High Performance Racing

Baku belonged to George Russell. He took pole, fastest lap and the win, and led every lap for the first Grand Slam of his career. Otmar tells the guys about the rather unusual gift he showed George after qualifying. Rob explains why one crash on a street circuit can knock a driver's confidence for the rest of the weekend. And the guys do the maths on whether George can still catch Kimi. The answer isn't what you'd expect.Otmar also tells the story of the Instagram post from Malaysia that nearly got Checo Pérez a five-year ban. We hear about the steering change that made Max say "I want that". And the Engineering Dark Web returns with the seventh-gear trick that won Mercedes Baku.Plus, Lando, Colapinto and the ugly side of F1 fandom, a proper A-list Bullshit Corner nomination from Richard Hammond, Jake's Brad Pitt Zoom disaster, and a phone call with the man behind bscorner.com. The guys are also offering to send a family to the British Grand Prix next year, so get in touch if you'd like to be considered.A huge thank you to Rebecca Gerber at THB Swag for our brilliant High Performance Racing tumblers, and to Walter for building bscorner.com. Go and give it some love.AG1 👉 Head to http://drinkag1.com/hpracing to save £20 on your first month, plus a free welcome kit and five travel packsEight Sleep 👉 If you’re ready to upgrade your nights and unlock more energy in your days, start with Eight Sleep. Use code RACING for £200 off the Pod 6 here: https://highpfrmc.com/HPR-eightsleep-au Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Baku is back, and it’s one of the strangest challenges on the F1 calendar. You want maximum downforce through the castle section, then almost none for the longest straight in Formula 1. Get the setup wrong and you’re either slow through the corners or a sitting duck down the straight.Jake, Rob and Otmar explain how engineers solve that impossible compromise, why driver confidence can be worth more than the numbers in the simulator, and how active aero is changing the game.They also tackle a much bigger question: has F1 become entertainment with a motor race attached? With record revenues, huge team valuations and F1’s push to bring the sport to new audiences, the guys debate what’s been gained, what’s been lost, and why the sound of a V10 still matters.Plus, Otmar reveals what really happens when a driver gets injured at the last minute, Rob shares some incredible reserve-driver stories, they debate whether Fernando Alonso will actually retire, and Bullshit Corner gets into Lando Norris, Coca-Cola and the complicated world of F1 sponsorship.AG1 👉 Head to http://drinkag1.com/hpracing to save £20 on your first month, plus a free welcome kit and five travel packs Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

£151 million, three years of design, 17 months of construction, 353,000 fans… and four overtakes. Madrid certainly put on a show, but Jake, Rob and Otmar have a question: did anyone remember to build a race track?The guys debate whether F1 has become too obsessed with bringing the sport to the people, why fans will happily travel for a great race, and why the best circuits on the calendar were built long before computers, simulations and AI got involved. Rob makes the case for old-school tracks like Suzuka, Spa and Monza, while Otmar argues that Tilke has produced some great circuits, but modern tracks still struggle to match the classics.Plus, Otmar questions how Spain ended up with two races and Germany with none, while the guys ask why Madrid can look spectacular and still feel like almost anywhere else on the calendar.AG1 👉 Head to http://drinkag1.com/hpracing to save £20 on your first month, plus a free welcome kit and five travel packsEight Sleep 👉 If you’re ready to upgrade your nights and unlock more energy in your days, start with Eight Sleep. Use code RACING for £350 off the Pod 5 Ultra here: https://highpfrmc.com/HPR-eightsleep-au Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Nobody wins from 19th at Monza. Well, Kimi Antonelli did, the internet immediately called it the drive of the decade… and Rob would like a word. He agrees it was brilliant — he just thinks everyone's watching the wrong part of it. The guys pull the race apart properly: why the real brilliance happened in the first four laps, why George Russell was a sitting duck long before Kimi ever arrived in his mirrors, and whether Mercedes should have pitted the other car under that virtual safety car.Jake makes the case that this was actually a good weekend for George. Otmar explains what a home win does to a 20-year-old, including the time he watched Kimi's mum tell him to push his chair in. Then it's Ferrari's turn — what that garage felt like on Sunday night, Rob's theory that Charles had a puncture before he ever reached the Parabolica, and a mid-season mark out of ten that doesn't survive contact with Monza.Plus Rob was in the Ferrari garage in 2006 and explains why Michael Schumacher really walked away, Otmar reveals how Lewis used to get inside Nico Rosberg's head before a race, and the guys tackle Lando Norris launching his own team — and the £14 million it now costs to get a kid from a go-kart to Formula 1. Rob has a plan to fix that one!And there's Bullshit Corner, a Nigel Mansell classic, and a first look at the Madring — which, according to Otmar's man on the ground, is "Jeddah on steroids".Eight Sleep 👉 If you’re ready to upgrade your nights and unlock more energy in your days, start with Eight Sleep. Use code RACING for £350 off the Pod 5 Ultra here: https://highpfrmc.com/HPR-eightsleep-auAG1 👉 Head to http://drinkag1.com/hpracing to save £20 on your first month, plus a free welcome kit and five travel packs Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It’s Monza week, which means Ferrari fever, Tifosi everywhere and absolutely no pressure whatsoever… Jake and Otmar tackle the big Italian dilemma: would the Tifosi rather see Lewis Hamilton win in red, or Kimi Antonelli win at home? For Otmar, it’s not even close.The guys debate Mercedes’ ruthless decision to give Kimi an engine penalty at his home race, why Jake thinks that mentality could win them both championships, and whether Ferrari can keep treating Hamilton and Leclerc as equals. Otmar also revisits the chaotic 2020 Monza race that Force India could have won.Plus, Jake and Otmar reveal their very different routes into Formula 1, tackle the brutal calendar facing F1 staff and ask whether rising ticket prices are pushing out the fans who built the sport.And Rob checks in from the Mediterranean with a classic Ferrari Monza memory, before the guys make their predictions for Sunday.Eight Sleep 👉 If you’re ready to upgrade your nights and unlock more energy in your days, start with Eight Sleep. Use code RACING for £350 off the Pod 5 Ultra here: https://highpfrmc.com/HPR-eightsleep-auAG1 👉 Head to http://drinkag1.com/hpracing to save £20 on your first month, plus a free welcome kit and five travel packs Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.