Away We Go Podcast

The Formula 1 2027 calendar is out with 24 races, 10 sprint weekends and Australia no longer the season opener, and Dianne Bortoletto and Ciara Gillan have problems with most of it.Bahrain and Saudi Arabia open the year, Qatar and Abu Dhabi close it, which puts the Middle East at both ends of the season while this year's races in the region were cancelled. Di and Ciara weigh two theories: a consolation prize for the host nations, or a tidy way to drop four rounds without leaving gaps if the conflict continues. Neither is confirmed.Sprint weekends go from six to 10, and one of them is Monaco. Di reckons every weekend ends up a sprint eventually. Ciara calls the Monaco call wild.There is also the small matter of F1's carbon neutral by 2030 target and a route that crosses the world seven times.In this episode:Australia loses the season opener to Bahrain, and Di is disappointedMiddle East at both ends of the calendar while this year's races were cancelledSweetener for the host nations, or a plan for cancelling cleanlyLas Vegas is the only race Formula 1 owns and runs itself10 sprint weekends, up from six, and Ciara's fear it hits 15Di's prediction: one practice, sprint quali, sprint, race, every weekendMonaco as a sprint weekend, and why Ciara calls it wildCarbon neutral by 2030 versus a route that zigzags the globeDi's fix: points for qualifying and a reverse gridPortugal and Türkiye return to the calendarHosted by Dianne Bortoletto, Instagram @travelletto. With Ciara Gillan of Formula Live Pulse, Instagram @ciaragillan16. Formula Live Pulse: https://www.f1livepulse.com/en/ get 10% off with code AWAYWEGOFollow Away We Go Podcast:Website: https://awaywegopodcast.comApple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/away-we-go-podcast/id1783230663Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4zhYpuRy3mL6y44ZERI0X6YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@AwayWeGoPodcastSubstack: https://substack.com/@awaywegopodcastInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/awaywegopodcast/TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@awaywego.podcastFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/awaywegopodcastLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/away-we-go-podcastThreads: https://www.threads.com/@awaywegopodcastSubscribe to Away We Go Podcast wherever you listen, and drop us a like or comment if you're watching on YouTube.Next stop, Baku.

Kimi Antonelli won the 2026 F1 Spanish Grand Prix in Madrid, then said it probably should have been Lando Norris's. Di disagrees: McLaren pitted Lando after the virtual safety car had ended, then took seven seconds to change his tyres. Mercedes called Kimi in within three seconds. The better team won.On a Formula 1 weekend both hosts rate the dullest of the season, Di and Ciara Gillan still find plenty to argue about. Max Verstappen cut a corner and gave the place back before the stewards had to act. Lewis Hamilton lost his brakes on lap six for his first DNF of the year. FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem said publicly that Fernando Alonso cannot retire without a win.Lando's cool-down room behaviour gets picked apart, and the mid-September deadline for confirming the last two races has arrived with no announcement. Is F1 about to drop a Middle East round?In this episode:Madrid's designer promised flow; the race delivered almost no overtakesMcLaren pit Lando Norris after the VSC ended, then a seven-second stopLewis Hamilton's first DNF of the season: no brakes on lap sixMax Verstappen cuts the corner, gives the place back, no further actionKimi Antonelli says it should have been Lando's win; Di thinks that's too muchLando in the cool-down room: feet on the table and the wrong drinkFIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem says Fernando Alonso can't retire without a winShould Alonso and Lance Stroll give up their Aston Martin seats?Carlos Sainz retires at his home race after tangling with Alonso and Yuki TsunodaA leaked 2027 calendar still lists all four Middle East races, unconfirmedHosted by Dianne Bortoletto, Instagram @travelletto. With Ciara Gillan of Formula Live Pulse, Instagram @ciaragillan16.Formula Live Pulse: https://www.f1livepulse.com/en/ get 10% off with code AWAYWEGOFollow Away We Go Podcast:Website: https://awaywegopodcast.comApple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/away-we-go-podcast/id1783230663Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4zhYpuRy3mL6y44ZERI0X6YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@AwayWeGoPodcastSubstack: https://substack.com/@awaywegopodcastInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/awaywegopodcast/TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@awaywego.podcastFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/awaywegopodcastLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/away-we-go-podcastThreads: https://www.threads.com/@awaywegopodcastSubscribe to Away We Go Podcast wherever you listen, and drop us a like or comment if you're watching on YouTube.Next stop, Baku.

Kimi Antonelli started 19th at the 2026 F1 Italian Grand Prix and was leading Monza by lap 18. He pitted, did it all again, and won: the first Italian to take the Italian Grand Prix since 1966.Behind him, Ferrari fell apart and Flavio Briatore accused McLaren of corruption in the team boss press conference. The open question is George Russell: second on the grid, second in the race, barely a word for his teammate afterwards. Has Mercedes already chosen its number one in this Formula 1 title fight?Plus Lewis Hamilton's barn-find F40, Charles Leclerc turning up in a Fiat 500, and a long-table pasta lunch on the Monza grid.In this episode:Antonelli from 19th: first Italian winner of the Italian GP since Ludovico Scarfiotti in 1966Charles Leclerc out on lap three, 50G, same corner as his 2020 crashPierre Gasly's first career pole, days after the Court of Appeal stripped his Monaco podiumDi on why appealing penalties instead of serving them is a dangerous precedentBriatore insinuates McLaren influenced the Court of Appeal; Andrea Stella calls it offensiveConfirmed: Franco Colapinto stays at Alpine for 2027 on a one-year dealCiara makes the case that Leclerc is his own worst enemyFerrari leaves Lewis Hamilton out under the VSC; he finishes sixthHamilton's barn-find Ferrari F40: 69 kilometres on the clock, engine stamped 44Oscar Piastri's Q3 lock-up, Lando Norris starts ninth, and the fan abuse that followedNorris announces LN4 Fusion junior team and the LN4 Legacy driver programReported, not confirmed: Antonelli's 25 overtakes as a single-race recordMonza confirmed as a sprint weekend from 2027; race weekend expected to bring €208 million to the regionHosted by Dianne Bortoletto, Instagram @travelletto. With Ciara Gillan of Formula Live Pulse, Instagram @ciaragillan16. Formula Live Pulse: https://www.f1livepulse.com/en/Follow Away We Go Podcast:Website: https://awaywegopodcast.comApple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/away-we-go-podcast/id1783230663Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4zhYpuRy3mL6y44ZERI0X6YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@AwayWeGoPodcastSubstack: https://substack.com/@awaywegopodcastInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/awaywegopodcast/TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@awaywego.podcastFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/awaywegopodcastLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/away-we-go-podcastThreads: https://www.threads.com/@awaywegopodcastSubscribe to Away We Go Podcast wherever you listen, and drop us a like or comment if you're watching on YouTube.Next stop, Madrid.

Two race trips dominate this episode: Monza next week, and Sepang, hosting Malaysia's first Formula 1 race since 2017.Journalist and author Stewart Bell has worked both. At Monza he explains what the oldest track on the calendar feels like on foot: the historic banking too steep to walk up, and Ascari taken at speeds that look impossible from trackside. The practical layer is all here too. Stay in Milan near a metro, take the train from Milano Centrale in roughly 25 minutes, and leave the car alone. Then eat properly: risotto alla Milanese, cotoletta, and aperitivo with a Select Spritz instead of an Aperol.Sepang is a different trip. The circuit sits beside the airport but more than an hour from Kuala Lumpur, so Stewart shares how he plans a race weekend there, along with the guided street food day in Chinatown that produced the best laksa of his life, and what to do in KL beyond the track.On the racing, Kimi Antonelli takes his engine penalty at his home race, which Di rates as a smart call by Mercedes, and by Stewart's numbers Ferrari's upgrades are worth around 30 horsepower, though Mercedes start as favourites.Hanging over it all: Formula 1 has until mid-September to decide whether Qatar and Abu Dhabi can host the final rounds. Stewart says the fallback is Imola in December, with rumours of Malaysia again and even China opening next season.Di is gutted about not being in Monza. Happier news from Stewart: his book cracked Amazon's overall top 100 in its first week and regularly sits in the top 10 list for motorsport books. And the best news, his publisher Penguin are interested in book two.Next week: the Italian Grand Prix from Monza.In this episode:Stewart's promotional tour: radio spots, a nerve-wracking live cross on the Today Show, and the book hitting Amazon's overall top 100 in its first weekBook two is confirmed with Penguin but the topic isn't, and Di invites listeners to drop suggestions in the commentsWhat Monza feels like in person: the banking, the Tifosi, and Ascari at speeds that look impossibleDi on Mercedes taking Kimi Antonelli's engine penalty at his home race, and Stewart on the chance it gives him to fight through the fieldFerrari's engine upgrades, worth around 30 horsepower in total by Stewart's estimate, against Mercedes as outright favouritesGetting to the circuit: trains from Milano Centrale in roughly 25 minutes, the Biassono Lesmo Parco station on the Lesmo side, and why driving isn't worth itWhat to eat in Milan: risotto alla Milanese, cotoletta alla Milanese, and aperitivo with a Select Spritz instead of an AperolThe waiter in Puglia who flatly refused to make a cappuccino after lunchSepang hosts the relocated Bahrain Grand Prix, Malaysia's first F1 race since 2017: right beside the airport, over an hour from KL, with a direct train to the circuitStewart's private street food tour through Chinatown, and the grey shrimp paste that transformed a bowl of asam laksaKL beyond the track: the Petronas Towers, hornbills at the Bird Park, the Batu Caves, and roti canai for under three dollarsThe mid-September deadline on Qatar and Abu Dhabi, the Imola fallback, and rumours of China opening next seasonHosted by Dianne Bortoletto, Instagram @travelletto.Stewart Bell is a journalist, broadcaster and author of Formula 1: The World's Most Brutal Sport, published by Penguin.Get the book: https://amzn.to/4nAWaNjStewart on Instagram: https://instagram.com/StewartBellF1Stewart's website: https://www.stewart-bell.comListen to Stewart Bell in Ep72 where he talks about his book and his F1 career..Follow Away We Go Podcast:Website: https://awaywegopodcast.comApple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/away-we-go-podcast/id1783230663Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4zhYpuRy3mL6y44ZERI0X6YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@AwayWeGoPodcastSubstack: https://substack.com/@awaywegopodcastInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/awaywegopodcast/TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@awaywego.podcastFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/awaywegopodcastLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/away-we-go-podcastThreads: https://www.threads.com/@awaywegopodcastSubscribe to Away We Go Podcast wherever you listen, and drop us a like or comment if you're watching on YouTube.

McLaren put Oscar Piastri on hards, pitted him for another set of hards 13 laps later, then cost him a further second and a half with a 3.8 stop. He went from third to sixth. Di and Ciara Gillan spend most of this episode trying to work out why.Lando Norris won it, his second in a row, and left Zandvoort sounding like a man who thinks a second title is live. He is 83 points behind Kimi Antonelli with 11 races to go.Max Verstappen was out on the first racing lap. He caught a wet patch, hit the wall twice, and his car came apart, at his home race, in the last Dutch Grand Prix Zandvoort will hold. Di explains why the circuit walked away: no government backing, all three days had to sell out, and a long contract with Liberty Media was a risk the promoter would not take.Mercedes ordered Russell to hand second place to Antonelli. Russell's response on the radio, and his response in the pen afterwards, were two different things.The question the episode does not settle: with Mark Webber no longer welcome in the McLaren garage, who is arguing Piastri's case during a race?Russell arrived engaged and relaxed and won the sprint. Non-race weekend next, then Monza.In this episodeWhy Zandvoort is off the calendar: no government underwriting, all three days had to sell out, and a long Liberty Media deal was too much risk. The circuit walked, not Formula 1.Verstappen catches a wet patch on the first real lap, hits the wall twice, and is out at his home race in front of an orange grandstand.Bortoleto spins 360 behind him and Hülkenberg misses T-boning him by inches through a wall of smoke.Norris wins back to back and starts talking title on the team radio, 83 points down with 11 to go.McLaren put Piastri on hards, then on hards again after 13 laps, then a 3.8 second stop. Ciara: "I feel like Piastri is driving a tractor."Piastri's restart overtake on Russell, in a place nobody overtakes, which left the Sky Sports commentary team lost for words.Ciara's argument for Piastri: at every other top team the two drivers are within reach of each other. Only at McLaren is there a gulf.Hadjar out with a wrist injury from boxing training, Lawson promoted to Red Bull and finishing seventh, Tsunoda back on the grid in 11th.Sainz slides into Albon on lap 66 and takes a penalty, weeks after both re-signed with Williams. The rumoured 30 million euro deal is still just a rumour.Half the 2027 grid is unsigned: both Mercedes, both Racing Bulls, both Aston Martins, both Haas, both Audi, plus Hadjar and Colapinto.Mercedes swap Russell and Antonelli for second. Russell to his engineer: "We've just lost a double podium here, mate."Ferrari's radio war: Leclerc nearly into the back of Hamilton, and Hamilton asking whether he is a guinea pig out there.Six retirements over 72 laps on the second shortest circuit after Monaco, and Di's tribute to the Dutch fans.Ciara on what Piastri actually needs: to start demanding things, or someone in his corner doing it for him.Hosted by Dianne Bortoletto, Instagram @travelletto.With Ciara Gillan of Formula Live Pulse, Instagram @ciaragillan16.Formula Live Pulse: https://www.f1livepulse.com/en/Follow Away We Go Podcast:Website: https://awaywegopodcast.comApple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/away-we-go-podcast/id1783230663Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4zhYpuRy3mL6y44ZERI0X6YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@AwayWeGoPodcastSubstack: https://substack.com/@awaywegopodcastInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/awaywegopodcast/TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@awaywego.podcastFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/awaywegopodcastLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/away-we-go-podcastThreads: https://www.threads.com/@awaywegopodcast