1. Ooooooookay. (Pulling out a line from “Simone”, I take it?) 2. It would seem that Merc’s figured out its problems, but I’m wondering if the track itself played a factor in this. Other than this, it’s Hamilton’s championship to lose now. 3. I think Ferrari’s chances of winning the title are done. I’m certain that Vettel’s chances are gone as well. Kinda says a lot about their engineers and mechanics, I’m afraid. 4. Either we’re seeing a resurgence of Red Bull or they’re just seizing an opportunity when it presented itself. 5. Speaking of Verstappen, did the stewards do… Read more »

I suspect the spark plug issue is a little more complicated than you describe in the podacst! At the risk of boring everyone to death, the spark plug in an F1 car doesn’t really work the same way as it does in a road car or even in most race cars. It’s there to to ignite a very small amount of rich-mixture fuel vapour in a pre-chamber at the top of the main cylinder. When combusted, this creates lighting bolts that ignite the leaner mix in the main cylinder far more effectively. These lightning bolts – also known as jet… Read more »

Regarding Vettel, the Sky guys eluded to the fact that the “jet ignition” (thanks p1ngu) is buried deep in the ICE and therefore, it’s impossible to replace on the grid with the few minutes available to them. Maybe they were just looking for loose wiring? Anyway it’s a shitty way to end what already was looking like a lost championship! Hammy whigned about his engine failure last year. He didn’t have 3 weekends in a row that Vettel has had and I don’t hear Sabastian bitching about it (in public). As for Stroll, again the Sky crew kept going on… Read more »

First time listening to the podcast. The sound effects / audio clips during the conversation are insufferable.