Ep80: Silly season: Max, Oscar, Horner

Ep80: Silly season: Max, Oscar, Horner

The mid-season break has barely started and the paddock is already on fire. Di is in Margaret River, Ciara is in Berlin, and this week they unpack every rumour worth talking about in the 2026 silly season. Is Max Verstappen really talking to McLaren? What would actually be in it for him, and what would Jos Verstappen do inside a team with two number one drivers? Then there's the other side of that swap: Oscar Piastri to Red Bull. Di and Ciara debate whether Laurent Mekies can build a championship-winning car around him, and whether McLaren would ever really back Oscar to win a title now Lando has one on the board. Also on the table this week: Christian Horner's next move and why Ferrari feels wrong on every level, the Flavio Briatore factor at Alpine, Gucci officially joining the grid and the fashion war brewing with Louis Vuitton, Yuki Tsunoda linked to Haas with money behind him, Fernando Alonso's future at Aston Martin, and whether Bahrain, Abu Dhabi and Dubai are all at risk if the Middle East situation escalates. Plus a fun fact from the Second Seat Podcast about Oscar's cursed special helmets, and a big F1 Academy moment: 16-year-old Ciara Battig taking pole and P2 on debut as the wildcard at Silverstone, Abbi Pulling becoming the first woman to win a GB3 race, and Nina Gatterman testing an Alpine F1 car. Back next week after Spa. Follow Ciara at Formula Live Pulse: https://f1livepulse.com Website: https://awaywegopodcast.com Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/away-we-go-podcast/id1783230663 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4zhYpuRy3mL6y44ZERI0X6 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@AwayWeGoPodcast Substack: https://awaywegopodcast.substack.com Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/awaywegopodcast/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@awaywego.podcast Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/awaywegopodcast LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/away-we-go-podcast Threads: https://www.threads.com/@awaywegopodcast

Ep79: Ferrari's 250th, a safety car finish and the British GP that should have been

Show notes: The British Grand Prix delivered wheel-to-wheel battles, a championship leader fighting a broken car, and a finish that left almost every fan deflated. Charles Leclerc took Ferrari's 250th Formula 1 win at Silverstone, but it came under a safety car after Max Verstappen's late DNF, which is exactly as unsatisfying as it sounds. Dianne Bortoletto and Ciara Gillan, motorsport journalist at Formula Live Pulse (f1livepulse.com), break down everything: Kimi Antonelli's fighting spirit on a mechanically compromised car, George Russell's fortunate second place, Ferrari's decision to keep Lewis Hamilton's five-second penalty quiet until the pit stop window, and the track limits debate that nobody can fully agree on. There's also a fun fact about who actually controls the lights at the start of every Formula 1 race. This week: the safety car controversy, the track limits debate, Oscar Piastri's nightmare race, the sprint results and Predict the Podium leaderboard update. Website: https://awaywegopodcast.com Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/away-we-go-podcast/id1783230663 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4zhYpuRy3mL6y44ZERI0X6 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@AwayWeGoPodcast Substack: https://awaywegopodcast.substack.com Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/awaywegopodcast/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@awaywego.podcast Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/awaywegopodcast LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/away-we-go-podcast Threads: https://www.threads.com/@awaywegopodcast Next race: the Belgian Grand Prix at Spa.

Ep78: Ferrari disappoints in Austria

Ferrari arrived in Austria with a big upgrade package and left with Lewis Hamilton fifth and Charles Leclerc eighth. George Russell inherited pole position beating a split-second yellow flag, then he led every lap, and won. Dianne Bortoletto and Ciara Gillan break down the race, the qualifying controversy, Kimi Antonelli's chaotic opening laps, and why the Red Bull Ring broadcast left viewers feeling seasick. Also this week: the FIA removes presidential term limits, Rachel Brookes departs Sky Sports, Cadillac's double DNF inside five laps, and Carlos Sainz's proposal that would change Formula 1 entirely. Ciara Gillan is co-founder of Formula Live Pulse: https://f1livepulse.com Predict the Podium: https://awaywegopodcast.com/play-along/ Subscribe to the Substack: https://awaywegopodcast.substack.com Website: https://awaywegopodcast.com Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/away-we-go-podcast/id1783230663 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4zhYpuRy3mL6y44ZERI0X6 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@AwayWeGoPodcast Substack: https://awaywegopodcast.substack.com Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/awaywegopodcast/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@awaywego.podcast Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/awaywegopodcast LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/away-we-go-podcast Threads: https://www.threads.com/@awaywegopodcast

Ep77: Classic Monaco F1 just €150, with Colin Johnston

Most Formula 1 fans file Monaco under one day, one budget you don't have: yacht money, championship-week crowds, a Sunday grandstand seat that costs more than the flights. Motorsport historian Colin Johnston has spent years doing it the other way. This week Colin joins Dianne Bortoletto to show how to experience Monaco, Goodwood and the great old European circuits as an independent traveller, without the championship-weekend price tag. He makes the case for the Monaco Grand Prix Historique: the same iconic circuit, the cars you grew up watching, a fully open paddock, and three days of racing from 150 euros. He breaks down where to sit at Sainte Dévote, why Menton beats Nice as a base, and the 7 euro 80 train ride that drops you right at the track. There's Monza in 2024 from inside the paddock the day Charles Leclerc won, the Tifosi compared to Irish rally fans, and why Goodwood Members' Meeting is the most carefully curated weekend in motorsport. Colin writes Formula 1 history for Mercedes, so the conversation also turns to myth-busting the 1950s, the Mille Miglia and Stirling Moss, and whether something real is lost from the sport now that the danger has gone. Plus the final three: the race Colin would travel to, the race destination he would pick for a holiday, and the driver, dead or alive, he would take on holiday. Colin Johnston Website: https://racingdaydreams.com [https://racingdaydreams.com] LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/colinjohnstonuk/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/colinjohnstonuk/] X: https://x.com/CJGrandPrix [https://x.com/CJGrandPrix] Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cjgrandprix/ [https://www.instagram.com/cjgrandprix/] Website: https://awaywegopodcast.com [https://awaywegopodcast.com] Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/away-we-go-podcast/id1783230663 [https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/away-we-go-podcast/id1783230663] Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4zhYpuRy3mL6y44ZERI0X6 [https://open.spotify.com/show/4zhYpuRy3mL6y44ZERI0X6] YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@AwayWeGoPodcast [https://www.youtube.com/@AwayWeGoPodcast] Substack: https://awaywegopodcast.substack.com [https://awaywegopodcast.substack.com] Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/awaywegopodcast/ [https://www.instagram.com/awaywegopodcast/] TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@awaywego.podcast [https://www.tiktok.com/@awaywego.podcast] Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/awaywegopodcast [https://www.facebook.com/awaywegopodcast] LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/away-we-go-podcast [https://www.linkedin.com/company/away-we-go-podcast] Threads: https://www.threads.com/@awaywegopodcast [https://www.threads.com/@awaywegopodcast]

Ep76: Hamilton's first win wearing red - Ferrari win in Barcelona

Dianne is wearing every piece of Ferrari merch she owns, because Ferrari are finally back. After a 595-day drought, Lewis Hamilton took his first race win in red at the Barcelona Catalunya Grand Prix. It came almost to the day, 30 years after Michael Schumacher won his own first race for Ferrari at the very same track, and Hamilton now has seven wins in Barcelona, one more than Schumacher ever managed. If that does not give you goosebumps, Di is not sure what will. Di and Ciara Gillan from Formula Live Pulse break down how it actually happened, because for the first half it did not look like a Hamilton win at all. A slow start gave way to a bold three-stop strategy, and once Lewis came out on fresh tyres he was on rails, increasing his lead every lap and finishing nearly 20 seconds clear. He even said afterwards that the virtual safety car robbed him of a proper battle, which tells you everything about the confidence in that garage right now. They get into the Lewis effect at Ferrari, from the brake change to the way Charles Leclerc says having Hamilton in the team has shifted how the whole operation works. There is plenty to unpack elsewhere too, with Kimi Antonelli still leading the championship despite a heartbreaking DNF, another retirement for Leclerc, and a George Russell second place that Di reckons owed more to luck than pace. This was a brutal race for reliability with eight DNFs, and the conversation turns to the FIA's decision to reverse Pierre Gasly's Monaco penalty while leaving everyone else's in place. Di and Ciara do not hold back on the precedent that sets. There is also the Fernando Alonso retirement chatter, the Flavio Briatore rumours, and a reminder to go and read up on Crashgate if you do not already know it. Next week is a non-race week with a very special guest interview, and then the season rolls on to Austria. Play along with Predict the Podium at awaywegopodcast.com/play-along and see if you can beat Di on her own leaderboard. LISTEN AND FOLLOW AWAY WE GO PODCAST Website: https://awaywegopodcast.com [https://awaywegopodcast.com] Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/away-we-go-podcast/id1783230663 [https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/away-we-go-podcast/id1783230663] Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4zhYpuRy3mL6y44ZERI0X6 [https://open.spotify.com/show/4zhYpuRy3mL6y44ZERI0X6] YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@AwayWeGoPodcast [https://www.youtube.com/@AwayWeGoPodcast] Substack: https://awaywegopodcast.substack.com [https://awaywegopodcast.substack.com] Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/awaywegopodcast/ [https://www.instagram.com/awaywegopodcast/] TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@awaywego.podcast [https://www.tiktok.com/@awaywego.podcast] Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/awaywegopodcast [https://www.facebook.com/awaywegopodcast] LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/away-we-go-podcast [https://www.linkedin.com/company/away-we-go-podcast] Threads: https://www.threads.com/@awaywegopodcast [https://www.threads.com/@awaywegopodcast]