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F1 2025 | Qatar GP Recap & Abu Dhabi GP Preview - Fast Laps with the Boys · Banter with the Boys

0:00
Get laced up! Let's go! It's time for Banter
0:04
with the Boys! Uh, yes. Welcome back to Banter
0:16
with the Boys! Fast laps, I think? I don't know.
0:19
I don't know what's going on right now. You guys
0:21
are kind of scaring me, but I don't know. Yeah,
0:23
where we got the Qatar recap and the Abu Dhabi
0:26
preview. I'm here with our co -hosts, Joe. Yo,
0:31
what up, what up, yo, yo, yo. Joe's a little...
0:34
Hmm, Joe's a little... Okay, Joe, welcome. That's
0:40
throwing me off. What is going on, Mike? Hey,
0:44
what's up, yo, yo, yo? You guys are killing me.
0:47
Did I open the show that way today, too? No,
0:49
you didn't. Good thing. Oh, we were supposed
0:53
to gaslight him. Yeah, you said that right away.
0:56
What are you talking about? Yeah, you don't remember.
0:58
It just happened. All right, sorry for that really
1:00
awkward first minute of our normally entertaining,
1:03
maybe sometimes, I don't know, whatever, Fast
1:05
Laps show. Yeah, so that was weird. Kev. yo hey
1:10
kev yo yo yo i guess um so i can feel a part
1:13
of the group i guess um no i'm just kidding all
1:16
right let's move on right away and not waste
1:18
any time with our guitar gp recap uh to start
1:32
off our guitar gp wow that was a horrible way
1:35
to bring it back to uh God, people listen to
1:40
us. Hey, but we appreciate you pointing it out.
1:44
But that was wild. I'm trying to just keep it
1:47
authentic, you know. We don't cut anything. We
1:50
truly don't. All right, pre -race banter. Yes,
1:54
that means quality practice, yada, yada. We had
1:56
a sprint, so not practice. But did you guys catch
2:01
the sprint? Yes, caught quali for both and caught
2:06
the sprint as well. What do you got for your...
2:08
I don't know. I always just go to Joe first.
2:11
He usually just has notes on notes. He usually
2:14
takes notes. Yeah, I do take notes. I watched
2:17
the race and sprint or the quali and sprint at
2:20
1 a .m. Sunday morning. Oh, you did. I had a
2:25
concert that day. It was a long day. I did not.
2:31
Yeah, I think... I mean, sprint quality. Oscar
2:34
looked great. Oscar looked really, really quick
2:37
in sprint quality. We only saw 16 on the starting
2:43
grid in the sprint because the Alpine stroll
2:45
and Hamilton all started from the pits. Hamilton,
2:47
again, was knocked out very early in sprint qualifying.
2:52
uh leclerc dropped down to 13th immediately after
2:54
going off track at t2 he was he was really struggling
2:57
in that sprint um max was complaining of bouncing
3:01
the entire time and it kind of showed with how
3:03
he was driving uh yuki was given five second
3:06
penalty for track limit violations those kind
3:08
of continued out through the weekend um and then
3:12
yeah we just saw stroll kind of pit for soft
3:14
right at the end just to kind of get some testings
3:16
and practice in before the actual qualifying
3:17
later um But yeah, sprint was a good watch. I
3:22
mean, Oscar dominated it pretty much, right?
3:26
Not a whole lot happened in the sprint, but I
3:28
actually kind of enjoyed it. It wasn't too bad.
3:30
It was a good sprint. Do you guys still like
3:31
the sprints? I love the sprints. Yeah. Fair enough.
3:34
Fair enough. I don't mind them. Just a small
3:38
little script of what could be going on in the
3:40
GP. I think I like them more in the setup that
3:42
they're in now than I did beforehand. I think
3:44
there's something that was rubbing me the wrong
3:45
way about having two practices and then... sprint
3:49
quality sprint and then the race just too much
3:52
um i think it was just like the sprint setting
3:54
the field i think i like because now i get to
3:56
see two qualities and two sprints and i really
3:58
like watching qualities almost more than the
4:00
races sometimes so right sure sure it's um yeah
4:03
i think i enjoy this kind of setup that they
4:05
have going meanwhile i know a lot of people complain
4:07
that with the sprints they dislike it because
4:10
it takes away from practice time so teams don't
4:14
have the ability to work on their cars and find
4:18
their balance and whatnot but uh i actually kind
4:21
of like that because it sows chaos yeah for sure
4:23
yeah no for sure you get to see crazy things
4:26
happen like two mclarens dna or dsqing because
4:30
they didn't have time to figure out their ride
4:31
heights right right oh yeah we never got to talk
4:36
about that we never got to talk unfortunately
4:37
i don't remember that happening No, it must not
4:41
have happened. Let's move on. Memory's bad. Yeah,
4:44
let's move on. How about we go to the GP, then?
4:47
Yeah, let's go to the GP. All right. Your starting
4:51
GP was Piastri, Norris, Verstappen, Russell,
4:54
Antonelli, Hadji, Sainz, Alonso, Gasly, Leclerc.
5:01
However, the finishing was Verstappen. Uh -oh.
5:05
Piastri, Sainz, Norris. Antonelli, Russell, Alonzo,
5:09
LeClaire, Lawson, Sonoda. No Gasly. Just to be
5:16
clear. Just in case anybody's wondering. So let's
5:20
go ahead and start with... Oh, shoot. I think
5:24
it might be... Darn. I think it's... Alpine,
5:29
damn it. Okay, so, yeah, I thought about Haas
5:34
because one retired, but I was like, eh, whatever.
5:36
We'll start with Alpine. It's fine. Get it out
5:38
of the way, like always. You know what? I did
5:43
actually bring the Alpine hat to make a return
5:46
this week. Not that there was anything good that
5:49
happened, but, I mean, okay, to be fair, before
5:52
the GP Gasly was looking all right, you know,
5:54
he had a decent weekend. You know what I mean?
5:57
qualified you know p9 so yeah feeling okay he
6:01
made it to q3 until the whole him and hulkenberg
6:04
thing and unfortunately loki after watching it
6:08
i i dude i seriously watched that so many times
6:11
because i was trying to not find gasly at fault
6:13
and i cannot in good conscience not find gasly
6:17
at fault unfortunately he just he just came out
6:20
of the turn too wide unfortunately clipped hulkenberg
6:22
and poor hulk um now if you watch gasly's laps
6:27
Prior to that, which you guys probably didn't
6:28
do because you don't give a damn about Alpine,
6:30
but he was coming out wide on turn one the whole
6:33
time. So he was really on the racing line he
6:36
was doing the whole time, but Hulkenberg happened
6:38
to be. It was the first time somebody was on
6:40
the outside of him right there. So just unfortunate
6:42
for Hulkenberg, and I feel bad for him. But Gasly
6:45
also messed up his race because of that. They
6:48
came back, no investigation on either of them.
6:52
Yeah, racing incident. Yeah, for sure. I'm just
6:54
saying I find fault. slightly unfortunately as
6:57
the Sauber fan I also watched that happen and
7:00
I was so like my pitchfork was ready and then
7:03
I like watched it back and I was like oh it's
7:06
okay no it's after I just admitted to all that
7:08
garbage for they were racing I was like I was
7:12
so ready to I was so ready to attack and I was
7:15
just like oh no you know what I don't Yeah, I'm
7:18
fine. So because of that, I was convinced, as
7:21
I sit here, that Alpine can just not have that
7:22
many good things happen in a weekend. So that's
7:25
why that happened. And I also said that they
7:29
are perhaps allergic to success. Franco, he started
7:33
slow and ended slow. But he did beat his teammate
7:37
and beat Haas. Nice. And Haas has been quick,
7:40
so that's cool. Just not in this one. Or, yeah,
7:45
go for it. Haas. Haas? Yeah. Disappointing. I
7:50
mean, yeah. I mean, I didn't wear the Haas hat
7:52
for a reason. You know, it's a disappointing
7:54
weekend for them. We did similar things. Yeah.
7:56
Oh, man. Ollie looked like he had pace, but he
8:01
was just having problems after problems. Didn't
8:04
he get a penalty? Yes, right. He took a penalty.
8:10
He tried to leave because his wheel wasn't on
8:11
or something? He took a penalty because he went
8:12
in. Yeah, so he went into the pit. Unsafe release.
8:15
Yeah, there was an issue where the light turned
8:17
green. They told him to leave, and then he ran
8:19
over the jack. They didn't get the jack out in
8:20
time. What do you mean the light turned green?
8:23
Yeah, I mean. Can't blame Ollie for that. It's
8:25
on the team, not on Ollie, and he was fuming.
8:29
And then there was some issue with, like, he
8:31
came in for his penalty, and they touched the
8:34
car early, and so he got a stop -and -go penalty.
8:37
And so he came in, served a stop -and -go penalty,
8:40
and then retired the car. Because at that point,
8:42
he was— He was probably way into his head at
8:45
that point. I don't know. Probably a little hot.
8:47
Just like, you know what? Let's just call it.
8:49
None of it was his fault. No, literally none
8:51
of it. He would have gone if the light was green
8:53
and everything outside of control. He's not the
8:54
one that touched his car too early. Yeah, exactly.
8:58
That sucks. It was entirely on purpose. On that
9:01
point, you obviously want your driver to keep
9:03
racing, but if you just did all that to your
9:06
driver three times in a row and he goes, I'm
9:08
done, man. Just get me out of the car. Yeah,
9:10
you know what, Ollie? You've got to kind of listen
9:11
to him. Go take a break. Do you want him to put
9:14
that into the wall or not? Yeah. All right. While
9:18
we're here, why don't you hit up kick, Salver,
9:21
too? Obviously, Hulk. Hulk, disappointing. Yeah,
9:23
we know. Hulkenberg had some pace. Hulkenberg
9:26
is usually pretty quick around this track, but
9:28
actually, that place that he got into an accident,
9:32
he had the exact same thing happen last year
9:34
at the same track. Exact same corner. He was
9:37
trying to overtake on the outside. I hope not.
9:40
No, I think it was Lawson. Liam. it was he was
9:45
he was trying to overtake on the outside and
9:48
they just couldn't get traction and then they
9:50
slapped the side of him i think they both kept
9:52
racing but it was yeah it was not favorable so
9:55
so yeah unfortunate for nico and then gabby p13
9:59
was the most just kind of okay race Like, he
10:03
was very just unimpeded, which is kind of what
10:05
he needed after a couple of tough races. So I'm
10:07
not upset with Gabby. Maybe he'll come back in
10:09
Abu Dhabi and do well. I hope so. I'd like to
10:12
see the Saubers finish higher than ninth. I guess
10:18
that begs the question, higher than Haas? Yeah,
10:22
because they're the main competitors right now.
10:24
They are. I mean, it's a fun conversation. It's
10:26
those two. And it's those two. And literally,
10:29
it's a tough space for me because literally like
10:32
the three teams that I root for are like all
10:35
right there. But Haas is on top, though. No,
10:41
Racing Bulls is in six currently. No, no. I mean,
10:44
for him, for his fandom. No, Aston is. Oh, Aston's
10:48
top of Haas? Yeah, Aston is currently ahead of
10:50
Haas. Oh, seven points ahead. By a couple points.
10:51
No, I mean in your... Oh, for like as a fan.
10:54
Your fandom. Yeah, Haas is probably my favorite
10:56
team right now. Yeah, yeah, yeah. For one more
10:59
race. So you're right. It's tough to... Oh, well...
11:02
Audi. Audi comes in. And Cadillac. I get it.
11:05
I'm going full Caddy, but I'm probably still
11:08
going to be Mercedes, too. I love that for you,
11:10
actually. But, hey, Checo and... You can have
11:12
more than one favorite team. You just have to
11:14
drop Alpine, unfortunately. Yeah, because I'm...
11:16
I'm dropping Alpine, but not Pierre Gasly. That's
11:19
fair. Honestly... Honestly, hey, for whatever
11:22
it's worth, I don't like Williams. I'm sorry.
11:24
I love Carlos Sainz. I love Carlos Sainz. I was
11:27
so ecstatic. You're dead to me. How could you
11:31
say that? That's what that look was. So I get
11:34
it, man. I get it. I'm excited to talk about
11:36
Williams. Let's keep going. Yeah, let's keep
11:37
going. All right, all right, all right. Let's
11:38
keep going. So that was kick. I mean, technically,
11:42
it's Ferrari next. Oh, my God. Oh, yikes. uh
11:49
you didn't have anything in in the ferrari kind
11:52
of notes here so i just wrote ferrari so yeah
11:53
i didn't get there but that pretty much works
11:56
hamilton what is going on he went on record to
12:00
say that he thinks this is the worst race he's
12:02
ever had yeah and he and like after qualifying
12:04
when he got knocked out in q1 after getting knocked
12:06
out in sprint q1 as well he was almost non -verbal
12:10
in the media pad it was oh it was looking so
12:14
i would hate to be inside what do you do and
12:16
he's like Honestly, I don't know. Oh, geez. I
12:20
was like, can we get a watch on Hamilton? Yeah,
12:24
seriously. Can we just have somebody around him
12:26
so we make sure he doesn't do anything tonight?
12:27
He did get good traction. He started on, was
12:32
it? 19th? Yeah, 19th. He started 19th and he
12:36
got up to 12th. Obviously not points, but still
12:39
a good climb. That being said, not a good race,
12:42
right? A Ferrari in 12th, not good. And then,
12:47
yeah, Leclerc kind of losing his pace from the...
12:49
Actually, he wasn't doing amazing in the sprint
12:51
either. But yeah, Leclerc not really showing
12:52
a ton of pace either. Ending in 8th. Just not
12:55
a good day for Ferrari. He gained two spots at
12:57
least, but that's about it. Leclerc. I thought
13:01
I heard earlier that Lewis is going to go down
13:06
as the first driver in almost two decades who
13:12
starts at Ferrari and doesn't get a single podium
13:14
in their first season. Whoa. I guess it's a good
13:19
thing he's going to get one in Abu Dhabi. He
13:22
needs to get a podium in Abu Dhabi. Otherwise,
13:24
he gets that. Oh, man. Maybe there's going to
13:27
be a non -McLaren podium at Abu Dhabi. That'd
13:31
be crazy. That'd be interesting. Yeah. I don't
13:36
know why we're talking about that team right
13:38
now. Good point. Way to bring us back, Joe. I'll
13:43
tell you what. I'm so happy I'm not a Ferrari
13:45
fan. I'll tell you what. I do like Ferrari. I
13:50
think when I first joined, we were actually talking
13:53
about this earlier. We came from DTS. We had
13:56
drivers and teams that we liked and didn't like.
13:57
I really hated Ferrari when I started watching
14:00
DTS. Did you like Leclerc right away? I did like
14:02
Leclerc. I liked Leclerc right away, and he pretty
14:05
much got me into Ferrari, I think. Because at
14:08
the beginning of DTS, would that be Vettel? Yes,
14:11
Vettel and Raikkonen. So did you not like Vettel?
14:15
I don't know if it was that. Or is it just the
14:16
team? It wasn't the drivers. It was the team.
14:19
Because they were, like, fighting for, like,
14:21
this comeback to glory. And, like, we had rumors
14:24
that, like, they were doing super well. And then
14:26
all of a sudden they were doing super badly,
14:27
which means that they might have been doing some
14:28
weird stuff. And I was like, oh, yeah, I don't
14:30
want them to win then. If they've won all, like,
14:32
if they've won throughout history a ton, I don't
14:34
want them to win. And that was kind of my mentality.
14:36
Yeah, no, I feel that. So, like, not realizing
14:39
that McLaren, or not McLaren, Mercedes had just
14:41
won, like, eight in a row. Did you gravitate
14:43
towards McLaren? immediately oh i don't think
14:46
so i i gravitated like most towards danny immediately
14:49
and uh yeah mclaren i don't think i really had
14:53
too much insight into mclaren first season second
14:55
season is when lando came along i think and even
15:01
then i don't think i was too into it it was like
15:03
i think third season and after when i really
15:05
started to him yeah yeah fair enough And I've
15:09
always liked McLaren as a brand, just in general.
15:12
When you started watching DTS more, is that when
15:14
you started watching the races a lot more? Or
15:17
did you watch races first? I binge -watched...
15:20
No, no, no. It was DTS that got me into it. I
15:22
remember binge -watching, I think, the first
15:24
season. maybe the second season and then like
15:27
right as i finished it i learned that the next
15:29
season was coming out a week later i was like
15:31
that's perfect and so i binge watched that and
15:33
then i and then i was keeping up with it i didn't
15:36
start watching into the year after though like
15:37
religiously okay fair enough i was just curious
15:40
um anyway sorry for that sidebar uh let's see
15:45
hey Technically, Williams is up next. Yeah? Because
15:48
of Albon finishing P11. Yeah. Albon, I'll just
15:52
kind of get him out of the way a little bit here.
15:53
Unfortunately, just a Williams race for him.
15:56
I think I've said this before. One Williams has
15:58
to be sacrificed for the other Williams to be
16:00
doing well. That's just kind of how it has to
16:02
go. He was a sacrificial lamb. There's a lot
16:08
of memes coming out of this one, specifically
16:13
around signs. Going into this season, he fully
16:17
accepted the fact that he was probably not going
16:20
to be in the podium at all this year. And last
16:23
year, Mike and I were talking about this. We
16:25
were fully accepting the fact that he's joining
16:27
Williams, probably not going to see him on the
16:28
podium or winning a race, right? But he's had
16:31
some good races in general this year. He's had
16:33
two podiums this year in a Williams. Still not
16:35
a great car. And how many top tens? How many
16:37
top tens has he had? Top 10s is a little more
16:39
shaky because I feel like he just gets really
16:41
unlucky. I know, but he definitely has had a
16:44
few more top 10s. Even the shaky races, I feel
16:47
like he's had more than people have thought.
16:49
Less than Albon, though. Albon has been in the
16:51
top 10 more consistently, but Sainz has had higher
16:54
finishes. Yes, that is correct. But Sainz is
16:58
only, even with the podium, Sainz is only nine
17:01
points away from Albon currently. So I think
17:06
it's safe to say. signs is now comfortable with
17:08
the car he understands it a little late in the
17:10
season i think and like that's 26 just in time
17:12
for the car to completely change um but i'm really
17:15
really happy like it's like he's truly uh he's
17:19
truly the only shining light in this race so
17:21
maybe williams is in a good spot heading into
17:23
2026 you know feeling feeling good yeah at the
17:26
very least they're going in my fifth spot for
17:28
next year like i can say that right away okay
17:30
um but yeah i mean signs third i mean he okay
17:34
let's not not even that he started third i'd
17:37
rather he finished third he started in like fifth
17:39
fifth uh one two three four five six sixth yeah
17:43
crazy up three to the podium crazy well had he
17:46
was out but yeah Okay. Calm down. I actually
17:52
feel like Hadjar got out. Poor fella. He was
17:55
running P6. Two laps to go, I think. Two laps
17:58
to go? He had a puncture or something. Sainz
18:00
got ahead of him way before that. That's all
18:02
I'm saying. I'm just trying to throw something
18:05
at the wall. But yeah, I mean, truly my favorite
18:09
part of the race. Like I said, the only shining
18:11
light for me. We'll talk about why for a few
18:14
teams later. But yeah, amazing race from Sainz.
18:18
really coming into his own in that car. And I'm
18:20
hoping he finishes strong in Abu Dhabi. I think
18:22
that'd be really cool. Heck yeah. A part of me
18:24
really wants him to finish in fifth in this next
18:26
race and Albon not to score points. Because if
18:29
he does, then Sainz finishes ahead of Albon.
18:32
Do you not like Albon? I do like Albon, but I
18:35
like Sainz more. Fair enough. And I would like
18:38
that. Fair enough. Request from Mike, please.
18:42
Yeah, get on that, please. Let's just get Aston
18:44
out of the way because I kind of forgot about
18:45
them because Stroll retired. Why did he retire?
18:48
What was that? What did I miss there? I didn't
18:50
think because when I was putting this together,
18:52
I went back through and I was like, oh, dang,
18:53
he did retire. He was also with only like two
18:56
laps left, I think. It was really close to when
18:58
Bierman and... Hadjar and all them guys. I didn't
19:02
even know it because I think it was just so out
19:04
of nowhere. Yeah, it was just some rant. I don't
19:06
know. I think he just pulled into the garage,
19:07
didn't he? I have no clue. I just remember he
19:12
pit a lot, and then his final pit, he just retired.
19:15
Yeah, I know he was running at the back all race.
19:17
Yeah, pretty much. And so I think he was running
19:20
in 20th, literally all race. So I bet you Aston
19:24
just said, you know what, buddy? Just rip the
19:27
bandaid off. It's quite possible. Come take your
19:28
bath. He definitely wasn't having a very good...
19:31
Yeah, I don't know. They say it was because of...
19:33
No, that was 2024. That's what I'm saying. I
19:35
don't know. I'm not seeing it. All right. We
19:37
don't need to spend time on it. It's Stroll.
19:39
Although, I will say Stroll has had a somewhat
19:42
favorable season for him. So, I don't know. Alonzo,
19:46
yeah, P7. Sweet. Yeah. You know, started P8,
19:51
got P7. You finish in front of the Ferraris,
19:54
you know. Stroll didn't... retire oh yes he did
19:57
never mind sorry sorry my my favorite thing is
19:59
there was a a comment from fernando after the
20:02
race where they were talking to him about the
20:04
spin that he did and he said yeah man i don't
20:08
know the car has a a soul of its own it jumped
20:12
out and scared me we spun fortunately this track
20:15
is forgiving so i was able to get it back he
20:17
says that the car literally has a soul of its
20:21
own He's such a specimen. He said that literally
20:26
it was just he was driving and it spun. He is
20:31
a specimen. I mean, good race. Best race out
20:36
of my three teams. So I wore the Aston hat. So
20:39
it's good to see Fernando just willing that car
20:42
into points. Pretty much, yeah. It is a boat.
20:46
Boat. Let's see. Dang, is it the Racing Bulls
20:51
now? I think so. I think it's, oh, yeah. Hajar.
20:55
Unfortunately. Yeah, ended up, I mean, he had
20:58
a pretty good day. Other than his start was absolutely
21:00
horrible. He lost, like, two or three spots immediately
21:02
on his start. I just remember being terrible.
21:05
But he battled his way back and was running P6,
21:08
I think, whenever he got a puncture or something.
21:10
I can't remember why he went out. Yeah, puncture.
21:13
But, and then Liam being able to get into the
21:17
top ten. I'm cool with that. It's good for Liam,
21:20
your boy. Yeah, it's whatever. My boy? Yeah.
21:24
Yeah, your boy, Liam. Okay. Yeah. Let's see.
21:28
Yeah, yeah, yeah. I don't know. I don't got nothing
21:30
else to say about the Racing Bulls. Yeah, I don't
21:32
really have much to say. Yeah. All right. We
21:34
can move on. Sweet. Sweet. Racing Bull fan. Looks
21:36
like we need one. Here we go. Let's see. Kev?
21:40
Yeah, Kev? No, Kev's going to be a Red Bull fan
21:42
next year. Oh, that's right. He's going to be
21:44
a Red Bull fan next year. Forget about it. We
21:48
don't need you on that. We talk about Red Bulls
21:50
enough. No, I'm just kidding. Blow, blow. All
21:53
right. Is it Mercedes now? Technically, it's
21:57
Red Bull. Should have been a little bit ago.
22:00
Oh, snap. You're right. We can finish with Red
22:02
Bull. Yeah, all right. We'll finish. All right,
22:03
Mercedes then. You say here, really good hustle
22:06
from Antonelli. yeah yeah okay yes really good
22:10
hustle for mantonelli russell was really fast
22:14
in the sprint but was struggling a bit in the
22:16
race um but really good hustle for mantonelli
22:19
he was keeping he was keeping lando behind for
22:22
a long time um and then it mattered oh uh and
22:29
then and then he he had a moment and lando was
22:32
able to get past um I mean, I don't know if this
22:38
is news or if we should just cover this now.
22:40
I mean, screw everyone who like sent death threats
22:44
to a fucking kid who's a rookie. Sorry, Kev.
22:47
Like, that's crazy, right? He makes a rookie
22:50
mistake and you send death threats to him and
22:53
he's 19. Insane, right? Unbelievable. That is
22:58
unbelievable. But it goes to show you how bad
23:01
people do not want. Max Verstappen to win this
23:04
championship, dude. It shows you how badly people
23:07
want him to win. Want him to win? Oh, yeah. Because
23:11
they were angry at Kimi for potentially landing
23:13
Lando through. Right when that happened, this
23:17
fueled it, but then also Helmut came in and added
23:20
more gasoline. What did Helmut say? I don't have
23:24
a quote from Helmut. Maybe you can look it up.
23:25
But GP said during the race, don't know why,
23:30
but it looks like Anthony let... uh let lando
23:33
through um kind of fueling it without seeing
23:36
the incident um so that was that was on gp he
23:40
shouldn't have done that um toto did um face
23:43
him he like went up to him and was like hey that's
23:45
not what happened you shouldn't have said that
23:47
yeah you put a lot of hate in the kid and gp
23:49
came out he apologized right away he's like i
23:51
didn't i didn't even see the incident i'm really
23:53
sorry if if i caused that um helmet i don't know
23:57
if you had guys have any specific yeah but helmet
24:00
threw up threw on top of that more more fuel
24:03
eventually it was twice for he more or less wavelength
24:06
by it was so obvious is what he was yeah that's
24:09
and yeah so um so yeah people sending you know
24:12
Hateful comments, death threats to Kimi because
24:15
he allegedly let Lando through. Very clearly
24:19
did not do that. He did not have control of the
24:21
car. You could see he was already losing it,
24:23
and then he lost it again, and then Lando just
24:24
went through. Red Bull did eventually release
24:27
a statement saying that they were wrong. It was
24:31
a mess. They regret suggesting Anthony moved
24:36
aside from North. Yeah, crazy. Utter nonsense
24:39
from Toto. Truly, what a horrible, dark moment.
24:42
in such a good race for a rookie once again obviously
24:44
obviously sucks he lost fourth but he kept fifth
24:47
and he was fighting a faster car he's fighting
24:50
yeah he beat george as well so yeah really really
24:53
dark um but either way really good hustle from
24:56
him like i said he's keeping he's keeping lando
24:58
behind for a very long time uh he had a really
25:01
good fight with with oscar for all of like i
25:03
think a lap until oscar dive bombed him and that
25:06
was really fun to see it was it was a good overtake
25:08
so yeah it was just just want to kind of throw
25:09
it out there i hate you know it's it's like we
25:12
hate i mean we've we've had to talk about this
25:14
like a similar situation twice this season it's
25:17
just ridiculous it's ridiculous i hate death
25:19
threats uh the argentinian fan base for colapinto
25:22
i believe yes they were sending it to i forget
25:26
who they were sending it bordelletto no no no
25:30
I forget who they were sending it to. It wasn't
25:31
Antonelli again, was it? It wasn't to Doohan,
25:33
was it? Oh, maybe it was Doohan. It was Doohan.
25:35
Maybe it was Doohan. Yes, I think it was Doohan.
25:37
Yeah. Yeah, that's messed up. All right. Well,
25:39
McLaren. Do we need to? Sure do. Sure do. Right.
25:46
So... Do I have a seatbelt? Do you have a seatbelt?
25:49
We better buckle up. Technically, this is Gasly's
25:51
fault. Yes. Yes. Blame the French. Technically,
25:55
this is Gasly's fault. So Gasly crashes into
25:58
Halkenberg. Or maybe the strategy was wrong.
26:00
Or maybe the strategy was wrong. I'm just saying.
26:04
It was incredibly absolutely wrong. I have it
26:10
here that I wrote Piastri stays out Verstappen
26:13
gambles. And I soon realized, oh, Verstappen
26:15
was not gambling. Piastri was gambling. mclaren
26:20
got it so incredibly wrong safety car comes out
26:22
lap seven uh for this race everyone was had a
26:26
maximum 25 laps they could run on any set of
26:29
tires they were in so literally every single
26:33
car except for the mclarens and stroll pit excuse
26:36
me on lap seven and ocon Maybe it was just Ocon
26:39
then. Maybe not Stroll. Yeah, it was the McLarens
26:43
and Ocon. Ocon went up to third. Sorry, they
26:44
were so mixed up. No, there's a lot going on
26:48
right there, for real. Every single one pits.
26:50
Lando questions it for a second, but gets told
26:52
that they'll have a ton of flexibility later
26:54
in the race. And they told him pretty much that
26:57
Red Bull just used up all their flexibility for
27:00
the rest of the race. Which wasn't unfortunate.
27:02
Unfortunately, it was not true. we go through
27:05
the race and we just we just see the inevitable
27:08
happening max catching getting past and then
27:12
the undercut that they were getting or like the
27:14
fresher tires they were getting were just not
27:16
enough basically slipping away so McLaren probably
27:20
not wanting to pick favorites because that's
27:23
all anyone can ever talk about with this team
27:25
anymore, apparently. I'm looking at you, whoever
27:28
you are in the camera. Yeah, you. Whoever you
27:30
are in the camera. You're all right, Kev. You're
27:33
fine, Kev, but you. You. You there. Not wanting
27:37
to show favoritism to anyone. They made them
27:39
both stand out, ruining both of their white graces.
27:43
I don't really want to talk about McLaren that
27:45
much anymore because it was a horrible race and
27:47
it was really hard to watch. But what I would
27:48
like to talk about is what should they have done?
27:50
Because no matter what, they screw one of their
27:53
drivers over. They double stop. They screw Lando
27:56
over. They pit Oscar. They screw Lando over.
28:00
They pit Lando. They really screw Oscar over
28:02
after having an incredible weekend. So Lando,
28:05
unfortunately. In this situation, no matter what,
28:08
he's losing places and he's not winning this
28:11
race. I think no matter what the right situation
28:13
is, he's the fall guy here because Oscar had
28:16
it. Oscar was in front. Appiah rules. Papaya
28:20
rules. I'd love to hear from you guys if you
28:23
have a similar perspective. If you think what
28:25
would have been good. They pit Oscar. Oscar wins
28:28
the race. Hands down. It's not even close, I
28:32
think. Full stop, Oscar was the fastest driver
28:34
on the track. Oscar was faster than Max. It just
28:37
wasn't their strategy. They didn't want to risk
28:41
either driver's race. They didn't want to risk...
28:44
favoring one driver over another but i do think
28:47
in that moment you should you know you do have
28:49
somebody in first place yes lando's leading in
28:51
wdc so that that would bring up the question
28:53
like how do you pick which one but again if we're
28:58
talking about do you want to win the race as
29:00
a team or not and i know it's coming down to
29:02
where they've already won constructors as a team
29:05
so it's like does that matter but like i think
29:08
you got to give it to oscar there and pit them
29:13
So, Lando was seven seconds behind Oscar at the
29:15
time of the pit. I think he was a little closer,
29:18
was he not? It was seven, because he was three
29:20
seconds to Max, and Max was four seconds to Oscar.
29:22
Okay, sure. So what they should have done is
29:26
as soon as the safety car came out, should have
29:28
said, both of you box. Double stack it. What's
29:31
going to happen? Oscar had a long pit, and that
29:34
was going to happen. That is going to hold up
29:36
Lando. Lando is probably going to lose. a position
29:39
two at the most, right? But he's going to be
29:42
on the same strategy as everybody else, and he
29:44
doesn't have to deal with the undercutting, and
29:48
he gets the same rubber as everybody else at
29:50
the restart, as opposed to having old rubber
29:53
at the restart. And so he potentially could have
29:57
taken positions at the restart, giving him a
29:59
better chance at fighting back up onto the podium.
30:02
I think that the best way it would still damage
30:04
Lando's race, but I think it would damage Lando's
30:07
race less than them. I don't think so. I think
30:11
if you double stack them, I think Lando possibly
30:13
finishes worse than fourth. You think so? For
30:15
me, I don't know. I don't know. I'm just trying
30:17
to think all that through. It's hard with hindsight.
30:19
It is hard with hindsight. We watched Russell.
30:22
It's supposed to be easier hindsight. You're
30:24
right. We watched Russell get held up for, I
30:28
think. like 10 seconds almost behind Antonelli
30:31
pitting when they double box because Antonelli
30:33
had to wait for traffic to get through in the
30:35
pit lane. And that is true. So like, I mean,
30:37
granted good news, Lando would have a way less
30:39
track actually. No, cause they're right at the
30:41
start of the pit lane. They would have had ton
30:42
of traffic. If they boxed, they would have had
30:44
a lot of traffic. It's going to be tough to release
30:46
and not get called out for a not safe release.
30:49
It's like, it's really hard to tell. It is. I
30:51
don't know. Um, I truly don't know. I think no
30:54
matter what Lando is screwed. I know what we
30:57
need to do. He definitely, I don't. think he
30:59
gets any better than fourth even even if he pw
31:01
they double stack kev you guys all need to get
31:04
your smarter than me friends around you guys
31:07
need to create a simulation that we can plug
31:10
all these things into live on the show what would
31:13
have happened i'm punching the numbers yes perfect
31:16
uh yeah i don't know i feel like yeah i don't
31:21
know oscar i feel so bad for oscar he he had
31:24
that race and he knew he was the fastest driver
31:26
and To him, he feels like his team let him down,
31:29
and I feel like that's probably accurate. And
31:32
Zach Brown just came out and pretty much backed
31:35
up everything. Oscar was so crushed. He was crushed,
31:39
dude. I felt so bad seeing him. I was like, oh,
31:41
man. Yeah, I mean, that was Oscar's race. It
31:46
was simple. 110%. All right. It's going to be
31:49
really hard if he gets enough points in the race,
31:52
this upcoming race, that he might have won. WDC.
31:55
That'll be a hard pill for him to swallow. You
31:59
know he probably has already crunched those numbers
32:00
too. Maybe, but hopefully they're not and they're
32:04
just thinking ahead and not looking behind because
32:05
that's all they can really do right now anyway.
32:07
Wait for offseason. Yeah, all right. Let's see.
32:10
The Max Bowls. The Max Bowls. Yuki Tsunoda finishing
32:14
P10 and losing his job. Let's see. Do you guys
32:21
think Max was given the win? Like, was there
32:24
anything else he would have done to get him to
32:26
win other than just kind of the strategy biff
32:29
from McLaren? I kind of think he got lucky with
32:31
that. He got lucky. And I think, actually, even
32:33
he himself said that he got lucky. Like, he knew
32:36
himself he was not the fastest driver on the
32:38
track. Oh, I'll also say, Norris getting overtaken
32:41
by Verstappen immediately. I mean, he bottled
32:44
it. He split him immediately. Not as rough as...
32:47
I did not like that. Yeah, he didn't bottle it
32:49
as rough as he's done before, but he still lost
32:51
position immediately, which kind of also set
32:53
him up to be in a horrible position. 100%. So,
32:56
yeah, I think Max just kind of... That was his
32:58
one defining move that... you know, set him in
33:02
the position to be given the race. So what happens
33:04
in Abu Dhabi? Ooh, man, we'll get to it later,
33:07
but man, there's so much, there's so much. All
33:10
right. Um, yeah, I mean, Max still drove the
33:13
crap out of the car. I mean, he's, he's still
33:15
showing, I mean, the fact that he's seriously
33:17
even in consideration for a championship right
33:20
now still blows my mind. I mean, I, I did not,
33:23
none of us. I was very much convinced it was
33:27
between Oscar and Lando, and that's what we were
33:29
talking about for the last few weeks. I mean,
33:31
this has got to be one of the – if he were to
33:34
win, I mean, don't you dare call it a comeback,
33:37
but don't you think this would be one of the
33:38
greatest comebacks probably since like a summer
33:40
break and where you were in points? Has any WDC
33:43
won from that far back? I'd be curious. Who was
33:46
it? Kimi Räikkönen in 2007. That's what – he
33:48
went on a crazy run? in fact it was it's weird
33:51
because the point system was slightly different
33:53
in 2007 people have crunched the numbers and
33:55
technically if if like we were to put max back
33:58
in 2007 or kimmy back in now it would have been
34:02
like kimmy came back from what effectively would
34:04
have been like 130 point deficit okay in a similar
34:08
time frame to what max has okay fair enough and
34:11
that was that was against two mclaren drivers
34:14
it was fernando alonso and lewis hamilton I was
34:17
going to say, Kimi was not supposed to win the
34:19
championship that year. No, I mean, he was very
34:21
consistently up there and fighting with them
34:23
and just kind of driving his own race. And then
34:25
McLaren kind of did the same thing that they're
34:27
doing now, where they were having issues between
34:30
their drivers. The two of them were battling
34:34
with each other more than they were battling
34:36
with the rest of the field. And it just opened
34:38
up the opportunity for Kimi Raikkonen to come
34:40
in and steal the championship. And he did it
34:42
at Abu Dhabi. Sure, fair enough. Uh... Well,
34:48
let's move on. Let's move on. Do any of you guys
34:51
got any calm call -outs? I didn't have a single
34:54
one. I didn't either. I did not either. It felt
34:56
like a quiet race. It really did. Everybody's
34:58
just dialed in focus. There's no... There are
35:01
no funny, funny shenanigans. No George blow -ups
35:03
this week. I could have sworn there was something,
35:04
but no, I didn't go looking. Oh, okay. Actually,
35:08
there is one that I want to call out. Near the
35:11
end of the race, Sainz was starting to get understeer,
35:13
and he clicks on the button instead of like...
35:17
immediately saying what he says. He's like, oh,
35:18
no. Oh, no. Oh, no. I'm starting to get understeered.
35:23
Check the body of the car. Check the body of
35:25
the car. Yeah, just starting with, oh, no. That
35:27
was so funny. Yeah, he was like, he was, oh,
35:31
man. The visible despair on my face. Despair.
35:34
When I heard it, I was like, oh, no. It was just
35:38
like, looking back there, so funny to listen
35:41
to him say that. You felt his, you felt his,
35:43
oh, no. He was fine. Nothing was wrong. Just,
35:45
oh. Oh, no. He had a lot of really good comms.
35:49
Near the end, he was like, we can do this. He
35:52
was hyping himself up, hyping the team up. He
35:53
was like, we have to stay ahead. We have to keep
35:56
pushing. We have to stay ahead. We can do this,
35:58
guys. I love that. Oh, no. Yeah, it was really
36:00
good. That's the only really good one that stands
36:04
out to me. I got to go back and check that one
36:06
out. Yep. Excuse me. Jeez Louise. Real quick
36:12
here. Let me just take a sip of water. Hydration
36:15
check. Yeah, because clearly I don't know what's
36:18
going on. I'm choking on my spit or something.
36:19
All right. Quick thoughts from the boys. This
36:22
is the only thing I wanted to bring up since
36:24
we did not have a show last week. The near Marshall
36:28
incident in Vegas again after the Mexico GP.
36:32
Like, what is going on? Why can't we keep these
36:35
Marshalls safe? And I went down a rabbit hole
36:37
and found now. Bless his heart, I forget his
36:39
name. The dude that died in, like, the 70s or
36:42
something. Oh, the video's on YouTube. It's really
36:46
bad, actually. Like, really, really sad. Of a
36:49
marshal going out on track and just getting obliterated.
36:52
Killed the driver, too. Something Price was the
36:55
driver. It was bad. There's a lot of details
36:59
there. I can tell you off air. now i think of
37:03
that every time you know this happens and it's
37:05
like dude we've had a few marshall incidents
37:07
in the past weeks and poor liam it's happened
37:10
to him twice yep um like hopefully he doesn't
37:13
think about that but it's like dude we don't
37:16
need to be seeing a death out here yeah what
37:18
is going on with the miscommunication i remember
37:20
the issue in Mexico, where he pit and then they
37:25
were out and they had to run back really quick
37:26
right as he's coming around the corner. Do you
37:28
guys remember exactly what happened in Vegas?
37:30
I'm not. I'm having a hard time. It was like
37:30
a group of them and they all ran out there and
37:33
then they were coming back and then like two
37:34
went back out to quick grab a piece or something.
37:37
Oh, yeah. And Liam was like coming right around
37:39
the corner and was like, OK, he's like, it happened
37:43
again. Yeah, I know that. What is going on? That's
37:46
crazy. And the FIA said there was like no. issue
37:50
or something like some something came out and
37:52
was just like uh yeah i mean all the protocols
37:54
are being taken it's just like a miscommunication
37:56
somewhere okay well yeah good yeah well it happened
37:59
twice working it happened twice in like three
38:01
four weeks and now it's like somebody could die
38:03
dude including the driver including the the marshal
38:06
and or literally if the marshal gets sent like
38:11
into the crowd or something could kill somebody
38:13
else i don't know who knows and they get and
38:15
they at that speed they will get sent yeah simply
38:18
put If there is debris on the racing line that
38:20
they need to remove, if, if, if, if a Marshall
38:23
needs to go on track, no matter what, at the
38:26
minimum, I was about to say VSC, but at the minimum,
38:29
probably a safety car. Like I was thinking VSC
38:32
too, but you think, I think that was the whole
38:34
point that there is created, but I don't think
38:36
I'm so sorry. That's the second time I did that.
38:39
It's usually bent out the forward. Yeah. That's
38:41
why I'm not, I feel you. I'm just going to stay.
38:43
And this is on the right side today. So it's
38:44
screwing me up. There is. the vsc you don't have
38:48
anyone guiding you around the danger right yeah
38:51
you're just you're just supposed to slow down
38:53
granted you're you're slow enough where you should
38:55
be able to react quicker to things on but like
38:58
but they're slow is still a safety car is going
39:00
to be able to guide you around issues way better
39:03
than a vsc is going to be able to do so i guess
39:06
for very specific situations vsc but for the
39:09
most part probably a safety car it will like
39:12
really mess up races but Come on, guys. At the
39:15
cost of my death? Yeah, literally. You're going
39:18
to throw a ton of safety stuff into the car.
39:20
You've got to protect the people that are on
39:21
track. That's crazy to me. For sure. All right,
39:25
news. Just a couple things. I just saw today
39:29
that McLaren's pretty much given the okay for
39:31
their two drivers to kind of fight it out for
39:33
the championship. I think that's exactly how
39:35
it should be. You've got constructors locked
39:36
up. Hopefully you don't wreck each other so at
39:38
least one of them wins. You know what I mean?
39:42
I knocked on wood for Joe. That would be crazy,
39:46
though, huh? That would really suck. That's what
39:50
I said earlier when he and I were talking about
39:51
it. I don't want that to happen, to be clear.
39:54
I do not want that to happen, but that would
39:56
be crazy. Let's pitch it to you, though. Slow
39:59
pitch it to me. They are able to fight, right?
40:06
I'm not saying he has to do this, and I don't
40:08
think he should be made to do this, but... max
40:11
is in first lando's in third oscar is in second
40:15
no no ah man that'd be the ultimate teammate
40:20
move and but if but if lando's in third he can
40:24
still russell's in fourth and russell is catching
40:26
for some reason like Do you think Lando's on,
40:30
like, you got to have him give it to me, man.
40:32
Like, he's not winning. And have Oscar block
40:34
George just to keep him away type shit? I mean,
40:37
no, just give him position because then he's
40:39
thoroughly safe in second. But so if Oscar finishes
40:43
second and Lando finishes third, Max still wins.
40:46
No, Lando wins. Lando wins. But I'm saying what
40:49
if they're in the situation where Oscar's ahead
40:51
and someone is catching Lando and about to put
40:54
him in fourth? Oh, I got what you're saying.
40:58
with all my chest hope that that does not happen
41:00
oh i hope so too trust me i want more than anything
41:03
for that not to happen like me who's been begging
41:06
for a three -way fight going into abu dhabi because
41:08
it'd be so much fun that would completely ruin
41:11
the race this is a worst case scenario that is
41:13
a worst case scenario like dude do they ask do
41:16
they like i'm not even saying if they like if
41:18
like he he's obligated to do it because he's
41:19
not i'm just saying do you think mclaren will
41:21
even like prompt him be like hey what do you
41:24
think or we're just catching Lando and he's about
41:27
to become under serious pressure listen man something
41:31
horrible needs to happen to both Max and Lando
41:34
for you to win this let's play the team game
41:37
here let's help Lando in the WGC plan that oh
41:39
my I'm gonna okay so I'm gonna be it's like it's
41:42
like really hard to hear but I mean it would
41:43
make things interesting right if I mean, since
41:47
we're talking about worst case scenario, I think
41:48
if that happens, I think at the top of my radar
41:51
is Oscar Piastri looking to leave McLaren. I
41:55
think that would be the straw that would break
41:56
the camel's back. I think Oscar would, that would
41:58
truly cement it for him and he would look for
42:00
a different team. If that happened and he literally
42:04
handed his title championship chances away. Chances,
42:07
opportunity. Even if that opportunity is slim.
42:10
Yeah. You know, the three drivers coming in,
42:12
he's three. Because, like, to him, like, why
42:16
would he want to do it? Because he'd be like,
42:19
oh, I have the chance to help Lando win the championship,
42:22
or Lando can fight against George, and maybe
42:25
George will crash Lando out, giving me a chance
42:28
to win the championship. So why would he want
42:31
to do that? It's true. He wouldn't. Because,
42:33
like, that's his rival right now. And then all
42:37
he has to do is catch Max. No. No, I mean, true,
42:41
yeah, I suppose there's... No. He needs a lot
42:43
more to happen to Max. He would need more to
42:45
happen to Max. Max is 20 seconds ahead of him.
42:46
Would Max have to be... I'm not saying he has
42:50
to because he doesn't. I just want to know if
42:53
you guys think McLaren will have the balls to
42:56
ask. Heck yes. I do think they'll have the balls
43:00
to ask. And either they won't get a response
43:02
or it might be fiery. To whom it may concern.
43:10
We'll get a tweet from Oscar. I did not confirm
43:14
that I will be staying on McLaren this year.
43:18
You have two Alfa drivers. It's going to be messy.
43:22
It's going to be exciting. We'll touch on it
43:24
one more time before we're out here. Just to
43:26
finish up news, Yuki is out. No ride for Yuki.
43:31
All the seats are confirmed. That's, like, huge
43:33
news, I feel like. It is huge news. Hajar to
43:35
Red Bull. Arvid Lindblad. Yep. Oh, wow. It's
43:39
not Bloop Block or whatever I said. You actually
43:40
got his name right there. Yeah, right. He goes
43:43
to V -Carp. Arvid Lindblad. Yuki, is this the
43:47
last of Yuki? Does he get a reserve spot? I have
43:50
news. Uh -oh. He is staying reserved for Red
43:54
Bull. I hope. That's okay. That's okay. At least
43:58
through 2026, I believe. I hope he sticks around
44:02
long enough, and I hope that... Do we just get
44:07
rid of Lance Stroll? That feels weird. Holy cow!
44:12
Man, that was intense. Are you okay, dude? We're
44:17
back. We're back. Technical difficulties. We'll
44:23
add that to the blooper reel, too. I just fell
44:28
off my chair. Sorry. Commotion. Where were we
44:31
at? I think you were saying something. I was
44:32
saying something. I was saying that I hope they
44:36
just get rid of Lance Stroll. I was distraught
44:37
about Yuki. I hope Aston just gets rid of Lance
44:40
Stroll and puts Yuki in that car. Please. yeah
44:45
uh so he's he's set he's set to carry test and
44:48
reserve driver duties in 2026 after that unknown
44:51
um he could he could never race f1 again I think
44:58
there's a chance. I think there's a good chance.
45:00
Indy car. Indy car. And I don't want that. I
45:02
like Yuki a lot. I want to see him in an F1 seat.
45:05
I actually did not see this coming. I thought
45:07
he would have at the very least been demoted.
45:08
I did too. That did not happen. They were like,
45:11
nope. That's why I find it weird. That's why
45:14
I find it weird he's going to accept a reserve
45:15
spot. I guess that's it, right? If you still
45:20
want one more chance. I want a Japanese driver
45:22
on the grid. No, I hear you. I do too. And I'm
45:24
disappointed because now the only Japanese driver
45:26
is gone. There's a good chance he's not coming
45:27
back. The only other Japanese driver I know of
45:30
in F2 is Miyato Ritomo. And I don't think he's
45:33
coming. I don't think so either. So hear me out.
45:36
What if he's reserved Tess because he's like,
45:37
listen, Red Bull goes through these drivers like
45:39
butter, right? Hadro's going to get up there
45:42
and he's not going to make it. They're going
45:44
to be looking at Arvid and they're going to be
45:45
looking at me. And they're going to give Arvid
45:47
the seat and then Arvid's not going to do well.
45:49
And I'm like, you know what? Let's throw Yuki
45:49
back in there. Also, I'm speaking to Kevin in
45:53
this moment. I'm sorry about your driver and
45:56
his future. That's rough, dude. That's rough,
45:58
buddy. That's rough. Kev, all right. I love the
46:02
positivity. I'm sorry about your driver, buddy.
46:04
He had a good run, truly. Kev's going to start
46:07
wearing a Red Bull hat for the show. You shall
46:10
suffer the second seat Red Bull curse just as
46:12
I have suffered the two best drivers in McLaren.
46:15
Or two good drivers in McLaren. Oh, man. All
46:18
right. Isaac Hedger. Oh, man. Do you have an
46:27
up to speed? I do have an up to speed. All right,
46:29
sweet. All right, Kev, let's head right into
46:31
our Abu Dhabi GP preview. Preview. And I am here
46:43
to bring you up to speed for the Formula One
46:46
Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix 2025. The
46:50
final race of the season. The finale. Fun fact
46:56
for y 'all. Vettel, Roseburg, and Verstappen
46:58
all sealed their maiden WDC titles here. Could
47:01
we see a fourth in either Norris or Piastri this
47:04
weekend? You don't want me to answer that. No,
47:07
I don't. Mike, back to you for the weather, please.
47:12
Oh, we're going to weather. Weather next. He's
47:15
the weatherman. Fast last weatherman. It's going
47:18
to rain. Fun fact, I was the weatherman for my
47:20
high school TV show. Really? So that back to
47:22
the weather just threw me off. My phone killed
47:27
itself. Okay. I do know, though, in Abu Dhabi,
47:31
it is going to be ripe. 25 degrees Celsius, which
47:35
is about 77 degrees Fahrenheit for us laymans.
47:39
That is us. That is pretty temperate, not too
47:42
hot, not too cold. It is a twilight race, so
47:45
they are expecting that it will probably get
47:47
a little bit cooler towards the end of the race,
47:49
but really not by too much, like a degree or
47:52
two in Celsius. This is the only race where we
47:55
actually see the sunset during the race, I think.
47:59
Is it the only race? Are you sure? I think so.
48:04
Fun fact. Really? I think so. During the race,
48:10
yeah. We don't... Because we start, and it's
48:13
not bright out, but it's close to sundown. Isn't
48:18
Baku also like... Baku. No, Baku's fully during
48:22
the day. I thought we also get into twilight
48:26
hours in Baku. I don't think so. Well, what do
48:28
I know? I could be wrong. That's not my fun fact.
48:31
Good thing you live in the desert. Right. Last
48:34
year, Lando, Oscar, Carlos, and Max are top four.
48:39
For the last time in 2024, it is lights out.
48:41
All four cars in front get a great launch into
48:43
T1, but Verstappen starts to immediately fight
48:46
Piastri for P2. They get a bit too close at the
48:49
apex, and Oscar clips his back left with Max's
48:51
front right, sending both of them spinning off
48:54
and down the grid order. Boom! Boom. Oscar suffers
48:57
the worst of it and ends up at the back of the
48:59
field. Max is able to spin around enough to keep
49:01
it facing the right direction and finds himself
49:02
mid -pack. Our top three order in the long straight
49:06
is Landon assigns to Gasly. Yadino. Right after
49:10
the straight, Perez is our second Red Bull to
49:11
spin on lap one of the same race, making contact
49:14
with his 2026 teammate, Botas, spinning, sending
49:16
him down the grid just ahead of Oscar. Verstappen
49:19
does pick up a 10 -second penalty. Botas picks
49:21
one up as well. I love he's returning to the
49:23
grid, by the way. Me too. I am stoked. You're
49:25
hearing his name. I'm like, yes. Yes, he's coming
49:28
back. Oscar's day gets worse. While trying to
49:31
find a move down the street to get ahead of Williams,
49:34
he locks up and instead goes right into the back
49:36
of the car, picking himself up a penalty as well.
49:39
After starting from the back row of the grid,
49:41
Charles makes an overtake on lap seven, getting
49:42
ahead of Magnussen for seventh position. Three
49:45
laps later, he makes the move on Alonso for sixth.
49:47
Max starts to make up the places he lost, getting
49:50
to seventh by lap 12. At the same time, Charles
49:52
takes fifth from Hulkenberg. 31, Botas has a
49:55
horrible lockup, goes straight into the overtaking
49:58
Haas of Magnussen, who cuts in front and gets
50:00
T -boned by the kick salvers. Magnussen takes
50:02
a little bit of car damage, and Botas picks up
50:04
front suspension damage, retiring his final race
50:07
of F1. until next season. Thank goodness. By
50:11
lap 54, Piastri is finally able to recover back
50:14
into points after an overtake on Albon in the
50:16
10th. Meanwhile, Max has made it back up to sixth
50:18
with Lando leading Sainz by 7 .5 seconds, who
50:20
leads Charles by another 22. Last lap, interesting
50:23
battle between both Mercedes for fourth position.
50:26
Hamilton goes around the outside on the second
50:28
DRS straight ahead of his teammate, picking up
50:30
fourth in his last drive for Merck. All the while,
50:33
Lando crosses the line at first, securing Constructor's
50:35
Championship for his team for the first time
50:37
in quite a while. We hear a quote. well done
50:41
everyone so proud of you all thank you so much
50:43
it has been such a special year next year is
50:46
going to be my year too boom as if it was prophecy
50:50
as if it was foretold we are now here the last
50:54
race of the season and Lando is up for the podium
50:57
that he said would be his one year ago almost
51:00
to the date that is dope behind him though The
51:04
reigning world champion, Max Verstappen, coming
51:07
back from over 100 points, back from the halfway
51:10
point of the season, now only 12 points away,
51:13
still very much in the catch. And his teammate,
51:16
Oscar, a little bit further behind, but still
51:18
there. He needs a long shot. He needs to get
51:20
lucky. But we could still see an orange face
51:24
on the podium that is not that of Lando's. An
51:27
orange car, whatever. Boys. I think it's time
51:33
to see what needs to happen this race for Orlando
51:37
to take it. If you will, Kev, let's go to Mike,
51:41
and then Mike, I'll kind of have you just lay
51:43
it out if you would. Yeah, so we've got statistics
51:46
up here. Roll up the sleeves for this one. It
51:51
is tense. There is a fight between these three
51:55
drivers. Lando is in first with 408 points, Max
51:58
with 396, and Oscar with 392. So a max of 14
52:04
points betwixt them. Betwixt? Betwixt. Interesting.
52:10
We're getting fancy. I see that. We're getting
52:12
fancy in here. I'm not fancy enough for it. So
52:14
on here, we see if Lando finishes first, He wins.
52:20
That's it. Lando finishes second. Lando wins.
52:23
Lando finishes third. He wins. So if Lando is
52:25
on the podium, Lando wins. If Lando comes in
52:30
fourth and Max wins, then Max is WDC for the
52:36
fifth time. If Norris comes in fifth and Max
52:42
wins, Max wins WDC. Lando can get to sixth. And
52:48
if Lando gets sixth, then Max still needs to
52:53
win. But if Max finishes, I believe the math
52:57
would be third or worse. And Oscar wins, then
53:04
Oscar is then WDC. If Lando is also in sixth.
53:07
So that would require Lando in sixth and Max
53:10
in third or worse. I don't like those odds for
53:13
Oscar. And then it continues to get worse and
53:15
worse. Anything worse and it's giving Max from
53:19
7th and 8th, Max can finish in 3rd. From 9th
53:24
and 10th, Max can finish in 4th. And 11th or
53:28
worse, Max can finish 4th or worse and get WDC.
53:33
So Lando needs to not retire and just hit the
53:36
podium. For Oscar, he needs... Oscar needs to
53:41
win this race and Lando to get sixth or worse.
53:44
Piastri can still win if he gets P2 and Lando
53:50
gets at best P10. But Max will have to not get
53:54
any. We'll have to not get a podium. Yep. And
53:58
then. No way. Yes. No way that happens. If Lando's
54:01
that far back, Max is going to be on the podium.
54:03
If Lando's not on the podium, Max is on the podium.
54:06
Yeah. You know what I mean? I really think this
54:09
is between Max and Lando, which is crazy. I would
54:12
have never thought that we'd actually be saying
54:14
that. But it's in Lando's hands. It really is.
54:19
Well, and McLaren as a team. But it's in Lando's
54:22
hands. Yeah. If Piastri wins, Max comes second,
54:26
and Lando's out of the points, Piastri wins.
54:28
Yes. So there's a whirl. If Max comes second,
54:31
and Piastri wins, and Lando's out of points.
54:34
So if Lando DNFs. And Oscar's ahead. Of Max.
54:38
No matter what, Oscar's ahead of Max. It's a
54:40
really hard... No. No. He'd have to win. He'd
54:44
have to win. He'd have to win. So it's a really
54:46
hard... There's only one very specific scenario,
54:49
but seeing how Oscar's pace has been, it's like...
54:52
I mean, you need... Basically, you need Lando
54:54
to DNF, and you need to be ahead at the start.
54:56
And that's it. You just don't share that with
54:58
him. Yeah. Hey, buddy, I need you to crash out.
55:01
You're looking for a miracle here, Oscar. You're
55:02
looking for a miracle here. Either way, three
55:04
-way battle. to add to the last race of the season
55:08
not gonna lie would have loved to seen a call
55:10
it a little bit earlier because i'm a mclaren
55:12
fan but we haven't seen a battle like this since
55:14
for stappen and lewis for the final that's true
55:16
i mean well i mean i think i i argue that race
55:20
was a little more crazy because they are on even
55:22
points exactly no it was crazy no it was crazy
55:25
That being said, this is a little bit more fun
55:27
because it's like technical. There's so many
55:29
different scenarios. We haven't seen a three
55:32
-way fight for WDC championship going into the
55:36
last race since 2004. No, 2007. 2007. Because
55:43
that's when it was Kimi Raikkonen. Kimi and the
55:44
McLaren. Yeah, Kimi and the two McLarens. So,
55:48
aside from that, it has pretty much only ever
55:50
been a two -way fight going into the final race.
55:54
Well, don't miss it. Don't miss it. In almost
55:56
20 years. Take it away for the points. Okay.
56:02
We've been gone a few weeks. We have. Things
56:06
have changed. Things have changed. I'm officially
56:12
out of the running. I cannot win in WDC. We can't
56:17
win and I can't get second. I can't win or get
56:19
second. So that second year in a row, I think
56:21
I'm last. You're on the podium. Hey, you're on
56:24
the podium, buddy. Was I last last year? Were
56:25
you? Did you? I think I was. I think we tied
56:29
for last. I think you guys tied for somewhere
56:31
in here. Let me see. That's good. At least I'm
56:33
consistent. So that's good. There were I'm telling
56:38
you, man, there were a couple races where I was
56:41
looking really good and something happened. And
56:43
then all of a sudden you were looking really
56:45
good. Yeah. And I was like, well, that sucks.
56:48
I'm a prophet. This is my crystal ball. Where
56:52
did we put predictions? Here they are. I do not
56:56
know. So last year, we had a couple more people
56:59
on the pod. Oh, I just brought it up, too. Yeah,
57:01
go for it. Whoa, this is not right. No, you got
57:06
to scroll all the way down. All the way down?
57:07
Yeah. It's not as fancy as yours. It's not as
57:10
fancy as yours. Oh, I'm sorry. Cole and Tyler,
57:13
they tied for first. Not me. Smelty got one point
57:16
more than I did. Yeah. Oh, I see two points,
57:19
but. 38 -36, but whatever. I'm happy to be the
57:23
Williams of this little group here. I respect
57:25
that. Sometimes, once in a while, I root for
57:28
you. Once in a while, I'll get a podium. I root
57:30
for you. I love an underdog story. I mean, you
57:33
had to have won a week at least, no? You won
57:36
a week. You won Monza. Oh, no, I've won a couple.
57:39
I've won one or two weeks, but like I said, like
57:42
a Williams, one or two, and that's it. Mike has
57:46
had two very good races. He got four points in
57:49
both Vegas and Qatar. He only got one point in
57:51
Brazil, which actually put you ahead momentarily,
57:54
but then he came back because you only got two
57:56
points in Qatar. So the current standings, Mike
58:00
with 62 points, Smelty with 60 points, and me
58:03
with the humble 52. The humble 52. It's better
58:11
for me because now I don't care. I can just focus
58:13
on the race. I mean, you guys are probably focused
58:15
on the race too. This means nothing. Do we get
58:18
points for our... predictions at the start of
58:21
the season too did we discuss that i can't remember
58:23
it's i don't think so i don't remember we put
58:25
it in here we have season predictions but i gotta
58:27
figure all that out next year we'll look back
58:29
we'll go and we'll look back we'll find out i
58:32
don't know if you remember offhand kev if we
58:34
did points or not for that but okay we'll look
58:36
back first first first episode um right so with
58:39
that mike idiot you are in the lead which means
58:42
you get to pick first for our final race of the
58:44
season me all right are you ready get get your
58:48
i can't believe i picked charles Dude, you know
58:51
what's so upsetting, though? What was it? But
58:54
the rest of my table is kind of right, right?
58:56
Lando, Max, Oscar, George. Like, if I were to
59:00
put Charles fifth, the top four look really good.
59:02
We didn't talk about Vegas, right? No, we didn't.
59:05
But, bro, I was two tenths away from getting
59:09
six points. He was. Because my podium was Max
59:13
to George to Charles. And Max Oscar George. Max.
59:20
But yeah. Yeah. Max Oscar George is what you're.
59:23
Oh, I'm looking at guitar. Yeah. Max George Charles.
59:25
Yeah. And freaking Kimmy had to ruin the day.
59:28
Yeah. And then Kimmy, if he was just two tenths
59:31
slower, Charles would have been on the podium
59:33
and I would add six, six whole points. God, only
59:36
one six this year. Only one six this year. Wonder
59:39
who that was. anyway that's a good thing you
59:42
got that what's your picks yeah it's helping
59:44
me a lot now you guys are still very much in
59:46
this competition it does mean however kev's got
59:49
a question oh all right uh because i'm out of
59:53
this i can kind of just talk a little bit now
59:55
uh you guys are you guys are so close it means
59:58
that smeltsy because he goes first you kind of
1:00:01
have to do something different to him I know,
1:00:03
I've got to be crazy. If anything, I have the
1:00:05
advantage. He does have the advantage. I mean,
1:00:09
man, I don't remember if we have points for season
1:00:12
predictions or not. I don't know if we do. We'll
1:00:14
look back and find out. Because best case scenario
1:00:15
for me, Ridley is getting four points with him
1:00:18
only getting two, hopefully. And then we tie.
1:00:21
I mean... I almost have to perfect six. to beat
1:00:26
him because there's a good chance he can at least
1:00:28
get four points real good chance at least at
1:00:31
least at least get one podium at least one position
1:00:34
correct and get the two points and then the other
1:00:37
two could swap or whatever and he'd still be
1:00:38
fine i'm confident i'm gonna get three points
1:00:40
at least uh in fact because i'm i'm not in this
1:00:44
i'm just gonna go first i'm doing lando oscar
1:00:46
mask max because that's what i would like to
1:00:48
have no mask mask um But yeah, you have to do
1:00:53
so. You cannot match this podium. Because it
1:00:56
would be pointless. Yeah, you're right. So with
1:00:59
that said, I know who I'm picking. I know who
1:01:04
I'm picking. In third place. You've known who
1:01:05
you were picking since last week, I think. In
1:01:07
third place, I am locking in Oscar Piastri. Boom.
1:01:12
There it is. There it is. In second place, I
1:01:14
am locking in Max Verstappen. Boom, there it
1:01:18
is. And in first, it's going to be Lando Norris.
1:01:20
Do you know what this means? This means that
1:01:22
he is predicting Lando to win WDC. On record,
1:01:28
on record, I want Max Verstappen to win. I do.
1:01:32
I want Max Verstappen to win this, but I find
1:01:34
it so unlikely that Lando is not going to be
1:01:37
on the podium. So... I might have to not put
1:01:41
Lando on the podium. That would be... I mean,
1:01:44
that... You could do. Or you could not put Oscar
1:01:48
on. Max. Max is winning. That's why Max is my
1:01:50
one. You could do Max at Oscar Lando and you
1:01:53
would still get more points and you would get
1:01:55
enough points. To win or tie? To win. If I did
1:01:59
Max, Oscar Lando. Because if it's Max, Oscar
1:02:02
Lando, I'm still going to get three points. And
1:02:05
he gets six, which is one more point than you
1:02:07
have. No, I have. Oh, I have two more points
1:02:09
than him. That is true. Yeah. So you were right.
1:02:12
You're right, Smelty. You need to get six points.
1:02:15
Unless you both biff it, which is possible. That's
1:02:20
incredibly possible. That's why I'm thinking
1:02:23
about putting somebody else on the podium. You
1:02:26
either have to reorder his podium completely
1:02:27
different, or you pick someone else and hope
1:02:30
that none of them are on the podium, or not enough
1:02:33
at least. Is it time for your champion? george
1:02:37
russell to make an appearance once and save my
1:02:39
season save your season this is this is a story
1:02:43
yeah but this is me gaslighting him into my podium
1:02:47
would really disappoint you i'm not because it
1:02:50
would mean that max would win the wdc your prediction
1:02:52
is not going to disappoint because it's it's
1:02:55
fake and it's not real and you're you're delusional
1:03:01
Oh, God. I understand you are in a bad position.
1:03:06
You have to pick crazy if you want to win. I'm
1:03:08
so close to actually winning. But so is he, and
1:03:10
that's disappointing for me. He's winning right
1:03:12
now. I am winning. Trust me. If he wins, we probably
1:03:17
won't invite him back. You and I look real dumb.
1:03:19
We look really bad. We're not going to invite
1:03:20
you back. I look incredible. I look so good.
1:03:23
Does that mean he's host next year? Yeah, probably.
1:03:26
Yeah, here we go. Here we go. Are you starting
1:03:29
with third or first? First, Max. Oscar. George
1:03:39
Russell. Max Verstappen is WDC. I was really
1:03:44
hoping you'd put George. Hey, if it's any consolation,
1:03:46
I really want your podium to be right. If it's
1:03:50
any consolation, I really don't want to. But
1:03:52
I'm really happy that that's the podium you went
1:03:55
with. I think that's an awesome podium. It's
1:03:57
the risky move. It's the play to try to win.
1:04:00
Listen, what if Max and Oscar aren't on it? And
1:04:03
George finishes third still somehow? You get
1:04:05
those points. That's true. If George is on the
1:04:08
podium, you get one point over. But then Lando
1:04:10
would definitely not have to win. That's a good
1:04:13
point. Because then he'd get two points for sure.
1:04:15
Yeah, that's a good point. You're right. And
1:04:16
then he'd still win by two. Maybe George Russell
1:04:18
wins. And Oscar comes in second. Yeah, if you
1:04:24
get Max Oscar. Oh, man. It's a toughie. It's
1:04:28
a toughie. You could get Max Lando George. You
1:04:31
know what you're trying to do right now? He's
1:04:34
trying to make a way for my podium to work and
1:04:36
for me to win to feel good about it and to still
1:04:38
have Lando win WBC. That's what he's trying to
1:04:41
do. I don't know the way that he can feel good
1:04:43
about this, though. Is that if. No, yeah, yeah,
1:04:46
you would, because you would tie. Oh, man, you
1:04:48
would tie. No, okay, so you see, here's what
1:04:51
happens. Here's what happens, right? You get
1:04:53
George wins, Oscar comes in second. And Leclerc
1:04:58
comes in third. And then Lando comes in fourth.
1:05:01
Right? Lando will still win WDC because he'll
1:05:04
have more points. Max will be down the order
1:05:05
because he crashes or something. Who knows? He
1:05:08
does something that Max is not going to do. Something
1:05:10
happens. We are on our way to Wonderland. And
1:05:14
boom! Lando wins. You get... You're down the
1:05:17
proverbial rabbit hole. I get one. Oh, man. It
1:05:20
has come really close. Yeah, you guys really
1:05:23
brought it to the end there. But again, like
1:05:26
you said, you came out of nowhere again and got
1:05:28
close. There was a time where we were all within.
1:05:30
There was a moment that I was catching up and
1:05:34
then it just kind of plummeted. Did I get any?
1:05:36
I don't think any of us went. None of us went
1:05:38
a weekend with zero points. So congrats. That's
1:05:41
cool. That's really cool. We all picked McLaren's.
1:05:43
We all. That's a good point. Pretty much. I'm
1:05:47
just double checking to make sure that's true.
1:05:48
Yeah. Yeah. None of us went with zero points.
1:05:50
We all at least got one person. That's cool.
1:05:53
Those ones really hurt, though. Yeah. Those ones
1:05:55
really do hurt. Trust me. I know. Yeah. You ideally
1:05:58
at least needed three. And then, yeah, Smelty
1:05:59
so far still the only one second weekend with
1:06:02
the perfect score. Yeah. Yeah. That was crazy.
1:06:05
Unbelievable, this guy. All right. We got to
1:06:07
end it, fellas. We got to end it. We've been
1:06:09
long. It's been a while. Mike, thanks for being
1:06:12
here. I'm glad I was here. Thanks, Mike's boss,
1:06:15
for letting him be here. Thanks, Mike's boss.
1:06:16
Shout out to Ty. We're not going to say his name.
1:06:20
Jeff. He did one nice thing to me. He doesn't
1:06:24
get his name said on the pod. Joe, your mom is
1:06:29
waiting, I presume. She's been waiting for an
1:06:30
hour. Yeah. Oh, we got to go. No, it's really
1:06:33
fun to be here. I'm so happy that we finally
1:06:35
got to get a pot in, especially for, you know,
1:06:38
this epic conclusion. And when work was getting
1:06:40
in the way for all of us, geez, it may not be
1:06:41
the next week or the week after, but we will
1:06:43
be back for a season recap to go over who won.
1:06:46
And, you know, just kind of we'll do like our
1:06:49
favorites of the season and stuff. I presume
1:06:51
that'll probably be another short one, huh? Of
1:06:54
course, that'll be a short episode. I actually
1:06:56
do think it could be. Kev dropped his head. kev
1:06:59
dropped his head no i think that one's probably
1:07:01
going to be a long one is we're going to have
1:07:02
a lot to talk about oh yeah yeah but with that
1:07:05
uh don't forget to like comment subscribe or
1:07:07
you listen to the banter where that's youtube
1:07:08
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1:07:11
radio and don't forget kev behind the camera
1:07:13
as always and hopefully we do see you next week
1:07:17
to wrap this thing up and if not well we'll see
1:07:19
you soon and man catch this race it's about to
1:07:22
be a doozy here it is watch it live 7 a .m cst
1:07:25
peace that's an outro Landon Norris. All right.
1:07:29
See you guys later. That doesn't work. It doesn't
1:07:32
work. That's an outro. It doesn't work. Don't
1:07:36
forget to follow, like, and subscribe. Tune in
1:07:40
next time for more banter with the boys.