Before the picks: a TikTok creator asked whether Kimi's title deserves an asterisk because nobody fought him for it, and we answer that properly. Then the real argument of the week, whether George Russell wanted it badly enough or simply got outbested by the kid in the other car. Also Vesti standing in for Russell in FP1, Lambiase back on Max's radio, Liberty Media's CEO telling fans they don't need to watch every race, three seats still unsigned at Racing Bulls and Haas, Albon's very polite reply to Alonso, and the Austria forfeit cap that is getting burnt on camera at the end of the season.

Then the game: quali picks, race picks, wildcards, Fraud Watch (Sainz stays, Albon is back under observation), who cooks and who fumbles, with the season ledger at seven weekends to four. New episodes every race week. Everything else at maggottsbecketts.org

The rest of the Austin debrief: Bearman reportedly asking Haas for six million and whether it's too soon, Alonso calling the back of the grid rubbish from sixteenth, Ferrari's free practice dominance that vanishes in Q3, Hadjar refusing to let Max past on the wrong engine map, Sainz holding up the leader and staying on Fraud Watch, Max's new race engineer debuting in the one race where nothing worked, and a virtual safety car that both hosts think was there to extend the storyline.

Mexico is next. P9 seals it, and Tawana has promised a tequila shot on camera the moment it happens. New episodes every race week. Everything else at maggottsbecketts.org

Before the picks: F1 is finally coming to Africa and the boys have thoughts on why it's called the African Grand Prix and not the Rwanda Grand Prix. Rafael Camara is heading to Ferrari and someone in the comments thinks Bearman should be nervous. The Mercedes upgrade was meant to be worth three tenths and isn't. Christian Horner has admitted he pressured Michael Masi in 2021 and Ben is doing his best not to crash out about it. Then a COTA track walk, the wind, the track limits trap from turn 12 to 20, and the first real disagreement the show has had: should the small teams get more than the cost cap gives them?

Quali and race picks, the wildcards, Fraud Watch, who cooks and who fumbles, and a nomination for Afro Broadcast of the Year that neither host applied for.

New episodes every race week. Everything else at maggottsbecketts.org

Then we tried to make it fair. Ben's five categories: raw speed, consistency, racecraft, adaptability and mental resilience. Tawana has a hot take on racecraft that Ben answers with Bahrain 2022. We relive Mexico 2024, Baku 2024 and the races that made each of them, and we get into the hate: why Lando gets it, why George gets it, and why Charles somehow never does.

We don't tell you who's best. You tell us. New episodes every race week. Everything else at maggottsbecketts.org

We go from sprint quali to the chequered flag: the FIA's 27-second straight-line mode mess, George spinning out of the sprint lead, Norris taking out Piastri on the last lap, Kimi sneaking to P3, and whether he should clinch the title in Austin. Then the scorecard from our three-way bet with Tyrone, and somebody owes the boys a glaze.

New episodes every race week. Everything else at maggottsbecketts.org

We get into George starting from the back again, Max tying Schumacher on 72 wins with one team, Ocon's Formula E pitch, and F1 finally coming back to Africa. Then it's a three-way predictions battle for a Singapore sprint weekend, where Ben goes full delulu and the loser has to glaze the other two on their story.

New episodes every race week. Everything else at maggottsbecketts.org

The Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia gave us a forty minute rain delay, a formation lap where five cars lost power and the FIA called it a bug, Ferrari starting both cars on slicks on a wet track, and Lewis Hamilton dropping from P2 to P17 and coming back to P3 anyway. George's car died again, Mercedes apparently wanted to change the power unit in Baku and didn't, and the gap to Kimi is now 84 points with seven rounds left. Aston Martin scored their best result of the season the one week Tawana bet against them, which he would like to discuss. Loudly.

Then the scorecard (Ben 13, Tawana 4, the Ben curse is officially broken), Fraud Watch week two (Albon stays on, get a pillow), a proper argument about whether Kimi is lucky or whether car go fast, car wins trophies is just the sport, and the FIA president telling Malaysia it needs a five year plan to come back. Singapore is a sprint weekend and it starts Friday. New episodes every race week. Everything else at maggottsbecketts.org

The Bahrain Grand Prix is being held in Malaysia, the race starts at 9AM Warsaw time, and F1 hasn't been to Sepang since 2017, when the Mercedes was silver and Stroll hit Vettel on the cooldown lap. Only ten drivers on the current grid have raced here. Add a 90 percent chance of rain and 2026 cars that have never done a proper wet race, and the predictions get harder every week. We also get into Ocon officially leaving Haas and who takes the seat, Christian Horner saying Ferrari is the only team he'd join without an ownership stake, Ferrari's "full confidence in Fred" statement, and the FIA leaving Bottas in the wall on the last lap in Baku with no safety car.

Then the picks: quali and race top threes, the five point wildcards (Ben takes rain, Tawana takes an Aston Martin double DNF, because he's a sadistic prick), who cooks, who fumbles, and a brand new segment. Fraud Watch. Albon is the first name on it. New episodes every race week. Everything else at maggottsbecketts.org

Baku gave us everything Madrid didn't: Kimi in the wall in Q1 and back to P5, Hadjar on the podium on his first weekend back from injury, Colapinto taking out Gasly and Norris on a restart, Norris calling for a race ban and then apologising, and Piastri going from third on the grid to thirteenth. We get into whether "Kimi is lucky" is a real take or a small memory take, why Colapinto's fans are aiming at the wrong people, and why Stroll still hasn't finished a race and is somehow signed for 2027.

Then the scorecard. Tawana's wildcard was Hadjar points. He got a podium. Ben's was Colapinto points. Tawana 12, Ben 4. Next up is the Bahrain Grand Prix at Sepang, this weekend. New episodes every race week. Everything else at maggottsbecketts.org

After the Madrid protest, Baku is a proper race again: six kilometres, 51 laps, a 2.2 km straight that eats the battery, and a quali session that gave us six red flags last year. Kimi leads by 81, Hadjar is back in the Red Bull, Sepang is next, and Monaco is getting a Sprint in 2027, which Ben would like to discuss with whoever signed that off. We relive our favourite Baku moments (Ricciardo vs Max, "I am stupid," Lewis at the 2021 restart, Perez vs Sainz) before Ben puts Leclerc on pole and Tawana goes full straight line merchant.

Wildcards are Hadjar points vs Colapinto points, the cooks and fumbles are in, and the forfeit is one lap of Baku on foot. Race is Saturday, quali is Friday. New episodes every race week. Everything else at maggottsbecketts.org

The autopsy: quali was brilliant (Lando on pole brushing the wall, Kimi P2), then the race gave us one good turn. Lewis takes his first DNF of the season with brake failure after a lap 1 squeeze from Max that has Ben pulling out Jeddah 2021 receipts. Stroll parks it a car length from the gap, the VSC drags on, and McLaren pit Lando into oblivion and fumble a certain win. Kimi picks up the pieces, win number eight, 81 points clear, and even he says it should have been Lando's.

Then the scoring (Tawana 10, Ben 8, both wildcards hit) and the main event: armed with their own track editor, the hosts redesign the Madring live. Delete turn 5A. Widen everything. Send the invoice to the FIA. You can build your own fix at maggottsbecketts.org.

Heads up: Baku race day is SATURDAY, not Sunday. New episodes every race week.

Before the chaos: the standings after Monza have Kimi on 267 and George sounding beaten ("the gap is just too big now" — has Monza broken him?), the Rosberg conspiracy about those 50 laps on hards gets picked apart, Ferrari quietly banked a 200km filming day at Madring as the only team to see the track, and Vasseur finally admits team orders are on the table.

Then the walkthrough: 22 corners, two tunnels, a 550 meter banked monster called La Monumentale, and almost nowhere to overtake. Wildcards: Ben says one of the big four ends up in the wall, Tawana says Sainz and Alonso score nothing at home. The home race curse is undefeated.

New episodes every race week. Everything else at maggottsbecketts.org

Also in the wreckage: Gasly takes a shock pole by two tenths, Leclerc and Hamilton go wheel to wheel at turn 1 before Leclerc crashes out at Parabolica on lap 3 (2020 flashbacks, anyone?), and the post-race quotes are pure poison. Ben officially pulls George Russell out of the title conversation, Mercedes pulls team orders again exactly as predicted, and Ferrari's strategy leaves everyone asking the same question: communication, when?

Then the scoring: Ben's team orders wildcard lands for 5 points, Aston Martin's double DNF destroys Tawana's banker, and the bet finally claims its first victim. Ben 6, Tawana 5, and Tawana now owes Lance Stroll a public apology letter. Yes, really. Next stop: Madrid, a track nobody has ever raced.

New episodes every race week. Everything else at maggottsbecketts.org

Tawana and Ben size up the Temple of Speed: 11 races in 14 weeks left, two braking zones, battery games and super clipping, Ferrari debuting yet another engine at home, and the standings after Zandvoort (Kimi 242, George and Lewis tied on 183). There's a Monaco 22 flashback into Ferrari's broken telephone radio problem, one take worth framing (back Lewis or lose your only shot), and the big question: does Toto pull team orders on George again?

Then the predictions: full quali and race top threes, five-point wildcards (Aston ahead of a customer engine, team orders at Merc, Ferrari or McLaren), who cooks, who fumbles, and the bet finally gets stakes. The loser posts a public apology video to the driver they slander most.

Esteban and Lance, one of you is getting a very nice message soon.

New episodes every race week. Everything else at maggottsbecketts.org

Norris goes back-to-back at Zandvoort, lap 1 was pure carnage (smoke, spins, Max on the grass), and Mercedes pulled the mid-race swap that has us heated: Merc was right to ask… but should George have said no? We also get into Max signing to 2030, Ferrari's radio problem ("you have the data, dog"), Alonso appearing in P9 like a polar bear in a forest, rusty post-break pit crews, and Bortoleto casually hitting 360 km/h.

Then it's scoreboard time — the closest bet we've ever had, decided by ONE point, with hot sauce shots on the line (postponed, conveniently). Plus: SuperSport followed us and we lost our minds, and we pick which driver we'd actually want to interview.

Zandvoort, it's been real. See you at Monza. Peace. ✌️

Zandvoort. A sprint weekend, a 60% chance of rain, and Kimi Antonelli 50 points

clear. Nobody has any data. We predicted it anyway.

Tawana and Ben are back from the summer break for episode 29 of MaggottsBeckettsF1,

and Zandvoort has handed them the hardest predictions weekend of the 2026 season:

one hour of practice before anything counts, a sprint on Saturday, rain in the

forecast, and a set of 2026 cars that have never turned a wheel in a proper wet

race. No data. All opinions.

Kimi Antonelli leads Lewis Hamilton by 50 points heading into the second half of

the season. Max Verstappen gets one final home race in front of the orange wall.

Honda have brought a new power unit specification for Aston Martin. Cadillac have

replaced their team principal mid-season. And with barely a handful of drivers

signed for 2027, silly season is about to get very loud.

In this episode:

- Antonelli's 50-point championship lead, and whether anyone can actually close it

- Honda's new power unit spec for Aston Martin, and who becomes the new back marker

- Cadillac sacking their team principal, and why it might be far too soon

- Rain at Zandvoort: what happens when cars with no downforce hit that banking wet

- Losing historic tracks — is Monaco next?

- Silly season 2027: almost nobody is actually signed

- Are we putting McLaren back in the title conversation too early?

- Full predictions for sprint qualifying, the sprint race, qualifying and the race

- Wildcards, who cooks, who fumbles the bag, and a three-shots-of-hot-sauce forfeit

The 2026 Dutch Grand Prix runs 20-23 August at Circuit Zandvoort. Our reaction

episode lands after the race.

New episodes every race week. Watch the video version on YouTube and play the

games on our site — links below.

YouTube: [YOUTUBE LINK]

Website and games: [WEBSITE LINK]

Support the show: [BUY US A COFFEE LINK]

It gets spicy fast: a reigning title contender is handed a D, Max Verstappen sits winless on a C+, Fernando Alonso and Nico Hulkenberg get the retirement talk, and the Williams teammates are separated by a single point and a Hungary incident nobody can brush under the rug. On the other end, rookie Arvid Lindblad crashes the S tier, Franco Colapinto is officially "your dependable Prius," Lewis Hamilton overdelivers on everyone's expectations, and Kimi Antonelli — leading the championship in his second season — earns a grade that doesn't officially exist: S+.

MaggottsBeckettsF1 is F1 news the way fans actually talk about it — weekly Formula 1 news, fan reactions, race predictions, and unfiltered F1 paddock chat from two fans, zero filters. Think we butchered your favourite? Come argue. Last week's team tier list is in the feed, and "44 Laps of Pain" is coming soon. 👀

Follow @MaggottsBeckettsF1 on Instagram and TikTok.

Proper f1 fan discussion and f1 paddock news: the Norris 14-second receipt, why nobody gives Lewis his flowers, the silly season around Red Bull's second seat, and week one of Ben living with Lance Stroll as his phone wallpaper.

Formula 1 fan reactions and f1 motorsport chat every week from Maggotts & Becketts, even on break. Wallpapers and games at maggottsbecketts.org. Support the show: buymeacoffee.com/maggottsbeckettsf1

What follows is the most humbling f1 fan discussion we've ever recorded: forgetting the Honey Badger, the Hulk AND Mad Max, calling the movie Rush "Heated", blanking on every 1990s champion, and one of us guessing our own channel name as a famous corner. Three tiebreakers later, someone's phone belongs to Lance Stroll.

Formula 1 fan reactions, f1 motorsport chat and games every race week from Maggotts & Becketts.

Play The Know-It-All and Paddock Feud yourself at maggottsbecketts.org

Proper f1 fan discussion this week: the blue flag anarchy nobody got punished for, Russell's anti-stall disaster, Verstappen's dive-bomb on Hamilton, Hadjar playing rear-gunner for Red Bull, and whether Max belongs on fraud watch. Plus our formula 1 predictions scored live — and for the first time ever, the bet ends in a dead tie. The tiebreaker is its own episode, and it goes badly for one of us.

Formula one news, formula 1 fan reactions and f1 motorsport chat every race week from Maggotts & Becketts. Play our F1 games at maggottsbecketts.org

In this episode:

The zero battery mystery. How does a Mercedes have 0% going UP Eau Rouge on lap 1? Deployment glitch or something worse?

Sabotage or a driver cracking? The great George debate, and why being dog walked by a 19 year old teammate would get to anyone.

Team orders time? With a 45 point lead and summer break looming, would you back Kimi now, even if it costs you Russell?

Hamilton's penalty nightmare. Five seconds stacked on five seconds, and why lap 1 incidents suddenly aren't racing incidents when it's Lewis.

Leclerc's accidental masterclass. The downshift mistake at Eau Rouge that boosted him to P2, and why the engineers should have found that loophole first.

The FIA problem. Penalties judged by outcome, not action. Clip a backmarker and you're fine. Clip a title contender and the book gets thrown at you. That's not refereeing.

Midfield heroes. Hadjar's monster drive from the back to P6 on 40 lap old hards, Lindblad's coin flip upgrades paying off, and Bortoleto carrying Audi's entire points tally.

Plus: predictions scored (an 11 to 3 demolition), and the forfeit is locked in. The loser now owes a FULL 44 lap Belgian GP on the F1 game. No assists. No traction control. Recorded start to finish.

Hungary is next before the summer break. Follow the show, tell your mates, tell your optician. MaggottsBeckettsF1, everywhere you get your podcasts and @maggottsbeckettsf1 on socials.

This one's a double debrief: Austria (battles everywhere, Cadillac literally on fire) and Silverstone, our home race, where Kimi's wheel cover heartbreak and a very sketchy safety car finish left us with questions. Then the big story — Max Verstappen to McLaren is reportedly in the final stages, and we argue both sides: the only door left open for Max, or too much baggage for a team built on fairness?

Also on the menu: the FIA suddenly caring about Ferrari's wing after Max's third crash, the Red Bull juniors who definitely aren't in the same WhatsApp group, championship stakes ahead of Belgium, and the refueling rumour nobody asked for.

Predictions for Spa coming very soon — and yes, the cap stays on for two more races. Tell everybody: MaggottsBeckettsF1.

Tawana and Benjamin react to one of the wildest results of the season: the first all-British podium since 1968, Russell's P2 and the simmering Mercedes tension, Charles' weekend to forget, Red Bull's slide into the midfield, and a genuinely bizarre kill-switch DNF. They also get into silly-season rumours (Verstappen shares, Sainz to Audi), the big PU upgrades coming for Austria — and finally settle The Bet, with 15 shots of vinegar on the line.

One of us rides for Mercedes, the other for Ferrari, and after this one, only one of us is smiling. Follow for the Austria predictions next.

In this episode Tawana and Benjamin lock in their qualifying and podium predictions, argue over the ADUO engine catch-up and the upgrade war heating up (Ferrari, McLaren and Aston Martin all bringing parts), hand out their wild cards, pick whose merch they'd buy — and put a genuinely questionable bet on the line for the loser. One of us rides for Mercedes, the other for Ferrari, and as always, it shows.

Predictions only — no race spoilers. Drop your own Barcelona calls and let us know who you've got on pole.

New to the show? We're MaggottsBeckettsF1, a two-host F1 podcast covering every race weekend. Follow so you don't miss the post-race debrief.

In this episode, we break down a wild Monaco GP weekend where Kimi Antonelli made it 5 wins in a row and proved that Mercedes might be untouchable right now. After all the talk about Mercedes being vulnerable around Monaco, Antonelli controlled the race, survived the madness, and left everyone else chasing.

We also get into Hamilton’s P2 for Ferrari, Leclerc’s painful home race, Hadjar’s shock podium, Verstappen’s Red Bull failure, Norris retiring again, Russell’s penalty-filled weekend, Cadillac’s possible first points, and the penalty avalanche that hit the grid.

Plus, the Lego bet finally gets settled, and someone has to build a Red Bull.

In this F1 podcast episode:

• The Monaco GP rule change that matters more than lap time
• Monaco qualifying and race predictions (Hamilton, Russell, Leclerc, Norris)
• F1 wildcards: DNFs, crashes and first-lap chaos
• Cooked or not cooked: F1 team-by-team outlook
• The new prediction bet and forfeit
• F1 25 game DLC first impressions
  

Keywords: Monaco GP predictions, F1 2026, Monaco Grand Prix, Mercedes, George Russell, Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari, F1 podcast, Formula 1 predictions.

In this episode, we break down a wild Canadian Grand Prix weekend filled with Mercedes drama, strategy mistakes, reliability problems and big championship questions. Antonelli made it four wins in a row and extended his championship lead, but Russell’s race ended in heartbreak after leading from pole and looking like the man to beat.

We also get into Hamilton’s strongest Ferrari result so far, Verstappen’s first podium of the season, McLaren’s disaster with strategy and reliability, and the midfield battle featuring Hadjar, Colapinto, Lawson, Gasly and Bearman.

The Canadian GP at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve is already known for drama, with the famous Wall of Champions and a 70-lap race around the 4.361 km Montreal circuit, and this year added another chaotic chapter.

In this episode, we give our full predictions for the Montreal Sprint weekend, covering Sprint Qualifying, the Sprint Race, Qualifying and the Grand Prix. The big focus is the Mercedes battle between George Russell and Kimi Antonelli, with Russell returning to a track where he has been strong before and Antonelli looking to keep his momentum going.

We also talk through McLaren’s threat, Verstappen’s chances of getting back on the podium, Ferrari’s worrying straight-line pace, possible rain in Montreal, the Wall of Champions, and which teams or drivers could flop.

Canada has always had a reputation for chaos, and with this being a Sprint weekend, it could be the race that tells us who is really ready for the next phase of the season. Formula 1’s official Canadian GP page lists the 2026 weekend as a Sprint event in Montreal, with Sprint,

Qualifying and the Grand Prix all packed into the weekend schedule.

In this episode, we take a deep dive into Aston Martin, Ferrari and Audi to understand what is really going wrong. Aston Martin have the facilities, the money, Honda, Adrian Newey and big expectations, but the results have been brutal, with the FIA’s ADUO framework now potentially giving Honda extra support after Canada. Ferrari arrived with a huge upgrade package, but the car still looks limited by deeper issues, especially around power delivery and correlation. Audi, meanwhile, look quick enough to fight in the midfield, but their reliability problems keep ruining weekends before the pace can fully show.

We also discuss whether ADUO is fair, whether struggling teams deserve extra help, and which of these three teams is most likely to recover first.

In this episode, we break down Ferrari’s controversial “Macarena” rear wing and why Red Bull might be copying it, the latest FIA rule changes aimed at fixing “super clipping,” and why the 2026 season is starting to feel like a full-on experiment.

From Mercedes still looking untouchable to teams chasing performance with wild innovations, we ask the big question…

👉 Is this season just a beta test for the future of F1?

In this episode we dive into one of the biggest off-track stories of the season: Max Verstappen’s long-time race engineer Gianpiero “GP” Lambiase leaving Red Bull to join McLaren.

Lambiase has been Verstappen’s race engineer since 2016 and played a major role in all four of his world championships, making them one of the most successful driver-engineer partnerships in modern Formula 1.

His move to McLaren as Chief Racing Officer could have huge consequences for the entire F1 grid.

In this episode we discuss:

• Why Lambiase leaving Red Bull is such a massive deal
• Whether Verstappen could follow him to another team
• The growing list of key figures leaving Red Bull
• What this means for the driver market involving Mercedes and McLaren
• Ferrari rumors and leadership questions
• The FIA’s latest discussions about fixing the controversial 2026 regulations
• Fun stats and wild facts from Formula 1 history

Even without a race weekend, the Formula 1 paddock is moving fast — and the decisions being made right now could reshape the next era of the sport.

In this episode, we break down how Kimi Antonelli pulled off back-to-back victories and why this race might be the turning point of the 2026 season. From a Safety Car that flipped the entire race to Mercedes showing serious dominance, there’s a lot to unpack.

But beyond the racing, we get into the bigger conversation.

Are the 2026 regulations actually working?
Is “super clipping” ruining the flow of racing?
And are Formula 1 cars getting slower… in a sport that’s supposed to be about speed?

We also dive into:

• Ferrari’s potential upgrade boost and what it means for the title fight
• McLaren’s quiet comeback
• Red Bull’s struggles and Verstappen’s growing frustration
• Lewis Hamilton’s race issues and missed opportunities
• The midfield battles that didn’t get enough airtime

This isn’t just a race recap, it’s a real discussion about where Formula 1 is heading, and whether the sport is moving forward… or backwards.

• How aerodynamic choices and battery management will influence qualifying and race day strategies
• The significance of driver confidence on Suzuka’s most infamous corners like 130R and the S's
• The intriguing testing of new wing concepts and their potential impact on race performance
• Bold predictions on who’ll dominate qualifying, and whether daring moves or safety margins will win the day
• Surprising insights into reliability issues from Red Bull, Alpine, and other frontrunners that could shake up the grid

This episode dives into the broader implications of Suzuka’s challenging track; how it tests car reliability, driver skill, and team strategy. Missing this insight risks watching a race where surprises abound, and opportunities are missed. Whether you’re a die-hard F1 fan, a strategic thinker, or simply love racing chaos, this episode equips you to understand what makes Suzuka so special, and why this race might just rewrite the season’s story.Join Tawana and Benjamin as they break down their predictions, analyze the chaos, and unlock the secrets of Suzuka’s unpredictable showdown. Perfect for fans craving tactical insights or those betting on the underdogs, this episode keeps you on the edge of your seat. Hit play, because Suzuka’s season-defining moments are about to unfold.

The duo discusses how the long Shanghai straight and heavy braking zones could push the new 2026 power units to their limits, especially with battery deployment and energy management becoming a key factor. They also share their race predictions, early-season expectations, and championship outlook following the opening round in Australia.

Plus, a quick thank you to the growing community as the podcast hits 1,000 TikTok followers and continues to build momentum.