Formula 1 is an African Sport: Recent Episodes
Grant James, John Afordofe, & Martin Ombura
A Ghanaian, a Kenyan, and a South African - sharing more banter than opinions on Formula One. Expect race reviews, technical directive discussions, Masi insults, Africanisms, and many laughs! After all, F1 with its team challenges, excitement, and on-going drama reminds us of home - it's surely an African sport!
The 2023 Saudi Arabian GP at the infamous Jeddah-Corniche circuit had a lot to offer us as fans after a slow start in Bahrain. Sergio Perez kept a cool head to put Red Bull on the top step of the podium after an initial overtake from Alonso, and a strong safety car restart. Some interesting team radio conversations led him and his fans to believe that RedBull may have fancied his teammate Max Verstappen at the top. The Dutchman clinched the fastest lap at the end securing him at the top of the leaderboard. Fernando Alonso is single-handedly making this a season to tune into, the Spaniard put El Plan into effect once again, qualifying strongly and showing he can put distance between him and the rest of the field. Mercedes had a quiet race that saw the pair finish P4 and P5 for George and Lewis, whereas Ferrari were left wondering where their race day pace went.
We also look into the lacklustre officiating from the FIA, potential issues RedBull will face with their driver pairing, Discuss McLarens, Mercedes and Ferrari’s continued problems, and as always we discuss our Goats and Donkeys of the weekend.
Martin Ombura Jr., Grant James, John Afordofe
A Look into the first race of the 2023 Formula 1 season, and to be honest, we’ve seen better. Fernando Alonso reminded us that age is just a number and that we should not forget about 'El Plan', the Red Bull’s put together a racing master class and Ferrari and Mercedes had a lot ot think about after the race.
We also discuss Lewis Hamilton’s comments about the W13 feedback that he felt the team ignored, the state of McLaren and gave a shout out to the rookies in their debut race.
Martin Ombura Jr., Grant James, John Afordofe
We’re back for another F1 season and we’re all excited for what the 2023 Formula 1 season has in store for us! We revisit some of the news from the end of 2022, driver lineups, team principal changes, we give our takes on the new liveries for 2023.
We give our take for what we think will transpire this season, and predict our Top 3 for the 2023 F1 Bahrain GP.
Martin Ombura Jr., Grant James, John Afodofe
The 2022 F1 season came to an end in Abu Dhabi a few weeks ago, and it’s been a season to remember. Records shattered by some, and continued disappointment for others. We cap off the year with some fun banter as we look at the most interesting and also lackluster moments of the season. John set up a quiz towards the end of the episode to test our knowledge on a variety of F1 2022 related topics. We also had Nathan, a good friend of the show, come and share his insights into the season.
Martin Ombura Jr., Grant James, John Afodofe, Nathan Ramages
The Abu Dhabi GP rounded off what was a rollercoaster of the F1 season, emotions were everywhere as we said goodbye to one of the greatest, Sebastian Vettel. Driver’s like Daniel Ricciardo, Mick Schumacher and Nicholas Latifi also bid a farewell to the sport with hopes of returning in some manner. Max Verstappen showed dominance, again. But it was his teammate, Sergio Perez who fell from the catbird seat in qualifying to finish behind his rival Charles LeClerc in the race and ultimately in the championship. Mercedes would like to quickly forget this season as well as the infamous W13 as Hamilton retired for his first reliability issues. All in all a decent race from the drivers and a fitting end to this interesting F1 season.
Presented by Grant James, Martin Ombura and John Afodofe
A scintillating Brazilian GP weekend down in one of the most drama-filled tracks, Interlagos, home to some of the most exciting races we’ve seen over the decade. George Russel claimed his first ever Formula 1 win after a flawless Sprint and Race on Sunday. His teammate, Lewis Hamilton, added to the Mercedes triumph by showing his car had the pace.
This may have been Red Bull’s most disappointing weekend since Australia with both Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez finishing outside the Top 5, team orders and miscommunication amongst the two frayed their relationship. A valiant comeback by LeClerc and a smooth race by the smooth operator himself, Carlos Sainz gave Ferrari a respectable 3-4 finish. Alonso did what the 41 year old does best, over perform. McLarens had a weekend to forget as both cars suffered DNFs. And who can forget Kevin Magunessen’s first ever F1 Pole Position.
It was a weekend of firsts all round. Hear us dive into the many topics that made this weekend a solid Top 3 of the year.
A thrilling USA GP at the Circuit of the Americas in the heart of Texas. Mistakes from Red Bull and not one, but two safety cars gave us an exciting race. Mercedes aimed to capitalize on a Red Bull Pit blunder, whereas Russell and Sainz ' first lap incident minimized the gains from their weekends. We saw DNFs, crashes and the two old timers, Vettel and Alonso showed the youngsters how to give it their all until the chequered flag. Arguably a Top 3 F1 race of the season.
Timestamps
- 0:00 - The Passing of Dietrich Mateschitz: Owner of Red Bull Racing & Alpha Tauri
- 6:12 - F1 Driver Market: Logan Sargeant with Williams, Mick Schumacher still without a seat
- 13:59 - RedBull Cost Cap Saga Continues, FIA negotiating penalty behind closed doors with Red Bull
- 18:31 - FIA Inconsistent Officiating ... Alonso v Perez Post Race Penalty.
- 22:30 - COTA + Quali: A brilliant track, with an amazing atmosphere. Pretty standard qualifying with Ferraris showing pace
- 27:33 - Red Bull Racing: Constructors World Champions, Verstappen's brilliance in overcoming pitstop woes, Perez decent race.
- 33:09 - Mercedes: A race that could've been. Hamilton's fight, Russell's first lap incident
- 38:41 - Ferrari: Another Sainz DNF after brilliant qualifying, LeClerc morale boost coming from the back and finishing on the podium
- 45:28 - Battle for 4th: Mighty Alonso, Norris King of Back Day, Abysmal performance from Daniel Ricciardo
- 50:40 - F1 Donkey of the Weekend
- 55:06 - F1 Goat of the Weekend
- 58:26 - A Look forward: Mexican GP, Sergio Perez dad appearance? Can Mercedes win a race this season, our predictions
A rainy Suzuka race weekend followed by a nail-biting finish between Leclerc and Perez led to a confusing end to the F1 2022 Driver's World Championship. Suzuka did not hold back on highlighting how exciting and confusing the sport of F1 can be. Vettel showed it's not over until it's over and raced Alonso to a photo finish.
Timestamps
- Max Verstappen: World Champion - 0:00
- F1 Transfer Window: Gasly to Alpine, De Vries Confirmed at Alpha, and others - 15:29
- Red Bull Cost Cap Drama - 21:52
- Tractor on Track: FIA drop the ball with driver safety again - 33:39
- Suzuka: Qualifying - 38:15
- Red Bull's Stellar Performance ... again - 43:04
- Ferrari: Sainz early exit, LeClerc's costly mistake - 47:00
- Mercedes: Hamilton and Ocon, George struggle with strategy and pace - 51:35
- Battle for 4th: Alpine clawing back the lead to McLaren - 0:56
- F1 Donkey of the Week - 57:35
- F1 Goat of the Week - 1:02:51
- What to look forward to now the championship's been decided - 1:05:37
An uncharacteristically rainy Singapore GP filled with Qualifying drama that sent Max to the back of the Q1 ordering, Mistakes all round from Hamilton, Russell, Verstappen and LeClerc, and a triumphant Checo Perez who reminded the world he's still got that dawg in him 🐕. This was the 2022 Singapore GP that F1 returned to after 2 years and boy did it provide a unique kind of race. Timestamps
- F1 Transfer Window: Open Seats, Mick Schumacher, Williams - 2:01
- 2023 Calendar Announcement, More Races, More Sprints, Vegas, Shanghai, Qatar - 13:48
- Singapore GP Intro - 22:14
- Singapore Qualifying: A quick recap - 23:23
- Perez' improved Performance, An entertaining race from Max - 27:34
- Ferrari: Leclerc giving up poles, Sainz cool and consistent - 33:38
- Mercedes: A race to forget for both drivers - 39:54
- Battle for 4th: Alpine vs Mclaren - 42:33
- F1 Donkey of the Week - 44:40
- F1 Goat of the Week - 46:40
- Suzuka: Look forward - 48:10
Note: We had some technical difficulty with some of the audio in this episode, but we did our best to ensure it was listenable. We'll do whatever it takes to ensure it doesn't happen again 🥲
A Monza race review, discussing drivers, constructors, and how Monza unearthed painful memories from Abu Dhabi 2021.
That was a lot of orange, badly behaved fans, some smoke flares, and a hell of a race!
Sharing banter, thoughts, and opinions from the Zandvoort GP.
One of the more narrow tracks on the circuit provided good racing and better entertainment.
*Hosted by Grant James, John Afordofe, and Martin Ombura.
Spar race weekend - was both a dominant and boring race, with Max in a class of his own.
We review the on and off-track antics, ask Martin a few tough questions, and take banterous aim at the Ferrari strategy team.
See show topics and notes below:
00:00:00 - Welcome
01:07:00 Intro to the Week
01:47:23 Martin Explains His Accent
03:13:50 South African GP Not Happening in 2023
06:09:28 F1: Transfer Window - Alpine, Gasly, Ricciardo
08:25:58 Spa Confirmed for 2023
10:29:43 Race Review: Qualifying
17:09:13 Race Review: Crazy Race Start
20:53:59 Race Review: Red Bull DOMINANCE
27:45:18 Race Review: Ferrari woes continue
35:17:34 Race Review: Can Mercedes Catch Ferrari in the Constructors
41:25:13 Race Review: Alpines, McLarens
43:54:27 Donkey of the Week
47:48:19 GOAT of the Week
51:34:00 Look Ahead Zaandvoort
Vettel's retired, it's silly season, and what's happening with Danny Ric???
Oh yes - the Hungarian GP happened too.
We're back from summer break now!
See show notes and topics discussed below:
0:00:00 Intro: Vettel Retirement, Alonso to Aston, Piastri Snubs Alpine, and Ricciardo leaving McLaren
18:19:17 Hungarian GP: Intro - Quali + Practice
22:18:37 Race Review
24:30:34 Red Bull: Verstappen Triumph - Perez Woes - Brilliant Strategy
29:52:42 Mercedes: Best Race of the Season so Far? Russel Quali Brilliance, Hamilton consistency, Reliability Kings (MORA award contenders)
36:49:29 Ferrari: Horrible weekend, even worse strategy, Poor Leclerc
42:20:43 Other Constructors: Alphas, McLarens etc
43:02:35 Donkey of the Week
46:20:03 Goat of the Week
49:17:30 Lookahead to SPA
51:14:53 Our Picks for Spa
We review the French GP at the Paul Ricard circuit.
What is going on at Ferrari? Did a team member win a tender to ruin them?
Best result for Mercedes, dominance by Max, and we learn more about what those psychedelic lines on the circuit are for.
Good banter on all teams with "Alpha/Alfa" in their name too.
Viva la France!
*Hosted by Grant James, John Afordofe, & Martin Ombura
Undoubtedly, the race of the season so far! Action from start to finish!
We discuss another quali in the rain, LATIFI IN Q3, the worst accident we've seen, Max's radio dilemma, "Stop inventing" and those last 12 laps!
This was a humdinger!
*Hosted by Grant James, John Afordofe, & Martin Ombura
Introducing a new member to the pod, John Afordofe!
John shares why he got into F1 and when he started watching.
We review the Austrian GP at the Red Bull Ring - what a race!
Sharing thoughts on the Sprint race format, Ferrari's on fire, and the Haas got pace!
Some strong opinions, held firmly.
PS - Recorded this before Silverstone, hence the order shuffle.
*Hosted by Grant James, John Afordofe, and Martin Ombura.
A review of the Canadian race weekend.
We discuss the wet quali, dry race and have a few laughs about Tsunoda's tango with the barrier.
*Hosted by Grant James & Martin Ombura
HELLO HELLO!
Introducing the podcast, when we started watching F1, and how we got into it.
Then we get into a review of Baku GP - the good, the bad, and the donkeys!
*Hosted by Grant James & Martin Omburu