F1: Into the Barrier: Recent Episodes
Into the Barrier F1 Podcast
A fan-made Formula 1 podcast discussing all the exciting topics from the pitlane. Hosts George Close and Ben Harker provide their armchair opinions on the F1 Championship whilst trying to avoid crashing into the armco barrier of podcasting.
George can't quite believe how many records Max Verstappen has broken this season and, in the interest of saving on editing time, decides not to list them! He does, however, get quite excited about the Ferrari v Mercedes and Williams v Alpha Tauri battles that kept everyone interested down to the final laps of the face.
He finishes off by making some hilariously unfounded claims about next year and offers his very relaxed arm chair opinion on how he thinks the teams performed this year..
Quite a remarkable run of 35 episodes this season.. scotch anyone?
George takes a gamble in Vegas but finds himself out of luck, much like Carlos Sainz's brush with a drain cover and Lando Norris' bump in the road. George reflects on an exciting race where Charles LeClerc actually managed to challenge Max Verstappen on pace for.. well.. 5 laps? Still something to hold onto in this dreary season and no better place to reflect on it than Into the Barrier!
George suffers an electrical outage on the out lap of podcasting as he reflects on Max Verstappen's Brazilian triumph, Alonso's last lap heroics, dismal Mercedes, and solid progress for Mclaren.
George finds himself lost in a carnival of madness in Mexico as he gets over excited about another loco Grand Prix. A huge qualifying upset for Lando Norris and a Ferrari Saturday special wasn’t enough to stop Max Verstappen’s 16th win of theseason, but George presses on with the podcast and gives his 2-pence on Sergio Perez's turn 1 crash, Dani Ricciardo’s form, K-Mag’s crash, and Lewis Hamilton’s medium tyre super stint.
George reveals he is as thick as two short Ferrari and Mercedes planks as he reflects on the Austin GP sprint weekend commenting on the disqualifications, Red Bull's reliable strategy, Lewis Hamilton's form and the over criticism of Ferrari strategy.
George tries to go around the outside into the first corner and spins into the podcasting gravel trap whilst discussing Max Verstappen's Third* World Championship, Peak Piastri, heat stroke, Alfa Romeo's double points finish, and a Mercedes' first corner blunder..
*Second
George suffers a brake-by-podcast malfunction as he reluctantly pontificates on Max Verstappen's statement 19.4 second win, questions Sergio Perez (again), and considers how badly Mercedes are missing the cool head of James Voules.
George delights in the best F1 race of the year after Carlos Sainz's 'Jarno Trulli' magnificent win. He discusses Carlos' impressive strides in qualifying, flexi-wings and George Russell's crash!
George squeezes the outside car onto the metaphorical grass of podcasting with his thoughts on Max's 10 wins in a row.. (come on Sergio..), Hamilton and Piastri's incident, and Albon's Saturn V Williams Rocket Ship!
George remarks on Max Verstappen drawing level with Sebastian Vettel and Alberto Acari* for the most consecutive wins in Formula 1, Fernando Alonso's matador performance in the rain, and Carlos Sainz's form at Ferrari.
George dives into the Belgian GP where Max Verstappen finished 22 seconds ahead Sergio Perez... a bit too easy? George also reflects on a good weekend for Mercedes, another superb Piastri performance and Otmar's last race.
George and Ben swerve quickly into some predictions as they try to avoid some podcast debris with this quick preview show of what looks to be a very very wet Spa!
George brings you a quick solo podcast after Ben fell into the barriers of love.. In this whistle stop tour he discusses Lewis Hamilton's superb pole position, Daniel Ricciardo's return to F1 and Zhou Guanyu's incredible 5th in an extremely close qualifying session at the Hungarian Grand Prix.
George and Ben take to the escape road whilst reviewing the 2023 British Grand Prix! They discuss, unsurprisingly, super Lando Norris and Daniel Ricciardo rumours whilst also revealing a story from the past about Ted Kravtiz..!
George delivers a quick update to the marshals to explain why there isn't a full British GP preview show this week.
George and Ben get back into the driver's seat to discuss the chaotic sprint race weekend at the Red Bull Ring in Austria and the impact of Dilano Van't Hoff's tragic death at Spa. Ben thinks George is being too harsh on Ferrari and questions the Red Bull blue on blue incidents in the sprint race, before George gives a special shout out to some Americans he met at Wimbledon!
George and Ben release a quick message the marshals to apologise for not releasing an Austrian GP preview show. During the busy summer period we they don't always align on their availability so they ask that you stay patient for the Austrian GP review show.
George and Ben decide to argue in the paddock after a major clash on Fernando Alonso's form. As the old saying goes, you can't be friends with your team mate, and it seems like the world of F1 podcasting is no different! Besides the heated debate, they discuss Red Bull's 100th win in F1 and bring back Into the Barrier Top Trumps by giving their stats for Canadians Lance Stroll and Jacques Villeneuve.
George and Ben put on their wellies to wade through the chaotic rains of the Canadian GP whilst revealing their top five in form drivers and their predictions. Ben calls on Nostradamus (yet again...) to help out with his predictions and George comes across all Big Brother with his theory on George Russell's distrust list.
George and Ben crash into their Spanish GP review show hoping their upgrade package is more Mercedes than Ferrari. George gives voice to a new idea on penalty structures and provides some insight into why Sergio Perez is struggling. Ben tries his hand at analysing some racing incidents and wondering if Nico Rosberg and Christian Horner need some couples counselling.
George and Ben struggle with the new final corner layout at the Spanish Grand Prix whilst giving their opinions on all the gossip in the build up to qualifying. Ben gets superstitious after seeing too many 3s in Fernando Alonso's future and George has another go at saying 'slim side pods'.
George and Ben stay out on 35 lap old slicks when the rain comes down in Monaco and head straight into the podcast escape road discussing Esteban Ocon's superb podium, George Russell's reversing antics, and a possible attempted mafia hit on Yuki Tsunoda...!
George and Ben crash headlong into Red Bull's Monaco swimming pool with all the talking points leading up to qualifying in Monaco. Has it become too predictable? What changes can be made? They discuss new upgrades for Mercedes, stand out performances from a young McLaren driver in practice and Williams' livery competition with the back drop of one of the most prestigious events in the world of sport.
George and Ben are a bit late to the Miami party with their review show but that doesn't stop them giving their opinions on F1's new pre-race spectacle, Max's dominance and Alex Albon's radio messages... could he be destined for a "top team"?
George and Ben try to avoid bringing out the red flag, as they bring you their preview of Miami! They discuss Charles LeClerc's crash in Q3, possible rule changes and the latest trials and tribulations down at Mercedes, McLaren and Aston Martin.
George and Ben are completely surrounded by barriers as they review the action from the first Sprint format weekend of 2023. Ben can't get 'cats' off his mind, George is worried the duo are becoming Carlos Sainz apologists, and they both give their opinion on the Russell vs Verstappen incident!
George and Ben, distracted by the Taylor Swift rumours, try to avoid crashing out like Nyck de Vries and Pierre Gasly, as they bring you their preview of Baku! They discuss Charles LeClerc's outstanding poll position, troubles down at Mercedes and Aston Martin and a surprise P7 and P10 for McLaren whilst trying to sneak in as many Taylor Swift songs as possible.
George and Ben petition for a larger grandstand at turn 9, as they discuss all the crashes, flags and the chaos at the Australian Grand Prix! They also delve into the past for the Top Trumps segment revealing the ratings for Australian F1 drivers, Mark Webber and Daniel Ricciardo.
George and Ben beach it in the gravel at Turn 3 as they discuss one of the best qualifying sessions in years including some strong words about Sergio Perez, Alex Albon's super speed and George's 'vision' predicting who will stand on the top step on Sunday!
George and Ben fall foul to the overcut by pitting too early and find themselves losing out in the podcast rankings. Stuck on the hard tyres they discuss the takeaways from the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix including Red Bull's dominance, Lance Stroll's superb overtake and Charles Leclerc's painting of Carlos Sainz. But most importantly they reveal two new Top Trumps cards for Sergio Perez and Paul Di Resta!
George and Ben rush to get their Saudi Arabia race preview across the finish line as one of the team spends the week skiing into a grid place penalty. They discuss the highlights of free practice and their predictions for the race along with introducing their first current and past drivers for their Top Trumps segment! Expect some bread related punditry topped with some good bits of analysis!
George and Ben rely on anti-stall to get the first review show of the year out on time. They discuss the impervious Max Verstappen, McLaren's pit stop mayhem and Lawrence Stroll's plan to take over the F1 world!
George and Ben hope to start the season with some solid points with their first race preview of the 2023 season. They discuss the key points from FP1 and FP2, including the strong showings of Red Bull and Aston Martin along with the indifferent performance of Ferrari and the potential concerns at Mercedes and McLaren (George seems to have developed an interest in Slimming Slide Pods). Plus the introduction of a new segment for the marshals... Top Trumps!
George and Ben are back for a third series hoping that their wheel brows don't melt under braking like a certain Mclaren MCL60! They discuss all the key moments from Bahrain F1 Testing including Felipe Drugovich's performance behind the wheel at Aston Martin and the beginning of Fred Vasseur's tenure at Ferrari. Ben seems to have heard an awful lot of murmurings in the paddock...
George and Ben find themselves too deep in the braking zone as they try to unpick how this season has all gone right for Max Verstappen so far! Ben also has a little trouble pronouncing the name of a certain Dutch reserve driver...
George and Ben try to channel their inner Nostradamus to predict the trends of the upcoming 2022 season.
George and Ben emerge from F1 podcast hibernation to discuss the showdown between Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton, the 'maFIA' conspiracy and their fondness for Iceman Kimi.
George and Ben go for a trip down the escape road whilst discussing the battle of the over-qualifiers, Billionaire Boys' Clubs and George's Fantasy F1 crisis ahead of the Monaco Grand Prix.
George and Ben try to single stop in the Barcelona sunshine whilst discussing Mercedes' Q2 tyre choice, a new Charles Leclerc cult and whether Aston Martin are a Korma or a Biriyani.
George and Ben bottom out on a sausage kerb discussing the Spanish GP including the their thoughts on the battle of the Spaniards - Alonso vs Sainz, Zak Brown's F1 manifesto and Alpine's mountainous performance gains.
George and Ben get their lap times deleted for exceeding track limits whilst discussing all the key moments from the Portuguese GP including Lewis Hamilton's overtake mastery, Kimi Räikkönen's clumsy crash and the social media blackout.
George and Ben get some terrible vibrations from a flat spot discussing their predictions ahead of the Portuguese GP including Max Verstappen's dental hygiene, Valtteri 5.0 and some possible F1 Fantasy plagiarism by George.
George and Ben struggle to get temperature into their tyres discussing all the key talking points from a wet and rainy Imola Grand Prix including Bottas vs Russell, Mercedes' pit stops and Sergio Perez's haunted steering wheel.
George and Ben venture into the marbles in their third episode discussing Perez vs Bottas, the battle for 9th & 10th and whether George can get a Red Bull sponsorship deal if he keeps name dropping them whilst discussing his Fantasy F1 team.
George and Ben crash out in their second episode discussing Mercedes' strategy, Nikita Maze-spin and F1 Fantasy Turbo Driver Lando Norris.
George and Ben go spinning off into the barriers in their first episode discussing Hamilton vs Verstappen, the best of the rest and their inaugural Fantasy Formula 1 teams.