Back Of The Grid | F1 Podcast

Five more sleeps. Kimi Antonelli wins the 2026 United States Grand Prix from pole and needs just two points in Mexico to become F1's youngest ever champion, while Russell and Hamilton are split by a single point in the fight for P2. In this episode, Tom and Chris review the US GP at COTA: Antonelli's one-stop win, Leclerc beating Verstappen to P2, George Russell's five-second penalty, Ferrari's Friday-to-Sunday fade, McLaren level with Red Bull, Racing Bulls' clever Q3 trick, Bearman's penalty and our WTF of the weekend. Then it's predictions for the Mexico City Grand Prix: altitude, Ferrari's chances, Sergio Pérez's 300th race and a Día de los Muertos bonus call. CHAPTERS 0:00 Intro 1:02 US GP review: Antonelli's one-stop win 4:48 Russell's penalty 11:33 Ferrari: Friday pace & Leclerc's P2 13:09 Verstappen: the Princess and the Pea 17:46 McLaren level with Red Bull 19:57 Racing Bulls & Gasly's shrinking points 24:20 Haas, Bearman & Alonso 25:52 Driver & Move of the Day 29:52 WTF: the tractor vs the barrier 32:59 Antonelli can't find reverse 35:51 Prediction & fantasy league results 37:49 Mexico GP preview 41:33 Mexico predictions 45:28 Bonus prediction & sign-off 🔮 Free Prediction League — closes at Mexico GP qualifying, 9pm Sat 31 Oct (UK): https://backofthegrid.com 🎮 Fantasy F1 & IndyCar (Grid Rival + official F1 Fantasy): https://backofthegrid.com/fantasy 💜 Patreon — includes our community Discord: https://patreon.com/backofthegrid 📱 @BackOfTheGridF1 on X, Instagram & Facebook Back of the Grid is a weekly Formula 1 podcast by fans, for fans, hosted by Tom King and Chris Evans. #F1 #USGP #MexicoGP

Could Kimi Antonelli become F1's youngest-ever world champion in Austin, only for Qatar to be cancelled the moment the maths is done? Tom has a theory. Plus Rafael Camara to Haas, F1's African Grand Prix in Rwanda, and Godzilla on the grid. In this episode, Tom and Chris preview the 2026 United States Grand Prix at COTA: Antonelli's first shot at the title, whether Verstappen can play party pooper, and Red Bull closing on McLaren for P3. Before that, F1 confirms the African Grand Prix in Rwanda, Câmara gets the Haas seat for 2027, Fornaroli stays at McLaren, there's still no decision on Qatar and Abu Dhabi, and IndyCar looks set for Barcelona. Then the Haas and Cadillac liveries for Austin, and our predictions. 00:00 Intro 00:58 F1 confirms the African GP in Rwanda 08:34 Câmara to Haas for 2027 12:46 Fornaroli stays at McLaren 14:03 Qatar & Abu Dhabi: still no decision 20:52 IndyCar heading to Barcelona 22:47 US GP preview: can Antonelli clinch it? 24:24 Verstappen the party pooper? 26:21 McLaren vs Red Bull for P3 28:13 Haas' Godzilla livery 31:22 Cadillac's Austin livery 33:13 Predictions 36:36 Prediction league & sign-off 🏁 Predictions & fantasy leagues (F1 Fantasy + Grid Rival): backofthegrid.com ❤️ Support the show and join our Discord: [Patreon link] 📱 @BackOfTheGridF1 on X, Instagram and Facebook Back of the Grid is a weekly F1 podcast by fans, for fans, with Tom King and Chris Evans. #F1 #USGP #Antonelli

Two processions for the price of one. Max Verstappen finally wins the Singapore Grand Prix after sweeping sprint pole, sprint, pole and race, while Ferrari fumble a double podium and Kimi Antonelli heads to Austin on the brink of the 2026 title. In this episode, Tom and Chris review the 2026 Singapore Grand Prix sprint weekend: the FIA's overtake-mode error in sprint qualifying, Russell's lap-one crash and the Norris/Piastri clash, Hamilton's strategy and Ferrari's radio, Antonelli's rescinded track-limits strike, Lawson and the Racing Bulls seats, plus driver of the day, move of the day, predictions results and your inbox questions. 0:00 Intro 0:16 Welcome: Singapore sprint weekend 0:58 FIA overtake mode error in sprint qualifying 4:25 Sprint: Russell crash & Norris/Piastri clash 9:40 Inbox: should drivers go straight to the stewards? 12:43 Verstappen finally wins in Singapore 15:02 Reliability woes: Bortoleto, Stroll, Hadjar 16:42 Ferrari: Leclerc P2, Hamilton's strategy & radio mess 24:36 Antonelli on the brink of the title 26:20 Antonelli's rescinded track limits strike 28:48 Russell's recovery & McLaren 30:17 Lawson, Lindblad & the new Red Bull regime 33:22 Midfield: Racing Bulls, Audi, Hülkenberg & Haas 35:02 The pit stop record stat 35:52 Driver of the day 38:18 Move of the day 41:05 Worst of the weekend 42:14 Predictions & fantasy results 45:30 Inbox: how much has Bono helped Antonelli? 48:42 Inbox: Mercedes vs Ferrari strategy 52:51 Wrap-up & COTA next week 🏁 Predictions league & fantasy leagues: https://backofthegrid.com 🎧 Join us live and get Discord access on Patreon: https://patreon.com/backofthegrid 📱 @BackOfTheGridF1 on X, Instagram & Facebook Back of the Grid is a weekly F1 podcast by fans, for fans, with Tom King and Chris Evans. #F1 #SingaporeGP #Formula1

The best Bahrain Grand Prix ever… and it wasn't even in Bahrain. Sepang's return delivered mixed conditions, wild strategy and Verstappen's first win of 2026 – once F1 had plugged laptops into the cars to get them moving.   In this episode, Tom and Chris break down a chaotic, rain-hit race at Sepang – the formation-lap power failures and mid-race software fix, Max Verstappen's first win of the season and Red Bull Powertrains' first victory, George Russell's late retirement leaving Kimi Antonelli 84 points clear, and Lewis Hamilton's recovery from a minute down to the podium. Plus Fred Vasseur's "vote of confidence", the 500 marshals flown in from Bahrain, driver and move of the day, and our Singapore GP preview and predictions ahead of the first Marina Bay sprint. 0:00 Intro 0:17 F1 returns to Sepang 5:11 Formation-lap power failures & the mid-race software fix 10:47 Verstappen's first win of 2026 & Red Bull Powertrains 17:15 Russell retires – is the title fight over? 21:02 Ferrari's tyre gamble & Hamilton's recovery 25:41 Vasseur's vote of confidence 28:29 McLaren struggles & Norris's reprimand 31:16 Racing Bulls, Aston Martin & Williams 34:47 Driver & move of the day 40:12 Organisation, 500 marshals & the "Bahrain" GP 46:15 Predictions & fantasy league results 48:59 Singapore GP preview 54:41 Singapore predictions 58:06 Inbox 🏁 Singapore is a sprint weekend – predictions close Friday 9 October at 1:30pm UK (sprint qualifying). Get yours in at https://backofthegrid.com, where you'll also find our Grid Rival fantasy leagues and the season standings. ☕ Support the show and join our community: https://patreon.com/backofthegrid 📲 Follow us: @BackOfTheGridF1 on X, Instagram and Facebook Back of the Grid is a weekly F1 podcast by fans, for fans – race reviews, previews, predictions and plenty of opinions. #F1 #MalaysiaGP #Verstappen

George Russell's first Grand Slam cuts Antonelli's lead to 66 points in Baku, but is he really back in the title fight? Plus the last-lap call that put spectacle over safety, and a Malaysian GP preview. In this episode, Tom and Chris review a chaotic Azerbaijan Grand Prix: Russell's perfect weekend, Antonelli's costly qualifying mistake, the theory behind Bottas's crash, the missing VSC on the final lap, Hadjar's return and Red Bull's first double podium since China 2024, and Colapinto's collision with Gasly and Norris. Then it's on to the Malaysian GP return, the stats from the last time F1 raced there, and our predictions. Chapters 0:00 Intro 0:17 Welcome & Baku recap 1:27 Russell's first Grand Slam 5:06 Antonelli's costly qualifying mistake 8:03 Why did Bottas crash? The regen theory 11:31 No VSC on the last lap: spectacle over safety? 15:47 Should the stewards explain their decisions? 17:08 Red Bull double podium & Hadjar's return 21:57 Ferrari fade, McLaren's nightmare 24:07 Colapinto takes out Gasly & Norris 30:03 Lindblad vs Lawson: "pretty sick" 32:25 Haas, Williams & Audi 35:09 Driver & move of the day 37:44 Final award & Pirelli's tyre problem 41:29 Prediction league & fantasy results 44:25 Malaysian GP preview 49:46 Our Malaysian GP predictions 55:21 Inbox: Lindblad & Red Bull's junior programme 58:46 Wrap-up 🏁 Malaysian GP predictions are open now. Get yours in before Q1 at https://backofthegrid.com, plus links to our F1 Fantasy and Grid Rival leagues. 💜 Support the show on Patreon for extra perks, including our community Discord: Patreon.com/BAckOfTheGrid 📱 Find us as @BackOfTheGridF1 on X, Instagram and Facebook. Back of the Grid is a weekly F1 podcast by fans, for fans, hosted by Tom King and Chris Evans. See you next week for the Malaysian GP review! #F1 #AzerbaijanGP #Formula1