was it two years ago or last year where Alex Albon wrecked with Ollie Behrman? Or no, it w Meredith: I don't remember. Josh: Ooh. It was in a free practice. Anyway, it was it was in a free practice. I think it was the two of them. but it's a really good, like long, sweeping left hand, very quick corner, and we see people go off there and a lot. And then the stadium section is so unique. It's so cool to see like cars like in a fully enclosed, you know, like stadium on all sides, like really close to the crowd. It's such Meredith: I want to be up at the top under that little covered patio. I don't need to be down close. I'd rather be up high with vantage point, some shade. Josh: Yeah. Yeah, that's true. Shade would be good. I I wonder, is it supposed to be hot there? Does anybody know what the t what the weather's supposed to be? Meredith: I don't know. I Paulie :D: It's supposed to be warm. Meredith: bet yeah, I'm like it's it's probably similar to how it is down here in Texas right now. Josh: yeah, I was gonna say Texas. Meredith: Yeah. So I would guess Paulie :D: Let's look it up real quick. Meredith: low to mid eighties, slight humidity. Paulie :D: yeah, high 80s or mid 80s, sorry. Meredith: Yeah. Yeah. So so right around what it usually Josh: Yeah. About the same. Meredith: is. I wanna know what those tickets cost for that stadium. I may be doing some recon pricing some things out. Paulie :D: That's that's one of the races I need I would love to go to Meredith: Yeah. I'm like, now that we're not going to Abu Dhabi anymore, which I'm devastated about and still trying to see if we can get a refund, we are going to Vegas. And I'm like, okay, but we're not because the Airbnb that we rent overlooks the track. I'm like, we're not gonna buy tickets. We can see the race Paulie :D: You Meredith: right there and have it on the TV. So we're just gonna go to the Airbnb and we'll just fly in Friday, go to the race or like go to an early dinner, get back to the Airbnb in time for quality. watch quality from the Airbnb. Saturday we'll go do activation stuff. Saturday night, watch the race from the Airbnb, get up, fly home Sunday. But you know, the Airbnb for the weekend was like $2,000 for the two bedroom suite. So it's like, all right, that's great. Got and from both sides, both sides have balconies that we can see that track down the straight and around the backside, like towards where the Harman Grandstands are. So I'm like, well, that'll be awesome. Super excited. But now that we're not doing Abu Dhabi, That stays at the top of my list for 2027. I'm like, I have to do that. I am considering next year not doing Coda. I know. I'm considering not doing Coda because we're going to Formula E for Coda in February. I want to try to hit Moto GP as well at Coda. I'm considering doing Mexico City next fall instead Josh: Hmm. Meredith: of Coda. Josh: Interesting. Paulie :D: keep me posted because I would like to go with you. Meredith: Yeah, that's like it's I and I love Mexico City so much. And I'm like, that would be a such a great way to experience it. Paulie :D: If I can't do it in 27, I have to do it in 28. Meredith: Yeah. And it's also such a great destination. the the guy that won the full-time formula pass, like I love seeing his stuff that he does because he goes to the formula on weekends, but he makes a trip out of it. And then who's the other guy? Christian, he has the he has one of the podcasts. Like he came to Houston for a day before Coda and went to NASA. that's the great part about traveling to an F1 race is that you just make it a destination and you experience other things that are in the area that are that are fun to do too, which makes it feel like more than just a race weekend, it feels like a trip. And Mexico City is definitely one of those tracks that I already know I love the destination. So you get a two for one. Paulie :D: In Mexico, we've all been there. It's pretty inexpensive. mean, the hardest part is flight. It's going to be flights and tickets to get in. Everything else is pretty, pretty cheap. Meredith: Catch me on Valeris with my backpack carry on for cheap. I flew Paulie :D: I've never flown Valeris, but I might have to. Josh: Yeah. Meredith: that's what we flew when we went to Mexico City. The flight was like a hundred fifty dollars round trip. It was excellent. Paulie :D: Yeah, you can't beat that. Josh: nice. Meredith: Yeah. Paulie :D: So Josh, this is going to be dependent on my predictions. With the lack of oxygen because of elevation, who do you think has got the advantage? And I'm taking notes. Josh: I th Mercedes, I still I still think I still think Mercedes has got the advantage. I the Red Bulls will probably be quick because they've got a lot of straight line speed. The Ferraris in the same boat. they run like the max down force, like Monaco spec styles just to keep some performance since they've need they they need to increase as much down force as possible. which does restrict some of that straight straight line speed, but they are so thin it's negligible, right? I think The interesting thing on this one is is I forgot this when I was talking earlier. they've resurfaced a good half of the track. So Meredith: Ooh. Paulie :D: Yeah. Josh: it's like new pavement. So I don't know if how that'll go. I think that adds a little element of of how the tires are gonna work. nobody really knows. It's new track conditions. So I think there'll be a lot of play in the free practices to kind of see what how the tires do on the new sections versus the old sections. So the I it could shake up tire strategies, but we all have we all know that that it's it's wishful thinking for the most part to say that the tire strategies could change. I mean still think you're Paulie :D: Do we foresee some overheating issues with the lack of oxygen? Josh: Well, all your teams that can struggle with cooling issues anyway are gonna struggle just as much as they did in Coda. Yeah, Calak. Meredith: Cadillac's gonna catch on fire. We already know it. Probably a Williams and a Cadillac catch it on fire. Paulie :D: You shut your mouth. Josh: Yeah, so it's it's not like is somebody else is gonna show up with a cooling issue. I mean, they were just in Texas, kid dealing with the same heat. You know, just a little thinner air is not really gonna cause any more issues. But I I think you're s you're still looking at your top top three, top four teams being in the same positions that they were in Texas. I I don't see much shaking up between Mercedes, Ferrari and the Red Bulls. I think that that's just gonna be your top four to six right there with McLaren's kind of bringing that up at the rear of that top end. So I don't see much difference between Texas and Mexico as far as your point standing at the end. So which which should mean that Kim Antonelli will be your champion in Mexico, which will be kinda neat. Paulie :D: Well, Kimmichoff has to finish in the top 10 and he becomes your world champion. Josh: Yeah, exactly. I think I think it's Meredith: It's so cool. Josh: to top I think he has to top ninth. It's as long as over ninth, he's good. Meredith: What if he gets a mechanical DNF and then I get to see him win the title in Vegas? I don't wish that on Paulie :D: You shut your mouth. Meredith: Kimmy. I don't. Win in win in Mexico. But it Paulie :D: Is is Vegas after Mexico or is it Brazil? Yeah, Meredith: Is it? Paulie :D: it's it's Mexico Brazil Josh: Yes, Brazil. Paulie :D: then Vegas So Meredith: That's right, 'cause that Max was saying if he didn't if he wanted Mexico and party too hard he might not raise in Brazil. Paulie :D: to keep this out if he wins, which everybody's hoping that it does. I need to see this kid do tequila shots. Meredith: he's gonna be slurpin'em down. Paulie :D: I'm glad he didn't win in Coda just because, legal limit, he can't drink, but I need him Meredith: Yeah. Paulie :D: to go all out in Mexico. Meredith: Yeah, I hope he does too. Okay, well let's get into some predictions. Paulie :D: I got my rig down. Josh: All well go ahead. You go first then. Meredith: Go ahead. Paulie :D: my God, no pressure, no pressure. All right. All right, here we go. And I wrote it down so we can, on a post-it note. Meredith: Okay. And don't worry, I write down too. Paulie :D: Yeah, but you wrote COD last time, you didn't know what that meant, Meredith: No, the handwriting was just shitty. I did write Cab. Paulie :D: All right, I got Kimmy winning. This is a weird. I got Lando coming in second. And I Josh: That's bold. Paulie :D: got Max in third. Meredith: Okay. And what's your shocker? Paulie :D: I got two. I got Gasly's gonna finish P6 and I got Josh: Specific. Paulie :D: two DNFs or two did not start or did not finish. Meredith: Okay. Josh, what you got? Josh: I th like I said, I think it's gonna be very similar to what we experienced this last week. So I'm gonna stick to the finishing order from this weekend. I'm taking Kimmy first. I think Charles will continue to drive well. He's looked pretty sharp and it looks like the car is suiting him right now. So I I think he's gonna be pretty pretty happy in second and Max Restapping in third. Meredith: And your shocker, my sir. Josh: Shocker prediction. I think that Somebody from the top five in the point standing is going to be out of the points this weekend. Paulie :D: George Russell. Josh: It could be. It could be George. It could be Lewis. Meredith: Okay, that's a fun one. okay, I think Max has just been driving incredibly well and albeit with a bad tire strategy this last weekend. he's a guy that loves Mexico City too. So I am going Max, Kimmy, Lando, and I'm going V Carb double points. Mine. The carb Paulie :D: The Carb Double Points. Meredith: double points. Yeah. I did y'all hear about what happened with Isaac in his car at Coda? So after Paulie :D: No, it blew up. Meredith: a pit, after one of his pits at Coda, his car was stuck in a driving mode, and it was so bad that they had to mute his radio and And review the footage and audio after before they could post because Isaac was so mad and he was cussing so much. Paulie :D: no, I did not hear that. Meredith: Yeah, so I think two things are happening. Number one, I think Isaac I think Isaac is gonna wanna not Isaac, what it what who's fucking Arvid. I think Arvid Josh: No. Meredith: is just steadily getting better. And I think Arvid's just gonna consistently keep growing. I think Liam is going to continue to try to prove and fight for a seat. You know, I think that that V carb lineup, I just think they need to lock it in. I think I think Liam is delivering. And I know they want to promote Nikola Solov, but it's like you're you're getting points. Your team is delivering. Why do you shake that up right now to risk when you could have Nikola Paulie :D: Yeah. Meredith: Solov in Formula Two for another season, getting more comfortable, getting more drive time with Formula One, more testing, put him in some FP ons. I think that I don't know. I think it could be, I think it could be good to just keep Liam and Arvid. And y'all know I love to hate Liam, but I I I think it could be a good move for V CARP to just keep the lineup they have because they are delivering results. They are delivering points. They are consistent consistently delivering double points. And I just think they're on the up and up and don't if it ain't wrong, don't fix it. Paulie :D: Yeah, I'm shocked that they haven't confirmed anybody for next year. They even Josh: So here's your problem. Paulie :D: asked Liam about it. Josh: Here's your problem with that thought, Meredith. So Nicola is currently leading F two. He's neck and neck, right, with Rafa. So the way the rules are, if he wins F two, he cannot race an F two next year. Which Meredith: I didn't realize Josh: the champion cannot race. So hence that that does that forces the hand. Meredith: Interesting. Well then he moving up. If he wins he moving up. Josh: Right. And I would say that who's your first out is not Linblad. I think he's got a good ceiling. It's it's it's lost it's lo it's Lawson, man. It's Liam. Meredith: It's not Limbide, yeah. It's gonna be Liam. Liam Liam having the Danny effect. It's tough. I feel for him. Yeah, I don't know. I didn't I didn't know that. Josh: Tem mais. Paulie :D: So with that being said, are they waiting for the end of that championship to figure out what to do? Josh: They could. they very well Meredith: I would imagine so. Josh: could. It also probably just determines or depends on what contracts look like. you know. If he 'cause they're Paulie :D: Yeah, it'll be interesting. Josh: not gonna let him go. Like if he wins F two, they'll just move him into a reserve driver's role at worst. Kick out Meredith: Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Paulie :D: Yeah. Josh: Yuki, I would imagine. Meredith: Yeah. Well, either way, I'm excited to see what happens with the V Carb lineup. I think, I personally think that Liam and and Arvid are delivering well. But if Nicola wins F two, then that makes the decision right there real easy, you know. So I'm I'm excited to keep my eye on that one because I think that V Carb junior team is to me kind of like the idea of an Ollie and Rafa, like just two strong drivers that were in F2 that are going nowhere but up. So would be cool to see. So I'll I'm excited to see what happens there. Okay. Well, Paul, you had some indie car stuff you wanted to talk about. Paulie :D: Yeah, they came up with a schedule and I'm not happy about it. Josh: Did you guys know the racing at Barcelona for the fifth time? Meredith: Tell us all about it. You're pissed about Paulie :D: What's that? Meredith: a race in Barcelona? Barcelona's badass. I was I couldn't pull up the calendar. Paulie :D: No, no, no, no, I'm not mad about it. I'm happy that they're going to Barcelona. I think IndyCar has tried to be international for a little while, and I'm glad they're growing enough to where they can be. I just... Meredith: Well we're still not gonna race in Mexico. What the fuck is that? Paulie :D: I know they're talking about going to Brazil. I just would like to see a couple more ovals and I hate that they took Nashville out of the schedule to add Barcelona. Meredith: Damn, IndyCar, you had to put music Josh: Wow. Meredith: with your schedule? Paulie :D: So. Meredith: Just trying to look at the dates and locations and they're all Paulie :D: So I get it I I think I heard on the podcast this morning that attendance has been dwindling in nashville for a while and you know, it's it's Meredith: Yeah. And you also move it to the hottest time of the year. at Paulie :D: Agreed, agreed. Meredith: least it when it was at the end, it was a little cooler by then, but you're gonna move it up to soggy town this year and then it didn't go well. Paulie :D: when my brother and I were there two years ago at the last race of the year, it was still warm. but I can understand where Indycar is trying to make money and I get it. But I just think we're getting rid of too many ovals and I don't like it. Meredith: Yeah. Well, I don't know. I I like the mix track. I think there's a good balance. you got you still got Phoenix, Indy five hundreds, St. Louis, Milwaukee one, and Milwaukee two. So I I think that's a good balance. I I'm with Josh on this one. I am excited to see Laguna Seca be the season closer again because Gary and I talked about it last night. We're gonna try make try to make that one happen. do another Laguna Seca season closer, make a little California trip out of it, go to the race and go to Napa and play some good golf. So I was excited to see that one come back. I think Laguna Seca an incredible, incredible season closer. The weather that time of year is perfection there. The corkscrew is just iconic. So I was glad to see that back on the end. Paulie :D: You're not going to like what I got to say, but I would say either get rid of Barbara Markham or Laguna Seca and add an an oval. Josh: though you pick toll ones. Yeah, that's a terrible idea. Meredith: You've never been to Laguna Seca, you can get fucked with that opinion. Once you see it in person, that is one of the most iconic, insane tracks. And I would be thrilled to get to go do one of those one of those driving experiences there. But I I mean, don't have enough of I mean Josh: And people love barber. Meredith: Markham didn't go smoothly this year. I I'm sorry, Paulie :D: No. Meredith: they brought it back, it did not go smoothly. I'm I'm hoping that, you know, I'm betting that they're giving it a second chance to see if they can make the setup better. But, you know, we'll see. Paulie :D: I don't know. Hopefully. Meredith: I and I like Barbara. Josh: Yeah, I barber's but people very much like Barber. Yeah, Meredith: Barbara's such a unique layout. Josh: it's a good it doesn't matter. I'm familiar with Barber, it's very close to me. I drive by it like clo several times a year. Paulie :D: You don't even watch IndyCar, Joshua. Shut your mouth. Mute yourself. Just mute. Wait, where is Barber? Is it Alabama? Okay. Meredith: Alabama. Yeah. Just outside of Birmingham. Josh: Yep. I've driven by three times this year. Paulie :D: That's fair. I mean, either way, I'm excited for the schedule. I'm excited to see how it works out. I'm excited to see how Barcelona works out. We all saw it in F1. I'm excited to see how those cars can, how IndyCar can do that. I know they're wanting to go international. I'm super pumped. I'm glad Arlington is still on the schedule. I think they had a great showing at Arlington. So overall, I just I just like the ovals. I just like the ovals. I like how action packed they are. But I can understand where ovals can get a little boring for some people. Josh, Josh is not a big oval guy. He's been very vocal about it. So for him. Meredith: Like an oval, but you've got five ovals on the track out of one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten, eleven, twelve, thirteen, fourteen, fifteen, sixteen, seventeen. Five out of the seventeen are ovals. That's a th you know, that's a that's about a third of the races. I think that's good. Josh: That's probably about a comfortable number. Paulie :D: Agree to disagree. Meredith: That's fair. Josh: I I don't know. I it's just open wheel on an oval just seems counterintuitive at best. Meredith: I would like to challenge you to go to a few more before you dig your heels in on that opinion. Go to some road courses. No, go to some Paulie :D: Few more ovals or road courses. Fair enough. Meredith: road courses. You've been to an oval. don't dig your heels in on one or the other because both are fantastic racing. And as long as there's a good blend and the drivers feel excited about it, then we as fans should like it. Paulie :D: That's fair. Fine. I will reserve my opinion after I go to a couple more. Meredith: There you go. What do you have ones that you look at the calendar for next year that you're like, I'd like that. I'd like to go. Hi, Kelly. Paulie :D: I would really love to do Phoenix. I would love to do Phoenix, Long Beach, and Road America. And of course, the two Milwaukee's, but I think Road America would be a lot of fun to go to. Meredith: Yeah, I would love Road America would be a really good one. Paulie :D: Yeah, yeah 100 % and of course, you can't you know the Indy 500 I mean, that's just one of the ones you have to go to but if I'm going outside of that rote America timeout flag on the play Meredith: Time out. So I I'm I I've started playing Mahjong and this girl that we play with, her name's Macy. her family goes to the Indy 500 every year and gets like eight season tickets, and they never all go. And so her parents always sell them. And she was like, you know, I know you're really big into racing. Like, would you want me to tell your tell my parents like before they sell the tickets next year to like see if you'd be interested in buying them? And I said, With every fiber of my being, yes. Tell your parents I want first right of refusal on those tickets. Paulie :D: how you present. Meredith: Hundred percent. So we may have an in. Paulie :D: Also, it's funny you say you just started playing mahjong because I just googled it the other day I think it'd be fun game to learn how to play Meredith: it's a blast. And I Josh: It's fun. Meredith: I love it. So we've been playing every Thursday night and it's it's a blast. Joe Joe's like, I'm not gonna learn and then he came and sat down and then won a hand and now he's like, Yeah, it's pretty good. Gary's gotta learn. Paulie :D: Yeah, it was funny. I was sitting at work in bed and I was like, I think that'd be a fun game to learn how to play. Meredith: It is. It's like a card game and a puzzle had a baby. It's like 'cause you're you're dealt your tiles, you're dealt. You can swap them out throughout the game, but you're trying to piece together different hands. So it's like you have a couple of options you could do at all times. So I'm it's it's fun. I'm enjoying it. Paulie :D: Yeah, yeah, it seems like a good time. Meredith: Next race weekend, motor sports in Mahjong. Josh: Yeah, absolutely. Paulie :D: Amen, amen. Meredith: Be a time Courtney would lock in on that. Josh: Yeah, she would love it. The she may not care for the the the racing part, but she'd love the mahjong part. Meredith: I I'm in on it. Paulie :D: Hell yeah. Josh: All right, well, for for final thoughts, I've got some Tennessee news. Not that we are big wet or world rally champion fans, but it's really right down the street and it's from my hometown. So honorable mention, the first in a long time, American rally champion chip I don't know if it's a ra is it considered a race or is it a stage? I'm not sure. I'll have to figure that one out myself because I have no idea. It's gonna be hosted in Knoxville, my hometown. Which Paulie :D: When? Josh: is really, really neat. And so it the this this Paulie :D: When is that? Josh: in August of next year. And it's gonna span through Paulie :D: Are you to try to go? Josh: I yeah, I'll probably. Yeah, I'm probably gonna try to go. Paulie :D: Hell yeah. Meredith: That's awesome. Josh: it's gonna span through Kentucky and Tennessee. they haven't really announced the stage layout yet. They said they're gonna do that once they finalize tickets and how they wanna sell They said it's gonna be a mix of ticketed events and free events. so I I'm kinda waiting to see how it's all gonna shake out, but More than likely. my parents still live in Knoxwell, might as well, right? Like a it's a great excuse. So Meredith: Yeah, that'd be so fun. Paulie :D: Now you said this is rally rafing, right? Dude, Josh: that was gonna be really neat. Yeah, WRC. Paulie :D: I've wanted to get into that series for a little while, because those guys are on another level of crazy. Josh: Yeah, it's it's nuts. It's something I haven't really gotten into much or, spent much time, but it's every time I see clips online, it's wild just the pace of those cars. And I know a lot of the drivers that we know and love just talk very highly of w of rally. so pretty neat. Paulie :D: Kudos to the passengers, because have you seen the passengers and all the notes they have to write and how quick they have to go from page to page? That's a job I could never do. My ADHD would kick in and I'd go squirrel and then we'd crash and die. Meredith: I think that's awesome. That'll be so fun. Josh: Yeah, so that's a really neat one. Paulie :D: Yeah, hopefully you can make it out there. Josh: Yeah, that would be my hope. I should have I should be able I mean, I think these things last for several days, spanning throughout the two. And Paulie :D: I think so. Josh: so it's since it's headquartered in or I guess what hosted, right? The host city is Knoxville itself. I imagine there'll be some activations and some stuff to do. so I think that would be really neat. obviously with Rally, it's not like it's on a circuit that you can go to. So it may just be like a one day thing where I go and stand in one spot and watch people drive by, right? but I think it might be neat to do the activations and just be around in the city while some of that stuff's going on. So I'm I'm kinda waiting to see how the schedule lays out and what all is gonna be where. But it's a it's a it was a really cool you know, hit to the headline. So that was that was we're pretty excited. Yeah. Meredith: Keep this posted. That's awesome. I Paulie :D: And especially Meredith: love getting getting in a new motorsports is fun. it's I think it's just always fun to diversify the portfolio. I decided that for 2027, I'm gonna I I want to watch all of this next season for Formula E. Like that's I that's what I'm gonna do. I'm gonna do all of Formula E. That's Paulie :D: Hell yeah. Meredith: gonna be my thing this year. I didn't like picking a new one this year didn't make sense because we had new Formula One regulation. So I was like, that that doesn't make any sense. So my one for 2027 is gonna be Formula E. And then 2028, we have the new indie car. So I'm like, it's that's exciting. Paulie :D: And with the scenery out there in Eastern Tennessee, Kentucky area, that's going to be the Smoky Mountains zipping through them fuckers. It's going to look Meredith: beautiful. Yeah. Josh: Yeah. Yep. Paulie :D: pretty freaking sweet. Josh: Yeah, a couple Meredith: Yeah. Josh: a couple of years ago when they started going through this, I had seen some rumblings about parts of the country where they might do the rally championship when they wanted to bring a stage back to the United States. And I knew Eastern Tennessee was gonna be up there on the on the order, right? It's a lot of very tight, narrow stretches through different parts of farmland and mountains and just it's has a lot of different between pavement and gravel and dirt. there's a lot of options there. so I figured it was gonna be either that or a desert stage. But I I am very glad that they've decided to do a mountain stage there in in North Kentucky and Tennessee. So it'd be very neat. Paulie :D: Well, it's official. It's official. The Apex F1 podcast is now a rally podcast as well. Josh: we might be into it. We might be into it. Meredith: Episodes might be extending. Josh: All right. Paulie :D: That's awesome. Josh: Well, speaking of extending, we are running out of time, guys. So it is race week. We've got Mexico coming up this weekend. We might have a champion the next time we get together. so be very excited to to get back with you guys in a in a couple well a week or so. All right. So is anybody have any final thoughts before we close this thing out? Paulie :D: Congrats to Kimmy on winning the world title. Josh: Yeah, pretty pretty much set in stone at this point. Meredith: Celebrate hard, drink as many Patron margaritas as Josh and I did at Coda last year. Josh: Hopefully more. Paulie :D: I will, yeah, we'll, the three of us should have a shot of tequila in his honor this weekend. Meredith: done. Yeah. Josh: I might yeah, that is a great idea. Meredith: Yeah. If he wins on Sunday we will we'll take a virtual shot together. Paulie :D: Done. Josh: We will. All right, guys. Well, I hope you enjoy the rest of your week. Enjoy your weekend. Enjoy Halloween. That'll be fun. And everybody's out partying, getting dressed up and doing fun stuff. keep it safe. Enjoy Mexico this weekend. And we'll see you guys next week. See ya. Paulie :D: Later, guys.